life as a Fox

NSW

Naruto led his team on their seventh 'Anbu' mission, when he smelled it, that bitter yet intoxicating aroma, the smell of death and life, the dark smell of blood, filling his nostrils. Baru smelled it as well, "Sen-" he was about to say, Naruto shushed him "quiet, it is fresh!" he whispered harshly, Naruto followed the scent, it got stronger and stronger.

Till he came upon them, bodies four of them, he recognized them, they were all Anbu, slaughtered. Not simply killed, they were torn in pieces, their bodies barely recognizable. Naruto had seen a few of them, he knew there names but that was about it but still he felt saddened, the Anbu was like family, this would be a terrible loss to everyone.

Lemur, poor poor Lemur, her head was attached to her body by a flap of skin, the rest looked like it had been sliced clean through, although the wound was jagged, so it wasn't a knife, it looked as though something sharp wrapped around her neck...and tore through it, like a chain, or a whip, but what kind of chain or whip could do that?

Naruto turned to his students all of them stared wide eyed at him, he heard Gin retching in the trees, they were young, they were not meant to see horrors such as this. Even Naruto felt revulsion from them, what person could do this? Rip other humans apart and leave them lying in their own blood? Then Naruto heard a cough, a weak ragged moan, he followed it there was a trail of blood leading away, and deep in the foliage of a large tree, he found a man lying, bleeding form several wounds, he was weak and possibly dying, but still alive.

Naruto spoke "stay with me brother, we will get you to safety" The man moaned "Baru" he said simply. Baru came over and began to pick the man up "wait" Gin said "what do you mean wait! look at the man!" Gin glared at Baru "I can fix some of him" she then knelt down, and began to heal a few of the wounds, Naruto admired her, then moved in and began to help as well, he wasn't the best healer, but he knew how to do some.

Naruto turned to Baru "bandages please" he said simply, Baru reached into his travel pack and grabbed his, Chikao also handed him some, together Gin and Naruto patched the man up enough, so that he could survive till they got to Anbu head quarters, the man had not spoke yet besides a simple moan or grunt. "lets go Baru" Naruto said, Baru nodded and lift the man gently then they ran as fast as they could go back to Anbu head quarters.

Gomeg tutted over the man, "I have not seen wounds like these, this will be quite different" Naruto nodded "it is as if, something ripped them apart, something...slim and flexible but also jagged, like claws" Gomeg nodded "right, I would say a whip but whips have clean perfect cuts, no jaggedness, and they slice they don't rip and shred."

Naruto sighed "I can't even begin to describe the other bodies" Gomeg nodded "you of course reported to Mammoth?" Naruto nodded "I sent the team up to do so" Gomeg nodded "good" then at that moment Mammoth broke through the double doors, they slammed when they hit the walls a metallic ring filling the room, Naruto and the man flinched.

Mammoth strode over to them, "what news?" Gomeg turned to him "well he's not going to die, but he's not going to be walking either anytime soon" Mammoth sighed "Raven, one of my smartest" he said, "I gave your students the day off, If that is alright?" Naruto nodded "I was going to do just the same, I suppose I should go see how they are doing".

"Here you go" Hinata said setting down tea for all of them, Naruto lapped his up slowly, he didn't care much for tea, it tasted like drinking bark. He sighed and looked away, "you liking the room?" he asked Hinata, he had long forsook his room and moved out into the living room on his large pillow. "We love it thank-you again Naruto" Naruto nodded.

Baru sipped his tea, "I remember the stuff they gave us at the mines, so we could sleep, it made you forget all your pain and everything, it was amazing, but it burned like fire when you drank it" Naruto looked up "what did it look like?" Baru shrugged "it was sometimes clear, or brown colored, it changed all the time, but every single one always burned or stung when you drank it".

Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other "did they ever tell you what it was?" Hinata asked "no not really, we never asked, we just did as we were told, although I am glad we got it, sometime you didn't want to know what happened in the dark down in those mines". Hinata sipped her tea, quickly glancing away.

Naruto shook his head "well then, are you guys going to be okay? I mean you can take awhile longer before you can go back, Mammoth does not blame you, that was quite, a sight today...no one should have to witness sit, especially you guys". Baru spoke "it's fine, I mean, it's bad but, I am good, I have accepted that people die, and sometimes they are killed violently, like when a shaft collapses, they had to use us smaller boys to clear out the rubble to find the bodies so I am somewhat used to it, but there is nothing that can be helped, the only thing we can do is make sure it doesn't happen again".

Hinata got up and hugged Baru, she felt so sad of what a life this young man must have led. Chikao spoke "Baru is right, we need to make sure that no one else gets killed in such a way, we have to stop whatever and whoever this is, and but an end to it". Naruto nodded "good...what about you Gin, I know you couldn't stomach it, but are you okay now?"

Gin nodded "I think it was mostly the realization, you know, that someone could do something like that, I mean, I know we have killed, but nothing like that, it looked terrible, and painful, I want to stop someone form experiencing that pain, it is the medic nin in me that has told me this". Naruto nodded "that is good, that you three have came up with this resolve, but do not be disappointed if your bodies betray you, it is hard for you to get used to this kind of thing, hard to cope and live with yourselves after seeing what happened, makes you question your sanity, and yourself, giving doubts...and what did I say about having doubts"?

He asked them Baru spoke "they open the door to failure, if you don't have confidence in yourself, how can you possibly achieve anything you set out for" he said answering him "exactly" Naruto said nodding to them. "now you three go home, try to get sleep, I will call you when I have news for you". They all nodded thanked Hinata for the tea then left "Hinata I am sorry but right now I am going to need something that burns when I drink it".

Hinata nodded "well be safe and don't do anything stupid" Naruto smirked as he headed for the door, he turned to her "Hinata, I am going out to get drunk, how more of a fool could I be?" Hinata gave a soft sigh as she rubbed her belly. She then began to clear the table.

Naruto staggered home, it was around midnight, maybe one, who knows really, he stopped caring after the fifteenth drink. Many Anbu members had met at a bar near the head quarters, all of them of course were trying to drink away their pain, especially the team that was sent to gather their bodies, Lemur's boyfriend, Terrier was in pieces, he sobbed and cried for her.

Everyone felt his pain, the Anbu had told them that they should be emotionless, not feeling, and at times they were but not when it came to losing their own, it took a long while to replace their numbers, not just anyone could join, so the stress of losing just one of them was hard, but four? and fifth one who may or may not be able to join back in the rank?

The burdens weighed heavily on their shoulders. Naruto sighed as he for the fifth time tried to go through one of the moving dogie doors on the main door, but after bumping his head a cursing so many times, Kiba must have awoken and opened the door for him. Naruto thanked him as he clattered into the kitchen table, then bumped a small dresser that held a vase, which hit him on the head as it fell of the dresser.

Naruto collapsed to drunk to care, Kiba sighed "come on, you are a hopeless drunk Naruto" Naruto spoke "oh...quiet...you stupid...mutt...I am...a drunk...okay...perfectly...err...perfectly...okay...drunk..." then he stuck his tongue out sloppily. Kiba chuckled "come on get to your pillow" "I...am on my pillow..." Kiba sighed "no...you are on my foot, now move".

But Naruto simply rolled over his belly up to Kiba, Kiba sighed and leaned down and picked his drunk friend of the floor, he then plopped him on his pillow "there you go your highness" "rub my feet slave" Naruto randomly spoke in his drunk sleep. Kiba laughed and went to bed.

Naruto cursed the world and everyone in it five times over before regrettably getting out of bed, he knew already that he was not going to try Gomeg's concoction of piss and who knows what else to cure his hang over, instead he was going to do the old fashion way, coffee, aspirin, and snapping at everyone for being loud and annoying.

By noon his hang over had subsided and he went to visit Mammoth, learn any news, so far Raven was making a recovery and had awoken sometime in the night, Mammoth had stayed the night just in case this happened, and he learned what had happened.

(flashback)

"well that was a waste of time" he said stretching his arms and yawning, "quiet Raven, it is not our duty to question the Generals orders" Lemur said in her uncaring tone. "someone sounds disappointed, is your boyfriend to much a lapdog for you?" Lemur punched at him playfully, they always did this on the way back from a mission, teased and joked with one another.

"Quiet!" their leader yelled "what is it?" Lemur asked Cobra "shhh" he said again, "I thought I heard something" "probably another group going out on a mission, this is a well traveled area, quickest way to the hidden mist is through here" Cobra nodded accepting Lemur's idea, she was right besides they were close to the tower, why on earth would anyone attack Anbu here?

But still the feeling that you were being watched didn't escape Cobra, not until it was to late. In a flash something shot out form the trees wrapped around Lemurs neck and ripped it from her body, blood sprayed like a torrent from her. They returned fire, but these...these..things...they looked like chains, only they moved like whips, but had small thorn or claw like growths covering them, and finally they were made of chakra, wielded completely through and through with chakra.

They came out randomly from the trees, they never even got to see their attackers. Finally they were all dead, at least that was what their enemy thought, but one had managed to hold on to life, and he dragged himself away when he sensed they were gone. He tried to make it to the tower but he couldn't. Then when his mind was playing tricks on him from the lack of blood, he saw a white wolf, at first he thought it was an angel ready to guide him to the afterlife, but it wasn't it was Fluffy, he had heard of him, and saw him, but never got to speak to him.

Yet he spoke out in kindness, telling him to hold on, he tried to tell him what happened but all that came out was moans and grunts, intelligible sounds. Then there was blackness, but he knew he was alive, being healed, or else there wouldn't be this much pain. Then the next thing he knew, he was awake in the infirmary Mammoth sitting next to him quietly.

He knew his team was dead, Cobra, Lemur and Crab but he still couldn't help looking for them in the beds next to him. Mammoth had calmed him and told him once more, he was the only one living, he was saddened why hand't he died with them? why not he die, and Lemur live? she had such good news to tell Terrier when she got home, tell him he was going to be a father, but now that over her and the baby dead, in one quick stroke.

He cried and told Mammoth everything he knew, Mammoth listened through his sobs and assured him their deaths would not be wasted, and that he lived to carry on the info, the information the Anbu needed, to know who and what they were against.

Naruto was silent as he listened to what Mammoth had to say, he reached down for his probably twelfth cup of coffee, who knows how much he had before Naruto arrived. Naruto spoke "so chains...with thorns attached to them, made of chakra, some sort of Henkei genkai? Mammoth shrugged "I knew that the Uzumaki's of the whirlpool village, could create chains, and the Waya family had use of Chakra chains as well".

Naruto nodded "yes but the Uzumaki clan is scattered to a few survivors, and the Waya clan has only one member left, and that is Tomi, and he couldn't do anything like that, he has learned his clan secrets but nothing of this degree, plus he wouldn't do anything like this, he has a good heart". Mammoth nodded "I came to the same conclusion, so that means, either there is survivors of his clan, or we have Uzumaki's against us".

Naruto shook his head "no, this is no Uzumaki, the way you described them, these chains are different, way different" Mammoth glared at him "how would you know so much about the Uzumaki?" Naruto grinned "oh, we demons know a lot about the Uzumaki, or haven't you heard?" Mammoth nodded "very well I take you word, then tell me Wolf Heart, what do we have here?"

Naruto looked away "that's the thing sir, I have no idea, but I do know, it is something terrible". Mammoth nodded "you have the same feeling as well?" Naruto nodded "the feeling of dread? that something bad is looming over us? yes, yes I do, and I am not afraid to say that" Mammoth nodded " take it easy, and keep your wits about you, the Anbu is going to have to be strong and hold on before we can get to the bottom of this".

Naruto spoke "more are going to die...aren't they?" Mammoth sighed and sadly he looked to Naruto "yes, more will die, this was only the beginning, so keep an eye out on those students of yours, to bad the Gyrfalcons, migrated last week, we could have used their eyes". Naruto nodded as he remembered to his friends the Gyrfalcons, Sokol and his mate had three hatchlings, 'fluffies' as they called them.

Two girls and a boy, all of them the same dark gray slate color, with wide alien looking eyes, their wings were small tiny flaps of skin that they shook when they cried for food. At least that was what they were at first, the next time he was them they had grown more feathers and had stumbled around on unsteady legs.

They kept growing and growing until soon three little birds flew next to their father in the sky, they weren't as fast nor as agile, but they steadily flapped their wings to keep up with him. Sokol was so happy at the moment they had no names, they would wait until the naming ceremony back home. Naruto couldn't imagine, living without a name, until you reached a certain age, it seemed so confusing.

Naruto snapped back from his thoughts when Mammoth set his coffee on the desk "don't worry, Mammoth, we will get thought this...I know we will" Mammoth nodded "very well then, be off, I will call you when I need you". Naruto nodded he left and walked down the streets of Konoha, "I wonder what will happen?" he said as he looked up into the gray cloudy sky, a cold breeze suddenly blew down on him from the north, then it began to snow, three flakes fell upon his nose, he glanced down and looked at them, they melted when he did.

wow, I have been moving haven't I? I guess it's mostly because I have nothing else to do, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will soon be unveiling new enemies, and new abilities, please now, the next chapters things will happen, that you might be angry at me for doing, but I need you to stick with the story, I know I weave such an amazing tale of hope and always looking on the bright side of life, well all I can say is in the next chapters, there will be Blood, the white innocent snow, will be dyed red from it.

NSW