Now ten years old, Naruko was about a month away from having her seal complete the rebuilding of Uzushiogakure, and Kurama had just finished the lessons and training that he could give in the present moment. He had explained that until Naruko reached a certain point with her chakra, chakra control, strength and abilities, he would train her further. Despite this fact, however, Naruko was a low-jounin-level kunoichi. The mostly-blonde-haired ten year-old had agreed and decided to gather refugees or anyone she wanted to join the now-rebuilt Uzushio; there were already a few people living in the village. The residents of Uzushio currently consisted of two couples and three jounin-level shinobi. One of the couples had a child that was also ten years-old and Naruko found herself hanging out with the other girl.
When Naruko had first arrived at Uzushio, the sudden connection to the village and the life in and around it had overwhelmed her, and she had been off-balance for a few weeks, mind overloaded and forced to suffer through a few less-than-pleasant nightmares before it began to mellow down into something she could mostly tune out. Now, Naruko had control over how strongly in-tune she was with the land and more often than not used it to locate the current residents. She could even feel how alive they or any other organisms were - like crops, for example. The current residents also recognised Naruko for who she was - the one to become Uzukage when she would come of age - and had begun to add '-sama' to her name, much to her embarrassment.
Naruko could currently be found running down the stone streets of the rebuilt Uzushio ruins, in search of the only other child her age. They were currently playing hide-and-seek like a normal ten year-old should. Kurama was thankful for the other girl that made sure Naruko, at least sometimes, acted like the child she was (as were the other residents).
"C'mon, Akari! Where are you?" Naruko called with a grin, knowing fully that the other girl wouldn't respond. Naruko was tempted to use her connection with the land to find her, but Akari had made sure she promised not to do so, and Naruko never broke a promise unless she absolutely had to. Naruko's ears suddenly picked up the quiet sound of giggling and a grin broke out across her whiskered face. Naruko immediately began to run to where the sound came from. The moment she rounded the corner, a cheer left her. "I found you!"
"Dammit, Naruko!" Akari exclaimed, pouting as she folded her arms.
Akari was ten years old and was four-foot-seven - three inches taller than Naruko. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders, with two bangs framing her face on the sides and a fringe falling to her left bang. She wore a greyish-blue sleeveless turtleneck that ended just above her belly-button and black skin-tight shorts, along with a pair of blue shinobi sandals that revealed her heels and toes. With a slightly-tanned complexion, her pale green eyes stood out.
Naruko grinned and put her hands on her hips, another victorious laugh leaving her as she looked at her friend.
"I win again!" The mostly-blonde cheered. Akari huffed and crossed her arms, then looked back at Naruko with a curious look.
"How do you find me this time?" She asked.
"I heard you laughing!" Naruko grinned cheekily. Akari looked at the blue-eyed girl incredulously.
"That's not fair! You have heightened senses because of Kurama-sensei!"
"Hear that, Naruko? Sensei. Kurama..sensei." Kurama spoke smugly in Naruko's mind.
Yeah, I'm not calling you that.
"Damn."
Akari then took Naruko by the arm and began to drag her back to the centre of the village where the small group of residents had themselves temporarily situated. She headed over to where she and her parents were staying and dragged Naruko inside, the latter girl automatically shutting the door.
"I'm home!" Akari exclaimed to let her parents know she was there. "And I brought Naruko with me!"
The brunette dragged her friend to her bedroom upstairs and gently pushed her onto the bed. Akari then sat down beside her and smiled sadly.
"Akari?" Naruko asked softly, seeing the sadness in her friend. She reached forward to grasp and gently squeeze her hand comfortingly. "You okay?" Akari squeezed back and looked up at Naruko from her lap.
"I'm gonna miss you." The brunette spoke softly, tears coming to her eyes. The mostly-blonde girl nodded silently, her other hand coming to hold the one in her other hand. Two sets of teary eyes met and the two ten year-olds hugged.
"Kami, these next two years are gonna be hell." Naruko murmured, holding onto Akari tightly. The brunette reciprocated and the two parted after a moment.
"When you come back, the first thing you need to do is come see me." Akari instructed in a tone that left no room for argument. Naruko readily agreed and both interlocked their pinkies to solidify the promise.
That night, Naruko had a meal with Araki and her parents for the last time for the next two years. It was a quiet, but emotional night. However, there were no tears - just the comforting presence of the people in the room. No words needed to be said. Their expressions and actions said everything they wanted to say: I love you and I'm going to miss you.
* * * * *
Naruko stood at the gates of Uzushio, hands on the two straps of her backpack. Tears coated the surface of her eyes, but didn't fall. Despite the sadness she felt, a smile rested on her whiskered face. She faced the eight people she would be leaving for two years and felt a deep sense of sadness overwhelm her. These people were the only ones that were in her clan's home village and therefore were part of her family - maybe not by blood, but by relations.
"Hitoshi." Naruko called. The shinobi looked at her, standing straighter. This was his future Uzukage and even if she wasn't yet of age or completely prepared to be a leader, he would listen to and put her orders first and foremost.
"Yes, Naruko-sama?" He asked immediately, looking down at her. At the slight shake of her head and amused smile, he relaxed. Naruko walked forward and patted the side of his arm with her right hand briefly, then stepped back once more and gave him a smile that said all she wanted to convey: I trust you.
"I put you in charge, all right?" The mostly-blonde girl smiled gently and locked eyes with the man that was twice her age, and then some.
"Yes. I won't let you down." The man spoke softly to the ten year-old girl.
"I know you won't. Make sure everyone's okay for me, will ya?" Naruko grinned when Hitoshi smiled at her as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You'll make a fine leader some day, Naruko-sama." The girl's whiskered cheeks flushed in embarrassment at the praise and she huffed and quickly turned around, cheeks red.
When Naruko once again reached the gates of Uzushio, she turned her face to the side to send one last glance at the eight people and looked at each person one-by-one. Her electric blue eyes lingered on Akari and both smiled to each other. Akari waved her hand to give a small wave with a teary-eyed smile. Naruko reciprocated, then turned around, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"You need to do this, Kit." Kurama murmured to the ten year-old in her mind.
I know. It's just a little hard.
Naruko walked forward, leaving the eight residents in the seal-protected village for the next two years.
"You ready, Kit?" Naruko looked into the trees that were about a five minute walk away and a smile crossed her whiskered face, blue-and-violet eyes shone with determination:
"Let's do this."
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Home Is Where The Heart Is || Naruto Fanfic
Fanfiction"A house is made with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." Naruko wanted somewhere to belong her entire life. She wanted a home - a place where her heart belonged in. Her birthing village was never home. How could it be? Her fello...
