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Tachibana smiled, looking at the blonde boy he'd found a few days ago. The boy had been half dead with starvation, so Tachibana had brought him back to the shop he ran and fed him. The boy was a lot better now, though he'd yet to speak the two had found a decent communication. Tachibana was calling him Naruto. He was eating a bowl of ramen and look content. The two looked up as Mimori walked in with a box of food to sell. Naruto finished his ramen before running to help her. Tachibana shook his head and followed the hyperactive blonde out to the truck. The usual pack of foxes was there to see Naruto. Tachibana believed that Naruto must have been raised by foxes. Tachibana looked up when he heard a crash and smiled when he saw that Naruto had fallen with the crate of toys they were going to hand out in town tomorrow. All three people laughed as Naruto stood up and dusted himself off before picking the crate up again and walking inside.

Alter Fox

Chapter I: Naruto

Ryuho frowned when he spotted Tachibana at last. Commander Zigmarl had ordered him to hunt down Tachibana and Mimori as soon as he'd learned that they were stealing goods from the city to sell to inners. His frown deepened when he spotted the blonde boy clinging fearfully to Mimori's arm. Ryuho hadn't revealed himself yet, so what was it that frightened the child. A fennec fox walk alongside them. This only served to confuse Ryuho more. He watched the three stop at the entrance to town and got just close enough to hear them. "Okay Naruto, stay out here and behave. I know you don't like crowds so just play with Sakyu while we hand out these toys." Tachibana said. "You did good snatching them."

"Right under the store owner's nose too." Mimori said happily. Ryuho's eyes narrowed as Tachibana and Mimori walked into the town with a crate each, leaving the kid outside to play with the fox. The child smiled and ran towards the fox, only to have the fox jump over him. It really looked more like they were fighting than playing. Ryuho shrugged and snuck into the town. He had to catch Tachibana and Mimori.

Naruto smiled as he sensed the man who'd been watching them sneak into the town. He and Sakyu followed him silently incase he was trying to hurt the two people who had taken them in. The two froze when the building nearby crumbled to the ground. With it gone they could see Tachibana and the man in the middle of an alter battle. The man was gaining a steady advantage and Naruto knew he had to help Tachibana, but all those people were there. Naruto felt the scars that littered his chest and shrank into a corner, remembering the abuse he'd received in the village where he grew up. He whimpered and hid until he heard something that strengthened his resolute. Tachibana yelled in pain as the man's alter pierced his side. Naruto growled and activated his alter power. The building beside him crumbled as his alter appeared, gaining attention from the man who dared to attack his pack. A blood red armor in the shape of a fox appeared on him. The three tails twitched in anticipation of the coming fight, the muzzle slightly open to show razor sharp teeth. He could feel them. His tails and his muzzle. He could feel the ground shaking under his four strong paws as civilians ran for cover. A whole new world bombarded his senses and would have overwhelmed him had he not been used to the change. He had done this many times before, he cherished the sensations running through his body as he glared up at the strange man, a feral look in his red eyes that had sent many a mercenary and assassin fleeing in terror. He saw the fright, smelled the fear, and tasted the dread radiating off the man as their eyes met. The man knew Naruto was powerful, knew Naruto was vicious, and most of all he knew Naruto was dangerous. The man was smarter than he looked. (Okay, it's not that I dislike Ryuho, I just like Naruto better.) "Leave my pack be." Naruto snarled, the growl coming from deep in his chest as he advanced slowly, circling like the predator he was. The man's alter remained between them, as if sensing its master's fear. Naruto growled before striking. The alter tried to stop him, but he caught the purple ribbons it used as weapons in his mouth and broke them off, leaving it vulnerable to attack. Naruto didn't waist his chance. The alter was destroyed with one stroke of Naruto's left paw. "You will leave here. You will not harm my pack. Do this, and I will not take your life." The growl was even deeper this time. The man took one step back before turning and running out of the town, out of view. Naruto released his alter and stood up, stretching and turning to Tachibana and Mimori.

"Naruto, you spoke." Tachibana said, amazed. "You've never said a word before."

"You beat Ryuho. He's the best Alter User HOLY has." Mimori said, slightly short of breath. "You're amazing." She fell to her knees and pulled Naruto into a loose hug.

"Ryuho, is that the man's name?" Naruto asked, whispering slightly. Mimori nodded as the civilians came out of hiding. Naruto smiled before collapsing in Mimori's arms, frightening both Mimori and Tachibana.

Ryuho rode in silence, badly shaken from his battle. A mere child had destroyed Zetsuei, like the alter was nothing but an annoying insect to squish. Ryuho had to find out who that boy was, and how to beat him. The HOLY vehicle bumped, but Ryuho ignored it. He knew that he had to defeat this boy, to prove his wroth to himself and to HOLY.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and looked around without moving his head. Mimori was asleep beside him, but he couldn't find Tachibana. It only took a few seconds to realize that he was in his room at the shop. He must've collapsed. Naruto sat up slowly, waking Mimori in the process. "Naruto, are you okay?" Mimori asked, looking at Naruto worriedly. "What happened?"

"Please, don't worry. My alter takes a lot of energy." Naruto said. "I always have to rest after I use it. That's my alter's one drawback." Mimori nodded as Naruto stood up. They walked to the door together and found Tachibana outside unpacking the last of their merchandise.

"Good to see you're feeling better Naruto. You really had us worried." Tachibana said. "You've been out like a light for the past three days."

"That's one slow recovery. Is he always that slow?" The three looked at the door, shocked to see Straight Cougar there. "Hey there Tachibana, Miss Minori. I didn't know you two had a kid, he's cute. Slow, but still cute."

"We found him in the desert area." Tachibana said, standing between Cougar and the two he lived with. "Now what do you want? If you've come to arrest us like Ryuho did than you should know I won't go down without a fight."

"Relax. The commander doesn't even know I'm here." Cougar said, pulling off his glasses and placing them on top of his hair. "I heard some rumors that a kid beat Ryuho and I just had to see the kid myself. So what's his name?"

"That's no of your business. Now please leave before I remove you by force." Tachibana said. The empty crates around him vanished as he brought out his Eternity Eight.

"Yow, I'm hurt. I thought we were good friends, Tachibana." Cougar said. "Alright, I know when I'm not wanted. I'll show myself out, but you should know something first. That kid's capture has been made top priority at HOLY. They want to force him to join their ranks and they'll sink to brainwashing to get what they want." As soon as the words left his mouth, Cougar was gone.

"Tachibana, who was that?" Naruto asked. "What's HOLY? Why would they want me to join?"

"That was Straight Cougar, a member of HOLY. It's an organization within HOLD that exists to control Native Alters like you." Tachibana said. "Whenever they find an alter user they see as worthy, they do everything they can to make that alter user join them to hunt down other alter users all over the Lost Ground."

"They don't sound very good. There's no way I'll join them." Naruto said. "If they try to force me, than me and Kyubi'll take them out one-by-one." Tachibana and Mimori nodded, neither one sure who Kyubi was. The three smiled and walked to the kitchen, ready to eat.

Ryuho sat in the lobby of HOLY HQ. He was thinking again, about that boy. Even Eelian couldn't find him. Tachibana and Mimori had disappeared as well. How could three people just vanish and not leave so much as a clue to where they'd gone? It was frustrating. He stood up when he spotted Scheris and the newest member of HOLY, a young man with silver hair named Kakashi. No one was sure what his alter power was, or where he was from. He'd just appeared one day and snuck his way through the ranks to land a place in HOLY. The two walked up to Ryuho, Scheris greeting him happily and Kakashi just nodding his greeting mutely. "I thought you might like to know that I've located a lead to find your fox." Kakashi said. Ryuho looked up at him, annoyed as ever by the black mask he wore. "It is a boy named Sasuke who was a close friend of his at one time. They broke ties when the fox went missing, but if anyone knows where he is it'll be Sasuke. The hardest part is getting him to talk."

"I'll take care of that." Ryuho said. "Where is he?"

"In his new home. A quite little town so unlike the lifestyle he's used to. I forget the name, but I'd be happy to take you there." Kakashi said, his right eye curving upward happily. Another thing that annoyed Ryuho to no end was the odd headband Kakashi wore with either an eye or a weird leaf etched on it, Ryuho couldn't tell which, but it always covered his right eye. Ryuho nodded and Kakashi led both Ryuho and Scheris to the car that was waiting outside.

Naruto sat happily on a large rock that helped hide the shop from HOLY. He looked at the clouds before the familiar sound of running reached his ears. He looked up and saw a girl running towards him. Naruto recognized her and jumped down to greet her, wondering what she was doing here. "Naruto, they got Sasuke. HOLY took him in for questioning." Naruto froze, a familiar feeling rising in his chest. His pack was being attacked again. The enemy got his second-in-command. He was afraid for his pack.

Fox: Thank you for ready and please tell me what you think.

Moon: Can anyone guess who the girl is.

Shadow: It's so obvious I'll be embarrassed for anyone who gets it wrong.