The first thing they taught me was how to use makeup to conceal my birthmarks. The second thing was how to dye my hair. I wanted the color to be the same violet my hair was dyed in my previous life but it was too uncommon even in this world to pull it off, so in the end I chose an auburn color, in honor to Kushina who, while I did not view her as my mom, still died for me.

It went well with my new blue eyes, got to admit it.

With that job done, I could safely go outside to buy the groceries and send small messages Rika gave me for other shopkeepers.

And of course, like anything good, it didn't last.

I was called into the Hokage office three day after I made the deal with Rika. She was the one who took me there, her hand secured around my own, in what seemed like reassurance.

"Can't you adopt me?" I asked when the Village tower was in sight, slightly nervous of what was to come.

"I can't," she said in her usual blunt tone, but didn't apologize and for some reason, I felt better because of it.

I didn't ask why because I was pretty sure I couldn't be adopted. I mean, I was a political piece, too important for someone to have. So I just sighed and nodded. She gave me a curious look, probably at my easy acceptance, but didn't say more.

Damn, but being a jinchuriki was a piece of work.

Wait.

I was jinchuriki and that meant I had a tailed beast inside me. The Nine-Tails, to be exact. And if I've got to admit, my favorite one. How could I have ignored this?!

"Are you okay?"

I looked up at Rika, a smile still on my face. I shook my head. "I only realized something."

"Care to inform me?"

"Nope," I said popping up the 'p'. I should probably make a diary to Kur—no, no. I couldn't say his name. He hadn't given me permission. So yeah, I should make a mental diary. Maybe he could hear my thoughts and…

Double wait.

Did that mean I'm not even alone in my body? Could he see through my eyes? Feel through my senses?... Did he see me while I changed?

Wow, what a way to feel violated.

"And now you're grimacing."

Damn, I spent most of my previous life trying to be more emotional as to not seem like a robot and now that was coming to bite me in the ass. I mean, Before I was always practicing my reactions so they could look as real and be instantaneous when talking with someone. Now, in this world where wearing your emotions in your sleeve was a weakness, I was too candid. Luckily, I was still a kid so it wasn't viewed as negative as it would be when I grew up.

Though I was Naruto, so emotions were supposed to be my shtick.

I was wool-gathering. So, the first thing to do after this visit was done: try to go to my mindscape and learn if the Nine-Tails could use my senses. Meanwhile, the mental diary wasn't a bad idea.

"We're here, kid," Rika said.

I blinked and glanced at the building in front of use made of sturdy wood and so lively it made me want to hiss at the people walking around.

We went inside, taking up the stairs, even with the metaphorical cloud hanging above my head. We sat where the secretary pointed us, not even glancing up from her papers, and had to wait a couple of minutes for the Hokage to be free from whatever thing he was doing. I used this time to take in the sights. There, on both sides of the big door leading to the Hokage's office were two guards. Probably half a dozen more hidden from sight. I subtly tried to look around for them but didn't find anything which only made me even more suspicious. And freaked out.

There weren't many chunins or genins around like the first two floors I saw, only a couple going to a door to the left of where they were waiting. It must have been an office or something.

Fortunately, it only took a couple more minutes before the door opened and a jounin with three genins stepped out, the three kids looking happy as they talked among themselves, while the jounin, a Hyuga I think, was severe in his expression.

"Enter," a rough, gentle voice said from the office.

We went in, Rika closing the doors behind us.

"Hello," the Hokage said with a gentle smile.

I couldn't help my eyes go wide at the sight of him. He looked so not like the manga, but at the same time he did. I was supposed to be a kid so I spoke the first thing that came to mind. "Woah. You're like super old."

The Hokage merely chuckled, making me realize what I just said. I blushed, thankful for the makeup in my cheeks that hid it. Why that had to be the first thing in my mind? It was true, of course. I didn't often see many old shinobi people so this was my first.

"I am, indeed."

I dipped my head. "Sorry."

"No need to be, child. You're just honest, good quality for a kid to have. Enjoy being able to be like that, never be ashamed of it."

Was he trying to say to enjoy my childhood or something? I looked up at Rika, saying 'what's up with this old man?' with my eyes but she didn't even grace my look a glance.

Rude.

The Hokage motioned us to sit and we complied. He asked me weird questions about my life in the orphanage that I could tell were more for him to know if I had been abused while being there. Emotionally, of course. I was sure they kept security around me to prevent physical abuse. Though they couldn't have known of the time the matron hit me with her hands full of scissors as it happened while inside the white bathroom and I didn't think even the ANBU could have hidden inside.

It took us almost an hour before he seemed satisfied with my answers, which I made sure to respond as ambiguous and neutral as I could as I knew the matrons treated the other kids well. I was their only exception. I thought he was going to ask about the place I currently lived in, but he never asked about it.

Soon, we were outside the office and I couldn't help myself anymore, so I asked, "Why he didn't ask me to return to the orphanage?"

Rika huffed. "Is that what you were worried about this whole time? Don't worry, I already talked with the Hokage about it a while back."

"W—What? Does that mean you adopted me?"

She never added anything else and that was that, but I knew she couldn't have adopted me, so it must mean the Hokage simply was fine with me living in a brothel.

What a weird world.

Still, I couldn't complain. I had a place to sleep and eat where I wasn't treated like shit.

.

.

I was planning to return and go to one of the small rooms to try to search for my mindscape or something, but I was confronted with a new face as soon as I came into the brothel. A man with bright blonde hair and weird violet eyes was talking animatedly with some of the girls, which wouldn't be strange if it wasn't for the fact they didn't open until five.

He turned towards me almost as soon as I appeared within view. "Hello, Rika-san. And hello to you, too."

Damn but wasn't he pretty, I could feel my cheeks heating up just because of his presence, so I did what I usually do when confronted with unique people I was nervous around- I exaggerated my actions.

"Gah!" I exclaimed when he knelt in front of me, covering my face with an arm as if I was looking directly at the light. "W—what's this? Why does he shine?!"

I tried to uncover my eyes but he was looking amusedly at me. I covered my face with both hands and turned away. "He's so pretty! I can't!"

Someone slapped me lightly on the head. "Cut it out. He's Asahi. Our resident cuddler."

I looked up. "Cuddler?"

"There are some people willing to pay for a night sleeping next to him."

I gave him a look and then quickly regretted my actions as soon as I saw his smile. "I prefer being called love sharer or that cute performer."

"Performer?"

One young woman with dark pink hair holding a heavy box answered me, "We also do dances for some of the people in one of the rooms. We're going to teach you that, too. Though Asahi is the best at it."

I wonder if I could introduce the wonders of pole-dancing to this world. Something to consider for later.

I look at Rika, completely ignoring Asahi's tries to get my attention. I can't look at his face for too long, now. "Can I be a cuddler, too?" I said mostly to see her reaction but it backfired at me when Asahi held me up and hugged me.

"Oh? Do I have a fan? Rika-san give him to me! I promise him to teach him everything I know!"

Oh, fuck. He's cuter this close. His violet eyes are the only thing disturbing he has as I'm not used to seeing people with these weird eye colors, but like these, with him holding me closely, I can feel his muscles and his voice is just to die for.

"I'll throw up on you, I swear!"

Instantly, I'm down, but the damage is done and I'm all flustered.

As soon as I learn how to prank, he would go down, I promise.

.

.

It still takes me another two hours of socializing (Ugh) before I'm left alone. Rika made me sleep in the couch of her small room. She offered me to sleep with her but I was too self-conscious to accept. Besides, I was small. The couch was perfect for me.

Now, alone, I could finally try to go to my mindscape. Which was easier said than done. I tried meditation but my thoughts were in a disarray so, yeah, it was hard. The first day I slept while trying to meditate and Rika was the one who awoke me the following day to start my new routine. Now I had to wake up at six in the morning to help get the food ready for breakfast, the hour the girls were together before going to sleep. Some stayed awake, like, Yuki, a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties with long black hair, was going to be the one to teach me how to read and write. Calligraphy was a hobby of hers and she always wanted to teach someone so it was a win-win in both parts. After that, I helped clean the place with Yuuma, one of the bartenders there. Then, when the girls were feeling more alive after sleeping, they were going to alternate between who taught me how to dance, sing and play an instrument, which Rika didn't mention before but apparently was Important. Hanami, an Inuzuka young woman with dark pink hair was the one who was in charge of teaching me that. She wanted me to learn the sangen, which was like some guitar with three strings, but between all the choices I could decide, I choose the traverse flute which I learned how to play in my previous life and liked. This one was different from the metal one I used, called ryuteki.

At five was when everything started coming to life and the red lights were turned on. I was a kid and even with my new disguise I still needed to be hidden to not put off some of the clients. And considering that some of them were ninjas, I must say that my stealth skills needed to improve quickly.

I didn't help the ladies when they were done doing the deed to clean themselves, unlike some other of the girls who helped in that, but I still sometimes caught someone with red-rimmed eyes when I came inside with the bucket of warm water. They never cried in front of me, always giving me smiles, real smiles, but I knew that even if they liked their jobs, they had bad days and bad clients. The last one was pretty unusual as they were thrown out if they were caught in the act of treating bad to the girls.

It wasn't until I had been living with them for a month that it occurred me to search for my chakra as I concluded futile my efforts to talk to my tenant.

(I still changed clothes and took baths with my eyes closed or looking up, never watching my body directly, in fear of being seen. My body was that of a kid and I shouldn't feel so self-conscious about it but paranoia is a bitch so, yeah.)

My chakra was easier to find. I lived all my life with no internal energy whatsoever so finding something so alien in my body was stupidly easy. It helped the fact that I had so much of it I was surprised not notice it earlier.

I spent days just admiring this energy, following its currents. First feeling it in my hands and the in other parts of my body. It wasn't until a week had passed that I realized I entered a semi trance-like state whenever I practiced with my chakra. So I used this and the knowledge that the seal was placed to my stomach to concentrate in the currents, starting by my fingertip and then following it to my stomach. It was hard at first, as I couldn't reach my stomach following that path, but after weeks of diligently trying, I knew I could do it. I stopped before reaching my seal but I knew that I could do it.

I wanted it to be a day I had the morning free, that meant Tuesday, which was the day I could sleep in. So it was on one Monday night, I decided to do it. At first, I was nervous and excited but when nothing happened when I reached my seal, I admit being a little bit disappointed. I still tried, concentrating on my seal instead of other parts of my body.

It was on a Saturday when I was on the bed, not really hoping for anything, that I felt it. The sensation of falling. It kept going and going until I stopped on my feet, stumbling as I tried to not fall. My feet felt wet, but the water was not cold. Its lukewarm temperature made it quite comfortable to be in. Though I couldn't help but think, did the kyuubi pee on this?

A growl reverberated around me as soon as I had that thought and I looked up from my feet. And there it was. A large cage.

Oh shit.

Why did I think this was a good idea, again?

Ow yiis. Another update! What's this? Does this mean that you're going to update your other fics? Well, hold on tight my friends because that may happen. Don't be too hopeful but there's a big maybe. Again, thank you for the comment and your support, always making up my day.

Now, question. I'm the type who likes all type of fics, especially crossovers because I can learn more about new fandoms (I got into the nasuverse and bnha fandom thanks to fics). Knowing that, are there any fics you would like to recommend me?

It doesn't have to be popular, it can even be yours. AO3, Ffnet, spacebattles, Spanish, Italian or English, share your fave fics with me!