Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox
Written by Neon Majestic
(DISCLAIMER: The Naruto franchise and the characters therein belong to and were originally created by Masashi Kishimoto.)
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CHAPTER 21 – Comics and Complexity
"Good morning, good morning, good mooooooorrrrrrnnniiiiiiiinnnngggg, Konoha Town! It's 8:00 now, and it's time for another period of 'Words of the Mighty Guy' on this Thursday morning, January 26, with me, your host, Maito Guy!" the radio announcer's voice blared on all available radios in the area. "Now, I just have to make this observation—while I was coming in this morning, I saw a good number of the school-kids with copies of the latest publication of that wild, crazy, dynamic comic series, Shadow Fox! That's right—the same superhero crime-fighter who they've made a movie out of, starring the beautiful and famous actress Fujikaze Yukie, which is set to open in theaters next weekend! Already the buzz is high here in Konoha Town, so imagine what it must be like elsewhere across the nation! Now, it's time for me to take your early-morning calls, my listeners…yes, we've got a call on Line 3! Hello, Line 3, what're your words today? What's your name, and where are you calling from?"
"Oi, Gai-san, I'm Matsuda, from Shimo City," the caller spoke up. "I'm here at the office, and already my coworkers are chattering all around me about the Shadow Fox movie! Everybody wants to go and see it! We've all gotten our tickets already, and we intend to be among the first 100 in line at our local cinema! We're even ready to camp out in front of the theater all night from the night before, if we have to!"
"Ah, is that so? Good for you!" Gai praised the caller. "Well, thanks for calling, Matsuda-kun. Now then, any other callers? Yes, on Line 7…hello, Line 7?"
"Gai-san, I'm Imari from Yu City," a female caller replied. "I've been collecting the Shadow Fox comics ever since…well, EVER! I just hope the movie is as good as the books!"
"As are all of us, I'm sure," Gai beamed. "Have you gotten your ticket for the movie yet, Imari-chan?"
"My boyfriend got tickets for both of us just yesterday!" said the caller. "And after we see the movie, he wants to buy me a Shadow Fox cosplay outfit…" and she giggled a little.
"Ah, really? Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Gai laughed aloud. "Well, just don't have too much fun with that costume, if you know what I mean. All right, listeners, we're going to a brief break, and we'll be back in a few!"
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"Dude, check this out! The newest Shadow Fox comic is at the comic shop now!"
"Awesome! And they've even got an ad about the new movie coming out soon!"
"Hey, check it out—it says the first 100 people in line for the movie at every theater on opening night will get a free Shadow Fox action figure, first-edition collector-mint!"
"Do you think they'll still be selling tickets today?"
"I definitely know who I'll be cosplaying as at the next comic convention…"
Such was the discussion buzzing among Naruto's schoolmates as he came to school. Most of the boys were crowded around copies of a comic book, the front cover of which depicted a woman in a black fox-mask, black trench-coat with matching top and mini-skirt with splits at the sides, black legging that covered her thighs, black combat boots, and black gloves, doing battle with a man in a bizarre blue-and-white jester's costume. Meanwhile, the girls were chattering excitedly about the masked female's beautiful black hair, the kind of makeup she likely wore, her sense of fashion that combined practicality with beauty and style.
Yet Naruto had not a clue as to what any of the fuss was about.
So it came as a shock to him when, heading along the corridor to his morning class, he saw even Kakashi walking past with a copy of the comic book among his books…although Kakashi would occasionally glance at the book with a lecherous expression on his face, so at least Naruto knew what that man's interest in the book was really all about.
But it didn't ease his growing discomfort at feeling left out.
Oh, great—even the teachers are in on this craze! Am I the odd man out or something?
At length, he reached his classroom, and only a few students were there, in small groups here and there—yet those groups were clearly talking about the Shadow Fox comic or its eponymous character. Naruto cringed, certain he would be made the laughingstock of the school if anyone found out about his ignorance.
Then, reaching his desk, he almost fell over on seeing Uchiha Sasuke sitting alone at his desk, casually reading a copy of the comic. What the HELL, man? Even this rich pretty-boy knows about this thing?
Then Naruto noticed Sasuke was looking at him over the top of the book. "You want something, idiot?" Sasuke queried haughtily.
"Oi! Who're you calling an idiot, you bastard?" Naruto snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke.
"Well, I only see you there, so…" Sasuke shrugged and went back to reading the comic. "If you don't have anything worthwhile to say, then go and sit down."
Naruto scowled…and then decided to bite the bullet. "Actually, yeah, I do have something to say. Can I borrow that comic when you're done?"
"Why? Don't you have your own copy? Everybody else does," said Sasuke.
"Well…uh…I didn't have time to go to the comic store," Naruto lied.
Sasuke wasn't fooled, however. "You've never read a Shadow Fox comic, have you?"
"Sshh! Not so loud, teme!" Naruto hissed.
Unfortunately, Sasuke's voice had carried to the rest of the class, and everyone else in the vicinity turned to stare at him. "What? You don't know about Shadow Fox?" one boy called out condescendingly.
"Have you been living under a rock all this time or something?" a girl exclaimed.
"Hey, everybody! Come look at this guy who doesn't know about Shadow Fox!" another boy yelled out the door.
Naruto cringed hard. My life is over.
OoOoO
Several hours later…
The bell rang for lunch, and the students poured out of their classrooms to go to the cafeteria…but Naruto didn't follow behind them as quickly as he would have. Indeed, he trekked out more slowly, keeping his head down and avoiding anyone else's gaze. "How humiliating…" he muttered.
"Naruto-san."
"Eh?" Turning, Naruto saw Shino approaching him. "Oh, hey, Shino. What's up?"
For answer, Shino reached into his book-bag and pulled out a copy of the Shadow Fox comic. "Have you, by any chance, gotten one of these yet?" he inquired.
"Huh?" Naruto made a dismayed face. "Aw, man, not you too…what, you want to rub it in my face or something, like Sasuke-teme and everybody else has done all day today?"
Shino lifted an eyebrow behind his ever-present sunglasses. "I do not understand."
Naruto slumped against the nearby wall, letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay. I'm pretty much the only guy in this area who knows next to nothing about this Shadow Fox character. There. I said it. You can go ahead and laugh at me. Everybody in my last three classes has, already."
Shino's eyebrow settled back into place. "I see." He turned as if to walk away—but then made a motion to Naruto. "I'm on my way to the science lab, to check on my insect collection. Come with me and I'll show you some interesting specimens."
"First comic books, now bugs," Naruto grumbled as he reluctantly followed Shino all the way down to the end of the corridor, where the science lab's door lay open. "Hey, you sure they'll just let you go in like this?"
"There's always an attendant on duty here in between classes and until it's time to go home, so everything in here is not at risk of being stolen. Therefore, we should be fine," said Shino, stepping inside and lifting a hand in greeting to the lab attendant. "Excuse me, I have come to look at my insect collection for my ongoing science project."
"Ah, Shino-kun…sure, go ahead," the attendant waved him on.
Nodding, Shino walked down to the far end of the lab, Naruto following behind him, and soon they were standing in front of a huge glass case that took up nearly the entire wall, separated into smaller segments in which resided bugs of different types, sizes and colors. "Ugh…this is your collection?" Naruto made no effort to hide his disgust.
"As I told you and Ino-san previously, it is something I enjoy," Shino said quietly, running his fingertips across the glass pane as he took in an ever-growing nest of hornets in one section, a number of scorpions in another section, and centipedes in yet another section.
A moment passed, during which Shino continued to peruse the different bug specimens that were separated in their various sections of the glass case, while Naruto tried and failed to conceal his shudders of revulsion. Then, abruptly, Shino turned and reached for the Shadow Fox comic, which he'd set down on a desk next to him, and handed it to Naruto. "Read this."
"Huh…thanks," Naruto grumbled as he took the book, before sitting down and eyeing its cover. He then opened it up and flipped through the pages.
Shino turned back to his observation of the insects in the glass case. "You really don't know the first thing about that comic, do you?" he asked.
"Does everybody in the world know about it?" Naruto hissed.
"I don't know about 'in the world', but I can definitely say 'in this school'," said Shino, even as his eyes—hidden as they were behind his sunglasses—roved over a growing colony of fire-ants in their section of the display. "Even Principal Danzo's a fan, though he might not want to admit it publicly…"
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"Ah-CHOO!" Danzo sneezed out loud inside his office, his upper body jerking from the movement. "Huh…who's talking about me now, eh?" he grunted, rubbing his nose with one finger. "Oh, well, I hope I didn't sneeze on this Shadow Fox comic book…I'd like to keep it in mint condition…"
OoOoO
"Oh, gimme a break—an old geezer like the principal knows about this stuff?" Naruto groaned, hanging his head down between his legs. "Bad enough that that pervert teacher Kakashi has his own copy to jerk off to…"
Shino deliberately ignored that line of dialogue. "Naruto-san…I can at least give you the fundamentals of this comic's history, so you don't go looking or sounding foolish when people talk about Shadow Fox in front of you."
"Yeah?" It was Naruto's turn to lift his eyebrows.
"Yes. Because last year…I was in the exact same situation as you are in now. So I took the initiative to do something about it." Shino's gaze lingered on a display of big black ants. "Here's the basic summary: Shadow Fox is a vigilante superhero who was once an ordinary college freshman, until one tragic day when her younger brother, for whom she'd been acting as a surrogate mother due to the mysterious disappearance of their parents years earlier, was gunned down during a drive-by shooting between two rival gangs in their neighborhood. Overcome with grief, the girl sought to have her brother's killers punished through the courts…but it turned out that one of the gang leaders had financial backing from a friend who had close and very corrupt ties to the local police force."
"Uh-huh…" Naruto drank in the information.
"So the girl decided that, if the law wouldn't be able to help her avenge her brother's murder, she'd have to play her part in cleaning up the town and the police force by extension," Shino went on. "But she was faced with a problem—making petitions and taking part in protests only led to herself and her friends and allies being threatened with retaliation, threats that were made good on when one of the few truly honest cops on the force who'd been supporting her got murdered execution-style as a further warning for her to back off or else. Now the girl was at her wits' end, wondering what to do…"
"Then what?" Naruto asked impatiently.
"Just hang on," Shino waved off Naruto's impatience. "As it turned out, the murdered cop had a friend in the local police armory who owed him a favor…that friend came to see the girl, and together they made an agreement—he would provide her with the needed artillery and training, and she would use those to combat the city's crime. But even then that still wasn't going to be enough…until one night, while looking out over the city from her apartment's balcony, the girl saw a mysterious fox lurking near a neighbor's fence…the fox crept in, stole what it wanted, evaded the neighbor's efforts to capture it, and escaped into the night. Seeing all of this, the girl got her inspiration: she would emulate the actions of the fox, and disguise herself accordingly to protect her own identity and the safety of her loved ones."
"And so she went out, got that fox mask, and got her gear from her cop buddy," Naruto surmised. "So what kind of stuff does she use?"
"Shadow Fox uses a black motorcycle to get about the city during her patrols," Shino told him. "She also uses a gun that fires a grappling hook, plus for combat she uses shuriken and escrima sticks, and she also uses stuff like tracking devices shaped like a little fox's head, smoke bombs to cover her escapes, and other tools as needed for specific cases. She's a natural gymnast from her high school days, so that comes in handy during combat—the other stuff she needs to know, like criminology, history, sciences, and so on, she has different links to help her with all that."
"I see…and the weirdo she's fighting here on the cover?" Naruto pointed to the book.
"That's Mischief, a member of Shadow Fox's rogues-gallery," Shino said patiently. "She's got quite a colorful cast of characters that she has to fight every now and then, besides the various common crooks and such. Some of the more outlandish ones include people like Second Sight, Brutality, Decker Card, Mask Master, Reflector, Ricochet, Nitro-Frost, Dr. Glass, and Blitz. What's really interesting about it is, none of Shadow Fox's enemies have supernatural powers—everything they do, every weapon they have, is as a result of technology, psychology, or similar things."
Naruto whistled appreciatively. "Not bad, I guess…"
He flipped through the pages again—and then noticed something. "Hey…this ad here, where they talk about the movie for this comic…"
"Yes?" Shino turned and looked at him expectantly.
"The name of the actress who's going to play the role…" Naruto frowned. "It seems familiar…"
Shino took the comic from Naruto and looked at the name in question. "Ah, of course—this is the actress Fujikaze Yukie. She's one of the newest actresses on the scene, and this is supposed to be her big breakout film role. If you want to get more detail on her, it's easy to look up the information online."
"Yeah…I think I'll do that later," Naruto nodded. "You mind if I borrow this?" holding up the book.
"Go ahead, at least so you can familiarize yourself with the characters and the plot," said Shino. "Just make sure you give it back when you're done."
"Okay. Thanks!" Naruto immediately began to read through the comic at the beginning, while Shino turned back to studying the bug display.
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Much later, Naruto was still reading the comic book. Indeed, as the dismissal bell rang and the other students made their exit, he walked along while reading the book. "Okay…so that's what this Mischief guy can do…" he mumbled under his breath as he took in a page of the comic's titular hero fending off some deadly-looking toys thrown at her by her jester-clad nemesis.
So engrossed in the book was he that he quite literally wasn't paying any attention to where he was going…and as a consequence he got caught completely by surprise when he bumped into someone. "Ow! Oi, watch it!" the person snapped.
"Sorry," Naruto apologized. Then he did a double-take. "Wait…you're…"
The person he'd bumped into was Suigetsu, who'd been walking along with Jugo. Suigetsu now gave Naruto a nasty look. "Oh, it's you," he grunted.
Jugo nodded politely to Naruto. "I see you have been reading that Shadow Fox comic book. It's been the talk of the whole school today, I think," he said. "Will you be attending the movie when it opens at the cinema?"
"Oi, Jugo, don't go socializing with the guy! He's the enemy, remember?" Suigetsu hissed.
"Your enemy, perhaps, but not mine," Jugo shrugged.
"Well, ignoring Mr. Shark-face here," Naruto spoke to Jugo, "I don't know if I'll be going to watch the movie. Do you think it'll really be that good?"
"The lead actress is Fujikaze Yukie. I should imagine it will be good," said Jugo, allowing himself a small smile. "All I have to wonder is, which of her villains will they use in the movie?"
"Maybe this guy?" Naruto pointed to the image of Mischief on the cover.
"Mischief? Hmm, interesting, but probably not," said Jugo. "This movie is bound to cover Shadow Fox's origin story, so they'll probably want to set her against her arch-nemesis, Ghost Wolf."
"Oh, come on! I can't believe I'm actually hearing you fraternize with this blond punk!" Suigetsu exploded. "Have you forgotten about this Saturday night, Jugo? One of us might get a shot at him, like Sasuke said!"
"Eh?" Naruto looked from one to the other of them.
"I should explain," said Jugo. "Four of us, including me and Suigetsu, have been selected to take part in Uchiha-san's tournament come Saturday night, against those of you who'll have already qualified from the initial fights. Naturally, Suigetsu here is eager to take his revenge on you for what you did to him the other day during P.E. class."
"What—you mean that thing with the baseball?" asked Naruto.
"Yes, he means that thing with the baseball!" Suigetsu roared. "I couldn't walk straight for hours after what happened! So if I ever get paired with you Saturday night, I'll make sure to give you as much pain as you gave me!"
Naruto shrugged. "Eh, do whatever you want."
"What's with the indifferent attitude, you…!" Suigetsu would have rushed Naruto right there and then if Jugo hadn't grabbed his collar to pull him back.
"Still…" Naruto was now quite thoughtful. "So it's Sasuke-teme who's behind the tournament in the first place. Interesting. I wonder why he did it in the first place."
"Perhaps the one who wins it will find out," said Jugo. "And, too, the prize of having one wish granted by the Uchiha Zaibatsu is not something to thumb one's nose at. But I will say this, Naruto…if I am the one who gets to fight you, I will not hold back on any of my strength, and I ask that you do not hold back then, either."
"Well, okay," said Naruto. "So, let's see how it turns out then, huh?"
"That we shall. So, until then…enjoy your comic book." Jugo turned away. "Let's go, Suigetsu."
"Yeah, sure," though Suigetsu paused long enough to make a throat-slitting motion with his finger to Naruto, before turning to follow after Jugo. Naruto, in turn, spitefully held up his middle finger, though he was careful enough not to let Suigetsu see it.
And…not far away, Uchiha Sasuke himself stood behind a wall, watching the whole proceedings with a keen eye.
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"WHAT?" Ino flew into a rage and swung her book-bag to hit Shikamaru, but missed.
"What're you attacking us for, you violent woman?" Shikamaru asked in his usual bored tone, as he sidestepped to avoid another swing of the bag.
"You mean to tell me Sasuke-kun actually offered you guys a chance to watch the Shadow Fox movie screening with the critics—with a buffet line on top of it? And you didn't tell me?" Ino screeched, turning to swing her bag at Choji.
"Hey, come on, Ino! How could we pass it up?" Choji protested, ducking to avoid the bag.
More livid now, Ino rushed and jump-kicked at Choji's head, but the bigger-bodied boy blocked the attack. "I'll never forgive you two! Never!" Ino shouted, with angry fangs in her mouth. "Do you know how many people in this town would kill to be first in line to see that movie?"
"You'd be on that list, for sure," Shikamaru drawled.
"C'mon, Shika, don't antagonize her anymore…" Choji pleaded with his friend.
"Choji, just breathing is enough to antagonize Ino," Shikamaru grunted.
"Oh, don't worry—when I'm done with you two, you'll be lucky if I leave you breathing!" Ino raged, chasing after the two boys even as they rushed down the sidewalk to get away from her.
"Next time we have good news like this, we'll make sure not to tell you!" Choji flung over his shoulder.
"Why, you…!" Ino snarled as she redoubled her chase.
OoOoO
Naruto soon arrived home, bursting through the front door. "Mom, I'm home!" he called out, walking past the kitchen where Kushina was preparing dinner.
"Ah, good, you're home now," said Kushina. "Go wash up, and I'll have dinner ready soon."
"Okay," Naruto replied as he headed down the corridor.
Silence reigned for a few more seconds. Then suddenly Naruto shot back to the kitchen door and gawked. "Mom, what are you WEARING?" he demanded.
"Hmm?" Kushina turned to look at him—and right there before Naruto's eyes, his mother was clad in a costume not unlike that worn by the Shadow Fox character, complete with a fox-mask. "Oh, this?" she said, pointing to her costume. "I made it myself. Do you like it?"
Naruto slapped his forehead and groaned. "Oh, great…even my own mother's infected with this Shadow Fox fever!" he exclaimed. "Next thing you'll be saying you got the comic book today…wait. You did, didn't you?"
"What do you mean? I've been collecting the series ever since it first began publishing," Kushina said casually. "If you want to borrow some of them to read, you could always ask."
Making a face, Naruto reached into his bag and pulled out the comic he'd borrowed from Shino. "Let me guess…you got this one too, right?" he asked wearily.
"Oh, I already have that, since yesterday in fact," said Kushina. "I never miss an issue!"
"Wonderful…a grown woman who still reads comics," Naruto muttered, turning and stomping off to his room.
Kushina watched her son's grudging departure with confusion. "What?" she called after him. "If you don't want to read the comics, you can always come watch the movie with me—I got tickets!"
"You and everybody else in Konoha Town, I'll bet!" Naruto exploded, punctuated by the slamming of his bedroom door.
"My comic collection is in my bottom dresser-drawer in my room, in case you change your mind," Kushina came out of the kitchen to shout at Naruto's shut door.
"Right next to where you keep your weird dirty books, I'll bet," Naruto's muffled voice came through the door.
"They're self-improvement magazines, I'll have you know—wait a minute, how do you even KNOW about those?" Kushina screamed with a comically angry expression.
The only response was the sound of the lock on Naruto's bedroom door clicking shut.
OoOoO
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Zaibatsu building at that very moment…
Sasuke walked down the brightly-lit corridor to the building's in-house gym, from which the noise of grunts of exertion could be heard rather loudly. Approaching the gym's entrance, he looked inside and put his hands in his pockets, while a smirk appeared on his face. "Working hard, aren't you?"
Inside the gym, Tenten was throwing several punches and kicks at a punching bag hanging from the ceiling by a heavy chain. "How long have you been here?" Sasuke asked her as she sent a low kick, and then a high kick, at the bag with the same leg.
"Not long enough," Tenten answered brusquely, sending a forward-thrown left punch and then a side-hitting right hook at the bag. "Can I help you with something?"
"You should consider resting just a little. The upcoming leg of the tournament isn't for another forty-eight hours, roughly," said Sasuke. "Besides, you punching and kicking that bag won't do anything but make it softer and less resistant over time."
Tenten sent a hard punch to the bag, and only then turned to glare at Sasuke. "If you're here to psych me out, it's not going to work," she growled. "I'm not going to stop getting stronger until I'm as strong as I need to be."
"To defeat Naruto, you mean," Sasuke clarified, eyeing her.
"Not Naruto—Kurama the Fox of the Kyuushingai." Tenten turned her gaze back to the bag and began punching it with renewed vengeance.
"Do you intend to kill him? Because if so, at least wait till after the tournament's over. I won't have any deaths on Uchiha property, on my watch," said Sasuke.
Now Tenten really did stop her assault on the bag. "I…"
"Hmm?" Sasuke looked squarely at her.
There was a long silence, punctuated only by Tenten's heavy breathing. Then she threw another punch at the bag…not the sharp and calculated punch of a fighter, but a blow that expressed frustration. "Damn it…I don't know what I want." She said this through gritted teeth. "Damn him…"
If you killed me now…would the pain go away? Would the nightmares finally stop?
The question Naruto had asked her ran through her mind, blaring like a neon light whose power had gone out of control. "Why…he was with the Kyuushingai…but…why'd he have to be so NICE?" she groaned, sinking to her knees even as she cupped her forehead with one hand.
"So you think fighting him again will give you the answer you want to hear?" Sasuke inquired.
"…maybe. I don't know. I don't even know if I want to know." Tenten heaved a hard sigh.
Shaking his head, Sasuke walked over to a nearby mini-fridge, took a bottle of water from it, and tossed it to Tenten; on reflex, she reached up and caught it with one hand. "Listen," Sasuke spoke to her again, "I'm not going to act like I know what's going on in that dobe's head. All I know for sure is what you've just figured out…he's a complex guy. Maybe…maybe that's why you're so focused on him…not because he was one of the Nine Terrors…but because he doesn't fit the mold you'd expected."
Tenten frowned. "So you're a psychologist now?"
Sasuke shrugged. "All I'll say to you…go home and rest. Let your body heal up in time for the tournament on Saturday. Whether you get to fight him or not…I want to see you give a good performance, and you can't do that if you're tired. So, again, go home." And he walked out of the gym, leaving Tenten alone again.
"…" Tenten unconsciously uncorked the bottle of water and put the lid to her lips, taking a sip. Complex, huh…that probably describes you just as well…wouldn't it, Uchiha Sasuke?
OoOoO
END CHAPTER 21
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NEON MAJESTIC: Okay, I admit it. That whole plot with the Shadow Fox comic, it was created as something of an in-between breather before the main action starts again. From here on out, you can think of everything Shadow Fox-related as the story's "show within a show," or something. And for Shadow Fox herself, I based her design on Rudra from the fan-made Streets of Rage Remake, and everything else about her has a little bit of Batman, Zorro, Darkwing Duck (no, she's not a duck), and the rather obscure Black Scorpion thrown into the mix.
And yes, Kushina has a dirty book collection.
No more fluff and pseudo-filler next chapter! Come Chapter 22, the main action gets underway again!