I don't own Naruto or any of the characters or situations associated with it.

.

Awakening

.

The sound of fabric stretching and snapping echoed in the shed as Uzumaki Naruto emerged from the cocoon that had enveloped him for the past six days. Fighting his way clear of the silk strands, he stood up and took a step forwards, then froze, looking down.

"Aaaarrgh!"

"What happened?"/"What is the problem?"

The two voices reacted to the scream and Naruto stared down at himself. A long silence descended, then the deeper voice suddenly started to laugh.

"Oh, this is hilarious! You're totally naked! I always knew you were a hairless ape, now you're a naked one too!"

"Shut up!" Naruto hissed, blushing furiously as he looked round frantically for something to wear. "What happened to my clothes?"

"We apologise, we used them to help generate enough material for the cocoon." The Hive responded. "Please do not move."

Naruto froze as several small lines on his body widened, revealing themselves to be holes from which streams of Kikkai emerged. The bugs wound around his body for a few moments, then retreated, leaving a loose-woven silver-grey tunic behind, as well as a pair of calf-length trousers. Naruto looked down at his new clothing for a moment, then he grinned widely.

"That was cool! Instant clothes!"

"Not bad." Kurama admitted almost unwillingly. "However, you have been in that cocoon for almost a week as the Hive rebuilt you. I would suggest finding some food, I am sure the Hive will be happy to help."

"Scout Beetles have already been deployed, prey has been located."

"Wild Boar." Kurama noted, seeing the prey through the senses of the Kikkai scouts. Naruto nodded, sharing the vision. "They will provide us with plenty of protein."

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, running out of the hut, then pausing. "Ummm, which way?"

"Follow the vision."

Naruto paused and frowned in concentration, then a grin spread across his face. A moment later, he was running through the forest, unaware of the conversation within his mind.

"You could have just told him which way to go."

"Yes, but that would not have helped him to learn how to make efficient use of the capabilities the Hive can provide. For the Hive to thrive, the Host must be able to work seamlessly with the Hive."

"I see." Kurama mused. "As he learns to use your abilities, adapting to you, your own strength increases."

"He is the Host. The other Users of Kikkai have tried to become Hosts to single Colonies in the past, but all failed and died. This Host can hold three full Colonies with Chakra remaining. The Hive wishes for the Host to thrive and reproduce, so that his offspring may also hold Colonies split from the Hive."

Kurama nodded slowly. "You plan well, little insects. You are aware that he holds two Kekkei Genkai?"

The insects buzzed slightly. "We were unaware of that. What bloodlines does he hold?"

"His Chakra is denser, which he gets from his mother. His father's gift is faster healing."

"The explanation is appreciated. We made a good decision in choosing our Host."

.

Naruto peered out of the bush, his gaze fixed on the trio of wild boar that were rooting around the base of the tree.

"Found them, what now?" He whispered.

"You do not have to speak out loud." Kurama responded. "Just think what you want to say."

'Like this?'

"Yes, like that." Kurama said approvingly. "Now, what is the problem?"

'I don't know how to do this.'

"We shall do it for you." The Hive said and an instant later, all three boar seemed to freeze, twitch and fall over, unmoving. "It is done."

"That… was impressive." Kurama admitted. "How did you do that?"

"We bit them at the base of the skull, injecting our poison into them." The Hive explained and Naruto's eyes widened in understanding. "We now have protein available for the Host."

"Yes, but eating it raw will not be good for him." Kurama said. "Naruto, start collecting bits of wood and pile them up on that patch of earth. Hive, he'll need a stone about fist-sized with a sharp edge he can use to cut with."

Ignoring the wave of bugs that crawled out of him and flew off to search the forest, Naruto began to collect sticks and small branches.

.

"Eugh, this is gross."

Naruto wiped the sweat off his forehead, inadvertently adding another layer of boar's blood to it, then returned to his task of slowly peeling the skin off the corpse of the second boar. Several dozen strips of meat, carved from the skinned corpse of the largest boar, were suspended above the fire on long sticks and heat-resistant silken threads, cooking and curing in the smoke from the fire. Nearby, a few splashes of blood and other less-identifiable substances were all that remained of the piles of giblets that Naruto had carefully placed aside for the Hive to feast off.

"What do I do with the skins, anyway?"

"There is a hunter that we are watching some distance away. He is preparing the skin of the boar he killed and we are watching how he does it. When you have all three skins removed from the meat, we will use the memories of his actions to help you prepare the skins for your own use."

"But I like your silk." Naruto protested, glancing across at the bush where the trousers and tunic had been hung in order to avoid having them discoloured by the mess.

"You will need more than silk. Proper shoes need leather or hide, silk may be waterproof but a silk-lined hide cloak will keep you drier and warmer. Furthermore, there is always a market for hides, should you need money."

Naruto nodded unwillingly and turned his attention back to carving the hide off the boar.

"I guess… is the meat done yet?"

A bug flew across to the meat and briefly landed on one of the hanging strips.

"We do not detect anything harmful remaining."

"Wash first." Kurama advised and Naruto looked at his gore-covered hands.

"Yeeuch, yeah. Okay, where's the stream?"

.

'So,' Naruto asked as he took bites of the now-cooling meat. 'How do we turn that into leather?'

"We do not know, the hunter took the hides away in a barrel." The Hive responded. "We believe that he will be selling the Hides, we are tracking him to see where he goes."

Naruto nodded as he pulled his tunic back on. "Okay, so three hides ready for sale."

"Nice work, kid." A new voice said and Naruto spun round to see a woman emerge from the undergrowth. Beneath his tunic, the Hive prepared in case the newcomer did anything suspicious. "Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. You're too young for me."

Naruto stared at the purple-haired woman curiously, taking in her chain-mesh top under her open tan coat, her brown skirt over mesh shorts and…

"Wow, where can I get sandals like those?"

The woman almost tripped as Naruto's question penetrated. "Sandals? That's what you noticed? Most men goggle at my boobs."

"But they're really cool with those metal plates." Naruto explained and the woman grinned.

"The metal plates on the sandals are part of the sandals, but above them? Those are greaves. They're not part of the sandal. Name's Mitarashi Anko, chunin."

"Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you."

Anko's brows raised. "Uzumaki Naruto? Heh, the village has been going nuts the last week 'cause of you. There's a reward out for the team that finds you and gets you safely back to the Hokage."

"Ask her how much!" Kurama prompted and Naruto repeated the question. Anko's brows lifted even more.

"Well, it's about equal to a C-rank mission, why?"

"Fifty-fifty?" Naruto parroted, repeating Kurama's suggestion without understanding it. Anko did, because she burst out laughing.

"We split the reward equally for getting you back? Oh, gaki, I like the way you think."

Naruto shrugged. "I need money for a new place. I got thrown out of the orphanage and I'm not going back."

Anko frowned for a moment, then shrugged.

"Gaki, can you clean?"

"Had to do all the chores at the orphanage." Naruto groused. "Stupid lady never let me play."

Anko dropped down to crouch on her heels. "Gaki, how about you get a quarter of the reward and in return for me getting the rest, I'll put you up in my place. The Old Man wouldn't mind, and judging from how you took down three boars, you have real potential."

Naruto stared at her. "Why? You don't even know me."

"You remind me of someone I once admired a few years back, he died when I was eleven. He was the student of the team-mate of… someone. Not important right now."

Naruto shrugged as he turned back to the embers of the fire, carefully pulling the strips of cooked meat away from the ashes and placing them on a large leaf he had managed to find. A moment later Anko joined him, her hands almost blurring as she retrieved the rest of the meat, flipping it to land in a neat pile.

"Okay if I have a bit? I was on my way back from a mission and haven't eaten yet."

"Sure." Naruto grinned as he picked up another strip of meat, juggling it briefly to cool it down. "Hey, can you get me some cool clothes like yours? With groves?"

"Greaves." Anko laughingly corrected as she scooped up several bits of meat for herself. "I think a more traditional approach would work better for you. In fact… Yeah, black sandals, dark blue trousers, blue jacket and maybe a white overcoat."

"Ah, man." Naruto griped. "I want orange. Orange is cool. And grooves!"

"Greaves. We'll see." Anko laughed, pausing to finish off the final piece of meat she had taken. "So, we bag up the meat and hides, get you some decent clothes, report to the Old Man and then it's Dango time."

"Dango? What's Dango?" Naruto asked curiously, causing Anko to stare at him in shock.

"You've never had Dango? No time to waste, let's get packing!"

.

"Welcome to Higarushi weapons… Anko! It's been a while, back from another mission?"

"That's right, Kyougu." Anko grinned. "Just making a few minor stops and it'll be all done. I'm here for some new clothes and student weapons. How's your daughter doing?"

"Quite scary, really." Kyougu stage-whispered with a grin. "She's out the back, testing the kunai. I think she enjoys throwing those things a little too much…"

"I heard that!" a young girl's shout echoed in from the back.

"She probably gets it from Tsuki." Anko laughed.

"I heard that!" Another female voice shouted and Anko laughed while Naruto simply stood, confused.

"Anyway." Anko said in a voice that indicated she was finally getting down to business. "My new ward here was recently thrown out of the orphanage and I'm taking him in. As such, I'm getting him some new clothing. With his hairstyle, I was thinking blondaime."

"Blondaime?" Naruto repeated, totally confused. "What does that mean? Does that mean I get to wear orange?"

Kyouga blinked several times, then he grinned.

"Anko, I think that I can fill both your requests. I'll take some measurements and get some clothing made. In the meantime, I think a couple of sets of our 'Young Shinobi' line would do. They're on the shelves over there. I'll have the clothes made by the end of the week.

Anko nodded as she walked over to the indicated area and pulled two packages off the shelves. Handing one to Naruto, she pointed to a small cubicle in the corner.

"Get changed, I'll pay for this, then we go see the Old Man."

"Okay." Naruto chirped as he took the package. He had new clothes, not something dragged out of the rag bin! This was going to be the best day ever!

.

"Jiji!"

"N…Naruto? Naruto! You're alright!"

Naruto accelerated away from Anko's side and Sarutobi Hiruzen effortlessly plucked him out of the air, giving him a strong hug.

"Found him in the woods, he'd managed to take down and skin a couple of boars, not sure how. We shared some of the meat, then I brought him here."

Hiruzen released Naruto and stepped back, looking at him with measuring eyes. "New clothes… Higarushi's Young Shinobi line if I'm not mistaken, and a grey silk haori over the top held with an orange sash. Looks good, you have excellent taste, Anko."

"Yeah, I can't have my new flatmate looking like a ragamuffin." Anko grinned. Sarutobi went incredibly still, then turned to look at her.

"Flatmate?"

"Listen, Old Man," Anko growled. "Those bastards at the orphanage threw him out, we both know why they did so. He needs somewhere to stay, with someone who understands him. We've both been blamed for things that aren't our fault, so who better to take him in than me? I have a small room he can have and I can give him some tips on how to be a ninja. You really think anyone else would give a damn about him?"

Sarutobi seemed to shrink slightly, every year of his age showing on his face. "You're right, Anko. How did your mission go?"

"Done and dusted, here's the report." Anko stated, handing over a scroll. "So, that's a C-rank courier mission and a C-rank retreival mission complete."

Hiruzen nodded and scrawled a few lines on a piece of parchment. "Here, take this to the mission desk to get paid. Naruto, Anko will look after you from now on, is that alright?"

"Yeah, jiji." Naruto grinned. "Anko's really cool. But I still want groves."

"Greaves." Anko corrected almost absently.

"Yeah, them."