Edit: Fixed an issue with the italics not showing up, and added some tags. I realized I needed them with some stuff that's coming up, and since this is no longer a one-shot, they're far more necessary.

It's no real surprise I'm always alone. The other students avoid me, my teachers hate me, and Mommy hurts every time she looks at me. The only person who deigns themselves to spend time with me is Kakashi-niisan, but he's so busy with Anbu that those moments are few and far between. I don't really mind. The solitude gave me more time to train, but I sort of wish there was someone to give me some sort of direction, instead of just kind of blundering my way through like I've been doing.

Even the few times I've bothered going to class proved fruitless in that regard. Lately, the teachers have taken to ignoring my presence entirely instead of cursing my very existence, like they usually do. Apparently, it took far more effort to actively hate me than to just pretend I wasn't there. The phrase "alone in a crowded room" came to mind.

The point is, I've run into a metaphorical brick wall when it came to training. I just didn't know how to continue. Sure, I could do all the strength training I want and while it would certainly help me get physically stronger when it came everything else I didn't have an inkling on how to progress. The library could only teach me so much. I'd perfected the academy Katas, you could only get so accurate with shurikenjutsu, and I had the chakra control exercises down pat. I'd read about nature transformation as well, but couldn't find anything detailing how to actually do it.

So I was stuck. And that irritated me, greatly, but since I couldn't do anything about it, I forced myself to shove away all my frustrations and focus on what I could do, which basically amounted to strength training. But when I couldn't do that, and my anger got the better of me and I ended up accidentally blowing up a tree (and usually a limb in the process,) I sat myself down, usually on the underside of a tree, just because I could, and played with my chakra to calm down.

One day, I was doing just that, when I decided to try something new.

I had just finished abusing some poor tree in the woods (which was now sporting a fist-sized hole in its trunk) and plonked myself on the underside of one of its branches, focusing just enough chakra in my butt to keep me there, and started meditating. It was difficult to mess around with my chakra while keeping a constant flow on my underside to stop me from falling. Or at least it was. I had long since gotten used to it.

I liked to knead my chakra. Well, "kneading" was the closest equivalent to what I was doing that I could come up with. Basically, I gather as much chakra as I could and ball it up in my chest, then press it together, flattening it out like a pancake, then fold it in on itself again and again until I couldn't anymore, then flatten it out all over again. It was fun and felt kind of strange but in a good way. The whole process took several minutes, and I found it very relaxing.

But today I wanted to try something different. Up until now, everything I'd done with my chakra was done inside my body, which, you know, made sense. But I had bothered to actually attend class earlier that day and they had a lecture about chakra and how it affects the world around us, usually in terms of jutsu. Basically why chakra allowed us to do all these amazing things. I mostly ignored it, it wasn't anything I didn't already know, but it gave me an idea. What would happen if I pushed my chakra outside of my body? Not for a jutsu, or any purpose at all really, just for the sake of it? I was curious, so spread my chakra across my body and pooled it into each of my chakra points, and pushed.

I wasn't expecting it to push back.

At least, I think that's what happened. I wasn't totally sure. As soon as I let loose my chakra it felt as if the world suddenly compressed, pressing into me from every which way. It wasn't painful, but extremely disorienting, and so utterly surprising that I lost control of my chakra, both causing the feeling to cease, as well as knocking me out of the tree. Luckily I managed to twist myself around in time to land on my feet.

I blinked several times in confusion, wondering what in the world just happened. Deciding the best way to find out would be to try again, I sat down next to the base of the tree and closed my eyes, focused my chakra, and pushed it out. Immediately the sensation of the world pressing in on me returned, but this time I was better prepared for it. I kept a steady stream of chakra flowing from my body as I tried to make sense of what I was feeling.

It was like the world just shrunk. People everywhere. Civilians bustling about in the market and residential districts, Ninja hopping along the rooftops or training in training grounds both near and far. Some people's presence seemed more prominent than others. I could barely feel the civilians. They were like insects, noticed, but disregarded. Others seemed to drown out everyone around them. One powerful presence encompassed the entirety of the Hokage's Residence, and it didn't take much to guess who it was. The Hokage felt like burning ash, old and weathered, but still dangerous. I had to really focus to pinpoint anyone else in the area. But another presence shadowed even his, and there was no need to guess who it was.

My heart clenched as I recognized Mommy's chakra located in what was probably one of the many bars scattered around The Leaf. She felt like a once-bright flame that had been doused long ago, but even then her aura was almost omnipresent, filling the entire district and then some, probably the result of being both an Uzumaki and a previous jinchūriki.

Uzumaki! I realized with a start. There were three things Uzumaki were most well known for, their incredible chakra, Fūinjutsu, and their sensing abilities! This must be what I was doing, the world didn't shrink, I was just feeling everyone all at once! Jeez, I knew we were incredible, but this is ridiculous! Or maybe my being a junchūriki was having an effect on its range? I had no idea how far Mommy could sense after all.

I was tempted to spend more time watching Mommy, but I knew if I just watched her I would worry needlessly, so instead I looked around to see if I could find Kakashi-niisan when I noticed something I really should have noticed right away.

Someone was watching me.

Then several things happened all at once.

Before I could even properly register who was stalking me, a dark, oppressive chakra just appeared out of nowhere in one of the clan compounds, which one I wasn't sure. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt the twisted chakra, strangely familiar, though I had no idea why. Then the aura's of those around it abruptly began to disappear one by one, with something similar happening elsewhere in the compound.

As I took in the powerful chakra, a strange unearthly rage resonated through me, one that hardly felt like my own, but before I could do so much as gasp, I heard the rustling of leaves and the unmistakable whistling of a kunai flying through the air. My eyes shot open in surprise and my hands almost reflexively ran through the signs for the Substitution Jutsu, finishing just as I saw a glint of metal inches from my face before my vision distorted as the jutsu took hold.

I landed several yards away up in a tree, grabbing hold of a nearby branch to steady myself. I stilled as much as I could and halted my breathing, desperately trying to calm my pounding heart, watching as a figure in a white animal mask jumped down to where I was just a moment ago.

I blinked in surprise. An Anbu just tried to kill me? But… no, the mask was… wrong, somehow. Every Anbu mask I'd seen had some sort of decorative colored pattern to them, but this one was just plain white. A fake? But why? Who would try to kill me?

…

Okay, that was a stupid question. But why dress up as an Anbu? Any old facemask would do. Unless, of course, it really was an Anbu, and the Hokage was trying to kill me. Or perhaps a ninja had gone rogue, that seemed more likely. The figure did seem strangely small, a younger member would be more likely to give into emotional influence.

The (possibly fake) Anbu yanked out the kunai that had lodged itself into the tree that was behind me and began scanning the area for me, and I realized that this was a terrible place to reflect. Survive now, think later. Running wasn't an option, the moment I moved, he would no doubt know exactly where I was. The only thing left was to fight.

My heart desperately beating against my ribcage, I slowly, quietly, drew a handful of shuriken. They wouldn't do any damage, not if he really was Anbu, but it just might distract him long enough to do… something. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

But maybe I could… yeah, that might work. For a second at least.

Taking one last deep breath to steel myself, I slowly, slowly formed the signs: Ram, Snake, Tiger. Then I tossed the shuriken.

The Anbu's head snapped to my direction and he jumped up onto the trunk of the tree, letting the shuriken clatter uselessly against the ground while he pushed off the tree, heading in my direction, but I was already running through the signs for the Substitution Jutsu. I replaced myself with one of the shuriken, cursing in my head as the disorienting jutsu caused me to stumble slightly, wasting precious seconds. I quickly formed the seals for the clone technique one again then tossed another handful of shuriken along with my clone, making sure to intersperse the real ones with the fake. I jumped up into the tree leaves immediately afterward, drawing a kunai and going utterly still as I waited for an indication that my attacker knew where I was.

The Anbu was still jumping through the air when he must have heard the whirling of the shuriken. He ignored the clone I left up there and twisted himself around to land against the tree branch and block the shuriken. My eyes widened in surprise when he failed to distinguish the real from the fake as several grazed past his arms drawing blood. Instead of going after the clone like I'd hoped, however, he stilled and searched for my location.

Damn it. So much for ambushing him. What do I do? What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?

…

Damn it.

Flashing through the signs for the Substitution Jutsu, I replaced myself with a leaf behind the rogue ninja's head, spinning in the air as I pumped chakra into my legs and aimed a kick for his neck, but he raised his arm at the last moment and blocked it. Before I lost all my momentum, I swung my arm around and attempted to impale his chest with my kunai, only to have my wrist caught. The Anbu pushed my leg away and before I could do anything he swung his kunai downward.

Blood splashed against the tree branches and a searing pain spread across my side. The Anbu let go of me and I tumbled helplessly to the ground. I landed harshly on my back with an anguished grunt. My hand went to my side and pressed against the wound sending sharp jolts of agony through my body but I kept it there as it became slick with blood, knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that it was better than letting the blood flow freely.

When I managed to turn my gaze back toward the Anbu, I saw him leaping down from the tree and I hastily tossed my kunai at him, whimpering pathetically when the action only served to trigger another wave of pain as he easily blocked the knife with his own. He landed silently next to me and I tried to glare up at him, but it probably came out more like a grimace.

There wasn't much point in trying to get away. I could barely move as it was, the pain in my side was too much. I couldn't fight back either. That was painfully clear. So when the Anbu readied his kunai for what could only be the final blow I just closed my eyes and waited.

I just hope Mommy won't miss me too much.

But I knew it would only break her completely. No matter what she said, how distant she acted, I knew I was the only thing keeping her from really going off the deep end. But if I was going there'd be no one left to take care of her. No one to bring her home when it got too late. No one to remind her to eat every day. No one to hold her and remind her that she wasn't alone when she was at her very worst. No one to keep her from wasting away.

No! A seething rage took over as I thought of what would happen to Mommy if I was gone. Chakra began to flood my body, wild and frenzied, it burned in my veins as it spread, but I hardly noticed. My hand shot out and caught the kunai mid-swing, the edge biting painfully into my palm. I yanked the Anbu toward me drawing out a surprised grunt. I closed my free hand into a fist and felt that searing chakra gather as I punched his chest with as much force as I could muster. He was sent flying across the clearing where he hit a tree with a loud crack and a pained groan.

I stood across from him on all fours, an animalistic growl tearing from my throat. Chakra gathered in my hand and on my side, burning painfully but sealing the wounds all the same. I dashed forward, faster than I could ever remember being, claws that I only just realized I had extended. Moments before my claws raked his chest he jumped to the side, but I pushed off against the tree and chased after him. The Anbu reach for his pouch and drew out two handfuls of shuriken and tossed them at me, but before I could even think about dodging I felt chakra building up in my chest and I released it in a furious roar. The shuriken were all knocked away by an unseen force and I continued unimpeded. I closed in easily and swiped both hands at his torso. Claws rent flesh and fabric as blood sprayed into the air, the Anbu letting out a cry of pain. He fell to the ground, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I landed on his chest and reached down to wrap my hands around his neck, snarling ferociously at his mask as my claws dug into his skin, drawing blood.

The Anbu grabbed my arms and tried to shake me loose but I refused to let go, tightening my grip further and further until I felt and heard a crack.

The Anbu went utterly still and I finally relaxed. I let out a long breath, the unearthly chakra and rage fading with it. I shakily stood from the newly-made corpse taking slow, deep breaths, feeling more exhausted than I could ever remember being and soreness that seemed to reach my bones. Closing my eyes briefly, I concentrated for a moment and reached for my newfound sensing abilities. I pushed my chakra out around me and awareness flooded me. That twisted chakra I had felt before was gone, as was nearly every other chakra signature in the area. There was still a handful left, but even those were swiftly vanishing one by one. But more importantly, there was no one else in my immediate vicinity. And distinct lack of chakra from the body just below me. He was definitely dead.

…

Was that it?

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the body. I had just killed someone. Ended a life. I thought it would be more…

I don't know. I'd thought about how I would react to killing for the first time, of course, I was training to be a ninja, after all. I thought I might've been horrified. That was most people's reaction after all, hell, Jōnin-sensei in the Leaf had a whole protocol in place to deal with a Genin's first kill. I thought I might've been disgusted, but carry one regardless, simply taking it as a fact of life as a ninja. I'd even thought I might've enjoyed it in some way, perhaps taking some dark pleasure in taking one's life. I didn't think I would, but I figured it was possible. It was just one of those things where you just don't know how you'll react until it happens.

But I didn't expect to feel nothing. To not care in the slightest one way or another. I mean… I'm glad he's dead. But just because it meant I was still alive. I didn't particularly care that it was me who killed him.

…

Maybe I was in shock? That was certainly possible. Maybe it just hadn't hit me yet, what I'd done.

...

Maybe it was the mask. With the mask covering his face, it was almost like it wasn't even a human I killed. Morbidly curious, I knelt down and carefully peeled the animal mask off his face. Dark hair. Pale skin. Cold, dark eyes, staring unblinkingly at me.

I blinked back.

Sighing, I stood back up, my knees wobbling slightly from the ache. Well, whatever. I was still alive, that's all that really matters. I started heading back home, each shaky step becoming surer as I walked.

I was curious about what was happening over in that clan district, so I pushed my chakra out as I walked, keeping an eye, so to speak, on the area. Seeing with my chakra was weird. It wasn't really seeing, not in the traditional sense. It was sort of like echolocation. My chakra traveled out in all directions until it made contact with another source of chakra, where it burned brightly in my senses, making it easy to pinpoint them in my surroundings, as long as it wasn't overshadowed by another, even brighter source, that is.

The point is, the clan district was practically devoid of chakra sources by now. I still wasn't sure which clan it was, I was only even vaguely sure it was a clan district at all. I didn't exactly make it a habit of wandering around those areas. There were only four sources of chakra that I could sense, three grouped close together, one some distance away, but closing in slowly. Sometime later, two of the three sputtered out abruptly and not long afterward the last two met.

I realized I'd made it home and I walked inside and headed for the washroom to wash out the blood and sweat from my body, still watching the two auras intently. The larger of the two spiked suddenly and the other seemed to wilt in response but didn't quite fade. When the larger started to move away, out toward the edge of the village, the smaller seemed to revitalize quite suddenly and chase after the other. They stopped near the edge for a brief moment, before the smaller faded once again, still alive, but dimmer than ever. The larger left then, moving away from the village, farther and farther at an astonishing speed until I couldn't sense it any longer.

Humming in thought as I lowered myself into the tub, I wondered what that was all about. I opened my eyes, only just realizing I'd had them closed for several minutes now. Well, I'm sure I'd figure out what happened tomorrow. Mass murder was sure to light one hell of a spark in the rumor mill, after all.

Absently rubbing the blood and bits of flesh out from under my fingernails, I wondered something else. How the hell did I beat that Anbu guy? I mean, I knew what I did, but not a clue how. I couldn't hold out against him for more than a second in open combat, then all of a sudden I was kicking his butt? And what was up with my chakra? It'd felt like liquid fire running through my veins, and yet at the same time, it was so incredibly empowering. I didn't even have to direct it, it just seemed to do what I needed it to do, almost like it had a mind of its-

...

Oh.

A shiver of fear ran down my spine as I thought of the implications of that. I knew the seal was designed so I could draw on the Nine-Tails' chakra if I needed it (though now that I thought of it, I wasn't really sure how I knew that. No one ever explained it to me, and I knew next to nothing about Fūinjutsu. I just knew it was something I could do,) but I didn't think the Fox could push its chakra into me on its own accord. What was stopping it from doing so at worst possible of moments? If I just suddenly started emitting the Fox's chakra in the middle of the village, who knows what could happen?

Unless… it actually couldn't. After all, if it could push its chakra out whenever, then why stop doing so in the first place? Why not keep pushing until it was all out, and thus, freeing itself. Besides, I was pretty angry at the time, livid, in fact, when I used its chakra, all the way up until I killed the Anbu. (I felt a sudden rush of satisfying vindication at the thought. How dare he try to hurt Mommy by killing me?) Since the Fox's chakra was basically rage incarnate, I suppose it wasn't too much of a stretch to say my emotions aligned enough to start subconsciously pulling on it.

If so, then maybe it wasn't as worrying as I'd thought. I hardly ever got angry, after all. Frustrated, sure, but never really angry. Especially to that extent.

Climbing out of the bath, I ended up getting ready to go to bed. It was fairly late and, normally, I'd be getting ready to head out and look for Mommy, but I was just too exhausted and sore, instead, as I lay in bed, I extended my senses one last time and watched Mommy as she moved around the village, letting her chakra soothe me to sleep, distantly wondering what she was with the Hokage for.

I woke up early, like always, my internal alarm clock not allowing otherwise, despite how tired I was. Yawning, I attempted to rub the sleep from my eyes, feeling an ache in my arms as I did so. That was weird. I'd never woken up sore before. In fact, I'd hardly ever had to deal with soreness in the first place. My muscles healed nearly as fast as I'd damage them, at least, when exercising. I typically only felt sore when I really pushed myself, and even then, only for an hour or so at most afterward.

Getting up out of bed and dressing myself proved that, yes, I did indeed ache all over. I even had a headache, which sucked massively. Last time I had a headache was when I was trying to learn tree jumping and horribly misjudged a leap, hitting face first into a tree trunk, resulting in both a headache and a nosebleed.

I tried to ignore the ache in my body as I climbed downstairs and started making breakfast, but it honestly wasn't easy. I was used to short, intense pains, not small lingering ones.

(And it reminded me far too much of when I was younger. Too small and helpless to do anything but cry out as the pain racked my body, desperate for relief, but not knowing anything else.)

Shaking my head from those gloomy memories as I finished up breakfast, I made a plate to bring up to Mommy. Halfway upstairs, I remembered what I learned to do yesterday and pushed out my chakra to see if she was home since I didn't bring her back last night, frowning when I couldn't feel her chakra. Extending my sensed further, I tried to pinpoint where she was. It was almost startling how simple it was to wash my chakra over the village, monitoring the comings and goings of with relative ease, though it wasn't like I could tell one chakra signature from another, I didn't know anyone well enough for that. But I knew Mommy's chakra intimately, and it was very distinctive too, so it should've been easy to find her.

So I panicked slightly when I couldn't feel her anywhere, before remembering a small detail from yesterday. Didn't she meet up with the Hokage?

Was she out on a mission?

It was possible. Mommy was technically retired, but, really, there was no such thing as a retired ninja. Inactive was probably a better term. She wasn't given any missions unless something came up that required her specific set of skills or just particularly important came up. But what would call for her to leave the village? The only thing important enough to warrant calling on her that happened recently that I could think of was all those people dying yesterday, but I didn't see how she could help with that, other than-

Right, with finding the killer. Duh. Mommy probably had the best sensing abilities in the village, maybe the only one, beyond basic chakra sensing. Pair her up with an Inuzaka, or a Hyūga and you'd have a grade A tacking team.

I just hoped she'd come back okay. Whoever could murder an entire clan in a single night had to be incredibly strong. I knew Mommy was strong too, but… well…

I'd never seen it.

I felt guilty just thinking that, but It was true. I'd only ever seen her at home, and her home life wasn't…

Well…

Anyway, if Mommy wasn't in the village, chances were she's on a mission, so as I went back to the kitchen to eat breakfast, I resigned myself to not seeing her for a few days. When I finished up, I went outside to wander around the village to see if I could find out what happened last night. It wasn't hard, everyone was talking about it.

The Uchiha had been killed. All of them. Every man, woman, and child, all except one. The clan head's youngest daughter, Uchiha Sasuke. No one could really say who did it, though, or why. Not yet, at least. I'm sure once Mommy got back, we'd know who it was. To be honest, I was pretty amazed. The Uchiha were no joke, they were often considered the most powerful clan in the village, and there were many heated debates over who was stronger, them and the Hyūga. For someone to take out every single one of them, even under the cover of night, was seriously impressive. I just wondered why they left Sasuke alive.

We were technically unofficial cousins. I say technically because we've only actually met two or three times, and that was years ago, but for whatever reason, our moms wanted us to be best of friends and set up a few play dates for us. It didn't go so well. I got jealous whenever she got too close to Mommy and, funnily enough, she did the same whenever I got too close to her older brother, Itachi, so we just spent the whole time clinging to our respective partners and glaring at each other. But then I started getting more independent, and Mommy started getting worse, and Aunt Mikoto stopped visiting altogether, so I never saw her again. She probably didn't even remember me. Not that I minded. She was a total brat.

I let out a sigh as I lost interest in the subject, wincing slightly as the ache in my body flared. Nothing interesting would turn up until Mommy returned, so I decided to just go and train. I was halfway to my usual haunting grounds when I halted in my tracks, blinking in realization. That corpse was probably still there. And I really didn't want to get caught hauling it elsewhere, so I turned on my heel to find another place to train.

Five days passed before Mommy returned to the village, and I trained relentlessly in the meantime to mask the creeping loneliness that came from her absence. It's true that I hardly saw her throughout the day, but I still saw her. For her to disappear entirely was… hard. So I distracted myself by breaking trees and shattering rocks (and more than a few bones.) My body still ached with soreness as well. I wasn't sure why, but I could only assume it was a side effect of using the Nine-Tails' chakra. After this long, I was starting to get worried, but I think the soreness was starting to lessen, so I'd wait a little longer until I attempted to bring it up.

I knew the moment when Mommy came back. I'd been periodically checking up on the village with my new sensing abilities ever since she left to see if she'd returned, so when, in the middle of training, I felt her chakra on the very edge of my senses, I stopped everything I was doing as my face broke into a huge grin and I bolted back home. I wanted to head straight for her, but she would be going to the Hokage first for a debriefing, and interrupting would be inappropriate. Despite how much I didn't care, I also didn't think it would go down so well for anyone involved, Mommy included, so I went home to wait for her instead.

I sat down in front of the main entrance, keeping a careful watch on her chakra as she met with the Hokage, a happy smile on my face. My brow furrowed slightly when I noticed something weird about Mommy's chakra. It was… fluctuating strangely. Compressing and pulsing, twisting and warping in strange ways. Then it'd stop for a moment, then start again a short moment later. It reminded me of when I did my chakra meditation, but far more complex and precise. At some point, it stopped completely, and shortly after she started heading my way.

Waiting impatiently as she moved closer and closer, when she finally came into view I shot up to my feet, smiling widely at her.

She looked… beautiful. Breathtaking. But also tired. She was in her Jōnin uniform, which I had never seen her in before. Her long red hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, two long strands of hair framing her face, falling past her shoulders. The flak jacket left her arms bare, showing the dirt and mud smeared on her skin. Her head was bowed, not looking where she was going. Her eyes were bruised, she must not have gotten much sleep, and there was dirt smudged across her face.

When she heard me stand, she looked up, and the moment her eyes met mine she visibly winced, stopping in her tracks. My smile faltered somewhat, but I managed to keep it on my face. I so desperately wanted to run into her arms, but I knew doing so just might make it worse. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, apparently steadying herself, then opened them again and looked back at me. Her mouth twisted upward slightly in a sad smile.

"Naruto," she said softly. I smiled wider in response, tilting my head slightly at the way her chakra shifted as she said my name. She raised two fingers and gestured for me to come to her. "Come here, sweetie."

Eyes widening in surprise and blushing at the unexpected endearment, I didn't hesitate to rush forward. I almost thought I was dreaming when she knelt down to catch me and pick me up, but no dream could match the warmth of her arms or the softness of her skin. She wrapped me in a desperate sort of hug and I circled my little arms around her neck, holding her as close as possible. She was shaking slightly, I noticed, and when I heard a small sniff, I realized she was crying. My heart clenched at the thought and I held her tighter, wanting to make her pain go away, but not knowing what I could do.

After what felt like an eternity (yet not nearly long enough,) Mommy pulled away slightly to look at me, wiping tears from her eyes as she did so. "You're all sweaty," she said, her tone deceptively light. "Were you training?"

There it was again. Her chakra was acting weird again, bending and twisting suddenly before stopping abruptly. It was almost like…

I nodded in answer, focusing a bit more on her chakra to try and confirm my theory.

She smiled wider, just a bit. It was such a pretty smile, it made my heart beat faster. "Ah, that's good," she said as she moved into the house with me. "Well… I guess we're both dirty then, huh? Would you like to take a bath together, Musume?"

I smiled at her, both because of the offer and because I was pretty sure I figured out what her chakra was doing. It was talking. Or rather, Mommy was talking with her chakra. It was twisting itself into several distinct, intricate shapes, quickly shifting from one form to another to match each word she spoke.

I just didn't know why. I hadn't felt anyone else do anything remotely like this when they spoke, so it had to be an Uzumaki thing, which made more sense the more I thought about it. No one could naturally sense chakra as well as an Uzumaki could. Had they created their own language just out of shaping their chakra? I certainly seemed possible, and it would be something Mommy learned back in her childhood when she still lived in Uzu. It might have been something she did to remember her old home, even if no one else felt it. Eventually, it would just become a habit.

Realizing I hadn't actually answered her question, I eagerly nodded my head. I made sure to pay close attention to everything else she said from here on out, determined to learn this language of hers.

She chuckled a little at my obvious enthusiasm but headed for the washroom nonetheless, setting me down when she stepped inside. She started undressing me, and then herself, my cheeks burning as she did so, then started washing me. She didn't really need to (not that I minded,) I could do it myself, so I guessed she must have just wanted to.

Mommy was quiet as she sponged down my body. That wasn't exactly unusual, but we rarely took baths together, and when we did it was usually because she was rather… inebriated. And therefore talkative. So having her just sitting there, staring at my body while she scrubbed me down was… weirdly intimate. I felt unreasonably nervous and my heart was pounding even harder than when that Anbu tried to kill me. I couldn't even look her in the eye without my stomach attempting somersaults, and everywhere else was bare skin, so that wasn't much better, and I ended up just awkwardly looking off the side as she touched me, my face beet red.

"Naruto," Mommy said suddenly, startling me slightly. I turned my head to look fully at her, ignoring the way her gorgeous eyes sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. She paused, hesitating, like she was trying to figure how to word whatever she was going to say. "Are… How are classes at the Academy going? Are… you making any friends?"

I blinked. Then I blinked again, wondering once again if I was dreaming. Mommy never showed much interest in my life before, why was she asking now? I mean, it made me ludicrously happy, but I didn't understand what brought it on. I also didn't know how to tell her that I barely attended the Academy and that I wasn't interested in making friends, even if they didn't all think I was some sort of menace, so I just sort of shrugged my shoulders, feeling oddly disappointed that I couldn't give her more.

Mommy's face fell and I felt a painful crushing sensation in my chest. "Oh," she said. "I see."

She fell silent for several long minutes after that and I felt irrationally angry with myself for making her sad, despite that fact I didn't know what else I could have done.

She moved behind me to wash my back, which was simultaneously easier to handle and disappointing. I loved looking at her, no matter how strange it made me feel.

"You… spend a lot of time in the forest," Mommy said suddenly. It wasn't a question, and I found myself surprised she knew that before remembering she could probably sense me as well as I could sense her, maybe even better (it made me wonder why she didn't seem to know I hardly went to my classes, but I discarded it as unimportant.)

"Do you spend all that time training?"

She sounded strangely worried for some reason, but I nodded anyway, turning my head slightly to see her reaction.

She was frowning, and I floundered as I tried to figure out what I said wrong.

"Don't you think that's… a bit much?"

I turned to face her a little more fully, blinking up at her in confusion. I only trained in my free time which was, well, all the time really, but it's not like I had anything else to do.

Mommy stared intensely at me for a moment. I didn't really know why, but it made me blush nonetheless.

Eventually, she just let out a small sigh and said, "Nevermind,"

I felt confused and worried I had upset her even more somehow, but I had no idea how and I pondered it uselessly while she continued washing me.

"There," she said when she finally finished. "All clean. Why don't you go and soak? I'll join you in a moment."

I nodded dutifully, stepping over to the tub and lowering myself into it, letting the hot water wash over me. I sighed in contentment, closing my eyes briefly in to enjoy the feeling before opening them back up and turning to look at Mommy, leaning against the edge of the tub to watch her. It was a little easier now that she wasn't so close. I felt a little perverted just staring at her, but it was worth it just to see her amazing body. Seeing the water trail down her body and the suds stick to her skin as she washed was bliss.

I just wished I could do something about that sad look on her face. The way she stared at nothing, her mind obviously elsewhere, paying only the barest attention to her surroundings. It made my heart ache when I saw her like that.

She did notice me staring eventually, she wasn't paying much attention, but I wasn't exactly being discreet. She smiled at me, a teasing smirk, and puffed out her substantial chest. "See something you like, Musume?"

My blush worsened immeasurably and I sunk into the water down to my nose in a vain attempt to hide my embarrassment.

Mommy laughed, light and airy, and I relished the sound, even if it was caused at my expense. "There's no need to hide. It's not like I mind."

Then her smile faded and her despondent look returned. "Even if I don't deserve it."

I frowned, pulling my head out of the water to look at her. Mommy saw my frown and waved her hands frantically. "Ah, don't mind gloomy old me, Musume. You don't need to bother yourself with-"

I stood suddenly, startling Mommy into silence. Stepping out of the bath, I walked over to her and threw my arms around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug.

"N-Naruto?"

I shook my head, pulling her closer, pressing my body against her in a way that made my blush triple in intensity, but I didn't let go. I rested my head against her shoulder, making myself comfortable as I waited for her to hug me back.

And she did, after a moment. Slowly, tentatively, her arms reached around me to hold me against her, before tightening them. Another moment passed as we embraced, and then Mommy shook as she let out a sob, then another, before devolving into a mess of tears. I held her close as she cried, not daring to pull away, to let her think for a single moment that she was alone.

When, after an indeterminable amount of time, the tears finally slowed and the sobs that racked her body halted, I pulled away, not much, just enough to press my forehead against hers and stare into her violet eyes. I gave her a soft smile and reached up to rest my hands against her face, brushing the last of her tears away with my thumbs. Mommy stared back with sad eyes, one of her hands moving to rest on top of my own. She spoke, hiccuping slightly.

"You're so good to me. Even though I'm… like this," she said, her breath shaky. "I don't deserve you."

I shake my head, denying the statement. She deserves everything I can give and far, far more. It didn't matter how broken she was, I'd do whatever it took to make her whole again.

"I love you so much," she said hopelessly, and I can't stop my heart from skipping a beat at her words even when she says them so miserably, but she continued, her voice increasingly desperate, tears breaking through once again. "Please don't leave me. You're all I have left."

Never, I thought to myself as I stared into her eyes, wondering if she could see the promise in mine. I closed them a moment later and leaned in slowly, my heart beating furiously, and ever-so-softly pressed my lips to hers.

I felt her go stock-still but I kept still, our lips locked together for a moment, and then another until I felt her body relax and her lips begin to move against mine. So impossibly soft and so wonderfully sweet.

We pulled away from each other moments later, before I could even process the taste. I looked up at her shyly, still in ecstasy, I could only imagine how red my face must have been. She looked similar, her cheeks tinted pink as she brought two fingers up to her lips, her eyes wide in disbelief.

And then she smiled, her eyes lighting up, and I was left breathless because I had never seen her so alive.

"So bold," she said softly, but I could hear the happiness in her voice and I'd never loved her more. She looked down at me and I could see the love on her face, clear as the morning sky, and not clouded by endless grief and sorrow. She pulled me close then, wrapping me in another hug, fierce and gentle, filled with care and warmth, and I hugged her back just as passionately.

"Thank you," she said, adoration coating her voice, and I smile wider than I've smiled before because even though I know it won't last forever, that eventually, she'll slip back into her depression, for the first time ever she'd actually heard me, and, maybe, that first step toward healing had finally been taken.

A/N: Alright, so I have a much better idea of where I want to take this now, but it's also wildly different from the vague thoughts I had when I started this story. It's part of why I was hesitant to continue this, my stories change drastically as I write them, and since I tend to lean more toward action/adventure mixed with romance than anything else, the tone of this story will be very different from the first few chapters. I just can't keep an emotional roller-coaster going for too long, I much prefer fluffy romance. That can be either good or bad, depending on what you want from this. I'm just telling you up front so you know what to expect.

Also Sasuke's a girl now. That also wasn't part of the plan, originally. Sort of a last minute decision. But with some of the ideas I had, I figured if I'm gonna do them, I may as well go all out, which doesn't really make sense unless you know what I'm planning. Which you don't. So. Yeah. Besides, I've read girl Naruto, and I've read girl Sasuke, but I've not read girl Naruto and girl Sasuke, so this should be fun.