Spirit of the Fox
Chapter 13: When things couldn't get weirder, they do.
Iruka unlocked his window and opened it. Foxlyn stepped in from outside and smiled at him. "You came back?" he asked. Foxlyn nodded. "You're going to play this game, disappearing as a child and returning at night as the lovely maiden, aren't you?" Foxlyn laughed, not sure that "lovely maiden" was the correct term for her. "For a while…" she replied.
The sun rose the next day and Naruto rolled over, he fell off his bed. He rumbled and sat up. Rubbing his eye, he yawned and went about getting dressed. He sniffed the peculiar scent of the air. He thought he smelt something… ramen? Instantly his mouth started watering at the thought of fresh-made ramen and a lass of cold milk to start the day off. He snickered to himself. 'Kisuna's going to be a keeper if she keeps up with the ramen!' he thought excitedly. He composed himself before exiting his room.
Much to his dismay, there was no ramen. His roommate sat on the couch. She was leaning back with her eyes closed. "She must've stayed up wondering if Foxlyn would come back…" Naruto murmured. He smiled. This was his chance! He ran as quietly as he could to the kitchen and started to cook. Since Kisuna had cooked for him, he would cook for her!
Kisuna awoke to the smell of something burning. She opened her eyes and staggered into her kitchen. Naruto was waving a cloth at the stove that had caught flame. The towel only fed its hunger and grew more. The young ninja panicked and blew at the flames. Kisuna's eyes widened. She ran into the burning room and quickly doused the flame with water and loss of oxygen. She grabbed a towel and wiped away at the smoke. Naruto coughed. "What do you think you were doing?" Kisuna asked.
"I was cooking!" Naruto yelled in between his coughs. Kisuna's green eyes blinked through the smoke. "Cooking?" she repeated. "You were setting the house on fire…." Naruto growled at the comment and shouted, "I didn't mean to! I just wanted to cook you breakfast!" Kisuna gasped, her voice leaving her to be speechless. It took Naruto a few minutes to understand her sudden silence before realizing what he said. Heat rushed to both of their faces. Without saying anything, Kisuna wetted a rag and began to clean the mess up. Following silent suit, Naruto also cleaned.
"What were you making?" Kisuna inquired. "Oden." He answered softly. Kisuna giggled. Naruto was puzzled as to why she was giggling. Was she making fun of him? He started to ask but before he could, she took his hand to made him point to a thermometer on the stove. "For one, you had the temperature too high." Naruto checked and found this to be true. It was set for the heat of boiling ramen, not for making oden. Kisuna swept Naruto around the kitchen, showing him the proper way to making oden. An hour and around fifteen minutes later they sat down with two good bowels of oden, with enough left for dinner.
Naruto tasted his. Much to his discomfort, he found the food to be delicious. 'But I… wanted to make her breakfast…. Not the other way around.' He thought sadly. Kisuna took a sip of herbal tea and smiled. "Thank you." She said and took a bite. "Thanks? For what?" Kisuna flashed a brilliant smile his way. "For making the oden, of course. I'm not that rude." She laughed at herself. His big eyes blinked repeatedly. "I didn't mean that…" he started. His eyes widened before narrowing. "Don't thank me. You made it!" Kisuna ceased her laughing and stared over into his eyes with her pure green orbs. "Not exactly. You made it, I only showed you how." She smiled sincerely. Naruto could feel his face flushing. He shoved a chopstick-full bite into his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer her.
"Alright, let's go." Naruto announced. He pulled his Konoha hitae-ate over his forehead and tied the navy sash behind his head. Kisuna was standing by his side, smiling at him, and ready to depart. She nodded to him. They walked outside of their home and headed for the village. Both of them put their feet forward to the Ninja Academy. The whole time Naruto secretly had his fingers crossed. 'I hope that old fart can let Kisuna become a Chunin so she won't have to stay with those losers at the academy.' He thought silently. Kisuna glanced at her eager friend. 'What's her worrying about?' she wondered. 'He seems… anxious, maybe worried. Could be nervous? But what for? Surely the Hokage can tell that I'm far more skilled than those itty-bitty Cadets. And if he doesn't… I'll stay there for a week or two. There's no major problem, so why doesn't he seem apprehensive?'
"Naruto, what's up?" Naruto's eyes widened. Did she know? "Nothing." He answered, but she wasn't so sure. "Well whatever it is…" she started and rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay." She said and winked. Naruto blushed.
Three hours later the two were running to the forest clearing where Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were training. "Hey!" Kisuna called. Sasuke looked at them and smirked. "'Bout time." He declared. Naruto stuck it tongue out at him. Kisuna giggled at the blonde and smiled. "Any new news?" Kakashi asked. The two blonds nodded eagerly. "Meet the new addition to Team 7!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura's eyes widened with joy. "Yay! Now I'm not the only girl!" (Inner Sakura: But she had better keep her hands of Sasuke!)
"Thank you for putting little Kisuna with Cell 7." The Hokage nodded to the light clad figure. "It was an odd request but I'm sure Kakashi can handle just one more child." He told her. "But as for you…" A few light beams shifted in his office. One landed on a young girl around the age of fourteen. She had long, wavy silver hair that cascaded down her back and curled around her waistline. Her eyes were a deep amethyst. Her skin was milk pale and creamy smooth. She wore a traditional off-white haori that had small pink flowers at the bottom of the sleeves, and a blue hakama that was tied tightly around her midriff. She looked to be an innocent child yet wisdom gleamed vibrantly in her eyes.
"Yes, while I am here I wish to receive a status of the Shiitamas without their knowledge of such, as well as an occupation. Anything will do, though my references more or less surround Shinobi Excellencies." Her voice was just above a whisper. If it were physical, one would imagine it as cotton-soft and pure, like a baby's nighttime melody. The Hokage gave a distinct nod. "I see." He picked up some listings. There were many shops that were in need of employees. Yet one of her talent shouldn't be wasted. His dark eyes glanced at her. She was indeed skilled, even not seeing her abilities… he could sense it. He could sense the girl struggling to conceal her immense chakra.
"Are you familiar with the Konoha Ninja Academy?" The girl's brow rose. "Fairly well." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Our instructors are all hand-picked, so to say. They all were once mere Cadets in the same Academy. Their strength, but also their knowledge of not only the basic Shinobi arts but also of the temper-mental difficulties that being a ninja in this world, must be great in all respective areas. They themselves hold Konoha's future existence in their hands. After all, it is they who teach our future generation." He paused for greater effect. The girl didn't seem to have a reaction, though she understood to the highest degree. The future generations were practically putty in their sensei's hands… to mold as they pleased.
"For an outsider of the village to arrive and acquire such a position is highly infrequent. We usually do not allow such a transaction to take place. However you seem to be a special case. I shall place you into proper training under one of our finest… if you are interested."
A shy, tender smile spread across her soft pink lips. "I believe I am adequate."
"New student, eh?" Kakashi said thoughtfully. Kisuna and Naruto nodded. Pure joy was written on both of their faces. "All I have to do is take one session at the academy!" She exclaimed. Sasuke smirked. "Surely you don't take this as a surprise, Master Kakashi." The Jonin shook his head negatively.
"Yes… little Kisuna has to be a Cadet for one day. Then she'll graduate into a big ninja girl." Mocked a familiar voice. They turned around to see Foxlyn and Iruka walked towards them. "Hey, Iruka." Kakashi greeted. "You knew?" screamed Naruto. His former sensei nodded. Foxlyn smiled up at Iruka, who was now quite a bit taller than she was. 'It may be wise for them to not know yet…' she had told him earlier. Kakashi ordered his little militia to practice their ninjutsu so he could talk to Iruka. He doubted that Iruka would come to see him personally if it was only to congratulate Kisuna.
"So it seems she's really that strong?" Kakashi asked. Iruka affirmed him with a brief dip of his head. "I got some secret information on her and it turns out that she is. I was told by Hokage that he was given a recommendation for her." Kakashi and Iruka watched Kisuna as she trained. It was obvious that her greatest techniques were speed: great for evasion of attacks, and endurance: the ability to take on her opponents' attacks until she defeated them. Those two alone made her a powerful foe. "Recommendation?" Kakashi repeated. Iruka nodded. "Do you suspect something wrong?" Iruka posed.
"Should I?"
"Maybe, first we're sent to retrieve her then her sister shows up and then they both want to become shinobi. And just today we received a new academy instructor." Kakashi looked over at the scarred-nose friend. "New instructor?" he replicated. 'How could that be?' pondered the silver-haired one. 'Instructors are accepted through extended periods of training. It's not possible to just suddenly have a new sensei.' Iruka nodded again. He studied the ground, deep in thought. "She just came in today. She's not an instructor yet, but more of an apprentice. The Hokage hasn't said, but I bet it's her who requested that Kisuna to become a Genin."
Iruka returned his eyes to the training field, but instead of Kisuna he watched Foxlyn. Kisuna's sister… was it her? He had known her 12 years ago and had been her boyfriend back then. Now they were back together as lovers in secret. He couldn't tell anyone, but was afraid that the third Hokage already suspected something. How could he explain that the love of his childhood had returned… as a child still! Yet she wasn't a child, but his age. She was using Genjutsu to conceal her elder appearance. 'Though for what purpose?'
Foxlyn had told him that the enchantment was in the yin yang insignia that she wore on her back. It was the symbol of everything opposite: good-bad, light-dark, alive-dead, wet-dry, water-fire, man-woman, and young-old. She had told him that she used magic within that existence to revert into her body of her youth; thus her childhood form. Though her true form was a beautiful young woman with such a figure that could scorn the models in Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise books. And to think he got to see her every night…
"Who is it?" Kakashi asked. Iruka was ripped from his thoughts. He turned to his senior. "Hm?" he murmured. "The instructor-in-training, who is it?" Kakashi said again. "I don't know. I was only told of a girl coming to the Hokage to request for a place to stay and a job. The Hokage suggested her to become a sensei and she took the application. She's only a little older than Kisuna… but Hokage said that her wisdom seemed beyond her physical years."
"Whose wisdom? The instructor or the one who asked for Kisuna to be on my team?" Kakashi asked. Iruka looked a little puzzled and shook his head. "No, the instructor. She's female. I know that much for sure." Iruka told him. Kakashi's one eye blinked curiously. "Who did the Hokage call wise, then?" Iruka said it was the one who asked him to put Kisuna on his team. "So it wasn't the new academy worker?" he asked. Iruka sighed loudly and rubbed his temple, now confused himself. "The new teacher was the wise one… and female. That's why he gave her the job." Kakashi slowly titled his head up and leisurely dipped it. "Then who's the little girl you were talking about?" Kakashi asked. Iruka groaned. "The one who wanted Kisuna on your team… the wise one."
"But I thought you said that the new sensei was the one Hokage called wise." Kakashi pointed out. Iruka's dark eyes blinked. He moaned in aggravation. "I don't know…" Kakashi chuckled and smiled under his mask. "You should listen more carefully." He turned back to his team and saw that they were worn out. "That's it for today!" he called. He rested his hand on his chin and rubbed the skin thoughtfully. 'A new woman… how exciting.' His innocent smile turned into a devious grin.
When he heard a crash, Kakashi turned back to view his team. Kisuna was struggling to pick herself up. "Hey!" she yelled. Foxlyn stood near her, staring down at the smaller one. "Hay is for horses. Strength is for ninjas." She said with harsh words before giving a flick to her ebony ponytails. Kisuna scoffed and stood warily. "Listen up! You can't boss me around. If I'm in a duel, it's a two on two battle. BUTT OUT!" Foxlyn's dangerous gaze narrowed. She snatched a hold on the blonde's shirt.
"In battle there will be intrusions. You have to prepare for them. Prepare for everything." She threatened. Foxlyn released her sister and walked away. Sasuke caught Kisuna by the sleeve before she could hit the dirt again. "Sibling rivalry?" Sakura asked, standing behind her. Kisuna shook her head. "No, sibling issues." Kakashi dismissed them. "HEY! Master Kakashi, can't we have some sort of celebration? Kisuna is going to be on the team! How about some kind of eat-out or something." Naruto begged.
Kisuna blushed and told them that it wasn't necessary, but Naruto kept insisting. "Come on." He told her. She reluctantly gave in. "If it's not in anyone's way, that is." Sakura smiled. "Naruto, that's a great idea!" Naruto smiled. Kisuna hugged him, making his whole face turn red. Kisuna's cheek… it was touching his! "Naruto… something wrong?" Kakashi asked slyly. Naruto didn't say anything. Damn that Kakashi! Does he have to point out everything?
"A toast to Kisuna!" Naruto declared and raised his can of soda. Iruka, Kakashi, and Sakura did the same. Sasuke and Foxlyn just gave a slight nod to theirs. Kisuna smiled. "Thanks." They were all at the Ichiraku stand and having a fine time. During the feast, Sasuke nudged Foxlyn. "Hm?" she murmured. Sasuke pointed with his head at the two blondes. They were sitting next to each other and had their arms linked. Kisuna was telling about the time Naruto tried to make oden and nearly caught the house on fire.
Foxlyn looked at them, getting Sasuke's silent message. Kisuna and Naruto… they've become great friends and possibly more. Sasuke looked at them too…. Kisuna was someone who could understand Naruto. It was about time after everyone had despised him so much. Foxlyn smiled, though she showed no sign of it. Iruka had noticed it as well. 'It seems… that their coming here is a good thing. Naruto has someone to understand him. Now what to do?' wondered Kakashi.
Kakashi froze. He could feel eyes staring into his back. His students were busy amongst themselves, and Iruka was staring into space. Turning in his chair, Kakashi searched behind him.
Clear amethyst stared straight at him. Out of the large mob, she was easily spotted. All of her attention was focused on the copy ninja. A man in black was next to her. He must have said something, because she now gazed up. 'Ebisu?' Why was she with Ebisu? The girl called to Konohamaru. The young boy nodded eagerly. She smiled sweetly at him. Her gaze returned to Kakashi. She then turned, and followed Ebisu deeper into the crowd. Kakashi watched Konohamaru follow the mysterious girl.
"Sensei?" Kisuna whispered. Kakashi blinked. "Hm?" She shrugged, saying it was nothing. The elder one returned to his thoughts. Who was that girl? Why was she with Ebisu? Surely if Konohamaru trusted her, which Kakashi thought he did, she was someone of high regard. He continued to wonder until it began to eat at him internally. He stood and waved. "I'm to be on my way." He said. Kisuna thanked him for the celebration. He gave a brief dip of his head. "Farewell."
"Hokage… what can you tell me about this instructor-in-training?" Weary eyes turned to a dark one. "Mm.. Yokonna?" he asked. Kakashi's eye widened. 'Yokonna! But that's… who is this girl? What's her connection to Kisuna, if she has one?' The elderly man pivoted on his mat. "It's odd that you would ask of her." He murmured. Kakashi's brow rose. "How so?" The Hokage's weary eyes closed then slowly reopened. "She reminds me of you." He told the Jonin. Kakashi's eyes studied him, obviously wanting an explanation. The old man complied. "Do you remember when you first passed the Chunin Exams?" he asked. The wheels in Kakashi's mind began to turn, sorting through times long past. He nodded. "She had the same look in her eyes as you did." Kakashi's brow perked in interest. He stared into the floor. "She's twice the age you were then, and she has immense chakra. Even as we spoke, she was intellectual when her thoughts where split." The Hokage explained. "Split?" Kakashi asked. The Hokage nodded. "I could sense that she was struggling to hide her chakra. There's obviously more to her than meets the eye." Hokage looked up to stare behind Kakashi. "Speak of the devil." He mumbled. Kakashi turned.
The pair of amethyst eyes from before was penetrating him. 'Speak of the devil indeed.' Thought Kakashi. Yokonna's serene face cracked with a smile. "Good evening, Hatake Kakashi-San." She bowed politely. Kakashi returned her bow. "Good… evening…" Her smile embellished her innocence. "Honored Grandson!" shouted none other than Ebisu. The door was slammed open, as the Hokage's own grandson charged in. Three shuriken were in his hand, which he flung as his grandfather. "Always on guard, Old Man!" Kakashi's eyes widened. The spiraling stars neared the village leader.
Fwip, fwip, fwip! The stars were caught easily between slightly tanned digits. Yokonna's smile never faltered. "Konohamaru, you should be more careful with such weapons." She walked over to the young boy and returned his throwing stars. Konohamaru's eyes widened. "Yoko-San! Your hand, it's bleeding!" he exclaimed. Yokonna raised her hand up to study the liquid crimson. She didn't look pained in the least bit. It was as though she hadn't even noticed it. Ebisu, who had just entered, handed her a bandage. She thanked him and wiped away the blood. Kakashi's eye widened slightly. There was… no cut!
"Don't worry, Konohamaru, I'm fine." Yokonna told him. The young boy smiled up at him. "Okay…" He grabbed her other hand, obviously not having seen that she was completely unharmed, and gave a slight pull. "Let's go practice some jutsus." He begged. She chuckled softly. "Farewell Hokage-Sama, Kakashi-Sensei, perhaps we shall become better acquainted next time." She told them. The Hokage smiled. "Take care of him, he's a handful." Konohamaru glared back at him, pulling down the flesh underneath his eye. "Am not! Just you wait until next time, Old Man!" he shouted. Yokonna patted the raven hair, and Konohamaru's voice silenced. He smiled up at her.
Kakashi watched the three leave. Not long afterwards, when their steps were echoing down the hall, he stood himself. "I should be going now." He declared. The Hokage studied him. His wrinkling fingers held a pipe against his aging lips of which he inhaled from. "Didn't you want something?" he asked. Kakashi stretched with a lazy yawn. "If my assumption's right… I have everything I need at home, for now." He gave a half-assed salute, turned on his heel, and followed Yokonna's exit.
Kakashi plopped down onto his bed, pulling a book down with him. He was completely absorbed, even though it wasn't his Icha Icha Paradise… amazingly true. In fact, the title read. The words "Tales of Wonder" curled across the cover in fancy gold letters. He flipped through the pages idly until he came into one that had been folded accidentally. It had been marked some time ago… when he had first heard about the mission that would take them to the "Irrelevant Village of Smoke". There was a little manuscript about it on the page, but nothing could compare to the wild tales that his forefathers would come up with. More than likely half of the accusations would be false, only spiced up between each passing of being told. That was how things worked. Though he did know for a fact it had existed… He had been there, and brought home a young girl who turned out to be quite inexplicable as the village itself.
Kakashi grabbed a piece of paper and pencil. The thoughts were slurring together in his mind to become incomprehensible so he needn't to figure things out. Slowly drawing out little doodles and shapes, he watched as the shapes slowly turned into letters. Six letters begun to form after a "K" that had drifted off of a spiral. An "I" followed it, soon joined by an "S" then a "U". It was finished off with an "A". Kisuna was the girl's name… There was something about it, but what? He left the thought uncompleted and went on to the next. 'And then there were two…' Foxlyn had shown, proving to be quite as complex as the younger sibling. Her name also appeared on the paper. He drew the kanji for flames around it, signifying the outfit she had shown up in the first day. 'Fire… Sasuke also uses combustion for his ninjutsu. Wasn't that a trait of the Uchiha Clan?' Sasuke's name was written. Kakashi drew a circle around Foxlyn and pointed an arrow towards Sasuke.
'Now Yokonna…' He wrote her name underneath Kisuna's, slightly near where he had drawn Foxlyn. While circling her name repeatedly, one loop bolted from the rest to chop Yokonna's name into two bits. His eyes widened at the action. Quickly he drew a slash through Foxlyn's name, cutting it into two bits as well. His pencil lingered above Kisuna, pausing it mid-air. This name was different… Supposedly Yokonna and Kisuna were connected somehow, but now it seemed as though it was Yokonna and Foxlyn instead. He drew a vertical slash through Kisuna's name. The pencil tip broke with the abrupt pressure. "What in Buddha's name…" His eyes scanned the contents that he had discovered.
Yoko l nna
Fox l lyn
Kil suna
Now that it was written down it was so easy to see…
Author's Apology/Rant: I am so SORRY that this took (literally) months to write! Okay, it didn't take months in that I wrote it before but it took months to rewrite it to my satisfactory level. And sadly, it's not even quite there. Due to this, I'll end up having to write a chapter from scratch to put in between this and the one that's meant to be next. It's so upsetting because I started this fic about a YEAR ago. So yeah... I'm actually working on chapter 18 (though it'll be pushed to 19 when I have to stick one back here) and it's AWESOME. I'm so proud of myself but it's also somewhat sad because, well... I'm slowly deteriorating the FoxlynXIruka. However I have a reason for that! There should be plenty of IruFox before then but oh darn, no more spoilers for you!
Wait... No.. I'll be nice. Since you all have been so devoted to me for so long, here's a glimpse of the (actual lasest) chapter. It's called "Uchiha Flame."
Foxlyn was walking down through Konoha. She could feel many eyes upon her. Around her, the villagers whispered about her. How could so many people talk about someone they didn't even know? Then she remembered her invasion. A smirk crept onto the confident face. So many poeple feared the demonic eyes she painted onto her face. They feared her, even as a child. She grinned. 'They've learned.'
Though could they know that she was the same child from before?
They couldn't. It was almost impossible.
"Do it again!"
Lyn nodded and pulled her aching body from the ground. "Hai!" She stood, raised her fists, and tensed up her body. Itachi charged toward her and swung. She caught his fist! She gasped as his skin slipped against her prespiration and hit her anyways. She flew backwards and crashed.
Lyn's heart pounded against her ribs, causing her chest to ache. Her head felt ready to implode, and her sticky tendrils weren't helping either. She groaned softly. "Pathetic." Lyn sat up, wincing as she did so. "Just you wait! I will be stronger than you! I'll beat you!" Itachi disappeared in a switft blur. The crimson-eyed ninja reappeared with a foot in her face. She skidded back. "Nii-San, iya! She's bleeding!" whailed Sasuke. Itachi barely glanced at her before walking away. Lyn sighed. 'Thanks Sasuke-Kun. I don't think I could have taken... another... hit...' She fell into darkness.
She pulled back. Her back pressed against the cold wall. Her heart was pumping rapidly in her chest. A knot was twisting in her stomach. "I don't care anything about your clan... I only want to grow strong." She winced as Itachi pressed her against the wall with extreme force. Her back stung, causing the scars to pulsate. "You want power, ne?" He pushed her back more, causing her to wince. "I'll tell you one thing. The Sharingan is not for those outside the clan. I won't allow you to have its power."
Enough teasers for now! Continue reading and you'll figure out what goes on in between these scenes and after. Please review with any helpful advice, I'm really depending on you guys to be there for me. Domo arigato, Ja ne!