A Kitsune Story

Chapter 14

"Sasuke-sama!" Tomoko's voice called, pitching with panic, "Sasuke-sama!"

Without needing the second shout, Sasuke jumped up. He diverted to grab his chokuto before dashing through the open sliding door.

Naruto scrambled to go after him, cursing himself for not paying attention. Even if the aura was suppressed, enough to avoid the notice of mundane humans, he should have noticed a powerful yokai long before it dropped into their courtyard.

He almost smacked into Sasuke, who had stopped suddenly less than a meter beyond the stairs. Sasuke's foot slid back to take a defensive stance, his right hand gripping the hilt of the sword. Although only loosened in the sheath, Naruto felt the crackle of energy charging the blade.

"Yo- yokai!" Tomoko stammered, pointing unnecessarily with a shaking finger. She was in the doorway of the kitchen building.

There was a man standing on a large branch of the plum tree in the middle of the courtyard. Or, rather, a yokai just finishing becoming a man. Feathers and talons gave way to light armor, a quiver with arrows that might have been fletched with his own feathers and a tanto on his hip. He dropped lightly to the ground.

The man had a sharp, beak-like nose and intense, yellow eyes, and severe burn scarring over the upper right of his face. His hair, which was dark brown with a slight mottling of white, was pulled back in a short ponytail that splayed like tail feathers.

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Katsuro." He formed a smile with the greeting but was taking relieved, recovery breaths. In the seconds between Tomoko's cry and when he recognized the creature, he had primed himself in the same way Sasuke was priming his sword. Had there been a real threat, he would have shifted and attacked it viciously. "Long time, no see."

"You know this tengu?" Sasuke asked him quietly.

"Mm," Naruto nodded. He took another centering breath; his body was still humming and his skin prickled like fur was still itching to burst forth. Giving it a little squeeze first, he released Sasuke's shoulder and walked toward the visitor. "Katsuro is an old friend. He doesn't usually make such an abrupt or flashy entrance," he added in a humored scold.

Katsuro stood straight with shoulders back and his weight even between his feet. His gaze lingered on Sasuke, on the blade he was still gripping despite Naruto's assurance. "I did not mean to cause alarm," Katsuro spoke softly, glancing then toward Tomoko, who was clearly still on edge.

Probably, she had been in the kitchen when he landed and he hadn't realized she would sense the flare of power during his shift. Tomoko, after all, had no aura herself and looked to be an entirely mundane old woman. Naruto had been fooled by that, too.

"To avoid notice, I thought it better to la-" Katurso cut himself off as Naruto drew closer and he tensed, realizing his intention.

Naruto flung his arms around Katsuro in a tight embrace. That action seemed to unsettle the tengu as much as it did Sasuke. "It's good to see you, Katsuro," Naruto gushed with an extra squeeze that dislodged the plates of Katsuro's armor.

"Uh, yes," Katsuro uttered, bringing up his hand to loosen Naruto. "Long time, no see." He tilted his head to whisper in Naruto's ear, "What name?"

Naruto laughed as he finally released and spoke at a normal volume. "It's Naruto. Miyo as a woman, how the village knows me now," he added, "But please call me Naruto."

Katsuro surveyed him critically. Sasuke's hand flexed on the hilt of his chokuto. Naruto resisted the urge to look around at Sasuke, whose posturing worried him more than the examination by an old friend.