"The day Naruto lost his friendly nature was the day I failed as a brother. It was his behaviour I wanted to protect to the best of my ability, and while I couldn't make the bullying go away, I could do my best to protect him until he was able to defend himself. Maybe even after that. Because I was never one to let my brother fend for myself, and I'd be damned if he suffered any more then he had."

Naruto was jumpier and more withdrawn since that event. If someone so much as brushed past him, he'd jump away, recoiling into Mitsuo's side. The mere sound of the rustling of someone's pockets made him tense and alert, ready to sprint away. He'd been keeping tabs on Sasuke via Itachi, but apparently he was unphased. Outwardly, anyway. He remained the same, seemingly showing no changes in behaviour. Still, Itachi promised to keep an eye out.

Apparently, Itachi wasn't the only Uchiha keeping an eye on Naruto and Sasuke- if a certain other ANBU Uchiha was anything to go by. The chakra signature was recognisable to him- as one of his many guards. Uchiha chakra had a distinct feeling to it, and though Mitsuo couldn't discern his identity- he was fairly certain he'd never come across the ANBU casually- he was curious whether it was a direct relative of Itachi's.

He was sat in their apartment, the windows thrown open, teaching Naruto some basic recipes for him to cook, in case he wasn't around for a while. Sometimes it was unavoidable, and he couldn't rely on the Uchiha's or Dog to look after him. At the end of the day, while Naruto was by no means a burden, he wasn't their blood, it wasn't their responsibility to look after him. He poked him experimentally in the side, feeling a little bad when he fought his urge to recoil.

"Yes, Mitsu?"

The voice was quiet, the polar opposite to his normally joyful and bubbly behaviour. He needs to tell me about what is eating him… whether it's seeing me the way I was, the "chūnin me" and not "big brother" me, or whether it's the would-be attack in general. He stretched over to the pot, currently containing the base for ramen, and turned off the heat, reducing the chance of burning the house down. He took it off the stove and stepped down, Naruto tilting his head curiously.

Shinobi culture was big on the "deal with it yourself approach", and Mitsuo was all too aware of that: but he didn't want his brother to deal with it alone. One Uzumaki with repressed trauma was bad enough, Naruto's attitude didn't need it too.

"Come on, Otōto. I think we need to talk."

Naruto obediently followed, perhaps realising that Mitsuo wasn't about to let him dodge the conversation. Not that he was really able to, considering he was four years old and couldn't jump out and run along the roofs of the village. Mitsuo sat down in what they called their living room, cross-legged on the floor, staring at Naruto who sat a little distance away, big blue eyes staring at Mitsuo, lips downturned, bottom lip quivering.

There was a brief thought of placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder, but he thought twice and fought against the instinct, knowing that it would unsettle his brother. I'm no therapist… what on earth do I say to him…?

"What did you think about the other day?"

"I had fun with Sasuke. Your jutsu was cool."

He answered, completely dodging the question. Well, either that or his brother was being dense again. It wasn't surprising either way, because for a kid who was bubbly and happy 99% of the time, he was skilful at dodging certain lines of questioning. Is that something I've influenced him with? Mitsuo looked at his brother with the look that was dubbed "I know you're skirting around what I want to know."

"I'm glad you think so, but you know that's not what I'm asking about."

Mitsuo was expecting a variety of answers. Some not really answers, and more of a diversion. Naruto adjusted his position awkwardly on the floor, his hands splayed out behind him, his toy hitai-ate curled up in between his grip. He didn't force his brother to tell him, just waiting, the silence of the room weighing heavily upon the two of them. Most households were filled with the joy of relatives, the laughing of a mother or father, perhaps the barks or mews of a pet. But in their house, it was just the two of them, and when Naruto was down in the dumps or asleep, the silence was the only thing in the house.

"Why did they try to hurt us?"

Mitsuo's eyes narrowed a little before he tilted his head. Naruto knows why we're always hunted. I told him a while ago now. The fox in our stomachs. The Demon Fox that attacked the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Plus, the kid said himself, he felt like we killed his grandfather, despite the fact that we aren't the Fox. He gestured to his stomach, his shirt covering the area, but the seal always there, ever-present.

"Because of the Fox."

He shook his head, shifting position, hugging himself. So that's not what he meant. What does he mean then? Mitsuo thought to himself, as Naruto nibbled on his lip like a mouse. He was almost as quiet as one, and for Naruto, that was concerning. Naruto went quiet, an eerie state for his brother before he decided to speak again, elaborating this time.

"I know they hate the Fox. But why us. What did we do?"

Mitsuo sighed, looking away for a minute. A question that was simple to answer in theory, but not easy to understand. How was he supposed to explain that they hadn't done anything, but that the villagers connected their lives with the Kyūbi's… It had sprung to mind once or twice to take Naruto out of Konoha, for him to become a Missing-Nin once he had enough skills to live in the wild.

But that came with its own problems. It was a harsh world out there, and it wasn't fair for Naruto to live in the wild like a wild animal. Although, treated like devil spawn isn't fair either. Mitsuo was no match for Tracker-Nin either, and while it was unlikely they would physically hurt Naruto, he wouldn't be surprised if they brainwashed him almost into thinking that he was evil.

That was also ignoring the fact that they could possibly get hunted because of their status as Jinchūriki, for those who want to harness the Kyūbi's power like the Masked Man did five years ago. His only real option was to stay in Konoha, protected by the walls, the ANBU, and the Hokage, where Naruto could get as close to education as he could get, and a few friends, as he could acquire. Naruto's natural charisma meant nothing when everyone was determined to hate him.

"They are driven by fear, Naruto. Both fear of the Fox, and fear of things they cannot control. They try to hurt us because they think it's like hurting the Fox, and they want to hurt the Fox because it hurt them."

"But that's unfair. We didn't do anything to them! Why won't they leave us alone?"

It was very much unlike Naruto complain, and he gestured for Naruto to come to his side. He scooted across the floor, and Mitsuo wrapped his arm around Naruto's back, as his younger brother burrowed his head into Mitsuo's ribs. He enjoyed the feeling of being close to his brother before giving him a gentle poke in the centre of his head like their father had done to him when he was a baby.

"They don't see us for us Naru. They see us as the Fox. We need to give them a reason to change their views… but as we are, they are pretty unwilling to change the way they think."

Naruto pouted from where he was tucked into Mitsuo's arm and then proceeded to twist around and turn to look at him, with wide blue eyes, which soon after narrowed in a look of determination that he hadn't seen from his sibling. With that look… he looked like he could do anything, and Mitsuo didn't doubt it. Once he set his mind to something, he would accomplish it: regardless of whether it took him hours, months, or even years.

"I'm going to make them change their minds!"

He grinned, sticking his thumb up and bringing it up in front of his face, his own definition of a promise. Smiling at his brother, and squeezing him lightly, he looked at him, placing a small kiss on his head, as a parent would do to a child. I suppose, in a way, that's what I am to Naruto. I give him a sense of morals and responsibilities. But I will always be his big brother, not his parents. I couldn't replace Mom and Dad.

"I believe you Naruto."

It didn't stop the flinches though.

Focus on the kunai, Mitsuo. The kunai. It's near Naruto. Not nearby him, but close. Feel the pull… trace it back to the kunai, merge the chakra with the seal… and step. He felt the kunai tug at his chakra, providing an invisible gateway to go from point A to point B, cutting out the path between the two. Everything almost froze around him, as he let himself be pushed towards the kunai.

The sounds of the forest dulled, the contented hums of Naruto as he played with his stuffed bear became hushed, and for a few seconds, the only chakra signatures he could feel were his own, and that of the seal-laden kunai, which felt like his father's chakra. It was faint, but the feeling of their father's chakra, warm and spark-like, calming and soothing, would forever be engrained into him, like many things surrounding his father.

With a sharp tug, almost uncomfortable as he fought the instinct to stop his chakra leaving, he opened his eyes, revealing that he was next to the kunai, still a fair distance away from Naruto. He bent down and picked it up, sheathing it again as he began to analyse the progress that he'd made. I'm slowly getting better at it… He thought as he checked his chakra levels, which while weren't completely burnt out, were low at the minute.

His chakra reserves were huge, and only growing larger, but due to inefficient management, he burned through it quickly when he was practising.

The training session had only been a couple of hours or so- two, looking at his watch- but he had a mission coming up soon, and couldn't afford to completely drain his chakra. It was a B ranked mission- something to do with sending an important missive to the Kazekage of Sunagakure- and didn't sound too hard in theory, but he was aware of not being cocky. Especially considering the short amount of time after the Third Great Ninja War, where relations were still fragile.

Fragile, in the way that ice was fragile. That placing one wrong foot on the ice sends you plummeting into the icy depths of the river.

It was safe to say, that mission was not one he wanted to fuck up, lest he start another war, which Mitsuo was highly against for several reasons.

It was about time they headed home because Itachi and Sasuke were going to head over for a quiet evening, and Mitsuo was about to call out to Naruto to gather his things. However, he could sense something small, cutting through the air, the chakra flickering around it angrily as it homed in on not Mitsuo, but Naruto, who was blissfully unaware.

He shunshined over quickly, hand wrapping around his kunai as he brought it up to his face, dropping down to a defensive stance and batting away the shuriken with ease. Rage simmered lowly in his gut, partly the fox and partly himself, because who would attack a five-year-old? Oh wait, Konoha.

"Behind me, Naruto."

He muttered unamused but angry. Growling, he looked forwards, his sensing abilities reaching far out as he detected a group of five. And he recognised their chakra signatures, though not for good reasons. Behind him, Naruto was shaking, mouth slack-jawed, terrified and unsure. That only served to fuel Mitsuo's anger: it was difficult to keep Naruto's hope and self-confidence alive when people were so eager to beat it down.

"I know you are there, Kasuhiro."

It took a lot to keep his voice calm and straight. Narrowed, without the hints of anger that he was feeling. It took every single bit of training he had to keep his anger beaten down because anger made people careless. The boy in question was another chūnin, a couple of years older than Mitsuo and Itachi. He was the kind of kid who looked to make friends with those he deemed "strong" and was seriously affronted when he wasn't given his own way.

Case in point, he'd harassed Itachi for a long time after he graduated, eager to become friends with one of the strongest shinobi to ever pass. Mitsuo himself was excluded from that honour, thanks to his status as "Jinchūriki" or the more often used, "Demon Fox". Silver linings. Of course, when Itachi had chosen to become a friend to Mitsuo, Kasuhiro was mortally offended, and often looked to try and remove Mitsuo out of the picture.

As if Itachi would ever change his mind about his relationship with you. Itachi abhorred the boy as much as Mitsuo did. Of course, Kasuhiro was also a manipulative leader, able to bend people's will almost, to make them do what he wanted them to do. While he wasn't favoured amongst the chūnin, he had plenty of people who were willing to follow him, mostly genin.

They didn't know better, and while Mitsuo couldn't claim to know what they were thinking, he reckoned that some of it was to do with "powerful chūnin, he'll teach me some stuff." Kasuhiro appeared a short distance away from the two brothers, eyes narrowed, flanked by four others, who Mitsuo recognised as genin. He didn't want this to turn into a fight, but he'd do anything to protect his brother. Anything.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He seemed surprised at Mitsuo's calmness, not shocked or intimidated by his group. Kasuhiro could never be intimidating, and he was predictable. Never one to finish a task himself, he'd always have a group of lackeys to help him. He narrowed his eyes at Mitsuo, form rigid, hands tensed by his side.

Kasuhiro has a fire nature. I need to be wary of him if we get into a fight, which is likely. The others are unknown: I know they are genin, but other than that, I know nothing other than the fact that they do not belong to a major clan. That should reduce the chances of me running into a Kekkei Genkai.

There was a reason, besides his copious amounts of studying, why Mitsuo was such a talented and dangerous ninja. It had nothing to do with his heritage, and very little to do with the Kyūbi: his analytical skills were unheralded. His analysing was incredibly accurate for one without a dōjutsu, and he was able to judge and predict a situation to an uncanny degree of accuracy.

"I've been on a mission for a while. A few months, in fact. Imagine my surprise, Yako, when I find out that my little brother, was assaulted by you. As you can imagine, I was not very happy."

He hated the word Yako. It was something that few called him, but it didn't make him hate it any less. It was a slur, somehow more wounding, at least to him, then just demon or fox. The Yako was a demon fox, just like the Kyūbi, known for being malevolent and evil. It was around during the Sage of Six Path's time and was rumoured to either be the Kyūbi, or something in close relation.

The same Yako was notably responsible for the destruction of a village- another parallel to the Kyūbi- and several thousand other rumoured crimes. It was easy to see why Mitsuo hated being called it: he already had the Fox in him and was reminded of it every single day: they didn't need to take his name away from him as well. Still, Mitsuo knew what he was talking about: way back before October, before Naruto's fifth birthday, where those two boys had attacked Naruto and Sasuke, and he'd intervened.

"They attacked my brother. And Itachi's. I did as my right said and defended them both. I did not initiate the fight."

"And they'll be punished for attacking Itachi-sama's otōto-san."

The high-praising honorific for Itachi didn't go unnoticed, almost ringing sharply out. The lack of mention of Naruto when talking about "punishment" didn't go unnoticed either. They were here for a reason, and it wasn't to have a friendly conversation.

I need to get Naruto out of here… but I can't. There's no way for me to get him out of here if they choose to fight. I'm going to have to protect him, by making them focus on me, and never stray too far away from him. Mitsuo crossed his arms, his face still neutral, carefully controlled as to not let anything slip, his back still facing Naruto.

Mitsuo was let down by his stamina. As quick as he may be, and as large as reserves as he had, he couldn't exceed his body's strength. It was something he was going to grow into, and while Naruto was light enough for Mitsuo carry him, and Mitsuo being fairly quick, they'd easily be caught up to at this point. He could flee for the village and hope someone would help- but well, they would be more likely to turn a blind eye.

"Had they not harassed Naruto or Sasuke, I would have had no reason to fight them."

Not that it was much of a fight. There were no serious wounds, and the only injury that was inflicted was that of some damaged pride. Mitsuo had done them a favour in reducing that pride in the end. It didn't look like Kasuhiro was content to accept that there had been a reason for what he did, and that didn't surprise him either. He was merely looking for an excuse to challenge Mitsuo to a fight, one that allowed him to go all out and cause serious harm.

No matter what he said, this was going to turn into a fight, and there was no talking them out of it. Beside him, his hand-coiled, grasping on the worn handle of the kunai that had served him thus far. My chances against the five of them are equal. I don't know what Jutsu they know, and I have a slight disadvantage against Kasuhiro thanks to our chakra nature.

Chakra natures didn't mean everything in a fight, but it could make just enough of a difference fight wise,

I can take on this group, it's no more difficult than the missions I've taken on before, but by carrying Naruto, I impede my agility. But by leaving him, I leave him wide open for an attack. I don't doubt that if I leave him to sit someone will target him: after all, he's a "demon", not a child. He's nothing to them. If I leave a wind clone, it might protect him a little bit, but wouldn't take much to be defeated.

But it could hold them off long enough for me to get to him. It would take a lot of my chakra though: not that I have much-left thanks to my practice of the Hiraishin. Enough to fight, certainly, and enough that I won't burn it out immediately, but enough that I must be conservative of the amount I use.

"I think you two demons need to be taught your place."

Kasuhiro grinned, leering like the cat who got the canary. He gestured forwards lazily, and his goons sprung forward, shuriken outstretched, fingers outstretched in a clumsy preparation to do a Jutsu. Mitsuo met them head-on, trying to counter them before they got to Naruto: and nothing was going to stop him from protecting his brother. He'd rather die before his brother got hurt- and that was his Nindō.

Author's Note

Thank you for all the reviews and I hope you enjoyed it!

To quickly reply to some reviews:

Guest: He did. I've not had a chance to segway it into the story yet, but with Mitsuo growing up with them for six years, and Kushina's short-temper (I seriously doubt she couldn't not get angry with some of the things that Minato got up to), Mitsuo likely remembered her phases: just perhaps not too clearly thanks to age.

Guest Two: I have no idea if you are the same guest, but I imagine Mitsuo would be very protective over his little brother considering how easily they were attacked as children. Any romance is a long way off though- after all, little Naruto is only five.

C.E.W: Mitsuo does get a birthday- at some point. It's coming! And as much as I love your interpretation of how the Massacre could occur, I have my own ideas. I might merge a few of yours in it too, but Mitsuo is going to play some part in how it will go: and, he'll certainly be around for the aftermath.

Thanks again for the reviews!

~Cait