Sapphire eyes stared at the bundle of rice placed in front of him. He sighed and started eating in it in heaped handfuls, thinking of the different flavours of ramen instead.
He looked up as he thoughtfully chewed, Sakura in front of him eating her rice while studying a graciously large book. Poisons and antidotes littered the cover which was placed upon her lap, mostly hidden from the naked eye. Flames whispering to themselves in glee of cackles and crackles, placed in front of the blonde, and in the centre of their unintentional circle. He looked over to Kakashi to whom that which leant against a large tree reading his well- known orange 'handbook', chuckling to himself at random intervals now and again.
Naruto rolled his eyes and grasped the last amount of rice in his clutch and stuffed it in his mouth. As he chucked the leaf in the blazing fire, he stood up, popping and stretching his aching joints and muscles. Stupid mission...
The blonde walked towards his ready- made sleeping bag, another substitute from his ordinary life, an uncomfortable one however.
Rustle… Rustle…
Jumping into an attack position, kunai ready in his hand Naruto looked around sharply, his ninja instincts kicking in. Sakura slipped aside Naruto in the same stance and just as alert for attack.
Kakashi simply tilted his head to the side, visible eye squinting at the offending noise in the distance.
A small snout poked out of the bush, twitching as it smelt food. The rest of its head following suit, cocking it to the side as it noticed an odd blonde human staring intentionally at it, creamy brown, with a slight tinge of red, looked at deep blue, neither set of eyes blinking as the rest of the animal's body came out of the bush. Finally a large bushy tail with a contrasting creamy white tip was the last of the animal, swishing back and forth, almost in a playful sort of manner.
"A fox?" Sakura mumbled, Kakashi just sighed in response.
A fox cub, a mere child of its kind seemed to spark something deep inside of Naruto however. His eyes faded from the gorgeous depths of a bright tone of blue to the mysteriously dangerous deep red that mimicked the shade of blood. His pupils stretched out into flat slits, like a cat or even as a snakes' would, thin lines of onyx that shun from the flames below contrasted against the red. Nails were converting into claws, feral and unkempt. The three scars that slashed each of the sides on his cheek bones became thicker and more prominent. Naruto's hair had also seemed to grow in an instant, becoming an even more tangled blonde mess. But to his fellow team mate and friend, Kakashi, it was noted silently by him that the boy, for once, was actually able to control his feelings within this mode. They weren't taken over by the nine- tailed demon that resided within the Jinjuriki. The Kuuybi, however, seemed just as curious as Naruto himself, allowing the boy to take over the chakra intake without the risk of complete possession.
Naruto crept forward, slowly and gently. Only a foot apart from the seemingly innocent cub, he crouched down and, and looked it straight in the eyes. It whimpered quietly in response, unsure of the strangely clothed creature before him. The two of its fellow kind stayed back, obviously shocked of his transformation, yet still alert if the boy were to strike at any time. The cub's large tail drooped down in between its back legs, ears sagging down as it cowered before Naruto's now fierce look- his playfulness disappearing instantly.
To Naruto's surprise, the fox cub decided to drop down and roll over, exposing its creamy coloured stomach as though it were an act of a friendship. The teenage ninja found himself stroking its soft fur on its stomach, up to its jaw and back down again. A small purr like growl came from inside the fox's small throat. Naruto's lips moved by themselves as a soft growl brewed from deep in the back of his own throat and came out in response. With a sudden yip the fox cub brought Naruto back to his seemingly usual self, ruby eyes back to sapphire.
Remembering where he was he leapt back, looking around crazed and confused. Kakashi and Sakura stared at him with large concerned eyes. Sakura was visibly shaking beside the elder man, unaware of what just occurred.
"Are you okay Naruto?" asked Kakashi, his usually confident voice wavering slightly, "what do you think just happened?" stepping toward him with ease.
"I... I don't know..." Naruto mumbled back.
He looked back over to the bush, the fox cub was nowhere in sight. Naruto shook his head, raking his hair away from his forehead with his tanned hands.
"L… let's just get to bed, were going back to K… Kohona tomorrow so I guess I'll tell the old Hokage what happened, and we'll see what happens from t… there..." Naruto told Sakura and Kakashi as he crawled into his sleeping bag, exhausted.
Both nodded in agreement, still astounded at what they had just witnessed.