Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Naruto.
Of Foxes and Ferrets
Chapter 1
Hypothermia
He cowered in the corner as the villager advanced, the hatchet raised above his head.
"This is for my son!" the man yelled as he brought the weapon down, intending to finally kill the 'demon spawn'. But the pain never came.
The child looked up to see a person with their back to him. They were holding a kunai, keeping the hatchet at bay.
"How pathetic," they said coldly, "Attacking a defenseless child. What has this world come to?"
"Shut up! This monster killed my son," the man shouted angrily, "It's time for him t-"
Before the man could finish, the figure was behind him. They delivered a chop to his neck, effectively knocking him out. Turning slightly, the stranger spoke.
"You're safe now," their bright yellow eyes burned through the darkness of the alley, "Go on, go back home."
The child shrunk back into the wall behind him, "Wh-who are you?"
The figure sighed and lowered the unconscious man to the ground, then they turned to face the boy.
She was breathtaking. Her medium-length black hair was choppy, but that didn't make her any less beautiful; in fact, it gave her a rather rustic beauty that set off her bright yellow eyes perfectly. To further her beauty, her lips were perfect and red, just like an apple. All her features were further set off by her perfectly-tanned skin. She wore civilian attire, but she managed to make that look glamorous as well. To say the boy was transfixed was a bit of an understatement.
"Didn't you hear me, kid?" she growled, ruining the angelic picture the boy had painted in his mind, "Get out of here."
He jumped at her cold tone, but obeyed. He ran as fast as he could out of the alley and spared spared a look back, but the woman was gone.
The minute Naruto left the alley, it began pouring. His usual hyperactive demeanor didn't hang about him, doused by the days events. Now, he was thoughtful. He thought about the woman. About why she saved him. Who was she? Was she a kunoichi? It sure seemed that way considering the how she moved when she took out the rogue villager.
There was a pause in his thoughts long enough for him to sneeze and wipe his nose with his sleeve. He was starting to get cold. Really cold. His clothes were soaked all the way through and the wind was blowing.
Naruto whimpered as a particularly violent gust plastered his wet t-shirt to his back. His blonde spikes quivered and flopped back into their new slicked down position which, unfortunately, was right in front his eyes. He fiddled with his hair for a few minutes, trying to keep his bangs out of his eyes, not really paying attention to where he was going.
His foot caught a loose root in the pathway and he fell flat on his face. The mud below him squelched when he hit. Instead of yelling and complaining and getting up, he just sat there. He was too cold and too wet and too hungry to move. His last meal was about two days ago when old man Ichiraku had taken pity on him and given him a free, all-you-can-eat, meal.
He considered just sitting there, letting himself catch hypothermia and just be out of the way. Everyone treated him like a burden, a monster, a demon. It would just be easier to get out of their hair and just…just die.
But…but he hadn't become Hokage yet! Why was he thinking like this? He had shinobi training to complete!
Naruto hopped up from the ground and made to take a step forward. His knees, however, had different plans. They buckled beneath him and he fell back to the ground, this time on his back.
"ARGH!" he screamed, attempting-and failing- to stand up. He struggled and yelled a few times more before slamming his fist into the mud. It didn't really succeed in doing anything except make him even dirtier.
Why couldn't he get up? Naruto wiggled uncomfortably, realizing that his limbs were beginning to go numb. He began kicking his legs and flailing his arms, but did little more than make a spectacle of himself.
"You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" An amused, voice asked from somewhere behind him. Naruto didn't need to look to know that it was the woman again.
He wanted to make a snippy remark, but had no time to do so. In the short five seconds it took Naruto to recognize her, she'd disappeared, reappeared right next to him, and thrown him unceremoniously over her shoulder.
"Hey!" Naruto yelped as the woman began walking away, the young blonde slung over her shoulder and umbrella overhead, "Hey, you crazy old bat, put me down!"
In reply he received a sharp jab from the woman's shoulder, "Kid, if you don't shut it, I'll drop you right here and you can catch hypothermia-" at this Naruto sneezed "- you already have a cold."
Naruto growled, but didn't say anything. If only he could move his arms! Then she would be sorry! Especially when he became Hokage. Then she'd have to listen to and respect him, same as everybody else!
Naruto had expected the trip to only be a few minutes. Instead, it took at least twenty. Not that Naruto noticed. He was fast asleep before even ten minutes had passed. The woman had shifted him into a more comfortable position after he fell asleep and re-adjusted the umbrella so that it covered them better as she ran.
She ran much faster than a civilian, but the way she moved suggested she could move even faster. The rain bounced harmlessly off the umbrella with gentle ptap ptaps. She arrived at the endge of the village in a matter of minutes. The gates were closed for the night, but that didn't faze her. She channeled chakra to her feet and shot into the air. Halfway up, her feet met concrete. Her chakra took hold of the wall and helped propel her up the wall. She paused at the top, checked the sleeping eight-year-old in her arms, and jumped.
She fell the several hundred feet to the forest floor, but landed with the grace of a bird of prey descending on its next meal. However, she did not run this time. Instead she calmly walked into the towering trees. She walked until she came upon a wooden hut. Smoke was curling up from the chimney and there was a soft glow coming from the inside.
The door creaked as she pushed it open.
"Ah! Hitomi-chan!" A larger-than-normal ferret jumped up from its position curled up in front of the fire. It made to jump onto the woman's shoulder, but stopped when it saw Naruto, "Woah, Hitomi-chan, I didn't know you were the type to kidnap children."
Hitomi glared at the furry pest and set Naruto on the couch.
"I didn't kidnap him," she said, the irritaion in her voice barely noticeable, "He's an orphan…And I told you not to call me chan."
The ferret ignored her last statement, "You never struck me as the type to adopt, either."
"Dorobou, if you're not quiet," she paused as she moved into another room to grab a blanket, "-then I'll make you sleep outside."
"Aw, but Hitomi-chan~!" Dorobou squeaked, causing Naruto to stir slightly and Hitomi to glare at the rodent.
"Shut up," she sighed and draped the blanket over Naruto, "If he wakes up, tell me." And then she left the room.
"Dorobou do this, Dorobou do that, Kami forbid Dorobou get any rest," the large ferret muttered as it hopped onto the couch next to Naruto.
"I heard that," Hitomi said. Dorobou fliched.
A/N: *Hangs head ashamedly* Gomenasai. I know I haven' written anything recently and starting a new story seems like a bad idea, but I had a massive brain fart. This was sitting half-finished on my laptop so…here it is!
Fun fact: In this story Hitomi's name means beautiful virtue in Japanese. However, it has two definitions. Hitomi can also be translated to pupil of the eye. Weird, huh? Maybe I'll have a chapter where Naruto and Hitomi make fun of each other's names.
I hope none of you are too upset,
Alias E.
UPDATED/EDITED 6/14/12