Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also didn't come up with the name Naruko

A/N: this is my first fanfic and all reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'm super tired while writing the author's note so Imma keep this short. Assuming the formatting works right things will look like:

"Dialogue" 'Thoughts' "Biju Dialogue" 'Biju Thoughts' Flashback Jutsu Name OoOoO = scene change

CHAPTER 1: Origins

The story of the Kyubi was known by everyone in the hidden leaf village. Officially the beast had attacked one night, wrecking the outskirts of the village and killing many shinobi before the Yondaime Hokage had killed Kyubi, losing his life in the battle. That was the story taught to the new generation who were too young to remember that night. A law was passed forbidding anyone from speaking of that what really happened that night. Fear of death kept everyone quiet, but they found ways around the law to express their fear and hatred.

At the tender age of 6 Naruko hadn't been taught much of anything. The matron of the orphanage barely acknowledged her existence, usually not speaking even when giving her food. The other kids were told to keep their distance, and always got scolded when they didn't listen so she couldn't learn from them. So Naruko often eavesdropped to gather information, when she wasn't pranking someone of course.

The villagers all treated her with disdain, though she could never figure out why. When she asked the adults she was either ignored or they accused her of trying to get them in trouble. How was giving her an answer going to hurt anything?Naruko was confused most of the time by the actions of the villagers. The Hokage was the only person who showed her kindness, he claimed the village was just confused and scared but he never elaborated more on the matter. Naruko couldn't figure out what was scary about her but in the end the answers she sought were barred off at every angle.

It was with these thoughts running through her mind that the young blonde walked near the edge of one of the many forested areas of the village. A gentle breeze ruffled the unkempt shoulder length hair on her head and her baggy white T-shirt with the loose red spiral on the belly. The same design was on either sleeve and the shirt contrasted with her black pants that were held up by a string she had found. She certainly didn't get to pick her clothes and the matron hadn't given enough care to ensure they fit.

There was a loud shout coming from a ways inside the forest, followed by a slightly quieter yelp. Turning to face the noise, she saw three academy age boys standing over an indigo haired girl who appeared to have fallen backwards. Tears were falling down her face, the boys just laughed and the leader kicked dirt into her face. Further dirtying her peach-tan kimono and causing her to shut her eyes tightly.

Naruko's ever present grin turned into a scowl as she stormed up to the group, tiny fists balled up in rage. This was wrong! No one deserved to be treated like that, and Naruko had had just about enough of the injustice of this village. It was one thing when it was her being bullied, that was normal, but they needed to stop picking on that poor girl! Naruko called out "Hey! Leave her alone!"

The three boys turned to look at the small girl, one of them dropped from his carefree demeanor and looked very concerned. The boy closest to Naruko just looked angry that they were interrupted. The leader had the least notable change as he merely sneered "Why? Don't you know she's the Hyuga brat?"

Naruko didn't know what a Hyuga was or why that should matter. She just saw three older boys ganging up on a helpless girl, and something about that felt all too familiar to the child. She gathered her resolve and gave the boy a defiant glare "That doesn't mean you should pick on her! What did she ever do to you?"

Hinata was propped up on one elbow when she finally rubbed enough dirt out of her eyes to look at her unlikely protector with a worried expression. The young heiress found herself more concerned with this stranger's well being than her own. Naruko didn't take her eyes off the assailant but noticed from her peripheral that the girl was dirty and slightly bruised. The realization that they had probably hit her further fueled her anger.

The concerned boy muttered something to his angry friend that sound like "...careful...said...dangerous." Naruko couldn't hear it all but the other boy turned and looked at him in disbelief. Their leader remained oblivious to his friends interacting and continued "The Hyugas think they are soooooo far above everyone else. So it's up to us to put this one in her place!" He put his foot on the pale eyed girl's shoulder and forced her flat on her back, eliciting a grunt of discomfort from the indigo haired girl.

Naruko let out a squeaky roar as she charged him, tackling him to the ground. Hinata looked on in disbelief as the pair rolled a few feet away with Naruko on top swinging wildly. She rained blows down wherever she could land them, ignoring how it hurt to punch someone for the first time. The frightful one of the trio backed away, while the one standing next to him picked up a heavy rock as big as his head and threw it at the feisty girl. The leader pushed her up off of him at that moment, and a blow meant for her back crashed into her head, splitting the rock.

Pain raced through her skull as Naruko's vision immediately became blurry and started to fade from the edges. She heard the other girl scream as more tears rolled down her face. The last thing she saw was the three boys running away before blackness overtook her and she slipped into unconsciousness.

OoOoO

Naruko was somewhere warm and wet, a faint dripping sound came from one direction and the other had a low repetitive rumbling. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but she appeared to be in a long tunnel with walls made of dark, moss covered brick. Along the ceiling ran a bunch of pipes splitting off to go down each corridor. She looked around in awe, unsure of how she got here, or which way would lead out. The ominous tone of her surroundings wasn't lost on her but somehow she felt strangely safe. After a moment of deliberation the young girl resolved to investigate the rumbling noise.

A short walk through an unvarying passage brought her before a gigantic gate, easily more than 15 meters high. A single piece of paper was placed over the spot where the two massive doors met. On closer examination she noticed it looked similar to the explosive tags she had overheard a ninja telling a child not to play with. Naruko wasn't sure of much but she got the sense that the gates were meant to be kept closed, still she was curious what was inside. "Hello?" Her voice called out to the darkness.

The rumbling was disrupted and a single bright red eye with a slited pupil opened to glare at her. The eye was easily as big as Naruko herself and she felt renewed awe at the size of whatever must be inside the cell. A deep voice came from her only company "So for the first time in six years I have a visitor. Why don't you pull that paper off the gate and we'll talk more freely." The large head lifted and turned to face her, the other eye coming into view.

Naruko looked back and forth from the paper to the eyes of the speaker. She remembered trying to mess with an explosive tag and carefully pull it off during one of her pranks only to have the thing start to sizzle. She had been lucky to get away with only some mild burns and damaged clothes that day. She glared at the ominous creature as she replied "Are you trying to blow me up? Everyone knows that removing an explosive tag is dangerous!"

Suddenly a row of very large, sharp white teeth were visible as the demon snarled at the girl "That's not an explosive tag! Can't you read brat! It says seal on it." The voice echoed throughout the passage, the loud vibrations rippling the shallow water that covered the floor and making it splash as high as Naruko's knees.

Naruko was angry, whatever this thing was, it was just as mean as everyone else and she was sick of this undeserved treatment. She clenched her fists at her sides and bent her arms so they were parallel to the ground. "It isn't my fault that nobody will tell me anything! Even the old man doesn't teach me anything and he's the only one that doesn't insult me for no reason or ignore me! I'm tired of all you thinking that you can pick on me just cause I'm small! I'm gonna get BIG, and them I'm going to go in there and KICK YOUR ASS!" Her volume increased as she spoke and with her finally shouting she stomped the ground. Surprisingly the entire passageway shook, clumps of moss rained from the ceiling and walls splashing into the water as the pipes rattled and clanged against each other. Naruko didn't seem to notice, too busy huffing loudly as she gave the demon her best death glare.

The large creature threw his head back and laughed boisterously, for the first time in over a century. His mouth opened widely to show the true size of his massive maw. The booming expression of amusement consumed the halls, drowning out all else. Naruko kept her glare, if anything intensifying it as she crossed her arms in front of her. Finally the laughter subsided and the beast replied "You amuse me child. Tell me, what is your name?" He'd had every opportunity to listen in on what her name was but up until now he couldn't be bothered with the affairs of humans.

The short blonde wasn't sure what was so funny about what she said, normally people got angry or scared when they were threatened. 'This guy is really weird.' No one had asked for her name before and her glare softened slightly as she spoke "Naruko, Uzumaki Naruko."

She continued to look at the pair of eyes before her as they moved closer to examine her properly. For the first time she saw that the being was actually just a really large fox. "I suppose that's as good a name as any. You may refer to me as Kyubi, and if you want any answers you'd best not threaten me again. It was cute the first time but I am the most powerful of all biju, not some lowly human who plays at wielding chakra."

Naruko's eyes widened and she dropped her arms to her sides 'Ky-Kyubi?!' Her brain crashed and had to reboot at that piece of knowledge "Wait a minute, the Yondaime killed you! I heard academy students talking about it." She glared at him again incredulously.

The Kyubi sighed, seeing he was going to have have to explain some things to this child. "Listen well brat, no one can kill a biju. We are beings made entirely of chakra. Even if by some miracle one of us is defeated, our chakra disperses and reforms within a few years. The only way to truely stop us is to seal us away into a human vessel, much like how I am sealed in you."

Naruko tilted her head to the side and her mouth gaped "Hu-what?! You're inside me?" That made no sense to the girl, how could she talk to something that is inside her? Besides the fox in front of her was huge and she was a child, slightly tall for her age but still much smaller than adults.

Kyubi smirked "Yes, that seal there keeps me locked inside this cage. Right now we are inside your mind." Naruko looked around and sweatdropped, this run down place was her mind? Would it be different if she had learned more? If she was happier would the place be brighter?

She turned her attention back to Kyubi "Hey Kyubi, how do I come back here?" If this was real then the Kyubi seemed to be the only one willing to answer her questions. Maybe if she came and visited more she could make a friend out of him.

Kyubi tilted his head to the side as he examined her motives, sensing no ill will he decided to tell her "Calm your mind, let all thoughts pass through without focusing on them. Then when your not thinking of anything concentrate on this place. You won't get it on your first try but if you practice you'll be able to come here quickly."

Naruko smiled at the fox brightly and gave him a thumbs up, unknowingly using the nice guy pose "Then I'll be sure to come back and talk to you. I don't want you to be lonely here all by yourself." Kyubi could only blink in surprise at the girl's words, she was a human, there was no way she cared. Still her smile was genuine and he once again couldn't pick up any odd vibes. He smiled as she faded away, apparently it was time for her to wake up.

OoOoO

Naruko gasped as she woke up, bright lights blinding her when she opened her eyes. She was laying in a bed and once she could see without fuzzy spots everywhere she realized she was in the hospital. It certainly wasn't her first time here and she doubted it would be her last. She'd been taken here more with each passing year, it seemed like she the villagers were getting more violent as time went on. Maybe it had to do with her getting bigger? The more they saw her, the more anger they felt?

Then she took notice of the fact that she wasn't alone in the room. The man in the ANBU mask had his head tilted to the side as he studied her, his silver hair sticking up at a weird angle. Without a word he disappeared and soon after a nurse came in to check on her. Naruko sat there blinking as the woman quietly examined her. Her head still hurt slightly but she was distracted by trying to figure out if her talk with Kyubi was real.

The door opened again and a man in long white robes with a red and white hat walked in. The nurse stood and bowed to him "Hokage-sama." His aged face crinkled into a smile "How's our patient doing?" The nurse explained that she had no signs of lasting damage and that the gash on her head was already mostly healed.

The Hokage thanked her and she bowed again before she left the room, the older man sat down beside Naruko's bed and looked her over in silence. His eyes lingered on the bandage wrapped around her head, his face blank and expressionless. The young girl looked at her lap and sighed "Am I in trouble?" It was a fair question, she usually saw the Hokage after being caught performing a prank.

The old man chuckled and shook his head "No Naruko, you're not in trouble." She looked up at him slightly surprised as he continued "In fact I came by not only to check on your well being, but to thank you. The young Hyuga girl you saved was very grateful and concerned by your injuries. I suspect Hinata will be by as soon as she hears of your awakening, you made quite an impression on her. The girl's father also stated his gratitude, it seems this was not the first time those boys had singled out one of the Hyuga children."

The young girl still looked confused as she sat there processing his words, finally she spoke up "Ojii-san I need to know. Why do the villagers hate me?" Her voice started low and shaky but soon she found her conviction and her voice steadied "Please don't lie to me this time, I need answers."

The aged Hokage refrained from wincing at her words, keeping a calm demeanor was a prized skill amongst shinobi and they didn't call him the god of shinobi for nothing. "Naruko..." his voice was gentle and laced heavily with kindness "What's gotten into you? Have things gotten worse?"

The girl looked down bitterly, a coldness in her eyes that the Hokage had never seen there before. His mind raced through possibilities as he watched her hands tightly clench the sheets. When she spoke it was with a total lack of emotion "The Kyubi is inside me, isn't it? The Fourth couldn't kill it and so he sealed in me, didn't he? That's why the villagers all hate me, they're scared of the beast inside me."

The words would have stung the old man less if they had been filled with malice and hate. Something about seeing the girl separate her emotions from her words broke his heart as he realized exactly how deep her suffering was. "Who told you?" His voice was quiet and it was all he could do to keep the rage welling up inside him from showing. Someone had broken his law, and in doing so they had broken this child's heart.

The girl sighed, an unusual thing for her as he hands loosened from their white knuckle grip "So it wasn't a dream, I really did talk to the Kyubi while I was asleep." The old man wasn't sure if he felt relieved that no one had broken his law or concerned over the fact that she could communicate with the fox already. He knew the seal was made to allow the biju to merge their chakras but he had anticipated another 5-10 years before they communicated. This girl was advancing faster than anyone had foreseen and he was at a loss for what to tell her.

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and it was his turn to let out a sigh, this certainly complicated a lot of plans he had and he wondered what kind of influence this would have on the cheerful girl. He looked into her eyes, eyes that resembled his successor's so much, though the wild nature of Kushina could be seen inside them. "Only those old enough to remember the night of the attack are allowed that knowledge, and none are allowed to speak of it. I had hoped that this would let you lead a normal life and keep you from finding out until you were old enough to handle the truth. I've failed on both those counts and for that I am deeply sorry."

The words hung in the air for a moment as they settled in with all the things the young girl already knew. This explained so much and in a way she was glad that she had been hit on the head so hard. She saw the saddened look on the Sandaime's face and felt a measure of guilt for how this conversation had affected him. An idea popped in her head and a smile graced her face "It's okay Ojii-san, being normal is boring anyway. I'm gonna be a ninja! And Imma be even stronger than you one day, so you better get ready cause I'm coming!" Her grin widened to split her face as she gave him a thumbs up to accompany her lighthearted yet serious challenge.

Hiruzen's expression changed from grim to shocked as he watched Naruko try to console him, was this really the same girl who not even a week ago was dragged into his office for painting tomoe on all the clan insignia's in the Uchiha compound? Finally he chuckled again at the girl's antics, a part of him actually believed her words and looked forward to the day that he could see her wearing the hat. "Well you better get to training then, I won't let you overtake me without a fight."

The two smiled at each other and talked about how hard one actually needs to work to become a ninja. Through it all Naruko remained determined and confident in her ability to rise up to the challenge. Shortly the old man had to leave and get back to the bane of his existence, paperwork.

OoOoO

Hinata had been sitting in the garden of her clan's estate, watching the bees move from flower to flower, collecting nectar and spreading pollen between them. She had a soft smile on her face, the garden had always felt like a safe space for her. It had been where her mother could often be found before she passed away last year. The young girl missed her mother terribly but she did her best to keep quiet about it, Hyuga's were supposed to remain calm and composed at all times. She often struggled with this aspect of her clans expectations, though to be honest there wasn't much that she didn't struggle with. Being the heiress to a prestigious clan came with many high expectations and she always seemed to come short of fulfilling them. In the last year her father had stepped up her training and seemed to grow more and more weary of watching her disappoint him.

She practiced the kata's of her clan's gentle fist style with almost too much grace, the stances were meant to be more stiff and grounded. When it can time to actually hit one of her clansmen she ran into problems. She lacked the will to hurt her family, even those most distantly related to her. Her generous and compassionate nature had no place in the Hyuga clan, much less in the main branch. Her father told her every day that she needed to step up and stand firm, but the compassion in her heart led her to crawling on hands and knees to help others. Nothing she did was good enough, she wasn't good enough.

It was these thoughts that ran through her mind when Ko of the branch family walked up and kneeled before her "Hinata-sama, please forgive the intrusion but we have received word that the girl who saved you is now awake and allowed visitors. I have been instructed to escort you to her by your father, so that you may thank Naruko properly." Ko had been the first on the scene, only a moment after Naruko had lost consciousness. He had been looking for the heiress as it was almost time for her training and had seen the whole incident through his byakugan. It confounded him why the demon brat had gotten involved, but the girl's power could prove a valuable asset to the clan. Hiashi had agreed with Ko's assessment and informed the clan members that if Naruko showed up she was to be welcomed in.

Hinata nodded to her distant cousin and stood quickly, eager to check on her savior and thank her for her selfless act. Though she had little idea why she was saved when it was so clear that she was worthless. "Th-thank you, K-Ko-san." She pushed her index fingers together in a show of nervousness as she followed Ko out of the estate and towards the hospital. The whole way they remained silent and she wondered what she would say to the taller girl and how bad that blow had hurt her. Images of the dark red tainting the messy golden locks flashed through her mind, if Ko hadn't come when he did... Hinata didn't want to think of what could have happened had that been the case.

On arriving at the hospital Ko quickly led the young heiress to the room and stood beside the door. He activated his byakugan for a few moments to check the room before smiling and gesturing for the heiress to approach the door. Hinata rapped her knuckles softly on the white, wooden door and waited for a response, fidgeting nervously. A few moments passed and she began to wonder if Naruko was asleep, maybe she didn't want visitors 'Or maybe she just doesn't want to see me...' the young girl was considering giving up when she heard a voice from within the room "Yo, did someone just knock?"

Hinata jumped, startled by the sound and she pushed the door partially open, peering into the room. Naruko was sitting up in the bed, her hair a disheveled mess with a bandage wrapped around her forehead a couple of times. The light reflected of the mess of hair and gave her an appearance of having a halo. Her eyes only fixed on the patient for a second before she cast them to the ground, a light blush appearing on her cheeks an unknown feeling rising up within her "Uh... Ummm." She found her index fingers pushing against each other again as she stood there, unable to speak.

The girl on the bed beamed at the sight of her and bounced on the bed excitedly "Come in, come in! I'm glad to see you're doing okay!" The indigo haired girl smiled at the enthusiasm and her blush darkened as she slowly walked into the room. When Ko closed the door for her, she jumped and glanced behind to see that he had opted to remain outside the room. She continued to shuffle forward slowly, unsure of herself or why this girl would be so glad to see her of all people but the thought simultaneously made her giddy, scared and guilt ridden 'Aren't I responsible for her being in here?'

When she stopped and finally glanced up, the blonde was looking at her quizzically, studying her as if unsure if she really was okay. Hinata found herself fidgeting nervously under the gaze "Uh-umo... I-I wanted to th-thank y-you..." she winced at how bad she was stuttering but continued anyway "I-I'm... umm... S-sorry you g-got hurt."

Naruko raised an eyebrow, why was she so nervous? No one was ever nervous around her, angry, yes, indifferent, all the time, but never nervous. She pondered if the girl was sick for a moment but discarded the notion "I couldn't just let them be mean to you. Three on one is unfair so I decided you needed backup! Besides their reasons where stupid and they are a bunch of scaredy cats anyway." Naruko spoke confidently as if what she said was the most natural thing in the world "Next time they give you trouble just let me know and I'll be sure to make them regret it!" The energetic child raised her arm to shoulder level, flexed her bicep and grabbed the almost nonexistent muscle with her other arm in a gesture she had seen other do when making promises of their strength.

This girl wasn't even out of the hospital yet and was ready and willing to fight them again. Hinata was confused and awed, yet couldn't help but giggle at the exaggerated display, though she covered her mouth with her hand to be polite. She looked up at the blonde and smiled, moving her hand away as she spoke "S-so you aren't h-hurt to b-bad?" Something like hope entered the girl's voice as she felt a measure of the negativity within her fade.

Naruko waved her hand dismissively "Something as small as them can't keep me down. When I grow up I'm going to be the strongest ninja ever, and I'm gonna take that hat from Ojii-san! I'm gonna be the first female Hokage and then I'll make everyone nice to each other!" The heiress's grin hadn't left her face and she was glad to see the other girl was smiling too. Hinata's admiration for this girl was intensifying and if someone like Naruko truly wished to help the heiress, than maybe, just maybe, there was something worthwhile about her after all.

Hinata let out another giggle but stopped upon hearing Naruko's next words "Wow, you're really cute when you smile Hinata-chan. You should totally do it more often." She nodded eagerly to emphasize her point. For Hinata's part she blushed a dark red and immediately looked at the ground again 'She thinks I'm cute?! Naruko-chan thinks I'm cute?!' She didn't know how to process her feelings, or even what they were but she found herself hyperventilating and feeling dizzy.

"Hinata-chan. Hey, Hinata-chan! Are you okay?!" Naruko hopped out of bed and and leaned in close to examine the girls flushed features. This caused the poor confused girl to faint when she noticed how close Naruko was. Naruko caught the shorter girl and yelled "HINATA-CHAN!" Now she was really worried and looked around the room frantically as she lifted the heiress into her arms. In the process of carrying her to the door Ko burst in, byakugan already active "Help! We were talking and she suddenly got all red and fell!"

Ko had taken the clan heiress from the young jinchuriki and brought her to a nurse. Naruko followed behind all the while asking if she was going to be okay. Many of the adults shot her dirty looks and after a few moments she was ushered back to her own room by a rather angry nurse who very firmly told her to stay in her room before slamming the door shut.

Naruko paced the length of the hospital room, much too concerned for her new friend to sit still. There was a flash of something moving past the window but she thought she just imagined it. A few moments later the same ANBU agent from earlier came in to the room. "Don't worry Naruko, Hinata will be fine. She just had a mild fainting spell." His voice had a touch of amusement in it but for the most part sounded bored. Naruko was confused about what that was and thought that Hinata shouldn't use such a jutsu but instead opted to thank the ANBU agent. He nodded and she thought she saw something weird with his left eye but before she could question it the man was gone.

OoOoO

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind a large wooden desk in his office, a few large stacks of paperwork sat on the right side of it. He finished looking over the last sheet not neatly tucked away, stamped it, and set it atop the nearest pile. He sighed in the kind of relief one can get only from knowing they had worked hard and earned a moment of respite. He leaned back in his chair and debated reaching into his drawer to pull out a certain orange covered book but stopped himself when he sensed someone at the window behind him.

The aged Hokage let out a very different kind of sigh and reached for his pipe and began to tamp it full of tobacco as he spoke "Well, why don't you come in? I'm sure you have something interesting to report." The young ANBU captain hopped of the ledge of the open window and walked around to stand before his commander "You know, there is a door you can use instead of hanging out on my balcony all the time." Despite his words the man felt no bitterness or agitation at his subordinate's tendencies. It was as much a part of life as the leaves fluttering on the wind.

The silver haired man took off his animal mask to reveal another mask, this one simple and black stopping just below his eyes. Despite the mask the Hokage could tell that the man was smiling at him "What would be the fun in that Hokage-sama? Besides I'm getting close to figuring out what you keep in that bottom right drawer."

Hiruzen sweat dropped at his words, remembering the time he had almost been caught pulling out the book he hid there. "I see you still haven't given up on that Kakashi. How long has it been? 2 years, maybe 3?" If only he hadn't blushed slightly, there would have been no reason to suspect anything then.

"I think it's closer to 3 now..." Kakashi dropped his smile, seeming ready to get down to business "The Hyuga heiress visited Naruko, she was just as shy and nervous as usual but something interesting occurred." Hiruzen lit his pipe with a small fire that extended from his thumb and raised an eyebrow at the incoming report "It would seem that the young maiden is experiencing her first crush... on Naruko."

The Hokage choked on his pipe and took a few moments to resituate himself. There were a lot of things he could have expected to hear, this wasn't one of them. He sighed longingly as he turned to look out the window "Young love... I wonder how Hiashi will react when he finds out."

Kakashi found himself curious, if he wasn't the type to be playful about most things he wouldn't ask, but as things were... "Do you have plans to inform him? You could take a picture of his reaction for posterity."

Hiruzen chuckled out a few puffs of smoke "No, the man is far too traditional to be at ease with the news. For now I'll wait and see how this new development unfolds."

Kakashi was glad to hear that, the Hyuga clan head had a strained relationship with his elder daughter as it was. He'd hate for things to become even more difficult for the young heiress "By your order, Hokage-sama."

Despite the formality of his words, Hiruzen could tell he approved. Kakashi was a good man, just eccentric and with a heart shadowed by many losses. His father, his best friend, his love, and his teacher. The man was alone in his suffering, too lost in guilt and duty to fulfill the role he most wanted. The Sandaime decided to give him a truer taste of what he wanted out of life. "I have another mission for you Kakashi, one that has been neglected by many for far too long..."

OoOoO

Later that day Naruko was released from the hospital, and the same ANBU agent she had been seeing all day led her to her new apartment. The Hokage had mentioned something about improving her living arrangements but she hadn't expected this. The place was small and not very expensive but it was a home, more than that, it was her home.

The ANBU agent taught the girl how to use the key to unlock the door before she followed him into the apartment. They took off their sandals in the small entryway way, a door leading to a closet was on the right. The silver haired man opened it "In here you have your two futons, some blankets and a couple of pillows. There's also some cleaning supplies, and a broom on this side of the closet." His bored tone didn't dull Naruko's excitement as she eagerly grabbed the broom and swung it around a few times as if it was a staff. One swing came close to hitting him and he quickly snatched the broom away "You have to be careful swinging things around inside, you're responsible for any damages and messes."

Naruko nodded sheepishly, a light blush on her face as she scratched the back of her head. He nodded at her and returned the broom before stepping into the apartment proper. There was a small kitchenette along the right wall will various cabinets, a fridge and a stove. Centered against the back wall was a small square table, two chairs were positioned to the right and left of it and the apartment's only window was situated there, it passed the edges of the table by a few inches and gave a not so impressive view of the building across the alley. The rest of the room was bare save for a dresser in the back left corner and a door to the left of the entryway that led to the bathroom.

The ANBU agent stayed long enough to teach her how to use the appliances in the apartment and showed her the clothes line in the alley "Now the Hokage will be giving you a weekly allowance, make sure to spend it on food and any of the cleaning supplies first. Next you can worry about clothes as you grow and other side things, though it's generally a good idea to save up some money for emergencies." Naruko nodded to show she understood and he handed her a small stack of money before disappearing.

She glared at the spot where he had been standing 'How is he always doing that?' It was getting late so she put a pot of water on to boil and grabbed a cup ramen out of the pantry. She wasn't sure what it would taste like but she got the feeling it was going to be better than the fuzzy bread and squishy fruit she was used to eating.

As she waited for the water she thought of what the ANBU had told her. She mentioned wanting to be a ninja several times, she was very excited about the idea for some reason. He told her that if she was serious she should pick clothes that were darker in color. The girl protested that there was nothing wrong with her current clothes but when the man replied in his usual bored tone that ninja's need to be sneaky and bright colors are easy to spot she gave it some thought.

Truthfully she had been given a lot to think about over the course of the day and she spent her time eating lost in recalling all she had learned, only losing focus to gush at her newfound love of ramen! She finished her food quickly and made herself seconds. After her meal she broke out the futon with the intent to break it in with its first use, putting an end to a very long day.