Chapter 10

At the sound of the key in the lock, Naruto scrambled to a sitting position with his nose between the bars. He was hungry, oh so very hungry. It had been days since he'd last eaten. Danzo had been displeased with him when he'd refused to do what he said and withheld his food. He was beginning to miss even that foul, disgusting mush they brought him.

The door complained loudly as it was slowly pushed open, revealing a shadowy figure carrying something. Naruto sniffed; it was food! His single remaining tail started wagging, before he irritably ordered it to stop. He was not a dog.

The figure stepped into the room, the flickering torchlight illuminating his features. Danzo was smiling in that fake friendly way. The way he always smiled before causing Naruto unimaginable pain.

Wary now, Naruto backed away from the bars a little, his ears flattened against his hair.

He remembered the first time he'd met Danzo...

The cage was far too small. He barely made it four paces before reaching the other side. Snarling at nothing in particular, he swung all five of his tails at the bars. It made an unsatisfying clanging noise that rang in his ears for several minutes afterwards. Groaning, he sank to his haunches and buried his snout in his forepaws.

He wished Kyuubi would say something, but the stupid fox was sleeping soundly in the back of his mind. Most of all, he wished he could talk to his friends. They must hate him, he realised; he could still see their horrified expressions. He had never felt so... alone.

The sound of footsteps echoed from behind the closed door. Pricking his ears up, he watched curiously as an old man entered the room, most of his left side covered in bandages. He sniffed, the man's scent was strangely familiar... had he met him before?

"Good evening, Naruto" the man said pleasantly.

Naruto blinked. It was evening already? How had time passed so quickly.

"I am Danzo, did you have a pleasant trip?"

Naruto couldn't quite believe the old man was actually trying to have a pleasant conversation. A pleasant trip? The nerve of him.

He growled deep in his throat.

Danzo's eyes narrowed and his smile took on a more threatening tone as he stepped closer.

"You will be silent. I am your master now, and you are my servant. You will obey my every command, understood?"

'Insolence! Tear his head off! Eat his rotten insides! Make a mess of his guts on the walls!' Kyuubi raged inside. Naruto rolled his eyes, but half-agreed with the demon. This guy, Danzo, was an idiot if he believed he would actually obey him. He didn't even obey the Hokage half the time. He straightened and stared defiantly at him.

The motion was not lost on Danzo. He raised his right arm, and began removing some of the bandages from his left one.

"I had hoped you'd be a little more cooperative Naruto."

The bandages fell to the floor, revealing a strange symbol etched into the skin on the back of his left hand. It looked like a seal; very similar to the one Naruto had himself on his stomach.

"It seems you have given me no choice, Naruto, I will have to show you the power I have over you."

He made a series of hand signs and placed his right hand over the symbol. As he turned it slightly Naruto suddenly convulsed in pain.

It was agony; as if a thousand knives had pierced his flesh. He howled and tore at the floor. There was a cracking sound and then it was over.

Breathing heavily, Naruto looked up at Danzo who was busily replacing the bandages with a smug expression.

"So you see? Even your chakra is under my control, you cannot do anything. You are mine!" That last statement was uttered through clenched teeth just inches from Naruto's face. Then he turned on his heel and marched out.

At the door he turned back as though just remembering something. "Ah yes. And do not even consider trying to escape. You will fail and you will be punished."

The door thudded shut with an ominous finality.

Naruto looked down at his now human shape, albeit still with one tail and fox ears, and fought back tears.

"Have you reconsidered your actions now, Naruto?"

His attention snapped back to the present. Danzo was standing arrogantly just in front of the bars, holding a bowl of dog food in one hand.

"Hungry?" he asked, as he saw Naruto drooling.

Abandoning pride, Naruto nodded quickly. Danzo laughed. An evil, spine-tingling sound that sent the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.

"Itadekimasu" he said sarcastically and placed the bowl down a metre away from the bars, just out of Naruto's reach. Then he swept from the room, closing the door and locking it again.

Frowning in frustration, Naruto tried in vain to reach it, but even his tail fell short. Giving up with a sigh, he retreated to the back of the cage so he wouldn't smell it so much.

The demon in the back of his mind stirred.

'Boy, I have a plan.'

Shikamaru angrily paced his room. He didn't usually succumb to anger; it wasn't something that contributed to anything. It was a waste of time that got in the way of logical thinking.

He kicked his chest of drawers and winced in pain. 'See?' He thought. 'Complete lack of logic and common sense.'

He hobbled over to a chair and sat down. A few moments later he got up and started pacing again. Another thing anger made him; restless. He couldn't seem to sit still for longer than five minutes and it made him want to punch something. Or someone.

He really really wanted to punch Naruto.

The idiot. The IDIOT, had made a fool out of him. Him, Shikamaru, had been outsmarted by an incompetent dimwit. It made him so angry.

How could he have missed something so obvious? All the signs had been there. The bizarre sitting position, the marks on his face, the appetite, the weird habits. It all made sense now. He was a demon fox; and he had somehow kept that hidden for all those years.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He shouldn't be blaming Naruto. It wasn't really his fault. He had chosen to ignore the signs, it was self-disappointment that made Shikamaru angry. Disappointment in himself.

Taking deep breaths, he opened his bedroom door and headed outside. If there was anything to take his mind off feeling angry, it was a good game of Shogi, even though he always won it was nice to feel that sense of accomplishment. He went looking for Asuma.

Sasuke rarely thought of anything except training or revenge. He thought a lot about revenge. He planned out all the different ways he'd make his brother suffer. All the different methods of killing him. Slowly, quickly, it didn't matter.

This time, however, he wasn't thinking of either of those.

He was thinking of a blond-haired idiot with a loud mouth and constant grin. He was thinking of all the insults he'd ever thrown at him, all the thoughtless backhand comments he'd ever made; all the times he had hurt the boy. Naruto. The kyuubi. The two names still didn't seem to fit together. Try as he might, Sasuke couldn't picture his teammate as an evil raging demon, even though he'd seen the proof right in front of his eyes not so long ago.

The memory of the huge beast encased in burning chakra was still etched in his mind. But it wasn't Naruto, it couldn't be Naruto. There was no way it was true. He had never felt so scared in all his life, and that was saying something.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then looked up suddenly as an earth-shattering howl filled the air. He covered his ears to block it out.

The howl echoed across the valley; across the forest; into a small hole under a tree root. A small nose poked out, sniffing inquisitively, checking the coast was clear before fully emerging from its den. Ears came next, homing in on the strange noise. Then small paws and the rest of the body of a young fox.

It took a few cautious sniffs, eyes darting around, looking for any sign of danger. Satisfied, it bounded swiftly through the forest undergrowth.

Another howl echoed from up ahead, growing louder as the fox scampered closer. It stopped for a few minutes to listen, then carried on, angling to the left where the howling originated.

It jumped tree roots and darted around traps laid out on the forest floor. It had learnt early on in its life to avoid these things. Many of its litter-mates had been taken by the hunters; their furry pelts used to clothe them or sold on to rich families.

The scent of humans grew stronger. It was nearing their den.

Suddenly it came across a large square building set into a cliff face. The noise came from inside, but the door was firmly closed, there was no way in.

The little fox's poor primitive mind had just one thought, and that was to follow the howling. The howling called to it, pulled at its inner self, forcing it to go there. Completely trusting in its own instinct, the fox padded up to the door and started to scratch. It assumed the problem could be overcome the same way an obstructive tree root could be. By digging round it.

A few minutes later, it pricked its ears up at a new sound. Footsteps on the other side of the door. Survival-instinct kicked in and it scampered to the side, out of sight, and crouched down to wait. Sure enough, the door opened and an ANBU officer stepped out clutching a message, but the little fox didn't pay attention to this. It was already disappearing down the corridor, its tail whipping round the corner.

There was no more howling, but a familiar scent pulled the little fox in the right direction. The scent of a comrade, another fox. No doubt the source of the howling.

It scurried down corridor after corridor. Its tiny padded paws making soft pattering sounds on the cold stone floor. Sometimes a human walked past, but they never noticed its small form hiding in the shadows. Within minutes it had reached another thick wooden door. The scent was so thick, the other fox must certainly be on the other side.

The little fox scratched a little at the stone, but soon gave up. It knew a lost cause when it saw it. Retreating to the side, it sat on its haunches and waited.

The door creaked open and a large pair of feet strode out. Taking its chance, the little fox darted between them and through the decreasing gap between the door and the doorframe. Luckily, the human didn't notice him and proceeded to lock the door as the little fox padded across the room to the huge steel bars of the cage.

It had been a risk, and thankfully the punishment had been a mere battering with a stick, but it had paid off. Kyuubi surveyed the little fox on the other side of the bars with a mix of pride and smug satisfaction. Everything was running smoothly and to plan.

'Alright, watch this boy! This is how it's done.'

'Kyuubi?'

'What is it brat?' he asked impatiently.

'Promise you'll come back and get me?'

'I said I would didn't I?! Sheeeesh.'

'Promise me!'

'Alright I promise.'

'Sure?'

'I give you my word, and that's something I never go back on! My pride would never allow it.'

'Ok, I just...'

'Spit it out brat,' he replied gruffly. He was getting impatient now; so close to freedom he could almost taste it.

'I don't want you to go,' he said softly.

Kyuubi rolled his eyes, but felt his heart twist. 'What you want me to stay and hold your hand?' he teased.

'I'll be back before you know it kid, and I'll get you out of here. I swear. Just put on your brave face and you promise me something yeah?'

'What?'

'Don't you DARE give up, you hear? Don't you DARE. If you do I'll tear you to pieces myself. Never give in to that bastard.'

Naruto smiled. 'I promise, Kyuubi.'

Kyuubi grunted and turned his attention back to the little fox, who was sitting patiently on the other side, watching him curiously. He concentrated hard, forming hand signs as he remembered them, which was a whole lot easier with human hands, he realised. The ground beneath them began to glow; a shape forming that connected the little fox with the larger Naruto-kyuubi. The world erupted into lights and sounds that swirled in a circle around them both, encasing them, blocking out everything else. It escalated into a mass of blinding white and deafening noise until suddenly everything ceased and the world was plunged back into dark silence.

Blinking to clear the spots from his eyes, Kyuubi stretched to ease his sore muscles and waited for his eyes to readjust to the darkness. A shape loomed before him, hidden behind huge steel bars.

Naruto looked back at him sadly. "Good luck," he whispered. Kyuubi nodded, then turned and padded back towards the door, pausing only to push the bowl of dog-food closer so that Naruto could reach it. The room was a whole lot bigger when you're small, he thought. Naruto forced back the tears, tilted back his head and let out another heart-wrenching howl, which seemed more like a screech to his ears.

Kyuubi crouched by the door, as footsteps hurried closer and the door burst open. An angry ANBU marched through, leaving the door ajar. It was just enough for him, and Kyuubi squeezed through.

Then in his new, albeit very small, fox body he swiftly headed for the exit and the sweet smell of freedom.

((please review :D, thanks for reading!! Next chapter coming sooooooon))