Prologue
A lone figure stood on his rooftop staring out at the setting sun. "The exciting parts of life pass this pace up, like a stone in the river. The water flowing around, but never fully covering it." A smirk appeared, and he hopped down from the roof, waving to a passing patrol as they jumped on their way to their next destination. He began to walk when a yell from the balcony in which he used to get down is heard, and he freezes in his tracks
"Takashi!" A woman walked out of the balcony and growled slightly, "Takashi! What have I told you about that... Thing in your apartment!"
"Ano... Something along the lines of keep it out of your plants?"
"Exactly! Guess where I found it?"
"By the Bonsai resting?"
"No, by the Bon- wait... how'd you know?"
"I pay attention as to where Fang goes."
"You named it?"
"Yeah. Anyway, I have to get going. I'll see ya in a bit. Say hi to Naruto for me, if he gets back."
"Where you off to! What are you going to do with the Mutt!"
"I'm off to work, have some important stuff I have to handle today. Don't ask, you know I can't tell you. Fang will leave on his own accord, just be sure to give him a bowl of water when he does, he tends to get thirsty after resting for as long as he has."
"Takashi... Takashi! Takashi Katsura! Grr..." her pleas fell on his deaf ears as he raised a hand and walked away till eventually he was out of sight. Making his way towards the ANBU headquarters. It was time to become Fox once more... he had some pressing matters to attend to regarding a silent listening post.
Three ANBU launched themselves through the trees barely touching the ground save for very little strips of their journey
"Where's Fox?"
"He told me 3 days ago he was going to meet us at the fall-back point."
"Not like him to not travel with us, something up?"
"No. Nothing is, remember he was on leave for a bit."
"That issue with the Kyuubi?"
"No, that was just the duo being hardheaded idiots. They are more alike then they want to believe."
"Except, Naruto doesn't tend to move people like chess-pieces."
"Well..."
"Nor can he pack amazing power in a strike for how quick he moves."
"There is that..."
"Nor can Naruto make a 'tail' out of chakra, without utilizing the Kyuubi's power."
"Alright, alright, they aren't alike... Anything else your going to criticize me on?"
"Your seriously asking that..."
"You know what! I'll-"
"We're here." the three stop suddenly landing in a clearing to which a man in a Fox mask was relaxing against a tree, calmly reading a book.
"Took you three long enough. I'm nearly done."
"Uh... Fox, the book is upside down..."
"I know. I finished it earlier right side up, Tiger."
"Did you really?"
"Yes, Dog, I did."
"then tell, us, oh great ANBU, tell us what the book was about."
Fox was silent, his mask hiding all traces of emotion, up until he put his hand on the back of his head and started rubbing it embarrassed "I... uh... forgot..."
"Uh-huh. Did you really read that book?"
"Yes, Lion, I did. You know my quirks, I tend to forget about what book I just read when I start a new one. In this case, I started it upside down, and now I can't make heads of tails of it." Fox replied his hand dropping to his side as he put the book away
"Cause the words are upside-down moron..."
"Regardless of his reading preferences, which are not in question, or completely sane at times, we need to know if he is ready."
"have all the stuff I need, ready to go. Information planted on location, and my initial report is right here." He handed a book to Lion "I'll wait here, if you want to confirm the reports. But I advise we shouldn't make a move on the post until the area is cleared of all possible traps."
"Chessmaster thought of everything, did he?"
"I'm sure a Nara Shikamaru might have found things I haven't."
"of all the people better then you, you name off Nara?"
"I have to aim high, Dog, I didn't get here on talent alone. I'd be dead if I did."
"True. I'll be right back, the rest of you wait here."
"Hai."
Lion took off to which the three ANBU stood for a couple seconds before finding their own perches, Fox was the first to speak "Lion say her trademarked sentence on her way over?"
"Yeah."
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing. Although before we got here I was going to say something about her C-cups.
"Just like you Tiger, dear. Always thinking you one-upped the leader just because you have a good set on you."
"106 centimeters, baby."
Dog looked astonished "106? Damn, if I would guess, those are as large as Hokage's"
"Regardless, Lion should be getting back just about..."
Said ANBU landed in the clearing lightly "Alright, I'm ready to make the call."
"Speak of the devil, you getting slow in your old age, Lion?"
"Not as slow as you will be if you continue that line of thought, Foxxy."
"Alright, alright, I'm, shutting up." He paused for a moment "Everything is as it was written?"
"Yeah, I must admit, you do your job admirably."
"Gotta love the Fox Arts."
"They help, I agree. Care to advise us?"
"Lion, your attacks are direct and to the point, therefore you will be the front and be the one they see, Dog, you will take her right, I her left. Working with you we'll set them into positions where Lion can strike her hardest, Tiger, once we have them distracted, you travel around and drop our own traps along the edges, we ready?"
All three ANBU nodded, and the four of them jumped off to the listening post, Fox growing his Chakra tail along the way. Switching to all fours, he dropped to the ground and kept up with the tree jumpers using a technique he learned from the Inuzuka. Sliding to a stop he jumped back to the trees and switched back to being Bipedal. Lion wasted no time landing next to him and jumping towards the listening post, engaging the reason it went silent. 3 S-Class Missing Sunagakure nin.
Lion set up for her attack pulling her arm back to release the chakra infused power punch when two spinning bodies launched from the edges of the clearing with Fox landing behind the first enemy, who dodged backwards to evade the punch and the Gatsuuga performed by Lion and Dog only to be swiftly Kicked back into Lion's punch, smashing his head against the floor with enough force to kill him. The first target down, Dog and his Familiar, Tsume landed on either side of the dead Sand nin, and rushed their next target, Tsume in the guise of Dog, fighting in tandem the maneuvered him towards Fox who, with the added maneuverability of the tail, kept him busy long enough for Lion to unleash a flurry of blows from behind and launch him away with a final chakra infused hit to the chest, right above the heart. The final Sand Nin began to flee, due to the loss of her comrades to be stopped by Tiger's Kunai trap. A wire with multitudes of explosive tags attached to it.
The threat Neutralized, they continued on to inspect the place, while Dog and Tsume looked for any messenger animals. "I'd have to say that was a record." Fox stated walking inside of the listening post and taking off his mask, followed by Lion and Tiger.
"Takashi, watch where your swinging next-time." Tiger said removing her mask which revealed the soft face and milky white eyes of a Hyuuga "You almost smacked Lion in the face, interrupting her assault."
"Oh, calm down Hikari. It's not like he would have hit me. Remember that tail is made of Chakra that he can control at will. He dissipated it before it struck and reformed it afterward." Lion removed her mask and sighed
"How's Ino been doing, Hasu?" Takashi/Fox asked
"I visit her every now and then, when she's not on a mission." Hasu/Lion replied with a nod
"That's good that your keeping in touch. What about you Hikari? Talk to Neji, or Hinata lately?"
Hikari/Tiger shook her head "No. I've been busy these past few months, hadn't had the time to go home and catch up."
"Sad, but that's the life of an ANBU for ya." Takashi responded with a sigh.
"What about you, Takashi? How many times have you seen Naruto since the 'Incident'"
"You mean that fight at Ichiraku's?" Takashi asked, to which the two responded with a nod "We live in the same building, remember?"
Prompt facefault "Either way, we got over it, you know us. We ended up heading to the training field completely ignoring each other, only to leave it chatting up a storm about the different moves and how to counter them. You can guess as to what happened."
The two nodded, obviously another heated argument, and a fight which made them friends again, that tended to happen on a regular basis. "So... Now that everything is said and done. What do we do."
Lion was first to respond "Wait for Shiro to get back, then we go and report in."
"I'm back!"
"Speaking of the Inuzuka."
"Hope that didn't take too long." Shiro/Dog replied his familiar, Tsume, barking beside him.
"It didn't." Takashi responded walking towards a mini-fridge and tossing the two a set of water bottles, which both Tsume and Shiro caught, Tsume transforming to drink.
"So we ready to go?"
"As ever."
"Good, disperse and meet at Hokage Tower. Last one there treats the rest to dinner."
"Traveling with me again Takashi?"
"You know me. See you two back at the tower!"
Both Shiro and Takashi rushed out of the listening post, Masks on, Shiro/Dog hopping on Tsume while Takashi/Fox ran on all fours, tail stretched out behind him.
"You know, I don't think we'll ever understand those two..." Hikari/Tiger sighed walking from the building.
"Reminds me of Guy-Sensei and Kakashi-Sensei." Hasu/Lion said as the two jumped off in different directions taking their own way back to the tower.
A/N: Thought I would take a bit of time to clear something up. Katsura Takashi was once a Ninja of the star country, but left for Konohagakure for political reasons. Before he left, the boy had taken enough training to mold his chakra into different shapes. Specifically a fox tail. He doesn't know any of the Jutsu of the hidden star village, mainly because he was told to go to Konoha once he finished the basic chakra technique training. Thus, he will be able to live out a normal life, without it being shortened by the volatile nature of said chakra.
The gatekeeper sighed, it had been another wonderful day, and now the gates must swing shut. He was in the middle of pulling the lever which activated the mechanism, when he started to feel the ground rumble, curious, he walked over to the edge of the wall and was nearly thrown off by the speed with which two shapes launched past and into the city, dodging people as they continued their mad dash towards the center of the village.
"Excuse me, Pardon me, Sorry, please move!" Dog called as Tsume ran full pelt, Fox dodging and weaving, but otherwise easily keeping up with the two.
"That the best you can do? Let's kick it up a notch... To the rooftops!" each took a second to slide before launching upwards and forwards landing on a rooftop, and hopping from one to the other, dodging more then what they had to ground level.
"C'mon Tsume! Your master... slowing you down?" Fox joked as the dog growled lightly, Dog stuttering at the comment
"You called me fat you bastard!"
"And? You can't really... do anything... about it... where you are right now..."
"Grr..."
"Hehe... See... What'd I... Tell ya!"
"Doesn't mean I can't get you back later."
"True..."
The two continued on in silence until Fox Touched down first on Hokage Tower, Dog following a VERY close second, with Tiger third and Lion last.
"Damnit..." she mumbled as Fox held up his hand
"Head on home, fix yourselves up, do whatever. I'll take you guys to that restaurant down the road from Ichiraku's. My treat."
"Fox, you couldn't possibly do that... the place costs a ton."
"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?"
"I... well..." if it weren't for the mask Fox would see a light pink blush on Tiger's cheeks
"Anyway. I'll see you guys in a bit. Disperse." Fox replied jumping away and heading off for HQ to drop off his stuff.
"Why do you think he's treating us?" Dog asked, once Fox was gone.
"I dunno..."
"Maybe cause he's a nice guy?"
All three looked at each other for a second "Naaaaah!"
"So then, why?"
"He normally gets here second, so it can't be because he's used to it..."
"Yeah, normally I'm paying." Lion sighed "Anyway, it'll do us no good sitting her debating it. Let's get going."
"Hai."
The three jumped off once more as Fox once more landed on the tower. Making the necessary hand seal, his eyes lit up as his head processed the new information he gained from the dispersed Shadow Clone. "So I made it here first huh..." he asked himself holding up a paper seal, to what he didn't know "I'll make the report."
"Sand Nin huh?"
"Hai, lady Hokage. S-rank, missing nin, although it was hard to say that they were S-rank."
"I'll ask The Kazekage about it later. Were they all taken care of?"
"Hai."
"Good. I take it you made it here last then?"
"Actually I got here first, but I told everyone I would handle dinner tonight. Mostly because I wanted to drop this off." Fox held up the paper seal "I found it during my run back, it was close to the listening post, although, what it was doing there is beyond me. Can you see what intelligence makes of this, if it was there, and the group of nin used it to transport to the listening post, which could be the reason it went silent as fast as it did, then we need to get rid of these ASAP. My guess is they would be dropped in random spots around the village, key locations."
"Agreed... Shizune." Tsunade said and without a word Shizune took the seal from Fox with a bow and left "Thanks for bringing it to my attention."
"Of course, Lady Tsunade. My life for the village." Fox kneeled as Tsunade nodded approvingly
"Your dismissed."
"Hai." within a second, only air stood where Fox was kneeling.
Walking inside of his home, Takashi gave a sigh of relief and tossed off his forehead protector letting it fall on the table with a light *thud* taking another two steps he was suddenly faced with a foot coming from nowhere, and his entire room became a field of trees. Needless to say, he reacted quickly dodging under the foot and making a sweep for the support leg. As if anticipating this, the attacker jumped and span attempting to bring their foot down hard on Takashi's head. Thinking on his hands, he bent himself backwards and used his hands as support for his legs to deflect the attack. The attacker wasn't done yet, though, using the block as a springboard he somersaulted backwards and launched forward for a punch that would hurt bad if it connected. Takashi only had to launch off his hands perform a 180 mid-air to evade that.
Forming his tail in the brief respite between attacks, he prepared for another assault from his attacker, which came in the form of a leg, rapidly approaching the side of his head. Dodging that he had to get into the air to then dodge the array of tails incoming on his face. As soon as he landed, his opponent was on the offensive again feet and tails flying in different directions as each tried to land a blow on the other, until finally, it ended with a tail-spike, jabbed through his chest. Falling forward he hit the ground dead, only to wake up what seemed like a second afterwards gasping for air.
"Your getting better." a voice came from outside his field of vision, and he turned to see his attacker/master
"thanks, although I still only now how to form one tail." Takashi sighed
"Other tails will come in time. You must remember, you are not Kitsune. We grow ours after each 100 years, you, have to make them with precise chakra control. Control I'm glad you took before you left Star country." The black form of Fang sat down beside him, 8 flowing tails swaying back and forth gently behind him. He was in human form, with only his ears and tails marking him as a Yokai, a specter. "Did your mission go well today?" the Kitsune asked, curious.
"Yes, sensei. It did. Three Sand ninja attacked a listening post outside of Konoha, my team was sent to investigate.
"Hmm... Did you do what I asked?"
"You mean perform all my duties in Henge? Yes. I accurately scoped out the size, power, and location all in the form of a fox. Only once I returned to the clearing did I become myself again write down the information, and wait for my comerades."
"And what of the confrontation? You devise a working strategy?"
"Hai. We hit them fast, Shiro and myself setting them up for a strike by Hasu. Hikari was circling the clearing laying traps, so when the third enemy attempted to flee, she ran into tripwire laced with paper bombs. There wasn't much of her left to clean up."
Fang nodded "Sounds like you did your job admirably, but, what seems to be troubling you?"
"On my way back, I found a paper seal, judging by the marks it was Yokai. Although, here is where it gets troubling, I found it close to the listening post, with three sets of prints leading away from it. I gave the original seal to Lady Tsunade, and made a working copy for you to look at. I was hoping you might be able to tell me whether or not Konoha should be worried." Takashi pulled the seal from within his jonin armor and handed it to Fang who took his time in studying the object.
"It is defiantly Yokai... because of these marks here, and here. As for who made it, the only way I would be able to tell is if I could trace the chakra trail. Unfortunatly, this seal is one use. Although, from the design, it seems to be a prototype of sorts, a test. Which would mean, that if you find more of these specific seals, you will not have to worry much, but if you encounter a seal with a more advanced design... It must be brought to the attention of the Hokage immediately."
"Hai, sensei." Takashi stood up "Thank you for your answer, and the training. I am treating everyone tonight, and I do not wish to be late."
"Oh? Made it to Hokage tower late did you?"
"No, I am doing this voluntarily. I will see you when I get back."
"Have fun, young Kit. Say hello to the rest of the team for me."
Takashi nodded, before making a hand seal "Kai!" and he was back in his room, Fang resting in the corner, his usual spot. Leaving Takashi to dump his armor on his bed grab some clothes, and walk to his shower.