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Aiko looked at the baby in the crib wondering what he was doing here. That there was a baby wasn’t that weird: in a brothel it was bound to happen from time to time. But this wasn’t one of the girls’ children. He didn’t come from within these walls. He came from

outside

.

After the Kyuubi attack she wasn’t really surprised to learn there were orphans out there; they had lost people in the brothel too -even though most people wouldn’t really care. Who gave a shit about whores?- What she didn’t understand was why the orphan boy wasn’t at the orphanage. Why was he

here

?

The kid was sleeping for now, a blond tuft of hair on the top of his head and… Weird whisker marks on his cheek. A clan kid then? Even weirder for him to be here. The baby shifted in his sleep and she worried that he would wake up soon. She looked around. None of the other girls or kitchen boys were in the vicinity -sleeping most likely, they had repaired what they could and waited for experienced hands to finish the rest- and the Madam wasn’t anywhere she could see. But if the baby was waking up it was probably hungry.

She went to look in the kitchen, as she expected some white powder, water, a pan and a baby bottle were out already. It wasn’t hard to read the instructions and to follow them. She heard the beginning of wailing and went to fetch the kid. She was bored and if the baby was here and there was baby equipment out, she supposed it meant that any of the girls could take care of him in the meantime.

Until he went back to wherever he came from probably. She was shushing him at best as she could, rocking, trying to imitate what she had seen others do. At eleven years-old and with how short a time she had been here for she wasn’t exactly on par about babies. Her aunt had had a baby not so long ago and she tried to copy what she had seen her do. Even if remembering her beloved face made her heart squeezed in pain.

The milk was soon ready and she started feeding him. The soft wailing stopped immediately and she enjoyed the calm.

She might not know much but she knew that baby needed to be changed. However, she couldn’t for the life of her figure where the stuff might have been stored. When one of the girls had a baby, it was her understanding that it was stored in her room.

Since this baby didn’t belong to any of them…

Well, it might. Maybe they gained a new member. Someone who after the Kyuubi attack decided to become a whore. Or who had decided to become one before the Kyuubi attack and was now dead or… Well.

The baby still in her arms, she made her way upstairs, careful of the broken wood. Hopefully, she would find the Madam first and would have answers to her questions.

After the fourth room she had checked, she was starting to get worried. One of the girls had woken up and told her that the Madam was “out” but didn’t know where the other baby’s supplies were stored.

The baby was fussing now and she was trying to keep it calm. If he was annoyed because he needed to be cleaned, she really ought to find the diapers now. But she still couldn’t find them anywhere.

As she was exiting the fifth room, she heard the sound of something falling. As she looked to where the sound came from -the corridor she just passed- her eyes settled on the diapers package laying innocently in the way.

She frowned at it then glanced around. The window was opened, giving view to another yellow and slightly old building. One of the casinos juxtaposing the brothel -better put all the vices together-. She couldn’t see anyone but…

But everyone knew that ninjas traveled by roofs, that they could disappear in a blink of an eye, and that they could be in front of you and yet invisible.

It reinforced her idea that this was a clan kid. However, she was pretty sure that had a clan been wiped out completely during the Kyuubi attack she would have heard of it. That would have been the only thing people would have talked about.

It was getting weirder and weirder, she mused. Still, she wasn’t going to look too closely at this matter and she picked up the diaper then went to the bathroom to get a clean towel and talc (she remembered that it was pretty important.)

All in all it wasn’t that difficult changing and cleaning the baby -even if the kid was obviously enjoying the freedom to move and wriggled a lot- once he was clean, she could see him starting to fall asleep so she made her way downstairs.

She heard whispering voices and then saw the Madam arguing with one of the kitchen boy, pointing at the crib:

“What do you mean you don’t know where he went?” the Madam asked, towering and looking furious.

the poor kitchen boy looked ready to faint and Aiko called up:

“I’ve got the baby.”

The Madam whirled around then stared. Aiko ignored her look and put the baby back in the crib where he snuffed slightly, having happily succumbed to sleep.

“What are you doing with i-him?” the Madam asked, looking at the baby with a...Weird face. Almost like she was scared.

“He was waking up and was hungry. Then needed to be changed. So you know…”

She was surprised by the Madam's reaction. Kids in a brothel house were kind of raised by everyone available. It couldn’t be that surprising that she took care of him.

Clan kid in a brothel. Elicit weird reactions from the Madam. Got the Madam incredibly worried for his safety.

Something didn’t quite add up but she wisely shut up, looking over the little form, making sure he was covered by the blanket.

“You shouldn’t get too attached.” the Madam said and Aiko raised her head. The kitchen boy had disappeared.

“Why not?” she asked, “Is he leaving soon?” going back to his clan? Why on earth was he here then? She wasn’t completely au fait with the clan business in Konoha, she was still new to the city and well, she hadn’t been at the academy, but she had a feeling that if all clan members had been injured the baby wouldn’t fall off to the care of the brothel. Clan contracted alliances between each other: surely someone else could have taken care of the kid for them.

The Madam snorted: “Something like that.” She looked at the baby but made no move toward him.

“Does he have a name ?” Aiko asked finally.

“Naruto” the Madam answered “Naruto Uzumaki.”

**

Naruto Uzumaki didn’t leave the next day. Nor the next. Nor the next.

A week passed, then another and the baby was still there. The Madam was still annoyed and looked at him like he might explode on her or something. Most of the girls being on duty -and shinobis apparently were very much looking for comfort after the Kyuubi attack- Aiko took on the baby duty.

She didn’t mind. Naruto was a sweet boy who was more than happy to sleep and when awake to play with her hair.

She wished she could know more about who the boy was exactly but the Madam refused to answer, and the ANBU lurking around ignored her. (Not that she managed to see them a lot but she caught a glimpse of black and white sometimes)

Of course, that fact alone - ANBU looking after a baby- was enough to pick her curiosity. But like she said no one answered her questions.

So she took care of the baby, feeling sad in advance for the day he would leave the brothel.

Until of course, they got an unexpected visit.

The Hokage himself -well the ex-Hokage who was Hokage again now that the fourth died- came to their brothel. It wasn’t a visit for pleasure, his face looked grave and he looked surprised to find Aiko playing with Naruto in the little courtyard.

Picking the baby up she bowed and then made her way to fetch the Madam. She expected the Madam to panic or even be slightly surprised but no, she told Aiko to usher them in.

Then she added “And stay. He is here for the boy.” she looked at Naruto wondering what on earth that baby had done to catch the attention of the Hokage, but she remained quiet and once everyone were inside, the Hokage and the two ANBU following him -in plain sight, who knows how many more were lurking outside- she sat herself in one of the corner, making Naruto bounce on her laps, the baby making squealing noises of delight.

“So you have found a good settlement for i-him I suppose?” the Madam started and the Hokage nodded “Yes, there is a little apartment that is free. Should be enough. Thank you for your help Haruka-san.”

The Madam laughed “Like I had a say in the matter! But nonetheless, thank you Hokage. Aiko,” she made a move with her hand for Aiko to approach. Aiko stayed put.

“I’m sorry…. But who will take care of Naruto? Is it a secret?”

They hadn’t talked about a person but about a place. That was free.

The Hokage gave her a long, searching look. “The ANBU mostly.” the old man replied and Aiko stilled. “The ANBU?” she repeated.

“He is a baby,” she added not believing what she was hearing, “he needs contact, love, games, stimulations! You can’t just have people wearing masks looking over him! He needs to see faces. Happy faces!” she exclaimed.

The Hokage sighed like he was used to eleven years old making a ruckus -he probably was to be fair-:

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” The Hokage gave Naruto an odd look. Like he was dangerous.

Aiko looked at the old man then at Naruto who was chewing on her hair. She looked back at the Hokage.

“Maybe, but I think you’re wrong. He is just a baby and he needs affection. He never did anything weird.” she pleaded “I would know I have spent my entire time with him. The only thing he put in danger is my hair. He is a

baby

,” she repeated for lack of anything else.

She knew ninjas were weird -by the Sage all the

craziness

she had seen while living here- but letting a baby by himself? Raised by faceless people? What was wrong with them? And why was she the only one reacting to this? Why did everyone in the room seem to find this completely normal? To think it was okay to have a baby be by himself?

(A baby as charming as Naruto all by his lonesome? No. She would fight against it.)

“I can take care of him,” she said, completely ignoring the fact that she couldn’t. She supposedly had a job, or at least training for a job to attend to.

“No you can't,” the Madam said and Aiko made a face.

“I could.” she objected. The Madam raised an eyebrow at her defiance but Aiko refused to back down.

She had lost her entire village. She knew what it was like to have no one around to help you. That was how she found herself here. This baby could potentially have a chance. Could grow up with people to take care of him. She would not let him go, not without a fight. She held Naruto closer to her. Despite the general tension in the room he was still quiet.

“Well, Haruka-san, it looks like we have a choice to make.” The Hokage said.

“Will we be paid to take care of him?” The Madam finally asked, “After all, she would take care of him and won’t be able to do her duties.”

“Of course. Compensation is a simple thing to organize.” The old man looked at Aiko once more. “Are you sure?”

“Am I sure that I want to take care of that baby? Yes. I don’t know who he is to have you all tense but yes.”

The Hokage smiled “Maybe it’s better that way.” he said and got up.

He nodded at the Madam and left. The Madam gave an indecipherable look to Aiko but sighed:

“Fine, but he is your responsibility.”

**

“I don’t understand why the Madam is so afraid of him,” Aiko complained to Mimiko. The older girl was busy playing peek-a-boo with an enthralled Naruto and didn’t seem to have heard her.

Only the Madam was wary of the baby. All the other girls cooed over him, repeating to him that he was the cutest ever. If this kept up this baby was going to have the worst ego but oh, well. It could be worse.

“Well, she knows things we don’t. It's weird to have some sort of clan kid here.” Mimiko finally replied.

“Then she could tell us.”

Mimiko shrugged “Maybe she can’t? I heard some of my clients talk about it. Apparently, all the adults have agreed on keeping quiet on something.”

“What?” Aiko asked.

“I don’t know. How would I? No one told me, and I didn’t think of probbing further.”

“But you could?” Mimiko turned toward her, one eyebrow raised.

“Of course, I could. We all could. We are courtesans, no one is better than us at getting information out of people. Not even the T&I department. Their technique is unsubtle and stupid. We do it with elegance and grace. And the person most often doesn't even realize they have talked because they’re having such a good time.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. But … Will you?”

Mimiko pondered on it, letting Naruto suck on her fingers.

“Yeah.” she finally said “I’m quite curious about it too.”

**

Mimiko came back to her a few days later. Her expression was serious and she looked at Naruto like she was seeing him for the first time.

“Not good?” Aiko asked. Mimiko opened her mouth. Then she closed it.

“Honestly? I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think.”

“Come on! Tell me!” Aiko urged.

Mimiko looked at her like she was appraising her. Aiko had no idea what she saw but it must have been enough because she shuffled closer and asked:

“What do you know of the Fourth?”

“The Fourth Hokage? Nothing. I mean he was the head of the village when I arrived but it’s not like I got to talk to him. He died defending the village against the Kyuubi. That’s all I know.”

“Well… He had a wife. Kushina Uzumaki.”

“Uzumaki? Like… That Uzumaki?” Aiko pointed at Naruto who was sleeping in his crib.

“Yes. Like

that

Uzumaki.” She got closer and whispered, “Naruto is Kushina and the Fourth son.”

Aiko's brain halted at that. It made no sense.

“Then why on earth does everyone seem… scared of him?” she asked “Didn’t the people adore the Fourth? Didn’t he have a lot of friends? Why does no one want to take care of him?”

Mimiko pursed her lips.

“It’s because… It’s because the Kyuubi is sealed inside of him.”

Aiko stared at her.

“The Kyuubi?” she said, making sure she had heard right. “The monster that destroyed the entire village? He is in Naruto?” Mimiko nodded.

Aiko looked at the boy expecting suddenly to see angry red eyes, fangs, claws. Instead, Naruto huffed in his sleep and wiggled a bit.

“I mean….” Aiko started, “He doesn’t seem very demony.”

“No.” Mimiko nodded. “He doesn’t.” They looked at the sleeping baby a while longer.

“People are stupid,” Aiko declared. “They’re afraid of him because of what is

inside

. The fourth wouldn’t have sealed a monster inside

his

son if, you know, it was going to take over,” she said.

“I guess.” Mimiko said “But the Kyuubi’s attack was unexpected and caused a lot of death. People need an outlet to that grief,” she pointed at Naruto, “he is the perfect one to blame.”

Aiko scowled.

“Well that doesn’t make sense to me, and anyway I don’t see why we should be worried.”

“You should. At least a bit,” at Aiko’s glare Mimiko kept up, “I might not know a lot about the world of Shinobi but the Fourth was a genius. And Kushina from what I gathered -because yes I did some research- was a very strong shinobi. With the Kyuubi sealed inside of him maybe… Maybe Naruto should train. As a ninja.”

Aiko looked at Naruto. “Well… I mean there is the academy. What is the enrolling age?”

“6 or 7 at the earliest can’t quite remember. Usually it’s 8 though.”

Mimiko nodded.

“That's a long time. Should we teach him stuff before that? Like how to read? Write?”

“It’s probably better to do though. Clan kids learn before.”

“Okay.” Aiko nodded. It wasn’t for right now obviously but she might want to look up stuff.

“You seem remarkably unfazed about… you know.” Mimiko pointed out and Aiko shrugged:

“Everyone has the potential to be a monster. For now, he is an innocent baby. I’m not going to worry about what if.”

She remembers her village going up in flames and her hiding against a tree, her whole body shaking, tears streaming down her cheek. Only monsters would slaughter her entire village and those monsters were looking quite like humans.

“Okay.” Mimiko replied and really that was it.

**

Most of the other girls end up learning about Naruto’s heritage and his secret too. They were afraid for a day, before all of them remembered how every shinobi had the potential to kill them if they were unhappy or unsatisfied.

“In fact,” Suki said “He might act as a repellent against some of the crazy ones. Not now but later on…”

And for them it was it.

**

Aiko kept seeing an old man, with one of his eyes covered in bandages and dressed in expensive clothes lurking around. He would always look in their little courtyard and stay there if Aiko was letting Naruto outside so he could enjoy the sun. Aiko didn’t know him so she asked the other girls around.

When she gave her description the older girls frowned and then told them to call the next time he came. So she did. Asa whispered a frightened “Oh! that’s definitely Danzo. Why is he here?”

“Who is he?” Aiko asked hugging Naruto closer to her to reassure herself as much to reassure him. (Not that Naruto seemed to have sense anything amiss if the way he munched on her hair way was any indication)

Usagi -the Oiran- scowled:

“He is like… The right hand of the Hokage. Does a lot of shady shit. He never comes near here. Never. Why would he? We’re not the most high-end brothel here. And he probably has a lot of people ready to warm his bed. And besides,” she shrugged a shoulder and her beautiful blond hair slipped off it, “He apparently likes them male.”

“There is only one male here.” Aiko said and Suki (the youngest after Aiko) nodded “and one who could represent a danger to him.”

Aiko didn’t like it. She didn’t know why exactly but there was something in the way Danzo kept passing by the brothel that felt...Wrong. The way he was lurking but never coming near them. Never interacting.

(Besides she could spot the black and white uniform of people following him. And while the one looking over their brothel didn't bother her, those one did. For some unfathomable reason. Even Naruto was more quiet when the man came and she wondered what he felt. If the fox inside of him was awake and aware.)

And then they stopped seeing him altogether but it was so sudden it was jarring.

“Maybe we worried for nothing?” Suki proposed and Aiko wished she could feel confident about that. She didn’t.

“I don’t think so. I think we should be even more wary.”

**

An invitation came to the brothel. They were to perform at Danzo’s house for some important guests.

All of them were to come, no exception.

The child would have a room to sleep, it said. Someone would be guarding him, it said. They couldn’t refuse, it wasn't said but was implied.

“That’s bad right?”

“Yeah,” Usagi said and the twins Yoko and Yoshi nodded behind her.

“We can’t bring Naruto to him.” Aiko said. The baby was currently busy trying to catch the ornament falling from Usagi’s hair,  who was standing above him.

“We don’t have a choice.” Himiko said, playing her shamisen lightly beside them. They fell silent then only the light music and Naruto’s baby babbles could be heard before Usagi broke it:

“We might do something else.” There was a tension in her voice, an unspoken something. Himiko’s hand faltered, hitting the wrong cord and all the older courtesans looked at Usagi.

“We’ll get caught,” Yoshi hissed.

Usagi paused then laughed -something sad- “No, we won’t. We are dumb whores. No one would suspect us. Not when there is an important, political guest right there.”

Aiko didn't understand what they were speaking of. Or refused to understand.

“Aiko. We need to talk but I’d rather you stay out of it. Why don’t you take Naruto outside?” Usagi proposed. Demanded more like. She nodded, scooped up the squirming baby in her arms, and left the room.

Settled herself in the little courtyard.

Lifting her head she caught a silhouette in black and white. A face without emotion looking down on them.

Are they listening?

She wondered.

Do they know what’s going on? Will they take Naruto from me? Could they help us?

Naruto started wiggling a bit too much and sniffing, signaling that he was hungry.

“Okay, kitten, I get it. One bottle of milk for the fussing baby.” And she went back inside, studiously avoiding

that

room and making her way to the kitchen where Akito, one of the kitchen boys, was preparing dessert. She nodded to him and started boiling the water.

There wasn’t anything she could do and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know exactly what was going on in there.

Some things were better left unsaid.

**

Danzo’s estate was big. Enormous even. One of those old traditional houses with everything on one floor but sprawling all around so large it was impossible to guess where it ended. All around there were gardens with ponds full of fish and little bridges.

It was a show of opulence that put Aiko ill-at-ease.

The other courtesans hadn’t told her their plan. They just asked her to stay with Naruto. To not leave his side.

Some ANBU welcomed them -Aiko found that a bit weird- and led them inside.

One of them wearing a mouse mask tried to take Naruto from Aiko and she shook her head vigorously:

“I’m his nanny, I'm staying with him.”

The ANBU shook their heads. And try again to grab the baby.

“I said no,” Aiko said, starting to get angry, “I’m staying with him.”

Finally, the ANBU made a sort of shrugging gesture and led her to another room, separated from the rest of the group. She couldn’t hear anything there. It was...So quiet.

A crib had been installed in the room and after checking that there was nothing wrong there she put Naruto in and sat besides. She had fed him just before leaving so hopefully he would sleep for a while.

The loneliness did nothing to calm her down. It was quite the contrary. She swore everyone could hear her heartbeat for how loud it was pounding in her chest. She might not know the plan but she could guess enough to be scared.

She sat there next to Naruto holding the babe’s fingers through the bars and waiting.

Twice she saw a shadow move outside through one of the windows. An ANBU she thought but… There was something… Weird about those ones. She couldn’t even say what it was but the one she had seen here made her skin crawl.

Maybe it was just the place. Maybe it was something else.

Then she heard footsteps coming in her direction and she got up, putting herself between the crib and the door. Her only weapon was her kanzashi, long, pointy and golden, holding her hair up for now.

Danzo entered the room. He seemed surprised to find Aiko there. She bowed but didn’t move. Her legs were like two cement blocks. They stared at each other for a while before Danzo got closer.

“I didn’t know someone was here. You should have told me, I would have brought you something to drink or eat. You must be famished all alone here.”

“I’m fine, sir. Thank you,” she replied, putting a hand on the crib behind her to help her support her. She was overwhelmed with fear.

Danzo frightened her in a way she couldn’t explain.

He got close enough to the crib to look inside. His mouth distorted into a line of disgust, his eyes shining with hatred.

She felt herself stop breathing. Her mind was silent as panic took over.

And then Naruto woke up and immediately started wailing. He had never wailed like that before, and she was so surprised she scooped him up, took a few steps aways and started rocking him, shushing him as best she could.

She felt better now with the babe in her arm and out of reach -in a way- of Danzo.

“I apologize,” she said, “He is always grumpy when he wakes.” it was a lie but it wasn’t like Danzo knew Naruto.

Danzo nodded, “of course.” he said. Then he walked away.

The moment the door closed she allowed herself to sink to the ground, Naruto still in her arms and finally starting to calm down.

A few moments later -could have been hours, could have been minute- Mimiko arrived, grabbed her arm and helped her get up. Then they made their way out.

“What happened ?” Aiko asked.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing, you know the usual. Rich people want to be surrounded by pretty girls who play pretty music and know how to serve sake. Nothing very interesting.”

“That’s all?” she said, feeling out of sorts.

Surely it couldn’t be all, she thought. With how Usagi and the other girls had talked… But no one said anything else, except useless babbles about the night and so Aiko stayed silent.

**

“Danzo is dead.” The Madam told them. Aiko’s eyes widened and her breath stopped.

“What?” she croaked out.

“Danzo is dead. This morning. Might be a heart problem. There is going to be an autopsy.” She surveyed the girls sitting around the table, eating, calm and docile.

“I hope they find nothing amiss.”

“Well that dignitary looked dodgy as hell,” Usagi said and the others all agreed. The Madam sighed.

“May the sage save us all.” and left them. (The Madam never ate breakfast with them. Aiko had never really asked why. She didn’t really care.  She just came from time to deliver important news and then left them in peace. Until the night arrived of course.)

A shinobi came later that day. Not any shinobi either. The Head of the Police Force Uchiha Fugaku entered their establishment and asked to talk to all present last night.

When it was Aiko’s turn she sat in front of the man feeling anxious and wondering if he could tell how guilty she felt even though she did nothing.

“What is your name?”

“Aiko.”

“No last name?”

“No.”

It had burned at the same time as my village. Let it rest there.

“Have you been in the brothel for a long time?” and she wondered why it mattered in this investigation.

“Not long.” and she didn’t develop further. The man cast her a look but moved on, apparently having very little interest in her.

“Can you tell me what you remember from last night?”

“Not much,” she answered truthfully, “I was taking care of Naruto Uzumaki for the whole night. Danzo-sama came to see him at one point but that was all. I don’t even know who the people at the party were.”

The Uchiha had lifted his head at Naruto's name and his brows twitched. But nothing else happened.

“Danzo-san came to see Naruto?”

“Yes.”

“Why was Naruto even there?”

“It was written on the invitation that everyone was to come and that there would be a room prepared for Naruto. We didn’t want to leave him alone with a stranger so I stayed with him.”

“I see.” He frowned then made a hand gesture to let her go.

She rejoined with the others in the living room. Ume was the one with Naruto on her lap making him bounce around. The kid was loving it.

She sat next to them, resting her head against the older girl.

Once all of them had passed, the Uchiha came to thank them for the help and left.

“I hope it’s going to be okay.” Aiko muttered and Ume replied “Of course.” with such a finality in her voice that Aiko felt all doubt leaving her.

**

Expensive Funerals were organized and a lot of people were grieving and crying. Aiko felt mostly indifferent, her only exchange with the man having her paralyzed with fear. She didn’t care about him, alive or dead.

This general mourning mood stayed that way for several days. Then there was… Not excitement but something had happened. There was no doubt about that.

She didn’t have to ask that time, Mimiko barged into her room -careful still of the baby sleeping- and exclaimed “You’ll never guess what is going on!”

“Why should I try, you’re going to tell me anyway.”

“Spoilsport! But you know what, I don’t even care! It’s about Danzo!”

Aiko reasoned that if any of them were in danger, Mimiko wouldn’t have looked so excited.

“Okay, spill.”

“They found out that he was stealing clan kids. And brainwashing them into killing machines. Putting seals on them so they couldn’t babble to anyone. Everyone is raving mad. And apparently, he also wanted the Uchiha gone so he had made people believe that they were responsible for the Kyuubi attack. He was hoping to create a session between the clan and the village. It’s insane!”

It was. Aiko felt something like hope bloom in her chest.

“So… Like… They wouldn’t look too hard on who… murdered him. Right?”

“Heh! With all the scandals exploding left and right they don’t have the time.”

Relief.

We are saved

, she thought and smiled at Mimiko. Then she looked toward Naruto’s crib.

“You’re safe” she breathed to him, even if he couldn’t hear her.

**

She tried not to think too much about it but sometimes she couldn’t help it. Naruto had a monster, a being responsible for so much death and destruction sealed into him.

She didn’t even know what it really meant. Would it stop him from being a shinobi? Would it help him? Would the village let him be what he wanted to be? How were they able to seal such a gigantic creature inside such a tiny babe? Could they seal anything inside anyone?

She had no idea. She wasn’t part of that world. The ninja’s world. She knew about concepts such as chakra, and could see the headbands and the weapons. She was told that there were different types of techniques: taijutsu, ninjutsu. That Ninjas could materialize water, fire, wind and trees out of nowhere.

But so much was unknown to her. So much were concepts she couldn’t even hope to understand.

Would it handicap Naruto later on in his life? To have been raised by women knowing nothing about that?

(But then, she thought angrily, they thought Naruto was better left alone. So whatever they may be, they would teach him things. Maybe not how to throw a shuriken or how to create a clone of himself. But how to seduce, how to get information out of people. How to write and read. How to laugh, how to have friends. How to live and to overcome other people's opinion.)

Still she would like to have some information. To learn more. To prepare Naruto better.

Not that it was … Useful now as he couldn’t even walk nor talk. And was just a little worm fussing around and spent most of his time sleeping.

But she could always plan for after. For when he was going to ask questions. What would she tell him? What was she allowed to tell him? The adult had made a vow to remain silent. But she didn’t.

But then if she talked, what if they decided to punish her for it?

God, it’s so complicated

, she couldn’t help but think. It was too much for her.

But she had to remain brave and to make smart decisions to help Naruto. It was all for him. And she really hoped that it was going to be worth it.

**

Time passed as it did.

It was then time to celebrate the first anniversary of Naruto. And also the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack.

There would probably be ceremonies and grand speeches. Aiko didn’t plan on going.

She had tried from time to time to go outside, do some shoppings with Naruto on her back. She quickly realized it was a mistake. The number of times people sneered on their way or breathed monster in their direction -even spit at her feet once- made her reevaluate everything.

She wanted to keep Naruto safe. But she didn’t want to keep him locked. For now he was a baby seemingly happy to stay in the brothel surrounded by women who kissed him on the cheek, sang sweet songs to him or cooed at him.

But what happens when he will be older?

So anyway, bringing Naruto outside when people were remembering

why

they were mourning? Yeah, not a good idea at all.

All of the courtesans seemed pretty happy to prepare the party. To be fair, being a courtesan was not really well perceived outside, so they avoided joining any big celebration. People could be great hypocrites when they really wanted to be: one day they would snuggle against you and fucked you, promising eternity. The day after they would spat at you in the street and call you a whore and a degenerate.

In a way Naruto fitted very well in their own little bubble. And wasn’t it sad?

In any case Aiko had decided to take care of the cake, following an old recipe from her mom. It was a flower cake because after all her village had been renowned for their beautiful and grand variety of flowers.

(She couldn’t pass a flower shop without feeling her eyes getting misty. Their memories were haunting her and hurting her even after all this time. She feared sometimes that they would never let her go free. She sometimes feared that she would forget eventually.)

Some of the girls had been tasked with finding appropriate gifts and the others were tasked with decoration. Naruto might not remember much but they had a camera and they would immortalize this moment. In the hope that whatever may happen Naruto would know that at some point there were people taking care of and loving him.

it was a small party but still Naruto was giggling through the majority of it even managing to clap at some point. But little as he was he was soon fast asleep after all the excitement.

Then it was up to them to clean. As Aiko was carrying the trash outside she heard a soft sound coming from behind. When she turned around an ANBU stood there, still. For a moment she was seized with panic, sure that they were here to kill her, until she realized the ANBU was holding something toward her. A small wrapped packet.

“Is that… Is that for Naruto?” she asked. The ANBU -with a tiger mask- nodded. She took the package and then he was gone leaping back to the rooftop.

She couldn’t give it to Naruto now. She should wait for him to be awake. But then… What if it was a trap? What if there was something dangerous inside? She shook the package hoping to hear a sound of some sort but there was none. It was rather flat. A book maybe?

“What’s that?” Ume asked her as she entered.

“A gift for Naruto.”

“From whom?”

She pointed toward the roof “Our lovely guardian friends.”

“I’m surprised that they are here today. I thought all of them would attend the ceremony…”

“Well,” Aiko started, “I suppose that there will always be some sort of guards on duty for Naruto.”

“They don’t think we’re able to protect him?”

“We’re not ninjas for sure. If a shinobi from another village was to come right now and try to hurt Naruto we wouldn’t know what to do.”

And also they’re probably thinking they’re protecting

us

from him.

“You wouldn’t know what to do maybe,” Ume said and passed a hand through her wavy hair “I would seduce him and make him change alliances, obviously.”

Aiko rolled her eyes “Obviously.” and then made her way to her and Naruto's room.

She hesitated some more then decided to open the gift herself. If it was trapped then she would die heroically trying to protect the kid. Besides, it was not like Naruto would remember that she opened one of his gifts in his stead.

It was a picture frame. Inside were two people: the fourth and who Aiko assumed was Kushina. Where the fourth had golden hair, Kushina had bright long red hair. Naruto had obviously taken after his father for his eyes and hair but the shape of the face was definitely his mother. They were both smiling brightly, heads close, almost touching.

Oh.

She thought. Then frowned.

She was

practically

sure that Naruto being the son of the Fourth was supposed to be a secret. And the ANBU was offering him pictures of his parents? Sweet but dangerous.

Still, she put it on the nightstand next to the crib.

“That way,” she told the sleeping baby, “they will always look after you.”

Her only answer was soft snores.

**

A few weeks before Naruto's birthday was also the anniversary of her arrival in Konoha.

She didn’t celebrate that as the pain was still too raw to even consider doing something. And none of the other girls mentioned it for which she was grateful.

**

A few days after Naruto's birthday the Hokage came to visit. He said that he just wanted to be sure that Naruto was doing okay and seemed satisfied with how the boy looked and tried desperately to grab the old man's hat.

“Well, he seems in good health. I hope he doesn’t give you too much trouble, Haruka-san.”

“No; he doesn’t. The girl is taking good care of him. He doesn’t stop the clientele from coming so there is that.” the Madam laughed. “So, is this a tradition we should prepare for? The Hokage coming from his tower to visit the boy?”

the Hokage gave her a wry smile “If it was possible I would come more often to visit him. But… Well… Things are how they are.”

The Madam nodded like it meant something and Aiko just tilted her head to the side. She made a mental note to ask Mimiko -maybe she would know what to make of that cryptic statement-.

The Hokage and the Madam talked some more about mundane things and the allowance to raise Naruto then the Hokage left.

The Madam patted Aiko’s head “Take good care of the boy, girl. It might save us one day.”

Aiko gave a strange look trying to decipher that sentence but the Madam was already back behind her desk, working. Aiko bowed and took Naruto up.

“What’s with your face?” Mimiko asked.

“I don’t know.” Aiko replied truthfully “I do think that I bit more than I could chew thought.”

“Ha! No joke? He has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, he is the son of the fourth. You already knew that. No surprise here.”

“I think I hadn’t really realized yet.”

But oh, well it’s not like she was going to abandon him now.

**

The year passed like the year before. Naruto started walking and crawling everywhere, having Aiko running like a madwoman through the brothel to stop him. His teeth started showing, making him wail in pain. And he was starting to make sounds. Nothing intelligible yet but you could see in his eyes that he was determined.

“Isn’t he adorable when he scrunches up his face like that?” Usagi cooed as Naruto valiantly tried to grab her hair ornament again.

They have started calling him their little magpie because if they let anything shiny at a height he could reach Naruto would take it.

Aiko wondered if it was a demon thing or not. She knew that Kyuubi was a fox but maybe it was in its essence or whatever. After all demons were malevolent beings: greedy, lusty, prideful right? Wouldn’t it make sense?

It wasn’t like it was a major problem since Naruto just wanted to suck on the thing he found. Could be dangerous if it was one with dangling pearls but for now the kid was relatively unscathed.

**

The ANBU were a fixture. They started to recognize them as they had regular guardians: Tiger, Hound Crow and Weasel. Sometimes there were others but those four were the main ones they saw.

Aiko started to try to be friendly to them because she realized that ANBU being the elite squad of Konoha would be really helpful if they could help her to train Naruto. Or even to give her advice on where to buy the best weapons and

which

weapons to buy.

She sorely needed help and if the only help she could see were those masked weird bastards then so be it. She would do what needed to be done.

Which meant starting to leave desserts, cakes, candies and others available for them. Calling them when she could, saying hello, good morning, goodbye. Naruto even waved at them sometimes when she managed to bring his attention to them.

“It looks like you’re trying to tame some wild animals,” Mimiko remarked one day and honestly speaking? She was not far from the truth.

Seeing how ANBU seemed to hate walking on the ground, but loved hiding in the shadows and didn’t like speaking or coming close to them… Well, yeah. Wild animals fit them well.

It did work as they started being more visible and nodding back. They were acknowledging each other which was… A step forward.

“You know, if you wait for them to begin the conversation you probably can wait for years. I think you need to start talking to them.”

“... I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Start a list,” Mimiko suggested, “then start asking the questions.”

She followed that wise council, made a list, and decided what was the most important. She could take care of the reading and writing -she already bought a book to help with that and notebooks and pencils, yes Naruto was only two and a half but what if he was a prodigy? - but she needed help in the ninja department.

She had no idea at what age it was considered appropriate for a ninja kid to start learning to throw kunai. What was the first jutsu they should learn? Clan had special technique, was the fourth or Kushina part of any clan? Did any of them have some… genetic technique to teach Naruto?

(Did the Kyuubi have any special technique that Naruto was supposed to learn?)

So she prepared lemonade and some violets-perfumed madeleine, put everything on a tray, and made her way to the courtyard.

She hasn’t seen her today guardian yet so she just called up:

“ANBU mister? I have some stuff prepared for you! I also have some questions to ask?”

please come, please come,

she chanted in her head, really hoping that they would be willing to listen and even help.

To her delight it was Tiger.

For what she gathered, Tiger and Weasel seemed more friendly and opened to talk. Crow just seemed… Young. And awkward. She saw him playing in trees and making branches grow but he tried to look as little as possible in what’s going on in the brothel. If he was really young maybe he was shy. (Weasel seemed young too -all lanky limbs and shit- but he waved at them and seemed more… outgoing.)

And Hound was….

Hound was easy to identify. There were only a number of people with gray hair, styled up. And Hatake Kakashi had many rumors going on about him, especially that he wasn’t…. All there. That he had suffered many traumatic incidents -or so she heard- and that he had taken the habit of reading porn in public -why?-.

So she never felt very comfortable around him. But Tiger was fine. He was after all the only one who delivered gifts on Naruto's birthday.

He was probably more open to discussion.

“So, here’s the thing.” she began with, Tiger apparently managing to eat and drink through the mask (what?) “I’m no ninja but I have a kid in there that could probably become one hell of a ninja. So I was wondering… Could you guys … Help out? Like train him? Tell me what sort of weapons to buy?”

Tiger finished eating and then stood in silence for a while. Aiko was starting to think she was going to get completely ignored but then Tiger spoke up :

“We’re not supposed to meddle into his life. We’re not supposed to train him. Hokage orders.” he replied, sounding really sorry about it.

Aiko narrowed her eyes:

“You offered him a picture of his parents for his birthday, something that is supposed to be secret. Look at me again and dare tell me that you’re listening to orders. Besides” she kept up, cutting him off for any protest he could make “ with what’s inside of him, shouldn’t we want him to … control his chakra or whatever? The better he is at controlling it the less risk of…

It

coming out, right?”

“You’re not wrong. But a photo can pass. Training is a long process that repeats itself. If we get caught there would be no excuses.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

Tiger shrugged. Aiko waved him away. And started thinking.

The solution came to her as she went outside shopping. She crossed paths with a group of young ninjas (couldn’t be older than thirteen) complaining about D rank missions.

She froze in the street then whispered “Oh!” before running back to the brothel and calling

“TIGER! GET DOWN!”

Tiger startled -if his shoulders set was anything to go by- but Aiko didn’t care and asked:

“How does one go about submitting a mission in this village?”

**

“You want to ask the village for a mission to train Naruto?” Usagi asked once more as she needed to be sure that she heard right. Aiko nodded excitedly:

“Yes. The only problem is the price. The more a mission is considered dangerous the more you need to pay. And I have no idea how they’ll rate the danger of teaching a kid that got the Kyuubi inside. Or even if they’ll submit it. But at least I can try. And it might show the Hokage that we’re trying to do things right.”

Usagi pursed her lips “It's a good idea, I won’t deny that. But it’s just… That means inviting a shinobi we don’t know inside our lives. I would rather have the ANBU do it honestly.”

“The ANBU might end up doing it. They can take some of those missions sometimes.” she shrugged “Tiger said that the Hokage might ask them to do it. But we need to submit the mission first.”

“Well,” Usagi said, letting her eyes flit over Naruto who was trying to climb one of the dressers (damn it!) “With the allowance we’re paid we should manage something.”

**

Since the beginning, the Madam had washed her hand from anything concerning Naruto except when it came to receive the allowance. She kept a part for herself and gave the rest to Aiko so she could buy what was necessary. If she needed more she could ask but generally, she made do.

All of the girls got together to draft the mission and the money -they were all rather attached to the kid now- and Aiko submitted it to the administrative office.

Then two days after that the Madam called her in her office. She sounded angry.

“Care to explain to me why a mission originated from the brothel about the little demon ?” Aiko scowled at the nickname but stood her ground:

“He needs to be trained.”

“Then maybe you should have thought of that before keeping him? If it’s too much we can let the Hokage deal with him.”

“Certainly not. Besides I don’t see why the mission is a problem to you. It concerns Naruto, possibly me, and that’s all. It won’t slow business.”

“Because you think any ninja wouldn’t try to have some free pleasant time here in exchange for looking after the brat.”

“First of all some of those ninjas are women or gay and not interested in what we have to offer, second of all the girls are not completely helpless and defenseless, they can manage some grabby hands, and they know how to say no to annoying clientele.”

The Madam frowned:

“You’ve gained a lot of confidence lately. You talk back too much. Don’t think that the kid is protection enough. I might start putting you on the roster.”

Aiko tried to project confidence or at least indifference even if she was scared. She had been beyond grateful to have Naruto to care about and not to have to do what she was supposed to do here. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that she might end up doing her brothely duty at some point.

(Oh, how she hated the thought.)

The Madam sighed, put upon at last:

“Well, the Hokage had seen the mission and called me to know more. Next time you do something like that, tell me about it. I don’t like being a fool.”

Aiko nodded, thinking sourly that the Madam would have probably stopped them in their enterprise and then she would be back to square one again, trying to find a way to train Naruto.

It was only once outside that she realized that The Madam hadn’t said if the Hokage had approved or not of the mission.

She really hoped he did.

**

She was in the market buying groceries, looking at the watermelon trying to find the best ones. There had been some murmurs in her back -mean ones- and she had been ignoring them as best as she could.

Until one man with a pork-like face approached her, spat at her feet, called her a whore, and added “We should burn your establishment down, that way we’ll get rid of the monster too.”

In a show of reflex and anger that surprised even her -or did it? Burning down? Really? Way to wake up dormant trauma- she slapped the man hard on the cheek.

It was a mistake. She was a scrawny thirteen-year old girl and he was a man twice her weight and towering over her. She saw his little angry black eyes turn into slit as anger as well as shame reddened his  cheek.

She could maybe outrun him but even then she wasn’t so sure.

He launched her fist against her yelling “You miserable scum-” but was stopped short by someone stepping up.

A man. A ninja man. Wearing the recognizable green jacket and headband.

“Now there, that’s not very nice to go around punching pretty ladies.” the ninja said and the man sputtered.

“Why don’t you calm down somewhere else, hmm?”

Aiko was silently gawking as she recognized the voice. It was Tiger.

The man finally lumbered away and Tiger turned toward her. He was younger than she would have thought,  brown hair with brown eyes, handsome face, his headband was tied around his head but the symbol was to the back. He also had a senbon pick in his mouth.

“There pretty lady, need any help?” he smiled at her and she blinked, surprised.

“No. Just picking a watermelon. And some other fruits.”

“Okay.” he said and followed her around as she finished her shopping. She kept darting glances at him wondering why on earth he was still there but relieved to have some form of security.

Her eyes narrowed when he started following her back to the brothel:

“Do you need help, mister?”

“Shiranui Genma.” Then he smiled and produced a scroll “Got affected to a mission to train a child that resides in your establishment.”

She wondered why he was phrasing it like it was brand new information when she remembered that technically you weren’t supposed to know who was who behind their ANBU mask.

“Oh!

Oh

. Great!”

She was relieved to know it was going to be Ti-Genma who was doing the training. They knew him, he clearly knew the place. Everything was good.

She felt a bit lighter for the rest of the trip and dumped the groceries to one of the overwhelmed kitchen boys before racing up the stairs to fetch Naruto. Who was trying to eat one of his books.

“No, Naru-chan, you know it’s not for eating.”

“ungy” the kid managed and she scooped him up “I know but it’s not time to eat yet.”

She came down with him,  Genma still waiting in the lobby and having attracted the attention of several of the girls. They were giggling and whispering among themselves. Man in broad daylight in a brothel? Yeah, not common.

“He’s not here for you” she admonished and saw the girls moaning in sadness as they went back to being bored.

“So… Hum. Naruto, this is Genma. Genma, this is Naruto, he is going to be your teacher. Your ninja teacher.”

“Hi kiddo.” Naruto shot him a look, blue eyes widening. He sniffed the air curious.

Naruto hadn’t seen a lot of men she realized, maybe he was surprised. She was starting to get worried when Naruto squealed:

“TIGE’!” and tried to launch himself at Genma. Aiko was frozen.

She had spoken to Genma/Tiger before and a few times Naruto had been there but he clearly recognized the man and she wondered how he could.

Genma seemed at perplexed as her but accepted the wriggling child and smiled more broadly:

“Well, buddy, you seem happy to see me at least.”

“Tige’?” Naruto asked in a more sad voice as after putting his little hand all over Genma’s face no mask was revealed.

“Not now,” Genma replied and Naruto settled down, excitement finished over the lack of mask.

“So hum,” Aiko started, “How are you going to… train him I guess?”

“I am going to teach him the basics, the poses, the signs, and see a bit how his chakra is doing. Might bring him to some training ground. “ after looking at her he also added:

“I might also invite some of my friends to training to help. Some have taught kids before so, you know, might help with that.”

“Oh. Are they… Okay?” what she meant was “Are they going to be nice? Won’t they be rude?” and Genma understood.

“Don’t worry they won’t harm him. I won't let them in any case. Besides, it can’t hurt him if he starts seeing more people. More Ninjas.”

That was true, Aiko supposed. Naruto’s world seemed to restrain itself to the brothel, simply because people outside of it were mean to him for no reason and Aiko was doing her best to protect him from it.

But if was surrounded by ninjas that didn’t mind what he was then….She smiled:

“Thank you so much.”

“No.” Genma said then paused, considering something. “Thank

you.

He is… He is my sensei’s son and I could only look after him from afar. You took good care of him. I’m grateful. So thank you and all the other girls.”

She felt herself blushed but nodded:

“Good. Did you… Did you know the Fourth well?”

Naruto, seemingly bored by the conversation, was trying to check every pocket in the jacket. Genma let him do it, unbothered.

“I was one of the people in charge of his security. I’d like to think I was close to him.”

“Do you think you could maybe… Tell him stories about his parents?”

Genma nodded “Sure. Though I might just call him the fourth and that’s all.”

“Well, that’s already a good beginning.”

**

It was weird not having Naruto around all day. In the afternoon now Genma would come pick up Naruto and bring him back later in the evening.

Whatever they were doing, Naruto was enjoying it greatly. He also had started to speak more and was progressing rapidly.

Opening up his world was making him grow. She was happy for him but sad that it wasn’t something that she could have offered him before. But it also settled something in her mind that she had done something good.

Genma being busy with Naruto’s training meant that they stopped having ANBU hanging around the brothel like before. It was a change too and not necessarily a good one as they realized.

Their doors and walls started being vandalized in the afternoon with words like “Monster” “Die” and other niceties.

The ANBU had been shielding them from that but now that there was a major part of the day when they weren’t there, they became easy targets.

So Aiko started spending most of her afternoon cleaning. Making sure the heinous words would disappear by the time Naruto would be home. Of course he couldn’t read yet (she needed to wait a bit more for that, though if he was learning how to hold and throw a shuriken then he would soon be able to hold a pen she supposed) but he could probably understood the violence, the hatred in the way the paint was applied to the walls.

He wasn’t a stupid kid and he was uncanny good with sensing emotions around him. A sort of instinct really. Like a wild beast.

(A fox’s cunning, sensing and using the emotions around him to his advantage, she thought sometimes. And then hated herself a bit for that.)

So she just made sure that by the time Genma brought back the boy Naruto wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

**

Genma had started training Naruto when he was two and nine months old. They celebrated his third birthday like always with the people working in the brothel only.

This time though he received more clothes -as training was taking a toll on the one he was wearing now-. Genma offered him a pouch of Kunai.

There was something awful, Aiko thought, about seeing a little boy, a

baby

being so happy about receiving weapons.

She thought that it was a very cruel world, the one they were living in.

**

Another year passed. Aiko had feared at first that she would have to resume her woman duty at the brothel -she was after all free most of the time- instead Usagi got a kid and she was charged with helping her take care of her.

(Her name was Hotaru and she was very sweet but would always cry. Aiko was a bit disconcerted about that. Naruto had always been so calm as a baby. She wasn’t used to it.)

When Naruto was four she started teaching him how to read and write in the morning then Genma would pick him up in the afternoon.

Naruto talked about his training sometimes but she could barely keep up. However she retained the name of the ninjas that helped him: Maito Gai, Uchiha Shisui and Raido Namiashi. He seemed to like them all so it was all she needed to know really.

Lately Genma had been hanging out after bringing Naruto back. Would stay for a cup of tea, telling her of Naruto’s progress. And the difficulties he was facing.

“I'm always afraid that … it would come out. I have never sensed it yet but it is always there in the back of my head.”

“Can he learn to control it?” Aiko asked. It had been a question she had asked herself often: could Naruto control the Kyuubi and make sure no one would ever be harmed by it again?

“Other jinchuuriki could so he will probably be able to but-”

“Other what?” Aiko asked. And then felt her world spin out of control when she learned that there were nine tailed-beasts, that the Kyuubi was the most powerful of them all and that each hidden village had at least one as a protective measure against the others.

“However, most of them become missing-nin.” Genma finished with and Aiko could understand : if everyone reacted to any Jinchuuriki like they did to Naruto: with hatred, disgust and fear.

“Is there… Is there a way to contact them though?” she asked. Genma stilled.

“Why would you do that?” she looked at him as if he was particularly dense:

“If Naruto is going to learn how to control his tailed-beast, only an expert should do that. So you know, other tailed-beasts?”

There was a bit of silence.

“The adult ones are missing-nin. I heard that one of them became Kage and turned his hidden village into a perpetual crime scene. The younger ones are probably not as well-loved as Naruto is and are probably under high surveillance. As he is.”

“So you’re telling me that there isn’t a ninja in that damn village that could track the adult ones, find them and deliver them a message from a little boy that is searching for connections?”

Genma paused again.

“There might be one. He is good at tracking. But boy, he’ll never agree.”

“Who is it?” she asked, deciding that she would convince whoever it was to help her. Of course she lost all hope when Genma replied:

“Kakashi Hatake.”

**

Kakashi Hatake was  a genius ninja who lost all the people he cared about at a young age in a series of tragic events. The psych division had been trying to have him follow actual therapy for years without any success. He was like a son to the Fourth and Kushina, so in theory like a brother to Naruto.

Despite their link, Hatake had never made any effort to meet the kid. Was it because he believed that he was destined to see all people he loved die, and refuse to include a baby or, because Naruto did look like his parents, and seeing him cause him pain was hard to tell.

He was considered eccentric by everyone, having taken the habit to read porn in public, apparently not caring about what people think.

His face was always covered by a mask, and his hiatei hid a sharingan eye donated by his now-dead teammate just before passing his last breath. Those were all the information the girls passed to her.

Genma also confirmed that he was Hound, and looked at the courtesans with a new eye when they all told her all this information, some of it apparently secret. He didn’t seem mad. Mostly fascinated.

“We need to know who we’re potentially dealing with,” Usagi told him primly while breastfeeding. Naruto was actually playing with some wooden toys on his side telling a very captivating story to the twins.

“There is no way that man will do anything to help me.” Aiko despaired.

“I mean… Yeah. Probably not. He obeys only the Hokage And even then…” Genma trailed off.

Still, Aiko had to try.

There were people like Naruto outside of Konoha. People who could understand Naruto to a degree. She needed to do something. And Kakashi was the key.

“Is there no one that he cares about now? Even have a little soft spot for?” she asked Genma who had started eating some of the appetizers the kitchen boys had starting to bring.

(There was no way the Madam didn’t know about the war session actually occurring in one of the lounges just before opening time but no one was telling them off for now.)

“I mean…” Genma trailed off. “There is Crow.”

“Crow?”

“Yeah. He had taken him under his wings.” and the ninja smiled apparently proud of his pun. Aiko despaired slightly.

“Do you want to threaten him?” Ume asked, apparently very interested. “Of course I don’t.” Aiko replied “But I was hoping he could help me convince the man.” but seeing how shy and awkward Crow was… That was not working.

“Well. In any case, you need a plan.” Genma said and Aiko let her head fall on the table. It didn’t help but she could wallow with her face hidden.

**

She just decided to go with her guts, got Kakashi's address from Mimiko -she didn’t want to know how Mimiko had come across that information- and found herself knocking on a fairly non-descriptive door on a Tuesday afternoon.

Gemma had assured her that Kakashi wasn’t on any missions so she took her chance.

Kakashi opened the door and looked her up and down. He seemed to be lost as to why there was a “courtesan” in front of his door.

“Yes?” he asked and Aiko put her sweet smile on.

“Hatake-san I’m so sorry to disturb you on your day off, but see I wanted to know if you could do me a favor.”

The only eye she could see widened slightly.

“And why on earth would I do that?”

“Because it would help the baby that should have been like a brother to you by all right.”

It was because she expected the door to close to her face, and because she had before knocking put a brick on the floor that she had pushed in the space between the door and the wall, that Kakashi failed.

She hardened her smile:

“Why don’t I come inside so we can talk?”

“I don’t think so.”

One of Kakashi's neighbors went up the stairs and watched them wearily. Aiko put a pretend hurt face:

“Look at that, now people will think you’re making underage courtesans come to service you at your own apartment. Tragic. Not that you had a good reputation to begin with.”

“I beg your pardon?” Kakashi asked and there was a bit of frost in his voice.

Annoying ninjas was kinda fun actually.

“Of course, if you let me come inside before anyone else sees me your reputation might be salvaged. A bit.”

“You’re crazy,” Kakashi said at the same time as he opened the door to let her in.

“So,” Aiko kept on as she took on the… Bareness of the apartment. Boy. It looked sad. “As I said I need a favor. As Naruto’s almost big brother I feel you owned me since I don’t recall you taking care of the child.” she threw him a glance. Kakashi glared at her.

“I was fourteen.”

“And I was eleven.” she countered with. He visibly faltered.

“I was alone ?” he proposed.

“No, you weren’t, I heard you have at least one friend by the name of Gai, the Hokage think highly of you, and I’m sure there are a lot of chunin or Jounin out there who would have been willing to help raise the dead fourth Hokage’s son if you had asked. You knew them better than me in any case.” She stressed the last point.

“So, you own me one.”

If the way the Jounin’s shoulders sagged were any indication, he was recognizing his own defeat.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to find some of the missing tailed-beasts and to give them a letter from me and Naruto.”

There was a long silence following her declaration.

“Oh okay,” Kakashi said at last “You are batshit crazy. Why do you think this is a good idea?”

“Because Naruto needs some people to teach him how to control the Kyuubi. It seemed to me that they are obviously the teacher he needs.”

“You do realize that there is no way they would come close to any hidden village?”

“Well, they can still write letters back. At one point Naruto would go outside as a ninja right? To do missions? They might decide to meet at that point.”

Kakashi twitched slightly. Aiko absently thought that for a ninja he was shit at hiding his body language. Or he decided not to do that with her. Hmm, food for thought that.

“If Naruto is allowed outside the village.” Kakashi finally said and Aiko frowned:

“What do you mean

if?

You can’t keep Naruto tied to the village. No wonder all tailed-beasts end up missing-nin.” she said, “You all treat them like crap and then cut them any liberty. Why none of them went on a rampage and killed us all is a mystery to me.”

Kakashi remained unmoving. So she moved on :

“Anyway, would you do it? Deliver the message?”

“Finding them is going to be hard. Not only that but it’s not an official mission. I could only search when I’m out for another mission and only if it doesn’t impede.”

She kept looking at him.

“But yes,” he conceded, “I could find a way to do it. I imagine you don’t want the Hokage to know about it.”

She paused. “He would try to stop you, you think? Wouldn’t knowing broadly where the other tailed-beasts are a good thing?”

“No, because if people learn that Konoha is searching for them it could be a cause for war.”

“I don’t want that,” she grimaced.

Kakashi rolled his single eye. “I know that. And I’m stealthy. So no, no Hokage.” he added those last words as he didn’t particularly agree with what he was saying.

But Aiko knew he would do it.

***

Naruto and her worked carefully on the letter. She didn’t actually tell Naruto about him hosting the Kyuubi because she thought he was too young to know. (and wasn’t that weird? The boy was probably already capable on some level to kill someone and yet she wasn’t sure how he would handle knowing the Kyuubi was sealed inside him.) She just told him that she knew people who would love to be pen-pal with him.

Naruto had no reason to doubt her. (How long would he still trust her?)

So he wrote a letter where he talked about himself, what he liked (ramen), what his dream was (becoming Hokage. That was a new one she hadn’t heard before. But Aiko knew he could do it. She had faith in him.), what he didn’t like (people being mean, and her heart hurt but she said nothing.) and he even made a drawing. It was kind of poorly made but it represented Naruto, Aiko, and Genma.

She almost felt herself crying when she saw it. Instead, she gave Naruto the biggest hug she could.

“Thank you.”

“Do you think they will like it?”

“They will love it!”

They copied it and she wrote and added her own messages that would be added to the scrolls that Naruto was a jinchuuriki and that was why she was thinking of their friendship. They should feel free to answer if they want.

Then she brought everything to Kakashi. Who looked as unhappy to see her as last time.

“You haven’t changed your mind, I see.”

“I want Naruto to be well-prepared for the rest of his life. Wouldn’t his parents have wanted that too?”

Kakashi just let his head hang low and didn’t answer. She let it drop.

**

There was no way to know if/when an answer would come. Would Kakashi even find them? Would he have time during his missions?

It was a stone sent in a lac. Now she would just wait to see if the ripples reached them. Meanwhile, Naruto was training. He had asked the first few days if he had answers but then stopped asking.

She liked to think that it was because he forgot. She started to realize that Naruto had noticed the glares thrown his way and the way the courtesans were trying to shelter him from other people.

He might think that no one would reply because no one would want to be friends with him. And what was she supposed to do to convince him it wasn’t the case?

He couldn’t enroll in the academy yet (still a year and a half to wait ) so Naruto had no kid his age around, no peers, no friends.

(and even when he would enroll, what if the parents told their children to stay away from Naruto because they were afraid for their children's safety? She couldn’t fault them for that but what this would do to Naruto she couldn’t imagine.)

Then Kakashi dropped one evening very late. He actually made Aiko jump out of fear as he was perched on the windowsill and she hadn’t heard or saw him until he said :

“There.”

In his hands was one letter.

“Is that?”

“Yeah. Met the five-tailed guy. Gave him the letter. He read it immediately. Then reply right on. I just made sure he wasn’t going to put some weird seal that could hurt you or the kid in it. But … Well. Your first answer.”

She took the proffered scroll.

“Thank you very much. Naruto will be very excited.”

Kakashi made an aborted motion like maybe he wanted to add something.

“Are you okay?” Aiko asked. He was probably coming up from a mission. “Are you hurt, do you need any-” and then she found herself talking to a potted plant as the ninja in front of her disappeared.

“What is that? “ was all she could muster as a reaction.

Ninjas were really weird.

**

Naruto was ecstatic about the letter. His smile was pure unadulterated sunshine and Aiko couldn’t help but share his joy.

They read the letter so much that Naruto ended up knowing it by heart. And of course, he wanted to answer immediately to Han, formerly from Iwa.

“Why did he leave his village?” Naruto asked and Aiko stammered trying to find an adequate answer.

“Do you think if I invited him he would come to stay with us in Konoha?” Naruto was very excited.

“Well,” she started “Maybe wait a bit before proposing that, okay?'' The last thing they needed was the five-tailed jinchuuriki thinking Konoha was trying to use a kid to trap him back in a village.

Naruto made a face but didn’t indeed ask the man to come live with him. Instead he asked a million questions about what the rest of the world looked like and how it was to travel all around?

Aiko added once again her own letter thanking the jinchuuriki warmly and asking if instead of one middling Konoha shinobi if there was any other way to contact him.

Then she went back to Kakashi's apartment. But no one answered when she knocked. One of the neighbors saw her and told her that Kakashi was probably at the memorial stone.

So she went there. Indeed she could see the lone figure of Kakashi standing in front of the memorial stone of the ninjas dead on duty.

She hesitated on interrupting - he seemed deep in thought- but finally took some steps closer:

“Hatake-san?” she ventured. Kakashi lifted his head and looked at her before recognition hit him.

“Oh, you’re there.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you. Are you okay?” there was… something sad about his face.

“Just the usual I guess,” he shrugged.

“Another letter for me?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind.”

“Even if I did, you wouldn’t care.”

She frowned “If it was really putting you in danger I wouldn’t have asked of you. I don’t actually wish you any harm.”

“Would you even know if I was putting myself in harm's way?”

The tone in which he said it implied that he wasn’t particularly waiting for a reply.

“I would rather have you unharmed.” she finally said. He might not act like it but he was as close as brother to Naruto as the kid could have, having been semi-raised by the fourth. She wished him well so that one day Naruto could build a relationship with him.

He gave her a funny look.

“Maa… What a nice thing to say.” she ignored the teasing lilt of his voice. Once she made sure he took the letter she turned her back and walked away.

She really didn’t like any cemetery or memorial.

(her village had none and would soon be forgotten by everyone except her. Who would remember that little place in the mountain with flowers everywhere? Another place destroyed because ninjas would always attack the weak.)

**

They started a correspondence with Han. And with Roshi the jinchuuriki of the four-tailed beast. Once Kakashi had delivered the firsts, the letters started coming from bird summons.

She had thought at first that they would lose interest but she was excited to see that they seemed to really be willing to engage with Naruto.

Naruto was beyond happy with that. Though he kept talking about when he would meet them and well… Aiko wasn’t sure if it was even going to be possible.

Until a man, an ordinary man, black hair, black eyes, came to the brothel one afternoon and asked to talk to her. There was nothing notable about him. Aiko had a hard time focusing on his face while he talked.

“Are you Aiko?”

She nodded “Yes. And you are?”

As an answer, the man took a scroll out. A scroll she recognized. Her eyes widened.

“I’m Han,” he said softly and she smiled. Then paused and frowned.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a whisper, creeping closer “Are you okay coming in the village? I didn’t ask you because I didn’t want you to feel… Trapped.” She finished lamely.

“It’s fine. I’m wearing a henge,” he said as a matter of explanation. Aiko had no idea what a Henge was but since her eyes kept sliding off his face she figured that it had something to do with that.

“Please,” she finally said, “Come in.”

She installed him in one of the smaller rooms.

“I’m sorry, Naruto is training.” she said “I don’t know when he will come back.”

“It’s fine. I guess I wanted to talk to you as well.” he stared at her a long time. Aiko squirmed a bit while serving him some tea.

“I’m glad,” he finally said and she looked up at him. “I’m glad one of us has someone.” She bit her lips.

“Do you know the others well?”

“I've crossed paths with some of them.”

“Why don’t…” she paused, unsure if she should continue but deciding that she wanted to know “Why don't you just join together and create a family of your own?”

Han tilted his head. “Because people will always pursue us. If we stay together isn’t it easier to get to us?”

“But isn’t one of you in charge of a village? Is there really no possibility to seek refuge there? Some of the jinchuuriki are kids like Naruto. I do my best for Naruto, trying to give him support but the others maybe don’t. And then what? They run away from their village too?” her voice was getting higher, as she was getting worked up on her topic.

Sometimes when she heard Naruto’s laugh, she wondered if the other jinchuuriki kids were happy or if they were miserable. Naruto was such a precious kid how could anyone who knew him hate him? What if the other kids were the same? But had no one who could tell?

Han didn’t reply.

“I’m sorry,” she said “I didn’t mean-”

“It’s admirable,” he said finally “And curious. You care.” He seemed honestly baffled. Then there was a child's voice screaming “Aiko onee-san!” and a little blond kid came busting into the room. He paused when he looked at Han.

“Would you close the door?” Han asked and Naruto did so after giving Aiko a look. Then Han's appearance changed.

He was tall. Taller than any person she had ever met, his face was hiding behind a large straw hat and a red mask. He was wearing armor that seemed very heavy. Naruto's eyes widened.

“Hello Naruto,” he said, “I’m Han.”

**

Han stayed a while, Naruto asking him all sorts of questions. The demon topic didn’t pop out but Aiko realized that she couldn’t hide it from Naruto anymore. Yes he was young, yes he could hate her for hiding the truth but he needed to know.

Han departed -putting his henge on again- and once they had eaten and the other girls came bustling downstairs getting to work she put Naruto in their room and sat.

“Naru-Chan, I need to tell you something.”

“Sure,” the kid said, still excited by his friend's surprise visit.

“What do you know about the kyuubi’s attack?” she finally asked, having no idea how to broach the subject.

“Mmmh, the Kyuubi is a giant fox, super strong, who attacked the village but the yondaime was even stronger and defeated him!” he said, starting to calm down and looking at Aiko curiously.

“Do-I” she paused. “What I’m going to tell you is difficult to understand and you will have a lot of questions and I don’t know If I can answer them all.” she sighed then took Naruto’s hand in hers “But I want you to remember I love you. With my whole heart.” Naruto nodded solemnly.

“The Kyuubi wasn’t really defeated. He was too powerful. So they sealed him. In a baby. Because it was easier.” she let the words sink in, saw the gears turning into Naruto’s head, kept on because he needed to know more:

“But the Kyuubi isn’t alone. There are other creatures like him and they are sealed in other people too.”

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at her suddenly.

“I’m… I’m the Kyuubi?”

“No. “ she cut him, squeezing his hand. “You have the Kyuubi sealed inside of you, but you’re

not

the Kyuubi.”

“Why-”

“Han has the five tailed-beasts inside and Roshi the four.” she said quickly. That stunned Naruto enough and he paused, head hanging low. She bit her lips terrified of his reaction.

“I’m a monster.” he said voice small and a protective urge made her hugged him tight

“No, you’re not! You’re Naruto, you’re my sweet little boy who is terrible at spelling but who is trying. My adorable urchin who turned my gray world into one bursting in color and life. You’re

not

the Kyuubi and anyone who thinks the contrary are huge, giant idiots.” she put her hands on his face and looked him right in the eye :”I love you.

We

all love you here. Genma and his friends care about you too. You’re not, never will be, never were a monster.”

Because she could see the slight fear in his eyes she asked “Do you think Han is a monster?”

He shook his head vigorously “Then you’re not either.”

then Naruto hugged her tight and didn’t let go for the rest of the night.

**

Naruto didn’t go to train the day after and Aiko told Genma that he wasn’t feeling well. It was a lie as Naruto had never been sick in his life. The only moment she could recall him having some fever was when his teeth were growing and he had never been ill after that. (An effect of the demon-fox? Or was he just naturally more resistant? Hard to say really.)

Han came back and Aiko looked at him seriously:

“I told him the truth. He may have questions for you.”

She left them alone for that feeling like maybe Han wouldn’t like to share jinchuuriki’s secrets if she was around.

When they emerged some two hours later Naruto looked better. His eyes were clearer. Like whatever he had learned from Han, whatever Han had shared with him was helping him.

And in that moment she was sure that she had made the right choice by seeking them out. Naruto needed guidance and guidance he would have.

**

Han stayed for three more days then took his leave. Before leaving he looked at Aiko for a long time and said:

“Maybe you’re not wrong.” Aiko had no idea what he was referring to. But he left -with a promise to keep writing- and Naruto waved him goodbye sadly.

“I’m sorry that he couldn’t stay.”

“It’s fine,” Naruto said and squeezed her hand. “He hasn't found his family yet.” and Aiko felt a faint smile on her lips as the idea of Naruto implying that he did.

She did right by the boy and that was all that mattered.

**

“Naruto is going to be six soon,” Genma told her and Aiko nodded, aware indeed of time passing.

“He should enter the academy.”

“And he will,” she answered honestly. She had told Naruto and he had agreed. Though he had asked worryingly if his classmates would know.

They had then a discussion about the fact that only the adults did and swore to not talk about it.

“Wait, they didn’t want me to know?” he had asked, hurt.

“I think they thought you were too young to know.”

“But you didn’t listen.”

“I never swore anything on my part so I’m not breaking the rule. Besides, you would have asked  questions about why Han and Roshi were willing to talk to you.”

Naruto  had frowned, his little face going all scrunched up.

“So the teacher would know.”

“Yes.” she had paused “And Naru-chan, if one of them is mean, if someone is mean with no reason to you I want you to tell me. I won’t let it go.” Naruto had nodded and she truly hoped he would.

“Good. Then I guess I won’t see you for a while after that?” Genma said tilting his head to the side.

“Probably not,” she said. Even if he came to the house for pleasure she wouldn’t be here, Hotaru still needed someone looking after her and one of the twins was now pregnant too. (the joy of a brothel she supposed.) She had become officially the baby-sitter of the house.

**

The entering ceremony was nerve-wracking, she thought.

Naruto was as nervous as her as they walked to the academy, hand-in-hand. She had the registration paper in her hand and she was trying very hard to look calm and decisive. And not like she wanted to throw up.

People were looking at them, whispering nasty things and she could see how Naruto was looking at the ground, ashamed.

There were kids milling all around the school with their parents. Their parents being for most of them Clan people. Almost all of them cast a glance at Naruto and her and then started whispering among themselves.

She crouched down in front of Naruto.

“Naru-chan? Look at me.” The boy did, big blue eyes uncertain.

“I know it’s scary, and it’s not going to be easy. The other kids might tease you because of us.” she added and Naruto frowned, ready to protest , she cut him off “We’re not well-liked either you know. But you’re strong. Stronger than them. And you’re kind. And you have us” she said putting a hand on his face, on his scarred cheek. “And you have

me.

I will raise hell on anyone who is mean to you. Teachers, ninjas, kids, clan people, I don’t care. You’re family, and I-” she paused, her voice strangled a bit because she meant it, and this time she could hold on to her words, but she was still hurting “And I fight hard for my family. I won’t let you down.”

Naruto looked at her, believing every word. He hugged her, tight. and whispered “I love you.”

“I love you too, kitten.” she kissed his forehead and then let him trot off to the gate. He cast a last glance at her and she waved and then he disappeared in the throng of kids.

She stayed there for a while. And once she was sure that the teachers had all managed to take their classes in, once all the parents were gone, only then did she make her trek back home.

It will be alright,

she thought,

he will be fine.

TBC

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

School wasn’t at all like Naruto had imagined. He had imagined many things, mostly how cool it was going to be, how many sick ninja moves he was going to learn. Genma-sensei had tried to curb his enthusiasm and he should have listened. School,

Ninja

school was boring.
 
It was all about learning theory and rules and history and other annoying subjects. They didn’t throw a single shuriken the first day so it really was boring. Their teacher -a guy called Iruka, Naruto would have to ask Genma-sensei what he thought of him, not that Genma-sensei’s opinion was absolute but he tended to know a lot of people so it was good to collect intel on people as Usagi nee-san used to tell him- their teacher seemed nice and did told them that tomorrow then would start on taijutsu, so that had made Naruto a bit happy.
 
He did like fighting. It was fun. He also had a lot of stamina and brute strength which was good Genma-sensei told him. (he tried not to think about

why

he was this way.)
 
The other point that made school not as cool was the way the other kids act. Aiko nee-san had told him that they didn’t know, that they

couldn’t

know -Hokage’s order and all that and that was a load of bullshit truly- but yet, not a single one tried to talk to him. He sat alone at the back of the classes and watched as all the kids ignored him.
 
It did make him angry. But he remembered Han’s words : “Anger is the best way to lose control and to let the beast take over.” And he didn’t want the beast to take over. Granted there were a number of people he wouldn’t really care what happened to them -they were mean to him, to his nee-san so really who cares if they died? - but the beast wouldn’t make a distinction and might kill his family, his sensei, his sensei’s friends not caring that those ones were the good ones.
 
All in all school really wasn’t what he had envisioned. When it was finally over he dragged himself out. This morning there had been whispers and it was the same now. Nasty words thrown out there, glance full of hatred…
 
“Naru-chan!” He lifted his head and was greeted by Aiko nee-san and Genma-sensei. He happily ran out to them. Aiko nee-san crouched and opened her arm and he flung himself in her embrace, hugging her tight. She smelled of incense and flowers and he buried his nose further in her silk kimono.
 
“How was it?” she sounded concerned. Aiko nee-san was always so worried about him. It should be annoying but it wasn’t because it meant she cared. And Han had told him how lucky he was that he had someone like her in his life.
 
“Fine,” he mumbled. Genma-sensei laughed.
 
“I did told you that it wasn’t going to be super cool tricks all day long.”
 
“But it was so boring! “ Naruto exclaimed “It was just a lot of reading! And so many things to learn! Urgh!”
 
“Could you follow the reading?” Aiko nee-san asked as she stood up, holding his hands as they made their way back.
 
“Yes, no problem!” he grinned at her. Aiko nee-san had taught him how to read and write and while she called his writing atrocious because he was lazy and a bit messy he had no difficulty following what was taught. Now that he thought back on it when he had been asked to read a passage on the foundation of Konoha the teacher had seemed surprised that he could read with no difficulty. Mmmh. Weird?
 
“Something’s up kitten?” Genma asked and Naruto stuck his tongue at him:
 
“I told you I didn’t like

you

using this nickname.”
 
“I think it’s cute, '' Nee-san said, squeezing his hand a bit tighter as some man started screaming profanities. Genma-sensei turned his head and after a glance the man shut up, pale and scared.

I hope one day I can do that too.

For now he was too scrawny and small to instill fear in mean people. But one day he would be strong, the strongest and he would become Hokage and everyone would have to recognize his power and they would apologize to him and to his nee-san.

Believe it!

“Anyway I just wanted to make sure that the kitten hadn’t had his illusion shattered too severely. Since he seemed fine, I’ll go now!” Genma-sensei threw them a lazy salute before disappearing in a tornado of leaves.
 
Naruto scrunched up his face. He couldn’t do that yet. And Genma-sensei refused to teach him. Shisui had tried but for now Naruto was stuck. He had been told he needed to have better control on his chakra.
 
They all told him that. His chakra control was a problem. Though Itachi -one of Shisui’s friends- had once said that maybe Naruto should look into sealing. Fuijutsu apparently required a lot of chakra, something that Naruto had in spades. (And once again he tried not to think too much about why.)
 
It always came back to

that

.
 
They finally arrived back at the brothel and all of his nee-san wanted to know how it was, did he make friends? Did he fall in love? Was he better than the other kids?
 
They were as disappointed as him as he told them how boring it was but they cheered him up for the next day, telling him that he could only get better.
 
And he really wanted to believe that.
 
**

Naruto tried not to think too much on what he was housing. What was inside of him. If he could have lived his life in total ignorance it would have been better right? (wrong.)
 
But still Han’s words rang in his head. 
 
It was possible to control the tailed-beast. To control the Kyuubi. But he needed to control his chakra and to meditate. 
 
Roshi had said that the jinchuuriki of the eight tailed-beast was getting along well with his inner demon and was one of the jinchuuriki with the best control out there.
 
So Naruto needed to meditate and to learn to speak to the kyuubi. 
 
Except he didn’t want to. He was afraid. The Kyuubi had killed so many people, even his parents. What if he couldn’t control it? What if by trying to speak to him he allowed him to take over?
 
That was a pretty scary thought. So Naruto despite what he had been told stayed away from trying to meditate or enter in contact in any way shape or form with the Kyuubi.
 
**

Aiko could tell that Naruto was a bit disappointed about how school turned out to be. Even after a week and taijutsu and ninjutsu lessons thrown in the mix he didn’t seem to be really excited about school. He didn’t tell her much and he was worryingly silent when she asked about friends.
 
She needed to find a remedy to that. But how could she convince people to let their child be friends with Naruto if most of them believed him to be the kyuubi since most of them were apparently idiots. 
 
At least her lessons on reading and writing were useful since Naruto was good at that part. (She couldn’t judge for the ninja part though.)
 
She was forced to put Naruto and his school problem out of her mind when news reached them: The son of the Kazekage -the chef of the hidden village of the sand in Suna- had been kidnapped. Then the news dropped: the child was the jinchuuriki of the village of the sand.
 
And apparently, the culprit was a very very tall man, wearing red and steaming armor. When Aiko had heard that she had replayed the last time she had talked to Han and realized with horror that the man may have tried to follow her advice and tried to unite the jinchuuriki together. 
 
She could only hope no one would find her role in all this. She didn’t want to lose her head just because she had suggested, once, that they would all be happier together.
 
When she had inquired if anyone knew about the other kids she hadn’t been able to find anything.
 
The news about Suna shouldn’t have even leaked but some Konoha ninjas were in the region when it happened.
 
This meant it was entirely conceivable that Han -maybe helped by Roshi- was going around kidnapping jinchuuriki kids. And all because of her.
 
She truly didn’t know how to feel about this. And she really hoped to not find out personally how other ninjas felt about all this.

As long as Han stays out of Konoha they should be fine. But what if Han decided to kidnap Naruto?

She wasn’t the only one to think this way and she could only silently notice that there were more ANBU patrolling around the brothel when Naruto was in. 
 
He didn’t seem to have picked on this and she could only thank the Sage for the small mercies.
 
**

After a week and a half of school Naruto was silently despairing of making any friends.
 
He had hoped, but then the first taijutsu lesson had happened and well… He had been placed against a -pretty- girl with very pink hair -weird-.
 
And he had sent her across the field with his first hit. All the students had gasped, the teachers had been mad and there had been a lot of screaming and Naruto was trying to understand what was going on. 
 
He didn’t feel like he had hit her hard. But after reflection he had realized that he had been fighting against his sensei and his friends who were accomplished shinobi, strong and used to fighting. Older too.
 
His comrades were probably not that used to that kind of brute strength that he had.
 
So it hadn’t gone very well.
 
And after that all the kids were very wary to fight against him. So they talked to him even less. (though they were talking

about

him apparently).
 
He had been terrible in ninjutsu class but he hadn’t expected much -chakra control and all that- but it didn’t redeem him in his peers eyes.
 
He hadn’t told Aiko nee-san any of it because he didn’t want to worry her. But he kind of wished he had a way to contact Genma-sensei but the man was away on a mission. Naruto just wanted to ask for advice. Taijutsu lessons were starting to get really uncomfortable as no one wanted to be his partner.
 
Until one day.
 
As usual they were all outside in the courtyard, asking to be in pairs for taijutsu training. Naruto was silent, wondering which poor soul would end up with him until a boy with black hair, black eyes, pale skin and a determined frown on his face approached him.
 
Naruto thought his name was Sasuke and that most of the girls turned to blushing mess when he was near. Naruto had to give it to them, the boy sure was pretty.
 
“Do you want to pair with me?” the boy asked and Naruto felt his eyes widened. He blinked, shocked.
 
“You-you want to pair up with me?”
 
“Yes.” Sasuke replied and Naruto just followed him dumbly and looked in astonishment as the other boy  put himself in the starting position. He followed suit, wondering what on earth was happening.
 
Sasuke was strong. And fast. He had a good style that actually reminded Naruto of Shisui.
 
Sasuke was strong, sure, but Naruto was stronger though. He still tried to downplay his strength and to keep it in check which asked him to concentrate. But for once, for the first time since school had started, Naruto had fun in the taijutsu lesson.
 
When they bowed to each other at the end of the class Naruto couldn’t help himself he had to ask :
 
“Why did you ask me?”
 
Sasuke looked a bit annoyed at being talked to, but he was also annoyed when anyone talked to him so Naruto decided to not take it too personally.
 
“You’re the strongest in the class. And I need to be stronger. So.” and then left Naruto there as he stood still.
 
The girls were glaring at him but he didnt care. Someone that wasn’t his nee-san or his sensei had complimented him.
 
He couldn’t help it, he smiled big and large and made his way happily to the next class.
 
**
 
Aiko always made a point of coming to pick Naruto up from classes. If only because she could imagine a lot of horrible scenarios of what could happen to the boy if he were to come back home alone.
 
Too many people being dumb idiots around and seeing him as an easy target.
 
She wasn’t much of a deterrent to be sure -she was seventeen and small and didn’t know how to fight- but somehow it was enough for people to keep their distance.
 
She was starting to get used to standing still, alone, being glared at while waiting for her little sunshine to come back to her.
 
Until a feminine voice said to her:
 
“They grow so fast don’t they?”
 
She turned around and found herself face to face with a pretty and elegant lady with black hair and black eyes, ivory skin, black clothes with a red fan stitched on it. 
 
An Uchiha.
 
“Y-Yeah, they do.” She replied as politely as she could, trying to find a reason why a member of one of the most powerful clans in the village was talking to her.
 
“My Sasuke is in Naruto class.” The woman supplied, explaining a bit what she was doing here.
 
“Ha… Naruto didn't tell me much about his classmates.” was better than “Naruto doesn’t have any friends yet”.
 
The woman nodded, a faint smile on her lips “Yes, they start being secretive at this age. I feel like it was yesterday that sasuke was just a small bundle in my arms.” she looked thoughtful and fond as she was saying this. Aiko remained silent.
 
She had grown a lot since she had managed to keep Naruto with her. She could tell how much he had grown by how much she had grown herself. She was a kid when he arrived. And now she was nearly a woman. 
 
But she assumed that when you were an adult it was different.
 
“Ha!” the woman said “Here they are!” and indeed the class was getting out. Naruto as usual ran up to her and she greeted him with a hug, happy to have him safe with her again.
 
“How was school?” she asked, expecting a shrug but instead Naruto beamed at her:
 
“It was sooooo cool! Taijutsu class was awesome!” Then he seemed to finally pick on the other presence there and nodded, while shuffling closer to Aiko.
 
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” the lady said, “I’m Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke’s mother!”
 
Naruto smiled at her then, while Aiko froze.

Mikoto

Uchiha? This was the clan leader's wife that had been talking to her.
 
She was looking at the woman wondering what on earth was happening when a little boy, with black hair, black eyes, ivory skin rejoined them. He looked curiously at Aiko and Naruto before grabbing his mother's hand. Mikoto-san (!!!) nodded at them as a goodbye and they started leaving.
 
Naruto then screamed, “See you tomorrow Sasuke!”
 
Sasuke turned his head slightly and mumbled a “tomorrow” before turning back again.
 
When Aiko looked at her boy, he was cheerful and beaming and happy.
 
She had no idea what was going on. But she would take it as a win, she decided.
 
And together they made their way back to the brothel.
 
**

Sasuke partnering up with Naruto wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t an accident that only happened once.
 
Every taijutsu lesson after that Sasuke asked to be Naruto's partner, and of course every time Naruto accepted with enthusiasm delighted that someone would try.
 
It had other repercussions : the girls started throwing even nastier looks at Naruto but the other boys of the class stopped ignoring him.
 
They even said hi from time to time. 
 
School was seriously getting better and better.
 
The only downside was still ninjutsu. He was still awful at it.
 
At least Genma-sensei had offered him a “Fuinjutsu for beginners” books so he was trying to concentrate on that instead of moping about his abysmal chakra control.
 
Sealing was fun Naruto though. It had so many uses and was very versatile and very easy to personalize. Naruto would see some of the designs proposed in the book and already he could see how to modify the shape, how to make it better. Stronger. Or make it do something different that what it was supposed to do.
 
It was sad that they didn’t have a whole sealing class. They did talk about it at some point, and Naruto had been excited hoping that they would develop more, but it was just an introduction on medical sealing and the kind of seal you could buy at the weapon store.
 
Nothing about making your own.
 
Disappointing but not overly surprising he supposed.
 
(He also finally found and studied the seal on his body, painted on his stomach, not always visible, trying to learn more about complex seals this way. After all he had a prime example right there. It would be stupid to waste such an opportunity.)
 
He was also finally getting better at lowering himself to the same level of the other students in the taijutsu lessons. He was getting excellent marks on his writing tests (Aiko-nee-chan was very adamant about Naruto learning his lessons. She could be quite scary when she wanted to be.)
 
He could tell that some of the teachers didn’t like him and he needed to find a way to at least perform minimally in ninjutsu if he wanted to pass and become a real ninja but it did seem like the future was looking brighter and Naruto was very grateful for that.
 
**

Aiko was so relieved to see Naru-chan come back from school with a big smile on his face, babbling about lessons and how boring it was.
 
He was settling in and feeling better. (He seems to still have trouble with ninjutsu and she was wondering what she could do on her level to help.)
 
But at least Naru-chan was fine and happy.
 
However, Aiko was getting concerned.
 
Mikoto Uchiha kept talking to her as they were waiting for their children to come out. 
 
It was small talk: about the weather, the project the kids had to do in class, their homework but she was persistent. For the life of her Aiko couldn’t understand why. She was a lowly whore and yes she was Naruto’s guardian but she couldn’t sense any ill intention from Mikoto toward the boy. She did ask how he was doing and was smiling at him and making an effort to be nice but…
 
But Aiko couldn’t fathom why. The Uchiha were clearly one of the most powerful clans, they could gain nothing by … allying themselves to Aiko. Or the brothel. And Naruto wasn’t stupid enough to be swayed by some nice words here and there. Besides, she doubted the other clans would watch and do nothing if the Uchiha were trying to get their hands on the Jinchuuriki.
 
On the other hand, she couldn’t see any other reasons for Mikoto to talk to her.
 
At a loss about what to do she just let the other woman talk to her trying to stay polite and nice when replying but being careful of not letting anything slip.
 
That she was getting very good at.
 
**

If the disappearance of the Jinchuuriki from Suna had been worrisome, another piece of news reached Aiko: the Mizukage, another one of the Jinchuuriki had suddenly abdicated, letting Terumi Mei take the hat and then he disappeared.
 
Aiko had told Mimiko about his discussion with Han and now the other girl was trying to get as much information as she could get concerning the tailed-beast.
 
“You know… I think it’s a good thing. Apparently, Kiri was a terrible village full of bloodbaths. It is said that Terumi Mei will make sure to stop the tradition of having every kid killing each other to graduate. So you are somewhat responsible for saving a lot of kids!”
 
“I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but it’s not working!” Aiko hissed, feeling a headache coming.
 
There was no way that this …  Jinchuuriki’s crusade of whatever could keep happening and no one found out that somehow Aiko was the one who proposed the idea. Without meaning it.

“I didn’t think they would listen to me. I didn’t think it would work. What happened with the Mizukage?”
 
Mimiko made a face “I wish I knew truly, because this sounds like a story but I can’t find anything? No one knows. They just heard about the abdication but no one who wasn’t from kiri was there to see what exactly happened.”
 
“You seemed upset about that?”
 
“That’s the kind of information that is worth a lot.” Mimiko replied “And that’s the kind of information I like to have.” she sighed and let herself fall on her back on the floor, her kimono slipping open a bit revealing the beginning of her breasts.
 
“You’ll catch a cold,” Aiko warned and Mimiko waved it away.
 
“We might learn more if the Mizukage ever comes to visit the village. After all she might come with men who would tell us things but it’s a thin hope.”
 
“You’re saying you can’t pull out every secret from your clients?” that would be a first actually, Mimiko admitting defeat.
 
“Terumi Mei is an ex-prostitute.” Mimiko said and Aiko understood.
 
If there was one person who could resist a whore gathering information it was another whore. Surely  whoever would accompany Terumi Mei when she went out to visit the other village leader or on diplomatic missions would have been prepared accordingly.
 
“Maybe we could just ask her if we ever see her.”
 
At Mimiko raised eyebrows she added “We’re the guardians of the Jinchuuriki of Konoha. With what happened with Suna and now Kiri it would be very normal for us to be concerned about what could happen here.”
 
“Sure. But in this case the Hokage would ask and might get an answer, we won’t. Because, I would remind you, we're not supposed to know about this kind of thing. And honestly while she wouldn’t be

surprised

that we got the information she might not be too happy. And other people would definitely want an explanation on how we got our hands on such sensible information.”
 Aiko sighed. “You’re right.Maybe I should simply ask Han in the next letter. The kiri Jinchuuriki probably joined them by now. So they should know what happened.” 
“Well, if he tells you, you better tell me! I’m invested now!” 
 
**

Mikito Uchiha coming to talk to her was one thing. One baffling thing but okay. Aiko could deal. Probably.
 
But today there was no Mikoto Uchiha instead there was Itachi Uchiha -genius, prodigy, the youngest to become an ANBU, everyone knew about him- and Shisui Uchiha – a genius too but also known for breaking the mold of brooding sad-looking Uchiha- were there.
 
And they also engaged in conversation with her.
 
Well, Shisui did:
 
“You’re Naruto’s guardian, right? Sasuke can’t stop talking about him! It’s great that they are friends right?”
 
“… Sure.” She replied.
 
At least she supposed if the boys cared about Sasuke it made sense (somehow) for them to come talk to her. And besides they were Genma’s friends too.
 
“Does Naruto talk about Sasuke too?”
 
“He does. He’s very happy that Sasuke is willing to train with him.”
 
“Well, it’s true that Naruto does pack a good punch.”
 
“How would you know?” Itachi asked, looking bored. “He never got to hit you.”
 
“I see the way you guys react when he does and it looks painful. So, there.”
 
She couldn’t help the small smile. And it warmed her heart that people were praising Naruto even in that sort of way.
 
When she looked at the two of them, Shisui actually winked at her and she felt herself blushing. Which annoyed her. She shouldn’t be affected by things like that but Shisui… Was ridiculously attractive. And he was nice with Naruto. It was hard for her to remain indifferent.
 
“I’m glad Naruto had such good teachers.” She said and Itachi piped up a soft “Genma is the one that did everything. We just tagged along.”
 
“Still. It means a lot.”

It means a lot that you’re not scared of him or what he could do. That you don’t look at him with ice in your glare.

She couldn’t say all that so she just smiled.
 
Then the school gate opened and Naruto came running and crashed into her and registered the two other humans standing next to her.
 
“Shisui-sempai! Itachi-sempai! It has been a while!”
 
“Wh-Why do you know my brother and cousin?” Sasuke asked, looking suspiciously between the three of them. (It was cute lately how Naruto and Sasuke came out of school together.)
 
“They used to help me train with Genma-sensei,” Naruto said proudly and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

“Hn” the boy said and started leaving, apparently not interested in the conversation anymore. His brother and cousin trailed after him, Shisui waving at them over his shoulder. Naruto sighed and called “See you tomorrow Sasuke.” that got no answer.
 
He sighed again. “Sasuke is so difficult!” he grumbled and Aiko laughed ruffling his hair.
 
“Well, friendship can be difficult. But it’s usually worth it.”
 
“It totally is. Believe it!” Naruto said with confidence and together they made their way back home.
 
**

Aiko had imagined sending a letter to Han, getting a reply and that was it.
 
She couldn’t have prepared for the reality.
 
Han arrived with the same Henge he had used the last time. There were 3 other people with him. Two of them were kids looking very young, and the last one was another adult though he looked quite small and of course she couldn’t focus on his face as well. Even the kid's faces remained … blurry.
 
Aiko let them enter and tried to appear as calm as she could as she was panicking because she had suspicions about who those people were. Though she was more worried about

why

Han ever brought them here.
 
(Did he want to take Naruto away? Would she have to fight him to keep her precious Naru-chan with her?)
 
“I’m very glad to meet you… I guess?”
 
“We need your help.” Han started with and Aiko could only think “Sage help me!”
 
“Yes?”
 
“This is Yagura,” he said, pointing to the other adult man with brown hair and brown eyes. “He is the ex-mizukage. You may have heard that he stepped down.”
 
“I did.”
 
Yagura and Han shared a look and Yagura sighed and took over:
 
“I was being manipulated. I didn’t want to make my shinobi's kill each other but the man that was controlling me was really intent on that… They managed to break the brain control by whacking me very hard in the head.” he said pointing to Han. “And once I was free I decided that I needed to leave Kiri… I’m too ashamed of what happened to my village to continue facing them.”
 
“That’s how we learnt that we are being hunted.” 
 
“What?” Aiko asked, feeling her blood froze in her vein. Hunted? “Naruto!” she exclaimed, fear taking over. 
 
“He should be safe for now.” Han added, putting a hand on hers. “And that’s why we need your help. The village of Konoha is the strongest village right now. You have a lot of high-level shinobi here who are repertoried in the bingo-book. You are friends with some of them.” he glanced at the younger ones.
 
“We need you to keep an eye on them.”
 
“What? But... I can’t! I can guess who is one of them and if they find me hiding him they will kill me!” she hissed. And not just her. The whole brothel would be killed, no judgment here, for the son of the Kazekage justice will be swerved swiftly.
 
“Please,” Han insisted “We are going to fight against the people pursuing us but we can’t have the children with us. They will target them first. If they hide here… At least they have a chance.”
 
“I-I - It’s a heavy responsibility. I can’t decide alone.” but even as she was saying that she knew that she had to decide alone. The girls would go along with her plan, they would refuse to abandon any child thrust at them. They weren’t the problem.
 
The Madam was. Aiko couldn’t tell her the truth : she would immediately go to the Hokage. But she couldn’t think of a convincing lie for having two more kids suddenly appear in the brothel.
 
“I’m just an employee here! I can’t hide them! We need the Madam’s accord. And she will never give it if there is no monetary compensation.”
 
Han paused for a while.“We may be able to take care of her.”
 
“You can’t kill her!” Aiko whispered urgently. “You know that it wasn’t what I thought would happen when I told you what I told you.” She said to Han. He was smiling softly.
 
“I didn’t mean killing her. Some of us stayed outside of the village but one of them is very good at genjutsu. She can probably make your Madam agree to anything. But if you prefer, we have accumulated some money. To bribe her if need be.”
 
“And when it wears off? What happened then?”
 
“She’ll just do it again.”
 
“Huh.”
 
“We’ll try to keep the teenagers safe but maybe they’ll be better use as support. Not in the front line.”
 
“... You're Just going to be three against whoever is hunting you?”
 
“Four if we managed to get Killer B.”
 
“Killer B?”
 
“Raikage’s brother. He gets the eight-tailed beast inside of him. His brother is particularly protective but Killer B seemed to do what he wants.”
 
“So just the four of you? And how many teenagers? Two? They’re searching for you. Hunting you. They'll probably have specific weapons that would work on you. You can’t!”
 
“If we don’t, they'll kill us,” Han said with gravity. It shut her up. She didn’t have a reply to that.
 
“You can’t die,” she said at a loss. “Naruto would be devastated if something happened to you.”
 
“We know. But if we want those kids to have a chance at life then we have to try.”
 
“Is there really no shinobi that you thrust out there to help you?” she asked. Did they really have no friends? They must have. 
 
“There are some we are considering. But the problem is that most of them will ask us to join their village. There are no shinobi that are unaffiliated. No shinobi that would just help us without compensation. And in our case, the price is too high to pay.”

Aiko sat there looking at them. She didn’t have much of a choice she realized. Someone needed to protect the kids. Someone needed to look after them. She had no idea what she would say to other people. She would probably tell the truth to the other girls but after that...
 
The clock chimed, signaling that it was three in the afternoon.
 
School ended up at four-thirty. She had one hour before going to pick Naruto. 
 
She looked at the two younger people who were looking at her with huge eyes. Not imploring. Just curious.
 
She looked back at Han.
 
“We’re not using genjutsu. How much money do you have and are you ready to bargain?”
 
**

“Enter,” the Madam called from inside the office and Aiko stilled herself.
 
She had to be convincing if she wanted the plan to succeed.
 
“Madam.” She greeted her with a little bow. She was never that formal but she wanted the Madam on their side so she would play nice and pretend.
 
“Aiko-chan, why did you want to see me?”
 
“I know that you are already very generous with me but… I have a favor.” she said, trying to sound hesitant, making her eyes look huge.
 
“...Go on.”
 
“I have recently found some kids that were from my village back in the mountain…I” she struggled for a while -that wasn’t a show, she always struggled to speak about her childhood home- “I wish they could stay here for a while. Not long! I don’t want them to work here either, it's just… I thought everyone had died and I found some people again I… I want to try to keep them safe. Until they can get back on their feet.”
 
She bowed again, on her knees, her forehead touching the ground, her heart beating madly in her ribcage.
 
“Raise your head, girl.” the Madam called and she did. She was met with an unimpressed gaze.
 
“I’ll give your performance a 6. Not too bad, especially for someone who hasn’t finished her training. But I’m not some lovesick fool. I know when I’m being played. I told you once to be honest with me.”
 
Aiko weighed her options.
 
“If I’m being honest with you you’re going to get really angry and potentially fire me. There is no way you would choose to help me.”
 
“Then why on earth should I?” the Madam asked, clearly taken aback.
 
“First I have money, and I’m ready to pay. Secondly, because if it turns out okay it might be very good for you.”
 
“...You want some kids to stay in the brothel without working here?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“And you can’t tell me more than that because you think I will turn them away?”
 
“Yes.”
 
The madam wasn’t stupid. She couldn’t have become who she was if she had been. She frowned.
 
“I think I can guess who they are with all the talk. And yes, maybe I should turn them away and go visit the Hokage. But…” she looked away, lost in her thoughts. “Times are changing. People are changing. Naruto is a part of that change I believe. So this once I’ll cover for you. I’ll even help you. But if I’m asked it will be on you. Are we clear?”
 
“Perfectly,” Aiko said, nodding. 
 
“Now, how much money are you willing to give me?”
 
And like that things were settled, the kids were to sleep in Aiko and Naruto’s room -it was getting cramped in there- and the Madam would turn a blind eye on their doings.
 
Aiko was incredibly grateful for this, knowing very well how things could have turned for the worse.
 
**

Aiko told the other girls the truth though: there was a chance that if things turned ugly they could be first in line. Better to have them prepared to lie and hide.
 
They all looked grave but she didn’t hide anything from them.
 
“Then, we’ll keep them safe. As we kept Naruto safe,” Usagi said and all the others nodded. Aiko could have cried with relief.
 
But time was passing and it was time for her to go collect Naruto.
 
**

Naruto knew immediately that something was off with Aiko nee-chan. She looked much more anxious than usual, almost jumpy and her eyes were slightly red as if she had been crying. Her voice cracked as she called his name.
 
He sprinted to her worried. She hugged him tightly and said nothing except for “let’s go home.”
 
Sasuke’s mother had been at Aiko’s side like usual but she had been staring at Aiko-nee-san like she was trying to puzzle something out. It wasn’t a look Naruto appreciated.
 
He squeezed Aiko-nee-chan and tried to prepare himself.
 
His first thought was that someone had died. One of his nee-chan obviously. Not natural cause he thought. Someone did it. A villager probably. They were always so awful toward his nee-chan and maybe it went too far today.
 
Though if that was the case surely Genma-sensei would have come too right? He seemed to like the girls and he was often protecting them...What if it was Genma-sensei who had died? A mission gone wrong perhaps? Genma-sensei was strong but someone could have caught him by surprise.
 
What was he supposed to do in any case?
 
He was so busy worrying over what might happen that the walk home passed in a blur and soon he was ushered in his room.
 
Where two new people were already waiting for him.
 
“Han told us to tell you that he was sorry he couldn’t stay.” a girl with vibrant green hair said.
 
And Naruto looking at them somehow knew. They were like him. These were other tailed-beasts.
 
**

This was the best day ever!
 
Naruto in one evening had gained a sister and a brother!
 
Gaara was kind of shy and reserved but he could control sand which was super cool and they were the same age! Fuu was super nice and super funny and she could fly which was awesome!
 
Naruto was so excited and he wanted to know everything about them and they wanted to know everything about him too and they were going to stay here for a while and wow!
 
He couldn’t understand why Aiko-nee-chan had looked so frazzled! This was excellent news!
 
“Naruto, listen to me. You can’t tell other people about them being here okay?”
 
“Why not?” he was mostly asking to be contradictory, it’s not like he had a lot of friends.
 
“Some people want to hurt you. All of you. So they are hiding here. To be safe. Okay?”
 
That sobered him. If Aiko-nee-chan looked so serious it must be quite important. Maybe she was also scared of being hurt too.

Not on my watch I will protect all my precious people, believe it!

Once he had pinky-promised that he would not tell anyone about the other hosts, Aiko-nee-chan seemed to have calmed down a bit.
 
He was a bit sad to have missed Han and Yagura (whom he had never met before) but they were going to kick some ass and he was even more sad that he would not be able to see it.
 
He was sure they were going to be super cool! And it would be some epic battle! Like the one he learned about in history class but even more epic because he personally knew them!
 
He was so pumped about everything that he was certain he would never fall asleep but he was wrong and quickly lost himself in dreams.
 
He woke up in the middle of the night. Bothered by something even if he couldn’t understand what.
 
When he opened his eyes he noticed that Gaara was sitting looking absently at one of the walls.
 
Naruto carefully made his way toward him.
 
“Did you have a nightmare?” he asked. The other boy looked at him with deep aqua-blue eyes.
 
“I can’t sleep.”
 
“Oh! Is the futon not soft enough? Need more blankets? Less?”
 
“No. I can’t sleep.” he repeated and Naruto stared at him.
 
“I’m not sure I understand.”
 
“I cannot sleep. Never. Mo- The tailed-beast takes over when I do and she… She kills people.”
 
Naruto stared at him, horrified. “You never sleep?” he asked to clarify.
 
“Never.”
 
“But that’s terrible!” Naruto hissed. “That shouldn’t be possible for the tailed-beast to take control of this easily. The seal should stop it!” Naruto explained. Gaara shrugged.
 
“I think my seal was messed-up.” 
 
Okay, Naruto though, Okay.
 
“Can I see it? Your seal?” he added. Gaara seemed to hesitate but then pulled his t-shirt over his head. On his stomach exactly like Naruto’s there was a seal. But it was different. Lacking.
 
“Oh.” Naruto said “I see. It’s not complete. That’s why yours can filter through.” he pondered on it for a while.
 
“I think I can fix it though,” Naruto added. Already he could see the drawing in his head, where to add lines, where to change stuff. “It would take me time though” it would probably necessitate a lot of chakra and probably

controlled

chakra. Hopefully, though he had another person with a lot of reserve and she might be better than he was at controlling it.
 
He looked up and Gaara was staring at him, a lot of emotions swirling in his eyes. “You can?” he asked, clearly not believing it.
 
“Of course! I’m Naruto Uzumaki and I am going to be the greatest seal master! Believe it!”
 
**

“You want to do what?” Fuu asked.
 
“I want to change Gaara’s seal. It’s incomplete and he can’t sleep!” Naruto particularly stressed that last point because it seemed quite important.
 
“I can draw the lines that’s not a problem” he already drew some during class today, giving an excellent excuse for the teacher to punish him because he was inattentive but how was he supposed to concentrate in class when Gaara was suffering because someone couldn’t bother making a decent seal?  Clearly some things needed to take priority.
 
“But my chakra control isn’t the best. Maybe you’re better at it?”
 
“You can just … make it work like that?” Fuu asked sounding quite impressed.
 
"No; It would require some sessions. I think five should be enough.”
 
“Mmh.” Fuu hummed, sitting back on her haunches, thinking. “ Gaara are you ok?”
 
The other boy nodded eagerly. Clearly, the idea of being able to sleep was enticing. (Besides, who knows what else this botched-up seal meant for Gaara in the long term?)
 
“Well then it’s settled!” Fuu added, clearly very excited at the prospect. “And I can totally helped you! I have been training for a while I’m very good at it!” the girl said nodding eagerly and Naruto smiled big and bright.
 
“Then if everyone is ready, “Naruto said, pulling out some of his brushes, “It’s time to start!”
 
**

Naruto and the other kids were working on some project or whatever but at least it keeps them focused and attentive and inside so Aiko would take what she could.
 
She had feared the worst but for now they were quiet. Of course she knew that at some point they would want to go outside. Fuu and Gaara seemed to have mastered Hange even if it was more complicated for Gaara. Everything seemed to be more complicated with Garra and that worried her.
 
Suna and Konoha had a somewhat strong alliance and so it wasn’t rare to have Suna shinobi in the village. Which means that if any of them were to stumble upon Gaara and recognize him. Well… it could be a reason to start war.
 
So Aiko had a reason to be stressed!
 
“I can’t believe it was brainwashing!” Mimiko whispered at her side as Aiko was preparing dinner. “And that people are hunting them. Aren’t they supposed to be like the most powerful ninja out there? Why would someone hunt them? What’s the plan?”
 
“Why would I know?” Aiko asked. To be fair she was wondering too. The Jinchuuriki were important for the hidden villages because they were the ultimate weapon. Maybe someone wanted to even the playing field. But in this case why hunt them and not just convince the Jinchuuriki to leave the villages. Most of them were already okay with that option.
 
And why control the Mizukage in order to turn Kiri into a bloodbath?
 
“Well,” Mimiko reasoned, “No one is going to want to go there if they know that there are only psychopaths. So if you have something to hide it’s the perfect place to go.”
 
Aiko paused at that. That made sense actually.
 
“But it must have been a pretty big thing to hide to go to such lengths.”
 
What could one hide using a river of blood? Nothing good that was for certain.
 
**
 
“You’re distracted.” Sasuke said, sounding almost annoyed.
 
“Sorry,” Naruto replied. He was indeed distracted. The sealing had been going well and tonight he should add the final touch. He was understandably thinking of that and nothing else.
 
“You’ve been distracted for days,” Sasuke added, sullenly.
 
“Sorry, sorry… It’s just… You know personal stuff.” it would be simpler if he could explain but he wasn’t stupid. Even if he doubted Sasuke would be interested in his explanation the teachers were lurking not so far away and if they heard anything, well… It would spell trouble.
 
“Hn,” Was sasuke's reply. How the girls could fall for him was a mystery to Naruto. Sasuke was pretty, sure, but he was monosyllabic, tended to brood and hated all social interaction. What did they see in him truly?
 
Not that Naruto expected them to fall in love with

him

, but like… Kiba was nice? He was funny, caring, and strong and his dog was cute! And you could actually

talk

to him.
 
What was wrong with girls really? Despite being raised by a bunch of courtesans, girls his age was a mystery to him. They didn’t make sense.

Can’t wait for them to grow older and become more sensible!

“Come on,” he said to Sasuke “Let’s start again” and he assumed the starting position.
 
**

Fuu’s chakra flowed and the seal glowed. Then faded away.
 
“Are you okay?” He asked Gaara “Do you feel weird? Does it hurt anywhere?” Gaara shook his head and then closed his eyes for a bit then he opened them again wider:
 
“I can’t hear her!” he exclaimed “I can’t hear her anymore!” his voice was shaking and he had a look of bewilderment on his face.
 
“Looks like it worked!” Fuu exclaimed and jumped to hug Gaara who went still under her touch.
 
It was time too, Naruto thought, the privacy seals he had installed were starting to wear off. Of course, he could always replace them easily but…
 
He checked Gaara to make sure he hadn’t messed up.
 
The privacy seal had been needed once he realized that the amount of chakra they would use would probably alert every ninja in the vicinity that something was happening. And as they were in a ninja village that made

a lot

of ninjas.
 
They hadn’t been complicated to do (some variant of the silent seal truly, a bit more elaborate but it had come naturally to Naruto and since no ANBU had arrived kunai out Naruto counted them as a success.)
 
“Well, I guess we’ll know soon if it worked. If you manage to sleep tonight.” Fuu said.
 
Gaara nodded. He seemed excited at the idea of sleeping which may be counterproductive.
 
They decided then to do some stretching exercise hoping it would help Gaara calm down enough to be able to sleep.
 
**

Gaara woke up the day after and hugged Naruto tightly, saying absolutely nothing. 
 
Naruto somehow felt like crying.
 
**

She had noticed how close they had all become. She was worried about it sometimes. Because they couldn’t stay here. The kids would have to go back with Han at one point and she could already see the tears, the begging.
 
Currently, they were all talking about what their village looked like, Naru-chan was looking at them with stars in his eyes asking more questions. He was a curious bean, always had been and it made Aiko smile softly.
 
There was talk of high mountains, waterfalls, the sea coast, colorful fishes, strange feline predators, dune and spice market, cactus and other plants. Described with so much love that it was evident that the kids missed it.
 
(And yet they had agreed to come with Han. She had probed a bit and had her fear confirmed: they were treated like they were human weapons, ridiculed and shamed by the people supposed to take care of them.)
 
She was busy reprising clothes for Ida (Yoshi’s son), the babe kept growing and growing. It was sort of scary she didn’t remember Naruto’s growth being this incessant but it must have been.

Look at me, I have a memory problem and I’m not even twenty yet

.
 
“Where are you from Aiko-san? Konoha?”
 
She looked up at the kids who were all waiting for an answer coming from her. The old pain that came when she thought back to her hometown pierced her chest.
 
“I… No. I am not from Konoha.”
 
“Really?” Naru-chan asked, interested, leaning forward.
 
“I used to live in a little village in the mountains. In the East. We were known for our flowers and herbs. A lot of healers came to buy our products.”
 
“Were?” 
 
“It… It was attacked,” she said, her voice growing thick, but she had to say this she realized. The less she talked about it then the less people knew, the less people remembered and soon she would be the only one remembering her village and it was not

fair

.
 
“Everything burnt. Everyone, too. I was left alone.”
 
She could still smell the horrid smell of corpses burning, she could still choke on the smoke like she was ten again hiding behind a tree and seeing everything she had known, every person she had loved die.
 
Naruto sidled up to her and hugged her tight, and she returned the hug, needing an anchor to remind her where she was, what was happening.
 
“How did you arrive here then?” Gaara asked tilting his head to the side clearly confused. He had opened up those last few days, he was talking more, smiling more.
 
“I walked. For a long time, I walked, with no idea where to go. I was lost.”

In more ways than one,

“I finally crossed paths with a merchant. He was on his way to Konoha, he proposed to take me with him and I figured that maybe the ninjas would avenge me. Would care about my village being destroyed.”
 
They didn’t. They had listened to her tales, nodded, had said ‘it’s tragic’, and had mourned the loss of the knowledge of plants that the village had. But they didn’t send anyone to chase the criminals. At that time, she hadn’t realized but now she knew better: if she had wanted revenge she should have paid for the mission.
 
Konoha didn’t have the time to launch a full investigation when no payment was forthcoming.
 
“I was sent to an orphanage but was deemed too old. So, I was sent there.”
 
“That’s terrible! Did they give you a choice?”
 
“No. But it’s fine.” She looked down at two bright blue eyes. “It allowed me to meet Naruto and I could never regret that.”
 
Naruto smiled at her, beamed, happy and she felt better.
 
She couldn’t forget her past or make it disappear; it would forever haunt her. It would forever be this wound inside her. But it was not festering. It was not rotting. It was healing. Slowly and surely. And Naruto with his smile, his goodness, his warmth was helping.
 
“Me too, I want to hug Aiko nee-san, '' Fuu exclaimed and then she was tackled by an enthusiastic green-haired girl. Gaara joined them too but with less energy, thought he gripped her kimono hard. 
 
Fuu screamed “Group hug!” loud enough that the door flew open to Mimiko, the twins, and Hotaru who joined in.
 
Naruto started whining because he was being crushed but there was a smile on his face that betrayed what he was saying.

Yes

, she thought,

I don’t regret coming here.

**
 
She shouldn’t be surprised that someone would catch on.
 
They were trying to be discreet but ANBU were still patrolling outside the brothel so there was no way that they hadn’t picked up on the sudden agitation going on.
 
It was Kakashi who confronted her.
 
“You’re harboring a lot more kids now.” The man started giving Aiko a heart attack as she hadn’t heard him come and the man liked to perch on the window sill.
 
She whirled around:
 
“Oh my God! Stop scaring me!”
 
It was protestation as much as a changing subject and diversion.
 
She didn’t want to lie.
 
Kakashi tilted his head to the side.
 
“The kids. There are more of them. I don’t remember a lot of orphans arriving recently. And even if they did, they should have gone to the orphanage first.”
 
He could be just asking but the tone of his voice was accusing.
 
“Who are they?”
 
She thought of lying, but she couldn’t even come up with anything decent.
 
“I think you know.”
 
Kakashi froze. Before he could leave warn the Hokage she grabbed his arm:
 
“Please. They’re being hunted down. The others are taking care of it but they couldn’t bring the kids with them. I have to keep them safe. I… I promised. Please!”
 
“... So the Jinchuuriki of Suna is not the only one who has been abducted.”
 
She shot him a look refusing to say anything incriminating.
 
“I need to warn someone.”
 
“If you do, I'll tell them, they’ll leave and  Naruto will go with them. Please.”
 
She knew that it was true. Naruto would probably agonize because he loved them too but he wouldn’t send his new friends away alone.
 
“It’s dangerous to have them here.”
 
“Maybe. But it’s the safest place for them to be.”
 
Kakashi hunched on himself, seeming older, tired even.
 
“If the Hokage finds it will be my-”
 
“My head.”
 
He looked at her.
 
“I have deceived you all. I have been lying to everyone and manipulating everyone.” she paused. “My head.”
 
“Naruto would never forgive it if it happened.” he sighed “Maa~I guess I need to help you. So what do you need?”
 
She was a bit taken aback by the sudden reversal. She hadn’t anticipated that Kakashi would want to help.
 
“I mean… If you know a good way of keeping a bunch of hyperactive kids busy and focused and trained, that would be great.”
 
Kakashi seemed to think on it for a few hot seconds :
 
“Have they all mastered Henge?”
 
“Yes.” Gaara was doing better. He was doing better in every sense of the term actually. She wasn’t privy to what had happened but… He looked so much happier and smiled at them now, though he was looking at Naruto like the boy hung the moon. It was very cute.
 
“Well in that case: there is a training ground that is in the forbidden forest. It is usually used only by ANBU and high-grade ninjas that want some tranquility. I could probably reserve it for me. And then take the kids there.”
 
He looked at her deeply “If you trust me.”
 
“I do.” This time it was Kakashi’s turn to be taken aback.
 
“You care about Naruto a lot more than you let on.” She said “And you know I’m not joking about him leaving with them. You don’t want that. And you also know that he distrust people easily. And I’m sure you don’t want to be in the category of ‘People he doesn’t like’ “.
 
Kakashi hung his head, not wanting -not needing- to refute anything. They both know it was true.

Kakashi was doing his best to appear nonchalant and uncaring but he still had a heart somewhere and apparently Naruto was one of the few people who were worthy of receiving his love.
 
(Not that Naruto was aware of that for now. But one day, one day maybe she would tell him about Kakashi being the student of Naruto’s father. And maybe the boy would start to have an interest in him. Maybe.)
 
“So” she said, not letting him brood too much. “When can we start?”
 
**

Everything was going fine. The kids were happier, the girls were smiling, and the customers weren’t too horrible. She was busy but happy. Worried still but not too much.
 
She didn’t pay attention to the stranger wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. She crossed his path as she bought candy as a reward for the kids being very good. She didn’t see him track her with his one good eye only visible.
 
**

She was tidying up their room (with two more occupants it was getting messy very easily) when she felt a chill up her spine.
 
The kids were all on the training ground supervised by Kakashi and probably some meddling-uchiha and maybe one ex-Anbu ex-sensei that she knew well. (Gemma had just accompanied her once to come pick Naruto up from school and the look he had given her spoke volumes. But he hadn’t said anything and no one had come to take back the children so… Small victories.)
 
So she turned around -maybe it was Kakashi and one of the kids was hurt-.
 
It wasn’t Kakashi. It was a man she had never seen before, wearing a black cloak with red clouds, an orange mask hiding his face with only one hole for one eye.
 
She knew he was bad news.
 
“What do you want?” She said, her voice was surprisingly steady in the situation.
 
“Aaah… So you are the

Nee-san

, right? I heard you're harboring some people I've been looking for a while now. “ he tilted his head. “I wonder how far would they go to avenge you?” He grabbed her with surprising speed.
 
“Thank you for reuniting them all in one place. Make my work so much easier!”
 
She wasn’t a ninja. But she was a courtesan. And she had lost her family once, she would not let it happen again. She could be very brave when it was time. She grabbed her kanzashi and in a swift move speared it through the man’s eye. The hole in the mask made for a perfect target. And he had probably hadn’t expected her to lash out. After all, she was no ninja.
 
He screamed and let her go and she fell on the floor. She immediately tried to get up but her legs were shaking, adrenaline and fear taking over.
 
“You little-” he raged and tried to move in her direction to probably kill her but before he could do so he was promptly kicked out destroying the wall and she was scooped up.
 
“Well, there. Are you okay?”
 
She turned her head and blinked looking at the smiling face of Shisui. In front of them was standing a man with a bowl cut and wearing a horrible green suit.
 
“Shisui please take care of this flower while I go duel that man and test his youth spirit!” he flashed her a grin and a wink and Maito Gai -because who else but that man would wear that thing and said those things- vanished through the hole.
 
“Did he hurt you?” Shisui asked again, softer and she shook her head. She was still holding her kanzashi. There was blood on it.
 
“I did hurt him.”
 
“And we’re all very proud of you, but I think you’re not looking too well. Maybe I should take you to the hospital?”
 
It was enough to put her out of her shock:
 
“The kids!” she exclaimed, suddenly grabbing Shisui’s collar, “He said he came for the kids.”
 
“Okay. I got it. Hold on.” she did so as Shisui spirited away. When they arrived in the middle of the forest she felt a little nauseous but as soon as she was put down she was tackled by a little blond head.
 
She hugged automatically scanning around making sure they were all here.
 
Fuu’s smile disappeared when she noticed the bloodied kanzashi in her hand:
 
“What happened?” Kakashi came out crouching next to her.
 
“They’re here.” Shisui said “And they tried to attack Aiko. She .. Well she gouged his eyes out and Gai is now in pursuit and Itachi has gone to warn the Hokage.”
 
Aiko was only listening absently, she just wanted the kids close to her where she could touch them and make sure they were alright.
 
“Nee-san?” Naruto asked, eyes widened with fear. 
 
“We’re fine. You’re going to be fine. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” she promised. She had hurt a man already and she was ready to do it all over again to make sure he never lay a hand on them ever.
 
“What should we do?” She still asked, at a loss grabbing gaara hand pulling him closer.
 
“Wait here,” Kakashi said “I doubt he came alone. We need to be ready.” Kakashi frowned, took out a scroll and bit his thumb. A dozen of dogs appeared in the middle of the clearing.
 
Sand was dancing around them like a little tornado keeping them safe. Fuu was hovering above the ground, her wings shimmering in the air but she stayed close.
 
They heard wrestling in the forest and a man came out. Blond, tall, handsome, waving around a scythe with three blades and a humorless grin, he was followed by another man, red hair face impassible, beautiful pale skin, his gaze riveted to Gaara. The blond man said:
 
“Ha! there you are! I have been searching for you forever!”
 
Aiko hardly saw anything happen really they all attacked at the same time. She could only dimly register the blong man laughing and bleeding all across the ground but being ecstatic about that, genuinely happy about being torn apart. The red headed one produced hideous and monstruous puppets with sickening blade.
 
Another man joined them at some point, face almost completely hidden with only his eyes visible and they were the most disgusting eyes Aiko had ever seen.
 
She watched in fear as the first one almost grabbed Naruto at one point and Shisui intercepted himself between the two. Growling a “No, you don’t”.
 
A shudder ran down her spine as she felt … Something. Energy. Chakra she realized, coming from everywhere, overwhelming her. Not just here but from the village too.
 
Itachi had gone to warn the Hokage Shisui had said. So this was the Hokage response. All ninjas in the village on the warpath.
 
She was still on the ground, unable to move, unable to process, a useless witness to fire, sand, and  blood.
 
A hand caressed her hair and she turned her head finding herself face to face with the blond man “Oh, Such a lovely face, I will have so much fun cutting you up,” he said and was tackled by a huge dog.

I need to move,

she realized. She couldn’t stay here in the middle of the group. She was probably a hindrance.
 
But she was unable to do so. It was the night her village burned all over again. She was still helpless to help the people she loved.
 
The man came back to her again; lifting his scythe, she lifted her kanzashi, the only weapon she had on herself knowing that she wouldn’t be able to block.
 
And then a familiar back was in front of her as Naruto -

seven years old

Naruto- stood between the man and her. He was… Glowing though, red chakra covering him, the shape of a fox head sort of flickering here and there. He punched the man in the kneecap and the man fell on the ground. More dogs arrived and Kakashi followed suit and put something -a seal?- on the man, rendering him unconscious.
 
She blinked. The red aura faded from around Naruto as he turned around, eyes huge.
 
“Nee-san?” he asked softly and she opened her arms, still unable to get up from the ground, cuddling him close to her. She felt a tug on her kimonos and grabbed Gaara and Fuu hugging them too, breathing in their scent.
 
“This is not over,” Kakashi said. He had uncovered his eyes and a scar was cutting his handsome face. A sharingan was turning into his newly uncovered eye.
 
Shisui's eyes too were two red dots, the tomoe spinning madly as he looked around, checking the perimeter. Genma had arrived at some point.
 
She couldn’t see the other men but her ninjas had blood on their hands.
 
“No. It’s probably not. We should probably make some traps just in case.” Shisui turned toward the kids “Anyone wants to help?”
 
**

They stayed a while in the forest. Someone else came at some point that she didn't see. They had hidden her and Shisui had given her a kunai “just in case”. She was shaking, the aftershock of everything. Naruto, Gaara and Fuu huddled close to her. Asleep now. Shisui, Kakashi and the others doing rounds. 
 
She wondered how long they were going to stay. How many enemies were in the village?
 
“If I could have your attention?” She turned her head and saw a pug. A talking pug. She was too tired to be surprised however so she just gave it a blank look.
 
“I got a message from the Hokage. All the intruders have been apprehended or killed. But he would like to have some words concerning the kidnapping of Jinchuuriki

.

”
 
She nodded. After today, it couldn’t be kept a secret. She managed to get up, rousing the kids up, they blinked at her.
 
“We need to go to the Hokage,” she said. She immediately saw fear on Gaara and Fuu's face. They were all too aware that “their” people had been looking for them. They probably suspected that they would be sent back. And this time they would be looked over all day and night to make sure nothing like what had transpired could happen again.
 
Realistically, Aiko couldn’t see how she could get them out of this. She was probably for her part going to end up in jail. 
 
“Let’s go,” she said, unable to muster some enthusiasm or positivity.
 
Kakashi was already waiting for her. The pug walked up to him.

Ha, one of his summons I guess.

She barely paid attention to the trek back to the village and just felt dread as the Hokage tower was coming closer and closer.
 
There was a lot of agitation going on, she realized, ninjas running everywhere, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
 
As they made their way upstairs she started hearing voices arguing. She felt Gaara squeezing her hand tighter and his other one latched on Naruto. Fuu was on her other side squeezing her hand painfully. But she couldn’t begrudge them.
 
Kakashi was the one to knock. When they entered the Hokage’s office all the people present went silent.
 
It was all the family head she registered. The Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Yamanaka, the Aburame, the Nara, the Akimichi, the Inuzuka. All of them looking at her and her kids.
 
She made her way to the center of the room and looked at the Hokage. Decided that she would only look at him and ignore everyone else.
 
“Aiko-san… I hadn’t envisionned this when I agreed to let you look after Naruto.” the old man said, sighing.

I forced you to let me take care of Naruto.

She wanted to reply but kept silent.
 
“How did you manage to kidnap all those kids?” the Hokage asked “You know their family are worried about them-”
 
“Bullshit.” she said. Gaara was trying to hide himself at the mention of family and Fuu had squeezed her hand even harder, involuntarily. 
 
“They don’t care about them, if they did-”
 
“Aiko-san you can’t-”
 
“If they did,” she repeated louder, cutting the old man off, “they would

properly

look after them. They would bandage their wounds, help them sleep through their nightmare, treat them with love and respect. But they only see them as weapons. They are

human beings

. If you can’t treat them like one then don’t come crying when they run away with the first person who does so.” she spat out. She felt angry enough that she was shaking and she thought that after all she had nothing else to lose so she better talk now.
 
“But I shouldn’t be surprised, you only care about money and your precious clans, anyone else outside of that is unimportant.”
 
“That’s not true” one of the clan leaders tried to interject and despite what she had thought she turned toward him “Isn’t it? My village was

burned

by bandits. When I came here and told you all what happened, not a single person asked me what they looked like, if I could recognize them. Because you didn’t care. It didn’t involve a Nara, or a Hyuuga or whoever who’s important to Konoha so why lost time tracking murderers, am I right?
 
“You sent me into a brothel, I wasn't asked if I wanted to, I wasn’t asked if I had a dream for the future, I wasn't asked anything. I was a kid and you should have

helped

me and

protected

me! But you didn’t ! Because I didn’t belong to a clan. And then you” she turned back toward the Hokage “you were ready to have Naruto live on

his own

. He was a

baby

and you didn’t care, and for what? Because he has the kyuubi inside of him? Because you need to keep him as a weapon? How can you expect him to stay if he has nothing to stay

for

?
 
“I didn’t kidnap any of those kids. They came with me willingly. And if “their family” wants them back, well maybe they should try to act like they care about them. Truly care about them.”
 
“That’s well said,” a voice said from the window and they all turned around. She had been pretty sure that an ANBU had been there when she entered but now Roshi was standing there, grinning like a madman.
 
“I’m sorry to break your little meeting but the threat has been dealt with -thanks for the help I guess- And so I’ve come to pick up our kids!” He sauntered into the room and all the ninja present here stood petrified. Fuu runned up to him.
 
“Is Han Onii-san here?” Fuu asked, almost jumping in place.
 
“Of course, he is outside with the others. They’re trying to stop Killer B from coming here and causing more chaos.” At those words Fuu ran up and jumped through the window with a delightful screech and glitter.
 
Roshi walked up to Aiko. Everyone in the room stood frozen like they couldn”t quite believe the scene in front of their eyes. Even aiko was blinking trying to register what was happening:
 
“So this seems very serious and all. Interested in coming with us? I doubt you’re going to be welcomed here.”
 
“Oh!” Naruto said “Can we go too Onee-san? I want to see the mountains! And the waterfalls Fuu told me about!” he was gripping her kimonos, playing the excitement and wonder of a kid.

She wasn’t buying it, she could see in his eyes: he was scared. He had realized how serious this was and how much in trouble they were.
 
“Maybe you should go, Naruto,” she said very carefully “ But I doubt they would let me go like that.”
 
“If they don’t I’ll let the kyuubi raze this place to the ground.” the boy said with a seriousness that shocked her.
 
“Naruto,” the Hokage started “ You don’t mean that-”
 
“I do. You want to punish Aiko-Onee -san but for what? For loving us? Taking care of us? Looking after me? Teaching me how to read and write? For washing my clothes and bandaging my wound? For encouraging me and believing in me?
 
“If you arrest her, If you hurt her I will

never

forgive you. She gave me a family and I will take care of it.

I

won't break my promise.” Aiko sucked in a breath at the way he emphasized the word.
 
“What does that mean?” the Hyuuga chef asked starting to get fed up with what was happening:
 
“You were all friends of my Dad and my Mom when they were alive, you chose him to become your Hokage, but once they died no one took care of me even though I bet some of you promised that you would.”
 
The silence in the room was deafening.
 
“Who told-”
 
“I did.” Genma -who had arrived god knows when- “He deserved to know the truth.”
 
“I gave an order.” the Hokage started, “No offence sir, but this was a really stupid order. What would it  have changed if Naruto knew who his father was?”  So many people gasped after this comment and then everyone was talking over everyone. Roshi sighed:
 
“Seriously, come with us, this lot seemed pretty stupid. They would put you in jail… And since it’s kind of our fault.”
 
“I know what I was getting into when I agreed.”
 
“Everyone please!” The Hokage ordered and soon everyone shut up:
 
“Naruto, if I punish Aiko-san, what would you do?”
 
“Save her and then join Roshi, Han and the others on their adventures.”
 
“And if we… let her go.”
 
“Go where she will.”
 
“And if we promised to pardon her, to not have her trial for any of her crimes?”
 
“She didn't commit any crimes,” the boy said, stubborn, “But if she stays I stay. But you need to let the others go. They weren’t happy back home but now we can be a family and write to each other!” the little boy exclaimed.
 
“Hokage you can’t seriously think of-”
 
“I don’t think we have much of a choice. And as for the other villages… I’ll deal with them.”
 
And Aiko could only watch stunned as she was led out of the room by Naruto and rejoined the other Jinchuuriki outside.
 
She was free, pardonned, graced, whatever. She was allowed to stay and take care of her baby boy and knowing now that he had a family that would go somewhere but hopefully keep contact.
 
“Nee-san you’re okay?”
 
“Never been better.” she replied, smiling wide.

TBC

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Aiko couldn’t help but wring her hands together.

“I don’t see why you’re worrying.” Genma said next to her, his usual senbon in his mouth “There is no way for Naruto to fail. His tenjutsu is top-notch, he is a master at seal already, and while his ninjutsu is not perfect it should be enough for him to pass.”

She shot him a look: “Technically I know all that but…” But some of the teachers still hated Naru-chan.

Thank the Sage for Iruka sensei!

She couldn’t help but think. The young teacher had started to get closer to Naruto and look after him. While he was strict -punishing Naruto when his pranks had gone too far- he also cared and it made a whole lot of difference to know that there was someone out there who cared.

Especially after the whole Mizuki debacle.

Mizuki had been a teacher at the school too. Except he was apparently a spy and had tried to use Naruto to do his bidding. He hadn’t accounted for Naruto beating him, trapping him in a seal, and delivering him to the Hokage. After applying a truth seal on him to have him blabber all his nefarious plans.

She often thought that Naruto should be able to pass the exam just with that.

His seal works were… Well, unparalleled. He understood seal on a new another level, everything coming to him instinctively, and when he didn’t… He asked the Kyuubi for help.

That

had been new too, and the first time she heard about it, Aiko thought she was going to have a heart attack. But the Kyuubi was apparently “a grumpy old fart” but was willing, sometimes, to help. And his knowledge -centuries old- was very helpful.

So she knew how smart and capable Naruto was. He had the level to become a jounin. And yet. Here she was worried sick.

Then finally she spotted the teachers coming out the kids behind them, most of them harboring the blue bandana with the Konoha leaf engraved onto them.

She noticed the blond head almost immediately. Naruto ran toward them, dragging a lethargic Sasuke with him. Naruto was waving enthusiastically the blue bandana:

“I GOT IT! NEE-SAN I GOT IT!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, everyone’s attention zeroing in on them for a moment.

However, no one said a word. It was pretty much understood now that Naruto was not to be trifled with and most of the people gave him a wide berth. Twelve years old and already terrifying to most of the people around.

“I’m so proud of you Naru-chan!” Aiko said, hugging the boy tight. He was level with her chest now and soon he would probably outgrow her.

Sometimes she still remembers how small he had been as a baby. And now in Konoha's eyes, he was an adult.

Naruto squeezed back with one arm as he was still holding Sasuke’s.

“Did you get yours Sasuke?” Aiko asked. There was no way that Sasuke who was -in Naruto’s words- “The best in the class” would fail the exam. And indeed the sullen teenager extracted an identical blue bandana from his pocket.

“Congratulations!” she said and ruffled his hair. Sasuke made a weird face like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel.

“Naruto, why don’t you let him go so- well, too late.”

And indeed Mikoto, Shisui, and Itachi were making their way toward them.

They congratulated the two boys. Genma was still there but hadn’t said anything yet.

Finally, once the Uchiha had bowed and were starting to make their way back home, Genma tapped on Naruto’s head to get his attention.

He handed him a box “Congratulations, here is a little gift from me.”

It was a kunai. But a weird one. Not that Aiko was well-versed in ninja weaponry but she could pick the different styles of kunai and that one she didn’t know. Naruto seemed as lost as her and threw Genma a questioning look.

“It was your father. He used this to teleport. Thought you could use it.” Genma let escape an “oof” as he was tackled by Naruto in a bone-crushing hug.

Aiko smiled at the scene.

“Come on boys, the girls are waiting to hear about your exam.”

**

When Naruto entered the brothel he was welcomed with confetti and loud cheers of “congratulations”. They even made a banner for the occasion.

(He even caught a glimpse of the Madam, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe what was happening. Surprisingly after everything the Madam had been on their side and helped them a lot. Naruto wasn’t sure why she seemed to have changed her mind but now she was just looking after them from time to time, smiling even.)

He was smiling so wide that his cheeks had started to hurt.

Aiko Nee-san had made his favorite cake and they even ordered from Teuchi to get some Ramen. It was even better than his birthday!

To be fair he was pretty excited about being a full Genin now, if only because it meant that he would be allowed to go outside the village for missions. And that means the possibility to see Han, Roshi, Ukataka, Fuu, Nagato, Yagura, or even better Gaara.

He missed them all even though they wrote a ton of letters and they were frequent guests of the brothel.

He knew that it had been for a while politically dicey but the adult had taken care of it. (Naruto wasn’t sure he understood all of those fears and talks about power imbalance.)

He would have liked it if they were here today but he also understood that they had other things to care about, especially now that they had created their own hidden village.

(Naruto had hesitated to join them but in the end, when he realized all his nee-san wouldn’t be able to come with him too he had chosen to stay to protect them. He could always go visit the others later. Besides, now that he knew that his father could teleport, maybe he could rig something up to be able to drop when he wanted to see both of his families!)

After a while, the party died down as the evening progressed and the girls started having to return to work.

**

“So big day tomorrow huh?” Aiko Nee-san asked him once it was just the two of them after she had put the two new babies to sleep.

“I guess so,” Naruto shrugged. He wasn’t too concerned about the making of teams. He got along with pretty much all the boys in his class -and especially with Sasuke- and while he still had trouble understanding girls his age with their constant giggling, they weren’t hostile to him anymore.

He hoped to be put with Sasuke of course but he wasn’t too worried if that wasn’t the case.

(he had asked Genma-sensei if he could be their sensei and Genma-sensei had smiled wickedly and told him “Kitten you better hope I’m not.” Which was very cryptic. He had thought that Shisui could be great but he had decided to be a teacher at the academy so that was a no. Itachi seemed to be doing nothing. And Gai was already the teacher of another team.

Naruto was starting to fear that he was going to have someone he didn’t know at all as a teacher and that was the only part he worried about.)

“Well, don’t sound too excited” Aiko-nee -san snorted and Naruto sent a pillow her way. She laughed, sending it back and hitting him square in the face.

“I heard that Genin teams are very important, you know,” she added, “That it can be a bond that lasts forever. One would think that you would care about that.”

“I already have you and the other Jinchuuriki and sasuke.” Naruto answered, “I’m not worried about ‘bonds’ I already have some.” He paused “Do you think Sasuke could forget me if we’re not on the same team?” he asked suddenly. He hadn’t thought of that.

Aiko Nee-san shot him a look:

“Well, then, make sure he can’t forget about you.” She said matter-of-factly.

“I will! Better believe it!” he said fist pumped in the air. She laughed, shaking her head and Naruto always felt happy to have his precious people happy too.

**

“Team 7 : Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchihua and Sakura Haruno.” The man called and Naruto -who had grabbed Sasuke’s hand the moment he caught sight of the other boy- let escape a “yeah” that got some people looking at him.

“Sas’ Sas’! we’re on the same team!”

“I heard.”

“Aren’t you happy?” he asked, deflated in front of the non-reaction.

“… I am.” The other boy reassured him gently. They made their way to their room, Sakura walking a bit behind them seeming hesitant.

“Can I call you Sakura-chan?” he asked her immediately, she shot him a look and nodded “Sure,” she glanced toward Sasuke and blushed. Ah. She was one of those. He really hoped that wasn’t going to be a hindrance.

Sasuke predictably didn’t seem to notice at all. Naruto loved Sasuke, he did, but boy Sasuke seemed to have decided to have almost no emotion. He was monosyllabic most of the time. Naruto didn’t really understand why, but then Itachi wasn’t much better.

(Naruto privately wondered how it was in Sasuke’s house for both the sons to turn this way.)

They made their way to the classroom they had been told to wait in. No one was waiting for them yet so they settled in. Naruto was bouncing on his feet and still hadn’t let go of Sasuke’s hand. Sasuke let him do it, not very concerned about it and largely used to it.

Sakura glanced at it and frowned but then said nothing, twirling a strand of her hand.

They waited. And waited some more. And waited again.

“Do you… Do you think our teacher forgot about us?” Sakura finally asked when still no one was there.

Naruto frowned. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

probably.

“Hn.” Was Sasuke whole contribution.

Naruto was thinking that maybe he should install some prank -even though Nee-san was not going to be very happy about it if she heard- when the door finally opened.

And revealed Kakashi Hatake, the copy-nin.

Naruto supposed that he could work with that. He remembered him when Gaara and Fuu had stayed at the brothel, where he had been a teacher of sorts and took it upon himself to train them. Naruto hadn’t been able to always join them because he had had class but he had come from time to time.

(He also remembered Aiko-nee-san being brought by Shisui, the fear in her eyes, the way she had shaken, a scythe raised upon her head, and how small and defenseless she had looked. )

“Yo,” the man said, and Naruto saw Sakura twitching, frowning.

It was true that at first glance Kakashi looked… Weird. And he was. But he had also volunteered to give the first letter to Han allowing Naruto to get to know his fellow jinchuuriki. So he could forgive the man for his oddities.

“I’m going to be your teacher starting now. The first lesson: join me on the roof,” he said and disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

“...What was that?” Sakura asked at large but Naruto had already opened the window and was saying “Come on! we need to hurry!”

Once on the roof, their teacher said “Come on, let’s go around and present each other: name, likes dislikes, and dreams for the future.”

“Why don’t you start?” Sakura suggested and Naruto enthusiastically agreed.

“Oh… Well, I’m Kakashi Hatake, I have some likes, some dislikes and I guess I do have dreams for the future.”

Are you serious?

Naruto though. Kakashi though pointed at Naruto who then started “I’m Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen and my precious people, I dislike people being mean to my precious people, and my dream is to be strong enough to protect my precious people!”

Once upon a time, Naruto had dreamt of being Hokage. But that would mean he would be stuck in the village and be unable to see his Jinchuuriki family whenever he wanted, which sucked. So now, he just wanted to be strong enough to protect all of this nee-san. And everyone else he cared about.

“Hum, I’m Haruno Sakura, I like my friend Ino and, huh…” she trailed off, chancing a glance at Sasuke before continuing, “I dislike bullies and I want to be a strong kunoichi that people can rely on.”

Huh. Except for her little slip-up concerning Sasuke -who didn’t seem to have noticed, sage helped us!- she was much more serious than what he had anticipated.

“I’m Sasuke Uchihua, I like tomatoes, my brother, and my mother, I dislike social interaction and I want to make my clan proud.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. He was used to Sasuke now and he wore the boy down but by the sage saying he hated “social interaction” what did he expect really?

“Well… That’s a good beginning.” Kakashi said, looking unbothered. “Well, that will be all for today-”

“What-”

“We will meet tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock sharp on training ground number two!” and he disappeared again.

“I can’t believe him!” Sakura cried out and honestly, yeah, neither could Naruto.

“He really is an annoying bastard. I wish Genma-sensei would have been our teacher.” Naruto complained.

“Neither Kakashi nor Gemma had ever passed a team before,” Sasuke said and they turned toward him.

“There is a test to pass and their other teams have never done it. They were sent back to the academy.”

“Wait? They can do that?” Naruto asked. He wasn’t aware that he could be sent back to school.

If he does that I'll go hide in Gaara’s room.

“What kind of test?” Sakura asked, “Can we prepare for it?”

“I don’t know.” Sasuke shrugged, “Itachi said I should discover by myself.”

Naruto hummed, frowning slightly. He was starting to understand Genma-sensei’s comment. What kind of hellish test would they go through though? Genma-sensei was hard, sure but he wasn’t

mean

. Naruto had learned a lot from him.

Since he couldn’t even fathom what would happen to them he decided to not dwell on it.

“Well, now we’re free. It’s still early. Want to go to a coffee shop? Eat some cakes?” he offered. He would of course prefer to eat his nee-san’s cake but he suppose he could try to bond with Sakura. And maybe if she got exposed to Sasuke enough she would see that he wasn’t all that she believed him to be.

(He was still pretty great, he was Sasuke after all, but most of the girls in the class seemed to have an idea of Sasuke as a suave, strong, and noble prince. Which was so removed from reality that Naruto really wondered how it came to this.)

Sakura nodded and Sasuke was dragged by Naruto. (if he really didn’t want to come he would have said.)

Sakura knew of one small coffee shop, and they were able to order some cake with strawberries and juices and sat at one of the small tables in a corner.

“So,” Sakura began,” Clearly if we’re meeting on a training ground I suppose we’re going to fight. Genin teams are supposed to be all about bonding so I hardly see how fighting against each other will help us.”

Naruto hadn’t thought that they were going to have a war council but he had apparently underestimated Sakura.

“Could be a dividing technique though,” Sasuke offered.

“Why would he do that?”

“Why would he be late? Why would Kakashi do anything?” Naruto replied and Sakura huffed. “You got a point. Mmmh… if it’s about dividing us we should probably be aware of that and… Don’t?”

She hesitated on that last point, but Naruto nodded, “Yeah, we should totally team up no matter what.

“I’m good at taijutsu and can do seals. Sasuke is very good at ninjutsu. I seem to remember you were good at everything but particularly at traps, sakura-chan?”

She blushed but nodded, “Yeah, I like them.”

“Well if we have to fight him then I could probably act as some bait, keep his attention on me while Sasuke keeps an eye out -after all he is the copy-nin so who knows what he would ask us- while you prepare some traps and hopefully we can catch him.”

“Didn’t you trap someone using a seal?” Sakura asked him, thinking.

“Yes. I can prepare that tonight and give you the seal so you can apply it. It was a paralyzing one.”

“Make three. So that I can choose. If you can, of course.”

“Yeah! no problem. Are you ok with the plan Sas’?”

“Hn.”

“Well, then it settled.”

Naruto was glad to see later as they said their goodbye that Sakura was giving Sasuke a considering glance, clearly reevaluating him.

Finally

, he thought,

she saw the light.

And then wondered why it was so important to him anyway.

**

So here they were the three of them on the training ground waiting once more for their teacher.

Who was late. Again. What was up with him anyway? Naruto should go and ask around.

It did give them time to prepare and to give Sakura the seals and for her to tell them quietly where she was hoping she could put the trap and to warm up but still.

Kakashi was late, it was undeniable.

“Will he always be late?” Sakura asked, rotating her shoulders in one way and then the other. Naruto was crouching low, feeling his muscles twinge a bit as he stretched.

“I feel like he might.”

“It’s his thing,” Sasuke added while stretching his arms.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he is always late. I’m not sure why.” Sasuke added, not very helpful. Shrugging, already done with the question.

Then their teacher appeared in a puff of smoke and they gave him a withering glare.

“Yo!” he replied, unhelpfully.

He ignored their complaints and just went on, producing two bells from his pocket:

“The test this morning. You have to take those bells from me.”

So, they were right. It was obviously a plan hoping to create tension between them.

“The one who won’t have one won’t eat and will be attached to the post over there. Ready?”

They all squared up, and nodded and Naruto launched himself at the man.

Kakashi was fast and agile and the most infuriating thing he had produced a book -a book Naruto recognized, you couldn’t grow up in a brothel and be ignorant of the most sell-out erotic novel out there-.

Naruto was considering upping his game and simply killing Kakashi. He was annoying.

At least Sasuke seemed to be fired up too and supporting Naruto taijutsu with his ninjutsu. Sakura had disappeared and Naruto was trying to push Kakashi toward where the girl had said she would put one of the traps.

Of course, he had to push Kakashi without obviously pushing him because despite appearances kakashi’s wasn’t dumb. Far from it actually.

But oh well, that made things much funnier indeed.

**

Aiko had been worried. As always the brothel knew all, and Kakashi hadn’t passed a single group of genin yet.

Of course, she couldn’t see how Kakashi could fail Fugaku’s son, Itachi’s brother, Shisui’s favorite cousin and even more damning for the man Obito’s little cousin without being killed and reduced to ashes.

(Aiko tried not to think too much about Obito, who he was, what he had done, what he had tried to do, and the missing eye that she caused. She protected her own. And the Uchiha did too. Once Obito had been brought back, they had taken him in.

Aiko wasn’t very interested in meeting him again. She still had nightmares about that day.)

So anyway Kakashi would probably pass them because of Sasuke. But kids weren’t stupid and they could always tell when something wasn’t right and she knew they wouldn’t be happy to be passed because of

who

they were.

So she sincerely hoped they would be okay.

That was why she was checking by the windows constantly while keeping an eye on the babies -one of them had started to crawl and it was always a horrible phase when they started to want to go everywhere- hoping to catch the sight of a familiar blond head.

And was rewarded when she saw it, accompanied by a sullen Sasuke and a girl with bright pink hair and a very happy smile on her face.

“Welcome home Naruto!” she called as the boy barrelled inside. He hugged her quickly, kissed each of the babies on the head then said very rapidly “This is Sakura, she is in my and sas’ team and we just beat Kakashi’s ass and now we’re a full-fledged team! We passed his dumb test!”

“Well, I’m very proud. There is some cake in the kitchen if you guys want.”

“Thank you Aiko-nee-san!” Then Naruto grabbed his teammate's hands and dragged them toward the kitchen. Aiko shook her head, fond.

(She had noticed the way Sakura had hesitantly looked around, obviously a bit intimidated about being in a brothel but Naruto's at-ease attitude and, of course, Sasuke who mostly looked like he was annoyed at being alive but not particularly about the place seemed to have helped her relax.

She seemed level-headed and to express emotions so she really hoped it would help Sasuke to open up to the world a bit.)

She kept playing with the babies some more then went back to the kitchen to boil some milk. The kids had disappeared (they were probably in Naruto’s room) so she hummed quietly to herself, feeling at peace. She could hear footsteps in the brothel, doors opening and closing, the girls awakening and preparing themselves for tonight.

She smiled, weird as it was she was at home.

“These kids are a menace.” and nearly had a heart attack. She whirled around to find Kakashi looking slightly dejected. He was covered in mud and twigs in his hair.

She snorted.

“They told me they passed the test, not that they turned you into a mud monster. What happened?”

He looked at her accusingly.

“He gave Sakura his paralyzing seal. She used it in a trap. It was a good plan.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy that they have teamwork already?” she teased. The mud monster didn’t reply.

She sighed.

“Fine, here, have some cake.”

**

School had been a disappointment. And apparently, Genin's work was also a disappointment. They were mostly used to catch cats, paint fences and do some gardening.

Surely his other Jinchuuriki friends didn’t have the same boring tasks. He was sure they had amazing adventures and kick-ass missions.

But not in Konoha.

“It’s essential for the economy,” Aiko told him “Most of the people work and don’t have time to do those things. It allows employment for the ninjas, and generates income for the village, and while it’s boring it’s still better than doing nothing. And to be fair we can’t send a newly minted team out on a dangerous mission. I know you’re bored but…”

And he understood, he did.

Didn’t mean he had to like it.

They did training too, mostly trying to beat Kakashi. Who was clearly not going all out against them and had learned to be extremely wary of Sakura.

“I hope we’ll get a more entertaining mission,” Naruto complained to Sasuke who sighed wistfully, “Yeah, me too.”

(Sasuke had started to show more emotions lately and Naruto was glad, really, but he was also a bit jealous. What if Sasuke fell in love with Sakura? Surely it would just complicate things in their team, right? That was why he was so bothered by it, obviously.)

**

“A mission to the wave country?” Aiko asked, watching as Naruto was enthusiastically packing his bag. “Yeah! We have to play bodyguard for some guy and bring him home. We’re going to be out of the village, it's going to be so freaking cool!” Naruto exclaimed.

He was obviously very happy and Aiko was happy for him too. Worried too, but she would forever be worried for Naruto. His job was to fight -to death sometimes- so of course she would be worried.

“Well, be careful.” he gave her a look and then came to hug her. “I will! I promise! Besides it’s only a C rank! so no reason to worry!” he gave a giant grin at that and she relaxed a bit.

**

The mission wasn’t C rank. More like B rank. Some thugs were trying to stop the bridge’s construction and they got attacked on their way in.

The ninja attacking them were really subpar and they quickly dismissed them but it wasn’t what they had been hired for.

Kakashi wasn’t happy about the lie and wanted to turn back.

They all protested vehemently. Who knows when they will have another B-rank mission? They should totally take that chance.

(Besides once again if their enemies were on the same levels as those two brothers it wasn’t like they risked something.)

“Fine,” Kakashi said. “But if something more dangerous happens we will turn back.”

**

Nothing worse happened, they made it to the village, discovered the sad reality, and decided to kick some yakuza boss’ ass or whatever. Kakashi sighed and complained a lot but the habitants were all incredibly grateful for everything and the three of them were pretty happy.

In another life, they would have almost risked their life for Tazuna and his bridge. But in this life, the Monster of the Mist and his apprentice had gone back home to become ninjas, part of a village again. Not that Naruto and his friends were aware of all that.

“Hey sensei,” Naruto asked the day before they were due to leave

“Mmh?” Kakashi replied, nose still in his book.

“Do we have to go back to the village right now? There is a place I’d like to go.”

Kakashi frowned “Your friend's village is on the other side of-”

“I wasn’t thinking of that.”

“Oh,” Kakashi said, intrigued. “Then where?”

**

Aiko had told Naruto more about her village. As the year passed it became easier to talk about it. To remember the good memories. Her family, her house, her friends. Her home.

And Naruto had always thought that he wanted to go there once. She had smiled sadly at him when he proclaimed so:

“I don’t think there is anything interesting left now.”

Everything has burned, turned to ashes. An entire village was destroyed by fire and swords. And not a person in the world to really care.

Not a person to avenge them. Except for a little girl who had never fought and refused to do so.

She would live. And she would raise children. Teach them better. Teach them to be good, compassionate, and how to grieve, how to mourn, how to never forget the people they once loved.

Because maybe one day they would be the last person that could do so.

**

Naruto had a better sense of smell than most -Thanks Kurama for that- so he had noticed how sweet the air was becoming. And full of pollen.

It made his heart beat faster in anticipation.

What if?

And yet he wasn’t prepared. They arrived in a meadow where once upon a time a village had stood. At some places, you could see some wooden beams and some foundation stones.

But it was covered in flowers. The entire place was brimming with flowers of all colors, all sizes. It was beautiful.

And it reminded Naruto so much of Aiko nee-san that he wanted to cry.

“How did you know about this place?” Sakura asked him, a voice full of wonder. Bees and butterflies were gently buzzing all around. He caught sight of some bunny hopping hiding in the display of colors.

“I was told about it,” he replied too busy taking it in to form a more coherent answer.

He made another vow then. He would bring Aiko Nee-san back one day. To show her. To show how nature had turned her village into the most beautiful, full-of-life cemetery that he had ever seen.

He hoped it would make her happy to know that her village, which had been famous for its flowers, was still full of them.

They picked some and Naruto hoped that they would be preserved in the seal because he wanted to bring her nee-san a beautiful, colorful bouquet that she could look at with pride.

**

Aiko had been given an estimate of how long they would stay away. Of course, she knew that ninja life was full of unexpected accidents so when the two weeks had passed and she had no news of Naruto she wasn’t worried.

Or at least not completely. Besides he was with Kakashi and the man was one of the best in the village.

And Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were very good at being ninjas so she couldn’t see why they would run into a problem.

They were fine. Surely.

“Do you want me to check?” Gemma asked, “You could pay me, a little mission where I just go their way and see what happens.”

“No.” she said “I need to learn to trust Naruto. To let him go. He won’t stay here forever. If only because he is going to spend so much time at the Kemono village.”

“They really should have chosen another name,”  Gemma said and Aiko shrugged.

“They said that it sends a message across. And they’re not wrong.”

Of course, it sent most people flying out of their way so she didn’t know how productive it was or how they even managed to have people come to live there but last she checked they were happy. And that was the most important part.

Finally, after three weeks, she heard the door open violently and as she made her way downstairs she was greeted by a blond head, grinning wildly.

“Nee-san! I missed you!” she hugged back whispering a soft Me too in his hair. It took her a second to realize that he wasn’t alone and that both Sakura and Sasuke had followed him.

She was a bit surprised that they were here and hadn't gone back to their family but she was strangely flattered.

“Come on, there are some cookies in the kitchen,” she said to them.

Naruto seemed to be even more hyper than usual and that worried her a bit.

“Nee-san you need to put out the most beautiful vase you have in the house,” Naruto told her solemnly. She blinked but did as she was told.

Then Naruto produced a scroll, opened it, and applied some chakra to it, and suddenly there was a colorful bouquet of beautiful flowers.

“What are those?”

“They’re yours. They come from your village.” Naruto told her softly and she froze.

“We went there and it was beautiful nee-san! It was covered in flowers. So I brought some because I thought it could cheer you up.”

She started crying then. She wasn’t sad or too happy, she was just… Overwhelmed. Naruto immediately got up to her to comfort her -she noticed Sakura and Sasuke putting water in the vase and settling the flowers in-:

“I’ll bring you there one day nee-san. I will show you how beautiful your hometown is now. So that you can make new happy memories there.”

He smiled at her, his Naruto’s smile the one that said “Believe in me” and she did.

She believed in him as she always did and she hugged him tight.

**

“So you three did well in waves,” Kakashi said “That’s why I’ve decided to register you for the chunin exam. You’re welcome.”

The three of them stood speechless before screaming -or at least Naruto and Sakura started asking a lot of questions and whooping out of joy while Sasuke smiled-.

The Chunin exam. Naruto couldn’t believe it. They had been genin for only a few months. It was nothing in the grand scheme of things and yet… Kakashi wanted to register them!

Maybe he just wants to get rid of you brats

, Kurama unhelpfully commented and Naruto ignored him.

He was too happy to care about the opinion of an old grumpy fox.

“Are you sure we’re ready?” Sakura asked, eyes wide.

“There’s still a little time to prepare. Besides this year it's in Konoha so you have a homegrown advantage. You should at least take it. Even if you don’t get it, it will still give you experience.”

“We will pass, better believe it!” Naruto exclaimed, Sakura nodding eagerly at his sides.

At the end of the day -after some strenuous exercises that made them ache everywhere- they made their way home. Sakura left early waving them goodbye and Naruto caught Ino waiting a bit further down.

Sasuke seemed pensive though so Naruto turned toward his best friend:

“Are you okay Sas’?”

“Do you think we’re ready? Sakura and me, I mean.” Naruto blinked, taken aback by the question.

“Of course you are. Why on earth wouldn’t you be? And why are you letting me out? Do you think I’m not ready?” Naruto asked, feeling a bit hurt.

“Dobe, you could make ANBU already if you wanted. You have largely the level required. Just your mastery of seals is … Off the mark really.”

Naruto felt himself flushed. He wasn’t used to receiving compliments from Sasuke.

“Don’t worry Sas’, you and Sakura-chan definitely have the level too. I don’t think Kakashi would have registered us if he didn’t believe in us. “

“I hope so.” Naruto didn’t know how to cheer him up so he did what Aiko nee-san always did: he hugged Sasuke tight.

“Don’t worry! We’ll get them! We’ll show everyone how awesome we are!”

He felt Sasuke tense in his arms and then relaxed, hugging him back.

When they separated Sasuke was flushed and looked embarrassed. Which was a very cute look on him. Naruto just beamed at him, happy, feeling lightheaded, like there were butterflies in his stomach.

**

He immediately wrote a letter to Gaara and Fuu to let them know that he was going to be Chunin soon (!!) because he was going to pass the exam (!!).

It made him realize that he had no idea what rank his friends were. They had founded a village and he knew that Yagura had been put as the Kage if only because he had the actual experience, but he didn’t even know if they had rank. They were a little village that needed all the help they could get. Surely his friends would already be full-fledged ninjas, right?

Still, the idea of the exams kept him excited as well as his various nee-san who were more than ready to make banners and to go cheer him up if the occasion presented itself. (None of them were sure about how the exam happened. They of course asked around but apparently, each part of the exams was decided by the jounin in charge, and each year the exam happened in a different country. They therefore had no idea about what kind of tasks Naruto would need to perform and if they could watch one.)

Naruto also heard that all of the others who had graduated at the same time as him would also pass the exam. He knew that there was a majority of Clan heirs so this could explain the speed at which their teachers tried to make them pass but it worried him a bit.

From the little bit he had gathered from History the idea of promoting as many ninjas as they were planning was usually done in the event of a war. And last he checked Konoha wasn’t at war.

“I think we should try to look at it in an optimistic light,” Sakura told him when he had relayed his concern to his team, “We are just a very gifted generation, and all of our teachers think we have a chance.”

“I think it’s the homegrown turf that made it so actually” Sasuke cut in. “Exams are a source of stress and in our case, some of those exams can lead to deaths or serious injuries. The fact that it’s housed in Konoha this year makes it a little easier. That’s why they have registered all of us. We probably won’t pass all, but at least we can see what an actual exam looks like, and be better prepared next time when it won’t be on home turf.”

In front of the slightly deflated face of his teammate, Sasuke shrugged “Sorry, but I’m a realist.”

Sakura made a face at that and even Naruto wanted to argue. Sasuke wasn’t a realist, Sasuke was a pessimist or a cynic. They still loved him of course, but boy it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows with him.

“You have to pass though, don’t you?” Naruto asked him and Sasuke tilted his head “I mean, I know that your father has… Expectations. So I suppose you have to pass.”

Once again Sasuke shrugged “If I fail, I fail. It’s life. My father will have to deal with it.”

Sakura and Naruto exchanged a glance but said nothing.

Neither of them belonged to a clan or was an heir to anything. Sakura's parents were chunin ninja that loved and supported their daughter, and Naruto had an entire brothel that had raised him and was ready to kill, seduce, and learn war secrets if he were to ask. The way clans worked and the pressure put on Sasuke was completely foreign to them.

At least he had his brother and more importantly, Shisui who seemed like a normal and sane person who supported Sasuke as they should. (His mother seemed to support him but apparently, there was tension between her and Sasuke’s father. Naruto wisely hadn’t asked and was staying out of it.)

“Well, let’s think positively and believe that we will pass and everything will go fine,” Sakura said, always their voice of reason.

**

Aiko nee-san had been suspiciously happy those last days. Not that she wasn’t always happy, and wasn’t smiling or laughing on a daily basis, but there was an extra bounce in her steps those days, she was humming more, and baking a lot of cake. (that wasn’t bad, that was really good, but she was

really

baking a lot.)

She was also unwilling to tell him anything, pretending that nothing was going on.

She was hiding things from him.

(Maybe she was in love, Naruto thought with horror. Of course, he wanted his nee-san to be happy but he wasn’t sure he was ready to share her with someone else. Which was very ridiculous when he thought about it but… Aiko nee-san had always been

his

in a way she wasn’t to all the other kids she had helped raise and the idea that she could one day make her own family … tore at something in Naruto.)

“Naru-chan, are you free? I would like you to come with me?” She asked one day, while Naruto was slowly waking up (training was for later that day, and thank god because each day was more exhausting than the precedent.)

“Sure,” he mumbled, narrowing his eyes at how bubbly Aiko Nee-san was. It was even more visible today.

He had expected her to go to the market or a shop or even maybe the ninja tower -Genma-sensei was hanging there a lot so it would stand to reason- but she was making her way to the East entrance of the village.

She then stopped and waited.

“...Do you need me to do something?” he asked, wondering what they were doing here. (waiting for delivery maybe. Maybe she had decided to open a flower shop?

That

would explain a lot.)

She shook her head and then her smile grew wider and she nodded to Naruto toward the entrance:

“I think you should go say hi,” she said fondly and Naruto looked up.

He recognized them immediately, Gaara and his giant gourd, Fuu floating above him, glitters around her, Roshi all in red and with no care in the world. And some others that he had never met before.

He was running before he was even realizing it:

“Gaara! Fuu! Roshi!” he shouted, happily waving around like a madman. He was tackled by Fuu who shouted back an enthusiastic “NARUTO!” piercing his eardrum but he was too happy to care.

Once he was up again and had hugged Roshi and Gaara -they had hugged maybe too long but Gaara was a sucker for contact and Naruto adored hugs- he asked:

“What are you doing here?”

“Stupid question really!” Fuu answered, sniffing “There is only one reason for us to be there now!”

“... You wanted to see me?”

“The exam!” Fuu replied, almost jumping in place “We’re passing the exam too!”

“Wait, what?” Naruto asked, turning toward Roshi, who nodded “Yeah, they are. Those two are in the same team as well as Aido-kun here.” Roshi said, pointing to a guy with long blackish hair and soft green eyes who smiled and bowed politely.

“Wait! You’re here for- but- I- Oh my god!” Naruto exclaimed, “What if we have to fight each other!” Naruto said, looking horrified at the prospect.

It was one thing to kick Kiba's ass or even Ino but

his family

? He didn’t want to hurt Gaara in any way shape or form.

“Don’t worry,” Aiko Nee-san said, coming closer to them “I have been told that the chunin exam is not just about beating to a pulp your opponent.”

She patted his head and then he realized “You knew they were coming! And you didn’t tell me!”

“I think that's what they call a surprise.” Gaara supplied. And Naruto laughed.

“Yeah. It is. A very good one indeed!”

“Not that this reunion isn’t very heartwarming but could you please do the formalities?” Izumo -who was on door duties- asked, sounding very put upon.

As Roshi was filling out forms Naruto was already vibrating with excitement. It was going to be an awesome exam this year.

**

“Welcome to the first task of the chunin exam. My name is Ibiki Morino and I’ll be your examiner today.”

Naruto looked around the room: at Sasuke and Sakura, his team that he loved, at the other Konoha genin he had grown with, at the other Konoha genin he had heard about but hadn’t properly met before, at his jinchuuriki family -Fuu was making face at him making him laugh which probably wouldn’t endear him to Ibiki-san- and felt his heart swell with pride and love.

In his pocket, he had some cookies prepared by Aiko Nee-san and an amulet bought by the other girls at the temple for good luck.

He squared himself up, ready and confident. He wasn’t afraid. He was Naruto Uzumaki, descendant of the Uzumaki clan, son of the Yellow Flash the Yondaime, Member of the Jinchuuriki tribe and of Team 7, vessel of Kurama the nine-tailed fox, Seal-Master of Konoha, and of course, a little Brother to all inhabitant of the Black Rose Brothel.

Whatever happened, whatever challenge he would face he would overcome it. You better Believe it!

THE END