Son of the Kitsune

Chapter 1: Birth of a Hanyou

A/N: A compensation, of sorts, for the late release of Scars ch.5; This has been sitting around on my computer for forever, so it's a relief to finally finish it.

Ikari: *clears throat*

Zephyrclaws: Oh, yeah. The only charcters I own are the ones that I've created (ish).

Also, I've grown attached to the name 'Ikari', and have decided to use it again, as the name of the Kyuubi.

It was a dark, moonless night. Young Naruto stirred restlessly in his crib; even at the age of two, he could tell something bad was about to happen. The door to his room creaked open, and he saw the malicious, grinning face of the orphanage Director. "Finally," the man whispered, "I'll rid us of this demon forever!" He'd finally managed to scrape up enough money to bribe the ANBU guard into 'conveniently' falling asleep on-duty. It hadn't taken much persuasion; almost everyone hated the Demon Brat. The Director rose his wooden staff, and savored the moment. Then, cackling madly, he began to beat Naruto with all of his strength. The boy screamed, but no one heard him, or if they did, they didn't care. He only stopped when he sank into unconsciousness, but the man continued to strike him, blow after blow, breaking most of the bones in his body. Finally, the man stopped, satisfied that the demon was dead. As he turned to leave the room, he failed to notice the red chakra pouring out of the boy's stomach, healing him. Inside Naruto, Ikari growled. Then, she noticed something. As injured as Naruto was, the seal was letting out a lot of chakra, possibly enough to... Yes! Focusing her chakra, his nine-tailed saviour yelled "Reverse Summoning! Myobu!" Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Mamori sighed. It was so boring, sitting on the throne all day, listening to the grievances of her fellow kitsune. She headed towards her hot tub, intent on finally relaxing, when, with a 'poof', a mass of bruises appeared before her. Beyond the fact that it was human, and that it had electric-yellow hair, she couldn't tell much about it, except that it had been beaten recently, and quite badly, at that. "This human shouldn't even be alive right now, unless... She drew in a shocked breath, as she saw the now-thin trickle of red chakra escaping from his stomach. Quickly, she allowed some of her own, purple chakra to surround the boy, healing him almost instantly. Then, she directed it to go into the seal, to investigate the source of the red chakra. Her eyes widened. "Daughter?" Using her blood, she formed a seal on top of the one that Minato put there, and red chakra began pouring out like a raging flood; Naruto's 'whiskers' vanished, and his hair grew longer, acquiring a reddish tinge; his eyes were now purple. Slowly, the figure of an eight-tailed kitsune formed out of the chakra. When she was fully formed, Ikari opened her eyes, and nearly crushed her mother's ribs in a bear hug. "Mom! I missed you, so much!" Mamori smiled.

She scooped up the now-awake Naruto, and carried him to her room. On the way, she asked Ikari, "What were you doing in there?"

Ikari bowed her head in shame. "I was hypnotized by Madara into attacking his old village." Mamori growled. She'd told her daughter, over and over, that that man was no good, but no... "What happened then?" Ikari sighed. "Apparently, the leader of that village knew a seling technique called Shiki Fuujin, which used the power of Shinigami-sama himself to seal me into him. The boy was attacked, probably by someone whose close friends had been killed by me..." Her face crumpled, and a solitary tear ran down her cheek. Mamori hugged her, calming her with her presence.

"It's not your fault, honey. If I ever get my hands on Madara-teme..." Ikari bit her lip, and looked at Naruto worriedly. "What are we gonna do with him? After what he's been through, because of me... I can't just leave him." Mamori nodded. "Let's see what his father has to say about it." Ikari's face was confused. "Mom, the Shiki Fuujin demands the sacrifice of the user's soul. He's in the belly of the Death God. How can we speak to him?" Mamori chuckled. "Let's just say that the crusty old geezer owes me a favor or two. I'm sure he won't begrudge me a single soul. Sadly, I can't bring him back to life, but I can summon his ghost to speak to us."

A few minutes later, Minato appeared before them, covered in Death God vomit. Ikari wrinkled her nose against the smell, and Mamori used a water jutsu to clean him off.

Predictably, the first question he asked was, "Where am I?" Mamori smiled. "You are on Mount Myobu, the sacred mountain of our clan." Minato frowned. "My son, is he okay?" Ikari held out baby Naruto, and he took the boy gladly. Love shone from his eyes, as he held his son tenderly. "Why did you summon me? I'm glad, to be sure, but I'm a little confused." Mamori said, "We want to know what you want for your son's future. You have two options: He can stay here, raised by us, or I can have someone travel back to the village, and raise him there." Minato paused for a moment, considering. Finally, he said, "I would like him raised in the village. I love that village, and I don't want to take away someone who could be one of their best shinobi. Also, I'm sure that, given time, he will grow to love the village as well." Mamori sighed. "I must warn you, the reason he is here in the first place is that my daughter saved him from being beaten to death by a villager who thought he was her puppet." Minato stared at Ikari, shocked. "You're the nine-tails that attacked our village?" Ikari nodded. "Eight-tails now, but yes. I was hypnotized by Madara Uchiha, a man who I once thought of as a friend." Minato frowned. "He's still alive? How?" Ikari growled. "One of the benefits of the Mangekyo Sharingan... though if I get my claws on him, he won't live much longer..." He nodded. "Despite this, I'd still like him raised in the village. I'm sure that once they get to know him, it'll get better." He smiled down at Naruto. "Farewell, my son..." He gave him back to Ikari, and faded into mist.

When he left, Ikari turned to her mother. "I want to be the one to guard him. It's my fault he's in this mess in the first place." Mamori nodded. "I will be coming as well; your father can hold the throne for a while." Still cradling baby Naruto in her arms, Ikari vanished, along with her mother, leaving a small scroll to explain things to Akari, her father.

The next morning, they arrived at the gates of Konoha on foot. Izumo raised an eyebrow as he saw the two gorgeous women, but as they didn't seem to be dangerous, he let them pass. A few minutes later, they were in the outer lobby of the Hokage's mansion, awaiting an audience with the Third. They didn't have to wait long; it helped that most of the orderlies were men. When they entered his office, Sarutobi sent them a questioning look, and Mamori began. "Hokage-sama, we would like to take this boy and raise him here in Konoha as Myobu Naruto." Sarutobi sighed. More paperwork... "Very well, let me see him." Ikari held Naruto out, and the Third gaped at the electric blonde. Ikari explained. "I saved him from being beaten to death in the orphanage he was in. Obviously, he wasn't safe there, so I would like to share a home with him here, in Konoha." The Third was shocked. "You do know what resides within him?" Ikari shook her head. "No more. You see, I was the kitsune who attacked the village." She dropped the henge she'd been using, to reveal her eight crimson tails. Sarutobi gaped. Before he could summon the ANBU, Ikari rushed to explain. "I didn't do it voluntarily! I was hypnotized by that bastard, Madara Uchiha!" Sarutobi frowned. "I have heard... rumors, about the Mangekyo prolonging the life of the user... very well." He chuckled. "I will trust you. Besides, if you really did want to destroy the village, I really couldn't stop you. You have my permission to raise the boy, and it just so happens that there is a house for sale, right by the Hyuuga compound. So long as you don't tell the previous owner about Naruto, I'm sure he'll sell it to you for a reasonable price.

The owner was a kindly old man, somewhere in his seventies, who was moving out of Konoha for a change of pace. It turned out that he was very wealthy, and when he heard that they didn't already have a home, he simply gave it to them. The two kitsune quickly moved in with their ward, thanks to their incredible (Stronger than Tsunade) strength. They didn't go out much, but every now and then, usually at least once a week, they would take Naruto to a nearby park, to let him run around a little, play in the pond, and hopefully make friends. It was on one such trip, when he was five, that he met her. She was resting underneath a tree, and a man nearby seemed to be watching over her. She looked his way, and he could see that her eyes were a pearly lavender color. He smiled at her. His mom had told him about the Hyuuga; she said they were always polite, if a little formal. Ikari had said something about someone having 'a stick up his ass', but Naruto hadn't understood that comment, although he gathered that it wasn't very polite, judging by the fact that Mamori had smacked her upside the head. Still, this girl seemed nice. Maybe she'd be friends with him? He walked over to her, and immediately the man he'd correctly guessed was her bodyguard stood between them.

She waved at him. "It's okay, uncle Hizashi. He doesn't look that dangerous, does he? I did come here to make friends, after all." He moved aside, and she smiled warmly at Naruto. "Hello, My name's Hinata. What's yours?" Naruto was dumbstruck. He felt like someone had just pulled a rug from under him, leaving him nearly speechless. "N-Naruto..." He blushed, embarassed by his stutter. She giggled. "Wanna be friends?" He grinned. "Yeah!" Ikari came over to them, and introduced herself to Hizashi. "Hello, I am Ikari. Little Naruto here's my brother." He bowed. "Hyuuga Hizashi. I am Hinata's guardian." She smiled. "It seems that they're becoming fast friends. Do you think we could meet more often? My little brother doesn't have many friends." He smiled back. "Neither does Hinata. I'm sure her father would be agreeable to a playdate tomorrow." Meanwhile, Hinata and Naruto were sitting on the edge of the pond, getting to know each other better.

Hinata asked the first question. "So, what's your family like?" Naruto grinned. "It's just me, Ikari-neechan, and my 'kaa-san. We live right next to your... What was the word? Compass? Compress?" Hinata giggled. "I think the word you're looking for is 'compound'." Naruto's face lit up. "Yeah! That's it! So, what about your family?" Hinata sighed. "I don't really understand it. Uncle Hizashi keeps on saying things about the differences between the 'Main Branch' and the 'Cadet Branch'. It seems kind of silly to me. Aren't families supposed to work together?" Naruto nodded. "That's what nee-chan says." She sighed again. "Apparently, when I grow up, I'm going to be the clan head. Do you think I could do a good job?" Naruto grinned. "Of course, Hinata-chan!" She blushed. "Th-Thank you Naruto-kun..." Ikari called Naruto, and as they headed towards their house, Naruto shouted, "Bye, Hinata-chan! I hope I see you soon!" She smiled, and waved as she watched him go.

Later, at the Hyuuga compound, Hinata ran in through the front door, and bear-hugged her unsuspecting father. "What's this?" Hiashi looked questioningly at his twin. Hizashi smiled. "Hinata made a friend today." Hiashi smiled. and, detaching Hinata, he said, "Really? Who might this friend be?"

"The boy's name is Naruto; I forgot to ask for their family name. According to his sister Ikari, they live just next door." Hiashi's face paled. As far as he knew, there was only one boy in the village by the name of Naruto... "Tell me, did he have strange whisker marks on his cheeks?" Hizashi shook his head. "No, Hiashi-sama. If I'd thought he was that boy, I would never have allowed him near her." Hiashi smiled. "Good. Perhaps they would be willing to share dinner with us tomorrow? If they are from a foreign clan, and by their names they probably are, they would be valuable allies to the Hyuuga." "I had told them that we would be at the park tomorrow; I could invite them then." Hiashi paused for a moment, as an idea struck him. "Brother, what did you think of the boy?" Hizashi smiled, knowing where this was headed. "He was certainly very nice to her, and his sister was very polite; the way she carried herself, it would seem she had high status wherever they came from." Hiashi nodded. "Very well. We shall see how this plays out."

The next day, they met again. This time, Neji came along as well. "Hinata-chan, who's this?" She smiled. "This is my cousin Neji." Neji offered his hand, and Naruto shook it, grinning. "Heya Neji! So, what're we gonna do today?" Hinata thought for a moment. "How about tag?" She reached over and tapped Naruto's shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" Naruto began chasing Hinata, and Neji watched, a bemused expression on his face. Ikari grinned. "They're certainly having fun." Hizashi smiled. "That they are." He turned to her. "I told Hiashi-sama about yesterday; he requested that I invite the three of you to dine with us tonight, at the Hyuuga compound." Ikari raised an eyebrow. "To what do we owe this honor?" Hizashi chuckled. "It is simply that Hinata-sama does not have any friends other than Naruto; Neji is friendly to her, but she considers him as her older brother. Outside of the Hyuuga clan, he is her first friend." Ikari nodded. "Is that really all there is to it?" Hizashi smiled. Shaking her head in bemusement, she said, "We'll be there." Hizashi bowed. "I look forward to seeing you."

A few hours later...

"Mom, do I have to wear this?" Naruto held out a fold of the grey robes Mamori had put on him. She sighed in aggravation. "For the last time, yes you have to wear them! We will be having dinner with on of the most prestigious clans in the village! It would do well to make a good first impression." Naruto's expression was a confused one. "What does that have to do with wearing this?" She smacked her forehead. Fortunately, Ikari came to the rescue. "Hinata-chan will really like it if you wear those..." Naruto grinned. "Alright!" Mamori gave Ikari a puzzled look, but the younger kitsune only smiled. Mamori rubbed her temple. Between the two of them, she wouldn't be surprised to wake up one day with grey hair, despite her demonic regeneration.

They reached the gates of the Hyuuga compound, and a Cadet Branch Hyuuga escorted them to the dining hall, where Hiashi awaited them. Mamori bowed. "I thank you for inviting us to your home." He inclined his head. "I thank you for coming." Hinata smiled at Naruto. "Hello, Naruto-kun" He grinned back. "Hey, Hinata-chan." She blushed, not used to hearing anyone talking to her this warmly. Hiashi smiled approvingly, and mentally, Ikari smacked her forehead. Of course. The Hyuuga thought that her family was some kind of royalty, and were seeking a betrothal.

Hiashi's thoughts were indeed marriage-oriented; the two certainly seemed to like each other, which was a definite plus. He could see that the robes they wore were high-quality, which meant that their family was probably influential, wherever they came from; he'd have to ask them about that later...

The dinner proceeded smoothly, and Hiashi was quite impressed with the Myobu; according to Mamori, theirs was a great Shinobi clan, albeit an obscure one. She told him of Mount Myobu, hidden away on a remote island. Apparently, they'd come to Konoha as a favor to the Hokage, and they were training Naruto to serve as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. In his head, Hiashi was doing a victory dance. The only thing that would be better is if they had a kekkei genkai, which they very well might. He was having difficulty in figuring out a way to ask them without offending his guests, but he knew he'd think of something eventually. If anything, if he invited the boy over for training enough, he'd brag about it eventually. Only his reputation prevented him from rubbing his hands together in glee. Hanabi could be the heiress to the Hyuuga; Hinata was far too nice to be a clan head anyway. He knew that for her, the only way she would be happy would be to marry outside of the Hyuuga clan. He sighed. Mamori asked him, "Is something the matter, Hiashi-san?" He smiled ruefully. "When I see the way those two act towards each other, it makes me think of how great the Hyuuga could be if our traditions weren't so... limiting." She nodded. "I can understand that sentiment. Before I took my place as head of the Myobu, my father ran the clan strictly by our traditions." Hiashi's eyes widened. He'd known that they were important, but a clan head? Yes, this would be most advantageous indeed.

"I take it Naruto will be attending the Academy?" Mamori nodded, her eyes glowing with maternal pride. "Yes, Hiashi-san, he'll turn six just in time to enter the next class, in a month." Hiashi's lips turned up slightly. "How fortuitous..."

Shiki Fuujin= Death-Reaper's Seal

If you think I made Mamori godlike, well, that's because she is a god. In Japanese mythology, there is a fox, that, depending on which legend you listen to, has either ten tails, or a thousand tails. She is the ruler of all kitsune, and the character I based Mamori off of.

Also, if you're wondering why Hizashi isn't dead, I'll explain that in a later chapter, most likely in a flashback. If you'd rather he just talk about it, let me know.