Chapter 11:

Shikamaru's head began to dip, bored with having to sit in one place doing nothing for so long. Naruto still hadn't moved and it was unclear with his back to Shikamaru if he had fallen asleep sitting up in his fox form.

It was getting late and the sun was going down. The rats were becoming more active, making it hard for Shikamaru to resist his new instincts. Spotting a rat scurrying below the platform, Shikamaru sprang from where he was and chased it on all fours until catching it in his mouth and biting down on in. Feeling something ooze in his mouth, Shikamaru shrieked, spat it out and started frantically wiping his mouth off on his shirt in disgust.

Naruto saw what he was doing and snickered. "Great. You can handle the rat population."

"Those things are riddled with disease," he wailed. "I don't want it in my mouth!"

"You are a cat."

"I don't care! Yuck!" Shikamaru started spitting in the grass beside the stone platform. "I hate this."

Naruto rolled his eyes and faced the platform again. His smile started to fade, sensing something. "Shikamaru."

"If I get sick, I'm blaming you."

"Shikamaru."

"What?" He turned back and sensed something as well. He felt like they were being watched. Unease drove Shikamaru to crawl on his hands and knees over to Naruto and hide behind him.

Vegetation rustled dully as something moved towards them from deeper in the forest. Naruto and Shikamaru tracked the movement behind the underbrush with their heads, seeing something with a long tail between the leaves and grass. It crept so stealthily, it was like waiting for an enemy ninja to strike.

Finally, it stepped onto the platform. A white paw, then another. Yellow eyes gleamed at them from shadows and into the diminishing beams of light shining between the leaves. It was a very large white cat, which circled the food offerings before sitting behind it to face the two strangers watching it.

Naruto dipped his head slightly while Shikamaru bowed low in respect. He wasn't sure if Naruto was supposed to simply lower his head or not, more familiar with human signs of respect.

"I must say, this is a surprise," said the cat in a male voice. "Few have come to this place since the town emptied some time ago. I've missed the tasties." The cat picked up a piece of fruit in a very human-like fashion and bit into it, long threads of saliva and juice clinging from their mouth to the fruit.

"I was asked to come here to find you," said Naruto. "I wouldn't have bothered you if it weren't important."

The cat grinned. "Yes, no one ever does." The cat waved the fruit around in its paw in a bored fashion. "No one ever comes to say 'hi'. It's always because they want something."

Naruto frowned. "I'm sorry. I figured you'd like your privacy."

The cat grinned broadly at him. "And you're right. I hate being bothered." He chuckled. "Please. If we allowed humans to come here for a friendly chat, we'd never be left in peace. So by all means, if it's important."

Shikamaru couldn't tell if the cat was putting on an act or not. He was very hard to read, one minute being mysterious, then serious, then teasing and being friendly.

Naruto got right to the point. "There's a human who was transformed into an animal and we need him to be changed back to human form."

The cat glanced in Shikamaru's direction. "That's not him, is it? Because a kitsune curse is not something I can undo. Their magic is far stronger than mine."

Both Naruto and Shikamaru shook their heads. "No, this is a different human," said Naruto. "He ate spirit food and turned into a donkey."

The cat stopped eating and lowered its paw to the ground, staring at them. He looked away, remembering something from long ago.

"We contacted the spirit who provided the food but they said they would do nothing. Then we were sent to find you. It was a bag of rice from the spirit realm, if that helps."

The white cat did not look at Naruto as he told him this, still looking into the past with a solemn expression.

"Years ago, we took pity on a human," he told them. "An unwanted child."

Naruto sat patiently and listened to the story, Shikamaru peering over his shoulder at the cat.

"The family was in poverty. The mother filled the bowls of her other four children before giving him whatever was left. When he was young, he tried to earn money for the family doing odd jobs around the village. His mother took whatever he made and threw it back at him saying if it came from him, she did not want it. She would rather have the family starve than accept anything from him, no matter if it were earned or taken."

The white cat looked over at the shrine where the empty bowl still sat before the stone cat in its little box.

"It was there where we found him, taking food from our plate. We asked him why he was taking and eating the offerings meant for us. He told us that he was on the verge of starvation, having not eaten in days. He had left home. No one would give him work. No one would take him in. He had nothing and no one. So we took him in."

Naruto looked at the cat in surprise. The kitsune had accepted him as one of their own, but mostly because he was a kitsune when they met and was involved in their issue. As long as he was a fox, they would have allowed him to live with them as an equal. This child sounded like an average human with no extraordinary abilities. It was certainly rare for a creature of any kind to take in a human.

"We shared our food and our warmth. Our knowledge. There was just one thing that was off limits. A precious item we had been given unknown to humans. We told him never to go near it and never to touch it."

"Let me guess," said Shikamaru. "He did?"

The cat's face darkened. "He betrayed us. After that, he was no longer welcome among us. But he knew where we lived. This was his home, too, because of our generosity. So we left. We abandoned our home because we could not have him finding us, and in so doing, the town which had never dishonored us."

Shikamaru understood now. The cat spirits helped keep the rat population down and once they left, the town was no longer protected and was soon overrun. The human child's actions affected more than he realized.

"But you've returned," Naruto pointed out. "You're here."

The cat scoffed. "I'm one of the few who returns from time to time. It's always empty and the boy is nowhere to be found. I imagine he left along with the rest of the humans."

"Because it's your home," said Naruto with a smile. "You come back to this place because it's your home. You feel a connection to it."

The cat looked at him and looked away as if disinterested.

"As are humans," he murmured.

"Huh?"

The cat didn't look at him. "I understand why the human did what he did. We had taken him in and shown him love, but it wasn't the love he craved. It was his mother's. He took the object not for himself but for her. He never stopped trying to win her love. He betrayed us for a woman who would never love him though he would never stop trying. All that tells me is that there's a distinctive gap between our kinds."

Naruto looked down in sadness. Then he looked up. "That human was a kid and reckless. He probably didn't understand the magnitude of his actions."

"You're saying he was deserving of a second chance?"

"Better than giving up and abandoning those who did nothing."

The cat's eyes narrowed at Naruto's words.

"I'm not blaming you," Naruto told the cat. "I'm just saying that humans are different from creatures like you. Humans are resilient. They make mistakes. But if no one explains things to them in a way they understand, they're going to keep making them. You leaving didn't actually teach the boy anything. He'll probably have abandonment issues but won't get whatever it was you're trying to convey to him. Humans need things dumbed down a bit compared to you guys."

The cat did not respond.

"And honestly, it sounds more like you're punishing yourselves than him, leaving your home just so he can't find you. It affected an entire town. It affected you. I know you thought you were protecting yourselves, but…"

The cat pounced from where it was to land inches from Naruto's face. "Do not think yourself wise just because you are in kitsune form. You were not born this way. You are a human. You couldn't understand our reasons."

"It's not your reasons I'm questioning. I know you felt betrayed. I know you thought this was the right move to protect yourself. But I'm saying that if you were trying to send a message to the boy, he probably got the wrong idea."

The cat eyed him up and down and sat staring into Naruto's blue eyes. Naruto did not waver.

"You think less of us for our actions?" he asked Naruto.

"No," he told the cat. "But wondering is sometimes more painful than guilt. Or being abandoned."

The white cat watched Naruto's eyes closely as he said this. Naruto did not look away, even after he was finished speaking. The cat continued to stare.

Slowly, it moved away, still in a staring contest with Naruto. "You, too, were unwanted."

Naruto didn't move. He didn't speak. His expression, unchanged.

The cat sighed and walked back to where it was before, sitting behind the assortment of fruit.

"I will help you," said the cat. "On one condition."

Naruto's expression still didn't change. "What's that?"

"You must sever your ties with the kitsune."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?"

"It is too dangerous for humans and spirits to be so close. Friendship with such creatures is not possible. Eventually, one will betray the other. Mistakes will be made. It's best to end the relationship."

Naruto was on his feet. "I cannot do that. If I end my relationship with them, they're going to want to know why. I can't have them thinking it's their fault. They should have a say in this. Both sides are involved in this friendship."

The cat's tail swished behind it as it spoke. "Expose them and you won't need their say or an explanation."

Naruto took a step away from the platform, his paw inadvertently stepping on Shikamaru's hand. Shikamaru moved away, seeing the shock in Naruto's eyes and he shared in his disbelief.

"No way," said Naruto, voice shaking. "Absolutely not. I would never do that!"

"Your friend already knows about them, clearly," said the cat with a sly grin. "They probably have a home just like I used to have, with humans who pay them offerings of respect and gratitude. How long before a human tries to use them for personal gain? How long before some ignorant human gives way to fear and hunts them down for what they might do, not have done?"

"But-"

"You are already using them for personal gain," the cat told him. "You sought their knowledge and came here, seeking my help in something you cannot do yourself."

"That's different. It's not per-"

"And once this human returns to normal, they'll spread the word and people will come seeking their own miracles. Their own slaves."

"I've never once thought of the kitsune as-"

"You know how humans are. An innocent child betrayed us and ended up causing the downfall of an entire town. What sort of damage do you expect an adult to do?" The cat gave Naruto a cruel smirk. "It's only a matter of time before the kitsune are discovered and used. If you rat them out to the world, you'll actually be sparing them a whole lot of pain if you think about it. They'll have to run to guard their secret. To keep themselves safe. They're too close to humans. It's for the best if they just leave."

"No!" Naruto shouted. "I could never do that to them! They're my friends!"

"Then do them a kindness and make them see the light. Show them what humans are like. It's best if you do it. They won't hold out hope if it's another human. If their most trusted friend does it, then they'll give up on humans altogether."

"I won't so it," Naruto snarled.

"If you want the human back to normal, you will," the cat told him. "If you don't, the human will stay the way they are forever and you'll never get what you want."

Naruto blinked at the same time Shikamaru raised his brow. "H- how do you know I..?"

"Why else would you be here asking on behalf of another human? If they were that close to you, you would have brought them with you. You wouldn't be talking about second chances and other parties wouldn't be involved," said the cat. "I don't know why this human must be changed back or in exchange for what, but whatever it is, you must agree to my terms or it's not happening."

Naruto shook his head from side to side. "No way am I doing that."

"Oh, I don't know," said the cat in a sly tone. "You must have a very good reason to be going on this quest and getting help from kitsune and those in the spirit realm. Must be super important."

"Not important enough for me to do what you're asking."

"I think it is, or you wouldn't be here. So let me spell it out to you one last time," the cat gave him a menacing look. "Expose your kitsune friends and I'll change the human back."

"No!" Naruto shouted. "We've been through so much, I could never do that to them."

"Humans and creatures don't belong together. Once humans no longer revere us but start to see us as equals, it's over. There's a fine line for a reason and it must be maintained. You crossed that line the second you became their friend. You'll ruin them. They're too comfortable around humans for their own good."

"It's not like that-"

"You'll have to hurt them to help them," said the cat. "Make them see they have to leave so they'll never be used. If you care about them, you'll do it."

"It's because I care that I can't!" Naruto bellowed.

His roar was so strong, it made the hairs on the back of Shikamaru's neck stand up. It blew the fur back on the cat's face but its expression didn't change, observing Naruto with a stern expression.

Naruto panted heavily, trying to calm down.

"That's their home," he seethed. "It was almost taken once but I stopped it. I know how important it is to them. And even when it looked like they wouldn't have a choice, they opted to stay, despite the danger. If not then, certainly not now. Even if I ratted them out to the world, they wouldn't leave it. I know they wouldn't. It's too important. And I…"

Naruto caught his breath and started to speak more calmly.

He thought of every single kitsune he knew. Even the pups he had yet to learn every name of. How even the next generation now had a special connection with them as he did. How his daughter smiled and bounded around the house when she was transformed the same way he chased his tail when he was first transformed. How he had run with them all those years ago and how his children ran with them just a few months ago.

His family.

"I'm not the reason they stay and won't be the reason they leave."

The cat sat as still as the stone figure in the shrine, expressionless.

"What's important to them is important to me. I helped them and they helped me. We're more than friends. I don't care about the differences. I know that there are people who don't understand but that's no reason to give up. The kitsune shouldn't be forced to leave because of something that may happen. It should be their choice and trying to influence it wouldn't be right. It's their home and there are people who care about them, just like this place used to have. And it makes no sense to drive them away when there really isn't a problem. Why make one that will only end up screwing up so many lives? The kitsune are there for a reason. I'm not going to do anything."

The cat raised its brow. "Was I not clear when I gave you my terms?"

"You were," said Naruto. "But I'd lose too much doing it your way. It's not really their free choice if I do what you're asking." Naruto shook his head once more. "So no. I won't do it. I'll find another way, even if it means leaving the human the way he is."

The cat blinked and its ears lowers slightly. "You really won't abandon them? Or betray them? Even knowing what it means?"

Naruto turned to leave. "I care about them too much to do that to them."

The cat gave Naruto a sad look. "Then you are different from the boy."

Naruto turned his back to the platform and started to head for the stairs when he found his path blocked by the white cat.

"I will help you change the human back. No conditions required."

Naruto blinked. "What? For real?"

Shikamaru shot the cat a look. "Was that all a test to see if we would turn our backs on our spirit friends to get something we want?"

"Sort of," said the cat. "I just wanted to see if you were worthy. See if you truly cared about them. Now I see that your friendship is genuine. Even if you thought it would spare them disappointment or hardships, you would not cause them pain to do it. You would not do it if it meant going against your own morals or terminating your friendship. Altering their way of life in a negative way, even if you thought it was to protect them. You respect them enough to know what's most important to them and try to preserve it."

The cat walked back towards the platform and jumped onto it, turned and sat at the top step.

"I will help you, but you are going to have to bring the human to me. I'm not powerful enough to work my magic without certain conditions being met."

Naruto, still in fox form, faced the white cat. "So you'll help us? And all you need is for us to bring the human here to this spot to be changed back into a person?"

The cat nodded. "There is no other condition."

Naruto bowed his head to the cat spirit. "Thank you."

The cat stood, turned and vanished into the underbrush.

Naruto smiled at Shikamaru. "He said he'd help. This is great news."

"And troublesome," said Shikamaru. "Not only will we have to backtrack and find the king's seaside kingdom, we'll also have to convince him to give the donkey to us and bring him all the way here. And they say donkeys are stubborn. This is going to be a real pain."

"It's still something," Naruto told him. "And we do have an idea where the kingdom is because of the king's letter to us. Boruto and his friends went there. It's not impossible."

"I'm not saying it is. Just that it's going to be a real pain." Shikamaru started down the stairs with Naruto at his side. "We should have asked the cat spirit how long we had. Will he wait a week or do we only have a day to do this?"

"Not a lot of creatures like him are worried about time like that. I think as long as we bring him here, that's fine."

"We still should have asked. What if we do all this and the cat refuses?"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't think so. He'll probably be able to sense us and show up whenever we come back."

"He said he's one of the few who does. What if he runs into trouble and leaves again? You heard his story. A human could discover them and they'll feel like they have to leave."

"Let's not worry about that right now," said Naruto, reaching the bottom step and changing back into human form. "Right now, we have to get to the king's kingdom and persuade him to hand Kai over to us."

"And if he doesn't?" Shikamaru asked with folded arms.

"If he wants Kai back, he will. We'll just have to tell him that." Naruto looked to the side. "This will also be our chance to check up on Boruto. See how he's doing."

Shikamaru's expression softened, understanding completely.

"Alright," he said. "Let's do this."