Chapter 2
Family

It was all some terrible, horrible nightmare. It couldn't be real. It was just some sick, twisted dream. It wasn't real. Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream…

His shoulder bumped against the bed rail and he felt a short burst of fiery agony in response.

No.

It hadn't been a dream. Sasuke-teme had really run off with those Oto-nin to seek Orochimaru for power. He'd really gone off with his friends to get him back. His friends had really gotten hurt…bad. He and Sasuke had really fought like that, in the Valley of the End. Sasuke had really run a Chidori through his shoulder. Sasuke had really broken his neck.

His best friend had really tried to kill him.

He took a deep, shaky breath and choked a little at the strong antiseptic hospital smell that invaded his nose. For some reason his senses, especially his sense of smell, were still a little heightened. Normally they were only that way when he was channeling the fox's chakra, and he wasn't right now. He was just lying on a hospital bed, being miserable.

Shifting stiffly onto his good side – the one with his uninjured shoulder – he closed his blue eyes and tried vainly to go back to sleep and forget that the last few days had ever happened. But he'd already slept a lot, nearly a full day straight by his guess. He simply wasn't sleepy anymore. However, his body still felt weak and achy, a sensation he was not at all accustomed to.

Stupid fox-teme, he thought darkly. Aren't you supposed to fix me up? Why am I not better yet?

There was no answer. He hadn't expected any. If he had gotten a reply, he would've been freaked out. But…an answer would've been nice.

The door to his room slowly scraped open and Naruto cracked open one eye to see who had come to visit him. The person on the other side of the door seemed to hesitate before stepping into his line of vision. It was the only person that he expected to come see him: Gaara.

The red-haired Suna Jinchuuriki slowly crept up to his bedside and stopped about a foot away. The creepy, stoic boy looked uncharacteristically anxious and timid. And Naruto noticed that Gaara's sandstone gourd, which contained his sand and was always strapped to his back, was missing.

"Hey Gaara, where's your sand?" Naruto asked curiously, slightly annoyed at how weak and crackly his voice sounded.

"The Hokage would not let me visit you if I didn't leave my sand outside the hospital," Gaara replied in his usual monotone voice.

Naruto frowned slightly and itched at some of the bandages wrapped around his neck. He really didn't need any bandages; he hadn't been bleeding from anywhere when Kakashi-sensei had brought him in. The only reason he could see for the bandages was that the medics had decided to wrap him up like a mummy for the heck of it.

"That's weird," he muttered and slowly, stiffly wriggled into a sitting position on his bed. "So, how are you?"

"I'm alright." Gaara shifted uncomfortably. "How are you?"

"Just a little sore," Naruto answered with a big grin. "I'll be fine in no time!"

"That's…good," Gaara nodded awkwardly.

Naruto tilted his head curiously at the other boy. "Did you want to ask me something, Gaara?"

Gaara folded his arms tighter over his chest and stared uncomfortably at the tile floor. Naruto simply sat and waited for the other boy to gather his thoughts. The other boy, his sort-of friend, needed his help and he would give it.

"I wonder…" Gaara's dull blue-green eyes slowly traced the lines of the tile floor underneath his open-toed zori sandals. "I wonder if I should…feel sad that the Yondaime Kazekage is dead. He was my father and…shouldn't children be sad when a parent dies?"

"Hmm…" Naruto itched at his bandages again and feverishly considered this problem. What a…sticky question… "Well…are your brother and sister sad that he's dead?"

"No."

"And…" Naruto frowned in deep concentration. "You told me and Shikamaru that he tried to assassinate you when you didn't turn out the way that he wanted, right?"

"Yes."

"Is anyone sad that Orochimaru killed him?" Naruto wondered.

"Not that I know of."

"Erm…" Naruto scratched at his spiky blonde hair as he considered how to answer. Normally he'd just go with the first thing that came to mind, but this was too important to just wing it. Gaara was what he could've been had his father tried to forge him into a living weapon; what he could've been had he never made any friends.

"It's kinda hard for me to say since I didn't know the guy personally, but… Since nobody seems to miss him, not even your brother and sister, and since he's sent assassins after you a bunch of times, you shouldn't worry about being sad about him being dead. He may've been a great ninja – he was the Kazekage after all – but he sounds like a really lousy human being. So what if he was your dad by blood? He didn't treat you like his son and it doesn't sound like he acted like much of a dad, so it's more like you were strangers to each other—not family…"

Naruto trailed off and anxiously scratched at the back of his neck. "Am I making any sense to you?"

The Suna-nin stared at the floor for a long time before finally raising his dark-ringed eyes up to Naruto's blue ones. "I think so."

"Well, if you need anymore help with this, I'm sure that your brother and sister would be a lot more help than me," Naruto laughed sheepishly. "They'd know more about how things were in your family than I would."

Gaara nodded sharply. "Thank you for your help, Uzumaki Naruto."

"You're welcome!" Naruto grinned widely. Not sure if I was helpful at all…but okay!

"My siblings and I must return to Suna." Gaara bowed to him and slowly exited the room. "Farewell, Naruto."

"Bye, Gaara!" Naruto waved cheerfully. "Have a save trip home!"

As soon as the door slid shut, Naruto allowed the cheery façade to fall away. He rubbed at his sore shoulder and laid back down on his bed to stare at the ceiling tiles. Really, he was glad to have helped Gaara with his problem. But…

…But I couldn't reach Sasuke.

Minato slumped forward with a sigh and rested his forehead against the cool wood of his desk. It was around dinnertime and he was still trapped in his office. Well, he wasn't actually trapped. He could leave anytime. But the thought of returning to an empty, Naruto-less house was very unappealing.

Stacks of papers and scrolls covered the rest of his desk and formed some rather impressive piles. Thankfully only about a quarter of it was real; the rest was just a genjutsu. It was a little trick he'd picked up from the Sandaime that made him look ridiculously busy so that whiny little genin didn't whine quite so much when they drew their D-rank missions. However, the part that was real occupied most of his day.

Why did I want this job again? he groaned wearily. It certainly wasn't to swim through paperwork all day and deal with fresh genin complaining about being stuck weeding, babysitting, or catching that damn cat for the nth time. He lifted his head off his desk and flopped back limply in his chair. What I wouldn't give for a vacation…

"It's getting late. Why don't you go home?"

Minato sat up straighter to see over the piles of paper and found his old teacher, Jiraiya, leaning on the doorframe. His towering mentor raised a white eyebrow at him, questioning. For the briefest moment, it was like they'd gone back in time and Jiraiya was his jounin-sensei and he was the green rookie genin tied to the post at the end of the bell test.

"I don't want to," Minato sighed. "It's too quiet at home."

"Then go to the hospital," Jiraiya snorted.

"But…it's late—"

"You're the Hokage!" Jiraiya interrupted. "Only Tsunade-hime has the guts to kick you out, and I doubt that she will."

Unable to formulate any other excuse that didn't sound completely pathetic, Minato abandoned his desk and leapt out one of his office windows in the direction of the hospital. He hopped from roof to roof, his long, flame-trimmed jacket flapping behind him like a cape. Following a few roofs behind was Jiraiya. Minato stubbornly ignored his mentor's presence.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see Naruto. He ached to see his son. What he didn't want was to hear Naruto's report of what happened on the retrieval mission.

So far he'd only read Nara Shikamaru's report, as he'd been the team leader, and Rock Lee's account, as he'd been healthy enough to give it. He'd been chilled as he read how Shikamaru had been forced to sacrifice his friends, one by one, to neutralize the party of higher-level Oto-nin who had been spiriting Sasuke away. And the strength, skill, and dedication to Orochimaru's cause – as described by Shikamaru and Lee – made him dread getting the rest of the reports from Chouji, Neji, and Kiba.

But Naruto's report would be the worst, he sensed. He'd tangled with all the Oto-nin briefly, and even held off that Kimimaro character solo for a while until Rock Lee intervened, but his primary solo fight had been with a Konoha-nin: Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto had fought his own teammate and friend and he dreaded finding out just how ugly it had gotten. Minato worried that when he knew exactly what the Uchiha had done to his boy that he would be unable to show Sasuke any mercy when his punishment was to be decided.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he willed the dark thoughts back and picked up the pace slightly as the large hospital building came into view. When he ran out of roofs to jump along, he dropped down to the street and strode right through the front doors. Glancing at the registry, he checked to see what room Naruto had been stashed in, and started to make his way there.

"H-Hokage-sama!" the receptionist squeaked in surprise. "Have you come to see Uchiha Sasuke?"

He paused briefly and answered a quiet "no" before continuing down the hall and up the stairs to Naruto's room before the flustered woman could try to talk to him any more.

The halls of the hospital were fairly deserted, as most people that could be home eating dinner with their families were doing that. It was nice to avoid all the people that would feel compelled to stop and greet him simply because he was the Hokage and important. But the echoing halls tainted with the faint beeps and whirs of medical equipment were undeniably eerie.

When he came to Naruto's door, he hesitated. If Naruto was asleep, he didn't want to disturb him. And—

This is ridiculous! Minato snorted at himself. I'm being pathetic and silly...

Shaking his head, he grasped the door handle, slid it open, and stepped inside.

The lights were dimmed, but not off. There were no beeps or whirs; Naruto didn't need any fancy medical equipment like that. Glancing around, Minato didn't even see an IV stand set up. There was a mostly untouched meal tray on the bedside table. And Naruto lay awake, staring at the ceiling.

Minato slowly turned up the lights and shut the door behind him. A quick look at the hospital-provided dinner showed him that there was nothing there that Naruto wouldn't want to eat. So seeing all the food there, uneaten, was very worrisome.

"I thought onigiri was your favorite food after ramen," he remarked quietly.

Naruto flinched and tore his eyes away from the ceiling to gape at him. "Huh?"

"Your dinner," Minato nodded towards the tray. "You didn't eat any of it."

"I…I'm not really hungry," Naruto muttered. He chewed nervously at his lip. "You want me to report now?"

"You don't have to talk about it yet if you don't want to." Minato picked up one of the chairs along the wall and set it next to Naruto's bed so he could sit down. "It can wait a few more days before I need it."

"Oh," the boy sighed and closed his eyes in relief, which only made Minato dread what he would eventually find out even more.

Pushing back his worry, he picked up the dinner tray, picked up the chopsticks, and picked up a piece of chicken. "Hey, Naruto."

"Hm?" Naruto grunted and opened one eye.

"Do you want to get out of the hospital faster?"

Naruto immediately shot upright. "Yeah!"

"Then" – Minato smirked and held out the chicken with the chopsticks – "eat your dinner."

His son eyed the bit of chicken warily for a moment before leaning in and biting it off the chopsticks. Minato grinned and held out another bit of chicken with the chopsticks. By the third bite, Naruto had had enough.

"I can feed myself, Old Man!" the boy sputtered, his cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment.

"Alright," Minato chuckled and handed over the meal tray and chopsticks. "Enjoy."

Naruto scowled over at him before practically inhaling his food. In the blink of an eye, the chicken was gone and he'd moved on to the small onigiri. But halfway through the second rice ball, he paused and looked up from the tray with confusion flickering in his wide eyes.

"If you're not here to get my report…and you're definitely not here to watch me eat…why are you here?"

"What?" Minato frowned slightly. "I need some official reason to come visit you?"

His son shrugged awkwardly and dropped his eyes back down to his now mostly-cleared dinner tray. "I was just wondering if there was a reason," he muttered and stuffed the rest of the onigiri in his mouth.

Minato slowed a sigh and waited until Naruto had devoured the rest of his dinner before speaking again. "Are you feeling better today?"

"I guess," Naruto mumbled. "It's like…I'm tired, but I'm not sleepy. I can sit up, but I can't get out of bed. I tried, but my legs wouldn't work so I just sat on the floor until one of the nurses found me and stuck me back in bed." He fisted his hands in the bed sheets. "I wanna go home. I don't like it here."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be out of here soon," Minato smiled and gently laid one hand over both of Naruto's small fists. "If they keep you more than a week I'll be shocked."

Naruto sighed and sunk back on the bed. "Do I really need all these bandages?" he complained, itching at the offending material on his right wrist. "I wasn't even bleeding when I got here."

"They're probably just a precaution," Minato shrugged. "You won't have to wear them for very long."

The boy pouted. "They're itchy!"

"Try not to think about them," Minato advised.

"Gah!" Naruto groaned. "I'm bored, dattebayo!"

"Now that would be a problem," Minato chuckled softly and folded his arms over his chest as he considered the issue. How to distract him while keeping him in bed… Shogi won't work; I don't think he even knows how to play… He's not in the Academy anymore so he doesn't have any homework to do… I don't think he'd been interested in just studying scrolls… Maybe I could…yeah, that might work!

"I think I've got it," Minato grinned and fished around in his pocket for a particular scrap of paper.

"Got what?" Naruto frowned.

"You'll find out in a minute," Minato replied and pulled a seal paper out of his pocket and stuck it on the wall next to the door.

"What are you putting up a Hiraishin seal for, Old Man?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"I need to go get something," Minato answered and winked. "I'll be back in a flash!"

Silently laughing at his own joke, he gathered his chakra, focused on the seal marker set in the library of his house, and warped there with a flash of yellow light. Easily brushed aside the slight dizziness brought on by the technique from long experience, he scanned the shelves packed with books and scrolls for what he had come for. About three minutes later, he located the book he wanted, removed the yellow novel from its shelf, and flashed back to the seal he'd just placed in Naruto's hospital room.

"What did you get?" Naruto asked warily.

"This!" Minato smiled and handed over the yellow book for Naruto to examine.

"'The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja'?" Naruto muttered as he read the title. He narrowed his eyes at the author's name. "'Gamakage'? Hey that's Ero-Sennin's stupid pen name!" His son stared up at him, incredulous and a little disgusted. "You brought me porn?!"

"No, I didn't bring you porn," Minato corrected as he sat back down in the chair by Naruto's bed. "Do you see any label on it that restricts it to readers eighteen and up?"

"No," Naruto muttered after examining every inch of the book cover. "Did Ero-Sennin really write this?"

"Yes, Jiraiya really did write it. In fact, it's the very first book he wrote," Minato informed the skeptical boy.

His son glared dubiously at the yellow book in his hands. "Are you sure this isn't porn?"

"This book is nothing like Jiraiya-sensei's Come, Come Paradise series, I promise," Minato sighed and took the book from Naruto. "I used to read you chapters of this book as bedtime stories when you were little."

"Really?" Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "I think I remember that…kinda…sorta…"

"Well," Minato opened the book to the first chapter, "let's see just what you remember of this…"

"That was so cute," Jiraiya teased as he hunted through Minato's refrigerator for a snack. "Reading him my old book to him like that…" he let out a booming laugh "…so very sweet."

"You were sitting outside the window the entire time, weren't you?" Minato stated more than asked as he leaned against his kitchen counter and watched his old teacher examine a take-out crate he'd found. "Stop stealing my food, sensei."

"I'm not stealing your food," Jiraiya protested as he dug a pair of chopsticks out of a drawer and started to eat whatever he'd found inside the take-out box.

Minato sighed and rubbed his temples. "Why didn't you join us? I'm sure that Naruto would've liked a visit from you too."

"I wasn't about to intrude on such a wonderful father-son bonding moment," Jiraiya snorted. "Besides, I can always visit him later."

"I suppose." Minato undid the clasp of his jacket and shrugged it off. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome!" Jiraiya laughed. "Anything for my favorite student!"

Minato chuckled at that declaration and unzipped his flak jacket. "I'm still your favorite student, eh?"

"Of course!" Jiraiya declared. "You will always be my favorite student!"

"What about Naruto?" Minato asked as he untied his hitae-ate and traced his thumb over the swirling leaf symbol etched into the metal plate. "Where does he rank in your heart, sensei?"

"Why, he's my second favorite student, and my favorite godson," answered cheerfully.

"Ah, I see," Minato grinned and ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair.

Jiraiya set aside the now empty take-out container and his cheery expression sobered into seriousness. "Minato, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?" Minato asked warily.

"I want to make Naruto my apprentice and I want to take him away from Konoha for a while."

Minato felt his blood turn to ice. "How long is 'a while'?"

"Two or three years at least," Jiraiya replied.

Minato clung to the edge of the counter until his knuckles turned white. "And why do you want to do this?"

"For a few reasons," Jiraiya replied and folded his arms over his chest, effortlessly sliding into lecture mode.

"The Akatsuki want him. Itachi proved that when he and his partner tried to kidnap him when I was taking him to track down Tsunade. They don't need him yet—they didn't put up much of a fight when I came on the scene and interrupted their efforts—but one day they will need him and they won't stop until they get him.

"By taking him out of Konoha as my apprentice, I can make him stronger and teach him how to protect himself against those that will hunt him. I can keep us off the Akatsuki's radar, teach him about my information network, and show him the world beyond the village. And away from the village there will be no distractions from his training—no chasing after that pink-haired girl he likes so much, no squabbling with other boys, no missions.

"Also, leaving the village will allow me to help him work with the fox's chakra without much worry of interference. You know that if I try to train him too much with it in the village that the council will throw up an awful stink with about it. Really, taking Naruto out of Konoha for a while is the most efficient way to get him ready."

It was a good argument. The reasons were perfectly sound. Minato could see no way around what Jiraiya was telling him. If the Akatsuki got their hands on Naruto, they would tear the Kyuubi out of him, use the demon for their own shadowy purposes, and leave his son dead. But the thought of sending Naruto off into the world with only Jiraiya for company for years without any contact with home made him feel cold inside.

"I'd like for Naruto to attempt the Chuunin Exams one more time before you run off with him," Minato said finally. "It would be ideal if he could make chuunin, but whether he earns his promotion or not you're free to take him then."

"It's a little risky," Jiraiya mused. "But I can work with that."

"If something comes up, you can take him sooner," Minato sighed, "but…"

"I understand." Jiraiya grabbed an apple and patted Minato on the shoulder as he headed for the front door. "Go get some sleep. I'm sure that the council will start leaning on you to deal with that troublesome Uchiha boy tomorrow."

"Thanks for reminding me of that, sensei," Minato muttered, but his old teacher was already gone.

Shaking his head, he left the kitchen for his bedroom with his Hokage coat and flak jacket tucked under one arm. Putting his things away and changing into a pair of sleep pants, he collapsed onto his bed and tried to get comfortable. He sighed wearily and glanced over at a picture frame on his bedside table that was illuminated by a stray moonbeam. A beautiful young woman smiled back at him with her long red hair spilling over her shoulders like a waterfall and her blue-green eyes sparkling with laughter.

I wish you were here…