A/N: - To the 'Guest' that likes to keep leaving anonymous, unhelpful and unmotivating reviews, (you know who you are), I hope you have a lovely day… I guess if at the end of the day this person is still confused, they'll have neither the want nor need to review any further – if you do feel the need to read any further, feel free - but please note constructive criticism is also one of the 'rules of the site'.

To the rest of the reviewers…thank you for being polite, helpful and supportive. It really does bring a smile to my face to read them and I do take them on board when I'm writing. I am wanting to make longer chapters, but both because I am writing between breaks at work and for the sake of making regular updates, I think (for this story at least) I'm going to keep the chapters around the same length to keep it in-line with what I've already written.

Also, this being my first 'rodeo' I want to get used to layout, story plotting and character development a little more before I branch out. I do hope what I've written so far is ok and that you are enjoying it? I know some of it is confusing, (but that is by design), all will be explained in future chapters.

I actually have another story in mind, but I will finish this one before I let any plot bunnies lead me astray.

Again thank you for the reviews! And apologies for the wait! =] Elipsiis

Chapter 5

Previously…

"What did you mean before, by 'that to me – was nearly 5 years ago'? Does it have to with the fact you don't look a day over 30?" Naruko asked suddenly.

"You caught that huh? My little girl is so smart!" He said proudly and Naruko blushed shyly at the compliment. "There's another story there too. One that I'm, once again, not proud of. But before I get into that I would like to hear yours."

Naruko looked deeply into Minato's eyes and decided she did indeed want trust him, to share everything with him at last. She took a deep fortifying breath and began telling her side of the story.

"Argh, so…wait…let me get this straight." Minato indicated for Naruko to pause with one hand comically flapping in the air and the other gripping his forehead, struggling to process everything so far.

The blondes were sat knee-to-knee, crossed legged in front of each other as Naruko divulged her life so far. Attempted to anyway. It took all of 10 minutes for her father to interrupt, as he seemingly vibrated in place on the floor.

'So this is what the beginnings of a midlife crisis look like...Hair mussed. Crazed expression. General air of madness. Yep, he's going to implode…' Naruko monologued. 'He was supposed to just sit quietly and not interject, but apparently he couldn't contain himself any longer. Just who is supposed to be the child here again?' Naruko thought dryly, as she watched steam plume from his ears. But she had to admit, it was…kind of nice to have someone worrying about her for once. 'Still…I'm not even half-way done yet.'

"You're self-taught?! B-but how? Why? I mean I suspected something, but didn't anyone reach out to you?! Those absolute bas- !"

"-DAD." Naruko shouted cutting short his meltdown. Her own eyes widened considerably when she grasped what she'd said unknowingly and edged away warily as a suspicious glint appeared in his eye. But Minato pounced before she had chance to get far, pulled her onto his lap and began rubbing his face on her cheek like a maniac. "Naru just called me 'Dad'!" He wept into her tiny shoulder.

Naruko blushed and awkwardly patted the snivelling, (and surprisingly emotional), man on the arm.

Drying his face in the crook of his arm, he cradled Naruko with the other. "Can we stay like this? Please?" He asked imploringly. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what she had to tell him and wanted her comforting presence close.

"…Alright." She said tuning her face away shyly. 'Wah! He's so close, I'm not used to this at all!' She thought shifting nervously in his lap.

She worried her lip as her eyes avoided his. She huffed a breath, still fidgeting and decided to turn herself completely, so that her back was to his chest. 'There, now I can focus better…' Minato said nothing, instead leant them back against the wall and wrapped his arms around his daughter.

Still startled by his familiarity, she gulped before picking up where she left off. "So… yes, I taught myself pretty much. I managed to pick up bits and pieces from…the Matron…and the others, whenever I could but other than that I had to manage on my own."

'Matron? She stayed in an Orphanage?! Where the hell were you Hiruzen!? Kakashi?!' He kept his face carefully blank as his thoughts turned furious.

Unaware of her father's inner tirade, Naruko continued while gazing out onto garden. "I was kept – " She hesitated. "Understand, I…wasn't well liked in Konoha and while my intellect is a source of pride for me, I knew it wasn't wise to flaunt it to the villagers. But the Matron especially hated me…I…" Her throat caught suddenly as her emotions chocked her and she shook from her place in Minato's lap and squeezed her eyes closed.

"It's okay Naruko, just tell me what you can. I'm here." Minato whispered soothingly into her ear and she found comfort in his closeness instead of becoming flustered.

She struggled to gather her chaotic emotions but felt herself becoming more at ease surrounded by her father's strong arms, his warmth and the slow, steady beating of his heart. She could lie of course (and wouldn't that be easier), but she was sure the truth would be a balm to her soul – to let it all out…so to speak. After all she'd never actually had anyone who would listen to her before. So, no matter how much she knew the truth might hurt him, she absolutely wouldn't mar the beginnings of their relationship as father and daughter, with lies.

So after taking a deep fortifying breath, she began once more. Imagining herself to be a storyteller was just another way to disassociate herself – even slightly - from the emotional baggage this was bound to drag up.

"At the beginning all I knew was darkness and the cold of a small dark attic room, well away from…everyone. I saw no one. Spoke to no one. Speaking wasn't permitted, in fact noise in general would earn me little more than hunger. Food was scarce, I was lucky if it was warm. I was, on occasion, brought down to the village and taken out by Hiruzen-Jiji - the carers at the Orphanage were very careful to not show him my living arrangements and therefore he didn't believe me when I told him otherwise…When I was escorted back to the Orphanage, I think he mistook my reluctance for shyness and would pat my head and say, 'Home again Naruko'. It didn't help that the staff that greeted us were all sunshine and rainbows…until the door closed. That place, I know, was definitely not home." Naruko exhaled and snuggled further into her father's lap. "I enjoyed his visits, as few and far between as they were, he was nice, kind and he'd take me to get food every time, but…it hurt. His outright denial hurt - as if what I had to say didn't matter because I was the child and they were the adults…So I decided, since I couldn't count on anyone else to help me, I'd do it myself. I learned. I learnt to be sneaky by sticking to the shadows and cushioning my footsteps in order to escape at night, so that I could roam freely. I scavenged whatever I could find – food, books, trinkets you name it - if it was useful, then I kept it. I saved what I could in my secret place on the Hokage monument." A sly smile appeared on her face - if only he knew exactly where that was – the irony of which wasn't lost on her.

"They never once noticed I'd left the building, but I made sure to be back in place around dawn. If I had been caught, I'd probably have gotten a guard sitting outside the door...Around 10am every day I would be escorted to the bathroom, so I could at least get some rest in between. I never…truly understood why I was treated that way nor why they called me Demon. I guess one day my curiosity got the better of me…" Naruko fiddled with her tattered sleeve absentmindedly. "I had assumed that the other children wouldn't be like the adults, I hadn't any contact with them after all - but what I didn't release was that the Matron had already poisoned them against me. So, when I managed to slip past that day's bathroom monitor, instead of being able to ask a few whispered questions - I was treated like a monster. After that, was when I realised exactly what 'mob mentality' meant." She unknowingly gripped Minato's large hand with both of her small ones. The gesture made his heart squeeze and her words made his blood boil, but he kept silent while dreading what she would tell him next.

"The Matron kicked me out…literally…into the streets, calling me 'Demon spawn'. It was when I was running from the villagers and hearing their taunts, that I realised just who my tenant was. The rest, I think, you are mostly aware of as I have a feeling you were behind my rescue."

"Oh Naruko…I'm so sorry, I -"

"-It wasn't your fault!" Naruko interrupted quickly, tilting her face to meet his eyes. "I know that now."

Hot tears fell onto her forehead as he held her closer. Her kind words doing little to sooth the enormous amount of guilt he felt. "I can't believe that the Village I watched over. Protected. Killed for. Could do this! It's unforgiveable!"

'The only daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, The Yellow Flash, lauded as a street rat and demon spawn. What good were all of these titles, if they did nothing to help his daughter! I'd laugh, if I didn't feel like vomiting. Just how far has the Village of Konoha fallen?!'

"I don't think it would've been any better if they knew you were my father." Naruko said slowly, somehow following his line of thought. "In fact, it would probably have been worse."

"Worse?" Minato said slightly light headed. "What could possibly…?" He slapped his forehead suddenly, jostling Naruko slightly. "I'm an idiot, you're right! I did have had a lot of enemies…that's probably the reason Hiruzen kept it a secret. Though he likely had to share the fact that you were the container for the Kyuubi with the Village Council at the very least…Though even when I was Hokage they were constantly trying to 'one-up' each other. Gits…that explains how the villagers found out about the Fox - they never could keep a secret. But I don't know how they didn't make the connection between us?" He momentarily stopped his rant looking puzzled. "Apart from these pretty whiskers of yours, you're practically a mini me!" He said almost gloating as he brushed a finger along her whiskered cheek.

Her cheeks coloured at the almost-compliment and leaned into his touch in an almost feline manner.

'Did my little Naru just…purr?' Minato looked surprised at the strangely fox-like behaviour. 'Is the Kyuubi affecting her? Kushina never displayed anything like it…ignoring her monumental temper…that, was all her. Naruko did have these marks since her birth, so maybe this is a result of growing in the womb with the Kyuubi? I'll keep an eye on her. But it's definitely super cute, I don't think she realises what she's doing.' He gushed internally, as she continued to seek the friction caused by his hand on her whiskers, conversation forgotten.

Minato held her close as he thought about that night once again, his expression creasing .

He turned her slightly in his lap to talk to her from the front. "I'm sorry – " He held up his hand when Naruko opened her mouth and placed a finger over her lips gently. "Please…let me finish." He exhaled a deep sigh and set her down from his lap, just a little in front of him. "For what you had to go through, Naruko, I am truly sorry. I had hoped you would be seen as a heroine but as any father should, I hoped you would at the very least be raised happy and healthy and with love." He looked directly into her eyes and Naruko felt a deep sadness emanating from him but also sincerity.

She had already forgiven him, she knew, but could see that he needed this - they needed this. It was cathartic for them both.

"It's okay Dad, let's move on…Ok?" She smiled at him gently, her eyes momentarily flashing orange and once again looking mature beyond her years.

He smiled gratefully and swallowed thickly before clearing his throat.

"You know Naru, the reason we're here right now is all because of the Seal I mentioned before?"

"The Reaper Seal? What do you mean?" Naruko asked interested.

"Well when I was taken into the Seal I remember being thrown in lots of different directions - it was extremely disorientating actually!" He added conversationally. "I do not know how long exactly I was within the Shinigami's stomach, time apparently flows differently there. But I was ultimately thrown into a small, very poor town in Florence, Italy – 400 years in the past and in a completely new world, would you believe! I do not know if everything sacrificed to the Reaper gets sent elsewhere, I have no way of knowing – but I believe I must have been for a reason. My theory is that the inside of the Shinigami's stomach is a multidimensional 'pocket' that resides outside of time, which explains why I haven't really aged from Konoha to this world." He leaned forward slightly to look at Naruko's expression and smiled as she seemed to be mulling over everything so far.

"So, how is it that I'm here?"

"Through Seals I was able to make the connection between our worlds using the Kyuubi's Chakra as a 'bridge'. Remember that I also Sealed the harmful half of the Nine Tail's Chakra using the Reaper Seal?"

She nodded, eyes lighting up in understanding. "And the timing? It was almost like you knew – wait, do you have that too?! The intuition thing?" She leant closer eagerly on her hands.

"Ah yes, you're quite right - the 'Hyper Intuition', or so I named it." He grinned. "It's incredibly useful and apparently…runs in the family. At first, I thought it might just be a culmination of my Ninja career experience, being constantly put into scenarios where you had to rely on your instinct, that sort of thing. But now that you have it too, I wonder if it's more of a Bloodline?" He finished rubbing his chin in thought.

"I don't know how strong your intuition is at the moment Naru, but like exercising a muscle – it has the potential to get stronger."

"So how do you exercise intuition? I can't imagine it." Her face scrunching up into an adorable pout.

"Ha-ha it's nothing like physical training Naru, it's more…meditation than anything else, listening to that gut feeling and deciphering instead of ignoring it.

At this Naruko flinched slightly knowing what happened the last time she ignored it.

"So you somehow managed to create a Seal to connect the two worlds?" She shook her head. "As unbelievable as that sounds already, is that all? I mean, I got the impression that there was another story there." This time it was Minato's turn to cringe, he had hoped she forgot that little titbit. She really was a combination of Kushina and himself. 'All intelligence mixed with an extremely long memory.' He thought sardonically.

"The Seal required three things." He held up three figures and counted them off. "One, was a link between the worlds, Two, was an abundance of natural energy and Three, was that someone needed to direct and control the first two." Here Minato gulped, nothing of what he was going to say next was going to be easy to tell his blue-eyed daughter.

While her father was clearly hesitating to tell her the rest, Naruko's mind chewed on the information she had already been given.

'A Seal… A high energy Seal at that. Hmm, I don't know much about Seals other than they're used in scrolls for storage. Even the Reaper Seal can be vaguely seen as a storage Seal, I suppose, in that it 'takes' something into it- WAIT! The original repercussions of using said Seal was at the cost of the user's own life. Then a Seal of this magnitude had to have a cost also!'

"What was it? What did you have to sacrifice this time?" Naruko asked her father with wide eyes.

"How did y- right, 'genius', never mind," he sighed once again tugging at his hair. "You've got to understand Naru that my intuition was screaming at me, and I knew you were in trouble, I had to act fast…In order to fulfil the criteria for the Seal, I took on another persona – known only to a select few as, Checkerface." Here Minato struggled to get out the next few words and couldn't meet the large, innocent eyes of his daughter.

Naruko stayed silent and waited while he fought his inner demons.

"…As Checkerface, I tricked and goaded seven of the strongest users of natural energy into being an integral part of the Seal."

Naruko gasped, her hands covered her mouth. "They died?!"

"No! No, they didn't die…but, what actually happened was arguably no better. They are condemned to a half-life. The Seal-" He gulped. "The Seal turned them into infants, cursed infants. Still able to think like their adult selves, walk and talk like their adult selves but never to grow…or to age...Believe me when I say that had there been another way I would have leapt at the chance, but there wasn't" He said hoarsely hating the expression he put on his daughter's face but nothing burned more than the self-loathing he already felt.

"Did they know? Did they know what would happen to them?" Her mind running a mile a minute in her panic.

"…I believe only one of them did."

"But that person went along with it anyway - knowing the price - why?"

"She has a special gift to see the future, so she would have seen the outcome. As for why? I don't know. Maybe she felt what I felt. The desperation, the need to save you. Or perhaps, she saw you and knew what needed to happen and let it come to pass."

The conversation lulled into an uncomfortable silence, one that Minato wasn't going to break.

Did he feel guilty? Of course, but how could he regret what he did, knowing that it saved his only daughter?

"It's my fault." Naruko said suddenly. "If my curiosity didn't get the best of me, I wouldn't have needed to be saved at all." She looked down to her lap as her tears fell onto the decking.

Minato stared at his daughter. His beautiful, smart, blameless daughter. "Naruko…" He cupped her face with his hands and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Naruko this was never your fault. The decision was my own, understand? There was no way you could have changed the outcome. Regardless, I'm grateful for your curiosity…because it brought us together at last. Never regret it, Naru." He whispered as he kissed both of her eyes and held her close.

They sat, holding each other tightly, taking comfort in the embrace. Minato held her while she wept and rocked her gently while rubbing circles onto her back. This seemed to help as she sniffled and pulled back slightly.

Minato smiled at her puffy blue eyes. "My little-big girl. I have missed out on so much…."

"Well…we've got nothing but time now, right Dad?" Naruko said with a wide smile.

"Right…But seriously Naruko, call me Daddy!"

"No way – it's weird!" She said in mock horror.

"Tis not!" He pouted. "…How about Pappy?"

"Not going to happen."

"…Pleaseeeee Naru?

"…"

"Naruko? Naaaruuu?" He pestered and poked her ticklish sides when she didn't respond.

"Stop that! Argh and stop whining you big man child. No."

"Fineee. Papa?"

"…I'll think about it-" Naruko said reluctantly (hoping to shut him up) but was cut off by Minato's shout of joy as he bundled her up in his arms and swung her around until she grew dizzy. "I SAID I'd think about it!" She huffed, exasperated at her nutty father, but smiled warmly as she watched him dart about the room like a man possessed shouting out into the garden to whoever or whatever would listen.

Naruko sighed rolling her eyes good naturedly and then giggled, the happy sound bubbling from her mouth as she skipped over to the man currently annoying a toad and pounced on his back.

He smiled at her from the side and gripped her forearms as he stood so she wouldn't fall. "Come Naru, it's been a long day. Let's go home."

She lifted her legs and gripped his waist so that he could give her a piggy back. Neither said anything when the glint of a ring, the colour of a rainbow, appeared on her right, index finger.

"…You're going to explain that too. Right?"

Minato huffed a laugh - things would, most certainly, be interesting going forwards.