Chapter 1

The Morning Of: Chaos in Konoha!

I own Nothing

The orange glow cast from the setting sun bled through the thin curtains of the Uzumaki Matrich's room, softly illuminating her room with warming yet unwelcome light. The growing sunlight meant that the morning has come, forcing her to deal with the responsibilities she must as a kunoichi of Konohagakure and thus making her leave the comfort of her soothing bed in favor of the harsh world outside. She grumbled, shifting to her right in hopes of snuggling deeper into her husband's side as she typically does when she wakes up but finds his spot empty, a cold sheet is the only thing that greeted her open arms.

She opened her eyes and found her husband to be nowhere in sight, a growing occurrence thanks to a few problems he must face as the leader of his village. The council has called for an audience with him more than 5 times this week, each issuing a problem that would cost Minato hours of his time to queal. Her heart went out to her husband, just like him she desired to be the Hokage as well but found more fulfillment in being a part time Kunoichi and a full time mother. The job is a harsh one, it demands your undivided attention and for you to see the whole village as your family, as your children that you must protect. Kushina would be lying if she said she didn't miss the days before his rise to the office, when he was just "Minato Namikaze, Jounin and loving husband/father" - it was a much less stressful time for everyone involved. As she continued to think about her husband and his absence her senses began to become more aware of her surroundings, noticing the bathroom light was bleeding out from underneath the door along with a trail of steam.

"Minato-kun?" She wondered; maybe she was wrong about her husband's disappearance, maybe he just wanted to take a nice relaxing shower while the water was still nice and hot. As she sat up in her bed an idea began to form in her mind, a rather scandalous one at that. Slinking out of bed she slipped out of her silk nightgown and made her way towards the occupied bathroom. She went to go knock but hesitated, maybe her husband would like a little surprise instead - I bet he wouldn't oppose to a little bit of spontaneity from his wife of all people.

With a wicked smirk, Kushina twisted the knob and went in, getting a nice rush of steam air as she made her way towards the shower itself before making herself known. "Minato-kun~," she cooed, placing her hand against the glass that separates her from her husband. "I was worried the council had called you in again, I hate waking up without you next to me. Speaking of being next to me I believe the girls are still asleep, I wouldn't wish to waste such an opportuni-," as she spoke she slowly slide the shower door open, revealing her bare husband to her….o-or so she thought. Standing mere inches from her was a child, no older than 14, with blood red hair and a body riddled with scars. The boy seemed frozen in place, his hands still atop his head to try and rinse the shampoo from it as his yellow eyes peered towards the matriarch in a mix of fear and confusion.

The boy quickly covered his shame before meekly responding, "H-Hello,"

But his simple statement seemed to fall on deaf ears as an unholy aura arose from Kushina as metaphysical chains began to seep from Kushina's very being, tipped with sharp spear like heads all aimed towards the boy in question. "Who. In. The. Hell. Are. YOU?!"

"P-Please, I can explain,"

-30 Minutes Later-

Oi, Mito-chan! Wake up, wake up!"

"Ugh, it's Saturday, Nami! That usually means 'sleep in'!" Mito all but screamed as she tried to bury her face deeper into her pillow in hopes of capturing her fading slumber only to feel her sister yank the covers from their bed. "What do you want?!"

"Where's our little friend?" Nami asked, rummaging through their bed like a madwoman, something that didn't sit well with the resting Mito.

Mito merely groaned and tried her best to scrunch up whatever she could find to cover herself and slip back into her sleep filled dream world. "At 7 in the morning, I couldn't give a crap, Nami-chan! I'm exhausted, let me sleep in peace!"

"But if Kaa-chan and Tou-san catch a wild shape shifting fox in our house who knows what'll happen. Even worse, what if they figure out we let him in?!" Nami said, her solid point now rattling around in Mito's mind.

Her sister was about to retort but only sighed; she hated to admit it but she did have a point if their little guest snuck out of their room in the dead of night and caused some form of mischief throughout the house both Mito and Nami's necks would be on the line. So, with a heavy sigh, Mito slipped from her cozy spot on her bed and followed her sister downstairs in a vague hope of finding the fox before their parents did. They stepped softly down the stairs that lead into the dining area which then lead into the kitchen which is where they got their first clue of where exactly their furry friend was. Looking behind the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen they found a small trail of crumbs and discarded wrappers trailing all the way towards the ajar fridge door, much to their dismay.

"Oh god," Nami murmured, picking up one of the discarded containers to find that the Ichiraku take out stashed in the fridge had now been fully devoured with ease, "we're definitely going to get it for this one."

"It doesn't look like they were ripped open," Mito hummed, looking over the wreckage with a more analytical eye than her worrisome doppelganger. She picked up one of the 'to go' boxes and examined it's exterior, taking in each inch of the plain white packaging, "no rips, no marks - it looked like it was opened normally. That's kinda weird, isn't it Nami?" She pondered but was greeted with nothing more than silence. She looked to her sister only to find her sporadically cleaning up the area around the fridge with a frantic pace, "What are you doing?" she asked with a cocked brow.

The blonde merely continued her cleaning spree with reckless abandon before spouting off a simple answer, "we gotta get rid of the evidence before Kaa-chan and Tou-san find out!"

"Don't you think Kaa-chan will notice once she goes to grab her ramen only for the box to be gone?" Mito asked as she took a seat on top of the island, watching her sister rummage through the disarray with the eyes of an onlooker. "None of this would have been a problem if you had merely-"

Nami whipped a finger towards her sister and with a tilt of her head hissed, "no, no, no! Not another word,"

"Face it, we'll have to come clean sooner or later, might as well be now." Was Mito's retort, which her sister didn't seem to hear as she returned to her frantic cleaning.

"You see, that's your biggest problem; you give up way too easily. I've got a plan," she shot back half heartedly, grabbing the last two Ichiraku boxes and using them for her props for the tale she was about to weave. "We know Kaa-chan usually leaves early Saturday morning to go talk with Mikoto at their favorite tea shop, right? Well, if we're quick enough we can take the boxes and put them back in the fridge as if they were never touched, then when she heads for Mikoto's we go to Ichiraku's and order more. Once we do that, we replace the already empty boxes and nobody's the wiser."

Though Nami looked like she had cracked the code Mito didn't look all that impressed. "...That's a terrible plan,"

"How is it a bad idea? It's practically foolproof!" Barked Nami

With a knowing smirk, Mito hopped from her perch and said, "Well, for starters Ichiraku isn't open on Saturdays or Sundays so...there's that,"

"...W-What?" Nami hummed, "when the hell did that start?!"

"About a month ago, it gives Teuchi and Ayame a two day break seeing as they've been working themselves ragged the past few months. Don't you remember? They told us that the last time we ate there," she asked which was answered with a numbed look.

"...N-No, not really," she muttered, racking her brain for what's next. "Now what do we do?!" But before Mito could respond their attention was drawn upwards as a loud and violent thud rung hollow above them. A muffled voice shortly followed that the two could easily tell was their mother but exactly what she was doing was still a mystery to them as the thuds began to move around the second floor. This sound began to grow in savarity the closer it came to the stairs; it grew just loud enough to where the two could actually make out what exactly their mother was saying and once they did a part of them wished they hadn't. "Get back here you!" and "Don't you run away from me!" and their personal favorite, "How on earth did you get in here anyway!"

Their worst fears had been realized, their shapeshifting friend had found his way into their parent's room and now their mother was trying her damndest to catch it!

"We're screwed," Mito murmured as they heard someone coming down the stairs before instinctively grabbing her sister's hand for comfort, "we're in this together,"

"It was nice knowing you," she whimpered, closing her eyes as she prepared for their mother's coming wrath only to feel a form slap into her, one that felt very wet and uncomfortable. After landing back first onto the linoleum floor, Nami opened her deep blue eyes meet with more animalistic yellow ones that seemed to glare deeply into her soul but her focus didn't seem to be on his eyes, more so his state of dress or, rather, lack there off. Now, prone on top of her was a blushing, naked boy maybe a year or two older than her who was riddled with scars and a heavy, primal look to him from his shaggy red hair to his piercing yellow eyes.

As all three individuals in the kitchen seemed to finally process what was happening neither could hold back their collective screams - one because of the naked boy on top of her and the other because he was terrified of what the lady upstairs would do to him if she saw this! "I-I'm sorry, please, l-l-let me expla-," the boy tried to defend himself only to find a golden chain now wrapped around his midsection before yanking him across the room to come face to face with the red haired demon he wished to escape.

"Oh trust me, you'll explain everything in due time!"

"Good morning, Hokage-sama,"

"Good morning, Kakashi." Minato hummed, shifting through a few pieces of paper that made up one of the many stacks of folders and dissertations and pamphlets and on and on that decorated the kage's desk, much to his dismay. "I swear, I leave early for one day to find my children and I come back to find my desk overrun with paperwork. I swear, if I didn't know better I'd think the council planned for me to be gone so they could flood me with busy work."

Kakashi chuckled at his teacher's ramblings, "from what you told me about the council I wouldn't put it past them,"

The Hokage smirked, "well, at least someone believes me," before he willed himself back towards the task at hand, though he wished he could continue droning on and on with his growing pupil he knew it wouldn't get them anywhere. "What brings you here today?"

As if he read the Kage's mind Kakashi pulled out a singular scroll and presented to his master, "I've just come to deliver my report, Hokage-sama,"

Placing it on his desk Minato was quick to respond, "Ah, keeping a close eye on the new recruit, correct?" Before cracking it open for a read, giving him the utmost details of the previous mission Kakashi, this new recruit, and two other ANBU members went on to hunt down and assassinate a rogue squad of bandits that were rumored to make their way towards Konoha.

"Hai," Kakashi answered, "So far she's showing great promise. I think within the coming months she'll become a solid ANBU agent."

Looking up from his reading, Minato wondered aloud, "how was her showings in her first mission today?"

"Excellent," was his student's reply, pointing to a particular paragraph towards the bottom of the scroll his master held. "She showed precise movement, followed every order given and didn't hesitate to execute the splinter cell's leader when we were in position."

"Amazing," muttered Minato, looking over the report once more with a smile. "When Yugao Uzuki was selected to join the ANBU I thought we were making a mistake but...I suppose I was wrong."

"Don't take it too harshly, Minato-san," Kakashi chuckled, laying a hand on his master's shoulder. "Even a Kage is allowed to be wrong sometimes,"

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at that, "If you ask my wife, it happens more than just someti-," but before he could finish his joke his door was opened by his secretary, her face written with worry.

"Hokage-sama, your wife had sent a clone with a message!" She declared, "there's a naked pervert parading around your house! She needs you at home ASAP and bring an ANBU squad,"

"What?!" Was all that Minato could remark, trading confused glances between his secretary and Kakashi before finding his footing once more. "U-Ummm...okay, Kakashi, get your trainee and meet me at my house,"

-Minutes Prior-

"Alright, your father should be here any minute with a few ANBU to sort this whole thing out," Kushina declared, after ushering out her doppelganger to gather her reinforcements. As of now, the Uzumaki matriarch has set the stage thusly, she told her children to remain in the kitchen until her father and his ANBU guards came to retrieve their little intruder while said intruder sat in the living room, still completely naked, wrapped in the glowing chains of Kushina. "And to think some perverted child had snuck into my household! Unbelievable,"

"N-No, that's not what happened! You've got it all wrong, I-," the bound boy tried his best to plead but he felt the chain tightened against his sternum, silencing him almost instantly. "T-T-Too….t-t-t-tight,"

"And the more you resist it the tighter it gets," Kushina responded, "so I suggest you keep your wiggling to a minimum,"

"N-Noted," He wheezed, feeling his pride being crushed alongside his lungs.

Mito had grown quite curious of the situation and began to investigate, peering past the threshold between the kitchen and living room in hopes of catching a glimpse as to what is happening, "Kaa-chan, is everything alright in the-,"

Kushina snapped to the sound of her daughter's voice, "stay in the kitchen, Mito! I don't want you around this boy until your father gets home,"

"S-Seriously, you don't understand. I mean you no harm," He tried his best to plead once more but found that it wouldn't do much but cause him more pain.

"Enough," Kushina shot back, "you can explain yourself when my husband and his ANBU get ahold of you, understood? Or...or maybe I'll call in a favor to a friend of mine who knows how to deal with perverts, I think Anko would love breaking you in."

"F-Fine, I-I guess I have no choice," The redhead murmured and before Kushina could respond his body shifted out of existence, leaving her chakra chain to fall limply to the floor.

"What the?" she asked, retracting her chain before scanning the room for his presence only to find nothing but their empty living room. She started to walk deeper into the room, looking under every piece of furniture to see if he somehow slipped her grasp and skimmed under her couch. As she did that she couldn't help but hear a rather distinct sound, the buzzing sound of a fly's wings flapping in the wind which grew closer and closer as if it was circling her head, mocking her, taunting her! She quickly tried to swat it away but it was far too quick for her to do away with as it slipped into her ear, buzzing as loud as it could. Kushina wiggled out of a primal disgust before slapping at her ear in hopes of ridding it of this disgusting insect but, once more, she was too late - cracking her open palm against her ear right as the creature left, leaving her cradling her ringing ear.

"This is ridiculous!" She proclaimed as she nursed the side of her head before bearing witness to a truly odd scene; catching a glimpse of the fly above her couch she watched it shift from the small, insignificant frame of a harmless fly into a fluffy red fox that looked oddly similar to the fox she saw yesterday. Bouncing off the soft cushions the fox slipped past Kushina's bewildered form before making its way towards the kitchen where he would meet with the two he wished to find. Quickly snapping from her daze Kushina shot out one of her chains, latching onto the creature's hind leg just before it hit the linoleum of the kitchen floor. The fox merely craned it's head back to look at what confined him before seamlessly shifting into a red scaled snake before the matriarch's very eyes.

His slithering into the kitchen caused a chorus of screams as both Mito and Nami, who were unaware of what had happened in the living room, were greeted with a red scaled cottonmouth with little explanation. Running on instincts alone, Kushina jolted forward and slid into the kitchen to protect her children from whatever strange creature this shapeshifter was but was once again taken aback by what she saw next. Her children, once scared and screaming from this slithering serpent were now picking it up, allowing it to shift forms once more into the fox they saved the day prior.

"Get away from that...that thing," Kushina declared, preparing to snatch the creature up by the scruff of his neck but was stopped by Mito who, surprisingly, stood between her sister and her mother.

"W-Wait, Kaa-chan, we can explain!" The eldest by two minutes sputtered as you could clearly tell standing in opposition of her mother wasn't something she was used to - she liked to leave that to her trouble making sister. "I-I told Nami-chan that we should have informed you and Tou-san of him in the beginning but-,"

"Hey, don't you dare try to pin this whole thing on me!" Nami yelled, placing the red fox behind her in hopes of shielding it from her mother's coming wrath. "You could have gone to their room at any moment and told them but you didn't!"

"You scheming little weasel! You told me last night that we'd tell them in the morning together! You told me not to wake them!" Mito exclaimed, her eyes burning with bitter, child-like hatred for her sister's blatant lies.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nami merely shrugged, pushing down her guilt for the time being. "You know, for the eldest, you should really set a better example for you-,"

"Say another word and I'll crucify you!" Mito hissed,

"That's enough! Whatever you two are bickering about can wait, right now I need to remove this boy from my home!" Cried Kushina, pulling her first born out of the way before making her way towards her second child who, by all accounts, was still putting up a bit of a fight.

"B-Boy?!" Nami muttered as she peered over her shoulder at the fox she wished nothing more than to protect, which was a strange yet oddly natural feeling she felt bubbling into her chest, "Kaa-chan, what boy?"

"The fox!" She proclaimed which elicited a strange look from both of her children. "He turned into a fly then a fox, then a snake and then a fox again! I saw it with my very eyes. You saw it too,"

"...A-Are you okay, Kaa-chan?" Mito asked

"I know what I saw, Mito." Kushina fired back, "I saw that boy slip through my chains by transforming into a bug and then after he had his fun annoying me he transformed into the fox you're hiding behind you." As the continued to bicker back and forth a flash of yellow light came from the living room, signifying the Fourth had finally arrived to his house and with him were two individuals, one was a ANBU with striking purple hair while the other was Kakashi who deeply desired to follow his master in hopes of helping him with this strange intruder.

Marching into his kitchen, Minato was greeted with his family huddled into a corner - his wife trying to pry his youngest out of her way in order to capture what he assumed to be the 'intruder', a scared looking fox while his eldest stood by, unaware of how to react.

It was at this time Minato's serious expression faded.

Hell, he wasn't even the only one who found this visual to be funny, as his ANBU could be heard snickering behind her mask while Kakashi merely held a confused brow high above his visible eye. With the clearing of his throat, Minato grabbed the room's attention, "Kushina-chan," he spoke, "where's the intruder?"

"Right here," Kushina declared, finally prying her daughter's digits off of the counter-top as she presented the culprit ...a small, fragile little fox, the same one they had saved a day ago.

He didn't really know what to see, "...sweetheart," he grumbled, was this some sort of joke? "In your statement, I believe you said there was a, "naked pervert streaking in our house,"."

"Yes, I know! This is him," said the red head as she scooped up the fox by the scruff of his neck and presenting it for the newcomers to see, "go on now, transform! Show everyone who you really are," but nothing seemed to happen. As the group sat there and watched the fox merely whimpered and take in its surroundings with its big yellow eyes, seemingly oblivious to how much trouble it was in.

"...Honey," Minato began as he felt an emotion creep up from deep within him, something he hadn't felt in quite some time, embarrassment. "It's a fox,"

"Don't you think I know that, Minato?!" Kushina snapped before wiggling the fox in her grasp in hopes of agitating it, "but this isn't an ordinary fox, he has the ability to change! He's just pretending like he's some sweet, innocent fox but it's all just an act."

"So you're telling me that he can transform from a human to an animal?" He asked, humoring her logic for a moment but she could see right through his weak attempts at placating her.

"Don't patronize me, I'm not crazy! I'll make him transform," Kushina proclaimed as she spun the little fox around and proceeded to poke and shake the little vermin in hopes of somehow eliciting a transformation. "Come on, do it! I know you can understand me! Are you trying to make me look crazy," She hissed as her family and colleagues looked on as she pestered this creature in a sad yet, surprisingly, comical fashion.

"Sweetheart, how about you just hand me the fox and I'll take care of him." The blonde kage spoke, trying his best to be the voice of reason while also keeping his wife's sanity out of the question, though to be fair she wasn't making a strong case for herself.

"No, not until he-," she began, taking her eyes off of the fox for a mere moment to speak to her husband which was just enough time for him to strike. The little fur ball Kushina has been pestering lashed out, clamping his teeth down onto her extended finger with enough force to sting but not draw blood. "Ow, you little shit!" She squealed, dropping the fox on pure instinct. With his freedom granted the fox made a run for it, aiming for the upper floor as he recalled that Mito and Nami had forgotten to close the window fully from last night.

He was able to duck and dodge Kakashi and Minato's feeble attempts to capture him but was surprised at how quick the ANBU was, easily snatching him up with a firm grip which his fox frame couldn't shake. Without missing a beat the fox shifted into a small gecko before darting across the ANBU's skin like a bat out of hell, narrowly avoiding each attempt to capture him until he finally made it to the top of her head. As she reached to grab him the gecko jumped from his perch and within a flash was now a crimson crow, making his way upstairs with a few swift flaps of his wings.

"What in the world?!" Minato huffed, still dumbfounded as to what exactly he saw.

"Hmmm, it looks like someone, not gonna name any names, was completely justified in her response and should get a big, fat apology!" Kushina proclaimed, her smug sense of righteousness was justified but wasn't needed at the moment.

"We'll dol out apologies once we've captured...whatever the hell that thing is," Kakashi remarked as he and the ANBU were the first to head upstairs followed by Kushina.

"Stay down here you two, I don't want either of you getting hurt!" Minato ordered before tailing behind the trio, leaving his children to bicker.

"What mess have you landed us in now, Nami?"

"ME?! You have just as much blame in this as I do!"

-Four Hour Later-

"Where on earth could he be?" yelled an exhausted Nami as she and her sister came to a halt in the midst of Konohagakure, scanning high and low for any sign of the crimson color that indicated their animal companion. After the whole culmination within the Uzumaki's kitchen, they were told by the adults of the situation that their little friend had transformed into a small rodent and slipped through the crack of their window before shifting back into his crow form, taking off towards God knows where in order to escape the wrath that seemed to follow him.

Once everything seemed to calm down with the adults they all came to a consensus, whatever this creature was, it had to be captured. Something with the ability to transform into whatever whenever wasn't something that should be allowed to just slip around Konoha without further examination - especially if what Kushina saw was to be taken seriously. This placed even more stress on the Uzumaki twins, their furry companion has now had a target painted on his back thanks to their unwillingness to nip this in the bud on day one. They were told to merely head to school and the adults would deal with this 'rampaging' shapeshifter and before they could protest they were whisked away by an ANBU escort to the front door of their beginning class. After an hour or so it would seem that Mito and Nami had given in and just decided to sink into their studies but anyone who knew them would know that was furthest from the truth. Nami was the first to strike, standing quickly and demanding to head to the nurse because of 'intestinal distress' before rushing from the room without giving Iruka-sensei a second to respond. 30 minutes afterward Mito declared she needed to go to the restroom and made a bee-line to their agreed upon meeting point - the blindspot behind the academy where no one cleared the growing bushes and brush that was accumulating, which made it much easier for the two to sneak into the streets of Konoha without detection.

"I don't know, it's been hours since we last saw him. He could be half way to Suna by now," Mito muttered, wiping sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her kimono.

"No, he wouldn't do something like that." Remarked her sister in a vain attempt to bat away such a thought that, just like Mito, was beginning to creep within her mind the longer they searched.

"Nami," Her sibling didn't wish to push the subject but knew that if it wasn't at least addressed they might be spending hours running themselves ragged looking for something that might not be here. "How everything transpired this morning….we have to suspect the worst-,"

"No we don't," she remarked coldly, averting her gaze from her sister in order to keep her composure. "Let's split up, cover more ground. I'll take the red light district, you can take uptown - we'll meet at Ichiraku at 4pm after everything's said and done."

"Nami-cha-..." She tried to speak once more but was greeted with her sibling's retreating frame jumping to the rooftops in order to get a better vantage point. All she could do was sigh before taking off towards the high end of Konoha, "don't get your hopes up, Nami."

"Come on little guy, where could you be hiding?" Nami questioned as she scanned her surroundings atop a locking apartment complex, looking through the dingy and dimly lit menagerie that was the red light district. She has heard of this place but her mother and father have rarely allowed them to enter it without an escort - it was the poor district of Konohagakure that was allowed to fall to ruin under Sarutobi's reign because of the Kyuubi attack and the bureaucratic red tape preventing him from doing anything other than delivering platitudes. Minato is trying his best to change that but you can only do so much seeing as he's only been in the office for a few months now. Maybe in the now so distant future, this place can be fixed up and become a presentable district of Konohagakure once again...but for now, it's not a place Nami wishes to stay for an extended period of time.

From her vantage point, she couldn't find anything of value in her search for her fox so she decided to make her way down to the seedy streets below in order to possibly find a glimpse of her animal. The streets were much worse up close than they were from the rooftops, she could smell the growing trash and filth that was building in the streets, storefronts hocking unsavory wares and the people of the district and their snarled gazes. If she wasn't steadfast in finding what she came for she'd make a run for it - there was this sinking uneasiness that came over her every second she made eye contact with a denizen of the red light district, almost as if they knew who she was and hated her very existence for it. As the Kyuubi container she's felt hate filled gazes before but most of the time she was protected by a watchful ANBU or her family, now she was alone, bare to the true hatred this village harbors for her and her sister.

She was soon taken out of her thoughts by the sound of shuffling within a nearby alleyway. As she took a closer look, she noticed a dumpster stuffed to the brim with garbage bags - one, in particular, seemed to have a mind of its own as it seemed to wiggle due to some unforeseen force. Slipping past the growing crowd she made her way into the dingy alley, the smell of the overflowing garbage slapping her the second she stepped towards it.

Through the stench filled haze that hung across the alleyway, Nami continued onwards, making sure her steps were deliberate yet silent as to not startle her shape shifting companion. She knew so little of what he has gone through today because of their mistake so to say he might be jumpy or prepared to strike would be an understatement. She didn't believe he would hurt her, it was just a feeling she had deep within herself, but what she didn't know was how he would react to the girl who got him into this mess in the first place.

Her hand now pressed against the exterior of the dumpster, Nami lifted the lid to expose its contents and allow a few extra plastic bags to fumble from it, exposing whatever creature called this dumpster home. It was a feral, lanky cat with orange and white strips - her fur caked in dirt and grime while several of her malnourished newborns laid underneath her, suckling at her engorged nipples.

"T-That's...not him," she thought, as the new mother cat let out an authoritative hiss. "Sorry, sorry, I-I'll give you some privacy," she stammered and as she shut the lid for the feline and her growing family, she couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Oi, what do we have here, boys." a voice echoed from the mouth of the alleyway followed by two distinct snickers. They looked plain, almost unremarkable. The one from the back had a bit of a belly while the other to the right seemed to tower over the two but the middle one - he seemed to command the trio of 16 year olds as he sauntered down the aisle with a smirk. "Konoha royalty dumpster diving in our neck of the woods?"

The taller of the three let out a long whistle, "I never thought I'd see the day,"

"...H-Hello," Nami remarked reservedly, though she was raised to show respect from the offset there was something off putting about these boys and their leering gaze. "Is there something you need?"

"Oh, so polite," the front runner said as he chuckled back to his boys. "But to answer your question, no, I don't think we need anything but you, on the other hand, look like you do."

"I mean, why else would you be out here if you weren't looking for something?" The rounder comrade asked, seemingly trying to sound genuinely curious but it came off more...patronizing.

As the trio grew closer down the alleyway the whispers of her family's teachings started to rattle around in her head, "it's none of your business why I'm out here." She remarked sternly, her eyes now trying to visualize some form of way out of this if it got...ugly.

"Now where did that come from?" The leader cooed, feigning some sort of offense, "we merely asked you a question, Namikaze-san. Is that a crime?"

"...No," remarked Nami, trying her best to be courteous while also keeping her distance.

"Then come on, let us help you. What are you looking for?" The taller of the three said.

Hesitantly, she conceded to their demand. Maybe she was just being too paranoid for her own good; who knows, they might have seen their little fox and if so it'll help in the long run, "A red fox, he ran away and I've looked all over the villa-,"

"A fox you say," the leader hummed, stroking his chin in contemplation. "Boys, have you seen any red foxes around here lately?"

"Nope,"

"Can't say I have,"

"Man, what a shame. I'm sorry we couldn't have been more of use to you," he sighed, placing a hand on Nami's shoulder in some attempt to comfort her. "but we'll keep our eyes peeled for it,"

Peeling his digits from her shoulder, she graced the trio with a simple, "...thanks," before she tried to make her way towards her salvation.

"Oh, wait, wait, wait! Now I remember something, I think I did see a fox," the leader said,

This couldn't have been better news! The Kage's youngest whipped around and greeted this boy with, "you have?! Where?!"

"Right HERE!" He yelled, cracking her across the jaw with a hefty right which sent the unsuspecting blonde to the floor. The hit wasn't much, she had gotten worse from her sister during sparring practice, but it surely was unexpected which made her a bit starry eyed for a moment - all she could do was try to collect herself and listen to the boy's heckle her.

"Hahaha! Damn, who knew the Kage's daughter was this thick in the head." The quieter boy cheered, seemingly finding his voice as he rushed to the side of his two friends in hopes of getting in on some of the action.

"Kage's daughter or not, she's still a brat. She's still too little to know what's good for her," the eldest of the three chipped in, landing a quick kick to her midsection which she was quick enough to block but not fully - knocking some of the wind out of her in the process. "Don't worry though, we'll teach you a thing or two,"

"Like lesson #1, don't you ever, ever show your face around our part of town again!" The one who delivered the sucker punch decreed fiercely as he dug deep into his pocket before producing a simmering pocket blade - something that looked to be his pride and joy. The other two didn't seem to like the glint in his eyes but couldn't find the words to interject as they allowed their supposed leader to march forward, grip their victim by her closest pigtail and brandishing his knife against her cheek. "Now, so you won't forget it, how about I add two more whisker marks to your ugly face, demon?!" He hissed with the venom that told Nami one crucial detail, this boy wasn't playing around.

She needed to get serious!

Though this was her second year at the Academy she had also been training with her family since she was 5, so her skills were beyond that of a simple student - giving her the advantage against the street rats. Using the slack he gave her on her pig tail she pulled back, getting him a bit off balance just enough for her to slip her smaller figure between his open arms and grab his right hand that held his blade. Without much of a fight, she was able to twist his wrist hard enough for him to drop his switchblade and use her position under him to flip him onto the floor below.

With her hair now free and her captor dropped she scooped up the knife and brandished it against the other two individuals who had just realized what had happened.

"Hands where I can see them, assholes!" She yelled, placing the sole of her shoe against the back of his neck, keeping his face deep in the dirt whether he liked it or not and to show she wasn't willing to give up her trump card. "Now I don't know what your problem with me is and honestly I don't care, but if you want to make it out as you came in you better call them off!"

"Back up, guys! Back up," he muffled, the words sounded like bile oozing from the depths of his soul but thankfully his goons complied, both began to shuffle back towards the exit of the alleyway giving her room to breathe and to think of a way out of this mess.

As she thought that a shadow flew above the alley which caught her attention for but a moment as the color of a crimson feather seemed to glimmer through the setting sun, this distraction was all it took for her advantage to turn sour. Lurching forward, one of the goons grabbed a rock hidden behind a trash can and chucked it hard enough to made contact dangerously close to her temple, leaving a bad cut across her forehead. Dazed from the hit, Nami fell backward, allowing the leader to push back against her foot and steal his knife back and bare down on top of her - his knife now inches from her throat!

"You snotty little bitch! Ya almost had me," he snickered, he almost seemed proud of her accomplishments moments ago but the look in his eyes told a different story - her achievement gave him the ability to go further in his torment of this demon. "I suppose it was stupid of me to think the Kage's daughter wasn't a well taught fighter. I won't make that mistake again! Boys, hold her down!"

And with that decree his two lackeys came running, grabbing limbs and pinning her to the ground, their previous worried appearances seemingly gone after what had transpired, merely wanting this to be over with than for it to drag out longer than it had too. However, as the boy lowered himself down to her, his knife scratching the surface of her flesh a thud was heard behind them - a deep, robust growl following it. Before any of the teens could turn to face it, the lackey to the left was snatched up by his coat and flung far out of the alleyway soon to be followed by the second lackey, leaving only their kingpin, Nami and whatever just made its appearance.

A palpable fear was bubbling within the last remaining goon as he slowly peered over his shoulder in order to take in what on earth could be behind him and what greeted him wasn't what he expected. Standing there was a fox the size of a dire wolf, its slitted yellow eyes trained on him as its maw filled with sharpened teeth that dripped with drool, ready to rip him apart if he took a single step the beast didn't approve of.

The appearance of this fox caught him a bit off guard, where on earth could a fox that size come from? Why was it here? Was it hers? Maybe it's her pet? As those thoughts ran through his mind he took a moment to peer towards his captured prey and found her smiling of all things.

"T-This thing...it's yours, isn't it?"

"...I-I guess my fox f-found me,"

"You little shi-," He prepared to strike his final blow with his knife, even though he knew the beast stood inches from him he could still take out one of the demons that plague Konoha, but his plan was ill conceived as his speed wasn't a match for her pets. Lunging forward the fox latched its maw around the boy's hand, mangling his digits with his rows of sharpened teeth like an ankle in a bear trap, but before he could deal with the pain he was ripped from his spot and flung against the alley's brick walls with a messy thud.

The fox continued forward, allowing the fool's switchblade to slip from his mouth along with the blood that gushed from his hand, but his stalking was cut short by Nami now standing between the fox and his prey.

"It's okay," She soothed, placing a gentle hand on his snarled maw which seemed to calm him for the moment. "You've saved me, he's no threat to anyone anymore."

"G-God damn it, my hand, m-m-my fuckin' hand!" The boy cried, cradling his mangled appendage with tears now streaming from his once crazed eyes.

"Hey," Nami called, kicking dirt onto the boy's open wounds to get his attention. "If you tell anyone what happened today I'll make sure it won't just be your hand that's fucked up. Got it?"

"...Y-You are a fucking demon," he whimpered, stumbling to his feet the best he can as he made his way towards the mouth of the alleyway.

"You better remember that," she remarked, her face hardened as if she was prepared to do something regrettable after his remark but it all changed once the soft tongue of her companion slapped against her, cleaning her face of the blood and grime built up. She couldn't help but laugh, running her fingers through his wavy fur, "I guess this is the second time you've saved me, huh?"

It was strange to see this fox that was once vicious and filled with rage turn into a ball of energy and joy in the span of seconds, it filled her heart with joy but also questions that needed to be solved. "What are you?" She asked, a question that she knew needed an answer. The large fox soon turned small, shifting back into the smaller more manageable minx they've come to associate their companion with but this didn't seem to satisfy her question.

"No, everything we've seen and everything we've heard from Kaa-chan...you're not just a cute little fox," she spoke, taking a few steps back before taking a knee to address him. "If we're going to fight for you to stay with us we're going to need to know what ...or rather who you are, alright?"

The fox's tail seemed to pause and he's cute panting seized as if the creature was taking in her ultimatum as if he was considering his options, weighing the pros and cons before ultimately coming to his final decision. The fox made a quick turn and duck behind the large dumpster in the depths of the alleyway and before Nami could call out to stop his retreat she could hear a sudden shift as his form went from quadrupedal to bipedal and trading in his red fur for a mane of red hair.

Trying his best to keep his shame covered with a few discarded newspapers and a trash can lid the fully formed boy made his way out from behind the garbage can, revealing his features more clearly to the stunned Uzumaki. His eyes, like his animal forms before this, held a yellow tint to them and no matter what light they were under they seemed to illuminate like fireflies. His hair was still reckless and wild as ever but hidden on the side of his head were his ears, two extended ears that looked almost otherworldly to her - maybe he was another being entirely.

"...Hi,"

"...Hey,"

"Mito, please, for the last time, where is your sister!?" Minato practically begged as he and his wife stood within their household with Kakashi and their purple haired mask ANBU by there side as they had their eldest by minutes sitting before them. During Nami's little trip they found Mito rather easily, seeing as after she finished searching the upper parts of the village she was ratted out by Ayame down at Ichiraku, apparently they've been roped in by their family to make sure they're kept on the straight and narrow. Now, it's been 3 hours since she's been caught and there's been no sign of that shape shifting fox or her sister and it's causing a large amount of concern for both the parents and Mito in particular.

"And I keep telling you if I knew I would have told you by now," Mito pleaded, "Tou-san, you know me! I would never let such a lie continue but right now I've told you all I know. We split up, I searched the high end district of Konoha she searched the red light district,"

"We've told you girls never to go there!" Kushina remarked hotly, you could tell she lashed out with a mother's worry but there was a reason why Minato is the diplomate of the two.

Mito merely shook her head and spoke the truth, "I know, Kaa-chan but she was adamant to search there. She wanted to find our companion,"

Kushina's ears perked to her daughter's statement, "our companion?" She asked as she noticed Mito shift at the comment.

"I-I meant...our…," she began but couldn't find the strength to continue, she knew that lies were the reason this whole thing fell apart, to begin with, and the only way for there to be some way to build back up a relationship of trust with their parents she needed to come clean. "A-At Inuzuka compound the other day when Nami and I fell...it wasn't because we felt spent but because...something happened between that fox and...and…"

"The Kyuubi," the room felt uncomfortably cold as those words left Minato's lips.

Once the room fell silent as they all traded glances the main doorknob twisted delicately open as two teens tried their best to sneak quietly into the suspected empty house, each carrying a bag of clothing in each arm as if they had gotten done with a shopping spree. One of the teens being the Uzumaki's missing daughter Nami, sporting a freshly stitched forehead, dirted clothing, and tangled hair while behind her stood a boy that all but one couldn't quite place.

"You!" Screamed Kushina, unleashing her chakra chain as soon as her eyes laid bare on the red headed boy quickly wrapping itself around him and slammed him against the hardened kitchen floor before sliding him into the din for all to see. As Kakashi and the ANBU kept their weapons and eyes trained on the fully clothed stranger, the Uzumaki/Namikaze family dashed over and engulfed their missing family member in a near suffocating hug.

"Oh my god, Nami, your okay! Thank the gods you're here,"

"What happened to you?! What's on your forehead? Did this man hurt you?! If he did I swear to god if he did!"

"What happened out there, Nami! You promised me at 4 pm you'd be there at Ichiraku, you promised! An Uzumaki never goes back on their word!" All of these questions coming in so quickly and so abruptly, it was suffocating to say the very least. She couldn't help but drown out each and every one of them and merely wiggle her way out of her family's embrace and move to help her bound defender - trying to shew away Kakashi and his ANBU apprentice.

Lowering herself to his floored position, Nami placed a hand against his chained form. "I'm so sorry about this,"

"I-It's alright...I kinda assumed I wasn't going to get the warmest of welcomes when we got back," he tried his best to chuckle though, as the loops of the chains rested uncomfortably in between his ribs, he found it hard to do so.

"Nii-chan, can you get off of him, he's no threat," Nami said to Kakashi who merely cocked a brow and gave a look to the bewildered family matriarch behind her.

The purple haired ANBU looked to Kakashi, to the untrained it looked to be a subordinate looking to her superior for orders but Kakashi knew she found Nami's little pet name for her "hardened" ANBU master to be cute. "It's...not really my call."

"It's mine," Kushina spoke, racking the chain against the wood floor to get her daughter's attention. "And I think, young lady, you have a lot of explaining to do."

And that is everything, my readers! Thank you all so much, I appreciate your support on this story's first chapter and I hope the second chapter lives up to the wait. One of the questions I noticed I got once or twice was how does this connect with Teen titans or DC (seeing as I bounced it between the two) and it's simple, I've always enjoyed the idea of the Beast Boy's ability and I wanted to pretty much take Beast Boy and fuse him with Naruto and make a story around that.

So, if you have any questions please feel free to PM me and please leave a review telling me how I've done on this one. Thank you once again!