Wandering Shinobi

3

"This is baby Naruto," Kushina gushed as she picked up the baby from the crib. Said baby was gurgling happily as his two-toned hair became messy. Narui was seated on the sofa, dressed in blue joggers and a black sweatshirt. Kurama was curled on a pillow beside him as he lazily swished his tails. 

In the past two weeks, Narui had begun to integrate into Konoha. He was a shinobi of the Leaf but he refused their metal plates as he wished to still wear his from Uzushiogakure. The Hokage accepted that and provided him with a two-bedroom apartment in the same building as Minato and Kushina which is in the highrise of Konoha. He's made his rounds, letting others see his face and talking to the children. He just came back from a mission when Kushina decided it was finally time for him to meet his nephew. 

It was strange to hold himself or at least a version of himself. Naruto had blonde hair with red tips and his eyes were a mix of blue and purple like his. The baby smiled at him, reaching out to feel his whiskered cheeks. He smiled. "Hello little one, I'm Narui, your uncle." 

Naruto giggled grasping wildly at his cheeks, it made Narui happy. "I'm here to train you into an amazing Uzumaki shinobi, be a guiding light of sorts and so much more." 

Kushina sat beside him as he played with Naruto, she was taken in by this caring side of her cousin. He ended up on the floor, using Kurama as a pillow as Naruto slept on his chest. Kushina watched as Narui slept before heading into the kitchen to start dinner since Minato said Shikaku would be coming over with his son Shikamaru for a nighttime playdate. Narui however wasn't sleeping but talking to Kurama in his mindscape, despite being a normal animal now he still retained all his abilities just now he had a limited supply instead the endless chakra. 

'We can work with that,' Narui ruffled Kurama's hair. 'You can still grow to your full height which is nice for battles.' 

'You're worrying too much, enjoy the flow of time, nothing is happening, we are in a state of peace for now.' 

'You're right but I can't help it, I'm always in a ready state,' Narui murmured. 'It just feels weird to not have to fight every day. I literally don't have to go on a mission unless I want to.' 

'Enjoy it,' Kurama growled. 

Narui chuckled softly. 'Okay, I guess I should go I can feel Shikamaru's chakra stumbling over to me.' 

Narui woke up back in the real world but kept his eyes closed. Shikaku's eyes were on his relaxed frame as he allowed Shikamaru on the carpet to meet his friend Naruto who was awake on Narui's chest. The red-haired male took a deep breath as he carefully turned on his side, facing the incoming Nara so that Naruto could meet him easier. 

"Seems Naruto has taken a liking to his Uncle," Shikaku murmured as he sat at the kitchen table, his eyes fixated on the sleeping male who had two babies curled at his side. 

"He does, he uses his chakra to keep Naruto in a state of relaxation. I never even thought of doing something like that," Kushina was stirring the curry on the stovetop as the rice cooker went off. 

Minato watched the scene with some reservations but it was unfounded because what was he thinking? Narui enjoyed being around Naruto and he trusts them to some extent to fall asleep defenseless in their home. "I feel a bit jealous." 

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" Shikaku asked as Kushina looked at him in concern. 

"I guess you could say I was always comfortable with Naruto just having us as parental figures. To have Narui here, being an active uncle it just shatters that image I built up." 

"Do you resent me asking him to be here?" Kushina got straight to the point. 

"I don't know, I'm just irrational and I know that I am but I can't help it." 

"Get to know him them," Kushina suggested. "Go to the bar, take missions with him but get to know him." 

"I'll try," Minato murmured not knowing that Narui heard everything. 

He kept quiet and enjoyed the curious hands of Shikamaru as he traced his whiskers clumsily. Naruto and Shikamaru eventually left him alone to play with each other. Narui felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see Shikaku staring down at him. "Dinner's ready." 

Narui sat up, pushing his hair away as he had forgone his usual hair clip. He cracked his bones as he eyed the children who were playing with plush kunai and blocks. It was an odd sight, he never really asked Jiji who he had as playmates before he ended up in an apartment by himself. But he would've liked to know that he had someone. He picked up Kurama in his grasp. "I'll be back, I have to go feed Kurama." 

"I'm sure we have something in the fridge what does he usually eat?" 

"Bloody steaks," Naruto had idly begun to stroke his tails. "Or stews." 

"Would curry be okay for him, I have leftovers in the pot," Kushina started to get up and get another bowl. 

"Would you like that buddy? Curry good enough?" Narui leaned Kurama into his plate so he could get a smell of what he would be getting. Kurama growled softly and nodded to the stew. "Alright, he'll have some." 

Kushina placed a bowl on the floor and Naruto dropped him down so he could finally eat. Dinner was a quiet affair except for Narui and Kushina discussing some Uzumaki accessories that Naruto had that he could give her. Shikaku and Minato were in their own world talking about recent missions but Minato noted that Shikaku's gaze seemed always to drift back to Narui who was sitting beside him. He knew that look, he found a new puzzle. 

Which was dangerous. Whenever Shikaku found a person interesting like a puzzle he was bound to do things that bordered on crossing very personal boundaries. He was reckless despite always preaching about self-preservation. "Don't do it," Minato found himself whispering to his best friend. Shikaku stared at him and rose a taunting eyebrow. 

Narui heard but chose to ignore it for now.