STOP! I rewrote the last part of the last chapter. You have to go back and read it!

For those of you that have, wasn't it much better? Advice: don't write a chapter late at night and rush it. It'll end up like the second half of the last one (SUCKY).

I'm sorry for the unprofessionalism in this act, but I'd rather write a good story with a few goofs than be proud and unwilling to fix my mistakes. (Bows deeply) Please forgive me.

I'm also trying a bit of a new style with this. The italics are Kyuubi speaking in a narrative position. Things that aren't bolded are regular scenes, told from third person. Himiko is mine, btw. My invention.

Chapter 15

As you know, I met your father just about thirty-five years ago. He saved me from a bunch of stupid villagers. I stayed with him and his grandfather, Akihito, for five years in the form of a regular red fox with one tail, though they both knew the truth about me.

When your father became a Chuunin, I transformed from my one-tailed disguise to a human, and took the name of Hideharu. I kept an eye on him and helped him train as your great-grandfather became weaker with age. With my help, he created the Hiraishin from his bloodline. The jutsu is commonly mistaken for a simple speed enhancement, but it is in fact a manipulation of space and time. Your clan, the Namikazes, invented the first space/time ninjutsus.

I was covering another member of your team when we met your mother. She was a loud, annoying little girl back then. I'm pretty sure she bugged the hell out of Jiraiya during those days, and that impression lasted longer than any other of her. She returned to her village after a year, but war broke out four years later. She was sixteen then; Minato was nineteen. The war was hard, brutal. Kushina came back out of the mountains and made a name for herself fighting Rock and Lightning. I was already Jounin level, though the Old Man didn't know who I was. When Minato and later Kushina made Jounin, we were eventually put on a team together. It was one of our first missions together. We were assigned to go into Lightning and investigate a secret base that was being used as a laboratory.

"The place is locked up like Tsunade's liquor cabinet," Kushina whined, glaring at the schematics.

Hideharu chuckled and put his hands behind his head. "Well, we just need to sneak someone in."

"Right, that's so helpful," she snapped, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. "We'd need someone who could be interesting enough to get their attention so they didn't just kill them right off the bat. Then we'd need some signal so that he or she could send for help before being too hurt by the experiments. And then, they'd need some way to get in to save that person. Any ideas?"

Hideharu pursed his lips. "Aw, why do I always have to be the one to come up with ideas? Can't you two contribute every once in a while?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kushina demanded.

"Well, at least Minato's useful in fighting," Hideharu shot back, a smirk spreading on his lips. "What have you done so far? You can't even cook!"

With a cry of rage, Kushina launched herself at the other redhead, snarling things about ungrateful chauvinist pigs and arrogant, self-righteous jackasses. The two of them rolled across the uneven terrain, throwing bar fight style punches and pulling each other's hair. Minato ignored his two friends, carefully studying the schematics of the facility and the surrounding area. He reached into his hip pack and pulled out a kunai. It wasn't any ordinary kunai, though. He had it special made a few months ago, and had been working on the seal on it ever since.

Kushina kneed Hideharu in the balls and stumbled back, snickering as he moaned on the ground.

"I have an answer," Minato called. He was still standing over by the campfire, dangling one odd kunai in his hand.

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?" Kushina demanded.

"This." He hurled the weapon at her and it flew true, passing inches in front of the woman's face. Her eyes widened and she threw herself back. Before she could hit the ground, Minato was in front of her, left arm around her waist to keep her from falling. His right hand shot out and grabbed the kunai. Speechless, Kushina stared up at him.

"Hot damn!" Hideharu howled. "You did it!"

Minato grinned as he stood up, pulling Kushina up with him. "And that's how we'll get in."

"Wait . . . I don't understand," Kushina said, staring up at him. "What did you do? How did you get over here so fast?"

Minato showed her the kunai. "It's a space/time jutsu I created. I can transport myself to this seal anytime I choose. It doesn't matter what's in the way, or what I have to go through."

"So, Hideharu or I will get captured and take one of your kunais—"

Hideharu shook his head. "No, no weapons. Can you put the seal on skin, Minato?"

Minato frowned deeply, considering. "I'd have to modify it a little bit, but yeah."

"When can you have it ready?" Kushina asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Minato answered. "You two figure out who will be the bait."

Kushina and Hideharu looked at each other. Kushina folded her arms and stared to the left of his ear. "Well, I suppose I should be the bait."

Hideharu raised an eyebrow and picked under one of his nails. "And why's that?"

"You're a strong ninja, I'm not going to lie, but there's nothing in you that any scientists would want. Nothing . . . special," Kushina answered.

Hideharu, also known as Kyuubi, bit down on his tongue to keep from rejecting her idea. "Oh, really. And what do you have?"

"Areah Broah," she answered. "It's something unique to the Churaeah tribe in the mountains. It can be used as chakra, but it has many other purposes as well. It's also a heck of a lot more powerful when used in jutsus."

"You know what would happen to you?" Hideharu asked, lowering his hands and looking her straight in the eye. "Do you know what happens in that place?"

Kushina nodded. "You are warning me because I may have to go through hours or perhaps a couple days of pain. There are people in there who have had to deal with it for months. What kind of person would I be if I couldn't handle that to save them?"

"So, the little firebrand has a heart as well?" Hideharu teased. "I didn't think your temper allowed room for it."

"Go jerk yourself off, Hideharu," she sneered.

The night passed uneventfully. Minato stayed up working on his seal so that Kushina could activate it just by pumping chakra into it. She rested and meditated to prepare for the infiltration and Hideharu kept watch all night long.

"Alright, Blondie," Kushina chirped the next morning. "Where do you want to stick this seal?"

Minato raised his head and smiled at her. "It's a pretty big seal. The yellow paper on my kunais is actually folded and wrapped around it several times. I haven't managed to make it smaller yet, so somewhere with a lot of room."

"Like, my back or my stomach?" Kushina asked, raising her eyebrows.

Minato scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Either would work. Whatever's most comfortable for you."

Kushina grinned. "Okay. I guess my back will work, but I'll have to take off my bandages."

"What bandages?" Minato wondered. "You weren't hurt recently were you?"

"Nope." Kushina pulled her top off to reveal white bandages wrapped around her chest. "These bandages."

She suppressed a smirk as his eyes got really, really wide. His mouth opened and closed several times and Kushina started to pull them off. The more white bandages came off, the higher the blush crept up his face. It started just above his collar and was up to his cheeks by the time he managed to tear his eyes away. Kushina rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in her arms to keep from snickering. "I'm ready when you are."

After a few moments, Minato composed himself and picked up the ink brush. He carefully began to draw the seal on her back. "Don't squirm," he warned her. "We can't afford to mess this up."

"But it tickles," she complained, trying to hold herself still.

"Just don't move," he ordered. Kushina closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, keeping it as smooth and even as possible. After a while, and a lot of cold brush strokes, he finally set the brush down.

"The only thing left to do is to activate it," he announced. "I have to put chakra into it so that it will work. It might hurt, but I don't know. I've never done this before."

Kushina nodded. "Do it."

Minato placed his hands on her back, on the driest part of the seal. He pumped chakra into it and it glowed bright white for a minute. Kushina hissed as she felt the seal connect with her chakra system. After a moment, the seal disappeared into her skin.

"You should be good now."

Kushina sat up and Minato immediately averted his eyes. She laughed. "Why are you so shy?"

Before he could come up with sensible words, Kushina continued. "Come on, Minato. You've seen it. I know you and Hideharu spy on the bathhouses."

Busted! Minato grimaced. "Look, I told Hideharu—"

Kushina laughed again and pulled her top back on. "Relax, Minato! I make sure to never go to the bathhouse when he's around," she said, grinning. "Only you."

She walked off to get ready for her mission. Hideharu threw himself down next to Minato, howling with laughter.

"Shut up!" Minato hissed.

Hideharu ignored him and continued to laugh and attempt to taunt him between gasps. Angered, Minato tackled Hideharu and rubbed his nose in the dirt until Kushina yelled at them to get up and start the mission.

Kushina raised her head. She had made it into the facility with no problem. A couple of Areah Broah jutsus and they had picked her up like a slut in a bar. The ninjas had knocked her out and taken her back. When she'd woken up, she was strapped down to a table. After a time—she wasn't sure how long—they had thrown her into a cell. Kushina pushed the thoughts out of her head and gathered her chakra, pushing it into the seal on her back.

Not a second later, Minato and Hideharu appeared in her cell. Minato and Kushina started to free the prisoners in the wing they were in, while Hideharu ran to the high-security wing. He knew time was pressed—they would have detected the intrusion and the open cells. Guards would be coming. He was nothing but a red blur as his demonic chakra enhanced his movements.

He killed all the guards easily and slashed the locks on the gates, shouting for everyone to get out. Most of the prisoners immediately ran in the opposite direction, terrified, but one—the woman in the last cell—stared up at him, golden eyes wide, taking in his red cloak of chakra.

"Kyuubi-sama."

We took the prisoners and the research back to Konoha. Tsunade was leading the team to rehabilitate and heal them, and we gave Orochimaru the research on the people, so he could figure out what he had done to them.

Minato and Kushina started dating about a year later, when she turned twenty. He absolutely refused to even consider it before then, but I did catch him near the bathhouse a few times.

The woman in the last cell's name was Himiko. That's what she told Minato and Kushina during the report. We'll call her that for this story.

As it turned out, she was a kitsune as well. Golden fur, six tails. In her true form, she was magnificent. The scientists had captured her months before and she had been trapped there ever since. I volunteered to help her heal, because we were both demons. There are aspects of a demon's mind, body and spirit that humans have no knowledge of. She needed one of her kind to properly heal.

Time passed. Kushina and Minato grew closer, as did I and Himiko. Less than a year later, she had almost completely healed.

"It's your last therapy session, Himiko," Tsunade said, a wide smile spreading on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, Tsunade-sama," she answered with a responding smile. "My limp is almost gone and I can make it up to the seventh floor of—never mind."

Tsunade grinned at Hideharu's satisfied smirk. "So, you live on the seventh floor, Hideharu?"

Himiko's face reddened as Hideharu nodded and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Indeed I do."

"Alright," Tsunade said, barely resisting the urge to tease the poor woman into an embarrassment coma. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

The trio made their way to the pool and ran their way through the exercises. After a solid hour and a half of water calisthenics, and some 'synchronized swimming' between Hideharu and Himiko, they finally only had one thing left.

"Are you sure about this, Himiko?" Tsunade asked.

The small blonde woman nodded. "Yes. I can make it this time. I swore I would make it the entire length before the end of our sessions. This is the last one, so I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Just swim to me, babeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Hideharu called, sitting at the far length of the pool.

Himiko laughed as the other occupants of the room threw him dirty glares. "Alright! You better be ready for me!"

"I'm always ready for you!"

Tsunade and Himiko dissolved into fits of giggles as Hideharu rocked back on his heels with a big grin on his face. After getting herself under control, Himiko pushed off the wall and started swimming to the other end of the pool—and Hideharu.

"Just swim down here and get your reward, Himiko!" he shouted. "And you'll get another one when we get home!"

Tsunade laughed as Himiko desperately tried to control hers during the swim. Finally, she made it to the other end and grabbed onto the edge of the pool, gasping for breath. "Kami, my legs hurt," she gasped.

"How 'bout your lips?" Hideharu demanded, leaning down.

Himiko grinned. "They're fine, why?"

Hideharu grabbed her by the elbows and hauled her out of the pool, drawing her into his lap and pressing his lips to hers. Himiko wrapped her tired arms around his neck and melted into him. Tsunade made some marks on her clipboard, indicating Himiko's therapy was done and walked out of the room, leaving the two to the catcalls and shouts to get a room.

They did, specifically, Hideharu's room.

She curled up next to him later that night, happy and relaxed.

"Kyuubi," Himiko whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Can we leave Konoha?" she asked. "At least for a little while."

Kyuubi opened his eyes and looked down at her. "Why? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, nuzzling into his chest at the same time. "No, nothing's wrong. It's a wonderful place, but . . ."

"But what, baby?" he asked. Kyuubi shifted and tilted her chin up to look her in the eyes. "What is it?"

Himiko sighed and traced her finger over his abs. "Well, sex as a human is fine, but I want to mate with you. As foxes."

Kyuubi was silent as he contemplated her request. It was true, living in a human village was very constricting as to what they could do.

"No," he murmured after a while. "I don't want to mate with you."

"What?" she demanded, propping herself up on an elbow. "Why? What is wrong?"

Kyuubi smiled gently and kissed her. "I don't want to mate with you. I want to be your mate."

Himiko gasped as the implications of her lover's statement. He kissed her again and grinned. "Say yes. Come on, say yes. You want to."

She said yes and we left Konoha a month later. Himiko and I moved to the least inhabited part of the Fire Country. We were mates, which is a concept that humans have difficulty understanding. The closest thing you have is 'true love' or its legal and religious equivalent, 'marriage.'

Six months went by—some of the happiest of my life. Himiko was sweet, gentle, the opposite of me in almost every way. It was scary, how protective I was of her. She would often say that I was an obsessed idiot, but she would always kiss me after.

It was April of the year before you were born. Himiko discovered that she was pregnant. We were going to have a litter. I wanted to go to Konoha, to celebrate, but it was too dangerous to leave her in the early months of her pregnancy.

As her time neared, other members of her family came in. Six-tailed foxes are funny that way—they only gather as a clan when a major event is to occur.

She gave birth in mid February, a litter of five. Three males, two females.

You have no idea, kit. No idea how precious it is to see your mate and kits, to hold them in your arms. After so many years, I had thought there was nothing new, nothing left that I could see or be amazed by, but I was wrong. I never dreamed I would be so enthralled to just watch them sleep. I called Minato, told him to come to the nearest town.

As it turned out, he had some news of his own.

"Kushina's pregnant."

"No shit!"

Minato nodded and knocked back another shot. "Yeah. She tried to castrate me when I brought her flowers."

Kyuubi laughed. "The smell probably made her sick. Did she succeed?"

"No," he answered.

Kyuubi shook his head and laughed, downing more sake. "I tell you what, Minato—"

"I'm scared."

"Eh? Don't interrupt me with that! Of course you are!"

"Were you?"

Kyuubi nodded vigorously. "Hell, yeah! It gets even scarier when you're actually holding them. Wait, are you having one or more?"

Minato's eyes widened. "One, as far as I know."

"Yeah, try having five at once," Kyuubi muttered. "I haven't slept properly in a month."

"Kami! What if I mess up? What if I do something wrong? What if my kids grow up hating me?"

Kyuubi put down the bottle and turned to his friend. "Look, if you love them, and do what's best for them, they might be angry at you for a while, but eventually, they'll understand."

Minato nodded and took another drink. "Damn. I'm gonna screw this up so bad. Listen, if something were to happen to me, look after the baby and Kushina. Make sure they're safe and together."

"I will."

That was the last time I had a real, civilized conversation with Minato.

It was May. My kits were three months old, and your mother was right around four with you. The litter was just learning to walk.

They couldn't run yet.

Two figures with immense chakras came to our home. I recognized one immediately, but the other took a while longer. I was about to transform into a human to greet Orochimaru and his friend when the other threw back his hood.

All Madara had to do was put his hand on me, and I was helpless.

The kits were too small, too defenseless, and the birth had been hard on Himiko. She was strong, but her time with the scientists had left her with a permanent limp.

The only chance they had was me.

I hate the Sharingan.

Naruto shivered. It was the same feeling as before, when Kyuubi had first been released in the gods' chamber. Raging grief, anger, helplessness, self-loathing.

You don't have to continue, he whispered to the demon.

"No, I do."

The snake bastard puked up a sword. Himiko tried to hold him back, but she knew it was useless. Even if she gave the kits a chance, they couldn't run.

They couldn't run.

One tried to fight back after she had fallen. He was the bravest, stupidest. He was the bright, happy one of the group. He always kept the others laughing, even if he was greedy with her milk.

You remind me of him sometimes.

When the scent of my family's blood was in my nostrils and their corpses were before me, Madara put me under the genjutsu.

It enhanced my emotions at the time—made me a raving monster. The genjutsu also wiped my memories of the last fifty years. I didn't know Minato, Kushina, my mate or kits. All I knew was the thirst for blood. The final element of the genjutsu directed me to Konoha.

At the time of the slaughter, I was the size of a horse. I knew that to attack, to devastate Konoha and get my revenge, I would need a much larger form.

It took months. Five months, to be exact. I converted my incredible chakra to matter, little bit by little bit. Your father came to visit me, just once.

"I'm sorry for what I have to do, but it's the only way. I can't kill you. I don't know what's wrong with you, but something is. I can't kill you or let the villagers kill you. It's taken me awhile to find this—well, actually, Orochimaru did, but it's the only thing I can think of. I'm sealing you inside a baby when you attack."

"My baby, actually."

"I wish . . . I wish there was some other way. I wish I could seal you in another baby. I wish I could just break you free from this genjutsu. I wish . . ."

"I wish I could see him grow up."

"I'll die with this jutsu. It requires the soul and life of the user. I won't get to see my son grow up. His first steps, his first words, his first day at the Academy, his graduation, his first date. And all the moments in between."

"If there is anything left of the Kyuubi I knew, the one who is my son's godfather, look out for him. He'll need you."

"You must know . . . there is another reason I'm sealing you into him. I've discovered . . . something. Something is rotten in Konoha, and it will come to a head some time in Naruto's life. If I'm right, he is the only one who will have any chance to combat it. I'm giving him you. The seal will mix your chakras, give him incredible power and stamina. That, combined with his Areah Broah, will give him the power boost he'll need if he chooses to fight."

"I must go now. There are still a few things I need to figure out on the seal, but remember, old friend . . ."

"This is for you and him. Forgive me."

On October tenth, I attacked Konoha. The place I had called home. I killed men and women I had fought beside. I destroyed the forest I had trained and lived in.

Madara's genjutsu wasn't quite strong enough, though.

The resistance was strong, but I could have crushed it in moments.

Some part of me had understood Minato's words and I held back. I held out, waiting for him.

The old frog, Gamabunta, appeared before me. I assaulted him, coming within feet of Minato. He didn't flinch, he didn't waver.

He did hesitate.

"Goodbye, old friend."

He uttered a battle cry, loud and long. The shinobi beneath him cheered, thinking their brave and courageous leader would save them and heal them from this terrible attack.

He managed the first.

There was light, pure white light. I saw the Shinigami, its hand through Minato's torso. He shuddered and his eyes rolled back in his head.

The next thing I knew, Sarutobi was looking down at me.

"Well, well, little one. What are we going to do with you?"

What happened then, Kyuubi? Naruto asked.

"That's a story for another time, kit," the fox answered. "Besides, your humans are worried about you."

Naruto blinked and raised his eyes, staring at the four adults in the room. He knew that he had to tell the entire story. With a huge sigh and a heavy heart, he began to speak.

"Kyuubi was once a ninja of Konoha. His name was Hideharu."

--

Okay, I looked up the definition of cliffhanger. "A suspenseful situation at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode" according to dictionary com.

This chapter does not end in a cliff hanger!

Naruto is going to tell them the story. No one is in danger, there's no "I have a secret" moments. Now, obviously I didn't resolve everything, but if I did it would be the remainder of the story and probably too long to actually post. There was plot progression, there were answers and there are still some questions.

CHILLAX.

Oh, and don't expect this to be over soon. After we find Kushina and figure out the whole story, we still must deal with Akatsuki and the Orochimaru/Kabuto nemesis. It'll be a while, possibly another fic. I mentioned a Part 3 in the early chapters of this.

Yes, there was a bit of Kyuubi fluff, but it wasn't too bad. Hard-core fluff makes me gag most of the time and I was okay reading it.

I'm not sure what Minato discovered--waiting on Kishimoto-sensei to reveal that, but if he doesn't in time, I'll make something up. :P I also have answers to all of your questions, but I can't tell you because it would be giving away the plot. Sorry!

I also wasn't too good with responding to reviews the past couple of weeks (not that I've ever been stellar) but I'll try to fix that.