Chapter 14: Papa, Can We Keep The Hebi-chan?!

By DemonClowSorceress and Red

Disclaimer: You get the idea. Naruto's not ours, nor are any characters that appear in this story. Except Kusaka and Valac. We came up with those bad babies.

Red: And the Fur Fighters are our brainchildren too! ^.^

Once they had the Hebi, the Fur Fighters ran as fast as their little legs could carry them. By some miracle they managed to evade the patrolling Sound ninjas and re-cross the border without any mishap. In fact, their remarkable luck held up until they reached the Valley of the End.

Then they put the Hebi on the ground and stood in a circle around her. Below the waist, she had the body of a snake, pebbled scales colored black. Above, however, she looked like a normal human. If normal included black-rimmed cat eyes* and long, shiny black hair that resembled a scary ghost-girl from a horror movie.**

Kusaka sighed, putting her hands on her small hips. "Well, we got the girl. Now what?" Her question was mostly directed at Hiro. The little squirrel held up his hands as if to say What are you looking at me for? I'm just a squirrel.

Valac knelt beside the girl, seeing a strange mark on her shoulder that looked like the curse mark Kimimaro used to have, but red instead of black. Curiously, he poked it. It moved a little, squirming away from his finger. Intrigued, he poked it again. And again. And again.

Kusaka's hand shot out and grabbed his finger in a crushing grip. Her body shifted to hide the squirming mark. "Not in front of the children, you stupid lizard!"

"Ow," he said in a blunt tone. "Finger's turning purple here, Saka."

"Good!" she said, satisfied.

"No, really, look at my finger!" He tugged the digit away from her. "Seriously, I'm checking out this mark. I think it's a kind of jutsu."

"That does what, exactly?" Tsukasa asked as the cat, dog, and fox kids began to sniff the snake girl.

Hiro stared at the red mark before pointing to it. "That's almost like the mark Tou-chan has! It's the evil pervy snake-man's mark!" His eyes began to well up with tears. "It's evil! Make it go away!"

Mei, Hikari, and Hikaru immediately shied away in fear. Daisuke, trembling but stubbornly hiding her fear, continued to examine the mark. "It's some sort of subjugation jutsu," she said in a choked voice. "Coupled with a henge (transformation) jutsu. Seems like she's being forced into remain in this form and to be the snake-man's personal slave."

"So this isn't the Hebi-chan's true form," mused Kaname, crossing his arms and looking at the unconscious snake girl. "It's just a jutsu. Perfect. Can you get it off?"

Valac nodded confidently. "Of course I can. I am totally awesome, after all."

"You might want to deflate your ego before walking into Konoha's gate," remarked Kusaka dryly. "You might break it." Then she glanced at him with a strange look in her eye. "Wait. You're going to use that?"

The redheaded boy shrugged, fingering the edge of his eyepatch. "Why Saka, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were concerned for me."

Kusaka rolled her eyes. "Well, considering the fact that your eye is still covered since that fight, I have to ask since you're going to be going in at half power."

One eyebrow rose in confusion. "Kusaka......are you okay?"

"I'm going to ask this with the greatest amount of civility - What drugs are you on, you idiot hydra?"

Valac bristled angrily, his silver eye aflame with annoyance. "I'm not on any - Wait, did you just call me a hydra?" The annoyance became concern again. "Saka, the hell's up with you? First you're on about my eye, then you bring hydras into the mix. You know they've been extinct since the Black Dragon was exiled - " Here he stopped suddenly, not only because there was no sign of recollection in Kusaka's ice-blue eyes, not only because there were eleven eagerly attentive Fur Fighters listening to his every word, but because of something far more subtle but no less worrisome.

Kusaka flinched at the mention of the Black Dragon. Almost as if she......as if she.......

Hiro tugged on Valac's sleeve, breaking the boy's thought. "So are you gonna break the jutsus on Hebi-chan and take off her mark now, Rei-chan?***"

With difficulty Valac tore his gaze from Kusaka and focused on the unconscious snake girl in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his eyepatch to reveal his covered right eye. The iris wasn't as perfect as his left eye's; there was a jagged red line running diagonally through the silver. Blinking both eyes, Valac took a deep breath to steady himself and looked at the pulsing red mark on the Hebi-chan's shoulder.

"Wait." Kusaka grabbed his wrist. "Before you go through with this, tell me honestly. Are you going to be okay after this?"

The boy flashed a brief smile. "Me? Are you kidding?" Seeing her insistance, he nodded again. "I'll be fine. Honest." Then he looked back at the Hebi's mark.

Mei and Daisuke began to whine as the winds grew stronger. Tsukasa went stock-still, like a cornered bird faced with an axe. Kaname gave him a WTF look before a sudden peal of lightning had the bat boy's wings snapping out to cover his face in a protective manner at the same time as Tsukasa's wings. Hikari, Hikaru, and Hanika all huddled together in fear, while Shippo and Tomoya hid their faces behind each other's tails. Kusaka just knelt there and watched as nature turned violent for no apparent reason, her eyes intently watching Valac as his unblinking eyes never wavered from the Hebi-chan's mark.

Hiro was the only one to watch when the mark pulsed, writhed, and convulsed before blurring and evaporating from the Hebi's skin. He stared at Valac, the latter pale and sweating as he murmured, "Burn, baby, burn," and promptly passed out into Kusaka's arms. The weather cleared instantly, letting sunlight strike the group with bright rays.

Kusaka angrily muttered, "Valac, you idiot," as she pulled his eyepatch over his right eye again. "You stupid, arrogant ass."

Hiro, however, was more focused on the Hebi-chan. Gone was her serpentine body and pale-as-death skin. Now she looked like a regular girl, the same age as Hiro himself, only instead of fur, her sleeveless top and skirt were made of reptile skin. Still on her back were strapped two roughly hewn crystal swords colored palest green. Her hair was still waist-length and black, but looked cleaner than before and no longer covering her face. Her delicately featured face - that had two bright green eyes staring at Hiro like he was something that had to be eliminated.

Not to mention the pale green crystal blade aimed right for the squirrel boy's throat.

Kusaka couldn't move to help, seeing as how she was pinned by Valac's unconscious form. Damn, that snake struck fast, she thought. Then she saw Daisuke and Kaname assume their fighting stances. Good thing the bat and fox are just as fast.

"Drop the sword, reptile," snarled Daisuke, on all fours and ready to pounce.

Tsukasa sighed and came forward. The Hebi almost continued her attack, but didn't when she saw the bird boy's slap connect with the back of Daisuke's head. The fox rolled into the fetal position, hands cradling her sore cranium. "OW! What was that for?"

"You're making the situation worse," Tsukasa snapped.

Kaname snickered as he jabbed his finger towards Daisuke. "Ha ha ha! You got told!" This was also halted by a smack to the head. "OW! The hell, Tsukasa?"

"You're no help either."

Hikari came forward, putting her hand lightly on Tsukasa's shoulder. "Um, could we talk to her?" she asked softly, looking up to the pale blond boy. "We knew her when we were at the snake-man's place."

Tsukasa blushed as he stared at her hand and blustered, "Um, well, uh, um, er, s-s-sure! Sure," he repeated a little more calmly. "Yeah, sure, go for it."

The twins knelt close to the snake girl. Hikari spoke first. "Hebi-chan, it's okay. These kids are our friends. Nobody's gonna hurt you."

Her mouth opened, teeth baring, and hissed. The cat girl shivered, but perservered. "Look, Hebi-chan. The snake-man's jutsu is gone. You're not a snake-lady anymore."

The girl looked down and saw her lower body. She bent one leg, then the other in wonder. She wiggled her toes. Her eyes widened. A perplexed hiss came out of her mouth.

Hikaru spoke up. "It was thanks to Valac. He broke the jutsu. And we all rescued you." He gestured to the rest of the Fur Fighters. "We snuck into Oto and busted you out of there. It was awesome."

The Hebi-chan glanced back at Hiro, who wasn't moving due to her crystal blade being leveled at his throat still. Hikari saw her look and said pleadingly, "He's our leader, Hiro. He's a good squirrel-boy. It's okay."

Very, very slowly, the Hebi-chan took the point of her blade away from Hiro's throat. He rubbed his neck and watched as she sheathed the pale green crystal sword behind her back. Seeking to reassure her, he said, "Hebi-chan, we're all here for the same reason. We've all been taken from our homes and brought here for some reason. We're all in the same boat."

"We're all in this together, and we can't do it without you," said Shippo in a rare moment of seriousness, joining Hiro. "So come with us back to Konoha. Hiro's Papa and Tou-chan are good people, and so are his nii-chans and nee-chans." His big orange eyes widened even more as his serious attitude devolved into sugar-high childish joy. "They give us candy and good food and toys and hugs and let us sleep with them in big warm beds and - "

Hiro smiled as the monkey boy continued to rattle on and on about the love of the Konoha Twelve. "The point is, Hebi-chan, we'd like it if you came back with us," he said. "We can give you a good home, and you won't have to be scared of the evil snake-man anymore. We can protect you."

Before he was even finished speaking the Hebi-chan was shaking her head. A scared hiss came out of her mouth. She's scared bad, Hiro thought. What did that snake-man do to Hebi-chan?

"She says she can't," Hikari translated.

Tsukasa frowned. "Won't you speak?" he asked the Hebi-chan, leaning forward. "It's okay." But she shook her head.

Kusaka hefted the still-unconscious Valac onto Tomoya's back, glancing around The Valley of the End sharply. "Not that this isn't fun, but we ought to head out," she said. "Let's not blow our very lucky extraction tripping just before the finish line, okay?"

The Fur Fighters nodded and quickly headed down the sides of the waterfall. As they did, Tsukasa's sharp bird eyes spotted familiar shapes on the ground below. "Hey! I think I see some of the Konoha Twelve!"

"Who do you see?" asked Kaname, fluttering beside Tomoya to help support Valac on the tanuki's back.

The bird boy squinted, since their elevation and angle made it hard to discern faces. "Uh......brown pineapple, black duckbutt, blond spiky, red spiky, brown spiky, brown barbie doll long, hooded afro, and black normal."

"Shika-nii-chan, Tou-chan, Papa, Gaara-nii-chan, Kiba-nii-chan, Neji-nii-chan, Shino-nii-chan, and Sai-nii-chan," recited Hiro. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "PAPA! TOU-CHAN! WE'RE UP HERE!! ON OUR WAY DOWN!!"

Far, far below them, Naruto heard the echo of his son's voice and looked up. His sharp blue eyes quickly found the furry pelts of the children making their way down the cliffside. He waved his arms to signal that he understood, then directed his search party to head over to the bottom.

********

Needless to say, Naruto was extremely displeased that his son and friends had mounted a rescue mission into Oto. He was even less pleased with the fact that they had brought home another stray animal-child; a child that, he learned, was one of Orochimaru's pets.

But he did feel proud that Hiro had completed his first mission without mishap. So he hugged the little squirrel-boy happily and only said, "Next time, please tell me before you go off like that, all right?"

Sasuke, meanwhile, was engaging in a staring match with the Hebi-chan. They were watched by Hinata, Tenten, Ino, and Choji, the last one snacking like it was an epic sports event. As the rest of the Konoha Twelve noticed this event, they too found themselves watching the silent contestants. A few changed sides, looking first to the imposing Uchiha boy dressed in black, then cutting their gazes over to the shorter but no less imposing girl in a dark snakeskin tube top and skirt with two pale green crystal swords strapped to her back. Both staring individuals had their arms crossed, matching glares of black and green with equal power. In minutes there was no conversation at all in the apartment. In fact it was so silent that Naruto, who had gone into the kitchen for refreshments, thought everyone had left until he came out and saw the circle around Sasuke and the Hebi-chan.

"It's an epic stare-off between former Orochimaru subordinates Uchiha Sasuke and the Hebi-chan," murmured Shippo, speaking like a sports newscaster watching a major event. "Who will emerge victorious?"

Suddenly the Hebi-chan opened her mouth. A soft, polite, and slightly disappointed voice said, "I was expecting something........more."

There was silence for all of ten seconds. Then came a smothered snigger from Neji. Another followed, this time from Kiba, who stuffed a fist in his mouth to keep it quiet. A smile twitched Gaara's mouth muscles until the young Kazekage's lips seemed to go into a seizure fit.

Hiro said, clueless as a clam, "I thought you couldn't speak, Hebi-chan!"

The girl looked past the steadily stiffening Uchiha to him. "I never said I couldn't. I just wouldn't when you asked. I had to be sure you would not hurt me. And my name is Hari, thank you very much." Her polite tone dropped a little to reveal some condescending attitude.

But Naruto was quick to catch her on that. His hands on his hips, he gave the snake girl a hard stare. "Now young lady, no call for such sass. You apologize to Hiro-chan right now."

Hari started to ignore him, but something in those innocent blue eyes caught her. So she looked at Hiro and inclined her head. "My apologies. I was rude, and that was uncalled for. Thank you for rescuing me."

"What about my apology?" Sasuke snarled, glaring at the little snake girl.

Her head rolled until she was staring at Sasuke through a sheaf of her black hair. Boredom fairly dripped from her voice. "For what? I wasn't rude to you. Truth hurts. Deal with it. If you can't, that's tough for you."

That's when the entire room erupted in laughter save for Sai, who finally employed one of his observations correctly. "Sasuke, you just got told by a kid." And - wonder of wonders - the Root operative delivered an insult at the proper time. "You want some ice for that burn?"

Sasuke then leaped across the room at Sai and landed a punch to the Root nin's jaw. He did so for two reasons; one: there was know way in the seven hells that he'd attack a child with Naruto present. Two, not only had he got told by a kid, which enraged him to no end, he had also gotten told by Sai. At least he could get away with attacking Sai in front of Naruto with only minor consequences.

"Sasuke!" Naruto was scandalized. "How dare you do that in front of Hiro-chan and his friends! No wonder Hari expected more. You should be ashamed of yourself!" The lovely foxboy then proceeded to stalk over to his boyfriend and smack him upside the head.****

The Uchiha, in a moment of complete stupidity, commented, "Is that it?"

Naruto, in a very non-Naruto fashion, stared at Sasuke with an indescribable facial expression and said in a low, dangerous voice, "I suggest you heed my advice Uchiha, and watch what you say for the next month or so. You're already on thin ice, remember. We wouldn't want that flaming idiocy of yours to melt that ice and have you fall through, now do we?"

He gave a sweet little manic grin and the cowering, for he was cowering at this point, Uchiha simply nodded his head. "Good," Naruto said as he walked back into the kitchen to fetch more drinks. Then, as an afterthought, he said over his shoulder, "By the way, Sasu-kun, you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

There was a chorus of you-just-got-p'wned "OOOOOHHH!!!!" from the surrounding boys and a couple girls reached to pat Sasuke on the shoulder, apologetic looks on their faces. Then, to add insult to injury, when Naruto returned with a balanced tray of drinks, there was one sippy cup, like the ones babies and toddlers use. A strip of masking tape served as a label, on which was scrawled "SASUKE" in black permanant marker. The blond had a dangerous look that said quite plainly "I dare you to comment or make a move to get a different glass" in his eye. This left Sasuke no choice but to submissively pick up the sippy cup and drink the milk inside.

There was another chorus of sniggering, more silent than before, as Naruto purposely sat next to Gaara with a self-satisfied "Hm!" The blond boy also deliberately ignored Sasuke for the rest of the day, chatting with everyone else but the surly duckbutt-head. The rest of the Konoha Twelve saw this interaction as a form of perverse entertainment - sad, pathetic, and wrong, but so enjoyable on so many levels.

After all, Sasuke was being dissed. What's more fun that that?

Meanwhile the Fur Fighters had taken their newest member on a walk of the town. Hari was very inquisitive, and her polite shell slowly broke down when she realized that nobody stared at her in fear or horror. At Ichiraku Ramen, the owner fixed up a couple bowls of ramen for the children that he let them eat on the stoop as night fell. Nobody spoke as they ate the delicious noodles and broth.

Hari was the first to speak, smacking her lips and licking broth from her cheeks with her serpent tongue. "That was delicious," she announced. "Thanks for the meal."

"Ichiraku Ramen is the best I've ever had," Valac said, still unsteady but tucking into his fifth bowl without mishap. "Puts the fight back into you."

"That's why Papa loves it," Hiro admitted. "He says it's the best pick-me-up ever." The squirrel boy drew his legs up to his chest and rested his hands on his knees, then put his chin on his fingers. "I love it here. It's so safe, and warm, and everyone loves me even though I'm different."

Tsukasa stretched as Kaname yawned. "It's a great place," said the bird boy, "for those of us who've gotten tired of hiding what we are from people."

"I feel safe here," Hanika said softly, swinging her legs childishly. "And I've never felt safe anywhere else before."

"I miss the power of being a forest spirit," Tomoya whined before saying normally, "but it was lonely then. Now I have friends."

"Friends are nice to have," Hikari and Hikaru said in unison.

Shippo giggled. "Having friends is the best!" he exclaimed happily.

"Even if some are pinheads or idiots," Daisuke said, her eyes closed, as she lay across the threshhold. Kaname threw her a dirty look.

Even Kusaka had to agree. "It is nice to have people like you to talk to at the end of the day."

********

Iruka got the shock of his life the next morning. Naruto first entered the classroom holding Hiro's hand - a sight not completely unexpected, since the little boy was recently missing again. What was completely unexpected were the following twelve Fur Fighters, holding each others' hands like a giant follow-the-leader line. Whispers broke out among the cadets as Iruka's eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"Iruka, I gotta ask you for a favor," Naruto said, making the 'please help me' pose of his clasped hands in front of his bowed head. "Can you please take the rest of the Fur Fighters into your class? Please? Please? ?"

Iruka opened his mouth and asked, "Naruto, do you have no concept of self-restraint?"

This was overheard by Kaname and Daisuke, who responded in unison, "Nope, Sasuke's slept on the couch the last few nights. He ain't been gettin' none."

Once the initial awkwardness faded, the Fur Fighters were welcomed by the rest of the class. Once seats were chosen, however, there was an instant problem. Iruka, not knowing the dynamics of the Fur Fighters, had unwittingly put Kaname next to Daisuke, something the fox girl took offense to.

"Hey! Why am I, an obviously more skilled individual, being placed next to an asshole like that?" she yelled, leveling a finger at the unruffled Kaname.

The bat boy shrugged a shoulder. He liked his seat by the window, which let him daydream about flying. So he wasn't paying close attention when he flatly retorted, "Just don't be a nuisance, baka kitsune."

Daisuke, in a flurry of anger, got on the desk and squatted until her face was right in Kaname's. The boy felt his face heat up in surprise when the tip of Daisuke's nose barely brushed his as she growled, "Bastard." Kaname felt his entire body freeze as his brain fought to think past his realization that, despite her gung-ho ass-kick attitude, he thought she had pretty eyes.

They would have stayed in that position for awhile, but unfortunately God was not kind to them. Daisuke's tail was lashing due to her anger, the tip whacking the back of Hiro's head over and over again. The squirrel-boy endured as best he could, but he reached his breaking point in good time. "OW!" he yelled, wildly smacking the tail away without looking where he was flailing.

Silence descended over the classroom. Iruka stared at the odd picture - Daisuke, having been pushed from behind, fallen forward to kiss Kaname full-on the mouth since the bat boy was rigid in shock. Now where have I seen that before? the sensei thought, scratching his head. Deja vu, he added then they broke apart, choking and spitting, while screaming how they'd kill each other. This is about to get extremely interesting. It's like the Konoha Thirteen all over again.

And so begins a new arc in the Fur Fighter's story! Please stay tuned, comment and rate!

A.N.

* - Not like Gaara's, more like a slim line of eyeliner around her eyes.

** - Think the girl from "The Ring" - Samara.

*** - This is a nod to the manga Our Kingdom. We love Rei!!!!

**** - Naruto employs a version of the Gibbs-slap here.