Chapter 7: The Beautiful and Elegant Yuki

"This is fox pup calling tactician, I have eyes on the target, are you in position?"

"This is tactician, I'm in position and ready to strike. Fairy, what's your status?"

"This uh… this is fairy, the trap is set and I'm w-waiting your command."

"Alright then, fox pup, on the count of three, I want you to lead the target this way."

"Understood."

"One. Two. THREE!"

"GHAAAAAA!"

"NARU- I mean… FOX PUP, ARE YOU OK!"

"I'm fine, but the target is heading your way fairy!" I said as I wiped the blood off my face.

"O-OK," Hinata said as she pulled the rope.

The weight that the rope was attached to dropped and from underneath the ground sprung up a small net, one I personally picked out.

"Great job fairy," Shikamaru called out. "Now it's my turn."

Shikamaru pulled out a kunai and cut the rope, separating it from the tree it was attached to.

"This is tactician, mission accomplished," he said as he picked up the net.

"Great job you three, excellent work," Asuma-sensei said as he walked out from behind a tree.

"Yea, great, now can we just drop off this stupid cat already?" I asked in annoyance.

"Sure, but first, let's clean up those scratch marks."

Asuma-sensei pulled out a bandage and some rubbing alcohol from his pouch and started dressing my wounds.

"Are you ok Naruto?" Hinata responded.

"Yea, I'm alright. But man, that damn cat nearly scratched out my eye," I responded.

"Well then, let's say a word of thanks that it didn't," Asuma sensei said as he put the bandage on. "There we go, that should heal up nicely."

Just then, the cat started flailing and meowing inside the net, nearly scratching Shikamaru in the process.

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE MENACE!" I yelled. "Be thankful that we're returning you to your owner, because if it were up to me, I'd take you to the pound so they could put you to sleep."

"Yea… let's just go report this before I decide to go along with Naruto's idea," Shikamaru said in a deadpan tone as he kept the cat as far away as possible.

The four of us met up with gramps and we handed in our finished job. He told us we did a job well done and handed Asuma-sensei the reward money. He then asked if we were interested in taking another D-rank mission since there were so many.

Shikamaru and I agreed to do another mission, so long as it didn't involve any more cats. Hinata agreed as well, but with more of a timid nod.

Gramps was happy to hear this and immediately pulled out a bunch of folders from underneath his desk. As expected, almost all the D-rank missions consisted of doing housework for the villagers.

Obviously, I wanted a real mission, but I knew I had to be patient. The foxes pretty much forced that lesson into me after they saw how much I hated sitting around and doing nothing. Still, it would be nice if we could do something a little more ninja-like.

"There you go, Asuma," grandpa Sarutobi said as he handed one of the folders to our leader. "I think this mission should be easy enough to complete while also giving your genin some experience as shinobi."

"No way, did he read my mind or something?" I thought.

"Hmm, guard duty," Asuma-sensei said as he looked through the folder. "I'm surprised they would make this a D-rank mission."

"Well, the place you will be guardian is right here in the village and it's mostly used by the villagers, so it's doubtful there's much to worry about," gramps explained.

"Yea, I see your point."

"Hey Asuma-sensei, are we really gonna be on guard duty?"

"Looks like it, Naruto. According to this, there's a restaurant here on main street that's looking for some extra security."

"A restaurant?" Shikamaru asked. "Why would they need extra security?"

"Well, it says here that not that long ago, this place was the victim of a dine and dash. Someone how this person managed to get five whole meals and then sneak away."

"Wait, did you just say five free meals from a restaurant on main street?" I asked in a nervous tone.

"Sure did," Asuma-sensei answered. "Apparently the customer who came in looked like a real gentleman. He paid them with what they thought was real money, but then the cash turned into a bunch of leaves."

"Oh crap! Shogi's prank! I completely forgot about that."

"Anyway, the guy was never caught, so they want some ninja to guard the place in case he comes back."

"Oh, uh… yea, that makes sense."

"Are you ok Naruto?" Hinata asked. "You're starting to look really pale."

"I-I'm fine. I'm just excited to get started is all, hahaha!"

Gramps gave me an approving smile before authorizing the job for us. He gave us the address and we headed to the restaurant.

After we arrived, Asuma-sensei talked to the owner, and we were put to work. I stood guard outside while Shikamaru and Hinata kept an eye on things inside. I also summoned Goki so he could watch things from the rooftops.

We stayed like this for about three hours, and in that time we had to stop a customer from assaulting one of the waiters and pat down at least five different families. Needless to say, this didn't help with getting the villagers to like me.

Still, I continued doing my job and for the rest of the day, things were pretty peaceful. It wasn't until the dinner rush that we got an… 'unexpected guest.'

"One at a time, ONE AT A TIME!" I yelled at the crowd of villagers.

"So it's true, that fox brat is really a ninja now."

"Tch, I thought they got rid of him."

"Maybe we should do it. Those other guys came close that one time."

"Shut up you idiot! If he's a ninja now, then that means he's under the protection of lord Hokage."

"He's right. Besides, didn't you hear what happened to them? They were tortured for months by that snake bitch before being banished."

"You know, it's honestly embarrassing that you think you can talk about me like that and get away with it," I said as I appeared behind the talking villagers, making sure to leave a clone to watch the door.

The villagers turned to me and nearly stumbled back from the surprise. I was gonna say something, but Shogi took care of them before I could. He did by turning into a normal fox, climbing onto my shoulder and making a face that could scare the wings off a demon.

They ran away of course, and I was glad to see them go. I know I said I wanted the villagers to like me, but I could tell those guys weren't with it.

As I headed back to my post, I noticed a woman in an icy blue kimono walking towards me. She had her face hidden behind a bamboo parasol that had a sakura flower design on it, but I tell she was a woman from her scent and long black hair.

She came up to me and slowly showed her face. Her skin was as fair as clean china, and her eyes were so bright and blue that not even sapphires could compare to them. Her eyebrows were thin and perfectly contoured with the shape of her face. Her nose was small and smooth, and her lips were red like a rose. What's more, she didn't have any hint of makeup on her except for a single streak of lipstick on her bottom lip.

I know it's weird for a twelve-year old like me to think or even notice this stuff, but when you spend so much time with a bunch of fox Yokai, you tend to change. Either way, the only word that came to mind was… 'Elegant.' She was so beautiful that if you saw her, you could easily mistake her for royalty or even a deity.

"Hello young one. Do you perhaps have a table open?" she asked in a very soft voice.

I immediately turned red. Even her voice was like that of a loving mother comforting her child. I was completely frozen in place.

"I uh… that is… we," I stuttered.

"Hehe, no need to worry dear. Take your time," she said in a comforting tone.

Cough

"R-Right, sorry about that. You kind of caught me off guard. As for a table, you'll have to wait a bit."

"Yes, that's to be expected. This place is rather popular."

"Haha, yea, it really is. Though, I think it's more due to today's special that more people are here than normal."

"Special?"

"Yea, I heard that the head chef ordered a whole bunch of octopi that arrived today. Thanks to that, everyone came here to eat."

"I see, that would indeed explain it. After all, octopus is very delicious. Though I must ask if you're planning on eating as well. Surely the owner allows breaks."

I was about to answer when one of the villagers spoke up.

"You know, you shouldn't worry about that kid. He's just some freak and if you knew what was good for you, you'd stay as far away from him as possible."

I let out a sigh. I thought Shogi already scared off all the jerks, but I guess there was one left.

"My word, you don't say," the woman asked as she put a hand over her mouth.

"You bet I do. In fact, this guy had a fox chase off some of the customers," the man said as he pointed at me.

"Really? Well, if that's true… those customers must have been quite rude," she said, surprising everyone.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Oh, well, it's just that foxes are very sensitive. It's even well known that most of the time, they try to avoid people as much as possible. If one did attack, then it was probably either scared or angry."

"I see," the guy said as he let out a small cough. "W-Well I can understand where you're coming from, but that isn't the case at all. As I said this little brat was the one who had the fox attack those guys. So it's actually his fault."

I glared at the villager. It's pretty clear he was trying to make me out to be the bad guy and have another villager hate me.

"So wait, he trained a fox?" the woman asked.

"Sure did, I bet he's got a whole bunch of foxes that are just ready to attack at any moment now," the guy responded.

"Oh my, that's incredible!"

Everything went silent. Everyone, including the onlookers were staring at the elegant woman in complete disbelief.

"Um… miss, what do you mean by that?" I asked. "How am I incredible?"

"Isn't it obvious? You were able to train a fox, which is very difficult. Most people don't know this, but foxes are a lot like cats in that they do everything they can to stay away from people they don't like. So, if you were able to not only befriend one, but train it too, then you must be a very good person," she explained.

"Wow, you really think so?"

"Of course. I can see why you were trusted to keep an eye on things."

I couldn't help but blush. This was the first time a villager not only defended me, but also complimented me.

"Hey Naruto, we just got a free table?" Shikamaru said as he stepped out of the restaurant, surprising all of us.

Oh, hey Shikamaru," I said before turning to the woman. "Looks like you're in luck. Follow my friend and he'll show you to your table."

The woman bowed her head slightly as she put her hand on her heart and thanked me. She then went inside with Shikamaru, who was somehow even redder than I was.

After that, the rest of the night was more or less normal. He still had some troublesome customers, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. That said though, I had this weird feeling the whole time we were helping to close the place for the night. It was then that I realized that I never saw that woman from earlier leave.

"Hey, Hinata, Shikamaru, did either of you two see what happened to that black haired woman who was wearing the kimono?" I asked.

"I didn't see her," Shikamaru answered as he finished wiping down one of the tables. "I brought her to her table, but I didn't see her after that."

"I remember putting her parasol on the rack where they keep everyone's umbrellas, but I think she grabbed it when she left," Hinata replied.

"So neither of you saw her?" I asked in surprise. "That's a little hard to believe considering…

"Considering she was a total knockout that had every eye on her the whole time she was here," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"Well… yea."

"I saw her."

We turned our heads and saw Asuma-sensei with some papers in his hand.

"You saw her?" I asked.

"Sure did," he answered. "You don't exactly forget seeing a woman like her after all. Anyway, she paid for her food and left through the back door."

"Why did she leave that way?"

"The owner let her, and some other customers leave that way since it was so packed."

"Huh, makes sense I guess."

We finished up and the owner signed the form to show we completed the job. Asuma-sensei let us go home since it was getting late and said that he would deliver the form.

Instead of heading home though, I decided to go visit the foxes. I wasn't going to train or anything, but I'd figured that Anki would want to hear what I've been up to. I know Shogi usually tells him, but I also know how much Anki likes it when I tell him myself.

I performed the summoning jutsu and was transported to the summoning realm. As soon as I arrived, Mochi jumped on me like always while Riki walked over with some food.

"Hey Naruto, are you here to play with me?" Mochi asked.

"Sorry Mochi, but I can't right now. I came to tell Anki about some of the jobs I've been doing."

"Oh, is that so," Riki asked. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that. He's in usual spot."

"Thanks Riki, I'll head over there now," I said with a smile.

I headed over to where Anki likes to sit and to my utter shock, he was talking with that same elegant woman from the restaurant!

"Anki!" I yelled.

"Oh, Naruto, it's good to see you," the elderly fox said with a smile.

"Anki, who is this woman? I saw her at the restaurant I was working at today. See another fox summoner? I thought you said I was the only one!"

"Calm down Naruto, you're going to burn yourself out. As for your questions, let me start by saying that she isn't a fox summoner. She's actually one of us."

I was stunned. I know fox Yokai can make themself look human, but I've been able to see through their disguises thanks to my training and sense of smell. This woman didn't have any fox or fox magic scent, nor did she have any fox chakra. So how on earth could she be one of them?

"It appears my disguise was far more impressive than I thought," she said.

Before I could say anything, there was a puff of smoke and out came an extremely majestic looking white fox with black feet. Her fur was so radiant that it glowed an ethereal white in the light of the moon and her eyes were still that same shade of blue that put sapphires to shame. She was so beautiful that anyone who saw her would instantly think about the woman from earlier and think they were one in the same.

I instantly recognized her as Yuki, the five tailed fox who specializes in transformations. She hasn't had much time to train me thanks to her duties, but she often acted like a mother for me and for Mochi.

"It's good to see you again, Naruto," she said lovingly "You did a very good job today. I'm sorry I had to trick you."

"N-No, it's fine."

"So Naruto, do you want to tell me what happened?" Anki asked. "I'd love to hear what you've been doing."

"Oh, right! That's actually why I'm here!" I said.

I spent the rest of the night telling the foxes everything that's been going on. Although, I decided to leave out the part about the cat. The less I think about that monster the better.

"Well, you've certainly come a long way," Yuki said.

"Yea, but I still have a long way to go if I couldn't even tell that person was you, Yuki."

"Well then, I suppose that means you'll have to work even harder. But don't worry, I promise to teach everything I know. heehee."