(A/N Next chapter I WILL be introducing Naruto's clan swords so this chapter IS your LAST chance give a description to me, and since I think I wasn't being specific enough in exactly what I want from you guys about them I'm going to tell you all now. IN THIS ORDER I'd like

The clan sword you're describing (Uzumaki or Namikaze)

What type of sword it is (katana, wakizashi, scimitar, special, ect.)

A physical description of the blade, the guard (grip), and the sheath (color, shape, patterns, ect.) if there is one

What the blade, guard, and sheath are made of (ex the blade is obsidian, the guard is titanium, and the sheath is ebony)

Any special name you want to give the blade, in BOTH Japanese and English like the example I give you (ex how the Kusanagi (Grass Cutter Blade) has a name)

Any special abilities you want to give the blade

Repeat with other clan blade.

Also, please consider what clan these swords are for before giving them powers/abilities/descriptions/ect that don't actually match or help what we know about these clans in the first place, please and thank you.

Hey everyone, Star Bus was kind enough to do a fan art of my OC's Asahi and Yui, so check it out and give him/her a big thumbs up please! star-bus .deviantart art/Butterflypuss-oc-486621267

CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is always welcome. Please and thank you and I hope you all keep enjoying my story.)

Chapter 6 - Moving Forward

After School - Shikamaru's House - Shikamaru's POV

I was in a contemplative mood by the time I reached my home, opened the door and muttered out a quiet, "I'm home."

"Ah, Shikamaru, you're home, good, come and take the trash out won't you," my mother, Yoshino Nara, yelled out to me from the kitchen.

Knowing better than to argue or complain, it was far too troublesome, I muttered out a quiet "troublesome" before heading to the kitchen my mother was in to grab the trash bag, on the way I asked her, "Where's Tou-san at?"

"Your father is out tending the deer right now, or he'd better be, that lazy husband of mine," Yoshino told me, muttering out the last part in a tone that made me inch away from her and eye the frying pan she was using to cook warily.

"Ok, I'm going to go join him after I take the trash out," I said in my typical lazy way, walking out of the kitchen trash bag in hand even as I was speaking.

"As long as you don't you don't forget to do your homework, I'm not letting you start out this semester doing something like that after all," Yoshino warned threateningly.

"Got it," I confirmed before quietly muttering, "Troublesome Kaa-san," unfortunately not quietly enough as I soon received a frying pan to the back of my head for my comment. Deciding to cut my loses before things got any worse, I bolted out the door. Then walked over and threw the trash in the dumpster.

Heading out to the part of the field we typically tend to our deer in I soon spotted my father checking out a recently born fawn to make sure it was healthy. I approached him without worry as the Nara deer were typically almost as lazy as their male tenders and therefore wouldn't run unless they smelled a predator.

"How is it," I lazily asked my father in curiosity. I'd never admit it since it would get my troublesome mother on my case, but I actually really loved taking care of the new born deer. They're not all that troublesome, and they're always highly affectionate and inquisitive.

"She's fine, another troublesome female, going to grow up to be a nice strong doe," Shikaku replied, equally as lazy as his son.

"Hmmm," was my only reply, my mind having already gone back to replaying everything that had happened at school today.

Shikaku, probably realizing that I was distracted by something, asked me, "Everything alright, son?"

I could tell that my father already realized what my real reason for being here is, so I decided to get right to the point, "There's a new kid who joined our class today. He's….interestingly troublesome."

Temporary end to Shikamaru POV

Shikaku lazily raised an eyebrow, he already knew who his son was talking about, of course, but he had to admit he was curious about what his son thought about him for him to have already become interesting.

Restart Shikamaru POV

Recognizing the raised brow for what it was, I first recounted everything that had happened that day, from Naruto's intro that had sparked my interest in the first place, to what had happened during lunch, after lunch had been normal, and the group couldn't do anything after school since almost everyone had something they needed to do today.

I willingly admitted to the fact that I'd never considered spending time with the other people that Naruto had gathered at lunch that day, with the exception of Chōji of course.

After that I went on to describe what I thought about everyone from our meeting so far, since I could already tell that what happened at lunch today was going to continue to happen, and not just because Naruto makes a good strategic opponent.

Shino was…..smart, almost as smart as I was, if not slightly more so in some categories. He was also quite and polite, yet I detected an undercurrent of energy that he seemed to be in tight control of, possibly something to do with his bugs. He was also very stoic, preferring to show his emotions in small, quite ways rather than out loud. He was the least troublesome member of this group Naruto had somehow formed, knowingly or not.

Kiba was….troublesome. He was loud, brash, and cocky but not in an arrogant way. Though it seemed like he was heading that way last semester I'm guessing Naruto had some involvement in nipping that problem in the bud over the school break. He and Naruto seemed to get along, I really do wonder what happened in the most likely short time since he and his family moved to Konoha that could have already made him an honorary member of the Inuzuka though.

His partner, Akamaru, seemed to have the brains of the pair, being much more calm and level headed than his companion. Yet, at the same time I could almost feel the loyalty and kindness Kiba held for those he cared about, I could tell you'd have a friend for life if you earned the respect and friendship of the young Inuzuka, as long as you didn't do anything treacherous anyway.

Hinata was…shy to the point of ridiculousness, which I could already tell was going to lead to some troublesome times. She was kind and sweet to the point I almost thought she was using some sort of mask to come off as helpless. How ANYONE could be as kind and sweet as her and actually mean it was confusing to me. Then again, she was a girl, they were all troublesome in some way or another, though she was far less troublesome than any other girl I've had the bad luck to know, like Ino.

And finally Naruto, a puzzle I could already tell would take a very long time to solve, if I ever fully could. He was as polite as Shino, yet in a more forced way, as though he was made to grow up that way rather than ending up that way naturally like many Aburames did. He was kind, yet at the same time cold and detached, almost as though the kindness was being forcefully repressed along with the full strength of his other emotions, it was obvious he wanted to laugh at Chōji's reaction to his food, yet all he allowed himself was a slightly larger smile than the one he already had.

His three ninken seemed nice & obedient, but that could be just because they slept through most of lunch after eating and were probably trained same as Akamaru not to cause trouble in the classroom, they're also very young, much younger than Akamaru.

There was also the matter of his past. I could tell that he wasn't exactly lying about it, unless you were one of the ones who counted omission as lying. However, I could also tell just by looking in his eyes that what he mentioned about the death of his parents shortly after his birth was one of the least painful memories he had. And I could tell he had many, his eyes reminded me of that one trauma patient I ran into at Ino's father's clinic, yet how did someone as young as us end up with eyes similar to a war vet who's seen and done too much's trauma? All in all Naruto was an enigma wrapped up in puzzles and mysteries galore…one that I wanted to solve…how troublesome.

End Shikamaru POV

Shikaku hummed to himself in thought, he honestly hadn't expected his son to become that interested in Naruto. It wasn't a bad thing, especially since Shikamaru's loss to someone his age rather than someone older than him would help encourage him to work harder in his tactics training at the very least.

What really surprised him was the fact that Naruto had somehow attracted almost all of the clan heirs to him like moths to a flame simply by being himself. It seemed like Minato's boy was going to be the leader of his generation much like Minato was to theirs, the only troublesome ones would be Inoichi's daughter and the Uchiha, but that was a can of worms he wasn't touching, let alone opening.

Realizing he had been lost to his thoughts long enough to attract the attention of his son Shikaku simply said, "Well, son, it seems like you've made some very good friends today. I can tell just like you said that you're most likely going to have some troublesome times ahead because of them, but you won't ever be able to have or make better friends than the ones you have now. They'll be with you through thick and thin, no matter what, and I'm sure, troublesome as it is, that you'll do the same thing for them."

Shikamaru simply sighed and smirked before responding to his father by saying, "Yeah, Tou-san, I guess you're right, how troublesome."

After Academy - Kiba's POV

Akamaru and I made a mad dash for our house in the clan compound, both of us determined to win the race we'd challenged each other to, I realized I was slightly behind my four-legged partner and pushed myself harder for the win. I just barely slammed my hand down on the door to the house, our end-line, before Akamaru slammed his own front paws down right after mine.

"Whoop, ahaha, I win this time buddy, better luck next time," I shouted out with a laugh, not minding the lighthearted growl my partner let out at realizing he'd lost.

"Really Kiba, I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you that you shouldn't bang on the door like that, it's damaged enough as is by the ninken pounding on it when they're locked out and want in, really I can't wait till those special orders I made with Naruto come in so we can fix that problem," a familiar voice said from behind me.

I felt myself freeze at the fact my mom, Tsume Inuzuka, was standing right behind me, last time she caught me doing this to the door she made me clean over half the kennels all on my own. Thinking quickly I said, "Well Ka-chan, I was just SO excited to get home in time to help take care of the new litter that was born earlier today like you asked me before I left for the academy that Akamaru and I ran ALL the way here from the academy. Isn't that right bud, ahahahahahe~…"

"Oh is that so, well then I guess we better get to work, and since you were SO eager for this Kiba YOU can clean up after them while you tell me about your first day back at academy," mom said to me with a smirk.

Holding back the groan I wanted to let out at the thought of cleaning up after the newborns myself, I grumpily followed after my mom to the special section of the kennels reserved for pregnant or nursing females.

I really had been eager to see and check on the newborns, I hadn't lied about that. I might not want to be a vet like my sister Hana, but a stern talking to I got from Naruto the one time I complained about learning the basics of taking care of our ninken hit me far harder than anything my mom or sister said to me about it. I realized exactly how important that knowledge was not only for me, but for Akamaru, too.

I still remember it like it was yesterday rather than a few weeks ago.

Flashback - Naruto's house, a few days after the announcement. (Still Kiba POV)

I was hanging at my new friend Naruto's house (though it was more like a small mansion in my opinion) after my mom just got through with ANOTHER boring lecture on proper care and treatment of our ninken. Naruto, the first day we met, had proven to me in a very harsh way exactly who the dom. between us was, and since then I'd declared him as not just a new clan member, but a friend and rival as well.

"Man, how boring was that lecture, am I right Naruto," I complained to my usually silent new friend.

To my surprise he gave a look harsher than the one he showed me when I told him I was going to be the dom. between the two of us, and then he sternly said, "If you really believe that lecture was simply boring Kiba, than you should hand Akamaru back to Tsume-sensei right now."

I was furious, dom. he might have proven himself to be, but that didn't give him ANY right to tell me something like that! "What right do you have to say that you jerk! Akamaru is my partner, there's NO WAY I'd ever give him up," I shouted at him.

"And yet you don't care about him enough to learn what you need to take proper care of him!?" He shouted back at me, continuing before I had a chance to say anything in my defense, "What if you go on a mission after you become a shinobi and he gets sick or hurt. Without the knowledge to properly take care of him we're learning from your mother right now he could die because of that! Or even what if, because you don't know what is and is not safe to give him to eat you give something poisonous to him just because you like the taste of it and had wanted to share it with him, like chocolate, or someone else does it instead! Do you want your companion to DIE because you were too BORED to learn these things, well, do you!?"

I was shocked speechless, I honestly hadn't thought of any of that before. Yeah, sure, my mom and sis had told me time and again what they were teaching was important, but they'd never bothered explaining WHY. All I could do after hearing all that was nod and promise that from then on I'd pay close attention to the lessons they gave us, and ask Naruto to give me a review to make sure I hadn't already missed something important.

End Flashback (Still Kiba POV)

Ever since then I'd kept my promise to Naruto and found that, while I don't like it nearly as much as my sister does, I actually like taking care of the family ninken…as long as I didn't have to clean up after them at least.

Noticing my mom giving me an impatient look I realized she wanted me to start telling her about my first day back at school, and started doing just that.

After I was done mom was silent with a thoughtful look on her face even a she started doing basic checkups on the pups and their mother while I started cleaning up their mess. After a couple more minutes of silent work she finally said to/asked me, "Well, I guess we both already knew he was an interesting pup, but what do you think of the others?"

After a couple minutes of thought I started with Shino. He was quiet, even quieter than Naruto was, yet I could usually tell what he was saying or feeling through body language, which was very important to learn in our clan so we could silently communicate with our partners and each other. He was also smart, the few times he did speak he used big words I either couldn't understand or could barely understand. He had a strange sort of scent to him, some combo of earth and plants and something I'm not entirely sure about that must be his insects. I don't really care about the bugs inside him, as long as he didn't use them on me outside a spar, but I really wish he wasn't so quiet, he blended into the background to the point I almost forgot he was there until he challenged Naruto to a checkers match.

Hinata was cute, but really shy. If she could get over the obvious confidence problems she has I could see her becoming not just a great kunoichi, but great mate potential someday. I plan on doing my best to help her out with that, cause I'm already starting to like her. She smells like an entire garden of flowers and something sharp like medicine but not quite, must be the ointment she and Naruto talked about.

Shikamaru was….unbelievably lazy, I could tell he must be really smart since he gave Naruto more of a challenge in checkers than Shino….but he doesn't seem to really want to use it. He's also constantly calling everything but board games and cloud watching troublesome. I don't think we'll get along very well, since I would hate being so lazy all the time, but if we took turns choosing what to do we could probably be friends. He smells like grass, deer, and the forest, I have to admit I like it, if you'd replace the deer scent with dog he could pass off as most Inuzuka's base scents. (A/N A base scent is basically a scent a person's carrying around from things around them, like food and nature, a true scent is a person's natural scent they will carry NO MATTER WHAT for the entirety of their lives. It may change some as a person grows older and their health and diet changes, but it will basically stay the same. It can be covered up with really strong scented stuff or stuff that hurts a trackers nose, but can never be removed or changed. [This stuff is proven in tracking animals and tests, as in REAL.] I don't think Kiba would know them well enough to identify their natural scent yet, so that's why I'm not having him say it.)

Chōji is nice, if a little too obsessed with food. Don't get me wrong, I love a good meal as well as any guy, but Chōji takes that a step further, and it shows in his body's build…but the one time I almost called him fat my instincts screamed at me to stop, and then I saw what happened to that kid in our taijutsu class when he did just that last year, and BOY am I glad I listened. He seems to be really good friends with Shikamaru, most likely cause he seems like a really easy-going guy who's fine with both going with the flow and being a follower rather than a leader. He smells like the chips he's always eating, other kinds of food like barbeque, and grass, probably from spending so much time with Shikamaru cloud watching.

All in all I like them, and could see myself being teammates with all but Shikamaru. If I ended up in a team with Shikamaru it would drive me nuts with all his troublesome/s and his laziness most likely dragging our team down.

End Kiba POV

Tsume hummed in thought, it seemed the future clan heads of this generation all had some interesting personalities, she just hoped poor Inoichi would be able to set his daughter straight before it was too late, cause other than the Uchiha she was the most troubling of the bunch…oh well, not her problem, as long as her son didn't end up on a team with them anyway, which he won't, because their grades are far apart yet close enough to each others' to prevent that.

After Academy -Shino's POV (A/N This was SO~ HARD to write *sob*)

I made my way through my clans compound on the way to my home. Outwardly I'm sure I appeared as clam and composed as ever, but on the inside I was deeply contemplative. The sounds of our many hives spread throughout the entire compound both soothed me as it always has and at the same time drove me even deeper into my contemplative mood.

I was so deeply entrenched in my thoughts, in fact, that I barely noticed the fact that I'd entered my home and walked towards my father Shibi's office, knowing he'd want me to give him a summary of my first day back at school. Walking into my father's office I paused briefly before him, trying to straighten out my thoughts before beginning.

My father, most likely in response to my hesitation, raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly in question. Having gathered my thoughts enough to give a proper summary, I decided the best way to explain myself was through explaining what caused it in the first place. So I did so, using as few words as possible while still getting all details in.

Brief end to Shino's POV (A/N As if you didn't already see this coming by now)

Shibi was slightly surprised, though he didn't let it show. His son, who had had the typical Aburame difficulty with making friends, suddenly has four prospects at the same time, none of which seem to mind what he hosts at all. Most friends they managed to make were still at least slightly leery at the thought of the symbiotic relationship they had with their insects.

Yet they didn't seem to mind that fact at all, the only time Shino had gotten a reaction out of any of them was when one of the more curious of his hive had landed on Kiba he hadn't liked it, yet even then rather than killing it he'd simply asked (told) Shino to remove it and not let it happen again…truly interesting. Now all that was left was seeing whether Shino understood how rare such an occurrence was and whether he was going to appreciate or not. After all, he was still young, and those who are young, no matter how intelligent they may be, often didn't understand the value of something until it is too late.

Resume Shino POV

"Well Shino," my father began in his typical calm and controlled voice, "what do you think of them and what are your plans from now on?"

Deciding to answer the longer question first, I chose to start with Hinata. She was shy and quiet, but undeniably kind, even to my insects when a couple of my hive landed on her.

Kiba was loud and annoying, his tones and pitches being enough to disturb my hive at times. But I could tell he was kind through the way he treated Akamaru. He was also very loyal from the way I'd seen him more than once stick up for others he cared about throughout the years.

Akamaru seemed to be an intelligent and loyal hound that loved Kiba greatly.

Shikamaru was intelligent and would make a great strategic opponent if you could motivate him for a match, which is typical for a male Nara.

Chōji was nearly as kind as Hinata, and seemingly obsessed with food and eating, which makes sense considering his clan's jutsus.

Naruto was confusing. He was strong if you went by his massive chakra reserves and smart enough to hide it by being average so far in class. He was also intelligent because he was able to beat a Nara, albeit one the same age as them, in a intellectual game, one I know from rumors had been undefeated by those around his age group until then. He has somehow already become an honorary Inuzuka despite only recently moving into Konoha. And he had charisma enough to attract the attention of almost all the clan heirs of Konoha without even trying, possibly without even being aware of it. His three ninken I haven't learned enough about to form any judgment about.

"As for what I'm planning to do, learn more about them and, if possible, deepen the bonds I formed with them today. Why? Because I realize just how rare and valuable comrades and friends like them are for an Aburame," I finished with.

The approving nod I received from my father was all the response I needed.

After Academy - Chōji POV

I jogged home, eager to get there for my after academy snack, but not eager enough for a full blown run all the way there. I was also eager to tell my parents all about the new friends I made today. It had been so hard for me to make friends when I was younger since most of the kids disliked me because they saw me as fat and stupid that after I'd finally gotten a friend in Shika that I sort of gave up on finding more. Now I'm pretty sure I have five of them, nine if you counted Naruto and Kibas' ninken.

I walked through the door into our house calmly (any other way would be impolite) and headed straight for the kitchen since my parents were always there at this time of day unless dad had to attend a council meeting.

Just as I thought I saw both of my parents sitting at the kitchen table eating their own snacks, obviously waiting for me to get home and tell them about my day. I really loved my parents for stuff like this. My father, Chōza, is a strong ninja and clan head. My mother, while never being a ninja, was strong in her own right, enough to give dad a run for his money in a fight (partly because he was terrified of her when she was mad, I don't blame him, though). Yet at the same time they were both incredibly kind and caring as well.

Dad was the first to notice me walk in, he gave me a smile and nod, which drew mom's attention to me, before saying/asking me, "Well son, welcome home. How was your first day back at school?"

"Hi dad, mom, I'm home. My first day back was great, I made four new friends today," I started calmly, but finished excitedly and happily.

"Oh, Chōji, that's wonderful," mom exclaimed happily, "Why don't you tell us all about your day and about them!"

With a small nod I began telling them all about my day, then moved on to telling them about my new friends.

Kiba was fun to be around, with his loud and energetic personality he was pretty much the complete opposite of Shika, yet I liked him all the same. He was a great guy to be around, if a little too blunt and brash for my tastes. Still, I could see us becoming great friends.

His ninken, Akamaru, was a great hound, almost exactly like his partner, only smarter.

Hinata was kind-hearted, though I'd already realized that long ago after Shika pointed out she was holding back in her fights because she hates hurting people. There are times where I can't help but wonder whether she's suited for the shinobi lifestyle because of her attitude though. While I hated thought of hurting my friends, I also realized and understood the fact that I'd eventually have to hurt and even kill people at some point in my career. I don't think she could handle that as she is now, so I'll do my best as her friend to help her to that point.

Shino was calm and quiet, and also very polite. I honestly haven't learned enough about him to really know anything yet since I'm not as good at reading people as Shika is, but I'm sure I'll get better at reading him the more time we spend together.

Naruto was….kinda sad to be honest. He's polite, smart, kindhearted, and an all around great guy. Yet even I can tell he's been hurt deeply by something at least once in his past, if not more times. I hope our friendship will help him heal from whatever the damage may be, and that he'll eventually be able to trust us enough to tell us his past.

His ninken slept through most of lunch and were just like Akamaru in class so I honestly don't know what to think of them yet.

End Chōji POV

Chōza smiled proudly down at his son. There were times when he honestly believed his son was a little too kindhearted, then he goes and says something like this and he once again realizes his thoughts are wrong. His son is fine just the way he is.

Chōji's mom smiled as well, overjoyed not only at the thought of Chōji having more friends than just Shikamaru, but also at the example of how wonderfully kind and thoughtful her little boy had become. She gave him a hug and kiss in congratulations and went to make him a celebratory dinner, as his tale had taken most of the rest of the day to tell.

After Academy - Hinata's POV

I calmly made my way home, after all, it would be "undignified" if the Hyūga heiress skipped home in happiness like I wanted to do. I had made friends today! Friends who didn't judge me for my family, who waited patiently for me to finish rather than mocking my stuttering, who looked at me and saw ME, and actually accepted me anyway!

I made my way through the ornamental gate to the main house building, hoping against hope my father, Hiashi, didn't call on me. Father was always so disappointed in me. He thought I was less worthy of the title of heiress than my little sister Hanabi because she was already better in our families taijutsu style, Gentle Fist, than I am. I try my best, but my body simply doesn't want to be so rigid. Ever since he realized that, my father has been nothing but cold words and disappointment towards me.

Unfortunately, it seems like my silent pleas went unheard as when I was halfway to my room I heard my father's stoic yet somehow cold voice call me.

"Hinata, come to my office and tell me about your first day of school," he said.

"Yes Father," I murmured back, too nervous to stutter. I headed into his office, sat in front of his desk, doing my best to avoid his piercing stare in the process, and started telling him about my day.

After I finished my tale my father stared at me for what seemed like hours before finally saying, "Good work, making friends with most of the clan heirs now will make working with them in the future much easier. Also, that boy must be strong if Hokage-sama already allows him to enter the academy despite being a recent émigré, even if he decides to hide it during the academy. It seems like you finally did something befitting of your title as heiress, now tell me what you think of each individual."

Overjoyed at the praise my father gave me, I was able to let out a confident "Yes" before starting with Kiba.

He was brash and loud, yet had a surprisingly kind side under that. His confidence helps inspire me to be more confident myself. Akamaru was an adorably sweet puppy I honestly wanted to pick up and never let go. The two of them were unbelievably loyal to one-another as well.

Shino was stoic and polite, and very smart. But he was so quiet and withdrawn its hard to get any more of a read on him then that.

Shikamaru was so lazy it was almost funny, with his troublesome this and troublesome that. At the same time he was probably the smartest of the group, him or Naruto. He's an extremely loyal and good friend if you go by his interactions with Chōji, though.

I've always seen Chōji as a kindhearted individual, and getting to know him better hasn't changed that opinion. He's even more food obsessed than I thought, but considering the way his clan jutsus are supposed to work it makes sense.

Naruto was charismatic. If it weren't for him none of us would have gotten together, or even considered it, yet first day he's here and we've been attracted to him like flies to honey, just hopefully without the consequences. He's hiding a lot of things, most especially pain, and I hope that with time he'll come to trust us enough to share with us. His hounds I couldn't learn anything about as they were quiet or asleep the whole time.

My father nodded to my comments and observations before finally dismissing me to my room, I gratefully left, happy because of my father's praise, but dreading messing up the reason behind said praise.

End Hinata's POV

Hiashi sat back with a sigh of sorrow soon after Hinata left. His twin brother, Hizashi, had more than once warned him that if he continued to treat Hinata harshly in training he'd end up treating her harshly period, and that that would break her already fragile psyche and confidence caused by the near kidnapping they'd only just managed to stop before it happened by pure coincidence and her mother's death due to complications from her second pregnancy.

He shuddered to think what might have become of her psyche if a branch member hadn't of caught the kidnapper stealing her out of her room because he woke up to get a drink! The captured would-be criminal, who turned out to be an ambassador from Kumo that was acting on his own jurisdiction to kidnap her for glory, was harshly punished and then executed by Kumo themselves for nearly compromising such an important treaty. Hinata had been scared, but a couple months of good therapy fixed the worst problems.

It was mostly her mother's death AND Hiashi's own reaction to it that caused all the psychological problems she now had. He had been so grief stricken at the loss of his wife he'd temporarily gone insane with it, training his daughter into the ground daily in the insane belief that if he made her STRONG he would never lose her.

It took a solid ass kicking from his brother (who, sadly, was always and will always be better at the Gentle Fist than him) nearly five years after the fact, just a short while ago, [when he finally got tired of Hiashi not listening to his vocal warnings] to finally snap him out of it, and by then the damage had already long since been done and reinforced. Handing her training over to Hizashi and his prodigious son Neji since then seems to have helped both her confidence and skill in the Gentle Fist, but damaged her already incredibly shaky trust in him even more, and he honestly couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Heaving out one last long sigh, Hiashi prayed to whatever deity may be listening and feeling generous that her friends could do what he seemed to be struggling to do.

After Academy - Naruto POV

I took my time heading home, Asahi had just left on his first out of village mission, managing to rank as an impressive tokubetsu jonin rank due to the fact he proved he could control his temper when needed. He wouldn't be back for a week at the earliest.

Yui had made friends with a number of former kunoichi or inactive kunoichi housewives the last time she went grocery shopping and now had tea with them on a almost daily basis at this time.

My sensei were either also on missions (Kurenai, Hayate, and Yūgao), or had decided to let me have the day off to see how hard and time consuming my homework would be (the rest), which was nil, I'd decided that since class wasn't going to teach me anything new that I might as well do the last lectures homework in the next class, so I have none.

My hounds happily explored or frolicked through the rather beautiful park we were currently cutting through, making me smile at how happy and care-free we could finally be when we wanted to.

Kimi's personality is slightly spoiled as the only girl, runt, and "baby" of the litter, but is also very sweet and loyal. Jun is also very loyal and obedient but can be VERY mischievous at times. Ryuu is loyal, but more proud and shows it in more subtle ways, he's the oldest of the three by four and twelve minutes respectively and considers the other two's safety his responsibility, he can be highly stubborn, and outside battle and training situations can be VERY rebellious at times. But despite their quirks and problems I love them enormously, they were my family by blood and choice, though they were far more like annoying younger siblings than children to me despite the fact I raised them.

Suddenly I heard Jun ask me in my mind (they'd long since helped me learn to fluently understand and speak dog-speak, but we wanted to practice multi-tasking while mind-speaking as often as possible to get used to it), "So, you now have potential pack-mates of your own age, what do you think of them."

I hummed in thought, sensing all three hounds and Kurama's curiosity of my opinion of them humming and crackling through my sensory ability. I decided to start with Shino.

He's kind and reserved like me, but far less forced. He's got an extremely good tactical mind, but he thinks by the book too much and is therefore predictable, if that reflects his fighting style (which it often does) I was going to have to help him with that, or he'd die in his first real life-or-death fight once his opponent gets his methods down. He doesn't say much, but that simply means that what he does have to say will usually be intelligent and important. Something tells me once we get him to trust us more he'll loosen up and talk more though, and then I'm sure him, Shikamaru, and I will have some very nice intellectual conversations….if we can keep Shikamaru awake anyway.

On to Shikamaru, since I already mentioned him anyway. It might not of looked like it to those who don't know the game well, but I only barely beat the guy….he was scary intelligent, if all Nara's are like that I can fully understand why they're so lazy. Not only have they already seen, planned, and thought out everything at least a hundred steps ahead of a person, but I think if they showed said intelligence to people without the laziness and such to blunt it, they'd probably be so feared they'd be one of the most hunted down clans in existence, both as enemies to kill, and as people to force into an alliance. I look forward to regularly testing my intellectual abilities against him.

Hinata seemed to have past traumas she has yet to have gotten over. She was so shy and reserved throughout the entire lunch time and every time she did say or do something she acted like she expected to be put down and scolded every single time. I'll try to help and break her out of this habit, but I believe in this case Kiba's brashness and take none attitude will be her saving grace.

Chōji is kind and even tempered, though I was pulled aside and warned to never call him fat, that's fine, everyone has buttons, they just need to train not to react to them in a way that will get them killed in the future. Other than that and being a lover of good food, I honestly wasn't able to get a good read on him, oh well, that can be fixed with time.

All in all I believe all of them (including Kiba and Akamaru) will make amazing friends and pack-mates I'll eventually be able to trust with most of my secrets….some things are better left permanently lost to the sands of time after all.

End Naruto POV - Naruto's House

The rest of the day was rather average. He went home, gardened, read a bit, trained on his own and with his hounds, basically kept himself occupied until Yui returned. He then spent the rest of the day chatting with her about all sorts of things, cooked dinner, read some more, and soon went to sleep with his hounds.

Return to Naruto POV

I was having my worst nightmare again. Trapped in the body of my four year old self on one the worst days of my short life-span, forced to re-live it despite every plea my mind ineffectively came up with to wake up wake up WAKE UP! I was, as usual, being led down the corridor from my cell (I would NEVER call it my room) towards the lab where I expected another round of routine blood tests and drug tests, some painful and miserable, others having seemingly no effect at all.

What my younger self didn't realize but my older horrified self already knew was that there would be nothing average about this day. The first sign that caused my younger self to slightly panic and grow worried was the Snakes presence in the room, he almost never showed up in person anymore.

The next sign was leading my younger self towards one of the tables in the room rather than my usual chair. The next one that caused me to actually start panicking until they administered a mild sedative was when they tightly strapped me down to said table.

Why he didn't fully knock me out rather than administering a sedative was a question I'll never be able to answer, but I truly hated him for it. It seemed to me that as soon as he administered whatever was in the needle he was carrying I began to feel the effects.

First, it was a strong burning sensation from the spot he shot me at that partially pierced through the sedative and soon moved on to the rest of my body. After that was a throbbing in my head that was most likely a pain that didn't manage to pierce through the sedative. Next the burning sensation increased in my eyes to the point I was barely able to hold in my pained screams, I didn't want to give him the pleasure.

That's when the truly horrifying things began. Everything began to flicker, and sometimes within those flickers I saw things. Peoples' skeletal structures, flicker, people glowing a strange blue color I mistook as their souls, flicker, walls and furniture are semi-transparent, flicker, everyone's skin seems to be melting off, flicker flicker flicker! Horror after horror was visible all the while my blood, body and eyes burned while my head throbbed painfully, having long since burned though the relatively weak sedative. It went on like that for hours, me having long since given in to my screaming and then having screamed my throat raw. I finally mercifully passed out after I don't know how long….only to wake up in what seemed to be an old and just beginning to break down sewer system….or possibly boiler room.

I woke up in my bed chest heaving and body slick with sweat, with the scream I'd long since taught myself to suppress stuck in my throat. I always woke up before the part where I met Kurama for the first time, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later, but always before.

I realize now that most everything I saw that day were delusions brought about by the changes my brain and eyes had to go through for the Mamagen, and the Mamagen's abilities itself, but to my young and inexperienced self it all seemed real and (still) terrifying to me.

My hounds cuddled up to me even as their and Kurama's voices echoed with reassurances in my head, the hounds knowing I wouldn't want them to wake up Yui for this. Eventually their calm and soothing reassurances clamed and a steadied me, enough to read at least, as I knew I would not be sleeping the rest of the night.

The next day came far faster than I thought it would, the clock on my end table telling me it was time to get up and start my day if I hadn't already done so. I gently got out of bed so as to not wake up my still sleeping hounds and let them catch up on the sleep they lost because of me last night.

By the time I went through my morning routine and was about to finish breakfast everyone was already awake and waiting for their food. I had a shadow clone set up the hounds food while I put the food I'd just finished cooking on the table. Breakfast was silent today as I didn't feel like talking and the others picked up on and respected that.

When I and my hounds left the gate of our compound to head to school we found a well known figure waiting for us so I stated, "Well if it isn't Jiraiya of the Sanin, one of the strongest shinobi of the village and according to my father's journal my godfather."

The man I'd identified as Jiraiya looked shocked for a second before releasing a small sigh and admitting, "I'd hoped you hadn't reached that part of either of their journals yet so I could tell you myself. I also hope you're not too mad about me not meeting you right away cause trust me when I say I both wanted and meant to."

I tilted my head to the side inquisitively before asking him, "Then why didn't you?"

He gave a rueful smile before saying, "Well first there's the fact that Hiruzen-sensei wanted to at least hold out until after your mental evaluation and the council meeting was out of the way. Then you were so busy getting the house back into shape that day and meditating so I didn't want to disturb you, though you could ask either of those Anbu sensei of yours and they will say I came here that day. And finally while you were waiting here after the public announcement for heads to cool Sensei had me using my popularity as a Sanin and status as your dad's former sensei to find any dissidents in the ranks that might be hiding bad intents towards you. Thankfully there were only a few but even a few can kill you if they're skilled or lucky enough. I hope you can forgive me for not being there to support you or see you off for your first day at the academy."

I gave a small smile, feeling his regret and sadness and the hounds and Kuramas' approval for him before saying, "Well I'm glad you're willing to tell the truth rather than make excuses and I really don't mind. I actually asked Hokage-sama about you after reading about you and he said that you never gave up or stopped looking for me when others did, and that you had your reasons as to why I hadn't met you yet, so thank you for that."

Jiraiya gave a large goofy but happy smile at that before saying in a hopeful tone, "I'm really glad to hear that Naruto. I know it's not quite as good as doing it on the first day but would you like me to walk you to the academy while we get to know each other?"

I simply smiled and nodded, feeling like this was going to be the start of a wonderful family relationship…as long as he doesn't try to involve me in any of those perverted plans my dad warned me about.