Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.

Chapter Summary: In which Naruto meets a Responsible Adult and decides that school sucks

Chapter 4: I Can't Believe You've Done This

Thunk!

The kunai lodged into the tree trunk, scuffed and dulled from use. Two more followed, landing on the outer rings of the improvised target and the boy stomped towards them, snatching them and going back to his throwing spot.

"Calm down."

"I am calm."

"Obviously."

Kazuya shot an annoyed look at his young friend and proceeded to throw the kunai, one of them missing the trunk entirely. He growled and stalked over to the redhead, flopping down on the ground next to him and sighing heavily, closing his eyes.

Naruto's mouth quirked up into a small smirk.

"Shut up, Aka-chan."

Naruto's face split into a wide grin. He let the rocks he had been holding on his body drop as stopped regulating his chakra. He stood, shaking off some dirt from his t-shirt and peered down at his friend, offering his good arm.

"Come on, let's take a break."

Kazuya opened his eyes and watched Naruto for a moment before grabbing the limb and hauling himself up. After collecting their weapons, the pair set off towards the park where Naruto could sense his brother playing. The pair had grown close since they had met a mere three months before and hung out every day, whether the academy was in session or not.

"Maybe it's the kunai. I mean, we scavenged them from the training grounds and I'm pretty sure the academy ones are way easier to throw," Kazuya mused, turning one over in his hands.

"It's not as if we can just buy new ones," Naruto pointed out. "I mean, I've got no money and your uncle's an ass."

Kazuya nodded.

"True, but there's no harm in looking at some; there's a cool weapons shop near that dango place that kicked us out last month."

"Okay," Naruto agreed, looking in the direction he could sense Rio.

He spotted the youngest Uzumaki playing on one of the swings, the other children giving the blond a wide berth. Naruto's face dropped slightly at the downcast look on his brother's face, but immediately plastered a bright smile on his face as he was spotted.

"Hey, Sunshine! Did you have fun?" he grinned, watching Rio make his way to them.

"The others didn't want to play with me," Rio mumbled, uncharacteristically quiet.

Naruto gave him a hug, feeling the tiny arms gaining a firm grip.

"It's okay; they just don't know you yet. Until you find your real friends you got me, okay?" Naruto murmured softly, trying to reassure the toddler.

It had never bothered him that kids his age had never approached him; he had Rio and his shinobi training kept him far too busy to worry about making friends. Since meeting Kazuya, he cared even less about what others thought of him; he had a friend and a brother, why would he need to get along with everyone?

It bothered Rio though; he was very sociable kid and he must have felt so limited by just having his brother and grandfather to talk to most of the time. Naruto had no doubts that he would make some great friends, despite the parents, but it was taking longer than Rio was happy with.

"You got me too, Rio-chan," Kazuya added.

The longer the brunet knew the pair, the more he noticed the glares directed at them and the general avoidance from the majority of the civilian population. He had no idea why, as he had found that Rio was the nicest kid ever and Naruto had a great sense of humour even if he was a bit serious at times, but there wasn't anything that was going to stop him from hanging out with them. The toddler had dubbed him 'Kazu-nee', which had kept Naruto snickering for almost a week.

The best parts of his day was when he was hanging with Naruto, since the academy was still the dullest place ever and he wasn't exactly welcome at his uncle's.

Naruto shot a grateful look at his friend. Maybe they should start to take Rio training with them; not letting the toddler actually take part but letting him watching at the sides. They could talk to him and include him as much as they could. It would limit the interaction he had with kids his own age but it was better than this.

"Hey, you!"

The trio looked towards the shout and found a kid around Kazuya's age pointing at the redhead.

"My mom says that you're a bad kid. Is that why you hang around a monster?"

The kid broke into ugly laughter and Naruto scowled, taking one of the kunai from his pouch and throwing it at the boy. The boy yelped and fell on his ass, scrambling backwards as Naruto stalked towards him, leaving Rio with Kazuya.

"Why don't you come back up those words, huh?" Naruto demanded, fuming.

The kid managed to climb to his feet and he ran, screaming the word 'freak' at him as he faded from sight. Naruto sighed heavily and picked his kunai up, putting it back into his pouch. Making his way back to the other two, he ruffled Rio's hair, mustering up a tired smile.

"So, Rio, do you wanna come to look at some cool swords and stuff?" Naruto asked, his grin softening as the smile returned to Rio's face.

"Yeah, Nii-san!" he chirped, grabbing onto Naruto's good hand.

Naruto made it a point to ignore Kazuya's gaze boring into him.

The trio made their way to the shops, Rio between them as the older pair glared back at the villagers. Reaching the building, the boys entered, their eyes widening as they took in the wide range of weapons on display.

Naruto only recognized some and could name even less, but they all still looked cool. Reminding Rio not to touch anything, they hunted for the kunai and shuriken section of the shop. Finding it near the counter they looked over the shiny, new weapons, hearts sinking at the price tags.

"Find anything you like?" a voice asked from the counter.

Naruto looked over to match a face to the chakra he had sensed. Warm brown eyes met blue, paired with wavy brown hair speckled with grey. They widened slightly as the man's gaze stopped on Naruto's scar, before trailing to stare at his bandaged arm. They then swept over the rest of the group, his gaze lingering slightly on Rio. The toddler looked down, uncomfortable.

Naruto tugged his brother behind him slightly, although he wasn't getting any sign of disgust or hate from the man. He was used to people staring at them by now, attention being drawn to the scar that disfigured his face or Rio's well-known features. Didn't mean he could let his guard down.

"I'm Tenjirou, and don't worry young man, I have nothing against you or your young brother."

Naruto relaxed, though he still kept a firm grip on Rio's hand. The man had nice chakra, even if he didn't have much of it.

"I'm Naruto, that's Kazuya and this is Rio."

"You guys seem a little young to be looking at this kind of thing," Tenjirou trailed off, the question evident in his tone.

"Aka-chan and I are at the academy. Our practice kunai are rubbish so we thought we would see how much we had to save to get new ones," Kazuya explained, watching the exchange between his friend and the merchant carefully.

"You two can't be much older than my daughter," Tenjirou frowned.

"Pinku-baka is seven and I'm five; plenty old enough," Naruto retorted.

Tenchi gazed at the group for a moment.

"Let me see the kunai you have."

Naruto and Kazuya exchanged a look, before handing over the old kunai. As the man examined them, Naruto guided a curious Rio away from some katanas. Kazuya looked as though he was seconds from breaking down into laughter at the sight, while Naruto shot exasperated looks at him.

"A bit of sharpening and cleaning and these could be useful. The overall balance is good and as a whole, they are still intact. Good enough for practice anyway," Tenjirou announced, handing them back.

Taking two grey blocks from under the counter with a roll of cloth, he set them in front of the two boys. Placing a small bottle of oil next to it he looked into the confused eyes of the boys.

"You don't really have any shinobi family, do you?"

Naruto and Kazuya shook their heads with Rio quietly watching the exchange, his face screwed up in confusion. Naruto had Jiji and Kashi, but Jiji was always busy and Kashi hadn't been home for months and even if he was, it wouldn't be any different. He was on his own. Speaking of Jiji, he'd have to find someone else to watch the blond since the Hokage was reaching his limit of Rio bouncing around the office all day.

"Come back tomorrow after about six and I'll teach you how to look after your weapons. For now, you split this between you and bring it with you tomorrow. Okay?"

He was met with dumbfounded looks.

"What?" "Why?"

The two boys answered at the same time. Naruto was still having trouble grasping that this stranger was willing to help them, knowing who they were. It could be a trap but he couldn't sense anything off, no matter how much he honed in on the man.

Kazuya was refusing to believe this was happening. No one just offered help without expecting anything in return. It wasn't how the world worked.

"I don't want to see boys barely older than my daughter get killed due to something that's so easily fixable. If you feel you have to pay me back, some days I'll borrow you to make deliveries from me or pick things up. Sound fair?"

Naruto looked at Kazuya and the brunet stared back, a silent exchange between them. Rio was still confused, his interest waning as he spotted a silver staff nearby.

"Yeah, it does…" Kazuya trailed off uncertainly.

"Thanks," Naruto added, wonder colouring his tone at the prospect of learning something so useful.

The three left the shop in various states of thought, the man smiling as he watched them go. There was just something about those three that made him offer his help and it wasn't just their age. He just couldn't put his kunai on it.

The next day, they were at their usual lunch spot, Hana yet to arrive. Naruto hunched into himself as Kazuya turned to him, determination shining in his eyes.

"So what was that yesterday?"

"It happens sometimes, you know that," Naruto answered awkwardly, hoping the older boy would drop it.

"Why, though? Why do kids like to pick on you? Why do their mums like to pick on you?"

Naruto sighed.

"My name, I guess? They think it stains the memory of the Yondaime's son for me to share it."

It wasn't the whole truth; he was hated for being associated with Rio too and by extension, the Kyūbi. They thought that kid with the Yondaime's son's name basically adopting the Kyūbi was the ultimate insult to the late Hokage. It didn't help that Rio shared some traits with him before he 'died', like the blond hair; people really hated that. Thought the Kyūbi was taunting them or some shit like that.

Naruto didn't really care about all that; the joke's on them. He just wished that Rio didn't have to go through any of it, but he was doing everything he could to shield the toddler from that.

"So you're getting all this shit for being called 'Naruto'? Just 'cause the kid that died in the attack was called 'Naruto'? That sucks ass."

Naruto shrugged helplessly and tried not to sag in relief as Hana came towards them. Hana flopped down beside the two boys, her three pups resting their heads on her stomach. Stroking their heads in turn, she sighed and turned her gaze to the redhead.

"I don't know if we can survive the rest of the year," she groaned.

"I hear ya, Hana," Kazuya agreed, joining the girl on the ground.

Naruto tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, absentmindedly thinking he should start tying it up. He remained seated, tucking his arm close to his body.

"I overheard some second years talking about the chakra training; apparently they are starting with the leaf exercise," he mentioned casually.

Kazuya's head whipped around to stare, sitting up with his mouth open and pink eyes sharp, his brown hair falling slightly over his face.

"You learned that before you started the academy!" he yelled.

Naruto shrugged, rubbing circles on his arm. He really might have to go to the hospital, just for a quick check-up, but the less rational side of him told him to shut up. He could last a bit longer. He looked up as he felt Hana's stare join Kazuya's.

"What?" Naruto asked, slightly defensive.

"How did you learn that before the academy? I only managed to convince my mum a month ago to start training me!" she whined, her canines poking out as she pouted.

"Never mind that, we could totally handle the second year work! We got the knowledge and the chakra training," Kazuya announced, thoughts turning over in his head.

Naruto opened his mouth to refute his statement, knowing that he was behind when it came to lessons not involving history and chakra theory. His reading and writing had advanced leaps and bounds over the last few months but he still had to get help with some of the words and lettering. His taijutsu just sucked; his arm barely able to block one blow, though his kicks were making slow progress. Before a sound could leave his mouth, Hana spoke up.

"Hang on, no! My chakra control is rubbish right now and Naru-chan's taijutsu is the same!" she exclaimed, earning a glare from the redhead. Just because it was true didn't mean he liked other people pointing it out.

"Just listen. I am great at all the book stuff, Hana is the best at taijutsu and no one our age can compare to Naruto's handle on chakra! Our throwing scores are decent! We could totally pass as second years," he explained, a glint appearing in his eye.

Naruto groaned, flopping over to lie on the ground and wincing as he jostled his arm.

"Pinku-baka…"

"The second years have a general test next month to check on their progress; they are going to test all areas of the timetable. If we snuck in and got great scores, they would have no choice but to accept us into the class!" he finished triumphantly, his eyes scanning his two friends.

Hana absently continued patting the heads of her pups, her brow furrowed and brown eyes narrowed at the sky.

"How would we sneak in?"

"I figured we could find one of those forms from the staff room that would let us take part and forge Aiko-sensei's name on it; by the time they realise it's fake they'll have seen how brilliant we are," Kazuya shrugged.

"That's only if they don't check with Aiko-sensei before the test," Naruto dryly remarked.

"Anyway, we got a month to really make ourselves into second year material. I can help you guys with all the notes and stuff; Hana, you help us with our taijutsu and Aka-chan, you coach us for chakra control," he continued.

Naruto sighed and looked over at Hana, exchanging a glance. Both knew there was no stopping Kazuya once the ball started rolling and the end reward seemed worth more than suffering in this class. Naruto sighed and Hana grinned wolfishly.

"Fine," they chorused.

Kazuya beamed at them.

"Knew you guys would get on board! We just got to sort out extra training times and stuff so we're ready," he chirped, lying back on the ground.

"And how we are supposed to sneak into the staff room, get Aiko-sensei's signature and manage to fake it well enough to fool a chunin?" Naruto listed, watching the brunet wave his hand.

"That is a problem for closer to the time. First off, we got to sort out your taijutsu; you are not going to be able to face against anyone by the look on your face after every taijutsu class," he pointed out, sitting up to look at the younger boy.

Naruto scowled, purposefully looking away. He spotted Hana sitting up in the corner of his eye and he hunched his shoulders.

"Aka-chan…have you been to the hospital yet?" Kazuya asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't Hokage-sama say to go when it hurt too much?" he frowned, exasperated.

"Naru-chan?" Hana piped up, looking at the redhead with concern.

Naruto sighed and looked at his friends. He couldn't really put it off any longer, though three months was still pretty good. Honestly, he knew he should have gone for a check-up in the first month and he had told Kazuya that he would…

"It's not that bad, Kazuya," Naruto fibbed.

"Really? Why don't you shake my hand then?" Kazuya replied dubiously.

Naruto shifted his arm and a wince escaped, his fingers twitching. He sighed and looked away. He heard a return sigh and peeked at Kazuya, spotting the frown on his face. A quick glance at Hana showed a similar expression.

"Right, before we start Operation 'Jump', Naruto's going to the hospital to get sorted after class," Kazuya stated firmly, eyeing the redhead.

"Alright, but Operation 'Jump'?" Hana repeated.

"Yeah, as in 'jump up a year'. I figured we need some sort of codename for this to keep it from the sensei and it's pretty simple to remember," Kazuya replied.

"That's a terrible name," added Naruto.

"Shut up. It's named, it's done, live with it."

The three heard the sound of the lunch bell, signaling the end of break. They all rose, the pups trotting around their feet and headed inside. Kazuya kept his eyes on the tiny redhead as Naruto entered the classroom, watching for unnatural movements. The younger boy barely moved his left arm, keeping it closely tucked into his side, and arranging his notes with his other. Kazuya shook his head and took a seat beside his friend, readying to take notes on the shinobi rules.

After the final bell and waving Hana off, the pair collected Rio from the Hokage, the toddler now used to the routine. Kazuya marched Naruto through the village, holding on to his right shoulder while holding the younger Uzumaki in his other arm. They attracted several looks, some who noticed the blond boy and glared but others at the sight of young boys acting in such a way.

"Cut it out, Pinku-baka, I can walk!" yelled Naruto.

"Oh no, Aka-chan, I'm just making sure that my dear friend gets to his appointment safely," Kazuya glared, sparks almost flying from the heat of their gazes.

"Naruto, Rio-chan!" a voice called out from the crowd.

The group of boys stopped, Rio squirming in Kazuya's arm. At the sight of the silver-haired teen, Rio stopped playing with Inu-chan and stared for a moment before escaping and bounding towards him, squealing loudly.

"KASHI!" he screamed excitedly, giggling as the teen scooped him from the ground and held him up.

Kakashi looked from his godson to the other two boys, his eye lingering on the redhead before focusing on the wary brunet. Naruto managed to shrug off his grip, stepping away slightly.

"Hello boys, long time no see! Who's this?" he asked casually, watching the brunet shoot looks at the redhead.

"Hey Kashi, this is Kazuya from my class. Pinku-baka, this is Kakashi, our…friend?" Naruto trailed off as he struggled to find a description for the teen, missing the flash of guilt that crossed Kakashi's features at the hesitancy.

He raised a single red eyebrow at the shock on Kazuya's face.

"The copy-nin Kakashi?" he blurted out, taking in the silver, spiked hair and the facemask.

Kakashi attempted a wink at the boy, but with his headband it probably looked more like a blink. He watched the young boy process the knowledge before he burst out into laughter. All three stared at the snickering brunet, even Rio pausing his squirming long enough to look at his brother's friend.

"You really surprise me sometimes, Aka-chan. The Hokage and the copy-nin? What's next? One of the Sannin?" Kazuya smirked, muffling his giggles.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the older boy, crossing his arms and wincing at the movement. He looked at his friend who had caught it and groaned as the boy became focused again.

"Alright then, Kakashi-san, you can look after the kid while Aka-chan and I head to the hospital," he decided.

"The hospital?" Kakashi repeated, his eye narrowing.

"Shut up, Kazuya!" Naruto hissed.

"Naruto!" Kazuya snapped right back.

The two boys glared for a moment longer before Naruto sighed, focusing his eyes on the road. He shot a pitiful glance at Kakashi, the guilt clear. The teen understood immediately; he had been avoiding the hospital. Naruto did hate the place, especially after the time spent there after the Kyūbi attack, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter.

"I'm sure Rio-chan and I can have some fun with my nin dogs while you guys are busy," Kakashi said slowly, grinning at the exclamation of joy from the toddler.

He watched some of the tension flow out of Naruto's shoulders. He also knew the boy hated Rio anywhere near the hospital and the last thing the boy wanted was his brother at one of his appointments. It might make things easier if he knew that Rio was being taken care of. It was hard to believe at times that Naruto was only five; he would have doubted it himself if not for the fact he had been there when the then-blond was being held in Minato-sensei's arms for the first time.

He nodded once at the brunet beside the redhead, Kazuya startling slightly before nodding back. The two pairs separated, Kazuya occasionally shooting glances behind him.

The boys continued in silence; Kazuya brooding over the appearance of the copy-nin while Naruto was busy glaring at the growing view of the hated building. He was distracted from his staring contest by Kazuya's voice.

"Seriously Naruto, what is with you and famous people?" he chuckled, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Naruto's mouth twitched in return, the tension dissipating although he was still uncomfortable this close to the hospital.

"I'm just that good," he smirked.

Kazuya shook his head as they passed through the entrance to Konoha's main hospital. At the main desk, Naruto stated his name and doctor, the receptionist gesturing to the seats while assuring them that the doctor was available and would be with them soon. Before they left the desk, she directed a cheery hello to Kazuya while her eyes checked him over. A thought occurred to Kazuya as they sat.

"You didn't seem as happy to see him as Rio-chan," he remarked.

"Kashi is alright, but 'cause he's a jounin he's away a lot. We only see him once every while; this time was almost four months. The last time was five months," Naruto shrugged. "I guess I'm just used to doing things without him, so when he does appear it doesn't really change anything, although I can get training tips from him sometimes."

"It makes Rio happy to see him, but with such a long time between seeing him even he's moving on from the usual antics when Kashi comes home," Naruto finished.

There was a moment of silence between the boys before Naruto spoke up again.

"Why did she know you? Why look at you like that?"

Kazuya looked away, before his fists clenched and he turned to look at his friend. His dark-pink eyes were clouded as he seemed to come to a decision.

"You said it yesterday, right? My uncle's an ass," he admitted quietly.

Naruto's eyes widened as it clicked.

"Usually he's not so bad, just yelling and ordering me around. I'm never home so it stopped being a problem," Kazuya mumbled. "Except when I'm home at night, when he's supposed to be sleeping. He's a civilian builder, so he works long days. Sometimes he likes to get drunk with his workmates and I make the wrong choice of leaving my room. He usually leaves me alone for a few days after until he goes back to the routine of yelling, but sometimes the cuts were too deep or the bruising is too bad to hide…"

He trailed off uncomfortably as Naruto shook with anger.

"It's alright; he just throws things and maybe the odd punch; nothing too bad. I always tell the nurses that I had an accident or something," Kazuya quickly added.

Naruto's head jerked.

"It's all bad! He should never be doing any of it in the first place!" Naruto spoke harshly, keeping his voice low.

Kazuya focused tired pink eyes on his young friend.

"What else am I supposed to do? I have nowhere else to go. At least if I graduate I can get missions which will take me away from the village for a while," he sighed, resigned.

"NO!" Naruto shouted, before glancing around. Kazuya stared at him in confusion. He lowered his voice.

"After we graduate, you're gonna move in with me and Rio when we leave the orphanage."

Kazuya stared at him in shock before a wide smile stretched across his lips. He brought up his hand and gripped Naruto's right hand, careful to avoid his left.

"Deal."

The two boys grinned at each other, even more determined to graduate soon. Naruto hesitated as they let go, opening and closing his mouth a couple times as he diverted his eyes.

"Why tell you?"

Naruto's head whipped up, the long red strands framing his face and the thick scar shining under the washed out hospital lights. Kazuya chuckled at his friend, his eyes dropping to the floor when it became hollow.

"You got your problems too, right? I trust you to keep your mouth shut," he murmured.

Naruto stared at his friend, before dropping his eyes down too. He couldn't tell Kazuya about their parents or the Kyūbi yet; Rio deserved to know first and he wouldn't truly understand for a few more years.

"Thanks," he mumbled back quietly.

It was silent between the two until Naruto glanced to his left as he felt familiar chakra approach. A wearied man in a white coat came over to them, looking at Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I think you are a bit overdue, hmm?" he chided gently, pointedly staring at the way the boy held his arm.

"Oops…?"

Gesturing the way for the redhead to go ahead of him, he raised an eyebrow when the brunet next to him rose to follow.

"He's coming, Yakushi-sensei" Naruto merely said, the pair walking down the white corridor.

The doctor ran a hand through his graying black hair, his brown eyes following the boys from behind his round glasses. It seemed the young Uzumaki had finally made a friend.

Thanks for reading!