Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 4: It's been a Long Day.

Disclaimer: In ancient times, there was a custom in which one would disclaim ownership of their properties to their feudal lord or master. However, since I didn't own Naruto in the first place, I couldn't care less.

AN: Right, now it's time for a bit of family fun. Do dogs with attitude, bossy siblings and drinking moms mix well with our favorite blonde shinobi? Let's find out...

Hatake Kakashi had had a long day. Having just returned from an S-rank mission early this morning, he was immediately spotted by Gai, who insisted on having one of their "Showdowns". Knowing that the green-suited freak wouldn't leave him alone until he consented, he agreed on the spot. After easily defeating Gai in a game of Chess (It helped that Gai still didn't understand how the "little horsies" moved about), Kakashi made his way homeward, intent on rereading one of the older versions of his favorite series, Icha Icha Paradise. Unfortunately, he was spotted by Uchiha Itachi, a young prodigy of the Uchiha family, who never failed to start up a conversation with Kakashi whenever he got the chance. After yet another conversation concerning the Sharingan and its many uses, some of which were convoluted enough to give even Kakashi's genius mind a headache, Itachi asked Kakashi to train with him in Training Area twenty-six. He agreed, but not without some reluctance.

Training Area #26 is, like the other training areas, a contained area of Konoha space that is devoted towards a specific type of environment. Some of the Training areas were forests, others were centered around lakes, a few simulated mountains, and others canyons. Twenty-six was unusual in that it was constructed to resemble a desert. And, with the use of various jutsu, it felt like a desert. This training area hadn't been used much since the last war with Suna village, and so Itachi and Kakashi had been the only ones there. So, they got down to business.

The training had lasted hours, and at the end of it, Kakashi found that he had to rethink his entire attitude towards this Uchiha prodigy. Prodigy wasn't a strong enough word. The boy was all of twelve or thirteen years old, but his strength and skill were phenomenal. His knowledge of Genjutusu was staggering, and his mastery of the Sharingan made him a formidable foe in every aspect of Shinobi warfare. All he lacked was experience, thought Kakashi as he panted from exhertion, and this boy would be one of the greatest shinobi of all time. Of course, Kakashi had been a prodigy as well, and thanks to his vast experience in shinobi warfare, he was able to lay Itachi low. It wasn't easy, but it could be done.

After Itachi and Kakashi parted ways, Kakashi decided to waive the idea of a peaceful evening of reading and decided that he should continue training. Since most of the fighting he had used against Itachi had been Taijutsu, and since he'd sworn to never use his Sharingan unless he was in a life or death situation, he still had plenty of chakra left in his reserves, and there were certain jutsu that he should train. For example, Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

Inuzuka Tsume was the holder of the summoning contract with the Inu clan. For reasons she had never spoken about, although Kakashi privately suspected that it was because he had saved her husband's life long ago, she had allowed Kakashi to sign the summoning contract, a privelege that had not been given to a shinobi outside her clan for centuries. However, even though Kakashi understood the basics of the summoning technique, he still didn't understand how to summon a specific dog. Depending on which animal he wished to summon, he had to use precisely the correct amount of chakra. Too much, or too little, and he would summon a different beast. And that could be fatal in an actual combat situation. For example, if he required a dog that specialized in close combat or speed, and he accidentally summoned a scout or a ranged fighter, then he had not only wasted the chakra spent to summon the dog, but had actually made things worse for himself. After all, now that the enemy shinobi knew that he knew Kuchiyose no Jutsu, he can react appropriately.

But chakra control wasn't the problem here. No, his problem was that dogs liked to come in packs. He would try to summon Hayate, who was a small, quick combat dog, but would end up summoning not only Hayate, but his brother, parents, first cousins, girlfriend and grandparents. Okay, Kakashi admitted to himself, that was a mild exaggeration. But, still, it's frustrating. How the hell am I supposed to summon specific dogs when they insist on travelling in groups? The whole principle of the 'pack' of dogs is just...

"Yo, Kakashi." Tsume's voice echoed through the empty air, startling Kakashi out of his reverie. He shook his head roughly, remonstrating himself for dropping his guard.

"Good afternoon, Tsume. What brings you here?"

"Ah, save that polite shit for those damned politicians, boy," she grunted, crouching next to where he knelt. They sat there for a moment in silence, gazing down from the tall cliff they sat on, overlooking the entirety of the sandy training area. Kakashi had decided to remain here to train since he wanted to keep this little jutsu a surprise, and he knew that people rarely came this way. Tsume, growling a little under her breath, continued. "Been practicing that jutsu?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. I'm in a bit of a tough spot right now, but I'll figure it out soon enough."

She laughed for a second, a harsh, loud bark of mirth. "Hah! Having trouble dealing with the pack mentality, are ya?"

Kakashi's good eye flickered toward her, and he nodded slowly.

"Thought so. Well, listen up, kid. Because you didn't whine and bitch about this, I'll give you a hand." She leaned back on her haunches and looked up at the sky, blue and cloudless. Slowly, she continued speaking, saying "A pack isn't a group. It isn't a family. It isn't an orginazation, a cooperative effort, a gathering. It's a single, living, breathing thing. It's alive. It's a bond that goes deeper than family, deeper than love. The pack is a force of nature. With me so far?"

Kakashi frowned slightly beneath his mask. "I... don't know. I always thought of a wolf pack or a pack of wild dogs as something they did to survive. 'Two heads are better than one', and all that."

"Heh. That's what a lot of people think." said Tsume, baring her teeth in a feral smile. "But it's much more than that. In a pack, when one is hungry, all are hungry. When one is content, all are content. When a pack-friend dies, a part of them dies with him. Kakashi, you can't hope to compete with that bond. When you try to summon a specific beast, the others can sense the danger he might be in, and they refuse to let him go alone. If you had a Genin team, and they were assigned a high-risk mission, wouldn't you want to go with them, to help and protect them?"

Kakashi eyes were downcast, remembering how the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had often does precisely that back when he had been Kakashi's Jounin sensei. Tsume nodded. "So, you get it. Good."

"But, then what can I do?" asked Kakashi, once more looking intently at Tsume. "How can I convince them that I'll take care of them, protect them?" But Tsume never answered. Silently, she rose to her feet and turned away, breaking into a sudden sprint. A leap and a bound, and she was out of sight, leaving Kakashi to think through the puzzle on his own.

'How?!' thought Kakashi to himself. 'How can I get them to understand? And what was the point of explaining the whole 'pack' concept to me? It does me no good; I'm not part of their pack, so why-'

His eyes opened wide in astonishment.

That was it.

What is needed, above all else, in any sort of relationship? What single thing can make or break your friendships, bring happiness to a lover, give pride to a father or to a son?

Trust.

The pack is all about trust. He had to prove himself to the pack, prove that he was trustworthy, prove that the precious members of their pack were safe with him. And to do that, he had to become one of the pack as well. A pack-friend can only be trusted to another pack-friend. That trust, that boundless trust in each other, is necessary.

He rose slowly to his feet, pulling a kunai from the holster on his hip. Carefully slitting open the skin of his thumb, he closed his eyes and concentrated. He had to get this right...

As Kakashi continued his training, Tsume was making her way back to the village, feeling proud that she had done her 'good deed' for the day. Besides, the boys should be back from school soon, and she wanted to be there when they came back. Troublemakers though they were, it was boring when they weren't around, and she found herself beginning to feel a bit lonely. What with Hana spending all of her free time in the clan library, poring over all the veterinarian texts their clan had accumulated over the years, she found that there was far too few distractions in this village. Sake could only do so much to alleviate the sadness. She had found that out when he had died...

She shook her head roughly, forcing herself to run even faster. Best not to think about those days. After all, she had to concern herself with the here and now. There was no sense in wishful thinking, and even less in useless memories. He was dead, and nothing would change that. And she'd be damned if she didn't raise her kids the best she could. They were the best kids in the whole damn village, as far as she was concerned.

Take Hana, for example. She had been shaken badly by her dad's death, especially since she had been all of five years old at the time. But she had that doggish stubborness of the Inuzuka's, and she refused to let it get to her. And now? She had the makings of a terrific veterinarian, and her fighting skills were steadily improving. She had done better than Tsume had expected with the Haimaru brothers; even though the three hounds had a love of mischief, Hana was able to keep them in line, probably through the same indominable strength that characterized Tsume. It would've made her father proud, if he could see how well she was doing.

As for the two boys... Well, boys will be boys. There wasn't a day that they didn't stick their noses into something that didn't concern them in the least. And they seemed to love causing trouble around the village. She couldn't count the number of complaints that had been brought to bear against her sons over the years. She tried to keep them out of trouble by keeping them busy, normally with training and chores. It never worked for long, unless she promised to teach them some cool technique or something. As soon as she hinted at the mere possibility of that, Naruto would immediately become as obedient as could be. And Kiba, although not as enthusiastic as Naruto, was unwilling to cause trouble without the compliance of his brother. Domineering as he might be, Kiba was very much a pack animal, and he'd sooner do nothing than act on his own.

Tsume frowned slightly, instinctively ducking under a tree branch as she sprinted through the leafy heights of Konoha Forest. That brought to mind an issue that had been plaguing her for some little time. She'd have to partner her boys to their own dogs soon. She had been younger than they were when she had been partnered with Kuromaru. Admittedly, she had been something of a prodigy, and it had been a time of warfare and strife, so it was necessary that she be as strong as possible in as short a time as possible. But, still, she shouldn't put it off for much longer. But she didn't want to do it before they were ready for that kind of responsibility.

Coming to an abrupt stop, she looked about herself. She was near the edge of the village proper. Close enough. Reaching her hand into her vest pocket, she pulled out a small whistle of bone and blew into it. It emitted no audible sound, merely a faint whine at the edge of her already sensitive hearing, but she knew it would bring Kuromaru running as soon as he heard it. And, sure enough, she could already hear his answering howl. And, within minutes, he was there, panting slightly and trying to get his breath back. She felt a sad smile twitch at her lips; they were both getting old, and it was beginning to show. Ah, but they could still kick ass with the best of them. No sense in worrying about the future.

"Kuromaru," she said softly once he had caught his breath, "I've been thinking about the pups." Kuromaru, though as intelligent as any human, still retained the simplistic and straightforward mind of a dog. He refused to think of her children in any other fashion than a 'litter', and her two sons were her 'pups'.

"What of them, pack-mate?" growled Kuromaru, speaking in his usual mix between gutteral growling and soft barking. Though he could speak after a fashion, it wasn't at all easy for him, but he had grown accustomed to it.

Tsume frowned slightly. "I think it's time they joined the pack."

Kuromaru let out a thoughtful bark and nuzzled at the soft soil at his feet. "So. You are unsure?" She nodded, and he grouchily bumped his head against her thigh. "Foolish human. Act, don't regret. Induct them. Or don't."

She looked at him with a mournful grin on her face. "You're really no help at all. You know that, right?" He bared his teeth in amusement, and she went on in a thoughtful tone. "Do you think they're ready to be partnered?"

He pawed softly at the ground for a few moments, thinking over what he had seen of the pups. Then he shook his head decisively, scratching himself idly with a scarred paw. "No."

"No?"

"No. They must learn hardship. Survival. Teamwork. They are too independent, too wild. They must tame themselves before I would trust one of my pups to them."

Tsume sighed deeply. "I was afraid you would say that. Alright, let's get home." He barked loudly in approval, his huge black body crouching low to the ground. Then, in a sudden movement, they were gone, bounding through the trees. Within the blink of an eye, they were gone, woman and hound vanished into the shadows of the forest.

A solitary leaf broke free from its restraints, an early sign of Autumn's arrival. Drifting slowly through the air, it landed softly on the ground. And to each side of where it lay on the warm earth there was a small indention on the ground. Footprints. One of a human foot, one of a paw, definitely canine. And between them, bridging the gap between the prints, was the leaf, unifying the two into a whole.

Inuzuka Hana was a bit annoyed.

She had got up before the sun did, blinking her eyes blearily in the dim light that was beginning to spread through the sky. But, since Tsume was her mother, and certain things have a tendency to stick to the genes, like sarcasm for instance, she couldn't help but feel a sharp bitterness towards all writers of proverbs. "It's always darkest before the dawn," huh? Who the hell came up with this bullshit? She'd bet her next month's pay that not a single one of the bastards had ever gotten up before ten in the morning in their whole goddamn lives. Either that, or they completely lacked common sense, let alone a basic understanding of simple astronomical fact. Fucking pricks.

Inuzuka Hana was a trifle irritated.

Having taken care of some of the menial daily tasks that were part and parcel with possessing a kennel filled with dogs, such as disposing of the crap before the pups started rolling in it, she had looked up to meet the sun eye to eye. It had been some little ways above the horizon at that time, and the light that shone forth had been clear and unimpeded with any clouds. It was promising to be a good day. For the sun, at least. All the light had done for Hana was giving her a splitting headache. This might have had something to do with the fact that she had hit herself a rather nasty bump on the noggin, courtesy of an antsy pup who had crawled between her legs at just the moment she had tried to walk. But, since trained and skilled kunoichi of the Leaf do not trip over puppies, and since she was entirely sure that she was such a kunoichi, despite whatever her arrogant mother and idiotic brothers might say, she had preferred to blame it on the sun. Casting it a dire look, she had raised an uplifted finger in salute to the sun and stalked away, leaving the sun highly offended and tempted to take its light elsewhere, if these bastard humans were going to be so bloody ungrateful.

Inuzuka Hana was feeling somewhat angry.

It was eight thirty, and her mother had been nowhere to be seen. This was not unusual, but it had meant that she was stuck with the unwelcome task of rousing her brothers from their slumber and getting their asses to school. On other, less frustrating days, she might have taken the kinder, gentler route of yelling in their ear, tugging on their ears, poking them in the stomach or, if the situation demanded it, simply dragging them out of bed. But not this day. Having seized a couple of buckets from the shed out back, she had promptly filled them with cold water from the river. Trudging inside with the buckets in tow, she had opened the door to the room the two boys shared and had at it, dumping the water over their beds in torrents. From opposite sides of the room had come sounds of spluttering, gasping, groaning, cursing, and other various noises of startled surprise. Kiba, once he had regained consciousness enough to recognize his surroundings and his sister, had opened his mouth to yell at her until his throat was hoarse. And closed it, swallowing nervously. Something in the way his sister had been looking at him was speaking to him, saying "Say it. I dare you. Go on. Just one word, just one fucking syllable, and I'll beat you so hard they'll be picking up the pieces for days." Kiba was many things, and very few of them were good, but if there was one thing that you could say for him, it was that he knew the difference between a dumb choice and a suicidal choice. Now, if he could just figure out the difference between a dumb decision and a smart decision...

Naruto, on the other hand, had been either far too stupid or far too sleepy to care about his sisters attitude. "The hell did ya do that for, sis?!" he had screamed at her, rubbing his eyes in futile attempts to get rid of the water. "I was trying to get some sl-" his tirade had been brought to an abrupt halt, possibly owing to the fact that a large tin bucket had lodged itself in his gut.

Hana had glowered darkly at her groaning brother. "Shut up, or I swear to Kami the second bucket'll have you squeaking like a girl for days." Naruto, cowering on the soaked bed, curled himself up into a defensive ball and covered his two best friends protectively. It was one thing to stand up to your sister, and it was quite another thing to do so by risking your balls. Tsume nodded and smirked in the traditional sadistic-older-sister fashion. "Alright, then. Get your asses out of bed, get showered, and go to your fucking class. Now." Somehow, that one final word conveyed more terror and fright then anything she had done previously, and the two lads had showed a turn of speed that they didn't know they possessed, getting ready for school in record time. Having appeared downstairs roughly five minutes later, they had shoveled down their food quietly and quickly under the watchful eye of their sister, and then fled from the house immediately after they had finished their meal.

After that, she had taken a quick shower before changing into her kunoichi attire, which consisted of a slim white tanktop, a pair of old cargo pants, and a small black jacket with a stylish red flower embroidered on the back of it. It too had some holes in it, and the whole outfit gave the impression that these clothes were used often and hard. After she had zipped up and laced her set of combat boots, which were a size too big for her since they were her mother's old shoes from her youth, she had eaten a liesurely breakfast, confident in the fact that she didn't have to be in class until ten o'clock. Though she was only ten years old, she was in her last year at the Ninja Academy. Or would have been, had she been able to take on a full load of classes. Between the chores here at the house and her veterinary studies, which she did in the late afternoons after she finished her classes at the academy, she simply didn't have the time to take all eight classes that she needed to graduate. She was only able to take four, so she was at school from ten to three, with an hour between noon and one for lunch. She would've liked to graduate way early, like that cute Uchiha boy who had started the same year she had. He had only been there for a little over a year, though, having tested out of nearly every class. Too bad... for her, at least. She hadn't minded having a little eye candy around...

Having fought down her slight blush, she had then made her way to the Academy, getting there a little early to properly prepare before her classes. She made it through all four of her classes without difficulties; after all, she was quite intelligent by normal standards, and a veritable genius when compared to her family. No offense meant, of course, but most of the Inuzuka's weren't exactly the brightest stars in the sky. But there were some in the family who were incredibly bright, and these individuals normally became veterinarians, like her aunt Miki. Speaking of Miki, her aunt was also the one who taught her all the basics of the job, and Hana went to her clinic from three to seven every weekday and served as an assistant, learning the job by observation, just like Miki had learned the basics from her mother, Mikoto.

Her time at the clinic had been rather boring, with nothing to do besides remove an dirty nail from one old dog's paw. That was the basics of the basics. Anasthetize, remove, disinfect and bandage. Doesn't get much more boring than that, as far as Hana was concerned. Though this had meant she had plenty of time to study the theory of zoology instead of the practical, she had found that she just couldn't concentrate that day, and when time was up, she had gone home with a feeling of dissapointment. This just hadn't been a good day for her, and the sun which she had treated so unkindly that morning was setting, signalling the end of the day.

As she had turned into the Inuzuka clan compound, she had heard the sounds of her two little brothers bemoaning their fate to Tsume.

"But MOM, why would we have to write an essay on the first day?!" had come Naruto's voice, at the whiniest and most pitiful tone it had in its repertoir, which was considerable.

"Yeah," Kiba had chimed in, "it's totally not fair! I mean, who wants to start off their first year as ninjas with a fucking essay?!"

Then had come the familiar sound of her mother smacking both her sons upside the head with a loud thwack. "Listen here, you runts! For starters, you're not even ninjas! You're about as far from being ninjas as you can be, apart from being a fucking civilian. Secondly, an essay is fucking easy; why, on my very first day at the Academy, I had to fight against my entire class by myself! And finally..." there was the sound of another solid smack and Kiba's yelp of pain, "I told you not to curse in this house!"

"But, Mom, you just cursed yourself!" argued Kiba, obviously upset by the blow from his mother. Not that she ever hit them hard enough to actually hurt them, just enough for them to get the point. Tough love, Hana had thought to herself. It was the only thing the kids understood.

"And besides, there's no fucking way you had to fight your whole class, Mom. That's just can't be true." Naruto had decided to add, and, in essence, had volunteered himself for good, long session of being grounded.

"You calling your mother a liar? Why, I ought to teach you two runts a lesson, you damn pups!"

And so Hana, upon opening the side door that led directly to the kitched, had born witness to the sight of her mother, clan head of the Noble clan of the Inuzuka, try to beat the living tar out of her children, which, due to their considerable experience, were doing an excellent job of avoiding. Hana had sighed softly and a smile crept over her lips. Just another normal day in the far from normal life of her family.

After the fight had calmed down and the kitchen, which had taken far more of a beating than the two children had, had been suitably repaired, Hana had whipped up a batch of her specialty ramen, which contained nearly more meat than noodles. Her brothers had set upon the meal with considerable gusto, while her mother sat back and ate at her own leisure, guzzling sake like it was water. Although even Hana had to admit that, from an outsider's point of view, her mother seemed to be an alcoholic and an abusive mother, she and her brothers knew that their mother loved them dearly, and everything she did with them (and to them in certain cases) was done out of the best intentions. As for the drinking... well, Hana hardly approved of that, but her mother had seen and done many atrocious and unthinkable deeds in her long life as a shinobi, and dealing with her problems by drinking was far better than turning to drugs or falling into a deep depression, as so many shinobi did.

Tsume could be a trial at times, but when it came right down to it, she was as solid and dependable as a rock, and she had always been there for her family.

As for Hana's two little brothers... She hated them with a passion, which was her right as an elder sister, but she couldn't hold a grudge against them to save her life. Annoying little pipsqueaks though they were, she loved the bloody bastards to death. But, she had sworn to herself, if she found them sneaking peeks at her diary one more time, there would be hell to pay.

After the meal had been concluded, and her brothers' insatiable appetite had been momentarily appeased, Tsume once more assumed her role of slavedriver, forcing the two boys to begin their homework immediately. Their cries for mercy had no effect on their mother, and the essays began to take shape, much against their will. But, true to their natural form, after the essays were complete the two Inuzuka brothers began to boast about their incredibe writing skills, displaying their essays with pride and deriding each other's handiwork. This, of course, had soon led to a brotherly tussle in the middle of the living room, which had resulted in Naruto bearing a hefty bruise on his stomach and Kiba sporting one hell of a shiner. Tsume had merely watched her children go at it with a motherly eye, but even her tolerance for their violence had a breaking point, and she had broken up the fight before serious damage had been done.

The two brothers had patched things up immediately, and within five minutes, it was as if the fight had never happened. So Tsume had taken the boys outside to train, and Hana made her own way out the back door, intent on greeting her partners for the first time that day.

And that was where she was now, standing near the dog kennels as the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky. She stood there for a long moment, simply enjoying nature. She felt the rustle of the wind in her hair, heard the leaves dancing in the breeze, felt the grass beneath her bare feet, tasted the cold twilight air. And, all about her, she saw the beauty of Konoha as many of the Leaf nin never bothered to. This was one of the best parts of being an Inuzuka: thanks to their link with their animals, which in turn made them more than slightly bestial, the Inuzuka clan members enjoyed a special bond with nature that few others would ever have.

There was an old story passed down through their clan that this very bond was one of the reasons the Inuzuka were a noble clan in Konoha. The Senju clan, who had been led by the man who would become the Shodaime Hokage, had been on very good terms with the Inuzuka clan, who were also one of the more powerful clans of the era. Because of this bond, when the Shodaime founded Konoha, the Inuzuka were right there with him from the start, just like the other Noble clans had been. Her mother had never been the storytelling type, but when she was deep in the booze, she became slightly maudlin, and had sometimes regaled Hana with stories of her great grandfather, Inuzuka Inugami, who had been the Shodaime's greatest friend and ally, and whose power had been second only to the Shodaime's himself. That is, until Uchiha Madara turned up.

And to this day, the Inuzuka remained a loyal ally to the Shodaime's cause, and had served faithfully throughout Konoha's existence. It was true what the shinobi of the village said about them; they may fight like beasts (and, according to the more perverted shinobi, mate like beasts as well), but there was no companion more loyal and protective then an Inuzuka. As a dog was a man's best friend, any member of the Inuzuka clan could be considered a shinobi's greatest ally.

As Hana stood there, taking in nature through every pore, she truly felt proud to be an Inuzuka.

Now, to find her best friends.

Raising her head, she let out a harsh bark, modulated by chakra to carry the sound for a greater distance. After a moment of silence, she let out another bark. This time, she heard a bark in reply, and a grin broke over her lips. From the forest came the sounds of barking and howling, and before a moment passed a trio of hounds burst forth from the forest's edge, yipping in excitement as they bounded towards Hana.

She knelt down to greet them, but was bowled over by the exuberance of the dogs, whose sole intent was to like and nose her until she couldn't see straight. Not that she minded, of course; many of her best times were spent frolicking with these three, and the hours that they spent romping through the woods were memories that she would treasure forever.

But she stood up again after only a minute or two, intent on getting some training done before it was too dark to see, despite her enhanced vision. Looking down at the Haimaru brothers, she grinned widely as she saw the three wagging tails, showing that they were ready and eager for today's training.

"Alright, you three," she said to them, causing their ears to perk up in sudden interest, "it's time for some training! You guys ready?" There was a resounding bark from all three, and she smiled even wider. "That's the spirit! Okay! But, first of all, we've got to focus our minds! Sit!" Four rumps hit the ground simultaneously, three of them canine and one human. She wiped the grin off her face and closed her eye, stretching out her chakra in a search for the ever-present link between herself and the Haimaru triplets. She found it with ease; after the four years she had spent with these three, it was hard not to do so. But it still wasn't good enough for her; her mother had bonded so closely to her partner, Kuromaru, that it was often difficult for Tsume to tell where she ended and he began.

"Right. Why don't you three tell me how your day went?" There arose barking from all three canines, and she had to hush them quickly. "One at a time!" she laughed softly, "I can't hear all of you at once! Okay, Hikyuu, you're the oldest, you go first." The largest of the three barked and yipped enthusiastically, and Hana concentrated as hard as she could on his mind. It was easy for her to read their emotions, but her mother had told her that that wasn't near enough; her connection had to be at the point were she could understand what they were saying, down to the last detail. As his barking died away, she frowned and spoke slowly. "Um... you... chased a squirrel up a tree, buried... what, a bone of some kind?" There was a dissaproving growl from Hikyuu, and she tried again. "Um... something shiny... probably metal? Was it a kunai?" He yelped confirmation, and she grinned widely. "Okay, I think I'm getting the hang of this! You go next, Idaten."

The smallest stared at her with serious eyes. Contrary to his brothers, Idaten, who was the middle sibling, was the more serious type, whereas Hikyuu was playful and Koujin, the youngest, was timid. When he started his story, his barks were slower and his yips softer, as if he was concentrating as hard as he could on getting his point across to his human partner. She, in turn, focused on his speech with all her intensity. Not surprisingly, she had a much easier time understanding him. "Okay, okay, so you tried to stop Hikyuu from climbing the tree. It didn't work and he..." she covered her grin with her hand. "he tried to climb it? So he fell? What happened then?" She listened for a bit longer, then giggled before turning to Hikyuu with a playfully reproachful look. "Now, Hikyuu, you should've told me that!" The eldest dog looked slightly embaressed, hiding his face with his front paws. She turned back to Idaten and finished translating what he said, managing to correctly interpret the broad idea of what he had been trying to get across.

Then she turned to the youngest, who seemed to be whimpering slightly. He was the one she was worried most about; Koujin had always had considerable trouble trying to converse with Hana, and she wondered if there was something about his personality that stopped him from being able to completely share the bond they had. His brothers had no problem, but maybe that was because their personalities were far more like Hana's than Koujin's was.

But Hana was determined, and she knew he could overcome that obstacle in time. So she tried her best to get him to talk, and he tried to his best to communicate. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to understand more than a few ideas out of what he was trying to get across. But she didn't let that get to her; they had plenty of time to work on this, and she knew that he just needed time to open up more. She stood to her feet, followed by her dogs.

"Alright, guys. That's got the boring stuff out of the way. Let's practice some of our sweet tag-team tactics! Ready?" There was a resounding bark from the Haimaru siblings, and the four of them bounded off into the forest, ready to get their training underway.

Naruto watched from inside as his sister vanished into the forest, a look of jealousy on his young face as he saw her bonding with her dogs. He wanted to have a bond like that with a partner of his own one day, but his mom still wouldn't let him or Kiba get a partner. He was tired of being treated like a kid; he was more than responsible enough to get a partner! Why, he kept his room clean, didn't he? Well, mostly clean. Kinda. You could still see the floor! On a good day, at least.

This fact set him back for a moment, but he rallied quickly. Wasn't it better for him to get a partner as soon as possible, so he'd have more time to bond with it? That's what his mom had always said! So why wouldn't she give him a dog of his own? They'd be the best team ever! They'd kick everyone's ass, and then everyone at the academy would see how cool he was and everybody would like him!

That got him to thinking about the academy, and the friends he had made that day. He had had a lot of fun with the other kids, especially Shika. There was something about the lazy kid that Naruto found himself liking, despite the fact that he normally didn't like guys that were so laid back. Speaking of laid back... Naruto's eyes narrowed. What about those two kids that had stopped him and Kiba from fighting back then? He remembered their names vaguely. Shino and... Sasuke, he thought. Shino seemed like a kinda quiet and wierd guy, and Naruto wasn't really worried about him, but Sasuke... Naruto just didn't like him. He had no idea why, since the boy wasn't mean or anything, but there was something about him that rubbed Naruto the wrong way. He had asked his mom about Sasuke, and he had found out that the boy was an Uchiha, which automatically marked him as a bad guy in Naruto's books. His mom had an ingrained hatred of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga which had rubbed off on her kids, not to mention the fact that Naruto had had many bad experiences with members of both the clans. He frowned as he recalled one of the times he had seen Uchiha Itachi, the genius Uchiha who, despite being only eleven or twelve, was already in the ANBU.

"Naruto! Kiba!" His mother's loud voice shook him out of his reverie, and he left the window in search of his mother. He soon found her in the main hall of the Inuzuka clan, putting on her hated ceremonial robes with much muttered cursing and griping. Kiba popped his head out from the side corridor, looking askance at his mom.

"What's up, mom?" he asked. Tsume gave the two kids an exasperated look and beckoned them into the room.

"Eh, same shit, different toilet. The damn Hyuuga's wanna call a meeting about some shit or other, and I have to go, dammit." She sighed deeply. She didn't regret her decision to reclaim her clan's rightful place among the Noble Clans, especially since that had brought Naruto into her life, but she absolutely abhorred the ceremonial bullshit and long-winded speeches that came with it. "I'll tell you this, runts, there's absolutely nothing worse in this world than sitting through hours of meaningless bullshit in which people say a lot and at the same time don't do jack shit. Politics is a bitch, boys. Remember that little tidbit of wisdom." Naruto and Kiba shared a look. Their mother was in one of her moods. That meant that one of the other Noble Clans had done something to piss her off in some way, and she was trying to pretend she wasn't angry by acting bored.

"What's the meeting about?" asked Naruto.

She grunted under her breath as she adjusted the elegantly embroidered robe that she was wearing. "Hell if I know. People don't tell me shit." She sighed and turned away, checking her appearance in the mirror. Even she had to admit it; the robe was beautiful. It was done in earthy colors of brown and green, symbolizing the Inuzuka connection to nature, and there was a stylistic dog drawn on the back with the Konoha symbol emblazoned in gold on its back. Between its gaping jaws there was a silver moon, although why that was there was anybody's guess. Tsume was privately convinced that the man who had made the cloak had been paid by the hour, and was making the robe as intricately detailed as possible so he could make more money. But that didn't change the fact that she'd have to deal with Hiashi and Fugaku, and the idea made her even angrier than usual.

"Alright, kiddos, I'm off. Remember to hit the sack before midnight, got it? Hana told me she had to wake you two up; that better not happen again. Your sister has her own stuff to do and can't be expected to babysit you brats all the time. Got it?" The boys flashed her a thumbs up, and she smiled softly at them. For a long moment she merely stood and looked at them, her mind bringing up images of them in their early childhood. It seemed like only yesterday that they were bawling infants, demanding nothing less than her complete attention at all times. And now they were going to the Ninja Academy... She turned away and gruffly said her farewell, trying to hide her suddenly tearing eyes.

Her sons' farewells followed her out the door, which she closed roughly. She loved them so much. Not a day went by when she didn't thank the gods for the miracle that had been Kiba's birth, and then the even more impossible miracle that had given her Naruto. She didn't even want to think about what life might have been like without Naruto.

And yet, even now, those bastards were trying to take her boy away. Her dark eyes flashed, and she set off down the path with a determined tread.

If they thought that this latest attempt to divide her family was gonna work, they had another thing coming.

AN: Okay, as promised, the next chapter of Howl of the Kitsune. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please leave a review. Every time I get a review, my will to write skyrockets.

Okay, I made the names for the Haimaru siblings myself. Hikyuu means "Warrior" or "Fighter", Idaten roughly translates to "Running Warrior", and Koujin stands for "Rear Guard". As for the whole section with Hana and them, as well as the Kakashi portion of the story, those are there because Hana, and Kakashi to a greater extent, will be key players in this story. So, in case you were wondering why in these early chapters I've focused a lot on people other than Naruto, it's because it's vital to develop their characters early on, since who they are will have an impact on Naruto.

If Tsume seems rough, well, that's because she is. Not only is she an Inuzuka, but she's a single mom, and I've seen single moms that can eat steel nails like popcorn. Yeah. Seriously. Don't fuck with Tsume, she will chew you up and spit you out. No foolin'.

Next chapter will be Tsume-centric for the most part; she'll be dealing with the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, and we'll get to see some flashbacks of Naruto's earlier childhood through her eyes, as well as some of the hijinks the other two Noble Clans have pulled. I've already begun construction, so you shouldn't have too long to wait for it. Next update for my stories will probably be the next chapter for The Bloody Mist; a bit of good news for those of you who have been waiting.

Oh, and don't forget to review! ;P

'Til next time,

Gaereth