Nao was sitting at her desk writing when she heard a low mewing sound from the caterpillar on the bed behind her. She had decided to let him sleep as long as he wished. The store had been closed, and dinner time had long passed. She was beginning to think he was going to sleep all night, and she would have to find other sleeping accommodations. Turning in her chair, she watched with amusement as the little blonde began to attempt to free himself from his cocoon. Her restrained giggle freed itself as the bundle rolled and grunted before his head finally popped out. After a ferocious yawn, he was able to loose one arm then the other to enjoy a lazy stretch. It was quite a struggle for him, but very entertaining for her, as the little caterpillar broke out of his cocoon. One day she was sure he would become a gorgeous butterfly. He would be someone special. He already was to hold the frightening Kyuubi within his small body. It was still difficult for her to believe that this little boy was the vessel containing the fox demon, but it was true. Her grin broadened as he rubbed his eyes with his fists to remove the last remnants of sleep. She continued to observe him in silence as he sat up and looked around with half-opened, sleepy blue eyes.

"Hi there. Welcome back to the world of the living," she greeted him, standing up from her chair.

"Huh?" he grunted, raising his arms above his head for another stretch.

"Are you hungry?" Nao asked, reaching to scoop him up into her arms. She smiled down at him as he twisted one of her deep auburn curls around his finger. Her hair was such a dark red it looked brown.

"My mama had red hair. Beautiful red hair like fire," he mumbled, gathering a fistful of her hair in his hand. "I like yours too. It's pretty."

"Do you remember much about your mother?" She sat him down in one of the four chairs at her small kitchen table.

"No. I was only baby. Grandpa has shown me pictures of my mama and daddy. He tells me a lot about them," he said, kicking his feet as he looked around. The kitchen was small but cozy and filled with all kinds of good smells from food.

"Grandpa? Who's Grandpa?" she asked, setting a bowl of ramen down in front of him.

"Ooooo, my favorite. It was mama's favorite too," he told her before digging into the food. "Grandpa Sarutobi," he mumbled through a mouth full of noodles to answer her question.

"The Hokage?" Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Yeah. Why?" He did not stop shoveling food into his mouth for anything, not even to talk.

"No reason." Nao turned her back to him to look out of her kitchen window. She did not want him to see the angry expression on her face. If the Hokage was close enough to this child that he took a personal interest in him, then why didn't he bother to provide adequate food and shelter for him? Or was it because harboring the keeper of the demon that devastated their village would endanger his political position? Sighing with frustration as more questions with no answers popped into her head, she gave up trying to figure it out. She convinced herself that the Hokage must have his reasons for not helping Naruto, and they were his reasons alone. It was also not her place to criticize or understand the leader of the village. The one person she did understand was the orphan sitting behind her. She had been an orphan too, but she had been lucky in that she had a way to make money, lived in a decent home, and could buy good food. At least she had her mother for fourteen years. Naruto never knew his mother. Rotating on her heel to look at him, her heart broke to see him scarfing down the ramen as if it might be his last meal.

"I better be leaving. I need to get home now," he announced, getting up from the table when the bowl was empty. "Thank you for the food, Nao."

"Why don't you come back in the morning for breakfast?" she suggested, opening the door for him and moving aside.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, running out of the door.

Nao studied him as he ran down the street with shocking speed. He was truly a surprising and amazing little boy. He turned back to wave at her with a big grin on his face. She returned his wave, reaching up to wipe the tear from her cheek. With a heavy sigh and heavier heart, she decided it was time to take a bath and get to bed.

Sleep, however, was an elusive and unattainable thing for her. Despite feeling clean and relaxed after soaking in the tub, her mind would not stop to allow sleep to overtake her. She could not quit thinking about the sweet little boy and what she should do to help him. There were no permanent solutions, but there were dozens of temporary possibilities. In the early morning hours when sleep had still not come, she gave up entirely. Getting out of bed and dressing for the day, she went to her kitchen to make herself some tea and think some more. One of the things she could do to help him was to feed him. She could also help the others as well. Pulling up her hair in a ponytail and tying on her apron. she set forth to bake dozens of sweet buns to take to all of the orphans.

The sun had just risen above the horizon when there was a loud knock at her back door. Nao quickly set down the pan of buns she had nearly dropped when he had startled her with the banging. Wiping her hands on her apron, she hurried to open the door. There to greet her stood the blonde with hair the same color as the sun and a smile just as bright and warm too.

"Hi, Nao!" he shouted with enthusiasm. He strode past her with bouncy footsteps before she had even invited him inside.

"Do come in, Naruto," she mumbled, closing the door behind him. The cool morning air had felt really good on her skin due to the sweltering heat in her kitchen from the oven. "You sure are lively for it to be so early in the morning. "

"Watcha doin'?" he inquired, poking one of the buns on the tray.

"Stop that," she chided him, slapping his hand. She handed him one of the cooled buns that had been piled in a basket.

"This morning we are going to deliver these buns to some special people who need them. I need your help to do it." She picked up the freshly baked buns from the tray with a cloth since they were still hot to carefully lay them in one of the baskets on the table.

"Where are we going?" He looked slightly guilty because he had stuffed the whole bun into his mouth. His cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel who had been gathering nuts.

Nao laughed, ruffling his hair. "We're taking these to the children at your apartment building."

"Really? They'll love this!" He snatched another bun out of the basket she held out to him. He crammed it in his mouth so he could hold the handles on the side.

"Can you handle that?" she inquired, balancing a basket on each of her hips.

"Of course I can. I'm a big strong man." The sentence came out around the bun in muffled syllables which made it even more comical.

"Men don't talk with their mouths full. Let's go," she chuckled, edging open the door with the toe of her shoe. She used her behind to bump it so it would close.

"Good thing you got a big butt, Nao," he said, observing her with open curiosity. He had dared to take the bun out of his mouth to deliver the insult loud and clear.

"What? I don't think I heard you," she teased, gently kicking him in the behind when he turned his back to her. "It's not that big. And never talk to a lady like that. Don't ever call a woman fat or any part of her body big if you want to live to see tomorrow."

Naruto kept silent the rest of the way to the apartment building, too intent on finishing the delicious sweet bun. That bun could very well be considered the thing that saved his life since it kept him from saying anything else insulting.

Nao halted her steps to stare up at the three-story monstrosity that should have been condemned and torn down years ago. Most of the windows were missing screens and some windows were broken. The bricks were so old they were crumbling. She cautiously walked up the cement front steps smiling at the children sitting on the edges of the stoop that led into the building. Upon seeing the dingy, dirty interior, she realized the worst part of this place was yet to be seen. The wallpaper had turned brown with age and was missing entirely in some places revealing the stained wall behind it. A few dim naked light bulbs hung from the ceiling casting their sickly yellow glow over the room. The floors were filthy and strewn with trash.

"Oh, this can't be," she murmured to herself, glancing around the horrible place. What she saw next almost brought tears to her eyes. Children began to appear, so many it seemed they were crawling from the walls around her.

"Here," Naruto said, holding out a bun to a timid little girl.

Nao guessed the child's age to be about three years old. In one hand she clutched a torn, bedraggled stuffed bunny. With her other hand she grasped the hand of an older girl, probably around ten, standing next to her. They looked alike so she assumed they were sisters. Glancing at the children gathered around her, Nao noted that they all seemed to be clean and well-groomed. Thank goodness for one small blessing for these orphans.

"It's okay," her blonde helper entreated the girl hungrily eying the food. "Take it."

Nao sighed with relief as the child snatched the bun from him and brought it to her mouth. She held out one to the six-year-old boy standing in front of her. Her lips lifted into a grin when he smiled broadly at her while taking the food.

"Thank you," he mumbled in gratitude, moving for the girl behind him to step up for her bun.

Nao began to worry their would not be enough to feed them all. However, her sleepless night and the hours she had spent baking had yielded enough buns to for most of the orphans to have seconds. She watched proudly as the children surrounded Naruto, chattering excitedly. He had become the hero of the day, and she was thrilled for him.

"Want to play?"

"Let's play hide and seek!"

"Want to go swimming?"

"No! Play with me!"

The questions and pleas were coming at Naruto faster than he could answer. Nao felt her grin widen as he was pushed along by the tidal wave of children to go have fun. After picking up all of the empty baskets, she headed home. It was almost time to open the shop.

~...~

Nao had just finished preparing lunch, making a plate for Naruto just in case he came by. She doubted he would come in because he would be too busy playing with the other children. He could eat it for dinner. The bell on the front door jingled alerting her that someone had entered the shop. Her lunch would have to wait as well. She rounded the corner to see the quiet and overly self-conscious Iruka Umino in her shop. He was four years older than her and an Academy teacher. A blush crept across her cheeks to match the one coloring his face. He came in occasionally to buy tea or spices. She thought he was really handsome with his dark eyes and deeply tanned skin. However, the spiky brown ponytail in which he kept his hair reminded her of a pineapple and made her want to laugh.

"Hi, Iruka. What can I do for you today?" she asked, hearing her voice rise an octave. How embarrassing.

"I would like to get some more of the green tea you suggested last time. Do you have anymore of that honey as well?" he inquired, moving up to the counter when she stood behind it.

"Of course I do. I keep it stocked just for you," Nao responded, giggling when his blush turned to crimson and crept up to the tips of his ears. She really did keep it just for him because he was the only one who wanted that particular kind of honey.

The bell rang again and in ran a blond flurry of pure energy. He rounded the counter, throwing his arms around Nao's waist to hug her tightly.

"I'm having the best day ever!" Naruto proclaimed, his blue eyes virtually dancing with joy as he looked up at her.

"I'm glad to hear it," she chuckled, patting his cheek. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving!" he exclaimed, hugging her tighter.

"There's food in the kitchen. Stop!" she yelled, making him freeze in his tracks after he took off at full speed toward the hall. "Wash your hands and face first."

"Ooooohhhh," he whined, pushing open the bathroom door.

"A new friend?" Iruka inquired, smiling at her.

"Yeah. He's such a sweet little thing. I like having him around," she returned, noticing the anger that flickered momentarily in his kind eyes. Her eyes followed the path of his finger that distractedly traced the scar across his nose and cheeks while he appeared lost in thought. He seemed to be reliving a memory and not a good one by the way his eyebrows drew together and the grief that filled his eyes. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she gathered the items he had requested to send him on his way. She was anxious to get to lunch and to hear about Naruto's morning with the children. He excitedly recounted the events which included hide and seek, leap-frog, and swimming. The elated expression on his face and the animated way he moved his arms while talking kept her attention.

"I better go. They're waiting for me," he said after polishing off the plate of food.

"Have fun!" she exclaimed as he rushed out of the back door from the kitchen.

"Hey!" Naruto hollered, poking his head back in the door.

"Yeah?"

"Should I come back for dinner?"

Nao smiled, picking up the empty plates to put them in the sink. "I was already planning on it."

~...~

Their days became a predictably comfortable routine. Nao would rise before dawn to begin baking bread or cookies or some other treat to take to the children at the orphanage. Naruto would arrive for breakfast promptly at sunrise, and after eating together they would deliver the food to the children. While she was busy working, he was busy being an active, happy little boy by playing with his new friends - the kind of work he should be doing. At last, he had friends. No matter how hard he played, he was never late for lunch or dinner.

A few months passed when Nao decided to change their schedule by adding a new service for her customers. Several loyal patrons had asked her about delivering their purchases to their homes which seemed like a good idea to her. She welcomed the idea of getting out of the shop more. It would also present a learning opportunity for Naruto. She would be able to teach him about responsibility and the importance of being reliable. Moving out of his way as he came screaming past her, arms flung out to the sides, and with her apron tied around his neck as if it were a cape, she discovered maturity would come further down the road of life with age - hopefully. Catching him by the arm on his next fly by, she untied her apron and helped him get the backpack full of items on his back.

"All right, my big strong man, are you ready to go?" she asked, smiling at him because of the silly grin on his face that was so broad it made his eyes squinch up.

"Let's go!" he exclaimed, charging out of the door.

"Naruto!" she called after him as he ran down the street leaving her far behind. "Oh, this is going to be a long day."

When Nao finally caught up to him, Naruto was already standing at the door of the house where they were to make their first delivery. Apparently, he had knocked on the door because it opened and the frail older woman smiled down at him.

"Hi, old lady, we brought your medicine!" he blurted.

"Oh, god," Nao gasped, running up the sidewalk. She put her hand over his mouth, pushing him behind her. "I am so sorry, Atsuko. He's -"

"He's just a little boy, Nao. Don't fret so," the lady laughed, going back into her house without closing the door. She had gone to get the money for her purchase.

"Naruto!" Nao whispered, digging around in the backpack for the bottle of herbal elixir for Atsuko's arthritis. "You can't say things like that! Don't call people old...especially women."

"There's an awful lot of rules when it comes to talking to girls," he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, yes, there is," she agreed, pulling out the bottle just as Atsuko appeared. She handed the woman the bottle, taking the money from her.

"This is for you," Atsuko said, bending down to hand Naruto a lollipop.

"Thank you," he returned, happily taking the round red sucker.

Great...just what he needs. Something to give him more energy, Nao thought to herself while telling her happy customer good-bye. At least he would have something in his mouth to prevent him from talking at their next destination, the Haruno house. She asked Naruto to knock on the door while she retrieved a small bag out of the backpack.

Mebuki Haruno answered the door, a sneer of disgust making her lip pull back from her teeth when she saw the child whose identity she knew quite well.

"Here's the rooibos tea you asked for," Nao announced, pushing Naruto to the side so the woman no longer had him in her sight. She could not help but notice how swiftly the emotion in the woman's eyes changed when the child was no longer in view.

"Thank you, Nao," she said, peeking into the bag. She grimaced at what she saw. "It looks like leaves and twigs."

"That's what it is actually. It makes a lovely red tea that has fabulous health benefits including..."

Naruto could hear Nao's voice but everything she said sounded like "blah, blah, blah" in his ears. Shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his orange jumpsuit, he pushed a pebble off the sidewalk with the toe of his shoe. He scanned the grass in hopes of finding a toad to catch or perhaps a snake. When nothing moved in the grass to catch his attention, he began to rock back and forth on his heels while searching for something interesting. The movement of the curtain at the window caught his eye. He stared inside, waiting for something to happen. Two large, round eyes appeared. They were the color of the medicine Nao gave him when his tummy hurt. The person moved closer to the glass, and he could see a little girl with pink hair. He smiled at her. She stuck her tongue out at him in return. He frowned, crossing his eyes before poking out his tongue. She in turn made another ugly face to which he pulled up his nose to make himself look like a pig.

Nao could feel Naruto fidgeting beside her. When he began making snorting noises, she glanced down at him to see what he was up to. She was horrified to see he was making a pig face to taunt the little girl standing at the window. Placing her body between him and Mebuki, she intended to hide him completely from the woman's view. Every muscle in her body tensed when he let out a squeal like the porcine animal he was imitating. She bumped his shoulder with her hip to make him stop before he did it again.

Naruto glowered at her rear that was eye level to him. The encompassing desire welled within him to bite her round butt cheek to which her red cheongsam clung and outlined perfectly. It was in his face after all so why not? He was angry with her anyway for interrupting his game with the little girl. A devilish grin curled his lips as he raised his hand toward her behind.

"I would stee-EEP!" Nao squeaked, jumping when she felt a small hand on her derriere.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Mebuki asked, not quite catching that last instruction for brewing the tea.

"Um...ah," she mumbled, trying to form words while she struggled to remember what she had been talking about. She shrieked when he squeezed her behind; his little fingers were disturbingly strong.

"Are you all right?" the other woman inquired, becoming concerned with Nao's behavior.

"I-I'm f-fine," she stuttered, seizing Naruto's wrist before he groped her again. "Steep the tea for ten minutes. It's best with milk and sugar. I'll see you later."

Nao wanted so badly to slap that self-satisfied smirk off of his face. Instead, she said, "Naruto, don't you ever do that again. Being a pervert doesn't suit you."

"Are you sure? I rather liked it," he replied. He was stunned into paralysis and silence when he found himself nose to nose with an irate Nao. Her eyes were wide with fury, her teeth clenched, and her face had turned bright red to match her dress. At any second he expected to see flames shoot out of her ears or lightning from her eyes to zap him.

"What did you say?" she growled through her teeth, perilously close to losing her temper.

"N-n-nothing," he stammered, unable to run for his life because she still held his wrist.

"That's what I thought," she snarled, turning back around to proceed to pull him down the street.

Yikes! At that moment, Naruto vowed he would never make her angry again. She was terrifying.

~...~

Naruto let himself into the kitchen through the back door which Nao always left open for him. He had grown accustomed to their unremarkable but pleasant days together. Walking up the hall to find her, he could hear a man's voice in the shop. Peeking around the corner, he could see Iruka standing at the counter talking to Nao. He watched as the man pointed out something to her on the paper between them. Jealousy flooded the pit of his stomach with such intensity it made him feel ill when their heads bent together. They were so close their foreheads almost touched - too close. When Iruka's hand rested lightly on Nao's to move her finger across the paper, he could not take it anymore.

"Hi!" he bellowed, popping up right next to the counter. He was thrilled to see he scared both of them causing them to separate immediately, each one jumping back which put a satisfactory amount of distance between them. Using the stool as a ladder, he climbed onto the counter to sit cross-legged becoming a human barrier between the two people.

"What are you doing? Get down from there," Nao chastised him lightly. When he folded his arms and didn't move, she sat down on the stool. Grabbing him under the arms, she pulled him off the counter and into her lap.

Naruto was quite content in his present position. He buried his hand into her silky auburn curls, tangling them around his fingers. An arrogant grin curled his lips as he stared at Iruka with a definitive "it sucks to be you and it's great to be me" attitude.

"I'll see you later, Nao. 'Bye, Naruto," Iruka said, rolling up the map they had been examining.

"Good bye," they called after him in unison.

Nao turned Naruto to face her, holding him securely as he wrapped his legs around her waist. She kissed his forehead, then asked, "So how's your day?"

"I've been playing at the park today. I made two new friends, Shikamaru and Chōji ," he proclaimed proudly.

"That's fantastic!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "Now listen, don't forget about me on your rise to being Mr. Popularity, okay?"

"I could never forget you," he murmured, holding her face between his little hands. "You were my very first friend."

=^.v.^=

After several months of enjoying their comfortable daily pattern of living, Nao found herself deeply attached to the little blonde. Then she began having thoughts of bringing him into her home to live with her. He was like the little brother she never had; like the child she might never have. The thought of that terrible apartment building made her skin crawl. She could only imagine how his apartment looked. It was beginning to turn cold, and she was sure the building would be drafty and not keep out the chilly air. In her home, there was a storage room at the end of the hall full of surplus stock and odds and ends. She could clean that out and easily find another place to store those items. There would be plenty of room for a futon, a dresser, and a few toys. She doubted he had any kind of education. She could talk to Iruka about enrolling him in the academy, and -

"Nao? Nao! NNNNNAAAAAOOOOO!" Naruto bellowed at the top of his lungs to get her attention.

"Wh-what?" she stammered, not realizing she had been so engulfed in her musings.

"Did you hear me?" he asked, poking out his bottom lip. His blond eyebrows were drawn together over blue eyes darkened with agitation.

"I'm sorry, but no. What did you say?" she inquired, covering her mouth to hide her smile when he huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I said," he began, dragging out the word 'said' dramatically. "My birthday is next month."

"Oh, really?" she questioned him, trying not to sound too excited. "What day?"

"The tenth. Why?" Suspicion made his round eyes narrow as he studied her.

"I'll bake you a cake," she replied, only telling him part of the truth. A new home would be the best birthday surprise for him.

~...~

Nao was excited beyond all reason. She had almost cleared out her savings to buy the necessary items to furnish his room in addition to purchasing new clothes to replace that hideous orange jumpsuit he always wore. Iruka had been kind enough to help her move the surplus stock out of the room to another location. Everything was set up and waiting for Naruto; the bed was made, the dresser was full of clothes, and a few toys were scattered across the floor. The task had been tricky and time consuming to get accomplished with Naruto running in and out all day, but it had gotten done. She was putting the finishing touches on his cake when he walked into her kitchen.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto!" she exclaimed, showing him the chocolate cake. She watched in disbelief as his face crumbled and tears filled his eyes. Setting the cake down on the table, she gathered the crying child into her arms. "What's wrong?"

"I-I-I've never had a b-b-birthday cake before," he stuttered, crying uncontrollably. "No one's ever celebrated my birthday with me."

"Oh, Naruto," she murmured, kissing his tear soaked cheek. It never occurred to her that no one had ever celebrated his birthday. She doubted many people in this village were happy that he was alive. He had brought more joy to her in the last eight months than she had experienced in the two years before he came into her life. Her throat felt as if it were closing up and tears threatened to fall when he continued to cry. Setting him down on his feet, she used her apron to wipe away the salty wetness from his cheeks. "Hey, I've got a surprise for you."

Naruto grasped the hand that she held out to him. He let her pull him along to the closed door at the very end of the hall. "What's in there?" he asked in a whisper as if it were a secret.

"Open the door," she urged him, releasing his hand. She smiled as he looked up at her apprehensively while he reached for the brass knob, his big blue eyes swimming with uneasiness. Nodding her head, she assured him, "It's a good surprise. Go on...open it."

Naruto stared at the shiny doorknob as if something were hiding behind the door that would jump out and eat him up. With one last glance back at Nao, he gathered his courage and grabbed the knob to twist it. The door opened revealing the most beautiful sight he had seen since he had found her bedroom.

"It's yours," she told him when he gawked at the fully furnished room. It was not often the boy could be rendered speechless but this had done the job.

"Mine?" He pressed his hand against his chest, gazing up at her hopefully.

"Yours." She ran her hand over his wild but silky soft spikes. "Go inside."

Naruto squealed with immeasurable delight. He flung himself onto the bed, wallowing all over the comfy, velvety royal blue blanket. The sheets were white as snow and were so smooth and cool under his palm. He plunged face first into the marshmallow soft pillow, giggling ecstatically.

Nao could not stop herself from laughing and crying at the same time as she watched him sprawl across the futon on his back. This birthday surprise was even better than she had thought it would be. It startled her when he inhaled loudly, sitting bolt upright on the bed.

"This means I'll be living here," he declared as the full understanding soaked into his brain.

"Is that all right?" Her belly fluttered nervously. She had never considered that he might not want to live with her. Although the place repulsed her, perhaps he liked living in the apartment building by himself and being able to do as he pleased. Had she done this for purely selfish reasons? She chewed on her lower lip anxiously, studying him closely as he stood up and admired the room while turning in a slow circle.

"Nao, is this real? Do you really want me to live here?" he asked, sadness creeping into his eyes when he looked at her.

"Yes. I do want you to live here. I could be your big sister. We can be a family. You need someone...and I do too," she admitted, pulling in a shaky breath. Her bottom lip quivered despite the smile she wore. "Besides, you're a big strong man, right? I could use one of those around here to help me run the shop."

"Nao," he gasped, rushing to her to throw his arms around her waist. "I love you, big sister."

"I love you too."