"Guardian of the Fox"
Chapter 8
"Foxes look out for each other."
"Hokage-sama, please don't lock up my big brother!"
To say that everyone was shocked by the sudden appearance of the little Uzumaki, would be an understatement.
"N-Naruto!" Hiruzen called out, startled.
The boy just buried his face into Mycroft's white t-shirt, his small arms circling around his waist in a tight hug.
"Naruto..." The older boy breathed, his mind being pulled out of the downward spiral his thoughts were heading towards, grounded by the presence of another. "Naruto what are you doing here?"
"I... I'm sorry, I didn't keep my promise!" The blond cried, staining the T-shirt with his tears. "B-But, you're my brother, and I want to protect you!" Naruto then looked up at Mycroft, blue eyes shining with determination.
The fox-haired boy blinked, then mindlessly placed a hand on the younger boy's head.
"Naruto what are you talking about?" Mycroft asked softly. "We're not-"
"We are!" The Uzumaki argued before pushing his hand into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled up picture. "Look!"
It showed a young, Red-haired woman smiling at the camera, her purple eyes crinkling with happiness.
"This… is my-our mom!" Naruto smiled. "Look, Maik-san!" He points at the long red locks on the picture. "You look almost exactly like her! Your hair even matches her's in color! Only yours is a lot more curly..."
Mycroft didn't know what to say.
"Naruto..." Was the only thing that made it through his tight throat.
"ANBU Wolf once said I look just like dad with my blue eyes and yellow hair..." He grinned up at Mycroft. "But you have blue eyes too!"
"Naruto listen that doesn't-" Mycroft tried but the boy cut him off.
"Nobody ever tells me things about my parents, and I never had them growing up..." The boy tightened his grip on both the picture and on Mycroft's t-shirt. "And I know you've been taken from yours when you were tiny, so..." He then smiled brilliantly at the older boy. "Why can't your parents be my parents?"
There were a lot of reasons why this idea shouldn't work, but Mycroft was too choked up with emotion to say anything.
He felt tears, actual tears, begin to form behind his eyelids.
Mycroft... actually didn't know how to deal with this situation.
No one has ever… wanted for him to be near. His closest family, at best, just tolerated his existence. And it was only when they needed him to fix something, did they reach out to him out of their own volition.
For Naruto, a boy who he only met a few hours ago, to express more care and love for him than his own family was-
Mycroft pushed down the knot that formed around his throat.
"Naruto I-"
"You're my brother, Maikurofuto, because I adopt you!" The boy's embrace got even tighter if possible. "You're a Uzumaki now!" The little blond knucklehead then let go of Mycroft, and jumped into the Hokage's desk. "You can't put him in jail, he didn't do anything bad!"
The tiny boy actually looked about ready to fight the older man if he dared to go through with his plan, and that image snapped Mycroft out of his stupor.
He cleared his throat and then gently lifted the seven-year-old off the desk.
"Naruto… as much as I appreciate your intervention, the Hokage is right to suspect me." He then placed the boy besides him on the floor. "I'm an outsider with an unsettling resistance to one of their best interrogation methods. The Hokage is allowed to lock me up if he believes I'm a threat to his people."
"But-"
Mycroft silenced the boy with a gentle hand to the shoulder.
"No 'buts'." He admonished gently. "You should trust in your Hokage, Naruto. As someone who wants to someday occupy the position, you should know he's only doing what he thinks is best for the village." His voice softened, feeling a bit bad about using such a backhanded tactic to make the boy listen. "You would want people to trust your decisions, when you take his place, right?"
The Uzumaki child looked about to argue, but then backed down, opting to hug Mycroft instead.
"I don't want you to go." He sobbed into the Red-haired boy's chest. "I don't want you to be alone." His hands tightened around Mycroft's waist. "I don't want me to be alone, either."
Mycroft could practically feel his heart breaking between his ribs.
"Oh Naruto..." He swallowed as he hugged the tiny boy back. "I-I'm sure I won't be held there long."
"You won't be held anywhere, Mr. Maikurofuto." The Hokage's voice sounded from behind the desk, making the two boys look towards him.
"W-What?" Holmes stuttered, blinking in confusion.
"H-Huh?" Naruto asked, wiping away tears.
Hiruzen smiled kindly at the two.
"Considering the circumstances… I believe house arrest with surveillance 24/7 will be the ideal way to keep an eye on Mr. Maikurofuto." He stroked his beard. "Furthermore I believe you are in need of a proper surname, Mr. Maikurofuto."
Mycroft felt like his emotions were about to choke him again.
"From now on you shall be recognized as an official Uzumaki, and will take resistance with the jinchuriki." The Hokage puffed his pipe.
"H-Hokage-sama!" The silver-haired ANBU burst into the room, before Mycroft himself could say anything. "Is this really the wisest choice?"
"And why wouldn't it be?" Hiruzen puffed his pipe. "It will be easier to keep an eye on both of them if they're in one place, would it not? And it is clear that our new guest does not want to harm young Naruto in any way, shape or form, and that little Uzumaki is quite fond of him." The wise Hokage, winked at said boys. "It would be pointless to try and separate them."
Mycroft blinked.
"I… don't know what to say, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen smiled at him briefly before turning serious again.
"Just make sure I do not regret this decision, Mr. Maikurofuto."
The newly named Uzumaki noded with utmost seriousness.
"I swear, I won't."
