A/N - Well, hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter of Kitsune Sanctuary! Yes, I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry. When I released the last chapter I started working on this one immediately to try and get it done quickly. Then I had to leave home for two weeks. When I finally got back, I just didn't have that drive to write this chapter right away so I started working on a few other ideas. I have quite a few stories in the works but probably won't be released for a while.
Anyways, please leave your feedback, positive, negative or both! For real, please review my story. It makes my day when I get to read them.
=Reviews=
Theriku260 - Glad you liked it so much!
Doomqwer - Yeah, I wanted people to have a little more information on her. I'm really happy that people are enjoying Yami as I have big plans for her in the future.
KakeruPB - Yes, Yami is Naruto's overprotective sister but she is also his hidden darkness. Yeah, most people never expect a random Uzumaki to appear but there she is! Will she have more screen time in the future? Maybe... Is there other Uzumaki out there? Yes!
TigrezzTail - Glad I could satisfy. Naruto's love for ramen bends the fabric of reality itself.
Frankieu - How could you wish that upon them! You youthful monster! :P
ThraintarIronshield - Sometimes it's the background characters that can help make a story. I thought it was an interesting way of starting the story too.
StallionWolf - There is a high possibility.
Kaizon-chan - There is also a high possibility of this as well! Just because Naruto doesn't remember the tragic event, doesn't mean they won't have to live with the guilt. I mentioned that Naruto's chakra still managed to latch on a little. A seasoned sensor can big up a strong Uzumaki signature even if it's been changed a bit. (That's what I'm going with at least! :D ) I always look forward to your excitable reviews, they make me smile.
Takininja13 - Welcome! I'm glad you took the time to read my story, I hope it doesn't disappoint.
Wildtrance - So would I, so would I. If only I was good at drawing, I might have done it as a side project for fun. In any case, I'm glad my OCs are safe from maiming today. Hopefully they stay that way.
Monster King - Your wish is my command~!
Guests - I can because I can. Will he ever know, maybe...
Please enjoy the story, everyone!
I do not own Naruto!
I do own my OCs though...
=Nami no Kuni – The Sea=
The boat continued to rock gently to the calm ocean waves. The four kits sat silently in the boat listening to the water lightly crash into the boat while watching Nami grow bigger. They will be back on land in less than twenty minutes.
The cloaked man continued to paddle his clients toward Nami, but the silence is starting to drive him a little crazy. He looked toward the woman sitting in his boat. "So…" he said dragging it on to grab her attention, "What brings you and four children to Nami?" he asked curiously.
Erza turned her head toward the man and stared for a few moments. "A member of our family traveled here recently but went missing," she replied simply, only giving the bare bones of the story. She planned on gathering information on the island, but there is no harm in starting earlier.
The man hummed lightly at the response. "Not many people are traveling to Nami due to the current circumstance that surrounds the island. What did he look like?" he asked curiously before shrugging his shoulders. "Who knows, I might've seen him," he stated.
"It's a she," she informed before continuing, "She's small and could easily be mistaken for a young girl. Red hair like ours and violet eyes. She's a quiet girl, wouldn't speak much unless she deemed it necessary," she finished watching the man closely.
The man's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "She didn't happen to travel here around a month ago, did she?" he asked thoughtfully and got a small nod in return. "What are the odds, I believe I know who you're talking about. A young girl came around the same inn as you. She asked for transportation into Nami and much like yourself, she got turned away by everyone but me. I offered my services if she was willing to pay which she accepted. She didn't say much, and it drove me insane, but I dropped her off and left with no issues," he replied looking over to the kids before looking back at the woman. He may like to make easy money but that didn't mean he would keep a family from each other.
"I see."
"Well, I hope you find her," he said nicely, and the girl only nodded her head lightly before looking toward Nami again. He sighed as the trip returned to a dull silence. 'I should make it mandatory to talk during things like this…' he thought while continuing toward the island.
=Nami no Kuni=
The rest of the boat ride was made mostly in silence with only the occasional conversation between the four kids. However, soon enough, they reached the shores of Nami. The man docked at an old wooden dock that had seen better days. The dock is missing some planks and ruined from the constant sea water. The man's reasoning was simple enough, he dropped us off in an unmanned location for his own safety.
One by one, the kitsunes climbed out of the boat before each of them glanced back at the patient man. Erza reached into a small teal bag tied around her waist pulling out the man's payment. He reached out and took the money and quickly counted to make sure it was all there before opening a lockbox and slipping it inside. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said with a wide happy grin. His expression sobered slightly, "I hope you find who you're looking for; good luck," he said kindly before paddling himself back out to sea.
The five watched the boat drift off into the sea slowly while keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of someone coming to investigate. After five or so minutes of watching, Erza felt she did enough to warrant the mysterious man's protection. Her head shifted toward her four charges who are still staring off at the boat. "Alright you four," she said gathering the four kits attention, "let's go," she finished before waling through them taking lead.
They made their way through the forest following an old dirt path that the vegetation has started to reclaim. Naruto's eyes wandered the forest, "You know, it's hard to tell that we're on an island," he commented out loud. The trees are tall with thick green vines coiled around their trunks. The grass is tall in areas where the sun penetrated the tree canopies while shorter closer to the trees. The grass is covered in a morning dew that sparkled in the sun. He also spotted the occasional patch of white mushrooms growing the base of the trees.
Akane couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. "Yeah, once we got far enough from the water it almost felt like walking through Hi no Kuni," she hummed. Though the trees aren't as large, and the foliage isn't as bright.
"Erza," Danno spoke up, "What is our plan for finding Akitsu?" he asked curiously. Akane, Aki, and Naruto all looked toward Erza as well since they were just as curious. They wanted to find her quickly.
Erza turned her head to the side and eyed Danno for a moment before looking forward again. "Once we reach the village, we will look around. Try not to draw too much attention to us. Afterward, we'll split into groups and try to find information on her," she informed them.
A half an hour of constant walking and they finally arrived in the village; it was a shocking sight for four of the five kitsunes. Erza has already known of the current situation the people of Nami are facing. The village is in poor shape with most of the buildings looking as if a mob had attacked it. Most windows are broken and boarded up to keep out the weather. To make matters worse, the people wandering around the town carried an air of depression.
The kits looked at everything sadly. Akane, Aki, and Danno had never seen anything like this before since they mostly stayed sheltered within the comfort of Sanctuary. Naruto, however, felt a connection to the people of Nami immediately. He had lived on the streets for a while before being tossed out like trash.
"This is depressing…" Aki whispered loud enough so only those closest to her could hear.
Before anyone could comment further some commotion caused the group to halt and look. An older man who appeared to be in his forties pushed down a small frail girl holding half a loaf of bread. "Damn brat," he sneered forcibly grabbing the bread from the little girls hold.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the scene. It reminded him of a time when he had to steal for his next meal when he didn't feel like dumpster diving. He was lucky that he rarely got caught in the act and when he did, well, the masked shinobi would always step in before it got too bad.
The man glared down at the small girl who looked fearfully at the man. "I work hard just to get this much food and I don't need a little thief taking what I got!" he yelled out angrily. He raised his and brought his hand down to strike the girl.
The group saw Naruto tense and before they could move to stop him from bringing attention to them, he vanished from his spot. When they looked over to the scene, they saw Naruto standing in front of the older man holding his hand back. "You already got what she stole back, there's no reason to hit her," he said glaring up at the man.
"What the," he said in shock at seeing a random blond child appear in front of him. He didn't even see him until he was in front of him holding his hand back. "Who the hell are-" he started to say while trying to push his hand forward to hit the newcomer. That plan failed miserably as not only could he not move his hand, but Naruto squeezed his hand making an audible popping sound.
"Please just take your bread and leave," Naruto said calmly as if he wasn't about to crush the man's hand.
The man tsked and pulled his hand back roughly and walked away grumbling about stupid blonds and thieving children. The rest of the villagers stared at the scene since they had never seen the blond before. Each of them wondering who he was.
Naruto turned back to the girl still sitting on the ground propping herself up with her arms. Her auburn hair is knotted and didn't look properly taken care of. Her round face is covered in dirt and her hazel eyes looked up at him with distrust. What upset Naruto is her frail body. She looks like she hasn't eaten anything in days. "You okay?" he asked carefully while crouching down closer to her.
The little girl nodded her head slightly while her eyes shifted to her sides. Her stomach growled hungrily causing her to wince in pain. That bread would have been her first meal in two days.
Naruto looked at her sadly when she winced in pain. He could easily tell that she is hungry before her stomach made to tell the world. It was only a couple years ago that he was in a similar situation. Having to resort to stealing food happened when you became desperate. The risk is high, but the reward is far too great. "My names Naruto, what's your name?" he asked while reaching for one of his storage scrolls.
"Yumi."
"That's a very pretty name Yumi-chan," he replied pulling his scroll in front of him getting a strange look from the girl. He opened it up revealing kanji for food. He sent a small measurable amount of chakra into it. With a poof of smoke, a small stack of seven ration bars appeared. Each bar is enough to fill your stomach for the entire day, but they didn't taste very good. This food is apart of his emergency rations, but, he deemed this worthy.
He rolled the scroll back up and put it back on his person before placing the food close to the girl. He grabbed one of the bars and tore the wrapping open revealing a granola looking bar. "Here," he said handing the bar to the salivating girl.
Yumi's hazel eyes widened in surprise and quickly snatched the food out of Naruto's hand. She took a bite of it and started coughing at the taste. It tasted like dirt, but she didn't care. She is hungry, and this is food, at least, she thinks it's food. Thirty seconds later she finished the meal and went to grab another but had a hand stop her. She narrowed her eyes and looked back up into her saviors' eyes.
"You'll make yourself sick if you eat another one of these bars," he said and could tell she was about to protest. "Trust me, it might not feel like it yet, but you just ate enough food to keep you going for an entire day. Sadly, it comes with the price of tasting awful," he said playfully getting the girl to giggle slightly. He let go of her hand and she returned it to her side. "Only eat one of these a day," he warned her.
"…thank you," she whispered out before grabbed the remaining six bars and holding it close to her possessively.
Naruto smiled and stood back up before putting his hand in front of him to help her up. The frail girl hesitated for a moment before grabbing his hand and pulling herself up. "You're welcome," he replied gently placing his hand on her messy auburn hair and ruffling it lightly.
She flashed him a toothy smile before turning toward one of the closer alleys. She took off as fast as her little legs could and disappeared into the shadows. This is a moment that she would never forget. The day someone cared enough to help her.
Naruto watched the young girl run into the alley before vanishing. He sighed before turning back to his group and got some surprising looks. Akane has a slight blush on her face while smiling, Aki adorned a large smile and Danno wore a small smile. Erza, however, gave him a deadpan expression.
Erza waited until he returned to the group before she started to talk. "Naruto, you did the exact opposite of what I said," she stated blandly before looking over at the villagers who stared right back. "Don't bring attention to us, and what did you do? You brought all of the attention to us," she commented in an exasperated voice while shaking her head.
Naruto turned and noticed quite a few sets of eyes watching him and his friends. He turned back to Erza with a sheepish expression and started chuckling nervously while rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry Erza-chan, I couldn't just stand here and let her get hit," he defended feeling good after protecting Yumi.
"I think you did the right thing Naru-kun," Akane commented, glad that he protected the little girl. She is also happy to see how well her favorite blond is with kids for herself. This is important information she would keep for later use.
"She's right, good job fishy-kun," Aki said cheekily while giving him a proud thumbs up. She gave an amused look when she noticed Naruto's eyebrow twitching slightly. One day he'll stop reacting to it and she hoped that day wouldn't come any time soon.
Danno looked indifferent but you got the feeling he approved as well. "What's done is done I suppose, but luckily, this might help us instead of hampering us," Erza commented since Naruto's stunt brought them into a positive light. It would be easier to gather information. "We'll split into groups of three, I'll be going by myself. I want you to gather any valuable information you can on Akitsu," she ordered getting nods from her four charges.
Aki immediately teleported beside Danno. "I call dibs on Danno-kun!" she chirped beside her partner who sighed, nodding his head in acceptance. He would have chosen to go with her anyways.
"Your dibs have been recognized and accepted Aki-chan," Akane said nodding her head sagely.
"Sweet!"
"I guess I'm with you then Akane-chan," Naruto said standing beside her.
"You could try showing a little more enthusiasm at being with me," Akane replied dryly.
Naruto's eyes widened comically and started waving his hands frantically. "No, no, no, I'm super excited to be in your group Akane-chan!" he replied quickly. The last thing he wanted was his friend to think he didn't want to spend time with her.
"Good," Akane said with a satisfied smile before turning toward Erza. "What will you be doing Erza?" she asked curiously. She hadn't said exactly what she would be doing while they did reconnaissance.
"I'll be looking around the rest of the village while gathering information of Akitsu," she said simply. "I want you four to meet back up here in an hour. We'll share our findings afterward, understand?" she questioned and got four nods in return. "Alright, stay safe," she said walking off and disappearing.
They watched her walk off before turning back to one another. "We'll head this way then," Danno said pointing toward a road that led to what appeared to be a marketplace. He started walking off and Aki waved at them before following him.
Naruto and Akane watched their two friends walk away and disappear into the crowd. The blond turned toward the redhead, "I guess that leaves the way we came from then," he said looking toward the previously traveled path. The people that had gathered around them had already gotten on with their lives.
=Hi no Kuni: Team Seven=
Arisu looks up toward the crystal-clear blue sky with her right hand shading her face. It has been five or six hours since her team took off toward Nami no Kuni with a rather rude client. Nothing of interest has happened so far and part of her is glad on that part. No one wants their mission to get more complicated, but a part of her sought the excitement that a mission brings.
She glanced back at the view in front of her. A dirt road that felt like it went on forever and large oak trees hugging each side. Sasuke has his hands in his pockets and staring off into the forest. Sakura is almost hanging off his side occasionally trying to strike up a conversation with him before going silent. Idly, she wondered how Sasuke managed to tune her out so well. 'Must be a lot of practice from the academy…' she assumed mirthfully.
Her eyes finally landed on their client. The man is a drunk through and through and seemed to insult them when given an opportunity. One would think if you've hired shinobi to protect you with their life that you would have common decency. This man did not get that memo. Thankfully, he seemed to only verbally assault their talkative comrade.
Her musing broke when her pink-haired teammate started talking again. "Kakashi-sensei, we're heading to Nami no Kuni, right?" Sakura asked looking back at their teacher. She glanced back at their sensei as well, the man has been mostly silent throughout the entirety of the trip so far.
Kakashi didn't look toward his student deciding to continue staring off at the road. "That's correct," he answered in a bored tone. He resisted the urge to grab his treasured item from his front pouch to elevate his boredom.
"Why did they hire us, does Nami not have any shinobi?"
Kakashi's grey eye lazily drawled over to his pink-haired student and sighed mentally. 'What did they even teach in the academy?' he thought slightly tired of answering common questions. They aren't bad questions, and if an academy student had asked this it would have been fine. However, Sakura is a ranked shinobi. She should know this information.
"No, unlike Hi no Kuni, Nami doesn't need a shinobi village."
"Why is that?"
"It's not practical or cost-efficient. Since they are an island nation, their borders have a natural defense. So, when an issue that requires shinobi, they will use us instead," he answered turning back toward the road.
"Oh."
That conversation stopped and drifted into silence for another hour. Arisu narrowed her eyes slightly at the random puddle in front of her on the side of the road. 'It hasn't stormed in a while, why is there a puddle there?' she thought nervously, her shinobi instincts kicking in. She looked behind her at her sensei who just eye-smiled back at her. Her eyes drifted over to her two teammates who didn't seem to take note of the strangeness. 'Kakashi-sensei doesn't seem worried about it, so maybe it's nothing…' she thought, calming herself.
As they passed the puddle two figures slowly rose from it. The first one has flat dark-brown hair that reached down to his shoulders. The bottom of his face is covered by a rebreather only showing his black eyes. His hitai-ate has four diagonal waves with a single horn protruding from it. He wears a camouflage suit with white bandages around his waist and arms and a ragged black cloak. Though, the most interesting piece on him is the clawed gauntlet on his right arm with a chain attached to him and his partner.
The second shinobi looked almost identical to his partner with only a few slight differences. Unlike the first one, the man has untamed dark-brown hair that reached down to his shoulders. He wore mostly the same clothes, though, unlike his partner he did not wear a cloak and his hitai-ate has two horns protruding from it. Much like his partner, he adorned the same clawed gauntlet on his left arm with the same chain.
They both leaped into action quickly before they could detect their presence. Their chain danced, swirling around their target before they tugged it roughly trapping their prey. The three kids and their client turn toward Kakashi who has a look of shock and horror on his face. "One down," the one on the left started before they pulled the chain tightly tearing the man into shreds. Bloody chunks exploded hitting the ground behind the two shinobi. "Four to go," the one of the right finished cruelly.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shrieked in horror turning a little green in the face.
Arisu's eyes widened in horror at her sensei's untimely and brutal death, freezing in place for a second. The hesitation gave the enemy enough time to charge at her with the same plan on ripping her to shreds. Thankfully, Sasuke acted before that could happen.
Sasuke watched his sensei explode into blood and gore but he had seen much of the same as a child. Flashes of corpses littering his home and blood painted on the walls shot through his mind. His honed instincts kicked into gear as they charged Arisu. He jumped into the air before throwing a shuriken with all his force, nailing it to a distant tree. He quickly reached into his pouch and brought out a kunai and threw it just as quickly, hitting right in between his shuriken. His body twisted in the air, both his palms landing on the enemies' shoulders before launching both his feet into their faces. He twirled back in the air landing on his feet beside Arisu.
Arisu's eyes glanced over to Sasuke, "Thanks Sasuke," she whispered out while nodding her head lightly. Her eyes turn back to focus on their current predicament. Two shinobi of unknown rank who managed to brutally assassinate their sensei. As the two shinobi unhooked their chain from their gauntlet, she spoke once more. "Sasuke, I'll take the one on the right," she commented lowly so only he could hear. They need to play this smart. He nodded his head while eyeing the one on the left critically. Both crouched down ever so slightly; their legs tensing in preparation.
While her two comrades were preparing to fight their first difficult battle, Sakura was still trying to get herself under control. Her legs are shaking from seeing her sensei cut into ribbons and the two responsible for it. Her heart skipped a beat when they charged at Arisu but Sasuke managed to save her. She took a few deep breathes to calm herself while her two teammates conversed lowly with one another. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a single kunai and wrapped both hands around it. Her legs moved and soon enough she is standing in front of their client, Tazuna.
The air around them grew tense as both sides glared at each other. An unsaid signal came and Arisu and Sasuke both charged their selected opponents, prepared to fight a hard battle. It seemed the enemies have other plans as they both leaped over the duo and charged straight at Sakura instead. They both turned in surprise to see Sakura's emerald eyes widen in absolute terror. They both made to interrupt when someone jumped in between the two enemy shinobi and slammed their heads together. Flesh and bone met each other before their bodies collapsed on the ground.
The three genin stared at their silver-haired sensei in confusion before simultaneously looking toward his gory mess. They each blinked as they looked at a bunch of logs laying on the ground. 'He substituted himself and place a genjutsu over it to trick the enemy. Genius, but why did he leave us to fight them?' Arisu wondered not appreciating their sensei choosing to be lazy during a life and death situation.
Kakashi glanced down at the two-unconscious shinobi. He recognized them rather easily. They are known as the demon brothers, twins from Kiri no Kuni, Gōzu, and Meizu. They specialized in stealth, assassination; making them chūnin level shinobi. This is out of their current pay range.
He ceased his musing and looked up to his three students and client, each giving him different looks. Sakura looked relieved that he is still in the land of the living. Sasuke looked slightly constipated, he would try adding more fiber into his diet later. Arisu looked annoyed with him which isn't too shocking. He always did have a way of making her upset with him. Tazuna on the other hand, he looked relieved, anxious even. He knew why of course, it's the reason he faked his death.
He sent an eye smile toward his cute little genin. "Nice work you three. Sasuke, nice work dealing with both. Arisu, you managed to calm yourself quickly enough and start working with Sasuke. Sakura, nice work protecting the client. You three did decently in face of danger," he praised lightly getting a smirk, a simple nod, and a gentle smile in return.
His lone eye then shifted toward his client and glared while somehow managing to give off a carefree feeling. It did not make Tazuna feel good who started sweating nervously. "Tazuna, I've come to the conclusion that you haven't been completely truthful with us," he said in a polite tone, far to polite. It sent a shiver down the old man's spine.
"W-what, I don't know what you're talking about," he stuttered slightly while back away from the lone eye shinobi.
"Oh?" he said in mock surprise. "That's very strange. You see, I was in the trees watching these two." He commented before kicking one of the fallen shinobis in the side getting a slight groan from the man. "I needed to see if they were after me for my bounty as it's rather high. Perhaps they were targeting one of my cute little genins. However, they seemed to be very interested in you. So, interested that they targeted you," he responded calmly, calculated cold tone. It wasn't hard to tell that he is upset at having his students put in needless danger.
Tazuna remained silent as he tried to think his way out of his current situation. "Nothing to say?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow, startling the elderly man. "I see…" Kakashi trailed off before looking toward his three students. "This mission is now beyond us, we'll be returning to Konoha," he stated in a firm tone. He quickly tied up the two downed shinobi after relieving them of their equipment and picked them up. He started walking toward Konoha. His students looked back and forth at the panicking man before following their sensei. They only made it a few feet before Kakashi got what he wanted.
"Wait!" Tazuna cried out, "Please!" The four shinobi halted in their step and turned back toward the pleading man. "It's true, I did lie to you. The man who is after me has monopolized my entire country. People are barely holding on and I couldn't afford anything higher than a C-rank. Without your help, my country will fall, and my people will continue to suffer until we all die. I'm building a bridge to free my land and give people back their hope. Please, I beg you, help my people," he pleaded as if his life depended on it, which it did.
"If you would have told the Hokage this, he would have worked out a deal with you. Instead, you knowingly put my genin in unnecessary danger. I have half the mind to not only leave you to your fate but also get you blacklisted," Kakashi stated coldly causing the man's eyes to widen in shock.
The man looked down at the ground as he felt the world coming down around him. "I guess it's truly my fate to fail, for my country to fall and for me to die. My daughter and grandson will mourn my death while being oppressed under a tyrant. Then they will turn their hatred toward Konoha for leaving a simple old man to his fate," he lamented pitifully getting an eye twitch from all four shinobi. He rose his head slightly to look at them.
Sasuke sighed, "I say we continue, we handled those two easily enough. Plus, it would look bad on our team if we failed our first mission out of the village. Knowing the Hokage, he'll force us to chase Tora for weeks," he said while trying to suppress the shiver from that cat's name. He hated that damn cat. The cat already managed to make his kill list, it is only a matter of time.
Kakashi hummed, "Hmm, what about you two? I want you three to be aware that these two are chūnin level shinobi. Our next enemy will most likely be a jōnin," he said seriously while looking over at his pink and auburn-haired students. If even one of them decided to go back to Konoha, they would turn back.
Arisu looked over at the elderly man who attempted to guilt them into helping. She is ashamed to admit it worked on her. She sighed, a part of her wanted to go back to Konoha but another part of her didn't want to let the old man die. After a few moments of silence, she nodded her head. "I agree with Sasuke, this is better than catching Tora," she responded.
Sakura looked nervously at her beloved and teammate. She wanted to go back to Konoha, back behind the safety of the big walls. However, she knew that Sasuke would be upset with her and she didn't want that. "I'd like to continue on as well Kakashi-sensei," she answered nervously, shuffling lightly on her feet.
Kakashi's eye lingered on Sakura for a few moments before looking back at their client. "Alright, we will continue on then. However, know this Tazuna, you will be paying us and Konoha the equivalent to the difficulty of this mission. We'll work out the payment plan after the mission," he said seriously, getting a sigh of relief from the super bridge builder.
=Nami no Kuni=
Erza stared at her four charges' backs while they walked deeper into the forest that surrounded the village. She arrived back where they split up from first and waited patiently for them to return to her. Akane and Naruto returned first with a worried expression on their face which made her curious, but they would share when her last two charges returned. Twenty minutes later, Aki and Danno appeared out of the crowd. Once they all grouped up, they walked out of the village together. Leading us to this current walk through the forest.
Her investigation bore no fruits much to her displeasure. She didn't find any information about their lost family member; however, she did get a better look at the village. In the time since Akitsu's last report, the village has rotted even further.
Humans, how she hated them. They put on smiles, pretending to be friendly and care for you. You would drop your guard around them slowly over time. They liked that because it made it easier to strike at any sign of weakness. The deadliest enemy is the one you don't see coming after all. Subconsciously, her hand reached up and clenched at her chest, right where her liver is. Humans, how she hated them.
Unwelcome memories tried to surface but she shook them off. Her thoughts drifted back to the village they found themselves in. Somehow, one man, not even bigger then a tyke had managed to destroy the lives of everyone here. Thugs collecting money from people who barely had enough to get by. Murdering the people if they didn't have the money to pay up. Taking loved ones for pleasure because they could. That was only near the center of the village. The outskirts were worse off.
They made it to an opening in the forest where a couple trees have fallen over. Decay already started if the mushrooms growing over it was any clue. The area is open to the sky and has enough room to set up camp comfortably while they are here. She stopped in her tracks, "Here," she called out causing the four kits to stop in their tracks and turn toward her. "This place is as good as any. We'll set up camp here, but before we do that, we'll discuss what you've learned," she stated.
She walked over to one of the healthy trees and sat down with her back against it. The four kits followed suit and sat down around her. "Akane, Naruto, you two start first," she said gesturing toward them. They both frowned slightly before they started to share their information.
=Flashback=
"Ah, sorry, I've never seen her before," a middle-aged woman said softly.
An older man chuckled hoarsely at their question, "Hahaha, I barely remember my own kid's faces… sorry brat, I can't remember anyone like that," he finished with an amused look before walking off with his wooden cane.
"Hmm," a young man thought, scratching his head trying to remember anyone who fit Akitsu's description. "Nope, can't say I've ever seen her before," he commented before apologizing and walking away.
"Never heard of her," a thin woman answered while continuously looking over her shoulder. "I've got to go, good luck finding her," she said nervously, taking off at a quick pace.
Naruto and Akane sighed deeply as they watch yet another citizen of Nami leave. They didn't think it would be this difficult to find at least some information on their missing family member. Not a single person had any information on her which they thought was a little odd. How hard can it be to not notice someone with red hair and violet eyes? Those characteristics would stand out in this crowd. Akane and Naruto had both noticed them getting stares from the population. They stood out, so she should have as well.
"Thirty-two people," Naruto commented lowly, "Thirty-two people and not a single lead," he finished with clear frustration. "I bet Danno would be complaining how bothersome this is right now," he said slouching down in defeat.
Akane looked at him with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk plastered on her face. "Oh, Naru-kun, you're giving Danno far too much credit. He wouldn't even ask anyone, he'd get Aki to do all the talking instead," she commented, her tone full of mirth before her smile fell. "We really need to figure out what happened to him. He's just, just so lazy now!" she exclaimed.
Naruto could help but chuckle, "He doesn't want to be lazy at least, remember his other half?" Naruto asked in an amused tone.
"It's hard not to remember a hyper Danno…"
"Yeah, Aki-chan loved a hyper Danno," he commented before shrugging his shoulders. "We'll work on his laziness later. Right now, let's focus on finding Akitsu," he said trying to push the conversation back on track.
=Flashback Interruption=
Danno stared at Akane and Naruto with complete disbelief. "Did you really have an entire conversation about my supposed laziness?" he asked, his disbelief palpable. He personally didn't think he is that lazy. What's wrong with wanting to just sleep and relax? Nothing, that's what!
"Yes," they both replied in a deadpan tone.
"But, I'm not lazy!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!" they shot back again and Danno didn't respond again. "Finally accepting that you're too lazy for your own good?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow, his sapphire eyes gleaming with amusement.
Danno shrugged his shoulders, "No, it's just too bothersome to argue with you…" he responded causing Akane, Naruto, and even Aki to fall flat on their face. It would just waste more energy than needed.
Erza coughed into her hand. "As amusing as this is, can you please continue on?" she said rolling her hand in front of her.
=Flashback Continuation=
Naruto stood looking over the citizens of Nami going about their business. He noticed a few people standing around just watching, or cleaning in front of their buildings. "Hey, maybe we've been going at this the wrong way…" he commented with a thoughtful expression.
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.
He rubbed the back of his head, "Well, we've just been asking random people walking through the area. But, look, there are some people that are just sitting about or taking care of their homes or shops. We need to talk to the people who are just watching, not the people ignoring what's around them," he suggested which caused Akane to blink a few times.
"You may be on to something…" Akane said turning to look for people matching that description. There were a few people sitting on the ground drinking away their problems. Some are sweeping the ground in front of their buildings. They would probably be their best bet at getting any information. "Since Aki's not here to say it, it's nice to know you use your brain," she said cheekily getting a sour look from her favorite blond.
"I take offense to that!"
Her smile grew a little bigger at that before turning back to one of the drunks sitting on the side of the road. "That guy over there," she said pointing at the man. If he didn't have any information, they would go to the next and the next.
Naruto glanced over to where she pointed and shrugged his shoulders. He expected her to point out one of the people who didn't look like a drunk first but what can you do. He started walking through the people over to the man with Akane following right beside him.
The man didn't look like much from the weigh he is dressed but they could tell from his figure that he did hard labor. He looked to be in his mid to late forties and tanned skin. He has greying short messy hair that looked unkept. His black sleeveless shirt is ragged with holes and stains littering it and has dark green pants.
The man noticed the two of them hovering above him and took a large swig of his drink before looking up at them. "What ya want?" he grunted out rudely. Both Akane and Naruto wrinkled their nose at the smell of his breath.
"Hello sir, we were hoping to ask you a few questions," she answered politely.
The man grunted, looking away from them and taking another large gulp of his liquor. "What ya want to know?" he asked looking back at them with narrowed eyes.
"Just a little bit of information on one of our friends," Akane responded just as politely at before. "We're looking for a young woman who looks around our age. She had red hair and violet eyes. Have you seen anyone like her?" she asked hopefully.
A twinkle appeared in the man's dark eyes as he hummed. "I may have seen someone like that before, but I'm not sure. Depending on what you're willing to trade for information, well, I might just remember," he said greedily before taking another swig of his drink, some of it dribbling down his chin.
Naruto growled at the man angrily but before he could snap at the man, Akane rested a hand on his shoulder. She gave him a reassuring look before turning back toward the man with narrowed eyes. "What do you want?" she asked calmly.
"What ya got?"
Now that was a million ryō question. What would a drunken old man that clearly had nothing better to do then sit on the side of the road and drink all day want? If they offered money, the man would most likely try and get a lot more from them. If he wanted food or a non-alcoholic drink, they could easily supply that. But, before they start haggling, they needed to know one thing. "How do we know you even have information about her?" she asked suspiciously.
"You don't, but maybe I do," he answered with a sly smile.
"We can give you food," she said, starting the trade.
"Nah."
"Freshwater?"
"Does it look like I need something to drink brat?" he replied irritably, shaking his bottle of liquor.
She gritted her teeth in frustration at the rude man's behavior. She already knew what the man wanted but hoped she could get away with something cheaper. "Money?" she said forcefully trying to keep her polite tone.
The man smirked, "Oh, you've suddenly piqued my interest," he responded airily. He looked at her like an idiot for suggesting any else other than currency. Oh, how she wanted to stab him just a little bit.
Fine, she would play his game. "500 ryō for any information of her," she said starting her bargain low.
"Oh wow, you must not really care for your friend."
She clenched her hands into fists but quickly uncurled them. "750 ryō."
The man rolled his eyes at the low number. "I'll tell you what little girl, 1,500 ryō and I'll tell you what you want," he said doubling the price.
In the grand scheme of things, that isn't that much for information in this world. Information means the difference between life and death. It's always expensive, but 1,500 ryō isn't that high. Then again, the information they want isn't big either. "1,250 ryō and you have a deal," she shot back tightly.
The man shot her an annoyed look. "Fine, show me the money first," he grunted out.
She reached into her back pouch and grabbed the man's desired amount. She showed it to him but before the man could snag it, she pulled it back quickly and put it back in her pouch. "I showed you the money, now tell us what we want to know," she replied tersely. She could tell Naruto wanted to rearrange the man's rude face and she wasn't too far from it.
The man snorted, "Whatever brat. I saw your little friend a while ago walking the streets without a care in the world. She got jumped by three goons and she bolted into the wood line with them hot on her tail. Haven't seen the girl since then. Sorry to say brat, but your friend's probably dead or worse," he answered carelessly before taking another drink.
=Flashback End=
"…after that I paid the man and we met up with you shortly after," Akane said finishing up her and Naruto's information hunt. Happy they got any information at all but sad because of the information.
Aki and Danno are noticeably upset about hearing one their own being chased into the wood and vanishing. Erza, on the other hand, appeared to be in deep thought. 'Three thugs chasing Akitsu into the woods?' she wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. 'She didn't get chased, she led them somewhere to dispose of them while keeping her cover,' she mused but the lead to a more dangerous question. 'What happened in the woods?'
She thought about it further before she voiced her unsettling theory. "Three lowly thugs wouldn't have been able to even scratch Akitsu unless she wanted them too," she said calmly, her eyes closed in thought while the other listened in closely. "That brings in the problem of what most likely happened in the woods. Someone she wasn't expecting must have gotten the drop on her. There is a high possibility there is someone on this island who is very powerful," she said opening her eyes.
She looked over her four charges and gave them a serious look. "From this point on, you are to assume there is someone of at least jōnin rank on this island working for Gato," she informed them seriously, making sure they understood how dangerous this mission just got. Her four charges nodded their heads in acknowledgment. "Good," she said before looking over to Aki and Danno, "You're next."
Danno decided to speak up just to spite Akane and Naruto. "When we split up, Aki and I asked around for information on her," he said ignoring Aki mumbling she did all the talking. "Much like you two, not a single person remembered seeing her, but we did manage to get a different kind of information," he said getting a few raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, turns out they're making a super bridge!" Aki chirped.
"As she said, they're making a bridge that'll connect to the mainland in hope that they'll escape Gato's wraith. Apparently, Gato hasn't taken kindly to that and has targeted the families," Danno said before gaining a thoughtful expression. "Which isn't really that shocking in the grand scheme of things. Honestly, they should have expected that…" he commented.
"Not only that, but their super bridge builder left to go get super ninja to help build the super bridge!" Aki once again chirped with extra enthusiasm.
Akane looked at her friend in confusion. "Are you okay Aki?" she asked cautiously.
"Yeah, I'm super!" she exclaimed with a toothy grin.
Danno sighed, "The bridge builder is known for using the word super to describe things…" he informed the group of kitsunes getting looks of understanding from everyone. "However, as she mentioned, the bridge builder left to hire shinobi. So, we may be dealing a third party soon," he said looking over at Erza.
Akane hummed, "Why do they think a bridge will help? Sure, the bridge will connect to the mainland, but a few explosives would fix that easily. Shouldn't they take Gato down first before building the bridge?" she asked curiously, getting a nod from Naruto.
"You would think that…" Danno said in wonder, "However, the bridge is to install hope into the people. The – "Super," Aki chimes in – bridge builder want the people of Nami to fight back instead of laying down waiting for death. I don't think he thought the entirety of the plan through though," he explained ignoring the giggle that came from Aki.
"Makes sense I guess," Akane conceded.
While his friends are discussing the implications of building a bridge while a tyrant still runs the show could pose an explosive problem, his mind is somewhere else. He thought back to the little orphan girl stealing for food. There are more than likely quite a few orphans running around town trying to survive. He hated seeing people suffer when he felt like he could help them.
He slammed his fist into his hand gathering the attention of everyone. "I want to help them. We can stop Gato from making more orphans and ruining more lives," he said, determination rolling off him in waves.
Erza narrowed her eyes at that comment. "No," she said sternly getting raised eyebrows from her four charges. "We're not here to help the humans fix their own problems. We are here for one reason, and one reason only. We are here to save one of our own and that's all," she finished in a tone of finality.
"But we can still do that and help these people!"
"Your mission is to locate Akitsu. We are not helping these humans."
"You would leave innocent people to suffer when we can help?!"
"Yes, because Akitsu takes precedence over them."
"We can still save Akitsu and help these people, it doesn't need to be one or the other," Naruto argued but didn't get a response from Erza as she believed she already made her reasons clear. "Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "If you won't help them, then I'll do it by myself," he stated angrily.
"Erza-san, I don't want to leave these people to suffer. Naruto is right, we can help stop Gato from creating more orphans. We're planning on dealing with Gato personally anyways, right?" Akane said carefully, being polite and respectful. She didn't want infighting when they're in enemy territory.
Aki felt the tension in the air and didn't like it. "Yeah and we can dish out some super punishment to Gato!" she chimed in helpfully trying to relieve some of the tension. It didn't really help that much.
"As bothersome as this is, we should help these people. After all, won't getting these people back on their feet stimulate the economy? That gives us more control," Danno said tiredly, stretching his arms into the air.
Erza stared at her four charges for a few moments before sighing. "Fine, we'll try and help these humans but not before we find Akitsu. She takes priority over everything, understood?" she said seriously while making direct eye contact with their blond kitsune. When he nodded his head, she relented and looked up toward the sky.
The sun had already begun its descent toward the horizon and the sky started turning a beautiful red and orange. With nighttime approaching, they needed to set up camp and capture dinner. She stood up and dusted off her pants before looking at her four charges. "It's almost dark. I'm going to go hunt for dinner. I want you four to set up camp as we taught you," she ordered getting nods from her four charges. "Good, I'll be back soon," she said before vanishing in a flash of speed.
It didn't take her long, maybe only ten minutes to find their dinner. A wild boar stood still looking around the tree, its danger instincts kicking in. It never saw the blade coming before it collapsed on the ground in a bloody mess. She pulled out a kunai and started skinning the animal in preparation to butcher and clean it.
The four kits watched their senior vanish in speed they couldn't even begin to follow before looking back at one another. Assignments needed to be assigned. "I'll set up the firepit," Danno said quickly, making sure to take one of the easiest jobs. His three friends gave him a deadpan expression which he promptly ignored.
Akane sighed and decided to take one for the team. "I'll set up our defense then," she said while standing up and stretching. At least she knew that she could set up their defense correctly.
Aki scooched over to her favorite blond fishcake and wrapped an arm around him. "Guess that leaves you and me, Fishy-kun," she chirped mischievously, savoring Naruto's irritation. "We'll have the tent set up in no time at all! Right Fishy-kun?" she chirped giving Naruto a beaming smile.
"…It's been years, when are you going to stop calling me that?" Naruto asked pitifully.
"When you stop responding to it of course!" she responded, her smile growing even larger as her blond friend pouted.
Akane covered her mouth to stifle a giggle at her friend's antics. She shook her head in amusement, "Alright, then it's settled," she said with a smile before hopping off into the wood to set up their defensive line. They used a three-ring system. The first ring held traps that could be lethal but acted more as a deterrent. The second ring, however, held the most lethal traps. After all, if you ignored the first set up traps, you clearly met no good. The third ring held only traps meant to incapacitate and signal the enemies presence. The enemy would expect the last ring to be even more deadly which would cause you to make a simple mistake.
Danno walked to the middle of the clearing and quickly built a decent sized firepit. It only took him a few minutes to build a forest-friendly one. He decided to spice it up by dragging over a few logs for seating to make it more comfortable. Afterward, he started a small fire and fed it until it became big enough to cook on but not large enough to become a beacon.
Aki dragged Naruto to a nice spot close to the trees and got out their tent. They slowly got started putting it together, making sure to build it correctly. "You know, as much as I like sleeping in a tent. I enjoy sleeping under the stars more," Aki said with a small smile while smashing in one of the stakes.
"Yeah, nothing beats sleeping under the stars," Naruto said agreeing with the self-appointed 'red-haired angel'.
"Oh, we should all camp out under the stars again when we get home!"
Naruto smiled as he drove in the last stake. "Sounds like fun. Danno will join because it involves sleeping and Akane will join us no matter what," he said while taking a step back beside Aki to admire their handiwork. It looked just like a tent but big enough to hold all five kitsunes comfortably.
By the time the four kits finished preparing their campsite, the sky darkened considerably. Thankfully, their kitsune traits allowed them to see relatively easily. "Nice job everyone," Akane said clapping her hands together cheerfully. She went and took a seat by the fire beside Danno which Aki and Naruto soon followed. "Now we just have to wait for Erza to return," she commented as her stomach growled lightly. "I'm really hungry, she laughed sheepishly while rubbing her stomach.
"Really makes sure appreciate Riku always having food when you need it," Aki commented, nodding her head in a sage-like manner.
Naruto started laughing lowly before it turned more sinister. The three kits stared at him warily. "Yes, I truly do appreciate Riku. After all, once we get back home… he's making me ramen," he said evilly, giving them all a fanged smile.
The three kits shuddered in unison. They'd forgotten about that and now wished Naruto had as well. Maybe they deserved this from depriving him of his fish ramen earlier.
"Good, you four set up camp properly," Erza said walking out of the darkness startling the for kits.
The four kits turned toward Erza who is slightly illuminated by the fire. They didn't see her carrying any food or dragging along anything which seemed a little strange. "Did you not manage to find anything to eat?" Akane asked curiously, her stomach not happy about that one bit. That meant ration bars for dinner and they tasted awful.
Erza gave her a bored look before tapping one of the many scrolls tied on her side. "I caught a wild boar within the first ten minutes or so. It just took time to properly butcher and clean the kill," she stated coolly. She took a seat by the fire in between Danno and Aki. "I've got us enough food to last a few days before we need to go hunting again," she said in satisfaction.
She grabbed her scroll and unrolled it. If you looked closely, you could see the scroll is labeled, "Campfire Kitchen". Inside the scroll is a multitude of different seals, each labeled for what they held in them. She reached over to one of them and pushed some of her chakra into it and a large cast iron pan popped into existence. She placed it over the fire before doing the same to make the wild boar meat appear. She quickly got to work preparing dinner.
The four kits watched her cook up the diced wild boar meat and their mouths started to water when the smell hit them. The food sizzled as it cooked and after a certain amount of time it was cooked through. She served each of them a healthy portion of the food which they happily ate. Dinner finished quickly and soon after, they were ushered off to bed for the night. Tomorrow their mission would truly begin.
=Omake: Arisu's Story- Parents – Part One=
The third Hokage sat behind his desk with two shinobi looking at him while giving him full respect. "Yoshiaki-kun, Akiko-chan, you two will be delivering this missive to Sunagakure. Pack for a few weeks and return as soon as possible," he said professionally handing them their mission scroll.
"Yes Hokage-sama," they both replied at the same time while bowing their heads.
He gave them a small grandfatherly smile. "You two have a daughter joining the academy, right?" he asked.
"Yes Hokage-sama, Arisu-chan is very excited," Akiko responded with a small chuckle as her daughter's enthusiasm.
"Ah, I'm sorry that I'm assigning you this mission while during the Academy entrance ceremony," he said apologetically.
"It's alright Hokage-sama, we'll make it up to my little hime somehow," Yoshiaki responded.
"Have a safe trip you two," he said gently before waving them out of his office, so he could start tackling his greatest enemy. He swears he could hear it laughing at him. He heard the door close behind his two shinobi before getting to work.
Arisu's parents made it home quickly enough to see their daughter sitting at the table eating breakfast. They smiled at her noticing her dressed up in her new clothes they got her for the academy. "Good morning sweetheart," Akiko said lovingly walking up and giving her a small hug which her daughter returned.
"Hey mommy, daddy! I'm all dressed and ready to start at the academy," she chirped giving a large grin.
Arisu's parents smiled happily at her before it turned sadder. "Listen, sweetheart, your father and I were assigned an important mission today. We won't be able to make it to the entrance ceremony, we're sorry," she said sadly and Arisu lost her enthusiasm and looked down.
"Can't you just leave tomorrow?" She asked hopefully already knowing the answer.
"You know we can't sweetheart," she responded pushing her fingers through her hair.
Yoshiaki walked out of their bedroom with a few scrolls. "I've got us all packed," he said to his wife before walking over and giving his little princess a loving hug. "We'll be back in a few weeks my little hime," he said giving her a small kiss on the cheek.
"Alright, stay safe sweetheart and listen to your teachers and make sure you eat, okay?" Akiko said in her parental worried tone.
"Yes mom, I'll be fine! I'm a big girl now and soon I'll be a ninja like you," she puffed up her cheeks childishly.
"Sure, you are my little hime," Arisu's father said with a grin and poked her head. "Alright, we'll see you in a few weeks," he said turning toward the door but they both turned back and said at the same time, "We love you."
=Omake: I'm The Captain (Not Canon)=
Naruto sat beside Akane looking at the water. They'd been sitting in this boat for around twenty or so minutes and it started to wear on the blonde's sanity. He looked over to the man rowing the boat and an idea struck him. "So, since this is your boat, does that make you a captain?" he asked curiously.
The man looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow before thinking it over. Technically he could be considered a captain and he did have treasure on his boat. "You know what, I think it does," he said agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Then until I get off this boat, I'll be a sailor!"
Aki looked at Naruto with stars in her eyes. "Yes, we can be pirates!" she said laughing while nudging Danno and Akane to join in. Anything to help pass the boring trip.
"Fine, we can be pirates until we get to Nami," Akane said sighing at her friends' antics.
Naruto and Aki stared out at the open sea for anything they could plunder but what Naruto saw made him start to panic. A large ship with black flags billowing in the wind crashed over the waves toward them. He didn't miss the skull and bones adorned into the sails. He looked over to the captain with dread, "Captain!" he shouted in panic.
The 'captain' not expected to hear the blond act so dramatically looked at him strangely. "Ye-yeah?" he asked warily before the blond pointed off into the distance. His eyes followed his finger until they landed on the giant ship rushing them.
"Look!"
"Oh fuck! No, no, no, no, no! I have so much shit on my boat, it's where I live!" he shouted in panic as he starts rowing the boat even faster than should be humanly possible. However, no matter how fast he rowed, he couldn't even begin to outrun the giant pirate ship. "Holy fuck!" he cried out as they brushed up against his boat almost throwing his passengers overboard.
He looked over at the pirates and screamed, "Dude, chill! Chill!" They didn't even begin to chill, instead, they became more aggressive. One of the pirates, however, walked right over to the railing and looked him dead in the eye and said,
"Shut the fuck up."
What the pirates didn't know is that they had managed to piss off a kitsune who already despised humans. The giant ship now rested comfortably at the bottom of the ocean. The incident somehow only added a few minutes onto their time.
A/N - So, I decided to give more background to certain OCs through omakes. You'll learn their past over time.
Naruto can't help himself but be a hero. It's just in his nature, don't you think?
Akane is keeping information about our blond hero for later, but for what purpose!?
Did you all enjoy Team Seven's small entry?
I tried to make it so Arisu isn't some amazing character who can do everything perfectly. Yes, she spotted the illusion but passed it off because of Kakashi. She froze in the face of danger like most would. I think I did a good job with her and portraying Sasuke and Sakura.
Tazuna is a master of the Guilt Trip...
A little insight into Erza's character.
Danno, you might be a little lazy. We'll work on that.
I could have just given Akane and Naruto the information, but not everyone is always going to be so forthcoming with information. Nothing is free in this world and this was a great way to show that.
Aki is Aki and she is awesome! Like, super awesome!
What did you think of Naruto and Erza's interaction here?
What did you think of the first omake?
...I know the second omake was dumb, but I thought it was funny...
Thank you for reading chapter nine of Kitsune Sanctuary! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and decided to come back for chapter ten!
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!