Author Notes:
(1) This story is based of the one-shot Pilot Manga, and the information about Kitsune that I use is based off of
the White Wolf role-playing series Werewolf: The Apocalypse. As this is a fanfic, I will be taking heavy
liberties in altering both those worlds as I see fit.
(2) I will be re-writing certain parts of the main Naruto storyline as I see fit, if only I can see if I can do it will.
Such chapters like the Chuunin exam, will be labeled as such, so if you're sick of personalized versions of
those scenes and don't wish to read them, you won't have to.
(3) Copies of the Pilot Manga can be obtained from Please click their Sponsor
Link to give them a little bit of money. Come on folks, it should only take a few seconds, and it doesn't
cost you anything. Now, onward to the story.
A Demon's Kindness
By: CrystalinElf
Chapter 2: Chosen Path Part 1
"He has nine tails."
The woman who now sat before the Hokage was staring at the young kit, which now resided on the Hokage's
desk. He was currently sleeping through this 'interview' with the young-old woman, oblivious to the
incredulity in the woman's voice.
"I know, Mirra-san. He is a nine-tails child, after all." Sarutobi was fishing for information as best he could, as
he studied the lovely woman, who had just appeared, in his office a few minutes earlier.
Mirra looked no more than 22 years of age, but he knew that when dealing with her kind, the apparent age
was vary rarely the real age. Cascading silver hair made her look old, if you viewed her from the back, as
did the knowledge that seemed to shine from her light green eyes. Her elaborate silk kimono spoke of
wealth and position…
Anyway, her face was definitely young looking. He didn't believe she was using jutsu to look young, the some
of the people he knew did, but there was a definite aura of power to her. She confused him, and he was
trying with all his years of practice to hide that fact. But why would she be surprised to find a nine-tails
child with… well, nine tails?
Mirra looked up sharply at the comment, and studied him for a moment. "Silly monkeys, forgetting everything
you should know about us…"
She redirected her gaze back to the sleeping kit, and decided that her interests would probably be best served
by explaining things a bit. "Our kind are never born with more than one tail, Hokage-san. We earn extra
tails as we grow older, and are a physical symbol of our power. In all our history, only one person has
earned nine tails. And yet you tell me, his father had nine, and now he has nine… a child who has yet to
awaken to his powers, much less serve our people."
She shook her head again with a soft sigh. "I suppose you could consider this equivalent to an infant of your
Hyuga, or Uchiha, awaking the full power of his or her advanced bloodline ability without any training or
preparation. Such a thing is unheard of, yes?"
At Sarutobi's nod, she continued, "He has no training in our ways, or in his innate abilities. And I do have
another problem on my hands, since you promised to raise him in your village."
Mirra fell silent again, sorting through her current options. She smiled mischievously, then stood, and reached
forward and picked up the kit. "At the moment, I'll content myself by taking him away for a little while,
and performing a couple of ceremonies that are common to my people."
Then, as suddenly as Mirra had appeared, she was gone again, and had taken the kit with her. Sarutobi sighed,
then reached up and massaged as he wondered how much time would pass before Mirra returned.
And how she expected him to properly train the kit after she brought him back.
= = = =
"He's not going to recognize you, little one," she said, addressing the kit sitting before her, as she laid four
bowls around him - left, right, before, and behind.
"Bow to your Imperial Mother."
He pressed his face to the soil.
"Bow to your noble Aunt."
He stood and honored the Moon.
"Four bowls. Your life rests at the bottom of one. Choose."
He looked at each in turn. He saw the lightning; he saw the clouds. He saw the river bottom; he saw the fires
of the earth. Then he noticed; at his feet lay a fifth black bowl, one this odd woman had not set before him
- full of silver liquid, and he reached for it.
Interesting, she thought as she watched the silver cover the boy's paws, I've never seen a fifth bowl
appear on its own during the Rite of the Crossroads… perhaps leaving him in the care of these humans
isn't such a bad idea after all. He did pick up shape shifting into a human rather quickly.
She reached forward, placing a hand on top of his head. "So little one, what should I call you? Had your father
named you yet?"
Solemn blue eyes looked up into her green ones, as though he was measuring her.
"Naruto," he replied after a few moments of consideration.
Mirra nodded, accepting the answer, then handed him a small backpack. "Alright then Naruto, here. Inside are
books and scrolls, covering Kitsune history, magic, and techniques. If you want that knowledge, learn to read."
The she grinned. "You're expected to learn the contents. Once a year at least, sometimes more, someone will
come by to test your knowledge, and give you knew books. Try not to cause too much mischief, alright?
The Mother has decided that you're to stay with the humans, and I'm eager to learn why."
He nodded again, continuing to be a sober little child, unsure of how else he could answer.
She seemed to accept his quiet as normal, and put the bowls away before taking his hand. "Come now, let's
go visit the Hokage once more. He seems to be a decently aware human."
And so they went.
= = = =
She would have been surprised to learn that he could already read, though he kept that information to himself.
He wasn't sure how he had learned, after all, but the words in the books she had given to him were, for
the most part, understandable; provided he was patient and worked his way through the difficult words.
He felt warm as he flipped slowly through the first book, (something about Kitsune rules he was to
follow), almost as though someone had wrapped warm arms around him.
Or like being snuggled up against his mother. He missed the warm being that had taken care of him for (to him)
a very long time, just as he missed the father that had taken him and taught him how to hunt. And now
those lessons, while not useless, were currently unnecessary. He was a kit, and humans didn't let their kits
hunt unless they had no other choice.
He wondered what games the kits here would play, if they were all as mean as the ones who had attacked his
litter-mates. He wondered if the adults would tolerate them, though he had already been told that only
Hokage would know that he was Kitsune, unless Naruto himself chose to tell someone.
And then, he wondered if he was wondering too much.
He wouldn't admit to his insecurities, of course. Even someone as young as he was knew better than to do
that. Instead, he focused on trying to understand the complicated words of the books Mirra had left with
him, while the adults who saw him thought his efforts were 'cute'.
The old man who was called the Hokage was currently insisting that Naruto share his family's den, until he was
'old enough' to take care of a den of his own. He understood this to mean, until he could see if a family
would take the kit in, and possibly train him in the ways of these humans.
Two years had already passed since the first day he had met Mirra, and been 'awakened', and he was still no
closer to discovering why the Emerald Mother wanted him to live among the humans. He found them
interesting of course, and was itching to pull some pranks, but he behaved, understanding that such
behavior would be considerably odd.
To the outward world of humans, he only appeared to be a two-year old toddler.
So he behaved, though he yearned to do otherwise. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could persuade the
Hokage to let him at least play in the grass, or enter a preschool for the human kits.
That would be nice, he thought, as he closed the book he had been reading and stretched. Surely I could
learn something from those kits. I bet they're being taught interesting games, or maybe even
some of this 'Shinobi' stuff Hokage keeps mentioning.
Then, he heard the soft steps of the Hokage, and eagerly. The old man would never have forgotten that he was
in the study alone, and from the slight vibrations he could tell the Hokage was bringing someone with him.
And from the strength of the vibrations, that someone was probably a child.
He stood quietly in place, to give a good impression to whoever this stranger was. Perhaps the Mother had
finally given him a chance to prove he could live on his own, or even better, perhaps she had sent him a
playmate…
Whichever.
With difficulty, he shoved down his rising expectations as the handle turned, and the door swung open. He
bowed to the Hokage, something he didn't do often, and tried peeking through his bangs to catch a
glimpse of the stranger, and found himself looking into the eyes of the strangest female human he'd ever seen.
She matched him in height, which didn't bother him in the least, and was clutching nervously to the Hokage's
robes. She hid behind the old man, occasionally peeking out from behind those robes to look at the kit.
Her eyes were an odd shade of white, and he would have almost called them very pale lavender. Her hair
complimented her eye color, and was a very, very dark shade of purple. She had pale skin, and was
wearing a dark peach kimono with leaves printed along the bottom.
She's kinda cute, for a human, he thought absently, as he wondered at her shyness.
- -
The hokage noted Naruto's scrutiny of the young girl with pleasure, though he was careful not to let that show.
He took his seat, allowing the girl to sit where she wanted, before making introductions.
He cleared his throat to catch the children's attention. "Naruto, this is Hyuga Hinata. Hinata, this boy is
Uzumaki Naruto. Stop trying to hide from him, he won't bite you."
"Hard," interjected said boy, with a bright grin, obviously please with being able to meet someone his own age
at long last. "Humans don't taste good, after all."
Hinata didn't relax at the boy's words, but managed to muster up a slight smile and stutter, "th.. then wh.. why
do mos.. mosquitoes like to bite us?"
Naruto's grin grew bigger at her attempt to talk with him, and replied, "Because its more work to bite an
animal. All that fur, you know."
"Oh," murmured the girl, blushing furiously as she turned her gaze to the ground. He's so different than the
other children I've met, she thought. He hasn't made fun of my eyes, and he doesn't seem to think
that I'm to good for him to play with.
She started stealing more glances of Naruto, who didn't mind in the least. He didn't expect her to feel the same
way about meeting him that he felt about meeting her. After all, she had probably met LOTS of other
children her own age.
He continued to smile in what he assumed was a friendly manner, and wondered if she could come back and
play with him. I wonder what games she knows?
- -
Sarutobi cleared his throat, catching the children's attention once more. "Hinata, one of your cousins will be
here soon to take you home. Why don't you go wait outside in the lobby for him?"
The girl nodded, and quietly slipped out of the room. But she paused at the entrance, and cast a small smile
back a Naruto that seemed to say 'Let's be friends' before she fully exited. Naruto gave a small wave,
before his smile slipped away and he turned to face the hokage, head tipped to the side in curiosity.
"Naruto, Hinata's family is very large, and well respected in Konoha. The members of her family possess a
special ability, that only members of their family can use," Sarutobi revealed, watching the boys reaction
carefully.
"Doesn't matter," declared the kit; "Hinata is Hinata, and she seemed very nice."
Sarutobi chuckled softly, and nodded. "She probably is the nicest person in her family. Ah well, things always
turn out alright in the end."
He was quiet for a moment, before he stood. "Why don't you and I go out into the lobby and keep her
company while she waits for her cousin to arrive?"
"Ok!" Naruto bounded out of the room eagerly and waved to Hinata when she turned to look at him. "Ne
Hinata-chan, mind if I keep you company while you wait?"
The girl shook her head and smiled.
Sarutobi kept a discreet eye on the two, and the entire afternoon passed before Hinata's escort arrived.
That day, Naruto learned the human version of several of the games he had once played with his littermates.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
To Be Continued:
Well, I hope this chapter is ok for everyone, and not to confusing ^_^
Oh… I will be updating, probably once a week.
I heartily thank everyone for the wonderful reviews you gave me for chapter 1, and the nice suggestions that
came along with those comments. Please, critique this chapter for grammar and spelling, and feel free to
offer any ideas that you might like to see appear. While I won't promise to use them, if I do I will mention
the person who gave me the idea ^_^
And on a small side note, while I have no pairing in mind at this time, there will be no major yaoi pairings.
Again, thanks for reading!