"Control him!"

Red chakra flexed out, trying to snare whatever was closest to the berserk child.

A Yamanaka recoiled as his mind tried to reassert sanity after failing to penetrate the dense fog of anger, fearlessness and utter terror of his chakra encased target.

Thankfully the child did not seem cognizant of the situation and simply swung at whatever was nearest.

A defensive circle of blank-faced soldiers swarmed in and out of each other, not allowing any one combatant to face the bestial child alone for more than a second or two.

"Why isn't Kinoe here yet?"

"He won't arrive back from his mission for another hour at the least sir." The Yamanaka had recovered enough to evaluate the situation with a cool head once more.

A second burst emanated from the child as one of the soldiers managed to cause him injury rather than simply contain him. The berserker immediately focused on her and attacked with a sudden single-minded fury.

"Bloody useless…" the sentence was murmured disdainfully as the old man in charge stepped in front of the charging child and released a burst of his own chakra mixed with an odd foreign chakra.

The child fell in a heap as the chakra encasing him fled before the onslaught of the old man.

Chimera immediately took charge of the situation.

"Boar, please conduct a preliminary evaluation of the Uzumaki child. Moth, assist Genin Maruboshi with the deer."

Yōshoku was still shaking from shock or he might have argued with the ANBU on principle. Even in Konoha, the majority of the population didn't care to learn the difference between the Shadow Deer that imprinted with a Nara from birth and the herd of deer they oversaw-the few shinobi that worked with them usually assumed they were simply an animal summons.

Instead he was gently coaxed to lie down as Kosuke and Suzaku calmed him and worked on his foreleg. As Moth approached, Yōshoku bared his teeth-not willing to let a stranger near him while in such a state of being.

The gray and brown ANBU shrugged and went back to guard his partners as they worked.

Boar knelt in meditation several meters away from the crumpled form of Naruto while Chimera stood between the two. His posture showed a casualness that belied his readiness to act. Moth moved behind Boar and started layering a calming genjutsu over a confusion illusion he had developed for the times he worked with a Yamanaka.

The small forest seemed unnaturally quiet for several minutes despite a secondary team of ANBU arriving and forming a fluid perimeter as directed by Shikaku who had also arrived with several Nara.

"Clear."

Boar looked up as he nodded to Chimera, who in turn nodded to Shikaku.

"Lord Nara, I request the presence of Nara Suzaku for a report." Chimera glanced at the deer starting to recover and politely added, "At his earliest convenience."

Shikaku glanced at Suzaku and waited for a slight flaring of his shadow, "Of course, it should only take an hour or two to see Yōshoku safely to the Inuzuka compound and be assured of his recovering health."

Chimera accepted the compromise and turned to Genin Maruboshi, "If you could please gather your charge and come with us?" While polite, the statement was not a question. "We need to insure that he is still...healthy."

The crowd slowly dispersed as the Nara created a brace and shadow stretcher for Yōshoku and the ANBU formed a perimeter around Kosuke and a sleeping Naruto.

"Move out."

"Are you not even able to control one child?" The sneer did not appear on the old man's face, but it was still evident, "If you can't control him, I'll find someone who can."

The child's guardian was dismissed as inconsequential, so the look of unmitigated hatred went unnoticed. The man was no fool though, acting on his hatred would only cause his premature death.

"My Lord," the repentant voice caught the old shinobi by surprise, already having forgotten about the failure behind him, "perhaps it would be best if I leave for a time. I have heard there is an opening in the Daimyo's service. If it pleases you…"

A curt wave of a hand interrupted anything further he might have said, "See that you don't fail me again. You may send your monthly report through…" a glance at the Yamanaka prompted him to finish the interview.

"Kosei will contact you once you are established in the capital. The code will include," He closed his eyes momentarily as he searched his catalogue, "Tortoise; Dry Spring; and Heron."

"You can be assured, I won't fail again." he looked to where his son had been taken and quietly murmured, "I promise, I will not fail you again."

Shin was neither the youngest nor the oldest in the group, but he had managed to pull together his own little gang after some experimentation.

They were trained to be silent and respectful, those who resisted were beaten into submission. They were trained to be strong of body and will, those who were weak were discarded. Their teachers made it crystal clear why someone was beaten and Shin had quietly and respectfully observed.

It took him a while but he eventually realized that the teachers disliked the children who were silent and respectful because they were too docile just as they disliked the children who were mean-spirited without reason. They weren't discarded like the weak or rebellious, they just…

Shin had difficulty explaining what happened to them, but when he saw their training it was uniform. Not one of them was treated as an individual.

The dozen children currently engaged in various activities or meditation barely acknowledged the fact that a new kid was unceremoniously dumped, unconscious, in a corner of the room. The stark silence would have had most orphanage workers acting paranoid, unsure what the children were up to, but here it was quite normal.

Shin had seen the newcomer several times but he had always been accompanied by his father. He debated the benefit of approaching the child but decided it would be a worthless gesture considering his current state of unconsciousness.

He decided to approach his newest recruit instead, a child a year younger than him quietly coloring in the corner of the room. He was a very quiet boy but could be a nasty fighter-perfect to showcase Shin's agile intelligence and leadership ability.

When Lord Danzo appeared a minute later his thoughts were interrupted. It was fine to show some resiliency and self-awareness in front of the teachers, but the intelligence to concede perfect respect had it's place as well.

Every child present turned and knelt in unison as the heavily bandaged man approached the unconscious boy.

"Hiruzen will investigate this incident. I should be able to cover it up but we cannot allow it to happen again."

Shin quietly observed the scene from where he bowed. If the incident spoken of was the boy and it was important enough to involve the Hokage…

The boy looked younger than him but with the same bluish-gray hair. The kid's shirt and pants were charred enough for Shin to note that the newcomer's arm was badly burned-the skin scorched red and scaling back. Further observation was cut short as he quickly looked back down at the ground when Lord Danzo turned and scanned the room.

"I was planning on sending Kinoe on" he hesitated and touched his bandaged face, "that mission. But I feel his particular skills could be of more use in creating a new strike-force."

He turned to Fū and gestured to the room, "Tell me of their skills."

Shin had observed the Yamanaka quite a bit, recognizing that he was one of the top lieutenants of Lord Danzo despite his youth and arrogance in talking back to Lord Danzo. In fact, none of Lord Danzo's lieutenants were the automatons the trainers pretended to prefer-the ones that were eventually removed and placed into the 'other' program.

Fū gestured to each child in turn, intoning their capabilities and specialties from memory.

"Hagoromo Akio, 8: Lightning, specializes in light flares. Demonstrate!"

Akio quickly rose from the ground and hastily bungled his hand-signs. His hands glowed slightly before dissipating. He glowered and started to move through the hand-signs again but was interrupted,

"Thank you."

Akio consolidated his losses and bowed before kneeling on the floor once more.

"Kurama Noriko, 8: Genjutsu. Demonstrate!"

The black-haired girl was not part of Shin's small gang. As she demonstrated her Genjutsu she carefully avoided eye-contact with Lord Danzo and was shaking in fear. She quickly knelt afterwards. Shin expected that she would not be sharing their room for much longer.

"Kiyoshi, 5: Stealth, possible assassination."

Without any particular skill to demonstrate Fū went onto the next person, Kiyoshi quietly avoided joining any particular group amongst the children but Shin knew he was good at what he did.

"Sai, 5: Scout, intelligence gathering. Demonstrate!"

Rather than standing, Sai remained where he was and quietly drew a mouse. He took his time but after a single hand-sign the mouse stood up from the page and skipped over to the newcomer before returning to Sai.

Danzo raised an eyebrow, "Interesting, he can infuse the ink with his chakra? Please have him tested in the field of fuinjutsu."

Fū nodded and moved through the remainder of the children. Finally he gestured to Shin,

"Shin, 6: Bodyguard, weapons specialist. Demonstrate!"

Shin was very glad he was last, he had carefully watched Lord Danzo from behind his shaggy hair and noted how he reacted to the various children and demonstrations.

He guessed that this might be the most important choice in his life. He had learned how the 'other' program worked and had no desire to be a part of it. This newcomer seemed to be extremely important if it involved the Hokage. Also, Kinoe was one of the Lieutenants that Shin had been observing-he wanted to be a part of this new team.

Danzo had shown the most interest in Sai. Shin took a second to steady himself but when he moved, he moved quickly.

Choosing accuracy and practicality over flashiness Shin threw four shuriken at his target before he pulled his Tanto out and slid into place in front of his mission.

Several gasps were heard throughout the room.

The choice was made and now Shin waited, eyes alert and body ready to move in an instant.

His target smiled as the projectiles stopped and flew back at Shin's mission at twice the speed.

He managed to block three of them with his tanto but the fourth would make it to his mission.

Shin moved automatically, the mission was more important than the target.

Blood welled up as the shuriken lodged into his shoulder but he didn't have time to think about that.

Lord Danzo appeared behind Sai and moved to strike him down, Shin knew he wouldn't make it in time but made to intercept anyways. He had decided on his mission and doomed them both in the process-he might as well finish honourably.

Shin slipped slightly as the blow he expected never arrived.

He turned quickly and saw Lord Danzo still standing in the doorway.

The man frowned at him but Shin decided to show his full respect and bowed before he knelt once more on the ground. He quietly held his tanto before him, arms outstretched as he acknowledged his life belonged to Lord Danzo.

"Tsk."

Lord Danzo turned and stalked away, "Bring those two and the other."

As Fū motioned for Sai and Shin to pick up the newcomer and follow him, Shin hoped he had made the right choice after all.

Chimera decided to keep Naruto in a containment room within ANBU headquarters for the night-one of the rooms for high-profile 'guests' so it was comfortable enough.

Kosuke had been allowed to stay with Naruto through the night (not that Naruto noticed, he had slept soundly, even during his brief check-up).

Now he found himself listlessly waiting outside the interrogation room while Boar talked to Naruto. He himself had been interviewed the previous evening, along with a number of Nara including Suzaku and even Yōshoku.

What bothered him was that he didn't really know what had happened. He, of course, had his guesses… The previous evening he had been forced to simply follow Suzaku's lead. Once he had realized something was wrong he had been able to note the slight disturbance (to his senses) but not before they practically stopped Suzaku in his tracks.

He was surprised when the interrogation room opened after only twenty minutes and Naruto was escorted out of the room by Inoichi.

"You don't mind if Mr. Moth here takes you to the Hokage's office do you Naruto? The Hokage has taken some time to visit your mother with you this morning."

Naruto left all trepidation behind him as he nodded eagerly.

"Kushina has been moved to a nice private clinic instead of the hospital, if you would like you can stay there overnight with Genin Maruboshi to make sure she is going to enjoy it there?"

Naruto smiled brightly but still acted politely following the light questioning he had endured, "Yes, please, Uncle Inoichi."

As the two turned to go Inoichi quietly spoke to Moth, 'Drop the Genjutsu once you are done, prolonged exposure can be harmful in one so young.'

Kosuke immediately checked his chakra and quietly dispelled the aura magnifying his sense of peace and calm-Moth was subtle.

"Genin Maruboshi, If you would please come with us there are some matters we need to discuss with you."

Well, knowledge was always better than lack of knowledge. Perhaps he would even be relieved of his duties.

Somehow that thought wasn't as welcome as he would have expected.

As he entered the room, Kosuke noted Boar, Yamanaka Inoichi, Lord Nara and an Uchiha.

Boar had questioned Kosuke the previous evening soon after the incident, Kosuke assumed Chimera had shunted the investigation over to him.

Inoichi was probably there both in part due to his abilities as a Yamanaka mind-reader and interrogation expert but more particularly as someone Naruto was familiar and comfortable around. After all, Kosuke assumed Boar was also a Yamanaka.

Lord Nara was probably allowed due to the incident being on Nara land and, potentially, against the Nara clan.

The Uchiha had not been present during his earlier interrogation and was probably simply there as a representative of the police force.

"Our investigation of the incident involving Yōshoku and your ward indicates a third-party was responsible. Said party did not take proper precautions while working on an experimental ninjutsu. The result was an errant chakra-feedback that caused minor inconveniences in Shinobi throughout the city-your ward appears to be hypersensitive to the feedback."

Kosuke nodded slowly as he pondered the potential nuances of Boar's statement.

"No charges are currently being made so you and your ward are free to return to your home." Boar nodded towards the non-masked Yamanaka in the room, "Yamanaka Inoichi suggests you stay in a clinic overnight to insure your wards health before returning to normal activities."

Kosuke prepared to leave as Boar gathered up his notepads and Inoichi and Shikaku started to gossip about their work and families.

Kosuke was surprised when he felt a quiet presence binding him without actual restriction.

"Kosuke, I bet you'll be ready for some peace and quiet once Naruto heads off to the Academy eh?" Inoichi joked as he poked Shikaku, "I know my little Ino is quite a handful! Of course Shikaku here lucked out with his son."

Shikaku snorted before clicking his tongue as he and Inoichi exchanged sarcastic barbs.

Boar had left almost immediately, walking out behind the Uchiha, but after a minute or two he returned and quietly closed the door.

Kosuke felt the restriction lift as Shikaku made one last verbal jab at Inoichi.

Inoichi pouted as Shikaku invited the group to take a seat once more and motioned for Inoichi to take the lead but he did so anyways,

"There are some restricted aspects to the investigation the Hokage has decided to share with you as Naruto's guardian."

Inoichi waited a moment but when Kosuke didn't react he continued, "Our data indicates that every chakra sensor in Konoha noticed a cascade of intensified chakra similar in nature to the Kyuubi. As we mentioned, this was from a third party shinobi and definitively occurred as the catalyst for a chain of events including what happened to Naruto."

Interesting, and good to know, but the two main issues Kosuke needed to know had been nicely sidestepped for now.

"Only a few sensor's were able to notice a secondary spike of chakra near the Nara quarter and only two witnesses were present at the time. However, the first witness, Naruto, has no idea what happened." Inoichi looked to Shikaku to continue.

"Our own investigation focused on the safety of the Nara clan as it relates to Naruto and his unique status."

Kosuke felt some trepidation as Shikaku spoke in his straight-forward gravelly voice.

"As Inoichi mentioned, Naruto has no recollection of the event and Yōshoku collaborates that he fell unconscious shortly after the original chakra spike. Yōshoku was also quite emphatic that the wound he received was due to his own careless approach to the child rather than aggressive behaviour from Naruto. Upon further questioning, we learned that the child was exuding chakra in pulse with the aforementioned third party which was the cause of the chakra burn on Yōshoku leg."

Boar continued where Shikaku left off, "The original spike was due to an experimental ninjutsu gone awry and the Shinobi involved will be on an extended mission in the capital. In addition, should he complete his technique it will be placed in the forbidden scroll and he is not to use it within the confines of Konoha for any reason."

Boar turned his attention to his notebooks as he drably gave his rote speech, "The entirety of this investigation is classified. The open investigation may be conveyed upon request while the latter is included within the Kyuubi classification. Do you understand Genin Maruboshi?"

"I do."

"Good, the investigation is considered closed."

'So, the Kyuubi is still properly jailed and I am still Naruto's guardian. Great...'

As the two Yamanaka's left the room Shikaku once more caught Kosuke's eye.

"I understand Naruto recently turned five?"

"Yes, a couple months ago."

"Naruto will be allowed to continue visiting Yōshoku and any Nara that invites you as long as all parties are amenable to that arrangement. However, he will not be attending our kindergarten until his sixth birthday, assuming he has no relapses."

That was… fair; certainly more than Kosuke had expected. "I understand. And thank you Lord Nara." Kosuke bowed respectfully to the young clan head.

Shikaku looked like he was debating whether to add further comment but eventually simply gave a nod of his head and left the room for his normal duties.

As Kosuke left the building he paused in the doorway. Naruto was going to be with the Hokage and his mother for at least another hour.

The elderly man looked down the road to where the clinic was located before turning and going to one of the few teahouses open this early in the morning-he didn't really feel like dealing with either Naruto or Sarutobi yet.

Tea was supposed to be calming, meditative, a moment to relax during the day. Kosuke still felt morose and melancholy as he opened the door to the clinic Kushina had been moved to.

"Welcome Sir." The brunette behind the desk was way too bright. "How can I assist you this morning?"

Kosuke closed his eyes and carefully took a breath.

Why did cities all have to have people?

"I'm visiting Uzumaki Kushina and staying the night with Uzumaki Naruto."

Kosuke's mind was a jumble of concepts that wanted to take priority. He just knew that he had to get out. He didn't think it had anything to do with what happened to Naruto last night (per-say), it was more that he couldn't remember the last time he had stayed in Konoha for such a long period of time or been forced to converse with so many different people.

It was exhausting.

"...ntification?"

"Hmm, what?"

The secretary started to repeat herself, "Can you show…"

"Sorry, of course." As his mind caught up to his ears, Kosuke pulled out his identification as Naruto's guardian.

"Miss Uzumaki is staying in the Cedar Room, down the hall and to the left. I understand that you will be staying only the one night with Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yes," Kosuke felt the need to clarify for some reason, "It would be good for him to feel as well as see where his mother will be staying for the foreseeable future."

"Of course, we are more than happy to allow visits with family members at anytime. We don't have a room available next to Miss Uzumaki's but you may stay in the Poplar Room." Her jovial voice smirked as she added, "It's the most popular for shorter visits."

The clinic tried to distinguish itself from the hospital with a friendlier attitude and more homey feel. It mostly specialized in long-term rehabilitation and found the drab white and quiet hallways of hospitals to be counter-productive. A few patients were hopeless, but colourful painting and visiting family (and coloured paintings from visiting children) were highly encouraged as it uplifted even the surly shinobi that had to learn how to function again.

While the bright scenes on the sliding doors and natural woods were quite pleasant, Kosuke still chafed at the continuous human interaction. Coming to a door with a large Cedar tree and various birds painted on the thick paper, he sighed. It wasn't that he disliked being around people, he'd rather he could simply do it when he felt like it.

He slid his sandals off and placed them neatly next to Naruto's moccasins before he slid the door open.

"Hey gramps, this place is so much cooler than that hospital, don't you think?" Naruto descended on him the moment Kosuke stepped into the room. "The pretty lady said that they read to mum every day and they have much better food-they let me try some!"

Kosuke looked over Naruto's head at the Hokage, who chuckled, "They have an Akimichi on staff; obviously he doesn't believe the soup needs to be the exact same thing everyday with vitamin supplements."

Naruto looked like he was about to pull Kosuke bodily into the room before launching into a soliloquy but Kosuke was saved by the Hokage.

"Naruto, I need to get back to work now. You wouldn't mind if I talk to Maruboshi for a moment would you?"

Avoiding the fire he was immersed in the water.

"Sure, old man."

Hiruzen walked into the hallway and, after he slipped on his sandals, took several paces away from the door.

"This won't take long," He mentioned as Kosuke went to put on his own sandals. "First, I do not hold this mishap against you in any way. I am not entirely sure it was a complete accident, but there was no way for you to predict or prevent it."

In other words, Kosuke would continue the mission-oh sublime solace.

"But I also understand that this will be a difficult adjustment for you, more so than for Naruto." Hiruzen paused as a shadow crossed his face, "I know quite well the difficulties of managing a family while working as a Shinobi."

He tried to smile encouragingly to Kosuke, "Remember that you can commission some missions of your own if need be-I have several shinobi I trust fully around Naruto."

Hiruzen turned to leave but looked back in consideration, "I believe you both have met Otter?" He didn't wait for an answer, "I'll send her to visit tonight. She would make an excellent private physician for Naruto and has expressed some interest in watching him during any meetings you need to attend-anything more you would have to discuss with her or the commission desk."

Kosuke turned back to Kushina's room in frustration after watching the Hokage leave. He knew that this was his job. He was getting paid to watch over Naruto, which was not meant to be easy, but he still felt woefully unequipped to handle the assignment.

He had his own ideas on parenting, which he kept to himself, but his ideas were of dubious worth when he considered that he was also supposed to be protecting Naruto from foreign and domestic incursions. Allowing a child to run out in the woods and learn from mistakes was ok-until a foreign operative saw their chance to steal one of Konoha's most powerful weapons and raise him as their own.

People and their politics. He'd normally just take a few jobs on the border frontiers to revitalize himself, but that didn't seem to be an option, which left him around more people and politics-a vicious cycle.

Kosuke entered the room quietly and watched Naruto very carefully colouring whatever the clinic had provided.

Eventually Naruto noticed him and looked up happily, "Hey gramps!" He then squinted his eyes and peered at Kosuke intently, "Hey, are you feeling sick?"

"Hmm? Just tired I suppose." Kosuke quickly changed the subject, "What's that you're working on?"

"The pretty lady gave me this and said we could make a book I could read to mum whenever I visited."

Kosuke got down to look at what Naruto had already completed.

"She said I should pick five or six and make my own story. She said mum would like it more if it was my story! Pretty cool huh? Hey, want to help?"

Kosuke leafed through the dozen pages. None had words but they were varied in content: A small family next to a house, a village near some rice fields, a family garden with some ducks…

Naruto had chosen a page that featured some flowers and some trees-an odd choice Kosuke thought. But he noticed Naruto had been very careful as he coloured and the trees and flowers looked remarkably like some of the specimens they had harvested for the hospital.

Kosuke was oddly touched and smiled at the thought of how observant Naruto could be at times despite his rowdiness.

Kosuke picked out the page with the garden and ducks, "How 'bout this one?"

Naruto looked at it and bobbed his head vigorously, "Yeah, that would be a great one!"

The two lay on the ground next to each other beside Kushina's bed and quietly created a world Naruto could 'read' to her whenever he visited.

Kosuke was startled when a knock on the door sounded and the screen was slid open.

He enjoyed sketching occasionally while on patrol, but the simple act of colouring was therapeutic and he hadn't noticed how much time they had lain there.

"Ah, the new patient." The gruff voice barked kindly at them. "I'm Inuzuka Shita."

She extended her hand towards Kosuke and then Naruto as she waited for them to return the favour.

"Maruboshi Kosuke at your service ma'am. And this here is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Right, so you're Kushina's git." Her harsh mannerisms were countered by her good-natured personality.

She moved brusquely towards Kushina and started to poke and move Kushina around on the bed.

Naruto, of course, got up and curiously watched what she was doing. "Hey, are you a doctor?"

She snorted and laughed, "Doctor? Ha, nope-too much paperwork."

Naruto looked a little confused, "Um, so what are you?"

She smiled toothily and kept working, "I'm a physical therapist."

Kosuke blanched in the background, adjusting after he lost his foot in a mission had left a pretty bad scar on him. His physical therapist teaching him how to use his new wooden foot had given him nightmares.

The man had been a sadistic lunatic!

"What does a physical therapist do?"

"We help people who are sick get stronger." She pointed at Naruto, "You get stronger when you are active and busy. But when people get injured, like your mother, they get weaker because they can't run around like you."

Shita carefully worked through a series of hand signs before her fingers flickered with electrical discharges, "I stimulate light physical activity in each of her muscle groups. It helps keep her immune system and major organs strong and healthy."

Naruto stared at Shita's fingers while she methodically worked down each of Kushina's legs.

The Inuzuka grinned wolfishly as she held out an open hand towards Naruto, "Go ahead and touch it."

Naruto happily obliged and reached out unthinkingly but jumped back when the static touched his fingers, "Ouch." He looked at his tingling fingers and then at the therapist, "Hey!"

Kosuke shook his head and let out a puff of air, evidently all physical therapists were sadistic.

Shita simply laughed, "It stings a bit when it touches bone, but it works great on muscles."

Kosuke postponed Naruto's incoming tirade, "A bit unusual to see an Inuzuka working in a clinic."

Shita looked at him and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. Trained as a vet." She moved to work on Kushina's core.

That would explain her bedside manners.

Naruto still looked ready to berate the young lady so Kosuke asked the first thing that came to his mind "Ah, why become a physical therapist?"

Shita shrugged, dismissing the subject "The war."

"Alright Naruto, help me turn her over would you? Have to make sure her back muscles are strong as well."

Kosuke watched as Naruto, nonplussed with the sudden directions to 'help' did as requested. He also noticed what had been irritating him since the young lady had entered the room-she wasn't accompanied by the customary Inuzuka dog.

Everyone lost someone in a war.

Shita looked to be in her mid-twenties perhaps, the perfect age for her to have been on the front-lines in the war. Her hands were calloused from hard work and ninja weaponry and she seemed incredibly self-confident and competent in her work. But she had also been very careful when starting her lightning technique, as if it wasn't what came natural.

With the casualties building up, an Inuzuka veterinarian would likely be pressed into becoming a front-lines medic. Her dog would have run interference for her… his question was obviously inconsiderate in retrospect.

After a few more minutes of quiet work Naruto finally inquired, "So, um," he pondered what to call her, "Lady. You using Chakra to help mum?"

"Just a second." She intoned absently.

"There, done. Kushina always did have weird chakra coils but now it is damn" She looked at Naruto realizing that she should probably watch her language but shrugged it off immediately, "blown to pieces-bugger to work on."

At Kosuke's inquisitive glance she added, "Kushina was assigned to guard our support troops. Was damn good at it too but she was a bit reckless at times."

Shita and Naruto worked together as she directed to roll Kushina back onto her back.

"Yeah, chakra can do a lot of different things. You gonna become a Ninja like your mom when you grow up?"

Naruto nodded eagerly, "You bet lady! I'm gonna become a doctor ninja."

Shita barked a laugh, "You do that. Not many boys interested in the medical field but I'm sure you'll do just fine."

The door slid open accompanied by a deep voice, "That Uchiha gives me the creeps. How can a coma patient constantly be staring at…" A tanned Nara stopped as he noticed Shita wasn't the only one in the room besides Kushina. "Oh."

"Embarrassing yourself in front of visitors schmoopsie dear?" Shita smirked as she walked over and brazenly kissed him on the lips. "All yours." She added as she walked out the door and closed it.

The Nara muttered something quietly under his breath while his face turned a deep red. When he noticed Naruto staring at him he started to turn gray and looked away.

Carefully addressing Kosuke, the man quietly muttered, "Miss Uzumaki is scheduled for her daily walk now, I can come back later if you prefer?"

Kosuke was beginning to wonder just how expensive this clinic was but dismissed the question to help the poor Nara out, "I think Naruto and I could use some fresh air ourselves."

Naruto had something else on his mind, "How many different kinds of doctors are there? Are you helping mum get stronger too?"

The man twitched as he tried to decide whether to look at Naruto or ignore him.

Kosuke intervened, "Come on Naruto, we need to let the man work for now."

"But I wanna see what he does!" Naruto whined.

The obvious child-like timbre of Naruto's voice allowed the Nara to finally address him, "We just go for a short walk and go through some stretches." He cut himself off and looked away again.

Kosuke once more helped intervene, "If we are going to stay here overnight we should go and get some clothes and necessities from home Naruto." He bent down and moved the colouring pages and chalk onto the small desk in the corner, "We'll be coming back tonight and at least once a week to visit your mother."

He added that for the benefit of both Naruto and the Nara. The workers in the clinic might as well get used to the idea.

Kosuke' and Naruto's walk turned out to be quiet as they returned home with only a single quick detour to pick up the belongings Naruto had forgotten to bring with him from ANBU headquarters.

Naruto had worn his gray Samue since last night as it was the first outfit Kosuke had picked up on his way to ANBU headquarters. Looking back at the day, the orange flames of Konoha stitched up the fabric had actually turned out to be a good choice-it never hurt to remind people that Naruto was just as much a part of Konoha as any other citizen.

Nonetheless, as Kosuke came to the door to his home, he sent Naruto to change into his old clothes from the orphanage while he himself changed into a comfortable pair of patched up farmers pants and a muted yellow Hanten.

Coming back out, he snagged the bucket by the stove along with a scrubbing brush and lye soap, "Grab a bucket and brush, you need to get that mud off your clothing."

Naruto didn't complain and did as requested.

They had both been too busy to get any chores done since the incident so they had some catching up to do before returning to the clinic.

Kosuke could obviously do a better job but he figured Naruto would outgrow his clothing within a year anyways-now was a great time to teach Naruto how to care for his own needs.

The quiet started to wear on Kosuke as the two quietly worked the water and brushes over their garments.

Naruto had been getting quieter and quieter as the day advanced and it worried Kosuke.

"Gramps?" The small voice cut through the air with it's hesitancy.

Kosuke tried to sound nonchalant yet comforting at the same time, "Hmm?"

"Did," Naruto stopped scrubbing but continued to look down at the muddy bucket, "Did I hurt Yōshoku?"

For once, a child's instinct to revolve the world around themselves had led to an uncanny observation.

Kosuke glanced at the woods as the flicker of brown lingering just out of sight resolved into a large deer.

"Why don't you ask him what happened?"

Naruto's startled eyes followed his gaze to see Yōshoku gingerly stepping towards them.

Upon seeing the bandage wrapped around the Shadow Deer's leg, Naruto actually rallied somewhat as his natural inquisitiveness overpowered his thought process.

"Yōshu! Hey, are you ok? What happened to your leg?" Naruto ran up to the deer and gently prodded the bandaged appendage.

Yōshoku shot a glance at Kosuke as if to warn him from ever mentioning Naruto's nickname to Suzaku before replying, "My leg was poison cooked a little but I will recover fully-the Canine Mender was very good."

Naruto peered at the wrapped leg and smiled, "Doctors are pretty awesome huh!"

Kosuke relaxed as Naruto's thoughts turned away from blaming himself as his mind wandered, "So what happened? Did you step into the fire or something?"

Two-legs were strange, especially their young. It often took decades before they learned the basics of how to survive in the world and even then they were often incredibly stupid.

At the same time they were brilliant.

The Shadow Minds were, of course, the most able to take advantage of the Two-legs natural assets, but even they sometimes forgot their place in the world.

Two-legs were powerful, but they were only one part of the natural world. There were many beings that were as strong or even stronger than them. Rather than fleeing, however, they stubbornly refused to bend.

Two forces that refuse to bend always ends with one breaking.

Many Two-legs ended up broken instead of bending with nature. But surprisingly, some grew so powerful and enterprising they were able to ally with or even overcome anything that threatened them.

In the process, Two-legs developed a hatred for anything that wouldn't bend to their own wills-they even showed hate towards each other.

Yōshoku understood fear but hatred was illogical-something he may have to bring up with Shadow Suzaku. He didn't hate wolves because they were powerful, he feared them and learned how to avoid them (well, he himself didn't need to fear wolves but he had to protect his herd).

It was no surprise, given the Two-legs will to overcome anything, that they developed a hatred of The Nine-beings that could prey on even them.

Yōshoku feared The Nine, he would be a fool not too, but they were part of the world. He had a legitimate fear of Bright Fawn but that didn't mean he hated the child. He was terrified on the Night of the Ninth and that fear had been rekindled when Bright Fawn had bled foxfire.

Fear was natural but so was friendship and Yōshoku liked Bright Fawn's energetic play and sympathetic will.

Yōshoku pushed against Naruto's hand until the child started to scratch beneath his jaw, "I bet one of those brushes would feel great. Canine Mender is a good healer, but his company lacks a certain decorum. It's nice to be out here again!"

Kosuke smirked as Naruto ran back to retrieve his brush and then sighed as he figured he should probably assume Naruto was irretrievably lost to the large deer's whims for the moment and he would have to finish the chores by himself.

Yōshoku leaned into the grooming with evident pleasure before snorting at the child, "Stepped into a fire?" He shook his bandaged leg at Naruto, "I'm no clumsy two-leg."

At Naruto's curious prompting Yōshoku shook his head, the gesture was oddly reminiscent of a shrug, "I got a little too close to your fox chakra when you seized up."

'Oh shit' Kosuke jerked his head up and stared at the deer almost as blankly as Naruto currently was.

A/N

I got this out a little later than I had hoped but I had to finish an article for a magazine before I could play on .

I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was somewhat difficult to write but I think it came out reasonably. Let me know what you thought of it.