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Chapter Text

Uzumaki Naruto, a thirteen-year-old shinobi of Konohagakure, was currently in one of the nearby forests just completing his training for the day.

"Hehe, at this rate I'll be Hokage in no time!" exclaimed the blond with a foxy grin.

Gathering up his ninja tools, Naruto then set off back to the village as night was setting in. On his way though he came across something he didn't even think was possible around here.

"Sugoi! A hot spring!"

That's right. Naruto came across a natural hot spring. Looking around, Naruto wanted make sure no one was around before he decided to strip down. Just as he was about to take his clothes off though, a voice spoke up.

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden voice and turned around to find three old men in white robes.

"Oi! Don't sneak up on a ninja like that! And what do you mean?" demanded Naruto.

"It is said that hot springs have magical properties," said Old Man #2. "Are you sure you want to find out?"

Naruto looked at the three men with a blank look. "You honestly expect me to believe that this hot spring is magic? You lie!"

The lead old man gave off a shrug. "Suit yourself."

The young blond didn't have a chance as the old man surprisingly dashed forward and pushed Naruto into the hot spring. The young blond didn't even have time to react because as soon as he resurfaced, the water started to glow with a bright light and in a flash Naruto was gone.

"Looks like our job is done," said Old Man #3.

"Indeed. Now let us take our leave for now," said the lead Old Man.

The three old men then left, leaving behind the empty hot spring and the knowledge that no one would know what had happened to Naruto…except that everything had been seen by a certain shy kunoichi, who had run off to inform the Hokage.

-:-

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade was talking with Kakashi about the mission he had just returned from when the door suddenly slammed open to reveal a very worried and scared Hinata.

"What is the meaning of this, Hinata?" demanded Tsunade with a narrowed look.

"G-Gomen, Hokage-sama, b-but it's an emergency!" squeaked the little Hyuga.

"What's the emergency, Hinata?" questioned Kakashi.

"N-Naruto-kun went missing!"

Hinata went on explaining what she saw out in the forest, blushing when she had to admit that she had been watching Naruto train. When she was done, Tsunade was looking at her with a blank look.

"Hinata, do you honestly expect us to believe something like that?" questioned the blonde, making Hinata feel a little dejected.

"I don't know, Hokage-sama, there have been weirder things that have happened," stated Kakashi. "Plus this is Hinata after all and she doesn't really lie about anything, especially if it involves Naruto."

Tsunade glanced over at the blushing Hyuga before letting out a sigh. Kakashi did have a point. "Alright then. Hinata, lead us to this hot spring."

With a nod, the little Hyuga lead both Tsunade and Kakashi out into the forest and to the hot spring. When they reached the hot spring, the two adults each raised an eyebrow in wonder.

"I guess there really was an natural hot spring here," said Kakashi.

"Then where is the gaki? I swear, this better not be a prank of his," said Tsunade with a growl.

"You are looking for the young one, are you not?" questioned a voice.

The three Konoha shinobi turned to see the same three old men that Naruto encountered earlier.

"Th-That's them! Th-They're the one who p-pushed N-Naruto-kun into the hot spring!" stated Hinata.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the old men. "Where's Naruto?"

"He is not here."

"Where is he?!" demanded the blonde.

The lead old man though decided to change the subject. "They say natural hot springs have magical properties. Some can heal wounds, both physical and spiritual, and some have been said to be portals to other worlds."

The last part is what got Tsunade's attention. "Are you telling me that Naruto is in another world?" questioned Tsunade, in a voice that would send chills of fear up a lesser man's spine.

"That is correct."

Now anyone who truly knows Tsunade knows that she has grown attached to Naruto, to the point of seeing him as her own grandson. Because of that and her need to find her favorite gaki, a little something known as maternal instinct was flaring up within Tsunade. Maternal instinct within Konoha has been said to give civilian women the strength of kunoichi and kunoichi the strength of Tsunade. As for what it could do to Tsunade's already impressive strength…well it's been rumored that if Tsunade were ever to feel maternal instinct her strength would be able to rival the gods. Whether or not this is true has yet to be determined, but it would seem that the three old men were about to find out.

Screams of fear and agony echoed through the forest as Tsunade lunged forward and started wailing on the three old men. Kakashi and Hinata, who was hiding behind Kakashi out of fear, stood off to the side watching the event with wide eyes.

"Bring him back this instant!" demanded a livid Tsunade as she held the bruised and battered leader by the front of his robes.

"We can't do that! The portal has already been used once today and can't be used until next month!" screamed Old Man #1 in fear and pain.

The killing intent rose. "What?"

"The portal from this end can only be opened on the night of a full moon and even then it can only be opened once. The next time it can be opened is the next full moon," explained the old man.

"You said "from this end". Does that mean the place you sent Naruto to the portal can be opened as many times as you want?" questioned Tsunade, her grip not loosening.

"Correct and while we could go there and retrieve the boy, we can not do that right now."

"Why not?!"

"Your boy is able to bring out the best out of those he's meets and make them open their eyes to the truth, as I'm sure you are aware of. There is a young man in the world your boy was sent to that could use his help before he makes a terrible mistake. There is also a young woman who let's her hatred blind her so. Your boy is to help her as well."

Tsunade's mouth became a firm line as she digested what she had been told. She really just wanted to get Naruto home safely, but it looked like she has no choice but to wait.

"I swear if this is some trick of yours and I don't have Naruto back by next month, I will personally hunt you three down. Do I make myself clear?"

The three old men looked as if they were about to wet themselves. "We understand! We'll even contact you when the time comes!"

With a nod, Tsunade left them to wallow in fear while she headed back to the village. Kakashi and Hinata quickly followed behind.

"Are you sure this is wise, Hokage-sama?" questioned Kakashi. He was just as worried about Naruto.

"We have no choice, Kakashi. We're just going to have to wait," stated Tsunade, a scowl upon her face. A soft whimper caught her attention. She then turned to Hinata. "Don't worry, Hinata. We'll get your favorite gaki back."

The busty blonde had to smirk a bit when the little Hyuga blushed up a storm at the wording used.

-:-

In a world much different from Konohagakure, a large inn stood on top of a hill. This inn though had been changed into an all-female dormitory and was also home to a natural hot spring. Currently, a young woman with long brown hair was making her way to make a soak, hoping it would sooth her after an incident that had happened earlier.

"Stupid perverted Keitaro," muttered the girl, as she got undressed. "He just never stops with his peeping!"

Exiting the changing room in nothing but a towel, she made her way towards the springs. Before she could step in though, she abruptly stopped when the water started to glow with a bright light. Her fear grew as the light became brighter and she let out a yelp when something shot upwards out of the water and laded back in with a splash. When she got a closer look at what it was, her anger grew immensely when she found that it was an orange-clad blond boy.

Said blond resurfaced and spit out the water that he had inhaled. "Damn crazy old man! When I get my hands on him, I'm kicking his ass!"

Naruto was about to get out of the water when he felt a wave of killing intent. Turning to the source, he had to blush a bit when it turned out to come from a semi-naked woman, who happened to be glaring hatefully at him.

"You little pervert!" shouted the woman.

'I'm boned.'

Naruto let out a yelp as he dodged the incoming punch. With the woman now off balanced, she fell into the spring, giving Naruto time to make his escape. Getting out of the water, he ran for his life.

"Get back here you little pervert!"

The sopping wet blond ran faster as the woman was now hot on his tail. Unfortunately, Naruto ran into further trouble as when he entered the main room he encountered more girls.

"Damn it!"

"Don't let him escape! That little pervert was peeping on me!" yelled the woman who was chasing him.

"What?!" exclaimed a girl with long raven colored hair. She was dressed as a samurai and was carrying a sword.

The orange clad ninja gulped in fear as two very angry girls were about to kill him. Luckily for him he had a way of getting out of this.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" declared Naruto as he made the hand sign.

In a poof of smoke there were now multiple Naruto, much to the surprise of the girls. With them distracted by the clones, the real Naruto made a break for the door. He would have made it too if he hadn't been grabbed by the back of his jacket. Turning to see who caught him, the young blond child found that it was an older woman who was wearing an apron and was smoking a cigarette.

"Would someone mind telling me what is going on?" demanded the woman, getting everyone's attention.

"Haruka caught the pervert!" exclaimed the towel-wearing girl.

"Oi! I'm no pervert!" exclaimed Naruto as he glared at the girl.

"You were peeping on me in the springs!"

"And lousy perverted males should be punished," hissed the sword wielding girl as she got ready to strike.

"Naru! Motoko! Enough!" said Haruka, giving the two girls a look. She then turned to the child still in her grasp. "Explain what you were doing in the hot spring. Now."

"I don't know! One minute I'm on my way home from training in the forest and I find this natural hot spring and the next thing I know these three old men in white robes push me in! When I resurfaced I wasn't in the forest anymore!" explained Naruto, wanting to run away as fast as he could.

Haruka grimaced at the mention of the old men. She had a feeling on who exactly Naruto was talking about. "Did these old men happen to mention anything about the hot spring?"

The blond went into a think pose, which consisted of him tilting his head and squinting his eyes. It made the girls think of a little fox, especially because of the boy's whisker-like marks. "I think they said something about hot springs having magic powers or something."

'What the hell are those three up to now?' thought Haruka as she let out an irritated sigh. She then turned to Naru and Motoko. "You are not to harm him, understood?"

The two girls stared at her with wide eyes before Naru spoke up. "But…But he was peeping on me!"

The older woman merely raised an eyebrow. "Can he really be at fault when you're still standing here in nothing but a towel?"

Naru blushed so brightly she could stop traffic. It seems that in her anger she forgot to change back into her clothes. Without saying another word she quickly ran back to the changing room. Haruka then turned to Motoko.

"Haruka-san, I don't understand how you could just let him get away with what he did or believe his story!" exclaimed Motoko as she sent a glare towards Naruto.

"Trust me, Motoko, he's telling the truth. Those old men he spoke of have been nuisances for years, always planning something. And given that ability he showed earlier, I'd say this kid is not even from around here."

"Where am I anyway? I need to get back to Konohagakure!"

"See what I mean."

"But Haruka-san!"

"No buts, Motoko! The kid will be staying here until we can figure out how to send him back to his home or are you willing to toss a child out in the streets?" questioned Haruka. Motoko held her tongue at that, making Haruka nod in approval. "Good. Now I'm going to go and find that nephew of mine and explain that there'll be a new tenant so to speak. Should Mitsune and Su return before I do, I want you to explain to them in full what's happened. Am I clear?"

"Hai, Haruka-san."

"Good," said Haruka. She then let go of Naruto's jacket and turned to him. "Seeing as how you'll be staying here for a while, you might as well introduce yourself."

Naruto looked from Haruka to Motoko to a young blue-haired girl about his age who was hiding somewhat behind the entrance of the kitchen. He then gave a fox-like grin that greatly reminded the girls of their own residential fox.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Dattebayo!"

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

Sunlight filtered through the window and onto Naruto's sleeping form, waking the blond from his dream. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he looked around to see that he was in an unfamiliar place until it hit him.

'That's right. I'm not in Konoha no more.'

Naruto remembered the events of yesterday where he somehow traveled to a different world, a different universe. He was lucky to end up somewhere that had people who were willing to help him. Speaking of which, he had officially met them all last night.

First there was Keitaro. Naruto thought he was okay, even if he was a little clumsy at times. Apparently being clumsy was not a good thing at this place as Naruto saw first hand last night when Keitaro got blasted through the roof by Naru.

Speaking of Naru, she was really mean. Along with the fact that she tried to kill him, Naruto didn't like her and mentally noted to try and stay away from her at all costs, especially since she had the tendency to call anyone a pervert. What does she know? Naruto knew who was and who wasn't a pervert better than anyone else, what with him always being around Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin. Naruto knew Keitaro wasn't a pervert like Naru claimed he was.

Third on the list was Motoko. Naruto was afraid of her just as much as he was afraid of Naru, but after that talk with Haruka-san, Motoko seemed a little nicer…even though she gave warning glances. She also seemed to cool off a bit when a genuinely excited Naruto mentioned how awesome it was that she was a master swordswoman.

Next was Shinobu. Naruto found her to be weird due to how quiet she was most of the time. She actually reminded him of Hinata, especially because her face also turned red at times. Naruto wondered if she suffered from fevers just like Hinata did. Before his thoughts moved on to the next person, Naruto thought he heard the Kyubi mutter something along the lines of "stupid kit".

Haruka-san seemed really nice. She was the one who said he could stay after all. The only time last night that Naruto saw her do something that could be considered mean was when she bopped Keitaro over the head for calling her Obachan. Apparently from what Naruto could gather was that even though Haruka was Keitaro's aunt, she wasn't that much older than him. The young shinobi wondered how that possibly worked.

Su was an interesting girl. A year older than him, she had dark tanned skin, bright blonde hair, and a very scary mind. Naruto learned that she was actually a foreigner from an island kingdom. He also learned that she was probably the scariest girl in the inn when she wanted to use him as a test subject after she learned that he had special powers. Luckily for him, Keitaro was able to distract the girl with a bunch of bananas.

Lastly there was Mitsune or Kitsune, as she liked to be called. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to make of her yet. She seemed to be really tricky and mischievous, something the Kyubi seemed to like from what Naruto could tell. The blond would have to keep an eye on him.

Anyway, it was time to get up and start the day. Naruto hoped he could find a place to train, but first breakfast. Reaching into one of his nearby pouches, Naruto pulled out a scroll. Unfurling it, he activated the seal and release three cups of instant ramen. Now all he had to do was get some hot water. Getting dress so as not to walk around in just a t-shirt and boxers, Naruto then headed downstairs to the kitchen. On the way, he noticed that Kitsune was the only one in the inn.

"Oi, where's everyone else?" asked Naruto as he looked around.

"Hm? Oh they're all at school," answered Kitsune, looking up from watching TV.

Naruto grimaced at the thought of school and said nothing else. Continuing onward to the kitchen, Naruto found a kettle, filled it with water, and set it on a burner. As he waited for the water to come to a boil, Haruka had entered the kitchen.

"I see that you're finally up," stated the woman.

"Huh? Oh, morning, Haruka-san!"

Haruka returned the greeting with a nod. She then raised an eyebrow in question when she noticed the ramen cups and kettle. "Naruto, what exactly are you doing?"

The fox boy tilted his head in confusion. "I'm making myself some breakfast?"

The woman grimaced at that as she strode over and turned off the stove. "Ramen is not for breakfast, especially three cups of it."

"But what am I supposed to eat?!" cried Naruto as the thought of no ramen sounded like a very bad punishment.

"Shinobu made sure to save you some of this morning's breakfast. It's in the fridge," replied the teashop owner.

"Really?" wondered Naruto, looking surprised at this. He went over to the fridge and opened it to find a plate of food with his name on it. "Wow! This looks delicious!"

While Naruto feasted on his newfound breakfast, Haruka called for Kitsune.

"What do ya want, Haruka?" asked the fox lady.

"When Naruto's done eating I want you to take him into town so he can buy some new clothes."

That got both Kitsune and Naruto's attention.

"Why do I need new clothes? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" questioned the boy, looking down at his clothes.

"They're the only set you have. If you're going to be here for awhile then you'll need more than one set of clothes," explained Haruka.

"How come I'm the one who has to take him then? There's a race happenin' soon an' I need to see if my bets paid off!" complained Kitsune.

Haruka gave her a narrowed look that clammed her up. "You can go one day without gambling, Kitsune. Plus, Naruto doesn't know the area and he would have no way of paying for his clothes."

"Oi! I do too have a way of paying for my clothes!" exclaimed Naruto. He then pulled out his frog-shaped wallet, which was bursting at the seams. "See, Gama-chan's really fat!"

Haruka's mouth twitched, threatening to form an amused smirk. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she found the fact that Naruto had a frog-shaped wallet and even named it a little cute. Kitsune on the other hand only saw money signs and snatched the wallet out of his hands, making the boy yelp in protest.

"My, my. I didn' think kids like you could save up so much money," cooed the sandy blonde with a smirk. It soon became a frown though when she opened up the wallet. "What's all this?"

"Must be the currency used in his world," mused Haruka as she looked at the unfamiliar denominations. She then turned back to Naruto. "You won't be able to buy anything with this."

Naruto looked a bit worried. "What am I going to do then if I don't have any money?"

The older woman just waved him off. "Don't worry about it. I'll pay for any essentials you need. Anything else though is on you."

"Do I really have to take him?" questioned Kitsune with a pout. The glare she got from Haruka was more than enough as an answer. The foxy lady let out a groan. "Fine!"

Once Naruto was done with breakfast, he and Kitsune left the inn and headed for town. Of course to do that they had to take a train, something Naruto had never been on before, so he kept looking around in curiosity. In turn, people on the train were looking at Naruto in curiosity since it was not often anyone saw someone dressed the way he was.

The train soon reached their stop and the two got off, making their way to the mall and to the clothing store. As they walked into the building, Naruto was surprised by his surroundings.

"Wow! This place is huge! And look at all the people!"

Kitsune gave the boy a curious look. "Ya act as if ya've never been to a mall before."

"What's a mall?" asked Naruto, earning a blank look from the fox woman.

'What kind of backwoods world does this kid come from?'

Deciding it best to just ignore it, Kitsune led the boy into the clothing store and over to the boy's section so he could look for what he needed. While Naruto searched through the clothes, one of the perky store clerks walked over to them.

"Hello! Do you need help finding something for your son, ma'am?" asked the clerk with a smile.

"He's not my son!" snapped Kitsune, insulted by such an idea. 'How old does this girl think I am?!'

The clerk didn't appear to notice the agitation. "Your nephew then?"

"N-yes! He's my nephew!" stated fox woman with a nervous laugh. 'Might as well go with it. Better than her wonderin' what I'm doing alone with some minor.'

"Ne, ne, Kitsune? I think I found something, dattebayo!" exclaimed the young shinobi.

"Well then go try 'em on and see if they fit," replied Kitsune, pointing in the direction of the dressing rooms.

Naruto did just that and when he was done, he came out wearing a pair of orange shorts, an orange t-shirt, and a blue vest over the shirt. He still wore his sandals and ninja headband.

"So how do I look?" asked Naruto with a foxy grin.

Kitsune could only sweatdrop. 'How the hell did he find something like that?!'

The clerk let out a few giggles. "Aw, you look so cute!"

The boy gave off a slight blush at the exclamation, not used to such compliments. Fighting off the blush, he then turned to Kitsune. "So can I get these?"

The fox woman just waved him off. "Sure, sure. Just make sure ya grab a few more sets."

Doing just that and then changing back into his original outfit, the two foxes then went to pay for the clothes and then left the store. As they left the store though, Naruto's stomach started growling.

"Ne, Kitsune, can we go get something to eat?"

"Ya just ate before we left the dormitory."

"Please!" pleaded the boy, giving a puppy dog look.

'Oh, this kid's good,' thought Kitsune before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. What exactly do ya want?"

"Ramen!"

'At least it'll be cheap.'

-:-

Kitsune could only stare at the stacks of bowls as Naruto ordered another bowl of ramen.

'Where the hell does he put it all?!'

"Ahh! That was some great tasting ramen!" exclaimed Naruto as he finished off the bowl he had.

The fox woman quickly counted up the bowls to find that there were at least thirty bowls. Her dread quickly grew when the ramen stand owner gave her the bill.

"Ah, could ya send the bill to one Urashima Keitaro at the Hinata-sou? He'd gladly pay it!" said Kitsune, hoping to use her charm to get out of paying the high bill.

The man hesitated for a moment before relenting. Mentally cheering in victory that she didn't have to pay, Kitsune quickly grabbed Naruto, left the stand, and quickly went to the train station.

-:-

After a tiring day, at least for Kitsune, they finally arrived back at the inn. All Kitsune wanted to do was to raid her saké stash.

"I see you're back," called out Haruka as the two walked past the teahouse.

The two entered the teahouse and sat at the counter where Haruka set two cups of tea in front of them.

"An' none too soon! Today was just bad! First I miss out on the race an' then the clerk at the store thought I was Naruto's mom! I had to tell her that he was my nephew so she didn' get suspicious," explained Kitsune, gaining Naruto's attention.

Haruka just nodded at that. "Good. Use that for when you enroll Naruto at the school tomorrow."

This of course gained surprised looks from both of the foxes. Naruto was the first to speak. "Nani?! Why do I have to go to school?! I didn't even like going to the Academy!"

This earned him a small bop to the head from Haruka. "If you're going to be here for awhile, Naruto, you'll have to go to school or else the police will be coming around here asking questions as to why you're not."

Naruto gave off a small pout, while Kitsune had a similar look on her face.

"I don' see why I have to be the one to enroll him though!"

"Well you did claim him as your nephew. Might as well continue the charade," explained Haruka with a smirk.

Naruto then turned to Kitsune and asked an innocent question. "Does this mean I can call you Obachan?"

Haruka's smirk became a little wider as Kitsune twitched in annoyance. She was definitely enjoying the fox woman's plight.

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

Naruto pouted as he looked up at the building before him. He then turned to Kitsune, who had a similar look on her face.

"Do I really have to go to school, Obachan?"

Kitsune had to hold back the urge to let out a growl at the "title" the young blond had taken to calling her. Now she knew how Haruka felt when Keitaro calls her that. The only difference was that Kitsune had to let Naruto call her that if they were going to pull this off.

"Of course ya do! If ya don' then Haruka'll go on a rampage."

"…I don't think she'd go that far."

"Trust me on this one. Now let's get this over with."

The two foxes made their way inside the building and head to the principal's office so Kitsune could enroll Naruto. Once inside, they met the principal, who happened to be a very busty brunette.

"So you wish to enroll your nephew this far into the school year?" questioned the principal with a raised eyebrow, after she heard Kitsune's reason for being there.

"Well his visit was kinda a surprise, so I didn' have time to set everything up," explained Kitsune with a nervous laugh.

"I see…"

"Are we almost done here? This is getting boring, 'ttebayo," stated Naruto with a frown.

Kitsune facepalmed while the principal shot the young boy a disapproving look. Luckily, the principal still decided to accept Naruto. Now was the time for Naruto to head to his first class.

-:-

Shinobu sat in class, nervously wondering what was going to happen to Naruto. She was told earlier that morning that the fox boy was going to be enrolled in her school. Naru apparently didn't like that idea, saying that he would do perverted things to Shinobu and Su. The shy little chef blushed at the thought, but wanted to defend Naruto anyway. Even though she barely knew him, Shinobu felt as if he wasn't that kind of person. Back in the present, Shinobu turned towards Su to see what she thought about Naruto going to the same school as them, but found the foreign princess busy building a new invention. How she got away with doing that during class was beyond Shinobu's comprehension.

The sound of the classroom door opening caught Shinobu's attention and when she turned to see who was coming in, her eyes widened when she saw that it was Naruto being followed by the principal.

'He's going to be in our class?!' thought Shinobu, a slight blush gracing her cheeks. 'M-Maybe this will give me more chances to get to know him.'

Shinobu frowned at that. She originally wanted to get to know the orange-clad boy the first day he arrived at the Hinata-sou, but unfortunately Naruto was either being chased by Su, avoiding any area where Naru was, or hanging around Keitaro-sempai, who already made Shinobu nervous to be around for obvious to all but Keitaro reasons.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to a new student," said the teacher after she was told what was going on by the principal. She then turned to Naruto with a smile. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

With a foxlike grin, Naruto turned to the rest of the class. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto! Dattebayo!"

The other children talked amongst themselves, talking about Naruto's appearance; from his outfit to the strange whisker marks. Naruto's brow twitched in annoyance when he heard them say he looked like some sort of punk. Before he could retaliate, the teacher spoke up.

"Let's see, oh, why don't you sit near Su-chan and Shinobu-chan, Naruto-kun?"

The young blond was hesitant, more so because of the look Su was giving him, but went over anyway and sat on Shinobu's left, putting her between him and Su. Hopefully he can avoid her for the rest of the day.

-:-

As the day went on Naruto was becoming bored out of his mind. Everything that was being taught was stuff Naruto barely understood, especially since most of it didn't exist in his world. That's why when the bell rang, signifying the start of lunch. Naruto couldn't get out of the room fast enough and headed towards the large tree in the courtyard. Once there, he took out the bento box that Haruka provided him in hopes that he wouldn't binge on ramen. Before he could dig in though, some commotion grabbed his confusion.

"P-Please, give that back!"

"Why should we? Not like you need it!"

What Naruto saw were three boys bullying Shinobu by keeping her own bento box away from her. Naruto clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. If there was one thing he hated it was when people looked down on others. He was definitely going to teach these bullies a lesson. With a prankster's grin, he set his plan into motion.

"Oi! Leave her alone!" exclaimed the fox boy as he drew closer.

The three boys turned to him. The lead boy gave off a cocky smirk. "Yeah? What are you going to do if we don't?"

"I'm going to kick your ass, that's what!"

The three boys were now scowling while Shinobu looked on with wide eyes. The lead boy spoke again. "You're outnumbered, kid! You can't beat us!"

"Prove it then, you teme!"

Not wanting to back down, the three boys leapt at Naruto in hopes of bring him down. Unfortunately for them, Naruto dodged and started to run away, making the three bullies chase after him and leaving Shinobu alone.

'I hope Naruto-kun will be alright,' thought the shy little chef.

"That'll keep those assholes busy," said a voice right next to Shinobu, making her let out a loud "eep".

Turning, Shinobu found Naruto standing right next to her with a proud grin on his face.

"N-Naruto-kun! H-How…?"

"I saw them picking on you so I decided to secretly make a Kage Bunshin and have it confront them and get them away from you," explained Naruto. He then gave off a pout. "I would have rather kicked their asses, but Haruka-san said I shouldn't fight anyone unless absolutely necessary."

Shinobu let out a few giggles. She thought Naruto looked really cute at the moment with that pout. With a slight blush, she gave him a small smile. "Arigatou, N-Naruto-kun."

"No problem, Shinobu-chan!" exclaimed the orange-clad boy. He then noticed Shinobu's red face. "Ne, Shinobu-chan, how come your face is all red?"

"N-Nani?"

"Maybe you're getting sick. Here, let me check if you've got a fever," said Naruto as he reached out and placed a hand on Shinobu's forehead.

"Eep!" squeaked Shinobu, her face getting redder. It was too much for the blue-haired girl so she could do only one thing.

"Nani?! Shinobu-chan!" cried out Naruto as he caught the now unconscious girl. He had to get her some help and fast, so picking her up into his arms he quickly carried her into the school and made his way back to the classroom where the teacher was. "Sensei!"

Looking over, the teacher's eyes widened at what she saw. "Naruto-kun, what happened to Shinobu-chan?"

"I think she has a fever! Her face was all red and when I checked to see if she was sick she fainted!"

"I see. What happened before that?" asked the teacher, feeling as if there was more to the story. Naruto explained what had happened with the bullies (minus the whole Kage Bunshin thing) and how Shinobu became red after that. The teacher had to hold in her giggles as she had a feeling why Shinobu fainted. "I think she'll be just fine, Naruto-kun."

"Really?"

"Hai. Tell you what, how about you and Shinobu leave early today so she can rest at home," stated the teacher.

"Huh? You want me to take Shinobu-chan home?"

"It might be for the best. Do you need directions to where she lives?"

"Not really. I'm actually living at the same place with Kitsune-obachan."

The teacher raised an eyebrow at that. She had met the fox woman before and didn't know that she had a nephew. Of course looking at Naruto, the teacher could see a slight resemblance. Must be the eyes.

"Alright then, Naruto-kun. I leave Shinobu in your care."

"You can count on me, Sensei!"

The teacher could only giggle at the boy's enthusiasm as he bolted out of the room with Shinobu in his arms. Right now though, the teacher had to let the principal know where Naruto and Shinobu will be for the rest of the day and she had three little boys to deal with.

-:-

Back at the Hinata-sou, Haruka was busy manning the teahouse and wondering how Naruto was doing at school. She had told him that morning before he and Kitsune left to make sure not to let people find out about his abilities. Granted, there were people like Motoko who were able to perform feats that no normal person could, but Naruto's abilities were beyond even that. It was for the best that he kept them a secret for now.

Speaking of the blond, Haruka was surprised to see Naruto walk into the teahouse and carrying Shinobu on his back.

"Naruto, why are you home so early and what happened to Shinobu?" demanded Haruka with a narrowed look. Setting Shinobu down at one of the booths, Naruto explained what had happened at school. Haruka sweatdropped when she learned that Naruto confused Shinobu's shy personality as a fever. "I'm sure Shinobu will be alright, Naruto."

"I hope so."

"Why don't you head on up to the inn? I'll keep an eye on Shinobu."

"Are you sure?" asked Naruto. Receiving a nod in confirmation, the fox boy relented. "Okay then."

With that, Naruto took his leave and made his way up towards the inn. Once Naruto was gone, Haruka let out a sigh.

'Not since my nephew have I met someone so simple and naïve.'

Putting that on the backburner for now, the Urashima woman went back to work and waited for Shinobu to regain consciousness. She didn't have to wait long as Shinobu started to stir.

"Wh-What happened?" questioned the girl as she sat up.

"You mean aside from you fainting in front of Naruto and him having to carry you home?" replied Haruka. She had to smirk in amusement when Shinobu let out an embarrassed squeak.

"I d-did that?!" squeaked the bright red-faced girl.

"Pretty much. If you want to know where he is, he went back to the inn."

Saying a quick thank you, Shinobu hurried up to the inn in hopes to thank Naruto and to apologize for having him miss the rest of his first day at school. If she remembered correctly, he did mention that he really liked ramen, so she'll make ramen for dinner that night as a way to fully show him thanks.

Arriving at the inn, Shinobu found it empty. She started searching for the blond, first heading up to Keitaro-sempai's room where Naruto was to sleep during his time here. With a slight blush, she knocked on the door only to get no answer. Opening the door slightly, she found it empty. She was about to head back downstairs when she heard noises coming from the third-floor, so she headed upstairs instead but still found nothing. It was then that she learned that the noises were in fact coming from the roof. Going up one more floor, Shinobu found who she was looking for…yet didn't confront him. As to why she didn't confront him then and there…

"Alright guys! Let's get started!"

…He was currently in the middle of sparring…with a few Kage Bunshin…and he and the clones were all shirtless, showing off their toned upper bodies.

Shinobu blushed bright red as she hid on the stairs so as not to be caught by the multiple Naruto. A small part in her head was telling her that she shouldn't be watching this, but a much larger part silenced that notion and told her to watch on. Fighting the urge to stay, Shinobu quickly retreated back downstairs. She really needed to cool off at the moment.

Going into the kitchen to be as far away from Naruto as possible, Shinobu checked to see if she had the ingredients for making ramen. As she did this, the thoughts of a half-naked Naruto wouldn't leave her head, which confused her greatly. She knew in her mind that she had feelings for her Sempai, but she couldn't figure out these new feelings she was gaining for Naruto. The poor little chef had no idea what to do about this situation and she definitely couldn't go to one of the others about this. Su wouldn't understand, Kitsune would most likely tease her about it, and Naru and Motoko would think Naruto was being a pervert and most likely try to kill him. Shinobu shuddered at that thought.

All she could do was keep these feelings a secret for the time being…just like (in her mind) her feelings for Keitaro.

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

Many years have passed since that day Naruto arrived at the Hinata-sou. Shinobu, now a young adult of twenty with hair that reached the small of her back, was currently in the kitchen preparing dinner for her and the other residents.

"I hope this will be enough for everyone," said Shinobu to herself as she added the ingredients to the pot.

Before she could go back to her work, she let out a quick "eep" when something, or someone, decided to pinch her heart-shaped rear.

She could hear a deep chuckle from behind her. "No matter how many years have passed, you still sound cute when you squeak, Shinobu-koi."

A blush and a smile appear on Shinobu's face as she turned around and reached up to place a kiss on the man's cheek. "Welcome home, Naruto-koi. Dinner will be ready soon."

Naruto, who was a head taller than Shinobu now and had some slight stubble on his chin, gave off a grin. "Will we be having ramen? You know how much I love your ramen. It is one of the reasons I asked you to be my wife after all."

Letting out a giggle, Shinobu turned back to her cooking. "Hai, there will be ramen, as well as other assorted dishes for the others."

"Fair enough. Although, I'm sure the little one would rather have ramen just as much as I would," stated Naruto as he drew closer to his wife and brought his hand around her so he could place it on the slight bulge of her belly.

The blush and smile returned as Shinobu placed her hand upon Naruto's. Husband and wife then leaned their heads towards each other as to kiss passionately…

-:-

Shinobu awoke with a gasp. A heavy blush came to her face as memories of her dream came back full force. As to what caused her to have such a dream, Naruto was the obvious culprit. Shinobu indeed made ramen for dinner yesterday and once everyone returned home, it was ready to eat. Once it was served and Naruto took the first bite, his reaction was unexpected to the Hinata-sou residents.

"Wow, Shinobu-chan! This ramen is delicious! You'd make for an amazing wife one day and you're husband would be one lucky guy!"

Shinobu blushed up a storm at the deceleration Naruto gave, though he was oblivious to it as he went back to his ramen. He was also oblivious to the glares Naru and Motoko were giving him. Haruka merely let out a sigh, while Su looked confused and Keitaro was smart enough to keep quiet. Kitsune on the other hand grinned like the fox she was when she noticed how Shinobu kept glancing at Naruto, so she decided to have a little fun at the shy little chef's expense.

"She probably would make a good wife. She'd probably make a good mother as well, having lots of little blond-haired babies with whoever her husband would be.

"Eep!" squeaked Shinobu, feeling like she was about to faint again. How did Kitsune find out her secret feelings for Naruto-kun?!

Naruto looked confused at Kitsune's words, but just shrugged them off and went back to his ramen. Haruka, Naru, and Motoko cast their glares towards Kitsune now, but the fox woman just smirked and went back to her meal.

Shinobu hid her face in her hands in embarrassment as she remembered last night. She was just glad that Naruto-kun didn't figure it out. That would have been even worse, especially since he might not return her feelings at this point in time.

Letting out sigh, she decided to get ready for the day now she was up. She just hoped she didn't embarrass herself in front of Naruto-kun.

-:-

Letting out a yawn, Naruto followed Shinobu and Su to the train station. He was really not looking forward going to school, but had no choice. Haruka said he was going to go to school today, especially since he went home early yesterday. The only reason he agreed to go was because Haruka convinced him that Shinobu might need someone to watch out for her and keep the bullies away. As he walked, he failed to notice the shy glances Shinobu was giving him or the look of "playfulness" that Su was giving him. If he only he knew what was going on through their heads right now.

The three children soon arrived at the station, boarded the train, and made their way to the school. Just like yesterday though, Naruto found himself bored and not able to understand the work given to him. It didn't help that the three bullies from yesterday were giving him dirty looks. He really wished that he didn't have to be here and could just stay at the inn all day with Haruka-san and Kitsune-obachan. At least there he could either train his ninja skills or help with the chores.

Lunch soon came and Naruto made his way back to the large tree in the courtyard, this time dragging a blushing Shinobu with him so she wouldn't have to deal with the bullies. Once they were seated, Shinobu brought out the bento and handed Naruto his.

"Ne, Shinobu-chan, how can you stand being here?" asked Naruto as he accepted his lunch.

"Wh-What do you mean, N-Naruto-kun?" questioned Shinobu, wondering what the blond was talking about.

"This school! It's so boring! At least at the Academy we got to train to be ninja," stated Naruto, saying the last part quietly so no one would overhear him.

"W-Well, things are d-different here, N-Naruto-kun," stuttered the shy little chef, unable to look Naruto in the eye.

"What about Motoko-neechan? She carries a sword with her all the time and no one else does that," stated the fox boy.

"…Motoko-sempai is an exception. She comes from a school th-that actually trains in the w-ways of the sword," explained Shinobu. "B-But she still goes to a n-normal school like we do!"

Naruto was about to add something, but was stopped when something slammed into him.

"Naruto! Let us play!"

The whiskered boy tensed at the sound of Su's voice. He knew that she didn't want to play at all, but wanted to test her inventions on him.

"S-Su-chan! M-Maybe you should leave N-Naruto-kun be," suggested Shinobu. She really didn't want to see Naruto fall victim to the island girl's insane toys. She also really wished she had packed some bananas to distract the girl.

"But I want to play!" exclaimed Su as she started dragging Naruto away.

Shinobu started to panic. She had to get Naruto-kun away from Su, but without something to distract the island girl there was nothing she could do. The shy little chef could feel tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Man, that was a close one," said Naruto from behind Shinobu, causing the girl to let out a surprised squeak.

"N-Naruto-kun! H-How did you escape Su-chan?"

"I just used the Kawarimi no Jutsu and switched myself with something else," explained the fox boy with a grin.

Looking over to where Su was, Shinobu saw that Su was now dragging one of her bullies, who was trying to escape Su's death grip, instead of Naruto. Shinobu almost felt sorry for the bully.

"Ano, N-Naruto-kun? Wh-What will you do when we get h-home? Su-chan will still want to p-play with you."

The blond could only shudder in fear at what Su had in store for him back at the inn.

-:-

A few hours later school had ended and the three children had arrived back at the Hinata-sou. As soon as they got home, Naruto rushed up the stairs and into the room he had been sharing with Keitaro.

Keitaro, who had been in his room studying, looked up at the sound of the door opening and slamming shut. Noticing the look on Naruto's face, he grew worried. "Is something wrong, Naruto?"

"Su wants to play."

The ronin gave the boy a sympathetic look. "I know how you feel. When I first arrived here at the Hinata-sou, Su always wanted to play. She still does try to get me to play from time to time."

"There's got to be a way to stop her though!" exclaimed the fox boy.

"If there was I would have used it a long time ago," replied Keitaro as he went back to his studies.

Naruto could only let out a groan. He really didn't want to be Su's plaything while he was stuck in this world. There had to be a way to stop her and he was going to find it. Right now though, he was going to the roof to train.

As stealthily as he could, Naruto made his way up to the roof. It was a few minutes into his training when he heard a strange sound and it was getting louder. Turning his head to see where the sound was coming from, he had to quickly dodge an incoming missile. Eyes wide with both fear and surprise, Naruto found that the culprit was none other than a flying turtle mech.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Naruto, fear building up in him. He then had to scramble as the robot came after him.

Jumping to the nearby forest, the young blond jumped from branch to branch to avoid being blown up from the missiles the mech kept firing. There were some close calls, as Naruto had no idea what exactly he was dealing with since such things did not exist in his world.

"I gotta figure out how to take this thing down before it kills me!" shouted the blond, dodging another missile. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In a poof of smoke, multiple Naruto appeared and took of in different directions to try and confused the mech. Unfortunately for Naruto the turtle robot opened a compartment on its shell and fired a barrage of missiles that homed in on the Kage Bunshin.

"Damn it!" cried out the real Naruto.

The young blond needed to take this thing down and fast if he was going to survive this encounter. Exiting the forest and landing in a large clearing, Naruto turned and faced the robotic reptile with a glare.

"Bring it on, teme! I'll kick your ass, 'ttebayo!"

Opening its compartment again, the turtle fired off another barrage of missiles. This time though Naruto was ready as he created more Kage Bunshin and had them intercept the attack. This left the real Naruto to charge forward under the smoke from the explosion.

"Take this!" shouted the fox boy as he jumped and aim a kick towards his opponent's head. Unfortunately the turtle mech withdrew its head and flippers and started to spin rapidly, deflecting Naruto's attack and sending the boy flying back, slamming him into a tree and making him yelp in pain.

Shakily, Naruto stood up and glared at the robot once more.

"If you use my power you could destroy this thing."

'No way. I don't want to rely on your chakra unless I absolutely need to. Plus I don't want to risk anyone from this world finding out about you,' thought Naruto as he pulled out a fuma shuriken. 'I'm going to beat this thing with my own strength!'

The Kyubi let out a snort. "Damn brat. Whatever this thing is it's far above your skill level. Just use a little of my chakra so you can destroy it!"

"Like hell!" exclaimed Naruto as he started spinning the shuriken like a pinwheel. "Take this!"

Naruto threw the spinning weapon as hard as he could at the turtle mech. As the shuriken got closer the mech once again withdrew and spun as a way to deflect it. As soon as the two objects connected though…

BOOM!

…An explosion rocked the area.

From within the seal, the Kyubi raised a brow. "I'm going to guess that the explosion was your doing, Kit?"

'Damn right! I placed explosive tags on the fuma shuriken earlier after I sent my Kage Bunshin to act as distractions. I'm just glad that it worked!' replied Naruto with a fox-like grin.

When the smoke cleared, a barely functional turtle mech was trying to stay airborne. It was all for naught though as its power soon gave out and it crashed to the ground. It was then that the residents of the Hinata-sou arrived on the scene.

"What the hell is going on here?! What was that explosion?!" demanded Naru as she glared at Naruto.

"Oi! I was just defending myself from that thing when it came after me!" explained Naruto, pointing at the wrecked robot.

"Aw, you broke my toy!" said Su with a pout as she went over to her robot see if she could fix it.

"T-Toy?! That thing tried to kill me!"

Motoko let out a sigh. "Su, what did you do this time?"

The island princess gave off a wide grin. "I wanted to play with Naruto, so I created this battle mech to do that!"

"…You're insane!" exclaimed Naruto, glaring at Su in the process. This of course didn't seem to have any affect on the girl.

"Now, now. I know what Su did was…unorthodox," stated Keitaro, hoping to calm the situation. "But at least no one got hurt, right?"

Naruto crossed his arms with a pout. "I guess. But what if she does it again?!"

"Trust me, she won't," said Haruka, walking up to the group. She then glanced at Su. "Su, as long as Naruto is here you are not to test any of your inventions on him. Is that clear?"

Hearing the tone to the demand, Su quickly nodded her head in agreement. She may have a different thought process than most other people, but even she knew not to cross the line with Haruka. Not wanting to feel her wrath, Su decided to gather up the wreckage and head back to the inn. The others followed after.

"Are you sure you're n-not hurt, N-Naruto-kun?" asked Shinobu, worried about the blond.

"Are you kidding? It'll take a lot more than that to take me down!" boasted Naruto with a grin. "I should tell you about some of the cool ninja missions I've been on!"

As Naruto described some of the missions he had done back home, the Hinata-sou residents listened on, shocked to hear some of the stuff he's dealt with already. Maybe Su's inventions really were nothing to Naruto after all.

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

Another day has begun and Naruto slowly woke up as the sunlight filtered into the room. Letting out a yawn, the young blond rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he thought of what he was going to do that day.

'At least I don't have to go to school today,' thought Naruto, remembering that it was the weekend. Looking around, he noticed that Keitaro was already gone. Most likely out running errands or something. Deciding that he really didn't have to get up, Naruto just laid back down on his futon and was just going to go back to sleep…at least he was until he noticed something strange with the ceiling. "Is that a hole?"

Getting out of his futon he then jumped up and clung to the ceiling using chakra to investigate.

"It's just a hole, Kit."

'I know that! But I'm surprised that it's even here. I thought Keitaro-niisan would have fixed it like everything else around here.'

Deciding to investigate further, the fox boy went to see where the hole led. Now this was normally a bad idea, considering that if it were Keitaro he would have been blasted away with a Naru Punch. Luckily, Naruto's luck was the exact opposite of Keitaro's, so when he lifted the object blocking the hole…

"I wonder whose room this is?" questioned Naruto as he took in his new surroundings to find no one there.

"Obviously it belongs to one of the girls," replied the Kyubi with a slight tone of sarcasm.

This caused Naruto to pout since he felt that the fox was teasing him. Instead of talking back though, Naruto made a decision about the hole.

"I'm going to fix up this hole myself."

"And why would you do that?"

'Well, I figured I should do something around here instead of just freeloading.'

With that, Naruto jumped back down into Keitaro's room to get dressed and then went to find supplies to fix the ceiling.

-:-

Kitsune let out a groan as she made her way down the hall. She was having such a nice dream of finally hitting it rich from betting on the horses when a sudden and constant banging woke her up. She knew it wasn't Keitaro working on the inn because he would always have the courtesy to wait until everyone was awake before doing anything that might make noise.

'I'm gonna kill whoever woke me up,' thought Kitsune with a scowl.

She soon made it to Keitaro's room where the sound was coming from. Not even bothering to knock, she slammed open the door to find Naruto up on the ceiling and hammering planks of wood over the hole that connected Keitaro and Naru's rooms.

"What the hell are ya doin'?!" demanded Kitsune as she glared up at the young ninja.

"I'm fixing this hole in the ceiling! It's the least I can do since you guys are letting me stay here," explained Naruto as he went back to work.

The vixen watched as the kit continued hammering. She was going to tell him to stop, mostly because when Keitaro tried to seal up the hole, Naru became very upset over it and wanted the hole back the way it was. But considering how much Naru hated Naruto and the fact that Kitsune was so rudely woken up, she decided to let Naruto fix the hole and let Naru deal with him as his punishment.

"Well good luck with that then!" replied Kitsune with a smile.

"Thanks, Obachan!" exclaimed Naruto, making Kitsune twitch at the title.

Not bothering with the boy anymore, Kitsune decided to just head downstairs and see if breakfast was made. Maybe she could sneak some saké beforehand.

-:-

A little while later Naruto came down for breakfast to find everyone else was waiting for him.

"And just what have you been doing that you couldn't come down when breakfast was ready?" questioned Naru, giving the blond a suspicious look.

Naruto gave her a pouty glare in return. "If you really need to know I was making some repairs."

Everyone minus Kitsune, who was hiding her smirk, looked at Naruto in confusion. Keitaro was the one to ask the question on their minds. "What repairs did you make, Naruto? As far as I know I had already fixed everything."

"I boarded up that hole that was in the ceiling of your room," explained Naruto, not noticing the way Naru tensed up.

"You did what?!" demanded Naru as she glared at the young blond.

Naruto blinked in confusion, unsure why Naru was suddenly so mad over this. "I fixed up that hole. Like I told Obachan when she asked me, it's the least I could do since you guys are letting me stay here."

Naru then turned her glare towards Kitsune. "You knew what he was doing and didn't try to stop him?!"

"Who am I to stop someone from performing a good deed?" replied Kitsune with a shrug, although Haruka and Motoko could tell there was an alterative motive for not stopping Naruto.

"What's the big deal? I thought fixing up that hole would have been a good thing," said Naruto, even more confused than before.

Haruka then let out a sigh. "It is, Naruto, and we appreciate that you want to help out around here."

"But that hole was there for a reason," growled Naru, her glare returning on Naruto.

"…Why? It doesn't make sense that there would be a hole there," replied Naruto.

"It does when you realize that it connects Keitaro's room to Naru's," said Kitsune with a smirk. This caused Haruka to let out a sigh of frustration and for Keitaro and Naru to go slightly red.

"Wait, that was Naru's room I saw?"

"You were in my room?!" screeched Naru, ready to kill the boy.

"Well I had to figure out where the hole led to!" explained Naruto as he glared right back. "Besides, if that really is your room I would think you would want the hole sealed up since you're always calling Keitaro-niisan a pervert and wouldn't want him peeping on you…unless…"

Naru narrowed her eyes at the fox child. "Unless what?"

"Unless…you're the real pervert around here!" declared Naruto as he pointed an accusatory finger at Naru.

Everyone stared at Naruto in shock at what he was saying while Naru gaped like a fish. "Wh-What the hell gives you the right to call me a pervert?!"

"It makes sense if you think about it. You constantly call Keitaro-niisan a pervert despite the fact that he isn't one. I should know since two of my senseis back home are total perverts, so I know a pervert when I see one."

"What do you mean two of your senseis are perverts?" questioned Motoko, giving Naruto a narrowed look.

"One likes to read porn while in public and the other writes said porn and likes to peep on women while they're in bathhouses, calling it research for his books," explained Naruto in a deadpan tone.

The samurai girl's eye twitched in anger as she vowed to kill these perverted males should she ever encounter them.

"So how exactly is Naru the pervert in all of this, kid?" questioned Kitsune, trying to get back on topic. She was curious as to what Naruto was going to say.

"Huh? Oh! Well as I said she is always calling Keitaro-niisan a pervert and if his room is right underneath hers then you would think she would want the hole sealed up to make sure he doesn't peep on her. But since he's not a pervert and she's the one who apparently wants the hole to stay must mean she's the one who peeps on Keitaro!" exclaimed Naruto, satisfied with his logic. His eyes then widened a little. "Oh kami, I've been sleeping in that room too. What if she peeped on me?!"

"Naru-sempai, how could you?!" squeaked an astonished Shinobu, believing Naruto's logic.

Naru looked ready to kill Naruto. "Y-You little brat! I am not a pervert and how dare you even accuse me of being one!"

"What about what you did to Keitaro-niisan when he first came here?"

"…What?"

"Uh, Naruto…I don't think anyone needs to know that," said Keitaro, trying to stop the oncoming destruction.

Naruto didn't listen though. "I asked Niisan awhile back how he ended up working here if this was an all girls dorm…"

"You want to know how I ended up working here?" asked Keitaro as he blinked in confusion.

"Yeah! If this place is supposed to be only for girls, how'd you end up here?"

"Well…I guess you could say I inherited it from my grandmother," replied the ronin.

"…And the others were okay with this? Motoko-neechan and Naru don't seem like the type who would," stated Naruto.

Keitaro let out a sigh. "They didn't take it well at all. In fact I kind of got off on the wrong foot when I first met Naru."

"What do you mean?"

The manager blushed a bit. "Well, when I first arrived here I didn't know it was turned into an all girls dorm since as far as I knew it was still just an inn. Anyway, I headed towards the hot springs to relax and the next thing I know Naru was sitting next to me."

"…And she didn't try to kill you then and there?"

"…She thought I was one of the other girls…and wanted compare breast sizes," said Keitaro, his blush becoming brighter.

Naruto wasn't sure how to take that.

"So you see, you really are a pervert because why else would you want to see another girl's breasts?!"

The others' reactions were as such:

Shinobu blushed brightly; not believing Naru would do such a thing considering how anti-pervert she could be. Su just seemed to be confused, unsure what was going on.

Kitsune was trying real hard not to laugh out loud since she found this situation hilarious even though Naru was her best friend. Motoko cast a glare towards Naru, wondering if there were other incidents that she was the cause of but blamed Urashima for.

Keitaro tried not to make any sudden movements as tried to move away from the trembling, rage-filled Naru for he knew he'd be a target of her wrath. Haruka could only pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Keitaro!"

"Ah! H-Hai, Haruka?"

"Take Naruto, Shinobu, and Su into town for a bit."

Keitaro didn't need to be told twice. He rounded up the three children and herded them out of the Hinata-sou, with some protest from Naruto though. Once they were gone Haruka was about to "talk" with Naru about this subject, but Motoko surprisingly beat her to it.

"So Urashima technically didn't peep on you the day he first arrived."

"You're honestly going to believe Naruto? How do you know he's not just making it up?!" demanded Naru as she glared at the swordswoman.

"Because in the short time that he's been here I've found that despite being a male he seems incapable of lying," hissed Motoko as she glared right back.

"I gotta side wit' Motoko on this one, Naru. That kid is way too honest," added Kitsune. "It's almost scary, really."

"What?! How could you side against me, Kitsune?!" exclaimed Naru, feeling hurt by her best friend's "betrayal".

"Enough, Naru," said Haruka in a no nonsense tone. "The hole is staying boarded up."

Naru looked at Haruka in shock. "B-But, Haruka!"

"No, Naru! You're not getting your way this time," replied Haruka as she narrowed her eyes at the younger girl, making Naru flinch back. "I know that the hole was used so you could talk with Granny Hina if something was bothering you, but she's not here anymore. It's time to board it up once and for all. It should have been boarded up a long time ago."

"How come you didn't say as much when Urashima first fixed the hole, Haruka?" asked Motoko.

Haruka grimaced at the questioned. "I was hoping Keitaro would have grown a backbone and stood his ground, but we know how that ended."

"Just can't say no to a pretty face, can he," stated Kitsune with a foxlike grin, making Naru blush a little and Motoko to glare at her.

"Unfortunately," deadpanned Haruka. "Like I said though, the hole stays sealed and I will be checking on it periodically to make sure it stays sealed, so don't think you can try and convince Keitaro to unseal in secret, Naru."

Naru held back a growl before she stomped out of the room and headed towards her room. She swore that she was going to get back at Naruto since this was clearly his fault. He must have used one of those ninja techniques of his to mess with everyone's heads to side against her. If that was the case, she had to find a way to free everyone from his control.

-:-

A few hours later Keitaro and the children were returning from their little trip. Unfortunately they were not alone, as Keitaro's friends Haitani and Shirai had decided to accompany them. While they were bugging Keitaro to get him to introduce them to some of the girls at the inn, Naruto watched on with narrowed eyes while Shinobu hid behind Naruto and Su was contemplating whether or not to "play" with these newcomers.

"Come on, Keitaro. You can't introduce us to some of the girls you live with?" questioned Shirai with a hopeful look.

"I've already told you no," replied Keitaro with a sigh as they all made their way up the stairs to the inn.

"Why not?" asked Haitani with a frown. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing stopping you from just introducing us."

'Aside from Naru's punches and Motoko's sword?' thought the ronin with a shudder. He did not want to be sent into orbit again. "I just don't think that it's a good idea."

"That's not fair though!" exclaimed Shirai with a glare. He then pointed at Naruto. "What about this kid? The fact that he's even here means that he must be living here, which means he got to meet all the hotties before we did!"

"I'm not a pervert like you two though!" exclaimed Naruto with a glare of his own.

At the sound of the argument, the rest of the Hinata Inn residents peeked outside to see what commotion was.

"What the hell are those two doing here?" demanded Naru as he narrowed her eyes towards Haitani and Shirai.

"Up to no good is the most likely answer," replied Motoko as she also narrowed her sights on Keitaro's friends.

"From the look of it it looks like they got on Naruto's bad side," stated Kitsune with a grin on her face and a cup of saké in her hand as she watched the fox child berate the two older men.

"Whatever the reason we should break it up and send those two away before they or Naruto do something stupid," said Haruka with a sigh.

Just as the four were about to go outside to end the argument, Naruto decided to deal with the two on his own.

"Like I said, you two are perverts and I know how to deal with perverts!" exclaimed the blond boy.

"Oh really?" questioned Haitani with an amused smirk. "And what could a little brat like you be able to do?"

At this Naruto made a familiar hand sign. "I'd use my anti-pervert technique! Oiroke no Jutsu!"

As Naruto declared his technique a puff of smoke erupted around him. When most of the smoke cleared everyone was shocked to see what was standing where Naruto once was. Where was once Naruto stood a shapely looking woman with long blonde hair tied into pigtails and was naked as the day she was born, although some of the remaining smoke covered her breasts and nether regions. She then blew a kiss for added effect.

Upon seeing this woman, the following reactions were as such:

Naru and Motoko were shocked and their jaws dropped. It was most likely that their brains had temporarily shut down, unable to process what they just witnessed.

Haruka had a blank look on her face, unable to believe that Naruto had a technique like that.

Kitsune started to choke on her saké due to her surprise, as Naruto's transformation was completely unexpected.

Shinobu let out a loud "eep" and blushed deeply; the sight of a naked woman just appearing out of nowhere was too much for a shy little thing like her and the fact that it was Naruto also added to her current state.

Su's eyes lit up as thoughts of different experiments she could perform to figure out Naruto's ability filtered through her head.

Keitaro was lucky enough to not be sent flying due to a nosebleed as he turned away the moment he saw naked flesh, although that didn't stop some blood to leak from his nostrils.

Shirai and Haitani weren't as lucky as Keitaro though. As soon as they saw the naked woman before them they shot off like blood rockets over the horizon, most likely never to be seen again for a week or two.

With the two perverts gone, Naruto released his technique and stood there triumphantly with a wide grin.

"Ha! Take that!" declared Naruto. He then went tense as a sudden feeling of dread engulfed him. 'Uh-oh, bloodlust!'

"Na-Ru-To!"

Slowly turning, Naruto saw a very livid Naru glaring down at him. He could have sworn there was a demonic aura surrounding her with how angry she looked. Without warning, Naru lunged forward with her signature punch.

Naruto quickly dodged the incoming attack, which caused Naru to go off-balance. This was not good since Naruto was near the edge of the flight of stairs; meaning Naru was about to take a big tumble.

"Ahh!" exclaimed Naru as she tried and failed to regain her balance.

"Naru!" exclaimed Keitaro and the girls, scared that their friend was going to get hurt.

Luckily tragedy was avoided when Naruto quickly reached out, grabbed hold of Naru, and pulled her back with all of his might.

Naru blinked in shock as she sat on the ground, all of her previous anger evaporated. She then looked up at Naruto. "Y-You saved me?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Well, yeah, why wouldn't I? You might be a pervert, but that doesn't mean you should fall down the stairs and die!"

The woman's eye twitched briefly at being called a pervert again, but she supposed she could let it go just this once since the brat did save her. She then turned towards Keitaro, only to find him looking away with his face slightly red. "What's with you, Keitaro?"

"Nothing!" came the quick reply from the ronin.

Naru raised an eyebrow in question before narrowing in suspicion. What did he do now that required her to put him in his place? Her answer came when a grinning Kitsune decided to speak up.

"I think ya pulled a little too hard, Naruto!"

"…Huh?" wondered the fox child, tilting his head in confusion. He then looked at his other hand and that sense of fear crept up again when he noticed that he was holding a piece of cloth, but not just any piece of cloth. In his attempt at saving Naru, he grabbed hold of the only thing he could reach in time, which was Naru's skirt. It must have torn clean off when he pulled her to safety.

Naruto dropped the skirt and ran for his life as a loud, angry, feral screech echoed throughout the area. Maybe it was for the best to sleep in the surrounding forest for a few days until things calmed down.

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

A pouty glare was upon Naruto's visage as he looked at the pile of dirty dishes before him. He then turned his pout towards Haruka.

"Why do I have to wash all these dishes?!"

"You're being punished for what you did," replied the woman as she gave the child a narrowed look.

"I didn't rip Naru's skirt on purpose! I even apologized!"

"Not that. You're being punished because of that "technique" of yours," explained Haruka, glaring back at Naruto.

"That was an anti-pervert jutsu though! It got rid of the perverts!"

"Naruto, you transformed into a naked woman," stated the woman as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Just be glad that I'm the one punishing you instead of Naru or Motoko."

The fox boy shuddered at the thought of having to face either girl's wrath. Doing the dishes was the lesser of two evils.

"Fine," replied Naruto with a sigh as he turned towards the dirty dishes.

Haruka gave a nod before turning to return to the front of the teahouse. Before she left though, she said one last thing.

"And don't even think about using that Kage Bunshin technique of yours to help you. You won't learn your lesson if you do."

The woman could only smirk as she received a groan in reply.

-:-

Meanwhile, up at the inn, the girls were currently discussing the recent revelation of their younger foxy resident.

"I can't believe that little perverted brat!" yelled Naru with a look of rage. "When I get my hands on him, I'm going to kill him!"

"Aw c'mon, Naru. Ya know he didn' rip off your skirt on purpose," replied Kitsune, taking a drink of her saké. "He was tryin' to save ya, after all."

"Like I'm going to believe that," replied Naru with a growl. She then turned towards the resident swordswoman. "You agree that the pervert must die, right?"

Motoko glanced away from Naru. "I…don't know, Naru."

Naru gave Motoko a blank look while Kitsune raised a brow in confusion. Wanting to know what Motoko meant, Naru demanded answers. "What do you mean you don't know?!"

"For one thing, Naru, it was quite obvious that the incident with your skirt was an accident, so he shouldn't be punished over an accident," explained Motoko. She then scowled heavily. "On the other hand, that jutsu of his is the most perverted thing I've ever seen, even if he does claim it to be an anti-pervert technique!"

"It did get rid of the perverts though," added Kitsune, reminding them of Haitani and Shirai's fate.

"It doesn't matter!" exclaimed Naru. "He's still a little pervert and perverts must die!"

Kitsune frowned at Naru's words. "Ya really willin' to beat up a kid?"

"He's worse than Keitaro is!" stated Naru, giving her friend a slight glare. "He needs to be dealt with now!"

Shinobu, who had been quiet for most of the conversation about Naruto, decided to put in her two cents on the subject. "B-But Naruto-kun didn't do anything wrong! H-He was just trying to protect us."

"Oh please. Like we needed protecting from Keitaro's idiot friends," said Naru. She then turned around and headed upstairs. "I suggest you get your head out of the clouds, Shinobu, and realize that Naruto is a threat to the Hinata-sou and we need to get rid of him."

With Naru gone, the other three were left to their thoughts. Shinobu felt like crying, afraid of what might happen to Naruto if Naru was to get her way.

Kitsune wasn't sure what to think of this. Naru was her friend, but she was acting like she wanted to hurt Naruto, more so than what she does to Keitaro. Kitsune may be a lot of things, but she wasn't the kind of person to just stand by and let a child come to harm. If it came down to it, Kitsune would most likely stand against Naru.

Motoko was also conflicted with her thoughts. Despite the fact that Naruto was a pervert, much like Kitsune she could not bring herself to harm a child. Plus, somehow Naruto had an air of innocence about him despite his perverseness. She needed to assess the situation a little more before she could take action.

"Kitsune, I'm going to go train on the roof. Try to keep Naru from doing anything she might regret," said Motoko, heading up the stairs.

"Don't need to tell me twice," muttered the vixen before taking a swig of her drink.

-:-

A few hours had passed by since Motoko started her daily training regiment. After practicing her sword arts, she decided to finish her training by meditating. She didn't get far in her meditation though when the sounds of an irked Naruto came up to the roof, interrupting her in the process.

"Stupid dishes, taking so long," grumbled Naruto with a pout.

"Uzumaki!"

Jumping at the harsh sounding voice, Naruto turned to find Motoko glaring at him. He really wanted to run at that moment, but he knew she would just chase him down. The only thing he could think of doing was talk his way out of the situation.

"H-Hey, Neechan!"

"Sit!" ordered the swordswoman as she pointed at the spot next to her.

The young blond gulped in fear at what she had planned, but sat down regardless. "So…what's up?"

"What exactly was going through your mind when you came up with that perverted jutsu?" demanded Motoko, cutting to the chase.

Naruto gave off a pout. "Do we really need to go through this? Haruka already made me wash all of the dishes in the teahouse because of it!"

"Just answer the question!"

Letting out a groan, Naruto went on to explain. "When I first created the Oiroke no Jutsu it was originally used to prank people."

Motoko could feel her brow start to twitch in anger. "…What?"

"But when I saw how effective it was, I started to use it to take down perverts! It's my best weapon!" declared the boy with a grin.

"You shouldn't be using such a foul technique!"

"But it works! Plus it's the only way I can get Ero-Sennin to train me!"

"…What?"

"Most of the time Ero-Sennin likes to spy on girls while they're in the bathhouse, so I use my Oiroke no Jutsu to either get his attention or to get him caught," explained the fox child. "Plus, now that I think of it, I could use my Oiroke no Jutsu to stun an opponent and then knock them out with a punch!"

Motoko stared at the boy with a blank look. From the way he talked about his jutsu, he was obviously proud of it and yet not in a perverted way. He actually spoke of it strategic way and that scared Motoko. All her life she lived with the knowledge that perverts and anything related to perverts must be eradicated and Naruto of all people was starting to prove her wrong!

Feeling a headache coming on, Motoko started to rub her temples to relieve the pain. "This can't be happening."

"What's wrong, Neechan?" asked Naruto, tilting his head in confusion.

"You are making me question everything I've ever known," replied Motoko, giving the boy a side glare.

"Well one cannot grow as a person if they do not question things, Motoko-han," replied a voice that made Motoko tense up.

"S-Sister!"

Before Motoko and Naruto appeared a young woman who looked like an older version of Motoko. Upon her shoulder was a strange type of bird that Naruto had never seen before.

It was silent as Motoko and Naruto stared at the woman with wide eyes, but Naruto was the one to soon break the silence. "Wow! Are you a princess?!"

The woman let out a few giggles. "What makes you think that, little one?"

"You look like the princesses that were in the stories Hokage-jiji used to tell me when I was little!" explained Naruto, his blue eyes still wide with wonder. This earned him another giggle from the woman and a glare from Motoko.

"Thank you for the compliment, little one, but unfortunately I am no princess. My name is Aoyama Tsuruko and as Motoko-han pointed out, I am her sister," explained Tsuruko with a smile. "And what would your name be?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" replied the boy with his fox-like grin.

Tsuruko then turned towards Motoko. "So this is the boy you spoke of when we last spoke."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion as he looked between the two Aoyama women, while Motoko averted her eyes away from her sister.

"H-Hai, this is him. Although I did not think you would come all this way over that."

"How could I not, when my sweet imouto is living with another male that seems to be exempt from her hate?"

"I-It's not like that!" exclaimed Motoko, her face bright red, as she knew what her sister might be implying.

Tsuruko couldn't help but giggle once more as she watched Motoko try to explain herself. She turned towards Naruto and found that his face was also slightly red.

"Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"N-Nothing!" exclaimed the boy, looking very much embarrassed. "It's just that…I thought Motoko-neechan really liked Keitaro-niisan? So why would she like me the same way?!"

Tsuruko had to suppress her laughter, especially since she could see from the corner of her eye Motoko tense up and her face become a deeper shade of red.

"Oh? Motoko-han likes the inn's manager?" questioned Tsuruko, pretending that this was news to her.

Naruto nodded his head. "Hai! Sometimes, after she scolds Niisan for something, she'll have a small smile on her face and a certain look in her eyes when he's not looking. I've seen other girls look like that when they're with guys they really like!"

'He notices that, but he's oblivious to the fact that Shinobu has feelings for him?! What the hell?!' thought Motoko, wanting to hide under a rock where Tsuruko couldn't find her. Speaking of Tsuruko, Motoko noticed that her sister was looking at her with a grin.

"Tell me, Motoko-han. Will you continue denying the truth now that there is someone else who can see through you?"

"What's she talking about, Neechan?" asked Naruto as he looked at the embarrassed samurai girl.

Before Motoko could yell at the boy, Tsuruko garnered his attention. "Naruto-kun, I was told that you are a shinobi, correct?"

"Hai!"

"If that is the case, I have a mission for you," replied Tsuruko, giving the boy a soft smile.

Naruto's eyes widened at this. It had been awhile since he last got a mission of any kind. "Really?! What is it?! What is it?!"

Giggling at his enthusiasm, Tsuruko replied. "I want you to find Urashima-san and discreetly find out how exactly he feels about my Motoko-han. And remember, this is very important and no one else should know about it~"

Although he was confused at first, Naruto gave off a salute nonetheless. "You can count on me, Neechan!"

With that, Naruto ran back down into the inn, leaving behind a beaming Tsuruko and a mortified Motoko.

"He's so adorable!" cooed Tsuruko as she turned to her sister.

"How could you do this to me?!" demanded Motoko as she glared at Tsuruko.

"Now, now, Motoko-han. I have given you plenty of chances and you did nothing. Maybe with Naruto-kun's help, I can finally get you and Urashima-san together."

"D-Don't drag Naruto into this! He's a little pervert!"

"And yet, he still lives. I overheard your little conversation with Naruto-kun earlier and I could tell that much like with Urashima-san your views on males were changing because of Naruto-kun."

"I do not like Naruto in that way," replied Motoko through clenched teeth.

Tsuruko rolled her eyes. "First off, I know that. I was just stating that both Urashima-san and Naruto-kun are making you realize that not all males are as horrible as you previously thought. Secondly, thank you for admitting that you are in love with Urashima-san."

Motoko looked at her sister with a blank look as she replayed the last thing she said. Once she realized what she implied, she went stiff as a board. 'Damn it!'

"There's no denying it now, Motoko-han~"

-:-

Sometime later Tsuruko was sitting in the guest room that was provided to her, waiting for Naruto to give her a report on Urashima-san. She didn't have to wait long as there was soon a knock on the door.

"Enter," she commanded. When the door opened, she smiled when Naruto was on the other side. "Ah, Naruto-kun! What have you found out about Urashima-san?"

She was surprised when the child pouted. "I couldn't find any information! Niisan isn't even here!"

"Hm? Where is he then?"

"Shinobu-chan said he and Naru went into town, but didn't know why. All she knew was that Naru literally dragged Niisan out of the inn."

At this Tsuruko frowned in disappointment. From what she knew of Naru, she could never make up her mind on whether she liked Keitaro or not, so for her to willingly take him into town brought up many questions.

"I see…"

"I hope Niisan will be alright with Naru by himself," said Naruto with a worried frown. "Naru can be really mean most of the time. I actually saved her from falling down the stairs recently and she got really mad! Granted I tore off her skirt in the process, but it was an accident!"

"Do not worry, Naruto-kun. I'm sure Urashima-san will be all right," replied Tsuruko, trying to calm the boy. 'Then again, considering how Urashima-san is when it comes to Narusegawa…'

"I hope so," said Naruto with a sigh.

-:-

With Motoko, the samurai girl had much on her mind. Aside from the fact that her sister had manipulated Naruto into helping her schemes, she had to worry about Naru and Keitaro. She had also heard that Naru had taken Keitaro into town and wondered what the older girl was planning considering what had been going on recently.

'What if it has to do with Naruto?' she wondered. 'She wants to get rid of him so badly, would she really go so far as to try and convince Keitaro to get rid of him? Everyone but Keitaro knows the power she holds over him and how she can get him to do anything she wants. I'll admit she doesn't manipulate him often, but if it's something she really wants…I'll need to talk with Keitaro when he gets home just in case.'

It was around an hour later that Keitaro and Naru returned. It wasn't surprising though that Naru was angry and stomping her way up the stairs and that Keitaro almost looked depressed. If Motoko had to guess, they must have fought over something…or someone. As much as she didn't want to further upset Keitaro, Motoko needed to know what happened.

"Oh, hi, Motoko," said Keitaro with a slight smile as he noticed her coming his way.

"Urashima, we need to talk."

The ronin looked at the girl with confusion, but complied and followed after her as she led him to her room. He was a bit fearful of entering her room, but entered with her permission. As they sat across from each other, Keitaro poke up.

"So what did you want to talk about, Motoko?"

"…What exactly happened between you and Naru earlier?"

Keitaro looked away from Motoko with a frown. "I…I don't want to talk about it."

"…I need to know what happened…Keitaro," replied Motoko in a soft tone.

This surprised Keitaro. Not only was Motoko not yelling, like he expected her to do after he refused to talk, but she actually used his name for once. "Wh-Why do you need to know?"

"I have a feeling I know what happened, but I need confirmation. Please, Keitaro. What happened between you and Naru? I promise that whatever it is I won't think any less of you," explained Motoko with a worried look.

"Heh, how much less could you think of me already?" questioned Keitaro, making Motoko flinch.

That actually hurt Motoko. She knew she wasn't always nice to Keitaro, but she had felt she was making progress to be a better person towards him. If what he said was any indication, was she still the same person she was when she first met him despite everything they've been through? That thought hurt her even more.

"K-Keitaro…I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you and if there is any way to prove that I'll do it, but right now I need to know what happened with Naru! It's very important!" declared Motoko, giving the man a pleading look.

"How could it be so important, Motoko?" asked Keitaro with a sigh.

"Just answer me this; did it have anything to do with Naruto?" questioned Motoko. Seeing Keitaro tense up was all the answer she needed. "It did, didn't it? What did she do?"

"Motoko, please don't…"

"Keitaro! I need to know what Naru wanted before someone gets hurt!" exclaimed Motoko as she glared at Keitaro.

"N-Nani? Motoko, I doubt anyone would get hurt."

"Keitaro, just earlier today Naru was threatening to kill Naruto because of what happened yesterday and I honestly believe she meant it this time."

"…What about you? You're always stating how you'll punish any "perverted males" that cross your path. Shouldn't you be siding with Naru on this?"

Motoko looked away with a look of shame. "Things change, Keitaro. I will admit that when I first met you I saw you as just another male that needed to be punished, but as time went on I started to see you differently. You weren't like the other males out there and my opinion was starting to change.

Naruto is just like you in that fact. Ever since he first arrived I have observed him, making sure that he wasn't a possible threat since he was technically an outsider, and I found that he was like you and that he was different from other males. Yes, he has some perverted tendencies, yet he doesn't act in the same way as, for example, your friends."

"Well I would hope not," replied Keitaro with a laugh. He then frowned. "But what do you mean by that?"

"The way he speaks to us. Myself, Shinobu, Kitsune, Haruka, and even my sister, he speaks to us without any alterative motives. It's as if any perverted thoughts don't even cross his mind, unlike your friends who don't even hide it. It's almost as if Naruto's soul is completely pure, free of taint."

Keitaro scratched his head in confusion. "Are we talking about the same Naruto? You do remember that technique of his, right?"

Motoko let out a sigh. "Hai, I do, and yet I still stand by what I said. That being said…I want to protect Naruto from anything Naru is planning. Naruto may be perverted at times, but he is still a child and there is no honor in harming a child."

Keitaro looked into Motoko's eyes and saw the pleading look she was giving him. She really meant what she said and was afraid for Naruto's wellbeing.

"I…I don't think you have anything to worry about, Motoko," replied Keitaro.

"What do you mean, Keitaro?"

"The fight Naru and I had earlier, it was about Naruto. Naru was trying to convince me that since I was the manager of the Hinata-sou that I had the authority to kick Naruto out, stating that it would be for the safety of the residents."

Motoko could feel her anger rise at hearing this. "Judging from Naru's expression when you came home you didn't agree with her…right?"

"Of course not! Naruto is just a kid and he's not even from around here! Where would he even go?" stated Keitaro, slight anger in his expression at the mere thought of agreeing with such an idea. He then let out a sigh. "I never thought Naru would treat a child like this."

'Considering she has a "her way or the highway" attitude…' thought Motoko, but aloud she said. "I wouldn't worry too much over this, Keitaro. Naruto can stay for as long as he needs to and there's nothing Naru can do about it. Naruto has you, Haruka, Shinobu, Su, myself, and even Kitsune by his side, so anything Naru tries will never work."

Keitaro took in everything Motoko said and gave her smile. "You're right. Arigatou, Motoko. I'm glad we had this talk. I feel a lot better now."

Motoko blushed slightly at Keitaro's words and looked down at her lap as a way to hide it. "Ah, you're welcome, Keitaro."

The ronin let out an amused laugh. "Anyway, I should probably get out of your hair and see if there's anymore chores left to be done."

"Right," replied Motoko. "And Keitaro, remember what I said."

"I will," said Keitaro as he exited the room and closed the door. Once on the other side though, he frowned. "Still…I hope Naru doesn't do anything she would regret."

As Keitaro went on his way, unbeknownst to him and Motoko, a certain little chef had overheard their conversation.

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

The gentle breeze wafted through area as the two children made their way to a nearby tree. The male of the two was carrying a basket full of food, while the girl was carrying a rolled up blanket.

"This was a really good idea, Shinobu-chan!" exclaimed the fox boy with a smile.

The shy little chef couldn't help but blush at Naruto's praise. "A-Arigatou, N-Naruto-kun!"

"Although, shouldn't we have invited the others on this picnic?" questioned Naruto, tilting his head in confusion.

"Th-They had other things to do," replied Shinobu, averting her gaze. She didn't want to lie to Naruto-kun, but she wanted this to be just her and him, with no interference.

"Oh, okay!"

Shinobu let out a sigh of relief as she continued walking side-by-side with the grinning blond. They soon reached their destination where Shinobu then laid out the blanket and Naruto set the basket down. Once they were settled, Shinobu unpacked the food and handed Naruto his lunch.

"How is it, Naruto-kun?" asked Shinobu as they started to eat.

"Seriously, Shinobu-chan, you'd make for an amazing wife with the way you cook," replied Naruto before going back to his food. He missed the bright red blush on Shinobu's face.

Shinobu couldn't help but feel giddy. Here she was, having what was essentially a date with Naruto-kun, and everything was going perfectly! Unfortunately, Murphy's Law decided to rear its ugly head at this moment.

"Naruto!"

The two children turned to see an angry Naru stomping her way towards them. Letting out a sigh, Naruto leveled a look at her.

"What now, Naru? What did I do this time to set you off?" questioned the young shinobi with a sigh.

He unfortunately never got an answer as the next thing Naruto and Shinobu knew was Naru blindsiding him with a Naru Punch, sending him flying back a few feet and tumbling to the ground.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Shinobu, shocked by what just happened. She then looked at Naru with wide eyes. "N-Naru-sempai! Why did you do that?!"

Naru didn't answer as she stalked towards Naruto, who was struggling to stand up. When she reached him she kicked him hard in the ribs, sending him back another few feet and causing him to cough up blood.

"Wh-What the hell?!" coughed Naruto, as he tried to regain his breath. He glared at Naru, but lost his breath once again when the older girl grabbed him by the throat.

"Sempai! Stop, please!" yelled Shinobu as she ran towards them. She stopped in her tracks though when Naru cast her a glare though.

Turning back to the struggling Naruto, Naru finally spoke. "You've been nothing but a pain in my side since you got here. Since Keitaro is too much of a wimp to get rid of you, I'll get rid of you myself."

Naruto and Shinobu's eyes widened in fear when Naru then pulled out what Shinobu recognized as the Hina Blade. Where Naru was hiding it on her person was a mystery, but all that mattered now was that it was aimed directly for Naruto's heart.

"No! Naruto-kun!" cried Shinobu. She had to stop this before it was too late!

But with a single thrust, the earth turned red.

-:-

Shinobu awoke with gasp, as fear gripped her heart. With tears streaming down her face, she frantically took in her surroundings to see that she was in her room.

'Naruto-kun!' thought Shinobu as the nightmare she had replayed itself in her mind. 'Please be alive! Please be alive!'

The blue-haired girl scrambled out of her bed with only one thought on her mind. Making her way out of her room she hurriedly, yet quietly, made her way to Keitaro's room to see if Naruto-kun was okay. Once she arrived she was hesitant to open the door since she would technically be intruding, but her need to know if Naruto-kun was alive overrode everything.

Opening the door as quietly as she could, Shinobu snuck inside and let out a sigh of relief when she found Naruto-kun sound asleep in his futon. With the knowledge that he was all right, Shinobu was about to head back to her room before she stopped and looked back at the sleeping blond. Memories of the nightmare she had were still there and she was afraid to go back to sleep…at least by herself. Blushing at what she was about to do, she made her way towards Naruto.

"Mm, ramen," muttered Naruto in his sleep. Shinobu had to hold back a giggle as she kneeled before the blond.

"N-Naruto-kun. Wake up," said Shinobu in a whisper as she gently shook Naruto.

Naruto let out a soft groan as he opened his eyes slightly and saw the shy little chef. "Shinobu?"

"G-Gomen, N-Naruto-kun, for waking you, b-but I had a bad dream and I was w-wondering…if I c-could sleep in here with you?" asked Shinobu, her blush coming back as she avoided eye contact.

Naruto just stared at Shinobu as his sleep addled mind tried to comprehend the girl's words. Wanting to get back to sleep though, he merely gave off a shrug. "Sure."

Whipping her head back up, the still blushing Shinobu watched with wide eyes as the boy scooted over. She gave off a soft smile. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun!"

It didn't take her long to get under the blankets and lay next to the boy she had come to love. Snuggling close to Naruto, she laid her head on his chest and blushed when she felt him wrap his arm around her and held her close.

"Goodnight, Shinobu-chan," muttered Naruto, sleep taking over once more.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun," replied Shinobu, nuzzling her (in her mind) Naruto-kun.

The girl had no more nightmares that night.

-:-

The sun came up a few hours later as the birds started their morning song. One of the first people up was Keitaro, usually to get a head start on his daily chores. He especially had to do this early now since ever since Naruto sealed up the hole, the young blond had been doing other chores as well as repayment for staying at the inn.

As he was about to get up though, what caught his eye made him freeze in shock as what he saw were Naruto and Shinobu sleeping together in the same futon. His mind tried to comprehend what he was seeing and why they were in the same futon, but he kept coming up blank. Hell, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do right now. Waking them up would cause Shinobu so much embarrassment and he didn't have the heart to do that to the girl and who knew how Naruto would react.

Having no choice, Keitaro tiptoed out of the room and headed downstairs, leaving the two children in peace. Looks like he'd have to make breakfast since Shinobu was still asleep. When he reached the kitchen though, he ran into Motoko, Tsuruko, and Haruka.

"Keitaro, have you seen Shinobu? Why hasn't breakfast been made yet?" questioned Motoko as she turned to the ronin. Seeing him tense though, made her give him a narrowed look. "Urashima, what did you do?"

"Nothing!" yelped Keitaro, holding up his hands in defense.

"Then where is Shinobu?" questioned Haruka as she crossed her arms. "And for that matter, where is Naruto?"

At the mention of both of the pre-teens' names, Keitaro became slightly red and averted his eyes. It didn't take long for the pieces to fall into place for the two women, while Tsuruko was the one to speak up.

"Oh my, I didn't think children in this day and age started so early~"

Not even waiting for confirmation, an angry Haruka made her way upstairs to find the now wayward children that were her responsibility. Motoko wasn't far behind, actually disappointed that she might have to kill Naruto. Keitaro and Tsuruko followed after them to make sure they didn't do something so drastic. As they reached the hallway where Keitaro's room was, Kitsune and Su were coming from the opposite direction.

"What's goin' on?" asked a still tired Kitsune, as she noticed the others.

She got her answer when Haruka slammed the door open, causing the sleeping Naruto and Shinobu to jump awake and let out a yelp and eep respectively. "What the hell are you two doing?!"

Due to being awoken so suddenly, Naruto was still disoriented and didn't notice how Shinobu hid her face in his chest to hide her embarrassment. When he noticed Haruka glaring down at him, he grew confused. "Haruka-san?"

"I'll repeat, what the hell are you two doing?" growled out Haruka, still glaring down at the two.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Naruto, giving her a pouty glare.

"Ya might want to look down, Naruto," said Kitsune, a smirk on her face.

Naruto did as Kitsune said, only to see a mass of blue.

"…A blueberry?" questioned the fox boy as he gave the object a tentative touch. In doing so, the object let out an "eep". "A squeaky blueberry?"

Kitsune couldn't hold it anymore. She busted out laughing at Naruto's description of Shinobu. Tsuruko also couldn't hold her giggles at the scene. Haruka, Motoko, and Keitaro on the other hand sweatdropped. Lastly, Su was giving off a pout.

"No fair! Why Shinobu get to sleep with Naruto? I want sleep with Naruto too!" exclaimed the island girl as she tried to make her way into the room, causing Naruto to go pale.

Luckily Motoko was able to pull her back in time. "Now is not the time, Su."

It was at that moment Shinobu stopped hiding and released herself from Naruto, causing the boy to look at her with wide eyes. "Sh-Shinobu-chan?"

"I want both of you downstairs now," demanded Haruka. "I want answers."

The two pre-teens could feel the fear building up. Haruka, despite coming off as mellow and calm, could be frightening when she needed to be. Not wasting anytime, Naruto and Shinobu followed after Haruka.

When they were gone, Motoko turned to Keitaro with a narrowed look, making him flinch. "Why didn't you do something when you first found them like that?"

"I know I should have, but I couldn't bring myself to embarrass Shinobu," replied the guilty ronin. "I was hoping they would have woken up on their own before everyone else."

Motoko pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Keitaro, your indecision might have made things worse for them. In fact, I was very close to punishing Naruto myself because I had thought he did something perverted to Shinobu, but since the incident happened in your room Naruto obviously was the instigator in this case."

"Who knew Shinobu had it in her?" questioned Kitsune with a smirk. This earned her a glare from Motoko.

"I believe it might be best that we make sure Haruka-san doesn't do something too severe," said Tsuruko as she walked passed the Hinata residents. "She was quite angry after all."

"I still want to sleep with Naruto!" cried Su as she ran on ahead. That was all Motoko and Keitaro needed to get in gear. Keeping Su out of this was the best thing they could do.

Kitsune was about to follow after them, but stopped when a thought hit her. She looked back into Keitaro's room and up at the sealed hole. "I'm surprised Naru didn' hear any of that. The others can handle the kids, I better check on Naru."

With that, the vixen went in the other direction to find her friend.

-:-

Downstairs, Naruto and Shinobu were sitting on the couch with Haruka standing in front of them and staring down at them with a narrowed look. Looking between the two, she set her sights on Shinobu first, making the girl jump.

"Explain to me why you were in Naruto's futon last night. You are the last person I would think who would do something like this, so you better have a really good reason for it."

Shinobu blushed in embarrassment. She didn't regret going to Naruto-kun last night or even sharing a futon with him, but to be caught like they were was too much for the shy little chef. It didn't help that she had to tell them about the nightmare she had. Just remembering what had happened in the realm of dreams brought tears to he eyes.

"I…I had a g-good reason, H-Haruka-san!" squeaked Shinobu, wiping away the tears.

Haruka merely crossed her arms. "Which was?"

"I…I had a nightmare and c-couldn't get back to sleep," replied the girl, looking down at her lap. "I just didn't want to be alone."

Haruka raised an eyebrow at this. She then turned to Naruto. "Is this true? Was that the only reason she was with you last night?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well I was drifting in and out last night, but I'm pretty sure it was. I remember waking up to see Shinobu and she said something about a nightmare, but not much else. I went right back to sleep afterwards."

"And you just agreed to let her sleep in your futon with you?" demanded Haruka, still giving the boy a questioning look.

"I don't see what the big deal is! Shinobu-chan had a nightmare and I helped her get over it!" exclaimed Naruto with a pout. He then muttered. "I wish I had someone to go to when I had nightmares when I was younger."

Despite his mutterings, Haruka still heard what he said, but didn't question it out right. Focusing back on the problem at hand, she let out a sigh of frustration. "Okay, look, obviously nothing happened last night other than sleep, but I do not want this to happen again. You two are too young to be sharing a futon and I do not need to give you two The Talk, understood?"

The two pre-teens blushed up a storm at the mention of getting The Talk. Shinobu went silent, while Naruto spoke up. "No! We don't need that! My Baachan already gave me The Talk after Ero-sennin gave it to me and I don't need it for a third time!"

"Then you two will be sleeping in your own beddings from now on," replied Haruka, secretly enjoying how fearful Naruto had become. It meant that he would listen to her warning. Shinobu on the other hand…

Haruka glanced at Shinobu to find the young girl, while still blushing and her head down, kept glancing at Naruto. The den mother frowned at this; worried that Shinobu might try to get into Naruto's futon again. This led to a new thought. Was Naruto and Shinobu's nightmare connected? Was that why Shinobu went straight to Naruto instead of one of the other girls? She had to find out so this incident wouldn't repeat itself.

"Haruka-san? Can I go now? I haven't had breakfast yet," said Naruto, his stomach letting out a growl.

It was then that Keitaro, Motoko, Su, and Tsuruko entered the room. This gave Haruka the perfect opportunity to talk with Shinobu without Naruto around.

"Keitaro, since breakfast is a little late thanks to this morning's incident (this caused Shinobu to blush) I want you to take Naruto into town a pickup some breakfast for everyone."

"…Why not just make breakfast here?" asked Keitaro, raising an eyebrow at the request. He received a look that made him shiver in fear. "Right! Let's get going, Naruto!"

Once the two males dressed and left, this allowed Haruka to question Shinobu without embarrassing her in front of Naruto. "Shinobu, about that nightmare you had…"

Shinobu shuddered in fear at the mention of her nightmare. She didn't want to remember. "H-Hai, Haruka-san?"

"Did it by chance have anything to do with Naruto?"

This time Shinobu tensed up. How did Haruka know?! Before Shinobu could reply, Motoko spoke up.

"A nightmare about Naruto? Why would Shinobu have a nightmare about Naruto?" questioned the swordswoman as she crossed her arms. "It would make no sense considering how they interact with each other when they're awake."

Haruka let out a sigh at Motoko's words. It was more logical though. Looking back at the now blushing Shinobu, she got back on track. "Well, Shinobu?"

"I-It wasn't about N-Naruto-kun, but he was in it," replied Shinobu. "I don't want to talk about this!"

Tsuruko spoke up next. "But talking about it will help. I remember when Motoko-han was younger and had nightmare, I had her tell me about them and once she did she always felt better afterwards."

Motoko looked away with a blush. "I did not have nightmares."

"Oh? I do remember you having an occasional nightmare involving a certain shelled reptile that I believe you are still afraid of," replied Tsuruko with a smirk as Motoko went pale as a sheet at the mention of her least favorite thing in the world.

"S-Sister!"

"Would you two knock it off?!" growled out Haruka as she glared at the two swordswomen. She then turned back to Shinobu. "Turtle dreams not withstanding, Tsuruko is right when she said talking about your nightmare would help. Now what happened, Shinobu?"

The other older women were surprised when tears came to Shinobu's eyes and were even more surprised by her next words. "N-Naruto-kun died!"

"…Died? What do you mean he died? How?" questioned Haruka, narrowing her eyes.

Shinobu, though hesitant, went on to explain her dream. From how her and Naruto-kun were on a picnic date to when Naru showed up. She broke down in sobs, as she had to tell them how Naru beat Naruto and then stabbed him through the heart with the Hina Blade and there was nothing she could do to stop Naru.

At this point, Motoko had embraced Shinobu, letting the little girl cry on her shoulder as she rubbed Shinobu's back to try and calm her. Su was no longer her hyperactive self, realizing that the situation was not the time for her antics, and went over to give Shinobu a reassuring hug. Haruka's reaction though…

Tsuruko noticed Haruka making her way towards the stairs and could sense the anger radiating off the den mother. "Haruka-san?"

"I need to have a talk with Naru," replied Haruka, venom dripping from her words.

Watching Haruka make her way up the stairs, Tsuruko wondered if she should be calling for an ambulance right now.

-:-

It was a good thing that no one was in Haruka's way as she made her way to Naru's room; otherwise they probably would have felt her burning wrath. Upon reaching the room, Haruka slammed the door open, making the occupant jump in fright. "Naru!"

"Damn it, Haruka! What the hell ya think yer doin'?! Ya scared the hell outta me!" exclaimed Kitsune as she glared at Haruka once her heart stopped trying to jump out of her chest.

Haruka glared back at the vixen, causing the dirty blonde to flinch back when she noticed the anger swimming in them. "Where is Naru?"

Kitsune frowned at the question before handing Haruka a piece of paper. Snatching the paper from Kitsune, Haruka read what was on the paper, her grip becoming tighter as her anger rose.

"Yeah, she's not here," said Kitsune, explaining the note she had found when she came up earlier to check on Naru. "Apparently she snuck out last night and went back home for awhile, sayin' things were gettin' too stressful here or somethin'."

"…I'm done with her."

Kitsune raised an eyebrow at Haruka's words. "Come again?"

"I'm done with Naru. I'm done with her attitude and how she believe everything has to be her way," yelled Haruka, glaring at Kitsune and making the vixen flinch once more. "I don't care if she was Granny Hina's favorite, Naru is not allowed back here if she decided to come back."

"Y-Ya can't be serious, Haruka!"

"I am serious, Mitsune!" hissed Haruka, using the other woman's real name. "I've held my tongue for too long when it came to Naru and I'm not letting that continue. If Naru wants to keep acting like a spoiled brat and run away whenever she can't deal with a problem, then she can find somewhere else to live."

"B-But Keitaro is the one who makes the final decision! Ya know just as well as I do that he'll never kick Naru outta here!" explained Kitsune, hoping she could reason with Haruka.

"Not this time. I'll make damn sure Keitaro doesn't allow Naru back," replied Haruka, her anger still there. "…Do you know why Shinobu slept with Naruto last night?"

"…What does that have to do with this?"

"Shinobu had a nightmare where Naru killed Naruto right in front of her," answered the den mother, causing Kitsune to look at her in surprise. "This situation between Naru and Naruto has gotten so out of hand that it's affecting others."

"B-But Naru wouldn' really kill Naruto! I mean, sure she might have said she would, but she wouldn' go through with it! Hell, Motoko and me would have made sure she didn'! Kid might be annoyin' as hell, but he's still a kid."

"She's threatened to kill Naruto before?" demanded Haruka, her narrowed gaze on the fox woman.

"Sh-She was still upset about Naruto accidently ripping her skirt off…"

"…She's not allowed back here and that's final," replied Haruka as she stormed out the room.

Kitsune frowned in sadness at what had just transpired. Looking around the room once more, she spoke to no one. "Damn it, Naru. You really did it this time."

-:-

Hours had passed since then and the Hinata-sou was surprisingly quiet. When Keitaro and Naruto had returned with breakfast, Haruka took Keitaro aside and had explained to him the situation. To say Keitaro was unhappy was an understatement. He was downright depressed to learn that not only did Naru leave again, but that she was not allowed back no matter what. Like Kitsune, Keitaro tried to defend Naru and reason with Haruka, but this earned him a smack to the head from Haruka much to his surprise.

"When are you going to get it through your head that Naru is not perfect?! She's not some person who should be put on a pedestal like some goddess!" Haruka had said as she glared at Keitaro.

Keitaro was at a loss as he tried to think of how to get Naru back on Haruka's good side. It didn't help that Haruka learned of Naru's plan to convince him to kick Naruto out of the Hinata-sou.

"I know you don't want to hear this, Keitaro, but Haruka is right when she says that Naru is not perfect, no matter what you may think. Maybe it's for the best that Naru stays away for awhile and hopefully she'll learn from this," was what Motoko had said when he asked her what he should do.

The ronin wished there was something he could do, but all he could think about was how Haruka might have been right. Maybe he did always put Naru on a pedestal and see her as someone who could do no wrong, which made him wonder what the hell was wrong with him considering all she ever did was hit him if he did the slightest thing wrong.

He really needed to reevaluate his life and figure out where he went wrong to get to this point.

Elsewhere, Naruto was busy packing a bag with supplies. He had overheard Keitaro and Haruka's conversation, learning of Naru's departure and felt that he was at fault for it. As much as he didn't like Naru, the fox child was going to set things right and go and find Naru and bring her home. He might have failed to bring back Sasuke back in his world, but he wasn't going to fail here.

Just as he was about to leave on his journey though, a soft voice stopped him.

"Naruto-kun? Where are you going?"

The blond turned to find Shinobu looking at him with a worried look. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Shinobu-chan. I won't be gone long."

"Th-That didn't answer my question, Naruto-kun. Haruka-san would be worried if you just left," replied Shinobu. "Please, tell me where you're going."

"…I'm going to go find Naru and bring her back. It's pretty much my fault she left and everyone has become upset because of everything that's happened, so I'm going to set things right!" explained Naruto with a determined look. His look of determination though soon became a look of shock by Shinobu's next words.

"No! You can't!" exclaimed Shinobu, her face now full of fear.

"N-Nani? What do you mean I can't, Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu came closer to the boy she cared deeply for until she was standing directly in front of him and looked him in the eye. "Naruto-kun, it's not your fault that Naru left. She left of her own free will like she has done multiple times before."

"Wait, she's left before?"

"…Naru usually leaves the Hinata-sou and heads back to her own home if something doesn't go her way," explained Shinobu with a frown.

Naruto gave the girl a blank look. "So basically she runs away from her problems like a coward? What the hell?!"

Flinching at his shout, Shinobu continued. "Gomen, Naruto-kun, but it's true. I…I would like to say we try to talk to her about it, but Naru tends to not listen to us most of the time."

Clenching his fist, Naruto turned back to the door. "All the more reason to drag her ass back here!"

"Eh?! You can't!" squeaked Shinobu, grabbing hold of Naruto's sleeve. "D-Do you even know where she is?!"

"I'll find her eventually!" exclaimed Naruto as he walked towards the door, dragging Shinobu in the process.

Shinobu bit her lip in worry. She didn't want Naruto to leave and if she were being honest with herself, she didn't want Naru to come back. She always regretted not standing up for Keitaro-sempai whenever Naru abused him and she was not going to make that same mistake when it came to Naruto-kun. If Naru stayed away, then Naruto-kun would be safe and she was going to keep it that way!

It was all for naught though as Naruto grabbed hold of the door and opened it…only to come face-to-face with a woman who was about to knock.

"Oh my! I didn't even knock yet and you knew I was here!" replied the woman with a smile.

The woman had a kind look to her; a smile always on her face and her eyes always closed. She had long brown hair tied in a braided ponytail. She also wore a green and beige dress, giving her an earthy look.

The two children blinked at the woman's sudden appearance before Naruto turned his head back. "Obachan! We have a visitor!"

"Damn it, kid! What did I tell ya about callin' me that?! And stop yellin'!" growled out a slightly hungover Kitsune as she walked into the room. Upon seeing the visitor though, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Mutsumi?"

"Hello, Kitsune-san! I thought I would come by for a visit since it feels like it's been so long since I last visited!" said Mutsumi before looking back and forth between Kitsune and Naruto. "Ara, although it looks like it has been too long."

Kitsune's eye twitched in anger at the Mutsumi's implication. Did she really look like someone's mother?! Hell no! If it weren't for the fact that Mutsumi was as dense as oil, Kitsune would slap the hell out of her.

"Just get in here!" yelled the irritated vixen.

All Mutsumi did was smile as she entered the inn, walking passed Naruto and Shinobu. "Arigatou, Kitsune-san!"

"Whatever," grumbled Kitsune. She then turned to the two children to see Naruto with a backpack and Shinobu. She gave the two a narrowed look. "What are ya two doin'?"

Shinobu let out an "eep" as she let go of Naruto, while the boy gave Kitsune a defiant look. "I was going on a mission!"

"H-He wanted to go and find Naru," added Shinobu.

"Shinobu-chan! Why would you tell Obachan that?! I wanted it to be a surprise!" exclaimed Naruto, giving the blue-haired girl a pout.

Kitsune gave the boy a blank look before pointing towards the stairs. "Go put your things away before I tell Haruka what yer plannin'!"

The still pouting Naruto did as he was told, muttering something along the lines of "mean Obachan" all the way up the stairs. Shinobu let out a sigh of relief before she followed after the boy to help him.

-:-

Some time later everyone was sitting at the table for dinner, with Keitaro sitting between Mutsumi and Motoko.

"Oh, how sad that Naru is not here, but I suppose it can't be helped," said Mutsumi after hearing about Naru.

"She made her own bed," replied Haruka, wanting to get off of the Naru topic.

Mutsumi nodded in understanding. She then turned to Naruto with a smile. "I do not believe I've met you though."

Naruto gave the brunette a grin "My name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"

"And my name is Otohime Mutsumi," replied Mutsumi with a giggle.

The blond blinked in confusion. "Otohime? Why does that sound familiar?"

"Don't see how it is, considerin' you just met her," replied Kitsune, giving the boy a light bop on the head and earning a pout from him.

"I'm sure you'll remember why soon, Naruto-kun," said Shinobu.

"Anyway, so what brings you here aside to visit, Mutsumi?" asked Keitaro.

"Ara, nothing much, really. I just thought it would be nice to see everyone again. Oh! And Tama-chan missed everyone too!"

It was then that a familiar flying reptile appeared, although this one was not mechanical. "Myu!"

Of course the sudden appearance of the turtle had the standard effect.

"T-Turtle!" cried out Motoko as she grabbed hold of Keitaro and used him as a shield.

"M-Motoko!" exclaimed Keitaro, blushing a bit at how close Motoko was.

Tsuruko let out a sigh. How could her sister still be afraid of turtles after all this time?

Naruto on the other hand, upon seeing Tama-chan, just realized something. "That's why it sounded familiar!"

Everyone then looked at the boy with Haruka asking the question. "What's familiar, Naruto?"

"Otohime. It's just like in the story! When I was little, Hokage-jiji used to tell me stories and one of them was about a princess named Otohime and a fisherman named Urashima!"

The Hinata-sou residents all looked at Naruto with varying looks, some of confusion and some of curiosity.

"Oh, so that story exists where you come from then, Naruto-kun?" asked Tsuruko.

Naruto nodded in excitement. "Hai!"

"What is it about, Naruto-kun?" asked Shinobu, her curiosity growing.

Naruto tilted his head in thought. "Well, it's been awhile since I've heard it, but if I remember correctly there's a princess by the name of Otohime who lives in an underwater palace and then there's this fisherman named Urashima who can control turtles and visits the princess under the water because they loved each other. I didn't think they were real, though."

The others, minus Mutsumi, merely sweatdropped at how Naruto thought Keitaro and Mutsumi were the same people from the fable.

"I doubt Otohime-san and Keitaro are the same ones from the story, Naruto," replied Motoko as she stayed hidden behind Keitaro. She also thought. 'And Keitaro can't command turtles! He just can't!'

Just the thought of Keitaro being able to command those wretched reptiles made her shudder in fear.

"So they're not boyfriend and girlfriend like in the story either?" asked Naruto, getting a blush from Keitaro and a beaming smile from Mutsumi.

'Like hell they are!' thought Motoko. "They have no connection to the story other than the names!"

"Although I wouldn't mind if Kei-kun were to be my fisherman!" replied Mutsumi as she grabbed hold of Keitaro's arm, making him blush even further.

At Mutsumi's action, Motoko became irritated, something Tsuruko noticed with glee.

Naruto then rubbed the back of his head as he took in Motoko's words. "I guess that makes sense. Seeing a flying turtle though would make you wonder."

"Ara, do you like turtles, Naruto-kun?" asked Mutsumi as she watched Tama-chan land on the boy's head.

"Eh, they're okay. Frogs are way cooler though!" exclaimed Naruto, causing Tama-chan to deflate a bit.

'Ha! Take that, turtle!' exclaimed Motoko in her mind as she took sadistic glee at seeing Tama-chan become sad at learning that she was outranked by an amphibian.

Kitsune frowned at the mention of frogs. "How can anyone like frogs? They're slimy and noisy!"

"Oi, frogs are awesome! I can even summon them with my ninja skills!"

"…You can summon frogs?" questioned the vixen with some disbelief. Granted she has seen Naruto use some ninja abilities, the thought of summoning an animal was too far out there to be real.

"Hai! Ero-sennin was the one to teach me!" replied the kit with a grin.

"From the way you always describe this "Ero-sennin", I'm surprised he taught you anything," replied Motoko with a frown.

Naruto pouted in response. "I know, but I can usually get him to teach me if I'm persistent enough. Plus, if that doesn't work, Baachan steps in and gives him hell!"

Tsuruko then asked a question that had been bugging her. "Naruto-kun, you keep speaking of this "Ero-sennin", but that can't be his real name."

"Well I call him Ero-sennin because he's a pervert and it pisses him off because I call him that public, but despite that he's like my Jiisan! I'd call him Ero-jiisan, but Baachan says that would be going too far."

"So then what is his real name?" asked the elder Aoyama, having a good idea as to what it was with the clues provided.

"His name is Jiraiya."

"…And your Baachan's name, by chance?"

"Tsunade! She can summon slugs, but they're still not as cool as frogs!"

The Hinata-sou residents took in this new information as they looked at Naruto with wide eyes. Once the information was processed, they realized…

Naruto was the grandson of two mythical ninja.

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

In the teahouse, Haruka let out a sigh as she thought back to the previous night's revelation of Naruto's heritage.

"I still can't believe that the kid is pretty much a prince! Ya think we'll get a cash reward for takin' care of him this whole time?"

Haruka glared at the vixen, who at least had the sense to look guilty for her thoughts.

"It is pretty astonishing that the legends of Jiraiya and Tsunade are real, at least in Naruto-kun's world," said Tsuruko, taking a sip of her tea. "I wonder if there are other legends that are real in his world."

Another sigh escaped Haruka. "From the way Naruto described things, his grandparents are vastly different from the ones in the stories, considering one is a pervert and the other is a gambler."

"I look forward to meetin' this Tsunade!" stated Kitsune with a grin. "She seems like someone I could get along with!"

Haruka merely rolled her eyes while Tsuruko looked amused. It was at that moment that the phone rang.

"Hinata Teahouse," said Haruka as she answered the phone.

"Ah, Haruka! Just the person I wished to speak with!

Haruka felt her blood go cold. "Granny Hina?"

Kitsune and Tsuruko glanced at each other when they heard the name and saw how Haruka grimaced.

"Yes dear. I was just calling to see how things are going over at the inn," stated the old woman. She didn't give Haruka time to reply. "From what I've heard, you've been having trouble over there?"

"…Not really? Everything has been the same old, same old," replied Haruka, which was pretty much the truth. Although Haruka had a sinking feeling in her gut that things were about to go downhill.

"Oh? So you haven't taken in any new tenants recently? Naru-chan mentioned that you took in a young boy that has been causing all sorts of trouble for everyone."

Haruka clenched her teeth in anger. Of course Naru would contact Granny Hina. She'd be damned if she let Naru win this war. "We did take in boy, but only because he was lost and far from home. As of right now, we're still trying to figure out a way to get him back home."

"I see. And he hasn't been doing anything inappropriate to any of the girls, has he?"

"No, he's been on his best behavior and has actually been helping out around here."

"I see. That's good to hear, Haruka. I suppose I'll let you get back to your work then. If the child does do anything he shouldn't, I would hope you would do what is necessary."

The call then disconnected, signifying that Granny Hina had hung up. Haruka clenched her fist, ready to snap the phone in half.

"Haruka?" questioned Kitsune, fearful over what the call was about.

The den mother then turned to the other two women with a grim look.

"We might have trouble coming our way."

-:-

In an unknown location, Granny Hina placed the phone back on its holder before turning to the other occupant of the room.

"Kanako-chan?"

"Yes, Granny Hina?" replied a young girl wearing a gothic style of dress as she held a black cat in her arms.

"I need you to make a little trip."

-:-

Back at the Hinata-sou, Naruto was trying to find something to do. He had been living at the inn for a week already and he felt bored out of his mind. He would train, but even he could get tired of training all of the time.

"Shinobu-chan! I'm bored!" whined Naruto as he stood behind the blue-haired girl. He was leaning against her back and rested his chin atop of her head. Luckily, he wasn't too heavy for the girl.

The shy little chef blushed heavily at the contact with the blond boy. "W-Well, what do you want to do, N-Naruto-kun?"

A pout appeared on the boy's face. "I don't know. There's not a whole lot to do around here and I'm not desperate enough to go to Su."

"I-If you want, w-we could head into town to f-find something. Y-You haven't really seen everything in town, h-have you?"

"Aside from going to that mall place with Obachan, not really. What else is there?" asked the fox child as he got off of Shinobu to look at her.

Blushing again, Shinobu grabbed Naruto's hand. "I-If you want, N-Naruto-kun, I could show y-you."

This earned her a grin from the boy. "Okay then! Let's head into town, Shinobu-chan!"

The two children headed out of the inn and down the tall flight of stairs. When they passed by the teahouse though, a voice called out to them.

"Where do you two think you're going?"

Naruto and Shinobu turned to find Haruka staring down at them with her hands on her hips. Shinobu blushed and hid slightly behind Naruto, who decided to answer Haruka's question.

"We're heading into town! I was bored, so Shinobu-chan was going to show me around!"

Haruka raised a brow at the grinning boy and blushing girl. She was about to tell them no and to go back to the inn where Naruto would be safe. After her conversation with Granny Hina, Haruka had a feeling that the old woman once again sided with Naru and would try something to "set things right". But seeing the look of hope and excitement in those bright blue eyes, Haruka found herself unable to deny them.

"Fine, you can head into town," replied Haruka with a sigh. "But you'll take a chaperone with you."

Naruto pouted at this. "Why do we need a chaperone? I can take care of myself and I'll protect Shinobu-chan with my life!"

While Shinobu tried to get her blush under control, Haruka answered the young blond's inquiry. "You need a chaperone because you don't know this area at all. Add the fact that the both of you are still children, you need to be supervised."

Another pout came from Naruto. He didn't need to be supervised. He was thirteen! Hell, he lived on his own for most of his life! Granted, it was very lonely and there were times he wished there was someone waiting for him when he came home, but still…he didn't need someone watching over him like he was a baby!

"So who is going to be our chaperone? Is it going to be Obachan?"

"You're getting someone who can be responsible," replied Haruka.

"Hey!" called out the insulted vixen from within the teahouse.

Haruka ignored her. "I'll have Motoko go with you. This way if something does happen it'll be taken care of."

Telling the two children to wait in the teahouse, Haruka headed up to the inn to find the resident swordswoman. It didn't take long for Haruka to return with the raven-haired girl following right behind her.

"I have been told that you two wish to head into town," stated Motoko, looking at the two children before her.

"I believe you should bring Urashima-san as well! Another chaperone couldn't hurt~" called out Tsuruko from the teahouse.

Motoko glared at her sister, trying to suppress a blush all the while. She knew what her sister was up to and she wasn't having it.

"I am more than capable at looking after these two," hissed Motoko as she started herding the two confused children away from the teahouse. "I do not need Urashima's help!"

-:-

Motoko scowled as she walked side by side with Keitaro as Naruto and Shinobu walked ahead of them. She hadn't been fast enough in getting the children off the inn grounds and ran into Keitaro just as he returned from a study session. This gave Tsuruko ample opportunity to ask the ronin to accompany Motoko in chaperone duty.

"D-Did I do something wrong, Motoko? You've been giving me glares ever since we left the inn," stated Keitaro, afraid that he was going to get blasted by a ki attack.

The swordswoman glanced at him once more before letting out a sigh. "No, Keitaro. You didn't do anything. It's just that my sister is trying to meddle once again."

Keitaro wasn't sure if he should blush or pale, remembering the last time Tsuruko meddled in their lives. "This wasn't about chaperoning Naruto and Shinobu, was it?"

Motoko blushed a little at what Keitaro was implying. "Th-This isn't a date, if that's what you're thinking! We are here as chaperones and that is it!"

The ronin flinched back at the glare Motoko was giving him. "R-Right!"

Up ahead, Naruto and Shinobu were having their own conversation.

"So what are we going to do first, Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu tried to think of something Naruto-kun would like. "Ano, w-we could go to an arcade."

"What's an arcade?" questioned the boy, tilting his head in confusion.

"I'll show you," replied Shinobu as she grabbed Naruto-kun's hand and led him to their destination.

As Shinobu and Naruto headed towards the arcade with Motoko and Keitaro right behind them, none of the small group realized that they were being watched.

"Yeah, I've spotted the brat," said a gruff voice as he watched the orange-clad blond. He was currently on his cellphone talking with his employer.

"Good! Now make sure you get rid of him. He's been causing problems for my brother and once he's gone I can swoop in make things all better for Keitaro!"

The man frowned as he listened to Kanako. If it weren't for the fact that he needed the money, he would have declined this job…if only because this girl clearly had a screw loose.

"Just make sure you have the money when you get here," replied the man before hanging up. He then let out a frustrated sigh. "I fucking hate brats."

-:-

Kanako glared at the phone in her hand. How dare that oaf order her around like that! She was the one who hired him! No matter. As long as he got the job done.

"Granny might want to help Naru, but if I play my cards right I'll be the one who gets Niisan in the end!" spoke Kanako aloud.

She couldn't help but feel giddy as her thoughts veered towards her fantasy life with Keitaro.

-:-

Naruto stared at his surroundings with wide eyes filled with astonishment. "This place is like a casino!"

Motoko narrowed her gaze upon the boy. "How exactly would you know what a casino looks like?"

"When me and Ero-sennin went to search for Baachan so we could bring her back to the village and be Hokage, we went to a lot of casinos looking for her," explained Naruto, as he looked at all the games the arcade had to offer. His explanation caused the others to sweatdrop.

"N-Naruto-kun, which game would you like to play first?" asked Shinobu, looking at the blond.

"Eh, you pick, Shinobu-chan. I don't even know where to begin!"

After receiving some tokens from Keitaro, Shinobu led Naruto over to a dome with spinning lights.

"This game is simple, N-Naruto-kun. If you press the b-button when the light is b-between the arches, you win!"

Shinobu went on to show Naruto what to do. She inserted a token into the machine and waited. When she thought the light would stop between the arches, she quickly pressed the button. Unfortunately, she was slightly off, but the machine still spat out a few tickets.

"What are those for?" asked Naruto, pointing at the tickets.

"I-If you win enough t-tickets you can trade them in for a p-prize. The more t-tickets you have, the b-better the p-prize you can win," explained the shy little chef as she pointed towards the prize counter.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw all the prizes. He then gained a determined look. "Then let's go all out!"

The boy quickly put in a token and waited for the light to go around the dome. When he pressed the button, Shinobu was surprised that he got it between the arches on his first try.

'He did it!'

"Yatta! I won!" exclaimed the fox child as he gathered the very long strip of tickets coming out of the machine.

"Congratulations, N-Naruto-kun!"

"Arigatou, Shinobu-chan! Come on! Let's see what other games this place has!"

With tickets in one hand, he grabbed Shinobu's hand with his other, causing her to let out an "eep" and blushed up a storm. The two children then went from game to game, with Shinobu teaching Naruto what to do and Naruto surprisingly winning the first time every time.

'How can someone be this lucky?!' was the thought on everyone's mind as they watched Naruto carry the massive pile of tickets towards the prize counter. Shinobu, Keitaro, and Motoko followed close behind.

The woman working the counter quickly counted up all the tickets and was shocked by how many there were. 'There are over two thousand tickets here!'

"So what do I win?" asked Naruto with a curious look.

The ticket lady cleared her throat. "Well, with all of these tickets you can pick anything from the top shelf."

Naruto looked at all of the big prizes before turning to Shinobu. "You pick, Shinobu-chan."

"N-Nani?! Y-You want me to p-pick?" questioned the surprised girl.

The boy gave her a grin that made her melt. "Why not? You're the one who showed me this place, so it's only fair that I thank you by letting you get the prize."

Shinobu blushed at the fact that Naruto more or less won the prize for her. Looking up at the prizes she could choose from, she knew immediately which one she wanted.

"C-Could I have the fox plushy, p-please?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her choice as the ticket lady brought down the large orange fox plushy that was almost as big as Shinobu. Once in her arms, Shinobu held the fox close, not wanting to let it go anytime soon. Seeing that she loved it, Naruto couldn't help but grin.

The happy moment didn't last long though as the arcade was soon filled with screams of terror.

Everyone looked towards the entrance to find a very large, muscular man wearing a dark blue suit. He had tall, spiky, black hair. In his large hand, he held one of the frightened arcade workers off the ground by the front of their shirt.

"I suggest you stay out of my way," stated the large man as he glared at the worker.

"P-Please, don't kill me," begged the worker, as tears flowed down his face.

"Che, killing you would be pointless since I wouldn't get paid for it," replied the large man before tossing the worker aside. He then turned towards where Naruto and the others stood. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. How did he know his name? "What do you want?"

"I'm here to deal with you," replied the man as he cracked his knuckles, causing the Hinata-sou residents to tense up. It was then that they noticed that the man was wearing what looked like brass knuckles.

The four didn't have a chance to respond as the large man soon threw a punch. The only thing they could do was to dodge the oncoming punch, with Naruto grabbing Shinobu and Motoko grabbing Keitaro and going in opposite directions. When the man's fist collided with the prize counter, he pretty much obliterated it.

Naruto and Shinobu stared at the destroyed counter with wide eyes before Naruto turned a glare towards the man. "Why are you trying to kill me?! Who are you, teme?!"

"It's nothing personal, brat," growled out the man as he returned the glare. "This is nothing more than a job and you're my target. As to who I am, you can call me Kamiya."

"Good. Now I know what to write on your headstone," said a voice, causing Kamiya to turn his head to look behind him. He found Motoko, blade ready to cut him down as she glared hatefully at him.

"Stand down, girl," replied Kamiya, not looking impressed. "This is between me and the blond brat."

Motoko grit her teeth in anger. How dare this man look down on her as if she was nothing! With no hesitation she lunged forward and slashed at the man. What she didn't expect though was for Kamiya to block her attack with his knuckles.

'N-Nani?! But how?!' thought Motoko with wide eyes. She then let out a pained gasp when Kamiya grabbed her with his free hand.

"I was told about you, girl. That's why I came prepared," stated Kamiya as he showed off his knuckleduster. "Not even your blade can cut through these."

"Let her go!" exclaimed Naruto as he ran forward.

"Stupid brat," muttered Kamiya as he swung his arm to swat Naruto away. When his arm made contact though, Naruto exploded into a puff of smoke, causing Kamiya's eyes widened in shock upon seeing Naruto disappearing like that. "Wait, what?!"

With Kamiya's attention elsewhere, he didn't see the incoming attack from the real Naruto. With a roundhouse kick, Naruto's foot slammed into Kamiya's face, breaking the man's nose with a loud crack. Kamiya let out a yowl of pain, letting go of Motoko as he backed away. Holding his bloody nose, Kamiya glared hatefully at Naruto.

"You said this was between you and me. Now how about we finish this?" demanded Naruto as he glared at Kamiya.

"Damn brat! You got lucky with that kick! Don't think you can beat me in straight hand-to-hand combat!" declared Kamiya in a rage.

"…You're right. When it comes to taijutsu I might not be able to beat you," replied Naruto as he made a familiar hand sign. In a puff of smoke, another Naruto stood next to the real one.

Kamiya couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'D-Did this kid just duplicate himself?! What the hell is this kid?!'

"But I don't need taijutsu to kick your ass!" continued Naruto as he held out his hand towards his Kage Bunshin.

The Kage Bunshin then started thrust his hands over Naruto's and there was soon a bright, spiraling orb in Naruto's hand. The sound it made sounded like a maelstrom ready to decimate anything in its path. Motoko, Keitaro, and Shinobu had never seen anything like this and could only stare in awe while Kamiya stared in fear.

"I don't know what that is, but I won't lose to a brat like you!" exclaimed Kamiya as he readied another punch. Too bad for him that Naruto was able to duck under it.

"Rasengan!" yelled out Naruto as he slammed his jutsu into Kamiya's abdomen.

The Hinata-sou residents watched as Kamiya started to spin and shot forward like a cannonball. The hitman crashed through the wall behind him and landed in a heap in the street where he laid bloody, bruised, and unconscious.

Motoko and Keitaro had their jaws dropped as they witnessed what Naruto did. 'What the hell was that?!'

Shinobu on the other hand still couldn't get over the fact that someone was trying to kill Naruto-kun. 'Why would anyone want to kill Naruto-kun?! He hasn't done anything to anyone!'

"Ha! Told you I didn't need taijutsu to kick your ass! Dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto with a fox-like grin.

"Naruto!" snapped Motoko. She currently had Keitaro in her grasp. "Grab Shinobu! We need to get out of here!"

"Right!" replied Naruto with a salute. He went over and scooped Shinobu up, causing her to let out a squeak, and held her bridal style as he followed after Motoko.

As they quietly made their escape to avoid the police, Motoko made note to find out how strong Naruto truly was when they got back to the Hinata-sou.

-:-

"In other news, notorious hitman Kamiya was arrested earlier today after police responded to an incident at a local arcade. Kamiya has been on the police's most wanted list for a few years now and it was a surprise to find him unconscious in a pile of rubble. When questioned on what had happened, Kamiya refused to answer."

Haruka stared at the TV screen with a blank look before pinching the bridge of nose in frustration. She had a suspicion on what happened, but she needed to know for sure. She turned towards Naruto, who currently had Shinobu clinging to his arm as if he would disappear if she let go. Whatever happened today must have really scared Shinobu. Surprisingly, Naruto didn't seem to mind.

"What exactly happened today?" questioned Haruka, as she looked the young blond in the eye.

Naruto gave off a pout. "That teme came and said he was hired to kill me! He even knew my name!"

Haruka felt her blood go cold. Were her fears realized? Did Granny Hina really send a hitman of all things?! No, that wasn't right. Haruka knew Hina well enough that she wouldn't stoop so low as to do something illegal. That only left one option.

"Kanako…"

Naruto and Shinobu glanced at each other, wondering why Haruka said that name. Looking back at the den mother they decided to ask. "Ne, Haruka-san? Who's Kanako?"

Letting out a sigh, Haruka decided to explain, knowing that they would need to prepare. "Kanako would be Keitaro's little sister."

"S-Sempai has a sister?" questioned Shinobu, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Hai, but she's not his sister through blood. She was actually adopted," continued Haruka. She then grimaced. "She's also not that right in the head."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"…Despite being raised as siblings, Kanako is in love with Keitaro and will go to great lengths to make him hers."

The two children looked as if they ate something passed the expiration date. Naruto was the one to speak up. "But they're brother and sister!"

"That means nothing her," replied Haruka. "She figures that since they're not blood related then it's okay. She doesn't seem to understand though, that Keitaro will always see her as his little sister."

There was just one last question that needed to be asked, with Shinobu being the one to bring it up. "Ano, Haruka-san? Wh-Why exactly d-did you bring up K-Kanako-san?"

Haruka let out another sigh. "I believe Kanako was the one to send Kamiya after Naruto."

Two pairs of wide eyes stared back at Haruka as they took this in. Haruka could only hope she could keep them from doing something reckless.

"Why?" demanded Naruto.

"More than likely she got word of what's been going on over here. In her mind, you've been causing trouble for Keitaro and won't allow that to happen. The worst part is that there's no way to prove that she's connected to Kamiya since she always covers up her tracks," explained Haruka. She then thought. 'Although, I wouldn't be surprised if Granny Hina was the one to send Kanako here in the first place.'

"Th-Then how do we stop her?" asked Shinobu, holding onto Naruto's arm a bit tighter.

"When Kanako reveals herself, let me deal with her," stated the woman, taking a drag from her cigarette. "In the meantime, Naruto, I want you to stay in the Hinata-sou and only go out when necessary."

Naruto pouted again. "Oi! I beat that Kamiya guy all by myself and I'll beat anyone else this Kanako person sends after me!"

"This is not up for discussion, Naruto!" snapped Haruka, giving the boy a narrowed look. "As long as you are here, you are my responsibility and I will make damn sure that no harm comes to you! Do I make myself clear?"

There was some hesitation from Naruto before he answered. "Hai."

Haruka gave off a nod of satisfaction. "Good. Now both of you go back up to the inn and get cleaned up. I'll just order some take-out for tonight."

Not arguing, the two children made their way out of the teahouse, leaving Haruka by herself. Snuffing out her cigarette, she picked up the phone and dialed a number. There were a few rings before the other end picked up.

"Seta. I need your help with something."

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

Naruto was very confused as he stood across from Motoko on the roof of the Hinata-sou. One moment he was sleeping in his futon and the next he was here in the very early morning.

"Neechan? Couldn't this have waited until later?" asked the fox child as he let out a yawn.

"No. We are going to train before you have to head to school. I wish to see what you are truly capable of," explained Motoko as she gave the boy a narrowed look.

The young blond raised an eyebrow at that. "Huh?"

"You were able to defeat Kamiya when I couldn't. Not only that, but you were able to destroy one of Su's machines. I wish to see exactly how strong you are!"

With that, Naruto barely had any time to dodge as Motoko dashed forward with her blade drawn. The boy stared at Motoko with wide eyes as he tried to get his heart to slow down.

"Are you insane, Neechan?!"

"Stop running away and fight me, Naruto!" exclaimed Motoko as she lunged at the boy once again.

Naruto of course did the exact opposite of what Motoko wanted as he jumped off the roof and towards the trees. Letting out a growl of frustration, Motoko pursued after him.

'Why is she doing this?!' thought Naruto as he jumped from branch to branch.

"You heard what she said, Kit. She just wants you to go all out in this spar," said the Kyubi.

'If I do that, she'll get hurt!'

"Then show off just enough to give her what she's looking for."

The boy pouted. Why was it every time the fox talked it felt like he was teasing him? Regardless, Naruto needed to do something to get Motoko-neechan off his back.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

With a puff of smoke, five more Naruto appeared and all six then took off in different directions. Upon seeing this, Motoko, who had been right behind the blond, frowned before stopping to think.

'Damn it, Naruto! I told you that we were going train! Running away defeats that purpose!'

Motoko then closed her eyes and focused. She tried to lock onto Naruto's ki, but was shocked to find six ki signatures.

'So those clones of his aren't just illusions! They're just like real people if they have their own ki! I didn't think something like that was possible. It looks like I'll just have to press my luck then and hope I find the real Naruto then.'

Motoko then took off in the direction of one of the Naruto clones that she sensed.

-:-

Naruto tried to catch his breath as he hid from Motoko in one of the trees. All he needed to do was evade her and make his way back to the Hinata-sou so he could get ready for school.

"Of course she'll find you before you get that chance."

'What makes you say that?'

"Haven't you felt it? Your Kage Bunshin disappearing?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the memories of his clones encountering Motoko-neechan before being struck down. 'What the hell?!'

"I'm surprised that you're just now figuring out that little trick. When a Kage Bunshin is destroyed, all of its memories are transferred to the original. If too many Kage Bunshin are released at once, it will overload the original's brain," explained the Kyubi, his tone serious.

The fox child let out a groan of annoyance. "Maybe I should have read everything about the Kage Bunshin from the scroll when I had the chance."

Before Naruto could complain anymore, the top part of the tree he was hiding in was cut clear off. Turning in fear, the wide-eyed kit spied Motoko glaring down at him.

"No more running and no more tricks, Naruto," growled out the swordswoman. "Show me what you can do in battle!"

Quickly jumping to the tree across from Motoko, Naruto faced her down with a look of determination. It looked like he had no choice but to fight.

"I hope you know that I don't want to do this, Neechan, but you're forcing me to!" exclaimed the boy as he pulled out a kunai.

Motoko readied her blade. "Then come at me with everything you've got, Naruto!"

The two warriors lunged at each other and their weapons clashed. Motoko, being the more experienced of the two, was able to cut through Naruto's kunai and strike the boy's chest…only for Naruto to disappear in a puff of smoke and be replaced with a log.

The raven-haired girl had a blank look on her face as she stared at the hunk of wood. Upon seeing it, she had only one reaction.

"NARUTO!"

-:-

Naruto, who finally arrived back at the Hinata-sou, shuddered in fear as Motoko's shout echoed through the area. He knew he was going to get it later for ditching Neechan like that, but it had to be done.

'If I had gone all out on her, she would have gotten hurt,' thought the blond with a frown.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he would deal with that later. Right now he had to get ready for school. He just hoped it would be interesting for once.

-:-

The three children walked to school, each with different levels of worry. Su was up ahead without a care in the world, as per usual for the island girl. With Naruto and Shinobu though, they were actually worried about each other.

Naruto was worried over Shinobu since the blue-haired girl was currently clinging to his arm once again. Now while the boy could be dense at times, he could tell something was troubling Shinobu, but didn't want to bring it up…at least not with other people around. Besides, if clinging to his arm made her feel better then he could live with it.

Shinobu was obviously worried for Naruto's safety. After what happened yesterday and what Haruka told them, she was afraid that someone else would come after Naruto-kun. Glancing at the blond she was holding on to, she had to speak her mind.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Shinobu-chan?"

"Aren't you s-scared that there are p-people after you?"

"Nope!" replied Naruto, giving the girl a grin.

Shinobu looked at Naruto-kun with wide eyes. How could he not be afraid that that he could be killed?! "B-But why?!"

"If they're anything like that Kamiya-teme, then I don't have anything to be scared of," explained Naruto. 'Besides, they'll probably be nothing like Itachi and that shark teme who were after me that one time.'

The shy little chef didn't look convinced. She held onto his arm a bit tighter, scared that she would lose him forever. 'Naruto-kun…'

"Don't worry, Shinobu-chan," said Naruto, looking undeterred. "I won't let anything happen to me and I won't let anything happen to you or anyone else at the Hinata-sou. I'll protect everyone!"

Shinobu looked at Naruto with wide eyes before giving him a soft smile, knowing that he meant what he said. She just had to trust her Naruto-kun.

As they continued on their way to school, they didn't realize that they were being watched. High up on a rooftop was an individual dressed in black ninja garb, his face hidden by a hood and cloth mask.

"So that's the target?" he questioned as he kept his eyes on Naruto. "Doesn't look like much. How the hell is that goth girl having trouble with this brat? No matter. As long as I get paid I could care less who I have to kill."

The rogue ninja then ran across the rooftops to follow after the children.

-:-

It was lunchtime and Naruto and Shinobu were sitting underneath the tree once more as they ate their lunch. As they did, some of their classmates watched on and couldn't help to start gossiping.

"When did those two get so close?" asked one girl.

"I've heard that they live together at that old inn on the hill," said another girl. "You think it's some sort of arrangement?"

"Supposedly he's that weird fox lady's nephew," added a third girl. "That's why he's living there."

Naruto could feel his eye twitch in annoyance as he listened to these girls gossip. Glancing towards Shinobu, he saw that her face was all red and looking down, avoiding eye contact. The blond then glared at the girls, causing them to flinch and scurry away.

"They're gone, Shinobu-chan," mumbled out Naruto.

"Gomen, N-Naruto-kun."

"Eh, you didn't do anything, Shinobu-chan," replied the blond with a shrug. "People just need to mind their own business, 'ttebayo."

Shinobu couldn't help but giggle. Leave it to Naruto-kun to lighten the mood. She was about to reply to Naruto, but a sudden scream got hers and his attention.

Looking up, they saw that there were random explosions of smoke all over the courtyard, causing some of the other students to run and panic.

"Wh-What's going on?!" questioned a frightened Shinobu as she and Naruto stood up.

"I don't know, but stay behind me, Shinobu-chan!" ordered Naruto as he got in front of the girl and looked around for whoever was doing this. He could tell that these were smoke bombs; was there an enemy ninja then? If so, how?

A yelp from behind him caused Naruto to turn around and his eyes widened when he saw Shinobu in the arms of a masked man dressed in black.

"If you wish to see her unharmed, you will follow me without question," stated the man before he jumped away.

"Grr, get back here, you teme!" exclaimed Naruto as he jumped after the man.

The man glanced back to see Naruto following him, just as he wanted. He smirked under his mask before glaring at the struggling girl in his arms.

"I suggest you stop moving, brat, or else I won't hesitate to drop you to the pavement below," he growled out.

A whimper escaped Shinobu as tears appeared in her eyes. She was scared, not only for herself, but because this man wanted to hurt Naruto-kun. She needed to warn Naruto-kun!

"Teme!"

Shinobu's eyes widened at the shout as multiple Naruto appeared above her captor.

"So the reports were true then," said the man, looking bored. He then threw multiple kunai at the clones, causing them to poof out of existence.

The two ninja landed on a large rooftop and stood across from each other, Naruto glaring at the man and the man still looking bored.

"Let Shinobu-chan go, now!" demanded Naruto with a growl. "You're after me, right? She has nothing to do with this!"

"You're right, she doesn't have anything to do with this," replied the man. "But I honestly don't care."

Another growl came from the blond. "What was that?"

"I'm an assassin, brat. Money is the only thing I care about and I'll kill whomever I have to, to get it."

Not wanting to hear anymore from this man, Naruto let out an angry yell as he dashed forward to attack. He had to stop suddenly though when the man held a kunai to Shinobu's neck, causing her to whimper in fear. "Damn you…"

"I figured this would make you stop," said the man. He then used his free hand to remove his mask and hood, revealing his face. He had short rust-colored hair and scars covering his face.

"Coward!"

"Call me what you want, brat, but as I said, this is all part of the job."

Naruto could feel his anger grow…and the Kyubi's chakra getting closer to the surface. He wanted to hurt this guy for putting Shinobu in this position. Just as Naruto was about to lose it though…

"It doesn't change the fact that you are nothing more than a coward," said a voice that made Naruto and Shinobu perk up and sent chills down the man's spine.

The man let out a sound of pain when a needle struck his hand, forcing him to let go of Shinobu. The blue-haired girl then ran towards Naruto and hid behind him. The two children and the man looked towards where the needle came from to find…

"Tsuruko," growled out the man as he glared at the woman.

The elder Aoyama held no emotion as she stared at the man. "Still in the killing business I see, Narukami."

"Go to hell, wench!" exclaimed Narukami as he threw multiple shuriken at Tsuruko. That didn't phase her though as she effortlessly deflected all of them with her blade.

Tired of this, Tsuruko vanished and reappeared behind Narukami. The moment she sheathed her blade, a cut appeared on Narukami's chest and the rogue ninja fell in a heap out cold. With the enemy taken out, she turned to the two children with a smile as they stared at her with wide eyes.

"How did you know we were in trouble, Neechan?!" was the first question out of Naruto's mouth.

"If you must know, Naruto-kun, Haruka-san was worried that Kanako would send someone else after you, so I volunteered to watch over you while you were at school," explained Tsuruko, still smiling at the child.

Naruto pouted at that. He did not need a babysitter! He could have taken that guy down and saved Shinobu-chan by himself, too!

While Naruto continued to pout, Shinobu asked the next question. "Ano, Aoyama-san? How d-do you know th-that man?"

Tsuruko frowned as she glanced back at her enemy. "That would be Narukami. Like myself, he comes from a clan of demon slayers. As time went on and demons became less and less frequent, whereas the Aoyama Clan decided to live in peace and teach future generations, what remained of the Narukami Clan decided to become assassins to make money. Such a disgrace."

"What are you going to do with him now?" asked Naruto, getting over his pouting.

"I will contact some people to come and retrieve him," replied Tsuruko as she pulled out her cellphone. "Due to the path our clans have taken, the Aoyama Clan vowed to stop the Narukami Clan when we can. Luckily, there shouldn't be too many Narukami clansmen left. In the meantime, you two should head on back to the school. You still have classes after all."

Naruto let out a groan, but relented nonetheless. Scooping up Shinobu, and getting a squeak from her in the process as he held her bridal style, Naruto started jumping atop the rooftops. As Naruto made his way back to the school, Shinobu spoke up.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, Shinobu-chan."

"Gomen."

"…Why are you apologizing, Shinobu-chan? If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I couldn't protect you like I promised I would," replied Naruto, a look of guilt upon his visage.

Not liking that look on Naruto-kun's face, Shinobu tried to put his mind at ease. "It's okay, N-Naruto-kun. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! That guy was after me and he took you hostage!" exclaimed Naruto as he looked at Shinobu, anger in his eyes. She could tell that he wasn't angry at her, but at himself.

"And I know you would have done everything you could to save me," replied Shinobu, reaching up to wrap her arms around the boy. "I won't lie and say I wasn't scared, but as long as you're there I know everything will be okay."

Naruto had a slight blush on his face. It was very rare for him to get an actual hug. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time he got a hug. Maybe when he got back to his own world he could get one from Baachan, Shizune-neechan, or Ayame-neechan. He really missed them.

Clearing his thoughts for now, he gave the girl in his arms a grin. "Arigatou, Shinobu-chan. I really needed that."

Shinobu beamed in happiness, seeing that Naruto-kun was happy again. It was then that she realized that she was hugging the holder of her heart. With a loud "eep" she quickly let go and covered her face with her hands.

"G-G-Gomen, N-N-Naruto-kun!"

The boy could only chuckle. He had to admit, Shinobu-chan could be really cute at times.

-:-

Elsewhere, Kanako was furious. The Narukami ninja that she hired had failed, all because that damn Aoyama woman had been tailing that blond brat as well. Two of her assassins were down and it was starting to annoy her.

"I'll just have to plan things a little differently," said Kanako to herself. "If that brat is going to have a bodyguard from now on, things will be a lot harder for me. I won't lose though. I'll get rid of that brat and Keitaro will be mine!"

Her fanatic giggles echoed through the room as she got started on her next attempt at Naruto's life.

-:-

Haruka was stressed. Earlier, Tsuruko had called to say that there was another attempt on Naruto as well as Shinobu's life, at which Haruka almost had a heart attack, but the assassin had been taken care of. She was relieved to know that Naruto and Shinobu were safe, but this had to end soon.

"Any idea what we're gonna do, Haruka?"

The den mother glanced towards Kitsune, who had a look of concern on her face. Haruka let out a sigh of frustration.

"As of right now, all we can do is wait."

Kitsune scowled at that. "Wait? Someone is sendin' killers after the kid and ya want us to jus' wait?!"

Haruka glared at Kitsune, who glared right back. "We don't have a choice, Mitsune! I've already called for help and they should be here soon. Once they arrive, then we can plan our next move. Until then, we wait."

The vixen could only grit her teeth in frustration. The kid was in danger and she was just expected to wait?! 'Like hell I will!'

"You know, it's surprising how attached to Naruto you've become, Mitsune."

Previous anger diminishing for a moment, Kitsune looked at Haruka with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell are ya talkin' about, Haruka?"

"You don't seem to get as annoyed anymore when ever he addresses you with that familiar title," replied Haruka with a shrug. "That and it looked like you were about to go on a rampage to hunt down whoever is after Naruto. Almost like a mother cat wanting to protect her kitten."

"Yer just seein' things, Haruka," muttered out Kitsune, turning away to hide the slight reddening of her cheeks. She was the last person who should be a mother, what with all of the drinking and gambling she does.

Haruka let out a sigh. "Just don't do anything stupid, Mitsune. In the short time that he's been here, you've become important to Naruto. Who knows what he'll do if something were to happen to you."

The vixen could only nurse her cup of saké as she took this in, not wanting to believe that she was important to someone.

-:-

Later that night, everyone was asleep. Naruto, while looking to be asleep to the outside world, was wide-awake within his mind as he stared down the Kyubi.

"This is a surprise. Usually you don't come here willingly," said the Kyubi with a smirk on his face. "What do you want, Kit?"

"I want to make a deal with you."

The Kyubi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What sort of deal?"

"…Using your chakra makes me stronger and faster, but I can't control it without going berserk. If Tsuruko-neechan hadn't been there today, Shinobu-chan most likely would have been killed because I wasn't fast enough.

I want you to teach me how to properly use your chakra properly so I can protect everyone here at the Hinata-sou and in return, while I can't free you outright, I think I have an idea to give you more freedom than what you already have," explained Naruto, a look of determination in his eyes.

Red eyes stared at the human before them with surprise. Not only was this boy willing to give him some freedom in some form, but also he could not see any deceit in those blue eyes. This boy was definitely different from the likes of Mito and Kushina.

"…Very well, Kit. I will teach you how to use my chakra during the night and during the day we will apply what you've learn to see if you can handle it."

A foxlike grin appeared on Naruto's face. "Arigatou! I always had a feeling that there was more to you than what people said!"

A growl rumbled deep within the Kyubi's throat. "Quiet, Kit, or else. Now listen up if you wish to use my chakra properly."

The boy listened intently as Kyubi explained what to do. Next time someone came after him or his friends, he would be ready.

CHAPTER END