Hope you like it, happy holidays.
Chapter Seven
Today was going to be a long day, I knew this when I woke up. Naruto had the pleasure of waking anyone in the near premises up at four fifty, too late for me to go back to sleep since he wouldn't take a nap until at least ten.
I shook my head trying to clear it as I went to his room, which was filled with toys he had somehow managed to steal from stores when we went shopping. By the time I noticed it was too late to put them back. He would be great at hiding things if he managed to get a poker face I'd decided.
"Morning Naruto-kun. Why are you up so early?" I questioned him, lifting him up. I personally was an early riser but Naruto had gotten me into the habit of treasuring every second of sleep. I hadn't had a full night's sleep since I agreed to look after him.
"Bababara," he started sprouting nonsense when I took him out of the room.
"Whatever it is it can wait till I feed you. I am not going back into that room," I muttered ignoring his tugging and sitting him down in his chair. He had finally graduated from milk to actual food, well smashed food which looked and smelled repulsive.
"Warame," he grunted when I tried to feed it to him. He refused to open his mouth and turned away from me as he avoided the spoon.
"Eat so we can go shopping you little brat," I snapped at him. He looked at me before turning again making me growl at him. My temper had become slightly shorter and I knew one of these days I was going to snap. I just hoped that when I did he was not in my arms or the room.
"Ba! Ba!" he started to scream at me as I glared at him, grinding my teeth. I would not survive to his teenage years. He probably wouldn't survive his own childhood if he kept this up.
"Ba!" he shouted turning to face the hallway that led to his room. It finally dawned on me that he wanted something in specific but it made me even angrier. All this fuss for a toy no doubt.
"No, eat then you can play. No other way, runt," I grounded out taking the opportunity to stuff his mouth with the smashed carrots. He sputtered a little before opening his mouth for more after he tasted it.
It seemed like he would only eat carrot, apple and squash which was weird to me, but at least he ate it without throwing up on me. I frowned at the memory and continued to feed him.
After he finished his breakfast I went to his room and grabbed a random toy to distract him. I didn't pause when I heard him whine at being left behind. I had quickly learned that Naruto was an attention seeker and would fuss over anything when he thought he was being ignored.
"Here you go," I handed him his favorite toy which was a red rabbit with a weird looking hat and matching bow. Naruto had stolen it from a nearby store which was in fact the one we were going to today. "I'm going to get ready, stay here."
As I got ready I could hear Naruto screaming at me from my room. I sighed as I put on clean clothes on. It took me less than five minutes but Naruto still acted as though I'd left him alone for hours.
"Stop whining," I snapped at him and dragged him out. "Now it is around six, so let's go walk Konoha before the civilians wake up. If you behave I will let you choose your own meal, deal?"
Naruto only blinked at me before gurgling and tugging at my hair once more. I really had to cut it, it had grown too long and was annoying to look after. However it did distract Naruto and made him somewhat agreeable once in a while.
The day was too long and much of it I spent glaring at passersby. They would stare and point at Naruto, murmuring too low for me to hear. The glares were a giveaway, though, and I made sure nobody got too close. I was not risking any injury to Naruto, especially since he was so young. In this world age meant nothing and most would not hesitate to kill an infant if that was their objective.
I could see why the Hokage had me taking care of him instead of sending him to an orphanage. While not the most qualified I had training that made targeting Naruto that much harder. Not to mention, outside shinobi would not expect the jinchuriki to be protected by a teenager.
The prejudice of the civilians and shinobi alike just made it harder for me to integrate Naruto better into society so he wouldn't stand out too much. A glare from me chased most away and those who didn't run avoided confrontation, however, so any visitor would think I was the one being ostracized, not him.
"Iruka what are you doing here?" I asked the boy in my house, who was sitting at the doorstep.
"I was waiting for you," he responded standing up, getting the bags that I carried besides Naruto. I noticed he avoided touching Naruto but he did grin at him. I couldn't really ask for more. "I was hoping we could train."
"I'd love to, but there is no one to look after Naruto. I could watch and see where you need help if you want," I told him, unlocking the door and letting him in. My house was a simple one story with three rooms, a kitchen and living room. Currently there was an unused room where I kept all of my weapons so Naruto wouldn't grab them by accident. "I'm getting rusty, and I don't like that."
"Hahaha, guess looking after a baby doesn't help your training," he laughed at my expression, used to me scowling and glaring at most things by now.
"No it doesn't and if you keep laughing it won't help you either," I warned him as I went to the living room and putting Naruto down at the rug.
"Sorry, so would you?" Iruka asked me as he sat down in the sofa. I took the recliner leaning back a bit. I stretched a bit before nodding.
"I knew today would be a long day," I muttered darkly before standing up to go to the weapon's room. "Wait here. Both of you," I glared at Naruto who was crawling at me.
"He really likes you," Iruka chuckled watching Naruto as I left my room. As soon as I was out of sight he started to scream. "Why is he screaming?!"
"He wants attention, just play with him and he will shut up," I called at him, grabbing some things and putting on my kunai pouch on. I search the room and decide to sharpen all my tools soon, not wanting them dull in case of emergencies.
I walked into the living room and saw Iruka grabbing Naruto's hands as he tried to walk. I smiled at the sight and leaned against the door frame. Naruto glanced at me and started moving his chubby legs in my direction. He tugged against Iruka's grip and pulled free, stumbling forward.
"Iruka he can't-" I stared at Naruto as he walked several steps on his own, towards me. I hadn't even tried to teach him how yet, he was too young, but still here he was walking towards me.
"Looks like he can walk now," Iruka smirked at me, looking very proud with himself.
"Well, I guess you can babysit him, when I go back into missions," I drawled out holding my hands out to catch Naruto as he fell forward. "I'm pretty sure Naruto wouldn't mind, would you Naruto?" I asked the child in my arms as he reached out to pull on my hair.
"Babysit?" Iruka face paled as I laughed humorlessly at him.
"You just had to teach him to walk. Soon he'll be running around and I won't be able to have a moment's peace. So you will babysit," I informed him. I stood up with Naruto and gestured at him to go outside. "Time for training."
I smirked as it took him a moment to catch up. I sighed as I considered what I said. Naruto would soon be running and talking. Soon he wouldn't need me to do everything for him. I didn't expect for me to feel slightly sad at the thought but brushed it off.
I would also have to find a doctor for Naruto that wouldn't be biased against him. His growth was too fast for his age, and it could be the effects of the kyuubi. I would have to talk to the Hokage about that.
For now I should just enjoy the peace while it lasts.
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Please review and tell me what you thought. If you have something you want to see please tell me.
Dedicated to dark wolf of death who wanted to see his firsts steps.
