Revelations On The Mountain Range
It was the end of the first day of passing through the mountain range. The air was thin and cold. Naruto and Hikari were getting settled for the night. When the camp was set up Naruto was practicing a ninjutsu that Hikari had shown him. When the time came to build the campfire Hikari told Naruto to light the campfire with the fire elemental training Hikari had him do. It took him about 5 minutes of practice but eventually the fire lit. That was when Naruto asked Hikari if they were running away from the Akatsuki.
"No we are not running from the Akatsuki. We are simply moving to the West for our own reasons. I still have a clan there. And it is your best opportunity for a new life. I doubt that the Akatsuki will come after us, but if they want to realize their plans they will need to. By that time we will simply be more prepared. If the Akatsuki did not exist I would still have offered the West as destination. We also do not flee for the person responsible for your parents deaths and my attack." stated Hikari while moving her food to the campfire in attempt to cook it.
"I know but it still feels as if we are fleeing." muttered Naruto. The blonds appearance was already changing. His former blond hair had started gaining red streaks through it. It had also started to lose its Namikaze spikiness, settling for a more flat look. In short, his Uzumaki heritage was beginning to break through and enter his physical appearance.
"Look we have nothing to do with them. The Akatsuki wants me. I am not going to let that decide what I do with my life. If they want a spectacular battle than they can decide to waste their own lives chasing after me while I do what I want. The guy that used me in attempt to destroy Konoha, might not even care where we are. To him all that might matter is that he cannot use us and that we cannot defend Konoha. Your Uzumaki heritage is starting to show in your physical appearance, so both of them might not recognize you either. You wanted to take revenge on the leaf a while back so why destroy their enemies. Let them destroy those themselves. It currently does not concern us in any wat what these organizations do between each other. I am not even discouraging you from destroying Konoha either. I am just discouraging you from walking the dark path while doing so. The path that Orochimaru does. The path that you saved Sasuke from. The path that will prove to everyone that they were right when they thought of you as a demon." lectured Hikari. "Now can I have an honest opinion of what you think of the hidden leaf and its inhabitants?" asked the demonic vixen.
"I do not like the leaf. They can boil on oil for all I care. Most of its inhabitants are not much better. Exceptions to this are my parents, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-baachan, Hinata, Pervy Sage, the Third, the Ichirakus and Shizune." stated Naruto.
"Okay, lets go over that list. Kakashi was not really a sensei and threw you into danger without ever teaching you. He also gave you your heritage and without him you would never even know. Pervy sage and Tsunade are your godparents, but where were they in your life? One choose porn over your life and the other did the same with gambling. They also did not stop the council from banishing you, while especially Tsunade could do so. Hinata is bad. She stalked you and as a result knew everything that you went through. What did she do about it? She kept silent. You did not know better, but her being taught should obviously know better. She proclaims to love you, yet never did anything about your bad treatment. I do not expect her to rescue you like some hero, but she could at least mention it to the authorities. On top of that her reasons for loving you are that you never give up and are always happy. Kiba also never gives up. And the overly happiness was your mask. She did not even bother to learn about the person behind it. That is the definition of a fangirl. And not just any fangirl, but the kind that uses you as a crutch. The Third is perhaps the worst. Sure mentioning your dad would have been bad, but your mother would not be that bad. Especially since you inherited the title daimyo from her. And the name Uzumaki was a dead giveaway, so keeping your mother silenced had nothing to do with security reasons. Most of that village should have been sentenced to dead, long before they even harmed you because they broke the laws. And the Third knew this as your jinchuriki status was an S ranked secret. If he did not know about them breaking that secret there would not have been such a weird law on the subject in the first place. He also allowed the civilian council to drop the land of fires closest ally from the history books, since that related to you. So you would not realize that you could legally cause problems for the village. Then there is the idea your mother had of the Third destroying your nation in the first do not know anything about Shizune other than the fact that she does not hate you. You ate so much ramen at the Ichiraku stand that you were their mealticket. This means that they might have treated you nicely so they could gain a lot of money. They also brainwashed you into eating so much of that crap. It actually took me effort to snap you out of it. That stuff really impeded not only your physical growth but also the growth of your muscles. Iruka said that you were not me on that moment. He likely wanted you to prevent you unleashing me in the middle of the village. He also might want to get on your good side by believing in you so that you would try to listen to him. Lastly, there is your parents. Who says they would not have turned out to be like Hinata's father or Gaara's father? The only things they ever did for you was give birth to you, seal me in you and wish you the best. Using your fathers name only creates enemies now. Using your mothers would be a dead giveaway that you are the target of the Akatsuki. It also might give some the idea that you are still the same idiotic runt that can easily be manipulated. The name Naruto is very fitting as you really are a maelstrom." replied Hikari.
Naruto needed a little while to let that information sink in. It took a while but then he realized that she was right. Even these people from the leaf had other motives to be nice to him. Meanwhile, it was getting difficult for the vixen next to him to ignore the scent that was coming from their food. The aroma of cooked meat stroked her nose and made her mouth get wet. She quickly removed the food away from the fire and told Naruto that their food was ready. They put the meat in their mouth and made it stroke the tastebuds on their tongue before swallowing and taking another bite. Naruto was stunned at how beautiful Hikari looked during dinner under the dim light coming from the campfire. The way the she ate under that light really brought out her cute side. Hikari was thinking something similar about him. When the time for bed came Hikari changed her clothing first. She secretly moved her sleeping bag closer to Naruto's so that they would be closer together during the night. Afterwards Naruto changed clothes and moved his sleeping bag towards hers.
XXX The Vulpine Empire XXX
The next day
It had just passed noon. Naruto and Hikari were currently traveling alongside the mountain pass. They were currently going downwards towards a valley where they could temporarily rest themselves. Naruto stopped paying attention for just a little while to admire the beauty of his traveling companion. He slipped as a result but quickly got ahold of himself and hung on the mountainside with his hand. His companion quickly turned around and grabbed his hand. They then readied themselves to move Naruto onto the path. The action was entirely in synch and as a result Naruto flew over his designated target and slammed straight into Hikari. Hikari ended on her back with the person she wanted as her mate hovering above her. Practically preventing her from getting up. This was what she wanted and he was accidentally giving it to her. She could not help the blush that was starting to appear on her cheeks. Naruto was stunned from the fall. When he realized their position he could not help his reddening cheeks and started mumbling out apologies. He could not help but be find that her blush made him find her even more cute than he already found her. Naruto stood up and offered his hand to the vixen that he had thrown to the floor to help her up. She took it without hesitation and they continued towards the valley.
It was green in the valley. On the opposite side of the valley they could see the pine trees. Behind that the snowy mountains that they were going to cross next lay. It was a difference to the mountains they had just mover through. Those only had a rocky path. The valley was the ideal place for lunch. Hikari found a fallen tree and the two sat down on it. The two consumed their recently brought bread before continuing their track. Hikari then continued the conversation "Naruto, you know that there is no good or evil, only actions and consequences, right?".
"Yes, I do." replied Naruto. "Then you also know that if you were to take military revenge against Konoha, you would need to create your own military power. Then use them to attack Konoha. And come to terms with the fact that doing this means that people in your military power lose their lives in that attack. And that their children will grow up with one less parent taking care of them. That is why I going West. Because there Konoha, the Akatsuki and that guy will need to travel to get to us. It might discourage them from coming at all. Especially since they would not know where you are." replied Hikari.
They walked through the forest. The fresh air created by the trees did them good. They could find some birds in a tree on the left and saw a mother fox taking care of some kits on the right. Seeing the mother fox made Hikari a little jealous. That fox already had a mate and here she was trying to get one. They made quick progress through the mountain forest and entered the snowy area of the mountain. The snow obscured most of the surrounding area but there still was the occasional pine tree.
After a little ascending the path started descending again. Here they got a nice view of the snow covered part of the mountain range. The snow and the angle of light made it absolutely breathtaking. The path flattened out a little and ended in a bridge that must have been at least a few centuries old. They started crossing the hanging bridge and the sight surrounding them turned even more beautiful. The valley below them seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun. On the other side of the bridge was another mountain but since the bridge ended high, the path it followed descended after just a little while.
When evening came the group of two was still inside the snowy mountains. Not much later the duo came across a small cave. Seeing the cave as the best chance of shelter for the night they quickly entered it. Due to the size of the cave they were forced to eat in close proximity to each other. Not that either of them minded. Naruto quickly thought back to what happened earlier today. It made him feel all warm inside. It has been a month since he found out he loved her and tonight was the night he was going to ask the question. During dinner he mentally prepared himself. When dinner was over he took a deep breath. He looked her in the eyes and asked "Hikari, will you be my girlfriend?".
"No, Naruto. Foxes do not do the boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. Foxes take mates and stay with them for eternity. I love you, Naruto. I want you to be mine. But for a human it might be a little soon. So will you give me a chance to win you over as my mate." replied Hikari.
"I am certainly willing to give you that chance. Hikari, I love you too." answered Naruto. Instead of a verbal reply, Hikari decided to reply by smacking her lips against Naruto's. It felt as if a spark went through both of their bodies. She then licked him on the cheek and kissed him again. This time moving her tongue against his lips asking for entry. Naruto gave it to her quickly and she put her vulpine tongue inside his mouth. They began a fierce make-out session and cuddled before going to sleep. Their sleeping bags lying against each other's.
XXX The Vulpine Empire XXX
The next day they continued the track West. By the end of today they would be close to the West. They walked hand-in-hand and continued walking the path. Meanwhile Hikari told Naruto that the last time she checked the continent they were still a war torn part of the continent. Because of that civil war sneaking in would be a lot easier. They now had something to look forward to other than finding a home, their life