I do not own Naruto.
Naruto Uzumaki knows many things.
People might not think so. He isn't deaf, he can hear what people say. So what if sometimes it's hard to read words because sitting still, or focusing on one thing, is like trying to catch the wind in his hands? Who cares if it's hard to remember Kanji characters? He can read romanji and hirigana just fine. What does it matter if he doesn't understand why things are done the way that they are?
Naruto might have lots of energy, and he might not learn like other people, but he still knows things.
He knows what restaurants will serve food to him, and where he can get the best deals. He knows how to catch bugs with his bare hands, and how to leap across river stones. He knows how to share, how to cook food, how to smile, and have fun. He can make tea, and ramen, and he can run forever without getting tired. He knows how much money he gets each month, and how to make it last the whole time.
Naruto can set the best rope traps in his class, and he always knows just where to put them to capture the people he wants. He can take the most hits and still get up, and he can go longer than anybody else there. Naruto can hide forever and never get caught, and he can outrun even those masked people that jiji calls Anbu.
He isn't dumb, and he isn't blind or deaf. He knows that Fairy onee-chan came to his home when he was gone. He can smell her in his apartment, that flowery, salty, water smell. He almost cries because he thinks for just a second she came back, but he doesn't see her magic bag, or her silly smile. There are no slanted black eyes to greet him when he comes home from the Academy, and there aren't any long black hairs on his couch.
She came, but she couldn't stay.
It makes him wonder if she ever wanted to.
For a second he feels so small and lost, because Fairy-nee doesn't visit him so much anymore, and he misses her. He misses her funny voice, and her scowling face. He misses her warms hugs, and her arms wrapped around him at night. He even misses the vegetables she cooks, and the oil she puts in her hair.
It makes him feel hollow when he thinks about her sometimes, like maybe he dreamed it up. He thinks of her standing alone in that crowd, telling him to run away, her body all outlined in light, glowing from the sun, her face scary and cold.
He shakes his head, clearing out his thoughts.
Fairy-nee is the one who tucked him into bed at night! She told him stories about Odayaka Oni, and Chujitsuna Same, and patted his hair! She cleaned his house, cooked him food, and did his laundry! She made sure he washed behind his ears, and taught him peeing on the seat was bad! She shared her food, and she said she loved him!
Fairy-nee is family.
"And family means that no one gets forgotten," he mumbles to himself, nodding his head. She said it herself.
Naruto takes a deep breath that night, and he lets her scent fill his nose. She wouldn't have come if she had forgotten him, and she wouldn't have done the dishes if she hated him.
He grins to himself, his eyes drooping closed. He doesn't care if that one kid has dogs, his pet is queen of the fairies. That's way cooler.
Often, when he has extra time to spare, or they just show up at his apartment, Naruto spends time with his other Nee-san's.
The weekend following his entrance into the Academy is no different. The smell of the Okiya has become familiar and comforting to him, the mix of exotic spices and perfumes mixing with the incense smoke from the altar they have. He likes the tatami mats, and the kotatsu table that sits in the the back room. He thinks their colorful robes are vibrant and pretty, and their sweat pants and night shirts are really comfortable.
Like he said before, Naruto isn't dumb. He knows what happens here, and he always leaves before nightfall, escorted home by one of the workers. Sometimes they don't even come here at all, and they go down to the river, the park, restaurant ,or toy shop! People aren't so mean when he has them with him, and even though everybody looks at them bad and says mean things, they don't turn him away.
He learned from them too. Takeshi-san taught him how to make a grass whistle, and Mirai-san showed him how to mix paints to get the colors he wants. They gave him clothes, and brought him toys. The Okiya was his home, and they were his Nakama.
"-So then, I had to clean up the classroom again, because apparently 'bullshit' isn't acceptable language!" he whines petulantly as the aforementioned woman combs through his hair.
She laughs, and it sounds like bells. It's really weird.
"Naruto-chan, you scoundrel," she teases, "Sometimes some people don't like certain words. I imagine your teachers and some of the other children find them offensive."
"It's a word!"
"Well, so is demon and monster. Words have power," she soothes,
"That's different!" he protests, not knowing how to explain himself.
Across the room, Takeshi-san looks up from his book, looking over his glasses, his short black hair a mess.
"The word 'whore' is just a job title," he states, and Naruto flinches, "But it still can be offensive. It's all about who you are around. I wouldn't curse at school young man, or around your teachers and other children."
He pouts, and crosses his arms. It makes sense, kinda.
"Really now Naruto-chan, be reasonable. None of us curse like that. Where did you even hear that sort of language?" the man sighs.
"Fairy-nee says stuff like that all the time," he informs the man, his lower lip jutting out.
Misaki seems to start, and Takeshi just says 'ah' as if that explains it. It really, really does.
"That reminds me! She left me something for you Naruto-chan, to congratulate you for entering the Academy," she chimes, putting the brush aside and standing up to go into the rooms.
Naruto leaps up from his place and follows after her, a shout of glee tumbling from his lips. His wide blue eyes open in excitement, and he can't stop the smile that spreads across his face, or the warm feeling in his heart.
Family means no one is forgotten, he thinks.
"She's very sorry she can't come, but her letters say she will be very busy now. Things have been picking up, and she has a lot of work to do, " Misaki-nee tells him, opening the sliding door to her quarters and heading toward the dresser. What she doesn't say is that there are steps she is taking to protect them all, and that she trusted Misaki with him. The brothel owner does not mention the funds they were gifted with, or the heartfelt letter of regret that was left on her vanity. Misaki speaks nothing of how the ink had blurred in places over the letter to them all, stained with tears.
The Rakki Ryuu was part of a larger cause, and Misaki feels honored to be given the gift of time and attention she has. She feels even more blessed to be entrusted with a piece of the woman's heart in the form of the small boy.
"She says she misses you very much, and that she's very proud of you," the woman states, opening up the middle drawer and pulling out a box, handing it over to him.
"I miss her too," he says honestly, and the look she sends him is understanding.
"We all do honey," she assures him.
Naruto takes the box, and the first thing he notices is that it is heavy. The plain cardboard box is only around the size of a big brick, but it is….dense. That's the word nee-san would use.
"She said that she's sorry that she couldn't leave you a note," Misaki tells him, her blue eyes shimmering, "but she wrote some in mine."
Not that she has that one either. Both missives are long gone, turned into ash and buried in the garden. She will never allow the Rakki Ryuu to face danger because of her.
Naruto doesn't say anything. He simply tears away at the tape holding it together, peeling it back with his nails and teeth, burning with curiosity.
Inside he finds out why it was so very heavy. There is a whole starter kit inside, a very, very high quality one.
"Ohhhhhh," his whispers, pulling it free from it's confinement. Already he can see top grade ninja wire he is sure to use for traps, and kunai and shuriken lined neatly in pouches, gleaming like new. There are sleek black caltrops, sharp senbon, files for chains, a lockpicking set, and a recipe for smoke specialty bombs.
His eye widens, and he stares at the gift, the silent acceptance of his career path. He couldn't buy this, not with six months worth of allowance! He might not even be able to find it! These were brand new tools, in a brand new pouch kit, a custom made order. Clan children got these, not him.
Underneath the kit, at the bottom of the box, are seeds.
"She says that if you choose this path, then you better be prepared. Those aren't toys, they are tools for survival , Naruto-chan. They can hurt people, and they can take a life."
He looks up, and he sees Misaki-nee watching him carefully, studying his face.
"The seeds are to help you remember that it takes time for things to grow. Patience and care are things you never want to forget."
He feels his eyes burning, because he won't forget, just like Fairy-nee didn't forget. She remembered him, and she cared for him. She accepts him, and she loves him, even though she isn't there.
She loves him, he is sure.
He remembers her in the gardens, looking down at the koi pond, her face so sad.
Naruto follows a quiet Misaki down the stairs, his new kit and seeds tucked inside the pockets of his baggy black pants. He eats stays for lunch, and he even eats his vegetables before he goes home again.
Naruto will become a ninja, and he won't let his friend die. He will become Hokage, and one day, he will help her find what she has lost.
(Eight months later, when he finally saves up enough money to try out the smoke bomb recipe, he laughs so hard he cries a little bit. The smoke they create is stinks like rotten eggs, and it makes the dog kid pass out. The best part is the rubber coating though, because when the pressure builds up and escapes, it sounds like a fart and smells like one too.
Best. Distraction. Ever.)
AN: So, one of the beginning ideas of this fic was that Naruto has smoke bombs that make farting noises when they crack open and stink like sulfur. Also, people wanted to see what Naruto was up to, so here it is. He's still Naruto, only not so driven to seek out any sort of attention, and not desperate to be accepted.
No beta, just me. Any mistakes are mine.