A/N: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

"It is so nice that you made time to meet me."

Kenji took a seat on the chair and leaned his body forward as the Principal of the Academy looked at him with weary eyes. From behind the door, he could hear the secretary whimpering from the pain. She wouldn't be whimpering like that if she had done what he asked and just allowed him to meet the Principal.

He rubbed his knuckles, felt the throbbing sensation behind it, and stared at the Principal. The man had his eyes fixed on his cheeks, no doubt taking in the long scar that was slashed through his cheek. Kenji exhaled, ribs moving upwards as his eyes remained locked on the nervous man sitting before him.

"You assaulted my secretary," the man said, gulping down a lump.

"I simply told your secretary that I wanted to meet you," Kenji offered a thin smile to the man and allowed the cruel amusement to leak out of his voice. "It isn't my fault that your secretary doesn't understand the importance of compiling with my demands."

If the woman had done what he requested the first time then he wouldn't have laid a finger on her, but she gave him a haughty look before telling him that the Principal couldn't see him. That little girl behaved like she was in a higher position than him, which was laughable because he was the one from the clan that offered the funds to the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara when they made this village.

The Principal cleared his throat and let out a shaky breath. "Why did you demand to see me?"

'She asks Naruto if her Uncle told her that her parents abandoned her.'

Despite the length of time that eclipsed since his niece's friend informed him about her fight, his blood still boiled with fury. How could someone raise their child to say such hurtful words? How could a school just allow someone to say such a shitty thing to a child? It was despicable and god did he want to smash his fist against that child's parents.

"I was informed by my niece's friend that you had a teacher who allowed my niece to be bullied," Kenji commented lightly. He pulled out a kunai from his pocket and twirled it around as the man stared at him with wide eyes. "You know I never knew that it is okay for students to bully orphans."

With a frown playing on his lips, the Principal stared at him for the longest time with eyes filled with horror. It was easy to see the horror but Kenji knew from the moment that the man knew about his niece, then he would sing a different tune. Everything was different when it came to his niece because those bastards couldn't see passed those whisker marks on his relative's cheeks.

"What?" The man jerked his head and he sounded almost shock at his words. "Who is your niece? And who is the kid that insulted your niece? I'll have one of the teachers bring in the student."

He wanted to keep Naruto's name out of this but there was no way that he could keep her secret. They were going to find out eventually but he was going to make sure that the Principal understand the importance of keeping Naruto happy. The importance of treating every child fairly because how could they ever be certain that the child wouldn't bully more orphans.

No matter how much he wanted to get the parents in, he needed to teach this man the importance of keeping things fairely.

"Ami is the little shit that bullied my niece," Kenji replied, keeping his tone calm despite the temper boiling up in his blood. "And my niece is Uzumaki Naruto."

The man blinked and blinked before letting out a rather loud snort. "I think everyone in the village would know if that child has an Uncle."

Those words were colored with so much hate and coldness that it took all of his willpower not to smash his fist against the man's face. I can't make this problem even worse for her. She was going to be here for a maximum of a month and he wanted her last days in this place to be decent, to be not completely horrible and being his usual self would ruin everything for that poor kid.

"Well she has an Uncle now," Kenji hissed, leaning his whole body forward until he loomed over the man. For the first time in days, he allowed his chakra to pulse out until it could overwhelm him. "And I'm not a happy man right now, so choose your next words wisely."

From the way that the man became pale and sweated like there was no tomorrow, he knew his chakra and killer intention was overwhelming the man. Pansy. This was barely strong enough to overwhelm anyone but leave it to this weakling to get queasy from his chakra. If he wasn't trying to control himself then this man would have yanked this kunai and stilted his throat at this very moment.

"L-Look are you even sure that Naruto is the one being bullied?" the man asked, yanking his collar. His eyes couldn't meet his own and Kenji took a deep breath before forcing himself to give a smile at the flushed, nervous man. "Y-Your niece is more likely to bully a student then for someone to bully her."

Kenji's eyebrows twitched and without a second thought, he smashed his hand against the wooden table. He watched with irritated eyes as the table split in half, smashing against the floor and the Principal gulped before inching away from him. There should have been some amusement in him because the man looked like a scared little puppy.

But, the irritation overwhelmed him more than the amusement and it was enough for him to grab the man by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Why? Because she decided to punch that little shit when said little shit hasn't been taught by this Academy," Kenji growled, tightening his grip around the man. The man looked almost offended and that was wrong because there were a lot of things wrong with what he allowed a student to say to a person without anyone to protect them. "You should be teaching some form of manners in your students."

The man narrowed his eyes at him and scrambled back onto his feet.

"What are you trying to imply?" the man demanded. The anger inside of his eyes died away as soon as he allowed the rage inside of him to leak out in his eyes. He allowed himself to smile cruelly when the Principal whimpered in fear. It was good but not good enough for him. Oh, how he wanted to watch the man piss himself.

He was going to make certain facts clear as civil as he could.

"I'm implying that you allowed a child to believe bullying an orphan is acceptable," Kenji stated as calm as his boiling temper would allow him to be. "Imagine what will happen if you allowed a child to continue on this path, passing this down to the future generation…but to make this more clear, tell me do you have any kids?"

The man blinked. "I have a young son but he isn't old enough for the Academy."

Kenji nodded and took several deep breaths to calm himself down. Tearful violet eyes came into his mind and for a brief moment, he found himself as a 13-year-old boy again. Rain swooshed against his ears and he could see little Kushina weeping like there was no tomorrow. She had been 6 when she lost her parents and that was the only time he didn't tease her for being such a crybaby.

"Imagine if you died before he can even remember you," Kenji declared, clasping his hands together and stared at the man. The Principal didn't say anything but he looked almost thoughtful as if he was being almost considerate to his words. "Your partner is dead too in this scenario and no one is willing to tell your son, your name or your wife's name. Then a little child comes and tell your son that you abandoned him."

The Principal made no comment and Kenji waited for the man to either tell him that the situation was different from the situation with Naruto. However, the man looked like he was almost contemplating his words and it reminded Kenji of one main fact. A fact that he did not want to think about and that was the fact that people could be reasonable at times.

That he should always try to be reasonable at times, even if thrashing someone made his blood boil.

"Look I see your point but…"

"But what? Naruto has to be different because of the Kyuubi?" he growled and the man flinched. The Principal gazed at him with almost conflicted eyes but Kenji could see the lingering coldness in his eyes. I need to try and be reasonable before I resort for violence. "Because you don't want to learn the difference between a scroll that contains the seal and a kunai that is sealed inside the scroll.

Constrained irritation as well as weariness darkened his eyes, even as the Principal looked down at his hands as if he was trying to restrain himself. "And how do you know that she is even human? I don't know what you know sir but how do you know that your so-called niece won't lose control of that monster inside of her? She carried the beast that killed my first partner and my parents!"

Kenji thinned his lips and stared at the man for the longest time. I'm dealing with idiots and I'm not wasting my fist on an idiot. First, try and reasoned with the Principal because he certainly was not the same 23-year-old man. He was a 37-year-old man, who should be a good example to his children…especially when one child took his worst traits.

"I know your Fourth Hokage well enough to know that he wouldn't seal the Kyuubi inside of her if he didn't think that Naruto could contain the Kyuubi," he replied after once he took several deep breath. The red-haired man rubbed his jaw and leaned against his own seat. "I know because jinchuurikis are human beings that deserve some fucking respect because they are keeping that beast away from you! Now get me that little shit's parents because I'm done being patient."

For extra emphasis, he hurled the kunai at the door. It smacked right in the middle of the door and Kenji turned to the man, who stared at the door with horror. If this had been his other kunai, it would have exploded but sadly his wife confiscated those kunais as soon as they passed through the gates of Konoha.

"We are going to be safe inside these gates so give me those kunais, Kenji because god know I don't want Akane to believe that it is okay to use violence as an answer for everything!"

Unfortunately, his wife was right about Akane.

The Principal paled and clutched his stomach.

"T-Tell me the name of the kid who bullied Naruto and you can come in tomorrow to get the apology from them."

Kenji smiled thinly.

"I'm glad that we came into an understanding."

"Mikoto-san, did you clean this apartment?"

Mikoto rubbed Naruto's back and looked at Kumiko. The woman stared at her for the longest time before flickering her eyes to the sparkling table tops and kitchen counters. It was clean, really clean and that spoke volumes to her about how upset Naruto was about the whole situation. Her young goddaughter must have spent a long time trying to clean her apartment, probably hoping to forget her problems.

"It might surprise you but Naruto cleaned this apartment," Mikoto admitted, glancing at the little girl for the longest time. Her little goddaughter stared at the balcony garden with blank eyes and she knew, just knew, that Naruto was in a different headspace from them. "Whenever she gets upset, Naruto will clean the apartment and garden."

She takes very good care of those orange lilies. Even from where she sat, those vibrant orange petals called out to her. There were a little bit of water on those orange lilies, which told her that Naruto watered those plants just recently. For as long as she knew this little girl, those orange lilies meant the world to her.

It was probably because Naruto still had some vague memories of the woman that raised her.

"I'm surprised that she knows how to clean this well," Kumiko admitted with a quiet laugh. The woman curled her lips into a frown, brushed her finger against the table counter before looking back at the quiet girl sitting on the couch. There was a sense of wonder in the woman's eyes and Mikoto found herself darting her eyes at Naruto.

She knew she should trust Kenji's wife but it was difficult.

It was difficult when she witnessed what Naruto had to go through everyday.

How could she ever be certain that this foreign woman would love Naruto with all of her heart? How could she be certain that this woman would love Naruto like she was her own? But I can't take her in. No matter how much her heart longed for this sweet, little child, there were politics that made it difficult for her to raise Naruto.

The council would twist her love for Naruto for something that was darker and if they knew about her original plan of having Naruto engaged to Sasuke, then they would make things even more difficult for her goddaughter.

"When Sasuke-kun told me that Naruto lives by herself, I decided that I should teach her how to take care of herself," she admitted with a tired tone. She ran her hand through her goddaughter's hair and kept her gaze focused on Kumiko. "I wasn't allowed to take care of her so this was the best thing that I could do for her."

Those words had never tasted so bitter in her mouth until today. This was the best thing that she could do for Kushina's daughter, for Minato's daughter and that was a mockery to the bond that they shared between them. She could have done more, could have been a better godmother to this quiet girl beside her.

"You are the closest thing that Naruto has to a mother," the auburn-haired woman commented. Mikoto blinked and jerked her head as the woman made her way to the armchair that stood right beside the television. "It is pretty clear to me from the way she clung onto you when you opened the door."

It shouldn't be me in this position. It should be Kushina here, comforting her daughter after a hard day in school. If her best friend was still alive then it would be her comforting the quiet girl beside her. She would have told Naruto that she should have hit those girls even harder before storming to the Principal office to give them a piece of her mind.

If things had been different then she would have Kushina here with her, grumbling about how much she hated bullies and then her bringing Naruto over so that she could play with Sasuke.

"You know I always wanted a daughter," Mikoto admitted, patting Naruto's back. From the moment that they started this small chat, her little goddaughter had been silent to the world. It seemed like nothing was going to wake the little girl up from her little haze of despair. Once she was certain that Naruto was in the mood to go out, she should take her to Ichiraku. "But I got two sons instead."

She adored her sons, loved them with all of her being but they were different as night and day. Itachi was the heir, the prodigy of the family but it seemed like he was drifting further and further away from her, while Sasuke clung onto Fugaku. She couldn't blame her son. Her acknowledgment would never be enough for him, not when she spend her time with him.

"Daughters aren't easy either," Kumiko reassured her. "Akane and Kiko are always at each other's throats but that is what happens when you are close in age and have two different personality. It doesn't help that their teachers compares them."

That only made her smile and she looked down at the blond-haired girl. Naruto seemed to be slowly snapping out of whatever daze she was in because her eyes seemed to be beginning to color with curiosity. That was good. If the 7-year-old was beginning to become curious, then it meant that it would be a matter of time before they could take the girl to her favorite ramen.

A knock echoed throughout the living room and Mikoto jerked her head. That was odd. There was no one that would visit her goddaughter, except for the Hyuga Heiress. The little girl would always come here whenever her father seemed to have let her go from her training, and it was during those times that Mikoto saw that her goddaughter was happy.

With a quiet sigh, Mikoto made her way towards the door while Kumiko sat down beside the blond-haired girl. She opened the door and paused when she caught sight of Iruka. For a brief moment, irritation flooded her system but she swallowed it down and folded her arms against her chest. The man simply gawked at the sight of her.

"Iruka-sensei."

Iruka blinked and stumbled before clearing his throat. "Uchiha-san, what brought you here?"

If Sasuke hadn't informed her about what happened, she would have offered a cold smile and tell him that she came to visit her son's friend. But there were certain things that she could never forgive. Anyone, who hurt her children and goddaughter were people that she could never forgive. If it wasn't for the manners installed in her, she would have slammed the door on his face.

Except, her mother taught her better than to slam the door on his face.

"She came because Naruto needed a familiar face to comfort her," a cold voice replied. Mikoto blinked and turned to stare at the thinly-smiling woman, whose eyes turned cold as ice at the sight of the man. "And judging from Uchiha-san's words, I presume that you are the biased teacher who doesn't care about getting two sides of the story."

Iruka flinched and Mikoto bit her tongue. It wouldn't be good for anyone if she smirked at the man's discomfort, but what would be good was for her to coax the girl into the balcony. Just the way Kumiko stared at the man, told her that the woman must have picked up certain habits from her husband. That she knew how to intimidate people.

'You know no matter how much you look at him, that wimp will never look at you.'

A pair of knowing hazel eyes flashed before her mind and Mikoto looked back at Naruto. The blonde didn't have a smile on her face, seemed to be inching closer towards the door and she felt her heart stopped when she saw the weariness and fear in the little girl's eyes. This shouldn't be her life. She deserved better than this.

Happiness was what the kid deserved.

"E-Excuse me but who are you to say that?" Iruka asked, keeping his eyes focused on Kumiko.

"I'm her Aunt," Kumiko declared with eyes blazing with irritation. "Now you and me are going to have a talk about your actions towards my sweet, young niece and your qualifications as a teacher because I've never met such a discriminative young man."

With a quiet sigh, Mikoto turned to look at Naruto. Bright, blue eyes lit up with wonder as if she couldn't believe for one single moment that there was someone in this world that seemed ready to defend her. If only you knew how much you were loved by your parents. The little girl would be more confident if she had known just how protective her parents would have been towards her.

"Naru-chan, can you show me those new flowers that you told Sasuke-kun about?" she asked quietly as Kumiko glared at Iruka. The blonde blinked and Mikoto offered the little girl a smile. "He told me that you managed to get some red poppies."

There wasn't a smile on the little girl's face but Mikoto could see her blue eyes flashing with subtle excitement. The little girl was always more amiable whenever she brought out a subject that Naruto had some talent in. Gardening was one of the few things that could coax the girl out of the tough shell that she made for herself.

"They are going to be really pretty."

The moment Naruto flashed a little smile at her was the moment the coldness inside of her seemed to fade away.

"You better explain to me why you didn't listen to Naruto's side of the story."

Seated on Naruto's couch, Iruka stared at the stone-faced woman that claimed to be Naruto's Aunt. It was so strange to meet a relative of his student, the girl that never seemed to have any family and now there was a pretty woman sitting before her. Those green eyes carried a coldness that made his spine shiver with fear. He was uncomfortable but he had to be here.

The Third Hokage made it clear that he had to make things right with Naruto, but it seemed like it was going to be difficult with her Aunt being here.

"E-Excuse me?" Iruka cleared his throat and pulled his collar as the woman stared at him with unnerving eyes. There was something definitely odd about the woman because he couldn't feel any chakra from this woman. Nothing to indicate that she was alive but he knew she was alive because he wouldn't see her right in front of him.

The woman thinned her lips. "I want to hear what is your excuse for not listening to my niece because I'm giving you one chance to explain yourself before I tell my husband that you are the reason we've a little girl, who can't respond to anything."

For the first time since the Kyuubi attack, he saw eyes filled with cold fury being directed at him. It made him feel small, which was so odd because this woman didn't have anything that should intimidate him…but it did. It was like she thought that he was a monster and he wasn't one. He wasn't a monster but those eyes looked at him like he was one.

He could make her understand how much of a hellion that her niece was and then she wouldn't see her as some innocent kid.

"She punched a student."

The woman rubbed the sides of her head, looked at him with unimpressed eyes and Iruka stared at her. Did she not understand what he had to say? Did she believe it was acceptable for Naruto to punch that child? Ami had been sobbing like there was no tomorrow and there had been so many wounds against her while the blond-haired girl didn't seem to look one bit hurt.

"Do you believe that my niece is an unreasonable person?" Kumiko asked, leaning her whole body forward. Her eyes didn't flinch at all and if anything they seemed to grow even colder. She looked at him like he was unreasonable. "Or did you never give her a chance? Because look outside that balcony and tell me what you see."

Iruka paused and forced himself to look at the balcony. He felt himself growing uncomfortable at the sight of a smiling Naruto telling Uchiha Mikoto about the pretty flowers in the balcony. This was probably the first time he had seen her like this, the first time he had ever seen her look like a kid. A normal kid with normal, not-so-troublemaking hobbies.

It was difficult for him to see this and recalled every fight that Naruto had with the girls and boys.

"She might look innocent now but you don't know her all that well," he informed the woman. For the first time in years, it was difficult for him to say those words. How could he say it? Naruto actually looked like a normal, little girl with the way that she seemed to be chatting with Sasuke's mother with so much energy and a softness that he had never seen in her.

Green eyes didn't look one bit happy, only narrowed at him. "And you do? Because if you knew why Naruto resorted to violence then you would have taken her side over that ill-mannered child. What kind of teacher allows a child to say that my niece was abandoned by her parents? What kind of teacher are you?"

The voice rose and rose until it sliced through the air and Iruka stumbled just a little bit. Abandonment? That was why Naruto attack Ami? Because she said those hurtful words to her. He hadn't known that had been the reason that Naruto fought Ami and even though he hated what Naruto represented, he…could understand why his student chose that tactic.

No orphan liked to hear those words and maybe he should have called Ami's parents in for a little talk.

"Why didn't she just say anything?" he asked, flickering his eyes to Naruto. "Why did she fight? She could have—"

"—Told you?" Kumiko shook her head and folded her arms against her chest. She leaned her whole body forward and cold eyes met his own eyes. So much hate radiated from her eyes and Iruka stopped himself from squirming under her look. "You didn't even ask her about her own side of the story, did you? If you asked her then she would tell you but…you didn't think of being reasonable because Naruto doesn't act like a typical victim."

Iruka blinked wolfishly. "The typical victim?"

"The typical victim is someone that weeps like a huge baby," Kumiko replied with a calm tone. "Kids know how to manipulate the game but there are kids like Naruto, who decides that crying won't help them…so they turn to violence because they don't feel like they have anyone by their side."

He stared at her for the longest time before asking, "And how do you know that?"

"Because my oldest sister…was a teacher," the woman replied somberly. Iruka blinked and stared at the auburn-haired woman, who looked down at her hands before clearing her throat. "She used to try and connect with her students, looked for signs when it came to children like Naruto and despite how stubborn they can be…she knew that it would be worth it."

There was some sadness and Iruka kept his expression blank. He wanted to change the topic but there was nothing that came to his mind. Nothing that he could use to help her. Instead, he glanced at the whiskered-girl who seemed to be smiling like there was no tomorrow. Coldness crept inside of him when Mikoto looked at him with cold eyes.

"Children like Naruto?" he finally repeated.

"Naruto is a troubled kid because she went through things that no 7-year-old kid went through it," Kumiko replied, thinning her lips. "She has been alone since she was 2 and she lashes out because she is in so much pain that she doesn't know how to deal with strong emotions. People learn how to control their emotions from their families…and Naruto didn't have a family up till now. You were supposed to be neutral but you didn't give her that chance."

There were so many things that he wanted to say. He wanted to deny her words of accusation but it was rather difficult when there weren't many thoughts that came into his mind. What could he say to make her stop giving him those cold eyes? He wasn't a bad person. He did try and be neutral when it came to Naruto but…

His parents died and she represented the beast that took them away.

"You would look at Naruto differently if you knew what she…contained," he hissed and the auburn-haired woman took several deep breaths. "You look at her and you try to think that she is different but you will remember what she represents."

The words hovered between them and Iruka dropped his shoulders. The moment he said those words out loud, he felt horrible. It made him sound like he was a jerk and from the way, Kumiko stared at him…she certainly seemed to believe that he was a jerk. Maybe he was a jerk to his student but it was difficult to remain impartial with the girl.

"She never asked for it," Kumiko informed him with a tightened tone. "And if you and the other teachers can't be impartial then it is better that all of you don't become teachers because a good teacher tries to connect with their students."

He didn't say a word.

"Connecting to her is difficult."

Kumiko stared at him.

"No, you made your grief something ugly while most people would try and make their grief to something beautiful," she locked her gaze on him and Iruka just stared at her with wide eyes. "I don't know what that furry beast took away from you but your loved ones won't be proud of your actions. Because if you go outside this village then people will call you…the monster instead of that girl outside."

He wasn't a monster.

I'm not a monster.

But the way Uchiha Mikoto and Naruto's Aunt looked at him made him feel like an absolute monster.

(When Naruto left the village, he never stopped feeling like a monster).

A/N: So the next chapter should delve into Ami and the shinobi meeting as well as have some interaction between Naruto and her family. Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter and of the whole story in general.