ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

The second exam!? p.2

Naruto on the other hand was touched beyond belief at Naruko's thoughtfulness and determination to get stronger to protect him, and his heart warmed with every word the blonde girl spoke. He chuckled as he stood and moved towards Naruko, grabbing her in an embrace.

"Thank you, Naruko-chan. You don't know how much that means to me."

"No problem Onii-chan." She mumbled into his shoulder, holding him close to her reveling in his warmth that only he can provide as Kushina looked on with a knowing smile.

After that, they shared their last moments with their mother telling her how much they loved her, and they promised to make her and Minato proud of them, which Kushina tearfully thanked them for.

"Thank you, my son, my little angel ... thank you for being our children." Kushina tearfully sobbed. "And thank you for accepting Minato and me as your parents." she then hugged Naruto and Naruko in one last embrace as she began to fade from the mortal plane, her body shimmering with light, "I love you both."

Naruko sobbed, burying her face in her mother's blouse. "I love you too, Kaa-chan!"

Naruto nodded, trying not to cry as he grinned broadly with squinted eyes. "Don't worry about us Kaa-chan — we've got Kurama here to protect us."

They all looked at the grinning Bijū, and they all shared a small laugh. The small, bittersweet moment was the last one the family shared before Kushina completely faded, causing Naruko to bury her face into Naruto's chest as she sobbed. Naruto wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace.

When Naruko had finally calmed down, the Uzumaki siblings were preparing to depart to the real world when their mother's melodious voice sounded throughout the mindscape, one last time.

"Thank you..."

~ D ~ R ~

Naruto sighed wistfully as both he and Naruko were standing in front of the large double burgundy doors that led into the Hokage's office. After being shown in by the secretary Hikari, who gave a warm smile towards Naruko who smiled back, Hikari went into the office to inform Hiruzen of their arrival. Naruto was still thinking about the morning's events when he suddenly felt a nudge in his mind.

– Are you alright, Onii-chan? – Naruko's voice reverberated in his mind, making Naruto smile as he turned to look at her.

– I'm okay. Just thinking about this morning, that's all. – Naruto replied mentally, as he shook his head, before saying out loud. "Man... I still can't believe we can do that."

Naruko giggled as she hugged one of Naruto's arms, smiling. "I know... it feels so surreal to be connected to you like this."

After they had returned from their mindscapes, imagine their surprise when Kurama spoke to them both at the same time, explaining that now that Naruto has opened the seal on Naruko, they will be able to communicate with each other telepathically due to their shared chakra connection with Kurama, which the Uzumaki siblings found to be amazing and surreal. Never in their wildest dreams would they imagine being this connected to each other, which not even the most devoted of lovers could achieve.

But it did present a problem early on, as both Naruto and Naruko had to erect mental shields to block out their more intimate and private thoughts from each other. Kami knew how embarrassed they would be when one or the other found out about their feelings for each other.

Naruto chuckled as he patted Naruko's head, making her blush. "Hey, even without the mind-talking thing, I will always be connected to you."

Naruko nodded with a smile. "I know Onii-chan." she replied. And it was at this moment the burgundy doors opened to reveal Hikari who poked her head out to greet them with a smile.

"Hokage-sama will see you now." She announced. Naruto nodded as he led Naruko inside.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was sitting behind his desk tackling the bane of all Hokages — paperwork — when his surrogate grandchildren entered his office and made their way towards his desk, making him smile.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, Naruko-chan!" he greeted as he put his pen down, happy to get away from the blasted paperwork even for a moment. "Hikari told me you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"

Naruto nodded as he inclined his head respectfully. "Hokage-sama," he greeted, as Hiruzen's face turned serious. Naruto never used honorifics unless the matter was serious, just like Naruko. "I have revealed to Naruko her lineage and my origins. She now knows everything about me and my current mission to the past."

Hiruzen nodded, already expecting it. "Well, that's good to know — one less hurdle to vault over in the future."

He looked at Naruko with a concerned gaze. "Are you alright Naruko-chan?" he asked sincerely, worried about the girl's emotional health. It's not every day one gets to learn about their deceased parents who were renowned shinobi of the village after all.

Naruko nodded with a warm smile, touched by the old man's thoughtfulness. "I'm fine Hokage-sama, and I trust Onii-chan completely as I know he will never lie to me."

"That's good to hear," Hiruzen breathed as he looked at the two siblings. "Was there anything else that requires my attention? How were team placements?"

Naruto sighed.

"Actually, that's the reason why we're here." He paused, gathering his thoughts to word his question right as the wizened Hokage waited patiently. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, but I think you're showing blatant favoritism in choosing Team 7."

At the old man's questioning look, Naruto elaborated. "Traditional shinobi cells only consist of four-man cells instead of the unusual five, and it blatantly shows your obvious favoritism towards Naruko-chan and me Hokage-sama, and this might send the wrong message to the other shinobi under your command."

Hiruzen sat silent, stunned into a slight stupor at finally coming to terms with his blunder pointed out so clearly. With his placement of Naruto in Team 7 with the public acknowledgement of Naruto being Naruko's brother-by-blood, many in Konoha might see his choice as a blatant show of favoritism towards the numbered team that has always produced the finest shinobi the world has ever seen. This faux pas might be one of the points needed by his political enemies to strike at him unawares.

For years, he had kept the civilian council, mostly comprised of Konoha's trade unions and mercantile elite, from interfering with Naruko's life by threatening to execute them for treason if they so much as look at the girl the wrong way or inciting mobs to hurt her. Most had begrudgingly agreed, but those vultures were always waiting for an opportunity to strike at the old man, be it politically or socially.

Especially his old teammate and rival, Shimura Danzō, who the Professor has always been aware of the cripple's ambition to be Hokage.

Hiruzen sighed as he let the information sink in. The events of the past day had finally caught up to him, and a cold feeling of dread bubbled up within him for his decision to put Naruto in Team 7. He sighed as he lit his stovepipe, puffing it as he let out a breath.

'I'm getting too damn old for this ...' he thought sullenly.