Naruto : Abandoned Child

Iwagakure no sato

Ōnoki glanced over the parchment in his hands with disciplined ease, though his eyes got narrower and narrower with each line he read. Just as he reached the last line, however, his teeth ground against one another, and the document in his hands was crumpled up into a ball. The document itself said only one thing for each of the photos it's author had stapled behind said papers.

"Failure: Subject is dead; misfire."

Ōnoki could care less for the words embossed on his report. He had read those same words for fifteen years straight. It was the pictures that came stapled with these documents that made his mood turn sour every time. Pictures of mutilated bodies, resembling nothing more than green goo were nasty enough to make even his stoned eyes flinch. The jōnin who had been unfortunate enough to be tasked with being the bearer of bad news to his Kage weighed his options, and whimpered. Ōnoki looked up at the quivering Jōnin sharply, and tsked in disdain at the cowardly man who looked ready to piss himself right now.

"Get lost." Ōnoki grumbled.

His trembling subordinate was more than willing to oblige as he saluted, turned, and hightailed it out the room to get as far away as he could from the killing intent his leader had unknowingly been leaking unto him. Ōnoki rolled up the scroll in his hands, and leaned back in his chair with a resigned sigh.

"No luck again, huh?" Kitsuchi commented with a mirthless chuckle. He folded the a copy of the report on his lap and stretched his arms with a yawn, "It's about time you let up on your obsession with that man, tou-sama. It's been fifteen years already, and pointless deaths have been the only success you've had with this project. There's no way we'll ever succeed in recreating that horror of a jutsu, much less see it used in combat. Moreover, how do you intend to explain all those corpses if someone asks us where they came from?"

Ōnoki's chair creaked as he flexed it back and forth, "Whatever." he waved a hand in dismissal. "They were all criminals anyway. It's not like anyone will miss them." Ōnoki croaked in annoyance; a touch salty from the truth laced behind his son's words. Just as Kitsuchi's lips parted to refute Ōnoki's words, "Weren't you supposed to go and meet Kurotsuchi for lunch?" the old man remarked offhandedly.

Kitsuchi overlooked the subtle insinuation in his words and blinked, "Now that you mention it, I suppose I did." he got up and left his father to his own devices. Ōnoki's eyes misted over and his finger's lightly traced over the three holes on his desk. These holes were the reason why he could never let go of this project. No matter how many years pass, no matter how many lives it took, he would recreate that myth for Iwa. Then and only then could he let go of the humiliation and disgrace that man had infested over his heart.

Ōnoki balled up his fist tightly to the point it trembled, "Curse you, Namikaze!"

Konohagakure no sato

Hokage Tower

The sun shone strong overhead this hot afternoon when Kushina Uzumaki arrived at the doors to the Hokage's office. She had dutifully checked herself in with his secretary; who, as per her appointment register, had already been expecting the redhead's arrival - though not quite as early. Kushina had to wait outside Hiruzen's office doors like an academy student did after getting detention. All the while, Kushina kept chewing on her lip in morbid anticipation so that she could wait for Hiruzen to give her permission from the other side to step in and meet his highness.

After what seemed like an eternity to Kushina, "Come in," Hiruzen's striking voice called from behind the door. Kushina mouthed a 'thank you' to the secretary who held the door open for her with a reassuring smile, and Kushina heaved a deep breath herself before finally stepping inside with a sigh. Just as the door behind her clicked to a close, "What business brings you here, Uzumaki-san?" Hiruzen asked with a tone of impatience.

"Hokage-sama," Kushina greeted him with a polite bow, "I've come here today with a personal request." if possible, she bowed even lower to show her humbleness on the matter. "Please, be kind enough to give me the address to my son's residence - I really want to see him. It's been a couple of weeks already since the last time we met, and-"

Whatever request she was about to make was cut off by Hiruzen's cold voice, "If memory serves me correctly, Uzumaki-san, and it does. All you have are two daughters - not a son."

Kushina chewed on her lip in anguish and fought back her tears, but made no attempt to retort on that snark comment. "Hiruzen," she began in a soft voice, surprising Sarutobi with her switch to such an informal and kind tone, "Naruto is my heir, by blood, and nothing you say will ever change the fact that I am, infact, his biological mother." she finished firmly.

Despite the anger and animosity Hiruzen felt towards Kushina for that statement regarding her relation to Naruto, he couldn't deny that the conviction shining in her eyes was genuine and sincere, "Kushina," Hiruzen sighed warily, "You know I can't give you what you want-"

"I will not be laid off so easily today, Hiruzen Sarutobi," Kushina interrupted him icily.

Even with her tone of defiance, Hiruzen's anger gave way to pity seeing the pure defeat and fatigue shining under the dark bags beneath her eyes. She was clearly not sleeping or eating correctly, and Hiruzen's heart may have iced over for this woman years ago, but he had to keep in mind that her carelessness would indirectly affect her two daughters in the coming future. One tormented child was more than adequate as is, but adding two more to that lump was completely unacceptable. But seeing her being so childishly stubborn on this matter, and knowing full well that nothing he could say would ever persuade an Uzumaki to leave his office without getting what he/she so desired, Hiruzen's throat gave way to yet another resigned sigh.

He began in a gentle tone, "Not only is he your son, Kushina." she sniffled hearing him refer to Naruto as her child, "He is also a shinobi under my command. I cannot, in any way or form, give away personal information of my soldiers unless the situation is rather extreme; which it is not." he concluded mechanically.

Sniffing, "Tell me what I must do then," Kushina pleaded weakly.

"As I've already told you," he sighed, "This is a hurdle I simply cannot help you with." Hiruzen held his hand up when Kushina's lips parted to refute his statement, "That will be all. You may leave now, Uzumaki-san." Sarutobi pressed the buzzer on his desk, and Kushina distantly heard the static voice in the speaker announce the name of the next person due to come in with an appointment. Kushina stood rooted to her spot, not looking in the mood to move from there anytime soon.

"Tori," Hiruzen ordered one of his ANBU. "Be a kind lad and escort Uzumaki-san to her mansion, our business here concluded."

The ANBU nodded, bowed, and caught a hold of the stoned woman's arm, giving a gentle tug to her sleeve. But Kushina didn't budge. "I won't go…" she whispered, eyes looking lost.

"Kushina," Hiruzen sighed warily.

"I won't," she stomped her feet stubbornly. "I've waited patiently for two whole weeks to get an appointment with you, and this is what I get?!" Kushina wailed tearfully, instantly digging her chains right through the floor of his office, "Call in the entire ANBU core for all I care! I. Won't. Leave." every last word was accentuated by her digging yet another chain in his floor.

Before the ANBU could react and start pulling her out by force, Kushina gave the masked ninjas a warning look - daring him to touch her. She flooded the entire room with her chakra, and unleashed a wave of killing intent, forcing the ANBU to flinch away and making Hiruzen sigh. This was becoming a habit of hers, apparently.

"It's alright everyone," Hiruzen stopped the four ANBU rushing inside the door to restrain the mentally stressed mother and take her into custody, "Leave her be. Return to your posts." all of them looked hesitant to lay low, but a sharp look from Hiruzen made them flinch and obey.

"Hai!" the ANBU saluted and concealed themselves back into the walls.

"Kushina," he had to walk around his table to keep a comforting hand on her shoulder and stop her chanting a mantra of 'I won't go'. "I cannot help you with this, directly, but I can show you a way to learn Naruto's address. That is, on the condition if you promise me a few things in advance."

Kushina's ears visibly perked up, "Anything!"

"First," Hiruzen tapped a finger on her nose reprimandingly, "Stop coming to my office time and again to act childishly, and stop making a fool out of yourself." Kushina nodded meekly, looking very much like the girl caught stealing a treat from her kitchen's hidden cookie jar.

"Second : You will stop beating up people in my village, and setting fire to their homes. I have enough paperwork as it is, don't make my life any harder than it already is; since, I can only overlook so much - even for a clan leader before I am forced to take drastic measures."

Kushina had the decency to blush at being caught red handed, "But they were the ones who were berating Naruto so openly-"

"Even so," Hiruzen cut her off sharply, "That is not the way to handle them."

She shrunk a little from his tone, "Alright," and caved in.

"Third," Hiruzen tapped her nose again to garner her attention. "You will go and see-"

"That's a lot of promises…"Kushina grumbled under her breath.

"-Inoichi every week for counseling sessions, and you will not engage the man in any which way." Hiruzen ignored her protests entirely, and continued on his tirade of promises to list.

"Sooo, what's Naru-chan's address…?"

"Lastly," he ignored the dirty look Kushina shot him for taking advantage of her plight, and pull out so many promises from her. "If Naruto does not wish to meet you - leave him be."

Kushina dug her toe in the ground and drew circles with it, "Kushina, do I have your word?" Hiruzen demanded testily. The redhead said nothing, and continued on her childish antics with an added fervor. The Hokage sighed, "Kushina, don't make me put you on ANBU surveillance. That last promise you will have to make if you even want to leave this office today."

There was a moment of silence, "…I won't hurt him, -ttebane!" she whispered quietly.

Lord, she sounded devastated.

Sighing, "You may not even realize if you were hurting him, and that's why I'm saying this; if Naruto tells you to leave - you leave. Turn around, and walk away. Give him some time. Don't push him too much, or we all may lose him for good this time." Hiruzen told her, his own throat tightening from those last words.

"Alright," Kushina promised, "I'll leave if he doesn't want to meet me. Now tell me his address."

Hiruzen smirked, "I already told you, Kushina. I can't."

Kushina looked at Hiruzen as if he had grown a second head, "You do realize that we are back at square one if you go back on your words, Hiruzen Sarutobi." she muttered dryly.

"However," Hiruzen added slickly, "I cannot stop you from scouring his address if need be."

The redhead blinked, "You'll overlook that!" she asked as her tears lessened, baffled. That was the primary reason she hadn't tried her own hand at finding Naruto's residence in the first place. Kushina knew that Hiruzen had kept a stern eye on her, damn if she knew how, but the redhead had felt eyes on her ever since she had first stepped foot in his village; and she knew Hiruzen would most likely retaliate with lethal force should she be caught doing anything in relation to Naruto: harmful or otherwise.

"I will this time," Hiruzen conceded tiredly.

Kushina smiled weakly and wiped her cheeks, "Thank you." she thanked him. Hiruzen placed a hand on the small of her back, and guided her outside his office. Just as Kushina was about to leave the premises to go and scour out Naruto's whereabouts, however, "Kushina," Hiruzen called monotonously. Kushina twisted around, her long hair bouncing with her abrupt motion, "If anything ill should happen to befall Naruto - I will kill you."

His promise was followed with a vision being forced in her mind, a vision comprised of a series of events, all of which lead to her painful demise flashed through Kushina's eyes, and only when Hiruzen let off of focusing his killing intent on her did she breathe easy. But his words and threats only made her chuckle humorlessly.

Seeing Hiruzen's unimpressed gaze still trained on her, "You won't have to, Hiruzen, I'll kill myself before that happens; I promise you that on my honor as an Uzumaki." she wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye and smiled candidly.

Both of them stood still for a moment, and Hiruzen wondered if Kushina's last tear was one of sorrow or from her laughs, before shaking his head and twisting. He bid her a mute farewell, and trudged his way back inside his office. Hiruzen's heart constricted in fear as to what disaster this meeting might lead to, but he had already intervened a lot in Naruto's life; maybe a bit too much, just so he could keep Kushina's grim shadow off of Naruto's back.

However, Naruto was no mere child now; moreover, the boy certainly didn't need to be coddled by him anymore. He was a genin: a trained shinobi. If the boy had a license to kill, then he sure as hell could make his own decisions in life.

It was funny how quickly kids grew up these days, Hiruzen mused fondly.

Naruto's Apartment

Hot water cascaded down her flesh, rinsing away all the dirt and fatigue accumulated over her training routine from the day. Her hands roamed about her back, slowly making their way up only to get tangled in her black locks. Lips twisting southwards, Satsuki's eyebrows knitted together in abject annoyance as she pulled and hacked her hand off her hair.

Wrapping a towel around her body, she walked out of the shower with a permanent scowl on her lips. Dripping all the way out to the kitchen, Satsuki ignored the oblivious blonde roomie of hers and went straight for the drawers. Rummaging for a minute or so before slamming it close with a snarl, Satsuki slapped a hand on her hip and cocked it aside.

"Where do we keep the scissors?" she asked impatiently.

Naruto looked up from his notebook and blinked seeing the girl's near naked state, "Shouldn't you be looking for some clothes instead? You'll catch a cold like that, Satsu-chan." he pointed his pencil to her clothes, or lack thereof.

Satsuki forced herself to ignore the concern his voice held for her lest she blushed, and tapped her foot impatiently, "Scissors." she demanded testily with an outstretched palm.

Sighing, Naruto got up from his chair before the girl threw a tantrum, "Whatever. At least go get clothed now, I'll get you the scissors as soon as you return, your highness." Naruto shrugged with a roll to his eyes. Satsuki frowned and tried to retort but a sneeze was what came out of her mouth, and begrudgingly admitted Naruto's point had some merit to it.

Putting on a camisole and skirt for the moment, Satsuki bound her hair in a towel turban to dry them off and walked out to see Naruto nestled back in his seat, buried nose deep in his sealing journal. Her eye ticked, "What are you always working on anyways?" she seated herself on the opposite stool and threw a leg over the other, cheek resting in her palm.

Naruto didn't even bother looking up from his journal, "It's a seal that will let me send a short message to whoever I give a copy of my seal!" Satsuki's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"That's pretty cool." she whispered in slight awe. "How short of a message are we looking here?"

Naruto grinned proudly, "Eight characters in kanji is the most I can manage with it for now."

Satsuki curiously leaned forward, "What if you send more than that?" she asked. That was pretty damn cool if she did say so herself, a seal like that would almost negate the need for courier ninjas and carrier birds; consequently, making it a gold mine worth of tech in the palm of his hand, she mused idly.

"Doesn't matter how much more you send: The first eight characters will be sent, while the rest would be lost into the void. The split in space-time continuum is really small, and we'll have to make the tear open a lot larger for anything more than…" she ignored him for a while hoping he'd stop yapping smart-ass stuff, before realizing he wasn't stopping anytime soon.

Satsuki flicked him on the nose to snap him out of his stupor, "Human language, loser. Quit blabbering all this sealing gibberish that I can't possibly understand." she snipped, miffed at feeling so dang stupid from his words. Naruto had the decency to look sheepish and stopped waving his hands excitedly to explain her some more of his seals.

Naruto threw his hand behind his neck and laughed awkwardly, "It means, that's the most I can manage with the level of sophistication I have in sealing right now. I'd have to overhaul the sealing matrix from the ground up to send any more information than that."

Satsuki undid the towel on her head and freed her hair down her back, "Did you get me the scissors?" she asked.

"Yeah." Naruto passed her the scissors. "What do you need it for anyways?"

Satsuki picked up the scissors and grabbed a fistful of her hair, "To cut my hair." she quipped.

Naruto was off his stool like lightning and caught her wrist before she could start trimming down her hair. "Don't cut your hair." he whispered quietly, looking scandalized from the prospect.

"Why the hell not?!" Satsuki snapped. "It's long, messy, and takes way too long to comb down; it's my hair, you don't get any say in this matter."

Naruto loosened his grip on her hair, and stepped back with a forlorn smile. "I guess you're right." if possible, Satsuki's scowl deepened even more menacingly than it already was. The blonde looked struck, as if he was a puppy that she had just kicked, and his fallen whiskers weren't helping her case any.

"Fine." she grumbled and passed him the scissors. "You trim it then." she suggested.

She absolutely had to cut them down. It was fine to keep them long when she was younger and in the academy. They were at a manageable enough length that Satsuki could tie them up without hacking away on her bird's nest of a hairdo with a comb every damn morning.

Naruto perked up and nodded, scooting down his stool behind her back. "Don't move." he commanded, and started cutting away a small portion from the tips of her hair - it was almost negligible if someone other than him were to comment on it. Her cutting session wasn't even five minutes in before Naruto gave a pat to her back and nodded to himself, looking proud.

"That should do it!"

Satsuki took a wisp of hair in her fingers and traced it's length with a frown, "Too long!"

Naruto looked scandalized, "It's absolutely fine now!" he argued fiercely.

The raven looked ready to breathe fire, "Give me those damn scissors!" she snatched it off his palms. Just as she was about to cut it down to nearly shoulder length in one fell swoop, her eyes landed on a doe-eyed blonde looking at her pleadingly. Her hand deliberated a few minutes whether to just go for it, or give in to his tempting eyes.

Finally, "Stop that!" she glowered.

Naruto stuck his lip out and shimmied his eyes a little, "Stop what, Satsu-chan!~" he fluttered his eyes innocently. Satsuki sighed and slammed her head on the counter.

"It's got to go, Naruto. I'm not one of those girly girls who is patient enough to take care of this bird's nest every time I shower. Kunoichi aren't supposed to look cute." she reasoned softly.

There was a moment of silence. "I'll do it," Naruto whispered.

Satsuki picked up her head with a raised eyebrow, "What?!" she asked incredulously.

She honestly thought he was about to let her cut it down now, "I'll comb it for you!" the blonde boasted loudly.

Satsuki giggled in her hand, "Everyday?!~" she asked in a singsong voice.

"Yup!" Naruto bobbed his head up and down, "I promise I'll do it, -ttebayo!"

The raven knew better than to argue with Naruto when he made a promise. The boy was more stubborn than a bull when it came to promises. Still, "The moment you skimp out on your promise - I'm getting a bob cut; are we clear?!" she demanded halfheartedly.

Naruto didn't answer her with words, but was content enough in fetching himself a comb and proceeding to start work on his promise. He kept humming a soft tune as the comb worked out the kinks in the raven's hair. Contrary to what she believed, Satsuki's hair weren't as jagged and rough as she made them out be. They were pretty soft and smooth, but it was just that this stubborn girl of his was way too cool to do the 'girly stuff' and take some measures to dry them off every morning when 'she could be out training during that time and becoming stronger'.

Naruto pressed his lips on the back of her head and gave her back a pat, "All done."

Satsuki ignored the steam her ears produced from his heartfelt gesture, and felt the groomed hair slip out from her fingers like smooth velvet. "Pretty impressive, huh?" Naruto goaded her to praise his skills.

Not like she having any of it, "Hn." Satsuki grunted.

The raven gave a squeal of glee when Naruto wrapped his arms around her stomach and flapped her around like a doll, while she kept kicking thin air with her feet. "Unhand me, you idiot!" she growled, but her words were betrayed by the laugh that broke free of her lips during that playful moment.

Grinning, "Oh, now you can speak words!" Naruto twisted her around with added fervor.

There was a knock to the door that made the duo halt their playful tendencies, and sober up a bit. Satsuki loosened his hands from her stomach, fuming on the inside at whoever it was that had broken up their moment and had come to get an earful of her mind. "I'll get the door." she grumbled.

Cracking open the door with a snap, Satsuki's eyes were met with a flash of red, which, upon recognition, forced the girl to hold the door at an arm's length lest she let Naruto see who it actually was. "What are you doing here?!" the girl all but hissed.

"Uh, hello." Kushina greeted politely. Satsuki's eyes narrowed in on the two people flanking either of her sides. The first one was the same old man from a couple weeks prior, Jiraiya if she remembered correctly. The second one, however, made her eyes turn tighten into thin slits.

"Kakashi," the Uchiha heiress spat ominously. He already wasn't in her good books from the time he had ratted Naruto's weakened state to Sakura, but now he was right up there with Itachi if you know what she meant. The Jōnin, though, looked content to keep his nose buried in his book rather than meet eyes with a riled up, Sharingan wielding, wrath reincarnate of a subordinate glaring daggers at him.

Flicking a page in his book as if he wasn't bothered by the minuscule amount of killing intent she was releasing, "I happen to run by them when I was coming here, coincidences to happen, Satsuki." he quipped.

Not even bothering to hide her disdain from her guests, "And you found it wise to bring them here?!"

"...Don't pretend as if we can't hear you," Jiraiya tried to chip in, but was sadly ignored.

Kakashi snapped his book shut and looked her in the eye, "I haven't brought anyone here, Satsuki." he quickly cut her off as soon as the fiery girl's lips parted for a rebuke, "They were already on their way here when I met them, and I merely tagged along since our paths happened to coincide with one another." she kept her snark remark in her throat with regards to her teacher, and looked at the duo who had been silent as a grave till now.

"What do you want?" Satsuki clipped, foregoing any need for formalities or greetings.

Kushina looked like a deer caught in headlights, "Uh, right, is Naruto in?"

Satsuki's throat constricted, "NO!" she all but roared. That was a disaster she was absolutely not letting occur. It had been a tough two weeks getting Naruto break free off his trauma to get back on his feet, and now, when he had finally agreed to get back to training and missions - she was here.

The raven heaved a deep sigh, "He's not home." she lied calmly.

"Oh." Kushina ducked her head in disappointment. Then an idea lit her mind, "Where is he?" she asked excitedly, happy beyond belief that her son was finally roaming out and about.

Satsuki fidgeted, deliberating how to go about this. "Out." she replied.

Kushina blinked, "…Out?" she asked, Satsuki nodded. "Can't you be a bit more specific?"

Satsuki's fingers tightened on the ledge of the door, "How should I know?" she snapped. "What do I look like, his mother?!"

Kushina looked as if someone had struck her with acid, and seeing the redhead's miserable state Jiraiya decided to come to her rescue. "Why are you at his apartment then?"

Satsuki turned her eyes to said sannin and narrowed her eyes at him, "My face is up here," she pointed to her chin, and then to her chest. "Not down there." she didn't bother covering up her camisole with an arm, after all she didn't have anything to hide; she was at her home, and by proxy had every right to wear whatever she pleased.

Jiraiya didn't seem too bothered by her reaction, "Huh, say what?" Satsuki's eye ticked.

Kushina, upon realizing what the girl was insinuating, looked sideways to see Jiraiya openly ogling at the girl's visible cleavage. "Jiraiya," she growled at the pervert's antics. "Remove your eyes off her chest before I remove them for you - permanently." her threat, coupled with the killing intent she lashed the man with seemed to have done the trick, and the perv-Jiraiya looked the other way with an awkward cough.

Ignoring the thought of filing a complaint for paedophilia that had just occurred here, "As to why I'm here, this is my apartment. I live here." Satsuki informed the bickering duo.

Kushina's eyes widened in disbelief. She had known that Mikoto's daughter was a bit close to her son thanks to Hiruzen's steadfast letters to her, but she hadn't been made aware that they were close enough to the point that they shared an apartment together. She turned her gaze to Kakashi, amethyst eyes pleading his lone one to tell her that the girl was lying. But his simple nod made her stomach dip as if someone had stuck a lead pillar in it.

Gulping thickly, "T-That's nice." Kushina stammered uncomfortably. "How long have you been living here? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Satsuki's patience were running thin by this point, "I do mind." Kushina sighed upon realizing that she was getting no where until this girl was standing like a wall in between herself and Naruto. It was a hard pill to swallow that this fiery girl with a tongue of steel shared the same genetics as the kind and gentle friend Kushina had once known. Plus, it didn't help her matters any that she seemed to be at odds with nearly everyone whose first name wasn't Naruto; even Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage himself hadn't been omitted from her lashing a few days prior. But she seemed almost foreign to the concept of guests.

And that worried Kushina beyond all measures. "Don't you have any guests around here?" Kushina couldn't help but ask. It was such a nice house, and seeing how sweet Naruto had been when he wasn't aware of who she was, he must have a handful of friends.

…Right?!

The way Satsuki's scowl deepened, however, Kushina feared for the worst, "Neither Naruto nor I are particularly well liked in this village, Uzumaki." she said, once again dropping the honorifics to show her dislike towards the woman. But before Kushina could ask what she meant by that statement, her voice died down seeing Satsuki's abrupt change in demeanor.

Satsuki stiffened when she heard soft steps making their way nearer right behind her back, "Listen," she called for everyone's attention. "I don't mean to be rude or anything," Kushina smiled thinking there was at least some hope for redemption here, but her happiness was short lived. "…but I'm tired to talking to you." Satsuki said, and slammed the door in their faces. Hearing the locks click in place, Kushina turned to Kakashi with all her righteous fury, hair rising and flailing behind her like nine tails of rage.

Clenching and unclenching her fists to calm down her nerves, "Did you see the nerve of that bitch?!" she snarled. Her best friend's daughter or not, that little floozie had all but slammed the door on her face without so much as inviting her in. No one, and Kushina did mean no one, had ever had the nerve to do such a thing to her before - in her own son's house no less!

Kakashi's eye crinkled up in a manner that Kushina could only translate for a smile, "If it makes you feel any better, Kushina-sama, she does that to me quite frequently." he lied. Satsuki had only done it to him once, and from then on Kakashi had been mindful enough of his student's privacy to take to the windows instead. Satsuki's bickering aside, Naruto was perfectly fine with his sensei using the windows so long as he didn't pop up in their bed or bathrooms someday. He was such a great role model, right?

Shoulders sagging in defeat, Kushina ran a hand through her hair. "Let's just go." she murmured quietly. Kakashi, being the gentleman that he was, waved his hand and made a dramatic bow to make her walk in front of him. As much as Kushina wanted to get this horrendous conversation out of her memory, "For a kunoichi with as fine a background as she has, the least she could do is wear something decent in the house." she said with her nose scrunched up in justified irritation.

Kakashi, having had his fill of drama for the day, took out his book to continue on exploring the plot some more. "In her defense, Satsuki is entitled to wear anything she wishes at her house." he added. Before Kushina could halfheartedly retort that it was in no way a decent way to walk around with a thirteen year old boy living in the same house, unrelated, all alone, her thoughts were cut off by a third voice.

"Yeah, she ain't hurting nobody." Jiraiya piped in with a perverse giggle.

Kushina stopped dead in her tracks and flooded the entire street with killing intent, "I'd almost forgotten about the earlier incident, Jiraiya." she muttered in a sickly sweet voice.

"Thanks for reminding me." she added with a crack to her knuckles.

The Toad Sage took off in vain when Kushina's chains latched onto his ankles and dragged him back with her to an uninhabited alley. Kakashi, hearing the screams coming from the darkness, wondered if maybe he should step in and help the poor man from such torture. After all, old bones took longer to heal, didn't they?

But when Kakashi saw just how crucial of a plot point was coming up in his 'novel', he softly giggled to himself and walked up the wall beside Naruto and Satsuki's apartment to enter through the window; since, he still had to inform them of the special training exercise he'd planned for tomorrow to gauge if his squad was ready to take the chunin exams this year or not.

Meanwhile

"Who was it Satsuki?" Naruto asked as he came up from behind her.

"The newspaper guy." she lied through her teeth.

Naruto shot her a blank look, "We don't get any newspapers in our house." he reminded her.

Satsuki sweated inwardly and unconsciously covered the door with her body, "Precisely!" she said, and laughed awkwardly while blindly checking behind her to make sure if the door locks were in place or not.

The blonde saw right through her, "You're lying." he stated and tried to go for the door.

Satsuki, flapping her mind like an endangered duck, threw her arms around his neck and sloppily pressed her lips to the blonde's. She felt him go rigid before melting in her arms, and smirked on seeing how much effect an act of affection from her side had on Naruto.

It was endearing really.

Satsuki was the first one to break their short lip lock, and giggled when Naruto followed her lips with a whine at how short it was. She tenderly nipped his nose with her own, "Bastard."

Naruto held out his arm to Satsuki as a heartfelt gesture, and she wordlessly stepped into his embrace without hesitation. Naruto buried his face in her hair, and breathed in the soft scent of vanilla pouring from her hair. "Bitch." he softly murmured and nestled in his nose in her neck.

They relished the warmth in each others arms, swaying from side to side for a while after that.

A/N : As of today, Abandoned Child is officially off of hiatus. For those of you who haven't noticed, I've taken my time to redo the first five chapters of this story; since, this was one of my earlier stories, and as such, the quality was just not up to par to the rest of it. Chapters six through ten will be redone as well, can't say by when, but they will be. So, please bear with the drop in quality that those particular ones have for the time being.

It was a long time since I've worked on this story, so I hope this chapter was up to par. I understand though, if some of you might not adore some of the characters in my story. But they are just how I wished to write them. Writing Satsuki in particular is, difficult to say the least. But I've tried my best to stick her to the roots while still spicing some of her aspects as subtly as I possibly could. For those of you who are wondering how to see if the chapters are being redone, all of the previous one with the A/N removed have been redone, so that will give you a slight indication that I am working on it in the shadows.

I didn't do a whole remake of the story since that wasn't my intention. I love the latter part of this story, and didn't do it for the reviews so never even posted it in any other A/N either. It was just to lure in those who might pass up my story at first glance. For those of you who've waited this patiently for my update, a humble thank you from my side and please continue on showing this love and devotion to me ;D

Until next time, keep reading and reviewing. Ja Ne ;D

PS : I've shortened my name to NXSE, don't go on confusing me for someone else. A reader (whose name I forget) pointed out in a PM that it was too long to type, and, well…

You know the rest. Hehe!