Naruto was already in his second year of school. The focus had shifted from academics and the training of the mind to the training of the body and improving the ninja skills that had been learned. It was also important that the young shinobis learn to function as a teams so they had been divided into groups of three. Naruto had developed a serious crush on his team-mate, Sakura Hurano. Unfortunately, Sakura had an encompassing infatuation with the third member of their team, Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had no interest in her as a girlfriend. He barely had the tolerance for her as a fellow team member.

Nao heard all about the trials and tribulations of the strange love triangle whenever she had to patch up Naruto's latest injuries administered by his beloved Sakura. She disliked that girl with a passion. Time and time again she attempted to explain to the wounded boy, damaged in both heart and body, that physical violence did not equal love. Since Sakura whipped his ass on an almost daily basis, it was a sure sign that she really did not like him. Giving him a black eye or nearly breaking his ribs was not a flirtatious way of saying that she really cared deeply for him. She could understand why Naruto did not pummel Sakura back, but it did not make her any less furious. He certainly had the ability; just not the heart. Perhaps it was her fault because she had taught him that it was never permissable to hit a woman, particularly in anger. That was before Sakura had come into his life. In the pink haired harpy's case, she would make an exception. Nonetheless, not only would Naruto refrain from attacking her, he refused to defend himself. She did not understand the situation at all. As much as she detested the abusive and odd relationship he had chosen to subject himself to, she would have to allow him the time to work through his feelings on his own. Only Naruto could change his feelings for Sakura. There was nothing she could say or do to stop it. Having to permit him to deal with the emotional wounds inflicted by that girl pained her even more than seeing his physical injuries.

Naruto had also taken over the responsibility of making the home deliveries. He would make them before or after school. Putting himself on a time schedule enabled him to practice his physical speed. He tried to complete the deliveries as fast as possible, moving at top speed through the village, while striving to beat his time from the day before. He would also try alternate routes such as hopping across the rooftops or swinging through the trees to give himself a challenge and also to build his strength. Sometimes he would be slowed down by the customers inviting him inside for tea or food to show their gratitude for receiving their desired goods in a timely manner. Occasionally, he was rewarded with a monetary tip. Atsuko's house was always his favorite stop. The candy she once gave him had become offerings of cookies and sometimes a full meal. He had taken to calling her Grandmother which she seemed to like.

On this day, Naruto had just arrived home from school. He really did not want to have to do any chores or deliveries. He was worn out and beat - literally. Kakashi had given them the bell test today. He had successfully taken the bell off the man without being detected. Sakura had been so enraged by losing she had punched him right in the face, splitting his lip. He poured a cup of the special tea that Nao made for him to help reduce the swelling and bruising. It had not escaped his attention that she had made it a habit to brew this tea on a daily basis. He knew she was lying when she said she did it because she liked the taste, although it did taste quite good. Flavored with a blend of orange, berries, and honey, he could not taste the bitter herbs that went into the mixture. After making an ice pack and holding it to his lip, he went into the shop to find Nao. He would have smiled if it did not hurt so much. She was standing at her mixing table, grinding herbs with the stone mortar and pestle. He could tell she was angry because she looked as if she wanted to crush the dried leaves into oblivion.

"Dammit," he muttered, realizing that she already knew what had happened at training. That damn Iruka had become quite the informant in his pathetic attempt to get close to Nao. In two years that man had made no further progression in a relationship with her than becoming a friend. Why didn't he just give up already? Naruto refused to see what a hypocrite he was being in criticizing Iruka for chasing a futile relationship.

"Are you going to come out and talk to me or continue peeking at me from around the corner?" Nao growled, adding another handful of herbs to the small stone bowl to pulverize them into a powder.

Dammit, how does she do that? Naruto wondered, slowly walking toward her from the hall where he had been taking refuge. She truly had developed "mommy senses" in that she always knew when he was lurking around. So far he had not been able to sneak up on her no matter how hard he tried to mask his presence. Sometimes it was if she could read his mind too.

"So what did she do today and why?" Nao inquired without even looking at him.

"She punched me in the mouth because I passed the bell test...and she didn't," he answered truthfully. He had tried lying to her in the past. It had ended badly for him.

"Naruto," she said, hauling in a deep breath while she struggled to control her temper. She slammed the stone pestle down on the wooden board, placing her palms flat on the surface. Her green eyes that seemed to glow from the fire of anger burning inside of her met his. "I have tried to keep my mouth shut about this. I wanted you to decide for yourself in this matter. I can no longer stand idly by while you allow yourself to be abused by that girl."

Nao went to him, putting her arms around him. She held him tightly despite the fact he was no longer a small child. He was not far from his twelfth birthday and was steadily moving toward becoming a man. His voice had already started to crack occasionally. A recent growth spurt had caused him to shoot up several inches, making him nearly as tall as her. Of course, since she was barely over five feet tall, she fully expected him to overtake her in another year before becoming much taller than her.

"I can't hit her. You told me - " He was interrupted when she took his face between her palms to look at him.

"I know what I said. I also know what I didn't say. I never told you that you could not defend yourself. You don't have to hit her but you can stop her from hitting you," she explained, pulling back his hand with the ice pack to look at his lip. Her eyebrows drew together as she examined the wound, debating if he needed stitches. Carefully pressing the ice pack back to his lip, she realized the swelling would have to go down before she could see the full extent of the injury. "I haven't wanted to say anything because I didn't want to hurt you more or cause you to be angry with me." She sighed, kissing his forehead before she spoke her next words. "She does not love you. Hurting you physically and stomping on your emotions is not her weird way of saying 'I love you.' That's not how love works."

"I don't understand," he sniffed, tears rolling from his big blue eyes. "I don't understand how it works."

"It's a complicated thing. Most of us just kind of stumble our way through it and hope for the best. I'm not sure of a lot of things where love is concerned, but I do know one thing for sure...what that girl does to you is not it," she murmured, wiping away his tears with her hands. When more tears fell, she kissed his whiskered cheeks tenderly to remove them.

Naruto dropped his hand holding the ice pack for it hang limply at his side. His other hand rested on her hip while his fingers grasped her waist. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sensation of her soft lips pressing against his skin. His body reacted to her in a way he found shocking and quite disturbing. There was an odd stirring, a flood of warmth followed by a hardness, between his legs which caused a knot to form in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to turn his face to hers, to catch her lips on his despite the throbbing discomfort of his wound. There was another pulsating ache that had taken over and blurred out everything else in his mind. The temptation to slide his hand up to her chest was almost unbearable. She was his adoptive big sister and sometimes acted like a mother to him. He should not be having the thoughts or feelings about her that he was experiencing at the moment. When her lips grazed the corner of his mouth, he flinched away from her while inhaling sharply.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt your lip?" Nao asked, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at him. She chewed her lower lip nervously as she watched him cautiously touch the ice pack to his lip.

"No. I'm fine," he assured her, feeling quite confused about his conflicting emotions. The unnerving physical reaction did not help either.

"Why don't you go lie down before dinner?" she suggested, running her fingers through his hair. The pinched expression on his face gave her the impression that he was in pain. He was in pain...but it was not from his busted lip.

"I-I th-think I will," he stammered, waiting for the uncomfortable stiffness beneath his waist to subside a bit.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, looking him over from head to toe.

"I'm fine!" he exclaimed, whirling around to walk away quickly before she saw his present problem.

Nao scratched her head, perplexed by his loud, emotional outburst. If only Naruto could have an adverse reaction like that to Sakura she would feel a lot better about that situation. He will figure it out soon. She was sure of that.

~...~

The next day, Naruto was sitting under a huge shade tree on the training grounds while they were taking a break. Kakashi was sitting in the branches above him reading yet another filthy sex book while Sakura was following Sasuke around like a lost dog trying to get his attention. He had not received one punch or kick from her all week since he had begun ignoring her, only speaking to her when necessary for purposes of training. His mind had been too preoccupied with thoughts of the pretty woman he had grown to love as a big sister to be concerned with the ill tempered Sasuke devotee. Strange dreams about Nao had invaded his sleep every night. They were strange in a good way, but they were thoughts he had never had before. Dreams that left him excited and breathless, unable to calm down until he took matters into his own hands. He had begun to ponder what Nao looked like naked. The thoughts sickened him and enthralled him at the same time. He shouldn't be thinking those things about her. She was his big sister. She would be so ashamed of him if she knew what was going on inside of his head Yet he could not stop. When she hugged him, he would purposely hold her tighter to feel her breasts pressed against his chest. His fingers would stray as far as they could over her hips without her noticing or before things got weird. Sighing loudly with frustration, he closed his eyes and lightly banged the back of his head against the tree as if trying to knock the thoughts out of his brain.

"Hey, stop doing that. You're shaking my tree, and I can't read," Kakashi admonished him.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled although he was not sorry at all. The perverted ninja should not be openly reading that crap around them anyway.

"What's wrong with you?" his teacher asked, dropping down to the ground to land soundlessly in front of him.

"When did you start having thoughts about...you know?" he inquired, pulling at the grass between his legs. He could feel the blush covering his face. Why was he discussing this with Kakashi of all people? It was this guy or Iruka so he seemed to be the better choice. His options of trustworthy males with whom to talk about such matters was ridiculously few. Grandpa was not an option at all. Iruka: not just no, but hell no - he might tell Nao. Nao was definitely out of the question since she was the person around whom his bothersome dreams were built. So then here he was with Kakashi about to discuss his deepest, darkest secret.

"Sex?" Kakashi questioned him.

"Yes," he hissed in reply, glaring at the masked ninja. It was apparent that the man was smiling beneath the mask that covered nearly all of his face.

"When I was younger than you actually."

"That's not surprising."

"It's perfectly normal. Why?"

"No reason."

Kakashi patiently waited for his student to ask another question. He was thinking about the fact it was possible the Nine Tails had forced Naruto into an accelerated puberty in response to Nao. There was something strange about that woman he had never been able to pinpoint. She had no discernible chakra flow whatsoever which seemed impossible. Everyone in the village knew little to nothing about her past even though she had lived in the village ten years now.

Over the last two years, he and Iruka had been working with the boy during to teach him to control the immense power he held inside. It seemed the time had come to kick that private training up a notch. When Naruto did not ask anything, Kakashi made an inquiry of his own. "Are you having sexy dreams? Dirty thoughts?" When the boy's whiskered cheeks became a deep cherry red, he knew he was on the right train of thought. "Sexy dreams and dirty thoughts about anyone in particular?"

Naruto followed the silver-haired ninja's line of vision to Sakura. His lip peeled back from his teeth in disgust when he saw the girl touching Sasuke on the arm while she chattered away incessantly. "Yeah...but not her."

"Nao?" he ventured. His suspicion was confirmed when he received a murderous glower. "I see."

"You see what, you pervert?" Naruto snarled defensively. "You only have one eye for god's sake. How much can you see?"

Kakashi smacked him across the head. "Insolent brat," he scolded his smart aleck student. For the purposes of increasing the boy's discomfort and humiliation, he added while scratching his chin pensively, "She is a beautiful woman so I can understand why you would have those thoughts about her. I've had a few of those thoughts about her myself."

"And that is why I will never let you get near her," he shot back.

"But seriously...it's all normal. Even the fact that you are thinking that about Nao."

"It's weird though."

"It would be weirder if you had those kinds of thoughts about the gorgeous Uchiha over there," Kakashi retorted, successful in making Naruto chuckle which lightened the oppressive atmosphere. "It's time to get back to practice."

~...~

Nao was waiting for Naruto on the front porch of the shop when he came home from school. She greeted him warmly, searching for any physical injuries. For weeks now he had been coming home injury free other than those sustained during training which could not be helped. This change in things made her very happy.

"I need you to take this to the Inuzuka's," Nao said, handing him a bag.

"What is it?" he asked, turning the small leather pouch over in his hand.

"It's medicine for the new puppies," she answered, glancing past him. She had seen a flash of pink hair that disappeared behind some trash cans.

"Puppies? Cool! I can't wait to see them," Naruto exclaimed with enthusiasm. Looking at Nao, he saw that she was staring down the street at something. Moving to stand next to her, he attempted to see what she was looking at. Unexpectedly, her hand shot out right in front of his face. "What the-"

Nao opened her palm to show Naruto the rock she had caught before it had struck him right in the face. She closed her hand, hurling it back at the person who had thrown it. A wicked smile curled her lips when a shriek of "OW!" was followed by Sakura coming out of her hiding place while rubbing her forehead where the rock had hit her. Her smile widened, and she wiggled her fingers in a wave at the girl glaring at her with such intensity she could feel the fury. Her joy grew exponentially.

"How did you do that?" Naruto queried, shocked by her stunningly fast reflexes.

"There's a lot you don't know about me yet, Naruto," she told him giving him a wink. "Now, don't you have a delivery to make?"

"Uh...yeah," he mumbled, clutching the bag in his hand. He watched Sakura run off before he walked down to steps to go to his destination. His mind tried to make sense out of what had just happened as he plodded along to the Inuzuka's house. Nao was not a ninja and abhorred fighting. He chalked it up to super fast reflexes and the motherly instinct to protect him. She had sensed he was in danger and dispensed with the source of the threat. Kind of like how she had wanted to protect him from Sakura emotionally. He believed he finally understood what Nao meant about all of that. Displays of violence were never an acceptable way to show love unless protecting the person he loved. Beating them to a bloody pulp on a regular basis just for the fun of it was not love in disguise - ever.

"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba yelled.

Naruto saw his friend standing at the gate with his constant companion Akamaru by his side. He waved and ran to meet them.

"Have you got it?" Kiba asked, holding out his hands for the medicine.

"Of course I do," Naruto returned, shoving the pouch into his friend's waiting hands.

"Want to see them?"

"Sure."

Kiba led Naruto to the barn where the new mother was laying with her pups. They stared over the top of the door to the stall that was actually meant for a horse. The Inuzuka's housed their prized dogs here instead. During the day, the dogs roamed free all over the extensive property. His mother and sister trained them while Kiba was at school. He had the job of playing with them all when he returned home. He had to train Akamaru himself. The division of duties worked for him.

"The puppies belong to one of Hana's triplets," he explained as they studied the wriggling, whimpering gray and white babies.

"Wow," Naruto whispered, gazing at the brand new puppies. He noticed one had been separated from the others. The pup cried for its mother but was ignored. "What about that one?"

"Oh, he's the runt. He's been rejected by Kaya. He's going to die," Kiba told him with no show of emotion.

"But why?"

"He's weak and will never be as strong as the rest. He's not good enough to be allowed to live."

"I don't believe that," Naruto protested, feeling anger building inside of him. How could his friend be so cruel? But then, the Inuzuka's did possess the most sought after canines for a reason. There was no place for weaklings among the elite. Pressing his lips together in a thin line of determination, he was determined this puppy was going to have a chance just like he had been given. Some outcasts had to fight their way to the top.

"What?" Kiba asked, catching a glimpse of his friend who was wearing resolve like a mask.

"I don't believe that he deserves to die just because he was born small and weak," Naruto repeated, glaring at Kiba. "Can I have him?"

"Well, yeah but - " He was interrupted by the determined blonde.

"Tell me what to do. I'll take care of him," he insisted.

"All right then," Kiba muttered impatiently. He opened the door to go into the stall to retrieve the rejected puppy. The mother dog paid no mind to the boy picking up the baby she did not want anyway. Once he was out of the stall, he handed his friend the puppy. "Put him in your shirt to keep him warm. You will need to buy a little bottle, maybe one made for a doll, and make a special milk to feed him. He will need to be fed every three to four hours and kept warm because he can't regulate his own body temperature. You shouldn't waste your time, Naruto. I doubt he'll make it through the night."

"It's not wasting my time. He'll grow up to be big and strong," Naruto argued, tucking the tiny puppy with a slightly cool body into his shirt. He held the whimpering baby next to his heart which caused him to stop making so much noise. "You'll see. He will be just fine."

"You're going to be a great mother, Naruto."

"Shut up!"

~...~

"Nao! I brought home a surprise!" Naruto yelled, rushing into the back door. He came in through the kitchen because he knew she would be preparing dinner.

"What have you-oh!" she gasped, taking the tiny puppy he held out to her. She held it between her hands to keep him warm. "He's precious. But, Naruto - "

"He was going to die, Nao!" he exclaimed, opening his backpack. He pulled out the bottle and baby blanket that he had bought with his own money. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper which were the directions Kiba's mother had written down for preparing the milk. "I couldn't let that happen. Just because he was born a runt doesn't mean he should die."

"Oh, Naruto," she murmured, tears springing to her eyes. She took the baby blanket he held out to her to wrap the puppy in it. Holding the little bundle to her chest, she skimmed over the list of herbs that were needed in the formula. Thankfully, she had them all. How could she possibly tell him no and refuse him in his desire to save the puppy? "What do you want to name him?"

"Keitaro. It means blessed. I think I was meant to have him because he's just like me. I was rejected and no one wanted to take care of me. I was little and starving and no one cared if I died. Now I'm growing up to be strong and smart because you took care of me. Keitaro just needs someone to love him...like I did." He was caught off guard when she flung her arm around him, keeping her other arm securely around the puppy that was in between them.

"Don't say anything else. I understand," she whispered, kissing his cheek. She moved back to transfer the puppy to his hands. "Here. Take good care of him while I gather these things and get the milk prepared."

"I will." He stuffed the puppy back into his shirt to keep him warm and calm while Nao worked quickly. He watched her intently as she measured, poured, mixed, and heated the ingredients. Once the bottle was ready, he eagerly reached out for it because the puppy had begun to emit a heart wrenching cry that was steadily growing weaker. Touching the nipple to the puppy's mouth, he was disappointed to see him shy away and refuse to take it.

"Squeeze a little bit out onto his lips. Let him taste it," Nao instructed him patiently, observing him as he put a drop of milk right in the middle of the puppy's lips. She smiled when the white drop disappeared and the tiny creature swung his head back and forth searching for more. "Keep doing that since he's so small. He'll take the nipple in a few days when he gets bigger and stronger."

Naruto gave her a big grin while being filled with a sense of pride he had experienced at such times as giving food to the children at the orphanage, successfully completing his first solo delivery, and moving on to his second year of school. She had a way of making him want to be a better person, to see beyond himself and to help others.

~...~

It was like having a newborn human baby in the house. Every few hours, one of them had to get up to feed the crying, hungry ball of fur. Nao had the last turn so the next one would be Naruto's. Upon hearing Keitaro's whimpers, he stumbled half asleep to the kitchen to warm the bottle. Once it was ready, he shuffled his way into Nao's room, sitting next to her sleeping form on the bed. The noisy, squirming animal had not even disturbed her sleep she was so exhausted. He reached for the runt who was tucked under her chin and rooting for food against her neck. Closing his tired eyes, he listened to the sucking and swallowing sounds of Keitaro that were so loud he could not hear the deep cadenced breathing of the sleeping woman lying beside him. Once the puppy's hunger was sated, he held the baby animal to his chest while trying to find the energy to get up. Hearing their heart beating seemed to keep Keitaro quiet. He knew he should get up and return to his bed, but he was just too tired to do so. Soon he was fast asleep.

About an hour later Nao was awakened by something soft tickling her nose. She reached up to push it away, coming into contact with a round solid object covered by the silky fluff. It was too big to be the puppy. Her fingers moved through the softness feeling their way around the object before contacting smooth skin. Her eyes popped open to see that the downy fuzz was a golden blond color. Naruto's head was lying against her chest where he had wedged himself between her arms. Keitaro was still held in his hands and sleeping contentedly between the both of them. She kissed Naruto on top of the head, putting her arms around him while taking care not to smash the puppy. They had recently had the discussion that he was getting too old for this in addition to the changes that were taking place within his body which made it unacceptable for him to sleep with her anymore. Since she was still so incredibly tired, she decided just to settle back down to get some more sleep. It certainly couldn't be strange for him to sleep with her occasionally; especially under unusual circumstances like this. Besides, she was nothing more than his big sister.