I watched, hidden under a genjutsu, as Sabaku no Gaara, age six, stood at his window, looking out the village that hated him for something and everything that was out of his control. I stood frozen, for just a moment, staring at the younger Gaara. He looked different but I couldn't place what was out of place. I shook my head once, running through the Yamanaka seals, whispering 'Odayakana shinryaku no jutsu' as I prepared to enter his mindscape. Glancing at the busy streets, he felt a wave of envy greet him before it was warded off by anger.
How could they be so happy? What makes them so different from me? He thought to himself.
You are nothing like them, a voice whispered in his head. You are better than them, those fools should be praising you, not treating you like filth.
What should I do, Mother? I'm so alone. He sat at his bed, his head hanging in his small hands.
You're never alone. I'm always here. And one day you shall have your revenge. You shall force them to repay every pain you've suffered.
When, Mother? I'm not strong enough.
Soon, child. I will make you stronger. All you need to do is-
"Stop listening to Shukaku, Gaara. Everything your 'Mother' has said is a lie. He wants to make you strong so that you can crush those who have mistreated you. I want to make you strong to protect your precious people," I told him clearly. Gaara's head shot up and lost focus slightly, drifting over my genjutsu, before refocusing.
Who- Who are you?
"I'm like you. I was alone, I was hated by everyone. But you need to listen to me. I'll show you how I made them accept me. You can stop hurting people you hate and start protecting the ones who love you."
No one loves me, Gaara insisted to the mysterious voice in his mind, my voice.
"Temari. Kankuro. They love you. Even now, when you only destroy, they will still protect you at any cost. You are family, their little brother."
Who are you?
"I've told you. I'm-" "Like you." Gaara jumped at my voice, no longer in his head. I removed the genjutsu from my hiding spot and appeared in the windowsill. "Kiiroi Kitsune, at your service."
The redhead's eyes went wide at the sight of the me before rolling back in his head. I only chuckled, having expected such a reaction from my young, old friend. My eyes narrowed ever so slightly as I learned what was off about his appearance. The kanji for love was completely absent from his features.
His uncle hadn't tried to kill him yet. Perhaps I should have come a little later… That's a turning point in his life…
I was about to take a step closer to him when a shadow appeared over the doorway and I heard a voice. Glancing over, I recognized the spiky blonde hair and the large fan. She couldn't have been more than nine years old but the blonde was definitely Sabaku no Temari. I stifled a smile at seeing her again.
"What are you doing here? What did you do to Gaara?" She asked, trying to sound threatening but even I could hear the fear and anxiety in her voice. I kept my voice low, knowing that I'd rather not hurt Temari. Not to mention Koyuki would attack me.
"I came here to visit your youngest brother. Don't worry, I haven't done anything. He was just a little… surprised at seeing me."
"Why did you come here? What do you want?" Temari demanded, holding her kunai at an awkward angle. I sighed.
"You're holding the kunai wrong. If you keep it like that, you're hand is going to cramp up and you'll drop the kunai," I coached. "I'm only here because I know what's been happening to your little brother and I can help him."
"Help him? You're younger than I am!"
"And I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage. I've mastered two of his original jutsu, the Rasengan and the famous Hiraishin, which earned him the name 'Konoha's Yellow Flash'. I've been living with an ANBU captain all my life and have a summoning contract. I know what I'm doing," I insisted, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the fiery kunoichi. I knew Temari, if I stepped out of line, the first thing she'd do was hit me. Temari punches almost as hard as Hinata-chan.
"Okay, you have my attention. What do you want to do?"
"All I wanted to do was place this seal over the seal holding Shukaku captive. It will strengthen the seal and keep the Ichibi out of his head. He'll still have his control over sand- yes I know about that ability- but he won't have the demon whispering in his head unless Gaara chooses to start a conversation."
"And how do you know this will work? What if you're wrong and you end up releasing Shukaku? This could all just be a trap for the Sand!"
"Listen to yourself, Temari. What would the Leaf gain from destroying Suna? Sand? We don't like sand that much. We wouldn't survive as well as you have for generations. You're adapted to this area, we're adapted to the forests.
"As for the seal, I'm sure it will work. I've already used it," I said, opening my vest and sending chakra to my seal, making both layers of ink appear. "This is the seal that my father used on me. The one on top of it is the seal that I invented. It allows me to use more of Kyuubi's chakra without losing my mind." I explained, chuckling to myself when Temari took a few steps back, in front of Gaara protectively.
"Y-You're the-"
"Kyuubi jinchuuriki. But you can call me Kiiroi Kitsune," I grinned my trademark grin, laughing as Temari's eyes rolled back and she landed on the bed next to her brother. Needless to say, Kyuubi was very amused, judging from his roars of laughter. "Hmm… I hope Kankuro is busy. I'm not sure if I take him seriously if I saw him as an eight year old."
"Can I come out now?" A voice asked from outside.
"Sure thing, Koyuki. She and Gaara are unconscious." I called back, laughing at the two future ninjas. Gaara of the Sand, the youngest Kazekage and his sister, Temari of the Sand, the most powerful Wind Mistress to ever come out of Suna; both passed out at the sight of a seven year old. In all fairness, that seven year old was the future Rokudaime, the one and only Kitsune-Sennin, and one of the Neo Sannin. "Don't hit me, Koyuki, she only passed out when she figured out that I'm Kyuubi's jinchuuriki."
"I wasn't going to hit you. Probably," she countered playfully.
"You know, you really are like Temari. Hit first, ask questions later. And you both can use wind nature chakra."
Koyuki jumped onto the bed and began licking Temari awake. Temari shifted in her sleep before slowly opening her eyes to Koyuki's gentlest smile. Her mouth moved soundlessly and I leapt forward, picking Koyuki up gently and placing her on my shoulder, keeping a hand on Temari's mouth to prevent her from screaming.
"Calm down, it's okay. She is one of my summons. She's not going to bite you or anything," I calmed the younger Temari. Her wide eyes eventually narrowed and she bit my hand. "OW! Was that really necessary?"
"I thought so," she bristled. "So you summon foxes now?"
"I told you I had a summoning contract. You never asked which one. This is Koyuki. She's one of my favorites," I said, scratching Koyuki behind the eyes. She purred loudly and leaned into my hand, playing cute for Temari. It worked. Temari's eyes softened watching the young vixen, her features moving into a soft smile. "Do you want to hold her?"
"Really?" Temari asked, smiling shyly at Koyuki. I glanced at Koyuki and she nodded. I nodded in return and gently placed the dark fox in Temari's arms.
"I think she likes you," I mentally smirked, watching Koyuki stretch in Temari's arms, letting her reach her belly. The vixen purred loudly and licked Temari's hand, who laughed under her breath. "Kuchiyose no jutsu," I bit my thumb and touched the ground, causing a puff of smoke to rise up. The smoke parted to reveal a small tan fox with large ears. She lifted her chocolate eyes to meet mine and I nodded swiftly. "Please wake up Gaara, Neko. Be gentle. he's had a strange day so far."
Neko nodded her head and shook her sandy fur before jumping onto the bed and walking to Gaara. She began to purr loudly and rubbed her head against his cheek. The redhead chuckled and woke up slowly, opening his eyes to see my tan fox, specially trained in sand natured chakra, purring against his cheek. He must've sensed his kinship with the fox's chakra, immediately reaching out a hand to pet Neko.
"So you're finally up," a voice said, making Temari freeze. The future kunoichi stiffly looked at the blue-grey fox still in her arms. Koyuki's eyes met mine, sending me a silent apology for blowing her cover already.
"Um- what's your name again?" She asked me.
"Kiiroi Kitsune. Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto."
"Okay, Naruto. Did your fox just talk?"
"Yes? She's been trying to learn English so she can communicate with humans."
"And why can your fox speak English?"
"First, her name is Koyuki. You've probably heard of other summons talking, why should foxes be any different?" I retorted. Temari seemed at a loss for words for a moment before returning her hand to Koyuki, scratching behind her ears, just like I did.
"Can you talk too?" Gaara asked Neko shyly, who shook her head sadly.
"While Koyuki is my youngest summon, Neko is one of my most recent. I rescued Koyuki when I was training in the middle of a snowstorm last winter. That, and her chakra affinity, ice, is why I named her Koyuki, powder snow. I met Neko on my way here actually. I had just entered the desert and found Neko, dehydrated and wounded, under a sand dune. I gave her some water and healed her wounds and she agreed to be one of my summons. From my other fox summons, I figure it can take a fox anywhere between two and four months to learn how to speak English although they can understand it within a week," I explained. Temari ignored me, continuing to pet Koyuki while Gaara nodded, a serious expression on his face.
"Isn't there a clan in Konoha that uses dogs? Is there a family that uses foxes?"
"Yes and no. The Inuzuka clan specializes in raising and training ninja hounds. To them, dogs are their partners and equals. There is no clan in Konoha that trains foxes. Ever since Kyuubi attacked seven years ago, foxes have been unofficially banned from the Hidden Leaf. I only get around that rule by training in the Forest of Death."
"The Forest of Death? I've heard about that place! It's supposed to be filled with all kinds of monsters and animals!" Temari exclaimed, eyes wide.
"It is. They leave me alone though. Most of the times I go there, I'm surrounded by foxes or practicing high ranking jutsu such as the Rasengan or the Chidori. Either way, I'm left in peace to train. Even the ninjas from Konoha try to avoid the Forest of Death."
"So why are you in Suna? Shouldn't you be in the Academy or something?" Gaara asked, smiling at Neko.
"I should be, yeah. As I explained to your sister, I'm here to help you. I know about Shukaku and everything that this village has done. I'm the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. If you're anything like me, you've been alone for most of your life, the village looking down on you, even though your father is the Kazekage. I know, I'm the Yondaime Hokage's son."
"I didn't know that the Yondaime Hokage had a son," Gaara said, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Most of the other villages think I died when I was born. My father made a lot of enemies in the Third Great Shinobi War. Iwa, for example, would be happy to try and capture me as payment for all the devastation my father caused to their people."
"Oh… So why are you in Suna? I don't think you answered."
"I didn't, you're right. I'm here to help you. I know you're pesky Ichibi friend has been talking to you and I can help you make him shut up. I created a seal to help contain a bijuu's conscious. It will still be there but the entity, in your case Shukaku, will be kept more distanced from your own mind. I already used the seal on myself. At this moment, I could talk to Kyuubi and he can talk back to me but he can't do anything more than that. He has no control on anything but the amount of his chakra he adds to my reserves. For example, if I give you this seal, you will keep your ability to control sand. Also, if you get on really good terms with Shukaku, he might even give you the demon raccoon summoning contract. It does exist; I've even signed the demon fox contract."
"Really?" Gaara asked, his eyes wide as he tried to process all of the information I was feeding him. "Can I see?"
"I suppose, if you really want. Stay still and try not to faint again. I'm going to summon a four tailed fox. Kuchiyose no jutsu: Zoran!"
"Naruto-sama!" A large blue-black fox appeared in a poof of smoke, sounding a little surprised at its summoning. "Is something the matter?"
"Not at all, Zoran-san. I thought you might want to meet Shukaku-san's vessel, Sabaku no Gaara. Gaara, this is Zoran my guard's second lieutenant." I introduced the two, watching as they studied each other. Zoran's eyes noted the dark circles around Gaara's eyes and smirked lightly, knowing what his old one-tailed friend had been trying. The insomniac himself was staring at the four tailed demon, his eyes drifting from his blue-black head to the tips of each tail, shining a light red-orange.
"Um, hello.' Gaara said awkwardly, his eyes locked onto the four tails cutting the air behind Zoran. The tails immediately stopped moving and curled against Zoran's back.
"I know, they're distracting. So, this is Shukaku-san's vessel… Hmm," Zoran said, walking around Gaara in a circle. "He could be worse I suppose…"
"Zoran, he is only six. He has a lot of potential and you know it. I'm sure he's practicing his sand manipulation, trying to get it out of Shukaku's control. I bet you can guess what your old friend has been doing."
"Ah, yes. That raccoon never could control his blood thirst. It was great for bloody rampages back in the day, but it's getting a little old, don't you think so, Shika?" Zoran asked Gaara, looking him in the eyes.
"I don't know what you're-"
Zoran, it's been a long time, old friend, Shukaku said inside Gaara's head.
"Just a second…" Zoran grinned, placing the tip of one of his tails on Gaara's forehead. "Try saying something, Shika."
"I forgot that trick actually works, Zoran. It's been too long."
"Well that tends to happen when you go and get yourself sealed into humans. They don't let you have any fun. At least Naruto-sama is civil to Kyuubi-sama. But enough about the Kiiroi Kitsune. What's this I hear about you? Giving this Gaara boy some trouble, are we?"
"It's not my fault. The boy's uninteresting. I have to take over and kill the assassins his teme of a father sends his way. The boy's too weak to take a life without me," Shukaku complained.
"Come on, Shukaku. You're a big demon. Instead of haunting Gaara why don't you make him stronger, train him? Just look at Kyuu and I. We get along, he's even given me the demon fox summoning scroll. I get stronger, he gets summoned every now and then- as long as he doesn't go on a rampage. Why don't you and Gaara have something like that?" I asked, deciding to jump in.
"Because, 'Yellow Fox', this kit is boring. You can talk to me about potential when everything you know happens again. If you're so interested in him, why don't you train him? Hmm?"
"I can't. I have to establish my network. If you know what I know, you know he needs to be in Suna for his family. If that doesn't happen, he might not make it to the exams," I explained, earning confused looks from both Gaara and Temari.
"What are you two talking about?" Temari asked, looking up from Koyuki.
"A very long, complicated, and involved story that explains my entire existence. I'd tell you, but it could put myself as well as well as the people I love in danger."
"Why? Are you a spy?" Temari asked in a teasing tone. When I didn't respond, she gasped. "What!"