C.M.D: ...alright, trying to get back into the swing of things here. First, thank you's. Thank you for reviewing: FallenAngel Sayu, ochibi-chwan, BloodyRoseSharpThorn, The Desiree Incident, Eliichan, GoldenKistuneHime13, Tanuki-Mara, -siarafaerie-101-miss, JuMiKu, Shadeofblue, Chaos Dragon-Fox, IraiMo, qurie, cluelessninja65, tea, blugirlami21, Nayeli, GothicInuAngel01, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, like a message, passionateartist, Yah-Oh-Ee, kurokaon, MeEksiNs, Mrs Hatake Itachi, kaear, Feonixis, Mina Hikari, Slate Grey, gadez, Laie Himura de Fenal, Zuzuari, Steps Into The Looking Glass, Kistune Naru, GothAngel18, asm613, 11OneDone2Many, Sand kunoichi, melissaaax3, PancakeMixLordOfPantopia, DarkestFlameUchiha, mizu99, You-May-call-me-Hime, Sour Queen, mochiusagi, BlackDawnYaoilover, MikaUchiha, Ebony Pistol, when spells go wrong, and animelove20. There's a lot more of you this time around, which makes me happier, but it also means I have more names to write out. Thanks for all your comments, and thanks to the ones reading who haven't yet reviewed. you guys are such motivators.
Baa, baa, baa Black Sheep
Minato, unable to sit and do work any longer, begged Sarutobi to finish up for the evening and quickly chased after Kakashi; who was heading over to pick Naruto up. The whole trip, the Yondaime harassed the poor jounin for details about his son's talking and fight. Kakashi tried to escape several times, but the blonde was having none of that, and quickly yanked the younger man back to his side each time.
"Naruto got into a fight? My Naru?! What the hell happened?," Minato demanded. "What was the problem? Where were the teachers? Why didn't they intervene? Who started it? Who was the kid that hurt my little naru?Whatgrade?Hisname,streetaddress,parents!?WhatdidNarutosaywhenhespoke?DidthekidforceNarutototalk?!Isthatwhy?!Isthatwhathappened?Kakashi,ANSWER ME!!" The Yondaime's questions started running together, until a person could barely catch what was being said, grabbing his former pupil roughly and shaking the male like a doll.
"....can't ....th..think...," the silver-haired youth replied faintly. His sensei was still shaking him, making the poor man's head snap back and forth with the repeated motion. Kakashi knew he was going to be sick any moment, if his neck didn't break first that is.
A smart man would have probably done their best to answer their old master's interrogation, despite the shaking, but the Hatake could say that he was much more smarter than the average man. Giving Minato the answers he wanted, would do nothing but give the man an outlet to vent at. And the last thing Konoha needed was a Kage who bullied on little children, no matter what the circumstance may be.
The shaking stopped, and Kakashi was woozingly grateful for that. He was yanked forward suddenly, Minato's face being thrust into his own. 'Oh god, don't puke! Don't puke on your sensei's face!' The jounin blinked slowly, swallowing slowly to keep the barf down. His head was still feeling very light from lack of blood flow thanks to a vigorous shaking, and the blonde's narrowed eyes and frown looked somewhat hilarious at the moment. "Y...yes..?"
"Was it the Uchiha?," the yondaime asked seriously.
The silver-haired man tried to hold it back, but the snort still came out and he could feel his sensei's hands tighten around the fistfuls of his shirt. "N-no, I mean, the Uchiha wasn't involved," Kakashi scrambled, trying to keep from being thrashed about again. "Why don't you ask Naruto what happened, hmm? I'm sure he'd love to tell you."
Grumbling, Minato mulled the suggestion over and nodded his agreement. After that, the two men walked the last bit of the distance to the Academy without anymore distractions. Children were hanging about outside, school having been let out already. Some of the boys and girls stopped what they were doing to gawk as their Hokage walked into the yard, waving and calling to the blonde. The Yondaime smiled brightly to all of them, waving back with just as much vigor as the kids. Kakashi smiled behind his mask, keeping stride with his sensei as they walked toward the Academy's front doors.
Minato was always a big softie when it came to children, and they loved him back just as much. It was nice seeing the blonde in an environment where both parties could openly be kind, happy and relaxed. So much better than at the Hokage Tower, where formalities ruled over all interactions. They were just reaching the doors (Kakashi figured Naruto had managed to get detention again today), when suddenly they were flung open and a little gold bundle came running out of them.
"DADDY!!"
As if he knew this was going to happen, Minato quickly turned around and threw his arms wide open to receive the tiny tike that was charging at him. Giggling, Naruto jumped into his dad's waiting arms, wrapping his arms around the older blonde's neck and planting sloppy kisses all over the man's face. The Yondaime chuckled along with his son, cheeks turning pink with merriment. The Hatake knew that more of the joy came from the dad finally hearing his son speak again.
"Naru...," the Lightning Flash murmured with happy disbelief, "You really are speaking."
Naruto pulled back, beaming brightly at his dad. "You came to pick me up today, daddy! I'm so happy!!," the child squealed, nudging his face under his old man's chin.
"I came too, you know," Kakashi piped up from the side.
The blonde turned to him and shared a foxy grin with the silver-haired shinobi. "Thank you, Kakashi-nii-san!"
The copy-nin was glad that things seemed to be going back to normal, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't hate the new name he had. "I'm going to miss being called 'Kashi," the young man sighed under his breath.
"Naru...," Minato started, "... there's a hole in your smile." The blonde eyebrow was beginning to twitch sporadically. 'Uh oh,' Kakashi thought, 'Probably should have mentioned the little bit about the lost tooth.'
"Ah," Naruto gasped, remembering it himself. He reached back and pulled a tiny little bag out of his pocket, holding it up to his dad's face. "I lost my tooth when I was fighting that smelly dog boy," he boasted with pride. Kakashi couldn't help it: he laughed, while his sensei only paled.
"T-that's... wonderful, Naru," the Yondaime stuttered. The man sighed, and cast a quick glare to the jounin who shut up immediately, before turning his attention back to his son. "We'll have to put it under your pillow tonight so the Tooth Fairy can come and get it."
"Huh? Noooo," the Kyuubi-carrier whined. "It's my tooth. I don't want some tooth bird taking it!"
Minato smiled, shaking his head at the child. "Naruto, it's the Tooth Fairy. She's a pretty little fairy who comes whenever a little boy or girl loses their tooth. You put it under your pillow, and she comes into your room at night to take the tooth and give you money in exchange," he explained. Naruto was so cute when he whined over silly things.
The boy's face lit up as understanding dawned on the blonde, and he looked down at the bag containing his tooth in his hands with contemplation. Both adults waited patiently for what the verdict was going to be. "So.... I get money for my tooth?" Nods. "Okay, then!," Naruto suddenly proclaimed. "I'll let the tooth ninja have my tooth for fifty dollars!!"
"Wow, what a bargain," Kakashi drawled, patting Minato's shoulder in sympathy. "Well, I hope the Tooth ninja's gotta a wide purse tonight. Tooth ninja... I like that. Sounds a whole lot more respectable than the 'tooth fairy'."
The golden-crowned man laughed dryly, rolling his eyes. "Yay... Let's go home, Naru."
"Say, Naru, how about telling us how your day at school was like?"
Minato cracked the door open gently, peering into the darkened room. His little boy was cuddled up under a large blue comforter, sleeping peacefully. With the same grace that marked him as the best shinobi in all of Konoha, the Yondaime stepped to Naruto's bed, kneeling without a sound. Silent and focused, the man slipped his hand under the younger blonde's pillow, pinching a tooth in two fingers and depositing five dollars in its place. Naruto didn't even stir as Minato pulled his hand back.
The blonde smiled sadly at this, and with resignation, sat back on his heels. Being Hokage meant a lot. Not just to the man himself, but to the rest of the villagers as well. Children were able to sleep soundly in their beds, without the thought of war and violence hanging over their heads and tainting their dreams. Children... like his own son... were able to live in peace because of him.
But... peace had its own price to pay. Thanks to all of Minato's efforts, life was well for Konoha. Yet, in the background it seemed his own family was falling apart. He had already lost Kushina, and it left Naruto without a mother. But apparently, being Hokage was also forcing the little boy to lose his own dad. Swamped with paperwork and the concerns of the village, anything in relation to his son was forced to the side, and never looked upon until everything else had been dealt with.
What kind of parent was he? The Yondaime swallowed back a sigh, and reached out to his sleeping Naruto, wrapping his fingers around the boy's fist. So tiny, he noted, lightly squeezing the hand. The Kyuubi-container was tuckered out after today, and this brought a painful smile to Minato's lips.
He had spent the last hour talking to Kakashi about everything that had occurred today. From Naruto going back to school, all the way to bringing the child home. "You shouldn't blame yourself for not knowing," the Hatake had told him, "You're Hokage. It's expected that you put the greater good before everything else. Even your family. But it's not as if you're entirely abandoning them either," the grey-haired jounin hastily added. "You asked that you get weekly reports, and the Academy staff have been diligently complying. They give me all of Naruto's reports, and update me on all of his classroom activity."
"How is that acceptable?," the blonde asked.
Kakashi leaned forward on the table, his brow crinkled. "Don't I tell you everything when you get home?"
The Fourth fixed the younger man with a look. "Then how come I never knew of Naruto's behavior up until the time he lost his voice. Where were you, and why wasn't I informed until now?"
The sharigan-wielder visibly flinched, and bowed his head in shame. He couldn't keep this in any longer. "Sensei… forgive me," came the jounin's reply. "I had thought, that perhaps… that information would be better if you didn't hear about it."
Minato stood to his feet quickly, furious at his pupil's admission. "Y-you… you purposely hid these things from me! This is myson we're talking about!! How dare you lie to me?!"
"That's exactly the reason why….," Kakashi mumbled, "that I didn't tell you everything that was happening to Naruto." The Yondaime froze, his mouth filled with a bitter taster of his own anger, torn between what he was to do next. Slowly, anxiously, Kakashi lifted his head and gazed sorrowfully at his mentor. "I respect you so much, sensei…," the man began, "but you don't seem to realize what you're doing to Naruto."
"I'm… I'm not doing anything to Naruto," the blonde hissed back.
"Sensei, you're refusing to let him grow! I know you're not fully able to get over what happened to Kushina, but isolating your own son is doing nothing for him," Kakashi said, his tone wavering on emotional. "Nobody ever says anything, because we don't want to upset you any further. But Naruto is not a baby anymore. He is more than capable of thinking and doing things on his own. And the fact that you would rather keep him a baby forever… don't you think that your wanting to protect your son, in its own way, is actually hurting him?"
Minato dropped unceremoniously back into his own chair, his face etched with disbelief. Silence stretched on between the two men, before the Hatake spoke up again. "I'm sorry," he whispered, fingers fidgeting with guilt and suppressed pain. "I'm sorry. T-this has nothing to do with the reports… w-we should forget what was j-just said… I've just been a l-little tense l-lately…"
"No. That's no excuse....,"Minato murmured, slowly overcoming his shock. He focused on the grey-haired male, eyes matching the same sorrow in the other's orbs. "…A grown man needs to face the facts."
"I'm sorry…"
"So am I."
Kakashi's masked crumpled with a whirlwind of conflicted emotions. Rising to his feet once more, the Yondaime had patted the young shinobi on the shoulder, returning the one-eyed stare evenly. "I hope in the future, you can still be there for Naruto… you seem to know what's better for him than I do," the blonde whispered solemnly. Kakashi had no choice but to let the conversation end there.
Minato opened his eyes, unaware he had closed them in the first place, and studied his sleeping child's face. Trying to keep back the tide of negative emotions, Minato got to his feet, kissing the temple of his flesh and blood and slowly prying his fingers off of the small hand. Tomorrow was a new day, and time waited for no one.
Sasuke padded to school, early as usual, but still keeping his brisk pace to stay ahead of the fangirls. He didn't feel like dealing with them on any day, but especially not today with the final shreds of last night's bubbly joy beginning to fade. Passing the school gates, the raven tipped his head in acknowledgment to all of the staff, and made his way to the doors. A shinobi held the door open to the child, and again Sasuke nodded his head in thanks.
The Uchiha languidly strolled through the school halls, mood returning to average. Today, his nii-san would be leaving for another mission. Sasuke pouted, but quickly adjusted his features so that he would be frowning, instead of pouting. Uchiha boys didn't pout, they either scowled or frowned. Getting back onto track, the black-haired child frowned in annoyance. He wanted to spend more time with Itachi, training and the such, but as usual his older brother was in demand for current missions. And just when everything had been settled between the two ravens as well!
The little raven in Sasuke's head stomped about and ranted that the blonde Uzumaki should be blamed, but Sasuke couldn't muster up the same amount of animosity that he felt to the smaller boy at the moment. He was too depressed right now to care about Naruto, not that thinking about the bright-eyed boy would do him any good. After yesterday, the raven could only come up with confusion and surprise at the blonde's behavior. Talking… the smaller boy went from baby babble and pestering him, to talking full words the next day. It was… kinda amazing, Sasuke had to admit, but for some reason he doubted that Naruto could learn to speak that fast. Was the broken sentences just a act?
.... 'Cause all this questioning was really not thinking about the blonde. Sasuke shook his head, slightly annoyed that his thoughts could wander so much without him knowing, entering into his classroom and taking his seat. The black-haired child rested his chin in the palm of his hand, staring blandly up at the front of the room. The class was empty, not even the teacher was in yet, and would be that way for half an hour still. Perhaps he should go outside and train? Sasuke shook that option off as well, knowing that his fangirls would show up soon and he didn't want to be swarmed while holding pointy objects. You could never know when the little Uchiha might accidentally poke someone with a kunai or shuriken.
Mind set, the raven relaxed into his chair, reaching for his backpack that he had dropped onto the floor upon taking his seat. If he was going to have free time, might as well do some reading or practice questions. It was when he was turning to the window, that he noticed the pair outside, just walking past the Academy's gates. The Yondaime was carrying his son in his arms, their heads close together as they chatted merrily. As they got closer to the school, Naruto pecked his father on the cheek, and the man tickled his son under his chin while placing a kiss on the tiny crown. Giggling still, the young blonde was placed on the ground, and kneeling, the Yondaime gave his little boy a hug.
Sasuke immediately turned his head away. He kind of felt like he was spying... but more than anything seeing the two blondes, happy together, made his stomach all queasy. Despite the fact that Naruto's daddy was the Yondaime, the other boy still got to see his dad often and received hugs and kisses as well. The Uzumaki was really lucky.... Sasuke's dad never did any of those things...
When the raven finally got the courage to look back to the window, the Yondaime was gone and the little blonde was skipping across the yard. Sasuke tensed as the Uzumaki got closer and closer to his window, knowing that sooner or later Naruto would notice him and probably start up again with his begging to be friends. Sure enough, those big blue eyes caught sight of the black-haired child, and Naruto froze in his spot, just a couple meters away from the window, for a few seconds. Then the blonde twisted his head away from Sasuke and skipped out of sight.
Sasuke's mind reeled as yellow hair disappeared from sight, feeling his jaw fall slack. The younger boy had only looked at him for a second before purposely turning away and skipping off. As if the other child was no longer interested in him...
Wait, what?! Had the little Uchiha just been ignored....?
After dropping Naruto off at the Academy, Minato started straight for the Hospital, ignoring the Hokage tower for the time being. He had something that he needed to do, and after last night especially, it couldn't be put off. He entered the Hospital and was greeted formally by everyone there. But the smiles and 'good morning's stopped as soon as he was past the lobby and waiting room, heading deeper into the hospital. The nurses he passed in the hallway now were somber, none of them would look at him directly. Even if they did, like one of the younger woman did, their faces would be etched with sympathy. Sympathy, or pity, was not what the Yondaime wanted to see. Then again, if anyone besides his son were to smile brightly at him this very moment, he surely wouldn't hesitate to thrust a rasengan straight into their face.
The hospital speakers crackled over head, calling out for certain medical attention needed downstairs and a cleanup in the pediatric center. A doctor stepped out of a room on his left, and strode down the hall, grumbling about irritant patients while opening his case folder. Minato's eyes followed the other man, until the doctor had rounded the corner, then the blonde fixed his gaze back front. A freshly sprayed scent of disinfectant reached his nose, and his face scrunched up with disgust.
Normally, the Yondaime was a neutral man when it came to hospitals. He neither liked them, nor did he dislike them really. But war and a million other confrontations, always brought the injured to the hospital– and if nothing could be done, death was the only inevitable ending. So even though the bland colors, quiet environment and aim-to-please-but-most-likely-just-piss-people-off-with-our-over-cheeriness nurses, didn't bother the man; other things did. Scents in particular: disinfectant, oxygen gas, sterile needles and scalpels. And of course, certain sounds like the beeps and gas emissions that the life support system made at regular intervals.
It was those sounds that Minato began to hear as he entered into another corridor, his shinobi-toned senses picking up the quiet smells and noises all the way from the opposite end of the hallway. His fingers and toes got cold, and it felt like cement had filled his sandals, he was rooted to the spot. His eyes fell to half-mast, and he swayed as he was overcome with fresh grief. He had never been able to get over this loss, and coming here each time cut him open anew, to the point that the blonde wondered how much of him was left unscarred. But though he was suddenly scared, and wanted nothing more than to hide like a little child, Minato still coerced his muscles to take that first step.
That first step allowed him to be numb, and he made the rest of the way down the hall without a problem. At the doorway, he leaned against the door, forehead pressed against the cool glass. His lungs sucked on the air greedily, as if he had been swimming for hours or had just taken on several hundred enemies all by his lonesome. Walking down the hallway was difficult.... opening the door here, was almost impossible. But like every other time before, the Yondaime steeled himself, and with sheer force of will slid the door open stepping into the room.
Soft daylight filled the room, making the white walls and floor all that much brighter. The fuzzy brightness would have been a peaceful comfort, if it weren't for the bed pushed against the far wall, large pieces of equipment plugged into a small female's body. "Hi," Minato whispered, smiling sadly. "It's been a while... Kushina."
The man shut the door behind him and walked further into the room. Now he couldn't run away. "It's kind of stuffy in here. Let me open the window for you." He opened the window a crack, then took five hesitant steps to his wife's bedside, sitting down on a free spot on the bed. He reached out and stroked a stray strand of red hair out of her face. "Hmmm.... your hair's gotten so long now. It's amazing how fast it grows," Minato remarked. "Though you'd be even more surprised at how much our little Naru has grown. Here, let me show you a picture."
The blonde rifled in his pockets for the picture, pulling it out and holding it out for the unresponsive woman to see. "He grows up so fast. He's already in the Academy now, and he's so eager to learn a lot of things. He... he always goes on about how he wants to be Hokage just like his daddy when he's all grown up," Minato tried giggling with good cheer, but his laughter came out forced, and he let it die inside of his chest , "He's so beautiful, Kushina..... Everybody says he looks just like me, but he's got your heart. He'll be six this October...."
The yondaime looked up at his wife, seeing only her sleeping face, oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose; and he looked away, sighing. "I...I'll get this framed for you so you can have something nice to put on your night stand. Something to brighten up the room.... so you can have Naruto by your side constantly." The male slipped the picture back into pocket, reaching out and grabbing Kushina's hand. His blue orbs glanced toward the life support system, and with disappointment, looked away after seeing that there was no disturbance in the brain-wave pattern displayed on one of the screens.
Five years... it had been five years since Kushina had fallen into a coma, and as the days went on, it looked as is she would never recover. More and more people were losing hope as their attempts to draw the woman out of her sleep failed, and Minato knew very well that the longer someone stayed in a coma, the less likely they would be able to wake up. But he couldn't just give up, he couldn't be the one to pull the plug. Naruto wasn't even aware he had a mother, but he wanted his son to know about the woman that gave him life, and that Minato loved with all his heart and soul. He just didn't want the little boy to see his mommy like this... a person who could never hold him, play him, or tell him how much he meant to her. It wouldn't be fair...
"Why...," Minato croaked. "Why can't you wake up? Kushina... please... Our little Naru... I can never bring him here, never let him see you. Do you understand how much this hurts me?! He doesn't understand right now that he's missing something, but when he does, his curiosity will never cease. He'll ask me, and ask me, and ask me... and I will have no choice to lie because he's only a little boy, he could never comprehend why his mommy isn't waking up!"
There were tears dripping down his cheeks now, and Minato gripped his wife's cold hand tighter, trying his best not to sob. "Kushina... I miss you so much...," he whimpered. "I need you back... I thought I could be a great father to Naruto... but somehow I keep screwing up. Even Kakashi... he says that I'm restraining Naruto, and I want to call him a liar, but I can see that's what I'm doing. I just... I just don't want to lose him like you!"
The Yondaime slapped his free hand against his eyes, folding into himself. The pain... the pain was becoming too much. "He's all I have... my everything....," he told the woman, "You sleep here, breathing, but it's a machine that keeps your heart beating. I want you back Kushina... I need your guidance... and Naruto, he needs you the most of all. He barely has a father... please, don't make me have to tell him that he has no mom too..," he finished off softly.
His pleads fell on deaf ears, and Minato choked, surrounded by the sound of machines keeping his wife alive. People had told him many times that he should just let Kushina go.... Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Tsunade.... but he couldn't. As long as his wife was still breathing, then she was technically still alive, and he would never kill her. Besides... the woman hadn't even had the chance to see their little boy before she slipped away from reality. She should at least have a chance to meet the life that she had birthed.
Excuses... here he was again just making excuses, but the blonde didn't care. He knew, bottom line that he would never let Kushina die... even if she was practically dead to the world around her. The Yondaime would still come here, and talk to the red-head, and hope desperately that one of these days that she would wake up and that the three of them (Naruto, Minato and Kushina) could all be a happy family. Like they were meant to be....
Wiping at his aching eyes, Minato sighed and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall by the door. He was late for work. With resignation, the blonde rose to his feet, bending down quickly to place a chaste kiss on his slumbering spouse's lips. "I'll be back," he promised, straightening up. He walked as far as the door before looking back, hand on the door jam. "I want Naruto to be happy.... but I just can't let him go. Even if it means I hold him back from doing things... like making friends... I don't want to lose him too. Please, forgive me," he whispered, leaving. Wind circled throughout the room, unsettling a strand of Kushina's hair, as the Lightning Flash put his name to work and teleported to the Hokage tower.
C.M.D: Yeah... I know I've been dead for pretty much three months and I apologized that I haven't updated for such a long time. I had school and work to deal with (even summer school) and I just couldn't figure out what I was going to write for the next chapter. A lot of you reviewed asking that I update soon, and feeling pressured, I also knew for myself that I really did need to at least attempt the next chapter. That's how this one managed to come to life.
It might not be the greatest (I myself don't really like it)but I can say that it moves the plot along, and I promise I'll get back to SasukexNaruto friendship bit next update.
Anyways, I'm glad that many of you enjoy the story so far, and I hope you'll keep liking it still. Review and tell me what you guys think, and hopefully, we can see another update before the end of September. That's it for this time, Ja Ne~!!
