Made of Fail

Chapter Five
Mizukage

It was Monday. Chōjūrō hated Mondays.

Chōjūrō worked as the Mizukage's 'errand boy', being a bit too awkward and shy to serve as an active ninja. This got him beaten up on a lot – no one cared about the six-year-old who ran errands for anyone he couldn't say 'no' to (for the record: that would be everyone). And on Mondays, with everyone grouchy, it was the worst…

With a light sigh, the blue-haired boy walked up to the Mizukage's office with his morning tea. Mizukage-sama had stayed up late on Sunday to finish some particularly pesky paperwork, so he'd probably be tired and snappy. Steeling his nerves, Chōjūrō knocked on the door. When he didn't hear a voice telling him to enter, he grew curious and opened it. The sight that met him made him freeze. His fingers going limp, the tea tray crashed to the floor.

The secretary growled. "Dammit, you useless kid! Now look what you've done!" She stomped over to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, bumping into the door and making it open completely.

The resulting screams were heard across the village.

Fū and Haku had taken to spending a lot of time together, mainly resting from their vigorous training regimen. Fū had taken to teaching Haku all there was to know about the flora and fauna of the forests – he caught on quite quickly, and seemed to have a particular interest in the medicinal purposes of each plant and animal. With all their training, they were pretty strong and specialized in different things – Haku specialized in Arctic Tern Taijutsu which consisted of striking quickly (usually from above) using graceful and speedy punches while staying light on the feet, Arctic Fox Genjutsu which incorporated extreme, but completely unnoticeable illusions, blending into the environment nearly perfectly and controlling the victim's mind, and Snowy Owl Silent Killing, which required complete silence and tracking by using sound, usually after placing the victim under a genjutsu that restricted his senses – or, in Haku's case, using the Kirigakure no Jutsu. The victim wouldn't even realize he was dead.

Fū had taken to Rhinoceros Beetle Taijutsu, which consisted of using her superior strength to knock the opponent off balance – this she coupled with her Firefly Taijutsu, which gave her style more speed and agility. She also used the Tamamushi Genjutsu style, consisting of dazing her victim long enough to defeat him, as well as the Morpho Butterfly Ninjutsu style consisting of flashy attacks in a seemingly random pattern of speed and point of origin.

Of course, both of them were still just in the beginning stages of their training in these styles, and they had a heck of a long way to go before their taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu were even acceptable.

Even so, Romi made sure that neither of them was pushed too hard during their training and they took frequent breaks. She always said that training was important, but killing themselves wasn't the way to do it – and she never let them train on Saturdays, saying that it was a day to relax and recharge.

At the moment, the two were sitting under a tree and listening to one of Rōshi's stories.

Romi was training with her Wolf Taijutsu while mentally listing the strengths and weaknesses – a big weakness was that in order to pull it off, she'd need to team up with people she worked with seamlessly who also knew Wolf Taijutsu; and if any of these people were killed, she'd let her emotions take hold. Of course, Wolf Style also played on the opponent's weaknesses, especially if they were alone, by wearing him out and attacking in perfect unison at the weak spots and from behind. In Romi's eyes, it was a tradeoff worth making – she could always use shadow clones for the rest of the 'pack'.

Gracefully finishing her kata, Romi wiped the sweat off her face with her sleeve. She was pooped. Training was really hard work, especially for a lazy ass like herself. Back home, she'd spent most of her time reading and writing.

With a sigh, she restarted her kata, moving more swiftly this time. For a brief moment she wondered what help it would be in an actual fight, but quickly shot that down, accepting that it would help her learn muscle memory – without learning her kata, she would be little more than a street brawler. With this thought, Romi continued to train with even more vigor than before.

Zabuza, who was sitting quietly with his back against a tree as he cleaned his blade lovingly, thought back to the other swords lying by his side – the remaining 'lost' swords of the Hidden Mist. Apparently they little group had found the Kiba, the Fangs, in a river in the Land of Rivers, and the rest – the Kabutowari 'Helmet Splitter', the Nuibari 'Sewing Needle', and the Shibuki 'Splash' – in unnamed places. The others were owned by others – Samehada 'Shark Skin' belonged to Kisame, Hiramekarei 'Flounder' belonged to Kiri, and the Kubikiribōchō, his beloved Decapitating Carving Knife, lay in his very own hands.

The other swords didn't interest him – he liked his Decapitating Carving Knife – but he decided to keep them, and perhaps reform the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū, once he became the Mizukage.

With a grunt, Zabuza sheathed his sword and sealed the other swords into four separate scrolls, which he attached to the strap that went across his chest, holding Kubikiribōchō in place. Either way, he'd realize his dream of capturing and fixing Kiri – he would never give up. It was in his blood.

One day, he would realize his ambition.

There was barely a month left in the group's traveling, and within their time in Mizu became a sort of living legend, known as the Rokujin no Kekkei Genkai – literally the Kekkei Genkai Six People (the Six Kekkei Genkai People). They were known far and wide, having saved hundreds of people with kekkei genkai and distributing them evenly among the Five Great Hidden Villages – and they'd found three special ones they wanted to keep with them.

Their names were Kaguya Kimimaro, Jūgo, and Hōzuki Suigetsu.

Kimimaro they'd found in an abandoned district, sitting in an open cage. Apparently his clan had just been killed off a week before and he wanted to sit in his cage one last time before leaving. Jūgo had been found playing with Sara in her smaller bird form and accepted their hand of friendship. Suigetsu had been found by his brother's grave, looking completely defeated, and eagerly joined them once he saw Zabuza and the Swords.

Suigetsu was training under Zabuza, and he had declared his intention to earn the 'Kiba' from him after being told he'd have to train hard to be able to even touch the swords in Zabuza's possession. The man was protective of the Swords and would only give them to people he knew would use them well and follow him. Inwardly, he acknowledged that Suigetsu was definitely a candidate – but he'd never voice it aloud, lest he motivate the boy to stop his training. At the moment, all he had was a practice sword – even though, of course, he'd been handling swords all his life, Zabuza was definitely making him improve.

Jūgo got extensive private training from Rōshi along with Fū – sometimes the trio was gone for days. Rōshi figured that Jūgo needed lessons in controlling the 'beast' within him. It was a bit different than being a jinchūriki, of course, but it was close enough that it had begun to help the orange-headed boy. Even though the boy showed no desire to be a ninja or fight at all, controlling his kekkei genkai was definitely a must.

Kimimaro was a tough one to train. Sara had opted to give him some clan jutsu scrolls, all noticeably old and worn, saying it was something she'd recorded while she was travelling with a Shikotsumyaku user many years ago. He usually trained on his own, but using the technique made him crave calcium – which he got in the form of figs, sardines, and whitebait. He especially liked the fish, and Jūgo and Suigetsu seemed to like them too, so they ate them together. The three were quickly becoming close friends, along with Haku and Fū.

As of that moment, the children minus Jūgo were a four-man team – Kimimaro was the calm and relaxed leader, mid- to short-range fighter and strategist, Haku the mid- to long-range fighter and a terrific backup, Fū the mid- to short-range fighter, brawler, and endurance fighter, and Suigetsu the close-range swordsman and aspiring kenjutsu master.

In their group, they had the elements of ice, water, wind, water again, wind again, and earth. Suigetsu was teaching himself raiton, or lightning type, so he could eliminate his weakness and use the Kiba, and Haku was learning to use katon, or fire type, to eliminate his own weakness. Fū and Kimimaro were also teaching each other fūton and doton, to compensate for their weaknesses. The quad actually worked extremely well together, their techniques complimenting each other and covering each others' weak spots. Their teamwork, with some training, would render them nearly unstoppable.

The eight of them were sitting around their campfire before bedtime. Fū, ever the talker, was chatting animatedly with Haku about nothing in particular, while Kimimaro and Jūgo were sitting next to each other in companionable silence. Suigetsu was sitting next to Zabuza idly attempting to use a small raiton jutsu on a rock. All was quiet. Then a kunai whizzed past the trees.

Zabuza, acting quickly, deflected it with a kunai of his own before either the children or Romi even had a chance to know it was there. "What do you want?" he asked gruffly, not moving his eyes from the fire.

At this point, Sara decided it was time to get the kids out of the area. Turning into a giant bird, she tossed Kimimaro, Fū, Suigetsu, Haku, and Jūgo onto her back and flew out into a clearing to take off. Soon she was gone.

All that was left of the group at this point were Zabuza, Romi, and Rōshi. They quickly fell into their defensive stances. Two men and a woman stepped out of the bushes, and Romi immediately recognized them as Terumī Mei, Hoshigaki Kisame, and Ao.

"Rōshi, Zabuza, Mei's got two kekkei genkai – yōton and futton – and can use doton, suiton, and katon. She's very smart and keeps a cool head in battle. Ao's got a Byakugan, but he's developed a way to protect it by using those tags that hang from his ears. He's a hunter-nin and therefore has an extensive knowledge of the human body and possesses a great deal of speed and agility, as well as being a skilled chakra sensor. And I'm pretty sure you guys know Hoshigaki Kisame."

Ao's eyes narrowed. "And how do you know this, you brat?"

Romi smirked. "Now, now, that would be telling, wouldn't it, Ao-chan?" The man frowned at this, and Kisame stepped forward. "I'm fighting Zabuza," he said simply. "I want to see how much stronger you've gotten." Zabuza looked over at Kisame. "Hmph," he said. "First, I want to know why you're here."

"You know full well why we're here, Zabuza!" Ao yelled. "You murdered the Mizukage! Your chakra signature was practically bleeding off the walls, and there were slash marks that only come from your Sword. All the evidence points that you did it!"

Zabuza simply gazed back at the man blankly. "Trust me," he said after a minute. "If I had killed the bastard, I'd have taken his title by now, and I'd have no problem letting you all know I'd succeeded. But I didn't do it, unfortunately." Ao glared at him. "You bastard…"

Mei simply smiled at Romi, who smiled back. "Hiya!" Romi chirped. "Sorry about revealing you like that, but if we're going to fight I need to protect my precious family…and that means not letting you get the upper hand. So, I'm really sorry, 'Nē-san." The auburn-haired woman waved it off. "Maa, maa, it's okay. I understand completely. But I don't want to fight if I can help it. Quite honestly, I'm just here to get answers."

Romi seemed to relax at this. "Good," she said in relief. "I'm not nearly strong enough to survive a fight with you, so I was pretty scared there for a sec'. But as long as the kids get away, I'm okay. Quite honestly, I have no clue what happened to the Mizukage. I was under the impression he was still alive. I have no fight to pick with Kiri or Mizu, and I'm sorry if it seemed that way. All we were really doing was giving kids with kekkei genkai a new place to start over, since they're not really welcome here… But I'm rambling again. I really have a problem with talking a lot when I'm nervous. You might not want to fight, but Ao-san and Kisame-san definitely do."

Mei nodded. "No problem. Would you do the honor of telling me your name?"

Romi blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, I still haven't gotten the hang of this whole 'meeting new people' thing. I'm Kuro Tsukiakari – no last name – but you can call me Kuro."

"How old are you, Kuro-chan?" At this, Romi paused. "Actually," she said. "Now that I think about it, I haven't been keeping track. But…my birthday is April sixteenth, and I've been wandering for nearly two years now, so…I'm seventeen, then." Mei nodded. The two continued to chat, and Mei found herself smiling more and more at this cute little girl. What an adorable kid.

Ao and Rōshi weren't having nearly that good a time of it. Ao was trying to get information about the Mizukage's death from the man, but he couldn't get any, seeing as how Rōshi had nothing to do with it.

"Well," Ao said with a sigh. "We didn't come here to fight, as much as I'd like to. Tradition states that whoever killed the last Mizukage becomes the new one – and since all evidence points that you did it, Zabuza-san…" Ao seemed to have to force the next words out of his mouth. "It has been decided that you are to be the new Mizukage."

A long silence greeted these words before Zabuza shrugged.

"Hell, why not?"

As amusing as Zabuza's sudden inauguration had been, the time to leave had come. Suigetsu had decided to stay in Mizu and be apprenticed to Zabuza. Their goodbyes had been short, but Zabuza did say that they pretty much had a free pass into Kiri whenever they wanted, so they were happy.

Soon they stood in front of Konoha's gates.

The two guards at the front gate were quite bored. Nothing happened that day. Quite honestly, what was the point of even guarding the gate? They were in a time of peace, the merchants' season was over, and no one was even –

FWOOMP

A small brown blur flew in front of them and landed rather harshly on the ground. It stood up and shook itself off to be a small girl, about the size of a twelve-year-old, with long brown hair that reached her knees that was pulled back into a braid and a big grin slapped onto her face. "That was awesome!" she yelled. "Ten-point landing, Fū-chan!" An even smaller girl, this time with short chin-length green hair and tan skin jumped onto the first girl.

"Score!" the green-haired girl yelled. The two double-high-fived. A tall, tan girl who was at least six feet tall, with short frizzy hair entered and began to laugh along with the two – then even more people entered: an elderly red-haired man with a metal face plate, a young boy with long white hair and two red dots on his forehead, an androgynous child with long black hair and pale skin, and another, tall child with flaming orange hair, red eyes, and a kind smile.

The red-haired man turned to the two guards and bowed slightly. "Hello there," he said kindly. "My family and I have been traveling for quite a while, and we wished to settle down in Konoha. Could you please tell your Hokage that 'the bird has come back to roost'?" The two guards blinked at this, obviously not understanding the message. Even so, it was painfully obvious that 'the bird has come back to roost' was definitely a hidden message. One of them nodded and contacted the Hokage's secretary through his transceiver.

Within minutes an ANBU operative had arrived. "Hokage-sama requests that you come to his office immediately. I am to escort you there." Sara grinned at the man. It had been years since she'd seen her old friend, and she was really excited to see him again. She and the rest of the group followed the ANBU through the streets, their procession gaining quite a few stares. Sara just grinned and waved at everyone. Some of the older citizens paled upon seeing her, clearly remembering the devastation she'd left behind before she'd left.

They quickly reached the Hokage Tower, a building that was shared with the Ninja Academy – a clear statement, and an obviously sentimental one. Sara walked the halls, her feet leading her to her destination. She'd traced this path so many times before that she could walk it with her eyes closed. She had been here so often that she knew every crack in the wall, every wooden floorboard, from the bottommost cornerstone to the mourning doves nesting in the roof. Idly, she wondered if their progeny was still there, from the single mated pair until now.

Too soon, she found herself in front of the Hokage's office door. Throwing caution to the wind and courtesy out the window, Sara kicked down the front door. "Hey~, Hiruzen~!" she called out, grinning like a maniac. "Miss me?" The ANBU who'd led the group there grasped Sara's shoulder, only for the Hokage to tell him to stand down.

Hiruzen stood up. He had taken off his hat – it hung on the backside of his chair – so his face and head was completely exposed. "Chikurin!" he greeted, coming around his desk to stand in front of the taller woman. "Good lord, how many years has it been since I've seen you? Never mind that, come in, old friend, and tell me all about your travels." He gave the signal for all ANBU members in the room to exit and activated the secrecy seal that was engraved into the walls, ceiling, and floor of the room. It glowed briefly through the painted walls and ceiling, and shined in between the floorboards before settling down.

Sara plopped herself down in one of the chairs in front of Hiruzen's desk and stretched out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Romi sitting down cross-legged with Fū in her lap and Haku, Kimimaro, Jūgo, and Haku next to her. Rōshi sat in the other guest chair. Gosh, where to begin…?

"I kidnapped two kids."

Oh…yeah. Not the best way to start.

Even so, she mused, the way his pipe fell out of his mouth and land on his lap as his eyes bulged out was quite amusing. Oh, and now he was yelling at her. …Oh, yeah, she had to listen.

"– kidnapped two children!" he finished. There was a pause. "Hiruzen, your dress is on fire." It was true. The still-smoking pipe had ignited his clothes, and Sara watched in amusement as he panicked for a minute before remembering he was a ninja and putting out the fire with a suiton jutsu. Hm. He would've immediately used the suiton jutsu the last time she saw him. Perhaps calling his ceremonial robes a dress flustered him more than she thought.

That was when she remembered forcing him into dresses when he was younger.

Oh, yeah. He was definitely still traumatized from that, wasn't he? It wasn't her fault he'd make a cute uke.

"– set me on fire!" Hiruzen finished, pointing furiously at Sara. She pouted. "That was your own damn fault, otōto! You're the one who should realize that your pipe is flammable! And how many times have I told you not to smoke?"

Hiruzen sighed. "This is pointless," he muttered before speaking up again. "Well, who did you kidnap?" Romi raised her hand. "I'm here!" she chirped. "My 'nē-chan settled down in Suna, but I decided to come here."

"And you still trust Chikurin despite the fact that she kidnapped you?" Romi looked quite uncomfortable with the question and rubbed the back of her neck before looking away. "She's one of my best friends," she said. "Even though she kidnapped me, and I wish she'd have let me say goodbye to my 'kā-chan and 'tō-chan and 'nē-chan and otōto, I trust her because I know why she did it."

Hiruzen looked at the little girl in front of him before nodding in acquiescence. "All right. I take it you want to join Konoha?" At this, the girl brightened. "Yes, please!" she said. The man chuckled. "Well, I think introductions are in order," he said. "My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen. I am the Sandaime Hokage, and I lead Konoha."

Romi nodded and stood. "My name is Yin Kuro Tsukiakari. I'm the last living descendant of the Yin clan." Hiruzen coughed and dropped his pipe once more, this time being in the correct state of mind to put out the embers.

"You're a member of that clan?" he asked. Romi nodded. "Yep," she said with a grin. "I…uh, yeah." Hiruzen chuckled as he held his hand to his head. "Chikurin," he said. "You are one tricky little bird."

Romi – now legally 'Kuro' was extremely happy. She was now a citizen of Konoha, and the next stage of her plan was underway. All she needed to do was find…

And there he was.

He was nothing like he would be when he was older. Instead of the classic Uzumaki Grin he slapped across his face, his face seemed to be set in an angry pout. He wore a black t-shirt and white shorts, and he glared at everything. His bright blue eyes, usually sparkling and full of mischief, held only anger and a spark of cunning.

Fū, who had been briefed on this part of the plan, ran up to him. She was just about his height, so she was able to look into his eyes. There was a pause as they looked at each other. Then Fū spoke.

"You have the same eyes I used to have," she said softly.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at this. "Who're you?" he yelled. "Don't come up to me and start saying weird things, you weirdo!" Fū's left eye twitched at this. "Shut your mouth, butthead!" she yelled, bringing her fist down on his head. "I'm just trying to make friends! And I'm still learning! Butthead!" Naruto, rubbing his throbbing skull, froze at this before slowly standing up to look at Fū.

"Well, uh, I don't know how to make friends, either!" he yelled. "So, uh, hum, my name's Uzumaki Naruto! What's yours?" Fū, forgetting her earlier ire, grinned. "I'm Fū!" she said excitedly. "And this is my mommy!" She pointed to Kuro, who grinned and introduced herself. "She's my heart mommy, 'cause I don't know my tummy mommy."

Naruto pouted. "You got two mommies? I'm so jealous!" Fū shook her head. "Nah, I've only got one mommy. I grew up in an orphanage, so I don't know my tummy mommy. But 'Kā-chan came 'n 'dopted me, so she's my heart mommy." She then began to explain to Naruto the differences between the two types of mommies, which enraptured Naruto. He said that he didn't have a mommy, neither a tummy one nor a heart one, who took care of him. He was alone.

Fū's eyes softened at this. "Hey," she said. "You wanna come with me and 'Kā-chan? We're buildin' a home 'cause we're new here and don't got no money, and we wanna see the place, but we don't got no one to show us around." Naruto grinned. "Sure!" he yelled. "I know this place like the back o' my hand! I'll show ya 'round!"

The bird that sent her letter to Romi and had to have its leg amputated from frostbite was considered 'no longer acceptable for active duty'. Tarantu decided that instead of letting it be put down, since she was the one that got it into this whole mess in the first place, she'd adopt it.

He was a boy. She'd named him Seishin no Tsubasa – the Japanese phrase for 'Spirit Wings'.

The trio loved him. Kankurō didn't show it outwardly, but he had a soft spot for the bird and put up with his grooming him. Temari loved him as well, and always fussed over him. But it was obvious that Gaara loved him the most. Whenever one caught sight of the other, he'd immediately go to him. Tsubasa loved to perch on his shoulder to groom his rough brownish-red hair and often sang for him. Gaara loved the bird's voice and the two often sang together.

The three worked very hard in their training, and Temari began to use two hand-held battle fans for wind techniques, Kankurō began to learn to use battle puppets, and Gaara began to practice with a kyoketsu-shoge, a knife that had another knife splitting off the first blade at a ninety-degree angle and curving backwards. The handle was attached to ninja wire that he reinforced with chakra, giving it extra length.

The kids were all training in their private dojo with their weapons – while Temari's fans were used almost exclusively for wind jutsu, Kankurō and Gaara had to find ways to make their elemental chakra work through their respective weapons. They already had ideas, but it was hard…

Kankurō was trying to move his water chakra through his puppet to make jutsu come out of its, say, mouth or eyes. Yashamaru had suggested making his own puppet – one that had pipes running through it that could channel chakra – and he readily agreed. However, Tarantu argued that he'd have to do it on his own time, and he had to train for three more hours in taijutsu, so he was doing so – he specialized in Explosion Taijutsu. Explosion Taijutsu consisted of quickly taking down the opponent, and worked well with the element of surprise – puppet masters were usually known for their poor taijutsu, so Kankurō, as a puppet master, definitely had the element of surprise if he resorted to taijutsu.

Temari was practicing with her battle fans. Tarantu had suggested she put senbon needles in her fans and quickly expel them with wind chakra for a surprise attack. This, however, would force her to study human anatomy to get disable her target with the thin needles. However, since she was so good with her fans and wind jutsu, Tarantu had also argued that she'd need to work on her close combat – namely, her taijutsu. They'd found a style that fit her – the Weasel Style – and Temari was adapting to it quite well. Weasel Taijutsu focused on quick attacks, alertness, and agility, as well as being able to work in different terrains. Temari made it work very well.

Gaara…was a hard one to place. Eventually Tarantu gave him a kyoketsu-shoge with which he could work, and although he didn't take well to using weapons at all, he worked hard and was more in tune with his weapon than either of his siblings. His taijutsu style was also hard to discern, but eventually they found he could work well with the Otter Style. Since his taijutsu was weak overall and Otter Taijutsu used weaponry and speed, he was able to compensate for his lack of physical strength. He also began to learn the Tanuki Taijutsu style, which focused on staying low to the ground and attacking with a partner. Slowly but surely, he was beginning to mesh the two styles together and build his taijutsu strength.

The three sometimes sparred, but Gaara had a special sparring partner – because of his sand, the only one allowed to spar with him was Tarantu. It helped her taijutsu improve as well (she used the Crane Style – it suited her very well, especially with her Aikido background). At the moment, the two were sparring – Gaara still had to go slowly with his taijutsu to get his forms right – as Yashamaru kept them under his watchful gaze.

Yashamaru was quite proud of Tarantu for coming as far as she had. Before, she'd been a meek little girl with a few talents she was too scared to use. Now, she was a beautiful young woman with something precious to protect – Yōsabaku no Tarantu. She was a mother, and she protected her three adopted children with her life – a true kunoichi of Suna. Still, Kazekage-sama had asked him to keep an eye on her. Even with her abilities, he was suspicious – with his children calling her their mother, he was concerned that she'd turn their loyalties somewhere other than Suna.

With this on Yashamaru's mind, he kept his eyes trained on Tarantu. The sparring had stopped, and the two sat, panting. They were talking.

"Okā-san," Gaara said once he'd caught his breath. "I haven't killed anyone in nearly a year, right? And I've been really good, right?" Tarantu nodded with a smile. "Yeah," she responded. "I'm really proud of how far you've come, musuko."

Gaara smiled at his mother's praise for a moment before his face dropped. "You're proud of me…" he said softly. "But…everyone else is still really scared. Why are they scared of me, Okā-san?" Tarantu fell silent at this. Thinking out her words, she spoke slowly. "Well," she said, taking out a sealing scroll. "Let me explain it to you this way. What," she gestured to the scroll, "is this?"

"A…scroll."

"Now," she said, taking out a kunai. "What is this?"

"A kunai." Tarantu nodded in approval before sealing the kunai into the scroll. "Now the kunai in inside the scroll. Does this change the scroll in any way?" Gaara nodded. "Yes, the scroll now holds the kunai." Tarantu giggled at this. "Yes," she said. "But maybe I should phrase this differently. Is the scroll now the kunai it contains? Do you now see the scroll as the kunai inside of it?"

Gaara looked at her oddly. "No," he said slowly. Tarantu nodded once more. "Exactly. You, Gaara, are smarter than most people living in Suna." This confused the boy. "What?"

Tarantu smiled at him. "Gaara, most people see you as the kunai you contain, not the scroll you truly are. They are too narrow-minded and fearful of their own shadows to see any differently. But," she added, making him look up at her. "There is a way to change their opinions."

Gaara's eyes widened. "How?" he asked eagerly, his eyes full of desperation. "How can I change them, Okā-san?"

Tarantu smiled. "You must become Suna's hero. By doing great things for others, you can slowly change the people's opinions. By loving them and proving you are human, you can win their hearts. By being greater than they think you can be, they will admire and respect you."

There was a silence following this statement. Gaara looked at the ground, thinking long and hard. Then he spoke.

"I've made up my mind," he said softly. Tarantu looked at him, confused. "Gaara…?" He looked up into his mother's eyes, his own burning with a fiery passion now ignited in his soul. "I'm going to be the village's greatest hero. I'm going to be Kazekage!"

Yashamaru looked at his nephew in shock before smiling. He'd made his decision. That night he'd report to the Kazekage, as usual – then he'd inform him that there was no danger in Tarantu's being their mother figure. She wouldn't change their loyalties.

In fact, she was probably the best role model the three children could have.

True to Naruto's claim, he was able to lead them skillfully around Konoha.

For about fifteen minutes. Then they got lost.

"We're not lost!" he yelled for the umpteenth time. "I know this place, I told ya! We've just gotta go here, an' then… Whoops!" Naruto, in his enthusiasm, tripped over his own feet and fell forward into a much taller man, making them both fall.

The man sat up and shoved the young blond off of him. "You brat!" he yelled. "Watch where you're going! You're always in everyone's way, you screw-up!" Naruto's ever-present pout deepened. "Shut up, stupid! I'm tryin' 'a walk here! You're the one in my way!" Kuro quickly stepped in. "Please don't fight," she said kindly. "Sir, please, he's just a child. I'm sure he didn't fall on purpose. And Naruto, I understand that you're mad at him, but yelling at him and calling him names isn't the way to go."

The man looked as though he wanted to say something, but once he saw that he was the center of attention – everyone in the street had stopped to stare at his little showdown with the 'demon brat' – he rethought. "You must be new here," he said more kindly. "This kid is nothing but trouble. He's just a screw-up and a troublemaker."

Kuro looked down at Naruto as though she was sizing him up. Then she spoke. "Nah," she said finally. "I don't see it. Do people normally yell at him?" The man could see he was losing her. He had to reel her in quickly before that brat did. "Yeah," he said firmly. "He's always doing stupid things. He's just a loud, annoying, screw-up brat."

Kuro's eyes narrowed at the man. "Really? I didn't think that it was acceptable to call a child names. I only met him fifteen minutes ago and I can tell he has a better character than you do – and if you claims are correct, then he has better character than most of this pathetic village."

Everyone within hearing distance fell silent.

"I don't know what he's done to you, but he's a child. He, as a child, is mostly governed by his instincts and emotions. Surely the blame lies with whoever raised him and encouraged him to act in this way by being cruel to him in the first place?" When there was no answer, her eyes narrowed once again and she shot a chilling glare at the man. "You're pathetic for lowering yourself to insulting an innocent child. If I didn't already immigrate to Konoha, I'd have taken this poor child and left pathetic trash like you behind. He'd be much happier, I'm sure."

Then, in an act most contrary to what she'd shown of her personality to the Konoha populace, she turned to smile down at Naruto. "I'm sorry you have to deal with these people, Naru-chan," she said sweetly, as though she were comforting her own child. "Come on, let's leave these buttheads behind and go have some fun."

Naruto, who didn't understand anything being said, but had enough of a mind to understand that the girl in front of him was protecting him, nodded, a large, uncharacteristic grin stretching across his features. "Sure!" he yelled. "Those buttheads are stupid! Let's go somewhere else and have some fun!" Kuro's grin mirrored his own, but before she could speak, Fū jumped in. "Awesome!" she yelled. "I saw this really cool playground on the way here! You wanna go play there?"

"Sure!" Fū then took off. "Last one there's a rotten egg!"

"Oi, wait up!"

Kuro smiled at the two as she rushed after them. It was going to be hard to teach Naruto and get him to trust her as much as Fū did, but she knew it would be worth it – it had to be.

By nighttime, Kuro's clones had finished burning out a decent-sized room in one of the trees in Training Area Forty-Four – the Forest of Death. It wasn't nearly finished, but it was livable for the night. The poofed away, leaving Kuro with the images of their success. Escorting Naruto back to the orphanage, she found that an irate matron was standing there.

"You're past curfew!" she barked at the blond, whose pout returned full-force. Before anyone could say anything else, however, Kuro bowed. "I'm very sorry, ma'am," she said apologetically. "I'm new to Konoha, and this young man kindly assisted me in finding my way around. I had no idea there was a curfew, and we lost track of time. I take full blame for his lateness, and I hope he is not punished for my mistake – he did be a great favor today, and it would be terrible if he were to be punished for so kindly stepping up to help me."

There was an underlying threat hidden beneath Kuro's words, and judging by the matron's expression, she definitely caught it. She seemed to debate with herself for a moment before conceding. "All right," she said with a sigh. "I shall see to it that he is not punished. But it better not happen again!" Kuro nodded. "I'll make sure it won't, ma'am. If you don't mind my asking, when exactly is curfew?"

The matron looked at her blankly for a moment before responding. "Five o'clock." Kuro thanked her, said goodbye to Naruto with a hug, let Fū hug him goodbye as well, and left, leaving Naruto to sleep alone in that blasted orphanage for what, Kuro vowed, would be his last night with no family.

A/N: Yes! I'm liking this chapter a lot, and definitely like the ending. Tarantu got some time to shine, and the next chapter will focus mainly on her – even though I'm sure you all want to know how Kuro's plan (and yes, she does have a plan) will turn out. I'm evil like that.