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Chapter 1, Pt 2- The Challenging Child

“See anything?” Kushina called out, her red hair whipping around her as she peered over the bird’s wing joint to try and scan the forest below her. It was difficult for her to look and keep careful control of the chakra she was using to keep herself adhered to the giant swan. She had never had very good chakra control, though she made up for it by having plenty of chakra to spare. Still, as Tentomushi was so quick to point out to her, she wouldn’t be much use to her son dead. As such, she had no choice but to rely on her summon’s eyes and ears.

“Nothing,” Tentomushi said grimly, giving his wings a powerful flap. “Those swallows back there definitely saw two shinobi heading this way with a baby, though.”

“They could’ve changed their directions to cover their trail…” Kushina murmured, more to herself than to the swan. “Minato’s always telling our teams to do that if they think they’ve got some time before enemy trackers get on their tails.”

“And neither of us specializes in tracking, either,” Tentomushi finished wryly for the kunoichi.

“Never thought I’d regret that,” Kushina said bitterly, her fingers burying into Tentomushi’s white feathers and gripping tightly. The swan, who would normally yell at her for pulling at his plumage, ignored the action and kept his eyes trained to the ground to seek out any life that did not belong in the forests of Konoha, and instead concentrated on the self-loathing tone that was so unfamiliar coming from the woman on his back.

“Don’t,” the bird said gravely. Kushina frowned at him in bewilderment.

“What?” she asked, not understanding what Tentomushi was trying to tell her.

“Don’t regret anything, Kushina, it doesn’t suit you,” the swan explained, sighing in a long-suffering sort of way. “And considering that your resilience is one of your few redeeming qualities, I should hope that you’d maintain it for a good long time and pass it on to that son of yours once you get him back from the fools who tried to take him from you.” Kushina stared at the swan in surprise for a moment, before a soft smile found its way to her face, her grip on Tentomushi’s feathers loosening.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Tentomushi merely dipped his head in response.

“I think I see someone up ahead,” the giant swan said suddenly, his eyes narrowing as Kushina tensed on his back. “There are two people not too far off in front of us, moving southwest. I think one of them is carrying something, but I can’t see too clearly.”

“Are they ninja?” Kushina shouted over the wind, only mildly concerned about alerting their target to their approach. She was never good with all that subtlety crap, and they’d have to be blind not to see the giant white swan chasing them down anyway…

“They’d have to be with how they move,” Tentomushi confirmed. “I’m going to have to fly in lower so you can jump off, the trees are too thick here for me to land.”

“Gotcha,” Kushina said with a sharp nod. “Thanks, Tentomushi. I definitely owe you a million.”

“You can make it up to me by teaching the boy not to yank my feathers off every time you summon me,” Tentomushi responded with a scoff as he dipped lower, until his belly was practically brushing the treetops. Kushina smiled at that before releasing the chakra she was using to stay on the swan’s back, allowing herself to fall to the earth.

Good luck, Kushina, Tentomushi thought as he pulled up to avoid hitting the trees. Flapping his wings to gain some leverage, Tentomushi allowed himself to disappear in a cloud much like the one he’d been summoned in, knowing full well that Kushina would summon him again the next time she needed him.

---

Kaiyo and Nakigara tensed as one when the red-haired woman landed in a kneeling position in their path, glowering at them lividly as she straightened. Nakigara had noticed a giant bird following them nearly ten minutes ago, but their unfamiliarity with Konoha’s terrain and their proximity to the rendezvous point made meeting up with the rest of their group before confronting the enemy the best option. Falling back slightly to protect her cargo, Kaiyo studied the cold-faced kuniochi warily, cursing to herself when she recognized her from the files they’d been given on the Hokage and his family. Namikaze Kushina, the wife of the Fourth Hokage and mother of the child Kaiyo and Nakigara were currently in the process of kidnapping.

How did they catch up to us so soon? Kaiyo wondered furiously, her eyes searching for the shinobi the woman had brought with her. The other kuniochi appeared to be alone, but Kaiyo doubted anyone who was stupid enough to chase after an unknown number of enemies by herself would survive very long in the ninja world.

“Give me back my son.” Kushina’s low voice brought Kaiyo out of her musings, making her take another step back at the venom-laced words. Alone or not, this woman was clearly the main threat right now.

Without a word, Nakigara leapt upon the woman with his Nodachi, forcing her to dodge to avoid being cut by the large weapon. A curt nod from the scarred man sent Kaiyo the signal that she should run, which the kuniochi did after responding with a nod of her own.

“Naruto!” Kushina cried out, making the baby wrinkle his forehead and stir for a moment before settling back down. Determined on getting herself and the mission objective out of there, Kaiyo continued running.

Scowling wrathfully, Kushina began after the woman who had her child, but was stopped when something impacted on her side hard enough to send her crashing into a tree. Winded, Kushina turned to find Nakigara standing over her, his blade raised. In the split second it took the redhead to roll between the large man’s feet, the Nodachi was brought down hard to the place where the kuniochi had been not half a moment earlier. As she rose to a standing position behind Nakigara, Kushina grabbed a kunai from her holster, which she promptly buried deep into the man’s right shoulder.

Jumping back to avoid Nakigara’s fist as he turned to confront her, Kushina kept herself a reasonable distance away from the man as the two stood off, Nakigara handling what was probably a very intense pain remarkably well.

Not wanting to waste any time on a stand off with the enemy while her son was in danger, Kushina charged Nakigara, throwing three shuriken as she approached him. Nakigara dodged or blocked the weapons flawlessly, and turned to throw one of the captured shuriken at Kushina. The redhead dropped to one knee as he let the weapon fly, allowing it to pass harmlessly over her head. Springing back to her feet, Kushina used her momentum to deliver a crippling uppercut to Nakigara’s jaw, jarring his brain as she lifted the larger man off his feet.

After landing on his back (which dug the kunai still sticking into his shoulder even deeper into his flesh), Nakigara quickly rolled to a kneeling position and brought his Nodachi above his head to block the fist Kushina had intended to drill through his teeth.

“You’re better then you should be, for a woman who’s been on leave for over a year,” Nakigara spoke at last, almost startling Kushina for a moment.

“You’d be surprised what a woman can do when you’re trying to take her baby away from her,” Kushina hissed back, before using her back leg to kick the man’s throat with all the force she could muster. Falling back again, Nakigara coughed and wheezed furiously as he tried to regain the ability to breathe. Kushina, however, was not gracious enough to allow him the time to do this.

One kunai through the heart later, the kuniochi was racing off in the direction Kaiyo and Naruto had gone in at top speed, leaving Nakigara to die as yet another shinobi in the shadows.

---

By the time she reached the point where she was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group, Kaiyo’s breathing was heavy and uneven from the running she had done to get away from the baby’s mother. The woman wasn’t sure what was happening between the redhead and Nakigara, but the results of their battle no longer mattered to her, since she’d accomplished the mission goal.

Sitting down with her back to a tree, Kaiyo adjusted her grip on the baby in her arms to get more comfortable for the wait she had ahead of her. Tilting her head, Kaiyo studied the baby again, a little nervous. It had been nearly three hours since the sedative had been administered, after all, and the mixture had been diluted so as not to kill the child. If that was true, then the baby should wake up soon, which was just about the last thing she needed when she was alone with a vengeful mother on her tail.

“You’re probably one of the most problematic missions I’ve had in a good, long time, kid…” Kaiyo sighed, closing her eyes wearily. They shot right back open, though, when the baby made an unintelligible noise and curled into the warmth the woman’s body offered. Kaiyo cringed at the action.

Poor little guy doesn’t even know what’s in store for him. She thought sadly, guilt stabbing at her yet again. Was this really the only way to free her brother? Maybe they could fake the baby’s death somehow instead… After all, it wasn’t as if he was to blame for Konoha’s crimes. Why should an innocent child have to die for her to reunite with her brother?

Before Kaiyo could contemplate this any further, a rustling sound was head from the foliage in front of her, making the woman shoot to her feet with practiced ease that came with being under constant attack from the enemy. She relaxed slightly when roughly twenty ninja came into her line of sight, led by a man in a thick, dark brown cloak, with a hood that was pulled up to cast a shadow over his face.

“Kiyoshi-sama…” Kaiyo murmured, bowing to the man. Though she couldn’t see his expression, Kiyoshi didn’t appear surprised to see that, of the five shinobi he sent to retrieve the baby, only one returned to him alive.

“Your mission was successful?” It sounded more like a statement then a question, but Kaiyo answered anyways.

“Yes, Kiyoshi-sama. But I’m afraid that there’s been a… complication. Nakigara and I were attacked by the boy’s mother while escaping. Nakigara stayed behind to deal with her, but I’m unaware of the outcome of their battle.” Throat tightening, Kaiyo relinquished her hold on Naruto when Kiyoshi took the child from her. Turning back to the shinobi flanking him, Kiyoshi singled out two men standing on the far end of the group.

“Check the situation. If the woman’s still alive, finish her off,” he ordered. The ninja bowed to Kiyoshi before taking off to follow their orders.

They’d only barely made it past Kaiyo when they were mowed down by a shower of kunai.

“I’m flattered that you’d go so far for little ol’ me, but there’s really no need,” Kushina called out as she strolled casually into view, resting Nakigara’s Nodachi against her shoulder. Her eyes flashed fire when they landed on Kiyoshi, who studied her impassively in turn. “Now you’ve got exactly three seconds to give me back my kid before you and your men become history.”

“Bold words for a woman who is so vastly outnumbered,” Kiyoshi responded, the barest hint of amusement coloring his tone. Kushina grinned darkly at that, dropping the heavy weapon she was shouldering to form hand symbols as she countered the man.

“You’d be surprised what a member of the Uzumaki clan can do with a Shadow Bunshin.” And, as soon as those words left Kushina’s mouth, five more Kushinas appeared in a cloud of smoke. Letting out a single, soft chuckle, Kiyoshi turned back to his followers.

“Attack.”

As one, the group of ninjas surged forward to attack the redhead, who jumped in with her clones to meet them halfway.

Dodging a combined attack from two ninjas and then using a third as a human vaulting board to get above the crowd and start chucking shuriken, the original Kushina immediately began looking for any opening she could find that would get her closer to her son. Mentally securing a path before she landed, Kushina immediately began to carve a path through her enemies, using the brute strength her clan was famous for in combination with the speed that came from years of sparring with Konoha’s notorious Yellow Flash, to make quick work of anyone who didn’t have enough common sense to get out of her way.

Unfortunately, Kushina’s speed, though impressive by the standards of most ninja, was still no Hiraishin no Jutsu, and her year haitus had a bigger impact on her ability to fight then she first thought. This led to the redhead substaning more damage in her brash charge to her son than she felt she should have. Still, she eventually ended up breaking through the crowd, though admittably a little bloodier then she had started out. She didn’t let this slow her down though, and jumped at Kiyoshi with every intention of ripping him apart piece by piece with her bare hands.

Kiyoshi seemed to have other plans, though, and dodged Kushina before she could lay a hand on him. Balancing Naruto in the crook of one arm, Kiyoshi flung a shuriken at the woman. Kushina sidestepped the projectile, but before she could counterattack, Kiyoshi’s men were upon her yet again, one of them slicing her forearm with a kunai as another tried to come in from behind and slash her throat, but ended up cutting her collarbone instead when he was jolted by one of his allies.

Cursing in a combination of anger and pain, Kushina pivoted on her heel to deliver a left hook to the man behind her, knocking him off his feet and causing him to crash into three shinobi standing behind him. As the four of them struggled to get up, the man who cut Kushina’s arm up moved to attack again, forcing Kushina to drop to the ground to avoid his blow. Kicking up at the man, Kushina heard the sickening crunch of the man’s knee being shattered upon impact, causing him to fall to the earth with a cry of pain.

Jumping back to her feet, Kushina fumbled around frantically in her pack for a moment before finding what she was looking for. Springing to the sky, Kushina tossed a kunai with a scroll attached to the handle at the enemy nins who only just managed to get back on their feet, sending a mental thank you to Minato for making her carry the things as she raced to avoid the coming blast.

There was no way for the other five shinobi to escape the sudden burst that came when the scroll exploded though, and they were left to suffer the consequences of that when a mist of blue-gray powder surrounded them. As soon as the men took in a breath of the powder, they began coughing and wheezing violently, just like Minato had told her an enemy would do if the powder got into their lungs. It was some kind of powerful poison the medic nin of Konoha had developed, which had a list of side effects that included itching to death if not treated within an hour of exposure. Kushina hadn’t paid much attention to what Minato was telling her at the time, too busy trying to convince Naruto that he wanted the nasty mashed peas concoction she was trying to feed him instead of the ramen he was trying to guilt Kakashi into sharing, but she was glad that the scroll managed to come in handy after all.

With the threat of the five shinobi she’d been fighting officially nullified, Kushina turned back to Kiyoshi with an expression that could make an Uchiha freeze in his tracks, intent on getting her son back even if it killed her and every other nin there. She started advancing towards the man, only to have two ninjas block her path.

“Dammit, don’t you guys know when to quit?!” Kushina spat out with a scowl. Had the situation been a little less serious, the redhead would have probably considered that ironic, with how many times those same words had been directed at her.

“I’m afraid that our client would be… displeased if we relinquished this child so easily, Namikaze-san,” Kiyoshi explained mockingly to the redhead. “It is regrettable that this situation is causing you pain, but perhaps it will teach you to be more selective about whose children you bear in your next life.”

“Sorry pal, but you don’t get the right to tell me that until this life is over,” Kushina snarled back, glaring menacingly at the hooded man holding her son.

“Don’t worry, Namikaze-san. That will come to pass soon enough.” The words had barely left the man’s lips when Kushina felt a sharp, sudden pain in her right knee.

Crying out in pain, the redhead fell, automatically clutching the kunai one of the men had buried into the back of her knee. Hissing, Kushina ripped the weapon out and used it to slash at a shinobi who moved in to take advantage of her moment of weakness, catching both of his eyes in her arc. The man howled and abandoned his attack to clutch at his face, and Kushina immediately took him out, getting back to her feet as fast as her injured leg would allow. Gritting her teeth, Kushina tried to ignore her pain and kept her weight on her good leg, keeping her kunai in hand in case anyone else tried anything.

Looking around, Kushina tried to access just how bad the situation had become. From what she could see, all of her clones had been taken out, and about twelve enemy ninjas still remained, including the hooded man and the woman who’d stolen her child. She had a few shallow cuts and a bad injury to her right knee, but nothing that would impair her ability to fight if she got creative.

Good thing creativity’s a strong point of mine, Kushina thought as she went through her list of options. Just creating another cycle of Bunshin would just wear her chakra out eventually with no guarantee of success, and there was no water nearby to work with, either. She couldn’t risk using any wind jutsu because she had very little control over them, and could end up hurting her son. She needed something big, that could do a lot of damage and at the very least distract the nin long enough for her to take out their leader and get her son… Something that wouldn’t be expected, and wouldn’t harm Naruto…

An idea struck Kushina, and an evil grin made its way to her face.

Flipping her kunai so that it remained accessible, but out of the way, Kushina began making hand symbols that made the remaining nins tense and start towards her, intent on stopping whatever trick the redhead was trying to pull.

They had barely taken three steps when a cloud of smoke burst around their target, and a dozen white swans surged forward to attack.

As a child, Kushina could never see why so many people thought that swans were romantic. They were kind of pretty, she supposed, but then she’d never been one to keep up much with what was pretty and what wasn’t. All she’d ever known was that, for all their grace and elegance at a distance, the white birds could be downright mean when it came to fighting.

Which probably explained exactly why Kushina got along so well with her summons.

Speeding towards Kiyoshi as fast as she could with her bad leg, Kushina brought her kunai back up to slice down where the man’s head should have been. Unfortunately, her blade only met air. Wheeling around, Kushina spotted Kiyoshi again, standing next to the woman who’d taken Naruto from Konoha.

“Your endurance is impressive, Namikaze-san,” Kiyoshi said dispassionately. “But even you must realize that it cannot last forever.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Kushina scowled back. “It just has to last long enough for me to kill you for trying to kidnap my baby.”

“Oh?” Kiyoshi said, pulling out a kunai. “In that case, we should try settling this a different way…” Kushina tensed, preparing herself for the coming attack. The attack that came, however, was much different then the one she was expecting.

Twirling the kunai around, Kiyoshi brought it down to the neck of the child sleeping in his arms.

“Call back the birds, Namikaze.”

Kushina froze, staring at the man in shock for a moment. Taking her silence as a refusal, Kiyoshi brought the kunai closer to Naruto in warning, dragging a thin line against the baby’s neck. Naruto crinkled his nose against the pain, whimpering softly for someone’s attention.

“Call back your summons, or I will kill this child.”

At Kiyoshi’s side, Kaiyo could feel her growing unease at the situation. She knew her leader was bluffing; he would not kill the child who they were specifically told to bring back alive, but Kushina was clearly more of an annoyance than he first believed. They needed to take away her ability to fight them, and there was little that could work better than threatening her son.

Sure enough, the swans disappeared only moments later, leaving Kushina standing alone in the midst of her enemies. As her baby’s whimpering escalated into outright crying, the redhead glared hatefully at Kiyoshi but otherwise made no move, lest he harm Naruto. Kiyoshi chuckled when he saw this, and turned back to his subordinates.

“Kill her slowly, men. We want to leave a clear message to the Hokage when his men find her.”

Kushina clenched her fists, but did nothing to stop the nins advancing slowly upon her, all too eager to carry out their leader’s orders after the damage she’d done to their numbers.

The blows seemed to start coming from every direction at once, tearing at Kushina’s skin and clothes, and making the grass slick with her blood. She could barely breathe under the assault, forcing back cringes every time another hit struck her. Eventually, Kushina could feel herself becoming numb to the pain, a frightening sensation to the redhead since she knew that it meant death was near.

She had failed.

Closing her eyes against tears that wanted so desperately to fall, Kushina choked back a sob as memories of her friends and family began to replay in her head, as if mocking her with what she now stood to lose.

Minato… Kushina thought sadly as her body shook with pain. Naruto… Gomennasai.

---

Was that shouting? And crying?

Kyuubi grumbled softly to himself, ears flattening against his head as he tried desperately to hang on to the sleep that had so callously abandoned him for so long. He’d murder whoever was making that racket later. Right now though, rest was his main priority.

Unfortunately, the noise only seemed to grow, and it was soon joined by the potent smell of spilled blood. Kyuubi’s eyes snapped open as his instincts stirred to life, ensuring that he wasn’t getting any more sleep that day.

The fox growled angrily. Someone was going to die for this…

Standing up, the demon stretched out carelessly before dissolving his barrier and taking off into the forest to find whatever had so rudely interrupted his sleep to make sure that to never happened again.

It didn’t take the fox long to find himself in a clearing, watching roughly a dozen men (shinobi, it looked like) gang up on a woman while a hooded man, another woman, and a bawling infant watched on the sidelines. It was difficult to decipher smells in the chaos in front of him, but it wasn’t hard for him to tell that the woman was losing badly. Kyuubi didn’t care about that, though. He just wanted someone to pay for waking him up.

Growling loudly, the fox caught the attention of the occupants of the clearing, who immediately turned to face this new, and clearly more threatening presence. The men readied themselves for a fight, and Kyuubi fought the urge to scoff. Did they really think they could last with him as their opponent? Annoyed, the demon let off a small wave of his chakra, no more then a tail’s worth, to show them exactly what they were dealing with. Unsurprisingly, the humans all froze under the immense presence of his power. Even the brat stopped crying upon feeling the strength possessed by the King of the Bijuu.

Stepping into the clearing, Kyuubi watched with muted satisfaction as fear and horror reflected on the faces of all the humans who laid eyes on him as he unfurled all nine of his mighty tails.

“Kyuubi…” One of the closer ones whispered, taking a shaky step back. The fox grinned wickedly in response, and nearly laughed when three foolish ninjas jumped forward to try and slay him. Letting out a mighty snarl, Kyuubi encased himself in a sphere of chakra, stopping the weapons short before they could ever touch him. With speed the human eye could not hope to follow, he then proceeded to kill all three nins in an instant.

The remaining humans gave a cry of horror at the sight of their fallen comrades, and Kyuubi smirked to himself as more stepped forward to challenge him in sheer desperation, only to join the other corpses in the clearing. Now the smell of fear from the remaining humans was almost overwhelming, amusing the fox to no end.

Movement caught Kyuubi’s attention, and he turned his head lazily to eye the man in the cloak as his handed the infant off to the woman and stepped forward to confront the fox. The demon scoffed at the man’s arrogance.

For a moment, Kyuubi contemplated growing to his full size and eating the man whole for his insolence, before a faint scent on the hooded human caught his attention, making him growl.

Uchiha.

Any entertainment he may have been having was effectively killed at the faint smell of the red-eyed human. Uchiha should have known better by now than to send his human puppets into Kyuubi’s territory if he wanted them to return alive. Idly, the fox wondered what the man could possibly want with a baby and a woman, before deciding that he couldn’t be bothered to care. Right now, the important thing was to make sure that the Uchiha learned to keep his schemes of world domination away from Kyuubi’s lands.

“Kyuubi-sama,” the hooded man called out to the demon. The fox’s eyes narrowed at his approach. The man’s chakra was acting strangely for some reason… “I apologize if we have disturbed your peace, but I’m afraid that this quarrel is none of your concern.”

Kyuubi scowled at that, irritated. Normally, a degree of politeness would have been enough to make him consider letting the human live, but the connection to Uchiha had shortened this man’s life drastically. And the gall of the man to tell him what was, and wasn’t his concern! Though the fox could not attack the red-eyed man directly, he was not above foiling the human’s foolish little plots.

Everything that takes place in my territory is my concern, human, the fox growled out, mildly annoyed that his ‘voice’ did not carry the same intensity when he was this size as it did when he was in his true form. Why are you in my lands? Did your foolish master not warn you to stay out of my way?

The hooded man chuckled softly at that.

“You are mistaken, Kyuubi-sama,” he said in an annoyingly superior tone. “I have no master.” Kyuubi growled dangerously at that rebuttal, eyes narrowing at the human. He was about to retort when a shift in the man’s chakra patterns caught the demon’s attention. It was then that realization struck the fox.

I see… he said, annoyed. He almost felt foolish for not catching on sooner. So that is the trick you are using now, is it human?

“I do not wish to confront you just yet, Kyuubi-sama,” the hooded man said, ignoring the confusion his men now displayed. “That is why I have done things this way. Let me finish my business here and be on my way, and I will consider myself in your debt.”

Kyuubi scoffed at that.

Fool. He sneered. In an instant, he moved to attack, cutting down the hooded man like a weed. The female holding the child screamed as the human’s body, hood and all, dissolved into a pile of ash, which was blown away by the wind.

Your debt is something I have no need for, Uchiha. Kyuubi thought darkly to himself, hoping that the coward could sense the declaration from wherever he was currently hidden away. A split second later, most of the Uchiha’s followers were upon the demon, emboldened by their anger, intent on killing him for what they assumed was the murder of their leader.

Kyuubi growled furiously as he quickly dispatched the shinobi with ease, darting forward to finish off the ones who had held back even before the corpses of the vanguard had hit the ground. Normally, Kyuubi would have considered slaughtering the pitiful creatures boring and beneath his abilities as a Bijuu, but these humans were working with Uchiha.

For that crime, they could not be allowed to live.

Pouncing upon the humans before they could even register his presence, Kyuubi began killing off the mortals with ruthless efficiency, growling in disgust when some of the faster ones finally tried to make a run for it, abandoning their fellow shinobi. Needless to say, they did not make it far. It wasn’t long until the only enemy left was the woman, fearfully clutching the infant Uchiha had been after.

Kyuubi sneered as the woman backed away from him, her entire body trembling so badly that it was a wonder she could stand at all. The fear of death was evident in the human’s eyes as Kyuubi rushed her, which was no surprise, really. What was a surprise, though, was the actions the woman took before Kyuubi cut her down with his claws.

As the demon approached her, the kunoichi curled in on herself to protect the baby in her arms from the demon, keeping the child unharmed even as she herself fell dead to the earth. The action was strange enough for Kyuubi to hesitate a moment after killing the woman, studying her with a puzzled frown on his face before brushing her off to instead contemplate the annoyance that was Uchiha. Whatever the foolish little mortal was up to in his lands couldn’t be anything good, after all. He had thought the man had learned his lesson after the last time, but apparently the fox had been too lenient. Of course, that was the last time Kyuubi would ever make a mistake like that, but there was still a question of just what the Uchiha was plotting now that could involve—

“Damn... You don’t pull your punches, do you?”

…Eh?

Kyuubi turned to see the redhead that had been the target of Uchiha’s men push herself off the ground with her forearms, her breathing ragged and her chakra dangerously low. To be honest, the demon was mildly surprised to see that the woman was still alive, let alone strong enough to make such a disrespectful comment. Considering her for a moment, the fox decided to humor the human and respond to her statement.

Of course not, he said, arrogance befitting of a kitsune dripping from his words. Going into a fight with anything less then your full strength is disrespecting what power you have. Everyone who chooses to fight must be prepared to suffer the consequences of a loss.

“No mercy for the weak?” the woman scoffed lightly in between ragged breaths.

Everyone other than me is weak, mortal. Kyuubi preened. It is merely a matter of how much weaker they are in comparison. Those who are strong enough to be entertaining are allowed to live, and those who are not worth fighting a second time die at my claws. Mercy is just a pretty word you humans use to dress up your weak hearts when it comes to taking a life.

“Such compassion is almost inspiring in a demon nowadays, fox face,” the human quipped back. The fox cocked his head as he contemplated the woman after that statement, wondering vaguely if he should end her life that much faster for her blatant sarcasm. Before Kyuubi could reach a decision, though, a soft cry was heard from the direction of the woman the demon had just killed, soon erupting into a full-fledged wail for any source of comfort. Upon hearing the noise, the human woman Kyuubi had been conversing with turned her full attention to the infant laying on the ground a relatively short length away from her. Apparently deciding that the baby was a bigger concern than the fox that had just slain a small group of shinobi in a matter of seconds, the woman half crawled to the child, prompting Kyuubi to raise an eyebrow at her.

You’re only killing yourself faster by moving around so much, he informed her in a bored tone.

“No shit,” the woman grunted, her eyes locked on the baby even as she addressed the fox. “But my son needs me, and I’ll be damned if I’m not there for my baby when it counts.” Ah, so that’s what this whole ordeal was about. Kyuubi almost rolled his eyes at the human’s foolishness.

You killed yourself just to get one child back? Kyuubi clarified in disgust. Why on earth would you die for a child when you can have another just as easily? It would be a much smarter move in the long run, and you’re still young and fairly attractive by human standards. Kyuubi studied the woman critically as he said this, noting that without the blood and bruises, she would actually be quite presentable.

“Thanks, but I don’t go for inter-species relationships, fox,” the redhead said dryly as she reached the child and pried him out of the grip of a corpse. She propped herself up against a nearby tree, taking the infant gingerly in her arms. Kyuubi was mildly relieved that the brat stopped wailing almost instantly. “And for your information, any halfway decent parent would die for their kid on a moment’s notice. Naruto is the most important thing in the world to me, and I’d do anything to keep him safe.”

…You named your child ‘fishcake’?

“Yeah, so?” The woman said defensively as she gently brushed at her baby’s bangs, inspecting the boy for any injuries he may have accumulated in the time the enemy had had him. “It has sentimental value… and I like ramen. Besides, it beats ‘Kamaboko’.”

Kyuubi nearly rolled his eyes at that. Humans…

It still does not make sense to me, for someone to die for another like this, he said in annoyance. Your own existence should always come first and foremost.

“Well now, aren’t you a selfish bastard?” the redhead observed, before her eyes grew gentle as she looked at her son. “I don’t think I could ever explain it to you… and even if I could, you probably wouldn’t care anyways, being the great Kyuubi and all—” Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the woman’s sarcasm, and once again considered just eating her and getting it over with. “—but a life where your own existence is all that matters isn’t even worth living in the first place. Having a child really changed my life for the better. I mean, yeah it gets hard sometimes, but Naruto always makes it worth it, in the end.”

Are all humans as ridiculously sentimental as you are? Kyuubi questioned in boredom, making the redhead roll her eyes.

“Ugh, just forget I said anything… A bastard like you could never understand what I’m talking about. You don’t have a paternal bone in your body, and raising a kid is the most challenging thing someone can do.” Kyuubi stilled at that, narrowing his eyes at the woman in displeasure.

Are you suggesting that I’d be incapable of raising a child, wench? he growled out coldly. The redhead’s breathing was becoming more and more labored, her words slurring on her tongue… Clearly she was on borrowed time as it was… But Kyuubi could not stand for the thought of a dying woman, shinobi or not, insinuating that there was something he could not do. He, the most powerful of the Bijuu! Answer me, human!

“Like you could prove me wrong, fox face,” the woman drawled out dryly in return, before planting a gentle kiss on her son’s forehead while ignoring the demon’s angry snarl. She hoped Minato was already on his way with a horde of ANBU at his heels. She wanted her son back in Konoha where it was safe as fast as humanly possible.

Just hope Minato’s not too pissed off with me for this… Kushina thought, closing her eyes and holding Naruto closer. Kushina smiled sadly to herself as she thought about her husband. Silently, the woman apologized to her husband, for all the pain she’d leave behind for him to muddle through. But at least this way, he would still have Naruto. Kushina had faith that their son would help her husband pull through in the end… Opening her eyes, Kushina smiled gently at her baby. Yeah, Naruto would be there for Minato, even if she couldn’t be.

“Be strong, Naruto,” Kushina whispered softly into her son’s hair. “I know you can be… And help your papa out, too. He’s hopeless without one of us there to make his life interesting, you know.” Naruto only cooed in response, his fingers tangling into her hair. Kushina almost cried at the familiar gesture. “I love you, kiddo… I hope you remember that when you’re older.”

Doubtful, Kyuubi said coldly, having overheard the woman’s speech. The child is merely a kit, far too young to remember this day at all. To remember you, even.

“He’ll be a year old next month, on October tenth,” Kushina said, not really sure why she was telling the demon this when he probably didn’t care in the first place. It was probably just her talkative nature. “And it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t remember my face, if he can still remember my feelings.”

You really are the most sentimental human I ever met, woman.

“Yeah, and you’re probably the most anal demon alive, bastard,” Kushina said immaturely in return. “’Sides, I can’t see you hanging out around too many humans.” Unable to deny the truth of this statement, Kyuubi merely scowled at the woman in response. Privately, though, he felt that Yamata no Orochi was far more anal then he could ever be.

While he was considering this, Kyuubi felt the final fragment of the human woman’s strength dissolve away, her breath rasping to a dead stop. Kyuubi frowned. It was almost a pity, really… He hadn’t had such an interesting conversational partner in a while… Still, what was done was done, and now there was no more reason for Kyuubi to stay. Standing up, the fox stretched his long, lean body before turning with a fluid flick of his tails to leave the clearing.

He had just made it to the trees when a soft cry caught his ears.

Pausing, Kyuubi turned his head to look back at the infant, who had apparently sensed his mother’s passing. Kyuubi frowned, knowing that the child’s wails would undoubtedly attract a predator. Deciding that it wasn’t his problem, the fox turned to leave again.

A bastard like you could never understand what I’m talking about. Kyuubi stopped again, eyes narrowed as the human’s words came back to him. Bah! What did he care about softhearted human emotions? Annoyed, Kyuubi turned again to glare at the crying child.

You don’t have a paternal bone in your body. Raising a kid is the most challenging thing someone can do. Growling as the woman’s words mocked him, Kyuubi turned back around angrily.

I’ll show that woman… He thought irritably. There is no challenge on earth too great for the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

As he approached the dead woman and her child in a fluid motion, Kyuubi allowed his chakra to envelope his body, morphing him from his fox form to one that was similar to a tall, handsome human male, with angry red hair that fell down the length of his back. He was dressed in robes of the finest silk, which didn’t even whisper as he walked, and his eyes, still slanted like those of his fox form, were a deep ruby color with slits for irises.

Coming to a stop in front of the child, Kyuubi kneeled down, taking the baby from his mother’s arms. Naruto was surprised by the action, and stopped crying immediately to blink up at the demon with wide blue eyes. Kyuubi could feel his own eyes go wide at the sight of the child he was holding.

He’s so… tiny, Kyuubi thought, slightly awed that anything could be so small and light. He’d never had much use for children before, so this was the first time he’d ever seen one up close, and this boy was—

Kyuubi started when the baby in his hands suddenly giggled loudly, arms flailing. Sweatdropping, the demon tried to figure out how to get the child to settle back down when the boy suddenly reached up, grabbed some of Kyuubi’s hair in his grubby hands and yanked down hard. The demon growled in response to the abuse.

…This was going to be harder then he thought.

Description
Chapter 1, Pt 2- The Challenging Child

“See anything?” Kushina called out, her red hair whipping around her as she peered over the bird’s wing joint to try and scan the forest below her. It was difficult for her to look and keep careful control of the chakra she was using to keep herself adhered to the giant swan. She had never had very good chakra control, though she made up for it by having plenty of chakra to spare. Still, as Tentomushi was so quick to point out to her, she wouldn’t be much use to her son dead. As such, she had no choice but to rely on her summon’s eyes and ears.

“Nothing,” Tentomushi said grimly, giving his wings a powerful flap. “Those swallows back there definitely saw two shinobi heading this way with a baby, though.”

“They could’ve changed their directions to cover their trail…” Kushina murmured, more to herself than to the swan. “Minato’s always telling our teams to do that if they think they’ve got some time before enemy trackers get on their tails.”

“And neither of us specializes in tracking, either,” Tentomushi finished wryly for the kunoichi.

“Never thought I’d regret that,” Kushina said bitterly, her fingers burying into Tentomushi’s white feathers and gripping tightly. The swan, who would normally yell at her for pulling at his plumage, ignored the action and kept his eyes trained to the ground to seek out any life that did not belong in the forests of Konoha, and instead concentrated on the self-loathing tone that was so unfamiliar coming from the woman on his back.

“Don’t,” the bird said gravely. Kushina frowned at him in bewilderment.

“What?” she asked, not understanding what Tentomushi was trying to tell her.

“Don’t regret anything, Kushina, it doesn’t suit you,” the swan explained, sighing in a long-suffering sort of way. “And considering that your resilience is one of your few redeeming qualities, I should hope that you’d maintain it for a good long time and pass it on to that son of yours once you get him back from the fools who tried to take him from you.” Kushina stared at the swan in surprise for a moment, before a soft smile found its way to her face, her grip on Tentomushi’s feathers loosening.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Tentomushi merely dipped his head in response.

“I think I see someone up ahead,” the giant swan said suddenly, his eyes narrowing as Kushina tensed on his back. “There are two people not too far off in front of us, moving southwest. I think one of them is carrying something, but I can’t see too clearly.”

“Are they ninja?” Kushina shouted over the wind, only mildly concerned about alerting their target to their approach. She was never good with all that subtlety crap, and they’d have to be blind not to see the giant white swan chasing them down anyway…

“They’d have to be with how they move,” Tentomushi confirmed. “I’m going to have to fly in lower so you can jump off, the trees are too thick here for me to land.”

“Gotcha,” Kushina said with a sharp nod. “Thanks, Tentomushi. I definitely owe you a million.”

“You can make it up to me by teaching the boy not to yank my feathers off every time you summon me,” Tentomushi responded with a scoff as he dipped lower, until his belly was practically brushing the treetops. Kushina smiled at that before releasing the chakra she was using to stay on the swan’s back, allowing herself to fall to the earth.

Good luck, Kushina, Tentomushi thought as he pulled up to avoid hitting the trees. Flapping his wings to gain some leverage, Tentomushi allowed himself to disappear in a cloud much like the one he’d been summoned in, knowing full well that Kushina would summon him again the next time she needed him.

---

Kaiyo and Nakigara tensed as one when the red-haired woman landed in a kneeling position in their path, glowering at them lividly as she straightened. Nakigara had noticed a giant bird following them nearly ten minutes ago, but their unfamiliarity with Konoha’s terrain and their proximity to the rendezvous point made meeting up with the rest of their group before confronting the enemy the best option. Falling back slightly to protect her cargo, Kaiyo studied the cold-faced kuniochi warily, cursing to herself when she recognized her from the files they’d been given on the Hokage and his family. Namikaze Kushina, the wife of the Fourth Hokage and mother of the child Kaiyo and Nakigara were currently in the process of kidnapping.

How did they catch up to us so soon? Kaiyo wondered furiously, her eyes searching for the shinobi the woman had brought with her. The other kuniochi appeared to be alone, but Kaiyo doubted anyone who was stupid enough to chase after an unknown number of enemies by herself would survive very long in the ninja world.

“Give me back my son.” Kushina’s low voice brought Kaiyo out of her musings, making her take another step back at the venom-laced words. Alone or not, this woman was clearly the main threat right now.

Without a word, Nakigara leapt upon the woman with his Nodachi, forcing her to dodge to avoid being cut by the large weapon. A curt nod from the scarred man sent Kaiyo the signal that she should run, which the kuniochi did after responding with a nod of her own.

“Naruto!” Kushina cried out, making the baby wrinkle his forehead and stir for a moment before settling back down. Determined on getting herself and the mission objective out of there, Kaiyo continued running.

Scowling wrathfully, Kushina began after the woman who had her child, but was stopped when something impacted on her side hard enough to send her crashing into a tree. Winded, Kushina turned to find Nakigara standing over her, his blade raised. In the split second it took the redhead to roll between the large man’s feet, the Nodachi was brought down hard to the place where the kuniochi had been not half a moment earlier. As she rose to a standing position behind Nakigara, Kushina grabbed a kunai from her holster, which she promptly buried deep into the man’s right shoulder.

Jumping back to avoid Nakigara’s fist as he turned to confront her, Kushina kept herself a reasonable distance away from the man as the two stood off, Nakigara handling what was probably a very intense pain remarkably well.

Not wanting to waste any time on a stand off with the enemy while her son was in danger, Kushina charged Nakigara, throwing three shuriken as she approached him. Nakigara dodged or blocked the weapons flawlessly, and turned to throw one of the captured shuriken at Kushina. The redhead dropped to one knee as he let the weapon fly, allowing it to pass harmlessly over her head. Springing back to her feet, Kushina used her momentum to deliver a crippling uppercut to Nakigara’s jaw, jarring his brain as she lifted the larger man off his feet.

After landing on his back (which dug the kunai still sticking into his shoulder even deeper into his flesh), Nakigara quickly rolled to a kneeling position and brought his Nodachi above his head to block the fist Kushina had intended to drill through his teeth.

“You’re better then you should be, for a woman who’s been on leave for over a year,” Nakigara spoke at last, almost startling Kushina for a moment.

“You’d be surprised what a woman can do when you’re trying to take her baby away from her,” Kushina hissed back, before using her back leg to kick the man’s throat with all the force she could muster. Falling back again, Nakigara coughed and wheezed furiously as he tried to regain the ability to breathe. Kushina, however, was not gracious enough to allow him the time to do this.

One kunai through the heart later, the kuniochi was racing off in the direction Kaiyo and Naruto had gone in at top speed, leaving Nakigara to die as yet another shinobi in the shadows.

---

By the time she reached the point where she was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group, Kaiyo’s breathing was heavy and uneven from the running she had done to get away from the baby’s mother. The woman wasn’t sure what was happening between the redhead and Nakigara, but the results of their battle no longer mattered to her, since she’d accomplished the mission goal.

Sitting down with her back to a tree, Kaiyo adjusted her grip on the baby in her arms to get more comfortable for the wait she had ahead of her. Tilting her head, Kaiyo studied the baby again, a little nervous. It had been nearly three hours since the sedative had been administered, after all, and the mixture had been diluted so as not to kill the child. If that was true, then the baby should wake up soon, which was just about the last thing she needed when she was alone with a vengeful mother on her tail.

“You’re probably one of the most problematic missions I’ve had in a good, long time, kid…” Kaiyo sighed, closing her eyes wearily. They shot right back open, though, when the baby made an unintelligible noise and curled into the warmth the woman’s body offered. Kaiyo cringed at the action.

Poor little guy doesn’t even know what’s in store for him. She thought sadly, guilt stabbing at her yet again. Was this really the only way to free her brother? Maybe they could fake the baby’s death somehow instead… After all, it wasn’t as if he was to blame for Konoha’s crimes. Why should an innocent child have to die for her to reunite with her brother?

Before Kaiyo could contemplate this any further, a rustling sound was head from the foliage in front of her, making the woman shoot to her feet with practiced ease that came with being under constant attack from the enemy. She relaxed slightly when roughly twenty ninja came into her line of sight, led by a man in a thick, dark brown cloak, with a hood that was pulled up to cast a shadow over his face.

“Kiyoshi-sama…” Kaiyo murmured, bowing to the man. Though she couldn’t see his expression, Kiyoshi didn’t appear surprised to see that, of the five shinobi he sent to retrieve the baby, only one returned to him alive.

“Your mission was successful?” It sounded more like a statement then a question, but Kaiyo answered anyways.

“Yes, Kiyoshi-sama. But I’m afraid that there’s been a… complication. Nakigara and I were attacked by the boy’s mother while escaping. Nakigara stayed behind to deal with her, but I’m unaware of the outcome of their battle.” Throat tightening, Kaiyo relinquished her hold on Naruto when Kiyoshi took the child from her. Turning back to the shinobi flanking him, Kiyoshi singled out two men standing on the far end of the group.

“Check the situation. If the woman’s still alive, finish her off,” he ordered. The ninja bowed to Kiyoshi before taking off to follow their orders.

They’d only barely made it past Kaiyo when they were mowed down by a shower of kunai.

“I’m flattered that you’d go so far for little ol’ me, but there’s really no need,” Kushina called out as she strolled casually into view, resting Nakigara’s Nodachi against her shoulder. Her eyes flashed fire when they landed on Kiyoshi, who studied her impassively in turn. “Now you’ve got exactly three seconds to give me back my kid before you and your men become history.”

“Bold words for a woman who is so vastly outnumbered,” Kiyoshi responded, the barest hint of amusement coloring his tone. Kushina grinned darkly at that, dropping the heavy weapon she was shouldering to form hand symbols as she countered the man.

“You’d be surprised what a member of the Uzumaki clan can do with a Shadow Bunshin.” And, as soon as those words left Kushina’s mouth, five more Kushinas appeared in a cloud of smoke. Letting out a single, soft chuckle, Kiyoshi turned back to his followers.

“Attack.”

As one, the group of ninjas surged forward to attack the redhead, who jumped in with her clones to meet them halfway.

Dodging a combined attack from two ninjas and then using a third as a human vaulting board to get above the crowd and start chucking shuriken, the original Kushina immediately began looking for any opening she could find that would get her closer to her son. Mentally securing a path before she landed, Kushina immediately began to carve a path through her enemies, using the brute strength her clan was famous for in combination with the speed that came from years of sparring with Konoha’s notorious Yellow Flash, to make quick work of anyone who didn’t have enough common sense to get out of her way.

Unfortunately, Kushina’s speed, though impressive by the standards of most ninja, was still no Hiraishin no Jutsu, and her year haitus had a bigger impact on her ability to fight then she first thought. This led to the redhead substaning more damage in her brash charge to her son than she felt she should have. Still, she eventually ended up breaking through the crowd, though admittably a little bloodier then she had started out. She didn’t let this slow her down though, and jumped at Kiyoshi with every intention of ripping him apart piece by piece with her bare hands.

Kiyoshi seemed to have other plans, though, and dodged Kushina before she could lay a hand on him. Balancing Naruto in the crook of one arm, Kiyoshi flung a shuriken at the woman. Kushina sidestepped the projectile, but before she could counterattack, Kiyoshi’s men were upon her yet again, one of them slicing her forearm with a kunai as another tried to come in from behind and slash her throat, but ended up cutting her collarbone instead when he was jolted by one of his allies.

Cursing in a combination of anger and pain, Kushina pivoted on her heel to deliver a left hook to the man behind her, knocking him off his feet and causing him to crash into three shinobi standing behind him. As the four of them struggled to get up, the man who cut Kushina’s arm up moved to attack again, forcing Kushina to drop to the ground to avoid his blow. Kicking up at the man, Kushina heard the sickening crunch of the man’s knee being shattered upon impact, causing him to fall to the earth with a cry of pain.

Jumping back to her feet, Kushina fumbled around frantically in her pack for a moment before finding what she was looking for. Springing to the sky, Kushina tossed a kunai with a scroll attached to the handle at the enemy nins who only just managed to get back on their feet, sending a mental thank you to Minato for making her carry the things as she raced to avoid the coming blast.

There was no way for the other five shinobi to escape the sudden burst that came when the scroll exploded though, and they were left to suffer the consequences of that when a mist of blue-gray powder surrounded them. As soon as the men took in a breath of the powder, they began coughing and wheezing violently, just like Minato had told her an enemy would do if the powder got into their lungs. It was some kind of powerful poison the medic nin of Konoha had developed, which had a list of side effects that included itching to death if not treated within an hour of exposure. Kushina hadn’t paid much attention to what Minato was telling her at the time, too busy trying to convince Naruto that he wanted the nasty mashed peas concoction she was trying to feed him instead of the ramen he was trying to guilt Kakashi into sharing, but she was glad that the scroll managed to come in handy after all.

With the threat of the five shinobi she’d been fighting officially nullified, Kushina turned back to Kiyoshi with an expression that could make an Uchiha freeze in his tracks, intent on getting her son back even if it killed her and every other nin there. She started advancing towards the man, only to have two ninjas block her path.

“Dammit, don’t you guys know when to quit?!” Kushina spat out with a scowl. Had the situation been a little less serious, the redhead would have probably considered that ironic, with how many times those same words had been directed at her.

“I’m afraid that our client would be… displeased if we relinquished this child so easily, Namikaze-san,” Kiyoshi explained mockingly to the redhead. “It is regrettable that this situation is causing you pain, but perhaps it will teach you to be more selective about whose children you bear in your next life.”

“Sorry pal, but you don’t get the right to tell me that until this life is over,” Kushina snarled back, glaring menacingly at the hooded man holding her son.

“Don’t worry, Namikaze-san. That will come to pass soon enough.” The words had barely left the man’s lips when Kushina felt a sharp, sudden pain in her right knee.

Crying out in pain, the redhead fell, automatically clutching the kunai one of the men had buried into the back of her knee. Hissing, Kushina ripped the weapon out and used it to slash at a shinobi who moved in to take advantage of her moment of weakness, catching both of his eyes in her arc. The man howled and abandoned his attack to clutch at his face, and Kushina immediately took him out, getting back to her feet as fast as her injured leg would allow. Gritting her teeth, Kushina tried to ignore her pain and kept her weight on her good leg, keeping her kunai in hand in case anyone else tried anything.

Looking around, Kushina tried to access just how bad the situation had become. From what she could see, all of her clones had been taken out, and about twelve enemy ninjas still remained, including the hooded man and the woman who’d stolen her child. She had a few shallow cuts and a bad injury to her right knee, but nothing that would impair her ability to fight if she got creative.

Good thing creativity’s a strong point of mine, Kushina thought as she went through her list of options. Just creating another cycle of Bunshin would just wear her chakra out eventually with no guarantee of success, and there was no water nearby to work with, either. She couldn’t risk using any wind jutsu because she had very little control over them, and could end up hurting her son. She needed something big, that could do a lot of damage and at the very least distract the nin long enough for her to take out their leader and get her son… Something that wouldn’t be expected, and wouldn’t harm Naruto…

An idea struck Kushina, and an evil grin made its way to her face.

Flipping her kunai so that it remained accessible, but out of the way, Kushina began making hand symbols that made the remaining nins tense and start towards her, intent on stopping whatever trick the redhead was trying to pull.

They had barely taken three steps when a cloud of smoke burst around their target, and a dozen white swans surged forward to attack.

As a child, Kushina could never see why so many people thought that swans were romantic. They were kind of pretty, she supposed, but then she’d never been one to keep up much with what was pretty and what wasn’t. All she’d ever known was that, for all their grace and elegance at a distance, the white birds could be downright mean when it came to fighting.

Which probably explained exactly why Kushina got along so well with her summons.

Speeding towards Kiyoshi as fast as she could with her bad leg, Kushina brought her kunai back up to slice down where the man’s head should have been. Unfortunately, her blade only met air. Wheeling around, Kushina spotted Kiyoshi again, standing next to the woman who’d taken Naruto from Konoha.

“Your endurance is impressive, Namikaze-san,” Kiyoshi said dispassionately. “But even you must realize that it cannot last forever.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Kushina scowled back. “It just has to last long enough for me to kill you for trying to kidnap my baby.”

“Oh?” Kiyoshi said, pulling out a kunai. “In that case, we should try settling this a different way…” Kushina tensed, preparing herself for the coming attack. The attack that came, however, was much different then the one she was expecting.

Twirling the kunai around, Kiyoshi brought it down to the neck of the child sleeping in his arms.

“Call back the birds, Namikaze.”

Kushina froze, staring at the man in shock for a moment. Taking her silence as a refusal, Kiyoshi brought the kunai closer to Naruto in warning, dragging a thin line against the baby’s neck. Naruto crinkled his nose against the pain, whimpering softly for someone’s attention.

“Call back your summons, or I will kill this child.”

At Kiyoshi’s side, Kaiyo could feel her growing unease at the situation. She knew her leader was bluffing; he would not kill the child who they were specifically told to bring back alive, but Kushina was clearly more of an annoyance than he first believed. They needed to take away her ability to fight them, and there was little that could work better than threatening her son.

Sure enough, the swans disappeared only moments later, leaving Kushina standing alone in the midst of her enemies. As her baby’s whimpering escalated into outright crying, the redhead glared hatefully at Kiyoshi but otherwise made no move, lest he harm Naruto. Kiyoshi chuckled when he saw this, and turned back to his subordinates.

“Kill her slowly, men. We want to leave a clear message to the Hokage when his men find her.”

Kushina clenched her fists, but did nothing to stop the nins advancing slowly upon her, all too eager to carry out their leader’s orders after the damage she’d done to their numbers.

The blows seemed to start coming from every direction at once, tearing at Kushina’s skin and clothes, and making the grass slick with her blood. She could barely breathe under the assault, forcing back cringes every time another hit struck her. Eventually, Kushina could feel herself becoming numb to the pain, a frightening sensation to the redhead since she knew that it meant death was near.

She had failed.

Closing her eyes against tears that wanted so desperately to fall, Kushina choked back a sob as memories of her friends and family began to replay in her head, as if mocking her with what she now stood to lose.

Minato… Kushina thought sadly as her body shook with pain. Naruto… Gomennasai.

---

Was that shouting? And crying?

Kyuubi grumbled softly to himself, ears flattening against his head as he tried desperately to hang on to the sleep that had so callously abandoned him for so long. He’d murder whoever was making that racket later. Right now though, rest was his main priority.

Unfortunately, the noise only seemed to grow, and it was soon joined by the potent smell of spilled blood. Kyuubi’s eyes snapped open as his instincts stirred to life, ensuring that he wasn’t getting any more sleep that day.

The fox growled angrily. Someone was going to die for this…

Standing up, the demon stretched out carelessly before dissolving his barrier and taking off into the forest to find whatever had so rudely interrupted his sleep to make sure that to never happened again.

It didn’t take the fox long to find himself in a clearing, watching roughly a dozen men (shinobi, it looked like) gang up on a woman while a hooded man, another woman, and a bawling infant watched on the sidelines. It was difficult to decipher smells in the chaos in front of him, but it wasn’t hard for him to tell that the woman was losing badly. Kyuubi didn’t care about that, though. He just wanted someone to pay for waking him up.

Growling loudly, the fox caught the attention of the occupants of the clearing, who immediately turned to face this new, and clearly more threatening presence. The men readied themselves for a fight, and Kyuubi fought the urge to scoff. Did they really think they could last with him as their opponent? Annoyed, the demon let off a small wave of his chakra, no more then a tail’s worth, to show them exactly what they were dealing with. Unsurprisingly, the humans all froze under the immense presence of his power. Even the brat stopped crying upon feeling the strength possessed by the King of the Bijuu.

Stepping into the clearing, Kyuubi watched with muted satisfaction as fear and horror reflected on the faces of all the humans who laid eyes on him as he unfurled all nine of his mighty tails.

“Kyuubi…” One of the closer ones whispered, taking a shaky step back. The fox grinned wickedly in response, and nearly laughed when three foolish ninjas jumped forward to try and slay him. Letting out a mighty snarl, Kyuubi encased himself in a sphere of chakra, stopping the weapons short before they could ever touch him. With speed the human eye could not hope to follow, he then proceeded to kill all three nins in an instant.

The remaining humans gave a cry of horror at the sight of their fallen comrades, and Kyuubi smirked to himself as more stepped forward to challenge him in sheer desperation, only to join the other corpses in the clearing. Now the smell of fear from the remaining humans was almost overwhelming, amusing the fox to no end.

Movement caught Kyuubi’s attention, and he turned his head lazily to eye the man in the cloak as his handed the infant off to the woman and stepped forward to confront the fox. The demon scoffed at the man’s arrogance.

For a moment, Kyuubi contemplated growing to his full size and eating the man whole for his insolence, before a faint scent on the hooded human caught his attention, making him growl.

Uchiha.

Any entertainment he may have been having was effectively killed at the faint smell of the red-eyed human. Uchiha should have known better by now than to send his human puppets into Kyuubi’s territory if he wanted them to return alive. Idly, the fox wondered what the man could possibly want with a baby and a woman, before deciding that he couldn’t be bothered to care. Right now, the important thing was to make sure that the Uchiha learned to keep his schemes of world domination away from Kyuubi’s lands.

“Kyuubi-sama,” the hooded man called out to the demon. The fox’s eyes narrowed at his approach. The man’s chakra was acting strangely for some reason… “I apologize if we have disturbed your peace, but I’m afraid that this quarrel is none of your concern.”

Kyuubi scowled at that, irritated. Normally, a degree of politeness would have been enough to make him consider letting the human live, but the connection to Uchiha had shortened this man’s life drastically. And the gall of the man to tell him what was, and wasn’t his concern! Though the fox could not attack the red-eyed man directly, he was not above foiling the human’s foolish little plots.

Everything that takes place in my territory is my concern, human, the fox growled out, mildly annoyed that his ‘voice’ did not carry the same intensity when he was this size as it did when he was in his true form. Why are you in my lands? Did your foolish master not warn you to stay out of my way?

The hooded man chuckled softly at that.

“You are mistaken, Kyuubi-sama,” he said in an annoyingly superior tone. “I have no master.” Kyuubi growled dangerously at that rebuttal, eyes narrowing at the human. He was about to retort when a shift in the man’s chakra patterns caught the demon’s attention. It was then that realization struck the fox.

I see… he said, annoyed. He almost felt foolish for not catching on sooner. So that is the trick you are using now, is it human?

“I do not wish to confront you just yet, Kyuubi-sama,” the hooded man said, ignoring the confusion his men now displayed. “That is why I have done things this way. Let me finish my business here and be on my way, and I will consider myself in your debt.”

Kyuubi scoffed at that.

Fool. He sneered. In an instant, he moved to attack, cutting down the hooded man like a weed. The female holding the child screamed as the human’s body, hood and all, dissolved into a pile of ash, which was blown away by the wind.

Your debt is something I have no need for, Uchiha. Kyuubi thought darkly to himself, hoping that the coward could sense the declaration from wherever he was currently hidden away. A split second later, most of the Uchiha’s followers were upon the demon, emboldened by their anger, intent on killing him for what they assumed was the murder of their leader.

Kyuubi growled furiously as he quickly dispatched the shinobi with ease, darting forward to finish off the ones who had held back even before the corpses of the vanguard had hit the ground. Normally, Kyuubi would have considered slaughtering the pitiful creatures boring and beneath his abilities as a Bijuu, but these humans were working with Uchiha.

For that crime, they could not be allowed to live.

Pouncing upon the humans before they could even register his presence, Kyuubi began killing off the mortals with ruthless efficiency, growling in disgust when some of the faster ones finally tried to make a run for it, abandoning their fellow shinobi. Needless to say, they did not make it far. It wasn’t long until the only enemy left was the woman, fearfully clutching the infant Uchiha had been after.

Kyuubi sneered as the woman backed away from him, her entire body trembling so badly that it was a wonder she could stand at all. The fear of death was evident in the human’s eyes as Kyuubi rushed her, which was no surprise, really. What was a surprise, though, was the actions the woman took before Kyuubi cut her down with his claws.

As the demon approached her, the kunoichi curled in on herself to protect the baby in her arms from the demon, keeping the child unharmed even as she herself fell dead to the earth. The action was strange enough for Kyuubi to hesitate a moment after killing the woman, studying her with a puzzled frown on his face before brushing her off to instead contemplate the annoyance that was Uchiha. Whatever the foolish little mortal was up to in his lands couldn’t be anything good, after all. He had thought the man had learned his lesson after the last time, but apparently the fox had been too lenient. Of course, that was the last time Kyuubi would ever make a mistake like that, but there was still a question of just what the Uchiha was plotting now that could involve—

“Damn... You don’t pull your punches, do you?”

…Eh?

Kyuubi turned to see the redhead that had been the target of Uchiha’s men push herself off the ground with her forearms, her breathing ragged and her chakra dangerously low. To be honest, the demon was mildly surprised to see that the woman was still alive, let alone strong enough to make such a disrespectful comment. Considering her for a moment, the fox decided to humor the human and respond to her statement.

Of course not, he said, arrogance befitting of a kitsune dripping from his words. Going into a fight with anything less then your full strength is disrespecting what power you have. Everyone who chooses to fight must be prepared to suffer the consequences of a loss.

“No mercy for the weak?” the woman scoffed lightly in between ragged breaths.

Everyone other than me is weak, mortal. Kyuubi preened. It is merely a matter of how much weaker they are in comparison. Those who are strong enough to be entertaining are allowed to live, and those who are not worth fighting a second time die at my claws. Mercy is just a pretty word you humans use to dress up your weak hearts when it comes to taking a life.

“Such compassion is almost inspiring in a demon nowadays, fox face,” the human quipped back. The fox cocked his head as he contemplated the woman after that statement, wondering vaguely if he should end her life that much faster for her blatant sarcasm. Before Kyuubi could reach a decision, though, a soft cry was heard from the direction of the woman the demon had just killed, soon erupting into a full-fledged wail for any source of comfort. Upon hearing the noise, the human woman Kyuubi had been conversing with turned her full attention to the infant laying on the ground a relatively short length away from her. Apparently deciding that the baby was a bigger concern than the fox that had just slain a small group of shinobi in a matter of seconds, the woman half crawled to the child, prompting Kyuubi to raise an eyebrow at her.

You’re only killing yourself faster by moving around so much, he informed her in a bored tone.

“No shit,” the woman grunted, her eyes locked on the baby even as she addressed the fox. “But my son needs me, and I’ll be damned if I’m not there for my baby when it counts.” Ah, so that’s what this whole ordeal was about. Kyuubi almost rolled his eyes at the human’s foolishness.

You killed yourself just to get one child back? Kyuubi clarified in disgust. Why on earth would you die for a child when you can have another just as easily? It would be a much smarter move in the long run, and you’re still young and fairly attractive by human standards. Kyuubi studied the woman critically as he said this, noting that without the blood and bruises, she would actually be quite presentable.

“Thanks, but I don’t go for inter-species relationships, fox,” the redhead said dryly as she reached the child and pried him out of the grip of a corpse. She propped herself up against a nearby tree, taking the infant gingerly in her arms. Kyuubi was mildly relieved that the brat stopped wailing almost instantly. “And for your information, any halfway decent parent would die for their kid on a moment’s notice. Naruto is the most important thing in the world to me, and I’d do anything to keep him safe.”

…You named your child ‘fishcake’?

“Yeah, so?” The woman said defensively as she gently brushed at her baby’s bangs, inspecting the boy for any injuries he may have accumulated in the time the enemy had had him. “It has sentimental value… and I like ramen. Besides, it beats ‘Kamaboko’.”

Kyuubi nearly rolled his eyes at that. Humans…

It still does not make sense to me, for someone to die for another like this, he said in annoyance. Your own existence should always come first and foremost.

“Well now, aren’t you a selfish bastard?” the redhead observed, before her eyes grew gentle as she looked at her son. “I don’t think I could ever explain it to you… and even if I could, you probably wouldn’t care anyways, being the great Kyuubi and all—” Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the woman’s sarcasm, and once again considered just eating her and getting it over with. “—but a life where your own existence is all that matters isn’t even worth living in the first place. Having a child really changed my life for the better. I mean, yeah it gets hard sometimes, but Naruto always makes it worth it, in the end.”

Are all humans as ridiculously sentimental as you are? Kyuubi questioned in boredom, making the redhead roll her eyes.

“Ugh, just forget I said anything… A bastard like you could never understand what I’m talking about. You don’t have a paternal bone in your body, and raising a kid is the most challenging thing someone can do.” Kyuubi stilled at that, narrowing his eyes at the woman in displeasure.

Are you suggesting that I’d be incapable of raising a child, wench? he growled out coldly. The redhead’s breathing was becoming more and more labored, her words slurring on her tongue… Clearly she was on borrowed time as it was… But Kyuubi could not stand for the thought of a dying woman, shinobi or not, insinuating that there was something he could not do. He, the most powerful of the Bijuu! Answer me, human!

“Like you could prove me wrong, fox face,” the woman drawled out dryly in return, before planting a gentle kiss on her son’s forehead while ignoring the demon’s angry snarl. She hoped Minato was already on his way with a horde of ANBU at his heels. She wanted her son back in Konoha where it was safe as fast as humanly possible.

Just hope Minato’s not too pissed off with me for this… Kushina thought, closing her eyes and holding Naruto closer. Kushina smiled sadly to herself as she thought about her husband. Silently, the woman apologized to her husband, for all the pain she’d leave behind for him to muddle through. But at least this way, he would still have Naruto. Kushina had faith that their son would help her husband pull through in the end… Opening her eyes, Kushina smiled gently at her baby. Yeah, Naruto would be there for Minato, even if she couldn’t be.

“Be strong, Naruto,” Kushina whispered softly into her son’s hair. “I know you can be… And help your papa out, too. He’s hopeless without one of us there to make his life interesting, you know.” Naruto only cooed in response, his fingers tangling into her hair. Kushina almost cried at the familiar gesture. “I love you, kiddo… I hope you remember that when you’re older.”

Doubtful, Kyuubi said coldly, having overheard the woman’s speech. The child is merely a kit, far too young to remember this day at all. To remember you, even.

“He’ll be a year old next month, on October tenth,” Kushina said, not really sure why she was telling the demon this when he probably didn’t care in the first place. It was probably just her talkative nature. “And it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t remember my face, if he can still remember my feelings.”

You really are the most sentimental human I ever met, woman.

“Yeah, and you’re probably the most anal demon alive, bastard,” Kushina said immaturely in return. “’Sides, I can’t see you hanging out around too many humans.” Unable to deny the truth of this statement, Kyuubi merely scowled at the woman in response. Privately, though, he felt that Yamata no Orochi was far more anal then he could ever be.

While he was considering this, Kyuubi felt the final fragment of the human woman’s strength dissolve away, her breath rasping to a dead stop. Kyuubi frowned. It was almost a pity, really… He hadn’t had such an interesting conversational partner in a while… Still, what was done was done, and now there was no more reason for Kyuubi to stay. Standing up, the fox stretched his long, lean body before turning with a fluid flick of his tails to leave the clearing.

He had just made it to the trees when a soft cry caught his ears.

Pausing, Kyuubi turned his head to look back at the infant, who had apparently sensed his mother’s passing. Kyuubi frowned, knowing that the child’s wails would undoubtedly attract a predator. Deciding that it wasn’t his problem, the fox turned to leave again.

A bastard like you could never understand what I’m talking about. Kyuubi stopped again, eyes narrowed as the human’s words came back to him. Bah! What did he care about softhearted human emotions? Annoyed, Kyuubi turned again to glare at the crying child.

You don’t have a paternal bone in your body. Raising a kid is the most challenging thing someone can do. Growling as the woman’s words mocked him, Kyuubi turned back around angrily.

I’ll show that woman… He thought irritably. There is no challenge on earth too great for the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

As he approached the dead woman and her child in a fluid motion, Kyuubi allowed his chakra to envelope his body, morphing him from his fox form to one that was similar to a tall, handsome human male, with angry red hair that fell down the length of his back. He was dressed in robes of the finest silk, which didn’t even whisper as he walked, and his eyes, still slanted like those of his fox form, were a deep ruby color with slits for irises.

Coming to a stop in front of the child, Kyuubi kneeled down, taking the baby from his mother’s arms. Naruto was surprised by the action, and stopped crying immediately to blink up at the demon with wide blue eyes. Kyuubi could feel his own eyes go wide at the sight of the child he was holding.

He’s so… tiny, Kyuubi thought, slightly awed that anything could be so small and light. He’d never had much use for children before, so this was the first time he’d ever seen one up close, and this boy was—

Kyuubi started when the baby in his hands suddenly giggled loudly, arms flailing. Sweatdropping, the demon tried to figure out how to get the child to settle back down when the boy suddenly reached up, grabbed some of Kyuubi’s hair in his grubby hands and yanked down hard. The demon growled in response to the abuse.

…This was going to be harder then he thought.