..::..

Here we are for another random idea that has plagued me. It is my hope that once it's out of my head, I can return to my other stories.

Again, as my profile page says: Because of my health, I may go 'dark' when updating, but I will not abandon my stories. I'm working on several at the moment and you, my dear readers, will just have to exercise some patience … I don't know what that is so I can't help you.

Right, so, there's a crossover reference to RWBY as I'll be borrowing some of a backstory and weapon from one of the characters.

Please enjoy.

..::..

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

..::..

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

"Ramen" – Bijuu/Summon Speech

'Ramen' – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

"Ramen" – God/Deity Speech

'Ramen' – God/Deity Thoughts

..::..

Shikaku Nara and his wife Yoshino smiled proudly as their son Shikamaru chatted lazily with their allied Clan's children. Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi had been invited to eat out with the Nara Clan to celebrate the fall of the Kyūbi no Kitsune (The Nine-Tailed Fox) that had perished 7 years ago. The three children were very close and it showed as they each interacted.

They'd just left the Barbeque Restaurant and this is where our story begins …

..::..

"Man, I'm stuffed," Chouji commented blissfully.

Shikamaru grinned at his brother in all but blood. "Yeah, as troublesome as it is to celebrate, it was fun."

"Geez," Ino grumbled. "You're both freaking me out. You ate all the good meat too … a girl's supposed to be treated better than that."

Overhearing the children's conversations, Yoshino sighed and looked to her husband.

"They act exactly the same as you and your team at your age," Yoshino spoke fondly.

Shikaku shrugged unhelpfully at his wife, but the small smirk on his face spoke enough.

"Oh look," a voice interrupted their mood. "The demon has come out of its den."

Shikaku tensed and was about to direct their son and his friends away from the scene, but said children wanted to watch the scene. Yes, Shikaku knew he was being a coward by pretending to not see what was happening to the child that they called 'demon' but it wasn't any of his business to intervene … after all, the Sandaime (Third) Hokage's ANBU would likely be there any moment.

So when the children ran to get a better look at what was happening, Shikaku glanced for signs of the ANBU. To his immediate shock, he sensed them at the scene, but they weren't stopping it.

Yoshino jogged to catch up with the children and gasped at the scene in front of them.

A small, if not tiny child with muddy blood red hair was huddled over a loaf of mouldy bread that had likely been 'liberated' from the trash can near to them … a trash can that was now being brandished by one of the men that was taunting the child.

"Aww, the poor fox-child wants to eat?" the man questioned nastily. "Then eat all you want."

The man then tipped the entirety of the can's trash onto the child in question. The child growled weakly, but remained huddled to protect the food being cradled to their chest. The man hissed as his taunting wasn't enough to get the brat to react, so he then 'accidentally' dropped the metal trash can on the child's head. The child squeaked and instinctively moved to grab at their sore head, but in doing so, the loaf of bread fell from the child's grip and into the dirt.

A woman nearby snatched the mouldy bread from the dirt and threw it into a nearby puddle of mud.

"Enjoy your meal, you little abomination," she laughed, before kicking some of the mud at the red-headed child.

The two instantly froze as they found themselves unable to move. Shikaku gaped as his son used a Jutsu that he'd only just taught him. It wavered slightly – showing that the Jutsu wasn't performed correctly, but the momentary distraction was enough for the child to grab the soggy, muddy and mouldy bread from the mud and flee.

"Quick," Chouji declared. "Follow that kid … they need help!"

Ino grimaced at the sight of the child, but nodded and followed after Chouji and Shikamaru.

Shikaku gestured for Yoshino to follow as he directed a murderous glare at the crowd and ANBU … he couldn't ignore the child's plight any more. Yoshino nodded seriously and dashed after her son and his friends – as she turned a corner, she felt pride as she heard her husband enter his Jounin Commander mode.

Her pride turned into guilt and shame as she found the children surrounding the red-head a few alleyways away from the first scene. The guilt came from the sight of the red-head shaking like a leaf at being stuck in a dead-end alleyway with people surrounding them, while the shame was for the child's plight.

The child should've never been treated like they had, and she had been complicit by ignoring the child – even telling her son to stay away from them.

Now that she could get a better look at the child, she could see the ratty clothing that hung off of the child's tiny frame. The child was only wearing an overly large shirt and nothing else from what she could see, and even that was so filthy and old, that it was barely being held together. Furthermore, it was impossible to discern the child's sex from the clothing. The child's shaking grew worse when they spotted her, and she knew that the child had probably never had any good experiences with adults.

The child glanced at the four people surrounding them and then to the loaf of inedible bread. Seemingly coming to a conclusion that pained her even more, she watched as the child resigned themselves to going hungry by offering the bread to them … the poor thing thought they wanted the bread.

Using the shock of the children, the child threw the bread at their feet and dashed for a hole in the wall to Yoshino's left. Yoshino's Kunoichi instincts kicked in and she effortlessly caught the child, cringing when she felt the tiny arm break at her strong grip. The child wailed in pain and turned to bite Yoshino on her arm. It worked in the child's favour for all of a second … as Yoshino once again, prevented the child from escaping by hugging the child from behind … accidentally causing further harm as the child slammed their head into the wall as they had been diving for the hole.

The child struggled pathetically in Yoshino's grip – scratching and trying to bite her in attempt at freedom. The child went still in her arms, resignation on their face and Yoshino relaxed a little to make the child more comfortable. To her surprise the child waited until she had done so before head butting her and slipping through her arms. The child then squeezed through the hole in the wall and disappeared from sight, as a glance at what lied beyond was the dense trees and abandoned factories of Old Konoha.

..::..

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha sighed in comfort as he re-read the report of one Naruto Uzumaki. From the report, Naruto-kun liked to draw and read and had a lot of friends in the Orphanage. His solitude was interrupted by the last person he'd have thought possible of looking so terrifying … Shikaku Nara.

Shikaku quite literally kicked his door down … fury not seen since the last war on his face.

"What is the meaning of this Shikaku?" the Sandaime ordered.

In response, Shikaku threw an ANBU that he knew watched Naruto onto the floor between them.

"I'm no Ibiki or Anko," Shikaku seethed in fury. "But I can still interrogate … I learned a lot from Inoichi."

"Talk," Shikaku merely ordered the ANBU.

So talk the ANBU did … he was compelled to do so, as the ANBU ID Seal was Uzumaki in design and compelled them to report the truth if activated.

Shikaku, as Jounin Commander activated it. The ANBU revealed everything that had been covered up and Hiruzen collapsed in shock and shame.

"H-How could this be?" he muttered. "I was just reading a report on how happy Naruto is."

The ANBU assumed the question was directed at him, so he revealed that truth as well. "We were ordered by the Village Elder Homura, sir. We were not to report the true condition of the Jinchūriki. He needed the Jinchūriki malleable for training."

Hiruzen snarled and a single fluid motion saw the ANBU knocked out by a powerful blow.

"Get Inoichi to read what he can from this traitor's head," Hiruzen snarled. When no one moved from shock, he released so much KI (Killing Intent) that the entire village felt it. "Did I stutter? Do as I command at once!"

The ANBU instantly complied and all but fled from the fury that was the God of Shinobi.

"Do you know who Naruto-kun is, Shikaku?" the Sandaime asked tiredly.

"I assume that from what colouring I can tell," Shikaku muttered. "That he/she is Kushina Uzumaki's child."

"Yes," Hiruzen confirmed. "But that's not all … he is also the child of Minato Namikaze."

Shikaku instantly felt more guilt grip his heart … the child was Minato's … his dearest friend's child was being treated the way he had?

"This cannot be allowed to continue," Shikaku growled. "But my wife Yoshino can shed some more light on the child. She pursued the children."

An ANBU later had Yoshino standing before the Hokage – her eyes puffy from tears and bandages covering the scratches and bite on her arms. She reported on her observations and the confrontation, and Hiruzen hissed at his own inaction.

"You say he went into Old Konoha?" the Sandaime hummed. "That's strange in itself … as it's the location of the ruins of the Uzumaki Clan."

The two Nara members blinked, but Yoshino interrupted. "W-Wait … he's Kushina's?"

At her leader's nod, she sobbed. "The child of my own teammate is living as an animal."

"Perhaps," Shikaku pondered out loud. "If he is more like an animal, then the Chakra of the Uzumaki Clan's Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) is drawing him to it. He would feel safe there."

"You may be correct," Hiruzen hummed. "That and it blocks my Crystal Ball. It would explain why my monitoring Jutsu fails. The semi-sentient Uzumaki Temple would instantly remove foreign Fūinjutsu from his body … unless they were Uzumaki in design. That doesn't mean much at the moment however … we need to get Naruto-kun treated, but he won't trust anyone."

"Wait," Yoshino spoke. "Kushi-chan once said that only those permitted entrance could actually enter the temple."

"And that's important how?" the Sandaime questioned.

"It's important because Naruto hides there," Yoshino explained. "If he feels safe at temple, then only those that can enter that 'safe' place are, in turn, safe to approach."

Hiruzen blinked at the simple solution. "This is assuming that Naruto-kun is actually in tune with the Chakra of the temple."

"Yes," Yoshino nodded. "But it's our only chance to get to Naruto."

"Can you do it?" her husband but in.

"Unfortunately no," Yoshino sighed. "By trying to catch him earlier, he identifies me as foe. I in avertedly hurt him in the process."

They noticed the sadness in her tone, so Shikaku snaked an arm around his wife's waist in comfort.

"Then we have a problem," Hiruzen spoke seriously after a moment of thought. "There are only two people that have permission to enter the temple. One was Kushina's husband Minato, but he is gone. The only other person that can enter is his sister."

"S-Sister?" the Jounin Commander blinked. "Kushina had no living relatives and Minato was an orphan."

"That is where you're wrong," Hiruzen puffed at his newly lit pipe. "It was made a secret to protect his relative, but they discovered their relation when Minato needed that blood transfusion after his run in with the Kumo-nin that had kidnapped Kushina-chan."

"And who is this sister?" Yoshino desperately begged. "Every second we delay is a second that Naruto-kun is injured and alone!"

"Yes, of course," Hiruzen nodded. "His sister is Mebuki Haruno, and you're correct … we have no time to waste. ANBU – retrieve her for me."

..::..

Mebuki Haruno smiled softly as her daughter read another book. She was definitely a smart one. Her precious moment was interrupted by an ANBU telling her that the Sandaime demanded her presence … and that it was urgent.

Mebuki quickly gathered her daughter up and dropped her off at her friend's house. Ino Yamanaka was more than happy to have her friend over … especially after the encounter and how bad she felt for the kid that was scared of them.

Mebuki bowed as she stood before her leader. "How may I be of assistance, Hokage-sama?"

"I'm pleased you're here, but I must be brief," Hiruzen spoke. "You can get angry and question me later, but we must move quickly. Your brother's son survived the Sealing. He's now injured and hiding in the Uzumaki Temple. As the only person in the Village with permission to enter the temple … you will enter it and get Uzumaki Naruto to go with you for treatment."

Mebuki felt pure rage bubble up inside of her … how dare they lie to her? That didn't matter as she registered the remaining information. Her nephew needed her, and she was the only one that could help him … he was in the Uzumaki Temple.

Hiruzen had only just finished when Mebuki vanished. She raced as fast as she could to the Uzumaki Temple, and without so much as flinching, sliced her hand and presented her blood to the entrance. The entrance hissed as it analysed her DNA but granted her passage. Mebuki slowed to a careful walk as she followed the almost silent sobbing coming from the High Priestess' Quarters.

"H-Hello?" she cursed inwardly at her stutter. She heard the sobbing stop and a tense silence permeated the temple. "I-I'm not here to harm you … I just want to help you."

A movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention and she slowly turned to see the dirty red hair of her newly discovered nephew. The child was watching her with an odd combination of suspicion and curiosity … it was likely due to the fact that he felt the Seals accept her and grant her permission to enter. He ducked slightly as her eyes landed on him, but didn't pull back entirely. Under the ever burning fire of the shrine, she saw his blue eyes glitter from the light. Her nephew had his father's eyes it seemed.

"Here," Mebuki soothed with her arms open in invitation. "I know you're hurt, Naruto-kun. I won't hurt you, child. The temple accepted me so you know I'm safe."

Naruto gasped as she called him an unfamiliar name … it sounded like he should recognise it, but it was something he hadn't heard in a very long time. The soothing woman was granted permission to enter though, and his safe place only ever protected him from the horrible big people. Spurred by the thought, Naruto cautiously shuffled out from behind the pillar he'd hidden behind.

"There you are," Mebuki smiled. It was a kind smile … something else he wasn't familiar with but it filled him with a warm feeling. He liked the feeling very much. Like an animal, Naruto sniffed the air and took in Mebuki's scent as he approached.

Mebuki mentally growled as she saw Naruto cradling his arm tenderly – oh she'd be having words with Yoshino for this. Instead of dwelling on the negative thoughts, she put on another kind smile as Naruto came within arm's reach of her. She made no movements to scare him away though, and instead made cooing noises to comfort the hurt boy … though if she was totally honest, he seemed very pretty for a boy.

'It looks like he also inherited his father's girly features,' she sighed fondly.

Naruto sniffed her up close and relaxed slightly in her presence.

"See?" she soothed. "I'm a friend."

"Friend?" he repeated with confusion – though it came out as childish. He didn't know why, but he liked this big person. She sounded nice and smelled nice and was allowed to enter his safe place … she was safe!

Taking a chance, he gripped her still outstretched hand; like he'd seen the other children do to their safe people. He smiled shyly at the safe person and relaxed completely.

"Safe," he said quietly – causing tears to come to Mebuki's eyes. "Hurt."

With that final word, he succumbed to his tiredness and pain and fell asleep. Only then did Mebuki shudder and let her tears fall.

"You'll never be alone again, my precious Naruto-kun," Mebuki spoke softly as she brushed his fringe out of his face – not even caring that it was grimy.

..::..

When Naruto woke, it was the smell that alerted him to the fact that he was in an unfamiliar place. He was about to freak out when the scent of that safe person overwhelmed his senses. Cracking an eye open, he instantly came face to face with familiar green eyes. Only … the eyes were accompanied by bright pink hair.

Naruto instantly pushed the person away from him and tried to jump away … only for warm arms to carefully hug him. The scent bombarded him again, and he relaxed as the soothing voice of his safe person made cooing noises to calm him. He instinctively relaxed into the safe person's arms and sighed.

"I told you to not scare him, Sakura-chan," the voice softly spoke.

"Sorry Kaa-chan," 'Sakura' apologised.

"Kaa-chan," Naruto repeated quietly – testing the word. He drifted away as he saw something red cover his vision. He whined as he brushed it, only for it to fall back. The voice giggled … another sound he liked. He felt a warm hand brush away the soft, red thing away from his face and tied it back carefully.

"It's only temporary," the safe person said. "But it's one of Sakura's spare headbands."

"S-Sakura," Naruto repeated.

The pink one nodded enthusiastically. "That's me. Hi, my name is Sakura and it's nice to meet you Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked to the safe person still hugging him and watched her nod in encouragement. Naruto looked back to the one named Sakura and smiled shyly at her.

"H-Hi," he quietly responded.

Sakura made a loud but unthreateningly sound and hugged Naruto. "He's so cute."

Naruto tensed and it caused Sakura to instantly let go, blushing in embarrassment. Naruto didn't understand, but he got a safe feeling from the one called Sakura too. Naruto was returned to his bed and he glanced around the room in confusion. It was only then that he realised that his arm didn't hurt anymore! He excitedly moved his arm around and looked over himself … he looked different … his skin was lighter and not covered in mud and that meant that the soft red thing was his hair! He giggled as he played with the red strands of his hair as the two Haruno females watched the scene. There was a knock at the door and in walked an old big person dressed funnily and two younger big people that he recognised from before. Naruto surprised everyone by hiding his face behind Sakura.

It was then that Sakura gently pet his hair, vowing to remain where she was. "There, there Naru-chan, I won't leave you."

It wasn't known then, but that was the day that Sakura Haruno swore to always protect Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto didn't know why Sakura was calling him Naru-chan, but he liked it more than Naruto or Naruto-kun. He burrowed into Sakura's hug and sighed as Sakura continued to caress his hair.

"It looks like he remembers you two," Hiruzen directed the comment to Shikaku and Yoshino.

"So it seems," Yoshino dejectedly responded. Shikaku simply nodded as if he'd predicted the reaction from the red-head.

"Now then," Hiruzen coughed. "It's nice to meet you Naruto-kun. My name is…"

"Naru-chan," he boldly corrected before hiding his face once more.

"Uh … nice to meet you Naru-chan," Hiruzen corrected. "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I'm the Sandaime Hokage of this Village."

Naruto made no move to budge from Sakura's shoulder, so he continued. "I'm so very sorry for how you've been treated Naru-chan. We've reviewed your situation and have come to offer you a choice."

Naruto finally moved to look at the Sandaime – confusion clearly on his face.

"Simple words," Mebuki offered helpfully.

"Ah, of course," Hiruzen sighed. "Naru-chan, who do you want to stay with?"

"Safe," Naruto spoke.

"You can't live at the Temple, Naru-chan," Hiruzen sighed. Naruto scrunched up his face adorably in thought.

"Safe," Naruto repeated with a little more voice than before – glancing cautiously to the Haruno Family.

Hiruzen rubbed his face tiredly when he realised what Naruto was trying to say. Safe as in Safe Family … he only trusted the Haruno Family.

"You want to stay with Mebuki and Sakura?" he translated.

Naruto saw the two Haruno nod to his unasked question and beamed happily.

"Un … safe," Naruto chirped excitedly. Sakura squealed at the adorable sight and hugged Naruto tightly. Something that Naruto didn't flinch at or tense this time.

Mebuki left her children to get better acquainted as she stepped out of the room to discuss the official business side of the decision. There was a lot of shouting, but it was decided that the Civilian Council had no jurisdiction in the matter as Naruto was related by blood to the Haruno Family.

..::..

"Sorry we have no proper clothing for you Naru-chan," Mebuki apologised as she dressed Naruto in one of Sakura's spare Kunoichi shorts and an old sleeveless hoodie from her own collection. The hoodie fell to the boy's knees, but he liked it enough because it smelled of Mebuki and was warm. Mebuki went to remove Sakura's old headband from his hair, but Naruto pouted at the action, the message was clear … he liked the headband.

Naruto spun happily in the clothes and hugged Mebuki once she stopped trying to remove the headband. Mebuki smiled wetly but hugged the boy back. Naruto suddenly stopped and shyly looked to Mebuki's hand, before looking away sadly. Mebuki didn't understand at first but then Sakura stepped up and took Naruto's hand in hers.

Naruto started at the gesture before beaming … so he wanted to hold hands!

The moment they left the hospital, they knew something was different … probably because no one was glaring at Naruto. Mebuki instantly knew it was because no one recognised Naruto. Naruto looked like a girl due to the clothing and headband, so people just assumed that 'she' was just another girl out with 'her' mother and sister. Surprisingly, a look at Naruto saw him also putting the pieces together as he gazed from the people to his new clothes in a thoughtful manner.

An old lady smiled at Naruto and he hid behind Sakura because of it. The old lady just laughed and waved good bye to the 'girls'. Naruto eventually removed himself from Sakura's protective back and returned to looking around in awe. It was painful for Mebuki as it was clear that it was because Naruto hadn't really ventured outside in the day time.

Naruto was mesmerized by the sights and sounds of Konoha during the day. He never went outside unless he could hide in the dark places … otherwise it wasn't safe for him. He noticed that the people looked like they didn't recognise him and the old lady that startled him mentioned something about being an adorable girl. Naruto didn't know much, but he knew that he was a boy, so it took him a minute to realise that he must've looked like a girl in Sakura's and Mebuki's clothing. He glanced between the people's smiles and his clothing in thought.

Girl's clothing = safe from getting hurt, therefore it made sense to dress like a girl. Naruto watched the world feeling more at ease as his young mind came to the conclusion that it had. If the world saw him as a girl and it was safer to be outside dressed as one … then he'd happily dress as a girl.

..::..

Mebuki smiled happily as she watched Sakura teach Naru the bigger words in a story book. It had been six months since he'd come to live with them and she couldn't be happier. Sakura protected Naru with a vengeance, and Kami help anyone who hurt Naru.

Naruto had started to respond to 'Naru' instead of his full name, he had ever since the day they'd left the hospital, and if anyone tried to address him any differently then he ignored them outright.

Naru continued to dress like a girl as well. He simply perceived dressing like a girl as safer than dressing like a boy. Inoichi Yamanaka had informed her that it was his way of identifying with the world after living seven years alone and abused. He spent several sessions with the red-head and discovered that Naru knew he was a boy, but identified with being a girl more.

Normally, Inoichi would've recommended more sessions, but then he realised that it was like the seasoned Shinobi and Kunoichi that developed quirks to cope with the stress of their lifestyles. Naruto had merely gotten a head start on the process because of his life before the Haruno Family. At least Sakura and Ino didn't mind. They thought it was adorable and liked to dress him up, while Naru never seemed to mind because he still needed to be reminded that they were there for good.

..::..

Mebuki beamed with pride. Naru had easily passed the examination to be admitted to the Ninja Academy, while the Hokage pulled some strings and got him admitted to Sakura's year. Sakura had gone to play with Ino for the day, leaving Naru and Mebuki alone as she picked him up.

"How do you want to celebrate, Naru-chan?" she asked him.

Naru shuffled on his feet nervously before gesturing to a weapon store. "C-Can I get a weapon for extracurricular study?"

Mebuki smiled at the boy – Sakura had such an impact on his life that he felt the need to emulate Sakura and study everything he could get his hands on. "Of course you can, sweetie, but let's go to the Emporium instead. They're more expensive, but you're getting what you pay for."

Naru vibrated excitedly at getting permission – he'd seen the upper years training with extracurricular weapons for credit, and he was eager to find one for him to study with.

"Welcome to the Emporium," chimed the polite voice of a girl a little older than Naru.

"Tenten?" the effeminate boy questioned.

"Naru-chan!" the girl beamed happily. "So you finally agreed to get a weapon, at last?"

Naru nodded shyly and Tenten beamed again. "Well then, let's get you partnered with your destined weapon!"

It was something that Tenten firmly believed in – that every person had a weapon that was 'destined' to belong to them. She eagerly measured up her friend and started thinking of the possibilities.

Mebuki had to giggle at Naru's predicament. He looked entirely lost as Tenten shoved weapon after weapon in his hands and asked him to test it out. Naru groaned as Tenten kept handing him new weapons as soon as he didn't like the feel of one. Eventually even Tenten was getting annoyed.

"Nothing?" she huffed.

"I'm sorry Ten-chan," Naru smiled apologetically. "I just don't like any of the weapons you picked for me. They just feel wrong."

Tenten perked up and nodded sagely. "Then I guess Tou-chan wouldn't mind if I showed you the special stock."

"What wouldn't I mind?" a deep voice from the doorway asked.

"I wanted to show Naru-chan the special stock," Tenten sheepishly repeated.

The man that was definitely Tenten's father hummed as he eyed Naru up and down. "Yes, this one does have the necessary chakra reserves to warrant showing them my special weapons. Very well … this way please."

Naru practically skipped after the man. Something about him had Naru at ease. Naru had a unique sense for people, so anyone Naru didn't like was someone to be wary of. They stopped in front of a door and blinked at the 'common' appearance of the weapons on display. Naru was about to comment on it when he froze. Something was calling to his chakra, and it was drawing him in.

Following the feeling he found it hidden behind several other poles and long weapons. It was a Warhammer. It had beautifully carved patterns and lines all over the handle and hammer's surface itself, whilst there appeared to be an internal mechanism that looked like it revolved. [AN1]

"M-Magnhild," the man stuttered nervously. "Perhaps you should pick another weapon, it's very heavy you see and …"

The man was cut off when Naru picked it up effortlessly and spun it casually in his hands.

"I-It's perfect," Naru whispered with a gentle smile on his face. "Oh, there's a seal?"

Tenten's father blinked. "What seal?"

Naru pointed it out, and the man blinked again. "Uh, I don't see a seal, kid."

Naru hummed in thought and channelled chakra into the seal. A sudden burst of compressed chakra exploded from Magnhild's hammer and sent Naru flying backwards into a wall lined with training dummies.

"Naru-chan!" screamed Mebuki and Tenten in unison.

Naru groaned as he stood but excitement was still painted on his face. "That was amazing! I definitely want this weapon. May I please have it?"

Tenten's father narrowed his gaze at the boy dressed like a girl … oh yes, he knew who Naru was, but didn't care in the slightest. "I guess you really are an Uzumaki."

Mebuki and Naru froze.

"Don't worry, kid," the man continued. "You can call me Han, and I'm a friend of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Back to the matter at hand though," Han spoke. "Magnhild is an Uzumaki weapon. It was given to my forefathers to hold on to … I guess it's time to return it to the Uzumaki Clan."

Naru squealed happily and hugged Han. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Han grunted but pet Naru on the head. "No problem kid, now go and practise using it. I don't want to see or hear of you not using it properly."

Naru saluted the man cheerfully and rubbed his cheek against the hammer's surface. Mebuki was truly stunned. She knew that Naru had an affinity with things that went 'boom' but to find out that a hammer that could create explosions was his weapon of choice was ridiculous.

"Ouch," Naru suddenly squeaked.

The trio spun to see that the hammer had vanished, and instead there was a seal on Naru's palm that looked like simple dark circle.

"That's how it hides?" Naru asked. "I love this weapon."

A subtle burst of chakra later saw Magnhild reappear in Naru's waiting hands. Naru chuckled creepily as he sealed and then unsealed the hammer over and over again. "Wait until Itachi-kun sees this!"

Mebuki sweat dropped at her son's antics. Naru had gotten very close to Itachi over the course of him staying with them. Itachi had been there to provide protection and to observe Naru's progress and even though he wasn't supposed to communicate with the effeminate child, Naru had wormed his way into Itachi's daily life. Itachi didn't seem to mind and even addressed Naru as he liked to be addressed.

So when Itachi started offering pointers to Naru on his training, Naru soaked up the information like a sponge. Everything Itachi commented on, Naru fixed and every time Naru made a remark on Itachi's attire or the limitations of the ANBU armour versus Fūinjutsu enhanced gear, Itachi took the ideas to heart and changed his attire to appease the red-head.

The only reason Itachi wasn't there at the present time was that he was assigned another mission. Mebuki didn't doubt that Itachi would be responsible for Naru becoming even more dangerous with his new weapon.

..::..

Naru puffed tiredly as he destroyed another training dummy. Wielding Magnhild came effortlessly to the red-head and he thoroughly enjoyed watching his beloved hammer destroy things. They'd been together for nearly two years now, and he couldn't think of a life without his beloved.

Naru blinked as he spotted the unmistakable form of Itachi's friend Shisui race across the training ground he was using. Several figures blurred after him and Naru knew something was amiss. Despite knowing that he didn't stand a chance against those fighting, he sped after them

Shisui was his friend as much as Itachi was … and if he could distract one of his attackers, then it'd be enough for Shisui to get the upper hand.

Naru yelled out a battle cry as he slammed Magnhild into the ground between the attackers and Shisui as they subdued him. The impact sent chunks of earth into the air and peppered the attackers with shrapnel. Shisui reacted quickly and sliced the throat of one of his attackers as they were distracted by the red-haired missile that continued to cause random damage to distract the ROOT ANBU that had attacked him.

Shisui dispatched the remaining ROOT ANBU and tiredly smiled at Naru. "Thank you Naru-chan, but what were you thinking? You could've been hurt or even kill …"

They were interrupted as a Kunai flew through the air, nicking Naru's left eye in the process. Naru screamed in pain and dropped to the ground to stem the bleeding, while Shisui was once again on the defensive as more ROOT ANBU attacked him. Shisui went berserk at the ROOT … he had to get to Naru before the injury was permanent.

He cursed the fact that Danzo had stolen one of his eyes, but he had to survive and get his remaining eye to Itachi.

It was in his fury that he made a fatal mistake and overreached. It was a rookie mistake, but it cost him as he was slashed across the chest by a poisoned blade. Seconds later however, ANBU arrived on the scene with Hiruzen Sarutobi at the head of the pack.

The ROOT ANBU didn't stand a chance with the God of Shinobi out for blood. He'd actually been watching Naru's progress in training and was considering bumping him up a year level or two … or even outright ask him take the Graduation Exam at the Academy.

Naru was that good. So when he saw the unmistakeable forms of ROOT ANBU attack one of his Shinobi and for Naru to follow – he immobilized his forces and went for blood. When he heard Naru scream in pain, all thoughts of mercy vanished.

"Make sure we have at least one survivor," Hiruzen barked as he unleashed his KI. "Eliminate the others."

Again … the ROOT ANBU never stood a chance.

When the massacre was over, Hiruzen appeared by Naru's side. The child was gasping in pain and his eye was bleeding profusely.

"I-Is Naru-chan okay?" came the wheezing voice of Shisui.

Hiruzen switched his gaze to Shisui and nodded. "Yes, but his left eye is likely useless now."

Shisui coughed blood in response and grimaced – it wasn't his original plan, but Naru could do as much good as Itachi with his eye. "Then he can take mine."

Hiruzen whirled around at the offer. "You know the cost of transplanting your Clan's eyes into a non-clan member."

"Yes," Shisui nodded sadly. "But no amount of medical treatment will save me Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen looked at Shisui's wounds and nodded solemnly. "Yes, but you know what the strain will do to Naru … look at Kakashi."

"T-That's because he's never had the Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) transferred by an Uchiha to a non-Uchiha before." Shisui coughed. "Bring Naru-chan to me before I pass … quickly."

Hiruzen blinked at the comment but nodded and lifted the whimpering child, bringing him to Shisui's side. "You'll need to be awake for this Naru-chan. I'm so sorry, but this will hurt."

Shisui cringed as he ripped Naru's useless eye from its socket before building chakra for the technique. The Jutsu that Shisui was too quiet to be heard but Hiruzen could see the chakra lingering in Shisui's eye as he ripped it out and held it in front of Naru's empty eye socket. Hiruzen watched in shock as Shisui's lingering chakra merged with Naru's chakra. The eye seemed to be sucked into the socket seconds later and they watched with morbid fascination as the eye twisted in Naru's socket until it fit in snuggly.

"It's done," wheezed Shisui. "The process will gift Naru with the ability to activate and deactivate the eye at will. The chakra consumption will be less as well, since my chakra – the chakra of an Uchiha – has merged with his."

Those watching then gaped as eerie red chakra emerged from Naru's eye and sealed the scarring. It now looked as if nothing had happened to the child at all.

Naru stirred and fluttered his eyes open. "Shisui, where is he … is he still hurt?"

Shisui couldn't see Naru but he smiled in his direction. "I'm right here Naru-chan."

"No, no, no," Naru sobbed. "You're hurt. Sandaime-sama … please h-help him."

Hiruzen glanced at Naru's now two toned eyes and sighed. "I-I'm sorry Naru-chan, but there's nothing that can be done for him now."

Naru sobbed harder and scrambled to Shisui's bloodied body. "Please don't go Shisui. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

"Hey," Shisui soothed as he clumsily found Naru's cheek. "Don't be sad. It's thanks to you that something precious will never be in the hands of the enemy."

"R-Really?" the effeminate boy cried. "H-How did I do that?"

"Because you now have something of mine for life," Shisui gently rubbed at Naru's soft cheek. "You have my eye now Naru-chan … it's a big responsibility to have the eye of an Uchiha. Do you know why?"

Naru sniffled miserably. "Because you have the Sharingan … it's important to protect your eyes."

"Yes," Shisui coughed. "Well now you have my Sharingan Naru-chan. So it'll be up to you to protect my eye … can you do that for me?"

Naru nodded seriously – tears still falling. "I'll protect your eye with my life, Shisui-kun."

"I know you will, Naru-chan," Shisui smiled at the boy before tiredly coughing … he was fading.

"No!" cried Naru. "Please don't leave Shisui … please."

"I'll always be with you, Naru-chan," Shisui soothed. "You take a piece of me wherever you go now … every time you see it, you can know that I'm watching you through your new eye."

Naru gripped Shisui's bloody shirt tightly and shook his head, not that Shisui could see it, but he pulled Naru in for one last hug. "If I ever had a younger sibling … I'd have liked it to have been you, Naru-chan. Remember to keep my eye safe."

Shisui kissed Naru's forehead before he breathed his last breath. Naru continued to shake Shisui's body … despite knowing the Uchiha was gone, he didn't want it to be real … so he continued to shake at Shisui's body anyway – tears streaming down his face. He cried out in pain at losing one of his dearest friends and Hiruzen gasped as Naru's new eye spun into the Sharingan that he'd been gifted.

Hiruzen had to drag a wailing Naru away from the proud Uchiha's corpse.

'There may not be any evidence to prove that you're implicated in this Danzo, but you will pay for this,' Hiruzen vowed.

..::..

Naru stood with the rest of his graduating class. Despite his exceptional skill, Naru had declined to be moved to a higher class. He refused to leave Sakura's side. So many things had happened since Shisui's passing and his gift. Training with Itachi became harder as the Sandaime approved the Uchiha training him to increase his proficiency with the Sharingan.

Itachi tried to distance himself from Naru, but Naru refused to lose another precious person. In their efforts, they grew closer and Naru had been certain that Itachi had been his first crush.

But then the Uchiha Massacre happened.

Naru knew there was something going on, especially since he'd spied several Uchiha spying on him while training with Itachi. The Uchiha Clan Elders weren't happy that another non-Uchiha now wielded their sacred bloodline, but with the Sandaime and Itachi protecting him … there was nothing anyone could do to get the Sharingan back. Naru had been adamant that Itachi was innocent in his 'crimes' and still refused to believe anything to the contrary on the matter.

Naru had fallen into a slump through it all. Naru had been wrestling with his identity and he'd come to a conclusion … one that Inoichi had agreed was the root of his problem.

Naru wanted to be a real girl.

After being treated as both sexes, Naru had come to the conclusion due to one simple thing. He wanted a family one day, but the thought of being with a woman to go about it made him ill. He was attracted to men, but not because he was gay either.

No, Naru wanted to be a woman and he'd begun to research possible Jutsus to help. It was in his research that he created the Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique). The only disappointing element to the Jutsu was that it was only temporary and it left him empty inside when the Jutsu ran out and he returned to being a boy.

The biggest shaker that rocked his life was the distance that Sakura had put between them. She'd grown to be attracted to Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother and it strained their closeness. Oh Sakura still loved him like a brother and their relationship was still close, but it showed that Sakura was changing into a teenager and was finding boys attractive.

Naru couldn't judge … he'd perved on a few and fantasized about Itachi often, but Naru knew that it was impossible until he was a real woman.

But here they were. Graduating from the Ninja Academy and waiting on their Assigned Teams to be announced.

"Team Seven under Kakashi Hatake: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kiba Inuzuka."

Naru felt his heart stop as he discovered that he wasn't going to be with Sakura, but he knew the outcome was irreversible.

"Team Eight under Kurenai Yūhi: Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame and Naru Haruno."

"Team Nine is still in circulation."

"Team Ten under Asuma Sarutobi: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi."

The instructor smiled sadly at Naru. "I'm sorry Naru, but the Sandaime personally selected the teams this year."

"I understand, Iruka-sensei," Naru tried to smile – his one black and one blue eye looking dejected prevented the smile from looking genuine. "The Hokage's orders are final … as is his team selection."

"Don't worry," Iruka smiled. "I'm sure you'll become great friends with your new team."

"Of course," Naru smiled reassuringly to his teacher. Once Iruka had left, Naru approached Shino as he was the closest teammate. "Hello there, Shino-san. Would you like to sit with me and enjoy the wonderful day outside?"

Shino remained silent and after a tense moment, nodded in acceptance. Naru smiled and turned to Hinata. "And you Hinata-san? Would you like to enjoy a lovely day outside to become better acquainted?"

Hinata nodded shyly as she glanced to Kiba loudly shouting at Sasuke about Kami knew what.

'I hope sensei is nice,' was Naru's thought as the new Team Eight left the room.

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There we go for this idea. I hope you enjoy it and know that I am working on my other stories in my free time, but my first priority is to catch up at work. More about the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi will be added if I write a chapter 02.

AN1 – The Weapon is Nora Valkyrie's Hammer also called Magnhild. Her character is from RWBY.

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AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.

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