Chương 17: Fox Hunt

After a week of slaving away with preparations, the open house finally took place. Sasuke was making finishing touches to his fake furry appendages while Naruto kept glancing out of the window every five seconds.

"Relax," he told his demon lover. "I'll be right here with you."

Naruto looked at his raven-haired lover. "I know. I just have a bad feeling about today. I really don't want to be here."

Before Sasuke could answer, there was knocking on the door. "If you boys are done could you come and help attend to the customers? The queue is starting to get longer."

The couple responded at once and got to work.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

It wasn't until midday that Naruto forgot about his premonition this morning with all the work and giggling girls. The café was shorthanded with kitchen stuff so Sasuke left to help, leaving Naruto with Ino and some other course mates to take care of the serving.

"Good day!" the golden fox greeted cheerfully. "May I take your order?"

The lady was a little too mature looking to be a student but Naruto didn't question. She wore a kimono which suited her very nicely despite the oddity of the occasion. "Must be the other faculty's event," Naruto thought.

The lady observed Naruto for a rather long time before giggling behind her sleeve. The fox felt his ears twitch a little and cursed. They were meant to blend in with the rest of his classmates not sell him out. "Please let that go unnoticed."

The lady merely smiled and placed an order for some chocolate cake and a cup of tea. Just as Naruto was about to turn around, he heard something in fox language.

"So the golden fox has appeared…"

Chills went up the demon's spine when he couldn't locate the source of that. It was official, he was being targeted.

"Naruto, table fourteen is ready!"

Rushing to get the tea and cakes for the customer, the fox couldn't help but scan for Sasuke. He needed to let him know and that they had to get out of here. Ino caught sight of the slightly pale fox demon and mouthed her question silently. Naruto nodded and the Yamanaka frowned.

"Don't worry too much over it, get this to the customer and then meet me in the back. I'll get Sasuke."

Naruto nodded and carried the tray over while Ino went to search for Sasuke. She spotted the Uchiha stirring coffee and almost sighed in relief. However before she could approach the man, Sakura shoved some dishes into her arms with an urgent command to get them washed quickly. Busy hour with insufficient dishes could mean trouble. With no choice despite the urgent matter at hand, Ino had to wait for Sakura to leave before dumping the dishes in the sink.

"Sasuke! He has been discovered, you need to get him out of here. I'll cover for both of you. Follow the plan."

The Uchiha nodded and silently slipped out of the kitchen to look for his mate. However, as he stepped out of the kitchen there was a shriek and some murmurs. The blond he was looking for had eyes widened in shock as he apologized profusely to a customer in black kimono. The lady had tea spilt all over her expensive-looking fabric and was trying to wipe the beverage off.

The lady merely smiled in reassurance and Sasuke walked over. "I'm so sorry this happened. Perhaps I could show you the way to the ladies so you could clean it a little? Naruto here can look for some spare clothes for you in the meantime."

"That would be nice. Thank you."

Passing by Naruto, Sasuke whispered to proceed as planned after this. The fox demon nodded slightly and went in search of clothes.

It didn't take very long for Sasuke to escort the lady to the washroom and certainly did not take Naruto to catch up. It was a rather far away washroom that hardly anyone frequented as it was located at the end of the very long corridor.

"Thank you so much," the lady bowed and Naruto shook his head.

"No, it's my fault. I should have been more careful back there."

Sasuke noted how Naruto's fox ears were drooping.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I must really thank you kids. You have no idea how hard it is to locate one golden fox in a school of stinking humans."

"Wha-?"

Before Sasuke could react, the lady had sent him flying to the wall opposite. There was no one close enough to hear the commotion and Sasuke cursed. The woman was clearly Hagoromo Gitsune in disguise.

"Sasuke!" the fox demon panicked and snarled at the assailant. "Leave him out of this!"

The mother of all foxes purred. "Oh, I will. I'm not interested in your pathetic mate, I'm only interested in you. You can either come willingly or I'll need to kill your mate."

Seeing as Sasuke was defenceless and no help would arrive soon, Naruto opted to leave with Hagoromo Gitsune.

"Naruto don't do this!"

"Sorry Sasuke," the blond smiled. "I love you."

The lady opened a black portal the oozed of evil and ushered the blond in. Naruto could only tear his eyes painfully away from the desperate and panicked cries of his lover.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I really am. Please be safe," he thought before stepping in the vortex. Hagoromo Gitsune grinned delightfully and jumped into the portal with it closing behind.

The sophomore watched in pain as the love of his life left with the woman who wanted him dead. Fishing out his phone with difficulty, he dialled the number on the emergency list, praying the man would pick up.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

"I understand."

Kurama sensed a change in the atmosphere when the older Uchiha ended the call.

"Who was it?"

The CEO swallowed harshly as his hands trembled a little. "They got Naruto and Sasuke's hurt. Hagoromo Gitsune taken Naruto through a black portal. I don't know what Kakashi and his pack can do."

Kurama growled. "I have a feeling I know where she's taken him to and you won't like it. For now, is it possible to call Kakashi and tell him there's a change in plans? I need Sasuke and you to hide with his pack for a while. The stronger members and a healer should come with me. We're going fox hunting."

Itachi nodded as Kurama shifted from his human form to his fox hybrid form.

"Hello, Kakashi? There'll be a change in plans…"

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

"How the heck did this happen?"

Kurama frowned. "Beats me. Never thought the old woman would pay the brats a visit by herself. From the way she did it, sounds like she's in a rush. I warn you, it's not going to be easy."

The car sped through red lights and Kakashi prayed they'll never track him down for all the tickets he would be earning. "I just hope Iruka will take things well. A bunch of mythical monsters turning up at his doorstep to guard him hardly sounds acceptable. It's a good thing he isn't working today."

Kurama winced. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you can sort things out, he is your mate after all. Something like this won't make him hate you. The bond is strong."

Itachi could only fret at the back of the car while the two demons chatted away as if the car was going to head into a lethal crash at any moment. The CEO had to force the content in his stomach to stay a few times. Now wasn't the right time to be a pansy.

The car spun to a stop once outside Iruka's house and the brunet came dashing out only to see his boyfriend with a very ill-looking CEO and a bloodthirsty redhead.

"Iruka! It's so nice to see you. I'm in a little hurry and I know it's hard to accept it but I'm going to have to ask you to help me babysit a few people and dogs…"

"What's going on?"

"Not now, I'll come back later and answer all your questions. It's an emergency. I love you, stay safe and don't answer the door for anyone. I have the spare keys. Bye!"

Just like that, the werewolf alpha was gone in a flash leaving a very startled brunet tending to Itachi who heaved his late breakfast onto the sidewalk. The bunch of dogs Kakashi spoke off materialized and terrified the poor teacher. Where did Kakashi keep these dogs that resembled so much like wolves?

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

"Mother!" a young fox interrupted Hagoromo Gitsune in the middle of her ritual preparations. Annoyed, the ancient demon glared at the intruder.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I'm sorry mother, someone has broken into the barrier and is heading over this way. Our forces cannot hold them for long!"

"Who dares enter my palace?!"

The young fox trembled under the wrath of the great fox mistress. "It's the wolf clan! They broke in with the help of Kurama…"

Eyes narrowed as fangs were barred. "That traitor… Tell the elders to ready the sacrificial ceremony. I will put an end to this nuisance quickly."

"Yes mother!" the fox scurried away while Hagoromo Gitsune smiled at Naruto almost fondly. "My dear child, it's so nice to finally see you. Don't worry, I do like you so I'll make this as painless as possible for you. Luckily I like your blue eyes. The last vessel had green eyes so I had him crushed to death."

Naruto shuddered at how casually the ancient fox mentioned about killing the last golden fox. He spoke nothing as she left and focused on undoing his bindings.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

"Kurama," the ancient fox purred. She had silver hair like Kakashi and many more tails than one could count. "I always knew you were trouble."

"Nice to meet you to,o mother," the red-furred fox grinned, bearing sharp canines.

"I was in the middle of something important before you and your wolfy friends crashed the party. Is it something important?"

Kakashi beat the fox to the chase. "Give Naruto back."

Pretending to be troubled, the female fox sighed. "You know very well I can't do that. If that's all then I'll have to ask you to leave."

"And if we refuse?"

Hagoromo Gitsune glared at Kurama. "Then you leave me no choice but to physically remove you from my palace!"

The first wave of attack was powerful and many inexperienced wolves got caught in it. Kakashi had held his ground while Kurama lept upwards to launch the first counterattack.

Claw and fangs clashed, Kakashi howled, signalling an all-out battle. Fur was torn, teeth were broken and bones were shattered. Hagoromo proved more powerful than anticipated with her impregnable fortress of tails. Bleeding from one eye was Kakashi and clutching a broken elbow was Kurama. The fight was looking grim with Hagoromo Gitsune looking almost unhurt save for the slight burns in her beautiful fur coat.

Looking smug, the mother of all foxes left her back open for Naruto to attack. A powerful blast of wind magic hit the fox directly, missing her heart by only inches. Severely wounded and shocked, the ancient fox could only hold a defensive position while the young golden fox launched ferocious attacks after attacks in sync with his older brother.

With Kurama's fire powers and Naruto's wind powers, the damage on the defence was devastating. Feeling cornered, the mother fox launched into a frenzy, attacking anyone and anything within the vicinity. Kurama had been quick to pull out but Naruto was caught in the onslaught of blows, sustaining many severe damages.

With Naruto so close to her grasp, the ancient fox focused solely on him and aimed a tail to the golden fox who was thrown around like a rag doll.

Kakashi heard familiar voices and turned around to see the backup forces. His eyes widened in shock when along with the backup came Iruka, Itachi and Sasuke.

"What are you guys doing here? Go back!"

Iruka knelt by Kakashi and Iruka by Kurama. Sasuke scanned the bloody battlefield and felt his blood freeze at the fox tailed poised to skewer his mate. Before anyone could realize what was happening, the smell of human blood filled the air.

Naruto felt his heart stop as the tail pierced through Sasuke's chest. Itachi couldn't breathe and Iruka couldn't think. All that happened after was a dull thud of body, a pool of blood gathering and a gloating Hagoromo Gitsune.

Sai who was with Ino in the backup force saw all of this and took the opportunity to make the final strike to the severely wounded fox. A swift slashing of a katana later, her head rolled to the floor before all forms of chaos ensued.

"SASUKE!"

Itachi couldn't believe it… His baby brother was dying right before him.

"Healer!" Kakashi yelled as Ino ran towards the dying human.

"Sasuke stay with me! She focused her energy to the young Uchiha who couldn't seem to focus on anything else."

"Naruto…?"

"Shh, don't talk," the golden fox cried. "You won't die Sasuke, I won't let you!"

The Uchiha smiled and turned to Itachi. "I'm sorry nii-san… I really did want to see you and Kurama become official but I don't think I can anymore."

Itachi tried to hold back tears but failed. The stoic mask of a CEO fell as he held onto the limp hand of his younger brother.

Ino was in tears as well when her magic didn't work. The wounds were closing far too slowly and Sasuke would have died of blood loss by the time she was done healing it. "I'm sorry," she cried.

Naruto assessed the situation and bit his lip. Shaking his head, his eyes burned with resolve.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry. Please bear with me. You can hate me later."

Before anyone could question what the golden fox was doing, Naruto forced his blood down Sasuke's mouth with the young Uchiha nearly choking at the rusty liquid.

"What's he doing?" Kakashi asked, bewildered.

Kurama grimaced. "He's making Sasuke a fox demon. It's the final step to becoming a fox's bride."

"In this situation? Can't he wait until the kid is out of danger to marry?!"

Kurama frowned. "He won't make it. Your healer can't close up the wound in time, the kid is going to just bleed out. If he becomes a fox demon he will 'die' for a bit and then become a demon with the mating mark in place. It's not the most pleasant process but it will save Sasuke in a sense. He won't be human but he won't be gone forever."

Itachi looked at Kurama hopefully. Nothing happened for a while then Ino paled. "No… nonono! Sasuke please hang in there, you can't die!"

Sai came over to his mate's side to pull her away. Naruto looked grim but held onto his mate's hand as Itachi didn't know what to think.

There was silence for nearly a minute before Sasuke thrashed on the ground violently with a strangled scream. His eyes opened revealing red pupils and Naruto pinned him down. Itachi felt a weight off his heart despite not understanding what had transpired.

"Kurama some help?" Naruto yelled as Sasuke threatened to break free from his hold.

The older fox demon smirked. "Of course."

With a spell, Sasuke was sent back to dreamland, leaving Iruka to give Kakashi questioning looks.

Chuckling nervously, Kakashi smiled with his one good eye. "I'll explain when we get back."