9 A new home

'There is a god.' I knew this to be true now.

Who else would be capable of that?

I had just eaten the most delicious, decadent, toe-curling piece of sashimi I've ever had the privilege of consuming inside a restaurant. The other customers and staff inside stared in awe, whether it was at the presence of the third Hokge or the kid inhaling food like a vacuum, I did not know or care.

I waddled out of the store, satisfied that the taste of cold gruel was nothing more than a distant memory. I noticed that lately all of my thoughts had been about food, I guess my appetite had increased considerably from my previous life, it was particularly surprising as I was less half my previous size.

*Hic* 

"Hoho, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were an Akimichi the way you put that sushi away!" said the Hokage with a hearty chuckle. 

"Haha, what's an Akimichi gramps?" I knew of course, but there was also no way to explain *how* I knew that information so I asked the old man. 

"They're a clan who are particularly… big-boned," said Hiruzen with a smile.

'Real smooth.' I thought, was PC'ness a thing here too? I remembered how angry Choji got at people calling him fat, it must be a sore spot for the clan as a whole I guess.

"Mhm… where to next?" I asked the Hokage. I knew that I was going to be dropped off at an orphanage soon but I wanted to see if I could squeeze out any more fun activities before I was left there.

"Now, we take you home." he continued on to say after laying a hand on my shoulder, "let's go young Aoki."

'Ugh.' I was not looking forward to this.

I previously used my newfound cuteness and guilt-tripping abilities to try to dodge this somehow but it seems my attempts were futile, I would be thrown into an orphanage and be forced to get along with a bunch of kids. I'd be treated like a baby, get a bedtime and get served food for childr-

Oh god, would they serve oatmeal there too?

"Gramps… the orphanage you're sending me to, what's it like?" I asked him.

"The place I have in mind isn't an orphanage at all, although some may call it that…" he said mysteriously.

What did that mean?

"Just wait and see Aoki, I'm sure you'll be pleased." said the Hokage, noticing my mind wandering.

I nodded and followed him around as he expertly swerved through the streets, the food had partially digested and I regained the ability to walk. It was obvious that people weren't used to seeing the Hokage often as they stared at him with wide eyes, clearing a path so that we walked uninterrupted. I also saw some people eyeing me with curiosity, I wasn't used to being stared at so I just stared back at them, causing most to avert their eyes.

'Do they think I'm some big shot?' I thought, I considered walking around with a smug smile but I didn't want to get on the village's bad side, with what they put Naruto through, I'd be best to steer clear of them.

It took some while before we went off the main road and followed another one, I noticed that the shops nearby had turned from ones that were geared towards ninjas, to now more residential practices. I saw a seamstress, what looked like a convenience store and a small shack selling alcohol as we continued.

Before long, we arrived at what looked like a gated community, I could see many houses and a few shops beyond the open doors of the gate. Above it there was a symbol that looked like a trident, only the prongs had been replaced with small circles, intersecting the trident there was am upside-down "U-like" shape, the ends of which had also been replaced with circles.

While I was studying the strange symbol, Hiruzen began his explanation.

"Welcome to the Sarutobi Clan's compound," he said proudly. "Beyond these walls are where most of my family and I have lived our whole lives, although many of us have left and opted to live within the heart of the village, our clan's compounds still house many," he explained.

'That must be the Sarutobi Clan's symbol then, I never saw it in the anime… not to be rude to Gramps but the clan was overshadowed by the others as the show progressed' I thought.

I could see a few people going about their day in the clan compound but they were mostly older people, I guessed that the majority of the clan's young adults wanted to live elsewhere. The only clan that I have much knowledge of was the Uchiha, but they were a prideful bunch and it makes sense that their population was concentrated where their clan's headquarters was based. The Sarutobi clan, however, has always had a healthy relationship with the Leaf so it makes sense that they're spread out.

"That's cool gramps… wait a second, will I be living here?!" I said, figuring out Hiruzen's intentions.

The Hokage nodded and beckoned for me to follow him, stepping through the gates to the clan; I was dumbfounded for a second but I quickly ran after him.

The people here had much more reserved reactions to seeing Hiruzen, I assume it's because they had regular access to the Hokage. They simply gave him a smile and a greeting before moving on, I also got a few waves as I walked with him which I promptly returned.

It was so interesting to see how the architecture changed so rapidly, as we entered the clan the aesthetic developed into one of light browns and reds, a clay-like colour was painted on the buildings and walls of the compound. It made me understand Hashirama Senju's dream a little further, the Leaf Village was truly a melting pot of many cultures and clans.

I was so enraptured by the scenery that I didn't notice the Hokage come to a stop until I nearly bumped into him, by this point we had been in the compound for about 15 minutes and had arrived near the border.

We had stopped in front of what looked like any other house, to me, it looked completely normal. 

Hiruzen walked up to the door and lightly knocked on it, I was still staring at the house a few metres away but he beckoned me closer to wait with him for the door to open, which it did just as I was taking my steps towards him.

In front of me stood an elderly lady that looked to be about the same age as the Hokage, she held a diaper in one hand and an abacus in another.

"Ahh Hiruzen you're here!" she said in a gravelly voice, she had to have been a chain-smoker back in the day for it to reach that level.

She flicked her eyes from the Hokage to me, "and you must be the boy! Come on in child!" she said, waving me closer with the diaper hand. 

I stifled my… reluctance to walk towards the diaper and did as she asked.

"Aoki, his name's Aoki." said the Hokage as we entered the house.

More than how the house looked, I was taken aback by the way it smelt. There was a tinge of sourness in the air intermingled with a spoonful of dust, I could also recognise hints of what I thought to be… milk? How can a house smell of milk?

There were antique furniture and couches strewn about the living room… who needs that many couches? Not to mention there were about three carpets on the floor, overlapping on one another at the ends.

Everything seemed clean however, but looks can be deceiving.

"Hmph, what're you wrinkling your nose at child?" asked an elderly voice from behind.

She must eat rocks for breakfast, how else do you get that much gravel in your voice? I was doing my best to hide my real feelings but the smell made my nose wrinkle unintentionally.

"Huh? Oh no it's nothing" I said with a toothy smile, this always makes Gramps feel better so I'm sure she'll forgi-

"Pfft, what kind of smile is that? You look like a creep, put it away" said the stonemuncher.

'...'

'Does she wanna fight?'

"Oh you two… Aoki, she's only teasing don't worry" said Hiruzen cooling down the situation, "And Tomo, you may want to burn an incense stick…" he continued, lightly sniffing the air.

"Huh? Is my home not luxurious enough for the prestigious Lord Hokage?" she asked with an annoyed tone.

Hiruzen merely rolled his eyes at the banter and patted me on the shoulder.

"Tomo here, or, Granny Tomo as you can call her, looks after all children of the Sarutobi clan that can't be taken care of by their parents. Whether the parents are out on a mission or otherwise unable to take care of them, Tomo takes good care of them until they are of age to leave the nest," explained Hiruzen.

Tomo scoffed at Hiruzen's eyeroll and eyed me with a curious expression as I took in the information. 

'I see, this is basically like your average orphanage, yet instead of having civillians, it's only for children of the Sarutobi clan…'

"But gramps, I'm not part of the Sarutobi clan…" I said.

"That's true Aoki but it isn't as if we don't allow others to join, we've had children not of the clan live here before, it's nothing unprecedented" he explained.

He continued to say, "I was going to place you in one of our newly constructed orphanages but once you told me about your safety concerns, I asked Tomo here if she would be ok with looking after you, there is no place in the village that's safer than here Aoki, I can assure you" consoled gramps.

'He shifted my housing from a newly built orphanage to an ancient attic run by a chainsmoking granny…' I deadpanned at the old man. It was pretty amazing how his mind worked.

I let out an imaginary sigh, this was unexpected.

As much as I wanna blame him, it was my fault. The reasoning I gave him for avoiding the orphanage was due to my "safety concerns", hell I just wanted to get away from the kids! Now, because of that, he saddled me in the safest place possible. 

I need to improve my manipulation skills.

"Oy kid, quit your gawking and get inside, you're quite a bit older than most of these brats here so I'll need your help." she stuffed something in my hand and walked away, "Hiruzen, nice of you to visit but I'm busy here, is there anything else?" she asked.

"Oho, nothing else Tomo, goodbye Aoki, I'll visit someday soon." said the Hokage before walking outside. Was it my imagination or did he mouth 'good luck' as he closed the door?

I looked down to see what Tomo had stuffed into my hands.

A diaper.

I was holding a diaper.

"KID! Follow me! We have a few butts to wipe! And throw away that diaper, you're holding it so tightly you look like a creep." she yelled from across the room as she rushed up some stairs.

'She really wants to fight.'

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[A/N: Next chapter in about 12 hours and then its 24-hour releases!

Thank you all for the support so far on the fic, any comment, stone or collection helps motivate me to write more. If you can, please leave a review or otherwise critique my writing in the comments, I have never written anything like this before and would love some feedback.]