Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto as it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. The title of this story has absolutely nothing to do with the Disney movie The Fox and the Hound. I don't own Snugli either, as it belongs to the guy who came up with the patent. The only thing I do own is the story's plot, nothing more, nothing less.

A/N: Yeah, I decided to revise the entire story. I wasn't quite pleased with the structure and flow, and so forth… Because of this, progress for the AFatH sequel has been put on hold, but I assure you there will be a sequel.

And now, without further ado, I present to you, the all-new, revised, A Fox among the Hounds!

A Fox among the Hounds

Naruto Inuzuka

"You called for me, Lord Hokage?" asked a wild-looking, brown-haired woman carrying a three-month-old baby in a Snugli. Following her was a large black dog that was missing an eye and an ear.

The Hokage, an aging man with a goatee, smiled and beckoned her into his office. "Ah yes… Tsume, you're right on schedule. I have a long-term S-rank mission for you."

The woman, Tsume, frowned slightly. "Sir, I'm afraid I can't do any missions at all, not even D-ranks. I'm still on maternity leave, and then there's this whole mess with my husband's recent death and all that…"

"It's not a field mission, my dear, if that's what you're thinking," said the Hokage. "Your mission is to raise a child…" He gestured to a blond-haired infant with whisker marks sleeping in a bassinet. "…specifically, this child."

"Is this him?" the woman asked as she gently picked up the babe, careful as not to wake him.

"Yes Tsume. This is the boy you are going to raise," replied the old man.

The woman named Tsume quirked an eyebrow at the statement. "Forgive the question Lord Hokage, but why of all people would you choose me to raise this particular boy?" she queried.

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled. "My dear Tsume, I understand you are still mourning the loss of your husband; but the boy is an orphan and the Kyuubi's jailer. With most of the village still reeling from the loss of their loved ones, they'll be crying for blood; the last thing we need is the boy to be ostracized by his own community. He needs a mother and…" his voice dropped to a whisper. "It was stated in the Fourth's will that his son be raised in a loving family should anything happen to him or his wife."

Tsume's eyes widened as she felt yet another pang in her heart, knowing that she would never see her teammate or her friend again. But now was not the time to mourn, there were still more important matters at hand… She swallowed thickly, staunching down her grief and sorrow, focusing on the newborn in her arms. Then it all made sense…

"How could've I been so blind?" she hissed. "I knew Red was pregnant, but it never occurred to me- Minato and Kushina's son! Why I never- How could they do this? To their own son no less?"

"Calm yourself, Tsume!" rebuked the old man. "What is done is done. Sometimes we just have to accept the sad truths in life, but it's no good to linger too long in the past. Our focus must always be the present and the future.

"Now, all that you have seen and heard is an S-class secret," Hiruzen continued, "Majority of the village don't even know what became of Minato and Kushina's heir. The official story is that the boy had died alongside his parents. Aside from you and me, the only other people to know of the boy's true lineage and condition are Hiashi Hyuuga, the Ino-Shika-Chou trio, Mikoto Uchiha, Shibi Aburame, and your former sensei, Jiraiya; and they all have sworn to secrecy, even to their own families. Don't breathe a word about this to the village and the other clans. If Iwa ever finds out that the Yellow Flash had a son, war will be inevitable."

"I understand," Tsume answered as she composed herself. "But one thing still bothers me, why of all people did you choose me to be mini-Minato's mother? Why not Yoshino? Or Mikoto? Or…"

Sarutobi chuckled again. "Tsume, the reason I chose you is because I feel that you are the best kind of mother there is. You appear tough, but you are fair and you love your children dearly. Yoshino, as sweet as she is, has the tendency to be overbearing; and although Mikoto is a good choice, her husband Fugaku is practically a slave driver. After all, the best way to raise Minato's son is to raise him with loyalty, courage, trust, honor, and unconditional love, don't you agree?"

Tsume blushed at the compliment on her maternal skills. "O-of course, Lord Hokage. With you as my witness, I pledge upon the Inuzuka name that I will raise this pup as if he were my own." Her normally severe expression softened as she gazed at the infant cradled in her arms. "Welcome to the family, Minato Junior," she cooed.

"Actually," Sarutobi corrected rather light-heartedly, "His name is Naruto."

Tsume quirked an eyebrow. "Like the fishcake?" She snickered a bit. "Leave it to Minato to name his offspring after a ramen topping. I swear, if he hadn't met Kushina, that goofball would've married the world's biggest bowl of ramen."

"Actually he was named after the protagonist in Jiraiya's first book," Sarutobi said. "It may have not appealed to the general public, but its story seemed to have been moving enough to inspire Minato and Kushina." He handed her a sheaf of papers. "Anyway, before you leave here are Naruto's adoption papers and an edited copy of his birth certificate."

Tsume gave the papers a suspicious look. "Edited birth certificate?"

"Yes," the Third replied. "For Naruto's safety. We can't go marching about announcing that we have the Fourth's Legacy now, can we? For the moment, Naruto's parents are listed as unknown. Not to worry though- I have the original copy and Minato and Kushina's wedding certificate. When he is ready, we will reveal his true heritage."

"I see," said the Inuzuka matriarch, taking the documents. "Well then, if there's nothing more to discuss, I'll be taking my leave now, Lord Hokage."

"Very well, Tsume," Sarutobi replied. "I wish you the best of luck, and may the Will of Fire continue to burn brightly within you and your clan."

As Tsume Inuzuka walked down the streets of Konoha, she peered down at the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms. 'Naruto Inuzuka,' she mused, smiling at the child. 'A wonderful name for my wonderful new son.'

-One and a half year later-

It was another normal day in the Inuzuka household. Or at least what was normal by Inuzuka standards. Hana, now six, was about to begin her first day at the Academy. Just as she was about to step out, her brothers- Naruto and Kiba caught sight of her and began clamoring to tag along.

"If Hana go, we go too," babbled the two boys.

"Kiba, Naruto, you can't go to school yet," Hana said as she tried to pry the toddlers off her.

Naruto looked up at her with big, puppy-dog eyes as if to say "Why not?"

"Don't give me that look," Hana said sternly. "You can't go with me, you're still too little."

"No' li'l," declared the blond. "Me big boy." Behind him, Kiba blew a wet raspberry at his sister.

Hana's patience began to wear thin. "Look, I don't really have the time for this. I gotta go, okay? I'll take you to school with me someday, just not now." She finally pried her brothers off and hurried to school.

As she left, the two toddlers began to cry. Kiba even picked up a building block and hurled it at the door. The ensuing noise had Tsume and her canine partner Kuromaru running into the room.

"What's going on here?" she asked. "What's with the tears, pups?"

Naruto sniffled and hiccupped. "Hana bad!"

"Hana said we too little!" Kiba pouted.

Tsume gathered both boys into a hug. "I don't think you're too little," she said in a motherly tone. She kissed them both on the forehead. "Because you're my two big boys."

"So we can go wi' Hana?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Even better," said Tsume. "We're going to the park!"

At the park, the boys were supervised by the watchful eyes of Tsume and Kuromaru.

While the two boys frolicked in the grass, the Inuzuka clan head took the time to assess her children.

Hana, her eldest, was the only daughter. After losing her father at such an early age, she was always in a hurry to grow up. She also acted as if she was more mature than what she was supposed to be, causing her to sometimes be annoyed by her brothers' childish antics.

Kiba, her biological son, was older than Naruto by three months. He was a wild little spitfire who constantly got into trouble. Looking back, Tsume chuckled at the memory of Kiba when he chased after a puppy, only to get stuck in its kennel. It took some axle grease and the help of Shikaku Nara and Chouza Akimichi to wrench him free.

Finally, there was Naruto- her youngest and adopted son. He was always cheerful and energetic. In some ways, he was like Kiba; but where Kiba was very wild, Naruto was somewhat more behaved. Unfortunately, that did not mean that he did not make his share of mischief. In fact, both Kiba and Naruto were practically inseparable. One was never without the other. It was also apparent that wherever the two boys went, trouble was sure to follow.

Kuromaru's voice broke the silence. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

Tsume sighed, a rare act for the woman. "Yeah…" She sighed again. "It feels like it was only yesterday when I was nursing my own litter. Hana's going to school and the boys are beginning to talk and toddle. Before you know it, they'll soon be having litters of their own." She sniffed, and rubbed at her now-misting eyes.

The black dog looked at his partner incredulously. "Are you crying?"

"Y-yes," Tsume replied in a slightly shaky voice. "But if you ever tell this to anyone, you'll be missing more than an eye and an ear, got that?"

"Yes'm!"

Just then, a piercing howl cut their conversation short and had them running to the boys for the second time that day. Kiba had apparently stepped into an anthill and got bitten by fire ants while Naruto stood by, pointing and laughing. Shaking her head, Tsume went over to calm her hysterical sons.

'Yep,' she muttered to herself as she rubbed some salve over Kiba's "boo-boos". 'Just another regular day at the doghouse.'

When the family came home later that day, they found that Hana was already there, eating milk and cookies with a boy her age.

Hana introduced her friend as Itachi Uchiha, the eldest son and heir apparent to the Uchiha Clan. He was a nice enough boy, soft-spoken and polite. He even went out of his way to entertain Kiba and Naruto, putting him in Tsume's good graces.

Mikoto had definitely raised her son well.

Throughout their Academy days, Hana and Itachi remained inseparable, and even when Itachi graduated three years ahead of Hana, they still made time to see each other. But as Hana's circle of friends and Itachi's missions began to increase, they began seeing each other less and less. Things took for a worse turn when Itachi completely severed his ties with Hana.

It had been a day like any other, and ten-year-old Hana was anxious to see her friend, as it had been a while since she last saw him. Accompanying her were her brothers and the Haimaru triplets- a trio of ninken Tsume had given Hana for her eighth birthday.

Upon seeing the now-Chuunin Itachi come up the path, Hana eagerly ran up to greet him, when suddenly, out of nowhere, the Uchiha spun and pushed her down.

The poor girl and her brothers could only gape in shock as she heard the words that followed.

"I'm sorry, but our camaraderie has to end, Inuzuka," he had said, "It's holding me back… …you're holding me back. I need to achieve my full potential, and I cannot achieve this with you hanging on to me."

Hana's eyes brimmed with tears. This was not Itachi. This was not the boy who promised to be friends for life.

"So you're going to cry now?" Itachi sneered. "You're even worse than I thought. You're not fit to be a kunoichi at all, not even fit to be my friend."

Kiba and Naruto charged towards the Uchiha. "LAY OFF MY SISTER, STUPIDHEAD!"

The Uchiha simply sidestepped the younger boys, and both of them wound up in an undignified heap beside their sister.

"Tch. Weak. All of you. And as for you…" Itachi took a menacing step towards the Inuzuka siblings. "You're not even worth my time. None of you Inuzukas are worth my time." With that, he backed off and left the compound.

Tsume and Kuromaru returned home that day to find Hana and Kiba crying openly, whilst Naruto tried to comfort them while fighting his own tears. As soon they had calmed down, they relayed to her the entire incident with Itachi Uchiha.

By the time the children finished their story, Tsume was fuming. No one treated her children like that, especially someone that they considered friend. She definitely needed to speak to Mikoto about this.

Mikoto Uchiha was none too pleased upon hearing what happened to the Inuzuka children. Whatever Itachi did had her husband's stink all over it, and both would have a stern talking-to. She loved her husband, yes she did, but Fugaku had better lay off his meddling before she showed him how much of an Uchiha she could really be.

One year had passed since the mishap with Itachi Uchiha and things were starting to move to a new direction.

Hana never forgave her former friend, considering what happened between them. The loss of a close friend had hit her hard, but what was worse was when he brought her family into this mess as well. Fortunately, Tsume had taught her that there was no use in remaining bitter over the incident and that she should simply move on to greater things. Hana took her mother's advice in spades and began studying veterinary medicine to better help and understand her canine partners.

At the same time, Naruto and Kiba were well on their way to starting their education. Tsume had already enrolled them in the Konoha Ninja Academy- the very same school that Hana and Itachi attended five years prior.

Aside from Naruto and Kiba, several other children from prominent clans were attending the same class as them. One of these of course, was Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother and one of Naruto and Kiba's oldest friends.

Before Hana and Itachi had their falling out, Itachi often brought his younger brother to play with the Inuzuka, and Sasuke was a steadfast friend and companion. However, ever since the fallout between their older siblings, Kiba seemed a bit warier of the younger Uchiha for fear he would turn against him too.

Another friend attending was Hinata Hyuuga, the eldest daughter of Tsume's old teammate, Hiashi Hyuuga; and Naruto's best friend. Despite their contrasting personalities, the two children got along swimmingly well, and it was Naruto who brought the shy Hinata out of her shell, while Hinata helped the rambunctious Naruto with self-control.

Other friends included Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and Shino Aburame. The first three were the children of the famous Ino-Shika-Chou Trio- a Jonin squad famous for their teamwork, as well as Tsume's old classmates from the Academy.

Shikamaru was tall, thin, and extremely lazy, but to make up for it, he was also disgustingly smart. He was always the first to point out details that the others missed and could easily clean one's clocks in Shogi and Go.

Chouji was the physical opposite of Shikamaru and he had a heart that was as big as his girth. A laid-back, easy-going fellow, he was always one to roll with the punches, whether it was simply relaxing with Shikamaru or power-shopping with Ino.

Ino was essentially Naruto's distaff counterpart. Loud, charismatic, and a social butterfly; like Naruto, her exuberant personality was the polar opposite of Hinata's quiet one.

And completing the circle of friends was Shino, a quiet, contemplative fellow with a case of sesquipedalian loquaciousness. Somewhat aloof, he rarely spoke and when he did, he usually had the last word.

When Naruto and Kiba finally arrived their classroom, all their friends were already there. Shikamaru was sitting by the window, staring at the clouds floating by; while Chouji sat beside the Nara, eating as usual. Shino and Sasuke sat behind Chouji, the former quietly observing an ant crawl over his pencil, and the latter simply sitting there, looking eager. Down in the front, Ino and a pink-haired girl were engaged in an animated conversation, and at the back row, sitting all by herself, was Hinata Hyuuga. Everywhere else, the other students exchanged gossip and small-talk, ensuring a lively atmosphere.

Before the boys could say greet their friends, a crisp voice dissolved the classroom chatter. "All right class, settle down," said the teacher, a spry young man with tan skin and brown hair styled like Shikamaru's.

Naruto and Kiba obeyed and took the two empty seats beside Hinata. Naruto sat right beside Hinata and Kiba sat beside Naruto. As soon as the Inuzuka brothers sat down, the teacher introduced himself as Iruka Umino and made the class introduce themselves as well. When that was done, Iruka finally began with the orientation.

By the time Iruka had finished, it was already ten minutes past noon. The second he dismissed the class for lunch, everyone practically made a bee-line for the door, anxious to get fed. Outside, the other students were in the already in the Academy courtyard enjoying their break.

"Man, that was boring!" Kiba exclaimed, stretching his arms.

"Tell me about it," Naruto replied, "That orientation left me more drained than Shikamaru before and after naps."

"Hey! I resent that," protested the lazy Nara.

Chouji patted his friend's back. "But it's true you know," he replied, agreeing with Naruto. Shino snorted, repressing the chuckle that was threatening to erupt.

"Look!" Hinata exclaimed. "There's Ino!"

"And she's with that pink-haired girl again," Sasuke noted.

"HEY GUYS, THERE YOU ARE!"

The group looked up to see the topic of their conversation waving eagerly at them, beckoning them over. Joining them, Naruto and the others discovered that Sakura, as the pink-haired girl was called, was from a civilian family. She was also a bit on the shy side, but not as much as Hinata when Naruto first met her; and judging by the way she spoke, she seemed to be a rather bookish character, but all in all, a pleasant person to hang out with. By the time lunch period had ended, Sakura had eight different friends instead of just one.

The school bell rang, the students reluctantly trudged back to class. As Iruka began his very first lecture, Shikamaru felt his eyelids droop. "How troublesome," he yawned, and fell asleep. He was promptly awakened by a flying piece of chalk.

"Mr. Nara," scolded Iruka, glaring at his charge. "I would appreciate it very much if you put some effort in paying attention." After chewing out Shikamaru for a bit, the teacher resumed his lecture.

As Iruka droned on about God-knows-what, the Inuzuka brothers were began to feel somewhat antsy. Kiba leaned towards to Naruto and whispered, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yep," the blond whispered back.

The brothers looked at each other and a mischievous glint lit up in both their eyes as they came to that one, unanimous thought. 'Prank time!'

While Iruka was writing on the board, he accidentally dropped the chalk, and as he bent down to pick it up, there was a sudden noise that sounded a lot like phwwwt.

Titters and giggles erupted from the rest of the class, including Shino, who burst into raucous laughter, startling everyone in the room.

Embarrassed beyond compare, Iruka quickly stood up, only to have another phwwwt sound, resulting in even more laughter.

"Okay, that's enou-" Phwwwt!

"QUIE-!" Phwwwt!

"Geez Iruka-sensei, what did you eat for lunch today?" asked Kiba, pinching his nose.

"It's not ME!" exclaimed the irate and mortified schoolteacher, only to receive another phwwwt.

Naruto, for the meantime, was laughing out loud and having the time of his life torturing the hapless teacher, when a fly flew into the room. It circled around for a bit, before flying into his wide, open mouth.

The blond's hands automatically flew for his throat as he hacked about, trying to expel the invading insect. As he did so, the whoopee cushion he was holding, flew out of his hands and landed right in front of Iruka.

"So it was you this whole time, huh?" scowled the Chuunin, simultaneously confiscating the object that had cost him a good amount of grief and giving Naruto a hard whack on the back that finally dislodged the fly.

Naruto coughed a bit before answering. "Aw, come on Iruka-sensei, it was just a bit of harmless fun."

"Oh really?" said the teacher, arching one of his eyebrows. "Well, here's my idea of a bit of harmless fun- Everyone, take out your pencils and paper. POP QUIZ!"

The entire class groaned and glared at the poor Inuzuka.

It was now late afternoon and the Academy students were now making their way home after an eventful first day. For most of them, home would probably mean a bit of rest, television, and a hot meal; but for Iruka Umino's class, it meant more studying.

"Thanks a lot, Naruto," grumbled Ino, giving her fellow blond the evil-eye. "Not only did you let Iruka-sensei give us a really tough quiz on the first day, you had to let him give us homework too."

"Chipper up, Ino," Sakura said, "That homework is just the extra credit we need to pull up our average."

Ino gave an unladylike snort. "Figures. Only a total egghead like you would like homework."

"Care to repeat that, Miss Piggy?" Sakura challenged.

"What did you call me?" Ino seethed.

Hinata tried to intervene. "G-girls, p-please don't f-f-ight," she stammered.

Sakura and Ino looked at Hinata, then at each other, and huffed.

"And here we go again…" muttered Shikamaru, sensing an impending debacle."I tell you, with the exception of Hinata, most girls are really…" In return, he was rounded on by a furious-looking Ino and Sakura.

"Care to finish that sentence, Shika?" Ino asked, her voice dripping with venomous honey. Behind her, Sakura ominously cracked her knuckles.

Shikamaru felt a chill run up his spine and clammed up the rest of the way home.

"And how was school today?" Tsume asked as she tucked in Naruto and Kiba for the night. Kiba was already fast asleep, exhausted by the day's activities.

"It was great, Mom!" Naruto chirped. "We learned lots of new stuff, and made a new friend, and our teacher's alright even though his lectures are kinda dull and gives homework on the first day."

Tsume chuckled. "Because you pranked him, so I heard."

Naruto shrugged. "Eh, details."

The Inuzuka matriarch laughed again and lightly tapped her son's nose. "Just don't do it on a regular basis," she chided. "Remember, what you learn in school might just save your life."

"Okay, Mom."

"Good. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day." She kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight, Pup. Love you."

"Goodnight, Mom. Love you too." After one last yawn, Naruto went to sleep, dreaming of dreams of a happy tomorrow.