Fox Fire 2

Sequel to Fox Fire. There's an issue in the Leaf and people start to go missing. Naruto becomes a kitsune again to help solve the problem. But just when all seems settled, a new issue arises and so does a new enemy. R&R please.

Naruto and its characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. This is just a fanfiction. I make no profit. This was just written for fun. The only thing I own is my imagination and the OCs that appear.

Chapter 1:

Day in and day out, it was either training or missions. Naruto and his team were getting one mission after another. For that, Naruto was very thankful. What he wasn't thankful for were the series of ungrateful and difficult people he had to deal with on these missions. There were plenty of them. Thankfully, their missions had come to an end and they were finally given a few days off. Naruto wasn't as bored as he normally would have been and was actually glad to have a few days off to rest. He rested for the first half of one day then was up and about looking for things t do and people to pester.

Few people were around and even fewer who could be bothered. Lee took a break from his current training to spar with Naruto for a bit. After that it was right back to more push-ups. Naruto tried to spend some time with Sakura but she wanted to spend some time away from him, having been on constant missions with him for the past few weeks. He tried seeing what Kiba was up to but he was busy. Shikamaru was his next stop but he didn't want to get up, much less actually do something with him. He was content where he was on the roof of one of his favorite napping places.

For a while, Naruto wandered alone trying to come up with things to do. He was very tempted to summon up some clones out of desperation when he found Kakashi sitting down at the ramen shop by himself. Thinking he could get a free meal, Naruto went over to say hello. Unfortunately for him, Kakashi was just leaving.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, do you have any training you want me to do or some new jutsu I can work on?"

"Not today, Naruto. Go enjoy your day off."

"But..." He wasn't enjoying it if he was spending all his time alone. He wanted to be with people and actually do something.

Out of sheer boredom, Naruto went to ask the Hokage if there were any new missions he could go on. He would even go on a D-rank mission if he had to. When he arrived, Tsunade was busy doing some paperwork at her desk and didn't want to be bothered.

"Please, granny. There has to be something."

"Why don't you count the leaves on the tree outside if you're so bored?" she told him.

"Ugh!" Naruto sat on the floor and folded his arms. He wasn't leaving until he thought of something else he could do or until he got an assignment. "There has to be something... Anything..."

Tsunade pointed to the door. "Out."

Naruto dragged himself out the door and back into daylight. There was always training if nothing else. At this point, he was so bored that thought no longer appealed to him. Shikamaru would take a nap if he were bored but Naruto just couldn't sleep anymore. Plus, he didn't want to be alone. Training would be lonely since he would be by himself.

On his way back to his home, he notice a dog sticking its nose in a trashcan and pulling out scraps of discarded food. In that moment, Naruto was reminded of his kitsune friends he left back on the mountain from one of his past missions. It had been so long since he had last thought of them. He missed them. It had been a few months since he had left the town where he met them, and so far there wasn't a need to return. Things must have been peaceful in that town again.

The dog ran off and Naruto returned to his home.

The Leaf Village slept soundly that night in quiet peace. Naruto himself had settled into bed without any further complaints about having nothing to do. He left his window wide open as he slept in his bed, cuddling up to his wadded up blanket. He was sleeping so soundly, he didn't hear the dog barking outside somewhere in the distance. Nor did he notice the shadow creeping in through his open window.

The next morning, Naruto awoke to the smell of food being cooked in the homes outside his window. It got his stomach growling so he got up. He scratched an itch on his neck and looked around his bedroom for a clear path to the kitchen. Ramen would be his breakfast of choice again. As he started to get out of bed, his foot pinched something that made him yelp in pain. Whatever it was, it was attached to his body. Naruto reached down and yanked the appendage, feeling pain shoot up his spine, as if he had just struck his tailbone. He got on his hands and knees and looked behind him at the orange tail wagging back and forth at him.

"What the hell?" Naruto gave it another tug. It was attached to his body alright. The question was why? How did this tail show up and why? He knew this couldn't have been a result of the nine-tailed fox inside him. Those tails were different and made of chakra. Not to mention they only showed up under extreme circumstances, like if he were furious or under some other form of stress, usually in the heat of battle if he didn't properly control it. He had gone through training to better control it and he could. Plus he knew what it felt like and this wasn't anything like it. This was very different and it had nothing to do with the nine-tailed fox.

Maybe this was some sort of trick. Maybe a genjutsu? Naruto tried dispelling it but it didn't get rid of the tail. Clearly this wasn't a jutsu. Then what was it? Naruto tried searching his room for answers.

He found one on the windowsill.

Slowly, Naruto walked over for a better look. It was a single peach with a tiny leaf still attached to the stem. There were teethmarks in the fuzzy peach flesh. Naruto picked it up and ran his fingers over the teethmarks as if trying to read a hidden message left behind in the flesh.

There was no mistaking it.

"It must be..." Naruto dropped the peach on the bed and stood in the center of his room. He had to test it to be sure. "Fox fire!"

A blue flame shot from his tail as he rubbed it and sent the flames into the pile of laundry on the floor. The clothes were set ablaze.

"Oh, crap!" Naruto ran to the pile to beat out the flames. The fire was out and only a few articles of clothing were singed.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Then gasped with excitement, realizing what this meant. He was a kitsune again.

A small part of Naruto was thinking rationally, wandering why this was happening and who brought this curse upon him. It must have been a curse. There was no other explanation. It was a different curse of course. The first time this happened, he only changed at night against his will. Now he had a tail in the morning when the sun was shining. He knew it must have been the kitsune he had become friends with. If it were an enemy, they wouldn't have left that peach sitting there on his window. It was a symbol. An important one. However, if this curse was given to him by one of his kitsune friends, why? Why would any of them do that?

Another, stronger part of his mind was too excited to think about it. He had to show it off. He wanted to tell his friends and show them his fox magic skills. He couldn't before and now he could to his heart's content.

In a flash, Naruto was running down the street in search of his friends. When he saw a pink head bobbing through the crowd of shoppers, he sped up. "Sakura!" He dove into the crowd and grabbed her by the arm. "Sakura! Sakura, guess what!"

Sakura dropped her bag when Naruto grabbed her. She pulled her arm from his grip and gave him a sour look. "What?! Why are you running around and grabbing people like an idiot?"

"Sakura, check it out!" Naruto turned around to show her his tail. "Ta-da! Neat, huh?"

Sakura looked and frowned. "I give up. What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked behind him but there was no tail to be found. "What?! But it was just here! What happened?" Naruto ran in a circle, chasing an invisible tail. He couldn't understand it.

Sakura gathered her bag and continued shopping. "Good luck with whatever you're doing."

"But..! But..."

He couldn't understand it. He knew it was there. He could feel it and everything. He had the scorched clothing to prove it. It wasn't a dream and it wasn't a trick. He knew it was real.

"Maybe the curse wore off?" Naruto wondered aloud. "I did change slowly before. Little by little. Maybe it's the same thing."

Naruto couldn't put it out of his mind. He kept dwelling on it and wondered what was happening. He knew he had a tail. That part was real. Maybe this was a different curse with different rules. His first curse forced him to change at night. When he discovered his tail, it was morning. During the first few minutes of his transformation from his first curse, it happened in stages. After that, the change was sudden and noticeable. Perhaps this curse was a similar way and only a few parts of him would change at a time. If that was the case, then it seemed to be running in reverse this time. His first experience had him change slowly from human to fox, not the other way around. This time he seemed to be changing from fox back to human more slowly. Or so it seemed.

"I've got to test it."

Naruto went into the park and tried to force himself to change into a fox. He had a feeling that this curse was different from the first. He stood among the trees and tried to cast his fox fire. It wasn't working. Apparently he could only use it as a fox. He had to change into a fox, but how? Naruto tried to will himself into a transformation but he couldn't tell if it was working or not. He kept checking behind himself to see if he was growing a tail. So far he wasn't.

"This sucks." Naruto sat on the ground to think. "Maybe acting like a fox will do the trick."

Ryosuke had once told him that he had to stop thinking like a human if he wanted to be a fox. That was during his hunting experience when he kept trying to catch mice in the dark with his hands, which at the moment were paws. Only when he stopped behaving as a human did things work out for him. The same principal must work in this case. He had to become a fox by being a fox.

"Here goes nothing." Naruto crouched on all fours and started trotting. Nothing yet. He started running. Running like this made him feel like he was about to tumble forward since his legs were longer than his arms. He ran quickly hoping for a change. He could feel the dirt sticking to his hands as he ran.

"What are you doing, Naruto?"

Naruto tripped and somersaulted across the lawn. He quickly rolled to a sudden stop and looked at the speaker. It was Choji. He was walking with Shikamaru down the stone pathway through the trees. Judging from the looks on their faces, they had seen everything.

"Uh... training."

"Training?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup."

"What kind of training?" asked Choji.

"Um... Special training."

"... Uh-huh."

Naruto folded his arms and huffed. As soon as he did, the expressions on his friends' faces changed. "What?"

Shikamaru pointed to his head. "Your, uh... ears."

"My ears?" Naruto reached up to touch the top of his head. He felt furry ears. Fox ears. "I knew it."

A moment later, they were gone.

"What's with Naruto?" Choji asked.

"Who knows?" Shikamaru shrugged. He assumed this was just typical Naruto so he tried not to question it. Naruto was a playful type of person, full of energy and wanting attention. As far as the ears were concerned, it might have been him using a jutsu. Naruto did say he was training. Honestly, Shikamaru didn't care. Which was why he didn't think about it or want answers. He just wanted to move on with his life and not dwell on anything Naruto was doing or for what reason.

"Guys! Guys!" Naruto ran over to them. "You saw that, right? My ears? Was there anything else? Did you see a tail or something? Fur? Anything?" He was very excited and could hardly contain himself.

"What's going on with you, Naruto?" asked Choji. "What are you getting so excited about?"

"I told you, I'm training." It wasn't that far from the truth. He was trying to get into his fox form. In order to do that, he had to do something akin to training.

"Training for what?"

"I'm trying to turn into a fox!"

"So a transformation jutsu?" said Choji. "But that's basic level stuff. I mean, can't you already do that? I saw you turn into Akamaru before, so becoming an animal isn't that difficult."

Naruto blinked. "Akamaru..."

Akamaru was a dog. He would be able to sense that Naruto was a kitsune. Maybe seeing him would spark something inside and cause something to happen. Naruto wasn't sure what, but he wanted to test it out and see for himself.

"Hey, you guys know where Kiba is? I need to see Akamaru real quick."

"No idea. Why?"

Naruto put his hands on his hips. "I could try tracking their scent but... No, not like this. I would have to be a fox to do that."

"So what is going on, Naruto?" Choji asked him. "You're acting different."

"Ok, I'll tell you." Naruto wanted to tell all his friends anyway. "I went on a mission a few months back and got a curse put on me by a kitsune that turned me into a fox at night. After he was defeated, the curse was broken. But this morning I woke up and had a fox tail but it went away. I made some kitsune friends while I was cursed the first time and I know at least one of them came to my place because they left me a message. I think one of them put a new curse on me that lets me become a kitsune again. Now I'm trying to control it and change but it doesn't seem to be going well. So I'm training to be able to transform myself into my fox form."

"Aw, that sounds really cool, Naruto," said Choji.

"But if these guys are your friends, why would they put a curse on you?" asked Shikamaru.

"I don't know. Maybe they needed to for some reason. I can try asking them if I see them. Kitsune appear at night so I'll have to wait and see then." Naruto looked down at his human body. "If only I can figure this out and transform at will. I'm sure I can. This isn't like the first time so I know."

He knew this curse's transformation wasn't exclusive. He could change into either form at will. At least, that's what he thought.

"If only I can figure out the trigger. That way I can change whenever I want."

"Well, what were you feeling when you got your ears a second ago?" Choji asked.

"Uh..." Naruto tried to think. "I'm not sure. I was trying to act like a fox so I would change."

"That's one way to go about it, but maybe it's an emotional thing." Choji turned to Shikamaru. "What do you think?"

Shikamaru sighed. "I guess we can help him out."

"Help me out?" Naruto was intrigued. "How?"

"Since it seems to be triggered through emotions, we'll go off of that. If it doesn't work, then go back to acting like a fox and we'll see from there." Choji cracked his knuckles. "Ok! Ready?"

"Sure! But how are you going to..?"

Choji punched Naruto in the face.

"Ow! Hey!"

"What? We're helping you."

"By hitting me?!" Fox ears popped out of the top of his head again.

"It's working." Choji pointed. "See? You've got your fox ears again."

Naruto touched the top of his head. "Awesome! But do you have to hit me?"

"If it works." Choji made a fist.

Naruto flinched and sprang back to avoid it. It was reflex. Choji came after him, having a little too much fun with it than Naruto would have liked. Naruto ran from him, trying to avoid being hit. Choji called after him, saying how it was all for his training, but Naruto didn't want to just stand around and get punched. They ran around in circles until Shikamaru froze Naruto in place with his shadow. He couldn't move.

"Sorry, Naruto. But you wanted help." Choji took aim at his head.

A tail popped up next and Naruto screamed. "No! Don't!"

Shikamaru's attention went to the shadow which was starting to ripple and bend. His jutsu wasn't working properly. Naruto started to gain some movement over his limbs and the next thing he knew, Naruto was free and running away on all fours.

Naruto stopped and looked at his friends, wondering if they were going to attack again. He looked more fox-like now. In addition to his tail and ears, he was also sporting paws and a muzzle.

"It's working!" Choji cheered. "Check it out, Naruto."

Naruto looked at his body and sprang up cheering. When he sprang, his body became one-hundred percent fox.

Shikamaru blinked. "Whoa." Then he grinned. "How about that?"

Naruto saw what had become of his body and he was celebrating. "Whoo-hoo!" He stopped jumping and became a human again. He stood on his two legs and ruffled his own hair. "Thanks, guys. I guess it did help me. Not so much the punching but me feeling those emotions." Anger, fear and joy. When he felt those emotions, his body changed. He was feeling joy right this moment, but he was a human. He didn't fully understand his curse, but he was thankful to have transformed into a full kitsune, even if it was only for a few seconds.

"Naruto, I think we need to be serious for a minute," said Shikamaru. "You said that this was a curse and that your friends did it. You don't know why. You also mentioned that this had happened once before. I think you need to talk to the Hokage about this."

"Why? What would she know about curses?"

"Not so much that as why this is happening to you. If your own friends put a curse on you, there must be a reason for it. It may be really important. It could effect the whole village. Not just you. Would they have traveled all this way just for a prank?"

Shikamaru had a point. Only a two-tailed fox could actually use curse. Ryosuke was the only two-tailed fox in that group and he vowed to never use the curse on anyone on account of what happened with Reevo, the wicked fox. There must have been a reason for it. Besides of which, the kitsune were reluctant to leave their home in the mountain. Why would they leave now all of a sudden? There was more to this.

"You're right. But what do I tell her? That I'm cursed and don't know much more than that?"

"Just start with the basics," advised Shikamaru. "Go from there. Or try to find your fox friends and ask them what's going on."

"Right. I'll go do that now." Naruto thanked his friend for their help and took off to talk to the Hokage.

On his way, he ran into Sakura again, leaving the flower shop. She must have been visiting Ino.

He couldn't resist. Something inside Naruto wanted to show off and tell Sakura all about his curse. He wanted to make a game out of it and have fun, like a child dying to tell someone a secret. He had these feelings a lot when he was younger, but now that he was maturing, those feelings weren't as strong. He still had a playful side, which caused a lot of these feelings, but he had a good sense of responsibility, too. Suddenly getting the urge to play and mess around seemed a little odd to him now. He could tell Sakura later, but something in him wanted to do it now. Not just tell her, but have fun with it.

Unable to shake the feeling, Naruto went over to Sakura to show off. "Hey, Sakura. Guess what?"

Reminded of this morning, Sakura sighed. "What?"

Naruto concentrated on feelings of excitement and joy, feeling them swell within his body until they were ready to pop. And pop they did. Naruto sprang, eager to give Sakura a show and upon doing so, his ears and tail popped out and his face covered with fur. "Ta-da!"

Startled, Sakura jumped back. "Naruto?"

"See? I told you it was neat!" Naruto gave her a foxy grin. He giggled cheerfully, having a lot of fun with this.

Sakura grabbed him and pulled him out of the street. "What's wrong with you? What is this?"

"What?"

Sakura grabbed his tail and yanked. "This!"

"Ow! Stop that! It hurts."

"What's going on with you right now? What is all this? Are you ok? What are you thinking?"

Naruto didn't understand her panic at first. Then his rational mind took control of the situation, realizing what she must have been thinking. "No, no. It's not the fox. Those are different. It would be chakra related. This is-"

"Come on!" Sakura dragged him to the Hokage building. He didn't complain much since this was where he wanted to go in the first place.

Sakura knocked on the door to Tsunade's office but no one answered. Sakura opened the door and looked inside. No one was there.

"Sakura, it's fine. Listen, I-"

"Where could she be? At a meeting maybe?" Sakura looked up and down the hall, thinking out loud to herself. "Oh! Shizune!" Sakura pulled Naruto along.

Shizune turned around. "Oh. Sakura." Shizune looked out of breath. Sakura must have caught her in the middle of a run. "Sakura, I'm a little..."

"We need to see Lady Tsunade right away. It's about Naruto." She shoved him forward but by this time his ears and tail were gone. Even his fur had vanished. "It's important."

"But..."

"Where is she?"

"Uh... She's..." Shizune looked nervous. "She's... She's in a meeting and can't be bothered right now."

"Then can you help us please? I'm worried about Naruto. Some fox features have been-"

"Sakura!" Naruto had to get a word in. "I'm trying to explain to you! There's nothing wrong. It's not the nine-tailed fox or anything. It's ok. I know what this is."

Naruto faced both women and explained.

"Remember when I got cursed during that one mission a few months ago? Sakura, you got cursed, too, so you know what I'm talking about. I turned into a kitsune at night. I got cursed again some time last night. That's what this is. It's just a kitsune curse. That's all. Nothing to worry about. Only with this one I don't change at night like a were-fox. I can change anytime I want. I'm still trying to control it, but there's nothing to worry about."

"A curse?" repeated Shizune.

"Yeah. I can sort of control it. I'll get better. Hang on." Naruto tried to force himself to change. It was easier this time. His tail popped out and wagged behind him. "See?"

"Naruto, even if it is a curse, we still don't know what this could do to the seal on the nine-tailed fox," said Sakura. "That's why I'm worried. I really think we should talk to the Hokage about this."

"But I was cursed before and nothing happened with the seal. Trust me. I know what's going on. There's nothing to worry about."

"Even so, I side with Sakura that it is a concern we have to watch out for."

"Especially if this is a different curse from the first time. Who knows what could happen?" Sakura blinked. "Hey, wait. You said it's a kitsune curse like before? But I thought that fox was defeated. How did this happen again?"

"It was one of my kitrsune friends. They left me a message on my window. But I don't know which one cursed me or why."

"Well, don't you think you should find out?"

"Yeah, that's something to look into."

Naruto sighed. "I know, I know. I plan on asking them when I find them."

"Where are they?" asked Shizune.

"Don't know." Naruto shrugged. "But I'll find them. We're friends."

Shizune nodded. "Ok. I remember you telling Milady about this a few months ago. These kitsune things." Shizune looked troubled. "In either case, you must speak to them about this curse and find out what's going on."

"I said I would."

"Good." Shizune nodded again. "I'd like a word with them, too."

Naruto nearly gasped. "Wait, no!"

"What?"

"Most of the kitsune are afraid of humans and avoid them whenever possible. I doubt having a conversation with one would work. I'd never get them to come to a meeting with humans. It's risky for them to even be in the village with all these people around. They know me so they'll talk to me no problem."

Shizune still looked troubled. "I see. But in any case, we need to make sure these kitsune aren't a threat so I'll have some guards around your place in case this goes south."

"No!" Naruto's tail went stiff. "Weren't you listening? I said they avoid humans! If you place ninja around my place, they'll never come! Meeting with them and asking what's going on would be impossible. And since I have no idea where to find them, I have to wait for them to come to me. And even if I did know where they were, they won't see me with humans following me around. You have to let me do this on my own. Please."

They had no choice. Meeting with the kitsune was the only way to get answers. If humans prevented that meeting from taking place, then they had to make sure humans weren't involved. Even if they were placed at a distance, kitsune were foxes so they would be able to sense them and flee.

"Alright," Shizune sighed. "You meet with them and report back with any information they tell you. Just be careful."

"They're my friends. I know what I'm doing."

Shizune still wore a troubled expression. Something told Naruto it was for a different reason but he had no evidence to back it up. Still, after all this time, Naruto learned to trust his gut.

Here's the first chapter. I hope we're off to a good start.

Please enjoy.

And please review ^-^