AN: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
The glow of the early sunrise trickled through the drapes and Anko's eyes fluttered open.
She could feel a solid warmth around her, and realised Kakashi's arms were wrapped around her.
His chest was her pillow, and she momentarily snuggled deeper into him to avoid the cold desert wind.
Sighing, she glanced at Kakashi who was sound asleep.
The wall clock in front of her showed five o'clock.
She got up, allowing the blanket to fall off her naked body.
How had they ended up here?
Of course she knew the answer to that question.
In her infinite stupidity, she'd stooped so low as to take advantage of Kakashi like this just so she could feel something, anything.
A warm hand wrapped its way around her waist and dragged her back into her cocoon.
She tried to push him away.
"It's still early. Go back to sleep."
"Can't" He purred into her ear, "My chest feels cold without you."
She shivered at the arousal in his voice.
No. You have to control yourself.
"I should leave" she whispered almost to yourself.
His hands travelled up her body to cup her face "I don't want you to leave."
When she gave no objection, he kissed her.
She reciprocated, and the next thing she knew he'd rolled them over.
His hands roamed her body and she arched against him.
Slowly, he kissed his way down her body, making her grip his hair and moan in pleasure.
She no longer felt the desire to leave...
Two hours later
After they'd showered (separately) and had a quick breakfast, they readied themselves for an early departure.
"I think it's best if we leave early."
"Don't you think we could wait around and find out something else?"
"Not particularly no; we were scheduled to leave after lunch anyway. We could leave on account of an unexpected emergency back home overnight. It would be a suitable reason to leave ahead of schedule. Besides, we could move faster with less breaks. That reduces the time before we can present a full verbal report to the Hokage."
She couldn't see any flaws in his reasoning so they wordlessly went about packing, and within ten minutes they'd given word to Asuma that they were leaving early and were heading to the village gates.
There was little security at the exit border, and a mention that they were the Daimyo's daughter's staff led to them being processed quicker.
Soon Sunagakure was out of sight and they were moving at full-speed.
It would take a little under a day for them to arrive at this pace.
He glanced over, and saw her focusing resolutely in front.
She had not met his eyes since they had...gotten out of bed.
Not that he had a problem with it.
He preferred uncomfortable silences to healthy, honest conversations.
His hand went to his utility pouch, where his beloved Icha Icha was.
Ultimately he decided against it.
Even though Anko had willingly had generous amounts of sex with him, he doubted she wouldn't castrate him on the spot if he whipped that book out.
Still, there was one thing he wanted to bring up.
"At the Temple, if that was the Temple rather - there was a moment where you froze. And then later on...you said that 'he was there'. Did you mean Orochimaru?"
She stiffened, and that told him she wasn't going to answer that question.
He looked back ahead, figuring this was going to be a long journey.
The previous evening
"This is troublesome" Shikamaru groaned to no one in particular.
He was in the Clan Archives again, going over a large stack of mission reports.
Asuma-sensei had gone on a mission and had given them instructions to meet up at their training ground and practice the exercises they'd worked on.
It all began when he'd come after training hoping to unwind under the skies.
Of course his mother put an end to all that.
Practically dragging him by his ears, she'd lectured him on how he was slacking in his duties as Clan Heir, and threatened to give his baby pictures to Ino.
That's all she needed to say for him to comply.
Which is why was he was now stuck here, reading up on past exploits of his fellow clansmen.
He thought about acting like he'd read them, but he was sure his mother would somehow find out he was lying.
Honestly, it was like the woman had a sixth-sense for the truth.
He was about to skim-read a report dated thirty years ago thinking it was irrelevant, when something caught his eye at the top right.
'Location: Uzushiogakure'
Uzu...as in Uzumaki.
And there was only one person he knew with that surname.
Only a handful of times had it happened that Shikamaru had moved at a speed not resembling a garden slug.
This was one of those extraordinary occasions.
He locked up the Clan Archives storage briskly, went home to his mother to kiss his mother goodbye and let her know where he was going.
After that, it was a dash to his destination.
Five minutes later he stopped in front of it, his lungs protesting and cheeks huffing.
He had always detested this place growing up.
It was as stuffy and quiet as a mausoleum, not to mention the place smelled like the air had been trapped inside for a century.
Regardless, he was here for an important task.
To find out all he could about a place called Uzushiogakure, and about the Uzumaki.
It was the second time in two days that she was here.
Perhaps it was fate telling her that she was making the right choice.
Or the wrong choice.
She just didn't know what to do.
Ino had first gone to the Haruno household, where she was told Sakura had gone to the library to study genjutsu.
She was happy for her friend that she was taking the ninja profession seriously, but she wondered if a library was the best place to improve one's skills.
One thing Ino did know was her brain would explode if she kept thinking about this anymore.
And the only way to not think about this anymore was to say it out in the open to another person.
As Naruto's teammate, Sakura would conceivably have a better reaction to the truth than most.
And coming from a civilian family she would not be familiar to such terms and concepts.
Her ignorance would hopefully help empathise with her teammate instead of shunning him.
And secondly, she would also have to reveal to her how she had found out; meaning she would be telling her two secrets, not just the one.
The librarian told her that a pink-haired girl had gone to the second floor, so she found Sakura there, with a bunch of books piled around a table.
"Fancy seeing you here."
"Oh Ino, nice to see you. What are you doing in a library?"
"You do remember I had the second-highest scores amongst the girls at the academy right?"
"I remember very well well. The second-highest scores" Sakura lightly teased her.
"Whatever. But seriously, your mother told me you were studying about genjutsu."
Ino noticed one of the books on the table and picked it up "Why do you have a book about Mokuton? That's an Elemental Release with the only known user being the Shodai Hokage."
"I know, it's just...I was thinking."
"Care to tell me what it is?"
"Promise not to laugh?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die."
"It's just well, I've always been good at origami. And considering that paper comes from wood, well I was wondering if there could be a Paper Release. And if there was, how someone might use it."
Ino stared at her like a she'd grown a third eye and Sakura's cheeks coloured pink like her hair.
"I know, it's sort of silly. But I was just curious."
"You're a genius" Ino blurted.
The praise flushed the pinkette's cheeks again "Really? I thought it was all stupid."
"I mean, it most likely is. But who even thinks about this sort of stuff? Even if it doesn't work, it's something worth looking into" she encouraged her.
"Really? You think so?"
"Absolutely."
Ino was looking at her in a different light now. She'd always known Sakura was book-smart, great at memorising knowledge, but she didn't know her best friend could be so unorthodox with her intelligence.
First Naruto, now Sakura.
Both people she thought she'd had a pretty good handle on, and then she'd learned something about each that made her re-think what she know of them.
What was left?
For Sasuke-kun to come out as an aspiring Kabuki dancer.
She almost giggled out loud before remembering why she'd come here.
Making a serious face she looked Sakura intently in the eye.
"I want to tell you something very important. But first you have to promise not to interrupt me at all, and to absolutely not tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."
The latter was not an appeal, but an order.
Sakura was momentarily ruffled by the intensity Ino spoke to her before nodding earnestly.
"The last day of the academy, Naruto and I had some sort of encounter, you could say. I was mad at him for talking over Iruka-sensei so I grabbed his collar to shut him up."
She gulped before revealing what happened "When I touched his collar, it was as if I'd entered a different world. A world filled with fear. I was rooted to one spot with darkness surrounding me. And then I saw them - the largest pair of eyes I've ever seen. I knew instantly they weren't human, and I constantly racked my brain about what they could be until I realised the answer."
She gave her friend a moment to process everything before continuing "I went to one of my clansmen, an old lady by the name of Inoa. She told me I had a very rare gift, the first in generations. When a Yamanaka enters someone's mind, he or she requires chakra. What I can do, doesn't require chakra - it's pure telepathy on its own."
Sakura's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"I know, that's how I looked when I found out. And the other day when I was here with Naruto"
"You were here with Naruto?" Sakura frowned.
"I thought you weren't going to interrupt me?"
"It's just...never mind. I'm sorry. Go ahead."
"When I was here with Naruto, he was reading about jinchūriki."
She waited for any reaction from Sakura.
When none came, she expounded "I had a dream last night, where I remembered how I had felt when I touched Naruto. That's when I connected the dots - that primal fear, those massive eyes: Naruto is a jinchūriki."
"I understood what you meant about your telepathy powers, and that blows my mind; but I don't get the part about Naruto? What is a 'jinchūriki'? And why do you say it like it's a bad thing?"
Any other time, Ino would've been smug at knowing something Sakura didn't. Not with this. With this information she'd rather it was the opposite way - that Sakura knew and she did not. If the wrong people found out about this...she couldn't even begin to think of the consequences.
So instead she asked Sakura "What do you know of Tailed Beasts?"
Almost verbatim, Sakura recited from their history lessons "There were Nine Tailed Beasts. The Shodai Hokage Senju Hashirama divided them between the existing Hidden Shinobi Villages at the time for safe-guarding and deterrence against future combat."
"Do you know what happened to those Tailed Beasts?"
She could see Sakura was trying to go back and remember their history lessons for the answer.
"The answer is that each and every village used their Tailed Beasts, and used them to spawn jinchūriki."
"You keep saying that word, but I can't remembering hearing or reading it in any our books."
"That's because you won't. That concept isn't included in the Academy syllabus, and with good reason. The term 'jinchūriki' essentially means the power of human sacrifice. When one of the nine Tailed Beasts is sealed inside a person, who is then trained and taught their entire life how to control and harness the power of the beast within them."
Sakura gaped at her in horror.
"Bu-but Naruto isn't a monster. He's our friend!"
"I'm not saying he's a monster. I'm saying he carries one inside him all the time, supressing it and preventing it from getting out and destroying the whole village."
"But why would anyone do that to someone? Why would anyone force such a burden on him?"
"Your guess is as good as mind. Maybe because he was an orphan with no one to look out for him? Or maybe he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time?"
"Still though, to have a weight like this...I can't imagine how he stands it. I would go crazy if I were in his shoes."
Shikamaru resisted wiping his brow.
The slightest of movement would alert them he was there, and that was the last thing he needed.
He hadn't wanted to spy on them, it was not his intention at all.
He'd alphabetically come looking to the 'U' section of books, and stumbled upon Ino and Sakura.
From the looks of it they were having a pretty intense conversation.
They gave no indication they were aware of his presence.
He caught the terms 'Naruto' and 'jinchūriki', and slipped into a supply closet behind.
From there, he listened as Ino narrated her story to Sakura.
His expression had been the same as hers - of utter revolt and disbelief.
A large part of him felt bad for Naruto. No one deserved to such a terrible fate.
But a larger part of him grew more suspicious.
He knew of jinchūriki of course, being a Nara and all.
What concerned him was not the beast, but the blonde.
He tuned out the rest of the conversation, analysing the ramifications of this discovery.
It was unlikely that any of the senior ranking officials, including his father were unaware of Naruto's status.
Sakura asked a great question as to why Naruto had been chosen.
Once Ino repeatedly made Sakura promise not to tell anyone they both left, and Shikamaru grabbed every book with 'Uzu' on its cover or description and slipped into the vacated spot.
He flipped through the pages, skimming the words with his fingers looking for any information that stood out.
'Astonishing life forces', 'Massive chakra reserves', 'Slow aging' were just some of the terms that stood out.
Apparently the Uzumaki were once a respected and feared clan belonging to Uzushiogakure - The Land of Whirlpools.
They had been decisive in shifting the balance in Konoha's favour during the First Shinobi War.
Which is why during the Second Shinobi War the enemy forces attacked Uzu itself.
Slowly but surely, the enemy alliance razed Uzushio to the ground building by building.
This would prove to be a costly mistake - as the Sannin fresh from surviving Hanzo the Salamander wrecked the enemy forces invading Uzushio.
However, their help came too late, as by this point most of the Uzumaki warriors had been killed by starvation or combat.
The remaining few left, seeing no point in living in the ruins of their once glorious ancestral home.
And since then Uzushio lay in disrepair.
In honour of their fallen comrades, Konoha had adopted their spiral crest onto their uniforms.
There had been attempts by multiple villages to occupy the region - though every venture failed.
The first expedition was by Kumo, seeking to reap the fruits of their wartime struggles.
A fortnight later the same group returned, claiming they could not find Uzushio.
A second unit was sent, and this time they did find what they were looking for. But of the party of ten, only one returned a month later.
He claimed that all his comrades had disappeared one-by-one, and he had been warned by a 'greater force' that anyone who set foot on the island would experience a worse fate. It was not long after that the tenth man succumbed to insanity and took his own life.
He now understood why Naruto was chosen - his heritage and potency as an Uzumaki made him an ideal candidate to store a Tailed Beast.
What he wanted to unravel was how Naruto had travelled from Uzushio to Shikamaru's village.
The likelihood was that Naruto's parent or parents had left Uzushio after the Second War and someway got to Konoha, where they presumably settled down and had Naruto.
And since Naruto was born just after the Third Shinobi War, odds were his parents died around the same time.
He noticed another discrepancy between the Uzumaki pictured in the books and Naruto - their hair colour.
The ones from the books all had vibrant red hair, whereas Naruto was a blonde.
It meant only one of his parents was an Uzumaki.
Shikamaru cleared the table.
He had a lot of questions to be answered, and a lot of places to go to find those answers.
It took him two minutes before Naruto realised he was being followed.
"You know you should really stop copying me if you want to beat me" He smirked at the wall.
Three small figures popped out, grumbling in surrender.
"Curse you and your amazing senses Naruto Nii-san!" Konohamaru cried.
Naruto ruffled his hair "You're doing better kids. Last time you guys didn't even last thirty seconds."
"It wasn't our fault that stupid dog thought we were a real dragon!" Moegi complained.
"Shouldn't you all be at home? I'm pretty sure it's past your bedtimes."
Udon sucked back his mucus "Ne ne Naruto Nii-san. Just because you're a ninja now you'll talk down to us."
Konohamaru crossed his arms "Yeah. What's up with that? Think you're some big hotshot because you made genin? I'll catch up to you in no time!"
"I'm sure you will. But that won't happen if your mother sees you're not at home for dinner and grounds both of us."
"Fine, but only if you promise to come for dinner! Kaa-san's making ramen."
That was the deal-sealer.
Plus the fact that Kurenai-sensei had given them the day off yesterday.
Naruto sent them off, assuring he would come.
He smiled as he remembered how he had met Konohamaru.
It was a couple years ago, Naruto was meeting the Hokage when a small blur burst into the room and attacked the Sandaime.
He was about to whip out his kunai when the old man keeled over laughing.
"That's it. I forfeit Konohamaru-kun. You win."
The little boy flashed a toothy grin before settling on the Hokage's lap and pulling at his beard.
"I told you I would beat you one of these days! It won't be soon before I'm coming for your chair old man."
"I'll be delighted when that day comes. Ah, but where are our manners? Naruto - this is my grandson Konohamaru-kun. Konohamaru-kun - this is Naruto-kun. He's at the academy just like you."
The little brat pointed a pudgy finger at him "I know you. You're that troublemaker who's never in class."
"Now now Konohamaru-kun" His grandfather chided him, "Is that how we talk to anyone?"
"But that's what everyone in the academy says."
"Sometimes child, it's to best to figure out things for yourself rather than listen to what other people have to say."
The kid sunk his shoulders "Fine" and then he straightened up like a spring and put his hand out to Naruto "Friends?"
Naruto tentatively shook his hand, not wanting him pull his whiskers to see if they were real (which they weren't, they were marks on his face for crying out loud).
"In fact", the Hokage plucked his grandson off him "why don't you go play with your new friend while I do some work."
Before Naruto could say a word the kid bounded out of the room.
"Race you to Ichiraku's!"
Begrudgingly he followed him, and that was the start of their friendship.
"I didn't know you babysat in your free time."
Kami, what was it with people sneaking up on him?
And why wasn't the Kyubi helping him sense when someone was around?
He could do that naturally, but only if he applied chakra.
Usually, thanks to the Kyubi's amplified senses he could just tell how near someone was and how fast they were moving.
In fact, he hadn't sensed Mr Giant Pain In My Ass since he'd haunted Naruto's dreams a couple weeks ago.
And now Shino was to his left, sitting serenely on a bench as if he were feeding pigeons.
"That's the Sandaime's grandson."
"I see, so you're babysitting the Hokage's grandson."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was here before you arrived, giving my Kikaichu some fresh air when I heard some kids making noise."
"Is that all? I'll be on my way" Naruto turned back to leave.
"Actually, I was wondering how you knew this Konohamaru-san in the first place?"
"How does anyone know anyone else in the first place?"
Shino made a sound that almost resembled a snort "I didn't know you liked riddles either."
Naruto frowned "There's a lot of things you don't know about me."
"Indeed. That is most unsettling."
He narrowed his eyes "What do you mean 'unsettling'?"
Shino tipped his spectacles back "Did you know that my Kikaichu can tell me all I want to know about a person? How they're feeling, how well they've slept, what their Elemental Release is, or even what they had for dinner last night. But with you, it's different. My Kikaichu avoid going near you. All they will tell me is a single word: Fox."
Every instinct in his body yelled RUN
Instead he balled his fists and glared at the Bug Boy "So? Like you said, you don't know the first thing about me. For all you know I could spend my free time rearing foxes."
"On top of babysitting our Council-person's young ones and reading riddles? I have some difficulty believing that. I think the answer is much more simple, if unsavoury."
"If you have something to say then spit it out."
"I have nothing to say...for now. However there may be a time in the near future when we will be having a very different conversation."
His eyes narrowed at Shino's insinuation "Are you threatening me?"
"I doubt they would hold any weight against you, even if I did. But rest assured, I have shared my thoughts with Shikamaru-san..."
This time Naruto acted.
He grabbed the other boy by the collar and yanked him upright, getting right into his grill.
Up this close it was unsettling to even look at Shino.
His obsidian-black shades reflected Naruto's face back to him, and he could see himself seething in rage.
"If you ever mess with me Bug Boy, I'll fry those bugs you call friends and feed them to you until they're popping out of your eyes" He snarled.
"Hmph. How unsettling" And with that Shino released himself and went on his way, as if what had just happened was only a bad dream.
"Can you pass me the soy sauce?"
It took him a moment to register someone was talking to him.
"Uh, I'm sorry?"
Konohamaru's mum smiled at him "The soy sauce for the ramen?"
He blushed and passed it to her.
"Rough day in training?"
"You could say that" He replied vaguely, and she understood not to press any further.
That was what he admired about Kiyo Oba-san - she understood and respected people's privacy.
Most grown-ups looked down on him as a punk kid or if they were more informed as a ticking time bomb.
It wasn't like he'd asked to be this way.
"When will Shinjiro Oji-san come home?"
She glanced at the wall-clock "He should be on his way. They've been working him like a maniac at his office recently."
Almost on cue, the bell rang and Konohamaru rushed out the kitchen to greet his father.
"Tou-san, you're home!"
His father gave him a hug and moved inside.
He spotted the blonde coming out of the kitchen "Naruto, where are you these days? You've come home after such a long time. You must stay for dinner, I insist."
Kiyo Oba-san kissed her husband on the cheek "Like father like son. Konohamaru-kun already invited him over."
Shinjiro Oba-san grinned at her "Well good thing he got my charismatic personality and your intelligence. Imagine if it was the other way round?"
She swatted her on his arm and told him to clean up for dinner.
Twenty minutes later they were all sat round the dinner table.
Konohamaru's family had a different way of saying grace before dinner.
Instead of the traditional 'Itadakimasu', they all joined hands with each other and recited a short prayer.
Looking around him, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little wistful.
Sometimes when he lay awake in the dark; he imagined this was how his life would have looked like.
Loving parents and an adorable little brother (or sister) who would've looked up to him and he would have protected.
Once their pre-dinner ritual was finished they dug into the food.
Contrary to popular belief Naruto could reign in his massive diet.
It was just fun to eat as much food as possible.
Dinner didn't take too long - the three males were quick eaters and Kiyo Oba-san was on a diet, which was as Shinjiro Oba-san called it "Ridiculous. You look as fit as any woman your age."
Naruto agreed, though he didn't know her age, and was too afraid to ask.
Shikamaru had gathered a lot of information, believing it was best to start with facts and then make deductions.
His first trip was to the General Records Office (GRO). This was where all deaths, shinobi and civilian were recorded.
Going to the year both he and Naruto were born, he carefully scrutinised all of the deaths.
No person named Uzumaki had died.
He looked at the unknown deaths, for people who no one had recognised or claimed.
Again, there was no mention of red hair on any corpse.
However, he did note that the Yondaime Hokage: Namikaze Minato had died the same day Naruto was born - on the day of the Kyubi Attack.
Shikamaru then looked at border manifests - for people entering and exiting the village.
Neither six months before or six months after had any red-haired person entered or exited the village.
The second place he went to was the cemetery.
Gravestones were assembled in rows chronologically, and each year had its separate graveyard
If the records in the GRO were correct, a total of 1,600 deaths had taken place during the year in question - civilian and shinobi combined.
Though, when he looked at the blueprint of that particular graveyard - 1,602 gravestones were noted.
He had even gone to the place itself, and seen two unmarked graves at opposite ends of the place.
Only unclaimed bodies had unmarked headstones.
There were flowers placed upon them, yellow daffodils at one and blue rosemarys on the other.
Don't ask how he knew their names - he just did
It wasn't his fault his mother was such good friends with Ino's.
From the various stages of their dryness Shikamaru could tell someone frequently visited them.
So if these bodies weren't attested to before burial, why after they were six feet under? And why was someone treating their resting place as a shrine? Who were they?
And now he had hit a barrier, with more questions than answers since he had begun.
Getting past it required knowing more facts, for which he would need to find a new source he hadn't considered.
To take his mind off things he had even agreed to help his mother clean the attic without any fuss.
He had just finished clearing up the last of the boxes and come down, when he saw a lone photo partially under the rug.
Picking it up, he was about to call out to his mother and ask what to do with it; before he saw who was in it.
It was a group picture, a group of women smiling cheerfully.
He immediately recognised his mother, who appeared more slender and young.
Ino's mother was there, as was Choji's and the rest of their peers - Kiba, Hinata, Shino and Sasuke.
There was one face he couldn't recognise.
A redhead with a wedding kimono in the centre of the photograph.
He turned it around, and his blood turned cold at the inscription:
Uzumaki Kushina - Bachelorette Party.
Naruto's radio silence with the Giant Furball ended that night.
Even though it hadn't been adding it's own senses to his, it was still listening and watching everything he did.
Though he hoped the Kyubi had the decency to close its eyes when he took a shower or went to the bathroom.
Then again, its favourite pastime seemed to be terrorising him with violent scenery, so perhaps some privacy was a bit too much to ask.
Sasuke and Shino were standing in front of him side-by-side.
When they spoke, it wasn't their voices that he heard.
It was gruff and menacing.
The Kyubi.
That is most unsettling
Why don't you hate them?
With you it's different
Why stay and endure?
We will be having a very different conversation
Why don't you leave?
He shot upright, his bed springs creaking in protest.
His sheets were drenched with sweat, and he felt uncomfortably warm.
Touching his head, he realised he was burning up.
He turned the cold water on and stepped into the shower without taking his night suit off, his mind too preoccupied with what he had just seen.
Naruto knew this was the Kyubi messing with his head, but that didn't mean this could never happen.
Already Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino were on the lookout for even the smallest of slip-ups from Naruto that could expose his secrets.
Secrets rather, as in plural.
Vultures
Was this how things would always be?
Him always looking around his corner, living a lie with someone microscopically stalking his every move.
That wasn't a life - that was an inferno.
He banished such thoughts away, chiding himself for thinking that way.
Such thoughts would only create doubt, and that was the last thing he needed to do.
His parents had sacrificed their lives for this village and for him; his grandfather, brother and godfather were always protecting him - he would honour them by staying and fighting for everything they had fought for.
No matter the cost.
Naruto turned the shower off, the cold water doing little to cool him down.
He stripped down and climbed into bed, praying that he got a dreamless sleep.
Next morning
Uchiha Sasuke was going through his clan archives.
There was a lot of information that needed to be organised, and only one of him.
From the state of things either someone had jumbled up all the files or some sadistic bastard had deliberately disarranged everything to fuck with him.
He gritted his teeth in annoyance.
If he kept up at this pace he'd sort everything by next week. That was definitely not an option.
There was another option, which he was not going to like.
Asking for help.
He couldn't just hire any random packer and mover to do this, this was highly sensitive information.
And there were only two people he didn't distrust with it.
He gritted his teeth even more.
He was definitely not going to like this.
Half an hour later
The doorbell woke him up, and he cursed whoever was coming to him this early in the morning.
He put on shorts and a t-shirt and flung the door open.
It was his teammates.
Naruto scowled "It's seven in the morning."
"It's nine-thirty in the morning moron."
"Good morning to you too Naruto" Sakura greeted as she edged him and came inside.
"Wait, why are you here?"
She turned around, displaying a plastic container in her hands "We brought some breakfast. How do you like miso soup and fried rice?"
His stomach whined on cue, and she smiled and divided the breakfast into three bowls.
He looked around, and breathed in relief - his apartment wasn't a mess.
Usually he just cleaned up every other weekend, but as luck would have it he hadn't messed things up too much since the last time.
He joined them at the table.
"Why do you have four chairs if you live by yourself?"
The spoon nearly fell into his cereal.
"I'm sure it's because they were sold as a set Sasuke-kun. Isn't that right Naruto?" Sakura asked him.
He shook his head "Uh, of course. That's exactly correct."
Mentally, he reminded himself to look through the peep-hole before letting anyone in from now on.
Sasuke cleared his throat.
"There is something I wish to bring up with you two."
Naruto stuffed his mouth with rice.
"The amount of files the Council had stored away was more than I anticipated. Sorting through them myself...is not an option."
Sasuke went quiet for a few seconds, as if anticipating either he or Sakura would step in and offer their help.
Not that Naruto didn't want to, but he wanted the bastard to get down on his knees and ask him directly.
"So what I'm saying is...I have need of your...services. You would be sufficiently reimbursed for your assistance."
He coughed to disguise his laughter.
"Of course we'll help" Sakura answered, looking at Naruto keenly "Won't we?"
He drained his soup bowl "Well when you put it that way, how can I refuse? I don't want you money though, a couple bowls of Ichiraku's would suffice instead."
Sakura smiled "It's a deal then. We'll help you and then go have lunch at Ichiraku's. It can be another team meal."
Naruto took issue with that "I was thinking more along of the lines of at-your-own-home."
"Fine" Sasuke huffed, "Work and then lunch at Ichiraku's."
"Deal" Naruto shook his hand, "This will be the best deal you've ever made."
And before he knew it, Naruto was in the Uchiha sector, sorting through mission reports which seemed to written in a different language.
He looked up at the ceiling.
Why always me?
Sakura took one look at the boxes and realised why Sasuke had asked for help.
There were at least a hundred crates with two cardboard boxes inside each.
Even if they worked non-stop there was no way they would be able to finish them all inside two days.
"Okay, no way I'm going through each and every one of these by myself" Naruto announced.
"The three of us will be working together dobe."
"Watch and learn" Naruto winked, and suddenly there was more than one Naruto.
There were a dozen.
"How did you?"
"They're called Shadow Clones. They'll help us sort through everything" He clapped his hands "Chop chop boys, let's get to work. We want to go through all the boxes and re-arrange them according to their classification - internal, external or miscellaneous. Coordinate with us and with each other and we'll be finished in no time."
All but one of the Narutos moved most of the boxes into different rooms and started going through them.
She wanted to ask but decided not to - she filed it away as another strange fact she found out about Uzumaki Naruto.
"What's the point of writing a mission report if no one can figure out what language they're written in?" Naruto asked from somewhere behind a huge tower of cardboard boxes.
Sasuke-kun handed her a stack of organised papers which she promptly placed into the correspondingly labelled box.
"The point being that no one else can read them."
"I don't understand?" She asked him, "If no one can read it, then what is the purpose of it?"
"No one without a Sharingan can read them."
Ah. That made sense.
These were Konoha Police Department documents.
Almost all the high-ranking officers were Uchiha, who all must have unlocked their Sharingan.
Naruto's head reappeared behind the boxes "Well what if there's someone who doesn't have the Sharingan? Like someone who hasn't achieved the Sharingan yet, or someone apart from an Uchiha?"
"An Uchiha who had not yet obtained their Sharingan wouldn't be good enough to have access to such files, and if an outsider progressed up the ranks enough then they were taught the language."
"Do you know it?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke replied icily "Evidently not."
It took her a second to realise what Naruto was really asking: Do you have the Sharingan?
Sakura had never really thought about the question. Besides there was more to a person than how strong they were.
She shifted her eyes back to Naruto.
With his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as if he was trying to will the language into making sense - he looked the furthest thing from a monster.
Not a monster - a jinchūriki.
She could scarcely understand what it meant - just that it entailed a huge monster being sealed into a human being.
Ino had made her promise not to tell anyone, and that included Naruto.
Not that she was about to break that promise, yet part of her felt like giving Naruto a hug and letting him know she was there for him.
She had lay awake for hours last night, twisting and turning in bed, thinking about how he was able to function with his situation.
Sakura had decided not press him for details or lay any subtle hints; she'd gained a newfound respect for her teammate from what Ino had told her yesterday.
To live with such a strain, just to make sure everyone else was safe; a person who did that was a hero in her eyes.
There were still some things she didn't know, like his apparent overnight personality change from goofball to introvert. But those were minor matters.
Instead, she hoped to become good friends with him, and that one day he would be comfortable enough to come to her with the truth.
In the meantime, she would try and cover for him as much as she could if anyone had any questions or suspicions about him.
After all, considering what he did for everyone, she could at least respect his privacy.
He wiped the sweat off his neck.
Though he would eat a lime before acknowledging it out loud, he was grateful for Naruto's clones, and jealous that he could make them.
An ability like that would make life much easier.
Already they had done most of the work, and it seemed like they hardly broke a sweat.
He had heard of such clones from his father once...they were said to be forbidden, anyone attempting to master them playing with their life.
Most clones were elemental, and intangible mirages.
These were definitely tangible.
Where had Naruto learned it from?
And more importantly, what did he have to do to learn them?
"That's all done" Sakura noted, "Where would you like to store everything Sasuke-kun?"
"The attic."
Naruto's clones carried the boxes up, and it startling to see them - 11 Narutos moving in symphony like a well-oiled machine, each one a highly efficient member of a unit.
He was beginning to realise how advantageous such a jutsu would be in the battlefield, and also how dangerous it would be to face Naruto in the battlefield.
Once they all came down, Naruto took a seat on his sofa and closed his eyes in concentration.
One-by-one, the clones popped away until it was only Naruto sat on his couch.
Sakura tentatively put a hand on the blonde's shoulder "Are you alright Naruto? You look dizzy."
Naruto rubbed his eyes "That's because I am dizzy. I'm fine, just haven't used so many clones all at once."
"What happens when you make more than a few?"
"Information overload. Each clone transfers their memories to the host when they are dispersed. However, the brain is a fragile organ. All those clones giving their respective memories so close to each other was just too much for my mind to handle I guess.
Sasuke was astounded by this ability.
To make copies of yourself and get them do you work.
A technique like this could massively accelerate his training.
Naruto looked at him, and seemed to read his mind.
"It doesn't exactly work how you might think. For starters, I can't use it for physical training. Shadow clones can only transfer intellectual memory, not muscle memory. Secondly, if I'm not careful enough in splitting the chakra I could cause some permanent damage. Third, it's very difficult to learn."
"I'm not sure I understand" Sakura said.
Naruto looked at her strangely before realisation lit his eyes "Of course you don't. I'm sorry, just with how smart you are and all, I naturally assumed you knew about shadow clones. My mistake. The difference between an illusion or elemental clone and a shadow clone is that the shadow clone has an equal part of your chakra. So they are essentially duplicates that can comprehend and learn, and share that knowledge with their creator."
Sasuke carefully considered him "It must have been very difficult to learn."
He received a slap on the back courtesy of his teammate "More than you'll ever know. Now, how about that ramen?"
Sasuke-kun gripped the bill like a weapon and glowered at Naruto.
"What is the meaning of this?" he brought up the bill.
"Not my fault you didn't do your due diligence. Everyone knows I love Ichiraku's."
Sasuke-kun's other hand fisted into a ball "I thought this was going to be 'the best deal I ever made'?"
Naruto yawned in contentment "And it is. I just didn't mention for who - you or me."
She decided to intervene before things escalated "Congratulations team, we did a great job. What's everyone going to do now?"
"Going home" Sasuke declared, dumping a generous amount of bills on the counter and leaving.
Naruto whirled around to face her.
The intensity in his stare spooked her.
"What?" she asked.
He nodded at her pockets.
"I want to know what you lifted from Sasuke's house."
Oh.
She furrowed her eyebrows in faux-confusion "I don't get what you're saying."
"You should have waited until after my clones dispersed and no one would've been the wiser. I'm just curious is all; what would make a good girl like you commit theft."
Sakura reviewed her options, choosing the truth.
"I found something Sasuke-kun had written for school" she took out the piece of paper, giving it to Naruto.
"What is the essay about?"
"Go home and read it. And maybe then you'll understand why I did it."
Homework Topic: Write about a personal hero of yours.
My Hero: My Older Brother.
My older brother is the best brother of all time.
He is kind, thoughtful, smart and most of all a super-cool ninja.
When I grow up I want to be like my older brother!
He flipped the page around countless times, and his eyes stopped on the date on other side.
Sasuke had written this the day his brother had killed his entire clan.
His finger trembled as he held on to the sheet with both hands, his knuckles white from gripping the paper.
Raw shame and guilt overcame him.
Earlier, it always seemed like a story out of a horror book, or an urban legend spread by wives to keep children away from haunted houses; something that would one day be a chapter in a history book.
He'd always known in the back of his head the tragedies his teammate had suffered, but until this moment in time where he held this letter in hand...it had never felt real.
But this...this was real. This had happened.
A little boy had lost everything he ever had due to the villainy of his beloved elder brother.
What kind of monsters lived in this world?
But then again, what does that make me?
Overall, one of the more challenging chapters I've written. It's been tricky changing viewpoints, settings and moods so much. I hope I've done a good job. Writing fanfic has made me realise how difficult the life of professional writers, whether they be book authors or movie/ TV writers is.
Hope you liked it and stay tuned for more!