Last Time:
And in Naruto's seventeen years, he hadn't stepped foot in the Uzumaki Complex once. But now he was standing on the porch while Minato politely rang the doorbell and used the door knocker three times. As they waited, Kushina's car came to a screeching halt next to Minato's and she was halfway up the steps before the door opened.
Standing in the doorway stood an older woman who was the spitting image of Kushina. Her red hair was longer than Kushina's and it was draped over her right shoulder in waves of curls. She had blue eyes that were the same shade as Kushina's and her skin was just as fair. The longer that Naruto stared at her, the more he realized that this woman was older than Kushina.
Kushina cleared her throat as she carefully walked up the rest of the steps and stood beside Minato. "Okaa-chan."
Opposites Attract: Chapter 36 – "Whirlwind and the Eternal Flame"
Kushina's mother was another taboo topic of discussion in their household along with her father and the Uzumaki Clan as a whole. Nagato didn't even talk about their clan and had very little desire to bring them up ever.
"Why are you here?" Mrs. Uzumaki completely bypassed greetings.
"Okaa-chan." Kushina sighed. "We didn't come here to pick a fight."
"That's all you do when you come around here," Mrs. Uzumaki reminded them. "Now, either you tell me why you're here or leave. And if you refuse to leave then I'll have you all escorted off the property."
"Where's Kyosuke?" Minato questioned through clenched teeth.
"He isn't here," Mrs. Uzumaki answered, stern. "Now, leave."
"Let them in, Kaori," an unfamiliar voice to Naruto called from beyond the double doors.
Uzumaki Kaori, Kushina's mother who looked young enough to be an older sister, stepped aside and let the three of them in. Naruto hadn't realized it until just then just how badly he had wanted to see the interior of the Uzumaki Estate.
"So, what do I owe this unwelcomed visit?" Uzumaki Kyosuke questioned as he descended the staircase. He was part of the way down until he stopped, his eyes fixed on Naruto who stood behind his parents. "Who is that?"
Naruto felt an uncomfortable twinge in his heart. He looked to his mother and saw the way her jaw was clenched as tears threatened her eyes. Minato immediately held Kushina's hand and he saw that Kushina squeezed his hand so tight that her knuckles turned white.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto introduced himself and stood beside Minato.
"Oh, the Blonde Uzumaki Bastard," Kyosuke finished his descent and walked over to them. He stood a few feet in front of them with his wife at his side now, the two of them scowling at the three of them.
"Blonde Uzumaki Bastard?" Kushina repeated, astonished and hurt. "Blonde Uzumaki Bastard! Is that what you call my son in this house? Your grandson?"
"He's no grandson of mine," Kyosuke reminded her.
"I am your daughter!" Kushina screamed as tears ran down her face. "I am your flesh and blood and he is mine, therefore he's yours too. How much longer are you going to act like this? Huh?"
"As far as I'm concerned, my daughter died years ago," Kyosuke snarled.
Naruto felt that uncomfortable anger beginning to swell up. He very rarely saw his mother become upset, let alone cry, and the fact that she broke and bent so easily beneath Kyosuke broke his heart.
"We didn't come here for this," Minato said, all too calmly, as he held his wife. "Do you want to tell me why you just ordered a goddamn arsenal from the Lightning Yakuza?"
Kyosuke sucked his teeth.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Minato questioned.
Kyosuke let out a heavy sigh and placed a hand on his hip. A smug expression came onto his face and with the three wards out of twenty-one that he owned in Konoha, he looked too confident. "Did you really expect me to just sit around and let you continue to do as you please in my city? The Uzumaki were running this place long before you got here, and they'll be running it long after you're gone."
"Really?" Minato scoffed. "And how exactly do you plan on standing up against us then, huh? You don't exactly have the numbers and you sure as hell don't have the manpower necessary to even put a dent in us."
"As much as I would love to discuss this in detail with you, I do have other things to worry about," Kyosuke answered. "Please, leave."
Minato sucked his teeth. "Naruto, we're leaving."
Naruto nodded. He looked back at his grandparents, the two of them standing firm with stern looks as Minato escorted Kushina out. Neither of them made eye contact with him. He pursed his lips together and headed out the door and watched as Kushina began to recompose herself as they descended the steps.
"Kakashi," Minato was already on the phone, "there's a shipment of weapons coming in from the Lightning Yakuza; I need you to figure out when it's coming and how they're getting it into the country."
"Okaa-chan." Naruto caught up to his mother and saw her put on a simple smile. She placed her hand on his cheek and brushed her thumb across his whiskers. That sadden look behind her eyes tugged at his heart. "Are you okay?"
Kushina sighed and hugged Naruto. She had to stand on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. "You're bigger than I remember."
Naruto hugged her back, his arms wrapping all the way around her waist. He remembered all the times when he was little and would struggle to wrap his arms around her waist while nuzzling his face in her lap.
"Hey." Kushina pat the back of Naruto's head and she took a step back from him. She took his face in her hands and gave a more genuine smile. "I love you with all my heart dattebane. You know that, right?"
Naruto nodded. "I love you too."
"Here." Kushina reached into her purse and removed her keys. She placed them in Naruto's hand. "Can you take my car home for me?"
"Of course," Naruto agreed and took the keys. He watched as his parents left together in Minato's car. He climbed into his mother's car and drove out after them, the two of them going opposite directions from one another.
"Do you think it's Phoenix?" Kushina questioned as she placed her hand on Minato's thigh.
"I doubt it, but I won't exactly discount the possibility of Orochimaru having reached out to him," Minato said with a sigh. He laced his fingers with hers and kissed the back of her hand. "Let me take you to the hotel? You can go relax in the spa for a bit and breathe before heading home and handling this with me."
"That sounds good," Kushina agreed.
Minato smiled. He continued to drive and went through a green light. But as he went through, he spotted a truck speeding towards him from the side. He managed to speed up enough for the truck to hit the tail end of his car, but another truck came from the right and slammed into the front end of the car. They spun, Minato's grip on the wheel faltering before a third and final truck slammed into them and sent the car tumbling on its side.
A red-haired man climbed out of the third truck, a confident grin on his lips as he reached behind his back and pulled a gun off his belt. He whistled, several men and women climbing out of the other two trucks with varying shades of red hair.
"Light 'em up!" the first man called. Together, the lot of them aimed their guns at Minato's overturned car. But before they could even let a single bullet fly, a car crashed through them and sent several of them flying into the air. Obito and Rin immediately climbed out of the car and without hesitation, began firing at the group of Uzumaki.
A second car pulled up and Iruka jumped out of it with Yamato and Anko. The three of them ran over to Minato's overturned car. Together, Iruka and Yamato pulled open the driver side door and pulled Minato out. They carefully laid him against the ground before pulling Kushina out. As she was freed from the car, a van pulled up and the door was slid open.
Sasori and Deidara jumped out of the van and lifted Minato off the ground and carried him into the van. Iruka climbed into the van after them with Kushina in his arms and he whistled.
"Let's go!" Kakashi shouted and Rin and Obito climbed back into the car. Together, their three cars sped away from the sudden chaos.
later that night: Konoha Central Hospital – Private Suites
"They're both stable for now but they hit their heads pretty hard," Tsunade explained as she looked down at the tablet in her hand. "There's no telling how long they'll remain unconscious but I'm not too worried about their states. Obviously, they both suffered some injuries, cuts and bruises for the most part. Minato has a few broken ribs and his hip is broken. Kushina's arm is broken and so is her ankle. Some more broken ribs, but all things that'll heal with time and rest."
Naruto stood silently beside her. Both of his parents lay hooked up to machines, the rhythmic beating of the machines not providing any sort of comfort. His jaw was clenched, and he was digging his nails into his arms. They had pierced his skin a while ago and he didn't pay much attention to the blood.
"The Uzumaki did this?" Naruto questioned as he glanced over his shoulder at Kakashi and Iruka who sat beside one another, the two of them sitting hand in hand.
"Yeah," Kakashi answered as he continued to rub his thumb across the back of Iruka's hand. "About seven of them. Inoichi and Ino already wiped all the footage people took of the incident and Shikaku and Shikamaru are handling the press."
Naruto nodded before looking back at his parents. "So, it's the Eternal Flame Yakuza against the Whirlwind Yakuza then?"
"Looks that way," Tsunade confirmed. "Eternal Flame has been at odds with Whirlwind ever since your parents established it. In Whirlwind's earlier years, Eternal Flame, Whirlwind, and Phoenix would fight each other for territory but as you can tell, Whirlwind won and gained control over most of Konoha. Eternal Flame was quiet after that and Minato and Kushina agreed to let them keep The Whirlpool."
"Grandpa Kyosuke must be fed up with being powerless then," Naruto muttered. "We went over there earlier today because A called Otou-san to tell him about an order Grandpa Kyosuke put in for some weapons. He's clearly not going to go down quietly this time around."
"Don't worry about it," Tsunade spoke softly as she placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Jiraiya and I can pick up things for Minato and Kushina until they're awake."
"No," Naruto said, "I'll handle it."
"Huh?"
"Kakashi, have you figured out when that shipment is coming in?" Naruto questioned as he looked over at him.
Kakashi shook his head. "Not yet but Sai and Shin are still investigating. No one from Lightning seems willing to share and we expected as much; A calling to tell Minato about the order was just a curtesy."
The doors opened, and another red haired young man came barreling in. He was out of breath as he placed his hands on his knees with sweat on his forehead. Obito came running in after him but Naruto held up his hand and Obito kept from touching the sudden visitor.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked.
He stood and cleared his throat. "I'm Uzumaki Kiyoshi, Kushina's younger brother."
Naruto remembered the few times that Kushina mentioned her brother. Every time she did talk about him, she would cut the conversation short as if it were something too painful to talk about. Because of that, he assumed that he'd died but there he was standing in front of him.
"I heard about what happened," Kiyoshi explained. "Had I known that Father had planned something like this I would've done something to prevent it. I swear I would have. I've never agreed with him on labeling Kushina as an outcast and neglecting the two of you simply because he didn't approve of Minato."
"You know who I am?" Naruto asked.
Kiyoshi nodded. "Of course, I know who you are. Kushina and I stayed in contact after my father kicked her out." Kiyoshi reached into his pocket and revealed an old photo of Kushina and Naruto together at the Kurama Festival when he was about three or four.
"How do I know you're not helping Grandpa Kyosuke?" Naruto questioned.
"Trust me, I'm not," Kiyoshi promised as he put his wallet away. "As soon as I found out about what he did to Kushina, I packed a bag and told Kyosuke he didn't have an heir anymore. It's not like he wanted to let me succeed him anyway because he knew I'd let Kushina back into the family and call for a truce between Eternal Flame and Whirlwind. After all, we're family."
"That's sounds like wishful thinking," Tsunade argued. "The Uzumaki is a very tightknit clan. My grandmother was cast out for marrying Senju Hashirama and she hasn't been welcomed back to the compound since. How do you expect to get hundreds of Uzumaki to agree to suddenly welcoming in an outcast?"
"Because they're being idiotic," Kiyoshi argued. "It doesn't make sense for a man to cast out his daughter simply because he didn't choose who she married. Naruto is just as much an Uzumaki as I am and so are you, Lady Tsunade. In blood and by name, you are an Uzumaki. This damn battle for territory is idiotic and it's going to get people killed."
"Do you know about the weapons shipment coming in for Kyosuke?" Kakashi questioned.
Kiyoshi nodded. "It's coming in Saturday night. Father is sending some people into the trainyard to pick up the order. Father may move the pick-up location since I defected from the rest of the Uzumaki Clan but as for now, that's where it's going to be."
"And do you know who exactly influenced Kyosuke to go to war with Whirlwind?" Tsunade questioned. "He's been quiet all these years and content with the three wards he had so why the sudden urge to change things now?"
"He had a meeting with someone recently," Kiyoshi informed.
"Phoenix?" Naruto questioned.
Kiyoshi shrugged. "Possibly. It was a guy a little bit younger than me with grey hair. And he wore glasses. He said he was there speaking on behalf of his master, but he never said a name."
"That's Kabuto then," Iruka confirmed.
"Fuck," Naruto groaned. "If that's the case then maybe I'll be able to convince A to cancel that shipment then."
"If you interfere with Father's order then I can't guarantee he won't lash out," Kiyoshi warned. "He already went to the streets with trying to kill Minato and Kushina. And I wouldn't put it past him to come after you."
"I've dealt with worse," Naruto said as he waved his right hand. "Kakashi, Iruka, you two go ahead and head home. I'm going to stay here a little while longer."
"Are you sure?" Kakashi questioned as he stood with Iruka who now took his arm. "We can stay with you."
"No, it's fine," Naruto urged. "In about two hours, can you send someone in to stand guard? I want a rotational 24/7 guard duty on the two of them until they're discharged. The only Uzumaki allowed back here are Kiyoshi, Nagato, Oba-chan, and I; any others aren't to get anywhere near this room."
Kakashi nodded. "Got it."
Kakashi and Iruka walked over to Naruto and the three of them hugged one another. Kakashi gave Naruto a quick kiss on his head before patting his shoulder and leaving with Iruka. Tsunade left shortly after they did so it was just Naruto and Kiyoshi. Naruto took a seat on the couch that Kakashi and Iruka had been sitting on a moment ago and Kiyoshi joined him.
"So, you're my nephew," Kiyoshi muttered.
"And you're my uncle," Naruto responded. "I've been finding out a lot about my family today and if I'm being honest, it's been a bit much."
Kiyoshi chuckled. "I guess you found out your biological grandfather is a Supreme Court Justice?"
Naruto scoffed, and Kiyoshi laughed.
Seventh Ward: Whirlwind Yakuza Estate – Iruka's Room
"Are you okay?" Kakashi questioned as he watched Iruka sit on the edge of his bed and bury his face in his hands. Kakashi knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his knee. "Hey, look at me."
Iruka slid his hands off his face and looked down at Kakashi. "I'm okay. It's just…a lot."
"I know," Kakashi agreed as he sat beside him. "The last time something like this happen was almost thirteen years ago. Since then it's been little stuff here and there. Then again, I guess the most recent incident with Baji couldn't be considered little."
Iruka nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I'm mainly worried about Young Master though; do you think he's ready? It wasn't until recently that Master Minato decided to get him involved with all the technical stuff with Whirlwind and now…"
"Have some faith in him," Kakashi urged as he nudged Iruka. "He may be a bit of a knucklehead and hyperactive, but you saw what I saw, didn't you? He's stepping up and I believe he knows what he's doing; or at least he's aware of what needs to be done."
"It's a bit strange, don't you think?" Iruka asked with a tinge of nostalgia in his voice. "We've been with Naruto ever since he was born and now here we are, almost eighteen years later and he's stepping up like that. I knew it would happen but actually seeing it makes me feel a bit sad."
Kakashi nodded in agreement with a bit of a smile on his face. "I agree." He glanced down at his watch and let out a heavy sigh. He put his hand on Iruka's thigh and squeezed. "I need to get going. You'll call me if you need anything, right?"
"Yeah," Iruka assured.
Kakashi squeezed his thigh once more before getting up. He had taken two steps towards the door before he felt Iruka grab his hand. Confused, Kakashi looked back at him but then he saw the flustered look on his face. It was a look he recognized, more specifically from when they were just sophomores in high school.
Iruka got up from where he sat and stood in front of Kakashi. Carefully, he pulled Kakashi's mask down from around his face. Then, he pulled Kakashi down and pressed his lips against his, desperate and needing. Kakashi returned the kiss and found himself placing his hands on Iruka's waist almost instinctively.
flashback
"I like you!" Iruka confessed loud enough to make his voice crack which just made the moment even more embarrassing. He refused to look him in the eyes as he just continued, "I know you may think I'm weird for this, but I really do like you, Kakashi-senpai!"
Kakashi stood just a few feet in front of him with the letter he'd found in his locker earlier that day in his hand. He very rarely agreed to meet with the mysterious girls who requested to meet him behind this place or that but today Anko had insisted that he go. And it was either he shows up to the confession or he would be icing his crotch for a solid two weeks.
"Why would I think you were weird?" Kakashi questioned, genuinely confused.
Iruka looked at Kakashi now. Kakashi was as cool and calm as ever but Iruka's face was bright red. Iruka fidgeted with the end of his sweater. "Because a lot of people think I'm weird. I get picked on by girls and guys for being who I am, and a lot of people here think just like they do; they just don't bully me. And I thought you would think it's weird because we've been friends for so long and we live together."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Iruka, I already knew you were gay. I've known for a while now and I guess I was kind of suspicious of you having feelings for me. I mean, recently you turn down trips to the bathhouse with the rest of us and you act a little differently around me than you've done before."
"You knew?" Iruka asked.
Kakashi nodded. "I knew."
Iruka looked away. "Oh…I'm sorry to have wasted your time then. Excuse me!"
Iruka attempted to run off but Kakashi grabbed his hand before he could get too far away. "Wait, wait, wait," Kakashi requested as Iruka began to try and pull his arm free. Kakashi tightened his grip a bit. "I said wait, damn it. You already said so yourself, we live together so there's really no running away from me."
"I'll move out!" Iruka declared. "There are plenty of places that'll let a teenage boy move in if he offers to work for room and board!"
Kakashi groaned, "Iruka, listen to me! I'm not rejecting you!"
Iruka stopped tugging and looked at Kakashi. "Huh?"
"You want to be my boyfriend, right? So, let's date," Kakashi stated.
Iruka blinked a few times. "But, you're straight, aren't you? And I mean, Anko-chan."
"Anko? She was the one who insisted I come and meet with you," Kakashi informed him. "Granted, I didn't know it was you. I thought it was another of her classmates but here we are."
Iruka pursed his lips together. "Aren't you straight?"
Kakashi thought for a moment. "I think so? Thought so? I'm allowed to like both men and women, aren't I? I like you too after all."
"As a friend," Iruka argued.
Kakashi looked at him for a moment before looking around. He pulled Iruka back behind the building and pinned him against the wall and pressed his knee between Iruka's legs. Iruka immediately became flustered and struggled to find the words for his situation but he didn't get a chance to utter any gibberish. Kakashi had pulled his mask off and pressed his lips against Iruka's.
This was Iruka's first kiss, so he wasn't entirely sure how to respond. Iruka knew Kakashi had some previous experience but he did his best and kissed back. They stayed like that for a few moments before Kakashi pulled away. Iruka panted, his heart racing and face flushed while his slacks felt a bit tighter.
"I don't kiss my friends like that," Kakashi informed Iruka.
flashback over
"Where's Kakashi? I thought he'd be here," Rin questioned as she sat between Obito and Anko at the bar of Yahiko's Place. The interior was filled mainly with Whirlwind people, all of them a little frustrated with the events from earlier that afternoon and in desperate need of discounted drinks.
"He's with Iruka-chan," Anko answered. "Iruka-chan seemed a bit more shaken up than the rest of us so I'm letting him borrow Kakashi-kun for the night."
To Be Continued…