Chapter 14: Vengeance of a Blonde Haired, Blue Eyed Fox
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It is time for the fox to play. Will the victims find out and what is Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha to do about a group of people claming her pet… a certain fox.
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The hunters looked around the area as they walked to the gates of Konoha. Light was barely filtering to earth, causing birds and small animals to wake up, and going on their day's choir of scavenging or hunting for food.
Ron clenched his fist, wanting to kill something, more like a ninja. He never met a ninja or even a person like that in his life. He shuddered, remembering the eyebrows of the man, bowl cut hair, the ping sound as light reflected off his teeth and the pose he made. He did not know if his vision was damaged. He shuddered again, remembering how loud he was and it was plane out scary, weird and horrifying.
He wonders if all of the Leaf ninja or even the whole village was like this. All he asked was for directions to this village yesterday and asked of how to get an audience with the Hokage. He could not sleep last night. His dreams were of man, ranting about flames of youth.
They stopped once ninjas dropped down from the gate and appeared at their sides from the forest. Ron clenched his jaw, seeing the one reason he hated ninjas, their ability to blend in their surroundings, better then hunters. He did not like the felling he was the one hunted, or not knowing when the finial blow will come.
He looked to the ninja that was standing in front of him.
"State you business." the women said
"Yah, we are here to talk to the Hokage, on a privet matter. We are also here to pick up supplies before we venture home."
"I will need to see identification." she said
Ron frowned and dropped his bag. He rummaged through it, finding his ID at the bottom of his bag. The others pulled theirs out and handed them to the women. He tossed his, not caring he angered someone here. He wrenched them out of the women's hands when she held them out him and threw them in his bag.
"You come a long way to visit Konoha." she said
"Yah, we decided to try this place for hunting. It was plentiful, but I have businesses I need to discuss with your leader of your village." he said sarcastically.
"If you write a letter for the Hokage, I will send it to her to for you. She will send you a message at her conveniences. I hope you have a good stay in Konoha. Please have your ID's on you at all times."
The gate doors swung open, far enough for the group to pass by. Ron stopped and snorted his thinks for paper and pen. He wrote out his message and folded it. He watched them stamp it closed, but he knew it would be ready by many eyes before falling into the intended hands. He looked to his crew and turned around.
"Let's find a hotel to stay at and get something to eat first. Might as well explore and get some supplies out of the way."
They followed him, having to stop for directions to the nearest and cheapest hotel.
-FOXED-
Kakashi walked up to Tsunade's room. He knew the woman was already gone, seeing her do some errands in the village. He stopped, looking at the open door. It was open enough for a small fox to slip through and escape into the building. He pushed the door open slowly and walked in, not making a sound.
He looked around her room for any sign of Naruto. He moved to the right side of her bed and his eye widened. Cardboard was all over the floor, shredded in tiny pieces. He looked to the white strips of cloth piled in what he thought was a nest. He looked around, looking for any other mess, which he did not want to clean up. He scratched his chin in thought, wondering if he should have had Sasuke and Sakura meet at the Hokage home, not the bridge.
He knelt down, moved some of the cloth away, and found yellow. He let out a sigh, glad he did not have to track down a fox kit. He pushed more of the cloth away and looked at Naruto. He shook his head, watching him kick his back leg in his sleep.
He scooped him up, hearing him whine, but was still asleep. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange collar, with a bell. He jingled it, making the bell chime. There was no way Naruto was going to get lost, if he ran. He slipped it on, moving it around until he looked at the small metal plate. It had the symbol of Konoha on one side, a swirl on the right and a name that Kakashi picked.
He was still wondering why Tsunade sent him a letter, telling him to place a nameplate on the collar he got and pick out a name to put on it. He guessed so that people that did not need to know it was Naruto.
He read the name he picked, Yasuo, (calm). He snorted, knowing Naruto was far from that, expect sometimes in his sleep. He let out a sigh, hoping Naruto will snap out of this trance. He wonders if not giving him to Anko or placing a bowl of food in front of his nose might work. He gave a shrugged and left the room.
-FOXED-
Sakura peaked into the flower shop owned by Ino's mother. She saw the blond kunoichi. She walked in and gave a smile to the girl.
"What do you need Sakura?" Ino asked
Sakura moved Naruto, and Ino quickly looked around the room and entered into the backroom. The girl came back and pulled off her apron.
"I told my mom I was going out to train with you." Ino said in a low voice
Sakura nodded.
"Kakashi-sensei called for a team meeting, saying we would be keeping an eye on Naruto. I thought you might want to come. We already told Chouji, Shino, Kiba, and Lee. Sasuke went to see if he could not find the others. I said I would try for Hinata and Neji. If I find them, we are meeting at team seven's meeting spot.
Ino nodded and took off for a moment. She came back and both girls left, heading for the Hyuga clan home.
-FOXED-
Sasuke ignored the fan girls he still had and sympathy talks of how bad it must be to have Naruto on his team. The ones he and Sakura found, where following him. He found Shikamaru and waited as he finished playing Go with one of the elders. He won.
Now he and the others were heading for team seven's meeting spot. He was not able to find TenTen, but was told she would be visiting Neji for training. He would let Sakura deal with the girl.
He flinched at a high squeal of Hi Sasuke-kun form six fan girls, which were not even his age. He rolled his eyes, trying to come up with a way to get rid of the fan girls. He turned a corer and spotted Sakura with the rest. His group picked up speed and caught up with them and all took off for the little bridge.
-FOXED-
Kakashi was thinking why Naruto attacked him like he did last night. Dogs and foxes had a like and hate relationship. He guessed that was a reason, but he felt more like a wolf. He shrugged and looked around the area. He was at the little bridge, waiting for rest of team seven to arrive. He did tell Sakura and Sasuke to meet him at seven. It was now close to eight. He was wondering if his students did not trust him enough, that he would be on time. He shook his head shamefully.
He looked up and raised an eyebrow, wondering if overnight, team seven got new members, which he did not get the memo. He saw the socked expression from Sakura and a raised eyebrow from Sasuke. As the group got closer, Sakura spoke out, pointing a finger at him.
"When did you get here, were you on time?" she asked
Kakashi scratched the back of his head, thinking of a good excuse to use.
"Yah, I got here on time. It was hard to handle Naruto, since he wanted to see his team so bad. All the whining gets on your nerves real quick."
It was not true. He arrived at the bridge right when Naruto woke up. The first minute was filled with both staring at each other. After that, it was filled with ways to stop being used as a chew toy, then chasseing. He let out a sigh at remembering chasseing Naruto. He was quick and being the size he was did not help. Kakashi reached up and rubbed the top of his head, where he hit a tree. He hand managed to trip Naruto and bent forward to grab him, hitting his head. He ignored the pain and grabbed Naruto by the tail.
He looked to Sakura as she waved her hands in front of his face. He blinked, waiting for her to speak. He smirked as she mumbled something about him, before speaking up.
"Where is Naruto then?" she asked
He reached up and starched the back of his head.
"Well, about that. It is kind hard to explain."
He watched many rolled their eyes. He was about to speak up, when they heard growling. Kakashi looked down and let out a sigh. The young ninjas followed his gauze and became shock. There was a small blonde fox kit with sky blue eyes. The tip of its ears and tail were white. The feet were white. They watched it shake its head, as it held on part of Kakashi's pant legs. They heard a chiming noise. They noticed that the ends of the man's pants were ragged. They looked up at him as he gave them an amused look.
"It all started when Naruto decided to play, find the hidden ninja…"
He told them what cause the change, that he was in a type of trance that Tsunade called Fox Trance and their theory.
"We think he will come back to himself after a set time. He may even come out of it, if something happens to him or other factors. I guess since you are all here, it will be good. Also, Tsunade-sama asks that you call him a different name. In this form, he is Yasuo. In his other fox from, call him Yasutaro, (peaceful). I think it will be good to practice, since in the future; we might have a mission that calls for us to be under different names. Now, I think it will be wise to get something he can chew on and keep an eye on him. Also, he has not eaten. Save the receipts."
In a loud rip, all looked down again. Eyebrows rose, seeing that Kakashi's left pant leg, from the knee down was ripped off. They watched the kit tug at the material, trying to get it free from Kakashi. Kakashi shook the material loose and watched the kit tumble down the bridge. His eye went wide as it headed for the side of the bridge.
He let his breath go he did not he was holding when the kit stopped rolling. Kakashi looked down and let out a sigh. He looked up at the group.
"I have to go. Tsunade asks you return him at noon at her office. She wants to talk to you about the training trip she wants to do."
Kakashi pulled out his book and flipped it open. He made a hand seal and disappeared, leaving a cloud of smoke behind. The group of young ninja looked to the fox kit, Naruto. They watched him as he shredded the cloth in tiny pieces, obvious of them.
"Do you think if we put his favorite food in front of him will snap him out of this trance?" Kiba asked
They looked at him, thinking that would be a good ideal. They heard a snort and turned to the other end of the bridge. Jiraiya walked towards them, carrying a plastic bag in one hand. His other arm was wrapped around a paper bag. He stopped next to them and looked to the kit as it made a mess of the cloth. He gave another snort.
"I thought of that as well. You should have seen the mess he made in the old hags bedroom. Shredded cardboard and a bed sheet he made into a nest. Someone grab him, we are going to the training ground." he said
Sakura moved close to Naruto and knelt down. Naruto stopped shredding and looked at her. He tilted his head. She reached out her hand and let him sniff her. She was puzzled as his head turned and started to sniff the air. They watched the ears point forward and his tail was held out, level with his body. It gave a series of barks and took off, running though the group of young ninjas.
Jiraiya cussed as the kit circled him, yapping in happens. He quickly brought up the plastic bag, watching as the kit jumped to get at it. He grumbled and shot many cusses at different people before looking at the group. Sasuke walked forward and managed to grab Naruto, barely. He caught a back leg. He smirked as the kit arched its body towards him and tried to bite him. He grabbed it by the muzzle and let go of the leg. He snorted as it fought to get loose, using its front legs to try to push his hand away.
He grabbed it by the scruff with his free hand and stood up. He snorted as it struggled in his hold and growled at him. He looked to the group, his smile still on his face. Sakura walked forward. She had the ripped up material in her arms.
"Sasuke don't be so mean." she said, trying to hold back her laughter
He shagged and handed it to her. She scratched behind its ears and looked to Jiraiya. He was already walking off. The group quickly followed him, some wondering what was in the brown bag. They already knew what was in the other.
-FOXED-
Tsunade leaned back in her chair. She reread the message she was given a few minutes ago. Anger rose slightly as she read.
Hokage-sama, my partners and I have traveled to your village to claim what is rightfully ours. About a week ago, we captured a golden fox, unusual in size. It got away from us, but we were able to dart it. We knew how long the tranquilizer will take effect and knew where the fox would fall. When we arrived to the spot, it was not seen. The next day, after entering a small town, spending the night, we overheard talk from the owner, saying he saw a large fox with a group of your ninjas, four Jounin and a bunch of children.
We talked with the people of the town and they said they saw it was with them. We tracked them and they said they did not have the fox or even knew of one. We have come to seek an audience with you and discuss the matter of this theft. I ask you to meet you sometime in the next few days. We are busy as it is. I hope we solve this problem soon. I was told we would be found when you have time to meet with us.
Ron Woe
Tsunade set the message down and looked to Kakashi. The man did not get a chance to change his pants, when he was notified the Hokage wanted to see him. She looked down, a smirk forming on her lips.
"Let me guess, he snapped out of already and you are having your fun?" he asked in a lazy tone
"Yes, he did. It happen after he smelled the food in the refrigerator. Now, what are we to do about this?" she asked
He shrugged and sat down.
"I don't think they know who they saw when they were following us. Asuma, Kurenai, and I followed them through the market. They did not show any signs they recognized my voice or our faces. I was eyed because of the state of dress I was in. I found who is their leader and spoke around him, same thing happen. We could deny you had any ninjas in the area or we could say that the fox belongs to one of our ninja. We could have Inuzuka Tsume say it belongs to her, dabbling in raising different forms of the dog family."
Tsunade shook her head no.
"I don't think that will work. We need a good excuse of either to say the fox belonged to one of us, or not at all. It will have to be convincing either way."
She let out a sigh. She nodded to herself, thinking of something.
"We could say it was a summon they captured, since Naruto does have a summon tattoo now and due to their interference you and the others got information about a target late and caused one of you hurt, Naruto himself. We could fake bandaging a leg or arm up, just need to have a little play to go with the excuse."
Kakashi nodded his head. He stood up and looked to her.
"Well, I am going home to change. Call me if you need me."
"Kakashi, don't you dare tell the others that Naruto is himself. I want it to be a surprise."
He chuckled to himself and disappeared from the room. Tsunade leaned locked her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands. She narrowed her eyes, thinking of what could go wrong. She looked to a clock in the room and found it was ten. She thought of her choices, not liking them. She looked to her desk. She opened the center drawer, pulled out lotto tickets, and quickly filled many out for the various chance prizes she could win.
Her two assistants, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo walked in with some paper work. She looked up and leveled a gaze with the two.
"Take these and have this message delivered. The address is on the inside."
The two nodded and took the items. When the door was shut, Kotetsu quickly counted the lottery tickets, finding over fifty. Both looked at each other, rolling their eyes. They took off in different directions to do their tasks.
-FOXED-
Jiraiya grumbled as Kiba tried to teach Naruto a trick. He glanced to the six empty bowls of ramen. His ideal did not work and he was not happy about that. He looked to his pocket watch and snorted at the time. He looked to Kiba as he forced Naruto to sit. He stayed this time. Kiba held out a treat of jerky at nose level. He was grinning as he repeated the word sit.
Naruto tilted his head, laughing his ass off in his mind. He was having too much fun with the group. He glanced to the treat in Kiba's hand and decided he earned it now. He picked up his right paw and swatted it out of the boy's hands. He took the piece and took off, dodging Kiba's attempt to get him. He ran to the sennin. He barked at him, before running off and started to run circles around the young ninja.
Sakura let out a tired sigh.
"Stamina freak."
Was all she could say before letting herself fall backwards on the ground. They had arrived at the training ground and Jiraiya set out the bowls of ramen. Sakura set him in front of the bowls and all watched him sniff the contents. The kit then batted a paw in the bowl, before tasting the chicken ramen. They waited for Naruto to come back to himself, but he did not. He just ate, devouring all bowls.
When he was done, broth was all over him and they watched him roll in the dirt. Jiraiya moved forward to stop him, but the kit jumped up and took off running into the forest. Everyone took off, chasing the kit. It was still fast even with the bulge of its stomach. It was just a complete mess. Many of the young ninjas crashed into bushes or into others.
After two hours, Shikamaru called for a halt and formulated a plan. It ended up pressuring the kit into a cretin area, where Shikamaru would capture it, using his shadow techniques. The trick worked and a whining kit was not happy. They returned to the area and sort of crashed. Kiba for the past twenty minutes tired to teach the kit basic commands, but it failed.
Jiraiya got tired of its yapping as it ran around the group. He reached into the brown bag. The crinkling causing the kit to stop in its tracks. All eyes traveled to the sennin as he pulled out items. Shampoo, brush, leash, towel, and a rubber chew toy. He put everything back up, expect the chew toy. He looked to the kit as it cautious walked towards him. He smirked and squeezed the toy, it squeaking.
Everyone watched the kit jump back and bared it teeth. It was in the shape of a bone. Jiraiya rolled it to the kit and watched it attack the item, that was much bigger then it. It grabbed hold on the end and started to chew. Jiraiya let out a sigh, wondering if Naruto will come back to his senses.
After a half hour of peace, it was broken by Jiraiya standing up. He grabbed the bag and looked to the group. His eyes flicked to the kit. It was fast asleep, sleeping on the chew toy. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and quickly had a shadow attach the kit. It woke up, trying to escape. Jiraiya grabbed it by the scruff and walked away, kicking the toy to one of the group. The group followed him to a small stream, watched him attach the leash around the kits neck, and pulled off the collar.
"We have about thirty minutes to meet with the old hag." he said
They nodded and watched the man dunk the kit in the water. He pulled out the shampoo, the group finding it was not for dogs. Sakura smirked as the man washed the kit and it struggled in his hold. He quickly rinsed the soap away and wrapped it in the towel. He handed it off to Hinata whose cheeks became slightly pink.
"Let's go." the man said
They took off, following the man to Hokage office.
-FOXED-
Ron received their message. He was not happy that the meeting was a week from now. He found his team and told them to return to the hotel and get changed; they were going to go see the leader, Hokage right now. He went back to the hotel they were staying at and sat down on the bed. He narrowed his eyes, felling he knew someone in this village. He ignored it and went though his bag, looking for presentable clothes.
-FOXED-
Tsunade looked up as the group of young ninjas walked into her office, followed by Jiraiya. She nodded to herself, seeing three out of four jounin instructors walked in. She watched Hinata lose her hold on Naruto and he ran straight to her. He rounded her desk and sat next to her. She smiled, knowing he had fun. She reached down and picked him up by the scruff. She snickered at the name Kakashi picked. She looked to the group as she set him on top of her desk.
"I hope you had fun today. Now to discuss the training trip I plan to send you on. First, Naruto, would you go off and get changed."
Everyone looked to the kit, Naruto as he turned to Tsunade. A snort came from him as he moved to the edge of the desk to jump down. Many were surprised. Jiraiya walked forward and yelled at both fox and slug.
"You mean the brat was himself all this time?" he asked, his anger rising
Tsunade looked at him, a smile crossing her lips. She nodded her head. Jiraiya snarled at her and looked to Naruto as he was huffing in laughter.
"I'm going to kill you." Jiraiya said
He walked forward and raised his fist. Tsunade sent a glare at him, but the man did not stop. Naruto curled into a ball, hiding his nose with his tail. Right before Jiraiya made contact, Naruto changed once again. Jiraiya took a step backwards and shook his hand from the pain he was in. Tsunade reached out and touched the stone idol of Naruto. The only thing that was not stone was the collar. Everyone was quiet as Tsunade looked to Jiraiya, her anger rising in the room, causing everyone to cower down. Jiraiya looked at her, holding his hands up, trying to subdue her.
"I was not going to hit him that hard, I promise."
He backed away, as her killer intent rose. She stood up and walked around the desk. He stopped as he came face to face with his nightmare. The jounin quickly made the young ninjas move away from the door as Tsunade sent a punch to the man's stomach. He flew back, going through the doors and making contact with the wall. He slid down, unconscious.
Kakashi walked out from behind a door, rubbing his nose. In his other hand was his book. Ninjas outside stopped, wondering what happen. They were afraid to pass by the doors, unless they wanted to cross the Hokage's wrath.
Ron and the rest of his group stood there seeing the damage. He looked around the area, seeing fear on the faces of ninjas and other people. He spent long enough in this village and he wanted what was his and now.
Kakashi noticed them and walked inside the office. The two guards stationed at the office, thankfully moved far enough from the doors when they felt killer intent. Long experience with the Hokage's anger taught them to move or face being squashed. They closed the doors and took up their positions. They ignored Jiraiya, knowing he would wake up soon.
Ron walked forward, ignoring the glances he got from the ninjas. He glanced to Jiraiya's still from before bringing his attention to a guard in a cat mask.
"I want to talk to the Hokage now."
The guard looked at him and spoke up.
"Do you have an appointment?" he asked
Ron curled his nose at the man.
"Yes, but I will not wait till next week. I want to talk to him now." he said
"She is in a meeting at the moment. Once they are done, I will see if she can talk to you or not. Please sit in the waiting area."
Ron snorted and walked off. He sat down on the bench set along the wall. The rest followed him. Nina spoke up.
"I think this is a useless, we should have given up on it and gone home." she said
He looked to her, causing the group to flinch.
"I will not. I got a message from the ship about word of a buyer of rare animals and a group of hunters to employ. He would pay about any amount for the animals and we can be set for a long time for working with him."
She sat up and looked to the others and back to him.
"Where?" she asked
"Far North. It would take us two months to get there. Kahn already sent word to them. We would have to pass the Land of Lighting, but it would be a good place to get supplies. We will have to wait for word if we are hired. I want that fox."
The group nodded and stayed quiet, thinking of the possibilities.
In the Hokage office, Kakashi walked forward and saw the stone image of a small fox. He looked to Tsunade as she touched it again. She ran a finger down the spine and watched the stone shift to fur and a passed out fox. She looked to him as he spoke up.
"Those hunters are outside."
She clenched her jaw as she looked at the doors. She looked to the group of ninjas as she leaned back in her chair.
"I will talk to you in a few minutes. Meet me at the Hokage home. Kakashi you stay here."
The masked man nodded and the rest walked out. Kurenai told the guards to send in the hunters and they left the building. Kakashi sat down and looked to Naruto as he slept. Tsunade spoke up, not looking at him as she grabbed a file folder and set Naruto on top of a stack, using him as a paperweight.
"Jiraiya was going to hit him and he turned into stone."
"I thought so." he said
Both looked to the doors and waited for the group of hunters to enter.