Wow! I didn't expect this story to go over like this:D Thanks for all those who review!! Ruthie loves you! Thanks for being so gentle with my first Naruto fic, as well as my first slash.
Hikitsuko's POV
Hikitsuko was still asleep when the Master left him. He slept blissfully on as the boy stumbled past his nest to get dressed and ready for school. He snored above the clatter of dishes being laid hastily on the floor of The Room Where Food Is. He dreamed unawares of the closing of the door. He never knew he was completely alone until he awoke nearly an hour later.
Bright, black eyes snapped open as silence like he had never heard before pressed down on his ears. The tiny fox sat bolt upright, icy cold fear pumping through his young body with every beat of his terrified heart. The Master was gone! Gone! Would he return? No one was around to tell Hikitsuko whether he would or not. A strangled yelp tore out of his throat. Alone! He tried to think. Yes...thinking was good. Had the Master said anything to him to explain this sudden absence?
The young fox furrowed his brow in thought. He tried to remember what the Master had said to him last night. Something about leaving him here tomorrow, which was today, but...why? Something...something with...skool, was it? What kind of a place was that? Hadn't The Boy Who Smelled Like Fox said something about seeing the Master at this skool place? He had! That must be where he was, then. And if the Master was with The Boy Who Smelled Like Fox, then he was safe. Hikitsuko remembered the smell of a powerful fox coming from that boy. He would protect the Master.
So the Master was safe. Hikitsuko was relieved. He hadn't known the Master for very long, but already he was attached to him. He wanted to be perfectly sure that the Master was safe wherever he went. The fox rose to his paws, looking around the room.
The Master was gone. He'd left the den to seek out skool with The Boy Who Smelled Like Fox, and would be back in the afternoon. Well, if the Master was gone, that left Hikitsuko in charge of keeping the den safe and tidy. The skinny tod swelled with pride and authority. He had been entrusted with a special duty by the Master: patrolling the den. Scrabbling for purchase in the soft folds of his bedding, Hikitsuko staggered out of The Room Where The Master Slept and down the stairs. He slipped on the way down, tumbling down the last few steps to land painfully on his nose. He lifted his stinging muzzle and whimpered, only to remember that the Master wasn't there to hear him cry.
I'm on my own here, he reminded himself firmly as he rubbed his sore nose tenderly. The Master is trusting me to be grown-up and guard his den while he finds skool with The Boy Who Smelled Like Fox. I can't let him down.
Treading lightly, Hikitsuko made his way down to The Room Where Food Is. Along the way he pounced on a few very menacing shadows. A few quick nips and some smacks with his paws—that taught them not to come messing around the Master's den! He came skidding and panting into The Room Where Food Is, his barking laughter filling the air with the sounds of joy and excitement. His stomach rumbled as if to break his happy mood. Hikitsuko scowled. Hunger was never a fun thing. He sniffed the air, wondering if the Master had left him food to tide him over while he made the journey to skool.
A dish lay in its usual place, filled with fried rice. Hikitsuko sniffed airily, thoroughly enjoying himself. He liked the way this kind of food smelled. He was just about to take a bite of the still-warm food when a thought flicked in the back of his mind. Mentally, he gathered himself and tackled it to the ground. The Master likes to challenge you, the thought told him. Why would he present you with food so easily? He probably wants you to take the initiative and find it on your own!
Now there was a clever idea. Hikitsuko backed away from the bowl, narrowing his eyes in mock suspicion. Yes...the Master liked to play games like this with him. He would make things smell alive to see if Hikitsuko was capable of defending him. He made the fox beg and manipulate him to get at the good food. The rice in the dish was good food, no doubt about that, but the Master probably had better food lying in wait. It was all a game, a grand game thought up by the Master to keep his wits sharp. Oh, yes...such a good game.
Hikitsuko set his sights on the counter where the Master often ate his food. Maybe it was hidden up there. The tiny fox backed up and charged at the counter. Luckily, it was fairly low, and tackling huge trash cans had made him a good jumper. He cleared the surface and looked around. There was no food-smell here, at least nothing he was interested in. Straining up onto his hindpaws, Hikitsuko scrabbled at the cabinets above him. He could smell food up in there. Maybe that was where the Master had hidden it away.
The doors of the cabinet swung open wide. The young tod gave a yip of satisfaction at the sight of the food contained therein. There it was! He reached up with a forepaw and knocked down a jar of something. The glass jar bounced off the counter and onto the floor, where it shattered noisily. Hikitsuko bounded down after it, careful not to cut his paws on the slivers of glass on the floor. He sniffed the scattered contents, only to be disappointed. No, this wasn't it. This didn't smell like anything the Master had ever fed him. The fox kit hopped back up onto the counter. Maybe the food he was looking for was hidden behind other food.
Before it was all said and done, most of the food had been knocked from the cabinet. With each broken container, Hikitsuko sniffed hopefully, but he couldn't pick out the smell of any familiar food. His stomach was practically roaring with hunger. It was then that he thought of something. Maybe...maybe the Master...hadn't...been testing him after all. Maybe...maybe the rice in the bowl...was...his food. Feeling a little foolish, the fox crouched down in front of the bowl and ate his fill. Then he left the carnage of his folly sitting on the floor of The Room Where Food Is to roam the den.
;-:-;-:-;
The sun was up in the sky now. Hikitsuko could see it quite clearly, though he couldn't smell the freshness of the morning. Ice That Never Melts blocked the outside air from entering the den, but allowed him a clear view of the world. He sat in front of the strange Ice to watch the day spread out over his new territory.
After a while, he grew tired of watching morning arrive. Besides, the Master was counting on him to make sure the den stayed safe while he was out. But it was so hard and boring to guard something that wasn't in any danger. He yawned, a soft squeaking sound, and hopped down from the windowsill. He hadn't been living in this den for very long...he should at the very least know what he was protecting for the Master.
His paws led him down a corridor. Hikitsuko glanced up and focused his gaze on a box lying on a low table. Curious, he nudged one of the table's legs. The box rattled enticingly. The young fox reared up on his hind paws and shoved the table hard. The box fell with an earsplitting clatter. Iron Flowers and Iron Thorns sprayed in all directions. Hikitsuko yelped in terror and fled, fur on end. He skidded to a halt and stood panting, eyes wide, pelt fluffed up in fear. A soft whimper forced its way out of him. The Master wasn't going to like that.
Come to think of it, he probably wasn't going to like what had taken place in The Room Where Food Is.
Tentatively, he reached out a black paw and prodded an Iron Flower. The gleaming metal edge flashed in the midmorning light. Instinct forced him away. Nothing in nature had that kind of shine, at least, nothing that was safe. Hikitsuko turned instead to an Iron Thorn nearby. He amused himself by sending it sliding across the floor with deft sweeps of his paws. It was a somewhat amusing activity, but it was too simple. The fox kit had a quick, clever mind, and this game was too easy for him. He needed more of a challenge.
With a flick of his white-tipped tail, Hikitsuko shot down the hallway in search of something more worth his while. He bolted up the staircase to The Room Where There Is Water. A swim would be nice. Ever since the Master showed him how to keep his head above water, he'd been waiting for a chance to swim again. He burst into the room and sniffed the air expectantly. Maybe the Master had noticed his newfound love of water and had filled the pool for him. He caught the faintest trace of water and linked it to the small splashes on the sleek floor. So the Master hadn't given him a place to swim. Come to think of it, even if he had, there was no way Hikitsuko could have gotten into the pool himself.
Just as he was leaving, the fox noticed something white by the wall. Curious as ever, he trotted over to investigate. It seemed to be a roll of something...He swatted it with a paw, and the roll unraveled a little, laying out the white stuff on the floor in a soft huddle. Amused, Hikitsuko reared up on his hind paws and battered it again and again. He continued his game until, with a dying rattle, the last of the white fell onto the floor. Feeling a little disappointed, the young tod left the room.
The Room Where The Master Slept seemed like a good place to go for now. But before he did...The tiny fox bounded down the stairs and grasped an Iron Thorn in his teeth. He decided to make it into his own personal plaything, a special toy that both he and the Master could appreciate. The Master had to like Iron Thorns; he had so very many of them. Hikitsuko smiled a foxy smile at the thought of the Master tugging on one end of the Iron Thorn while he, Hikitsuko, growled and pulled on the other end. As he toted his new treasure up the stairs, the sharp tip made a groove into the wall beside them.
Sighing contentedly, the tiny fox kit settled himself down for a short nap. Just a little one, because he wanted to be awake and ready to play with the Iron Thorn when the Master came back from his journey to skool. He rested one front paw on the Iron Thorn and curled the other under his chest. His tired black eyes fell shut, and soon he was snoring softly.
;-:-;-:-;
Hikitsuko awoke later in the afternoon feeling perky and refreshed. He hopped out of his nest and scrambled down the stairs with his Iron Thorn. He decided to carry it around until the Master got back. He didn't know the den too well, and was afraid he would put it down somewhere and lose it. The metal thing was heavy, though, and soon the tip was screeching along the floor behind him as he half-dragged it beside him.
What to do now? The Master would return from his skool quest at sunset, and there was still time before then. Hikitsuko knew there couldn't be much more to the Master's den than what he had already seen. He put his Iron Thorn back in The Room Where Food Is and made his way back to where he had first found it. The metal objects still lay scattered about, gleaming in the light of the afternoon sun. Hikitsuko was used to the unnaturally shiny edges of the Iron Flowers' petals now, and he decided on a great game.
He could see that the reflected light made very interesting patterns on the ceiling of the den. He could push them around to make a good pattern and impress the Master. Hesitantly at first, he poked a few of the gleaming Flowers around, then stepped back to study the effects. Soon, however, he forgot all about making patterns on the ceiling and was scattering them with his paws just for the sheer joy of making a complete mess of things.
He was fairly involved in his game when a soft clicking sound reached his ears. The wood that blocked the entrance of the den was being opened. "Hikitsuko! I'm back!"
Uh-oh…
Hikitsuko's ears lowered shamefully as he walked from room to room to greet the Master at the entrance of the den. Down the hallway where Iron Thorns and Iron Flowers lay helter-skelter. Through The Room Where Food Is, where glass still littered the floor, mixed with food that would have to be thrown away. Past his bowl, where the Iron Thorn, its tip now dulled from scratching across everything in its path, leaned. Down the longest hallway he'd ever walked, towards the Master's voice.
As he crouched there, he felt like cornered prey awaiting the killing bite. Fear pounded through his veins like freezing water, making his whole body go numb. The Master said nothing as he gazed at the total destruction. The silence stretched out for lifetimes. Finally, the Master knelt down in front of Hikitsuko. His hand reached out. The fox kit flinched slightly, expecting some sort of blow or harsh words. He whimpered quietly and prepared himself for punishment.
The Master laughed softly and stroked behind Hikitsuko's dark ears gently. The hand moved down to smooth the fear-pricked fur on the back of his neck. "How can I stay mad at you?" he asked in the gentlest of murmurs.