Me: Hiez again! This is gonna be one of the fics that has, like, a bazillion chapters every time I update considering that as I'm typing this, my internet is being screwy so I can't go online for more than, like, thirty minutes. Now, I'm not too good at the thought process of young children, not to mention I'm out of my 'zone' cuzI'm renovating, but if you think someone should have acted differently or I could've worded something differently just include that in your review and I'll make necessary changes. Okay, I know that sometime in here, there will be a reallyrandom chapter, so it'll be like(just an example, concocted from Harry Potter, Osmosis Jones, and a song by Dayoopers) one minute they're running from a giant spider, the next they're dancing a jig in order to fly away from Osmosis Jones.(OVERDRAMITISATION)

"Human/Demon/InnerSakura talking to other people."

'Human Thinking/InnerSakura talking to Sakura.'

'InnerSakura/Demon thinking.'

Time period/skips

Letter/Writing/Memories.

~Scene Changes~(doesn't happen often)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Keeping Mum. They belong to their respective… people, I guess. ENJOY!

Keeping Mum

I like ramen. Ramen is good! I like- no, I LOVE ramen!

An eight-year-old Uzumaki Naruto was writing himself a note. Whywas Uzumaki Naruto writing himself a note? Because Uzumaki Naruto just learned how to read and write properly. Why was Naruto so excitedabout his new skill? Because now he could read his mommy's letter to him that she wrote when he was only a few minutes old! Good reason, ne?

Umino Iruka, a chunin teacher at the Ninja Academy, looked up from 'grading' the penmanship papers he had just collected from his class. The reason he looked up was because Naruto was currently writing on a small piece of paper really, really fast. And loud.

"Uzumaki!"

Iruka's yell made the entire class jump and look first at the teacher and then at Naruto… or at least, where Naruto just was.

Nara Shikamaru cracked open one eye to see what the commotion was about before looking under Naruto's desk.

"Found 'im." He said sarcastically, tugging lightly on a blonde spike of hair. "C'mon out, Naruto, it's safe. He's not gonna get you."

Narutoslowly poked his head out from under the desk, a.k.a. his "Safety Zone."

"Uzumaki, would you please bring that note up here?"

"Don't bother, Iruka-sensei." Another boy, Inuzuka Kiba, said from the seat on the opposite side of Naruto than Shikamaru. He leaned over Naruto's note. "All it says is that he likes ramen… I think… it might say salmon… or bowman."

"Oh, shut up Kiba! It's my first day of writing whole sentences!"

"Calm down! Have you forgotten that I missed a day of reading lessons?"

Noticing they were about to start screaming, Shikamaru decided to stop it before it started.

"You guys are so troublesome." Shikamaru said, laying his head back down on his desk.

Iruka stared at the young Nara. Shikamaruhad just used a five-word sentence and effectively ended an argument between Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba, the ultimate live-wires of Konoha.

Konoha; Last Week, Ninja Academy

"I DO NOT HAVE A GROWTH STUNT YOU STUPID DOG!!!"

"OH YES YOU DO YOU LOUSY IDIOT!!!"

"NO I DON'T!!"

"YES YOU DO!!"

"NO I DON'T!!"

"YES YOU DO!!"

"NO I DON'T!!"

"YES YOU DO!!"

"NO I DON-"

"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP!!!!?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Iruka-sensei, I thought Kiba's mommy told you to stop yelling at him or she'd, and I quote, 'Chop off your balls, tie them together, stuff them with hot sauce and cram them up your ass.' Now, I'm not completely enraged with you right now, but I'm pretty sure she was serious."

An eight-year-old girl with pink hair twirled her bang absentmindedly around her finger once she'd finished her comment.

"Sakura, Kiba's mother was just mad because I'd scared him. I'm sure she'd-"

"I'll give you a hundred yen if you run crying to your mommy about how Iruka-sensei yelled at you when you didn't do anything wrong." Naruto bribed, pulling said money out of his pocket.

"… Deal!" Kiba said, stuffing the money into his own pocket. He put his head down and put his hands to his eyes and concentrated. After a few short seconds, a tear dropped onto the desk and he started sniffling. Shikamaru woke up at the sniffle, worried, so his friend Akimichi Chouji filled him in.

"Kiba, please, don't-" Iruka tryed to say. But he was too late.

"WAHH!!! MOMMY!!!"

Kiba jumped from his seat and ran to and out the door and down the hallway.

Iruka looked like death had just proclaimed his love for him and was planning their honey-moon.

Naruto smirked. He turned to Sakura and her platinum-blonde friend Yamanaka Ino.

"I'll give you each a hundred yen to agree that Iruka did what Kiba says he did."

"Two hundred each, Naruto. Or no deal." Ino said, crossing her arms.

"What?! No! One-fifty each, and no higher!"

"Hmm… fine. That's how much ice cream costs anyway."

They held out their hands and Narutogrudgingly gave them each the one-hundred-fifty yen.

They put the money in their pockets and no sooner had they all turned back to Iruka's doomed form, the door bashed open and almost flew right off the hinges.

There stood Iruka's executioner, Kiba's mother, Kiba still sniffling and crying lightly behind her leg.

"UMINO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CUNT FUCKING-"

At this point, due to the many other occasions where something like this had happened, the children had all learned to either: a) cover their ears and turn away(97% of the class), b) listen, watch, and laugh on the inside(2 people in the class), or c) sleep through the yelling(Shikamaru).

"-AND DON'T DO IT AGAIN!!!"

She turned to Kiba, wiping off the last few tears from his cheeks and kissing him on the forehead.

"All better! Now, you go sit down and entertain yourself."

As she watched Kiba go back to his seat, she remembered why she had laughing her guts out only moments before.

"Naru-chan?"

"Yes Mrs. Kiba's Mommy?"

"Why did you drop a forty-pound weight on Izumo's crotch?"

At the memory, Naruto glared at the chalkboard.

"He ate my lolli! I had been saving that orange llli for a good day, and he ate it before it came!" He smiled, wide and evil. "I got my revenge."

At his last statement his eyes turned an almost white, ice-blue, and he cackled evilly.

Kiba cackled along with him, though his features stayed the same.

Hyuuga Hinata coughed lightly, though the Inuzuka matriarch knew it was to disguise a laugh.

"Oh. Okay then, all the girls in the locker room thought it was funny, so I was just curious as to why. Anyway, good job, and Hana-chan said that she and Ayame-chan would love to go shopping this weekend. See you on Sunday!"

"Bye Mrs. Kiba's Mommy!" Naruto said, waving lightly as she left, his eyes normal. He turned to Kiba once again. "Dude, your mommy is awesome!"

Kiba smirked and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, I know. You should hear the stuff Hana-oneechan got away with when she was in the academy!"

Konoha; Now, Ninja Academy

Iruka could still feel the pain.

"Um… Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked, gathering his attention. "Are you okay?"

"Uh-Um… yes, fine, just go back to whatever you were doing."

As he sat back behind his desk, he couldn't help but wonder how crazy the Inuzukasare to allow that demon to be around them so much, though at all was even more surprising.

Up in his seat, Naruto looked down into Iruka's eyes, his own now white, making Iruka shiver at how his mood could be detected so easily by someonrwho is, not only the lowest in the class, but also the demon filth of the village.

Konoha; One Hour Later, Naruto's Apartment

"I'm home!" Naruto yelled as he closed the door, putting his backpack under a set of loose floorboards.

An empty house greeted him.

'Oi, foxy-dude, you awake?'

'Ugh… why did Kushina-san curse me forever with her offspring? Why me, huh? Why the most powerful Bijuu in existence, huh?'

'Because you're an idiot who decided to serve my mommy in any way, shape, or form after she helped you get four of your tails and let her sign the fox contract? Or, maybe it was because you were the only one near-by?'

'Yeah well, there's no way of knowing now.'

Naruto's eyes lost their life, as well as their color, at the demon's statement.

'… Hey, why don't you go read your 'mommy's' letter? Maybe that'll cheer you up, little prince.'

Naruto's blue eyes smiled in response.

'Yay! Mommy's letter!'

"I wonder what mommy's letter says!!"

Forgetting the previous conversation almost entirely, Naruto ran to his room.

"Okay, now let's see…" He looked around his room, suddenly realizing something. "Which hiding place did I put mommy's letter in…?"

'Use the memory she gave you, dumbass.'

"Oh yeah!"

Naruto concentrated and after a few seconds he found himself within a large, dark, seemingly empty room his mind.

"Okay, Mommy's Letter!"

A flash of pictures moved in front of him, not so much a movie, but hundreds of thousands of photographs rushing past him, before it stopped abruptly, showing a younger Naruto standing in front of the Hokage in his living room.

"Naruto, you remember when you were just three years old how Hatake Kakashi acted when I accidentally let it slip about who your 'mommy' was?"

"Yeah, ojiisan, I remember. He started yelling at you and saying there was 'no way that Kushina could be my mother', and that 'the fourth' would never be with a witch'. I remember getting really mad and then seeing Inu-san writhing on the floor in pain a few seconds later. I remember him screaming 'Demon spawn' over and over, and then the next thing I remember is waking up in my bed."

"Ahem, yes, well, I was told by Kushina to give you a letter when you turned seven, and, well, it was your seventh birthday yesterday, so it's your right to have it."

The old Hokage reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll.

"I know that you haven't learned to read yet, but she told me that even if you hadn't, you were to be given her letter now. When you learn how to read, then obviously you will be able to read it."

"Thank you ojiisan!" Naruto yelled excitedly, hugging the old man.

The scene changed to Naruto sitting on his bed with the scroll.

'Where do I hide it? Itoko, I need another hiding place!'

'Why must you call me your cousin? -sigh- Anyway, just put it in your closet. You don't put anything in there, plus your mother put a protection jutsu over it; it's not going to get destroyed.'

'But- It'll just get stolen, then!'

'-sigh- Fine, why don't you… put it in the wall?'

'… Say what?'

'Put it in the wall. You know, move the boards on the wall and stick the scroll in there just like you do with the floor. No one would suspect that it'd be there.'

'Hmm… okay!'

"Mommy's letter, you're safe in my hands!"

Naruto was about to go over to his closet when he thought of a better, less expected place to put it.

'Itoko, I need your chakra!'

Naruto was smiling as wide as he possibly could, knowing he'd found the perfect way to hide his most prized possessions.

Naruto faded out of his mind and smiled to himself.

"My bed!"

He crawled under his bed, going all the way to the wall.

'Itoko!'

Naruto's hands glowed red with the demon's chakra, before he stuck his claws between two boards in the wall. He got his fingers under the board and pulled, taking out five boards at once and revealing a small metal door. Naruto let the control on the red chakra go and pulled the handle, revealing his mom's letter. He grabbed the letter, closed the door and put the 'wall' back in its place before he scooted out and sat on his bed.

"Finally I get to read my mommy's letter!"

Naruto broke the seal on the scroll and unraveled it as far as it would go before he started reading.

My Dearest Little Boy,

I am very sorry for what had to be doneto keep you safe. I hope you can forgive me. I love you with all of my being. I died from the stress of childbirth, but your father died when he sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune within you. That's that little voice inside your head. He'll be annoying, but that's how all demons are. Anyway, your father does not have your best interests in his heart. While I was pregnant with you, all he could think about was how much money everything would cost him. When you were born just prier to this letter, he was afraid that you would havemy bloodline, the Kenzan Boushi, the Seeing Eye. You can read people like you would read a book.

Now, my baby boy, you are very young right now, but you are also very strong. I've seen it. That is also the power of our eye. You will learn to read peoples minds, read the future, and control your demonic form. It will look something like Kyuubi, because he is part of you, but they are your powers, not his.

My sweet son, I love you, and I will always love you. That is why I'm going to tell Sarutobi not to let anyone adopt you. I'm sorry, little one, but I just can't bare the thought of someone else having you.

You must listen when I tell, or I guess write, you this: I am the heiress to the Whirlpool village. I am Princess Uzumaki Kushina, next in linefor the throne of both Uzumakigakure no Sato and for the head position for the Uzumaki clan. Or, at least I was. Now you are, my son. You are Prince Uzumaki Naruto, and I know you will live your life well. I hope you can reach the Whirlpool village and meet our family someday.

Naruto, I must tell you about the tradition of our village: If there is a problem, then fix it. For example, you live alone right now, correct? Well, if the landlord of your home says you need to leave, kill them, and then hide their body, then celebrate your success with some kind of food. The matriarchs of our family, bless their souls, did this, and so did I. Now, I hope you will. My great-grandmother made tea, me grandmother made eggrolls, my mother, your grandmother, made coffee, and I made ramen, considering Minato, The Fourth Hokage, your father, was so addicted to it. Now it's your turn to carry on our lineage and tradition.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be there with you, but it's for the best. The life you live is one of greatness, I just know it. Make many allies, and don't forget to get married in the future. I may not be there with you, but that doesn't mean I don't want grandchildren!

Your Mommy,

Uzumaki Kushina.

P.S. Naruto, my little baby boy, your father, Namikaze Minato, is not to be trusted. He used to be, but once you were born, all that mattered to himwas that you were not to live the life of the Uzumakiclan, the life you were born into. You are a prince of your family, and a prodigy of your bloodline. The demon within you is yours now. Use him well, as I summoned him just for you, albeit on instinct. Do not let your power oryour title get in the way of your beliefs, or let them inflate your ego. Don't follow in Minato's footsteps. I know you already don't like him. For this, I am proud of you, for I know exactly why. I want you to know that I love you, more than anything I've ever encountered. Goodbye, my little boy, my Uzumaki Naruto.

When Naruto finished the letter, he rolled it up, and held it close to him. He had committed the entire letter to his memory, and he would never forget it.

A tear dropped onto the floor.

Konoha; The Next Morning, Restaurant District

'Okay, I need to eat something, so what should I eat?'

'No ramen. I hate how those disgusting noodles taste!'

'Oh, stop whining! Fine, I'll find something else!'

Naruto pouted, regretfully stopping at old man Teuchi's stand, Ichiraku Ramen, only long enough to tell his friend Ayame 'hi.'

'Wait, what smells so good?'

Naruto stopped and looked around, searching for the source of the delicious smell.

'There, at that dango stand.'

Naruto looked to his left and saw a mall stand, about the size of Ichiraku though styled like a bar, with a red sign that said 'Kibaru Dango - Konoha's Best' in black letters.

Walking up to the stand, Naruto noticed only one person, besides the cook, on the inside.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Naruto asked, tugging lightly on her trench coat. She turned and looked at him, surprised that someone had called her 'ma'am'. "Is dango really good?"

She smirked.

"'Is dango really good?' I guess you've never had dango before, huh brat?"

Narutopouted and crossed his arms. "No, and I'm not a brat! I'm a demon."

The woman paused and the cook behind the counter stopped making dango before smiling and turning back to cooking.

"Nice to see you've decided to try something other than ramen, Naruto-san."

"Huh? Oh, Minna-chan!"

Naruto smiled, remembering how she'd helped him pay for his ramen a few weeks ago.

The woman on the stool snapped out of her shock and raised an eyebrow.

"You two know each other?"

"Oh calm down, Anko-chan. I gave Naruto forty yen the other day to help pay for his ramen bill and we then talked for a while." Minna looked at Naruto. "Come to repay me?"

"I might as well." Naruto said, getting the money out of his pocket and putting it on the counter. Minna put it in the register at the end of the stand. "To tell you the truth, I didn't know it was you back there. I just came in to find out what smelled so good."

"Well, it's called dango. Here," She handed Naruto a stick with what looked like a small dumpling on the end of it. "Try one. I think you like it."

Naruto climbed up on the stool and sat down before sniffing the tiny dumpling. It smelled exactly like the smell from before, so he knew it was the dango. He blew on it a little before popping it into his mouth. His eyes widened.

"This is great!"

Minna smiled and the woman, Anko, smirked at him.

"What'd she tell ya, kid? Of course it's great." She frowned slightly. "Hey, why'd you call yourself a demon?"

Naruto's smile turned to confusion as he looked at Minna.

"Where has she been?"

Anko's vein popped.

Minna smiled slightly.

"Anko, this is Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto-san, she didn't know because she'd never seen who the container for the Kyuubi was before. She just knew it was a child the surname 'Uzumaki'."

"Oh. Well, I'm Naruto, and it's nice to meet you Anko-chan. What's your surname?"

Anko watched as Minna set a plate of three full dango sticks in front of Naruto and grinned slightly.

"Mitarashi. Mitarashi Anko." She stuck her hand out and he shook it. "It's nice to meet you, brat."

"Hey!"

"Oh, Naruto, just eat your dango." Minna said, smiling. "Anko calls all children 'brat'. It's just who she is. By the way, that's the original style dango, and it's fifty yen."

Naruto nodded, a dango stick in his mouth, and pulled fifty yen from his pocket and set it on the counter. Minna took it and put it in the register.

Anko looked at him.

"You normally carry that much money with you?" She asked him, looking at his pocket.

"No, I normally havemore. I gave some to Ayame at the Ichiraku stand this morning cuz she wanted to get a birthday present for our friend Hana."

"Inuzuka Hana?" Anko asked, chewing on her own dango. "Isn't she a little old to know you?"

"Well, I'm friends with her brother Kiba. We're in the same class. Oneday I went over to Kiba's house and all their dogs started chasing me. I ran as fast as I could, but they still caught me after five hours."

'He ran for five hours as fast as he could?!!' Anko thought, almost choking on her dango stick.

"They were all really excited to see me, though I can't say I know why. They were all licking me and stuff. It really tickled. They eventually stopped and I was able to meet Kiba's family. They were all nice. Now I go over there almost every weekend."

"Well, isn't that something." Anko said, smirking. She picked up a small white cup that Naruto hadn't noticed before and took a big gulp from it. She threw a dango stick at a target in the back of the stand and put some money on the counter when it hit the center.

Naruto gaped.

"Whoa! That was cool!"

"Huh? Oh, you're probably just an academy student, right? Well, chunin and jounin haveto do that when they drink somewhere to see if they should keep drinking or if it's time to hit the hay. I'm fine right now, I'veonly had three of these, but it's almost nine so… hey, wait a minute, shouldn't you be in school brat?"

Naruto shrugged.

"There's a test today. Iruka always fails me no matter what score I get, so I stay home if I can. He usually finds me by two-fifty, though, so I usually get there in time for the bell to ring for us to go home. And for him to assign me a detention where he'll yell at me and make me do the test and then fail me."

Anko couldn't have felt more angry.

Konoha; Ninja Academy

Iruka suddenly got the chills and sneezed.

'I think someone's mad at me… very, very mad at me…'

Konoha; Kibaru's Dango Stand

"Anko-chan? Are you okay? You look like you're about to explode."

Anko took a few calming breaths.

"Yeah, I'm fine… hey kid, since it looks like you're done, why don't you come with me? I'm not going to the safest place ever, but since you're with me you should be fine."

"Hmm… sure, why not?" Naruto ate the last piece of dango before setting the stick on the plate and hopping off the stool. He waved to Minna as they left. "Where are we going?"

Anko smirked.

"We're going to my home, Training Area 44."

Konoha; Ninja Academy

Iruka looked at the clock.

'It's two o'clock in the afternoon. I know Naruto isn't sick, because the ANBU reported him leaving for school this morning.'

"Kiba, could you come here for a second?"

Kiba stood and walked down the stairs to Iruka's desk, confused at why he had been called down.

"Yes Iruka-sensei?"

"Kiba, have you seen Uzumaki or heard from him at all today?"

Kiba frowned. He'd never really liked how Iruka only ever said 'Uzumaki' when dealing with Naruto and said first names with every one else.

"No, Iruka-sensei, I haven't. Can I go sit back down now?"

Iruka sighed.

"Yeah, sure."

He stood from his chair and turned to his teaching assistant Mizuki.

"I'm gonna go look for Uzumaki. You stay here and watch the class."

"Alright, be careful. Remember, Ichiraku won't tell you and Sarutobi can't know."

"Right."

Konoha; Training Area 44, Forest of Death

"Whoa! Cool!"

Naruto and Anko were standing in the balcony of a sparring area in Anko's tower-home in the center of the Forest of Death.

"I thought you'd like it brat. C'mon, I'll show you around the rest of the place."

As Naruto and Anko walked out of the sparring area, Naruto wondered why she would show him her house.

'Why do you think, dumbass? This chick seems like the rebelious type. Considering she's also a very sadistic person who loves seeing others in pain -don't ask how I know, I'm not too sure myself- who do you think she's trying to piss off by taking you to the most remote, perilous areas that no one -not even the ANBU, usually- would think to look in Konoha for a little un-trained demon boy?'

'...! Iruka!'

Naruto smiled, knowing that whenever he had a test, he knew he could hide in the forest, if not the tower, in order to evade him.

He stopped walking and hugged Anko, causing her to freeze before awkwardly hugging back, unsure as to why the boy felt the need to embrace her.

Naruto looked up, white eyes shinning with mischief and happiness, startling Anko slightly at the change in color.

'Just like Kushina's...!'

"Thank you Anko-obasan! I donn't have to worry about Iruka any more!"

Anko's lips twitched up a little, admiring his perceptiveness.

"yeah, well... how about some dango to celebrate? I've got my own supplies here, so I can teach you how to make it if you like."

Naruto's eyes returned to normal as he broke away, jumping up and down, nodding excitedly.

"Hai! Onegaishimasu(Please)!"

As Anko led him to the kitchen, Naruto couldn't help but be proud.

'Yay! I have a snack to celebrate, just like mommy! Don't worry mommy!' Naruto looked up at the sky through the kitchen's glass roof. 'I'll be the greatest Uzumaki ever! I'll find our family, and I'll learn all there is to know before coming back to change things.'

"Oi, oni(demon)!" Anko said, hesitating at the nickname he insisted she use instead of 'brat' or 'gaki'. "If you wanna learn, you gotta watch!"

"Sorry Anko-obasan!"

He looked up once more before rushing to watch and help Anko.

'I'll be the best, and I'll make Konoha better for people like me and my new auntie... I promise.'

In the depths of Naruto's soul, Kyuubi no Kitsune smiled proudly, before smirking as the seal that had been created to keep Naruto's bloodline locked away, having been reduced to the point of failure due to the unsealed chakra from Kushina's letter, started crumbling.

'And an Uzumaki never breaks a promise.'