That One Kitsune- Hey everyone long time no see. Now before you start trying to kill me I just want to say I am sorry for the wait. I said it in the latest chapter for The Fox Turned Neko as for my reason of not updating for a while. Short version is quite a bit of my progress for my stories got deleted and I had no feeling to write and/ or work on anything for a bit because of that. But I'm back and ready to get things started again. First I wanted to say thank you to those of you who have reviewed and told me what you think of the story. Now one thing to do is answer some questions you may all have. I know some of you find it dumb that I am asking questions of whether or not this story should be a single pairing or harem or anything like that. The answer is because I need to know. Like you all probably know I just started to write recently. And I don't have a certain writing style or if I will write single pairings over harems or vice-versa. With my Naruto x Highschool DxD crossover story I am starting to understand what the fans/ readers I have for that story like. I just wanted to get an understanding for what the general readers who start to read this story like. So that is why I asked these questions before and will continue to ask them so I can write these stories as best as possible. But before we continue I won't decide permanently whether this story will be a single pairing or harem until we get to canon start AKA Natsu in Hargeon and all of that. So let me know which one you would like to have either in a review or pm. Anyways enough of the rambling let us get onto the main reason why you glorious people are here which is to read this story. So sit back, enjoy the ride and let's do this.

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that you are about to see/ read. All rights go to there respective owners and/ or creators.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

*SPELL/ JUTSU*

"Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" -Ozpin

It has been a couple of hours and it was currently night time that we see Nagato and Ultear in a cave sitting close to each other while a fire is lit in front of them to keep them warm. It has been a couple of hours since they escaped that facility and gotten far enough with Nagato's summon to where they could rest for the night. Currently, Nagato sat in a meditative position with both his legs crossed over each other while his arms were resting on his legs along his with his eyes closed. Ultear, however, was glancing from the fire towards Nagato before turning back to look at the fire every so often.

"Do you know where your mother is Ultear? Or where she could be staying so we can find her?" Nagato said calmly while breathing in and out to relax.

"Well, It's been a while so I'm not too sure Nagato. But I do know it is in Isvan which is the kingdom we are currently in, I think. But I do remember there being snow, lots of it, it was nice and mama would play with me in the snow a lot." Ultear said with a smile at remembering the good times with her mother.

"Hmm, so the only thing we know for sure is that she is somewhere up north. What is her name Ultear?" Nagato asked while opening his eyes to look at her.

"Ur Milkovich, that is her name. But why did you want to know that Nagato?" Ultear asked while turning to face him. But for some reason, she can feel her heart ache a little when he asked about her mom and not her. This has happened a few times since she met him. Maybe when she finds her mom she can help her figure out what's wrong and why she has this strange feeling around Nagato. Oh, how she will regret that day and onwards in the future from the endless teasing she will receive.

"Because if we know her name we can start asking people if they have seen her or know where she is specifically. But we have to be careful because we don't know if anyone from that facility will be following us. So we have to move north while keeping a low profile as to not be found and captured again." Nagato said while staring into the fire ahead of him.

Ultear just shifted uncomfortably from that last sentence he said. She doesn't want to go back there and suffer at that hell hole. She just wants to be with her mother while having Nagato by her side through it all.

As if sensing her discomfort that she was having, Nagato scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her to at least ease her worries.

"Don't worry Ultear you aren't going back to that place ever again. We will find your mother and get you back to your home and her. But we have to go to sleep now. We head out at the first signs of light in the morning. We need to find a town to get you some clothes and other essentials to give us a chance at making it through this journey alive." Nagato said while awkwardly patting her back. It has been so long since he comforted someone that he barely remembers what to do.

After a few more minutes Ultear finally calms down. Nagato just let go before looking at her in the eyes.

"Better now?" Nagato asked with a small smile on his face. Ultear just nodded with her own smile before they both got ready for bed.

As he was about to close his eyes after laying down he takes one more glance over at Ultear spot and sees she is shivering from the cold that is coming in the cave from the outside. Doesn't help that she only has a blue test subject gown from the facility. He doesn't want her to be cold but he doesn't know if she would like the solution he has to her dilemma. After a couple more seconds he decides to help her.

"Ultear?" Nagato asked. He saw Ultear turn her head towards him He then asks his question.

"Are you too cold right now?" He asked. Ultear just nodded her head yes before replying.

"I-I-I am, a l-little cold right n-n-now." She said while stuttering from the coldness.

"Then we should preserve body heat to keep warm throughout the night." Nagato said while sitting up.

By no means was Ultear stupid but after a couple of seconds, she realized what he was saying and started to blush. But before she can say anything he interrupted her.

"It is just for the night so when tomorrow rolls around we can find you new clothes so this situation doesn't happen again. Besides I don't want you to be cold or uncomfortable when there is something I can do to help." Nagato said while he had a tiny blush on his face that went unnoticed by Ultear. He realized that what he said could be taken the wrong way which it was when he saw her blush seconds ago from his previous statement.

So after a moment or two Ultear just nodded her head, too embarrassed to say her answer. She then scooted closer to Nagato while he was doing the same till they were right next to each other that their shoulders were touching. Nagato just then plopped himself back down and before he noticed Ultear was already taking up his side. Both wrapped their arms around each other before starting to drift off to dreamland. But before that happened Ultear said one thing to Nagato.

"Thank you, Nagato. Sorry if this is a problem for you." Ultear said with her eyes closed.

"Your welcome Ultear. And it is not a problem at all. I offered to help you because your my friend and precious person." Nagato said with his eyes closed while being completely relaxed.

"Goodnight Ultear/ Nagato." They both said before allowing the Sandman to take over and falling asleep for the night.

Next day in the early morning

The first thing Nagato heard when he was waking up was the chirping of the birds outside the cave. He furrowed his face while keeping his eyes closed for a couple more seconds before he decided it was time to get up. He opens his eyes and was greeted to the ceiling of the cave above him. He tried to get up only to realize that something was stopping him from sitting up. He glances down only to widen his eyes while a small blush appears on his face. The reason? Well, that would be because of one Ms. Ultear Milkovich that is lying on top of him while holding him like he is an oversized teddy bear.

"She looks so peaceful when she sleeps.' Nagato thought while also trying to think of how to get out of this predicament without waking Ultear up so she can get a couple more minutes of sleep.

Nagato then came up with an idea. He creates a shadow clone next to him without any hand signs and then substitutes with the clone. He gave his a clone a nod which was returned. Nagato walked over to the campfire before he made a couple of hand signs before crouching down and slamming his hands on the ground and letting the campfire be taken over by rock, stone, and dirt before there was no trace it was ever there in the first place.

'A Shinobi leaves no traces that can be traced back to him or his allies.' Nagato thought to himself. Remembering that saying from one of the many lessons he had with his deceased sensei Jiraiya. He stood up before heading over to the entrance of the cave and looking outside. He looks outside and sees the beauty of mother nature herself. Trees that seem to be tall and full of life but were nothing compared to the ones near and around Konoha. A river close by that seems to be full of fish for them to eat. Some bushes in the area where he can probably gather berries of different kinds. So with the first step he took, he got to work on the task at hand.

Ultear first felt the sunlight hit her eyelids which she refused to open, opting on sleeping a little bit more and cuddling more into the human-sized pillow that she was holding onto. Just before she could go to sleep again she felt the pillow move?

'Since when do pillows move?' Ultear thought to herself. She decided to open her eyes and see why the pillow was moving. As soon as she did she saw Nagato's face staring at the ceiling of the cave. He glanced down at her before he responded.

"Good morning Ultear. Did you sleep well?" Nagato asked while giving her a small smile.

Ultear just rubs the sleep out of her eyes and she saw she was still cuddling/ laying on him. She even pinched herself for good measure as well. When she realized she wasn't dreaming she did the only thing that came to mind.

"KKKYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA!" Ultear shrieks while jumping up and landed a couple of feet away from Nagato with a megawatt blush on her face so red it would put our protagonist scarlet hair to shame.

"NAGATO! Who - wha - how - uhhhh - why were you clinging to me?!" Ultear asked all flustered and confused at what happened.

"Well sometime during the night you must've moved and cuddled up to me while on top of me. The real me woke up about several minutes with you already on top of him so he created me then we swapped places with each other while he decided to go hunt and gather breakfast." The Nagato clone said while standing up and dusting the dirt off of his clothes.

Before Ultear could respond back the two heard the distinct voice of Nagato yell "ULTEAR". Both Ultear and the clone turned toward the entrance of the cave to see another Nagato there with worry written all over his face.

Ultear turned towards the Nagato on her right then towards the one on her left. Then to the right and one more time to the left before she just asked one question.

"Nagato I didn't know you had a twin brother," Ultear said while she still looked back and forth between the two before the real Nagato decided to explain the situation to her.

"No Ultear he is not my twin. He is a clone I created with my chakra to watch you and protect you while I went out to get us breakfast." Nagato said before creating half of a hand seal. Then the next second Nagato number two dispels in a cloud of smoke. Nagato then motions for Ultear to follow him which she does and they start to walk outside. Then walk for about three minutes before they come upon a river and their Ultear sees freshly picked berries set out on clean leaves and a couple of fried fish on sticks that are pinned into the ground. To Nagato, the speeds she moved at would put to shame the Sandaime Raikage and Yondaime Hokage, when she went straight for the food.

"Now you are probably wondering what I meant earlier correct?" Nagato asked while sitting down next to Ultear and enjoy his part of their breakfast.

Ultear just nodded while gobbling down her food so fast Nagato thinks he might have to stop her from choking. Well he can't blame her right now, she probably didn't get that much food in that facility and even then it probably wasn't good food.

"Well, to start things off I don't have magic as you do," Nagato said before he paused because Ultear was frozen in place with her jaw unhinged and eyes wide staring at him while still holding her food. Nagato would have a laugh at this any other time but he needs to explain Ultear a little bit.

"You must be joking Nagato! I've seen you use fire, lightning, gravity and I am pretty sure you can use more. If that's not magic then what is it that you used?" Ultear asked with a pout on her face thinking that her friend was trying to trick her.

"I can assure you Ultear I am not joking at all. I use something else called chakra. It is something everyone from my clan uses and it is required for even the most basic of techniques. We use many different methods to access our chakra but the most common is hand signs. With this we can control our chakra and do things we otherwise couldn't do like walking on water, exhaling fire like you saw me do, or even create illusions. There is more my clan can do with chakra but that is all you need to know right now." Nagato said while going into what Konan called 'Sensei mode' when they were kids.

Ultear just had a look of fascination and awe on her face at hearing what this chakra can do. But with that explanation, it brought another question to her mind.

"Nagato what do you mean when you said, clan?" Ultear asked while raising her hand politely as if she was in a classroom.

"Well, my clan is known as the Uzumaki clan. We tended to do our own things on our home Island called Uzushiogakure We were known and feared for our swordsmanship but more for our Fuinjutsu. We Uzumaki have really strong life forces and because of that we have very long lifespans and we generally age slower. You can generally tell someone is an Uzumaki by their red hair and to a lesser extent violet eyes. There is more about us but I will tell you at a later date. But as far as I know, I am the only one left because my clan was massacred a few years ago." Nagato said happily at first before he sounded sad towards the end.

He already has gotten over the death of his clan but he didn't need Ultear knowing because it would be suspicious. Now some may ask him why he was telling her this when they only met not even twenty-four hours ago. Simple he wants to build a bridge of trust between them so that is why he told her about chakra and his clan. And technically he ain't giving away to much about chakra or his clan. Both pieces of information were so common about the two back in the Elemental Nations that probably everyone knew it.

Ultear just continued to listen on throughout Nagato explanation about his clan. She couldn't wait to see if they could find someone related to him. But for some reason, Ultear didn't want it to be a female Uzumaki they met. She doesn't know why but she feels a burning yet cold sensation inside her when she thinks about a girl trying to take him away from her. But that thought idea was crushed when he said his clan was massacred.

She saw his downcast expression and guess the scars were still there. So she put her food down and grabbed his hands before pulling him into a hug to cheer him up.

Nagato himself was surprised at the sudden contact. He expected a lot to happen but for her to hug him to try and cheer him up was something he didn't expect. So he just smiled and returned the gesture.

"Thank you Ultear. It is nice to have a friend like you that I can depend on." Nagato said while they just stood there hugging for a few minutes. Ultear just smiled while closing her eyes while thinking that it was nice to have Nagato here and be hers and hers only.

Ultear just opens her eyes in shock at what she just thought with a heavy pink blush on her cheeks.

'Mine and mine only?! What am I even thinking right now?! And why won't my heart stop feeling funny!' Ultear thought before she felt Nagato tapping her shoulder with a look on his face that asked 'Are you alright?'

"Y-yea I'm fine Nagato. Just feeling a little under the weather." She said hoping to get him to not continue the subject which thankfully he did drop it and changed it to something more important.

"Then we need to find a town to get you some clothes as soon as possible along with the necessary supplies we need before we can continue onwards on our journey," Nagato said while he got rid of any evidence that showed they were here before he motioned her to follow him which she did in what seemed to her a random direction.

"Ummm Nagato do you know which way is it to the nearest town?" Ultear said while following him and looking up into the sky and saw the sun was a little higher into the sky but not too high showing that it was still early morning.

"Well we just continue to follow the river downstream and we will find a town. Water is essential to survive so my guess is there a town situated along the river to have easy access to the water and to the edible creatures living in it." Nagato said while looking ahead with his Rinnegan to see if he could spot anything that would lead them to civilization faster.

For the next several hours they talked and laughed while walking along the river. They talked about chakra and magic some more. Going more in-depth for each art for the other to know. They talked about what they would do when they got older with Ultear going into a rant saying she was going to become the strongest female mage ever and surpass Nagato with him replying that he won't mind that as long as she is with him, which earned a blush from Ultear at what he said. Ultear also told him more about her mother and the village they were near while Nagato talked a little about Ame and Uzushiogakure but made it seem better than what is actually was as to not worry or scare Ultear. When Ultear asked if she can go there with him he replied that he couldn't take her there because if he did he would be marked as a traitor for showing an outsider either of the villages'. Something he made up but it also wasn't far from the truth.

But during all of this, they both had smiles on their face that seemed like it would never leave them. For once in a long time, they both felt completely content..

For Ultear she never thought she could have so much fun by just talking. It helps that she is talking with her first and best friend. Since she met Nagato about twenty-four hours ago it feels like she has known him longer than that. She is just grateful to have a friend like him and is even more grateful to him for saving her like a knight in shining armor. She took a glance towards Nagato and saw him smiling so she then smiled as well while they were both staring at each other before they both laughed.

For Nagato, he felt like he was a kid again with his parents by how happy he is with Ultear. She is so much like those he knew before in his previous life. She is so much like a different combination of his close friends that it is not funny. That is why he promised himself and her that he would protect her at all cost even if it ends with his death. Nagato just widened his eyes remembering something before returning to his calm expression once again.

'Is this what you meant Naruto? About having someone truly precious that you would protect at all cost? I guess that is how you beat me twice in a row. Hehe people say you're dumb yet you might be the smartest person since the Sage of Six Paths when you want to.' Nagato thought while a smile formed on his face at remembering his fellow clan member. Nagato then takes a glance towards Ultear who saw his smile and then smiled herself before they both started laughing.

About a few more hours and the sun was close to dipping below the horizon showing it was evening. We currently see Nagato walking at an even pace while Ultear was on his back while he carried her. The reason for this is Ultear said her feet were hurting a while ago so Nagato let her climb on his back so she can rest till they either found a town or set up camp for the night all the while Ultear had a blush on her face with her arms around his neck and her legs being supported by his hands.

"*Yawn* Maybe we should set up camp Nagato, I'm starting to get sleepy," Ultear said while yawning to further support her point.

Nagato was about to agree before he spotted Silhouettes of buildings a little more down the river.

"No need to Ultear because we just found the town," Nagato said with a smile and inclining his head forwards towards the town. Happy at finally having made it and was glad for lady luck smiling down on him and Ultear.

Ultear looked forward while squinting her eyes before they return to normal and a megawatt smile appeared on her face. She then jumps on Nagato's back while touching his arm and with renewed vigor before running towards the town.

"Well, what are you waiting for Nagato? Come on! We can finally have a good rest and get all those things that you said we needed earlier in the morning! Oh and by the way tag your it!" Ultear shouted happily before continuing her run towards the village. Nagato was just happy she was happy so he decided to pick up his pace to catch up to her before she reached the town while also playing the game of tag she started with her to make her happier. Both laughing along the way while they ran towards the village.

Somewhere Else

Currently, it is nighttime evident by the moon high in the sky and we see a clearing, the area Nagato and Ultear were in when they touched down from his summon before they walked off to find the cave they slept in. It was as empty as can be with the night time animals and bugs out and about. But it stopped once a cloaked figure stepped into the clearing. Nothing can be seen about this person except that it is a male because of the way its body is built. The figures walks along into the center of the clearing where he sees footprints before he crouches down to examine them.

"Hmm, it seems I'm on the right path after all." The figure spoke in a masculine and gruff voice before standing up.

"Run all you want to kiddies but it won't matter in the end. Because the body never fails the brain." The figure spoke before a dark and evil grin formed under the hood of the cloak.

That one kitsune- AAAAAND DONE. Have to say I could have done better with this but right now I usually go for about 4k words because I don't want my standard to be high because then I will force myself to write and it will make the story shit. Anyways sorry about this chapter taking a little bit longer to get out. I was supposed to have this out the 3rd but got sidetracked from it because of stuff aka College which is a bitch in my opinion. My classes started back up in March so it has been difficult for me to balance school work along with my social life and writing. So for a while till I update you guys it will be 1 chapter a month. I know, I know. Some of you may not be happy and will tell me that but I don't care. I barely get free time a lot and even then there are sometimes I have no free time at all. And times where I come home and instantly go to bed. SO yea if you're upset I'm sorry but that's the way it is until further notice. Anyways I don't think I have anything else to say their but if you have questions and stuff like that PM me and I will try to respond when I can or if I can answer your question. Until next time you glorious people CYA