"Demon Speaking"
'thinking'
"SHOUTING/Summon/Jutsu"
Disclaimer: I….don't own Naruto. *SNIFF*
Prologue: Fox Child.
There was darkness all around her.
And it was…wet.
Ew.
Youko slowly began to regain her bearings, stretching sore joints, blinking her scarlet eyes and attempting to get a feel of her surroundings. No such luck was granted to her. She felt as if Gamabunta or even Shikaku had been dropped atop her…again. She attempted to get up, but found that she was far too weak to do so. She gave a hollow little laugh, and growled to herself. Where was she? And why was even moving so difficult? Several moments of struggling yielded some results, mostly slamming into something…metal and cyndrical. Eventually she realized that she was behind…bars.
"Bars? Since when have I been behind bars?" Confusion twisted her features. She slowly got up from her position on the ground, and lumbered over. With a look of boredom and resignation, she growled, "The last thing I remember was comforting my kit…" There was no way of telling how long that she had been in this state, and that unnerved the beast of legend. Her long claws clacked as she touched the bars; had she been re-sealed? Her little home had been a cottage, with pure air and a little koi pond. That was strange. The seal should have held up during the labor….
"How long has it been? And why can't I remember anything?" Surely if she could leave this host's body, she would be able to tell how long it had been and why she couldn't remember anything. Morphing to a humanoid form, she sat cross-legged and shut her eyes, pouring all of her concentration into manifesting herself outside of this…vessel, so to speak.
In the chaos following the Kyuubi no Kitsune's vicious assault on Konohagakure no Sato; there was a sense of disorder and confusion that prevailed all other incidents before. It was not like wartime, where assaults were requently expected and anticipated. Despite widespread and popular believe, war was not the most dangerous time for a shinobi. It was peacetime, for no one would anticipate disaster. As Sarutobi Hiruzen would later reflect; he should have chosen a better guard to watch over Naruto, but in the end, all those who would later witness the events that would lead to an amusing future, it was perhaps for the best.
Hatake Kakashi knew that a lesser shinobi would despise the babe resting peacefully in this crib, but despite everything, he couldn't bring himself to hate his otouto-chan. Gone was his surrogate father and mother, lost to the rampaging beast. Being one of the few truly close to the Namikaze, however, he couldn't help but wonder what provoked the beast in such a manner. Kushina's labor had been going so well, and then hell all broke loose…Kushina had mentioned she'd heard nothing from the fox since the day before. Standing up from beside the crib, he caressed the downy head of blonde and reluctantly left the child's side, nodding at the medic-nin who came to check up on the baby. He nodded, and then walked down the hall to help with the transport of bodies…or anything that needed to be done. Anything to take the mind of the young man off of the loss of his father and mother figures. So absorbed in his rare spiel of self-pity he was, that he didn't feel the malevolent air rolling off of his replacement.
Sadako Ume was not the best nor was she the worst. After graduating from the academy at 11, she'd been put on a team with a Aburame and a Uchiha, had taken an interest in medical jutsu, and after attaining Chuunin rank, settled into a fairly cozy and nondescript position at the hospital. She was average, even in shinobi terms, and neither had a notable clan nor abilities.
She had also recently lost her husband and brother to the fox.
Although she appeared calm and composed, hatred and bitterness simmered deep beneath the surface and would eventually crack and flare up. Looking over to the crib, her eyes widened and she smirked; here was her chance to get revenge. To avenge the death of her beloved husband and treasured brother. There the cursed demon was, mocking her loss with its existence, possessing the form of an innocent child. She wasn't fooled. Slipping her hand into a pocket of her Chuunin flak jacket, she brought out a scapel. How easy would it be? To slice his vulnerable little neck open? Yes…that was her plan.
That's when a wave of chakra lashed out and pinned her to the wall. Ume panicked and looked down, struggling to breath as the chakra, solid and burning choked her and a demonic voice filled the room,
"How dare you attempt to touch my kit? You vile creature, attempting to kill an innocent child. I should draw out and agonize your death…" Ume, sputtering and gagging managed to fixtate her eyes on the baby, and above it was formed two coal-fire eyes of death, fixed upon her and glowing ominously. The entity within that child wanted her dead. But before it could crush her neck, as it was so capable of doing, it paused.
"…your eyes speak of grief. You have lost…because of me. And for that, I am sorry." With that, Ume's neck was snapped, and the woman knew no more as she dropped to the ground.
For a few moments, the room was still, save the tiny, new breaths of the tiny baby, and then a hissing noise could be heard. An amount of red chakra began to pour out of the baby and into the woman, transforming Ume's cooling corpse into something else…something demonic.
Ume's pale skin turned sun-kissed, and her short black hair lengthened and turned the color of blood. Her stubby nails strengthened and sharpened, becoming claws in mere seconds. Her ears melted away and two fox ears appeared atop her head, long and edged in black streaks of fur. Six thick, jagged whisker marks appeared on her cheeks, and the hints of fangs could be viewed between two red lips. The body's proportions lengthened and swelled as the host saw fit, to a figure she could be proud of. Her neck snapped back into place, and she grew from 5'3 to 5'9.
The transformation was completed when her once brown eyes opened, revealing that her eyes were scarlet, shining bright and anxious in the darkness.
When Youko opened her eyes and took in her new body, she was satisfied. This one was young, it would need some chakra enforcement, but now that she realized what had happened, that would have to wait. She checked her reserves, realizing that she only had 15 percent of her full reserves. That was fine, with that alone she could take on four or five armies. Walking over to the crib, painfully aware of Ume's now tight clothes on her elongated frame, she looked down and smiled at the latest Namikaze-Uzumaki clan member.
"Hello there, Naruto." At first, she'd been annoyed that her kit and kit's husband saw fit to name their child 'fishcake', but after giving into curiosity and reading through Jiraiya's (admittedly terrible) novel, she understood and appreciated why. Her smile only widened when she lowered a claw-tipped finger into the crib to gently caress his chubby little cheeks and he gripped it in his deep slumber. The smile of pure bliss on her face, however, slipped into nothingness as she reflected on her current situation. From what she managed to sort through her memories and find was that someone had taken advantage of Kushina's weakened state and released her, taken control of her and used her to all but destroy the Leaf Village. She'd never held any great love for the place; even in the days where Mito had been her vessel, she hadn't be fond of it, the people were seemingly holy and upstanding, but disgustingly quick to judge and condemn.
In a valiant attempt to stop her, Minato and Kushina had given their lives and sealed her into their newborn baby, the birth of which she had been anticipating so readily. This was like a blow to the gut. But this child…her descendant had managed to maintain 85% of her power. Yes, part of it could be attributed to the seal, but much of it…it meant that finally…after so many generations of her children, the famous, long lived Uzumaki…
She finally had a proper heir.
These were neither the circumstances nor situation she had hoped for when he had finally appeared, but as she looked down at Naruto, she knew the Kurama, Uzumaki, nor Namikaze clans would not be blown out like a candle by the wind.
She poked around in the room for a blanket, which she quickly found and wrapped him up in. Only then did he wake up, having been jostled around by this new person. At first, his little nose scrunched up and he looked as if he were going to burst into tears, but then she shushed him gently and began talking to him,
"Don't be frightened, little Naru. I'm your Kyu-baa-chan." The baby sniffled and looked up at her with wide bluebell eyes. "Your parents made a great sacrifice to save you. And I intend to shield their little Will of Fire." She smiled and caressed his cheek again, making him yawn. Bah, he was too young for any complex expressions yet. Before she could make a quick escape into the darkness, however, three Jounin appeared in the doorway.
"…who the hell are you?!"
"Why are you holding the demon brat?!" Youko growled lowly at her child being called 'demon brat', and turned to face them fully. Blood drained from their faces as took in the tall, obviously disgruntled woman, and she grabbed the closest one, a deranged grin taking over her features and one unruly bang covering an eye, voice growling out the request,
"Where is Sarutobi-jiji-sama?" They were stunned first by her referring to their (reinstated) Hokage in such an informal manner, but out of pure fear, pointed her in the man's direction. She narrowed her eyes and let go of the man, thrusting him backwards and walking out of the room. She received stares and looks of confusion and fear as she walked down the hall; she could hear the moans of the living and the screams of the dying. Somehow, she wished she could stop it, but her large reserves and demonic chakra made healing arts impossible. Despite her dislike of Konoha, it twisted her insides that she was responsible for this.
Not long after her journey began, it ended, and she came upon the locked and sealed Council Room door. Before she could step towards it, two ANBU blocked her path, and her eyebrow twitched when she sensed them staring at the sleeping bundle in her arms. The first, wearing a bird mask, placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to blink in surprise and look at the hand,
"You are not authorized to be here." Youko blinked again, and then gripped the guard's hand, flinging him casually to the side. His partner seemed almost disturbed as he hit a wall, sending a web system of cracks throughout the reputedly strong materials of the structure. The partner then jumped into action, leaping towards the woman and aiming for a side where the baby would not be harmed. Youko smoothly sidestepped the blow, gripping the man by his shoulder and flipping him calmly over her leg. He crashed into the ground and, focusing chakra in her fist, smashed a blow into his gut. Standing back up straight and checking little Naruto, she scoffed,
"Feh. I don't need…" Raising her leg, she kicked the door in, taking in the faces of the shocked Shinobi Council Members and the terrified, indignant expressions of the Civilian Council. "…authorization."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had a headache.
When Youko had vanished a mere day before Kushina was due, they were worried. The Kitsune had been blabbering on and on about the impending birth of a new kit in her family, so when she upped and disappeared, they had been more worried than usual. Although most of her power had been sealed away into Kushina, the youkai still came and went as she pleased, having disappeared for up to months at a time in order to travel.
But when Kushina and Minato told her about the coming new addition, the demoness had all but become a housewife.
Then the seal, weakened by childbirth broke.
Then the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konohagakure at full power.
That alone was enough to jar Minato and Kushina, who had been shocked and appalled by their 'kaa-sama's actions. But he and anyone who had known who and what Youko was that something was horribly wrong with the situation. Yes, her 100% power was enough to make anyone snap and lose their minds. Including her, hence the sealing tradition she had her descendant, Mito, enact.
But this had been provoked. Something in the fox's eyes didn't seem right, even with her 'snapped' state.
Then Minato and Kushina had sacrificed themselves to the seal, and died. A day and a half had passed, and yet no sign of Youko. He was sure she would have noticed the change in host. Then he had made a grave mistake in announcing what had been done to the populace, and now there was a cry for the blood of an infant. The council meeting called immediately post that debacle did nothing to assist the situation; the civilian council called for blood, like the populace, the shinobi council was divided, and Danzo wanted the boy to be trained. The war-hawk stated,
"He would be best utilized as a weapon for the betterment of the village…" A civilian council member snapped,
"Are you crazy?! The demon would turn on us in a heart-beat and kill us all! I say we finish what the Fourth started." There were several assents of agreement, but one clan head burst in, eyes bright with rage.
"What did the kid ever do to us?! He's the only thing between us and the damn fox!" Hiruzen sighed, hiding the slightest of grins; Inuzaka Tsume was a great ninja, with her heart in the right place, but she was still young and outspoken. "All of you are real fuckers for wanting to kill a baby!" Her old teammate, Hiashi nodded in agreement,
"As uneasy about the situation as I am, Inuzaka-sama is correct. Acting rashly would put us in more danger than is necessary." There were several more nods around the table and some protests, but before anyone could get anywhere, the door flew off of the hinges and narrowly missed a portly civilian fortunate enough to duck.
"No one's killing or turning the child into a weapon." A woman who looked otherwise nondescript, save her bright red hair stared at them, daring the inhabitants to challenge her. A man stood, roaring at her,
"Woman know your—
The man collapsed to the ground, staring up at her with wide eyes chocked full of fear and terror. His gut was in knots, and a pressure that could be sliced with a sword descended on him. The intensity was all centered on him, but civilian and shinobi alike shivered from the raw, demonic killer intent that rolled off of the woman. She gave him a final glare, and turned her gaze around the room, smirking as she saw the weaker half of the council shiver in their seats. In a semi-cheery voice and a smile on her face,
"Now that I have your tragically short and miserable attentions, I'd like to get to the matter concerning this little puff of sunshine." Her expression sobered in a flash and she continued, "I will be taking the child away from here."
That caused all hell to break loose.
"What gives you the right?!"
"You idiot, you'll doom us! The demon will kill us!"
"You'll be giving a weapon right into the enemy's hands!" Hiruzen frowned; she seemed familiar. His gaze connected with hers, and for a split second only the most trained eye would catch, her brown eyes flashed slitted scarlet. His eyes widened, 'Youko!'
Looking to her side, she handed baby Naruto off to Tsume, who immediately began to fuss (in her own Inuzaka way) the sleeping infant, and released another wave of potent killer intent towards the imbeciles who had gathered the balls to speak out against her. Growling, she snarled, curling her lip,
"You were supposed to say 'Yea' or 'Nay to the fucking question, miserable peons. Call the baby a weapon or a demon again, and I will have a party with your rotten, fatty entrails and deliver your hearts to your families." The three individuals shook and one even fainted. Later investigation would show that he even soiled himself. The woman looked at the passed-out man, huffed, and turned back, face set in stone, "I would like a private audience with the honorable Sandaime Hokage-sama." She bowed in a reverent manner; Hiruzen truly knew it was her. The playful demon could turn from frightening to meek and respectful on a dime. The Sandaime nodded,
"Request granted." As the members filed out, Tsume (reluctantly) gave Naruto back to the woman, and once the room was clear and barriers placed to make their conversations private, the esteemed 'Professor' told her:
"Welcome back, Youko-dono." The woman gave a healthy sigh and dropped her henge.
"Forgive me, Sarutobi-jiji!" She bowed again and raised her head. Her fangs were gritted and remorse shone in her eyes. "I have no idea what happened…all I remembered was spinning and then I woke up." Sarutobi gave her a reassuring look but wondered, worried about what she meant by 'spinning'. He would worry about that later; that baby in her hands was more important at the moment.
"It was no fault of yours, Youko. You were vulnerable, and some scum took advantage of that. Although we will have to further investigate the seal." He frowned, "It should have protected you from whatever cheap trick has been pulled on you." Youko frowned,
"I highly doubt that was a cheap trick, Sarutobi-sama."
"No matter the trick, the person responsible had quite the knowledge of you and your seal." He shook his head, lacing his fingers, "However, it is over with and what has happened cannot be changed. We must focus on little Naruto there." The Kitsune raised her head, sniffing,
"I will not be raising him here. It's too dangerous and already attempts have been made on his life." Hiruzen's heart hurt when he heard that, but he attempted to plead,
"Konoha is his home, Youko-sama."
"They will not treat him kindly. They are afraid of what he is." She fixed an accusing eye on him, "You told them and have condemned him to their unfounded hatred. Hatred they should have for me, not him." The old man sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking at her with a tired gaze,
"My judgement was clouded. I have too much faith in the goodness of others and didn't think about the consequences. I didn't realize what would have happened. I only wanted them to acknowledge Minato, Kushina and Naruto's sacrifice." The fox-demon took a moment, paused, and then continued speaking, finding no lie, only sincerity in the man's words,
"Sarutobi-sama, that is both admirable and foolish." He grinned slightly at her,
"You're admonishing me now, Youko-baa-sama?" A vein throbbed on her forehead and she smiled disarmingly, but warned, voice dripping with venom,
"Have the crow's feet reached your head, baka? Don't call me that, ne." She calmed slightly and continued, "I will take him to the remains of my home, Uzushiogakure and to the fox temple…and when he is old enough, raise him on the road so that he shall have experiences and become a Kitsune Sennin." Hiruzen stared, jaw nearly on the ground. There had been no Fox Sennin for nearly 300 years, no one had been born with the ability nor the chakra. However, Youko's face was perfectly serious. He could attempt to stop her again, but he sighed; it was her right as his ancestor and as of now, mother.
"Very well." The youkai raised her head,
"However, there is an individual I must ask to accompany us before we can set out, a person that Minato-kun would want heavily involved in Naruto's life…a good man but I honestly question his…" Sarutobi laughed; he knew full well who Kyuubi was speaking about,
"He is a good man and a powerful shinobi, Youko. Serious and dependable when he is needed." Careful of the baby, she snapped back,
"I know! I was his comrade in the Great Shinobi War. I know, Sarutobi-jiji." Back to the nicknames. A slight blush crossed her features as she recounted, "He's so disgusting, however. How did they decide he would be a good godfather for Naruto?" Hiruzen laughed a bit, it was no secret that the fox was slightly fascinated and confused by Jiraiya's behavior, but she held a deep-seated respect for the man. And despite her hesitation, he knew that she knew he'd be perfectly capable for the job of bringing up a powerful shinobi.
"No."
Fists slammed down on the table and large, full breasts jiggled, much to Jiraiya's amusement. Youko snapped,
"What do you mean, no?!" It was fortunate that they were using the Namikaze compound as a meeting place, otherwise the screech Youko had belted out would terrify regular people. Tightening her fists, she growled at the toad sage, "He is your godson, you lump of s—
"The Kitsune Temple? They hate toads, I'd be killed on the spot!" Youko sighed; that was an issue. When Jiraiya returned to the village, he'd set about to helping and mourning, while Youko made herself and Naruto scare; it was only three weeks in that she managed to pin him down and invite him for tea. When she told him that she planned to take Naruto away, he'd immediately said that he was coming with her, that he'd be damned if anyone touched his godson. When she mentioned Uzushiogakure, he'd grown hesitant, but still assented that he was coming.
But once she brought up the sacred Fox Temple, she lost him.
"Don't be a pussy, Toad Sannin! You've taken on worse opponents, man up and grow a pair!" Jiraiya scowled and said,
"And risk starting a Summon war? No thank you! I'd stay behind at one of the civilian towns, if you're going there."
"I need you to help me with Naruto!"
"The kid would be fine without me for a couple of months!"
"The training can take up to 3 years! Man up, asshole!" Jiraiya glared at the redhead, who glared back. She searched his eyes; he'd come, but he wouldn't budge on that little detail. Unless…unless she did what had to be done. She sat back, loosening her yukata by just a bit, allowing him to see a bit of the 105 cm bust that had made men drool and turn into dogs in the past.
"Come with us to the Sacred Kitsune Temple…and I'll help you with your 'research'." That was a hell of a curveball, the white-haired legend had to admit. Research with an ages-old but admittedly beautiful fox demon, or being beat to a pulp at multiple hot springs. It was tough resisting such a golden opportunity. As he imagined the possibilities, a slight trickle of blood came from his nose and she sighed; how was such a pervert one of history's strongest shinobi? He caught himself, however, wiping his nose. He wouldn't be swayed so easily on such a topic.
"Hm…I'm considering it." She sighed deeply, and looked him in the eyes,
"I'll do whatever your 'research' entails, and when I deem Naruto-kun ready to take what is his..." A deep blush crossed her face, and she looked down, pouring a glass of sake and looking rather annoyed with herself and the situation, "I'll give you what you have always wanted." Jiraiya's eyes widened; that last portion was serious. The bit of their detail entailing his 'research' was a bonus prize compared to what she had placed before him. It would take years, but now…
"Alright, Youko-hime. I'm sticking to you like shuriken on a training post." He offered her a grin and she looked ready to hit him. Then her face softened and she moved to hug him,
"Thank you, Jiraiya-kun." He was surprised by the gesture; kind the fox was, but physical she was not. He sighed and rubbed her back, returning her embrace. The sweet moment was ruined as he slid his hand down, gave a tight squeeze and giggled lecherously,
"How about we start on that research now, hmmmm?"
Those rebuilding in Konoha that were unfortunately close heard screams of pain coming from the Namikaze compound, and prayed for the poor soul trapped.
"IT WAS A SUGGESTION!"
"I SAID AT THE DAMN TEMPLE!"
They set out in the dead of night 8 days later.
Few had shown up to see them off; Hiruzen, Kakashi, Hiashi, Shikaku and several others. Some were there out of respect to the deceased Hokage and his legacy, others wanted to glimpse the boy they would not see for quite some time or however long Jiraiya and Youko deemed he needed before he would return and claim his village. Youko let Kakashi have all the time he needed with the baby, watching fondly as he openly spoke to and cooed over the wide-awake baby.
'What brilliant blue eyes. Just like his father.' Youko smiled as she conceded, 'I have perfect confidence he will surpass his begetter.' A heavy hand rested on her shoulder and her white-haired companion warned, a look of seriousness on his features,
"If we don't leave soon, the civilians will notice us and cause a commotion." The woman nodded, pulling up the face-mask she had on to cover her tell-tale cheeks and teeth. Placing a henge on herself, she held her arms out for Naruto and smiled gently at Kakashi, whose eyes had taken on a misty sheen to them,
"Cheer up, Kakashi-kun! Naru-chan will be back before you know it and you'll get to train him and teach him all that you know." The silver-haired Jounin, who looked so young and vulnerable in that split second, nodded, smiled and confessed,
"I'll miss you too, baa-chan." Youko smiled and ruffled his hair; she'd let him get away with it this once. Once the goodbyes and wellwishes had been said, and little Naruto had passed around his sunny, gummy smiles to all, they set out on foot into the darkness, melding completely into the shadows after several moments.
It was then that a future was changed and a legend was born.
*End Prologue*
Sai's Corner (A/N): I'm gonna be perfectly honest. This will be a Naruto/harem story…eventually. Not right now,But eventually. This will also be an eventual Godlike/Bloodline Naruto story. Tell me what girls you want in there, but I will say this now, Sakura and Ino will not be amongst those girls. Eventually I will put up a poll and you can let me know. I'm aiming for 5, maybe 6 girls. I may just do a monster one for the hell of it, but for now, please enjoy the plot.
As you can see, I'm playing around with a couple of things I haven't seen on before. If they're there, forgive me and please send a link to said story. Number 1 is Youko (Kyuubi's) relation to the Uzumaki clan, not as a guardian but as an ancestor. Red hair, large chakra reserves, long lives...had to come from somewhere. I just think it's possible. Number 2 is a Jiraya/Fem!Kyuubi ship. I'm a diehard JiraTsu shipper, but I've decided to give this a try! Reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. Flames are not.