A/N: Updated as of 2020-08-16
The first night in our new apartment was lovely. The second night was also great. It was on the third night that I finally broke down. We were safe, in our home, and I no longer needed to be constantly vigilant and ready to fight. When that defensive instinct finally relaxed, I basically crashed.
I really had exhausted my chakra when (notmenotme) Kurama took control and killed Ichiko. Since that, I haven't truly rested. Naruto has been a right nightmare, as changing locations seems to have annoyed him. Using a different bed (or rather, a bed as opposed to my shadows) has restarted our sleeping training. I don't mind at all – this is all part of raising a baby. I can handle it. Regardless, I haven't been able to get more than a couple of hours each night. Any time where he napped during the day was used as an opportunity to exercise. Doing so when we were supervised by the Caretakers was almost impossible, so having the freedom to train was something I relished in. My five-year-old body, though tall for this age, had almost no muscle. I was, however, extremely flexible. So, yoga. I started with yoga. I also taught Kabuto yoga. Yay, yoga. Sigh.
The first two days were spent doing yoga and just chilling in our small, three-room apartment a few blocks from the academy.
Night three, things are different.
Kabuto is asleep, Naruto is sleeping quietly, and I am sitting in our only chair in the living room. My attempts at sleep have been interrupted by vivid, bloody and painful nightmares.
My hands are shaking. I feel cold to the bone, but I'm bundled up in warm pyjamas and a blanket. I know there are bags under my eyes, but I don't care enough to check in a mirror. My face is smiling, and I'm happy! I have baby Naruto, I have Kabuto, and now I have my own home. In my last life, this was enough! In my last life, I was happy. I am happy.
Why am I not happy? I am happy. Why are my eyes watering? I'm not crying. Why does my heart (hurt) feel tight? Kurama keeps me in perfect health; there can't be anything wrong with me, can there?
'Kit. Stop being insolent. You are obviously upset. Figure out why, then fix it!'Annoyance suddenly fills me to my brim.
'You shut up, you dumb fox! You brought me here, this is obviously your fault! Leave me the heck alone.' A huff sounds in my mind before he retreats back into the corners of my mind.
Peace at last!
But… why is it still so cold?
(I know why. My child is gone. I can't fix it. He is deaddeaddead)
After a week of our new living arrangements, we start to run low on supplies. I even have a little white paper with our needs on it. How domestic. The paper reads as follows:
Uzumaki Shopping List:
-Diapers and wipes (a truckload)
-Food (also a truckload)
Perfect.
Hm.
Wasn't Kakashi supposed to spend the entirety of Naruto's childhood suicidally throwing himself into ANBU missions?
Why on Earth was he still constantly hanging around us? Obviously out of sight, he is Kakashi after all; but during my waking hours I can always, without fail, sense his suppressed chakra nearby. With a shrug of my shoulders, I dismiss the thought. This is safer for him (and us) anyways, so who am I to complain? Isn't he like, fourteen or something? He's basically a baby.
'You are literally five years old.' Kurama comments, bemused. Mmmm, bemused. Such a fun word. It can mean amused, or NOT amused. It's quite… bemusing. I get the image of Kurama covering his eyes in exasperation. 'Attention span of a goldfish, I swear. Weren't you trying to go get supplies?'
I blink.
'Oh yeah!'
"Kabutooo, wanna come shopping?" I yell, scanning the living room for my boys. Kabuto has Naruto on the small rug in the center of the room, playing with the cooing 3-week-old. Warmth fills my chest. At my call the boys look over at me, Naruto getting distracted by Kabuto's fingers a second later.
"Yes please, Mishina-sama!" I grin widely.
"Alright, then, get some warm clothes on; I'll get Naruto ready, 'ttebayo." My shadows suddenly flood the room, tendrils moving every which way to grab the scattered necessities. Kabuto giggles at the sight. Within seconds I have Naruto's tiny sweater in my hands, and I sit down midair. My shadows form a platform for me to sit on, sliding me towards Naruto. With a flicker of a thought, Naruto has been scooped up by darkness, giggling at the ride. I gently put on his sweater, and as my shadows deliver each piece of his clothing, I put them on. My sensitive nose tells me his diaper is still clean, so no need to change it yet. Socks, booties, tiny sweatpants, and a toque. Then comes the elastic wrap, which I use to swaddle Naruto and strap him against my chest.
"Ready!" Comes from across the room, signalling Kabuto's finished dressing. As I stand up, I lift each knee and my shadows slip on my shoes. Then, my jacket. A strong feeling of smugness fills me; after a week of training, my control over my shadows has improved significantly. If anyone ever tries to scold me for using power so frivolously, I will roast them alive. Not only can using it constantly train me in stamina, but also precision. In addition, anyone who doesn't use their power to make everything easier is clearly using their power wrong. And is an idiot.
'I can't wait to learn Shadow Clones.' Is that groaning I hear? No, I must be hearing things. 'Suck it up, Kurama!'
Aaaaanyways.
"Alright Kabuto, lets roll."
"Hai!"
We step out the front door in unison (we are small enough that we can easily stand side by side in the doorframe), where we pause.
"Inu-nii, we are going shopping, 'ttebayo! Want to come with us?" A single chakra flare. I take that to mean 'Yes, but I'm staying incognito.' "Okay, thanks!" I can feel the sheer annoyance and indifference emanating from the guy's chakra. Ehehe.
Kabuto doesn't even blink. Gosh, I love this kid. We start forwards with an "Onwards, march!" courtesy of moi. Nothing exciting happens as we climb down the stairs and make our way through the unoccupied street. Soon enough, after turning the corner I can see the (somewhat destroyed) shopping district. Grabbing Kabuto's hand in a sudden bout of nervousness, I can feel my heartbeat speed up.
"Kabuto… I'm not sure how welcoming the shop people will be. Just don't take it to heart if they get mad, okay?" A sideways glance tells me that Kabuto isn't happy.
"They are dumb if they don't like you. We can buy things in a different place if they aren't nice." He says, matter of factly. That makes me smile a bit.
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, 'ttebayo." I paste a wide grin on my face, "If they don't like me, it's their loss."
The first two stores we try don't let me in the door. The next three stores refuse to take my money at the till.
How does everyone know? They all know who we are well enough to recognize us on sight. Who… wait… it was the Sandaime, right? I remember, in the original timeline, that Minato told Hiruzen to treat Naruto as a hero. He wanted the whole village to treat Naruto as a hero. But now, I know Minato didn't have time to do so. Dad was dead before the Hokage even turned up. There is an aching in my chest, and I notice that my hands are shaking.
Let's shelve that for another time.
I spot the store that I bought supplies from when I snuck out of the hospital the first time, and my chest fills with relief. They know that I likely have an ANBU shadow from experience. They shouldn't give me much trouble.
Upon entering the store our little group is eyed warily by the owner at the till, but we are left alone. Thank Jashin-sama. We get what we need, and buy everything with grumbling coming from the lady reluctantly ringing us up.
No Itachi this time, unfortunately. Or fortunately, depending on the way you look at it. He might get jealous that I have more little brothers than him now.
As we exit the store we can see the streets are a lot busier than when we entered, and Kabuto's grip tightens on my hand. The animosity in the eyes of the people passing is clear as every gaze lingers on us. Goosebumps break out on my arms, and a shiver electrocutes my body. On the other side of the street, a small group of people have gathered. They keep sending us looks, and I know then its time to get out of dodge. Moving quickly, I pull Kabuto into the alley behind the store. The group moves across the street towards us. As soon as the three of us are out of sight, I surround us with my shadows and fling us on to the roof gently, setting Kabuto and me on our feet. We run, our feet clattering against the tile surfaces. I quickly make a surface of shadow beneath our feet to muffle the sounds, and I make bridges from roof to roof whenever we get close to the edge of one. Several buildings away we stop and I move us into the shadow of a roof's overhang. I close my eyes and concentrate. The chakra that fills this place is suddenly much more noticeable, and I set to identifying people from animals and ambient nature chakra. I seek the hostile feelings that mean danger to me and my boys, and after a few minutes, I feel confident that we gave those people the slip.
Something moves towards us, wicked fast. Darkness envelops us as my body twitches in alarm and gut-wrenching fear. Power ripples under my skin, eyes and fingertips burning.
'Be wary, Kit, but don't attack unprovoked.'
Energy flickers around us, earthy and deep, nature.
The chakra signature that has stopped mere feet away is powerful but muffled. Familiar. Soft and white, crackling with heat, and a hint of… puppies?
Oh, it's Kakashi, you idiot.
The sound of cracking tile fills the air, and the rush of air and light is disorienting. Mask, white fluffy hair, Inu-nii–
My face is wet – cold – crying? Two small bodies are crushed against me, why? Oh, my boys are okay. Naruto. Wailing in distress, but I scent no blood. Kabuto is shaking, but silent and stony-faced. Apologies fill the air and I realize it's me, I'm sorry, I got so scared they were coming and I couldn't let them hurt us – why do my knees hurt? Broken tile, I've damaged the roof. My body is so heavy, no wonder I crushed it – Tiiimber… Nope, puppy-nii caught us. Mmmm, I like being held. No wonder Naruto never wanted me to put him down.
'The crisis has passed brat, you need to calm down. You aren't thinking clearly.'
Ahh, the mean big fluffy fox is talking to me again. You don't get to tell me what to dooo, you're not my mum or dad. You got mad and you unalived them so I don't think yooouuu get to tell me to calm down mister.
'You insolent child, you are a danger to yourself like this. Wake UP!'
Red, black, blue. Blue the colour of my babies eyes.
Naruto.
Clear thought comes back and hits me like a sledgehammer.
An Inu mask is about an inch from my face.
I flinch back minutely, shocked but not scared. Never scared, not with him.
"The fox talks to you?"
Jashin-sama, you sick bastard.
Well, I can't lie to my puppy-nii, can I?
'He heard most of your thoughts from the last few minutes, brat.'
The blood leaves my face, and I look at my pet ANBU in horror.
"Y…essss?" I say slowly, cringing. Inu-nii doesn't move a muscle. Glancing around hesitantly, I see Kabuto and Naruto asleep on the tatami floors. Home. Kakashi brought us home, instead of to the Hokage? I look up at him confused. "How come I'm not being interrogated by the Hokage right now?"
"How come no one knew you existed until that night?" I freeze. "Not even the Hokage knew, and your parents trusted him to help." Our first real conversation, and it's this. Why. Cruel world. Merciless Jashin-sama. "Why?" He asks, echoing my thoughts.
"I… It's… really complicated, Inu-nii…" Genuine sadness fills me. Part of the truth, I'm willing to tell. It fits with some of the lore of this world, after all. I hold no reservation in taking some weight off of Naruto's shoulders. "You can't tell anyone, Nato-daddy and Kushi-mama didn't tell people for a reason." Yeah, they died seconds after they found out. "Do you promise?"
Seconds pass in silence.
"If your answer proves there is no danger to Konoha… I will have no need to tell the Hokage." I slump in relief, and I realize that the man is still holding me in his arms. Out Of Character, much? Not complaining, though.
"I can talk to the fox because that is how the seal was designed. Because I knew what was happening when he was sealed in me, I knew he was there and so we could talk. Naruto can't hear him or anything because he has not made contact with him, and he won't until he is old enough." I pause to look at Kakashi, and after a moment he gives a nod for me to continue.
"The reason they didn't tell anyone about me… is because I'm supposed to save the world." I close my eyes, knowing how hard that would be to believe. "Nato-daddy said he thinks I'm a prophecy, uh, child? And the fox… he agrees, and I need to save them. The Jinchuuriki… and the Bijuu."