Kyuubi? Who, Me?

by Cynical Kyuubi

An unforeseen trauma during his sealing has stricken the Kyuubi with amnesia! He wakes with no idea who, or what, or where he is. Young Naruto Uzumaki finds himself trying to figure all this out and help this giant wry-fox, all while still trying to prepare himself for the ninja academy. Maybe things will all work out in the end? Only time will tell.

10. Chapter 10: Getting on Track

STATUS UPDATE

Since I'm not sure if anyone bothered to check the forums, since I never received any subscriptions for the forums or more than just the one person commenting, I'll post the status update here to break the unacceptably long state of silence you readers have had to endure.

Most importantly, No, the story is not dead. Yeah, it's been on life support over the past two months, and I sincerely apologize for that.

I've got 6 and a half thousand words put into the next chapter, and I'm forcing myself to keep writing even though I'm slogging through it.
I have a lot of reasons why this has taken so long, and if you want answers, I'll post something about it in the forum.

ALSO! I plan to go through the previous chapters and clean them up. Remove all the crappy word vomit authors notes and redundant pre-story author's notes.

The short of things: Story is not dead, still alive, just taking a long time to get the next chapter out and I'm really sorry that this story had to be created by someone who can't get their shit together.

First off, I'd like to offer an apology for the gigantic delay. No, I was not on hiatus, I was working on this story (sporadically) the entire time.

due to recent events, I am no longer able to adhere to my previously established update schedule

My job is making things difficult to keep a specific schedule with writing and managing school (something I'm admittedly doing poorly in)

I will be continuing to work on this story, that much hasn't changed, but it's not going to be a weekly upload schedule anymore.

The story forum is up, check my profile page for the link. I encourage you readers to check in with my forum, as I'll be using it to keep you all posted and updated on my chapter progress (no more waiting like this and being left in the dark!) I set up the forum so I could better communicate with my readers, and I hope to see you all there.

Now that that's out of the way, I have some things I need to say before we start this story. I'll keep it short and save you all the rant I left in the previous chapter.

I'm not in a good place to be taking negative criticism right now. That isn't to say that I don't want you to voice your opinions, I value your input.

what I'm trying to say, is that I'm very easily discouraged. I already question everything I do and I tend to be very vitriolic towards my work. Half of the reason this chapter took so long to make is because I grew terrified that what I was writing wasn't good enough, that it'd never be good enough. Seeing people highlighting the flaws in my writing made all of that worse for me, to the point where I considered giving up a few times.

I don't want to go further into it and risk looking like I'm some snowflake who can't take criticism. All I'm saying is that people make it infinitely harder for me to enjoy writing when they put this story under unwarranted scrutiny.

It's a fanfiction, I don't get money for this, I don't get anything other than feedback and my own personal satisfaction from writing.

Those that do offer positive feedback, again, I thank you immensely for your support. You are all awesome people.

But enough about that...lemme give a quick shout-out

Holy shizzle! over 100+ favorites and 200+ followers? I'd never have guessed people would be that interested in my work. Thank you readers for all your support!

Trying something new this time, had a beta look things over for me, and he took it upon himself to organize things in a different format than what I usually submit in.

Give me a shout if you like this format better, or if you prefer my usual format. If enough folks like this style better, I'll adopt it into my writing.

Disclaimer: This is his beta here, Cynical Kyuubi does not own Naruto, this is a Fanfiction, made for fun. Please enjoy reading.

---

Naruto leaned back and looked up at the sky for a moment, then nervously asked: "Does this mean we're... friends?"

The Kyuubi rested his head on his outstretched arms, contemplating the answer and letting out a deep sigh before finally speaking it. "Sure."

---

(Kitsune's prison)

There were a plethora of thoughts running through Rai's mind that night. To say he was divided on the subject would be putting it mildly, a good portion of his mind was with the consensus of being outraged and vehemently arguing against the answer given to the brat while still under the "emotional influence" of the previous night. The other portion of his mind argued just as fervently that the brat had earned at least this small gesture.

It would have been one thing had he come up with a casual avoidance of the question, something, anything really to sidestep the subject. Giving the brat more reason to cling to him would only continue to make it that much harder for him to keep his distance from the boy, more-so further down the road.

Although, to be completely fair, Rai did want Naruto to have a more positive opinion of him. The fact that Naruto had literally asked him if they were friends had established that the boy did. In addition to that, Naruto had taken Rai's side and come to his defense during his conversations with the Hokage and the one named Inoichi. As much as it frustrated him to be in this position now, he'd succeeded in improving the boy's perception of him. Naruto saw Rai as a "friend", and that meant loyalty (which Naruto already showed). That would ultimately be useful to the kitsune, assuming the boy would improve in his abilities and gained applicable skills that Rai could benefit from.

The big fox curled his tails in to give himself his makeshift bedding and closed his eyes. He supposed that he was making more fuss about all of this than was necessary. The worst that would come of this is that he might have to have the brat tag along with him after he freed himself. Although, by the time that happened, Naruto may have grown enough in skill and capabilities that Rai would want to keep him around for his usefulness anyway, in which case all of this strife he had now over the issue would be truly pointless.

Rai opened one eye and snorted at the boy excitedly bouncing on his heels before the sealed gates. "Naruto, go to sleep already."

"Let's play a game first!" He wasn't expecting the boy to have brought that up, though, he probably should have.

"Is now the best time?" Naruto nodding his head irritated Rai more than the kitsune meant to let it. "Let me rephrase that:" The giant fox lazily opened his second eye. "We can play a game tomorrow, or sometime later, just not now. Go to bed."

Same as the last time, it took Rai threatening the boy before he eventually cooperated and went to bed. He'd have to come up with a means of convincing the brat to cease his endeavors and get sleep without having to threaten him with "enthusiastic night screaming" as Rai jokingly referred to it as, but that would just have to wait until later.

---

(Konoha)

The next morning was relatively uneventful, Naruto had decided to take a break from his training and spent until noon rummaging through the last few remaining "festival junk piles". Rai was mildly curious, but kept his inquiries to himself, at least at the start.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but, what exactly is it that you're doing?" Rai was referring to the fact that Naruto had acquired an entire case of leftover streamers from the festival junk piles and was in the process of bringing it to the top of the Hokage tower.

"Playing a prank on the Hokage, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Ok, but why though?" Rai didn't really care, so much as his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"Because it's fun, obviously!" Naruto exclaimed as he set the case down onto the tower rooftop and got to work unpacking the tightly wound streamers.

"...Riiiight. I could think of a million other things you could be doing that would be a more productive use of your time." The blonde boy gave a dismissive wave of his hand and then struggled with the flimsy material of the paper rolls. "You're just allergic to fun, that's what your problem is." With a bit of effort, Naruto began unraveling the ends of the streamers; before long, he was tying them to the guardrails of the rooftop.

"Allergic to fun? Have you forgotten that-" Naruto interrupted and finished Rai's sentence for him in a semi-mocking tone. "You're stuck in a cage and literally have nothing else to do but sleep, cont- contem… think, and watch whatever it is I decide to do. I know, you told me that like a hundred times."

Rai took a turn at being indignant this time and snorted in response. "You mocking me doesn't change the fact that it's true… but that's not what I was going to say!" He barked. 'Besides, I don't say it that often…'

Naruto shrugged with a grin and shot back. "Yeah? Well… uh… oh, hey, why don't you help me out with coming up with new pranks? I'm sure with how smart you are, we can come up with something really awesome!"

"No, I think I'll pass." The boy finished the conversation in a playfully antagonistic tone, after blowing a raspberry at the kitsune first. "See what I mean? Allergic to fun."

Once all the streamer ends were in position and with their ends tied to their spot on the guard rail, Naruto stepped back to observe his work. "This is gonna be great, just you watch!"

Rai gave a sarcastic and half-hearted response. "I'm sure this endeavor will be spectacular…" Naruto laughed and said, "You need a hobby, then you'll understand." which received a deadpan look from the giant fox. Naruto then ran as quickly as he could, tipping the streamer coils over the edge of the guardrail, sending them all tumbling down and unraveling over the sides of the Hokage tower.

---

(Hokage's Office)

Hiruzen took a light puff from his pipe as he looked over the notes he jotted down from yesterday's meeting regarding Naruto and the Kyuubi.

In matters concerning the Kyuubi, the entourage of ANBU could be toned down back to simply having Fox and Cat observing the boy as they used to. Naruto would be safe, and they would have constant and reliable intel on the Kyuubi's actions. It would no longer be necessary to commit two full teams of ANBU, now that the tailed beast was no longer as dire a threat as was originally thought. For all intents and purposes, Hiruzen fully believed that "Rai" was still very much a tangible threat, especially given the troubling presence of the "echo" as Inoichi referred to it. However, it was a threat that could be safely managed with the appropriate measures and contingencies in place. There was the possibility that the nine tails would eventually regain its memories, but that time was not now, and the seal was still in place even if it were.

Inoichi had agreed to regularly check in with Naruto and the Kyuubi, performing mental evaluations and the like. If Rai began regaining his memories, they would know about it and be able to react in time to mitigate any potential negative outcomes as a result.

That was the hope, at least.

Fox, once he returned from his mandatory break period, would be very capable in keeping track of Naruto's behavior and would know of any changes in his usual schedule. It all seemed to be going far better than originally expected, and he had an effective strategy with contingencies in place. The village would be safe and secure from any plausible threat posed by the Nine-Tails.

With the Kyuubi accounted for, he could allow himself to turn his efforts to Naruto's situation.

His hands were a bit tied in terms of what he personally could do for Naruto; if he directly intervened, it might backfire if and when the villagers or the council found out. He was already stretching things as it was with his efforts to counter the rumors regarding the boy, in addition to his regular visits with him and the stipend he issued Naruto for basic living expenses. Hiruzen could justify such measures to any inquiring minds, but anything further would run significant risk.

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to intervene himself.

Shikaku offered to ensure Naruto had a proper store of food and basic living necessities. He could also educate the boy on the things he needed to know in order to safely live by himself. Inoichi also agreed to do the same if needed, though voiced that he would be of more use in his role of analyzing Naruto and the kyuubi.

Both clan heads suggested that Chōza Akimichi could be briefed on the situation and brought in to assist if necessary. Additionally, they had an assortment of trusted individuals they could ask to look after Naruto if the need ever occurred. Hiruzen thanked them, though filed the suggestions away in his mind as a "plan C" of sorts.

Even if Hiruzen couldn't be involved directly, he could rest easy knowing there were those who would be willing and able to legitimately help the boy. He had options, Naruto would be cared for.

Had things been different, Hiruzen would have strongly considered asking one of the clans of Konoha to adopt Naruto outright, or something to that effect. Unfortunately, as Shikaku had more than pointed out, due to recent events and the current political environment he had to work with, that would have brought along numerous problems and complications. It was a terrible shame; that could have given the poor boy as close to a normal childhood as Hiruzen originally wanted Naruto to have.

The Hokage's train of thought was interrupted by a light series of taps and scratching on the window behind him, and the sudden lack of sunlight entering his office.

Turning to see the origin of the noise and lack of light left him with a smirk. He saw a series of multicolored streamers covering his window, effectively blocking off his view of Konoha. 'There's only one person I know who will do something like this.' The old man thought to himself as he made his way outside at a brisk pace. If he was quick enough, he could catch the boy admiring his own handiwork from a distance, and he knew just where Naruto would be to do that.

---

(Konoha Plaza)

"Well, if your objective was to make the Hokage tower look festive and lively, you succeeded." Rai stated in a tone that reeked of boredom and a hint of antagonistic intent. Naruto stood at the center of Konoha plaza, taking in the view of his hard work with a mildly disappointed expression himself. The end results of his hour worth of work was underwhelming, it was little more than a minor nuisance/inconvenience at best and nothing close to the prank he'd envisioned it to be.

"You know, this was way better in my head…" He proclaimed, not hiding the disappointment in his voice. Rai took the opportunity to give a playful jab at the boy's disappointment. "Don't worry, I'm sure everyone in the Hokage tower is crying out your name in rage over the fact that their windows are partially obscured."

"I guess so, but it feels crap-tacular." Rai made an amusedly curious expression coupled with a laugh at that word.

"Crap-tacular?" Naruto folded his arms and defiantly retorted to the kitsune. "It's a word!"

Before either could respond, their attention was drawn to the sudden gust of wind that had made all the streamers atop the Hokage tower flutter about in an eye-catching and distracting display. Admittedly, this wasn't what Naruto originally planned, but he'd take it.

The boy fist pumped and had an enthusiastic look and tone as he proudly said. "Ha! See? I told you it'd be awesome!"

Rai gave a less than enthusiastic, yet snarky response. "Its crap-tacular…" The boy folded his arms and defended his work with as witty a comeback as he could manage.

"Shows what you know, that isn't even a word!"

Rai did a double take. 'Did he just...?' He thought and couldn't decide whether he was dumbfounded by the boy's idiocy and obliviousness, or if Naruto was more clever than he seemed and had done that intentionally.

Maybe it was both? Yes, most likely both, a clever idiot.

Naruto ran to the Hokage monument as quickly as he could, wanting to get a better angle and add in a last-minute extra bit before the next gust of wind came along.

"You did your prank, boy, shouldn't you get back to your academy preparation training, or something?"

"Not yet! Gimme a second!."

Naruto came to a stop and hesitated as he ascended the last few steps up the Hokage monument, streamer bundle in hand. Hiruzen was standing just a few strides from the stairs, and was looking right at Naruto as if he was expecting the boy. Sure enough, this proved to be the case when the Hokage gestured for Naruto to come forth, though he kept that same warm expression that he always did whenever they visited.

Cat took position by Hiruzen's side, Naruto quickly hid the streamer behind his back after realizing he'd had it in plain view. A dog masked ANBU with white hair took position near the stairwell and watched as Naruto passed him by.

Hiruzen noted that Naruto had a very incriminating expression on his face, despite the boy trying to hide it. That faux innocent smile of his, the smile reserved for when he had just successfully carried out a prank...

"Heya, jiji! Enjoying the view?" Naruto managed to get out with giggles barely concealed in his voice.

The old man couldn't help but smile and shake his head with a soft huff. "Naruto-kun, I sure hope you put this much effort into your training once you enter the academy."

Naruto put his fists against his hips and put on a display of bravado. "I'm gonna blaze through whatever the academy throws my way, dattebayo!", Rai didn't make any effort to resist the temptation of audibly snorting at the boy's naïve overconfidence. Naruto briefly popped into the fox's prison to give a quick "Shut up, wry-fox!" much to the kitsune's amusement.

Hiruzen nodded with an approving smile at the child's enthusiasm, "That's good to hear, very good. However, I'm not simply here to enjoy the view. Naruto, I have something important I need to speak to you about; it concerns the state of your home and a few other things."

"Oh, um, sure! Sure, let's talk!", Naruto said in an optimistic tone of voice. The Hokage cleared his throat and proceeded to discuss the plan that he'd decided upon, along with the details of the previous day's meeting, albeit, with certain details withheld.

(a short time later)

"So… this Shikaku person and the blonde guy-" Hiruzen interrupted Naruto and gave him a gentle reprimand.

"Inoichi, not the blonde guy, Naruto."

"Err... right, I don't understand though… I already know how to live by myself, and I've been doing fine on my own." The Hokage gave a deadpan look that told Naruto loud and clear that he wasn't buying what the boy was selling.

"Naruto-kun, you may have survived this far on your own, but after seeing and… smelling your apartment the other day, I'm quite convinced that you have much to learn before you can safely live alone. Frankly I'm astonished that you haven't fallen ill from food poisoning or mold spores yet, or worse." Hiruzen stated with a gentle, but firm tone of voice and expression to go with it.

"But, I have academy prep stuff I have to learn! I can't just stop to go to the blon-Inoichi's place to talk about dumb stuff, dattebayo!" Naruto said to Hiruzen with a slight whine in his voice.

The Hokage reiterated what he'd said before, but added to it with. "You don't have to stop your current endeavors, but I want you to address your living conditions as your top priority. The sooner you learn how to keep your home clean and organized, the better."

The boy groaned aloud, causing the wizened old man to let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, I know, you'd much rather focus your attention on preparing for the academy. It's just as important you know how to properly take care of yourself, so, like it or not, that's just the way things will have to be."

Naruto folded his arms and voiced his disapproval of the idea, looking slightly insecure at the notion of having more people 'looking after him'.

Hiruzen then started with a, "Well, if you're going to be continuing to live alone, it's a necessity. If not, we might have to send you back to the orphana-"

"No, no-no-no, I can't go back there!" Naruto shook his head with a panicked and nervous expression on his face.

The response he gave to the old man caught Rai's attention, though he stayed silent about it.

Hiruzen reached forward and grasped Naruto by one of his shoulders. "Naruto-kun, calm yourself. That is not what I'm going to do; I'm well aware of how unpleasant that place was for you."

The Sandaime Hokage knelt down and met the blonde boy at eye level, speaking to reassure him that they were merely setting up for him to be able to continue to live in his apartment as he was currently. Hiruzen felt rather guilty for using mention of the orphanage as a means to motivate Naruto to take his home life situation more seriously, but it was for the best.

Once Naruto had returned to his usual carefree self, the Hokage gave him written instructions on where to go to meet with Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Oh, and before you go…" Hiruzen gestured to the streamers draped across the Hokage tower. "I'd appreciate it if you cleaned that up. I prefer my view of Konoha unobscured and clear of rainbow paper."

The boy grinned sheepishly at that.

Several minutes later, Naruto had finally gathered up the last of the streamers from the Hokage tower. Hiruzen gave an acknowledging huff as the boy stowed them in the trash bin that had been set up for him. He then sent Naruto off with Dog in tow to make sure he arrived at his destination swiftly and safely. Cat followed shortly after.

Eventually, Naruto arrived at the Yamanaka compound, eventually being the keyword. If it weren't for the written instructions, and Rai offering his annoyed corrections, Naruto would have gotten completely lost.

After taking in the arrangement of structures that made up the compound, he stepped in and was quickly greeted by Inoichi. It seemed that the man must have been expecting Naruto's arrival.

The Yamanaka's clan leader led the boy into the compound and showed him to his office.

(some time later)

Naruto was idly kicking his feet back and forth as he sat in one of the comfy chairs of the blonde guy's office. He'd been sitting here for an hour now, just… talking. He was asked a bunch of questions, sort of like the questions game he and Rai had played, except these questions were really dumb, and boring.

He was uncomfortable just sitting around like this, and he definitely hated how boring all of this was. He could be home training right now! Instead, Hokage-jiji asked him to be here in this office with the blonde guy and talking with him about boring stuff. It'd have been much better if he could talk about Ninja stuff, he could talk all day about how cool ninja were!

Rai had decided to sit this one out, for obvious reasons.

Inoichi was busy jotting down notes as he spoke with Naruto, though, he was having a bit of a difficult time of that due to Naruto's behavior. The boy was technically cooperative enough, but he had a very limited attention span, to put it mildly. Inoichi dealt with children of similar personalities in his profession before, but nothing quite to the extent of Naruto.

He needed to develop a basic profile of the child that he and Shikaku could work with. In time, he could help Naruto with his obvious developmental issues that were most likely a result of his social isolation.

This would prove to be a challenge, though Inoichi was confident he could manage.

---

(Inoichi's office, some time later)

"So, how'd it go?" Shikaku asked, casually leaning over to get a look at what Inoichi had been typing up.

"As well as could be expected from a socially inept, high-energy, seven-year-old orphan." The ashen blonde-haired man said in a neutral tone. He fiddled with the ink ribbon for a brief moment and adjusted the position of the paper roll before resuming his typing.

Shikaku held up a few fingers and listed off several things in a mildly sarcastic tone. "He couldn't sit still, was all over the place, didn't cooperate, was more stubborn than a mule, and you were at your wit's end halfway through?"

Inoichi stopped typing, long enough to respond. "Yes, he couldn't sit still, but, no, he was actually relatively cooperative, all things considered."

Shikaku raised his eyebrows at that. "No kidding? Well, damn, looks like Chōza totally called that one... tsk, how troublesome…" This made his former teammate laugh.

"I warned you not to take him up on that wager." He grinned before getting back to work.

After typing up one last paragraph, Inoichi carefully removed the paper roll from its slot and laid it out flat with the others. The blonde glanced back at Shikaku before saying. "May I assume your meeting with the child went as smoothly?" Shikaku's expression painted an accurate picture for Inoichi to guess how it went. "Oh, so you weren't just being sarcastic when you were listing off…? Right, sorry to hear." Inoichi sheepishly stated and went back to his typewriter.

Shikaku leaned against the wall next to his friend's desk before speaking. "Little bastard seems good natured enough, but he's a troublesome pain in the ass when it comes to following directions and listening. I'd be more cross about it if it weren't for the kid's situation giving me a massive guilt trip in the back of my mind. Oh, by the way, your description of his apartment's condition really doesn't do it justice."

Inoichi nodded at that, being able to more than imagine what sorts of horrors the Nara encountered upon trying to help the boy clean up the chaotic mess that he called a home. "Anything in particular that stood out?" Inoichi asked half jokingly.

Shikaku was less than amused by the attempt at humor, though, tried to offer a matching response. "Oh yes, what an incredible new smell we've discovered. Next time, I'm bringing a surgeon's mask or something to protect my nose, at least until we figure out what's behind that odor. Dunno how the kid can stand it."

After a short time passed, Shikaku asked in a lowered voice. "How was Naruto's friend?"

Before he answered the question, Inoichi stood up from his chair and gathered the paperwork for filing away. "Rai was... reluctant to talk. I don't think he's particularly fond of me. Quote: I have nothing to say to you, fix my headaches and maybe then we'll talk, end-quote."

"Yeah, that sounds like he's not too happy with you. Just what'd you say to piss him off?" Inoichi had a look about him after Shikaku said that, putting the papers in their respective filing space before answering in a mild tone.

"I… may have inadvertently insinuated that we believed Rai would attack the village when I first met with him." After which, Shikaku immediately moved away from the wall and replied heatedly.

"For heaven's sake, Inoichi! Aren't you supposed to be the analytical one?! The hell'd you do a thing like that for?!" The ashen blonde held his hands up defensively.

"I didn't intend to do that! I was merely trying to ensure that we knew with one hundred percent certainty that Rai wasn't a threat! Admittedly, my wording could have been significantly better, but what's done is done."

Shikaku went back to leaning against the wall and gave a soft huff. "…Ok, fair enough."

Inoichi filed away the last of the paperwork and gathered a new set of blank papers to fit into the typewriter. "I'm hoping that, eventually, he decides to open up and take part in these meetings. If not, my work will be that much more difficult, at least as far as he's concerned."

"I wouldn't hold my breath, he sounds like he's the type to hold a grudge." Shikaku snarked.

---

(Ramen Ichiraku)

Naruto hopped into the seat of an empty barstool in Ramen Ichiraku, Teuchi gave a friendly greeting as he usually did and offered Naruto "the usual". The boy sat and waited eagerly for the delicacy to be prepared, sipping at a soft drink in the meantime.

"So, Naruto-kun, how goes the academy preparation? Working hard, I take it?" The ramen chef asked as he worked. Naruto gave a gleeful grin in return.

"You bet! I'm gonna blaze through the academy no problem!" Naruto pre-emptively popped in on Rai's prison and shushed the big fox before he could make any sarcastic remarks.

Rai held up a hand in defense and feigned innocence, but the grin he had on his face spoke volumes about what he was thinking.

"That's fantastic to hear, and that optimism is going to take you far, mark my words!" Teuchi finished up the batch of ramen and served it to his favorite customer.

Naruto took the chopsticks and held them between his pressed together palms. "Ita-Itad…idak, uhh… Itadaki-" Naruto let out a sound that could best be described as "frustration".

Teuchi smiled and gave a polite laugh, "I think what you're trying to say is "Itadakimasu". Look at you, choosing to use the language of tradition. Puts a smile on my face seeing a younger generation doing their part to keep it alive!"

"I was just saying it because I heard you and Hokage-jiji saying it." Naruto admitted self-consciously with a shrug and a grin.

The ramen chef waved it off and leaned in to give Naruto a little bit of wisdom. "It's the same with everyone else, outside the big clans and shinobi, they see other folks carrying that torch and decide to take it up themselves! It's how the traditional language has stayed alive amongst civilian folk like myself, passing it on and seeing it firsthand and then learning some of it."

Naruto blinked and meekly nodded his head, electing to return focus to his ramen for a moment before he eventually asked: "What does it mean, Teuchi-san?"

Teuchi smiled as he began wiping down the other end of the bar. "I believe it means, I Humbly receive, though most folks think it just means let's eat, or something to that effect." Naruto slurped up a good portion of ramen, nodding his head in response to the explanation.

Rai, however, was quite curious as to how and why he seemed to have already known what that word meant. He was also partially curious about how the boy knew several of these words already. "So, I take it you heard someone else say Poketto Suna no jutsu? Can't imagine the context behind that one."

Naruto gave a brief appearance in the prison to say. "Actually, I saw it in a comic book."

Rai seemed disappointed by that answer, as if he'd been expecting a more elaborate explanation. "Of course you did..."

Naruto paid for a second helping of ramen and began to dig in just as a man stepped into the stand.

Naruto glanced over at him and the two made eye contact. The most striking features about this individual were the fact that his eyes were slits and he had curved red "fangs" painted over his cheeks. His clothes were also unusual compared to the kinds of things he saw other villagers wearing. One particularly eye catching aspect was that he had a patterned jacket with fur attached in several places.

Jun hadn't expected the boy to be here, he had followed the scheduling he'd made in his head and intended to swing by here in the times he was least likely to run into the Nine-Tails' container.

Jun was momentarily paused there, standing between the vertical slats of the ramen bar, making eye contact with Naruto Uzumaki. Seeing him outside his ANBU duties like this, up close and being seen right back by the boy… it was different.

He was legitimately tempted to back away now and go find another food place to eat at, but what other ramen places were there in Konoha? Not any good ones, and Ramen Ichiraku was the only ramen place that served his favorite liquor. Besides, he always got ramen for dinner on this day of the week, eating anything else was out of the question.

The ramen chef offering his usual friendly greeting brought Jun out of his temporarily frozen state and dissipated his thoughts of retreat. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and shambled over to the barstool on the opposite end, taking the seat furthest away from Naruto.

He hunched over, his elbows supporting him on the bar counter. "Evening, Teuchi-san." He greeted.

"It's good to see you again, Jun, I assume you'll be having the usual?"

The Inuzuka hesitated for a brief moment before giving a low toned answer. "Yup… and a meat lover's this time… thanks." He then sent one of his hands rummaging in his side pouch, emerging with a handful of ryo that he unceremoniously placed onto the countertop.

His eyes shifted to the left and caught a glimpse of the boy, he hadn't taken his eyes off of Jun since he stepped in. Not that he was necessarily bothered by it, but being so close to the Kyuubi's container was unnerving enough without the kid staring at him the entire time.

Jun did his best to ignore it for now, but being out here without his mask made him feel vulnerable. More so being right here next to the individual he'd been tasked to keep watch over for the past couple of years. It was childish, he knew this, nobody recognized ANBU outside of their duties, that was the whole point behind wearing the masks and taking code names. Nevertheless, he felt the weight on his mind and he cursed his luck silently.

Teuchi poured a glass of the bright green liquor and placed it down on the counter. "One cold glass of Midori, no ice." Jun winced at the name, but wasted no time in taking a drink. He'd feel less awkward after he had a bit of alcohol in his system.

Naruto eventually took his gaze off the guy with the freaky eyes and fur, going back to his bowl of ramen to ensure it was eaten before it cooled; cold ramen was terrible. He devoured the remaining noodles with haste and slurped down the broth in record time.

Teuchi had witnessed it and blinked a few times in disbelief, he was fairly certain he'd never seen someone inhale ramen before.

Jun had his chopsticks in hand and the piping hot bowl of ramen with meat piled high sitting before him, waiting for him to dig in. Just as he was about to, he heard the boy take a seat right next to him. Turning his head to look had him come face to face with the boy, with barely a foot between them.

Naruto was leaning in towards the man, squinting and staring at those slitted eyes, trying to make sense of what he was looking at.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure about your customs and cultural norms in Konoha, but… I think most people would find staring like this to be rude? Possibly creepy?" Rai said in as condescending manner as possible.

Naruto briefly stood before the kitsune's prison and pointed with both hands at nowhere in particular. "He's got freaky eyes though! And he's got those red marks on his cheeks, and, that fur jacket-"

"And your decision is to stare intently at him… Why?"

Naruto shrugged in response, "I dunno, because he's weird looking? I'm trying to figure out what's up with his eyes."

Rai lowered his head to try and meet somewhat near Naruto's eye level. "And have you tried talking to him? Maybe he'd be inclined to address your curiosity if you weren't looking like you were trying to stare into his soul?"

Back in Ramen Ichiraku, Naruto leaned away from the man before asking. "Hey, mister, what's up with your freaky eyes?"

Rai palmed both of his hands over the front of his face and dragged them downward before yelling out. "That, is NOT what I meant!"

Teuchi and the man with the slitted eyes both did a double take. Teuchi quickly chastised the boy for his obnoxious question, "Naruto, what have I told you about saying such impolite things to people?"

The boy recoiled slightly at the scornful look the ramen chef was giving him. "Oh, sorry, Teuchi-san…"

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to him." Naruto did so, using the humble tone that he'd been taught by Teuchi to use.

Jun simply sat there with his eyes half squinting at the boy and his jaw partway open in disbelief. He thought he would know what to expect from the kid, given the fact that he'd been keenly observing him and his mannerisms over the past couple of years. Here he was, thrown for a loop by a simple question that he hadn't heard since he was a kid himself. Knowing Naruto's behavior and seeing it firsthand were two completely different things.

Jun eventually went back to his ramen and drink, taking in a large portion of the meat and biting at it, trying to ignore how uncomfortable he was becoming from this extended social interaction, especially considering it was with the Kyuubi's container.

Naruto had a brief discussion with Rai outside the kitsune's prison, coming up with a better way to talk to the man.

He came back to reality with a planned out interaction courtesy of the kitsune. "Hey, uh… your name's Jun, right?" The blonde awkwardly asked.

The man slowly turned and glanced at Naruto with a slice of meat half hanging out of his mouth. He hesitated for a moment and said "That's my name…" with a decidedly unenthusiastic tone and mild slur to his speech on account of the food in his mouth.

"Are you a ninja?" The boy continued to ask.

Jun finished the food he had in his mouth before answering in a mild tone. "Uhh… yeah."

"Are you a special kind of ninja?" The unmasked ANBU hesitated and cast the boy an uncomfortable glance before replying.

"…What makes you say that?"

Naruto pressed on. "Your eyes, and the red thingies on your cheeks, I've never seen anything like them before." Teuchi raised an eyebrow at Naruto's questions, keeping tabs on the boy's mannerisms while he cleaned the dishes the boy had used.

Jun was becoming visibly uncomfortable, despite the alcohol in his system that should have at least mitigated that somewhat.

Teuchi noted this and tried to occupy Naruto's attention by inquiring further into his progress with academy preparation. It worked, but only temporarily, and soon Naruto was back to bugging the Inuzuka with his questions.

The ramen chef had his arms folded and was slowly shaking his head with a mildly scornful expression aimed at Naruto. "That's enough, Naruto, let the man eat his meal in peace." The boy tried to defend his position at that.

"I just want to find out why he has such weird looking eyes and stuff…"

Rai cringed. "Oh, that was smooth, brat." Teuchi sighed and gestured for the boy to take a seat a few stools away from Jun. The Ramen chef had done the best he could with the time he'd had available to try and instill some basic manners and social skills into the poor boy when he was younger, but there was a seemingly ever-expanding amount of room for improvement.

"It's genetic…" Jun finally said, but with another mouthful of sliced meat. "Runs in my clan." The ANBU hoped that this would satisfy the kid's curiosity, but it didn't.

Naruto just inched closer, attempting to move to the seat next to Jun again, though he was halted by a strategically timed clang from the dishes Teuchi had been cleaning. "He's a member of the Inuzuka clan, one of the several large shinobi families in the Hidden Leaf village." Teuchi answered, noting Jun's discomfort and offering to sate the boy's curiosity in his stead to which the man was grateful for.

"How come I've never seen 'em before?" Naruto asked. Teuchi offered an explanation to the boy's question.

"The larger clans mostly stay in their own districts or compounds, parts of the village you haven't been to. You've probably encountered members of other clans and didn't realize it. The members of Konoha's police force, for example: many of them are members of the Uchiha clan."

Naruto shook his head and clarified. "No, I mean, how come I've never seen him before?" This time Jun offered an answer.

"Because I only swing by when no one else is here…"

Teuchi quickly went on to finish. "Anyway… It's getting a bit late, Naruto-kun, why don't you head on home before it gets dark?"

Before the blonde could say anything, Rai took the opportunity to speak. "I agree with the noodle chef, you've been out here long enough. You have work to do, remember?" The boy stepped before the Kitsune's prison and shouted.

"He's a Ramen chef, wry-fox!"

"Whatever, same difference." The big fox waved.

"How can something be the same if it's different? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!"

The Kitsune dragged a hand over his face in exasperation, "It's an expression, kid."

"Oh, yeah? Well, it's a dumb expression if you ask me."

Back in reality, two rather obnoxious men had stumbled into Ramen Ichiraku and took seats on the opposite end of the bar.

As they took their seats, one of them commented. "Oh, great, it's the monster-boy… and a mutt, too. You keep letting types like them into Ichiraku Ramen and you're gonna go out of business, I'm telling you. Nobody wants Konoha's resident bad omen, or the stench of dog hanging around when they're trying to eat."

Teuchi just shook his head at the comments, but nevertheless handed the two a set of menus. "I don't turn away paying customers."

Naruto knew that it was time for him to go, so he said his farewells to the Ramen chef and hopped out of his seat, quickly putting distance between himself and the decidedly unfriendly patrons that were beginning to arrive. He hadn't realized how late it was, he was usually scarce from this part of town at this hour.

It took some doing, but he managed to navigate his way out of that part of town without running into too many of the more confrontational inhabitants of Konoha.

However, instead of heading straight home, Naruto took a detour on the way back.

The boy went to one of the construction sites and rummaged through the discarded wood piles that were available. He was a bit more selective this time around, taking a large panel of discarded plywood that was relatively intact, as well as two carved-up two-by-fours.

Rai made the observation, "I take it, this is for your wall?"

"Yeah, I can't just leave a hole in my apartment, right?" Naruto answered.

The fox gave a respectful huff and said. "Smart move, though it might be smarter to ask for help."

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"If you say so."

---

(Naruto's apartment)

It didn't take long for him to make the walk back home to his apartment, even with the materials in hand. Naruto stepped inside and soon noticed the new, durable wooden panels that had been installed to cover up the damage he'd caused to his wall. "What the heck?" Was all the boy said before the materials he'd carried in his hands were unceremoniously left to drop on the ground. He strolled over and curiously examined these new fixtures.

Rai guessed that these must have been installed while Naruto was out earlier getting dinner.

The panels looked sturdy and capable, way better than the plywood he'd picked up. Speaking of which, he had to figure out what to do with the extra wood he'd collected, now that he didn't need it anymore. Throwing away the wood would be a waste, but what could he do with plywood and a couple of two-by-fours?

He glanced over to his makeshift target and had an "aha!" moment, grabbing the panel of plywood and setting it up overtop the old target.

"Perfect, now it kinda matches the wood panels a little better. Hey, Rai, what do you think I should do with these wooden beams?" The blonde boy asked.

"What are you asking me for? Do I look like a carpenter to you?" Naruto shrugged and picked up the two-by-fours, thinking it over and putting them together.

"I was just asking, sheesh." Rai then had an idea.

"Why not put some padding on them and turn them into a fighting post? That way, you can start making some tangible progress on your taijutsu." Naruto's face beamed with an enthusiastic "That's a great idea!" and immediately get to work doing just that, using some of the leftover wire and string to hold the poles together.

"Wait… what does tangible mean?"

"Don't worry about it."

It took some effort, but he managed to get the beams to stand up straight after jerry rigging them to the back of one of his kitchen chairs.

From there, Naruto ran to his bedroom and grabbed some old, worn out pillows from his closet and set them up on the makeshift wooden pole. He tied them up with the rest of his string and took a step back to look things over. "How's that?"

"Ehh, it's kind of lopsided, don't you think?"

Naruto gave a thumbs-up anyway and proclaimed, "Looks good enough to me!"

The boy took a serious pose in front of the makeshift sparring pole. "Alright! Punching time!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Wait, Naruto, did you bother to read the-" But before the Kitsune could finish, Naruto had thrust his fist straight out as hard as he could, impacting into the pole at awkward angle and causing the boy to recoil with a pained expression and a yelp.

"I'll take that as a no." Rai stated with a hint of snark.

"Gaah! That hurt! Why did that hurt?" The boy said as he tenderly rubbed his wrist.

"Maybe it has something to do with the starter's guide to Taijutsu book that's been lying unopened on your desk and collecting dust since the day the elder librarian gave it to you?" This elicited a groan from Naruto, followed by the expected response of: "But I hate reading…"

"Yes, I know that, we've established this. Quit whining and get to it already, you aren't going to learn anything useful by complaining about it."

---

(Jun's apartment)

Jun had made it back home and immediately dressed himself in his ANBU uniform. He held the fox mask in his hands and carefully slipped it on, feeling a wave of relief as the mask sat neatly in place, concealing his appearance once more.

Fox sighed heavily and glanced to the mirror, taking in his appearance and feeling confidence replace the feelings he'd had while the mask was off. The ANBU took a step to the entryway, stopping briefly to adjust the fang necklace and slip it beneath his clothing to protect it.

He stepped out onto the faux balcony and performed a shunshin, ready and eager to put that venture behind him and return to his duties.

Cat and Dog were both in position outside Naruto's apartment by the time Fox arrived.

Cat gave a nod to Dog, and the white-haired ANBU stepped aside to allow Fox to take his position.

A shunshin later, and Dog was gone.

Cat leaned in behind Fox, whispering in a volume that only he could hear.

"So, how was your dinner? Worth the run-in with the blonde demon and the ignoramus?" Fox shot her a glance, and the low, canid noise he emitted answered the question for her.

"You know, it'd have been OK if you got up and wiped the floor with that kusottare for insulting your clan like that and then trying to pick a fight with you. I'd have covered for you if anyone gave you grief over it. Inu would have too, after I convinced him, of course." Fox shook his head and let out a few additional sounds, causing Cat to shrug.

"Hey, relax, I know it's not your nature." She teasingly patted Fox on the head and said in a playfully mocking tone. "You're too much of a good boy to bite back, even when they deserve it."

---

(Kitsune's prison)

Several weeks had passed, and Naruto had shown negligible improvement in the various aspects of academy prep that he'd been "working on". His taijutsu was little more than flailing around randomly in hopes of landing a punch, his understanding of what chakra even was could best be described as "asinine". The only thing he had actually improved upon was his weapons throwing, and even that was erroneous.

Was the brat even trying? He was sure that Naruto should have been further along than he was currently. The boy was having his time taken up by other endeavors, true, but that wasn't any excuse for such lackluster rates of improvement as Rai was seeing. To make matters worse, he insisted on irritating Rai at every possible opportunity.

On the bright side, the blonde idiot's apartment was in much better condition and he was eating slightly better. To Rai, though, this was hardly anything worth considering, it didn't make any difference to him how the kid ate or kept his home.

The brat procrastinated, yes, and he wasted time on those pointless pranks of his. Rai was impatient, yes, he didn't deny this fact. Surely though, there should have been more meaningful progress, right? He was certain that he wasn't being unreasonable with his expectations, as laxed as they were for Naruto…

Try as he might, the kitsune couldn't figure out why the brat was performing so abysmally.

It wasn't until the following week that the big fox decided to take action and try to figure out what was going on. The brat had started neglecting his training altogether and spent the majority of his time reading comics, pranking the unsuspecting inhabitants of Konoha, or seemingly intentionally doing things to annoy Rai.

The kitsune was never going to get anywhere trying to solve this thing by observing and theorizing. No, the best way to figure this out was talking to the brat and trying to dig into any issues he might not have been aware of.

"Naruto?" He asked in a neutral tone.

The boy popped into view in front of the kitsune's cage and took a seat. "Yeah, what's up?"

Rai chose his next words very carefully, considering the possible avenues of dialogue he could take. "I'm concerned with your lack of progress in your training, and with your recent hiatus."

"Hia-what now?"

"Your apparent neglect of training?"

Naruto shrugged and looked away. "I'm just taking a break, that's all… you know I hate reading those dumb books and scrolls. It makes my brain hurt sitting and reading so much." Rai noted Naruto's avoidance of the other part of his earlier statement, though whether or not it had been intentional, he couldn't determine.

"If you say so, but your progress in the training thus far has been…", Rai started. Naruto was quick to interject.

"Amazing, right?"

"The direct opposite of amazing." The kitsune corrected.

Naruto gave Rai a look of denial, though, Rai gave an expression right back to counter.

The boy huffed and folded his arms. "I thought I was doing pretty good."

Rai rested his head in his palm before he went on. "I'm getting the impression you aren't taking this whole "ninja" thing seriously." The boy's reaction confirmed Rai's assumption to be correct, as instead of giving a reasonable response, Naruto had made an obnoxious joke about it.

Admittedly, it was a mildly funny joke, but Rai wasn't in the mood to have a serious conversation derailed by infantile humor.

"Even now, you aren't taking this seriously at all. I'm not going to bother giving you assistance if you're not going to make the most of my efforts to help you. Judging by everything I've been seeing, even before you took your little break; your sub-par attempts at training have been horrendous and are getting you nowhere." Rai said in a matter-of-factly manner.

Naruto was, of course, outraged by that; he shot to his feet and threw his arms up in dramatic fashion. "Oh come on, I've been doing my best!"

"That's just it, you haven't been doing your best."

"You said you'd help me if I needed it back when I first started this, but you never did! I've asked for help and you never gave it!" The boy's voice had gradually blended into a mix of determined outrage and whiny child.

"So now it's my fault that your training is going so poorly?" Naruto looked at Rai with an expression that was a mix between confusion and resentment. "I didn't say that!"

"I warned you that I wouldn't allow you to use me as a crutch." Rai sad while he narrowed his eyes.

"That's not what I want!"

"Your actions say otherwise."

"That's not true, we're friends! I just want-" Was Naruto's next statement, but the giant fox snorted to interrupt and proceeded to give his reply with extra snark.

"So that means I'm obligated to do your work for you? Is that what you think friends are for? How selfish of you." However, instead of the reaction Rai was expecting and hoping for, Naruto flipped things on him completely.

With obvious distress in his voice and a hurt look, Naruto shouted. "Maybe that's what you think friends are for, but I don't, dattebayo!" The boy kicked at the water in frustration before turning away from the kitsune and leaving.

Before Rai could say anything, Naruto had disappeared back into reality and left Rai alone with his thoughts.

---

(Naruto's apartment)

Naruto was understandably upset about all of this. Not only had Rai gone back on his promise to help when he needed it, but he'd gone and accused him of being selfish and lazy!

…Well, ok, maybe Rai hadn't literally called him lazy, but still!

All Naruto had wanted was a little bit of help, he wasn't sure what he was doing half the time and he hated having to read those books with all those fancy terms and words he didn't understand. There was only so much he could do on his own, and he'd gotten really frustrated with how difficult of a time he was having with his training as of late. Why couldn't the dumb kitsune understand that?

Why'd Rai have to go and be a jerk about it? Naruto didn't want Rai to do everything for him, heck, he didn't even want his help, as much as he just wanted something they could do together as friends. Having someone to train with would have made this so much easier, and actually fun, most of the time. Doing it alone was… well, boring wouldn't fit how Naruto felt about it, but it was the only word he knew that'd come close. Lonely? Lonely worked, sort of. Lonely and boring, sure, that was close enough.

Did Rai even want to be his friend? The dumb fox sure wasn't acting like it.

This wouldn't be the first time someone lied about being his friend...

A thought crossed his mind at that moment. What if Rai had never had any friends before either? What if all of this was as new and awkward to him as it was to Naruto?

'That doesn't excuse him being such a jerk though…' Naruto thought bitterly.

---

(KItsune's prison)

Rai had spent the next day contemplating what he'd said to Naruto, and he came to several rather humbling conclusions. The first realization was that Rai had been going about all of this the wrong way.

Rai's entire point of sticking with this brat in the first place was because he could be helpful and useful. He wanted Naruto to become more useful, he needed him to be more useful. Being as passive as he had been in the brat's training was a direct contradiction to this idea. If anything, this made the boy less useful, which he did not want.

If Naruto was flailing about and floundering in his training, Rai was obligated to step in and offer assistance, not for Naruto's sake, so much as his own sake.

As much as he disliked the notion of pretending to be the kid's friend, he had to reconsider his position here. Rai had been letting his pride get in the way, he'd refused to return the favor and help Naruto after Naruto had willingly helped him. The more he thought about it, the more it didn't sit right with him. Sure, he didn't exactly like the brat, but was he truly comfortable taking from him and giving nothing in return?

Even if he didn't care about the fact that he was being stubborn and selfish, well, admittedly, he did, he was only sabotaging his efforts to achieve his goals by taking this asinine stance in regards to the kids training. His first priority should have been aiding Naruto in his endeavors so as to further improve the brat's usefulness at a rate Rai wanted, rather than trying to set up the boy to improve at his own rate and efforts.

Stubborn pride wasn't going to get him out of this cage… Naruto was.

Another thing crossed the kitsune's mind when he thought back to the training manuals and other academy prep documents, and how Naruto had such difficulty in his training and so frequently asked Rai for assistance. Naruto enjoyed his comic books, and routinely read those, despite being adamant that he hated reading...was Naruto lying about his aversion to books? He considered the possibility that maybe the reading material was more advanced than Naruto could handle. Rai had seen Naruto reading them on his own, he attributed Naruto's slog through books as just the boy's stubborn hatred of books. Maybe… maybe that wasn't the case at all, maybe the boy legitimately had a difficult time of reading? The books were simple by Rai's standards, he'd had no trouble at all breezing through the reading material and jotting down notes in his mind. However… Rai wasn't a seven-year-old child.

The reality of it all hit him in the face like a brick. Suddenly he found himself legitimately feeling bad about all of this, if only for making such a terrible judgement call and sabotaging himself inadvertently.

It was really quite simple: Rai had to take a more active role in Naruto's training in order to ensure that the boy would become useful by the kitsune's standards.

Sure, Hiruzen had claimed that he would release Rai, after Rai proved he could be trusted. However, Rai wasn't very keen on simply waiting in this cage for that old fool to make up his mind about him, especially given how low of an opinion everyone else in this accursed village had towards the kitsune.

Besides, part of Rai was suspicious of the Hokage's "promise" and wanted a backup plan in case those suspicions proved to be correct.

However, that backup plan depended entirely upon Naruto.

With a hefty sigh, the kitsune swallowed the last of his pride and called out to the boy.

Naruto hesitantly entered back into the prison after a short time passed. "What is it, wry-fox?"

"I... wanted to apologize, for-"

"Being a jerkface?"

The kitsune bit back the angry retort he'd thought up to counter the brat's rude interruption. "...I was being a hypocrite about all of this. After everything you did to help me, it's only fair that I return the favor."

Naruto was skeptical of Rai's apology at first, but saw it fit to forgive the kitsune once Rai convinced him he was being serious about it. "You really mean it?"

"Yes, I do."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

"So we're gonna do this together then? You'll help me with my training and stuff?" Rai nodded and does his best to hide his mangled pride.

"I will help you with your preliminary academy training, yes."

"Um, what does preliminary mean?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm helping you now, that's all you need to be concerned with."

Naruto had a smile on his face afterwards, and Rai was moderately concerned over how smoothly things had gone for him.

Rai was very grateful for such a swift resolution to the issue, he was almost certain that it would have taken more effort than what he'd put into it to fix the problem. Either he'd greatly overestimated the extent to which his behavior had damaged his standing with Naruto, or he was underestimating the boy's potential for forgiveness.

He chastised himself quite vigorously for letting it happen in the first place. Rai should have recognized his erroneous perspective of the situation sooner. He'd just have to make up for the time wasted due to his stubborn pride.

---

Naruto had wanted to continue with his break from training for a little while longer. Rai obliged, though reminded him daily. It wasn't until the following month that Rai successfully convinced the boy to continue his training, which started off as could be expected. Surprisingly, Naruto wasn't too poorly off in regards to retention from his last training sessions. He was still abysmal, of course, but he wasn't necessarily worse for wear in terms of his skill loss. Then again, it's difficult to become worse than terrible.

The air had gotten considerably colder, forcing Naruto to spend a chunk of his money on a warmer wardrobe, as his previous winter's set simply didn't fit him any longer, despite how much he'd tried to stretch it out. With some assistance from Inoichi and Shikaku, Naruto saved up enough money to buy a scarf and a warm coat. They were "cheap" by your typical villager's standards, not so much for Naruto, but they were effective enough to stave off the threat of frostbite once winter fully kicked into gear. Rai had offered several suggestions to help Naruto stay warm, suggestions that the boy was very grateful for once he figured things out the hard way.

Rai spent a decent amount of time coming up with a schedule for the boy, having him simply running around improperly managing his time wouldn't do at all. First, he had to go through the arduous process of teaching Naruto how to tell time, which itself, was after Rai took a quick refresher on how to read a clock and tell time himself, a much easier process, he would have to say. Once the boy had a grasp of the concept of hours and minutes, Rai set about having Naruto write down the hours of the day and filling in the spaces next to them with things he would be doing, so as to maximize time management and efficiency.

As expected, Naruto claimed he wasn't interested in sticking to a "fancy schedule", and that he just wanted to do whatever came to mind. This proved to not be much of an issue despite its implications, since Rai could simply remind Naruto when he needed to be doing the things on his schedule. He hoped that the boy would eventually start following this schedule on his own, but the current arrangement would have to do for now.

The two spent the next day reading through the beginner's book of taijutsu, getting a grasp of basic fighting technique. Naruto insisted that he dive right into it and work as he went, but Rai argued that it would be much easier if he gained a frame of reference to start from. After a brief argument over their disagreement and some concessions, they agreed to a mix of both. Rai focused on learning what the book had to offer, and Naruto dove headfirst into taijutsu using "trial and error" and a barebones interpretation of the reading material.

Combining these methods would prove to be quite effective in the days that followed. Naruto learning what parts didn't work and what things did "the hard way", combined with Rai pointing out errors and offering corrections based on what was seen in the learning material and smoothing things over; the boy started to make progress.

Tedious progress, but progress, nonetheless.

Rai was moderately concerned with whether or not he would be able to get Naruto to the skill level he believed the academy required him to be at, but the boy was putting forth the effort and certainly didn't lack in optimism. At least, Rai hoped that's what it was.

---

Naruto, being the obnoxious kid that he was, didn't hesitate to talk Hiruzen's ear off about every little bit of progress he made every time they visited. The brat having his visits with the Hokage were tolerable, even though the old fool kept insisting on pointlessly greeting Rai. On rare occasions, Hiruzen would even try to strike up a conversation with the kitsune. As much as Rai wanted to tell off the old fool in all manner of colorful ways, he held his temper in check.

Rai humored the Hokage and held brief bits of conversation with him through the boy, if only for the sake of keeping a cooperative visage going. He did not like Hiruzen in the slightest bit, but while his liberation from this prison hung in the balance, he was inclined to keep things civil.

The boy's scheduled sessions with the one called Inoichi, however, were considerably more bothersome. Rai had consistently stayed out of those sessions, and for good reason. One thing Naruto and Rai could agree on without any doubt or argument, was that these sessions were boring and pointless. All the man ever did was ask arbitrary questions about the boy's day to day life, inquire about the kitsune, make suggestions about topics Rai couldn't care less about, etc.

It was the "inquiries about the kitsune" that were most annoying for Rai, because Inoichi kept asking and wouldn't take no for an answer. As intelligent as this irritating fool thought he was, he couldn't seem to take a hint. Rai wanted nothing to do with this village or its inhabitants, aside from Naruto and, by proxy, the Hokage. Nevertheless, Inoichi persisted in trying to speak with Rai and include him in Naruto's twice weekly sessions.

Rai repeatedly ignored him, much to Inoichi's growing frustration. That is something that offered the kitsune some manner of amusement from the man.

The one called Shikaku was a lot less annoying, by a large margin. He was still an irritating factor, due to his tendency to take up time from the boy's schedule to teach him about the basics of home living and other such fascinating subjects. Naruto would have much rather been training, but the Hokage had insisted that Naruto cooperate and learn these "necessary life skills", so the boy did. Technically speaking.

Rai had to hand it to Naruto, he knew how to make a mind numbingly boring situation mildly amusing. If there was a ninja art for driving people mad through passive aggressively annoying behavior and shenanigans, Naruto would be the undisputed king.

There wasn't a day that Shikaku didn't leave the apartment utterly exasperated.

---

(Inoichi's office)

"I swear… I'm gonna go crazy from this troublesome kid's bullshit…" Shikaku said as he lightly hit his head against the wall Inoichi's desk was positioned in front of. Inoichi was busy typing away as he usually did after a session with the Uzumaki child.

"Which was it this time? Was it the pretending not to hear you, the water over the doorway, or the timeless classic of repeating everything you say with a mocking tone?"

"No, none of that this time, and none of his pranks, thankfully. With the amount of effort that kid puts into it, I sometimes think he's intentionally being difficult." Shikaku turned and strolled over to one of the office chairs and casually took a seat.

Inoichi paused from his typing to offer his thoughts. "I think… maybe he is intentionally making things difficult for you. Given his history with caretakers, it's not a far-off possibility. I think he might be expecting you to leave like the other caretakers have."

The thought crossed Shikaku's mind, it would explain Naruto's behavior to an extent. "How about you? Get anything interesting from your sessions lately?"

The typing stopped again. "…Yes and no. Naruto is at an early enough age that he hasn't yet started completely closing himself off from the people around him, which is good. However, I've yet to so much as hold a conversation with his friend. The boy seems less than eager to initiate conversation with me, but he's cooperative when I ask him questions and usually holds conversation when I initiate. We've still got that one going for us, which I can use to gain at least a tiny bit of insight into Rai's personality and behavior."

Shikaku cursed under his breath. "Troublesome… so are they at least getting along?" The typewriter jammed at that moment, causing Inoichi to groan in mild frustration and forcing him to stop to fix it. The man fiddled with the paper slot and tried to unstick the mechanical typing arm. He eventually managed to get it, but not until after he spent a good deal of time shaking the writing machine and swearing at it after each failed attempt.

"Much better… ahem, yes, Rai and Naruto seem to be getting along. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible for me to figure out what sort of relationship they have; if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it was a sort of mutual understanding more than anything. Naruto has a high opinion of his friend at any rate…"

After a few moments passed, and Inoichi had gotten back to his typing, Shikaku finally said. "Hey, I'm sure that we'll get there soon enough. Just keep trying, the big bastard has to cave in eventually, right?"

Inoichi nodded. "We can only hope." The typewriter jammed again, causing Inoichi to smack his hand against the desk in frustration, "For the love of the heavens..."

"You know, they do have a significantly newer model of that..." SHikaku offered to his exasperated friend.

Inoichi shook his head and got to work trying to fix the jam again, "I know, I just prefer the classics over those newer models."

---

(Naruto's apartment)

It was roughly mid-January by the time Naruto managed to nail down some of what the book had to offer. Given that Rai and Naruto were limited to the book as a frame of reference, they could only guess at what skill level the academy expected him to be at.

"You're doing fairly well, Naruto. While I'm not very impressed with the rate of your progress, I concede that it is at least consistent and can be called progress. Hopefully, this rate of improvement will be enough to get you to the skill level you need to be at by the time you reach the academy." The boy gave a fist pump at that and declared.

"I'll just have to get better at getting better then!" Rai had to admit, he appreciated the kid's enthusiasm, naïve as it was.

Naruto guzzled down a cup of water before he went and strapped on the makeshift weapons pouch and threw on his winter gear. "Going on one of your snowbound adventures again?"

"You and your weird phrases. You should be one of those guys that writes the fancy quotes people like to say." Rai laughed with a smirk and then replied, "I'll keep that in mind."

Naruto grinned and headed outside into the waiting winter environment. Under normal circumstances, he'd be perfectly content staying inside and continuing with his practice.

Given that it was January, and Konoha had a layer of snow covering it, the boy was not going to do that. The snow, and the fun it promised, was calling his name.

---

(Konoha streets)

Naruto spent the next three hours goofing off and enjoying the fresh snowfall. The later hour and a half of that time saw him setting up his "pranks": simple little traps that consisted of snowballs placed precariously into several doorways, set to fall upon the heads of unsuspecting villagers who walked out of the rigged doors.

After several of these pranks were carried out successfully, as could be determined by the outraged cries of villagers in the distance, Rai offered a comment. "You know, according to the books I've read-"

"The books that we've read."

"...Yes, the books that we've read, you might have an applicable use for some of these pranks of yours."

Naruto was about to ask what the kitsune meant, but one of his traps went off early before the boy could get some distance away from it. The understandably irate individual who's head now sported a lump of snow had immediately targeted Naruto as the culprit. Technically, the boy was the culprit, but the individual had no way to prove it, not that it ever stopped them in these kind of scenarios.

Naruto bolted without hesitation, knowing full well what would happen next and not wanting to allow the individual the chance to get a head-start.

As expected, the angered villager took off after Naruto, shouting all manner of profanities at the boy. It didn't matter if Naruto was innocent or not, all that mattered in these situations was that he wasn't caught.

Several minutes passed, Naruto was hiding in a nearby alleyway after he'd doubled back and taken a few detours to try and throw his pursuer off his tracks. Rai felt a faint ping, a sensation in his mind that was gradually getting closer to Naruto's location.

The sensation felt familiar, there was anger from someone that was gradually getting thought about what the feeling was, what it meant, struggling to come up with an explanation for it when his attention was drawn to the angry declaration of: "Found you, demon brat!"

The angry individual from before had been joined by several other villagers who'd fallen victim to the boy's 'innocent snowball pranks'.

Naruto was off and running for his life again, not that his life was actually in any danger, but the boy wasn't keen on finding out what the slowly growing crowd of people would have done to get payback against him. He crisscrossed and ducked and weaved around the surrounding area, hoping to confuse the villagers chasing him. From there, he took off towards, and eventually into, the woods.

Rai was almost certain that what he was sensing now, he had felt before. He recalled the instance during the festival when Naruto accidentally "interrupted" the celebrating residents after falling from a roof. Yes, the sensation he felt then was very similar to the one he felt now, almost exactly the same. He remembered the villagers from before, the anger they projected towards Naruto; at the time he hadn't been paying much attention to where the anger was coming from, only that he could feel it.

The kitsune pondered this sensation, trying to pinpoint where it was originating from and what activated it, if it had been something activated at all, he had limited success as far as figuring out the aspects of this newfound ability, but he at least understood one basic functionality of it.

Rai could sense the man's anger, as well as the crowd that came after, and could tell more or less where they all were by these emissions. The kitsune was able to sense where they were… based on their anger.

There was something else though, something that came along after Rai put thought into this strange ability of his.

He… recognized this ability, it had a familiarity about it, but he couldn't put his finger on where or when he recalled having such an ability. Rai guessed that this was likely something he had prior to being sealed, and that he simply hadn't been able to remember that he could do such a thing. This was backed by the instance where he hadn't remembered what chakra was, despite obviously having been familiar with it and easily being able to understand how it worked and familiarized himself with it in a short amount of time.

The kitsune briefly wondered what other sorts of potential he had hidden away by this troublesome memory loss. He made a mental note to keep probing his mind every so often to see what tidbits of information he could find, hoping he would get lucky and discover something significant.

Rai didn't hold his breath, though…

---

(Konoha woods)

Naruto spent the next dozen minutes or so keeping an eye out for the crowd and staying hidden in a pile of branches and snow, though he was pretty sure he lost them. Once he was certain they were no longer following him, he left his hiding spot and went deeper into the woods.

The air was crisp, untrodden snow giving satisfying crunches underfoot. It was a nice day for a walk in the woods, that was for sure. Naruto found himself wishing Rai was right there next to him, walking through the snow. He could see it in his mind, the two of them running through the snow-covered village and playing the kinds of games he frequently saw the other kids playing together and had so desperately wanted to join.

'That will happen!' He stated in his mind and went on to remember that he and Rai would eventually be able to do all these things at some point.

A thought popped into his mind, causing him to let out a laugh and come to a stop. Rai was huge compared to him, if he'd been here right now next to Naruto, the kitsune would be knocking over all of these trees! That would have been awesome!

Unless… maybe Rai wasn't big, and Naruto was just small in that prison place Rai was locked up in?

He leaned over and scooped up a handful of snow, fumbling with the crystalline powder until it formed a coherent shape and started to pack together. After a few moments of fiddling around, he made a vaguely square shape out of the snow and grinned.

"Hey, Rai, check it out!" Naruto said as he held the little snow square up into the light.

"It's snow, what an amazing discovery." Rai said with a subtle amount of sarcasm.

Naruto pressed on. "I call it, Yukiriken!"

The big fox let out a hefty groan. "Snow-riken? Seriously? Again with the crappy names and puns?"

Naruto snorted at Rai's response and quickly shot back. "Your names aren't any better, and you just have a crappy sense of humor! Yukiriken is a great name, and it's funny!"

"No, it's a terrible name, and worse: it's a pun. It isn't even a good pun either." Rai quipped equally as quickly.

Their brief back and forth was brought to an end as Naruto's attention was drawn to several figures in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a group of kids, four of them, one was roughly Naruto's age by the looks of it, and three were a bit taller. They seemed to be having an argument, or something, it was hard to tell. Three of the kids, the slightly taller ones, were off to one side, with the fourth standing a bit away from them.

Naruto crept forward, soon being able to hear some of what was being said.

"-told you to get outa here ya pale eyed freak!"

"Yeah, get lost, ugly! Nobody wants freaks like you around here!" Were some of many insults and jeers being aimed at the fourth figure, whom Naruto guessed was a girl, given her appearance.

The closer he got, the more he could see her better. She had dark blue hair and white eyes with no pupils. She appeared to be trying to ignore the taunting, though the tears in her eyes showed that it was getting to her despite her efforts. It was also apparent that they'd pelted her with a few snowballs, on account of the telltale blotches of snow clinging to her jacket in places, and the fact that one of the bullying kids was starting to make a fresh batch of snowballs.

When the girl saw Naruto, she turned away, expecting him to antagonize her just as the other kids were. However, one of the trio spotted Naruto and announced. "Oh, hey, look who it is, the demon fox!"

"No way, the king of the freaks! Guess those hideous pale eyes are freak magnets!"

"Well now, this lot seems friendly." Rai idly commented with obvious sarcasm.

"Hey, jerkwads! Leave her alone!" Naruto shouted, much to the kitsune's surprise.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"The hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm gonna help that girl, and teach these three idiots a lesson!"

Rai let out a sigh, figuring that there was no stopping the blonde fool from doing this. "Just… be careful while you're playing hero."

The three antagonistic kids had heard both insults from Naruto, and were equal parts angered by that and a bit weirded out from having seen the blonde talking to himself.

"I'm gonna clean your clock, fox-boy!" The apparent leader of the three stated boldly before advancing on Naruto.

Thinking quickly, and recalling the one thing he was reliably good at in his training, he cocked his arm back and shouted. "Yukiriken!" He flung the vaguely square shaped snow clump like he would a real shuriken. It was aimed right at the advancing bully's face, but the spinning clump of snow fragmented and turned to powder halfway to its intended impact point due to centrifugal force and the fact that it was made of snow.

This had the effect of hurling snow dust right into the leader's face and eyes, causing him to let out a yelp and come to a screeching halt before clasping his hands to his face to try and brush away the stinging cold powder.

Naruto was just as surprised as the bully. 'Holy crap, I can't believe that worked!'

Rai jumped in and shouted. "Don't just stand there; press the initiative and punch him!" Hearing this, Naruto lunged forward in a move like what he'd practiced and landed a solid punch right into the nose of the momentarily stunned bully, sending him to the ground with an audible thud and outcry of pain.

The bully clutched his nose and rolled around on the ground, wailing as if his whole face had been broken.

The girl was quite surprised by this turn of events, looking to the blonde haired boy with a sense of awe. Naruto was equally surprised, he actually managed to beat the jerk, he won! He couldn't wait to-

He felt the impact of the larger bully's fist into his cheek and saw the world tilting rapidly until his body hit the ground. He'd been too preoccupied with his gloating to notice that the other two bullies weren't intent on just standing around after Naruto punched their friend. Now he was paying the price for his lack of awareness, albeit with the knowledge that he'd managed to take one of them out of the fight first, which, can be called a success for him.

He did his best to shield himself from the two person pummeling that followed, but he still suffered some nasty hits here and there.

When the two bullies stopped a few seconds later, Naruto tried to sit up, noticing both that he was missing his scarf, and the obvious pain he felt in several places from where the bullies had landed good kicks.

The two bullies had taken it and offered it to their "leader" as compensation for the blonde having bloodied his nose. That was, of course, after their leader managed to pick himself up off the ground, leaving behind a splotch of red in the snow.

"Dat idiod id godda pay for didth!" The leader tried to say, his clogged nostrils making every word he said sound hilarious despite his best efforts to sound intimidating. Plus, the fact that everything below the jerk's nose was smeared with red and snot helped diminish his intimidation factor considerably.

The humorous display caused Naruto to snicker, and the pale eyed girl to giggle, though the girl did her best to hide it.

This, of course, infuriated the nose clogged leader. "Yer bode godda ged id! Ged em guyd!" The speech impaired bully said while angrily pointing to the girl and Naruto both.

Naruto's face hurt, and so did several other parts of his body, there was an ache in his leg that made it hard to stand, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.

He hastily got to his feet despite the pain and stood between the girl and the three bullies. "Ha! Didth idiodth godda play da hero!" The leader said, getting a laugh from the other two."Wadth da baby hero godda do?"

Imitating how he thought Rai would act, Naruto smirked and replied. "I could punch you in the face again, worked well enough the last time, right?"

If the nose clogged leader wasn't furious before, he was now. He let out a scream and charged at Naruto, his lackeys in tow.

In a moment of inspiration, Naruto took a common shinobi pose that he'd seen in his comics and quickly popped into the fox's cage. "Quick, Rai! Show me some of those ninja hand signs!"

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me, wry-fox!" The kitsune rolled his eyes and slowly formed a few of the shinobi handsigns for the kid to repeat.

In reality, Naruto imitated the handsigns that the kitsune was showing him. "You jerks are toast! Take this!"

The bullies immediately halted their advance and had a horrified look on their faces upon seeing the blonde forming the handsigns for a jutsu.

"Oh, crap baskets, he's a freaking ninja!" They'd heard stories about all sorts of crazy things that shinobi could do with their ninjutsu, and although the blonde haired punk didn't look like a shinobi, the leader of the trio wasn't keen on finding out the hard way.

"Ledth Ged ouda here!"

"I'm telling my parents about this, devil-fox! You'll be sorry!"

Naruto's scarf was left in a dirty mess on the ground as the trio left at high speed. The bluff paid off far better than expected, even Rai was impressed by the outcome.

He stuck his tongue out at the fading silhouettes of the bully trio, but his attention was drawn back to the girl when she spoke. "Th-that…that was…y-you were-" Naruto interrupted in an excited tone, "Awesome, right?" The girl meekly nodded a few times.

"You know, a little modesty wouldn't kill you…"

At this point, the boy took the opportunity to investigate the blue haired girl's pale white eyes. He leaned in and squinted, getting a closer look. The girl had a blush forming on her cheeks due to the ever closing proximity between herself and the blonde haired boy.

"...Your eyes… are you from a clan?"

"This again?" The fox said incredulously.

The girl had a confused and unsure expression on her face. "I-I….uhm…" Her words were incoherent and faded into minute squeaks.

Naruto cocked his head to one side, trying to figure out if what she'd said was a tangible answer, "Uhh… what was that?"

After a brief "back and forth", Naruto gave up with the shy girl.

"Ookay then... nevermind." He said as he ceased leaning toward her.

Naruto briefly thought back to the scuffle he had with the lead bully, and snickered as he remembered how the one bully sounded with his blood-clogged nose.

"Hey, hey, did you hear that guy when he spoke? He sounded like he didn't have any nostrils!" He managed to say through bits of giggling and snickering. Naruto then proceeded to mimic the bully and his inflicted speech impairment, much to the amusement of the girl.

They both had a laugh, though, the girl was more giggling than laughing.

Naruto caught his breath and settled down after a few good moments. "Anyway… I've got Ninja training to get back to. See-ya!" He turned with a light wave of his hand and was about to walk away when the girl spoke up.

"A-Arigatō!", she managed to say. Naruto thought he misheard her, so he turned around to face her with a quizzical look.

"Whuzzat?" Was what he said in response.

The girl simply restated what she'd said, "Th-thank you…!"

Naruto waved it off with a grin, "You bet, those guys were being jerks."

The girl went over to the scarf and gently scooped it up out of the snow, then attempted to hand it over to Naruto after she stood back up. "H-here… this was your scarf, right?"

Naruto received it and brushed off the dirt and snow, "Thanks! I almost forgot about it." He shook off the rest of the debris and draped it back around his neck where it belonged. "Much better."

Naruto turned to leave once again, but he stopped himself, wincing from the pain on his left leg and glanced back at the pale eyed girl first. "Oh, hey, don't listen to what those jerks said. I think your eyes are kinda neat, and you aren't ugly at all!" With that, he headed off deeper into the woods.

The pale eyed girl watched with a light blush to her cheeks as the strange, yellow-haired hero left. She eventually turned and continued on her way, unsure what to think of the boy and this encounter.

---

Nearby, Fox turned to Cat and gave a whisper, "Make a report and inform the Hokage."

"Back to bossing me around again, gotcha. Off the record, I think you're being a little paranoid. Once those idiot's parents figure out who their dumb kids were harassing, they're gonna shit bricks." Cat whispered in response. In a brief flicker of movement and a poof of snow, Cat was gone, leaving Fox to follow Naruto and keep watch.

---

"That was quite clever, playing the deception/intimidation card like that." Naruto certainly didn't shy away from the praise.

"I can't believe I actually won!"

"By technicality, but I suppose it's still a win." Naruto fist pumped, though, quickly recoiled with a low "ow".

"How's the leg?"

Naruto put a hand to his thigh and felt around, tilting his head and testing the limits of his leg before saying. "That's weird…it doesn't hurt as much as it did earlier..."

Rai cocked his head and furrowed his brow. "It… doesn't? I thought for sure they did some significant damage back there."

"Looks like they didn't, good for me though, right?"

The kitsune supposed he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. The kid not having to deal with down time due to being injury was a good turn of events. However, that didn't change the fact that he was almost certain that Naruto had suffered significant damage to his knee and hip from the imbeciles he encountered earlier. No, he knew that they had done damage, he shouldn't be so well off as he is currently, even some of the bruises he'd had were less pronounced than what they were earlier. Rai wasn't seeing things, the only explanation was that Naruto must have healed. Though something in the kitsune's mind told him that this was unusual, Rai seemed to recall that he himself recovered quickly after injuring himself. Naruto's quick recovery wasn't so different than his own, so was it really that strange?

Either way… there was more to this kid than he previously assumed.

---

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Author's Notes)

Gonna be completely honest.

This story came close to dying this chapter, it went through a literal development HELL.

I rewrote and rewrote the sequences of this chapter more times than I can recall, at one point I rewrote the entire chapter from scratch, everything.

I apologize again for how long this took.

OK, so, this chapter we have world building, character development, and meaningful development between the boy and his giant fox friend.

Rai goes through some much needed critical thinking this chapter, and will set the stage for further development. I tried to write out his sequence of thought in as reasonable and un-forced a manner as possible, trying to stay true to the kind of character he's shaping up to be. I needed certain things to happen this chapter to set up for what's going to happen in the future, but I also didn't want to just wave a magic narrator wand and make it happen, ya know? Hopefully, his sequences were believable

Additionally, I want to emphasize that a lot of Rai's development has been done from his perspective, meaning things can be going on but he's not telling it like it is. Hint hint.

I want their relationship to progress at a believable rate to get where I eventually want it to be, I've seen far too many fics with forced relationships that, while they're nice, they're forced. I don't want forced.

Naruto gets more character development, and we get some hints at backstory and explanation for some of his behavior. I don't want to just use Inoichi as exposition to explain away everything, but I also don't want to leave people in the dark in regards to what happened in his life prior to the start of this story. I'm trying to go for a balance.

Hopefully, I'm getting his character more in tune with how he normally is in the series, my biggest fear has and continues to be, struggling to make sure Naruto feels like Naruto.

More of our usual fare with Hiruzen and the others. Some addressing of previous ideas and in story explanations for why I decided against them (well the actual reasons were more complicated than what's said in story)

I'm avoiding going too in depth with Inoichi and SHikaku's assistanc, for the sake of moving the plot along.

Some more character development for Jun too.

OK, as for the japanese versus english thingy, I have a plan set up based heavily upon a suggestion made by a reader. I don't like the inconsistency seen too far often with most fanfics where they include japanese terms and language without any context as to why they do this. It's just there because "reasons".

I'm changing that up and offering a semblance of explanation for how my story handles it. I'll explain it in a little more detail in the academy arc, but I didn't want to just shoehorn Japanese into the story and not give explanation for it. (This is one of my biggest pet peeves in Fanfiction)

Also, I'm sure everyone know's who the girl at the end is.

One final thing before we close this up. I've made some serious decisions regarding the direction of this story. I originally planned for it to be a "divergent" style fanfic, which kept in tune with the canon (hence why I called it loosely canon) However, given certain changes and alterations I've made in the story (or am planning to make), I'm thinking it's more of an "AU" technically. Its going to keep a similar core to canon Naruto, but I won't hesitate to dig in and get creative with things now.

Well, honestly I'd like your feedback in that regard.

Part of what took these chapters so long was my indecisiveness and struggle between wanting to be creative, versus not wanting to change anything too much from canon (Stupid, I know)

anyways, that's all for now, hope you enjoyed. Leave a review if you like, or PM me. Either is fine by me.

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