Chapter Nine: Walk on the Wild Side

Kyuubi leapt from branch to branch at lightning speed, ricocheting off trees recklessly as she made her way through the forest surrounding The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Occasionally she would miss her target but before she could plunge to her and kit's doom, another branch would simply appear in her path, allowing her to grab on and swing back up to her original altitude. The resulting free fall from these little detours did little to soothe the restless kittens safely ensconced within the bag strapped to her chest.

Her mood was sour, making it hard to keep her temper in check as she traveled. She wanted to destroy something, wanted to sink her claws into warm flesh and tare and rend until nothing living remained anywhere in her vicinity. Damn this insignificant village and its moronic occupants! Damn the Sand siblings! Damn everyone! She realized she was screaming it over and over, realized that she had stopped heedlessly throwing herself through the woods to bang her fists down repeatedly on the tree branch under her knees.

How could they do this?

Damn them- damn them all!

"You're Omai-toh are outside!" Kyuubi finished reading the note in her hands and teased the clone, smirking as the clone's cheeks turned bright crimson. "They want to take care of you, to fulfill their obligations as your..."

"They're not! I mean- they can't! I mean…" The clone floundered, momentarily turning its back on the large male falcon digging it's talons into the window sill. "I'm human! I can't have Omai-toh!"

Kyuubi had stared at the clone, her grin vanishing. "You sound as prejudicial as the rest of this village." She said sternly, glaring at the blonde until it looked down at the floor. Sure that it was sufficiently cowed, she continued. "You have human Omai-toh, you just choose not to make them officially yours."

"Leave Neji, Hinata and Sasuke out of this." The clone growled, glaring right back at her. "They're not my Omai-toh or my girlfriend or my boyfriends for that matter! They're my… friends…" The clone's shoulders slumped for a second and its defiant expression crumpled into something far more heartbreaking. But then it bounced back, expression becoming stern so fast that Kyuubi was left to wonder if she had imagined the previous one. "Gaara's coming so there's no need for them to feel obligated about anything!"

The fox blinked at him mildly. "You should ask him to be one of your Omai-toh. I'm sure he won't object, in fact I think he'd be quite grateful! The others like him too and get along with him...Well, Sasuke doesn't but he's not worth your time…"

"KYUUBI!" The clone nearly shrieked, remembering at the last second to merely hiss the word at her. "No, damn it! How many times do I have to say this? They're not my Omai-toh! I don't have Omai-toh! I can't have Omai-toh!"

"You can have Omai-toh, this village just makes you think you can't have any." The fox said quietly, petting the kittens again. The trio had roused and was now crawling up to take seats on her shoulders as they looked back and forth between the two 'humans.' "We should leave this place permanently." She added absently as she began picking the items she would need while out and about up off the floor where they lay scattered.

The clone shot her a sad look over its shoulder as it greeted the patient falcon and untied the note tied to the bird's leg. "I think it's a bit too late for that, don't you?"

The blonde was right but a fox could still dream.

The stinging in her barrowed hands helped ground Kyuubi and get her back on track. After taking a brief moment to work her swelling fingers, the fox turned in the direction of the disturbance she had been following and continued on.
"You have to go!" The clone said suddenly, startling both the fox and the kittens. Eyebrows in her hair, Kyuubi looked up from buckling her small pack and spotted the crumbled remains of the note by the clone's feet. When she didn't move, the clone ran past her into the bedroom.

The sounds of hurried footsteps and crashing reached her ears shortly there after.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kyuubi asked, shooing the kittens from her shoulders and rising. "Weren't you just telling me how much I should-"

"I was wrong!" The clone said, panting as it returned to the main room, a larger pack dangling from its hand. It was Naruto's mission backpack, the one he took when he expected to be gone for a lengthy amount of time, and the clone seemed to have packed it full. "You need to get out of the village and to the others!"

Kyuubi frowned as the bag was thrust into her hands. "Gaara is coming..."

It was then that the clone turned to her, frantic, its fear for her evident. "He isn't! We're on our own again." It had grabbed her then by the upper arms, expression solemn. "No one is coming."

They had been abandoned.

With one last leap, Kyuubi cleared the tree line and stumbled to a stop on the uneven forest floor. Warily, she scanned the area, unconsciously rolling her shoulders to resettle the straps of both the heavy pack on her back she wore and of the second smaller bag strapped securely to her front. Inside the latter were the kittens, the trio moving around anxiously, and Kyuubi absently reached a hand up to pet them through the fabric of their carrier.

In a decidedly unwise decision, the fox had not headed directly for the kitsunes waiting for her. Once she had left the village via leaping over their beloved protective wall –something she hated with a passion- Kyuubi had made a beeline for another target several miles away. It was stupid, surely, but with her anger mounting over Garaa's betrayal, the fox needed something to destroy before she exploded and did something both she and Naruto would regret. Kneeling beside one of the larger trees, Kyuubi let the backpack slide to the floor behind her as she undid the straps securing the kitten's carrying case and set it gently next to one of the tree roots.

As soon as she had loosened the tie keeping the top shut, three furry heads popped up and began nosing themselves free. The blue kitten was in such a hurry that she actually leaned too far out and tumbled out of the bag before the fox could reach out and grab her. As she picked the kitten up and dusted the forest debris from its fur, Kyuubi couldn't help but smile at the feline, a smile that widened once the kitten noticed the fox's expression and began purring loudly. Once all three kittens were out of their carrier and safely on the forest floor, Kyuubi gave them each a brief cuddle before biting her thumb hard enough to draw blood.

"Listen," Kyuubi said, pressing her bleeding thumb to each kitten's forehead and leaving a crimson strain, her other hand hovering close by in case they tried to run. "Please don't lick this off. It's messy but it'll protect you when I can't. Now, please stay here until I come get you."

Licking the bleeding digit clean, Kyuubi stood and walked several meters away heading deeper into the wooded area. When she believed that there was sufficient distance between herself and her charges, she kicked off her sandals and pulled off her bandana, letting her feet be caressed by the cool grass while the wind ruffled her blonde mop, pulling loose hairs free to blow away. She ran a hand through her hair and watched strands fall from her fingers mournfully, knowing that in a few days most of it would be gone and that whatever remained would exist only in scraggly tufts.

Kyuubi felt her lower lip tremble as she looked at the forest floor.

Kit was going to be in so much pain, so much pain, and now he was being forced to go through it alone. She had thought such days were long gone once the Sand siblings had gotten involved but she had been wrong and her bitterness and anger over their betrayal fanned the flames of her rage. The kittens were safe in their hiding place, protected by a crude but effective spell that would redirect her attacks should any of them come within striking distance of the felines. Kyuubi could let loose without fear, could give into the desire to destroy all over the target headed right for her. She felt the pure heady pleasure that only came from imminent violence bubble through her barrowed form's veins.

Someone was going to pay for this! Someone was going to pay for Naruto's pain, for Kyuubi's pain. Someone was dead and, as two individuals wearing familiar cloaks rounded a corner two hundred yards ahead, running as if Hell itself were right behind them, the fox just smiled in surprised amusement.

Kyuubi absently wondered briefly if Itachi and Kisame had rockets hidden under their Akatsuki cloaks, they were going so fast. Well, she amended, the missing Mist ninja could run at any rate- the missing Uchiha was just being dragged along beside the taller of the pair. Inhaling, Kyuubi detected a distinctive scent and frowned as she watched the slumping brunette be picked up and slung over a blue-skinned shoulder.

Then the thing chasing the pair came into view and the fox forgot about them as she began her attack. Since neither of the Akatsuki members would be relevant to the fight, she removed them from the battlefield with a thought, watching as the tree Kisame was running past suddenly lashed out with its branches. The attack caught the former Mist ninja in the right side and sent him hurtling several meters to the left into another tree where vines wrapped around the slumped pair. Unsurprisingly, Kisame had automatically shielded Itachi from damage, using his own body to protect the fallen Uchiha and thus making them both easy targets for the rope-like plants that now held them hostage.

Kyuubi shrugged. She would see to them later- right now she had to deal with the beast heading for her.

The fox sneered then wrinkled her nose in disgust as the monstrosity flowed in and out of vision, its shape appearing and disappearing with the shift in light dappling the forest floor. The overall shape remained obscured but Kyuubi estimated its height at around forty feet and the fox knew from past experience that the animal was not to be taken lightly. Four stories of hulking, growling muscle walked toward her on four feet, the beast's wide strides eating up the distance between them in only minutes.

A Hound was loose. Some stupid moron had actually found a gateway and let loose a Hound. She sighed tiredly and shook her head over the depths of human foolishness. Really, it never ceased to amaze her- you would think they would learn after a while! The world had been razed to ash twice already that she knew of but that apparently was not enough of a record.

The term 'Hounds of Hell' was more than an expression. They were, in fact, real hounds that served perhaps not a hell as humans would think, but a very nasty place that wasn't too different than the imagined home of the damned. There were gates- doorways- scattered globally that kept that place sealed away and separate from the normal world but, as with any portal, there were always cracks and gaps that some of the less powerful beings of that other place could crawl through to crossover especially if they were let through by some power hungry twit.

So, of course, someone had released a Hound and now Kyuubi, as was her job description, had to deal with it.

Typical.

"Alright, Motherfucker!" Kyuubi screamed, clapping her hands together and holding them there as she lifted her foot high in the air then slammed it into the ground. "It's time to send your sorry ass home to your Master!"

As soon as her foot hit the grass the ground began to rumble, the vibration gaining in intensity until several tons of solid rock had been disgorged a few feet in front of Kyuubi. In the blink of an eye the mass broke apart into smaller, lethally sharp-edged chunks and the possessed blonde held her hands toward it, palms out as if in a 'stop' motion.

Wind gusted, gently at first but then with more force as she summoned it and bent it to her will. The air flowed over Naruto's form, caressing his body like a lost lover, tickling, teasing as it gathered before his tan hands. This was not the same as forming a Rasengan attack- Kyuubi did not force the air to submit with her chakra as Naruto had to do in order to form the sphere- it was much simpler. Kitsunes were part of the forest and, to an extent, the Nine tails could command the forest as a swordsman could command their blade. Kyuubi called to the wind as she had to the pile of rock beginning to levitate in front of her and they answered as extensions of her will.

"Attack." Kyuubi said quietly, lip curling up as she sneered, adrenaline singing through her veins like a drug.

The jagged pile of stone rose higher into the air until there was a large wall hovering in front of her. For maximum damage, Kyuubi made them spin before sending them hurtling forward toward their target, watching warily as the projectiles flew straight and true, smashing through trees but not slowing in the slightest.

The Hound screamed, shrieking as it was pelted and stabbed, as the sharp corners buried themselves deep inside it's flesh, and Kyuubi couldn't help the satisfied sigh that escaped her lips as she listened to the awful cacophony. Eyes closed in appreciation, the fox tilted its head back and continued to listen for several more moments, sharp ears automatically tracking the wounded beast's progress as it charged her. Then she smiled, eyes opening slowly as she sucked in a breath and answered the Hound's challenge with one of her own.

She screamed her defiance, her body already in motion, charging forward as she flexed her hands, pleased with the chakra crafted claws now encasing them. Kyuubi launched herself into the trees, jumping from branch to branch at high speed as she raced to meet the Hound, anticipation of the kill already flooding her body as the stench of acrid Hound blood filled her nose and burned her lungs.

Heavily wounded, sensing its attacker approaching, the Hound roared again, exposing monstrous teeth, the smallest of which was larger than Naruto was tall. Its eyes, previously grey, were now as crimson as the sheen of the liquid oozing out of its wounds, the barbell shaped pupils contracted into slits. It was breathing heavily, putrid breath fanning out in moist puffs that scalded the dying grass under it and the fox inwardly cheered because her first attack had apparently hit a vital spot. Enraged, it drooled excessively, the pools of saliva eating into the ground, making it sizzle, and Kyuubi knew from personal experience that the jell-like substance was not acid but extremely basic. Even after all these years, the fox demon wasn't sure which was worse since both would eat through bone and flesh with equal proficiency and pain.

Knowing that Naruto's body would not be able to handle a drawn out battle, the fox struck hard and fast. Using a simple distraction tactic, Kyuubi paused for several heart beats on a large branch in front of the Hound, deliberately making herself an easy target. For good measure, she let her expression become pained and clutched her chest, falling to one knee. I'm weak, injured. I'm no match for you… The demon thought, milking her 'wounded bird' act for all she was worth. If a Hound was angry enough and injured enough, then it would charge blindly after its attacker but this one was slowing its charge, hesitating as it watched her warily, much to Kyuubi's irritation. Come on, Stupid, I don't have all frickin' day!

And then she paused as one of the chakra signatures in her vicinity flared weakly before beginning to diminish, the demon's eyes widening as she recognized it with a curse. Knowing that more people than Kit would have a fit if she let the person die, Kyuubi inwardly sighed as she debated the best way to deal with this new problem. As if the Hound wasn't-

The beast struck. Taking advantage of her lapse in focus, the Hound lashed out with one massive paw, bringing it down on the branch she stood on and shattered it. The move forced her to jump to another perch for safety but, as she launched herself into the air, she found massive jaws blocking her way.

Oh shit. Even in her head the comment was spoken in a small voice, as if to underscore the simple exclamation and the given circumstances.

Kyuubi tore off her coat and threw it at the teeth about to impale her, watching as the blade like constructions slammed shut upon the fabric. It bought her the time she needed and as she let herself free-fell down, she unsheathed her claws, angling her body into position.

Oblivious to its error, the Hound was shaking its prize in a frenzied fashion above its head, baring its throat, and the fox smirked as, seconds later, she swiped her claws at the arteries so nicely being presented. Once again summoning the air to surround her hands, Kyuubi formed it into arched blades so that when she attacked she not only severed the precious blood supply to the Hound's brain, but the beast's neck completely. The flesh split, opening horizontally like a second mouth as the weight of the Hound's head falling backward onto its shoulders pulled it apart, and blood poured from the wound like a miniature ocean.

Kyuubi frowned, unhappy as she looked over all the torn muscle and tendons. An over-stretched ligament snapped like a rubber band and beyond that the fox could clearly see the Hound's severed spinal column but still the head and body remained connected. Damn it- I was hoping to sever the head completely. She sighed. It's messy but it will have to do.

Unable to enjoy her victory and pissed over that fact, the fox back-flipped in mid-air, somersaulting to land safely on the ground as blood sprayed over everything in the vicinity. Kyuubi quickly found herself drenched in the crimson liquid as she walked angrily over to the tree whose vines held the two Akatsuki members bound and gagged.

As the pair was lowered to her level, the fox shook her hands until they were reasonably clean, using her fingers to clear her eyes and nose. Naruto's normally sunshine yellow hair was now as red as Gaara's, his tan skin almost black from the red coating it. Ugh! Kit's body looked as if it had been dipped upside down in a bucket of red paint except this particular hue could never come from a bottle.

She wanted- no, needed!- a bath and even as she thought it, several yard away the ground began to form a shallow depression that quickly began to fill with water as the clear liquid burbled up from an underground source.

"Well!" Kyuubi said loudly once she was eye to eye with Kisame, the ex-Mist ninja hanging upside down from his constraints. "Fancy meeting you here!"

She licked her thumb clean, turned her head to spit the foul Hound's blood out of her mouth, and bit the newly cleaned digit until it bled freely. Shooting a smirk at Kisame as she tore off his forehead protector, she caught his angry pale blue eyes and maintained the contact as she pressed the pad of her bleeding thumb against the blue skinned forehead.

"Now, now, Kisa-chan!" Kyuubi admonished quietly as he began to struggle, consequently smearing the lines she was trying to carefully draw over his brow. She paused in annoyance and roughly grabbed a handful of his short spiky hair, using her handhold to pull his head back sharply while forcing it upward. She was perilously close to breaking his neck, she knew, and though it would have been a minor irritation to her plans, the thought of killing him bothered her for no longer than a second. She made sure to let this show in her eyes, let him see how much she didn't care, and she growled at him.

"If you don't hold still, I can't draw the seal correctly." She tightened her grip on his hair and shook him slightly, leaning down so that her displeased expression dominated his vision. "You don't want me to mess this up, Kisa-chan. I don't mind a blank slate, really, but I believe you would have a slight aversion to me frying your brain."

He glared up at her defiantly and she watched his jaw work as he attempted to use his sharp teeth and chew though the vines covering his mouth. He wiggled, straining against his bonds.

"Itachi, your partner, is dying, you know." Kyuubi said conversationally, letting him go and watching him swing back and forth. She began to walk toward her new bathing area, pulling off her sticky shirt. "Until I am through with you, I cannot see to him. You can feel him slipping away just as I. You can't save him but I can, and I will, once you stop being a pain in the ass."

Concentrating on undoing her pants, she heard the ex-Mist ninja make frustrated sounds as he again tried to break free and failed, and she took her time as she shimmied out of the ruined clothing. Looking over at the Hound's corpse, she pouted, mourning the loss of her brand new jacket. It wasn't until she began to walk away, intent on retrieving the article, that Kisame finally slumped in defeat, indicating his submission.

Smiling, Kyuubi waltzed back over to him.

When she was finished inscribing the design she had started previously on the blue skinned brow, Kyuubi stepped over to Itachi's unmoving upside-down form, directing the vines to slowly lower the unresponsive brunette and place him gently on the ground.

The missing Uchiha -well, the elder missing Uchiha now- didn't react to her presence at all, even when she knelt beside him and began to open his cloak. Kyuubi leaned forward over his chest and inhaled deeply, frowning at the exposed skin, at the cloying reek of burned flesh and coppery sweetness that slid over her tongue and coated the back of her throat. There was something else too, something sickly sweet and bitter, a scent with a texture that was almost tar-like as it slid over her senses.

The scent of deep rooted sickness.

"Oh, Ita." Kyuubi murmured mournfully, discarding the red and black Akatsuki cloak as well as his forehead protector by tossing it carelessly over her shoulder. "What has become of you in your quest for vengeance?"

She heard a quiet mew from beside her knee and tore her gaze away from the red ruin of Itachi's chest to look down at the kitten, reaching down to pet the blue female automatically. The fox glanced around for the other kittens and found the two males fighting several feet away, rolling around as they hissed and bit one another. Of the pair, the tabby suddenly seemed to be the most wild, frenzied as he tried to approach Kyuubi and her captive only to be literally smacked away by the brown kitten.

The fox frowned at their behavior but didn't have time to dwell as Itachi's remaining life began to slip away. She felt his chakra flare weakly again, heard and saw his heart hesitate through the hole in his chest and knew that chakra healing wouldn't be enough to repair the damage. Flexing her bleeding thumb, she quickly drew a seal over Itachi's pale exposed brow much as she had with Kisame though this one extended down the Uchiha's temples and around his eyes. After placing a drop of blood on each closed eyelid, Kyuubi slit her wrist and flexed to make more blood flow.

"This might sting a bit." Kyuubi told him before shoving the crimson coated fist into the mess of his chest while her other hand splayed over the ground next to her.

Shifting her legs, the fox sat down as if she was preparing to meditate. Kyuubi took a deep breathe, held it, and released it as she began to focus both her chakra and the magic at her disposal. Of the two, the latter was what required the most concentration- she had been long out of practice in handling such involving healing even before she had died and knew that if she wasn't careful she could just as easily blow Itachi to pieces as heal him into a whole.

Reaching out with her magic, Kyuubi thought of the earth below her, feeling it beneath her hand like some great slumbering animal that stirred at her metaphysical touch. She called to it as one would a favored pet, feeling the energy rise, eager to help now that it had been summoned. It flowed upward through the depths of all that stone and dirt, gaining momentum as it did so until it simply burst from the ground like some invisible beast that only the fox could sense. The power rubbed against Naruto's bloodstained skin, causing goose bumps to appear in its wake, the feeling making Kyuubi shudder pleasantly at the fur-like sensation.

Distantly she heard Kisame fall and curse as she released him, dropping the missing Mist ninja unceremoniously on his head.

The fox felt calm, more secure and confident in her abilities as the earth's power continued to rub itself against her skin in greeting, and continued to call forth the other needed elements. She thought of water and instantly she could smell it, pure and clean in her nose, a slightly heavy cool presence against her skin like the air before a rainfall. Far away, as if a dream, she heard the ocean, felt the salty liquid's advancement and recession as clearly as she felt the blood moving through Naruto's body with every beat of his heart. The fox summoned water and the small depression she had been planning to use for bathing smoothed out, spilling its contents over the ground to pool around both her body and Itachi's. The liquid lapped at them, lapped at the kittens near them, lapped at Kisame's feet until the ninja moved out of range, and Kyuubi could feel other things moving in that clear substance. Just as the energy of the earth had a form, so did water and the sensation of smooth slicked rubber teased against her wet skin, soft enough not to hurt, but strong enough to cause the dried blood coating Naruto to slough off.

Wind came next and answered like the others, ghosting over her skin and chilling it, a barely there presence but one not to be taken lightly. The air turned crisp, not cold, but crisp as it filled her lungs, as it tousled the thinning blond hair. Unlike the earth or water, the wind energy did not manifest in the form of an animal; instead the fox felt it like one would hear distant joyous laughter or soft chimes. It caressed tanned skin as a lover would, light and gentle but firm and hard all at the same time. Wind wanted you to know it was there, all the time, wanted you to know that it had the potential to either rip you to pieces or be soft enough to simply help you clear your head. Kyuubi thought gentle thoughts and called that dynamic energy, summoned it, quite relieved when it came and merely swirled about her body, occasionally reaching out to touch her and the other elements.

Last came fire, the most dangerous element in Kyuubi's opinion, though usually the most useful. Though you could not hold a conversation with a flame you could bet that, if you pissed it off enough, fire would most assuredly let you know that you had angered it. With a healthy amount of wariness, the fox thought of fire and instantly the air around them all became stiflingly hot. It was as if she stood before the open door of a gigantic blast furnace working at full capacity. It was not simply hot air- it was a veritable wall of heat that scorched her lungs as she breathed. Kyuubi felt herself burning, her body shriveling as its precious moisture was stolen away, but the fox forced herself to push past that god-awful heat to the molten core of the planet itself and draw out a dollop of that power. She reeled it inside her, swallowed it down and felt it burn in her body like a great flame ready to consume her if she mishandled it.

Kyuubi fought down the urge to pant harshly, forced herself to keep her breathing even though it was very hard not to let her thoughts narrow down to that burning pain. Her concentration kept slipping.

She felt fur rub against her, fur both real and not real, the latter making goose bumps breakout over her skin. She heard soft chimes and distant laughter, the quiet sounds seeming to swell in her ears as her cheeks were brushed with feather light strokes. Liquid washed over her, cooling her down and helping to draw the heat away safely as it replenished her strength. Kyuubi felt her concentration steady as the dreadful heat receded into a small manageable fire- if one could call a bonfire in your stomach 'small' or 'manageable.' She smiled and thanked the other elements for the aid before proceeding.

She took another breath and held it, visualizing what she wanted to happen as the fist inside Itachi's chest relaxed, the fingers splaying out and moving until they gripped the Uchiha's failing heart. The fox felt the brunette's body arch reflexively, instinctively trying to get away from the foreign sensation even as he lay unconscious. Kyuubi ignored the movement and began directing the energies at her command.

Connected as they were currently, Itachi belonged to her and his wound was now her wound. She felt his heart stop completely but did not let herself be bothered by it, already converting her demonic chakra into healing energy and pumping it into his body through her fingertips. The damaged organ needed to rest anyway while she worked and the fox felt a slight heaviness envelop her as Naruto's body began to work for both humans. Every time the blonde's heart beat, it pushed blood through both bodies. Every time Naruto's body breathed, it drew breath for two. With the exception of the two kittens still fighting nearby, all was silent as she worked, and slowly, oh so slowly, Itachi's body began to close around her wrist.

"Kisame!" She called, eyes shut, clearly sensing the angry missing ninja as he warily drew closer, his sword already drawn. The larger male oozed malicious intent, his anger permeating the air around him, wafting ahead of his body and pricking against her skin like hot pins. He wanted to hurt her- wanted to hurt her so badly she could taste it in the air- but knew he couldn't because Itachi's life was in her hands.

Perfect.

She smiled and there was nothing pleasant in the action. She raised her face in his direction, showing him her smile as she opened her eyes and looked at him coyly. She let her voice purr as she spoke, her accent thickening as a hint of something ominous entered her voice- something that spoke directly to the violence Kisame so enjoyed practicing and held a world of promise.

"I have a mission for you." The fox said simply then proceeded to explain it very quietly to him.

When she was through, it was the blue-skinned man who was smiling.

"Nine Tails, Chosen by the Deity Inari, Living Seal of the Final Gate, Keeper of All That Exists From Beginning to End…"

The list continued on, the tone respectful throughout- somebody wanted something from her pretty badly if they were willing to list all her titles. She kept her eyes closed, her breathing even as she continued to work on the brunette's body. It figured- just as she managed to get rid of her noisy distractions, another popped up. Typical. Maybe if she ignored the intruders, they'd all go away…?

"…Recorder of Stories and Memory, Commander of the Elements, Embodiment of Ancient Magic Come Alive-"

"Shut up already!" Kyuubi commanded, flexing her hands automatically in irritation. Beside her, Itachi's still healing body twitched sharply as the grip around his heart became a little too tight. "You may have time to waste reciting all of my names but I do not!" She gestured at the fist lodged deeply inside the Uchiha as her eyes flew open to pin the visitors with a very unfriendly glare. "What do you want?"

Oh fuck. Though her face remained impassive, the fox grimaced inwardly as she recognized just who was kneeling a respectable distance in front of her. Don't say it. Don't say it! Just get lost and don't request a-

One of the kitsunes raised her head and blinked large pale green eyes nervously. A tongue flicked out to wet her human shaped lips. "We have come to request an audience with you, oh great and wise Kyuubi."

Inari curse it! "You have caught me at a most inopportune moment, Moriko, Lady of the Land That Swishes in the Breeze." Kyuubi told the eight tailed kitsune and, though her words were formal, she didn't bother to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Moriko was dressed in green, the color going well with her human form's overall brown pigmentation. Brown skin, not just deeply tanned but the color of top soil in the sunlight, combined with hair the same shade of freshly turned earth, truly marked Moriko as a forest child and when she flattened herself to the ground to take an extremely submissive stance, she very nearly disappeared into the ground she knelt on. Kyuubi was actually surprised to see the dark female since she was known not to enjoy the spotlight. Beside Moriko, the other kitsunes also became prone as they showed reverence.

But they weren't leaving.

"Selene, Lady of the Land that Ebbs and Flows with the Phases of the Moon, what brings you to my lands without proper notification?" Kyuubi asked, turning her barrowed blue-eyed gaze upon the only other feminine body in the small group. There were only five of them, the fox noted sadly; five rulers where not long ago had existed thirty.

Damn the humans- the kitsune race was on the brink of extinction.

Selene raised her dark head and blinked large dark eyes. Unique among the kitsunes, Selene was the only completely black fox when fully in her natural form. From nose to tail, her fur was as dark as the night itself. In contrast to her darker features, in her human form Selene was as pale skinned as the moon itself, a beauty carved of light and shadow that seemed to glow faintly in the sunlight.

Kyuubi knew from personal experience that all of Selene's human skin would appear to glow at night, surrounded by darkness, just like a full moon at night.

No wonder the Greeks had named her the Goddess of the Moon.

Just like every time when meeting Selene, Kyuubi caught her breath and swallowed hard as the other female gazed at her.

"I know that you loath formal speech," Selene said, briefly bowing her head respectfully at Kyuubi. As they faced one another, her expression remained grave and carefully blank but the nine tails could swear that the pale skinned female was fighting not to smile. "So I will not waste your time with pretty words."

With Kyuubi's nodded permission, the kitsunes before her sat back on their haunches, tails flaring behind them as they settled, grim faced.

"Great and powerful Kyuubi," Selene intoned and part of the nine tails noted that the other's voice was still as melodic and pleasant as Kyuubi remembered. "We have come seeking your protection."

For several moments, silence reigned thick and ominous between the two parties as they stared at one another.

"Are you asking me to do what I think you are?" The nine tails breathed at last. She froze in place, body absolutely still as she stared at them, incredulous. Beside her, Itachi's body twitched as his consciousness woke and automatically began trying to force her influence out of his body. She poked his heart with her thumb, a quick firm press that made his motions cease immediately. He lay still, listening, and Kyuubi promptly resumed ignoring him.

"Nine tails." One of the kitsunes, a chestnut haired male began, his voice rough and painful to listen to- as if he had eaten ground glass. Kyuubi thought his name was Kuri but wasn't sure. "We request safe passage for our Families into your lands without the threat of war. The humans have begun tampering with the seals- one village has even opened a gate! The Hounds are loose, as you have already seen, and there are too many for our numbers to fight! We face extinction if we do not act-"

"We ask that you use your powers and open the Fortress." Selene interrupted, her soft voice cleanly drowning out the louder male's. She put a hand on his forearm to stall any other comments then looked at Kyuubi. "I beseech you not as a Lady but as a friend and former lover! Save us! Save your people! Do not abandon us again!"

They were so afraid, so very afraid. Kyuubi could smell it like some sour wine, could feel it try and wash over her. It tried to drag her down, tried to dominate her will, and if she had been in her actual kitsune body, she may well have caved into their demands. But as it was, though her spirit was in control of this body, it was still Naruto's body. His very human body.

The ground began to rumble beneath them, the vibration becoming more and more pronounced as Kyuubi became angry.

"'Abandon' you? Abandon you?!" The nine tails growled, her fury lashing out and causing the ground nearby to crack open and vent scalding steam. "After being blessed by Inari, my kits were slaughtered and I sought vengeance on those responsible as was my right! Never once did I 'abandon' you!"

"You attacked Konoha!" Selene screamed, coming to her feet in a blurred rush, the air beginning to shimmer around her, taking on a vague liquid quality. "You knew better than anyone that they were not to be trusted! You believed in the fairness of their new leader and look what happened!" The black haired kitsune shouted, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks. "When you were sealed so was your power! You left us with no leader and your death doomed us all!"

The good thing about being a ruler was that you could actually do something- anything really- to the person pissing you off for no other reason then that they were making you angry. Selene- for all her beauty, for all the love and respect that Kyuubi had for her in the past and now in the present- was pissing the nine tails off. In fact, all of the visiting kitsunes had violated protocol in coming here without asking her permission before hand as they were supposed to. She was well within her rights to declare their actions a war-time invasion and slaughter them all.

At that moment, Kyuubi was angry enough to do it.

"Be gone from my lands." She ordered, forcing all that rage back down into her core, compacting it tightly into a small ball that sat like a hot lump of lead in her stomach. She swallowed her anger and the ground stilled. Proud of her restraint, Kyuubi continued to speak. "Leave my territory immediately or I will give orders to my Family to have you killed on sight."

"An empty threat." Atarah scoffed, snorting softly as he folded his arms over his chest. Kyuubi felt the fire magic in her gut flare from her sense of indignation. She remembered meeting the male when he was but a kit hundreds of years ago and again when he gained leadership over the Lands that Lie Barren but Plentiful Underground. It seemed that Atarah's crown and name had gone straight to his head.

"You can not issue orders to people who are no longer around." The red haired male continued, completely insolent and not caring one iota- not even when the sky over head flashed with lightning as Kyuubi's anger came back full force.

"Get. Out." Kyuubi hissed, the ground rumbling violently. With a pronounced sucking, wet sound, she pulled her hand out of Itachi's chest and shook the stiff fingers out. Her anger was making her lose her focus on the elemental magic and the situation could rapidly degenerate into something messy if she completely lost control- after all her hard work healing him, it would be a shame to inadvertently set the Uchiha on fire. Though they were now physically separated, they remained mystically connected, and Kyuubi acutely felt the drain of his still healing body. She felt weak but forced herself to remain focused on the kitsunes in front of her and in reining in her magic before she completely lost control.

Atarah sneered. "They lost confidence in you and fled like rats deserting a sinking ship..."

It's not true! They wouldn't leave without telling me! She tried to calm the panic clawing at her heart and failed.

"I think you sound like a certain snake I've met!" A cheerful voice rang out seconds before a large form fell out of the sky to land gracefully on the ground between the two groups. Two more thumps followed a heartbeat later as two more kitsunes joined the gathering, making sure to land closer to Kyuubi than to the others.

Kyuubi blinked and held back a relieved smile at the timely arrival of Naruto's omai-toh. All three of them were dressed as members of The Village Hidden in the Leaves AMBU squad, the distinctive white masks pushed up and revealing their faces.

"You hiss poison quite well!" Eiki continued, arching blond brows that disappeared into the short dark hair nearly completely hidden under his AMBU mask. Pale skinned, tall and lithely muscled, Eiki didn't look like much of a fighter, eight tails aside, and Kyuubi had expressed serious doubt about the potential mate, unconvinced that the younger kitsune would take his duties seriously or be able to protect Naruto should the need arise. She supposed that if this meeting broke out into a brawl then she would be able to either confirm her opinion or refute it. Warm burnt orange eyes blinked innocently but the grin below them was more a bearing of teeth than any type of smile that the nine tails had ever seen. "Are you sure you're a fox, my fanged friend? What do you say Kazuki?"

"I think that they should pack the fuck up and get lost." The kitsune known as Kazuki said bluntly. The darkness of his outfit seemed to enhance his physical features rather than dim them, drawing attention to his caramel colored skin and olive colored eyes. His hair was dark brown with blond highlights randomly sprinkled in. Normally he let the heavy mass flow around his shoulders as it wished but today he had tied it back into a low ponytail, the end of which touched the middle of his back several inches shy of the eight tails nestled at the base of his spine. Instead of being slim and willowy like most kitsunes in human form, his frame was large and muscular though not overtly so. Kazuki was big, yes, but strangely he usually gave the impression of being quite small since he was so mild-mannered and gentle. Plain spoken, unobtrusive and quiet, unless he was angry- like now- the kitsune didn't use his size to intimidate.

"I love it when you're blunt!" There was a short bark of noise as Shinju, the third kitsune, laughed and swished eight long tails the same color as the silver hair he flipped back over his shoulder. Much like Eiki, the pearlesque kistune didn't look much like a fighter but Kyuubi had seen Shinju work under pressure. When everything was going to hell in a hand basket, you wanted Shinju on your side- he could be extremely…sensible when he wasn't indulging his sense of humor. He took his duties as an omai-toh very seriously but usually ended up being hamstrung by Naruto on many issues. Shinju loved the little blond despite this and made sure to follow all of Naruto's orders to the letter no matter how much trouble it caused for himself. Predictably, the fox winked one lavender eye at Kyuubi cheekily as he wandered over, tall body falling easily down to all fours. He pressed his forehead to the ground in a show of abasement to her.

"Greetings beloved Tenko, Celestial Fox Divinely Chosen. Greetings Naruto, Son of the Forth Hokage and beloved vessel of our Tenko. It is a pleasure to see you both once again." Keeping his position, Shinju slowly held out a hand, letting it hang in the air until she took it and squeezed it reassuringly. The silver furred male squeezed back and Kyuubi felt her blood pressure fall, her anger and fear easing away.

"Get out of my territory and do not return." She said, voice low and deadly. She was calmer now that Naruto's omai-toh had shown up but she could not allow herself to completely relax until the threat was well and truly gone.

"You heard the Lady!" Eiki cried, rubbing his hands together in pure glee. "You have been rejected from our home- that makes you enemy combatants!" Sunlight glinted off his AMBU mask as he leaned down toward the five Lords and Ladies. His voice lost its teasing quality and became low, menacing. "If you do not leave, it means that you are food by forfeit."

Kazuki rubbed at his jaw, the skin bunching slightly as he did so. He made a considering sound. "You know, Naruto needs a good kill. I bet he'd feel pretty good afterward and, being human, he probably wouldn't be able to tell what he was eating."

Brows arched over the cannibalistic turn the conversation had taken, Kyuubi blinked as she wondered if this may be true. She supposed that if they added it to his ramen, Naruto would never notice and they could all be happy- he'd still get to eat his beloved noodles and she wouldn't have to nag him about eating something nutritious. She shook her head to rid herself of such morbid thoughts and turned her attention to Itachi again.

She reached out and cupped the cheek furthest from her, stroking his forehead gently with the pad of her thumb. Concentrating, she channeled chakra through the digit and into the blood seal still staining his brow, watching as it briefly flared with red light before being absorbed by Itachi's pale skin. Seconds later, dark eyes fluttered open and immediately narrowed. He remained still but continued to glare even as she smirked down at him.

"You are my servant." The nine tails told him absently, her gaze already settling on his smooth chest. She tapped the center of his chest twice, hard, then moved out of the way as he sat bolt upright. He inhaled raggedly, hands at his throat as he drew breathe. He began coughing, the dry sound quickly becoming wet and thick as his body began to purge itself of the disease that had been eating him from the inside out.

Now that her task was finished, Kyuubi sighed, sagging as she released her hold on the magical energies she had been controlling. As they swirled around her, reluctant to leave, she thanked them for their aid once more then let herself slump, exhausted. Using her own chakra, she sent out another call and felt a distant tug in response.

"That's disgusting." Shinju said dryly, watching as the brunette turned over and climbed to all fours still hacking and coughing. Thick black liquid began to dribble out between pale fingers and puddle on the ground beneath the Uchiha. The silver haired kitsune winced and, after a quick bow to the nine tails, rose to kneel beside the human. Grimacing in sympathy, the kitsune began patting the other's back lightly to help dislodge more of the substance. Itachi was too busy being sick to push him away.

Kyuubi shrugged, putting her hands in the air to either side. "He was very sick. I promised that I would save his life and that meant healing him all the way." She looked back at the group of visiting dignitaries, taking satisfaction from the looks of horror on their faces as they watched Eiki. If she wasn't mistaken, it looked as if he were miming skinning a large animal while quietly reciting a very gruesome recipe. She frowned and then sighed. "Someone better put a stop to this."

"My thoughts exactly." The voice was very quiet and came from right behind her left shoulder. Eyes widening, her heart suddenly in her throat, Kyuubi turned, knowing that she wasn't going to be fast enough to block with the kunai suddenly in her right hand. By reflex she had pulled it from Naruto's weapons pouch but for all the muscle memory at her fingertips, none of it was going to help.

Distant, as if in a dream, she heard yelling but she couldn't make out who was speaking or what they were saying, her focus solely on blocking the sword heading for her heart. Time seemed to slow and as she watched her kunai heading up to deflect the blade she knew it wasn't going to get there in time. She was just too weak, too slow, too human to defend herself.

Blades flashed and the world exploded in crimson.

More's Moment:

First off, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who offered name suggestions and/or name translation websites! I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and, if your feeling a little hurt because you don't see your suggestion, be patient because there are still other characters to be introduced later.

Speaking of characters, we had a bunch introduced in this chapter. Though some writers may have an easy time designing a character, I don't and it took me forever to get every one pinned down in appearance. It drove me crazy and I spent a very long time simply staring at my computer screen willing the characters to 'speak' to me.

Don't ask- its weird and even I don't understand it. I just know it works so I don't examine it too closely.

I beat my head against the wall something awful while writing this chapter because juggling so many characters is, quiet frankly, exhausting when you are trying to make them more than one dimensional. Honestly, it's like trying to juggle cups of scalding water without spilling.

Anyway, thank you very much for reading and please let me know what you think!

FYI: Name Translations! Each has been chosen with care and will be explained later.

Moriko- Forest child

Kuri- chestnut

Selene- Greek goddess of the moon

Atarah- crown

Shinju- pearl

Eiki- courage, ardor, high spirits

Kazuki- one or harmony, radiance or shine, hope

Inari- Inari is the god of rice and kitsunes are his servants. On a side note, Inari is neither

male nor female.