AN: Believe it or not, but this was actually inspired by both 'the Little Mermaid' (Disney) and 'Princess TuTu' (anime xD). And it's the same in some ways, especially this first chapter, but it'll be much different later on. It's just the basic concept of a being having a wish and doing anything to make it come true, even changing into someone else… kinda like that o.o.

And I really like fairytales and all that jazz, so I thought it would be nice to make one with the Naruto-characters n.n

Also, this prologue is the only one in this kind of POV. Regular POV in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not the 'Little Mermaid' nor 'Naruto', nor do I own 'Princess TuTu'. I'm just someone with a lack of life and who enjoys writing shounen ai and yaoi.

The Prince And The Fox

By SmexLemur, worship her!

Prologue

NARUTO POV

I wish I could do something for the Prince.

The Prince always sits near the riverbank, just staring at his own reflection. At first I thought he was vain and liked to look in a mirror, but then I realised he didn't really look at himself. He just stared, he just spaced out. I know what he's thinking about, I think. He's handsome, at least I think he is. It's weird for someone like me to think a human is handsome, but he is. I like his black hair, eyes and his pale skin. Even though he always sits in the sun, it doesn't seem to affect him. He's like a creature of the night—slender, dark. Perhaps his looks were the thing that attracted me to him.

I shake my head—no, that wasn't it. It was something else.

His eyes are empty, they're dull. Despite their beautiful black colour, his eyes reflect something I recognise.

He seems lonely, like me. Yes, that's what attracted me—the loneliness I saw. I wanted to heal that.

I sometimes go over there and sit with him. He doesn't look at me, but he sometimes pets me and feeds me. He seems to be emotionless and just a body without a heart and mind. I don't understand—did he lose his heart? I know he's sad, I can feel it, so that must mean he has one, right?

I really wish I could talk to him.

But I don't know if he needs me. There are a lot of human girls following him around and fawning over him, but he doesn't seem to notice them. I can understand that, I wouldn't really like it either, though it would be nice to have some people around. The others don't like me, because I enjoy the company of humans more, for some weird reason.

But I understand him. Despite all of those humans around him, he's still lonely, because he needs someone else to talk with him and be with him. I don't know who it is, but it has to be someone very special for him to acknowledge.

"Kitsune," he mutters as I sit next to him on the small wooden dock. It's near the palace—he always sneaks out of there to sit at this river. Usually a weird man with a mask comes to get him. I like the silence though, it's somehow comfortable. My name isn't really Kitsune by the way, but how could he know? I can't introduce myself properly. I don't know his real name either, I just know that people call him 'Prince' or 'Your Highness'. I glance up at him, but he doesn't look back at me—he never does that. He always stares at the water, emotionless.

Then again, I am only a fox. Why would he want to talk to me? It's not like I can talk back.

He lets out a sigh and stands up, brushing off his clothes and stuffing his hands in his pocket. I don't know how long he's been sitting here—I just arrived actually, but it seems he's going back to the palace already. He always goes when the sun starts to set, I don't know why he does that. Sometimes he stays a bit longer.

"I forgot to bring you food," he mutters softly, giving me a small pat on the head. My ears perk up a bit and I look at him curiously. "I'll bring some tomorrow, Kitsune." With that, he leaves me again, sitting on the dock. I sigh—it's no fun being a fox.

I really wish I could help him, fix whatever it is that broke him. If I did that, I'd be happy and I think I would even be willing to die if I could help.

"You want to help him?" I perk my ears and look around. I could swear I heard a voice. But I don't see anything, save for the fly that's buzzing around my head. Maybe he's the one who said that? But that's strange, not even I can understand what flies say—they usually seem to be saying nonsense. It might be just my imagination though.

"It isn't, young Fox," I look around again. I know I heard something. Then an image suddenly appears over the river and I blink once. At first, I thought it was a giant fox and I was right. But he doesn't look like all others—this one has nine tails and is much, much bigger. He's almost as big as the palace, I think. And he looks very vicious, but maybe that's because he's bigger than the regular fox is—I don't know. "I can make your wish come true," he says to me. My wish?

I could meet the Prince? I could help him?

"What do you want in return?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes. I know my species—they are very clever and shrewd. If I would accept something like this without asking what the catch is, I might be in big trouble. He cackles at me, the sound is deep and rumbles through the entire forest.

"I do not need anything, what could a small fox like you offer me? I only need you to help the Prince to find his emotions again and. that you will heal his wounds."

"What's in it for you?" I shoot back at him. The big fox narrows his eyes at me as well. "And who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm Kyuubi no Kitsune, a fox demon," he replies, laughing again. "I like your nerve, kit. There's nothing in it for me, besides repaying a debt I still owed the Uchiha clan. This way, my debt is repaid." Uchiha? Is that the Prince's name? It's kind of weird.

"What makes you think I can help him?" I demand of him. He blinks once. This fox… I can see that he's really old. I know the stories about Kitsune's, since I asked the other foxes after the Prince started to call me that. I asked them what it meant and they began to tell me a lot of stories of these demons. This Kitsune's eyes hold a certain wisdom I've never seen before, as if he has been on the earth much longer than any other being.

"You seem to want it. The Prince can't save himself, he needs someone else, and you are the only one who would give anything to help him—that is why I will make you human," he tells me. My small heart pounds loudly. I can be a human? If this is a dream, I never want to wake up. "But only for one spring can you be. If you have not healed him and shown him the love he needs, you will change back. I do not want to waste energy—if you don't succeed, I will just have to find someone else. Also, you cannot tell him your true feelings, nor that you were once a fox."

"My true feelings?" I ask him, tilting my head in confusion. The fox laughs

"You'll understand." I nod and let it slip—like he said, I'll understand.

Somehow, I'm pretty sure of myself. I know I can help him and I will.

"Good," the demon says. I blink at him once, wondering if I should kiss him or something to change. I shake my head quickly—I would do a lot of things for the Prince, but kissing a monstrous demon like Kyuubi isn't one of them. Yuck. Before I could ask any questions though, his tales start to shine and a red light surrounds him. He closes his eyes and I automatically close mine, due to the brightness of the light.

For a couple of seconds, we stay like that, until I hear him say, "Open your eyes," and I do so. My body feels weird.

"Look at your reflection in the water," I do again as I am told and look into the reflection. I let out a gasp—I really am human. My brand new blue eyes stare back at me and my blonde hair waves softly along with the wind. My skin is a bit more browner than the Prince's and—oh my God—I have hands and feet and legs and arms. The only trace of me being a fox are the three marks on each of my cheeks, which look a little bit like whiskers. I'm speechless—this was my wish.

And I'm also cold. I tell Kyuubi that, who laughs in return.

"There are many disadvantages when you're a human and you'll have to learn to adapt. You need clothes to keep yourself warm, because you now have no fur anymore, but I'm sure the advantages of a human outweighs all of that, right?" I nod eagerly, the little fur on my head waving along with it. I crouch a bit nearer to the fox.

"Thanks!" I say excitedly, my new voice ringing through the forest. I can actually talk to the Prince! I can't believe my dream has actually come true. "What do I do next?" I ask of him and he laughs in return, shaking his head.

"I've done enough for you, kit, you're on your own now. I'll see you again four months from now—don't disappoint me, kit. I might just eat you." And with that, he disappears from me again, the last few words ringing through my head.

"I knew there was a catch!" I exclaim triumphantly.