Chapter 9: New House; Problem with Chakra?

"Ah, Naruto-kun", he greeted, "I trust that you have explored the house?" Naruto nodded, smiling, "It is great." Hiruzen chuckled, "Good. Now, as you said, I have found an apartment for you." Naruto gave the smallest of nods, "So, can I go there and see it?" Hiruzen nodded, "I'll take you there myself." Gripping Naruto's shoulder firmly, he vanished using the 'body flicker' jutsu. Appearing in front of a building, Hiruzen guided Naruto in. "I've already stocked it with what you might need", he explained as they arrived on the top floor. Stopping in front of a door, Hiruzen pushed the door open and let himself and Naruto in.

The first thought that Naruto had upon seeing his apartment was that it was small, just big enough for him. The second was that it was perfect. The third was awe, seeing that it was stocked with a bed, a dining table, a kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator, and a bedroom with a bathroom and an attached balcony. The bedroom even had two racks for clothes and other belongings. Hiruzen gave a small smile seeing how Naruto was awed like any other child whenever something new was given to them. "You can stay here until you get married. After that, you can move into your parents' home", he said. He waited on the sofa for Naruto to finish exploring the apartment, which was not long enough. He stood up when Naruto walked into the living room, "So, how is it?"

He was unprepared for Naruto to come barreling towards him, wrapping his arms around him in a hug that sent all the air out of his lungs. Only bracing himself at the last second caused him to prevent falling over backward. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the boy in a bear hug. Naruto separated first, dried the tears in his eyes, "It's perfect, jiji. Thank you so much!" Hiruzen smiled, relieved that Naruto liked it. "Now, before I leave, here is your monthly stipend", he said, handing over a wad of notes, "This is 12,000 yen. Spend it wisely. Is there anything else you need before I go?" Naruto thought for a minute and said, his face the epitome of seriousness, "A cooking book would be nice."

Roaming the streets in the evening, Naruto thought back to the afternoon's conversation. The old man had almost face fault at Naruto's request. When asked why he would want a cooking book, Naruto responded with his signature 'Making-you-feel-stupid-with-just-a-look' look. He made the Hokage sweat for a minute before answering that he wanted to learn cooking because he did not want to waste his money eating outside, where he would be outrageously overpriced.

That brought him to his main problem. Although jiji had stocked his fridge with all the healthy food, it would eventually be finished and he would have to buy more. Which meant he would be overpriced for every item he bought. He sighed, shaking his head at the villagers' stupidity. Really! Just because Kurama lived inside him did not mean that he was Kurama, just like when you put sweets in a box and close it, the box does not become the sweet itself. And quite frankly, Kurama felt insulted because Naruto was called a demon instead of him. 'I am the only demon here, dammit!'; he always said.

That, in turn, reminded him of another matter. He spoke inside, 'Hey Kurama! I need your help!' It was almost a minute before the bijuu responded, 'With what, brat?' Naruto honestly did not mind Kurama calling him a brat. He would prefer it over demon-boy any day. Also, it warmed his heart every time he heard it because the fondness in the voice was as clear as daylight. ' I need your help in unlocking my chakra', he replied. Kurama, now fully awake from his nap, raised an eyebrow, 'Why now? You could unlock it when you enter the academy like everyone else.' Resolutely shaking his head, Naruto replied, 'No! When I enter the academy, I want to be ahead of everyone else, not with everyone! And if I have to start my training to become a shinobi, with all the materials from dad and mom, I will start now!' Kurama released a sigh. He hated it sometimes when Naruto acted like his mother. Kushina was infuriating; ' Okay, head to one of the training fields', he instructed. Naruto nodded before changing directions towards the training fields. He entered the first one he saw and after ensuring that no one was around, he sat down in Indian position, entering a meditative trance and waiting for a pull into his mindscape from Kurama. He did not have to wait for long, but a did not see a certain purple-haired kunoichi looking at him curiously from the entrance of the training ground.

Anko Mitarashi was a special jonin of Konoha, specializing in interrogation and working directly under Ibiki Morino, the famed interrogator of Konoha. She was powerful, after all, being a former apprentice of one of the Legendary Sanin, Orochimaru. Just because she was Orochimaru's apprentice meant she was given the kind of treatment that should honestly be reserved for the likes of Orochimaru. She was called the 'Snake Bitch' by the populace of Konoha, but she took it head-on and made a fearful reputation for herself, ensuring the villagers kept their distance.

She also knew that one another suffered the same treatment at the hands of the villagers. But she was not that stupid to believe that the blonde would be Kyuubi in human form. He intrigued her, the way he endured the hatred of the villagers and never backed down. For a five-year-old, that was seriously impressive.

So when she saw the blonde going towards the training fields, her interest in him was peaked. She decided to follow him, to see what he was going to do. She saw how he observed his surroundings and decided to humor him, by simply being hidden at the entrance, out of sight for him, but visible to anyone else. 'What the hell is this boy doing?' she thought with a raised eyebrow. Naruto arrived in his mindscape and saw Kurama resting at the shore of a very large water body, one he knew was not there before. 'Where the hell did that come from?' he thought as he approached Kurama. Kurama sensed his approach and opened his eyes, looking at Naruto with an intense look, "Naruto, do you know what this is?" he asked, gesturing to the water body. Naruto shook his head.

Seeing that, Kurama explained, "This water body is the representation of your chakra. But before we begin to unlock your chakra, I discovered a very interesting thing about your body", smiling at the end. Naruto tilted his head to the side, "What?" Kurama was as blunt as a hammer, "You don't have chakra coils in your body, kid."

Naruto's reaction was priceless, "WHAAAAT?!" Kurama chuckled. Naruto's reaction to surprises was turning out to be very amusing.