A/N: (11/15/2022) Rewrote this chapter after giving the story another thought. Changed first person to third person because of reasons. Actually added character descriptions and put in some new stuff since Riot actually gave up Ahri lore in the Ruined King game. Also I guess I now know where this story is going haha. Don't expect this story to update fast.
You'd think living with icefoxes would give a girl some resistance to the cold. You'd be wrong.
The lack of fur in most places had been something that, in the past, I found useful. Unlike my adopted family, I wasn't created with my (current) mortal enemy encompassing my body.
And I'm not exactly that sad about it. While I can see the beauty in my not-related relatives, I very much prefer being warm rather than making cold a lifestyle.
Sorry, I'm rambling. Tends to happen after I start getting irritated from the cold and the hunger which happens often.
Especially the hunger.
However, I refrain. Refrain from partaking in the hunter. The mother. The children. All of the people with their delicious memories and their ambrosia-like emotions. I refrain because deep inside, I know it's wrong.
I am, and will forever be the only fox, Vastayan or otherwise, that has killed for the pure rush of adrenaline and euphoria that comes from absorbing my prey's lives. I will never do so again.
At least that's what I thought. - Ahri, Day Zero of Our Adventure.
Day One
Ionia is a land of magic and symbiosis. The people of Ionia are said to have been so intertwined with the energy of Valoran that their history is embedded in the magical currents that flow throughout the world.
Legends have been told of rock golems, known as Luonn Kon by locals, manifesting in order to create dams that protected hundreds of lives from devastating floods. A walking tree that cares for woodland animals and any weary travelers that lose their way. Even a giant stag with the power of starting an early spring in order to bring a quicker harvest.
Ionia is many things, but Naruto, it's home.
"The nets are full! Pull'em up!"
Naruto lived for these words. Sun-kissed hair billowed in the chilly breeze as he stood up from his wooden stool on the deck. The young adult peered over the crystal clear water that was only being disturbed by the slight waves created by their boat.
In the water, Naruto could see the fishing nets almost bursting with the amount of fish inside them. He brushed off his hands on his gray vest and prepared to get to work. His necklace jostled against his chest, the golden stone hanging off of the string twinkling imperceptibly.
Day in and day out, he'd take to the seas right from the Ionian coastal town he called home in hopes for a huge payday.
Or at least enough money to pay for his next ramen order.
"Brother, can you get the portside nets? I'm finishing my letter right now." Looking over at the source of the voice, Naruto sighs and shakes his head. Why would you bother to be writing a letter when we're supposed to be working?
"Miyu, don't you think that you should wait until after we return to the mainland to write your penpal?"
Miyuki Taiyo, or Miyu as Naruto called his little sister, was a slightly-below average height girl in a pair of heliotrope-colored fisherman pants and a beige tunic. Over her shoulders was Naruto's black and orange fur jacket, given to her as the forgetful child rushed out of the house and left her own protection from the cold behind. Her blue hair, tied into a ponytail, was adorned with a flower from an ionian citrus tree. Its white petals shimmered in the reflection of the bright sun.
The flush that appeared on her face signalled that she probably forgot where she was, "Oh!" She hurriedly packed up both the piece of parchment and her calligraphy set into her ragged backpack that was one size too big for her 10 year old frame, "You're right. I'll get the other two nets!"
Seeing her rush over to the ropes and immediately start straining against the two ropes that weighed anywhere between 2-3 times as much as her was about as hilarious as you can imagine.
Reaching above her, Naruto raised the nets into the boat and then pat Miyu's azure-covered head, "You know, I didn't mean you should be doing the heavy lifting."
As time passed, Naruto looked over the horizon at the six or so boats packing up for the return trip home. The sun was definitely setting as Miyu's eyes began to droop.
Looks like it's time to go home.
The first sign was smoke. However, it wasn't the usual smoke from the chimneys, or the bonfire that occasionally happened in the town square.
It was the smoke of an inferno, lit by something that desired only destruction.
Seeing the horror-stricken expression of Miyu, Naruto scanned the nearby boats and saw one of their elderly neighbors who owns a sushi shop down the road. He was also frozen in a state between shock and dread. He was probably the same as them, returning home to cash in on his efforts in fishing.
"Takashi!" Naruto called out to him, waving his arms frantically. He maneuvered their boat to Takashi's and leaned over the railing,"Can you take Miyu somewhere safe? I have to see what's going on over there!"
Miyu seemed to be thrust out of her mind when the words reached her ear. She turned towards Naruto and began to shake her head furiously. "What?! No, big brother. You can't go! What if you get hurt?!"
Kneeling down, he pat her head again, "Miyu, I have to make sure that Grandma is alright, okay? Stay with Takashi, he'll take you to the bunker near the lightpillar." Seeing the look of saddened compliance, Naruto knew she understood. He stood up and looked at Takashi who seemed like he had his own words to say
While his words were pointed and firm, he never turned to look at me, the fire and smoke reflected on his green eyes. "Do you have something to protect yourself with, child?"
I reached into a hatch to the left of Miyu and took out a lightly-rusted sword and shield. Both were crafted with the Ionia sigil emblazoned on the front of the shield and the pommel of the sword. "I got one better." Attaching the scabbard to my waist and fastening the shield, I helped the old man onto our family boat and jumped onto his.
"Find out what happened, Naruto." Mr. Takashi beat his fist against his chest. "And if it's those invaders we've been hearing about, make sure they know what happens when you mess with the First Lands."
Naruto was also gazing at his home, burning to the ground. "Keep Miyu safe, old man."
Naruto arrived soon after, pulling into shore behind some heavy foliage outside of the village and peered inside.
From a distance it was hard to tell, but the fire was not any type of hue Naruto was familiar with.
Walking towards the smouldering remains of a trading post, he stared into the bright-blue flame and a phrase was shoved to the forefront of his mind, a voice from seemingly so long ago.
This is Fox-fire kit.
Shaking his head, Naruto looked around and noticed the destruction seemed to follow a path. A path that called to him.
And as he followed the path, the golden stone on his neck began to grow ever so slightly warm.
Shock. Denial. Anger.
The path of destruction he followed began to form a pit in his stomach as the turns and twists were becoming eerily similar to the pair of siblings' daily routine. From the pier, to the main square. Loitering around, looking at the daily goods that they would get discounts on because Miyu was too cute to say no to.
Then it was on to the town hall, where the bodies increased. Piles upon piles of people. Friends. If not burnt, their bodies looked to be sleeping, not an injury on any part. Naruto knew they were dead, but the fading hope inside him checked for any survivors.
There were none.
The path continued on, all the way to the orphanage. That's when his heart stopped.
"Granny!" Nartuo sheathed the sword that had been in an iron grip in his hand for who knows how long now.
Granny, or Mrs. Taiyo as the rest of the village called her, was the person who had adopted Naruto, who had brought him into her family of two. Her and Miyu. She was always old in age from the moment she found me, but never old in body. She cared for all of the children of the village that had fallen into hard times.
At this moment however, her age was showing. She looked up at Naruto as he held her in his arms, her blue eyes so similar to Miyu had a tint of fog in them now. Her voice was raspy, an attribute he never thought would attach itself to the old woman's voice. "I know you. How do I know you?"
Amnesia? No, it doesn't matter right now. Naruto needed to get her to a healer, to Miyu, to someplace safe. "Granny, let me get you out of here." He looked around at the bodies of the children, slumped at the picnic tables that were always so lively outside the orphanage. "We have to go to Miyu and get help."
Her eyes, which had been struggling to remain open, suddenly burst with emotion. Fear. "Boy, you mu-"
She had been interrupted by a coughing fit, raising her hand to cover her mouth. As she moved it away, Naruto saw the not insignificant amount of blood leak through her tightly clenched hand.
"Boy, you must save Miyu from the demon fox! The lightpillar! It knows!" I stared wide-eyed. The demon fox? Here?!
Another legends floating through the lands of Ionia was a demonic fox, said to travel in search for answers that no one had. Enraged by its fruitless pursuit, it left the inhabitants as soulless husks. However, it was only supposed to be a legend.
"What?! How can it know? Only the townspeople know about the bunker!"
Created after the first sign of Noxian aggression on Ionian borders, Mrs. Taiyo and several other leaders of the community did not have the same faith as the more spiritual members of their lands. They wanted to prepare for the worst possible scenario and created what they had a assumed were safe fortifications where the villagers could reside until help from the Kinkou or the Navori Brotherhood arrived.
Naruto turned his head and eyed the lightpillar from a gap in the house created by a destroyed wall.
The shimmering light emitted by the mana crystal at the peak of the stone spiral tower formed from centuries of blessed wind currents felt like a foreboding omen. A beam of light that always felt like home suddenly became a torch of death.
Granny's eyes focused on the light as well, "The demon tore the knowledge from me. That's what it sa-." Another coughing fit. "Boy, I may not remember you, but I remember my granddaughter. You must save her for I no longer can…"
Naruto was about to argue, but her glare, something that no amount of memory-loss could prevent, stopped him in his tracks. He nodded solemnly and stood up.
Naruto didn't turn back, as he knew that one more second would have reduced me to tears and Miyu didn't have that time..
The elderly grandmother was propped against one of the few remaining walls, her eyes glued to the golden stone that continued to increase in its glow, unbeknownst to its wearer.
"Kushina, have I failed you?"
The trail leading up to the lighthouse was identical to the town, burnt trees framed the usually peaceful walk that would lead to an amazing view. However, Naruto noticed none of this.
He had tunnel vision as he rushed through the rocky path. His eyes on the light emanating from the lighthouse, seemingly calling to him.
It was minutes that felt like hours as Naruto's legs burned from overuse and exhaustion. The fiery smoke did nothing to help his breath he he became ragged on his trek.
His arrival to the lightpillar doors burnt to a crisp did nothing to stem the sinking feeling in his chest. The hidden trapdoor down to the bunker uncovered and tossed to the side, ripped from its hinges and splintered into several pieces.
He descended. And that's when Naruto felt the voice, imprinting another indecypoherable message in his mind once again.
Fox-fire may burn hotter than the sun, but it will never harm without purpose.
And that's when he heard it.
"Human," it whispered, "Come to me."
Naruto slid along the wall of the naturally formed staircase, the moss and grass helping mask his footsteps as he finally arrived at the entrance to the bunker and stood in sick awe of whathe stumbled upon.
Takashi and a few other men and women were kneeling in front of it.
Or more precisely what could only be a 'her'.
Nine white tails circled around her body, which was covered in a tight, red Ionian dress. Her face was wild with animalistic desire. The most eye-catching part was what Naruto could only explain as souls. A green, almost gaseous material flowed out of the mouths of the villagers into a translucent sphere the demon was holding, until they collapsed onto the ground.
It licked its lips and glanced towards a stack of barrels. A flame ignited in mid air before flying towards the boxes, incinerating even before contact. Sitting behind the sand-dune of an ash-pile was…
"Miyu!" Naruto's feet finally woke up and he dashed in front of his sister, sword and shield ready.
The demon-fox, as Granny put it, put on a sinister smile, filled with an insatiable hunger and lifted her arm, the sphere of green magic pulsed once and turned into a sickenly vibrant shade of pink, almost bouncing in excitement. "Human," the demon repeated, its sultry voice bounced off of the walls of the bunker, reverberating through my body,"Come to me~"
Naruto felt something probe his mind before shaking it off. He readjusted his stance and glared into her no-longer pink, vulpine eyes that were filled with surprise.
The fox's face quickly altered from shock to anger, as if he was supposed to obey. She conjured two flames, one bashed itself against my shield, disintegrating it, and the other obliterated my sword. The impact tossed Miyu and Naruto into the wall.
"Naruto…" He looked up from the tangled heap, peering into the frenzied eyes of the fox demon.
"That is your name isn't it. Such a sad story. Abandoned by your parents, only to be picked up like a piece of trash and told you can become more. I empathize with you." The demon-fox walked forward leisurely, as if it wasn't going to kill them. "However, you must die so I can...indulge. You wouldn't keep someone like me...hungry, would you?" The look in her eyes screamed of madness, akin to people going through withdrawal from a Zaunite drug.
Naruto scrambled to his feet, reaching for a wooden plank left from one of the scrapped barrels. "Stay back!"
Her eyes gleamed with malicious intent. "You humans do tend to struggle when approached by your end." Her arm, which had remained carrying the green orb, suddenly thrust towards him.
Bracing himself, however, did nothing.
The orb soared through Naruto and into Miyu, who hadn't yet gotten up from being tossed into the wall. He heard Miyu's screams as the orb passed him, though he could not feel the pain until the return trip.
I think it was the light. Not from the lighthouse, but from the boy.
I will admit, I failed myself. Instinctively, I knew I would fail. The urge to engulf people, their lives and memories. It was too strong. Shuffling through the newly acquired thoughts, I regained equilibrium. I remembered where I was. Glancing over to the pile of adults, I regretted letting myself go.
Turning back to the girl and her brother, however. That was something that changed my life.
Nine tails. A set of tails that, while not the right shade, I had been looking for all my life.
My mind went blank. And I took a step forward. - Ahri, Day One.
Miyu. Miyu needed me.
These thoughts were what made me groan and open my eyes. Everything seemed so much clearer, but I was also missing something. I didn't know it. I felt it. A part of me was gone.
I looked around, my eyes ignoring the obvious threat in the room before I found my responsibility, my sister.
I reached over to her and brought her into my arms, Her blue locks framing her face. Her blank face. She stared ahead, as if nothing mattered. That's when I noticed the fur. And then there was nothing but fire. Red hot fire. Something in my head spoke to me, as if it was next to me and whispering in my ear.
This is Fox-Fire kit. Fox-fire may burn hotter than the sun, but it will never harm without purpose. It represents our people's will to live. When you call upon it, may it forever answer.