Salutary Neglect

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other characters in the Naruto-verse, save for potential OCs.

It sure is dark in here. A 6 year old Naruto thought briskly as he stared dully out of his bedroom window towards the rest of Konohagakure no Sato Proper. Drumming his fingers on the windowsill, he sighed as his eyes travelled towards to the Namikaze training grounds below, watching his parents Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki train his twin sister, Naomi Uzumaki-Namikaze. I wonder if there's anything to eat… He thought, getting up from his bed and made his way to the fridge when the side door burst open, the sound of laughter permeating the estate. Naruto continued to look bored as he rummaged about the fridge, when the rest of his family came in.

"Good job, Naomi! You'll kick the other genin's butt in no time!" Kushina said ecstatically. Minato smiled and ruffled her orange hair, congratulating her as well.

"Since your birthday is coming up, I'll teach you one of my signature techniques, the Rasengan!" Minato said, watching Naomi's eyes widen in excitement.

"Really, tou-san!?" She started to hop in place, flailing her arms as Minato and Kushina laughed. Naruto rolled his eyes and nabbed a sandwich before closing the fridge. He made his way upstairs until he heard Naomi's voice again, calling out to him.

"Look Naruto-nii, tou-san's teaching me the Rasengan!" She smiled a pleasant smile, while Naruto continued to look bored as he stared at her, disinterested. Her smile lessened a bit.

"Why can't you be more like me, nii-san? Maybe then you'll have some actual friends!" She said, mockingly. All she got was another disinterested stare, which made her shiver a bit. His cold blue eyes stared deep into her own, a silent threat to her being which she ignored. Minato and Kushina, who were watching from the sidelines quickly wrapped their arms around her and spun her around.

"Don't talk to him, musume. He'll never be like you, so don't waste your time." Minato said, whispering but Naruto's sharp ears picked up on it.

"Just… forget about him. Like he doesn't exist, alright Naomi-chan." Kushina offered, which Naomi nodded. Naomi quickly turned her head, but saw that Naruto wasn't there anymore.

"Yep, just like any other day." Naruto sighed as he bit into his sandwich. He sat on his bed lazily, taking out a sketchbook.

Just another day, huh Naru-chan? The voice echoed from inside his head. He smirked, shaking his head.

"That's right, Juu-chan. Or should I say, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki?" Lady Kaguya bristled in annoyance.

Don't call me that, foolish boy. I told you to refer to me as Ōtsutsuki-sama. Naruto chuckled, before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"The day I call you that is when you finally come out of my head, ne, hime-chan?" Naruto teased, twirling a pencil as he drew in his sketchbook. Kaguya huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms.

You promised not to tease about that, Naru-chan. I'll come out eventually. Naruto nodded absentmindedly as he focused on his drawing.

"When was that again, hime-chan? When I hit 16?" Naruto felt a soft prodding in his mind as Kaguya nodded.

Give or take. Until then, I can only send out my chakra from your body until my soul can fully manifest. Naruto nodded, putting down his pencil as he finished his sandwich.

"Hai, hai. I remember now." Naruto said, ripping the page out and posting it on an empty spot on the wall. It was a picture of a rabbit with a crown, bouncing about in the outdoors. "I'll try to remember from now on… kaa-chan."

[Flashback - a year ago]

A 5 year old Naruto was playing absentmindedly on a swing set by the park on top of the Hokage Monument as he gazed up at the moon. He fiddled with the seams of his yukata as Minato and Kushina took Naomi out again during the Kyuubi Festival on their birthday - well, Naomi's birthday - leaving Naruto behind at the house. He sighed as he turned his gaze back to the grass, messing about with it with his foot. He sighed and looked at the moon, a feeling of content washed over him. For as long as he could remember, the moon always looked illustrious to him and the prospect of the night excited him. He operated better at night anyway, so much so that his sleep schedule shifted by doing activities at night and sleeping during the day. Which was why his parents forgot him so often… or rather, one of the reasons. He scratched his face as he heard two people sit on the other swings to his left and right.

"Nice night, isn't it Naruto?" A bored Shikamaru Nara asked, dressed in a yukata swaying slowly on the swing back and forth.

"The moon looks big enough to eat!" Akimichi Chouji said in return, dressed in a yukata as well before pulling out a bag of Kyuubi shaped taiyaki and munching on one before passing it to Naruto. He sighed.

"It certainly is… illuminating." He said, passing the bag to Shikamaru who lazily took one.

"You could certainly say that." He said, yawning before nibbling on the taiyaki. The bag was passed back to Choji, who grabbed another. The trio sat in a comfortable silence as they enjoyed the taiyaki, looking over Konoha as the brilliant lights filled the town. Lanterns were strung about decoratively as the people chattered, the other kids playing games at stalls and food being served. All in all, it was a happy mood for the majority of Konoha, save for a few. A rustling from behind snapped the three out of their stupor as a raven haired boy with a crest on his yukata sat in the grass in front of Naruto, propping up one leg for support, not before grabbing a taiyaki from the bag and settling down.

"Another day conquered." Sasuke Uchiha said dejectedly before a shoe came flying out of the bushes and hitting Sasuke square in the head.

"Oh quiet, you. All you did was cry because your kaa-san forgot to buy tomatoes, and now you're acting like you're about to die." Hinata Hyuuga emerged from the bushes, dressed in a kimono as a tick mark twitched on her brow as she retrieved her shoe.

"That still hurts like a bitch, Hinata!" Sasuke yelled before another shoe impressively hit him in the face.

"And you still complain like one, Sasuke!" Sakura Haruno dressed in a pink kimono came out of the bushes this time, earning a glare from Sasuke. She raised her killer intent on Sasuke, making him flinch and stop.

"Good boy." She smirked, before her and Hinata sat on the grass next to Sasuke. Shikamaru smirked as he continued to nibble on his taiyaki and lazily ducked as yet another shoe came flying, only from his side this time.

"Oi! Nara! Why didn't you tell me you wake me at 6 PM like I told you!" Ino Yamanaka stomped towards the group in a regular kimono carrying a picnic basket, her glare trying to burn a hole into Shikamaru's head before he waved her off.

"Troublesome woman…" He murmured and dodged another shoe.

"Ne, settle down, Ino-chan. Shiki's always like that." Chouji intervened, making Ino grumble and blush in embarrassment. Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura parted for Ino so she could lay the picnic blanket over the grass and the basket was placed in the middle. Naruto chuckled in his head, pointing out how a ragtag group of five year olds could do this type of thing like teenagers. Ino pulled out several bentos with a slip of paper with their respected names before passing them out.

"Kaa-san helped me make these, so you better eat them!" Ino threatened, earning various voices of approval. "There's more in here if you're still hungry, Kami's sake, knowing you guys." The septuplet enjoyed the "romantic" moonlit dinner in each other's presence, chatting with one another save for Naruto, who looked at the moon hovering above Konoha. Once finished, he set his chopsticks on top of the bento with a clack and got off the swing.

"Thanks for this, guys." He said, smiling one of his rare smiles. The other 6 smirked, nodding.

"Not a problem, Naruto-nii." Chouji remarked. Shikamaru and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"If there's something bothering you, you can always rely on your imoutos!" Sakura said, smiling. Hinata and Ino nodded and smiled at Naruto too.

"Thanks, again." He turned and left, heading back to the Namikaze estate.

Naruto closed the door to his room and sat on his bed, gazing out the window and at the moon once again. He sighed, and was about to lay down until a beam of light shot across the sky and at Naruto. Eyes widening, he was stunned as he basked in the light, and swore that for a fraction a second, a giant eye appeared over the moon's surface, purple in color with rings surrounding the pupil as tomoe like shapes swirled in the ring's path before blacking out.

Naruto stirred as the darkness was heavy on him, before opening his eyes. His body was partially submerged in shallow water and the room dark, stretching endlessly upwards. His breathing started to quicken as he looked around for an familiar places. Finding none, he almost cried in panic until his eyes landed on a cage not too far away from him. He quickly ran to it, filled with a sense of escape until he reached the bars. A large paper seal was attached to the bars and a glimmering ball of white light was trapped behind that. Curious, Naruto reached to the seal and his fingers brushed it. Quickly, strange markings filled the darkness lining the walls in a brilliant white color, and the bars shimmered before disappearing in a explosion of light. Darkness filled his vision until a figure came into view. It looked to be of a woman's figure, with long white hair and two protrusions on the head before she wrapped her arms around his body, pulling him into a hug.

Shh… it's alright. I'm here. The voice cooed to Naruto, who was ensnared in its pleasant tone. Slowly drifting to sleep, he snuggled deeper into her warmth.

"Kaa-chan…" He murmured, making the woman's eyes widen a bit in surprise, before pressing Naruto deeper into her embrace. She laid her chin on top of his head and rubbed his back, before standing and turning around with Naruto still in her arms, going deeper into the abyss.

AN: Taking a break from New Beginnings to work on this piece.