11. Visitation

Blood flowed from Naruto's lips as he stood on shaky legs. Even his Six Paths Sage Mode was doing little to protect him from the onslaught. He wanted to prepare himself on the off-chance that Kaguya might be resurrected this time around, even with everything that has changed upon his arrival. Last time, Team Seven had only emerged victorious from the battle against the Rabbit Goddess through teamwork and an unprecedented amount of luck. This time around, he sought help, the kind that would allow him to even the odds against the woman who had left him and Sasuke on the defensive for the majority of their fight.

That help came in the form of training with the two goddesses. It has been months, yet he has not been able to land a solid hit against either of them. And that was for the one-on-one fights. Against both of them? He might as well fight in his base form against Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

At the same time.

He was pretty sure he would have more success then.

"I believe that will be enough for tonight, Naruto."

Dressed in splendent gold battle gear, Kagura looked like she was ready to march into war. Her golden helmet bore two adornments on its sides, similar to the blades of hook swords, ending just beneath her chin. Her horns were further emphasized by the golden plating of the helmet, forcing them into a point rather than the flat, ear-like form they had taken. Her chest is bound behind the plates of overlapping metal, resembling the scales of a dragon. Her upper arms lay bare of the scaled armor, protected, instead, by diamond-shaped pieces of a silver metal, laced together atop an unknown fabric or leather. Her inner thighs are similarly protected by the metal latticework, while the outer thighs are protected by the same scaled golden metal as her chest, ending at her feet in heavy golden boots.

He has been on the receiving end of those boots more times than he cared to count. They hurt.

The part of her armor that he feared the most - and was most in awe of - is the set of gold vambraces. The sheath of folding gold metal that wrapped around her arms and ended in a point at her elbows hide a deadly secret. Above her wrists, the vambraces hold an opening which allows her to channel her powers, taking the form of a purple blade which glows with the heat of the Sun. Even now, it remains activated, arcs of energy writhed and undulated, coming to a single point.

"Whe-Where can I get me one of those-ttebayo?" he joked, collapsing onto his knees as even the power of Six Paths Sage Mode faded away. His eyes returned to their usual blue color. His skin, however, remained deathly pale. He collapsed not a moment later.

"Stubborn boy," Kagura cried out. "We should have stopped over an hour ago!"

She may appear aggravated, but it was only to hide the worry she felt for her champion. These training sessions have become less than productive. With each passing day that Naruto had fought against her or her sister, he had become more desperate, fighting harder for longer periods of time without resting. Even with Hagoromo's powers, he was courting Death by the end of every session.

The thought of her fellow deity courting her champion made the goddess's eye twitch in annoyance. That's one headache she did not need to deal with. That, and she was a tad possessive. Her older sister and these human girls are one thing.

The pale-skinned yandere is another.

"Your stubbornness is as aggravating as it is admirable," Kagura chastised, "but killing yourself from overexertion will neither delay Kaguya's return nor prepare you for her battle prowess." Her armor faded away in pixels of golden light, leaving her in her kimono. She wasted no time in settling Naruto's head in her lap, something she had come to enjoy doing in her free time. Her aura slowly but surely mended the mindscape around them, alleviating Naruto of the mental strain. "You stubborn, stubborn boy," she whispered, stroking his hair.

"I thought you liked that about me?" he mumbled, too drained to even do anything more.

"Yes, but not when it leaves you at Death's door." Even as they spoke, the state of Naruto's mental avatar improved. His pallor gave way to healthy, peach colored skin. The blood on his mouth and chin disintegrated. "If you are not careful, your sensei might wake up next to a frigid corpse and not her beloved student." She knew she had his attention when his eyes snapped open. "So either behave yourself or you might break more than a few hearts the next time we spar and you refuse to back down. Or my sister and I will simply stop training you. Whichever comes first."

"Yes, Kagura-chan." He wasn't happy with her demands, but he had to concede.

"If you wish to properly prepare for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, then it would be imperative that you get the cute little Uchiha to match you in strength. You are two halves of the same coin. With her powers as Hagoromo's Yin Aspect, she will mean the difference between victory and defeat." She smiled at him. "You wish to protect her from the horrors of the war that is to come, but that is not your decision to make." He listened to her, keeping the more outspoken side of him from speaking out of turn. "You know what it is like to have decisions be made out of your control. Would you wish the same upon Satsuki-san?"

"I know," he sighed, "but it's hard not to want to protect her."

"And to take the burden on for yourself." She smiled deviously. "Was that not what you had condemned the male Uchiha for in your last life?"

"No?" Naruto blushed. "Maybe? Just a little bit?"

"Your desire to protect is sweet and touching, but if you are not careful, you would only earn the young lady's ire. She is as headstrong as your former comrade. Protect and guide, but do not coddle. You will only make her upset, believing you are not confident in her abilities to protect herself. You are training her. Have some faith in her abilities."

"You make me sound like a parent-ttebayo."

"There are many times when the roles of parent and teacher are blurred. Often, the ties of blood become the only difference between them." Kagura sighed. "Satsuki-san aside, let us talk about you. When will you learn to take things slowly? Ever since you have retrieved the Uchiha boy's eyes, you have been desperate to fight Miko and I. Even your thoughts have become darker."

She glanced around his mindscape, noting the dusk-like darkness that had replaced the light of morning after Naruto returned from his mission, some days ago.

"You are focused, but you are too focused, Naruto."

"How can I not be? I-"

"You blame yourself for Shisui's critical condition following the attack." Her eyes narrowed, glaring at him. "You neither knew when the attack would occur nor the forces he would encounter. You are guiltless in this event." Her glare softened. "You are guiltless, and yet, you feel guilty."

Naruto said nothing, opting to look away from her piercing lavender eyes. Kagura didn't let him stew in his guilt. She brushed her thumb across his whiskers, smiling at the huff he used to avoid purring.

"You are worrying them. You are worrying me." She continued to caress his hair. "Preparing for the future is critical and protecting your friends at the cost of your own safety is admirable, but do not ignore what you have in the present. You have friends and family who are there to help you. Talk with them. Perhaps share your - our - secret with them."

"But… would they believe me?" Naruto shook his head. "We're shinobi, Kagura-chan. They're more likely to think that I'm a sleeper agent sent to sow discord within the ranks of Konoha than some time travelling, dimension hopping reincarnation of the Sage's son and Physical Aspect."

"When you put it that way, it does seem a bit far fetched," Kagura giggled. "But do show them. Give them glimpses into who you are. Show them how powerful you are, but don't neglect the relationships you hold. The bonds you share and the drive you have to protect them are the only thing that differentiates you from those like Nagato and Obito." Her smile turned slightly predatory. "But I doubt I have to tell you to share your secrets. You did promise your sensei."

"You saw that?" Naruto blushed. "Kagura-chan, that was a private moment-ttebayo!" He hid his face behind his hands, doing his best to block out the goddess's giggles.

"Well, I am not the only one who saw." She flicked his nose the instant he peeked out at her. "Your sensei's mother also saw you embracing one another in the kitchen and sleeping together. A pretty girl hugs you and you abandon all semblance of situational awareness. I am disappointed in you, Naruto."

Naruto blanched white.

"I am so dead-ttebayo! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Naruto bolted up, pacing about as he ruffled his hair. "Mikoto-oba-chan is gonna fucking kill me! What if she told Fugaku-sama?! He's gonna skin me alive! BOTH IN AND OUT OF A GENJUTSU!"

Kagura enjoyed the moment, letting Naruto panic and get it out of his system. Maybe she was feeling a bit sadistic and getting back at him for making her worry, but she's not going to tell him that.

"Kagura-chan! You have to help me!" He grabbed onto her shoulders.

"Half of my payment now and half later," the devious goddess smirked.

"Anything you want!"

"Kisses."

"I- huh?! Kagura-chan, this isn't the time! I might die any second now!" Naruto flopped onto his stomach, facing directly into the ground. "I am so dead."

"If you would let me finish instead of panicking," Kagura teased, "you would also know that Mikoto is approving of your relationship with Izumi."

"What relationship?!"

"The one where you share a bed and hold each other like lovers," Kagura deadpanned. Two lives in and he's still denser than an Earth Release jutsu. This is going to be difficult.

"I'm ten, Kagura-chan! I'm too young to have a lover!"

Naruto said nothing else, still trying to make a bucket list of everything he needed to do before an angry father brings down his righteous fury upon his ass for sleeping in the same bed as his daughter. Kagura said Mikoto was fine with the "relationship" - he hesitated to even call it that - but she didn't say anything about Fugaku.

"Does that mean you do not wish to kiss me anymore?"

Naruto snapped his head up so quickly, Kagura feared he would have given himself whiplash. His jaw worked itself soundlessly, resembling a fish out of water.

"It is fine if you do not want to." Kagura demurely looked away from her champion, really milking the moment for all it was worth. "I know you like your sensei more than you like me."

"W-Wait, I didn't say that!" Naruto crawled towards the pouting goddess. "I didn't mean it like that, Kagura-chan! You're- mm!" In a single quick motion, Kagura had stolen a kiss from him, smiling like she had just won the lottery.

Kagura, seventeen. Miko, twelve. That is a lead she was going to keep with extreme prejudice.

"You're so mean, Kagura-chan." Naruto couldn't keep the smile from his lips. Kisses from the Sisters are rare, but the satisfaction he felt from their affection is more than worth the wait.

"As I was saying," Kagura teased, "Mikoto has yet to tell Fugaku about your arrangement with their daughter."

"That's a relief." Naruto breathed out a sigh. "I-"

Both of their heads snapped up as they felt a presence pulse and echo deep within Naruto's seal.

"He's late." Kagura turned towards Naruto. "Let us greet our guest, Naruto-kun."

Grinning widely, Naruto closed his eyes, pulling himself and Kagura into his seal with practiced ease. As soon as his foot settled against the water inside of his seal, his hand caught a black shakujo that had been aimed directly for his head.

"Mah mah, jiji. Don't you think this is a bit much?" Naruto's eyes snapped open, revealing the slit-bar pupils indicative of Six Paths Sage Mode.

"You bear my power, yet I do not remember gifting you with such." The Sage's Rinnegan were narrowed as he glared at the boy. "Explain yourself."

"Time travelling, dimension hopper?" Naruto sheepishly grinned.

Kagura giggled beside him, drawing the Sage's attention.

"Mother!" Naruto's chuckle turned his attention back towards the youngster. "Do you find this funny, child?! Do you not know who she is?!"

"I do," Naruto admitted. "But she's not your mom, old man. She's a lot olde- Ow ow ow! Kagura-chan! Pwease! Gomen, gomen!"

Hagoromo О̄tsutsuki was at a loss for words as he watched who he thought to be his mother pinch and pull the blond child's cheek.

"'Kagura-chan?'" Hagoromo took a closer look at the woman who resembled his mother. "She does not bear mother's Rinne-Sharingan nor her stature." This woman, whoever she may be, is shorter than the teen, making her far shorter than his mother.

"You were going to say I am a lot older than Kaguya, were you not?" Her grip on his cheek has yet to lessen.

"I'm sowwy! You don't look a day over twenty!"

"You had better remember that," the woman huffed, finally letting go of his cheek.

"S-See, jiji? She's not Kaguya-oba-chan. She's a lot meaner."

Kagura's fist collided with the back of his skull, shaking it like a rattle. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, which smoked and hissed with the force of her blow. Hagoromo lowered his shakujo, his face slack with disbelief. That was not to last, as he steeled his nerves and set his face in stone.

"If you are not my mother, then who are you, Kagura-san? And who is this boy who bears my powers and the soul of Ashura?"

Kagura's grin couldn't widen any further as she looked at Hagoromo. Is this why her champion enjoyed pranking so much? This thrill? She was more than ready to tear him a new one for the stupid decisions he made in life.

"A long story, Hagoromo. I assume you will have the time to discuss it?"

x-x-x-x-x

"Yo, nii-san!"

Shisui looked up from his book, happy to have someone to talk to. As he looked up, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at the slight twinge of discomfort that came with the movement of his eyes. The operation was successful, but his eyes still felt strange and puffy, something the doctors had attributed to the chakra-laced fluid Danzо̄ had stored his eyes in.

"Naruto!" Even with the discomfort, he couldn't help but smile at the boy who saved his life and recovered his eyes. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but shouldn't you be training with Izumi?"

"She gave me a couple of days off," Naruto replied, sitting down beside the teen, "but she made me write down everything I did wrong and what I could have done better." The blond sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "That one took awhile."

"Oh, I bet!" Shisui smirked.

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto scowled. Shisui was interrupted as he opened his mouth to reply.

"It means that you should spend more time learning battle strategy, human psychology and making better plans." Izumi frowned at her student. "While it is sweet that you wish to emulate me, I prefer you return safely from your mission." Izumi smiled at Shisui, placing a homemade bento onto his lap. "And how is my favorite cousin doing today?"

"I'm your only cousin," countered Shisui. Izumi was unfazed, merely raising an eyebrow at him. "Better, but my eyes still feel off. The doctor says it will disappear with time when the foreign chakra in my eyes dilute. It'll just take some time."

Naruto sat on the bed in silence, playing with his shaggy blond hair as another influx of memories returned from his training clones. They were still struggling to make a clone that would survive more than one hit, which is strange considering how durable a mud clone or an earth clone could be, so why was a Yang-based shadow clone so damn flimsy? He'll have to dive into chakra and jutsu theory to figure it out, something he had been avoiding like the plague.

Lost in thought, Naruto didn't notice Izumi sitting down beside him. He trusted her, perhaps a bit too much, so he paid no heed to the movement. What he did notice, however, was when she picked him up and placed him on her lap. All the while, her conversation with Shisui hasn't stopped.

"Perhaps we could speak with Inu to see if he experienced anything similar with his transplanted eye. I know his was a direct transplant, but if he experienced similar discomfort, then it would not be caused by the sterile fluid used to store your eyes." Izumi wrapped her arms around the boy-like form of Naruto, something she hadn't realized she'd missed.

"Ah. Could you speak with him if you get the chance?" Shisui tried to keep his amusement from showing as his cousin cuddled up to the boy in her arms. He didn't feel like getting pranked again by the blond. Naruto might look cute and harmless under his Henge, but laughing at him is a quick way to earn his ire.

Itching powder did not belong in his underwear, thank you very much.

"I will, though you know how hard it is to find him," Izumi muttered.

"Inu? He's probably staring at the Memorial Stone." The two Uchiha looked at Naruto in confusion. How would he even know what that is? Neither of them have shown it to him. "He's," Naruto paused, looking at the clock, "probably there right now actually."

Throughout the years of his former life, Naruto had practically memorized the schedule Kakashi had used to mourn his former teammates and sensei before the war efforts became too much, finally putting an end to the man's habitual mourning.

Naruto leaned back against Izumi's chest, an action Izumi took as an invitation to rest her head atop his.

"Hm. Soft," Naruto thought.

Izumi's relaxed slump and lack of embarrassment told Shisui everything he needed to know: this isn't the first time they've sat together like this. If her head resting against Naruto's own meant anything, it was how common an occurrence this must have been for both to be so calm about it. He'll have to speak with Mikoto-oba-chan about this. He'll have to see what she thinks about this before bringing it up to Fugaku-sama.

They look very cute seated like that.

"Ah, Izumi-san, Naruto-san. I did not expect you two so soon."

A fourth person joined the trio inside the hospital recovery room. Doctor Ken Serizawa, Shisui's family doctor, has been tasked with overseeing Shisui's recovery. At a hundred and seventy centimeters (five foot seven), the adult male didn't cut the most imposing figure, but he didn't have to be as a medical ninja serving in Konoha's hospital. With a lab coat over his scrubs, the brown haired man adjusted his glasses with a smile.

Born of a civilian family, the man had worked tirelessly to become a medical nin. His smaller chakra reserves lent him a level of control rarely seen in most males, something he had put to good use by becoming a medical nin. Soon after his graduation, he had joined the Medic Corps. By the time he had graduated, the Third Shinobi World War had come to its conclusion: a decisive victory for Konoha and her allies. It was something he had been more than thankful for, as he doubted he would survive out in the field. While he was one of the battlefield medics, he didn't have the disposition for the battlefield.

Give him a dying man who had a punctured lung or a severed artery, no problem. Put him on the frontlines to support their troops? He didn't think he'd survive. It was ironic really. He could save people under his care, but not himself. Because of his subpar combat capabilities, he had been assigned to Konoha's hospital.

"Dr. Serizawa," the trio greeted.

"I see you already have something to eat," the doctor eyed the homemade bento. "I was going to bring you some food, but since your cousin has already brought some with her, I will only need to perform your check-up."

Placing his clipboard on the bedside drawer, the doctor shined a small flashlight into Shisui's left eye. He moved the light away from his pupil, waited and snapped the light back onto the teen's eye. Whatever it was that he saw made him frown, but he held his tongue, repeating the process with Shisui's right eye.

"Well, I have good news and I have bad news," the doctor began. "You're healing, that much is obvious, but your eyes haven't been healing as quickly as we have predicted. The muscles that control the size of your pupils aren't as reactive as they should be, taking a bit longer than they should to contract and relax." He ran a diagnostic jutsu over the teen's eyes. "That foreign chakra is still there, preventing your eyes from properly healing. Whoever provided their chakra for the preservation fluid must have been a truly cruel shinobi. Its malicious nature hinders your natural regeneration. Your body will fight it off, but it will take some time."

The three shared a look between themselves. They could already guess who it was that provided the chakra for the fluid.

"But I should be back to a hundred percent right?" Shisui asked.

"Ah, yes, without a doubt." The man adjusted his glasses. "It is only a matter of time, though I would estimate another two weeks before your eyes purge themselves of that foreign chakra, perhaps sooner if you activate your Sharingan frequently in the coming weeks. I would suggest having another Uchiha and a medical ninja to be on standby in case you do."

"Thanks, doc," Shisui smiled at the doctor. He couldn't wait to get the hell out of here. He enjoyed talking to the doctor but letting his mind properly acclimate to his recovery has been boring him out of his mind. He could still feel slight twinges of phantom pain whenever he moved his torso, but it was far less than the day he'd woken up after surgery.

"Think nothing of it, Shisui-kun." The man marked down the notes for the eye exam on his clipboard. "Well, I have a few more rounds to make. Have a good day, you three."

"See ya, doc."

"Have a good day, Dr. Serizawa."

"Bye, doc."

The door closed behind the man as he left, leaving the three in silence. Shisui was the first one to break it, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"So… is that a comfy seat, Naruto-kun?" He did not expect the answer he received.

"I prefer being the big spoon."

"HUH?!" Mikoto-oba-chan is definitely going to hear about this.

x-x-x-x-x

"Father!"

The Kyūbi no Kitsune could not believe her eyes. Her father, the Sage of Six Paths himself, is standing within the seal, just beyond the wretched metal bars that held her captive.

"It has been a long time, my daughter." The old Sage smiled at her, walking up to the cage that held her alongside Kagura. "How have you been?"

"Ha ha," she monotoned, though she couldn't help but smile at him. "I believe my current situation speaks for itself. But what of you, father? How have you returned?"

"I have not returned K-" Hagoromo cut himself off, glancing at Kagura beside him. "You still haven't told them of your name yet, have you?"

"Should I have?" The Kyūbi frowned. "They have yet to prove their worth, father." Her father laughed whole-heartedly at her response.

"Your name still suits you, I see." Hagoromo shook his head. "I am afraid I must cut our pleasantries short, my dear. My time amongst this plane nears its end once more. This manifestation will not last much longer. Your jinchūriki, this Naruto Uzumaki, is destined for greatness, that much I can assure you."

She could only agree with his assessment. Assuming that Kagura had filled her father in on the little secret that she shared with Naruto, the Kyūbi could only nod, hesitant to hear what her father had to say.

"There is one who seeks to unleash the demon upon the world." The Kyūbi's eyes widened. She didn't need any further explanation from her father to know what he was walking about. "The boy shall be this world's instrument of salvation, that much I know. He is the Child of Prophecy, after all."

"Do not be so sure, father," the Kyūbi frowned and shook her head. "All I see of him right now is a womanizing brat with a penchant for these… shinobi arts." She hissed out those last words, deeming them to be an insult to the art of Ninshū.

"You will see, my child. Hopefully soon, lest this world be plunged back into darkness once more." Hagoromo turned towards Kagura, stroking his beard. "If what you speak of will come to pass and the boy is as virtuous as you have judged him to be, then perhaps there will be redemption for this world." The old man sighed, showing his weariness for what is to come. "To think that all of this suffering could have been prevented if I had been more firm as both a leader and a father."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty, Hagoromo. Do not be discouraged. You are only mortal." Kagura smiled, teasing the Sage. "Now, anything else you have to say before you dissipate?"

"No, Kagura-sama." The Sage shook his head with a smile. "Thank you for putting an old man's fears to rest." Hagoromo's body began to disperse as if he was made of smoke. "Please take care of them. And give my regards to the boy." He regarded the Kyūbi with a stern smile. "Do behave, my dear. I know you hold no love for humans, but I do believe Naruto and his guardians will be different than the rest."

"As you wish, father." The Kyūbi bowed her head, willing to give the brat a chance.

"And tell them your name. And take care of your siblings. And give me a few gran-"

As much as she loved her father, she couldn't help but feel grateful as he was cut off when the construct faded away. That left her alone with the goddess, who was staring at her hands with the most devious expression on her face.

"Hm. I know Miko is not a sore loser, but she has defied expectations when it comes to Naruto…"

"What are you muttering about now, Kagura-san?" The Kyūbi gave an annoyed sigh at the deity. She will give them the benefit of the doubt because of her father, but they will still have to earn the right to her name.

"Oh~ nothing," the goddess sang. She clapped her hands together, that devious smirk easing into a more natural smile. "I see Hagoromo wanted you to give him some gran-"

"We will not be speaking about that," Kyūbi interrupted.

Kagura smirked. Somehow, the bijū knew that this will not be the end of the matter. At least the jinchūriki isn't here to witness this conversation.

x-x-x-x-x

What she saw the other night was something Yūgao Uzuki never thought she would see: Orochimaru, the infamous traitor of Konoha, being fought off by a ten-year-old boy. Granted, he didn't look nor fight like a ten-year-old, but to put someone like Orochimaru on the defensive? There are battle-scarred shinobi in their very own village that she knew personally who wouldn't be able to claim such a thing.

Her pride as an ANBU was more than a little wounded by Naruto's ability to chase off a Sannin. An entire squad of Konoha's best ANBU was more than a little hesitant to fight Orochimaru, yet Naruto had leapt towards the man with clear intent. Naruto didn't just think he was going to survive the fight against the Snake, it was something he already assumed to be true. She couldn't decide if that was hubris on the part of a young boy on his first mission or the confidence of someone strong.

Yūgao knew where she stood in terms of ability compared to the rest of her team: dead last. Some would believe it didn't mean much to be the dead last of the best, but, to her, it did. Compared to people like Mokuton no Tenzō and Sharingan no Kakashi, the name of Yūgao Uzuki didn't mean much. Her kenjutsu was the best of the team, but in the world of fast moving shinobi with landscape-changing powers, her kenjutsu felt more like a gimmick than an advantage.

Then, there was Naruto. A ten-year-old boy who had joined them on an S-ranked mission. While she didn't outright disagree with the Godaime's decision for Naruto to join them, she was more than a little apprehensive to have him on the team.

"He's too young," she thought. "He's not ready," she argued.

Naruto, the sweet, whiskered, cheeky boy she'd watched over for years. She had personally witnessed his growth, from that fleet-footed brat who wanted to play tag to a young man with some amazing abilities. She cared for him. He was someone for her to train, protect and guide.

Then… he faced Orochimaru. Kami. That disgusting gleam in the Sannin's eyes when they landed upon Naruto. That cruel smirk, devoid of any humanity - she could still see it and it still frightens her.

No. That was an understatement. It terrifies her.

Her fight-or-flight response had kicked in. She was more than ready to grab Naruto, mission be damned, and haul ass back to the safety of Konoha. Naruto wouldn't have it, however. Stupid, overconfident idiot decided it would be smart to punch Orochimaru of the fucking Sannin! He might have come back, but that doesn't alleviate the worry she felt. Whatever Naruto had done had to hold off the Snake had earned Naruto his ire and his interest, a truly deadly combination.

"What do you mean you're not going to do anything about it?!"

Which is why she couldn't understand Izumi's blasé attitude towards the situation! Naruto has the interest of the Sannin's evil genius. Why wasn't her friend worried for their blond prankster?! Did she want Naruto to be put in an early grave?

Yūgao gawked at Izumi, who was seated in her usual place at the Uchiha family dinner table. Izumi's calm face appeared to be set in stone, a stark contrast to Yūgao's dynamic expressions.

"Exactly what it means, Yūgao: I am not going to do anything about it."

Yūgao's look of shock and confusion turned into one of anger and betrayal.

"This is Naruto we are talking about! H-"

"Yes. Exactly. This is Naruto we are talking about." Izumi still maintained that calm, almost aloof visage.

"What?! Don't you ca-"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence, Yūgao," Izumi hissed. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger as she glared at her friend for even suggesting such an idea. "I have been living with him since he was five. Do not mistake my inaction for apathy."

"Then why aren't you doing anything to help him prepare for the Snake? You're his sensei!"

"Precisely." Izumi's jet-black eyes bore into Yūgao's brown orbs. "I am his sensei. As it is now, I know more about Naruto than anyone else in this village, even Inu-taichо̄, who has watched over him since he was born. Even then, what I know about him is only what he has shown me." Yūgao's face furrowed in confusion. "Naruto is far stronger than he lets on, perhaps, even stronger than what you saw that night."

"Are you referring to it?" Izumi shook her head.

"No. Naruto has secrets. Secrets other than that."

Yūgao scoffed at the notion. The lovable, loudmouthed blond? Secrets? What a load of-

"Finish that thought and I will tell Naruto about your choice in reading material, you perverted eggplant."

"Naruto gave me those books as a prank!" Yūgao's cheeks flushed. "And don't try to change the subject!"

"Is that why your favorite bookmark is in one of them?" Yūgao glared at her friend, still blushing up a storm. How does she know?!

"At least I don't use my position as his sensei to sleep with him! If I'm a pervert, what does that make you? A shotacon?!"

"What? That is absolutely absurd." Izumi waved aside her accusations. "Naruto neither looks nor behaves like a shota."

"That's what you deny?!"

"Why would I not deny something that is not true?" Izumi cocked her head to the side.

"So you don't deny that you sleep with Naruto?" Yūgao crossed her arms beneath her bust, frowning at her friend.

"Of course not." Izumi mirrored the purplette's actions. "I have no need to hide such actions from anyone. My intentions are pure."

"Oh yea? So does Hokage-sama know his firstborn is sharing a bed with her student?" Yūgao's question was met with silence. "I didn't think so."

"My silence on the matter is to protect Naruto from my father's overzealous nature."

"Liar," Yūgao accused.

"Pervert," Izumi fired back.

"That's funny coming from you."

If one were to look closely at the arguing teens, they might be able to see the building of electric currents, sparking between baleful brown and ominous onyx. That was the scene Naruto walked into as he returned home from training with Satsuki, the two stepping through the sliding door of the kitchen.

"Tadai… ma… (I'm… home)?"

Naruto realized his mistake a little too late, noticing the tense atmosphere in the room and the robotic way their heads snapped over to his direction.

"I think I came in at a bad time-ttebayo. I'll be-"

"Sit!" Both girls ordered.

Gulping audibly, Naruto sat in his usual seat, right next to Izumi, his hands folded into his lap. Laugh at him all you want, but girls are goddamn scary.

Especially these two.

Satsuki, meanwhile, limped past the dining table, reveling in the way Naruto cowered beneath the ire of her sister and her purple-haired friend. That's what he gets for beating her in their spars all the damn time. He has to be cheating! She just knew it!

"Naruto," his sensei addressed him in that familiar no-nonsense tone, "tell this perverted eggplant that you don't need me to train you any harder to face him."

"Naruto," Yūgao countered, "tell this emotionless washboard that you do need more training because of him."

Feeling like a civilian caught between two angry bijū, Naruto made a sound at the back of his throat, a mix between a choking gasp and a hacking cough.

"Eh-hem."

His saving grace came in the form of one amused Mikoto Uchiha, standing in the doorway into the kitchen. Naruto was ready to leap out of his chair and grovel at the woman's feet for her impeccable timing.

"Am I interrupting something, girls?"

"Yes, ma'am," both girls replied.

"Oh." Her eyes lit up when she realized that Naruto was the subject of their dispute, noting his discomfort and relief when his eyes landed on her. "Well, whatever problem you may have can wait. Naruto and I will be making dinner. Will you be staying over to continue your… conversation?" Mikoto nearly giggled as Naruto shook his head and mimed for them to stop, eyes wide and afraid, when both girls turned to address her.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mikoto-sama, but I already have dinner reservations with some friends," Yūgao politely declined.

"Hmm. Do stop by once in a while, dear. It's nice to have Izumi's friends over every now and again." Mikoto gestured for Naruto to join her. "Come, Naruto. Dinner won't cook itself."

"Yes, ma'am!" He had never been so happy to cook dinner before in his life!

"One second please, mother. Naruto hasn't answered our question yet," Izumi firmly stated.

He nearly broke down right there as his sensei dragged him right back into their crosshairs. Yūgao had stood up beside him. And thus, the glaring resumed.

"I- this- wha-" Naruto floundered for a few moments, only to collect himself a few seconds later with a sigh. "Sorry sensei, but I do need more training." His heart ached at the slight look of hurt that crossed her eyes for the briefest second. "It's just… the training I need isn't something you could help me with."

Everyone's eyes widened ever so slightly at his declaration. Something not even Sharingan no Izumi could help him with?

"Well, you have your answer! Let's get dinner started then," Mikoto said, clapping her hands together.

"I will take my leave then." Yūgao stood up and bowed to the family matriarch. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mikoto-sama."

"I'll see Yū-chan to the door," Naruto offered.

The two left the Uchiha women in the kitchen, silently walking to the front door, one lost in concerned thought, the other still trying to figure out what his friend wanted. Why was she so adamant about him getting more training in?

"Naruto," Yūgao muttered, stopping in the genkan. "You need to be more careful from now on."

"What?" Naruto blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"Orochimaru!" she quietly hissed. "You earned his interest the other night and survived a fight with him! As a ten-year-old! Naruto, he'll be after you, if not to figure out how strong you are, then to at least kill you for surviving a fight against him."

"You worry too much, Yū-chan!" He tried to ease her worries. "I could have killed-"

"Don't!" she interrupted. "Don't even say something so stupid. Even Inu-taichо̄ and I would be hard pressed to fight him together! You're a ten-year-old boy, Naruto." She reached out, placing a hand on his cheek. "You're strong, but he is one of the Sannin."

"You have no faith in me," Naruto pouted, placing a hand on top of hers.

"You're a ten-year-old saying he could defeat Orochimaru of the Sannin," she deadpanned. "I'm allowed to doubt your claims." She moved in, hugging him and noting the difference in height between them, her cheek resting against his chest at full height. "I'm just worried about you."

Naruto gulped nervously as he felt Yūgao's ample chest press against his stomach. His hands shakily wrapped themselves around the teen's waist. Absentmindedly, he noted that she smelled of peaches and lilacs.

Once again, Naruto found himself at a loss for words at the concern shown by the purple haired teen. First, it was his sensei. Now, it was Yūgao. Hell, he hadn't even had so much concern shown to him when he'd returned from the Valley of the End after Sasuke ran off.

"Y-Yea?"

"Yea." She nodded against his chest, ignoring how good it felt to have his body heat wrapped around her like a blanket.

"Well, I can take care of anything that stupid snake sends my way so you don't have to worry so much-ttebayo!"

"Sure you can," Yūgao shook her head, obviously disbelieving of his claims. "Now go back to the kitchen before Mikoto-sama comes hunting for you." She giggled as Naruto shivered in fear.

"Oh, ha ha. Laugh it up, Yū-chan."

The two pulled away, smiling at each other. The two stayed like that for just a little longer until the silence became just a tad uncomfortable. Sharing a bed with a pretty girl like his sensei for the purpose of sleeping was one thing, but to have a beautiful young woman like Yūgao in his arms is another. Yūgao was practically in the same boat as Naruto. She's interacted with plenty of guys before, both comrades and a few friends, but she has never gotten this close to any of them.

"I'd better go," both muttered simultaneously, causing them both to chuckle at each other.

The two separated, their eyes looking at anything and anywhere other than their friend's face. They maintained the awkward standoff until Yūgao exited the Uchiha family home. As she departed, she turned back and graced him with a smile.

Needless to say, that night, his dreams were filled with glowing sunsets and royal purple hair.

x-x-x-x-x

"Hokage-sama is in a meeting right now."

"It's fine. He asked me to be here."

Naruto walked past the receptionist's desk, thankful for the change in staff. His hands held onto a pair of homemade bento boxes. This is just another one of those things he's been doing since he moved in with the Uchihas and Fugaku became Hokage. Today, however, Fugaku had requested something different from him.

"Bring an additional bento box, Naruto. I have an important guest, someone I have to share a meal with."

A guest? Who was he meeting with that could possibly be considered a guest? If they were just a client, Fugaku wouldn't have asked this of him.

Knock. Knock knock.

"Come in, Naruto."

What - or rather, who - Naruto saw in the office made him freeze for the briefest of moments. Sitting directly across from Fugaku were two faces he'd seen before. One was incredibly recognizable while the other was familiar, but the man's name didn't jump out at him.

"Fugaku-sama," Naruto greeted. He placed the bento boxes on the Hokage's desk, which have been cleared of the piles and piles of paperwork Fugaku normally dealt with. Instead, there were only a few loose pages, which the trio have likely been looking over.

"Naruto," the man nodded in greeting. He gestured towards the two seated across from him. "This is the Yondaime Kazekage, Rasa no Sabaku."

Naruto took in the appearance of the man, the father of his future friend. The same father who was responsible for the suffering his friend went through to become the monster he'd witnessed during the Chūnin exams. The man's face appeared to be set in stone, a grave expression of neutrality, not even hinting at the barest of emotions. His spiky red hair, something his friend inherited, stood haphazardly.

Not that he was one to judge for spiky hair.

"And this is his daughter, Temari no Sabaku."

Now that name, he was familiar with. Naruto's eyes looked over to the smaller girl. Her blonde hair was splayed out in four distinct ponytails, her signature look. A dark plum dress, holding three buttons at the breast. A relatively large fan rested upon her lap, though it was nowhere near the size of the battlefan she will be lugging around in a few years. She was attempting to mimic her father's blank, almost enigmatic countenance, but he could still see the emotions that shone through her eyes.

"Kazekage-sama. Temari-san." Naruto bowed at the waist. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Rasa responded with the barest tilting of his head. Temari responded with a brief nod of recognition.

"Kazekage-dono and I wish to continue our discussions on more serious matters, things Temari-san is not ready to hear," Fugaku explained. "In the meantime, I would like you to show her around the village, Naruto."

"Sure! You can count on me." He leveled a dazzling smile at the sandy blonde.

Rasa pulsed a minute fraction of his chakra, summoning a Sunagakure ANBU to his side. Unlike the ANBU of Konoha, Suna's ANBU wore no animal-themed masks. Their faces are covered by a thin cloth, likely to keep out the sand and grit of the desert civilization. A cloth cap covered the man's head while a sand-brown flak vest, complete with extended pauldrons, covered the man's torso.

"Accompany them, but stay out of sight."

The ANBU flickered away, disappearing from their visible line of sight, though Naruto could still feel the man's presence within the world's natural energy. Temari stood up, bowing to the Hokage.

"By your leave, Hokage-sama."

"I hope you enjoy your stay here in Konoha, Temari-san," Fugaku nodded his head and gestured towards the door. "Keep her safe, Naruto."

"You know I will!" Naruto flashed the Hokage a cheesy thumbs up before following the older girl out of the office.

For the first few minutes neither of them said anything, only walking the streets of Konoha in silence. After leaving the Hokage Tower, Temari had noticed a strange inconsistency amongst the population of Konoha. Countless civilians, and even a few of the lower-ranked shinobi, eyed her guide with such fear and disdain that she couldn't help but be taken aback by it. As for the boy in question, if he'd noticed their animosity, he didn't seem to be bothered.

"Ney, Temari-san," her guide spoke to her for the first time since leaving the office, "do you want to see anything around Konoha?"

"No," the blonde shook her head, her ponytails jostling ever so slightly.

"Alright then! Let's get some ice cream first!"

Temari couldn't help but shake her head at her guide's enthusiasm. With the silence that accompanied their trek towards where her guide deemed would be appropriate for getting ice cream, the young pre-teen took in the appearance of her guide as he walked in front of her.

His bright blond hair stood out like a beacon amongst the throngs of people around them. Spiky and unkempt, it swept in front of his forehead, something which irked him given how often he is brushing it out of the way. A blue high-collared shirt, bearing the Uchiha clan's insignia on its back, lay above a pair of black pants. A series of white bandages tied around the shins and ankles gave his lower half a more streamlined appearance. Blue shinobi sandals made no sound as he walked ahead of her.

That made her somewhat apprehensive about any ulterior motives the Hokage may have about having this boy as her guide. Whoever he is - if Naruto Uzumaki is even his real name - he is well-trained. Perhaps that is why he seems so carefree, even knowing that a Suna ANBU is trailing them.

She mentally scoffed. A child, someone who appears to be around her age, if a little bit younger, well-trained or not, is no match for an ANBU.

"Temari-san, what flavor are you thinking about getting? I was hoping to get some orange sorbet."

"Rocky road," she answered after some thought.

Ice cream is a rarity within Kaze no Kuni. The arid heat made milk and cream rare commodities, ones that easily spoiled, had to be transported with haste and special precautions. Thus, on the rare occasion that she and Kankuro had ventured into Hi no Kuni, they had indulged with their allowance.

"Nice!" The boy gave her that same silly thumbs up he'd given the Hokage earlier that day.

It seemed so out of place compared to everything else she had observed of him.

"Are you a shinobi-in-training, Naruto-san?"

"No." He slumped forwards as a cloud of depression hung over him. "I have to wait until I'm twelve to start the Academy."

A look of surprise flashed across Temari's face. So he was neither apprenticed to someone, nor has he started his studies as a shinobi. If he was apprenticed to someone, then he wouldn't have to trudge through the four years required of those who wish to become shinobi.

"Ah! Here we are. Yo, Suzume-san!"

Temari stepped into the small ice cream parlor with unconcealed interest. The Frozen Gift, it was called. A quaint little shop with several large tables surrounding an ice cream bar. From the few customers she saw, mostly females, many of them appeared to be off-duty kunoichi. Their eyes flickered to her blond guide for a split second before going back about their business, dining on their frozen desserts or enjoying their dates.

"Naruto-kun." A woman she assumed to be the shop's owner greeted the blond boy with a smile. "And who is this young lady beside you?"

"This is Temari. She's visiting Konoha from out of town and I thought I'd show her around."

x-x-x-x-x

"Ney, Yū-chan, princess. Isn't that your little blondie?"

The two aforementioned girls raised an eyebrow at Anko's sudden question. They looked up from their table and, sure enough, Naruto was standing inside the girls' favorite ice cream parlor with a young blonde girl beside him.

"Who is she?" both girls asked simultaneously.

Kurenai continued to nibble on her strawberry sorbet as they watched the blond boy pay for their treats. Two scoops of rocky road, which he handed to the blonde girl, two scoops of strawberry ripple ice cream, which was handed to a clone who disappeared, and a scoop of orange ice cream for himself.

His obsession with the color sure is strange.

"Why did he give the clone a cone?" Hana asked.

"It wasn't for the clone, it was for my mother," Izumi responded. "Strawberry ripple is her favorite."

"Is he… on a date?" Yūgao muttered, half to herself and half to the rest of the group.

Just as the question left her lips, Naruto and his "date" were on the move. They had disappeared from the shop's entrance by the time the girls had reached the ice cream bar.

"Suzume-san! Do you know where Naruto and that girl are going?" Yūgao was the first to speak up.

"Oh. Temari-san? Naruto said he will be showing her around the village so I don't think they have any destination in mind."

Temari. At least they had a name to go with the blonde girl's face.

"Well, they did just leave so if you want to follow them..." Hana suggested. Yūgao and Izumi exchanged a look before nodding, chasing after their blond and his mystery companion.

"At least it never gets boring with the gaki around," Anko said as she paid for the group's desserts.

"Naruto-kun does have a way of making the day more exciting."

Kurenai followed behind her purple-haired friend with a shake of her head. Taking to the rooftops, the four girls trailed behind the two blonds as they roamed the streets of Konoha.

"I've never seen her around the village before," Izumi stated, her eyes tracking the duo with clear interest.

"Neither have we," the others voiced in agreement.

"That's because she's from out of town." The four glanced over as another Naruto walked alongside them. "She's from Suna."

"The Hidden Sand?" Izumi frowned. "Then what is she doing in Konoha?"

"Well, her pops and Fugaku-sama are hashing out some diplomatic details and whatnot, stuff they didn't want Temari to hear, so they had me escort her around the village."

Her "pops," as Naruto had put it, must be the Kazekage then.

"That does explain the sand ANBU shadowing you two," Anko pondered. "So how is your date going?"

"Pretty-" Naruto paused and the girls could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought about what Anko had just said. "Pretty good, actually."

"That's nice." Anko nodded, as if in thought. "Wait." Her eyes snapped open. "You're actually on a date?!"

Yūgao and Izumi glanced back down at the apparent couple. Temari appeared to be giggling as Naruto grinned widely, likely telling her some of the antics he'd committed when he was younger. Izumi frowned. Yūgao outright scowled.

"No, you dango-praising dummy!" Faster than the blink of an eye, Naruto and Anko were butting heads.

"What did you say about me, you slop-eating pig?!"

"You heard me, sweet-tooth! You're gonna get fat with all the dango you eat!"

"Why, you little-"

By now, the little squabble had devolved into a tussle. Anko had Naruto in a chokehold, digging her knuckles into his head, while the clone was gnawing at the girl's forearm. The others, however, were still focused on the two down below.

"At least Naruto knows how to treat a lady," Kurenai posited. Hana nodded along with the black haired beauty.

The "date" as Anko had put it, took a turn for the worse as a few teens took Naruto's presence with a pretty girl as an affront to their masculinity.

"Hey, demon! What are you doing with the pretty girl?"

The girls, even Anko, turned their focus to the scene down below. None of them missed the way the blonde girl - Temari, they reminded themselves - flinched, her eyes darting from the blond boy to the delinquents who had called them out.

"Temari-san, are you alright?" Naruto asked, concerned by the way her body had tensed.

"Y-Yes. I'm fine."

"How could she be fine when she's hanging out with a monster like you?" one of the delinquents jeered.

Their words had gathered quite a crowd of civilians. The shinobi among them hung along the walls and rooftops, watching the exchange with bated breath.

"Ha." Naruto leveled an unamused glare at the teens. "If I'm a monster, does that make you foolish or brave for pissing me off?" The question caught everyone off guard. "If Orochimaru was in the village, you would run for your lives. Yet here I am, being pestered by you."

"Che. Who do you think you are?" the group's leader hissed.

Everyone waited for Naruto to respond. Even the Ice Queens of Konoha were ready to intervene should this get out of hand.

"Someone who could beat all of you in a fight without lifting a finger and with my eyes closed," Naruto declared.

"OH YEA?!" The teens were more than a little pissed at the declaration. "Just because the Hokage took your pathetic ass in doesn't mean you're hot shit."

"You're right. It doesn't. I'd have to pick on kids four years younger than I am to be," Naruto taunted.

"GET HIM!"

The six teens charged at Naruto, their fists raised in the basic Academy katas. Academy students, Naruto thought. He calmly pulled Temari aside before standing in place and meeting the charge head on, his eyes closed and his hands in his pockets.

"Naruto-san!" Temari reached out to the younger boy. Though she was more than prepared to fight a few Academy students, she didn't know how the Kazekage and Hokage would handle the situation given her status as a foreigner.

"It's fine, Temari."

Naruto calmly sidestepped the opening punch. The leader who'd tried to punch him was punted to the side with a kick. He won't be getting up on his own. In his place, another teen followed up with a low kick. To the surprise of everyone present, Naruto stood in place, not moving to dodge the attack. Instead of dodging, Naruto kicked the offending appendage with a solid thump.

The teen's shout of pain made the civilians cringe while many of the shinobi traded money amongst themselves, having bet on the outcome of the fight. The better ones among them have already seen all they needed.

The teens growled angrily as their friend hobbled back and away from the fight. The ones who haven't been injured lunged back towards their blond target. Naruto leaned backwards, parallel to the ground as a pair of the boys tried to clothesline him. The one who followed up and tried to kick out his legs were met with failure as Naruto backflipped, forcing his body weight on the pair who had passed him. He drove them head-first into the earth. Kicking off of their backs, Naruto slammed his knee directly into the boy in front of him

The civilians in the crowd cringed as the boy's nose shattered beneath Naruto's knee cap. Blood flowed from broken cartilage and burst capillaries. Not a single drop landed on Naruto. As soon as he landed, Naruto gave a spinning high kick, dropping the teen who tried to sneak up on him from behind.

He turned his attention towards the last boy, the one he'd kicked in the shin for that unimpressively slow low kick. He slumped onto his knees with a terrified gulp. Even with Naruto's eyes closed, the teenage delinquent could still feel the blond's gaze boring into him, measuring his worth.

And he was found wanting.

"Che," her blond guide scoffed. "There are people out there who are younger than I am who can slaughter our chūnin like they were civilians, but you think you're hot shit just because you're in the Academy?"

Temari couldn't help but recall the bloodthirsty grin on her brother's face. The look of torment, followed by the manic visage of a possessed demon. Her hands shook as she recalled the last time she'd faced his ire. An accident really. She bumped into him when they'd rounded a corner. His sand lashed out in defense, believing her to be another one of those assassins sent to kill him.

Thankfully, the Kazekage was there to stop him.

"-ari-chan! Temari-chan!" The blonde jolted as a pair of calloused hands wrapped around hers. "Are you okay?"

She gazed up into concerned blue eyes, another rarity amongst the people of Konoha.

"You're shaking," he whispered.

She was. She knew that. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"Come on," he quietly muttered. "Let's get away from the crowd."

She didn't fight him as he dragged her away from the bustling streets of Konoha, headed deeper into the forests situated within the walls of the village. Her legs moved to keep her in motion, but her thoughts were elsewhere, locked in those frightful memories.

"Temari-chan." Those same hands which had held hers now seized upon her shoulders. "It's okay now."

"N-No. No it's not." She hated how weak she sounded at that moment. "Y-You wouldn't understand." She tore her gaze away from his eyes, keeping herself together by the barest of margins.

The two stood there in silence. Neither were concerned by how awkward it felt. Temari was focused solely on keeping herself together while Naruto was too worried about the blonde tween to care.

"Can I… can I show you a secret?" Naruto whispered.

She didn't know how to respond. A secret? Why would he want to show her, a stranger, one of his secrets?

"Y-You don't show strangers your secrets, Naruto-san." The slight quiver in her voice eased, but never went away, as she spoke.

"But we're not strangers, are we?" Naruto blinked, almost confused. "We're friends!"

"You can't be friends with someone in a few hours, Naruto."

"Yes, you can!"

"No, you cannot."

"Yes, you can!"

She glared back up at him. Why is he being so stubborn about this? You don't make friends in just a few scant hours. Why is he grinning like that? Did she not just reject his friendship? Her chest ached at the thought. Friendships, for her and Kankuro, were sparse to say the least. Being siblings of the-

"You stopped shaking."

Temari glanced down at her hands. The trembling that had wracked her frame had, indeed, stopped. Naruto's hands gently cupped hers, bringing her eyes back up to that foxy grin.

"I'm still willing to share that secret if you want to see it."

She couldn't find it in herself to deny him. That happy smile, practically radiant, was begging her to accept.

And accept, she did.

x-x-x-x-x

Izumi frowned angrily - as angrily as her mask of stoicism would allow - as she laid in bed. For the first time in several weeks, she lay in her own bed rather than her student's. She couldn't talk with him right now, not after what she saw earlier that afternoon.

A girl. A tween, someone he barely knew, had gotten him to share a secret, a pretty big one at that, with her. Yet, Izumi had been left out of the loop. As someone who had taught him, trained with him, and shared his bed, he had shown nothing to her. The only thing that kept her from snapping at him now is the promise he'd made to her, of sharing his secrets with them.

With her.

Knock knock.

"Come in." Izumi sat up in her bed, her face devoid of emotions as Mikoto walked in and closed the door behind her. "Mother."

"Sweetie."

Izumi waited for her mother to speak first, though her frustrations must have been palpable to the older woman as she sat on her daughter's bed. She couldn't look at her mother, only staring down at her hands. Her mind was still occupied with what she'd witnessed earlier that day.

Was she not welcoming enough? Was she too closed off? Was she not approachable? Is that why he'd shared one of his secrets with a girl he'd just met instead of the family that had taken him in?

"Sweetie." Izumi looked up as Mikoto placed her hand atop her daughter's. "What happened today?"

Izumi's emotions manifested, showing through the mask of stoicism. Her mother squeezed her hand, a supportive gesture that she was all too grateful for.

"I saw one of Naruto's secrets today." Mikoto's eyes widened. "But I wasn't the one he intended to show it to. He was… showing off to a girl, the daughter of the Kazekage."

Mikoto hid her smile behind her hand, hoping that it came off as a look of surprise rather than the amusement she truly felt. Was her stoic little girl… jealous?

"I saw him split a waterfall in two."

"A waterfall?" Mikoto's amusement turned into awe. "With his chakra?" Izumi nodded.

"I don't understand." Izumi muttered, her frown deepening. "I've been training with him for five years. I know so much about him and yet, he's still keeping secrets from me. Then this girl, this stranger, comes along and he just shares something so monumental with her?"

Yup. Her eldest is definitely jealous.

"He promised me that he would share his secrets with me. I had assumed he would be doing it personally. Just the two of us in a private moment. Instead, the first secret I learned about him only happened because I was watching him show off to the princess of Suna."

"Have you spoken with him?" Mikoto whispered quietly.

"What would I even say, mother?" Izumi shook her head. "I'm just his sensei. This… this shouldn't bother me so much, but it does. I don't understand." She pulled legs up to her chest, tucking her head on top of her knees.

Mikoto moved herself to rest against the bed's headboard, wrapping her arm around her daughter with a patient smile. For someone who is a genius, her daughter had grown up so quickly that she'd missed many of the social and emotional cues one would experience living a normal life.

"Better late than never," Mikoto mused. "I do." She stroked her daughter's hair. "You're jealous."

"Don't be absurd, mother," Izumi huffed. "What would I even be jealous of?"

"The Kazekage's daughter discovering Naruto's secrets before you do," the mother teased. "It is natural to feel this way, especially over someone you're close to Izumi. How would you feel about it if Naruto-kun shared all of his secrets with this girl?"

"Upset," the teen stated matter-of-factly. "It would be as if I hadn't trained him at all. To share his secrets with a stranger, especially a Kage's daughter, is tantamount to suicide."

"Is that the only thing you would feel?"

Izumi's frown deepened as she looked away from her mother. The thought wasn't a pleasant one. The idea of Naruto getting closer with Temari and sharing his secrets with her left an ache in her chest that she didn't quite understand. Was she just concerned?

No. She knew what concern felt like. This emotion was much darker than that.

"Is this why you're not sleeping in his room tonight?" Izumi nodded, her head still tucked above her knees. "Speak with him. It does not have to be tonight, or even tomorrow night, but you will have to speak with him. If you don't, you just might lose him."

That last part wasn't necessarily true, but she was trying to get her daughter to open up to the blond, so she was allowed to exaggerate. Naruto and her daughter are comfortable with each other, something she found very cute, but therein lay the problem: they are too comfortable. Their relationship had stagnated, falling into a familiar rhythm of training together, eating together and sleeping together.

From the way Izumi's eyes had widened and how her arms tightened around her legs, Mikoto knew she'd hit a little close to home. After what happened with Tenma Izumo, Izumi had come to value the relationships she has with such reverence that losing someone through distance and a failure to communicate was tantamount to murder.

"Sometimes, it is easier to share your deepest, darkest secrets with a stranger than it is to confess to someone you know and love. Perhaps that is why Naruto had shared his secret with the sand princess." Mikoto placed a kiss against her daughter's head. "The next time you're laying in bed with Naruto-kun, speak with him. That's the one time during your day when he won't be able to run from you."

"Run… from me?" With her wide eyes and fearful whisper, Izumi pulled at Mikoto's heartstrings.

"Naruto is in a vulnerable place right now, Izumi." The mother in her won over the kunoichi. Her kids were allowed to have their secrets as long as they came home to her. "He's afraid that if he shared his secrets with you, with us, that we would see him differently, perhaps even alienate him. The only advice I could give you is to be patient with him." Mikoto continued to stroke her daughter's hair as the teen digested her words.

"Thank you, mother," Izumi whispered, hugging the older woman.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Mikoto giggled. "Don't take too long trying to talk to him though. You never know when another girl might come along and coax another secret out of him."