DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own.

Thinking

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

"So admit it," Shikaku drawled to his sweaty son who once again had been training hard since after school, "you must really like this girl if you're so adamant about graduating early to be with her." Shikamaru stopped trying to get his shadow to pick up a kunai and sat down, panting heavily, as he took a long drink from his waterskin.

"It's not that so just - just stop. I'm telling you, Pa, I'm not crushing on Ru-chan." For Christ's sake, old man: the girl's 9 years old! "The reason I want to graduate is that I already understand the concepts that are being taught at the Academy. I've spoken with Grandpa and Uncle Ensui; they even tested me on whether or not I understood everything I need to in order to graduate. And they said I would pass easily."

Shikaku closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Now he was going to be forced to have certain WORDS with his father and brother. "There are reasons to delay graduation, son. As we've discussed before, being a shinobi means sacrifice. Hell, even the word means to endure. Enduring pain, heartache, the loss of your innocence, the death of your friends and comrades? I just don't believe that any child is ready for that. I want to see you succeed more than I could: graduate with your peers and retain the bonds of friendship that you'll make in school. Naru - or Ru-chan has... a different background and a different set of responsibilities and expectations that she wants to meet, apparently."

He still found it hard to believe that Naru-chan wanted to be on the fast-track to Chunin, but he'd seen her relentless training for himself. He just hoped the girl wouldn't kill herself doing it, or do the same outside of the village when she should still be in an early Academy classroom. God knows if Minato was here, he would have never allowed it. Damn Sandaime... He took in a deep breath of fresh air and slowly blew it out. He was honestly shocked that Mikoto was behind this, but not so much that Jiraiya initially had shown no signs of caring but was all for Naruto's training now. The Pervert even wanted to have her assigned to him: what the hell had Minato been thinking when he made him his baby girl's godfather?

Oh, he remembered now. All his closest friends were having children, too, and he didn't want to add another baby ("a burden," Shikaku scoffed at the idea,) to what would undoubtedly be the stress of new parents, should something happen to him and Kushina. Plus there was that book. He still couldn't believe his friend had named his daughter "Naruto."

But allowing his child to graduate early? It just wasn't going to happen: not on his watch. Shikamaru would graduate with Ino-chan and Choji-kun, but... "If it's not Naruto, why are you so preoccupied with graduating early?"

Shikamaru stared at the ground and gathered his thoughts. There were many reasons, but two were most important and they were related. "One, the Academy's a drag. Seriously, how am I supposed to stay awake through hours of lectures daily - for years to come - about things I already possibly understand better than the sensei that teaches us?" He wasn't joking, either. He'd already learned so much from his family about Konoha and the Elemental Nations before he ever walked into an Academy classroom, plus as Lee, (his name in his past life,) he had 18 years of formal education!

He looked up at his father to see if the man thought he was being arrogant, but his father - whom he respected - only seemed to have understanding in his eyes, so Shikamaru continued. "Second, since the village was founded, we've already participated in three shinobi wars, and that of course, doesn't include the Warring Clans period that wiped so many out. How long will it really be until the next war? I know that sounds harsh, but what is the Sandaime or Daimyo doing to ensure war does NOT happen again? I need to be prepared for when the supposed peace we're experiencing now comes to an end."

Shikaku walked over to pet the deer that was hesitantly studying them from behind a nearby tree. His son was right - as usual - which was troublesome. Why he had to have a boy that was even smarter than him - and motivated on top of it? It couldn't be any more troublesome! "Alright, Shikamaru. If you want to learn and train, then I'll make sure you learn and train."

Shikamaru wasn't sure that he liked the dark expression that was on his father's face. And God he was physically worn out for the day...

"C'mon son, we're headed to the Nara Library. I believe I have an assignment for you," Shikaku almost chirped. His thoughts, however, were running through scenarios based on a new philosophy.

Welcome to hell, Shikamaru. Let's see just how motivated you really are.

Tomorrow he was going to talk to Maito Gai. He couldn't wait to see how his son would react to training with him.

"I swear to Kami, Naru-chan," Shisui began as he shook his head slowly, "if you wear that outside, I will NOT request a C-ranked mission when I get back."

Naruto looked down at her battle dress and really didn't get it. Sure, it was SUPER green, but it was a hell of a lot better than that jumpsuit Gai had given her. She was thankful that the jumpsuit was way too big and had to be returned. The dress, on the other hand, fit her well and was really cute - it was just super bright green. "Seriously, what's the problem?"

Shisui grumbled and decided to be honest. "The problem is that one of my senpais is in town. He takes a lot of missions and if he sees you in something like that - that COLOR - he's going to lose what little rationality he has left and skin me alive." Shisui noted the look of disbelief on his apprentice's face, but he was totally serious! Hatake-taicho either couldn't stand Gai-senpai, or the two were madly in love and putting on an elaborate act for the world. He couldn't tell which and frankly, he didn't want to know. "Please, Naru-chan. Save the dress until my senpai is gone again?"

"Fine." Ru went to her room to change.

Shisui decided to be sneaky and checked Naru's fridge. She had a small amount of decent food in there, but the old refrigerator was warmer than it should be. Turning on the water, he found it freezing cold so he let it run, and kept it running even when Naru-chan came out, fully dressed in something decent, to attempt to turn it off. Letting it run for 15 minutes, he found that the temp never got any warmer. He looked crossly at Naruto, wondering why she hadn't told him this, but she only looked away from him - the little stubborn, proud thing that she was.

Proceeding into her bedroom without her permission, he found it... awful! Especially for a little girl, kunoichi or not! "Naruto-hime, WHY are you sleeping on the floor, and WHY is cardboard covering your windows? And why don't you have a lightbulb?"

"I have a lightbulb," she bent down and produced one from a scroll. "I just have to take it with me when I leave. I have another one in the other room, too, and I do the same with it."

Shisui stood there with his mouth hanging open. Finally, his brain restarted and he demanded answers to his other questions. Naruto actually growled at him, but finally responded.

"Someone stole my bed, then my futon. They left my blankets, though!" She scratched her cheek with her nails and admitted that her blankets had been in one of the scrolls that she constantly carried with her, but she'd run out of time on two particular mornings and hadn't had an opportunity to seal up her furniture, which left her bedless, then futonless.

Her furniture! Which previously consisted of a bed and what she called a throne! It's not a throne! It's a whorehouse chair, his mind screeched. The gods only knew what activities had gone down - literally - on that chair before Naru stole it.

"That sucker was heavy," Shisui said more to himself than his apprentice regarding the awful thing. "And the cardboard?"

"I never had curtains, and I needed some privacy. When it got colder, I just added more cardboard!"

Shisui sighed and knew he had to get her out of this awful apartment. The economy had turned south, and people in this neck of the woods had a tendency to take whatever they could from whomever they could. He'd learned that from policing the area for years and studying crime statistics. It made sense, really. The village was full of shinobi who did things that civilians considered illegal... They got used to shinobi mission-oriented behavior or at least the stories of it and decided to do something similar, themselves (but without mission requirements.) Plus, the Red Light District really REALLY needed economic investment and attention. "And why don't you buy some curtains or a bed? You are making decent money considering all the missions we go on," Shisui asked sneakily.

"Are you joking? Spend money on this dump?" Naruto asked, looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

He was about to!

"HA! I got you! You just said it: this place is a total dump!" Naru stuck her chin and lip out in an adorable pout, but Shisui was not relenting this time. "Let's pack up everything. Every single goddamn thing, Naruto!"

"Shisui!" Naru scolded him for using bad language. Usually, it was the other way around. In the six months that they'd been together, she'd only heard him curse a handful of times. He was pretty great, really. Shisui was already sealing up what was left of her things, which mainly consisted of food since most everything else was sealed and in one of her obis again. She sealed up her blankets and wondered where he planned to take her.

Naru had brought up the Uzumaki Compound once to Lady Ichika, but the elderly woman hadn't really responded to her. Plus she supposed that she hadn't made herself very clear, either... Lady Ichika was not doing well, and Ru really wanted to be close to her so she could assist her when she was around. Hopefully, she could move there, but the idea of living in the house where all her birth parents' things remained was distressing.

Since Ru and her clones were painting a large fence near the Academy, he allowed her to be henged so that he could safely leave so Shisui went to his aunt to ask her advice. He was not letting Naru go back to that apartment!

"She can't live with us, Shisui-kun! Do you really not think I've tried? She's my goddaughter for goodness' sake! And my precious student."

Shisui sighed: he was afraid of that. Stupid Hokage. Stupid council! If he was the Hokage, he'd make some serious changes, and if he had to make changes to the Village Charter to do it, then so be it! I have an extra bedroom, he thought warily. Of course, having a child live with me would decrease or completely void the action I'd be getting.

Let it be known that the only action Shisui was getting was in his imagination. He was a terrific flirt, he thought, but nothing ever came of it, and he wasn't ready for a relationship - or anything else, truly.

"Alright, I'll have to do it." Shisui saw his aunt look at him in concern, but he continued. "I have an extra bedroom that I only keep weapons in; it's perfectly usable and I live in an apartment just outside the compound."

"Shisui, honey... You know that Kakashi-kun will string you up by your... unmentionables if he finds out that you're even considering having the girl in your home."

Elsewhere in the village, a young Jonin was resting on his couch, reading his beloved exemplar of erotica. He sneezed and immediately put on his flack jacket. Somewhere out there some pervert was crushing on his estranged sister - his beloved sensei's daughter. He'd find her and spy on her from a tree, and be successful, too - as long as those damn Yamanakas didn't catch him again, everything would be fine.

Naruto felt a little creeped out at the chakra signature that had shown up again. That unknown guy would watch her do the most boring things in the most obvious places. Whatever tickles your taint, asshole. She pulled the brush she was using out of the blue can of paint and made sure he couldn't see that she'd pulled out a kunai as well. A girl can never be too careful, after all.

Shisui came back, his posture making him look like a raincloud was hovering over him. Naruto hesitantly smiled up at him and wondered why he jolted when he looked up into the tree. It was definitely an over-reaction. She turned and looked, too, but the guy with the electric chakra signature was gone. It was almost like he was never there!

"C'mon, Chibi. If you're done here, we'll turn in your stuff and head to our next destination."

"Well? Open it up!"

Ru sighed and bit her thumb after finding the little seal under all the ivy and jasmine that was crawling all over her(?) compound's gate. The gate, once again, came to life, and Shisui and Naru found Lady Ichika smoking a cigarette in a see-through nightgown as she watered her house with a hose.

"It's about goddamn time! What's shakin' Sharingan?"

"Lady Ichika," Shisui began, his face turning redder and redder as the elderly woman turned toward him. Her nightgown revealed everything.

"Or should I call you by that moniker you're so famous for, Sunshin no Shisui? Let's see how fast you really are!" Ichika began spraying water at the teenager as she turned the nozzle to the highest setting. Shisui sunshinned all over the compound, but Lady Ichika was relentless.

"You shouldn't be smoking," Naru said. She got a faceful of hard water and fell backward, choking from the pressure. "Does that water have chakra in it?!"

The lips pinched around her cigarette began to creep upward. "Maybe," Ichika admitted before turning the hose back on Shisui again - he'd made the mistake of stopping when the Uzumaki Head ceased watering for a moment. "Maa, I find it a whole helluva lot easier to use chakra in water; barely even hurts."

15 minutes later all three of them were drenched but walked into the Yondaime's house anyway. The water was warm, there were two and a half bathrooms, and it was actually a wonderful place to clean up. Shisui left as quickly as possible, having had enough of the Clan Head to last the rest of her lifetime, and Ichika only said one thing to Naruto: "Let me know how it goes," before shutting the door and leaving her alone in what was supposed to be her home.

Even with the television on - and the television worked! - Ru felt like the place was haunted. She decided to stay downstairs and eventually did fall asleep on the very comfortable couch. Something woke her up before dawn and she jumped to the ceiling and crouched on it before realizing it was Lady Ichika who'd been standing over her.

"How'd you like to help me prank little Danzo?" the old lady asked. She was dressed in a black catsuit but had a bunch of white gauzy material in her hands. She hopped up and grabbed Ru's hand when she stood up from her earlier position and proceeded to drag the girl out of the house, telling her to be quiet and do as she was told.

Doing as she was told meant carrying her living ancestor piggyback - she had to use chakra to do it - through the village while trying to evade patrols, just so Lady Ichika could pretend that she and Naruto were ghosts of the "children he'd taken." Naruto didn't even want to know what that was about - but the way the man ran was really telling. This Danzo person didn't look like he COULD run when Ru first saw him!

"Alright, let's go home, kiddo. Too bad that didn't kill the little shit tonight after all he's done."

Naruto's eyes widened and she asked the only thing that she could. "Are you CRAZY?!"

The sun would be coming up soon, so Naru could see Lady Ichika's lips curl up again. "Maybe! Or maybe I'm just doin' something that needs to be done, ne?"

Returning to her at least temporary shelter, Naruto found that she couldn't sleep after all of that. As soon as daylight fully poured into the windows, she began to look around. There was a basement lit by seals that she didn't understand at all. The basement was set up as a dojo with an office off to the side that was split into two workstations. Seals or ideas for seals were spread out all over them. She looked at the bookshelf and whistled out loud: there were so many titles she'd never seen before! Reminding herself that these were most likely her birth parents' documents, she touched each piece reverently.

Since Shisui had a mission of his own today, Ru guessed that she would have the day to herself since Yugao-nee was also out of the village. She'd take something over to share with Lady Ichika even if she was insane - or maybe especially because of that. In the meantime, she'd read. She picked up the first book she saw on the closest desk and opened it. On the inside of the cover were carefully written characters that almost looked like calligraphy.

K. Uzumaki-Namikaze
Return if found

Naruto opened the journal shakily, hoping that perhaps she'd find a message from the mother she never knew, but Lady Ichika said had given her life to protect her. She swallowed thickly and found a seal. Then another, then another! She began reading the notes that it looked like her mother had left alongside them and felt her gut drop.

Was her mother trying to completely blow up Konoha?!

She put down the book and went to the desk that her father must have worked on while at home. Her first try produced similar stuff.

Q: Why the hell were they so into explosives?
A: Ninjas. Fucking ninjas, Ru guessed.

Eventually, she found a drawing of part of the seal that he used to seal the Kyuubi in one of the last full pages of his journal, but she still found no personal notes. There were a lot of pages missing as if they'd been torn out.

It was nighttime before she finished reading her first book on sealing that had been originally published in Uzushio. The seals were so beautiful and made so much sense! What could she say? She could totally see how her birth parents were so into explosive seals already!

Explosions... Who knew they could be art?!

"Someone's thinking about me, un!"