Me: now for the new chapter! And everyone shall be happy! Remember to review!
Disclaimer: since when have I ever owned Naruto?
The small group was resting close to a pond for the night. A small fire crackled in the circle that was created by the five. Arashi kept looking around for Kyuubi, who left earlier to search the perimeter for any unwanted guest. That was about thirty minutes ago, and Arashi was getting restless. Shuffling noises in the bushes and twigs snapping put the group on guard before a red-orange fox, about the size of a horse, with nine-tails appeared. "Hey, Kyuubi," Arashi greeted, relaxing. The kitsune growled softly in response before laying on the ground behind the blond.
"How can you tell that's Kyuubi?" Amana asked.
"One: I've seen his fox form a million times," Arashi pointed out. "Two: do you know any other fox demons with nine tails? And three: no other fox demon would come in here and not attack us." Kyuubi chuckled slightly before pulling the teen to the ground with one of his tails. "Hey!"
'Keep you warm,' the fox said. 'Tonight's going to be a cold one.'
"How can you tell?" Kyuubi gave him a look. "Right, animal instincts and all that. Whatever." The kitsune snorted before laying his head down between his paws as a couple more of his tails covered Arashi. "Who's taking first watch?" the blond asked, looking over to his sensei.
"Amana and Hiashi, first," Jiraiya replied. "Then you and me. They'll keep watch until midnight then wake us up so we can take watch for the rest of the time." Kyuubi growled disapprovingly. "And you have a problem with this?"
"Yeah," Arashi replied for the fox. "He says that humans need more sleep than demons do, and he can stay awake for three days straight. So he'll stay awake and the rest of us can sleep. After all, none of you guys are used to fighting against demons. I, at least, sort of am since I spar with Kyuu all the time. And you never know what kind of demon you're up against and how to fight against it and yada-yada-yada."
"Why does something tell me he's doing this more for you than anyone else?" Hiashi asked, staring blankly at the blond, who just shrugged before giving Kyuubi a small glance.
Kyuubi didn't notice it since he was staring into the surrounding forest, growling deeply at noises. When the noises started to sound closer, the growl ripped from his throat as he opened his mouth, making the growl louder and showing off his fangs. The noises started to go back. "More wolves?" Arashi asked when the fox settled down, still staring towards the forest.
'Yeah,' Kyuubi replied. 'Nothing I can't handle. They're just so persistent. They really want to get to that human you're guarding.'
"Too bad for them," the blond muttered, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the fox's side. "They're not getting him."
'As far as they are concerned, they are - one way or another. As soon as we are out of the way, they'll get him. But if we stick around, they will fight against us to get to him. Arashi, you're taking a large risk guarding this human.'
"A little excitement on a mission never hurt anyone," the blond responded.
'No, but it will get some killed,' the fox growled, turning his head to look at the human teen next to him. 'You cannot handle wild demons as well as me. And wolves are the wildest you will ever find. They listen to no one other than the leader of their pack.' He sighed slightly, turning back to the forest.
"And you're concerned," Arashi stated with a smirk. "Don't be."
"I say he's concerned for your safety," Amana pointed out. "I mean, when he was talking to those guys earlier –"
"Wolf demons," Arashi corrected when he heard Kyuubi growling slightly.
"Whatever. Anyway, everything he said seemed to have ended up with you. Didn't you notice? 'Attack him or not, you're attacking a group with him in it.' 'While's you're attacking Yoshiro, you might harm Arashi.' 'You can get your human some other time, but not with my human around.' Every time he said something to them, it ended with you involved."
"He's always that way," the blond pointed out with a scoff. "What can I say? He's overprotective."
"I think he really cares for you."
Kyuubi glared at her before growling back at the forest, louder than last time. "He might," Arashi agreed with a shrug. "But he's my best friend. What friend doesn't care for another?"
"He doesn't get it," Hiashi whispered to his female teammate, who nodded in agreement with a small sigh.
Kyuubi raised his upper body from the ground, still growling, but looking towards another direction. "Stand down," a deep voice met their ears before a tall man with midnight locks and deep sea-blue eyes entered into the light of the fire. "I will not fight. Merely speak."
The fox's growling toned down slightly before he changed into his human form, his fox ears and tails out. "That is the worst disguise I have ever seen on a wolf," Kyuubi stated, smirking slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest after standing to his feet. Arashi stood, as well as the others. "Konu of the Wolf Clan. One of the Nine Bijou. The seven-tailed one."
Konu chuckled slightly. "Never try to fool a Master of Foolery," he calmly stated. "Kai." The illusion on Konu broke, revealing that his midnight hair was a moonlight silver streaming with light yellow and his eyes were just like Kyuubi's – red and gold. A pair of wolf ears stuck out from the top of his head and seven fluffy silver tails came from his backside. "So, the Kyuubi of the Fox Clan, the nine-tailed one of the Bijou, is here. And here I thought Roku was claiming false."
"State your business and leave," the kitsune growled.
"I wish to make a bargain," Konu stated.
"No deal!" Arashi yelled.
"Humans should hold their tongues when they know nothing," the ookami snarled before Kyuubi stepped in front of the blond, blocking him from view.
"My human knows plenty," the red-head pointed out.
"I see. So this is your human? But I did not even say what I want and what you get in exchange yet and he declines."
"I've told him the way wolves think, Konu. A fox, if offered a trade, will take both items and leave. But a wolf, when offered a trade, will kill the other and take both items as well. Arashi knows this and that is why he declined your offer."
"Ah, but that is with trades."
"Wolves are the same with bargains."
"Allow me to speak of my deal and then decide if you will accept or decline," the silver-haired ookami suggested.
"What do you want?" Jiraiya asked.
"It would be a good idea not to talk, Jiraiya-san," Kyuubi warned.
Konu chuckled slightly before he answered the gama-sennin's question. "In exchange for the safety of Yoshiro and his village, I want the ones who had killed the brethren of my pack," the ookami stated.
"That's not all you want," Kyuubi pointed out. "With the death of pack members, blood isn't enough."
"Yes, I do want one other thing. The furs of the fallen wolves were taken from their bodies. I want those furs back with the pack so we may bury them, complete. Hand over the murderers of wolves and the furs, and we will leave the humans alone. Deal? Or no?"
Kyuubi thought for a minute. Arashi was about to object, but the fox stopped him. "Deal," the red-head replied. "And if you go back on your word?"
"May death come to me swiftly," the wolf replied with a smirk as he stretched out an arm and cut a little bit above his wrist with his claws, allowing blood to spill down to his hand. Kyuubi did the same. "By oath of demon blood." The two shook hands before Konu turned and walked away with a smirk.
"Call your wolves back for the night, Konu!" Kyuubi yelled to the wolf, who just waved his hand before he was out of sight.
"By oath of demon blood?" Arashi repeated, looking up at the kitsune with a confused look. "What was that about?"
"Oath by demon blood basically means he can't go back on his word…and neither can I," the fox explained, licking away the blood on his hand and wrist. "Meaning, Yoshiro, as soon as we get to your village, summon those hunters and I'll hand them over to Konu as soon as I get the furs, wherever they are."
"You're actually going to give him humans?" Amana yelled. "Humans for him to kill?"
"As far as I was concerned, you and the others were hired only to protect Yoshiro. Anyone else is none of your business. Konu gets what he wants and he'll leave the village alone. This is a demon thing. It does not concern humans."
"I'm sure we all kind of have a problem with this, Kyuu," Arashi stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "Handing over some humans that didn't listen to warnings."
"Didn't listen to laws sounds more like it," Kyuubi muttered, watching as the cut above his wrist slowly healed. "Look, Arashi, you don't know everything about demons. Deals made by demons must be followed through. Like I said, Konu gets the humans and the furs. I'm sure Yoshiro would have no objection if the troublemakers of the village – the ones who pretty much put the place in such a dilemma – were handed over to the wolves to learn why they listen to what the laws say. Don't you, Yoshiro? If it meant the safety of your village, who really cares if a few strangers are handed over?"
"Strangers or not –killers or not – I don't hand anyone in my village over to anybody," Yoshiro stated before the kitsune sighed slightly.
"Do you want your village destroyed?"
"Why not just hand over the furs?"
"Because I made an oath by blood to protect everyone here!" Kyuubi snapped, his eyes getting redder and redder. "I didn't have to, but I did! And if I go back on that oath, you might as all die along with me! Because I made it to protect everyone! So deal with it! I don't care if you do it or not, but I am going to find those hunters, find the wolf furs, and I'm handing them over to Konu! He's not the right bijou to mess around with, anyway. Of course, neither am I," Kyuubi added as he sat down, leaning against a tree trunk.
"Ok, what is the difference between a bijou and a normal demon?" Arashi asked, sitting down next to the fox.
"Bijou are normally the most dangerous and there's only nine of us," the red-head explained. "I just so happen to be the strongest around. Bijou are the strongest demon of nine different clans. As far as I know of, there's me, Konu, the two-tailed cat, and the three-tailed turtle. Haven't met the others yet, but I'll know if they're bijou or not by their eyes."
"How can you tell from eyes?" Hiashi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Demons with red in their eyes are normally classified as insane and unstable. They'll attack anything and everything. Bijou can have red in their eyes and still be sane and stable. But when our eyes are fully red, we're the most dangerous thing around. It really depends on our willpower on how crazy we go. But if a bijou has red eyes and is at their largest size, stay away from them. It's impossible to calm them down and the only way to get rid of them is to either kill or seal them. The turtle's already sealed."
"They can't calm down on their own?" Amana uncomfortably asked before the fox slowly shook his head. "So you've pretty much never been that crazy. I mean, you're perfectly calm right now!"
"I've been close a few times," the fox admitted.
"What happened?" the blond asked.
Kyuubi looked at the group. "Why am I being interrogated?" he jokingly replied with his own question.
"Because we're curious!"
"Go to sleep," the fox sternly said.
Out of all things, Konu had to suggest the blood oath – the most dangerous one. I had to do it. If I went back on my word, not only would I die, but Arashi as well. He's the only reason why I did it in the first place. If it was a normal oath and I didn't hold up my end, Konu would have attacked the village with me and Arashi in it. Amana was right. I do care for Arashi. More than he thinks. Sigh One of these days, he'll be the death of me. No wonder it's forbidden.
Kyuu seems to be thinking about a lot of things. I wonder what. About the deal he and Konu made? Why did he even make it? And what would really happen if he went back on his word?
"What is taking her so long?" Arashi whined the next morning. "Seriously, does a woman need this much time just to wash off some dirt?"
"She's a female," Kyuubi pointed out. "Females don't get out of water until they are satisfied with their appearances. Been there. Done that. Pain in the ass!"
"You had a girlfriend?"
"No, my sisters were that way," the fox replied with a smirk. "And I had to deal with them when I was younger."
"I feel so sorry for you," Jiraiya joked.
"You're a first!" the fox responded with a laugh. His playful face fell into a serious one before he sniffed at the air a little bit. "And here I thought I would only have to deal with wolves."
"Something else?" Arashi asked.
"Yeah," the red-head replied, giving a small shiver. "A snake."
"A snake shouldn't be hard for you," Hiashi stated. "Foxes are stronger and quicker, right?"
"Well demon snakes are more cunning than a demon fox. Not to mention the biggest back-stabbers you will ever meet. So I better go deal with this guy since he's too close to Amana and I doubt she knows it." He turned into his fox form, about the size of a husky, before running off into the forest.
"Hey, Arashi," Hiashi called to the blond, who quickly looked over to the Hyuuga. "Being around a demon all the time, he must have taught you something."
"Only need-to-knows about demons," Arashi replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Demon jutsus are different from human ones. Only demons can pull them off. And each demon can only do one or two elements. Really depends on their species and breed."
"He must have taught you something," Hiashi edged on.
"Nothing other than some Taijutsu. He's learned a lot of different ones over his lifespan."
"Which would be how many years?" Jiraiya asked.
"Let's see, he was 156 when I was eleven and I'm sixteen now so he would be about 161 years old. Give or take a day or two."
"He's old enough to be your great grandfather!" the Hyuuga heir commented.
"Looks young enough to be your brother, though," Yoshiro added. "But demons are that way. They age more slowly than a human can."
"Yeah," Arashi replied. "He only looks about twenty-five now. He told me before that when he looks a certain age, he'll age a lot more slowly for some reason."
"Demons are beyond confusing," the gama-sennin muttered under his breath as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Amana snapped around when she heard a twig snap before a red-orange fox jumped out of a bush. She ducked deeper into the water. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. "Pervert!" Kyuubi snorted before he morphed into his human form and leapt over the small pond, landing on a boulder on the opposite side, his back to her. He looked around for a minute before looking down, seeing a large dark green snake gazing back up at him. He growled deeply before he shot a clawed hand at it and crushed its head.
"Don't accuse me of being such," Kyuubi growled. "I sensed a snake nearby and I took care of it. End of story."
"Sure, I bet that was all," the girl muttered, but Kyuubi heard her.
"You don't interest me, human," the fox growled again as he started to walk away.
"Right, your interest is in Arashi." That stopped Kyuubi in his tracks. "I knew it! You do care for him more than a friend, don't you?"
"Shut up," the fox snarled.
"Relax, I won't tell anyone. But you should tell Arashi. After all, he might feel the same to you."
"You know nothing about Arashi and I, girl. So do not speak of what you do not know."
"What is it with guys and not wanting to admit their feelings? Geez! I swear it has something to do with pride."
Kyuubi scoffed before walking back towards the camp. 'Hey, Arashi,' Kyuubi called through their mind link.
'What's up, Kyuu?' Arashi responded.
'Let me know when that Amana girl gets back to the camp. I'm going to go somewhere and think about a few things for a little bit.'
'Okay. Need any company?'
'That's alright. You probably wouldn't know where to find me anyway. And besides, if you come to me, who will tell us when the rest are ready to leave?'
'Good point. Alright, I'll let you know when Amana comes back.' Kyuubi didn't reply. He stopped near a cliff before sitting down on a boulder nearby, gazing out to the horizon.
Why are the words Amana told me so…bothering? Why should I even care what she says? But as much as I hate to admit it, she was right. Stick me in a room with a bunch of females in heat and have Arashi in the middle of it all and I'll go straight to him. No one appeals to me other than Arashi. Ever since I first met him. Man, I feel like a pervert. Liking someone decades younger than me. Sigh But I just can't do anything about it.
Amana came back into the camp, rubbing her hair hard with a towel. "About freaking time!" Arashi nearly yelled, throwing his arms dramatically into the air. "What took you so long?"
"Well, unlike guys, I care about hygiene," Amana replied with a playful smirk. "Where's Kyuubi? I thought he would come back here after dealing with that snake."
"Did you talk to him?" the blond asked, crossing his arms over his chest before the girl nodded. "Well, he's off somewhere thinking, but I told him that I would let him know when you came back into the camp so he can get his butt back over here."
"When did you tell him that?" Hiashi questioned, looking over to Arashi with a confused look.
"Kyuubi and I have had a mind link since I was eight," he calmly explained. 'Hey, Kyuubi,' he called through the link. 'Amana's back. You coming or stalking?'
'I'll come and I don't stalk,' Kyuubi replied.
"He's on his way," Arashi stated, smirking a bit.
Me: ok, I know I promised a fluff in this chapter, but I couldn't fill it in anywhere so I'll put it in the next chapter. And if happy enough, I'll put in a lemon in the chapter after that. The only way to make me happy is to review. Heck, if I'm really happy, the lemon will be in the next chapter right after the fluff. Anyway, review! They keep me happy.