Konnichiwa, minna-san, I'm back! Hope you didn't wait long. So! Here's the first official chapter, please enjoy.

It came to my attention after I posted the Prologue that I didn't include a format guide or vocabulary. So the guide will be up top from here on out and the vocab will be in author's notes within the story. I will only do it once per chapter, until about the fourth chapter; then I'll only do it if it's a new word altogether. I'll also include the prologue's vocab in this chapter; thanks for being understanding.

I would also like to thank those that followed this story and the reviewer that figured out what I was doing with Yuu's formal speech as well as his habit of referring to himself as "this one". Cyber cookies to you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, except for Yuu's fox & ningen forms! So many things I could do with the actual series (or at least the men)...

"Regular speech"

"Yuu's speech"

'Regular thoughts'

'Yuu's thoughts'

Naru's mental link

Yuu's mental link

-Flashbacks/End Flashbacks-

(Author's note)

Chapter One

Under the shade of the overhanging trees, the bushes rustled and shook. A young, blood-red fox kit skittered from the underbrush. Pausing to sniff the air, he looked around the clearing; shimmering emerald and gold eyes scanning carefully. Seeing no danger, he scampered to the roots of a large tree where a young strawberry-blonde girl was dozing peacefully. Why she still chose to return to this place was a continuous mystery to the fox. The small kit sat at her feet, listening to her steady breathing.

In, out. In, out. In, out.

Deciding she was rested enough, he weaseled his way around her body; stopping near her ear. He mewled softly and nuzzled her cheek; easing her awake so as not to startle her. Sighing sleepily, she cracked her eyes open, blinking them rapidly to get rid of the remaining blurriness. With her vision cleared she focused her cat-like gaze on the small, bloody red fox at her side. Her fox-slit, blue-green, jewel-like eyes took in his sleek red body, black socks and ear tips, sleek and silky black tipped tail, emerald and gold-flecked eyes, fanged fox grin and his aura of complete trust, loyalty, affection and calm protectiveness.

"Yuu, you always wake me up so sweetly," Narumiko crooned softly, scratching the red demon mark on his forehead and running her fingertips across the matching red whisker marks on either side of his face. Narumiko sighed softly when he just tilted his head and gave her that toothy grin of his, ears twitching from the soft burst of air that brushed the top of them from his Naru's sigh. Narumiko sat up and pulled her loose strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder to comb her fingers through it; once smooth she braided it loosely and tucked it up into a sky-blue skullcap and tied it closed with a thick white, silk ribbon. She stood, straightened her black hakama pants, pulled down her pale-blue qipao (traditional Chinese dress) styled top, grabbed her grey and black cloak and fastened it shut at her collarbone with a ruby-red kitsune broach. Satisfied that she was ready, she flipped the hood up to shade over her eyes and grabbed the basket of fresh flowers and wild fruits.

"All right, Yuu. Let's get a move on!" Yuu yipped happily in return and jumped to his feet. Laughing as Yuu began to hop around the rocks and dash over and under tree roots, Narumiko let Yuu lead the way home until the village's high walls came into view. Veering sharply to the right, the pair avoided the main gate and walked along the wall for about a half mile until they came upon a section of wall that was covered in thick ivy vines. Checking around themselves carefully, so that no one would discover their secret path, they slipped in between the wall and the vines. Locating the swirl symbol hidden in the vines shadow, Narumiko pushed her oni (demon) chakra into her right hand causing a matching symbol to appear in her palm; she placed the palm symbol onto the wall symbol.

At first nothing happened, and then the simple black swirl flashed a brilliant ruby red and spread out into a continuously flowing intricate pattern. The expanded symbol appeared to take the form of a nine-tailed fox that seemed to be posing; sitting with its head held high and its tails splayed out above and behind it. The fox went from a glowing red to a flat black.

"Kogitsune (little/small fox)."

Once Narumiko gave the password the fox symbol faded into the wall causing the wall to disappear, with the ninjutsu (use of energy for physical attacks/summons) seal deactivated the pair walked into the dark passageway that led to the backstreets of a lesser inhabited area of Konoha. Once inside the wall immediately materialized back into place again; the whole process was perfected to a point that it only took about one minute to enter the passage. Another advantage to it being a perfected seal was that the seal only needed to be deactivated from outside of the wall; the inside wall was merely a well-developed genjutsu (illusions) that was active 24/7.

The pair walked calmly through the nearly pitch-black passage; neither needed to worry over not being able to see, though, Yuu was a demon and Narumiko was blessed with multiple demonic attributes. 'Well,' Narumiko mused, 'Yuu is an oni soul… I suppose it works the same.'

-Flashback-

"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 (human), 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 (ninja dog) 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!"

And with that, the young girl stepped up to the cage and sat on one of the tails the giant fox had slid through the cage bars. Once he was certain she wouldn't fall from her perch, he lifted his tail high into the air, hovering the silky appendage just in front of the seal; the taiyoukai relished the fact that he was the cause of her squeals of laughter as her golden-blonde hair swirled around her quickly rising figure.

"All right then, Kogitsune, give it your all so that this one may be with you."

Narumiko reached out to grasp the top left corner of the paper and, with a determined look within her cerulean eyes, pulled as hard as she could; successfully removing a little over three quarters of the seal from its resting place. A bright golden light flashed and Narumiko suddenly felt herself enter a free-fall. She let out a startled yelp as her frail body began heading towards the ground at an alarming rate. As suddenly as the light had appeared, it disappeared again and Narumiko felt a pair of strong, nearly possessive, arms wrap themselves around her small frame.

"All is well, Kogitsune. This one has you, fear not, I won't let you go. This one shall allow no more harm to be done to you," a deep, increasingly familiar voice whispered into her ear. Narumiko was placed back onto her feet and turned to see what had caught her. The only things she was sure of was that it was Yuu, Yuu was male and that he looked dignified and important. "Yuu?"

"Yes, Kogitsune, this one is truly one and the same. This form is this one's ningen form. What do you think?"

Narumiko looked Yuu up and down. He wore a black sleeve-less fishnet shirt that was held around his neck by black choker, a pair of deep, forest-green ninja pants that were cut off just above his knees due to silver knee guards that went on to attach to black shin guards that stopped just above his ankles. He had a pair of black Chinese slippers with ruby-red embroidered patterns on as well as black arm warmers with dark green trim tied off with silver bands, nearly black-green fingerless gloves with silver protective plates on the back, silver armor plates across his left shoulder, upper arm, upper back and chest. Yuu also had a black robe with that same forest-green trim and a lighter grey-green fox emblem in the middle of his back. His eyes were a deep emerald green, gold-flecked color that almost seemed to emit a soft light on their own and his hair was a vibrant fire-red that, if it was down, would reach to his lower thigh, knee area; he currently had his hair in a loose braid that he had put into a seemingly loose bun with his bangs sweeping to the left side of his angular face, two locks that reached his navel were tied around silver hoop-like items at the bottom. His sharp facial structure was made even more exotic by the three matching, red whisker marks on either side of his face, slightly sharp and elongated canines, nearly elven shaped ears and a strange red mark on his forehead; the symbol looked like a swirl that's end went up once it reached the top of the second circle and a short vertical line beneath the spiral.

"Yuu, what're your clothes supposed to be? They look like ninja or warrior clothes with a few samurai armor pieces…"

The Maō (demon lord) laughed heartily, "Something like that, Kogitsune. This one is a Demon Lord, thus this one must appear regal and fearsome to some degree. I meant would this one pass as a ningen in your village?" Narumiko looked thoughtful; scrunching her nose with her brow wrinkled and a slight pout. "Hmm, I don't think so, Yuu. I'm sorry."

Yuu gave the six year old his trademark toothy fox grin, "Tis alright, Kogitsune, this one just wanted to be able to take ningen form occasionally so that you are even less lonely. This one will merely be allowed only a kitsune form." Narumiko nodded, "I pulled off a lot of the seal, will everything be okay?" Yuu nodded so she continued, "can I do anything about how bad it is in here?"

"All will be well; you shall merely go through a few changes; better now than later. Tis your mind, do with it what you will. You must go now, but fear not for this one will be able to speak with you now. Tis called the 'Mental Link'; just think what you wish for this one to hear and it shall be done. Kogitsune, fear not the changes that shall appear upon your body. Now rest, you need it; this one shall see you soon."

Narumiko smiled one last time to her new friend; her first friend, Jiji-san (Grandpa and an honorific used to show mild respect) and Kaka-nii (honorific used for a brother) don't count. And, thinking how happy she was to have a friend, she fell into a soothing darkness that made her feel all warm and fuzzy. All she had to do next was tell Jiji-san what happened, but that could wait for the morning.

-End Flashback-

Narumiko came out of her memories as they reached the end of the tunnel. The tunnel had been of continuous help over the years; it offered a quick escape from angry villagers as a child and a way around the gate guards so that she could train and get decent food; far better than the moldy and rotten food the grocers and vendors gave her. The pair paused at the lip of the passage; Yuu poked his head through the vine's cover. She felt a tug at the mental link and responded by opening the link further, Yes, Yuu?

There is a ningen walking, just a moment more. Wait for this one's queue.

Of course.

Narumiko waited patiently for the signal. After about a minute of waiting, Yuu flicked the black tip of his tail across Narumiko's ankle; 'Coast is clear.'

Move out, Yuu.

Yes!

Without hesitating or pausing, they slipped out from the passage, crossed the back street and ducked behind some crates in the alley. Narumiko glanced over her shoulder and double-checked to be sure the veil of vines had fallen and settled back into place over her genjutsu. Assured of the passageway's security, she ushered Yuu into her hand basket. Once Yuu was settled and comfortable, Narumiko held the basket close to her stomach and flipped the cloak over it to insure Yuu was hidden and protected; there was no reason for Yuu to get rocks thrown at him again. 'Stupid ningen...'

Pulling her hood down lower over her eyes, Narumiko slipped from the alley onto the main street and worked her way through the market; twisting and twirling this way and that, avoiding being bumped, pushed and jostled about by the mid-morning crowds. By skillfully avoiding the herd-like people, she managed to slide her way onto a less crowded side street and took off running towards the far side of the village; she didn't stop until she reached the giant metal fence that separated the Forest of Death from the surrounding areas.

She walked up to the main gate and entered though a little doorway. Once she was about a mile into the tree line she stopped and let Yuu out of her basket; dropping her hood as she did so. Alright, Yuu, I'm going to transfer some chakra for the change.

This one understands. Let's go, Kogitsune.

Narumiko pushed a large portion of her demon chakra to the seal on her stomach; if she were to look at her stomach when she did this, she would see how the permanent black tattoo-like mark turned red. Yuu's little seven inch tall form burst into a blinding red light that disappeared to reveal a ten foot tall fox. The only real difference, aside from size, is the red tint that appeared in his eyes due to the large chakra influx. Yuu knelt beside Narumiko and used his tail to help slide her petite body onto his back, just behind his shoulder blades. She leaned over and nearly flattened herself to Yuu's neck; she buried her hands deep into the scruff fur and held on tight. Once he was sure Narumiko was ready, he rose and trotted a few steps before lurching forward and jumping high into the canopy; once he settled into his stride he bolted from branch to branch intent on getting his Naru home quickly and safely.

In this fashion the pair headed deep into the Forest of Death, always towards the tall tower in the center; their home of four years. Once Yuu reached the outskirts of the tower's surrounding clearing, he made the leap from the tree canopy to the ground just before the main double-door entrance; landing lightly on his soft paw pads so that he wouldn't jostle his Naru to much. Once his body had completely stopped swaying from the sudden loss of momentum, he knelt and once again used his tail to assist the twelve year old down from his back.

Narumiko got herself orientated quickly and released the chakra from her seal allowing Yuu to revert to his smaller form again. A bit farther, Yuu, and you can adopt your ningen form again. The chibi (little) Maō yipped happily at the thought of being able to spend time properly accompanying his Naru, his adopted Imōto (little sister).

Together they entered the main door. Once through, the power seal on Yuu was immediately dropped and his body flashed a bright gold; this time revealing an exotic looking young man that appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen dressed in deep-green hakamas (loose-fitting pants often used in dojos) and a black sleeve-less qipao top embroidered with red thread and gold silk-string ties. His long hair upswept into a stylized-messy bun pinned with gold senbon (needle weapons often used in acupuncture) adorned with ruby fox charms and silver bells. His Chinese slippers making no sound on the stone floor while his bells and silver hoop ornaments made soft tings and jingles when they touched as his hair locks swung about gently. He raised his slender hand and swiped his bangs to the left then proceeded to inspect his long, slightly sharpened nails for dirt; satisfied that they were nothing less than perfect he looked to his cute container and gave her a nod to signal he was prepared to head towards their living area.

"I swear, Yuu. Sometimes it seems like you should've been a woman." Yuu gave a short chuckle, "Never, hime (often an honorific; refers to a lady, or a high-born female; occasionally used to mean princess), this one is merely a being of great beauty. That is all."

"You can deny it all you want but face it; you're even more girly than me."

Yuu gave a feminine snort at her comment of being girly. "See!? That right there! Girly. I was right," Narumiko smiled smugly as Yuu looked slightly peeved that she was, indeed, correct in her observations. "That is of no consequence. This one smells a ningen; your Hokage has graciously decided to pay us a visit. Let us not keep him waiting."

Then let's get a move on, can't keep Jiji-sama (honorific for giving high respect) waiting forever. Smiling fondly at the girl, as she led the way up to the third floor to unlock the specialized seals that separated their home from the rest of the tower, he used his reiki (aura or energy) to create a comfortable grey and silver yukata (men's outer robe) to go over his clothing as he was fully prepared to begin relaxing on the softest cushions they had in the fourth floor living room. They went up three flights of stairs and stopped in front of a wall.

Turning to the wall, Narumiko pushed a combination of her oni and ningen chakra into her right hand; resulting in soft purple glow. A flash of vibrant violet and the wall turned into a set of ornately carved bamboo wood doors; the carving a beautiful motif of each of the nine bijuu in their true oni forms with the kanji for each of their elements. She pushed one of the doors open, momentarily breaking the sound-proof ninjutsu when the seal on the back of the doors was broken in half. Shutting the door firmly, they walked upstairs; passing the third floor training grounds.

On the fourth floor, sitting casually on their largest couch, was the Hokage; he sat with his hat beside him while he made impressively large smoke rings from his tobacco pipe. "Ohayō gozaimasu (good morning), Jiji-sama. What can we do for you?" The Third looked over to the doorway they had just came through and smiled in his kind, grandfatherly way, "Welcome home, dear. Nothing much I promise, Naru-chan (honorific of familiarity towards young girls), I just wanted to pay my favorite blonde a visit. How have you been lately, has your training gone well?"

Narumiko giggled at his nickname for her, "Jiji-sama, you know I haven't been a true blonde for nearly six years. I've finished everything you had assigned as well as what Yuu gave me. Your Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone) technique will come in really handy since I can't get my chakra levels low enough for a simple Bunshin (clones). My Akuma no mahō (demon magic) is already at a mastery level thanks to Yuu." The old man looked sad at the mention of her near-death beating, six years ago, at the hands of two civilians that had gotten past her ANBU guards. He recovered quickly, resuming his usual smile, "Of course, and how gorgeous your long strawberry-blonde locks are; even prettier than your blonde bob. Now, there is another reason I came to visit."

Narumiko sighed as she walked around the island counter to set her basket beside the kitchen sink. I figured there was another reason he would visit at this time in the morning, it's almost ten. As much as I know he hates paperwork, he wouldn't leave without something important to discuss. She sighed again, this time because Yuu only chuckled at her. "Well then, Jiji-sama, what is it that's so important you'd skip out on paperwork?"

Yuu chuckled even more when they heard the Hokage mumble something about "the bane of his existence" and how it "just grows bigger whenever he blinked". As Narumiko put the flowers into vases with water and the fruits into a strainer to wash, Yuu took his time propping himself into the most comfortable position he could on a large pile of fluffy cushions and pillows against the center of the curved south wall, beside a big bay window. The view from the window being the great expanse of forest that made up the rear of Training Ground 44; it was nearly all forest until it hit the mountains, a solitary lake being the only other thing in the landscape.

Turning on the faucet, Narumiko let the water run over the fruit a bit before she started to was them. "Well," the Hokage began, "I've decided that you've been a recluse for far too long, Naru-chan. So I've taken the liberty of assigning you to a genin (beginning level ninja) team. You are to join the ranks by being placed with a squad."

He took in her suddenly tense posture. "You are strong, and more than prepared to join at a higher level than genin, but I feel like you need to become social again; and not with just me and Kakashi. And, no, Yuu doesn't count; you two are attached," he cut her off, seeing the look she gave as she opened her mouth. Narumiko snapped her mouth shut quickly. She took on a contemplative look as she arranged her fruit into a light blue bowl.

"Jiji-sama… What if they don't accept me? I mean, I would be joining them after they've gone through four years of academy." She took the fruit bowl and a vase of Convolvulus and Clematis and placed them together on the red wood coffee table. The blue and yellow-white of the Convolvulus and the pale pink, of the Clematis, blended together nicely in the small, spiral-shaped black and gold vase. This one knows the Convolvulus is for humble perseverance but what meaning are you using for the Clematis?

I'm using three of its meanings. Cleverness, intellectuality and ingenuity.

Ah, this one understands now.

The old man took a deep drag from his pipe as Narumiko tossed an apple to Yuu and took a few blueberries for herself. "You're probably right, Naru-chan, but don't let that get you down. Those are beautiful flowers by the way, dear. So! You must promise to me, and yourself, that you will still try your hardest no matter what happens; after all, you try so hard now, so just go a bit farther." He paused to see how she would react.

Narumiko thought it over while popping blueberries into her mouth. Looking over at Yuu, who was happily munching down to the apple core, she waited for his input; he only gave a half-shrug. Sighing once again, she gave up that line of thinking. "All right, I'll do it. Who's going to be on my squad?"

The Hokage grinned like the cat that ate the canary; he had thought she would've been more difficult to persuade. "Well your team-mates are a surprise but I can tell you that your jounin (a journeyman ninja, 3rd level up after graduating academy) sensei (teacher) is going to be Kakashi."

Yuu chuckled as his Naru's face lit up like a sky filled with fireworks. Yuu spoke with mirth evident in his voice, "This one takes it that you are pleased with this, Kogitsune?" Narumiko looked over at him with a 'no duh' face while the Sandaime laughed heartily. Pleased with her reactions, and acceptance, the Hokage rose to take his leave.

"Well then, you two, I'd best be going; no doubt that mountain of garbage called paperwork has tripled in my absence. I swear the council just makes things up to add to the damned pile," shaking his head, he grabbed his hat and turned to leave when Yuu's scoff and Narumiko's throat clearing stopped him. He turned to see what it was the girl wanted and saw her trying to hold back laughter; that in and of itself was a rare occurrence anymore, aside from with Yuu. She raised her hands to form a cross, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu hand sign, and said, quite happily, "You know… For you being the one to teach me this jutsu, and the Hokage, you sure don't understand the implications of what it can accomplish."

The Hokage was floored.

How could he not realize that he could've used shadow clones on his arch-nemesis- I mean paperwork- the entire time! And the fact that a twelve year old girl, that had just learned about the jutsu two weeks ago, had to be the one to tell him…

His ANBU were going to get hell when he got back.

Narumiko finally let a few giggles escape, "Judging by your face, I take it no one told you!" Snorting loudly, and femininely as Narumiko would've pointed out had she not been laughing, Yuu added his two-cents, "It would seem that your loyal ANBU have been having a good laugh all these years, eh, Hokage-sama?" With a slightly feral growl and a curt nod to the Jinchuuriki (human sacrifice and demon container) and Bijuu (Giant, tailed demon that protects a certain area of land), the Hokage turned with a flourish and told them good-bye; although their advanced hearing caught his grumbles about 'reducing pay' and 'revenge D-rank missions'. His robes billowing out behind him as he left through the high-arched entryway, they heard him stomp down the stairs and distantly caught the sound of the main door slamming shut.

Looking at each other as they both imagined the horrors, and babysitting jobs that awaited the Hokage's ANBU, Narumiko asked in mock fear, "Y-y-you don't t-th-think he'll m-make them do t-the… Tora Cat Mission, d-do you?" Yuu answered with a matching look of horror across his face, "No! Do not even speak of that mission! Tis a curse upon the house."

A pause and then they both broke out laughing. Taking off her cloak and black flats, forgotten at in the presence of the Hokage, she turned to the Closet that was next to the entryway and put them away. Turning back to Yuu, she asked him, "So, do you think we can be ourselves around them? Or do we play the charade game?" Yuu contemplated his answer a few moments before shrugging, "Perhaps we should give them the benefit of the doubt and wait until our first major mission before truly revealing ourselves; even if we merely reveal a tiny portion of truth." Narumiko nodded at his wisdom.

"Well, tomorrow is a new day. Come what may we'll give it our best as always." With the major choice decision made, she went up to the top floor to meditate in her botanical garden. Tomorrow would indeed be a new day, with new experiences.

Well, that's the first chapter! Hope everyone enjoyed it. The poll for who is paired with Naru is close but here they are as they stand now:

Haku: 3

Neji: 2

Shino:2

Rock Lee: 1

Gaara: 1

and 4 unique voters

Everyone that chose a different guy, I am very sorry but i cannot access your choices so if you would kindly take the time to either p.m. me or send a review with your choice I would greatly appreciate it. Well until next time. Ja ne, minna-san!