Kitsune Mistress
Princess of Ikana
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and its respective owners.
Chapter 2: Ghost
***🎃 Happy Halloween 2021
His name meant Weasel, and he was curious why his parents chose such a unique name for him. Were they hoping he would be slender, cunning, and resourceful like weasels? Would it strike fear into his enemies' hearts?
His mother had told him the story about fox spirits and how the jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina protected the village's boundaries. From his knowledge, it had been quite a long time since the last Uchiha child had gone missing. He liked having assurances so he could wander the village.
He was three years old when the third shinobi war broke out. Months of pointless fighting ensued, and many shinobi died. His father had taken him to one of the battlefields where he encountered his first kill, which wasn't pleasant for it was in self-defence… Just before his fifth birthday, his younger brother was born… They named him Sasuke, and Itachi again pondered the meaning of life and death.
He began spending a lot of his time alone. Putting his focus on his studies and training, he quickly learned how to become a ninja. He didn't take his mother's warning seriously until one afternoon when he was training in an empty clearing. The thumping beats of drums started faintly, with a strumming shamisen following.
The tune was alluring, but he had never heard of such things in the forest before, so he heeded his mother's warning to be wary of foxes and strange occurrences, for if he followed them, he may be spirited away.
Itachi decided to head straight home that day.
Never knowing when exactly her revenge was complete, Yotsuna didn't. Her human soul ebbed away into the afterlife. She had once been known as Sakura, and this soul moved on and reincarnated a second time … into a girl named Haruno Sakura, civilian and shinobi of Konohagakure.
Time passed and she spirited away a child here and there, for not all of them heeded their parent's careful warnings. There were only a few children who evaded her because they were smart and ran back into the protective veil that was the village and that damn nine-tailed monster! He ruined her festivities, and she couldn't get near him as his powers scared her kind away.
She had gotten her initial revenge on the specific man who ruined her and left her to die, but she then cursed his clan until they all were dead and extinct, but she never thought they might find a way to keep her at bay… her master once told her that a way around it would be to take a physical form so that the nine tails chakra wouldn't affect her anymore, but she did not want to possess a physical body because it would be permanent. She needed someone who could meet her high standards.
She bided her never-ending time as usual.
On the other end of the forest, an unsuspecting girl with bright pink hair and jade-coloured eyes was running away from her latest tormentors as they yelled poor insults her way. Sakura was sensitive about her unique looks and took their comments to heart.
Some girls weren't as vicious, but while Sakura thought she was pretty, she was told otherwise. The only few that agreed with her were her friend Ino, the weird fox boy Naruto, and the quiet Hinata, the heiress to the Hyuuga clan.
The insults quieted once more as Sakura managed to get far enough away that she lost her bullies. Now, the only problem was finding the way out… she had gone too far into the bush and was now lost…
She began to worry when the breeze picked up.
Walking a few paces ahead in the direction where fewer trees were, she began to hear the steady rhyme of a drum and it piqued her interest. Forgetting how lost she had become, she followed the sound further into the woods.
The sounds led her to a steady flowing river. She peeked at her reflection and frowned at herself, still feeling down about how no one liked her much.
Suddenly, a shadow popped out of the river and grabbed her. Sakura screamed as shrill as possible before fighting against her captor.
Nearby, Itachi was practicing his shuriken jutsu technique, wanting to try something new today. As he jumped into the air, he heard the distant shrill of what sounded like a girl. Quickly forgetting his tools, he left to investigate the disturbance.
There was a girl who looked like she was drowning in the river and Itachi, without a second thought, jumped into the rushing water and grabbed onto her, pulling her small frame to shore.
As he wrapped his arm around her middle, he saw a flicker of copper orange hair and misty silver eyes that glared at him before disappearing.
Sakura coughed up water before struggling to breathe again. Itachi waited until she could speak.
"You are far away from home, little one. Let me guide you back to the gates," he told her before grasping her hand and leading her back toward the village's entrance.
"Thank you for rescuing me," Sakura managed before letting him lead her.
Deciding not to reveal himself to the other shinobi, guarding the entrance to the village. Itachi disappeared back into the forest once more as the girl jogged over to them.
Their mother had warned Sasuke when he was four or five years old not to wander away from the village's natural boundaries. She especially warned him not to go outside the gates of the village by himself and to be wary of foxes and strange occurrences. Unlike Itachi, Sasuke was more adventurous and willing to break the rules, probably because he felt safe that Itachi would look out for him. Of course, he would, but the problem was that he couldn't be around 24/7.
Itachi was anxious after rescuing that girl in the woods from the rumoured kitsune. He had been lucky enough to have heard her cry out, for if he hadn't, she would have disappeared and never returned.
Sasuke was very set in his ways and was always trying to find new ways to impress Itachi with his new shuriken tricks or how fast his hand seals were getting.
On the evening Itachi returned from rescuing Sakura, he headed straight for Sasuke's chakra signature which was outside the village gates, closer to a smaller forested area where there was a manmade lake. The area was deserted, as the Nara clan had been given permission by the Second Hokage to expand their wildlife reserve. Others like the Hyuuga thought that smaller clans were given too much favouritism, and eventually, the area was abandoned.
"Sasuke!" Itachi bellowed as he clawed through the thicket of foliage.
Sasuke shivered at his tone and quickly turned towards Itachi's call.
Unbeknownst to them, the Kitsune was nearby, looking for another child who had wandered too far from the village.
Itachi sensed the Kitsune's presence and threw some explosive tags behind Sasuke, who looked scared and jumped out of the way as she appeared from the water's still form.
The explosion did nothing to her physically, but she grinned at the brothers before sinking back into the depths.
Not wanting to provoke her further, Itachi threw Sasuke's frozen form onto his back and told him to hold on tightly before hopping away towards the village.
Once safely on the inside, and on the country roads towards the Uchiha district, Itachi placed him down.
"Mother has warned you about her," he stated sternly.
"I… didn't think she actually existed…." Sasuke stumbled.
"The jinchuriki protects us with its presence, but there's only so much range it can cover… there's nothing to protect you out there… Unless you are ready to fight to the death like a true ninja?" Itachi asked.
"No… but I will be… I'll graduate as fast as you, brother!" Sasuke declared.
Itachi didn't reply but felt better now that Sasuke would heed the warning.
Naruto, now seven years old, was still protected by his status of being the 4th Hokage's son, but he has heard the whispers behind his back. They said that he had a monster inside of him, and it was a disgrace that the Hokage had to take care of him. There were more whispers surrounding the origins of his birth, but he tried not to listen to those ones; he had heard the actual story from his father.
Ever since he was little, he was told how much the Uchiha appreciated his protection, and that he would marry one of their finest ladies one day. The tradition had started with an Uzumaki elder since the time of the First Hokage. Uchiha Madara's best friend, Senju Harashima, had married a lady by the name of Mito, and she had been the first jinchuriki of the village. They learned then that the nine tails beast kept the paranormal at bay as long as everyone stayed within proximity of the beast.
The Uchiha clan had been cursed by a fox for a crime committed by one of its members… The Hokage's brother raped and murdered a young girl after a messy battle that burned down a small village on the border of sand, an unfortunate casualty of wartime…
After that man had been brutally murdered, more Uchiha children went missing. Once the jinchuriki came to the village, though, the kitsune couldn't get close, and the children stopped disappearing.
Naruto first encountered her when he was three and wandering outside the boundary of the village. He had played with some children, but they all left him alone, claiming it was too dangerous outside the gates. Naruto had wanted to see what was so bad about the area. He heard the kitsune before he came across her; she liked drums. Upon seeing him and sensing the beast inside, she hissed angrily at him before fleeing. This insulted him at first, but as he got older, he learned to ignore her bitter moods.
Minato had warned him of the dangers of being outside the village walls, but he also knew that Naruto would be fine. Instead, he warned his son of the other possible dangers of going outside the village gates, like enemy spies, poisonous flora, and other wildlife.
Naruto kicked some rocks before slowly heading south towards his secret treehouse. He didn't like all the rumours and people constantly pointing at him, worse if they kissed up to him because he was one of the Hokage's children… status only wasn't going to aid him as he continued to grow.
Naruto couldn't imagine how his life would have shaped up to be without his dad. Would he have been more resentful if no one had told him he was a vessel for an ancient beast that was around before any records were written about it? Perhaps?
From the time he started walking and talking, Minato had kept him close and confided in him. Let him know that it was going to be scarier as he got older, but that when he felt alone, he reminded Naruto that he had at least one person always on his side, regardless of what happened. Naruto felt more at ease with those reminders in comparison to his other parent, who always felt like a stranger.
Once he turned 5, he was allowed to have supervised visits with his mother… Uchiha Kushina… His father had explained that they had been in love at one point, but then she was chosen as the next jinchuriki and forcefully engaged to an Uchiha of the clan's choosing.
Naruto felt like it was wrong to force two people apart who cared for each other, and in turn, he lost the chance of having a real mother because his father never loved anyone else.
He could tell from his mother's expressions she was holding back, but the visits themselves felt fake and forced. Her husband, Shiro-san was always present, and he was super polite and always thanked him for his protection over his clan... She had twins that were a few years younger than him, but they were not allowed to be around him without an Uchiha present and like his mother, it was a forced relationship. He was angry growing up and sad that he didn't have a mother… He loved his dad of course, but there was always some maternal piece missing from both of their lives.
Shuffling from the bushes below, his thoughts quieted when a girl with pink hair popped out of the bush, anxiously looking behind her… it was Sakura-chan from the academy, the girl he liked.
Naruto got up slowly before looking in the direction she had come from and saw a group of kids trudging behind her. He quickly guessed that they were after her in a non-friendly way and threw down the rope ladder as she began to pass the tree.
"Hey! Quickly up here, they aren't far behind!" he told her urgently but loud enough for her to hear.
Sakura squeaked and trembled as she saw the rope appear in front of her, but she heeded his warning and scrambled up the makeshift ladder before they pulled it back into the tree as the gang of kids caught up.
Looking around, the kids muttered to each other to search the nearby meadow, she was probably on the run by now… they jogged away, never having looked up.
Naruto and Sakura waited for the sounds of their steps to disappear. Naruto handed her a wool blanket and sat across from her.
"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto…. Yes, I'm the 4th Hokage's son, no, I'm not a snob. I've been asked by everyone," he said, knowing she probably recognized his blonde locks and blue eyes.
Mouth open to respond, Sakura paused and thought for a moment.
"I'm Haruno Sakura, thank you for helping me… I should go, they might come back…" she said, getting up again.
"Why are they after you?" he decided to ask.
"They think I look like a monster…" she whispered, pointing to her facial features.
Naruto took a second look at her features and shivered slightly when he saw the great resemblance to that particular lady.
"Sakura-chan, have you ever heard drums in the woods?" he ventured.
Her eyes widened in recognition and sat back down, as Naruto told her a true ghost story and why people may have mistaken her for a sign of bad luck. To him, though, she was the most beautiful girl he'd set eyes on, to which she blushed in response.
A/N: This chapter has been edited and looked over :) I got a BETA everyone 3 thanks so much to cherryberry12 for the help and for looking over all of my bad grammar. Truly thankful to have someone to work with :) (be sure to check out her fanfiction too) Also I'd like to point out that I have completely gone off into another dimension of Naruto before anyone gets a bit miffed with things I've changed from canon. From my note back in the first chapter, we are currently in the "present" timeline. As always please feel free to leave a like, follow, kudos, favourite, and comment or review on whichever platform you are reading on :) I don't always reply or add additional comments but I see all of them and thank you all for coming along on my journey.