Chapter 15: Fox, What Fox?
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Meeting with the hunters begin and Tsunade knows her plan may fail. A mission for Team Seven turns out fun for the three.
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Tsunade and Kakashi watched the doors open up. Both showed no emotion as the group of hunters walked in. Tsunade looked down at the folder she had opened on her desk. She spoke up.
"If you find seats, I will talk to you in a few minutes." she said
Ron shot a glare at her and his gauze fell on the fox kit on her desk. He sat down on the couch along the wall, his patience tinning by the second. He looked to the women as she flipped to a new page and spoke to the ninja in the room.
"Hatake-san, thank you for telling me about the mission you and the others were on. If you can, return that meanest to Naruto, he should still be confined to his room."
Kakashi nodded and picked up the kit. He gave her a short bow and turned around. He walked a few steps before his path became blocked. Ron stood in front of him.
"I remember you now. You are the one who stole that fox from us, where is it."
Kakashi narrowed his eye.
"I don't know what you are talking about. Now if you excuse me, I would like to go see how my student is doing."
He moved around the man and walked towards the door. He turned and blocked a hand that was about to grab his shoulder. He looked the man in the eyes and applied press to his wrist.
"Hatake-san please release him."
Kakashi did and disappeared from the room, leaving a large cloud of smoke. Ron moved from the smoke, choking. Tsunade sat up in her chair, anger on her face.
"What is it that I can help you with, which could not wait till next week." she asked
Ron walked forward and sat down in the chair that Kakashi vacated. The rest of the group moved forward and stood behind him.
"About a week ago, we captured an unusual fox, the size of a large dog. It was golden in color and had blue eyes, much like the one the man was holding. It escaped from us, but we were able to dart it. We tracked it down, but we found it was gone. We decided to look for it later and headed to a town. The next morning, we overheard the owner of the hotel we stayed at talking about the fox with a group of your ninjas. We confronted them and as the man did again, denied knowledge of it. I want it back now and compensation of having to travel here."
Tsunade leaned back in her chair. She looked at him and to the others for a moment. Her face was firm.
"That is about what you said in your letter and of what Hatake-san said. He was telling the truth, we do not have a fox that matches the description you say, unless the genin that owns the kit has another pet I do not know of or it is one of his summons I have not meet. I am sorry you had to come here, but I will not be reimbursing you for your trip, but you can send the bill of your hotel stay to me and I will gladly to pay that for your inconvenience. I will talk to the boy if he has a summon of the description you gave me. I will send you what he says. Now if you excuse me, I have a lunch date with an old friend of mine, and I do not want to be late."
She flared her chakra, causing the group to jump. The two guards walked in and bowed at her.
"I will be gone for an hour or two. If something arises, I will be at home."
The two nodded and she stood up. She quickly disappeared from the room. The two guards lead the group out and closed the doors. Ron was not happy, he knew they were lying. He took off, ignoring the others as they tired to talk to him.
Jiraiya woke up and blinked. He stood up shakily and walked off to go lick his wounds. He wonders if he should buy a sorry present for Tsunade. He knew he was going have to be on his toes for the next few days. He shuddered, remembering the pain he went through when he was caught peeking on the women. He still did not know how he survived the fists of death. He gave another shudder as he left the building.
-FOXED-
Naruto gave a yawn as he traveled down the stairs with Kakashi behind him. He only bothered putting on a pair of black shorts and an orange long sleeve shirt. He was wearing his collar that Tsunade gave him. Kakashi explained the seals to him and how to make them. He was happy to learn it.
He turned to his left and entered into the dinning room. He gave the group a smile as he sat down next to Tsunade. He gave another yawn as he looked at the plate in front of him. His stomach rumbled and he had a small smile on his face as he picked up a pair of chopsticks. He looked to Sakura, sitting across from him.
"Naruto, you know we are going to get you for what you did."
He pointed to Tsunade and pouted at the girl.
"She forced me to do it, or it would be a lifetime ban on ramen."
He rubbed his head after getting hit by the women. He snorted at the group's laughter, but his mood brightened as he began to eat. Tsunade looked at the group and spoke up, getting their attention.
"The trip I plan on sending you on is what I think will be beneficial to you all. I want you all to learn outside your field, be it family jutsu or if you specialized in your strengths. You will learn from one of the jounin, besides your senseis and Jiraiya will teach you as well. You will be heading south to a small town and spend a month or so there. During this time, I expect you to have fun as well. You will leave in two weeks, which you will be completing missions to get some spending money. Now eat up. Naruto, you can open your presents with your friends, after you eat."
He nodded a large smile on his face. He quickly ate his meal and looked to his friends for them to finish. He frowned when Tsunade placed a large helping of vegetables on his plate and sent a glare at him. He ate it, making degusted faces. He was glad they finished eating and he ran up to his room, being followed by the rest. Tsunade had a smile on her face, which fell as she looked to the jounin.
"We may have a problem with those hunters. Kakashi keep a close eye on Naruto and make sure he does stay in his human shape at all times. I will talk to him tonight about the problem."
The group nodded and left to do their task of talking with student's family about the trip.
-FOXED-
Naruto stopped in front of his room, jumping up and down, wanting his friends to hurry. He shot a glare at them as they purposely slowed down. He rolled his eyes and entered into his bedroom, heading to the table. He looked at the presents that were stacked on it and along the wall. He sat down and pulled a box that was close to him. He looked up as his friends walked in and looked around. They were surprised by the size of his room as they found places to sit.
"Naruto, can you shift your form now?" Ino asked
He gave her a small smile as he picked at the tape on the box.
"Yah, I found out last night when I got out of that trance. I have to will the change."
He brought his attention back to the box. He snorted when he could not get the tape. He made his nails become claw like and ran the tips down the paper. Kiba snorted as the paper fell to the ground.
"So what is it like to have the scenes of a fox, fox face?" Kiba asked
Naruto shrugged and looked inside the box. He grinned, finding cups of ramen inside. He quickly hid it in his closet. He sat back down and grabbed another box.
"I don't know. It's different. I don't know how to really explain it. To me it feels like my senses are on overload. When I first ran away, I was amazed at the night sight I have. Looking around now, my vision seems sharper. My sense of smell, I can't make out much expect that you smell like a dog and ero-sennin smells like suffer and bath salts. To me, everything is a bit too loud. My taste, I could taste what was cooked with the fish from lunch. I think it's a bit much for me."
"You will get use to it. It is helpful, but it has its drawbacks." Kiba said
Naruto gave him a grin and open the box. He smiled, finding an electric tea kettle. He set it in the closet as well. He had the group help him open the rest of the presents, finding he mostly had new weapons, more clothes like he got with Shizune, but more for cooler weather, another box of ramen and many other items.
They talked for a few hours, before they had to go home. He walked them to the front door and watched them walked off. He tried the word friend in his mind again, smiling since he had eleven of his age, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi. He ran back to his room and put everything up.
He looked to his door as Tsunade walked in. He looked back at the weapons he was arranging in the bottom drawer of his dresser. He was actually uneasy with all the attention he was receiving. His friends were okay, but the attention from Tsunade was different. It was like what he saw mothers and father give their children. He flinched when Tsunade gave him a hug. She released him and sat down next to him, sitting on her knees. She gave him a small smile as he fidget from her gaze.
"You are not use to contact that does not deal with combat. I will try and not give you too many hugs."
He nodded as she grabbed a small black backpack. She opened it up, pulling out the paper inside.
"It will be a good ideal to keep a bag packed for a time when you do not have time to pack. I would say a pair of pants, about four shirts, underwear, boxes, shorts, a fully filled weapon holster and utility pouch, ration pacts, unopened pack of kunai and shrunken and toiletries and anything else you think you might want to have."
He snorted at her and she ruffled his hair. He looked at her, giving her a smile, but it fell. He looked down and grabbed a small kunai. He tapped his thumb along the blade edge, feeling how sharp it was.
"What about the villagers that don't see me as me. What will they do when they see the changes?"
He rubbed his ear, finding the slight point he had now. He dropped his hand and fingered the weapon again.
"I know they did not like it when you moved me to live with you. I also know that many brought their hate back at me. Kakashi told me what happen after I was attacked, that the villagers that saw me for who I am, stood up for me and that Shikamaru figured out who my father was."
She thumped his nose and gave him a large grin.
"You have a following of people that will back you up, your friends and many others. I am amaze you knew your father, but Jiraiya will have to be talked to about his problem of slipping information. Now why don't you pack a bag like I said, I will get you the ration packs tomorrow. I want you to get some sleep tonight. Also, you will need to keep from transforming for a while. The hunters that caught you are in town and may try to find you. If they ask about the fox, tell them it was a summon creature. If they ask about the fox kit, say I have it."
He gave her another snort and she ruffled his hair again. He watched her leave the room, a smile crossing his lips. He started to pack things in the bag, going through his supplies and what else he would need to get tomorrow or at a later time. He made a list and set it on the table. He walked to the window and looked into Konoha. A smile was on his lips, felling like he had family, even if they were of no relation. He glanced to the monument of the pervious leaders of the village hidden in the leaves. He saw the beginnings of Tsunade's face being carved. He pouted slightly, wanting to be next to his father's and it would be a long time till he could do something to Tsunade's face.
He frowned, thinking of how to get the rest of the village to acknowledge him. He nodded to himself, believing the path he has been traveling will help him achieve his dream. He turned around and walked to his closet. He pulled out a change of clothes, a red long-sleeved shirt. He smiled at the orange swirl on the back. He grabbed a pair of black pants with many pockets. He looked around and found a belt and a pair of black shoes. He reached up to grab his necklace, forgetting that Tsunade had it. He shrugged and set his clothes on his dresser and grabbed a pair of shorts, tossing it to join the rest of his clothes.
He quickly found boxers and laughed, finding them identical as Jiraiya, frogs all over the place. He grabbed clothes to change into after taking a shower. He looked around his room, a smile forming on his lips. He pouted, hoping he did not have rules he had to follow, like in bed by eight or the chance of being grounded. He snickering, wondering if he should get in trouble to experience being grounded. He snorted at that and exited his room. He traveled down the stairs and entered the kitchen. He could have ate his instant ramen, but wanted to save that for days he happen to be grounded from eating ramen.
He found leftovers from lunch and made him a large serving of the food. He wolfed it down and cleaned up after him. He looked to the back door as it opened up. He narrowed his eyes as Jiraiya walked in, grumbling about something. He shot Naruto a glare as he walked up to the boy. He shoved a box in Naruto's hands and he looked to the man.
"Give that to the old hag, I will be back in a few days."
Naruto watched the man walk out. He tilted his head and started to laugh. He wished to have seen the man fly through the doors. He let out a sigh, only hearing of it from Kakashi. He walked out of the kitchen and stopped in the dinning room. He heard voices towards the front door. He could hear the anger form them as they talked to someone.
He stepped out and raced upstairs. He looked down the stairs and watched as a group of Hyuga walked into the living room and disappear into the dinning room. He watched as Hiashi stop before entering the room and talked with Tsunade and he saw she had an angry face as well the man. He flinched when the man looked at him. He quickly disappeared back towards his room. He dropped off the box in Tsunade's room and entered his.
He let out a sigh, wondering what he could do. He let out a yawn and guessed he could go to bed, after a shower. He grabbed the change of clothes he set out and got a hot shower. He shook off the water in the shower, snickering. He steeped out and dried off. He looked at himself in the mirror and tilted his head. He told himself that nothing would stop his dream becoming true. He tamed the mess of hair he had and went to bed, flopping on his bed. He crawled under the covers, dreaming of his dream.
-FOXED-
Tsunade let out a sigh as she talked to Hiashi, before she went into the dinning room. She knew Naruto ran off to his room. She did not want to talk to them right now. If she had her way, she would force the disband of the Hyuga heads and break the barrier of main and branch house down. She nodded to what the man said, saying that Naruto's chakra looked like it has, but it was darker and more of kyuubi's chakra leaked into his, following a swirling pattern.
She walked into the dinning room and rolled her eyes when she saw that one of the Hyuga head's was in her seat. She ignored it and sat at other end of the table. She leveled their gaze, ready for what ever they plan to talk about.
-FOXED-
Kakashi entered into Naruto's room, followed by Sasuke and Sakura. He turned on the lights and motioned for them to stay at the door as he quietly walked into the room. Sakura stifled a yawn and frowned as she glanced to Naruto's clock. It read 3:49 in the morning. She looked to Kakashi as he pulled back the covers. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, seeing that there were only pillows, making it look like Naruto was still in bed. Kakashi turned around and pouted. Sasuke and Sakura looked behind them, finding Naruto standing there, eating cereal.
"Obba-chan told me we had an early meeting. Shizune-neechan is up and is about to make breakfast, if you want some."
He turned around and walked down the stairs. Sakura snickered as she followed him. She looked to what he wore. A red long-sleeve shirt that was snug around his wrists. On the back was an orange swirl. She shook her head slightly, seeing his clothes were still baggy on him. She entered the dinning room and sat down next to Naruto, letting her bag rest on the chair. Sasuke sat next to him and both got something to eat. Kakashi walked in, getting a glare shot at him from Sakura for being woken up early.
Sasuke snickered and Naruto looked at him, furling his eyebrows.
"Stick up his ass just snickered."
Sakura snickered as Naruto poked Sasuke in the shoulder. He tilted his head and did it again. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the boy as he kept on poking.
"Dobe, you have something on your face."
Naruto snorted at him and quickly filled his plate.
"Not falling for that teme."
Sasuke snorted and resumed eating. Naruto glanced to Kakashi as the man read his book, eating with his book hiding his face while he ate. Naruto thought of way's to see the man's face. He shrugged and began to eat. He looked back up at the man.
"What is our mission and it better be good or I will just have to shred that book of yours."
Kakashi lowered his book slightly and looked to Naruto, his gauze falling to the boy's fingers as he tapped them. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the nails. Sakura was laughing and end up snorting at this. Naruto chuckled as he finished his meal. Sasuke had a smile on his face as Kakashi closed his book and tucked it away.
"Our mission is to deliver a scroll to a small village, four days away, two or so for a ninja. We will spend the night and maybe the next day. We will return once we get an answer from the person we are delivering the scroll to. Rank, C."
Naruto rolled his eyes and stood up. He reached into his pouch and pulled out his forehead protector and tied it around his forehead. He looked at the man, giving him a smile.
"Let me go get my bag." He curled his lip. "And see if I can't find my wallet."
Kakashi smiled as the boy disappeared out of the room. He motioned for the rest of his team to follow him to the living room. They looked up as Naruto stormed down the stairs. He was snickering as he ran to front door. Kakashi shook his head and followed Naruto out the door.
-FOXED-
The group traveled for two days and the three genin talked about what they might learn and ideals of abilities that Naruto might have. They were almost to their distention, Ember, a small city. Kakashi motioned for the group to stop. Naruto looked around as Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Sakura reached towards her holster, ready to grab a weapon. Kakashi pointed up and the three genin jumped up, hiding themselves in the foliage of the trees. Kakashi jumped to a new branch and looked around. He sensed a presence close by and many others around them. It was not very strong, but he believed the one close to them was masking their chakra.
He grabbed a kunai and threw it towards the placed he believed the person was. He did not need this, he already been through a lot of headaches. He let out a sigh as the four head a yell not of pain, but of someone calling for an attack.
"Naruto, would you please take care of these bandits." Kakashi asked
Naruto rolled his eyes and performed his favorite jutsu. Twelve clones took off in different directions. The four listen to the cries of pain, followed by silence. Kakashi dropped to the ground. He motioned for his team to come down as well. Naruto let out a sigh as dragging noise was heard and over twenty knocked out men was brought to them. Naruto ordered his clones to find rope and they quickly looked through the bandit's bags, finding enough.
Kakashi looked to his team, seeing board expressions on their faces.
"Was this expected or was it like our first C-rank mission that turned into A-rank?" Naruto asked
Kakashi shrugged as he ordered the group to go through their pockets. All three looked at the bandits and Sakura and Sasuke looked Naruto. He snorted at them as his clones walked forward and did the job. Kakashi shook his head and watched the clones make quick work of the task. Kakashi walked next to each man and attached a rope around their necks and held on the end. The clones stuff the items found in bags. Naruto released them and smiled to his friends.
"Maybe we can get the bounty on them?" he said
Both gave him a grin. Once the bandits started to wake up, Kakashi ordered them stand up. He had to kick many to wake them up. He shook is head shamefully at the twenty-three bandits.
"You had to ruin our morning stroll, shame on you."
"Sensei, it's past noon." Sakura said
"Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei does not know the concept of time. We are just lucky he arrives at all." Naruto said
Kakashi acted hurt. Sakura was snickering and Sasuke smirked at their sensei. Kakashi turned to the bandits, the air of laughter gone from him. The three genin sobered up as Kakashi jerked the line.
"Walk." he said
He narrowed his eyes and the bandits quickly stood up and walked. Naruto created new clones and had them carry the stuff. They made it to the small village. Naruto rolled his eyes as he slipped on his sunglasses. His teammates and Kakashi glanced at him, finding they could not see his eyes under the orange tint. Naruto leaned next to Sakura, making her snort in agreement.
"He does not even know the concept of size either."
All three looked around the village, quarter size of Konoha. It was not the capital of Fire, but it was filled with many people. Naruto looked around, seeing fear from people as they looked to the bandits. He snickered, seeing shock at seeing five of him. Sasuke jabbed him in the ribs. Kakashi stopped and looked at his three students.
"I trust you to take these to the local authorities and find us a hotel. There should be a bounty on them and you can split it among the three of you and have some fun. I will go find our client and deliver the scroll."
Sasuke walked forward and grabbed the rope. He shot a glare at the bandits and they moved off. Naruto took a sniff, a grin crossing his face as they walked on. Sakura noticed a dress shop and looked to the two boys, a grin of her own crossing her face. Kakashi scratched the back of his head and chuckle. He was glad his team was back together. He knew they will need their newfound friendship for challenges ahead.
-FOXED-
Many officers looked at the bandits that sat outside, being watched over by two boys as they played poker. They glanced in, looking at a girl as she talked with their supervisor. One swallowed, looking at the bandits as they sneered at anyone looking at them. Their supervisor walked out a smile on his face as the girl walked out, not in a happy mood. He walked up to the boys, sounding sweet. The two did not face him as he spoke.
"As I told your friend, there is no bounty on these men that I know of. If there is, I will let you know how to pick up payment for bringing them in. I think you of capturing these men for us, they have attacked many travelers heading to our villager and leaving to others. It will bring peace to many."
Naruto looked up and curled his nose. The man flinched, seeing a sharp canine.
"Old man don't you lie to us. We do not take kindly when we are lied to, especially when our lives are on the line. I know you have info on these people and know of the bounty on their heads. I will give you a chance to tell the truth."
The man turned red in the face. He walked up to the blonde and pointed a finger at the boy.
"Now look here, I don't know where you get the ideal sassing me brat. You better learn your place. I have no information on these thugs. Now get out of my sight, before I arrest you for harassing an officer."
Naruto snorted at the man as he laid down his hand. Sasuke snorted and gathered up the cards. Naruto stood up and grabbed the papers he was sitting on. He held it out for the man to take. The man took them and unfolded them. He looked down, the color draining from his face as he looked to the fist picture on the wanted poster. Naruto sat down. He looked to Sakura.
"Remind me to tell Kakashi-sensei how rude we were treated here by the local authorities, so he can pass the information on to the Hokage. I would think the knowledge would be wise to have when we will have to deal with these people in the future."
The man paled more, upon hearing the name of their sensei. Naruto looked to the man, waiting for him to do something.
"Is there something you need to do?" he asked
The man jumped and bowed quickly.
"I will get this matter done quickly."
The man turned around and yelled at the officers to take the bandits. Naruto stopped them from taking the bags, saying it was theirs by rights. Once the bandits were brought in and they were alone, Sakura hit Naruto on the head. He looked up at her, pouting.
"What did I do?" he asked
He tilted his head, seeing her smile down at him.
"Naruto, that was very good. It looks like you are not a dumb as you look."
He pouted at her again.
"That's mean."
He glanced to Sasuke, seeing the boy smirk. Naruto rolled his eyes at him and all looked up to watch the man walk up to them and hand off a slip of paper to Naruto. He stood up and gave it to Sakura, glancing to make sure it was the right amount. The man bowed.
"I am sorry for deceiving you. I hope to have your forgiveness."
Naruto smirked and glanced to his two friends. Sakura nodded at him and his smirk deepened.
"We will forgive you if you provided us with dinner."
The man stood up and gave them a smile.
"Where would you like to eat at, it is my treat."
Naruto tapped his chin. He looked to Sakura again.
"Sakura-chan, where would you like to eat at." he asked her
"I don't know truly. I guess we could have your favorite and we won't tell your sister you had it."
Naruto glanced to Sasuke and the boy nodded. Naruto looked to the man.
"Show us to the best place that serves ramen and we can accept your forgiveness."
The man nodded and led them to a stand. Naruto was the first to order. The man mostly paid attention to the three's idle chatter, not paying attention to the growing number of bowls in front of the blonde. Once the three left and the man accepted the bill, his jaw dropped. He paid, wondering how the boy put that much food away. He shuddered, remembering his encounter with the Copy Nin and hope he did not meet up with him again.
-FOXED-
Naruto patted his stomach, a large grin on his face. Sakura muttered something under her breath, causing him to snicker.
"Twenty bowls, he ate twenty large bowls of ramen."
He turned around and started to walk backwards. He spoke up, getting nods of agreement at what he suggested.
"Let's find a hotel and see if the bank is open and then look around. I need to still get some toiletries."
He gave them a smile and turned around. He took off, his clones following him, carrying the bandits stuff. Sakura smiled and looked to Sasuke, her smile slipping.
"How can he be so happy after all that has happen to him?" she asked
Sasuke looked to her and shrugged. He looked forward as Naruto jumped to a rooftop, waiting for them.
"He lives each new day as his first. It does not matter to him all the bad that has happen, he has people to be there for him. That is all he needs. I think that is what it is."
Sakura nodded, her smile returning, before trotting off, making sure Naruto got a good place. Sasuke smiled, a genuine smile, full of trust, happiness for the friends he had. He took off, making sure the two did not get in a verbal argument and Sakura left the blonde in one piece.
Kakashi smiled to himself as he looked at his book. He scratched the back of his head, guessing he should have said something about the chance of bandits on their way here, and it was addition to their first mission. He shrugged, before jumping to a new roof, heading away from the three to look around himself and have supper.
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