Caught in the Middle

Chapter 4

The Kitsune's Gift

Disclaimer: meep.

Chapter 4, oh yeah! Action time people, this is the pick up point of the story! Let's jump straight into some good ol' fashion beat downs FBPS/Demon style! Let's see Bruce Willis do half the shit Naruto pulls off in this chapter!

Let's get it on!


It was late in the Sunday evening; Naruto and Karen were both bored out of their minds. They sat on the couch in Naruto's living room watching some random anime on TV, something about ninjas. The fight scenes were pretty cool, but Naruto thought the main character was annoying as hell; he hated that freakin' catch phrase of his.

Anyway, he got bored of it and hopped up onto his feet, walking idly around the room. He stood next to the mantle over the fireplace and stared at all the knickknacks. There were snow-globes and miniature statues that had accumulated over the years. His grandfather said a few of them were actually from his parents.

That got him thinking about his parents. He knew little to nothing about them at all. He'd never seen their faces or heard their names at all, and when his asked his grandfather about them, he quickly changed the subject. What was it that he didn't want him to know about them?

"Hey Karen," he asked suddenly, "I was just wondering, what were your parents like?"

Her parents were a touchy subject for her. "Why do you want to know?"

"I was thinking about how I never knew my parents, and I guess I just wanted to hear about yours. Maybe hear about what I missed out on." he said softly.

Karen's eyes softened, she could suck it up for him.

"Well, my mother was…a bit of a rash person, always making discussions on the fly. She was a bit short tempered and she took offense easily, but she was also quick to forgive. She was funny and had a great sense of humor. My dad on the other hand, was a bit more organized. He was a calm guy and he preferred his solitude, but he was really smart and was always giving me advice. They were great."

Naruto lowered his head and sighed. Karen rose from the couch, stood next to him and slipped her left hand into his right and squeezed, causing him to blush a little, but continued to gaze at the ground.

"I kinda wish I could talk to them, just once. Just to show them what I'm like, that I turned out okay and stuff, ya know?"

"I think I do."

She watched him stare downward and she felt sorry for him. They were alike, neither of them had parents, but at least she'd known them, had memories of them to comfort her. Naruto had nothing, nothing at all to remember them by.

"You know, it might not be too late. I can't bring them back, no magic can, but I know a way for you to speak to them without any need for magic at all."

He looked at her with an incredulous expression.

"Really, how do I do that?"

"Grab you car keys and I'll show you."

He nodded quickly and ran into the kitchen. In an instant he was back and was running for the door, but was stopped as Karen grabbed his collar.

"Hold up there, I'm driving."

"You can drive?"

She put her hands on her hips and scowled. "Of course I can drive! I'm a hundred sixty-five years old; I learned how to drive years ago!"

He put up his hands defensively and gave her the keys. "Okay, okay, here you go!"

"Thank you," he said sweetly.

The two walked out the door and got into his car. Naruto took the passenger seat and Karen sat in the driver seat. They pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road.

"So, do you even know where you're going?" he asked.

"Of course, I was in this city for a few days before you found me, and I got pretty well acquainted with it. Trust me; I know where we're going."

They continued to drive down the roads of suburban Konoha. Naruto looked around trying to determine where they were going, but he hadn't the foggiest. As far as he knew, he hadn't even been to this part of the city before.

Karen turned the car down another road, this one pretty much devoid of houses. He could tell by the amount of trees next to the road that they were on the edge of the city. Suddenly there was a break in the trees and there was a giant pair of iron gates. Upon them it read: West Park Cemetery.

"Why…are we here?" he asked.

"I thought I told you already. You're gonna talk to you parents. They are buried here right?"

"Well, yeah, that's about all my grandpa ever told be about them, so I remembered it. Talking to their graves though, that's not exactly what I had in mind."

"Just trust me, it may seem weird, but it's therapeutic. I did it with my grandparent's graves and it always made me feel better," she said, remembering all the things that she spoke to them about as a child.

She parked in front of the central building in the cemetery and they both entered the building so they could find Naruto's parents graves. The secretary gave them a smile and stood ready to help them.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she said happily.

"Hi, we're looking for someone; do you have anyone in this graveyard with the last name Uzumaki?"

"Hold on, I'll check our database," she said, leaning over a computer.

After a few seconds she came back and nodded.

"Yes, we only have one person buried with that last name, her name is Kushina Uzumaki."

"Could you tell us where she is?" asked Karen.

She nodded and grabbed a map of the cemetery. She circled a grave on the map and handed it to them.

"Just follow this map and you'll be there."

"Thank you."

The kitsune grabbed the map and headed back outside. According to the map, her grave wasn't too far the building. In fact, it was just across the road and down a little ways. Karen handed Naruto the map and she took a seat on the hood the car.

"You go on, I'll just sit here," she told him.

He nodded and walked off. Once he stopped, he was still in Karen's field of view but she couldn't hear anything coming out of his mouth. She knew eavesdropping with rude and inappropriate, but she was curious. She did a series of hand signs and revealed her kitsune ears, increasing her hearing almost four times over. She could now hear Naruto's words clearly.

"Hey mom, it's me…I guess. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say, I don't know the first thing about you. I would have liked to, but it's a little late now," he started off.

"It wasn't even my idea to come here. See, I met this girl…well not so much I met as I saved her. Anyway, she's a kitsune, a fox demon of all things. Weird, I know, but she's not that bad. She's kind of a hot head and she's not the most inviting person, but she's got a cool side. To be honest, despite all the insults she throws my way, I like her. Call it a crush or an infatuation or whatever, but I like her."

Karen was a bit surprised she heard that. Sure, they occasionally got into some awkward situations and they were bonded together, but she didn't think he had a crush on her or anything like that. She leaned in closer, as if it would help her hear better.

"She's really pretty; red hair and eyes, kinda skinny and a short, but she's got this cute line of freckles on her nose. She's strong to; she punched me when we first met and my jaw is still aching."

She blushed at his compliments; he really thought she was pretty? He thought her freckles were cute? Most people made fun of her for them, she always thought of them as a sort of imperfection. She fingered the small dots on her nose and smiled.

"She doesn't really like me very much as far as I can tell though, but hey, I've never really been good with girls, so it's to be expected I guess. What really worries me though is it seems like she's hiding stuff from me. As much as I want to know, I know it's none of my business, but I can't help but think it's something important, and I think it's causing her pain. Maybe it'd help her if she talked about it; I'd listen if she told me, but I guess she'll tell me if she ever feels like it."

Great, now she felt guilty. She guessed she had been a little cold to him, especially since he'd saved her life twice and was willing to drive himself into the ground for her. Hell, he just stayed up all the night before to make sure she was safe. Why was she such a jerk to him? She was still really bitter over her parent's deaths, but he wasn't the one who killed them, why was she taking it out on him?

"Anyway, it was her idea for me to come down here, and I have to admit, it was a good one. It's kind of ironic, I know your name and I'm talking to you, but I've never seen your face before. I wish I'd met you, and my father, whoever he is. I'm sure you were beautiful; I probably got my smile from you to, I can just tell."

She sat there, listening to him speak, and it reminded her of just how sensitive and serious he could be. Like when she was in that alley, and he picked her up and cared for her, or hen she was crying after the memories of her parent's murder resurfaced, he held her tightly until she calmed down. She didn't give him as much credit as she probably should have.

"I'd stay longer, but Karen, the girl I was talking about, it's not safe to be outside for too long with her. There's some real creeps after her and I'm sorta her bodyguard. Maybe when all this is over, or if I have time, I'll come back again and talk to you. I'm sure when I come back I'll have some cool stories to tell you. Bye mom."

She watched him stand up again and her frustration flared for some reason.

'Jerk, I give him time to talk with his mother and he spends the whole time worrying about me instead of enjoying it! He's so…so…sweet,' she thought, softening her tone at the end.

She quickly dispelled her kitsune ears and tried to act innocent. In truth, she had a lot to think about now; her eavesdropping gave her some new insight on the blond walking towards her. She wasn't sure of her opinion of him now. Yes, she thought he was a good enough guy, probably enough to call them friends, but did she really feel anything more towards him than that?

She was bonded to him, and probably would be for a while. They'd spent pretty much every hour of the last…almost three days now together, and she'd gotten to know him decently well. She actually began listing his pro's and cons.

'Let's see; he's brave, already know that. He's definitely kindhearted and a little goofy. He kind of reminds me of my mom in a way. Even I have to admit he's handsome. Then again; he's not exactly the smartest guy in the world, and he worries too much. Are those really faults though? No one knows everything and the fact that he worries just shows that he cares. Damn it, he's close to perfect on paper, what's wrong with me!'

There was one nagging fact that was tugging at the back of her head though, one of the reasons she knew it was hard for her to get attached to anyone outside the kitsune world; the age difference. It wasn't the fact that she was older than him, she could deal with that, it was the fact that she would age slower. He'd be gone in a few short decades, but she'd still look twenty or so physically well after he was dead. That would make things awkward for the both of them.

She was pulled from her thought though, when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Ah, I was wondering where that tracking beacon would lead me. Visiting his mother's grave is he?"

Karen swiveled around to see the silver haired Kakashi standing there, reading his book as always. He looked up lazily and gave her an eye smile. Naruto caught sight of him and rushed to the car.

"Hey, you're that Kakashi guy! What do you want!?"

"Relax, I'm here with good news for a change. The FBPS has decided that due to your situation, it would be in yours and Karen's best interest if you were brought to Washington DC and stayed at our HQ. You'll get lessons there on how to become a FBPS surveillance officer so you can protect yourselves better as well."

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms.

"You'll forgive me if I still don't trust you completely."

"I understand, but it's either come with me, or deal with the constant assassination attempt on your own. Do you want that?"

Again the blond scowled. "Fine, we'll go with you."

"Good, my car is parked a little farther down the road, if you just follow…"

Naruto and Karen gave him a confused look as he suddenly stopped talking, and instead locked his eyes on a space behind the two. He slowly moved his hand into his jacket where his pistol was housed.

"Naruto," he whispered, "when I tell you, I want you and Karen to run to the gates of the cemetery; my car is parked there. Drive home and wait for me there."

He dared not speak, but gave him a slight nod. He counted the seconds as the silver haired man slowly freed his P22 and eyed the same space.

"NOW!" he yelled and pulled out his pistol faster than anything Naruto had seen. He didn't waste time to see what he shot at, but he heard a yelp and subsequent whimpers as he pulled Karen down the cemetery road.

The pair ran down the concrete road, hearing loud growls and gunshots behind them as they fled. Naruto dared to look behind them and saw three figures. The one in the lead was Kakashi, who was firing back as he ran. The other two were a pair of more kitsune assassins; they both had three tails this time.

Naruto could see the gates of the cemetery coming closer and closer, but his hopes were interrupted as Kakashi yelled out to him.

"Naruto, get down!" he shouted.

He didn't even register what happened next, but the next thing he knew he and Karen were both on the ground as a flurry of daggers flew over their heads. He looked over and saw that they had been tackled by a third kitsune, this one with four tails. The blond rolled back after the fox-demon rose and he took a defensive stance in front of Karen.

"Relax, I'm here to help," he said, not taking his eyes off the assassins.

Naruto didn't care for more information than that, and pulled Karen down the road again. He looked back every few seconds and watched as the four tailed kitsune and Kakashi stood back to back and faced off against the two three tails.

The pair finally made it to the gates and Naruto yanked them out of the way and they sped to the black car that was Kakashi's. As Naruto headed to the drivers side door, there was a huge crash that erupted in the street. He looked over and saw the kitsune that had helped them was down and the two three tails were on him beating the crap out of him.

Naruto growled and went into his brave guy mode. He rushed toward the downed kitsune and pulled back his fist. He landed the first punch, decking one of the three tails and knocking him onto his back. The second one saw what he did and moved to engage the blond. The second three tails, which was female, nailed him in his gut before he could evade, and he felt the warm metallic like taste of blood in his mouth.

Two kicks to the face and a punch to his chest later, he was on his back bleeding out his mouth and a few broken ribs. He still rose back up and got into a fighting position. The kitsune laughed at his continued defiance.

The female turned back to the four tails and continued beating him down, and the male attacked Naruto. The blond leaned to the side and barely dodged the punch; his knee came up and caught him in the stomach, making him cough up more blood. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and the kitsune held him up on his feet and smiled.

"Time to die, human!"

His eyes widened as the fox-demon thrust forward a fist and he felt the most unique sensation. It was like…a tickle, a burning tickle in his chest that made him want to scream and laugh at the same time. He didn't seem to be able to summon the will to do either though, and instead just looked down. He watched in not so much fear as fascination as the kitsune pulled his fist out of his chest, watching the blood squirt out of the gaping hole where his heart used to be.

As soon as the demon let go, Naruto fell to his knees and collapsed on the concrete. The last sounds he heard were the kitsune's laugh, Karen shouting his name, and gunshots from Kakashi's P22. He slowly and lightly drifted off into a slumber from which he wouldn't awake.

The male collapsed soon after however, as he hadn't heard Kakashi come from behind him and was pumped full of damn near a complete clip of ammo. Karen ran over to the blond and knelt over him, seeing the bloody mess they used to be his chest. Once again memories of her parents flooded her head and she began to fall apart emotionally for a second time. It was only made worse when she realized that this time she wouldn't have Naruto to comfort her, he'd never be able to speak to her again.

All this was interrupted however, when she felt a stabbing pain in her chest as well. Air became precious and she gasped for every particle of oxygen she could fill in her lungs.

"Wha-What's…happening t-to…me?" she said between huge breaths.

"It's the bond; you and he were magically connected. If he dies, you'll die," explained Kakashi, panic evident in his voice as well.

"What!?"

"It's true, y-your survival…is dependent o-on his…and vice versa," murmured the four tailed Kitsune, who'd freed himself from the three tails and rejoined the group.

"Is there anything we can do? Kitsune have a better understanding of magic than humans, even FBPS agents." asked Kakashi.

After a moment, the kitsune nodded. "There is; a flicker of life still remains in his body, there is still a chance to save him. Please stand back."

They nodded and took a few steps back. The elder kitsune began chanting in a language that sounded alien even to Karen. Naruto was suddenly glowing with a red aura and his injuries began to heal themselves; the bone and organs that were destroyed were reforming. Just as his wounds were healed, the four tail fell to his side, leaving them both on the ground. Karen rushed over to check his pulse; he was dead.

She actually recognized the man; he was a royal guard for her family. His name was Kaito. She'd only spoken to him a few times, but she couldn't believe he was here. How did everyone manage to find her?

Still, she was forever grateful for his sacrifice; she wouldn't forget it.

She then turned to Naruto and did the same and found that he was indeed alive. She was just about to pick him up and get him into the car so they could escape when the red aura from before began to envelop him again. He began to levitate upward until he was standing on his own two feet. The aura began to take shape, it was like a second set of red transparent skin; it was in the shape of claws on his hands and feet, had two long ear shapes on his head, and a single tail extending from just above his waist. The aura was in the shape of a kitsune.

As he opened his eyes again, she saw that they were no longer the blue crystals they used to be, but were replaced by burning ruby red ones like hers, except they seemed more feral, more violent than hers. He began to smile, showing enlarged canine teeth, and he took one step forward. That one set sent a shock-wave through the street that cracked the concrete and sent gust of wind in every direction.

In all the commotion, Naruto leaned forward and then disappeared, accelerating beyond the sight capabilities of most living beings, kicking up trails of dust in his wake. Karen watched in awe as he re-appeared again behind the female kitsune and thrust his fist into her back. At first it didn't seem to have any affect, but after a few seconds, her chest exploded, literally exploded, and nearly every internal organ in her torso was blown out of her body. She dropped to the floor as a hollow, bloody mess.

As the second kistune fell over dead, the aura began to fade and he fell onto his back. Just as quickly as he began the fight, Naruto ended it with a thump as he hit the ground. Karen shot onto her feet and ran to him, sliding down next to him and lifted him up onto her lap. She sighed in relief when she found that he was just asleep, whatever that was must have completely exhausted him.

Kakashi came up from behind them and looked down at the blond.

"What was that?" asked Karen.

"I'm not entirely sure. I would assume that when that kitsune healed him, he infused his powers with him as well. Whether it was intentional or not I'm not sure, but it seems like he's absorbed his powers. I don't know what the aura is about though."

"So...what you're saying is, he's part fox-demon now?"

He stroked his masked chin. "Well, I'm not a doctor, so I can't say with absolute certainty, but I would guess it something along those lines, yes."

He sighed and picked the blond up. "Come on, we need to get to the airport; the sooner we get to DC the better for everyone. He should be fine for now."

She nodded and followed him as they headed to the car. Kakashi took his seat in the drivers seat while Karen sat in the back seat with Naruto. The blond was completely out of it, and she let his head rest on her lap again. He looked awfully peaceful when he was asleep, of course it probably didn't help that he hadn't slept the night before.

Kakashi pulled out his phone and said something about a containment team coming to the cemetery. Karen wasn't really listening though, she quietly sat there and toyed with a small lock of Naruto's hair as they drove off to the airport.


Okay now, Naruto has officially started his career as professional ass kicker. More story next chapter as we're introduced to more agents of the FBPS. You'll be seeing some familiar faces, of course.

Three cheers for demon powers! WEEEEEEEEEE!

Review if you please.