Taming the Tanuki - 2

"Sakura-chan! Haku!"

The children looked gratefully at Naruto as he bounded back with Jiraiya. Sakura was relieved Naruto had done it so quickly. She had managed to wake Haku up, and although he had been horrified by their surroundings, assisted her in carrying Sasuke to the entrance of the estate. He was still unconscious.

Naruto kneeled down beside his careworn friends, "Hey guys, was everything alright while I was gone?"

"I guess," Sakura answered softly, "We have to leave this place. It's so quiet and it just...it's scary."

"Do you mind explaining to me what happened?" Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and looked down at the children.

Haku and Naruto sat side by side, unable to completely describe the situation.

Sakura sat with Sasuke's head in her lap. Her expression was somber.

"Well, Gama-sennin..." She looked up meekly at Jiraiya, "Sasuke invited us to go home with him so we could show each other our jutsu..."

"So we did." Naruto added.

"And when we got here just down there," Sakura pointed to a street down further, "There are bodies all over the place...Sasuke's family."

"Hm, I figured..." The sennin's voice was grim.

"Someone killed them!" Naruto growled, "Whoever did it, I'll...I'll make them pay!"

Jiraiya looked Naruto square in the eye, "Oh really? Use your heads! Whoever is responsible could make short work of all of you. Staying here is the last thing you should've considered."

"But we couldn't leave without Haku-kun and Sasuke-kun!" Sakura retorted, "And someone had to go tell the Hokage!"

Naruto nodded in full agreement, "Yeah!"

"So while Shorty here came to find me, the rest of you squirts could be turned into chopped liver or worse, am I right?" Jiraiya snorted, "But whatever, the point is you're alive...but you can't make a habit of risking yourselves that way."

Even if Jiraiya didn't do a good job of showing it, he did care for the safety of his misfit kids.

"Hey Sakura-chan, is Sasuke alright?" Naruto noticed the sleeping Uchiha survivor in her care.

She glanced at the raven haired boy before answering, "I think he is. I guess he just couldn't take it anymore."

Naruto's startled gasp interrupted her when he noted a number of lithe, dark figures in masks darting across the rooftops. After a moment he relaxed, recognizing them from when he had barged uninvited into the Hokage's office.

The blonde boy turned to the sennin and observed the grave expression on his face.

"What are they going to do?" Naruto asked the sage.

"ANBU Black-Ops teams are the first to appear at a crime scene this horrific. The Hokage relies on these elite ninja to get to the bottom of matters quickly and guarantee the safety of the village, Naruto." The sennin elaborated, "Sadly they will only be trying to solve this murder, considering that they arrived too late. I don't expect someone your age to really understand the role of Black-Ops in our village."

Even if Naruto took every opportunity to reprimand Jiraiya's perverted antics, he was still comforted to know that the man was looking out for them.

He felt more nervous than ever, seeing ANBU forces descend on the scene swiftly and silently to examine the bodies of the Uchiha clan and locate their killer. Naruto did his best to stay calm and ignore the presence of the ghost-like shinobi nearby.

Jiraiya noticed the new boy with the pink haired girl, noting the dark hair and family crest that were associated with the Uchiha clan.

"This boy is Uchiha Sasuke, right? He's the only one that survived?" The man asked.

Naruto nodded.

Exhaling, Jiraiya bent down and scooped the unconscious boy into his arms. He looked from Sakura to Haku to Naruto and then nodded.

"Let's get out of here, kids. This is way more than you needed to see."

The time it took for them to leave the Uchiha compound and return to the Hokage's tower seemed little more than a depressed blur, and they each took a seat in a waiting area, rattled into silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Third came out to them, closing the door quietly behind him. He looked at the toad sennin expectantly.

"It doesn't look good Hokage-sama," Jiraiya sighed, "There weren't any reports of survivors except for this little squirt." He gestured to Sasuke who was laid on a bench.

The Sandaime nodded solemnly and then turned to Sasuke, "He'll be taken care of. He appears to have a small injury."

Sakura's eyes darted over to the unconscious boy. She had ripped a piece of her shirt and tied it around his arm. The bleeding had stopped but his mental trauma was not likely to go away.

A Black-Ops guard beside Hiruzen moved and lifted Sasuke, ordered to escort him to the hospital for observation.

Naruto sat cross-legged in his chair, wearing an uncharacteristic frown on his face, "This was supposed to be a good day."

Sakura and Haku were sitting quietly. It was likely the same thought had crossed their minds.

First the unorthodox attempt to rescue Hyuga Neji, and then Haku and Gaara's dismal fight, and lastly the macabre scene they came upon after venturing into the Uchiha compound.

It wasn't exactly what Naruto had in mind after returning home.

Jiraiya exchanged a few words with the Hokage regarding Naruto and his friends.

"I think it may be best if Naruto, Haku and Gaara live together. They'll be good support for each other and you'll have an easier time keeping an eye on them that way." He suggested, "Maybe you should give them a bigger place?"

"I've already arranged it, Jiraiya. They'll have a stipend as well and they've been enrolled at the Academy."

Jiraiya was pleased the boys would be provided for. They had a fighting chance of becoming shinobi after all, he believed. He was also remorseful that he couldn't shield them from the Uchiha Massacre; if he had only kept the children occupied for a short while longer, they could've avoided the gruesome scene altogether. They were all in a poor state and had been exposed to the true horror of death, in his opinion, far too soon.

The sage sighed to himself and sat down next to the oddball children. A cloud of smoke surrounded the Hokage's head as he stood motionlessly by the door.

"...what happened to all of those people?" Haku asked in a low voice.

Sakura furrowed her brow. She herself didn't know for sure, but decided to share her opinion anyway, "I heard Sasuke keep talking about someone while he was out. Someone named...Itachi. I think they're related."

Naruto watched Sakura intently, his insides writhing.

"Maybe... he did it..." She said barely above a whisper.

The idea was sickening. 'Related' Sakura had said? Few things could drive family members to eradicating their entire clan, and the thought of it made them feel ill once again.

'Just the way those poor people died...' Naruto thought to himself, 'But how could it have happened? Sasuke…he didn't seem to look like he had expected it...like he and his family members were close.'

The last idea filled the blonde boy with bitterness for a moment. He had never had a family to love or to be close with or to be sad with…or in this case...be violently unhappy with. Naruto just couldn't picture a normal family tearing each other to pieces.

He had seen many families. He had always been the outsider. While wistfully observing parents and siblings interact during their daily activities Naruto had never seen any of them express such terrible aggression.

Naruto suddenly felt unsafe. What was the world coming to? He had endured beatings from strangers on the street, but he couldn't imagine what would happen if his own family was stolen away.

He believed that Konoha had been a safe place. He shivered at the thought of fellow villagers, people of the same clan even, destroying each other.

Naruto bowed his head and silently grieved for Sasuke's enormous loss.

Haku looked at the Sandaime with a completely innocent expression, "Hokage-sama, if they're related how could he have just..." He trailed off, unable to understand it, and not really wanting to. His father had chosen a similar course of action regarding him.

"Itachi is your friend's older brother," Hiruzen answered honestly, "If he truly is responsible as you suspect him to be...then he will be dealt with severely."

It pained him that he could not explain to the youngsters that tragedies often had catalysts.

The three children cringed at the word 'brother' and then blocked the rest of the sentence out.

After a moment, the Hokage looked down at the pink haired girl, "Miss Haruno, I've been informed that you are 'missing', or rather, your parents have been looking for you since early this morning. I suggest you return home and end their worries."

Sakura blushed a furious shade of pink and leapt to her feet, "Oh no! I forgot!"

She walked in a small circle before stopping in front of Naruto and Haku, "I guess I better go home huh? I hope they aren't too mad..."

Jiraiya chuckled. Someone was in for a scolding.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Sakura shouted and ran out of the waiting room; then poked her head back in, "Oh, will you tell Gaara-kun that I hope he feels better?"

Naruto nodded with a small smile, "Sure thing, Sakura-chan."

She grinned at the both of them and after a hurried farewell to the Hokage and toad sennin, she departed in a flash of pastel pink.

As casually as possible, Jiraiya posed a question on his former teacher, "So...how's the sand kid doing anyway?"

Hiruzen took a short drag before answering, "The young one's seal has been strengthened, though I recommend he catch up on any sleep he may have been deprived of."

The sennin looked smug. Maybe this would mark the end of Gaara's unfair disturbances to his precious 'research.'

Haku coughed softly before leaning over in his seat to listen to a joke Naruto had been saving. The Third glanced at the children curiously.

"Naruto, I will be increasing your allowance in order to support Haku and Gaara as well. They will be living with you." He announced, "I also expect you three to take your studies at the Academy seriously."

"Thanks Hokage-sama!" Naruto was genuinely touched, "Though…sometimes villagers can be mean to me and I…don't want them being mean to Haku and Gaara too."

"You leave that to me."

Naruto grinned gratefully at the Hokage. The blonde was most uplifted by the prospect of being able to live with his friends from then on.

The door to the Hokage's office had opened without them noticing.

Haku and Naruto looked up to see Gaara swaying in the doorway. He looked peaky and a bit disheveled, but was clearly in a good mood judging by the small smile in his face.

The red haired boy turned to Haku, "...good fight, Haku."

Clearly he was behind on a few things.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen watched with mild amusement as Haku and Naruto leapt from their respective chairs and bounded over to Gaara, grinning in relief.

"Gaara!" Naruto patted his back, "How are you doing? That was a pretty crazy fight you had with Haku!"

"He should be fine from now on." The Hokage assured them; Gaara still swaying in a dreamy state in the doorway.

"Oh Gaara, Sakura-chan says she hopes you're feeling better," Haku recalled, "Are you feeling better?"

Gaara absently scratched his arm and yawned, "Yes, better than I've felt in a while."

The Hokage gave a reproachful look to the sage and Jiraiya sighed, "Ugh...well squirts, I'm sorry that you had to see all that nasty stuff back there. I'll take you guys out to dinner tonight, what do you say? I know you haven't eaten."

"All right!" Naruto cheered, "This means you're paying?"

"Yeah."

Hiruzen looked very pleased.

Gaara still wore the eerie, blithe expression he had on since he had woken up, and Haku suddenly felt a rush of normalcy return to them. Maybe a noisy dinner later on would help them forget what had happened at the Uchiha compound.