Naruto meets Arashi Uzumaki

by Minato4Yellowflash

A one-shot of Naruto, who has fled the village under Kurama's guidance, having a chance encounter with a blood relative. Just trying it out, any sort of feedback would be greatly appreciated! w

Appearance of an Uzumaki

(One year time skip, Naruto: 6 years old. Shiraizumi* town)

Naruto sat on the counter, enjoying miso ramen from a huge bowl that was easily thrice the size of his small hands. On his left were three equally gigantic bowls, all drained of its contents, stacked neatly on top one another.

"What's your plan for today, Naruto?" The curious voice of Kai, the mid-aged owner of the small ramen restaurant, cut into his blissful, heavenly moments from relishing on a delicious slice of menma. After delightedly savoring the last bits of the vegetable, Naruto answered with a broad grin. "The usual—training in the forest outside Shiraizumi. Oh, and water please."

"Again?" Speedily putting down a glass of water on the counter before Naruto, Kai's face turned into one of worry. "Shouldn't you let your body rest? It's admirable that you're working so hard, but don't forget that you're still a child. Try relaxing or playing with other children once in a while."

Naruto puffed his cheeks out at the admonishment from the chief. "I'm fine, Kai-jichan! All I need after a day of training is a good night's sleep and three bowls of Ippudo's ramen—then I'm back to full power!"

Slowly draining the offered water, Naruto contentedly watched the blurry face of his favorite elder friend ease through the back of the glass.

"All right, all right. You win." Kai let out an exasperated laughter at Naruto's pointed look, and moved away as he began tending to the noodles once more, leaving Naruto to enjoy the last of his meal. Comfortable silence followed, only the constant bubbling and hissing of the noodles being heard.

"And have you found a teacher yet, Naruto-kun?"

Out of the blue, an energetic voice completely different from Kai's rang out from the back, alerting them both. "Hey, Hinano-neechan!" Naruto replied an equally energetic greeting back at his friend. Rosy cheeks and bright hazel eyes belonging to Kai's daughter popped into view seconds later, donning an apron and carrying a large metal box. Settling the box on the far side of the counter, she cheerfully informed her father that the delivery was done, before leaning onto the counter to join the conversation.

"Someone requested delivery right from the morning? Isn't that rare? Is it a traveler?" Setting his drink down from a long gulp, Naruto questioned to the sparkling hazel eyes looking into him, wondering who the request of a morning delivery came form. The people in the town of Shiraizumi mostly spent their mornings quietly with their families, taking time to prepare breakfast inside their homes. It wasn't common to bother others in the morning, no matter how early the restaurant or shop opened, and it certainly wasn't normal to eat anything that wasn't home prepared. It was almost everyday that Naruto was the sole customer at Ippudo's during the mornings, and there weren't any people about in the streets other than him either.

"It is, but we can't turn down a delivery, can we? And yes, it's a traveler that apparently just came to town," Hinano replied with a smile, obviously happy to have someone to talk to. Naruto hummed, dropping the topic, before flopping his head onto the counter with a melancholy air. He responded to his friend's earlier inquiry with a dejected whine. "I haven't found anybody, neechan."

Hazel eyes widened momentarily before turning sympathetic, and she patted Naruto's arm in an attempt to cheer him up. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find someone soon, Naruto-kun. In fact—" Hinano paused momentarily, suddenly seeming to be preoccupied with a new thought, before nodding to herself, a bubbling smile forming at her lips. Naruto thought that she looked quite pleased, and his curiosity piped.

Hinano hurriedly continued, her eyes sparkling away. "—You could probably ask the new traveler! I have no idea whether he has any shinobi skills, but it's definitely worth the try, right?"

Blinking at the sudden suggestion, Naruto felt his mouth slowly turning into a grin and his spirits rising. "Thank you for the idea, neechan." Confidence returning, he slid off his seat and laid out the money on the counter. "I'll try asking him, and if all goes well—you'll be the first to know!"

Hinano grinned back, before standing as well and turning her head in the direction of her father pointedly. "Father—"

Kai looked up from his work, a heartily grin on his chiseled face, and waved a calloused hand dismissively at the money good-naturedly. "Oh, don't bother. It's on the house. Go persuade that traveler, all right?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he stretched his mouth into a broader, thankful smile. "You bet! Thank you."

Giving a small wave of goodbye to the two, Naruto sprinted toward the outskirts of the village. He could already feel the energy that he received from the Hinano and Kai's encouragement coursing through him. His instincts told him that today's training would go exceptionally.

—

Naruto walked along the street, peacefully basking in the midday sun. He hummed happily, satisfied from devouring his fill after hard training—a quadruple Tonkotsu ramen broth at Ipuudou's. Submerged in his joyous thoughts, he never noticed the man heading right his way until it was too late—he felt himself losing balance and the ground hitting his bottom a split second later.

"Oh, sorry!" Registering a heavily flustered, apologetic voice, he cracked open his eyes and saw an extended hand, clearly meaning to help him back onto his feet. "I am terribly sorry. I wasn't looking, it was completely my fault."

I hadn't been looking either, Naruto thought sheepishly, taking the slender fingers and raising his eyes to meet the person he had collided with. Instantly, his vision zeroed into the eyes of the other person—only in the eyes.

His first thought was that he was facing a mirror. The eyes full with concern were a piercing, icy blue—the same color of eyes that he always saw in a puddle in the morning forest—and the only answer his hazy mind supplied him was mirror. Mesmerized, he continued to stare into the orbs that were of identical shade with wide eyes, and barely registered the fact that the other man's actions were mirroring him as well. Suddenly, like released from a binding spell, he felt his vision clearing—and he instantly registered the differences. He didn't have an angular face, nor red hair. The eye shape was different and the nose was different. He was a completely different stranger. Once he slipped his hands out of the others, his feet moved subconsciously a step back.

Weary and frustrated upon finding his mind unable to give him an explanation to what had just occurred, Naruto took in all he could of the man's features with a searching gaze. Clad in a plain cream colored cloak and no accessories to be seen, the man stood tall, his neatly combed fiery red hair pulled back in a ponytail and wispy jaw length bangs framing either side of an unlined, angular, slack jawed face. Once again, he found himself looking at the man's eyes that were etched on his own. They were the same shade as his, but entirely different, because alarmingly raw emotions flitted through them. Since young, he had prided on himself being able to read the emotions of others—and currently, he was seeing haunted, then pained, followed by woeful eyes.

"N-Naruto?"

Naruto felt his heart almost stop when he heard his name being uttered from the man's lips. Narrowing his eyes, he knew that he was giving off a guarded air—but he didn't care the least. "Who are you? You act as if you know me, whereas I most definitely do not."

Much to Naruto's frustration, the man's face turned abruptly inscrutable the next second, and all the raw emotions disappeared behind a smiling, compassionate facade that betrayed nothing. It almost seemed as if he had two identities.

"I am sorry. I was not—myself. It's just—sometimes, bad memories from the past overwhelm me to the point that I lose myself. I am terribly sorry that our first meeting had to be like this," The red haired man gave a genuine, apologetic smile. "Please, would you be kind enough forgive me?"

"It…would be unreasonable for me to not do so. Of course, I forgive you. In fact, I want to apologize that I myself wasn't watching where I was going." Naruto felt an unease himself at the stocky words that came out of his mouth—they sounded extremely hollow and uncaring in his ears.

"Thank you." The red haired man smiled once again, giving off the impression that he meant no harm whatsoever, making Naruto entirely uncomfortable. Looking at the man wreathed in smiles, he chastised himself that it was he who was acting in a completely irrational way—fear and uncertainty was making him edgy. However, he knew that he had to have this question answered. He repeated it once more. "Why is it that you know my name? Who are you?"

A light chuckle escaped from the man's lips, and Naruto found himself once more completely thrown off by the dramatic change in his additude. Sorrow to happiness. From tremulous to calm. While he did not completely suspect falsehood in the man's explanation of his eerie behavior, he would be lying if he said that he completely bought it, either. Which was why he currently expected a plausible answer to his question. And looking at the man's carefree expression, he did not doubt at all that the red head would be able to pull it off, making himself seem trustworthy.

"I heard your name on the streets. Just recently. A kind lady was telling me stories about the mysterious, energetic yet sweet young boy who lives alone in the town, and always runs to the forest every single morning. I'm new to this town, you see. She was kind enough to offer me some help." Upon giving his explanation, the man's soft lips once again stretched into a smile that reached his kind blue eyes, and having the smile directed at him, Naruto felt an unexpected warmth rush through him.

He shivered, perplexed, because there was no way this man could make him feel warm inside, especially near his heart, like Sandaime-jiichan did on occasions. Jiichan and Kurama had labeled it as an emotion called "love". Therefore, he concluded that the only other explanation to a sudden feeling of warmness was that he was coming down with a fever. His hand yearned to fly up to his forehead and feel the temperature, but his instincts told him better—doing it in front of a stranger would be a sign of vulnerability. So he forced himself to concentrate on other things, like the explanation that, supposedly, a lady had told a newcomer about himself, a 'young boy who lives by himself and goes into the forest often', and mentioned his name. He had to admit, it did sound credible. He could not think of any reasons to doubt such an answer. Anyone could know about him in such a small town as Shiraizumi, and anyone could be able to mention his existence to another person, stranger or not.

"Fine. I guess I have believe you—for now," Naruto grudgingly conceded, and continued to question further, "What do you—" He couldn't help but pause mid-sentence, when it finally dawned on him that this was the new 'traveler' that Hinano had delivered ramen to, and had suggested asking him for training. What luck, he thought, disgruntled. Couldn't it have been someone more normal? Someone who looks strong, doesn't smile like a woman and doesn't have any mysteries. And what's with his irresistible impulse to smile?

"So you just came to town." Naruto decided to end his sentence with that, unsure on what to do next.

"Indeed," The redhead smiled, before finally bending down to come to Naruto's level. His own distrustful eyes met its twin, one that sincere compassion ran through them. "I do believe introductions are in order. My name is Arashi, like the storm, and my surname is Uzumaki. I believe yours is Naruto. Naruto…" Arashi trailed off, looking uncertain. "Maybe you could help me out by telling me?"

Upon hearing the full name of the redhead, Naruto felt the strength fading from him quickly. His hands were shaking—out of fear, or uncertainly he did not know—and in an effort to stop it, he clenched them tight before unfurling them. He hated it how this man—Arashi, he said—could make him feel so childlike, so vulnerable. Uzumaki… Although the bright red hair was a sure indicator, he had previously thought that his mother's clan had long since died out. However, if what the man—Arashi was saying was true, then it meant that there were still other survivors, survivors that fled to places they deemed safe and lived undercover. And lived on. As much as he disliked to trust a stranger, the complacency and curiosity—the fact that he could possibly know more about his mother's clan and learn the shinobi arts from a former Uzumaki Clan member—won, and he found himself opening his mouth to speak.

"Uzumaki," he finished quietly, before raising his voice and repeating it strongly. "My surname is Uzumaki, as well."

Surprisingly, a mischievous smile formed in the place of the usual warm smile—boring smile, as Naruto now irritatingly named it—and he grinned. "I know. I had my suspicions even before I met you, when I first heard the name of Naruto in this town—that you were of Uzumaki blood. I knew your mother when she was little, you know. She was a sweet, beautiful girl; her name was Kushina. She was an Uzumaki, and that's where your surname comes from."

Perhaps it was because Arashi saw the spark of trust flicker in Naruto's gaze, that he deemed it safe enough to offer the whereabouts of a more private area to talk. Apparently, he was lodging at a place called Sakuradai Inn, and was confident that no one would be able to over hear their conversation that was quickly escalating to private mode, there.

Kurama, Naruto urgently called for advice from the ancient guardian sealed in his stomach, as he always did when he wanted accurate judgement, Kurama, are you there? Should I do as he says?

At the very least, he seems to be acting in your best interests…

The nostalgic voice of his currently sleepy sounding guardian broke through his urgent train of thoughts, and he breathed out an internal sigh of relief. Then I'm going. I think that at last I've acquired a good teacher to teach me kenjutsu, Kurama.

Of course.

Hearing the sign of approval from Kurama gave him a boost in confidence, and he felt himself ease. Arashi might not be so bad after all. Blinking back to the regular world, he looked up into Arashi's inquiring eyes and smiled back. "All right. I'll go with you."

Arashi beamed, then suddenly took a quick glance around before seeming to quickly come to a decision, and whispered to Naruto. "You do know Shunshin, right?" At Naruto's nod, he whispered once again. "Shunshin to Sakuradai, or do you want to walk?"

Was there even a need to ask? Naruto felt the corners of his mouth quirking upwards at the invitation, and he replied instantly, "The former, please."

"All right. Shunshin it is," A playful smirk tugged at Arashi's lips upon hearing Naruto's reply, and the last words Naruto heard before his surroundings blurred were, "Here we go."

To Naruto, as he looked up to the building of the small, cozy looking Inn, It felt like not even half a second had passed. He's good, he thought to himself as remembered how Arashi had executed it—no hand signs nor physical contact. He's extremely skilled. Take my earlier words back, I think I've hit jackpot.

He allowed Arashi to lead him inside the building, and was energetically greeted by a mid-aged woman with an air of authority, whom Naruto deduced to be the owner of the Inn. "Why Arashi-san, you are back early. And—hello to you too, cute boy."

Naruto stifled the urge to roll his eyes. "He's a relative of mine that I just met today by circumstance, you see. Why don't you introduce yourself, Naruto-kun?"

One more resisting an urge, Naruto schooled his featured into a polite mask and introduced himself as Arashi had wished. The lady's smile grew affectionate as he finished giving his name, as expected, but it soon turned into one of apology as she snuck a glance at a nearby clock, saying that she had an errand to run. Then, looking at Naruto and reaching out a to ruffle his unruly blond locks, she added, "Do have fun with Arashi-san, cute little boy."

When she disappeared out the door, Naruto scowled lightly, bringing a hand to his head and taming his locks once more in the way that he liked it. Arashi laughed good-humoredly at his disgruntled face, and beckoned him to follow him up the stairs. However, upon coming across a door labeled '7' and stopping, Arashi turned around to face Naruto with a knowing smile. "Have you ever seen or heard of sealing jutsus?"

Naruto shook his head, deciding that it would be more useful if he played the ignorant card. "Are they jutsus to seal something inside another? I don't see why they are special. It's just stowing away things, isn't it?"

At Naruto's nonchalant reply, Arashi brightened, as if he was happy to be able to play the role of a teacher. "Well, you've got the basic concept right, but they're more than that. They're useful both in and out of battle way more than you think."

He reached a hand out and tapped at the wooden door, before smiling and asking Naruto another question. "Do you see anything here?"

Enough with the games, Naruto grumbled. Just open the door already. Careful not to let his annoyance show, he replied with a hazardous guess, "It looks as if there's nothing there, but seeing you make a big fuss about it, there must be something. Is it these seals that you're talking about? Do sealing jutsus have the ability to lock doors?"

Arashi's eyes widened in momentary surprise at Naruto's observation skills, before his smile returned back full-force. "You learn fast. Yes, there is a sealing jutsu cast on the doors, to lock out any unwanted visitors. It's only keyed to my chakra, meaning that only I can open it."

Moving to demonstrate, he reached out to tap the door, and just as Naruto sensed a small surge of chakra expelling out of Arashi's middle finger, inky marks of what seemed like gibberish spiraled out, once glowing a faint blue before the door swung out inwards by itself with a click.

Naruto couldn't help but widen his eyes and marvel at the magic. He fired off a question that formed in his mind as he walked into the room after Arashi and closed the door behind him, wanting to know the deeper details of fuinjutsus."What if somebody forced their way in? It's a wooden door, it could be broken down easily. And did the door re-shut itself just now?"

"Well, an advanced form of this sealing jutsu that produces 'disastrous consequences' for uninvited visitors also exists, but the sealing on this door only gives me a warning in advance," Arashi sat down and gestured to a seat in front of him. "If you have knowledge of when the breakdown's gonna happen, theres plenty of time to flee. And yes, the seal on the door automatically activates once more, sealing off anyone coming from outside."

"That old lady allowed this arrangement? You must have huge secrets if you feel the need to cast sealing jutsu on a door of an Inn."

Arashi nodded, and chuckled lightly at the slight accusation directed at him. "Not really, it's just that I like privacy, Naruto-kun."

"I'm sorry, but could you wait here until I get back from the restroom? And if you're thirsty, you're welcome to drink the water in the cooler." Seeing Arashi's apologetic look, he nodded politely, and eased himself further into the sofa. Deciding that yes, he was indeed thirsty, he slid off the comfy chair and chugging out a paper cup from nearby, he poured in the cool water. Sipping the freezing water, he froze as his acute nose registered a new flowery fragrance in the air. Not finding anything wrong with it, he shrugged and got back onto the sofa. Sinking into the sofa, he gave a yawn, suddenly feeling himself sleepy for some reason. No, I can't—

Naruto snapped back into consciousness when he heard footsteps coming to the room. I was sleeping. Alarmed, he called for Kurama from the back of his subconsciousness, inquiring whether anything had happened during the time he had been asleep.

Nothing happened, kiddo. You were only out for less than a minute.

Letting out a breath that he hadn't known he had been holding, he sank into the sofa. Now dressed in a casual kimono, arashi greeted him apologetically, before settling down on his sofa. "Let me put up a silencing barrier, all right?" Naruto perked up in response, adjusting to an upright position so he could see better, and knew his eyes were just sparkling as they began to follow Arashi's every move. He watched Arashi shape his right hand to a one handed ram seal, soundlessly making inky markings of seals to appear upon each of the four walls that surrounded the room. The markings all glowed a faint ethereal blue seconds later, and Naruto was just barely able to recognize the kanji of the biggest of the characters before it faded away: It was 'Moku', more or less used when referring to silence.

Although he had never known nor heard of them prior, having no reason to assume that Arashi was faking about both seals, he assumed that now, with the seals were effectively in place, no one could potentially eavesdrop on their conversation. What secrets impel this man to take so high levels of precaution?

Once again, he found himself being surprised at level of curiosity he held for sealing jutsus, an art that had never struck him as interesting. So what was making him so engrossed in the art of sealing? Mentally shaking his head and putting aside the question to be answered at a different time, he quickly formed the assumption that the kanji written in the seals more or less related to the usage of the seal itself. He leaned forward to have Arashi answer the inquiries that came to his mind and demanded to be answered. "So how effective is this sound barrier? And, if one could tell more or less what the seal was for by the characters used in the seals, wouldn't enemies be able to use that to their advantage?"

"No one would be able to hear anything that goes in this room, even those with exceptional hearing abilities, Naruto-kun. To an outsider, this seems like it doesn't even exist—because no sound reaches their ears." Upon explaining the details of the silencing barrier, Arashi reached into the inner pockets of his clothing and took out a scroll that was small enough to fit snugly in his hand. Unfurling it, small puffs of smoke suddenly rose before dissipating, and his slender fingers now held three items in his hand: a small brush, an ink container and a stack of paper tags. Seeing the three items together reminded Naruto of the large rectangular paper with the character for 'seal' that locked in Kurama behind bars, and he felt reverence on being able to learn an art that was capable of containing a tailed beast—even Kurama, who was the strongest of all nine.

"This is a basic seal. Let me draw you the design of an explosion tag—have you seen them, by the way?" Naruto answered with the barest hint of a nod, his eyes completely fixated on the design that was quickly becoming similar to the tags he kept in his pouch, with every steady stroke. He watched the character for 'explosion' being carefully drawn in the center of the paper, followed by small flowing characters that he couldn't make out—but knew that he surely would in time—drawn spiraling outwards. Beautiful, His mind supplied him when Arashi stopped his hands several seconds later. The art of drawing seals was simply beautiful. "This works exactly like the explosion tags sold at the stores?" He questioned to Arashi, who was settling down his brush and stowing the ink container away. "Of course they do, Naruto-kun. Now, watch as I transfigure the design so that it doesn't become as easy to make out."

Arashi slowly went through three hand-seals—snake, hare, and bird. It was the first time Naruto was seeing Arashi perform hand-seals for a jutsu, and he assumed that it was simply for demonstrative means. He took the newly arranged seal that looked nothing like its former design, and raised it for Naruto to take. "The characters are simply broken up into small parts and reorganized. However, doing this simple task effectively conceals the nature of the seal, making it almost impossible to understand. One has to be extremely proficient in the art of sealing to decode it."

Examining the paper tag, Naruto felt his eyes truly widen in surprise. It looked nothing but gibberish, inky marks. To think that seconds ago, it had been a tag with neat, clear looking characters. Returning the paper into Arashi's hands, he couldn't help but ask new questions that formed in his mind.

"Then you cannot reverse the design back to its original state, once the jutsu is cast?"

"It's not impossible, just extremely hard to do because it doesn't rely on hand-seals—its up to the user to find out the decoding pattern that suits that specific design," Arashi grinned, and after what seemed like a quick examination of the tag, he lifted up the brush once more and proceeded to draw in new characters in random spaces. The seal glowed faintly, and the jumbled up characters rearranged themselves right in front of Naruto's disbelieving eyes. Amazing… To him, the trick—if anything—served to increase his fathomless appetite for the art of sealing. Arashi must be no amateur in the art of sealing—to think that that it only took him seconds to find the right characters and places that would reverse the jutsu. "Even if done to a seal of the same design, does the outcome of the arranging process differ with each try?"

Arashi shook his head lightly, and for a fleeting second, Naruto swore that he saw a proud gleam in his blue orbs, quite contrary to the knowing smirk at his lips as if he had anticipated the question. Ignoring the weird emotion, he continued, "Then—assuming that this person knows all the right combinations to reverse every single sealing array that exists in the Elemental nations—would that person have no problems rearranging seals, no matter how jumbled the charactered are?"

Watching closely, Naruto never missed Arashi's blue eyes twinkling the entire time as he proceeded to answer easily his never-ending questions with demonstrations that made the topic easy to understand. Perhaps he has prior experience as a teacher? Either way, it added to his speculation that the man was surprisingly willing, even elated, to be able to share his knowledge about sealing jutsus to his new found relative. Whether it was a genuine move or not, he knew that Arashi's attitude would prove advantageous to his current situation, where he was in desperate need of a willing, skillful teacher.

Naruto blinked in surprise as Arashi's bright reply cut into his thoughts, but quickly recovered. "Correct. And by this person—perhaps you're talking about me?" Arashi's eyes twinkled yet again, this time as if holding back laughter, but they stopped when Naruto fixed him with a serious, searching gaze. Naruto hadn't been thinking of Arashi when he had asked the question, but it occurred to him now upon hearing Arashi's attempt at a joke that such a feat could quite possibly be in his caliber. Wanting to know more about Arashi's abilities and thinking it worth the try, he asked without hesitation. "Do you?"

"Heavens, no! I don't think that I know every single sealing array that exists, nor have I tried to memorize all of it. Such a feat would be considered god-wise, don't you think?" The redhead chortled as he denied Naruto's insinuation, and scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

While nodding, Naruto realized that the gesture he was seeing had a striking resemblance his own. He narrowed his eyes in an imperceptible manner, slightly peeved at his new finding. It seemed to him that they shared many things in common—first the same eyes, then same gestures.

"Well," Seeming to not register his annoyance, Arashi abruptly started to stow away the writing utensils and paper back into the scroll. Once they were sealed right back where they came from, he looked up and "We didn't come here only to discuss the glorious details of the art of sealing, so we'd best get back on the main topic, Naruto-kun."

Naruto replied that he was more than ready without missing a beat. He watched Arashi complete the task, and knew that once the materials disappeared right back to where they came from and the scroll was stored away, they would be back to business. Which was why when he saw that Arashi had no intentions of wrapping the scroll, and was in fact proceeding to unroll of the rest of the rice paper instead of re-rolling it, he was perplexed.

What more was stored away inside such a small scroll?

His pondering was soon answered when Arashi summoned something from the scroll, and turned to look at him in the eye with his trademark soft smile ever present. "Let me show you the Uzumaki blood running through my veins." Speaking in an equally soft tone at that mirrored the emotions in his eyes, he looked down at the object grasped in his hands, and ran his fingers on top of it. With the smoke clearing, Naruto was able to clearly see that it was a katana—its grip wrapped in red ray skin and the cord unusually white, sheathed in a matching scabbard. Upon further exception, he couldn't help but gasp in wonderment when his eyes registered the unmistakeable swirl of the guard that was the Uzumaki insignia. Another katana that was safe in righteous hands! Against his better judgement, his hands that rested at his sides twitched, craving to bring out his own twin pair that were sealed away in a scroll concealed in his shorts, with the matching metal swirl.

Knowing the special nature of traditional Uzumaki blades, Naruto knew fully well that Arashi would only need to pull out the blade to prove his Uzumaki lineage. Anticipation bubbled in him, but he purposely kept his facade clear with only hints of curiosity. Unblinking, his eyes watched on as Arashi's fingers grasped the upper part of the scabbard. The redhead placed his thumb at the guard and pushed, successfully sliding out the blade midway before sheathing it with a click. So he was a true Uzumaki, Naruto thought, internally pleased that he had not been lied to.When Arashi raised his head asked him whether he knew of their tradition concerning swords, and he played ignorant card once more, shaking his head with a confused look, gesturing for the redhead to go on.

"Well," Arashi started, "because our clan used fuinjutsus, we were most advantageous in long-ranged combat, but we were also proficient in short-ranged combat—because but our choice of weaponry remained strictly traditional: swords. It's a tradition that every child born into the Uzumaki Clan are bestowed swords upon birth, you see. It is only when we successfully pull the blade out of its scabbard that we are considered to be fully adults. In other words, potentially anyone could perform it, provided that—"

Hearing the explanation for the second time, Kurama's voice echoed back to him, reminding him of the lessons he received months back about his mother's clan as he momentarily lost Arashi's voice.

…Provided that they have enough chakra and Uzumaki blood running in their veins…even a child, like you.

"—Even a small child." Snapping out of the memories of the past, he maintained his facade by brightening his eyes and nodding, only allowing his interest to show. Adding confusion into the various emotions displayed on his face, he asked innocently as he could. "But what does this tradition of swords have to do with proving your Uzumaki lineage?"

Clearly amused by his seemingly clueless inquiry, Arashi continued where he had left off. "Because our clan held pride in being prodigious in the art of fuinjutsu, it was often that we would place our original sealing arrays on various things that we wanted to protect from outsiders. As you can imagine, one artifact that held importance to us was our swords, and thus, Uzumaki style seals were weaved into the metal. This ensured that no one would be able to withdraw our swords from the hilt without having Uzumaki blood."

"Wow…" Naruto couldn't help but marvel at the resourcefulness of his ancestors, notwithstanding it being the second time that he was told, and the awe that swept into his voice was genuine. "That means that you really are from the Uzumaki Clan."

"Yup," Arashi said smilingly, "so does that mean…that you believe me now?" Hearing Arashi's hopeful tone made him slightly guilty, and he felt that at last, he could speak without hesitancy, not having to constantly hold back information from the redhead. He gave his answer with a simple nod and pressed on, wanting to know the reason Arashi gave the impression that he trusted him. "But, how about me? You seem to blindly believe my words that I am also an Uzumaki, but without any solid evidence, how can you easily assume that you can trust me with the clan's secrets?"

"Why, that's because I knew your mother, of course," Arashi's spoke a matter-of-factly, and a far away look entered his eyes as he mentioned his mother once again. He supposed that the death of his mother must have been saddening for Arashi as well, perhaps more so than him. He didn't have a memory of his parents, whereas the redhead presumably did—blissful memories of their childhood together in the Land of Whirlpools before its destruction, perhaps. "Even after the destruction of Uzu—" Arashi's paused, and seeming to come to the conclusion that Naruto was ignorant in the history of their land as well, inquired whether he knew of the battle. Naruto smoothly replied that he didn't.

"Let me brief you of our history, then," Arashi's face turned serious. "We, the Uzumaki clan were a prominent clan in Uzushiogakure, our predecessors being distant relatives to the Senju. We were respected from our prodigious skill in the art of fuinjutsu, but at the same time, and shinobi from other nations worldwide feared us. We were a bit…crude in our methods, and this eventually led to the destruction of our hidden village and the rest of the Uzu no Kuni during the era of Shinobi World Wars, as other nations had begun to see the village as too great a threat to go unchecked. I was a bit younger than your mother. While those who could wield a sword covered for us, we escaped the island through a hidden tunnel when our loss became clear. After we parted ways and she went to Mito-sama in Konoha while I went into hiding in the mainland with other survivors from Uzushio, she continued to give me updates on her well-doing. We exchanged Uzumaki style coded letters, and that's where I received the information that she was going to have a child between the Fourth Hokage—named Naruto. Apparently, your name came from a protagonist in a novel written by the Hokage's mentor, one of the legendary sanin."

"I was named after a fictional character in a novel written by my father's teacher, not the fishcake?"

Arashi burst into fits of laughter at Naruto's bewildered look, grinning madly and wiping away the tears that sprung to his eyes. Naruto simply watched on, stupefied at the unanticipated yet pleasing revelation. "It's just that I love ramen, and so… I always imagined that my name must have come from the ground fish on the topping."

Slowly, guilt and sorrow clouded Arashi's eyes and his tone grew somber at his words. "You had no one to tell you the origins of your name…being an orphan must have been hard for you, Naruto-kun.." For a fleeting second, Naruto thought that he saw a shell of the broken man with the crumpled expression—the state Arashi had turned into upon meeting him for the first time. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, to offer you comfort in place of your parents…"

Naruto was taken by surprise at how genuine and regrettable the man seemed to be, and the words of his childhood slowly slipped out of his lips more easily than he thought. "It was pretty hard at first," He admitted, keeping a close eye on how Arashi reacted. He attempted to keep the bitter emotion from leaking into his words, but knew that he wasn't able to fully conceal it. His resent ran deep, no matter how hard he tried to forgive and forget. "No one extends help nor affection to an orphan—at least, that was the case for me. Most people just didn't want to acknowledge my existence in their village, it seems. Some were really explicit about their feelings. But it did get a little better. I met some people that actually cared for me, although they could only direct their attention on me on occasions. They were pretty high-ranking shinobi; always busy."

Watching the saddened blue eyes of the redhead listening attentively to his words, Naruto made his decision with a mirthless smile-he decided to entrust Arashi with one of his secrets. Reaching into the camouflaged pocket in his shorts and taking out a scroll similar to Arashi's, he spread it open and retrieved his twin swords sheathed in a single white scabbard with a puff of smoke. A small part of his mind wondered then how his relative would would react upon realizing that he had been lied to, about his lack of knowledge in the Uzumaki tradition of swords.

"As you can probably imagine, I soon left that childhood behind me. Couldn't stand it. I came to this town about a year ago after retrieving this." Finishing his story, he grabbed both handles and pulled out the dual blades in one smooth motion.

Arashi's eyes widened and a gasp escaped his lips, understanding suddenly filling them in place of regret. Naruto pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes in wariness, not quite understanding the reasons as to why Arashi would display such emotions. He had expected those orbs to be filled with surprise, not calm understanding. What Arashi said in the next moment shocked him to the core. He had fixed him a stare and spoke calmly, "I assume the Kyubi helped you leave the village? And guided you to the remains of Uzushio to retrieve those swords you hold now?"

Naruto froze. His stomach churned, and he was sure that he even forgot to breathe for several seconds. When the initial shock started to wear off, he staggered, his back hitting sofa as the energy went out of him. His normally calm mind spun at the speed of light in bewilderment, dismay and fear. He just couldn't fathom why Arashi would be able to come up with the exact truth. He had been exceedingly careful thought the conversation about not given anything away, neither through his actions or his words, that hinted the existence of his tenant sealed in him. Suddenly confronted with a desperate situation, his tongue felt like it was paralyzed, but he forced it to move enough to grit out: "H-how—How do you know about Kurama?"

"Kurama? So the Nine-tails has a name, nice to know," Arashi raised a quizzical eyebrow before continuing on, his eyes never leaving Naruto's with a serious expression. "Back when I heard of your parents deaths, six years ago—especially the details of how your father died—I had my suspicions that you would be a Jinchuriki. Mito-sama was a vessel since the First Hokage's reign, and Kushina took on the burden after her. It was only natural that you would be next in line to be entrusted with the burden. And besides that fact, I had a feeling that Kushina would have told your late father of the sealing formulas of the Uzumaki Clan," Arashi quirked a sly smile, "the Fourth Hokage was a brilliant man—but even he couldn't have possibly destroyed a creature created by Rikudo Senin singlehandedly without depending on our Sealing Jutsus."

Naruto couldn't quite comprehend what the man was seeming to be implying. He asked for confirmation, his voice bordering on tremendous slightly, knowing that he must have heard wrong, or at least misinterpreting Arashi's actions. "So…you don't have a problem with me being a Jinchuriki? You don't fear me, or despise me?"

"Of course not. Why should I?" Arashi was all smiles—something that he didn't understand at first. "I was proud of Kushina for shouldering such a harsh burden…and I'm proud of you, too.Very proud. Kushina was filled with love by Mito-sama before she was made into a Jinchuriki, while you survived it all alone."

Naruto was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth and promptly closed them once again for several times, quickly becoming embarrassed when his mind just couldn't find the right words to say. Finally, he gave up and closed his eyes resignedly, easing back into the sofa. His posture relaxed at Arashi's warm, caring tone, and he laced his fingers behind his head. His heart and mind felt oddly at peace. Faintly, he realized that he hadn't felt this calm in years. All because of those words...

"It's funny... No one's ever said that to me—that they were proud of me, you know. You're the first."

He paused and fished around for the right words before continuing, his tone momentarily taking a bittersweet turn. "I realize now that my heart was yearning for those words of acknowledgement-all this time. And now I hear it coming from the mouth of a stranger that I've known for only a couple of hours."

Arashi's voice that chimed in was soft-spoken and mellow, with a hint of amusement. "That would indeed be strange, if it was coming from a stranger."

Naruto nodded along absentmindedly, keeping his eyes closed, and started to affectionately caress the swords on his lap. "Well, you have it exactly right. After I left Konoha, Kurama led me to the ruins of Uzushiogakure. It seemed that the blacksmiths of Uzu made extra swords, perhaps in advance for the next generation in case anything happened. We figured out the blood sealing that sealed the doors to the Hall of Swords, and found these."

Naruto opened his eyes and immediately upon meeting the other set of eyes gazing into his, felt a genuine smile quickly blossom on his face. He wanted to know about his relative. He wondered whether Arashi would accept him as a discipline.

"Say, Naruto-kun," Arashi suddenly spoke up, "how would you like to have me as your teacher?"

Hearing his relative propose the idea himself, Naruto could only blink as he was taken completely by surprise. "Teacher?" He echoed the words back blankly, while faintly wondering whether the man had an ability to read minds.

Arashi gave a solemn nod, "Before I decided to settle down in this town, I was initially heading for the Hidden Leaf Village, wanting to meet you—I felt obliged to help you out because you were Kushina's dear son, and I knew that I was the only relative that could take care of you, and teach you in the ways of the Uzumaki. So you could imagine my surprise when I met you earlier in the day, out on the street…" Arashi gave an apologetic smile, obviously regretting the fact that he had scared Naruto with his eerie behavior. "Well, I had believed that you were in the safe hands of the current Hokage, leading a normal life in Konoha—but alas, it seems that I was wrong. I'm extremely glad to see that you seem to be managing nicely on your own, Naruto-kun."

Naruto couldn't help but widen his eyes, startled at the fact that Arashi had intended to help him out from the beginning. "So you were looking for me right from the start?"

"Exactly," Arashi confirmed smilingly,"It seems like you already have your biju friend, but perhaps, there are still some areas that I can show you the ropes—the art of sealing and swordsmanship, for example. That is, only if you would approve me becoming your second teacher."

Looking into the sincere eyes that swam with emotions of relief and hope-Naruto imagined that relief came from the fact that he was finally able to meet his friend's son and see to his well-being, whereas hope because he was able to look after Naruto as he had wished-he couldn't bring himself to say anything other than yes. Well, it wasn't as if he had any plans to say otherwise, but still.

He knew fully well that he couldn't complain about Arashi having cryptic secrets and displaying abnormal behavior around him. One reason was because it was an offer that he could not refuse, after so many hopeless attempts trying to acquire himself a teacher. Another reason was because he too, was keeping secrets. Secrets of his relationship with Kurama that would no doubt be frowned upon, if Arashi-or anybody for that matter-were to find out. The fact that he was so dependent on his tenant were would obviously be treated as an atrocious deed, and he would immediately be 'advised' to cease communicating with 'the beast' for his 'own good'. He knew with conviction that it would be over his dead body that he would let something like that happen. Not even a single soul could know of how deep his friendship with Kurama went.

Somewhat reassured by the fact that Kurama seemed to be fine about the proposal, he resolved to place his trust in this new relative that had appeared out of nowhere. He hoped dearly that his faith was not misplaced—that it would come back to bite him, or hurt him psychically in any way. If he was to be betrayed once more—he felt that he would be unable to trust anyone else in his entire life.

Naruto drew a deep breath and straightened his back. Placing his hands respectfully on his lap, he faced his relative squarely and gave his response, "I would be honored to be your discipline, Arashi-san."

—

Outside of the Inn near the outskirts of town and slowly walking on his usual route to Ippudo's, every step he took felt heavy. By all means, lying should have been second nature to him. After having to resort to fabrication in an effort to ensure the interaction wasn't going anywhere unsavory for so many times that he lost count, telling a barefaced lie with a straight face was starting to feel even easier than telling the truth. It made absolutely no sense to him that he would start to feel guilty about lying now. His mind unwillingly traveled back to replay how his meeting with Arashi had ended.

"I would be honored to be your disciple, Arashi-san."

Arashi's face slowly broke into one of pure, unconcealed joy, and bliss radiated off him literary in waves. You don't need to act so formal with me, Naruto-kun. Call me whatever you want." His smile that followed his words were blinding. Unsure on how to react and what honorific would not be considered impolite, Naruto asked for advice.

"Then," Arashi suggested lightly, "how about—sensei?"

"All right," Naruto agreed, and hesitantly tested the word out on his tongue, "Sensei." He felt that it would get a while to get used to.

Arashi was clearly elated from hearing him addressed as a teacher when he asked when Naruto wanted to start training. "Well," Happening to glance at the setting sun magnificently captured in the window frame, he realized with a start that it was already quite late. Standing up to leave, he answered with a tentative smile, "Tomorrow would be nice, if that's all right with you. I want to start training right away."

Accepting his reply with a nod, Arashi stood up as well. "Then, starting tomorrow, you're free to come by at any time. I'll be waiting." Before he allowed Naruto to leave, however, he inquired where Naruto stayed, as if it had only just occurred to him that he should know. With another tentative smile, Naruto lied through his teeth. "The ramen restaurant Ippudo's kindly lets me stay the night with them."

Naruto grimaced at the memory. How long it would take for Arashi to realize that that he wasn't being taken care of by Ippudo's? Seeing how shrewd the man was, he knew that he wouldn't be kept waiting for long. When the questioning came around, he would just have to come up with a credible answer enough to satisfy his new teacher.

He spied his favorite ramen stand lit up in the dark as usual—with the numerous hanging lanterns emitting a warm, homely glow—just a couple of blocks ahead, and almost immediately, he could feel the heaviness starting to lift. His heart sped up in anticipation, and an anxious smile tugged at his lips. He could truthfully report to Hinano and Kai that the meeting had gone well, and that the traveler had taken him—his relative, coincidently—under his wing. No doubt that the news would make them joyful. The problem about Arashi could wait until late into the night, when he was alone with Kurama.

His feet broke into a run.

end