Disclaimer: I—still—don't own Naruto. No matter how many times I request the series be mine…it just won't happen.

Note: It's not really based on The Firekeeper Series anymore. That's where the idea came from, but there's really no relation between the two, but please, feel free to read that series anyway because it's still awesome!

Through Fox's Eyes
Chapter Twenty Three

Kitsune stared at human woman, eyes narrowed as he tried to process her words. Genin? What did that mean? Newest…Raven Hair had used that to describe things, but he couldn't remember what it meant at the moment.

"Kitsune," Silver Moon spoke, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "You passed, you can come with Sasuke and I now."

"Kitsune go?" He asked, perking up at the mention of staying with Raven Hair.

Silver Moon laughed, "Yes."

Kitsune turned to Raven Hair and tackled the young man. "Kitsune go!"

"Get off me dobe!" He growled, shoving at the blonde foxling. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this." He muttered as the fox went sprawling into the grass, but quickly rolled onto his feet and bounded back over, though he refrained from jumping on Raven Hair again.

Tsudane watched the exchange curiously and looked at Kakashi, "Is that truly the same child who just took on a Sannin?"

"Yup! Funny, isn't it?" Kakashi laughed, smiling at the new Hokage. "He's also the same child who almost killed an Anbu."

"What?" She hissed, beginning to think if she made a mistake making the feral child a genin.

"Mah…" Kakashi shrugged, "He thought the Anbu had kidnapped us and so tracked him down by scent. Thankfully, Nara-sama was home that day or else Naruto might be dead too—though," he continued thoughtfully, "if what Iruka-san said is true, then Naruto probably wouldn't have been stopped until he found out what happened to us. He is very loyal."

"I remember you…" Tsunade murmured, staring at the one-eyed man, taking in his lithe form with only the shock of silver hair prominent. But she remembered that hair and the lazy demeanor the shinobi radiated. "You were a student of the Yondaime's right?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

She looked over to where Naruto was playing in the grass, he was chasing a butterfly around and kept catching and releasing the poor creature, but every few minutes he would double back and return to the Uchiha Heir's side. His movements were effortlessly quiet—fluid and sleek, reminding her of a hunter moving towards his prey. Yet his eyes weren't fixated on Sasuke, instead they darted around, keeping tabs on where everyone had been and was now and the fleeting glances to Sasuke made her realize he was calculating how close they were to genius genin. Once he was by Sasuke's side, Naruto bumped him playfully to which Sasuke glared at him and shoved him away, but Tsunade could see a comradery there that reminded her much of her own old team.

"Let me ask you something," she said, after observing the two boys for a few minutes. "Do you trust that boy with your life and the life of your team?"

"Absolutely." Kakashi said without hesitation. "Naruto may not be a normal shinobi, but he is the most loyal person I have ever met. The bond he shares with Sasuke, I doubt anyone will ever be able to break. He is strong and very skilled, even if it isn't in the normal sense. And despite taking on many of the Kyuubi's traits, Naruto has remained steadfastly in control all these years." Despite a few "loss of control" moments…

"Jiraiya mentioned him losing control." Tsunade murmured as if she had just read his mind, tapping her nails absentmindedly on her bicep. "How do you know it won't happen again? Twenty minutes and he massacred over 20 people, not to mention the other 10 who somehow escaped with their lives, though gravely injured."

"Ah…that." Kakashi nodded, scratching the side of his head with his pointer finger, "I don't consider that him losing control as much as a problem with the seal. Naruto fought hard against the Kyuubi when he gained control through a…loophole, if you will, in the seal. It's how we were able to incapacitate him and get Jiraiya to fix the seal."

Tsunade hummed thoughtfully, her eyes trained on the new genin. He certainly was protective of the Uchiha brat, every time a girl tried to approach him, Naruto would bare his teeth and growl a little. The boys didn't even try to approach their aloof comrade, jealously eying the love-struck girls. All but a pink haired girl were scared off by this tactic and considering Sasuke wasn't scolding Naruto, but slightly smirking, Tsunade guessed he was enjoying the blonde scaring the girls away. "Who is that girl?" She asked, watching the kinouichi scold Naruto before turning to shyly greet Sasuke.

"That is Haruno Sakura, she is my other student. She's not as strong, but her understanding and control of chakra will make her a very powerful kinouichi in the future."

"That confident, huh?" Tsunade chuckled, shaking her head.

Kakashi just smiled beneath his mask and nodded slightly. He wasn't sure when they had started and even before Naruto, he still doubted whether or not his students would truly bond and become a team. They acted like three people who were just thrown together—Sasuke ignored Sakura, Sakura ignored Hikari and Hikari just sulked about being on "such a shitty team". Hikari's death did cause Sasuke and Sakura to become closer, though Sakura's incessant fan girl behavior annoyed Sasuke to no end, but they weren't a team. Kakashi had hoped that they wouldn't have to experience the pain and following numbness of losing a comrade until they were at least Chunin, but unfortunately that is not what the gods had planned.

Yet since Kitsune came, he saw them bonding and actually becoming a team, especially Kitsune and Sasuke. The way they worked in sync was a work of art—well, when they weren't fighting with each other and making a complete mess of an exercise that is.

"I was informed that you wish to have Uzumaki Naruto assigned to your team as you lost a member in a previous mission, am I correct?" Tsunade said, interrupting the jounin's thoughts.

"Hai." Kakashi nodded, "Sasuke and Sakura want to enter to Chunin exams and as you know, it must be with a three person team."

"There is no way Naruto would be ready for that; it's less than two weeks away!" The blonde exclaimed, "How do you expect to have him ready in time?"

Team Seven's sensei laughed boisterously, causing Naruto to come bounding over to check on him. "Oh, he's ready all right. Kitsune here has been training daily with Sasuke, Umino-san and myself. He may not understand everything you're saying, but he knows how to fight and he knows how to use chakra. All he needs is a few missions to officially enter and he will be ready."

Tsunade furrowed her brow, "You called him Kitsune."

"Ah. It is what he calls himself. He will respond to Naruto, but he prefers Kitsune…he used to not respond to anything but Kitsune, but due to Iruka's influence he responds to Naruto now."

Kitsune yipped, annoyed at having his name called so many times only to be ignored. "What?" He growled, glaring.

Kakashi smiled with his one eye and patted the blonde's head like he was some kind of dog. "Nothing, nothing. I was telling Hokage-sama about you."

Blue eyes curiously looked at the blonde woman. He stood straight up and circled the woman very slowly, breathing deep a few times before stopping an inch from her face and peering into her eyes. He narrowed his eyes and poked her cheek, causing two Anbu to appear on either side of Tsunade with their weapons drawn.

Growling, Kitsune gracefully flipped backwards and away from guards, landing in a crouched position and ready to fight if necessary. Sasuke and Sakura appeared in front of Kitsune, ready to defend him if needed while Kakashi watched lazily from the sidelines.

"Oh, for God's sake!" Tsunade huffed, shoving the two Anbu. "Put your weapons away you idiots. He poked me with his finger—poked me. Stop acting like he just tried to assassinate me."

"But Hokage-sama, he's—" Tsunade's glare stopped the Dog Anbu short.

"Don't finish that sentence." She growled warningly. She cracked her knuckles to make sure her point got across and then walked slowly towards the genin. Sasuke and Sakura didn't move, uncertain of what Tsunade would do, but still willing to defend Naruto even if he wasn't their team member. She raised an eyebrow and stared down at them with a calculating gaze, yet they refused to budge. They weren't going to without a direct order from her and even then, Sasuke wasn't too sure he'd listen—he put too much time and effort into the dobe to have him killed now.

"He doesn't understand personal space." Sakura blurted, "He didn't mean anything by it, Hokage-sama, I swear it, he's just child-like."

"Child-like." Tsunade said flatly. "He took on a Sannin with killing intent that affected even my Anbu, who are trained to withstand killing intent."

Sasuke snorted, straightening out of his defensive stance. It was obvious their new Hokage wasn't going to attack Kitsune. "He's a child-like psychopath."

Seeing Raven-Hair relax, Kitsune did too and smiled brightly. "Kitsune!" He said, pointing to himself. Raven-Hair had been teaching him about introducing himself, which was telling humans who he was. He didn't understand why, but Raven-Hair said to do it, so he would do it.

Surprised at how quickly the blonde's demeanor changed, Tsunade smiled and pointed to herself. "Tsunade."

"T-tsu…" Kitsune stumbled over the name, growling lightly at his inability to speak. It would be so much easier if they all just spoke like he did. Everyone understood growls and nips.

The Dog Anbu from earlier appeared next to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, be careful, he is still the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki."

Hearing the name of the demon within him, Kitsune growled deeply and glared at the man. "I Kitsune, not Kyuubi. Kyuubi bad, I good, Kitsune good."

The Dog Anbu snorted, "Say what you want, but we all know what you really are, demon."

"Not demon!" He screamed, digging his nails into in hands and shaking his head vigorously. "Not bad! Kitsune good, Kitsune good, Kitsune good!" His breathing deepened and his vision blurred as old, buried memories surfaced. Smoke and fire was everywhere and someone was shouting "Get the demon, the demon child. Make sure you kill it!" Screams filled the air, flashes of metal on metal, sounds of crunching bone and gurgled breaths—

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, shaking the blonde fox who had fallen to the ground in the fetal position.

Gasping at the touch, Kitsune scrambled away, a thin sheen of sweat upon his brow and terrified blue eyes darting all around. He quickly noticed there was no smoke or fire and certainly no screams, but he couldn't keep his thundering heart or his gasping breaths to slow down. Just seconds ago, he was somewhere else and his fear was palpable. Kitsune yowled pitifully as he grabbed his head, the pain there intensified by the bright sun—much different than the night he saw a moment ago.

Sasuke slowly approached him, keeping his movements calm and controlled. "Kitsune?"

"Head hurts." He whispered, still holding it tightly.

"Close your eyes." Kitsune shook his head, eyes darting to the unfamiliar people around him. Sasuke growled, annoyed at the situation and repeated his request more demandingly. "I'll protect you, now close your eyes."

Not wanting to upset his alpha, Kitsune snapped his eyes shut and sighed as the pounding in his head subsided a little. The familiar smell of musk and spice assaulted him as Sasuke moved closer and sat down beside the blonde. Kitsune immediately moved closer and buried his head into the ground next to Sasuke's leg.

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered with annoyance, but patted the blonde's head anyway. His dark eyes flicked to the Hokage who was watching the exchange with unconcealed curiosity, but she didn't make a move towards them. A few minutes passed by as the tightness in the blonde fox's shoulders lessened and he wasn't holding his head anymore before Sasuke finally spoke quietly, saying, "Tell me what happened."

Kitsune was quiet for a moment, trying to grasp at the words needed. "Forest, fire…yowls…d-death. Smoke, demon," he growled the word, eyes peeking open to glare at the Dog Anbu, "Kitsune…small? Small Kitsune, no…small Naruto."

Tsunade slowly moved forward, keeping her movements fluid and as non-threatening as possible. Kneeling down, she smiled brightly at the young genin and held out her hand for Kitsune to inspect. "Kitsune, did you see this in your head?"

He sniffed her hand, blue eyes calculating as he pushed closer to Sasuke, and nodded his head silently.

"It's a memory." Sakura said quietly, appearing on the other side of Kitsune and kneeling down in the grass, effectively setting up a defense of their blonde teammate if necessary. Tsunade saw that these three had already bonded as a team and would remain so even if Kitsune hadn't passed the test. Had another genin been assigned to their team, they may have bonded, but Tsunade knew that they would've had an unofficial fourth member in Kitsune. She also had no doubt that if the other genin rejected Kitsune, they would reject their official team member.

Sighing, her choice was obviously already chosen for her if she wanted Team Seven to succeed. She stood and crossed her arms over her chest as she scanned the field. Too many people wanted Naruto dead and she knew for him to be accepted, she was going to have to take a stand against the Council—considering they were a bunch of old windbags, she doubted it would be very hard, but it was the animosity of the villagers that had her truly worried. Taking a deep breath, she yelled at the top of her voice, "UZUMAKI, NARUTO HAS PASSED THE GENIN EXAM AND IS NOW UNDER MY EXPLICIT PROTECTION."

People in the vicinity covered their ears, but there were plenty who were still knocked over at the force of the proclamation.

"But Hokage-sama!" Someone she didn't recognize began to protest, but Tsunade just raised an eyebrow and the man shut his mouth with a click.

"Any other protests?" She asked, making sure to look every person she saw in the eye. She smirked when no one spoke and turned back to Naruto. She carefully touched the necklace around her neck, the plain chain holding a beautiful blue crystal between two metal weights to keep the crystal in place—her grandfather, Hirishoma, had given it to her saying that it would protect her from harm. She hadn't taken it off since both Nawaki and Dan had died after she had gifted them the necklace, afraid that it would hurt others, but she also knew that there needed to be a sign that Naruto was under her protection and all the villagers would recognize the First Hokage's necklace.

Slowly, she removed the necklace from around her neck and fingered the crystal gently. Maybe the Kyuubi's unparalleled healing abilities would keep the curse at bay...if there truly was a curse. She smiled at the blonde and held the necklace out to him.

Perking up at the shiny stone, Kitsune hopped off the ground and took it from her hands. He held it up to the sun and smiled brightly as the crystal sparkled in the sun. He turned to show Sasuke and let out a happy yip, his excitement practically palatable. Bounding back to the Hokage, he cocked his head and held up the necklace to see if she wanted it back. To his disappointment, she did take the shiny crystal back, but only to clasp it around his neck so it laid upon his chest. Kitsune looked down and then up again, puzzling over what her gesture meant.

"It's yours." She said, smiling. Kitsune's brow furrowed in consternation, not understanding what that meant. "For Kitsune." Tsunade said, pointing from the crystal to Kitsune.

Deciding he liked this new human, Kitsune launched himself at her and licked her cheek to show his appreciation for the gift. "Tsu…Tundee." He struggled with the name, uncertain of how to make that first sound.

Laughing lightly, she patted his head gently. "You can call me Oba-chan."

"Obaa-chan." He said brightly.

A tick mark appeared above Tsunade's eyebrow and she balled her hand into a fist, eyes flashing with anger. "What. Did. You. Call. Me?" There had been a long standing debate on whether the young Uchiha could pallor, being as pale as he was most believed it was an impossibility and maybe prior to Tsunade, it was true, but as rage filled the Hokage's eyes, Sasuke made the impossible possible and all blood drained from his face. Sakura immediately skittered away, she was all for protecting Naruto against unjustified attacks, but she wasn't about to protect him from his own stupidity.

Blue eyes widen to saucers and he bit his lip worriedly, uncertain of what to say. He repeated what she said, so he didn't understand why she was so mad. But this human was scary now and he shrunk down into the grass, trying to blend in with it as best as he could, hoping the human woman wouldn't hit him.

Kakashi and Jiraiya, who had appeared just in time to hear what Naruto said, unsuccessfully tried to smother their laughter. So engrossed in their laughter that they hadn't noticed Tsunade turning slowly towards them until the killing intent rolling off of her paralyzed them on the spot. Raising their eyes up, they looked into their doom as Tsunade rolled the sleeves up on both arms and raised her fists high in the air.

"Usurai!" She yelled, her voice echoing throughout the village, followed by an earth rumbling boom as her fists came down on the heads of Konoha's biggest perverts. Breathing hard, she glared at the two unconscious men who were now half buried in the ground and wiped her hands off while turning her back on them. All present had gone deathly still, staring at their new Hokage in awe and fear—the Sandiame was so tame compared to the blonde busty woman.

Her eyes flicked over to where Kakashi's genin were standing, but Naruto was glaringly missing. She quickly scanned the field, but didn't see him. "Where's the brat?" She growled at Sasuke, who pointed silently at the ground next to him. She looked down and was surprised to find Naruto barely visible despite not wearing any type of camouflage. Had Sasuke not pointed out where he was crouching in the six inches of grass, she'd have missed him completely; even now all she could see was the very tips of his hair and glimpses of blue eyes between the grass blades.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka called, quickly approaching the group. He had been in the crowd of people who came out to watch only because he knew near Kitsune, the blonde foxling would've smelled his fear and apprehension and been distracted. Distracted was one thing Kitsune didn't need to be since becoming a genin was necessary in proving his worth to the Council. "Please, I'm sure Naruto meant no disrespect."

She flicked her eyes over to the short ninja. "You. You were fighting for him to become a genin."

"Hai," he nodded and then bowed deep. "I'm Umino Iruka—Naruto's official guardian. I was his guardian before we lost him to the forest and since returning here, I've been placed as his guardian once more."

Anger dissipating, she grinned and clapped Iruka on the back. "That takes guts, going up against the Dinosaurs."

"D-dinosaurs?" He squeaked, shocked that their new Hokage would be so informal.

Raucously laughing, the tension was dispelled and slowly Kitsune perked up, sticking his head up out of the grass. Seeing the blonde, Tsunade smirked and ushered him over. "Come here, brat."

Kitsune looked up at Raven-Hair, uncertain if he should go to the crazy human or not. The human was obviously crazy, her moods changed faster than anything he'd ever seen—though Ill One's moods changed pretty quickly too. Maybe it was a female human thing? Raven-Hair nodded and slowly Kitsune approached on all fours, slinking across the grass as if every step was a possible mine.

Once he was close enough, Tsunade scooped him up with one arm and rubbed her knuckles hard into his head as she squeezed him tight. "You're cute, but not that cute. I'll be Oba-chan, but I'm not Obaa-chan. Got it?"

Growling, Kitsune tried to free himself from her grasp, but found himself utterly stuck as she continued to rub his head roughly. Shaking his head, he snapped at her fingers, but she just laughed and then released him. Kitsune immediately fell into a crouch, ready to defend himself, but instead the blonde woman just laughed, shaking her head with mirth.

Squatting down, Tsunade rested her head in her hand and smirked. "Welcome, Kitsune, to the crazy world of the shinobi."

Dhampir
Page 8
9/10/20

Oba-chan means Auntie

Obaa-chan means Grandma