Haru's POV

It's been nearly a week since I've seen Naruto or Gaara. I hope both of them are doing okay. I sat on the couch as I read a book. It was a quiet for a moment until a rock was thrown through the window, startling me.

I hurried over to the window to see who had thrown the rock, then sighed as I saw kids quickly running away from the house. "A prank, huh?" I mumbled. I avoided the broken glass and walked over to the rock they threw through the window.

There was a piece of paper tied to the rock, so I undid the rope and looked at the paper as it read, "Devil Woman."

"Devil woman, huh? I see." I said to myself. All because I adopted Naruto? I looked back at the broken glass on the floor and sighed. "Well, this mess isn't gonna clean itself." I said.

*****

"Mom! I'm back! See, I told you I would be okay!" Naruto called. "Welcome back, Naruto." I greeted as I swept up the broken glass. "Huh? What happened in here? Did something break?" Naruto asked as he noticed the glass on the floor. 

"In a way. Some kids threw a rock at the window today." I informed. I left out the part about the note that was tied to the rock. "Say what?!" Naruto yelled. "Careful, Naruto. I don't want you stepping on any glass." I mentioned.

"Are you okay?! They didn't hurt you, did they?!" He asked. "Don't worry, I'm all right." I said, honestly. 

"Why would they do something like this?"

"It was probably just a harmless prank."

"A harmless prank?! That rock could've seriously hurt you!"

"Naruto, calm down. I'm fine. Really." 

I gave him an assuring smile, then finished cleaning up the glass. "So, how were the exams?" I asked. "Totally awesome! I went up against Kiba and I won!" Naruto cheered. "That's great, Naruto," I said, smiling a closed eye smile. "So, does that make you an official chunin?"

"Eh, not quite. There's a final exam I have to take. Once I beat my opponent, then I'll become a chunin. Believe it!" Naruto explained. "Interesting. When are the finals?" I asked. "In a month. Which means, I need to get training. But..." Naruto trailed off. 

"But what?" I asked, raising a brow. Naruto suddenly fell to his knees and hugged my legs. "Please train me, Mom! I don't want that pervert training me! He's too creepy!" He yelled out. "Pervert?" I repeated. "Naruto, what are you talking?"

"Found you." 

"Gah!" Naruto yelled, pointing towards the window. I followed his pointed finger and found Ebisu standing there. "Ebisu?" I said, confused. Naruto quickly got up and hid behind me. "Him! Kakashi-sensei wants that pervert to train me!" He yelled, still pointing at Ebisu. 

"How inappropriate." Ebisu said as he adjusted his glasses. "Um... Naruto, why don't you start from the beginning?" I asked, looking at him. "I wanted Kakashi-sensei to train me, but he was gonna train Sasuke instead! Now I'm stuck with Ebisu-sensei!" Naruto yelled. 

"Ah, I see. But why is Ebisu by our window?" I asked. "He said, if I could outrun him, he'd reconsider training me and let Kakashi-sensei train me! And I don't want Ebisu-sensei to train me!" Naruto whined. I sighed while shaking my head. 

"Very well. Ebisu, I understand this was just a little test of yours, but I'd like you to stop chasing my son now. I'll be training him from this point forward." I said. "If you insist, Miss Haru," Ebisu said. "Excuse me." He vanished to somewhere else and I faced Naruto. 

"Now, let's start with a little chakra control." I said. "Huh? Chakra control?" Naruto repeated. "Follow me." I said, leading the way.

Once we got to the lake, Naruto looked around in confusion. "What are we doing here, Mom?" He asked. "To work on your chakra control of course." I answered.

"How?"

"Has Kakashi taught you how to climb a tree with only using your feet?" 

"Yeah, back at the Land of Waves. Why?"

"What I'm going to teach your in somewhat similar to that." 

"How so?"

"Just watch."

I channeled chakra to my feet, then began to walk on the lake. "Wow! How'd you do that?!" Naruto asked, excitedly. "Simple. It's like walking up a tree. However, you don't need to use much chakra than needed. Or was it the other way around?" I wondered while placing a finger on my chin.

"Okay, I think I've got it. Here I go!" Naruto announced before running over to the lake. "Naruto, wait! You have to-!"

Before I could finish my sentence, Naruto fell into the lake, making me sigh. "Channel chakra to your feet." I said, finishing my sentence. "Hehehe... Sorry." Naruto apologized. I giggled, walking over to him, and extended my hand. 

"Let's try again. This time, channel the chakra to your feet before going into the lake." I said. "Right." Naruto nodded and I helped him up. 

He walked onto the grass and channeled chakra to his feet, then walked towards the lake. I expected him to walk on the water, but he fell right in. "Naruto!" I ran over to him and got on my knees, leaning towards the edge of the lake. 

"Are you all right?" I asked. Naruto threw his head back from the water and shook his head, shaking the water off. "Argh, what happened?! I know I did it right!" Naruto yelled out in frustration.

"That's okay. You don't have to get it on the first try. It takes practice. Come, let's try again." I said, pulling him out of the water. Naruto got in position and tried again. And once again, he fell into the water. "This may take a while." I mumbled with a sweat drop. 

At least twenty minutes passed and Naruto was still having trouble walking on water. I sighed again at the lack of progress he was making as I sat on my knees with my hands in my lap. I meditated as I listened to Naruto continuously fall in the water and cry out in frustration.

"This is strangely taking longer than I thought it would." I said. I opened my eyes and saw Naruto taking off his clothes. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm taking off my clothes." He said as he proceeded. I giggled at his response.

"I know that. I mean, why are you taking off your clothes?" I rephrased. "Well, there's no point in wearing this stuff if I'm just gonna keep getting wet." Naruto complained as he left his boxers on. "Very well. Do as you please." I said, closing my eyes once again.

I heard Naruto hum to himself as he started channeling chakra to his feet again. I opened my eyes to look at him before getting up and walking over to him. "Hmm...." I stood in front of him as I examined him while Naruto's eyes were still closed, concentrating hard.

'Strange. He seems to be doing everything correctly. So, what's the problem?' I thought to myself. "Huh? What's this?" I whispered, spotting something on Naruto's abdomen. I kneeled down and gently poked the mark on his skin before rubbing my hand on it.

'It's a seal,' I trailed my finger down the mark, wondering if it was just marker just to be sure, but it wasn't. 'Yep, just as I thought. Judging from the design, this is a Five Pronged Seal. Does Naruto know about it? Should I tell him?' I thought. 

I looked up at Naruto as he began to giggle, then broke out laughing. "Hey, Mom! What are you doing? That tickles!" Naruto said. "I'm sorry." I apologized with a giggle. I rose to my feet and petted his head.

"Naruto, would you mind telling me what happened inside the Forest of Death?" I asked. "Sure! Let's see... Where should I start? Oh, I know! Right after we faced some Orochimaru creep, we got help from Kabuto in finding the Heaven's Scroll!" He said.

"Wait, go back. What did you say about Orochimaru?" I asked. "Oh, he's just this creep who we fought inside the forest." He said. 'I see. Then, he must be the one who put the seal on Naruto. No wonder he keeps falling in the water. It's because half of his chakra is sealed off.' I thought.

"I'm not really sure what happened after that though. I kind of blacked out." Naruto said. "That's okay. Would you mind raising your hands over your head for a moment?" I requested. 

"Huh? What for?"

"Oh, just think of it like a trusting exercise."

"Trusting exercise? But I already trust you, Mom."

"I know, but this exercise is different." 

"Hmm... Okay." 

Naruto raised his hands over his head while I had mine behind my back, preparing the Five Pronged Unseal. "Now what?" He asked. "Now close your eyes." I instructed. "Huh? My eyes?" Naruto repeated. "Mm-hm." I confirmed, giving him a closed-eye smile.

Naruto did as I said and closed his eyes. "All right. Here it goes," I whispered. "Five Pronged Unseal!"

I slammed my fingers into Naruto's stomach, right on Orochimaru's mark. Naruto coughed up some spit before falling on his butt. I stared at his stomach as the seal vanished. "It worked." I whispered, smiling in victory. 

"Ow... What'd you do that for, Mom?" Naruto whined. "I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to try something." I apologized. I grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah, I think so." Naruto said. 

"That's good. Now do you think you're be able to try walking on the water again?"

"I don't know. I'm just gonna fall right in again." 

"Oh, I doubt that. Come on, try again. I guarantee you'll get it this time." 

I gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled back. "Okay, I'll give it another go!" Naruto said, psyching himself up. "That's the spirit!" I said, encouraging him. 

Naruto gave a deep breath, then walked over to the lake. "Huh? Hey, I'm doing it! I'm doing it, Mom! Look!" Naruto said. "Well done, Naruto!" I said, clapping my hands. Naruto began jumping around, happy with his progress.

"Naruto, why don't we get something to eat? My treat!" I called over to him. "Yeah, sure!" Naruto agreed, running over to me. He hugged my waist tightly and I gently placed my hands over him. "What's this for?" I asked.

"For being the best Mom in the world." Naruto said with a grin. I softly smiled down at him and hugged him back. "I love you, Naruto." I said. "I love you, too, Mom." Naruto said back.