A blond boy, barely five years old, was racing through the alleys as a mob chased him. He didn't understand their hatred for him and the reason for them always beating him on October 10. As an orphan, he just wanted some love, but only received scorn. Uzumaki Naruto was his name.

"There's the demon!" He darted out from his hideout, tracing one of his many escape routes that he found during his pranks. 'Damn!' A second mob had closed off the street, so he went down a tight alley, jumping over trash cans, only to face a part of the Great Wall. "It's cornered! Let's get it! For the Yondaime!"

'Think, think fast!' He sighted a crack on the plaster, one that stray animals used to slip into the woods, and dived into it, not caring if he got lost in the wilderness.

"Hm? The human settlement is going wild." A long muzzle sniffed the air. "It must be the annual event, one of the spies said that it involved a boy, who they couldn't help, lest it busted their cover." Shuffling bushes revealed a scrawny boy with the eyes of a terrified prey.

Naruto cowered in fear, there were three large wolf/dog thingies that reminded him of the older Inuzuka mutts, all covered in a weird mix of uniform, armor and mesh. They surrounded him, watching every twitch of his limbs for escape attempts. "Hey, he smells like us." The full black one approached the boy, curious. "Nah, it's more like foxes." The gray and white one snorted from his corner. "Well, we do have the fox clan, along with the jackals and dingoes." The brown one mimicked the black, bumping the child with a large wet nose.

The blackie got upright, starting to look more human from the neck down, not losing the fur. "We won't hurt you, maybe you're really like us. I'm Roppoi, and you?" The blond was still wary, but calmer. "N... Naruto." The other two also got on two paws, the brown one began pulling at his clothes, more like rags. "I'm Kyou, the grumpy there is Kigen." There was only a louder snort. "I think that I can fashion new clothes for you later. Favorite colors?" "Orange, blue and black." Kyou laughed and patted his head. "Throw some white in and you'd be a little fox!"

Naruto was being held by Roppoi as she licked off some of the grime on his face. "We can't take a human, will we turn him?" Kyou was fiddling with a sack that had been hidden away. "Turn?" Blue eyes stared up at golden ones. "We are Jūrui, if you drink our blood you will be like us, part of our family." Naruto teared up and grabbed the chest fluff. "I always wanted a family, I want to be like you!" Kigen was surprised, most humans hesitated. "You sure? Unlike a certain clan, we can't turn back into humans." Blue met slate gray. "I don't care, the people in the village called me a demon." Ouch, the brat's childhood must have sucked until this point. "Kyou, give the knife." Hazel eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? But it means that you have to coach him, and you hate that!" Kigen glared at Kyou. "The. Knife."

As the duo bickered, Naruto looked at Roppoi. "Why does he have to teach me if he gives blood?" She messed his hair briefly. "It's a matter of honor, he is accepting the rule to be your daddy." The boy teared up. "Then will you be my mommy?" She smiled and hugged him closer. "I promise." Kigen came closer with a cup of red liquid. "Here, drink it and get over with this mess." The metallic smell made the boy gag and almost drop the cup, that was caught by Kigen. "Hey! No wasting!" His chin was grabbed harshly. "Calm down, hun." He shivered at the icy look he received. "Okay..." "Whipped!" "Shut up!" Naruto downed the contents in one gulp and groaned in pain, only to get knocked out. "We have to move out, I can hear some kind of patrol incoming."

"A sewer?" Naruto was confused, did those strangers ditch him? "No, kit, I just decided to talk with you." The boy followed the red glow, intent in finding out what was going on. Soon, he met a set of bars and a large fox behind them. "Who are you?" "Kyūbi. I'm sealed within you. We're inside of a dream of yours." Naruto frowned. "And your name? Even the stray dogs at the village have names. I think that someone as strong as you has one, right?" A large brow was raised. "A strange line of logic, and correct as well. But I'm not trustful of a human to give it out." Naruto got angry at that. "I'M NOT HUMAN!" The fox was surprised. "I'm Jūrui now! Roppoi and Kigen adopted me!" "So that's the origin of the foreign blood trying to change your body." "Trying? So it means that you're blocking it, stop now!" "Why should I?" Red met blue. "They offered me a family, and I accepted, so please, stop blocking the changes." "Fine, but I tweaked it, along with some blood you inherited from your mother."

Roppoi was fretting over Naruto, he was taking far too long to change, as it usually took a few hours. "Are you sure he's fine Kyou? It has been almost a week!" Kigen was laying against a tree, secretly worried as well. 'Huh? Is that...' He pushed away the two females as a burst of red energy slammed on his very core. "Gh... So the brat had a lot of power..." He slowly went against the flow, towards the body on the ground. "Hey pup, if you don't stop this by the time I catch you, I'll throw you into the river." He dug his claws in the dirt, it got harder to move with the proximity. 'Just a bit more...' He grabbed the new shirt given to Naruto.

Kyou and Roppoi felt like the energy was familiar to them. "It's like facing a Spirit vessel..." It burned slightly, like being close to a volcano. "But there's no register of a human being a vessel." They faced each other. "There's a first time for everything, right?" Then, all of a sudden, the energy stopped. "Where did those two go?"

"COOLLLDDDD~!" Naruto sputtered with all the water he ended up swallowing as Kigen was crouched on a stone. "I warned ya brat, and it's good to see you finally awake." The boy was confused. "You were out for one week, and look at the water." Naruto was pleasantly surprised, now he had the traits of a fox, and his body was covered by rusty orange fur. "Welcome to the family." He took Kigen's paw, shaking off the water. "Wah!" He stumbled, as his legs were different. "First thing in the list, recover your mobility." Naruto got effortlessly lifted by the scruff by the older male. "Let's go, the girls must be getting worried."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had a great feeling of dread washing over him. Naruto had gone missing days ago and none of his teams were able to find nail or skin of his. "Lord Hokage." A man with a dog mask stood in front of the elder. "Report." The old leader hoped for a shred of light on the boy's location. "My dogs followed the scent trail to a spot in the woods, where the boy apparently met a trio of foreigners." Hiruzen gulped dryly. "Please, don't tell me they were Iwa..." Inu shook his head. "No, the scent was pure wolf, no rocks or dirt." The Hokage was confused. "Wolf?" Inu held his chin. "It seems that the ones living in the Forbidden Continent are exploring our lands. And I'm sorry to tell you this, but there was the scent of blood and no more scent from the boy." Now Hiruzen wept openly. 'Forgive me... Minato... Kushina...'