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Previously

“Well, I’m no expert on this, but it could because someone she really likes is giving her the compliments.” stated Anko as she walked up to the little group.

“Oh, OH! Like when Iruka-sensei acts around you Nee-chan? He blushes sometimes, and has a hard time looking at you when you come to visit. But I know he only does that because he likes you…”, here Naruto trailed off as he suddenly realized what everyone was pointing out to him.

Once Naruto realized this, his brain promptly shut down from the overload. In the back of his mind he knew for sure he heard Hikari laughing, and if he looked she was probably rolling around in the grove holding her stomach from it. He did how ever manage to hear a few things.

Tsunade, Anko and Shizune all saw the stunned look on Naruto face as the information finally sunk into his head. But they didn’t expect what happened next. Naruto suddenly started to fall forward as he fainted from the revelation.

Shizune being the closest one to him, caught him before he managed to hit the ground. All three women had to laugh at the shade of red on Naruto’s cheeks.

“Well, looks like he figured it out. Who knows maybe he feels the same way, he wouldn’t react like this if he didn’t at least feel something more then friendship towards her. If I remember correctly they have played together the last five years, and become very good friends.” said Anko as she picked Naruto up to take him down to their room.

Konoha

“Very well Ibiki, she may go, I at least owe her something for the way I have acted these past few years. But if one hair is harmed on her, you can count on me coming for your head, as well as the demon's.”

Hiashi was visibly saddened, something that had not been seen by anyone since the death of his wife years ago. Ibiki was starting to regret bringing up the subject of his wife, but knew it might be the only way for the stern man to allow this.

“Thank you Hiashi-sama. You have no idea how much this will mean to Naruto and I’m sure Hinata will enjoy herself. I give you my word nothing will happen to her while she is there. If need be, I will pick her up myself, and escort her to the location.”

“I will hold you to those words Ibiki. Now please leave me, I have much to do.”

Both men exchanged short bows, and quickly went on their way. With his greatest task done, Ibiki only had one other thing on his mind.

‘I hope Asuma is up for some drinking tonight, I can sure use a few after that.’

With that Ibiki left to find only remaining drinking buddy, since Anko was out of town at the moment.


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Dawn of The Kitsune

Ibiki had wasted very little time that night heading to the nearest bar. Once there he managed to rinse away most of his stress from his meeting with Hiashi, and let his mind wonder to other things. Things like Naruto and Anko.

‘I hope you two are still okay. The message the Hokage gave me didn’t say much, and leaves much to let the mind fill in. Damn you Anko, you had to take him on the mission. Why couldn’t you just decline the damn thing, then you and Naruto would both be safe. Going to have to knock you both upside the head a few times when you get back. Of course there is also Naruto’s birthday coming up next week too. I have my part of the deal covered, so you better make sure your a** gets here in time for the party, I went through too much just to get his friends here. I’m not sure I would be able to go through all of that again if you miss this party.’

With that Ibiki finished off his third bottle of Sake for the night, and just sat there in his own private little booth, looking down in his cup.

“Yo Ibiki”, looking up at the speaker, Ibiki noticed a certain silver haired Jonin, wearing his hitaiate over his left eye. The person sounded too happy to Ibiki, not to mention said person just pissed Ibiki off by existing. The little orange book the Nin had in front of him might have had something to do with it.

“What do you want Kakashi.”,was all Ibiki had to say to the man. “While you are talking to me, I’d at least like for you to put that garbage away.”

“Hm, I suppose I could, but I was just getting to the best part.” Kakashi paused as he heard a growl coming from Ibiki. “Relax, I’m not here for a fight or anything. I am just delivering a message, or should I say request.” mumbled the silver haired Jonin with his only visible eye betraying his amusement.

“Get on with it then, I don’t have all day to listen to your rambling. Not like I can stand to look at you much more.”

“Hm, well since you put it that way, Hokage-sama wanted to see you in his office in the morning. So I guess I’m done here.”, with that he vanished in a plume of smoke as he took his leave.

“Guess I’ll have to cut this drinking session short tonight, always tomorrow, maybe Asuma or Genma will be around then.”. With those final words Ibiki paid his bill, and went on his way home, hoping he could get through the week with out killing some idiot.


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Hokage’s Office

A cloud of smoke briefly blocked the Hokage’s view of his office doors, and as the cloud cleared a Hatake Kakashi stood, book in hand.

“Ah, back so soon Kakashi, so I take it you have delivered the message?”

“Yes Hokage-sama, though I still don’t see why you have me do that for Ibiki and Anko. You know how we feel towards each other.” answered Kakashi is a mildly serious tone.

Sighing the Hokage looked back to Kakashi, “I would have thought that you three would have worked your problems out by now Kakashi. I know it is hard for you, but you must move on, and understand that Naruto had nothing to do with the death of your Sensei. So there is no use in blaming him for it.”

“I can’t help but do that. When I look at him, I am reminded of Sensei. The whisker marks, the fox like grin. Just knowing that the Kyubi is inside of him makes me wary of being around him. Under normal conditions I would kill the thing or person who did this. But I can’t do that in this case now could I?” as he was talking he went from a somber tone to one that showed slight anger.

“I know Kakashi, but still, can’t you do what he asked? He wanted Naruto to be seen as a Hero, but yet his greatest student, the Copy-Nin Kakashi, can’t see that he is just a normal boy, with a great burden on his shoulder. sigh It seems that the Sharingan can not see everything sadly. But you do know Kakashi, if his grades keep up the way they are, and he graduates with Uchiha Sasuke, you will be stuck with him.”

“Well, hopefully by then he drops out, or raises his grades. I don’t think the team would do well with the Uchiha, him and myself all on the same team. I have no problem with the Uchiha, since it is the least I could do for Obito, but I can not make myself see the other boy any other way. Arashi-sensei was like a father to me, and helped me through a great deal. To be constantly reminded of why he died every day; well I would hate to see what might happen.” it was with those final words Kakashi vanished in a cloud of smoke.

“It is a shame you feel that way Kakashi. I hope you feel differently by the time it comes to place him on a team. But if not, I think I have a back up plan ready.. Now if he would just stay in the village long enough to use him.”, all the while he was tapping his fingers on a small envelope, one he quickly locked away in his desk till the person he needed arrived.

Finally the Hokage got back to what many Kages have learned to hate once in office. Paperwork.


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Hyuga Compound

Hiashi was walking through the large building that housed the Main house of the Hyuga clan, looking for a certain young Heiress. All the while the conversation with Ibiki playing through his mind.

‘Hitome, what do you think of me now? Am I still the man you fell in love with? Or have I become the type of person you despise? I have treated our little Sunshine so badly since you left us, how could I make it up to her? I have let the council tell me how to treat our Sunshine, and let them tell me how weak she is. Sadly she is not weak, she is just too kind hearted, just like you were. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone.’

As he was going through the halls he stopped at an old ornate door. Pausing for a second he turned and opened the door and walked in. Once in he closed it back, and started to light the numerous candles that surrounded a small cabinet on a table in the middle of the room. Once done with the candles he opened the cabinet to reveal a photo of a woman, who looked very much like Hinata, except older, and with a soft gentle smile on her face.

“Hitome, I fear that I have done something terrible. Not only have I shunned the Hero of our village, but I did the same to our daughter. How could you ever forgive me?”

Hiashi grabbed an incense stick and after lighting it, placed it by the cabinet, and bowed his head in a prayer.

‘I promise Hitome, from this day forward I will try to change. I will try to become the person you fell in love with once again. I will no longer bow to the Will of the elders. I will do what you would have wanted of me. I will become the father I should have been after you left. It may be too late to change the past, but I can try to change the present and the future. Please give me the strength I need Hitome. I have been lost in the dark for too long.’

With that Hiashi raised, and gently blew the candles out and left the room. He was now determined to make amends with his family, and the first step was to let Hinata know of the party. While walking down the halls he couldn’t help but remember the past events and what brought him to become the person he was now.


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Flashback

Hyuga Hitome was sitting in the Hospital, deathly ill. Her skin was paler then normal, and her eyes had a far away and glazed over look in them. She was dieing, not yet dead, but slowly passing away. She had been like this for the last few two weeks. No one knew what was the cause of it. All of the best medics had examined her, and all the Hyugas had done the same. Yet no one could tell what had happened.

No one could tell if it was poison, illness, or some disease, as there was no sign of anything in her system to indicate such things. All they could do was make her as comfortable as possible, as the pain she was going through was immense. What ever it was had to be giving her unbearable pain, as every so often she would wince in pain, with her beautiful face contorting with it. If it wasn’t for the sedatives she was giving, it would be ten times worst, and her screams could be heard on the other side of the village.

Hiashi stood by her side, holding her hand, trying to offer what comfort he could. Each wave of pain that hit her, hit him with the force of a Rasengan. He didn’t know what he could do to help her, he had felt so helpless as he stood there and watched his love slowly fade away from this life.

To make matters worst for him, he had a meeting with the Clan Elders later that night. They wanted to discuss the lack of growth of his eldest daughter, Hinata, and her choice of playmates. They feared that her associating with the Kyubi child would cause people to think that the Hyuga favored the child. Far be it for them to see him as a Hero, much like several others, including the child’s newest family.

No, they did not want Hinata to have anything to do with him. They feared that she would be caught up in any act of violence that would be directed at him. That or she would do something that would tarnish the Clan’s “perfect” image. So Hiashi knew they would force him to make his daughter separate from her one true friend, and someone who may have indirectly saved her.

It had been just over seven months since that incident, but it still stuck out in his mind. Hinata being left alone in the park, and then days later the Branch member guard being found in the forest by the Inuzukas, sliced in half.

Hiashi stood there beside his wife for who knows how long, he gently held her hand, and slowly felt the life drain from out of it. Finally the only sound left in the room was the buzzing of the monitor as it signaled the last of her life leaving her.

The doctors and Medic-Nins did what they could, but everyone there knew it would be to no avail. Hiashi stood over her, and felt like a part of his heart had past away with her. Slowly he released her hand, and just looked down at her face, which was frozen in a contortion of pain, marring her face. He had to turn away, he couldn’t stand seeing her once beautiful, elegant and graceful features in such a way. Slowly he left the room, no tears coming from his eyes, just silent rage at who ever or what ever caused this. So being a proud man, he kept his depressed feelings locked away deep inside of himself.

His next thoughts were how was he going to tell his daughters about the passing of their mother. Hanabi would never truely get to know her mother, just being born a month ago in March. Hinata on the other hand would surely be able to grasp the meaning of this, and she would be crushed when she learned she had lost her mother. Pushing those thoughts aside for now, he walked as calmly as he could back to the Hyuga compound, first to get this deplorable meeting out of the way, then to mourn his loss with his daughters. He could not let his mask slip now, he had to stay strong.

He finally made his way home, and was greeted by members of the Branch family. Managing small nods to them he made his way to the meeting room, not looking forward to what was due to be discussed.

Hiashi sat listening halfheartedly to the Elders, thinking more of his wife, and his children. So he was surprised when he heard his name being called. Jerking his head up, he looked towards the head of the Elder council.

“Hiashi, we feel that it is time to stop these childish acts that your daughter has been committing. Not only is she consorting with the demon, but she is ruining the reputation of the Hyuga when she is seen with him. We must put a stop to this, as far as we know your wife’s death could be the fault of the demon.”

Hiashi’s head jerked up once again at this comment, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the man. “Uzumaki-san could not have been the cause of such an act. He is only a child..” Hiashi was cut off as another Elder spoke up.

“Yes, a child who happens to hold the most powerful demon in the world behind his navel. We do not know how cunning this demon is. Being a Kitsune we can be sure it isextremelyclever, and capable of doing such acts. No, I think this could be his doing, it would explain several things, such as why it has befriended your daughter, or why they could find no cause for your wife's death.It wishes to get a hold of the Hyuga eyes, or to destroy the strongest clan of Konoha and with your wife gone, it can do so much more easily then it could before.” Many of those gathered in the room nodded in agreement with the statement, some calling for the death of the demon child.

Hiashi sat there and thought about what he had just heard. In a way some part of him knew the statements were false. Yet a part of him, the part that was looking for something or someone to blame the death of his wife on was grabbing onto the statement, holding onto it with all that it could.

“Hiashi, we know you are in mourning, but that does not mean you should put your daughters in danger. Even if the demon is not responsible for the death of your wife, your daughter could be in danger just by being around him. Who knows when it will break out, or who may come to try to destroy it. She could be hurt by those meaning to kill it, or even worst, they could kill her or take her. But either way we as the council can not have the future heiress to the clan in such a position.”

Hiashi nodded in understanding. He had already lost his wife, and he could not risk losing his daughters, the only thing he had left of her.

“I understand, and I will instruct Hinata on this. I will also address it with the Branch member who shall be guarding her.”

‘Could what they say be true? Could Hitome’s death have been orchestrated the Kyubi? Could it only be using the boy to full fill it’s wants and needs. What better way then to use an innocent looking child.’


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Flashback

A seven year old Hinata was in the family dojo sparring with her cousin, Neji, of the branch family. Her father and sister watching.

Neji was a genius of the family Taijutsu style, and bloodline, far surpassing some members of the Main house. Hiashi, and the council though expected the next in line as head of the clan to be able to surpass this though. So they regularly had the two spar since Hinata had turned six, hoping she would show some talent in the family traditions.

Sadly Hiashi and the Elders were disappointed, as Neji would continually out match Hinata in every way. He was far superior to her in the Jyuuken, and in the abilities of the Byakugan. So of course Hiashi was starting to become disappointed in his daughter, and the Heiress to the clan’s performance. After the first six months he had started to demand why she performed so poorly, and always was beaten by a Branch member in the sparring sessions. All she would do was look at her father, eyes tearing up, and slowly hang her head, as she knew she had failed him again.

Hiashi had started to become stricter on her after the meeting two years ago that made it forbidden for her to be around the Uzumaki. He could still remember her eyes as he told her she could no longer play with him, how the boy was not a Hero, but a monster, trash not worth the time of day. Shortly afterward he tried to train her personally in the Jyuuken and the uses of the Byakugan, only to see she performed them poorly. Her attempts at the arts only enraged him as she did the poorly, making him ashamed of her.

Sighing as Hinata was once again knocked to the ground by Neji, Hiashi spoke up. “That is enough for today, Hinata, you once again disappoint me. Your performance was poor, Hanabi shows greater skill at her current age then you ever have. Leave and clean up while I begin her training now. You have wasted enough time today.”

Hinata hung her head at her father’s words, and bowed before heading to get cleaned up. All she could do is wonder why her father changed so much after her mother passed away.


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Present

‘What a fool I was to think those things. He has gone above and beyond anything a Demon could think of doing. From what I’ve heard he has withstood several beatings, and yet he still has not broken. I should have more faith in the Yondaime and the Sandaime. I should have believed the words you said to me Hitome, “The child is not the demon of this village. The villagers are the true demons. They attack the poor boy with such anger and hate, never being able to see beyond what they feel is the surface. Theywish to findthe true demons then they should look in a mirror. Uzumaki Naruto, he is a Hero of this village, and should be treated as such by us, and not shunned.'

Hiashi stopped himself outside of Hinata’s room, and wonder how he should go about this. It had been so long since he had spoken with his eldest daughter in any friendly way. Looking back at the last five years, he felt like he was watching another person, one who was cruel, and heartless to his daughter. Not the man he felt he should have been, and was before his wife passed.

Shaking the thoughts away, he gently knocked on his daughter’s door, hoping to be able to change how she must see him. Waiting and wondering what he should say to her. As he stood there, he nearly missed the soft, and timid reply from within the room.

“C-come i-in”, came from within the room, and with it Hiashi gently slid the door open, and stepped into the room. Once he was inside, he paused to look around the room, never before caring what it looked like. He was once again reminded of how much he did not know about his eldest daughter.

‘So she enjoys her mother’s past time, flower pressing, I suppose I should not be surprised.’

As Hiashi looked around he could see several flowers that had been preserved and framed and hung on the wall, or in assorted frames around the room. He also took note of several flowers he had not seen in some time, and only found in one place according to his knowledge. Curious, he walked over to one, and lifted it from the bookshelf it rested on. One particular flower caught his interest, as he had never seen one in any shop or garden before.

“Where did you get this flower Hinata? I have never seen it around in our gardens, or any other place before.”

Startled, Hinata turned to see her father holding a flower, one she treasured like no others. The flower in question was one of the first ones she was ever given from someone outside of her family, and it also happened to be a flower that was given to her by none other then Naruto. It was a blue rose, one that Naruto claimed he made himself, which gave it even more value to Hinata, all because it was a gift from him, and it almost matched the color of his eyes perfectly.

“Otou-san.” Hinata said, and gave a small bow from her current kneeling position by her futon. “T-t-that flower w-was given t-to me by a f-friend.” was all she was capable of stuttering out. She was starting to grow nervous with the attention her father was giving some flowers in her room, most of which had come from Naruto.

“Hinata” came his voice once again. Though not saying it, Hinata knew her father wanted her to look up at him. “Morino-san came by earlier, he was wondering if you would like to attend a small gathering for Uzumaki-san.” he paused as he noticed a small blush starting to form on Hinata’s cheeks. He also couldn’t help but notice her shaking, ever so slightly, as if she was afraid of what he might say next.

“I thought you were instructed to stop seeing him. I understand you attend the same academy with him, but to see him outside of those boundaries, it is almost as if you defy my words, and those of the council.” He declared with a stern tone, and started to regret it when he noticed her looking down towards the ground, and shaking a little more violently.

“But, I can see it is useless to keep a Princess from seeing her Hero. Just remember who you are, and do not do anything deemed unacceptable by our standards.” With that Hiashi set down the framed flower, and started to walk out of the room. As he was leaving he paused at the door to look back at Hinata.

“Also, Morino-san will come by on the tenth next week, to take you to the gatheringfor Uzumaki-san’s birthday. I hope that you enjoy yourself.”, and with those parting words Hiashi left a stunned Hinata to wonder what just happened.

‘Thank you Otou-san’


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Naruto’s Mindscape

Naruto was walking through the grove of his mind, slowly making his way towards where he and Hikari usually trained. In his daze he couldn’t help but trip over just about every root and rock all the while thinking about what was just revealed to him.

‘Hinata-chan likes me, but why? She is nice and all, but she could probably have any guy she wanted if she wasn’t so shy. So why does she like me? Do I even deserve someone like her? She is really nice, and I don’t see why or how she could like me. Then there is the fact that her entire family would rather see me dead. Maybe that is why, she wants to get even with them for something.’

Finally, and with out paying attention to where he was, Naruto made it to the clearing where Hikari stood waiting for him. She could tell he was deep in thought, not just from the look on his face, or the numerous cuts and tears in his clothes. She could tell because when ever he became deep in thought the “sky” of the Mindscape would become clouded, just like the sky does when a storm is approaching.

‘I guess it was a bigger shock to him then I thought. I just wish he wouldn’t doubt himself like this. He really doesn’t see that he is a great person, now if he would quit letting the villager’s words get to him like this.’

“Naru-chan”

Naruto tensed hearing his old nickname called out. One that he dreaded more then any other name, even Dobe, or dead last. Thankfully only a few called him that, and had stopped when he turned ten.

“Don’t call me that! I’m not a little kid any more Nee-chan!” he yelled at Hikari, as he jumped out of his shock and starting shaking a fist at her.

“Well the way you are walking and acting right now makes me think differently. Besides, you will always by my little Naru-chan, and there is nothing you could do about it. I mean after all I am one of the oldest people in your village.” after that she playfully stuck her tongue out at Naruto, hoping to lighten the mood some. Thankfully Naruto managed a small smile at her antics.

“Now, why not tell me what is bothering you? Who knows I might be able to help you some.”

Sighing, Naruto started to look down at the ground and kick at what ever was with in his range on the ground. He felt embarrassed to be talking about something like this with someone he looked to as a sister.

‘But who else can I to talk to, Shizune-nee-chan, Tsunade-baa-chan, definitly not Ero-Sennin. I hardly know them three, so it just leaves me with my Nee-chans, and I know Anko-nee-chan would pick on me about it. Too bad Aniki or Iruka-sensei aren’t here, they might be able to help me..’

Sighing, Naruto sat down as if he was defeated. Seeing this Hikari sat down across from him, and waited to hear what he had to say.

“Nee-chan.. I don’t know what to think. Every one says Hinata-chan likes me, but I don’t see why she could or would like me. I mean she is a great friend, but why would she see me like that? It doesn’t make sense, even when I know her family hates me; and I hate most of them back.” Naruto paused and mumbled something, which to Hikari sounded something like Hiashi-teme.

“I just don’t know how she could see me as anything other then a friend. There are so many other guys she could have if she wanted. I mean I know Kiba likes her, or so Shikamaru says sometimes. So why does she like me? No girls like me except for my Nee-chans, and Ayame-chan, even then it is just like brother and sister.”

Looking on, Hikari saw him hang his head as a wave of emotions started to play out on him. There was confusion, happiness, sadness, hope, surprise, and just about every other emotion possible for a ten year old boy.

‘Looks like it will take a lot to set him straight. He just doesn’t seem to realize how much he means to her.’ Sighing Hikari stood up and made her way to sit beside Naruto.

“Naru-chan, no one said love made sense. If it did everyone would be an expert at it, and would never need to talk to other about it. It’s a shame too, because then you wouldn’t have to worry about that pervert Jiraiya peeking on everyone and writing his dirty books.” she looked down and noticed Naruto trying to hold back his laughs at the joke.

“Now, as to why she could like you, or even love you, well that is easy enough to explain. You might not have noticed, but she has watched you for the last five years. She has seen the things you go through, and how you don’t let them hold you down. You push on no matter what happens to you. She admires that strength, and your determination. To her you are everything she is not.” Hikari was interrupted as Naruto burst out.

“Hinata-chan is strong! She just doesn’t like to hurt people. She’s really smart too! She has helped me a lot on our tests and homework. She cares a lot about people too.” stated Naruto firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head.

“Yes, you may see that in her, but her family, mostly her father and that cousin see her as weak, and she lets that get to her. She has been under that stress for who knows how long. So she has developed an inferiority complex, so she does not see herself in the same light you do.”

Hikari looked down at Naruto, and noticed the emotions playing across him. First was confusion over what she claimed. Next came anger, at the way Hinata may have been treated. Then came sadness, that he never knew one of his best friends was treated that way. Anger came again, this time at himself for not seeing it and trying to help. Lastly came a look of determination.

“I.. I didn’t know she went through that. But now that I do know.. I don’t want to see her like that any more, she doesn’t deserve to be treated that way. Family shouldn’t treat family that way.. They are supposed to care for each other, and support each other. Not do those types of things like they did to Hinata-chan. Now that I know, I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe. She was one of my first friends. Thanks to you, Shizune-chan, and Tsunade-baa-chan, I think I might feel the same way about her..”

His final sentence was almost whispered out, as he was looking down towards the ground, as if he was still trying to sort things out in his mind. But from his words, and the force behind many, there was no doubt he did care for her on some level.

“Good, now that we have that settled, I think you should wake up, because I have a feeling we have a lot of explaining to do .” With that, Naruto felt her thump one of his ears on the top of his head, and felt himself drifting away.

‘Wait, since when are my ears on the top of my head!.’

But before he could say or ask anything, he found himself slowly waking, and hearing someone cry out at something inside of the room he shared with Anko.


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The Odyssey, Sleeping Quarters

Anko had walked into the room intending to check on Naruto, but there was one problem. Where Naruto should be was a person who had silver hair down past his shoulders. The hair seemed to shine in what little moonlight came in from the window to the cabin.

Fox like ears sat a top of the head, lined with what looked like silver fur, all except one spot on them. The tips of the ears seemed to be colored the same sun kissed blonde as Naruto’s, making them stand out amongst the silver hair.

The face of the person was very similar to Naruto’s except the whisker marks seemed to be much darker. The irises were not the same brilliant blue as they used to be, but a dazzling silver and the pupils were vertical slits, which seemed to be the brilliant blue that his eyes used to be.

Anko couldn’t tell much about the body of the person, but he looked to be about the same height and build as Naruto. Not overly bulky or skin and bones, but seemed to have the perfect body, one most men wish they had, and many women would want. She was able to see one hand, that had fallen out from under the blanket, the nails on the hand had extended, and looked very much like the claws Naruto had when he fought Zabuza. His toes nails looked just the same, as they were barely visible at the foot of the bed.

One other thing caught her attention quickly after a quick glance over the body. A silver and blonde tail, slowly moving and hanging off the side of the bed. The tip, just like the earswas blonde.

All of these observations were made by Anko in a matter of seconds. Once that was done she wasted no time in pulling out a kunai and setting herself into a defensive stance, all in case this person proved to be hostile. It is to that scene that Naruto finally became aware of his surroundings and raised a hand to absently scratch the top of his head, out of habit when he normally wakes.

The first thing to hit his mind upon doing this was simple to understand from his perspective.

“Why do I have a pair of fox ears!”, was one of the first thing yelled by the young man. He quickly noticed the sharp claws on his hands and feet, along with a strange pain coming from just above his tail bone. “Gah, what the hell happened, why do I have this pain in my..”, he trailed off as he noticed Anko standing not to far from him in a battle stance, and eyes glued to him.

“Nee-chan? What’s wrong?”, asked the puzzled boy as he quirked his head to the side, looking more and more like a fox with the action.

Anko just stood there watching this person who claimed her as his sister, all the while wondering if he was really who he claimed to be. “Naruto? Is that really you?”

“Of course it’s me Nee-chan! Who else would I be? I know I must look different, which is a surprise to me too, but I’m still me.” came the reply from the silver haired Naruto.

Anko, unsure if what he was saying was true, just looked Naruto over again.

“Alright, if you really are Naruto, prove it to me. Tell me something that only he would know.”, stated Anko as she kept her eyes on Naruto.

‘God, do I really look that different? I wish these rooms had mirrors or something in them.’

“What do you expect? It’s not every day that you see someone as a normal human one day, and a Kitsune hanyo during the night. I mean how often do you think she sees her little brother wake up looking just like a fox?”

‘I guess you have a point there, so just what do I tell her? ‘Sorry Nee-chan I’m now half demon. But don’t worry about me, because now I kick more butt then I did before.’ She would kill me before I had the chance to finish.’

“Well, not like she could kill you when you are in this form. Your strength, speed, and defenses all surpass those of any mortal. Your life span will be much longer then anyone else as well. You also have the abilities of the Kitsune now, meaning being able to see through many Genjutsu in this form. Your Kitsune Illusion would be able to completely hide you from someone’s view now, and would be nearly instinctual to use. The might also be added benefits when you use the skill, and you might be able to modify it.”

‘Okay, time to test that theory of yours. But what can I say that would only be known in our small little family?’

“Well, that is up to you, just think about it and I’m sure something will come to you.”

“Well um.. Something that only I would know, and I guess you and Aniki too. Well there is the last practice session we had before this mission..”, Naruto started only to be cut off by Anko.

“Sorry, but anyone could have seen that, try again.”

Suppressing a growl, he started to think again to figure out something. Finally after what felt like hours he remembered something.

“I know! There was only three people present when I gave you a gift from on our first trip together. There was you, Aniki, and myself, the gift was a tanto in polished ebony, wrapped up in red silk. It also had the ability to catch fire when chakra was channeled into it, which is why it was named the Dragon’s Fang.”. As he finished he looked to Anko, hoping this would be enough to earn her trust, and make her believe he was who he claimed to be. Thankfully he was not disappointed.

Anko looked at Naruto once again, this time she saw him in a different light, as the person who he claimed to be. “Naruto.. What the hell happened to you? If this is some Henge, you better drop it, because it’s not funny any more.”

“Heh.. Well you see Nee-chan, I kind of wish it was a Henge, but it’s not. Remember when I was telling you, Shizune-nee-chan, Baa-chan, and Ero-Sennin about some side effects of using the chakra from Hikari-nee-chan? Well, it seems that with the chakra amount that I used, and the fact that some has always been slowly leaking into me since she was sealed in me.. Ibecameahalfdemonkitsunenow.”, Naruto rushed through the last part hoping to confuse Anko some what.

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. Anko was now becoming red in the face with trying to hold back her outburst to what he just said. But, anyone who knows Anko also knows she has a hard time keeping her temper in check.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!”, she exploded, her words reaching all over the ship, and causing a certain three people to rush to the room. The first person to make it was Tsunade with a chakra charged fist blowing the door off of the hinges.

“Anko! What’s going on.” Yelled Tsunade as she charged through the, or what was left of the door. As she came in and looked to see what was going on her eyes instantly fell upon Naruto and his new look. Upon seeing him she along with Shizune and Jiraiya fell into battle stances ready to fight this intruder. Each having their own thoughts about the person standing in front of them.

‘Who is this strange boy, and why can’t I fell his chakra? It’s almost as if he isn’t even here.’ were the thoughts of Jiraiya.

‘Wow, what a great body…No.. NO Shizune! Now is not the time to be admiring someone who might be your enemy’ were the thoughts of Shizune.

‘Who ever the hell this fox person is I know one thing for sure. If he hurt one hair on Naruto’s head he is as good as dead.’ thought Tsunade as she observed the new Naruto.

“NARUTO! What the hell do you mean you’re a Kitsune Hanyo now! I’m going to kill her for this! Kami-sama! Do you have any idea how hard this is going to be to explain to the villagers!” shouted Anko as she felt the weight of what Naruto claimed coming down on her.

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune all just stood there stunned at what they just heard, and the implications of such things. Jiraiya was the first to come out of his stupor to question the two in the room.

“Anko, Naruto, would either of you like to explain to us what is going on here? I mean something about why Naruto looks like a fox now might be useful, you know.”

“He he.. Well you see Ero-Sennin, remember when I was telling you about some of the side effects of using so much of that special Chakra of mine? Well this is the side effect..”

“We gathered that much brat, now how about a more detailed explanation.”

“I’m not sure about all of the fine details,” started Naruto as he walked back over to his bed and sat down. As he did he started to flex his claws, almost as if he was testing them. “But from what Hikari-nee-chan has told me, since I have absorbed so much of her demonic chakra, or Youki, I am now a Hanyo. I’ve been slowly absorbing if since she was sealed inside of me, which seems to be the purpose of the seal placed on me by the Yondaime.”

Naruto paused again as he looked around the room, making sure everyone understood what was being said so far. “Oh yeah Ero-Sennin, mind putting up one of those Silence Jutsus, just so we don’t have anyone listening in and all?”

Jiraiya slapped himself in the head for not thinking of that before now, and quickly did as requested by the young Kitsune Hanyo. After he was done he nodded for Naruto to continue.

“It seems though that with the recent surge of chakra into my system, is what made this possible. The seal was supposed to just leak the chakra into me and add it to my reserves, there for making a nearly unlimited chakra reserve for me. But when I used her power in Water Country I changed everything. If there was never such a large surge of youki into my self I would have just stayed normal, maybe changed my appearance a little, but nothing this drastic. But since I did, and I happen to have one of the strongest Kitsune demons inside of me, I turned into this.”

“So are you always going to look like this, or is there some way to control it?”, asked Tsunade calmly. But inside of her head was another story. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out how this might change his life back in Konoha.

“Well, that is the one thing I don’t know for sure yet.. It could be a temporary, and only happens during certain times of the lunar phases, or it a permanent problem. If it is something that turns out to be permanent I could always learn a real strong Genjutsu, or use my natural Kitsune abilities to change the way I look.”

Every one nodded, well everyone except Anko who was still shocked and extremely pissed about this development.

“Besides, if I have to stay like this there are some bonuses.”

With their interest piqued, everyone leaned forward a little more to hear what those benefits might be.

“For example, I can see through a lot of Genjutsu as this, since Kitsunes pretty much patented them along with tanukis. When I say a lot, I mean a LOT. I can even see through some very powerful ones.”

Hearing this Tsunade raisedan eyebrow up and looked at Naruto. At the same time Jiraiya and Shizune looked over at Tsunade, a little worried about what might happen next.

“So yeah Baa-chan, I can see through yours, but I don’t see what you keep that thing up all the time honestly. For your age you look to be in great shape. I mean it seems age hasn’t really touched you as bad as it has Ero-Sennin.”

Jiraiya was shocked to hear this, but his shock didn’t last for long, as it quickly turned into anger at the last thing said. “Brat! I teach you some Ninjutsu that some Jonin don’t even know and that is all you have to say for thanks! I am the best looking person my age you will ever find! Women flock to me! The Gama Sannin! The lady killer! There is no way an old flat chest hag like Tsunade could have aged more gracefully then me!”

After the declaration there was only one thing in the room, silence. Complete silence, a silence that was quickly being filled with thick killing intent, so thick it was starting to make Hikari worry for her own health. The blood lust coming from one person in the room was enough to make many of the deck hands crawl under their bunks in fear and cry for their “mommy”.

The source for all this was the only blonde female one would find on the ship. A single blonde female who could level city blocks with a single punch, or level mountains my multiple punches. The one who had many names, including “Legendary Sucker”, “Slug Sannin”, or “The Greatest Medic-nin in the Shinobi World”. A woman no man would want to cross unless they wished to suffer her 10,000 years of pain technique.

To say Tsunade was angry about what Jiraiya said would be a massive understatement. That would be like saying a Konoha Ninja Academy student could defeat to Hokage with a single jutsu. She was beyond angry, and beyond pissed. She was livid, and anyone who wanted to live was hiding already.

Jiraiya noticed the change in the mood, and was looking around the room. He was surprised to see Naruto, Anko,Shizune, and Ton-tonall in the far corner, and huddled together behind an over turned bed, and table.

‘Why are they hiding behind those? You’d think they are trying to get away from something. But what in the world could scare those three that much?’ After seeing those three like that he quickly started to scan the room once again, he was almost done when he looked over towards where Tsunade was standing with her head down, and arms by her sides.

“Tsunade-hime? Is everything alright?”

What Jiraiya failed to noticed when he looked at Tsunade was her fists clenched, and shaking in suppressed rage. With her head still down she started to speak. “Jiraiya, I hope you have enjoyed your life so far, because it is about to COME TO AND END!” This was all the warning Jiraiya had before Tsunade launched at him, fully intent on showing how to beat a person within an inch of their life.

For the next hour all anyone felt coming from that room was great vibrations that shook the entire ship. Some would continue to swear years down the road that they heard the sound of a child crying for mercy. But those in the room know what happened, or knew what likely happened. Not even those three were brave enough to peek from the corner they kept their heads in, or dared to uncover their ears. Despite all of this, it did little to drowned out the image of Jiraiya being thrown around the room like a rag doll, and beat like an old rug. Nor did it help to keep his cries and pleas from reaching their ears. Who would have thought the great Jiraiya could cry just like a little girl when his life was on the line.

After an hour of touring the seven levels of hell with Tsunade and Jiraiya, things finally calmed down enough for Naruto to continue his talk.

“So uh.. Where was I? Oh yeah, besides being able to see through illusions, I have increased strength, speed, stamina,” Anko had to groan here, since Naruto was already a stamina freak before, “my senses will also be stronger then they are now."

Naruto started to pace around the room, being careful to avoid where Shizune was currently ensuring Jiraiya would make it back to Konoha alive.

“Oh yeah! I also have the ability to use some of the Kitsune Yo jutsu (Fox Magic), and Kitsune-bi (Fox Fire). It also seems that I havetwo different types of chakra now.. I also don’t have the same chakra as most “normal” people now. I have two types, my Hanyo chakra which is, or so I am told, a silverfish color, much like my fur. Not sure why, since she hasn’t told me yet. Then there is the Youki, or demon energy, which I draw from Hikari-nee-chan.

“The Hanyo chakra will take the place of my normal chakra now, and according to her, is stronger then normal chakra, so I can use less to do my Jutsus with. The Youki though is different. It’s power blows everything else out of the water so to speak. For example, say with human chakra, it would take a glass of water worth to perform a Futon: Daitoppa. If I used my Hanyo energy, it would take half of that glass to use, and still be stronger then before.

"Now if I was to use Youki not only would have I have to use abouta fourth of that glass, but it would super charge the Jutsu, and could probably take down Jiji’s tower. So I would have to be careful with what Jutsu I use it with. I don’t know how it would effect a Genjutsu, but don’t think the chakra types matters, just the user’s skill. Though it would more then likely make them a little harder to break.”

Tsunade, Shizune and Anko were all shocked to hear this. To Tsunade and Shizune though, it made sense. It made sense that the more Chakra you put into a Ninjutsu the stronger it would be, and the harder it would to break or counter them. With elemental Ninjutsu it would probably do as he said, since it has always been believed that Youki was more powerful then any thing a human could do, next to the holy chakra of some priestessesThat was part of the reason why the Kyubi and other such demons were so hard to take down.

So it would only make sense to them and any one else that the Hanyo energy would be able to do the same. Naruto now had the ability to do what all Shinobi wanted, to be able to do more damage, or more anything with less chakra. In theory if he was not careful, or if he was extremely pissed at someone or something, it would stand very little chance of coming out in one piece.

“Very good, I am surprised you were able to recite all of that with out me needing to remind you of some things. There is something you should watch out for though. Now you have the scent of a hanyo, meaning you might attract demons to you and other such things. So you may want to let them know.”

“Great… I just found out my scent is different now, or in a way it is. Since I am a hanyo, I smell like one obviously. So..”, he was quickly cut off by Anko who finished the sentence for him.

“Let me guess, other demons can now sniff you out if they wanted to right? Just what we need, more problems.”

“Well to be fair, it isn’t all that bad.. I mean I’ve heard of people that would pay good money for demon parts, not to mention that if done right they could easily be made into fine armor and weapons.”

“Yeah just have to kill the damn things off. Damn you Hikari! If you were out here I’d really give you a piece of my mind!”

“Woman wouldn’t last a minute in a fight with me, but I’m sure it would be amusing. sigh Right now we need to wait out and see what your change is brought on by. Who knows, perhaps you will stay a Hanyo, and turn human on certain nights after this..”

‘Yeah.. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to stay in my Hanyo form all the time. If the villagers found out..’

“Hey brat, anything else we need to know about?”, asked Tsunade breaking him out of his mental debate.

“Nah, don’t think there is Baa-chan, but never know what else might pop up. So I guess till morning I’m going to be up in here. Anyone have any games they want to play, like poker maybe?”

Hearing that magic word, Tsunade started to rub her hands together in hopes of winning money. This of course caused Shizune to groan out in complaint, as she knew all too well of Tsunade’s “lucky streak”. Anko could only grin, after all it is not every day you get to fleece a legendary Sannin. Naruto was also grinning, because he knew he had two suckers for a game, and just needed at least one more, and he knew Jiraiya would not resist once he knew Tsunade was playing.

Needless to say, that night ended up with Tsunade owing just about everyone some amount of money, even Ton-Ton. Jiraiya ended up needed medical attention once again from trying to grope Anko, thankfully Tsunade knew how to neutralize the poison from the snake. Shizune played referee between Tsunade and Naruto, since Naruto seemed to be winning most of the time. Anko spent the most of the night rolling around laughing at Tsunade’s horrible luck. Naruto was dodging chips being flicked at him, as well as a wide assortment of other objects that were within range of Tsunade's grasp. This of course was because she claimed Naruto was cheating the entire night, since no one should be that lucky.

As night became day everyone was sitting around and looking towards Naruto expectantly, waiting to see if he would be cursed, hey some view being Hanyo 24/7 as one, or blessed to be able to live a normal life, well as normal as Naruto’s could get. So as the sun started to rise over the horizon all eyes were on Naruto. Slowly the bright beams of early morning light came in through the window, blinding everyone. As they adjusted to the new light they all stared in surprise at Naruto.


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Konoha Ninja Academy

It was just another day at the Academy for most of the students and teachers. But to five students it was not the normal day.

First there was Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino, who when gathered that morning all found out that they had been invited to Naruto’s birthday party in just under a week. Not ground breaking news to most people, but to Naruto’s friends it was earth shattering. It would be the first time Hinata, Choji and Shikamaru would have ever been invited to it, add to the fact that they never knew when his birthday was, and you have three very shocked cadets.

Ino was surprised to be invited because she just recently started to understand that Naruto wasn’t as bad as people made him out to be. It was obvious Naruto wouldn’t know this, so she couldn’t see why she had been invited. When she voiced this concern Shikamaru just commented, “He might not be here, but there are those who seem to care about him that are still here.”, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Even though she was unnerved by this, as were the others, they all couldn’t wait to see Naruto again, and finally be able to see inside of his home.

It was while they were talkingthat a female student fromthe year before them walked into the room and looked around. Most of the boys stopped what they were doing to look at her, except for Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke and Shino. From where she was standing she could practically see Kiba looking at her with a little drool coming out of his mouth. After taking a quick glance around again she spotted who she came here to talk to.

Sasuke just stayed in his corner, wishing that Sakura, and the rest of his fan club would leave him alone.

Shino was unconcerned, since his bugs always let him know what was going on in the room.

‘So these are his friends that he tells me about, though he never mentioned a blonde girl before.’

Shikamaru was the first to notice that Kiba had finally quit yelling at Shino for some reason, so he looked to the front of the room expecting to see Mizuki-sensei or Iruka-sensei. When he did not see either he looked to Kiba, and followed where Kiba was looking. When he did he finally saw what seemed to shut every one up, a girl in a pink short sleeve shirt with red trim at the shoulders. It also hadtwin golden dragons rising and wrapping around her starting from the bottom left, and circling around her back, and coming to the front to finally cross her chest and stop with the head on the top right shoulder. Her pants were black, and slightly baggy, but were tight at about mid-thigh.

Her hair was a dark brown, that vaguely reminded him of dark chocolate, and done up in two small buns at the top of her head. Her eyes seemed to remind of him milk chocolate that he saw Choji with at times.

‘Dang it Choji, now you got me thinking of food at the strangest of times.’

By this time the others noticed what he was no longer paying attention to them, and followed his gaze, each wondering why a student from a higher class would be there. After all, as far as they knew the only time they came was to mess with Naruto, but he hasn’t been there for the lastsix weeks.

As the girl came towards them, they noticed her smiling, and waving towards them, almost as if she knew them some how. As she drew closer she started to talk to them, “Hey guys, mind if I join you for a few minutes?”

Ino being the one who loves to talk was the first to reply, “Sure, have a seat, my name in Yamanaka Ino, this is Hyuga Hinata, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru.”

“Thanks, my names Tenten Higarashi. I kind of just wanted to stop by and see Naruto’s other friends real quick, and see if you guys have heard anything about him.”

Puzzled, all of the friends looked at each other. Hinata, Choji, and Shikamaru had never heard Naruto mention this girl before. It also slightly worried Hinata, thinking that this might be Naruto’s girlfriend, and didn’t want them to know about it. So she silently sat there playing with the hem of her shirt with her head down thinking of what this could mean.

Shikamaru and Ino noticed the look on Hinata, and were also worried about this, since they knew it would break Hinata’s heart if this was his girlfriend.

“No, we haven’t seen of heard from him in weeks.. Honestly we are kind of worried about him. But seeing how his brother came and invited us to his birthday party next week, he must be okay.”, stated Shikamaru.

Tenten nodded her head hearing this, she also noticed the downcast look of Hinata and wondered what was wrong with her. “From the way you sound, you almost seemed surprised to be invited to his party, first time I take it?”, she received nods from everyone there. “No surprise, this is my first time too, I never knew when his birthday was, and could never get his crazy sister or his brother to tell me.

“I guess you might be wondering how I know you guys, and how I know Naruto, so I’ll explain real quick before I head to my class. I meet Naruto about five years ago when he came into my families weapons shop and bought some things with his sister and brother. He couldn’t talk then either, but that didn’t seem to stop him from doing much.” Everyone nodded, as they realized that his handicap never did stop him from doing anything. Though Shikamaru and Choji were surprised that she knew him for that long. They had always thought Hinata was the one in their group who had known him the longest.

“After that me and him would play around, some, mostly with weapons, kunai, shurikens and other things. I’ve never thought that I would see someone as good with throwing weapons as me, but he has me topped easily. During those times we would “talk”, with me doing the talking, and him writing. He would tell me about how things were going in the Academy, and about his friends.”, she paused for a second to let those things sink in some.

“I know some about you guys, but I’m guess the way you are looking at me, he never said a thing about me right?”, once again everyone just nodded their head. The four younger cadets could have sworn they heard her mumbling something about a kunai and some unpleasant place. “Sorry about that, but me and Naruto are like best friends, I think of him almost like a little brother. I even help him with his little inventions that he makes.”

Ino was now curious, she had never heard of Naruto and inventions in the same sentence. But then again she didn’t know much about him outside of the Academy, and what the other three knew. “What kind of inventions does he make?” Once Ino said this, Tenten brought her hands up to her mouth, almost as if she just realized she said something she never should have said.

“Eh, hehe.. Just forget about it, it’s not important. Would you look at the time, I’ve got to get going, but how about we meet up again after classes are over, we could talk about some things, like what kind of presents to get him and what not. I’m sure you know his favorite place to go, so meet me there.”, with that Tenten was up and out the back door to the room, and on her way to her class.

“That was interesting.. Well Hinata, guess you don’t have to worry about competition now.” Ino said as she grin over to the dark haired girl.

Hinata brought her hands up to cover her cheeks, and quickly looked down trying to hide her blush and relief at the news.

“Tch, how troublesome. Would just be our luck Choji to meet another troublesome woman like Ino, except this one seems to be a weapons mistress.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean you lazy bum!”, Ino then commenced to show Shikamaru just how “troublesome” she could really be.

Later that day the five were gathered at Naruto’s favorite place, the only place you would ever find him eating when he had a choice, Ichiraku Ramen and Dango stand, now with over twenty different types of dango, and over a hundred styles of Ramen, and still growing.

The five had started talking about how they all meet Naruto, and moved too talking about themselves, and getting to know each other. From there they went on to discussions of presents for Naruto, and Tenten letting everyone know just what exactly Naruto liked to do in his spare time besides paint bomb pranks. To say many of them were surprised about some of his “inventions” was an understatement. Only two of the four were not surprised.

One was Hinata, as she has been watching Naruto for some time now. She had seen him working on many of his grenades, and bombs, and knew the perfect present for him. Goggles. She had seen his work, and knew he could use something like them, so she found some goggles he could wear when using them. They were reinforced glass, with chakra, to make sure the lenses did not shatter easily. They also had a device on them that allowed them to act as binoculars/rangerfinder. Thankfully they also came tinted, which Tenten told her was a very good thing.

Shikamaru was the second person who was not surprised. He could smell the gunpowder, and saw some of the residue on Naruto on more then one occasion. What Naruto was doing to have such things on him he was never sure, but now he knew. The fact that he had seen some of Naruto's idea scrolls, and devices in action on pranks helped. But at the time he had seen them on pranks, he thought Naruto had bought them, since many seemed to be favored by older Shinobi.

“You know, you guys are really as cool as Naruto made you out to be, and it’s nice to see more of his friends, to be honest, I think aside from his family, we might the only ones he sees as friends that are his age.. I’m sure you guys have seen the looks he gets from people right.” The last part may have been a question, but they all knew it was more of a statement.

“Yeah.. It’s really sad too, I mean I might not know Naruto as well as you guys, but I’ve never seen him do anything to deserve the way people talk about him. Sure a few pranks here and there, but nothing to make an entire village hate him.”. Ino was honestly confused and upset about this. She wanted to know why the people hated Naruto, and at the same time she hated the way people treated him, including herself.She would find out one way or another.

Shikamaru noticed the determined look on her face right away. He knew when she got that look it normally meant trouble. “Ino, I don’t know what you are thinking, but if it’s about Naruto, leave it be. I’m sure he will tell us when he is ready to. There is no reason to force things.”

Ino just nodded to Shikamaru, but she still silently vowed to figure out more about Naruto and his past some how, if only to repay him for how cruel she had been to him in the past.