Pink hair blew in the wind on a small apartment balcony. A young girl stared at the giant gate and wall surrounding her village and longed to get out and explore. "Sakura, come here!"The young girls known as Sakura sighed, and walked back inside to see what her mother wanted. She walked into the living room and looked at her mother. "Yes mother, what do you need?" Her mother's light red hair was stained with white paint just like her clothes.
She turned her head to look over her shoulder and pointed to the bucket of paint on the couch. "Can you open that?" She laughed nervously as Sakura started to open it. "Thanks Hun, now can you bring it over here?" She asked. With a sigh Sakura grabbed the handle and brought it over. "Mom……why are you repainting this room…..again?" She asked.
Her mother pointed to a dark spot on the wall. "Just this part……some of the paint got chipped off." She told her. Sakura just rolled her eyes and started for the door. "Hey where are you going?" Her mother asked as Sakura gripped the handle. "Out..." She responded. Her mother raised an eyebrow and jumped off the latter. "Where too?" She asked.
Sakura beamed at her. "Where ever I want! Stay out of my business!" She opened the door and was gone before her mother could respond. 'I knew I couldn't keep her in the house forever……….' She thought as she grabbed the paintbrush and started painting again. 'Maybe I should let her out more often…………'
She did it! She was finally out of her village, and ready to explore the forest like she always wanted. She took a deep breath and walked through the trees. 'It's so peaceful out here…' She thought as she saw a bird eating a berry off of a bush. 'The animals are cute too….' Then she heard a painful squeal from the bush behind her and she jumped. "What was that?" She looked at the bush and it started to shake, then came a soft whimper. She then walked closer as the whimpering didn't stop.
"Hello?" She called to the bush as she reached out for it. The whimpering grew silent and she stopped. When the whimpering started again she reached for it once more. She grabbed two branched and pulled them apart, and there it was; the source of the whimpering. 'Its………Its so cute…….' She thought. She took her free hand and reached down. Hesitating at first, she ran her fingers through the aubern colored hair that belonged to the small fox before her.
"What's wrong little fella? Why are you whimpering?" She asked it. It opened his eyes after the question, revealing beautiful blue eyes. She looked at the eyes and her own eyes widened. She had never seen such beautiful eyes. They were so different. She touched his leg by mistake and its eyes immediately shut as it squealed in pain. She gasped and pulled away. "I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…" The eyes slowly opened and looked at her once more. It tried to stand up, but failed as its leg gave out on him.
"Oh don't do that……." She reached over and grabbed him. "Here, I'll take you home and help your leg ok?" She cradled him and handled his leg gently as she headed home. She looked down at the small fox and smiled. He was already used to being held by her as he made him self comfortable. "You're so cute…" Taking notice of her compliment he gave her a small bark. She gave him a small chuckle in return as they approached the village gate.
"Hello may I help you?" Asked the woman behind the Vets main desk. Sakura smiled and held up the tiny fox so she could see him. "Yes I found this little fox, and I think his leg is broken." She told her. The woman took out a clipboard and gave it to her. "Okay, just fill this out and we'll take him." She said with a smile. Sakura nodded and took the clipboard with her mouth, since she was holding the fox. She sat down and gently laid him down on her lap. She started to fill it out, but stopped when she came to the pet's name section.
She looked at the woman behind the desk and got her attention. "Yes what is it?" The woman asked. Sakura pointed to the sleeping fox. "He doesn't have a name, I just found him." The woman walked over and pointed to the pet's name section. "Then just put stray/found there." She told her. Sakura nodded and wrote it down. She then gave the woman the clip board not to long after. Then she sat back down and pet the fox's head, as he purred in comfort and joy. "Okay Sakura, we can see you're fox now." Called a Vet from a doorway. So Sakura grabbed the fox and followed the Vet to his office.
"There." Sakura set the fox down in front of the gate, and he turned around to look at her with his beautiful blue eyes. After a few moments, she knelt down and patted his head. "The Vet fixed your leg, so you can go home now." He just cocked his head as she waved her hands. "Go on, shoo…….go home." Disregarding her commands he jumped into her arms, knocked her over, and started licking her. "Oh….no…..no…no…..go home." She laughed as she pulled him off of her. She looked at his eyes and smiled. "Maybe I could keep you……….."
"BARK" He yelped as she stood up and laughed; still holding him. "Sound like a plan?" She asked him. Another bark was given as his response. "Okay, lets go home…" She started walking home but stopped when she realized something. "Hey…….." She mumbled. "I still haven't named you." She held him in front of her face so that she could see him stick his tongue out. "Ummmmmm, what should I call you." She looked at his blue eyes, and her own eyes drifted to the ramen stand to the side.
"Ramen…."He cocked his head as she looked at him again. "Okay, that's a no…." She looked at the ramen stand again and saw a bowl getting served. "Noodles?" He shook his head and she kept looking. "Pork?" He shook his head once again and made a little 'BLEH!' sound. She sighed and looked at the bowl again. The man with the bowl lifted some of the noodles out and she saw the swirly fish paste pieces hanging off the noodles and looked at the fox again. "Naruto?"
He quickly responded by nodding and barking once more. "You like that name………..Naruto?" He barked again and set him on his head. "Alright then let's go home." When they got home she snuck to her room so her mother wouldn't know. It was dark in her room so she turned on the light. "There……it's not much, but this is my room." She told him as he jumped off her head and onto the bed. She chuckled as he jumped around. "You're so cute Naruto." He gave her another bark and curled up at the foot of the bed.
Later she got into her pajamas and crawled into bed. "Good night Naruto, I'll see you in the morning." She turned off the lamp and lied down. After her eyes shut, Naruto's head perked up a little and he let out a soft whimper. She opened her eyes right after the whimper and looked at him. "What is it?" She asked. He got up from the small bundle and crawled over to her. "Naruto what are you……" He crawled under her arm and snuggled his snout under her chin. "Oh……you just wanted to cuddle…."She said as she giggled. "Okay I'm fine with it; just don't bite me when you're dreaming about food." She giggled again and kissed his small black nose. "I'll see you in the morning."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1 year later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"AHHHHHHHHH, GET THAT RAT OUT OF HERE!!!!" Sakura shot out of her bed after her mother's entry and screamed herself. Naruto; while squealing jumped off the bed to dodge the broom heading his way. "Mother, what are you doing?!" Sakura yelled as her mother took another swing at Naruto. "A RAT! A RAT WAS IN YOUR BED!!!" She screamed. Sakura got out of her bed and quickly scooped Naruto up. "Mom, he's not a rat, he's a fox." She said. Her mother just snorted at her. "I don't care! Get him out!!" Sakura held the poor fox close and growled at her mother. "MOM,HES MINE!"
Her mother lowered the broom a little to think, but after a few seconds she raised it high once more. "SAKURA THAT'S A WILD ANIMAL!!" She yelled. "You cant just keep it!" Sakura immediately beamed at her. "HE'S NOT AN 'IT' AND HES GOT A NAME! HIS NAME IS NARUTO!" Her mother just rolled her eyes. "Now that you've gone and named it, you're going to get attached." Sakura narrowed her eyes at her mother. "Mom, I've had him for a year, I'm already attached." This struck a cord with her mother and she walked over and grabbed Naruto by his tail; making him squeal. "MOM NO!" She walked out of the room and Sakura ran after her. "Mom stop it!"
She chased her mother outside of the village and saw her toss Naruto into some bushes. "YOU BIT-" "SAKURA!" Her mother pointed in the direction of their home. "Go home now!" She yelled. Sakura took one last look at Naruto as he poked his head out of the bush. It had been a whole year of hiding him from her mother, but now that she's been caught, it was time to let him go. "Yes mother…." She mumbled as she turned around and walked home. "I'm sorry……..Naruto………"
***************Naruto's side of the story******************
Naruto sat in the bushes and watched Sakura and her Mother walk away. He was furious at her mother for throwing him like that, and at the same time knew she was right. He was an animal, and she was just a human. If only there was a way he could be with her. A way so that er mother wouldn't grab him by the tail, call him a rat, and throw him away like garbage.
"You poor thing……….." Said a voice. Naruto spun around as soon as he heard it and growled. "In love with a human, but cant be with her because you're an animal……" The voice said again. A woman with purple hair walked over from behind a tree and he growled again. "I can help you…." She said quietly. He stopped growling as she pulled out a blanket from her robe. "I'm not lying, my dear fox….." She said as she poked his small black nose and he sneezed. "I'm a witch you see, and I'd be glad to help you win her heart."
His blue eyes blinked as she held out her hand. "What do you say?" He looked at her with wide eyes and nodded; making her smile sweetly. "Now don't worry sweetie, I'm not an evil witch, if that's why you're hesitating so much." She said with a soft giggle. He crawled closer as she held out her hand. "Now lets see what the real you looks like." She made a hand sign and touched his small furry forehead, and before he knew it, he felt taller, but he was still on the ground. "Now wrap this around you're waist dear and come with me." She said as she tossed him the blanket.
He stood up after she did, and wrapped the blanket around his waist, but when he tried to walk, he fell, and his blonde hair got in his face. The witch turned around and giggled as he looked around; not able to see. "Sweetie, your hair is in your face." She walked over and brushed his bangs to the side. His blue eyes never changed, and it seemed like the whiskers stayed. She rubbed his whisker marks as she hummed a nice tune, hoping they'd come off, but when they didn't, she just sighed. "So now that you're human………"She started as she helped him up. "Tell me you're name?"
He blinked and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. After a few moments of trying, the witch put a finger on his lips, and her other hand on her chest. "My name is Reina, what is your name?"She removed her finger after her introduction, and he tried again. "My………n-n-name………..i-is" She nodded as he tried to speak. "Yes, you're name is what Hun?" She asked as he tried again. "M-My….name…….i-is……….Na……Naru…………to……..Naruto." He took in a deep breath and she smiled as she grabbed his arm. "Well Naruto, I'm going to take you to my home, get you some clothes and teach you to talk and many other things, is that all right?" She asked. She giggled before she moved on. "You cant impress that girl if you babble like an idiot." He nodded slowly as they walked away from the village. "O-Okay…."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2 years later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sakura are you going to that party or what?" Sakura's mother stood in a doorway and looked at her 19 year old daughter. "Yeah………I was just day dreaming." Sakura said as she stood up. She made her bed and her mom raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What were you daydreaming about?" Her mother asked. She leaned on the door as Sakura fixed her gown. "Nothing really mom." Sakura turned around and grabbed a small purse on her way out. "I'll see you later mom." She kissed her mother's cheek and left without another word.
"I'm glad you could make it Sakura!" Sakura stood at the ballrooms door and smiled at her blonde friend. "Well, I'm just glad I'm not missing you're birthday Ino." Her friend known as Ino nodded. "Even if you weren't my friend, you'd be here anyway." Sakura nodded back as they both walked in. "Yeah, you invited the whole village again, didn't you?" Ino nodded once more as she fixed her sleeve. "Yup, walk-ins are welcome, but they have to dress formal." They both giggled. "I know Ino, I know." Ino then grabbed her arm and pulled her to the center. "Find a guy to dance with Sakura." She said as she claimed a boy.
Sakura looked around, but didn't find anyone very interesting. "Ino, I don't want to dance with any of them." She said over her shoulder. Ino stopped dancing and walked over. "Ummmm what about that guy?" She asked as she pointed to a brunette. Sakura just shook her head. "He's got a date." She mumbled. Ino blinked. "Oh……." She glanced over to the door and saw people entering. "Then ask the next single guy that comes through that door." She said as she pointed to the door. Sakura then nodded and walked over to the door. She just kept watching guy, by guy come inside. All were single but she just didn't seem interested. 'She's so picky………..' Ino thought as she danced with her partner.
She looked at one go by and was about to ask, but shook her head and went back to watching the doorway. One guy even walked up to her and asked her to dance, but she refused. Then 1 caught her eyes. He wore a black tux like the rest of them, but stood out the most. His wild blonde hair as yellow as the sun……………it just stood out, like a hammer in a nail box. She immeditly grabbed is arm; startling the poor boy, and pulled him to the side.
"Hi, I'm Sakura Haruno, will you dance with me?!" She asked a little impatiently. The boy's blue eyes blinked, and a foxy grin spread across his face. "Sure…" He said. She smiled and pulled him to the middle and they both started dancing. Ino noticed his blonde hair as soon as he stepped on the dancing platform and smiled. 'Ooooooo, he's cute." She thought, as Sakura was enjoying her dance. Sakura eventually looked into his beautiful blue eyes and got lost in them. She had never seen such beautiful eyes before. They were so different, so unique……..NO……….She's seen these eyes before; 2 years ago, on a fox………..
"What's your name?" She asked as they danced. He gave her another foxy smile. "My name?" Sakura nodded. "Yes, your name, I've seen you're eyes somewhere." She explained. He raised an eyebrow, and chuckled a bit. "What's so funny?" She asked. He stopped laughing and looked into her eyes, which made her blush a little. "I'm the only one with these eyes, who could you have seen with these eyes?" He asked with a sly smile. She just blinked and looked down.
"Well there was this fox and………………………WAIT!!" She beamed at him and pointed a finger in his face. "You're just trying to change the subject!" He looked at her finger for a few seconds and smiled, as she grabbed his hand to dance again. "Now tell me you're name." She demanded. He just smiled an leaned in a bit closer so only she could hear.
"My name is Naruto."
Her hands dropped to the sound of the name and she just stared with wide eyes. It finally made sense. The whiskers, the unique blue eye, and his name. Exactly like the little Fox she had two years ago. "N-Naruto?" She barely let it out, but he heard her and nodded. "That's my name, don't wear it out." He said proudly. She grabbed his collar and pulled him close, so that their eyes were inches away from each other. "Is this some kind of sick joke?!" She yelled quitly so she wouldn't make a scene. He shook his head, but then she shook him. "How did you know, I had a fox named Naruto?!" She asked.
She took her hand and rubbed his cheek. "You then go and draw on you're cheek!" She started rubbing harder, making his cheek turn a little red and him squint in pain. After a few seconds she stopped and saw that they didn't come off, and he gave her a blank expression. "Ummmm ok maybe the marks a real, but you must be wearing contacts!" He blinked as she looked real close to see the contacts outline around his iris.
She let go of his collar when she saw nothing and continued to stare. As he fixed his collar, he looked at her and smiled. "I'm not a fake Sakura-Chan, my name really is Naruto, and when you talk about me knowing that fox of yours well…………."He stopped when he noticed her eyes widen and she covered her mouth. "What is it? Something wrong?" He asked. She uncovered her mouth and pointed at him. "You're the fox………………..aren't you?"She asked. He chuckled as he rubbed the bottom of his nose. "How'd you guess?"Sakura's widened even more. "I'm r-right……..you r-really are?" She stuttered as she kept pointing.
He nodded as he smiled. "Yep, you caught me." He opened his eyes again and was immediately tackled by a hug. "Oh Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry my mom did that to you!" Sakura yelled, but not loud enough to stop the music. Blushing a little he hugged her back. "It's okay….." She jumped off him and wiped a tear from her eyes. "Besides…" He started as he took her hands to start dancing again. "If she hadn't of thrown me out, I would have never become human, and I wouldn't be here right now."
She stopped dancing with him again and looked at the ground. "Naruto-kun…….I don't really want to know how, but WHY did you become human?" She asked. She got no response for awhile, but then felt his hand lift her chin romantically. "So I could see you again, without being thrown away by you're mother." He said as he chuckled a bit. Then he looked inter her eyes; making her blush a lot more. "And………….so I can do this…………" His lips met hers and her eyes shot wide. It took a moment for her to soak in what was happening but then closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and joined the kiss.
When they pulled away, Naruto smiled nervously. "I know this might seem a bit awkward but, I love you Sakura-Chan, and I became human, learned to talk, to walk, to dance, and all these other things, just so I could be with you." She blinked and smiled back. "You know I wasn't in love with you, when you were a fox but from what you just showed me tonight………." She leaned in and gave him a nice peck on the lips before continuing.
"And all those things you did, just to see me again, that's just so sweet." He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "It w-was really hard y-you know heh……heh…." She grabbed his hand and started dancing with him again, as she let out a soft giggle. "Just be yourself, and dance with me." She said. He nodded and they both started dancing again, after another quick kiss.
When the party was finally over 4 hours later, Sakura had fallen in complete love with her Kitsune. She learned how much of a goofball he was when they took breaks from dancing, but she loved him anyway. Naruto and She were still slow dancing in the middle as people left the ballroom to go home, even if there was no music. Ino said goodbye to the last of her guests and saw the two still dancing before she left. She smiled and walked over. "Hey Sakura, I didn't know you could fall in love so quickly." She said playfully. They both parted and Sakura nodded. "Neither did I………" She said with a slight giggle. She then kissed Naruto slowly and romantically; making Ino smile. "Did you know him from before?" She asked. Sakura looked at Naruto for a second and then at Ino. "Yeah…..I did." She smiled at Ino and walked over to the exit, before turning around again. "Naruto…………if you truly love me…….then you'd prove it by coming home with me…." Her voice echoed so there was no way he could miss it. Ino giggled and elbowed the paralyzed Naruto. He knew exactly what she meant by 'GOING HOME' with her, and he soon snapped out of it and ran to her. "Yeah-Yeah of course I'll go home with you Sakura-Chan….." She giggled, gave him another kiss, and they both went home to begin their new life together…………..
…………….forever…………….
END
