Naruto 1. Mage Findings

Mothers and Magic

CH 1: Mage Findings

Xyrenia Kolfox walked through the brambles and tangles outside the abandoned castle that she had claimed as her shelter for the time being and sighed gustily. It had been nearly two years since she had left Greetal, the capital of her home nation of Hemnala, and turned her back on the ridiculous war that her king had gotten the kingdom into. Despite being a black level mage normally, she hated killing, though she didn't mind violence and in fact often would go to battles merely to fight. It had the amusing side effect of greatly annoying the prince, one of her arch enemies, something awful, a fact that amused both her and the king to no end. Still, being on the run from royal patrols was a tiring and lonely existence; she hadn't had true human contact for nearly as long as she'd been on the run. Sure, the animals that she had run into had been cordial for the most part, but it was different from talking to a human who could understand human things. Her only constant companion besides loneliness was Aolani, her hawk familiar.

"Well Aolani, what are we going to do now?"

_"Do you think that the spoiled brat has found us?"_

Xyrenia smiled slightly at the name Aolani had bestowed upon the arrogant prince, her dark blue lips tilting slightly with the unfamiliar maneuver.

"No, not yet, but I have no doubt that he will find us soon."

_"Then what do you think we should do?"_

Xyrenia sighed again and shrugged, not bothering to waste anymore breath. She turned back from the path she was on, ready to head back to the castle, when a surge in Nature energy around her caused her to stumble, her wide eyes focusing instantly on a section of forest not far from her current position.

"What on Earth...?"

It took no effort for Xyrenia to vanish from her position in the woods toward the anomaly, she was the most powerful mage in the world, super speed was nothing.

The sight that greeted the two magical creatures was confusing and angering to say the least. On the ground in a clearing was a small boy, though Xyrenia couldn't tell far beyond that due to the child's condition. His short hair was matted to his head with blood pouring from a large gash that showed Xyrenia his skull and his face was obscured by weeks worth of filth in addition to blood. He was emaciated and looked more tired then even the old war horses that Xyrenia had treated in Greetal and on the battlefield, that tired look that creatures get when the world had given them nothing but hardships and pain. She knew then that without a doubt the boy's eyes would hold much pain.

"What? A child?"

_"The boy is badly hurt. He probably will not survive."_

"I can see that Aolani. _Sight of Horus._"

Xyrenia's eyes turned hawk yellow and she looked at the boy with eyes to see the soul. She was shocked at the state of the soul.

It was totally pure.

As damaged as the boy was, and she could tell that the abuse that had led him to her world was long-term, his soul was unstained by hatred or depression. His soul was still bright, though she could see that there was something darker tethered to it. She had seen things like that before, when evil men tied beastial souls to their men in order to grant them the powers of beasts. She could tell though that this beast couldn't influence the boy yet, not much anyway through the 

thin cord of power connecting them. She could see that his wounds were beginning to heal in correspondence to the increased amount of red energy coming from the second soul. She quickly made her decision and knelt by the boy's side, gathered him up into her arms and cradled the child in her arms. She smiled at her familiar, a brighter smile than any she'd had in years.

"Come Aolani, it's time to bring my son home."


	2. Before

CH 2: Before

It was a beautiful October morning in the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the village was decked out to the nines. Banners and streamers and paper lanterns were hung beside ribbons and flyers made to remember the dead. It was the morning of the Kyuubi Festival, the day that the village celebrated the life of the Fourth, their greatest Hokage, and the night that they celebrated his defeat of the dire beast Kyuubi: the nine tailed fox lord. Contrary to what the most recent generation thought, the Kyuubi was not killed by the Hokage, it was sealed away into the only thing that could hold its immense power. A child. That child, blond-haired and blue-eyed, was currently being chased by a large group of civilians and low-level ninja, all of whom wanted the boy dead. They didn't understand the difference between the prisoner and the prison. However, very few people in the village liked the boy because all of them hated the fox, even those people who should know better. The boy turned sharply, running into an alley that he knew would lead past the Ichiraiku ramen stand and toward the Hokage tower.

This boy was Uzumaki Naruto.

He was the unfortunate son of the Fourth Hokage, whom the kind man had sacrificed to save his village, depending upon them to treat his son as the hero that he was. They didn't and Naruto paid for it with beatings and numerous near-death experiences. Somehow though, this one seemed to him to be the worst.

"Kill the demon!"

"Get the little brat!"

"Get back here Uzumaki!"

So the boy ran in an effort not to get killed on his birthday. He exited the alley, but ran head-long into a large group of civilians, who took great pleasure in grabbing him and holding him still for 

the mob chasing him to catch up. The taunts and name calling continued as they beat the small boy, stabbed him with kunai and hit him with clubs. An ANBU who came upon the scene decided to join in and stabbed the boy in the gut with his katana while one of the civilians slammed his head into the concrete sidewalk where the beating was taking place. Unbeknownst to them, a group of children had heard the commotion from the park that they were playing in and were watching this happen, horrified. They watched as a boy that they all knew to be kind, gentle and protective of the girls, was beaten by adults that their parents thought highly of and even some of their own parents. Haruno Sakura couldn't believe that her parents were in the mob, nor could Nara Shikamaru and Akimchi Chouji believe that their older cousins were taking part in this...travesty. The boy cried out and sobbed, but no one cared to listen and finally, with a split scalp and a massive amount of blood lost the boy lost consciousness. A jounin stepped back and drew his weapon, a naginata that he kept in a scroll, and swiped at the child just as the parents of the children watching in horror arrived. They were all too slow to aid the child and joined their kids in being an unwilling audience. It was then that something amazing happened. Naruto's body was covered by a thick layer of malevolent red chakra, which slowly combined with his own sapphire blue chakra. They combined and turned black before exploding, taking the child away to a place where he would grow into one of the most powerful and compassionate creatures to ever exist.

Naruto woke slowly, but realized almost instantly that he didn't know where he was. The sheets he was on and under were the softest he'd ever felt and the bed too comfortable. Then there was the scent. There was no antiseptic in the air, which meant he wasn't in the hospital, and no tobacco, which left out the Hokage's office.

"I see that you're awake _Bach Cadno_. Good, I was worried there for a while."

The child's head whipped around to look at the originator of the voice and could only stare at the strange looking woman standing in the doorway. She was tall, nearly six feet, if not that, and was one of the most beautiful, if odd-looking, women that Naruto had ever had the pleasure of seeing. Her hair was hip-length, tied up into a high braid and silver. Not silver in color, _silver_. Naruto could see the individual wires that made up her hair. Her skin was pale nearly to the point of being white and her eyes were the clearest and most frightening shade of green that the child had ever imagined. Her lips were perfect, save that they were dark blue and from her ears dangled two earrings in each lobe, one was a bright yellow stone cut in the shape of an arrowhead and the other was a bright feather dangling nearly to her shoulders. Her eyes, cold as they seemed, were exceptionally warm when they met Naruto's and the little fox was instantly put at ease. Then what she said caught up to him and he looked at her, now confused.

"_Bach Cadno_? What does that mean nee-chan?"

Xyrenia smiled.

"It means 'little fox'. Now what is...nee-chan?"

"It means big sister...or something. I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"I am Xyrenia. Now, would you mind telling me what caused you to be so injured?"

The mage was distressed when the little boy that she had come to care for in the few moments he'd been awake, suddenly shut down. His bright eyes, the purest blue that Xyrenia had ever seen, dulled and darkened and she could practically see his soul curling into a fetal position, as if to protect itself. She had turned her sight to soul sight when she'd come into the room, a make-shift hospital in the dilapidated castle that she called home when she was in this part of the world, and was awed at the pure sapphire of the child's soul. Now that soul was becoming tinged with the gray of sorrow and loss and it disturbed the usually unflappable mage.

"I don't know. The villagers all hate me, except for Hokage-jiji and the Old Man at the ramen stand. All the others hurt me and call me things."

Xyrenia sat on the child's bed and leaned a bit closer.

"Things like?"

"Demon. Monster fox, things like that. But I don't know WHY!"

Xyrenia rocked back on her heels and once again looked at the chain linking the boy's soul to the other, bestial soul. The chain was four years old, the same age as the boy's soul. Xyrenia could feel the rage building in her gut, the burning fire that she would normally allow to flow around her in tongues of black fire that could burn anything in existence. However, this time she had a child to worry about and the last thing she wanted to do was scare the poor thing. So she suppressed the fire threatening to overwhelm her and calmed herself through a sheer act of will before looking at Naruto with as much love as she could manage.

"Child I can see your soul and I can assure you with absolute certainty that you are no monster. You are a child with the brightest soul I have ever seen a human posses. Now, you said that your name is Uzumaki?"

"No, my name is Naruto."

It took Xyrenia a few heartbeats to realize that his culture was obviously different from hers. Family names first apparently.

"Alright, Naruto then. I think I will still call you _Bach Cadno_. It suits you. Now then, what shall I do with you?"

"What do you mean? Where are we?"

"Well _Bach Cadno_ you are in what I believe to be an alternate dimension for you. You see there are thousands of dimensions and realities that exist, but it is rare and difficult to pass between them. It seems that your…tenant…was concerned for you and thus used a lot of his power to send you here."

"Tenant? What…what are you talking about?"

Xyrenia couldn't believe that they'd done something so heinous to the child and hadn't told him anything about it. Looking into his eyes she could see that he definitely knew nothing about the fox-beast that was locked inside him.

That just made Xyrenia more inclined to kill everyone in the boy's home world.

"_Bach Cadno_, you have a soul attached to yours. It is bonded to your soul, though it has no effect on it. The most that the creature attached to you can do is give you some of its power and probably talk to you eventually, but right now the bond is too small. It has obviously been healing you for your entire life at the very least…do you know of any fox-creatures from you world…maybe there is something that you remember…"

Naruto looked very pensive for a minute before horror took over his face.

"Kyuubi no kitsune. It has to be…"

"Kyuubi no kitsune? What is that?"

"The nine-tailed fox demon. He attacked on my birthday…I thought…I thought that that was why everyone hated me. That because I was born on the day that so many of their friends and family died that…they hated me because I _lived_. I guess not huh?"

The child's depression was seriously getting to Xyrenia and she decided that following her instincts on this would be best. She grabbed the child into a tight hug and held his head to her chest.

"You listen to me. They were in the wrong, not you. _They_ treated you badly. _They_ made the conscious decision to treat you like shit even though they _knew better_. You are not to blame for anything, do you understand me?"

Tiny tongues of black fire began to flicker along Xyrenia's hair and down to the floor; it was an awe-inspiring sight for Naruto to see the anger that the woman showed on his behalf. She was even more beautiful in his opinion.

"O-okay Xyrenia-kaasan."

"Kaa-san? Okay, what does that one mean?"

Naruto looked at the mage, nervous as her fires dies slowly and she looked at him curiously.

"Um…kaa-san means mom. I won't call you that if you don't want me to though! I'm sorry!"

Xyrenia looked at the boy in shock that anyone would want to call _her_ mother, but that gave way to affection and amusement as the child started to panic.

"I don't mind, you may call me what you'd like."

Naruto instantly brightened.

"Okay Kaa-san!"

Xyrenia laughed, something she hadn't done without an insane edge in years, and ruffled the child's hair affectionately.

"Okay now _Bach Cadno_, I am going to begin your training soon, but first we're going to take a trip into your mind to see your tenant."

The child looked very, very worried.

"Is that safe Kaa-san?"

"I assure you, there is nothing to fear from the beast inside you."


	3. Fox

Chapter 3: Fox

Xyrenia could not believe the fact that her new son's mind was fashioned after a sewer. She was almost knee-deep in water and surrounded by dilapidated black brick. It was dark and dank and didn't match her child at all. She glanced at the child at her side and raised a brow.

"We will be changing this as soon as possible."

She didn't wait to see his reaction, just kept moving forward toward the mass of red energy at the end of this particular pipe. There were other pipes that she could see along the wall on both sides, the right side had red pipes that were obviously straining with how much energy was trying to get through too-small pipes; the other side had beautiful jewel blue pipes that fairly glowed with the sapphire blue energy that defined her little boy. It truly was a beautiful sight and she could see a third set of thin pipes on the ceiling. These were the child's mage abilities and they were far inferior to his energy abilities, but she could easily get him up to at least violet level, maybe even aqua. She would make him strong in mind, body and soul and no one would ever be able to break her son no matter what they tried. She led the child to the end of the pipe and there before them was a large cage.

"Dire-beast, are you there?"

**"Where else would I be mage?"**

The creature behind the cage shifted and Naruto's eyes widened in awe as the Kyuubi walked into the dim light. The fox was huge, much larger than any book could make him, and his tails waved behind him like nine shadows. All in all the creature frightened the small child, but he 

was not known for letting anything keep him down for long and Xyrenia watched in amusement as her son straightened his spine and glared at the dire-beast.

"So, you are the beast that has been…sealed…in my son?"

**"Your son? This child is not the child of a mage; he is the child of a ninja."**

"Ninja? Whatever, since the moment he woke in _my_ world he has been my son and I will treat him as such. Now, perhaps we can come up with an agreement."

**"No need mage. I am no happier with the kit's treatment than you are. I will happily aide in the kit's training."**

Xyrenia nodded and smiled down at the child, who looked like he wanted to say something.

"Do you have something to add _Bach Cadno_?"

The Kyuubi looked down at the little human that contained him and grinned a foxy grin that matched Naruto's. Naruto looked up at the creature and cocked his head, looking more like a fox kit than normal.

"Do you like it there? I don't see how you can…you want me to change some stuff?"

The fox looked more surprised than anyone Xyrenia had ever seen, and she had seen quite a few surprised looks.

**"You would…change things? For me?"** Naruto nodded, his childish smile breaking a bit more of the ice that had gathered on the Kyuubi's heart.

"Yeah. I mean, you didn't want to be sealed in me, though I would like to know why you attacked Konoha, but…well we're both victims of circ…cir…um…"

"Circumstance, little one?"

"Yeah!"

The Kyuubi shook its great head, wondering about his little vessel, and grinned.

**"I will tell you why I attacked the Leaf village before I allow you to change the landscape. Is that satisfactory to the two of you?"**

Xyrenia nodded and Naruto, seeing his new mother was happy with the arrangement, also nodded.

**"Very well. ** **Four years ago my mate Irica was with kit. She was always rather fragile, so when she became with kit she had to stay in the den, which meant that she couldn't hunt for herself. I was only too happy to hunt for her and was on one of these hunting trips when eight ninja came into our den and killed her. I got back to the den just as they were ready to leave and all of them bore the sharingan eye, the eye that I had gifted the Uchiha clan long ago. I was furious at such a slight, that they would use my own gift against my mate…I…I lost control. I…Irica was my…my soul mate. Losing her was like…like…"**

"Like someone tore out your heart and lungs and replaced them with razor wire?"

**"Precisely. It was the most painful thing that had ever happened to me. So I went after the nins, I chased them through Hi no Kuni until they went through the gates of Konoha and the other ninja started attacking me. The rest, as they say, is history."**

Xyrenia and Kyuubi both waited ad watched Naruto, wondering what his reaction would be.

They needn't have worried.

"Those two-faced, jutsu stealing bastards!"

Both the Kyuubi and Xyrenia were shocked at the vehement reaction, but Xyrenia was proud that her son could see that sometimes the blame of certain actions wasn't with the perpetrator of those actions.

"Don't worry about it _Bach Cadno_. We'll deal with that later, but for now we need to get this thing between the two of you settled."


	4. Back to the Beginning

Chapter 4: Back to the Beginning

_Eight Years Later_

Two figures made their way toward the great gates of Konohagakure at a sedate pace that belied the excitement teeming through both. The taller of the two was a woman with long silver hair and cold green eyes that were solid as steel. She had a delicate face, but had the oddity of dark blue lips and a feral smirk that showed slightly too long canines. She was wearing a full length cloak bordered in green and red that covered her black leather pants and green leather vest that showed a strip of pale skin through the laces that brought the two halves together on her centerline. Her hair was tied high and fell in a braid that touched the backs of her knees with every step. She had strange, chevron shaped bits of metal attached to her body in various places, all in line with one another, but seeming to curl up and around her body. There was what looked like the hilt of a sword on her right shoulder, held there by a clip that was embedded in the leather vest. On her other shoulder was a beautiful hawk with golden brown feathers and a crest of crimson. The bird's eyes were wild, though it was obvious that she was as tame as a wild bird could ever be. The figure beside her was shorter by quite a bit, though he was of average height for his age, and had wild blonde hair that fell around his face and head in uncontrollable spikes. His bright, sky blue eyes were full of happiness, but there was a hint of darkness seen that any ninja, any warrior, would recognize as the sadness of having made that crucial first kill. The boy also wore a full length cloak bordered in violet and blue that covered his own choice of attire; dark blue leather pants, a white long-sleeved shirt covered with a dark blue leather vest that, like his mother's, laced up the front at the centerline. He had a bo staff placed across his back and a pair of knives attached to his waist, though they were more like short swords than anything else. Hidden in his soft leather travelling boots were another pair of knives and a pair of tonfa waited 

for use in what his mother called 'mage space'. On his shoulder sat a small serpent, though that wasn't precisely what the little creature was. This was a dragon in the form of a serpent, a form that was easiest for the large creature to take as that is their closest mundane relative, though they could also take the form of a great bird, thought being a giant bird would bring almost as much trouble as being a giant dragon. So serpent form it was. The serpent was bright blue with violet diamonds going from nose to tail and she was also almost insultingly intelligent, though she never showed it unless she had to. All told the two looked intimidating just walking down the road toward destiny.

"Halt! State your reasons for coming to Konohagakure."

Xyrenia's smirk widened as Naruto laughed.

"Wow, I didn't think I looked that different Ko-niisan!"

The guard, a chuunin by the name of Kotetsu, looked closely at the boy and jolted in surprise when he finally noticed the very light whisker marks that decorated his face.

"Na-Naruto?!"

The chuunin's partner Izumo jolted as well and looked at the boy even closer and he too saw the marks.

"Whoa, kid we thought they'd finally managed to kill you. Where've you been?"

"Oh, here and there. Hey, let me introduce you to my kaa-san. Kaa-san, these are two of the guys who would play with me when I was here, Ko-niisan and Izu-niisan. Ko-niisan, Izu-niisan, this is kaa-san."

Xyrenia smiled down at the boy before turning the smile to the two guards.

"Greetings, I am Xyrenia. _Bach Cadno_ tends to forget that I have a name."

The two guards returned the smile and introduced themselves properly, bowing slightly to the woman before them.

"I'm Kotetsu and this is my friend Izumo, a pleasure to meet you, but we thought that Naruto was an orphan."

"He was. I adopted him."

The two chuunin nodded and smiled down at Naruto. Izumo was the one to speak this time.

"So I presume you want to go see Hokage-sama?"

Naruto nodded happily and the two chuunin moved aside to allow them entrance, Izumo following the two closely.

"I'll escort you two to make sure nothing happens."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about anything happening to my son. The first person who tries something will get a…unpleasant surprise."

Somehow, Izumo did not like the predatory look on Xyrenia's face, nor the look that entered the hawk's eyes at that statement. He hoped that no one did anything foolish when they realized that Naruto was back, or else he worried that they would all find out that Xyrenia was not a mother to mess with.

It didn't take the trio long to reach the Hokage Tower, and when they did it was quite a trek to the top where the Hokage's office was, but Izumo was surprised to see that neither Xyrenia nor Naruto were winded in the least, both were still absolutely fresh. The ANBU guarding the Hokage's office nodded to Izumo and the chuunin knocked on the office door, only opening it when an aged voice from the other side confirmed that it was okay to.

"Hokage-sama, there's someone here who would like to see you."

The old man behind the desk sighed, once again missing the boy that he thought of as a grandchild. Naruto was always his little ball of sunshine that could brighten up even the worst of days, but ever since the child had disappeared the days had become dull.

"Go ahead and let them in Izumo-san."

The chuunin nodded and smiled a bit mischievously as he moved aside and let a very familiar ball of sunshine bounce through the door, over the desk and barrel into the Hokage's chest.

"Ji-san!"

Naruto glomped onto the Hokage and clutched the man tightly, not wanting to ever let go again as Xyrenia walked into the office at a more sedate pace and smiled at her son's antics.

"Naruto, I think that the Hokage would like to breathe sometime soon."

The Hokage looked at the boy in his chest in wonder. He knew that it was Naruto because no one else could ever be that happy and bright, but it begged the question of where the child had been for all these years.

"Naruto?"

"He he, yeah Ji-san, I'm back and I brought some people with me."

Sarutobi looked at the woman standing across the desk from him and Naruto and the hawk perched on her shoulder. He also noticed the small serpent on Naruto's shoulder and sighed with a smile that hadn't been seen since Naruto's disappearance.

"Well, sit down Naruto-kun and tell me what has happened, but first can you introduce the woman?"

"Yeah! Hokage-jisan, this is Xyrenia-kaasan. Kaa-san, this is Hokage-jisan."

"It is an honor and a pleasure to meet someone that my little one sees as family."

The Hokage smiled and nodded in return as Naruto continued his introductions.

"That on kaa-san's shoulder is Aolani-obachan and this on my shoulder is Benihime, she's my familiar and partner as Aolani is kaa-san's."

The Hokage was shocked when Aolani and Benihime both bowed their heads to him. Only his ninja teachings managed to prevent him from showing his shock.

"Well, it is nice to meet all of you. Now Naruto, what have you been up to these past eight years? What do you plan to do now?"

Xyrenia held up a hand as Naruto was beginning to speak, quieting the boy instantly, which caused Sarutobi to look at the boy and his mother in surprise at Naruto's obedience.

"I have trained my son for the past eight years, in what I will leave to Naruto to show when it is necessary. As for what we will do…well _Bach Cadno_ is hell-bent on becoming a shinobi. As for myself, I supposed I will take up a trade. The only thing I must ask you for is a plot of land to build a home."

"How large a plot?"

"One large enough to build on continuously for a while; we plan to create a new clan within this village that will continue to grow for generations, we hope."

The Hokage was happy with that and called for his secretary to get him a listing of all available properties within the walls of the village. He watched Xyrenia go through the properties looking for just the right one while he spoke to Naruto.

"So, Naruto-kun, what have you been up to these past years?"

"Well jiji, we've been training. Kaa-san has been training me in manipulating mage energies, but I've reached my plateau. I can't get any more powerful in the energies then what I've already done, so kaa-san and Sanjii-san have started my training in chakra."

"Okay, who is Sanjii?"

Naruto was nervous at this question, not really wanting to answer it, but knowing that he had no choice.

"Um…you call him Kyuubi."

"WHAT?"


	5. Academy Daze

Chapter Five: Academy Daze

Naruto stared at the building before him, dread slowly making its way up his spine and tightened his grip on Xyrenia's hand. He'd never really dealt with kids his age before, so it was to be a novel experience.

"Now _Bach Cadno_, don't forget what I told you about socializing. Don't get into any fights that you can avoid and be kind to everyone, right?"

"Right kaa-san!"

Xyrenia smiled at the boy and nudged him toward the school, watching as he stumbled slightly before regaining his feet and hurrying off to join his classmates. Xyrenia noticed that she was being surrounded, but kept her body loose and seemingly unaffected as she waited for the people around her to tell her what they wanted.

"Was that the demon boy?"

Xyrenia glared at the foolish woman.

"That was my son, Uzumaki Naruto. What's it to you?"

The woman, a tall, fairly attractive woman with pink hair and aqua eyes, seemed to grow uglier as her anger increased.

"That…_thing_…is a demon!"

Xyrenia clenched her fist, trying desperately to hold onto her legendary temper, she was accustomed to simply allowing her temper free reign and destroying whatever was making her angry, but she couldn't kill anyone on her first day in the village.

"That thing is my son. Have you a problem with that?"

The nins in the group and those listening in, including the Aburame, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi and Hyuuga clan heads, could hear the anger simmering in Xyrenia's voice and were 

very cautious. The Haruno council member didn't care that she was treading on thin ice, and the people around her didn't care either.

"That thing needs to be killed! He attacked our village, don't you know anything?"

If there was one thing that everyone in Xyrenia's home world knew it was that the only thing Xyrenia could not stand was people telling her that her son should die. The arch demon Livantor had learned this the hard way. Now, the Haruno would learn it as well.

Xyrenia's control of her temper snapped like the frayed rope that it was.

Tongues of black fire raced down her hair and body as her eyes glowed lightly as her nails broke skin and her very _blood_ burned violet. Even bound as they were, her powers would not allow for her son to be threatened.

"Now you listen to me you little _everal-kreeshall_, my son is not a demon nor is he a monster, he is my son and anyone who says otherwise will find out why I was once known as the Fifth Rider."

The malice in her voice was enough to convince the people surrounding her that the moniker was one that was threatening and that she was immensely proud of that fact. Haruno finally decided that she had pushed enough, having finally realized that the flames that wreathed the woman's body were not, in fact, a genjutsu. There truly was black fire racing down her hair and body to pool on the ground at her feet. Haruno decided that it would be a good idea to move on and leave Xyrenia alone.

ASTRICKSDONOTWORK

Naruto watched through the window as his mother lost her temper with the pink haired woman who was surely the mother of the pink-haired banshee screeching at the blonde banshee beside her.

"I won Ino-pig! I get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Shut up Forehead! I got here a step before you did!"

Naruto shook his head and muttered to himself, not realizing that just about everyone could hear him.

"By _Saliska_, they're louder than Greetalna, which I really didn't think was possible."

His mutterings attracted the attention of the students near him, most of whom had not even noticed the young mage-shinobi.

"Oi, who the hell are you?"

Naruto looked over at the feral-looking boy who had sat beside him and smiled at the sight of the puppy on his head. He'd always had a soft heart for animals, often losing his temper with the soldiers back home for injuring various creatures that he'd managed to connect with, so the sight of the puppy made him much more comfortable in the classroom.

"My name is Kolfox-Uzumaki Naruto. My mother and I just moved here."

"Cool, where?"

"We just bought the property between the Nara and Aburame complexes. Mom is gonna start building on it today."

"Really? Cool. I'm Inuzuka Kiba, that means that we live just on the other side of the Aburame complex from you guys!"

Naruto nodded slowly as he watched his mother nearly lose her temper through the window. He always thought her beautiful with the fires of hell wrapping around her body and down her hair; it gave her an exotic look that was unmatched by anything else he'd ever seen. He watched his mother storm away from the offensive woman and vanish with a swirl of hellfire before his attention is grabbed by the teacher walking into the room.

"Alright everyone...SHUT UP!"

Naruto's reaction was shocking to everyone in the room. He went rigid and threw a long handled knife at the teacher. The knife was black with a white handle with some type of etching from the tip to the hilt; an etching that looked like a great dragon entwined with a creature wholly unfamiliar to the class. Naruto blushed slightly when he realized that the yelling man wasn't his uncle.

"Oh, sorry. I'm a little paranoid about people yelling because of an…individual at home. Sorry again."

"That's fine, just try not to do it again…what's your name?"

"I'm Kolfox-Uzumaki Naruto, and you are?"

"Your teacher, I'm Umino Iruka."

Naruto could see the difference in his teacher after introducing himself and figured that he was one of the ones that hated the fox and transferred that hate to the container. Naruto remembered his past here in Konoha, but he didn't hate the ignorant villagers or the hateful shinobi that abounded because his mother had taught him about human nature. He knew that the people had lost a lot during the attack and they needed someone to blame for their losses and, as the container f the creature who took their loved ones, he was it. His mother had explained that they were ignorant and foolish for blaming him, but that there was little he could do to change their minds, so just being himself would make him a lot happier. His mother was the prime example of living life for oneself, as she lived in spite of the fact that the prince of their homeland had named her 'enemy number one' after declaring her a traitor. Of course the king didn't agree and used her as his top military advisor.

Naruto walked out of the academy and smiled slightly at the sight of his mother, standing between a man who resembled Shino and a woman who greatly resembled Kiba who had a one eared wolf at her feet. His mother was glaring poisonously at a woman who easily resembled the annoying banshee in his class and he knew that she was fairly angry, but not angry enough to kill her. He got closer as to hear what was making his mother angry again.

"If you threaten me again I'll have the council exile you and kill your son. You stay away from me and my daughter."

Naruto winced and felt Sanjii do the same.

**Oh hell, that wasn't the right thing for her to do.**

_I hear you Sanjii-neesan._

Naruto could see when his mother passed from just being angry to being just about enraged. She growled low in her throat and Naruto could see that she was nearly at the point of being angry enough to kill the idiot woman and thus decided to intervene.

"Kaa-san!"

Xyrenia dropped her anger in an instant and turned to her son, flinging a dagger at him as he approached with a slight grin on her face. The boy dodged the knife and threw one of his own at her, which she allowed to strike her in the biceps.

"Hello _Bach Cadno_. How was school?"

Xyrenia calmly pulled the dagger Naruto had thrown out of her arm and the wound quickly closed with a wisp of violet smoke.

"It was fine Kaa-san. I'm in Umino Iruka's class and it looks like it's gonna be boring."

"Yes well, it's information I'm sure you'll need at some point in time. Remember what I've told you? There's…"

"No such thing as useless information, I know."

"Right. Now then, did you make any friends?"

"I think so. This guy named Inuzuka Kiba seems pretty cool."

Xyrenia nodded and smirked at the boy, her dark blue lips quirked as her green eyes sparkled with malice. It wasn't the type of malice that particularly worried Naruto, just his mother's normal, run of the mill type of malice. It meant that she wasn't exactly in the mood to actually kill anyone, but maiming someone totally stupid would not be unwelcome. That also meant that his mother was going to do something that he was sure some people wouldn't like.

"You are going to help me set up intent wards."

Naruto was not happy about this.

"Intent wards? Aw man! I hate setting up wards, kaa-san."

"Who said I was asking if you wanted to help? Consider this training."

Naruto just shrugged, but it was obvious that he didn't want to be doing this. Xyrenia's smirk widened as some of the students and their parents came a bit closer to see what was going on.

"Okay kiddo, bleed."

With this, Xyrenia tossed a knife to the boy, who grabbed it out of the air and promptly tossed it back.

"No way! I bled last time, you do it!"

"Nope. I'm casting the ward. You have to supply the blood."

She tossed the knife back to Naruto and turned away to begin sketching the circle. Naruto groaned and brought the knife to his wrist, slashing it wide open and letting the blood flow down 

his arm and onto the dusty ground. He followed closely behind his mother as she sketched the circle that would supply the academy with protection should it ever be needed. The spectators were rather horrified at the sight, but Xyrenia just pumped mage energy into the circle until the whole thing began to glow, the blood glowing violet/blue and the circle itself glowing gold. It didn't take long before the glow died and the circle and blood vanished.

"Okay, let me see your arm."

The boy did as told and Xyrenia make short work of the injury, healing it within seconds before slapping Naruto upside the head.

"Itai! What was that for?"

"That was for whining so much."

Naruto just pouted while the little serpent that had been with him all day finally made herself known again by snickering slightly at her familiar's punishment. Naruto just shot the small snake a glare before following his mother home leaving new friends and classmates standing there gaping beside their parents.

ASTRICKSDONOTWORK

Things continued in much the same manner for the remainder of the academy year. Naruto made a few other friends, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji among them, and one kind-of friend in Uchiha Sasuke. His grades weren't the best in class since he was a bit behind them in chakra control and couldn't do a bunshin to save his life. He found that the only female in class that he could even stand was Hyuuga Hinata, as she was the only girl who didn't worship the Uchiha, but he was still too naïve to see that she, in fact, worshipped him. This was an endless source of amusement for his friends and his mother, who had met all the 'little kiddies' as she called them, at a party that the Inuzukas had thrown. Xyrenia had opened a weapons shop, 

where she also sold ornamental metal sculptures and gates and the business was fairly successful. Naruto was currently in the yard trying to get the bunshin down for the test the next day and it was not going very well at all. Xyrenia, on the other hand, had finally completed the scaffold that she needed so she could make Naruto go 'adventuring' with her, not that he knew that she was going to make him do it…that would come later. Xyrenia smiled as she thought about Naruto's reaction to their next 'adventure' and valiantly held in her laughter. She put down the piece of iron she was bending into a circle and took off her gloves, intent on going to the Aburame and Nara homes to warn them about her next endeavor, so they wouldn't worry when they saw her and Naruto hanging in the air. She let loose a small snicker, but quickly controlled herself and bid Naruto farewell, that she was going to do errands and not to wait to eat dinner. She ignored Aolani, who was laughing hysterically as only a hawk can.

ASTRICKSDONOTWORK

Naruto smiled as he walked into the classroom, confidant in his ability to pass the exam. He had hidden all of the abilities he'd learned from his mother and the others in their old home, but Xyrenia had granted him permission to use magic to do the bunshin, since he couldn't do it using chakra. It was cheating, but Xyrenia had never really been known for her adherence to rules and regulations anyway and had taught Naruto to be the same way, though he didn't find nearly as much amusement in stealing as his mother did. As he watched his classmates taking the exam and coming back with their hitei-ates, he thought about the parts of the test he'd already taken. The paper part was hard, but he knew he'd passed, the taijutsu portion he'd breezed through using one of the six styles his mother had taught him, the weapons part was a piece of cake and now it was just the ninjutsu part that he had to pass. When his name was called he went in and smiled at Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei. Over the year Iruka had warmed up to the 

blonde, not finding anything of the fox in him beyond the faint whisker marks after really getting to know him. Mizuki was another story all together. Naruto didn't trust the assistant teacher any father than a baby could throw him. The white-haired man reminded him too much of his uncle, who had been trying to imprison his mother for years and therefore the man would never gain Naruto's trust and respect.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"How many times do I have to say it Mizuki-_sensei_? It's Kolfox-Uzumaki Naruto."

"Whatever."

Naruto walked into the testing area and smiled at Iruka and the other teachers while cutting a calculating glance at Mizuki. Something was off about him today and Naruto didn't like it one bit.

"Okay Naruto, I need you to do Kawarimi, henge and make at least three bunshin."

Naruto nodded and quickly executed the first two before his concentration sharpened and he closed his eyes to do the bunshin. He gathered his magic slowly and then allowed it to form six shapes on either side of him, coalescing into six identical copies of himself. He finished the spell with the mental incantation of _Illira_, the spell word he'd learned. He sighed in relief that the plan worked, that the spell his mother had taught him the night before actually worked.

"Congratulations Naruto!"

Iruka proudly handed the boy his Konoha hiate-ate and watched as the boy fairly skipped out of the room and back to his friends.

Xyrenia smirked as she finally finished setting up the scaffold in the back yard. It rose over a hundred feet into the air and bore a platform at the very top where two lengths of cord waited, 

curled up into neat coils, for their job to be completed later that evening. She knew that Naruto would come straight home from the academy and she wanted everything to be ready for when he got home so she could do this with him.

"Kaa-san! I passed!"

Xyrenia smiled a true smile, which had started coming easier since Naruto had come into her life, and walked into the house.

"I'm proud of you _Bach Cadno_. Now, come outside and see what I have for you."

Naruto was ecstatic, he was so excited that the mischievous tone in his mother's voice didn't register, which never boded well for Naruto's sanity. The boy bounced outside and squeaked in shock as his mother grabbed him around the waist and hauled him over her shoulder.

"Kaa-san? What are you doing?"

"We're due for another 'adventure'."

The blood drained out of Naruto's face and he thrashed, trying to get out of his mother's grip before something terrible happened. Unfortunately he wasn't nearly strong enough and she was able to haul him over her shoulder and start the climb to the top of the scaffold.

"Aw, c'mon little one, it won't be so bad. I promise."

Naruto continued to protest, not knowing that his neighbors was about to get not only an ear-full but also an eye-full of something unbelievable.

BREAK

Note: I want to write a story that will be a Suigetsu/Naruto pairing, but I'm not sure how it will be received. If you would like me to start the story then please write so in your next review.


	6. Bungee and Teams

Chapter Six: Bungee and Teams

Shino smiled softly behind his high collar as his friends played with Akamaru in his front yard. He was very happy to have so many very good friends and could only credit the odd blond who had joined their class late. Uzumaki Naruto was a puzzle that Shino wanted to solve, but wasn't sure that he would be allowed to. He'd been drawn to the small blonde since he'd met him, but only truly began to feel it when he had witnessed the boy's kindness toward a caterpillar. The small insect had been resting on a leaf when Sakura had brushed by it, causing the caterpillar to fall onto her hair where Ino could clearly see it. Naruto had only just been able to save the little creature before the girls' panic could kill it. The Aburame had asked the blond why he had saved the little insect, and Naruto had answered that the caterpillar was a living thing and hadn't done anything to anyone to deserve being squished. Naruto had blushed at Shino's direct stare, but had maintained his happy smile. Shino's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a very familiar scream coming from next door.

"AHHH!!"

Naruto couldn't believe what his mother was doing and honestly believed that this proved his uncle's theory that she'd lost her mind. She was currently attaching a long length of rope to Naruto's ankles, a length already attached to hers.

"Now _Bach Cadno_, this is something that I discovered in my…misguided youth while dimension hopping. They called it Bungee jumping."

"Wh-what is Bungee jumping?"

"Basically you tie this elastic rope to your ankles and jump off something high off the ground. It really is quite fun."

Naruto just stared at his mother incredulously. The two of them had been on a lot of these so called 'adventures' and they were all of a life and/or limb threatening nature that made the blond doubt his mother's sanity, but they all ended up well for them through Naruto's uncanny luck with a lot of his mother's magic mixed in. This time though…Naruto truly feared for his life.

"Kaa-san…I don't think this is such a good idea!"

"Nonsense! C'mon, just jump. Here, I'll help!"

"No, no NOOO!!"

Xyrenia placed a delicate hand between her beloved son's shoulder blades and pushed, sending the boy hurtling off the scaffolding and out onto the cable that she'd run across the yard to the trees surrounding the house.

"AHHHH!!"

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Shino drew his family and friends to the front corner of the compound where they had a clear view of Naruto's backyard. They all watched in horror as the blond fell through space head first, his mother following quickly on his heels. No one saw the rope around their ankles until Naruto hit the limit of his and bounced back. They could hear Naruto cursing violently while his mother's musical laughter echoed beneath the irate voice.

"Kaa-san, that was not funny!"

"Oh child, that was hilarious."

"People do this for fun? Are they crazy or something?!"

"Nope, they're just adrenalin junkies like I am. Now calm down before your squirming causes the rope to snap."

Naruto froze and Xyrenia had a ball laughing at her son's expense yet again.

"Oh _Bach Cadno_, the rope is secure. It's not going to snap. C'mon, I'll get us down."

The guests of the Aburame watched and listened bemused as Naruto cursed at his mother while she activated the spell to lower the cable holding their ropes. She was still laughing as they touched down and Naruto collapsed on the ground. Xyrenia knew that he was not nearly the adrenalin junkie that she was, but she enjoyed scaring the living hell out of her son, so the 'adventures' would stay, no matter what Naruto said.

BREAKBREAKBREAK

The next day Naruto was still a bit shaken up, but he got to school alright and sat heavily at his desk, trying not to dwell on the amused look on Kiba's face as he sat down beside him. Shino took up a seat on Naruto's other side and the blond felt like Shino was also smiling at him. Naruto blushed ever so slightly at this. See, he had always been intrigued by his quiet friend and while he knew that his mother wouldn't care so long as he was happy, Naruto was leery of showing his intrigue. Xyrenia had always supported her son in everything he did (except for the time when he wanted to adopt a Gorlasch, but that was simply a matter of survival) and Naruto knew that so he knew that she wouldn't vilify him for liking his friend…

It was something that he would have to think about.

But for today his main concern was what team he would be on. He could only hope to avoid being on a team with Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, the two students that he couldn't stand at all. Both of them hated him and he hated them in return because he thought they were useless and they thought he was an idiot.

_Please don't put them on my team…please don't put them on my team…_

"Team seven…Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke-

"Yatta! True love wins out again!"

"Sakura! Sit down!"

"Eep."

"Anyway. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

_Dammit!_

Ж

Xyrenia watched as Naruto beat on a tree until his knuckles bled, then watched as they healed, and beat them bloody again. He kicked at the tree until his shin bones broke, waited for them to heal and broke them again. He was not happy at all with his team; Sasuke was alright, but their relationship was still sketchy. It was Sakura that he had a problem with. Not to say that Xyrenia didn't, but she knew that Naruto would have to become accustomed to working with people he may not like and that he would also have to keep a tight rein on his temper around the girl. It would not due for Naruto to lose control of his own power and accidentally take out three acres of forest and anything in it.


End file.
