As the name says this is number three in the series. And it also is the last... I hope. I said the same thing about the first one and now look at it. But back on subject. If you are reading this and have not read the other two then please read them. They can be found in my profile, starting with Revenge, then Love and finally Reasons. If you are reading this and have already read the other two then please continue. On another note, like all others the poem at the begining was down by Mellie11, so I take no credit for it.

Now on with the fic!

Demon Tales 3: Reasons

Nine

Gather them 'round

Tell them to come

So I may explain

What's going on

Gather the cat

Gather the bird

Gather the dragon

And let me be heard

Free them and split them

Until there are nine

Facing each other

In the dim light

Eyes of all colors

Same with the fur

Tails swaying gently

And some still on the floor

Stare at them

Until all is quiet

Then start to speak

And break the silence

Gather them 'round

It's almost time

We're ready to start

The Council of Nine

By: Mellie11

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Four demons, two foxes and two tanuki, were walking through the dense forest. True they could have been running, but there was no need. There was no one patrolling these forests, so there was no need to remain hidden. The four continued to walk until coming to what appeared to be a cliff side covered in moss.

Hinata placed one of her eight tails on the ground in front of the cliff side, revealing a cave. Hinata barked once and no sooner had she closed her mouth, than she was tackled to the ground with a yell of "Kaa-san (mother)!"

Two little balls of fluff were mock-fighting with Hinata. The first was male and had yellow fur. He also had blue on the tip of his tail and paws. The other one was female; she had light blue fur with yellow on the tip of her tail and paws.

Kyuubi watched the two little energetic balls of fluff attack his mate with a smile. "Naru, Yumi, enough. We have guests."

"But Tou-san (father), we haven't seen you in a few days!" The twins pouted in unison, and apparently the twins decided to try and jump on his nine tails.

"You'll have plenty of time later to play. Now, were you good kits for the babysitter?" Hinata asked once her kits stopped moving about.

"Hai, kaa-san, we were good," the kits replied almost too innocently.

"Then where-" Kyuubi was cut off when a one tailed emerald colored kitsune came out of the cave. "No worries, Kyuubi-sama. They were perfectly fine while you were away," the green kitsune answered. Kyuubi nodded and dismissed the kitsune.

Hinata picked up her kits by the back of their necks and set them down next to her. She then proceeded to run her tongue over their fur, giving them a bath. Little Yumi was being a good little vixen and behaved, while Naru decided to be difficult and tried to get out of his mother's grasp. "Naru, behave or I'll throw you into the lake again," Hinata scolded her kit. The little kitsune visibly shivered at this and stopped trying to get out of the bath.

Sakura laid down next to Hinata, watching the vixen clean her kits. Kyuubi and Gaara went out to hunt for their respective families. Once Hinata finished with the twin's bath, Hinata told them to take a quick nap. The twins, of course, argued that they weren't tired, but one quick demonic lullaby and the two kits were sound asleep. "So, Hinata, you finally managed to be with Naruto… though not in the manner a lot of us would have liked," Sakura said.

"You know, Sakura, he may call himself Kyuubi. But my mate is the same old Naruto. He just seems different because of all of Kyuubi's memories. But I don't mind, because we're free from the bastard Hyuga. I no longer have to fear being accepted by my Otou-teme."

"Hinata, maybe you could explain something to me?" When the vixen nodded her head, Sakura continued, "When Kyuubi first appeared in the village, we noticed that he attacked the Hyuga Estate. Why is that?"

Hinata sighed, she knew this would come up eventually. That didn't mean she wished it couldn't have happened later. "Well then, the answer is quit simple really…" she was about to continue but something stopped her. She turned her head to look, only to freeze in shock.

Kyuubi and Gaara were walking back to the cave, each with a dead deer dangling from their mouths. Well, Gaara had one deer. Kyuubi had two deer in his mouth, one for himself and his mate while the final one was for his kits. Sometimes it was a pain to hunt for the kit twins. They ate more then his old self ate ramen… and that's saying something. But he loves them all the same.

Gaara was deep in thought about his older brother and sister. Wondering how they are doing and what happened to the village that he swore to protect. Was it still flourishing like it was under his rule? Did they notice when he 'disappeared'? Did they grieve for him when he didn't return? Are Temari and Kankuro happy for him and did they find their own happiness? Did they not listen to his message and are they looking for him… along with the rest of the shinobi of the Sand. He really hoped that no one was looking for him, as much for their own safety as it was for Kyuubi and his family.

They continued along is silence, neither really minding the silence that hung between them. Gaara was too lost in thought to say anything and Kyuubi was thinking of his own things. But something made the two demon lords stop in their tracks. It was something in the air. A scent? And it wasn't from the deer. With that in mind, the two demons ran straight for the cave where their families were. They ran, weaving in between the trees, slowly gaining speed as time went by. They stopped when the cave came into view.

Hinata was standing in front of Sakura and the kits, her teeth barred and a growl escaping her maw. The veins near her eyes were bulging out, adding to the glare that was already there. Her eight tails wildly thrashing about, either in anger or warning, it was impossible to tell. Her claws digging into the earth beneath her. Naru and Yumi were hiding behind Sakura; both of the kits showed a mixture of fear from the new comer and from how angry Hinata was. Sand was slowly circling around Sakura and the kits, ready to serve its mistress if needed.

What Hinata was growling at was doing something entirely different. A human female with blonde hair was the first thing that Kyuubi noticed. When he came around to stand next to his mate, he saw that the human female was wearing a head band from The Land of Lightning. Then finally he noticed the slanted cat like eyes this female had. Kyuubi only knew of two beings that had cat-like eyes, "Nibi." He thought to himself. Or at least her container was standing in front of him. "Hinata stand down. This is an old friend. Tell me, how is Nibi doing?"

"She wants to be free like you and Shukaku," Yugito Nii, container of Nibi no Nekomata said.

"So then tell me how the old cat found out?" the kitsune lord asked.

"She felt your surge of chakra, as I'm sure the other tailed demons have. I guess that I was the first one that found you guys," Yugito said before she clutched her head in pain. "She's getting restless. She wants to talk to you personally to find out what happened to you Kyuubi?" Yugito's voice changed at the end. Now sounding demonic in nature instead of the peaceful tune it had held.

"Well, now there's a very good reason that I did what I did." For once in his life Kyuubi felt nervous. But then again he'd seen how angry this cat can get. And it wasn't pretty.

"Well then let's hear it?!" Nibi was starting to get angry and it showed when she was being surrounded by black demonic chakra. The chakra took on the out line of a two tailed cat, much like what Naruto was able to do with Kyuubi's chakra.

Kyuubi picked up the smaller deer and placed it in front of Naru and Yumi. The two kits were quicker to dig into the deer then they were to greet their kaa-san. At this point Nibi was beyond angry, she was pissed. Kyuubi had just ignored her question and went to feed his kits. But then again, if she ever had any kittens she supposed she would have done the same thing. And though she'd never admit it to anyone, Nibi considered Yugito as one of her kittens.

After every body had eaten all they could, they all gathered around in a circle. Hinata had finished cleaning her kits from any blood they may have gotten on their muzzle. Gaara and Sakura took a little longer because they needed to get used to their new life style. Nibi-Yugito had eaten a few fish she had caught from the stream near by. So they were all waiting for Kyuubi to start his explanation. Hinata stayed to help her mate since she's already heard this story. The kits also heard it before but they got a kick out of it every time they heard it.

"Before I begin, Nibi, tell me, do you know if any other tailed demons are coming our way?"

"I don't know. I didn't sense any other demons on our way here. So just get to your explanation as to why you first attacked that village."

"I'll get to it, I'll get to it. But first something tells me you'd like your own body, Nibi. However before I give you one there are two choices you can have. One, you can merge your spirit with Yugito's becoming one being. Or I can separate the two of you into two different bodies."

Nibi was about to respond to him when she stopped. She wanted to be free of this vessel, and yet there was a certain… attachment. Nibi found herself increasingly worried about Yugito. More and more the cat demon found herself giving more and more chakra to the blonde kunoichi. Perhaps Nibi really did have a kitten of her own here. But before she could answer Kyuubi, she wanted to talk to Yugito first.

When Nibi entered the mindscape she shared with Yugito, Nibi found the blonde asleep. Now normally this wouldn't be so strange, however it was the way that Yugito was sleeping that caught her attention. Yugito was curled up in a ball, very much in the same way a cat would sleep. So maybe there was no need to talk about this with Yugito. Kyuubi may have found himself a mate, but Nibi would never find one for herself. Only nine crossed into the human realm, and currently there was no way to get to the demon realm. Nor would they know if their home realm hasn't already been destroyed by a civil war.

So returning to reality, Nibi told Kyuubi that she wanted Yugito in her own demon body. Kyuubi nodded and began the long task of drawing the kanji in his own blood. Gaara and Sakura looked after Naru and Yumi while Hinata went out searching for the other demons, or their containers. Why was Hinata going to find the other demons? Well, that's simple really. It's because Kyuubi decided to gather everyone and discuss what has happened to everyone. Only then will Kyuubi reveal his reasons as will Hinata.

A day later, Kyuubi had finished writing all of the kanji that was needed for the ritual. Yugito was placed in the middle, being the focal point of energy. A barrier was placed to prevent anything for escaping or getting in until the ritual was complete. It would take a total of three days before it was over, very much like what Akatsuki does only this won't kill the container. Once the seals were activated the area within the barrier lit up in black flames. The barrier groaned in protest of the high level flames, but it held up. Now all that was left was to wait for three days and then there will be two new cat demons in this world.

During which time Hinata came back with a few of the demons. The first one was the five tailed wolf, Hakugin (sliver/snow), who was sealed within a five year old girl. Next to come was the seven tailed panther, Tokoyami (everlasting darkness). Followed shortly by the six tailed dragon, Shunrai (spring thunder). Next to come was the three tailed turtle, Kaihei (sailor/marine) and then came the four tailed bird, Yotaka (nighthawk). Yotaka was sealed within an elderly man. The only one Hinata could not locate was the eight tailed snake; however Kyuubi said that she'd show up eventually.

The panther, the turtle, and the dragon had no containers so they all just waited around for things to start. Hakugin decided to do the same thing as what Nibi did, saying that he considered his container like his own cub and wished to make that true. Around the time when Hakugin started the same ritual, Nibi's was completed. Yugito's fur was the color of the sun, and it looked like it was on fire. Yugito retained some of her memories; however she didn't remember who her human family was. The old man that contained the four tailed bird, chose to give the phoenix within him a second chance. The old man said that he was too old and that the phoenix deserved the chance to live with her own kind. So Yotaka took control of the old man's body much in the same way Kyuubi first did with Naruto.

Two days later and the fire that was around the wolf demon dissipated revealing two wolves. One fully grown with five tails and one small cub with only one tail. Hakugin had sliver colored fur while the cub, Shirayuki (white snow), had fur the color of pure snow. It was around this time that the snake, Karasuhebi (black snake), showed up, however it wasn't who everybody thought it would. For you see that the eight tailed snake was sealed years before Kyuubi was. Her first container was none other then Orochimaru. It was the snake that whispered promises of power and immorality into Orochimaru's mind. She showed him how to transfer his spirit from body, to body. However Orochimaru's newest body managed to suppress his spirit, there by remaining in control. Sakura and Gaara were livid, because the one person that was standing in front of them was the reason why they became tanuki. The newest container for Karasuhebi was none other then the last surviving Uchiha, Sasuke.

Sasuke stated that ever since he over came Orochimaru's spirit, there had been a voice in the back of his mind. However this voice was darker and yet more gentle then Orochimaru ever was. He said that in some twisted way that the voice had shown compassion to him, the kind of compassion that Sasuke had not seen since his mother. He also said that he himself had come to care for this voice, though way he could not understand.

So with that thought in mind Kyuubi went about creating a new set of seals. These were more complex then the others he used. These one not only had to make sure that the two were separated, but it also had to make sure that Sasuke would become the same level of snake demon as Karasuhebi was. So within six days; with two to write all of the kanji and four for the actual ritual, Karasuhebi and Sasuke were two separate demons. Karasuhebi with her standard eight tails while Sasuke had seven tails.

With all nine demon lords gathered, they could begin the meeting. However only the demon lords were allowed to attend this meeting. This caused Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke to look after the young ones outside of the cave. Shirayuki, Yugito, Naru and Yumi all got along with each other in less then five minutes. Though Hinata and Sakura still didn't trust Sasuke, so they paid more attention to him then the kits. Sasuke however, really didn't care and took this time to get used to his new body. So Sasuke decided to curl his large body up to take a nap.

Back in the cave all of the demons were in their human forms. Gaara looking like he did when he was human, the only addition was the tanuki ears and the tail that swayed behind him. His yellow eyes and diamond shaped pupils remained. Nibi looked like an older version Yugito, only Nibi had black hair in a single ponytail. She also had cat ears on top of her head and two tails swaying behind her. Kaihei looked like any other sailor, only he had three tails behind him. Yotaka wore a simple white kimono with four feather-like tails behind her. Hakugin's fur turned into his clothes making him look like a woodsmen, he also had two wolf ears and five tails.

Shunrai was wearing something a feudal lord would wear. The only thing that identified him as a demon were the two wings coming out of his back and the six tails. Tokoyami was wearing a simple all black kimono, with her panther ears and tails visible. Karasuhebi also wore a kimono, only the color was green with a scale type design. Her long black hair reached down to her hips where her eight tails could be seen from there. Kyuubi may have been wearing something a lot more formal then the others, however he still looked more noble then the rest. He wore a red turtle neck, with black pants; over this he wore a red long coat with black flames on the bottom. Yet despite the long coat his nine tails could be seen swaying majestically, along with his fox ears poking out of his red hair. A sliver cane with a fox head on top was held in his clawed hand.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I gathered you here," Kyuubi paused seeing all of the demons nod their heads. "Well then, let the Council of Nine begin."

Now this is the only one I'm doing a two parter with so stay tuned to see what happens. Now review peoples... you know you want to.