Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I don't make any money with it, Kishimoto Masashi does.

Legend:

"Ordinary people talking"

"Ordinary people thinking"

"Demons/Summons"talking

Demons/Summons thinking

WARNING: None

Killing Perfection

by Godwolf Fenrir

Chapter 10: Morning after dark

Naruto did not go back to the hotel room for the entire night. Instead she sat upon the torii till the night gave way to a silver lining on the horizon. She knew that her team mates were probably searching for her by now. Turning every stone upside down in the process. It made no difference, she simply did not care at the moment, instead she continued starring blankly ahead.

It was ultimately not Sasuke and Sakura that found her, but an old Shinto priest from the nearby shrine. Naruto was so immersed into her thoughts that she didn't even heard him approach.

"Good morning, young Lady, may the kami bless you and yours."

Startled, Naruto shifted her gaze to look at the old man, standing below her. He leaned heavily on a knobby staff and was dressed in the traditionally garments of a kannushi, the high priest of a shrine. He starred up to her with kind brown eyes that shone with wisdom.

Naruto snorted, averting her gaze. "The kami left me a long time ago," she said bitterly.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Naruto saw him sigh. "Nevertheless are you here," the old man said, indicating their surrounding with a gesture of his hand.

Naruto wanted to disagree, but she could not. Without meaning to she had sought refugee at the entrance of a shrine.

"You must be hungry, child," said the priest, bringing Naruto out of her musing again. "Come down and share a meal with an old man and his pupils."

Naruto actually contemplated the offer. It would be very impolite not to accept the offer, not to say disrespectful. He only wanted to help, after all.

Sighing, Naruto jumped down, gracefully landing beside the priest.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Kannushi-sama, I would be honoured to dine with you and your pupils."

A pleased smile appeared on the old, wrinkled face. "Good, good!" He linked his arm with hers. "Now help an old man back up the stairs, will you?"

They slowly climbed the stairs in silence, the old man leaning heavily on her. On top of the stairs they encountered a few young novice cleaning the pavement with birch-brooms. They bowed respectfully when the Kannushi and Naruto walked past them.

"You have a lot of novice, Kannushi-sama," Naruto asked simply to break the silence that started to unnerve her.

The old man chuckled. "I do. They are my grandchildren."

"Oh."

They passed the Chōzuya, the fountain where visitors usually cleaned themselves before venturing further into the sanctuary. Beautiful tōrō, decorative stone lanterns, lined the way leading to the main hall.

Naruto eyed the shrine complex appreciatively when she suddenly spotted the two statues that always flanked the entrance to the main sanctuary. But it were not the more common Komainu, so-called lion dogs, that guarded the shrine. It were kitsune.

"This is an Inari shrine?" Naruto asked surprised.

The old kannushi looked bemused. "Yes, this shrine was build in honor of the principal kami Inari-sama." He smiled warmly at her. "This is also the Sōhonsha of Inari shrines, the 'head shrine' so to speak. That reminds me that I did not introduce myself, how rude of me. My name is Omoikane Yasahiro, kannushi of this shrine."

Naruto suddenly got a foreboding feeling as those brown eyes seemed to look straight into her soul. "And you, young Lady, who are you?""Yes," Naruto thought bitterly, "who am I?"

Prior to this mess she would have said that she was Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure no Sato, the girl that posed as a boy and carries the most powerful demon known to humankind.

But now?

Her life had come apart at the seams.

Revelations, life changing revelations, came blow upon blow.

She was not sure who she was anymore. A Senju, a Namikaze, an Uzumaki? Or maybe Kitsune, after her adoptive father? The only thing that went unchallenged was her first name, Naruto.

But that was not really appropriate either, it was a boys name after all.

Maybe Sesshomaru?

No, it was not really a name, more like a title. Given to her by others that did not know her one bit.

Naruto sighed defeated. "It's sad, really," Naruto answered after a long minute, "but I don't know. I thought I knew, but now I'm not so sure."

She looked at the old man and smiled sadly. "It does not really matter…"

The kannushi squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"Poor child, what have they done to you? A name is a very important thing, after all 'words have meaning and names have power'."

Naruto smiled thinly. "That may be so. But 'what's in a name? That which we call rose, by any other name would smell as sweet'," Naruto countered, quoting a play she had once read.

The kannushi smiled and inclined his head. "Controversial." The old man tucked gently at her arm. "Come, I want to show you something."

He led her from the main path, past a building that was probably his home, to a Japanese style and tile-capped garden wall. Naruto lifted a brow, but stepped nonetheless through the tile-roofed entry gate. Only to stop shortly after to stare wide eyed at the most beautiful garden she had ever laid eyes on. Stones were set into the ground and positioned to form a decorative walkway, leading past small to large stone arrangements, small waterfalls or decorative stone lanterns in many shapes and forms. Different kind of trees and bushes grew in the garden, forming a sensual creation who's calming nature took immediately effect. Large trees like the Japanese black pine or the Katsura tree formed the background for the smaller trees, including Crape myrtle, Sakura trees and Crab apple. Small bushes like the Japanese snowbell grew above a carpet of heathers, ferns and mosses. A medium sized pond located in the middle of the garden formed the centerpiece with a small island in the middle where a pavilion was build. A red arched moon bridge was the only thing that led to the island apart from a few stepping stones that led about halfway there.

"This is beautiful," Naruto breathed speechless. "Simply breathtaking."

Yasahiro smiled indulgently at her. "It is. And despite popular believe this is the real heart of the shrine. This garden never withers."

Naruto stared in amazement. It was common knowledge that the weather in Hi no Kuni was always mild, even in winter, but she never had heard of a garden that never withered. There were plants that were evergreen, of course, but most of the plants and trees she could identify were not. So how?

"It is truly blessed," Yasahiro concluded, still sporting that indulgent smile of his. "But that is not what I wanted to show you."

He led her nearer to the pond, stopping at the water's edge, in front of the stepping stones.

"After you," he said, indicating the stones. "It is quite save."

Naruto shrugged and stepped on the first stone, even thought she did not really see the point of this, after all the stoned suddenly ended after about halfway to the island. Wouldn't it be more productive if they simply took the bridge?

Sure, she could walk on water just fine, but still.

She heard a noise behind her and half turned only to see the old man chuckle. "You will understand soon, do not worry," he said, interpreting Narutos facial expression correctly. "Simply keep going."

Following his suggestion she reached the last stone and turned to the old man to get further instruction only to jump a little. Instead of waiting at the shore he had followed her and stood directly behind her.

"You should not do that you know," Naruto advised dryly. "Sneaking up to a shinobi is never a good idea, it could cost you your life."

"Dully noted," Yasahiro answered, the smile on his face never wavering. "Good thing you aren't armed then."

Narutos face fell and she froze, but only a moment. Faster than the untrained eye could follow, she reached for her weapon pouch, only to grab air.

Her eyes widened. Were the HELL were her weapons! All of a sudden she felt almost naked.

"What-"

"Do not worry, child," the kannushi said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "Your weapons wait for you at the entrance of this sanctuary. You can collect them later. I think," he added as an afterthought.

Naruto stared at him some more, unable to process his words. Then she blinked a few times. How the HELL had he gotten at her weapons without her noticing?

Loud she only breathed, "How?"

Yasahiro chuckled. "I told you that this garden was blessed, did I not? No one shall enter here while carrying an object of potential harm. Inari-sama does not allow it." He looked up at the sky a nearly mischievous expression on his wrinkled face. "Legend has it that Inari-samas celestial kitsune steal all the weapons and only if they like you, they will give them back."

"Oh," Naruto made, appeased for the moment. "Well, then lets hope that they actually like me, because I really need that pouch and its contend, including the weapons."

Yasahiro looked away from the sky and opted to look at Naruto instead. Still smiling as if he knew some secret that she didn't. "I'm sure they will give it back to you in due time."

He pointed at the water using his staff as an extension for his arm. "For now you should kneel down and look into the water."

Naruto was almost tempted to ask why, but thought better of it. She'd only get a nondescript answer anyway.

Doing as she was told, Naruto kneeled down and starred into the clear blue water. After a minute she got tired of watching, well, nothing, and said as much.

"I don't see anything."

"Are you sure?

"Yes," Naruto affirmed impatiently. "There's just my reflection."

Even thought she could not see it, she practically felt his smile.

"Look harder."

"If I would know what I was looking for, then maybe I'd actually see it."

The kannushi sighed deeply, before speaking again, this time his voice held a serious undertone. "You have lost yourself, child. You have forgotten who you are."

"That's ridiculous! I know perfectly well who I am, I…I'm simply not who I used to be," Naruto finally admitted. "Everything changed so suddenly."

"And amidst the change, the deceptions and lies you lost sight of who you were supposed to be."

"Maybe."

"Look again, child," he encouraged. "Look harder."

Sighing, Naruto did as instructed. She stared into the water and her reflection stared right back at her.

It was hopeless.

"What do you see?" Yasahiro asked, his voice oddly soothing. "Tell me exactly what you see."

"I see… me, well my reflection."

"Nothing else?" The old men pressed. "No one else?"

"No. Should I?"

"You don't see your father in there? Or your mother? Or anyone of your ancestors?"

"No," Naruto answered bewildered. "It's just me."

"Then I don't see your problem, child," he said and turned away. Naruto watched him confused as he left her kneeling there without an explanation. She furrowed her brows and turned back to the water. Naruto still couldn't see anything other than herself.

Sure she could see the physical resemblance between herself and her father. Or even her grandmother. Her ancestors were a part of her, sure, but…

Narutos eyes widened as it dawned on her. She felt like smacking herself for not understanding sooner.

She looked back at her reflection and could observe how a genuine smile appeared on her face.

"No one else… just me, just-"

"Naruto," she whispered out loud. "I am Naruto."

In a little forest not too far away from Tanzaku Gai two figures lay sleeping on the ground. Around them the trees were heavily damaged and the earth torn apart. The chirping of birds and the rays of the morning sun caused the two figures to stir from time to time, thought they did not wake up.

The girl, Sakura, sighed contently and snuggled deeper into the warm body of her team mate and love. Sasuke on the other hand slept peacefully for the first time in weeks, no nightmares or bad memories of the past dared to disturb his rest. Thought he would later deny any link between his peaceful sleep and Sakuras presence, even thought he felt secure so close to her. Instead he would put it off as exhaustion.

Like he did every time he slept peacefully while in close proximity to his team mates.

Slowly he began to wake up, a ray of sunlight tickling his face. Sasuke reluctantly forced his heavy eyelids open, looking drowsily into the blue sky.

And the sun.

Groaning Sasuke turned his head away only to froze a second later. He was looking at Sakuras face which, unfortunately, was only inches away from his own. Near enough to feel her breath on his skin.

He instantly tried to inch away from her, but she was not only snuggled up to him, which alone was bad enough in his opinion, but clinging to his arm as well!

Extracting his arm carefully from her grip, he rolled away mindful not to wake her up. True, in the last months she had become less of a fan girl and refrained from fawning over him like a mindless twit, but he did not want to tempt fate. Chances were that she would suffer a relapse should she wake up practically in his arms.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up, his muscles arching in protest. To loosen them a little he began to stretch and then proceeded to dust off his clothes. Afterwards he treaded his fingers through his unusual long hair and yawned one last time, before he walked over to Sakura.

Despite himself Sasuke did not wake her immediately. Instead he indulged himself and observed her for a moment.

Sakura looked so relaxed and peaceful lying there on the forest floor, or what was left of it.

Almost serene.

The total opposite of what she normally looked like. While Jiraiya was not an easy teacher once you got him to focus on you and not every skirt that walked by, he was nothing compared to Tsunade.

That woman was downright sadistic and, thought he would never admit it, frightened him. And rightly so, after all one punch of her was enough to maim a grown man.

And to his dismay she and Sakura had similar personalities…

Sasuke shook his head forcefully, banishing such thoughts from his mind. Instead he focused on waking the Tsunade-in-the-making up, preferably without catching one of her fists to his vital body parts, or any of his body parts for that matter.

Tsunades training was hard, but it showed amazing results. Sakura had become quite proficient in healing and Tsunade apparently took a liking to her, because she had started to teach Sakura the secret of her ungodly strength.

She was quite proficient in that technique, too. Their surroundings was a testimony for that.

He decided to nudge her side roughly, ready to jump away at the slightest sign of violence, out of caution of course, not because he was afraid of being pummelled.

"Wake up," he instructed.

Sakura stirred. "Five more minutes," she mumbled, curling in on herself tighter.

Sasuke snorted, shaking his head. If he could not continue to sleep then nobody else was allowed to either.

"WAKE UP!"

"Don't wanna," Sakura answered sleepily. She rolled onto her other side, giving Sasuke the cold shoulder.

Said raven gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was used to getting the dobe up and the ensuring drama that unfolded every time, but at least he knew by now how to wake him… er her. Sakura on the other hand always stood up on her own, normally even before him and the rare times that she did not he simply waited for her to come around on her own. But they were in the middle of a forest, he was stiff and to top it off hungry like a wolf. That and they had to check on the dobe.

He couldn't wait for Sakura to grace the world of the living with her presence.

Resigning himself to his fate he scooped Sakura up into his arms so that he was carrying her bridal stile. If Jiraiya saw him now he would never live it down… or worse Tsunade.

He looked down to see Sakura snuggling deeper into him, or rather his warmth. Sighing again he took off towards Tanzaku Gai.

Meanwhile Naruto sat cross legged to the right of Yasahiro, who sat at the head of a long table inside his dining room.

On his left sat two miko who looked exactly the same, thought it was hard to tell how old they were. Long dark brown hair flowed way past their shoulders and their heart shaped faces underlined their innocent look. They were named Akari and Ikari and were Yasahiros second oldest grandchildren. While Akari wore an ema, a small wooden plague with the picture of a kitsune, Ikari wore a bow slung across her shoulders. Beside Ikari sat a tall, thin and bespectacled man with silver hair that reminded Naruto strongly of Kabuto. Or maybe Kakashi with glasses, because he too was apparently carrying a book everywhere, thought his name was Hakuzo. Beside Naruto sat a feminine looking boy with shoulder long blue-black hair named Genkuro. He had a tsuzumi, an hourglass shaped drum, strapped to his back, reminding the blond of Gaara and his gourd. The last one to sit at the table was the youngest of Yasahiros six grandchildren named Jingoro. He was small and scrawny, but not bad looking, his long black hair braided and slung over his shoulder. Unfortunately he was a nervous wreck, not unlike Hinata, Naruto mused, constantly fidgeting and looking around nervously as if he expected somebody to jump him. The only one currently not sitting at the table was the oldest of the bunch. Gengoro was currently helping his wife Kojoro to set the table. He was easily the most muscular of the boys, but still lean, with short brown hair and a friendly face. His wife on the other hand looked very young and petite. Her long chestnut brown hair was braided and she was the only one, besides Naruto, not wearing priest or miko robes. The two placed the last bowls onto the table and then sat down opposite each other.

Naruto looked down at the mass of foot in front of her. Sakura had invited her and Sasuke once or twice to eat breakfast with her and her parents, but never had there been this much foot. Sure, they were only five then and here sat nine people around the table, but still…

A large bowl of rice stood in front of each, easily five times as large as normally, same with the bowls of miso soup. Big plates of grilled fish, tamagoyaki, onsen tamago, tsukemono pickles, seasoned nori and natto served as side dishes. Strangely enough there was also a large dish of Inari-sushi as well. The sushi roll of packaged fried tofu, with pointed corners to resemble fox ears, was not a common dish for breakfast, but rather a popular offering for Inari since it was believed to be a fondness of the kami.

The deep voice of Yasahiro brought her out of her musings. "Itadakimasu," Yasahiro said and started to eat, immediately reaching for an Onari-sushi. The others soon followed and Naruto too served herself.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, thought a surprise for Naruto. Never before had she seen anyone eating nearly as much as her, much less more. Her initial worry that they had served far too much food was definitely unfounded and more than proved wrong.

Well at least she did not have to hold herself back and could eat till she was sated.

After breakfast all went their separated way, leaving Kojoro to clean up the mess and Naruto in the sole company of Yasahiro again. Who choose that moment to stand up with the help of his staff.

Naruto, too stood up. "Thank you for the invitation to breakfast, Yasahiro-sama." She turned to Kojoro and smiled. "It was delicious, Kojoro-san, thank you."

"It was my pleasure, kitsune-hime," she said with an wink, causing Naruto to absentmindedly stroke across her whisker marks.

She smiled. "Kitsune-hime, huh? I like it."

Yasahiro smiled as well. "The pleasure was all ours, child," he assured. "But before I send you on your way I want to show you one last thing."

Narutos eyebrows shot up at that, but she did not object.

Sasuke entered the inn they were currently staying at and carried Sakura up the stairs to their room. He opened the door with a little difficultly, stepped inside and then closed the door with a well dosed shove of his foot. He intended to place Sakura on one of the beds when he got a good glimpse of Narutos bed.

Narutos empty bed.

A resounding thud could be heard as Sasuke let go of his team mate in shock.

"OWW!"

Sakura, rudely awoken by the impact on the floor, glared up at Sasuke, now fully awake. "That hurt! Why did you-" Sakura followed Sasukes gaze and stopped mid rant. "Naruto?"

Sasuke choose that moment to awaken from his stupor and marched over to the blonds bed to make a quick search for any clues where the idiot could be.

"Sasuke, do you think somebody…"

"No," interrupted the raven. "Her pouch and boots are no longer here." He walked by Sakura and opened the dresser. "And some of her clothes are gone too."

Sakura sighed in relief, picking herself up off the floor. "So she awakened?"

"So it seems."

"And she simply had to choose the one day when we were too exhausted to come back here," Sakura moaned. "Thanks for carrying me, by the way."

"Hn."

"What are we going to do now, Sasuke-kun?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Hn," the raven answered. "She probably went to get something to eat, the dobe."

Sakura shook her head vehemently. "But she shouldn't be walking around! She was unconscious for ten-fucking-weeks! What is she thinking?"

Sasuke snorted at that. "The dobe is not thinking, as usual. Her stomach makes all the important decisions for her."

"That is not funny, Sasuke-kun," Sakura admonished . "What if she gets hurt?"

The ravens left eyebrow went up at that. "If you had seen what I saw ten months ago you wouldn't be asking that question."

"Sasuke-kun!"

"What? If I were you I would be more concerned for the fool that is stupid enough to attack-"

A loud bang interrupted him and a second later the door to their rooms was thrown open, revealing a panting Shizune in the doorframe.

"Shizune?" Sakura asked concerned. "What happened? Where is Tsunade-shishou?"

"No time! I have to get moving!" Shizune said in passing. "Stay in the house!" She ordered over her shoulder. She was halfway through the window when she suddenly froze, a kunai newly imbedded into the wall only centimetres away from her face.

"Wait, Shizune!"

Her head snapped to the left and she saw Jiraiya leaning against the wall. A second glance revealed that he was not casually doing so, but rather out of necessarily. He looked terrible and could hardly move.

Shizune jumped fully outside and assisted the toad-sannin in sitting down on the ledge. Sasuke and Sakura followed shortly after.

"Jiraiya-sensei, what happened?" Sakura asked in a horrified voice. Never had she considered it possible to reduce a sannin to what now stood before her.

"Damn Tsunade… she put drugs in my sake…"

Sakura sighed deeply. "Why am I not surprised?" She asked rhetorically.

Jiraija was even too weak to send a withering look in her direction, so instead he continued. "I can't release chakra well and my whole body stings… I can't even hold chopsticks…," he added as an afterthought.

This time it was Sasuke who commented dryly. "Just like Naruto, always thinking with the stomach…"

"Shut up!!" The fallen sannin bellowed.

"The truth hurts," Sakura half whispered to her team mate who nodded.

Jiraiya harrumphed loudly.

"In her fallen state she's still a medical specialist. She's about the only one who can create a tasteless, odorless drug to use against other ninjas…," he said, balling one hand to a fist. "But… even thought I was drunk… to get me like that…"

"Her breasts were too much of a distraction, I guess," Sakura added her own thoughts, making Sasuke smirk and Jiraiya shout.

"You BRATS!"

Too bad his tirades had long since lost their threatening character, they knew him too good for that. Jiraiya, much like Naruto, was more illusion than reality. That is not to say that he was weak or anything, no, he simply didn't take everything with a pinch of salt.

"By the way, Shizune," he addressed the young black haired woman uncharacteristically serious, his mood swings being as legendary as his name. Thought if he became like this it was better to listen to him, because he was only being serious if he thought he absolutely had to.

"What you talked with Orochimaru about… it's about time you tell us."

Sasuke tensed at the name, being reminded of the foolishness he nearly committed. Sakura thought along the same lines.

"I wanted to believe in Tsunade-sama… that's why I couldn't say anything…," she said with her head hanging. "But… we don't have much time…" She jumped up and looked pleadingly from one to the other. "Follow me! I'll explain on the way!"

"Hn"

"I'm coming too!"

"Don't hustle me! I can't go any faster!"

At the same time Naruto stood in front of the heart of the shrine, the Honden. They had long since passed the Haiden, or oratory, and afterwards the Tamagaki, the fence surrounding the Honden, and stood now in front of an artfully decorated double door. Kitsune, large and small were skilfully carved into the wood, marking the entrance to the most sacred part of the shrine.

"I am not allowed to enter here, Kannushi-sama," Naruto said, overwhelmed from the honor that Yasahiro planned to bestow upon her. "This is were the goshintai is kept, right? The sacred body of Inari-sama."

Yasahiro smiled and inclined his head. "Yes, and while it is not common practise to let outsider into the inner sanctum, I think we can make an exception in this case, huh, kitsune-hime," he said with a wink.

Naruto, long since come to the conclusion that, yes, he did know more than he should, smiled and inclined her head.

"What are we waiting for then?"

Yasahiro chuckled and made a swishing motion with his and. The double- doors slowly swung open as if by magic. Naruto took a hesitating step forward, letting her gaze wander left and right. This was a once in a lifetime chance and she intended to savor it thoroughly.

The double door revealed a near ceiling-high gold statue of a multi-tailed kitsune positioned in the center of the shrine. Two big candles stood to its left and right, while a shimenawa, a length of braided rice straw rope used for ritual purification,hung above it. Lampion hung from the ceiling and illuminated more carvings of kitsune and rich cloth embroidered with golden rice ears.

"Breathtaking," the blond whispered and went to inspect the statue a little closer. The first thing she did was count the tails and was not really surprised as she came up to nine in all. She put her head back to look at the kitsunes face and was surprised to see it carrying a big scroll between its open fangs.

"A scroll?" Naruto asked in wonder. "The repository of the enshrined kami Inari is a ‚scroll'?

"Not quite, but it is something equally valuable," Yasahiro said secretive. "Take the scroll."

"What?!"

"Take the scroll," he repeated. "Don't worry, it will not bite." He smiled a devious smile before he continued. "At least not you."

Naruto took the suggestion as the order it really was and got the scroll down with the help of a kage bunshin.

"Here's your scroll," she said, holding out the heavy thing to Yasahiro. "What now?"

"Now you sign it."

"What?"

The old kannushi sighed. "That is a summoning scroll, child. You do the same with it as you did with the toad contract. Sign it in blood."

"Oh…OH! A summoning scroll for what? KITSUNE?!"

Yasahiro smirked. Finally the blond caught on. "Why, yes it is. I could not think of someone better suited for it than you. Now sign it."

Still a little overwhelmed, Naruto did what he told her to do. She unrolled the massive red scroll only to be met with blank slots.

"Yasahiro-sama," Naruto began. "Is it possible that nobody else ever got this contract?"

"That would be an astute observation, child," he said with a smile. "No one was ever deemed worthy enough to hold this contract."

"Wow. I feel overwhelmed and honoured at the same time," she said, biting her thumb and writing her name in the first slot. "I can not thank you enough."

"It is alright, child. But there are a few things that are unique to this special contract and that I have to tell you about."

That did not sound too good, but he had her undivided attention now.

"Kitsune are not demons, that is a common misconception, they are merely spirits. Since you now hold the contract of kitsune you can summon them, but it has a price. Being spiritual in nature they need sustenance to manifest in this world. In other words they need to feed to stay material and use their abilities. The stronger the summon the more energy it needs." Yasahiro looked at Naruto for a sign that she understood. Said blond nodded and Yasahiro continued satisfied. "They always draw on the energy around them first and if the land is exposed to this for too long all life will wither and then die, leaving nothing behind but a wasteland. The faster, thought more gruesome, way to sate their hunger is to devour animals like a normal fox would do and-"

"Humans."

"Yes, ningen too," he admitted, "the main reason why kitsune are often categorised as demons. Coincidentally the most satiating thing to feed off is chakra, a powerful form of energy that all living things posses, but ningen especially." He sighed and then smiled again. "But now enough of this depressing talk. Simply bear in mind that if you call on a powerful summon, or the boss summon even, you should have a huge chakra source close by."

"You mean let it eat my enemies, right?"

"Well, they are your enemies, no?" Yasahiro replied unfazed.

Naruto snorted. "Not the thing I would expect to hear from a Shinto priest, or any priest for that matter."

"You don't have to tell anyone, do you?" He said conspiratorially and ruffled her hair. "But since I know how averse you are to killing, some shinobi you are," Yasahiro said good natured, "I'll tell you about the other option. You simply let your summon feed off of your own chakra. Obviously you should not draw out the fight unnecessarily, because of the drain, but since you are one of the lucky ones that possess massive chakra stores there should not be any side effects. Thought I would not advice you to summon something big if your chakra is already depleted to a certain point." He looked at her insistently. "That point you will have to work out for yourself since everybody's chakra has a different potency. The potency of the chakra is the important factor, not the quantity."

"I will, Yasahiro-sama," Naruto said and bowed her head in thanks. "Thank you for your advice, it is much appreciated."

"You are welcome, child. Now place the scroll back in its rightful place and we can go, your friends must be worried by now."

A minute later Yasahiro escorted an unusual silent Naruto back to the Sandō, the approach to the shrine.

Naruto was deep in thought. Something funny was going on, but she could not put her finger on what it was exactly. It struck her all as a bit odd, thought. It were little things, like the fact that somebody was able to steal her pouch without her noticing, the garden that never withered, the honden with the statue of Kyuubi and the summoning scroll. Little things, yes, but they all added up. But to what was the question. What was going on?

She had all the little peaces pieces, of that she was sure, but she was unable to put them together, to complete the puzzle and watch the picture as a whole.

Somebody stealing her pouch was explainable, because she was distracted by the garden at that time. Since being a shinobi she had seen more unusual things than a never withering garden. And while it was uncommon to grand an outsider passage into the honden it was not entirely unheard of. It was only when she saw the statue of Kyuubi that she realized something was up. True, the shrine was dedicated to Inari-sama and Kyuubi was undoubtedly a kitsune, thought not one of the celestial kitsune that served Inari-sama directly. So why put a statue of Kyuubi there instead of one of a celestial kitsune? Did they think it would make more of an impression to people when Kyuubi was the one carrying the scroll?

The scroll!

"Yasahiro-sama," Naruto began carefully, not sure how to formulate her question. If her suspicion was right than the scroll was definitely under protected… Or maybe not.

"Could it be that the boss summon…," Naruto faltered for a moment. She breathed in deeply to suppress her rising excitement. "Is Kyuubi no Kitsune, by any chance, the boss summon of the contract I just signed?"

"That happens to be the case, yes."Yasahiro said and smiled like a Cheshire-cat.

Or like a fox, Naruto mused.

And it all made sense.

It...

Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the ground, catching Naruto by surprise. With a yelp she whipped her head around for the source of the explosion. Luckily the shrine sat atop a small hill and offered a lovely panoramic view so that that was not a problem. On the horizon an enormous dust cloud rose into the sky.

"What the…," Naruto breathed bewildered. Thought she had a very bad feeling in her gut. She could only hope that her team mates were not involved in that explosion. Fat chance.

"It seems that your friends started without you, child," the kannushi answered her half finished question.

"That's what I was afraid of. I wonder what they've gotten themselves into now… and that even without my involvement."

"Who ever said that it does not involve you in some way?"

Naruto sighed deeply as another explosion rocked the ground. "No one I guess, but a girl can dream, can't she?" Naruto looked at Yasahiro, suddenly a serious look in her eyes, a rare occurrence indeed. "I should better take my leave now and go help the with whatever they managed to antagonise now."

"That you should."

They looked at each other for a long time, neither saying a word. Then Naruto bowed deeply, before jumping atop the torii. She paused there and looked over her shoulder down at the old kannushi. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them with a smile on her lips.

"Thank you for your help, Inari Okami-sama." Naruto addressed the kannushi before leaping of to help her friends. Thought she did not miss the foxy grin that spread over the old and withered face for a moment, before he slumped a little. He immediately steadied himself again, thought he wore a dazed expression on his face now, emphasised by the fact that he looked around confused as if he did not know how he got there in the first place. Naruto smiled to herself.

"I guess the old Shinto saying is right after all," Naruto mused. "'The first and surest means to enter into communion with the Divine is sincerity.' Because I was sincerely lost."

TBC

Translations:

Kannushi - a mediator (nakatorimachi) between kami and humans. Sometimes the kannushi played the role of the kami or even acted as a kami to transmit the will of the kami to humanity. He is the head of a shrine

Chōzuya - fountain to cleanse one's hands and face

Komainu - so-called lion dogs, that guarded the shrine, in the case of Inari Shrines, they are foxes

Sōhonsha - the head shrine of Inari shrines

Miko (巫女, 神子, 巫) - a woman who helps kannushi in their work

Ema (絵馬) - small wooden plaques on which worshipers at shrines, as well as Buddhist temples, write their prayers or wishes.

Tsuzumi - an hourglass shaped drum

Itadakimasu - enjoy you meal

Kitsune-hime - fox princess

Tsunade-shishou - Meister Tsunade

Haiden - oratory

Tamagaki - fence surrounding the honden

Honden - main hall, enshrining the kami

Goshintai (神体?) - lit. the sacred body of the kami

Hymenia (標縄・注連縄・七五三縄?) lit. enclosing rope

Sandō - the approach to the shrine

Ningen - Humans

Torii - Shinto gate

Origin of names:

Omoikane Yasahiro - Omoikane is the deity of wisdom and Yasahiro means peaceful, calm, wise

Akari - Light of god, power of god Inari, prayer (that's why she wears an ema)

Ikari - Anger of god ( that's why she carries a bow)

Hakuzo - (learned) took the form of a Buddhist scholar, and would talk and answer religious dialogues in the temples. He was seen as very wise, and very scholarly. When he was discovered to be kitsune, he vanished, but would later be seen hanging around outside the temple, preaching the doctrine of Buddha in the dark. Later, the temple was renamed Hakuzo Inari.

Jingoro - Jingoro (enshrined) was recored as possessing someone when he thought the man was going to try to kill him. The man, to escape possession and not come to harm, had a shrine built to Jingoro, calling it Jingoro-Inari.

Genkuro - is a kitsune, who's parents were 1000 years old, and were hunted to form a magical drum called a tsuzumi. The drum was used to seduce the Fortune of rain into producing storms at the sound of it. It is through a play about Genkuro that it is learned that kitsune are feminine in nature.

Gengoro - (express messenger) was a kitsune known for having the strength, speed, and vitality of three people, and was known to do farmwork, and send messenges for the people he protected. He was later killed by a wild dog.

Kojoro - (little maid) was the mate of Gengoro, and appeared to be a young maid of around 12 to 14. She would do duties for the temple she lived in, and seemed to be quite popular among the children of the region. She vanished after four years.

Quotes:

What's in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet.~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Words have meaning and names have power. ~Author Unknown

Author's Note:

Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and what not, I really appreciate that feedback!!

See ya next time an please review!