DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the associated characters . All rights are reserved to Kishi and whoever helps him with how the story goes in Naruto.

I own the OC Haruna and you do not have my permission to use her for your own (unless you ask me very nicely and give sufficient bribery. Maybe we can work around this.) There will be OOCness. That is the beauty of fanfiction. I try my best to keep them in character but expect a little tweaking then and there. For minor characters mostly, since it's often up to our imagination with them.

There will be Japanese used in this fanfic, although very minimally.

Once I had a sister

Chapter 2

Brother/Sister-ness

In the night, while Konoha dreamt, their jinchuuriki was drowning in his solitude. In the night, when there was no one around to witness him take off his defences, he would curl himself into a ball with only his conscience for company. Even though he was never a part of it, Naruto much preferred the bustle of day than the silence of the night. In the bare, echoing apartment the memories of the day as the village pariah would rush in as one distorted, hellish nightmare. The simple frosty glares, the way expressions transformed perceptibly whenever they caught sight of him into ones of disdain, hatred and dislike.

Night-time was malignant, an inescapable nightmare that he had yet to find the light at the end of. Tonight, the nightmare was the same and Naruto sat on the blanket and hugged his knees to himself in some effort to keep the emotions tamped down inside him. He wouldn't let the troubles he was facing get him down, not while he was striving to prove with every fibre of his being that he was someone to the villagers.

He felt close to breaking, and no amount of wishing for the nameless, faceless persons who were the parents he had been told every child was meant to have was enough to make a difference…

~.~

"Wait, he lives on his own? All by himself?" the kunoichi asked as she watched Naruto move himself up on his elbows only to curl into a ball sitting up on the bed from the inn room that served as a patrol centre for night watches. Konoha kept 24 hour surveillance patrols on the village and this was the first time it had crossed the ANBU's minds to shift their gazes even momentarily on the run-down apartment that housed their jinchuuriki. ANBU Wolf took her eyes off the binoculars to round on the other three ninja joining her. "The kid's six!"

"And so were we when we became ninjas," Nezumi reminded her, before turning his eyes back to the rubiks cube in his hands. His obsession with games knew no bounds. "It's not our problem, he'll survive."

"What if he has nightmares?" she pressed on, because she remembered Naruto did not look the same way when she'd seen him at the ramen stand that other night. "Can we help? He's bound to have nightmares; it's not safe to leave kids on their own."

"If it was a problem, then we would, only it isn't. If the brat read something scary it's his fault."

Haruna should have felt fine with that but she didn't. The idea of turning away and going back to her own empty apartment sank like a stone in her stomach. She prodded the ninja in the back, where she knew the armour was the weakest. "I know this goes without saying, but I'll say it again. You guys are mean. I'm just going to take a look; I'll be right back, sheesh."

Her patrol partner barely shrugged but when he stood and opened the window for her, signalling that he'd take over the shift for the both of them, Haruna grinned. The ANBU knew her well enough to know there wasn't any stopping her in the first place. As he went back to his game, and Haruna climbed out onto the roof, the mousy-haired ninja reminded her, "Just remember we're not social justice warriors, Wolf, we're ANBU. If there's anything wrong, you're not supposed to make contact."

"No need to tell me twice," she assured the uninterested group, "I'll be back in a second."

~.~

He was so tired. Somehow there was always the knowledge that a child like him shouldn't need to barricade himself against a world that did not want him. He'd had too much; he was so tired of this cheerful façade. He could feel the reel slipping from his hands, he was at his breaking point, and he didn't want to be so alone anymore. He could feel something ripping inside, he was going to break and he didn't care so long as it stopped hurting –

"Naruto?"

Wide, hazel eyes were staring at him from the window. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, every muscle still seized in the ball he had curled himself into. He only watched, wide-eyed as the person at the windows' shoulders slumped in relief.

ANBU Wolf, Haruna, blinked in surprise. At first the only problem that had crossed her mind before coming to Naruto's apartment was what she would say in explanation if he did see her there. Now, being someone who knew what isolation, loneliness, and indescribable longing felt like, she realised its signs on Naruto at the sight of him on the bed. Haruna climbed in through the window and perched herself on the bed beside him, mentally noting all that she observed. The boy was clutching his knees so tightly the knuckles were white and he was shaking.

"Naruto. It's me, Haruna. Do you remember me?"

There was no reply; the boy's eyes were fixed on the sky past her shoulder. Perhaps he didn't remember her – their conversation at Ichiraku had been two weeks ago - but she let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding in when he nodded slowly.

Naruto's eyes were pools of abject misery; any illusion of control that his six year old mind could conjure that lasted this long should have disappeared long ago. She pushed the reminder that she was supposed to keep her distance far from her mind. At this moment Naruto needed her complete honesty and undivided attention and it wasn't likely that there would be another chance if she let this slip through her fingers.

ANBU Wolf cursed under her breath. She had walked straight into a thick mess without so much as a second thought. Or any thought, for that matter. Besides, she noted, with much inward chagrin, she didn't really know what to do.

For a moment she wished she had the skill of other jounin, the ones who were able to calm any crying child with a whisper and soft touch, but her hands had long since lost their gentilty.

Haruna forced an enthusiastic, all-knowing tone; she might as well begin. "Bad dreams, am I right? I know all about them, I used to have them all the time when I was your age. Scary stuff. Nightmares. You uh, want to let me know about yours?"

Naruto wasn't answering; no doubt he was still shaken and the unexpected warmth of having someone come to his side, worrying about him, would be far more than he could handle. He couldn't seem to find the words to ask the ninja why she was here. Haruna saw it all and went on talking, filling up the empty space around them with words of jumbled comfort, meaningless sentences to let him know the world still existed, "you don't really have to tell me; just having someone there usually makes it feel better. Can you see the moon? It looks nice tonight, don't you think?" She stopped, (feeling like a failure) because for all her unprofessional intrusion, Naruto was still shaking. The ANBU agent thought back to all the times she'd had to deal with traumatised minors and decided to take a simpler approach. "You know what, I'll ask questions and all you have to do is nod or shake your head. Can you do that for me, Naruto?"

She sent a silent prayer of thanks when the boy peeked an eye out from underneath his arms and nodded. "Good." she said. "Good. Um, are you hurting anywhere?"

The boy shook his head, still not talking.

"Okay, you're not hurt, that's good to know. Good." She blew her cheeks out as she thought for the next question, "Were you dreaming about scary things?"

The boy shook his head; left, right, left again, to the kunoichi's confusion. "So, were you dreaming at all then?"

To her surprise, Naruto did answer her verbally this time - he hadn't been sleeping at all. Haruna couldn't think of anything to say in response and just made a noise to show that she was listening. Naruto seemed to regain a bit of his courage as he pointed to his chest, or rather, curled his hands into them, a silent demonstration of the unexplainable ache where his heart was.

Haruna was perceptive enough to understand the gesture. "You're feeling sad, aren't you, most nights? If you can describe it to me," she added, thinking quickly, "I think I can help you."

"I just…" Naruto paused, struggling to find the words to explain the tumult of emotions inside him. "I've never had anyone be nice to me. Everyone else is always with someone else and I don't. And it's hard not to cry I just want to let it all out but I have to be strong…"

It seemed to be effectual, as Naruto's guard weakened instantly and he could not meet her eyes. With his left hand, he began to pick at the loose threads on his shorts, visibly struggling with whether to speak or not. His voice was hoarse as he said, "the whole world is mean and I just wish that i can forget all about them or just have someone else like everyone else does because that's all i can think about and…" he seemed to lose the will to speak. He stole a look at the kunoichi sitting on his bed who had not said a word but seemed to be waiting for him to continue.

Naruto took a shaky breath, trying to find the words to explain the tumult of feelings inside him, to finally just cave and spill his guts. He couldn't hold them back anymore, "I want to stop holding everything in and just stop being strong because it's so hard to not cry when you want to because everyone wants to hurt you and- and being alone hurts too but there's never any one and –" he took a deep shuddering breath, too caught up in the rush of emotions to remember someone was actually listening to him, why did it sound like sob every time he breathed? – "I don't know why it hurts so much but I wish that i didn't have to keep holding myself together and I really want to cry and I don't know what to do to make it all stop except fall asleep and, and, ahh…." The small boy lost the will to speak and turned away, wishing his throat stopped closing up whenever he tried to let something out. He couldn't bring himself to look at Haruna anymore. He felt like crawling into a hole and never coming back.

Temporarily lost for words, the ANBU ninja did not attempt to reply. In fact, she had no idea what to do in response, much to her own regret. The emotive tirade had reminded her with grim irony of on her own lonely childhood, the bleak aftermath of loss. And yet she knew she could feign empathy with the child because he had been alone from the start while she'd at least had a family, if only for a short time. Haruna sighed. Years working her way up the shinobi ranks had taught her to hide her emotions, but she knew all too well the sinking feeling of wanting someone beside you, a comforting hand around her shoulders to make her feel less alone, that the world wasn't so large and frightening.

As she searched for an answer, her mind shifted to a memory from an eternity ago, when she was alone in her room, holding back tears, and her mother came in and hugged her to her chest…

"Naruto?" she murmured, getting to her feet.

Naruto turned toward her "Wha-?" The boy's question died on his lips.

Without stopping to think, Haruna had opened her arms and pulled Naruto in. Naruto stared wide-eyed over the girl's shoulder, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"It's okay to cry." Haruna said quietly, her chin resting on top of his blonde hair. "Sometimes, it's just a sign that you've been strong for too long"

Naruto noticed his vision getting blurry and hot to which his eyelids fluttered in a surprised blink; and wetness rolled down his cheek to drip on the shirt he was being held against. In an attempt to stop the crumbling floodgates from breaking the boy tried talking calming breaths but all that came out was a sob. And what really threw him was that at some point, he had brought his arms around the girl and was sobbing into her shirt.

"It's not your fault, Naruto..." she spoke into his hair as the storm of shaky sobs continued. Sisterly instinct, feelings that had not stirred inside her for a long, long time became the meaning to the words she said next. "I'm here - it's okay, it's okay, you'll be okay," she kept on saying, although when she looked around at the gaping darkness of the room she felt like a liar. How could the boy be okay when he had no one, no other person who cared enough to wonder if he was actually surviving on his own...

Haruna was just nodding off when she heard soft snoring from the bundle in her arms. The little jinchuuriki was fast asleep. Don't make contact, her better judgement hissed. She carefully set his small frame down on the bed, trying to swallow the aching lump chafing her throat. After this, the ANBU decided, she would walk away and ask for a mission that would keep her away from Koonoha until the boy forgot all about ever having her save him. No wonder they were told in the ANBU not to interact with everyone else because now she wanted nothing more than to stay by the child's side and never leave.

The postion of the moon in the sky reminded her that she'd been gone for a while and the rest of her peers would be wondering where she was. Wistfully, Haruna pressed a soft kiss to a warm forehead before standing to leave. She turned around and halted as a small hand grabbed her own.

ANBU Wolf exhaled slowly, surprised that she recognised the pangs of pity in her chest. Curses, her workload had just doubled. No way was she going to let this go now...

Naruto woke up to dancing sun motes and the premonition that something was not right. For starters, he was lying on his back, the blanket tucked at his chin. For a kid who always woke up either on the floor on in positions that defied the grade on his flexibility, this was alarming. Secondly, he'd slept more soundly than usual, thanks to Haruna's intervention the other night, and his battered alarm clock showed that school was starting in half an hour.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Naruto turned around the corner to his kitchen…

… and stopped in surprise.

There was a box on the table-top, with arrows pointing at a tag. That hadn't been there the night before. With "BEWARE THE KUNAI BOMBS!" written in block letters, next to an attempt at a spooky font with the words: "PULL THIS… IF YOU DARE!"

Naruto wasn't stupid, whatever his abysmal report card said. His first reaction was to ignore the threats. The whole rig looked too... amateurish for something of that scale. But she was ANBU. There was a possibility that the trap was made for that exact purpose, to lower his guard. What if she'd made it look completely obvious to trick him and had actually put one in?

Pictures of exploding kunai bombs and shuriken devices danced across his vivid imagination. Were ANBU even allowed to do stuff like this? Then he realised just how weird and decidely un-Hokage-like to be scared of a box. The thought of what people would think if they knew that he, future ninja-extraordinare, had been scared of a box – it sounded bad every time he said it – was enough to overcome whatever caution he was meant to take.

He reached a (hesitant) hand to the tag and pulled it.

A letter with neat handwriting on it bordered with chibi doodles of what looked alarmingly akin to certain jounin he'd seen around town popped out amidst showers of golden confetti.

…Kunai bombs?

'OHHAYYOOOO! I've got a mission on today, so I took off. But not before rigging this awesome thing out of the ramen box holder- I'm so creative. Heh heh.' (A chibi demon was inserted here.) ANYWAY, there's lunch in the fridge and I packed your school bag- it's next to the door. Have a nice day.
And don't forget to clean up the confetti.
- Haruna

Without warning, the box blew another party blower and another strip of paper landed beside the first.

'P..S. Congratulations! You have officially been introduced to Haruna, trickster extraordinaire and the most un-shinobi-like person you'd ever meet! Go now and tell the world that your great exploits young Uzumaki! (And clear up the mess for me.)'

Naruto stared at the letter for a full minute. The last of confetti sprinkled unceremoniously to wooden floor of his apartment.

Just who was this ANBU lady – and how did she make that box? Halfway through his second cup of miso pork ramen he was no closer to finding an answer. He would wait until he next saw her.

And the nonchalant ticking of the clock in his bedroom subtly reminded him that school was starting in twenty minutes.

It was a beautiful day.

That afternoon, they sat on the hill where Naruto had run off to the day of the mask incident. This time however the mood was bright, the array of various treats and other food they both decided was good for a picnic livening the atmosphere between the girl in ANBU gear and the boy in orange festively.

Next to Naruto, Haruna was still laughing over the stunt they'd pulled in the candy store. Well technically she executed it herself – Naruto was outside and minding the rest of the bags - and her pleasure at its success, as shown in the fact that she hadn't stopped giggling since she made her escape, would no doubt have earned the stink-eye from her superiors if they saw her.
The convenience store had been perfectly quiet before there was a"BOOM" and pink smoke immediately clouded the shop window. That, coupled with Naruto's dramatic recount of the event, set off a serious bout of laughter that she had yet to recover from. Haruna did recover (eventually) and ruffled Naruto's sunny head for setting up the picnic on the blanket she had put out. For that was where they were right now, a picnic on a Friday afternoon.

"I wanted to," the ANBU kunoichi repeated, when Naruto hesitantly refused the sandwich she was holding out. The boy had laughed along with her and expressed his approval at the prank she'd played but his enjoyment kept blinking out of his face, as if he was constantly reminding himself not to lower his guard – an assumption, she had the feeling, was not far off the mark. "It's boring without any missions so I wanted to have a picnic with you. Really Naruto. Don't worry."

"Okay then." the boy finally agreed, finally allowing himself to follow the call of his stomach. For the past three days of surprises he had been treated to food and being picked up from school, all in the ANBU kunoichi's unexpected company, not to mention her visit the week before that had triggered the sequence of new events where she'd come to his aid in the middle of a torturous night.

It was funny though, Naruto thought. If he wasn't so happy to receive the nice – or more accurately, the attention that did not involve any visible sign of the absolute loathing of his person that seemed to characterize every other person in the village – he would have avoided it. Yet while this display of kindness was strange to him, the Uzumaki felt there was no need to doubt the benevolent ANBU kunoichi. After all, she'd paid for a night at Ichiraku for him, a deed that was worth admiration.

Not wanting to spoil the beauty of the moment by thinking, Naruto popped another chocolate in his mouth as he swung his feet under the bench. It was a lot of fun and he felt so much better than he usually did. He could get used to the life, he decided.

It was a well-known fact that once you became friends with someone, breakfast at their place was somewhere down the track. Thankfully, Naruto had not minded the suggestion (there really wasn't any point in refusing when she had showed up at his apartment door with oatmeal and apples) and had opened the door wide to let her in. Across the cups of chicken ramen that Naruto had insisted on sharing, Haruna deigned to broach on the subject of Naruto's history. Other than him being the Kyuubi no Yoko's jinchuuriki, there was little else in the records she'd been able to find about the Uzumaki child.

Haruna finished her cup first – because no one, not even anyone in the ANBU could beat her when it came to eating speed – and went off to explore the rest of the apartment while Naruto finished his. For his own safety the jinchuuriki had been assigned his own quarters, where no one was to disturb him. Yet from what she could see…

"Ne, Naruto, is this where you honestly live?"

Naruto looked up from his noodles and around the confines of the apartment he had called home since he left the orphanage a long, long time ago. It really wasn't very big, with the biggest room being the kitchen, living room and bedroom rolled into one, which opened into a narrow hallway with the bathroom on one side and the foyer on the other. There were no decorations anywhere, save for little plants crowded on the windowsill, paint peeled on the walls and there was nothing vaguely resembling a plaything for the boy except a makeshift dummy that Haruna vaguely recognised as the dark-haired boy she'd seen with that Uchiha Itachi at the park.

"Yeah," the blonde mumbled into his noodles half-heartedly. "B-but it's fine. Really. I spend most of time outside with my awesome-ninja training and you don't notice it much when you're eating ramen. It's a lot better than all the other places I stayed in. The Sandaime was really nice to let me have this place for my own."

"Where'd you stay before? And… were the people nice to you?"

"O-o-o-h," faltered Naruto, embarrassment on his brow. "They gave me food and let me help them around the house so yeah, they weren't bad. An' there were always lots of other kids so it was prob'ly hard for them to take care of all of us at the same time. But staying here," his tone brightened and he ate his noodles with more of an appetite after, "is my favourite." Naruto finished up with another sigh, of relief this time. Evidently he did not like talking about his experiences in a world that had not wanted him.

Across the table, Pity was suddenly stirring in Haruna's heart for the child. What a starved, unloved life he had had-a life of drudgery and poverty and neglect; for ANBU Wolf was astute enough to read between the lines of the Uzumaki jinchuuriki's history and divine the truth.

"Mmmm…" Haruna looked around the room thoughtfully, the beginnings of a plan forming in her head that she would put into action later. "Thanks for telling me, Naruto." Focusing on the task at hand, she handed Naruto a much-needed napkin as she gathered her dishes. "Eat up, we'll leave as soon as you're ready."

iTi

Later that day – after staying back at school to clean the classroom for his 'accidental' destruction of the bookshelves with soaked toilet paper wads - Naruto walked up the stairs to his apartment, and groaned in frustration when his door wouldn't budge. He tried the rusted handle once again, only to get the same result. 'Wha…?' Now this was a new experience. He was locked out of what was meant to be his own apartment. His own apartment, dammit! He banged the door with a small fist, not caring about the complaints he was sure to receive from it. "NANI?!"

The door opened a crack. A familiar head peeked out. "Oh, Naruto! School's finished already?" Haruna asked from a mouthful of cup ramen. "Stay out for a sec. I'm not done yet."

"A…" he stopped because it was that unexpected, although the ANBU kunoichi looked as if it was a normal occurrence to come into his apartment. "He-hey, WHAT?!" he raised his voice a decibel higher than it already was. "What are you doing in my house?!"

Haruna finished chewing and swallowed. "Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies, young one. All will be clear soon." was the mysterious reply as the door was shut once again.

Naruto's found his voice enough to wail "Is that MY ramen?!" as he heard the lock click once again.

He was leaning sulkily against the railing of the stairs when the door finally opened again. Haruna caught the empty ramen cup from the dustbins below thrown at her effortlessly and threw it straight back at its giver. Unfazed, she announced with important air that the abode was prepared accordingly for the "Lord Naru-chan" and ready for his viewing. Naruto, however, was less than amused.

"Naru-chan my a%#. I was waiting for ages!"

"Language, Naruto," Haruna sighed, without much conviction.

With a snort, Naruto pushed past the doorway and stomped inside the apartment. He stopped short at the entranceway.

There was no trace of the mess he was accustomed to. The room was brightly lit, and the scent of lemon graced the air. The crumpled poster of the Konoha Leaf insignia he'd acquired from his first days in the Academy was hung up proudly on the wall, which, to his immense surprise, was rid of the cracks that had been present since he had first moved in. His bed was clean, the floor shone, and a basket full of folded laundry stood beside his chest of drawers.

Rage forgotten in the face of the miracle that had taken place before his eyes, he stared around his made-over apartment. Behind him, Haruna was hopping up and down excitedly and pointed out that he had better go look at his kitchen, where he saw his table was set with a tablecloth, the sink free of dishes and the broken kitchen light was fixed and shining brightly.

"So?" Haruna asked into his ear, causing him to jump back in surprise. "Do you like it? I know you like it!"

Like it? His jaw practically touched the floor. "Wait, wait…" he began, but Haruna had taken his hand and was leading him through the rest of her handiwork.

"Come on, this is your apartment, you know. I didn't throw anything away or look at any of your drawings I promise..." she continued as the boy followed mutely behind her.

Naruto did not why; he should have been jumping up and down with happiness or hugging the ANBU agent for her kindness but instead his heart was clenching inwardly and his mind was telling him not to accept the boon. As he surveyed his improved surroundings, his eyes resting on the gifts he had unexpectedly been the grateful recipient of, all of them from the same ANBU who had stopped at his silence and was waiting for his reply, the voice in his head reminded him to think. He wanted – so so badly – to voice the appreciation he felt obliged to put forth, but not this time. There were questions he had to answer before he could let his mind rest. The whole experience had been too good for him to accept easily, too nice to make him believe there was no other part to it.

Unconsciously, his bony fingers had curled into a fist. Whenever he'd broached the question earlier the ANBU had only ever danced around his inquiries lightly, giving him vague replies that he now noticed neither answered his questions nor made him feel like he deserved this unfamiliar treatment. Not this time. Before he would allow himself to lower his guard, he had to know. Naruto's small head whipped around accusatorily, eyes raised to hazel ones as he demanded suddenly, "Why?" His voice was tight. "You have to tell me why first."

He could have sworn he saw a flicker of confusion briefly pass over the otherwise composed ANBU agent. To her surprise, Naruto's face was set with a seriousness that did not fit right on a face as young as his. "Why what, Naruto?"

"Why are you being nice to me? It's not normal," Naruto susurrated wretchedly, the look in his eyes akin to a stray dog on the streets. "'Cause if you're going to stop next week or forget about it all tomorrow I don't want it."

Haruna's hand dropped to her sides as she finally grasped the reason for the unanticipated reluctance on the Uzumaki's part. Of course, how could she have been so stupid, so horribly presumptuous? The kid had been promised redemption and duped of it too many times to count. No wonder he'd looked at her like she'd spoken another language when she'd offered him a custard pastry on his way to school.

Naruto was looking away, his senstitive little face flushed. It didn't feel nice for him to say those things either, especially when Haruna had been so nice to him but he couldn't let himself believe these other people so quickly. There were physical reminders, on his back, on his arms, his concave stomach, the imprints of what trusting people had done for him in the past. He wasn't going to let it happen again. So it was with a voice mustered with all the sincerity he had that he stood his ground and demanded: "Please just… tell me now, so that it won't hurt when you go away."

"You think I'll go away, Naruto? "

He lifted a thin hand and brushed a tinge of traitorous tears away tersely. "Won't you?"

To his surprise, the ANBU ninja snorted. "Nope. I'm practically you're big sister now. That is," she paused, before asking slowly, "if you won't mind… having me, for a sister."

"A... big sister?"

Haruna nodded earnestly. She took Naruto's hand in her own and sat him down on the floor. The child had opened up to her out of his own accord before, and she intended to return the favour. "You know," she confessed, somewhat hesitantly since the words had been locked away for so long. "I used to have siblings to have siblings of my own. Before I became a ninja. When they died, I didn't ever want to be a big sister again." Naruto had gone silent and was looking at her with new eyes. Haruna, eyes dry, told him softly, "You remind me of them, you know. And then I saw a really awesome, really cute kid called Uzumaki Naruto and then I decided, I wanted to be a big sister again."

A flicker of hope lingered in Naruto's eyes and he tremulously met Haruna's gaze. Slowly, Naruto seemed to unravel from the proetective shield he'd put up around himself. The words had struck a chord and all pretense of bravery was gradually shattering in his desperate need to be held and protected and loved. But, before he could make any choices, there was one more important question he had to ask. "What is a big sister, Haruna?"

She told him as simply as she could.

"So… being a big sister means you'll take care of all my stuff for me and I don't have to worry about it?"

Haruna hesitated at the wording, "Well to a point, I guess so."

"And that you'll buy me food all the time?"

"I wouldn't say the pay's great in the ANBU but—"

"You won't mind if I'm annoying?"

The kunoichi frowned in confusion. What was the kid up to, she was about to ask when Naruto fixed the most adorable puppy-dog-eyes on her and wheedled,

"And also that I can have someone to play pranks with? Pleaaassseee."

Haruna, renowned ANBU Wolf in her circles, pinched the bridge of her nose before looking Naruto in the eye. Then she rolled her eyes. "Yeah why not, that actually sounds pretty great, yeah."

The whiskered face processed that for a moment. Then, "YOSH!"

A grin bloomed across his face that mirrored Haruna's, and Naruto enveloped the kunoichi in bear-tight hug, his arms encircling the grey armour and the strength and safety he could feel from it. He looked – and she did not think it was surprising – as if someone had eased the world off his shoulders. Haruna closed her eyes as she felt the surprising warmth behind them.

"It's a deal then, Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked through the sunny tufts of hair.

Naruto nodded as he sent a silent thank you from the bottom of his heart to whoever was listening. For the time being, nothing else seemed to matter because he had family to his name and he had no words to describe the feeling.

.

.

.

-END OF CHAPTER TWO -

AUTHORS NOTES:

OK. Erm… This took another whole morning to get this the way I wanted. I hope I learnt to write at a faster pace. =.=

I hope that you like Haruna and the way this story is going. (I meant this to be fluffy, okay? I meant this to be fluffy.)

In addition, I apologise to you all for the odd grammatical error that pops up now and then. Guys, these chapters were put through fire and ice, and monsters of the dark and whatnot, before uploading. But even so, I realise -TOO LATE- the mistakes that slip in. So uh… GOMEN. GOMENASAI. FORGIVE MY SORRY CARCASS ON THE ROADSIDE. In fact, acknowledge these mistakes for being ninja enough to pass through the eyes of F7 Windows Spellcheck. They're better at lying undetected than Yamato tailing someone. (Heh, did you see what I did there?) I'm sorry guys. I hope I make up with it for by potential love interests. (^_^)

Oh, and sing your alleluias and praises to Noetic Sky. She never admits it, but every nicely worded thing here comes from her. The barest plot lines and these Authors Notes are the only things you can thank me for. See the stark difference? That shows how awesome she is. Join me in praising her.

Thanks again for reading, please review, and –hoping against hope- favourite and follow.

Alatariele C.
-in collab with Noetic Sky