Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I don't own them, nor am I making any profit off of this.
Warnings: Same as the last chapter.
A.N. I want to thank everyone that reviewed! I loved them! They made me actually feel the urge to update again! Also, I just kinda wrote this in a two and a half hour span, so there's probably grammar and spelling errors... Sorry. Now to go reply to people since I actually signed onto my account! Hazzah!
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"Mmmm… Yes… Lady…. Tree…." Naruto's nose wrinkled in his sleep. "Merghl… Noooo, not the monkey…." With a jerky movement, he sat straight up in bed. "Weird fuckin' dream. Kissing someone with black eyes, a tree girl and an old monkey man… I think I watch too much sci-fi." He shook his head and glanced at the clock. It didn't hit him for a second, then he did a rapid double take, screamed and bounded out of bed. "I'm late! Gaaah. The pervert is gonna kill me!"
Racing around the room, Naruto threw things on, then ran out of the room and slid down the banister to the lower level. "I'm late for school!" He was halfway through the door when he felt a hand grip the back of his coat and tug.
"Where you running off to, buddy?" Minato had a slightly vague grin on his face as he hugged his son to him.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU PEOPLE WAKE ME UP! I'VE GOT A BIO TEST TODAY ON GENETICS!" Naruto turned and started to shake the insane person that he called his father, "WHY TODAY OF ALL DAYS!"
Minato blinked at him, then patted him on the head, "You know you got your eyes from your mother right?"
Naruto blinked at him, a question mark almost visible above his head. "Wha?"
"Well, it's a genetics test, so shouldn't you know where you get your genetic features." Minato grinned cheerfully, randomly spinning his son around. "You get your hair and skin tone from me… Though I think structurally you're taking more after your mother."
"I'm not short damnit!"
"Yes, yes you are." The voice floated through the doorway right before Kushina walked through it. "And remember. You don't have school today. Tsunade's orders. And I don't wanna know what would happen if we actually allowed you to go… Crazy vindictive…" She trailed off, blinking at her husband who was humming under his breath.
Naruto stared with her, shaking his head, "Is there a reason that dad's even crazier than normal?"
Shaking her head, Kushina rubbed her forehead, "Something about rites of passage and so proud of you for not offing yourself somehow in the eighteen years you've stumbled through life. Who knows. He could have just smoked something a little off this morning."
Naruto nodded, "Yeah…" Then shook his head and sighed.
"Food?" Kushina looked at her son with a deadpan expression.
"Yeah."
With that, mother and son ran away from the crazy person, who looked after them with a pout.
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"So, what do you want to do today?" Kushina poured some batter onto a griddle and started making pancakes. "Other than your homework."
Naruto pouted at her, "It's my birthday mom. Can't I avoid homework today?" He batted his eyelashes at her, making her chuckle.
"The one move of your fathers that I didn't want you to learn and you do." She shook her head, "Fine. I give, put it away." Leaning over, she kissed her son on the head, then went back to cooking. "Happy birthday sweetie. I am proud of you. You've grown up to be such a good boy."
"Thanks mom."
She winked at him, "I only say what I mean. You know that."
Laughing, he stole two of the freshly made pancakes from their serving tray and slathered them with butter. "I know, I know. I still remember that parent/teacher conference when I was ten." He snickered, "I don't think that teacher stood a chance."
"Well, if she actually knew about what she was teaching, then I wouldn't have had to straighten her out, now would I."
Naruto giggled quietly and started eating, glancing up at his father when he came into the kitchen holding a weird box.
"What's that?"
Minato blinked at his son and grinned, "You're birthday present. It's from your grandpa."
Naruto leaned forward and laid a hand down on his father's arm, whispering, "I don't have a grandpa dad… They're both gone from this world." He phrased it gently so as to not make his obviously nuts father go into a crazy fit. "Are you sure it's not from you and mom." He could hear his mom laughing strenuously in the background, but didn't look back at her.
Minato frowned at his wife, "I know they're gone, Naru. Geez. I'm not a lunatic."
Falling to the ground, Kushina was crying with laughter, tears actually falling from her eyes, she managed to gasp something between breathes, but neither of them could decipher what it was.
"Your grandfather gave this to me when you were born and told me to give it to you when you turned of age." Minato grinned widely. "Open it! I wanna see!"
Naruto arched his eyebrow at his father and shook his head, taking the box from him. "How do you open it?"
"Oh, you'll figure it out." A wicked look on his face, Minato smirked cutely, "Take a good look at it."
Naruto frowned, but looked again, stroking the cover of the box. Staring down at it, he didn't see anything, there were no lines on the side to denote an opening and there was no latch that he could see. Suddenly, he felt a pressure behind his eyes, forcing him to blink, and when he opened them again, he saw a strange symbol on the box. Stroking it, he noticed that although it looked burned in, there was no divots in the lines. His fingers danced across the swirls and curls and he gasped in shock when the top of the box came apart in his hands.
Shaking his head to clear it, Naruto looked at his father, "Should I even ask how that worked?"
Minato grinned, "You can ask all you want, I have no clue. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out when you're older."
Shaking his head, Naruto rubbed his index finger down the center of jewel in the necklace that was hidden in the box. The brilliant orange topaz seemed to shimmer at him in welcome, the swirls of silver and blue inside of it seeming to move within their jeweled prison. "Weird."
His parents smiled at him as he pulled the necklace out, holding it by it's golden chain, looking deep within the stone. Then he shook his head and clasped it around his neck, the stone resting happily in the hollow of his neck.
"So, what did you two get me for my birthday?" He grinned wickedly at his parents.
His mom shook her head, "Go take a shower. You'll find out tonight."
Grinning, he shoved the last of his food in his mouth, then ran back to his room. Never noticing when the latch on his new necklace sealed itself into a solid chain.
Back in the kitchen, his mom leaned against the counter and frowned, "So, it starts?"
Minato stared at the door his son had just left through and frowned. "Yes. He couldn't live in ignorance forever."
"Why not? You have."
"Waaaa. You're so mean to me!" He grabbed her by the waist and tickled her, their laughter echoing through the house.
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Somewhere closer than was to be expected, black eyes opened to the world. It was time.
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"Open the stars damned door, you ungrateful gaki!"
Naruto heard the bellowing upstairs and rolled his eyes. Leaning through an open window, he screamed down to the four people waiting below. "Hold your damn horses, you old hag!"
"Don't talk to me that way, you damn brat." Was her muffled reply. He couldn't hear the outside as well in the stairwell.
"It's my birthday and I'll call you what I want." Naruto stated as he opened the front door. "Mom and dad are in the back." Naruto giggled, "Dad and fire don't mix well."
Jiraiya smirked impishly, ruffling the boys head, "Well, I wouldn't say that. You're mom's just much better with it."
Naruto pouted up at the older man, "Then why does he get burned every time he gets vaguely close to it?"
"Because wind feeds fire."
Jiraiya got smacked in the head by three people for saying that, which made Naruto blink in confusion, before deciding that the world was crazy and he was the only sane one left.
"Whatever." He turned and strolled through the house. The adults following after him let out a relieved breath while glaring at Jiraiya yet again. Said white haired man just shrugged and smirked.
"So, how does it feel to be eighteen, Naru?" Iruka smiled at the boy, his brown eyes glowing softly.
"It feels like I'm another day older."
Kakashi broke in, "But this is such an important birthday!"
"Yeah I can vote now." Naruto seemed to perk up for a moment, sliding open the back door and walking outside.
"That's not what I meant." Kakashi's eye smiled at him since the rest of his face was hidden by an ever present scarf. "You can legally buy porn now!" Iruka proceeded to smack the other man, while Naruto sweat dropped.
"He's right! This really is a momentous occasion." Fake tears streamed down Jiraiya's face. "You're finally old enough to read those books I've been slipping you!"
Kushina, Tsunade and Iruka's heads all lifted at once, you could practically see them baying for blood as they approached the old pervert.
"You did what?" Kushina's nose quivered and her left eyebrow twitched spasmodically.
Jiraiya blinked at the three and nervously scratched the back of his head, "I did nothing, you can't prove it."
He screamed like a little girl as they closed in for the kill.
Minato dropped an arm on his son's head, bonfire blazing merrily in the background as they watched Jiraiya being beaten within an inch of his life. "Having a happy birthday so far?"
Grinning, Naruto snuggled into his father, watching as Kakashi sat up and groaned from the position Iruka had left him in, "The best."
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"Presents!"
"What presents? Do you deserve presents?" Tsunade grinned at the brat, nibbling at a roasted marshmallow.
Naruto pouted at her cutely, "I put up with all of you crazies… I deserve much more than two days a year of presents."
Snickering, Iruka nodded his head, "The boy has a point. Here, me first!" He tossed a box over the fire to the boy, who clasped it and glared at him. Iruka rolled his eyes, "No confidence in my throwing abilities at all."
Kakashi smirked, "I will refrain from saying anything due to the fact that I don't want to be beaten at the moment."
"Huh. I guess he can be taught." Tsunade snickered wickedly when Kakashi pouted through his scarf at her.
"EEEEEEeee!" Naruto squealed like a little girl, bouncing in his spot. "I love it! Concert tickets to the next MCR concert! I love you, Iruka!"
Iruka smiled proudly, "I know."
Tsunade laughed and threw her present to the blond, "I guess that's the sign for this."
Blinking, Naruto tore off the paper, ripped into the box and stared into it in shock. Inside was a Mastercard gift card, plane tickets and a hotel reservation for three days in New York. He opened his mouth to talk, then couldn't think of anything to say, so just stared at the present dumbly.
"You'll need somewhere to stay when you go see it, since it's states away, and I scammed Jiraiya into giving up some money for the gift card since I just know he got you something crappy. Should be around three hundred on it."
Naruto just stared at her like he'd never seen her before.
"Ughm… I think you broke him."
"Damn it! I don't deal with mental lapses! Broken arms, yes. Broken minds... Well, I haven't fixed any of you yet, have I?"
This made Naruto grin, get up, give her a hug, and whisper, "Thank you, Auntie."
She blushed faintly, patting him on the back, "I know you wanted to get away for a bit."
He smiled angelically and gave Iruka a hug as well, then ventured back to his spot.
Kushina bounced, breaking the loving atmosphere, "Our turn! This is from me and your father! I hope you like it!"
Gingerly taking the box his mother had shoved into his face, he ripped it open and blinked down at the contents. Reaching in, he pulled out a long white coat, with orange swirls twisting up from the bottom. Kakashi and Jiraiya both looked over at Minato in surprise, but he just smiled dumbly.
"Do you like it?"
"Wow. This is awesome dad!"
Minato smiled sweetly, and Kushina poked her son on the arm, "There's more."
He blinked at her and pulled out tissue paper until he finally found a medium sized black box. "I can tell mom wrapped this." He shook his head, "At least it's not like the box this morning." Popping it open, he blinked in surprise, pulling out two odd looking bracelets. "Mom… I know I'm small for my age, but I don't think wrists are this big."
Kushina face vaulted, "They're armlets sweetie. You wear them on your upper arms."
Naruto did an 'Oooohhh" face and put them on. The golden color setting off his skin tone beautifully. "Huh. Pretty." He flexed his muscle, making the group laugh, then gave both his parents hugs. "Thank you for the prettiful presents."
Minato opened his mouth to respond, but Kakashi broke in, "Enough of this lovey, dovey stuff." He shoved a box in Naruto's hands. "Here open something else."
Blinking, but laughing Naruto did just that, pulling out a few books, "'Sorcery: Level One; So you think you can float something.', 'Druidry for Dummies, and 'Daemons, Monsters and Generally Strange Creatures'"? Naruto stared at the strange, strange man that he sometimes admitted to calling an uncle. "Wha?"
Minato and Kushina glared at Kakashi, who glared right back at them. "You'll understand after a while. Trust me, they're useful."
"Okay…" Naruto decided to humor the obviously crazy person and gave him a great big hug, figuring that they'd at least be good for a laugh.
"Here brat. I got you something that will actually be useful! Something that every boy needs!" Jiraiya handed him a black plastic bag, while beaming at the boy.
Peeking inside Naruto turned bright red, and flipped it over, showing a large variety of porn novels and dirty magazines. "Why the hell would you get me this for my birthday!"
The man couldn't respond as he was being beaten for the second time that night.
Kakashi on the other hand used the distraction to sneak a couple of the books in to his pocket. Inwardly cackling.
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A black-eyed boy stared at the scene in front of him. "So, this is the one. Looks like a moron." His sighed to himself. "Joy." Then, he was gone, as if he'd never actually been there.
