A Hound Should Never Want for a Fox

Chapter 4

Kakashi sighed as he put yet another stuffed fox into his bag. That was the...fifteenth(?) one today. His nose was tender from enhancing his sense of smell with chakra and his head hurt from the onslaught of scents in the Village. Normally, he used his nose like this when hunting missing nin or tracking targets for assassination. There were so many scents he never wanted to associate with his home. He glared at the veritable clan of foxes in his bag, oddly certain they could see it. This was all their fault.

He had to pull one out of a child's arms. The look her mother gave him—he shuddered at the memory. What possessed Naruto's ghost to hide its minions all over the Village?

...ha...possessed...ghost...

He ran a hand over his masked face. He needed sleep. So badly. He had to hunt down all the foxes, first. It was a need, a visceral demand on his instincts. The hunt wasn't going so well, though. The Village was covered in the scent of fox, as if the ghost knew he would go running around looking for its little toys and made it as difficult as possible. It seemed to enjoy making his life hard. He wouldn't be in such a hurry if that day wasn't fast approaching.

Had it already been a year? He couldn't wrap his head around it. Surely, a year was more than enough time for even the most debilitating of wounds to start healing, and yet the gaping hole in his soul was still raw around the edges. The pain kept him up at night, dulling every other sensation and emotion. The ache was so overpowering it had to be fresh. There was no way an old wound was still weighing him down like this.

Time couldn't possibly be so disrespectful, passing like normal after taking his precious people. Again. If a year had really passed, why could he remember so little of it?

"Boss."

He jumped in his skin before turning to look at Pakkun where the pug was sitting at the mouth of an alley. Only then did he realize his breathing was ragged and his heartrate unstable. He took a moment to calm himself before walking over to his summons.

"Did you find some?"

Pakkun's eyes were even more solemn than usual as he looked up at his summoner. "It's not a pretty sight, Boss. If these were real foxes, we'd have a real mess on our hands."

Kakashi wasn't sure what he meant until he stepped into the alley. At the very end, against the far wall, was an altar of some sort. Several little yellow foxes lay scattered on a small table, large wooden needles stuck through them. Their blue button eyes had been removed and one of them was gutted, stuffing spilling forth in a caricature of violence. Long strips of paper covered in curses written in calligraphy ink adorned the table.

As horrifying as it was to look at, Kakashi could somewhat understand the anger that was directed toward the toys. If he didn't know for a fact that they were scattered around the Village as a playful jab at him, personally, he would think someone had a very sick sense of humor.

"See," he said with a sigh. "This is what happens when you're reckless."

The gutted fox turned its head to look at him without its button eyes. A chill ran up his spine.

"Don't look at me like that." His voice did not crack, thank you. "Look what happened to you. You should have stayed inside where it was safe."

The fox toy turned its head away. If it was alive, it probably would have sniffed disdainfully at him.

Just like Pakkun.

"Why are you talking to these things," the pug asked mournfully. "They're just clones."

Right, he knew that. The original was with Naruto. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that, but it hadn't done anything to the boy—whatever it turned out to be. A small smile found its way onto Kakashi's face at the thought of Naruto. He was starting to stand up in his cot, bouncing around on his chubby baby legs. He liked to throw his many foxes as far as he could and make Kakashi fetch them.