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I don't own Naruto, but I do own the pencil stuck behind my ear. I also own this story, so NO STICKY FINGERS!

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As Junko strode through the halls of the hospital, several people practically tripped in their effort to scurry away before she could have bowled them over and trodden on their heads. She had been more violent than normal all week, keeping estranged doctors away from one Uzumaki Naruto, who had been put under the sole care of her. No matter what she threatened, they just couldn't quell their curiosity. Finally she had sent one of the better doctors to surgery on a stretcher and all inquiries about her patient ceased. She knocked on the door to the child's hospital room, and hearing no reply, let herself in with her key. Naruto was unconscious on his bed. For the past week he had been practicing visiting the mindscape, or site of sealing (depending on who you asked) without having to be forcefully knocked unconscious. He had been improving, but whenever Junko inquired as to why he would bother trying to do that, he simply replied that he might need to talk to the Kyuubi sometime and wouldn't want to be vulnerable. Now, where a five year old child had learned the word 'vulnerable' and how to use it properly, she couldn't say. All she knew that over the past seven days he seemed to become more mature, using more complex vocabulary and getting even more quiet than he had been when he first came out of his three-day coma. She sat down on the chair next to his bed just as his eyes fluttered and he sat up. It seemed he was now able to be aware of his surroundings in the physical world while still communicating with the Kyuubi in the mindscape.

"Hey there, Naruto! I bet you're tired of hospital food, huh?" Junko said with a smile.

Naruto nodded, a curious look on his face as she brought out a large box. "What's in the box, Junko-sama?"

Junko grinned and procured a bowl of steaming noodles. "This is Ichiraku's famous miso pork ramen! Go on, try it. I don't see why some of the doctors aren't giving you solid food yet."

Naruto took a mouthful of the hot ramen. His eyes widened and he quickly swallowed to look at Junko, beaming. "It's good!" He quickly finished the bowl, burning his tongue in the process. Junko finished her bowl and looked at Naruto thoughtfully. "Naruto." He looked up from his second bowl curiously. "What would you say to moving from where you live now?"

Naruto lowered his bowl and pondered it for a moment. "Where do you think I should go?"

Junko smiled. "I was thinking you could live with me and my younger sister. She's about the same age as you, so I figure you'll get along with her just fine."

The look of shock on Naruto's face was expected, but a moment later he ducked his head like a whipped dog. "I don't think she'll like me…no one does. Besides, aren't you afraid of the villagers beating you up?"

Junko looked sad. "I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that nobody in this stinking village will ever harm you again." She brightened up. "As to my sister, she'll love having someone her age to play with! She is shy, so she doesn't hang out with other children that much."

Naruto smiled. "I want you to be my Okaa-san, Junko-sama…if you don't mind."

"I'm the one who offered, silly!" Junko grinned. "I've already taken care of most of the paper work. You'll be moving into my house in less than a week, so if you have any things at home you want to take with you, we'll get them when you're released tomorrow."

"Hai 'Okaa-san'!"

Later that night Naruto was lying in the hospital bed staring at the ceiling. He wondered what Junko-sama's nee-chan was like. He knew she was shy, but nothing else about her. Heck, he didn't even know her name yet. He knew that he really should try to get some sleep, but he was too excited to sleep.

"Kit…I'd like to speak with you. It's important, and since you're not in the mood to sleep I'd like for you to come now."

"Yes Kyuubi-sama." Naruto shut his eyes and appeared in the mindscape. Since he had met Junko, the sewer like area that had represented his mindscape had started to improve. Kyuubi had told him that the area was so trashy because of the trauma his young mind had experienced. It seemed the Junko had been able to clean up some of the mess that was Naruto's life. Kyuubi walked down the mindscape hallway and sat down in front of Naruto, shrinking down to about the size of a Great Dane to look the child eye to eye. "What is it Kyuubi-sama?"

"Naruto. Since the seal is almost completely broken, there is more then a fifty percent chance that you're going to become a hanyou. A hanyou," said Kyuubi, not waiting for Naruto to ask questions, "Is a half demon. That means you will have two forms. Your hanyou form will be hardly recognizable compared to your human form. For one thing, you will look more feral. Your canine teeth and your finger/toenails will be sharper, like that of a foxes'. Your hair color might also be different, as well as your ears' shape and eye color, since I do have some influence over your hanyou appearance. Your human form, on the other hand, will experience very mild changes. I can't say what, as the changes are rather unpredictable. However, they will not make you stand out in a crowd too much."

Naruto took this information in. "So I won't have a tail when I'm human, but I might have sharper teeth?" He pondered this for a minute. "I guess as long as it won't draw too much attention…Is that all Kyuubi-sama?"

"Not quite." The fox could tell that Naruto was tiring, and he wanted him to get some sleep for what he was planning the next day. "Because the seal is so weak, there is a chance that I might be able to come out into the physical world-"

"WHAT??" Naruto didn't wait for Kyuubi to finish. "I thought the seal was still holding you here!!"

"Be silent, Naruto!" growled the fox. "Let me finish. I might be able to come out into the physical world, but only by your will. I would only be able to hold a physical body as long as you let me. Not only that, but as long as I am still sealed, there is no way I could maintain my actual body. I would have to use a human disguise. Either that or…" Kyuubi paused for a second. "It might be possible for me to be in two places at once."

"What do you mean by that, Kyuubi-sama?"

"I mean, I could walk the village as a human while sitting on your shoulder. Most of my chakra is off limits to me because of the seal remnants, but I still have enough to keep a human body and a fox's body…mind you, it would only be a small fox. And, using the fact that you are five and the seal is already as weak as it is…I'd assume that I would only be able to project my body to look as old as you are. In other words, I'd start off looking five like you and get older with you. And my fox body would start off as a pup."

"Kyuubi…that's great!" Kyuubi blinked at the boy's enthusiasm. "We can attend the academy together! And, like, we could say that I found the fox abandoned and I'm raising it!" Naruto looked even more excited than he did when Junko discussed adopting him. "We might even end up the same team!"

"Hold it, kit. I would like to attend the academy with you. But there is NO WAY I will become a Genin for this village and do D-rank missions! You're on your own for that!" Kyuubi couldn't suppress a growl of amusement.

"Well, I'd still have you as a fox for my companion, so you can still go on missions with me!" Naruto gave a sleepy smile and rubbed his eyes. "Man…I'm so tired I feel it in my mind!"

"I won't keep you any longer, kit. Get some sleep. You're going to want to be well-rested tomorrow for the things I have planned for you." As Naruto vanished from the mindscape, Kyuubi smiled. "Well, Naruto...it's astonishing you aren't more bitter over what the villagers have been doing to you…I suppose I'll have to lend a helping hand to let you see the light…you are very naïve."

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A/N: I changed a couple of things in this chapter to help it make a little more sense, e.g. I changed the honorific 'Sempai', which means upperclassmen to 'sama', which serves my originally intended purpose of showing deep respect.