Chapter 10:

Boruto used the building to his advantage and cut off the two foxes who were trying to flee. He tried to step on one of them while he grabbed the other. He managed to get one fox but the other one got away. The fox in his arms struggled and kicked. Finally, it squeezed out of his grip and ran.

"Hey!" He started to case it, then discovered that the fox's path was blocked by a long arm.

Mitsuki cut off the fox and as it ran somewhere else, he stretched his arm in that direction. The fox was forced to run back towards Boruto.

Boruto almost lost his concentration when he saw his friend covered in ink and colorful paw prints.

Their eyes met and Mitsuki said, "Don't ask."

Boruto focused on the fox instead. The small animal skidded on the dirt and almost slammed into Boruto's leg but stopped short and tried to run somewhere else.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Boruto prepared to throw his weapon.

"No!" Himawari threw herself into Boruto to stop him. "Don't hurt him!"

The ink-covered fox on the ground was Koeda.

"Himawari, stop it! Go home!" He didn't want Himawari to see him hurt the fox. He knew she was sensitive and didn't want to put her through that. He wouldn't kill it if he could help it, but if it was a rabid animal or dangerous, he wouldn't have much of a choice.

"No!" she begged. "Please, don't hurt him! Please!"

"Himawari, it's a menace. It's running amok in the village."

"Yeah, but…" She knew in her heart that Koeda wasn't bad. Not her friend. He put his trust in her. He helped them scare off that wild boar on the way home. Someone who didn't care or wanted to hurt them wouldn't have done such a thing. He protected them.

She couldn't condone what Koeda and the other foxes were doing, but she understood. After talking with them, however briefly, she knew. They were just excited. They didn't intend to cause all this damage.

She couldn't let her brother hurt them based on a misunderstanding.

Boruto couldn't fight like this. She was holding him too tight. His only option was to shove her away but he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to push his sister down.

Koeda started to run elsewhere but Sarada punched the ground in front of him and he stopped. She held back but it was still enough to leave a hole in the ground.

Koeda looked around at the humans surrounding him. The female in front of him, the pale human on his right and the male behind him along with Himawari. He knew Himawari was trying to stop them but it looked like the male was holding her back.

These humans were a threat.

"Fox Fire."

His low mumble and the swishing of his tail brought forth a massive flame which engulfed him and grew.

The children stepped back when they saw the mass take shape and became giant fox. It growled at them and stomped its feet.

Himawari could tell that it was just a cloak. The real Koeda was inside the illusion. While everyone was looking up, Koeda's real head was lower to the ground. Only she could tell where he truly was.

Sarada tried to punch it but her hand never reached. The fox moved out of the way. She tried again and missed. Koeda was bending the illusion out of the way so she wouldn't catch on. If she landed a direct hit, her hand would go right through it.

Sarada slipped and fell in front of Boruto.

The fox crouched low, preparing to jump.

Boruto tried to get Himawari off so he could defend Sarada but she refused to budge.

The fox pounced, mouth agape.

A hand reached inside the illusion and grabbed Koeda by the scruff of his neck.

The illusion faded away and everyone could see reality.

The Hokage was holding onto Koeda in his right hand while holding onto a second one in his left.

"Whoa, there!" Naruto said loudly. "Fun's over, you guys. I can't have you scaring my villagers like this. And you guys could use a bath. Is that paint?"

"Dad!"

"Daddy!"

"Seventh!"

Naruto turned and smiled at the children. "Hey, guys. You did well. I'll take it from here."

"Seventh!" Shikamaru called. "The dogs are rounding up the foxes as we speak. That was a good call, using them to track them down."

"Well, kitsune are afraid of dogs and dogs can detect kitsune so I figured it would work."

"Kitsune?" Boruto looked at the foxes his father was holding.

"How'd you know we were dealing with kitsune and not a jutsu?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto smiled. "Well, having been one before, I've picked up a few tricks. The blue flame was a dead giveaway. Plus, these guys avoided any place that had dogs, so that was another clue. All their techniques also sounded like fox fire and kitsune magic. I put it all together and here we are."

Shikamaru stepped closer and frowned at the struggling kitsune. "These guys made one hell of a ruckus. They've been troublesome from the moment they got here."

"They were just pranking people. It's what kitsune do."

"Even so, they turned this place upside-down! All those stores and shops and people and everything else. They're pests!"

Naruto gave the kitsune a closer look.

"We need to deal with them. You know that."

"Nah," said Naruto. "I think Ryosuke will want to deal with them."

The kitsune stopped struggling. "You know Leader?"

"I should. We're good friends. I'm Naruto. He's probably told you about me."

"You're him?!"

"You're Naruto?!"

He grinned. "Yup."

Shikamaru sighed. "Friends or not, these guys made a huge mess of the place. They need to be dealt with. They're clearly bad foxes. Like those ones from the past."

Naruto shook his head. "No. Not these guys."

"Naruto, they wrecked up the place. They stole. They used their powers on the people and scared everybody."

"Yeah, but these guys didn't know what they were doing."

"How can you say that? Even Ryosuke's group knew better."

Naruto kept his eyes on the kitsune as he addressed Shikamaru. "Back when I first met Ryosuke and the others, I was a teenager. They showed me the ropes. They were good to me. And they were bigger than these guys I'm holding. I kind of assumed Ryosuke and most of his group were around my age. Maybe a little older. But these guys. These guys are smaller. Which means they're younger."

"So?" asked Shikamaru.

"So it matters. If Ryosuke and the others were teenagers, then that means these guys are younger than that." Naruto suspected it before. Now that he had gotten a good look at them, he was certain. "They're young. I'd estimate they're around five years old."

"They're five?"

"In human years, yes. That's how old they would be. Years alive would be a little different, I think. Kitsune age differently. But yeah. I guess these guys around about five."

"That doesn't excuse what they did."

"Perhaps. But it certainly explains it."

These young kitsune were a little different from older ones. They were quick to trust. Like most young children, they followed their impulses and did as they pleased on a whim. They threw caution to the wind for the sole purpose of having fun and doing as they pleased. They didn't think about consequences. Such mentality made the kitsune very difficult to reason with. They did not yet understand.

"They're too young to fully grasp certain things, Shikamaru," Naruto said calmly. "They didn't realize what they were doing. They didn't understand they were doing anything wrong."

"How can they not? They were stealing from stores."

"Not to them. Wild animals think differently. Kitsune might be a little more sophisticated, but they're still animals. They find their food in the wild. They hunt. They forage. The offerings they get are displayed out in the forest just like the displays in a store. They thought it was up for grabs. Kitsune, like a lot of animals don't have a concept of money. They didn't know they were stealing."

Shikamaru thought it was obvious, but even he knew animals had a different mindset than humans. It was a hard thing to remember when facing an animal gifted with speech. It was easy to lose sight of the fact that they were still animals.

"But they should still know better. When I was five, even I understood what stealing was."

"But you weren't an animal living in a mountain. Don't let their ability to hold a conversation fool you. They're still animals."

"I get that. But the older kitsune that you befriended still understood right from wrong. Shouldn't they have taught their young the same thing?"

Naruto tried to explain. "When you were a little kid, you understood things that most children still struggle with, right? You were able to understand complicated things because you were a genius. But the other kids didn't match your intellect, so for them it must have been harder. When you tried to explain things to them, they probably gave you confused looks, am I right?"

Shikamaru remembered his childhood well. His genius also equipped him with a very good memory in addition to an eye for detail. He remembered a time when children shunned others because of an outbreak of coodies. He knew there was no such thing but the ostracism was real. Whether the other children believed in coodies was unknown to him. He tried questioning the other children as to why they ran from a simple touch but they didn't give him an answer. He even tried to reason with them that there was no such thing and that they didn't even have proof of anything similar being real. Instead of accepting his logic, they said that he must have had a disease, too and ran from him. A week later, no one remembered the outbreak and had moved on to something else.

He couldn't understand why the children behaved that way, but it was a part of childhood. A part he didn't understand too well but to them it was easy. Maybe he was too smart for his own good back then. He missed out on a lot of fun because he didn't go with the flow.

Even now he didn't think he was missing out on anything. The children were foolish. Simply as that. There was no point to their game other than to tease one another.

Maybe his intellect did deprive him of certain things in addition to benefiting him. He understood what adults told him much easier than other children his age. Where they struggled, he excelled. He could reason much better than other children and understood certain concepts as well.

But he was still a child. Even though he understood certain concepts better than others, it did not make him more understanding. To those who didn't understand him, he thought of them as stupid, not taking into consideration that they were still developing.

Unbeknownst to him, he was still doing it, only to animals this time. Animal children.

While Shikamaru pondered over the possibility of him being inconsiderate to these young foxes, Naruto focused his attention on the one in his hand.

"You didn't come here on your own," he said, thoughtfully. "Someone had to show you the way."

Remembering the prince's party, Naruto turned to his children. Considering the timeline, it all made sense. One of them was responsible.

Himawari stepped forward, gripping the front of her blouse nervously. "I did it," she said avoiding his eyes. "It was me. I did it. I brought them here."

Boruto didn't know when she had done this without him knowing. Then he remembered the bag she didn't want to let out of her sight.

She must have wandered off that night and stumbled across those kitsune while he was inside the palace wallowing. If only he had paid more attention to her, this wouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Her lower lip trembled. "Koeda said that he always wanted to see you since he heard stories so I brought him here to meet you in person. I didn't know he would bring all his friends and that they would cause trouble."

Naruto smiled gently. "It's ok. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"No, of course not. Besides, they didn't cause that much damage, all things considered."

"I think you and I are seeing a different village, Seventh," muttered Sarada.

Shikamaru stepped closer to Naruto. "In any case, we need to do something about them."

Naruto smiled. "Actually, I don't think we do."

"What?"

"Well, if I know anything, I'm pretty sure he's noticed by now that part of his pack is missing and has coming looking for them. In which case, I say we let Ryosuke deal with them."

As soon as he said this. An orange blur came from overhead and landed in front of Naruto and the others.

The large fox lifted his head and looked at the Hokage with warm green eyes. He held his five tails off the ground which sent small wisps of flame into the air. He slowly turned his body and bowed his head to Naruto who bowed back.

"Looking for these?" Naruto asked him as he raised his head.

"I noticed them missing and followed their scent here."

"You'll be happy to know they're all unharmed… Ryosuke."

The larger fox smiled at his old friend. "I'm sorry for any trouble they've put you through. But these are the actions of children. Please treat them as such."

Naruto smiled back. "They're not my kids and I'm not their leader. I don't think it's my place to punish them anyway. That's your territory. So I figured I'd hand them off to you when you arrived to collect them."

"Thank you, my friend."

Boruto had only ever seen Ryosuke at a distance at night. Seeing him so close in broad daylight gave him a completely different look. At night, Ryosuke looked so mysterious and majestic. In the light, he looked powerful but no less majestic. Such a sight. It left him speechless.

He tore his eyes away to see Sarada's reaction to Ryosuke's form. She was in no better condition than Boruto. She couldn't even stand up. She could only stare at him with wide eyes and trembled when he looked at her.

It wasn't fear that had her shaking. It was the awe of his presence. It was like coming face-to-face with a powerful spirit or a king.

Ryosuke looked at Shikamaru and nodded his head in greeting. "Good to see you again."

Shikamaru wordlessly nodded back. He had yet to see Ryosuke in his five-tailed form. It was a little overwhelming. Seeing him as a three-tails was stunning enough, but two extra tails left him speechless.

"I'll release these guys into your care, then," said Naruto as he set down the two kitsune in his hands.

They didn't run off or fuss. Not with Ryosuke standing above them.

No longer in shock, Shikamaru managed to form enough words to speak his mind to the elder fox.

"Far be it from me to criticize, but as a leader, I'm surprised it took you this long to notice they were missing."

Naruto wanted to smack him but did nothing, letting Ryosuke defend himself.

"The young ones travel into the forest often to hunt. It is not uncommon to lose sight of them for several hours. If they traveled at dawn, that is when most of us are asleep. If they left the den in the early hours, it is likely no one would have seen them leave. Not even their own mother. I noticed they were missing sooner than their parents."

"Is that saying much?"

"I was doing business elsewhere," Ryosuke explained. "I visit the spirit realm often so they must have left during the time I spent away."

Naruto turned to Shikamaru. "He takes care of things there, too. Keeping the peace among spirits and visited those who have departed. Stuff like that. He told me."

Shikamaru didn't look impressed.

"In any case, I rushed right over, certain I'd find them here. Thank you for not harming the children."

Shikamaru had nothing to say. He wanted to point out all the damage the young foxes caused but he thought better about it. Something told him Ryosuke already knew.

"We were just playing," said Koeda. "We didn't do anything bad."

"We were invited," piped up the second pup.

Ryosuke looked down at them. "You are still young. You must let your mothers know where you are going if you are venturing away from the mountain."

"Sorry…"

Koeda was a little more confrontational than his fellow fox, wanting to defend himself. "We were just playing," he insisted. "Himawari said we could. She brought me here. We're friends."

"I am not upset with her," said Ryosuke.

"Are you just upset because we left without telling nobody?" asked Koeda. "We're not allowed into the town back home and there's no rules saying we can't play with the humans in other places if we're invited over."

"You call what you did back there playing?" Shikamaru said in irritation.

Ryosuke ignored him. "Koeda… Did the humans play with you?"

"Oh, yeah!" he chirped, smiling. "We played chasing games and everything."

"And they have lots of food for us to eat, too," said the other fox. "This place is great!"

Ryosuke did not smile at their cheerful tones. "I see. Did the humans give you permission to eat the food you found?"

"Yeah. They left it there."

"Outside? Or in a building?"

The foxes looked at each other. "Well, most of it was inside."

"And after you took it, they chased you?"

"Yeah! It was fun."

Ryosuke reasoned with them in a way a young fox would understand. "I do not think those humans were playing games with you. I think they were chasing you because they were upset."

"Why?"

"You ate their food."

"Nu-uh!" protested the other fox. "The food was just sitting there. For anybody."

"Not to humans," said Ryosuke. "If humans leave food in a building, it means they are not offering it to you. It was not yours to take."

"Then why was it sitting there?"

"For the other humans. That's what they do. Instead of burying their food for later, humans stack them up inside buildings to either eat later or offer to trade for something else."

Koeda and the other fox now understood. "Ohh! So… So then… We were taking their food and that's why they chased us."

Ryosuke nodded. "Yes."

"Oh…" Koeda looked sad. "So then… So then we were stealing…"

Ryosuke nodded again.

Koeda looked at Himawari and hung his head. "I'm sorry…"

"I believe Naruto also needs to hear your apology."

Koeda turned and lowered his head to Naruto. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Naruto forgave him instantly. "It's ok. I understand why you were confused. Humans are very different from foxes."

"This is another reason why you shouldn't have come here without permission. You are not familiar with human customs," said Ryosuke.

Koeda kept his head down.

Himawari felt terrible. Koeda was in trouble because she brought him into the village and the village also suffered for her actions.

"It's not all his fault. I invited him," Himawari said without looking at Ryosuke directly. "Please don't punish him too much. I said he could…"

"But you did not know he would bring his friends, did you?" asked Naruto. "And he also did not tell you what he was planning on doing, did he?"

She shook her head. "No…" she said quietly.

"The blame is not solely on one person," said Ryosuke.

"Exactly," agreed Naruto. "Himawari did not know what she was doing and neither did Koeda and the others. This is just a misunderstanding that happened with the best of intentions."

Shikamaru did not agree with Naruto being so lenient. To him, both sides were clearly in the wrong. Both should have known better.

But Naruto understood. Himwari did not think to ask Koeda what he was planning in detail because he merely wanted to see the village and meet its leader. His version of play was different from what a human would consider playtime. She did not know this is what he meant by 'playing' with the villagers. Her inviting him to come see the village and telling him he could have fun opened the door to chaos because Koeda misinterpreted what she meant. He was unfamiliar with human customs and had all the curiosity and playfulness of an excited child in a new playground.

This was nothing short of a misunderstanding between two different species. Neither side was the enemy and neither intentionally did anything wrong.

Therefore, Naruto would not dish out any harsh punishments. He wanted to be considerate and fair.

Naruto put a hand on his daughter's head. "It's ok, Himawari. I'm not mad at you."

She gave him a tearful look. "You're not? You sure?"

"You didn't know he would bring his friends and do all this. He didn't mean any harm and neither did you." Naruto smiled. "Besides, I got to see an old friend again. There's nothing to forgive as far as I'm concerned."

Shikamaru sighed. "They're getting away too easily," he mumbled.

Naruto overheard his remark. Did Shikamaru really not remember what it was like being a kid? Did he not understand that different people had different outlooks and customs? He thought Shikamaru of all people would understand that. After all, when they were young, Naruto was the one being constantly reminded how to speak to a royal figure. Sakura gave him several painful reminders about his rudeness and poor conduct when in front of a princess or a king.

"I'll gather up the others," announced Ryosuke, "and we'll be off."

Naruto looked at his children and at Shikamaru. He looked at the young foxes and at the large one leading them away.

"Wait," Naruto called after him. "Ryosuke."

He stopped and turned his head. "Yes?"

Naruto jogged over to him and leaned down. "Can I speak to you for a second?"

Ryosuke faced him wordlessly.

"I want to ask you something."

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