Kitsune-san

By: Jolly

XXXXXXXXX

Author's Note

XXXXXXXXX

EDIT: This is just a repost. I finally thought up a good summary and decided to give it another shot. Sometimes people don't give a story a chance if there isn't a good summary, ya know?

Okay, I know that I've already got two other stories that I'm working on, but I had no choice. I went to work on the fourth and fifteenth chapters of my other stories and found myself unable to write a chapter for either that I liked enough to give the 'OK' due to my muse telling me I needed to write this story. Or at least the first chapter of it...

I apologize to those of you who have added me as a favorite author or put me under author alert that were expecting to see another chapter from one of my other stories, but I feel like such a heel whenever I ignore my muse (because of how I treated her in the past) that I can't help but let her have her way.

Anyway, I'll have to see how this chapter goes so I know whether I get to tell my muse 'told you so' or if I have to treat her to a day at the spa.

Enjoy!

XXXXXXXXX

October tenth. A day of celebration for the residents of Konoha. It was the anniversary of the day that one of the village's greatest heroes, the Yondaime Hokage, had sacrificed his own life to defeat the Kyuubi no Kitsune as it attacked their beloved village. The streets were decorated and the celebration was already in full swing. It was a wonderful day filled with food, drink, and fun for everyone in the village. Well, almost everyone...

A four-year-old Uzumaki Naruto was running as fast as his little legs could carry him away from the mob of angry and drunken villagers that had literally ripped the door of his dingy apartment off its hinges as they tried to kill him yet again for reasons the young boy couldn't fathom. He'd had to jump out of his window to escape; it wasn't the first time he'd had to do that either.

He knew the streets of the village fairly well, but unfortunately for him, he'd lost track of where he was in the darkness with the villagers chasing after him. He took a quick right between two buildings only to find himself trapped in a dead end thirty feet later.

He spun around and started to run back out, but stopped in his tracks as the mob started to run past the alleyway. He froze in the hopes that they wouldn't see him. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side. One villager paused at the entrance to the alley and took a moment to check inside. Leaning forward slightly, he saw the slight reflection of light off of the boy's white shirt. "Hey! He's down here! And he's trapped in a dead end, too!"

The man's voice was filled with sadistic glee as he stalked closer to the young boy. Those that had already passed doubled back and followed the man in trapping Naruto. Soon the alleyway was filled with bodies. However before anyone could get close enough to grab the boy, two ANBU appeared between the boy and the mob: one wearing a dog mask, the other a cat.

"Inu-san..." the young blond said, recognizing the figure that was most responsible for saving him during these incidents, fear and relief apparent in his voice.

The one with the dog mask glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning to the mob and speaking. "By order of the Hokage, disperse this mob or be arrested under charges of inciting a riot. You have thirty seconds to comply."

The man who'd stopped at the entrance to the alley took a step forward to confront the two figures with rage in his voice. "Enough with this! Move aside so we can finally kill that demon! With it dead, the village can finally sleep soundly at night!" A few of the other villagers in the crowd yelled their support.

The dog-masked figure didn't even flinch. "Fifteen seconds."

A good portion of the mob began backing out of the alley, realizing that the ANBU was dead serious. The rest stubbornly stood their ground.

The man, apparently the self-appointed 'leader', stood firm. "You filthy demon lovers make me sick! Why do you protect that thing?" The blond boy started to shiver at the tone the man was using.

Dog Mask simply raised his fist beside his head and raised up two fingers together. Six more ANBU appeared at the mouth of the alley, effectively turning the trappers into the trapped. The eight elite ninja would have no problem disabling the twenty or so remaining villagers quickly. The six that appeared moved to apprehend the group when suddenly Cat raised his hand to halt them. Turning to the boy behind him, he picked him up by the back of his shirt and held him above his head in front of him as he turned back to the group.

"What do you see here?" he asked the trapped citizens.

The leader answered again. "A demon!" The rest gave short nods to agree with the man.

Cat rotated the boy in his hand to get a good look at him. He could see tears streaming down the boy's face as he shivered in fear. He also could smell the urine from where the young boy had wet himself. Lowering him slightly, he looked back to the villagers.

"Really? All I see is a four-year-old kid that's scared shitless. Either he's the demon you hate and fear so much or he's a lonely, scared little boy that you're taking your problems out on. You can't have it both ways. If he's the demon, then you wouldn't dare treat him the way you do, because if you did, that demon would kill you without a second thought or an ounce of remorse. If he's the scared little boy, which is what I'm seeing, then the lot of you deserve to go to whatever hell is reserved for those that would kill a child. We make you sick? HA!"

Several of the villagers lowered their heads in shame as the speech hit home. Cat gave a discrete signal and the ANBU at the mouth of the alley began knocking most of the group out with chops to the back of the neck. The four that remained standing were shocked that they were still among the conscious.

Cat eyed them for a moment. "Izumi, Tora, take those four to holding cells. I'll talk to them shortly. Team Hebi, take the rest to Ibiki. I'm sure he'll love to give them his 'special' treatment for ruining his night." A series of 'hai's' met his orders as they moved to follow them.

Cat put Naruto down and made sure he stayed on his feet. The blond looked up in awe at the man that was just holding him.

"Gomen-na, Neko-san..." he said quietly.

"Stop that right now!" the man yelled. Naruto jumped in fright and started to back away, thinking the ANBU was going to attack him; it wouldn't be the first time. However, Cat reached out and grabbed the boy's shoulder gently, pulling him closer again. "I'm not going to hurt you, kid. Listen. Don't apologize for something that's not your fault. You did nothing wrong. Only apologize for things that you've done that you know are wrong, understand?"

Naruto nodded his head in silence. Cat crouched down so that he was almost eye-level with the boy. "What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"U-uzumaki Naruto," he stuttered out.

'Uzumaki? It couldn't be... but then again, how many spiky-haired blonds has this village had? Looks like 'Inu' and I need to have a talk tonight...'

Cat smiled under the mask. "Well, Naruto. How about you go with 'Inu-san' here to get cleaned up and then we'll all three go to see Hokage-sama together? That sound okay to you?"

The boy simply nodded.

Cat stood up and Dog held out a hand for the boy to take. "Thanks Inu. I'll meet you back at the kid's place after taking care of some stuff."

Dog glanced over at his partner. "Going to deal with those four?"

Cat shook his head. "No, they can stew for a bit. I'm going to report in and I need to check on a hunch."

Dog's only reply was a nod and a shunshin as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves with Naruto. Taking to the rooftops, Cat made his way to Hokage Tower.

XXXXXXXXX

"Report."

Cat was kneeling before the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, with his eyes on the floor.

"Hai. Teams Neko and Hebi intercepted an attempt on Uzumaki Naruto's life by a mob of close to one hundred villagers. Before we arrived on scene, the mob had broken into the boy's apartment by way of removing the door. After escaping through the window, the boy was chased almost ten blocks by the villagers before getting cornered in a dead end alleyway. We intervened before any harm came to the boy. After giving the group a chance to disperse per our orders, we took approximately twenty villagers into custody, only four of which were taken to normal holding cells. The rest were sent to the Torture and Interrogation Unit."

The entire report had been given in the same position he appeared in.

"Explain the four."

Cat paused for a moment from embarrassment at his outburst. "Hai. Before apprehending the group, I slightly lost my temper and went off on them. The four were the few present that showed they felt guilty for what they'd done."

The old Hokage looked at the man in front of him with interest. It was his first night back on active duty in the ANBU since he returned from his deep cover mission in the Hidden Mist Village. Already, he'd succeeded in protecting the village pariah on what had turned out to be the most dangerous night of the year for the boy in recent years. The way he talked about the boy showed none of the scorn that had infected most of the village (including some of his own ANBU) and even though he delivered his report in a serious tone, Sarutobi had noticed the veiled disgust in his voice when he mentioned the group sent to Ibiki.

Maybe his lack of hatred towards the boy derived from not being present during the Kyuubi attack. It could even be that he didn't lose anyone close to him. Whatever the reason, Sarutobi planned to use it for the boy's benefit.

"At ease. I'd like to ask you something, Neko, and I want you to be absolutely honest with me when you answer."

Cat rose to his feet and placed his hands behind his back. "Hai, Hokage-sama," he replied.

The Hokage leaned forward and steepled his hands in front of him. "What do you think of how Naruto is treated?"

Cat answered immediately. "It's deplorable, sir. It's the exact same thing that I hated about being in the Hidden Mist during my five years there. These people hate that boy for something he has absolutely no control over."

He wanted to say more, but held back. Cat wasn't known for speaking subtly, especially not when told to 'be absolutely honest.' However, you could only say so much without crossing the line when speaking to a Kage.

Sarutobi, being a master of reading body language, noticed this and nodded. "Continue."

Or maybe not...

Cat gave a short nod. "Sir, it is my belief that the villagers need to get their priorities and facts straight. That boy is nothing but the fox's jailer, yet they treat him like trash while claiming he's the demon itself. If Naruto was really the demon, I'm sure he would have already flattened this village after the way he's been treated. Yet from what I understand from Inu, that boy's dream is to someday have your job. To me, that only proves my point further."

Finished, he stood a little straighter, proud of himself for keeping his speech curse-free. The Hokage still had yet to say anything in reply, so Cat decided to try his luck. "Sir, if I may ask you a question as well?"

Sarutobi paused in thought for a moment before inclining his head slightly.

"Naruto is 'his' child, isn't he?" Cat asked, looking directly into the Hokage's eyes. Sarutobi wasn't the only master in reading body language, but Cat knew that it was the eyes that spoke the truth no matter what came out of a person's mouth.

Sarutobi kept his eyes locked onto the mask of the man in front of him as he thought about whether or not to tell the man the truth while leaning back into his chair. After almost a minute of silence, the older man decided that the best way to answer would be the ninja way.

"Even if I knew what you meant, I couldn't tell you the truth, Neko. That boy's safety is too important to reveal his lineage." Cat gave an imperceptible nod in response.

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir."

And he really did understand. Cat knew from how the Hokage had answered that his hunch was correct, but by outright answering or otherwise releasing that information he would be putting the boy in unnecessary danger.

Sarutobi looked over his soldier once more before making a decision that would change the man's life. "Neko, I'm going to assign you a long-term, three-part C-ranked mission. I'm putting you in charge of that boy's safety. You will be leading two full teams of ANBU of your choosing to ensure that he comes to no harm. You and your teams will protect Naruto until he has either graduated from the Ninja Academy or until he decides to leave the village. Do you accept?"

There really was no way for him to say no. There were two reasons for this. One: ANBU are the Hokage's personal weapons. When he said 'kill,' the person indicated would be hunted down and killed without question. Two: Cat wanted to take this mission, even if he had to do it solo. However...

"Two questions, sir. What do you want me to do in the event he decides to desert... and do they have to be ANBU?"

Sarutobi thought carefully for a moment before replying. "In the former case, your mission will be upgraded to a long-term solo A-ranked escort, protection, and training mission. As to the latter; yes, they have to be ANBU," he said, giving Cat a meaningful look that he quickly understood. He didn't trust everyone in ANBU and was using Cat's 'search' for his ideal team as an excuse to do some covert mole hunting.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I accept this mission. You'll have a list of my teams within forty-eight hours. By your leave?"

"A moment, Neko," he said as he reached into his desk and pulled out an red-orange mask. "You will wear this mask while acting as the commander of this task force and you will go by the codename 'Kitsune.' Understood?" Sarutobi asked as he handed the mask to the man. Looking over his new mask, he couldn't help but notice that it looked remarkably like how the Kyuubi did from how Inu described it. It even had slitted eye holes that looked like foxy eyes and painted-on whiskers. Cat, or rather Fox, developed a devious smile under his mask. A few alterations and...

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," he said as he removed his old mask and put on the new one in a smooth motion that revealed nothing of his face to anyone that might be watching. He hooked his old mask to his belt and bowed.

"Good work tonight, Kitsune. Carry on," the Hokage said, dismissing the man.

"Hai!"

XXXXXXXXX

Author's Note

XXXXXXXXX

Okay, my muse is satisfied! Now I can try to make some progress on Walking a Different Path and Mystic Eyes and the Demon Within! YAY!!!

Now that I've written it, I have to say that this story will not be worked on unless I get a large response to continue it or my muse makes me again. I haven't decided pairings or teams yet, but if this does continue, then the main pairing will be either Naru/Hina or Naru/Ino. Other pairings will be decided if the story continues.

Oh, and if you can guess the identity of Cat/Fox (not the name since he's an OC, just who), I'll even use one of your ideas in the story. Since I don't really have a storyline planned out for this fic, pretty much anything goes. The only thing I absolutely won't use is a superpowered bloodline for Naruto since I'm not big on Naruto having a bloodline at all. I decide what is considered 'superpowered'. Here's a hint: he's related to one of the main characters in the canon series.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

P.S. Still looking for a beta for all of my stories!

Ja-ne!