July 2 2013 A/N: Updates comin'! Should be able to catch up by next week.

"Normal Speech"
'Normal Thought'
'"Talking within mindscape"'

"Tenant Speech"
'Tenant Thought (rare?)'
*"Tenant Outside Speech (probably never, just setting precedent)"*

"There was a time when the world was water for as far as my scanners could see.
I trapped much of the water in the poles, in glaciers larger than continents.
It was to last an eon, until the satellites could stabilize weather patterns.
They say hindsight is 20/20, an anachronism from an age long passed.
They also say to ask permission, when you are a guest."
- Datapad, final log of ColAI

Lost in Konoha...

Naruto had so far eluded Dog's frantic search. After the Hokage's clone dispelled, the civilians had defied all reason, and simply snatched the boy up again to run off. Many of them would die later that night for defying the will of the Hokage, or for attacking the village's jinchuriki with lethal intent. Despite the mayhem, the blonde had been toted halfway around the village before being stuffed into a sewer pipe to drown or rot, for all the villagers cared. Having shown the pragmatism of foresight for once, it was Dog who finally found him; he'd placed a tracking seal on the boy early in his career, when it became apparent that the blonde liked to roam.

Naruto was fitfully asleep, or beaten unconscious, and shivered unhealthily as Dog dislodged him from the thin space. Slinging the too-small boy under his arm, an enhanced Shunshin let him carry the extra weight to the Military Chambers. The Hokage would have his tail, so to speak, for letting Naruto out of his sight - even if the civilians had disobeyed the man's direct orders. He should've taken the boy when he'd taken the false ANBU. It hadn't seemed important in the slightest, at the time.

A swirl of leaves announced Dog and Naruto's arrivals in the military council chamber, and with little fuss, the boy was placed on a hastily-cleared table for healing. Well, more like warming and feeding, it seemed, as the boy was pronounced free of injury, and awoken to rice and soup. The assembled council members began talking quietly amongst themselves, while Dog breathed easier knowing his sensei's heir was going to be alright. He was allowed to fill Naruto in on the details of the boy's required presence. After a quick minute, the attention of the gathered Council snapped to the Hokage, who had coughed for just such a purpose.

"In light of these events," the old silverback began, "Naruto's status as a civilian must be revoked, or he will most surely be killed." He let that sink in. "I cannot stop the civilian council from forcing me to judge - and sentence - a civilian, even... Naruto." He looked around, the hidden implication sailing over the boy's head.

For his part, Naruto had no idea what was going on. There had been blood, and pain, and cold... but most of it was a blur. He was pretty sure he was in trouble...

Of the gathered ninja clan heads, all who had all lost loved-ones to the Kyuubi, there were a few not saddened by this news. They knew that the beast would die with the boy, having at least that much faith in Minato's legacy as a seal-master. The proclamation rested less easily on other shoulders.

Sarutobi continued, a discontent force, building in his voice, at the clan heads' lack of concern for the Namikaze heir, and it was this force that made sure they understood his position on the matter. "Naruto will be enrolled as a student in this year's ninja Academy." This simple statement brought the chambers to a silence, before pandemonium erupted. 'That reaction, at least, was much better.'

He banished the smug thought, and then quickly quelled both the boy's squealing laughter, and the dissenting shouts of the clan heads, with a tsunami of killing intent. With a barely contained, bubbling fury, Sarutobi wrenched the council back into the darkest night of their lives, crimson darkness descending upon the room as his powerful genjutsu took hold. He'd created it for this reason precisely, in the event that reason and humanity would fail him, if he could no longer bear to keep his promise through politics and diplomacy alone. 'For you, Minato.'

"Do you not still remember?" his voice boomed, as the late Fourth Hokage's last words echoed through the minds and hearts of those assembled, "Do you not still care?" Kushina's pranks and stubbornness, her laughter, her sacrifice, all played out in the darkness of the chambers. Hearts broke again that day - She had brought out the best in all of them, an orphan from a village no longer on any maps. Shunned like Naruto has been. Determined like Naruto still was. "Do you not-" the jutsu ended as Choza signaled his defeat, head bowed; even on the lips of those less caring, platitudes and denials had been forming.

Naruto looked around confused. First, everyone had tensed up oddly, and begun sweating. Then, next thing he knew, the ninjas were more relaxed, and the largest man in the room spoke almost tenderly. "H-Hokage-sama... Sarutobi, we remember. Forgive us, damn you, but we remember. Choza's heart was his largest muscle, regardless of his body's size.

"The civilians have us riled this night, is all." It was true, too - a number of high-ranking clients had put on competing dinner parties, hiring out the various Jonin clan heads - expensively - to 'play ninja' against each other. Hiruzen cursed the Daimyo and his theatrics once again.

The large man took in nods from his peers around him, "We've all been busy with extra work... but that's no excuse to forget the sacrifices of our friends. What is your will?" With Choza's acquiescence, Shikaku was forced to follow along, saving face by pointing out the benefits of Naruto's enrollment. Inoichi couldn't let his teammates go down on their own, offering his assurances that he could direct the boy's mind, should he fall under the Kyuubi's influence (and despite his own doubts about such a thing being possible).

Tsume had never been against the boy - quite the contrary - but had intended to oppose the Hokage out of spite for having been denied his adoption years ago. With three prominent Council members - and friends - taking the side she'd have otherwise agreed with, she supposed that she could have her cake, and eat it too. "Naruto needs friends his own age - the Inuzuka have plenty of aspiring ninja that he should have no trouble befriending." The Aburame present merely buzzed, having yet to reach a consensus on the matter.

She shot a glare at the Hyuga clan head, Hiashi, who had chuckled. 'Even his laughter is stuck-up'. The white-eyed Jonin stood, and left, his position on the matter having been made clear ages ago. If the Uchiha also dissented... "Once again, I will honour Minato." Fugaku stood and left as well. With enough consent to pass the motion, Naruto's future was discussed long into the morning by the remaining Council members.

As they'd discussed, Naruto would stay with the Inuzuka Clan, having forfeit his home and stipend along with his civilian status. The meeting had adjourned early in the morning, and Naruto had followed the Hokage back to his office, sleeping on a cot in the corner as he had when he was an infant. Hiruzen worked through the rest of the day, which was (by comparison) completely uneventful. The boy awoke once to eat, and Sarutobi woke him again when the day's work was finished, so that they could go meet with Tsume.

With a bit of forethought, Sarutobi called Iruka and Mizuki to his office, meeting them at the building's entrance. An orange evening sky was at their backs as they approached. Naruto and Sarutobi's smiles as they met did little to assuage the two Chunin's growing dread at what the summons could entail.

Naruto spoke first, with an impatience and energy that the adults had grown to accept with good will, if not grace. "We're goin' for a walk, Iruka-Sensei, Mizuki-teme!" Sarutobi let Naruto take the lead, while he hung back with the two confused ninjas.

"Naruto will be entering the Academy this year." Silence. "But he's so young!" Iruka's concern clashed with Mizuki's sneering tone, "He'll be a danger to everyone around him!" Other arguments were brought before Hiruzen, as well, but his initial assumption had been correct.

The Hokage let them speak their protests, and then overrode them like a bulldozer. "Regardless, as the first-years' instructors, your orders are to give him a good shot at passing, despite his age and upbringing." He didn't have to threaten, or cajole, as he'd had to for the clan heads. Neither teacher was affiliated with a clan, nor did either hold much political clout. With them, he was simply their Hokage - to be obeyed, and did not question.

The old ninja then called Naruto back to them, before changing the topic slightly. From where the blonde had been zipping up ahead - playing ninja, running through traffic with his arms held out for balance. The boy returned, stumbling on the gravel road as he attempted to remain in proper ninja form. He zipped through a sea of people, whose gazes slid off of him, who parted for him as if simply being near him was unbearable. Hiruzen's heart broke, knowing he couldn't do much to stop them from ignoring the boy.

'And I apparently can't do much to stop them from beating him, either.' The thought brought a momentary darkness to the quartet, parting the crowds as easily as Naruto's affiliation with the Kyuubi. "Naruto, tell me again how your training is going - I've heard you've made quite some progress with all of your teachers?" Naruto ceased circling the three older ninjas, expending his remaining energy with a mighty Chakra-enhanced leap that brought him to eye-level with Sarutobi, tongue out in a cheeky face, even as Iruka grabbed him by the collar of his gaudy jumpsuit and shook him senseless.

The thoroughly dizzied Naruto managed to take a few unsteady steps, before slumping to the ground on his rear. The Hokage stopped, and turned to face him, impressed, before addressing the teachers again. "You've found quite the effective training regiment, if his reserves and strength are that far along in only a week - what sort of exercises has he been doing?"

Mizuki, for once, was forced to give Naruto praise where it was due. "Well, the first thing we did was ask him to find his Chakra. He's a bit young for it, with no training, but it's better to know what you're working with when your student is unable to tell you." Hiruzen nodded for him to continue, glad that the Academy was at least training its students better than it had in previous years. When he'd taken his education there, courses for practical skills and student-evaluation were almost non-existent.

Mizuki interrupted the old man's daydreaming, "The kid's got more Chakra than most Jonin out of the advanced conditioning - at least the ones I've seen. That made it really easy for us to work with some of the more advanced physical techniques, like channeling to limbs." He looked to Iruka for a supporting nod. "At first, we figured we'd have him learning a Chakra control exercise, and maybe how to use seals to create Jutsu components, by the end of the month. Our original plan had him learning to enhance his strength and speed with Chakra by the end of this week, but..."

Iruka cut in here - "Neither of us expected the to bloody train for 8 hours straight after we left. Twice, now. We had to modify our schedule to account for his ridiculous dedication - If I were heartless, I'd send him to Gai." Hiruzen shuddered at the idea. "We found a way to wear him down, and build his Chakra Control, by forcing him to run, spar, and throw kunai while leaf-sticking. His control is abysmal."

Naruto protested in vain, squabbles and cursing that went ignored by the adults. "Even once you've accounted for his abnormal reserves, he can barely keep a brace of leaves stuck to his body - most on his forehead - and that's with the aid of some sweat. We're going to have him squatting soon, with a leaf on each of the major tenketsu, for an hour at the beginning and end of each day." Sarutobi's sharp ears picked up Mizuki's mumbling, "most of the time he just manages to burn them or shoot them away."

'Curious...' Hiruzen would look into helping Naruto with this problem once he had some free time. The boy could benefit from some mental stability. Maybe a book to read... "And how are his... academics?" This brought a chuckle to the silver-haired Chunin, and a scowl to Iruka's face. "We're..." 'We're what, Iruka? Think!' "Working on the basics. He's shown some... remarkable creativity?"

It was Naruto who came to the Chunin's aid, interrupting. "Can we talk more later? We're almost there! C'mon!" The two Chunin looked around, not realizing they had been heading towards any specific destination. The Hokage Monument stood before them, its tiny staircase leading around back, to the top of the mountain. Naruto was already running up it, taking great leaps - reveling in the new-found freedom of speed.

Hiruzen grabbed the Chunin tightly, and Shunshined them all to the top - beating Naruto only by seconds. They arrived in time for sunset; the orb's warm, orange light played across the village, setting the above-ground reservoirs to sparkling. Naruto merely complained about 'cheater-jiji'. Luckily, the Hokage needn't have defended his honour for long.

They were met by Tsume Inuzuka, and her youngest son, Kiba. The boy clung shyly to his mother's leg, having never met the Hokage before - and having heard only terrible stories about his power and strength, the exploits of his youth, from his older sister and cousins. Then he saw Naruto, 'Someone my age!' Naturally, he ran over to play.

Naruto saw the larger boy running towards him, tattooed face grinning sadistically, and flinched away, wondering why the Hokage wasn't moving to help. A hand cocked back, and Naruto began to jump away from the attacker - too slow! - "TAG! YOU'RE IT!"

Naruto, unable to stop the Chakra pumping into his leg muscles, unable to recall the signals to his synapses, sprung away from Kiba like a rocket, landing poorly. With an impressively speedy recovery, the blonde turns to the startled Inuzuka, shaking his fist. "What was THAT!? I thought you were gonna hit me!"

"Hit you? Why would I hit you?! You don't hit in tag!" Angry and embarrassed, Naruto countered, "How am I supposed to know what you do in tag! You ran at me before explaining the rules!" Now Kiba was annoyed, too 'Who doesn't know what tag is?' While the adults spoke, he took Naruto aside to explain.

Then, he ran off - leaving Naruto with a slowly creeping grin, one that could only be described by words such as 'Sly' or possibly 'Scheming'. While Kiba hid, laughing at his fortunate head-start, Naruto began working on his plan - 'Operation 'Beat Kiba at Tag!' is go!'

Kiba wondered where Naruto had went. After the Inuzuka had hidden in one of the viewing gazebos that dotted the top of the monument, he'd lost sight of the blonde. Naruto, on the other hand, knew exactly where Kiba was - he knew the Hokage Monument like no one else, and, having spent a good deal of time here, always had a prank set up for tourists or sight-seers who spent too much time being drunk and loud when he was trying to relax. It was a great source of income, and the food they left didn't hurt, either.

The gazebo Kiba had taken up residence in particular contained a large wasps nest that Naruto had moved from the forest. If he could draw the other boy out, tag him, and then get inside the enclosed attic to rile the stinging bastards up, he could retreat under a secret slot in the gazebo's base to wait out the storm. Kiba would be forced either to run away, or to deal with the monstrous wasps of Konoha!

With a burst of speed belied by his tiny form, Naruto dashed from his hiding place, and ran at the still-unaware Kiba. To his credit, the Inuzuka managed to turn at the last second - but was still knocked off-balance as Naruto pushed through into the gazebo, a hasty "Tag! You're it!" as Kiba gave chase, snarling, and then Naruto was gone again. He listened for the blonde's breathing, knowing that the Inuzuka talents he'd inherited in force would win him this game. But instead, all he could hear was buzzing. Furious, omnipresent buzzing.

After a few stings, and more than a few bites, Kiba did something smart, and ran to his mother. Hiruzen eliminated the incoming wasps with a small flame-spit from his fingers, neither elder even bothering to break in their conversation. Naruto, on the other hand, crawled out from under the gazebo - giggling up a storm - only to be met by a snarl from the largest animal he'd ever seen.

"aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Like a siren, Naruto's very manly scream could be heard, louder and louder, as the blonde streaked towards the group. Behind him, the massive Kuromaru was lazily loping, pacing the boy with his one-eyed, wolfen grin. Kiba cheekily reached out to tag the boy as he skidded to a halt behind the Hokage, and Tsume turned to call her partner off the chase with a whistle. Naruto and Kiba made faces at each other from behind their respective adult-shields.

"Naruto, Kiba," Hiruzen and Tsume stepped away, forcing the two children to confront each other. The Chunin, still present, sighed in defeat. It was going to be a long year. The Hokage continued. "Naruto, your progress has been phenomenal so far," Naruto didn't know what 'phenomenal' meant, but jiji's face looked happy, so he guessed it was something good. The blonde flashed his signature grin, and the assembled adults remembered just where they were standing.

"However, we feel that you've reached a point where your own abilities won't advance as rapidly without someone to train with - and Tsume's own son, who I believe you're now acquainted with, is in a similar position." He let Naruto figure out the implications, before continuing. "Although he won't be entering the Academy with you this year, if you wish, you two could become training partners?" Hiruzen smiled at how easily the boys took to one another, both natural rough-housers, and impulsive, and brutish.

"Y-you mean it, Hokage-jiji?" Naruto had counted himself fortunate, even with the added scaring by Kuromaru, to have found someone who didn't insult him or try to beat him up - or whose parents didn't shoo him away, or simply take their kids and leave. "Of course," Tsume added, "You're going to have to try extra-hard to match my widdle Kiba in training," embarrassing Kiba further by pinching his cheeks affectionately.

Naruto broke down laughing, tears streaming from his eyes as he rolled on the ground. "Oh that's it!" Kiba broke free of his mother's grip, intent on beating some real tears out of the blonde's laughing face. With a shrug from the Hokage, Iruka and Mizuki took the resulting tussle as a spar, and once finished, tore into the two bruised boys on their form and style.