Kitsune Mistress

Princess of Ikana

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and its respective owners.

Chapter 9: Connection


Twenty four hours passed, and they had established a solid routine and surveillance with very little gap for attack.

Sakura hadn't been informed yet that she was under watch, but Itachi was waiting to tell her because she was focusing on her new mentorship with Tsunade and Shizune.

She was expected to start around 9am at the hospital when Itachi was waiting for her at the front of her family's apartment.

"Sakura-san," Itachi greeted her.

"Itachi-sensei?" she asked, confused.

He was wearing standard issue ANBU gear, along with a black cloak with the hood and a decorated bird mask.

"I have been recalled to service, and my first mission is to watch over you while we hunt the kitsune," he explained.

Sakura frowned at the report. So the kitsune was after her now.


After a few days of lazing around in his room, Naruto felt a bit better. He was still disappointed that he may only ever be a genin, but he wasn't terribly mad at his dad anymore. After his initial reaction had calmed down, he saw that as Hokage, his dad was just thinking that the village was abiding by an old treaty…

He was thinking of discussing the topic with Minato today and the different ways he could advocate for himself in asking for changes to the said treaty, as he felt like it was a bit outdated.

There was a knock on his bedroom window, and Naruto looked up to see Sasuke.

Raising his eyebrow, Naruto opened the window and Sasuke climbed inside and shut it behind him.

"Hey."

"Why not use the front door?" Naruto asked with slight sarcasm.

"I did. No one answered, and I already knew you've been refusing to leave your room these past few days," Sasuke stated.

Naruto scratched the back of his head before mumbling that he didn't hear the doorbell and apologized.

Sasuke nodded before crossing over to Naruto's desk and taking a seat.

"I thought that maybe you might want someone to talk to? Nii-san is always around if I need someone, and I thought that because your dad was the Hokage, you might not want to talk to him because he helped decide your circumstances," he murmured, embarrassed.

Naruto began grinning slightly. Sasuke was alright.


It wouldn't be too long now, Yotsuna grinned to herself as she prepared for her new human and vessel to fall asleep on the next full moon. When Sakura attacked her back in the village, Yotsuna made sure to leave her mark on her. She planned on transferring her consciousness into her body, and she would finally have the perfect defense against the damn nine tails.

Her first target was the Izuna look-alike, and then afterwards she would kill every single Uchiha, completing her revenge. Perhaps once that was done, she would allow her reincarnation to have her physical form back.

Getting her affairs in order, she visited her master, the one who offered her eternal life in exchange for her services.

"So you finally get an opportunity to possess a physical form? Hmm… it's been nearly 70 years since you died, that's pretty fast for a spirit to come back for another lifetime…" the elder fox spirit commented casually.

"I was surprised as well. Isn't it usually connected to the spirit's soulmate being born around the same time?" Yotsuna was interested, as she had never met her "soulmate" during her human life, so she didn't know who it could be.

"Yes, it could be that. Maybe they died before you, and reincarnated at an earlier interval compared to you… that would make sense. It's too bad you'll probably be interfering in that aspect of her life," the elder replied, chuckling a bit.

Yotsuna could have cared less about some girl's potential mate, but she was only curious as to what he looked like.


The midday switch occurred on time. Itachi asked if there was anything he needed to know, and 'kuma' declined, saying there was nothing.

Sakura was at the hospital, getting to see first hand what emergency medical ninjutsu and care looked like. She wouldn't be helping in anything for awhile, but she got a glimpse of how hectic and efficient things ran.

Shizune was also teaching her the first medical jutsu any medical shinobi was taught and how important chakra control was.

Itachi and his other two ANBU members had the hospital covered while she worked. He thought about when the fox might come back, or if that was even her plan?

He was good at interpreting enemy movements, as humans were more predictable than others thought. For as long as he could remember, others thought that he was smart and even a genius… his secret was only that he stood back and observed, before reacting, even in the most adverse situations. He would always watch and see before retaliating. Too many people were hot headed, cocky, and non-observant, and it often got them killed, maimed, or captured, depending on what kind of position they found themselves in.

Spirits were typically driven by some negative emotions, from which they had turned into spirits in the first place. They had the time to consider their next move, as they just existed in between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Foxes were also known to be cunning creatures. It didn't mean she was, but he had to consider what she might do if he were her.

He already got the feeling that they had missed something vital, but Itachi wasn't sure what, yet.


Sasuke waited while Naruto and his father talked privately about what it meant to be a jinchuriki. Before the talk, Naruto had asked if Sasuke could stay the night. They had some things to catch up on, as it had been awhile since they all went on a mission.

He didn't know that Naruto was the bookish type, but Naruto explained that it was Sakura who got him into books when they were about 8 years old, just after they entered the academy. He grew bored of school scrolls, and she suggested that he split up his time between reading the assigned stuff and things that were for fun.

He found a love for ninja hero books.

Sasuke hadn't read his favorite 'Shinobi and the Enchanted Scroll of Power' since he was at least 7, so while waiting for Naruto to come back, he divulged into the novel.

Outside the room, in the dining room, Minato and Naruto sat down for their chat.

"What's expected of me?" Naruto asked calmly.

"You cannot leave the village's boundaries without the Hokage's permission. Given that limitation, you will conduct missions solo with a jonin mentor," Minato listed.

"Ok," Naruto replied while writing a note.

"On your 13th birthday, you will be given the choice of any Uchiha woman to take as a bride on your 19th birthday, and be ready to transfer the Kyuubi at 20 or 21 to the next Uzumaki host. Your wife will be married into the Uzumaki clan, as is your right as a male heir, and you will continue the line of future Uzumaki descendants. Once you are free of the tailed beast, you may rejoin the shinobi ranks as a regular ninja, your duty to the village complete, or whichever profession as you see fit," Minato continued.

Naruto sighed, not liking that condition.

"Was that part of being the host to a tailed beast, or just something that comes with the clan?" he wondered out loud.

"The Uchiha wanted to ensure that future generations of Uzumaki would be compatible with the bijuu and ensure that future hosts would be able to ward off the kitsune spirit. It benefits them essentially but ensures the continuation of the Uzumaki line when they are assured marriages." Minato explained, silently agreeing it was an 'old tradition'.

Naruto only rolled his eyes.

"Well, that was made way back in the warring states era, but in the modern era, only the Hyuuga and some Uchiha believe in arranged marriages. I'm way too young to consider who I wanna marry. If anything, I'd like to marry Sakura-chan," he mentioned with a straight face.

Minato glanced at Naruto's bedroom door, almost expecting Sasuke to peer out at the mention of their female teammate, but he didn't, which would have been comical.

Minato sighed. "Even if she was in agreement to that, you are only allowed to marry an Uchiha… at least you get 6 years to get to know the one you choose. Kushina… may not be with us day to day, but she did fight to at least give you that clause when we last discussed the treaty…" Minato told him with some reluctance, as Naruto didn't like discussing her on a good day.

As expected, with the mention of her, Naruto shut down and crossed his arms, a clear sign he was done discussing this topic for today.

"Imma head back to Sasuke. Let us know when dinner is," he said to Minato, getting up and going back to his room.

Minato sighed again. Shouldn't have mentioned Kushina.


Itachi watched over Sakura whilst she went on with her day, and returned to her home in the late afternoon.

"Itachi-sensei, wouldn't it be more convenient for you to watch from the shadows… like the others? No one can really tell you are guarding me in your civilian clothes…" Sakura mumbled embarrassed.

"I'm sorry for the discomfort Sakura, but this is to ensure that she won't slip by us with her speed as a spirit,unlike human form, she can travel at a fairly high speed compared to us and well I'm sure I'd be fast enough to intervene but I cannot take the risk. This affects the whole village if she gets your body" he tried explaining in a way she would understand.

She nodded with a small sigh before bidding him goodnight and entering the apartment.

Itachi disappeared to the roof tops and instructed his subordinates to patrol the property's perimeter.

That night, a full moon rose and Sakura grew restless.

Sakura kept her own secret. When the kitsune had grabbed her in the bushes as she moved to attack Yotsuna, the fox left an inky blue mark on her wrist in ancient script and leaf-like symbols in a bracelet form around her left wrist.

Sakura suspected that it might have been too late to protect her but nothing had occurred since that day so she was slowly letting her guard down. Maybe she should say something?

"Itachi-sensei?" she called out into the darkness of her bedroom as she was sitting in bed, reading a book, trying to relax before going to sleep.

He appeared, cloak and mask back on.

"I'm sorry I didn't mention it before but I have a mark" she whispered, trembling from nervousness.

He flinched slightly.

"Show me" he commanded.

Sakura took her sleeve on her left arm and pulled it away so he could see the ink.

Itachi considered it for a moment before disappearing into the shadows.

Sakura took him leaving as a bad sign and left her book on her nightstand, willing herself to sleep and deal with it in the morning.

Itachi reappeared on the rooftops and reassembled his small team. This needed to be reported to the Hokage immediately, as they may need someone from the sensory team to assist since Sakura was already marked by the kitsune.

'Kuma' appeared near midnight to take over Itachi's shift now over but Itachi insisted on staying a bit longer, a new development had occurred and he swiftly explained about her marking.

Inside Sakura's subconscious, the kitsune made her move and attempted to take over Sakura's mind with her spiritual powers, but unexpectedly someone in the void stood in her way.

"Hmm, so you're mentally strong as well I see" Yotsuna commented snarky.

"Of fucking course I am" inner Sakura retorted with a grin of her own.

The transference of the subconscious should have been instantaneous but Yotsuna took about an hour to subdue her wild inner personality but in the end, Sakura was now her prisoner for eternity…


A/N: 0.0 yeah it was too late. Thanks to Cherry for looking this over as always.

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P.s: you guys get a bonus update since I missed my original deadline this month xD