Upon entering his apartment Naruto was embarrassed. His ramen cups from this morning and last night were still out. And his floor was covered in scrolls and books. But Minori took it all in stride.

"Huh. What books are you reading?" He asked, looking at the floor.

"Um, a couple of books for class, some books on chakra control, and a book about gardening." He almost expected his uncle to think his hobby was weird, but instead the man nodded and turned to him.

"When I was in Kiri they let me take care of a couple on plants to test my seals on. That was one of the few things I liked about that place." He smiled them looked around. "What do you want to eat?"

"RAMEN!" The boy spoke so suddenly and so loudly that Minori jumped slightly. Then, he laughed.

"Definitely Kushina's son." He smiled and shook his head, walking to the kitchen. "Where do you keep your noodles and-" He cut himself off rather abruptly.

"Uncle Minori? What happened?" Naruto rushed into his rather small kitchenette. Only to find his uncle gaping at his nearly empty cupboards and fridge.

"Naruto, why do you only have cup ramen? Is that all you eat?" When Naruto nodded he frowned, then sighed slightly. "Well then I'll go to the market to pick up some groceries. Do you want to come?"

Naruto shook his head rapidly. Making Minori even more confused than before.

"Okay then, I'll be back later. You want anything?" Naruto shook his head again, responding quietly.

"No thanks." Minori nodded, then left quietly. Naruto clutched onto his kitten, crying slightly.

The villagers are gonna tell him I'm a monster. What if he never wants to see me again? What if he starts to hate me? Will the villagers be mean to him because he's my uncle? I don't know what to do.

-----

Minori frowned slightly as he walked to the market. Naruto was acting strange. Was he worried about money? The Hokage had given him the pay of a genin to start out so that should be enough to buy food. Maybe he didn't like him? He had just appeared out of nowhere after all.

Minori shook the thoughts out of his head, he could ask the boy later. Right now he had to try and remember what went into his Mother's  amazing miso ramen.

He was walking towards a vegetable stand when he heard the whispers.

"He was with the demon brat-"

"-Even looks like it-"

"Why would he bother with that menace-"

He turned around to see that several civilians were pointing and looking his way, gossiping unashamedly. He frowned again and turned back to the vendor, who was grimacing slightly at him.

"Excuse me, much for the carrots and onions?" Minori was as polite as he could manage with the gossiping crowd behind him. The vendor frowned and rattled off some prices, obviously eager for him to leave.

And so as Minori walked back to the apartment with full bags he couldn't help but stop at the sight of a small flower shop.

Naruto likes gardening right? Maybe some new plants will cheer him up.

He sealed away the bags and entered the store, greeting the girl who was manning the counter. She was about Naruto's age he would guess.

"Hello, I'm looking for something to give to my nephew. Do you have any recommendations." The girl looked at him strangely.

"Are you sure he wants plants? A lot of guys don't." She frowned looking around.

Minori smiled slightly. "Not Naruto, he loves them."

The girl straightened almost immediately. "N-naruto? Do you mean Uzumaki Naruto?" She asked him almost desperately.

"Yes, he's my nephew, who are you?" He frowned, so far he not met many people that seemed to actually care about the young Uzumaki since his arrival and he wasn't eager to hear anymore criticism.

"I'm sorry, I'm Yamanaka Ino, Naruto's my best friend."