Of Dogs and Foxes

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto

Summary: Inuyasha/Naruto xover. During a mission, a territorial Youkai ambushes Team 7 with a hunger for human flesh, or rather…fears. And who should save them but a certain dog-eared hanyou…

A/N: I dunno where this came from; I just sat down at my computer and the picture began to form as I wrote it. Anyway, I guess it came from wanting to introduce someone who is stronger than the people of Naruto, you know…to keep their egos in check…or maybe I just wanted to see more Inuyasha/Naruto crossovers. Either way, enjoy the fic!

Chapter One:

It was a warm, cloudless day that heralded the new mission of Team 7, another D-rank. Naruto was angry as usual at the lack of any real challenge, and was making sure everybody else on the team knew it. Sasuke wasn't particularly overjoyed either, but had the sense to keep quiet about it. Sakura, on the other hand, was just glad that they wouldn't be risking their lives like they did during the incident with Zabuza,

"Why do we only get these stupid missions Kakashi-sensei? I thought that they would be giving us more important missions by now!" Naruto had a sulky expression on his face, "Where are we going anyway? We've never left Konoha for a D-rank mission before." Kakashi looked up from his book, his only exposed eye pulled into a slant that made him look supremely apathetic,

"It's at a village not far from here. Near Kikyo's Pass." Naruto grinned and sped his walking, satisfied that perhaps the mission would not be so boring after all. Another three hours of walking brought them to a forested area between two imposing hills. Sakura shivered slightly,

"It's much colder here than in Konoha, ne?" Indeed, the thick canopy of trees blocked out most of the sunlight, and the leaves of the vegetation were wet with dew not yet evaporated by the thin streams of light that managed to filter through the mangled branches above them,

"Is this where the village is?" Asked Sasuke in a bored voice. Kakashi did not look up from his book when he answered,

"No, we need to travel through the forest to get there." They had been standing in one of the less deeply forested areas, and both Naruto and Sakura looked apprehensively at the darker trees, though Naruto hid it immediately with his trademark grin. Sasuke noticed Naruto's discomfort and smirked,

"You scared moron?" Naruto growled at him and his eyes gained a determined edge as he stomped ahead. Following him, the group made their way deeper into the forest, all unaware that they were being watched.


The forest proved harder to navigate then they had been expecting. There was no path, and it was disturbingly easy to start walking in circles. Not only that, but the forest was beginning to look and feel far more sinister with each passing minute. It seemed that the trees were gradually getting more and more mangled, and their leaves lessening…although the level of darkness remained,

"There is something very wrong with this forest." The three males turned their heads to look at Sakura, whose green eyes had widened slightly, "I could swear that we passed that same tree ten minutes ago." She inclined her head to Kakashi in a silent question; he was the jounin here after all,

"If there were other ninja here I would have felt them by now. We must just be walking in circles." Sakura did not look convinced, and Kakashi gave what might have been a reassuring look (though it was hard to tell with his mask on).

Naruto had been surprisingly quiet since entering this part of the forest. Truthfully, he felt the uneasiest about this place. It wasn't fear, more like a sense of unrest…that was manifesting itself in the form of slight nausea. So, he had kept his mouth shut in a façade of passiveness, as opposed to his usual one of jovial anticipation and exuberant courage. It was then that both he and Kakashi snapped around. Kakashi had heard something, while Naruto had sensed it. (1)

In the shadows stood a humanoid figure, which began to speak in a sadistically amused voice, "Four little humans…all alone in my forest. Whatever shall I do with you?" Kakashi and Sasuke both moved to perform hand seals at the same time, however, both found that their bodies refused to cooperate. Sakura and Naruto discovered the same a few moments later. The four all began to feel panic creeping up their spines…Kakashi, a jounin, had not been able to sense this man,

"That's it, be afraid. Give me your fear." The figure stepped out of the shadows. Long, black hair was pulled into a high pony. Crimson lips were pulled into a cruel smile. This man definitely appeared to be human, though he exuded a wholly inhuman presence.

It was Kakashi who was most surprised at his own reaction; the twisting, bubbling fear in the pit of his stomach was very much unlike him. He had been in situations far worse than this and not felt any fear. It was as though this man was forcing him to be afraid. The man's smile widened, showing abnormally elongated canines.

His red eyes glowed slightly as he opened his mouth wide, and an odd white substance sprang forth from it, heading straight for the four immobilized ninja. However, before it could reach them, something, or rather, someone, intercepted it. It was hard to tell, as all they saw was a blur of red.

It was as though some kind of spell had been broken, and the paralyzing fear dissipated. Kakashi once again made to from seals with his hands, but the voice of the stranger made him stop,

"Those things are only useful when you use them on other humans, don't waste your energy needlessly!" The three genin gasped,

"You mean this freak isn't human?!" Naruto's voice was disbelieving. The stranger turned his head to face them. Golden eyes, long white hair and the two dog-ears on top of his head told them that he wasn't human either,

"Didn't I already say that?! Now, step back and let me save your asses in peace!" Both Naruto and Sasuke growled and took steps to attack, but Kakashi appeared behind them in a flash,

"I think we should listen to him, he appears to know what he's doing." They conceded reluctantly and focused their attention on the strange newcomer. It was then that they realized that he was holding a gigantic sword. Sakura's mouth dropped open,

"How can he fight with a sword that size…and at that speed?! Not even Zabuza could move that fast with his cleaver!" The 'man' who had ambushed them gave a short laugh and smirked,

"You really think you can beat me…hanyou?" The dog boy gave a low growl,

"Keh! I could beat a weakling like you if I were human. That is, if you weren't such a coward that you attacked me from behind!" He cracked a grin of his own, "The last two moths I met can vouch for me in hell!" The smirk on the man's lips twisted into a sneer, the humanoid countenance he had retained disappearing as his body began to expand.

His clothes ripped, his eyes became large and beetle-like, his skin became furry and two antennae protruded from his head. It was blaringly obvious now why the strange boy had been calling him a moth…and there was no doubt that he wasn't human. Sakura had a sharp intake of breath, Naruto openly gaped and both Kakashi and Sasuke managed to look calm, although both of their eyes were narrowed in what might have been either surprise or fright.

The dog boy, however, had a bored look on his face, which seemed to scream 'Been there, done that.' Sure enough, he smirked and said,

"They did this too. All of you moth youkai are as stupid as you are ugly." He began to raise his sword, but was interrupted when a feminine voice sounded from the distance,

"INUYASHA!"


A/N: Ooh, cliffy! Well, review and tell me what you think!

(1) Naruto has a better sense for youkai because there is one sealed within him, I'll go into more detail later on.