Kitsune stared at the floor, anger blazing in his soft purple eyes. Both of them could tell that Kitsune had meant to hurt Ayame, since they knew that out of the whole class, Kitsune was at the top in everything, it didn't matter what subject.
"So... you used the byakugan on Ayame and now she's in the hospital, you have anything to say about that?" Naruto asked.
Kitsune kept staring at the ground and replied "I'll answer that when you answer my own question"
"I've told you before it's none of your business" Naruto growled back.
"Naruto what's he talking about? And you answer my question before his" Hinata asked. There was a slight hiss in her voice, which scared them both.
"S rank mission number 548" Naruto replied. That was all Hinata needed to know about the matter, it was in a slight code that only the five people could understand. She only nodded at his answer. "Ok... here's the deal, you answer my question, if you're lucky I'll let you off the hook, and then I answer yours" Naruto added.
"Sounds fine to me" Kitsune replied, now finally looking up toward his father. "I can't stand Ayame, and neither can Mizuru, so I thought I could get her off my squad. Mizuru got both bells, and was going to give me the other, until Ayame took one from him, and then as you know the rest. That's the whole story" he explained.
"By the sound of it you didn't intend to hurt her, you just wanted some way to get her off your squad, that's normal in the beginning for any Genin, heck I tied one of my teammates up. Anyway, so that Sakura doesn't go mad, you'll have to stay at home for two weeks, you can't leave, but I'll be nice and let one of your friends come by at times. And that secret you asked about... when the time comes I'll tell you, until then keep out of it" Naruto said.
Kitsune was ready to snap, and not because he was stuck at home for two weeks. He wanted to know that secret even more now than ever. It had to be something that was important or something so horrible that no one could know. And by the sound of the code Naruto said, it was an extremely high up mission. Kitsune may have just become a ninja, but since his father was Hokage he knew about mission ranks, and also knew every last squad in the village, all but his father's that is. The only clue he could work off of was the comment Okami made, but it wasn't of any help. And if Sakura was once Naruto's teammate, why did she seem so hostile around his whole family? Hinata glanced down at him, and then led him home.
"Why is it you don't like Ayame?" Hinata asked.
"There's evil in her green eyes, just like her mother's" Kitsune replied.
Hinata shook after he said that. Could Ayame know the secret Kitsune searched for? Sakura was one of the five who knew the secret, and she might have told Ayame the secret since she was on Kitsune's squad. Kitsune could see the shock and fear in his mother's eyes. Why was she so scared by what he said?
One week later.
Kitsune originally didn't care that he was stuck at home for two weeks, but boredom had set in. Kina could only keep him company for so long, since she was in the academy, and just as him, was the top of the class in everything. Luckily that day Kitsune wouldn't be alone with the dog; Mizuru promised to visit him so that he didn't go insane and pull his hair out.
"Ayame was just released from the hospital this morning" Mizuru said.
"The whole week we were free of her, and I was stuck here, what a waste. But I bet she'll get me stuck here for the rest of the month, she's a drama queen" Kitsune replied in a slight laugh.
"Not if I have anything to say about. I'll make her say whatever I want her to say" Mizuru said.
Mizuru cracked his knuckles and made a couple of hand signs. Kitsune recognized them from when he once saw Mizuru's mother having to fight someone. It was a simple little fight that wasn't very important; it was over a pair of shoes. Right after Mizuru made the hand signs he was out cold. Kitsune propped his friend against the wall, and then started drawing on his face. Meanwhile Ayame was just about to explain her side of what happened. Before she could open her mouth the look in her eyes changed.
"You ok Ayame?" Naruto asked. He noticed the change in her eyes, and knew he was no longer talking to Ayame.
"I'm fine! What happened was Kitsune was about to go and get the last bell, but I ended up getting in his way and getting hit. The whole thing was my fault" Ayame replied very sweetly.
Naruto only nodded, and then told her she could go. He knew that he was talking to Mizuru probably, since the evil look that was normally in Ayame's eyes was gone, replaced by the normal sweet look of a child that age.
"It wasn't Ayame, was it?" Hinata asked once the young child left.
"No, but it doesn't matter, Ayame is a drama queen like her mother; both make too much fuss over a little problem. By the way, move all of the files of that incident out of here, lock them in our room under the bed" Naruto replied.
Hinata nodded, and walked around to the other side of the desk. She opened a drawer and lifted many files up until one that was in a locked box showed under the messy paper work. Hinata set the pile of papers on the floor, and picked up the box. It was heavy, but lift able. Elsewhere, Mizuru woke back up as if he were merely asleep. The jutsu he used normally could only be user if you were near the person you wished to hit, but it had been modified over the years, to where as long as you knew your target, wherever they may be, you could hit them.
"Ayame won't know what hit her" Mizuru said.
"Thanks, I owe you, two times now" Kitsune replied.
"One day you can repay, just give it time" Mizuru said before he left.
Kitsune could only have a friend over for a short time, or else it wouldn't be much of punishment. Once he was gone Kina had gotten home from school. That day was half day, so she got home very early. Kitsune went down to greet his little sister, since she would always do the same when he would get home. As he went down the stairs, to his surprise, his mother brushed by him while holding a metal locked box. She didn't say a single thing to him, which was odd. Another odd thing was that she was never home that early in the day, so why was she home? And what was in that heavy looking box? Kitsune tried to put those questions out of his mind, since they would only trouble him later. Kina noticed her brother, and all but knocked him over in one of her 'ninja' attacks.
"Why's Mom home Nii-san?" Kina asked as she climbed onto his shoulders.
"That's what I was about to ask you" he replied. At least he wasn't the only one to notice how that seemed so odd.
The rest of the week was as normal as any other week. Kitsune was home alone most of the time, and the only times he wasn't alone was when one of his cousins came to see him. Anju was the one that came to see him the most. The two were very close, and many joked that it was because they were born the same day. Okami may have been Anju's twin, but she was born at 11:59pm, while he was born 12:01am. The one who came to see him the least was Tsuji. She may be his cousin but out of all three she was the most distant from him. Many thought it was because the parents, also being cousins, were distant, but no one truly knew the answers to everything.
"That is odd, why would she be home that early?" Anju managed to say thru a mouthful of ramen.
"She had this big metal locked box with her, which seemed really creepy" Kitsune replied, also thru a mouthful of ramen.
"Well where did she put the box?" Kina asked.
Normally they only let one person keep him company, but since this was his last day stuck at home Naruto gave it and let as many as Kitsune please keep him company. "Mom went up stairs with it, so somewhere up there" he answered.
"Well... I doubt she put in yours or Kina's room, so I bet the box is in her room" Tsuji said.
"Either that or it's in a tree" Okami added. All four stared at him as if he had lost his mind. "You never know!!!" he all but yelled.
"Wherever it is I want to know what's inside it. You guys willing to help me find it?" Kitsune asked as he looked at his cousins and sister, knowing they would help him.
All four nodded in agreement to him. Kitsune grinned a bit, and then got up from his chair, and ran up the stairs just behind them, followed by his friends. The five thought that Tsuji's idea of where it was was the best out of them all. They searched the entire room, but found nothing but a dog bone left by Ryuk the morning before. After searching for an hour, all of them sat back on the bed in the middle of the room. Maybe Tsuji had been wrong after all, or maybe this item wasn't meant to be found by five young kids. Ryuk walked into the room, and jumped up on the very edge of the bed to be by them. When he jumped up, Kitsune heard a soft click under the fat old dog.
"Did you hear that?" Tsuji asked as she looked over at the gray furred animal.
"Yeah... wait... that's it!!" Kitsune said as he jumped up and got Ryuk to move.
A part of the frame of the bed had risen up a bit after the click like noise. Kitsune grabbed that part of the frame, and tried pulling it up. It opened up like a normal door, and inside was the metal box he had seen Hinata carrying up into the room a week before. He tried to lift it, but the box was too heavy for him alone to move. The other four helped him lift the box until they got it out of the bed frame. Sadly, the box had no key in the key hole. Kina studied the key hole, and then pulled off her necklace, which had a key like charm on the silver chain. She put the charm in the hole, and amazingly it fit as if it were made for it. Kina turned it slowly, and the box opened. Okami grabbed the lit of the box and lifted it as best as he could. Inside was what looked like a map.
"A... map?" Anju said in shock as she tilted her head.
Tsuji pulled the map out of the box, and looked it over many times. Kitsune leaned over her, and noticed how this map was not of their village, but of another. There was only one family that went back and forth from two different villages year round. Shiromaru's mother was from the sand village, since she wanted to live there, and his father wanted to live in the leaf village, they would travel from one to the other year round, staying in one for a matter of three months, and then returning to the other for another three months. Could this map be of the village Shiromaru also lived in?
"Anju, Shiromaru's on your squad, so when's the next time he goes back to the sand village?" Kitsune asked.
"Uhh... tomorrow I think" she replied.
"Perfect... I'll start packing" Kitsune said, a slight grin coming over his face.
Next day.
To his surprise his parents and Shiromaru's had no problem with Kitsune going to the sand village for a couple of days. Shiromaru's father was good friends with Kitsune's father, which might have helped the matter some. That afternoon Kitsune went to the gate as they had told him. Not a single person was around, not even an animal was near there. The silence was very odd... since he hadn't heard silence in a very long time. Out of nowhere someone tapped Kitsune on the shoulder. He span around at the speed of light, only to see a very sweet looking girl beside him. Her hair was long and red, and her eyes were a green like color. She had on a sand village headband, meaning she might have been the escort for Shiromaru's family.
"Cousin never mentioned taking a friend along, but you seem nice. I'm Hitori, but people also call me Sandstorm. And you are?" she said in a sweet friendly tone. Her hair was full of sand, even though by now it should have fallen out because of the wind.
"I'm Kitsune... that's one odd nickname to have! Are you Shiromaru's friend?" Kitsune replied in a question.
"Not as odd as being named after an animal. I'm his older cousin, I'm a year older than him" Hitori answered.
But being named 'alone' is just as odd as being named 'fox', Kitsune thought. She seemed to be a sweet, trust worthy girl, which could come in handy for him. If that map was of the sand village, then she could read it for him without a problem. After a couple of minutes Shiromaru's family showed up. Hitori seemed very happy to see them, and in return they seemed just as happy. Once a few hours passed by, Kitsune asked Hitori how long it would take to get there. When she told him three days, he hoped that the map was of that village, and that the secret was worth it.
Three days later.
The second Kitsune could see the village gates he ran up to them like a mad beast. The rest rolled their eyes at the very tired child. He had never traveled for that amount of time before, and he wanted to be inside as soon as humanly possible. Once they were inside Kitsune couldn't help staring at everything around him. It was all so different, yet so similar, to his village. He followed the four up to a house that was empty. Once Shikamaru unlocked the house and went inside the place like nothing, Kitsune began to wonder how they were able to own two houses without a problem.
"Luckily we have an extra room in the back, so you won't have to sleep in the tub. Shiromaru go show him his room" Temari said.
The second she said that Shiromaru jumped and all but dragged Kitsune to the back of the place. The family was a bit strange, and would take some time to get use to. For an unknown reason Hitori lingered around the house for some time, as if she was waiting for something. Once Kitsune found a chance to get Hitori alone, he snuck outside and asked her to follow him. If anyone had been around to here him ask her to follow him, they would begin to ask questions... questions he couldn't answer easily.
"What's up Foxy?" Hitori asked in a laugh.
Kitsune pulled out the map and handed it to her when she asked him that. "Is this a map of this village?" he whispered.
"Sure is, but I only know that since in the corner it says so. I can't read maps, but my dad can. Follow me I'll take you to him, he'll probably like you Foxy" Hitori whispered back.
He agreed, and both told the family that she was going to show him around. Kitsune began to feel at home the second he saw where Hitori took him. The building in front of him was similar to that of the place Naruto and Hinata worked. He and his sister had spent most of their time in that office, since their parents wouldn't leave them home alone and every baby sitter was scared of the two. Hitori grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the place as if he were a rag doll. Every last guard didn't mind the red haired girl running past them, as if she had lived in the building. Finally she stopped in front of door, and asked if she could enter. A voice from behind the door told yes in a cold tone. Hitori opened the door, and all but thru Kitsune inside the room.
"Hi Dad, this guy here is Kitsune, he's from the leaf village, you remember that place right? Well he's got this map of our village and he wanted you to read it since neither of us can read it!" Hitori said in a matter of ten seconds. Kitsune could barely make out the jumble of what she had just said.
A man who looked about the same age as Naruto sat in front of the two. His hair was the same red that Hitori's was, and his eyes were also the same green like color. Around his eyes was what looked like black makeup, but it could also just have been black rings from stress or lack of sleep. He looked Kitsune up and down for some time.
"You're Naruto Uzumaki's son... aren't you? You look like him, aside from the purple eyes, but my guess is you inherited your mother's purple eyes. Let me see the map you have with you" he said in a slightly creepy voice.
Kitsune only nodded at his comment, and gave him the map. The look on the man's face went from calm to fear the second he saw the map. That's the same look Mom got on her face when I said Ayame had evil eyes!! Kitsune thought as he studied the look on the man's face. After a few minutes of looking at the map, he handed it back to Kitsune.
"I haven't seen that map in many years... about thirteen to be exact. That map was written with no road names or anything to confuse people, but I understand the map. Sandstorm, take him to the old tree right outside the village. You'll find your answer there Kitsune, and tell your parents hi from Gaara" he said calmly.
Kitsune thanked him before being dragged away by Hitori. He began to wonder if the rest of the people of this village also called her Sandstorm or not, since Gaara had called her Sandstorm as if it were her name. The two got past the guards at the gate like nothing, and not far outside the village was an old looking tree that must have been there since the beginning of time. It was dead sadly, but extremely huge. Once he got close enough to it, Kitsune could see a spot in the sand that had four blood drops and on the dead tree was a bloody hand print. Even though there must have sandstorms and rain in the thirteen years the blood was untouched, as if things were forbidden to go anywhere near that tree.
"Do you mind me asking why you wanted to come to a dead tree?" Hitori asked.
"I myself don't know, but help me dig" Kitsune replied as he began to dig in the spot that had the blood on top.
Morning had come, and the two were still digging around the old dead tree, hoping, searching for either the truth or another clue. Finally Kitsune found a box that was old and very beaten up. Hitori helped him pulled the very heavy box out of the ground, and he slowly opened the cardboard lit on it.