Finally, I got this completely typed up and ready to post!!!! Sorry for taking so long with this chapter everyone, but it took me awhile to figure out just where I wanted to go next with this story then things were more a little crazy at the end of summer, so I didn't get a chance to finish it like I had promised in the reviews I answered and said in my bio page. Now that it is done, hopefully it won't take me as long to write up the next chapter as this one did. Enjoy the chapter and again, I apologize for taking so long.
Disclaimer: I do not, have not and never will own Naruto or any of the animes or etc that this story cross over into unfortunately. I do own the trunk, the twins and several other things/characters that will be making an appearance in the story as it goes along.
Gentle Soul: Haku's Legacy
Chapter 1
By
Phoenix Firestorm
Naruto slowly returned to the land of wakefulness and wondered what happened, last thing he remembered was the trunk….
The preteen snapped full awake and bolted upright as everything that occurred last night came back to him, he spun around on the futon to look about the room. Eyes widening more when Naruto saw that he didn't dream everything, Haku-chan had kids….a boy and a girl!
Naruto's eyes snapped over to the other side of the room when he heard voices, blinking several times when he saw clone Haku standing there looking after the children. Nor was it long before the clone glanced over and saw that he was awake, then turned his attention back to Jinhai.
Naruto silently watched Clone Haku care for the babies as if he had done it forever, getting each ready for what looked to be their next meal. Almost as if to prove him right, there was a beeping sound coming from where the small kitchenette/food prep area was located. It wasn't much really, just a small fridge and freezer , a 2 burner stovetop that looked like it could be packed away when not in use. Right now there was a pot of what looked to be boiling water on one of the burners, 2 baby bottles of milk sat within….warming up to the right temperature.
"Good morning Naru-kun, how well did you sleep?" C. Haku asked as he came over with one of the babies cradled carefully in one arm, bottle in his other hand.
"Pretty good I guess," Naruto replied somewhat dazedly, "still having trouble picturing Haku-chan as a father. I mean, he would probably be a very good parent….just….why now and why leave them orphans?" C. Haku chuckled "Well, the why part of your question has a very funny answer. Basically Zabuza-sama 'chickened out' of giving Boss 'the talk' when puberty struck, so got one of his friends to do it for him. One thing led to another and the twins are the end result, Boss refused to give them up once they were born so used the trunk apartment to raise them in." " Zabuza-sama didn't mind once he got use to them and the shock wore off, don't spread this around but he even played with them a few times….baby talk and all! Boss even has memories of Zabuza-sama saying grandkids and etc to them when Boss was out of the room." Naruto thought about it for a moment then tried to picture Zabuza Momochi, dread Demon of the Bloody Mist, a baby-lov'n-gushy-mushy grandfather.
Snickers started to escape Naruto's mouth but he tried to stifle them, only they refused to be contained. It wasn't long before the blond ninja was roaring with laughter, the image of Zabuza with sword on his back plus baby in each arm and wearing an apron that said 'Proud Sword-Tote'n Grandfather' on it.
C. Haku giggled as well while he waited for Naru-chan to regain control of himself again, it took some time but eventually Naruto did put himself together…snickers still escaping at times. Nor did C. Haku give the knucklehead nin time to do anything else, he put the bottle down on the floor and startled Naruto with a baby in his arms.
C. Haku chuckled and patiently showed Naru-chan how to hold the toddler properly then gave him the bottle, making sure Naruto was holding it right before he went back to get the other toddler and return to the futon.
Together, the 2 of them gave the twins their breakfast. Although Naruto probably didn't notice anything but the toddler in his arms, he had such an intense expression of awe and wonder on his face. Like it was the first thing he has ever done that didn't backfire in his face or get him into trouble, that the people around him could never tarnish or ruin for him.
Haku softly said "Zabuza-sama says she is going to be a little heartbreaker when she grows up, he pities the males that happen to be around when she is . Mainly because Nevaeh had him wrapped around her tiny fingers at first glance, baby puppy eyes no jutsu at full power!"
Naruto snorted, he could believe that, Neva has definitely inherited her father's feminine beauty which looked good on her. It also looked like her brother inherited some as well but that could just be the usual baby charm, at least he hoped so or the poor guy is going to have a gender complex by the time Jin reaches adulthood.
C. Haku showed Naruto how to burp Neva once she finished her bottle, he made sure the ninja's clothes were covered with a blanket before Nevaeh had a chance to upchuck her breakfast all over Naruto…which she didn't thankfully. When that was done, Naruto got to play with the twins while C. Haku cleaned up. Something which didn't take very long as it was just the 2 bottles, there would be a bit more come lunch time.
C. Haku came back over, picked up Jinhai and motioned for Naruto to follow with Nevaeh. The older teen lead the way across the nursery to the other door and pushed it open, revealing the playroom as Naruto thought it was last night. The room was large and spacious with lots of room for the kids to go crazy in as they grew, one wall was lined with large windows that let in all kinds of natural light.
C. Haku went over and leaned down to put Jin on the soft fun mat spread out over the floor, Naruto followed and put Neva beside her brother. He stayed crouched down and studied all the neat things build into the mat, there were crinkly things….stuffy things….smoochy things and etc.
"I let the twins play here for a few hours, sometimes until lunch time." C. Haku explained as he sat down beside the mat, keeping a close eye on the kids.
"Technically they don't need the bottle anymore as they are old enough to drink from a sippy cup, but they only get one a day which is breakfast. The rest of the time it is from a cup and kid-size dishes." C. Haku continued as he watched the kids play, "after lunch they usually have an hour long nap then get up to play some more."
"Do they know that their father and grandfather are dead, that they aren't coming back?" Naruto asked softly, his voice subdued.
"Yes and no, both Boss and Zabuza-sama made no secret in the fact that they were on the run….that they were ninja and may not come back alive….let alone in one piece. They understand in their limited ability because of their age, but they should still see the graves to say good-bye." C. Haku replied just as softly.
"So they know you are a clone and not the real thing?" Naruto asked uncertainly.
"Oh definitely, Boss and Zabuza-sama didn't hid the fact that they were Shinobi. The twins have already been introduced to the tools of the trade, meaning weapons and jutsus. Boss sometimes used his bloodline to help keep the twins cool whenever they got sick and had a fever, used some mirrors to help keep an eye on them too whenever he couldn't make a clone or 2." Clone Haku chuckled as memories came to the surface.
Naruto watched the twins a bit then sighed and got to his feet, as much as he would love to stay here and play with the kids. He had a trunk to finish exploring and plans to make, maybe later on he could come back and play.
"The other clones are scattered about the other compartments," C. Haku spoke up, "there's one in the hidden library attached to the study. One in the medical facility compartment, one in the greenhouse compartment, one in the hobby room and the last one…me….here."
"Oji!" Jinhai suddenly called out, getting their attention.
"Oji-Naru!" Nevaeh followed her brother.
Naruto was stunned speechless, the twins had just met him and already they were calling him 'uncle'.
"Don't be so surprised Naru-kun, Boss told the twins all about you when he got back from meeting you the first time. Boss would often tell them things as he was getting them settled for the night, he called it personal family time just for them." "They even call the Demon Brothers 'Uncle', much to their chagrin and unease. Neither one warmed up to the twins right away, although Boss says that they did before Zabuza-sama did and that it was because they are twins as well. Twins are drawn to twins, I wouldn't be surprised if the twins started to show signs of the bond all children of multiple births have. Jinhai and Nevaeh are already using twin-speak, not very well but it's there." Hearing about the Demon Brothers reminded Naruto that he should send word home to the old man and tell him to hold off on their fate until he got back, so asked C. Haku if there was any sort of communications place here.
"I believe so," the clone answered thoughtfully, "boss didn't get a chance to fully explore the trunk after he got it. He only discovered and listed the 15 you read about, boss later found mention that there were actually 20 compartments. One being a security/communications room, you can use that if you can find it."
"Although, if you are in a hurry and can't take time to search. You can use a summons, boss found tons of contracts in the hidden library. You will have to ask the clone there to help or you'll get lost, boss almost did a few times before he decided to just use clones to map the place out. I'll tell him to meet you at the entrance, that way you won't be kept waiting." "Summon contracts, really?!" Naruto replied as his eyes lit up with anticipation.
He knew a little bit about such things, most of it the old man told him during their talks. Some he managed to learn at the academy when he was able to stay awake, although Naruto had a pretty good idea on what they were…and used for.
"There, I told Clone 1 about you and he is going to meet you at the door. Hopefully you can find a summons that will accept you," C. Haku spoke up after a few moments of silence, "you may even be able to sign more than 1 but I can't be sure." "Cool, thanks CH-2!" Naruto exclaimed as he spun around to dash back the way he came only to stop suddenly and looked over his shoulder at the clone, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I don't want to leave you 3 alone, are you going to be okay h ere?" Naruto asked I concern.
C. Haku chuckled "Oh we'll be fine, but if you want to create a clone as well and leave it here. I can begin your lessons on fatherhood, that way when it dispels….you will get its memories and know what to do."
Now this surprised Naruto and it showed too, he didn't know shadow clones could do that and it really made sense in a way that he felt foolish about. After a few moments he just chuckled weakly and quickly created another clone, giving this one extra chakra so it will last longer. When the clone appeared, Naruto left it in C. Haku's capable hands then took off back to that hidden room in the study.
~*~
C. Haku or rather CH-1 as Naruto finally began to call them in his head to keep them straight, looked up when the door to the hidden library opened and let in Naru-kun as boss always called him. He stood by the table set against the wall not far from the door and waited for the blond ninja to join him, although CH-1 had a faint smile on his face as Naruto couldn't stop looking around at all the shelves and their contents.
"Hello Naru-kun," CH-1 spoke kindly, "it is nice to finally meet you face-to-face. Knowing you via Boss's memories isn't the same thing as a physical meeting, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah, I guess. You really know where everything is in this place, it looks like a maze to me?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Pretty much, I know where to find what I am looking for but don't have everything indexed just yet. Since clones don't need to eat, just sleep or even meditation to ration the chakra given us by Boss. We can work pretty much nonstop, although we are confined to the rooms in our care."
"I can go anywhere in this room, the study and library compartment but not anywhere else in the trunk. CH-2, whom you met just now, is restricted to the nursery and playroom. Although that may change as the twins grow older and gradually move out of the nursery to their own rooms, the playroom will probably still be used by them but not the nursery."
"The same thing applies to Ch-3 and 4, I don't think those 2 mind any though as they have whole compartments to themselves. About the only one of us clones that can go anywhere in the trunk and actually leave the trunk is CH-5, the clone in Boss's studio….which is the hobby room but you will see that later on." CH-1 explained as he turned and led Naruto to where the summon contracts were, Naruto…of course….was lost almost immediately so made sure to stick close to the clone.
CH-1 stopped in front of a long bookcase with scrolls carefully piled on it, he glanced over at Naruto and snickered at the shocked look on his face. The is probably the first and only time he has seen so many summon contracts in one place, let alone all the different kinds of summon scrolls.
"I attempted to organize them all by what type they were and the species of animal summoned," CH-1 explained softly, "but that is as far as I got unfortunately."
He then began to point out the different types to Naruto, noticing the intent look of interest on his face.
Finally the clone asked "So what kind of summons are you looking for Naru-kun?" "I don't know," Naruto answered uncertainly, "I wanted to send word to the old man and ask him not to do anything with the Demon Brothers just yet. At least hold off on their fate until I get back, CH-2 told me that they are like uncles to the twins which makes them somewhat family." CH-1 thought for a moment then said "Well, since you haven't found the communications compartment yet. There are other ways you can use if summons won't work right away, especially with time being the issue here."
"Come with me and I'll show you what I mean, this room has more that a hidden library in it. There is also access to a few other surprises in here, they aren't quite complete compartments of their own though. This room that contains the hidden library also connects to the library compartment, I'll show you where the entrance is once you send your message."
Naruto was curious to find out what the clone meant, so followed the young man out of the hidden room and back to the study. CH-1 motioned for the blond nin to sit in the chair behind the desk then stood beside him, Naruto watched as CH-1 reached down and touched a spot on the chair but didn't get a chance to ask any questions as the floor under the chair disappeared.
Shocking Naruto but he didn't panic as CH-1 put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, he did keep quiet as to where they were going or what is happening. The chair didn't sink very far, at least to him it seem like it did.
Naruto looked around when the chair came to a stop behind another desk, except this one wasn't as nice as the one in the study. This desk was well worn and look to have been through many years of hard labor, Naruto then glanced around the room and saw that they were in some kind of supply room.
CH-1 explained "This is the supply room of the trunk, everything that has immediate or semi-immediate use is kept here. It doesn't mater if the item is used for the home, travels, training or battles. You name it or even imagine it, then it is probably here." CH-1 lead the way pass shelves, bins and boxes full of unusual items. Naruto trying to look at everything and still keep up with the clone. Nearly bumping into CH-1 when he came to a stop in front of a sturdy shelf that had securely locked boxes of various sizes on it, C. Haku reached up and took down a smallish box. He then motioned for Naruto to follow him back to the desk but not to sit down, instead C. Haku put the box on the surface and sent a tiny pulse of chakra into the box to unlock it.
Naruto watched curiously as C. Haku removed the lid to reveal several cloth wrapped objects, he wasn't able to figure out what they were because of the way each was wrapped up. C. Haku carefully lifted one of the objects out of the box before he started to take off the protective covers, revealing what appears to be a mirror the size of Kakashi-sensei's hand.
"This is called a 2-way communications mirror Naru-kun," CH-1 explained, "the other mirror to this pair is still in the box. They are used by magic users to communicate over long distances mostly, but some used them for any distance."
"I haven't had much time to do a lot of work down here so I'm not completely sure if they can be used as links to other communication devices or not, you can only try and see if you are able to reach our Kage with them."
"Well," Naruto replied thoughtfully, "the old man does have a crystal ball that he uses to keep an eye on what is going on in the village. I could see if the mirrors can link up to that, talking to the old man through his own crystal ball."
C. Haku nodded then showed Naru-kun how to use the mirrors, stepping back out of sight once the preteen ninja understood what to do clearly.
Naruto held the mirror securely in one hand as he sent a bit of energy into it with his other hand, tuning the mirror to his signature so no one else could use it but him. He may give the mate to this one to Inari so they could keep in touch, after he showed the kid how to use it of course.
~*~
Sandaime sighed as he leaned back in his chair, glad to have a few moments break before the next load of paperwork had arrived on his desk. Although he couldn't enjoy the break like he usually did, not after getting word from Kakashi in what Team 7 had been sent into. Worry filled him for the team and especially his adopted 'grandson', even when the ANBU got back with the Demon Brothers and dropped them off in a cell….he didn't relax his concern for the kids.
It was also about this time that he noticed the light coming from under the cloth that he kept over the crystal ball and faint sounds reaching his ears which got him curious as to what is going on.
Sarutobi got to his feet and headed over to find out what is going on. Except he nearly got blasted off his feet when Sarutobi removed the cloth and leaned down to take a look at what was being shown by the crystal ball, thanks to a very familiar voice.
"HEY OLD MAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
There was a pause as if Naruto were waiting for an answer of some sort, then his voice came again.
"COME ON, GET YOUR NOSE OUT OF THAT PERVY-BOOK AND ANSWER!"
"Naruto?" Sandaime asked curiously as he peered into his crystal ball, surprised to see h is adopted grandson's face.
"About time old man," Naruto retorted sarcastically, "thought you would never hear me and I've got the loudest voice there is other than the teme's fan girls." Sarutobi chuckled and would have asked what was going on but Naruto wouldn't let him, he must be in a hurry of some sort.
"Listen old man, I'll explain everything once we get back and no one else is around to be nosy. What I have to say doesn't concern anyone but you and me," Naruto said seriously, "clear?"
Sarutobi could only nod and wonder what the heck is going on in Wave.
"Alright, now did the ANBU collect the Oni Brothers like Kakashi-sensei said and have you done anything with them yet?" Naruto asked anxiously.
Sandaime replied "Yes they did Naruto, I had Ibiki take care of them while I tried to decide what to do with them." "Good, now I want you to hold off on their fate until I get back and we talk. Which means no killing, no life-threatening or career-ending injuries, no collecting the bounty on them if there is one! Just throw them in a cell and keep them locked up for now!" Naruto asked seriously, looking his 'grandfather' straight in the eye.
Sarutobi didn't know what to do except agree, but his mind was already whirling with possible answers as to what Naruto is doing. Whatever it is has to be big, Naruto never did anything small or halfway.
"Great! Thanks old man, now you can go back to keeping that seat warm for me, just be ready to hang onto your pipe and my hat because you are going to be in for the shock of your collective age when I get back." Naruto exclaimed happily, eyes sparkling with mischief.
The crystal ball went blank and stop glowing, Sandaime gazed blankly down at the crystal ball and blinked several times. Not really sure exactly what just happened, it also wasn't until he got back to his seat and sat down that he realized Naruto didn't stick around long enough to get an answer to the request of the brothers. Sandaime sighed, deciding to wait until Naruto got back as the boy got his curiosity up to find out what is going on.
~*~
Naruto would have put the mirror back in the box but CH-1 stopped him, saying "You can keep the mirrors in that box Naru-kun, just keep them in a protective bags and they shouldn't get damaged. They don't even need any special care, just treat them like normal mirrors and things will be fine."
Naruto was surprised at t his and thought about it then smiled his thanks at the clone of his friend, putting the mirror back in the box then pocketing the box once he had it closed and locked again. The blond ninja will have to get those protective bags later on once he returned to the village and knew what kind was needed unless he could find some here in the trunk somewhere, another thing to put on the growing list of tasks to do.
Naruto looked around the supply room and decided to do a bit of exploration before he returned to the study, taking care not to touch anything. At least not until he knew exactly what it did and if the object was dangerous or not. C. Haku came with him and helped with most of the stuff in the supply room, but there was still some stuff the clone hadn't gotten around to yet.
Naruto paused to study what looked like capsules of some sort, wondering what they were for. It must be something as there were boxes of them lining the section of the shelving unit, although the smaller boxes looked to be complete sets….at least just by going what the labels said.
C. Haku explained "From what I have been able to figure out, these are storage capsules. Boss found out that the old man who gave him this trunk, helped out the creator and designer of these little wonders. As thanks, his friend gave him a copy of the designs so he could make his own. The friend knew the man was almost constantly traveling, so probably won't be able to get any…let alone have access to them to begin with."
C. Haku showed Naru-kun how they worked and what all could be put in them, already Naruto's brain was spinning with all the possibilities and etc. Although it stunned him speechless at the sheer size of some things that were stored in a few of the capsules, large 4-5 story houses was the biggest surprise.
Naruto examined some of the pre-made sets, reading the list on the inside of the cover to see what was in each. A lot of the items contained within each set weren't of any use to him right now, although they did look interesting just by what he read and saw in the tiny pictures. In the end, he just decided to take 2 sets of empty capsules with him….1 set for himself and one to give to Tsunami.
The preteen looked around a bit more but didn't see anything that he could take the time to examine closely, so he turned to head back to the chair. Pausing briefly to grab 3 more of the empty sets of capsules, thinking to use them to store the furnishings from the formal dining room and living room. Naruto also came up with the idea to store all the alcohol from the bar in them, thus keeping it out of temptations reach.
Before he got there though, C. Haku got his attention by motioning for him to come down another aisle. So Naruto followed the clone with curiosity on his face. The 2 stopped in front of another series of shelves with good size bins on it, except these bins didn't have covers and were filled with white crystals of various sizes and shapes.
C. Haku saw Naru-kun's puzzled expression and began to explain "These are Chakra crystals, like the one I am wearing. They store vast amounts of chakra and release it back into your body whenever you are running low, although it does take awhile to completely fill. Boss managed to fill 1 per year and just finished the last one before his death, he then created 7 clones and put one crystal on each of us. If he had more time, Boss would have created another clone to act as backup for his fight. Maybe even had his clone take his place in protecting Zabuza-sama, but it didn't happen that way unfortunately."
Naruto nodded sadly, time just wasn't on Haku-chan's side during that period. As much as he felt bad about loosing a good friend, there wasn't much Naruto could do about it except do his best for Haku's kids.
"How does the chakra get into the crystals?" Naruto asked thoughtfully.
"The crystals absorb any chakra close to them, so if you hold one of the crystals in your hands and focus the chakra toward your hands then the crystal will take care of the rest. You can also do the same thing by keeping the crystal close to your skin, like as a pendent on a necklace of some sort." C. Haku answered calmly.
Naruto nodded then started to look through all the different crystal shapes, picking out 10 as close to being the shape of a leaf as he could. Once done, Naruto took them back to the desk and sat down on the chair. He sat back with one of the crystals in his hands and concentrated, C. Haku watched as Naruto's hands started to glow with chakra and the crystal began to suck it all in.
C. Haku was amazed at how fast Naru-kun filled the crystal with chakra, it took the Boss a whole year just about to fill just one!
Naruto kept going until he had filled each crystal with all the chakra they could hold, then stopped and relaxed although he wasn't even winded or tired. When the blond was done, he started looking for something to fasten the crystals to. C. Haku solved that problem when he produced orange leather chokers, chuckling when Naru-kun's eyes lit up at the sight of all the orange.
With C. Haku's help, Naruto got the crystals fastened to the chokers. After that, he gathered them up off the desk and put the chokers on his lap. Looking at the clone and saying "I'm making some help for you in the rooms your responsible for, this way you won't be alone and keep trying to do everything yourself."
C. Haku smiled softly then said "Thank-you Naru-kun, I appreciate it a lot. I found these crystals as well, thinking that you might want to give your teammates and sensei a gift."
The clone placed 4 crystals on the desk, surprising Naruto with them. One of the crystals was in the shape of a cherry blossom, the second was in the shape of an opened fan, the 3rd looked like a white wolf with its head back to howl at the moon and the last crystal surprised Naruto, it was shaped like a spiral.
"Whoa, awesome! Thanks CH-1," Naruto exclaimed and immediately put his crystal on another orange choker, "I like it a lot. How did you know I liked spirals?"
C. Haku chuckled "You told Boss, remember, plus it is all over your clothes. I wanted to find one that looked like a whirlpool like your last name means, but that was the closest I could get."
Naruto flushed as one hand went up to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment, he had forgotten about that. As good as the memory is, it still hurt that he couldn't save Haku-chan and it probably will for some time to come. Naruto pocketed the other crystals to give to his teammates and sensei later.
They would have returned to the study after that but Naruto caught sight of more trunks neatly stacked against the far wall, so got up to investigate after putting the clone chokers in a pocket for now. C. Haku followed him and explained that they were other entrances to the main trunk…meaning the one he is in now, all they had are the 2 normal-size compartments plus the compartment with the stairs that lead down into the courtyard. There was another stack of the same secondary trunks next to this one, but they had an apartment compartment included with a door that opened out into the courtyard instead.
Now this gave Naruto an idea, he could use these two stacks and place them at certain locations for quick access to the main trunk. Not to mention fast escapes from trouble that ninjas like him seem to always attract, at least it was in his case.
Naruto carefully shrunk down 2 secondary trunks, planning on putting one in the Sanctuary he is creating here in Wave and the other will be a gift to Old Man Hokage for his office. He would have to see about putting some sort of security on the Hokage's trunk as not just anyone could have access to it. But that will have to come later on. This time they made it back to the main office/study without any more distractions, once there Naruto got to work creating the 10 clones and giving them the chokers. Telling them that they were to help CH-1 with the rooms he's responsible for, each clone nodded and looked at C. Haku for their tasks.
While the clone of his friend took CN-1 to 10 into the hidden library and got them started on a task, Naruto went digging in the desk drawers again and found an unused book which he used to keep notes in.
So Naruto spent the next 4 hours madly scribbling everything down, dividing the book into sections so he could keep each compartment straight. Although with the apartment compartment, he had to divide that section into subsections so each room would have its own. Naruto also kept the letters he got from Haku so far in the book, for now at least.
Once done, Naruto put the book and pen in a pocket then got to his feet to continue his explorations. He needed to check out the other compartments of the trunk before he could start his plans, but first he went back downstairs to get something to eat and stash that alcohol away before he forgot.
CH-1 made sure he had enough packing material once Naruto told him why he is going to store the furnishings of those two rooms away, so Naruto created 10 more clones and put them to work with that task while he got something to eat. Making sure the clones understood that they had to be careful and not damage anything, the clones all nodded seriously and got to work.
Naruto returned to the kitchen and started to scrounge around in the cupboards to find something he recognized to eat, the teen was so busy with his search that he didn't hear or see CH-2 come down the stairs with the twins and the clone that he left with them.
"Trying to find something to eat Naru-kun?" CH-2 asked in amusement.
Naruto jumped a foot then spun around to face them, surprised to see them then calmed down.
"CH-2, what are you doing here? CH-1 assumed that you couldn't leave the nursery and playroom, at least that is what he told me?" Naruto asked curiously.
"He's right in a way," C. Haku answered calmly, "but my task is the twins so I can go anywhere in the apartment compartment. Except your room, the study and a few other areas which you can make off limits to the kids and I."
"Besides, the twins are in the habit of coming down here for lunch as it gives them a different environment to be in. Boss didn't like to keep them in the playroom all the time, so brought them to others rooms as long as someone is there to help watch them. They sometimes slept with him in his room, mostly when they had trouble sleeping in the nursery."
C. Naruto kept the twins occupied in the family room while C. Haku continued on into the kitchen.
"You can help me with lunch, Naru-kun," C. Haku replied calmly, "I'll show you where everything is and what each item in the cupboard is used for." Naruto nodded in agreement then focused his attention on what the clone of his friend is doing. Memorizing what C. Haku said so he would know where to find things later, but it will take more time until he became comfortable enough with all the different foods and ingredients to actually use them.
The 2 worked on in comfortable silence, speaking only when necessary. Naruto paid close attention to each task C. Haku gave him, following the instructions to the best of his ability. Lunch preparations certainly went faster with 2 people working on it instead of just 1, the kitchen also started to fill up with wonderful smells that made Naruto's mouth water.
Once lunch was ready to be dished up, C. Haku showed Naruto where the dishes were and had him set the breakfast bar. C. Naruto got the twins settled in their high chairs and moved over to the breakfast bar, then he turned to help Boss and C. Haku bring the food over.
Naruto filled the twins sippy cups with juice then carefully snapped the lids on, making sure the cover was secure and wouldn't come off before he gave them to the twins. Chuckling at the "Tank-you!" he got afterward. There wasn't much left to do after that, so Naruto just sat down in a chair beside the twins, although he did watch C. Haku as the clone dished the slightly cooled food onto the twins plates.
Once everyone had sat down and had a plateful of food, they dug in and simply enjoyed the meal. Naruto especially, but maybe it was because he helped cook it. The preteen never really paid much attention to food that wasn't ramen, oh he would eat what was put in front of him but he never gave it much notice. At least he would once Naruto made sure it hadn't been tampered with, being what he is makes him no stranger to assignation attempts.
Another reason he is glad to have this trunk now, he can take shelter here when things get nasty. Not to mention that here he can get 3 full 'healthy' meals instead of ramen all the time, nor would Naruto have to worry about trying to restock on what he is running low on. He plan on taking full advantage of the Greenhouse Compartment and doing what Haku suggested, at least he was going to try and grow as much of his own food as he could.