Summary: Team 7 is at the orphanage on one of their rest days. The reason? Naruto. Read on to find out what our favourite blond kitsune is up to and how it will involve the rest. :3

Warnings: The mystery child could be a product of my OTP. :P

Disclaimer: I can assure you she isn't! Oh, wait. This part is about rubbing in my face the fact that I don't owe Naru. You guys suck! x(

Rating: 'T' for possible volcanic explosions I might've forgotten about. xD

I hadn't intended to post this one up, so thank my current insomia curse. (Grrr) If you're going to kill me, do it in a reveiw, cause I'm feeling a lack of L-O-V-E and that makes me cranky and totally un-inspired.


Instead of voicing out a single one of them, she scurried over to the laughing figure framed in the doorway and clung onto him, the crimson on her face deepening from a tomato shade into the 'Is-she-even-breathing?' category.

"Chichi," the girl mumbled into the soft folds of orange material, inhaling the brash scent of oranges and the softer, delicate smell of earth that lay buried beneath the louder taste.

And the world grinded to a halt for the invading trio.

A harsh cry ripped itself from the throat of the single kunoichi while the avenger gained the look of one who had been kicked in the singular piece of anatomy that any sane male would treasure. The scarecrow merely flipped a page, his posture and facial expression doing nothing to indicate that he was in any way, participating in the general reveal.

Uzumaki just continued petting the ebony locks of the child, having bent down so that soothing cobalt met charcoal sapphire.

"It's okay to come rushing up like the others, Utaki. No harm in that." Using a gentle voice that none in Team 7 had ever heard the usually brash kitsune use before, Naruto continued to coo to the child, Utaki, gradually drawing the painfully shy girl out of her shell with well placed words and gentle teases.

Team 7 stood to the side, two out of three of its members captivated by the foreign side of their loud teammate.

A lazy beam entering through a nearby window turned sunshine gold into a mellow shade, teasing light bringing out the soft glint in normally crackling cobalt. The black 'whiskers' that usually stood out proudly on Naruto's tanned cheeks seemed to blend into the surrounding skin as urged by the sun's rays and even the eyesore of a jumpsuit the kitsune was fond of wearing seemed to dull to a more manageable shade.

The confident, toothy grin that always seemed to be a defining feature of the ever optimistic and cheerful boy had somehow melted into a calming, encouraging smile, adding to the entire atmosphere that had enshrouded the room in subtle movements that evaded their senses without consent.

Just as Utaki was captured by the ever unpredictable Uzumaki, Haruno and Uchiha found themselves ensnared in the same trap, both utterly mesmerized by the abrupt change in both the mannerism and look of their boisterous teammate.

The singular look that made them feel as if the blond would willingly accept whatever they had become or would become. Willingly embrace them for their own natures, their true selves. As if it would not care about whatever mask they had on. The look that made them feel safe, warm, wanted and contented all at once.

It was… a comfort.

"Naru!" And the Sharingan instinctively snapped back to life as the trance broke over the group while Tarimuki poked her head of springy fire into the room, emerald gaze centered solely on the blond. "We need those chores done before dinner if you ever planned on getting everyone settled down before midnight."

In one accord, all eyes turned to the blond.

Seemingly unfazed by the multi hues, Naruto mock grumbled, removing his hand from Utaki's hair.

"Chill out Tarimuki-san. I do have a remedy for it," he chided, hands moving quickly to form the appropriate signs.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

And Narutos filled the room. Without mincing words, they filed into an orderly row while the real one stood in front, sharp cobalt darting between one clone and another, as if trying to determine the minute differences between them that was somehow important.

While Naruto sorted things out with his clones, Sakura forced the air into her lungs to satisfy Inner Sakura's sudden blood lust and screaming fit and Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly as his newly developed, mental chibi hurled kunai after kunai at Tarimuki's unprotected back. The silver scarecrow just continued reading, shutting down the world's efforts to get his attention.

Tarimuki's life, however, was spared when the murderous duo's eyes fell upon Kakashi's indifferent figure. Their anger dying as a new thought sprang to mind, fading away to be replaced by individual theories and phrasings, which all led up to one thing in the end. 'When, and how, did they start to feel something akin to friendship, besides the general acknowledgement that teammates were supposed to give each other?'

After all, nothing much had changed after the chunin exams.

Right?

They had continued along with their lives after the exams, each proudly carrying their new rank achievement home after Kakashi had taken them out for ramen (courtesy of the ever lovable blond) and they had met at their usual spot on the bridge without fail, acting as if nothing had taken place.

Thus, logically, one could say that nothing much had changed. Naruto and Sasuke still annoyed the shit out of each other, Sakura still disciplined Naruto by whacking him, both still yelled at Kakashi when he arrived late and made up ridiculous excuses which no sane person would believe in and Kakashi still read porn. There were still differences, though, since everyone was altered at least once with each grain of sand that fell from Father Time's clock.

Sakura had balanced out her feelings between her teammates. Instead of favoring one over the other, she looked upon both as her odd brothers and was capable of behaving normally around the dark avenger.

Sasuke had become less of a bastard, capable of showcasing what was loosely termed as a 'smile' which, in actuality, was a sinister looking grin that made little kids scream with terror and gave them nightmares enough to last a week. In fact, the first time he 'smiled', Sakura turned pale while Naruto made a gagging motion. Kakashi just stuck to his book, unwilling to part with the delicious sin within just to see his socially retarded student try something out of his comfort zone.

Naruto had loosened up slightly and the name calling between him and Sasuke had somehow, somewhere, been laced with a small undertone of affection even though their fights had retained the fierce intensity as all the others.

These were the only changes. Nothing major. Right?

Damn…

They used to be certain about their lives, certain about their positions. How did a simple visit to the orphanage change that?

Neither were sure. Not anymore.

"Hey guys! We're done, so Tarimuki-san says that I can show you your rooms now!" Naruto's cheerful voice halted their inner musings as new questions rose. Mainly because they had finally registered the last part of Tarimuki's earlier sentence.

"Rooms?" Sakura repeated, blank emeralds staring at the ever grinning blond. "Why would we need rooms?"

She was graced with a look of pure innocence and childish confusion.

"Wouldn't you need a room if you're going to stay away from home for an elongated period of time?" He pointed out logically.

All in the room (Haruno, Tarimuki, Uchiha and Hatake) gaped at him, the 'S' duo, due to their ignorance of the situation and the adults, due to their surprise that the blond even knew the complex word which was 'elongated'.

Grinning the cute fox grin he was known for, Naruto cocked his head to a side, questioning them on their readiness. Sasuke had no idea why it felt like he seemed to be insulting them with sparkling cobalt, though. The blond started down one of the seemingly endless corridors, pausing when he realized his team wasn't following. Angling his head back so that stern cobalt met and held, he stepped further into the maze known as an orphanage, this time, with three others tagging along.

Navigating the complex puzzle seemed to be a piece of cake for the blond, who had started chatting with one of the many kids the orphanage boosted.

At length, he finally led them to a room which happened to look like any one of the other doors they could have gone through earlier. Ignoring the death glares aimed at him from his admittedly, way-too-violent teammates, Naruto twisted the handle, forcing entry into the room. To appraising multi hues, the room was simple.

It boosted two beds nestled in each corner, against the pale cream walls which made both pieces of furniture appear to blend in due to the stark white sheets laid upon it. Each bed came with its own chest of drawers, sweet looking and absurdly feminine. Oaken planks lined the floor, much like the ones in the maze like hallway with a sweet pink rug in a generous oval separating the two.

Windows lined with oak let dying rays of orange light in, colouring both of the empty canvases with the gentle shade.

"This will be your room, Sakura-chan!" Naruto proclaimed; a broad grin on tan face. With an urging hand, he guided the disorientated cherry blossom into the room, well aware of what she might be feeling then. A steady stream of emotions, starting first with the relief of escaping the seemingly endless corridor, than a quiet, comprehensive mode meant for observation before sharpening as details were absorbed with closer scrutiny.

Little minute things that added up to the full picture. The tiny, barely important detail hardly anyone had the patience to connect together nowadays. Such as the obviously well cherished photo frame stationed neatly on the chest of drawer located somewhat to the right and the twin shoes poking out at them shyly from beneath white cotton and wooden planks.

Stepping closer to the tiny rectangular pink frame, Sakura's sharpened emerald lingered over the interlocking blue and white design covering the entirety of the otherwise plain, pink, before locking onto the two faces smiling out of the captured memory.

A pair of exquisite black sapphires stared out, sparkling with undiluted joy, set in a tiny face framed by midnight curls, mostly confined by cheerful yellow. A neck reminding one of the green stem of a rose connected head to body, a slender frame belonging more to a kunoichi than a child was outfitted in lemon striped cream.

Next to the girl, with an arm slung around shoulders seemingly far too tiny to bear weight for anything, was a fox, years older than her.

A smile, far gentler than what they were used to stretched across his 'whiskered' face, while sunshine locks free from all binds fell without pattern around a tanned forehead. Loose black wrapped around the fox, while dusted orange dulled by constant exposure to the elements hung around his hips. Traditional shinobi foot wear kept nicely bronzed toes safe from the hidden perils of green.

The fox was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, ninja extraordinaire, ramen obsessed and a year round, unpredictable, bundle of energy with a heart the size of an ocean and a mind purer than angels. The child resembled…

"Utaki!"

The named child was, as usual, a silent observer, positioning herself right behind the tiny group. When she got there, no one but Naruto probably knew.

"What are you doing here?" Ever curious, Sakura kneeled before the tiny girl, the jade orbs that had once darkened into a terrifying shade of forest emerald now lit with the singular emotion, a gentle inquiry.

The girl flushed, as if frightened at the sudden requirement of her participation. The cherry shade painted her cheeks, crossing the bridge of her miniature nose, capping her ears and shading her neck, even as charcoal sapphire froze on jade.

Sasuke vaguely wondered why the picture she made reminded him of a cat whose primal instincts warned it of an approaching dog. If life was an anime, he was sure the girl's neat ebony locks would be standing, as if she'd just been given an overdose of static electricity.

"Sakura-chan," and Utaki visibly relaxed as Niichan drew the Cherry Volcano's attention away, "this is also Utaki's room."

"Eh?" Oh dear, the Cherry Volcano was going to blow. It was evident in how the innocently curious jades went blank, how her slim frame seem to deceptively relax itself as her mind sorted the information.

The greens darkened, a warning sign that the young chibi took instantly to flee for the safety Tarimuki-sensei would most certainly provide, having sensed that Chichi would be the focus of the attack.


To clarify things before people kill me for being cliche, blue happens to be my favourite colour for eyes and I adore my original hair colour, so I plopped both onto my cutie Utaki.

Really, no reviews and you want me to update faster? Honey, I have no inspiration! Heard of it? It's called W-r-i-t-e-r's-B-l-o-c-k and it's a terrible thing. :( I appreciate cures cause I'd love to see what my imagination tortures them with. (Yes, it's not all sunshine and roses here!)

Enough with the crazy writer talk. Remember, gimme my reveiws and I'll provide a faster update. ;)

This is Rei, signing out. ;P