The Kitsune and the Neko
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Dire Beast
Flashback
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Arc 1: The Early Years
Chapter 3: Kitsune meets Neko
It's been nearly four months since Naruto moved in with the Youko family. For him, life has been much better than it has ever been. As he stayed with Yuki and her daughters, he became more and more trusting of them, though that trust was put to the test a few days after the seals were removed by Jiraiya and his body healed by Tsunade.
It was late at night and nature was calling Naruto. As he made his way back to his room, he passed by Tsuki. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. However, throw in the fact that she had a dark blue foxtail with white fur at the tip and a pair of matching ears on top of her head, and he panicked. It took her over fifteen minutes to find Naruto after he shot out of the house and dashed into the forest. Afterwards, she woke up her mother and they spent half an hour explaining to Naruto that they aren't going to hurt him. Needless to say, he was very nervous around the family for a couple of weeks after that.
After the vixens re-earned his trust, Yuki explained her reasons for watching over him... well, without revealing several things that he wasn't ready for yet.
"Naruto, now that you know that my kits and I are not human, let me explain exactly what we are and why we're here." Yuki said to Naruto as they sat in the living room, the boy sitting on her lap. "Like I told you before, your mother and I knew each other and she asked me to look after you if she couldn't for some reason. And before you ask, no I will not tell you who she was until I am sure you are ready to know." Naruto nodded and she sighed. "To be honest, I didn't want to show you this until after you got rid of your fear of foxes. But with what happened last night between you and Tsuki, there's no point in keeping it a secret any longer." And with that, seven sea-blue foxtails with white tips appeared and wrapped around Naruto. He watched in awe as her human ears vanished and a pair of sea-blue fox ears with white tips appeared on top of the woman's head. Yuki smiled at him, her slitted blue eyes staring into his non-slitted cerulean orbs. "Naruto, what I am is a fox demon. However, there are two kinds of demon foxes in the world; a youko and a kitsune. My family and I are kitsunes." She then pulled him closer to her, his head resting under her chin. "Remember this, little kit. We fox demons are bound by our word. No matter what, we don't break our word. To do so would be dishonorable. Yes, even demons have honor, unlike some humans."
"So... you're not going to hurt me?" Naruto asked, hoping that this nice lady is being truthful.
Yuki chucked. "If I was going to hurt you, I would never be able to face your mother when I see her again. Besides, my daughters would never forgive me if I did." she said. "They've grown quite fond of you in the short time they've known you, Naruto. Did you know that?" She giggled when Naruto blushed, even though she barely saw it. "Anyway, the fox you saw the first night you were here was one of my shadow clones. See, we kitsunes can change our appearance at will to look like humans. And like you see right now, we can take the appearance of humans with fox-like appendages as well. This is our half-fox form. And yes, my daughters can take this form also."
"Ms. Yuki, why are you being so nice to me?" Naruto asked.
"I already told you, Naruto. I am a mother and I can't stand seeing someone as young as you being treated like you were a wanted criminal. Whatever the reason these villagers want you dead seem to be different from the fact that your parents were respected by many and feared by others." Yuki said to him. "In any case, I am duty-bound to help you and I want to help you of my own will. Humans and demons have what's called free will. We can choose to do what we want. However, we are, or should be, taught to always do what's right. It is up to you if you want to listen to what you are taught and told."
Naruto raised his head and looked Yuki in the eyes. Their gaze remained locked for several moments before he snuggled up to the vixen. "I believe you, Ms. Yuki." he said.
Yuki smiled and the two just sat there in a comfortable silence for several minutes. "Ms. Yuki, do you know any of what my mother could do?" Naruto asked.
"As a matter of fact, your mother taught me some of her jutsu, but I won't teach them to you until I believe you are ready for them. No ifs, ands or buts about it." Yuki replied. "Also, she couldn't teach me all of them, but I do have the scrolls that have her techniques and fighting styles on them, just in case she couldn't teach you herself."
After that, he and the vixens became very close over the months. He learned that Yuki is a kind, caring and loving woman who will not hesitate to help anyone in need. He also learned that she's over two hundred years old, despite not looking a day over twenty-two. She told him that fox demons don't age beyond the human equivalent of twenty-two. He learned that Kouen is not only the eldest sister, but also the most responsible. She takes care of her sisters when her mother isn't around and she has the urge to protect everyone that she cares about. She is also a bit of a tomboy, despite the fact that she wears a skirt, and has a natural curiosity, like he does, which is why she tends to wonder about many things. He learned that Ginko is the kindest and sweetest out of the sisters and can see the good in others. She's also not afraid to show affection, especially to him, and he's even spotted her staring at the moon at night. What he doesn't know is that she has developed a bit of a crush on him, even though she's five years old. He learned that Tsuki is not only the youngest sister, but is also the smartest, the gentlest and the most innocent of the three young vixens. She's the most analytical and logical fox out of Yuki's kits. She's also a good painter and she has a thing for the rain, as she loves to dance in it whenever possible.
Naruto has learned much from the four kitsunes. They all taught Naruto how to tend to a garden and he started growing medicinal herbs in his room, as per Tsunade's suggestion. Yuki began teaching Naruto about chakra and how to control it, along with her daughters. Turns out that the girls have more chakra than most their age, but that's because they are kitsunes and not humans. Naruto, on the other hand, has more chakra than the three kits combined, which shocked them all. Yuki surmised that it was because his parents both had large amounts of chakra and because the Nine-Tailed Fox is sealed within him, though she didn't tell him about the latter. Kouen taught Naruto how to use a sword. After learning that his mother was a swordswoman, he wanted to learn how to use one too. Ginko became Naruto's regular sparring partner, as she is the best hand-to-hand fighter out of the sisters, and she helped Naruto become more agile and flexible. Tsuki taught him how to draw, since he doesn't like to paint all that much, and how to dance. Sometimes, she would drag him outside to dance with her whenever it rains.
After the seals were removed, Tsunade stayed in the village for two weeks before leaving. She mainly spent her time with Naruto, but she was also seen at the hospital or with the Hokage. When she's with Naruto, they basically talked and played. Naruto learned that not only was she trained by the Hokage, but she is one of the Legendary Sannin, possibly the greatest medical expert alive and, a few days before she left, his godmother. That last one threw him for a loop, but Tsunade told him that it was his parents' wish for her to protect and raise him if they couldn't. When he questioned her on why she didn't, she apologized to him and said that some idiot told her that he was dead. This made him very upset, but she said that she'll take care of him during the summer and teach him all about medicine, mentioning that his mother was a great medic. Yuki told her that using Kushina was a great motivational tool for him, though it may not always work and may stop working in the future. Naruto was happy that he'll get to spend some time with her during the summer and he couldn't wait for summer to get here. However, Tsunade sternly told him that he was to never reveal that he is her godson or things could get very ugly. Naruto readily agreed, figuring that she, too, must have people that hate her, despite her being a very kind and loving woman.
xxxxx
Right now, it's the middle of March and Naruto is currently at the park with the sisters. From his position on one of the three swings, he can see Ginko playing in the sandbox, where he was at half an hour ago helping her build a sand castle. He can see Kouen playing on the monkey bars, trying to see what all she can do with how agile and limber her body is. He looked next to him and saw Tsuki on the swing beside him.
"Betcha I can swing higher than you." she said in a very playful voice as she started swinging as high as she can go.
"You're on!" he replied, easily matching her height and trying to go higher.
From the sandbox, Ginko cheered them on as Kouen laughed while hanging upside-down on the monkey bars. "You two are so silly!" she pointed out. 'But then again, so are we.' she added, referring to herself, Ginko and their mother.
From her position in the trees, a clone Yuki sent to watch them was busy laughing. With Naruto around the house, the girls have become a bit more lively and may sometimes challenge Naruto to do something silly with them. Sometimes, she finds the contests funny, like she is now, because she and her daughters can be very silly sometimes.
However, after ten minutes, their fun came to an end with they heard a commotion nearby. The two on the swings slowed down as they all looked on and saw three boys, larger then they are, pushing a petite young girl in a lavender kimono back and forth between them. The boy and three girls can see tears in the girl's eyes as she called out for help. Without hesitation, Naruto and Kouen darted forward and tackled one of the boys down while Tsuki and Ginko pulled the girl away from the other two. While Kouen had the first boy pinned under her, Naruto shoulder-tackles the second boy, knocking the wind out of him.
Angry that someone was trying to take away his fun, the third boy lunged at the three girls, only to trip when Naruto swept one on his legs while he was behind him. He then grabbed the back of the bigger kid's shirt and pulled him down to the ground, with him landing on top of him. With eyes full of anger, Naruto raised his fist, ready to punch the boy in his face. He quickly thrusts it forward, causing the boy to flinch and cover his eyes in fear. When he finally opened them, Naruto and the four girls were long one.
On the other side of the park, hidden behind a tree, the three vixens and Naruto were busy trying to comfort the crying girl. She was obviously a little shaken up and, to their relief, uninjured.
"There, there. It's alright now. The bullies are gone." spoke Naruto with much kindness.
The girl slowly stopped shaking and crying, but she was still looking down toward the ground. She wanted to thank her saviors, but she was too shy to do so.
"Are you hurt?" Kouen asked, looking at the girl. She knew that she wasn't hurt, but it didn't hurt to ask.
Meanwhile, Tsuki was looking at the girl curiously, though she didn't let her curiosity show. 'Strange...' she thought to herself as her nose picked up something from the girl... something that she knew her sisters could not. 'Why does she smell like a cat?'
The girl shook her head slowly then started to raise it up. When her eyes met Naruto's, she blushed slightly. "T-thank you."
"No problem. We don't like it when people bully others." said Naruto with a smile, knowing that she's alright.
She smiled at him then asked, "I'm Hi-Hinata H-Hyuuga. W-What are y-your n-names?"
"Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you, Hinata."
"Kouen Youko."
"Ginko Youko. That's a pretty kimono, Hinata."
"Tsuki Youko. What a nice name you have."
Hinata blushed at Ginko and Tsuki's comments.
Once the bullies were gone, the five decided to play at the park. They played on the swings, the slide and in the sandbox and they were having a lot of fun. Hinata is around the same height and same age as Naruto and the three young vixens. Besides her kimono, which is tied with an obi darker in color, she also has blue sandals on. Her eyes looked to be clear, but Naruto saw that they were actually a pale shade of lavender. Her midnight blue hair was short, save for the two tails at the sides, in front of her ears. The sisters noticed that Hinata seem to blush slightly every time she looked at Naruto, especially at his eyes. They giggled to themselves as Naruto remained unaware of this. Kouen and Tsuki then turned to Ginko to gauge her reaction. To their curiosity, she seems interested.
As they were playing, they've asked questions about each other. Naruto and the girls noticed that Hinata was still a bit shy around them. They reassured her that she shouldn't be so shy. Naruto then thought that she still might be a little shaken up from before, so he tried to make her smile. While they talked, he dropped in some jokes to take her mind off of the earlier ordeal, with the sisters quickly catching on and joining him. It worked, and she was giggling with a big smile on her face. They smiled as well, glad that they could get her to smile. Her shyness also seemed to have slipped away. Hinata thought that they were really nice... that they didn't like seeing her sad... that they liked seeing her smile. She also learned that Naruto is an orphan and that their only friends are each other, so she offered to be their friend and they happily agreed.
The five continued to play for couple of hours after the incident before someone came for Hinata. That someone was her father, Hiashi Hyuuga. She knew that it was time to go home, but she didn't want to leave her new friends yet. Naruto noticed the man walking towards them, as did the sisters. He recognized the eyes and thought that he was related to his new friend. If that was true, then he probably came here to take her home. He didn't want her to leave, but he knew that she had to.
"Hinata, it's time to go home." said Hiashi, breaking their train of thought.
"Y-yes, F-Father." she replied, a little sad that she has to leave.
"Will you come back and play with us again?" Naruto asked, not letting the two Hyuugas see his sadness.
"Of course I will, Naruto." Hinata said smiling at the boy, her cheeks slightly red.
'Well, would you look at that. She befriended him. I'd figured it might have happened sooner or later. I hope things go well for them.' Hiashi thought while a small smile appeared on his face. This went unnoticed by the five kids. 'And it seems that she befriended Yuki's kids as well. I better tell Hikari about this.'
"Okay. Bye, Hinata." said Naruto and the three vixens, waving to their new friend.
Hinata waved back at them then joined her father as they went home. On the way back, Hiashi asked her what happened at the park. She told him that she was being picked on by bullies, but then Naruto, Kouen, Ginko and Tsuki came and saved her. Then they played in the park afterwards and got to know one another. Hiashi noticed that she was stuttering less as she was talking and her shyness was nearly gone. But when she was talking about Naruto, she was slightly blushing. Hiashi easily caught this and told her that she can play with Naruto whenever she wants, as long as she promised to train hard so that doesn't happen again and as long as Naruto agreed to protect her when she needed it. She agreed to it happily, knowing that she'll get to play with Naruto and the sisters again.
Later, Hiashi sent Sarutobi a letter with instructions to give it to the boy when he visits or when he runs another errand, which was at least twice a day. Three months ago, Naruto started running errands for Hiruzen so he can get to know some of the shinobi and kunoichi around the village. Sometimes, the girls would go with him to help familiarize themselves with the village. Each time he completes an errand, he is paid accordingly for it. When the girls help him, they're paid as well.
When Naruto received the letter, he jotted down a reply, agreeing to Hiashi's terms. He gave it to Sarutobi, knowing that he would give it to him.
xxxxx
For the next three months, things have gone quite smoothly for Naruto. After he met Hinata, he and the girls were introduced to some of the other kids their age. The first was a blonde-haired girl named Ino Yamanaka. She is a girl who has a thing for all kinds of flowers and she quickly took a liking to Tsuki. Naruto sometimes stop by her family's flower shop to see her while running errands from the Hokage to her father, Inoichi. Tsuki also took to working part-time alongside Ino and her mother, Ikana.
The second was a quiet boy named Shino Aburame. He is a boy who has a thing for bugs of all kinds, especially beetles. When Kouen asked why, he refused to say. Kouen and the others accepted that, but she started to get curious about the boy, mainly because most of his body is covered by his coat. She hung out with him and started to learn more about insects. Shino was, at first, surprised that she wasn't scared of them. All she said in return was that bugs don't scare her, and they never will either. Shino simply nodded.
The third and fourth were two boys; a lazy boy named Shikamaru Nara and a chubby boy named Chouji Akimichi. Shikamaru mostly spent his time watching the clouds go by while Chouji is almost constantly seen eating some kind of snack, mainly potato chips. When he's with Shikamaru, he shares them with him while they converse in small talk. Both were introduced to each other when they were little, along with Ino, and they quickly became friends. Though Ino does complain about how lazy Shikamaru is and how Chouji doesn't stop eating.
Out of all of his friends, Naruto is seen with Hinata the most... so much so that they are nearly inseparable. He even got to meet her parents, Hiashi and Hikari, and her baby sister, Hanabi. The first thing Hikari did when she saw him was scoop him up into a hug while Ginko was giggling off to the side. That is, until she, too, was hugged by the happy woman. Hikari privately told Naruto that she knew both his parents well, after being informed from Hiashi that he knows a little about them, but not enough that would put him in danger. When he was with Hikari, she'd tell him stories of when she was little and all the adventures she and his father went on, never once mentioning his name. When he asked why, she said that he wasn't ready to know and that when he is, she'll tell him everything she knows about him and then some.
Sometimes, Hinata would eavesdrop on Hikari's stories to Naruto, hoping to learn something about her new friend. She was shocked to learn that her mother knew his parents and that she was very close to his father. After she and Ginko were discovered, they both ended up joining them during their 'story time'.
xxxxx
It is now the beginning of June and Naruto was waiting at the village gate for Tsunade to come get him. Currently with him is Ginko, who wanted to go with him, a clone of Yuki and Sarutobi, who wanted to see them off and see his old student again. Naruto told his friends that he has to leave during the summer with a friend of his late mother. The adults all know who it was and simply asked him to write to their kids while he's gone.
As they waited, they heard someone yell, "WAIT!" Looking behind them, they all saw Hikari and Hinata running up to them. Hinata was dressed in a midnight blue ninja shirt and pants, a mesh undershirt and blue ninja sandals.
When they reached them, they took a moment to catch their breath. Hikari then looked at Sarutobi and Yuki and asked, "Is it okay if Hinata goes with them? She doesn't want to be separated from her friends for too long."
Naruto and Ginko stared at Hinata with wide eyes, causing the shy girl to blush and look away. Naruto, Ino and the sisters tried their hardest to get rid of her shyness, but they weren't making much progress.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Hikari?" a feminine voice said followed by an oink. Everyone turned and saw Tsunade and Shizune, holding Tonton, walk up to them.
"I don't see why it isn't, Shizune." Hikari replied to the young woman, then turned to Tsunade. "After all, you trained me. Why not do the same for my daughter?"
Tsunade smiled at her former student. "You're right, Hikari. Maybe I should... if she doesn't mind, that is."
Hinata looked at Tsunade, who looked right at her. Her mother told her all about her old senseis and what all she learned form them. She couldn't believe that one of them would be willing to teach her. What's even more amazing was that she somehow knew Naruto's mother. "I-If it's a-alright with y-you, L-Lady T-Tsunade, I-I would l-l-love to l-learn under y-you." she stammered.
"Such a polite girl you have, Hikari. Though she could lose the shyness." Tsunade commented. "I'll have to work with her on that."
Hikari nodded and kneeled in front Hinata, handing her a knapsack with her things in it. "Now be a good girl while you're gone and remember to write to me often. I'm sure your father and friends want to hear all about your adventures with Tsunade-sensei." she said as she hugged her little girl. "I love you, my little sunshine." she whispered.
"I love you too, Mother." Hinata replied before pulling away and slinging the knapsack over her shoulder.
While that was going on, Naruto and Ginko gave the Yuki clone a hug. "Be safe, you two, and remember to write back every two weeks, okay?" the clone told them.
"We will." they both said. After parting, they slung their own knapsacks over their shoulders.
Yuki walked over to Tsunade and whispered, "Keep them safe for me. And if you do tell him about Kushina, tell me in person."
Tsunade nodded. "Okay kiddies, time to go!" she called to them. After saying their goodbyes, they left.
xxxxx
A/N: Okay, I've decided to stop here because I'm not sure what to write after this. Instead, I'll explain their trip with Tsunade in a few paragraphs.
Now I know some might ask: why did I send Ginko and Hinata on this trip? Well, Ginko is rather attached to Naruto and doesn't want to leave him alone. She even said so last chapter. So I've decided to let her go. Hinata, on the other hand, is a different story. At first, it was a spur of the moment idea, but it came with two good reasons. Hinata seems more comfortable around Naruto and wants to stay at his side. Even before the rewrite, during this time in the story, those two were nearly inseparable. Also, since Hikari was trained by the medical expert, she would want to have her daughter learn from her old teacher as well. Now they're not going to learn any jutsu, mind you. I mean, they're five!
I know that I've included quite a few time skips in this chapter, but that was the point. This chapter is mainly to introduce Hinata to the story the same way I did last time. I used the original scene as a guide to make the new scene.
Changes from before: When Hinata was being bullied, Naruto was the only one there the last time. Since I introduced the foxy triplets, I've decided to add them to the small fight scene. Also, only two of them were attacked before while the third ran away scared, with the other two following suit. Instead, I changed it and had the third be defeated before being scared out of his wits, thus the reason why Naruto and the four girls were able to escape without them noticing.
I also added Ino to their list of friends sooner than before. Before, she was six when she met Naruto and Hinata. Now, she met them a year earlier and became close friends with Tsuki. I even added Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino as well. Before, Naruto didn't meet them until he entered the academy. I thought it would be good to have them know each other before they start their ninja training. Also, I have my reason for why Kouen is interested in Shino. I'll let you readers figure that one out before I reveal it. Trust me, it's a good one.
Response Corner: This is where I respond to the questions, comments and whatnot I get in the reviews.
Gravity The Wizard: From your reviews, I assume you're hoping that this is a Naruto/Hinata. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you at the moment. Once they are older, you'll find out. I will tell you that Naruto will be in the main pairing, but who's in it will not be told at the moment.
alexrc55: Keep in mind that Naruto is five years old. I can't have him fall in love at such a young age, especially since he doesn't know what love is. Give it some time. I promise, you won't be disappointed.
kitsunegamer375: The only reason Hinata was not a filter character until now is because she wasn't in the first two chapters. The story centers around these two, but I didn't see the point of marking her as the other filter character if she hasn't made her appearance yet.
Next Time: What did Tsunade teach them while they were away? How will everyone react to Hinata disappearing for the summer?
Later!
