A/N: It's been about two weeks, I hope you guys aren't bothered by the wait time. It's difficult for me to write this fic and I know I said that a lot already. Don't misunderstand—I like the idea, I just don't like my approach. I keep changing and cutting things out.
Though to have you guys enjoy it would be worthwhile. Half the material that was supposed to be included in this chapter will be pushed to the next because of time constraints (first midterms this wednesday and two next week).
On another note has anyone seen that tumblr post stirringwind made about Tobirama and how his actions caused problems for Naruto's generation? It's hilarious.

ira quiin: Sorry about that. Sadly, I can't write this story any faster than I am now. Though who knows, maybe once this picks up it'll come easier to me.

He had no reason to stay, so he left. Naruto gently removed Mito's hands from him and headed for the corridor. As expected, the woman trotted after him, asking where he was going.

"…Home. I was just going to put these," he lifted the objects in his hands for her to see, "in my room," Naruto said.

She looked thoughtful for moment and nodded. "Let's go." Mito paused, puzzled at Naruto's shake.

"I can find my way back."

The woman looked like she wanted to object. "If you are sure then I won't stop you, but if you get lost, ask one of the villagers for directions," Mito said.

"Uh, since it's on my way, why don't I go tell Madara that your husband can't come?" Naruto offered, his toes curling in his sandals.

"You are a good child, Naruto. Well then, I'll entrust that task to you," she said, smiling and bent her knees. Mito laid a soft pat on his head, smoothing his hair.

Something in Naruto's chest knotted together and he could feel a tingle in his cheeks. He laughed, scratching his head.

"No, I…"

"Also, call my husband Hashirama. We are not strangers." Mito's hand swept to the side of his head and cupped his face, stroking her thumb across his whiskered cheek.

"I'm still worried you might get lost…You have not been here long enough to know your way around the village, perhaps I should come with you after all."

The area between Mito's eyebrows creased as she expressed her concern for the young boy. On one hand, she was confident an outgoing child like Naruto would find his way by asking the villagers for directions yet on the other, she was afraid he'd really end up lost. He was merely a seven year old boy in an unfamiliar environment.

While Mito was genuinely concerned for the boy's wellbeing, she couldn't dismiss the slight possibility that Naruto would run away from Konoha. She didn't know how Naruto felt about being adopted by her and Hashirama and though he did give his consent that he was okay with it all, she was skeptical.

How unusual it was for children of Naruto and Sasuke's age to be so calm through the series of events they've experienced in a short amount of time: To lose their family, barely escape death on the search for safety, reach Konoha and finally be told they would be living with strangers. Even then, neither of the children made a fuss, excluding the day they woke up in the hospital, nervous and confused. Or was this what war did to children?

"I'll be fine. I wanted to explore the village anyways," Naruto said. "This will be my home so I might as well start earlier than later."

Mito let out a long breath and her arm slid from Naruto's cheek. She supposed Naruto made a valid point. Exploring was what children liked to do and they were curious by nature.

"Yes, it is true you will need to know your way around here sooner or later…"

"I want some time alone," Naruto said. The woman, his guardian he guessed, straightened and her expression became hard. He fixed his eyes on Mito. She returned the gaze, looking into his eyes.

The boy stood unrelenting, determination etched onto his features. There was a shimmer, a captivating storm of emotions brewing in his blue irises. She could see that beneath the baby fat the skin of Naruto's face was pulled tight and very much unlike a child's. Mito smiled, there was no winning against Naruto—especially when he had directed such a candid stare at her.

"I understand. Take all the time you need," Mito said and Naruto beamed. "I trust you will not be causing any trouble?"

Naruto gulped at the warning. It seemed she already had a good grasp on what his personality was like and came to the conclusion that he'd make trouble, or at least attract it.

"I won't." He pouted and crossed his arms, looking aside. He was mildly offended by the lack of trust Mito put in him. Who did she think he was? A child who played pranks?

A giggle made Naruto raise his head. Mito gave him a kind smile.

"Have a safe trip," she said.

That tingling feeling from before came back stronger and Naruto had to keep himself from moving. He took a step back, turning in a swish and dashed off.

"I'll go now!" he shouted, waving a goodbye to Mito.

"Well, work hard Brother," Tobirama said and spun on his heels.

"Wait, where are you going?" Hashirama asked.

The younger turned his head, hand holding the door knob. "My job here is done so I'll be home relaxing."

Tobirama stepped out, making it to the end of the hall before bumping into Mito.

"You can go talk to Brother now. We're done speaking," he said.

The woman nodded and asked, "What will you do now?"

"I'm going to go home. There's not much left to be done today, I might as well relax."

A lie.

Mito could detect it from miles away. She didn't say anything and they parted with a few words. She was faced with the Hokage office's door and knocked. Mito let herself into the room and the door clicked softly as she closed it.

Her husband stopped his work and greeted her.

"Sorry about that, Tobirama was being difficult," Hashirama said, pressing the end of his pen to his temple.

"It's fine. You know how he is, stubborn."

Hashirama laughed. "He's almost as stubborn as Madara, don't you think?"

"I think they are equal in that area. Too stubborn for their own good," Mito responded. "How are the blood test results?"

He laid his pen down onto his desk and bridged his hands together, the cheery mood gone.

"The hospital staff has been busy and haven't had the time to analyze it," Hashirama said. "Well, it's nothing too urgent. I wouldn't worry."

"I'm not worried, simply curious," Mito corrected. "I heard Tobirama say he was taking the day off because there was nothing to do."

Hashirama looked aside, frowning. "There's always something to do. He's a workaholic, Mito. He takes it upon himself to watch scouts that are sent by other villages, does paperwork and concerns himself with the village's defence power. They're things the Hokage should be doing," he rambled.

"The Hokage doesn't do everything alone," Mito said and Hashirama buried his face into his hands.

"I know."

"The ideal situation would be to have three heads looking out for Konoha's safety," she muttered and Hashirama silently agreed.

It wasn't too difficult to find the couple's home as it was relatively close to the Hokage Tower. Naruto paced inside after locking the doors and went up the stairs into his given room. He plopped onto the bed, the forehead protectors and short sword underneath his body.

What should he do? What is that I have to do, Naruto wondered as he had several times and none of those times did he come up with a clear answer. He knew he had to push Madara out of his thoughts or it'd interfere with his ability to make proper decisions. There were whispers in his mind telling him to make Madara pay for what he's done, eliminate the future threat of Konoha and he'd reassure himself that it wasn't out of fear.

Right now Naruto should be finding a way back to the present and think of nothing but that. He groaned, deciding he'd wasted enough time mulling over his future actions and rolling on the bed. He grabbed Sasuke's sword and leapt out the window.

Again, Naruto hadn't much trouble in locating the dango shop. The storefront looked the same as he remembered in his era. It was the shop that Kakashi-sensei and all the adults frequented when they gathered to chit chat.

"What are you guys doing…?" Naruto broke into a cold sweat at the scene before him. It was an unbelievable sight. His feet were rooted solid into the ground.

He was sure his question was heard by Sasuke's movement, yet the other didn't respond.

"Hey…don't ignore me!"

"Be quiet," Madara said.

Sasuke peeked from the dango he was eating, seeing Naruto stiffen and zip his lips.

"If you can't tell," he started, bringing the stick to his mouth, "we're having dango and tea."

The boy sprang into motion, a leg and arm in front like he was ready for a challenge.

"I can see that. I meant why…um," Naruto's gaze shifted to the man sitting on the same bench beside Sasuke, "never mind."

He shuffled towards the pair, eyes wandering in all directions. He paused once he reached the bench and chose to sit next to Sasuke by the edge and furthest away from Madara.

"I can't believe you're eating sweet stuff," Naruto muttered.

"It's not sweet, it's salty."

"That's gros…" He closed his mouth and looked the other way when he caught a glimpse behind Sasuke. He could feel his friend's eyes on him.

"Scaredy cat."

He almost missed it. Naruto's hands found themselves fisting Sasuke's shirt. The dango in Sasuke's hand was knocked to the floor, soiled by the dirt.

"I'm not," Naruto growled, his jaw locked.

Sasuke scoffed, "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"You're wrong, I'm not…"

They both ignored Madara's reprimanding words, "Don't waste food, brats. Who do you think is paying?"

Sasuke slapped away Naruto's grip on him and sneered.

"You are, you just don't want to admit it. What are you so scared of?" he asked, searching for an answer on Naruto's face.

"I said I'm not scared of anything. Do you want me to say that I am?" Naruto argued back. He wasn't afraid of anything and he wasn't scared of Madara. It was like tip toeing along the edge of a cliff only for there to be bare stalagmite below when one was near Madara, knowing what the man was capable of—what a powerful existence he would become.

A sharp clatter alerted Naruto and he jerked his head. A man towered over him and he'd thrown a plate of dango on the bench between him and Sasuke.

"Eat," Madara ordered calmly, but he sounded irritated to Naruto.

His mouth hung open to respond. He didn't get a chance to as Madara returned to his seat. Naruto watched Sasuke pick up the dust covered dango and toss it into the trash.

"Sorry." His friend shrugged wordlessly and he began to eat his own dango. "Oh, and by the way, I came here to deliver your sword," he said and Naruto handed Sasuke his weapon. Sasuke took it and tucked it in his purple knotted rope around his waist.

"Don't I get a thank you?"

"Hn," was all he got.

The afternoon wore on with the three sipping their tea and sitting in quietness, listening to the sound of daily activities of the villagers. Sasuke kept glancing Naruto's way and he didn't know why. He was about to ask when a familiar presence approached them.

"I see you're all getting along," Tobirama said and all heads turned to him.

"What are you doing here?" Madara's mood soured at the man's appearance, annoyed that his peace was disrupted.

Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "I had some business in the neighbourhood," he said and looked at Naruto briefly.

"Where's Hashirama?"

He huffed, tapping the spine of a notebook in his hand on his shoulder. "I see Naruto forgot to tell you my brother can't make it today."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. He'd completely forgotten because of the initial shock Sasuke and Madara gave him. He was dumbfounded seeing the two sitting on the same bench without trying to kill each other.

"Sorry," he apologized.

The older man sighed. "It's fine, but I'll have you and your friend help me." Tobirama brushed off the intent and questioning gaze Madara aimed at him and continued, "Man power is scarce and it'd be a waste to use it up for a small task. Don't worry, I'll watch over you while you work."

"If you're going to watch us, you might as well do it yourself," Naruto said and Tobirama coughed.

"I've got the rest of the day off and I'd like to enjoy it. I also think it'd be best you don't misunderstand the Hokage's kindness for charity."

Naruto looked at Tobirama strangely. "What is it that you really want to say?" he asked.

"I'm saying you should work to pull your own weight," Tobirama said. "We're…" he paused, hesitating whether or not he should reveal the village's conditions to an outside child.

"Wartimes are harsh and you need all the help you can get," Sasuke stated.

After a moment of silence, Tobirama nodded. "Yes, even if you two are children, you should be able to handle easy tasks and you'll be paid."

His eyes travelled to Sasuke and lingered there.

"It'll be good experience for you too…Sasuke. This is a D-ranked mission and if you remember Brother's explanation of how Konoha works, it's the lowest risk mission a ninja can get," he said. "I assume you'll become a shinobi of this village like the rest of your clan?"

Naruto noticed Sasuke's fingers twitch before he answered, "Yeah…There's nothing we're better at than fighting."

Sasuke…

Fingers grasped and twisted in fabric.

The man hummed, accepting the positive response. Adding another Uchiha into their military force would be a great asset. There was a high chance that the boy hadn't participated in any large scale battles judging from his age and that meant it was likely he differed from the majority of the Uchihas—he was yet to be tainted.

The boy could become rather violent as Tobirama had seen in the hospital when Sasuke pinned Naruto to the bed by the neck. He'd seen an excellent display of speed. It was a shame Sasuke was left in Madara's care. There was much potential that if raised properly, he could grow to be an outstanding ninja. Though his attitude would prove to be a problem in team missions, it wasn't entirely impossible to work with.

"So? What do you want us to do?" Naruto asked.

"Clean graffiti."