A/N: Even though I've known what I wanted to happen in this chapter for a while, I've not been sure how to execute it in a way that makes sense. I guess if you're reading this, I figured it out, but as I write this, I'm still not actually sure. In the meantime, I've been doing a little gaming and actually trying my hand at making homemade ramen. The broth, the noodles, all homemade. I would recommend giving it a try to anyone who does any cooking. Although it is a bit time consuming, the results are *so* worth it.

Also, my update schedule is going to be a bit slower than it was when I first started writing. I'll be doing some travelling for the first week of October. So I need to prepare for that, as well as having things I need to do when I get back. I'll still be doing my best to write in my down time, though.

I don't own Naruto. I just write fanfiction sometimes.

Chapter 6

Later, still at Naruko's birthday party

Naruko froze and her eyes widened as she tasted the ramen Teuchi had prepared for the party. His ramen was always really good, but she could not comprehend the sensory overload she was experiencing now. Teuchi smiled, happy he was able to do something special for his favorite customer. "That's a special recipe I can't offer at Ichiraku. Not only does it take too long to prepare, but the ingredients are not common enough in Hi no Kuni to make enough of it," he explained to the ramen-loving girl.

Anko, meanwhile, was attempting to surprise the kitsune girl. She had failed in her attempt to make the party a surprise, but she would get her somehow, damn it! Suddenly an idea came to mind, causing Anko to smirk mischievously.

Seeing Anko's expression, Shikaku shook his head and muttered to the Sandaime, "Looks like Anko-san is going to do something troublesome again, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen sighed and facepalmed, knowing that his jōnin commander was right. He just didn't know how right, until...

Anko, who had been carefully sneaking up on the kitsune as to not alert her, leaned up close, and whispered "boo" in Naruko's ear just as the tokujō poked the younger girl on the back.

"KYAAAAA!" Naruko screamed and fell over into the floor, where she landed roughly. Anko's eyes widened at the girl's groan of pain. She had only meant to startle the girl a little bit, not possibly injure her! "Naruko, are you okay?! I only meant to-" Anko started, but soon cut herself off, eyes widening at the chakra swirling around the kitsune.

"H-hokage-sama, i-is Naruko-chan g-going to be o-o-okay? Sh-she's breathing kind of h-hard," Hinata asked the Hokage worriedly, as Kiba and Chōji moved towards Naruko to try and help their friend. Chōza and Shikaku, being jōnins and realizing the danger of the chakra fluctuating around Naruko, yelled, "Get back from her!" as they grabbed the two boys and pulled them to the far side of the room. Upon hearing the panic in the voices of the experienced ninja, everyone moved to the far side of the room, as the Hokage quickly put a barrier jutsu around them. Hinata, Kiba and Chōji were confused and shocked, worried about Naruko. Shikamaru was also worried, but based on his father's reaction, he had a pretty good idea that Naruko was about to cause some 'unintentional fireworks.'

Before anyone had the chance to comment anything else, they saw, as the kitsune girl was laying face-down, one of Naruko's tails start to swell up, much larger than normal. Her chakra flowed wildly all around her, going so far as to crack the windows from the pressure, causing everyone but the Sandaime's eyes to widen and their faces to pale. Only Hiruzen had expected this, and that was only because he had heard of this from Kurama.

Naruko screamed in pain as a disturbing ripping sound was heard. It truly sounded as if her very flesh was being ripped to pieces. Her swollen tail, which looked around twice its normal size started slowly separating into two tails, starting at the tip. Anko said quietly to herself, although everyone could hear her, "So she's getting her third tail..? I wonder if they're all going to be like this." This confused Teuchi, Ayame, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata. 'I wonder what she means?' they all wondered. Shikamaru, meanwhile, was deep in thought. He had seen the number 9 on the back of her clothes. His eyes widened at a thought. 'She couldn't be... could she? But she was born on the Day of the Kyūbi so it doesn't make sense!' the young genius thought to himself.

As her tail finished separating into two, the floor caught fire in a small circle around Naruko, much to the dismay and panic of Teuchi and Ayame. Fortunately, the Kami no Shinobi, Sarutobi Hiruzen, quickly used a low level water ninjutsu to put the flames out, much to the ramen store owner's relief. Meanwhile, Naruko's chakra slowly settled down and returned to the girl, swirling towards her newly grown tail and condensing into it.

Hiruzen dropped the barrier and moved quickly to Naruko to assist her. As the others made a motion to move forward, he held up a hand to stop them.

"Ughhh, what happened?" Naruko groaned, rubbing her face as she spoke. "Congratulations, on your third tail Naruko. Be careful, now. Remember what I've told you during our lessons about what would happen with each new tail," Hiruzen warned the kitsune girl gently. "Yeah, I remember," Naruko replied, getting to her feet shakily.

"Can someone please explain what is going on? S-she just grew another tail! A-and from what Mitarashi-san said, it sounded like this wouldn't be the last time this would happen! Is Naruko going to be okay?" Ayame asked, confused and upset. She didn't like the idea of the girl going through all that over and over.

Anko, Shikaku, and Chōza tensed at the question and looked at each other before they all looked at their Hokage. They all knew the answer, but they weren't sure how or if they should answer the question. Hiruzen sighed, seeing everyone look at him, and simply asked Naruko quietly, "Do you want them to know, Naruko?"

Naruko, startled at the question, looked at all her friends' faces before turning back to the Hokage and nodding resolutely, but slightly nervously. "I-I guess they deserve to know," she answered, hoping that no one hated her after learning the truth.

The Hokage smiled gently to her before helping her stand and turning to face the group. "Well, the truth is..."

A few minutes later

Ayame, Teuchi, Chōji, Kiba, and Hinata stared at Naruko with wide eyes. Naruko, meanwhile, was attempting to hide her face behind one of her tails, scared of being rejected.

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. "So, it is as I thought. It explains why you were out in the forest on your own, as well as why you were so resistant to being brought back to the village. The villagers must have done some troublesome things to you... Well, it can't be helped. You're my friend so I won't let them do those things so easily," he said to the nervous fox girl.

"Y-you don't hate me...?" Naruko asked in an uncharacteristically timid voice.

"O-of course not! I-it doesn't change a-anything a-at all!" Hinata said, rather vehemently compared to her usual demeanor.

"Hah, like I care if my favorite customer is the new Kyūbi! It just means that if any other kitsune ever visit Konohagakure that they'll definitely eat at Ichiraku, all thanks to you! Hahahahaha!" Teuchi laughed, thinking of ways that this could attract more business to his restraunt. "Otou-san..." Ayame said as she sweat-dropped at her father's last comment.

Chōji and Kiba both said, in perfect unison, "It doesn't change anything. You're still the same cool and cute girl as before!" At realizing that they both were interested in the kitsune girl and had tried to compliment her in the same way, they glared daggers at each other, determined not to lose.

Naruko laughed and waved her tails about behind her happily, relieved that they had accepted her, despite who she was. "Thanks everyone! I love you all!" She declared, beaming at them.

5 months later

"Hell no, jiji, I'm not getting sealed. I don't want to be some prisoner," Naruko growled at the Hokage in a demonic voice, glaring at him with an expression of hurt and betrayal. They Hokage's eyes opened wide in shock. She knew about the jinchūriki? How?

"Although I have no idea how or when you found out about that, that is not my intention. It is just to limit your chakra access so you don't accidentally kill the other academy students. Your control still isn't good enough yet on that," Hiruzen explained quickly, trying to calm and reassure the furious girl. The girl calmed slightly at the explanation. Well, at least she didn't seem to feel like he was trying to betray her anymore. That was an expression he never wanted to see on her face again.

"The answer is still no. I don't want anyone putting weird seals on me," she growled, still angry, but fortunately no longer hostile. She did not feel like explaining about the Bijū mindscape to the Hokage with her current mood. Let him wonder all he wanted.

"What if I teach you fūinjutsu instead? I'm not as much of an expert as your mother was, or my student Jiraya for that matter, but I can at least teach you a simple chakra surpressing seal, storage scroll seals, and explosive tags. That way you can make your own supplies. Plus, you can apply the surpression seal yourself. As well as remove it yourself whenever you want to," The Sandaime asked, trying to compromise. The girl already had more chakra than the average jōnin, but with only a fraction of the control. It was seriously too dangerous to allow her to go to the academy otherwise. She always used far more chakra than was necessary. He had been forced to teach her the Kage Bushin since the normal, academy clone jutsu was simply something she couldn't manage with how much her chakra overflowed.

"... Fine. As long as I am the one in control of what happens with my body. I'm not letting anyone else use seals on me, but me," the girl huffed, knowing that the old man was just trying to prevent any unfortunate accidents. She knew her control was bad and that she was likely to overdo it in the taijutsu spars if she had full access to her chakra. She still didn't like it, though. Whatever. She would just have to work on her chakra control until she didn't need it.

"Fortunately, your mother had some old Uzumaki clan scrolls on fūinjutsu. The seal on them will only break with a drop of Uzumaki blood, so I can't study them, but you can. I'll bring them by during our next lesson. As I told you before, the Uzumaki clan were famous for their fūinjutsu and kenjutsu. Especially with swords. The katana, ninjatō, and tantō specifically," Hiruzen lectured.

"Yeah, I remember. That's why you've been teaching me some kenjutsu as well, though it is the Konoha style and not the Uzu style..." Naruko hinted. She wanted to learn more of how her mother fought, as she had made clear to the Sandaime before. Hiruzen laughed at what she was suggesting. She had been doing so for a while, but he had been delaying her, wanting her to at least be proficient in the Konoha style. "Fine, I'll bring those too. I've been meaning to anyway, as it is good to learn more than one style. That way you can switch it up as needed. You've progressed pretty well in the Konoha style already," he promised, much to the excitement of the Uzumaki. She had been sad that not many of her mother's clan remained. In fact, she was the only one that the Hokage had been certain of existing, although he suspected a few more were out there, somewhere.

Naruko did indeed remember her history lessons, especially relating to her mother's clan. According to the Hokage, the Uzumaki had been the most powerful clan in Uzushiogakure no Sato, being so dominant that the title of Uzukage had never been held by someone not of Uzumaki blood, despite not having any rules about who was allowed to hold the position. Sadly, Uzushiogakure had been destroyed by the combined forces of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure in a surprise attack at the start of the Third Shinobi War. The Uzumaki clan had nearly been destroyed, with the only survivors being those outside of the village during the attack, such as Uzumaki Kushina. Despite the forces of 3 ninja villages uniting to destroy one village, the losses of the allied Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri were staggering. This allowed Konoha and Suna to gain an advantage in the war, before a ceasefire was agreed upon.

"Really? Finally!" Naruko cheered, excited to expand her skills. The Hokage smiled at her, knowing how proud her mother would be of the kitsune child.

A month later

Naruko finally had an opportunity to hang out with Hinata. She rarely got a chance to do so, as the girl's father, Hyūga Hiashi, was not only reluctant to allow his clan to be associated with Naruko, but he was determined to have Hinata improve her abilities, as she was not at a level befitting her status in the clan. Hiashi did not want to risk his clan's social status, rather than having anything against the fox girl herself.

Naruko normally spent her free time with Kiba, Chōji, and Shikamaru, but they were busy with their respective clans today. Plus, Naruko wanted to spend the day only with Hinata today, as she rarely saw her.

They walked around the village, looking in various shops. They tried on different clothes and browsed accessories, despite not having brought much money to spend. It was still fun to see what they looked like in different outfits, even if Hinata was rather shy about some of the outfits Naruko had suggested for her. It wasn't even particularly revealing; just a tank top and some shorts. The weather was warm, but Hinata still wore that heavy jacket. 'She really needs some self confidence,' Naruko thought.

Many of the villagers were shocked to see yet another clan heir associating so closely with the demon. 'The demon has to be doing something to manipulate them. There's no way Hinata-sama would willingly spend time with a monster. Nor would her father allow it,' one woman thought to herself. She had no idea what Naruko had done to manipulate the powerful clan, but she would have to ask her husband about it. Maybe he could think of something, as well as a solution.

Naruko, meanwhile, was pulling Hinata towards a flower shop nearby. "Come on Hinata, I want to see what they have!" Naruko said to Hinata excitedly. Hinata giggled at her friend's enthusiasm. Naruko seemed really excited today. It made Hinata happy to see the kitsune girl so happy. Hinata thought it was cute how fast Naruko's tails waved around when she was excited like this. "O-okay!" Hinata replied, allowing Naruko to pull her into the Yamanaka Flower Boutique.

"Welco-" Ino started to greet before she saw who it was. "AH! You're that prankster girl that Chōji and Shikamaru have been hanging out with!" Ino shouted, pointing accusingly at Naruko. "Yep, that's me! And Hinata is here too!" Naruko declared proudly. Ino stared at the two. These were the last two girls she expected in her mother's shop.

"I didn't expect Hinata-chan to hang out with someone who plays so many pranks," Ino said honestly, but without hostility. She thought that Hinata was too meek to do such things. "S-she h-helped me w-with some b-b-bullies a while b-back," Hinata explained, at which Ino nodded in understanding. That made sense. Why Naruko would come in here though worried her still.

Ino looked warily at Naruko before asking, "You aren't planning anything here right? I heard you painted d-d-dicks over all the Uchiha symbols in their clan district, as well as some o-other things." Ino and Hinata blushed over the mention of that particular part of male anatomy. Naruko, meanwhile, just laughed herself to tears at the memory.

Flashback

Naruko, Kiba, Akamaru, Chōji, and Shikamaru were laying in the grass, staring up at the sky and having a picnic. They were having fun, chatting about the food they were eating and different shapes they saw in the clouds.

"Hey look, a fatty, a lazy bastard, a mutt, and the demon bitch!" A voice said, clearly meant to provoke them. Laughter at the comment could be heard.

Looking towards the voice, they saw a group of 6 boys wearing the Uchiha crest on their clothing. Chōji and Kiba moved as if to fight the boys at the insult. As much as Naruko wanted to hit the assholes herself, she grabbed and stopped the two.

"Wait," she said quietly to them, "I'll get them back in a different way." Upon seeing the scheming gleam in Naruko's eyes, the boys relaxed, knowing that she would come up with an even more satisfying revenge.

Flashback End

"...and also took pictures of them with that big wet spot on the bed, with them all in it, and spread copies of the photos all throughout the Uchiha district!" Naruko finished explaining the details of her prank through her laughter. Hinata and Ino's faces were priceless. Eyes wide, half terrified and half trying to hold back laughter. Naruko's prank had been far more extensive than Ino had heard from Shikamaru. "Don't worry, I don't plan to prank you right now. And even if I did it wouldn't be that bad. It was because they deserved it, trying to start a fight like that," Naruko said to reassure Ino.

"Ooohkay, then. But still I'm surprised that you are here, Naruko-san. Hinata I can understand but I didn't think you were interested in these types of things, considering.." Ino said to Naruko.

"Hey, I can like 'girly' things too! Even though I think it is silly to say certain things are 'girly' and other things are 'boyish.' Let people like what they want to like, I say," Naruko declared, crossing her arms. Hinata looked at Naruko admiringly, thinking the kitsune girl was really cool for saying that. Ino replied, "Well, it's just because more girls and fewer boys tend to be interested in flowers, but I get what you mean."

Naruko nodded in understanding. "Well, when you put it that way I guess it makes sense. But enough about that, let's see what you have!" Ino clapped her hands together and said, "Well let's see, here we have a..."

Some time later...

"Thanks again, Ino-chan!" Naruko had called cheerfully from the door, carrying a new potted jasmine. Ino waved at the girl as she and Hinata left. Naruko had wanted an indoor plant to liven up her apartment a little, as it was a bit too drab for the kitsune's taste. Ino hated to admit it, but she had to agree with Shikamaru. Naruko was a 'troublesome, but good-natured' girl. Ino was still a little scared of being pranked, but still hoped to see the fox girl again.

A/N: For those curious, although this may or may not appear in the actual chapters, I'll explain how a little about children with one demon and one human parent, as it will probably be a long time before it would be mentioned in the story. Hiruzen would have already explained this to Naruko by now (and he would have learned it from Kurama), which I may show in a flashback, or the topic may come up again when Naruko has decided who her partner is, as they would probably want to know.

The first child of any demon / human union will always be full demon, to keep the demonic line intact and pure, especially for the ruling class like Naruko. They will inherit some traits from the human parent (like fūinjutsu and kenjutsu, as well as Naruko's red hair), but chakra levels, chakra type, healing factor, etc. will be full demon. Children of a human and demon that are not the firstborn will have equal chances to be full demon or full human, but both are low compared to the chances of a half-demon. Half-demons have chakra levels lower than full demons but higher than humans. Their chakra is also less corrosive than demonic chakra, but is still to some degree. They have a lower healing factor than full demons as well.

Responses to Reviews:

PinkiePieParty122894: oWo I don't even know what to say to that, other than I hope I don't get too much of an ego from all the praise you give me. I'm just happy people seem to enjoy my writing.

ThunderClaw03: That... would be painful. Seeing as 2 tailed, 6 year old Naruko was already powerful enough to accidentally put her arm through a civilian. Yeah, she'll definitely have to work on chakra control.