Lesson of the Fox

A/N: First Naruto story. Me no own, you no sue. It's a bit annoying that I need to translate all of this, but it's for the best. Attacks are not listed within the vocabulary section.

Summary:

What would have happened if someone had stopped the Kyuubi no Youko from attacking Konohagakure no Sato?

Vocabulary (Japanese words and Naruto universe stuff):

Akatsuki -a criminal organization made up of extremely powerful nukenin (missing-nin). The syndicate is bent on possessing all nine bijuu for God knows what purpose. Notable members are Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Akasuna no Sasori, Deidara, and Zetsu. Most members are suspected to be jinchuuriki.

ANBU - 'Black Ops' or 'Dark Side'. ANBU is an assassination organization, who only obeys the Kage of their Hidden Village. ANBU members are of chuunin or jounin level, and it is likely that they have to take another exam to get in. Those who enter ANBU often either leave within a few years, go mad, die, or all three. Hatake Kakashi was made famous by his success in the organization, something that he would probably rather forget. Note: ANBU has a spin-off called Ne or 'Root' who focus on disrupting Konoha's reigning Fifth Hokage, a woman named Tsunade.

Bijuu - Tailed beast/demon. The power is based on the number of tails. Ichibi is the weakest, with one tail, while the Kyuubi is the strongest, with nine tails.

Chuunin - 'Middle ninja'. Chuunin are the middle-ranked shinobi. Chuunin is probably one of the most common ninja ranks, aside from Academy student. Most genin take their chuunin exam within a year or so of becoming genin. Chuunin can become teachers and ANBU members, but the former isn't very common. Naruto's first opponent, Mizuki, was a chuunin while Naruto hadn't even been considered a genin yet. Kakashi (again) broke a record by advancing to chuunin while he was only just out of the academy – at age six. Chuunin can be sent on low B through low A-ranked missions.

Genin - 'Low ninja'. This is the first rank that a ninja gains after graduating from the academy, via the genin preliminary exam. In the Naruto universe, Uzumaki Naruto is the only one to fail this exam, nearly being held back a grade. Genin are usually sent on missions between D and C-rank, though Naruto's first out-of-town mission changed quickly from C to A-ranked.

Hitai-ate - Forehead protector/headband, usually marked with the symbol of the village of origin. It is earned after passing the genin preliminary exam, and is the symbol of an adult and a ninja. If one fails the second genin exam (it is different for every jounin sensei), they are stripped of their hitai-ate and sent back to the Ninja Academy.

Jinchuuriki - the (unwilling) person in which a bijuu was sealed shortly after birth.

Jounin - 'High ninja'. After passing a jounin exam, of which no details are currently known, a chuunin rank ninja can become a jounin. Jounin are often sent on A-rank and S-rank missions. Only jounin can be responsible for their own team of genin, though chuunin can teach classes at the Academy. Hatake Kakashi (also known as Copy Nin Kakashi) was at this rank by age thirteen, while Nara Shikamaru's mother, thirty-six, is still a chuunin.

Kage - 'Shadow'. The strongest and cleverest ninja in a Hidden Village. There is only one Kage per great country; Lighting Country being Raikage ('Lightning Shadow'), Fire Country is Hokage ('Fire Shadow'), Earth being Tsuchikage ('Earth Shadow'), Mizukage ('Water Shadow') of Water Country, and Kazekage ('Wind Shadow') for Wind Country. Each Hokage resides in a specific Hidden Village – Hokage goes to Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf), Kazekage to Sunagakure (Hidden Sand), Mizukage to the Kirigakure (Hidden Mist), Raikage to Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud), and Tsuchikage to Iwagakure (Hidden Rock). Also, depending upon how many Kage have come before them, Kage are given an extra title; Shodai (or Shodaime) means 'First', Nidaime means 'Second', Sandaime means 'Third', Yondaime means 'Fourth', Godaime means 'Fifth', and apparently Rokudaime is 'Sixth'.

Kitsune - Fox spirit. Kitsune were notorious tricksters in Japan, but could be benevolent or malevolent. To call the Kyuubi a kitsune would show knowledge of the beast's ancestry (at least in this story). Shippou, despite being called a kitsune by many, is actually a youko.

Konohagakure no Sato - Konoha/Hidden Leaf Village/Village Hidden in the Leaves

Kunai - the daggerlike knives used in Naruto

Kyuubi no Youko - Nine-tailed demon fox, attacked the Hidden Leaf Village (Konoha) twelve years before current timeline, was sealed inside Uzumaki Naruto by the Yondaime Hokage. The seal required two sacrifices – one was the person activating the seal (Yondaime) and the other a newborn baby to seal the bijuu into.

Nukenin - Missing-ninja/Missing-nin. They are traitors to their village of origin and are usually hunted by a team of Oinin. An entire criminal organization, the Akatsuki, is made up of nukenin.

Oinin - Hunter/Tracker ninja. They are responsible for tracking down, killing, and erasing traces of all missing-nins that betray their village of origin. Oinin are taught how to kill opponents with the least amount of effort and the most speed.

Senbon - Acupuncture needle. They're about six to eight inches long, and are only fatal if they hit a vital organ. Getting speared through the neck by one can give someone a week-long coma.

Shinobi - Japanese term for 'ninja'.

Shuriken - 'Ninja stars'

Yondaime Hokage - "Fourth Fire Shadow", fourth ninja leader of Fire Country. The Yondaime Hokage was famous for defending Konoha from a giant demon fox by sealing it inside a baby, which required his own life to do. Personally, I think that the Yondaime is named Kazama Arashi, and is Naruto's father.

Youki - Demonic Energy/Aura/Power…

Youkai - demon/ghost/apparition/ogre/God knows what else…

Youko - Demon Fox. Shippou is a youko, rather than a much weaker kitsune.


Chapter One: What Came Before and After

As the massive fox closed in on the sleeping village of Konohagakure no Sato, Shippou closed his eyes and waited. The village was doomed. His son, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, had proved as much. None of the shinobi had managed to even slow the beast. It was over.

But, as it so happened, all hope was not lost. The village's leader, the Yondaime Hokage, sealed Shippou's son inside his newborn child, consequently damning the both of them to a life filled with misery. And then the Yondaime, Kazama Arashi, fell from his toad summons's back, dead.

But hey, at least the village was safe.

Shippou's lip curled into a snarl at the memory. Yes, he'd been hopelessly foolish then. How could Shippou have not known of the Yondaime's power? More so, how could he have just sat back and watched as his own son was devoured by a demon-sealing technique?

So now, Shippou the Great Fox of Ten Tails, was stuck sitting in a Konoha apartment, staring at the cracked white ceiling. His human form was something he'd been using for the past twelve years – that of a red-haired, dark green-eyed man with no definable talent.

Oh, how he hated it.

Shippou, if given the choice, would have chosen to change the past in a heartbeat. Then Uzumaki Naruto could have grown up with a father, then Shippou wouldn't be short a son, and then Konohagakure wouldn't have lost so many of its finest ninjas and the civilians' family members.

It was at that moment that a tiny light was noticed. It was a green light, hovering at the windowsill closest to the Forest of Death. As Shippou stared at it, for lack of anything better to do, it eventually 'poofed' into existence.

The ball of light was apparently a six-inch-tall, black-haired, green-eyed, dragon-winged fairy. Right, that was the Great Fairy of something-or-other. Shippou had been introduced to the black-and-green ball of energy once before, but he had only had one tail then, which made it around nine hundred years ago.

"Tee-hee-hee!" the sprite chuckled in way of a greeting. "In case you forgotten (which you probably have, you stupid fox), I am the Great Fairy Rini, Guardian of Time!" If there was one thing Shippou hadn't forgotten about the said Great Fairy, it was that her enthusiasm was contagious.

"How are you, Rini?" Shippou asked, getting up from the floor. The sprite laughed again.

"Oh, it's not me you should be worrying about!" she piped. "I'm as fine as I've ever been. But you, now you are a different story, my sly, prankster friend. What's wrong?"

Shippou sighed and held a hand over his eyes. "Twelve years ago, I made the stupidest decision of my life, and now my son and his son are paying for it. He paid for it the moment he cursed the other two, but now I'm stuck here keeping track of them! And, considering his son's incompetence and mine's pride, I'm going to be stuck in this role until we all die."

"Hm…" went the fairy, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Well, since I'm the almighty Great Fairy Guardian of Time, I'll help you out!"

Shippou put on his best fox grin. "I thought you'd say that."

The two shared a mutual laugh as Shippou prepared for his journey into the past.


A few days later, just before the several chuunin and a genin with extraordinary abilities (namely Naruto) went after Uchiha Sasuke (Sasuke Retrieval story arc), Shippou and Rini were prepared to make the time jump.

It was simple enough. Rini would only need to open a temporary gate that would last a few minutes at best, reactivating it after the necessary changes to the timestream had occurred. It would tax her small body greatly to send such a powerful creature to the past, but Shippou and Rini both knew it was worth the trouble.

After all, how many people would benefit if the fox had never attacked? Too many to count, it seemed. Besides, Shippou wanted his numbskull of a son to live long enough for grandkits, dammit!

So, with a grim look at the ten-tailed fox, the fairy made a complicated gesture with her small hands, before slashing at the air as if using a sword. A four-inch portal opened in midair, shimmering like a disturbed pond's surface. The image in the circle wavered more, before finally stilling in the image of a full moon. Below the moon was a forest, and towering above the trees was a fox. The fox was deep vermillion with long ears like a rabbit's and nine thrashing tails. It was an amazing image, save for the fact that it was only the size of Shippo's clenched fist.

"The Kyuubi," Rini breathed. She turned her eyes, shining like pale emeralds, on the youko. Shippou nodded back at her. "Right."

She extended her hands as far apart as they would go, before bringing them together with a loud 'SMACK'. As she spread her arms again to their previous position, the portal widened with every millimeter. Even as her arms stopped moving, the portal continued to grow.

When it was large enough to encroach upon Rini's personal space, she took to the air and continued to widen the rip in time until it was large enough for Shippou's human form to step through unhindered.

The portal stopped growing when it reached six feet in diameter. Tired but pleased with her work, the fairy gestured the fox through. Shippou took a deep breath before plunging into the unknown.

He felt the sort of sensation one gets when submerged – one of weightlessness and unexplained pressure. When he opened his catlike green eyes again, he was lying on the ground, somewhere outside Konoha.

Giddy with pleasure (since his plan had seemed to work), Shippou quickly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

He was in a dense wood bordering a large plain. The forest smelled of humans and animals alike, as well as the night and rain. Yes, this was Konoha's forest all right. Vaguely, Shippou also noted that while the full moon was up, it was almost too dark for his youkai eyes to see properly. Frowning thoughtfully, the fox looked at the nearby trees and just knew there were Leaf shinobi hiding within a few yards of him.

But that wasn't of importance. Had the Kyuubi attacked yet? No, this area wasn't barren yet. In both of the future times Shippou was connected to, the Konoha's surrounding forest had been nearly decimated and had retained its burned quality for over ten years.

So, bored, Shippo decided to sit there under the nearest tree and wait for his son to show himself. For good measure, he extended his senses through meditation to cover a near-mile, which should give him a good forewarning, he thought.

So the fox waited.

And waited. He was playing tic-tac-toe inside his own mind now…

And waited until his feet fell asleep. What was I supposed to get Souten for dinner again? Shippou asked himself. Oh, right…chicken…

When he was just getting irritated enough with the lack of activity to begin pulling pranks on the nearby ninjas, he heard something. Granted, it sounded like a grasshopper's chirp compared to the cacophony of other background noises (like the third shinobi to the right, who was throwing shuriken at a tree just to keep himself occupied). Nonetheless, it was quickly growing louder.

In fact, it was starting to sound a bit like…fox noises. Shippou shot to his feet, all traces of the laid-back fox-boy having receded to the depths of his mind. As soon as the scent of a fire fox hit his nose, he stiffened.

"Oh man…" the fox muttered, running a hand through his red hair agitatedly. "That idiot's coming to mow down Konoha, and for what? A frigging birthday celebration!" Whether the Leaf shinobi actually managed to comprehend the true message behind that was a mystery to him, but word of any threat to Konoha would set them on edge. It hadn't been long after the Stone-Leaf war, after all.

Two out of the eight ninja in Shippou's neck of the woods took off running into the village. He thought the recognized a few of the ninjas now – Hatake Kakashi was the short one, Ebisu over there, Gekkou Hayate was the one that kept doubling over coughing, and finally Maito Gai was standing by Kakashi, grinning like a cheesy superhero. He couldn't tell who the rest were. But the ones he knew weren't supposed to die this early either.

Ironic, then, that what was about to happen could kill them all.

And happen it did. With a terrifying shriek, the Kyuubi no Youko's massive head appeared to eclipse the moon. With a single leap, Shippou's seemingly insane son cleared the last of the trees before the clearing.

Of course, this would be the clearing that Shippou and the six remaining Leaf Nin were.

The Kyuubi was huge, almost a hundred yards high. His nine long tails fanned out behind him like some sort of maddened peacock, each and every one a deep, dark orange. The Kyuubi's lanky limbs seemed to be held together awkwardly as if by bandages, but they had more than enough muscle to be intimidating. His red eyes glowered with an eternal, burning hatred for all lives besides his own.

Shippou couldn't even recognize his son anymore.

Shippou cursed his luck. With humans around, there was no way he could afford to transform and possibly alter the future beyond all repair. So, the fox watched with horrified eyes as Hayate tried to use his Mikazuki no Mai (Dance of the Crescent Moon) attack to stall the incoming Kyuubi for the Hokage's arrival.

Predictably, the Kyuubi was not fooled by the three sword-wielding Kage Bunshin, and aimed his Fox Fire attack at the real Hayate. Hayate used a Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Switch Technique) to switch places with a nearby fallen log. The log was quickly set aflame.

His hands flashing through about forty consecutive seals, Kakashi activated Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique). As the deadly surge of water cascaded towards his son, Shippou already knew that the Jutsu wasn't going to work. For a start, water techniques were considerably weaker, if not impossible to use, without a water source. Besides, while the Kyuubi may have been a fire fox, he had trained for centuries against water attacks. Hatake Kakashi may have been a genius, but no one was a prodigy compared to an ancient beast like the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi's rightmost tail flew out of nowhere and knocked the two attacking Leaf Nin to the ground. They skidded almost fifty feet away before lying still.

It wasn't for long. Kakashi slowly moved to his feet – how could a thirteen-year-old do that, anyway? Well, Shippou surmised grimly, it wasn't as if the boy would be able to fight. Getting smashed by a kitsune's tail, especially this one, was not going to leave anyone without at least a dozen broken bones.

The boy staggered and fell to his knees. Seemingly aware of his comrade Gai's approach, he looked up before yelling at the other jounin to go get the Hokage. Gai, for once, did as his Eternal Rival desired and teleported away.

Kakashi glared up at the fox, the slits in his ANBU wolf mask showing more than enough of his hatred. With a malicious laugh, the fox bore down on the young Nin.

That was it. That was the last straw.

Shippou released his long-lasting illusion, and in a poof of smoke became the beast that even the legendary bijuu feared.

He was now covered head to tails in thick golden fur. He was larger than the Kyuubi, but that may have been due to his thicker limbs and more substantial mass. All ten tails were tipped with silver, as were his paws and snout. The tails were all displayed to his advantage, every one in full view to give the junior fox a taste of the concept of outranking. His head was less like a mousey fox and more like a wolf, complete with a stern look in his green eyes. Shippo's ears were also more proportionate to a normal fox's, looking like small yellow triangles sitting on top of his head. He crouched protectively in front of Kakashi, his hackles raised in warning, fangs bared.

With a resounding 'BOOM', a third party joined the scene. It was a giant dark red-brown toad, about as huge as the foxes, with intricate black markings all over it. It wore a black gi as any samurai or yakuza would…the toad was altogether too human to be an ordinary spirit toad. It had to be a summon.

Then Shippou noticed the figure perched on the toad (The toad was the toad boss, he realized, and his name was Gamabunta). He was about six feet tall or so, and was a blonde, blue-eyed man wearing a coat with flames lining the bottom.

Actually, now Shippou knew where Naruto had gotten his looks. The rambunctious genin was the splitting image of the Yondaime Hokage, Kazama Arashi.

And right now, Arashi was wearing a look Shippou had seen on Naruto's face many a time. Confusion.

Kyuubi hesitated. With two powerful opponents staring him down, one of which was his own father and a ten-tailed fox while the other was the Yondaime Hokage, he chose the seemingly weaker of the two.

As the Kyuubi no Youko went for the Yondaime, Shippou intervened with his Fox Fire attack. As his son growled an enraged inquiry, the elder youko launched himself at his junior and sank his fangs deep into the other fox's shoulder tissue.

The nine-tailed fox howled in surprised pain and threw his senior off after a moment of struggle. Shippou's fangs dripped red blood, as did the Kyuubi's flank.

"That," Shippou growled in his deep, guttural voice, "was for being the most impossible, suicidal fool I have ever had the misfortune to meet." As he spoke, Shippou's eyes began to glow a reprimanding red, cold as ice rather than fiery.

The Kyuubi said nothing, opting instead for just glaring.

"You have just gained a ninth tail, and then you go rampaging into the nearest village, and for what?" Shippou snapped. "If I had allowed you to continue, you would have only been sealed inside a human and thus negate the reason for celebration in the first place!"

The Kyuubi again had no answer. "Get out of my sight! You disgrace our lineage with your thoughtlessness!" Shippou boomed, as the infamous Kyuubi cowered. The nine-tailed fox bolted as the ten-tailed one pounded the ground with a paw. Soon there was only one fox in sight, and suddenly there were none.

Shippou had transformed back into his human form, which made him a little less than six feet tall. He waved cheerfully at Arashi as the said Hokage teleported off of Gamabunta's head and dismissed the massive summon in a poof of gray smoke.

The sun was rising, the former youko noted absently. But time was no longer of the essence. The Yondaime wasn't dead; the Kyuubi wasn't sealed, at maximum only one person could have possibly died in the attack, and…oh shoot. Shippou had forgotten one thing. And, having fulfilled so many other secret promises, this one seemed particularly important.

Kazama Arashi appeared about five feet away from him, watching Shippou with that same confused look he'd worn earlier. This time, though, Konoha's Yellow Flash was trying to gauge if Shippou was still a deadly opponent.

Shippou grinned his best fox grin, "Don't worry. I didn't send him scurrying just to attack Konoha myself."

Arashi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Damn ninjas and their silence, Shippou cursed inside his head. Having been around loud, mischievous, temperamental, or just plain cold people who's only word seemed to be insults all his life, Shippou was still unused to hidden villages and their infuriating secrecy. But then, Aoshi hadn't been much different (Naruto takes place probably in the 1950s and beyond, so Shippou's making a reference to the Rurouni Kenshin ninja Shinomori Aoshi – or more specifically, the man's memory).

With an impatient sigh, Shippou pulled a seed out of sleeve. Now, Shippou wasn't considered the strongest and wiliest youko in a millennium simply because of illusions, pranks, and his demonic might. He did actually have abilities that required skill. So, he placed the seed in the palm of his right hand.

Then he concentrated on the oval-shaped seed, and on what it should look like when mature. He pictured a myriad of thin, small-leaved vines with large violet flowers. From the flowers dripped a special liquid that defied gravity. And the liquid sought more of itself, clumping together so that it would eventually become the raw material for a crystal ball.

The seed immediately did as he bid, bursting into bloom in a matter of seconds. The watery substance formed a sphere and hardened just as quickly.

Now the sphere was floating in the air like a massive, unblinking eye. So, to fill it and thus remind the Hokage about a very important issue, Shippou thought about the infant Naruto and tried to find him in this timeline.

There he was, crying like hell, with that crazy blonde tuft of hair, in a midwife's arms. There were more subtle whisker marks this time, but his mouth still held those slightly-longer-than-usual canines. For a moment, Shippou wondered why, but dismissed the thought.

As Shippou had closed his eyes to focus, he didn't see the look of horror that crossed the Hokage's face as he was forcibly reminded of his family. In fact, he instantly teleported away with a flash. In that instant, Shippou recognized the technique as Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique). It was so close to actual teleportation that the infamous Sharingan wouldn't have been able to detect the movement.

Thus the Yondaime Hokage had shown Shippou why he was called the 'Yellow Flash of Konoha'. And Shippou believed he deserved that title, too. Not even the fox's exceptional eyes had caught it. With a smile to himself, Shippou assumed the form of a redheaded ten-year-old and ran into town.


Predictably as the sun rises, practically no one in Konoha besides the Leaf shinobi knew that they had just barely avoided disaster. It figured. Civilians and villagers, Shippou had long decided, were barely competent fools who needed fighters to hold their hands in everything. Ugh, how the fox hated such naive creatures.

Nonetheless, the youko ran into town, green eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of Kazama Arashi or even chuunin-level ninja. Not a soul in sight.

Well, besides the brat in the apartment above him who wouldn't stop screaming out the window.

Dammit, where were they when those idiots had barely avoided death by demon fox? Surely they wouldn't have gone home to relax as if nothing had ever happened.

Shippou skidded to a stop as realization hit him with the force of the blunt side of Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. Where would a Kage go if he needed to discuss the future of his village or other such important things? Hokage Tower, duh.

Sometimes, Shippou swore he was still alive only because his opponents severely underestimated him. Inuyasha must be rubbing off on me, Shippou grumbled.

So, with the precision of a jounin, Shippou stuck a foot to the nearest wall and scaled the building like a vampire. Granted, Shippou had known this move for years, ever since he had come to Hidden Leaf during the Shodaime's reign. He'd practically killed his sensei during the genin exams, mowed down all opposition during the chuunin exam, and breezed past the jounin exam. And then Shippou had made himself scarce, only to return now, nearly a hundred years later.

Life really sucked, Shippou reflected as he started hopping roofs, making his way with all speed towards the Tower. He didn't realize that he'd accidentally dropped the illusion until two ANBU guards jumped out of the shadows at him, clearing anticipating a threat.

Shippou dodged what he didn't feel like healing later and blocked the rest of the blows. Really, these guys couldn't be above chuunin level at best, and they were taking on a demon that could disembowel them in seconds? That, and in terms of ninjustu, Shippou ranked them. It was nice to know he could kick their rears on any playing field.

When Shippou grinned at them, the attacks came faster.

Ah, the ignorance of youth. Youkai learned early on that if you attacked an opponent who looked human but smelled otherwise, you were either asking for an easy meal or a messy death. After all, only the strongest of demons or the weakest could take on human form. It was a stab in the dark to find out which one you were dealing with.

Growing weary of their persistence, Shippou signaled surrender. The two Leaf shinobi stopped for a moment, but their weapons were still close at hand. So the fox dug into his pocket for the Leaf hitai-ate he had gotten so many years ago.

The strap was a bit more worn that he would have liked, but Shippou showed it to the Tiger and Cat-masked ANBU. They clearly didn't trust him, but a Leaf hitai-ate was very good evidence that Shippou had lived in the village before.

Well, Shippou thought to himself, he had come from this village, in a sort of strange way. More specifically, he'd gotten his hitai-ate here, which meant that he'd graduated from the ninja academy in order to get it. So yeah, now he was confusing himself.

Without further ado, the fox tied the band to his upper arm, since he honestly didn't care about the concept of 'forehead protectors' when he could heal from nearly any non-youkai attack. The ANBU backed off, acknowledging Shippou as an ally.

And so the fox continued on his way like a bloodhound while tracking, determined to reach the Hokage Tower before the main crowd. Of course, he liked to do his traveling the shinobi way, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Also, the building he was on right then was about fifty feet away from the clearing of the Hokage Tower. He really didn't need nor want to meet any more shinobi, save Arashi.

This, of course, is why fate decided to deal him a bad hand.

Every single important shinobi, elder, and clan head he could think of was already there. In fact, a lot of them were still wearing sleeping robes or hair curlers. With the exception of Hyuuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku, of course. The men were such stone-faced pricks.

And who would be standing right at the front of this congregation of ninjas? Kazama Arashi, just the incredibly short-sighted (in Shippou's opinion, anyway) blonde Hokage that Shippou needed to vent on. Yes, this was why Shippou made a point of cursing fate at every opportunity. Absently, Shippou noted that the Hokage was holding a blanket-wrapped bundle. A tuft of blond hair stuck out from one end.

It was at that moment that a certain fairy of time decided to make her appearance. "Tee-hee-hee!" Rini snickered, flashing the kitsune a huge grin. The little black-and-green dragon wings that normally kept her aloft weren't even moving as she floated in midair.

Shippou raised one red eyebrow. He hadn't asked that Rini come to pick him up. The fairy he knew and her bubbly personality abruptly went down the drain, only to be replaced by something that reminded him a bit of a stern Kagome.

"So, fox, you've prevented your son's attack." It wasn't a question. Rini scowled. "Unfortunately, there are side effects to pulling one over on fate like that."

Shippou watched the fairy warily, but also perfectly conscious of the fact that none of his fox tricks could get him out of this. So Shippou nodded for her to continue.

A childish pout graced the fairy's face. "And you know what? If we've got to pay up for messing with the past, which we do, one of us has to cancel out their past self and live in this era in their place. So, when you got here, the Shippou that was originally running around Fire Country from this point forward was written out of existence, in order to avoid a paradox." At this, Rini's impish face darkened still further. "There's something else, too. We needed to offer some of our power to stay out of trouble with the higher-ups. So, I had you offer your ability to use some of your crazy powers, or ninjustu as they are called here. So now you can't use that stone statue thing or weeping mushrooms until you find a fox who can re-teach you those skills."

"Is that all?" Shippou asked. If that was all the time-travel skill needed, he'd sacrifice his tricks hundreds of times over just to make sure the future was a bit smoother.

"Well…no. Now that the deal with the God of Time has been finalized, you can't ever travel through time again." Oh…that kind of sucked. But still, this past that was still young, the future that hadn't been born…they were worth every once of sacrifice. Shippou was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't see a kunai (or the six or so behind it) flying at him until one of his plants instantly protected him.

The wall of thick vines shot out from the seeds in his sleeves, blocking the incoming projectiles with a solid-sounding 'thunk'. Reinforced as they were by his youki, they were not carved into mulch like his opponents had probably hoped.

Frowning slightly, Shippou extended his senses out, trying to find the offensive ninja. There were no more attacks. Most likely, the enemy thought he was dead.

The occurrence was a bit odd. He didn't honestly expect Leaf shinobi to be after his hide, but it was certainly possible, especially if any ninja of the Hyuuga or Uchiha clans had spotted him. Not finding any reason to continue his search, he turned back to the announcement below. The Hokage looked about ready to give a speech.

"Rini, are you paying attention?" But the fairy was already gone. Well, that figured. She probably had other responsibilities somewhere.

Suddenly, Shippou sensed more hostile presences, mostly by the way they didn't try to mask their killing intent, and how their smell was saturated with anger and hate. Tense and ready for battle, Shippou was mildly surprised when the presences didn't come within a few dozen yards of him. They zoomed right past.

Demons are famous mostly for their strength, but there is something that the Academy teachers don't ever seem to cover – some demons were notorious for knowing what the opponent was doing ahead of time and thus counteracting the attack before it happens. Shippou was one of the latter cases. He sensed the hidden presences' blood lust be brought to a peak as they passed within fifty feet of the Yondaime.

Shippou took a second to curse before reaching into his leather pouch and yanking out five seeds. He hurled them in the enemy's paths at blinding speed, and then pumped the dormant pods full of youki. Almost instantly, five assassin vine plants popped into existence, each trapping a different attacking ninja.

Knowing quite well that assassin vines were a type of plant to strangle first, ask questions later, Shippou forced his will onto the plants. Stay. Hold. Do not kill.

As soon as the enemy ninjas were tight enough that they couldn't get loose without a Kawarimi no Jutsu, the vines stilled. Now everyone present could see the plants' hairy brown stalks and hand-shaped green leaves. Underneath every few leaves was a set of red berries.

Shippou bounded off the roof at this point, landing on the ground several yards from Arashi. Shippou sighed, shaking his head at the stunned blonde. "You know, that's the second time I've saved your life in an hour. You owe me two times over."

"Doton: Retsudotensho (Earth Style: Split Earth Turn Around Palm)!" was all Shippou heard before one of the Iwagakure ninja crushed his captor, a hapless assassin vine. As he saw the nin rush towards the Hokage, whose arms were occupied with what could only be Naruto, Shippou flicked a second seed at the man. He put even more youki into that one, easily summoning the Death Tree. Within milliseconds, the Venus Flytrap-like plant had devoured the Stone nin, weapons and all.

Before the tree had recovered from the attack it had just launched, Shippou pulled every ounce of youki back into him, thus withering the predatory plant into nothing but grayish-brown rot.

"Three, and counting." Shippou murmured to a stunned Hokage.


A/N: Shippou may seem a bit OOC, but he is a lot older than where Inuyasha left off. He's been through some very character-building experiences, so a bit of maturity is expected.

Pairings (if I can figure out how to do Romance in time) -

NaruHina

SasuSaku

Most of the other obvious ralationships are between married couples. Shippou and Souten are married. Inuyasha and Kagome are married, as are Sesshoumaru and Rin. Three couples, six OCs to be kids. Okay? Okay.