So...long-ish chapter? Sorry it sucked so bad, I'm definately going to re-write the story. Tell me what you think?

enjoy, review(please?) and read on...


Ch.12

*Naruto's POV*

"Okay…well, let's go sit down…this'll take a while…"

I groaned, snatching another bag of candy; A big bag of Tootsie Rolls.

We each took a seat; Deidara sitting on one arm of the couch, with Itachi in between his legs, his own legs layed out in front of him, Dad was sitting on the floor in front of the television, resting back on his palms, his legs sprawled out n front of him, and I sat on the floor in front of the couch, facing Dad.

"So, when did you actually meet him, and what'd you guys do all that time?" Deidara asked, yanking the hair band out of Itachi's black hair. He hissed slightly, flinching away from Dei.

"Okay…I was in...fourth grade, I think, when he showed up at one of the kendo practices and started helping some kids. He tried to help me out and…he went a little too easy, you could say." My dad chuckled, pulling out a picture of Fugaku sitting on a smooth, wooden floor, my dad leaning over to rest his palm on the top of the Uchiha's head.

I smiled slightly, until I heard a deep chuckle from behind me. Even my Dad's face went blank as we looked up at Itachi, who was still quietly laughing.

"Let me see that picture." I kept my eyes on the still smiling Itachi, as my dad slowly, carefully handed him the photo.

"Oh my god. Can I…can I keep this, Minato-san?" My dad's left eye twitched slightly as he nodded, leaning back.

"As long as you never use the formalities again, yeah. I have another copy of it." I motioned for Dad to continue the story, unwrapping a few candies, and shoving them all in my mouth at once.

"Oh-yes. Well, he taught me a few new things, including baseball, and we spent about an hour after school almost everyday just practicing something. Back then, it was more just a teacher- student kind of thing. I didn't really care for anything else, honestly. I wanted to learn, progress, and…get away from some things. I wanted to set my own expectations, and he helped me do that." I nodded, chewing slowly on a taffy.

"When I got into middle school, he started helping me with everything. He was a total jerk to everyone else, honestly. I hated him, and I took every chance I had to piss him off. Eventually, he got really upset, and decided it would be an awesome idea to spring his MMA skills on me. That put me in the hospital a few days…"Dad groaned, wincing at the memory, and Itachi just chuckled.

"Father was a professional fighter, Minato."

"I know that…I just wish someone would've told me before I tried to pull a sneak attack on him." I laughed at Dad's pained expression, throwing a half-eaten taffy at him.

"Anyway, he kept helping me out, and taught me a lot of valuable skills. He's the only reason I'm an MMA fighter. He also kept me in line. I was a rule-follower, but I did happen to screw some things up from time to time…the end results were never pretty. He always made the excuses, and cleaned up the messes. Thankfully, he was also the one bribing people to pretend that those incidents never happened in the first place.

"When I got into high school….well you know what happens when you reach that age…" Dad looked down, fumbling with his hands, as a blush spread across his cheeks.

"He…helped me out then, too. It didn't start intentionally…it just kind of…happened. Our…relationship progressed quickly, but steadily. The next thing I knew, he was taking me out, and buying me things. We literally spent every moment together. He never parted from me for more than a few hours. He even snuck into my house- and God only knows how Tsunade and Jiraiya never noticed that. It irked me to the point where I told him I wouldn't have sex with him ever again if he didn't leave me be for at least one day.

"He was just…excited, I guess. He was happy. I was happy. He used to call me cheesy, because liked to do things normal couples did, but he was always compliant.

"Up until then, I had never met his family. It wasn't until I had just graduated that I met them, actually. I was at his home, and his parents decided to drop in. They were surprisingly…kind. But they still creeped me out…as do all Uchiha's. No offense Itachi." Itachi just chuckled, nodding.

"None taken. They still creep me out too, and I live in a home surrounded by them."

"And I still feel bad that you were raised by those…those…vampires." I laughed outright at dad's 'baby voice', and Itachi even flipped Dad off.

"Oh shut up, Minato. We aren't vampires." I made a face, pulling up my arms, and hissed at Itachi, only to be met with a hair band that Deidara had snapped at me.

"Yeah…uh huh. Well, His parents…kind of liked me? Maybe.. I'm still not sure. It's kind of hard to know when your faces never move…But they immediately knew what was going on between us. The next day, they came back through. I had…spent the night at Fu's house, and obviously, we were unprepared.

"Fugaku's parents told us that he was to be married to Mikoto in a month from that day. It was pre-arranged, so we couldn't do much to stop it. I knew how he felt, but I also understood- I was in an arranged marriage as well. He took it worse than I did though, and vowed to spend every second he possibly could with me until our moth was up.

"I can honestly say, I had never been so grateful to see the sun shining until we came back out of the house that last day." Dad chuckled, pulling another photo out.

I even went with him when they fitted his outfit for him." He showed us the picture. It was of Fugaku, dressed in a finely made deep blue, black, and red yukata. Dad was leaning next to him, in jeans, and a sleeveless shirt, bracelets lining his wrists, and several belts looped around his waist.

"We… well, we didn't see each other after that. At all. For twelve years, we never saw each other, or spoke of each other. It killed me, even when I married your mother when the time came to. It still pained me, even when you were both born. When the companies decided to do a merging offer, I met him in a small meeting. From there we…worked on fixing our relationship, and catching up. And the first opportunity he got, he went and bought a pair of two, basic silver rings, and said that he found a way to work a divorce between Mikoto and him. The marriage was arranged for them for the sole purpose of carrying on the Uchiha name. Therefore, the marital ties are now unnecessary. And…here we are.

"We wanted to tell you… and intended to over dinner that Friday night. But then you all went and nebbed. Ya' nosy brats." Dad laughed, smiling at us.

"Well we didn't know!" Dei argued, whining loudly.

Dad chuckled, waving him off. He stood up, cracking his back.

"Well, that's that, I guess. I would really prefer to keep away from many details that you're going to ask me about, Deidara." Dei just pouted, and started braiding small sections of Itachi's hair.

Each of us jumped lightly, as a loud, quick knock on the door sounded.

"Who the hell…it's nine in the morning…." Dad walked over to open the door, obviously not remembering to check who was even there first.

"Minato. I'm guessing Itachi's here, then?" I gulped lightly, seeing Fugaku at the door.

"Oh…yeah. Why…are you here…exactly?" Fugaku just shook his head, giving dad a quick kiss on the lips as he entered our home anyway, Sasuke coming in not long after, a grumpy, stressed look crossing his features as he saw me.


Oh, and sorry about the ever-changing POV's. anyone's pov you want to specifically read from?