Never enrage a Tailed Beast

"Kitsu! No!" cried Kari in concern.

"Be quiet you little twit!" said Grand Fisher as he went to knock her unconscious. He never noticed Kari slipping on a certain red-blue glove.

-----

Kitsu, come here! I know how you can deal with this bastard!

What? My attacks don't have any effect on it!

That's only because you're in a badly made Gigai. If you can get to my gloved hand, I can knock your true form out of the body so you can teach this thing a lesson!

-----

Kitsu ran to Kari who knocked his soul out of his body. Grand Fisher didn't even bother with the fox; he just knocked out Kari without caring. He never thought to look behind him until he realized that the odds had changed against him.

"You're going to regret hurting her…" growled Kyuubi.

"So you're now a Konpaku…just make the meal all the more sweet," said Grand Fisher darkly.

"Let her go or else you won't be alive long enough to regret ever meeting me."

"A puny fox like you could never hope to defeat me!" laughed the Hollow.

"So you think I'm a normal fox, eh?" Kyuubi chuckled so evilly that Grand Fisher actually turned to see the fox.

"What…! Impossible!"

"You've just pissed off the wrong fox," chuckled Kyuubi. His tail struck the claw which held Kari; he released her in a roar of pain.

Kyuubi made sure that Grand Fisher couldn't use her as a hostage as he lay her nearby his body. He turned to snarl at the Hollow; Grand Fisher had gotten over the shock and attacked the fox. He managed to land a blow on him, (just enough to create a lure anyway) and jumped back before the fox could retaliate. His claw enveloped the lure which transformed into the one being Kyuubi would never attack.

-----

"What the hell is that supposed to be?"

"Let's see you kill that which you hold most dear…"

Kyuubi looked at Grand Fisher for about a moment before he burst into cold, maniacal laughter. He struck Grand Fisher without hesitation.

"What…! My lure has never failed me before!"

"That which I hold most dear? You are even more naïve than the dobe!" Kyuubi was laughing his head off.

"But how? How can you attack the one thing in your heart that you care about more than your life?!"

"Because…you…are a…complete…fool! The one thing…I care about…more than my life…isn't that idiot!!!" Kyuubi said between laughs.

"Impossible! This was the thing you held in your heart as something you could never attack!"

Kari slowly came to and took one look at the lure…then she copied Kyuubi by bursting out in laughter.

"You're…joking…right?! Even I…would never…use HIM…against Kyuubi!" chuckled Kari.

Kyuubi struck the Hollow two more times before the monster finally made his retreat. It took them both 15 minutes before they could recover from laughing so hard.

XxXxX

"I can't believe he actually thought you wouldn't attack by using that guy as a lure!"

"He's even dumber than Naruto!" laughed Kitsu. (He was back in his body.)

"He must have looked into your heart to find the one thing you held dear enough never to attack. Too bad he didn't know what you really are!"

"Well technically, that WAS the one thing I would never attack…if you think about it."

"He obviously couldn't tell the difference between something you hold dear and something you want to kill more than anything."

"I'm surprised he actually tried that…"

"Let's head back. I'm sure they're worried by now…"

"Agreed…he-he-he…" snickered Kitsu as they headed back to the store.

"What happened to you two?" asked Jinta.

"That teme Grand Fisher is what happened…"

"You were attacked?!" said Urahara in concern.

"Kitsu got rid of him pretty quick. You should have seen the lure he made to use against Kyuubi…it was hilarious!"

"I don't think getting attacked by a Hollow who's evaded the Soul Society for over 50 years as amusing," said Urahara.

"You would if you had seen that idiotic lure. I can't believe he tried to use HIM as a hostage!" said Kitsu before he burst into hysterical laughter again.

"What happened?" asked Yoruichi.

"Grand Fisher knocked me out, then tried to use his lure against Kitsu…"

"Unfortunately, he underestimated me. I must admit…I never expected to see HIM show up like that…"

"Who is this guy that you keep talking about anyway?" asked Jinta.

"The…"

"Fourth…"

"Hokage."

"Who's that?!"

"He's the one who sealed Kitsu inside the idiot for over 12 years. I seriously doubt Kitsu would have any warm feelings for the guy who sealed him inside some kid," snickered Kari.

"So why did the lure turn into him?" asked Urahara confused.

"Think about it…Grand Fisher turns his lure into the one person you would never hurt even if it meant your life. Kitsu is over 900 years old and doesn't have anyone who fit that description in his heart."

"That still doesn't explain…"

"If I have no one in my heart that I actually care enough for to protect at all costs, then what does that leave me with?"

"The person you hate?" said Ururu.

"I hate the man who sealed me in that brat for over twelve years using a sealing technique that even I couldn't break free from. He is the one person I would attack WITHOUT hesitation."

"So you thought that using him as a shield was funny…" said Urahara.

"You should have seen his face! It was priceless!" laughed Kari.

"Weren't you gonna replace the fuse, Kari?" interrupted Tessai.

"You're right! I completely forgot…one of you is gonna have to be in the room when I change the fuse to tell me if the power came back on."

"Kari-san! The lights are back on!" yelled Tessai.

THUMP!

"Looks like she passed out…" commented Urahara as he went to investigate.

"I wondered how that fool knocked her out without a concussion. Looks like he drained her chakra until she fainted."

"What's chakra? Anyway, it just looks like he absorbed her spirit energy to me."

"What's spirit energy?" countered Kitsu.

-----

Kitsu and Urahara discussed the different names for the energy that is within all living things. Though they did initially argue over what Kari had lost, they both agreed that her energy had been drained. Kari slept peacefully in her room which was almost completely dark and quiet. Then Kitsu rose up an issue of what happened when he tried to attack the Hollow in a physical body and how he couldn't put a dent in it.

"So you tried to free Kari while in the Gigai and it had no effect? That's odd…Gigai should be able to attack a Hollow like a Konpaku. I don't know why you would have a problem landing a decent hit on him."

"All I know is that when I tried to attack him my claw went right through him…as if he air."

"That makes no sense. If you can see a Hollow clearly, then you should be able to hit it with your claws. I wonder what went wrong?"

"I don't know…what I do know is that if this happens again the outcome might be very different."

"We need to figure out a solution before the situation arises again. If you can't hit a Hollow even while in a Gigai then we should fix it now."

"How do you propose we do that?"

"First thing I need to do is knock your soul out of the fake body," said Urahara as he prepared to use his cane on Kitsu.

"WAIT!!!! I hope you don't intend on doing that in a confined space like this!" said Kitsu quickly.

"That was the idea. Don't worry, it won't hurt you," said Urahara.

"You don't understand! My true form is too big to fit in this small room! Do you really want my size to destroy the shop?!"

"In that case, we'll do this in the training room. Is that big enough?"

"Close enough… As long as I have room to move then it'll work."

-----

In the underground training area…

"Ready Kitsu?" asked Urahara.

"Let's get this over with. I want out of this thing NOW."

Urahara pushed the soul cleanly out of the Gigai. At first nothing appeared out of the ordinary…it wasn't until the dust settled that Urahara realized that the fox wasn't joking about his size. He was huge!

"I still can't believe such a small vessel could hold almost all of my chakra without sustaining any damage," commented Kyuubi as he made sure that there was enough room. (There was more than enough room for Kyuubi to be comfortable in it.)

Urahara whistled as he said, "Woah…you weren't joking. It's a good thing you warned me before I tried doing that upstairs!"

"…"

"I can already see one problem with this Gigai…it's too small and improperly made. That would explain why you couldn't hit that Hollow."

"Is there any way you can fix it?"

"There's no way I can fix this and get it properly sized for you. I'll have to make another one for you," said Urahara.

"How long will it take?"

"A month minimum…I haven't made a customized Gigai in quite a while. Better get comfortable, Kyuubi no Kitsune…you'll be down here for a while."

"I'll try not to roll over in my sleep," said Kyuubi dryly.

XxXxX

"Kisuke-san, what's wrong with Kitsu?" asked Ururu.

"Do you really want to know, Ururu-chan?" asked Urahara. She nodded.

"Kitsu-san is really a nice fox. I hope he's not hurt…" said Ururu.

"He's fine. Why don't you take Jinta down and go see him? He's in the training room downstairs," said Urahara with a grin.

"Why'd Kisuke-san put Kitsu-san downstairs?" asked Ururu.

"Beats me. Let's get down there before Tessai realizes we're not doing our chores!" said Jinta. (He didn't see Urahara standing nearby in the shadows. Uh-oh…)

"I'll go down first since I'm the oldest!" said Jinta.

"Ururu is older than you, so she should go down first," commented Urahara.

"You don't have to send the runts down just to keep me company! I prefer being alone!!!" yelled Kyuubi from the room.

"Ururu was worried about you," retorted Urahara.

Before Kyuubi could protest anymore, Jinta had already started his descent on the ladder. Kyuubi caught the boy's scent and immediately intercepted him before he could go down any further.

"Wha…!!!! Something's got me!" yelped Jinta in surprise.

"Relax brat…it's only me!" grumbled Kyuubi.

"You can open your eyes Jinta. He's not going to bite your head off…yet," said Urahara.

"Woah! Is that really you, Kitsu?!" said Jinta in surprise.

"My name isn't Kitsu! It's Kyuubi!!!!!" growled the fox, annoyed.

"What's with all the commotion? I'm trying to sleep!" yawned Kari.

"Looks like it's the dawn of the dead. Welcome back to the land of the living Kari…" said Kyuubi dryly.

"I'd love to see someone sleep through the racket you lot are making," Kari retorted.

"I was just about to start making Kyuubi a better Gigai when Ururu was worried about him. I thought I'd send them down to keep the orange-fox company," said Urahara.

"No wonder there was so much noise. I could have told you this would happen."

"Well you were asleep so…"

"Whatever. Come on Ururu…let's go see the cranky Fox Demon," said Kari.

"Wow…is that really Kit…er, Kyuubi-san?" asked Ururu.

"This is what I really look like. Bet you weren't expecting this, did you?"

"He is the oldest and most powerful Tailed Beast. It's only natural that he'd be enormous."

Kari made it halfway down before she lost her grip and fell. Kyuubi grabbed her with one of his tails and set her down carefully.

"You need to be more carefully girl! If you die then I go back behind that accursed seal!"

Kari was beyond hearing…she had passed out again. By the time Ururu made it to the bottom, Kyuubi had admitted defeat and let them near.

It took Urahara longer than a month to finish Kyuubi's Gigai. By then the fox demon's tolerance was nearing its limit. As soon as Kyuubi got into the new body, he was irritable.

"Well? Did I get the size right?"

"It definitely suits me better than the other one. Are you sure this one won't have the same problem as before?"

"Positive. You shouldn't have any more problems when it comes to dealing with Hollows. Ready to take it out on a test run?"

"How exactly am I supposed to do that?!"

"Why don't you ask Kari?" laughed Urahara.