My editor was quicker than usually so here another chapter. Enjoy the read!

Chapter Four

"Father," said Fu, "can I join the ninja academy?" Pausing from his read, Silver looked up from his book. Sitting in one of the two chairs of the room, Fu stared out the window. The apartment they were currently in was a small, four room dwelling. Due to certain circumstances he had been in the village for a little more than a month now. The inn prices were becoming ludicrous just because he wouldn't send Naruto away, so the merchant had moved to an apartment that had a nice view of the village.

There was nothing special about the apartment. It was sparely furnished with white walls and wooden flooring. A bit dull in the merchant's opinion, but it will work for the time being. Putting down his orange book, the merchant said, "So you want to become a ninja? Not that I'm surprised." Standing up, he walked over to the window and peered out it.

"So who finally convinced you to join?"

"Nobody convinced me," said Fu. "Naruto and Hinata are joining and I'm not being left behind by those two." Silver chuckled slightly. Since his fight with Hiashi the clan leader had decided to let the bluette stay with her friends. The three had certainly become attached to each other. As they spoke the Hygua's leader was coming over so his daughter could play with Fu.

Sighing, Silver rubbed a hand against his temple. "You do know that will make our lives a little harder. Keeping that little secret in check might become impossible."

Fu nodded in acknowledgement. "I had been thinking of showing my true form to my friends," said the vertette. "And if I become a shinobi of this village…"

"You do understand what a shinobi must do?" Silver said in a weary voice.

"They are soldiers for the village," said Fu without hesitation. Spotting an ant crawling by, Fu lowered her hand to let the insect on it. As it crawled over her palm, she said, "There will be times when we be forced to kill. Times when we do things that we won't be proud of."

"Do you even understand the meaning of the words you are saying?" asked Silver. Fu shook her head. Sighing, the merchant crossed his arms while closing his eyes. "To every man and woman the Creator enables the power the find our own path. Then again,"- a sad smile appeared- "you're still just a child."

"Do you think the children at school will accept me?"

The merchant shrugged. He was no mind reader, but he had eyes. The more Fu hung out with Naurto the less the other children were willing to approach her. Their parents were to blame, he was sure of it. Yet there was little he could actually do short of getting rid of the parents. A smile crossed his face as he remember the few time he had done that. Fu and Naruto got to play with the other children and the parents were steamed at him afterward. In hindsight, his actions probably weren't helping with business.

A quick knock came from the door. "Hoshi," Silver shouted. The black fox walked out from a room. "Good," he said as stood up and walked toward the door. Upon opening it he found Hiashi and Hinata Hygua standing outside. Hishia's arm was in a sling and a good deal of what would normally be exposed skin was wrapped in bandages. The paper bomb explosion had shattered the Hyuga's arm and left second degree burns. Though badly injured, Silver had heard he'd be okay within a couple more months.

"Good afternoon Mr. Hiashi," said Silver as he stepped to the side, "Princess Hinata." As the Hyuga entered the bluette stared at Silver. "Sorry Hinata," he said with an innocent smile. After setting down the ant, Fu darted to Hinata and grabbed her by the arm. "Hey Hinata," said Fu, "Want to see a cool bug I caught?" Before the bluette could answer she was dragged off to another room.

"Take a seat Hiashi," said Silver as he gestured to a chair. With a nod the clan leader took a seat. "Is there anything I can get you," said Silver as he darted over to the kitchen. "Water, tea, chocolate, cake, chocolate cake?" Silver asked.

"Do you even have cake in here?" asked Hiashi with a suspicious look.

"No," said Silver, "but I could always buy some."

"There's no need," said the Hygua, "I ate before coming here." The merchant deflated a little. "Have you heard of our children's latest adventure?" Silver's chuckled was all the answer he needed. Sighing, he said, "You need to teach that girl some discipline."

"All they did was replace a monument with a teddy bear with funny writing on it," said Silver. "And they returned the monument soon after."

"Speaking of the children," said Hiashi, "where is Nartuo?"

"Off training with Anko," said Silver as he took the seat opposite of the Hyuga. "Now that the boy is her legal son she can teach him any jutsu she wants."

"I pity the boy."

"Why?" asked Silver.

"Anko can be… crude at times."

Sprinting through a forest, Naruto ducked behind a tree as a barrage of hopefully dull kunai sunk into the trunk. Since they stuck to the wood the blond assumed that Anko forgot to pack the practice kunai. Again. Thanks to his sharp ears he heard something approaching from his right. Ducking for cover, more kunai flow overhead.

Anko stared down at Naruto from a top of a giant purple snake. With a sadistic grin on her face, she said, "Keep moving maggot. A slow shinobi is a dead shinobi." She threw five more kunai and they struck the earth where Naruto had once stood. Without thinking about it the blond ran away on all fours. In the back of his mind he kept reminding himself why he was doing this. Something nipping his ear got him refocused on the situation at hand.

Huffing, Silver said, "No argument there." Crossing his legs, Silver pressed his hands together. "Anyhow, I've got a question for you. Fu is a year younger than Naruto, but is it possible for her to enter the academy?"

Hiashi shifted slightly to get conformable. His wounds annoyed him. "As long as she can get permission from the Hokage she'll be allowed in," said the Hyuga. "Are you planning on settling down?"

"Please," said Silver with a wave of his hand, "I'm a nomad by heart with no country to call home. If Fu wasn't with me I would have ditched this village long ago."

"Are you certain that's the only reason?" asked Hiashi.

Shrugging, Silver said, "There might be one or two others. So when does the academy start?"

"Within two weeks," said Hiashi. "It's a bit unusual for someone to apply so late, but it wouldn't be the first time."

"Good," said Silver as he looked to Fu's room, a bit of sorrow seeping through that smile. "Then my daughter got her wish."

Banging his fist against the wooden door, Naruto proclaimed, "Come on Fu! It's the first day of the academy. I don't want to be late." Suddenly the door swung open and smashed into the boy. Bento box in hand, Fu marched out the door.

"See ya later Father," Fu shouted over her shoulder. "Good luck with the shop." As she closed the door behind her the vertette noticed the fox boy plastered against the wall, a dazed expression on his face. Grabbing him by the arm, she peeled him off the wall. "Whiskers," she said, "stop goofing off." Naruto spoke gibberish as he was forced into a run.

Finding the academy was easy enough. It was a large building located beside the Hokage building. Over its main entrance was a sign with the kanji for fire. Gathered around the building were parents saying farewell to their children. Upon spotting the fox boy their gazes harden into disgust. Naruto and Fu ignored them for the most part.

After talking to a shinobi about home room, the two charged down the building's halls. "Think Hinata will be in the same class as us?" asked Fu.

"I hope so," said Naruto.

Finding their home room number, they barged into the room. A majority of the block desks were already occupied by their fellow students. Around one desk a group of girls were fighting to sit beside a boy with black hair, which Naruto dubbed chicken butt hair to Fu's amusement, and eyes. At the moment a tall lanky blonde and girl with pink hair tied back with a red bow was closest to the seat.

"This spot is mine Ino-pig," proclaimed the pink haired girl.

"As if Sasuke wants to sit by a Billboard brow," said the blonde girl dubbed Ino.

Sitting in the chair, Sasuke glanced between the two girls before shrugging his shoulders. He turned his focus upon the large chalk board, tuning out the bickering. Hinata tucked herself away in the back of the room, her gaze upon her desk as fingers tapped against it. "Hey Hinata!" The bluette whipped her head up. Upon seeing who it was she smiled timidly.

"Are these seat taken," said Fu as she plopped into a chair to the right of the heiress.

"No," said Hinata quietly.

"Then I'll be taking this one," said Naruto as he sat down to Hinata's left. A faint blush appeared on the bluette's cheeks.

"So Hinata," said Naruto, "what's with all the girls down there?"

The heiress shrugged. "Looks like a banshee and her sister are fighting over some boy," said Fu in a bored tone. She made no effort to keep her voice down.

"What was that?" shouted Ino and Sakura together. Naruto's ears flattened against his head to muffle their sheer volume.

"I said there's a couple of banshees that need to learn how to be quiet."

Thankful for a brief stop in the argument Sasuke ducked under his desk and crawled away. Once away from the girls he scanned the area for an empty seat beside an occupied one. Finding it, he dashed over to a boy wearing a hoodie and two red, triangle tattoos under his eyes. On top of his brown, unruly hair was a white puppy. "Mind if I sit here?" asked Sasuke.

"Sure," said the boy with a wild grin. "All the girls happen to be following you anyhow." Rolling his eyes, the black haired boy took the inside desk. By the time the girls noticed the move it was too late.

Sasuke's most devoted fans, however, descended on the dog boy like hawks. "How dare you sit beside Sasuke," Ino and Sakura exclaimed in unison. The dog boy winced at the volume of their voices. Based on their cracking of knuckles things were about to get violent. Nearby a boy sleeping on his desk muttered something about troublesome women.

Before things could escalate to violence a man dressed in a standard leaf village uniform walked into the room. His brown hair was pulled back into a spiky ponytail while a scar crossed his face. "Excuse me," said the man, gaining everyone attention. "Is there a reason you two girls are harassing that boy?"

The girls opened their mouths before shutting them. "No sensei," they said as they drew back.

"Then I recommending taking your seats." With a nod of their heads the fan girls did as asked. Putting on a smile, the man turned to the class. "Good morning class. I'm Iruka Umino and I'll be serving as your teacher during your stay at the academy. I like…" The teacher described himself to the crowd before launching into a monolog. What Naruto caught of it, they were to be taught in the art of the ninja and that was pretty much it. Half –way through the lecture he was out cold, drooling on the desk.

Fu wasn't doing much better. She was staring out a nearby window, thinking about faraway lands. Out of the trio Hinata appeared generally interested in the words. "Excuse me, you in the back?"

Startled from her thoughts, Fu whipped her head around. "Me?" asked the vertette.

"No, the blond with dog ears."

"Naruto and they are fox ears," Fu corrected.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted, his head suddenly tripling in size.

Sitting up, the blond said, "Yeah?"

"What will we be learning about genjutsu?" Iruka received a blank stare. Several children in the class snickered, commenting how dumb the fox boy was. Their teacher quickly silenced them with an even glare. As he did so Hinata leaned over and whispered into Naruto's ear. The ear perked up as Naruto grinned.

"We'll learn how to identify genjutsu and how to break out of it."

"That's correct," said Iruka, "though I wish your friend will refrain from helping next time." Naruto's grin turned sheepish while Hinata looked anywhere but at their teacher. Though he frowned at the trio, Iruka grinned on the inside. The next couple of hours were spent with the teacher getting to know his students a little better. At noon the class was dismissed for recess.

Gathering around a tree with a rope swing, Naruto and his friend sat down for lunch. The blond stared down into his bento box. Piled on top of each other was black rice and overly crispy chicken with vegetables so mushy that babies could eat them. "What in the world is that?" asked Fu as she and Hinata stared down at the meal.

Naruto rubbed the back his head sheepishly. "Anko means well," said the blond, "but I think she learned how to cook from the devil."

"Really," said Fu as she opened her bento box, "Father always makes it look so easy." Presenting her own bento box, she took off a lid. Its contents were certainly different from Naruto's. Smoked ham tucked into a corner while mashed potatoes sat upon a flower of steamed carrots and broccoli. Drool escaped the boy's mouth. He looked to his own meal and his head dropped slightly.

Looking back to Fu, he saw her already eating away at the meal. It was rather amusing to watch her eat the mashed potatoes. Stabbing them with chopsticks was ineffective and pinching proved difficult. In the end she just scooped them into her mouth "Hey Fu," said Naruto, "mind if I try some of your meal?"

He received a reluctant expression that he countered with puppy eyes with his ears drooped. Sighing, Fu plucked up a piece of ham and extended it to the blonde. "Try it," said the vertette. Naruto stared at the meat. Wrinkling her brow, she said, "What are you waiting for?" With a shrug the blond bit the meat off the sticks.

Face lighting up, the blond proclaimed, "That tastes great."

"Father and I spend a lot of time on the road," said Fu. "We either cook our own meals or we handle hunger pains." With little thought Fu picked up a carrot and offered it for sacrifice. It was gleeful accepted. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Fu looked to Hinata. "What's with the evil eyes?" she asked.

Her cheeks darkened as Hinata stuttered, "N-nothing?"

Rolling her eyes, Fu said, "Hey Whiskers, what does Hinata have to eat."

"I don't know," said Naruto with the carrot still in his mouth. "What do you have?" Wordlessly Hinata presented her meal. Round rice balls formed a circle around a bunch of black berries. Seaweed extended outward from the rice balls to make the appearance of a flower. "W-want some?" asked Hinata.

"Sure," exclaimed Naruto as he snatched up a rice ball. With a smile he munched away on it. "Hmm, there's salmon inside it." Head facing away from the blonde, Hinata hid her burning face with her arms. Hinata and Fu agreed to each give up a quarter of their lunches to Naruto, enough to keep the blond satisfied for now.

From the corner of her eye Fu spotted a group of black ants marching by them. Her chopsticks grabbed a sliver of meat. Gingerly, she lowered it down to the bugs. It took them only a few moments to grab hold of it. Getting to her feet, Fu said, "I'm going to follow these gals to their nest."

Naruto and Hinata looked to see what she talking about. "How can you tell they are girls?" asked Naruto.

"Because I asked them once," said Fu. Once she realize what she had said, she hastily added, "I have the ability to talk with bugs. I don't know why, but I think one of my parents must be able to."

"So you can talk to bugs," said Naruto with an intrigued look. "What do they have to say?"

"For creatures that usually live only for a few months, a lot. As to the earlier question the ants I talked to told me that all males were dead beats in their species." With that said she returned her attention to following the ants. Off into the trees she followed them. Looking up, she spotted a boy crouching beside an ant hill. The high, cone-shaped collar of a sea-green jacket covered the lower half of his face. Black sunglass shielded his eyes. Black pants covered the tops of his sandals. The only description Fu could make of the boy was that his skin was fair and he had spiky brown hair.

Walking over to the boy, she knelt down and looked at the hill. Several minutes of silence passed between the two as they observed the ant hill. "So what are you doing?" Fu asked suddenly. She received no reply. Frowning slightly, Fu poked the boy in the arm. "Hello, anyone home?"

"What do you want?" asked the boy.

"I wondering why you are here."

"I'm observing the ant's behavior. Why? Because they interest me."

"Me too," said Fu. "Isn't it cool how they just swarm the nest if something hits it?"

"It is," said the boy as he looked at Fu. His face was unreadable due to his jacket and glasses. "Though please refrained from doing so. Attacking bugs without reason is wrong."

"I know," said Fu. "I hate it when people attack cockroaches. All they're doing is minding their own business when we humans smash them."

"You aren't creeped out by me?" asked Shino.

"The way you talk is strange," said Fu with shrug, "but other than that you seem like an okay guy."

After a moment of thoughtful silence, the boy said, "I'm Shino Aburame."

"Fu Dollar," said Fu, thrusting a thumb at herself. Spotting something near the edge of Shino's collar, Fu leaned in close. "Is that a kikaichū beetle?" As the beetle crawled up Shino's cheek she reached out to touch it.

"I wouldn't do that," said Shino. "It will attack you." Frowning, Fu withdraw her hand. "Isn't it about time to return to class?"

"Oh right," said Fu with a panicked look. Dashing off, she waved farewell. "Nice meeting you Shino. See ya around."

Several weeks had passed since the beginning of the academy. To Fu's annoyance and Naruto's disappointment many of the other kids refused to interact with them. They dismissed Fu as the "Bug girl" who hung out with the fox boy. The exceptions were Shino and two boys named Shikamaru and Choji. The former was too lazy to care about avoiding them while the latter was a nice guy.

At the moment the trio of Naruto, Fu, and Hinata were standing outside with their classmates. Hands on his hips, Iruka said, "Alright class, today we'll be testing your throwing abilities. Who would like to go first?"

Not surprisingly, Naruto and the boy with the puppy started jumping up and down while shouting, "Me Sensei, pick me." Fu rolled her eyes, but smiled at the blonde's enthusiasm.

The teacher scanned over the hopping classmates to lay his eyes upon a person in the back. "Sasuke Uchiha, would you please go first?" With an indifferent shrug the black haired boy dressed in a high collared black shirt and tan jeans stepped forward. Sewn to his back was a crest that looked like an upside down fishing lure. Naruto huffed in annoyance while Uchiha's fan club cheered him on. The loudest were Ino and Sakura. Under her breath Fu muttered something about banshee sisters.

Walking over to his teacher, Sasuke took five kunai and five shuriken from Iruka. He tucked these tools between his fingers. A couple dozen feet from the group stood a lonely pole with many cut wounds in it. Positioning himself in front of it, Sasuke bent his legs while crossing his arms. In one swift motion he tossed his weapons. Ten resounding thuds reached his ears. The pole now sported a straight line of piercings.

Cheers broke out among Sasuke's fans. "Ten out of ten," said Iruka with a firm nod, "I expected nothing less of an Uchiha."

Pure irk came over the fox boy's face. But before he could step forward, Fu said in a bored tone, "So he can threw a couple of knifes. Big deal." That earned an odd look from the Uchiha.

"Like the bug girl can do any better?" inquired Sakura.

"Certainly," said Fu as she stepped forward. After receiving the tossed weapons, Fu took Sasuke's former position. In one smooth motion she tossed the knives. Eight of the ten weapons buried into the wood while two narrowly missed. While they weren't in a line, the eight weapons clustered together in two tight groups.

"Not bad," said Iruka with a smile.

With a firm nod of her head, Fu said, "Father doesn't let his little girl be defenseless."

"Now it's my turn!" exclaimed Naruto as he darted for the pole. Weapons in hand he took up position. He hastily tossed the weapons and watched the pole expectantly. Thuds could be heard, but only a couple of them landed on the pole. Iruka looked to this crouch to see a kunai sticking out of the tree behind him, mere inches away from neutering him.

Hinata and Fu's sweat dropped while the class broke into roaring laughter, excluding Shino and Sasuke. "Whiskers," said Fu, "wasn't Anko working with you on your throwing skills?"

Weakly pointing at the pole, the blond said, "At least I got a couple in it."

"Please Naruto," said Sakura with a small smirk, "you can never compare to Sasuke. It's just mere fact that you're a loser and he's not." A dark cloud hung over the poor blond as he stared at the earth.

"This coming from a girl that can't take a hint," said Fu with a roll of her eyes.

"Nobody asked your opinion!" proclaimed the pink haired girl as she shook a fist at the vertette.

"Girls," said Iruka in a stern voice, "clam down." Timidly, Hinata came up to Naruto and offered a hand. Without a word he accepted it and allowed himself to be lead away. "Hinata," said the teacher in a gentle voice.

"Y-yes Sensei," said Hinata as she dropped Naruto off beside Fu.

"Could you go next?" With a quick nod of the head Hinata hunted down the weapons. She had to use her byakugan to find them all. Once in position she trembled on the spot. So many eyes were watching her. Judging, waiting to see her fail.

"Hinata!" exclaimed the blond. Looking that way, she saw Naruto grinning while giving her a thumbs up. "Show them whose boss around here." Smiling, Fu nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath, Hinata stopped trembling. She turned her focus on the poles, took one more breath, and threw. Ten thuds ringed out almost instantly.

"Ten out of ten," said Iruka with a smile. "Far better than the last time."

With a quick bow Hinata said, "Thank you Sensei." At a trot she retreated back to her friends. Examining the trio, Iruka couldn't help but smile. The three had earned the title of misfits due to their pranks and misbehavior. Yet when he saw Naruto proudly praising a red faced Hinata as Fu shook her head in disbelief he felt that the three complemented each other nicely.

A small dinner party was taking place in Silver's apartment. Sitting at the square table in the dining area were Fu, Anko, and Naruto. The blond was praising his friends for their throwing skills earlier in the day. Rolling her eyes, Anko said, "Naruto, if you can only land two kunai after all our training you're not trying hard enough."

"But I am," whined Naruto. "It's just harder than it looks."

"Practice makes perfect in my book," Silver shouted from the stove. Wearing a chef's hat, cloth gloves, and apron over his normal outfit, the merchant waited for the oven timer to ding. When it did he opened it up to pull out a small chicken upon a platter. He placed it on the table with baked beans, green beans, and applesauce as sides.

As he took off his gloves, Silver said, "Though it is good to hear you actually hit the target. Last I heard you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn."

"I wasn't that bad," said Naruto with a pout.

"Whiskers," said Fu with a roll of her eyes, "you nearly neutered the teacher."

Anko and Silver broke out into laughter. Naruto glared at Fu who easily shrugged it off. Standing up in her chair, Anko said, "Before we begin I need to take a leak."

"You know where the bathroom is," said Silver as he tossed a folded apron, gloves, and hat onto the counter.

There was only one bathroom in the entire apartment and for some reason it happened to be attached to Silver's room. Not that there was much to see. Having only been in town for a short while, the merchant had little within the room. There was a bed, a dresser, and a full body mirror. Over the dresser Silver kept a collection of pistols in a display box. On the dresser were several pictures of people which Anko assumed was family and friends, although she found it strange that in two pictures of woman there was a background that she couldn't make out.

As she neared the bathroom she stopped. Placing her ear against the door, she listened to water running. We should be the only people in this apartment, thought Anko. From out of nowhere she pulled out a kunai. She gently jimmied the handle to find it unlocked. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped into the room.

Like the bedroom the bathroom was clean. It took only a couple of steps to get from the sink to the toilet to the shower. Behind the shower curtain Anko could make out the outline of a woman. The person was short and had something triangular extending from her head.

Suddenly, the world became a little redder. Why was there a woman taking a shower in Silver's house? As far as Anko knew he wasn't in a relationship. Without hesitation she grabbed the curtain and yanked it aside. She stepped forward only to pause.

Slit eyes- one a dark blue and the other a bright red- stared at Anko. Two black ears tipped white rested against a head covered in black hair spotted with white blobs. Behind her three black tails stuck into the air. Two sets of three thick whisker marks scared her cheeks. As the water cascaded down on the fox woman the two stared at each other.

"Aww!" exclaimed the fox woman as she covered her decent sided bosom. To Anko's shock she formed a hand sign with one hand and exclaimed, "Dark crawler spell!" Bursting through the floorboards, two large millipedes wrapped themselves around Anko. As they bound her the fox woman sprang forward and pushed past the snake mistress. Anko nearly fell over.

Wait a moment, thought Anko. Closing her eyes, the snake mistress focused on her charka. At once she released it and the millipedes disappeared. "That was only an illusion," said Anko. She shook the thought away as she turned to chase the fox woman.

They got out into the hallway when the fox woman shouted, "Hephaestus's chains!" A mesh of thick iron chains appeared from the wall. Anko ran into them and bounced back. Instantly, she tried to dispel the genjutsu, but the chains held their place. Beyond the chains the fox woman stared the snake mistress down. There were no chains, but she wasn't going to say that.

"Hoshi," said Silver. Glancing over her shoulder, Hoshi saw an apron coming her way. She spun around and caught it. Looking to the chicken with a bored expression, the merchant said, "Put on some clothing. You're in the presence of children." That was when Hoshi noticed Naruto and Fu, both giving her interested but baffled looks.

A light blush covered her face as Hoshi donned the apron. It covered most of her body, though it still left little to the imagination. "Hoshi," said Anko, venom dripping from her tongue. "What is she?"

"She is a kistune," said Silver with a roll of his eyes. "And you've met her before, though not in this form." It took a few moments but the words got to Anko. She stopped struggling with the chains to look to where she thought the merchant was. "Hoshi, release the illusion."

With a nod the kistune did as told. As soon as the chains faded away Anko glared at the kistune. "Hoshi, would you please join us for dinner?" Without a word both women took a seat. Anko had thought it was strange that there were five seats around the table. Hoshi sat beside Fu while Anko took her place beside Naruto. From the end of the table Silver examined them all.

"Might as well grab something to eat," said the merchant. "The explanation might take a while."

As everyone grabbed some food, Anko said, "You're Hoshi. As in that little fox that follows the merchant everywhere."

"Yep," said Hoshi with a nod, "I'm his guardian."

"His what?"

"Guardian," said Fu as she picked up a piece of chicken. "A person who protects someone or something."

"I know that Fu," said Anko with a shake of her head. "Just start with why or how you even exist. You guys are supposed to be a bunch of myths."

Pointing to Naruto, Hoshi said, "I would think him to be proof enough of my people." A slight frown came to Anko's face, but she nodded. "As to why it's a personal matter. What I can say is that Silver once helped my clan out of a sticky situation. We're in his debt and to repay it I have become his protector."

Looking to the window, Hoshi said, "As we speak there are Anbu watching us from outside. Though at the moment all they see is us minus me eating together." With her chopsticks the kistune placed a piece of chicken into her mouth.

"Silver," said Anko, "why haven't you told anyone about her?"

"Because you people have a tendency to do creatures like Hoshi harm," said Silver. "Not too long ago you were chasing her."

"I didn't know who she was," said Anko with a pout.

"Any way," interrupted Hoshi, "Silver has the right to keep quiet about me. I wish no harm upon you and the worst I've done so far is break into a few places."

"Library and Hyuga's compound," said Anko.

A sly grin tugged at the kistune's lips. "Even if one can see through illusion they have to know it is happening and who is doing it to counteract it."

Nodding in agreement, Anko tasted her meal. She hated to admit it, but she hated her own cooking. It didn't help that Fu had asked her to stop sending lunch with Naruto since she and Hinata were feeding him. "Hey Hoshi," said Naruto. The kistune gave the blonde an inquisitive gaze. "You're a kistune. Does that mean I'm one too?"

"No," said Hoshi with small smile, "you're not. At least, you're not a full blooded kistune." Receiving a questioning look, she said, "Based on your smell I know you're at least half kistune and half human. Where I'm from you would be called a hybrid." In a colder voice, she said, "I do believe that you're called a hanyō in these parts. Though I never understood why humans like to call my kind demons. With all the evils they have done…"

Hoshi was silenced by a wave of a hand from Silver. As he returned his focus to his meal, the merchant said, "Let's leave that for another time."

"So you're a kistune assigned to protect Silver?" asked Anko.

"As well Fu and Naruto," said Hoshi with a nod. "By Silver's orders of course."

Looking to Naruto, Hoshi said, "Naruto, I don't know who your parents were, but I got a feeling that they were loving people." That caught the blonde off guard. Smiling, the kistune added, "I doubt they abandoned you by choice."

Downcast, Naruto said, "The Hokage told me that my parents were killed during the Kyuubi's attack." In the back of his mind a faint sigh could be heard.

"Kyuubi?" asked Fu. "What's that?"

"A tailed beast also known as the nine tail fox," said Anko as she crossed her arms, "it attacked the village seven years ago. If the Fourth Hokage hadn't killed it the village may not be around. A lot of people lost their lives that day and few people like to talk about it openly."

"So people hate Naruto for looking like a fox?" said Fu with scowl. Anko was a little surprised by the statement, but managed not to show it.

"You can say that," said Anko.

"That's not fair," said Fu.

"Life isn't always fair," said Silver, "although I find it stupid to hate someone just for resembling something."

Sighing, Hoshi said, "This is exactly why my kind left these lands long ago. Damn humans are blind to anything below one's skin." Hastily, she added, "Not to say there aren't exceptions to the rule."

"Hey Hoshi," said Naruto with a bright smile, "do you think you can teach me how to turn into a fox?"

"Nope," said Hoshi, "only a full blood kistune can do that." She chuckled at how quickly the boy became depressed. "I might, however, teach you a few spells I know."

"Jutsu," Silver quickly said, "back home jutsu are known as spells."

At once the blonde hanyō brightened up. "Anko," said Nartuo, "can I stay over for the night?"

Shrugging, Anko looked to Silver. "Well?"

"He can stay in Fu's room," said the merchant. "Sleep on the floor if he wants."

With an excited shout Naruto leapt out of his seat. Anko quickly planted him back down. The rest of the meal was uneventful. As Anko stood to leave, Silver said, "Would you mind keeping Hoshi a secret? I wouldn't want villagers thinking that the Kyuubi had any spawns."

"Sure thing," said Anko, "and thanks for the meal. We should do this more often." As she left the merchant turned toward the table. Most of the occupants in the room were still sitting down. "Hoshi," Silver said in a voice that demand attention. "Go put on some real clothes. Naruto, I would like to speak with you for a moment."

Nodding his head, the hanyō said, "About what?"

"Have you ever wished to see what is beyond the village's wall?"

I liked how the chapter came out, but a bit dull in all honesty. Do me a favor and leave a lively review.