Alright, another chapter! I have been cranking chapters out this week like crazy. I plan on updating another story tomorrow too!

Anyway, I hope you like it. I know it's not crazy amazing like the first chapter, but the next few chapters will be very fluffy after this one.

Don't forget to follow and review if you like the story.

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 3

Shibi Aburame walked with a stoic look plastered on his face, his mind still going over the multiple thoughts in his head. He was not use to having to overthink a situation. He usually solved his problems with a quick moment of thinking, with the, overall, most logical choice to be his answer regarding any problem .

Sadly, at the moment, he was also trying to take into account his son's happiness and the level of hatred the villagers had for Naruto. With two very unpredictable factors, it was a very hard equation to solve.

He spoke with the clan heads during the meeting about his situation, going into detail on his dilemma. Luckily, his friends were quite understanding of Uzumaki's situation and gave him some much needed advice.

-flashback-

Shibi sat down at a table in the Akimichi lounge, looking around at the rest of the heads that had decided to come.

He noticed that the Uchiha and Hyuuga heads did not come, but that was very common. Fugaku and Hiashi saw the 'meetings' as a waste of time and below them. He might have felt that the meeting were unnecessary as well if he didn't have friends who hosted it, or questions that needed to be answered.

"Oi! Shibi, you showed up!" Said Aburame turned around to see Chouza, with his standard black clothing covered by the green Konoha armor with his red Akimichi clan symbol. The large- er- big boned man sat down next to the insect user and placed his plate down, which was piled high with an assortment of foods, courtesy of the Akimichi Matriarch.

The man took a big bite from a chicken leg and gave a mouth-full-smile to his friend. "How are ya doing lately, I haven't seen you around the village lately." Shibi nodded to that statement. "Yes, you would be correct in that assumption. These past few days, my clan has been clearing out locusts and any other detrimental insects from the farms and gardens. We have been successful in our endeavor, however, we did loose some hydrangeas." Chouza nodded with understanding.

"You lost the hydrangeas? My wife has been looking forward to those in the flower store for weeks." Shibi turned his head to see Inoshi walking up alongside the Nara clan head, Shikaku.

"I apologise." Shibi stated. "We lost many of them to a swarm of grasshoppers, but we still have several bushels in stock as of now." Inoshi sighed with a smile. "It's fine. I'm sure that you guys will have more growing soon. My wife won't be too upset." Shikaku gave a look of irritation.

"Seriously? If my wife waited on something for even a day and it didn't come out like expected, she would flip out on me... Troublesome woman." Everyone brushed the comment off, used to the lazy Nara complaining about his 'troublesome' wife.

Before the conversation could take a different turn, like he know it will, he wanted to make sure to get his questions in.

"I have a question for all of you regarding your children."

The three heads all looked at him with confusion. Shibi was never the type to stick out and ask questions so directly, opting to stay in the back and throw his two ryo in during a conversation. Inoshi and Shikaku sat down across from the Aburame and Akimichi. "Yeah, what about our kids? Did Ino do something?" Inoshi asked. Shibi shook his head.

"My question does not regard your children's position, but your positions as parents and as heads of your clans." The three leaned forward with wonder, curiosity getting the better of the three. This ought to be good. Even the lazy Nara wanted to know the situation.

"How would you feel..." Shibi started, taking a slight pause in his speech. "..if your child became friends with Naruto Uzumaki?"

That surprised the Ino-Shika-Cho group, Chouza choking a little bit on his meat. "What do you mean if are kids became friends with him? Did your son become friends with the boy?" Shikaku asked. Shibi nodded, understanding that the analytical Nara would be the first to figure it out. "Yes, Shino spent the majority of yesterday with young blond. While I have no quarrels with the Jinchuuriki, I cannot decide what would be the best course of action, as I fear that the villagers would boycott any Aburame made goods in spite of the Uzumaki-san.

However, my son seemed genuinely happy when it came to talking about his friend. He is good at hiding his emotions, but there was definitely a lighter air to my son as he talked about the adventure he had with the other boy. As an Aburame, it is quite hard for him to make friends, which makes the situation even harder, as I would be taking away my son's first friendship."

The three nodded. The villagers were crazy when it came to Naruto, going so far as to burn down whole buildings he was with hopes to kill him. They wouldn't put it past them to do as Shibi feared they would. Even if they were annoying in many instances, most clans relied on the villagers in some way when it came to purchasing goods or resources.

"Well.." Inoshi began. "I don't know what to say. While I don't have anything against the boy either, his presence is hated my many in the village, even some ninja. He might mean well, but the boy being involved in anything usually results in negative consequences." He leaned back in his chair. "It's a shame too, because he's not that bad of a kid. I've seen him before and he acts just like anyone else his age."

"I would let Choji hang out with him." Chouza said in between bites. "The Uzumaki kid hasn't done anything wrong in my opinion, he's just put in a bad light because of what was done to him as a baby. Even if there are some negatives, it wouldn't be fair to take away your son's friend."

Shibi found the contrasting statements to both have some worth. They both had negatives and positives, but sadly, the survival of his clan would always be a bigger priority than his son's friendship.

"I think..." Shikaku started. "That you should talk to the Hokage about your problems. He knows Naruto best, from what I've heard. He spends lots of time with the Uzumaki boy. He might help you find a solution to protecting your clan and keeping Naruto safe, which seems to be on his list of things to do, troublesome old man."

-flashback end-

After spending more times with the Ino-Shika-Cho team and enjoying some Akimichi cooking, the stoic Aburame found himself following Shikaku's reasoning. Sarutobi was probably his best choice when it came to solving the problem regarding his clan's protection.

With lingering thoughts in his head, Shibi walked into the Hokage building and passed the secretary without hesitation. Her job was to stop unregistered guests, but as a clan head, unless she told him otherwise, he was allowed to speak with the Hokage when needed. Clan affairs were a higher priority than matters like civilian complaints.

Making his way to the office door, he knocked a waited a few seconds before hereing a muffled 'enter' from inside.

Opening the door, Shibi walked into the office to see the tired looking Sarutobi Hiruzen sitting at his desk. An ever-growing pile of papers stood on either side of his desk, making the powerful man seem small in comparison. After stamping another paper, Sarutobi looked up at the kikaichu user.

"Good Afternoon Aburame-san, what can I do for you today?" The aged Hokage spoke, with equal concern and seriousness.

"I am here because I have a situation regarding not only my clan, but also my son that I wish to be taken care of. As Hokage of Konohagakure, I believe you would be the best choice for solving it." Sarutobi nodded.

"You would be assuming correctly, as any problems you have would be of more importance than many trivial matters I deal with on a daily basis. What is the situation that you are dealing with?" Shibi pushed up his glasses, the light gleaming off them. "My son has become friends with Uzumaki Naruto." The Hokage's eyes widened, and a smiled brushed across his wrinkled face. "That's wonderful, I have been hoping that Naruto-kun would make a friend, but sadly, many adults refuse to allow him near their children. It's good that the boy won't be..." The smile on the Hokage's face dimmed down, his mind connecting the dots. Sarutobi looked at the Aburame head with a look of seriousness. "Ah, now I see. I'm guessing your problem stems from Naruto-kun being friends with your son, correct?" Shibi nodded.

"While I would like for my son to experience the relations of friendship before going into the academy like myself, I fear having Uzumaki-san involved with someone in the Aburame clan may result in negative effects for us, specifically, the civilians of Konoha." Sarutobi nodded. He knew how mad with revenge a majority of the civilians were. They had burned down a whole apartment complex that housed Naruto, hoping to kill him through carbon poisoning, collateral damage, or the fire itself. The boy was their constant target.

He now had ANBU watching Naruto at all times, and the villagers knew it too. It was the only reason Naruto could walk around Konoha without being attacked daily.

"I understand your concerns Aburame-san, but what is it you wish to do at the moment?" Shibi sighed, trying to straighten his own thoughts. He knows Shino might not make a single friend in the academy due to his kikaichu. Should he make a friend, it would be out of obligation as being Shino's teammate or because they wished to take advantage of him. It was nothing against Shino, but he knew how deceptive people could be. Many were afraid of the Aburame kikaichu.

"I wish for my son to have relations with Uzumaki-san, but I also need to make sure the action of the young jinchuuriki being friends with my son does not spell negative consequences for the rest of my clan." Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, thinking about and weighing his options. This was a very tough dilemma to deal with.

The villagers would do anything to hurt Naruto, even targeting his friends. He wouldn't put it past them when they have done worse in the past.

But then again, their were several protection acts for clans. While it gave them power over the civilians in many ways, it didn't stop them from boycotting any Aburame made goods.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Sarutobi's head, and it might just fix every problem for everyone.

-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-

Naruto ran away from Shino, trying to control the tears that poured from his eyes. He didn't care about the evil looks he was getting as he passed by villagers, it didn't matter right now.

He thought he made a real friend. Even if it was only one day, they had done so much together. Shino was the first person to actually have fun with him and not be taken away by his parents five minutes later.

But it happened just like all the other times. He wasn't allowed to have a friend, just like always.

Running to the Hokage building, he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his Jiji right now. It was the only thing he could think of at the moment that might make him feel better about his situation.

Pushing passed the doors and ignoring the yelling secretary, Naruto ran to Jiji's office, wanting to have so many questions answered.

Why couldn't he have friends?

Why did everyone hate him so much?

Was he really was a demon, and was that why?

He opened the door to Jiji's office, running forward, tears still in his eyes. He just want a hug right now, something to make him feel better about his lack of friendship.

Until he ran into a pair of legs.

Naruto stepped back and wiped the tears from his eyes, trying to see what the mystery person looked like, and if he would be in trouble for running into him.

He wondered who this person was, and if he interrupted Jiji again during an important meeting.

The man turned around to reveal a stoic face with a short trimmed mustache, black circular glasses, and wearing a full body jacket.

In, Naruto's mind, he couldn't help but compare the man to Shino.

-;

(End Chapter)

I know, it wasn't a big flashy ending, but this chapter had to be done. Don't worry, this story will be super fluffy in the next few chapters.

I hope everyone is enjoying the story! Don't forget to follow and review.

If you guys have any ideas for the future, just let me know. If I like it, I might add it.

Anyway, until next time, see ya!