Chapter 13 - The Missing Link.

Pairing: Naruto x Uchiha Mikoto.

THIS WILL NOT BE A HAREM

A/N: Cookies. Brownies. Yule logs. Cake. Sprinkles.

*hollers to the back* Is that Christmassy enough? I don't know what else to say, damnit all. This is pretty close to the candles day, tree day, reindeer day, and a while before we need to crack open a new can of beer underneath the fireworks, so hope yall enjoy.

Warning: The main character's age has been adjusted. Yes, they are older than the last chapter. This has been confirmed.

Sarutobi Estate.

The blond couldn't comprehend what he had just heard. He had asked his surrogate grandfather for help, so he could teach him, but this was an odd thing "Could you repeat that?" Naruto asked confused as he felt a sweatdrop tickling down the side of his face.

Hiruzen blinked and coughed into his hand with a smirk, "Yes, yes, we will be training the thing you are possibly the worst at. Patience. Don't look so dull, it's a family trait. Your mother was also very, very bad at the patience game. Should have seen her face when she realized it would take you nine months to come out of her stomach." The old Hokage couldn't hold his chuckles in as he relived the memories of a very impatient Kushina.

Before throwing a fit about how that would help him, he decided to take a deep breath through his nose, and exhaled it through his mouth, "And how exactly is that going to help me with my problems?"

Hiruzen had already anticipated that this question would most likely come, and said his prepared answer, "You are still a boy, you may be an adult in the eye of the village because of that headband, but you will tear yourself down if you don't start to learn patience. You are rushing through life at a dangerous pace."

"I still don't follow. How will being patient stop me from feeling like a failure?" Naruto asked again, not feeling like that answer really helped him at all.

Hiruzen sat down on the grass field and patted the spot beside him, looking expectantly up at the blond. Naruto tilted his head before sitting down, looking over at Hiruzen who took the sitting position of what he would assume was meditation. "Meditate with me." Was the clear instruction.

The old Kage sighed, "You cannot shoulder every problem, as if they were your own. Yes, the Uchiha clan died a tragic death, and you have every right to be sad. However, their death wasn't your responsibility. The death of your parents wasn't your responsibility either. You need to learn to be patient with yourself, so you can slow down and see that not everything is on you."

Feeling like this was already a lost battle, Naruto decided to keep his mouth shut. What point was there to argue? He had asked for help to control these emotions, and learn how to live with his past mistakes. He could at least hear the man out before he decided to shout to high heavens that he was a failure. "So what are we going to do? Are we gonna train here?"

A small smirk graced Sandaime's lips as he shook his head in the negative, confusing Naruto even further. What had been the point of asking him to come here if they weren't even going to train in said location? "Not quite; it's close yet a bit far off from here. My father took me there to train many years ago, away from prying eyes and in complete peace and quiet."

This seemed to pique Naruto's interest. Hi no Kuni was usually a busy place, Shinobi, and merchants traveling in from all four gates almost twenty-four hours a day, all the week's seven days. "So where will we be training then?"

Taking the stuff Hiruzen had brought, the old man threw it at Naruto who caught the bag easily. "Ever heard about the Split Lion Mountain?"

Naruto tilted his head at that, "The mountain that looks like the face of a lion, that is split in half in the middle like it was split with a massive wind jutsu?"

Hiruzen nodded in affirmative, "Correct. My father built a small cabin on top of the mountain and flattened the area with Earth Release. He taught me many things up there, and I plan to do the same for you."

"But won't the villagers and elders get mad if you suddenly don't do paperwork and all that stuff? A shadow clone only lasts so long, and I don't wanna burden you." Naruto sighed, feeling a bit uncertain about all of this. The mountain was quite far away, well, not by Shinobi standards really, but there was still some traveling involved in getting there.

The old Hokage looked up toward the mountains and kept silent for a bit, but eventually turned around to face Naruto again, "In these dark times, the village needs new hope. The people around here call you the savior of clans. You may have felt like you failed, but everyone else sees you as victorious. In their eyes, you saved the hope of a new generation of both Uchiha and Uzumaki."

"I don't follow."

"I wasn't done." Hiruzen chuckled, "They see you as hope, even when stuff crumbles around us, a large portion of the villagers feels a sense of safety knowing people like you are watching over them, doing their best to protect the Will of Fire. And as such, we could boost their confidence and hope."

The blond's cheeks reddened slightly at the praising words. He had a hard time believing that people were talking like that about him. However, Hiruzen had no reason to lie. If he was just trying to strengthen his self-confidence, then it would surely fail if what he said were lies. The blond would find out at some point if it were, so Naruto figured there were no lies in the man's words.

"And how will we be boosting hope? Isn't this just training?" Naruto asked curiously.

The smirk on Hiruzen's face intensified at that, "To satisfy the bothersome elders, and to put hope in the hearts of our city, there is always the benefit of spreading the word of a Kage's apprentice."

Naruto's eyes started widening at a rapid pace at that, taking a step back as he looked left and right a few times, "Are you saying what I think you're saying? Oji-san, are you sure this is a good idea? There's a lot of other people that could a better choice…"

"Nonsense. I've already watched over some of your training ever since you were little, I know your limits and your strengths, and the bond between teacher and student is only surpassed by that of family. As a surrogate family, having both bonds would only be beneficial. The already established trust will help us advance. Additionally, the apprentice in question that is both expected from the populace, and has been told to the populace is you, and to be quite frank, I wouldn't have any other person that I'd rather call my apprentice." Hiruzen proclaimed proudly, a confirming hand placed on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto's face was completely frozen in shock, his gaze unmoving before it started to fall toward the ground. Reaching up to wipe a stray tear away from his eye, he took a deep breath before looking back up, "I won't fail you… sensei."

"I know you won't. So as of now, I won't be going easy on you anymore. We have a lot of work to do, and we will start with your request. As you start making progress, I'll start filling in other training regiments." Hiruzen informed, to which the blond only nodded in understanding.

"Hai, sensei!" Naruto yelled out, a small smirk on his face, that reeked the slightest bit of self-confidence.

"Then let's get to it, we are wasting daylight."

In another portion of the village, Kakashi was not having the time of the day. He had been requested by his younger brother figure, Naruto, to help the Uchiha move into the Uzumaki compound. The affair had started out easily enough, some simple moving of personal items and placing them around the newly added rooms in Naruto's family estate.

However, as Karin and Akari had returned home, hell froze over. The storm following the calm had been unexpected, and before Kakashi knew it, he was standing right in the situation he was right now. His eyes wide with fear as his left hand was pulled by a very emotional red-haired girl, while his right one was being pulled by just an equally eager young Uchiha heir.

"Naruto-nii is my big brother! He even promised to teach me ninjutsu!" Sasuke yelled at the top of his lungs, his face flustered with red cheeks signaling his jealousy. The sheer volume of his voice was quite impressive, making Kakashi doubt that he wasn't heard all the way over in Iwa.

On his other side, a very furious Karin was gritting her teeth with her hair rising up, Kushina-style, as she screamed a reply, "NO! He's my Aniki! He came all the way to Kusa and took me and Kaa-chan to our new home! He's my brother! MINE!" And as she finished her sentence, Kakashi could start hearing a ringing in both his ears, with his hair starting to wilt around his face, losing its will to live.

'Kami save me please!' He cried out in his mind, and as if the great kami had for once heard one of his many, many, prayers, both Mikoto and Akari entered the living room the argument had unfolded in. And Kakashi was scared shitless to say so at least. The sheer intent of promised pain for the troublemakers coming from both mothers was scaring even him, an elite Shinobi with war experience.

Mikoto had a face that was far too calm; it was a kind smile, but the aura that was being emitted around coalesced into the form of a Hanya mask. The cold deadly aura, crept across the room sending a chill down the young Uchiha's spine "Sasuke-chan… if you don't lower your voice and let go of Kakashi-san, who has been so sweet and kind to help us move, I promise that you will wish that you had regretted it in time."

Sasuke's entire body froze at the tone, and shakily his hands let go of Kakashi's larger ones. His entire being shook as if he had been traveling through Yu no Kuni in nothing but his birthday suit. Taking a step back, he turned his head up to look nervously at his mother, who's deadly aura had started to fade back into her being, "Good."

Karin was starting to smirk, feeling as if she had won this battle, but when she turned her head a mere inch to the right, she saw her mother's face right next to hers. She instantly froze with a look of fear on her face, her mouth gaping open as Akari simply and calmly spoke with a hand on Karin's shoulder, "Karin-chan?"

The redhead threw Kakashi's hand away, causing the almost lifeless scarecrow to spin around like a Beyblade before falling over the couch, and onto the floor with a loud thud. "HAI!" She screamed, standing completely still as Akari moved away with a satisfied grunt.

Akari gave a small sigh as she raised her head at the newcomer in the house, more specifically the raven-haired woman she guessed to be the one and only Uchiha Mikoto, that Naruto had been so endlessly teased about by one of the legendary Sannin. She couldn't say she didn't understand why Naruto had gotten teased, it was quite obvious in her eyes. An attractive raven-haired woman\ that the blond had praised to high heavens. Seems like it was on himself to get so endlessly teased.

Mikoto who had done the same met the red-haired woman's gaze before giving a nod of acknowledgment, "That's some parenting skills you got there, you only have to say her name before she listens." She voiced out impressed, almost jealous of how easy she made it look, causing the two mothers to share a brief laugh together in the audience of their terrified children, and a seemingly lifeless Kakashi.

"Likewise, seems like you have established quite clearly who's in charge of your family." Akari praised as she was just as impressed, causing Mikoto to gain a slight flush in her cheeks out of a bit of embarrassment, not feeling like it was anything special compared to what the redhead had just displayed.

The two women then started walking toward each other, a hand extended till the point they shared a handshake and an introduction, "Parenting aside, I'm Uchiha Mikoto, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I wish it could have been under other circumstances, I hope we are not intruding in your home."

Akari couldn't help but let out a soft giggle with a shake of her head, "Uzumaki Akari, and trust me, the pleasure is all mine after what I've heard about you; Naruto had a lot of kind words about you. You aren't intruding at all, so that would be nonsense to say. And, it's technically Naruto's home, and I doubt he'd ever think you guys were intruding either, he thinks too highly of you to ever let such a thought cross his mind."

The raven-haired woman couldn't help but blink a bit with a growing smile, a bit surprised Naruto was that fond of her and her family. She had known they were close, but all praise? It warmed her heart to hear that, spreading a nice feeling throughout her body.

As the handshake ended, Mikoto turned around and waved Sasuke over. The raven-haired boy still looked a bit fearful from earlier, but nonetheless bounced over beside his mother, and extended his own much smaller hand to greet the lady, "Uchiha Sasuke, it's nice to meet you miss." He greeted as politely as he had been instructed to do when meeting strangers.

The Uzumaki woman couldn't help but notice how cute he looked, and how he was almost a spitting image of his mother, especially with that hair of his. Reaching down, while crouching, Akari gently grasped the young boy's hand and shook it, "It's nice to meet you too, Sasuke-kun."

When she finished her introduction with Sasuke, she waved her daughter over and smiled as the small girl introduced herself to the newcomers, "I'm Karin, it's good to meet you Uchiha-san…" She politely introduced herself to the older Uchiha woman, yet she couldn't keep herself from blowing raspberry toward Sasuke, which resulted in a light bonk on top of her head by her mother.

"Karin… Go and introduce yourself, properly, to Sasuke-kun. Now." Akari instructed sternly, and very hesitantly, the two kids inched forward. Both pouting greatly, as they extended their hands to greet each other, though the intensity behind their eyes was making both women sweatdrop. Kids would be kids.

Mikoto watched the encounter with a sigh before she looked around, scanning the room to find Kakashi, but then almost comically fell to the ground when she noticed Kakashi laying on the floor as if he had punctured like a balloon struck by a needle. "Are you alright, Kakashi-kun?"

A lame shaky hand raised up from the floor to give a thumbs up, "Never been better…"

A few miles away from the village, Naruto was standing with the wind blowing through his golden locks, his gaze fixated on his home that looked so small from the place he was standing, "It looks so peaceful from up here." He noted calmly, as Hiruzen joined him at his side.

The older man gave a knowing look, "It truly is, which also was one of the first things I noticed when I arrived here on the mountain. The road up here may be tough, but I took that as part of my training as well. Plus, the reward is quite worth it. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I would if you hadn't forced me to climb up here with a hand carrying a small boulder on my back whilst also preventing me from using chakra to climb." Naruto sweatdropped as he turned his head to glare at the boulder he had promptly smashed into the ground, and demolished with a small lightning jutsu upon arriving at the top of the mountain.

Hiruzen shook his head and retreated from the edge they had stood at, "I expect you to do the same every time you arrive here, with or without me, it will help not only increase your strength but also strengthen your determination and resolve to complete a difficult task."

The blond almost fell over the edge at that, and sighed heavily, starting to doubt this had been a good idea in the end, "Fiiiine."

Snorting at the blond's defeated reply, Hiruzen waltzed over and sat on top of a stone. His legs crossed as he took a deep breath, "Are you ready for the first lesson? Remember, at first I'll help you learn how to unwind your troubles, but afterward there is so much more I wish to teach you."

Naruto nodded at that and walked over, "So what are we going to do?"

The smirk on Hiruzen's face seemed almost to pity the blond Uzumaki. The older man patted the rock beside him, and mumbled out, "We… are going to meditate."

The world seemed to stop moving around Naruto as his sense of time and place disappeared for a moment. Blinking a few times, he spoke out, "Come again?"

"We are going to meditate," Hiruzen repeated as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he seemed extremely bored at the mere mention of meditating. He was, after all, an Uzumaki. He was filled with energy and could hardly sit still and do nothing as it was. "And how exactly is that going to help me?"

The old Hokage sighed deeply at that and closed his eyes, "Through meditation, you can clear your mind. Clearing your thoughts will allow you to get a clear vision and a focused thought process. As you clear your mind, you'll be able to see the truth, and discard the darkness shrouding your mind."

"I hate it when you are speaking in riddles," Naruto grumbled and sat on top of the stone beside Hiruzen's, crossing his leg like his mentor had, and intertwining his fingers in his lap as he took a deep breath. This was going to be a long day.

"This will not only benefit you personally but when you master the art of clearing your mind of all the bad stuff filling it, you'll be able to eventually utilize it in combat. And thus, be able to act correctly with a clear mind." Hiruzen continued, completely ignoring Naruto's grumbling.

Naruto closed his eyes, and sighed, "At least this will be able to help me with more than just bad thoughts."

The old man nodded to himself as he closed his eyes. The wind blew through their hair and clothes, as the fresh cool mountain air passed over the mountain tops. "Empty your mind, and clear your thoughts. Live in this moment, not in past ones, pay attention to the current flow of time. What can you hear? What can you feel?"

Naruto found it a bit hard to do that. His mind was filled with so much. His past, his family, the Uchiha, and the people he had lost. It was hard, clearing his mind seemed impossible. The endless images of where he felt he could have done better, was terrifying, yet he did as instructed. Using the events of the current time, Naruto placed his focus on what he could hear, and feel. "I… I can feel and hear the wind, it's in my hair? No, it's everywhere. It's a bit chilly, but I like that, the cold seems soothing." As his mind wandered, he subconsciously started to let the images in his head fade.

"That's right, let the time flow around us just like the mountain wind. Stay focused here in the moment. What else can you feel or hear?" Hiruzen continued, as the two sat with closed eyes. The older man could however feel how hard it was for Naruto. There was hesitation in his voice, signaling that the blond's mind wasn't entirely clear yet. It was to be expected, there was too much within there to simply just clear it.

The blond clenched his eyes a bit, trying to stay concentrated on clearing his mind, but the endless pictures and images of death, blood, and destruction kept on appearing. "Nothing…" Naruto sighed and opened his eyes with a defeated expression, he had let his concentration slip. Instead of focusing on the blank nothingness to clear his mind, he had paid attention to everything that had been bothering him for the past eight years.

Hiruzen opened his eyes too and placed a comforting palm on top of the blond's shoulder, and gave a reassuring look, indicating that it was okay, "Do not be ashamed, you did well for your first try. Meditation isn't something everyone can master. And the more you have piled up in your heart, the more that's bothering you, the harder it will be to clear your head. You cannot master meditation with talent, it requires hard work and determination. Which is why I know you can do it. I have faith in you."

Naruto's lips bend up into a small frown as he looks at his surrogate grandfather and now mentor, "In that case, I guess I'll just have to keep doing it until it works."

With a chuckle, Hiruzen shook his head, "As much as I admire your determination, I can't allow that. We both have some stuff to attend to back in the village, so I'll be leaving for the office around sunset. I want you to go back around the same time, you have people that wait for you. Plus, you'll need rest."

Nodding in acknowledgment, the Uzumaki asked, "So, are we going back up here tomorrow? And, are we going to make it public that you have… made me your apprentice?"

"In order to satisfy the elders and other commanding Shinobi, it's in our best interest to let them know what we're up to. The village too will feel safer knowing about it, giving them a sense of safety. And yes, we shall continue practicing tomorrow. When you've made significant progress with meditation, then we'll mix it up with some combat training. I have a feeling that we don't have time to wait around for Jiraiya to arrive, so I may have to help you figure this new power of yours out myself." Hiruzen explained.

Naruto's face almost fell into a state of fear as that new power was mentioned, he had given it a few thoughts, but it scared him. It made him stronger, faster, but it also made him feel… scared. The power felt terrifying, menacing like it craved destruction. "Very well then."

Hiruzen who had sensed the worry from his student squeezed his shoulder, "Don't worry my boy, I'll be here to help and guide you, and stop you if need be. There's nothing to fear."

"What if I hurt someone? I was so… angry. I was like a blind animal."

"There's no one to hurt up here, don't place fear where there should be none. Everything will work out in the end, and you shall gain clarity."

Running a hand through his hair as he started going over everything that Hiruzen had said since they arrived, Naruto couldn't help but feel like there was more to it than this. It just didn't add up. "All this talk about clarity, and everything of the like… it has nothing to do with meditation does it? No matter how long I will sit on that rock, it will never help me feel less."

Seeing that his blond student was indeed as smart as he had figured, maybe smarter, Hiruzen realized he had been made. Standing up from the rock he had been sitting on, the older man adjusted his outfit for a mere moment, "Meditation will help calm your mind, make you think rationally, but you're right. You can sit there for years, but you will never feel less."

"Then how is this ever going to help me? How can I feel less." Naruto hissed out through gritted teeth, his fist clenching as he just started to feel like he had been wasting his time coming here. He had asked for help, with a very specific matter, and this had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Hiruzen shook his head with a shrug as he eyed the blond boy, "Yeah, it's a clever move being angry all the time. I get it."

Naruto looked up at him from the corner of his eyes as his surrogate grandfather came up to stand beside him, remaining in silence.

As he felt no answer coming, Hiruzen sighed and looked back down over the village as he lit his pipe up with a small fire jutsu. "You see, your problem was never that you felt too much. The problem all along was that you were… feeling too little. Feeling less, as you say."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know that you miss your parents, I know that you miss Shisui. You missed them so much that you shut yourself down, wanting to show them that you were strong and independent, that you had the ability to take care of yourself. That you had no weaknesses. Being mad makes it a lot easier, but you see… the tougher thing to do, would be to let yourself feel." The last couple of words leaving Hiruzen's mouth made Naruto look up at him with wide blue eyes, his foot taking a step back, no words leaving his mouth.

Before Naruto could get too far away, Hiruzen had already anticipated his move and grabbed his wrist, and dragged the blond into a comforting embrace with a warm, comforting smile on his face. "It's okay to be sad, Naruto. You are allowed to be sad. The people that are watching over you from above will understand that you're not always strong. That you're just as human as the person next to you."

Naruto grit his teeth as he tried so hard to fight the emotions bubbling to the surface, his hands clenching so tight with his nails dug into the palms of his hand, small droplets of blood leaked out and fell onto the ground as said nails pierced through his skin.

Gently stroking his grandson's back, Hiruzen looked down over the forest from over the blond's shoulder, "All those tears you shed, they were never intentional were they? You never allowed yourself to feel them, they were just there like an emptiness spilling from your soul. You need to let them have meaning, Naruto, there's no way to get the pain away other than to let yourself feel."

Biting his lower lip Naruto started to feel the tears flowing down his face, the aching pain in his chest that he had subdued for so long started to explode in his chest, causing the light sound of sobbing to fill the mountain top. Meanwhile, Hiruzen just held onto the boy, making sure he wouldn't run away from this. He needed it, and Naruto had to realize that. The constant pain that had bottled up inside him because he would never let himself acknowledge it, confront it, was the very thing undoing him.

We are sorry for not causing enough undue pain and suffering for our beloved blond and gray-haired men. Don't worry… there will definitely be more to come in the near future, though you can always pitch in ideas on how to torment them ^_^.

Questions of the chapter:

What shenanigans will Karin and Sasuke get up to, to prove that their… brother figure belongs to them, and only them? And they are definitely not being yandere little siblings.

Should Kakashi introduce Mikoto to the wonders of Icha-Icha? For research purposes of course… with Akari's help, for future reference with a blonde idiot. *wink* *wink*

Would you guys be interested in a pov of other characters that aren't around? Like Itachi, Danzo, and our beloved p*d*philiac Orochimaru. You can connect the dots.

Would you guys like minor crossovers to other series, like clothing, small abilities, references, and the like? No actual characters, or items proper, unless it's only as a cameo of some kind.