Okay all. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and added me to their faves and alert lists. I really appreciate it.
To my anonymous reviewer, Blaster, thanks loads for reviewing. I'm glad you like my portrayal of Sasuke so far. I know he's a total (insert rude word that would be censored here) in the Manga and the show at the moment. But I like to think that he may have some redeeming qualities somewhere, somehow. I know this probably won't happen in the show, but... isn't that what fanfics are for? LOL! Anywho, as for Danzo, if I told you then it would spoil the surprise. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.
To my anonymous reviewer, who left no name (probably due to the fault of ), thanks loads for reviewing. And yeah I can just imagine Sasuke being a cat person. As for bashing the hell out of Karin… well the way I see it is that I don't know her character well enough to bash her. I mean I've read the Manga and everything, but she is very much a side character with no back story. Which is kinda sad. However, sometimes I will bash Karin, and sometimes I won't. For some reason she came off much better in this fic then I imagined. LOL! But I am glad that you like the way I've portrayed her.
To my anonymous reviewer, .Crystal, thanks so much for the review. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the rest of the fic.
To my anonymous reviewer, nanashi95, thanks so much for reviewing. I'm glad you like the fic so far and I hope that you enjoy this chappie too.
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Woah Baby!
Chapter Ten – A Real Family.
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Sasuke woke up that morning, to see Naruto was still curled up next to him sleeping. But Naruto had grown bigger. He was now six years old. Sasuke knew he would have to start explaining things to Naruto again when the boy woke up. According to Itachi, Naruto wouldn't remember anything properly until after the jutsu had worn off. Which meant that every week that Naruto started at an older age would be a morning of trying to make sure Naruto would feel safe. At that moment, Naruto awoke and looked at Sasuke, a look of fear on his face. He made to jump out of the bed, when Sasuke grabbed hold of the young boy. "Naruto it's alright. You're safe here." Sasuke said gently. Naruto looked at Sasuke carefully.
"Are ya lookin' afder me taday?" Naruto asked innocently.
"I'm looking after you all week Naruto." Sasuke replied. Naruto looked at Sasuke curiously before he relaxed slightly. Sasuke let go of the six year old and Naruto jumped off of the bed. Sasuke took note that Naruto was wearing a blue pair of pyjama bottoms and a blue pyjama shirt, along with the green beaver hat on his head. Naruto's clothing seemed to change as he got older, without Sasuke ever needing to think about it. It was weird even for an advanced jutsu of Itachi's. Naruto looked at Sasuke nervously. "What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Um...'Scuse me mister but where's da batrum?" Naruto asked.
"It's right behind you." Sasuke replied, pointing to the bathroom door that was behind Naruto. The boy nodded and still looked sheepish. "Come on kid. You don't need to be scared of me." Sasuke said softly. Naruto still seemed a little wary, as he looked at Sasuke.
"Do I got 'ny clothes to pud on?" Naruto asked shyly. Sasuke gave the boy a reassuring smile. He went to the drawer where he kept Naruto's clothing. There was a black t-shirt and blue shorts waiting in the drawer. Sasuke gestured to the drawer and Naruto took the clothing and ran into the bathroom. His face was the picture of nervousness and Sasuke was hoping it wouldn't take long for that nervousness to disappear.
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Karin was making breakfast that morning. She had found a new love for cooking. Suigetsu was teasing her about it but she just told him to shut up. They had grown a lot closer to each other since Naruto had been brought into their lives. The pair both had a strange liking for each other and Karin had known to give up on Sasuke quite a while ago. Especially when she took note of his interaction with his former, female teammate. But this didn't bother Karin as much as she thought it would. She grinned as Sasuke came into the room with an older Naruto. They had all been informed that Naruto would get older as the weeks went by. "Hi Naruto." Karin said. Naruto looked at her with confusion. "Come on kid, have some breakfast." Karin stated. She put a plate of pancakes down on the table and Sasuke led the boy over to the place. Naruto sat down as he looked at everyone nervously. Suigetsu and Juugo were both sat at the table already. Naruto sat down and looked at the food in front of him but he didn't eat. He looked at everyone else. That was when there was a knock at the door.
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Naruto was just the slightest bit frightened. People didn't usually give him a lot of food unless they poisoned it first. He'd learned that at a young age. The only people that had ever fed him without trying to kill him, were Teuchi-Jii, Iruka-Sensei and Hokage-Jiji. He looked up as a white haired male walked into the room. "Jiraiya?" The dark haired man said.
"Sasuke. How's the kid doing?" The old man asked. He looked at Naruto and Naruto felt something strange when he looked at everyone around the room. He wondered if this was what it was like to have a family. He squashed the thought very quickly. Nobody ever wanted him to be a part of their family. Nobody had ever really wanted him period.
"Aren't you hungry Naruto?" Naruto looked at the big looking man. He had orange hair and he gave Naruto a smile. Naruto nodded. "Then why don't you eat?" The man asked. Naruto looked at everyone else and then he beckoned the other man closer. He looked at Sasuke and Jiraiya, and the girl, and silver haired man. Then he climbed up and whispered in Juugo's ear.
"Is it bad food?" Naruto whispered.
"No Naruto. We're all eating the same thing." The man replied.
"Den you twy it." Naruto whispered. He knew he risked the wrath of his new caretakers but it was better than being stuck in the hospital for a month like the last time he'd trusted enough to eat food prepared for him by another hand.
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Jiraiya and Sasuke had both stopped to watch as Juugo picked up Naruto and placed Naruto in his lap. Then he pulled the plate of pancakes over to him. They all watched curiously as Juugo cut a small piece from each pancake and ate it. Naruto nodded and stayed sat on Juugo's lap while he ate.
"Fanks mister." Naruto said cheerfully as he finished his food.
"You're welcome Naruto. I'm Juugo. That is Suigetsu, and that is Karin." Juugo said softly, pointing to each of his teammates in turn. Naruto nodded and looked at them both endearingly.
"Hey Naruto, go and play in the garden for a little while. It's a nice day today." Karin said kindly. Naruto nodded and went into the garden. They saw him pick up a ball and start bouncing it around. A look of pure joy crossed his face as he started to bounce the ball as high as he could.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked.
"He didn't trust that the food wasn't poisoned." Juugo said softly.
"See Karin, your cooking is terrible." Suigetsu stated. Karin slapped Suigetsu upside the head.
"No, I mean literally poisoned. He thought we were going to make him ill, or kill him." Juugo stated. Sasuke stared wide eyed.
"Why would he think that?" Sasuke asked.
"Is it really that surprising to you Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked. Sasuke looked at Jiraiya curiously. "Naruto wasn't taken care of like other children. People didn't treat him with love and kindness. In fact people despised him. He was put into the hospital a few times because one of his caretakers poisoned his food. When you're a child you don't forget things like that. Once he knows he can trust you, he'll be more inclined to eat without feeling afraid." Jiraiya replied. Sasuke bit his lip as he looked at Naruto, who seemed so overjoyed to just be playing with a ball. They knew this was going to be a difficult week. None of them noticed when Naruto slipped away from the garden. Naruto was very good at giving his caretakers the slip.
"I wunda where Jiji is? He always comes an' tells me 'bout da people who's gonna be lookin' afder me. Maybe he's sick." Naruto thought to himself as he left the Uchiha estate. A few minutes later Sasuke knew what it was like to freak out over a child, when he found out that Naruto was missing.
"Where is he?" Sasuke yelled.
"He must've wandered off while we were all talking. I should've thought. Apparently that was one of the main problems when Naruto was six. It's on record that he always used to run away from his caretakers to go and do things for himself." Jiraiya stated.
"Well we need to split up and look for him." Sasuke said back. Soon the five people in the house were on a mission to find Naruto.
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Naruto snuck off to the Hokage tower. He knew to avoid the villagers at all costs, or he'd be chased by crowds. He got to the Hokage tower and walked in. He managed to sneak past the two guards on duty, although he didn't recognise them. He snuck right up to the office and then burst in. His eyes went wide as he realised that not only was the office full of people he didn't know, but where his Hokage-Jiji would be sitting, was a blonde woman. He got rather frightened when everyone looked at him, although he wouldn't admit it. "Naruto?" The blonde woman asked.
"How d'ya know my name?" Naruto asked.
"Well I'm your friend Naruto. What were you looking for?" The blonde woman asked.
"Where's Jiji?" Naruto decided to ask.
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Tsunade stared at six year old Naruto, realising that he was looking for her old Sensei. How could she explain that the man Naruto called Jiji, was dead? Naruto looked fearful and Tsunade knew she had to say something soon. "He's taking a break today Naruto so I'm looking after everything for him while he's not here." Tsunade said softly. Naruto still looked wary.
"Yoo're lyin' Baa-Chan! Jiji neva takes da day off, an' he always tells me if he has to go away!" Naruto yelled. Then Naruto ran off. Tsunade sighed.
"Where the hell is Sasuke?" Tsunade asked Kakashi.
"Knowing him, he's probably looking for Naruto as we speak." Kakashi replied. Then he was gone. After all, Kakashi didn't want anything to happen to the boy either. They'd only just gotten him back after all.
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Sakura and Hinata walked towards the Uchiha estate, when they saw a six year old Naruto sitting on the swing next to the academy. He looked tearfully at the building. He seemed so lost and alone. "Naruto-Kun?" Hinata called to him softly. The boy jumped out of his skin and looked at the two women.
"Do you know who we are Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto shook his head.
"I wan' Hokage-Jiji or Iwuka-Sensei." Naruto said sadly. Hinata went to go and get Iruka. Obviously she couldn't find the Third Hokage, and that was whom the two girls knew he was talking about when he said 'Hokage-Jiji' after all.
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Sasuke met up with Kakashi and glared when the man gave him a greeting. "I'm looking for Naruto." Sasuke stated.
"Yeah so am I Sasuke. He ran into the Hokage's office looking for the Third." Kakashi stated.
"He doesn't realise that the Third is dead?" Sasuke asked.
"He doesn't know who anyone is. If you were a little kid and woke up in a strange home, with people you don't recognise then you'd be scared and looking for a familiar face too." Kakashi stated.
"So if you were looking for him why haven't you found him? He must've only left shortly before you." Sasuke asked. He was angry that Naruto was missing, and worried that something would happen to the boy.
"He gave me the slip. He was always a clever little kid. He just never showed it." Kakashi replied.
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Iruka sighed as he sat teaching his class. That was when a knock came at the door. Iruka looked as Hinata opened the door. "What's wrong Hinata?" Iruka asked.
"Um... W-we n-need y-your help Iruka-Sensei." Hinata said softly. Iruka nodded and looked at the class of students.
"All of you carry on reading chapters three through seven until I get back." Iruka stated. The class groaned as Iruka left the room.
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Sakura was sat waiting with Naruto when someone walked past. It was a villager. One who didn't seem to like Naruto very much, as he glared at the little boy. Sakura glared at the man. "Have you got a problem?" Sakura hissed.
"Yeah! I don't like that little monster." The man stated. Naruto glared at the man.
"'m nod a monsta! 'm gonna be Hokage one day!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah right. An evil little brat like you could never be Hokage." The man stated.
"Keep your comments to yourself or I'll inform the Hokage of your abusive nature to this child." Sakura hissed. Naruto looked up at Sakura in shock, and then back to the man.
"Yeah she'll tell Hokage-Jiji on ya." Naruto stated.
"Are you stupid kid? The Third Hokage is dead. He's been dead for years!" The man stated nastily.
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Sasuke and Kakashi came upon the scene as the man had uttered his last sentence. Naruto's big blue eyes went wide and filled with tears.
"Yur Lyin'! Hokage-Jiji Isn' dead!" Naruto yelled. Tears streaked down Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke was so furious at this point that he made himself known to the villager by jumping down from his spot in a tree. The man saw the Sharingan spinning in Sasuke's eyes and ran off in terror. Sasuke made sure to deactivate it before he turned to face Naruto. Naruto was still crying. Sakura was trying to hug the boy but he didn't seem to want to be touched. That was when Hinata came out of the academy with Iruka.
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Naruto saw Iruka and ran over to him. "Iwuka-Sensei! Iwuka-Sensei! A mean man said dat Hokage-Jiji is dead! He's a liar! Jiji isn' dead! He's not, wight Iwuka-Sensei?" Naruto questioned tearfully. Iruka held Naruto in his arms and picked him up gently. The others took note of a fatherly tenderness that Iruka seemed to display to Naruto alone.
"No Naruto, it's not true. He's on a special mission at the moment, but he couldn't tell you because he had to go very quickly. That's why he left you with Sasuke-Kun. Sasuke will take extra special care of you." Iruka told Naruto kindly.
"He didn' gives me bad food taday like every peoples do." Naruto said softly, after thinking for a few moments. Iruka nodded.
"I'm sure if you're good he might even take you for Ramen." Iruka said.
"Will you come?" Naruto asked.
"I promise I'll come and see you once all the classes are finished for today, huh?" Iruka asked. Naruto nodded, and Iruka put Naruto down carefully. Sasuke gently took hold of Naruto's hand. Naruto looked up at Sasuke curiously.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"No one eva wan'ed ta hold my hand afore. Dey always tol' me ta go 'way afore." Naruto replied.
"Well I'm looking after you. No one else." Sasuke said gently. Naruto gave a soft smile. Iruka gave a wave to Naruto as he walked back into the Academy and Naruto waved back.
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Later that day, Sasuke had taken Naruto for Ramen and Iruka had come to visit with Hinata and Sakura. Naruto seemed a lot happier, especially as Sasuke had taken him to get his favourite ramen. When they arrived home, Naruto had stopped in front of a picture on a table. "Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Is dat yur Mum and Dad?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked at that picture that Naruto was pointing at, and realised that it was indeed a picture of Sasuke's parents. It was their family portrait. Sasuke, Itachi and their parents, all together. It was just before Itachi had gone into Anbu.
"Yeah they were." Sasuke said sadly.
"Why? Wat happen'd ta dem?" Naruto asked.
"They died a long time ago Naruto." Sasuke said softly.
"Oh." Naruto looked at the ground sadly. Being raised in a Shinobi village, all children knew there was a prospect of losing their parents. Then Naruto looked at Sasuke intensely.
"Wad's it like?" Naruto asked.
"What's what like?" Sasuke asked.
"Havin' a Mum an' a Dad?" Naruto asked back. Then Naruto blushed bright red. His big eyes stared at Sasuke cutely. "I neva had a Mum or Dad." Naruto added. Sasuke smiled and picked Naruto up.
"It's a hard thing to explain, but I'll try." Sasuke said softly. Naruto looked at Sasuke, waiting patiently. "You know you trust Iruka to look after you no matter what?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded. "Well having a Mum and Dad is a lot like that. A Mum and Dad love you no matter what. They always want you and they do whatever they can to make you happy, but they also keep you safe." Sasuke said gently. Naruto listened carefully, processing what Sasuke was saying.
"Does dat mean dat you and Iwuka-Sensei are both my Dad?" Naruto finally asked after a few moments. Before Sasuke could answer, Naruto nodded to himself. "Id's nice havin' a Dad." Naruto added. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a burgeoning warmth fill his chest when Naruto said that.
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Now it was night time, and Naruto was lying in bed, looking at Sasuke curiously. "Wat now?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Well I was wondering if you wanted me to tell you a story. But seeing as you're fine…" Sasuke trailed off. Naruto sat up quickly.
"Oh pwease Sasuke, tell me a cool stowy aboud Ninjas! Pwease?" Naruto exclaimed. His big blue eyes practically pierced Sasuke's soul. Sasuke sat back down and started telling Naruto the story of their mission to the Hidden Waterfall village. Obviously he changed the names slightly. Naruto once again listened to the story. Soon Sasuke saw Naruto slip off to sleep and he pulled the blanket up and tucked the boy in. He couldn't help smiling as he saw Naruto curl up and hug the pillow he was still laying his head on. Sasuke couldn't help picking up the green frog teddy and slipping into Naruto's arms. The boy smiled in his sleep and hugged the teddy tightly.
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Three days later, Sasuke had taken Naruto to see Sakura at the hospital. It had been a mostly uneventful week so far. Naruto had spent time with everyone as he always did now. However Sasuke never let Naruto out of his sight. Today, Naruto had started talking to some of the sick children who were in the hospital and Sasuke turned to speak to Sakura. "How are things going Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
"I'm not sure. Sometimes he's fine. Sometimes he seems absolutely terrified of me." Sasuke said sadly.
"He's not used to people caring about him Sasuke." Sakura replied softly. Sasuke nodded.
"I know that. But I was never used to Naruto not trusting me. It always seemed that no matter what I did, Naruto always forgave me and trusted me to do the right thing. Now it's like he doesn't trust a single soul." Sasuke said softly.
"He'll be fine Sasuke. He will. Besides, now we know to have Iruka handy when he wakes up in three days. We're all learning Sasuke. I know it's tough but Naruto really needs all of us to band together and protect him. Something like what happened with that villager the other day, can't happen again." Sakura stated softly. Sasuke nodded. But when the pair turned to look at Naruto, they saw he was gone.
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Naruto had gotten the urge to go to the bathroom. So rather than bugging his caretaker he decided to go and find the bathroom himself. However once he had found a bathroom and used it, Naruto found that he was lost. So as most six year olds do when they think they're lost, he decided to carry on wandering around to see if he could find his way. He found himself in a farther area of the hospital building. A sign on the wall read CLASSIFIED. HOKAGE AND ANBU ONLY. However, Naruto didn't read the sign and just carried on down the corridor. He saw a shrivelled looking man, who had the features of a tiger in one room. Naruto blinked and carried on. As he got to the end of the corridor, he saw a door open. He hid behind a trolley that was in the corridor and watched as the blonde woman from three days ago, left the room and then wondered who might be in there. "Maybe id's Hokage-Jiji. Maybe he's sick an' no one wands to say 'nyfin'." Naruto thought to himself. He snuck up to the door and opened it slowly. When it was open fully, Naruto looked to see a man attached to various machines. He looked a lot like Sasuke. Naruto walked up to the bed. "Hi dere mister." Naruto said softly.
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Itachi looked at Naruto. His vision was blurry, but he could recognise that blonde hair anywhere. "Hello Naruto. How are you feeling?" Itachi asked the boy.
"'m 'kay thank you. How d'you know my name?" Naruto asked.
"I used to be in Anbu." Itachi replied. Naruto nodded.
"So did Hokage-Jiji send ya to look afder me sumetimes?" Naruto asked.
"Yes that's right Naruto." Itachi replied.
"So wad's ya name?" Naruto asked.
"I'm Itachi." Itachi replied.
"Nice ta meet ya 'tachi." Naruto said. Itachi couldn't help smiling as the boy climbed up to sit next to him on the bed.
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Sakura and Sasuke, whilst looking for Naruto, ran into Tsunade. "Naruto's missing." Sakura said.
"Not again. This is the second time in one week." Tsunade stated.
"He seems to have a habit of wandering around by himself." Sasuke quipped.
"How much of the hospital did you search." Tsunade asked.
"The only place we haven't searched is the restricted area for the high security prisoners of Konoha." Sakura replied.
"Go and check. But don't open the doors unless they don't have windows." Tsunade stated. Both Sakura and Sasuke nodded as they ran off to keep searching. Tsunade sighed as she thought about the money she'd lost today, gambling.
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Naruto looked at Itachi curiously. "Ya look like Sasuke. He looks afder me dis week. Hokage-Jiji had ta go 'way for sum especial mission. Iwuka-Sensei said so." Naruto told Itachi quite happily. Itachi gave the boy a smile.
"Well Naruto. I'm glad that Sasuke is looking after you." Itachi said kindly.
"How comes?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Because he's my little brother." Itachi said.
"How comes yur here in da hosp'tal?" Naruto asked. Itachi smiled sadly at the boy.
"I'm not very well so Tsunade-San is looking after me." Itachi said softly.
"Dats not fair." Naruto stated.
"No it's not fair Naruto. I'm afraid a lot of things aren't fair. But don't worry. With Sasuke looking after you, you'll be safe." Itachi said kindly. Naruto nodded and then started drawing on a piece of paper that had been left on the side table in Itachi's room.
"I'm gonna dwaw ya a fwoggie! I like fwoggies! Dey a'ways make me fill bedda when 'm sick." Naruto stated happily. Itachi watched as the boy started drawing with a pencil, and noticed that Naruto was very good. He seemed to really capture the essence of the frog he was drawing, even though it was slightly lopsided. Naruto hummed a tune that Itachi didn't know as he drew, sometimes sticking his tongue out ever so slightly at the corner of his mouth in concentration. Itachi couldn't help but think it was cute.
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Sasuke ran along the corridors of the restricted section with Sakura, only to look in to Itachi's room and stop dead. There was Naruto sat on Itachi's bed, having a conversation with him, as though he weren't sitting with a high ranking S Class criminal. Sasuke could see Naruto was drawing and every so often getting Itachi to look at his picture. Sasuke looked at Sakura, who sighed in relief. Sasuke opened the door and Naruto looked at Sasuke, with a slightly red flush on his cheeks.
"Look Sasuke! I dwawed a fwoggie!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke looked at the drawing. And Naruto was right. It really was a frog. Though slightly lopsided.
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At the end of the week, Sasuke had gotten Naruto to draw more. He wanted to encourage Naruto in some form of talent. Naruto had been drawing endlessly all week. However on this night, the last night that Naruto would be six, Naruto had spent a particularly long time on his drawings. He'd drawn a particularly good sketch of Ichiraku's, which Teuchi and Ayame had displayed proudly in the shop. Naruto had been making special drawings for the people he'd grown to like over this week. Itachi had received the lopsided frog of course. Sakura had gotten a sketch of a cherry tree. Sai had gotten a picture of a lion. Sai had been rather impressed with Naruto's drawing skills. Sasuke felt slightly miffed that Naruto hadn't given him one of these drawings. But he could see Naruto working hard on something that he wouldn't let anyone see. He had been working on the same picture all day. "Naruto it's time for you to go to bed." Sasuke stated. Naruto looked at Sasuke, with a sad look.
"Pwease Sasuke, five more minutes?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sighed.
"Okay five more minutes. Karin is gonna make you some hot chocolate." Sasuke stated. Naruto nodded vigorously. He'd given a picture of a strawberry to Karin earlier, claiming that Karin had red hair like a strawberry. But as Naruto was a small child, Karin didn't take it in offence. She put the picture away carefully, wondering what it would be like to have children of her own, who drew pictures for her. Even if they were horrible pictures, Karin vowed that if she were lucky enough to have children, she'd keep all their weird pictures and cards. Once Karin had finished making the Hot Chocolate, she found Naruto looking at the picture he had been drawing carefully. Then he beckoned to her quickly and silently. She came over and stood next to him.
"Kawin-Chan, dere's sumfin' wrong, bud I dunno wat id is." Naruto said softly. Karin was amazed by the detail of the beautiful sketch. It was a picture of the back of Sasuke's house. In the picture, was Sasuke, and his family, from when Sasuke had been a small child. Naruto drew Sasuke and Itachi playing in the small pool, splashing each other. Mikoto was sat at the side, and she appeared to be laughing. Fugaku was stood behind her, with a hand on her shoulder. Karin was truly mystified. She'd never known a six year old to be able to draw like that. Though she had heard some children had hidden talents. Then she noticed something.
"The wall behind them." Karin said softly, pointing to the wall of the Uchiha estate that showed behind Sasuke and Itachi.
"It hasn't got the Uchiha clan symbol on it." Karin said softly. Naruto grinned as he ran off to look at the wall. Not even a minute later he was back and drawing the symbol on the wall. His sketching was very careful and delicate. Karin could tell he didn't want to make any mistakes. Ten minutes later, Sasuke came along and Karin placed a finger to her lips, as she pointed at the concentrating boy. Sasuke waited until Naruto jumped up and cheered happily.
"I did it! I fin'shed it!" Naruto yelled happily. Then he looked at Sasuke. He beckoned his guardian over to him, and Sasuke came over. Naruto presented the picture to his guardian, and Sasuke couldn't help but be awed by its beauty. "I wan'ned it ta be de best." Naruto stated. Sasuke grinned and picked Naruto up. The boy squealed slightly as Sasuke tickled his sides.
"It's the best thing that anyone has ever given me Naruto." Sasuke told the boy firmly. Naruto grinned, his eyes shining.
"Does dis mean I ged a stowy afore bed?" Naruto asked.
"Of course." Sasuke replied. Naruto grinned happily and Sasuke let the boy down to go and change into his pyjamas. Karin smiled as Sasuke looked at the picture.
"He really did want to make it perfect. It took him a while to figure out what was missing from the picture." Karin said softly.
"What was missing then?" Sasuke asked.
"The Uchiha Clan symbol on the wall. But once I said that, he went and looked at the symbol himself outside. He really wanted to get it right for you." Karin said gently. Sasuke nodded and took the picture to his own room. He placed it in between the pages of a large, old book that he kept in his room. Then he went to Naruto's room, to find the boy was already dressed and ready for bed. His eyes focussed on Sasuke, as he climbed into bed, and Sasuke tucked him in. Then Sasuke told Naruto the story of their mission to Snow Country. He always used different names, so as not to confuse Naruto. Naruto couldn't help but be entranced as he listened, and after Sasuke finished the story, Naruto rubbed at his eyes tiredly.
"Go on Naruto. It's time to sleep." Sasuke said softly. Naruto nodded and curled up under the orange blanket. He still hugged the green frog teddy. Sasuke grinned as he watched Naruto fall asleep. He knew that tomorrow, Naruto would be older again. But he had no idea of what new changes would occur. He could only hope for the best.
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Okay all, that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please R&R and let me know what you think and such. I always appreciate the opinions of others. Unless of course they're flames. Then I don't really care about them. LOL! Anywho, thanks to whoever is reading and I'll catch you all next chapter, hopefully.