The Strength of the Wolf

Chapter 1: The Wolves at the Door

Chapter Summary: It takes one to know one and for Naruto, there has only been one other individual to 'know' him. Even with his 'precious' people, he can feel the glares and remaining hatred of the village that still fears his inhabitant and still wonders why he was allowed to live. Deciding to grant the village their one wish, Naruto sets out into the unknown. And it is there he will finally understand the true strength of the Jinchuuriki.

"If you live among wolves…you must act like a wolf" – Nikita Khrushchev

What if all the hatred and the lies that made up your life finally found their bearings and weighed down upon you until the point of breaking? Would you snap? Would you give in and break; becoming a bitter shell of what once was? Or would you choose to save yourself, despite the probability of succeeding in the endeavor?

Uzumaki Naruto was facing that probability in the face as he stood watching Konoha from the safety of the forests surrounding the Village Hidden in the Leaves. No one wanted him there. Hardly anyone realized he was there unless he did something to garner the attention. After all the good he had done, all the proving he could muster, they all still saw one thing: the Demon Fox.

He'd saved the village from another just like him, only more crazed and driven to blood-lust. He had survived an A-Rank mission, even nearly taking out someone much more able than him, and yet the only one who had taken the right kind of notice had been Iruka.

He'd even gone with one of the Sannin, the legendary three, and convinced the Godaime to return to the village. They really owed him on that one; he highly doubted the village would have wanted a perv at the helm.

And yet he was still 'it'. He was still the Nine-Tailed Fox. He was still the dead last loser.

Beating Hyuuga Neji in the Chunin Exams hadn't been proof enough either. That had taken a lot out of him, but he had done it when everyone else expected him to fail. Didn't that count for anything? Didn't it show he was capable of doing what all the other shinobi were capable of? No, they probably spat on the ground and lamented about how the demon had tricked the Hyuuga prodigy and Neji had been robbed of his victory.

Naruto stiffened and looked to the sky. It was now shades of purple and pink as the sun began to dip below the horizon. To the east was the encroaching darkness and to the west was the setting sun. The gates would be closing soon and yet his feet remained firmly planted to the tree branch he was standing on.

He'd been standing there for a good hour at least, after he had finished venting his frustrations on the poor woods surrounding him. How many trees had he just killed thrusting Rasengan after Rasengan into them? Heck the Shadow Clones he had summoned seemed to also hold a hint of wariness as they all went after what was basically him.

The sun began to profile the village that hated him and Naruto closed his eyes to it. Konoha was all he had….

Right?

Do you break or do you try to save yourself?

Had it been this difficult for Sasuke to make this same decision or had the Uchiha Heir just not given a damn and he had easily shed his Leaf Nin status for the status of 'kept pet'. Naruto growled and thrust his raw fist into the trunk of the tree to his left. It was yet another screw up to tack onto his many. He'd be breaking a promise to Sakura, something he never did, could he really just drop everything?

Darkness was his friend and now that the sun had fallen he began to run… away from the village and towards the Valley of the End. From there he could go to many different countries, just none of the ones he really could find help in. Suna would be the first place they would look, not that he did not think Gaara would turn him away; he just did not want to start a war.

Or be found.

Waves also held some merit but was he really that good with boats and fish? Not to mention it would be hard to keep it a secret if the bridge's namesake was walking about. It was too close to Fire anyway.

What was worse? Living alone in the wild or living alone in a village full of people? This was an extremely risky bid, but he finally decided it was either this or breaking, and he could not bear the thought of what that might mean. If he was caught he'd be locked away or killed. If he broke, it might mean the fox would finally have the opening he needed to just overtake his body.

So he fled. Like a coward he fled and prayed he did not run into anyone from the Leaf as he went. As he did consequences and snags ran rampant through Naruto's mind. What if he accidently bumped into Jiraiya? He didn't have a clue as to where the Sannin had gone off to but he'd roundly kick his ass for sure. No more summoning toads. They would report back to the Toad Sage and his whole cover, whatever it was going to be, would be blown.

If he heard dogs could he out run them and Kakashi? What would Kakashi do to him if he was the one that found him?

"Damn it." He frowned as he looked down at his feet. He was probably leaving a scent trail large enough for any dog, Kakashi's or not, to follow.

"Poor Iruka-sensei…"

Naruto finally stopped and grasped tightly onto a tree that seemed suitable for spying. It was near a rushing river, that'd hide any sound he'd make. It had pretty dense foliage; no one could really see him from the ground. The only thing he could not do anything about was scent but he chose to ignore that fact.

He sat shakily to calm his racing mind and nerves. This did him no good if he did not figure something out. Naruto focused instead on the water, lazily allowing his mind to focus on the waves and the fish beneath.

Pulling out his frog full of money he frowned. Sure he had saved up for the essential supplies at first but what happened after that? He could not take missions. It'd be like holding up a neon sign over his head. What else could he do? Not like he was that good of a ninja anyway, the way everyone went on about it.

"The water!" his mind snapped to quick attention and he leapt down to the water's edge. He'd dunk himself in the water then camp a little further away from the other side of the banks. It would, in theory, dissipate his scent should trackers be after him already.

If they had even noticed he was gone that was…

The water was chilly but it had to be done so he dived right in and waded towards the other side. He swam along the banks till he saw a good escape, further downstream than he had started. Naruto slipped out of his jacket and let it float away in the river, along with his headband…wow he felt naked without the snugness around his forehead.

As he continued on his way, on the other side of the bank, he began to collect dry bits of wood. Once he found a suitable place he stopped and began to arrange his haul and started work on his fire.

He let the darkness envelop him even with the fire going. The dancing flames lulled him a bit but still his mind raced with all the things he hadn't thought about. If they found him he was dead. If he stayed he was dead. Akatsuki was a new threat that sprang to mind. Never once had he thought of the freaky Mist Swordsman or Sasuke's brother.

What a royal mess this was going to turn out being.

As he drifted off to sleep, Naruto prayed to whatever gods might be willing to listen to a demon container that no one found him.


After very little sleep, Naruto began to jog again. His feet instinctively seemed to know where to go as he made his way back to the Valley of the End. It took him most of the day but he finally arrived in the same place he and Sasuke had faced off in not a few weeks ago.

And he felt assaulted by the guilt and the memories of what had been said.

What had been done.

The way Sasuke blew him off, had been cold and distant, not how he wanted to remember his teammate, but it was the truth. All the time Naruto and Sakura thought they were making headway was just Sasuke keeping his true nature hidden.

Even though he had claimed he wanted to keep on as a fool, when Jiraiya had pleaded with him to not repeat the past, he saw now what the Sannin was trying to get him to see.

Sasuke only wanted one thing: Revenge. And until he got it, nothing else would register in his brain. He had to go out, find his revenge, and then see how empty it was. Then perhaps the Uchiha would return. Then again he'd be Orochimaru's fully by that point.

Naruto positioned himself a top the Second Hokage's statue, watching the water yet again. His thoughts had slowed from the previous day but the concern remained. He wasn't any better off than he was before. At least Sasuke had somewhere to go.

Perhaps that was what he could do! He could try to find Sasuke, follow him to where he went! Then he'd have a purpose as well as a place to go.

No…that was a dumb idea. Orochimaru would just as easily kill him or experiment on him the moment he found out Sasuke had been followed. Death by snake was not too appealing. So what else could he do?

He found himself headed for the waterfall, his mind again wandering away from what it should be focused on and more so on that day he and Sasuke fought. The scars were still in the rock around the waterfall, just not as apparent as they had been before. The steady flow of water had begun to smooth and erode the jagged edges of broken rock and sediment.

So why did it feel so fresh?

"Damn it! This isn't going to help me any." Naruto yelled and began to pace. If he went north, he was in Sound. If he went east and north he'd be in Lightning eventually. If he went west he'd be in Grass or Rock. Maybe if he took the long way around to the west and then went south, he'd find himself in Wind and no one would think to look for him coming from that direction. It'd take him long enough that any trackers sent to Suna would have come, searched, and gone.

Still to fall back on Suna, to force Gaara into such a decision…it seemed wrong of him.

Naruto began to scale the high cliff walls, away from the water and the rock. He had to find a good place to camp for the night and start another fire. Thankfully he'd at least learned the survival aspects of being a Ninja fairly well because there were some days he had ended up having to camp outside, too scared to return to apartment until daylight.

He began to follow the river from the opposite side and down from the waterfalls. The river slowed here to a steady passing of water, nothing hurried or grand about it. The stone statues were finally out of view when he finally came to stop and made his camp.

"I really am a loser." He muttered to himself as he watched the dancing flames, hugging his knees to his chest. The night air was a slight bit cooler than before and the first time since yesterday he missed his bright orange jacket.


A sharp jab in his thigh woke Naruto from the hazy dreams of torture and angry faces glaring down upon him. He did not really know when he had finally drifted off to sleep the following night but at least this time he had slept, if not quite a peaceful sleep. He groggily blinked at the dead fire in front of him and then turned his attention to his leg, still being prodded by what appeared to be a sheathed weapon of some sort.

"Greetings wayward traveler!"

Naruto's shot up quickly and found himself face to face with a young man, maybe about his age, with wild copper-toned hair. He wore a goofy grin and was proudly balancing the sword he had been poking Naruto with on his shoulder.

"Rough night pal?"

"You might say that." Naruto growled back as he backed a few inches from his visitor. He wasn't wearing a headband of any kind, hell he didn't even look like a ninja save for that weapon he kept bouncing up and down on his shoulder.

"Hai, you look a right mess now. Decided to camp out next to the water last night?"

"It was so inviting."

What was this guy getting at? Naruto was slowly moving to take a defensive stance, but didn't want to tip off the boy that he was trained as a ninja.

"Well I'm sure it was if you were looking to lose your scent trail." The boy winked at him knowingly and began poking around the ashes of Naruto's fire. "You get kicked out of somewhere?"

"Yes." Naruto lied and wondered if this was a bounty hunter of some type.

"You were right Ryo!" The boy yelled behind him and soon a young girl was leaping down from the treetops around them. She landed behind the intruder and smiled brightly. She had the same copper-toned hair only hers was intricately woven into a long braid down her back. She looked more like a ninja than the boy did. She wore a kunai pouch on her right leg and her clothing just seemed more apt for a fight than the loosely fitting apparel of the boy.

Naruto cautiously reached into his kunai pouch and wrapped his fingers around the smooth metal within. Who were these two? Why were they here and how had they found him?

"Raj, play nice." The girl said sweetly then turned her attention to Naruto. "Sorry about my twin, he liked to put people on edge sometimes. So you got run out huh?"

"Hai." Naruto nodded and stood still.

"Why'd they run you out? You can't be any older than us."

And so started the stalemate between them. Naruto did not want to reveal too much, knowing that money was a powerful motivator and if Akatsuki was looking for him, a pair like these two could easily report to the organization or to Konoha about having seen a boy matching the descriptions. Still the easy going posture of the male and the kind look in the female's eyes put him slightly at ease. They didn't look too threatening and if they were enemy nin why hadn't the boy just killed him in his sleep?

"Oops, asked the question that crossed the line." The boy, he had heard called Raj, was laughing and turning towards the river.

"Seems a rather innocent question, don't know why it would have set him off." The girl, Ryo, was saying to her brother, now behind her.

"It's because I'm a demon container." Naruto blurted out. He straightened and tightened at the same time. He hadn't meant to blurt it out, but seeing them talk to each other like he wasn't there, had triggered a response out of him. Was it some kind of Genjutsu they had used or did he just have a death wish?

"And…" the girl cocked her head to the side and watched him with mismatched eyes, one brown and the other pale blue, almost white, with an odd pupil.

"And what?" Naruto responded, not sure how to take her reaction.

"What's that gotta do with them kicking you out?" Raj laughed as he peered into the river. His hand snaked out at a quick speed and came up with a large fish in hand. He smirked back at his sister who shook her head at him and crept towards Naruto's fire. Her whole attention seemed to be on the dead embers of the fire and before long the flames came back to life.

Naruto blinked in confusion. The fire had died, how had she done that without even touching the burned out twigs and branches he had used to start the fire in the first place.

"They think I am the demon I contain."

"Pft, you are no demon." Raj said bluntly and tossed the fish, now limp in his grasp back to Ryo, who caught it and began to clean it with a kunai and a bit of water she had drawn from her backpack. The boy continued to watch the water and reached in two more times, each time coming out with a fish of a decent size that he would then give to the girl who cleaned and skewered them and began to roast them over the fire.

"You are nowhere near a demon." He continued as he came to sit next to the girl. "Bunch of backwater idiots…"

"Raj, be nice, most do not understand what we do." Ryo smiled up at Naruto, still standing at the ready ahead of them. "So what's your name?"

"Naruto."

"I'm Ryoki and this is my twin brother, Rajan. You can call me Ryo if you like." Her gaze went back to the fish, sizzling over the fire. She twirled them around slowly, letting each side get licked by the fire's flame.

"And stick to Raj." The boy added in, it was just as his sister had been calling him.

Naruto sat down slowly, keeping himself a few feet away from them, but also taking note that they had caught three fish, not two. "So you're okay with it?"

"Of course we are! We were raised and trained by Gobi no Houkou. So which one are you?" Ryo winked at him and Naruto found himself blushing.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox…"

"You're the Kyuubi?" Raj sputtered and leaned forward to inspect Naruto more closely. "Wow that's gotta be a blast! Infinite Chakra…fire jutsu that could incinerate whole forests..."

Naruto rubbed at his neck and found it a tad uncomfortable at the sudden awe Raj was showing. "Um…okay?"

Ryo reached over and slugged Raj hard in the shoulder and once more she smiled kindly upon him. "Don't mind Raj, he's a goof ball."

Silence fell between them all as the pair went about cooking their fish and Naruto went about studying them. It wasn't an uneasy silence though. Naruto could now see that the boy also had a weird eye, just like his sister, just on the opposite side of hers. He inwardly noted they possibly had an eye technique he'd never heard of before, but then again what did it do? Was that why he was slowly letting down his guard? Was it some unseen Genjutsu that did not require hand signs? Deep in his gut, however, familiarity tugged at him. Whatever it was these two seemed to have something about them that was familiar. Yet he'd never seen them before.

"What are you doing here?" he finally found the nerve to ask.

"We're digging up dirt on the Fire Country." Rajan replied. "People pay high dollar for that tasty little gossip."

Naruto couldn't help but look in the general direction of Konoha. They were spies and they were here to dig up dirt. Did he return to Konoha and warn them or did he stay with his plan and do nothing. Even if he did warn everyone, would they care or give him credit? No…they would bash him for behind away from Konoha when he shouldn't have been.

The smell of cooking fish forced his stomach to growl angrily at him for not feeding it last night. In response Ryoki smiled knowingly and took the first fish she had started cooking and leaned over with it offered to him. He looked up at her for a moment and she patiently waited before Naruto decided he had not seen them do anything other than catch and cook the meal. It was safe. So he took it and smiled nervously in return. "Thanks."

The twins took the other two fish and began to eat as well. "How about we cut you in on the deal?" Raj pointed behind him. "I bet it'd be nice to get a little revenge."

"Yes!" Ryo perked up at the idea, swallowing her bite of food before continuing. "You could join us. We know some good hunting grounds and we've got a good client list started and you certainly look like you know some good tricks."

"Really?" It seemed awfully rash on their part to welcome a stranger, even more so for him to join them. "I'd be a missing nin you know."

"Of course you could! Most ninja teams are three aren't they? Raj and I are only two. Might even the odds a little to our favor."

"Not to mention there aren't many shinobi that would step foot in where we live." Raj grinned wickedly as he bit into the fish. "We have some inborn security."

Again Naruto found himself glancing back towards Konoha. He hadn't really had a good plan up to this point and now it seemed one was presenting itself. Still it was another hard decision to make…betray the village entirely and gain new allies or refuse and be out on his own.

He looked down at what was left of his breakfast and back up at the twins in front of him. They seemed nice enough and more than willing to overlook his 'container' status. "So what do you want to know?"

Ryo tossed the remains of her fish away to the river and stood up, brushing off her leggings and stretching out her back. "Ah, none of that, we'll have plenty of time to discuss the juicy gossip on our way back to Grass. I think we should start out getting to know each other a little bit don't you?"

Naruto found himself grinning and nodding his head. "Hai, that sounds nice."

"Like for starters…why the hell are you wearing orange." Raj smirked as he picked up his gear and once more snuffed out the fire that had once cooked their breakfast.

Naruto looked at his pants and laughed. "Oh, I really like the color."

"Riiiiiighhht."


The trip to Grass Country didn't seem quite as long as Naruto had thought it would be. When he asked Ryo and Raj about their showing up in the Valley of the End they replied that they had just come from Sound, another of their targets on the trip they were currently on.

They used the Valley as a shortcut to Konoha but he had saved them a trip and a lot of staking out claims. Really they had shaved weeks off of their journey.

The two were ahead of him now, weaving their way in an out of the busy traffic around the Lord's Lands, moving purposefully towards the large home set above the rest of the estate. Naruto himself was nervous at the prospect but Ryo and Raj didn't seem the slightest bit daunted in their task.

"Business?" a large armored man asked as they approached the double doors of the home.

"Tell Lord Owashi that the Little Wolf has returned." Ryo said, straightening herself in front of the guard. She gained an air of importance that Naruto was sure she hadn't had before. The guard nodded and disappeared behind the doors to inform his lord of the visitors.

The twins, from their short trip together, seemed rather laid back and easy going. Raj, as Ryo had explained that first day, was a goofball and Naruto rather enjoyed their conversations. He and Raj were a lot alike in personality and in temperament. Ryo was much more subdued than Raj, but she had the same wit about her that made Naruto laugh. She was also very kind and took the time to explain things if she saw Naruto didn't quite follow their line of thinking.

The guards returned and propped open the door with one hand, making a quick motion with his head and the three entered. Ryo confidently lead the way, like she had for most of the trek through northern Fire Country.

They walked around the outside, passing several doors and pathways until a nervous looking woman stepped out and held her arm out in a gesture of direction and Ryo turned into the room she had been directed, Raj and Naruto close behind.

"Ah! Little Wolf! I was not expecting your return for several more weeks." An ornately dressed man, only just slightly overweight, addressed Ryoki from atop of his seat in the middle of the room.

Ryoki bowed formally and then took a seat upon the lone pillow set out in front of and below the lord. "Hai, Lord Owashi, we were able to get information easier than we expected. However, I think you will be pleased with the information we have obtained."

After agreeing to go with the pair, Naruto had told them all that he thought was important. There was the attack by Orochimaru, the diminished ranks, and of course the new Hokage. Most he figured would not be too much of a detriment to Konoha because rumors would already be floating about.

Rajan and Ryoki had then proceeded to fill him in on what they had seen in Sound. It had dismayed Naruto a little to hear that Sasuke had indeed gone to Orochimaru and as Rajan and Ryoki had seen it the Sound Leader was grooming an heir to his little empire. Naruto knew better, he knew what it was Orochimaru wanted out of Sasuke, but he had agreed and told them what he knew about Orochimaru from his own experience.

"So it is true then, Rice has a Hidden Village now." The lord took a large draw on a pipe he held and let out the smoke slowly.

"All of our digging says yes. It is led by a Missing Nin from the Konohagakure Ranks. I believe his name is Orochimaru."

"One of the Legendary Sannin…how unfortunate." The man frowned and reached over to a plate to his left full of foodstuffs and drink. "And another of those Sannin now leads the Hidden Leaf?"

"We saw a woman matching the description of the Slug Princess, yes." Ryoki lied…they had never set foot in Konoha, Naruto had only told them about Tsunade.

"Before long the Toad will have his own country and all of us in-between will have no hope for better representation." Lord Owashi frowned. "Still you say Konohagakure is in a recovery state?"

"Hai, Lord. The attack led by Sound left them a little worse for wear and with the induction of a new Hokage, the transition period is still in effect."

"These are trouble times." The Lord said and drowned a cup hungrily. Naruto wondered if all Lords were like this or just this one was. The inside of the room was decorated in gaudy green and gold trappings, several women sat about in lavish make-up and overstuffed kimonos and dresses. It confused him a little as to why a Lord of a small country such as Grass wanted to know the comings and goings of other countries but then again politics usually made his head hurt. "But you're information is a great help, you are defiantly worth the price of your reputation, Little Wolf."

"As agreed upon, we would like our payment so that we might return to our other duties. Unless, of course, you wish us to seek out some other treasure you've been wanting?"

The Lord waved behind him and some servants brought forth a couple of bags and laid them in front of Ryoki. One servant also handed a wallet to the Lord who began to count out the bills inside before handing a good sized chunk to Ryoki.

Rajan had moved forward at the time and was inspecting the bags. He brought out his hand, full of kunai, and he inspected the shiny metal for any impurities or note of wear. He finally smiled and replaced them and ruffled through the rest of the contents without pulling anything out.

"All here." He muttered to Ryoki and tossed a bag towards Naruto before shouldering the other.

"We appreciate your business, My Lord. Should you need us again you know where to contact us."

"Of course." The man began to finger the money again and then held out a little extra. Ryoki stopped and stared at him for a long time, as the Lord held out the proffered money to her. "Go on now, Little Wolf." He smiled and closed his eyes. "I have always paid my help well, and you more than deserve your worth."

Ryoki bowed deeply to the man and took the extra cash gratefully. "Thank you Lord. We shall meet again I am sure."

As they all stood they were escorted back the way they had come. Once free of their guard escorts Ryoki and Rajan led the way into the grasses that surrounded the Lord's estate. Ryoki smiled and handed back the extra money to Naruto who blinked in response.

"Go on. You're the one that saved us weeks of scouting on this trip. You will earn your keep I'm sure."

Naruto quietly took the money and counted it. He was surprised at the 'extra' the Lord had included. "So you guys are information gatherers?"

"We like to call ourselves border hoppers." Ryo said as they walked along, her hands gliding over the tall grasses now up to their hips. "We go where others normally cannot because we have no home nation. We were born on the trails, we run the trails."

"Take Lord Owashi there. He wants information because information is what keeps Grass in the game." Rajan said from behind Naruto and Ryo.

"And that information keeps him in the good graces of the Daimyo and the Hidden Village." Ryoki added in. "But to keep his edge, he cannot hire those from Kuso because they would report directly to their Kage, and not to the Lord. He needs to be able to pull this information without the others knowing."

"It's a politics game." Naruto frowned.

"Hai, hai, but it is one to our favor." Rajan smacked him on the shoulder as he came to walk with them. "New weapons, some supplies, and cold hard cash."

"We've been sent on recon, info gathering, item retrieval…" Ryo began to list their accomplishments. "Really almost any kind of mission any Hidden Village Ninja would be sent on."

"Only the pay's a lot better." Raj snorted. "Come on, let's get home."

Rajan and Ryoki began to pick up the pace. Naruto followed suit, making sure he had a good grip on the tote he had been given to carry. He noticed they were beginning to near a large forested area on the horizon. Naruto had been sure most of Grass was just that…Grass…because that's all they had passed through on the way to the Lord's Estate. But this forest looked lush and healthy. Something about it seemed unworldly to him and he kept his eyes on it long and hard as they approached.

When they hit the tree line, Raj and Ryo began to dart in and out of the trees. Faint smiles had turned into huge grins as they raced near the center area of the glen and what seemed to be to Naruto the largest tree he had ever seen.

"Welcome to the humble abode." Ryo grinned as they landed near the tree, surrounded by a small pocket of grass and no trees or shrubs. "This is the Great Tree of Houkou…though he doesn't live here anymore."

"Just us and the mutts now." Raj threw his bags towards the trunk of the tree and started running up the side, chakra sticking him expertly to the smooth, mottled bark. He got to a prominent high branch and threw his head back and did something that really confused Naruto.

He howled.

And it sounded so much like a real wolf's howl Naruto almost had thought it to have been a real wolf…only he had seen Raj throw his head back and go through the motions. Ryoki began to howl beside him, a lighter tone than Rajan's. Naruto had to wonder what it was exactly they were doing, and if he had made a horrible mistake.

"You guys live in a tree?" he asked after they finished their odd behavior, hoping to ignore the fact they had just howled like wild animals in his presence.

"Hai." Ryo nodded. "Don't be afraid, they will accept you." She patted him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"Who will?"

Just as he asked more howls broke the air. Naruto stiffened and began to look around him in the grass and trees. The grasses at the edge were moving, parting, with the movement of 'something' through their rows. Soon wolves were leaping and weaving through the brush and coming to the tree; howling, yipping, and running around them like they were celebrating their return.

They were all different shades of gray, black, and brown. Naruto even caught a glimpse of a white wolf, dancing in the throngs. Their eyes glowed eerily in the dappled daylight and some of them were huge; some as tall as himself, if not taller.

It struck him then that the very large ones, the ones that he thought could easily be taller than him, had more than one tail. Usually it was only two and the occasional three, but they had multiple tails.

They were demons.

"You live with demons." He whispered anxiously towards Ryo and she laughed as a few of the wolves lapped at her hands and tugged on her sky blue shirt.

"We were raised by the Five-Tailed Wolf, Houkou. This is his pack. We have taken up leadership of them because Houkou was captured by…"

"Akatsuki." Naruto found himself saying and shuddering at the same time.

"Yes, the black cloaks with red clouds adorning them." A new voice answered. Naruto turned and found a large grayish-white wolf sitting himself in front of him, eyeing him with watchful green eyes. "What have you brought home with you, Little Wolf?"

There was that nickname again.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto," Ryo shoved Naruto forward till he was nose to nose with the wolf. "a new member to add to our pack."

The wolf snorted. Naruto felt its hot breath on his face. He tried not to flinch; hard to do with a five foot wolf staring you in the face.

The wolf began to circle him, as did others in the pack around him. One tails, two tails, and a few of the threes, all were sniffing at him, licking him, and nosing him. Naruto looked up to Rajan, still in the tree, grinning like a mad man at his predicament. He highly suspected Raj was getting a good laugh out of his discomfort.

"You've brought us a fox. The Nine-Tails." The wolf growled and bared its teeth as he sat back down in front of Naruto. He also heard a lot of non-intelligible growls and words he didn't quite understand from around him. Naruto gulped as he stared at the yellow-stained canines that looked like they could clean bite his head off.

"Yes, a fox that has lost his den." Ryo nodded.

"Very well, Ryoki-sama." The wolf nodded finally and stalked towards the tree. "We shall house the Nine-Tailed Fox. We shall train the poor fox-kit as it seems those who raised him did not do so well."

"Train?" Naruto blurted out and the grayish-white smiled a toothy grin and chuckled deep in his throat.

"Yes, little fox-kit, train. You withered in front of me, you became like a pup that was in the presence of a predator, these are not good traits to have when hunting or preying. You lack confidence and strength."

"And we will train you how to use the chakra of the demon-fox." A female wolf came and sat next to Naruto, which made him start. She was a smaller three-tailed wolf that was coal black and had startling blue eyes. "You will have control over the Kyuubi."

"Are you serious?"

"Trust us, Naruto-san." Ryo moved to sit her own bags down at the base of the tree and she sat herself beside the grayish-white that had first approached Naruto. She slung her arm over his massive back and laid her head on his head as he lazed in a sunny spot at the base of the tree. "You'll like it much better here."

Naruto took in the number of wolves around him another time and shakily ran his hand through his hair. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

"Relax fox-kit." The coal black wolf nudged him gently with her nose. "None in this pack shall harm you. I will keep guard to make sure."

"Um…thanks…"

"Kuroi." The black chuckled and began to nudge him towards the tree using her body mass to push him. "Silly Pups did not warn him." She was muttering under her breath.

"Do you think he'd had believed us Kuroi?" Rajan piped up from above them. He was now lying back on the large branch he had first perched on. Naruto noted that some of the smaller wolves had even gotten up to the branch too and were lying on Rajan's lap. "Either that or he had fled miles by now."

"I would have liked a warning. I mean I obviously know there are demons, just didn't know there were so many."

Ryo reached over and touched his arm lightly. "I apologize. We should have warned you. And Kiro's really not that bad, he just has to be picky."

The gray/white snorted again and closed his eyes and wrapped himself around the girl. "Stupid human pups, always dragging home strays."

"What?!" Raj jumped down so fast it startled Naruto. "When have we brought home strays?"

"Well I guess I meant you are strays, and now you are bringing in another stray…" Kiro said lowly.

"And boy you got jumpy." Raj turned his attention away from the wolf and onto Naruto.

"There are like a couple dozen large predators running around me…what am I supposed to be?" Naruto found himself defending himself.

"Relaxed." Raj smirked playfully. "They ain't bit you yet have they?"

"No…but…"

"It is because, technically speaking, you are the larger predator here. You are the Nine-Tails."

"No I'm not…."

"Raj, leave him be." Ryo threw a small pebble and it hit Raj neatly in the head. "He has to get used to it. From what I heard, Fire wasn't too nice to the Fox Clans."

"Clans?!"

"Don't worry Naruto, we'll teach you." Ryo winked at him. "There are probably a lot of things you didn't know."


"Stand up."

The rough growl of Kiro registered in Naruto's brain and he found his footing again and stared at the green-eyed demon wolf before him. He wobbled a bit as he straightened, and he huffed in his own frustration at this new 'training' the wolves had enacted once he had stopped being so tense and jumpy around them.

It had taken weeks of reassurance from Ryo and Raj and even more sleepless nights before he finally realized this was a very good set up Ryo and Raj had. The wolves themselves were just like the twins, laid back and accepting. Most of them kept a wide berth of him, as they could sense his apprehension and his 'resident'. The pups, the smaller wolves, had really been the only reason he had gotten somewhat used to their presence.

Right now he was training with Kiro, the actual alpha of the pack of demon wolves. Three tails flailed behind Kiro and his teeth shone in the bright moonlight overhead. The grayish-white wolf snarled in response and bared his teeth. "You fight with fang and claw. Then you will find use of your chakra. But first you must learn fang and claw."

Naruto took up his kunai again and readied himself for the wolf's coming lunge. It was different fighting against a wolf, even one as tall as himself, because he was always afraid of hitting his head. Not only that but the wolf's body mass was off-center…it wasn't like a human at all.

Once again Kiro came at him, leaping and hopping from rock to rock in the flat plains area that Ryo and Raj trained in. The gray/white was fast and it took him some time to register his movements but once he did he began to dodge and mirror Kiro.

"Ahhhh!" Kiro snarled, with his version of a lupine smile. "Now we see the true nature of you! The fox within you! Dodge and parry, trick and confuse."

Naruto grinned as he landed on a rock and stuck himself there with his chakra. Whenever Kiro began to talk like he was, it meant he approved of what Naruto was trying to use against him. His grin widened as he began to try to go AT the wolf instead of the wolf coming to him.

Still the end result was the same, Kiro's large white paw rested on his chest and his fangs were closed carefully around his neck and shoulder. Naruto snarled, only noticing too late that he had done so, menacingly at the wolf above him.

Kiro let him up and snuffed hard in the dirt. "Now you are beginning to act like a wolf." He approved and walked around Naruto to use his muzzle to push him up to a sitting position. "Now quit fearing my head and attack me. Raj and Ryo are not afraid to scar this old wolf, but you are."

"I have no reason to hurt you when we are only training." Naruto frowned. "It doesn't seem right."

"Humans…" Kiro sighed and hung his head.

Without warning his head lashed back up with a speed Naruto had yet to see him use and he yelped as fang tore into the flesh of his left shoulder. Naruto reached up and began to pound on the wolf's snout, but Kiro only growled more harshly and shook him a bit.

Naruto struggled more to get free, feeling the fangs go deeper as he did. He finally gripped his kunai and stabbed it into the wolf's front flank. Kiro did yelp and let go of him. He limped a little bit away from Naruto and sat down.

Naruto panted as he reached up and grabbed his now bleeding shoulder, glaring daggers at the wolf. "What the hell???"

"Now we are past hurting one another." Kiro remarked. "You do not learn if you never experience. Human teachers are too light on their pups. They only show them how to fight; they do not make them actually fight. Do you remember your first real prey?"

Naruto frowned and nodded in affirmative that yes he did remember his first real mission and the Mist Demon they encountered. He may not have been a real demon but he was damn close.

"And did the prey play nice like your sparring partners or did they go for blood?"

Naruto hung his head and shook it back and forth. He realized what Kiro was getting at. The Academy only showed him, it never made him actually use it. And when he did experience it, it had come to a shock and he had stood still as a statue while others around him fought.

"They never taught you to kill, fox-kit. They only taught you how to survive. Now you have to learn the difference." Kiro stood up and stalked off, a few of the lesser tails coming up to nose at his flank where Naruto had stabbed him. He only snarled and snapped at them, making them all hit their bellies and roll over into submission.

Even though Raj and Ryo claimed ownership of the pack of demon wolves, it was Kiro that was alpha wolf. Raj and Ryo, no matter what their upbringing, were human and they required things like clothing, weapons, and food even though most of the time they ate deer like the wolves did, only cooked. Because of all of this, Raj and Ryo would take jobs, like they did for the Grass Lord, to earn money and supplies.

They did so in spurts, and always returned to the Great Tree and to the pack that Houkou had bequeathed them.

Naruto removed his jacket to look at the tear and the blood staining the black coat Raj had given him. Raj was slightly taller than him so it was oversized anyway, and the blood scent would probably give him away to any others that roamed the forests. He tossed it aside, defeated, and looked at the puncture holes in his shoulder. They oozed blood and hurt like hell, but he knew the wolf could have easily done much more damage to him.

"Ah, you got the lesson in striking today, eh Sonkei?"

Naruto glanced above him, in the solitary tree out in the fields and found Raj lazing about, as he always did, in the branches. The boy twin had taken to calling him 'sonkei' or 'elder brother', after the past month or two, which Naruto was at first very uncomfortable with. No one had ever called him anything close to family before, but Raj was more than happy to.

"So he did this to you too?" he asked up at Raj.

"No." Raj flat out rejected and raised his left arm to the sky, admiring a large line down the inside. It looked like a scar from where Naruto was sitting. "Try Houkou did that to me, and Houkou was as big as they come."

"Oh." Naruto looked to his shoulder again; yes it could have been much worse.

"We've gotta get you some new clothes." Raj was chuckling. "Yours don't quite fit right anymore and it's hindering your movement."

"You've been there the whole time." Naruto glanced at his t-shirt and pants. Sure they were getting a little loser the more lean he got off the diet of deer and hare, and he could see how it was tripping him up. He sighed and looked up at the moon. "Any villages near here?"

"Hai, quite a few; the best one is Dorsa though." Raj leapt down and pulled Naruto to his feet, grinning like a mad man again. "Ryo's been wanting to go and I…I like the girls."

Naruto stood still for a moment, shocked, and then began to point wildly at Raj. "You're a perv!"

"Hey now! Hey now!" Raj leapt back and waved his hands in front of him back and forth in a denying motion. "I don't peak or nothing. I only admire from afar."

"In other words you're a perv, Sonkei."

For a moment they both stared at one another. They both knew that was the first time Naruto had called Raj 'brother' in kind. It had stunned them both at first but Raj was quick to recover and he tackled Naruto to the ground and they wrestled despite Naruto's shoulder protesting the movement.

"Who are you to call me a perv? Foxes are known for their seduction and charming techniques!"

Naruto laughed and pinned Raj's arm behind him and then shoved him to the ground. "Well I have met pervs before, I know one when I see one Sonkei and you are one."

Raj and he chuckled and wrestled some more before finding themselves out of breath. They sat for a moment and smiled at one another before standing, brushing off some of the dirt, and heading for the tree. They really were brothers, Naruto thought as they walked along. They fought and got along like real brothers did, or as he had seen when he watched other families during his lonely days in Konoha. For once he had something to liken to a family.

When they got back Ryo only shook her head and motioned Naruto over to her. She brought out the bandages, kept in one of the knotholes of the tree they all slept in and around. She bandaged him up neatly and then began to pack a bag. "So are we good for Dorsa?"

"Yep," Raj leapt to his favorite branched, marked by the huge recliner like curve it created when branch met trunk. "Sonkei needs some new clothes."

"Well duh, we all do." Ryo snorted and threw a bag up at Raj. "I want to leave by sun-up. Dorsa is a couple of hours from here." She threw a satchel towards Naruto as well as she explained to him. "It's not a far trip but we might have to stay the night there."

If Kiro was the alpha of the wolf pack, it was Ryo that was the alpha of the three of them. No matter what it was cool, calm, Ryoki that had the plan, the route, and the direction. It was kind of nice to know his place in a group and to know he was viewed as an equal. Even though Ryo was the leader, he and Raj had their uses, and she knew how to utilize every one of her brother's talents. She was probably still getting a feel for what Naruto could do and he did fear being labeled as useless again, even though Ryo always seemed to enjoy watching him fight. She never belittled him, or corrected anything, but she would point things that she saw and let him come up with his own solutions.

The three of them packed and began to put down for the night. Wolves began to come to the tree as well, panting and exhausted from what appeared to be a successful hunt. Some had blood still staining their muzzles and some just looked downright frightful. Some of the younger ones came up to where Naruto had staked out as 'his' spot at the base of the tree and began to curl up next to and on top of him.

Some of the older individuals leaped up to where Raj was and perched themselves around his tree branches and Kiro and Kuroi, as always, curled up with Ryo on the other side of the tree that he had perched himself on.

Naruto looked around at the breathing mass of fur curled up with him. Some were only beside him or near him and others with their heads on his legs and lap. He looked up for a moment at Raj, already snoring in content in his tree and back to Ryo, speaking quietly with Kiro and Kuroi.

This was home. He'd only been with them for a couple of months and he felt like this was his home. He had lived for twelve years in Konoha and all he had ever felt there was the need to show everyone, to prove himself. He smiled and let his hand curl up in the fur of one of the massive creatures resting next to him. He curled up and rested his head on one of the older wolves behind him and smiled.

This was home.


Dorsa was a pretty large market town near the borders of Waterfall and Earth. It was crowded with shops and carts all over the place. It seemed just as busy as any Hidden Village Naruto had been in before and he hardly noticed when Raj darted away from them to go stake out a place to 'admire' from. He was too busy watching the crowds of people and the shops.

Part of him was on a razor's edge. The likelihood of anyone from Leaf being in this part of Grass was slim to none. Still Jiraiya liked to travel to some pretty odd places and if Raj thought there were girls here the perv might as well. There was just that slim chance of running into a familiar face. To live among demons was a safety net. Hardly anyone traversed in the forest just to the south of the borders because of the rumors of the pack. It kept Naruto relatively safe from anyone ever seeing him or discovering who he was.

In villages it was a whole other story.

"Relax, Kitsune." Ryo was murmuring as she stopped inside one of the stores and started browsing through the selection. Where Raj had started calling Naruto 'sonkei', Ryo had gone another route, she had begun calling him 'fox'. It was almost enduring coming from her, because she had specifically given him a nickname. Still it reminded him of what had led him to Raj and Ryo.

"I can easily put an illusion charm on you if you'd like." She was saying as she began to dig through the sleeveless tops made of light cotton weaves near the back of the store. Spring was finally starting to fade a little and the summer heat, as the twins described it, would be upon them soon.

Naruto had worn jackets constantly so he had explained he'd not mind it, but they were trying to convince him otherwise. "The ones I'm worried about wouldn't fall for something like that." He frowned as he began to pick and choose also, just as Raj had said he needed something that would actually fit him now. "They are a bit more perceptive."

"Like hell. You don't know the lore behind the named beasts do you? What their titles among their kind were?"

Naruto merely shook his head. Of course he didn't. All he knew before meeting them had been that demons were to be feared, and captured, and sealed. He hadn't even thought of there being titles or clans of the creatures roaming about the world.

Ryo kept along, picking up things here and there, and even threw a few things towards Naruto which he caught and looked up at her inquisitively. "Orange is an awful color for you…doesn't look right with your eyes."

Naruto blushed but accepted the clothing, knowing he really did have to change the whole style if he was going to blend in among different locations and countries and still not be recognized by someone.

"So explain the lore…" he prompted her.

"Well since you've been with us, you've learned that there is more than just the tailed demons right?"

"Obviously."

"Well each tailed-demon that the humans knew of had a title…a name that was unlike any of the other demons. These names and titles were to describe their abilities or their nature. For example Kyuubi was known as the God of Fire."

"That makes sense."

"Gobi no Houkou was known as the God of Illusions." Ryo smirked a little to herself in fond remembrance of her surrogate father.

"That doesn't make as much sense." Naruto frowned as he held up a light hooded sweater with a zipper up the front. It would be a good color, tan, and it had a nice weave to it.

"Houkou's tails represented each element of nature. Chakra always has some elemental lean to it. People have elements too." Ryo pushed him towards the back where dressing rooms were located. "Because of this, Houkou was good at illusions because he was good at drawing upon natural energy. It's the same with me and Raj because of our eyes."

"I always wondered about your guy's eyes." Naruto gingerly lifted his shirt off, wincing as his shoulder stretched uncomfortably. He wasn't aware that Ryo had stayed nearby to make sure what she had picked out fit right or not. "Is it a bloodline trait?"

"That is what most people say." Ryo said flippantly. "To us it just is. We've always had them so it wasn't anything new to us. We were always good with natural jutsu and Houkou merely picked up the trait and began to have us focus on our eyes. Oh! That's a pretty necklace! Where did you get it?"

Naruto turned so quick it made Ryo snicker a bit and point to the charm around his neck.

"This?" he grasped at it protectively for some reason and tried to not think of the woman who gave it to him. "I won it in a bet."

"It's a rare color of blue." Ryo turned away and headed for one of the other booths to try on her own garments. Naruto could still feel the blush on his cheeks and hurried to put his shirt back on and pay for what fit.

He did mentally take note that Ryo's favorite color had to be blue. Her clothing choices and her accessories always had some shade of the color in them…so did Raj's for that matter but Raj probably did that to match his sister, not for any preference he held. To play on the lore of twins meant getting into some places they normally could not.

"I guess so. It's like a good luck charm." That was a lie really, but it hadn't killed him yet he supposed.

"Why haven't I ever seen it outside of your shirt before now?" Ryo emerged, a new silky top on and her hair in a loose ponytail instead of the braid she normally kept it in. She took the tag and some other pants and shirts to the store owner. As Naruto followed her she snagged his stash from him. "Consider it a present since I did pick half of that stuff out."

"I dunno, I guess I never really thought about it." Naruto fidgeted. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Ryo smiled back and paid the woman.

Naruto reached out instantly to take the bags the woman presented. "You paid…"

"Okay, I guess I'll let you be the gentleman then." Ryo joked and they exited the store back onto the busy streets. Naruto felt an odd sensation around him and he looked over at Ryo questioningly. "You look nice as a brunette."

"You used a henge? But you didn't make any hand signs?"

"We don't need to, not for that." Ryo winked her one blue eye with the blue pupil. "We can draw on Natural Energies, which is all around us. It is something few can do. I know the Toads of Myouboku Mountain can, though they have a different way of doing it than we do. Houkou taught me and Raj the way he did it, it was less involved than the Toads way but the arts Toads can do are much more impressive so it's not a surprise. Really what our eye allows us to do is sense chakra's natural element and then to use whatever element we see fit, not just the one we are naturally attuned to. The illusions were Houkou's teachings."

Naruto had gone stiff at the mention of the Toads and wondered idly if she knew any of those toads herself or if she had only heard rumors.

"And something I have said has upset you." She turned on her foot and eyed him. "You know about Houkou and you know about us, so it must be the Toads."

Naruto gave a nervous grin and tried to ignore it, but she was a damn good idea for details, which annoyed him sometimes. "I've…seen a few summoned toads before."

"Really? Last we had heard the only human they were contracted with was some hermit."

"Ero-sannin." Naruto couldn't help but whisper. Technically he was also contracted with the Toads of Myouboku, but he would never use that summon technique again if he didn't want an angry Sannin showing up in the forest to pound him to within an inch of his life.

The thought of the older man made his stomach knot up but he quickly pushed the guilt away and focused on where this conversation was headed.

"You've met the old hermit then?"

"You could say that."

Ryo only nodded and began to walk again, taking in the little side carts and humming as she went. Naruto was glad she had let it drop like she had but something was still bothering him.

"How do you know about the summons?"

Ryo blinked at him a few times then smirked. "Think about it, fox-kit; huge animals that ninja can summon with chakra…some of which can talk to you."

"You're not saying their demons are you?" Naruto scrunched up his face and refused to believe it but then again, her point held some merit.

"Oh no, no." Ryo laughed as they passed into a huge courtyard like crossroads of Dorsa. She stopped again and began to look around. "Most summoning contracts are what we call cousins. Maybe a long, long time ago their clans were demon-bred, but after so long dealing with humans and being summoned and training for specific rolls they were reduced to being just one-tails, or as they are called cousins. They aren't demons anymore, they are just related."

"The Toad Clan is most like demons, they have retained the ability to speak and to be versatile in their abilities. Most of the rest are just inventions or trained pets by now. Bred to be the way they are for the purpose of fighting, spying, or relaying messages." Ryo continued when Naruto didn't respond. "What you don't understand quite yet is that generations before ours, demons weren't all that different from humans, or humans weren't any different than demons. It was us that deviated from that tradition and began to snuff the demon clans out."

Naruto nodded, sure that if he asked her to, Ryo would recite what she knew from her contact with Houkou. "Just out of curiosity… how old was Houkou…when you met him?"

"Demons can live for as long as they are not severely injured by another demon or if they are sealed away into a container." Ryo's tone became serious. "The tailed beasts saw things that many could not see. They are timeless because of their power. But since most have been sealed away, their knowledge and their power will soon be gone from this world."

"Houkou passed all that knowledge on to you, didn't he?"

Ryo hung her head and one of her arms reached up to hold her arm in an odd sort of self hug. "Houkou knew about Akatsuki before many had even realized there had been a power shift in Rain. He knew eventually they'd come for him and since he refused to leave his Tree, his Home, he knew that time was short. So he taught me all the lore, along with Kiro. It was like he chose Raj and I to be his human pack, because he missed having people around like he used to."

"I'm sorry." Naruto apologized, seeing that the topic he hadn't let drop like she had with him, was causing her grief.

"No, don't be. How else will you learn?" She smiled a little at him and began to scan the crowds around the large town square again. "You came from a society built on fear of what isn't understood. Humans learned different from demons and so the rift was started. But if more of us learn about what once was, maybe it could be like it once was."

"You'll tell me about it all sometime?" Naruto smiled too, hoping to bring back out the happy Ryo again.

"Sure." Ryo sighed and pointed ahead of her. "There's Raj."

Ahead near a center fountain feature, Rajan had acquired himself a little harem of girls. They all seemed to gather around him as he went through the motions of telling some big story, and seemed transfixed on his odd eyes. Naruto had to groan along with Ryoki as they approached them all.

"Hey Raj!" Ryo finally yelled as they got closer. The girls turned, ready to pounce on who was about to join their ranks but then they all smiled at the sight of Ryo and Naruto.

"Look! His twin sister!"
"She does have an odd eye just like him!"
"That brunette's pretty cute too."
"Who's your cute friend Rajan?"

Rajan grinned wickedly and boasted proudly. "That's Naruto and Ryoki, my brother and my sister."

"Your brother? But he doesn't look a thing like you two."

"Well he's a brother in spirit yah?" he winked at Naruto and Naruto scratched his head and nodded in kind.

"Come on 'brother' we want to find something for lunch, and I know you didn't take any money with you." Ryo crossed her arms in front of her.

"Oh, good, I was getting hungry! Sorry ladies, family calls."

A loud chorus of 'awws' followed them as Raj walked with a certain strut in his step. Ryo merely shook her head and took the lead; heading for what Naruto guessed was her favorite place in the Dorsa area.

He couldn't quite suppress his need to goad his 'brother'.

"What happened to admire from afar?" he grinned just as wickedly as Rajan had before and Rajan snarled in kind, but had a smirk on his face as well.

"It is not my fault they wanted to sample the goods."

"You didn't just say that." Ryo spoke back to them both. "You are perverted Rajan."

"See," Naruto elbowed him hard in his side. "Told you, you were a perv."


After a full day of exploring, shopping and eating, Ryo led them to a smaller inn near the gates of the border town. The next day they left early in the morning as they had the day before, their goods in tow. Naruto had been relieved to leave the village without seeing anyone of note on their trip and was content to follow the twins through the grasses they still knew just a slight bit better than him.

But as they lazed about in the early afternoon sun, taking a few hours quiet rest following their return to the Great Tree, he began to realize his arm was a lot stiffer than it had been the day before and it burned where Kiro had bit him. He checked the bandages again but didn't find any stains of blood on the white gauze he had redressed the wound with before leaving that morning.

So he curled himself up in his spot at the base of the tree and opted for a nap. His arm probably was just sore from all the movement it had been through yesterday and it just needed a bit of rest for it to heal. Usually the demon fox's chakra had been quicker to heal wounds like this one but maybe the Kyuubi was just in a pissed off mood and had decided to let Naruto suffer.

It was hours later when he felt something warm and oozy ease onto his skin. He jerked instinctively from it and backed away from the source of the touch. It was an old reaction triggered by the many 'fights' he had been in when he was younger. He knew better to let anyone get that close to him when he wasn't aware of it at first.

He found it was just Ryoki, kneeling next to where he had been. On his shoulder was a large leaf, probably pulled from the tree plastered over his bite marks. It was now much darker outside and the hazy light of sunset was fading through the trees.

"My apologizes, Kitsune." She whispered to him lightly as she inched towards him again. She brushed his hair back which in turn made him flinch. Ryo smiled sadly and withdrew her hand completely. "I should have checked the bites more carefully. Raj says you and he got in a sparring match after you got them."

"Didn't seem to bother them much then." Naruto replied and looked at the leaf in curiosity, what was this she had put on it? It wasn't like the bandages he had used earlier. The sensation of what was on the leaf itself made him shudder a bit. The smell was of herbs and the warmth did feel nice against the bite.

"No, probably didn't, but it seems to be infected now. It's all red and puffy; it's warm to the touch. I've made a poultice to draw it out though and help the burning sensation."

"Usually the fox deals with this stuff."

"I would think so too." Ryo frowned a bit. She patted the leaf down tightly, sensing her approach would be accepted now that Naruto was more awake. "I'll be right back," she said as she stood and went around the tree to her side, as he saw it.

He repositioned himself again against the smooth bark of the tree and pulled on the light blanket he sometimes used when the nights were a little bit colder. He still felt exhausted. Yawning, his eyes began to drop again and he didn't really fight it.

Before he went back to sleep fully he could kind of make out Ryo's voice nearby.

"Why did he jerk away like that Kiro?"

"He was probably mistreated Ryo. That is why we let him acclimate to us before starting in on him. He acted like a dog that had been beaten one too many times when he was faced with us. I'm surprised my stunt didn't make him withdraw from me, honestly." Kiro's voice sounded quite a bit closer to him than Ryo's did.

"Way to go; now he's sick."

He never heard the old wolf's defense to what he had done. Instead he found himself in front of the cage that housed the demon-fox. Naruto stood staring into the darkness until the familiar red chakra flared up and the wide red eyes peered at him through the aged steel bars.

So you've found yourself in the company of wolves… the fox's deep voice asked in a sultry purr.

"What would you know; you've been sleeping this whole time…"

I know bijuu when I sense them, and you are surrounded by quite a few of them. Houkou used to lead this pack, that traitorous old hound…It was his brother that bit you.

"Speaking of…"

It does not hurt you to heal like a normal person from time to time. That wolf pup seems capable enough to taking after you.

"Ryo"

I must admit I like this situation better than I did that village of idiots you once lived in. Still there is still a threat here. You plan on assimilating me then?

"What?"

The female wolf claims to know how to train you in controlling my chakra. I have no doubt they would have the knowledge of the Jinchuuriki. They plan on training you how to assimilate my chakra into yours…the seal would have done it eventually but this way is much faster.

"I didn't understand that's what they meant."

No you did not know, but now you do. What will you do with me now that you have a way to get rid of me?

"That's not what I want. I don't want to be you…"

But you want something don't you? You want to be free of me…

"I want my own life."

Then you should follow their training. The fox surprised Naruto with the response. Do not flatter yourself, I am merely tired of this cage and since you seem to have no intentions of ever removing this seal this way would mean my release in a different way. If you tell that old flea-bitten mutt to take you to the Fox's territory, then you can reinstate what once was between wolf and fox. Then I will give you the gift of your own kind and the training can begin.

Naruto woke with a start. He was laying flat now, still under the tree but beside him a gathering of some of the younger wolves had come and curled up next to him. The pups weren't like most of the adult wolves who had adapted to Ryo and Raj, not him. The pups seemed to bond more with this odd wolf in their midst's.

He felt his head move up and down. He turned his eyes to look behind his head and he found Kiro behind his head, sleeping lazily in the early morning sun. At his feet Ryo was propped up against the tree covered in a hooded sweater, wait…his hooded sweater that he had just bought, and sleeping deeply.

"I felt the fox in you." The wolf's muzzle was now poking his shoulder, sniffing inquisitively at the offending wrap now in place. Kiro lapped at the edges of the patch Ryo had put there last night and then laid his head over Naruto's shoulder and under his chin.

"We had a talk." Naruto grumbled, still a little off from the whole experience. "He said something about taking me to the foxes…"

"Ah, so to induct you as a true fox then." Kiro snorted, his hot breath hitting his exposed skin and making him shudder for a moment.

"He wants to be free, one way or another…"

"Then he has accepted there is no other way… how odd for the Kitsune." Kiro muttered. "Kyuubi was always a brash fox…it would seem age and time to think has mellowed him a bit."

"I wouldn't go as far to say that." Naruto frowned at some of his more interesting experiences with the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Times before I would assume that your life was in danger. That awakens any demon's bloodlust." Kiro explained. "Now your experience with it will be in a controlled environment and with the fox's consent. Do not worry fox-kit; we will travel to the land of the foxes."

"This is getting into strange territory Kiro." Naruto groaned. "I didn't want all this… I just wanted to be away from those…who…"

"You made yourself a sheep for the wolves to eat. Your old den was full of predators. The only way to return to such a place is to become a bigger predator."

"Who said I could go back?"

"Someday you might…or you will find yourself in some place very similar to where you came from. You were chosen as the container for the demon fox for a reason, Naruto. And you came to this pack for a reason as well." Kiro nuzzled closer to Naruto in an odd show of comfort. "You are still just a kit, just like Ryo and Raj, forced too soon to grow up into a juvenile. You aren't quite adults yet, but you know more than most about the world because of what you have been through. Because of that, Kitsune, you will become leaders, no matter what your will is.

Naruto absorbed the wolf's words and fingered the necklace Ryo had admired the other day. The promise of becoming Hokage…the one he gave up…could he possibly still have his dream? Was that even his dream anymore?

"Go back to sleep, silly kit. The fire still burns in your wound."

"You're the one that put it there." Naruto laughed a little and reached up to scratch the wolf's ear, near his face. It was mainly to move it out of his mouth but at the same time the touch of the silky fur felt nice to his fingertips so he kept scratching.

Kiro only huffed a bit. "The one thing you humans are good for," he murmured in content. "Scratching our ears."


Words and Meanings

Kitsune – fox (duh)
Sonkei – elder brother
Kuroi – black
Kiro – crossroads/one's way
Bijuu – word used in manga/anime to describe demons
Akatsuki – organization hunting the bijuu, the word itself can stand for daybreak,
Gobi – five
Houkou – the 5 tailed demon dog/wolf, his name can stand for many things including: direction, way, yell, and howl
Jinchuuriki - word used in the manga/anime to describe those with demons sealed in them