A/N - Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter of Kitsune Sanctuary! I've come to the conclusion, I'm just a natural slow writer! Even when inspired, I can't help but take my time writing. I wrote this chapter three times before settling on this current version. However, do not fear! I have written out the entirety of the wave arc. Now I'm just very slowly piecing it together. I would expect the next chapter quickly because of this.
Please leave your feedback, positive, negative or both! Seriously, tell me what you think.
PS: There is a high probability of extreme violence in this chapter.
=Reviews=
Frankieu - Thank you for reading!
Buterflypuss - Thank you for your honest input and I did end up changing some bits of the last chapter. I'd also like to apologize to everyone about the large information dump last chapter. I don't plan on having another one of those.
Doomqwer - That was the plan with that chapter. I wanted people to see Konoha and get an idea of who would be appearing in the future.
Theriku260 - *Throws chapter in face* Read it!
KakeruPB - Such is the fate of an OC being shoved in between original characters. I hinted that both her parents were shinobi and the life expectancy in the career field is very low. I believe you can put the pieces together yourself. There is a great chance that she could get along well with Naruto's little gang.
Kaizon-chan - Glad you appreciated it. *hug*
StallionWolf - I'm glad you like her. You'll see more of her in the future where I'll expand on her.
TigrezzTail - I originally planned on showing the bell test but eventually went against it. You'll see more of her in the future. I'm glad you loved the part with Jiraiya as that is one of my favorite parts in this story so far. I wanted it to be cinematic. I hope everyone was able to actually see the scene as I could.
Zero Fullbuster - Awesomesauce!
Nero - Sorry about that! Your opinion matters to me and thanks for sharing with me. I don't plan on abandoning it, I'm just slow!
Asta - I have not forgotten about that. It's complicated for a reason and will be explained eventually. You'll find there is usually a reason I mention something in my story.
ThraintarIronshield - Glad you like her!
Ryojin - Well, I'm glad you're excited! *chuckles nervously...*
Fanreader26 - I hope plenty of people are.
Guests - Yes, as far as the world is concerned, Naruto is defenseless. Thank you and I plan on it.
Please enjoy the story, everyone!
I do not own Naruto!
I do own my OCs though...
=Nami no Kuni: Unknown=
Somewhere in Nami no Kuni, a young girl is chained up against a cold stone wall locked away in the dark. Around each of her wrists are two iron cuffs pinning her to the wall while just holding her high enough that she couldn't sit but limply lean against the wall. She's stretched out with her heels against the cold floor.
Akitsu Mana's eye stared into the darkness impassively while the other is swollen shut with trails of dried blood coming from a scabbed gash above her right eyebrow. Her body is covered in multiple bruises and cuts, some that are still freshly bleeding from her captor's recent fun. The clothes she was taken in are torn in multiple places and covered in a mix of her own and others dried blood. She contemplated her current situation and how she ended up here.
Her mission was relatively simple for a member of her clan. She was to infiltrate Nami no Kuni as a traveler and blend into the background to gather intelligence. Her objective was to learn what was interfering with the trade routes and discover if the rumor of a takeover were true.
She set out the next day after being assigned the mission and dressed in simple but flexible clothes that wouldn't be unusual for a civilian traveler. She spent time traveling the roads at a normal pace blending in perfectly before crossing the gap between lands into Nami. Once she successfully infiltrated the country, she immediately began scouting the entire island.
It didn't take her long to complete her objective when she discovered the state that the village located on the island is in. She overheard how men are being senselessly killed, women and children are being taken and sold off into slavery. Then she heard the name Gato and flashes of the man's actions resonated in her mind. She wasted no time in sending a message to relay this information to Sanctuary.
From that point onwards, she continued to blend in and gather information. Everything had been going exactly as she expected until one morning. She had been simply strolling through the streets ignoring the starving humans begging for any scraps they could get their hands on when three of Gato's hired thugs took interest in her. To this day, she still didn't fully understand why they took interest in her at all.
Like most of her clan, she's petite with soft violet eyes and beautiful red hair. Her body is small but well-honed for stealth. If you didn't know her, or of her family name, you would most likely assume her to be a child. Which begs the question, why did those men take any interest in her?
The three rough looking men that she garnished the attention of walked up and surrounded her on all sides. Each of them looking at her with lustful eyes and hungry smiles. She could still remember some of their lines, "Hey little girl, are you lost?" Her feet shifted ever so slightly when the one standing on her left side spoke up, "Why don't you come with us, we'll keep you nice and safe," he said suggestively licking his lips before grabbing onto her shoulder.
Scum, that's the only word that could describe the men that had surrounded her. Normally she would have just slit their throat and left them to bleed out slowly before their bodies eventually started to rot and nourish the environment. However, her role was to play a young female traveler; killing three men in the middle of a street with civilians watching would most likely attract unwanted attention. Her options were limited, and she had no desire to let those scum touch her. So, she did what any young female traveler would do in this situation. She shook off the man's grubby hand and took off in a sprint into the surrounding woods.
The villagers would believe she ran off fearfully into the woods hoping to lose her pursuers. No, she had no interest in losing this scum, no, not in the slightest. She wanted them to follow her deep into the woods away from the unexpecting villagers. She made sure to keep just enough room to make it look like they were slowly but surely gaining on her. She could still remember turning her head to the side and seeing them chasing her and laughing wickedly. Perfect. She continued to duck under the branches, jump over the large roots while heading towards a very specific area.
She could still smell the scent of the ocean when she arrived at her destination. She jumped out of the tree line into an opening where a ledge met the ocean. The sound of the rapid water crashing against the jagged cliffside reverberated throughout the air. She stepped closer to the edge and peered down before turning around to meet her three eagerly stalking pursuers.
"You didn't think you could escape, did you?" one asked sinisterly.
"Don't be scared, we just want to have a little fun is all," one said lustfully, his eyes trailing her body.
"There's nowhere to run, I promise we won't hurt you… too much," the last one said slyly.
Perhaps they had expected her to gain a fearful look and beg them to let her go. She didn't give them a fearful look, instead, they received a blank expression as her eyes calculated the easiest and most efficient way to kill them. Would she charge at them? No, that would give them to much time to react. No, she would do this quickly and correctly.
She crouched onto the ground and covered her face giving the appearance of a scared girl who had given up and accepted her fate. The scum watched their prey curl up and casually approached her from all sides. Each footstep growing closer until they were standing close enough that she could smell their foul breath. That was their final mistake.
Her nails slowly extended, sharpening into deadly knives. Violet eyes snapped open and time slowed down for her and like lightning, she struck quickly. She launched up quicker then the three could perceive and slit the throat of the man standing in front of her. He met her eyes for a second and she saw the look of shock and confusion flash through them. He grabbed his neck at instinct trying to put pressure while blood spurted out like a fountain splattering her clothes. She paid it no mind.
Her body crouched down and spun left with her right leg extended successfully slamming it into one of the shocked thugs. He fell backward landing on his back roughly letting out a gasp of breath. She wasted no time in jumping the man and jamming her thumbs into his eyes. The man screamed in agony as soon as she pierced the jelly-like flesh but silenced him like the other. Her head shifted as she stood up and gazed upon the last man who had begun to slowly step backward in fear. The sounds of the man under her gurgling gave atmospheric horror.
When she noticed the man preparing to flee she felt instincts coming to life. The perceived predator turned into the prey trying to flee from the real hunter. She couldn't allow him to escape and spread information about her, it would break her cover. His fate had been sealed the moment he chased her into the woods. After all, why would a rodent chase a fox? The outcome was clear.
The man turned around and tried to bolt into the thick forest but felt soft hands wrap themselves around his neck. His eyes widened in fear and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out but an echo of a sickening snap. His head jerked violently to the left and his body went limp falling lifelessly toward the ground. Soon enough, the only noise heard in the hills was the sound of the ocean crashing against the stone face.
She reached down and grabbed the man below her by the arm and dragged him toward the cliffside before tossing his body into the cold unforgiving water. She watched the body fall and splash into the water before being sucked under the waves disappearing. She did this with the last two bodies; the evidence of her deed buried under the ocean feeding the inhabitants. Everything had gone smoothly as she predicted until an unknown variable she had not considered made its presence known.
Her eyes widened in surprise when she felt someone's presence behind her. She had not expected someone to be able to sneak up on her, not out of arrogance but from research. She tried to turn around, but someone hit her hard on the back of her neck. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she collapsed onto the ground. Darkness quickly enveloped her vision and when she awoke, she found herself chained to a wall.
The first thing she attempted to do was break the cuffs with her chakra enhanced strength. To her displeasure, whoever captured her noticed she could use chakra since the chains left her powerless. She tried twisting her hands in uncomfortable ways to squeeze out of them, but they are far to tight. With no current means of escape, she let her body hang limply and let her mind process.
From the information she had gathered, Gato had only hired simple thugs and mercenaries. None of them really trained and none of them with functional chakra systems. Whoever managed to sneak up on her must have recently been hired or she would have known of their existence. This is also assuming that her captor worked for the man, to begin with. In the end, she was careless for letting her guard down even for the slightest of moments.
She waited in the dark for hours before the door to her cell opened letting in some light. To her displeasure, a small pig-like man named Gato waddled in with a smug look plastered on his face. How she hated that man. He wanted to inspect his new prize who killed off three of his men. She imagined he was expecting, maybe hoping that she would be looking at him fearfully, begging for mercy. She only stared blankly at the man not letting an ounce of emotion through.
The following week and a half passed by slowly. It is throughout this time that she personally learned Gato enjoyed playing with his prisoners. He would ask questions and when she didn't respond, she would get hurt depending on his mood. Sometimes he would come in and molest her, but she still wouldn't show any sign of emotion. Thankfully, he never allowed his thugs to touch her. She assumed he made it his goal to personally break her like a side project.
She missed her deadline. She knew that Sanctuary would eventually send out a team to locate her, but she didn't know exactly when. It wasn't uncommon for one of them to go silent for a bit while out in the field. She suspected they would send someone after her in a week or two. She could handle the pig-like man for that long.
Now, one week and three days later she finds herself badly beaten while staring at the wall in front of her. Gato had gotten more violent in the past few days. His muttering about a bridge builder escaping Nami and heading toward a shinobi village. He took out his frustrations on her, but she didn't give him any response like usual.
Her thoughts drifted to home. She missed the sunlight and trees, the breeze on her face. 'I hope you come soon…' she thought tiredly. She started to understand why so many kitsune hated humans. Her thoughts shifted to her captor and her promise she made during her long stay. 'Gato, I don't know how or when, but when I break from these chains… I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully. That's a promise on my family's name. The eyes of the Mana clan,' she shook her head, 'No, the eyes of Sanctuary will be watching you.' She thought vindictively before a small chuckle escaped her lips. 'You're already dead, you just don't know it yet.'
=Naruto's Mindscape=
Naruto rested up against one of the many large beautiful trees in his mindscape while admiring the scenery around him. His mindscape has changed drastically from the previous sewer. A unique version of Sanctuary replaced his original but without any of the buildings interfering with nature. The change happened the day Midori, the nature spirit made a pact with him. His head rested against the oaken surface before closing his eyes to enjoy the soft breeze flowing through the forest.
His ears picked up the faint sound of footsteps making their way toward him before someone sat down beside him. "Hey Naru-chan," the familiar voice of Yami said pleasantly. He opened his sapphire-blue eyes and shifted his head to the side gaze into her crimson orbs. The day he gave her form, she would travel around his mindscape and visit him whenever he was resting.
"Hi Yami-chan, how are you?" he asked nicely hoping she wouldn't get on his case about not summing her back after the duel with Akane. He just forgot after Kurama's report. Afterward, things just continued to happen, like him figuring out how to get ramen again or getting assigned a mission.
Yami gave Naruto a loving smile, "I'm doing wonderfully now that you're here, and you?" she replied sweetly before asking him the same question. She enjoyed anytime she got to spend with her only family. Always so happy when she felt him appear within the forest or when he called for her help.
Naruto looked straight ahead and let a gentle smile appear across his face. "I'm pretty excited," he responded getting a raised eyebrow from his other half though she already has a good guess why. "Akane, Aki, Danno and I received our first mission," he said excitedly getting a nod of agreement from his other.
Yami hummed softly turning away from Naruto and staring off into the woods. "I noticed," she said calmly before leaning her head onto his shoulder. "Remember if you ever need any help, you can call on me. I'll always be there for you," she commented warmly. She meant every word of what she said.
Naruto leaned his head against her own and gave a warm chuckle. "Do you think this is what having a sibling is like?" he asked absently. When he lived in Konoha he witnessed other kids playing with their siblings and craved that same relationship. Being an orphan and one so despised quickly crushed that dream.
Yami gave a toothy smile at that question. "I think so but, you know, I don't really have the best reference material to go off of," she quipped cheekily eliciting a small chuckle from Naruto. Though, this is how she imagined sibling acting around each other.
"Hehe, I guess you're right…" he replied while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly before drifting into a comfortable silence. He still remembered the day he created his other half and how it stumped his sensei. It had been quite the show when she first appeared.
*Flashback*
Naruto stood beside his friends who had been told to come out to their usual training field by Kurama. The nine-tailed kitsune recently took them as his students for reasons he did not share. For the most part, their sensei had just been doing conditioning while helping them master their basic stances. Except for Akane, who was getting more help with her advance stances.
Kurama stood in front of his students and eyed each of them. "For the last three months I've been helping you three polish what you already know but I believe it's time to start helping you with our other arts. The technique I plan on teaching you today is called, Kitsune Technique: Mirrored Soul," he said evenly while studying the expressions of his students.
Akane and Danno appeared to already have some knowledge on this technique but still held some excitement in learning it. Aki and Naruto didn't appear to have any knowledge on the technique but are excited with the idea of learning it. "Kurama-sensei, that's our races specialty clone technique correct?" Akane asked studiously getting interesting looks from Aki and Naruto.
The nine-tailed kitsune gave her an appraising look before nodding his head. "That's correct. This technique has been held by our race for centuries and passed down to our kits," he answered getting looks of awe from the two clueless kitsunes. "As you may be able to grasp from the name, it uses half your soul to power the technique. Unlike the techniques used by humans, our technique is as real as you and me," he said seriously, folding his hands across his chest.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked curiously.
Kurama's eyes looked over to Naruto, "This technique creates a living, breathing body that can feel emotion, pain, bleed and even get hungry. You can imagine them like a long-lost sibling in that regard," he answered clearly and noticed the slight widening of sapphire-blue eyes.
"The benefits of this technique are that everything they experience, you experience but that can also be a hindrance. I'll get back to that soon though," he said quickly sensing their questions before continuing on. "Your other half will retain all the abilities you can. The more powerful and diverse you are, the more powerful and diverse they become. In a way, your enemy will be fighting two of you at the same time which can easily sway a battle in your favor," he said getting looks of awe from his four students.
"What did you mean by being a hindrance?" Akane asked in wonderment.
"If your other half was slain or wounded, you would take on the mental pain which can easily get you killed. If your other gets decapitated, you will feel the same pain it did. Do you understand?" he asked simply getting nods of understanding in return.
"Alright, each of you spread out while I explain how to use this technique," Kurama ordered to which the four kits quickly did as told. Once each of the kits was split up he started speaking again, "Now, I want each of you to look deep inside yourself. Look for a warm ball filled with what makes you, you and latch onto it. Think of your desires and slowly drawl them out and start gathering your chakra around your tails. When you feel that you've built up enough chakra, release it in a burst toward your shadow while pushing forward with your desires," he ordered clearly.
He watched Akane, Aki, and Danno fail on their first try which wasn't unexpected but Naruto hadn't tried yet. Before he could comment, Aki managed to succeed on her second attempt. Her shadow deepened before an exact copy of herself crawled out covered in a thick black blanket. "Congratulations Aki," he said in a pleased tone. He watched how Aki gushed over her other half which unlike the original became calm, serious and focused.
Akane succeeded with the technique next only taking her three tries. Like Aki's other half, her copy crawled out of her shadow and stood beside her. They are both identical and seemed to have the same personality. "Perfect Akane," he congratulated the red-head.
Danno succeeded after his fifth try and like the other two, his other crawled out of his darkened shadow. Much to Danno's embarrassment and Akane and Aki's amusement, Danno's other-half become energetic and excitable. "Good work Danno, I'm sure Aki will enjoy a new playmate," Kurama chuckled getting a cheer from Aki.
Naruto did as he was told, and looked deep within himself for what made him, him. Eventually, he found the warm ball that expressed him before latching onto it. His thoughts shifted to his desires. What did he desire? He wanted a family, someone who would love him unconditionally. He focused on those desires and drawled them out not noticing his other darker desires latching on. He started gathering his chakra towards his tail, building up as much as he could before pushing it into his shadow.
Naruto opened his sapphire-blue eyes and glanced down toward his shadow which became darker than any abyss. A hand shot out in a horror-like fashion before grabbing ahold of the ground and dragging itself out. Who stood in front of him not only shocked himself but the entirety of the group including Kurama. A female clone of Naruto that could pass for his fraternal twin with the only difference being the black highlights in her hair.
"This is a first…" Kurama commented, blinking in surprise.
"Uh, Kurama-sensei, why is Naru-kun's copy a different gender?" Akane asked in a confused tone.
Kurama looked over to Akane being looking back at the blond duos and rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm not quite sure, this hasn't happened before. Naruto, what did you desire when you made her?" he asked curiously. He could feel something… off with Naruto's other half.
Naruto took his eyes off his twin and looked up at the curious nine-tailed kitsune. He chuckled sheepishly, "I've always wanted a family, someone who would care about me for who I am," he answered honestly. He glanced back at the blond girl, "Um, do you have a name?" he asked nervously.
The blond girl tilted her head to the side and gave Naruto a small loving smile. "A name…" she whispered to herself but was overheard by everyone. "You can call me Yami, Naru-chan," she answered giving him a happy nod. She walked up to her originator and hugged him lovingly garnishing a blush from the boy.
Kurama eyed the copy curiously, "I see, you desired a family so instead of an exact copy, you got a sister," he theorized. Though, he could sense dark emotions lingering inside the girl which made him narrow his eyes slightly. 'It looks like Naruto's darker desires got mixed in subconsciously,' he thought idly.
Naruto broke the hug and gave his other half a beaming smile. "This is the best dattebayo! I have a sister!" he cheered excitably getting a warm smile from Yami in return. It may not have been the way he expected to gain a family member, but it's still a family member. A dream came true for the blond that day, but secretly, a dream also came true for Yami as well.
*Flashback End*
"What are you thinking about?
Naruto blinked before staring into crimson-red eyes that are staring right back. While he was lost in his memories, Yami noticed him staring off into space. He didn't notice when she crawled in front of him and moved her face inches from his. That's why when he noticed how close she suddenly was, he jerked his head backward slamming it into the tree. "Ow," he groaned while rubbing the back of his head.
She chuckled lightly sitting back down in front of him. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd react like that," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Don't get her wrong, she is sorry that he hurt his head, but she knew he would react like that. She just enjoyed seeing his reactions.
He sighed as the pain vanished entirely. "I know you did that on purpose," he retorted causing her to smile innocently. If he didn't know any better, he would've fallen for it. "I don't know how, but one day I am going to get you back," he promised hotly.
She stuck out her tongue, "I'd like to see you try," she replied playfully, before tilting her head to the side cutely. "So?" she asked curiously, wanting to know what he was thinking about earlier.
"Hm?"
"So, what were you thinking about? You got lost in thought for a while there," she stated.
"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, "I was just thinking about how we first met," he answered truthfully. It is a good memory, one of his favorites. It was right up there when he first met his parents and discovered who he truly was.
Yami's eyes twinkled, "You know, technically we've been together since birth," she informed him cheekily. After all, she is a part of him just as he is a part of her. They both share the same soul.
Naruto stared at her blandly. "You know what I meant," he said pointedly to which she just shrugged her shoulders. Before he could talk again, he felt himself waking up as he started fading out of his mindscape. "Someone is trying to wake me up," he informed his other half who looks disappointed. "I'll call you out later Yami-chan," he said warmly.
"Bye Naru-chan…" Yami said sadly as her other half completely vanished from their mindscape. She looked up towards the open sky, "I meant what I said, I'll always be there for you," she whispered to herself. The only person she cared for is Naruto. She disliked their parents, Konoha and Kurama. Naruto's darkness would be her burden she would shoulder for him.
=Hi no Kuni: Four Hours from Southern Coast – Nighttime=
The sound of a branch snapping woke Akane up who sat up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Be quiet… wake them up…" muttering from outside the tent caused her to tense. Her emerald eyes glanced over to Erza who is sitting up with one of her blades drawn. She opened her mouth to speak but Erza turned toward her raising a finger to her mouth. She shut her mouth and watched her motion toward the trio to wake them up.
She nodded her head and quietly crawled over to Aki and gently shook her. She watched Aki's forest-green eyes drowsily open and she quickly covered her mouth before she could speak. The suddenness caused her to open her eyes in surprise but Akane raised a finger to her mouth for her to be quiet. She pointed to her ears than to the outside. "Remember…grab the…kill the rest…" more silent whispers came from outside causing Aki to tense.
She let go of Aki's mouth and scooted back before pointing towards Danno. Aki nodded her head and quietly crawled over to Danno while Akane crawled over to Naruto. She gently shook the blond to wake him up while prepared to cover his mouth as well. Right now, they have the element of surprise.
Naruto's sapphire-blue eyes opened drowsily to the blurry face of Akane. He opened his mouth to speak but had it quickly covered by Akane to his surprise. He blinked a view times to clear the spots from his eyes and gave her a confused look. He watched her raise a finger to her mouth before pointing to her ears then outside. His eyes narrowed slightly in confusion until but listened closely. He heard shuffling coming from outside and whispers. She let go of his mouth and he sat up quietly.
The four kits slowly gathered their equipment and waited for Erza to give them instructions. Erza pointed at all of them before pointing towards the floor signaling for them to stay put. They each nodded their heads in acceptance and waited in silence. A shadow appeared in front of their tent entrance and Erza grabbed ahold of her blade. The flap opened, and a gruff man peered inside with narrowed eyes.
Before the man knew what happened, he felt a sharp pain pass through his chest. He gasped for air and looked down to see a blade sticking out of him. His black eyes trailed the blade before they reached the sight of angry glowing amethyst eyes. He opened his mouth to warn his friends but before he could, the woman struck again. She quickly pulled the blade from him and roundhouse kicked him in the chest painfully that sent him flying. His head slammed into a tree and he closed his eyes for the last time.
The sight of their friend flying out of the tent and into a tree shocked the last two remaining bandits. "What the hell?" one of them said in shock. The force that he was sent flying was intense, but they were sure they weren't dealing with shinobi. None of their targets adorned a sigil of any shinobi village.
Erza stepped out of the tent and cracked her neck before glaring at the two remaining humans. She hated humans, all of them were vile and twisted. She heard what they said clearly. They planned on killing Naruto and Danno while taking Akane, Aki, and herself as their personal play toys. They expected them to be easy prey, disgusting. She flicked her right arm that held her sword flinging the blood off it.
A big burly man walked in front of her holding a worn woodcutters' ax over his shoulder while giving her an arrogant smirk. "Drop the sword and we might forgive you for what you did to our friend," he said slyly while lower his ax to intimidate her. She gave him a hateful glare in return.
"Scum," Erza said before vanishing into thin air. She reappeared behind the man with her blade coated in fresh blood again. She turned around and slashed the air throwing the blood onto the grass. She gave a feral smirk as the man slowly fell apart. His arms fell to the ground, head slid off his neck and legs collapsed onto the ground. The man didn't even know what happened.
The final man widened his eyes as he watched his friend literally fall apart before his eyes. He glared hatefully at the woman, "You! You bitch!" he growled out and charged at her with his katana. He intended to cut her diagonally in half, but his blade never reached its target. Perhaps he should've expected her to dodge his attack, but his rage-filled mind glossed over that. He felt a blade pierce his gut and twist painfully. He looked up and met the woman's bloodthirsty amethyst eyes and he realized how bad they messed up.
She grinned ferally at the man's now terror-filled eyes. Chakra coursed through her blade and quickly slashed her blade upwards until it left his skull. His crimson essence drenched the grassy bed as his body collapsed to the ground, almost completely bisected.
Erza turned back toward her tent and her smile dropped immediately. Her four charges each stared at her in horror, each of them green in the face. She absently noted that Naruto and Aki were having the most trouble keeping their previous meal down. She sighed, "Go back inside the tent, close it up while I clean up out here," she ordered which the four kits nodded shakily and retreated into their tent. She looked up into the stars while wiping the blood off her face, 'I got carried away again…' she thought tiredly before beginning to clean up the bodies.
=Hi no Kuni: Southern Coast – Morning=
The group not being able to go back to sleep packed up camp making their way to the coastline. The beginning of the walk was met with silence but eventually, the four returned to their normal selves. Akane and Naruto were walking beside one another while Aki and Danno did the same. Soon enough they reached the ocean came into view.
"Wow, it's so pretty!" Aki exclaimed in awe while staring out into the glistening ocean. The rising sun giving it a mystical feeling, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Compared to the park in Sanctuary, the ocean is on a whole other level.
Akane nodded her head in agreement, it truly is a beautiful sight. "I've never seen the ocean before, it's pretty impressive," she commented with memorized eyes. They are lucky that the ocean wasn't covered in a thick morning fog.
"This is awesome, maybe the four of us can go swimming together sometime in the future?" Naruto suggested excitedly.
Danno gave a tired sigh before yawning into his hand. "That sounds way to bothersome, I'd rather just relax in the sand," he said idly before turning to face his three friends. Each of them looking at him blandly. "What?" he asked in confusion raising a single eyebrow.
"When did you get so lazy?" Akane questioned with a hint of mirth lacing her words. Aki and Danno nodded their heads in agreement to the question. They have each noticed him wanting to laze around more and more lately.
"I'm not lazy, I just prefer relaxing."
"…"
"…"
"…that… that's the definition of lazy…" Akane informed the kitsune warily.
Erza watched the four's conversation with clear amusement before letting out a small chuckle. "As fun as it is listening to you four, we have to keep moving," she said with a smile. The four kitsunes looked at her with small smiles and nodded their heads before continuing down the dirt path towards an inn.
It took them a little less than an hour to reach their destination. The area they arrived at is right off the beach on the edge of the forest line. There are two buildings and a dock that extended into the ocean. The first building has a wooden sign hanging from two iron chains with the words, "Wave Crest Inn" engraved into it. The inn itself has beige colored walls with wooden cinnamon colored lining.
The second build is a simple shack most likely used for storage by the inn. The docks, however, have multiple fishing boats docked with a few locals walking around with their daily catch. Some of the locals are chatting with each other or boasting about their latest catch.
Erza glanced at the boats and gave a small nod to herself before looking toward her four charges. "You four go inside the inn and get yourself some breakfast. I'll talk to the locals and see if any are willing to transport us to Nami," Erza said before her own stomach grumbled getting some amused looks. "I'll join you after I procure us a ride," she reiterated.
The kids shrugged their shoulders and walked into the inn leaving Erza behind. She turned toward the locals hanging around their boats and took a deep calming breath. She may not like humans, but she is professional enough to work with them if the need arose.
She made her way down the wooden dock breathing in the salty air. She started going around to people who weren't caring any fish assuming they hadn't left yet. One by one she asked if they would be willing to take her and her charges to Nami. To her displeasure, she received mostly the same answer from everyone she asked.
An older gentleman gave her an apologetic look before scratching the top of his balding head. "Sorry little lady, it's too dangerous to sail around that area right now. If you want my advice, I'd suggest you stay away from it," he said kindly before turning away from her and continuing to clean his boat.
A middle-aged man gave her an uncaring look with his arms folded. "No," he stated simply and walked past her toward the inn. She started walking towards a woman when the guy called back out to her. "No one is going to take you. A lost of fishermen are killed for going over there," he said blandly before walking away completely.
As the man said, the woman she walked up too gave a similar answer. "Can't be done," the woman replied coldly. She climbed into her boat and untied it before taking off into the ocean.
Erza sighed as another person walked away from her after telling her no. She turned around with the intentions of heading back to the inn to get some breakfast before trying again. "I overheard you're looking for someone to take you to Nami," a voice said from beside her. She turned toward the voice to see a man walking toward her wearing a simple black cloak. He is average in height with dirty brown eyes and shaggy brown hair rolled down his neck ending at his shoulders. He didn't look like much, but appearances could be deceiving.
After studying the man for a few moments, she spoke up, "I am but no one seems to have any desire in traveling there."
The man raised a single eyebrow. "I would imagine. A crazy tycoon has for the most part taken over the entirety of the country. Some of the fishermen that traveled there were killed for fishing in their waters," he said watching for reaction and when she didn't he assumed she is already aware of that. "Of course, I'd be willing to take that risk if the price is right," he stated.
The kitsune did indeed already know that information due to Akitsu's last report. He watched him closely as he studied her for a moment before offering his deal. "How much?" she asked already preparing to haggle.
"10,000 Ryo."
"That's a bit high for a simple transport across the waters."
The man shrugged his shoulders uncaringly. "I told you of the risk of traveling into Nami. You don't have to accept my price but good luck finding someone else willing to risk it," he said evenly with a barely visible smirk. He knew he already had her after watching her for a bit.
She narrowed her amethyst eyes. "8,000 Ryo and I'll promise your protection," she bargained.
The man gave her a thoughtful look before raising his gloved finger to his chin. His eyes sharpened, "9,000 Ryo," he replied with a more serious tone. His posture straightened along with his demeanor.
"8,500 Ryo."
A silence filled the air around them for a moment while the man considered it. "Alright, I can do that price. I expect you to protect me until I drop you off. Do we have a deal?" he asked raising his gloved hand in front of him.
Her eyes narrowed at the hand before reluctantly raising her own and shaking it. "It's a deal. I'll grab the rest of my group after eating breakfast and meet you back in thirty minutes," she stated evenly, professionally. She let go of his hand slightly wiping it onto her pants.
The man hummed lightly, "That's acceptable; don't be late," he said casually before turning around and walking away.
She watched the man climb into a small boat that could fit her entire group for the most part. After watching him move around in it for a bit, she turned around and walked toward the inn. It may have cost her, but at least she secured transportation. Now she just needed some breakfast.
=Wave Crest Inn=
The four kitsunes walked into the inn with Akane in the lead. The interior has the same beige walls and cinnamon colored wood lining. Scattered across the floor are rectangular tables with a few wooden booths lined on the walls. There are a few people sitting comfortably around the tables.
Akane walked up to the check-in and looked at the woman sitting down behind it. "Excuse me?" she called out grabbing the attention of the woman. She's an older woman appearing around the age of forty with vibrant violet eyes and long flowing dark red hair. She's dressed in a simple light green kimono shirt with a pearl white sash tied around her stomach.
The woman looked up from her paperwork and saw four young kids no older than thirteen looking at her expectantly. She sent them a warm welcoming smile. "Good morning, I'm Shana. How can I help you four today?" she asked in a friendly manner.
Akane gave her a small respectful nod. "Good morning Shana-san, do you serve breakfast without paying for a room?" she asked hopefully. If they didn't, they would just unseal some of their rations.
Shana nodded her head, "Yup," she answered before bending over and grabbing four menus and handing them to Akane. "Just go find a seat wherever and I'll come to take your orders in a bit," she said with a friendly smile.
Akane gave another respectful nod, "Thank you, ma'am," she replied respectfully before turning toward the seating area. She spotted a large booth in the corner of the room that could fit around seven people. She walked past her three fellow kitsunes who just followed behind.
The group settled into the booth comfortably. Akane and Naruto sat down beside each other while Aki and Danno did the same. Akane passed out the menus and started glossing over the meals. The first item listed is the special of the day which is a simple omelet with a fresh grilled fish on the side. Looking down most of the meals have fish entwined in them in some way.
Aki hummed while looking over the menu. "Hmm, they seem to have quite a lot of meals prepared with fish," she thought out loud. It wasn't a complaint, just an observation.
"Well, it makes sense, we are by the ocean after all," Danno pointed out.
"The inn most likely pays the fishermen outside for fresh produce," Akane theorized while reading through the other meals. Everything was fine up until she read one meal that made her freeze. "Oh no," she whispered out worriedly but was surprisingly only heard by Aki and Danno.
The duo looked at Akane with a raised eyebrow, "What's wrong?" they both asked at the same time. They watched her shoot Naruto a quick nervous glance before flipping the menu toward them and pointing at a specific item. The two looked at the menu and read the meal and widened their eyes, tensing slightly. All three looked at Naruto before looking at one another in a secret agreement.
Meanwhile, as Naruto remained oblivious to the silent conversation around him, he continued to read the menu. The only item he spotted so far was the breakfast special, but he wanted to make sure there wasn't anything amazing on the menu. His sapphire-blue eyes landed on a listed meal before turning to golden stars. The meal feared by the trio and loved by the blond is fish ramen. He put his menu down happily now knowing what he would get.
Shanna appeared in front of the booth with the same friendly smile as earlier. "Sorry for taking so long to get over to you. Now, what can I get you four?" she asked pointing toward Naruto first.
"I'll take your fish ram-," he started to say before being interrupted rudely.
"No," the three kitsunes shot down his choice immediately getting a confused reaction from Shanna.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at his three friends. "What do you mean no?" he questioned irritably. He should have seen this coming, they always keep him from his beautiful ramen.
"You're not having ramen for breakfast," Akane said sternly. They were all already traumatized once on this trip so far, they didn't need to see Naruto gorge himself on ramen. She gathered the menus before turning to the woman waiting on their orders. "We'll take four of your breakfast specials with some green tea," she replied kindly.
"B-but ramen!" he cried out in despair with a downcast expression.
The red-haired woman looked at the blond child strangely. "Is he alright?" she asked worriedly.
Akane sighed, "He'll be fine, he just gets this way when he's denied ramen. He has problems controlling himself," she informed the woman while rubbing Naruto's back in a comforting manner. They would have to make it up to him later.
Shanna chuckled awkwardly, "It's to bad you weren't here last week. We had to much leftover stock and ended up doing an all you could eat fish ramen special," she said getting wide disbelieving eyes from Naruto. "Sadly, only a few locals came by and we ended up having to toss the rest," she said sadly.
Everyone around the blond watched as his sapphire-blue eyes lost their light as if a piece of him died. They slowly watched him lose his pigmentation until he is as white as fresh snow with a thick black outline expressing his features. He looked as if he became a drawing from a manga. Then, like magic, a literal storm appeared over his head that showered the blond.
The woman raised her hand to her mouth. "What in the world…" she said in astonishment. She could feel the wind from the storm above the blonde's head and the rain would hit the table before fading out of existence. She had never seen anything like this before today.
The three kids looked mildly impressed. "Wow, this time he actually lost his coloring," Aki commented in surprise. The last time something like this happened to Naruto, the storm only appeared.
Akane looked back at Shanna. "Don't worry about him. This just happens sometimes when he gets overly emotional," she said with a shrug that surprised the girl. Yup, they are going to have to make this up to him later.
The violet-eyed woman looked at the blond warily but accepted her response none the less. "If you're sure…" she said unsurely before remembering their breakfast. "Ah, I'll be out with your meals in a few minutes," she commented before walking away to inform the chef.
Once the woman left, Danno reached over the table and poked the still frozen Naruto but got no response. "Honestly, I want to know how he does this. The fact that he can project an illusion subconsciously is a neat trick. The fact that the storm is real is impressive in its own right," he said honestly.
"Same," Akane and Aki replied at the same time idly looking at their frozen friend. "Do you think anyone else has the ability to do something like this?" Akane asked curiously before a feeling of foreboding washed over the three kitsunes. A chill went up their spines as they heard a faint voice say, "Youth…" in their heads.
Aki looked around the room fearfully. "W-what was that?" She whispered to her friends.
Danno took a shaky breath, "Somehow, I feel like it's best we just pretend we never heard that," he said wisely.
The three kitsunes all looked at each other before nodding their head in agreement. A minute or so later, Naruto snapped out of his frozen state and acted like nothing ever happened. When Akane asked if he was okay, he just gave her a confused look as if he didn't understand. It turned out, Naruto in an act to protect his sanity, purged the entire memory. The three decided that it was for the best.
A few minutes later, Shanna returned with their breakfast. The omelet is golden, and the fish smelled delicious. "I hope you all enjoy your meal, I'll come check up on you in a few," she said with a smile before walking over to a few other guests.
The four started eating just as Erza walked into the inn. She looked over and spotted her four charges sitting together eating their breakfast. She walked over and took a seat beside Danno and looked at their meal. It looked appetizing enough. "I found us someone willing to give us a ride into Nami," Erza informed her group. Technically, the guy found her, but that's a minor detail.
"We'll head over to the docks after we finish breakfast," she said before signaling over the woman taking care of the guests in the inn. The woman took notice and gave her a curious look before smiling and walking over.
"Ah, hello," Shanna said in a friendly manner toward Erza before glancing at the four kids happily eating their food. "I hope you are enjoying the meal," she commented. Though, since they had already almost finished their plate, she assumed so.
The four nodded their heads toward her. "Yeah, it's great," Naruto chirped not remembering that he could've been enjoying a nice fresh bowl of ramen. The waste of ramen is better off forgotten.
"Wonderful," she replied warmly before looking over at the new member at the table. "Can I get you anything to eat?" she asked with a bright smile. One could never say that Shanna did not smile.
"I'll have what they're eating, thank you."
Shanna nodded her head and walked away to get another plate of food. It took her around five minutes to return with Erza's meal. They each finished their meal at a casual pace and washing it down with their green tea. They stacked their plates neatly before getting up and walking over to the counter to pay.
They paid and walked out of the inn. They didn't notice Shanna giving Naruto a sad gentle smile. "Your blond hair hides it well, but I can feel it better than anyone. Good luck little Uzumaki," she whispered to herself opening a drawer hidden under her desk and staring at one of her most treasured items. A worn hitai-ate with a swirl symbol engraved in the center. She smiled and closed the drawer before going to check up on her guests again.
The four kids followed Erza down the docks. They heard someone whistle and turned to see a man sitting in a boat looking at them. Erza motioned for them to follow her as she walked toward the man.
The man looked over the children before meeting the amethyst eyes of Erza. "So, is this everyone?" he asked and got a nod from the woman in return. "Alright," he shrugged, "Everyone, get in."
The five kitsunes stepping into the boat before taking a seat quietly. They watched the mysterious man untie his boat and pushing it away from the dock. He sat down facing the group and grabbed his oars. The boat began its journey out into the sea heading toward Nami.
A/N - This chapter was originally supposed to be quite a bit longer but I decided to snip it here since it felt like a good ending point. Though, I fear that this decision may end up making the next chapter too long... Woops!
We learned what happened to Akitsu Mana. But that begs the question, who managed to sneak up behind her? Also, wow, that was violent...
Did you like my little scene with Naruto and Yami?
What's Yami's dream?
Oh my goodness, it just got more violent! Did she almost cut that guy in half!?
Who is the mysterious man?
How do you think the group should make this up to Naruto?
Did you like Shanna?
The group is now in a boat heading off to Nami.
Thank you for reading chapter eight of Kitsune Sanctuary! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and decided to come back for chapter nine! Which, it is already being written and should be completed soon. I plan on pushing myself out of Nami.
If you have any questions, please type them in the reviews and if I feel like answering them I will. Can't give spoilers, but I can hint at things if I decide to!