It had been rather chaotic after our introduction, the pack had explained that they had been in contract with my family and the Hokage, Kakashi, and the other Anbu had started discussing the logistics of bringing me back to the village. It had been hard to leave the pack. But I had been surprised as Kakashi scooped me up and rested me on his hip. Alice's memories painted him as an awkward individual when it came to kids. I fidgeted nervously until one of the pack ran forward from the tree line, stopping and belly crawling before the Tadaaki.
"Alpha, I wish to make a request." Tadaaki blinked down at the young Border Collie barely out of puppyhood.
"Speak your mind Ryu."
The collie sat at attention before turning his head to look me straight in the eye. "I wish to accompany Princess." I blinked, most of the pack either referred to be as pup or princess but it was still odd to hear aloud.
Tadaaki looked to the leaf shinobi who in turn sent questioning looks to Kakashi. After a brief pause he shrugged. "Mah, kids like dogs, its part of our clan's summoning contract. I don't see as it would be any different than the Inuzuka's Ninkin running around the village." The Hokage inclined his head and Tadaaki turned back to the collie.
"Then Ryu, the pack trusts you with Nanko-hime's protection and companionship. Be mindful of your attitude young one. The two leggers hide much behind deflected words and hidden meanings."
Ryu barked and affirmative and trotted happily over to me. Kakashi put me down and I scratched behind his ear.
"Thank you Ryu." I whispered warmly
He grinned, tongue lolling to the side of his mouth. "I am proud to be by your side Nana-hime!"
I giggled, we made our goodbyes and the leaf shinobi set off back home, taking to the trees and I closed my eyes, relishing the feel of the wind in my hair.
The trip was uneventful and soon we were approaching the gates of Konoha. The gate guards greeted the Hokage, but I paid them little mind. Alice's memories didn't do this place justice. It was vibrant and alive. As we traveled the streets I openly gaped at the marketplace vendors and children running in the streets. My hands crept up to cover my ears. Kakashi peered at me over his shoulder and chuckled lightly.
"Its loud." I said softly blinking owlishly at everything.
"it's not that bad."
I shook my head. "The summons realm doesn't carry much sound, and their where no other people…" I trailed off as I could practically smell the pity rolling off the shinobi. I hated pity. It smelled like burnt lemons.
The Hokage and his Anbu had headed back to the tower, and we arrived back at the Hatake clan compound. I slid from Kakashi's back and glanced around the small house we had stopped at. It was very clearly a bachelor's home, sparsely furnished and a peek in the kitchen proved it wasn't well stocked. The most well-kept part of the house was a bookshelf with the icha icha collection on display. Kakashi bit his thumb, and after the smoke cleared Pakun and another ninking, a blond haired, long eared, dog I couldn't identify the breed on.
"Alright kiddo, you know Pakun, and this is Guruko. I've got to get some supplies as I wasn't exactly expecting to come home with a tagalong but their gonna babysit while I'm gone."
"I'm not a…." he body flickered away so quickly I bit off my sentence with a growl reverberating through my chest.
Pakun stretched, "Awe pup don't be like that. You have to give him time. Kakashi's never been good with kids. Not even when he was one."
Ryu leaned into my side, and I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his coat. Staring where I'd last seen the copy-nin. My eyes burned and as I blinked back frustrated tears a whine built and bleed into the empty room. Causing the ninken's ears to flatten in concern.
The following week fell into a rather off-putting routine. Kakashi spent very little time in the house, often Pakun and another ninken would 'pup-sit', as they put it, and Ryu and I would wander the compound. At night I would curl up on my futon and Ryu would curl up at my side. Takeout containers would magically appear from seemingly nowhere. But after a week I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed some of the money Kakashi had left, near the note about how to order take-out.
"Ryu" the collie perked up and at a tilt of my head bounded over to me. I smiled fondly and tapped him on the nose. Pakun had been called to something or other, seeming to trust the collie to watch me. Which was laughable considering in the pack hierarchy I had, had more authority than Ryu. I shook my head; it was hard not to think that way. Most of my life had been with the pack at this point, at least the parts I could recall clearly.
"Where are we going Princess!" the collie trotted happily beside me down the streets of Konoha
"Groceries" Alice was a chef in her life, her vast knowledge of flavor pairings and culinary ideas, was getting two tempting not to utilize, especially since I hadn't had anything but takeout for the past week. Shopping was easy enough; I didn't even have to haggle much with the vendors. Must not have wanted to swindle a child I guess. I had gathered together lots of vegetables, rice, spices, and other miscellaneous items, I was going to stock that kitchen, no more take out…well maybe occasionally. One of the vendors had a saddle pack and Ryu was only too happy to help me carry items. I had a large bag of items in my arms and Ryu was happily chatting away about anything and everything when I was blindsided and sent sprawling.
"Nanako!" Ryu's cry was fallowed by a growl. Glancing up I saw him standing defensively before me, growling at the little shaking child. Blinking in shock I stared. Blond hair, whiskers, clothes far to large for him. Tears filling his blue eyes. Reaching back, I used my hands to spring myself to my feet. Stepping forward I placed my palm flat between Ryu's shoulder blades and he instantly relaxed his stance and sat, watchful but relaxed. I reached forward to offer him a hand up and he flinched.
Pausing I went down on one knee to look him in the eye. His baby blue darted this way and that, as if desperately seeking an exit. Reaching up I pulled the mask down and smiled. He blinked, caught off guard.
"Sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going. Can I help you up?" Reaching my hand out again I waited. He fidgeted, glancing warily at my hand. As if he expected me to retracted it at any moment. My heart broke. Alice's memories painted a very sad tale of this child's life. Abandonment, abuse, a desperate need to be recognized.
Tentatively he reached forward and placed his hand in mine. So small, he was clearly younger than me. I gently pulled him to his feet. Leaning forward to brush the dust from his too large shirt.
He licked his lips nervously. "You…..you're not gonna yell?" he whispered.
I raised an eyebrow. The best course of action in my mind was to treat him like any other child I'd meet. Normalcy was something he clearly didn't get from anyone else. "Yell? Nah, I was the one who wasn't looking where I was going." I smiled sheepishly jerking a thumb to my ninken "Ryu was talking my ear off and I was distracted."
Ryu bristled indignantly, "Nana-hime! I was not!"
The blond blinked in awe. "The….the dog…talks?"
Ryu puffed up, tail wagging wildly. "Of course, I talk, how else would I communicate with princess?"
The wide eyes turned on me then. "Princess? Y…you're….I knocked down a princess?!"
I rolled my eyes and waved a hand dismissively. "Not really, not a real princess anyway. Ryu just likes to call me that, most of my pack did." Glancing around I started picking up my scattered purchases, some of the tomatoes where bruised but most everything else was intact. The boy scrambled forward, picking up things and handing them to me. I took a container of soy sauce with a grin. "Thanks, you got a name?"
He smiled, but glanced down, nervously playing with the hem of his shirt. "N…Naruto."
I smiled warmly as I picked up my bag. "Well Naruto, my name is Nanako." I made a show of glancing around. "You here by yourself?"
He looked down, "yeah, I live at the orphanage." He winced, "No one….no one ever wants to play with me, and the caretakers just want me to stay out of the way, believe it!" he blushed and looked away again, tiny fists clenched.
I nodded, Alice had always thought that the verbal tic was developed because no one ever seemed to listen to him or believe in him, so giving him the benefit of the doubt was easy. "Yeah I can understand that I love my parents two years ago. I just got to Konoha last week. They guy I'm staying with is family but…its weird"
As we stood and talked I could see his stance relax, his shoulders came up out of their hunch, and his eyes started meeting mine more easily. Those baby blue man, they were weapons. So much emotion on display for anyone who cared enough to look. A growl from his stomach gave me pause and he wrapped his little arms around himself and blushed, ducking back into his hunch.
"Well, I should probably get back, it is getting close to lunchtime…." His face fell but he was nodding, scuffing the ground with his worn shoes. "You wanna help me carry this home? I'll pay you back by making us lunch."
His head whipped up so fast I'm surprised his neck didn't snap with the force of it. His jaw was hanging open in absolute shock. "You…..you want me to come over?"
I smiled and shrugged, "Sure, I mean if you have other plans that's cool, but I think it will be fun and.." I was cute of when he wrapped himself around me in a hug. I could practically feel his small form shaking and when he pulled back I pretended I didn't see him scrub the back of his hand across his eyes. He smiled so bright and held out his little arms.
"I would love to; I can carry the bag the whole way to your house Nanako-san Believe it!"
Alice had read a lot of stories in her life. Stories that cautioned the changing of the tale, that I could and would make things worse than the original. But staring down at the shining light of hope in those blue eyes and that bright smile. I couldn't bring myself to care. I wasn't in Alice's version of the story. And I sure as hell was going to do everything I could to make this one a better childhood for this little ball of sunshine.
Pulling my mask back up over my nose, I handed off my bag and motioned for him to follow me. He kept pace easily, and Ryu chatted happily with him as well. As we entered the Hatake compound, he paused slightly but quickly followed me at my encouraging gesture. He eagerly helped me put my items away and I left a few out as I set to marinating the beef and pulled out some vegetables to chop. Naruto sat at the counter and asked questions as I cooked. The familiar rhythm from Alice's memories brought a happy comfort to my heart, which was strengthened by every smile and giggle that came from the small boy across from me.
"So Sunshine," I smiled "You ever try Beef Tataki?"