The chunin at the desk looked up from his perfectly organized papers to see an elderly man approach.

"Kosuke, how are you today?" Many chunin disliked jobs like this. Working at the assignment desk guaranteed no adventure, no adrenaline, no women listening to your tales of daring-do. Most chunin were idiots.

Desuke had worked his way up from the Genin Corps to become a chunin, but not in order to become a squad leader or go on dangerous missions.

He would quietly snort in derision at the idiots who became Shinobi for 'women' (or Kunoichi in order to find men). Nevermind the whole 'death' aspect of being on dangerous assignments, those same assignments took them far away from home for weeks at a time. No, he was happy going to work in the morning and coming home to his wife and children in the afternoon.

He had worked at the desk for several years now (the reason he had been promoted to Chunin was that he was conscientious of his work and the Assignment Desk required certain clearance levels.) While the ink-stained hands and paper cuts were the extent of his own dangers, he had gotten to know many of those same Genin and Chunin over the years.

Yes, he would sometimes laugh at them. But he was grateful for their work and did his best to insure that each assignment would be completed without casualty to the best of his ability-he always noticed when a regular didn't show up for too long.

That is also why he tried to get to know many of those ninja and at least give them a smile and greeting when they were home. (Surprisingly, he found his job to be that much easier than those Chunin that were 'demoted' to work at the desk due to some reason or another. Of course, they were always frowning and snapping at their laughing comrades while their desks slowly became a jumbled mess.)

Maruboshi Kosuke, of course, was considered a regular. Desuke commiserated with the reasoning of Kosuke staying a Genin. The old man had gone on hundreds of missions over his 40 year tenure as a ninja and had seen many comrades die. Seeing someone he had assigned a mission come back in a shroud was terrible enough; Giving orders to people who died because of your choices must be… -No. Working at this desk he served his village and his comrades to the best of his abilities and he would pray that he would never have to experience the horrors of war first hand.

Flipping through the book on his right he looked up and grinned, "Still taking the academy brats on their annual camping trip?"

The old man chuckled in his quiet way-both eyes closed and a humble smile on his face. "I believe so, if the teachers want."

"Of course they do. That was the best part of the academy. If you ever end up retiring be sure to open a restaurant." Desuke smiled at the graying Genin in front of him, "But not before my eldest joins the academy. He'll be the second generation Uddo to enjoy your camping trips!"

"Ah, here we are, Maruboshi." He looked a little puzzled and double-checked his book. "I was planning on sending you northeast on a border patrol near the Land of Hot Springs. But according to this you are currently on a long-term mission." He pointed at an entry in his book.

The entry had a classified marker next to it and was made in the impeccable script of ANBU Pika. 'I wonder what his pay is? I should look into whether he does anything besides paperwork as an ANBU.' Pika was one of the few ANBU he worked with regularly and they had a good professional relationship, although the man really was a bit anal-retentive at times.

"Talk to ANBU Pika in the next room over." He indicated the door behind him. "His mask has a brown stripe on the left, his right, and a grey and black half-heart behind it." He didn't think he would ever understand why they painted their masks the way they did. Come to think of it, maybe the half-heart is supposed to look like an ear? He shrugged as he looked at the next person in line.

"Hey Tekuno, still blowing everything up?"

While Konoha wasn't the largest city in the Fire Nation it could still be quite oppressive: people scurried about, noise assaulted the ears while smells abused the nose, even an excess of chakra pushed on the nerves. That was one reason why Kosuke would often spend his furloughs out in the forest while his most popular mission was border patrol.

The sun had started to go down and glinted brightly off the small stream while silver flashes darted beneath the golden glow. Water lapped softly against the small rock Kosuke sat quietly on and birds sang in the nearby trees. A night heron was resting ten meters down the stream, only a small patch of white revealing the tawny brown bird hidden in the reeds.

In most ways nature had just as much detail as any city: Sights, sounds, touch, even taste and smell. For instance, that young Loquat tree struggling to bloom in the midst of the older and larger trees around it. The wind whistled lightly through the leaves while several birds joyfully ate some of the yellow fruit. One especially cautious waxwing quickly purloined it's harvest before it flew off to perch on the small wooden walkway behind him. The same wind brought a complex fragrance of loam, water, fall leaves and the last of the flowering Loquat. White, grays, silver, yellows, orange, reds, browns, greens, blues and even black mixed and matched all around, from the plain cliff face with it's wooden walkway to the waxwing itself (which had all those colors except green on it's tiny body). The difference between nature and a city was the harmony and tranquility.

Kosuke breathed deeply into his nose and exhaled contentedly. "To produce fruit so early in life is a marvel, it must be well taken care of." He twisted around to smile sadly at Sarutobi.

The man who was Hokage felt his stomach jump and cramp slightly as tears threatened even now. "I miss her."

"We all do, although none so keenly as you." Was the quiet reply. Kosuke tried to read his Hokage and tried a cheeky, "Although none of us miss her cooking eh? I have some stew finishing in the cave if you are hungry."

He had gauged the situation well as Hiruzen allowed a smile to grace his memories, "You know I would never turn down a meal you make, although I would prefer to eat out here I think."

One old man hopped down to the small rocky island while the other jumped up to the walkway before disappearing briefly into a cave. Shortly he reemerged with two large bowls and spoons in hand, "I hope you don't mind fish?" He joined Hiruzen in the midst of the stream and handed one of the bowls over.

The smell was amazing! Fresh fish, various mushrooms and leeks floated in a thickened miso stock (miso paste was easiest to work with on the longer patrol missions while kuzu kept it hearty enough for his compatriots to feel like they ate something filling.)

"Don't go" he coughed lightly, "fishing for compliments. You know I love it." A brief "Thanks" proceeded his first spoonful.

Yep, it was as good as always when Kosuke cooked, the… "ooo, hot!"

Laughter bubbled up, "I may have found some wild ginger on my way out here."

"How delightful!" was the sarcastic reply, but Hiruzen hardly slowed down in consuming the tasty dish.

They both settled down, enjoying a moment of (relative) quiet without youngsters, subordinates or the general activity of a city.

The sun eventually completed this half of it's journey and the first stars twinkled into view-another part of nature that could not be properly appreciated from a city.

Hiruzen chuckled as a random memory came to him, "After I learned how to tree climb I used to watch the sunset from my balcony before trying to race up the Hokage monument and watch it a second time. It was probably great for building my reserves and control but I did it just for the enjoyment of the exercise and the beauty of the heavens."

"Sometimes I think adults try to make sure everything they do has a purpose rather than enjoying everything there is about life." He turned to Kosuke after taking a moment to consider the ambience around them, "I told Pika I wouldn't be able to meet with you until tonight. I'd apologize for keeping you waiting but I have a feeling you enjoyed the wait much more than I."

Now it was the Hokage that faced Kosuke, "I thought it would be good to discuss certain matters with you in private."

Ah yes, this new mission. "Of course, Lord Hokage."

"What do you know about the events that happened four years ago?"

Kosuke looked at the surroundings, 'Ah' "Know?" he shrugged, "The kyuubi escaped from it's prison." He gestured towards the cave and expanded it to include Konoha. "It proceeded to attack the city before Lord Namikaze was able to divert it and finally defeat it."

"That is all true. Now tell me what you think actually happened."

Truthfully not much thought had gone into the matter so Kosuke waited to let his thoughts gather while he looked at his immediate surroundings.

This was why this particular location had been chosen. So…

"The gates outside that cave look to be a vestige of Lord Senju Hashirama, one of his protection torii more than likely." The loquat tree, as he had already surmised, was likely a memorial of Biwako so this would be the site of her death. He may be rambling through his thoughts but he left that part out. "Lady Uzumaki, along with Lord Namikaze, would have been in the cave as she gave birth to young Naruto."

He was missing something. Ah, "The latter stages of pregnancy seem to destabilize a woman's chakra control." He half asked that last part, he had purposefully avoided pregnancy in all shapes. "So she would have trouble containing the Kyuubi."

Most of the Shinobi force had known Mito and Kushina were the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

But-that hardly made sense.

With Minato there and more than able to seal the Kyuubi even if it did get free how would it have made it to Konoha? Beyond that, Konoha had been wrecked by the Kyuubi before Minato had teleported it away. This little recess of Konoha along with the four kilometers leading to the city gate showed no sign of destruction whatsoever.

Kosuke was not the smartest shinobi and his tactical decisions had proven...disastrous; but years know more than books and he had learned to pick out natural progressions-This, so that.

That meant that either Kushina had been teleported to Konoha before the Kyuubi got free or the Kyuubi got free and came to be in Konoha somehow. Neither scenario made much sense; this cave and it's set up had likely been long prepared beforehand. Why leave the protection behind and endanger Konoha unnecessarily.

Thus, there must have been necessity.

"But between Lord Namikaze and the ANBU chosen specifically for such an occasion along with the medics and your wife, they should have been able to stabilize her and the Kyuubi during the birth of their son."

The trouble that one night had caused Konoha politically had been terrible as Rock and Cloud probed for weakness. But worse, all the comrades dead and sundered-husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, children even. Kosuke rarely got angry…

"Someone leaked the information!" he growled. "A traitor." He paused, "Orochimaru must have attacked them, probably with backup. They forced Lord Namikaze to transport Lady Uzumaki and his newborn son to what he thought was the safety of Konoha before he dealt with them."

Sarutobi was impressed and a little surprised. Few knew that Naruto was Minato's son and the picture Kosuke was able to form, while incorrect in various details, was pretty close to accurate.

Kosuke's voice mellowed, "Without Minato to control the seal the Kyuubi managed to escape and attack the city."

One other side-effect of the tranquil world around them was the quiet softening of wounds. The world moved on, grew, died and renewed. For some this might enflame the wounds 'how dare they' but, while Hiruzen would always feel the pain, he strove to improve the world he lived in for those who would come after.

"We don't know the full details. But we know that during the delivery the guards were attacked and killed by a strike force of unknown numbers. Unfortunately, we...I," a breath puffed out, "chose ANBU primarily to assist Minato with sealing and Kushina with chakra infusion. We had no intelligence regarding an attack from outside and no reason to expect one."

"The information we were able to gather doesn't indicate that Orochimaru was directly involved." 'Although I wouldn't be surprised if he assisted in the background.' "We did find three dead enemy ninja around what appears to have been a reverse summoning matrix."

Two of the ninja had simply had their throats cut, the third had been largely obliterated. Probably from a Rasengan.

"According to the little information Inoshi could gather, they were likely insurgent rock ninja who wouldn't accept that we had won the war. Even that is a little sketchy-one of them had a curious barrier Inoshi couldn't get through even after death."

The Lord Hokage looked down into his empty bowl, it didn't provide any divine answers though. "The rest of what we know is speculation. We believe they separated Minato from Kushina through some nefarious means. They must have delayed him at least long enough to extract the kyuubi and reverse summon it to Konoha through a pre-arranged matrix-possibly that traitor you mentioned."

A frown deepened on Hiruzen's wrinkled face as he debated whether to include the next information. "We… believe that the matrix required a fourth individual and Inoshi extrapolated that one of the rogues may have had a sharingan-possibly stolen during the war."

"The rest is pretty much historical. Minato was able to transport Kushina to the hospital. While Enma and I attacked from the front and distracted the Kyuubi he was able to get behind and above it with Boss Gamabunta. He was able to somehow transport the Kyuubi to a safe distance and eventually sealed it into his son-Naruto."

Teleporting the Kyuubi, of all things, away from Konoha probably killed Minato regardless of what happened afterwards but Hiruzen still wished he could have been the one to seal the Kyuubi and hope that Minato would have survived.

But Minato was dead and Kushina was in a coma for four years now.

Kosuke nodded in understanding but waited, the apple would fall soon-this was classified information. They may have been considered friends but they never regularly talked about anything more than 'the olden day' or the ever hoped for retirement.

The history behind missions had rarely been a given in most Shinobi villages. Information was generally hoarded and jealously guarded. Sarutobi had followed the example of Lord Senju Tobirama: The village had a mission; the mission was given to a team leader; they completed the mission. Everything was kept clinical and professional on the business side of the village.

It was Minato that had shown his predecessor that information was guarded because it was important. Perhaps he had learned that lesson from the disaster around his student's father or perhaps he had simply known it instinctually.

The background of a mission could be relayed professionally (without giving away too many secrets) to the team leader of missions. This often allowed them to forge their tactics appropriately and with back-up plans that took into account various altercations.

"The mission I have in mind for you would last for the next eight years at a minimum."

Kosuke nodded thoughtfully. Such missions were extraordinarily rare but were certainly not unknown. Considering his status as a Genin the most likely missions would be long-term infiltration (unlikely as that was generally given to the youngest genin), ambassador's assistant or emissary, or an unusual desk job of some variety-most likely a specialized teacher.

Add in the history and…

"Young Naruto should be helped, loved and even respected, instead he will face many hardships in his life. He is already facing some discrimination due to his status as Jinchuuriki. He is also receiving special attention from certain" he paused with some distaste, "factions that would like to exploit him."

Hiruzen, as a man and as Hokage, nodded solemnly to Kosuke. "I am appointing you as his full-time bodyguard and caretaker."

Teaching survival, while not something Kosuke particularly looked forward to (outside of his annual camping trip), was somewhat expected as a semi-forced retirement. He was getting older and was still a Genin, there were only so many jobs available to someone like him. Bodyguard would be irregular but he could be appropriate for certain clientele (a traveling monk would be a perfect client!).

Caretaker? And to someone like Naruto? Absolutely not!

It wasn't that he disliked Naruto (although, come to think of it, he hadn't ever met the kid) and he certainly wasn't afraid of being around the Jinchuuriki. Given the right (or wrong, as it were) outside influence any Shinobi could become a threat to life and limb of even their closest friends. He had gone on several missions with Kushina and the data was obvious that under normal circumstances the Kyuubi was perfectly safe and imprisoned by her.

He liked kids. Sure, they could be loud at times but that should be expected. They were inquisitive and often obnoxious but that was natural.

Kosuke had never gotten married, never had kids and always deferred to others in leadership for a reason; He did not want that responsibility! More importantly, others shouldn't want him to have that responsibility over their lives.

No. This would not work.

"I will give you several days with Naruto starting tomorrow." Hiruzen knew that Kosuke would be extremely reticent to have so much responsibility and had prepared for it. "At the end of this trial run, if you cannot give me a liability that I believe to be appropriate, you will become his legal guardian until such time as Kushina awakens or Naruto becomes an adult."

Hiruzen was Hokage while Kosuke was a Genin, he bowed his head and intoned, "Yes, Hokage."

Hiruzen tried to soften the mood, "I want… he needs someone in his life that can be his family. To the outside world you may be the Jinchuuriki's bodyguard, but he needs someone who can show him love, care, and even occasional discipline."

The two men chatted about more mundane matters for several minutes before the Hokage and his invisible shadows headed back to Konoha.

Kosuke decided to remain for the night where Naruto had been born. Outside of the boy genuinely hating him, he knew that any excuse he could give would be shot down by the Hokage. The only other viable option was retirement, and that was still a definite possibility. For now, though, the cave was as good a place as any for a good nights rest and if he was going to do this he wanted to make sure he did his best.

Inoichi clucked his tongue in annoyance, last month he had been sure there was a moment of mental recognition but these last two visits had proven fruitless. Still, he didn't see how it could hurt to continue his check-ups, particularly as he had perceived quite a notable increase in his own mind-walking control.

He often tried to conduct his check-ups shortly before young Naruto came for his weekly visit. With his grasp of psychology he wanted to insure those visits were as positive as possible, he owed Kushina that much as a Shinobi of Konoha.

Sitting back in the comfortable chair (he had stolen the plush red chair from one of the lobbies after finding his leg asleep following one of his early sessions-ugly thing, but comfortable) he used his 'honest' smile as the door opened.

"Hey Naru…" He paused. Normally Naruto would be accompanied by an ANBU on the even weeks (when Inoichi was present) or by Hiruzen on the odd weeks. They would patiently wait outside while Naruto babbled, ranted and generally talked for what felt like an hour straight.

He had never known Kushina to have a visitor besides himself, Naruto and the nurses that attended her. A few people had come the first year, Mikoto lasted the longest but even she hadn't visited for over two years to his knowledge.

The older gentleman who stepped in looked vaguely familiar: brown hair (mostly gray now) held back in a short ponytail, a slightly long and angular face, and overall the man looked like he worked out in the sun quite a bit with tanned and roughened skin. 'Maru something?'

Inoichi nodded his head, extending his greeting, "I'm sorry, I was expecting someone else. Please come in though, can I help you?"

"Master Yamanaka, I was in the area and thought I would pay my respects to Lady Kushina."

Well, that didn't seem quite right. Perhaps the man was being honest, but it didn't seem that way to Inoichi. He rarely found himself wrong in reading people and never ignored his instincts in that arena.

"Of course, I hope you don't mind if I stay. I have to finish my evaluation of my patient's health."

Maruboshi accepted with a nod of his own, "Of course."

The two of them remained in an awkward silence, despite coming to 'pay his respects' to Kushina, the man seemed to not know what to do with himself in this situation.

'So, he is here for Naruto's visit. The timing is not coincidental.' He would remain and had already prepared a jutsu in case his ulterior motives were grim.

Thankfully the awkward state was broken as the door loudly clanged open and a brownish bundle burst into the room.

"Hi Mum, Hey Uncle Inoichi!" the bundle looked at the newcomer in the room and walked straight up to him, "Hey gramps, you're new! Hey, are you a doctor? Do you know Mum? What are you doing here? What's your name mister?" he looked over at Inoichi, "Hey-hey, does he talk? Who is he?"

Inoichi lightly smiled, 'No subtlety in that one' "Remember to be polite young Naruto. Once you ask a question it is traditional to allow the other person a chance to answer."

"Right, gotcha! So gramps, you're new, who are you and are you a doctor? Do you know Mum? How"

Inoichi interjected, "One question at a time." He supposed it didn't help that the person Naruto seemed to talk to the most never actually talked back. And wasn't that a sad thought.

The man knelt down to be more at Naruto's height. 'So, he knows something about how to talk to children.'

"Hi there, You must be Naruto!" The man smiled brightly, "I haven't seen you since your mother was pregnant with you."

Naruto gasped in astonishment, "Hey-hey, mister gramps," Inoichi sighed internally. He guessed that that was Naruto trying to be extra polite. "You knew mum then right?"

"Yep, I was just visiting her." 'Well, that is a definite lie' Inoichi thought to himself. "I," the man hesitated as if this was really momentous, "am surprised to find such a strapping and thoughtful son visiting my old friend." 'Pfft, another lie. The old phony was clearly expecting just that.'

"Hey, Mum's not old!" came the indignant reply.

The older man smiled and opened his mouth to agree but was cut off, "But gramps, you sure are!"

He chuckled and ruffled the boys hair, "You bet I am. That's why you respect me so much! What a wise young man you are."

Naruto's eye bulged in shock. That was...no one had ever said anything like that before to him! "Yeah, you bet. I really respect you for being an old geezer!" he nodded to himself as if to affirm that he was, indeed, being extremely polite.

"But enough about me, we're both here to visit your mom" he winked kindly, "The Lady Uzumaki Kushina."

That set Naruto off, as if he hadn't been talking enough already. He jabbered and chattered, quite as if a person he had never met before wasn't listening in on everything that had been happening in the last week.

'And the phony learns all about what makes Naruto tick: his likes, dislikes, desires. Well played. I hope you know that I will personally let the Hokage know of this incident, and he does not take kindly to anything bad happening to young Naruto.'

As if by those magical words, the door opened once more and Lord Hokage Sarutobi stepped into the room.

'Huh, so. This is unusual.' he sent a subtle gesture to his superior, '?'

A quick 'Okay: orders, classified' was sent back.

Intriguing, but no longer his concern.

"Hey old man!" Yep, politest child in history.

"That's Old Man Hokage to you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Isn't this cool? Everyone is visiting mum today! This is so cool. Hey, can we do this again?" He turned to Maruboshi, "Hey geezer, are you coming again next week?"

Maruboshi looked thoughtful, "Hmm, I have some things I have to get done. I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it all in time."

Naruto looked sad for the briefest of moments, "Oh, hey. I bet I can help you! I'm really strong and fast." He looked at the Hokage for affirmation.

Laughter bubbled out from Hiruzen as he looked at Naruto, "I see you've met Mister Maruboshi. I suppose if he wants your help that's fine with me."

"But old man, I won't want to help Maru Bushi. I want to help this old geezer!" He pointed at Maruboshi in adamant affirmation.

The 'geezer' tapped Naruto on the shoulder, "How very impolite of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Maruboshi Kosuke." He winked again, "But you can call me Grampa Kosuke."

Naruto half fell trying to make a graceful bow, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he turned back to the Hokage, "I can go help him yeah?"

"Did you ask him if he could use your help yet?"

"Oh." he turned, "Um, so can I help you Grampa Kosuke?"

Maruboshi closed his eyes and stroked his non-existant beard, "I don't know, it's a really hard job!"

Naruto hopped up and down, "I'm one of the strongest kids at the orphanage!"

"Hmm." He continued to think hard. "I supposed I could use someone's help."

"Pick me mister, I can help!"

"I really do need someone who is strong and fast. I suppose the best man for the job would be…"

Naruto stopped fidgeting for a moment and practically buzzed instead.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The brown bundle jumped into the air and jabbed his hand towards the ceiling. "Awesome, I'll do the bestest job ever! And next week we can all come and visit Mum again!"

Well, if the Hokage approved Inoichi wasn't going to disagree. 'Bait given; bait taken. Masterfully done.' The man certainly knew how to get an active (and sometimes rebellious) child to do what he wanted.

He turned towards Inoichi and inclined his head, "Master Yamanaka, a pleasure to talk with you." He then turned towards the Hokage and bowed, "Lord Hokage." Finally he turned and bowed towards the youngest in the room. "Ok Master Uzumaki Naruto," The man smiled broadly with both eyes closed, "We'll have to start bright and early tomorrow if we want to get everything done so I'm going to go home and prepare!"

Naruto hopped up and down "Yeah! Hey. I need to prepare too I guess." He ran out the door, "Hey, Mousie, follow me! We have places to go, things to do!"

Inoichi heard a quietly mumbled, 'it's weasel, not mouse.' before the door closed and he was left alone with the Hokage (and Kushina).

He picked up his notebook and slid the pen down the binder before,

"Could you give me a brief analysis on those two?" The hokage expounded on the question, "I am planning on placing Genin Maruboshi as a permanent bodyguard for Uzumaki." However, as he said the word 'bodyguard' he also signed 'Family'.

'Ah, that Maruboshi.' He had only heard good things about the 'Eternal Genin' on the few times the name had come up.

Inoichi was happy that the Hokage was moving in a positive direction with the Jinchuuriki. Over the last couple years Naruto had developed into something of a headache and dilemma for him. On the one hand, he was an interesting case study; On the other hand, Naruto had forced his way into being something more than a simple study through his bubbly personality mingled with obvious (to him) loneliness.

Morally? Inoichi probably should have felt a responsibility towards the kid. But, and he looked down at Kushina, a Jinchuuriki was not someone he particularly wanted around his own family and friends. So, he took the easier responsibility as of a doctor towards their patient-long distance, twice a month 'professional friendship'.

Choosing his words carefully to emulate the Hokage he gave his qualified opinion, "From what I've heard and seen, Genin Maruboshi has skill beyond his ranking and could make a qualified," he gave the slightest inflection "bodyguard."

"In any long-term bodyguard relationship both parties must either be neutral towards one-another, a 'professional life' if you will, or both parties must be amenable to each other. The child already seems to have taken a liking to your choice of bodyguard while Genin Maruboshi shows signs of grasping how best to compliment a child's unique perspective on life."

He gave a quick discursive tangent, "That is actually quite unusual for adults."

"In my professional opinion, Genin Maruboshi should be capable of keeping young Naruto out of" a small pause was followed by a slight emphasis "harm in most aspects of life."

The Hokage nodded and turned to leave, "If you notice any irregularities or negligence in that aspect of 'security' be sure to let me know." and he left the room.

Inoichi nodded to himself, he would only see them twice a month but it would still be easy for him to see any signs of familial relationships, neglect or abuse. Meanwhile, he could move on in his life without feeling 'bad' about something he had no desire to relate to.

Maruboshi tended to be very straight-forward. He never planned anything, he rarely thought deeply about any particular subject and he seldom read books (although he did enjoy attending an occasional traditional play).

Life was about living.

When he was on patrol he would enjoy the scenery and see what kind of flora and fauna was nearby. He wasn't much of a sensor but he loved listening to the birds sing or watching how the leaves danced in the wind. If he happened to notice a genjutsu because he saw symmetry where the leaves should be dancing to a separate rhythm? He could warn his teammates in time to avoid the follow-up attack.

While he gathered herbs and mushrooms for dinner he could mention how particularly delicious that variety was. It would make for a delicious stew! If he conveniently forgot to put the mushrooms in the evening stew that was so unfortunate. Odd how this poor fellow died from poison last night, I wonder why he was following our patrol and what could ever have possessed him to eat those Death Cap mushrooms? (That had actually happened once.)

Why would he need to read a book when he had met so many great people in his life? Each person he met had something that he could learn. Each place he visited had something he could enjoy. Every dish was a new combination of flavours to relish. He hardly had to stop and take time out of his life to 'think on life's perplexities' when life was so full of wondrous mysteries already.

Which is why, after 'going home to prepare', he showed up at the orphanage with no particular plans in place. How was he going to tackle this impossibly difficult job of becoming Naruto's surrogate family? He didn't need to think on that,...

"What, we're a little busy here." A particularly harried looking teenager had passed him by and he had let her go. It looked like she was busy enough. But this fine gentleman hadn't been doing much (unless you called waving your hands at people 'doing something'.)

"Hi, I'm Genin Maruboshi Kosuke. I'm here to pick up Uzumaki Naruto for a couple days."

"Right. Follow me." The man spoke and moved tersely to a small office.

"Please sign here."

Kosuke scanned the document, "This seems to be a release of Master Uzumaki into my care on a permanent basis."

"That is correct. It is my understanding that the...child will be starting a new life outside this orphanage." When he noticed Kosuke's expression he added, "I'm sure you'll find everything in order and that we have taken efficient care of him when he was our ward."

Efficient care. Just what a child needs growing up.

He pointed to a small bag in the corner, "We've taken the liberty of packing his belongings." The man softened from diamond to iron, "We've made sure he has everything that he thought of as his own, even a few of his favorite mementos-a few toys, a stuffed animal and such."

How very kind of them.

Kosuke signed the document.

"Excellent." The gentleman stood and walked over to the door. "Kaigo, please retrieve" he shifted his eyes to glance at Kosuke briefly and changed his wording, "Uzumaki Naruto for me."

It was sad. The gentleman looked like an average civilian: brown hair, brown eyes, strong posture while neither skinny nor fat. But for all his austerity he was starting to sound relieved. There were obvious laugh marks on his face from his middle-length life but now his eyes simply looked dark and tired.

Kosuke had asked about the Orphanage' finances and had seen the abrupt plummet in the last year and a half. He had listened at the market (by turning the conversations subtly to the subject matter). Was Naruto dangerous? He certainly had been to this man's stable and happy life. He might even be able to kill hundreds of civilians in the market (eventually). But Kosuke could likely do the same and possibly even get away with it.

The Kyuubi, of course, could do much, much worse.

Which was why he was the worst choice the Hokage could have made to insure that the child was kept safe. He intended to make that argument even if he knew it would be rejected.

And here was Naruto.

The shoulders shrugged as he took a deep breath. He smiled and offered to take the boy's bag.

Here was simply another interesting person to interact with on the journey called life.

"Hey, hey"

Kosuke was starting to think that particular interjection was Naruto's favorite word. It usually proceeded a question, or five. The kid desired attention if nothing else. Kosuke really thought he liked kids and handled them well enough. But the contiguous nature of Naruto was making him want to be a hermit (granted, that was already in his nature). And they had barely left the orphanage ten minutes ago.

"...nna do?"

Oh right, the question. Um, "First, we need to go to my house. After that we'll do some errands before getting to work." He wasn't entirely sure what the question had been so he hoped his answer matched.

"Errands? Like washing dishes?"

Kosuke would tell him what errands he had in mind, in his experience if you treated a kid in a straight-forward manner they would listen and respect you, but he never actually got the opportunity to answer.

"We have to do one job everyday in the orphanage! A lot of it is cleaning" Naruto stuck out his tongue, "bleh! But sometimes it would be something cool like helping in the garden!"

Ah, good to know. Naruto liked working in gardens. That should go along with what he had planned.

"They say that adults have to do errands to and it's good to learn how to do it! Hey, I guess that's true right gramps?"

"Well…"

"Oh, so if you need someone strong and fast to help you what does that mean we'll be doing? Hmm, I bet it's gotta be something really cool eh? I'm right aren't I gramps? And I'll get it done the best ever, for sure!"

Part of the reason Kosuke had gotten along so well with children was because he would always take their questions seriously and answer them. If they didn't understand him and asked another question he would continue until they got bored or were satisfied with the answers. Sadly that wasn't working at all with Naruto.

He couldn't believe that he was about to try this but it was worth a shot.

"Naruto."

"... and then we can …"

"Naruto!"

"Oh, um, yeah?" Big blue eyes blinked up at Kosuke tranquilly. Deceptive little orbs!

"I have a job I want you to do for me."

"Oh, oh, what is it? Is…"

"It's like a game, but I can only tell you the instructions once so you need to listen. That's part of the job."

Lowered eyebrows and intense concentration settled on Naruto's brow as he waited with full anticipatory expectancy.

"I want you to find one thing for every colour you see, it could be on a person or house or the street-anything. I want you to remember what the colour was and what the article" at Naruto's inquisitive look he changed his wording, "thing was that had the colour."

Naruto immediately started to talk "Hey, look at that pink hair and over there is"

Kosuke held up a hand, one finger motioning for Naruto to wait. "I'm not quite done with the instructions."

Naruto's eyebrows raised in shocked dismay. Kid should become an actor.

"The final part of this game is that you can't tell me anything until we reach my house. You have to remember all the details until then."

Ok, at least it wasn't quite as obvious as 'the silent game' and actually had a purpose-besides acquiring a moment of relative peace for his ears.

Naruto, surprisingly, managed to follow the instructions admirably well. He wasn't quietly cataloguing the information for a report but Kosuke hadn't expected him to become someone he wasn't. Instead he was running around examining some things in minute detail while at others sweeping his head back-and-forth (because remembering that the sky was blue would be so difficult?) to gaze at a larger canvas.

A few of the civilians moved away from the scampering child, but most only due to the desire not to get bumped. Occasionally a, "Watch where you're going" or "Watch it" would be thrown at the kid but nothing that Naruto probably didn't deserve.

Occasionally Kosuke would see a questioning look followed by a stab of recognition and then of horror, fear or anger. But the dirt-colored child running around was hardly recognizable if you didn't already know who he was. Usually those looks would dissipate when they saw that, yes, someone was accompanying the child (besides ANBU) and it must not be a street kid trying to steal from them or the Kyuubi brat out on the loose. "Is that? No, just a kid out with his grandfather."

Kosuke knew that Naruto was discriminated against in several different ways. Thankfully, it would seem, most of the citizens simply had a name 'Uzumaki Naruto, did you hear? Yeah, he's the Demon Fox right?'. If he ended up as Naruto's caretaker he fully hoped to integrate Naruto into a few parts of the village before they recognized that he and Kosuke's ward were one-and-the-same.

Having a few bastions of positive stories and rumours would help in what would probably be a lifetime of prejudice against Naruto.

They had started to leave the busier streets of Konoha as they neared the outskirts of the city. Kosuke owned a house, even though he often camped out under the stars instead, next to the Nara quarter. It was a tiny little cottage, only three rooms-one bedroom, a bathroom and a living room with a small kitchen on one wall-but it was quiet and relatively cheap. He was much happier with it than the apartment he had spent most of his career in.

Hmm, if Naruto ended up staying he'd have to get a futon or something.

Kosuke watched as Naruto continued to run around examining everything. Of course, the kid hadn't given his house a second glance-not many would he supposed. It was a plain tan affair with a russet tile roof. The wooden door and paper windows were nicely framed with bisected bamboo. Some might say it was homely and he would be more than happy to agree, although perhaps with a different meaning.

To the side of the house a small garden of hardier herbs grew. As a field shinobi the garden was a bit of a vanity but he enjoyed the benefits and it only rarely required attention. Perhaps we would be able to add to it if the Hokage planned for him to stay within the confines of Konoha for the indefinite future.

As he quietly entered his house Kosuke wondered how long it would take Naruto to notice. Meanwhile he placed Naruto's small bag next to the door before going outside to check on said garden. Also, while he wouldn't mind seeing how long it would take Naruto to notice, he didn't want the kid to get lost or scared.

It took several minutes.

Kosuke was more than happy to enjoy the fragrant smells of Shiso and Mitsuba as he clipped a few leaves and sprigs for later in the day.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto had returned and circled the small garden looking at plants randomly. "Why did we stop here? We have to get to your house so that we can finish the job!" He looked somewhat torn between asking another question and simply taking hold of Kosuke's hand and pulling him onward.

This indecision allowed a moment to actually answer, "We stopped here because this is my home."

"But we..." the demand to continue was cut short as realization dawned, "Oh!" The child exclaimed excitedly as he ran around the house finally making a show of examining it minutely. "Hey gramps, you have a really cool house!"

Um, sure. He thought it was quite pleasant as well so he saw no reason to argue.

"So should I tell you everything I saw now?"

Some adults might have shrugged it off as simply their way to get some peace and quiet on the journey. But Kosuke had every intention of allowing the child to report his findings and discuss them. Naruto had an overwhelming personality and ignoring it would simply make it worse. Listening and showing that you thought his ideas and actions were as valid as any adults would hopefully do wonders. It would also allow him to point out mistakes in those same ideas and actions without Naruto ignoring him completely.

What followed was one of the worst presented reports Kosuke had ever heard.

He had heard a lot of poorly organized reports in his forty years of work.

A compliment here and there allowed him to interject occasionally, "Ah very good, the Hokage monument is a great example of brown, would you call it brown or tan though?" or "You already gave me an example of Orange. Only one item per colour. Were they different shades?"

In some ways it was like dealing with a one-year old on his few babysitting missions. "Pick up the RED one. Very good!" And of course you would both clap excitedly. But Naruto clearly lacked in certain common traits taught to children as they grew up with family and friends. This report allowed for some interaction that both worked for his age, personality and energy (the report was full of arm-waving or squinting eyes and other rather cute miming) but also allowed him some remedial training.

"Very good Naruto." It was still pretty early, they should be able to get several errands done before lunch, "Are you ready to start helping with our errands?"

Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Ok, first we need to look and see what you have in your bag. I think we might need to buy some things for you so that you can do a really good job helping me finish my work."

His nodding head turned quizzically to the side for a brief moment before he rushed over to get his bag...and then rushed back the other way to where it was actually located.

The morning had been both profitable and rewarding. An unsolicited windfall had fallen Konoha's way when an envoy from the Land of the Moon had shown up with a trade agreement from the Fire Daimyo. The Land of Fire's Daimyo wasn't exactly gifted at negotiations but this particular one should prove exceptionally useful as it gave Konoha better access to overseas trade and missions while by-passing the Bloody Mist.

Hiruzen was just going over some of the details with Homura when Danzo entered the office.

"Lord Hokage, a certain matter has arisen that requires our attention."

"Can it wait Danzo? I would like to…"

"I am afraid the matter may be important to you personally as well as concerning the long-term defenses of Konoha."

Given the timing and wording it would seem Danzo had learned something of his own plans for Naruto. But he had worked rather quickly and efficiently and thought he had the upper hand in this. What was perhaps more worrying was that if Danzo were the one pushing Naruto out of society, Fugaku and several of the clans had listened to him. Danzo and Fugaku might think similarly but they rarely agreed on anything-worrisome indeed.

"Go ahead and report then." It didn't hurt to remind Danzo that he was dealing with the Hokage.

"Yes Lord Hokage," came the automatic response. "It would seem the Kyuubi child managed to upset his caretakers again. Neither of the Orphanages will take him in at this point and you know that many of the alternatives would be disastrous."

'Yes, because you designed it that way.'

"Given his disciplinary problems and unique situation, it would behoove us to…"

Hiruzen interrupted the man's familiar discourse, "I'm afraid your information is behind the times Danzo. Naruto has been given a bodyguard and caretaker until such time as he becomes a Genin."

Danzo looked faintly irate and turned towards Homura, "You kn..."

For the second time in as many minutes Danzo was interrupted, "Actually, Lord Sarutobi has already shared the pertinent information with me. This new format is both fiscally sound and should prove efficient in the child's upbringing into the ranks of Konoha without upsetting the status quo."

Danzo turned from irate to quiet calculation, "And if I might ask who this caretaker will be?"

"I believe we all know him quite well. Maruboshi Kosuke has been chosen for the task."

A glint of hope returned to Danzo's demeanour. "Genin" he emphasized the word, "Maruboshi is hardly suitable for the protection and raising of so valuable an asset as the Nine Tailed Jinchuuriki. I can find a…"

Hiruzen knew he had the upper hand and wanted the matter settled. "Kosuke may be a Genin, but his suitability as Naruto's bodyguard is hardly debatable. He could easily become a Jounin if he desired and his experience in the field likely surpasses that of any of us."

He gestured towards Homura and continued, "Meanwhile, the economics of paying a single Genin a yearly C-rank salary plus a small caretakers salary for an orphaned child hardly compares to the price we have to pay ANBU twice daily for a low B-rank mission."

"Now, did you wish to help us concerning the commercial outlets opened up with this new trade agreement with Moon?"

Danzo frowned at both men before turning away, "I'm sure you can figure out how best to capitalize on a," he puffed out the words, "trade agreement."

As the war hawk left the room Hiruzen gave him one last thought before returning to the previous conversation.

'I'll have to give Danzo something to occupy his time for a while. Land of Woods has been acting shady recently.'

"Now, what about extending…"

Naruto ran into the house shouting happily while Kosuke trailed behind, 'If he's the one with all the energy why am I the one left with all the bags?'

The two had returned victorious from a shopping trip, although Kosuke might argue it a pyrrhic victory.

They had bought two additional outfits for Naruto to go along with his current outfit of 'orphanage brown' (the best description for the sun-browned child's dirt-brown clothing).

The first was a sleek chocolate brown leather leggings with black tassels on the side along with a black t-shirt-Durable and practical for a kid that had as much energy and dirt-magnetism as Naruto. A chestnut Hanten accompanied the outfit for the upcoming colder months.

The second outfit was a bit more unique. The traditional Samue had a gray weave on the bottom but the shirt had a bright orange flame woven into the side and up the back in honour of the Land of Fire. Naruto would probably grow out if it in less than a year anyways, although, Kosuke supposed, the colour fit Naruto's personality well enough.

Naruto's sandals were still serviceable unless the winter turned bitter.

Beyond that Kosuke wasn't sure what a child might 'need' compared to what he might 'want'.

Naruto had tried to obtain a small number of toys, shirts, knives, etc. once he saw 'gramps' was buying but even a brief temper-tantrum had resulted in failure. Kosuke wanted to insure that the relationship was practical but also prove that Kosuke was helping Naruto without obligation towards Naruto's constrictingly effusive personality.

He had, however, purchased a small travelers pack for the boy-it would be useful for camping and 'work'. . .

. . . and finding the child thanks to the bright orange. Kosuke picked the practical to purchase but allowed Naruto a choice in the style.

A futon had been ordered that would be brought to the house later along with a sturdy blanket, both warm and waterproof, good for at home or on the road.

"Hey," Naruto looked around excitedly before he pointed imperiously at the bags Kosuke was holding, "That was really easy with me along wasn't it gramps?"

For once Naruto's habit of talking over everyone paid off as Kosuke had no idea how to reply.

"Now that we finished all the work you can visit mum with me right?" The look of pride mixed with puppy dog hope was a little excessive.

"Um, the shopping was just a few chores we needed to finish before we could even begin to get to work." Kosuke spoke aloud in a deadpan voice while he was thinking 'Having you along made this so much easier Naruto. How could I possibly get all my chores and work finished without you!' That part may have been sarcastic.

"Oh."

Hope turned to sadness before quickly blending into quizzical determination.

"Hey, why aren't we working then?"

"It's nice to see you so eager to help. But first why don't you get changed into your new vesture" as a blank look on Naruto's face erupted "er, clothing. The leather pants and t-shirt. Catch." He grabbed the garments from the bag he was still carrying and tossed them to Naruto.

"While you do that I'll get Lunch ready. We need to keep our str…"

As soon as Naruto caught the clothing he started to strip and change.

Another faux pas from the orphanage he would have to work on with the kid. It might be no big deal to four year-olds but… this was going to be a long assignment!

Kosuke shook his head as he turned and walked to his ice box to grab the leftovers from last night.

Heating and eating the stew was done with a minimal of interjections from Naruto. (In other words, Naruto only talked half the time instead of every possible opportunity.)

It was a simple meal along with the heel of some rye bread but not any less delicious for it.

"Mmm, that was awesome gramps!" Naruto smacked his lips happily as he sopped up the last of the stew with his bread. "We should eat this every day!"

"It's good isn't it?" Was his only reply.

"It's the best!"

"So you ready to get to work Naruto?"

"Oh yeah, I'm going to be an awesome" he paused, "Um, what are we doing anyways?"

Danzo swept into the room and glared at Fū, "Bring me Kazuma!"