character added, review or email in the next two weeks. Chapter 8 will be shorter than usual, and I'm
trying to take my time with chapter 9 to make things approprietly exciting. I've decided on a beta
reader, if she's still willing to put up with me.
A Demon's Kindness
By: CrystalinElf
Chapter 7: Preludes
The hall seemed eerily quiet as he made his way to his 'guest'. Had it not been for the faint sound his
excellent hearing picked up, and the various familiar scents in the air, he could have easily believed
that he was the only person in the Uchiha complex that day. Everyone was out at the moment,
attending to whatever errands or training were in their schedules.
He sniffed the air carefully and smiled. Itachi had been right - not that he had expected the older boy to
be wrong, precisely. Itachi was right about most things. Naruto had simply expected her to keep
her visit a secret, like she usually did - especially since she was a month late.
Still, he looked forward to seeing her.
He followed her 'scent' to find her, not in the least surprised in his ability to track her so easily. The
strange spicy scent currently in the air was something unique to Mirra, though he guessed the scent
might also be applicable identifier to others of his species, since his own scent seemed similar.
He made a mental note to ask her sometime.
Mirra's yearly visits were the only contact with his own people that he had, so he appreciated each and
every one of her visits. She brought to him little pieces of Kitsune life - tiny slivers of the life he
sometimes felt he should be living. He wanted to meet others of his kind; to run and play in the
forest with people who could understand the wonder of such acts the way he did, to get real help
with his small shape shifting abilities. He wanted to hear Kitsune gossip and learn Kitsune lore with
other young kits. He wanted lots of things he couldn't have, living in a human village.
Usually Naruto didn't mind the lack of other Kitsune to keep him company - he loved his family;
parents that would train him to be a good shinobi, an older brother than treated him as an equal, and
another brother that treated him as a beloved rival. He had Hinata to think about him, and in a
mere month he'd meet the Uchiha's that he'd yet been introduced to.
His life was good, and he had no reason to complain or want more, but -
No, he thought, shaking his head as he reached his rooms and slipped in quietly, no 'buts' Naruto. Be
grateful for what you have. You know how much worse your life could be, so stop dwelling
on it! Focus on Mirra-san.
He paused at the entrance of his room and listened carefully to pick up Sasuke's breathing. With only a
month until the interfamily competition he didn't want his brother to have a relapse of whatever had
made him ill. After a few moments of listening he determined that Sasuke's breathing was fine, and
that he was asleep.
With a slight nod to himself he slid open the door and entered his room. A swift glance told him
everything was where it should be, and had not been messed with in any way. Mirra hadn't played any
pranks on him - yet.
"Hello Mirra-san," he said, trying not to grin when he took a close look at the older Kitsune. She…
dyed her hair pink… and… black contacts? Hahaha! Wonder if she's trying to tell me
something.
Other than the change in hair and eye color, Mirra looked exactly the same as she had a year ago;
meaning she looked no older than twenty-two, and radiated power. The previous wealth she had
displayed wasn't in evidence, as she was currently dressed as one of the Leaf's Chuunin.
"Naruto-kun," she tilted her head in acknowledgement, then waved her hand. "Sit. I know I'm late, and
I haven't come to cover what you should have learned in your books this past year."
"You haven't?" How curious, he thought. She's never this direct.
She smiled at him and set a small satchel in front of her lap. "Indeed not. I've heard that you're to
participate in the Uchiha's interfamily competition. What you weren't told is that whichever boy under
the age of ten does best in the competition will have to marry your friend Hinata."
Her continued bluntness was surprising, to say the least. Kitsune were almost never blunt; they usually
found verbal sparing to be an interesting past time. Even if one of the Courts found the Uchiha's
competition to be of some importance, to drop tradition and be so forthcoming with information
was unusual.
Wait.
Whichever boy under ten did best would marry Hinata?
No! How could they do that to him! What is Sasuke or Itachi did better than him, or worse, one of the
visiting Uchiha children that he hadn't met with yet?
He almost said a much, before he noticed just how closely Mirra was watching him.
She nodded when she saw she had his attention again.
"Usually I would just test you on what you know, and leave you to your family's training schedule.
However, I know that you still have trouble hiding your tail when using henge jutsu. I'll be in town for a
month, to help you train. Not just your shinobi skills either, Naruto. If you want a chance at
winning, you'll have to master some of your Kitsune abilities."
She reached into the satchel and started pulling out various items; ink, brush, normal paper, origami
paper, needles, knives, more needles, and… was those poison bottles?
He was beginning to feel a bit uneasy - which she noticed.
"Stop worrying Naruto. The poison isn't for you to use." She smiled what he assumed was supposed to
be a reassuring smile before continuing.
"Your use of hedge type magic is pretty good, as evidenced by Sasuke's continued pink hair. For now,
I'm going to make sure you have down our people's general gifts down, and I'll also be teaching
you ju-fu. I'm sure you'll find it all quite useful in the competition."
She grinned slightly, mischief glittering in her eyes. "You are going to work very, very hard with me
here."
"I'm sure I can handle it," he replied eagerly. She had never stayed to teach him before, and he found
the prospect exciting.
How he loved to learn!
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Two weeks later he was regretting the eagerness he had displayed; being subjected to Mirra-san's form
of training was more tiring than he had expected.
Who knew origami could be so difficult?
For the past two weeks he had been woken an hour earlier than usual; he would sit in his room, making
countless little origami shapes until he had to go to school. After school he would have his usual
practice sessions with Itachi, provided his brother wasn't out on a mission, and then Mirra had him
doing more origami until dinner - unless his parents wanted to practice with him. Then he'd have
dinner, and after dinner he would practice the basic Kitsune gifts.
I didn't know I was so bad at them; then again, I've had no one to compare myself to. At least
she's being patient with me, even if she isn't taking things slowly.
This evening was slightly different from the usual - instead of doing origami in his room; he was sitting
next to Mirra in the center of a clearing, in the middle of the woods. The evening light was fading
quickly and would soon leave them sitting in moonlight.
He welcomed the change of scenery and the hinted upon change in lessons. He held the usual amount of
origami paper in his lap, and Mirra was carrying a small pot of ink and a brush.
He smiled to himself and for a moment he allowed himself to enjoy the sounds and smells that abounded
in this little clearing. He liked being able to hear the crickets and frogs so close by, the soft chirps
of birds as they settled themselves down to sleep.
He almost felt more at home here than he did in his room.
Mirra cleared her throat to catch his attention.
"Up till now I've simply had you making origami figures. Don't doubt, some ju-fu require only the
proper origami folding technique; I'll tell you which ones tomorrow. Tonight, we work on the ju-fu that
require ideograms to be painted onto the paper. These can be made in advance; some will activate
when you throw them, some when you spit on them, and some by speaking certain words."
She gave him a serious look before continuing. "You can cause a lot of mischief with this knowledge
Naruto, and you're being trusted not to cause to much. Now, let's start with the 'paper beast'
technique. Fold an origami animal or your choice."
He sighed, faintly disappointed, before starting.
= = = =
From her seat opposite the boy Mirra was forced to suppress a proud smile. Naruto was constantly
exceeding the expectations she held for the young Kitsune, surprising her first with his great thirst
for learning, and then again with his aptitude at learning new things.
Take origami folding for instance; he was deftly folding a small origami fox as though he had been doing
so for years, rather than a mere two weeks. He had soaked up the basic Kitsune gifts with an ease
that left her breathless, and quite certain that he'd be able to learn to use the abilities of all four
Paths, rather than being limited to any one.
He was able to take his kyuubi form with no trouble, and was equally proficient with his juko and koto
forms as he was with the hitogata. The only thing he had problem with so far was the sambuhenge
form, and hiding his tails.
All nine of them.
Mentally she shook her head; after knowing this kit for fives years, she still had trouble believing that he
had nine tails. She knew the sheer power the small boy possessed was part of the reason he
learned so easily, but he also had a keen intellect and dedication.
She was pleased that he was attending the Ninja Academy, even if he wasn't taking more than a couple
of classes. Deep down she worried what might happen if Naruto ever ran out of new things to
learn. The possibility that he could learn everything there was to learn in this village was quite tangible.
After that… would he leave to learn new things, or stay and just cause mischief here?
"Mirra-san, I'm done!"
Mirra jumped slightly as his call startled her out of her observations. He was holding the origami fox in
the palm of his outstretched hand, offering his creation to her for judgment.
She didn't take it. Instead, she simply smiled at Naruto. "Now, lay the origami animal next to you, and
spit on it."
When he just sat there staring at her, she laughed. "Trust me Naruto. I have yet to mislead you, put you
in danger, or lie to you about something I'm trying to teach you. Now, I won't promise not to do
any of those things in the future…"
"What!" Naruto exclaimed in outrage. "That is not-"
Smiling slight she continued speaking, despite Naruto's sudden outburst. "…But if or when I do, I shall
do so only to help you learn."
Mirra folded her hands delicately on her lap and studied Naruto's changing expressions. The boy was
really to open; he wore his heart on his sleeve, so to speak, every emotion he had plainly visible
upon his face.
"Oh." he said softly, five minutes after Mirra had stopped speaking. Then he laid the little origami fox
down beside him and spit on it like she had instructed.
= = = =
In the space of breath, the remaining evening light seemed to gather next to Naruto, encasing his little
origami fox in strands of pale orange and lavender light. Before he realized what had happened, a
life sized paper fox sat calmly beside him, head tilted at an angle as though it was watching him.
…Oh. That was… different.
He could feel… something, which connected him to the origami fox. After a moment he realized it was
connected to his chakra, and he felt a bit silly for not recognizing the fact right away.
"Very good, Naruto."
He jumped slightly and focused his attention on Mirra-san again. He felt a little disturbed when he saw
the paper fox turn to watch Mirra-san as well.
"Mirra-san, how do I make the fox go away? Or control it…" Naruto asked, as he tried to keep his
attention on his mentor.
"Any paper beast you make will disappear after so much time passes, or if you picture the beast
disappearing it will. But once the beast is gone, that's it; you'll have to create a new one if you want to
use it again."
She paused a moment and pulled a bottle from her belt pouch and tossed it to him. "To control it, just
imagine it doing whatever you want it to do. Now, since it's getting so dark out, let's work on the
lantern technique. But, after that you go to bed."
"Yes Mirra-san."
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He stood alone, lost somewhere in a mist so thick he couldn't see. He would have called out,
hoping for an answer, except for what he could hear.
He heard only the sounds of his own breathing, his own heartbeat, and as he paced around a bit,
his own footsteps.
Nothing altered the eerie grey-white of the mist even a bit.
After pacing about for what seemed an eternity he began walking. Unable to see, he had no
destination, only a vague hope that if he kept moving long enough, the mist would disappear.
Or he'd run into someone else.
"I'm sorry."
The voice echoed around him, full of sadness and regret. Female, he knew instinctively, but the
age was indeterminate. Just sad… very, very sad.
"I don't want to cause you pain. I'm sorry."
"For what!" he called out, voice tinged with desperation as he knew, without a doubt, that
something bad would soon happen.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
He was getting annoyed with the voice, constantly repeating the same thing over and over again.
"What are you sorry for?" he called out again, hoping to pinpoint the voice.
"I'm sorry."
"What do you mean!"
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Sasuke, wake up!"
Uchiha Sasuke was jerked abruptly out his disturbing dream by the insistent voice of his little brother,
Naruto. The smaller boy knelt beside him, a worried expression on his face.
"You kept calling out, 'what do you mean!' and I poked you in the side but you didn't respond," his
brother said, almost babbling, and Sasuke suddenly felt sorry for his brother. In all the time Naruto
had been a part of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke had never before had a nightmare, or yelled out in his
sleep, and since Naruto's room was right next to Sasuke's…
"Sorry, Naruto. I had an uncharacteristically bad dream, and I apologize for worrying you." Sasuke
said, as he reached up to ruffle Naruto's hair.
He was rewarded with a dazzling smile, before getting glomped by Naruto.
"I'm so glad!" the smaller boy exclaimed. "Since you never have bad dreams, I thought something really
bad had happened to you!"
Then Naruto straightened and grinned, "but if you don't get up now, something really bad will happen
to you! You won't get any breakfast!"
Satisfied that his brotherly duties were done - since his brother was ok - Naruto bounded out of the
room to go make an attempt on Sasuke's portion of breakfast.
With a soft laugh Sasuke got out of bed and set about getting dressed. An easy enough task, since he
wore basically the same thing every day; white shorts and a blue shirt, with his family's fan on the
back. His mother encouraged his continued wearing of this basic outfit, convinced that Sasuke
would 'fit in' more if he did.
Of course she'd say something like that. Naruto is already in school, and Aniki is a Chuunin. I'm
the only one in the clan that isn't special.
I don't think Father will allow me into the family competition. Last time I lost badly, and this
year? I'm not much stronger than I was before… I practice and practice, but I never seem
to be able to catch up to Naruto or Aniki. Age is no excuse, since Naruto does so well.
I don't want to shame the clan.
Do other kids have to worry about things like this? I know the Hyuuga's probably do, but their
clan is no more 'normal' than ours. We're both prestigious…
I just wanna be a normal kid for once…
Once he was finished dressing he turned to study himself in the mirror, and froze. His hair was black.
Black! The bubble gum pink was finally gone!
Had he been any less ecstatic he would have wondered how the pink was gone, when he knew he had
gone to sleep with pink hair. As it was, he was simply happy with the change, and bounded out of
his room to go to the dining room.
Breakfast seemed more appealing now than it had earlier.
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Explanations for Naruto's various forms:
kyubi - fox form. the average kitsune indistinguishable from normal red fox. A few kitsune, like Naruto,
look like a gray fox
hitogata - the Kitsune's Homid (human) form. There is no way of telling a kitsune in this form apart from
normal humams. (I haven't decided whether or not the Hyuuga's byakugen will be able to tell the
difference.)
koto - a kitsune in this form is a couple of inches shorter than when in their human form. The head
becomes that of a fox, though the eyes possess obvious intelligence. The body is covered in fur, and the
Kitsune's tails show.
juko - basically a wolf sized fox. Kitsune in this form usually possess a great amount of 'manual'
dexterity with his mouth. Many kitsune know how to fight with daggers using their jaws in this form.
sambuhenge - a cross between the hitogata and koto form; body mass remains the same as their human
form, but ears point upward, eyes become thin and slanted, nose lengthens, and whiskers sprout.
As this is my story, I'll have Naruto's ears actually become fox ears.
Thank you for reading this chapter of A Demon's Kindness. Openings are still available to people who want characters added to the Uchiha competition, and if you've used those characters in your own stories then please tell me which story and i'll reference to it. Please include personalities as well as abilities for new characters, unless you don't mind me making them up. I don't want to disappoint someone by making their character cheerful when they thought the person would be morrose or angry, etc.
To those who have already submitted characters, I thank you for doing so. If you were logged in when you reviewed and have your email in your profile, I will email chapter 9 to you before I post it, so you can comment on how I portrayed the characters you offered me.
Thanks again for reading. Constructive criticism, or reviews in general, are welcome and very much appreciated.