What Dreams Mean

Disclaimer : I do not own anything in relation to Naruto! Why do I know this? Because there isn't any porn in it (well, besides Kakashi's.) Anyway. Enjoy!

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One by one the shinobi of leaf who had, once upon a time, known and loved the sunshine haired boy named Naruto gathered in the meeting room, taking their places around a large, circular table with a few spots at the head reserved. There were familiar faces everywhere, many from the village itself, even though some, such as Gaara and his siblings, had made the time once again to come to Konoha for, hopefully, some word of their missing friend. As always, there was a slight pall over the crowd, a good forty people strong, the most this room would hold at the time, but even then there were some conversations, some smiles and laughs.



At least until Lady Tsunade walked in, the frog sannin on her left and Sasuke on her right. These three had known the boy the best, and as such, always led these meetings, which occured twice a year. As they took their seats at the head, everyone turned to them, settling in for the meeting.



Tsunade, even with her mask of youthfulness, appeared older than she had... Lines around her lips and mouth caused from too much tension and stress, and yes, sadness that they had to do this. Jiraya appeared much the same, except he refused to meet the gaze of anyone in the room. Sasuke, in direct contrast, swept his cold gaze throughout the room constantly, as if making sure those giving their reports were being completely honest.



But to a man, no one had seen hide nor hair of Naruto... As it had been since a kitsune summons had brought Sasuke back that fateful day.



Just as they were about to conclude the meeting, a sudden flurry of sound and motion could be heard outside the door, and every shinobi stood to protect their leader, if necessary, but instead of a threat, a young ninja came bursting through, several guards on his heels.



"Konohamaru? What are you... What's going on?" But his wide eyes and flushed face had the hokage falling silent as he placed both hands on the table, panting so hard he couldn't speak for a few moments.



"Ki-kitsune! Heading through town...-huffpant- Heading to... The forests!" he finally was able to breathe out, getting wide eyed look from around the table. "Foxes? In town?" "What are they doing?" "How many?"



"NO! Not -foxes-!" Konohamaru stated loudly, sweeping a look around the table. "-Kitsune-. I saw at least two three tails and a five tail run by..." Instantly there was a scramble as the shinobi warped or ran from the room to the outside, for the first time seeing the chaos as people ran from the appearance of what seemed to be dozens of foxes in all different shades of colors, and differing number of tails. None stopped for anything, and none were causing harm, all looking forward, with heads held high and what many would later swear was happiness in their eyes. One particularly large one, a six tail, and easily the size of a house, paused to look at them before snorting and raising its head, then flicking each of its tails and leaping away, taking only three long bounds before practically soaring over the tall and wide gates of Konoha.



"What... What the HELL is going on here?"



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Shadowed in the darkness of the cavern he lay in, the large figure continued to look down on the tiny female before him, only his eyes glowing, like fox fire over swamps that had led so many astray,



The young fox kit pranced a little before the much larger figure, dancing on fore paws and hind before rearing up and batting at the air, two tails waving. "Ooooh, wait till I tell Luka and Inka that I was here when you woke up! They will be sooo jealous!" She wriggled again and the large beast blinked down at her, noticing that little gusts of wind were blowing through his fur with each of her little jumps. "Little one" He said aloud, surprised at the depth and power of his voice, seeming to vaguely remember hearing something far different... But... He couldn't quite... grasp what he had once sounded like.



The fox instantly turned, tripping over her own feet as she looked up at him "Lord! You spoke to me too!" Instantly she gave a bark, and the great fox leaned back away from her a little as the bark took a solid form, spinning light blue that had coalesced from the air into a vaguely fox-like form. The young kit looked at it and waved a paw in a vaguely familiar pattern, though the one called Lord wasn't why it was familiar. "There, now all the elders shall come and greet you. It was a great honor for me to be the one to see you awaken, but they must be informed... I mean, its great that" "Little one, quiet a moment." The male spoke again, and the young kitsune instantly quietened down, staring up at him with awe in her eyes. "I do not mean to seem rude, but who are you? As a matter of fact, who am I? And why am I here?" He said, and the young kitsune female instantly looked to the side, then brought one paw over her face and swiping at her nose.



"I'm not really supposed to say anything to you, Lord, but neither will I leave you in the dark. My name is Skylight, though my mother calls me Talks-a-lot, even if that isn't my real name... And you, Lord, are the Kyuubi, the Lord of Kitsune and Prince of Fire, the strongest and most ancient of the tailed beasts, and our leader... You have been gone... A long time, due to some unfortunate circumstances dealing with some humans" Skylight spat the last word, and for a moment that rush of air hit him again, and re-named Kyuubi shook his head before it settled back down once more. "Something happened, and you came back to us, but there seems to be some memory loss of your former life with us, which is why you are confused. But I am sure the elders will set you right again!" The little kitsune chirped happily and bowed down with her forelegs stretched out before whirling and turning to prance off, even as Kyuubi tilted his large ears, hearing the sound of many paws down the hall outside his dark room.



"I shall see you again, my Lord, and really..." Skylight paused and looked back, cocking her head and panting. "It is truly good to have you back with us. The world has been darker without your fire, and we shall never let you go again. Even if we have to kill every last human to do it..."



Kyuubi blinked at where Skylight had left, a small side tunnel, before focusing back in on himself, trying to test whether Skylight's words were true, or false... But while there was a niggling sense that he didn't have all the story, her words rang too...



And that almost scared him.