Chapter 2 – Adoption and Friends

Chapter 2 – Adoption and Friends

Sunagakure Hospital

Chiyo walked slowly through the hospital corridors as she headed to the intensive care area. Although the baby was a Senju, he was still just a baby. After being exposed for three days in the desert without food or proper care, it was already a miracle that he was alive.

Upon reaching the room, Chiyo first looked through the glass window where she saw a small newborn being fed by a young ninja girl who seemed to have just graduated from the academy. She had short brown hair at shoulder length and a pair of beautiful blue eyes, but the most striking feature about her were the markings on her face made with purple ink.

"Maki," Chiyo greeted the girl with a smile as she recognized her as the little girl who used to cling to Pakura.

"Elder Chiyo," Maki smiled and bowed slightly to greet her before turning her eyes back to the small baby in her arms. Chiyo also looked at the boy and couldn't help but give a soft smile.

Chiyo did not seek custody of the boy because she felt that she had failed as a mother or grandmother and wanted to use little Yuki as a form of redemption.

Chiyo knew well the cruelty of the world. Although she resented Konoha, more precisely Sakumo, for killing her son, she understood it was war. Of course, understanding and forgiving were two completely opposite concepts.

Instead, she was more concerned about the boy's safety and wanted to prevent as many people as possible from knowing his true identity, at least until the right time. She was already old, and although she wanted to believe that the future generations of Suna could protect their home, she knew the village's future would be bleak due to the numerous losses in the war. At this moment, Yuki was a last hope to rebuild Suna.

"What are you doing here, Maki?" Chiyo asked as she approached the girl and the baby.

"I just returned from a mission and came with a companion who was severely injured," Maki spoke with a heavy voice as she recalled her colleague who almost died after being hit by an explosive tag. He was lucky to have dodged in time, but he was still very close to the blast range.

"Anyway, as they were short-staffed, the nurse in charge of this big guy here asked me to take care of him while she attended to my friend."

'The war took its toll; the number of medical ninjas is indeed low. Should I train a new batch?' Chiyo thought while nodding slightly before looking at the little boy in Maki's arms. He had no hair, and his eyes were tightly closed, enjoying Maki's gentle rocking while eagerly drinking the milk being offered to him.

"You seem to have a knack with children, Maki."

"Eh? Really?" Maki asked, a bit stunned, before smiling a little at the baby in her arms.

"So, Elder Chiyo, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here? You usually don't leave the house," Maki asked, genuinely surprised to see Chiyo outside. Chiyo was well-known and respected in Sunagakure, but very few people had seen her over the years, especially after the end of the Third Great War, when her presence in Suna was almost nonexistent.

"Well, actually, I came to see little Yuki," Chiyo said as she approached the tiny boy in Maki's arms.

"Yuki? Is that his name?"

"Yes," Chiyo replied as she lightly poked the boy's cheek, causing him to stop eating and squirm a bit in Maki's arms before returning to his meal. "I found him in the desert when I went out for a walk."

"Really? And his parents?"

Chiyo just shook her head slightly, which made Maki understand that the boy now had no one.

"I'm going to adopt him," Chiyo continued as she took the small baby from Maki's arms, who looked at her with a surprised expression. "Since I found him, I will take care of him. Who knows, maybe it's destiny."

Maki looked at Chiyo, who was smiling like an old grandmother, and just smiled back, happy that the little one wouldn't have to grow up alone like she and many others did.

After talking a bit more, Maki left and let Chiyo alone with the boy.

"I hope that with you, Suna can prosper in the future," Chiyo said as she cradled the now full little boy with a resolute expression.

Five Years Later

In a simple house in Sunagakure, a little boy was looking at himself in the mirror while fixing his hair and clothes. He had a cute face with fair skin. His hair was black, and his eyes shone with a deep red color.

This was Senju Yuki, or just Yuki, since no one besides Ebizō, Chiyo, and Rasa knew about his Senju heritage.

Looking in the mirror one more time and seeing that he was ready, Yuki smiled and left the house to see his friends, especially one person.

As he walked through the streets of Suna, Yuki saw that a caravan seemed to have arrived in Suna from the Land of Fire's capital. He took a quick look at the goods, but since he didn't have much money, he gave up on buying anything.

After walking a bit, he finally reached a playground in an open area where some children were playing. Yuki looked around for a while before fixing his eyes on a red-haired boy isolated in a corner.

He seemed to be the same age as Yuki; however, his face looked haggard, and around his eyes were deep dark circles indicating that the boy hadn't slept well for a long time.

"Gaara," Yuki waved to the boy and approached, ignoring the looks he received from the other children.

Gaara, hearing someone call his name, lifted his head and smiled upon seeing his friend, or rather, his only friend, Yuki.

Yuki and Gaara had known each other for almost a year, one of the first times Yuki went out with his grandmother. When he went to play with the children, he saw Gaara alone, and when he tried to approach, he was informed that Gaara was a monster.

Well, unfortunately for them, Yuki didn't care about that and started observing Gaara, and in the end, all he saw was a lonely boy. He then decided there was no point in leaving Gaara alone and began to approach him.

Now, both could be considered playmates.

Time passed, and soon the sun began to set on the horizon. Gaara and Yuki, both tired from an afternoon of playing, started to prepare to leave when a little girl appeared.

"Gaara, let's go. Dinner is almost ready."

Looking to the side, Yuki saw a girl two years older than him and couldn't help but blush a bit. She was a little taller than Yuki, with fair skin and blonde hair tied in four ponytails along with a beautiful pair of green eyes.

"Temari?" Gaara said, recognizing his older sister. "Yuki, I have to go. See you tomorrow."

"Hm."

Watching Gaara saying goodbye to Yuki, Temari looked a bit at the boy and smiled, seeing him slightly avert his eyes when they met hers.

'Cute.'

Temari smiled a bit at Yuki and left with Gaara. She herself was very protective when it came to her younger brothers, and seeing Gaara always alone was difficult for her, even more so when their father did nothing to help or even talk to him.

So, one day when she discovered that Gaara had made a friend, she felt really happy for him, even more because his friend was a cute little boy.

As both went home, Yuki smiled, happy to have seen Temari. He walked with a smile on his face, remembering her smile. It was strange to see a five-year-old boy in love, but if you consider that in this world people might not even make it to twelve, children falling in love early and getting married was more common than one might think.

Yuki returned home, where he found his grandmother and grandfather waiting for him to have dinner.

"It's late, Yuki."

"Sorry, Chiyo Oba-san."

Yuki sat down and helped himself to the simple meal made mainly of dried meat and grains. Due to the extreme scarcity in the Land of Wind, fruits or fresh meat had become luxury items that only the Daimyō and his court could enjoy. Even for those living in the capital, where the largest oasis in the country was located, it was still difficult to get such items.

While eating, Yuki began to think about what game he would play with Gaara the next day when suddenly his grandmother said something that snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Really? Finally," Yuki smiled happily. He had wanted to start training to become a ninja for a long time.

'Who knows, if I become a powerful ninja, I might catch Temari's attention,' Yuki thought, giving a silly smile as he thought about the girl. He enjoyed the rest of the meal in silence with his grandmother.

<><><><><><><><><><>XXXXXXXXXX<><><><><><><><><><>

Chapter will be shorter as I ran out of ideas about Yuki's childhood, so yes, there will be a time skip. However, I will still try to focus on Yuki's interactions with Chiyo, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

Another thing - a harem is not guaranteed. In my opinion, it would be nice to develop a romance with Temari, but since Suna wants him to have many children, he might have more partners. In that case, there would be a maximum of 2 or 3 more, still to be decided. You can give me your opinion on this.