Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.

Chapter Summary: In which Hana comes to visit, Rio loses his temper and change is inevitable


Chapter 26: Nothing is So Painful to the Human Mind as a Great and Sudden Change

Sasuke sighed as another villager called out a greeting to him, nodding their direction half-heartedly. It was nothing compared to the attention he used to get just after he lost his family but he still couldn't make it through the village without someone noticing him. He just wished people would leave him alone; he wasn't interested in fake greetings and superficial talk. He had his small group of people he tolerated and wouldn't disrupt his goal.

Looking back, he was more grateful for the Uzumaki clan than he would ever admit out loud. Naruto and Kazuya weren't afraid to treat him like any other kid; Naruto always nagged him about leaving his workout gear around the flat and Kazuya didn't hesitate to drag him to help in the kitchen. It was still nothing like it had been with his real family, nothing ever would be, but they didn't make him feel like the poor Uchiha kid with the dead clan.

They also helped him to get stronger. Naruto genuinely believed he could achieve his ambition to track down Itachi and confront him about the massacre. He wasn't naïve enough to believe Itachi would just stand there and answer all his questions so he needed to get strong enough to beat him. The Uzumaki clan was weird and their training exercises were unconventional but he did feel like he was making progress.

He even felt okay with his team. Sakura still annoyed him more times than not but she was becoming more tolerable the longer she was exposed to Kazuya. Rio was the same as he always was and that worked for him. The youngest Uzumaki was almost as motivated as him in wanting to surpass his older brother although for very different reasons. Kakashi was a very laid back sensei who had a tendency to focus too much on team-building exercises but Sasuke supposed it could be worse.

He felt a nudge to his ribs and he looked over at his blond friend, Rio's violet eyes scanning his face carefully.

"A yen for your thoughts?"

"Hn."

Rio rolled his eyes but Sasuke caught the small smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Of course, what other answer would an Uchiha give?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but Rio was no longer paying attention, his gaze locked on something in front of them. Sasuke followed his stare and saw that they were coming up to the Hyūga compound. Two figures stood in front of the gates and as he recognized the shorter of the two, he groaned.

"Hinata!"

Rio bounced towards the Hyūga and Sasuke dragged his feet. Rio's crush was so painfully obvious and now Sasuke would have to spend far too long watching him fawn over the girl and dance around his feelings instead of just telling her that he liked her.

"Hi, Hinata," Rio said breathlessly.

Sasuke caught up and nodded to her before turning his attention to the tall man next to her. He was obviously a Hyūga judging by his pale eyes and delicate, regal features but there was sternness to him. In a white robe with an olive overcoat he didn't appear to be an active nin; he might be one of the higher ups.

The man cleared his throat and Rio finally noticed that Hinata wasn't alone, the stars fading from his eyes.

"Hyūga….san?"

"This is my father, Hyūga Hiashi," Hinata introduced quietly.

So it was the highest up then. He didn't look anything like Hinata; she must take after her mother. Rio flinched, bowing low and squeaking out a 'Hyūga-sama'.

"Father, this is Uzumaki Rio and Uchiha Sasuke," Hinata continued almost nervously. "They were in my class at the academy."

"Were they?" Hiashi's pale eyes scanned them carefully.

Sasuke met his gaze without flinching. He may have been the Clan Head but technically, so was he. He may have to wait until he becomes chunin to take up the title officially but the Uchiha were just as important a clan as the Hyūga, even if they had the edge on numbers now.

"Uzumaki? Any relation to Uzumaki Naruto?" Hiashi switched his stare to the blond.

"Yeah, he's my big brother," Rio answered, some of his nervousness fading.

"I see."

Hiashi was silent for a long moment and Sasuke shuffled his feet, pointedly ignoring the pitiful glances that Rio and Hinata kept shooting at each other.

"You are welcome here anytime," Hiashi finally said, tilting his head.

Sasuke joined Rio in staring blankly at the man; the Hyūga weren't known for being welcoming. Sasuke didn't think they were capable of it.

"I owe your brother a great debt and I told him that the Hyūga would always be here for both him and Arai Kazuya. He has not taken us up on this offer so I will extend it to his family."

Judging by the surprised looks Hinata was throwing at his father, Sasuke gathered this was not normal behavior for the man.

"Now, Hinata has a training session so we must bid you good day."

Sasuke watched the man retreat back into the compound, Hinata shooting longing glances back at Rio as she followed him obediently. Sasuke gave Rio a second to stare after her wistfully before he grabbed his arm, dragging him down the street. Once Rio started walking under his own power, he let go.

"Didn't she look so pretty today? She looks so nice with short hair and the two stands frame her face like a picture, y'know? She must be comfy in that parka too; I love that she dresses for function but she still shows her personality too."

"She looks the same as she always does."

Rio frowned at him, the spell broken briefly.

"You have no appreciation for girls."

"How will I ever live with myself?"

He just didn't see the appeal. Most of the time they were loud and annoying and they didn't say what they were really thinking. Boys were like that too though so Sasuke really couldn't win. He had other stuff to be doing anyway rather than fawn over some idiot who won't matter in a few years.

"I can't escape Nii-san."

He looked back over at his friend to see his expression had changed. The glow that came with talking about Hinata had been replaced with the frustration that occasionally came up when Rio talked about his brother. Rio adored Naruto but more and more Sasuke could see Rio wanting to escape his shadow.

"One day, Nii-san is going to be known as Rio's brother." Rio vowed firmly.

"Hn."

Sasuke followed his friend through the streets of Konoha to the training ground where they were meeting Sakura. Hopefully it would be one of her better days where she kept her distance. He could live in hope.


Kazuya threw a balled up napkin at Hana's head. She snatched it out of the air, rising from her slouch on the couch to look at it curiously. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"I don't want you to make a mess on the couch," he explained as he carried a plate of mochi over to the coffee table. He placed it down before flopping onto the other sofa. "Just because Momo is out with the boys doesn't mean I need you taking her place."

"I love coming here," Hana grinned widely, her sharp canines flashing before she shoved one into her mouth.

"You wouldn't know it," Kazuya said dryly. "How long has it been?"

She swallowed the dessert and smiled sheepishly.

"Too long," she admitted. "I've just been so busy with my vet studies and raising the new pups and you haven't exactly been round to the compound either."

"Yeah, I know," Kazuya sighed. "There is just no time for anything right now. Who knew that our genin days would be the most relaxing? I thought we would have free time between missions or something when we got older. Now we're older and I barely have time to cook."

"You wouldn't change a thing though, would you?" Hana smirked knowingly.

Kazuya held up the pretense for a moment before he gave up.

"…no."

She laughed loudly, throwing her head back. She hadn't changed much; her long brown hair was tied back into a low ponytail with two strands hanging down into her face. Dark eyes sparkled with mirth and her wide grin moved the two long, red triangles that were on the cheek of every Inuzuka. She had left her chunin vest at home, wearing only black biker shorts and a black vest. She was much taller and her figure had filled out but she was the same old Hana.

Had he changed much since he was a genin? He tended to favour the slim, slightly loose black trousers that most shinobi wore. He still loved his purple tunics although he tried not to wear them at the hospital and his worn and weathered brown waistcoat had been upgraded two years ago. His wavy brown hair hung over his forehead and reached just below the nape of his neck. He still got a lot of comments over the usual pink colour of his eyes.

Maybe he hadn't changed; he was just a taller, more filled out version of his twelve year old self with less time and more men.

"What's wrong?" Hana spoke up, interrupting his internal spiral. "You look like you're having a crisis."

"Have I changed since we were genin?"

He was taken aback at the incredulous look Hana shot at him.

"Where did that come from?"

"I just mean, like I haven't changed my style or my interests or anything."

Hana sat up properly, leaning over to gaze right into his soul.

"Kazuya, you pretty much run the Emergency department…in a shinobi village…at eighteen years old. Do you realise how insane that is? You're confident and accomplished and don't think I haven't been hearing about your ways with the men of this village."

Something loosened in him at her words. He was about to reply when the front door swung open. They looked over to see Naruto walk in, dumping a bag and lighting up when he saw them.

"Hana!"

"Hey, Naru-chan!"

Kazuya quirked an eyebrow.

"There's something different about you today. Where's your jumper?"

"It was way too hot today for that," Naruto shrugged. "I've been stuck in the Communications department all day and that office is a greenhouse."

"Birds or radio?"

"Radio."

"Hey," Hana interrupted. "We were just talking about how we've changed since we were genin. I think you've changed the most, Naruto."

Kazuya looked over at her in surprise before he surveyed the redhead. He hadn't really noticed since they lived together but if he thought back to five years ago, he really had.

His long red hair was tied up in a high ponytail and the straight ends brushed the tops of his shoulders. His blue eyes had darkened another shade and the scar on his face had faded to an almost invisible line. His brace was missing so he was left in a plain, black t-shirt that hugged his lean form and his left arm tattoo was on full display. It was the only full-sleeve tattoo Kazuya had ever seen that reached the end of the fingertips. He knew there were others beneath the fabric and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously as a few black lines peeked out the collar of his t-shirt; did he get another one? He wore the same shinobi pants as Kazuya did and they matched his black sandals. He was tall too, taller than both him and Hana; Kazuya was pretty sure he would reach Genma-sensei's height sometime soon.

"You got hot," Hana grinned widely.

Naruto scoffed as he moved further into the room, plopping himself down beside Kazuya.

"No, no, I have to agree with Hana," Kazuya nodded. "You did get hot. It's amazing what the lack of orange can bring."

"Maybe I'm just having a good day," Naruto said casually, throwing Kazuya a pointed look as he helped himself to mochi.

So he was feeling better today. It was hard to imagine he was sick on days like this.

"You must be getting suitors throwing themselves at you." Hana laid back down on her back, her head turned to face them. "I've heard that redheads are in right now."

Naruto's face twisted in distaste and Kazuya snorted.

"What?" Hana propped herself up on her elbows. "No interest at all?"

"Hana," Naruto began slowly. "I'm not exactly a catch."

Hana looked at Kazuya, conveying the utter absurdity of that statement. Kazuya rolled his eyes, agreeing with the sentiment.

"Naruto, have you actually looked at yourself in the mirror?" She demanded.

"Yes!" Naruto protested. "Hana, I'm so busy with my jobs. I wouldn't have any free time to dedicate to a relationship."

"Who said anything about a relationship?" Kazuya piped up.

"And I have the kids and my obligations to Shikaku and any free time I have is either making new seals or training so I don't get soft," Naruto continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I wouldn't have the time even if by some miracle there is someone out there who would want me and all my baggage."

His best friend was the most oblivious guy Kazuya had ever met. He was apparently completely missing all the looks that were directed his way whenever he was out in the village running errands. He was willing to bet there were some people at his work too that liked Naruto a bit more than the redhead was aware of.

"What's your preference anyway?" Hana asked. "I know Kazuya sticks to guys and I'm partial to all but you've never said."

"I've never thought about it," Naruto shrugged.

"Aka-chan." Kazuya finally stole some mochi for himself. "You are a young, red-blooded guy in his prime. How are you thinking of anything else?"

Naruto actually seemed to take a moment to think.

"I…" he began. "It just never occurred to me. I just have so much other stuff to do that it never seemed like a priority. It just never seemed like a big deal; there are plenty of other things I'd rather be doing than having sex."

Kazuya and Hana shared a look.

"It's like Genma-sensei isn't our role-model."

"Just because we had a man that sleeps around as a teacher doesn't mean we would pick up his bad habits," Naruto huffed.

Kazuya definitely picked up those bad habits; judging by Hana's responses, so had she. It was only Naruto who'd escaped.

"So tell me what else you guys have been up to?" Hana abruptly changed the subject, silently communicating to Kazuya that they'd discuss it later.

Kazuya nodded before immediately jumping into the latest disaster at the flower shop. A man had been caught buying flowers for both his wife and his mistress and they had both confronted him. Kazuya was rooting for them to leave him and elope together. Hana agreed with him.

The chatter filled the flat and Kazuya relaxed back into the couch as he listened to his two best friends in the world argue over the merits of a kunai over a shuriken when opening a difficult jar.


Naruto looked up nervously at the massive pale yellow house. The fence in front of it was taller than him and the green rooftops were dark beneath the cloudy evening sky. Yellow light emitted from the double front door and the visible windows. The garden was full of bushes and trees and flowers and Naruto considered just abandoning the whole evening.

The Inuzuka compound had been fine since it was as chaotic and unorganized as the occupants so he hadn't felt like he was intruding. He had only ever been to the Uchiha compound twice and they weren't experiences he wanted to remember. This place looked clean; he was sure he would ruin something the moment he stepped over the threshold.

"Naruto?"

He looked over from where he was frozen at the gates to Shikaku who had already opened the door.

"Sorry, Shikaku," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just such a nice house."

"Nothing you haven't seen before," Shikaku said dismissively.

"I guess," he replied nervously.

He followed the clan head into the house and toed off his sandals. He accepted the pair of house slippers gratefully and shoved them on; maybe he should get them for his flat. He then considered how much traffic came through his home and immediately dismissed the idea. There was nowhere to keep that many pairs anyway. He could feel a couple of signatures moving around the house so he wasn't startled when a loud voice rang out.

"Shikamaru, get the rice from your father!"

"Can he not bring it to you himself?"

"Move, Shikamaru! We have a guest tonight so I want your best behavior!"

Naruto smiled to himself as he felt the familiar chakra signature make its way towards them. The young Nara appeared round the corner, grumbling to himself about a 'troublesome woman'. He looked up from the ground and spotted him, his posture slumping.

"It's just you," he drawled, holding a hand out of the bag of rice that Shikaku gave to him. "Dad just said it was someone from work."

"I feel so welcome," Naruto grinned in response.

"What a drag."

Shikaku turned to him in amusement.

"If I had any doubt that you knew my son, it's gone now."

"Oh yeah," Naruto laughed. "I've known him and Chouji for a while. They came over to see Rio or pick him up while they were in the academy. They've also left their homework at mine more times than they'll probably admit."

He felt the second signature and soon a woman with mid-length brown hair, Shikamaru's eyes and a pink blouse came into view.

"You must be Uzumaki-kun!" She smiled softly. "Shikaku has told me all about you."

"There goes my good first impression then," he joked, drawing forth a laugh.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now," she winked. "Go into the living room with Shikaku. I'll call you both when dinner is ready."

Naruto bowed slightly as she walked back to the kitchen. He then raised an eyebrow at the look Shikaku was shooting at him. It was the same look on Shikamaru's face as he peered back around the corner.

"How did you do that?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously.

Naruto frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?"

Shikaku shook his head, laughing to himself as he gripped Naruto's shoulder and led him through the house. They arrived at an open space with pillows dotted around and a low kotatsu in the middle of the room, a board and some pieces of wood set on top of it. Naruto took a seat opposite the clan head, settling onto the blue pillow beneath him. Shikaku began to arrange the pieces on the board. Shikamaru also joined them in the room, taking a seat nearby; Naruto suspected he wanted a nap judging by how much he was slouching.

"So tell me what you know about shogi," Shikaku handed over a pile of wooden pieces.

"It's a game?" Naruto took them and placed them on the table. "Strategy or something?"

"How do you not know how to play shogi?" Shikamaru was alert now. "It's shogi."

"It wasn't something we ever needed," Naruto shrugged, his focus on reading the pieces. "All our money went towards stuff we needed to survive and shogi is kind of a luxury."

He paused.

"I suppose we could have made a board but when would we have had time to teach ourselves?"

He missed Shikaku's pointed look towards his son.

"Rio knows how to play," Shikamaru continued, although a bit more subdued. "I taught him when we were in the academy."

Naruto looked up and beamed.

"That's great! I'm surprised that you could get him to sit still long enough to teach him."

"So," Shikaku interrupted. "Shogi is indeed a strategy game, also referred to as the General's game. Set your pieces out in direct symmetry with mine."

Naruto nodded and began to place the little wooden pieces on the board, watching Shikaku's side carefully so he didn't make a mistake. Once the board was set, Shikaku pointed to the large piece directly in front of him.

"The objective is to capture the enemy's king, which is referred to as checkmate. You also have your gold, silver, knight, lance, bishop, rook and pawn. All except the king and gold can be promoted," Shikaku explained, pointing to each of the pieces in turn.

Naruto scanned the board, committing the names to memory.

"Now, each of these pieces moves differently around the board. For example, the lance can only move forward."

"Why?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Why what?"

"Why can the pieces only move in a certain direction?"

"That's the rules," Shikamaru said.

"But why are those rules?" Naruto answered back.

He appeared to have broken the kid as the young Nara just stared back at him blankly. He turned and while Shikaku didn't seem like he was in the same state of confusion, there was a particular look in his eyes.

"Dinner!"

"We'll pick this back up after," Shikaku said, rising to his feet.

Naruto scrambled up and followed the man through to the dining room, Shikamaru right behind them. He took a seat and awkwardly waited as the family bustled around him, Yoshino ordering the men about like she was a General herself. Finally all the food had been set onto the table and the Nara family sat down with him.

"Help yourself, Uzumaki-kun," Yoshino smiled at him.

"Thank you, Nara-san, but please call me Naruto," he smiled back. "I'm only Uzumaki-san when I'm in trouble."

"Call me Yoshino then. There are too many Nara roaming around the village to use my clan name."

Naruto placed some steamed vegetables on his plate with some pickled ginger and rice.

"So tell us more about yourself, Naruto-kun," said Yoshino. "You seem a bit young to be working with Shikaku."

"You calling me old?" Shikaku frowned good-naturedly.

"Nah, I get it," Naruto laughed. "Usually the people that work with the Jounin Commander are much higher up the food chain and therefore, much older. I've been working at the Desk for five years and I'm still the youngest there."

"So chunin at ten?" Yoshino asked curiously.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned. "It took us three years to convince Genma-sensei to let us go. We were going to go the year before but it was in Iwa."

"Rio says you graduated after only two years at the academy," Shikamaru added.

"Yeah, it was a deal I made with Hokage-sama." Naruto's smile dimmed at the thought of the old man. "Rio and I were only allowed to move out of the orphanage when I became a genin so I had a lot more motivation to graduate early than my peers. Kazuya and Hana hated the academy too so between the three of us, we made it out in half the time. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them."

"Wait, so you moved out at, what, seven? Who looked after you?" Yoshino had put down her chopsticks.

"Kazuya moved in with me so between the two of us we had enough to live on," Naruto was quick to reassure. "I think we turned out some pretty great kids too."

"No, who raised you and your brother?"

"I raised Rio," Naruto said slowly, not understanding the question.

"So who raised you?" Shikaku asked and Naruto frowned at the grim look on his face.

"I didn't need to be raised," he threw them a strange look. "I had everything under control and I had Genma-sensei so if I was really stuck I had someone I could ask for advice. It's not like I went my whole life without an adult in my life. It's just I didn't really need one."

He couldn't read the looks shared between the other adults. Shikamaru's face was pinched and Naruto couldn't help but feel that he'd said something wrong. He knew his life had been a bit unconventional but everything had turned out okay. Sure, there were times he wanted someone else there to take care of things and take the weight off him but he'd managed.

"So where are the rest of them tonight?" Shikaku said, forcing a grin.

Naruto wanted to ask what was up but he would take the escape when offered to him.

"Kazuya is finishing up a hospital shift and then going out for drinks with Hana. Rio and Sasuke are camping out in the training grounds tonight with Sakura as part of their mission preparation training although I would bet a good yen that Kakashi is asleep by now. Genma-sensei is hanging out with Raidō but I suspect they'll go out to join Kazuya and Hana at the bars by the end of night."

"You didn't want to join them?" Yoshino asked, her smile returning if a bit stiff.

"It's not my scene," Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "I have to be up early to speak to the Registry tomorrow and I don't drink anyway. I'm the boring one of the family."

Shikaku choked on a piece of fish. He struggled to swallow and looked over at him.

"I don't think anyone would ever describe you as boring, Naruto."

Naruto laughed as settled into casual conversation. He didn't know he had been so reluctant to take Shikaku up on his offer for shogi and dinner. This was nice; he would have to do this more often.


Rio moved through the seals, determined to finally get this right.

"Jōsui no Jutsu!"

He glared as the muddy water remained muddy, refusing to clear into something drinkable. He'd been trying to get this since their mission prep training the other week but he wasn't having any luck. Sasuke and Sakura and both managed it within the first few hours and he didn't get why he couldn't.

"Hey Sunshine," Nii-san smiled at him as he entered the flat, throwing his orange jacket onto the kitchen table. "Today was nuts, I swear Konoha is slowly trying to make me lose my mind, but I'm done for the rest of the day and free to hang out here for the rest of the day."

Rio still thought it was strange that his rank was written on the back. Kazu-nee had changed it from chunin to tokubetsu jounin sometime after their promotion. Why didn't he just wear the jounin vest that was hidden away in his closet?

"What're you up to?" Nii-san peered curiously over his shoulder.

"I'm trying to get this dumb water technique to work," Rio sighed heavily. "It's supposed to make water drinkable when we're out camping."

"Ah, yeah, one of the E-rank you have to learn before you're let out of the village."

Nii-san moved to sit down on the other sofa.

"What's the issue? How can I help?"

Rio knew his brother meant well but he didn't need this today.

"I'm fine, Nii-san," he said shortly. "I don't need your help."

Nii-san's smile dimmed slightly but Rio was too annoyed to care.

"Sunshine, it's okay if you need it. I can't count the number of times I had to cheat off Kazuya's answers back in the academy. No one person is ever going to be good at everything."

"I'm not you, Nii-san!" Rio snapped. "I don't need your help and I'm going to do this on my own! I don't need you holding my hand or treating me like I'm your dumb little brother! I get enough of that from the rest of the village."

Nii-san looked taken aback, his mouth slightly open.

"What do you mean? Who's saying that?" Nii-san leaned forward intently. "Do you want me to speak to them?"

"No!" Rio yelled. "That is exactly the problem! You need to stop trying to help or protect me or butting into everything! How am I supposed to get out of your shadow if you're constantly hovering over me?"

Rio was far too angry to see the hurt that spread across his brother's face.

"It's like you don't think I'm capable of anything! You just want to do everything for me and don't want me to have any freedom!"

"Rio, I just want to help," Nii-san said quietly. "I want you to have the best chance at everything and if I can make that happen, I want to. I didn't mean to make you feel like I don't believe in you. I do! I think you're capable of anything!"

Nii-san's words didn't make Rio feel better.

"You're so suffocating sometimes! Maybe I just want to figure things out on my own! Everyone says how it's so amazing that you graduated early and raised me and handled everything on your own and I am never going to live up to that!"

"Rio, I wouldn't want you to," Nii-san frowned. "I haven't had much choice in my life and although I wouldn't change a single thing, I did all that to make sure you wouldn't have to live through what I did."

"You treat me like I can't do anything!" Rio stood, knocking over the bowl of water onto the table and floor. "You don't treat Sasuke like this! You give him space and wait for him to ask for help but me, you just barge in!"

He heaved a breath in as he watched the water drip onto the floor. This had been building up for a while. He just wanted to be taken seriously and he felt like he would never get that from Nii-san. He would always see Rio as a little kid; that meant the rest of the village would see him as a little kid. Nii-san didn't realise how much influence he had over the village or just how many people he knew. Rio couldn't escape whether he was at home or not.

How was he supposed to be the Hokage one day if he couldn't even be recognized as his own person? Would they announce at the ceremony that Naruto's brother was now Hokage? Not even use his name? He doubted Jiji and the Yondaime had someone hovering over them their whole careers.

"I have to go."

He stomped towards the front door, ignoring the calls of his name behind him. He needed space to think and he needed to do that far away from Nii-san. He was sure he would feel bad about his words later even if they were true.

He didn't know how to deal with all the anger and inferiority and frustration swirling around inside him. He always spoke to Nii-san when he was younger but now his brother was the problem. Kazu-nee would always listen to him but he was closer to Nii-san and they were a team. The only one he could think to talk to is Kakashi but he didn't think his godfather would understand.

He meant what he said to Nii-san; he wanted to deal with things on his own. He would just have to figure it out himself.


Kazuya placed the plates down on the table, checking the clock. Sasuke was here but Rio and Naruto were pretty late. Sasuke didn't know where Rio was and Kazuya knew that Naruto only worked the first half of the day today.

The door opened and he smiled at Rio as he kicked off his sandals, shuffling into the room. It dropped as he saw the slouch on the kid's shoulders and the torn look on his face. Something was wrong.

"Rio, are you okay?"

The kid turned tear-filled violet eyes to him and Kazuya immediately went over to him, hugging him to his chest and burying his face into the unruly blond locks. Rio's arms came up to wrap around his back and Kazuya hugged him tighter. It was a long moment before he felt Rio starting to let go.

"Hey," Kazuya said softly. "What happened?"

"I'm a horrible person," Rio mumbled.

Kazuya planted his hands on Rio's shoulders and made him look him in the eye.

"You are not a horrible person and I do not ever want you to say that again. Now, what happened?"

"I said some really horrible things to Nii-san," Rio admitted.

"Okay," Kazuya nodded. "Were they true?"

Rio shot him a confused look.

"These absolutely horrible things you said, were they true? Is that how you really feel?"

"I…yes. Not of all of it, but yeah."

"So you held everything in and didn't talk about it and then it all burst out in a way you didn't mean for it to."

Rio nodded.

"So the issue is how you said it," Kazuya concluded. "Which could have been solved if you had sat down and spoken about it before it became an issue."

Rio nodded, shrinking into himself.

"Rio, everyone loses their temper," he said, smiling slightly. "What's important is you recognize what you did wrong and work to make sure it doesn't happen again. If you have complaints or issues, you know you can talk about it with us and we will work towards making things better."

"I know," Rio said quietly. "I know you guys are always going to be there for me but that's part of the problem."

Kazuya nodded, beginning to guide his kid towards the dinner table and sitting him beside a silent Sasuke.

"First, you are going to have something to eat. Once Naruto comes home we are going to sit down and discuss it properly, okay? Then we can try to figure out a solution."

"Wait, Nii-san isn't here?" Rio looked around the flat.

"I take it he was here earlier?"

"Yeah, then I left but he said he was going to be here all day."

Kazuya frowned before he reached forward to ruffle Rio's hair, hiding his unease.

"He's probably just training or got sucked back into work," he laughed nervously. "You know what he's like.

Kazuya really hoped it was true. It would be characteristic of him to be doing that but judging by what Rio said, it may not be that simple. If he didn't appear by midnight then he would ask around. Just to be safe.


Naruto watched the sun rise over the village from his place on top of the Hokage Mountain. His stomach had stopped growling a couple of hours ago and he still didn't feel tired. He was sure he would regret sitting in the same place for almost ten hours the moment he tried to get up but he didn't feel like moving. He just needed peace and quiet to think.

"You know that Kazuya has been asking everyone about where you are. He even roped in Anko so I don't have to tell you how much trouble you're going to be in once he finally tracks you down."

And reality found him.

"What do you want, Kakashi?"

The silver haired jounin plopped himself down next to him, propping his head on his fist as he looked at him.

"I'm just doing my part in the Great Naruto Search."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I disappear all the time. I don't know why he's so concerned about it this time."

"Yeah, but no one has seen you at work and with how upset Rio is, he assumed that this was not one of your normal 'work too much for your own good' things."

Naruto sagged.

"Shit, Rio."

"Want to tell me what's up?"

"Rio and I had an argument yesterday and I just totally bailed," he dropped his head into his hands. "Fucking shit, I'm a terrible brother. What kind of adult just runs away when their kid throws a tantrum?"

"Naruto."

He ignored him. There was a deep sigh. He felt hands grabbing his and pulling them away from his face. Kakashi's grey eye scanned over his face before he placed Naruto's hands down into his lap, still holding them tightly.

"Naruto, as much as you believe otherwise, most people your age don't have to raise any kids."

"Kakashi, it's not like I've ever been a kid myself," Naruto scowled.

"I know and I would never treat you like one. You're all grown up now; the outside finally matches the inside." Naruto was about to speak but Kakashi continued. "That doesn't mean you aren't allowed to take a break or make mistakes."

"My mistakes hurt my kids," Naruto said quietly.

He bit his lip as he tried to sort through his feelings.

"It's just so much more difficult than when Rio was younger, you know?" He began, "I don't know what I'm doing, not really. I'm doing the best I can and trying to help him but he doesn't want my help. He feels like I'm overprotective and that I don't think he can do things by himself and when I do! He's going to be so strong and go so far! It's just if he needs help and I can give it, why wouldn't I, you know?

"He's pretty much a teenager, Naruto." He imagined Kakashi was smiling behind that mask. "Remember what you were doing at his age? He's always going to compare himself to you."

"But why? He can do so much better than me."

"Because you're his idol," Kakashi sighed as he should already know this. "He looks up to you and wants to make you proud."

"But I'm always proud of him," Naruto shook his head, confused.

"Yeah, but he's too busy trying to prove himself to know that."

Naruto looked back at the man with a raised eyebrow.

"Where did this responsible and reasonable Kakashi come from?" He attempted a smile. "Should you not be reading your porn book or being late or messing with Gai? Sleeping in a tree somewhere?"

He expected Kakashi to respond with a teasing answer of his own but the man's shoulders dropped. He began to pull his hands from Naruto's but this time he grabbed them tighter, stopping them in his tracks.

"Hey, your turn to spill your soul."

"I know that I let you down a lot when you were younger," Kakashi looked away from him. "You probably wouldn't have all these problems if I had stepped up like I should have."

"Kakashi, we've talked about this. You had your own stuff going on and yes, while you could have been better, no one holds anything against you. You've been a lot better, especially in the last three years."

"I still feel like I'm failing though," Kakashi admitted. "I don't know how to handle a genin team. I've had them on team-building exercises and D-ranks and I know I should be training them more in everything else but it's like I'm stuck. I want to be a sensei like Minato-sensei but I can't. It's like if I try to do more with them I'll screw it all up."

Naruto let out a laugh and Kakashi looked over at him, betrayed.

"No, I'm sorry, it's just we make quite a pair," he tried to swallow down his laughter. "We have no idea what we're doing and no one can tell us how to do it. We just have to forge ahead and make a bunch of mistakes and live with them for the rest of our lives."

Kakashi shook his head but Naruto could see the amusement appeared on the parts of his face not covered by his mask and hitae-ate.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked quietly, the laughter dying.

"I have no idea," Kakashi replied.

Naruto finally registered what he was doing and he abruptly let go of Kakashi's hands, clasping his own in his lap.

"I guess I should go home and talk to Rio," he said casually. "And Kazuya for that matter."

"Yeah."

Neither of them moved. Naruto looked up from his hands and back out towards the village, admiring the glittering leaves of the forest surrounding the village. It really was a beautiful view from here; he didn't remember the last time he took the time to just sit and have a moment to himself. He continued to sit there with Kakashi's quiet presence next to him, watching the village slowly wake up.


Jōsui no Jutsu – Purification Technique

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