Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I contributed to Naruto in any way! Nope! None!
Sky-eyed Kitsune: Wow, I've been gone a while, ne?
Reviewer Replies:
To shadowphoenix143: Thanks! The evil plot bunnies made me post this…O.o
To Belovedly Loveless: Sorry for the wait!
To 5DOOD: Wait no longer! Here you are!
To lightdark54: Ah yes, Naru is always adorable as a fox! X3
To Chronos guardian: Yep, just Kakashi, but will it be Naruto's downfall?! XO
To SangoStar: Yes, every time Naru has his fox ears and tail you can't help but let out a fangirl squeal! XD
To ichigo14: Don't worry, I'm not that cruel of an authoress to let Naru die….or am I I!? –evil laughter--
Chapter Four: GASP!
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The room was quiet for a moment before Kakashi saw a tiny black nose stick out, and the fox walked cautiously out from under the bed.
Kakashi watched in fascination as a golden light surrounded the fox, and in its place stood the heartthrob Uzumaki.
"So…are you going to kill me?" Naruto said, his tail swishing nervously and his limbs ready to lunge for the window.
Naruto pulled back his ears in surprise as Kakashi let out an inhuman squeal and rushed toward Naruto.
"I can't believe it! I was right! Tell me, you're a mammal, correct? How do you transform? What's your blood type? Do your kind have a double multiple cell respiration process that enables you to heal so quickly? Claws! Interesting, how long does it take for them to grow out and are they retractable??"
Naruto blinked as Kakashi lifted up his tan arms, flexed his clawed fingers, flicked his nose and watched the white-haired man gasp at his response of crinkling it, his eyes wide as the prince's ears twitched and his tail flicked.
"Wha…I…huh!?" Naruto said, flabbergasted.
"Oh, forgive me," Kakashi said, composing himself once more. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke's mentor and a long time studier of Analiax."
Naruto blinked.
"So…you're not going to kill me?" he said, and raised an eyebrow when the white-haired man laughed.
"Heavens no dear boy!" he said. "On the contrary, I'd like to study you if you don't mind."
"I'm not a freaking experiment!" Naruto cried, flailing his arms around. He gasped when Kakashi tugged one down in midair and flipped out a pair of glasses, placing them on the tip of his nose.
"Interesting…" he said, examining Naruto's utterly tan skin through his spectacles. "Your skin is flawless and yet it appears to be made up of the same cells and compounds as human skin."
Naruto snatched his arm back and growled.
"Sorry, sorry," Kakashi said, chuckling. "I used to have an Analiax friend when I was younger and he did the same thing when I tried to study his behaviour."
"You…knew an Analiax?" Naruto asked, his interest sparked.
"Hai. He was my best friend. He was a mutt breed of Analiax on the run. I'm not sure of whether or not you know him, but his name was Iruka."
"Iruka? Iruka Umino? He's my sensei!"
"Iruka is still around? Really? God it's been ten years! And he's your teacher?"
Naruto nodded.
"He lives in the palace even though he's not roya-"
"The palace? Wait, how do you know all of this if he's in the palace?"
"Oh uh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the prince of the Analiax kingdom."
Kakashi's eyeballs practically fell out of his head.
"The prince? You mean, the next chosen bloodline, not…Kyuubi's?"
"Actually, I'm the last of the Kyuubi bloodline."
Kakashi froze.
He blinked.
And then he blinked some more.
And then he-
"OH MY GOD!!"
…spazzed.
"You have the Kyuubi bloodline!? You're actually alive!? This is incredible! A once in a lifetime opportunity! Oh please, PLEASE let me study you! Please please please your highness!?"
Naruto slapped a hand over Kakashi's mouth.
"Shuddup!" he hissed. "Geez, do you WANT someone to find me and skin me alive?"
Kakashi shook his head vigorously and Naruto sighed.
"Look, I'll make you a deal, ok? I'll let you study me if you keep quiet and don't tell Sasuke about this, and help me when I need it, got it?"
Kakashi nodded and Naruto removed his hand.
"First off, I'm starving! Tell Sasuke to take me outside so that I can hunt!"
"Iruka told me about this when we were younger. Apparently you only eat what you hunt and kill yourself?"
Naruto nodded.
"It's a waste the way you humans kill things and save them, and then they go bad later! We only kill what we currently need and store things for maybe only one day. And anyways, it doesn't feel as though we deserve something if we didn't work for it. This has been going on in the Analiax race for thousands of years."
"Alright. I'll tel-"
Kakashi turned as the door opened and Sasuke came back in, muttering incoherent words under his breath.
"T-that was fast!" Kakashi said. He flicked his eyes to Naruto and was thankful when he saw a tiny fox sitting on Sasuke's bed instead of a demon prince.
"You got him out of the bed?" Sasuke said as he walked up to Naruto, a bit impressed.
"I have a way with animals," Kakashi said, shrugging, and Naruto narrowed his sapphire eyes to him.
The fox climbed into Sasuke's lap when the raven sat on the bed, and whined as he rolled over and revealed his tiny pink rumbling tummy.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, but couldn't help letting a small smile graze his lips.
"He won't eat anything," he said. "Wait…is it even a he?"
Naruto's eyes grew wide and he covered his tail over his lower half.
"Yes! Yes, it's a he, no need to check!" Kakashi said quickly. "Only a male would have such a temper as it did when I tried to get it to come out."
Naruto bared his teeth at Kakashi.
"And I have a suggestion," Kakashi said. "You forget that this fox is a wild animal. It's not used to cooked and already prepared food. Why not take it outside and let it hunt?"
"It shredded its leg on a trap," Sasuke said, pointing to Naruto's leg as he absentmindedly scratched the demon's tummy.
Naruto melted under Sasuke's magic fingers, completely forgetting that he was allowing a human to scratch him.
"I'm sure it can still run a bit," Kakashi said.
Sasuke shrugged.
Naruto breathed in deeply as the scent of the night wafted to his nose, reaching him from even underneath Sasuke's cloak.
Naruto risked too much by being seen in daylight even though he was just a fox, for Sasuke's brother was always suspicious of Analiaxes. So the trio had had to wait until nightfall to take Naruto out to hunt. (Naruto whined constantly to Sasuke all the while.)
Naruto didn't flinch as he felt Sasuke's warm hands wrap around his tiny body and lift him from the cloak. He shivered and rubbed up against Sasuke's chest as the chilly night air rippled his fur.
Sasuke felt his eyes soften as the golden fox kit nuzzled against him for warmth.
Kakashi chuckled.
"Getting attached to the fox so quickly?" he said.
"Hn," Sasuke said, giving him a glare.
"By the way, what are you going to name it?"
"Eh?"
"Well the fox is staying at the castle until he's healed, correct? You can't very well call him 'it' all the time."
"Sure I ca-ow!"
Sasuke glared down at the kit in his arms as it nipped his hand as if to protest.
"You're too smart for your own good," Sasuke grumbled, and he swore that he saw the fox smirk.
"Come now Sasuke. Just give it a name," Kakashi said.
"How about Dobe? It suits him."
Sasuke moved his hand away this time so that the fox couldn't bite him, and instead it settled for growling.
"I don't think so…" Kakashi said, sweat dropping. Naruto wasn't even in his Analiax form and he was already fighting with Sasuke!
"Fine genius. You have something better in mind?" Sasuke scoffed.
"How about Naruto?"
"Naruto? Why would I name it after something you find in ramen?"
Naruto tilted his head to one side.
"Ramen? What's ramen?" he thought.
"He just looks like a Naruto," Kakashi said, shrugging.
Sasuke lifted up the fox so that he was nose to nose with it.
"Does that name fit your standards your highness?" Sasuke said mockingly, and Kakashi almost laughed out loud at the irony.
A tiny pink tongue darted out and licked Sasuke's nose.
Sasuke crinkled his nose from the foreign feeling.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sasuke said. "Ok Naruto. You can go hunt, but make sure you come back in a half an hour. I'll be waiting here."
"Aww Sasuke, do you actually care about something other than yourself?" Kakashi cooed, receiving a glare known to crack mountains from the young raven prince.
"If Itachi catches me with a fox he'll kill me. Literally."
"Then why don't I accompany Naruto on his hunt and keep an eye on him?"
Sasuke paused, then nodded.
He kneeled down, hovering Naruto's paws above the ground. He was almost positive the fox would zip off and never be seen again as soon as he let it go.
Sasuke sighed and placed Naruto down. He raised an eyebrow when Naruto looked back at him and instead of sprinting like a maniac, calmly limped forward with Kakashi close behind.
Naruto heaved a sigh as he regained his regular half demon form.
"Ok, you can leave now," he said to Kakashi.
He turned around when he heard no response, and looked down to see the white-haired man on his knees with his hands clasped together in front of him, his eyes wide and glassy.
"Pleeease let me accompany you on your hunt!" he whined. "Please, please, pleeeease!"
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Even with my injury, your speed doesn't even match half of mine," he said. "You'd be left behind in a second."
Kakashi's eyes became bigger, if that was even possible…
Naruto pouted.
"Oh, fine."
"Arigatou Naruto-sama!" Kakashi said, regaining his composure. "So what's the tradition for-"
"The tradition," Naruto cut him off, his ears flat against his head. "Is to stay quiet, keep up, and not interrupt."
Kakashi blinked at the blond's rough, almost growled tone.
"Naruto, are you feeling alright?" he said. "You don't strike me as one to snap so quickly."
"I haven't eaten in almost three days. If I don't eat then my animal instinct will take over and I'll kill and eat the first thing I see, no matter what it is."
Kakashi pulled out a notepad from his back pocket and scribbled fervently on it.
"Interesting…how do you-"
Kakashi looked up to see Naruto already walking ahead of him in his larger, but not huge fox form.
"Matte! Naruto-sama!"
Naruto crouched down low under the brush, his shoulder blades rising as he bent his head and his pupils dilated.
A low, almost undetectable growl rolled in his throat, and he dug his black claws into the dirt beneath him.
He backed up his left leg and brought his body closer to the ground, ready to leap forwa-
"Amazing!"
Naruto's ears perked as the hare in front of him zipped off, and Naruto jumped after. He shot over brush and under fallen branches before making a leap of faith-
"Naruto-sama!"
…and just missing the rabbit as the noise threw his focus off.
Naruto returned to his half demon form, curling his fists together.
"Ah, I've finally caught up with you Naruto-sama!" Kakashi said as he reached Naruto's side, scribbling away. "Sorry for the outburst. Did you get that hare? That was quite a-" Kakshi stopped as he suddenly found himself pinned to the ground, Naruto's eyes flashing a crimson red, his pupils black and almost slit-like.
"Need I remind you that I will kill whatever I can get my claws on if I don't eat something in the next hour?" he snarled, digging his claws into Kakashi's shoulders. His canines spilled over his lips, glinting in the moonlight as he snarled.
Kakashi winced, but nodded nonetheless, and Naruto zipped off in his larger fox form.
Sasuke pulled his cloak more tightly around himself as the wind picked up, and he turned his gaze up at the moon.
"It's been an hour…" he griped quietly. He wouldn't admit it, but he was starting to fear for the fox kit, despite Kakashi being with it.
Sasuke jumped a bit when said person walked out of the forest, several twigs in his white hair and his shoulders bleeding.
Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes.
"What'd you do?" he said.
"Naruto is quite a handful," Kakashi said, shaking the twigs out of his hair.
"Where is he?"
"Somewhere in the forest."
Sasuke looked at Kakashi darkly.
"You lost him?"
"I didn't loose him, he ditched me."
Sasuke glared as he ran into the forest, a thousand horrible images of what could have happened to the kit sweeping through his mind.
"Naruto!" he called as he pushed aside branches and hopped over fallen logs. As he reached the heart of the forest he saw tiny red paw prints on the ground, and followed them quickly, praying the fox wasn't hurt.
His fear was dispelled when he found Naruto lying by a bush next to what he supposed used to be a rabbit, blood skewed over the ground by the picked clean carcass and dappling the kit's muzzle and paws. The fox was licking his paws, cleaning them when it looked up at Sasuke.
Sasuke crossed his arms and looked expectantly at the fox.
"What? You said to come back in half an hour and it's only…" Naruto looked up at the moon high above him and his ears pulled back. "…oops."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the kit seems to ponder for a moment, then pulled back his ears and looked at Sasuke with big, glassy eyes.
"Hn. That would work better if you didn't have blood all over your muzzle."
Sasuke sighed as he sat on his bed.
Naruto lay on the ground, the blood from his muzzle and paws gone as he groomed his golden fur, fanning out his tail with his paw.
Sasuke laid on his stomach on his bed, splayed out as the watched the fox.
Naruto licked his paw a few times before running it over his large ears. Sasuke had to admit that it was a very clean creature.
Naruto's ears suddenly perked and he dashed under the bed as the door opened and Kakashi walked in.
Naruto recognized his scent and walked back out, resuming his grooming.
"Your brother wants to see you," Kakashi said. "He said that it shouldn't take long."
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Keep an eye on Naruto," he said before dragging himself out the door.
Kakashi didn't finch as Naruto changed into his handsome half demon form and continued his cleaning.
He ran a clawed hand through his tail, messy from running around, and shook out his tangled hair.
He cursed and lifted his leg to scratch behind his ear as if her were still in his fox form.
"Naruto-sama," Kakashi said quietly, and Naruto looked up.
"I'm sorry for bothering you so much back there…I'm just so excited to have the chance to study you."
Naruto smiled gently as his eyes scanned over Kakashi's newly bandaged shoulders.
"I'm sorry too," he said. "I couldn't really control myself. So I guess we're both even."
Kakashi grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Naruto sighed loudly as he lifted himself to all fours and shook out his body, dirt flying from his hair and tail.
"That stupid rabbit dragged me through the entire forest. I couldn't keep up as well with my injury," he said. He sighed again. "It'll take me three days to get my fur untangled…"
Kakashi tapped a finger to his chin, then went to the bathroom as a light bulb went off in his head.
He returned with a brush and held it out to Naruto.
"This might help," he said.
Naruto looked at him like he had fire spurting from his ears.
"What is that?"
Kakashi was taken aback.
"A brush...humans use them to groom their hair. Don't Analiax use these? Your hair looked perfect when I first met you, so surely you used a brush?"
Naruto shook his head.
"We groom ourselves using our claws, plants, and the river. Normally I'd jump into the hot springs to be rid of these tangles, but that isn't possible."
"Come here," Kakashi said.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not going to eat you."
Naruto pouted and slowly walked over to the white-haired man.
Naruto meets the brush…what will happen!? What does Itachi want to talk to his brother about? All revealed in the next chapter!
Sky-eyed Kitsune
Translated by Gomi-kun