Tampering with Time

by Palaserece

When Kyuubi was extracted from Uzumaki Naruto, it was the Nidaime Hokage that came up with an unconventional solution. An experimental reincarnation jutsu on Namikaze Minato and a one-way trip, with his Kurama, to the past. (Minato-centric)

10. Family Matters

The air nipped at his skin in the pre-dawn chill where Minato allowed his feet to dangle over the side of the house. The only sound that disturbed the quiet was the occasional croak of a toad and the serenade of crickets among the grass.

Escaping the bedroom without rousing either Itachi or Shisui had required every ounce of Minato's skill to pass unchallenged, but he had been determined to get some fresh air without the perpetual chaperone. Even as a Hokage, life had never felt this stifling! Perhaps it would have felt different if Minato had not been aware, but with his sensory talent there was little chance to pretend he was not cognizant of the constant surveillance.

The past few days had taken a toll mentally and even a few minutes enjoying fresh air away from the chaos was helpful. Sasuke and Naruto had not gotten over Tsunade's behavior in the Hokage's office and this showed by their loud and heavily slanted opinions whenever the Sannin was mentioned. Kakashi's behavior had been even more distressing than his friend's grumblings: the copy-nin pretended everything was fine when Minato knew it definitely was not fine. Shisui and Itachi had been rather tight-lipped, but that was preferable to Fugaku's mutterings and Mikoto's pensive silence.

The worst day had been Minato's seal examination by Jiraiya. That…had been the first instance that Minato feared any chance of keeping secrets would be compromised. The toad sage had poked and prodded at the inky designs while Tsunade conducted her own medical exams—no doubt aiming to confirm the ANBU medic's assertion. All of this happened while the Sandaime smoked his pipe and Kakashi sat next to him. Much to Minato's misfortune, Jiraiya had studied the inky spirals with a frown all the while making notes on his paper. Eventually the Sandaime had excused him with some bogus comment, while the adults discussed their findings.

Minato could not be sure of what Jiraiya saw, but he knew that his former mentor was exceptionally gifted with seals even if Minato had eventually surpassed his mentor. There were several underlying possibilities, but Minato was certain that Jiraiya sensed something amiss.

"The seal isn't fake." Kurama rumbled from inside.

'I know, but he definitely knows something is unusual about the seal itself. The best-case scenario is that Jiraiya decides that your chakra mingles with mine much more evenly than the seal I placed on Naruto.'

'What would they do if they find out that you and I have a more amicable relationship?'

'If this were Kumo, they would throw me a party and leave it at that.'

'Be glad this isn't Kumo. You heard Gyuki's jinchuuriki rapping didn't you? I refuse to be inundated with morons.'

'I suspect you would try to eat me if I were foolish enough to do something like that.'

'Eviscerate. I'm uninterested in consuming spoiled goods.'

'Considering how shaky my background is, I think there is a good chance that ANBU would be assigned to me permanently if they worked out my history. Unfortunately, that's a best-case scenario.'

'Will they try to imprison you?'

'With Jiraiya here, they could easily reseal you into a new host that has fewer question marks on their history.'

'They wouldn't dare. You are too high-profile now to just disappear without a trace. And I doubt Kakashi or Tsunade would sit back and let them kill you.'

'Don't underestimate Hiruzen. Danzo is often considered the one with bloody hands, but it's not always been the case. Hiruzen is not as clean as everyone imagines him to be. He just conceals it better. I rather imagine the tendency to underestimate the Sandaime has been the old man's greatest strength.'

'I hardly consider Orochimaru evidence of the man's cold-hearted nature that you speak of.'

'Maybe.' Minato hesitated, clearly torn. 'But sometimes I wonder if there is more to that story than we know.'

'You need to start training again.'

'I know that I do, but why are you so concerned all of the sudden?'

'Your body isn't strong enough for me to intervene with anything beyond healing factor and minor enhancements to speed. If Konoha were to move against you, I would be unable to assist at this time.'

The downsides to time travel and being a younger jinchuuriki.' The bijuu was right though. After this mess with Kakashi and Tsunade settled, he really needed to step things up. 'I'll come up with some plausible explanation that actually fits with the evidence without completely screwing us.'

'I know that tone of voice…what is it you want?'

'I know you're concerned about the risks, but you need to reach out to more of your siblings.'

'No.'

'The more prepared we are, the better are odds against Madara. And I don't think the Nidaime will be able to rig up a miracle more than once.'

'I don't like this.'

'Neither do I, but I have to get stronger to protect Naruto. And to protect you, Kurama. It's only fair that you give some of your siblings a chance.' It was a low blow to bring up protective urges, but desperate times called for underhanded measures.

'I'll reach out to Choumei again.'Reluctance stained every word, but there was not any rebuttal. 'And perhaps Kokuo or Saiken, but that's as far as I'm willing to budge.'

'What about Matatabi?' Minato persisted.

'I'll think about it. And maybe, in a few years, I'll reconsider.'

It wasn't a no and that by itself was more than he had the right to ask for.

A false wind brushed stray strands of hair into his face, but Minato made no effort to push them away as Kakashi landed soundlessly behind him.

"You're really quiet, nii-san." Minato tossed out the compliment before letting himself fall backward with a whoosh. The roof tiles were frigid at this time of night and Kakashi's sandals were not the most comfortable headrest, so he wrapped his skinny arms around himself for additional warmth.

"Not quiet enough if you can sense me." There was a rueful tinge and Minato can almost hear the embarrassment clinging to the words. "That sensory skill of yours must be really powerful if you're able to sense suppressed targets."

Now that was new information. Minato felt his face pull as his brother dropped down next to him. "I heard that Tobirama had an excellent sensory talent."

"That's what they say." Kakashi tapped his masked chin thoughtfully, but cryptically did not pursue the matter.

"But what are you doing up so late?" The copy-nin cast a meaningful glance around the rooftop. "You shouldn't be outside by yourself in the middle of the night."

"I wanted to be alone." There was a tug and he was tucked under a wiry arm and enabled to steal some warmth from Kakashi. "And I was thinking about yesterday. I get the feeling it didn't go very well."

"Why do you think that?" And there was the elusive tug of an ANBU captain quietly fishing for information.

"Jiraiya-sama kept grunting and making faces like someone that really needs to use the bathroom." It was the truth flavored with a dollop of Naruto's flair that made Kakashi snort. "And Tsunade didn't hit him so it must have been important."

The quiet came accompanied by petting from Kakashi that Minato suspected was much the way his brother stroked his dogs. There were worse comparisons to be made and if a little canine experience helped Kakashi's confidence, than it was alright with him.

"Aa, that might be so." Even if it felt purposefully vague, there was solace to be taken from the fact that his brother had not lied.

"Did I do anything wrong?" He asked more from a desire to hear Kakashi's reply than actual curiosity.

"No." Kakashi squeezed him again and Minato was thankful he had bijuu chakra to ease the aches on his ribs that the other man was unaware he was leaving. "But the seal around a bijuu is important not just for the safety of those around you, but for yourself. Jiraiya-sama may want to take another look, but I promise that I'll be there too."

"Because of your Sharingan." The words escaped of their own accord and Kakashi had frozen against his side again.

"Why would you say that?" No one could mistake Kakashi's words for casual this time.

"Shisui was with me that first day with his Sharingan. And Fugaku never stops complaining about you." Instantly he could tell the other man felt more at ease by the return of his ability to breathe properly. "It wasn't hard to piece together after that."

"You're pretty sharp, pup." Kakashi rubbed his head with another round of affection. "Guess we must be related after all."

"You're stuck with me." He affirmed.

"So…I might have got a new place in the works. How would you feel about moving in with me?"

There was a significant bit of Minato that wanted to tease the other man for the unintentional innuendo, but figured a four-year old would not be able to reason away how he knew about those comments. Sometimes being young was such a drag. On the other hand, Minato had sensed this moment coming and knew making light of it would not do him any favors.

"Can I still see my friends?" He already knew what the answer would be, but he had to keep up appearances. And it was rather entertaining to watch Kakashi pretend to think the matter over.

"I suppose so, but only if Naruto agrees not to prank the house or it's occupants." Kakashi replied with mock-seriousness—though Minato privately thought that was a good rule.

"Okay."

"Hmm?"

"I said—" Minato dragged out emphasis. "Okay!"

Before he knew it, he was swung into the air and crushed against a chest. With a long-suffering sigh, Minato returned the hug and definitely did not snuggle closer and purr when the hair stroking began.

"You're not allowed to be like a cat." Kakashi chided him gently, but continued his ministrations. "The pack would be so disappointed."

"Can't help it." Minato mumbled drowsily. "I heard the Nidaime had feline summons. Probably makes me a hybrid or something."

"Maybe it can't be helped then."

"Yep."

"Nii-san?"

"Aa?"

"I know you don't want to, but I want you to try to forgive Tsunade. People hurt in different ways."

There was a definite pause.

"I'll try."

"That's all I ask."

There was a rough bit of motion and they reappeared inside the bedroom where Naruto was halfway to falling off the bed and Sasuke somehow had wrapped his body around all three pillows like a territorial starfish. Itachi was sitting up in bed in a meditative pose and merely blinked as they arrived.

"Sorry, Itachi." Minato apologized as Kakashi deposited him in the middle of the boys and snatched a pillow away from Sasuke's grabby hands before offering it to the thankful Senju boy. Minato instantly snuggled into the cushion and retrieved his stuffed pup from under Naruto's elbow, not missing Kakashi's lone eye tracking his motions.

"Thank you, Hatake-san." Itachi was already lowering himself back into bed. "I have to be up early."

"Oh right." Kakashi remarked conversationally right over Shisui's quiet snores. "You're the one crazy enough to willingly train with Gai. How's that going for you?"

"Youthfully." The word was tacked on with a bit of a mocking wave. "Goodnight, Hatake-san."

"Ah." The hand brushed over his head again and tugged the blanket more firmly under Minato's chin. "Goodnight, pup."

"I love you, nii-san." The words came because Kakashi needed to hear them sometimes. And perhaps Minato needed to say something.

"You too, pup."

Minato was nearly asleep when Kurama's words pulled him from sleep.

'I may have a solution to our Jiraiya problem.'

'What is it?' Minato asked sleepily.

'You aren't going to like it.'The bijuu stalled cagily and that had the former Kage sitting upright in his mind space staring at the false stars in the night sky. 'But it will work just fine.'

'Tell me.'

---

Minato was waiting by the gate to the Uchiha Compound dressed in an overly elaborate kimono that Mikoto had foisted upon him for the occasion —Minato had been bribed into submission by an extra long hair brushing session. Shisui was next to him twitching every few seconds from the effort to remain still. Good Kami, what had that boy eaten for breakfast this morning?

"Tsunade-sama is taking you to lunch. That should be fun." Shisui forced a smile that looked closer to a grimace.

"Yep." Minato flashed a smile at a slightly rotund Uchiha female, approaching from the direction of the main market, with bursting bags. "Good morning, Uchiha-san!"

"Ah good morning Senju-chan." A finger clucked him under the chin and followed up with a firm pat to his hair—thankfully it was neatly swept up in a ponytail to keep it out of his face. "You bring Mikoto's boys around for some treats at my house sometime next week, you hear?"

"I will." Minato promised the old widow who patted him again, shot a grimacing Shisui a long look at his hair, and finally tottered past them down the lane.

"It's growing." Minato tried to reassure the pouting youth. "It's just going to take a few more weeks before it looks normal."

"More Uchiha you mean." Shisui bemoans sourly. "It could be anything, but no, the Uchiha have to take pride in their hair."

"I thought dojutsu was the Clan Pride." Minato remarked with a smirk. Sometimes it was just too easy to mess with young people.

"Bah, that's only the Uchiha that are shinobi." Shisui stretched his arms over his head and, to Minato's internal amusement, performed a series of squats. "But all of us have terrifically amazing hair. It's either smooth and ultra silky. Or a textured pattern of spikes that is the envy of friend and foe alike. And we keep it soft with…"

Shisui's words trailed off and Minato guessed the other boy had noticed the slight glazed look to his eyes.

"You alright, little silver?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you should consider a career in haircare product sales." The insult bounced off of Shisui's thick head before the older boy shot up from a squat and waved his arms rapidly.

"What?! Why would you even say that?!"

"No one is that zealous about their hair unless they've a real passion for the topic." Teasing Shisui was hardly a challenge, but there was gratification to be had in watching the boy's jaw open and close with only a slight squawk. "You could always learn to cut hair if the styling thing is more your thing, but you seem to have the charisma for stage-acting."

"Stage acting?" Shisui mumbled to himself.

There was a suspicious flicker of two extremely familiar chakra patterns creeping closer and higher.

"I think Sasuke and Naruto are trailing us." Minato lazily tipped his head in the general direction of the duo. "Mikoto-sama isn't going to be happy either because they always end up with roof dust all over their clothes when they're trying to be sneaky."

"Yeah, I don't want to know." Shisui groused. "Sasuke used to be a brat, but now Naruto is teaching him to be clever and more bratty." There was a superior waggle to the older boy's fingers as he nodded to the creeping pair subtly. "I blame you."

"That seems a bit unfair." Closing his eyes, he concentrated for a second and scanned the nearby terrain. Tsunade's churning signature was just around the block. Perfect timing indeed. "But imagine if they prank Tsunade. I'm not going to be blamed and those boys are rather good at hiding. I guess that leaves you as the scapegoat to whatever those two are up to."

"That is…" Shisui spluttered.

"Yes?" Minato grinned.

"You're going to drive any jounin sensei nuts. You do know that, right?" Shisui shaded his eyes with a hand and lifted his hands to form a seal.

"If an instructor is displeased by the intelligence of his students, perhaps they should not be teaching." Minato countered a little bit more harshly than he intended and it showed in the sudden confusion in Shisui's eyes. Crap. What could he say to smooth that out better? "Wouldn't you be pleased if you had students that wanted your attention?"

"Eh, I suppose, but I doubt I really have the disposition to teach." There was a whoosh and a flash of chakra before Shisui reappeared on the roof with one of Minato's squirming friends under each arm. "He's all yours Tsunade-sama! If you can have him back before dinner, Mikoto-sama would appreciate that. Minato is attending an engagement with the Nara Family tonight!"

"Put us down!" Naruto screamed, only for his pleas to be cut short as Shisui raced away with him.

Twisting limberly, Minato hopped over to where an amused pair of women were watching the antics of the two boys. There had been two supervised visits between Minato and Tsunade in the past week, but today would be their first day without Kakashi, Jiraiya, or the Hokage present. During the prior interactions, Minato had evaluated how stilted and tense some of Tsunade's reactions were, but the woman always warmed about after a few minutes. From his perspective as a former Kage, Minato assumed Tsunade was dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress so he would do everything in his power to assist in Tsunade's recovery; Minato would treat her with kindness, respect, and with all the diplomatic finagling he was forced to use in his previous life.

After all, Tsunade was related to Kushina, albeit distantly. And now Minato was related to Tsunade, his dead wife's relative. And that was going to lead down a convoluted road of thought liable to make him sick to his stomach.

Carefully gauging his behavior to prevent making the older woman uncomfortable, Minato approached Tsunade. There would be no bubbly exuberance that Naruto would have favored; nor could he behave reserved and distantly polite like Sasuke would have been. Going with his gut, the Senju child simply stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist.

As expected, he felt the woman tense. Minato waited patiently and, to her credit, Tsunade recovered quickly and scooped him up in a heartfelt embrace that forcibly expelled the air from his lungs.

"Have you stayed out of trouble?"

Exaggerating a sigh, he peeked up at the golden eyes that had softened remarkably. "Hardly. Naruto painted the back fence with luminescent paint that lights up at night. Fugaku-sama will be most displeased when he takes an evening stroll one of these days, but this should delay discovery for a little while."

"Where did he get his hands-on paint like that?" Shizune asked from the side looking alternately curious and elated as she stared at Tsunade intently. Vaguely, Minato recalled hearing some details about Shizune's early life, but he had only exchanged a greeting with her once before. Shizune watched Tsunade like a mother watches her child. What a backward relationship those two must have.

"I wish I knew." Minato replied in a state of miserable confusion. Minato had spent a significant amount of time with Naruto and it still eluded him as to how Naruto gathered supplies. It was starting to feel like a conspiracy. Nevertheless, he mustered a smile for the apprentice clutching the pig awkwardly and offered the woman a polite nod. "Good morning."

"I suppose it might be best to introduce you since Shizune will be as involved in your life as she is in mine." Minato watched Tsunade's eyes light up at the potential implications of her own statement. "Minato-kun, I would like you to meet my apprentice, Shizune." Tsunade gestured as she let him down. "And the pig is Tonton."

A pig with a pearl necklace. He could spend hours piecing all the details he knew about Tsunade-hime and still come up lacking. Who kept a pet pig with jewelry anyway? Apparently, the strongest woman in the world and her obsessive assistant.

"Nice to meet you Shizune-san."

"You too, Minato-kun." The woman's ebony eyes twinkled as she grinned broadly. "I look forward to getting to know you better in the coming days."

"Me too." He kept it short and sweet.

"So, what's this about the Nara gathering?" Tsunade asked.

"My friend Shikamaru's mother ran into us at the market a few days ago." He relayed the information with the cheer expected of a young child. "And invited all of us to come to dinner with all the other clan leaders and their families."

"All of them?" Shizune sounded doubtful, not that Minato could blame her since an informal gathering really was odd.

"Perhaps it's unusual, but not necessarily unheard of." Tsunade remarked, but she looked more thoughtful than before.

This was the opportunity that Kurama had suggested and Minato was pleased with how organic the opportunity was. Extending his sensory web one last time, he felt no one close enough to be eaves dropping so he replied as per Kurama's plan. "I've really enjoyed having friends. It used to just be me and the fox in my head."

"You can hear it?" Minato didn't need to be looking at Tsunade to hear the worry lacing her voice. And Tsunade had stopped dead at his comment. "You haven't said anything to anyone?"

"I don't listen to him!" Minato protested, making certain his nervous eyes lingered on each woman in turn. "I just want to be normal!"

"I think you're pretty normal to me." Shizune stepped closer and Minato saw a protective gleam enter the young woman's eye. "But I understand why you would be worried. Right Tsunade-sama?"

The blonde woman rubbed her temples before dropping down to look Minato right in the eye. Minato blinked slowly but flinched slightly at the hand raised next to his face.

"Oba-san?"

"I understand that things used to be different for you, Minato. And I hope someday you'll tell me more about what you experienced, but only when you're ready." Tsunade's voice was even and remarkably patient as she placed both hands on his shoulders. "My grandmother, Mito, was a jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi. Just as you now are."

"And Naruto." Minato would never let that be forgotten; father or not, Minato would not let Naruto's sacrifice be dismissed.

"And Naruto." Tsunade seemed pensive, but there was a hardening in her eyes that suggested distress and a quavering note of fear in her words. "But, Minato, you must promise me here and now to never keep secrets like this from me again. And I'm not talking about any small troubles that Uzumaki gaki is going to get you into. In those cases, it's better that you don't tell me. But anything important like this, you have to tell me. Okay?"

Kurama, you wily old fox. I don't know that I would have considered playing Tsunade like this…you're sneakier than I ever gave you credit for being.

"He tells me things sometimes." Minato keeps his voice hushed and scuffs his foot against the ground. "The fox."

"What sorts of things?" Tsunade's voice is razor sharp. For all her blustering and the wasted years, Tsunade was still an S-rank kunoichi capable of annihilating platoons of enemies by herself.

"Threats." Not directed at him, but they were real nonetheless. "He doesn't like the Senju very much…especially your grandfather."

"I don't suppose he would." Tsunade's smile could have given Kurama's demonic nature a run for his money. "But I want you to tell me or Kakashi if you hear from that fox. I promise you won't be in trouble, but you need to tell me whenever you hear the bijuu."

"I promise." Minato crossed his fingers and gave a strained smile. "I still feel like I'm going to be in trouble."

"If someone tries to make trouble for you, I'll make trouble for them." Tsunade's cracks her knuckles. "But I don't want you to worry about the bijuu anymore because if that fox starts bothering you, I'll remind him of exactly why the Senju were so feared."

"You're scary sometimes, oba-san." Minato complained weakly, wiping invisible sweat from his brow. Senju last name or not, that was pure Uzumaki temper in the blonde woman.

"And don't you forget it." There was a soft smile, Tsunade leaned closer, and there was the lightest touch of breath teasing his forehead. The kiss was gentle and lasted for the briefest of moments; when the blonde pulled back, Minato thought she looked more content than he had seen her in this lifetime or the last.

"I won't." He replied dazedly.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune's alarm raised the hair on the back of Minato's neck.

"Shizune." The abrupt cut off was powerful and deliberate. "We're going shopping."

"For what?" Minato rushed forward to catch up with the woman who should not be able to walk so quickly in heels like that. Kunoichi really were amazing.

"Just you wait and see!"

Minato raced after her, noticing something smacking his clothing, and glanced down. It was only thanks to Shizune that Minato didn't end up eating dirt. He somehow muttered a garbled amount of thanks but his attention was diverted almost entirely to a glistening jade pendant swinging from a thin chain around his neck.

This is…but why would she give me this? Jiraiya-sensei always talked about how much this meant to her and…well, the other bit…

Rushing up to his blonde relative, he slipped his hand into her open one and squeezed.

"Thank you, oba-san." Minato whispered, but he was fishing for an answer he wasn't sure would come. "Why did you give me your necklace?"

It was quiet again for a moment and the hand grasping his tightened.

"That necklace belonged to my grandfather who had a dream." The words themselves felt hypnotic. "I always wanted to give it to a person that I felt shared the dream of my grandfather."

"But why did you give it to me?" Minato swallowed dry.

Tsunade looked past him into the distance searching for something beyond his ability to see before those golden eyes warmed as they focused on him. "I gave it to you for a reason I hope you never understand."

Cryptic answers were always the trickiest to decipher, though in the case the answer was more than apparent to someone with insight into the woman's tragic backstory.

"I'll to my best to deserve it, oba-san." Because he understood. Minato really, really understood.

"I know you will." He heard the pain in her voice and felt his finger bones creak in warning.

I can't promise to always stay safe, Tsunade-sama. I cannot promise that I'll return to you like Dan and Nawaki didn't. I can't promise that I'll live. I have too much to do and my odds or survival are questionable. A Hokage's oath is supposed to end with death, but mine continues. I'll do my best not to break your heart, but false promises are dangerous.

"So, what are we shopping for?" Minato resurrected his excitement and felt some of the tension drain from the woman walking beside him.

"Just you wait and see, brat!"

---

"I really don't need new clothes." Tsunade ignored the muffled protests from the boy behind the curtain. "Mikoto-sama already took me shopping recently."

"Shut up and finish trying that coat on." The Sannin hollered as she gleefully added another overpriced kimono to her own pile.

"Tsunade-sama!" The opposite curtain whipped back to display an irate Shizune in a tasteful emerald kimono trimmed with sakura blossoms. "You can't talk to a child like that! He's far too young!"

"Bah." Not for a second would she believe that Minato was not smart enough to know when to take her seriously. The kid definitely didn't inherit Tobirama's stern attitude, but his maturity made her feel old. "You worry too much Shizune. You're getting that one too."

"Tsunade-sama…" The girl flopped forward with a grand sigh before jerking upright and making a face like a fish when she read the price tag. "We can't afford this— "

"Of course, not." Tsunade rubbed her hands together eagerly. "But Jiraiya promised to help get us settled into our new lives. That includes new clothes and anything else we might need!"

"I don't need new clothes!" Her adorable little Minato-chan looked adorable with his rumpled ponytail in the cute red kimono style top and black leggings she had put him in. Shopping was a lot more fun when you could force another person into a million different things.

"You look just like I did when I was young." Tsunade cooed and motioned to a clerk that was smiling predatorily from the sidelines. "We're going to need the Senju crest added to everything I picked out in that pile."

Minato and Shizune both shot a horrified look to the staggering pile of garments that was sitting near the counter. Tsunade gave Jiraiya's coin purse a fond pat.

"Not a problem, Tsunade-sama. There is a small token fee for alterations, but the customer always get what they want in my store." The leering saleswoman steered a resisting Minato toward a stool in the corner; the little sunshine shot her a pleading look that Tsunade deliberately turned away from to assess a fretting Shizune.

Really, her assistant needed a vacation from life. Perhaps she could cajole Jiraiya into paying for Shizune to take a little trip to a hot spring for a week or two. Better yet, perhaps Tsunade could locate an acceptable suitor, traumatize the man, and finally allow him to sweep her apprentice right out of her sandals.

"We've been on the road for years and you haven't bought yourself anything in all that time aside from the occasional haircut." Those dark eyes averted and fell to the ground miserably and Tsunade reached out and placed a hand on the Shizune's shoulder. "Enjoy this moment while it lasts because we both know that managing money is not my strong suit."

"Some help is one thing, but that many garments seems more than excessive." The girl gestured lamely at the oversized stack that an elderly employee was slowly folding into neat stacks. "Surely we're taking advantage of the situation just a little."

"Shizune, it's Jiraiya." Tsunade rolled her eyes. The toad sage could pretend all he liked, but the man was loaded. Apparently, there were more closet perverts in the world than she knew. Add to that his S-rank pay the old perv got from his spy ring and Jiraiya was rolling in more money than he could spend in half a dozen lifetimes.

"I'm not comfortable spending this kind of money." Shizune moaned.

"Not to worry, because I have no such reservations." Tsunade snapped up another load of kimonos and carried them past a horrified Shizune into a change room.

"Tsunade-sama!" There came the reprimanding outcry.

"Shizune." All business and that snapped the girl's jaw shut. "What you have failed to realize is that you and I have to be the example now."

"What?" Shizune blinked.

"Minato has been among the Uchiha all this time." Tsunade nearly slapped herself when she saw Shizune looking more confused than a drunk Uzumaki. "We need to be the example for him now! No Senju kid is going to be any less than an Uchiha!"

"Eek!" Shizune jerked back against the mirror. "But I thought you said politics was for empty-headed fools with nothing better to do than meddle in the affairs of others."

"It's true, but Fugaku is an ass and I'm not about to let him rub my face in the dirt anymore." Tsunade shoved a teetering Shizune into the change room. "We're going to instill a little clan pride into our brat if it's the last thing we do. Now try those on! You don't want people to think poorly of Minato for having shabbily dressed family members, do you? And don't forget, you'll need formal wear, casual wear, and everyday wear for the hospital too!"

Shizune shouted something that Tsunade totally disregarded as she spied a rack of expensively impressive footwear. Seizing three different pairs of sandals reinforced with iron plates for kunoichi wear, Tsunade kicked off her old sandals. "Now this is what I've been waiting for. Come to mama."

Half an hour later, Tsunade lead two traumatized individuals out of the store and tossed Jiraiya's empty ryo pouch into the conveniently located trash bin outside the shop. The proprietor had been more than happy to offer free delivery of their purchases in a few days, but Tsunade had all too happily volunteered to have someone—namely Jiraiya—drop by to pick everything up in a few days. Besides, Jiraiya had promised to arrange for accommodations outside of sensei's home by the end of the day.

"I think you overdid it Tsunade-sama." Shizune choked out as she nervously plucked at a yellow yukata she had worn out of the boutique after Tsunade took a kunai to her old clothing.

"Nonsense." Tsunade wiggled her toes in the blue leather heels she was sporting. "But shopping is more exhausting than I recall. I could use a drink!"

"Ahem!" Shizune tapped her foot.

"I meant over lunch, Shizune." Tsunade rolled her eyes, reached back and tugged Minato up next to her and laced their fingers together.

"Lunch sounds great." Minato agreed easily and Tsunade shot Shizune a smug look.

"What are we waiting for then." Tsunade lead the charge, pleased with how easily she dispersed the crowd with her presence.

They had nearly reached an attractive looking tea house when she was suddenly pulled to a stop and Minato shook off her hand and walked straight toward a dirty looking alleyway.

"Minato-kun!" Shizune called urgently.

Tsunade was already hot on the boy's heels when he stopped, put both hands on his hips, and addressed a mutt with a hitai-ate.

"Hello Pakkun-san." The scarlet eyed boy smiled faintly. "Did Kakashi send you to follow me?"

That brat! When I get my hands on that scarecrow, he's dead!

"Yep." The dog shot Tsunade a leery look. "Not to edge onto your turf, Tsunade-sama, but my summoner has been a little more overprotective lately."

"Is that what that brat is calling this?" The blonde waved an unimpressed hand imperiously toward the nervous canine. Served the mutt right stalking her around town.

"I think it's sweet!" Shizune remarked as the pig in her arms made a cross between a squeak and a sigh of agreement.

"Since when is stalking sweet?" Tsunade grumbled. "And people say Maito Gai is the weird one…"

"We're going to have lunch. Do you want to come with us?" Oh Minato. Far too sweet. What was Tsunade going to do with him?

"I really shouldn't…" The dog trailed off but Tsunade swore the eyes on that ugly mutt bulged in a semblance of cuteness that no Hatake scion would be capable of resisting.

"I'll get you anmitsu!" Minato shrugged with an easy smile before motioning toward the tea store.

"Nothing like keeping the company of the person you're following." Pakkun scrambled out of the alley and scurried over to the teahouse door. "You all coming or what?"

"Unbelievable." Tsunade watched the dog head to the table and pop up on Minato's side for some enthusiastic scratching behind the ears.

"Ah, Minato-kun." Shizune asked as they sat down. Shinobi were the bread and butter of establishments like these so the owner did not so much as bat an eyelash at the canine sitting at the table. "Do you need help reading the menu?"

Why hadn't she thought of thought of that?

"No, thank you, Shizune-san." The boy lifted his menu from a stack and was already scooting closer to the canine. "I can read already."

Tsunade was impressed. Reading was not an abnormal skill for the boy's level, but it provided a partial explanation for the boy's extensive vocabulary. Most Clan children would be reading already even if civilian children might struggle, but Tsunade's instincts kept insisting that Minato's advancement was almost too amazing. But that notion fell apart when one looked at Kakashi or Senju Tobirama. Both men had frightening mental prowess; this just meant that Tsunade was going to have to re-evaluate her conditions for normal.

"You summon too don't you, oba-san?" Minato asked from where he was skimming his menu.

"I do." Although she had not had cause to summon Katsuya in an age. Though unlike other summons, Tsunade supposed the slug would not be too miffed by an impromptu summoning for a chat between long-time comrades. "I could introduce you sometime if you like."

"That would be fun."

The table fell quiet while everyone studied the menus. The server returned after a few moments to take an order of sake—just one, for her nerves—a pair of soups, some dumplings for the kiddo, and an anmitsu for the dog who devoured half of his dish in less than three seconds.

"So, what type of ninja do you want to be, pup?" Hatake's stalker summon asked.

Tsunade swallowed her first but, looked up, and watched an almost sad sort of smile tease the boy's lips; it was a strange sensation to feel like the world had stopped moving, but Tsunade was frozen awaiting the boy's response

"I don't know yet, but I know that I want to become strong enough to protect people I care about." In that moment, Tsunade knew she was done for. She had been sincere when she gave the boy her necklace, but hearing those words finalized everything.

Tsunade loved Minato. And there was no coming back from this.

"I think your dream is just right." Shizune's voice called out from next to her.

"It definitely reminds me of someone." Tsunade finally said and she quietly swiped a tear away from her eye and averted her gaze.

---

"So?" The one-word query was crammed with anticipation and overblown with manic energy.

Kakashi gave an exaggerated, thoughtful nod before jutting a thumb toward the state of the art kitchen that would surely not be used by him. Take out and ration bars were the only things Sakumo taught him before the man's suicide. Kakashi eyed the contraption that was some fancy device for preparing tea and pretended not to see the fully stocked cabinets of pots, pans, and who in the hell knows what half of that stuff even did.

"Appliances already?"

"Someone picked out stuff and arranged the delivery." The unusually vague response set Kakashi on heightened alert.

"The electrical and plumbing are a go? I didn't know you specialized in those areas?"

Tenzo's ears flushed scarlet and the man mopped his perspiring forehead with the back of his hand.

"Ah, I may have arranged for some additional help." The man's eyes rounded eerily and Kakashi detected a faint tremor in the man's tapping foot. "But it's all perfect! Windows with chakra-reinforced glass for seals. Appliances. I personally constructed the majority of furniture. I even recruited some of the squad to reinforce and create a personal training ground out back next to the trees I put up!"

"I see." Kakashi prodded a vibrant forest green cushion in the kitchen and dubiously prodded a stack of floral kitchen towels with daffodils and excessive greenery. "And this?"

"I had help with some of the décor." Tenzo remarked skittishly, not quite able to look Kakashi in the eye.

Kakashi's eyes wandered to the living area also curiously sporting a green sofa with vibrant yellow and orange throw cushions. It was absolutely hideous: Naruto would love it when he came to visit. And Kakashi absolutely knew that Gai was to blame.

Unless…Kakashi speculatively eyed the nervously shifting Tenzo and eye-smiled brightly. There were certainly ways to make sure the other man realized how annoyed he was…later.

"How many bedrooms does this place have now?"

Tenzo looked so utterly relieved that Kakashi almost felt bad for the torture he was going to be inflicting on the man. Although, another look to his Gai-approved living room quashed that guilt like a bug.

"Five bedrooms at present." Tenzo rattled off details like mission reports. "There are three upstairs and two on the main floor. The master was created with you in mind, while the room directly next to it was designed with Minato in mind. The other upstairs room is a guest room furnished with the basics. The hallway off the den has two bedrooms that I've furnished with basics. Aside from that, you have two offices, which I suppose could double as bedrooms, in addition to a walk-in pantry and a few other rooms."

"How big is this place? Why so many rooms?" Kakashi frowned. Did two people really need that much space? And he was not all that interested in marrying anyone so that freed up a lot of room.

"Someone mentioned to me that your brother has a few good friends." For all his genius, Kakashi could not quite wrap his mind around what the other man was suggesting… "You know…don't normal kids have sleepovers? The extra rooms might come in handy for that."

Sleepovers? Not for the first time, Kakashi wondered if this was really a good idea after all. Children were frightening but Minato's little gang spelled nothing but trouble. Although ever since Tsunade rolled into town, Kakashi had slid into the good graces of the hellion pack. Even sensei's son thought he was hip and cool. Maybe sleepovers were not the worst thing in the world; surely an ANBU captain could handle a bunch of small children, right?

"Okay then!" Kakashi clapped his hands together and reached for the banister and decidedly chose not to comment on the carvings of howling dogs etched in the wood. "Shall we inspect the upstairs?"

Tenzo did not reply, but on the way up Kakashi was absolutely positive he heard more than a couple unflattering mutterings from the man. Something about abuse of authority and picky bastards: nothing for Kakashi to concern himself with.

Silently praying that Gai had not been in charge of bedroom décor, Kakashi poked his head into the first room of muted colors and discarded that room. Moving to the next, the copy-nin nodded to himself as he looked in.

All of the furnishings were away from the walls that had gallons of sealed paint with brushes waiting to be used.

"Two genin teams are coming in this afternoon for D-ranks." Tenzo offered from the doorway, looking far too smug. Someone needed to be knocked down a peg or two. "One team is painting the exterior of the compound and the other is painting the interior."

Kakashi sidled up to the bedframe that had a massive headboard fashioned to resemble a massive tree with a pattern of thousands of leaves etched into the grain of the wood. Tenzo was showing his Shodai-worship in this piece for sure. The room itself was incredibly well designed though so Kakashi could hardly complain. Wall mouldings in the corners that looked like Hashirama's fabled wood dragons and the howling face of a massive dog that was a perfect representation of his summon, Bull.

"You know Tenzo, you have real talent." Kakashi watched the other man color red from the praise. "Are you sure you don't want to retire and become a wood carver? You show a great deal of aptitude for this."

"You ordered me to do this!" The suddenly irate man howled. "I was just completing my mission parameters!"

"Maa, no need to be so feisty." Kakashi waggled his fingers in the other man's face. "I just paid you a compliment."

Kakashi was prepared to continue the banter with his cute little subordinate when a colorful patchwork quilt caught his eye from where it was folded neatly underneath a pile of bedding that featured cute little puppies. Sliding it out from underneath the packaged sheets, he ran a finger over the patterned material that still looked to be in perfect condition after so many years.

"Gai brought that to me with a few other things that he told me should go in your house." Tenzo sounded unnecessarily strained, but Kakashi hummed in acceptance. It was a very much like Gai to hoard away a box of things that Kakashi might want in the future.

Burying his nose in a patchwork square, Kakashi was thankful for his unnaturally keen sense of smell. And there it was, a linger musty patch of spices and natural body odour. So faint but a Hatake's nose was never wrong. That was Kakashi's mother preserved in the blanket's fabric. How appropriate that it should soothe the youngest member of his family into sleep.

"My mother made this not long before she died." Kakashi felt the need to tell someone, not out of any true sorrow, but just to evoke the memory of a person that time itself seemed to have forgotten. Not even Kakashi would have been able to remember her had it not been for pictures. "I think she would be pleased to have it on the pup's bed. My father told me once that she had wanted a large family."

There was an awkward silence than and Kakashi carefully replaced the quilt fondly.

"Ah, would you like to see your room?" Tenzo shifted like an animal ready to bolt so Kakashi took pity on the other man and wandered toward the last bedroom.

Unlike the other rooms that were taped and were being readied for a paint job, Kakashi's entire room was already done. The paint on the wall was a calming shade of indigo and the bedding was in mixed shades of grey. The bed was king-sized and would probably give him nightmares for months, but Kakashi would deal. The past few weeks with Minato had been a balm on his soul already so uneasy sleeping was a small price to pay.

The woodwork in this room was exquisite but understated. A large closet in the corner, with an attached bathroom next to it. A desk and chair with decorations that could only have come from Gai. There was a smiling picture of his parents from happier days, his genin team photograph, and…the latest caught even Kakashi by surprise. There was a picture of Kakashi carrying his younger brother on his shoulders. It was a candid shot that had the small boy smiling and even Kakashi hardly believed how relaxed his body looked in the picture. How happy.

So maybe Gai was his best friend. And just maybe Kakashi would say yes the next time Gai challenged him. Not that he felt it was necessary to say thank you even if Kakashi definitely was thankful.

Kakashi eyed the fresh arrangement of daffodils sitting next to the pictures and shook his head. Yeah, those had to go. Scooping up the flowers, vase and all, he turned to Tenzo.

"Thank you, Tenzo. I couldn't have done this without you."

The abashed man smiled faintly. "Your welcome, sempai."

For a second the stared at one another. Kakashi at Tenzo. Tenzo at Kakashi. Finally the other man cracked.

"May I be dismissed?" The man's patience finally cracked.

"You don't like hanging out with me? I'm hurt." Kakashi rolled his shoulders forward and crinkled his eye in a mockery of despondency.

"Sempai it's not that! I simply haven't been…" The man trailed off and his eyes narrowed on Kakashi's shaking shoulders before the man exploded. "You're making fun of me! I'm leaving!"

Tenzo vanished in a poof of smoke just as Kakashi broke out into a hearty round of sniggering. That guy was far too easy to mess with.

Humming a tune, Kakashi flipped open his book and started reading as he walked down the newly varnished stairs of his new house. Without looking, he emptied the flowers into the fancy trash can and deposited the vase into the sink, and exited onto the impressive wrap-around porch with elaborate looking lounge chairs and dropped into one. Yep, these things were keepers. Way too comfortable.

Just about to check on just how naughty Satsuki-chan was being, Kakashi heard the chair next to him creak.

"I wondered when you would get around to dropping by." Kakashi drawled, not bothering to take his eye off his book.

"Heh, I've had a hectic couple of days." The toad sage muttered and there was a shuffling sound before the other man's struggling ceased followed by a pleased sigh. "These are pretty nice chairs. They pair well with the new house. It's a lot bigger than the original building."

"Minions are useful." Kakashi cheered before sharpening his tongue. "I'll miss them."

"So you do plan to retire from black ops missions." Jiraiya mused and the faint scratch of a pen skimming over paper tickled his ears. "Sensei suspected you might do something drastic like this. The old man sure has you pegged."

"Hokage-sama is an insightful man." Kakashi replied as blandly as possible.

"Look, Kakashi, I think it would be pretty foolish to mince words. We both have other pursuits we'd much rather be spending our time on." Kakashi caressed the edges of a dog-eared page before snapping his book closed and sliding it away. "You know why I'm here."

"Could be a number of reasons." Kakashi sprang onto the deck railing and did a quick check of the area.

"Cut the crap." Jiraiya rose to stand next to him. "I already put a privacy seal into effect so that no one disturbs us and—"

"And so that Danzo doesn't listen in, right?" Kakashi watched the guard raise in the other man and mentally congratulated himself for hitting the nail on the head.

"You really deserve the label of genius." A statement with no flattery and a guarded look. "But if that was the case, it would not be the reason I'm visiting you now."

"Minato is going to stay with me." Kakashi fought back the instinct to snarl, but the ferocity of the statement was still tempered by an extreme drop in tone. "I can't stop her from interacting with him and I wouldn't want to do that anyway. My brother has made it clear that he wants to have a relationship with Tsunade. But I'm going to bring him here after everything is finished."

"That isn't your decision to make." Jiraiya remarked stone-faced.

"Minato might have Senju blood, but he's my brother." Kakashi lashed out with words, feeling a nervous loss of ability that not even Obito's gift could fix. "I'll take care of him."

"Technically, a jinchuuriki is property of the village." Kakashi's blood ran cold and all he could see was the bloodied bodies of the two individuals he had adored like parents. "And military assets fall under the jurisdiction of the Hokage."

"Then what is Naruto?" Kakashi growled, relishing the way the Sannin flinched slightly. "I think Uzumaki Naruto is more than just one of the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki. And I don't care how my brother came into existence and I don't care if he is a container for a bijuu. He's my brother."

"Good to hear it, kid." Jiraiya clapped Kakashi on the arm merrily. "You got a good head on those bony shoulders."

Wait a minute, what was going on?

"You and I both fucked up big time in regards to Naruto." Kakashi felt the stone return to his stomach and he felt all the anger drain out of his body. "I'm not looking forward to dying and having to face my Minato. Hell, when I think of what Kushina would do to me if she ever figured out that I didn't come back and raise her son."

Even Kakashi shuddered sympathetically at that particular misery. Although sooner or later that peril would be his to face too…

"I'll run interference with the old man to make sure you get custody of the kid." Kakashi picked up on the trap even if he could not determine exactly what the penalty was. "But I want something in return."

Now that left the playing field open to far too many possibilities and Kakashi's mind struggled to come up with an appropriate answer. Squeezing the rail of his hand, he turned his head once toward the fancy new gates Tenzo had made and back toward the house, nose wrinkling before his lone eye rounded in shock and he whipped around to stare at the smug man rubbing his hands together cheerfully.

"No."

"Yep." Jiraiya smirked. "I'll even throw in my services free of charge to set up a sealing system all over your property. I'll even add in some specialty ones to save you a bundle of cash."

"Not a chance." Kakashi snarled viciously, turning to smash an innocent rosebud that had dared to be in snatching distance.

"I'll throw in a signed copy of the Icha Icha book that isn't supposed to be released until next month."

Damn. Kakashi jerked upright and felt dismay when the tantalizing offer actually weakened his resolve. His reading material had been rather dry lately. But boredom was rather temporary and Jiraiya's proposition could have lasting, psychological ramifications. Or deadly ones.

"I see that I have your attention." The smug bastard leered at him. "Good to know I really do have a captive audience."

"What you're asking is no small matter." Kakashi reminded the other man, slumping slightly as he felt an impending loss coming his way even if the copy-nin could not foresee why. "Tsunade-sama and I are very different people and I just can't see us living together."

"Temporarily." Jiraiya swatted away his protest with a pleased gleam. "I just want her to have a few months of stability while she recovers. After that, I'm going to buy Tsunade her own place. And unless you're retiring, this should make things easier if you're away on missions. Someone will be home with the kid."

"I was going to leave him with the Uchiha." Kakashi bristled.

"Tsunade needs a place to stay anyway." Jiraiya countered. "Can't stay with sensei forever."

"Couldn't she just have the Senju Compound rebuilt?" Kakashi wondered.

"Tsunade needs a home. She doesn't need a reminder of all the people that aren't coming back. Staying with you for a while will do her some good until I find a place for her and Shizune."

"Are you staying with us too?" Kakashi grimaced at the amount of resentment in his voice. "And Shizune?"

"Might as well!" Jiraiya clapped Kakashi on the back companionably, causing the copy-nin to sink into a puddle of dread. "Besides, the little squirt is giving me an in with Naruto. Can't pass that up."

"This is not going to be permanent." Kakashi rekindled his resolve. "You will find her a place. Two months is the absolute limit and than she's gone."

"You're really holding a grudge against her aren't you, kid." Jiraiya sounded suddenly glum.

"She hurt someone I care about." Kakashi dropped his head. "I don't trust her and I don't know if I ever will be able to forget how hurt he was."

Jiraiya remained quiet at his side before the man sighed, crossed his arms, and stared out onto the horizon wistfully.

"If you give her a chance, that's all I ask."

"A chance is the only thing I can afford to give her." Kakashi returned.

"Tonight?"

"You can get them settled tonight." Kakashi paused. "Unless you want to join me at Nara Yoshino's dinner party. I hear you two have a history."

Kakashi had the luxury of seeing the toad sage wince and reflexively cover his nether regions. Yep, it looks like Shikaku had not exaggerated on that little story.

---

Naruto had been looking forward to this night every time someone reminded him about it. Kaa-san mentioned it with that super scary smile every time Naruto was getting ready for one of his pranks. How the woman knew he was up to something was always a mystery because not even Minato—who seemed to notice everything—saw Naruto every time!

The only thing that soured Naruto's mood was remembering that tomorrow Minato was leaving with Kakashi. Naruto understood the other boy was not going to be gone permanently, but that did not mean he liked it.

Whatever. He would forget about it until tomorrow.

"Just how are you all up there?!" The irate Inuzuka howled up at them, even swiping a clawed hand futilely in their direction.

Naruto sniggered and stuck his tongue out at the boy. "Hehe!"

The blonde smirked cheekily as the dog boy literally hopped up and down with outrage and continued attack the wall with his canine nails.

"Kiba-san's extroverted nature is offensive to my hearing." The sunglasses kid was speaking in that boring deadpan that Naruto tuned out because he never fully understood with the bug-boy was saying.

"The Inuzuka Clan is known for their colorful natures." Neji at least sort of made sense even if he was still kind of a stuck-up jerk. "But otou-san told me that Tsume is on good terms with Hiashi-sama…"

"My father affirms the truth of that matter." Shino added blandly.

"Would you stop being so noisy!" Ino screamed and chucked one of Chouji's empty hot-dog wrappers at Kiba.

Dang…Ino was scary when she was mad. Naruto swore he would avoid bringing that wrath down on himself. Kaa-san was bad enough when she was upset.

"How did you even get up there?!" Kiba moaned, managing to claw himself halfway up the side of the Nara building before sliding back down.

"Tch, Isn't it obvious?" Naruto snorted while Shikamaru continued to recline without opening his eyes.

"Ya ain't got no ladder so it sure as heck isn't obvious to me!"

"Baka." Shikamaru grumbled. "It's too troublesome to explain."

"I'm gonna pound you when I get up there, Nara!"

"Good luck with that."

"Shouldn't someone go help him up here?" The boy that shared Naruto's enthusiasm with food chimed in over his crunch of chips.

"Why would we want another loudmouth up here?" Sasuke grumbled from where he was sitting back to back with Minato. "Naruto is enough."

"Hey!" An indignant shout, that Naruto totally sympathized with, called from below.

"Why are you always being such a jerk?!" Naruto hissed viciously. Sasuke was always acting like he was so much cooler and better at everything. Brother or not, he needed a beating!

Except Sasuke yelped sharply and seemed to wilt when Minato-chan turned and glared at him in a way that reminded Naruto of his new kaa-san except it was way, way more guilt-trippy. Whenever he got that look, Naruto felt like he had taken a kunai to a puppy or something.

"Sasuke, you can do better." Minato remarked quietly before giving Ino's long kimono a tug and distracting the blonde with a well-timed compliment and leaving Sasuke in a sulk.

A small gasp and a tugging on his sleeves prevented the blonde from lunging at his sort-of brother. Turning sharply, he spied Hinata looking a bit nervous but insistent just the same.

"Ano, Naruto-kun." The blonde's stomach plummeted when he realized he had made his friend uncomfortable. "Maybe we could help Kiba-kun learn to climb walls too."

"Eh?" Why in the world would they want to do that? "Why, Hinata-chan?"

Naruto watched his friend fiddle with the sleeve of her kimono before nodding to herself and straightening. "Because seeing someone hurting isn't fun. I wouldn't want you to be left out, Naruto-kun."

Naruto felt like a real jerk. Hinata was absolutely right. How many times had he watched other kids playing and had not been allowed to join in?

Naruto swung himself over the ledge and felt his heart beat a little faster when he saw the other boy was already trudging away with a droop in his entire posture.

"Kiba, wait up!" Naruto jumped down and raced toward the boy who was slowly turning back around.

"Eh?" The dog boy cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Come on! I'll show you how to walk on walls!" Naruto slung an arm around the taller boy and dragged him back to the building. "I'll bet you're creative like me too! Once you get this down, we'll plan a prank for all the grown ups! Hehe!"

Naruto felt his stomach clenched, but when the other boy replied it was with that same roguish smirk and satisfaction that Naruto saw in himself.

"You bet! Now show me the tricks you're doing!"

"Alright, I'll share some of my ideas while we work." Naruto scratched his head then. "Err..."

"What?" The other boy asked.

Naruto really did not want to admit that he wasn't sure how to go about teaching someone else. Hinata trotted up and the blonde latched onto her desperately.

"I'm gonna demonstrate while Hinata-chan explains!"

"Her?" Kiba looked dubious; that certainly wouldn't do. Hinata could do anything!

"M-me?" The girl shivered slightly and Naruto rounded on her clucking.

"You're awesome, Hinata-chan! You helped me out a few days ago. So, this is gonna be a breeze." Before the girl could doubt herself, Naruto ran to the side of the house and hopped onto the side. It initially felt weird, but it was almost fun to cling to vertical surfaces. It was like having suction cups on your feet that you had to turn on and off. The sticking part was easier than turning it on and off, but it was easier to do when you didn't think about it too much. "Ta da! Look at me!"

"Hey, I've seen shinobi in my Clan do that!" Kiba exclaimed, suddenly looking incredibly excited. "I bet Ma would be super impressed if I learn how to do this!"

Just before Kiba threw himself at the wall, Hinata slid a hand in front of the dog boy and shook her head.

"Do you know how to use chakra yet, Kiba?"

Oh right! Hinata sure was brilliant! He had forgotten all about that.

"Err…I don't know?" Kiba blinked.

Naruto hopped down again. "Well see, the first thing you have to do is…"

---

Mikoto emptied her sake cup and glumly resumed slicing up some daikon. Her depression had not gone unnoticed by Yoshino; within moments of arriving at the home, Mikoto found herself yanked from Fugaku's arm and unceremoniously shoved into the kitchen with a spare apron flung at her head.

Inoichi's wife Mara had greeted her with a wink over a wine glass, Chouza's wife—for the life of her, Mikoto could not remember the woman's name—was putting some finishing touches on trays of anpan. That made the Uchiha woman wonder why they needed so much food when it was just a meeting of Clan Heads and their families. Mitsuri had to be an Aburame with those heavily ridged sunglasses; said woman was seasoning pork skewers in a methodical, almost mathematical, manner.

Tsume's greeting had been very gentle all things considered. A feral leer and a smack to her backside that had the room gaping, Mikoto's cheeks burning, and Yamanaka Mara laughing and smacking the counter.

"I just can't believe the mighty Uchiha have joined us for a quaint little get-together." Tsume smirked from where she was slicing a large chunk of beef into perfectly even slices.

"Even shinobi of our prowess enjoy company." Mikoto refused to yield the field to Tsume. The woman was known to verbally eviscerate anyone that hesitated and she had her pride. "I'm merely surprised to see you cooking, Tsume. I thought you would leave that to us girls!"

There was a collective murmur and Tsume went still for an instant before breaking out into a large smile and vaulting the counter. Mikoto tensed for an altercation, but a second later, Mikoto shrieked as her feet dangled midair and she was twirled around like a small child.

"Putmedown!" Mikoto felt a peculiar surge of panic and she flailed slightly, her knife barely missing Mitsuri's coat sleeve as she was jostled up and down.

"The kitten has claws!" Mikoto's stomach rolled as she was spun again while the Inuzuka woman chuckled. "What a treat!"

Mikoto regained her balance only because she was a kunoichi—albeit an out of practice one. The heavy-handed arm that smelled strongly of doghair draped itself over her shoulders.

"We hardly need those men to have a good time." The Yamanaka woman laughed. "We can make trouble and have fun all on our own."

"Such antics are to be expected in the presence of my husband's comrade." Was she crazy, or was the Aburame woman teasing?

The hand around her shoulders slithered away and a wide-eyed Mikoto watched Tsume sidle over to the Aburame and elbowed her gently in the side.

"You know you love me."

"There is a degree of fondness I feel for you." No mistaking it this time, there was definite humor and Mitsuri's mouth flicked upward in a brief semblance of a smile. "Though Shibi's tolerance for your behavior exceeds my own."

"I knew you loved me." The brash woman chuckled as she raced back to her meat and Mikoto wondered if this would be what a girl's night would be like.

"Shou, are those things done?" Yoshino barked and Mikoto filed away the Akimichi woman's name for later use.

"You can't rush perfection." The meaty fingers demonstrated a surprising amount of finesse as they daintily sprinkled the top of each bun with extra seasoning.

"I know better than to dispute that." Yoshino rinsed her floured hands. "Uchiha, are you coming to our get together this week?"

Several sets of eyes zeroed in on her and she swallowed reflexively.

"To be honest, I haven't had a lot of time to think about it since Tsunade returned to Konoha." Mikoto forced herself not to frown and deliberately set her knife down and began adding the daikon to the salad she was working on.

"Is that why you've been sulking tonight?" Mara nicked a bun when Shou turned her back.

"I am not sulking." Mikoto protested.

"You are." The chorused answers shocked her and she cast a look around helplessly from support from somewhere.

"Can't say that I blame you." Tsume licked the meat's juices off her fingers, either unaware or uncaring of the glares she was attracting from all corners. "I hear the Senju brat has been with you for almost a month. Practically makes him family. I wouldn't be all that happy to give the kid up either."

What could she possibly say to that? She did not have a right to be, but Mikoto felt upset and resentful of how things had turned out. Knowing her feelings were irrational didn't change the fact that Minato was her boys' best friend and was a joy to have in the household. The silver haired boy helped without being asked, kept his room cleaned, and distracted Naruto and Sasuke in mostly positive ways.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Mikoto loved the boy. And a boy she had grown to love was being taken from her and given to Hatake Kakashi and Senju Tsunade to fight over like two dogs fight over a scrap of meat.

Mikoto was disgusted.

"They should have left him with me." Mikoto heard her voice drop several decibels and was aware the sound of prep work had fallen quiet around her.

"Maybe so." The Yamanaka woman drawled and Mikoto lifted her head to watch the platinum blonde inspect her fingernails with a critical eye. "Do you plan on banning your children from visiting?"

"No." Absolutely not.

"Are you going to tell the kid he can't come to visit?"

"Of course, not!" Mikoto set her hands on her hips.

"It seems to me that you can still care about the boy and maintain a relationship with him. And from what I've seen, those kids are going to be together enough that you'll feel like the boy is still living with you." Mikoto felt her anger melt away as the Yamanaka's far-too-knowing eyes watched her before the woman's expression eased into a smile. "And let me reassure you, efforts have been made to make sure this transition runs as smoothly as possible."

There was something cryptic there, but it was well-known that no one manipulated the mind the way a Yamanaka could.

There were voices in the hallway and Mikoto's stomach flew up into her throat at the sound of a screaming baby. There was a set of heavy footsteps, the crying drew nearer, and into the room swept a less than regal Hyuuga Hiashi with a squalling babe in his arms. The manic Hyuuga leader's eyes darted about wildly and Mikoto held her breath until the man pinned her in place. Holding up a hand as if warding off attack, it did little good as the bundle of baby girl was thrust into her arms.

"You offered your assistance, Uchiha." Hiashi swiped at the dark bags underneath his pearly eyes. The man really did look terrible. "So here she is."

Mikoto's jaw dropped as the Hyuuga patriarch half-stumbled out of the kitchen and disappeared back toward the open area. Hanabi looked red-faced and utterly wretched so Mikoto replaced the babe on her shoulder and started swaying in an effort to soothe the infant. Almost immediately the crying tapered off and the babe fell quiet.

"Someone has a knack for the little ones." Tsume sounded impressed and perplexed all at once. "Don't take this personally Mikoto, but I can't believe Hiashi left his daughter with you. I've known the man for years and he hasn't exactly made a secret of his lack of enthusiasm for your clan."

"No offense taken." Mikoto eased the baby's head a bit higher onto her shoulder and felt herself sigh in relief when Hanabi settled without making a peep. "I had some words for Hiashi a few days ago. He kicked me out afterward in a very polite fashion. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are."

"About time someone yanked that man's chain." Yoshino muttered.

"I give him shit all the time." Tsume protested, even as she leaned in to sniff the baby for a moment. "He's become close to immune after all these years. It's hardly my fault."

"She's a sweet baby." The Akimichi woman was lightly running a pudgy finger over the infant's cheek. "It's just such a shame that she lost her mother before she had the chance to know her."

"Inoichi reached out to Hiashi after his wife passed." Even Mara seemed subdued by the turn in conversation. "It was no use. No one clams up tighter than a Hyuuga."

"Hinata has been a joy to have around." Mikoto continued to sway from side to side for the baby's benefit. "If your children enjoy her company, perhaps you might invite her into your homes as well."

"Ino could certainly use another playmate." Mara nibbled her bun and stirred her drink absently.

"I think we should do another one of these group events." Tsume put her hands together. "I would be more than happy to host all of you."

"Not if you're the one cooking." Shou jabbed the Inuzuka with her spatula. "I've tasted your goods Tsume and I wouldn't serve it to a pig."

"Is that so?" Tsume leered ferally.

"Kaa-san!" Mara's pretty little daughter raced into the room and latched onto her mother with a vibrant grin and—yep, the kid was up to something.

"What is it, munchkin?" Mara asked with an all-knowing smile while nursing her drink.

"Can I have one of the platters of anpan?" Ino asked with little pretense.

"A whole platter?" Shou jolted. "We only have three. What do you need that many anpan for?"

"Daddy asked me to get a snack for everyone. I think even that snotty Hiashi looked hungry." Tsume laughed at the last while everyone except Mara and Mikoto seemed to be buying into the little ruse hook, line, and sinker.

"Of course," Tsume lifted one of the trays and looked at Ino dubiously. "You sure you can carry this thing, kid? You're pretty tiny."

"I might be small, but I'm tough too!" Ino flexed her tiny arms and made a face that Mikoto assumed was meant to be impressive.

"That's the spirit kiddo!" Tsume deposited a hefty tray that the girl noticeably strained to lift. "Go show them whose boss!"

"Thank you!" The blue-eyed girl chirped as she turned, swaying on slightly, and slowly made her way out of the kitchen.

"I can't wait to hear if they like my work!" Shou clapped her hands together cheerily.

"Ino's such a good girl." Yoshino drawled from where she was adding lemons to a pitcher of water.

"Indeed." Mitsuri murmured in agreement.

Mikoto suppressed her laughter only because of the sleeping baby in her arms. How could these women not realize they had been taken for a ride? The answer was obvious though: they lacked a Naruto in their lives.

"Ino is up to something." Mara shook her head thoughtfully and restored Mikoto's hope for sanity.

"More like my boys are up to something and have dragged your children into a conspiracy." Mikoto murmured, delighting in the sudden sea of expressions ranging from impressed to disbelieving.

"A prank." Yoshino breathed thoughtfully. "I did hear about an incident in the Hokage's tower, but I didn't know the extent of it."

"More like Shikaku couldn't be bothered with telling you." Mara huffed indulgently. "And as long as we're not the ones being victimized, I'm content to enjoy the show."

"How are we going to enjoy the show if we're stuck in here?" Shou folded her arms.

"Point." Yoshino clucked. "Ladies, shall we start bringing out dinner so we can take a closer look?"

"I'm in." Mikoto balanced the baby in one hand and lifted a pitcher of lemonade in the other.

One thing was for sure, Mikoto was enjoying herself.

"Me too." Tsume stood balancing a large meat roast. "I wonder if my Hana will get caught in this trap."

"If she's lucky, Itachi will rescue her." Mikoto was out of the room with the rest of the women on her heels carrying salads and other goodies. "My husband won't notice it. Clan arrogance is not congruent with intelligence and Fugaku falls for these things over and over again."

"Oh dear." Shou gasped. "This explains why the larder seems to be missing so much food of late. I was blaming Chouza!"

"Sorry about that." Mikoto muttered an apology as she frowned at the door and her arms.

"I'll get the door!" Mara called, rushing past to open the latch.

"Don't worry about it." Shou called from two ladies down. "If it means an Akimichi isn't going to fail a stealth course in the Academy, I'm all for it."

"Shino has made a friend." Mitsuri spoke from behind an enormous salad bowl. "I feel that he is becoming more social and I have noticed no significant behavioral lapses. I have no complaints in continued association."

"Thanks." Mikoto waved a greeting to the men lounging outside, spying the blonde girl approaching with her own heavily laden tray. "It looks like we made it just in time. Ino-chan is right over there."

Yoshino was already depositing her dish on the buffet table just outside the house "If only Nara men were more motivated…Shikamaru could never attract a girl like her."

"They're only four, Yoshino." Mikoto thrust the pitcher of juice to Yoshino and winked at Hiashi who was frowning at his sleeping daughter jealously.

"She's right though." Mara grimaced as she eyed the group of men. "We Yamanaka are high strung. It's why Inoichi frequents bars and I shop. We all have diversions."

"That's very honest of you." Mikoto allowed.

"You don't know the half of it." Yoshino muttered. "Now be quiet. I see more movement. I bet the show is about to start!"

---

The roof was occupied by a hoard of children, so Kakashi settled for not-stalking his little brother from the questionable safety of a copse of trees. The copy-nin was almost positive that Shikaku had looked his way more than once, but the Jounin Commander had not called him out. Besides, Kakashi had only been spying—or perhaps watching attentively—for a little over an hour.

What he saw had been rather fascinating.

Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata were teaching an Inuzuka to wall climb. And in a record amount of time! As a genius, Kakashi was aware of the properties of chakra and the theory of proportions and how someone with a small chakra pool would have an easier time grasping chakra control techniques. Those same principles had allowed Kakashi to speed through an Academy graduation with perfect chakra control over his small reserves. And now, he was seeing a clumsy and impatient boy master a shinobi technique that most genin struggled with simply because their chakra capacities were large enough to make it difficult to grasp.

As long as these kids kept climbing walls or trees, they were going to be a jounin-sensei's dream team. The only bummer would be the vast disparity between Clan children graduation and civilian, but Kakashi was not inclined to care about that. Statistically speaking, civilian shinobi were rare because they rarely possessed greater than average chakra reserves and they possessed no outside assistance or unique talents that made them suitable to shinobi life.

Kakashi noticed a sudden change in atmosphere on the rooftop and conversation had died down up there. Naruto, clearly the instigator, was standing up while all the other kids were watching him make a series of wild gestures—it was a damn shame that the low lighting made lipreading impossible without using Obito's gift. Kakashi watched his brother nod thoughtfully a few times and settle a few disputes with an unspoken authority that all of the other children unconsciously responded to. The Aburame and Hyuuga seemed to listen, while the Inuzuka was having difficulty containing his excitement. Finally, Sasuke and Shikamaru stood and appeared to be pointing a few things out to Naruto before Shikaku's boy obviously took charge because suddenly the group was deferring to him.

Finally, Inoichi's girl stood, tapped her own chest with a thumb, and scurried over the edge of the building and disappeared indoors. Shikamaru moved to the edge of the roof with Kiba, Naruto, and Hinata following like ducklings before the group disappeared over the side. That left Shino, Sasuke, Neji, and Minato dropping to the ground like an ANBU team waiting for a signal.

Kakashi knew several things; Naruto had come up with an idea, Shikamaru had refined it, and they were all working together seamlessly toward a goal Kakashi was afraid to predict.

The men were all sitting outside lazily and mostly relaxed. The Ino-Shika-Cho combo were lounging together, while Shibi was bravely seated between Hiashi and Fugaku to facilitate conversation. Hizashi was chatting with a pretty looking Uchiha woman that Kakashi could not place off the top of his head. And off to the side, Itachi was sitting with a bored looking Hana. The evening was disrupted when the door swung open and a proud looking Yamanaka princess arrived with a platter that easily matched her in weight.

"I brought oba-san's anpan!" The call came and was met by nearly everyone rising to surround the table—not even the infamous Nara laziness was a match for Akimichi Shou's cooking.

"Thank you, sweetheart!" Inoichi called to the apple of his eye.

From the house, the women trouped out, with the Uchiha matriarch bizarrely looking after a Hyuuga babe. And while the women appeared to be setting up the buffet table, the looks they kept giving the men were certainly telling. They knew something was up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto's blonde hair appear with the others from his little group peering around the opposite side of the Nara home. At the same time, Kakashi saw Minato give a short nod before his group broke away from the house. The quartet reached the adults and branched off and started…whining? Kakashi felt a drop of sweat fall off his brow and he nearly fell out of his tree when he heard Minato—quiet little Minato—start complaining to Fugaku about being hungry. Kakashi's lone eye tracked the arrival of Shikamaru and Hinata sidling up to the others before a sudden roar had all the adults turning as Kiba and Naruto went charging toward the table screaming something about food. The boys lunged for the tray of anpan sending buns flying everywhere.

"What are they doing?" Kakashi asked to himself as chaos erupted.

Fugaku was trying to grab Naruto who proved more slippery than an eel as he evaded his adoptive parent's grasp. Chouza was desperately trying to snatch buns from the air and his erratic motions had forced the other adults to dodge his clumsy efforts. From a distance, it looked like some horrible dance opportunity with Shikaku, Inoichi, and the Hyuuga twins dodging blows, while Shibi's insects swarmed the air and buns in a show of agitation. Then Inuzuka Hana was there lunging for her brother.

"Cho—ack!" Inoichi suffered an elbow to the gut.

While everyone occupied, scurrying behind the scenes like little rats—namely Hinata and Shikamaru—were hastily rubbing something over all the chairs that had been occupied by the group fathers. Kakashi's eye widened and he felt the irresistible urge to laugh. Everything, everything had been a diversion for this moment! The initial engagement with the anpan got everyone to stand, the four boys arriving had functioned to disarm the adults and allow Shikamaru and Hinata to approach without comment. And finally, Naruto and Kiba provided the perfect diversion to prevent some of Konoha's finest from noticing.

Well, Kakashi watched Itachi standing back to the side looking vaguely amused and far more intelligent than the crowd of idiots squawking over the profusely apologizing Kiba and Naruto. And in the back, the women were doing a poor job of smothering laughter and it was clear they had arrived at a similar conclusion to Kakashi.

Kakashi imagined the real apologies were yet to come.

He would wait until the group settled, dinner was served, and only then would he make his presence known. Except Minato waved to his tree from the edge of the area and Kakashi chuckled. Leave it to that kid to find him in a crowd.

---

Hiruzen left the anxious Tsunade and fretting Shizune to settle into the reconstructed Hatake Compound that was mokuton construction at its best—Sarutobi had not enjoyed explaining the Tenzo situation to Tsunade. Jiraiya had been adding fuinjutsu seals to the property; some Kakashi had agreed to and Hiruzen knew his student would be adding a few extra tags in Minato's room. Where a jinchuuriki was concerned, a Kage could never be too careful. And Hiruzen knew that Jiraiya had already been placing seals around Naruto's new residence while the family was away. As far as the Hokage was concerned, it was just good sense.

Hiruzen appeared at the edge of Nara territory and offered a wave to the Clan guards that looked to be harmlessly engaging in shogi, but were actually armed to the teeth and deadlier than most shinobi in the village realized.

Sauntering in from the rear, Hiruzen was treated to the sight of a complete Clan gathering where all the ladies were helping the children dish up their food while the men sat in a group of chairs looking almost winded.

Uzumaki Naruto whipped around faster than anyone and sprinted away from an exasperated Mikoto running full tilt. The Sandaime braced himself and swung the gangly boy into his arms.

"Jiji! You made it! All the moms made food and it smells great!"

"Sandaime-sama, welcome to my home." Nara Yoshino arrived just a step behind Naruto.

Opening his mouth to greet the woman, the Sandaime paused at the sound of tearing fabric. A second later, shocked exclamations resounded from the collective mouths of the adults in the vicinity. From a nearby tree, he heard a distinct spluttering and laughter. Sarutobi Hiruzen had partaken in the fighting of countless battlefields and witnessed things both horrific and magnificent, but nothing quite like this.

Feeling like he was caught in one of Jiraiya's novels, the Sandaime stared aghast at some of his village's finest male jounin gripping exposed backsides with their hands, while the women smothered their shock—likely their laughter—behind their hands.

"Naruto-kun, get over here now!" Fugaku shrieked not unlike a little girl, while Mikoto laughed out loud to the shock of all around her.

"Got you! Glued you all!" Naruto cheered from his arms, the blonde obviously not sensing the surge in killing intent coming from the crowd of irate fathers.

"Naruto-kun, how would you feel about some ramen?" The Hokage had already turned around with the blonde in his arms, knowing that a bare-assed, homicidal Fugaku would probably not follow them immediately.

"Why Jiji?" Naruto sounded too genuinely perplexed.

"Because a wise shinobi understands the importance of a tactical retreat." Hiruzen murmured before executing a few well-timed shunshin that lost his ANBU tail for a few moments. Dropping Naruto, the Sandaime sliced his finger efficiently and performed a rapid series of seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu."

A small monkey poofed into existence and tipped its head quizzically.

"Tell Uchiha Mikoto that I'll return Naruto later tonight after things cool down. You'll find her at the Nara residence."

The non-verbal primate saluted before swinging itself agilely to the rafters of the nearest building and disappearing into the night.

"Jiji, teach me to do that! Please!" Naruto hugged his knees and stared up at him so hopefully.

Thankfully, the faithful ramen stand owner stepped in to rescue the floundering Kage.

"Oi, Naruto? Is that you?"

"Heck yeah it is!" Naruto disappeared beneath the stand flap and clambered onto a seat, already spreading the tale of his elaborate prank to the owner.

Hiruzen slid his pipe into his mouth and lit it. Maybe he would ask Koharu to handle Hiashi when the man inevitably filed a compliant. Or he could just let Mikoto sort out the man if he proved an obstacle.

Whatever, right now was about Naruto.

"So how have you liked living with the Uchiha, Naruto-kun?"

It was a loaded question and it got more than Hiruzen was inspecting. Naruto was animated, lit up, and happy. The Sandaime had seen smiles, but they had lacked the nutrients to really sustain joy. This Naruto that he was seeing here was transformed.

It hurt knowing he had made the wrong choices for the boy's life up until now. It made Hiruzen wonder if he was doing more harm than good by keeping Naruto's past a secret. Seeing how well Tobirama's descendent was adjusting made the Kage wonder, but seeing Naruto smile made the Sandaime doubt.

The boy was slurping down his third bowl, had barely come up for air, and was already raising his hand and begging for another. The Sandaime saw two different faces; one with hair as red as a Sharingan and another with an even spikier halo of blonde.

Uzumaki Naruto…I wonder who you'll be like.

---

The man studied the scrap of parchment, frowned, and crumpled it into his palm before dropping it into the embers of the fire to burn away to nothing. The orders were clear, all there was to do was spread the word.

---

AN: I'm sorry it took so long to update. I lost a furry family member and spent two weeks on the couch binging netflix at night instead of writing. Everyone copes in different ways I guess. Hopefully it didn't impact the quality of this chapter for anyone.

Thank you to everyone who takes time to follow and review my work. You guys inspire me. Love you all!