Updated on February 2, 2020. The author's notes are at the bottom because they're long.

In which Fuu makes a new friend and Roshi babysits.

O-O-O-O-O

Fuu cried for a week after Kushina died.

Her handlers didn't know how to handle her tears. For the first few days, they indulged her. They suspended her training and sent her to the hospital, believing she was ill and fearing her seal had weakened. However, after a clean bill of health, she was sent back the next day.

When asked, Fuu could only explain that she was sad. When they asked for a reason why, however, she couldn't answer and she was too young to invent a good lie. No one except the other jinchuuriki knew about the Room that connected them to each other. So when they asked for a reason, she could only respond with 'I don't know,' which only made her handlers angrier.

Besides, with her four-year-old vocabulary, what could she say? How her heart felt empty? How she would never again hear Kushina's voice? How Kushina was the first person outside of her mother to ever let her sit on her lap? How Kushina always smiled at her, even when all she did was complain about her training? How she would never ever see her again?

For the past few months, Kushina had been showing up in the Room more and more often, each time with a bigger belly. She cooed at Fuu, lifting her up and making her laugh. A few times, she had peered through the window of the One-Tail Jinchuuriki and tried to communicate with it, a frown on her face. According to her, the vessel was too young to join the Room and its handlers were not taking good care of him.

Kushina had explained that she was going to have a son. She had told Fuu that she wanted her son to be as beautiful and talented as Fuu was. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.

She said the baby was going to be named Naruto. Fuu wondered what had happened to her son. Did the baby die with Kushina? Or was the baby alive and safe somewhere? She hoped that whatever happened to Naruto, he would grow up happy and loved.

Fuu had no idea how Kushina died. For the months leading up to her death, Kushina's aura emanating from her Door had shined with happiness, mixed with a little fear. On the day of her death, Fuu had felt pain tinged with excitement in anticipation of giving birth. That was soon followed by panic and fear that ended only with her death.

Kushina's death was the worst thing that has ever happened in her short life. Even the pain of sealing the Nanabi last year paled in comparison to the deep aching sorrow in her young heart.

She had cried almost non-stop since then. She couldn't say anything to her handlers about Kushina either.

And because Fuu couldn't explain anything, her handlers got more frustrated by the minute. They commanded her to stop sobbing and get back to work on her katas. But she couldn't. It hurt too much.

Finally, after a week of crying and doing mediocre katas with eyes blurred by tears, her primary instructor, Suien, slapped her across the face.

"Weapons aren't supposed to have feelings!" he screamed.

Even with the bijuu in her body, the slap stung and she fell to the ground. It didn't take long to heal and the pain faded after a few seconds- one of the few benefits to being a jinchuuriki. She wanted to rebel. She knew Kushina would have stood up for herself because that's the kind of person she had been.

But Fuu couldn't. She was a little girl, scared, and confused. With no way to fight back, she wiped the tears from her eyes and began practicing her katas again. Suien rolled his eyes but said nothing else as she got started on her routine.

While the sting of Suien's slap faded thanks to her bijuu, the pain in her heart didn't leave. It waited.

That night, Fuu cried herself to sleep and appeared in front of her green Door in the Room. She hadn't visited the Room since the night before Kushina died. She had expected the room to be empty. Instead, the short red-haired man, whom she had never talked to, was standing in the middle of the room. He was doing some katas with a long wooden staff.

Kushina liked asking him for recipes, she remembered.

She looked around the Room more. Her eyes widened when she looked at Kushina's familiar Door.

Kushina's Door, which had once glowed a bright red, was now glowing a soft orange. She wondered who the new vessel was. She hoped that they would be as kind as Kushina had been.

She knew that the newest jinchuuriki's connection to the Room had not finalized yet, however. If it was anything like her own experience, it would take at least a few weeks for the newest vessel to join them.

The red-headed man nodded at her with acknowledgment but said nothing. Except for Kushina, all of the jinchuuriki preferred to spend their time alone. They rarely talked to each other beyond basic pleasantries or covert threats. The shadows of the Shinobi Wars were too large to ignore, even in times of peace. Fuu had been created after the Third War, but the others had been part of rival villages for decades

Even with her limited life experience, Fuu knew that she should never ask any other jinchuuriki personal questions. The only ones they could possibly trust were the ones from the same village. But Takigakure only had one jinchuuriki and she was alone there, too.

Instead of greeting the man, Fuu went and sat down in front of him. He had so much control and power behind his strikes that it was hypnotic. She could tell it was a kata that he had done thousands of times until he perfected the rhythm. The man raised his eyebrows for a second to look at her but didn't protest as he continued his kata.

The unlikely pair stayed like that for a long time, silent except for the grunts of effort when he swung his staff. Other than the nod and the raised eyebrow, the man continued his routine as if he were alone in the Room.

As she pulled her knees up to her chest, Fuu wished that she hadn't come to the Room. She felt more alone than ever. The Room was the place where she met Kushina, the woman Fuu admired and who took care of her. The woman who wiped her tears and let her sit on her lap. Who taught her a children's song from Uzushio. The only one who cared about her as a person. Who made her feel like being a jinchuuriki was a good thing. Who told her that she needed to fill her life with love.

But Kushina would never spend time with her again, and Fuu would be alone for the rest of her life. If even her fellow villagers hated her, how could anyone love her? Before she knew it, Fuu was bawling again.

O-O-O-O-O

Roshi stopped in the middle of the kata and looked at the small child. He knew that the girl had been close to Kushina. He had heard them chattering with each other often, annoyingly keeping him awake at night. His own relationship with Kushina had been distant yet respectful.

It wasn't easy to put away Village Rivalries, despite having had a shared background as a vessel. Kushina had asked about life before the Second Shinobi War. In turn, he had sometimes share recipes from Iwagakure. They had exchanged words once or twice a month at most.

However, since the little girl had joined the room, tiny and terrified, Kushina had taken her under her wing. Kushina had soothed her fears and comforted her at night. He wasn't surprised her death had such an impact on her. He hadn't expected Kushina to die so suddenly either, considering it was a time of peace.

Roshi hesitated only a second before he squatted down next to the girl. He put his calloused hand on her tiny shoulder and tried to think of a way to cheer her up, even though he had no idea how. Kushina would have screamed at him for letting a little girl cry though. He needed to try.

"Hey girl," he muttered. I'm going to frighten her. On her part, the girl only continued bawling. He didn't know if she was actually crying harder or if he was imagining it.

"It's okay, it's okay," he continued nervously, "it's okay to cry you know. The shinobi code says we aren't supposed to cry, but you're not a shinobi yet, so the rules don't apply to you. Besides, Kushina-san wouldn't have wanted to see you cry all the time."

She's definitely crying harder than before.

What was he supposed to say? He had never comforted a little girl before. Or anyone, actually. Most of the time, looking at his face sent the most hardhearted jounin running away. He had made more people cry in one week than he had ever comforted in his life. However, his new mission was to make a little girl stop crying. Maybe some misdirection could work?

"So, kid," he started, "what's your name, anyway?"

The girl took a second to wipe her nose with her forearm before answering.

"Fuu," she whispered, her large orange eyes shiny and full of tears. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing, but at least she was willing to talk.

"My name's Roshi," he answered the unasked question. "Nice to meet you."

He extended his hand to for her to shake. She hesitated a second before putting her tiny palm inside his hand. He squeezed her hand and sat down next to her, still holding on to her.

"Nice to meet you, too," she whispered.

She had stopped sobbing, although a few tears rolled down her cheeks and her voice was strained. They sat together for a few moments in companionable silence, with Fuu holding Roshi's warm hand. Fuu's breathing slowed down to smaller hiccups until she finally quieted completely. To Roshi's dismay, however, her orange eyes remained dangerously damp.

"Have you looked through the window of the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki yet?" he finally asked when she wiped away the last of the tears. She shook her head. She was too short to look through the window without help and she hadn't been in the Room for over a week.

"Well, in that case, let's go see together," he said. Still holding hands, they stood up. Effortlessly, Roshi picked her up and put her on his hip. He could tell that the girl was unused to being carried. All the jinchuuriki were. Even as a young boy, his handlers would never carry him. Instead, they had forced him to walk or run on his own, no matter how tired he felt or how young he was.

Being carried probably also reminded her of Kushina. They might not have talked often, but he had seen Kushina's devotion, especially after she got pregnant. She had even confided that she was looking forward to being a mother, despite her status as a jinchuuriki. He wondered how often jinchuuriki became parents anyway.

With the girl on his hip, he walked to the door that represented the Kyuubi's vessel. He peered through the window and moved her face closer.

"Look, Fuu," he said as he pointed through the window. "You can see what the other host sees. The other host can block the sight from the others if they want. But since this is a new jinchuuriki, they still haven't figured out how to do it."

Together, the man and the little girl peered through the window. To his surprise, he could only see the basic outlines of creatures that seemed to slowly move in front of its eyes. A baby mobile?

"Roshi-san, why is everything so blurry?" Fuu asked.

"This jinchuuriki is still very young," he explained. "Their vision hasn't fully developed yet. I'm guessing the new host of the Kyuubi is a newborn baby."

Just like with the One-Tail. Were the villages making their weapons younger and younger? It was a little worrying. Yugito and Fuu had at least been out of diapers when they were created.

"So it's a baby?"

"Yeah, a baby."

Roshi touched the door of the host. It was usually the only way to have direct contact with another jinchuuriki when they weren't in the Room.

'Hello, child, how are you?' The baby stirred and their vision moved around the room, looking for the source of the new mysterious voice.

"Here, Fuu-chan, touch the door. Send the baby a message." Fuu didn't hesitate and placed her tiny hand on the window next to Roshi's. Roshi guessed she had communicated with Kushina like that before.

'Hello, Baby! What's your name?' Fuu already sounded a lot more cheerful.

The baby, of course, couldn't understand. Nevertheless, both of them received a vague expression of happiness. Hearing mysterious voices was probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened in its young life.

'What have you been doing in your life? Is your mommy nearby? Do you have a mommy? I have a mommy but she's busy on a mission now that I'm a jinchuuriki. She says I have to be strong and listen to my teacher but the teachers are mean and I don't like when they hit me. If you have mean teachers, make sure you hit them back! Oh, are you a boy or a girl? Because I want a little sister, but if you are a boy, it's okay too. But you have to be nice to girls! If you're not nice to girls, I will hit you, even if you are a baby!'

The girl sure looks happier.

He looked at the girl on his hip. Fuu smiled as she mentally talked a mile a minute to their tiny new companion. Although the newborn was still too young to respond, Roshi could tell it enjoyed Fuu's company. If it was being raised like most jinchuuriki, Roshi doubted it was receiving good care. He guessed the infant was receiving the bare minimum amount of attention to keep it alive.

He wondered who the new host was. Usually, they could tell in advance when a jinchuuriki was going to leave the Room forever, whether it was through age or war. However, Kushina's death was sudden and unexpected. A newborn was unexpected too, especially considering Kushina's condition at the time of her death. If he were a betting man, he would say the newest jinchuuriki was Kushina's child. However, there was no way to prove that until the baby joined them in the Room.

Roshi and Fuu sat down in front of the Door for a while longer, talking about everything and anything that sprung to mind. Or at least Fuu did. Roshi mostly sent vague messages of cheer that the baby seemed to enjoy anyway. They didn't leave until the newborn fell asleep, a feeling of safety and comfort spread from the jinchuuriki's Door.

Fuu, who had at one point moved to sit on his lap smiled at the Door. She sent the baby a final message.

'Sleep well,' she said.

The pair stood up and Roshi and Fuu finally separated as he set her down on the floor.

"Goodnight, girl, you have a long day tomorrow I'm sure," he told her.

"I will! And you too, Roshi-sama. Sleep well!" Her eyes were still full of grief about Kushina's death, but the smile she gave him was honest and optimistic.

She disappeared from the room as she waved goodbye. He shook his head. How did I ever get put in babysitting duty? I only wanted to practice this form before going to sleep, dammit!

Roshi gave one last look at the new vessel's Door before walking away to inspect the rest of the Room. Except for the youngest ones, the other jinchuuriki had formed mental barriers to protect their privacy. Because of that, he couldn't see through any other Doors except for those of the youngest three.

So instead of trying to spy on his fellow hosts, Roshi glanced at the Door of the One-Tail Jinchuuriki. As one of the few to visit the Room with regularity, Kushina had mentioned in passing that the baby seemed to be in a lot of pain and suffering. Sometimes, she had tried to communicate with the mysterious jinchuuriki of the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails. If they ever answered or even acknowledged her, Roshi would probably never know.

Kushina was probably the only one of us that ever talked to the other baby.

The thought did strange things to his conscience. Before he could reconsider, he was standing in front of the One-Tail Jinchuuriki's Door. Peering through the window, he could see that this baby was older than the newest host. Instead of blurry black and white shapes, he could see colors and the shapes of things. Based on the point of view, the baby was seated on the floor and surrounded by toys and stuffed animals. Maybe this baby is not being treated as badly as the other one?

Roshi touched the Door. Instinctively, he flinched and pulled his hand away. The child was exhausted and in extreme pain, unable to deal with that and confused about where the pain was coming from. It made him want to throw up. How could a tiny baby deal with this level of suffering?

He put his hand back on the Door, that time ready to feel and absorb some of the baby's emotions.

'I'm here, child. Let me take some of the pain away.'

Roshi concentrated and was able to absorb the negative feelings into himself. Compared to what he experienced during the Shinobi Wars, the pain was nothing. However, for a child, let alone a baby, the pain was excruciating. The infant needed all the help it could get. Unfortunately, this solution was temporary at best, since Roshi could only mitigate the pain. There was no way for Roshi to take away the source of pain when the two were so far away from each other.

From the other side of the Door, the baby tilted its head, as if the reduction of its suffering had never happened before. It probably hadn't.

'Hello, baby. Are you feeling better now? A child your age shouldn't feel so much pain.'

His messages reached the target. However, as with the newborn, the jinchuuriki was too young to understand his words. It could understand the sentiment, though, because Roshi received an emotional expression of joy. Roshi couldn't help but smile in pleasure.

He could tell that the baby was exhausted. He would say it was chakra exhaustion but he had never had to worry about that in his life. He also doubted any jinchuuriki could even run out of chakra. He was sure that whatever was hurting the child was also keeping him from sleeping for long.

He sent the host a few more messages. He tried to be positive while at the same time trying to absorb some of the negative energy away. Roshi kept talking by the Door for a while- an hour, according to his internal clock. He almost didn't notice when someone else joined the room. He didn't need to turn around to know that it was Han, the Five-Tails jinchuuriki.

While Roshi was short, Han towered over him at over seven feet tall. His broad shoulders and armor only made him look bigger and more intimidating. He was also the oldest of the jinchuuriki, having seen dozens of hosts come and go during the shinobi wars. Some jinchuuriki hadn't even lasted a week before dying and getting transferred to a new poor bastard.

But Han was a friend. Possibly, he was Roshi's only friend considering their shared disdain for the Tsuchikage. Han had taught Roshi how to be a shinobi. For that alone, Roshi was grateful.

Han walked over to stand next to Roshi in front of the One-Tail Jinchuuriki's door. Han could see that he was touching the door to communicate with the baby. He raised an eyebrow as he stared down at Roshi.

"I've been stuck with babysitting duty, it seems," Roshi complained. "For some reason, being possessed by a monkey demon is not enough to get out of taking care of little tiny babies."

"Are you talking about your bijuu or are you describing yourself?" Han teased. Roshi glared at him but without any rancor.

Han gave a small chuckle as he went to put his hand on the door next to Roshi's.

'Hello, baby. Will you be joining us soon in the Room?' Even mentally, Han's voice was strong and calming.

Based on what they could see through the window, the appearance of a second voice delighted the child. It started to giggle. Roshi gave a satisfied smile. He didn't think he had ever heard a baby laugh before.

Han appeared calmer than he had seen him since Kushina died. His eyes were relaxed and he seemed to be absorbing some of the child's pain as well. The two stood together in silence that was usual for the two men- of a friendship so strong it transcended words.

They stood like that for a few hours longer, giving a little comfort to the child in silence. Eventually, however, they left the Room and headed back to their lives as weapons of Iwagakure.

O-O-O-O-O

When Fuu woke up, she didn't feel like crying anymore. Thinking about Kushina still hurt and she knew that part of her heart would always feel empty when thinking about her. But for now, she was ready to move on with her life. She wanted to meet the little baby soon.

She left her bed to get ready for the day. She had taijutsu katas to complete and she knew Suien would be even more strict and vindictive than normal. Nevertheless, she got dressed, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and washed her face.

Kushina might be dead, but she was still there. The only thing she could do was keep going.

O-O-O-O-O

A/N: Sorry for this long-ass Author's Note. The TLDR version is that this story has been edited from the original. It now reads (I hope) more fluidly.

First of all, thanks so much to modoribashi on AO3 for helping me beta this work. Also HUGE thanks to Amationary and LegancyZ for helping me edit this monstrosity. I don't know how I could ever repay you. TT_TT

The cover art was done by the wonderful Caroliaa on Deviant art. They're great! (Link on my profile)

On romance/shipping: There will be minor background (non-canon) relationships in this work. Some of those relationships and characters will be LGBT/Queer because I am a gay (TM). If you are curious, Sasuke/Naruto is the biggest ones. However, there will be a few other minor background relationships, such as Ino/Sakura.

ALL the romance will be in the background though, so even when I get to those parts, it won't dominate the story. There is also absolutely NO SHIPPING between the jinchuuriki. They're a family first and foremost.

Finally, if you want, you can contact me on Tumblr at waffledogwrites. I'm ready and willing to answer questions or talk there.

Next chapter: rumors spread about the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki.