Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 30: Kidnapping, Thievery, and Impersonation

Monday, August 11, 2003, Morning
Zabuza's Hideout, Nami no Kuni

Harry tiredly took a sip of the Polyjuice Potion he'd had one of his elves fetch from beyond the barrier that separated the Hidden Countries from the Outer Countries (the potion currently laced with a few hairs from Zabuza) as his holly wand silently alerted him to let him know that fifty minutes had already passed. He'd gone the magical route for his disguise to limit the chances of his disguise being disrupted because he was too tired due to how little sleep he'd gotten since they had arrived in Nami no Kuni. That was on top of all the magic that he'd expended and the work he'd needed to do for the mission.

And the last thing he needed was for his disguise to fall when he was surrounded by enemies.

Beside him, one of his clones was currently wearing Haku's mask (the clone henged since Polyjuice didn't work on the clones – they'd tried – and because physically disguising a clone was pointless). Harry made an effort not to gag over the horrid taste of the potion (Essence of Momochi Zabuza had turned out to be far more disgusting than Essence of Gregory Goyle; who knew?). Tucking away the vial of vile potion, Harry continued riffling through Zabuza's things to collect anything of value (whether it was monetary, intellectual, or political).

There was a surprising amount of blackmail material lying about the room (all of sealed into storage scrolls, of course) and Harry didn't hesitate to collect every last bit of it. He was well aware that some of the scrolls were fakes and were likely to blow up in his face if he opened them but he knew exactly which ones those were thanks to Zabuza's memories. He was just sorting through the stash of medical supplies that Haku had made and collected when Gato and a pair of bodyguards burst into the room unannounced.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here after failing to kill the bridge builder," Gato declared with a sneer as he took in the chaotic state of the room.

"Stuff it, Gato; there was no mention of us having to face a team of shinobi in our contract," Harry retorted as he reached up to place one hand on the Wakizashi blade that was currently masquerading as Zabuza's sword thanks to a tricky bit of transfiguration. "I successfully dealt with the Jounin that arrived with the protection detail and once I've recovered from that fight, I'll be able to finish off the three worthless Chuunin that remain alongside of the bridge builder."

"This is the first I've heard about you offing one of the wretched bridge builder's escorts from Konoha," Gato stated as he eyed the disguised wizard warily.

"Maybe you should find better spies," Harry mocked through the bandages that were wrapped around the lower half of his face as part of his disguise as he dropped his hand away from the sword's hilt to give the impression that he no longer considered Gato and his two thugs a threat.

"Humpf," Gato grunted irritably. "See that you do or our deal is off and I'll take your head to the bounty hunters to cash in on the bounty the Mizukage placed on your ugly mug to make up for your failures."

"Don't make threats that we both know you don't have the ability to follow through on, Gato," Harry hissed as he drew his fake copy of Zabuza's sword and waggled the tip of the blade beneath Gato's nose. "Besides, I plan to deal with the problem right now."

The moment the word now passed through Harry's lips, the clone disguised as Haku appeared to split in half as the clone created a second clone. Both clones then immediately attacked the two bodyguards that had entered the room and quickly disabled the pair after catching them by surprise. Harry in the mean time had silenced the room to prevent any other thugs from hearing the commotion and dropped Gato using a Stunning Spell with the wand he'd drawn while the man was focused on the sword tip beneath his nose.

Harry worked quickly to secure his three newest prisoners after he created a couple of extra clones to guard the door so he wouldn't be interrupted by another shinobi or thug. Harry then set about grabbing the locations of Gato's main office and current residence, any passwords or security codes he'd need to access both locations, and a list of rooms to search for important documents or valuables straight from Gato's unprotected mind.

Two more mental trips (into the minds of the two bodyguards) netted him just sufficient information for him to send a trio of clones to effectively take the place of Gato and his guards. Portkeys then whisked away the prisoners in order to prevent anyone from noticing them being dragged halfway across the island; Gato was too important of a prisoner to risk losing him to a chance rescue. He also couldn't risk someone figuring out that a clone had taken Gato's place before he could use Gato's spur of the moment capture to his advantage.

Prisoners taken care of (each of them dropped into a different cell where the clones he'd left behind on guard duty would apply the seals to their backs to secure them) and the decoys set to take their place, Harry quickly finished packing up the rest of Zabuza and Haku's things so that he could get the hell out of there.

A final argument and exchange of insults with 'Gato' and his 'bodyguards' took place once he was ready to go (after he dropped the silencing spell) in order to keep in character. The impersonators taking the place of Gato and his bodyguards then stormed out of the room first before Harry and the fake Haku followed in their wake. The other clone remained behind in order to keep watch for the missing Oni Kyoudai and any of the other rogue shinobi that Harry had learned were working with Zabuza.

Harry was more than happy to get away from Zabuza's hideout in one piece; he'd never felt comfortable impersonating other people (even if he'd improved at it since the time he and Ron had snuck into Slytherin's Common Room back in their second year). He was just beginning to believe that his luck was turning around in his favor (since his bad luck had already struck at the start of the mission what with the way the client had lied) when Fate decided that the three day run of good luck had been more than sufficient.

The latest snag…?

Harry ran right into the unaccounted for Oni Kyoudai.

To top it off, his last sip of Polyjuice Potion wore off at the same instant and Harry was left trying to hold up the transfigured copy of Zabuza's pants in order to preserve his modesty while staring at the two suddenly hostile rogue shinobi.

Yeah, he was seriously buggered.

Apparation, Finite Charms, and lots of clones were a bloody life saver as Harry jumped away from the first attack with a loud crack, fixed his clothes, ripped off the bandages covering his mouth, and spammed the forest all at the same time. Once he no longer had to worry about flashing his opponents or tangling up his feet in his pants, Harry unleashed a torrent of spells on the two brothers as the adrenaline coursing through him washed away his tiredness. He also led them on a merry goose chase as far away from Zabuza's base as he could get in the hopes that none of the bandits stationed there would hear the sounds of battle and join in the fight against him.

The insults he kept slinging at the pair insured that their attention was focused solely on him and his clones, as well as kept them in a constant state of anger that prevented them from fighting with their brains, though it also meant that their attacks were rather brutal. It was almost like fighting a two-on-one spar against Kotetsu and Izumo; only with far less friendly banter and far more dire threats and promises of bodily harm. There was also a distinct lack of pranks being thrown his way while he still occasionally managed to fire off a prank spell in order to disable one of his opponents.

Their reaction to Harry animating the razor chain (which was technically a shuriken chain – not that Harry cared what it was called) had been hilarious; the two brothers had freaked out when their chain had come to life and tried to strangle them both at the same time. At the time, the one with the clawed gauntlet on his left arm and the two horns on his hitai-ate was still spewing forth tricolored bubbles each time he tried to speak while the other brother had been covered in paint and painful boils.

By the time Harry managed to incapacitate the duo, his left arm had been dislocated at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist (from when he'd been jerked by his arm in one direction and by his back in the opposite direction), and the pants he wore were soaked in blood (both his blood and that of the two shinobi). A quick self inventory once the fight ended revealed two or three seriously bruised (or potentially cracked) ribs, numerous cuts and bruises, a couple of serious gashes, and a rather severe case of poisoning (from the brothers' gauntlets). That was on top of being exhausted from the intense fight coupled with his lack of sleep and a case of magical exhaustion.

Harry cursed his decision to leave his dragon-hide cloak behind when he'd prepared his disguise; half of the injuries he had picked up could have been prevented if he'd been wearing the cloak.

Securing the prisoners was left to his surviving Kage Bunshin before Harry portkeyed them to the final prison cell that he knew for certain was unoccupied; all the while lamenting on the fact that he hadn't thought to make more cells when he first created the prison. The injured wizard then swallowed a bezoar to counteract the poison before he wearily made his way back to Tazuna's house on foot. He could have traveled via magical means but he had no desire to make his injuries worse by attempting to apparate in such a weakened condition or worse taking a portkey when he knew he wouldn't have a hope in hell of staying on his feet when he landed.

Luckily, his legs and feet had escaped all but a few bruises and shallow cuts; so walking wasn't exactly the effort of agony it could have been. Still, each step he took jarred his injured arm and sent burning spikes of pain through his chest courtesy of his injured ribs. His entire repertoire of verbal curses was exercised fully and expanded upon (in three languages) during the course of the journey. By the time he reached the safety of the wards surrounding the clearing that Tazuna's house sat in, Harry was only moving through sheer stubbornness.

It helped that all of his superficial injuries had already been dealt with by his magic and the Kyuubi's chakra that was flowing through his veins while most of the poison in his system had been neutralized by the bezoar. If only it could have done more for his arm and ribs… and the blood loss and exhaustion. He hadn't thought to bring along any of his healing potions that he usually kept in his dragon hide cloak when he set out to infiltrate Zabuza's base though. He was just lucky that he'd thought to stuff a bezoar in his pocket before he'd left Tazuna's house; a decision prompted by the fact that high number of Kiri's shinobi were well known for their use of poisons.

"What happened to you?" a young voice demanded in an appalled tone.

Harry slowed to a stop and swayed on his feet as he attempted to focus on Tazuna's seldom seen (by Harry at least) grandson as he tried to remember the kid's name. Eventually, he gave up the effort in futility as he fell heavily to his knees when his vision began swimming in and out of focus. As the boy's wide eyed (and more than a little horrified) face filled Harry's limited field of vision, he finally rasped out an answer for the kid, "I was doing the job that your grandfather hired me for, kid."

Harry ignored the kid's screams for his mother as he tumbled face first to the ground when he lost his battle against the pain and exhaustion. He never fell into true unconsciousness though as he stubbornly refused to allow a single one of his many clones scattered about the island to vanish and give away the game when they were currently winning. Instead, Harry fell into a part of his mindscape that he'd never visited before and found himself standing in what looked a lot like the maze of pipes leading into the Chamber of Secrets.

He stared at the strange reddish-orange colored water pooling around his feet for a moment before he turned his attention to the hundreds of iridescent blue threads that were firmly wrapped around his left arm (each one symbolizing an active link to one of his clones). A few simple thoughts directed at those connections saw the wavering ones strengthened until Harry was certain that none of his clones would dispel because of his current physical health. Once that was dealt with, Harry began wandering through the underground network of tunnels in order to occupy himself while he waited for his body to heal enough for him to wake up and sleep.

"Where exactly are we?" Minato's voice unexpectedly demanded as the man's spirit shimmered into being beside the Chuunin's inner avatar just a few minutes later.

Harry glanced sideways at his long dead cousin as he replied (in English out of habit due to the setting appearing inside of his mind), "Somewhere inside of my mind, though it's not a place that I've ever visited before; well at least not this version of these tunnels. I've definitely been inside the actual place that this place has been modeled after. I can't really say that I'm pleased to be here again after all of this time; even if it is within my own mind. Why are you here, anyway? You've never appeared in my mindscape before."

"I don't know why I'm here or even how I got here. One minute I was watching Tazuna's daughter rush to your side in response to her son's frightened screams and the next I found myself standing beside you down here in what looks like a sewer."

"Oh. How odd; I wonder if I accidentally pulled you in here with me because I sought to avoid falling into true unconsciousness in an effort to keep my clones intact. Anyway, we're not in a sewer; though I suppose that is not too far off from reality as we are standing inside a huge network of pipes. All of these pipes lead to the Chamber of Secrets beneath Hogwarts though, not to a sewage plant… or at least the original pipes did… not really sure where these ones lead to though. Now that I think about it, the pipes all seem to be curving inwards as if they were built in a spiral instead of the honeycombed maze I vaguely remember from my second year."

"Spiral…?" Minato parroted nervously as he apprehensively glanced in the direction that Harry had been walking in when he first appeared. "You know, it might be best if you don't explore any further."

"What…? Why…?"

"I don't think we ended up inside of your mind, itoko; I think your fight to remain conscious sucked you into the seal holding the Kyuubi. That would certainly explain why I was dragged along since I am connected to you through the Kyuubi and the seal that contains the demon. And if that is true, then the chances that your arrival here woke the portion of the Kyuubi sealed inside of you are rather high."

"It never ceases to amaze me when one of you pitiful and pathetic soft-shelled insects show a modicum of intelligence," a sinister voice declared from somewhere within the maze; the being's voice booming and echoing as the water and stone magnified the sound.

"You just had to tempt fate on today, of all days, didn't you, Minato?" Harry growled without any heat as he quickly came to the conclusion that it had been the Kyuubi's sub consciousness speaking and that it was indeed awake.

"Sorry, I forgot your luck had been inversed for the day after you captured Gato."

"Come here little worms. I wish to see my new jailer and the arrogant fool responsible for the nine years of endless torment I suffered through face to face," the Kyuubi ordered in its (his…? her…?) booming voice.

"Well, we're here and we'll be here for who knows how long… and I'm just as curious to see the Kyuubi in person and as the saying goes; in for a penny, in for a pound."

"Just for the records, I really think this is a bad idea; no good will come of associating with that monster."

"Thousands of ignorant witches and wizards said the same thing about my godson's father just because he was a werewolf," Harry replied in a clipped tone. "And they were wrong; Remus never hurt anyone and he went out of his way to protect people from his unpleasant furry side. There are always two sides to every coin and the world is not painted in black and white; you, of all people, should know that."

"I do… I am also fully aware that the creature we are walking towards destroyed my family and nearly an entire village in a single night."

"And weren't you the one that told me that the person responsible for the Kyuubi's rampage was Uchiha Madara? Does that not imply that the Kyuubi had been used as a tool by Madara?"

"That still doesn't negate the fact that the Kyuubi had continued to rampage even after I'd broken it free of Madara's control."

"True, but that also doesn't change the fact that the Kyuubi had every right to be angry; it had been used and imprisoned by Konoha since the first time Madara attempted to use the bijuu in his revenge against the village. It's been nursing its anger and frustration for decades and extracted revenge the first chance it got; just like any other being would if it had been put into the same exact position."

"Fine, have it your way; I'll stop placing all of the blame on the Kyuubi but don't expect me to pick up a stick and start playing fetch with the furball as if he was some oversized pet."

"Now you're just acting like a petulant two year old throwing a tantrum," Harry dryly pointed out as the two of them finally reached the center of the spiral maze where the inner door of the Chamber of Secrets sat wide open to reveal Harry's inner projection of the Chamber in all its glory. Harry hesitated just outside of the door for a moment before he turned to his cousin and stated, "I think it best that you stay out here, Minato; I don't want to take any chances on you being drawn into the cage with the Kyuubi because of the connection you share with it."

Minato looked horrified by the mere thought and he quickly agreed, "I have no problems remaining right here while you take a gander at your passenger. I've spent more than enough time trapped in a small space with that demon."

"For once I am inclined to agree with the irritating little fleshbag," the Kyuubi rumbled as it (he…? she…?) stirred within the confines of its prison when Harry stepped through the entry way and let his eyes take in the Chamber.

There were several differences between the original Chamber of Secrets below Hogwarts and the replicated Chamber of Seals (as Harry began referring to the inner Chamber in order to differentiate between the two chambers) within his mindscape (or was it a sealscape if this was actually inside of the seal?). First of all, the Chamber of Seals was brightly lit while the Chamber of Secrets had been bathed in shadows. Then there was the fact that the Chamber of Secrets' floor was merely damp and moldy while the Chamber of Seals' floor was completely submerged beneath a good three feet of reddish orange water.

The next difference was in décor; the Chamber of Seals sported fox statues and a huge cage at the far end while the Chamber of Secrets had had a snake theme with Slytherin's ugly visage looming over the rotten core from the far end of the room. The network of pipes that opened up off of the Chamber of Secrets were completely absent from the Chamber of the Seals. And of course, there was the fact that the Chamber of Seals didn't really exist set it apart from the Chamber of Secrets which did in fact exist despite rumors to the contrary.

The only thing the hidden rooms had in common was the fact that they both housed deadly creatures that were larger than life. Well, that was only partially true since the basilisk had been dead for over a decade now. The spirit of the similarities still applied, though.

Moving deeper into the enormous chamber, Harry took a good long look at the being trapped behind the cage within the Chamber of Seals. The giant fox had reddish orange fur that made it appear as if its very fur was made up of flames when the creature's muscles shifted beneath its skin. It had long, rabbit-like ears, frightening looking red eyes, and nine tails that continually swung about behind the creature. It also wore a demonic looking grin as it stared at Harry with overwhelming anger, hate, and hunger with just the barest trace of curiosity underneath the hostility.

"You positively reek of dead, dying, and decaying trees found deep within an ancient forest with the sharp scent of high winds, icy altitudes, and deep waters mixed in," the Kyuubi stated as it breathed deeply and Harry wondered if he should be feel insulted. "You smell of home and it is an unexpectedly pleasant scent to associate with a mere fleshbag. What are you? No mere human should smell of home to one such as I. And how is it that you've hidden all of your memories from me? I should have been able to pull your mind to mine from the moment that I awoke here in this chamber. I can not even sense the whispers of your thoughts in order to learn your pathetic name."

"The name I am currently using is Namikaze Takeshi," Harry replied as he fearlessly moved even closer to the cage. "I have heard much about you since I first met my little cousin four years ago but no one seems to know your name; would you tell me your name?"

"You have not earned the right to hear my name, fleshbag."

"Fair enough, fuzzball."

"You are a brave little worm, to insult me so."

"And you are the annoying soul fragment that insulted me first, fox. Several times, I might add. I won't hold that against you this time though since I know exactly how unpleasant it is to be shoved into a cramped prison against your will simply because you exist."

"You are also rather rude… you've not told me what you are or how you hide yourself from me."

"I am a wizard; though, if you wanted to get technical, I suppose you could call me a mage. You could also say that I am a shinobi but sometimes it is still hard to think of myself as such," Harry absently answered as he drifted to a stop right outside of the Kyuubi's cage. "As for how I'm hiding myself…? It's fairly simple; it's magic."

"There is no such thing as magic," the Kyuubi insisted as it huffed in annoyance.

"Wow; you're a real stick in the mud, aren't you, fox? I didn't think anyone outside of my maternal aunt and uncle could be that close-minded in regards to what they couldn't and wouldn't understand. I hate to break it to you, fuzzball, but magic most certainly does exist."

"Prove it."

Harry couldn't help the smirk that plastered itself across his face over the blatant challenge that the Kyuubi had just issued him. Pulling out a mental representation of the Elder Wand, Harry began by transfiguring each of the dozen stone fox statues (which were seated in dignified poses that gave them a regal air) into various amusing positions that made them looking like they were trained circus dogs. He then added insult to injury as he applied clown costumes to their new appearance; complete with make-up, fluorescent colored fur, and silly hats.

He next raised the floor at the center of the Chamber to create a dais (that would place him above the Kyuubi's eye level the moment he stood on it) with a low flight of stairs leading down to the cage. The newly raised section forced the reddish-orange colored waters off to either side where they soon formed a deep moat on either side of the raised section of the floor. After that, he created pipes that siphoned the waters (which he would later learn was actually the fox's chakra that the seal siphoned off from the fox) from the floor up to the ceiling where the waters steadily poured out into twin waterfalls on either side of the Kyuubi's prison.

Another wave of the wand deepened the moat off to either side in order to prevent the water from rising high enough to flood the chamber again; leaving the path from the Chamber's entrance to the Kyuubi's cage clear. A different spell dried the floor and changed it from aged granite into polished marble. The next few flicks of his wand had the walls depicting defining moments of both Harry's and the Kyuubi's life; each scene painted larger than life with full color and amazingly intricate details (all of the scenes pulled directly from Harry's memories, his imagination, and the Kyuubi's memories).

On the left-hand side were the murals and images that depicted his life; an image of James and Lily on their wedding day with Remus and Sirius in the background, a picture of James and Lily holding a newborn Harry, a mural of the frozen tragedy of his parents' deaths coupled with his placement on the doorstep of the Dursleys by Dumbledore, and Harry's eleventh birthday (with Hagrid and Hedwig). After that followed seven more murals that highlighted each of his first six years at Hogwarts and the year he spent hunting the horcruxes.

Then came the Final Battle, another mural of his final year at Hogwarts, the night he rescued Naruto from his aunt and uncle, the moment he became a Jinchuuriki, the day he adopted Teddy as his son, and a mural of the months leading up to the day they'd stepped through the portal. The next mural was of their travels across the Elemental Countries followed by the picture of him and Naruto being given their hitai-ate. The last three pictures depicted a mural of the year and a half Harry spent training under Yamato, the moment Harry was placed on a proper team, and a picture of Harry meeting the Kyuubi for the first time.

The images on the right side of the Chamber started with the image of a shadowy demon with ten tails, a sharp silhouette of the Rikudou Sennin, a mural of all nine bijuu after they'd been separated out from the Juubi, the battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara capturing the moment the Kyuubi was sealed into Uzumaki Mito, and the transfer of the Kyuubi from Mito to Uzumaki Kushina. Next was a poignant mural of the night the Kyuubi was torn from Kushina followed by a detailed picture of the moment where the Kyuubi's soul was split in half.

After that was a mural that represented the nine years of torment that his half of the Kyuubi and Minato suffered together inside of the shinigami's stomach, an image of the night the Kyuubi was sealed inside of Harry from the Kyuubi's point of view, and a picture representing the four years that the Kyuubi had slept peacefully inside of the seal. The very last image was Harry's meeting with the Kyuubi as seen from the Kyuubi's perspective from behind the bars of his prison.

Both sides of the room had several blank panels where future moments of importance would someday be placed.

Harry then turned his wand on the Kyuubi's cage. He started by widening the cage so that the Kyuubi had more than enough room to turn around, he then transformed the no longer flooded floor of the cage into thick loam and moss to make the Kyuubi's bed more comfortable, the walls of the cage were painted to look like a forest, and the ceiling became a weaving of tree branches through which the sky could be glimpsed (the sky set to cycle between day and night). The last thing Harry did to the Kyuubi's cage was to add a doggy door large enough for a medium sized dog to pass through at the far right corner of the gate holding the Kyuubi in place.

"You expect me to believe that magic exists simply because you manipulated my prison in the same way that my previous hosts manipulated my prisons?"

"Were any of your previous hosts able to draw your memories out of your mind without your permission? And did either of your previous hosts ever allow you to step freely outside of your cage?" Harry asked in return as he made his way to the dais and created a comfortable pair of arm chairs, a small chess table complete with wizarding chess set, and two side tables to hold refreshments.

"Do not lie to me; you have not opened the gate to free me!" the Kyuubi bellowed as he (she…?) ignored the remark regarding his (her…?) memories.

"I do not lie. All you have to do is stick your nose through the small door I made on the right hand side of your cage… though I suppose it would be on your left… and you will be allowed to walk out of your cage and join me here on the dais where we can talk face to face."

"Are you mad, Harry!?" Minato demanded from where he was still hovering just outside of the entrance way; the man completely unaware that he'd used Harry's true name in his worry and anger.

"Shut up, Minato," Harry instructed without glancing back at his horrified cousin. "There are restrictions and limitations, of course. For example, you will leave all but a slight trickle of your chakra behind the moment you step through the door; meaning you will have no power outside of your cage. You will also not retain your enormous size since I refuse to allow you the chance to seriously harm me or any other souls that may wind up here inside of the seal. Finally, you can not pass out of the Chamber of Seals… as I've named this room where your cage resides."

"Then what is the point?" the Kyuubi grumbled petulantly.

"The ability to freely move about in a much larger space and participate in activities that will help you to relieve the boredom now that you are no longer slumbering."

The Kyuubi harrumphed and turned around so that its back was facing Harry. Harry knew he still had the Kyuubi's attention though because one of the fox's nine tails of destruction was currently prodding the gold flap of the doggy door that Harry had created. Harry politely ignored the Kyuubi's current insecurities as he conjured a tea set and let himself get caught up in the soothing familiarity of brewing a pot of tea. Once the tea was ready, he conjured up a plate of his favorite tea biscuits and some liverwurst sandwiches (the latter strictly for the Kyuubi) and poured out two cups of tea… well one cup of tea for him and a bowl of tea for the Kyuubi.

It was as Harry was stirring the milk and sugar into his cup of earl gray that the Kyuubi finally gave into its curiosity and poked its nose out through the doggy door. Two seconds later, a cocker spaniel sized fox with bright red-orange fur, normal sized fox ears, and nine fluffy tails stood uncertainly at the foot of the cage. Wrapped around the Kyuubi's neck was a white collar with a complex string of blackened runes seared into it and a bright pink silk bow. Each tail sported an identical collar and bow.

All ten collars were linked to the seal imprisoning the Kyuubi inside of Harry in addition to being a visual manifestation of the spells that he'd used to repress the Kyuubi's full size. Those collars were also how he'd contained the fox's chakra inside of the prison it had just left; leaving a transparent, orange-colored image of the Kyuubi's original form inside of the large cage.

Harry had to suppress the chuckle that bubbled up inside of him over how adorable the Kyuubi looked in its current form when compared to its original form. It was even harder to hide his amusement the moment the bijuu caught sight of its reflection in the red waters pooling at the base of the twin waterfalls.

"What did you do to me!?" the Kyuubi wailed in an obviously feminine voice.

"That was unexpected," Harry coughed as he choked on his tea. "I did not expect you to be female."

"I am not a female!" the Kyuubi hissed in the same girlish tones.

"Apparently this you is the feminine side of your original self; makes sense since you are no longer the same person… err being that you were before you were split in half."

"I hate pink!" the Kyuubi wailed and Harry burst out laughing over the fact that the thing that bothered the Kyuubi the most was that the bows on her collars were pink.

Sharp teeth latching onto his ankle a few minutes later brought Harry's attention back to his surroundings and his wand was soon poking the growling fox biting his ankle in the nose as all traces of amusement fled in the blink of an eye and his growled out an icy cold, "You will let go of me right this instant or I will transfigure you into a nine tailed rabbit and permanently die your fur bright pink."

"Laugh at me again and I will rip your throat out, worm," the Kyuubi threatened even as she rushed to release his ankle.

"If you don't want me to laugh at you, then don't act like a five year old drama queen."

"I hate pink."

"If you behave, then I may consider changing the color for you before I leave. Threaten me again and I'll paint this entire room and the inside of your cage all in shades of pink after I die your fur pink and turn your collars into daisy chains of pink flowers."

The Kyuubi sniffed as she thrust her nose up into the air and hopped up into the other chair so that she could snag one of the sandwiches that Harry had conjured for her (it wasn't real food, of course, but each sandwich did contain the memory of what an actual liverwurst sandwich would taste like). The two of them then sat there in silence while they enjoyed their refreshments (though the Kyuubi would deny enjoying anything given to her by a human) while Minato swore up a storm in the background and questioned Harry's intelligence and sanity with every other breath.

"So, what do foxes like to do for fun?" Harry inquired as he watched the distinctly feminine Kyuubi scratch at her collar like a dog with fleas while ignoring Minato's hissy fit.

"Hunt, kill, and mate."

"Well, I refuse to help you with that last one but I suppose I could figure out a way to have the Chamber of Seals provide you with squirrels, rabbits, fish, birds, lizards, and snakes to hunt. Maybe a second chamber off to one side so you can hunt the creatures in their natural habitat… I'll see what I can come up with so that the next time I visit I can give you a place to run and hunt. I would do it now but I was exhausted before I arrived here and I probably shouldn't have spent so much magic altering the Chamber of Seals and your cage because I really couldn't afford to use so much magic."

"You are unlike any human I've ever bothered to take notice of before," the Kyuubi remarked as she lapped at the bowl of tea Harry had provided for her and watched the wizard with one crimson eye.

"I have yet to meet two individuals that are identical in every way; regardless of what species they are," Harry absently remarked as his attention drifted to his memories; his eyes wandering over the murals and pictures representing his life on the left side of the room. "There may be similarities and we may all act a certain way in response to certain situations but we are all our own persons and there is something inside of us that is unique only to us; that is what makes us who we are and not just a carbon copy of our ancestors."

"You never did answer my question… why can't I view your memories? I could view the entire lives of my previous two hosts."

"I did answer your question; you just refused to believe me at the time," Harry pointed out as he glanced at the fox from beneath his fringe. "My magic prevents you from accessing my memories while at the same time allowing me to view your memories. I have had four years to strengthen the walls that separate your consciousness from mine. Or rather your sub consciousness since your consciousness technically resides within my little cousin."

"I demand that you allow me to see who you really are; I will know my jailer. And there is no way you can view my memories; you are nothing more than a soft-shelled insect."

"You can see glimpses of my life on the walls to my left; that is as much as I am going to allow you to see. I don't particularly care to share my mind with another but I realize in this case it's my own fault since I didn't stop to think about the consequences for making demands of a being I knew nothing about. That still doesn't mean that I'm going to grant you free access to that which makes me, me. And the images opposite of my memories came straight out of your memories; you can try to deny it all you want but the proof is in the pictures."

"You are an annoyingly stubborn fleshbag and I will make you suffer for your refusals to give me my due at the first opportunity."

"And I can lock you back into your cage permanently and make it a far more unpleasant place for you to stay than it was when I first arrived, fuzzball."

"Stop calling me that…" the Kyuubi whined as she scowled at him.

"What else do you expect me to call you after you refused to give me your name earlier?"

"You can call me Kyuubi-sama," the Kyuubi ordered which made Harry snort in amusement and disdain.

"Ah, no, not going to happen; I can't and won't call you that. Maybe Kyu-chan…"

"Absolutely not!"

"Momoiro-chan?"

"Do you have a death wish, little worm?"

"Well, would it really kill you to give me your name?"

The Kyuubi glared at Harry and the wizard was hard pressed to keep from laughing because it looked more like the demon was pouting than actually glaring due to the cuteness factor of her current form. After a moment, the shrunken bijuu finally muttered out a petulant, "My name is Kurama."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Kurama," Harry sincerely replied as he felt his body pulling on his consciousness. "You were far different than I imagined you would be when I first learned of your existence. I have to leave now but I have no doubt that we will meet again. In the mean time, I will leave you with a parting gift."

Just before he disappeared from the mindscape of the seal, Harry flicked his wand to change the color of the bows on the Kyuubi's neck and tail collars from pink to gold while the collars themselves were transformed into solid black bands to better hide the runes that powered them. He couldn't have the fox studying the runes involved and therefore learning how to pick them apart in order to break free, after all.

Translations: Japanese to English

Momoiro – the color pink
Oni Kyoudai – Demon Brothers
Rikudou Sennin – Sage of the Six Paths

Notes:

Harry's fight with the Oni Kyoudai – now, I can see many people complaining that Harry should have wiped the floor with the brothers because the fight with Zabuza and Haku seemed far easier and Zabuza is far more powerful than the brothers. The reasons why it wasn't were:

1) Harry was tired – he's been run ragged since the day they'd arrived as he has taken it upon himself to do the dirty work while he leaves Kotetsu and Izumo to guard their client and he hasn't been sleeping well.

2) Harry was fighting against both brothers in the middle of the forest while he faced Zabuza and Haku with both of his teammates in a more open area.

3) Harry was not wearing his dragon hide cloak this time; which means that he wasn't as protected as he was during the other fight.

4) Harry's body was fighting the poison from the brothers' weapons and while the poison wasn't enough to kill him (because of his magic and the Kyuubi), there was enough of it in his blood to affect his performance because he'd been cut multiple times during the course of the fight. Not to mention the blood loss.

AN: I had originally wanted a bigger fight scene between the Demon Brothers and Harry but any attempts to expand it fell flat. Adding more people into the fight only made things worse too. The meeting with the Kyuubi also didn't go how I planned but the Kyuubi was too exhausted to cooperate with me and I really didn't want my nose bitten off.

Anyway, the next chapter will sort of pick up from where this one left off and explore how Harry's teammates and clients view his little stunt w/ the Demon Brothers. That chapter will be up on Wednesday so that I can have Thursday off for Thanksgiving. Until then, here's a few pumpkin pies to tide everyone over. ~ Jenn