Disclaimer- I own nothing.

"Bwuh."

"Fuhehehe~."

"Agooh!"

"That's the cutest thing I've ever heard, believe it!"

'What is he up to now?' Rei thought with a sweatdrop, watching Naruto play with their daughter. He wasn't even playing, just observing Fuyumi and delighting in every little sound she made.

Not that she could blame him. Fuyumi was just the cutest thing ever! Just as cute as Toya was at that age. But seeing Fuyumi swaddled up in her cradle, a tuft of white and red hair on her tiny head, smiling and clapping her hands gleefully at the rattle Naruto was waving around had Rei convinced that there was no cuter sight to be found.

Ever since Fuyumi was born, Naruto's behaviour had… not changed at all. He still rarely went to work, only sending one of his overpowered clones in his place. He still spent lots of time with Rei, and helped her take care of both their kids. And unlike most families, he managed to somehow give equal time and attention to Toya as well, so that their son didn't feel neglected.

If it weren't for shadow clones, Rei would have wondered how Naruto could multitask so much.

'Speaking of Toya…' Rei mused, looking around for her son. While they had taken special care to make sure Toya got all the attention he could want, the fact of the matter was that there was a new toddler in the house. Many older siblings often got jealous of the younger child as a result, and they were justified in their thoughts.

"Fuyumi-chan is so cute!"

Toya's voice from near Naruto snapped Rei out of her thoughts. She turned around, only to find the very son she was worried about. Toya was on the opposite side of Fuyumi's cradle, waving a smaller rattle of his own with a cheeky grin on his face. It was almost as if he and Naruto were having a contest about who could capture Fuyumi's interest.

"Fuyumi-chan, look here! My rattle is light blue!" Toya tried, shaking said rattle for emphasis. His was a relatively simple blue colour, with kittens drawn over it.

"Psshhh!" Naruto scoffed, "What's with that old-fashioned rattle! Mine is clearly better!" he boasted, shaking around his orange rattle. It looked very soft and had doodles of foxes all over it. "This is the Kurama-edition foxy-fluffy-plushy supreme!" Naruto shook the fancy toy, prompting it to give a cute squeak of "Hewwo! I am Kuwaaama!"

"It's 'Kurama', you monkey! Call me 'Kuwaaama' again and face my wrath!"

Naruto gained a tick mark at Kurama's expected grumpiness. 'Oi, idiot! Do you wanna be Fuyumi-chan's favourite fox or not?'

"Grrrr. I'll allow it. For now." Kurama gritted out, having lost the argument before it even began. The business of humans did not concern him. What did it matter if the smaller human got his name wrong? He would allow it, as he didn't care what Naruto's daughter called him. As long as she knew, like all others, the unrivalled majesty of the great Kyuubi.

Fuyumi, in the meanwhile, found Naruto's rattle to be more interesting. She grasped at it with her tiny fingers, making it give another Kuwaaama squeak. Upon hearing the cute voice, the toddler burst into giggles while shaking the rattle as hard as she could. Toya looked on with a pout on his face.

Naruto wanted to call the fox out on being a Tsundere but refrained from doing it. It would just send Kurama down a spiral into denial, which did no good to anyone. Naruto was happy just knowing that the big fox cared for his family, even if he had a hard time showing it.

Now, as he played with his adorable daughter, Naruto was thankful that Kurama had his back through thick and thin.

Durable Use Naruto Clone Extraordinaire #1 was not amused.

He was angry for several reasons. Firstly, because the Original left him with agency work while the lucky bugger got to spend time with Rei-chan and the kids. Secondly, because Naruto had purposely named him so that his initials spelt DUNCE#1. Worst boss ever, believe it.

But the primary and most recent cause of his annoyance- Paperwork. More accurately, paperwork with the Hero Public Safety Commission, which he was so looking forward to. They were the most stuffy, snobby, arrogant people he had ever met. Those stooges liked to act all high and mighty as if they were above the heroes they regulated. Suffice to say, Naruto almost always got into a fight with anyone stupid enough to bother him whenever he was in their HQ.

He never was one for public manners and all that complicated stuff. While generally very polite and friendly, Naruto had nothing but disdain towards the HPSC. He could see that the commission was doing precious little to tackle various issues it was supposed to, Quirk bias being one of them.

It was Naruto who had been responsible for eradicating much of the bigotry against the Quirkless. His heated speech to the crowd some years ago, along with many public statements since then, had done what the HPSC had refused to do. This was why Naruto disliked those coots with a passion. And since he was very popular and strong, there was little they could do to harm him.

"Stupid old farts…" He grumbled, signing and stamping the documents which he had to submit. Naruto then pressed a button on the intercom and called out, "Kaina, please come in for a moment."

After a few moments, the door to his cabin opened, revealing a girl with pink and violet hair. "You called, Sensei?" she asked, stepping into his office.

This was Kaina Tsutsumi aka Lady Nagant, his intern. Naruto had scouted her from her school, finding her heroic spirit to be admirable. She originally wanted to work in the HPSC, but an offer from the No.3 hero was a much sweeter deal. She was very kind and had a genuine desire to do good in the world. True heroic drive like hers was a rarity to come across nowadays, so Naruto had scouted her the first chance he could.

"Yes, Can you file these documents for me?" Naruto asked sheepishly, gesturing to the massive stack of papers. "I got bored, ya know?"

Kaina sweatdropped. "Sensei, Just because I'm your intern doesn't mean I like doing this boring work!" she grumbled, crossing her arms. Kaina wanted to be out there fighting villains, not waste time doing pointless paperwork! She was much like Naruto in that regard.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, which made Kaina's face pale. "Oho? Do I hear someone asking for more remedial training?" he closed his eyes and smiled brightly, imitating Kakashi-sensei.

"N-no!" Kaina blurted out, immediately regretting her words. "Paperwork is important! I will do it with utmost diligence!" She saluted him robotically, picked up the documents and disappeared as fast as she could. She didn't need more training at all! Sensei's existing routine was diabolical as it was, best not to push her luck.

Seeing his intern bolt out of his office, DUNCE#1 gained a soft smile on his face. "Heh. She's a good kid; she'll become a great hero in the future. I'll make sure of it." Naruto then set about doing the remainder of his work, which was mainly bragging to All Might that Naruto got the better intern.

While he had no problem with Nighteye, Naruto felt the kid was rather serious for his age. And Nighteye himself was somewhat wary around Naruto because apparently Naruto's 'fate wasn't set in stone', or some jargon he didn't understand.

"Hmm, maybe a nice old prank would loosen him up?"

Back at home, the real Naruto was washing the dishes along with Rei. Since it was night, the kids were asleep, and they were cleaning up after dinner. Rei had cooked a delicious fish curry, which Naruto had eaten four bowlfuls of. It wasn't his fault that his wife made such tasty food!

"As good as Ramen…" Naruto mumbled, unaware that he was thinking out loud.

"What was that?" Rei asked, scrubbing a bowl in the sink.

"Huh? Wha?" Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, almost dropping the plate he was washing.

Rei shook her head fondly. He was the best ninja in the world, and he was still so clumsy. "I asked what you were mumbling to yourself?"

"Nothing special," Naruto shrugged, "Just that today's curry was almost as good as ramen!" he then looked to the heavens, wishing for a ramen lottery.

"You say that about everything I cook, Naruto," Rei mumbled, keeping her bowl to dry and taking the next one.

"Because it's true, ya know!" Naruto argued, but Rei didn't look convinced. "Seriously!"

"Everything I cook can't be as good as ramen, Naruto. What would be special about ramen then?"

"It's good because you make it…"

Rei looked at him, only to find him staring out the window. But this time, he wasn't in happy ramen land, she could tell. He seemed reflective, as if he was mulling over something. So, Rei set down the bowl and went next to him. "What do you mean?"

Naruto wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulder and brought her closer to him. She was used to his gestures, so she just eased into it. "It's not the food itself that matters, Rei-chan. I can buy ramen anywhere. It's who makes it that matters." When Rei still seemed confused, Naruto went on. "I can count all the people who have ever cooked for me on one hand."

Rei's eyes widened in realization, but Naruto wasn't done. "The Ichirakus, Ero-sennin, Hinata, Sakura-chan and you. That's it." Naruto smiled sadly, still staring out the window. "There was the one time when Yamato-taichou grew an apple for me, but you get my point."

"The food you cook for me, with such love and care, will always be the most delicious to me, believe it. No matter what the dish is."

After hearing his reasoning, Rei was speechless and settled for simply comforting him by giving him a warm hug. She smiled when his arms enveloped her waist, snuggling deeper into his embrace. Still, she felt so bad for his childhood. He had been through so much, but he still managed to be the most loving and caring person she had met. Even though Naruto had moved on from his childhood, Rei was amazed at his determination.

"I love you." She said bluntly. There was no reason to be shy or mince words. It was the truth, so she said it.

"E-eh?" Naruto looked at her, a slight tint of pink on his cheeks. "Where'd this come from?" When Rei sprung such proclamations of love on him, Naruto stood no chance at all.

Rei saw his expression and knew that she had struck gold. "Oh? Are you blushing? Could it be that Mr. Romantic can't handle his wife telling him that she loves him?"

"O-Oi!" Naruto withdrew from the embrace and pointed a finger at her. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" Rei giggled, "Stop saying that I looooovvvveee you?" she was enjoying this a lot. Usually, Naruto was the one teasing her until she melted into a puddle, and now she was returning the favour.

"Uuuuuu…" Naruto covered his face with his palms, hoping that this teasing would end soon.

"I love my darling husband so much!" Rei egged him on, delighting in how cute he looked when blushing. She also told him that, which added more to said blushing.

"Pathetic." Kurama piped in, though he sounded strangely motivated.

"What now, stupid fox! Are ya gonna tell me what an embarrassment I am?" Naruto had expected another crude dismissal, but none came from the fox.

"You are the Hero of the Shinobi World! My father's successor! Are you going to lose here?" Kurama bellowed, which made Naruto gain some of his fire back. "Stand tall and fight! UZUMAKI NARUTO!" Kurama was speaking with the same intensity as he did against Madara, which was a little weird, to be honest.

"Ya know what, you're right! I'm not going to let this get me down, believe it!" Naruto declared vehemently. If this was a competition about who was more romantic, there was no way he could lose. He was the number one unpredictable Ninja, believe it!

"I love you more!"

Kurama faceplanted within Naruto's mind, all signs of bravado washed away. "This is the best you can come up with? Can you do anything but fight, you musclehead?"

"Wait for it, ya know!"

And truly enough, Naruto's extremely plain retort had worked wonders.

Rei blushed. "N-no, I love you more!" She stomped her foot in the ground, pouting at him. Rei didn't understand how a simple proclamation of love could have this effect on her, but it did. Love worked in mysterious ways.

After hearing Rei's reply, Naruto gained a determined glint in his eyes. She didn't know who she was messing with, and he was going to show her.

Toya was thirsty.

He had played with Fuyumi-chan for hours until they both were tired and went to bed. Toya wanted to play some more, but Mom told him to sleep. And when Mom told you something, you listened.

Even Dad was scared of Mom.

So, when he woke up wanting water, he went downstairs into the kitchen to get some. Maybe he could sneak a couple of cookies if there was no one there? That was actually the real reason he came all the way to the kitchen, as his room already had a water bottle. The cookies were good, so Toya liked cookies.

He was not prepared to find both his parents in the kitchen, washing the dishes. Toya decided to wait till they left to eat some cookies- drink water!- and go back to bed.

"I love you more!"

"No, I love you more!"

"I love you to the moon and back!"

"I love you more than Ramen!"

Toya groaned. 'Not this again!' While it looked like his parents were fighting, with their foreheads touching and them glaring at each other, Toya knew better. It was simply their competition to see who loved the other more. It was so common that Toya did not react to the incident, long since used to it.

What he needed to do, however, was escape. If either one of his parents saw him, Toya would be dragged into the fight as a 'judge' to decide the winner. He loved both Mom and Dad the same, so he always said so, which resulted in them forgetting their fight and squealing at how cute their son was.

While he usually enjoyed the attention, Toya was sleepy, thirsty and wanted cookies.

'I can eat cookies tomorrow. I have to sneak out first.'

With that thought in his small mind, Toya vanished into the night, never to be seen… until breakfast the next day.

In an unassuming alleyway in Musutafu, All for One plotted to further his agenda. He was free to run his network from here, hidden in the shadows. This warehouse was bought under layers upon layers of shell companies, each of which were owned by his subordinates. No one had the resources to get to the root of his deceit because no one suspected a thing.

All for One was alone in the hideout, save for a few henchmen to guard him, not that he needed it. Dr. Kyudai was away in his lab, working on the latest experiment to have tickled his fancy. Gigantomachia was sleeping in hiding, ready to answer should he be summoned. But they were the last things on his mind. Only one thing occupied Shigaraki's mind, much like it always had.

One For All. His weak little brother's Quirk, the only one he hadn't managed to steal. He had killed the last wielder himself, a woman named Shimura. However, she had managed to pass on the Quirk and her knowledge to her successor before she died. That vermin, All Might.

Shigaraki sneered in disgust. How he loathed that man. Him and his insufferable smile, never breaking in the face of adversity. Even when the two had faced last, All Might had shown no fear. All for One sometimes wondered; which of them would win in a fight?

'It is of no matter,' He schemed, 'I will have One for All for myself. I can use All Might's friends, his teacher or even his sidekick for my ends.' A wicked grin bloomed on his face, as a plan formed in his mind. 'Oh yes, this will do just fine. If it all goes well, I will have that which has eluded my sight for years. One for All, Once and For All…'

THUNK

'What was that?' All for One looked around to find the source of the sound, only to see a peculiar knife embedded in his desk. However, he had no time to do much other than wonder where the blade had come from.

"Aargh!" A flash of orange light burst through the room, temporarily blinding Shigaraki. Not caught off guard for too long, he immediately activated his Sonar Quirk. If he couldn't see his assailant, he would sense them out. He extended his senses and found the attacker in an instant. From the way his sound reflected, the attacker was a well-built, tall male human. Even though Shigaraki had managed to sense the attacker, there was just one problem.

'He's right behind me!' All for one turned around in an instant, his hand blurring forward to steal the Quirk of whoever had attacked him. Only for his hand to be caught mid-air by a faster, stronger hand. It had been about three seconds since the attack began, and Shigaraki could now see the identity of his assailant.

"Maelstrom!"

Naruto remained expressionless as he held on to All For One's hand. Now faced with the worst evil in the modern world, a singular thought ran through his mind.

'This guy's kinda weak, isn't he?' He was disappointed with how easily Naruto had managed to catch his arm. To be honest, he had been expecting more strength from All for One.

"Naruto. Do not waste time on needless thoughts. You have a golden chance; use it!"

Naruto nodded mentally, knowing exactly what Kurama was referring to. Since learning the Hiraishin from his father's knife, there was really no fun in fights anymore. Once he managed to touch the opponent, the fight was as good as over. And that was exactly what was happening now. All he had to do was mark this old geezer, and that was that.

'He is stronger than I expected.' All for One thought, his hand still locked in Naruto's. 'I need to exact some insurance.'

Since both of them were top-class fighters and strategists, all these thoughts took place within a second. Now, both adversaries executed their respective plans.

In the very next instant, two separate events took place. Black lines crawled up All for One's arm, only to disappear before he could see what they were. At the same time, ominous red tendrils crept up Naruto's own arm, disappearing into his form shortly after.

All for One activated two of his Quirks, a Poison and an Electric Quirk. Since this hero was in contact with his arm, all it would take was a few seconds until he died. Shigaraki smirked, waiting for the moment when this fool would drop dead at his feet. However, such a moment never came.

"I'll say this once," Naruto spoke, looking at All for One with a piercing gaze. "Surrender."

Even though the mysterious failure of his Quirks had confused him, All for One was still a man with an astronomical ego. "Surrender? To small fry like you? Never!" he grinned darkly, hoping to intimidate the man, all the while preparing multiple other quirks to activate.

"Well, I tried, ya know?" Naruto sighed, as a blue orb started forming in his other hand.

"Your efforts are in vain, for I am-"

"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"

"Rei-chan, I'm home!" Naruto greeted as he entered the house, taking off his shoes in the entryway.

"In the living room!"

Following the sound of her voice, Naruto went into the living room. Rei was sitting by herself, staring out at the moon from their window. It was late at night, so the kids were already asleep. But that thought wasn't even on Naruto's mind. All he could think of at the moment was his wife. She was in a white evening gown, looking absolutely mesmerizing while shrouded in the moonlight.

"So beautiful…" Naruto whispered unconsciously, unaware that Rei could hear him.

"Thanks, honey." Rei's cheeks pinked as she looked away, amazed at how she still got butterflies in her stomach after one sentence from her husband. She was expecting more teasing to follow, but when she looked towards Naruto, he was staring out the window as well with a pensive look on his face.

Realization dawned on her face as she realized where Naruto was returning from. Without saying a word, she moved closer to him and wrapped him in a tender embrace. "What happened, dear?"

Naruto shuddered in her embrace, closing his eyes tightly. "I killed him." He gritted out, clenching his fists. However evil All for One might have been, Naruto never liked killing anyone, ever. Even though he was a Shinobi, he had sworn to forge his own path, His own Nindo. But, he acknowledged that some people needed to die. That didn't mean he liked it, though.

Rei squeezed him tighter, her heart hurting just as much as Naruto's was. She loved him more than life itself, and seeing him in so much pain brought tears to her eyes. "Was it a tough fight?" she whispered, hoping to make Naruto communicate with her.

"Heh." Naruto scoffed tiredly, leaning into her warmth, "Once I touched him, I applied a Quirk Suppression seal immediately. He was just a normal human after that. One Rasenshuriken was all it took." The Quirk Suppression seal was exactly as it sounded. Much like the Five-point sealing sealed one's chakra flow, this new Jutsu sealed one's Quirk. And because Naruto was the only one in the world who could use Chakra, there was no one to release the seals.

"Eh?" Rei was confused. "That was all it took? He didn't retaliate or put up a fight?" Rei was extremely shocked to hear this. The most powerful person in the world other than her husband died so easily? Something seemed amiss; this was too good to be true.

"There was some weird red energy he released just before I placed the seal, but I don't know what it was. He was probably just trying to activate a Quirk." Naruto shrugged. He was never one to beat himself up with negative thoughts, so he was already going back to his usual self.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Rei pressed.

"Of course, ya know!" Naruto grinned brightly. "Now enough of this depressing stuff! I want to cuddle with my lovely wife, believe it!" With a cheerful whoop, he scooped up his wife in his arms and squeezed her tightly towards him.

"Meep! N-Naruto!"

"Heheh~!"

All for One awoke with a gasp. He felt his face for injuries, recalling the phantom pain of the devastating attack he had suffered. After coming to his senses, he looked around him, only to find a massive dark cavern.

"Oho? So, this is Maelstrom's mind?" He hummed, stroking his chin. "I can wait for my chance here."

Looking back, it was his intuition that had saved him. Somehow, Maelstrom had an ability that negated all of his Quirks. Had Shigaraki not been in a fight, he would have surely been salivating at such a powerful Quirk. It was what killed his body, after all.

He was glad that Kyudai had given him a copy of his main Quirk, All for One. It was this copy which he had instinctively bestowed upon Maelstrom, right before his Quirks were negated. And what a great move it was. This was a golden opportunity if there ever was one.

Now, whenever Maelstrom was at his weakest, All for One would take over his consciousness. Shigaraki grinned maliciously, ugly schemes taking shape in his twisted mind. He would use Maelstrom's form to destroy everything he held dear as punishment for opposing him. And all the while, he would keep Maelstrom's mind alive; he would make him watch. He would-

"What is this germ doing in my den?"

All for One froze. After hearing the deep voice behind him, Shigaraki felt an emotion that he had long since thought lost.

Fear.

Slowly, carefully, he turned around. He immediately wished he hadn't.

'What is this... this monster?!'

The height of a mountain, towering over him, making him feel smaller than he ever had in his life, was some kind of giant fox. Nine tails of the same colour as its fur, swaying hypnotically behind its back. A maniacal, bloodthirsty sneer was on its face, which went perfectly with its eyes. Crimson and slitted, they looked like the bottom of the abyss into hell.

"You seem to have frozen. No matter, my majesty is not something common folk can handle after all!" Kurama guffawed, taking sadistic delight in terrifying the little insect which dared to invade Naruto's mind. But it wasn't that Kurama cared about Naruto or anything. It was just a matter of pride. Yes, pride! What a disgrace it would be if someone else controlled Naruto under his watch? It was the only reason Kurama was helping, nothing else.

"You know, when I saw Naruto inventing all those new Jutsu, I came up with something of my own." Kurama released his killing intent, terrifying Shigaraki even further. "And you get the honour of being my audience!"

All for One was too scared to even move, let alone contemplate his situation. It wasn't as if the fox was all that scary, however. It was his subconscious. The simple fact of meeting a predator of overwhelming power was enough to trigger the weaker creature's defence mechanism; stop moving and hope that you get spared.

Kurama was getting bored of this trash, so he decided to stop playing with his food. He gave a fanged grin and unleashed his own original Jutsu. Moving his hands around in nonsensical motions, Kurama uttered the last words All for One would ever hear.

"Kurama Secret Jutsu: Snack time."

A/N- Done!

Keep in mind that this is not an action story, the fights are supposed to end quickly and anticlimactically.

In response to a couple of PMs I got-

If anyone wants to do a reading fic of this story or any of my other fics, feel free to PM me. A couple of people asked me if I was writing a reading fic myself, but I have no plans as of now. If anyone is interested, you can ping me.

Review pls!