Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own a sense of self-worth… I wish.

"Dialogue"

'Thinking'

Location:

"Kurama/Technique"

* Sound Effect *

Building A New House

Chapter 4

Naruto's Mindscape:

"Stupid Fox, Stupid Fox, Stupid Fox!" Naruto shouted as he ran through the moist corridors of the sewer that was his mind.

Finally, the excited blond came upon the large cage that held his furry prisoner. After once again taking in the sight that was the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto realized that the great beast was deep in slumber… but that didn't stop him.

"OI! STUPID FOX!" Exclaimed the boy as he rattled the bars of the cage. Noticing that the creature continued to snore, so too did Naruto continue to make noise. "Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!" The fox began to stir, but still defiantly maintained its slumber.

"HEY LOOK A GIANT TOAD!"

"WHERE!?" The fox shouted as his eyes bolted open, frantically looking over his surroundings before turning his gaze and fangs towards the small blond staring up at him with an unnaturally large grin.

"You." The fox snarled.

"Me." The boy replied, keeping his grin.

"I thought we had a deal, boy, how long has it been since last we spoke?" The disappointed fox inquired.

"Oh, it's still the same day!" Naruto cheerfully answered.

The giant fox maintained his glare at the smiling child for a few seconds before lowly chuckling to himself. This unexpected reaction caused Naruto to break his grin and look at the Nine-Tails with confusion.

"It's my fault for thinking a human, even a brat, could keep their word… I'm going back to bed." As the fox started to turn his back to the boy, Naruto quickly spoke up.

"Wait! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean too! It's just well… I found out I have a family and you're my friend so-"

The fox was fast to cut him off, turning back to face the blond, "Friend? Oh no, no, no, nooooooooo! We ain't doing that, why would you even think that?"

"You saved my life!" Naruto answered.

"I saved my life! Saving your life was just an unfortunate cost!" The fox snapped back before continuing, "If you die, I die. Sure, I'd reform, but who knows how long that would take? There are still many, MANY people I have to crush and YOU will not deprive me of such joy!" The fox declared.

Naruto began rubbing the back of his head, not sure of the right way to respond to all that the fox had just said… but that didn't stop him.

"It's wrong to want to hurt people!"

"But it was right to hurt ME?"

Taken aback at the fox's question, Naruto replied with one of his own, "Who hurt you?"

"YOU, your kind, ALL OF YOUR KIND!" The fox roared. "Look at me!" The Nine-Tails stretched its body, revealing its full grandeur to the boy. A mere swipe of just one of my tails can create tsunamis and flatten mountains, yet here I am, locked in a cage within the gut of some snot-nosed brat!"

Naruto had kept eye contact with the Nine-Tails throughout its testimony and when the fox had finished, the young boy had come to a realization.

"Your eyes… they're the same as mine!" Naruto proclaimed.

"How dare you?" The fox grumbled, staring daggers into the blonde's blue eyes.

"You're angry, sad, lonely, YOU'RE JUST LIKE ME!"

A very long and very uncomfortable silence passed between the two for what felt like an eternity. The boy and the fox continued their staring contest until finally the Nine-Tails spoke.

"In all my years of torment at the hands of humanity, that was by far the most heinous insult I have ever experienced. Thanks, you can leave now."

"Listen, I was sad, angry and lonely too, but when I found out about my family-"

"So what if that blond toad humping bastard was your father? He died just the same as any other human!"

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing this latest bit of news concerning his genealogy.

"Eh? The… Fourth… Hokage… WAS MY DAD!?" Naruto shouted.

"You just said you knew who your family was!" The fox shouted back.

"It makes sense! He's smart and I'm smart! He's cool and I'm cool! He's awesome and I'm awesome!" The blond cheerfully boasted.

"Who the hell's been telling you you're all those things!?" The fox demanded.

Shaking his head and bowing before the caged Nine-Tails, Naruto apologized, "Sorry Sad Fox, I have to get back to my world!"

"You're still in your world! AND I'M NOT SAD!" The fox protested.

"I promise, I'll be back!"

"I DON'T WANT YOU BACK!"

Clapping his hands, the blond youngster shouted, "NARUTO AWAKE!" And with that, he disappeared from his mindscape, leaving the fox alone.

"You don't have to make noise to leave, you can just leave!"

Realizing that the boy couldn't hear him anymore, the great fox grumbled before resuming his nap.

Konoha (Hokage's Office):

All the men present in the room gazed at the unconscious Naruto, before the now gender identified redhead spoke up.

"Knocked out after only one punch? What a pussy!"

After taking a good look at the blonde's face, Jiraiya turned to Hiruzen and asked his former teacher, "Is he the boy?"

"Indeed he is." Responded the Third Hokage. "I was actually intending to send for you after today's events."

The toad Sage raised an eyebrow and was about to speak, but before he could inquire, Hiruzen was quick to ask a question of his own.

"Where did you find this… passionate youth?"

Once again, before Jiraiya could speak, he was interrupted, this time by the fiery redhead in question.

"The name's Tayuya, you old fart! And it's none of your damn business where the fuck I came from!" The girl spat.

All men, with the exception of the unconscious and still unmoved Naruto, gaped at the young lady's use of such colourful language towards their respected and occasionally feared leader.

The educator/disciplinarian raged in Iruka and he was quick to act towards the young girl's rude introduction.

"TAYUYA! THAT'S NOT HOW YOU SPEAK TO THE HOKAGE! IN FACT, THAT'S NOT HOW YOU SHOULD SPEAK AT ALL!" The now irrationally engorged head of the instructor declared.

Tayuya stared into the eyes of Iruka, leading the teacher to believe his words had sunken in, until she snorted and asked, "Nice ponytail, something for your boyfriend to grab when you're riding his boloney pony?"

The teacher's big head had now shrunken back to its original size, with Iruka's mouth left hanging open, unable to respond. Kakashi kept his lone eye on the girl as he tried his hand at speaking to her.

"Hey, hey, such language, my first impression of you is-" But before the silver-haired scarecrow could finish, Tayuya was fast on the offensive.

"Keep your impressions to yourself, you perverted one-eyed weasel! I saw you reading that dirty old toad fucker's book, if you come anywhere near me, so help me Kami, I'll jam my foot so far up your corn ho-" The angry, angry girl was interrupted when Jiraiya appeared in front of her, immediately slapping a small seal on her forehead, instantly putting the redhead to sleep.

Jiraiya shared a look with the three stunned men in the room, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as he spoke, "So yeah, that's Tayuya… what do you think?"

Iruka was quick to answer, looking at his village leader, "I think she'd be a great student, for the civilian school system."

"I'm afraid becoming a kunoichi may be the only path left open to her." Jiraiya informed the teacher.

"Naruto's one thing, but with an attitude like that, how could she even hope to have the discipline it takes to be a ninja!?" Iruka hotly questioned.

"She's already been blooded." The Toad Sage solemnly answered.

Iruka, was taken aback by this, "But, she's no older than Naruto!" The stunned educator stated.

Jiraiya locked eyes with Hiruzen as he vaguely informed his teacher, "I found one of his bases."

'It would appear that I'm to be reminded of all my failures this day.' Hiruzen bitterly thought to himself.

Before Iruka could inquire what the man meant, Hiruzen requested, "Iruka, please take young Tayuya here to the academy and begin preparations for her enrollment."

"But Lord Third-"

"Inform the Headmaster and other teachers of her situation." Hiruzen cut the pleading man off.

"As you wish Lord Third, but about Naruto-"

"The poor boy now knows the truth about himself, Iruka. The best we can do now is try to put him on the right path and hope he still finds Konoha to be his home at the end of it. Can I count on your assistance in this task?" The aged leader asked.

"Of course Lord Third! But actually, I was going to ask if you'd be opposed to me giving Naruto remedial classes in addition to my regular lessons?" The teacher inquired with a warm smile.

Hiruzen returned the smile with one of his own, "Of course, Iruka! You have my full support in filling the boy's head with things other than mischief and ramen!" The old man chuckled.

"Hmm, some on the Civilian Council might see that as giving one student preferential treatment over the others." Kakashi flatly stated.

"You're right Kakashi, the Civilian Council would be most displeased…"

The room was filled with a tense silence, before the four men all broke out into laughter.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Hiruzen spoke, "As much as I value the input of shopkeepers and bartenders in matters concerning the shinobi, or aspiring shinobi of this village, I think it's safe to say, I'm right on this."

Iruka proceeded to lift the sleeping Tayuya onto his shoulder and made his way to the door, but Jiraiya stopped him before he could leave.

"She should be asleep for the next couple of hours, but if she wakes up before then, which she shouldn't, considering that seal is strong enough to put down a charging Tsunade, give her this." Jiraiya said before tossing a small metal rod at the instructor, who caught with his free hand.

"A… flute?" Iruka asked.

"I was surprised too, at first I thought she only used her mouth to swear, spit and bite. She's actually quite the musical prodigy." Jiraiya answered before continuing, "Aside from a single kunai, it was the only other possession she had when I found her."

Iruka turned his head towards the foulmouthed girl hanging over his shoulder then towards the unconscious Naruto, whom nobody had still moved from his spot on the floor, unable to hide his sad expression the teacher thought, 'Children shouldn't have to live like this.' Before he bowed towards his leader and left the room.

Jiraiya moved towards Naruto's side and crouched down to lift up the boy's shirt with one hand, while placing the other on the blonde's now exposed stomach. Applying some chakra, the seal containing the Nine-Tails was revealed and upon thorough inspection, the Toad Sage let out a sigh of relief.

"It looks like the seal is still as strong as the day Minato used it, I can't find any signs of tampering and the fact that the village is still standing is also a good sign!" Jiraiya said with confidence, before asking his former teacher, "So, what happened, how much does he know?"

"That sizeable crater in front of the monument was a result of some of the fox's power escaping the seal. Naruto now knows what he carries, his clan and Uzushiogakure." Hiruzen answered.

"What about his parents?" The Toad Sage inquired.

"Despite all that's happened, I'd still like to keep that secret until I know he can properly take care of himself."

"Is that really the best course of action to take at this point? His trust in this village, in you, is probably already on the tipping point." Kakashi queried.

"Being a Jinchuriki already makes Naruto enough of a target, luckily the other villages have no real wish to disturb the balance of power to such an extent, however, being the son of Minato Namikaze, the same Minato Namikaze whose name still strikes fear into the hearts of most Iwa shinobi, might be the straw that breaks Onoki's back." Hiruzen reasoned.

Jiraiya couldn't help but smile when looking at the sleeping face of his student's legacy. "He looks just like him… with the exception of the whiskers of course." The Toad Sage said with sad eyes.

"He takes more after his mother in terms of personality though." Hiruzen chuckled.

Jiraiya could only shudder at the thought of another Kushina Uzumaki running around the village. "Prankster huh?"

"It's how all this started."

The three men shared a chuckle, before Hiruzen continued, "Yes, I think the boy's heard everything he needs to for now, let's-"

"THE FOURTH HOKAGE WAS MY DAD!?" Naruto shouted as he shot back up on his feet, causing the others present to jump in shock.

'Oh hell!' Hiruzen thought to himself, biting down hard on the mouthpiece of his pipe.

Naruto made eye contact with each man in the room, before fixing his gaze on Hiruzen.

"You were going to tell me, weren't you, Old Man?" The blond asked while biting his lip, hoping that the person he saw as his grandfather would continue his honest streak.

Without missing a beat, Hiruzen proudly proclaimed, "Of course I was, my dear boy!" 'Just not so bloody soon!' The "too old for this shit" leader thought as he continued to chew through his beloved pipe.

Despite the grave realization that Naruto now held all the pieces to his potential downfall, those in the room couldn't help but return a smile at the one seemingly glued to the blond youngster's face.

Easing the vice like grip his jaws had on his pipe, Hiruzen reached into his drawer and pulled out a photo, handing it to Naruto.

Inspecting it, the boy saw the Fourth Hokage standing next to a smiling woman holding the peace sign with one of her hands, while the other was placed on her swollen stomach.

"Is-is this fat pretty lady my mom!?" Naruto cheerfully asked, before quickly cradling his head. "OW!"

"Naruto, are you alright, my boy!?" Hiruzen asked with growing levels of concern.

"Y-yeah, for some reason, it felt like someone just screamed in my head." The boy responded while cleaning his ear with a finger.

"The fox?" Jiraiya asked.

"No, angrier." Naruto answered.

The three men all shared a collective, "Hmm," before Hiruzen lectured, "You should never call a woman or Akimichi fat, Naruto." Seeing the boy nod, Hiruzen continued, "This woman was Kushina Uzumaki, at the time of this photo, she was well into her pregnancy with you."

Naruto kept his gaze on the photo of his newly discovered parents before asking, "I know about the Fourth, but how did she… die?"

There was a long silence before anyone dared to answer the young blonde's question. Finally, Hiruzen gathered up all his resolve and began to inform Naruto of the events of that night, of the risks involved with a female Jinchuriki giving birth.

Naruto's grip on the photo tightened as tears began to fall from the corners of his eyes. He started to choke out, "So, because of me… because of me it got out, because of me they died, because of me all those people died!" The boy lost what little bravado he had and the tears began to pour out with a fury. "I really am a monster!"

"ENOUGH!" Hiruzen shouted, stunning Naruto enough to cease his crying. Hiruzen got up from his seat and proceeded to wrap the seven-year-old in a tight embrace. With his voice taking a softer tone, he continued, "Your parents knew the risks, but they were both brilliant seal masters and first rate ninja, the entire village believed without a doubt that the two could handle anything the Fox threw at them."

Naruto shifted his head to look into the eyes of his grandfather figure, holding back a sob, he asked, "So then, what happened?"

Hiruzen sighed and shook his head, "I honestly don't know, sometimes no matter how prepared you might think you are, life can still find a way of catching you off guard, all of us here can attest to that fact."

Looking at Jiraiya and Kakashi and seeing them both nod with mournful expressions of their own, Naruto returned his gaze to the Third Hokage.

"Still if it wasn't for me-"

"You can't know that!" Hiruzen quickly cut the blond off. "None of us truly knows what happened to cause that night, but what we do know, is that without you, Naruto Uzumaki, without your sacrifice, Konoha would have been nothing but ash! You are a hero, my boy! That is fact!"

Releasing the boy from his embrace, Hiruzen bent down to look Naruto directly in the eyes, "I only ask that you continue to protect this village, even though we don't deserve you, you're the hero we need, Naruto." The village leader stated.

"I-I will!" Naruto shouted with strong determination.

"Good! I also ask that you keep everything we discussed here today a secret, okay? After all, the best ninja are experts at protecting information! In some cases, keeping secrets helps keep people safe, you want you to keep people safe don't you?" Hiruzen asked with the warmest/most manipulative smile he could form.

"It's what I was born to do! BELIEVE IT!" The young blonde proudly shouted.

"Excellent, your closer to wearing my hat than I thought!" Hiruzen winked as he ruffled the boy's golden spikes, much to the blonde's delight. "Now, I need you to wait outside my office for a little while, I need to discuss a few things with my two subordinates here, can you do that for me?" The old man requested with a smile containing the power of a thousand loving grandfathers.

"You got it, gramps!" The boy saluted before running outside the office, with Hiruzen quickly closing the door and locking it tight.

The Third Hokage turned his gaze to the two remaining people in his office. Gone was the friendly smile shared between a grandfather and grandson, in its place was the stern visage of a leader who has survived countless battles and seen some real serious shit. "That brave boy can no longer be left alone, he will need constant supervision that goes beyond a mere Anbu detail."

"What did you have in mind, Sensei?" Jiraiya asked.

"A guardian, someone whom he can depend on 24/7." Hiruzen stated.

Growing nervous, Jiraiya was quick to try and deflect this potential assignment, "Sensei, I do want to become a part of the boy's life, but with my spy network I can't just drop everyth-"

"Relax Jiraiya." Hiruzen said, calming his still childish student before continuing, "I already have the perfect man for the job."

"Hmm, Iruka might be stretched a bit thin, but I'll try to make sure Naruto doesn't give him too much trouble." Kakashi said, returning to his little book of carnal delights.

"Spoken like a true guardian! As of this moment, Kakashi Hatake, you are retired from Anbu and are barred from taking any further missions given your new and long lasting assignment bearing an S-Rank!"

"Hmm… wait what?" Kakashi looked up with a wide eye.

"From now on, you are to see to it that Naruto grows up in a safe and nurturing environment until he graduates from the academy with the rank of Genin. You are free to use any means necessary to ensure that the goal of this mission is completed. Until proper living accommodations are arranged, you will be moving into the boy's apartment. You will also be given a weekly stipend to take care of both Naruto's and your own needs, the amount of said stipend will be determined at a later date. Any questions, Jounin Hatake?"

"Hey, hey, surely there's someone better suited for this mission? I mean, there are more important tasks that I could be doing, right?" Kakashi said, trying to maintain his nonchalant façade, despite the surging storm of anxiety building within him.

"More important than ensuring the Fourth Hokage, your Sensei's legacy, who also happens to be the Jinchuriki of the strongest Tailed-Beast in existence is raised to care for and protect this village as well as all those that live within it? No, Kakashi, nothing's more important and there's no one better suited." Hiruzen stated, remaining adamant in his decision.

"I can't," Kakashi admitted, breaking his walls down as he continued to plead his case, "bad things happen to those I start to care about, Naruto's better off if I keep my distance and protect him from the shadows like usual."

"Kakashi," Hiruzen started, using the same tone of voice he used to calm Naruto down, "I understand your concerns, what you've had to go through from a young age is more than any one man can be expected to deal with, but we're at the point of no return here and we can no longer afford to wait for our guilt to pass."

Realizing that he was going to lose this battle regardless of what he could say, Kakashi sighed in defeat before formally addressing his leader, "I accept this mission, Lord Hokage!"

"Excellent! I'll do everything in my power to make sure your mission goes as smoothly as possible!" Hiruzen said with a warm grin as he firmly patted the silver-haired Jounin on the shoulder. "Besides, the boy grows on you in a matter of days!"

Kakashi could only nod, and then started to ask his leader, "If there's nothing more you require of me Lord Hokage, permission to be dismiss-"

"Just one moment there, Kakashi!" Jiraiya interrupted, "Speaking of taking in troubled youths, there's the matter of sweet little Tayuya!"

Hiruzen looked towards his student as Kakashi began to feel another knot starting to form in his stomach.

"Ah yes, the newly acquired Uzumaki, please Jiraiya, tell us how you found each other." Hiruzen asked, already a scowl forming on his face knowing that his other student had played a part in it.

"It was in the Land of Rice Fields, one of my toads had come across what appeared to be an entrance to some underground base. When I personally went to check it out," Jiraiya paused, letting out a small sigh as he resumed, "I found what looked like some sort of arena, full of children, not one older than Naruto… dead, all dead with the exception of one little girl, covered in blood and dirt, holding a kunai defensively in one hand and the left side of her neck with the other all while mumbling, 'Failure' to herself repeatedly."

"I should have killed him." Muttered Hiruzen.

"I gave them as best a burial as I could, the other children, before taking Tayuya away from that hell hole." Jiraiya breathed out.

"How did you know it was Orochimaru?" Kakashi chimed in.

"Aside from the fact that multiple children were involved, she was trying to hold back the pain from the bite marks in her neck. I checked, she has a curse mark similar to the one Anko Mitarashi has." Jiraiya answered.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen looked to his student expectantly.

"I've sealed it to the best of my ability, it won't be activating anytime soon." Jiraiya responded to his Sensei's thoughts. "It took her a few nights to return to what you guys saw earlier, those sedative seals helped her get through the worst of it."

"Is it still a good idea to let her attend the Academy? Orochimaru isn't exactly known for leaving his survivors in the best state of mind." Kakashi asked his leader.

"As I said, being a kunoichi is really the only path she can follow now." Jiraiya answered for his old teacher. "Besides, she told me herself, 'I want to get strong enough so that I can make that snake bastard shit out his own teeth!'" The Toad Sage proudly recited.

"I thought as much," Hiruzen concurred, "but I'll still have Inoichi take a look at her, just to be on the safe side." Seeing Jiraiya nod his consent, Hiruzen continued, "She'll need constant supervision as well-"

"I'll have my hands full enough with Naruto as is." Kakashi quickly interjected.

"Relax Kakashi, I'm not that cruel." Hiruzen reassured his grandson's new babysitter. "I'll probably need to pull another Anbu from active duty."

"Why not let Anko watch her, the two already have a few things in common?" Kakashi asked.

"Would you want Anko around small children?" Hiruzen shot back.

"Point taken." Kakashi conceded.

"I'll also have her take a blood test, just to confirm she really is an Uzumaki."

"I mean, she's got the hair, she's got the attitude, and she told me her grandparents came from the 'Land of Fucking Whirly Tides!'" Jiraiya chirped.

"You can never be too careful with clan related issues." Hiruzen dryly stated, "Remember that drunkard who thought he could pull a fast one over the Hyuugas by wearing those contact lenses?"

"Hey, hey, the Tale of Noodle Limbs has become a staple in the legends of Konoha." Kakashi answered with a fond look in his eye.

"Anyways, I'll find Tayuya a suitable sitter, but until then, I suppose we better inform young Naruto of his new keeper."

"I suppose so." Kakashi sighed.

When Naruto was ushered back into the office and learned about his new roommate, to call him ecstatic would be an understatement.

"You're living with me now!? What do you like to eat!? I like ramen, do you like ramen!? Who doesn't like ramen!? I need to get more ramen! Hey, hey, you're a shinobi right!? Are you going to train me!? Do I get a mask!? I only have one bed, but I can take the couch! I'm cool like that! I like to garden, what do you like to do!? When I become Hokage, will I get to order you around!? I'd be a cool boss, because I'm coo-"

"Yeah that's great kid!" Jiraiya intervened much to Kakashi's relief, "What say we hash all this out over dinner, we can talk about cool shinobi stuff and all that, know any good ramen places?"

"DO I!?" With that, the boy grabbed Kakashi and Jiraiya's arms, pulling them out of the Third Hokage's office.

The silver-haired Jounin managed to give Hiruzen one last look that said, 'You'll get yours, old man.' before he was yanked out of site.

Hiruzen could only chuckle, 'Sorry Kakashi, sometimes you just can't run from what life throws at you!'

"Lord Third, the Village Elders are here to see you." Hiruzen's secretary announced, cutting the old leader's chuckling short.

'Aw shit!'"Send them in, please." Hiruzen calmly ordered. He was quick to restock his pipe with more tobacco, before greeting his three biggest headaches.

END.

AN: My fourth and longest chapter. Sorry, I'm just trying to get through the setup with as much speed as I can, before diving into the moist meat of this story. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you at the next chapter! Happy Easter!

Sincerely, Big Chuggs