Chapter 13 – The Kyūbi is Out
"Talk"
'Think'
Flashback
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei. So…yeah.
Hokage Office
"Hokage-sama" said Shisui "May I have the permission to tell them about the Kyūbi?"
"Why?" asked Hiruzen.
"I asked Noriko to describe me her vision through her dōjutsus. She described an orange chakra on hers and Naruto's abdominal region. She asked about it" explained Shisui.
"Owh?" said Hiruzen with interest "How's her dōjutsus?"
"So far, her description fit with those from byakugan and sharingan" answered Shisui "So…regarding my request, Hokage-sama?"
"Don't you think they are a bit young for that kind of information?" asked Hiruzen.
"Admittedly, they are. But Noriko already asked the question, if I did not answer them, she and maybe Naruto might ask around. Who knows what kind of answer they'll get" said Shishui "Besides, they are going to the Academy next year. Some parents might prevent their kids to befriend them. So I think it's good for them to know about the Kyūbi"
"Very well, you have the permission" said Hiruzen before looking thoughtfully "Orange chakra? That's worrying" frowned Hiruzen and said "I'll contact Jiraiya"
At night
"…so the Kyūbi was sealed inside both of you" finished Shizuka.
…
…
"Are we the Kyūbi?" Naruto broke the silence.
"No Naruto" answered Shizuka gently. "Both of you are the jailor to the Kyūbi. The Yondaime even called both of you heroes before he died"
"Why he died?" asked Naruto while at the same time, Noriko said with anger "Then why the villagers hate us?"
"Sealing something as powerful as the Kyūbi took the toll on Yondaime Hokage" Shizuka explained sadly and turned to Noriko "Firstly, I want you to know, to the villagers, only one of you holds the Kyūbi but they do not know which one and they definitely had no idea that both of you are holding the Kyūbi"
"Secondly, not all of the villagers hate you" Shizuka continued "Few knew about your burden and they don't care. Some cannot differentiate between the jailor and the prisoner. They thought you and the Kyūbi are one. Some are not sure, so they keep their distance. Many don't really hate you, it's just they have lost their loved ones to the Kyūbi and they cannot let it go. Instead, they took their griefs, their angers on the Kyūbi and vented it on you guys" seeing Noriko's indignant face "Yes Noriko, that is not fair for you guys, but that's what happened"
Shizuka kneeled in front of Naruto and Noriko, looked at them in their eyes before hugged them "It is tough for you now. But I promised you, things will get better"
"How do you know" mumbled Noriko.
"Because it happened to me" Shizuka smiled "It was not easy raising you guys after the Kyūbi attack. But I've got Shisui helping me, and Sandaime-sama always supported me. Then Kosuke-san and Keiko-san offered their friendships, and after that, a few more. I've never felt richer for having these wonderful people"
…
"Shizuka-obasan" said Naruto "You said people don't know which one of us held the Kyūbi, s-so, why don't you just ditched me and said it was me? Life would be easier for you and Noriko" Naruto finished while all the time, he was looking at the floor.
Noriko stared at Naruto "Naruto…"
Shizuka and Shisui exchanged glances before Shisui nodded imperceptibly.
Shizuka held both of Naruto's hand, pushed his chin upwards and looked at his teary eyes "Truthfully, that never occurred to me but mainly, I knew your parents" at this Naruto looked surprised "Your parents are powerful people and they've had many enemies. So I cannot tell you about them" Naruto bitten his upper lip "Not until you are strong enough to defend yourself" at that, Naruto got a hopeful look.
"What I can tell you is that, they are very kind and very generous people. When I was kicked out from the Uchiha clan, they took me and helped me. So it was only natural that when they died, I took you and raised you as my son" Shizuka said softly.
Overcome with emotion, Naruto hugged Shizuka, crying. Noriko smiled and joined them. Shisui thought 'why not?' and joined them too.
Later that night
Shizuka was putting Noriko to sleep when she asked "Are you angry at me for allowing Yondaime to seal the Kyūbi inside you?"
Noriko though for a while "Not really, I'm still angry, but I understand it was important. Maybe I need some time alone, okaasan"
"I understand"
The next day
Noriko was walking alone through the street of Konoha. She wants to sort her feeling. She was angry, sad, surprised, accepting and full of questions.
As she walked, Noriko saw a plump boy with swirl markings on his cheeks and spiky, brown hair. He was talking to a group of kids
"Why?"
"Because if you play, we're gonna lose!" one of them answered.
"You are too slow" another one added.
The plumped boy looked downcast.
"But then, the teams will not be even" a boy with black, spiky hair tried to defend the plumped boy "In Shogi, the game isn't interesting unless you have the same number of pieces"
The plumped boy looked hopeful.
"Having useless pieces is the same as not having any at all"
"That's right!
The plumped boy looked sad and walked away for a few meters before his hand reached out and freed a butterfly.
Noriko looked at the boy then looked at the freed butterfly. Then she saw the boy climbing up a building. Noriko decided to follow.
"…and then, they said that the Akimichi clan was fat and stupid" Noriko heard the boy's voice. She peeked and saw the boy was sitting with a big man with long red hair "That's what everyone says" the plumped boy said sadly.
"I see" said the red-haired man, looking at the plumped boy with kind smile "But Choji, you are kinder than anyone else. Someday, you will make a friend who will see that in you. And then, you will treasure your friend more than anything else, and you will become trustworthy comrades" The plumped boy had a happy look.
Noriko had a thoughtful look. That's pretty much what her mother had said. Then she remembered Naruto's question "…why don't you just ditched me and said it was me? Life would be easier for you and Noriko"
'I guess I'm luckier than Naruto' Noriko thought 'I still got okaasan and Shisui-ojisan'. Noriko then decided to look for Naruto.
Noriko was walking towards the direction of playground when she saw a lying Naruto and squatting next to her was a girl that looked like the little girl that was kidnapped on the night her mother got stabbed.
"Naruto!" Noriko cried "What did you do?!" accused Noriko to the purple-haired girl with white eyes.
"N-no,it-it wasn't me.H-he saved me from a group of boys. I-I was waiting for him to wake up" explained the girl.
"Owh" said Noriko "Sorry" she squatted down next to the girl and poked Naruto repeatedly.
"STOP that!" yelled Naruto which startled the purple-haired girl "Eh Noriko? What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you when I saw you lying on the ground. What happened?" asked Noriko.
"I was looking for you when I saw her being bullied by three boys. So I told them to stop that but they refused, then we ended up fighting, then…" he scrunched his face "then I felt you poking me" he finished.
"Well now that you are okay, want to go to the hospital and see if okaasan want to go lunch?"
"Yeay ramen!"
"We've just had ramen yesterday, I got to pick today and I want sushi!"
"Ramen!"
"Sushi!"
"Umm…" said the purple-haired girl. Both Naruto and Noriko stopped their bickering and looked at her, questioningly.
"A-are you brother and sister? O-or twins?" asked the purple-haired girl.
Noriko smiled at the question "He's my little brother" she answered.
"How come I'm the little one?!" protested Naruto.
"Because I was born three months earlier than you" Noriko smirked "That makes you my little brother"
The purple-haired girl looked confused "Oh, we are not related by blood. But we've grown together since babies" Noriko clarified.
The purple-haired girl had a dawning look "M-my name is Hyūga Hinata. I-it was nice meeting you. I-I want to say t-thank you for saving me" she said to Naruto.
"It's nothing you know" said Naruto "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Noriko, nice meeting you too Hinata"
"Hinata-sama" a voice belonging to a white-eye man called out to Hinata "I-I've to go home. See you again" she said and waved a bit before walking towards the white-eye man. They talked a bit and Hinata casted a glance at them.
Noriko looked sombre "Do you think her parents allowed her to befriend us?" she asked and turned to Naruto.
"I hope so Noriko. If not, we'll just find one whose parents don't care about us" Naruto answered with optimism.
End Chapter 13
A/N: The title was in reference to English Idiom 'the cat is out of the bag'. The scene with Chōji was pretty much from anime.
Ojisan – uncle
Okaasan – mother