Deal

A/N: This chapter is the start of Naruto's new life. As I have stated in the past, I am not Japanese. The spoken language will be a mix of Japanese and English as the boys are learning to speak two languages and it'll be quite the jumble of words. Japanese will be italicized. I hope I don't offend anyone.

Terms will be defined at the bottom of the chapter.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1. Reviews are welcomes, flames are not and will be deleted.

Special thanks for White Angel of Auralon for editing this chapter.

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Chapter 2

Five-year-old Naruto Uzumaki woke in a very soft bed with two green eyes just inches from his face.

He gave a frightened scream as the eyes jumped back. Pressing against the head board, the five-year-old shouted, "Nani!? Where am I!?"

The child in front of him smiled, "Hi, I'm Haru and I'm four." He held up four fingers. "You my new big brother! Wanna to play with me?"

A man's voice spoke from the door way. "Har-chan, didn't I tell you not to bother Naru-chan? And until he learns English, we speak the other language?"

"Hai Tou-san, Sorry I forgot," Haru said, bobbing his head still speaking a mix of Japanese and English, "but he's awake now."

Naruto blinked and looked over at the adult that entered the room. He looked like him, but all grown up. He wondered what they were saying.

The man came and sat at the end of the bed, next to Har-chan. "Good morning Naru-chan. Welcome to your new home. Now, Har-chan go and see if Tally has breakfast ready? Ne?"

"Yes, tou-san." The four-year-old hopped off the bed and ran out of the room, shouting for Tally.

The man chuckled as he turned back to his son, the smile gone from his face. Naruto suddenly felt a bit nervous.

"Naru-chan, I know you are confused. Let me explain first, please?"

Naruto gave a slight nod, causing the man to give a sigh.

"Thank you, Naru-chan. First there's something I need to apologize for. See, something bad really happened the day you were born. But let me tell you a story first. . ." he said, looking every bit as nervous as Naruto felt.

"In the village where you are from, lived a young couple that were expecting their first child. They were so happy and eager for their baby to be born. The mother would often rock in front of the empty crib and sing softly, wishing she could hold him.

"The father was a very important man. He was busy running the village, training his shinobi and doing battle with the bane of all rulers everywhere – paperwork."

Naruto giggled at the man's expression as he continued:

"He would come home at night to his lovely wife and soon to be son. At night, when he wasn't busy with meetings or emergencies that came up, he would work on his special projects. He loved working at home with his family so close by. He also made plans on what he was going to do when his baby arrived. He made so many plans. Then one night. . . "

He paused and sighed, a sad look crossed his face. Naruto, curious, moved to sit beside him. No one has ever told him a story before. Not even Jiji.

"You see, the mother held a secret that only a few knew. She kept prisoner a dark creature known as a biju. She protected the village from its evil powers. She knew that when it became time for her baby to be born, it would be the only time that the creature could escape."

"It escaped, didn't it?" Naruto asked softly.

"It did but it had help. Someone from another village snuck in and helped the biju to escape right after the baby was born."

"But what happened to the tou-san?"

"He was trying to stop the spy from wrecking destruction on the village. He was able to save his newborn son and his very tired wife from the spy, but the biju was destroying the village and killing a lot of good shinobi that were trying to stop it." The man looked down at Naruto and sighed again.

"Naru-chan, the father didn't have a choice, he needed to stop the biju. No one can kill it. It isn't possible. You can only lock it away which he had been within someone able to keep it a prisoner. You understand?"

"I guess so."

"Well, the father knew that he was going to lose his wife, the mother of his son. She was dying a slow painful death and he couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop it. Once the biju was recaptured, the father did something he wasn't really proud of, but he knew that it was the right thing to do."

"What did he do?" Naruto looked up in wonder.

The man paused for a moment, closing his eyes. "He called up the Shinigami to make a deal."

"What kinda deal?"

"His life for sealing the biju into his newborn son. The one he had been waiting so patiently and so longingly to be born. It pained him to seal that monster into his only child. The Shinigami appeared and then instead of asking for his life as was expected, it had a different idea. . ."

"What kind deal?"

"It wanted to send the father away to another world to help another family that will need his help and to leave his son behind. He wanted to stay and how he wanted to. He wanted to watch his son to grow into the strong shinobi that he knew his son could be. But to protect his village and his son, he couldn't. His last words to his friends as he faded away was to treat his son as a hero but. . ."

The man sighed as his hands came up to cover his face.

Naruto pondered the story as Haru came running into the room and climbed up onto the bed. "Tou-san?"

Tou-san straightened and wiped away his tears. "Yes Har-chan?"

"Breakfast's ready. Tally says she'll keep it warm until we come down."

"Arigato, Har-chan." He looked over at Naruto with concern.

"I was the baby right?" Naruto asked, sadly. "You are my tou-san? You came for me? Save me from those people?"

"Yes, Naru-chan. I have been searching for a way to find you since I was cast out. . ."

"TOU-SAN! YOU CAME!" Naruto knocked the other boy aside as he lunged at the man. He finally had a father. He was finally saved from those cruel villagers.

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Minato watched as his two sons tore into their Christmas presents under the tree. The Fire nation didn't really celebrate Christmas as much as those in this world, but his sons loved it.

For the past three months since he rescued Naruto from his treatment by the Leaf village, he had been dealing with all the legalities of having another son.

First thing he did was to go to Gringotts and declare him his son, create papers for him, make up believable back story, etc. He declared that his son was Naruto Namikaze. The look on his son's face had been worth all the fees Gringotts charged.

Haru laughed as he threw shredded wrapping papers at Naruto, breaking the man out of his flash-back.

Teaching Naruto to speak English and Haru Japanese had been interesting. Luckily, his sons made a game out of it, dragging both him and Tally into it. They even kept score. It was written down on a board that was placed onto a wall in the kitchen.

Minato smiled at his second son.

Thankfully, he had been able to save Haru from whatever the so-called Leader of the Light had planned. That man had a lot to answer for in his opinion.

Minato had been searching since he woke from his coma that the Shinigami had induced to find a way home. During that time, he had become friends and later auror partners with the Potters – Haru's parents.

Lily Potter, Haru's mother, hadn't really trusted Albus Dumbledore and wrote a secret second will and gave it to the goblins at Gringotts if she should die. For a fee, they did just that. She wanted Minato to raise her son and help him to deal with a stupid, in her opinion divination was a woolly subject, prophesy.

He had agreed. Neither he or Lily told her husband James. They knew that he would tell Dumbledore and they both knew that the headmaster would've tried to put a stop to it.

The will helped him to get custody of her son, Harry James Potter, from her sister that actually lived across the street. He shuddered to think what that woman would have done to Haru if he hadn't stopped her.

He was brought back to the present as Naruto called out to him, "Tou-san! You haven't opened your presents!"

Minato smiled. His son was so much like his mother – loud and so full of life with a smile on her face. It was her smile that he had fallen in love with.

He reached for the first present under the watchful eyes of his two sons. If only their mothers could be here.

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Naruto woke to a nightmare. He had dreamed he was back at the village and being chased again.

"Naru-chan?" came his father's voice as the small lamp lit up. "Bad dream?"

Naruto nodded and tried to smile but couldn't. His tou-san sat beside him and pulled him into his strong arms.

Christmas had been the best ever. He had received many presents, but the best present was being wanted.

He snuggled into his tou-san's arms and felt a light kiss on the top of his head.

Haru woke from across the room, rubbing his eyes. "Tou-san?"

"It's alright Har-chan, go back to sleep. Naru-chan had a bad dream."

"Yes sir, hope he's better soon," Haru said sleepily, before he plopped back down onto his pillow and was out like a light again.

Naruto giggled at his younger brother. Haru was only seven months younger than him and he already loved him. He went to having no family and friends to having a Tou-san and a younger brother in one day.

Suddenly, two mugs of hot chocolate appeared on the night stand beside them.

THAT seemed strange at first. He was really freaked out when he met Tally, the house elf for the first time.

She seemed like a creature out of stories. It had taken Naruto little time to warm up to her, but after two stacks of chocolate pancakes that first morning, he had been won over. He declared them food of the gods, coming right after ramen.

Haru and Tou-san had laughed at his antics.

He loved his new life with his new family.

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A/N: Well, here is the next chapter. Sorry for the delay. I'm starting to sew again to get ready for summer sales. As I have repeated to friends and family: Do you know the worse thing about having a really, really good year in sales? It's having to replace all the sold stock. I mean I have over five empty totes that need stock in them. I am so far behind in my sewing and without Frau to crack that whip, it's a struggle. After all, I'm a small time vendor and I make all my stock by my trusty sewing machine.

Until next time – GF

tou-san – short form of otousan and means daddy, Dad, father