Fox Magic: Chapter 3 (Adjustments) Part I
F o x M a g i c
by
akaitsume
~--------------------------------------~
Genre: AU(ish)/Drama/Action/Adventure/Romance/Mystery
Pairings: NaruSasuNaru
Rating: R (for the moment)
Warnings: Fantasy-esque, Zoomorphism, AU, a liberal dose of Japanese mythology, violence, strong language, references to abuse/torture in later chapters, and (eventually) limes and lemons.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns with the characters, but I think I'm having more fun with them at this point than he is. No profit is made from tinkering with them.
Summary: A decision made in the heat of the moment leaves Sasuke questioning his past, his future, and his convictions, all while dealing with an ancient, all-powerful fox demon whose grudge transcends both time and space. NaruSasuNaru, canonish AU
~--------------------------------------~
Lips curled with amusement, Kyuubi watched as the infuriated Uchiha slammed the front door. Although his hatred for the Uchiha clan was palpable, he couldn’t help feeling glad that this one had released him from confinement. None of the others had been remotely as much fun to aggravate.
“Are we done for the day already?” he questioned innocently, tails swirling. The fox closed his eyes and smiled as his “master” turned around. “We were only out for an hour or so.”
Audibly grinding his teeth, the Uchiha stomped over to him. “You are staying here for the rest of the day. I am going back out. Alone.”
Yeesh. How many times is this going to take him to understand? “I told you, I have to stay by your side. This isn’t exactly negotiable.”
Sasuke folded his arms and attempted to glare menacingly at him. Kyuubi smirked. Kid, I’ve seen FAR worse.
“If it’s not negotiable,” the man ground out, “then what’s the point of my being your master?”
If you don’t know, I’m sure as hell not going to tell you. Aware of how easily rumpled the Uchiha was, Kyuubi chuckled and began cleaning his paw. “Not much, I suppose.”
“Goddamn useless rodent.”
Kyuubi’s head snapped up, irritation whirling through him. “Will you stop calling me that?” He scowled when the raven-haired man simply snorted. “I subdued that other ninja before you could, didn’t I?”
Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke simply gazed down at him. “So you might be useful sometimes, but I fail to see the use of stealing a bell from an idiot.”
Why that little... “Fine. See if I helpyou out in any upcoming battles,” he grumbled, padding through the kitchen and into the living room. Leaping onto the couch, he curled up, faced away from the Uchiha, and feigned sleep.
The Uchiha quietly approached the living room, though he might as well have been a herd of elephants considering the fox’s ears. Kyuubi ignored him.
“I don’t need your help,” the Uchiha replied in an aggravatingly smug voice. “As far as I’m concerned, you can go straight back into your little box in the basement.”
WHAT? Ears perking straight up, Kyuubi lifted his head and fought down a wave of panic. Clearing his throat, he gave the Uchiha a sardonic glance.
“Only an Uchiha would free a genie that he doesn’t intend to use,” he stated dryly. As if he’d flicked a switch, the Uchiha’s expression melted into a frown.
“First off, I didn’t know you were a...” His lips curled as if he tasted something unpleasant. “...Genie.”
Lowering his head to his folded paws, Kyuubi let his ears lower slightly. “That’s your own fault, then.” He gazed at the man with one blue eye. “What on earth possessed you to release a power you knew absolutely nothing about?”
Sasuke’s eyes lowered at that, and the man began to glare at the floor. Kyuubi shifted his tails in curiosity. “Well?”
Scowling, the man looked back up at him. “It’s none of your business.”
“Whatever.” Kyuubi rolled his eyes. Typical Uchiha. Closing his eyes, he ignored the man as he ground his teeth for a moment, then turned to storm out of the room. Seconds later, the front door slammed again.
The fox’s ears twitched as he listened to his master stomp down the street. Huffing with annoyance, he rose to his feet.
“Goddamn stubborn Uchihas, making me follow them everywhere.” He sent a mild glare at the gold band about his tail as it twanged painfully. “I’m going, I’m going. Sheesh.”
Dropping to the floor, he marched to the front door. When increasing his size and twisting the knob with his paw yielded nothing, he scowled. Well, at least it’s only slightlyagainst the rules... The fox straightened his tails, focused a tendril of chakra at the lock, and smiled when the mechanism sprang open. The demon pranced through the open doorway, knocking the door shut with a tail as he passed.
Now to find my wayward “master.”
Perching in a tree on the outskirts of the village, Sasuke took out a scroll and stared blindly at it. Against his will, his mind kept circling back to the little mistake in his living room. Why the hell was Itachi after it? If the little red rat is so powerful, why hasn’t he shown it? The raven-haired man frowned. When I released him, the power he threw at me was...monstrous.
He absentmindedly rolled the scroll back up, staring off into the lightly waving branches. Is all that really under my control?
Creeeeeak...
Stilling, the Uchiha listened carefully to the tree behind him. Nothing further presented itself, and the man began to relax. It must have been my imagin-
CREEEEAK...
Sasuke held his breath as the branch beneath him began to dip with his weight. The straining wood quivered beneath him. Swallowing carefully, he reached out with one hand to grasp a nearby branch.
SNAP!
Grunting, Sasuke leapt onto the next branch over and watched as the first plummeted to the ground. He frowned. That branch wasn’t that old...
SNAP!
Without warning, the branch he crouched upon freed itself from the tree as well. Blessing his skills, he glued himself sideways upon the trunk. Red Sharingan eyes followed the tumbling branch, narrowing when it smashed into hundreds of pieces as it met the distant forest floor. Scowling, Sasuke scanned the trees around him.
Is someone doing this deliberately?
Sasuke didn’t have time to react before a limb above him broke incompletely, swinging down and tangling with a lower branch as it pinned him to the trunk. Growling with frustration, Sasuke pushed at the limb in vain, but he froze when the trunk itself began to move.
You’re kidding me...
Despite mental assertions to the contrary, the Uchiha felt the base of the tremendous tree give way. Red eyes flew wide as the ground leapt up at him. Dammit! Grunting, he shoved at the tree limb pinning him, only to have it refuse to budge an inch. He held his breath as the tree toppled, pushing desperately only moments before he made contact.
The branch gave.
With a shout, Sasuke threw himself away from the tree and rolled as he hit the ground. The colossal plant landed with a heavy clap of thunder, kicking up a cloud of dirt and splintered wood. Sasuke stared at the toppled tree for a moment before rolling to his feet and slipping a kunai into his hand.
If that branch hadn’t given out, I would’ve been crushed! Scowling, Sasuke resumed his scan of the forest.If someone’s out to kill me, then-
“MAAAAAASTEEEEEEEER!”
The Uchiha cringed instinctively at the squeal. Before he had time to turn around, a solid weight barreled into his back, knocking him heavily to the ground. Snarling, he rolled over and glared at the fox that shifted to remain atop him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Sasuke did not appreciate the sunny smile the fox beamed down upon him. Nine tails batted playfully at his legs.
“Why, I’m simply showering my erstwhile master with affection. Isn’t that allowed?” Kyuubi’s words couldn’t have been more sugary sweet if he tried. Sasuke didn’t buy it for a minute.
“Bullshit. You’re just doing this to piss me off.”
“Awww.” The fox gave him a pair of gooey blue eyes. “You’re so cute when you’re mad.”
“GET OFF!”
“Ooo, I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.” Kyuubi’s wriggling eyebrows turned Sasuke’s stomach. Wincing, he pushed the red rat off his stomach.
“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”
“You just did.”
Sasuke scowled. “Shut up.” Rising to his feet, he brushed irritably at his clothes and glared at the fallen tree before him. Glaring at the overly innocent-looking fox, he jabbed a finger at the tree. “Since you claim you’re useful, did you see anyone in the forest who could have done this?”
Kyuubi blinked at him, then at the tree. “No...” After a moment, the fox gave him a strange look. “You’re telling me that you were on that thing when it fell? You must be heavier than you look.”
“Ha. Ha.” Folding his arms, Sasuke glowered at the tree. That couldn’t have happened by accident. Someone had to have caused it. “So you really are useless.”
The fox heaved a weary sigh. “What, exactly, do you want me to do? I can’t exactly be useful if you don’t give me anything to do.”
True. Sasuke frowned lightly at Kyuubi, pondering the demon’s words. It suddenly occurred to him that his brother must have wanted to free him for a specific purpose. If he could figure out what that was...
“Tell me,” he commanded, “what do you think my brother wanted with you?”
Kyuubi tilted his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. “Your brother?”
“Itachi.” The Uchiha waited as the silence between them stretched. “Well?”
Blinking rapidly, the fox’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean you actually think that I know who your siblings are? Sweetcakes, I’ve been locked up in that box for one hundred and fifty years. Do you really think I’m going to be up-to-date on your miserable family?”
Or lack thereof. “If you know how long you’ve been locked away, you had to have some idea of what’s going on in the outside world,” he pointed out irritably.
Kyuubi fell silent for a long moment. “Well...” he replied slowly. “I did notice that the number of you dropped drastically rather recently...”
Snorting despite himself, Sasuke turned away. “Not that recently.” Thirteen years...
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a demon. Our senses of time are a little different,” Kyuubi replied dryly.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Sasuke realized abruptly. He glared at the fox. “What was he planning to do with you?”
“I don’t know.”
Wait...he answers things literally. “Do you have an idea of what he was going to do?”
Eyes glancing away, the fox shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe.” Kyuubi looked unsettled by the smug smile that Sasuke let grace his lips.
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” The fox affected an innocent look. Sasuke shook his head.
“Tell me what you think Itachi was going to use you for.”
Frowning uncertainly, Kyuubi gazed up at him. “Well...it could be any number of things, really...”
Growing impatient, Sasuke began tapping his foot. “Like?”
“Well...he might have just wanted me for a familiar.”
Instead of pressing for more information when the demon fell silent, Sasuke lifted an eyebrow and waited. Kyuubi simply pressed his oddly expressive lips together. After a mild staring contest, Sasuke frowned.
“And? What else?”
An innocent blink.
“Dammit, do you have to be this annoying?” Sasuke finally snapped. Kyuubi smiled.
“Of course. It’s in the job description.”
“Oh? What else is in the job description?” he challenged. The fox hesitated for a brief moment.
“Why, serving your glorious self as well as my humble self is able,” the demon replied in a sugary tone. Sasuke lifted an eyebrow.
“Is that so...” If he’s telling the truth, then... “So, in other words, you have to do whatever I tell you?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” the fox grumbled. A sense of triumph surging through him, Sasuke smirked.
“So if I told you to sit on your head for three hours, would you do it?”
Scowling, the fox turned his back on Sasuke. “No, I wouldn’t.”
The Uchiha frowned. “But-”
“Shh!” Stilling abruptly, the fox stared into the darkened forest. Sasuke frowned at the dumb rat’s back as it tensed. If he thinks he’s going to play me for a fool, he’s got another-
“Someone’s coming,” Kyuubi stated softly, hunching his back. His tails began swishing furiously. “We should leave.”
When a feeling of dread stole over him, Sasuke shook his head. “It’s probably just someone from the vill-”
“It’s not. We need to leave. Now.” The fox turned around, eyes burning red. “It’s not safe here.”
What the... Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke stared into the depths of the forest. He search brought up nothing, but the same sense of dread swept over him again. Nodding sharply, he turned and raced back towards the heart of the village. With each step he took, Kyuubi glanced warily behind them. A calm wind blew towards them, carrying the faint scent of powder. Explosives?
Grimly, Sasuke turned to head towards the Hokage Tower. This can’t be good.
Link to Part II
by
akaitsume
~--------------------------------------~
Genre: AU(ish)/Drama/Action/Adventure/Romance/Mystery
Pairings: NaruSasuNaru
Rating: R (for the moment)
Warnings: Fantasy-esque, Zoomorphism, AU, a liberal dose of Japanese mythology, violence, strong language, references to abuse/torture in later chapters, and (eventually) limes and lemons.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns with the characters, but I think I'm having more fun with them at this point than he is. No profit is made from tinkering with them.
Summary: A decision made in the heat of the moment leaves Sasuke questioning his past, his future, and his convictions, all while dealing with an ancient, all-powerful fox demon whose grudge transcends both time and space. NaruSasuNaru, canonish AU
~--------------------------------------~
Lips curled with amusement, Kyuubi watched as the infuriated Uchiha slammed the front door. Although his hatred for the Uchiha clan was palpable, he couldn’t help feeling glad that this one had released him from confinement. None of the others had been remotely as much fun to aggravate.
“Are we done for the day already?” he questioned innocently, tails swirling. The fox closed his eyes and smiled as his “master” turned around. “We were only out for an hour or so.”
Audibly grinding his teeth, the Uchiha stomped over to him. “You are staying here for the rest of the day. I am going back out. Alone.”
Yeesh. How many times is this going to take him to understand? “I told you, I have to stay by your side. This isn’t exactly negotiable.”
Sasuke folded his arms and attempted to glare menacingly at him. Kyuubi smirked. Kid, I’ve seen FAR worse.
“If it’s not negotiable,” the man ground out, “then what’s the point of my being your master?”
If you don’t know, I’m sure as hell not going to tell you. Aware of how easily rumpled the Uchiha was, Kyuubi chuckled and began cleaning his paw. “Not much, I suppose.”
“Goddamn useless rodent.”
Kyuubi’s head snapped up, irritation whirling through him. “Will you stop calling me that?” He scowled when the raven-haired man simply snorted. “I subdued that other ninja before you could, didn’t I?”
Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke simply gazed down at him. “So you might be useful sometimes, but I fail to see the use of stealing a bell from an idiot.”
Why that little... “Fine. See if I helpyou out in any upcoming battles,” he grumbled, padding through the kitchen and into the living room. Leaping onto the couch, he curled up, faced away from the Uchiha, and feigned sleep.
The Uchiha quietly approached the living room, though he might as well have been a herd of elephants considering the fox’s ears. Kyuubi ignored him.
“I don’t need your help,” the Uchiha replied in an aggravatingly smug voice. “As far as I’m concerned, you can go straight back into your little box in the basement.”
WHAT? Ears perking straight up, Kyuubi lifted his head and fought down a wave of panic. Clearing his throat, he gave the Uchiha a sardonic glance.
“Only an Uchiha would free a genie that he doesn’t intend to use,” he stated dryly. As if he’d flicked a switch, the Uchiha’s expression melted into a frown.
“First off, I didn’t know you were a...” His lips curled as if he tasted something unpleasant. “...Genie.”
Lowering his head to his folded paws, Kyuubi let his ears lower slightly. “That’s your own fault, then.” He gazed at the man with one blue eye. “What on earth possessed you to release a power you knew absolutely nothing about?”
Sasuke’s eyes lowered at that, and the man began to glare at the floor. Kyuubi shifted his tails in curiosity. “Well?”
Scowling, the man looked back up at him. “It’s none of your business.”
“Whatever.” Kyuubi rolled his eyes. Typical Uchiha. Closing his eyes, he ignored the man as he ground his teeth for a moment, then turned to storm out of the room. Seconds later, the front door slammed again.
The fox’s ears twitched as he listened to his master stomp down the street. Huffing with annoyance, he rose to his feet.
“Goddamn stubborn Uchihas, making me follow them everywhere.” He sent a mild glare at the gold band about his tail as it twanged painfully. “I’m going, I’m going. Sheesh.”
Dropping to the floor, he marched to the front door. When increasing his size and twisting the knob with his paw yielded nothing, he scowled. Well, at least it’s only slightlyagainst the rules... The fox straightened his tails, focused a tendril of chakra at the lock, and smiled when the mechanism sprang open. The demon pranced through the open doorway, knocking the door shut with a tail as he passed.
Now to find my wayward “master.”
Perching in a tree on the outskirts of the village, Sasuke took out a scroll and stared blindly at it. Against his will, his mind kept circling back to the little mistake in his living room. Why the hell was Itachi after it? If the little red rat is so powerful, why hasn’t he shown it? The raven-haired man frowned. When I released him, the power he threw at me was...monstrous.
He absentmindedly rolled the scroll back up, staring off into the lightly waving branches. Is all that really under my control?
Creeeeeak...
Stilling, the Uchiha listened carefully to the tree behind him. Nothing further presented itself, and the man began to relax. It must have been my imagin-
CREEEEAK...
Sasuke held his breath as the branch beneath him began to dip with his weight. The straining wood quivered beneath him. Swallowing carefully, he reached out with one hand to grasp a nearby branch.
SNAP!
Grunting, Sasuke leapt onto the next branch over and watched as the first plummeted to the ground. He frowned. That branch wasn’t that old...
SNAP!
Without warning, the branch he crouched upon freed itself from the tree as well. Blessing his skills, he glued himself sideways upon the trunk. Red Sharingan eyes followed the tumbling branch, narrowing when it smashed into hundreds of pieces as it met the distant forest floor. Scowling, Sasuke scanned the trees around him.
Is someone doing this deliberately?
Sasuke didn’t have time to react before a limb above him broke incompletely, swinging down and tangling with a lower branch as it pinned him to the trunk. Growling with frustration, Sasuke pushed at the limb in vain, but he froze when the trunk itself began to move.
You’re kidding me...
Despite mental assertions to the contrary, the Uchiha felt the base of the tremendous tree give way. Red eyes flew wide as the ground leapt up at him. Dammit! Grunting, he shoved at the tree limb pinning him, only to have it refuse to budge an inch. He held his breath as the tree toppled, pushing desperately only moments before he made contact.
The branch gave.
With a shout, Sasuke threw himself away from the tree and rolled as he hit the ground. The colossal plant landed with a heavy clap of thunder, kicking up a cloud of dirt and splintered wood. Sasuke stared at the toppled tree for a moment before rolling to his feet and slipping a kunai into his hand.
If that branch hadn’t given out, I would’ve been crushed! Scowling, Sasuke resumed his scan of the forest.If someone’s out to kill me, then-
“MAAAAAASTEEEEEEEER!”
The Uchiha cringed instinctively at the squeal. Before he had time to turn around, a solid weight barreled into his back, knocking him heavily to the ground. Snarling, he rolled over and glared at the fox that shifted to remain atop him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Sasuke did not appreciate the sunny smile the fox beamed down upon him. Nine tails batted playfully at his legs.
“Why, I’m simply showering my erstwhile master with affection. Isn’t that allowed?” Kyuubi’s words couldn’t have been more sugary sweet if he tried. Sasuke didn’t buy it for a minute.
“Bullshit. You’re just doing this to piss me off.”
“Awww.” The fox gave him a pair of gooey blue eyes. “You’re so cute when you’re mad.”
“GET OFF!”
“Ooo, I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.” Kyuubi’s wriggling eyebrows turned Sasuke’s stomach. Wincing, he pushed the red rat off his stomach.
“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”
“You just did.”
Sasuke scowled. “Shut up.” Rising to his feet, he brushed irritably at his clothes and glared at the fallen tree before him. Glaring at the overly innocent-looking fox, he jabbed a finger at the tree. “Since you claim you’re useful, did you see anyone in the forest who could have done this?”
Kyuubi blinked at him, then at the tree. “No...” After a moment, the fox gave him a strange look. “You’re telling me that you were on that thing when it fell? You must be heavier than you look.”
“Ha. Ha.” Folding his arms, Sasuke glowered at the tree. That couldn’t have happened by accident. Someone had to have caused it. “So you really are useless.”
The fox heaved a weary sigh. “What, exactly, do you want me to do? I can’t exactly be useful if you don’t give me anything to do.”
True. Sasuke frowned lightly at Kyuubi, pondering the demon’s words. It suddenly occurred to him that his brother must have wanted to free him for a specific purpose. If he could figure out what that was...
“Tell me,” he commanded, “what do you think my brother wanted with you?”
Kyuubi tilted his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. “Your brother?”
“Itachi.” The Uchiha waited as the silence between them stretched. “Well?”
Blinking rapidly, the fox’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean you actually think that I know who your siblings are? Sweetcakes, I’ve been locked up in that box for one hundred and fifty years. Do you really think I’m going to be up-to-date on your miserable family?”
Or lack thereof. “If you know how long you’ve been locked away, you had to have some idea of what’s going on in the outside world,” he pointed out irritably.
Kyuubi fell silent for a long moment. “Well...” he replied slowly. “I did notice that the number of you dropped drastically rather recently...”
Snorting despite himself, Sasuke turned away. “Not that recently.” Thirteen years...
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a demon. Our senses of time are a little different,” Kyuubi replied dryly.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Sasuke realized abruptly. He glared at the fox. “What was he planning to do with you?”
“I don’t know.”
Wait...he answers things literally. “Do you have an idea of what he was going to do?”
Eyes glancing away, the fox shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe.” Kyuubi looked unsettled by the smug smile that Sasuke let grace his lips.
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” The fox affected an innocent look. Sasuke shook his head.
“Tell me what you think Itachi was going to use you for.”
Frowning uncertainly, Kyuubi gazed up at him. “Well...it could be any number of things, really...”
Growing impatient, Sasuke began tapping his foot. “Like?”
“Well...he might have just wanted me for a familiar.”
Instead of pressing for more information when the demon fell silent, Sasuke lifted an eyebrow and waited. Kyuubi simply pressed his oddly expressive lips together. After a mild staring contest, Sasuke frowned.
“And? What else?”
An innocent blink.
“Dammit, do you have to be this annoying?” Sasuke finally snapped. Kyuubi smiled.
“Of course. It’s in the job description.”
“Oh? What else is in the job description?” he challenged. The fox hesitated for a brief moment.
“Why, serving your glorious self as well as my humble self is able,” the demon replied in a sugary tone. Sasuke lifted an eyebrow.
“Is that so...” If he’s telling the truth, then... “So, in other words, you have to do whatever I tell you?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” the fox grumbled. A sense of triumph surging through him, Sasuke smirked.
“So if I told you to sit on your head for three hours, would you do it?”
Scowling, the fox turned his back on Sasuke. “No, I wouldn’t.”
The Uchiha frowned. “But-”
“Shh!” Stilling abruptly, the fox stared into the darkened forest. Sasuke frowned at the dumb rat’s back as it tensed. If he thinks he’s going to play me for a fool, he’s got another-
“Someone’s coming,” Kyuubi stated softly, hunching his back. His tails began swishing furiously. “We should leave.”
When a feeling of dread stole over him, Sasuke shook his head. “It’s probably just someone from the vill-”
“It’s not. We need to leave. Now.” The fox turned around, eyes burning red. “It’s not safe here.”
What the... Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke stared into the depths of the forest. He search brought up nothing, but the same sense of dread swept over him again. Nodding sharply, he turned and raced back towards the heart of the village. With each step he took, Kyuubi glanced warily behind them. A calm wind blew towards them, carrying the faint scent of powder. Explosives?
Grimly, Sasuke turned to head towards the Hokage Tower. This can’t be good.
Link to Part II