Kitsune Legends

Alright, I hope you guys were all able to put up with the filler. Anyways, in this chapter, many questions concerning the plot and so on will be answered (not that anybody asked, but I think some of you are curious).

Key:

"Humans/Hanyou speaking"

'Thinking'

"Demons talking in full demon forms/Demon language"

'Demons thinking to themselves'

'Demons talking telepathically to their vessels'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do own Yurei and the OCs though.

Meetings with Demons and Spirits

Konohagakure no sato's village council was made up of the most powerful ninja clan leaders, the Hokage, some select civilians, and a few of the most powerful ninja, including the Sannin (both generations).

All of the council members sat along the walls on mats behind low tables. Naruto, along with Sakura, Sasuke, Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, and two civilians sat along the wall opposite the only door, while the rest of the council who had gotten there so far sat along the other walls. A few people were still missing when Mikiko was ushered in, including one Hatake Kakashi.

Fingering the large scroll, she sat on the mat in the middle of the room after bowing to everyone. If she was nervous, she didn't show it. Showing weaknesses in front of any council was a bad idea. She sat in the traditional position with her feet tucked underneath her and quietly waited while she was sized up by the council.

'She seems to know what to do in council meetings. Not surprising, really. She is the back-up heir to her clan, after all…' thought Shikamaru.

A week prior to the Mist-nin's visit, Naruto had ordered him to get some research on them all. He had been about to protest, but before he can say his trademark phrase, his ex-prankster of a Hokage had threatened to tell his wife if he didn't. That got him saluting and rushing out of the tower quicker than you can say "black mail".

He glanced down at the folder in front of him and sighed. He opened it and re-read the papers again, with Sasuke, who was on his left, looking over at them also.

Name: Hakumei Mikiko (picture of Mikiko, taken after they officially became Genin)

Age: 12

Gender: Female

Village: Kirigakure no sato

Rank, other: Genin, second in line to be Head of the Hakumei clan

Preferred choice of weapons: katana, wakizashi, senbon

Specialty: Taijutsu, genjutsu, kinjutsu

Current Team: Hoshigaki Katsu (sensei, one of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen), Hakumei Tsuki (her twin, Jinchuuriki no Byakko no Tora (Vessel of Byakko the tiger)), Takamoto Riku

Missions: D- 29, C- 2, B- unknown, A- unknown, S- unknown, SS- unknown

History: Involved in the murders of several Hakumei clan members and villagers when she was ten-years-old. Details are classified.

Other: Jinchuuriki no Yurei no Okami (Vessel of the ghost wolf), details concerning the demon are unknown

Both shinobi frowned when they came across all the unknown information and this girl's history. Involved in murders? Just who is this girl?

Naruto smiled warmly at Mikiko when she came in and sat down, somewhat relieving her of the tension in the air. She gave a small, nearly invisible smile and closed her eyes for some meditation.

Naruto imagined shaking Kyuubi's cage to wake him up so he can talk to him.

'Yurei, huh? Ghost wolf…yo, fur ball, recognize the name?' A snarl was his response at his disrespect before falling silent to ponder on the name, or so he thought. In reality, Kyuubi was thinking back on some very unpleasant memories concerning the wolf demon.

'Goddammit, of all the demons to be sealed inside this girl, it had to be Yurei!' He muttered some more curses under his breath, causing Naruto to raise a mental eyebrow.

'So you DO know Yurei. Why are you cursing so much? I mean, more than you normally do.'

'Bah. We knew each other when we were kits, that's all…'

'So? She hates perverts like you, too?'

During his training journey with Jiraiya all those years ago, he had gotten enough contact with Kyuubi's chakra that it allowed them to have a telepathic connection, much to Naruto's annoyance, once he found out that the fox was more of a pervert than Jiraiya himself and constantly sent him perverted images.

'…'

'HA! I knew it! Ero-kitsune! So what'd she do to punish you? Knowing demons, it must have been harsh.'

The occupants of the room could feel the smugness and happiness coming from the Hokage and couldn't help but ease up a bit and even smile. Only one council member was missing now.

'…'

'…'

'…'

'…'

'Your old sensei is late again. Shouldn't you get someone to fetch him?'

'Don't change the subject! I'll deal with you later.'

He looked around at everyone in the room, and the ever late Copy-nin was indeed late. He sighed and mumbled something about chronic perverts. His old teammates, who were sitting on either side of him (Sakura left, Sasuke right), grinned a little.

"Can someone go get Kakashi? Tell him I'll fry his books if he isn't here in ten minutes."

Several people snickered before Tsunade stood and walked out to fetch him.

While this was happening, Mikiko was silently conversing with her 'inner demon'.

'Jinchuuriki no Kyuubi no Kitsune…'

'Hehe, it'll be nice to meet Kyuubi-teme again. It's been a while…'

'…?'

'Yeah, when we were pups, we always bickered and fought each other until it drove the others insane. A normal demon rivalry/friendship.'

'Ah. It seems that Kyuubi-san knows you're here, and Naruto-sama's getting some fun out of it. I don't think Kyuubi-san is that happy to be able to see you again…'

A slightly rushed looking Kakashi was half-dragged into the room by Tsunade.

"Maa, maa, sorry I'm late everyone, I saw a frog drowning and after I saved it I was busy trying to teach his wife how to do CPR, but I didn't know how to do CPR on a frog. So I brought them to the vet, but it was closed because it's Sunday."

Everyone looked at him with a blank look that screamed 'LIAR'. He chuckled before taking his seat.

Clearing his throat to break the disbelieving silence, Naruto grinned widely at everyone.

"YOSH! Now that everyone's here, we can get this meeting, requested by this young lady here, started!"

Sakura was about to scold Naruto a little for being over-enthusiastic again in front of the Mist-nin before she saw Mikiko give him a smile, like she was used to this type of loudness.

"Okay, would you start by introducing yourself and telling us the reason you called us all?" She nodded and stood, bowing to everyone.

"Ohayo. I am Hakumei Mikiko, a genin from Kiri. I am here to further explain the scroll of information that my village has sent you as a gift for the alliance between our villages."

Murmurs were started up at this. How can a mere genin explain an important scroll? What's in the scroll? Why does it need further explaining?

"But before this meeting continues, I'd like to ask that you inform the guards outside to not interfere if they feel any strange chakra or…presences."

Eyebrows were raised in question.

"It would be best to show you the information in the scroll, rather than just letting you read it…"

Naruto spoke up before anyone can question the young jinchuuriki.

"Go ahead."

A civilian near the door went out and told the chuunin, making one glance inside and raise an eyebrow at the girl. He agreed nonetheless.

'It seems that people are not taking you seriously…Heh, I'll love their reactions when they hear what's in the scroll and what we're here to do.'

'Hn.'

After everyone was seated again, Naruto grinned.

"OKAY! Done."

Mikiko smiled a little before setting the scroll in a standing position in front of her (she didn't sit down yet).

"As some of you might know, I am the Jinchuuriki no Yurei no Okami. Therefore it is my duty to explain this scroll to you."

Silence.

Several people gaped at her. None of them have ever heard of this demon. Gears started to click inside their minds. Shikamaru however, already figured out what that had to do with the scroll.

"So…that scroll has something to do with demons? How troublesome…" he drawled out.

Mikiko nodded, appreciating the fast-thinking genius.

"Hai, Nara-sama. I would like to first however explain something having to do with this to help with the actual information."

She took out some paint, a paintbrush and a blank scroll and set them down, starting to draw a seal on the scroll. The ninja in the room tensed, just in case she might attack them.

After she finished she set the paint and brush aside and bit her thumb, drawing blood. She drew a smaller seal on her forehead. Looking up, she saw about half the room fingering kunai.

"I'm just using a seal to show you images that'll help me explain some stuff. No need to worry. I wouldn't want to endanger the alliance would I?"

This somewhat eased them.

Finishing off the sealing with several unknown hand seals, the seals on her head and on the small scroll glowed blue before a holographic picture of the planet showed up above the scroll. Mikiko stepped back a few paces, to let everyone see it.

"As you all know, this is our planet. However, there are two other worlds or realms as we'll call it, parallel to this one. The first is Makai, or hell, the world of beasts."

Another globe the same size as Earth appeared. It had the same amount of water, but it was separated into five large continents. Other than that, it didn't look any different. It wasn't what they expected from Hell.

"The second is Joukai, or heaven, the world of spirits."

A third globe appeared, but there was one big continent and another much smaller one on the other side of the world.

"Both Makai and Joukai were created long before Ningenkai. However, everything is not as black and white as it seems. There is both good and evil in both worlds, though obviously more evil in Makai. To deal with those bad immortals, a council was born in each world to deal with it. The Demon Council and the Heaven's Council each had 13 members. Kyuubi-sama is on the Demon Council."

Everyone in the room was either upset or enraged at the term of respect the girl had given the demon fox. He is the same demon that gave them all much grief, especially their leader. However, they were silenced when Naruto cleared his throat again. He motioned for Mikiko to continue.

She nodded, and pictures of both councils replaced the spinning globes.

On the Demon Council, all 13 demons were had either 8 or 9 tails. All of them sat in a semi circle on mats, and they did not look like the demons they were thought to be. These creatures looked calm and poised, almost like nobles.

This surprised everyone, especially Naruto. He looked directly at the silent observing hanyou.

"Then why did ero-kitsune attack us?"

He was supported by a few shouts of agreement.

"I will explain that later on." The crowd eventually settled down and looked at the picture of Heaven's Council. It showed 13 spirits of different ages and gender (they couldn't tell with the demons) with white wings. They were sitting in the same positions as the demons, with the same expressions.

"Eventually, the Gods that created Makai and Joukai created Ningenkai, so that all three worlds would be connected. However, since it was a younger realm and consisted of mortals and is a mix of lesser creatures from both worlds, the immortals were ordered to make another council that was higher ranking then their own, to rule over it, since Ningenkai connected everything. This was called the Grand Council, which was made up of both demons and spirits."

Another picture showed up in between the other councils. Upon seeing a certain demon through his vessel's eyes, Kyuubi started to grumble.

'Oi, gaki. Here's some info on Yurei if you want it…she's on the Grand Council. Fourth from the right…the wolf with no pupils like your Hyuuga.'

'What the hell?'

'Hehehe…that ought to cause her a little trouble…' thought the demon.

Naruto voiced his amazement and pointed at the picture of Yurei.

"Oi, Mikiko! How come Yurei has Hyuuga eyes?"

Neji narrowed his eyes when he heard this was Yurei. Others blinked in confusion or raised eyebrows.

"Ah, yes. Kyuubi-sama told you, right? Yes, Yurei is on the Grand Council, which was why I had to come and explain this to you. I told you guys that Ningenkai had several similarities to the other worlds. It just so happens that the general appearances of the Hyuuga eyes were based after the Yurei."

The Council pictures disappeared, and were replaced by detailed pictures of Yurei and a spirit with bright green eyes.

"On the Grand Council are two immortals that are in charge of life and death. Yurei is Death, and that spirit, Tenshi, is Life. Please note that the term 'angel of death' came from the last generation, where the Yurei was a spirit and vise versa. These chosen ones are not necessarily from one clan. They are just born. The distinctive traits for each immortal are that the Yurei has white eyes, and the Tenshi has green eyes and gray streaks through the wings or tails."

Sakura and some other people were now wondering about the Shinigami (God of Death)and why she kept calling them 'the Yurei' or 'the Tenshi'. She raised her hand to get her attention.

"Mikiko-san? What about the Shinigami? Isn't he death, not this demon?"

'I'm starting to feel like an Academy teacher…'

Yurei didn't answer, but Mikiko could feel the amusement coming off in waves.

She replaced the two pictures with a large detailed picture of a Shinigami. Several of the weak-minded people screamed, and the ninja flinched. It was a horrible looking creature.

It was a beast that had pale, almost scaly, red gray skin and claw like hands. The Shinigami's head however was definitely not human. There were horns made of bone on its narrow head with sharp teeth and long spiky white hair. It wore a large, tattered, white kimono with that was tied loosely at the waist that had blotches of dried blood here and there, which hid whether or not the Shinigami had legs. A dirty, ripped, and bloody haori with large sleeves was worn over this. Clenched in its jaws was a dagger.

The chuunin outside shifted nervously at the screams, but didn't sense any foreign chakra signatures signifying attacks.

Inside Naruto, Kyuubi shifted nervously at the sight of the thing that sealed him. Naruto was gaping.

"That's the Shinigami?"

"Correct," Mikiko nodded, "This is the Shinigami of the Elemental countries. There is one Shinigami for each continent on Ningenkai. Yurei is the leader of these Shinigami. Yurei and Tenshi have the job of deciding who goes to heaven or hell when they die and are ready to leave this world. Since more people go to hell, the Shinigami transport the dead spirits to Makai. That's why there isn't just one."

"What's the real reason you called us here, Mikiko-san? We could have just read all this. Surely there are pictures in the scroll?" asked a slightly confused Ino, now head of the Yamanaka clan.

Mikiko smiled and made the pictures disappear. The seals stopped glowing.

"There are several reasons why I had to call you all. First, however, Yurei would like to talk to Kyuubi-sama…with the help of Yamanaka-sama."

Ino blinked and watched Mikiko clean up the seals and put away the stuff. She set aside everything, including the information scroll. Ino looked at Naruto, who was staring blankly. She knew that he was talking to Kyuubi.

'Talk to you? Why would she need to talk to you?'

'…hmm. It must be because I'm on the Demon Council. I think she wants to call the Grand Council and the Demon Council for a meeting here.'

'WHAT?'

'It must be important if they need to call 2 of the 3 worldly councils.'

Narrowing his eyes, he nodded at Ino and beckoned Mikiko over to them. They got up and sat in front of Naruto. Ino made a couple dozen hand seals, then poked Naruto and Mikiko in the forehead.

"Ninpou: Seirei Isshou (Ninja Arts: Spirit Meeting)!"

All three slumped to the floor.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Mikiko's soul woke up to vast darkness next to Yurei, Ino, Naruto, and Kyuubi. Both demons were their full 125meter sizes (a bit taller than Gamabunta), towering over them all. Ino squeaked in slight surprise to be next to these demons. Looking surprised, Naruto walked over to stand next to Mikiko, who was staring at Kyuubi.

Both humans finally got a better look at Mikiko. In this spirit meeting, she cannot use genjutsu, so they saw her in all of her half-demon glory, tails and all.

Everyone except Yurei stared at her in surprise.

"So…you made this kit a hanyou?" chuckled Kyuubi. Both their nine tails were swishing this way and that.

"Of course, ero-kitsune! How else would she help with our mission?"

Naruto tilted his head and blinked. "Mission? Is that how you got sealed?"

Yurei turned to look at Naruto with those empty eyes and nodded.

"As you know, there are several other jinchuuriki in Ningenkai. Since I am the Yurei, I can safely remove the demons from their vessels without killing them. I won't remove the bastard here yet since you need him. Besides, Kyuubi's mission isn't done yet."

At the mention of his mention Kyuubi tensed up and snarled.

"Byakko's mission with this pup's sister is different. They are here to collect all demon and spirit artifacts to prevent further use of them in wars."

Ino narrowed her eyes.

"The Yurei? Isn't Yurei no Okami your name?"

Both demons started laughing at this outrageous question. She frowned. What's so funny?

Mikiko coughed a little to get Naruto and Ino's attention. They stared at her ears and tails.

"Hanyou means half-demon if you don't know. I'll explain it later. And…Yurei no Okami and Kyuubi no Kitsune are their titles. In Makai, if you know a demon's true name, you have power over them, so instead of names they have these titles."

Both nodded. Eventually the demons stopped laughing. Kyuubi wiped his eyes with a tail.

"Ahaha…yo, bitch. You need to call the councils…right?" He grinned cheekily, showing off his fangs. Yurei grinned in response.

"Bingo, bastard. Finally got your head out of the bathhouses to start thinking, eh?"

Grumbling, he tried to swat Yurei's head with a tail, but she blocked with one of hers, causing a minor earthquake to erupt underneath them all. Getting his footing again, Naruto poked Mikiko to get her attention.

"OI, Mikiko! Are they always like this?" This rivalry reminded him vaguely of him and Sasuke when they were younger, not that their rivalry improved much from back then. Mikiko sighed.

"Hai."

"Anyways…yo, Naruto. We need your help to call the Demon Council and the Grand Council. We just need you to use Kyuubi-teme's chakra while the pup uses mines and does the seals and incantations." Yurei laid down and got as close to eye level with them as she can, which wasn't much because they still had to crane their heads up to look directly at her.

"Why do you need to call the councils, anyways?" All this new information was giving Naruto a head ache.

"We all need to discuss something after Mikiko-chan does her favor for you all."

"Favor?" asked Ino and Naruto in unison.

"You'll see. Just don't attack her when she does this. Jutsus that have to do with souls always give off a bad feeling."

"Errrr…yeah, okay. Just tell me when to use the chakra okay?"

Mikiko nodded and smiled at the favor she was going to be doing for them. She looked to Ino, who was frowning. Why would they want to attack her?

"Yamanaka-sama. We can go now."

"Err, hai." She formed the ram seal.

"KAI!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Mikiko woke up and rubbed where she hit her head when she fell. She looked towards Ino and Naruto, seeing them wake up as well. The rest of the council was staring curiously at them.

"What'd they talk about?" asked Inuzuka Hana. Naruto waved off the apprehensive tone in her voice.

"You know those Demon and Grand Councils?"

Everyone nodded.

"They want a meeting with us."

Jaws dropped. They stared at Mikiko, who was taking off the bandages on her arms. It revealed many seals underneath that looked like it was carved into her skin. She took out a kunai knife, making the ninja take out their own knives again. Naruto shook his head, making them lower their weapons.

Mikiko went back to the middle of the room and re-carved a seal on her left arm, letting the blood drip down her arm and onto the floor. She didn't flinch in pain like normal genin would have. Putting down the kunai for now, she formed a hand seal and activated her bloodline limit.

"Rikkido Soujuu!"

Konohagakure's council watched in fascination as the blood floated around the girl. She placed her hand over her seal again and sucked out as much of her blood as she dared. Sakura and Tsunade gasped. That wasn't healthy. Panting slightly from blood loss, she took out a blood-replenishing pill from her ninja pouch and swallowed it, allowing Yurei to heal the wound.

Mikiko looked at the blood floating around her and spread it out along the walls, and drew seals on all of them and on Mikiko and Naruto's faces.

On the large seal that was drawn on the floor, she stood at one point and then looked at Naruto.

"Hokage-sama, can you stand at that other point?"

Nodding, he smiled and stood where she pointed.

"Okay. I will start calling the Grand Council now. When I tell you to, release Kyuubi-sama's chakra at a slow and steady rate. That's all you need to do."

He nodded, interested in this 'calling'.

Taking in a few breaths, she started rapidly forming hand seals, making her hands look like blurs to the non-ninja in the room. She reached inside herself and tapped into Yurei's chakra. It released, emitting an aura of death from the small girl. The council couldn't repress the shivers.

All the seals started glowing silver, and Mikiko started chanting in the demon language, which sounded rough and raspy to the humans. She stopped chanting on the dog seal and nodded to Naruto. Nodding back, he released Kyuubi's chakra.

The combined aura of both demons caused everyone else to sink to the ground from all the pressure. Mikiko started chanting and sealing again. The seals around them started glowing red.

A few minutes later, the seals started to become 3-D. A bright flash of blinding light erupted, making everyone close their eyes.

When they opened them, they found themselves sitting in a wide open plain with a river running through it. The ninja stood alert and looked around cautiously, but couldn't find anything dangerous, and settled down a little.

Panting, Mikiko struggled to get up again. The calling of the councils always took 80 of her chakra no matter how much her chakra reserves grew. She whistled to get everyone's attention.

"This is…a little pocket in space in time where all the councils meet. They will be joining us shortly."

The two Sharingan users in the room briefly exposed their dojutsu to check if this was an illusion.

It wasn't.

Finally catching her breath, Mikiko wiped her brow of the little sweat that came from the complex seals she did.

"In this little plain, all seals do not apply, so we are able to see Kyuubi-sama and Yurei-sensei in their true form. They may come out whenever they wish, however it'd be better to come out now, since they are on the councils I called." At this she eyed Naruto, who sighed at the prospect of seeing Kyuubi again.

A pulse of demonic chakra from both jinchuuriki revealed both Yurei and Kyuubi, though much smaller in their 15 feet forms. People tensed at the sight of them, especially Kyuubi.

Sighing, Yurei waved her tails and 26 mats appeared and placed themselves in front of everyone. She walked over to her own mat and lay down, signaling Kyuubi to do the same.

"Ahem." Everybody looked at Mikiko, who looked a little sheepish. "Err. I want to remind you all not to be disrespectful. These are all powerful immortals and…they are all at full power and are going to actually be here in real life. No illusion. No spirit projection. The real things."

Some people gulped at the prospect at being at the mercy of 26 immortal beings. If they could barely handle one, and could only seal him at the sacrifice of their best ninja, they wouldn't want to anger 26.

Kyuubi gazed at the hanyou lazily.

"Yo, kit. What about that favor you wanted to do these ningen?"

Everyone except Ino and Naruto showed different levels of confusion, though you couldn't tell with Kakashi because he had pulled out his little orange book again and was reading it. All the females glared at him, causing him to sweat a little at the killer intent. He put it away hastily just as the first Council member arrived in a flash of green. Yurei's head perked up at his appearance.

"Hey! Tenshi, long time no see!"

The spirit smiled and flew over to the wolf demon.

Some of the un-married girls blushed at his features. He had bright green eyes with long blonde hair that was tied in a low ponytail. His bangs were long as well, shoulder length, just like in the picture Mikiko showed them, along with the gray-streaked, white wings. He wore a white hakama and kimono top, with a large wooden staff in his right hand. It curved in a hook at the top, surrounding a very large diamond.

"Long time? It's only been 12 years…"

Naruto face-faulted at this. After getting up and rubbing his face, he scowled a little.

"'Only been 12 years'?" He repeated dully. Tenshi shrugged.

"When you've lived as long as we have, 12 years isn't really that much…" Both demons nodded, agreeing.

"Anyways, Tenshi. I'll need your help for something the pup wanted to do for these people."

The handsome spirit raised and eyebrow and looked at the slightly tired girl. Frowning, he flew over and landed in front of her. He looked over her, making her fidget slightly from the scrutiny she was going under.

"Is that so?"

She nodded. "Hai, Tenshi-sama."

Sensing good intentions, he smiled and tapped her head softly with his staff. The diamond glowed white briefly, before Mikiko felt all of her energy back. She smiled.

"Arigatou."

He just winked at her. "No prob." He flew back and went to his mat, which was right next to Yurei. They started chatting about random things.

Over the next 15 minutes, the Konohagakure Council watched as the rest of the 2 other councils came, one by one. The one thing everyone noticed was the all the spirits held different types of weapons. All were chattering before Yurei thumped a tail on the ground and sending a shockwave through it, making everyone go quiet.

"All right, the Demon Council and the Grand Council are now in session. The topic of the Grand Council today is the possible new member," said the demon in a loud and calm voice. Kyuubi spoke up next.

"The Demon Council is here to discuss my mission and whether or not I abort it. Also, we are here to talk about the seal that Kazama Arashi used to seal me inside Kazama Uzumaki Naruto."

"But first," piped up Tenshi," Hakumei Mikiko will help us release a soul from the stomach of one of Yurei's Shinigami."

All eyes turned towards the small girl, who stood up and smiled at the Leaf's Council.

"In order for this meeting to continue, we need one more spirit to be here. This spirit's name…is Kazama Arashi."

Eyes widened. Would she really do that? What about the seal? Naruto gripped his Hokage robes a little harder. The idea of meeting his father seemed too good to be true. Sasuke and Sakura both looked worriedly at their friend.

"Another spirit will only be freed if the Grand Council approves. It is my gift to you all." Turning around, she stood straight and spoke up clearly in a loud voice.

"I, Hakumei Mikiko, Jinchuuriki no Yurei no Okami, request the freedom of one more soul from the bowels of the Elemental Country's Shinigami's stomach."

A nine tailed black bird tilted his feathery head at her.

"And who is this person?"

"Sarutobi, the Third Hokage."

Tsunade and Jiraiya both gasped. They exchanged a shocked look.

The Grand Council started talking to each other about whether or not to approve. Tenshi and Yurei were already on her side and were helping her out. The same demon bird looked back at Mikiko with sharp yellow eyes.

"Request granted, on two conditions. You will have to help out with Kyuubi's mission in Ningenkai. And, you must show your true form right now."

"Hai. Arigatou."

Everyone turned towards Yurei and Tenshi, who got up and walked (or flew in Tenshi's case) towards an empty space near the 3 councils. Mikiko followed after putting down her kunai pouch and ninja pouch. She nodded to signify that she was ready.

Yurei let out a blood curling howl, summoning the Shinigami. It appeared in a burst of smoke, sending the stench of death and rotting corpses towards everyone. The Shinigami bowed to Yurei (they are both currently the same size) before straightening and glancing at Mikiko, who didn't flinch, like she was used to seeing the Shinigami.

Forming an unknown seal and then the ram, she yelled out "ONI KAI!"

The genjutsu faded, revealing her tails and ears to the rest of the Council (The Demon and Grand Councils saw through this weak demon genjutsu that Yurei put on her the moment the saw her). They stared in confusion at the strange features. She turned towards them with an emotionless face, getting ready for the task ahead of her.

"This is my true form. Over a month ago, I went through a ritual that fused me with Yurei's genes, causing me to become a half demon, or hanyou. My sister is one as well. When I return to my village, she will come with the last scroll to explain."

Turning back, she took a deep breath and allowed the thin tendrils of chakra that shot out of Yurei's tails wrap around her waist, arms, and legs. Tenshi pointed his staff at Mikiko, muttering an incantation that covered her with a white glow. She stepped towards the Shinigami.

"Open the portal."

Grinning (this made a few people shiver; it looked so evil like this) a circular portal opened where its stomach should be, causing a powerful vacuum that sucked in everything that it can. Pointing towards the rest of their company, the diamond on Tenshi's staff glowed blue before a large dome made of pure light blue chakra covered them all, as to not get them sucked in.

Taking a few more deep breaths, she ran towards the Shinigami and jumped into the portal, causing Naruto, Ino, Sakura, and Jiraiya (who knew her the most so far) to gasp, and the rest to stiffen. The thing wire like chakra extended, meaning she was going farther into the endless stomach of the Shinigami.

The air grew thick for the next few minutes as silence reigned. All were staring at the portal that suddenly grew red. Yurei felt a pull at her 'wires' and retracted them, pulling Mikiko out of the other dimension.

She fell out of the portal holding the hands of the Fire Country's Yondaime and the Sandaime. All three of them were panting for air.

The Leaf's Council stood up to get a better view of their heroes of the past. Kakashi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Naruto all took a small step towards the panting trio, gaping at the forms of their loved ones.

The Shinigami closed the portal, bowed to Yurei, and then disappeared.

Both newly freed souls were still in the clothes they were wearing when they sacrificed their lives. Sarutobi was in his battle armor, and Arashi was wearing his white cloak with flames, a blue jounin vest, and regular black ninja clothes.

Grinning so wide that Tenshi briefly thought if his face would split, Arashi stood up and dusted himself off. He let out a satisfied sigh and pumped his fist in the air.

"FREE!"

The former Rookie Nine could tell right then and there that Naruto and Arashi were related, from their similar grins and their appearances.

Sarutobi got up and helped Mikiko up before dusting himself off as well. He smiled at her.

"Thank you for helping us, Mikiko-san."

She smiled back and started to lead them back towards the 3 councils (the protective chakra barrier was lifted), when they finally noticed who was there.

"Sensei?"

Arashi couldn't believe how much Kakashi had grown. The last time he saw him was in the Kyuubi battle when he was still a teenager.

"Kakashi?"

Said jounin stiffly nodded, still shocked. Both of them walked towards each other, meeting in the middle. They stared at one another, silent. Several minutes past as Sarutobi walked towards Tsunade and Jiraiya and chatted, catching up.

Mikiko looked skeptical at the reunion between teacher and student. They weren't doing anything. She shrugged before walking back to her mat and sitting. They must be reminiscing.

Suddenly, Arashi broke out into a full blown grin and smacked Kakashi on the back a few times affectionately, startling him out of his thoughts.

"So…Kakashi. Found a girl yet?"

Blushing heavily, he nearly face-faulted at this out of the blue question.

"Sensei!"

Arashi started laughing at his embarrassed ex-student. Then he looked towards the rest of the shocked Leaf Council. He raised his hand in a very Kakashi like greeting.

"Yo!"

This time, the entire council did face plants. Naruto was the first to recover. He got up and pointed a little angrily at Arashi.

"30 years of being gone from our lives and the first thing you say to us is 'Yo!'?"

Frowning, Arashi strode up towards Naruto and pointed at him.

"Yeah! What else could I say! 'I'm sorry for being away for 30 years because I had to give up my life to seal Kyuubi inside my own son?'?"

Now that they stood next to each other, people would have mistaken them for twins if not for the different clothes and the whiskers on Naruto. They all watched at the two bickered and argued, pointing fingers at each other and waving their arms around to emphasize their points. Finally, they turned away from each other and 'hmmph'ed, looking like they were fed up with talking to each other. However it was amusing to see both Hokage crying silent tears behind the other's back.

A nine tailed black dragon from the Demon Council who was sitting next to Kyuubi cleared her throat, instantly gaining the attention of everyone, as the sound was loud.

"As much as I'd like to see this heart warming reunion go on, we need to continue with the meeting."

Several other demons and spirits nodded.

Eventually everyone settled down, leaving Sarutobi and Arashi to sit on the mats that suddenly appeared on either side of Mikiko. The black dragon got up and took a step forward, signaling that she was going to speak.

"I am sure you are all wondering why Kyuubi was sent to Ningenkai."

She received some nods.

"A few years prior to Kyuubi's arrival in your world, there was a human that dared to attempt something that is forbidden to you…" the dragon paused to see them all listening intently, and some already guessing what she was going to say.

"This human, attempted to gain…immortality."

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sarutobi all flinched, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Sasuke tensed, remembering the times he had spent with the snake sannin. Sakura rest a comforting hand on his shoulder. After a few seconds, he nodded towards her in gratitude.

"This crime could not go un-punished. We decided to send Kyuubi, since he had been to the Fire Country before to give another punishment. That is the reason why you humans have heard terrifying stories about him." After this, she looked directly at Arashi, who gazed back at her boldly.

"Usually the members of the 3 worldly councils only meet if something comes to their attention in the world they are chosen to keep watch over. Times other than that are spent in our own worlds, in Joukai and Makai. That is the reason why we didn't know that this Orochimaru had left your village by the time Kyuubi got there." The dragon sat back on her mat, and Kyuubi stepped forward and eyed Arashi and Sarutobi.

"I guess I should have known better than to arrive in my full demon form, considering that Ichibi no Tanuki had attacked the Sand a few days before. I'm sorry for that. However by the time I got there I was already being attacked by your shinobi. They never gave me the time to explain myself or to even shift into my half demon or human forms. Before I knew it, Arashi had finished the seals to summon the Shinigami and seal me into Naruto." At this, Arashi had the dignity to look a little sheepish.

"That last roar I gave before I was sealed was actually a message in our demon language to the Shinigami. I told it to tell Yurei the situation, seeing as she was on the Grand Council and was in charge of it."

The demon bird from the Grand Council ruffled its feathers and put his two-cents in.

"We got the message and decided as a punishment for not being more subtle in his approach to get information regarding Orochimaru, we'd let him be sealed until Naruto passed on. However, because of the seal, Kyuubi would die as well."

The dragon spoke up again.

"And that brings us to our discussion on the seal and why we needed to summon your village council. We need to alter that seal so that Kyuubi will live and be sent back to Makai. It is the same seal that traps Yurei and Byakko in the twin hanyou."

She pointed a claw in front of the humans and a picture of the seal appeared. It looked just like Naruto's spiral seal, except that there were more complex markings on the outer edges.

"This seal will only show itself when the seal is being removed or being activated, or in rare cases, when the demon inside the vessel wishes the seal to be shown."

The dragon nodded once towards Yurei, who nodded back. The ghost wolf looked towards Mikiko, who was already standing up, facing the council. Yurei set up a temporary connection back to Mikiko and sent a small burst of chakra towards it. The seal showed up in black ink on her stomach before disappearing again after a few seconds.

Arashi and Jiraiya sifted through their experiences with sealing (since they were both sealing masters) and declared that it indeed let free the demon after the vessel died. Mikiko nodded before sitting down once again.

Kyuubi looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, please step in front of Yurei no Okami. She is one of Makai's Master Sealers and has a specialty with seals regarding souls, seeing as she is the Yurei."

Naruto got up and walked a little nervously towards Yurei, who was looking curiously at him. When he got in front of him, he bowed a little. Yurei smiled, showing some of her fangs. Then, before everyone's eyes, she shifted to her half demon form.

She had waist length white hair with the same eyes and pale skin. Her outfit was just like Tenshi's (hakama and kimono top), except it was black. White ears and nine tails twitched as she smiled again.

"Naruto, I will make a barrier around us so that no one else can see you undress enough for me to see your seal."

He blushed a little at the idea of stripping in front his friends, but nodded. A black dome covered them both at the wave of Yurei's arm.

A few minutes later, after a strangled cry of pain from Naruto, the dome dissipated, and it uncovered a smiling Yurei and Naruto, who was rubbing his stomach where the seal was altered.

"It's done. Continue the meeting. Naruto, you can sit down again."

He nodded stiffly and walked back to sit down as Yurei shifted back to her smaller demon form and sat on the mat. When everyone was sitting again, the dragon spoke.

"Now that the seal is altered, we can move on. Kyuubi is to continue his mission to give Orochimaru his punishment. However, now that he is sealed inside you, Naruto, you will have to help him with this. Although, I think you would have helped 'punish' Orochimaru whether we asked you to or not," she chuckled.

Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Of course! That bastard deserves to be punished after what he did to everyone. What's his punishment anyways?" Some people fidgeted with their hands at the casual tone he was talking with, but figured this is the most polite Naruto can be.

"Orochimaru's punishment is death. Then, when his spirit is released from whatever body he's in, the Shinigami will come to take him to Makai for punishment given directly by us."

He nodded, satisfied that Orochimaru would get punishment directly from some of the most powerful and (he hoped) sadistic demons in hell.

"Next is the Grand Council's topic, which also involves you all," said Yurei," our possible new member is to replace one of the spirits on the council who wishes to retire. This human is someone you all know."

An old looking man that looked like a Buddhist monk stepped forward, indicating that he was the spirit she was talking about. He eyed them all before speaking.

"The one that I wish to replace me was a kind and caring person, who would do anything for their loved ones. This person has been honorable, and is powerful. Their name is…"

The Leaf Council looked at each other in slight confusion as to the identity of this person. It could have been anyone.

"…Kazama Arashi."

Said Hokage gaped before slowly getting up and bowing.

"Ah, thank you for this honor, but I wish to stay on Ningenkai for a few more years, to see things I haven't seen for so long. I want to see my new family, and my village. But unfortunately I won't be able to speak with them as I will be a spirit."

The old monk nodded in understanding.

"That is acceptable. You can replace me whenever you are ready to leave Ningenkai. Although it probably won't be the last time you see it after you do, as you will be watching over it."

Arashi grinned and bowed again.

"Thanks for understanding." He sat down. Yurei cocked her head to the side.

"I didn't tell you guys this, but since Mikiko is fused with my genes, she has also inherited the ability to see, hear, and touch spirits roaming in Ningenkai."

Arashi and Sarutobi looked at the girl between them in shock, causing her to blush slightly. She nodded in affirmation.

"I can also fuse my youkai, or demon chakra, with spirits to make them solid for a certain amount of time, depending on how much chakra I give, and how long the person's soul is able to withstand the stress."

If it was possible, Arashi grinned wider.

"That's perfect! You can give me a physical form for a while when we get back!"

Mikiko gave a small smile and nodded a little.

"Hai."

Yurei cleared her throat. "Whenever you want to leave Ningenkai, you can just ask a Shinigami whenever it passes by, Mikiko, or one of my personal attendants/assistants that wander around." She waved a tail and a fore head protector appeared in front of them. In the middle of the metal was the kanji for ghost, along with a black pearl on either side of it.

"All the spirits under my command (and Mikiko's command too since technically now that I fused my genes with hers, she's my heir) wear a symbol just like this. It can be a bandanna or head band, just like your fore head protectors. They can be human spirits, demon spirits, or animal spirits. You'll recognize them when you see them."

Arashi nodded and smiled at Mikiko again, who returned it. Yurei looked at Sarutobi.

"What is it you wish to do, Sarutobi?"

The former Hokage pondered this question before turning and smiling at the Leaf Council. He looked back at the leader of the Shinigami.

"I wish to stay in Ningenkai until I am ready to leave, just like Arashi, Yurei-sama."

She glanced at the other members of her council. Most of them nodded, agreeing. She gazed back at the Sandaime.

"Permission granted. This session with the Grand Council and the Demon Council is now over."

With that, every demon and spirit except Tenshi, Kyuubi, and Yurei left in various bursts of colored lights, smoke, or elements. The three council members left turned to look at the Leaf Council, who mostly looked as if they had head aches. It must have been too much information to process at once. Kyuubi snickered.

"I guess that was too much for their puny human brains to handle all at once." Frowning, Yurei smacked the back of Kyuubi's head with a tail, making him do a face plant. The contact from Kyuubi's skull and the earth caused a minor earth quake. Yurei and Tenshi walked (or flew in Tenshi's case) up to the humans and Mikiko. Sitting next to Mikiko, she tilted her massive head.

"You all realize that what you just heard is our version of an S-Class secret, right? You can tell the Kazekage, but not anyone else. Trust me, I will know if you do slip some info out." She eyed them all.

"You can't tell anyone else about Mikiko and her sister, Tsuki, being jinchuuriki either, until they use our chakra. The ability to communicate with spirits for now will be called a kinjutsu from Mist, if she ever uses it in public, since technically, she's the only one that can do so. Is that understood?"

She got a few "Hai"s and nods in understanding.

Tenshi grinned at Yurei before patting her on the shoulder and mock saluting.

"Well! I gotta go. Take care everyone!" He was about to leave, when he froze and turned to look at Mikiko.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Yurei, doesn't Mikiko-chan deserve another tail for going into the Shinigami's stomach and coming back without incident?" He laughed at the slightly bewildered face of the young Hakumei. Yurei grinned.

"Yeah, sure sure."

Still chuckling, Tenshi put the diamond of his staff on her head as Yurei did the same with a tail. Mikiko glowed white before the white chakra gathered into the shape of a tail. With a crack and a cry of pain from Mikiko, a tail sprouted from her spine and replaced the chakra tail.

Tenshi removed his staff, saluted again, and disappeared in a burst of green light.

((AN: Who wouldn't cry out in pain if your spine split into two and some bone forcibly grew into a tail? Ouch.))

Shikamaru rubbed his temples in an attempt to shoo his head ache away after watching Mikiko get another tail.

"Troublesome…Mikiko-san. Can we go back now?" This was followed by some murmurs of agreement. Today was tiring, and the meeting had started at 2 o clock!

Mikiko got over her pain and nodded. Yurei and Kyuubi both disappeared and went into their respective seals. The girl formed an unknown hand seal (which Kyuubi had identified as a demon hand seal) and the world grew black, thrusting everyone back into the council room.

After landing painfully (depending on how they landed), the council started to talk to themselves, allowing Mikiko to gather her things and put them on again. Mikiko picked up the scroll with one of her tails and walked towards Naruto, who was currently grumbling about Kyuubi not telling him all this before.

"Naruto-sama. Here is the scroll. My sister and my sensei will come in about a week to deliver the next scroll, which contains information about half demons."

Grinning, Naruto nodded and took the scroll. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

It didn't work. A vein popped up on Naruto's head. Seeing this and knowing what he was going to do, Sasuke and Sakura covered their ears. Mikiko, however, was not so fortunate. Naruto took in a deep breath.

"QUIET!"

Silence.

Mikiko winced in pain and rubbed her wolf ears, which were ringing. Being right next to the hyperactive (though not so hyperactive anymore, as Naruto grew up, if only physically) Hokage, she received the full force of his yell. Naruto was oblivious to her pain.

"The Council meeting is over now. And remember, no telling! Everything you heard in this meeting is now an S-Class village secret."

Still muttering to themselves, most of the council proceeded to file out of the room. Jiraiya, Sasuke, Sakura, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto stayed. Naruto playfully poked Mikiko on the shoulder.

"Ne, ne, Mikiko-chan! What about otou-san and the old man?"

Nodding, she looked around the room and saw Arashi and Sarutobi discussing what they were going to do now that they were "brought back", along with other various spirits that liked to listen in on these meetings. She walked towards a seemingly empty corner of the room, but not before giving the eavesdropping spirits a glare that said "get out and don't do this again". They complied quickly and left, startled that she was able to see them.

"Arashi-sama, Sarutobi-sama, I'm going to give you the ability to have a solid body for about an hour. Is that all right with you? I have to leave soon…"

Now that the two spirits were in Ningenkai, they were nearly colorless and transparent. They looked at the two transparent creatures floating next to the genin and blinked. They had never seen those things before in their lives.

Floating on her right was some sort of jackal like creature with short black fur and claw like paws. Around its head and neck were a black shaggy mane and a black shaggy tail. Cold blue eyes pierced through the darkness of its fur. Its head reached up to about 4 feet.

On Mikiko's left was what looked like a small flame colored phoenix with a long, peacock like tail. This one also has blue eyes, though these looked more inviting, and friendly. It only looked about 2 feet tall, though its wing span should be about four to five feet.

Both of these creatures had a collar just like Mikiko around their necks, with the symbol of Yurei's assistants.

The jackal growled roughly. "What the hell are you looking at?" The phoenix cawed before shaking its feather head at it.

"Now now, don't be rude," it looked at the two gawking ghosts and let out a musical hoot,"we are Miko-chan's guardians."

They nodded numbly before turning to stare at Mikiko, who was blushing slightly, having not gotten used to these two yet. She only met them over a month ago.

"Ahh…Mikiko-chan. Can you give us our bodies now?" She nodded, now feeling the stares of the now quiet adults that were still in the room. Mikiko formed the ram seal and concentrated her own demon chakra into the two spirit's hearts, making them solid and visible to the rest of the room. Both landed on the ground and walked towards their friends and family.

With a bow, Mikiko left as well after being thanked numerous times by the two Kazamas, and putting the genjutsu back up.

End Chapter

Mah…too long. And now my head hurts a little. Oh. The links to the pictures of Mikiko's ghostly guardians are going to be put up in my profile later. Names, abilities, and stuff like that will be in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!