Prologue

"What the hell do you mean I can't adopt Naruto!" Hirozaki Kairi shouted angrily at the Sandaime Hokage. "I'm practically his mother already!"

"I would rather have him be taken in by a couple," Sandaime said. "He needs a mother and a father. Not just one or the other."

"But everybody hates him!" Kairi said. "You'll never find a couple to take him in!"

The tired Hokage rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation before he once again addressed the young woman. "Kairi-san, you are sixteen, and have only just become an adult in the eyes of this village. And while you are eligible to have a family I do not wish for you to take on the burden of being a single parent."

Kairi glared at the Hokage before she stood stiffly. "Fine." And with that said she stormed from the Hokage's office to meet up with her old teammate for lunch.

XXXXXXXXXX

"How did it go?" Kairi's blue haired ex-teammate, Haruno Kyo, asked as she fell heavily onto one of the wooden bar stools in the almost empty ramen shop.

Kairi said nothing as she sent a deadly glare in the boy's direction.

"Hm, that good huh?"

"He said he won't let me have him because he doesn't want me to have the burden of being a single parent!" Kairi said. "I've been taking care of children for years! I'm the primary Nin teacher at the academy! What is there to know about kids that I don't already know!"

"Perhaps it is not so much the knowledge as it is the pressure," Kyo answered. "Maybe he doesn't want you to become stretched to thin. Besides, you have only ever taken care of children. By the end of the day they all go home, but with Naruto as your child you would have to be there for him all the time. I don't think that you would be able to handle that on your own."

Kairi sighed and placed her face into her hands. "You're right of course, but if I can't take Naruto then nobody will. He'll grow up hated by everyone! Who knows how that will affect him?"

"I never said that you couldn't have him," Kyo responded as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I merely said that you shouldn't do it alone."

"Oh, well, in that case why don't I just stroll over to some random guy and ask him to be my husband?" she snorted. "That would never work out."

"What do you need a random guy for? I'm sitting right here."

Kairi's head shot up and she gaped at her blushing friend in surprise. "You mean…?"

Kyo shrugged awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we've known each other since we were in the academy and…well…I've always lo-er liked you…a lot. And I…" he trailed of not sure of what he was trying to say.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" Kairi asked in shock. "That if I do you will adopt Naruto into your clan as well?"

Kyo's blush deepened but he nodded just the same.

Kairi sat in thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. Finally she shook her head. "No, that wouldn't work."

Kyo looked crushed. "Why not?"

"Well, in all honesty, Haruno Naruto just does not sound good at all," Kairi said with a grin. "But…I think Uzumaki Kyo would work out perfectly."

Now it was Kyo's turn to stare in shock. Finally sunk in and he whooped for joy as he wrapped a giggling Kairi into his arms.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kyo sat nervously next to his fiancée as the two waited for Kyo's uncle, and guardian, to meet with them. He said he would be there at three but that was already a half and hour ago. Kyo wasn't upset though. He knew that with his uncle being a merchant it wasn't unusual for him to be held over by a troublesome deal, still that didn't stop his nerves from mounting painfully in his chest.

Sensing his unease, Kairi reached out and grasped his hand in hers. "Don't worry," She whispered with a smile. "I'm sure it will all work out."

"I know it will," He responded back. "But that won't stop me from being nervous."

Kairi giggled. "I'm too happy to be anything but floaty at the moment."

"Well isn't this an interesting scene," Haruno Takeru said as he entered the room; his dark green hair tussled by the worsening weather.

Instantly the two teens jerked their eyes to face the Haruno clan head before they bowed low in respect. "Haruno-sama," they both chorused at once.

If Takeru was taken aback by their unusual show of formality he gave no indication, instead he merely bowed back and knelt down in front of them.

"To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Takeru asked as Kairi poured the tea from the china set before them. "For some reason I doubt this is a pleasure appointment."

Kyo smiled lightly at Kairi as he accepted the cup she presented him, second after Takeru of course. "I suppose in a way it is a pleasure visit Uncle," Kyo responded. "But it is also a formal occasion as well."

Takeru nodded slightly, indicating that the younger man should continue. Kyo paused for a second before his lifted his chin and grasped Kairi's right hand in his left.

"Takeru-sama," he began. "I have decided to take Hirozaki Kairi as my wife, she has agreed graciously and now I seek for your blessing."

A wide smile split Takeru's aged features. "I give you my blessing and so much more my boy," he said. "I knew it was only a matter of time before this day would come."

With the formalities out of the way the old clan head rose to his feet and crossed the room to where the two fiancés were standing as well. Reaching out Takeru pulled Kairi into a gentle hug. "Welcome to the family child."

Tears of joy filled Kairi's eyes as she hugged back. "Thank-you, Uncle."

XXXXXXXXXX

Two young ninjas sat gracefully across from each other, their eyes focused softly on the kunai in the middle of the table. Both were slightly nervous seeing as they had never done this before. After several tense moments the boy reached forward and grasped the bound handle in his left hand before he slid his right pinky along the sharpened edge. He didn't even flinch as oxygen rushed into the new cut, stinging it lightly; instead he held the blade out to the girl before him.

Wordlessly she too reached out with her right pinky and slid it across the blade. Once there was a slight bubble of blood on both of their fingers the two reached across the table and linked the two wounds together. After scarcely a moment they pulled apart and placed their bloody finger prints on the paper between them; the girl first and then the boy.

Once this was complete the girl reached to her right and lifted the pen into her hand. Then, with gentle strokes, she wrote down the kanji for her knew name, Haruno Kairi.

"Don't get used to seeing that," Kyo said with a chuckle as he took the offered pen to sign his own name. "It'll change again tomorrow."

Kairi smile back. "I know," she answered. "But I can still enjoy it for the next twelve hours."

Kyo said nothing but the smile on his face gave him away. "There," he spoke up as he set the pen aside. "Haruno Kyo and Haruno Kairi; we are now officially married."

"Not quite yet," Kairi said with a glimmer in her eyes.

"Huh?" Kyo asked in confusion. "Why not?"

"Silly, you forgot to kiss the bride!"

The bluette didn't need to be told twice.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Irritation welled up in Sandaime's chest as he looked from the document in his hands to the smug girl and her husband in front of him. "You got married."

"Yep." Came the unnecessary reply.

"Why?" Sandaime questioned. "And I want the truth."

"Because I love him," Kairi answered shyly. "I had always thought I would marry him someday, and someday just happened to be yesterday evening."

"You didn't marry him just because of Naruto?" the Hokage asked slightly unconvinced.

"No hokage-sama," Kairi answered. "Though being able to adopt Naruto was a great wedding present."

"Kyo?" Sandaime asked turning his attention to the blushing boy. "What are your thoughts on this?"

"Well, hokage-sama," Kyo began. "I know how much Kairi has already fallen in love with Naruto and that she was very upset when she was denied custody of him. At this point I had already been thinking about marrying her but I had thought she would think it too soon. I agree with her about Naruto though. Being able to adopt him was a wonderful wedding gift and a marvelous motivation to propose."

Sandaime stared heavily at the two teens for a moment before he nodded and handed them a stack of papers.

"What's this?" Kyo questioned as he reached out to grasp the loose leafs.

"The custody forms you two will need to fill out if you really intend to become Naruto's parents."

Glee filled both teen's eyes. "Yes sir!"

XXXXXXXXX

The orphanage was relatively small considering it was located in a village of ninjas. Still it had a fairly average amount of children. They were all well taken care of and spent a lot of time playing on the playground equipment in the backyard. The children all smiled hopefully at guests but they really didn't mind if they weren't picked. They enjoyed growing up right where they were.

Despite the happy aura the building held, Uzumaki Kyo and his wife Uzumaki Kairi were stone-faced as they walked down the halls towards the room where their new son, Naruto, stayed. Kairi had visited the little blond on many occasions and she had not been pleased with her findings. The poor child lived in a tiny room all by himself with no toys and only a little futon to sleep on at night. He spent a lot of his time sleeping but when he wasn't he was training.

Kairi had been quite surprised when she had come to see him one day and he was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room trying to keep his balance while throwing clumsy kicks and punches. She was rather surprised at how good he was, after all it wasn't everyday that a twenty-two month old could perform a greatly flawed version of one of the standard academy katas. The only other children she had ever heard of doing something like this was Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Neji and they were all considered geniuses of their clans.

'With proper training he could become the second genius of the newly made Uzumaki Clan,' Kairi thought with a smile as she sent a sideways glance at her husband. 'After Kyo of course.'

Kyo, who had been wrapped up in his own thoughts, suddenly felt the slight tingling feeling of being watched. Slightly surprised he turned to face Kairi who, embarrassed at being caught staring, flushed and jerked her eyes around to face forward again. Kyo didn't say anything but a pleased blush just lightly dusted his cheeks as he too returned his sight ahead.

"So," Kyo said breaking the silence. "I've only ever seen the kid outside so I don't know where his room is."

Kairi nodded in acceptance as she pointed to the skinny door at the end of the hall. "That's his room."

Kyo looked down at her in surprise. "That?" he said. "But it looks like a closet."

"Linen closet." Was all Kairi said in response, but Kyo caught the message.

His eyes narrowed. 'Those arrogant, bloody--.' He paused his thoughts before continuing. 'Mistreating a child because of something he can't control.' A growl escaped his throat. 'If anyone ever dreams of harming my son again, I'll cut off their limbs.'

"Kyo?" Kairi said. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Kyo asked snapping from his murderous thoughts. "What Kairi?"

"I asked if you were alright," she said. "You were growling."

"Oh," Kyo said with an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Kairi looked at him funny before she shrugged and pushed Naruto's door open. "Naruto-chan?" she called. "Are you in there?"

Silence filled the small space for a second before a tired voice responded. "Ka-tan?" Naruto yawned.

"Hai, Naruto-chan," Kairi answered as she and Kyo entered the room and kneeled next to the small futon. "Your otou-san and I are here to take you home."

Naruto blinked for a moment as he turned to face Kyo. "To-tan?" he asked.

"Hai, Naruto-chan," Kyo answered as he reached out and lifted the little boy into his arms. "I'm your otou-san."

Naruto smiled and snuggled into Kyo gentle grip and nodded.

Kyo smiled back. "Let's go home, son."

End Prologue

Kaliea: Yet another one of my stories. This one is more of a passing thought. A what-if much like alot of the other ones out there. And there are some really good ones like this. I just wandered how things would be different for Naruto if the whole world he lived in was different. You'll see what I mean by that later. Anyway, please review! Ja for now!