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NARUTO: PRIDE & PREJUDICE

AUTHOR:Zpan Sven

E-MAIL: Zpan(underscore)Sven(at)hotmail(dot)com

DISCLAIMER:I sadly do not own Naruto. The wonderful man whose name I can not pronounce does. I do own the few random OCs that do pop up though.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is an AU of the Naruto-verse and my first ever Naruto fanfic, so if anyone who is well versed in the Naruto-verse and would like to Beta, I'd love it. Due to the immense feedback I've been receiving - you guys are making me blush, I really didn't think anyone would like what I've written so far! - I decided to go from these little chapters, written mostly as an experiment to the normal, longer format I employ. Honestly, I prefer writing chapters close to or even longer ten pages in length and only do the little short chapters when I'm writing a completely new fandom and don't know what sort of response I'd get or have a massive case of writer's block.



I have only a few Original Characters that will pop up, mostly baddies from missing-nin, bandits, and asshole villagers. One of the more featured OCs is a 'good' character and I'll try to keep her from being aMary Sue-which is the essence of all evil. Her main role is a teacher/big sibling/listener character to help Naruto and the others of the Konoha Twelve, and if the readers like her enough, she might get a boyfriend from one of the shinobi she interacts with.



The fic will mostly be 'General' but if the fans have some ideas for pairings, I'd love to hear them, as well as any suggestions for improving the story. As the names and appearances of Konohamaru's parents have never been revealed, I'm just going to give them names for now; if anyone else out there knows the names/appearances, please PM me, okay?



And just so you know, there's not going to be much bashing in this fic, even of my villains. And yes, Sasuke will be a villain, so please don't request any pairings of SasuNaru aside from a onesided lust on his part because I've noticed the overwhelming amount of SasuFemNaru fics already and I like doing something different if I even do pairings at all. There will of course be side pairings, mostly the canonical ones such as Asuma and Kurenai.

"Speech."

'Thought.'

_Flashback._

::Telepathy::

.Sign Language..

SUMMARY:It's the Naruto-verse with a twist. Kyuubi was much younger then believed?Naruto was born female but forced to hide her true gender for her own safety?How different would the adventure be? How powerful will the young kunoichi become under the tutelage of the Queen of all Kistune? Will Naruto sacrifice her humanity to embrace her demonic heritage for the tempting offer of a family and power beyond belief that the demon offers?

CHAPTER SUMMARY: The confrontation between mortal and demon begins. Can the Sandaime and kidnapper come to some form of truce, or will the destruction begin again?

TIMELINE:Prologue occurs during Kyuubi's attack and the rest of the story follows pre-manga until a few chapters in, where it follows the manga.

RATING:PG-13/R

WARNINGS:LVS

ARCHIVE:fanfiction.net, mediaminer.org, ficwad.com, Zpan Sven's Works

EDITED:00.00.0000

JAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY:

Hai - yes

Iie - no

Sensei -- teacher

Sempai - upper-classman, someone in you ranking of an older age

Onna - woman, rude form of address

Hime - Princess

Gakki - brat

Temee - bastard

Hebi -- snake

Miko -preistess

Kisama - bitch/bastard

Wakizashi - a smaller version of a katana, usually the backup weapon

Bo Shuriken - dagger-like shuriken

Kunai - the knife used by ninja

Hira Shuriken - normal Star-shaped shuriken, ranging from three points to six or more

Bo Shuriken - straight blade shuriken, similar to kunai only without hilts

Tekko - hand covers/wrist guards

Kyahan - shin guards

Tabi - split toe socks worn with the traditional sandals. Modern versions of tabi have a hard rubber sole, making them into footwear on their own, generally favored by some ninja.

Shinobi - another word for Ninja. Assassin.

Kunoichi - female ninja

Kistune -- fox

Hitai-ate - forehead protector wore by nin

Shinigami - God of Death

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CHAPTER TWO: UNEXPECTED ALLIANCE

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To the surprise of the four-man team, the Sandaime arrived in person. His white robes swirled around his legs as he walked towards the four-man team; behind him, a squad of ANBU followed the Hokage silently, their black cloaks billowing around them. The Hyuuga, leader of the team, stepped forward and bowed to the elderly nin.



"Sandaime-sama, we have confirmed the abductor is Kistune in origin; Aburame-san's Kikai bugs have established a secure perimeter," the pearly-eyed man reported.



"Excellent work, Hiashi-san," the elder nin acknowledged as he strode forward, moving silently through the brush with the unconscious ease of a nin of his caliber; with a hand gesture he caused his ANBU guards to pause.



The Sandaime stepped into the small clearing that had been surrounded by his loyal leaf-nin, illuminated by the full moon. Before him, sitting calmly on a fallen log was a woman with lily-white skin in atattered black yukuta with the front gaping open; cradled in her arms was abloodstained bundle nursing hungrily at the exposed white breast. Hair the color of dried blood fell around her white shoulders in tangles; dried twigs and leaves were visible sticking out of her hair like exotic adornments. Crimson-black whisker marks were visible on the woman's white cheeks, matching the marks on the cheeks of the baby she held in her arms.



For a moment, the posture and tenderness of the scene before him caused nostalgia to wash over the old leaf-nin, the memory of his wife as a young woman cradling their son in her arms in the nursery superimposing over the woman and child before him. Mentally he cleared the image away - this was not the time to lose himself in his happiest of memories, not when this Kistune wearing the body of a woman was holding the savior of his village hostage.



Sandaime stepped forward and she turned her head, glaring at him with crimson vulpine eyes.



Kyuubi's eyes.



White nostrils flared, taking in the elder nin's scent, her eyes on the hat he wore with its emblem denoting his rank among his village.



"Leaf-nin," the rich voice said the word full of disgust. "What more of me do you want?"



"Why did you attack Konoha, she-demon?" the Sandaime demanded.



"Why? Why? You dare ask me why when your coward of a Yondaime Hokage summoned me through blood sacrifice, then try to enslave me and the hebi-temee dares not to face me himself when Iescape his bindings?" The demonic woman hissed, her eyes glowing.



The Sandaime reeled at the Kistune woman's accusations. "Bringing you here was not the doing of Konoha! Our Yondiame is dead from the effort to defeat you, as are some of our best nin!"



"I certainly didn't see that /hebi-temee/anywhere on that battlefield, Mortal," the crimson-eyed woman snorted in disgust. "I'd know that dark-haired piece of filth anywhere."



"Our Yondaime was blond, like the child you hold," the out-of-retirement Hokage sighed, gesturing to the month-old infant that was suckling hungrily at the woman's breast. "He was the one on Gamabunta's head and sealed you - or tried to at least."



"Then it appears that you have a delusional imposter running about - or a potential usurper," she informed him, her posture and voice calmer but weary. "And if he's insane enough to use blood rites and meddle with the affairs of Inari then no one - mortal, demon or divine - is safe."



The elderly nin's posture stiffened as he questioned the she-demon. "Then I must ask this of you - what, in exact detail, does the man that summoned you look like?"



"He is tall and slender, with golden snake-like eyes and long black hair. He wore purple makeup around his eyes and everything about him screamed 'snake', from his eyes, scent, and voice - when he spoke it reminded me of speaking with any of the larger members of the snake-clan. Perhaps this will help you most - he is a shinobi, wearing the mark of your village and knew of several forbidden justu and blood rites, one that summoned me, the Inari-appointed Queen of Kistune, and sent me in the berserker rage you saw. No mere genjustu woven by a simple human can do that, not to ademon of my caliber and certainly not to the ninth Biju - only a kinjustu that involved blood rites, with not just animal but human sacrifices as well."



The Sandaime could feel the weight of his years pressing down on him as his swift mind made the proper connections to deduce the shinobi's identity: Orchimaru, his own prized genius student, whom had betrayed Konoha and become a missing-nin.



"I know of whom you speak, but mere words alone will not be enough to sate the village," Sandaime sighed. "You will need undisputable proof to back up your claims - in the eyes of the village you are ademon who attacked their home with no just cause and have been sealed away in the infant you hold."



"Hmph. Your Yondaime was a seal master, I suppose, but it takes more then a deal with the Shinigami to fully seal away the ninth Biju's power," the she-demon informed him.



"Fully? Then the seal did work?"



"Only partially - inside the kit is almost two-thirds of my power - but don't assume for a minute because of that I am weak, in fact we could probably go toe to toe right now," she snorted. "My power will regenerate but only when the kit has fully absorbed my sealed powers will I be at full strength once more."



"If what happened is the truth, then I have no wish to fight you if you are non-hostile," he stated.



Lightly she stroked the nursing child's whiskered cheek with her clawed forefinger. "Your Yondaime's seal has had an unintended side affect."



"What do you mean?" the old nin asked warily.



"Due to my demonic life force, my youkai, entering such a young form that doesn't have a fully develop inner coil system a...change...has been wrought so the kit will be able to survive and use such adestructive energy."



The Sandaime looked at the she-demon waiting for her to continue.



"A human cannot use youkai. It's too different from chakra. As a result, the kit will have the use of two different forms of energy...but to compensate..." She took a deep breath. "The kit is hanyou now, half human, half demon. My own genetic code has been partially imprinted on the kit's own."



"I...I see..." Sandaime murmured shakily.



She leveled a glare at him, one full of possessiveness. "And I don't give a damn who the kit's sire or dame is! This ismy kit now!"



Sandaime reared back in surprise at the she-demon's tone and glare - then again, he shouldn't have been surprised; she-demons were considered to be the most possessive and protective of mothers to exist and would kill any who threatened their offspring, even their own mates. Coming between a she-demon and her offspring was a suicidal maneuver and if he made any move to separate the kistune before him from the baby she held, not only would he die, but she'd probably take out her rage on the rebuilding village as well.



Such protectiveness....it was a great strength and agreat weakness.



If what the she-demon said was true, then the child was no longer fully human. What would the young Uzumaki go through with that sort of heritage? The only hanyou he had ever heard of were legends, myths....and most didn't have pleasant lives, generally reject by both humans and demons. But this she-demon, the Kyuubi no Kistune, Queen of the Kistune and from what he could gather the ninth Biju and Chosen of Inari...she would fight to the death to keep the child safe...to raise the orphaned baby...



The she-demon before him cradled 'her' baby protectively, cautiously shifting the hungry infant from one white breast to the other. For Kyuubi, who was still so young in the eyes of her own kind, everything she did concerning 'her' kit was dictated by ancient, primal instinct. The fact so much of her youkai had been sealed away and was being absorbed by the hanyou child made her wonder...



...would in the eyes of the demon world would the kit be labeled 'prodigy'? The fact the hanyou child had almost seven tails worth of power would almost guarantee it. For Kyuubi, whom herself had been /born/with three tails, the expectations placed on her had been high and the pressure she'd been under had forged her into a formidable warrior and a true Champion of Inari all before she had experienced her first true Heat.



"Kyuubi no Kistune," the Sandaime's voice was strong but also reflected his great age and the wisdom he was renown for. "As you claim to be under the control of another for the duration of your physical body's assault of Konoha -- and with no proof to confirm nor deny such claims-- I decree your punishment the guardianship of Uzumaki Naru, the child you hold in your arms, as well as repayment for the damages wrought."



The kistune's crimson eyebrows rose at the old nin's'decree'. "You are aware that as Queen of Kistune, I am fully aware of most of the locations of my predecessor's hordes..."



"Which would be most useful in the cost of the materials needed to rebuild our village, but for a Hidden Village such as ours, our most valuable asset lost against you was our nin."



"So you want me to become one of your ninja?And just how well will that go with your people?" Inquired the she-demon, her brows still raised as she tilted her head to the side quizzically, resembling a curious fox.



"I think you would make an excellent Jounin...Uzumaki Kyuu."

-

-

-

Inuzuka Tsume was anxious; in the aftermath of the demon attack, she didn't like leaving her two children for long, not with Kiba not yet fully weaned and Hana only five... The kunoichi eyed her teammates, searching them for a similar nervousness - Hyuuga's wife was due soon and with her being high-risk and the history of twins running in the clan along with it being her first pregnancy, she could deliver early; Aburame also had a son that was just coming out of diapers and she knew that his close-knit 'hive' would watch after the child if something went down...



The Hyuuga's Clan Head suddenly turned his head towards the clearing he previously had been 'ignoring'. Walking towards them was the Sandaime and a woman in a shredded black yukuta carrying a bloodstained bundle in her arms. The bundle shifted suddenly as a tiny hand rose from the stained cloth, reaching for the woman whom held it.



Aburame was glad for the high collar of his jacket hiding his sudden nose bleed and his sunglasses hiding the almost comical widening of his eyes. The Hyuuga's hand lifted, brushing his long hair from his face; this motion was a cover to keep his own nose bleed from view - those of the Hyuuga clan were above nosebleeds...but dammit, the Clan Head sincerely wished his wife wasn't high risk, he wanted some nookie and hated being deprived! For Hound, the youngest ANBU, the woman before him was like something from his beloved novel series.



She was not overly tall or petite, more on the taller side of average, but she had the sort of curves that couldn't be concealed, even by bulky formal clothing. Hair the color of dried blood was falling loose from what had been at one time been a formal coiffure, the tangled strands cascading around her white shoulders, bared by the mostly destroyed yukuta she wore; Hound imagined that if not for the leaves and twigs in her hair she could have appeared to be the heroine in one of his novels whom had just been very thoroughly ravaged. '/Of course/,' his dirty mind supplied, 'that could be explained away by the ravaging taking place in a forest glade.'



Tsume shot the suddenly giggly ANBU a baffled look, wondering faintly if the young man had already snapped. Of course the other males were suddenly shifting uncomfortably... Taking a discrete sniff of the air, she could take in the scent of the woman before her, picking up the natural pheromones the woman gave off. In fact, the feral kunoichi speculated, the woman probably wasn't even aware of what she was doing to the males with how focused she was on the baby in her arms.



It didn't take a genius for them to figure out the woman was the kistune they had been tracking - that scent was very clearly predominate along with her natural pheromones. But...she didn't seem hostile aside from killing that nurse. There was something going on...



The Inuzuka Clan Head resolved to speak with the woman after all this was cleared up so the kistune woman before her would be fully aware of what her pheromones were doing and hopefully they could figure out away to suppress them...or at least, suppress the effects the males exposed to her pheromones underwent - poor Hound and a couple of the other ANBU seemed ready to pounce on her...but not the married men. It seemed the bonds made by them to their respective wives allowed them to feel only the milder effects of her pheromones.



Mmm. Ah well, the talk with the kistune woman would be much needed practice for when young Hana came of age, the feral kunoichi concluded wryly.