Haruhi was, for lack of a better word, bored beyond belief.
Naruto had left for breakfast, while Haruhi decided to get some more sleep. That was over four hours ago. It was now a little past nine thirty and there was not one thing to do within Naruto's apartment. Haruhi had guessed correctly when she assumed Naruto was out all day; if he stayed indoors, the blond would have gone crazy from boredom.
Haruhi then decided to past the time by thinking over the council meeting, which had ended rather abruptly. Upon the fox's announcement of her son's identity, the counsel erupted. She just sat there while people started yelling; it was quite amusing for her, really.
Haruhi remembered how several of the councilors pulled law books from somewhere, probably out of their asses and scrutinized each page for any loopholes they could use. Luckily, the laws concerning the formation of clans were very strict on both the forming and the dissolving of any given clan. The laws were old and written at a time when Konoha needed clans and when infighting was much more common, so they were made to last.
Haruhi obviously made some enemies yesterday, but surprisingly, she also made some allies. Makoto was the first, since they knew each other from back when Minato was alive. They also shared a common disliking of the council and seeing as how Naruto and Sasuke were on a team together, both mothers figured they would be seeing more of each other.
Makoto would have extended the same courtesy to Haruno Tsuruya, if she weren't one of the people discreetly, or at least trying to and failing miserably flipping through a book. Haruhi didn't like the woman and Makoto wouldn't want to get in the way of that anger.
Inuzuka Tsume was the second, after she joined Makoto and Haruhi in the back. The current head of the Dog Clan found the whole thing amusing, much like Haruhi. The Inuzuka bloodline limit gave them a bond with dogs that no one outside the clan could ever have. This had also led the clan to be fairly pack oriented, 'fairly' being a gross understatement. Tsume was the alpha female of such a clan and what she said was law within it.
Haruhi remained civil with Tsume, remembering that the Inuzuka were the only people that protected Naruto for other reason than self-preservation or the means for a new weapon. The fact that the Inuzuka didn't help him later on was still in the back of her mind though.
The three women were all single mothers and all had a somewhat similar idea of fun. Makoto, Haruhi and Tsume got along rather well. Tsume also happened to know how to handle council meeting better than either Haruhi or Makoto, so Tsume's help was welcomed with open arms well, to a point anyways.
Eventually, Haruhi asked why the Inuzuka protected Naruto when everyone else didn't, or had ulterior motives. To which Tsume herself answered, 'I don't want a newborn's blood on my clan's hands.'
It was short and simple, but it was enough to satisfy Haruhi, even though it was less about protecting Naruto than Haruhi had hoped. The conversation also wandered over to the subject of their children, which turned rather short. That line of talk ended when Makoto and Tsume noticed that they were making Haruhi rather uncomfortable.
After all, she had only spent a couple hours to raise and get to know her child, who was still a newborn the last time she saw him. Unlike her, both of them hadn't missed out on raising their children from birth to present day.
'…No changing diapers, no giving bubble baths, no hearing him say 'Momma' or 'Daddy' for the first time.' Haruhi's mind wondered on all the things she missed out on.
Shaking her head to clear it of such troublesome thoughts, Haruhi made a note to get Sarutobi something nice for all the trouble she had caused. The Hokage's help in the matter was not as appreciated amongst the rest of the council, and he had been yelled at for a near two hours. Haruhi didn't understand why the old man let them yell at him, but she could tell he was tuning most of what they were saying out. The fox did notice the Hyuuga head remained quiet for the rest of the meeting and just sat at his seat.
The idea of taking Naruto off Team Seven was forgotten completely as the new clan became topic number one. Haruhi, like Sarutobi, tuned the yelling out and focused more on the conversation with Tsume and Makoto. Mostly their conversation stayed along the lines of the mess Haruhi made.
In total, the whole meeting took about three hours, two of which were after Haruhi's announcement. Nothing else was finished and the meeting was, for the most part, a complete waste of time.
Though she tried, Haruhi wasn't able to get the Haruno woman to herself. It grated on Haruhi that the woman who should be looking out for the orphans of the village denied Naruto a family. Haruhi also realized that yelling and threatening the mother of one of her son teammates was probably not the best idea.
Sarutobi wasn't happy with Tsuruya either, but at the moment he had over half the council breathing down his neck about helping the 'Monster' get a clan, one that held Minato as one of the founding members no less.
After the council realized that they couldn't stop Haruhi from forming a clan and that Sarutobi was not budging an inch over the subject, they gave up and left, grumbling and throwing accusations. Not one of them threatened Haruhi openly in front of the Hokage though.
The Hokage also made sure that the members of the council had understood to keep Haruhi a secret till she states otherwise.
Haruhi had also invited Tsume and Makoto over for an open house some time this week. Both agreed, and a time and date was settled. It gave Haruhi ample time to get situated first.
Haruhi then met Sarutobi in his office a little later. Haruhi removed Minato's jacket and placed it in his chest like it was glass. She asked for him to have someone take it to her new compound.
Sarutobi agreed. He asked about Minato's Haiti-ate. Haruhi stated that she wanted to keep something of his for the moment and that the jacket would cause too much of a stir in and out of the village. His haiti-ate is a little less noticeable by the general public.
Sarutobi gave Haruhi a bank account and the address to her compound, both of which he had planned to give to Naruto as well. The account was for Minato's savings, something Haruhi had never seen. Being Hokage made everything almost free for Minato and the same was carried over to the Hokage's wife. There really was no need for the money Minato earned.
When Haruhi got to see what was in the bank though, she nearly had a heart attack. The Kyuubi clan had treasure, of gold and valuable items. Most of it was stuff they had collected over the centuries, but this was a ridiculously large number of cold hard cash. Haruhi was left wondering if Minato ever spent any money he had received throughout his life.
Haruhi went back to Naruto's apartment after that and waited for her son. The rest of the day was consumed at Ichiraku's, celebrating. Teuchi nearly died from laughter at hearing what the council did after Haruhi claimed Naruto as her son. Ayame somehow seemed to be even more attached to Naruto, and she was apparently trying her hardest to make Naruto 400 pounds heavier with all the ramen she was shoving at him. It seemed to Haruhi that the knowledge of Naruto almost becoming her little brother in both name and reality made an impact on the girl. Haruhi also could have sworn up and down that she heard Ayame growl at her when the fox reached over to pat Naruto on the head.
That was the end of yesterday and today was much less exciting. There were things Haruhi knew she needed to do, but she was trying to put them off as long as possible. The widow had put Naruto ahead of everything. Haruhi didn't give a lot of thought about anything other than Naruto, and she had achieved most of her objectives in two days.
The fox hadn't planned on meeting the council at all; it never even crossed her mind. She had wanted to kill them for what they did to Naruto, but actually going to a meeting and forming a clan in two days after 12 years of not even having a body was not on the list.
Haruhi definitely had her moments, where she almost broke down; even as a Kyuubi she was not some all-powerful emotionless demon. Haruhi was very 'human' one would say. Laughing, crying, falling in love, it was all normal for a Kyuubi. The stories and legends had truth to them yes, however most were overly exaggerated and baseless claims.
"Minato," Haruhi whispered. She was thinking over her options… stay here and wait for Naruto before heading to the compound, or go now to pay her respects to her late husband. The decision wasn't hard, but the outcome might be. Getting up Haruhi cleaned herself up and left for the memorial stone.
Walking through the village was rather peaceful. The people of the village went about their business. Haruhi could even pick out a few nins walking around doing whatever they did on an off day. Children held onto their mother and fathers smiling happily.
One child had made eye contact with Haruhi. The child was a dark haired boy, no older than 5. He gave her a confused look and Haruhi wondered if she had something on her face. The boy turned to his mother, pointing at Haruhi and started to say something. Haruhi, being curious gathered a small amount of chakra in her ears listen in on the conversation.
"Mommy that lady over there, she's pretty. I never saw her before."
Looking at Haruhi, then turning back to her child, "She is a ninja honey. It's their job not to be seen. Now come on. Help me pick out dinner." The woman looked up at Haruhi and smiled. Grabbing her son's hand, the woman stated walking off and just before the two disappeared into the crowed.
The child smiled and waved at Haruhi. Haruhi waved back mouthing goodbye.
When the two were completely out of sight, Haruhi went on her way. That could have been her and Naruto once upon a time. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Haruhi noticed a flower store at the far end of the market district.
"Maybe I should get flowers." She could smell the flowers even through all the bodies around her.
The flower shop had flowers adorning the entrance, each well kept and arranged in a way that no flower out-shined the others. "I should start a flower garden too." The fox said aloud to her self.
Walking into the shop, Haruhi was bombarded with the smell of dozens of different flowers. She even noticed some rare flowers that grew in different parts of the world, far away from the land of fire.
"Hello, welcome to my families flower shop, how may I help you?" A platinum blond girl about twelve sat at the counter near the back. She had blue eyes and a purple top. Her mid section was wrapped in bandages, of all things.
"Hello, I'm looking for something I can give my husband." Haruhi greeted walking up to the girl. The blond girl was as old as Naruto and a Haiti-ate wrapped around her waist was revealed when the blond stood.
"I rarely get wives buying flowers for their husbands. What's the occasion?" The girl was polite and smiled at Haruhi.
Haruhi decided she like the girl, but the question still made her frown. "He's…he passed away. I'm going to visit his grave."
The flower girl's smile disappeared. "I'm sorry. May I ask how he died?"
"He died during my…the kyuubi attack." Haruhi caught herself before she mentioned brother.
"I see… I also lost family, or at least I've been told. Thankfully the Fourth killed that thing before it reached the village. My name's Ino by the way." Ino bowed to Haruhi. The girl motioned for Haruhi to followed as she moved toward a section of small flowers.
"My name is Haruhi." Ino looked back and smiled at Haruhi before turning to pick some flowers.
Haruhi watched as the blond nin gathered some small flowers for the outer ring of the bouquet. This girl seemed to know what she was doing, so Haruhi stood back and let Ino work her magic.
"Shouldn't you be training with your team right now?" The question was bugging her ever since she saw Ino's haiti-ate. Why was this girl here while Naruto was training?
Ino stopped what she was doing. Looking over her shoulder, "I'm already done for today." Going back to the bouquet, "I swear my team is so lazy. Asuma-sensei does nothing but play Go with Shikamaru, and Chouji just eats." Ino was progressively getting louder. "I am a ninja, not a dog walker for crying out loud. Was it like this when you were a genin?"
Haruhi was surprised by the question. "I'm not a ninja."
Ino was done with the first part of the bouquet and turned completely around. "But you have a Haiti-ate."
Haruhi gave Ino a confused look for a second. It didn't take long to figure out what she was talking about though. Haruhi reached up and lightly touched the metal around her neck.
"This was my husband's. I don't have a lot of his things, so I keep this close." Other than a few pictures and a Jacket, this was all she had that was of Minato's personal affects.
Ino realized her mistake and quickly made up for it by making and 'ah' noise. "That is so romantic. I would want my husband to wear my haiti-ate. Could you describe him for me? It will help with the flowers."
Haruhi forced a smile. It may have been twelve years to everyone else, but to Haruhi it was like yesterday. Haruhi began to describe Minato's personality as Ino walked around, grabbing certain flowers based on what Haruhi said. Ino nearly tripped when Haruhi mentioned they fell in love the first night they met.
It took maybe an hour to get the bouquet done. The end result was beautiful and Haruhi was very impressed with Ino's flower arrangement skills. The fox was going to leave a big tip for Ino as she was being rung up at the counter. Haruhi looked back at the girl. 'She's about the right age….'
"Excuse me, but do you know Uzumaki Naruto?"
Ino looked up with a confused look. "Why do you want to know? Did he do something to you?" Whenever someone ask anything about Naruto, it was usually bad.
Haruhi shook her head. "No, why? Is he a bad kid?"
"Yes…no…Now that I think about it I don't really know." Ino took a second to think over everything she knew about Naruto, and she had to admit, it wasn't much. "I really don't talk to him much and when I was younger, I was told to stay away from him like everyone else. He does prank a lot of people, but nothing too serious; some are even really funny."
Haruhi smiled, "I see, and is there anything else." 'They told their children to stay away from Naruto.'
"Well, he's loud and he is always goofing off. Don't even get me started on his ninja skills. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a kunai." Ino's face took a dark turn, "And he stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss."
"HE WHAT?!?"
"He stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss. My Sasuke-kun has to live the rest of his life knowing his first kiss was from Naruto-baka. He could have had a beautiful genin like me, but noooo…." Ino went on.
Haruhi went pale. 'How can he build a clan when he likes boys? But he was always chasing after that pink haired girl. Is that possibly a cover-up?' "Are you sure he kissed the Uchiha boy? It wasn't an accident or something?"
"Yes…no…it was an accident. Inuzuka Kiba (*I thought Shikamaru?) pushed Naruto into Sasuke. Now that I think about it, maybe we shouldn't have beaten him so badly for that. It wasn't his fault." Ino sighed.
Haruhi sighed also, though this one of relief, 'Thank Kami he isn't…wait what?' "You've beaten him?"
"Yah, me and a group of girls beat him up for kissing Sasuke-kun. I really should apologize for that." Ino stated as if it were obvious.
Haruhi was about to say something to Ino about what she thought about the girl's actions, when….
"Angel, you can go if you want. I got the shop under…" The words died as Haruhi's red eyes met Yamanaka Inoichi's blue eyes.
Inoichi was one of the council members, and if Haruhi remembered right, he was part of the group that yelled at Sarutobi for helping Haruhi.
The atmosphere in the room took a turn for the worst. Ino felt it and gulped. Inoichi looked at Haruhi, then at the bouquet in her hand, and back to Haruhi. "I hope you got everything you needed, Haruhi-san." Ino stared at her father. It was rare that he ever took that tone with anyone.
"Yes, your daughter has been very helpful." Haruhi said with as much ice in her tone. Haruhi quickly guessed that they were related. With the fact that he called her 'Angel' and that they looked almost exactly the same, it was as decent a guess as any.
"Are the flowers for your husband?" His tone was just as frosty as before.
"Yes… I've been in a coma for 12 years. I figured it would be a good idea to see him." Haruhi narrowed her eyes. The tension was only getting worse. Ino's jaw hung open at the new peace of information.
"Please give my respects. He was a great man; a man that didn't resort to tricks." Inoichi sent his first barb.
"He was a great man. He sacrificed himself for a village that treats his son like dirt." The Kyuubi countered.
Ino had no idea who they were talking about. She couldn't think of anyone who was treated that badly. This was great gossip material though, and Ino wanted to know rather badly.
"And I take it we have your word on that." Inoichi crossed his arms.
"I have the documents, pictures, and people to back up my claim. Surely you don't think the Hokage would lie on something like this." Haruhi stated.
"He lied twice to the council for you. What's to say he isn't doing it again?"
Inoichi was clearly taking it more personally than he should. The truth of the matter was that the Ino-Shika-Cho team felt betrayed by the Hokage's efforts to keep three of some of the most loyal ninja of Konoha in the dark. It was a matter of trust, and they, probably rightly felt that the Old Man simply didn't trust them enough for something like this.
"Tell me Yamanaka-san, did you know someone tried to adopt Naruto?" A gasp was heard coming from Ino. Inoichi looked over at his daughter and cursed under his breath. Ino wasn't supposed to hear this. He had completely forgotten that his daughter was in the room; he got too wrapped up in this argument.
As for Ino, she was shocked at the mention of Naruto. Now it made sense as to why she asked about Naruto. In her mind, Ino quickly fitted all the pieces together; Haruhi had just come out of her coma and wanted to know about her son. Something happened with the council, something that really upset her father.
Ino gulped at the memory of what she said about Naruto and paled when she recalled herself saying that she beat Naruto up, to his mother no less. The question of who the father was though remained unanswered.
Haruhi ignored everything and continued, trying to keep her anger under control. "He wasn't just some merchant that would take Naruto away from the village, and it wasn't anyone from a clan. The man who wanted to adopt my boy was a ramen chef. You know what, you of the council told him? That Naruto was too dangerous to adopt. Tell me, what possible danger is there for a boy to be given a home and a family that truly cared for him?"
"No, you wouldn't have helped me if Naruto were part of the deal. Sarutobi and I lied to get what we needed to help Naruto. Naruto is an innocent 12 year old, who is my son. I did what I had to, for him. Yamanaka-san, what would you do in my place? What would you do for your daughter?"
Inoichi was quiet. He wanted to argue against the fact, but the words wouldn't form. He couldn't argue the fact that he would kill for his daughter.
Haruhi, seeing that the argument was done, turned and left.
Ino watched her go and when Haruhi was out of sight, she turned to her father. "Dad?" Ino was worried; her father didn't answer, and his eyes were glazed.
Inoichi was doing something that he had never done before, something that hardly anyone had ever done. He was putting Ino in Naruto's place with every memory he had of the blond boy. What he saw was not pleasant.
Being on the council allowed the man to information of all the things Naruto had been put through… at least on paper. One incident that left Naruto in the hospital for a week came to mind, and with the knowledge that Naruto had enhanced healing, only made it worse.
"Daddy, are you okay?" Ino shook her dad a little and he snapped back to reality. Looking down at Ino, he felt sick.
"Yes Angel, I'm fine." Smiling at Ino to reassure her. Inoichi's smile disappeared when he remembered the Hokage's orders. "Angel, before you go. I want you to promise not to talk about Haruhi-san to anyone."
Ino was disappointed by this turn of event. Ino had just gotten her hands on some real gossip and now she wasn't going to be able to share it.
"Why dad?"
Inoichi didn't want to go farther into the subject, but Ino had already learned too much. "Haruhi and Naruto have a lot of enemies who would try and kill them, even if they are in Konoha. We can't let that happen, so we need to keep it a secret for now."
Needless to say, Ino was surprised that anyone would want to kill Naruto. He was a second rate ninja as far as Ino knew. And though Ino may not like Naruto that much, she didn't want him to die either. Nodding in conformation, she gave her reply, "Okay dad."
"That's my girl. Now, you're free for the rest of the day." Inoichi watched Ino walk away and turned to the door. The blond man needed to think things through for a little bit.
Haruhi had a bad taste in her mouth from the conversation she just had with Yamanaka. However, blowing up in front of a 12 year old would have been bad. Haruhi knew full well what could happen to a jonin if she didn't hold back; she didn't want to see what would happen to a genin.
Haruhi was walking through woods now. Finding the memorial stone wasn't even the least bit hard. The stone was one of the most important parts of Konoha's historical landmarks after all. It was second only to the Hokage monument, really. The stone itself was a large rock that held all the names of every single ninja that had died in service to Konoha. Not everyone's body could be retrieved for burial, and being a ninja village, there were plenty of deaths. When names were worn off from weathering over time, new names are added in their place.
Minato took Haruhi to see it once.
That day wasn't special, nor was it the most memorable. Minato just paid his respects to some old friends and explained what the stone was. Haruhi didn't know anyone who had their name placed on the stone at the time, so it wasn't that important to her. This time was different.
Haruhi could see the stone in the distance, along with about three people. All of them were deathly silent. As Haruhi walked up, one of the three people looked over at her and with a solemn look, nodded. The man didn't say a word.
They must have been there a while, because the same man put his hands on the shoulders of his compatriots, motioning to Haruhi. They nodded and shortly left, leaving Haruhi alone, for which Haruhi was extremely grateful.
Haruhi bent down in front of the stone and began scanning for Minato's name. She started on the side with relatively new names carved into it, and slowly worked her way back to the more worn down names. It took about 15 minutes before she found a name she recognized.
It wasn't Minato's, but the name was still important for Haruhi.
Haruhi traced Rin's name with her finger and recalled some of the memories she had of the girl she had considered 'like a daughter'. Some tears welled up in her eyes. Rin was always smiling and laughing at jokes Haruhi would share with the girl. Rin was also the one who help Haruhi get over the grief from her slaughtered family.
Minato had tried to comfort Haruhi, but being Hokage took up much of his time. Rin, bless her heart, had gone out of her way to help Haruhi. This was the reason Haruhi became so attached to her.
"I wish you were here to help me this time too." Haruhi whispered to herself.
Haruhi moved on and found Minato's name not too far away. That wasn't such a surprise, considering they died on the same day. Haruhi placed her hand over the faded carving that was Minato's name.
"I'm not afraid to say… that I screwed up. I'm sorry for not telling you about my brother sooner. You always had a way of making things seem all right, making them turn out all right…. Maybe you could have thought of a way to stop him without punishing our son, if I had given you more time." Lowering her head, "We really messed up Minato. Our son, our little boy, Naruto has had a horrible life and…I…I don't know how to make it up to him. How am I supposed to make up for 12 years of neglect and abuse?" Tears dropped onto the ground.
Haruhi growled, "This is my brother's fault. The death of both my families is his fault!" Clenching her teeth, "I'm going to make him suffer like…"
Haruhi's rant was cut short when she remembered exactly where her brother was at the moment, and that any attempted to get him would hurt Naruto. Her voice once again dropping to a sorrowful one, "…I can't even get the satisfaction of revenge." That thought brought a sad smile to her face.
"I've been busy since I came back. Thanks to Sarutobi, Naruto has a compound and is legally the heir of the Uzumaki clan. I'll have to leave and rebuild the Kyuubi clan, but for now I'm going to stay. Naruto is all I have right now and I'm not going to lose him too."
Wiping away tears. "Seems all I've done for the past two days is cry and plot murder."
Placing the bouquet of flowers down, Haruhi stood, her eyes never leaving the names of the two people she cared about. "Please look after Naruto, both of you."
Haruhi hated cemeteries and funerals. Places like this are usually were meant for people to remember times past, with ones long gone. Haruhi believed that the past is important, but as long as you have a future, there is no need to look back. The future she was looking to now involved Naruto, and regretfully Minato wasn't there.
Turning to leave, she suddenly looking back, "Oh, I almost forgot. Yamanaka-san pays his respects." Haruhi waited a bit, as if to see if she would get some reply. After some time passed, Haruhi left, not taking a second look back.
Walking back seemed less somehow.
The streets were less crowded. Looking into one of the food stand, Haruhi could see that it was full of customers. Apparently, it seems everyone was getting lunch. Haruhi thought about getting food for her-self. At first she was going to skip lunch and go home. Naruto should be back anytime now. However her stomach gurgled, demanding rather loudly for food.
Haruhi looked for the closest restaurant and walked in without looking at the name. Taking a stool at the counter, she looked up at her choices of food. Apparently she had walked into a dango shop because almost everything on the menu either was or had dango with the meal.
"What will it be lady?" A man with a graveled voice asks the fox.
Haruhi looked over the menu again, and seeing as nothing really stood out, she ordered the special. The man wrote the request down and headed to the back. Haruhi looked around and noticed some people looking her way, but no one she really remembered.
Haruhi could tell none of the people held anything other than curiosity towards her. After all, it's pretty common knowledge that a new person to the village would always be watched by resident ninjas. You never know when a nin from another village is trying to sneak into Konoha, and it is an unwritten rule that all ninjas should watch for such things.
Haruhi was mostly left alone, except for one man who was trying to get a date. One look from Haruhi's red eyes though and he quickly got the hint that she wasn't interested. Slowly, the feeling of being watched died, and only the most devoted nins kept watching her out of the corner of their eyes. Haruhi did feel one pair of eyes furiously watching her. The feeling had come when she heard someone come into the Dango stand. Staring at her meal as she ate, Haruhi was hoping the person would write her off soon, but the feeling of being watched was always there.
Haruhi paid for her meal and left without looking at the pair of eyes that had been staring at her. Thinking the feeling would disappear when she left, Haruhi started to walk to Naruto's apartment, but the feeling didn't go away and Haruhi soon found herself being followed.
Teuchi's warning and the anger of the counsel ran through her head. Doing a quick check at her chakra reserves, Haruhi wasn't happy. The red eyes narrowed as the information of having mid-chunin chakra levels entered her head. Judging from how much trouble Haruhi was having with trying to keep track of her stalker without giving away the fact that she knew she was being followed, her stalker had to be at least a jonin, at least, with the amount of skill Haruhi sensed.
The fox went through several plans, either to fight or lose the person following her. Most of the ideas were too reckless and would get an innocent person hurt out in the streets, and the fact that the person watching her was probably a Konoha nin really didn't help. Haruhi would lose at a 'her-word vs. 'whoever-is-following-her'-word' unless Sarutobi got involved. She needed to hit hard and fast, knocking her opponent out before the person could react. Haruhi thought about losing the person again, but she would have to deal with this eventually anyways.
Taking an alley that looked reasonably vacant, Haruhi just took some more random turns here and there. If the person following her didn't know Haruhi knew he/ she was there, then they knew it right then. A purple haired, browned eyed woman turned down the alleyway Haruhi took and found no one there.
The women looked around for her lost prey, unable to see anything. She was just about to run to the far end in hopes of finding Haruhi, but that idea was cut short when a chakra signature spiked above her.
The former predator, now prey, moved before her brain even registered the danger. Such a reflex is only attainable from years of being in danger. Twisting her body and lunging out of the way, she was able to see Haruhi slam her fist, completely consumed in fire, into the ground where she was standing.
Kicking up a cloud of dust from the attack, Haruhi waited for her opponent to move by following her charka signature. Standing and performing the same set of seals she had performed earlier, the dust started glowing orange. Haruhi's right arm ignited in a firestorm. "I suggest that you either leave or explain yourself." The dust was clearing and the two women got a good look at each other.
"Ka-chan?" The word was barely above a whisper, and if Haruhi weren't on high alert, she would have missed it. Haruhi looked the women over and unlike so many others, she found that she actually recognized her.
"Anko…is that you?" Haruhi asked lowering her chakra to the point the fire around her arm disappeared.
Anko took a step forward and lightly touched Haruhi's face with outstretched hands.
"You can't be real. My family died that night." Anko was in a state of disbelief looking at Haruhi. Here was the woman that took her in and helped her find people that wanted to be around her, who she wouldn't feel like shit around, and who hadn't cared that she was Orochimaru's student…
Haruhi reached up and grabbed Anko's hands, "I'm very real Anko; and my face isn't meant to be played with. It's been 12 years, from my understanding. How have you been?" Haruhi was doing her best to stay calm. One of them had to and with Anko the way she is right now, Haruhi was the designated driver.
Anko was speechless. 'It really is Ka-chan.' Anko wrapped her arms around Haruhi. Bringing her into a hug so tight that, even Haruhi was having trouble breathing. "It's you… it really is you. I thought you were dead." Anko started crying. Haruhi managed to wriggle into a more comfortable position and returned the hug.
They held each other for a few minutes, just taking comfort in each other's arms. Haruhi felt better. After going to the memorial stone she had felt off somehow, like something was missing, but now after finding Anko, that feeling was gone.
Anko had found a family with the demon fox but after Haruhi's supposed death, Anko was left alone once again. Kakashi went his own way on dealing with the grief of losing his entire team, leaving Anko to her own devices.
Anko collected herself and was about to go into a line of questioning when Haruhi cut her off. "Anko I'm waiting for someone and I'll be more than happy to talk with you at his apartment. It's also dangerous to answer your questions right now. Is that ok?" Anko wanted to ask anyway, but she nodded. Haruhi smiled and motioned Anko to follow.
They arrived at Naruto's apartment shortly after heading out from their meeting spot. They had moved faster than Haruhi had planned at first, but catching up with each other was driving them to pick up the pace.
Upon arriving, Anko looked around. She saw the hateful writings on the wall and how the apartment was empty. The snake charmer processed the information and came to some conclusions. Not all of them were correct, like wanting to talk with the Kyuubi inside Naruto, but knowing the Kyuubi vessel lived in the building was dead on.
Haruhi closed the door behind Anko and check to make sure no one was listening in. "Honey, are you home?" No answer was the reply. Turning to Anko, the fox could see that Anko was biting her lip, waiting impatiently for Haruhi to give the ok. "I take it I have some things to answer for?"
Anko took that as the signal to start asking, which she did without hesitation. "I thought you were dead; where have you been? Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? Where is…"
"Slow down Anko, I can only answer one question at a time." Haruhi cut Anko off. Anko had asked all that at light speed. The fox was more than happy to see Anko, but she wasn't that excited.
Anko realized what she had done and took a deep breath. The purple haired woman was use to being rash, but only in a fight. Thinking over what would be the most important question to ask, she went with, "What happen during the attack? I was told you died."
Haruhi sighed; if only Anko had known she gave birth to Naruto…. The brown-eyed women would most likely have fought the entire council to the death to take care of Naruto, but Sarutobi did a fine job at keeping Naruto a secret from everyone who would have been able to take care of him. Not that there were that many. "Technically, I did die…I think."
Sitting on the bed and collecting her thoughts, she said, "That night, I had used all of my Chakra, or so I had thought. When someone uses all their chakra they die. I certainly thought I was going to die, but 12 years later, here I am. I have no memory of the 12 years I wasn't…'alive', I guess would be the word. Part of my chakra must have made it through that night. Not enough to hold my body together, but enough that I would survive. It's hard to explain and I don't understand it myself really."
Anko wasn't sure if she should keep asking, but the look Haruhi had on her face suggested that she had been thinking over that very question herself and hadn't truly found an answer. Moving on, Anko asked, "So you don't have any memories of the past 12 years, none at all?"
"Unfortunately, no. I was saying goodbye to Minato-kun and then I was in the woods in fox form." Haruhi had a sad look on her face. "I would have been here if I knew Minato was going to make such a stupid decision, sacrificing him-self."
"So that part was true. What about the baby, did she survive?" Anko had a hopeful look on her face. She was excited all through the pregnancy and did her best to help. When she heard that even the baby had died, Anko was crushed.
She also had money on the baby being a girl.
Haruhi finally brought a genuine smile to bear. "Yes, he survived and even after everything he has been through, he has accepted me. When I heard everything he has been put through… I thought that he would hate me."
Anko smiled as well at the news. That was replaced with a frown. "Why didn't the Hokage tell me? I would have taken care of the kid."
"I know Anko, but the Hokage had done things in the best interest of my son. Even though in the end it only hurt him. I can't even tell when my son gives me a genuine smile or one of his fake ones."
Haruhi looked down at her feet. It still hurts to see him smile at people who called him names and shunned him, then turn around and give his mother the same exact smile, when he is laughing and joking with her.
"So, he knows about you?" asked Anko, who was sitting crossed legged on the floor.
"I met him two days ago. It was a complete accident; I was on my way to the tower after waking up when I ran into his genin team on the roof of the academy. I'll tell you, it was a shock to see my 12-year old son. In my head, I gave birth to him no more than a week ago."
"Who is he?" This was the most important question. If Anko had passed him even once without knowing it, she would feel worse than anytime else in her life.
As if on command the door opened, along with a familiar voice, "Are there demon cats?
Because I think I met one. That stupid cat scratched me right across the face; but the owner…who's she?" the question being directed toward the new stranger in his apartment.
Naruto was standing just inside the room, looking ragged. His clothes had slash marks that resembles cat scratches, and his face was matted with dirt. At this point though, Naruto was looking at Anko with a questioning look. The blond had never seen the brown-eyed women in his life. That made sense, considering Anko only left Area 44 for food and missions, and no one went to Area 44.
Anko just stared at the boy with wide eyes. 'He looks just like Minato.' She could see some things Haruhi shared with Naruto, like the whisker marks, but he was clearly his father's child when it came to looks.
Haruhi smiled at her son. It amazed her how he could make her smile just by being in the same room. "Why yes, the Nibi is the two-tailed cat. I have never met her, but I hear she is really nice." Motioning to the other women, "Also, this is Anko… the closest thing I have to a daughter."
Naruto looked Anko up and down, a trickle of blood started to come out of his nose. Naruto quickly turned around blushing, "What the hell is she wearing?!" he yelled rather loudly.
That response took both women aback and both looked at how Anko was dressed. Anko didn't find anything wrong. Haruhi, on the other hand, was in agreement with Naruto.
"What the hell are you wearing?!" Haruhi was as loud as Naruto.
Anko looked herself over again, "What, I don't see anything wrong." Anko was wearing a white trench coat and a small brown mini skirt. That was the only thing covering her privates. Underneath both articles of clothing was a see through wire mesh shirt and leggings. Anko also had metal shin guards, but that wasn't really important at the moment.
Haruhi hadn't paid Anko's clothes any attention before now. The fox had lost too much and was more than happy just to see Anko alive and well. However, this was too alive and too well.
"What do you mean 'what is wrong'!? You're practically wearing nothing! At least my son has the decency to look away."
Anko had grown, a lot, and was clearly one of the more endowed women Haruhi had ever seen. Being a ninja had also meant her body was constantly under physical exertion, meaning men drooled over pictures of her.
Anko smiled, she always enjoyed people reaction to her choice of clothes. "First, it's a 'ninja tactic'." Pointing at her breasts, "These babies have saved my life more times than you can count. It helps when you wear something revealing and pretend you're into bondage."
Walking over to Naruto and grabbing him by the shoulders and turned him so they were both facing Haruhi. "Secondly, how am I going to teach my otouto how not to fall into such a trap by enemy nins if I don't play the part." Spinning Naruto on the spot, Anko grabbed the back of Naruto's head and slammed his face right between her breasts. Naruto struggled, mostly for air, but Anko had a firm grip on his head, so Naruto wasn't going anywhere.
Haruhi, understandably, was stunned by Anko's action and didn't move for a few seconds as her brain registered exactly what just happened. When it did click, Haruhi lunged for Naruto in her attempt to protect her baby. Anko took evasive maneuvers and it quickly became a game of keep away.
It didn't take long for Haruhi to grab one of the boy's arms though and once she did, she pulled. From the force of the pull, Naruto fell lose and was nearly free, when Anko grabbed a hold of the other arm and the game changed to tug-o-war.
"Anko, let go! He isn't ready for that stuff!" Haruhi called out. The mother was still pulling as hard she can.
"This is for his own good, ka-chan! The sooner he learns to ignore these types of weapons, the better at being a ninja he'll be!" Anko called back. The would-be big sister pulled as hard as she could.
Naruto's head was rolling back a forth from being the bone between the dogs wanting a bigger piece. Fortunately, Naruto was blissfully unconscious at that very moment. Whether it was from being too embarrassed or from the lack of oxygen within Anko's canyon would be something he would never remember.
It took about 15 minutes of wrestling Naruto from each other before they noticed the blond was out like a light. How he wasn't torn to pieces is another mystery that will never be answered, even if accounting for his healing factor. With that, both women agreed fun time was over and placed Naruto on his bed to get some rest. Haruhi sat on the floor against the far wall from Naruto, while Anko leaned against the wall near Naruto's bed and watched as he lay there.
"How could I have never seen him before?" Turning to Haruhi, "He's the boy the demon is in?"
"Yes, he is…and I regret ever agreeing with Minato to make him that way. You saw the writing on the wall. His life was…is worse than anything I have ever seen." Haruhi looked away from Anko trying to avoid eye contact.
Anko looked back at Naruto, Sighing. "I should have been there. I should have taken care of the gaki."
"You were told he died. I don't blame you for not knowing he was even alive. If you did know, I don't doubt that you would have taken care of him. I'm surprised that Kashi-kun didn't tell you though."
Anko's head snapped back and she gave Haruhi a hard stare. "Kakashi knew about Naruto?"
Haruhi nodded, "Being in the ANBU, he was assigned to watch over Naruto on occasion. I think he figured it out after taking one look at my boy."
Hissing could be heard from Anko's jacket and Haruhi could have sworn she saw a tongue flicker from her coat sleeve. The fox's thoughts were answered when two snakes from Anko's jacket wrapped around her neck.
"I'm going to tie him to a tree by his balls and hang him over a pit of poisonous snakes. Ones that kill you slowly and painfully, for not telling me."
Haruhi watched Anko and marveled at how Anko grew up. The snake charmer was beautiful and completely secure in her thought that the men of the world desired her. Rin would most likely have had a heart attack at the way Anko smothered Naruto. Haruhi giggled at the thought.
"Naruto and I were going to move into our clan compound before you tried to kill him. I have…had now, a surprise for you. Come with us."
Anko anger subsided as Haruhi spoke to her. Anko didn't like surprises. In the ninja world a surprise could get you killed. Haruhi had taken good care of her ever since her family abandoned her. It had only been eight months from when Haruhi found Anko crying in the woods to the attack, but that was the happiest time of Anko's life.
"Sure, I'll need to know where to go when I want to see you from now on."
"Uhhh…what happened?" Naruto was finally waking from his forced slumber.
"You need better training if you couldn't handle something other men would kill to have a chance at." Anko answered with a smirk.
Naruto looked over at the scantily dressed woman. At first he had a hard time recognizing her; however it didn't take long for him to remember what happened. Jumping up and pulling a kunai out from his pouch, Naruto took his fighting stance. "Stay away from me you crazy!"
Anko smiled at all the things that ran through her head at that very moment. Every single one of the thoughts would just proven the crazy accusation to be true. "Listen gaki, I'm giving you the rest of the day off from my fun. You and I are going to see a lot more of each other anyways, and I can always get you later."
Naruto paled upon hearing that they were going to be seeing each other more often. The crazy lady nearly killed him this time, what will happen the next time? "Haruhi-chan, who is this lady… and why is she going to be around even more?!"
Haruhi sighed; she could already see where their relationship was going to go. Arguing and playing pranks on each other everyday was going to be normal. "Like I said before, Anko is like my daughter to me and both of you share a lot in common. I want her to be around more often. She'll be able to provide help to me and right now, I need help."
Anko's smile grew at hearing she was needed by someone she truly cared for. "So gaki, get your things gathered so we can head to your compound."
Naruto wasn't too sure about Anko just yet. The blond kept one eye on Anko as he moved his bed. Haruhi watched as Naruto took the kunai and inserted it into a small hole. Tilting the kunai down, the board lifted. Naruto finally took his eyes of Anko to see what he was grabbing. Anko did think about grabbing him again, but thought better.
From out of the hole Naruto pulled out a case that was usually used to hold kunai. Opening the box to see if everything was there, the girls got to see what was inside. It wasn't much. There were some goggles and about three pictures. There were some other nick-knacks, and a necklace seeming to be the only thing that really stood out to Haruhi.
"Is that Iruka?" Anko asked, going to grabbing one of the pictures. Naruto quickly swatted her hand away from his valuables.
Grabbing the picture himself Naruto held it up so Anko could see, "Yah, that's Iruka-sensei. He's the coolest teacher." The picture had Naruto and Iruka smiling like idiots. They were covered in mud from head to toe. "That day I prank him by throwing balloons filled with mud at him. He performed a jutsu that shot the mud back. We spent the entire day throwing mud at each other… it was fun."
Naruto was smiling as he recalled at the picture that held fond memories. Something he had very few of. Anko made a note to talk with Iruka.
Haruhi saw the other two pictures. One had Naruto wearing the Hokage hat while Sarutobi smiled in the background. The other was of Ayame and Teuchi on either side of Naruto stuffing his face with ramen. Teuchi's arm stretched out behind the camera, clearly holding it.
The necklace was just a small blue stone attached to a piece of thread. "Naruto, where did you get this?"
Naruto looked at the necklace that Haruhi was pointing at. His tone changing to one of nostalgia and wistfulness, "That was a gift from the only person who tried to be my friend…. She moved to a different village a long time ago though."
"Do you know which village she moved to?" Anko asked, thinking she might be able to find the person Naruto was talking about if she got a mission out in the general direction of the village.
Naruto shook his head. "I don't even remember her name. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure she gave me one. We met late one night in the middle of the woods. She said she had to get away from her parents for a little while. I offered to hear her out and she told me what was going on at her house. It was her way of venting her frustration I think. We met a few times after that and she gave me this right before she left. I think…she was the only person to call me 'friend'."
Naruto had a far off look as he stared at the blue stone.
Haruhi placed a hand on Naruto's head bring him back to reality. "Is this everything?" Naruto nodded and placed everything back in the case. "Come on, we have a new home and I promise it will be nicer than this place."
Naruto smiled and followed Haruhi, taking one last look around before exiting the apartment. Anko covered the rear closing the door to a big part of Naruto's life.
The conversations on their way to the compound were not so melodramatic.
Naruto complained that Anko would try something in his sleep, of course which Anko agreed to and threw out suggestions on what exactly she would do. Haruhi easily fell into step with the younger female and told Naruto about several pranks Anko had done in her time. The self-declared 'Prankster King' had to admit that he was impressed with some of the pranks Anko had thought up back in the day; at least, on the inside. On the outside however, he went several shade whiter at the thought of her pulling them off on him. However, he sure as hell wouldn't take a prank lying down, and was already scheming different ways to get Anko.
On Naruto's contribution to the conversation, he went over his day, talking of his chase with that 'damned cat'. Anko was surprised because she had also chased that cat when she was a genin. This little tidbit only served to further prove Naruto's claim that the feline was a demon cat. Haruhi just shook her head as Anko and Naruto made plans to capture the cat and interrogate it.
Anko of course was a member of the interrogation department. This meant she tortured people to get information for a living. Anko still went on missions every now and then, but mostly she worked inside the village walls. Naruto at first was a little scared, perhaps rightly so, this is Anko we're talking about here, but after Anko offered to teach him what she knew, Naruto warmed up to her rather quickly.
However, Naruto, perhaps to further demonstrate his lack of survival skills, made a comment about Anko's clothes again. Haruhi went into her version of 'mother mode' and suggested they got her new clothes. Anko didn't like where the conversation was going and thus presumed to redirect Haruhi's attention to Naruto's bright neon-orange jump suit he was currently wearing.
Haruhi just smiled and said something about shopping with the family. Naruto and Anko shared a look and without saying a word they agreed to never make a comment about the other's clothes again.
When they arrived at the compound, Naruto nearly passed out. To put it simply, it was huge. To wit, there were several empty houses for future Uzumaki families, and there were some small parks, full of flowers and trees. The entire compound itself was walled off from Konoha, with only one major gate. Needless to say, the compound was beautiful; and it was Haruhi and Naruto's.
Before they could do so, Haruhi promptly informed Anko and Naruto to never go over the walls. According to Sarutobi, Minato had put seals on the walls; anyone who jumps the wall to get into the compound will get really a nasty surprise.
There are different seals along the wall, causing different effects. One seal puts you under a powerful genjutsu, which makes you believe you're walking into the compound when in reality you are walking in circles no more than five feet away from the wall.
All of this his was done to protect the Uzumakis from the enemies Minato had made. When Minato died, Jiraiya offered to take the seals down. However, Sarutobi told him not to because it would protect Naruto and his family, should he decide to take one from the village. That statement had saddened Sarutobi more than anyone could possibly know.
The road from the gate went straight through the compound and lead to the main house. All the houses they walked past were two stories, with the main house having three stories. The buildings had a western look to them. The two Uzumakis and one Mitarashi stopped and looked up at the mansion they would be living in. Naruto was speechless. Never in his entire life did he think that he would live in a place like this.
"Is… is that a spa building?" asked Anko, who pointed to a building on the right side of the main house. Her voice was shaky. Anko had planned on staying with Haruhi and Naruto if Haruhi gave her permission, but she didn't expect this.
Haruhi smiled, 'Minato, you magnificent bastard. You thought of everything, hadn't you?' "I believe there are hot springs and, if I remember correctly, a garden in the main house." Anko's jaw dropped. Anko was not one to ask much of anything from anyone, but asking Haruhi to stay was a small price to be with her family. However after hearing that… Anko would beg and grovel just to spend a week.
"Yatta!!" Naruto yelled and ran to the door. "This place is awesome. I can't wait to see my room! I bet it's as big as my apartment!" Haruhi followed her son into the main building in time to see her son form the Ram Seal. "Kage bushin no jutsu!" Eight Narutos popped into existence. "Alright, the mission is to explore our new home and report the findings back to me! You two take the west side, you two east, you two take second story, and you two take third!"
The clones quickly saluted and ran off, following the orders given to them.
Anko was rather impressed with Naruto. "You can make shadow clones gaki? That's pretty impressive for a genin. How many can you make?"
Naruto placed his hand on his chin, "I'm not sure exactly. When I fought Mizuki, I made enough to fill the entire area…hmmm, I think it was a few hundred."
Anko jaw dropped farther than it did with the spa. "A few hundred!!! Most jonin can't make ten clones! How can you make a few hundred?"
"He is my son." Haruhi stated, pride flowing through every word. Anko just sighed. It paid to be related by blood to a 9-tailed fox. "Both of you follow me for a second. I need to give you both a present." Anko figured this was the surprise Haruhi mentioned earlier.
Naruto was just ecstatic. He just received a house bigger than the apartment building he lived in and now he's about to get a present from his mother. He was so excited that he was about to do his incredibly embarrassing victory dance.
The three walked into the living room and sat down on one of the many pieces of furniture. The living room was well furnished, and the couches and chairs were comfortable. The theme for this room was clearly red as everything had a maroon color to it. There was a chest on the small table in the middle of the room.
Haruhi placed a hand on the chest. "Naruto, this chest belonged to your father." That instantly had Naruto's attention and he leaned in to get a better look. Anko stayed were she sat and remained quiet for Haruhi. "In the chest is everything the Hokage was going to give you when you were old enough to learn about your family." Naruto gulped in anticipation.
Opening the chest, Haruhi started to dig through all the paper work. "Most of it are document proving who you are and with me here you don't need to see that, but I think your father would have wanted you to have this," pulling out Minato's coat and handing it over to Naruto.
Naruto recognized the jacket instantly from the history books. Understandably, he wasn't quite sure on what to do. This jacket belonged to the hero of Konoha, his father, and now he was holding it as a gift to him. Naruto bowed to his mother, not sure what else to do. Holding the jacket to his chest, "Thank you, I'll take good care of this gift." Tears dropped onto the floor.
Haruhi watched her son closely for a little bit to make sure he was ok. Naruto sat back down and looked over the coat, memorizing every crease. Haruhi went back to the chest and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Anko, Minato-kun and I had planned on giving you and Kashi-kun a choice after Naruto was born, but the plans changed."
Haruhi handed the paper over to Anko to look over. Anko read over the document, her jaw dropping and her eyes growing in disbelief.
"Is this what I think it is?" Her eyes never left the paper.
Naruto looked up from the jacket at the way Anko asked the question. Disbelief and shock surrounded every word.
Haruhi just smiled, "They're adoption papers for you to sign. It's a little late now though; it would be a bit weird adopting someone in her late twenties. I just think it would be nice for…" Haruhi was cut off when Anko held out the paper for Haruhi to take. Haruhi glanced at the paper and noticed Anko had tampered with it. "You signed it?"
Anko was blushing and was looking at anything but Haruhi. "My clan abandoned me when I needed them the most. Things haven't changed in all these years. A complete stranger took me in and treated better than my own mother. As far as I'm concerned, you are my mother." Naruto was in shock, but a question was nagging him to no end.
Haruhi was about to take the paper than stopped. "Turn it to the Hokage tomorrow. I need to take care of something else. Don't take it to the adoption agency. The Uzumakis and the person in charge of the program, Haruno Tsuruya…are not seeing eye to eye right now."
Anko understood. She had a pretty good idea of what is going on. Naruto, on the other hand, was clueless. "First, where did Anko get that pen?" Naruto felt as if his brain would explode if he didn't ask.
Anko gave a smile at her little brother. "I'll show you if you're really curious."
Naruto chose to ignore Anko and looked at Haruhi.
"Why are we having problems with Sakura-chan's mom?" You don't have a crush on someone for years without learning the basic information about the person.
"It's a long and upsetting story, but don't worry about it. In the mean time, go find yourself a room. I think your clones should be done with recon." Naruto wanted to ask more, but Haruhi didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it. Naruto could read people really well, when he wanted to. So he chose to listen to Haruhi and left to catch up with his clones.
After Naruto left, Anko looked over to Haruhi. "What happened?"
Haruhi thus proceeded to explain how Teuchi, the man in the picture, had wanted to adopt Naruto but was stopped by Tsuruya; she also told Anko about the Counsel meeting. Anyone in the Uzumaki clan was going to have to know what he or she was up against.
Haruhi knew that Naruto had a crush on his teammate and didn't want to make problems for his genin team. That was why Naruto was kept in the dark for now.
Anko was pissed and visibly took deep breath to calm her self. "I actually can believe someone would do that. You know I can always…" Anko left her sentence unfinished for Haruhi to finish on her own.
Haruhi shook her head, "No Anko. At first I thought the same thing, but her daughter and Naruto are on the same genin team and it would only cause problems for my son later. For now, let it go."
"But…" Anko still wanted to do something. Leave snakes in her garden at the very least. Anko wouldn't even make them poisonous… well most of them anyway.
"No, Anko. The fact that Naruto has me and this," Haruhi spread her arms out to show she meant the house. "Is the best revenge. Also, he soon will have you as well. So please don't start trouble."
"Fine." Anko pouted, "If I have to be good, at least it will be for a good reason. I'll see the Hokage early tomorrow then get my things." Anko rose from her seat and started to walk off. Haruhi barely heard, "I wonder where Naruto is." It only took a few minuets before Haruhi heard a high-pitched girly scream. 'Naruto, you're too loud.'
The fox sighed and went to see what Anko did to her son this time. She stopped right at the door. Turning to the chest, Haruhi just stared at it for a little while, a billion things running through her head. A loud 'get away from me you crazy lady' and 'come on, it will be fun' snapped Haruhi out of her trance. "Hey, nothing better be broken."
"Crap, it's the cops; you'll never take me alive and I have a hostage!" Anko called back.
"Get these snakes off of me!" Naruto yelled.
This would become a regular scene for the Uzumakis in the future.