I Do Not Own Naruto!

To Protect and Endure

Story by Kyoka Suigetsu Totsuka

Chapter 3

The day was long for Hatake Kakashi. The infamous A-Ranked Shinobi, son of the White Fang, student of the Yellow Flash, the Copy Ninja was reduced to being a footman. This day marked the fifth delivery and recon mission he had done in as many days. For nearly a week, he had been subjugated to the same mundane safety of main roads. It was hardly fitting of an ANBU Captain to be traveling abreast with simple merchants and traveling shows, clutching onto a small scroll that surely no one wanted to steal. In his stretching career as a trained assassin, he'd never been as bored.

He hadn't used any of his thousand jutsu in a while and his hands were becoming restless. Sparks of electricity flared between his fingers as he removed his ANBU mask, stuffing everything into his locker. He was once again in his room, within reach of his warm and comfortable bed – his too comfortable bed. It was too soft, as was he. There was a time when he found dirt too soft, opting for a strong branch for sleep. Now he felt sleepy just at the sight of his bed.

Perhaps the Hokage was punishing him for something; perhaps this was the ANBU version of D-ranked missions. But why? It has been a long time since his last blunder – if it could even be considered that. He and his team were ambushed and Tenzo was safekeeping the prisoner. It was only logical to force his team to retreat while he held the lines. He had protected his comrades and ensured the success of the mission.

The Hokage had insisted that Kakashi still had self-sacrificing tendencies. The Hokage was wrong. Sure, he may have at one point in his life grown tired of living, but that was before a little ball of sunshine took over all free hours of his life.

"KAKA-NII!" Said ball of sunshine launched himself at his brother and landed on his shoulders, grasping at his silver hair. "You're back!"

Kakashi gave a low chuckle, "Yes, I'm back." He held onto the boy's ankles to steady him, "But what are you still doing up? It's almost 11 o'clock."

"I just finished my report to Commander Ryu!" Naruto grinned, bouncing on his brother's shoulders. "He said I did a good job! I'm too excited to sleep!"

"I see," muttered the Captain as he made his way to their usual evening gathering spot, the smaller cafeteria located on the eastern wing of the barracks. "And how many of your sisters' snacks did you eat to celebrate? You are way too energetic tonight."

The boy shrugged, "Just a few cookies. I finished most of my snacks with Ino-chan today, so I didn't have much left." He pouted, "The Commander didn't let Nana-nee bake more cookies for tonight."

Kakashi chuckled again, "Ino-chan, huh? Did you have fun today?"

"Lots of fun!" Naruto smiled brighter than Kakashi had ever seen, "Ino-chan is so cool and so smart! She let me draw a storage seal on her arm and it only took her an hour to learn how to use it! She told me the only started the Leaf Floating exercise at the Academy, but she was able to mold enough chakra to seal and unseal ten bottles of water by the end!"

The brothers made their way into the dining area and Kakashi saw most of his colleagues were still there. Yugao, Nana, Mizu and Shiki were all huddled together in the middle of the room, sitting in front of the TV, giggling loudly into the night. Even Tenzo was still awake, silently trimming his precious bonsai tree behind the ladies, a small smile on his face as he watched the screen. Kō sat beside him, his legs up on the table and hands behind his head, quietly chuckling. Even Commander Ryu was there, standing tall and stoic with his arms crossed, silently regarding the TV with his hawk-like eyes.

All the while, Naruto was still relaying to his favorite brother every small detail about the Yamanaka Heiress, accurate and minute to the point to which Kakashi wondered if they'd trained him too well.

"Welcome back, Senpai," greeted Tenzo, chuckling at his captain, "Did you know, apparently Inoichi-san's daughter is the top student of her class?"

"Oh, and she's super cool and really loves Nana's chocolate chip cookies," Kō added with a grin.

Tenzo sighed with a grin, "Naruto has not stopped talking about his new best friend ever since he came home."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, balancing himself on Kakashi's shoulders. "I was just making my report as thorough as possible."

"Aww, Naru-chan," started Yugao, "Are you sure it's not because you already miss her? You keep talking about how you promised to meet with her again next week." Naruto turned a little red, "Don't worry, we'll let you go see her whenever you want to. And we'll make some more snacks for you next time. Apparently, Ino-chan loves sweet things."

"Not to mention that she's the Spy Master of the Academy," added Commander Ryu, completely serious. "This girl has acquired intelligence on most of her classmates, but despite this, she has yet to utilize any of such information for personal gain. This indicates an acceptable ethical standard and an understanding of using power in moderation. I am very impressed with young Yamanaka-san."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically as others sweatdropped, used to the Commander's personality.

"Kakashi-senpai," called out Shiki, "You should come take a look at this."

"Yeah!" cried out Naruto, "Nee-chan recorded my mission! They said I did a good job!"

Kakashi knelt down to the TV, his one normal eye watching closely. It was obviously filmed from an eagle's eye view, aiming down at the targets, namely Naruto and the little Yamanaka girl. It was a good angle and the shot was clear; it was steady as well – they must have mounted the camera. The sound was also coming through loud and clear – they must have been prepared and fully equipped.

Naruto hopped down to the ground, "I made it to the target destination on time and without a trail." Kakashi watched the screen and saw his little brother step from the shadows while using his expression of apathy, as trained my him, but also saw him completely lose it upon seeing his friend. "Okay, I may have lost my focus there, but it did not cost me the mission!"

"Aww, did Ino-chan scare you?" asked Nana, pulling her Chibi into her arms, "Or was she so pretty that you completely lost focus?"

Naruto blushed, "I was just surprised!"

"At how pretty she is?" asked Yugao, looking innocent.

"No!"

"Naru, why don't you explain to Kakashi what happened here?" asked Shiki as the screen showed Naruto pulling Ino into the shade.

"Right!" exclaimed the boy. "The day was unexpectedly hot and Ino-chan must have been standing in the sun for too long. While conversing I noticed her was face turning red, like exceedingly red." His sisters all crossed their arms and nodded sagely along, "I realized that it must be a sign of heat stroke!" Kakashi choked on his spit as Tenzo and Kō chuckled. "As you can see, I was forced to retreat to a cooler area, and because of Ino-chan weakened state, I thought it best that I lead her by the hand."

"Yes, that was a smart move, Naruto," commented Kō, "Very smooth."

"…right," replied Naruto, looking utterly confused. "It was at this point that I noticed her hand was getting sweaty, another sign of heat stroke!" Kō and Tenzo chuckled again as Kakashi stared at Naruto. "I had to hurry, so I regrettably held onto her hand tighter and ran faster. At this point, even her voice was weak. She even started to stutter! I was really worried, but we got to the bench on time."

"Was her face still red?" asked Kakashi, sounding serious.

"Yes!" Naruto pointed at the TV, "It was getting even more red. She looked like a tomato!"

Kakashi was seriously wondering if Minato-sensei's overly dominant genes somehow compelled his son to be attracted to tomato girls. Kushina must have been smiling down at her son at that moment. She had often told Kakashi that she wanted Naruto to find a girl like her.

"I placed my hand on her forehead to see if she was burning up and she was! And she kept getting redder!" Kakashi just stared at his brother, the girls all quieting laughing behind them. "The heat must have somehow affected her, so I though to unseal some water for her."

Kakashi nodded, following along.

"But here is where I must file a complaint!" Naruto huffed, "The jacket Jiraiya-jiji sent me has no stretch!" Kakashi watched the screen and saw Naruto take off his jacket in front of the girl before proceeding to show her his arms. "I had to take it off to get the water and that cost me a few seconds. Thankfully, I got the water on time. Ino-chan looked like she was passing out by then!"

Kakashi felt his jaw drop as he watched his brother lean close, very close to the girl and proceeded to bottle-feed her the water!

"She was almost unresponsive when I tried to feed her the water. It took a few seconds, but she managed to drink some. Thank goodness, because I'm not sure if she would still want to be my friend if she passed out the first time we played together."

"Y-You almost made a girl pass out the first time you played with her?" asked Kakashi, ignoring the laughs of Tenzo and Kō.

"No, I didn't!" answered Naruto, "The heat did! Aren't you listening, Kaka-nii?"

"Please, continue."

And so the boy did, recounting his first mission to the most minute detail, supported by video evidence. Not once did he notice the baffled and widened eyes of Kakashi. The ANBU Captain was looking around at his comrades, all sending him a knowing smile. Even the Commander was amused – he had stopped crossing his arms! They all knew! They understand! They realize Naruto's potential and what this could mean!

"Oh, you look so cool, Naruto-kun!" cried Nana loudly, smiling at the boy's blush.

"Shut up, Nana-nee!" He blushed to the roots of his hair, "Ino-chan didn't say it like that!"

Yugao grinned, "So how did she say it?"

"She said it better!" he yelled as he grew redder, "Just let me give my report!"

The highlights were reviewed and soon the tape came to a close.

"I knew you were coming home tonight, Kaka-nii, so I called it a day when the sun started to go down. Ino-chan looked a little disappointed, but she told me that her parents are waiting for her at home, too. We ended it there, but I promised her that we'll play again next weekend!"

Kakashi stared down at his beloved little brother, who actually ended his playtime with a girl just so he could welcome him home. On one hand, he was elated and proud that he meant so much to his brother, but on the other, he regretted rushing home so quickly. If he had taken the time and camped for the night, could Naruto have progressed even further on his mission? Perhaps at sundown, the Yamanaka girl could still be blushing and his innocent brother could actually catch on.

Kakashi damned his own efficiency.

As he was reeling from his thoughts, Yugao broke the silence. "So, Naru-chan," she asked with a grin, "What do you plan to do with Ino-chan next weekend? Are you going to spend both days with her?"

Naruto hopped to turn to his sister, looking up at her pleadingly, "I haven't asked Ji-chan yet, but can I? I promise I'll finish all my homework and clock in all my field training."

Yugao's grin widened as Nana stepped in, "Oh, I'm sure Hokage-sama will allow it. He wouldn't stand in the way of young love~"

Naruto tilted his head, "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," answered Mizu, bringing Naruto to her arms, turning him away from his other sisters, making them roll their eyes at her. "Don't worry about what she said, just focus on playing at the park and enjoy yourself. You're still a child, so all you need to worry about is playing and meeting new friends, okay?"

He grinned and nodded, "Yeah, I can do that!"

Shiki sighed, and stood with a clap, "Okay, we've had our fun. Time for bed." She lightly patted Naruto's back and pushed Mizu along, "Naru-chan still needs to take his bath and brush his teeth. You stay up any later and you'll be sorry in the morning. Your studies will still start at 8 o'clock sharp."

Naruto pouted as he was carried away, "Fine."

"Goodnight, Chibi," muttered Tenzo with a wave.

"Goodnight, Tenzo-nii," the boy muttered, clearly pouting. "Goodnight, everybody."

Kō chuckled, "Goodnight, Kiddo. Have some sweet dreams."

Mizu immediately glared at him and rushed on, "Yes, dream about puppies and candy."

Yugao and Nana giggled and followed along. "If you keep that up, Mizu will gut you in your sleep." Nana flicked Kō's head, "Reel it in before you push her too far."

Kō slipped his hand into hers and kissed her knuckles, "You'll protect me, right?"

Nana winked and ran her fingers through his hair, "Maybe, depends on what you say."

"Oh, get a room," muttered Yugao, walking away.

"Hmm, maybe later," Nana said with another wink, following Yugao out of the room.

Now only the men were left in the room and they immediately gathered together, standing in formation with their arms crossed. In silence, they each contemplated the day and the surprises it brought, all revolving around their little prodigy. New light had been shed on their situation. Until today, they all had thought Naruto was going to grow up to be a disciplined, efficient, powerful, and deadly Shinobi, one they would welcome into their ranks with open arms and have lead the next generation of Konoha to greatness.

But now…he could be even more.

"It seems," started Kakashi with a whisper, "It seems our little brother has another natural talent."

"It would seem so," added Kō, "One we don't see very often, especially not in one so young and innocent. Reminds me a bit of Itachi before he went crazy, but even then, Itachi only ever relied on his looks, never his charisma or personality. Chibi has both in spades."

Tenzo sighed, "I see where this is going, but shouldn't we wait until he's a bit older?"

"I was a Chūnin at his age," said Kakashi, "And we're only talking about learning on paper. There won't be any sort of technical application until he's at least a Chūnin…maybe Genin – it depends if the world is at peace or at war."

"You're kidding," replied Tenzo, nursing his temples. "You try to slip Naruto Icha-Icha and every female colleague of ours will torture and kill you."

"No, not Icha-Icha," Kakashi insisted, "Just some basic young love novels – completely wholesome, I promise."

"And some on basic biology," added Kō, "He should have some basic sexual education along with the romance novels. We want to avoid any sort of confusion."

"Good call," answered Kakashi, "We should also add in some books on body language and physiological responses. The poor boy thought the girl was having a heat stroke."

Kō chuckled, "That still makes me laugh."

"Ahem," Commander Ryu cleared his throat, making the three men straighten up. "We may also consider adding certain parameters to his future missions with the young Yamanaka." Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought, "Nothing indecent, considering their age and station, but subtle indications of progression. Have the boy count the number of times he managed to make the girl smile, or monitor hers or his own heartrate during contact, or even have him learn as much as he can about her likes and dislikes as possible. The more he knows about her, the better."

"Oh, that's good." Kō smirked, "We should construct lessons on gentlemanly conduct and vocabulary, just like how we taught him the silent killing method. We have him act as such during these missions and rate his performance accordingly."

"Yes, yes," muttered Kakashi, "Such parameters will allow us to progressively increase the difficulties of these missions."

Kō smirked, "By the end, Chibi will be able to charm any woman in the world, not just the Yamanaka Heiress."

The Commander nodded, "Yes, and we will be able to send him on any mission involving the opposite sex. The amount of information he could retrieve for Konoha would be insurmountable. Female Daimyo, wives of Daimyo, princesses, noble ladies all around the continent. It would be a gold mine."

"Yes, for the prosperous future of Konoha," added Kō, "That's why we're doing this."

Tenzo sighed and relented, "No matter what I say, I know you'll ignore me." Kakashi patted his shoulder and nodded in agreement. "But let me add, we do this privately and discreetly. We can monitor the situation, but we must not make a public farce of all this. No recording whatsoever. We want Naruto to thrive and succeed as a man, not to use him for entertainment. We do this, and this all stays between us. No one can know."

Kō nodded, "Yes, just the four of us."

"Hokage-sama will kill us all if we don't include him," added Commander Ryu, "Same with Jiraiya-sama."

Kō shuddered at the thought, "Yes, you're right. Just the six of us."

"His first friend is the Yamanaka Heiress." Kō whistled, "I wonder who else would he meet. And when they grow up, what will happen? How many girlfriends do you think he'll have?"

Kakashi chuckled at the thought. As a Genin on Minato-sensei's team, he had often overheard conversations between Jiraiya and the Yondaime. More than once had Jiraiya tried to get Minato to let loose and have some fun. Away from prying eyes and ears, the Sannin had tried to tempt his student with stories of his conquests around the Elemental Nations, one he would later turn into literary masterpieces, but not once had the Yellow Flash relented.

Kakashi could scarcely count the number of women who had tried to solicit his sensei. It must have been hundreds, even more after he became one of the youngest Kage in history. Whether it was inside the village or outside, Minato-sensei was always surrounded by girls. Kushina-sensei, being one of the most powerful – and definitely one of the most violent – kunoichi in Konoha, had never once tried to intervene. She was never jealous and had only ever laughed at her boyfriend/husband. She was not the least bit worried because she knew Minato-sensei better than anyone.

If there was one thing Namikaze Minato was, it was loyal. Minato-sensei was loyal to Konoha and Uzumaki Kushina. The Yondaime had the looks, charisma, skill, power, position, and reverence to have any woman in the world, but he only wanted his childhood sweetheart and wife.

Now Naruto was in a similar situation. Kakashi wondered if the boy would be like his father in this regard as well.

Yamanaka Emiko was perplexed. She had heard from her daughter about her situation with her friends at the Academy. While she was proud of her daughter for standing up for poor Sakura-chan, she was worried about Ino losing almost all of her friends. The Yamanaka Matriarch had gone on a bakery shopping spree after dropping her daughter off at the park, fulling intending to defeat Ino's sadness with sweets. But upon her return, Ino was happier than she'd ever seen her.

Sitting together on the couch watching TV, Emiko watched as her daughter giggled to herself.

"Ino-chan, are you feeling okay?"

Ino looked at her mother, smiling widely, and nodded. "Of course! I feel great!"

"Did you have fun today at the park?"

"I did!" the girl replied loudly, "I had the best day ever!"

A manly chuckle interrupted Emiko's next question as Yamanaka Inoichi walked in, happily scooping his daughter into his arms. The girl giggled as she sat on her father's lap, happily bouncing as he sat back down on the couch.

Inoichi kissed his daughter's hair, "What got you so happy today, princess?"

"I spend the day playing with Naruto-kun!"

Emiko blinked in surprise along with her husband. "Naruto-kun? Did you make a new friend?"

"And is it a boy?" asked Inoichi softly, looking afraid.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you about him?" Ino's smile was so wide Emiko was afraid it'd hurt. "I met him yesterday at the park! I was playing in our flower fields and he walked by looking for flowers. We hung out the whole day yesterday and today!" She giggled again, much to Inoichi's horror. "He's the coolest!"

Ignoring her husband's pale face, Emiko smiled. "That's great to hear, honey." Pausing for thought, "How old is Naruto-kun. Is he around your age?"

"Yep, we're the same age." Ino was still bouncing happily on her father's lap, not seeing his horrified expression. "Actually, I am seventeen days older than him. He was born on October 10th. I asked."

That seemed to break Inoichi out of his nightmare. "October 10th, eight years ago?"

Ino nodded, "Uh huh!"

Emiko caught on, grimacing. That really was not a good day to have for a birthday. "If he's your age, have you met him before at the Academy?"

"No, Naruto-kun doesn't go to the Academy."

"Oh, so he's a civilian."

Ino shook her head quickly, her smile returning. "No, Naruto-kun wants to be a ninja. He wants to be Hokage!" Emiko smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm. "And he's already got amazing chakra control, way more advanced that what we learn at the Academy."

"Really?" asked Inoichi, "Where did he learn it if not at the Academy?"

"He said he's taught at home by his family."

"Is he in a clan?" asked the father, "What's his last name?"

"Uzumaki," she exclaimed, missing the flinch of her father, "His full name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Emiko looked at her husband before asking, "Uzumaki…that's a name I haven't heard in a while. Did you meet his parents?"

Ino's smile dimmed, "No, Naruto-kun's parents died during the Kyuubi attack. He lives with his grandfather and his siblings."

Emiko sat closer to her husband and daughter, reaching for her husband's shaking hand. "What does Naruto-kun look like?"

Ino blushed with a shy smile, "He looks…very cool." She looked away from her parents, "He is so handsome," she whispered, getting redder. "He is even more handsome than Sasuke-kun, and way cooler, too! Like, he actually talks and smiles and laughs. He has such a cute laugh!"

"That's great, honey," interrupted Emiko, "But what are his features like? Like his hair or eyes?"

Ino grinned, "He has blonde hair, too!" Inoichi flinched as Ino continued, "But not like ours; it's a bit darker. It's also very messy, but in a good way! It's very spiky, but it frames his face perfectly! His eyes, too. They're blue like ours, but darker as well. Like a deep blue."

Inoichi shakily breathed out, "So he is a blonde haired and blue-eyed boy with the Uzumaki name?"

"Yep!" Ino clasped her hands together to plead, "He promised me he would hang out with me again next weekend. Can I please go?"

Emiko looked at her husband, holding onto his trembling hand. "Uh, yes, honey. Of course. I'm happy you made a new friend."

"Look what he made me today!" Ino pulled back the sleeve of her sweater and showed her new personal storage seal to her parents. "Isn't it cool? It's our clan symbol!"

Emiko smiled as her husband was still in a daze, "It's very nice. Did he draw it on you?"

Ino shook her head, "No, Kaa-chan, this isn't just a doodle! Here, let me show you." She formed a handsign and molded her chakra before tapping the seal with her right palm. A puff of smoke appeared and shocked both her parents. Ino grinned at their surprise as she held an empty bottle of water in her hand, the same one Naruto used to feed her. "See! This is a storage seal. Naruto-kun drew it for me!"

"What do you mean, princess?" asked Inoichi, "He made the seal himself?"

"Yes, he did!" Ino was gushing, "Yesterday she showed me his own storage seal on his arm and I was amazed. He said that he'd make one for me, and he did today! Not only that, but he also changed how it looks." She rubbed over her seal, "His seal looks like a whirlpool because of his clan, so he spent basically the entire night practicing how to make the seal look like a bush clover instead! Isn't he just so sweet?!" She hugged her arm close again, "I can't wait to see him again."

Emiko forced a small smile, "What a talented boy."

"I know, right!"

Inoichi gently placed Ino on the couch and stood up. "Sorry, princess. Tou-chan needs to go visit your Uncle Shikaku for a bit."

Ino tilted her head and shrugged, "Sure, okay."

"Honey," started Emiko as she stood, too.

Inoichi gently rubbed his wife's shoulder, "I won't be out too late."

"It's okay, just…" She sighed, "Figure this out. I need to know if…"

Inoichi nodded, "I know. Me, too."

Emiko sat back down and pulled Ino close, trying to pay attention as her daughter went on about her newest friend and obvious crush. She nodded along and smiled at times, but she couldn't help but want to follow her husband. She had to know…she had to know if her friend's son was still alive.

And if he was, why was he hidden away?

'Kushina…'

Chapter 3 – End

Well, this is a shorter chapter – sorry about that. It's more of a transitional one that builds on the next part of the story.

I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. I sure have been having fun with it.

Please leave me a review!