"Guardian of the Fox"

Chapter 10

"A lesson for both."

"Nii-san?" Mycroft, who was washing the old dishes that have been rotting for what seemed like weeks, looked over his shoulder to see Naruto peeking at him from behind the wall.

"Hm?"

"Can you help me with my homework?" The small child asked timidly.

"Of course, Naruto." The red haired smiled kindly. "Just let me finish up here and I'll be right with you, alright?"

"Okay!" The boy chirped and ran back to the small living room.

Holmes shook his head and went back to scrubbing one of the only two frying pans that the young Uzumaki had at his disposal, which was stained with something that resembled burned up cheese.

The tiny apartment was a mess and there was a lot of cleaning ahead of him before it would even resemble a place hospitable for children, but he was willing to take up the challenge.

It's going to be their home until Mycroft could earn enough money to afford a bigger apartment.

Something which he will be unable to do unless he figures out how this village is governed.

'What are the rules concerning children too young to be sent to the front lines who lost their parents and are left to fend for themselves?' The young genius thought, scrubbing furiously at the burned cheese, nose wrinkling at the terrible stench that was being released in response to his actions. 'In a village where most of the adults occupy the position of 'shinobi' situations like that must have occurred in the dozens, especially during wartime. Are they sent to an orphanage? Obviously not, Naruto being the prime example. Were they given to the village clans in the masses? Or were they placed in apartments just like Naruto's in larger numbers to save on space and money?'

Mycroft pulled the frying pan from under the running water, placed it on a rug where it can dry, and reached out for a pot. 'Do I also fall under that category? Or do children my age already have first kills under their belts? Can a person like me, essentially an illegal alien, become a ninja working for Konoha? If not, how else can I earn money to support myself and my little brother? Because I am definitely not staying on the government's payroll for the rest of my childhood.'

Mindlessly reaching out to heat up the running water, he hissed when it hit his skin burning hot, and hurriedly twisted the other knob to allow cooler water to mix with it.

'Hmmm… if, by any chance, I am not allowed to train as a possible shinobi, perhaps I may serve as a test subject for Inoichi Yamanaka? He did seem very interested in my Mind Palace and the potential it has as a spy tool. Hmm... maybe we can reach an agreement that both sides would benefit from?' Though the thought of sharing something so intimate like the knowledge about Mind Palaces, a technique not many people were aware existed, with complete strangers did not sit well with the Holmes, he would do so if it gave him enough of a steady income until he's old enough to earn money in a different way.

Quickly finishing off the lesser challenging dishes, the red haired boy wiped them dry and placed them in their proper places in the drawers, before joining Naruto in the small living room.

The smaller boy was already waiting for him with his books and scrolls spread out on the small coffee table.

"So… what seems to be the problem?" Mycroft asked sitting down next to him on the couch.

"I don't know how to do this." The blonde responded, pointing out something on the blank piece of paper.

"Let me see." Moving the scroll closer to him, he began reading it's content. "Hmmm…"

Apparently it was a topic for an essay about chakra natures, the difference between them and the statistics in which they show up within the populous of different villages.

It was quite a demanding topic to give to seven-year-olds who, back in his homeland would be coloring pictures and doing arts-and-crafts. He wasn't sure Naruto's writing abilities were good enough to give it the proper intellectual depth it deserves.

Seems like the Hidden Leaf's school curriculum is a lot more advanced than what England, a civilised country, has to offer.

He wasn't sure if he should feel offended or grateful.

"Well… I can certainly see where you might have a problem with this assignment." Mycroft said slowly rubbing his chin. "But worry not, with a bit of research we can write you the best essay there is."

"Really?!" The young Uzumaki asked, eye wide in excitement and wonder.

"Of course." The red haired boy winked. "What's writing a little essay for the future Kage of Konoha and his older brother? Certainly not a challenge, am I right?"

"Hai!" Naruto chirped happily, jumping up and down from bubbly energy.

"I'm glad you're eager to start." Mycroft chuckled. "Now… where are the books on the subject?"

"Books?" Naruto squeaked. "Uh… Iruka-sensei only gave us scrolls to read…"

"Then that's what we'll use." Mycroft nodded, not missing a beat. "I'll read through them while you think about how to begin your paper, alright?"

"Okay, nii-san!" The blonde smiled before leaning on the couch and making a thoughtful face.

Meanwhile Mycroft excused himself and went to Naruto's room to gather the scrolls.

After finally finding the blasted things (his new brother and his old one seemed share the common trait of being incredibly messy wherever they went), he buried himself in lecture.


'Well…' The red-haired boy thought with a bit of disappointment. 'That… isn't exactly the amount of information I expected for such a broad topic.'

It turned out that the "research scrolls" were filled with low-level scientist terms that mostly talks down to the readers. Truly, Mycroft shouldn't be surprised, as the kids in Naruto's class are only between six and seven years old at most, after all. But it's still jarring that they're tasked with such complicated topics and given information that is cruelly dumbed-down for them.

Really now… even someone like Anderson would feel insulted by this.

'There have to be better papers on the subject than this.' He thought, rather bitterly pushing the undeserving scrolls away from his eyes.

He got up and exited the room, heading back to where he left his little brother.

Unsurprisingly Naruto remained in his spot, undoubtedly trying to think of words to put on the assignment paper.

"Naruto put your jacket on, we're heading out."

"Out?" The small boy chirped, perking up. "Out where?"

"To the library." He stopped suddenly. "Konoha… has libraries, right?" The red-haired boy asked just to be safe.

Naruto giggled at that.

"Of course it does, silly nii-san." He said jumping off his small couch. "It's just that… well…"

Mycroft raised an eyebrow.

"You… don't know where it is, do you?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

The boy looked down, suddenly very interested in his shoes.

"Uh-huh." He mumbled as quietly as he could.

Mycroft sighed quietly and shook his head with a smile.

"Come on then, let's go on a library-searching adventure."

"But nii-san that sounds so lame." The blonde whined plopping face down on the couch.

"In order to be a good leader one must first learn as much as he can about the world he's about to help run." Mycroft stated sagely. "Besides, what happened to all that enthusiasm you had not two minutes ago, little brother?" Mycroft teased with a small smile.

Naruto pushed his head up from the couch.

"You never said anything about going to the library, Maik-san." He whimpered.

"What's wrong about that?"

"The kids in my class said it's a very boring place." The small Uzumaki explained, his voice inches from a whine. "Full of dusty books, old people and a grumpy lady that says "shhhh!" whenever something fun is going on."

'Bah, stereotypes.' Mycroft rolled his eyes.

"Don't believe everything your classmates tell you." He lectured wisely. "Libraries can be boring, yes. But they can also be very interesting and exciting."

"What do you mean, nii-san?" Naruto titled his head, eyes shining in genuine curiosity. Showing just how little he knows about the world surrounding him.

Showing how much he wasn't allowed to experience due to the village's demonisation.

Showing how reliant he is on what he heard from his peers, to fill up the picture of Konoha in his mind.

And it literally made the red-haired boy's heart ache.

He swallowed then and plastered a smile on his face.

"Well…" Mycroft shrugged. "If you happen to find an entertaining book the library can turn into a literal portal to another world." He explained. "Think about it this way and suddenly... everything is different. The quiet allows you to focus and get immersed in the story, the old people become seasoned adventurers that can advise you on which world you should visit next, and the grumpy lady seems more like a guardian. One that watches over hundreds upon thousands of unique and special stories that could teach you more about the world you live in, than even the best school could. All the while doing it in a far more exciting and interesting way than sitting in a classroom, and listening to a teacher preach about geography or history."

Mycroft finished his little speech, and looked at the small blonde who was staring at him as if he grew a second head.

"Woah…" Naruto breathed out, eyes shining. "I never thought of it that way!"

The elder boy chuckled.

"Are you ready to go to the library now?"

"I am more than ready, believe it!"