A Kitsune in Konoha
By: Hidden Fox Salix
Written over by: Liz
Memories of the Past
Screams of civilians and ninjas alike fill the air as fireballs and crumpling buildings fall around them. A great fiery mix of red and black is seen trampling closer to the village. Waves of destruction and chaos following it's steps as the figure unleashes another barrel of assault against the village's defenders. Trees burning and children wailing all around as all try to get out of harm's way.
Suddenly, as if appearing out of thin air, an enormous toad jumps in the path of the destructive demon. A young blond, almost too small to see from the ground, is heard shouting at the demon. Under closer inspection, the young blond is the Yondaime of Konoha. Concentrated on the job at hand, the Yondaime focus on a series of hand seals. With all of his remaining chakra poured on the last seal, he glances down and tears of sadness fall from his eyes.
"I love you."
Those were his last words before he fell to the ground, the summoned toad disappearing in smoke, and a small bundle with fox looking ears and tail sticking out. A slight human whimper can be heard coming from the bundle.
Five hours have passed since the fall of the beloved Yondaime and a small group of men surround the small bundle that was dropped by him. Gently lifting away the blanket surrounding the bundle's top, a small baby boy with little puffs of blond hair is seen. Moving him to a little bassinet in the corner of the office, an elderly man caress the babe's cheek. How innocent! The babe seem to be sleeping without a care not knowing his fate was to be decided at that very moment.
'Just like his father, though the tail and ears are not. ' His thoughts seem to be replicated by the other three gentlemen in the room as they stare at their fallen comrade's son. Slightly unnerved by the sight of fox ears and tails, the white haired fellow yelled without thinking of the little one.
"Sarutobi-sensei! Why does he have fox tail and ears?" Outraged that his student's son is altered, he continues. "The seal was perfectly created by Arashi." Outrage is too kind of a word really to describe the emotions he was feeling. How can a child of two powerful people be altered in such a horrible way.
The old man now identified as Sarutobi, the no longer retired Third Hokage, moves away from the bassinet and turns away from the surprisingly still sleeping child. Throwing a pointed glare at his once student, Sarutobi speaks.
"Jiraiya, there's no need to yell. And to answer your question, Hyuuga-sama will be answering you shortly." Motioning the white-eyed, straight black haired man on Jiraiya's right to proceed, Sarutobi allowed Hiashi Hyuuga, current leader of the Hyuuga clan, to examine the complex array of seals still visible to the human eye.
"Byakugan!" Shock registered the usual stoic clan head's body language.
"Hokage-sama," he stuttered, "the seal seems to be leaking the Kyuubi's Youkai into the child's chakra pathways and its being cleansed somehow by the child's chakra."
A chuckle arose from the last gentleman in the room. Fugaku Uchiha, the Uchiha clan head and teammate of the late Hokage, shook his head.
"That's just like Arashi to make such a seal that it can purify demonic chakra for the boy to use himself isn't it Hiashi? That man was a genius and a prankster up until his demise."
The room seemed to have lightened up a bit as each man remember their good friend. Each one remembering the young blond taken from the world to soon and the son he so happily wanted. As each passing moment, the men dove deeper in to their sorrowful memories, the room's presence began to change. A quiet breeze moved throughout the room, though the window was locked.
Then, as if remembering something, Sarutobi concentrates on the baby's seal.
"Hiashi, do you think the sudden influx of the Kyuubi's chakra could've been what cause the tail and ears?"
Watching the baby boy turn slightly, Hiashi nods at the old man.
"Hai Hokage-Sama."
Realizing that the child would have to live and learn to adjust to his slight additions, Sarutobi stared at the three men.
"We must keep him safe and train him as soon as possible to adjust to his tail and ears. If his ears are like that of a fox's, he will have a hard time with the villagers. Civilians and ninja alike are not going to laid down the hatred they have for anything remotely similar to a fox anytime soon. We have to show them that they have to respect the boy, even if they don't like him."
Jiraiya frowns at his sensei's words. How could anyone hate the little baby in front of him?
While disturbed by the Hokage's words, neither Fugaku nor Hiashi could argue with that line of thought. The fox destroyed families, killed many of their fellow ninjas, wrecked havoc on a third of the village's defenses. Both men looked sadly at the young blonde. Their friend died protecting them and now his son will suffer the backlash of those that suffered, if they did nothing to help. They couldn't even announce that the little baby was The Fourth's son, since they were sworn to not do such a thing until a certain time. Looking at each other and then back at the child, both men came up with the same thought.
"We will raise him." They said in union.
Sarutobi ponders for a moment, With the protection of both clans, the villagers would not try anything directly to the boy's face or vision. He could spread some words to the lesser clans, reminding them of their loyalty to their fallen friend. Yes, the ninja clans could protect the young lad until he was able to do it himself. Staring at said lad, Sarutobi nods.
"Good luck gentlemen. You're going to need it."
Updated: January 22,2014