Chapter 2 – Pinky Promise

(3rd Person POV)

"I just want somebody to love me. Please Kami, please..."

She woke with a start, sitting up right and finding herself under a large group of trees. Dusting herself off as I she got off the ground, her head immediately straightened as she seemed to recall something.

"Uzumaki...Naruto." She murmured to herself in a sleepy-state, "Must find him." With that, she turned and began to walk away.

Naruto was woken up by the hollow sound of someone knocking on his door. Knowing that he was despised by every citizen in the village, he grabbed a chopstick off the wooden table and tightened his left hand around it. If he was going to be attacked, he might as well put up a good fight.

Flinging the door up, he jabbed at the entity before him. The chopstick was quickly snatched out of his hand and tossed aside.

"Relax," The 5-foot 3-girl in front of him said while shaking her head, "You could have really hurt someone!"

He stared at the blonde, eyeing her suspiciously, "Who are you?"

"My name is Naruko," She smiled, "And I'm here to take care of you."

"Take care of me?" He scowled, "Why? No one in this town's ever cared enough to look after me."

"Well, my name isn't no one so I think I'm excluded from that generalization." Naruko titled her head, slightly frowning.

"Why are you even doing this? 'Cause you feel sorry for me?" Naruto barked, "I don't need your pity, ttebayo!"

"Shh," She put a finger to her lips, "Not so loud, for Kami's sake!"

Looking around, she made sure that no one had been aroused by his yelling.

When she was sure that no one had been disturbed, she turned back to him, "Why don't we talk inside?"

"Are you sure you want to?" He muttered, "It's a mess."

She shrugged, not discouraged by his confession, "I'm not that neat myself."

With a frown, he begrudgingly pushed the door open and stepped aside, "Come in; but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thank you."

Once inside, she discovered a place going above and beyond what her imagination could've come up with.

A line from above the window ran across the room to a door which, when she opened it, was a cramped bathroom. Under the window against the wall was a small blue bed littered with clothes. In the middle of the room was a small table that eight people, maximum, could sit around if they squeezed in.

Insta-Ramen packets layered the floor like a carpet and it was then she noticed the fridge hiding in the right corner of the room.

"You weren't kidding," She whistled, "This place is a mess."

"Told you," Naruto kicked a shirt out of the way, "Now, like I asked before, what do you want from me?"

She looked back to him, "I told you already; I want to take care of you."

"Are you getting paid for this?"

"I'm not getting paid to do anything," She answered firmly, starting to get a bit annoyed, "I'm doing this out of the kindness in my heart."

"The kindness in your heart," He repeated her words with a hidden venom and she knew she had spoken carelessly, "Hm."

"Look, I didn't mean~" She cut herself off by sighing, "Naruto, I know how the people of this town have treated you and it's outrageous. I thought that if you had someone by your side, they'd think twice about saying something to you."

"You're not an adult," He pointed out, "I'm 6 and you look like you're a few years older than me."

"You're right." She nodded, "I'm 13, but that's not the point."

"Adults won't listen to you."

"Let's walk around Konoha." Naruko clapped her hands together, almost at her wits end, "If, by the end of the day, you still think I haven't made a difference, you can forget about all of this. I'll be out of your hair and out of your life. Okay?"

Naruto pursed his lips, "Alright. But I'm not going to change my mind."

"Awesome!" She laughed, "Now, why don't we go get something to eat?"

(Naruto's POV)

'Why am I even following this lady?' I wondered to myself as I looked at her back.

Her name's Naruko and supposedly, she wants to take care of me because she doesn't like the way I'm being treated. This such a blatant lie because:

1. She's thirteen. What is she doing looking after me?

2. She's thirteen.

3. SHE'S THIRTEEN!

'She doesn't even have money to take care of us.' I nodded to myself, 'She just wants to see the freak everyone hates and play a joke on him.'

"Do you eat fish Naruto?" Her voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

I nodded, "Anything that's edible, I'll pretty much eat."

"Okay." Naruko smiled, "You stay right here and I'm going to get us two sticks of fish."

I watched her walk off into the crowd and leaned against a pole. My back hadn't even relaxed against it before I felt myself get tugged up by my collar.

"What are you doing here brat?" A gruff male voice coughed out the question.

"I'm~"

"Here to cause trouble?" He cut me off, throwing me into the counter of a food stall.

I rubbed the back of my head, resisting the urge to cry as I got up.

"Get out of here." The man came closer, "Can't you tell no one wants you around?"

I bit my tongue in an effort to silence the sassy remark I had thought of. But I couldn't.

"Can't you see I wasn't bothering anyone?" I stared him down.

"What'd you say?" He pulled back his right fist and I shut my eyes tightly, preparing for the hard hit.

But it never came.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and my mouth immediately dropped open: Naruko was holding the man's arm back with a very scary expression on her face.

"What do you think you're doing, girl?" The man roared as he tried to push her off.

She held on, and from where I was standing, it looked like she had tightened her grip.

"You like hitting children?" She questioned, tilting her head to the right as she pulled him close, "No? Then why are you attacking him?"

"He's not a kid! He's a~"

"Brat? Nuisance? Reject?" I cringed with each insult. It was if she had found a way to make them even worse than usual.

The man stepped back, now trying to tug his arm free, "I didn't~"

"Do you have children?" She cut him off, not having any of his excuses.

He nodded his head, as if he had no voice. A crowd had gathered around us now, each man and woman as quiet as a tree, listening intently.

"If you heard that your child was being called these names, wouldn't you do something about it?" Naruko put her hands on her hips.

He cleared his throat, "I would."

"Well," She put her hand on my head gently, "Naruto may not be my son. In fact, he's my brother, and I am not going to put up with any of that. You wanna get to him, you'll have to go through me."

She turned to the crowd that had gathered, "That goes for all of you. Let me hear about Naruto being picked on again, you'll see! If I don't burn down your shops, my name isn't Uzumaki Naruko! Now scram!"

(3rd Person POV)

Quickly, the crowd dispersed, whispering among themselves as others rushed to get out of the hot-headed teenager's way. Meanwhile, a hunched figure sat watching her from the shadows.

Two young boys wearing strange masks and dark shinobi gear emerged from the ground behind him, both kneeling as they came up.

"You summoned us, Danzo-sama?" The silver-white haired boy asked, bowing respectfully.

Danzo turned around to face the two of them, "Kakashi, Tenzo, good, you responded quickly. I have a mission for the two of you; come here." He beckoned to them.

They stepped forward immediately and he moved aside, "Do you see the blonde haired girl with the Jinchūriki?"

"Yes sir." They said at the same time, "She looks just like him."

"You're both very observant." Danzo nodded his head, "I've learned, due to her loud proclamation, that she refers to herself as Naruko but I know for a fact there is no record of a Naruko in Konoha. This can mean two things."

"Either she was born and undocumented," He continued, "Or she is an enemy ninja, posing as a friendly young girl, only to steal the Kyuubi and do Rikudo knows what."

"Should we eliminate her?" Kakashi questioned, reaching for his sword.

"Patience." Danzo raised his hand, "There needs to be proof, otherwise Hiruzen will refer to it as a senseless killing. Therefore, you two must observe her; twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You can figure out how this will be done on your own time. I just need to know, are you two up for the task?"

Kakashi and Tenzo looked at each other and even though their masks were on, they seemed to come to a silent agreement. The two turned back to Danzo.

"We will observe her to the fullest, Danzo-sama." Kakashi and Tenzo agreed.

"Good." Danzo opened his right eye, "You two are doing this for the safety of Konoha. Once we expose her, you'll be know as heroes, I'll make sure of it."

"Yes Sir." Kakashi and Tenzo raised their heads.

"Now go." Danzo waved his hand, "Figure out who will watch her when and carry it out. I want the both of you to start tomorrow morning, if possible."

The two were swallowed up by the ground once more, leaving Danzo to keep watching the female Uzumaki.

The hairs on the back of Naruko's neck tingled as she turned her head, expecting to catch someone staring at her. Her instinct was right: there was someone was staring, just not at her.

Through the crowd, she was able to spot a young boy with raven hair, styled like a duck's behind, looking right at Naruto with such ferociousness, she was afraid he'd walk up to Naruto and punch him.

"Hey, Naruto." Naruko tapped, "Don't make any sudden movements and act calm, alright?"

"Okay..." Naruto looked up from his fish, "What is it?"

"Do you know that boy?" She made him face the child discreetly.

Naruto nearly dropped his fish, "That's Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Sasuke?" She tilted her head and looked at him, "Are you two buddies?"

"Buddies?" He patted his chest, choking on a piece of fish, "Never! He's always beaten me when Iruka Sensei makes us spar. We'll never be buddies, until I crush him."

"Whoa there!" She raised a hand, "Why crush him? Can't you just defeat him?"

"Defeat, crush. Same thing." He shrugged, "Why is he here though?"

She chuckled, "Maybe that's why he's looking at you. He's wondering the same thing."

A chill went down her spine and she knew it was not Sasuke who had triggered her senses. Craning her head from left to right, she searched for the source of uncomfort. Her eyes landed on a green and red cat mask worn by a boy roughly her age with brown hair.

She stared until her eyes hurt and forced her to blink. When she managed to keep her eyes from tearing up and returned them to the spot the boy had been, she struggled to keep her mouth closed.

He was gone.

"What the heck...?" Naruko muttered to herself.

"Hm?" Naruto looked up at her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought I saw...never mind." She shook her head, "Want some more fish?"

"Mm..." He looked at the ground, twiddling his thumbs, "Actually..."

She crouched down, "What is it? You can tell me."

"I was wondering if we could go to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop." He admitted.

"Why not?" She grabbed his hand, swinging it back and forth as they started walking, "I told you, I'm here for you."

"Yeah..." He quietly trailed off, finishing his fish and looking down at the ground.

The walk to the ramen shop was quiet, and although Naruko could have easily started a conversation, she could tell Naruto was not in the mood to talk.

The boy was lost in thought, wondering if this girl was really all she seemed to be. Someone in this village who cared for his well-being and genuinely didn't hate him? The only two people he'd ever considered as friends or family were the Sandaime and Iruka Sensei. She had to be playing a prank on him, this was too good to be true.

Still, when she had stood up for him against one of those hateful villagers, he couldn't help but feel thankful and happy that she was there.

He was conflicted; trust this mysterious girl and end up being fooled? Or push away the one person who had looked at him kindly.

"We're here!" Naruko announced as she walked through the flaps of the store.

Naruto climbed onto a stool next to her and looked at her through the side of his eye.

"Naruto!" Teuchi greeted him, "How's my favorite customer doing?" Then he noticed Naruko, "Sorry Miss, what would you like?"

Naruko waved her hand, "I'll have whatever he's having."

"Ano, let me get miso ramen with extra pork and fish cakes. Oh, and hold the menma." He ordered very casually.

Naruko whistled, "Very specific, it must taste good."

"Heh heh, it's just what I'm used to eating..." He scratched the side of his face with one finger, a bit of blush coming to his cheeks.

"I'll trust your judgement." Naruko reached out for the bowl Ayame brought to her, "Arigatō Gozaimasu!"

"No problem." Ayame said, going back behind the scenes.

Naruto was about to dig into his ramen, chopsticks moving at light speed towards the noodles, when Naruko stopped him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked her, a little annoyed she had stopped him from pouncing on his favorite dish.

"We have to pray first." She informed him, "Like this: you hold your hands together and give Kami-sama thanks."

A confused look spread on his face, "Thank Kami-sama? For what?"

"For the food. For its nutrition. For giving you life and for making sure you digest this properly." She flicked him in the forehead, "That's why we thank Kami-sama."

He rubbed the spot where she had hit him, "Jeez Nee-chan, who taught you all this?"

"I was taught by..." When trying to remember where she had learned this from, Naruko drew a blank, "Who taught me this? Weird, I can't remember. Anyway, I'll pray for us so just say amen when I do."

"Okay." Naruto nodded, holding his hands together like she was doing and closed his eyes firmly.

"Dear Kami," She started, "Thank you for this exceptional ramen. We hope that you will bless this food, as well as us, so that we may continue to live on your Earth. Amen."

"Amen." Naruto repeated after her.

She smiled at him, "Now we can eat! Itadakimasu~!"

"Itadakimasu..." He said less enthusiastically than she had expected, but she didn't press him on it, suspecting it had something to do with the deal made in the morning.

"Whoa!" Naruko dropped her chopsticks back in the bowl, fanning her cheeks, "This is hot! Really hot! But it tastes good!"

He laughed, "I've always liked food nice and hot. Cold food is just, bleh." He made a face.

She smiled, "I'm glad I learned something else about you."

They ate in silence for a bit.

Finally, Naruko set her chopsticks over her bowl, indicating she was finished. "It's quarter to five. What else would you like to do?"

He thought long and hard, racking his brain for something he had always wanted to do with a companion. All this time he had been alone, wanting someone to talk to and now that there was such an individual, he had nothing to do? No, that couldn't be. He just had to think...

Snapping his fingers, it came to him, "Can we go to the playground?"

Taking out a couple bills, she placed it on the table and stood up, "Let's get going then." She grinned widely, but Naruto noticed there was something different in her expression. Something...sadder. Was she forcing herself for his sake? Why would she do that?

Shaking his head, he got up and took the lead. It was just his imagination, she seemed like a very strong person. If something was bothering her, she would've told him. And that's what she did. It was on the way to the park that she stopped behind him.

"Nee-chan?" He called, looking back at her, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, looks like I have to go." She said sadly.

His heart stopped, "You're leaving? Why?"

"We made a deal that if you changed your mind by the end of the day, I would stay." Naruko reminded him, "I guess you still don't trust me." She turned around, "Come on, I'll walk you back home before I leave."

"No, I do trust you!" He hugged her from behind, "I-I didn't want to at first, because I thought it was all a trick. But now I know it was for real. Please, please stay here with me, Nee-chan."

She escaped his hug only to turn back and wrap him up in another, "You dummy, of course I'll stay with you."

"And you'll never leave me?" Naruto looked up at her, "No matter what?"

"I won't." She ruffled his hair.

"Pinky promise?" His little voice was too cute for her to handle, along with this small finger.

"Pinky promise." Naruko locked pinkies with him, "I'll stay by your side as long as you need me."

(Ryuu's POV)

I laughed to myself as I twirled the kunai in my hand, "How cute. A pinky promise for the child."

Stabbing the kunai into the wooden table, I got up and ascended the staircase that led to the outside of the hideout. I then walked for a few minutes before coming to a river.

Stooping down, I grabbed some water into my hands and splashed it onto my face. As the water dripped back into the large stream, I smiled at the ripples as they distorted my reflection.

"Uzumaki Naruko." I repeated her name to myself, "Just you wait, we're gonna do great things together; I pinky promise."