Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything related!

KONOHA STEEL

CHAPTER 2: A NEW BEGINNING

Naruto hid behind Tenten's back as the duo arrived to the front door. Before them, stood two ANBU agents, the Jounin that helped come to Naruto's rescue earlier, and an old man. He was wearing a rather formal red and white robe, with a triangle hat in the same colors. He had a small smoking pipe in his mouth as he smiled at the two kids. He then looked up as Sheena arrived in the room as well. She couldn't help, but smile at her daughter's antics.

Since arriving at the door, Tenten began to look around and ask the Jounin all kinds of questions. Questions like how he got his hair to stand up like that, why it was such an odd color, and why he hid most of his face. The Jounin sighed as some of the girls questions were things he didn't like to talk about. Sheena could tell this, and she pulled Tenten and Naruto back, giving the man some space. She then turned to the Sandaime and bowed.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Hokage-sama." Sheena said. "To what do we owe this honored visit."

"Please, Sheena. There isn't a need to be so formal." the old man replied with a smile. "I heard what happened, and I thought I'd come by to check up on the boy." He paused as he bent down to Naruto's level and ruffled his hair. "I heard you had quite a day, Naruto-kun. I can't help, but wonder what you were doing outside of the orphanage though, especially in the middle of a rain storm…"

The boy looked down for a moment. The old man's eyes softened as Sheena cleared her throat. He looked up at the woman as she motioned for the den behind her. The Sandaime stood up and nodded in reply.

"Ten-chan, why don't you take Naruto up to your room to play?" Sheena asked.

"Alright, kaa-san!" Tenten cheered.

She took Naruto's hand and lead him up the stairs. The Hokage turned to the Jounin and smiled.

"Kakashi, why don't you follow them and keep an eye on them?" he asked as he walked into the living room.

"Hai, Hokage-sama…" Kakashi replied. He was no good at dealing with kids. He walked towards the stairs and looked up seeing Naruto and Tenten waiting atop them, the girl with an eager look plastered on her face. "Yes, yes… I'm coming…"

Sheena and the Hokage walked into the living room with the two ANBU agents following closely behind. She offered the old man a seat. He accepted and sat down with a sigh, removing his hat for a moment to rub his forehead in disgust.

"So… They threw him out again…" the Sandaime sighed.

"You knew?" Sheena asked in confusion.

"Yes, it's the only logical reason as to why Naruto would be out in the village in a storm like we just had. This is probably the fifth time they've thrown him out."

"And you sent him back?!"

"There isn't much else I can do. It's the safest place for Naruto to be. Besides, I'm always able to talk them into taking him back."

"That's crazy! They'll just toss him out on the streets again. Some thugs will show up to beat the life out of him, and the cycle will just repeat!"

"So do you have another solution?" The Hokage looked the woman in the eyes. "I care for him too, but I don't see many choices in the matter."

Sheena rose to her feet and looked at a picture sitting on table. It had herself, Tenten, and an older man that appeared to be her husband. She ran her fingers along the glass covering the photo, before looking back at the Hokage. A weak smile stretched across her lips, causing the man to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"A child so young… He should have a family…" she said.

"Are you suggesting that you wish to adopt him?" the Sandaime asked.

"Yes… I'll need to talk it over with Kenn, but I believe that he deserves a family… A home… Love."

"Talk it over with your husband and come to my office tomorrow. I'll have the orphanage send over his papers just in case."

Sheena smiled and nodded as the old man rose to his feet and placed his hat back on. They made their way up the stairs towards Tenten's room, where they found the most humorous sight. Tenten had apparently decided to have a tea party. Naruto was sitting beside her pouring himself a cup with a wide smile on his face. Kakashi was also partaking in the tea party. It was quite a sight seeing the Jounin wearing a pink fluffy scarf, and wide brimmed, purple hat with a flower sticking out of it. Imagine the look on his face as he looked up to see both Sheena and the Hokage smiling and laughing at the sight.

"Having fun, kids?" the old Hokage asked with a chuckle, making sure to address all three of the room's occupants.

"Yeah, we had a lot of fun, didn't we Naruto?" Tenten asked as she pulled the blonde boy over to the adults.

"Y-Yeah…" he replied sheepishly.

The old man noticed this, and knelt down on to his level. He placed a hand gently on Naruto's shoulder. The boy met the Hokage's eyes, and noticed the kind smile on his face.

"Naruto-kun… Tell me, do you like playing with Tenten?" the Sandaime asked.

Naruto nodded shyly.

"Would you like to spend some extra time with her?"

Again, Naruto nodded, though this time more sure of his answer.

"Well then, how about for tonight, you stay here?" The Sandaime looked over at Sheena and smiled. "I'm sure you are more than welcome to, correct?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun…" Sheena replied. "You'll be more than welcome to stay the night."

Tenten cheered at this. The small girl ran up and threw her arms around Naruto, hugging him tightly. Although hesitant at first, the boy too returned the hug, though a slight bit of blush was on his cheeks. Both Sheena and the Sandaime smiled at this, and Kakashi began to walk to the exit of the room.

"Then it is agreed…" the Hokage said as they left the kids to play, walking back downstairs. "Naruto-kun shall remain here for at least an evening…"

"And I'll talk to Kenn about adopting him." Sheena finished. "Though I doubt there will be much to discuss. Kenn was a close friend of the Yondaime, so he'd be sure to do whatever it took to protect the boy."

"Good… I shall see you both tomorrow with your answer then." the Hokage said.

Sheena nodded, and watched as the Hokage, Kakashi, and the two ANBU agents left the home. She sighed to herself as she fell back on the couch, running a hand through her hair. Sheena was sure that Kenn would want to help, but things were a little tight around as it was. Even if he agreed, another mouth to feed may make things quite difficult, at least for a while. Still, it was for the greater good. Sheena knew this. Her head turned to the sound of footsteps and the front door opening. Quickly, she rose from the couch, and walked to the door in time to see her husband walk in.

Kenn stood of average height, about 5'9" and had an average build. He had brown eyes, and black spiky hair that went down to just past his shoulders. He wore the typical Konoha shinobi flack vest, and underneath that was a black vest and pants, with matching shinobi sandals. His hitai-ate was tied around his waist, serving as a belt, and also as a holder for the katana sheathed on his left side. He looked up as he removed his sandals, smiling at the sight of his beautiful wife walking to him with open arms.

"Hello, Sheena-hime…" he sighed happily as he held his wife. "It's just not the same without you around me…"

"Nor is it without you here…" Sheena replied.

She paused as the two kissed passionately, before Kenn suddenly scooped the woman up into his arms. She laughed as the man ran to the couch jumping on top of it with Sheena still in his arms. The two kissed again, and then sighed happily. Sheena rested her head on Kenn's shoulder.

"So how was your mission?" she asked.

"A complete success." Kenn replied with a grin. "We were able to help the merchant cross the boarder to Sunagakure peacefully, with no major issues at all. Just the typical bandit thinking they can beat a Jounin by slashing around aimlessly with a rusty knife."

"That's good." Sheena replied. "Because things just wouldn't be the same without you."

Kenn kissed her again, and then jumped to his feet.

"By the way, where is my Ten-chan?" he asked. "I usually come home from a mission, and she's the one who jumps me!"

"Ten-chan is upstairs playing with a friend…" Sheena began. "Before you get her, I think we should talk…"

"Can it wait?" Kenn said as he left the living room. "I wanna see my Ten-chan first!"

The man began to run up the stairs to his daughter's room. Sheena sighed and chased after him. She was hoping that she could talk to him before he saw Naruto, but that didn't look like it was gonna happen. She ran up the stairs, just in time to see Kenn throw open the door to Tenten's room.

"Ten-chan! I'm home!" the man sang.

"Tou-san!" Tenten cheered as she jumped up from the small table in her room and into her father's arms. "I missed you so much!"

"Me too, Ten-chan… Me too…" Kenn replied as he kissed his daughter's cheek.

Tenten began to wiggle around.

"Tou-san, you'll never believe it. Earlier the um… The old man with the funny hat was here!" she shouted.

"Old man with the funny hat?" Kenn asked curiously. "You mean the Hokage?"

"Yeah, that's him!" Tenten replied. She pointed over to Naruto and smiled. "He came to check up on my new friend!"

Kenn raised an eyebrow as he followed the finger to a blonde, spiky haired youth who was standing in the corner, looking down at the ground. Kenn slowly put Tenten down, and walked to the boy. Gently, he put a hand on Naruto's chin, and raised it up, inspecting the boy's face. He stared intently at the whisker marks. The deep blue eyes, the ones that tried their best to hide pain, but obviously failed if you looked at them right.

"This is…" Kenn began.

"Maybe we should talk about this in the other room." Sheena interrupted.

Kenn looked up at his wife, and just stared into her eyes. He nodded, and took Sheena's hand as she led him into the other room. There was silence, but only for a moment before Kenn broke it.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Naruto was attacked again…" Sheena replied. "On my way home from market…"

"And you stopped the attackers." Kenn interrupted.

"Hai."

"Then you brought him here."

"Hai."

"The Hokage?"

"He showed up shortly after I brought him home. He was probably informed of the situation by the Jounin who came to my aid when Naruto was attacked."

"Jounin?" Kenn paused for a moment, thinking of who it could possibly be. "What did he look like?"

"Tall hair, it was silver and kind of slanted to the side." Sheena explained. "His hitai-ate was covering his left eye… And when he smiled, he closed his visible one. It kind of looked like the letter "U."

"Hatake Kakashi… Hai, that does make sense." Kenn mused. He walked over to the window, watching as the cold rain pattered against the window. "What did Hokage-sama say while he was here? What did he do?"

"I was told… That Naruto was outside in this storm… Being assaulted on the street like that because… The orphanage threw him out." Sheena said. "And this was not the first time…" Kenn looked back at his wife as she walked to a dresser in their room. She picked up a small frame, one containing Tenten's picture. "He said that he is able to get him back into the orphanage… But it is always just a matter of time before Naruto is back on the streets."

"I see…" Kenn replied.

"He brought up an interesting idea."

"Hmm?"

A brief silence passed by. Sheena was staring intently at Tenten's picture, slowly moving her fingers across the glass. Her eyes slowly looked up at Kenn, as she moved over to the bed. She sat on the edge, and her husband joined her soon after. Kenn watched as she took a deep breath, and then turned to face him.

"He thinks… He thinks that maybe… Naruto… Maybe he should be adopted." Sheena said.

"Adopted?" Kenn asked.

"Hai." she replied. Slowly, her eyes gazed down at the picture again. "He thinks… That maybe we would be the best choice."

"Us? I don't understand, why us?" Kenn asked. Confusion was evident in his tone.

"Well… There aren't many people in Konoha that see him for a boy… They see him as the Kyuubi." Sheena explained. Kenn gave a silent nod. "We are some of the few people who don't see him as a monster. We see him for what he really is. A lonely, scared, confused little boy who is hated for what he could not control. And… We are what he truly needs… A family."

Kenn listened intently to her reasoning. It was sound. Very sound. However, there were other concerns too. Business at the store was a little slow right now. Tenten was going to be beginning her schooling soon. Money was tight…

"Sheena-hime…" Kenn began. "You feel strongly about this, I know… But…"

"I could take a second job?" Sheena suggested. "Maybe cut back on our spending some?"

"That would help… But we're not making it enough here at the moment." Kenn responded. "Naruto… He may not be much better off with us than he is out there…" Sheena's gaze lowered, the sound of Naruto and Tenten's laughter could be heard from the bedroom. Kenn placed a hand under Sheena's chin, and raised her head to look into her eyes. "But… I always have had a thing for the little guy… He's kinda funny to watch sometimes… And Ten-chan seems to have taken a liking to him…"

"So, what are you saying?" Sheena asked.

"I'm saying… Lower the prices on some of our higher sellers at the store. I'll take on a few more missions here and there… And tomorrow, go shopping for some clothes, toys, and such for a boy." Kenn replied. He smirked as Sheena looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"You mean it?" Sheena asked, hope in her voice.

"Hai… Part of being a shinobi is taking risks after all." Kenn replied, pausing as Sheena kissed him deeply. Slowly, she pulled away and he smiled more. "Besides, I've always wanted a son."

--

I finally managed to finish the second chapter, rather quickly too. Inspiration just flowed to me for it. I can't wait to start chapter three. Read, review, and I'll see you all soon.