Author's note: Finally, I've found more inspiration for this series! Winter break starts Friday, and so as long as I can keep the inspiration with me, I will try to get more of the story finished! Looking back, I want to edit the story SO badly... But, I also want to get it finished. I'd rather finish first, then edit... Also, a slight note on what is written here- I changed the description of Naruto when the group of Leaf ninja first saw him... It is only slightly, so I'll mention it here: He was wearing a black cloth face mask. Doesn't really change the plot, so there's no need to go back and reread if you don't feel like it- there's only one or two sentences different.

~!# Chapter 17 #!~

Naruto sped back to the base after quickly using an earth jutsu to pull the entire village underground. He entered through a secret entrance at the base of a tree. He walked briskly to the room where he knew his master was still waiting, slipping in without a sound.

"Hmm.. You're back so soon, Naruto," his master said playfully, "Were they that easy to kill?"

Naruto's eyes widened for a second before narrowing in irritation.

"My mission was to remove them from the area, leading to a stronger, more important group of ninja being dispatched from the Leaf to investigate. Not once did you mention killing.", Naruto said, holding back a growl.

"Yes, well... Killing them would have been the best way to gain the attention of the Leaf. You still have much to learn, my pupil...", his master trilled, flowing out of the shadows and towards the dim light let in by the outline of the door.

"I was told to quickly attract a more skilled team of Leaf ninja. Had I killed them, it would have been weeks before anyone knew something was wrong and two or more months until the new team could arrive," Naruto bit out.

"Mmm... So you were thinking of your mission... Good boy. Now, tell me of the damage you have wrought upon the Leaf," his master replied lovingly. Naruto's eyes had finally adjusted to the current levels, revealing Bari's face. The years had been kind to him, leaving only a slight deepening of the lines around his mouth. As the years went on, Naruto had learned not to question his master, for although these missions may seem unrelated, they almost certainly tie in with each other or with the missions Bari's lesser ninja were sent to accomplish.

"All three Leaf ninja were alive at the time that I left. I pierced one's lung, cut another's bicep deeply, and left the third with minor cuts. It is unlikely that the one with the pierced lung will live. The other injured Leaf ninja will likely need a week to recover. It is highly unlikely that this squad will return to investigate. If they follow protocol, they will send a request for backup to the Leaf, who will in turn send a squad to replace them in this investigation.", Naruto rattled off uncaringly.

"Mmm... I've almost made a decent ninja out of you.", Bari smiled and moved closer, "But before you go to train, let's finish that latest design... The mixing of blood and ink on your skin when I pierce it is quite dazzling..."

Naruto sighed and removed his cloth mask. Under it were clusters of black lines and dots which formed multiple tattoos across his face. They outlined the whisker-like groove marks in his cheeks, continuing to widen until the effect on his face was like a tiger's stripes had been painted on it. A Maori design covered his bottom lip and chin, appearing from a distance to be a set of fangs protruding from his mouth with a stream of black blood flowing out between them.

"Shirt too, love. Unless you wish to get even more blood on it?", Bari teased. Naruto blinked exasperatedly and pulled his shirt off too. Over a network of thousands of scars, a web of black tattoos had been laid. On the front of his torso, he had tattoos like a tiger's paws had been embedded in his shoulders, leaving deep black gouges in the flesh. Wind lines breezed down from his shoulders toward his elbows, but stopped at the bicep, carrying silhouettes of leaves with them. The sealing tattoo from the nine-tailed fox within Naruto was gone. In its place was a ring of black flames wound about with thorny vines that did not trail as far outward as the seal had. His back held the designs of many beasts, with a tiger growling on his left shoulder, a lion roaring on his right, a phoenix soaring along the spine and a menacing nine-tailed fox just peeking out of the waistband of his pants.

Bari motioned Naruto towards a chair in the corner of the room, where he sat down as Bari flicked the lights on and rolled over a tray of sharp silvery needles with a bottle of ink in the corner.

"Now, hold still," Bari cooed, cradling Naruto's chin,"I want to get this just right..."

He began to stab at Naruto's face with an ink-dipped needle, re-wetting the needle with ink every so often. Bari's hand tightened on Naruto's chin to keep him from moving, but there was no need. Naruto was used to this ritual. He drew a set of two lines near each of Naruto's eyes that started at the hairline and ended at his top and bottom eyelids. He filled the area in halfway to the eye, then began adding dots and extra lines parallel to the original set, decorating it diligently. By the time he was finished, there was a shallow river of blood and ink running down each of Naruto's cheeks.

"There. All done," Bari said with a grin. "Now go get cleaned up. It's not long until dinner, so there is no need for you to train today."

"Yes master," Naruto replied automatically, wiping his face a towel from the cart as he walked out, shirt and mask in his arms. He headed for his room in the barracks, grabbed a robe and sandals, and headed for the bathhouse. He walked past the public locker-room in the bathhouse, and into a private section that was reserved for him and his master alone. He stripped quickly, sighing softly as the humidity of the bathhouse stung the new yet almost-healed tattoos on his cheeks. He left the private room for the private bath, clad in the black bandanna that held his hair back, the robe, a towel around his waist and his sandals. Only when he had closed the sliding door behind himself did he remove the bandanna. He scratched at the set of red fox ears that sat above the human pair as he slipped off the sandals and robe at the large tub's edge and climbed in. He sighed as he sank into the water, flinching slightly as he dipped his head under and then sitting up to relax.

'Huh... I'm still not used to any sensation on these ears... Three months, and I can't even take a bit of hot water touching them...', Naruto sighed. 'I'll have to work more on desensitizing them... Ever since the fox and I merged, everything's been so intense... I should at least try to figure out how to desensitize them before the tails start growing in. Those are gonna be a bitch to deal with... How did the fox put it? "Like growing an extra set of balls"?' Naruto groaned as he shifted slightly, remembering the day his sealing tattoo had faded completely.

Naruto had been sleeping, but woke up to a complete nightmare. He and the fox were in a tunnel of fire, with darkness on either end. He had thought it was one of his run-of-the-mill "being destroyed by the fox" nightmares, but it was much worse than that.

"Naruto... Naruto! You must hurry! We're slipping! NARUTO!", the fox bellowed panickedly.

"..What? What do you mean?", Naruto yawned out slowly.

"WE'RE SLIPPING INTO THE SHINIGAMI'S STOMACH, FOOL! When the seal faded, it released my last binding that was keeping out of the shinigami's stomach! Take my soul into yours, or we'll both be lost forever!", the fox bit out angrily.

"Wait... We'll both be lost?", Naruto asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "Why not just you?"

"Our souls have grown together over the years! Since they cannot be pulled apart, we both live or we both die! Now SAVE ME you FOOL.", the fox snarled.

"How do I-", Naruto began to ask, instinctively reaching his arms outward. The fox began to glow orange, then shrunk into a small orange-glowing orb that floated into Naruto's hands.

"Oh," Naruto said, realizing what had to happen. He pushed the orb into his chest, feeling the fox's thoughts and feelings merge with his own.

"Thank you!,"the fox snarled sarcastically in Naruto's mind. "I'm just gonna take a nap up here. Call me if you have any questions.", the fox said, and with that, his presence was gone.

"Wait, how do I... call you...,"Naruto's question trailed off as he asked it. The tunnel of fire faded, and when Naruto next opened his eyes, he was in his bed.

'Huh. Funny dream... That damn fox was in it, too...', Naruto thought. He suddenly sensed an angry presense before hearing an, 'I heard that!' in his mind. 'Wha... You... How? ...', Naruto babbled, at a loss for words.

'I said I'd be napping until you call me. Then you called me, so here I am.', the fox replied snarkily.

'That's... so weird...', Naruto exclaimed, too shocked to think about anything else.

'Well, since I'm here, I'm going to tell you about the changes your body's probably already going through...', the fox said mysteriously.

'Wait, you mean like "the birds and the bees"? I'd rather not hear that one again...', Naruto said, wincing.

'Idiot!', the fox huffed,'Your soul is now part fox. Its container, your body, will now begin to reflect those changes.'

'How do you mean?', Naruto demanded, glaring suspiciously.

'You will grow fox ears, and claws, and tails. You will be faster and stronger... more powerful. That is, if you can take control of your newfound abilities.'

'What newfound abilities?', Naruto asked, still suspicious but very curious.

'There is no way to tell what of mine will pass to you, but at the very least your senses and speed should heighten. However, it is likely that you will be weak as a kitten for the next few days, if not weeks as your body and soul adjust to each other and try to compensate for each others' weaknesses... I will try to guide you through it all, but I'm not a lenient teacher. I will expect much of you', the fox warned.

The next few days had been hell for Naruto. He was the sickest he could ever remember being, with a burning fever, aching bones, volatile stomach and even a few seizures. Luckily the fox had known a recipe for a balm that soothed the pain of the ears growing in, or the following weeks would have been agony as well.

The dinner bell rang, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. He pulled himself out of the tub, blood and grime long since washed away, and dressed quickly. 'Was I really in there that long?', he thought, throwing on a new shirt and pair of pants that had been left for him. 'Eh. Guess it's time to go to dinner.', he thought, heading out.

#ENDNOTE#: Again, sorry about the wait! I've been crazy busy, and not inspired at all. I think this is the most I've written all year :/ I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!