Kay, I don't own Naruto. In this, Naruto's tired of bein' made fun of and abused by the villagers so he does the one thing he does best before graduating, he pranks and he henges. He henges into a fox and lives among the wildlife while his fellow drop-outs teach him what he can't learn because of his circumstances.

"Sup"/'Sup' speech and thoughts of people

"Sup" speech of demons

Jutsu

On with this tale...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto's orange fur was wet, he had been a fox for the past three months, and he was none too appreciative of women trying to fend him off from his ex-classmates Sakura and Ino. They were the only girls that actually talked to him, he had friends of course but they were busy trying to find things to teach him while in detention. So with nothing to do, he went to see how his ex-classmates were doing, Ino and Sakura were in his opinion 'nice' to him for truely noticing him and he was watching over them from the shadows. This day was no different, until Ino being a sensor detected him and tried to find out what and where he was. He had to keep up the act of being a normal fox, so he acted skittish until she stopped chasing and tried using the soft approach when Sakura burst through with her mother following.

When Sakura's mother saw him she acted like he was Yami herself, being a shield for Sakura and Ino from him. He felt sadness when she started saying things he had heard before; 'demon', 'beast', and his personal favorite 'monster'. Today was just heart breaking for the girls as they saw the fox look dejected and without sparing them even a wayward glance left the little clearing sadness in his pawsteps.

'Why are they mean to me, even as another creature? I've been nothing but nice to the people at first, I've pranked plenty of them but not unprovoked, I've also only tried being civil...Why am I here? Did I commit great crimes in my past life(s) or something to deserve this cruelty?' He looked malnourished again from using mostly his chakra to keep his form truly solid and real. He was hungry, but he didn't notice, he was too sad to notice and as he reached his den, he only wanted one thing; reprieve. At least a little reprieve from the stares, the insults, the abuse or the isolation. He would get it one way or another, be it through sleep or dying from chakra exhaustion.

He hadn't gone hunting in a few days, the villagers had seen his fur once and now were hunting him so he was limited to the occasional vole or mouse that came by. His friends, his fellow drop-outs, would sometimes bring a small meal for him and would teach him what they could. Through helping him, they were learning to become great shinobi. It all started as a simple prank at first, yet it escalated into a lifestyle he'd prefer to his old one.

Flashback no Jutsu

3 months ago

It was the beginning of spring and Naruto was bored; he had nothing to do, no new pranks to pull, no teacher to run from, nofriends to talk to, nothing. He always wondered what his parents looked like, he learned about genetics in school by henge-ing into an assistant to learn about it. He learned where he got most of his appearance came from his parents and tried to figure out what they looked like. He tried his mother once, he kept getting red-haired, which was a lead, but the face was always different. When he tried his dad, he got blond hair, another lead, but again similar problem and really too narrow; he once turned into the Yondaime and didn't trust that, chalking it up to wishful thinking.

He then thought, 'Wonder what it's like to be an animal? Wonder what my animal is anyway?'. Just from that train of thought, he got the brilliant idea to find out, he used a lot of chakra and concentration to actually transform, and find out he did. He transformed and found a fox where he was in the mirror, he decided that he'd learn and mature more as a fox than a human. He wasn't wrong, he began to see what being a survivor meant and he saw what being a shinobi also meant.

After a few weeks of being a fox, he'd lost track of time favoring his fox form to his true form, or for him his fox was his true form. To find out where he went his class sent his best friends. Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, and Choji went looking for him and what they found was a fox being chased by villagers and from what Kiba and Akamaru said the fox was rambling what Naruto always did. They followed the fox and, with a lot of trouble, caught up to the fuc-I mean fuzball. They 'interrogated' him, they reluctantly agreed to Naruto's plan of them learning and then teaching him while he taught them how to survive, they even got Shikamaru's lazy ass in gear. They didn't tell Iruka or the Hokage, no matter how much they asked and they just eventually stopped asking.

Flashback no Jutsu KAI

So here our favorite jinchuuriki is. Alone, in pain, and malnourished. He was in a state of constant questioning of life, and he was tired of everything. He had happy moments like when he learned where children actually come from, he found out on accident.

"Hey, Naruto! You here pal? We're here, we don't have much to teach you this time around. Iruka-sensei's getting suspicious as to why we've been so 'keen on learning' as he put it." At this, Naruto barked in understanding while Akamaru barked in response with a sad look on his face. Naruto was sad until he remembered that he had something to show them. He got rid of the henge and stepped out of the smoke that came with it. What they saw surprised them, Naruto stood before them in a black ninja suit, he also had a look of seriousness that didn't look right on him in the opinions of the four drop-outs.

"Wow, Naruto*munch* you look good, out with the*munch* old 'kill me' orange and in with the cool black suit. But what's with*munch* the seriousness? It doesn't*munch* look right on you, Naruto." Choji was eating a bag of chips while saying this, Naruto gave them all a sad smile at this and spoke with an answer.

"Choji, the Naruto you knew...Died, a long time ago. I've been trying to keep him alive in a sense, but that's become impossible, he's tired of staying alive just to be thrown to the edge of life..." Now this was news that Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, and Choji did not expect nor did they find joy in this news either.

"If he died, than you've been wearing a mask this whole time. Why did he die, do you know?" He was given a shake of the head no and a look of hatred with sadness in it. "I wish I knew, I've been trying to find out while being myself. In other words, while you guys were busy finding things to teach me, which I am in debt to you for, I've been watching the families of everyone of our classmates. I didn't go to your families, that would be both shallow and in a sense betraying your trust. I've gathered that I'm hated by the villagers because of this." He pulled up his shirt and pushed chakra to the seal on his stomach.

"Any clue*bark* w-wha'z in*growl* ther?" Akamaru spoke, surprising everyone and bringing a smile to all of their faces at the attempt to speak, clearly the three drop-outs weren't the only ones to learn and teach each other things. "Well done, Akamaru. Great try, you're almost there. And to answer your question, no. I've no clue, every time I get a lead or get close, I lose the lead or I get chased through town as a fox. Ever since the Kyuubi attack, foxes have been treated like enemy-nin or like the embodiment of evil...Wait, that...Could be it..." Naruto had a look of realization on his face while the other four were lost, Naruto decided to elaborate for them, seeing as he wasn't wearing his mask and could show his average intelligence.

"I've been abused by villagers who call me names like; 'monster', my personal favorite is 'fox', also a few have said 'demon' or 'demon fox' for the satisfaction of killing me. Now, I've been an orphan since the Kyuubi attack, hated by many and called names that make me look like the cause of a great deal of pain. Add it all up, I'm *sob* the..." Naruto begins to choke up and kneels down on the ground shaking in tears, "...Embodiment of the-the Kyuubi..."

The others looked at each other with looks of concern, the facts spoke for themselves saying this was the truth but they thought he was also hysterical. He was obviously malnourished from the hunting of foxes along with the fact that he'd been training and using a lot of chakra for three months straight. His body was in peak shape except for being unfed. They all decided to get him something to eat, he was all skin and bones with a great deal of muscle now.

"Naruto, you're unraveling. You clearly haven't eaten in a few days, and while your logic makes sense, something's off about all of this. You aren't acting like you want to kill us all and you're only real damage to the village was your pranks. Now lets get you some actual food. Kiba, Akamaru, can you find some wild vegetables and maybe some form of meat for Naruto?" Shikamaru was kneeling in front of a delirious Naruto who had stopped crying out loud but was still shedding tears. Naruto was in the lotus position trying to calm down but it wasn't working. Choji then decided to make use of himself, by getting Naruto to vent some steam, "Hey, Naruto...Wanna spar? I know you're not feeling good, but you need to vent some steam and you've been behind a mask. So that means that we've never seen you at your actual best, right? So come on, I'll be your sparring partner..."

Naruto looked up with surprise, pleading, and hopeful eyes at Choji, who'd out his chips away for the time being. Naruto stood up shakily, having been in the form of a quadruped for three months can do that to you, but when he got his bearings he took the Academy taijutsu stance. Choji got ready to use his clan's jutsu and Shikamaru became referee. After Shikamaru called it to start, it was like a solo massacre.

"Baika no Jutsu, Nikudan Sensha!" Choji's body inflated and then his arms, legs and head tucked in for his body to start rolling at Naruto. Naruto stood there with hatred in his eyes, when looked like he was about to be flattened, Naruto punched Choji. That punch stopped the rolling and Shikamaru stood stock still at the strength that Naruto had, enough to stop his best friend's clan jutsu. Choji flew back and shrank back to normal and had a look of shock and a bit of fear at Naruto, who saw this look and had a face of defeat.

"I really am a monster. I've seen that look in everyone else's eyes, all the adults give me that look. There are a few who aren't afraid of me, but there are too few and too fleeting of them..." Naruto was on his knees looking at his hands and silently crying. Choji got up and made his way over to Naruto to calm him down, but was backed away from by a sad faced boy. "I'm nothing more than a monster. I've killed before in another life, I killed so many...I've done nothing, but remind people of what they've lost..." Choji and Shikamaru looked between each other and had faces of fear and shock at what he said. Shikamaru made to try and be supportive when Naruto suddenly stopped making sounds altogether. Our Kyuubi jinchuuriki had just stopped moving and was looking ahead, but wasn't there.

A few minutes later Kiba and Akamaru came back to see Naruto was in the lotus position with a look of understanding. Choji and Shikamaru were lost as to what to do, Naruto stood up, saw the food in Kiba's hands gestured to him and tentatively took them then ate them slowly. When he finished Naruto turned around with a determined look in his eyes, as he looked to the Hokage Monument. "No! I'm not going to let this fly. If I am Kyuubi reincarnated or not, I'm going to make it. I now know that I'm not Kyuubi, but I have the knowledge of him with me at all times. I will make this world understand that the jinchuuriki aren't monsters..."

The others with him looked at him in admiration and awe at his proclamation. He held himself with such strength and confidence, but also with humility and understanding. They made an unspoken agreement to not speak of this to anyone of their age group until the right time. With that they left the clearing, Naruto's new home and to find what else they could teach him later. Naruto looked to the monument with a determined look on his face as he promised the Yondaime he wouldn't die and he'd show them what they had done.

A week later

Naruto had been busy, he had become stealthier as a fox and as a shinobi. Search parties came looking again and he could tell that Kiba's mother, Tsume, had come to help them search. So to combat this he made a dozen clones, he had discovered because of his large reserves that he couldn't create only one clone and a few even looked like they would die. He sent his clones out to distract the other trackers and was rewarded when he saw they took the bait. He henge'd back into a fox and caught the scent of the ANBU, Inu. A man with gravity defying grey hair and an orange book in his hand almost always.

He made a break for it, he ran as fast as his four legs could carry him. But, when he looked back he ran into a large wall of fur. When he looked at what said wall was, he saw Kuromaru, Tsume's canine companion. The large wolf had an eye patch over his right eye and his left ear missing. Behind said wolf was a woman with spiky brown hair, red fang tattoos of the Inuzuka clan, a jonin vest, vertical slit like pupils, sharp canines that could be seen by her toothy smirk, markings over her eyes that Naruto didn't recognize and purple lipstick. This was Inuzuka Tsume, matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, mother of Inuzuka Kiba and Inuzuka Hana, a Tokubetsu Jonin and probably, in Naruto's opinion, one of the scariest women on earth. He could tell that that smirk meant nothing good would come from it for him.

"Well well, look what we have here, Kuromaru. A stray fox, and a red fox, no less. Wonder what you're doing here little guy?" She had a sadistic and somehow fake innocent smirk on her face as she picked up Naruto-fox up by the scruff. "Hmm, you're a strong little guy if you can make me have to hold your scruff this much. Stop struggling, this is for your own good!" But Naruto-fox wouldn't stop he just kept squirming and trying to scratch or bite Tsume, the woman who was right now trying to take him from his sanctuary.

Naruto began to bark and scream to let any other foxes nearby to run and hide because hunters were there. When she heard him scream the first time, she immediately called for the other trackers to stop, "STOP! He'll warn the others in the area if he keeps screaming and we'll lose our best shot of finding the brat!" As she said this Naruto scratched her cheek and bit her hand and ran off like hell was on his heels, which for him it was. Kuromaru saw this and chased after him, he went through bushes and branches until he hid in a small brier where he found himself trapped and began to make a noise that could only be described as a mix between a whine, a laugh, a tiny snarl, a squeak, and a baby's cry. This noise set a variety of reactions from the search party. Tsume was growling that she got scratched and that the 'fox' was so talkative. Inu(Kakashi) was surprised that the fox got out of Tsume's grip and was irritated because he was enjoying his book. Kuromaru was listening patiently for the 'fox' to run out of breathe so he could try and reason with him. The others were trying to figure out what that sound was until they saw the fox.

Kuromaru spoke after Naruto ran out of breathe, "You done?" Receiving a nod as confirmation he continued to speak, "Well, that's a relief, you've got one foul mouth shouting out so many profanities. Anyway, you should release the henge, we know who you are and we won't hurt you if we don't have to." The fox started to continue his rant and Kuromaru started to look impatient with this little fox who decided to say true but unnecessary things about his companion. "Easy there, you're going to kill yourself with that mouth of yours. Now, why're you hiding out here, and I don't mean because foxes are hunted, so tell me the truth."

At this point Tsume had gotten close enough to hear what the 'fox' said and what Kuromaru said as well. Naruto was irritated with himself for letting himself get caught and that meant he'd be dragged back to the village. (I'm going to translate what he said in fox-ish to english) "I'm ignored and abused there, why wouldn't I leave?! They only saw me as my tenant and also if they need me, they need me for a punching bag and target practice or as a weapon!" By now, Inu and the rest had found Kuromaru talking to a loud and yappy (I know it's not a word, so sue me!) fox adolescent.

"If they were so cruel to you, why didn't you retaliate?" Then realization hit the one-eyed wolf, "Wait, you said your 'tenant'...How do you know of your burden?!" The fox backed up deeper into the briers to escape the loud and now aggressive wolf. "I figured it out on my own! And I didn't retaliate was because I didn't want to prove them right! Now, if they want me...TOUGH SHIT! I ain't going back of my free will, and if you take me, I'll remove the seal..." He let that threat hang there, Tsume and Kuromaru could tell that he would follow up with that threat as well.

Inu and the jonin there didn't hear a true word of that, they only heard yips, yaps, barks and growls. But, they could tell that this fox adolescent was pissy. He kept barking at Kuromaru who was wide-eyed at this little fox who had out run himself into a corner. Back with said fox and wolf, "If I'm gonna be taken, I ain't going without a fight, YAA!" He lunged and bit Kuromaru's nose then lept up to Tsume who he scratched on the face again. Inu stood there until his book was snatched from his pouch and buried by the fox, he dug it up and then gave chase.

The fox was a pain in his ass, no way around that, the little fucker kept leaping into the trees and making sharp turns that Inu couldn't keep up with. Even the sharingan couldn't match him in speed. Tsume stopped Inu and the others with a glare that she had used on her husband once to scare him away forever. They went about their business back to the village to tell the Hokage a mission failure.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That's the first chapter of A fox's life. Now, I know it's a bit depressing at first and then very weird with Naruto being a badass kitsnin. Kay, hard part...Like it, hate it, break it, buy it, use it, etc? (That really went well)