A.N.: Here comes the second chapter. Since it's prewritten, there's no reason to postpone it. Read and enjoy.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I believe I already said so.

As soon as Tenzo finished his mission report, he headed home. He found it hard to combine his ANBU career with raising a kid, but he wasn't complaining. It took some time for them to adjust to the sudden change of their lifestyles, but it was worth it. He now couldn't even imagine coming back to an empty apartment.

Speaking of which, there was nobody inside now. He quickly checked the rooms and found Naruto's training pouch missing. He calmed down, changed from the Black Ops uniform into a customary jounin garb and headed to the nearest training ground. Sure enough, there was his charge hurling practice shuriken at a wooden post.

"Your grip is a bit off," he commented after observing the boy's efforts for a while. Naruto whirled towards him. A huge grin spread on his face.

"Tenzo-san! You're back!" he exclaimed happily.

"Was there any doubt," he asked with a smile. Naruto's face was answer enough. Despite his young age, the boy possessed a surprisingly good grasp of the perils of a ninja's profession. It brought home the reality of just what his life had been before they met. Tenzo certainly hadn't been like that at his age. He quickly showed the thoughts aside, before they could sour his mood.

"You have to hold it like this," he said and demonstrated Naruto the correct way. The little blond immediately adjusted his grip. "Still not quite," commented Tenzo and pointed out the mistake. "Now that's better. Throw it." The child did so. The projectile embedded itself near the centre of the target. "You see the difference?"

It was a better hit than the previous attempts. And they weren't bad either, especially considering how recently he had started practicing. There was some serious potential there.

He let Naruto exercise some more, until he was satisfied with his progress. "Enough of this for now," he declared. The boy looked at him dejectedly. "Let's do some taijutsu practice instead." Blue eyes immediately lit up. Their owner enthusiastically slipped into a basic stance. Tenzo grinned and crouched down to engage him. They haven't studied anything fancy yet, just the basic stances, blocks and dodges. The boy had caught to it like fish to water. The young ANBU had been surprised how quick his reflexes were. He doubted many kids his age could boast better ones.

The boy was still too young to be admitted in the Academy, but Tenzo considered sending him there anyway. He had both determination and stamina in spades and he had no doubt that Naruto would do well. And making some friends close to his age wouldn't hurt as well. But there were also other things to consider. His mood darkened, when he remembered what had occurred just a day after he took the little foxy boy in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A month earlier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was easy for them to decide where they would be living from now on. Tenzo's apartment was bigger and had no leaks. When it had come to packing Naruto's possessions, he was horrified. Most of his clothes were either too big or too small and even the rest weren't fit to be worn by a four year old boy.

"We're going shopping tomorrow," he decided. His young charge looked at him in askance.

"But I have no money," he pointed out.

"That doesn't matter since I do," the man replied.

"I don't want to be a bother. You could use the money better."

"Nonsense," Tenzo dismissed his worry. "There is nothing better to spend money on than making little kids happy. Besides I'm receiving pay to make sure I can take proper care of you."

"Really?" Naruto asked dubiously.

"Really," Tenzo confirmed. It was the truth. Because taking care of a child required him to take less missions in ANBU, he had been given a financial compensation.

The next day they set out to the business district. Tenzo was walking in the front, Naruto keeping at his heels. They were both doing their best to ignore the cold stares the people were shooting them. Tenzo noticed that they were a lot colder than usual.

They entered a clothes shop. The shopkeeper greeted them with a professional smile plastered on his face, but it had quickly morphed into a scowl, when he noticed Naruto.

"What is He doing in here?" The child hid behind his guardian's legs and tried to become invisible.

"He came to buy some clothes, obviously. This is a clothes shop, isn't it," Tenzo asked while looking over the numerous outfits displayed around.

"How dare you just bring him here," the owner hissed.

"And just why shouldn't I," Tenzo replied evenly.

"Because… you know!"

"Well excuse me, but I don't. Would you please care to enlighten me," he asked too sweetly.

"Because he…" The shopkeeper bit his tongue before he could blurt oust something unwise. He hesitated for a moment before deciding on an acceptable answer that won't land him in trouble. "Because of what he did yesterday."

"And just what would be that?" the Mokuton user raised an eyebrow. "I am unaware of any misconduct on his part."

"He threw a man of the Hokage monument! Just how is that nothing!" The merchant exploded.

"He was merely defending himself from an unprovoked assault," Tenzo corrected him.

"He started throwing stones first!" the shopkeeper insisted.

"You must be misinformed. The report I have read of that incident doesn't speak of such thing." By this time, the man was sweating under Tenzo's gaze.

"Stupid report then," the guy barked.

"Or stupid people. This man's mental capacities are clearly lacking," he said turning to the boy, who was still cowering behind his legs. "We are going, Naruto. After I had a good look at the shopkeeper, I don't even want to know what his merchandise is like." And with those words they left the establishment.

"That didn't go too well," he remarked once they were back on the street. Naruto remained silent. "Let's go elsewhere."

But their luck didn't turn for the better. They had yet to encounter a clerk who wouldn't glare at them. They didn't quite dare to throw them out, but they tried to overprice them or sell them inferior goods. But they managed to get most of what they needed. Only shoes remained uncrossed on their shopping list.

They wandered into the proper store. The saleswoman barely noticed them, being too busy chatting with a customer. Not that they minded. They were glad they could try on the footwear without being disturbed.

As Tenzo carried Naruto's selection of shoes to the counter, he paused when he heard the conversation between the clerk and the customer. He strained his ears and listened in.

"Poor little Akise was so distraught he couldn't hit a single target. It was a wonder he was even able to come to the Academy after what the monster did to his father. I rather gave him the day off to visit him at the hospital."

"Yes, dear," the shopkeeper nodded empathically. "It is terrible that the monster is allowed to roam free."

"And what's more," the Academy instructor continued, "I heard that they let him get away with it. I swear if that demon ever tries to attend the Academy I am going to make sure he never finishes." She said it in such a forceful tone that it left little doubt just what was she going to do to accomplish it.

"Quite right," the saleswoman encouraged. "If he can cause that much damage now, who can tell what he would be able to do if he ever gets training."

"You're not the only one who feels that way," the teacher agreed.

Tenzo had enough listening. He laid his purchase on the counter and paid. Then he grabbed the distraught boy and dragged him out of the shop. The clerk and the instructor had resumed their chitchat. They never noticed just who had been there.

The pair walked home in silence. Only after the doors of their apartment closed behind them did Naruto speak.

"They are going to hurt me," he stated in a small voice.

"No, they aren't," Tenzo reassured him. "I won't allow it."

"You can't be with me all the time," Naruto pointed out. "Not at the Academy."

"So you want to be a ninja?" The ANBU wasn't surprised.

"Yes," the boy confirmed. "The best ninja ever."

"My, my, aren't we ambitious," Tenzo smiled despite himself at the sight of the child's serene face.

"But I can't do that if I can't finish the Academy," Naruto's face fell.

"Don't worry about it now," his guardian consoled him. "You still have a couple of years before you'll start."

"Do I really have to wait so long?" inquired the blond.

"I'm afraid so," the older man replied. "Why are you in such a rush anyway?"

"So I'll get strong soon and the angry men couldn't beat me anymore," the kid explained.

"I suppose you have a point there," the adult agreed. "Okay then, I'll start teaching you tomorrow."

"Yay!" Naruto punched the air. "Why not today?"

'Why, indeed,' Tenzo asked himself. "You know what, let's get you dressed and we'll head to the training grounds."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at the Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo hadn't thought it would accomplish much, but he had shown his student the barest basics anyway. And had been amazed at how quickly he had taken to them. Ever since that day they would come to the training grounds and work on Naruto's skills. And when he decided that his charge had enough, since the boy seemed utterly incapable of telling it himself, they went home and worked on Naruto's academic knowledge. Those lessons were received with much less enthusiasm than the practical ones, but he had been somehow able to partially convince Naruto of their importance nevertheless. Mainly when he pointed out that he couldn't be a ninja if he couldn't read his mission assignment.

"Okay, Naruto, that's enough for today," he decided.

"So soon," the boy protested. "We barely started."

"We've been at it for an hour," the man pointed out.

"That's nothing," the blond claimed.

"You have been here on your own for who knows how long and I have just returned from a mission. I think it's safe to say that we both need our rests." The guardian didn't relent.

"The big strong tough guy outlasted by a kid, who would have thought," a female voice interrupted. He slowly turned towards its source.

"And why did you decide to grace us with your presence today, Anko?"

There was a dark haired woman dressed in a tan trench coat standing on a tree trunk perpendicularly to the ground. Naruto was staring at her perplexed.

"I came here to train," the newcomer answered. "Last time I checked it was still a public training ground."

"What is the lady doing," Naruto asked perplexed.

"Trying to make a conversation, what does it look like, squirt," Anko replied with a strange smile. The child scowled. It was cute. Then she turned to Tenzo. "So, I've heard you've gotten yourself a runt, is that him?" The man nodded. She jumped off the tree with a somersault and landed in front of the startled boy. She crouched down and looked into his eyes. Naruto tried to look undaunted, but failed. At least he resisted the urge to make a step back.

"So what do we have here," the woman started. He could now see that she was very young, still more a girl rather then an adult. He also noted that she was wearing something that barely passed as clothes underneath her coat. When she noticed where his eyes roamed, she laughed mischievously. "Do you like them?"

"W-what?" Naruto stammered.

"Lost your speech? I'm glad I haven't lost my touch," she teased.

"Did you come here to corrupt innocent young minds, Anko," Tenzo chided her.

She smirked. "You know me."

"Yes, I do," he sighed exasperatedly. "Why did I ever ask? If that's all, we'll be going."

"Why do you think it's all?" she grinned.

"We're going anyway," declared Tenzo, lifted Naruto on his shoulders and turned to leave. "You can now train in peace." He didn't wait for her answer and quickly took off.

"Who was that lady?" Naruto asked.

"She's an old acquaintance," his guardian answered.

"What was she doing?" his charge inquired.

"She was messing with your mind," the ANBU explained. "She is quite good at that."

"That's not what I meant. How was she standing on the tree?" the boy clarified.

"It's called Tree walking. It's one of the basic skills of ninja," Tenzo replied.

"When will you teach me?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"You still have time. You haven't starting drawing on your chakra yet."

"And how can I do that?" The curious child refused to drop the matter.

"I'll show you later," the adult tried to brush it off.

"But I want to know now." Tenzo sighed in exasperation. Four year old boys sure were bothersome. Why did he ever think this was a good idea?

"You're acting like a spoiled brat," he rebuked Naruto. "Have patience, I'll show you everything in good time."

That silenced Naruto for a while. But Tenzo had no doubt that he would have to teach the little brat about chakra soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A month later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Enough for today," Tenzo decided.

"Already?" Naruto asked dejectedly. They had been practicing drawing on one's chakra and the older man was amazed at how much Naruto had. Perhaps he shouldn't be, all things considered. The blond's stamina had to be supported by something. Even though he was dripping with sweat, he still refused to admit that he had enough.

"Yes. Look at the time. We should go get dinner." That made the boy smile a bit. Food was something Naruto never turned down. He had to somehow reclaim all the energy he burned off during the daily trainings. He could wolf down anything that was put in front of him on a platter. It never ceased to amaze the young ANBU how such a huge mound of rations can fit into such a small body. He just chalked it up as another one of the many peculiarities his little ball of sunshine had.

They didn't have a favorite place to eat so they usually just wandered through the town and looked for a place that didn't refuse to serve demons. They were strolling down a street when the most appetizing scent caught Naruto's nose. He sniffed the air like a dog or fox. He looked around to determine where it had come from.

He didn't have to search long. His senses soon pointed to a stall just a hundred steps ahead. He immediately made a beeline for it. Tenzo actually had to quicken his pace to keep up.

The foxy boy climbed on one of the high stools next to the counter, his caretaker took place beside him and discreetly scanned their surroundings. There was only one other person in the establishment, but he didn't spare them a single look. Good. It seemed like they could eat here in peace.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's ramen," greeted them the middle aged chef. "What will you be having?"

Naruto was studying the menu, but he wasn't having much success. His reading lessons were coming along well, but there were still too many words he didn't understand. He scrunched his forehead in concentration. He debated with himself, whether he should just point a random food and hope it was edible, but then decided against it.

"Whatever smells so good," he ordered.

"All our cooking smells good," the stall owner replied with a smile.

"You'll have to pick one," added a young girl behind the counter, obviously the elder man's daughter.

"This one, then," Naruto pointed at a random selection. The chef disappeared in the kitchenette. Soon after he reappeared with a steaming bowl in his hands. "Here you are, mister." Naruto picked up his chopsticks and dug in.

He entered nirvana. The taste was so good, caressing his taste buds like heavenly ambrosia. This was sure the food of gods!

Suddenly the bowl was empty. Naruto glared at it in dismay. "Can I have more?" he asked.

"Of course," the chef answered with a chuckle. "Right here."

Everybody was amazed at how much the small child was able to put away. Tenzo realized that he'll probably have to reassess his food budget. Feeding Naruto proved to be quite costly. But seeing the happiness shining in the little blond's face he couldn't find it in himself to deny him. It seemed like they just found their restaurant of choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Another month later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto and Tenzo were going through one of their first spars. I wasn't much of a fight yet, but the boy was enjoying himself immensely. Even Tenzo was sporting a smile on his face.

They were interrupted by an amused chuckle. They turned to the person which had been observing them from the shade of the trees without them noticing.

"Old man!" "Hokage-sama!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Is something the matter," the ANBU asked.

"Not at all," the wizened village leader replied. "I just wanted to see how are you doing."

"Great," Naruto answered happily. "Tenzo is teaching me wonderful things. Do you want to see?"

"Not now. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright," Sarutobi said.

"It is," the boy assured him. "Thanks for letting me live with Tenzo. You're the greatest!" The elderly man chuckled at the child's praise. "I want to be just like you when I grow up."

"Really," the elderly man smiled. "That's nice."

"Yes, old man. I'll be Hokage like you, just you watch," Naruto declared.

"Aren't you aiming high," Sarutobi commented. "That is no small feat."

"But I'll make it. Believe it," Naruto stated with unwavering determination.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, where are my manners," Tenzo said and made a bench grow from the ground. Naruto stared open mouthed. He had never seen his guardian use his special power before.

"Thank you very much. But I'm afraid I have to decline your invitation. I still have some appointments today. I have to leave now." He disappeared in a Shunshin.

"Wow," the boy exclaimed admiring Tenzo's creation. "Can you make other things grow? Can you grow a house?"

The Mokuton user smiled at his young charge's excitement. "Why, yes."

"Than why don't you live in one?" the blond wondered.

"And just where would I put it?" Tenzo threw his arms around in a dramatic gesture.

"Right here," the boy answered like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the grown man shook his head. "It is a public training ground."

"And somewhere else?" the young demon vessel tried.

"Like where?" His caretaker raised an eyebrow.

"Anywhere? And what about something smaller than a house? Like a tree house?" The puppy eyes were irresistible.

"Okay," the man agreed. "I'll make you a tree-house."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Five years old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bunshin no jutsu…ah!" Naruto was getting frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, the clone wouldn't form right. He got down the Henge in no time, discovering he could make the change physical instead of mere illusion, and Kawarimi after a bit of struggle, but not this. Tenzo originally blamed it on bad chakra control and taught him tree-walking to remedy it, but it was of little help. He now knew the leaf-floating, water-walking and point-balancing exercises and was pretty sure he was the only one in his age group who could boast such ability, but the basic Clone jutsu still eluded him for reasons unknown.

He kicked the pale sickly apparition sprawled on the ground, causing it to dispel. "What am I doing wrong?" If he were the type to pull out his hair in frustration, he would have been already bald.

"Maybe it's just not your type of technique," a silky voice suggested.

"Anko," he turned around startled. The kunoichi jumped down from a tree. She took on a habit of appearing occasionally during their trainings, offering a witty comment or two. Tenzo was always exasperated by her visits, but Naruto came to enjoy them. She was fun.

"Every shinobi have a technique they just can't get right no matter what they do," the woman continued.

"Are you saying I should just give up?" Naruto asked offended. "I'll do it, believe it."

"I'm not saying that, just that maybe you should try something a bit different instead," the snake summoner clarified.

"Like what?" the boy was intrigued.

"I'll show you, but you must promise me you won't tell a soul who showed it to you." The mischievous expression on her face would send grown men running, but not Naruto. He was hooked on her words.

"Why?" he asked a bit puzzled, a bit excited. "Is it forbidden?"

"No, merely restricted," she explained. "It has a high chakra cost, but that shouldn't be a problem to you."

"Okay, I'm game. Bring it on." The child agreed eagerly.

"You asked for it, brat," the kunoichi smiled. "Here comes the Shadow Clone jutsu."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Six years old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was one of their rare days off. Tenzo convinced Naruto to forgo training for today and instead they were spending their time wandering through the park, enjoying the sunshine, eating ice-cream and ignoring the stares of the villagers. They had a lot of practice with it.

"You," an angry voice sounded. They paid it no heed. "I'm talking to you, dammit. Pay attention!"

They didn't acknowledge him until he stood in front of them effectively blocking their way. They tried to bypass him, but he stubbornly refused to let them. The sight of a ten or maybe eleven years old kid trying to bully a grown-up shinobi was comical. A group of his friends was observing the scene with curiosity.

"Do you want something?" Tenzo asked calmly.

"Yes. How does he dare to show his face in public," he ranted self-righteously. "He should rot it jail for what he did to my father."

"Should I know you?" Naruto inquired.

"No, but you know him," the as of yet unknown boy pointed to his right. Naruto followed his finger and his eyes landed on a man in a wheelchair. His breath caught in his throat. He recognized the hateful face. He shrunk back, hiding behind Tenzo's legs. He hadn't acted like that in over a year, but his guardian couldn't fault him. He recognized the person as well.

"Kitahama Kaji," he stated.

"So you are minding the brat now," the crippled man said.

"So I am," the shinobi confirmed.

Kaji looked like he wanted to say something, but the ANBU's face and too many onlookers made him rethink it. "Go away," he growled. "Just go away."

"We'll go," Tenzo decided. "Come, Naruto." They turned around to leave.

"Don't you just walk away," Kaji's son shouted.

"Quiet, Akise," his father chastised him.

"Hey!" the boy yelled.

Some instinct warned Naruto about the danger, but he was too slow to move. Tenzo was already moving, but he misjudged the situation. The kunai struck Naruto in the back. He fell forward.

Akise stared like he couldn't quite comprehend what he just did. He wasn't the only one. A stunned silence reigned over the park until Tenzo called for Military police to arrest the culprit. Then he knelt down by the wounded boy.

Naruto was in pain. He had been injured before, but never stabbed so deep. He felt the blood pouring from his wound. He also felt a familiar heat spreading through his body. A barely perceptible whisper sounded in his mind. He couldn't understand the words, but he knew what it wanted him to do. He lifted himself to his knees and pulled out the weapon. Blood flowed freely for a moment, then stopped.

"Naruto!" his guardian shouted in alarm. He ignored him. He started toward the attacker, who by now was trembling in fear.

Then trees suddenly burst from the ground, stopping him, binding him. The burning from his veins disappeared. The wound on his back made itself know via an attack of pain. He blinked in surprise. What had just happened?

Then strong arms wrapped around him. The trees released him.

"Let's go," his caretaker said. He just nodded. He was too tired to do anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi knocked at Tenzo's door. His head was still pounding from the shouting match he had to sit through in today's Council session. The bunch of reprobates had heard about the incident in the park almost as soon as it had happened and naturally demanded something had to be done about the demon. Even when he pointed out that Naruto hadn't actually done anything, they were unrelenting. He sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to announcing to the poor boy what they made him agree to.

The door opened and he stepped in.

"How do you feel," he asked after the greetings.

"Well," the young demon vessel answered. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"I'm glad to hear it," the Hokage smiled.

"But that isn't what you came for," the boy guessed.

"You are right. Am I that obvious?" Naruto didn't deign it with an answer.

"It's something bad, isn't it," the blond stated.

"Right on target again," the village leader confirmed. "They banned you from entering the Academy."

"What?" Naruto looked at him with a dejected look in his wide blue eyes. "They can stop me from becoming a ninja?"

"No, they can't do that," Sarutobi shook his head. "They merely won't allow you to study at the Academy. You can still become a shinobi if you pass the test."

"So I just have to study with Tenzo?" the boy asked with hope.

"Yes," the old man confirmed. "That's it."

"That's great," Naruto smiled relieved. "I can still take your hat."

"Train hard and we'll see," Sarutobi smiled back.

"Old man, I have to ask you something," the youth changed the topic, his voice suddenly solemn.

"What is it?" The Hokage went on guard.

"What happened today?" That was just the question he feared.

"What do you mean, Naruto? You were there." He tried to dodge it, but no such luck.

"Don't try to change the matter again, Old man," the boy said angrily. "It won't work on me anymore. I just have to know what was that heat, why did my wound heal so quickly and what did Tenzo do. And don't tell me I'm not ready to know. I already have a theory about it and the truth cannot possibly be much worse. So please come clean and tell me about the Kyuubi."

The Hokage was shocked, although perhaps he shouldn't be. Naruto was quite clever, after all. At least when no books were involved. "Very well then. Sit down, it is a long story."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven years old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stood in the middle of the training field, a wooden stick in his hands and waved it around in a complicated dance. A group of Shadow clones was mirroring his movements. When his guardian had first found out about them, he had been furious at Anko, but he had to admit their usefulness. That naturally didn't mean he forgave the crazy kunoichi.

"What are you doing?" Tenzo asked.

"Practicing my kenjutsu," the boy answered. He was fascinated with the art of the sword ever since he saw Tenzo in a sparring match against an ANBU woman.

"But you never trained it before," the older man pointed out.

"Then I should better start, shouldn't I," the ninja wannabe stated simply.

"You don't have a sword," his sensei reminded him.

"Then I'll have to get one," the boy had a simple solution.

"You mean it, don't you," Tenzo smiled. Naruto nodded.

"Very well. I'll show you the correct way," Tenzo agreed. "And if you are any good, I'll see about getting you a sword."

Next time: A team is forming