Family
by Rikka
Disclaimer: Not mine, Kishimoto's.
"That's... my father?"
Suddenly the world felt dizzy, and I felt my legs slowly fold beneath me. Crouched on the floor in Hokage's office, I held my head as muddy thoughts swirled through my mind.
I felt... weird. A father. Parents. Somehow, the thought that I had parents had never even occured to me. I wanted them, of course, and I envied those who had them, but I didn't have my own. I suppose, at some point, some place in my heart, I had imagined myself as a creature sprung full-formed from the earth, with no family or history, totally unnatural. That would be why they all hated me, why they looked away in disgust. (I hadn't known of the Nine-Tails at the time.)
But there he was, Mister Hokage the Fourth himself.
All of this dissolved again, no more than bubbles of emotion in a whirl. Finally, one complete thought separated and floated to the top.
What kind of man would do this to his own son?
Unconciously, my hands crept down from my knees to clutch my belly. Why did he choose me, his son? Why not some other kid, someone else's -- ah.
I stole another glance at the portrait. He looked... kind, strong. Someone who wouldn't turn to another family, another parent, and ask them to sacrifice thier child to the fates, to turn their baby into a monster, even for the sake of a nation, while his own son slept safe at home. He looked like someone you might be proud to have as a father. Briefly, I thought of my 'family' now; of Sakura and Sasuke, Konohamaru, Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei, and everyone else, and couldn't imagine my life any other way. In a twisted way, I was even grateful to that damned fox.
I wiped my eyes with the heel of my hand - because Uzumaki Naruto did not cry in front of anyone, not even himself - and smiled up at my father.
"Just wait, Pops, one day I'll be up on that wall, right beside you!"
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3:30 am 12/11/2004