Konnichiwa, minna-san! This is my first ever posted fic and I do so hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. I welcome any and all thoughts on the story and my writing. I love positive reviews but critiques are just as good if not better since they improve my writing. As much as flamers are disliked, they are entitled to their opinions and I do respect that; just know that I expect the same courtesy with your flames, there is no reason to send a review ENTIRELY IN CAPS just to express your dislike of something.

This is a Fem!Naru fanfic, pairings are currently undecided but a poll is set up in my profile if you, the lovely readers, wish to participate in deciding! Fem!Naru shall also be strong!Naru and smart!Naru, as well as Kyuubi being partially free. This is rated T but it has the possibility of being higher... Maybe.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to Naruto, if I did I'd have a decent harem by now...

Now then! onward with the story!

Prologue

The setting sun peeked down through the meshing branches and leaves of the towering trees, dappling the ground in a patchwork of natural beauty. A soft sniffling could be heard coming from the bushes surrounding a clearing near the outer walls of Konahagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The sniffling stopped suddenly when a loud cry of anger and hatred sounded out through the morning air, shattering the peace and successfully scaring the young child that was currently hiding.

"Let's be quick about this, man. I don't wanna get caught by those damn lapdogs that are always following the demon bitch around," a man's voice reached the child's hiding place, causing the young blonde's body to freeze in fear so potent she nearly forgot to breath. When she started to breathe again, she nearly gave away her position in the foliage due to a sharp intake of breath the moment one of the civilian villager's feet came into her direct line of sight from her body's flattened posture. "Damn. I think we lost her, let's just head back; I doubt the distraction in the market is enough to occupy the ANBU for very long."

Receiving a grunt of approval from his companion, the two men walked away. It was still a few moments more when the blonde finally decided she could breathe easy. Her relief, however, was short lived as a pair of strong hands grabbed her ankles and yanked her, rather roughly, from her hiding place. Her sharp scream of fear and surprise was cut short by a large fist smashing into the side of her face from a quick backhand. Once she recovered enough from the blow she looked up at her captors, soon to be torturers, with tears streaking down her cheeks creating slightly muddy tracks on her dirty face.

She refused to let out even a small whimper; she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her in pain. She may have been the village pariah, and only a child, but she still had her pride. Unfortunately, because of her stubbornness to not yield or beg forgiveness, the men took it upon themselves to personally see to it that the demon child not only broke, but shattered. They wanted to see her body broken, her spirit splintered and her will demolished before they left.

And they succeeded. They left after about fifteen or twenty minutes; the young girl's body truly broken and battered by the time they left the clearing and headed back to the village. Once she was sure they were gone, she let the tears fall silently from her cerulean blue eyes. Once her tears had subsided a bit, she began calling out; crying, no begging, for anyone to help her.

Luckily her hiding spot, and the clearing it was next to, was close to the road. She didn't have to call out for long; the guards at the gate had heard her and came to her rescue. Once she was sure the guards were taking her to the hospital she fell unconscious. Her last thoughts being, 'Why? Why do they hate me? Why on my birthday? What did I do that I don't remember? Can't I just be normal? Just once, just for a little bit…'

With the chunin heading towards the hospital, she fell into the blessedly empty darkness of her subconscious. Looking down at the five year old blonde, the ninja sped up to get her to the hospital as fast as possible; knowing how attached the Sandaime Hokage was to the young bijuu container. Reaching the E.R., the chunin handed her to the doctors and ran off to inform the Hokage of his favorite orphan's ordeal.

/~0~\\

Dashing into the hospital, the Sandaime practically exuded uncontrollable anger and worry. Demanding the room number of his favorite blonde orphan, he nearly bowled over anyone that dared to stand in his way. Once outside of the Jinchuriki's room, the elderly man paused to collect his thoughts and catch his breath. He opened the door slowly, taking care to not wake the young girl. Once inside he took a few moments to check over the child. Assured of her stable condition, the elderly man took a seat in a chair in the corner. He relaxed even further into the chair when he felt the comfortable presence of his personal ANBU.

"Oh, Narumiko, you gave me one hell of a scare. I'm getting too old for this..."

Feeling better knowing that the young girl he considered a granddaughter was safe, the Sandaime Hokage drifted into a fitful sleep; fully prepared to wake up at a moment's notice should she need anything.

/~0~\\

Waking up slowly, the young blonde realized she was quite comfortable and had no pain anywhere on her body. 'How odd,' she thought, 'I swear I just got the worst beating so far! So where did all my pain go? And where am I? A sewer!?'

Sure enough, as she looked around, she realized she was in some kind of red colored sewer tunnel that had intricate wires that seemed unattached and useless. Deciding anywhere was better than just lying in the middle of the tunnel floor she got up and walked in a random direction looking for clues as to where she was.

Wandering down the high vaulted tunnels, she felt a warm and comforting tug in her stomach accompanied by soft, unintelligible whispers in the back of her mind. Going in the direction that caused the sensations to grow stronger, she eventually entered an enormous, cavernous room; looking carefully through the dim lighting, she noticed a set of prison bars that blocked off a large portion of the huge hall. She craned her neck just to glimpse the tops of the thick bars embedded deep into the ceiling. As she peered at the walls and floor the bars were the same; thick, tightly spaced and unlikely to relinquish their hold on whatever was contained within them.

"Hello," she called out timidly, "is anyone in here?"

A deep rumbling, yet soothing, chuckle echoed throughout the cavern-like room. A growling voice, that seemed to consist of many speaking in harmony, answered her timidity with overwhelming confidence. "It is about time you found your way here, Ningen, though you did enter sooner than this one expected." A shuffling noise, accompanied by ripples in the few inches of water around her ankles and the quaking ground, alerted her to the captive's movements. "So, Kogitsune, what ails your mind so much that you would thrust yourself so deeply into your mind? Although this one has a fairly good idea, this one wishes to hear so from you," the masculine voice growled kindly.

'Kogitsune… Little fox?' "I got hurt again and this time I didn't want to see Jiji-san upset again. Wait… I'm in my mind? But," she hesitated, "it's gloomy and sad in here. How can you stand it?" This time her words were met with laughing that sounded like the powerful crashing of thunder during a summer storm. It made her feel calm even though her body seemed intent on trying its hardest to make her uneasy; if her twisting stomach and nausea were anything to go by.

"My, my. You are quite interesting for a Ningen. Of all the things to ask, you ask how this one fairs in this prison that so forcefully restrains this one's power… Why do you worry for this one's comfort? You should be cowering in fear, quaking as you realize your mortality does naught for you. And yet you worry about this one's lack of luxury. This one is the cruel Kyuubi no Kitsune no Yoko! The one who destroyed your home and devoured many loved ones! Have you naught to say about this one's identity and history?"

She paused a moment before replying as truthfully as she could, "I don't care about that. You seem so sad and lonely, plus you sound so kind and sorry for what you did. And that's just it; 'history is history and part of the past, so look to the now to plan a future'. Besides if you're in my mind, you must have been here a very long time. You haven't done anything to hurt me; I mean, I want a friend and you seem to need one. So… Will you be my friend?"

The fox deity seemed startled by her words. He let out a great burst of air as he sighed, "Very well then, Kogitsune, if that is what you wish. However, this one has a few requests. This one wishes for this one's soul to be released into the physical realm of the Ningen, to be by this one's friend's side." He gave a toothy fox grin. "This one must be allowed to become the equivalent of your nin-ken if you decide to become a ninja. And, lastly, this one requests that, whether or not the others are granted and given, you call to this one as Yuu; just as this one's family did, long ago."

The young girl only smiled and agreed, "How do I get you out of there, Yuu?"

The fox lord looked determinedly at the doors to his prison and said simply, "The seal. You must tear at least half of it off if this one's soul is to be freed. Can you do it?"

"I can give it my all."

"Will you?"

"Of course, Yuu."

"Then let us begin! This one swears his undying loyalty to you alone from now on, even if you cannot release this one's soul. Now then, Kogitsune, do your best!"

"Right!"

Sorry, minna-san, I couldn't resist the cliffy! No worries for those of you that want to know what happens next; I shall be using the occasional flashback/memory to fill in the gaps. I'll be starting the story at team placements in the next chapter. Until next time, please review and leave your thoughts.

Ja ne, minna-san!