*backs cautiously away from the reviewers waving pitchforks* Heh heh....uh...yaa...Here be the next chapter....*ducks behind computer chair*
Disclaimer: You know...I can't remember if I ever did one of these....Bad Alaska, bad! Alaska-sama does not own Naruto (if she did, Neji-chan would serve her pancakes in the morning and his lap be a seat cushion while she is typing new fanfiction XD). This proud and honorable fact belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. *bows down to him* Oh mighty Kishimoto Masashi, do not sue me.
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Sunlight peeked through open shades in the Uchiha clan house. Lighting up the room, one would be drawn to look at one large, tawny form curled up against another, much smaller softly snoring one. The first lump was about the size of a pony, five long fox tails sprawled out behind it, and one of them curled possessively around the navy-haired ninja's arm. Said ninja peacefully had his free arm draped under the demon fox's neck so it looked like he was hugging the other boy turned kitsune. Naruto, the rather ominous fox, had his head flopped between his two forepaws, Kyuubi lying between a forepaw and his head.
One ruby eye blinked open, slowly followed by the other one. The ebony pupils dilated to near slits after being met with the sunlight. A tawny ear twitched as the fox lay idly, taking in it surroundings.
I feel so warm and safe.... Was Naruto's first thought.
Hey, this isn't my room....and since when did I have fur and a snout?! He panicked for a moment before it all came back to him in a rush. Haku, the fight, his 'seal' nearly breaking all the way, everything up to the return of that old geezer, Tazuna. Oh...That's right...I'm the fox now.
The rest of the memories came back within seconds and the poor boy turned fox nearly shot straight out of the bed when he realized where he was and who it was that had the arms around his neck. What the hell had he been thinking?! Pausing to slow down his pounding heartbeat, Naruto realized it was pretty nice, those arms around his neck. Maybe he could sit here for a little while....
Unconsciously, he leaned back down, relaxing against the sleeping Uchiha. The movement caused a stir from the navy-haired shinobi and, still asleep, brought his upper hand off Naruto's neck and moved it to lay in-between the large ears. The slender fingers began to work their magic, rubbing behind the tawny fox ears, massaging them.
Whatever part of Naruto that was still tense relaxed instantly, floppy ears falling from alert to lying peacefully against his neck [1]. Any muscles that had still been taunt or uneasy became loose and the fox seemed to melt against the boy petting him. Infact, that scratching felt pretty good...
NO! Must not let him know its enjoyable (ah Naruto...Sasuke is still asleep....)! Must....not....purr! Resist!!!!
However, Naruto's pleas with himself proved in vain when the inevitable purr rumbled up from his throat, sounding much like a cat's only slightly lower pitched.
Stupid fox traits...I'm not even related to a cat, much less to have traits of one! I didn't even KNOW foxes could purr...
Disgruntled, Naruto maneuvered his paws to stretch out, claws flexing. Stupid fox and its stupid traits, stupid Sasuke. He wasn't about to sit around and be coddled, nope not him. Now just to wait for the him to move...Takes too long! Naruto deviously lifted a tail and tickled the back of Sasuke's neck with the tip end of it.
Sasuke shifted, lifting his arm for a second to swat at the offending tail. The fox-boy took his chance, rolling over and gracefully landing on the floor.
The other boy settled back down, a slight frown adorning his features when he noticed the absence of the warmth. Naruto felt a little bad as he watched Sasuke's hands roam around the bed for a few seconds, searching for this 'warmth.' Moving forward silently, he nudged Kyuubi towards the form as a substitute. The hands grabbed the still warm fox plush and pulled it to the hands' owner.
Sighing, Naruto maneuvered around and silently walked through the open doorway. Leaving Sasuke to sleep peacefully, the fox pulled back his lips in a smile as he felt the odd sensation of his pupils becoming wider to accustom themselves to night vision, as the hallway was still dark. He fit through the passage easily enough, his tails wandering and brushing up against the walls.
No pictures hung from the walls of the Uchiha clan house, in fact, the only pictures to be found were sitting-dusty-in the living room on a rather high book shelf in a corner, as Naruto remembered seeing them upon his arrival and had been curious. As this thought crossed the fox's mind, he made that his first exploration of his temporary new house. The hall opened into the living room, the tee-vee now black as he had first seen it. He wasn't interested in it at the moment, as he had a one track mind and was fairly determined to accomplish his mission.
The photographs WERE a little high up on that shelf as the fox craned its neck upward at an angle. That was no problem for him though, one more use to the advantage of four legs rather than two! Bracing his forepaws carefully on one of the shelves, Naruto balanced on his back paws to gain the extra height needed to view them.
He peered at the pictures. It was of a family he had never seen before; a woman with black hair that went past her shoulders stood next to a tall man with the same hair color and hairstyle as Sasuke's. The woman was delicately holding a smiling infant with a tuft of navy blue hair. Naruto was surprised to recognize a young Sasuke as that infant. To him, he could see that it was Sasuke, but the boy in the picture seemed so much happier and carefree...Looking a little to the left, he cocked his head to the side at a boy who looked a little like Sasuke around the age of probably four or five, only his hair was pulled back in a low pony tail reaching to his shoulder blades.
The fox's long ears twirled to flatten against his head. It may have just been a picture and he could have been overreacting, but Naruto got a bad feeling from this one. He looked almost....evil, even though he was just a kid. The boy wasn't even smiling in the picture, more looking like he was bored and wasting his time just being with what Naruto guessed was his family. Infact, he looked almost ready to kill them all...
There was another picture of the same boy only a little older, about eight or nine with a young Sasuke standing next to him at the age of four or five. The young Sasuke was smiling in the picture, holding onto the other boy's hand while the other just stood there without a single expression on his face. The 'older, eviler Sasuke-brother' had the blood red pupils of the Sharingan in this picture, causing an even more ominous look about him. Naruto unconsciously sniffed at the picture, attempting to get the boy's scent to remember but only causing dust to rise from it and getting a sneeze from the fox. Come to think of it, all the pictures were incredibly dusty, never taken care of. Why would that be? Didn't Sasuke love his family?
"His name's Itachi," came a startlingly deep and somewhat saddened (or was it angered?) voice from behind, causing Naruto to jump.
The fox stared at Sasuke and then back to the picture and back to Sasuke. Why was Sasuke sharing this with him? Naruto got the feeling this went much deeper than he had first expected (sibling rivalry/abandonment) and felt a little special that he was the first one to be confided in about it. Sasuke had what looked like a struggle going on within, whether to tell the blonde ninja or not.
Why I am I telling him this? It is my revenge to seek and this past is mine to keep, so what am I doing standing here letting him know?
A little voice in his head reminded him that Naruto had let him in on his deepest and darkest secret (even though it was against his will) and trusted Sasuke not to hate him for it. But this was his business, the boy didn't have a right to know...or did he? Though it really had only been a couple of days since the whole fight with Haku, they had become rather close, one could consider them friends at the very least. Hell, Sasuke really couldn't even call him dobe anymore without feeling a little bad for saying it. D-did he have feelings for him? Was this why he had felt protective over the fox these last few days?
The fox had an impatient look on his face, he wanted an explanation.
Sasuke shook himself out of his reverie and paused before taking a deep breath.
"He is my ambition," at Naruto's confused look, he continued, "remember the first day, when we met Kakashi-sensei and I said that my goal was to kill a certain man?" the fox bobbed his head before pausing and his eyes widened in realization.
Naruto caught on pretty fast, was Sasuke's only thought.
Those blood red eyes shifted from the picture to Sasuke and back again once more. His brother? Why would he want to kill, what Naruto guessed, was his brother? There was something else behind it all...this just didn't add up....but even Naruto knew his limits...that faraway furious look in Sasuke's eyes was enough to make him stop.
Seeing the discussion over, Sasuke turned into the kitchen to make some breakfast.
Naruto followed, completely forgetting about their previous discussion with the thought of breakfast.
He found it an enjoyment (as he mused about his newfound form) to find his fox form to be of perfect balance. The days before, as he recalled with a sudden realization, hadn't felt any different aside from the fact that it had felt like he had been giving the orders and his body carrying them out and then a little added something on his body's part. The battle with Haku and Zabuza, well, he had intended to attack....but not in that way. It had felt like he had to rip them apart, an uncontrollable fury had overwhelmed him. Almost as if...nah that was impossible, wasn't it? The seal hadn't broken....
He decided to believe that the snickering he heard inside his head was just his imagination.
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It was odd, Sakura thought as she observed her other two teammates approach from the direction of the Uchiha house, that just a few days ago the two were at each other's throats, rivals to become the most powerful. Now they seemed docile towards each other, almost friendly. It was almost as if they had come to an understanding with each other after the Fight, as she had labeled the battle in Hidden Mist. The two (fox and boy) were walking evenly, with the occasional yip from Naruto as he attempted to strike a conversation with the silent shinobi that walked beside him and a playful snap from the fox as that navy-haired ninja called him a "dobe" [2].
Those elongated fox ears twirled forward as their owner noticed the pink haired ninja. Naruto barked a greeting to what Sakura translated to something along the lines of the hyperactive boy's usual cry of "Sakura-chan!" She plastered a half-smile on her face and waved, attempting to be friendly to the fox-boy.
The girl had been somewhat frightened by finding that Naruto was the vessel for the ninetails, but when her mother had been worrying over her safety and insulting the boy at the same time (for gossip traveled fast and Mrs. Haruno had already known about Naruto turning fox before Sakura had gotten home), Sakura had been upset. Naruto was an idiot at times, but he was not a monster and would never do any of the things her mother accused him of.
Naruto seemed delighted his greeting had been returned but stayed at his own even pace with Sasuke. Said shinobi remained silent, staring straight ahead, neither moving ahead nor falling behind the fox but staying even with him when normally he would stay as far away from him as possible.
Sasuke took up his usual spot of standing while the fox moved between the two and plopped down on the ground, slightly more close to Sasuke than Sakura, who was sitting on the bench. On his haunches, Naruto was happy to realize that if he didn't relax his head slightly and, instead, held it erect, that he was taller than Sasuke. He considered it an personal accomplishment, always being one of the shortest kids in the school. If the Uchiha noticed, he didn't say anything or didn't care.
They sat/stood like that for about fifteen minutes, completely silent. Sakura thought it an eerie change from the usual. However, she didn't have time to brood on it for long as Team 7's sensei had arrived in a poof of smoke.
"Gomen nasai....There was this little lost squirrel that couldn't find its home..." was today's lame excuse.
Sakura was glad for the break in the silence as the fox launched into a loud protest of barks and growls, completely unaware or not caring that no one understood what he was complaining about, or rather how he was complaining.
Sasuke found it amusing when Kakashi jokingly backed off, holding his hands out in front of him for protection while shouting he was sorry, all the while his one visible eye was closed in indication he was smiling.
It was a normal day of training.
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That normal day of training began with Kakashi pairing Sasuke and Sakura together to spar and work on their skills. The tall jounin wanted to work with Naruto for a little and a promise from him that Sasuke and Naruto could spar after he was through. He wanted to see if Naruto could at least keep up with the ninja after his 'transformation.'
As the pink haired girl and Konoha's number one rookie walked off a little distance to give space (the whole time Sakura squealing and happy she had been paired with Sasuke and Sasuke rolling his eyes for lack of a better opponent), Kakashi turned to the fox. Naruto was still balanced on his haunches, those haunting crimson eyes watched him curiously. A hint of blue shined in flecks in the sea of red, giving comfort to Kakashi that the seal was still there.
"Ok, Naruto," the silver haired jounin started, "the Chuunin Exams are going to be approaching soon and I have asked permission from Hokage-sama if you could participate...."
After the words 'Chuunin Exams' Naruto had begun to fidget, a couple of his tails twitching or wagging in anticipation. That meant people from different villages, that meant fights! He had heard of the exams, and he had looked forward to them since he was little! It was about as important to him as his graduation!
Kakashi found this all amusing but continued nonetheless.
"He agreed, though wanted me to warn you that you will be the target for a lot of fights and..."
He found that his pupil was only half-listening and not a word registered anyway. Kakashi could read those eyes and guessed Naruto was imagining himself as the only Chuunin to pass and beating Sasuke in the final round, in which he was. Sighing, Kakashi cleared his throat, catching the others attention.
"Anyway, he said yes you could, despite your current state but you will have to be on guard. But right now I want to work on your chakra control. I am unsure if you can use any jutsu in this form. For now, I want you to try the tree exercise we were working on our last mission."
The fox nodded to show he understood what Kakashi had said and turned to look at the tree Kakashi was now motioning to. It was rather large, bigger than what they had been working on, much bigger. In addition, to that, foxes didn't normally climb trees. He could almost feel (but he ignored!) what felt like discomfort and disgruntled growling at the back of his mind. Those tawny ears seemed to flatten against the vulpine head.
Cocking his head to peer at Kakashi, he looked pathetically at his sensei, a silent plea in his eyes. Kakashi's only response was to motion once more to the tree with a slight chuckle at his attempt. Sighing, Naruto once more turned reluctantly to the tree, eyeing it up as if it would rip itself out of the ground and come after him.
"I suppose it would be best to take a running start..."
The only response Kakashi received was a low snort and a glare.
Naruto tensed his muscles, ready to spring forward. Without warning, he started off, not at a full run or he would get up the tree without using chakra due to his claws impacting on the tree. Jumping for the tree, he reached into his inner coils to harness his chakra and send it to his paws to stick him to the trunk and get up the tree.
Before he even had his forepaws on the tree, he knew he could make it no problem.
Sasuke had flattened Sakura in their spar after the first few minutes and was now perched on a rock, watching Naruto go for the tree. Shock almost made itself evident on his face as he watched the fox easily go up the tree. The blonde had enough trouble with two legs, let alone four! But here he was walking (walking!) up the tree that must have been twice the size of the ones in Mist!
Sakura was staring dumbfoundedly as Naruto plopped down happily on a thick branch near the top.
The fox was just as surprised as the others. However, when he had reached for his chakra, he had noticed a difference, a big difference. It was a whole lot easier to handle it.
Instead of having to struggle to find it and "drag" it to where it was supposed to go (as was normal for him, he thought that was how it was supposed to be, hard), it had come to him and had flowed easily to his paws without a problem.
Then again, who cared? He made it no problem on his first try!
His lips curled back and his tongue lolled out in a vulpine grin. Those large paws slid forward and he slid down into a lying position. In short, he looked much like a relaxed cougar lounging in its favorite tree.
Kakashi smirked, as he had suspected. Because Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, as he grew his two different types of chakra clashed. The fox chakra (for some of it had slipped through the seal at various intervals in time and not causing any real upset), being much stronger and being more in quatinity then Naruto's own chakra, had all but completely overrun or destroyed the normal chakra. This explained Naruto's ability to use higher level jutsu rather than lower, he used both types of chakra rather than dragging one through the mess of fox chakra. However, the fox chakra worked opposite in smaller amounts and became uncontrollable in little bits unless trained to use it as so....or a suitable/original body to flow it in. Naruto in the fox form allowed him to flow it easier, either from the chakra being used to the fox body or the fox was helping him now to direct it, which was highly unlikely.
Well, it was both, really. Sure, the murmurings of Kyuubi were helpful (though Naruto refused to believe there was a voice in his head and began to think it was his imagination pulling off these helpful hints) every once in a while, but it all came back to the fact Naruto felt very much at home in his new body, it didn't feel at all uncomfortable or hard when he summoned the chakra. He had gotten used to trying so hard to harness his yellow chakra coils but he had wondered if it was normal for it to be so difficult.
In this body, however, he could freely use just fox chakra for anything easily, there was no remains of his original chakra save a small coil too petite to see with even his eyes special fox eyes. He was lucky he wouldn't really have to be trained in using minute amounts of chakra, as this new form had done what training would have accomplished in his human one. In short, Naruto was rediscovering what it was like to first use chakra at all.
"All right, you've proven that you have mastered this exercise, come down Naruto," the silver-haired jounin called.
Gracefully, Naruto seemed to slide off the tree, falling for a moment before landing on all four powerful legs on the ground, almost catlike. He had a satisfied fox grin on his face, his eyes bright with an inner pride in himself to be able to do this without hesitation.
"Well it seems that you have mastered controlling chakra enough. It is a wonder how you have improved so much in so little time, I congratulate you," at this Naruto smiled even more at being praised, especially because it came from Kakashi, "Now lets see how you can work some jutsu...."
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[1]: Dude! Have you seeeeeeen Kyuubi's ears? They're huge!
[2]: If you are reading Naruto fanfiction and still don't know what this means, you really shouldn't be reading it....XD 'Dead last'
Heh...uh...I didn't like this chapter much....*cowers at reviewers* Alaska is very sorry! There is no excuse for my laziness, I didn't have writer's block nor did anything bad happen to me other than an extreme case of laziness, and the fact that lately a lot of the fics I keep an eye on aren't updated.... Um...^-^() Hope you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive me...
Dude, I thank Narutoguide for the wonderful information they have, helped me out a lot. You guys should check out that humor section....*snorts* Candy Country...Oh man that was hilarious. Read all about this sugary country and its inhabitants such as Fat Bastard, Hairy Sakura, and Gaara of the Dessert. Read about its enemies, the A.F.W.O.E. (Abolish Fatsos Wrecking Our Environment) and Rock-a-Lee, from Vegetable Country and a part of A.F.W.O.E.
Oh...and Kitty-chan heh...you keep thinking that....
Welcome to about the middle/closer to the end rather than the beginning. From here it should pick up some speed a little bit. I have a few ideas on how Naruto will do his jutsu...just have to work on some of the quirks. I will try to get the next chapter up a little faster.
Gomen nasai