The Fox's Son

Chapter 16 - Fulfilling a Request

Kaede leisurely made her way through the village as she went to meet the strange young man. When the wet fields finally came into view, she saw Naruto standing there, looking at the sky. She stopped and watched him where she stood. His red hair blew in the wind as his hat rested on his back. He had his staff in his right hand and had his eyes closed.

"So you've come?" He said without turning around.

Kaede walked up the red head, seeing that the he had already noticed that she was there. "You said you had urgent matters you felt the need to inform me on." Kaede responded.

"Hn." Naruto replied. It was quiet as the wind blew. After a couple of moments of silence, Naruto spoke again. "Last night, you asked me who sent me and why I was here." he stated.

Kaede raised an eyebrow. "And?" she asked expectantly.

Naruto sighed before turning to her. "Know that not only was I sent here to help you all get the jewel shards away Naraku, but I was also sent to specifically help Kagome and Kikyo. Even though as of now, it appears that the second is rumored to be dead. If she is not and she is still alive, I must help them both." he responded.

"But why?" Kaede asked.

Naruto was silent for a while, cautiously choosing his next words. "Let's just say that it benefits the one who has sent me." he answered.

"But who?-" Kaede before she paused. Realization dawned on her face as she began to put the pieces together. "The only person that could possibly benefit from helping Kagome and Kikyo is....." she stopped as her eyes widened. "The Shikon.....Lady Midoriko!" she exclaimed as she began to sway on her feet, suddenly feeling dizzy.

Naruto placed a steady hand on her shoulder. "Easy now, Lady Kaede." Naruto said. "You're pretty sharp for an old woman. I didn't expect you to figure it out so soon." he said with a chuckle.

Kaede looked at the young man with a new respect in her eyes. To be truly beckoned by the Lady Midoriko herself, one had to be great in stature. One had to have been worthy and honorable to be personally requested by the priestess.

"But where did you come from? How did you get here?" Kaede asked.

"That's another story for another time, Lady Kaede." he said calmly. He then looked at her in all seriousness. "You must not tell any of the group about this. For if they did know, it could complicate my mission and make it much more difficult." he said.

Seeing how serious he was, Kaede slowly nodded her head. "I understand." she replied.

"Great!" Naruto chirped, smiling at the old miko. "I'm glad we had this talk, Kaede-baachan."

"As do I" Kaede said with a small smile.

"Shall I escort milady to her home." Naruto asked humorously as he grabbed the bucket of water from her hands.

"Thank you, Naruto." she said gratefully, bowing her head to him.

Naruto nodded to her before they both began to make their way back to the village. Neither person said anything as they walked the main path, towards the center of the village, where her hut sat. It was a comfortable silence. Naruto was glad that he had reached an mutual understanding with the priestess while Kaede was hopeful and glad that they now had someone they could rely on. She still wondered what happened to the wind sorceress. She guessed she would find out later.

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As Naruto and Kaede approached the hut, Inuyasha's voice could suddenly be heard for a three whole miles. Kaede sighed and shook her head as he heard the two begin to argue. 'Kami help us.....' she thought to herself as they journeyed to her home. Naruto just chuckled, seeing that the two reminded him of a certain two sannin.

"YOU CAN'T GO BACK, NOW?! WE STILL HAVE SHARDS TO FIND!" Inuyasha exclaimed to his future friend.

"I HAVE OTHER TESTS, INUYASHA, AND I HAVE A WHOLE OTHER LIFE TO GET BACK TO! I HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT NEED ME, TOO!" Kagome followed, as expected. "IF I DON'T PASS THESE EXAMS, I'LL NEVER GET INTO COLLEGE! AND IF I DON'T GET INTO COLLEGE, I'LL NEVER FIND A JOB! AND WITHOUT A JOB, I WON'T MAKE A LIVING AND I CAN'T MAKE A LIVING WITHOUT MONEY! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T MAKE MONEY, INUYASHA?!" she said.

"THERE WON'T BE ANY RAMEN. EVER!" she exclaimed.

Inuyasha grunted at that remark. He almost caved at the disappearance of his ramen, but he held firm. "I'm not letting you go, wench , and that's final." he said in finality.

A tick mark formed on Kagome's head. "SIT!" she yelled and Kaede received a second hole in her floor.

"Now is that any way to talk to a lady, Inuyasha?" Naruto said as he opened the door for Kaede. "Women receive you better when you're gentle." he said in amusement as he shut the door behind him.

The red head took off his conical hat and placed it on his staff that was now leaning against the wall. He then turned to look at Kagome's fuming form and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Kagome. You may go." he said as he placed the bucket of water near the fire pit.

Everyone in the group looked at the latest addition to their company in silent wonder, seeing that he would dare to step in between Kagome and Inuyasha's usual arguments. Kagome looked at him and sent him a grateful glance as Inuyasha stood up from his hole.

"Who the hell said that you had any say in the situation, human." Inuyasha said as he glared at the red head.

Naruto spared the hanyou a lazy glance. "Aren't you half human?" he quirked with a raised eyebrow. "You really shouldn't speak so lowly of your other parent, Inu-san."

Inuyasha scoffed at the man. "Tch, spare me the lecture." he growled out.

Naruto ignored him as he turned back to Kagome. "Go along, Kagome. Lady Kaede has requested that I attend lunch with your team so we will be okay." he said with an eye smile.

Kagome nodded to him and said bye to everyone before leaving the hut to go home. As she left, Inuyasha sent the man a glare.

"You should know your place." the hanyou said.

"And you should know yours." Naruto commented with an a raised eye brow. Inuyasha just growled before he scoffed at his response.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto turned back to Kaede as he sat Indian-style near the fire pit. "So what's cooking, Kaede-baachan." he said.

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After lunch with the Inu gang, Naruto decided to wonder the forests. He hadn't got much exploring done, so he decided to use his free time to do so. As he made his way through the forests, Naruto found himself walking toward the bone-eaters well. 'So this is the portal that she uses to enter and exit this world.....' Naruto mused to himself as he approached the old well.

When he got to the well, he stopped and inspected it. He stared down into the darkness with a lazy expression. He then opened his hand and took out a scroll. Once the scroll was open, he took off his hat and katana and placed them inside the scroll. After he sealed is staff inside the storage scroll as well, he sealed the scroll back into his hand. Naruto then looked back down the well again. Although he knew he could probably use his jewel shard to get there, he decided against it, not wanting to lose it.

The red head took a deep breath before he spoke. "Well, Midoriko. I would like to see what the future is like. May I?" he asked.

He saw the well give a soft blue glow. Naruto smirked under his mask. 'Thanks, Midoriko.....' he thought as he leapt into the darkness of the well. The warm blue light enveloped him as the portals of time and space was distorted. He felt the warmth of Midoriko's magic on his exposed skin, almost like she herself was offering him protection as well as her blessing. He mentally smiled at that.

When the red head opened his eyes again, he was met with the wooden roof of what appeared to be a house. Seeing that he was deep, at the bottom of the well, Naruto manipulated the wind to raise himself out of the well and onto the floor of what appeared to be some building. In front of him, was a flight of stairs that lead to a set of slide double doors.