4 Chapter 3

"It's been three days already. The kid's eyes look like a dead fish at this point. Further isolation will be harmful for the child, Hime."

"I know that Jiraiya… It's my fault, I shouldn't have brought the thing about his parents."

Tsunade bit her lips in frustration while looking at the lonely figure of Yama who was looking blankly at the skies on the windows from his room.

"I have been digging around the nearby villages where he appeared for a missing child with his profile. So far none have claimed his identity." Jiraiya passes a sealed scroll to Tsunade. "I did what I could dig about a secret project for a weapon like jinchuriki by the other hidden villages but I also came empty handed… He is a real mystery."

Tsunade skimmed the report while nodding at Jiraiya.

"A mystery he is… But one thing is clear, this child is alone right now. With no clear idea or memories of his parents, he has no one right now. A weapon or whatnot, he is still a child, Jiraiya…"

"Hime, I know that look in your eyes… We can't be too trusting of him, we still don't know if he is a spy from the other villages. We can't carelessly take him in our village."

"Jiraiya. I've watched that kid for more than 3 days. He is lost, and doesn't know what to do and where to go."

"Tsunade! You are a Hokage now, you must think what's good for the village!"

*Slam* "I'm doing what's right! He'll live here, in Konoha, I'll take him in."

Tsunade slammed her hand on the wall loudly.

"You must think this thoroughly, the council will not accept such a crude decision without their consent. Not with such a dangerous and suspicious child with no identity. This could mean war if we take him in and some other village claim him." Jiraiya sighed in frustration seeing his classmate and friend clouding her decisions due to her guilt and rush decisions.

"As I've said before. That enormous chakra we felt before was undoubtedly and could measure up to a tailed beast. In other words, possibly a biological weapon that somehow escape from other villages."

"Jiraiya… You don't seem to remember who I am. I am the 'Godaime Hokage'! I decided that we'll take this child in, as a weapon or not. And if the council won't agree with me, they'll have to go through me and convinced me!"

"Heh… That you are. Now go meet these old fools. I still have my research to do!" Jiraiya seemed to have tested his friend and was contented about her decisive decision and left with a huge smile.

***

"The council agrees."

"Then convince---…W-what?" Tsunade was shocked that the two elders and the council easily agreed with her decision to take Yama.

"We have known about the child and his prowess; we have felt that thing as well even with these old bones."

"It was also…suggested by a former elder… Danzo, urged us to take the kid with or without your permission, Hokage-sama. We found his future uses as an asset for the future of our village and the country."

For a moment Tsunade was glad that her and the council were one with the decision. But then when they mention about suggesting making Yama a weapon, she frowned at them and furiously glared at them.

"You old fools never change. Haven't you had enough of making the life of Naruto a misery, and now you want to do the same to a child not ours in the first place as another to take his place."

"Not to take his place but as an addition to our arsenals."

"He shall be trained and raised as a loyal shinobi for the good of Konoha."

"…Ha…Hahaha. Your old bones really know how to get to my nerves. How about…No?"

The council didn't undersdand what the Hokage just said as they puzzlingly looked at each other for answers.

"To clear your rusted minds… let me make this clear. You are not to make decisions for Yama yourselves."

"What do you mean by that Hokage-sama?"

"You can't touch a child of the Hokage. I'll adopt him. End of the meeting, dismissed."

"!!!"

"!!!"

***

"Hey Yama, how are you?" Tsunade sat beside Yama who was still absentmindedly looking far with his blank eyes. The mysterious sword was by his lap and holding it gently.

"…"

The boy didn't answer and just ignored the Hokage.

"Hmm… I know you feel really empty right now. I've been there as well."

Yama seemed to paid attention to Tsunade as he turned to look at her.

"You see, I too don't have any living relatives left in this world. The last Senju, Senju Tsunade. That's who I am." Tsunade smiled bitterly while saying her title and name. "I lost all my family and relatives from the wars a long time ago. And I was alone…"

"…You're not. At least you have them in your memories… I… do not…" Surprisingly Yama talk again after a long time. And this one clearly stabbed straight through Tsunade.

"…"

Tsunade stepped on a landmine and couldn't think of a way to salvage the situation. Strangely though she couldn't come up with an idea right then and there and just bit her lips in frustration is the only thing she could do.

"…I-I'll be back… with some answers. So, wait for me, okay? I swear we'll figure this out."

Tsunade forcefully smiled bitterly at Yama as she left the child alone for now. Her plan to adopt the child seemed to be a difficult one.

Unknowingly to them a blonde boy covered in bondages overheard their conversation and scrambled away when he heard Tsunade walking towards the door where he was eavesdropping.

***

It was already late at night after the strange acting Tsunade visited me and tried to talk me out of my misery with her own version of the Third Hokage's speeches about the will of fire. She failed horribly and run away.

The strange and horrible feeling of being unable anything about the life you had, the memories of the family you should have had, all gone due to all this bullshit that happened.

Even the only thing that made me feel something ever since I got here wasn't responding to my call. It was the only thing that made me feel like I wasn't alone. I don't even know how I got attached to her after only meeting her for a short moment… but it was like another half of me was gone, without her.

"Come on please… Talk to me…" Caressing the sword in my lap while sitting at my bed I talked like I lost my mind to a sword that wouldn't even respond back.

"Hey. Who are you talking to?" A childish cheerful voice called out from me from the windows, again, the windows.

A boy 12–13-year-old blond-whiskered-faced ---- wait, is this who I think it is? Naruto?!

"What are looking surprised for?" Naruto jumped down from the window and entered my room.

"Why aren't you answering? I knew I heard you talking earlier, ya know."

Strangely I got a little bit pissed off as this brat just invaded my privacy and wouldn't shut his mouth and gave me the silence that I need to delve more in my misery.

"Ya! Stop being so noisy you brat!"

"B-brat!? Hey! I'm clearly the older one here!"

Ohh, right. I'm a freaking brat than this brat.

"That… what are you doing here anyway? Stop bothering me."

Naruto didn't listen at all and just laughed as he jumped and landed at my bed!

"Hey! You're ruining my bed, get out!"

"No way! I don't wanna! You've got a nice bed Hahaha!" Naruto repeatedly jumped up and down my bed as I was almost thrown out several times by the spring rebound from the bed.

Seriously, what with all these main characters bothering me out of nowhere. What's next? Sasuke to 'Hnn' me to my demise to craziness.

"Argh! You're annoying!" The rubber band inside my head seemed to have snapped as I grabbed the pillow behind me and threw it at Naruto, which he naturally evaded with no effort as he jump to the ceiling and glued his foot there so I couldn't reach him.

"Hey! Get down here you… ugly mummy!"

I tried several times to jump at him using the bed as my spring but Naruto easily evaded my hands while laughing and teasing at me.

"Get down here brat!"

"I'm not a brat, you brat. I'm UZU-MA-KI NA-RU-TO!! Uzumaki Naruto, ya know!"

"No shit, Narutomaki! I'll eat you!" The chaos inside the room escalated as I struggled to reach for the annoying jinchuriki.

"Hey, Yama I brought you dinner…. What's …happening here?"

Suddenly Kakashi entered the room with a good smelling ramen he's been bringing me for the past few days as dinner.

"Ohh! Kakashi-sensei! Is that ramen I smell?" Naruto jumped down from the ceiling and grabbed the ramen take-out from the wide eyed Kakashi.

"N-Naruto?!"

In no time at all Naruto has already opened up the ramen and smelled it with relish. I smelled the mouth-watering broth of the ramen and made my empty stomach rumble.

*Rumble*

Naruto heard my stomach and looked at me while grinning?

"Half-half?"

A tick vein seemed to have popped in my temple watching the greedy, inconsiderate face of the ramen-monster-named-Naruto begging for a share of my dinner.

"Half-half my ass! Give me my dinner!"

I run towards Naruto who was laughing at me and chased him around the room while the still stunned Kakashi stood in the middle watching us making a ruckus.

I swear I saw him looking at us with a warm smile and didn't even help me a bit.

Strangely I forgot my problems for a bit and smiled a bit while running and fighting for my food for dinner with the future hero of this world.