Naruto's jaw dropped.
Never before had he had someone claim to be his family member, so he was understandably shocked. Nobody had ever taken a claim on him in general. Not even in friendship.
The child who had known nothing but strife lit up in glee, running forward and wrapping the stranger in a hug. The four foot tall sunshine-haired boy buried his head in the man's stomach, his arms encircling him and squeezing as tight as he possibly could. Naruto had never been hugged by family before. Mumei brought his large hands down on the boy's head and back, giving him as much of a hug as he could muster.
Naruto refused to let go. The hug lasted much longer than Mumei had expected. In fact, this was probably the longest hug of his life. As far as he knew this could be the first hug that Naruto remembered, so he allowed it. The boy nuzzled into his jounin flak jacket, inhaling the scent he would now call family, home. Of course, his sense of smell was not quite as developed as per say Kakashi or himself since Naruto was not in communication with Kurama.
"Why didn't you come for me sooner," the boy mumbled into the vest.
"I didn't know about you, Naru-chan. My brother and I were not particularly close," he replied, running his hand through those blond locks so identical to his own.
"What does partic-particuary mean?"
"Particularly means not very. Not very close," Mumei explained. He couldn't remember when he had learned to read and write. It was something he had taught himself when the orphanage and school had failed to do so.
"Ojisan why did you come now?" the boy prodded further.
"I came looking for my brother and found out he had died, leaving you. I needed a purpose and now I have one," he replied with a gentle tug of the boy's sunshine locks.
Slowly, the boy released him and gazed up at the man as if he was about to disappear at any second, leaving him all alone yet again.
"You… won't leave me, right?" the boy asked with fear in his eyes.
"Only when I have to and not for long. I'll always come back," the man smiled soothingly.
Naruto beamed. "Ne, can we play ninja, ojisan?"
"Maa, don't call me ojisan, it makes me sound old," he pouted comically.
"Ok, Mu-nii-chan!"
"That's not-," he started to say but stopped when Naruto's grin started to waver, "alright, Mu-nii-chan it is," he finished with a sigh.
Mumei crouched down to Naruto's level. "How about I teach you to be a ninja instead?"
The boy's grin got even wider. "I'll be the best ninja! I'll be Hokage, dattebayo!" he shouted in glee.
The man ruffled that head of sunshine hair and smiled, "I know you will be."
Naruto's heart soared. This was the first time that someone actually believed in him. Tears welled up in his eyes and he surged forward, wrapping his arms around Mumei's neck.
Mumei fell backwards with the momentum, landing solidly on his rump, the boy in his grasp. They sat there for quite some time, the boy crying into the shoulder of his flak jacket, his tiny hands wrapped around the man's neck. Mumei rubbed soothing circles on the child's back but the affection only seemed to spur more tears. He was glad he got there when he did; that he had chosen to see Naruto before starting his one man mission to save the world.
Once Naruto had settled down and released him from his octopus grasp, Mumei took the boy's hands in his. "How would you like to come live with me in your parents' house?"
A teary smile and a nod was his answer.
"Come on, let's gather up your things and we can leave this apartment forever."
The boy jumped into action, gathering up small items. He had only a few clothes but piled them in the center of the room anyways. Next he moved his plants to sit in front of Mumei. Then came his precious Gama-chan and sleeping cap. Finally he took out a box from under his bed and placed it delicately in his uncle's hands. The man removed the lid and peered inside.
It was filled with small trinkets that he presumably found in the garbage when he was rooting around for food. Mumei's heart throbbed painfully with compassion for the child's situation and anger for the villagers that treated him this way. He grabbed the boy into another hug, placing the box on the ground. "You will want for nothing," he whispered into his hair.
Once the emotions had passed, he released the child and removed a scroll from a seal adjacent to the one with his sealing supplies. He sealed the boy's items inside the stasis seal quite quickly as he had few possessions.
"Where did it all go?" Naruto asked in wonder.
"It's called Fuuinjutsu. The Uzumaki clan and your father were famed for their abilities in this technique. I'll teach you."
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it to Naruto, as they were his belongings. The boy hugged the scroll to his chest, excited at the prospect of learning how perform such wonders.
Mumei took the boy into his arms once more and rose to stand. Naruto seemed amazed that he was finally being held in such a way. He had seen children held by their parents and family members before, but he did not have any memories of being held, of being in the arms of someone who loved him.
"We have to do a little shopping first, is that okay?" he asked the boy who now had a fearful look on his cherubic face.
"I won't let any of them hurt you," Mumei reassured the child.
"O-okay," the boy whispered.
With Naruto on his right hip, Mumei raised his left hand into the Shunshin handsign and the duo vanished in a whirl of leaves. The landlord could deal with cleaning out the apartment that he had let decay around the child.
They appeared on the main street outside the market where food vendors were lined up.
"I'm going to put you down now," the man informed him before setting the boy gently on the ground.
Just as he was placing the child on the road, he felt someone watching them. Kakashi. He knew that the man wouldn't let well enough alone. He was perched several rooftops away and had donned his Inu ANBU mask but Mumei could still sense that he was there, watching. Waiting.
Naruto clung to Mumei's side, afraid of the outside world and what his new uncle might think of him once he found out that he was a monster. The man ruffled the child's golden locks and took one tiny hand in his.
"Come now," he said with fake cheeriness, although it was only discernible to a very watchful eye; Kakashi's eye.
Mumei led Naruto into the market and stopped at a fruit stand. With the child's hand held firmly in his own, he used his other hand to inspect the produce. He could feel the anger directed at both him and his charge. His eyes flicked up and locked with the vendor's. The KI that he sent rushing towards the man knocked the hateful man on his ass.
Naruto, who was completely unaware of the exchange giggled before burying his head in his uncle's ANBU pants. He inhaled gently to reassure himself. Home.
Mumei sensed Kakashi's pleasure in the man getting his ass handed to him. He fought a visible smirk at the jounin's glee. For some reason, Jiji never allowed anyone to do anything about Naruto's mistreatment. It was unfair, because he deserved the world.
The vendor righted himself quickly under Mumei's calculating gaze. Those crystal blue eyes flicked over him, determining if he was a threat or not. The vendor had never felt so much like prey. In response to that icy glare, the man bowed his head and tried to look as nonthreatening as possible. If he were an animal, he would have been on his back with his neck bared.
After deciding on a pound of cherries and grapes, several ume and peaches and a container of blueberries, he reached into his pocket and shelled out the appropriate amount of yen. The vendor scrambled to put their purchases in a bag. He handed the brown paper bag over with a bow of his head, "thank you for your patronage."
This pattern of reaching a stand, glaring at a vendor, choosing food items and moving on continued. At the end of their food trip Mumei was carrying numerous paper bags in one hand and Naruto's tiny palm in the other. Each bag was filled with foodstuffs, from a variety of meats and fish to grains to vegetables, he had enough to feed the two of them for quite some time.
Outside the market he placed the bags on the ground and knelt down. He let go of the child's hand and unsealed another stasis scroll. Naruto quickly grabbed hold of his flak jacket, afraid of being left alone. Mumei hummed soothingly as he sealed the food into the scroll.
"Would you like to pick out some shinobi clothes?" he asked the six-year-old.
Naruto beamed, his apprehension instantly gone. Instead, he started bouncing up and down in excitement, his hand still grasping the green vest.
Sealing the scroll with the food back into his arm, Mumei reached for the small fist grasping his flak jacket, taking it in his own.
They took off walking in the direction of the shinobi surplus store run by the Higurashi family. The daughter, Tenten, was close to Naruto in age, only a year older. This was her first year enrolled in the Academy but she still worked in her parents' shop.
Arriving at the nondescript storefront, Naruto looked at his uncle in confusion. It didn't appear to be a shinobi store. "Look underneath the underneath," Mumei said before opening the door.
A burst of color appeared before their eyes. Mumei herded the child through the door and into the warm light of the store.
"Hello! Welcome!" came a call from the back.
Mumei led Naruto over to the juniors section and helped him look through the clothes that were available. There was a sea of blacks and blues but Naruto steered towards the brighter oranges.
"Naru, you have to be careful about color. It's hard to camouflage," Mumei warned.
"Hai, but I'm a master of camouflage! Nobody can see me, even in orange!" Naruto boasted.
Mumei chuckled, the child wasn't wrong, he was indeed very good at camouflage and stealth. He acquiesced, "Just not too much orange, ne?"
Naruto nodded enthusiastically before grabbing a burnt orange vest with large front pockets. Mumei sighed dramatically and picked out a midnight blue t-shirt that would go underneath the vest. Naruto smiled happily at his uncle's acceptance of his favorite color and picked out ANBU pants that matched his new idol's.
Next, he picked out some accessories. Black shinobi sandals made their way into the pile of clothing as well as tape to wrap the bottom of his new pants. Several pouches and more shinobi tape to bind them joined the heap. Shinobi gloves with non-reflective metal Konoha plates entered the mix. Finally, Naruto picked out some forearm protectors. The cloth was soft and breathable but several non-reflective metal plates were attached to the top. They looked almost identical to the ones that Mumei wore in memory of his Kakashi.
"We have weapons back at the house, so you don't have to worry about that," Mumei said instead of commenting on the forearm protectors.
The duo made their way over to the counter, mountain of clothes in tow. Mumei greeted Higurashi-san. The merchant carefully calculated the cost for 5 sets of clothing, one pair of forearm protectors, two pairs of sandals, two pairs of gloves, a significant amount of shinobi tape and the child-sized pouches. "165,000 Yen, sir," Higurashi informed the shinobi.
Naruto's face dropped and he clung to Mumei's side once again. That was so much! He hadn't seen that much money in his whole life. Mumei ruffled the child's spiky hair before digging into his pocket and shelling out the correct amount of Yen.
The clothing peddler packed up the clothes for the duo and Mumei again sealed them into another scroll. The blond-haired man picked up his companion and placed him on his hip once more and walked out of the store. Once they were safely outside, Mumei raised his left hand in a half tiger hand sign and they disappeared in a flutter of leaves.
Kakashi crouched, still watching, several buildings away. He assumed that Mumei could not detect him but he couldn't have been more wrong. He watched the two disappear in a Shunshin and decided that was enough skulking for the day. Nothing bad had happened so far, in fact the man treated Naruto with nothing but compassion and kindness. Sighing, he retreated to his jounin apartment.
Mumei and Naruto appeared outside the gate to the empty lot and Naruto looked at his uncle in confusion. There was supposed to be a house here. The shinobi raised his left hand, bit into a finger and Naruto flinched from the smell of blood. Mumei whispered soothing nothings to the child as he placed his hand on the seal complex.
The barriers released with a whoosh and the duo stepped inside the rod iron gate. Mumei placed his hand on the locking mechanism and turned to face the mansion. Naruto looked at it in shock. "This… was my parents'?"
"Yes, and now it's yours."
Naruto wiggled where he was seated on his uncle's hip, ready to run about the gardens and meadow that surrounded the house. Mumei set the child down and he immediately bounded off, scroll and Gamakichi-kun plushie held tightly in his grasp.
Mumei chuckled and went inside the mansion in order to put away the groceries and prepare dinner. Humming while he worked, he boiled the water for ramen and got to work preparing a side of vegetables and fruit. Once the water was ready, he added the ramen noodles and prepared the pork. Next he put together the miso and seasoning that the soup would require and strained the noodles out. Mumei poured all his ingredients together and placed the cooked pork and several narutos on top of the ramen.
Once dinner was prepared, Mumei went outside to call Naruto in. The child seemed to be playing with shinobi with Gamakichi-kun, pretending that the plushie was his loyal summon. It wasn't far off from the truth and Mumei smiled at the prospect.
"Naruto, dinner!" he summoned the child.
Naruto's ears perked up, never having been called in for dinner before. This was a day of many firsts for the boy. Dusting off his shorts, Naruto sprinted for the mansion that he had not yet been inside. Slipping off his shoes, he smiled handsomely up at Mumei and then opened the door together.
Naruto stared in awe. It was gorgeous. Mumei took him by the hand and led him through the kitchen into the breakfast nook area. It was a smaller dining space and was generally more intimate. The dining room seated up to ten people and would feel lonesome with only two there to enjoy the meal.
With Naruto sat at the table, Mumei brought over the ramen for the both of them, first. Then, he went back for the side of veggies and fruit. Naruto looked at the ramen with glee but pouted when the vegetables came out. The vegetables he had before always tasted gross because they were old and moldy.
"Itadakimasu!" both boys shouted before digging into the ramen.
Both Naruto and Mumei shoveled the noodles into their faces like they were starving. Mumei alternated between pork and noodles while Naruto finished his pork at the end. Both Namikaze slurped the remaining Miso and placed the bowl down simultaneously.
The two shared a smile before Mumei dug into the vegetables and fruit salad.
"You have to eat your fruits and veggies before you can have seconds," he bribed.
Naruto huffed an overdramatic sigh and reached out his chopsticks to take a piece of fruit. It was delicious. Fruit had always been too expensive for him so he stuck to his instant ramen. This was phenomenal. The juices were like fireworks of taste in his mouth. He chewed hastily and swallowed, grabbing for another piece.
"Don't choke," Mumei laughed.
Good quality fruits and vegetables were not something that young Naruto had the luxury of. This was a special treat. Mumei was dedicated to making sure that the young child grew to his full height and remained at a healthy weight. To be an exceptional shinobi, you had to have an exceptional diet.
Naruto shoved piece after piece of fruit into his mouth until it was all gone and he smiled guiltily at his older companion. Eyeing a vegetable like it was going to bite him, he carefully picked up a piece and deposited it in his mouth. It wasn't as good as the fruit but it was actually tasty. Naruto gobbled up the remaining vegetables and held out his ramen bowl expectantly.
Mumei chuckled and returned with seconds for the two of them. Again, they devoured the ramen. They continued emptying their bowls until there was no ramen remaining.
"Thank you for the meal!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Would you like to see your room?" Mumei returned.
Naruto looked at him with glee for certainly not the first time that day. "Yes, please!"
Mumei stood and Naruto shot out of his seat like a rocket. The man walked through the kitchen and to the stairs and gestured for Naruto to go up first. The boy sprinted up the stairs, quickly looking in each room. Before Mumei could warn him not to look in the bedroom next to the master, the door was flung open.
Naruto stared into the baby blue room in silence. Mumei ran up the stairs and stopped behind the child.
"They… really did love me," the boy whispered, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Of course they did, you were their precious gift," Mumei responded.
"I thought they abandoned me because they hated me, just like everyone else in the village," he sobbed.
Mumei crouched down and enveloped the child in a bear hug. "They loved you with everything they had. They died protecting you."
Naruto cried even harder for what he had lost. He had nothing for so long, no-one to call family. To think that he had this wonderful family that had been ripped away from him this entire time was incredibly frustrating. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he sobbed.
"I don't know, Naruto, I don't know," Mumei soothed, rocking the child in his arms.
Eventually, the child fell asleep, tears still in his eyes. Mumei's heart hurt. Naruto's hands clutched his flak jacket, even in his sleep. Taking the child cradled in his arms, Mumei walked to the master bedroom and laid down with the boy on the king-sized bed. Naruto nuzzled his sunshine head into the man's chest.
Mumei sighed in partial comfort and fell asleep.
Ume = a Japanese apricot
This one is a tad shorter, please forgive me. I promise the next chapters I have written are quite a bit longer. :)
Oh! Also, just a warning, Sakura and Sasuke will be in this non-bashing style. I'm going to have them get "adopted" into our cute little family.