True Self, New Self

Review Answers!


akagi-chan: I thought the same, but then I checked the character guide book, and it said that she was... well... a she

cfox: I know, I'm doing it on purpose, so he knows that he isn't as strong as he thought, and become stronger in the long run. But don't worry, he will be a worthy mate, and a worhty opponent *hint hint*

feisu: Yay new chapter! I'm glad that you liked the chapter and even more glad that you're updating!

HellzAngel: Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it. ^^

Tara: Actually I like your long reviews! And as you said, patience is a virtue!

Fourthiv: Thanks! ^^

Naru_seme: Really? *sparkly eyes* thanks!

Palumaztu: You'll have to wait and see!

mike: I'm very happy to earn such a reaction with one of my stories!

Fluffy: Thanks, I'm japanese, born and raised in Japan, and my family is into shinto, so yeah, I know some things about japanese mythology.

trulywicked: I was grinning like an idiot when I read your review, really, even my daughter asked me if something was wrong. We agree in everything! And the writer-sama thing made me smile so hard that my face hurt later. I thought the exact same thing about the swamp when I was looking for a technique to immovilize Sasuke.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I was trying to give my missing reviewers some time to do so, but they seem to be busy and I can't keep the rest of you guys waiting. So I asked in the previous chapter if Naruto should fly, because in japanese folclore many of the nine tailed demons can, and I'm very tempted to write it, because I never read a fic where Naruto can fly before, but what do you think?

Ok, on with the chapter!

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True Self, New Self


Chapter seven: Family

I'm looking for Yuki now, the last time I saw him we were at the sword smith's shop, and he told me he was going to hunt his meal. He probably is sleeping some where near the shop, so I look there. He's at the roof, laying there with his little head resting over his front paws. His nose twitch and he wakes up, I guess he smelled me.

"Naruto-san!! You're back, I was so worried about you! When I came back you weren't here anymore!"

"I'm fine Yuki, no need to worry about me."

"If you say so Naruto-san," his nose twitched again, "Hmm... Naruto-san?"

"Yes Yuki?"

"Why do you smell like blood?," his nose twitching some more, "and it isn't yours."

"I smell like blood?," I say sniffing the air around me, and indeed I stink, the smell of recently sheaded blood, Kagero's blood, floating around me,"Kuso, I need to get a bath, maybe I can find a onsen that is still open, come Yuki, we're leaving."

"Yes sir!," he said turning into his human form, I give him a questioning look,"Hmmm... I always wanted to go to one of that onsens..." he says with a sheepish look.

"Ok then, lets go!" I said jumping down the roof and starting walking to the nearest bath house, my little walk around the village probing usefull, since I learned where everything is around it.

After visiting four onsens, all closed, we finally found one that was open, Misu Hana onsen (Mist Flower bath house). I paid for both of us and soon, I was sitting chest deep inside the onsen's thermal waters, next to a hyperactive Yuki, who just decided that he was going to swim. For a kitsune in a twelve year old form, he was acting like a 5 year old kid that was enjoying his first time in the thermal waters, which for youkai standards, that was probably the truth. But I have to admit, he looked cute, swiming around like that with his shoulder lenght hair floating behind him, his silver eyes shining with happiness, his pale pink skin shinning with water drops, his legs and arms splashing water everywhere. One of those splashs landing right on my face, blinding me momentarily.

"Oi Yuki! Watch were you splash!" I said splashing him with water, and hell broke lose.

Soon a water fight started, that turned into a water war when Yuki used his magic to send a wave of water my way, so I started using water justus as well. Half an hour and a floaded bath area later, the battle ended when I trapped Yuki in a head lock, pinning his twelve year old body to the wall.

"I give up! I give up!" he said between laughs. I release him and fall to the floor laughing as well, this should be how having a little brother feels like.

Yuki is at my side, panting while massaging his sore neck. I take a look around when I manage to calm down, the place is a complete mess, it won't be a nice thing to do to leave it like that, the old lady that owns this place was very kind to us.

"Stand up Yuki, we have to fix this place up!"

"Hai, Naruto-san!"

With Yuki's help, and some water jutsus, we managed to get the water back to the pool, and the things that were carried away by it in the middle of our fight, back in place. We looked proudly at hour work, and that was the time Uzume, the goddess of dawn, decided to grace the sky with her presence, slowly dying the black of the night into oranges and yellows, while the sun emerged from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, the cold air of the early morning, even more cold against our wet bodies, taking away any form of fatigue after staying all night up.

We made our way back to Masamune's shop, walking slowly, enjoying the almost calm atmosphere in the village at this hours of the morning. Almost calm I say, because the streets are filled with a swarm of Iwa's shinobis. They are probably looking for suspicious people around the village, hoping to find the person responsible of the explosion, just in case he was still inside the village, which he wasn't, as a matter of fact he, she is no longer in this world.

Two ninjas stopped us in our way back, asking us questions about who we are and what is our purpose in the village, which I answered with a distorted truth, I said that my name was Kaji, and that Yuki is my younger brother, and that we were in the village visiting our father's old friend Masamune. When they asked about the sword I was carrying, I said that it was a birthdy present from Masamune. We were escorted back to the sword smith's shop, where he and Jiraiya confirmed our story, so we were released from any suspicious.

After a quick breakfast with Masamune at his shop, we were ready to leave again. It seems that in a point of the conversation between the old man and his friend, the smith made a suggestion that Jiraiya thought was very good. So now, we are heading to Sunakagure earlier than expected. Masamune told Jiraiya that even if I could train by myself, sparring is an important thing if I want to become stronger, and right now, Jiraiya is no longer a suitable opponent. I need another Jinchuuriki (demon host, literally Power of Human Sacrifice, nice isn't it?) to spar with, and even if I found some hosts in my travels, the only one that I'll ever accept as my partner is Gaara. So we're off to see the Kazekage, and we will pass the next months until my training time with Jiraiya is over in Suna.

We say our farewells to the old smith, and leave Iwagakure with a new stack of weapons, courtesy of Masamune, and a bag of medicinal herbs, it seems that the woman that got his bag stolen yesterday runs a drug store and she gave them to me in a form of gratitude. Yuki is walking by my side, he got fond of his human form, and since I promised him that I'll teach him some jutsus in the way there, he decided to stay in that form, you cannot perform any jutsus without hands anyway.

If we use our normal shinobi speed, we should be in Suna in three to four days, but since we have many time to spare, we will walk most of the way there, so it will take a week for us to get there. It is a good day for walking, the sky is clear and the sun isn't too hot, since there is a gentle breeze blowing, it is a nice day indeed. We joke with each other as we walk, or just talk, sometimes we only walk in a friendly silence. It is nice. It almost feels like a family, but that I cannot tell, since I never had one. Sure I have seen many families interact with each other in the distance when I was a boy, in the distance because there always was the possibility of getting beaten by the adults if they saw that I was looking at them, maybe the little monster was trying to curse them! Ok that was a sarcasm, but it is the truth.

Sure, Iruka-sensei was like a father to me back at the Academy, back at Konoha. Sure, Sasuke was like a brother to me, even if I'm not sure if it is that how I see him right now. Sure, the old hag Tsunade was like a mother to me, or a big sister. But non of them is my real family, there are no blood bonds that tie us, they weren't there when I grew up, they all came after a long time, after I already raised myself, after I created that mask, no one saw my true self.

But this, this feels like a family. Where all the members see me as myself, where no one looks at me with hatred in their eyes, where I am accepted by what I am. I feel right, I know they have my back, I know that they'll never judge me, and that feeling is great. And I know that even if things turn bad when we're back at Konoha, they will be always by my side.

We are going to stop for a quick lunch now, quick I say, because it is going to be ramen. Oh well, maybe it isn't my favorite food of all times, but I can take it. Eight minutes later we're all sitting on the ground, chop sticks in hand, eating our ramen, and no I'm not eating like I was starving for months, I like to take my time when I eat, so I can really enjoy the food. After we finish eating, we decide to take a little break, so the food can settle before we take off again.

"Naruto-san!! Can you teach me some jutsus now?"

"Why don't you teach him your Oiroke no Jutsy brat?"

"Shut up ero-sennin, if I'm going to teach him something, it will be something else!"

"What is the Oiroke no Jutsu Jiraiya-sama?"

"Why don't you learn from the kit gaki? At least he shows some respect to his superiors!"

"Be careful of what you say old man, I may technically be a genin, but you perfectly know that I can take an ANBU squad by my own, and remember why we are going to Suna to begin with!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever brat. Now listen well Yuki, the Oiroke no Jutsu is a special jutsu Naruto here created to pull pranks on the male population of Konoha, to make it short, the jutsu turn Naruto into a very sexy and very naked human female." Jiraiya said while grinning like a mad man.

"But they deserve it! Most of them where just so full of themselves, they needed someone to trow them down of their cloud!" I said blushing madly.

"Yeah yeah kid, even before you merged with Kyuubi and turned into a kitsune, you already acted like a myobu*."

"Yeah right, if I was a myobu, you were a nogitsune**, so shut up old man!"

"Naruto-san?"

"Hai Yuki?"

"I want to learn that technique."

"You do? Doushite? (why?)"

"Because I'm a kitsune of course!" (A/N: In japanes folclore, the kitsunes are often presented as tricksters, I just have to explain that now, or some of you may not understand Yuki's reason ^^)

"Ok, ok, you got a point there, fine I give up, I'll teach it to you."

"Great, I will get to see that magnificent technique again!" Jiraiya exclaimed happily.

"There's where you are wrong ero-sennin, I'll teach Yuki the technique, but you won't get to see it, ja!," I said and placed a kekkai (barrier) around us, so he can't see what's going on inside it, "Serves him well for being such a hentai..."

"So, how do you perform it Naruto-san?"

"Just watch closely so you can do it later," I said doing the hand seals for my special jutsu, "Oiroke no Jutsu!"

I turn into my female form and watch Yuki.

"So what do you think Yuki?," I said to him, "Oi, Yuki!," I step closer to him, "Yuki?," I poke him. Nop he's out, maybe I over did it? I look at myself, the smoke that usually floats around me when I turn into this form isn't there, "Ups, guess it was too much for the kit." I sweat drop and release the jutsu.

"Argh, what happened Naruto-san?"

"Beleive me Yuki, you don't want to know." I said with a nervous laugh.

"So are you going to teach me the Oiroke no Jutsu?"

"Maybe when you grow up a little bit more." I say patting him on the head.

"Ok..." he's clearly confused.

"How about I teach you the Henge no Jutsu instead?"

"The one shinobi use to transform into another person or object?"

"Exactly!"

"Great!!" he said jumping on the spot.

After a good hour of Naruto's How to perform Henge crash course, Yuki finally mastered it and now he's running around, transformed like me. If I didn't know better, I would say that he's a bunshin of myself. Mmmmm... lets see if we can pull a prank like I did when I was a kid, the target, ero-sennin. I call Yuki over and we start planning toghether what we could do to punish the old man.

[Jiraiya's POV]

What on earth could be taking the brats so long? It's almost an hour since they locked themselves inside that barrier. I'm trying to tame my hair, that was poking in every direction, and no, no like the usual poking. I tried to break into the barrier to take a look inside, only to see if they were doing alright, really! But it repeled me with a electric shock that messed up with my hairstyle, and left my clothes a little bit carbonized, damn that gaki is going to hear me when he comes out...

Speaking of that, the kekkai is dissapearing. But inside it is only Naruto, where could that fox run off to...

"Hey brat, where is that kit huh?"

"Yuki? He said he needed to do something important and that he was right back, why?"

"No no, for nothing, he better hurry up because we need to get going, there's a long journey ahead."

"Yeah yeah, whatever old man, look here he comes!" Naruto said while pointing somewhere behind me, and indeed, there he was, still in his human form, running our way.

"Jiraiya-sama!!"

"What is it kit?"

"I found a woman in a cave right there, she looks injured, maybe you can take a look at her?"

"Ok kit, I have this one, you wait here with Naruto ok?"

[End of Jiraiya's POV, start of Yuki's POV]

"So, this are going as planned right Naruto-san?" I said releasing the henge and turning to Naruto-san's bunshin, that is henge too but he also released it.

"You bet on that, want to go and see if he falls into our trap?"

"After you, Naruto-san!"

[End of Yuki's POV, start of Naruto's POV]

I hope that my clone doesn't mess things up, ohh well, lets hope not! I said using henge to turn into a woman, but my face is covered by a veil and a hood, the rest of my clothes look torn and dirty, revealing part of my skin here and there. But there's something special about the clothes I chose, because they're the ones that most of the geishas that offer 'special services' to their customers usually wear, with the obi tied backwards. I just hope that Jiraiya notice that too, speaking of him, here he is, just like we planned.

"Are you alright young lady?"

"Hai, I just hurt my ankle that's all." I said in a sweet femine voice.

"Let me take a look at it." he said kneeling in front of me and examining my ankle, touching a lot more than the necessary and a lot higher too. Finally he takes out some bandages and wrap it with them.

"Thank you so much sir, I don't know how I could pay you." I said bowing my head a little.

"Well, I can think of something." He said eyeing my outfit, I smirk under the veil, he noticed.

"Of course." I said moving to remove his clothes.

"Wait, I want to see your face." he's drooling by now, damn pervert.

"Of course." I said removing the hood and the veil at the same time.

"KIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" he fainted, his face is so pale and his eyes are blank. I hear two persons bursting out in laughter nearby, they are Yuki and my bunshin, that laughed so hard that he dissapeared in a poff of smoke.

"That was genius Naruto-san! Henge like a woman but transforming your head to the one of a frog, totally awesome!" he said between fits of laughter.

"Maybe with this he'll stop visiting that horrible tea houses and giving me bad times when I have to wake him up the morning after." I said in a serious tone after turning back into myself, a few seconds later I was rolling around the floor laughing like crazy with Yuki.

"You're great Naruto-niisan!" he said, then freezing in the spot when he realized what he just said.

"It's ok, you can call me like that, Yuki-chan." I said looking at him from my spot on the floor. I hear a poof somewhere near Jiraiya and I turn to look at him.

"Yo kid, long time no see!"

"Hey Gamakichi, what brings you here?" I said to the frog that is currently sitting over Jiraiya's chest.

"Nothing, just wanted to check how where you doing, wow kid, you have changed, so what my cousin Gamari said was truth."

"And what could that be huh?" I say with a huge smile, my mood is great today.

"He said that he saw the boy that had signed a contract with the frogs at a forest in Stone country, and that he had merged with the demon fox that was sealed in him."

"Well, it's true as you can see!" I said letting him see a glimpse of my tails and my ears before putting them back in.

"Aghhh...," Jiraiya is waking up now, but the first thing he sees is Gamakichi's face over his, "KIYAAAAAA!" he fainted again.

I just look over to Yuki, then back at Jiraiya, then at Gamakichi, who has a confused expression, then back at Yuki. Our roaring laughter can be heard all the way to Iwa, I bet. Yuki is laughing so hard that he lost control of his trasformation and is back into his kit form, yelping loudly.

"What?" Gamakichi asks. I only laugh even harder, making my stomach hurts.

This has been a good day.

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* Myobu or celestial kitsunes are the messengers of Inari, the goddess of Rice. They are benevolent.

** Nogitsune or wild kitsunes are malicious

*** Kitsunes are trickters creatures, no matter if they're myobus or nogitsunes. The difference are that myobus target overly-proud samurais, greedy merchants and perverts! While nogitsune target poor tradesmen, monks and women! Remind you of someone?

Please forgive me if you find some grammar or spelling errors, but I didn't have time to fix them! *bows*