The Fox 🦊

Prologue

Waking up had never been slower for Ishual, usually, he'd be awake within moments of his body having slept its fill, life as a librarian might have been dull but it didn't necessarily mean he had to be lazy. He always woke early to run towards the edge of the city borders on the other side and back. A routine he did not want to ever get lax in, it was healthy and overall kept his reflexes and body reaction time on point, something that was badly needed when children managed to get to the upper floors of his library. And it was his, considering he grew up in it and had worked in it for as long as he had known what the word book meant and what knowledge and interesting stories they held.

.....but he hadn't gone to bed last night Ishual had been on his way back from his morning run when......

Oh.

Well, that certainly and quite unexpectedly explains why he was waking so slowly. He must've been in a coma, Ishual mused. His brows furrowed however when he realised he wasn't quite right, to be more accurate: his body wasn't the right size and he had never had extra body parts before. Let alone ones that were soft, fluffy and silky. Clear sky blue eyes opened with a suddenness that would shock anyone. They were wide with just a hint of fog, hinting at the fact that the boy had just awoken.

9 furry and silky orange yet gold tails were wrapped snuggly around him. A walrus sleep cap, lying discarded on the quilts. On the top of his head sat two orangish- gold fox ears, bright yellow messy hair doing nothing to obscure them.

Five years worth of memories had Ishual frowning in pain, his new ears flattening against his new and small head.

He couldn't believe it. Somehow, someway Ishual had been transferred to the body of a very young and very naive Naruto who had yet to join the academy or even the daycare for children his age. Simply because Naruto had been trying to save some money so that he could pay for the ninja academy, otherwise he wouldn't be able to join. Since it had been required that you pay for both or just one and that the ninja academy had a considerably larger asking price than that of the civilian one, Naruto had long since made up his mind to save as much money as he could....which meant he was saving far too much. Ishual...now Naruto groaned as he tallied up the amount of money the old Naruto had been able to save as the years and months had passed. Glad that he loved books so much and had learned the Japanese language, its currency and its calligraphy.
As it happens he greatly enjoys writing in the Japanese language even reading it. So studying wasn't needed but Naruto.....had way too much money. In actuality, he could have participated in both academies whilst still living a luxurious life. It's just too bad that the villagers were so very hateful. Otherwise, Naruto wouldn't have been led to believe that he recieved too little to do both. Why the Sandaime Hokage had never taught Naruto any of this was a mystery, perhaps he had been too busy? It didn't matter, Naruto was too old to join the civilian academy and far too young to join the ninja one.

But....how in the ever-loving spirits did Naruto become a kitsune? He tucked at one of his many tails in agitation, only to freeze as pain shot through his back. Damn, he had tucked at his tails way too hard. Grimacing, Naruto - now obviously being another person - smoothed his fur down and unconsciously relaxed.

Now....how was he supposed to hide this?! He did not want to know how the villagers and ninjas, so fickle in their hatred and fear would react to a Naruto ( Kyūbi) that looks like they expect him to? Naruto frowned and bit his bottom lip, maybe it was easy? Like just imagining your tails and ears go away kind of easy? Like in those fairy tales?

Naruto closed his eyes. Images forming in his mind's eye of a normal looking Naruto with only the whisper scars on his face to mark him as different.