Sorry it has taken so long for this chapter to come out.

I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"
'thinking'

Chapter 13:

Naruto made his way through the halls, ready to pick up Kohaku. It was Friday and he was already ten minutes late. When he got to the room, he quickly opened the door and bowed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Nawu!" Kohaku cheered, running to the blonde's arms.

"It's alright," the teacher said. "You aren't that late. Besides, Matatabi's still here." He motioned to the litter girl that was still playing with some blocks."

"Where's her parents?" Naruto asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"At work," the teacher said. "Her brother should be here soon though."

"Nawu stay," Kohaku said. "No leave Mata-chan."

"Alright," Naruto said. "We'll stay, just until her brother comes."

"Yay!" Kohaku said. He hugged Naruto before running over to play with Matatabi.

"Kohaku and Matatabi get along really well," the teacher said. Naruto notice that she was still wearing her name tag. It read Amaru. "He's a good kid."

Naruto smiled. "I know." The door suddenly slammed open to reveal Shukaku. His hair was dripping water.

"Damn rain, coming out of nowhere.," Shukaku said. He looked up to see Naruto and Amaru staring at him. He crossed his arms and glared at Naruto. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Kohaku," Naruto said, motioning to the boy who was helping Matatabi put away the blocks. "We just stayed until Matatabi was picked up. And now that you're here, we're going. Kohaku," Naruto spoke a bit louder. "It's time to go home."

"Ok," Kohaku said, putting away the last block before walking to Naruto's side.

"I didn't know you had a little brother," Shukaku said.

"I didn't know you had a little sister," Naruto retorted.

"Nawu not bwothew," Kohaku said. "Nawu is Ko-chan's mommy!" He had a big smile on his face as he said this. Naruto's jaw dropped while Shukaku started laughing.

Naruto glared at Shukaku before kneeling down. "Ko-chan, I'm not your mommy."

"But Shu-chan said that a mommy takes care of you and wuves you," Kohaku said. Tears suddenly filled his eyes. "Nawu no wuve Ko-chan 'more?

Naruto wrapped his arms around Kohaku, pulling him towards his body. "Of course I love you. You are my darling Kohaku. There is no one I love more than you." He waited until Kohaku calmed down before pulling back. "But I'm not your mommy. I'm your... nanny." That title didn't make Naruto feel any better about being compared to a woman.

Shukaku had long since stopped laughing. He looked at the scene with a bit of jealousy, not knowing why he felt that way. He decided that laughing would be better after all. "A nanny? You're a nanny?"

"Bwother? Matatabi asked. Shukaku looked down at her, still laughing. "No make fun of Nawu!" She had her hands on her hips.

"Yeah!" Kohaku said, copying Matatabi.

Shukaku put up his hands in mock-surrender. "I won't."

"Here you go Shukaku," Amaru said. She had left to get a towel for him. "If you stay wet, you may get sick." She rubbed the towel against his head in an attempt to dry his hair. "I don't really want you and Matatabi going home in this."

"The bus stop isn't too far away," Shukaku said.

"Still the rain is..." Amaru began.

"We'll be fine," Shukaku said.

"Where do you live?" Naruto asked. Shukaku and Amaru looked at him. "We can bring you home. The car is outside waiting for us. Shukaku bit his lip. He didn't want to get in a car with Naruto, but Matatabi could get sick if they got stuck in the rain. He nodded.

"That's settled then!" Amaru said. "Bye Kohaku, Matatabi! See you tomorrow!" She waved them out.

The driver was surprised to see Shukaku and Matatabi, but welcomed them into the car. He cranked up the heat to keep everyone warm. "Where to?" he asked.

"Luci Street," Shukaku said. The driver nodded, pulling away from Kohaku's school. Naruto and Shukaku remained silent throughout the ride. Kohaku and Matatabi played with each other. It didn't take long to come to Skukaku's street. "It's the last one on the street." When they arrived at the apartment, Naruto frowned. It was run down. "Thanks for the ride." He grabbed his bag and picked up Matatabi's things before leaving the car. Naruto didn't want to leave them there, but he knew it wasn't his place.

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Naruto ended up having to stay at school for an extra few minutes. He needed to do some extra credit to bring up his grade. He quickly gathered his things, leaving the room. He quickly noticed that there were many people left in the school. He stopped at his locker to grab his bag.

"Shukaku!" a female voice called. Naruto looked down the hall to see the school nurse. Her back was to Naruto. Naruto had to head her way to get out of the building. The nurse held up a large bag. "It is going to get cold soon. My younger brother's clothes should fit you and Chomei's should fit Matatabi."

"You don't have to do that," Shukaku said.

"Please just take it," the nurse said, holding the bag out in front of her. "I know you'll need them."

"Thanks," Shukaku said.

The nurse smiled. "You're welcome." She turned around, nodded at Naruto, and went back into her office.

Shukaku looked up to see Naruto. He frowned before shifting his body and smirking. "What is it? Got something to say?"

"You're poor," Naruto said flatly. Shukaku just stared at Naruto.

Some information:

Shukaku is one year older than Naruto, but he had to stay back twice due to absences and bad grades. Matatabi is also a year older than Kohaku. Chomei is the nurse's daughter.