In which rumors spread, Naruto links up, Roshi gets a nickname, and Yugito entertains a baby.
O-O-O-O-O
The caretakers at the orphanage were terrified of the Nine-Tailed Fox's container.
During the day, its behavior was normal. It cried and slept as often as normal infants. However, it was almost always quiet at night. On the few occasions that it did cry, it quieted quickly. A few times, they caught it looking up at the air as if someone was there. Other times, they saw it lying in silence as if listening to someone talking. As it grew, it began to smile and giggle at the air.
The caretakers whispered among one another that they were taking care of a monster. Some wondered if the minds of the baby and the fox had blended together and created a new half-human, half-demon creature. Others worried that the evil fox had taken over the infant's mind. The most radical ones argued that the fox had used a henge to disguise itself and was waiting to destroy Konoha.
If it weren't for the constant presence of ANBU and the Hokage's orders, the caretakers might have tried to get rid of it. However, no one wanted to try anything when the orphanage was already under so much scrutiny.
Instead, they whispered, spreading rumors throughout the village that the child was a monster. Only the Hokage's threat of capital punishment stopped the rumors from spreading. At that point, however, it was too late. All the adults of Konohagakure already knew about the new jinchuuriki.
The container itself, Naruto, didn't care or understand the political situation yet. While he could not see his mysterious companions, their presence made him happy in a world that wanted nothing to do with him.
O-O-O-O-O
After his first meeting with Fuu, Roshi decided to visit the Room as often as he could. Almost every night, Fuu joined him before she fell into a deep sleep. The duo talked to the babies through the night, waiting for them to finalize their mental link. Based on past experience, Roshi told Fuu the process usually took between a few months to a year.
They always visited the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki first. Roshi picked Fuu up so that she could look through the baby's window and into its life. Fuu talked a mile a minute while Roshi stayed silent, only communicating when Fuu was quiet. To his relief, she was never quiet.
As time passed, the baby's vision improved and they could see the everyday world of the child. Other than the baby mobile, the environment was sparse, even by ninja standards. The child didn't have any toys in its crib and didn't seem to get a lot of attention. It was always happy whenever they talked to it, at least.
After visiting the youngest vessel, the two made time to talk to the other child, the container of the Ichibi. Roshi opened the link first. He had explained to Fuu that the baby was suffering and touching the Door without mental preparation would hurt. Roshi absorbed some of the pain before he would allow Fuu to place her tiny hand on the Door.
They learned a lot about the other baby as he learned how to walk and talk. Sometimes he asked them for food or milk, forgetting that they weren't actually there. They learned the vessel's name after Fuu asked: Gaara. He was quiet and shy, preferring to listen instead of talk. He had a male caretaker named Yashamaru and lived in Sunagakure. His favorite toy was a brown teddy bear. Gaara seemed to be happy when they just talked about whatever came to mind.
Fuu chatted away at Gaara, who always listened with rapt attention. However, Roshi's mind wandered whenever she started telling a story. Fuu tended to get side-tracked by minor details and never reached a conclusion in her stories. But Gaara liked listening to her talk, so Roshi encouraged her while letting his own mind wander.
Fuu always left first since she was young and needed more sleep- real sleep- than Roshi did. Roshi always stayed longer with Gaara after that, telling him about his past missions. It was forbidden to talk about classified missions, but Roshi didn't care. He hated Iwagakure and Onoki. The Tsuchikage could burn in hell for all he cared. Besides, Gaara wouldn't remember or care about missions from other villages.
Roshi and Fuu maintained their routine for six more months before the youngest jinchuuriki finally decided to appear.
Roshi was alone in the Room, talking with Gaara after Fuu left to sleep. Gaara liked listening to his stories about the Third Shinobi War. He changed "stabbing" for "hugging" in his stories though.
He was in the middle of recounting one of his exploits at Kannabi Bridge when Roshi heard cries from behind him. When he turned around, he saw a blond baby in the middle of the Room. Roshi almost panicked before he remembered that he was talking to Gaara. The boy suffered enough as it was without adding panic to it.
'Hey Gaara-chan,' he said forcing his voice to stay calm. 'Something came up, I have to leave a little early. But I will finish the story later. Take care.'
Roshi waited a few seconds, in case Gaara panicked before disconnecting. The boy seemed a little confused about the sudden departure but not upset. Roshi sighed in relief and pulled his hand away, severing communication.
He turned around to look at the crying baby. It must have appeared, looked around the Room and panicked about being alone in an unfamiliar place. Roshi sighed again before hurrying over to the child. He remembered his first time linking up to the Room at the age of six. He still remembered the experience as confusing and not fun.
He squatted down and picked up the infant. It seemed to weigh almost nothing. For a second he realized how fragile babies were. Fuu felt delicate too and he had to be careful not to push or pull her too hard when he picked her up or held her hand. In comparison, carrying a baby felt like a more delicate operation than trying to walk across a room full of explosive tags. He hoped he wouldn't drop it.
"It's okay child, I'm here, it's okay." He began to say empty nothings to the child, murmuring in a soft voice. The baby quieted down almost immediately after being picked up. It seemed to recognize his voice as it looked up. Roshi smiled and the baby copied him, showing a mouth with only two tiny bottom teeth.
The resemblance to Kushina was uncanny. Although the coloring was different, they both had the same round face and the same jawline, eyes, and nose. He had guessed the child was Kushina's before, though. Uzumaki clan genes were highly compatible with bijuu and Kushina had been ready to burst at the time of her death. He guessed that after she died in childbirth, her son was the only option once the Kyuubi was released.
Roshi placed the child in the crook of his elbow and started to rock him like he had seen some civilians do. No one had been there for him the first time he entered the Room, alone and terrified. Comforting Kushina's child was the least he could do to honor her memory. The baby seemed a lot happier once it was getting attention and began to make little babbling noises.
I have to get Fuu. If she learns I didn't tell her when the baby arrived, she might kick me. Or worse, cry.
With the baby in his arms, Roshi walked over to Fuu's glowing green Door.
It could be difficult to pull another jinchuuriki into the Room once they had entered deep sleep. However, he suspected it wouldn't be a problem for her. She had been looking forward to meeting the baby for too long to not get excited, even subconsciously. He put his hand on her Door.
'Hey butterfly, guess who decided to show up? If you want to see the baby, you need to come into the room as fast as you can. I don't know how long it will want to stay here.'
Roshi felt her excitement as his message reached Fuu's subconscious and woke her up. He looked down at the baby in his arms once again before sitting down cross-legged in front of Fuu's Door. The baby tried to pull at his beard and he bent his head down to be closer. He couldn't help but admit that the baby was pretty cute, especially with the whisker marks. A side effect of the Kyuubi I guess.
Seconds after he sent the message to wake her, Fuu's mind sprung forth from her Door. She rushed to his side and began talking to the baby without pause. Poor kid, she's going to be exhausted tomorrow, she's not used to sleeping so little yet.
"Wow! The baby is so cute!" Fuu exclaimed as she bent down to look closer, "Yes! I hope we can be friends!"
The baby seemed to recognize her voice as well because it smiled and made more noises. Fuu giggled as she crawled to sit on Roshi's lap. She continued to talk to the baby, repeating the same story from earlier. The baby didn't care about repeated stories, though. It instead looked content to be getting undivided attention.
"Roshi-san," Fuu began. Roshi grunted to show he was listening. "What do you think the baby's name is? Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"
Roshi thought for a few seconds before answering. While he had seen the connection between Kushina's death and the jinchuuriki's birth, Fuu hadn't. She doesn't realize the baby is Kushina's.
"I don't know," he answered, "Didn't Kushina-san tell you what her baby was going to be?"
Fuu looked at him in confusion before her eyes widened in understanding and excitement. Sometimes what seemed obvious to him was a mystery to her.
"This is Kushina's baby boy?!" she shouted with a grin on her face.
"Most likely, too many factors to be a coincidence." Roshi nodded. "What did Kushina-san tell you about her baby?"
"Kushina told me she was going to have a son," Fuu answered, "and that his name was Naruto."
Like the fishcake in ramen? Kushina was way too obsessed with that dish.
"But I wanted a little sister." She pouted for a second before she grinned down at the baby. "I guess having a little brother is okay too because you're cute."
The boy, of course, had no idea what she had said, but he could feel the sentiment and he copied her smile and gurgled.
Little brother? Roshi worried that Fuu was getting too invested in her relationships with the other jinchuuriki. The world may have been at peace, but war could break out at any second. Any of them could be forced to fight each other to the death. He worried that he was becoming too attached to the children himself.
While Roshi knew that friendships with foreign ninja could only lead to disaster, Fuu was too young to understand the dangers. But he didn't have the heart to tell her that. She will learn and I hope she learns that lesson the easy way.
Fuu was too young for battle and talking to the other jinchuuriki was the only thing that brought her happiness. The kage might call them weapons and tools, but Roshi knew that he and his fellow vessels were also human. They all craved companionship and love, and Roshi was no different. For now, he would encourage the two children to spend time together and hope nothing happened to break that bond.
The two continued talking to the baby boy. He seemed more than happy to spend time with them. Trying to make him more comfortable, Roshi conjured a big mattress. He laid the baby down on his belly, watching as he lifted up his head and looked around the Room. Fuu started to tickle him as she continued chattering about her day. Roshi sat down nearby, looking at the two young ones play together.
Based on his internal clock, the baby stayed in the Room for over two hours before finally falling asleep. Immediately afterward, his body disappeared. Fuu and Roshi were left sitting on the conjured mattress.
Fuu looked exhausted. She had already had a full day of training followed by the usual time spent talking to Gaara and Naruto. If her handlers were anything like his had been, he doubted they would be understanding. He didn't think they would be lenient when Fuu was too tired to give her best performance in the morning. I can sympathize.
Fuu let out a huge yawn of exhaustion.
"I'm sorry Roshi-san," she apologized. "But I'm very tired."
He looked at her and nodded. "I know, butterfly, you should go to sleep. You have a long day tomorrow. Make sure to rest. A tired ninja is a bad ninja."
Fuu smiled at him and threw herself around his neck in a hug before running back to her Door and leaving the Room. Roshi had no time to react at the sudden contact, but he smiled to himself once he was alone.
Roshi considered going to Gaara's Door one last time when he felt Han's presence standing behind him.
"Don't you ever sleep at normal times?" Roshi asked, turning his head around to look up at Han.
"Why do you go to sleep so early? Are you becoming an old man that quickly?" Han retorted in his deep calm voice.
"Fuck you," Roshi replied without heat and flipped him off. One of the advantages of Fuu being asleep meant doing everything uncensored. "I go to sleep early because the girl sleeps early, too," he explained.
Roshi stood up to look up at his friend. It's unfair that Han is so tall. Even though they were related by blood, Han was over seven feet tall while Roshi didn't reach the five-foot mark.
"You missed the baby, the girl was very excited about meeting him. She was disappointed when the child turned out to be a boy, though," he said.
"Was the child really-?" Han started.
"Kushina's? Yes, obviously. You know... Uzumaki genes. They have the same face and everything. Although somehow the girl hadn't connected the dots until tonight. His name is probably Naruto, assuming they named him with Kushina's wishes in mind. He seems to be in good enough condition, considering the circumstances. I do wonder who the father is though. The boy is blond and has sky-blue eyes."
Han nodded at Roshi's explanation before his gaze moved to the Door of the Ichibi jinchuuriki. As far as Roshi knew, Gaara had never appeared in the Room. It was possible that he had entered while they were gone. However, he knew they would have felt the child panicking if Gaara had joined and seen nobody there.
"Why do you think this other boy hasn't joined us yet?" Roshi asked as Han stared at the door of the last jinchuuriki.
"I don't know," Han replied. He sounded calm, but after knowing him for decades, Roshi could tell that he was worried about the other child
"It's possible that he has a broken seal," Han guessed. "It's happened before. Inexperienced or arrogant shinobi use rushed or faulty methods to try to contain the bijuu. Considering how young the child is, it seems the most likely option. The younger the jinchuuriki, the more difficult it is to form the seal since babies are very delicate."
"I see," Roshi replied with a huff, "well, considering the pain the child is in, it seems even more likely."
Faulty seals were always a pain in the ass. Only a true master could ever hope to fix or remake it. With Uzushio gone, the hopes of finding such a master were minuscule at best. Usually, villages would extract the bijuu and try again on a new container. However, that always led to the death of the original jinchuuriki. Roshi hoped Sunagakure wouldn't do that. He had grown attached to Gaara, despite himself.
Roshi touched Gaara's Door once again.
'Gaara-chan, I'm going to leave. I'll finish the story tomorrow. Good night,' he said.
Gaara parroted his message back, still happy from their previous conversation. Roshi was tired and he had a mission the next day. Plus, he knew Han wanted the Room to practice his taijutsu and kenjutsu.
"Good night, Han." He waved goodbye lazily, leaving the Room before he could hear Han's reply.
O-O-O-O-O
Fuu was very happy when Naruto started to appear in the Room at night with regularity.
Roshi always carried them both to Gaara's door so the four of them could talk at once. Fuu always took the lead in the conversation. She liked to "translate" Naruto's unintelligible babbling to Gaara. Gaara always listened intently to everyone, even Naruto
Han, Roshi's friend, sometimes appeared later in the night. He liked to ruffle Fuu's and Naruto's hair and would tell them the rules of being a shinobi.
A shinobi must prepare before it's too late. A shinobi must see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings. Misdirection is the sharpest blade.
She got the feeling he wasn't telling them the full list yet. Nevertheless, she appreciated his advice as her own training responsibilities grew.
Rarely, both Iwagakure men were on missions and could not join the Room. On those nights, Fuu entertained Naruto and Gaara by herself. Naruto was easily distracted and he liked playing with frog toys and stuffed animals. He could crawl and sit alone and he was heavy enough that Fuu struggled to hold him for long. Gaara was easier to deal with. He was very quiet, especially for a toddler. He preferred to listen and only asked questions on rare occasions.
Soon after Naruto learned how to crawl, Fuu made it her mission to teach him how to talk. Every night she set him down onto a conjured blanket and knelt in front of him. For weeks, she tried to get him to say his first words without any success.
"Fuu," she said excitedly, "say Fuu!"
Naruto looked at her as if confused but kept his mouth shut. Fuu tried again with the same result. She moaned in exasperation when her latest attempt failed.
"How difficult is it to say Fuu, Roshi-san?!" she complained. "It's easy! Fuu! Fuu! Fuu!"
Naruto giggled at the expressions on her face but didn't try to repeat her name. Roshi leaned in closer and stared down at the infant. Naruto looked at him with wide blue eyes, smiled, and began to babble again. However, that time the babbling sounded like…
"Mama," Naruto said, "mama, mama!"
Roshi froze. Fuu looked at him with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Mama! You have a new name!" Fuu screamed in excitement. Roshi barely suppressed a groan. Fuu could tell, however, that he was secretly happy. Roshi always got a small blush on his cheeks when he was happy. She made a mental note to make sure Gaara started calling him "Mama" too.
O-O-O-O-O
There is a baby in the middle of the training arena.
Yugito was preparing to leap across the Room, claws extended, when the blond baby appeared.
She was on a C-ranked mission with her genin team while B was forced to stay in Kumogakure. She had wanted to practice her taijutsu and B had promised to teach her something new. They had agreed to meet during the day when the other jinchuuriki were unlikely to be there. However, no one had told the child that it was bad manners to interrupt a ninja's training session.
Yugito exchanged glances with B, who was standing on the opposite side of the Room. Together, they stared at the infant lying in the middle. It was looking around as if searching for someone or something.
The baby looked at B first before staring at Yugito. Both of the Kumo ninja stared back without moving. They rarely interacted with children, let alone infants.
It looked around the room once more, now panicked. Yugito's fears came true as the baby began to cry.
B acted first. He leaped over to crouch down and look at the child from a close distance. Unlike Yugito, B had lived a normal life before becoming a jinchuuriki. He had a lot more experience dealing with young children than she did. Yugito walked to B's side to look more closely at the baby.
It was bawling now, tiny fists balled up in frustration as angry tears fell down its cheeks. Yugito guessed it had expected someone else to be in the Room. She presumed one of the Iwagakure men or the little Takigakure girl. She could hear them talking at night before she went to sleep when her mental defenses were at their lowest.
B lifted the baby up gently and rested it on his hip as it continued to bawl. Yugito hoped B knew how to calm down the baby enough so that they could go back to training. Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed when B started rapping instead.
"Oh baby!" B sang. "When you start crying, I feel like dying. You're just a baby, stop crying maybe, yo!"
To her surprise, the baby stopped long enough to give B a confused look before continuing to bawl. If she didn't know better, Yugito would say it's already judged the quality of B's rhymes. She finally retracted the claws on her fingers and slapped B on the shoulder.
"Stop scaring the baby with your terrible rapping," she scolded. "It's obviously looking for that old man from Iwa or the little girl from Taki. It doesn't understand that they're busy during the day."
"Makes sense! But Roshi-sama is not here, yo! We need to get him in the Room, you dumbass phony!"
The baby stopped sobbing to look at B as if he had never seen anything so strange before. To be fair, Yugito agreed that B was pretty strange. The infant started to cry again, though a lot less passionately.
"I think he likes my rapping, kitten," B said with a bright smile.
"No one likes your rapping, B," she replied. "You probably paralyzed it with its sheer awfulness."
B flinched back as if it were the first time she had criticized his abysmal skills.
"So cold, little kitten," he replied, "can't you see the baby is smitten?"
What are the consequences of killing the Raikage's brother? She glared at him before stomping toward the Yonbi Jinchuuriki's Door. B was still trying to rap at it, but Yugito refused to listen on principle. The baby had stopped bawling and was letting out sad little sobs instead.
She put her hand on the old man's door to sent him a mental message.
'Hey, old man, can't you take care of the baby? We're trying to train here, not babysit!' Yugito yelled at her fellow jinchuuriki.
'Can't little one, I'm busy on a mission,' the man replied. To demonstrate, he took down his mental barriers for a brief moment to show her what he saw. He was indeed busy fighting a group of missing-nin with crossed-out Iwagakure hitai-ate. There was no way for him to stop, meditate, and join the Room.
'Fine, but if B kills the baby with one of his terrible raps, don't blame me,' she huffed. She felt the man shudder mentally. Iwa and Kumo ninja might not talk much, but B's rapping was infamous. After all, he liked to use the Room to practice new rhymes.
Yugito looked back at the training area. B was still trying and failing to rap. The baby had stopped crying, although its eyes and cheeks remained damp with tears. It was staring at B with a confused look. She shook her head before trying her luck with the remaining doors.
She tried to connect with the container of the Five-Tailed Beast and with the Takigakure girl. However, the Gobi Jinchuuriki was busy in a meeting with the Tsuchikage. Meanwhile, the girl was training with her jounin instructor, a bitter-looking man. Lastly, the container of the One-Tailed Beast was only a little older than the one currently in the Room. It hadn't finished its connection to the Room yet.
She skipped over the doors that represent the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails Jinchuuriki. As far as she knew, they had never appeared inside the Room or even interacted with any of the other containers. Even Kushina hadn't been able to talk with them, despite her best efforts. Neither she nor B knew anything about them either. They suspected they were from Kirigakure, but there was no way for them to know for sure.
All I wanted was one uninterrupted training session with B. Is that too much to ask?
Having exhausted her babysitting options, Yugito resigned herself to taking care of the baby. She walked back to B and the baby, giving out a long sigh. B was sitting on the floor with the child on his lap, staring down in adoration. The baby, by his part, seemed confused by B. Don't worry, kid, I feel the same way.
Yugito looked closely at the kid. It had wide sky-blue eyes, messy blond hair, and little whisker marks on its cheeks. It looked familiar to Yugito, although she couldn't quite place why.
"Can't we put it in a box or something?" She complained in frustration. She didn't mean it, but B still turned around and stared at her in shock.
"How can you say that, you dumbass phony?!" he said with a gasp. "The baby wants to have fun! The baby is cute, don't be a brute!"
I don't know what's more irritating: a crying baby or B rapping. Yugito suppressed a groan before she knelt down next to B.
She looked down and stared intensely at the baby's eyes. She had to admit that it was pretty cute. She hadn't been near any babies in her life. They might be heroes in Kumogakure, but people kept their children as far away from B and Yugito as possible.
She showed the child her right hand. The infant wrapped its tiny palm around her index finger and pulled. Its grip was surprisingly strong, though she could very easily pull away if she wanted. A small smile tugged at her lips. The infant grinned at her, showing four tiny milk teeth. She took her left hand and began to move her fingers through its soft blond hair. The baby smiled even wider. It truly is cute.
"Awww... the kitty is oh so pretty," B interrupted the tender moment with a terrible rhyme.
Yugito couldn't help but blush a little. She was so caught up looking at the baby, she had forgotten B was also in the Room with her.
"Am not!" she replied, although she didn't pull away from the baby's grip. "I just like looking at it! Like a koi fish! In a pond!"
B gave her an unbelieving smile but was smart enough not to say anything. Yugito was only fourteen to B's twenty-one, but her claws could hurt. They turned their gaze back at the baby, who now looked happy to be getting attention from new people. Their eyes softened.
"What do babies need, anyway?" Yugito asked. "Maybe we can conjure something for it to do while we train"
"Good idea, yeah!," B replied, "Babies need many things, yo! But a place to play is the most important, you dumbass phony!"
With that, B conjured a small floor mat along with some stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows. He crawled over and placed the child in the middle. The baby looked around, full of curiosity.
It examined all of the toys before reaching out for a stuffed frog. However, it was a little too far for him to reach. Before he could fall or cry in frustration, Yugito took the frog and placed it in his hands. The baby grabbed on and began to chew on it. Both Yugito and B smiled at the sight.
The child turned its eyes back on Yugito, the frog still in its mouth. It gurgled happily and Yugito smiled back. Training can wait a minute, the baby is just now getting comfortable.
"Are you happy now, little one?" she asked, "Is there anything you need? Do you want to play a game?"
Inspired, Yugito leaned over to hover in front of the baby's face. She took one of the blankets that B had conjured and covered its face and body. She had seen some civilians playing the game with their children.
"Where's the baby?" She asked in a sing-song voice. The baby giggled under the blanket.
"Here it is!" she said, pulling the blanket away. The infant giggled again. Apparently, it was very easy to entertain infants. With the frog in its mouth and a smile on its face, it looked even cuter than before. Yugito couldn't help but grin back.
B remained uncharacteristically quiet as Yugito continued to play Peek-a-boo. The infant seemed to enjoy the very simple game. For Yugito, it was nice to be carefree, even if it was only for a short amount of time.
It didn't take long, perhaps half an hour more, before the baby let out a big yawn and disappeared from the Room. B and Yugito stood up as they allowed the conjured objects to disappear. At that point, it was too late to try learning a new technique. She couldn't stay in the Room forever when her teammates needed her for the mission. She would have to learn B's technique later.
"Well, our plans got ruined," she pouted. "You better teach me that new move later, B. I can't believe we got sidetracked by a baby."
"It's all right, Yugito," B said with a grin, "You were so cute, I went all mute!"
Yugito glared back at B, although she wasn't smiling anymore.
"If you tell anyone I spent half an hour playing Peek-a-boo, I will make you incapable of future reproduction," she threatened, a murderous glint in her eye. B wisely didn't say anything. Yugito was still young and only a genin, but her claws hurt.
O-O-O-O-O
A/N: This chapter turned into pure fluff almost by accident.
Big thanks to modoribashi for helping me read through the first draft. If you want to contact me, I'm pretty active on Tumblr at waffledogwrites.
Next chapter: Yagura is mystified by paperwork.