AN: (Don't read this unless you really want to know where this whole side story comes from.) I know this deviates from the actual story but I felt the need to post it. I heard the song "Dance with my Father" and felt the need to write a story. Suki was the first person I thought of so this is what was produced. My father's birthday is rapidly approaching and I've been thinking of him a lot. This being my first year away from home at college I've been dealing with a lot of emotions when it comes to my parents and my home.
Lord knows I miss being home a lot even though I know being here at college is where I belong and I love being here. My dad has always been a great support in my life and I sometimes feel at a loss without his advice. Thank the lord for telephones and trips home every month or I might just go crazy. Anyway, this is dedicated to my father. I'm thankful for everyday I get to have him in my life to make me smile and help me grow.
AN2: As a note on the actually story. Yes, the point of view changes between Suki at the cemetery and flashes back into how Minato felt at the time of the events she's thinking of.
Suki sighed and held back the wave of emotions that threatened to overcome her. Taking a deep breath she walked forward into the cemetery. Here, some of Konoha's greatest heroes lay. A lump formed in her throat as she walked along the path that lead her past many gravestones. She paused for a moment at the 3rd Hokage's grave and bowed her head in prayer. Again, she paused at Asuma's grave and said a prayer.
Looking up at the star speckled sky she realized just how much she had missed. Time had slipped away while she battled her inner demons. How naïve she had been to believe that running away was the solution. Reaching the graves she had truly come to visit she knelt down on her knees. She would be here a while.
"Can you ever forgive me for leaving him?" she muttered into the silence, examining the gravestones that read "Minato Namikaze" and "Kushina Uzumaki". They were well kept and for this, she was thankful. Chuckling at her aunt's gravestone, she remembered how persistent she was about keeping her last name when they married. The Yondaime never protested; she was safer without carrying his name for the entire world to know.
"You did more for me than anyone could possibly imagine. When I lost everything you took me in and held me close, shared the loss with me." A tear fell from the konochi's lashes and she brushed it away, blinking more back. "I know what it is to lose a parent and yet I couldn't bring myself to hold him close and comfort him like you did for me. I'm so sorry." She whispered.
Suki remembered the day she lost her mother. It hadn't taken long for her Uncle to arrive and upon seeing her he wrapped her in an embrace that comforted her to no end. To the five-year-old girl there were two people she truly found love and comfort in; her mother and her uncle. Suki had never known her father as he had passed away before she was born and 'Uncle Minato' was the closest thing she ever had to a father figure.
Minato sprinted to the place he knew his sister and niece were staying. He'd been there so many times that he didn't need to think about where he was going. Before he had seen her body, he hadn't quite believed the truth. He had prayed that there was some sort of mistake but his prayers had been in vain. He hadn't been able to look upon his sisters face for more than a few seconds. It just wasn't right, to see the face usually so happy and flushed, emotionless and pale.
One of the AMBU had mentioned something about one of the other visitors from Suna going to inform her daughter. Minato had wanted to smack himself. How could he forget his sister's most precious person? Now he was approaching the house they stayed in when visiting Konoha and stopped. What was he supposed to do?
He walked slowly now but eventually entered the living room. There a sight that nearly brought back the tears he'd been holding in met him. There was his five-year-old niece, crying out of grief, fear, loneliness and lord knows what else. All thoughts of his sadness went when he saw her. He swept her into a hug and held on to all that was left of his sister. Her most precious person would now become his and he would not let her go until she asked him to.
Together they had grieved for the woman they had lost. For him, it had been difficult to believe the woman he had always looked up to and taken advice from was gone. How could his big sister, the one who always had an answer to everything, be gone? To Suki, it had seemed impossible that her hero, her mother, her everything was gone. At five years old it had been difficult to understand. Minato, for his part, had been a big factor in her being able to move on from the event, although she would never forget.
Minato woke to the sounds of his niece sobbing. Shaking the sleep from his head he slipped out of bed and quietly made his way out of his room. He tapped lightly on her door before entering Suki's room. The girl looked up at him and a fresh wave of tears began. "I'm sorry for waking you Uncle Minato." She said in a wavering voice.
Minato walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge. He shushed her as he rubbed circles on her arm. "Did you have another nightmare?" he asked, pushing her bangs away from her sweaty face. Suki nodded, averting her eyes in shame. "It's ok, I get them too sometimes." He whispered. This earned him a disbelieving look from the six year old laying in the bed beside him. Minato simply chuckled at her expression. The young girl was quite expressive; it reminded him of her mother.
Minato fixed her tousled bedding and stayed by her side until she was once again immersed in the world of dreams. Judging by the smile on her face, the subject was pleasant.
The two of them adjusted to living together. At first, it had been difficult for him; he knew nothing of how to deal with a little girl. Of course, his best friend and girlfriend, Kushina, had been a great help. They became a family of sorts. When she had been seven, Minato made it official by proposing to Kushina.
Suki distinctly remembered how he would pick her up and dance with her and Kushina on nights that Suki was particularly restless. In never failed to calm her and often she fell asleep in his arms. In so many ways, Minato had been a father to her.
"You had better ask her tonight." A seven year old said her hands on her hips. "She loves you but you can't expect her to wait forever."
Laughing at his niece's antics Minato patted the pocket in which the ring was stored. "I promise, tonight. Sometimes I think you are in this more for yourself than me."
"I love Kushina too." The girl responded, rolling her eyes. "She's perfect for you and she's always been there for us. What's not to love?"
This only earned her more laughter from her Uncle. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Minato's face gave away his nervousness. Sighing the girl took his hand and said "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I know she'll say yes."
Letting go of his hand she left for her room to allow the adults to be alone. As she closed her door, he heard her say, "Better not blow it."
Even before she had lost her mother, he visited the two of them often. He knew how difficult it had been for his sister to deal with her husband's loss and supported her as best he could. In fact, when it came time for his sister to give birth to his niece he had been there by her side in place of her husband. Sometimes he would show up randomly, to Suki's great joy, to join her mother and herself for dinner.
She could no longer fight back the tears. They streamed down her face and fell the ground at her knees. "I've never even been to visit you. How ungrateful am I?" Her blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight as she silently cried for the man and the woman who had become her parents in the years she needed them most. "It's not fair you know. I was just starting to move past all my complexes with my mother when you had to leave me too. I was ten, ten years old and you left me with an infant that I hadn't a clue how to take care of or comfort. What was I supposed to do?"
Laughing through her tears Suki imitated her aunt's voice, "Do your best and ask for help when you need it, silly." Kushina always had a straightforward answer for Suki but it was rarely the one Suki wanted to hear. Sometimes Suki had resented Kushina's presence in her Uncle's life almost as much as she loved it. The two of them often butted heads on the most insignificant things. Suki always ran from her to Minato when she wanted her way. He always made her laugh but then would make her do just what Kushina asked. Suki laughed again at this memory.
"I know how excited you were when you found out you were going to have a child of your own." She continued to speak to the gravestones. "At first I was jealous but you wiped that idea from my mind." Suki remembered how clear they had made it to her that they would always love her and they had plenty of love to share. The night they had told her and she had reacted badly to the news had been one of those nights when they danced her to sleep. At nine years old she was really too old for such things but it had become tradition.
Minato could not contain his joy as he sat at the dinner table next to his wife. The news he had just received was incredible. He felt Suki's eyes on him for the hundredth time that night. He and Kushina hadn't told her yet but the girl knew something was up. "You two aren't telling me something." The girl stated in a faked disinterested voice as she picked at the vegetables left on her plate.
Looking over to Kushina they both nodded in understanding. "Suki, your Uncle and I found out some very exciting news today." Kushina began.
"You're going to have a cousin soon." Minato finished, a smile filling his features.
Suki's fork clattered onto her plate. She looked up at the two of them, her eyes wide as saucers. Suddenly she was gone from the room, an empty plate and chair left in her wake.
"What was that about?" Minato questioned and received a knowing look from his wife.
"I think I know." Pushing seat away from the table she walked toward her niece's bedroom. "Minato, can you clear the table for me, please?" she asked as she entered the hall leading away from the kitchen.
By the time Minato was finished drying the last plate he heard his giggling wife and niece coming down the hall. He made his way over to them and swept the girl into his arm, swinging her around. "You ok sweetheart?" he asked, using his pet name for her. Nodding the girl snuggled close to him.
"Yeah, I'm sorry Uncle." She whispered. After he had danced her to sleep, Minato carried her to her bed. As he turned out the light and closed her door he heard her say, "I love you daddy." It struck him then what had upset her earlier. Returning to his pregnant wife, he realized that this would technically be their second child. How silly his niece was to think she wasn't loved like that.
He used to tell her that she was beautiful and looked just like her mother at that age. "I'm going to have to chase the boys away from you when you're older, you're going to be as beautiful as her." He would say to her. If only he knew how right he was. She could be her mother's twin at this age, it was difficult to look in the mirror some days. Now she had her disguise and rarely let the jutsu down long enough to see herself in the mirror. That did not stop her from knowing the truth though.
The long strands of blonde hair that fell forward around her face served as a reminder. Suki would never dream of visiting these graves in anything less than her natural state. "You know how many people thought I was your daughter. I don't look a thing like my father, only your side of the family. Then again I guess that means I did look like my father." She smiled at her Uncle's grave. " With the same hair and eyes, it was no wonder. Apparently, our looks are dominant. Naruto looks mostly like you but he acts just like Kushina. How no one has realized that he's your son baffles me."
Laughing to herself Suki remarked, "I will hurt Kakashi later for not recognizing the truth about his student. He of all people should have realized by now."
"You two would have been amazing parents to him. I know you did a remarkable job with me." A resentful look crossed her face, "If that dam fox hadn't come a ruined everything we could still be a family. I really was looking forward to being a big sister. It's not fair that I got to have you as parents, even for a short while, when he never got to have you at all. I feel like I've stolen something that doesn't belong to me." Suki sighed, knowing none of this would change the past.
"I promise I will look after him now. I know it's late and he's suffered a lot without the support when he was younger but I will make sure he has all the support he needs now. To be honest, he already has good friends. Just like his mother, he has a way of making people care."
Suki became quiet as she allowed the silence of the night to swallow her. She was never going to be able to make up for lost time but she would honor them as best she could. Suki owed them that much for all Minato and Kushina had done for her. "He will know of you and he will know of the lessons you taught me. I know you would want Naruto to know of this. He will know the love of his parents. It may take me some time but he will learn of his family and who I am. Tsunade will probably kill me for telling him." Suki was who she was because of their love and care and now she knew it was her duty to pass this along to her cousin.
By now, the tears had stopped and a look of determination had crossed her face. If there was one thing she knew it was that all children need to know the love of their parents, her parents had taught her that. And this is what Suki was thinking as she walked away from the graves she had just visited. The graves of the beloved couple that would always be thought of as her parents by the blonde-haired Jonin.
So, what did you think? Too sappy? I really wanted to give some more insight into who Suki is while writing this. It's a part of the story but at the same time it's not. This doesn't fit into any particular part of the story and the time frame on it has quite a range. I hope the switching points of views didn't confuse you. I simply wanted to show that the love was mutual.
