A Kitsune Riding on My Shoulder
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I'm not likely to gain ownership of it at any point while writing this story. I'm not going to own it ever for that matter.
"Talking"
"Kyuubi"
'Thoughts'
(Break)
IMPORTANT A/N! Okay, a lot of my reviewers have mentioned to me that I had a few mistakes in my last chapter. I am aware of the fact that Kakashi became a chuunin when he was six. I am also aware that he and Gai should be around 16 years old. But I wanted them to be twelve-year old genin for my story. It will not affect them at all later in the story, but what self-respecting chuunin/jounin would be caught baby-sitting some kid? Enjoy chapter 6!
(Break)
Naruto and Katsu strolled back to the ANBU headquarters not in a hurry to get anywhere. Occasionally Naruto would ask Katsu about strange things that he had not seen before and Katsu would patiently explain to his young charge and encouraged the Kid to ask about anything. There was a calm, friendly atmosphere about the two of them as they simply enjoyed each other's company.
Naruto looked around at the darkening sky. Katsu had explained to him all about this new world and Neko-chan would often add comments of her own when she felt that Katsu wasn't giving an adequate explanation on something. His head felt so packed with new information that Naruto wasn't sure that he could learn anymore or else risk it blowing up from an overload.
His eyes were scanning the street for anything else to ask the older man about (he was curious enough to risk his head blowing up) when he noticed a building in front of him. A building that he didn't think he would ever be able to forget. Naruto immediately tensed and pulled Neko-chan closer as his eyes remained locked on the building in front of him.
Katsu looked down at his small charge when he stopped walking. The ANBU ninja was surprised at what he saw. The face that had moments ago held joy and wonder had disappeared and been replaced by one of fear hate. Katsu followed the Kid's gaze to the ANBU headquarters and realized his mistake; the Kid would never willingly go back in there. After all what proof did he have that he would come back out.
"No," Naruto whimpered as he backed away from the building. 'I won't go back in there! They can't make me!' With those thoughts the young toddler turned to run away from the place that he had thought he had escaped. His escape, however, was stopped by the ANBU's hand on his shoulder. Naruto shuddered and refused to look back at the building instead choosing to curl up into a ball and block out the horrible thoughts that accompanied the sight of that building.
"It's okay, Kid." Katsu reassured as he tried to think of what he could do. There was no way that the Kid would ever go back into the headquarters but, where could he stay if not there? "We won't make you stay here," he cooed soothingly and quickly thought up an excuse for why they would be there, "We need to get your stuff so that we can move it into your new home." Katsu mentally cursed himself for using that excuse. And the new home would be where?
Naruto looked up at Katsu from behind his splayed fingers, "You promise?" he asked in a small voice as he seemed to unfurl from his shell of protection. "I won't go in there." He continued quietly as if daring Katsu to contradict him.
Katsu nodded to show that he understood. "But Kid, I need to get your stuff and I can't leave you out here alone. It's getting dark." 'And the villagers would probably pounce as soon as I turned my back' "We'll only be in there long enough to get your stuff, I promise." He urged the child to agree to his terms but the Kid only responded with a small shake of his head.
Sighing Katsu spared the ANBU headquarters one last glance before continuing down the road. Naruto's entire body remained tense until after the headquarters were completely out of sight and a couple of blocks behind them. When he calmed down he realized that he didn't know where the ANBU was taking him. "Where we go?" he asked the older man, tugging on his sleeve.
Katsu glanced down at the small form beside him, "You're going to come stay with me and Ichiro for a while, Kid. I'll go get you your stuff tomorrow." The ANBU walked down the street with the child's frail hand in his and distantly hoped that Ichiro wouldn't kill him for this.
(Break)
Ichiro looked up when he felt the floor vibrate slightly. His lack of hearing was disturbing him greatly and he could only pray and hope that it wouldn't be permanent. For now he simply had to rely on his other four senses. The floor was vibrating and that meant that someone was walking around in the living room. He set down the medicine and walked into the other room to investigate.
"Hello Katsu," he greeted his comrade, not noticing the small boy that had wandered into the kitchen. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with the Kid?" he resisted the strong urge to shudder. To know that he was speaking, to feel his voice box work, and not hear a thing was the strangest sensation he had ever experienced.
"Um, Ichiro" Katsu began awkwardly, but poor Ichiro couldn't hear a thing as he detachedly watched his comrades mouth form words "You do know that you have Q-tips sticking out of your ears, right?" Katsu walked over to his comrade and waved a hand in front of his face. "Are you listening to me?" he asked indignantly as he noticed Ichiro's oblivious look.
"Oh, Katsu!" He cried dramatically as he thought about his predicament. "I can't hear a thing! The Kid has made me go deaf!" The younger ANBU was frantic as he thought about the consequences of being handicapped. He couldn't be an ANBU anymore; they probably wouldn't even let him be a ninja!
"Calm down, Ichiro," Katsu soothed, and he decided not to tell his comrade about the boy's presence yet. "It's most likely not permanent. Just get a lot of sleep and keep putting that medication on them like you have been." He had no idea if what he said was true, what was he a medi-nin? But Katsu didn't like seeing his friend like this. "In fact you'll probably be fine when you wake up tomorrow. Now go get some sleep." He ordered, giving the younger man a small push towards his bedroom.
Ichiro just missed Naruto's presence as the boy walked out of the kitchen just as he started walking away. Naruto frowned slightly at how sad Katsu looked as he watched Ichiro walk away. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked making the older man jump slightly.
"Nothings wrong, Kid." Katsu lied through his teeth, "Ichiro just needs to get some sleep. He'll be fine in the morning. Now let's get you ready for bed." He quickly changed the subject as he led the boy into his room. "You can hardly sleep in that so I'll let you borrow one of my shirts." He commented as he pulled a really big black shirt out of his dresser and tossed it to Naruto.
Naruto quickly slid out of his blindingly bright clothes and pulled the black shirt over his head. It reached past his knees when he was standing straight. Naruto held the fabric and examined it closely. It was so dark compared to what he was used to. All of his clothes were either white or really bright. Sometimes they would hurt his eyes if he looked too long. But this shirt was black and Naruto found it strangely soothing to look at.
"That'll have to do until I can go get the rest of your things tomorrow." Katsu commented as he observed the Kid's look of wonder. "Now hop into bed, we have a big day tomorrow and you need all of the rest you can get." As if on cue Naruto yawned a wide jaw-cracking yawn. Naruto climbed into the bed, holding his Neko-chan close and was asleep in minutes.
Katsu smiled at the child for a moment before heading into the living room. They would need to get the Kid his own room if he was going to be staying here for too long. After all Katsu refused to sleep on the couch all the time.
"Hey, what about me?" Kyuubi complained loudly. "It's not like I can sleep. What am I going to do for the next eight or nine hours?" Kyuubi hated this. She had a lovely view of the boy's arms. Yep, he had turned in his sleep and thrown his arm over her. So now she had his weight crushing her down, couldn't move out from under his arm, and couldn't even look away from the pale appendage that was trapping her there. She hated not being able to move at all.
(Break)
"Wake up, Kid." Katsu gently shook the young child that had taken over his bed last night. "Hey, Kid! I said wake up!" The small boy simply turned over and snuggled into the blankets. "Ichiro's making breakfast." He tried on a random whim. Surprisingly, it worked. The Kid practically jumped out of the bed, slipped back into his clothes from yesterday, and ran towards the kitchen.
"Ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen!" Naruto chanted as he ran into the kitchen. Ichiro was standing by the stove feeling a lot better than he had yesterday. He smiled at the Kid's childish attitude. It was like a fresh breeze in the ANBU's stale world.
"Sorry, Kid. Not for breakfast." He flipped the omelets out of the pan and onto a plate. "Maybe later we'll buy you some ramen but you need to eat something healthier for you. After all we're going to start training you today." He scooped some omelet and bacon onto a plate and set it in front of the small boy.
"Itadakimas!(sp?)" Naruto cried joyfully as he dug into his breakfast. Kyuubi watched him inhale the food and mentally shuddered.
"Do you have to eat so fast? It's not like it'll disappear." Kyuubi commented clearly showing her disgust for his manners. Naruto glanced up at the small stuffed animal, half a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth. Kyuubi sighed at the small boy's blank expression. "Whatever. Just get it over with, Kid." With the Kyuubi's permission Naruto turned back to his food and resumed inhaling it at an unhealthy rate.
Katsu wondered into the kitchen and snitched a piece of bacon off of the pan as Ichiro was cooking it. Ichiro absently swatted his partner with the spatula in his hand with ease that comes from repetition. Katsu merely ducked under the spatula and snatched another piece of bacon before darting away.
"Katsu, why do you steal from Ichiro when there's bacon right here?" Naruto wondered as he looked at Katsu's wary form as he stayed just out of spatula range. Katsu looked up at Naruto blankly before replying as if it should be obvious.
"Where would the fun be in that, Kid?" He shook his head at the child's ignorance before glancing at the Kid's empty plate. "Done? Good we need to go buy you some fighting clothes and then we can start your training. Coming Ichiro?" He turned to his comrade who was slipping an apron off and eating some bacon at the same time. Ichiro nodded his head as his mouth was full and hung the apron up on a hook on the wall.
"C'mon Katsu, you too Kid. We need to get a head start if we want to get anything done before it gets too hot. I won't let you overwork the Kid and risk him suffering from heat exhaustion, Katsu." Ichiro's voice took on a slightly motherhen-ish voice as he led them out of the apartment. "What kind of clothes do you want anyway, Kid?" Ichiro asked as they walked toward a clothing store.
Naruto paused to think for a second. "Dark, I want black clothes like yours." He finally decided as he gave the older men's apparel an appraising look. "Nothing bright." When he said this he glanced down at the glaringly bright orange shirt he was currently wearing. "And nothing white." He mentally shuddered as he remembered his old home. White had been everywhere, the floors, the ceiling, and the furniture. If he never saw white again, it would be too soon.
(Break)
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Polls
Naru/TenTen- 1
Naru/Kyuubi- 1
Naru/Hina- 7
Naru/Kin- 4
Naru/Ino- 3
Naru/Tem- 1
Naru/Kim- 1