Hey folks! Back with a new chapter of Regret and Redemption. Now I know there are those of you who want Naruto not to forgive his parents and to go berserk and kill them along with all of Konoha. To those people: Sorry, not gonna happen!
Also, Naruto doesn't hate his family perse, he just has trust issues after finding out what they wanted to do to him. More will be explained in the chapter. Now, if they're no more questions. Let us begin!
Chapter One
A Long Road Ahead
Minato sighed as he sat on the sofa in the living room of his house. He just got home from his work as Hokage, and what Jiraiya told him, made him feel like total shit. It all started when he first came home and talked with his sensei...
Flashback
Minato had just entered the house after leaving a couple of Shadow Clones behind at the Hokage Tower, so he could see son. As he entered he noticed the atmosphere had turned to a more depressing aura than he remembered. Heading to the living room he saw Jiraiya sitting down alone on the Sofa, his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and his facial expression neutral. The other women who were visiting Kushina, left not too long ago.
"Sensei?" Minato said, and Jiraiya nodded, before opening his eyes.
"Nice to see you too, Minato," he said, his voice serious as he motioned for the Yondaime Hokage to sit down.
"Where's Naruto?" Minato asked carefully, while the Toad Sannin sighed and up with his thumb.
"Kushina took him upstairs to his room about half an hour," he said, "She's been in there with him for about almost an hour and used Locking Seals on his door and window to keep anyone from getting in, and Naruto from getting out," he then sighed, as he remembered Naruto's outburst, "Naruto freaked out when he saw her, kept screaming that he hated her, while Kushina kept trying to convince that she was really sorry about her past decisions,"
Minato sighed at that, Kushina, aside from Kairi, was the one person who was hit the hardest when Naruto ran away, and kept blaming herself for failing him. How she should've been more supportive of him.
"Yeah," the blonde haired man said as a sorrowful smile formed on his face, "It just proves she loved our children more than I did," he said, "I forced Kairi to become a ninja so she could keep a better eye on Naruto, while I forced the latter to the side and forbid him to learn anything ninja related," he then sighed, "I had been such a complete block head. Having forced him to live a civilian life, working a civilian job when I knew that any civilian shopkeeper or any other buisness would cut their arm off then let him work for them. And I tossed that thinking out the window,"
Jiraiya sigh at that, "Yeah, you really screwed up, Gaki," he said, as Minato became more crestfallen, "But at least you realized you made a mistake, and want to make it up to him,"
Minato looked at his sensei before down at his hands, "Yeah...but will he let me? I haven't exactly been the supportive father-type after he turned four. I have a long, long way to go before I could even gain his forgiveness, let alone his trust," he said and felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Every journey begins with a single step," Jiraiya said, and then smiled, "You just have to figure out Step One,"
The writer of Icha Icha then stood up and stretched as he headed to the door.
"Now, if you excuse me. I got to do some much needed research," he said with a small, but perverted, smirk. Leaving behind a sweatdropping Minato.
'He'll never change,' he thought, before Jiraiya stopped, a look of realization on his face.
"Oh! Before I forget," the Sannin said before taking something from his sage coat and giving it to Minato, who instantly recognized it as a chakra knife while it was still in it's scabbard, "Naruto had that on him when I found him. He's pretty damn good with it, if the Bandits I saw him slaughter are any indication,"
Minato was shocked at that, "He...He slaughtered bandits?"
Jiraiya nodded at that, "Yep. I'll give you the full details tomorrow. Ja ne!"
And after that he left, leaving a stunned Minato.
He had been thinking on those words that Jiraiya told him ever since he left. And he found his first step. Starting in a week he'll enroll Naruto in the Ninja Academy, in the same graduating class as his sister.
Speaking of which, said girl entered through the front door.
"Tadaima!" said Kairi and entered the living and saw her father sitting on the couch, "Oh! Hello Tou-san, you're home early,"
Minato smiled as he looked at his daughter. She was the spitting image of Kushina during her Academy years. She wore the same style of clothes the former Kyuubi Jinchuriki wore, except, they were colored a red on burgundy, while Kushina's was colored green on Yellow.
"Hello Kairi-chan. How was school?" he said, while said red-head sighed.
"Boring. Iruka-sensei was giving another lecture, and the only real thing that happened was one of those arrogant civilian shit heads making a comment about Aniki," she said.
"Kairi, language," Minato warned, with a serious look on his face.
"I'm serious Tou-san! Even Mikoto-sama's emo king son Sasuke is one of them! I already kicked his butt twice! One for calling me his personal bitch! And another time when he said about how one day he'll find Naruto and shove a kunai through his 'vile and black' heart!" She said, causing Minato to blink at that, "I swear if he doesn't stop, I'm gonna murder HIS DUCK BUTT HAIRED A-,"
"KAIRI! Enough, I get it!" Minato said as he rubbed his temples, "It's times like these I wish you hadn't inherited your mother's temper," he said, causing the girl to look around.
"Hey, where is Kaa-chan?" she asked, and Minato felt conflicted on what to sat to her.
'Should I tell her? She's been wanting to apologize to Naruto for 2 years,' he thought, 'But if Naruto's reaction to Kushina is anything Jiraiya described, he'll probably snap at Kairi the same way,'
"Tou-san?" Kairi's voice snapped the Yondaime out of his thoughts, as said girl was looking at him in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Minato, after thinking about it, decided it's a risk she's willing to take, sighed in defeat.
"Kairi-chan, you better sit down," he said, and said blinked before nodded and taking a seat next to her father, "What I'm about to tell you, musn't be known by anyone else. Do you understand?"
Kairi, after her mistake two years ago, swore she will never break her word again. She nodded as Minato continued.
"You're brother was found...,"
Meanwhile with Kushina
Kushina laid in her son's bed while said was asleep next to her. She ran her fingers through his blonde hair gently, while tears streamed from her eyes. Her son's words felt like shards of glass that cut into her heart, as she moved closer and held him. The same way she held him and his sister that terrible night, 11 years ago. When she was relieved that they were safe from the man who caused this whole mess from the start.
Now it was just her and Naruto. And under different circumstances.
"Naruto...," she whispered, "...please forgive me,"
As she held him, she heard her daughter's voice downstairs, signifying she was home. She then chuckled softly as she heard her little 'Tornado' promising pain to all the little punks who even WHISPERED an insult about her Aniki. She then frowned as Kushina knew that the twin siblings reunion will no doubt be like the one she and Naruto had.
"ANIKI'S HOME!?" came the loud shout, that scared even Kushina as Naruto jolted awake, only to find himself in the arms of his mother, which caused him to tense up, and his eyes to widen in panic.
The Red Hot Habanero felt her son's body tense up and turned to see him awake.
"Naruto-," she began to speak, only for the young blonde to begin to struggle, "Naruto don't! Please calm down! I'm not going to hurt you!"
Naruto didn't listen as he continued to struggle more urgently now, while Kushina just wrapped her arms around him.
"No. No, no, no, no, no, no no no NO!" was all he said as he thrashed wildly in his mother's arms, "Let me go! Let me go! I have to get away from here! Please let me go!"
Kushina could only him tighter as he continued to thrash, trying to get free.
"Naruto please stop! Don't say those things!" she said.
"How do I know you're not lying! You and him never wanted me to be a ninja, cause you were afraid of the Kyuubi! You wanted me to be a prisoner in my own home! In this god forsaken village! With my sister as my jailor!" he yelled out, just before doing something that Kushina didn't expect him to.
He bit down on her left shoulder. Hard.
Kushina winced, but didn't let go of her child as she held him tight. Tears cascading down from her eyes like a waterfall.
"I...I know," she said, her voice taking a tone filled with regret, "I admit we didn't let you have any choice, because of our worst fears. In fact, you have every right to hate me, your father, and Kairi," her right hand then placed itself behind Naruto's head, "But it won't change the fact that I still love you all the same since the night I brought you and your sister into this world. I wished every month, every week, every day, every hour, every minute, and every second since you ran away I could reverse time and change my mistakes," she then sobbed, as she felt Naruto's canine teeth sink deeper into her shoulder, "But I know it's impossible. And the best way I know that could make up for the screwup me and Minato did is to prove to you that we are sorry, and will make it up to you, no matter what,"
As she finished, shelt the pressure from the bite beginning to lessen, until it stopped altogether. She then heard Naruto sobbing as he placed his face into her shoulder.
"I...I don't hate you...but I can't trust you," he said, "How do you expect to regain my trust, after all I've been through?"
Kushina hugged her son as she answered, "I don't know how, Sochi. But I will make it up to you, I promise,"
Outside the room
Minato and Kairi, both whom had heard Naruto's yelling and came up to find what was going on, were listening with their ears to the door, due to the Locking seal Kushina put up.
The two heard what the matriarch of the family said, and both could only agree with her. Kairi was shedding tears as she heard her mother talking to her wayward brother, while Minato had a forlorn look on his face.
They both knew, that the three of them will have a long time in getting Naruto to trust them again. But, they swore they will do everything in their power to help him. No matter the cost.
For Minato, he decided after he enrolled Naruto in the Academy, he was going to start cleaning house on all the people who wronged his child, and crossed him.
Starting with the Civilian half of the Konoha Council.
Author's Post: And second chapter down! I hope you people are not too confused, as I tried to put in some stuff to better explain the chapter. Also, as a slight spoiler, Naruto won't begin to trust his parents or his sister right away. Even if the scene you just saw about Kushina and Naruto reconciling, it's just Naruto is too tired, and has been out in the world for to long.
Now, next chapter, Naruto sees his father and sister, and Shippo sneaks into the village, all the while remembering how Naruto became his friend. Sayonara!
