By the way, Naruto does not belong to me

Based off the the manga chapter in the series Aria by Amano Kuzue. In Japan there is a small legend that when it rains while the sun shines it means that a kitsune (fox spirit/demon) takes a bride (i.e. gets married). There is no quote for this little ficlet.

note: this has been edited a little

It is said that fox dieties and spirits would whisk away humans to the other world if the human allowed themself to be taken. If that were to happen then the human would never be able to return to the human realm ever again.

Of course little five year old Naruto didn't know this.

Naruto was an inquisitive child that coudn't sit still for too very long, not that he acually wanted to sit still anyway. He was rather small for a boy his age but he found that sometimes that wasn't too much of a problem because he was able to quickly get away from any pursuer by squeezing himself through small openings that the bigger children and the adults couldn't possibly get past and then he would escape out of the refines of the orphanage into the forest of trees nearby and he would wait until he was sure that no one was trying to keep on his trail. He spent more time in the forest than he did in the orphanage, only going back when it was mealtime or time to go to sleep. He thought if he wasn't around too often then no one could blame anything on him and he wouldn't be in trouble. But even if he had an alibi it didn't stop the children or the caretakers blaming every mishap on the child.

Even though he really would have liked someone to play with but after so many times of parents dragging away any potential playmates he quickly learned not to get his hopes up when a child his age approached him. Even so he enjoyed the attention and the little time of companionship before it was taken away

He didn't understand why no one wanted him around. It wasn't like he did anything wrong and he really did try to follow his caretakers rules. So he spent the majority of his time in the forest that was right on the edge of the orphanage he lived in. The only time he really ever walked around the streets of Konoha was when Hokage-jiji would come over once or twice a month to take a walk and go out for ramen at Ichiraku.

It was spring and the weather was becoming warmer which Naruto was grateful for. He really didn't like the cold; it made him feel heavy, weak, and all he wanted to do was sleep the season away. The sun was shining that day and Naruto had once again escaped in through the dense trees. Only when he was positive that he wasn't being followed he began to explore further into the forest using a small stick to mark little swirls in the dirt at the base of some trees so he could find his way back again later.

He had been walking a while and he discovered a little winding dirt path and many traps set out to discourage any trespassers into Konoha and there were traps set out for animals in the area, he made sure to memorize where they were so he wouldn't be caught in one, he had already too many close calls and he had been caught in a few once before. He had also save a few animals from the traps; most of them had been foxes.

Naruto turned his head sharply to his right, stood very still and strained his ears for any sound out of the ordinary before he shook his head to clear his mind and continued on with his exploring . 'I thought I heard something...must have been a small animal, maybe a bird...?'

His attention was brought to the sky above him when he felt a water droplet hit his nose. The sun was out shining and there were white coulds but it was sprinkling with rain. He scurried over to the covers of the the trees surrounding the little path he found and watched the sky. He turned his again when he heard another noise but this time he could hear a little soft tinkling, like a little bell softly ringing in the wind.

Further down the road walking in a slow procession towards him two small figures dressed in haori and hakama, led the way with hand held lanterns, followed by a guard, then two females in kimono and veils walked with a smaller lanterns. Behind the two females in the middle of the line was a woman in a pure white wedding kimono, uchikake, and veil over her hair and ears The woman was followed by a guard holding a large parasol over the brides head to keep her from the light rain. then more smaller figures carrying hand held lanterns and guards that were armed with swords. Every single one of them were wearing a mask to cover their faces cloth to hide where their ears were supposed to be. Every single mask was in the shape of a fox. Naruto could barely conceal the his awe as they slowly approached.

Right when the bride was just about to pass him they all stopped in their tracks to turn their faces in Naruto's direction. The bride tilted her head slightly before she stepped away from the line and held her hand out to him. It was eerily silent as Naruto wondered what she wanted from him and though he couldn't see their eyes through the masks he could tell that they all had their eyes on him; all were waiting silent and patient.

Naruto looked back to the bride who still had her hand offered to him and he slowly reached his hand out, a little afraid that this could be a trick and then he would be in trouble for touching her hand. The woman waited until Naruto finally relaxed when he placed his hand in hers and did not pull himself away. She nodded to one of the guards behind her while she softly caressed Naruto's little hand with her thumb and he had the distinct feeling that she and the other masked people were smiling and he couldn't help but grin back.

The bride gently pulled him to stand next to her in the procession and he along with the fox masked people began to walk again with Naruto's hand still intertwined with the bride's. Just as the sun shower ended the procession disappeared as if they had never passed through along with the young jinchuuriki joining with them.

When Sarutobi visited the orphanage two days later he was met with the shocking news that the boy had gone into the forest and never came back. ANBU reports found nothing but a trail of swirls around the bases of some of the trees in the forest towards one of the small hunting trails but after that there was nothing, not even a scent to track by. It was as if the boy had vanished into thin air.