Author's Note: Well, damn I must be going crazy…I actually want to update…maybe something of this has re-ignited some sort of passion within me, I may have even decided where I want to go with this…Muahahaha! :D Unfortunately at this moment it's merely a tiny seedling in my mind's eye, but soon…soon…it shall grow into a magniforous tree house that I shall sing into existence with my fingertips!

(If you got the singing reference, kudos to you)

Disclaimer: I do not, never, and likely never will own anything relating to Naruto beyond what's my own creation.

Standing in the tree line, Naruto gazed at the gates. He had vanished from the Village Hidden in the Leaves over half a year ago. Standing in the devastated Whirlpool Country, it had been easy to believe that they'd welcome him back with open arms. Now, staring blankly at the intimidating walls, he felt a need to turn back.

They had made it in record time; the sun had not even set behind Hokage Mountain. Yuriko had transformed back into a regular fox, now curled comfortingly around Namikaze Naruto's neck, her head on his left shoulder. Hyuuga Hinata had woken up close to Konoha, taken one look at the human Yuriko, and fainted once more, leaving her lying still in Naruto's arms once again.

A sound at the gate brought Naruto out of his trance, as a team was leaving for a mission. Studying the team, he recognized Konahamaru, Udon, and Moegi. They grew close to Naruto's location before Konahamaru stopped suddenly, glancing around him. The rest of his team kept walking, oblivious of his motionlessness as they chatted amongst themselves. Naruto shifted his weight and Konohamaru's eyes locked onto his position. His eyes looked confused until they lit up in joy.

"NII-CHAN!" The younger boy shouted, running towards the trees. Looking up, Moegi and Udon watched as their teammate sprinted into the trees. Naruto was frozen in shock; 'how did he see me?'

"Konahamaru! What are you doing! We have a mission to do!" Moegi shouted towards the Sarutobi heir, who simply ignored her. Seconds later she heard a voice yell out from where Konahamaru had disappeared. Shaking her head, she and Udon left to investigate. There, in a small clearing, the future Rokudaime was being held captive by the Sandaime's grandson.

"N-Naruto?" Ebisu-sensei asked, not believing his eyes. Naruto put one arm behind his head nervously, the other supporting Hinata.

"Heh, hey guys. What's up?" Naruto smiled his old grin. Konahamaru finally released his old rival, smiling before punching him. "Ow… Why does everyone feel the need to beat me up? I think at least one person should be happy to see me, alive and well."

"We are… It's just- where have you been?" Ebisu asked the younger ninja.

"Whirlpool Country. I found the Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides. I learned who my parents were, stuff like that."

"You- You know who your father is?" Ebisu stuttered, not sure how to react.

"Yeah, did you know?"

"I was told after you vanished, right before the big recovery mission." Ebisu explained to Naruto before realizing who the younger ninja had in his arms. "Is Hinata-sama okay?"

"She'll be fine. We haven't rested since we left Whirlpool Country, she's a little drained," Naruto said, only telling half-lies.

"Then what are you doing waiting outside of the village! You need to go see Tsunade-obaachan!" Konahamaru shouted to his friend. Naruto chuckled and nodded once.

"I'll see you guys around. If Tsunade doesn't kill me first; if you can't find me later, check the memorial stone." Naruto joked, walking away towards the village. He neared the gate, walking towards the ninja that would be checking in visitors and such. He walked to the kunoichi, the young woman leaning back with her legs on the desk.

"Welcome to Konoha," she began in a bored tone, balancing a pencil on her nose. "Why are you here?"

"It's nice to see you too, Ino." The pencil fell to the floor, the kunoichi frozen in her seat. She glanced at the window, not believing her ears.

"N-Naruto?" She stuttered.

"Long time, no see."

"Yeah, like seven months… You baka! Where have you been! Do you have any idea what we've been through while you were on vacation? Don't even get me started on- Is that Hina-chan?" Ino stopped, finally noticing the unconscious ninja in Naruto's arms.

"Yeah, she was sent out to find me a few days ago. I ran all the way from Whirlpool Country to here. She passed out on the way."

"What were you doing in Whirlpool Country? I thought there was nothing left there."

"There isn't, I just wanted to know something for sure."

"What?"

"It's nothing, I'm sure Tsunade-obaachan will make a speech or something… Speaking of Tsunade, I should go find her."

"Try the old Namikaze compound, she's been there the past few days, doing who knows what," Ino shouted to Naruto's receding figure as he walked into the village. He turned and waved once before jumping onto the rooftops, not wanting to attract unwanted attention.

Ino watched as the future Rokudaime vanished into the setting sun. She sighed as she sat back down. 'I wonder how Forehead is going to react… She never did give up on him,' Ino thought sadly as she prepared herself for another boring day of work.

Tsunade smirked, another pile of work lined up on her desk, already done. Thanks to Naruto's advice, she had been getting so much work done, Shizune even conceded to allowing her Rice Country sake. 'Speaking of Rice Country Sake-'

The woman turned sharply, throwing a shuriken out the window. Two seconds later, a blond head appeared out from under the window.

"God Tsunade! I come all the way over here in a day and a half, and the first thing you do is try to decapitate me! I should go back to Whirlpool Country," Naruto exclaimed teasingly before stepping out of the window and opening his arms wide after depositing Hinata on one of the chairs. Tsunade obeyed, hugging him fiercely until she heard a crack.

"I... think… you just broke a rib…."

"Just cracked, you'll live." Tsunade smirked.

"You're not even going to heal it? Well, don't you appreciate me? What if we were to get attacked, right now, and I die because of this cracked rib?" While Tsunade shook her head, smirking, Naruto concentrated chakra to his hand, making it glow with a green light. He held his hand to his cracked rib and tried to breathe as evenly as possible. Once it was healed, he lowered his hand, raising his eyebrows at the now dumbstruck Godaime.

"Wh-When did you learn medical ninjutsu?"

"I'm almost nineteen; I was bound to learn it at some time. Besides, I thought it would be a useful skill when I was Hokage. If my troops are injured, I'll be able to heal more people than the average medical ninja, if only because of my ridiculous chakra reserves," Naruto explained. "Speaking of which," he started, lowering a glowing hand to Hinata's chest. She woke with a start and glanced around herself, trying to figure out where she was.

"The Hokage's office?" She asked, looking for confirmation. Naruto nodded.

"Naruto? What's that around your neck?" Tsunade said, sounding a little panicked at the sight of the fox.

"Oh, where are my manners. Tsunade, meet Yuriko, one of my summons. Yuriko, this is the Godaime Hokage, the Slug Sannin, Senju Tsunade." The vixen nodded, lifting her head off of Naruto's shoulder. She studied Tsunade before concluding she was not a threat to her Naruto-sama. "Aren't you going to say hello, Tsunade-obaachan?"

"What? Oh- umm… Hello?"

"Hello, Tsunade-sama. It's an honour to meet you. Naruto-sama speaks very highly of you." The vixen spoke, her vulpine grin turning into a smirk as another dumbstruck expression fell upon Tsunade's face. Her mouth moved slowly before she gave up on talking, shook herself, and sat at her desk. She proceeded to pull out a large bottle of sake and two glasses. Pouring Naruto a glass, she pointed to a chair.

"Explain."

One long explanation and two bottles of sake later, Tsunade stood from her desk, swaying slightly. Naruto grimaced and walked over to Tsunade's side.

"See, obaachan? This is why Shizune hides your alcohol from you…" He mumbled, pulling her towards the Hokage Mansion. Pausing at the door, Naruto left a Hiraishin seal above the doorway. He took Tsunade home and made sure she was asleep before he left for the Namikaze compound.

At the Namikaze Compound

The last Namikaze stared at the lifeless compound. It was huge, a bit bigger than the Uchiha compound and just as empty. Naruto walked up the path to what he assumed was the main house, judging from its size. It had a kitchen, two bathrooms, two studies, a large living room, and four bedrooms spread over two floors. Glancing into each of the rooms, he noted that it appeared someone had been there recently, cleaning. Correctly assuming that it had been Tsunade preparing for his arrival, he pushed the observation from his mind.

Yuriko volunteered to take up a watch, not wanting any unpleasant surprises while Naruto discovered whatever secrets his home held. Naruto summoned a number of other foxes to set up a perimeter and ventured back into the house that was now his.

He left his few belongings into the largest bedroom, located on the first floor, before walking into the study next door. The study walls were lined with shelves, most containing instructions for various jutsu. Naruto studied the room he assumed his father had once worked in, searching for who knows what, when he spotted a small seal hidden partially behind a shelf next to the desk. The young ninja pushed the shelf out of the way easily and, recognizing the seal as a blood seal, bit his thumb and smeared the crimson liquid onto the seal. The wall shook soundlessly, a narrow door appearing beside the seal.

Without hesitation, Naruto stepped into the doorway, following the corridor until he came upon a dusty library. Glancing around the room, he immediately knew what he had stumbled upon. The Namikaze family records. Everything to do with the family, from family jutsu to history and bank receipts would be stored on the shelves located around the room. In the center of the library stood a glass case. Naruto walked towards the case, curious. There, lying on a small black and red pillow, sat a three pronged kunai.

Recognizing it as his father's main tool for the Hiraishin, Naruto removed the kunai from the case, getting a feel for the weight before deciding to use it as his father did before him. He pocketed the kunai before walking out of the records room, resealing the room behind him. He replaced the shelf and walked back into his bedroom, only to be surprised by Yuriko.

Now in human form, Yuriko lay on one side of the bed, already asleep. Glancing under the sheets, Naruto sighed in relief. Naruto was sure that Kyuu wouldn't appreciate his former host sleeping with his daughter. Yuriko had made a number of hints to the ninja, few enough that she was still being honourable to her father's friend, but enough to be plain with her intentions. Naruto sighed before kicking his shoes off and climbed into bed next to the kitsune.

A/N:

I'm not sure how far I'll go with Yuriko in this fic, but I can assure you that this will be a fic focused on Naruto and Hinata.