Freaky Foxes

Part X

Minato only really relaxed when he was on Ryuu's back and in the air. When he got the chance, he would inform Genma not to sign him up for any future fishing competitions, even if they were for charity. It was just too much of a pain.

He'd never been good at fishing, and since he hadn't practiced his mediocre skills since Kushina had split, he'd been especially terrible. Every other participant, even Yukie Fujikaze, had done better than him. Minato's only consolation was that the event hadn't been televised, and the spectators had been minimal where he'd chosen to fish on the lake.

As the event had been held at a freshwater lake, the possible monsters to catch was somewhat limited. There were goldeen, seaking, buizel, barboach, whiscash, poliwag, poliwhirl, wooper, psyduck, marill, slowpoke, lotad, and magikarp known to live in the area. However, no matter where he aimed his rod, all he hooked were magikarp.

She's going to laugh at me, he sighed, fingering the minimized blue-painted pokéball in his pocket. But at least I won't be late. I should get there just in time…

After the competition ended Wednesday evening, he'd been ready to head out to Konoha Town, but he'd somehow gotten sucked into a dinner with some of his fellow competitors. There was lots of food and drink and laughing at his expense more than anyone else's, and it was just too late for him to be flying out by the time he could get away. So first thing Thursday morning, before the sun had even come up, he'd gone.

If the weather stays good, we should get there around noon…

But, after an hour or so of flying, the horizon ahead of them started to get darker and more ominous. The clouds grew thicker and a headwind kicked up. And then there were the few odd flickers of lightning jumping from cloud to cloud.

Aw, crap.

Naruto poked his fork at the few remaining crumbs of cake and bits of cake frosting on his plate as he sat in the rather crowded living room, lost in thought. Today was Thursday, October tenth, his twelfth birthday. And it had been raining all day long.

That hadn't stopped people from coming over, though. Iruka had come; the professor had stopped by and brought Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon along with him; and Kotetsu, Izumo, and Hana had appeared, probably more for the promise of cake than anything else. That thoroughly packed his small house, and made for an interesting party. But…

He didn't come. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the window and out at the dreary weather. Stupid rain. It was so nice yesterday…

Wednesday it hadn't rained a drop, it had just looked gloomy. He'd gone with his mother to deliver the ninetales to Sasuke's father that afternoon. The elder Uchiha had accepted the pokéball without any discernible emotion, made a remark (that sounded an awful lot like a complaint) about making donations to all the businesses attacked by the vulpix, and then shown them out. And that had been the end of that.

"Hey, Mom, what do you think will happen to it?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe they'll give it to Itachi. Maybe they'll end up putting it to sleep. We'll probably never know…because that ninetales embarrassed them and they're all such a secretive, snobby bunch…"

Naruto frowned as he recalled that conversation. As crazy and mean as that ninetales was, it didn't seem quite right to kill it. It wasn't the pokémon's fault that it was crazy.

I hope Itachi gets it…even though he is kinda creepy—

"Hey, you okay over there?" his mother whispered to him. "You've been frowning at your plate for five minutes."

"I was just thinking," he whispered back.

"Well stop it," she snorted and poked his shoulder. "It looks like it's making you mad, and you shouldn't be mad on your birthday."

Naruto rubbed at the back of his head and grinned weakly. "Okay…?"

She glanced out the window and pouted. "Darn weather. If it would've cooperated for your birthday, we could all hang out outside."

It would've been a lot better if he could've had his party outdoors. It wasn't just that there were a lot of people, but everyone had brought their pokémon and it was hard to fit so many bodies inside the house. Naruto thought it was a miracle that a fight hadn't broken out between rival monsters, like Demon and Vixen.

It's a good thing Mom made all those poffin cupcakes yesterday…

When the cake (vanilla with chocolate frosting, just like he'd requested) had been brought out, everyone had settled down in the living room to watch a specialty tournament on the television. But unfortunately the tournament (of fire pokémon only) had been canceled because it was raining there, too, and the arena was an outdoor one. So Konohamaru and his friends channel-surfed while the adults chatted amongst themselves and Naruto shifted his attention between the two groups.

"Well, it looks like everyone's done with their cake," his mother said, gaining everyone's attention. "So, Naruto, is it time for presents?"

"Sure," he agreed.

In short order, several present were produced for him to open. There was a clumsily wrapped box with lots of extra ribbon tapped on it from Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon; a box covered in plain brown paper from Izumo and Kotetsu; a package with red paper from the professor; a gift wrapped in leaf-patterned paper from Iruka; a gift bag with canine pokémon on it from Hana; and a large box from his mother that he suspected contained clothes. And then his Mom handed him a thick envelope that had already been opened.

"That came in the mail for you just before you arrived home."

Naruto frowned at the envelope, baffled. It was addressed to his mom, but she said it was for him? Perhaps…it was from his father?

Inside, he found a letter and a birthday card. The letter was written by Hinata in neat calligraphy and very politely and apologetically requested that the enclosed card be sent to him. The birthday card contained a few restaurant coupons and well-wishes from Hinata, as well as Shino and Kiba (and Akamaru, apparently).

"Aw, how nice of them!" his mother cooed as she peered over his shoulder.

"Yeah…" Naruto agreed, setting the letter and card aside. But you already knew what was in here, you opened the envelope first!

"Open ours next!" Konohamaru demanded, shoving the crazily-wrapped box at him.

"You guys really didn't have to get me anything," Naruto said as he dropped all the excess bits of ribbon on the carpet where Bolt pounced on it and played with it like a cat would with bits of yarn.

"But it's your birthday!" Moegi protested.

"Yeah!" Udon nodded.

"You're twelve now, Boss," Konohamaru grinned. "You're old now so we just had to get you something!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and pried open the heavily-taped box. Inside he found a pokéball, a potion, and a repel—cheap, basic supplies. They'd probably had to pool together their little allowances to afford it.

He flashed the three younger kids a thumb's up. "Hey thanks, I can really use this stuff."

Then he went through the rest of his gifts one by one. Izumo and Kotetsu had each gotten him a great-ball, replacing the two that he'd lost in trying to capture Madara's ninetales in his first encounter with the beast. Hana gave him a premier-ball (a freebie normally obtained when buying ten or more pokéballs) and a pair of heal-balls. Iruka had really splurged; he gave Naruto a dive-ball and a net-ball. Professor Sarutobi gifted him a handful of nest-balls and an autographed and framed photo of the old man in his younger days as champion. And, as he'd suspected, his Mom gave him clothes; it was a jacket a lot like the white one he'd gotten from his father, except this one was blue with two orange stripes running up the sleeves.

And then he was out of presents. There were no other letters or packages that had come through the mail for him. His father hadn't come, or sent him a thing.

Mom did say something about him and a "fishing thing" before, the boy mused as he helped stuff the torn wrapping paper in the trash. Maybe…he doesn't even know that it's today…

With the excitement of present-opening over, Konohamaru and his friends had gone back to the television and apparently they'd found something they wanted to watch.

"Hey, it's Scream of the Ghost Pokémon 5!" Konohamaru grinned. "Hey Grandpa, can we stay and watch it!"

"If Miss Uzumaki says it's alright, I don't see why not," the old man chuckled.

"Sure," the red-haired woman smiled. "It'll keep you out of the rain for a little while longer."

Naruto started to sweat. …"Scream of the Ghost Pokémon 5"?

Demon lounged on a decorative pillow that had been knocked to the floor in the darkened living room. All the humans were either sitting on the couch or on the floor in front of the television set, intently watching whatever was on the screen. Naruto didn't look happy, flinching and cringing far more than the rest.

Most of the guest pokémon had grown bored after gorging themselves on the poffin cupcakes and had retreated into their spheres, but a few were still loose. Pixy was sitting in her human's lap, watching whatever they were watching. Dusk and Eclipse were napping together in a tangle under the coffee table. Vixen was hiding under the couch while Growler repeatedly tried to coax her out. And Kyuubi lay near the front door, watching it intently like she had pretty much all day.

As for the rest of Naruto's pokémon, most of them were still active. Shadow, Bolt, and Sandy were in a three-way tug-of-war with a tangle of ribbons that had come off one of the gifts. Typhoon was probably still playing outside in the rain with the other water pokémon. And Al was passed out in the kitchen, having fallen asleep sometime after being informed by Kyuubi that his "spoon" was actually a "spork".

:I don't understand your attitude,: Growler the growlithe complained to the vulpix hiding under the couch. :Aren't you excited to be partnered with me? Together we shall help uphold the law and dispense justice!:

:Go away,: Vixen grumbled. :I don't care.:

:But-but what we will do is important!: Growler protested. :Please come out…:

:No!:

Demon rolled his eyes and abandoned his comfy pillow to approach the female ninetales. Kyuubi had said very little ever since Madara had been captured. After informing the wild vulpix that "Guardian" was a very disturbed creature and that they should forget anything that he told them and go home and go back to the way they'd been living before, she had waited within sight of the door and never explained why.

:Alright, what are you waiting for?: Demon asked when he reached her side.

:I am waiting for Minato-kun,: she replied. :With Madara back in human hands, my purpose for being here is finished. He will be here soon to collect me.:

:It's getting late, and it's raining…do you really think he'll arrive today?: Demon wondered.

:He will be here soon,: Kyuubi insisted. :Minato-kun was very specific on how long it would be until he could come and join me.:

Demon shook himself and turned to return to his pillow. :If you say so…:

Whatever was on the TV (Demon just didn't understand it—there was a lot of screaming and running and clearly fake blood and ghost pokémon popping out of unexpected places, like solid walls) seemed to have grown tense as all the humans were leaning forward in anticipation. And then there was a knocking on the front door. All the humans jumped…and Naruto freaked out.

"It's the cursed gengar!" the boy hissed frantically. "Don't open the door, Mom!"

"Naruto, let go of my arm," she sighed. "I need to see who's there."

"Get lost in the movie much?" Pixy's trainer snorted. "The cursed gengar isn't real. And besides, the cursed dusknoir from Scream of the Ghost Pokémon 6 is way scarier. He kills the cursed gengar right at the start and takes over the cursed ghost army."

"Eep!"

"Thank you for that, Hana," the red-haired woman grumbled.

There was some more knocking on the door.

"Seriously, Naruto, let go of my arm!"

After a brief struggle, she got free, got to the front door, and cracked it open to peer out into the rain.

"…You're soaked," she said to whoever was outside. "Go to the backdoor and I'll get you some towels."

Closing the door, she went off elsewhere in the house to get the towels.

Intrigued, Demon trotted into the kitchen where the backdoor was located. Al was still sleeping in there, curled up on one of the wooden chairs. When the mystery guest knocked on the backdoor Al jumped to his feet and pointed his white spork at the door.

:There is someone there!:

:Yeah, I know,: Demon replied. :Are you over the spoon-spork thing yet?:

Al paused, started down at his white plastic utensil, and then buried his head in his hands. :No! I grabbed the wrong thing! I wanted to get a spoon like Mommy's!:

:…I guess not.:

Naruto's mother entered the kitchen with a pile of towels and opened the door. On the other side was Naruto's father, completely soaked. He smiled weakly around chattering teeth.

"I can come inside now?"

"Yep." She threw a towel at his head. "Do hurry up."

She peeled his coat off and attacked him with towels. While she did this, he fumbled with his shoes and then with his bag. Demon watched the two of them struggle with amusement. Al slipped off the table and poked Demon's shoulder.

:Who is that?:

:That is Whisker Face's father,: Demon replied.

The man managed to removed a blue present from his bag, release his raichu, and give her the gift.

:We're here!: Kiroi squeaked, taking the present in her paws. :And…Minato-kun you're all wet.:

"Deliver that for me, would you?"

:Okay!: Wriggling her long tail, Kiroi carefully carried the box into the dark living room. :Naruto, Naruto, I've got a present for you!:

Al scampered up to the dripping man and waved. :Hi Naruto's daddy!:

Demon slipped out of the kitchen to follow Kiroi.

Maybe I'll get this wrapping paper all to myself…

Naruto fidgeted with the cuff of his new jacket as he tried not to flinch too much whenever a ghost popped out in the movie, which was a lot as the movie was almost over and the finale was fast approaching. He hated horror movies with ghost pokémon in them, but he didn't want to refuse and send all his guests home while it was still raining so hard. So he hunkered down between his mother (when she left, he was next to Iruka) and the old man on the couch and watched it with them.

I hate ghost movies, he pouted. Now everybody thinks I'm a big baby… And who was at the door?

There were a few skittering footsteps, and then a raichu holding a present popped up in front of him.

"Huh?!"

"A raichu?" Iruka murmured and reached over to turn on a lamp. "It's got a present for you, Naruto?"

That got everyone's attention, especially Konohamaru and friends.

"Another present?!" Moegi squealed.

"Open it! Open it!" Konohamaru and Udon cheered.

Naruto took the blue package from the raichu and examined it for tags, but found none. Kyuubi, who had sat apart for most of the day, got up and walked over to the raichu. After they spoke, the ninetales hurried off to the kitchen. That made Naruto pause and think.

Somebody comes to the door… A raichu shows up with a present… Kyuubi knows the raichu and the "somebody"…

He started to get up to go and see if his guess was right—

"Open it," Kotetsu yawned. "The suspense is killing us."

Naruto hesitated a moment longer before tearing into the blue paper and casting it aside. Underneath was a plain cardboard box, like most of the other gifts. Inside it, he found a black-and-green dusk-ball, a black-red-and-metallic luxury-ball, and…something else.

"A flash HM," the professor said when he saw it. "Most regions don't classify it as an HM-worthy ability so it's hard to find, even as a second-hand item."

"Nice," Izumo remarked with a nod.

Demon stole the discarded wrapping paper before any other pokémon could reach it and then amused himself with the sounds it made when he stepped on it and tore at it with his teeth.

"I wonder who could get their hands on an item like this," Iruka mused as he studied the rare device.

"A magikarp?!" his mother cried from the kitchen, before exploding into laughter. "Oh, let me see, let me see!" There was a pause, and then more laughter. "Ah, it's the cutest little magikarp I've ever seen!"

Unable to resist his curiosity any longer, Naruto left his latest present on the coffee table and picked his way through his guests to scamper off to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, he found his mother cuddling a small magikarp, which was a good foot shorter in length than the average and a pale orange in color instead of the dark red-orange that he expected. Kyuubi paced anxiously between his mom and the other person, as if trying to separate them and persuade his mother to leave. And the other person, who was thoroughly soaked from long exposure to the rain, was…his dad.

"Yes, I'm sure it is," the man sighed and shivered. "Can I have him back now?"

"No," she grinned. "I'm not done getting to know him yet. What did you name him?"

"I haven't settled on a name yet."

"Oh, well how about—"

Naruto interrupted then, and hugged his dad, not caring that it was like hugging a pile of laundry that had just come out of the washing machine.

This is the best birthday ever!