Even though it took so long, I'M BACK!!! Anyway, back when I was writing this chapter the first time around it was lost when I came back to it, so I kinda haven't been in the mood to write in a while. Yeah it's been ages -_-

After the last chapter I decided that I won't be giving a description of every character, y'all probably know them by now. I will be giving descriptions though based on when their outfits are altered or changed though from what they normally wear canon, if I decide to change them at all.

I also came to notice a key point in something that I had done back in the prologue. I made the mistake of forgetting that Kirigakure is an island nation. So, while it isn't the best way to do this, here is my solution to that: prior to the events that occurred within the manga, Kirigakure had more land. During the next two years, the land was then somehow acquired by Orichimaru as he was creating Otogakure.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Without further ado, here's the next chapter.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

DISCLAIMER: I sadly don't own Naruto as that belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. This is merely a story based off the wonderful work that he's done.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

"Non-human speech"

"Non-human thoughts"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Third POV

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I am outta this damn joint!" Was the shout that filled a room within the hospital.

Tamashī had been forced to endure an extra two days, despite what he had been told by Hiruzen, and it need not be said that he was sick of the hospital at that point. During that time, his only companionship had come from the doctors, who would occasionally check up on his condition, Hiruzen, who would often come with Naruto, and Naruto himself. When they weren't around however, Tamashī was only able to go through the books that the hospital had.

Throughout Naruto's many visits, Tamashī had come to learn a few key things about his cousin. The first, and most important being that the blonde probably couldn't keep still or stay quiet even if his life were to depend on it, which grated on Tamashī's patience. The second, he came to the conclusion of dully, was that his cousin really didn't have anything better to do if he spent all his time outside of the academy staying with him. Don't get him wrong, Tamashī didn't fully mind the company, he just wished Naruto had some friends to hang out with, something he'd have to help him change in time.

But now, after having shouted his thoughts, Tamashī looked at his cousin and Hiruzen a little sheepishly. Naruto looked excited at being able to finally spend time with the family he never knew he had, while Hiruzen looked a little exasperated at the behavior Tamashī showed. Yet, the old Hokage supposed, it was reasonable that the boy would act that way.

"Now then, we need to discuss your living arrangements."

"Eh! But why jiji? He can stay with me, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, hoping to finally live with family after growing up without any thus far.

Hiruzen considered the option before turning towards Tamashī. "And what do you think of the idea?" He asked him.

Tamashī began to think over what he wanted to do. On the one end, he'd be able to at least not have to live in an area on his own, but on the other he'd probably have to put with a lot of noise because of his cousin.

"As much as I might come to regret this later, I'll accept Naruto's hospitality."

The effect was almost instantaneous. "Sweet! I promise you won't regret it, believe it!" The excited blonde began to go off, not even realizing that he had let his verbal tick slip a second time. As he continued to speak with glee Tamashī stared at him with an incredulous face at how much Naruto was able to talk.

Sensing that it was time to reel in the blonde, Hiruzen decided to speak, "Do either of you have the money to settle yourself in?" He asked, looking at Tamashī.

"Yeah I should, lemme see." Tamashī said, beginning to rummage through his bag. Reaching the seal he wanted, Tamashī then applied some chakra and a poof of smoke later, he held a large wad of bills.

Flashback

Tamashī, who was about to leave from the Kiri-camp, turned around to look at his captors when suddenly an idea came to mind. As he thought it over, he couldn't help but feel the need to get back at them. Walking towards them with a mirthful twinkle in his amethyst purple eyes, he went through each of their supply pouches and was happy to have pulled out every last bit of money they had.

"Kami, do they always have this much in their wallets or did the Mizukage pay them this much before they started to chase me?" For there, in his hands, he held nearly 90,000 ryō. (About 9,000 U.S.D.)

He then turned tail and bolted away from the area maintaining his smug grin, knowing that he just finished robbing them of all they had.

Flashback end

Seeing the smug look on Tamashī, both Hiruzen and Naruto decided not to ask how he got the money, although the old Hokage made a mental note to not leave anything valuable alone with the boy.

"Very well then, you seem to be well financially, but allow to give you a helping hand in case you encounter a need for more money. Merely return any change you have should you use it." he said, giving the boy another thousand ryō.

Tamashī for his part could only nod dumbly and give a "Thank you" in sign language, not being able to trust his voice to get the job done. Having done that, he grabbed his bag, and made his way to the door, only to be interrupted by his cousin who grabbed his shoulder.

Upon receiving a hard look from Tamashī, the blonde could only chuckle sheepishly and rub the back of his neck. "Um, are you sure you want to go out like that?"

"Why do ask that, Naruto?" The brown haired boy said before he looked at what he wore. It was then that he realized that he was still in a hospital gown and had nearly walked out of the room.

"Ya gotta be kidding me, right dumbass? Did you really just almost leave like that?" He thought to himself. Embarrassed, Tamashī then went rummaging through his bag again, and had a change of clothes once he reached the desired seal.

Looking at Tamashī and Hiruzen, he said, "Out"

It was a few minutes later that he opened the door for them again. "Can I have some bandages? I don't want to walk out with this scar showing" he asked the Hokage, who nodded in understanding. The doctors had informed him of how the injury he received, running from the boys right collarbone to left cheekbone.

After Hiruzen made the request, a nurse came a short while later and gave Tamashī the bandages. Upon the nurse's leave, he began to wrap the bandages around his face in a manner similar to Zabuza Momochi. Feeling like he had done an adequate job, he nodded to himself and walked out.

Due to a lack of windows in his room, mixed in with a desire not to look at the clock, Tamashī was surprised to find that it was already evening when he and Naruto walked out of the hospital. Before they went their separate ways, Hiruzen had asked the boy to see him in the Hokage office the next day-which Tamashī knew was just the kind way of saying to be there. With that, the two groups walked to their intended locations.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As the cousins were walking to Naruto's apartment, Tamashī took note of how many of the people around them were blatantly glaring at the blonde. Not only that, but they also spoke in hushed voices about him. Yet, Tamashī knew that Naruto noticed all of this, and it was only when his cousin just broke into a wide grin that he realized this was a common occurrence.

"It's probably just because of all the pranks he pulls, but I'll have to talk to the old man about this nonetheless." He thought.

Naruto continued to lead him around until they reached a rather bland-looking apartment complex. It wasn't in terrible condition, Tamashī mused, it just didn't catch his attention.

"You'll love it here, I can just tell already!" Naruto exclaimed as he was pulling out his key and opening the door.

"Whatever ya say cous, just know that I'm not gonna judge until I actually see the inside." Tamashī shot back.

As the door finally opened, Tamashī felt his mood take a nosedive when he saw the state of the first room. It was a dual-room that accounted for the kitchen, dining room and living room. But what killed it was all the trash that he saw laying about. There were empty cups of ramen thrown on the floor, as well as clothing on the tables, and that was just the beginning of it.

"You live in a dump." Was Tamashī's assessment. He snickered a little when he saw Naruto's face drop at the comment, but that wasn't the time to play around. "Tomorrow, after I come back from that meeting with the Hokage, we are cleaning this mess up, do you understand?" He said, using the same hard voice his parents had.

"Y-yes." Naruto said, scared witless as he nodded his head.

"Good. Now then, can you show me where I'll be staying?"

"Um, yeah." The blonde replied lamely. On the way to the room, Naruto pulled out some extra blankets and passed them to Tamashī.

Upon waking into the room and a quick inspection, Tamashī nodded his head in satisfaction. Despite being on the smaller side, it was spacious enough that it gave him a good amount of things he could use it for.

"I'll figure out what to do with this tomorrow, for now I just need to get to bed. Thanks cous." With that, he laid the blankets down, ushered Naruto out of the room, flung himself onto the bed-still in the clothes he left the hospital in-and drifted off.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto awoke to something that he found peculiar, the sound of a second person in the apartment. Not even bothering to change into his normal clothes, he just walked out to find the source of the noise.

Tamashī had been in the process of scrubbing the kitchen floor when the blonde walked out. He had to stifle his laughter at the state he was in. Naruto was dressed a pair of mismatch pajamas with a frog sleeping cap. But what really did it was the dried stream of drool he had going down his face.

Naruto now well enough awake due to the noise caused by the scrubbing, was able to take note of Tamashī's strained laughter, and had something to say about it. "Hey! You find this funny!"

"Yeah, it is fairly funny. Funny looking." Those were the same words Tamashī had been told by his father when he would come home muddy from training with his mother. And in as much as it annoyed him then, he took such amusement in the look on his cousin's face.

"Oh yeah! Well, what about those bandages you've got on your face?! They make you look real stupid!" The blonde retorted, seething at how the walnut-brown haired boy had twistingly made fun of him.

"What about them, some of the most badass shinobi wear face coverings. Anyway, now that you're up, you can help me with this. I did say we'd do this after the meeting, but, we have the time now to do it." Tamashī said, sweeping an arm across to indicate towards the apartment. "Now while I'm not about to tell you to clean your room, I am going to tell you to clean up this main room. So, go grab a broom and start sweeping the living room section."

Grumbling in disdain, but not willing to argue, Naruto set off to do just that.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After having left his cousin to keep cleaning a while later, Tamashī made his way to the Hokage Tower-keeping an eye out for places to check out later on.

As he walked in, he greeted the receptionist, who, upon seeing him, said that Hiruzen was in his office.

When Tamashī entered the office, he hadn't been expecting to find the most powerful shinobi of the village nose-deep into a book with a lecherous look on his face.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that the village leader is reading Icha Icha and find out what the hell he wanted me here for." Tamashī thought. Clearing his throat, he alerted the old man to his presence who adopted the face of a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. The next moment later, the man's face was contorted in concentration as he went over paperwork and the book was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah yes, Tamashī-It's a pleasure to have you here."

"Thank you sir, if only I knew just what I was here for." He replied in kind, but making certain that there was an underlying question. One that the man caught.

"I've sent you here for a few reasons." Hiruzen said, his visage turning serious. "What is the condition of Kirigakure." That was not a question, they both knew it.

Nodding, Tamashī relayed what little he knew to him. "Its reputation as "Village of the Bloody Mist" continues under the Yondaime Mizukage. Any act that he deems treacherous is to be punished by death. The mistreatment of bloodline bearers continues and remains allowed to go unpunished. Apart from my own clans, much of the Yuki Clan has been "purged" and the entirety of the Kaguya Clan has been eradicated. Tensions continue to rise amongst the bloodline bearers and lower caste, towards the Mizukage. Skirmishes were becoming more common, and those whom have a bone to pick with the Mizukage are banding together."

"I see" This was troubling news to Hiruzen, who was realizing the severity of the situation and what it could mean later down the road. "And just what, is your stance concerning this?"

Tamashī hesitated. "I was able to live at the expense of my parents' lives, because of that I can't just throw my life away going back to Kiri." He timidly said, surprising the old man at how despite it all, the boy was still a child at heart.

He was surprised again when the boy spoke next with conviction, reminding him of his sensei when he would speak about the will of fire. "But at the same time, as I live here safely, there are those back there who are eventually going to rebel, should things continue as they are. When the day arrives that it comes to pass, I will be there. I don't want to fight, not now, not ever. But I will when need be." His words spoke one thing to Hiruzen, but the tears that streamed down his face spoke far more.

He was confounded when Tamashī went so far as to go into the dogeza. Just what was he going to say next that would require him to do that before he had even spoken?

"For that, I-I will join the ranks of Konoha. I will study, train, and f-fight as one of your own, however w-when I become a chunin, I-I would like you to give me discharge of my duties t-to go back to the land where my home is." The words came out in stutters, and the tears cascaded down like a steady stream, but Hiruzen could see it. What he saw however, he would take with him to the grave.

"If that is the path you have chosen, then very well. You will begin your studies in the academy tomorrow. Study, train, and pass the graduation exam, and in three years, should you still wish it, you will have the opportunity to advance to chunin."

Standing back up, Tamashī swiped his hand across his face to remove the tears.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

And that's a wrap! I have to thank all of you for waiting on me all this time, I really must apologize as well. I don't know why, I just wasn't in the mood to write for all this time.

Next up, forget all that poll business, I've come to decide that I will not be writing any serious romance. I mean come on, they'd all be around thirteen when they graduate.

Anyway, expect a rather large time skip at the beginning of next chapter, I don't feel like boring you with the academy years so I'll just jump right into the juicy bits.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

For those of you who were willing to put up with my Author's Notes, here's an omake.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Omake: Naruto Cleans Up... Not!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Naruto, I'm going off to see Sarutobi-san as directed; when I come back I expect to see this apartment spotless. Understand?" Tamashī was regarding Naruto with his best authoritive look as he said the words.

"But I don't want-" He was cut off mid-complaint.

"I didn't ask you what you wanted to do, I'm telling you what I'm expecting." Tamashī said, retorting to what his cousin had been in the process of protesting.

"Pft, whatever." Naruto muttered as Tamashī exited the apartment.

Naruto took a look towards the bucket and mop that he had been given and grinned. "I'll show him to boss me around." He said, glancing in the direction of where he kept his pranking equipment.

He then set off to do his job.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Spotless, that was the word Tamashī would use to describe the apartment when he came back.

He had spent the entire day exploring the village after his meeting with Hiruzen and just wanted to get some shut eye. That thought, however, became dead when he finally entered his room.

There on the floor, was all of the trash that he had believed was thrown out. But that wasn't the end of it even. His walls now had graffiti done in red paint all over them, much of it being words that he could read.

Dumbass

Idiot

Gown-man

Though there was also a large painting, if it could be described as such, if him. It depicted an embarrassed Tamashī standing out on the streets, with only the old hospital gown on, as the general populace was laughing.

Yet all of that didn't dare compare to the one thing Tamashī couldn't pardon. Naruto had committed sacrilege. For there in the middle of the room, was his now paint-smothered bedding. This could not, would not go unpunished. His bedding had been violated so now the guilty-party would be struck back in full.

Storming out, Tamashī practically flew right to Naruto's door. Opening it, he looked around and found the blonde runt responsible for all of it.

As he gazed upon his cousins sleeping visage Tamashī could only see red.

He then saw a large chest labeled Pranking Equipment and adopted a shit-eating grin.

"You brought my bedding into this, consider yourself a deadman."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next morning, the populace of Konoha would walk outside to find a blob hanging on a rope from the Hokage Tower. Upon closer inspection they would then see that it was Naruto, clad only in his boxers, who had been violently woken up, tied up, and strung up with a shame plaque tied around his neck reading I deserved this.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I hope you all enjoyed the omake, I may try my hand at a few more of them in the future.

Until the next chapter, see ya!

-T.I.S.