A/N: Hello, sorry it's been so long since I wrote anything for this story. I really have no excuse; I just haven't found the muse to work on this fic in a long time. So, I'm really sorry about the wait.
Well, this is a six month time skip since my last chapter.
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Arashi crept along the outskirts of his former village, the darkness of the night surrounding him. The guards remained unaware of his presence as he slipped into the village. It seemed odd that security would be so lax, especially after the attack, but Arashi chose not to question in.
Someone crept in beside him. Arashi turned to face Karura. The woman was smirking evilly. "Security's a little lax, huh?"
"Not my problem anymore." He whispered back, crouching into the shadows as two guards passed by.
Karura followed suit, blending in just before they turned her way.
"We need to find that kiddo of yours." Karura said after the guards had walked away. "This is dangerous. I hate feeling exposed."
"We're not exposed."
"Yes we are. This village wide curfew doesn't help." She slunk back into the shadows as another guard appeared, dragging Arashi with her.
Arashi ignored her warnings, slipping into his determined mindset. He had somewhere to be and no one was going to stop him, not even his best friend. He pulled out of her hold and moved stealthily toward his destination.
"Wait up you idiot." Karura called after him.
She followed the blond man through the unfamiliar streets, passing building after building until he finally stopped.
"This is it." He said, climbing up the side of the building.
He gently pried open one of the windows, sliding in through the open glass. Karura sighed heavily and rolled her eyes before following. Trust Arashi to use breaking and entering to get what he wanted.
"What is this place?" Karura said, sliding in through the window.
"An orphanage."
Karura looked around the room they were standing in. It seemed to be a dining room with too many chairs at a too small table. There were papers strewn everywhere and it seemed as if dinner hadn't been clean up, judging by the stacks of dirty dishes.
"This is just sad." Karura shook her head.
"It wasn't always this bad. Since that night there have been more orphans, especially ones that need care." Arashi moved through the room swiftly, trying not to show his disgust at the state of room.
"I don't care. That's no excuse for poor hygiene." Karura cringed at the thought of children eating off of the, none too clean, table in front of her. "These children are going to get sick."
"We can't do much about that. Now let's hurry, we running out of time." Arashi slipped out of the room and into the hallway.
Karura followed with an exasperated sigh and a few mumbled curse words that she knew Arashi hadn't heard her say.
The hallway was narrow and it was made narrower by the boxes stacked along the walls. It smelled musty and as if nothing had been washed in awhile. This orphanage really needed to be better taken care of but that understanding would come in time.
"Here," Arashi said, stopping in front of a door with a warning sign on the front.
"That's cruel." Karura said, pulling the sign of the door. "No one should be singled out like that. It's not fair, no matter how much power the child has."
Arashi nodded in agreement as he gently pushed the door open and slid inside. Karura followed him in, closing the door behind them.
In the room a lone crib was placed against one wall and a changing table against the other. A wooden chair was placed next to the crib, as if someone had sat there watching over the child.
"Sad" Karura repeats. She looked out the tiny window, which over looked a wall from the building next door.
Arashi ignored her in favor of looking at the tiny blond baby in the crib. "Hello, Naruto." He stroked the boy's hair, smiling when he leaned into the touch.
"He's touch starved." Karura said knowingly.
Arashi sighed deeply, "They must be afraid of him."
"Of course they are because they're weak and spineless. Someone once said let's be afraid of demons and everyone believed him." Karura balled her hands into fist. "Well you know what they can go suck it."
Arashi smiled slightly. "They're not all bad."
"No they're not and Naruto's not either." Karura said, stroking the little boy's head again.
"I had to see him." Arashi picked Naruto up gently, trying not to jostle the little boy.
"I know."
"It's his birthday. I never really got to know him." Arashi lights up for a moment. "We should bring him back to the house with us."
Karura shook her head sympathetically. "We can't sweetie. You know they'd come looking for him. People would be too afraid that the Kyuubi was going to end up in someone bad's hands."
Arashi snuggled Naruto closer, kissing his forehead. "I know, but I wish that we could give him the life he deserves. One with his half-sisters and people who love him."
"I know." Karura placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know what it's like to have to leave your children behind and to wonder if you'll ever see them again. But you're getting to see him now and I'm sure in the future you'll see him again."
"I know." Arashi kissed Naruto's forehead again, just as the baby started to squirm.
"He's gonna start crying." Karura said, opening the window. "We can't be here when the come to check on him." She slid out the window and onto the landing of the next building. "Let's go."
Naruto was starting to get fussier. Arashi placed him in the crib, giving him on last kiss. "Happy birthday Naruto." With that he slipped out the window too, closing the glass on the sounds of his son's cries. It broke his heart.
"Let's go home." Karura said, tugging on Arashi's sleeve. "It's going to be getting light soon and people are sure to recognize you."
"I'm sure Bee is so done with babysitting duty too." Arashi said, leading the way out of the village and back to their home.
"Yeah, even if Rōshi is helping him, it must be really overwhelm to be dealing with all four children at once." Karura thought for a moment. "Maybe I should have stayed with him."
"If you had I would have either come home with Naruto or not left anytime soon." Arashi said with a bitter laugh.
"That's true."
"Thanks for coming with." Arashi said, as the passed out of the village.
"No problem, it's nice to see that you really do care for your other child as well." Karura took to the trees, leading to way home.
"Of course I do, just because he wasn't in my future plans doesn't mean that I don't love him. He's still my son and I love him."
"I'm glad." Karura said, taking Arashi's hand in her own as they land in the clearing where their house sat. "I'm glad."
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A/N: I'm going to apologize one more time. I also want to thank any of you who've stuck with me and continue reading and reviewing, so thank you. Sorry again.
22/25