Kitsune Rising

Ch. 8: Realizing Your Strength

Naruto's breathing came in gasps. He was sweating profusely. His feet were spread apart in a fighting stance and his clawed hands held up defensively. There were five clones left. It had taken him longer than normal to beat the hundred clones he summoned to test his new found strength. His assumptions had been right. Being a hanyou made him a whole lot stronger than he had ever been before.

Naruto looked at each of the five clones, his tail swishing behind him tauntingly. He waited. He wouldn't make the first move. Not this time. He soon found that the one who made the first move usually had the disadvantage. And with his clones, advantage was a large factor in beating them.

Finally, one of the clones got tired of waiting and charged forward, claws extended. Naruto bared his teeth and got ready to defend himself. The clone was inches away when Naruto planted a foot in the ground and punched the clone in the face before dodging the second clone that had decided to attack. And with strength that even Tsunade would be impressed at, Naruto took a clone in each hand and rammed them into the ground. The two clones dispelled as a third clone came running with a Rasengan ready. Naruto rolled out of the way, growling. The Rasengan plowed into the ground where Naruto had just been standing. The original threw a kunai at the clone with outstanding accuracy. Naruto had thrown the kunai so hard that I didn't just pierce the clone, it went completely though it, dispelling it instantly. Naruto grinned. This hanyou thing might not be so bad after all. It was just the extra features he had acquired that really ruined the whole thought though. One more clone.

Naruto waited for the last clone to charge. Unfortunately, another throb of pain from his seal flashed through him. Naruto winced.

"Gah!" Naruto clutched his stomach. The clone took this chance and charged the original, knocking him to the ground. Naruto struggled with the clone till he was able to get his feet under it. Naruto kicked as hard as he could and launched the clone backwards into a tree and the clone dispelled.

Turning over on his belly, Naruto grimaced. That throb had been particularly nasty; almost worse than the first throb. He closed his eyes. The sun was brighter than normal in his slitted eyes, and he was surprised he could even stand it. He was going to have to get him some sunglasses or something. If Shino could pull it off, he could.

"Why does everything bad happen to me?" Naruto asked a beetle that had crawled up close. The beetle payed him no mind and went off on its merry little way. Well, he hadn't really expected an answer.

"Naruto-kun?!" Naruto looked up to see Sakura running toward him. He smiled and sat up. Sakura's concerned expression melted to a confused one then an angry one.

"Naruto-kun, are you ok?" Sakura asked while checking all the cuts and bruises Naruto had gained over the last couple hours. "Naren told me you went home and when I got there, you weren't there. So I thought I'd try here because I figured you would do something stupid and go train. You scared me half to death when I walk up and see you lying there unmoving! You could have seriously hurt yourself, Baka!"

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," answered Naruto sleepily. "I'm fine. I'm just tired now. The clones were harder to beat than normal and it didn't help that my seal was hurting. And don't bother with those cuts. They'll heal in a second."

"You shouldn't even have come, Naruto," grumbled Sakura. "You just got out of the hospital for one. And you also just got back from a tedious mission that could have killed you. When you didn't come back when you were supposed to, I….thought…"

"Oh is that why you're so worried?" Naruto grinned when Sakura nodded.

"I'm afraid to lose you, Naruto," muttered Sakura. "You have no idea how much it hurt when I thought I did. Naren refused to believe it. She said if you were dead she would know. You don't know how glad I was to see you sitting on Hana's exam table with nothing but a hurt leg and a malnourished fox kit."

"I'm sorry I made you worry Sakura-chan." Naruto hugged her tightly, careful to avoid scratching her with his claws. "And I promise to never worry you like that again."

Sakura smiled, nodded and hugged him back.

"What were you doing Naruto?" she finally asked, letting him go.

"I was seeing if I being a hanyou made me stronger, if only a little bit." He answered.

"And…?"

"I would say that I'm a whole lot stronger!" He grinned. "Maybe me and you should spar sometime Sakura-chan. I think I could keep up with you and your monstrous strength now."

Sakura frowned and slapped him on the back of the head. "Baka! Who are you calling monstrous?!"

"Certainly not you Sakura-chan!" Naruto held up his hands defensively. "Just your strength."

Sakura laughed. Naruto could be so silly sometimes. He was a Baka, yes. But, he was her Baka.

"Have you seen Kitsu at all lately Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "You went to my apartment. Was he there?"

"Yeah. Natsu's with him. Naren said she was going home soon, so I'm sure they'll be ok." Sakura replied.

Naruto grinned; glad his little fox was ok. He hadn't seen him since the incident with the villager. He thought back to what she said. You are that fox brat, aren't you? Naruto couldn't help but think that she couldn't be any more truthful. Naruto lowered his head. Now what would she say now that he looked the part, and not just her, but any of the villagers. He dreaded the torment he might get, but most of all, he was worried what his friends would say. He hoped that he wouldn't scare them off.

Naruto searched around the field, making sure he and Sakura were alone. When he was certain, he reached up and slid the bandana off his head and sighed, relishing the fact that, for just a little while, his ears were bound to his head.

Sakura watched and the pointed, fluffy ears twitched and turned to even the slightest sound. It took a large amount of her will power not to reach up and pet them, or even touch them. She knew she would eventually end up playing with them just because she wanted to, but right at this moment didn't seem like the right time to even ask to touch Naruto's ears.

Naruto continued to sweat. Sakura assumed it was from fighting, but then realized that a slight breeze was blowing and Naruto was very relaxed, having had time to cool down from his exertion.

"Naruto-kun? You're sweating still. Are you hot?" she asked, noticing he was still wearing the cloak and his thick black and orange jacket. Despite the wind, it must have been close to a hundred degrees outside. Naruto looked down at her.

"Am I?" he asked, reaching a hand to his face. His face felt wet and sticky. "Huh….I didn't even notice. I do feel a little hot." Naruto peeled off the white cloak, freeing his tail, which began to swish in quick jerky movements. Sakura fought hard to resist the urge to pet it as well.

Naruto then began unzipping his jacket and pulled it off. He was wearing a see-though fish net shirt (he had changed out of the bloody t-shirt at the hospital) and Sakura could feel herself blushing. Naruto's very tan torso was muscular, not an ounce of fat, which was odd considering how much ramen he ate. There wasn't a single blemish or scar except for the drastically changed seal that surrounded his navel. Naruto laid back using his elbows to hold him up and let the cool breeze cool him off. His eyes were closed and he didn't notice Sakura staring at him.

When Naruto finally cooled down enough that he was no longer sweating, he pulled his jacket back on, but rolled the sleeves up and left it unzipped. He pulled the white cloak back on only to hide his tail, not for comfort.

"Ready to go home Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto standing up. Sakura nodded, grinning, and took his hand. He pulled her up and she linked her arm in his. Sakura, being too busy thinking about how lucky she was, didn't even notice that she and Naruto had both forgotten one essential thing.

The sweat-drenched bandana lay forgotten in the grass.