A/N: I know..it's..been..a long time. Like way too long. I'm really sorry. You've probably heard this a lot, but I was busy. I lost motivation, but I've finally got it back (?). I hope so.
Anyways, it has been a year..since I've started typing this. Can you believe it? Cause I can't (well maybe I can). But man, a thank you for all of you who actually stuck with this story. Sometimes I fear a long story can turn people off, but I'm really glad to have you all and I really appreciate it. Although I feel I may have lost some readers due to my inactivity over the days, and once again I apologize. I really hope to finish this story by the end of this year.
But thank you all for your comments and opinions. Your support really helps me get motivated.
I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Itachi was helping the maids by cleaning the front and organizing the shoes when he heard someone at the door banging. He got up and opened the door. He was extremely startled when he saw the Hokage.
"Where is he!" Minato bursted through the doors.
He was pissed. Naruto wasn't at work and he noticed one of the horses were missing.
"You!" He turned to Itachi. "You should know where Naruto went!"
"S..sir.." Itachi gave a small gasp when Minato pulled on his shirt, bringing him closer.
"Did he take Sasuke too." He glared, looking around.
"H..he did.." Itachi stuttered.
"Where did they go." Minato wouldn't let go of Itachi's shirt.
"I..I don't know." Itachi quickly shook his head.
"How could you not know? You just let your brother leave without knowing where?"
"I..I know..but..master..h..he didn't say anything." Itachi was becoming more frightened.
"How do I know you're not lying."
"P..please sir..I promise I'm not lying." Itachi pleaded.
"Dad?" Kyuubi came up the stairs, wondering what the commotion was. He could hear Minato's voice, but Itachi's was too soft. He purposely even hid his ears and tails despite being weak for Minato, so he could look proper.
His face changed immediately when he saw how Minato was treating Itachi.
"Stop it! You're scaring him!" Kyuubi ran up to them and grabbed Itachi away.
Itachi was relieved, but he was nearly clinging onto Kyuubi. He felt Kyuubi wrap his arm around his shoulders, bringing him in.
"What's wrong with you?" Kyuubi asked.
"Where are they." Minato demanded.
"They're not here." Kyuubi said calmly.
"I know they're not here." Minato said annoyed. "I'm asking where."
"He didn't say. Why is that so important."
"He's my son! I deserve to know."
"What does that matter?! He went away for a reason!" Kyuubi couldn't believe it.
"So you knew?!"
"Of course I did! You're just too damn blind to even accept it! You should know just how stressed Naruto was before he met Sasuke. Sure, we both had our missteps, but do you not see how happy he is now? We've even got closer.."
"Don't talk to me like that." Minato warned.
"Dad—"
"I am not your father! I've told you so many times to call me uncle, but you never listen."
"But.." Kyuubi could feel his chest start to hurt.
"You were never my son." Minato was blinded by anger that he simply left the house, slamming the door behind him.
Kyuubi squeezed Itachi.
"Are you okay 'Tachi.." Kyuubi mumbled.
"I'm fine.." Itachi could sense that Kyuubi was deeply hurt.
"Mm.." Kyuubi inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. He continued to squeeze Itachi since that was the only comfort he had at that moment.
He was hurt. He let go of Itachi, but he could feel Itachi trembling the slightest bit.
"Are you sure you're okay." Kyuubi grabbed Itachi's hand.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just want to see Sasuke. Are..you okay?" Itachi asked in return.
"Me? Of course I am." He gave a smile that just was uncharacteristic of him.
They both knew that they were not okay. Itachi didn't want to burden Kyuubi by having him worry over him. Kyuubi wasn't good at expressing himself well, so he kept quiet.
Itachi went back to help the maids. A couple were worried for him since they heard were Minato came. He told them that he was okay, but they didn't believe it. Itachi regretted not comforting Kyuubi since it felt he needed it.
Kyuubi went back downstairs. He ignored his pain and started to dial the number Itachi gave him before. He waited for Naruto to pick up the line, but nothing. He dialed again in frustration, but no one answered the line.
After spending much time dialing without any answer, he gave up and curled up on his bed. He started to cough violently and he couldn't hold back his ears or tails anymore. They appeared and he gave a low sigh as he felt better. It was hard hiding them when he was sick. He pulled the blanket over his head and he felt tears brimming over. He wasn't one to cry much, but it really hurt him when Minato said those piercing words to him.
Even though he lived as Minato's nephew and Naruto's cousin, it was hard for him to actually go with that. He would end up calling Minato father or dad around the house to Naruto or Minato himself. He was only careful in public. Sometimes Minato would correct him, but most of the time he would let it slide. This was the first time Minato had crudely rejected Kyuubi.
Kyuubi started to scratch at his chest. The feeling of pain hurt so much. He wished Itachi was there to comfort him. It was his own fault for saying he was alright. He realized that he should've comforted Itachi. He was shaking. Of course he wasn't okay. They both weren't okay.
He wiped his tears messily and took a deep breath. He wanted to go to Itachi, but he tried calling Naruto again. He waited for a little bit before trying again. He sighed and started to play his piano to relieve his pain. In between he would try calling Naruto.
Kyuubi looked at his clock and realized a couple hours had already passed. He called Naruto once again. He finally heard the other line pick up.
"Where have you been!" Kyuubi yelled through the phone. "I've been trying to call you for hours now!"
"W-what happened?" Kyuubi heard Naruto seem shocked.
"Your dad came and he's pretty pissed. He came yelling, looking for you since you didn't come to work." Kyuubi's voice slowly wavered.
"My dad?" Kyuubi could hear Naruto point out exactly what he meant by that.
"Naruto..?" Kyuubi's ears fell.
"What is it Kyuubi?" He heard Naruto say.
"He..he said I would never be his son.." Kyuubi started to tremble. "I..I don't know..it just hurt. A lot." He didn't want to cry again.
"Wait..what happened?"
"When he came..Itachi answered the door. Your dad demanded to know where you were. He found out that you two left so he tried having Itachi tell him. He didn't believe Itachi that he didn't know where you were. He roughed Itachi up and that made me angry since I could hear them from the basement."
"Wait, he hit Itachi..?"
"No..I would've probably gone crazy. He just grabbed his clothes and shook him. I think he's kind of scared, but he keeps saying that he's okay." Kyuubi sighed. "When are you going to come back..I think you think that I can handle things here..but I can't. We need you here."
"I'll come back tomorrow. I'll talk to dad okay? He's your father too. I know you're supposed to be my cousin, but you're like a brother to me."
"Thank you Naruto." Kyuubi quickly hung up the phone.
His tears were running down his cheeks. Sometimes he thought he absolutely hated Naruto, but he knew that wasn't true. Naruto was the one who was always honest to him. Naruto wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind. Even though they've fought so many times, he loved Naruto as his brother. He knew he didn't love Naruto romantically since that was what he felt for Itachi.
Kyuubi paused in his thoughts.
Ah, he loves Itachi. He felt like a mess. He wiped his tears once again and sat on the side of his bed. What would happen when Minato found out that they both fell in love with men. He then thought that Minato probably wouldn't care anymore. He already found out that his biological son was dating a hybrid male. What difference would it make if his so called nephew dated a male hybrid. Hell, he was a hybrid as well.
Kyuubi stood up and went to find Itachi. He went upstairs but he couldn't find him. One of the maids told him that he went upstairs, so he went up one more flight of stairs. He was glad that he lived in a house that accepted him.
When he made it up the final floor, he found Itachi in his own room. He was holding the stuffed cat Sasuke gave him.
"Sasuke gave that to you?"
Itachi was startled when he heard Kyuubi's voice. It was much harder to hear him compared to Naruto and the others.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"I'm sorry." Itachi apologized for no reason and placed the stuffed cat back on the nightstand.
"Why are you the one being sorry?" Kyuubi entered the room and sat on the bed.
He patted the space next to him, signalling Itachi to sit as well. He smiled gently when Itachi sat down.
"You miss Sasuke?" He pointed at the cat.
Itachi nodded.
"It feels weird being separated from him.." Itachi softly sighed. "I know he's going to come back..but the thought of us being separated again scares me."
Kyuubi gently ran his hand through Itachi's smooth hair.
"Don't worry, he'll come back."
"I know.." Itachi said softly.
"Hey Itachi?" Kyuubi started.
Itachi noticed how gentle Kyuubi was being.
"Yes?"
"Uhm.." Kyuubi paused for a moment. "I..it's nothing." He quickly turned away and felt his cheeks heat up. He hated that he stuttered.
Itachi knew something was up, but then he remembered what Minato had said.
"Are you okay." Itachi asked. "I don't mean to intrude, but you seemed really hurt by what Hokage sama said." Itachi's ears fell. "I know that family's important..so that must've hurt a lot.."
Kyuubi then brought Itachi into a tight hug.
"Yes..it hurt a lot." Kyuubi felt his chest warm up when he felt Itachi's arms wrapping around him. "Thank you."
Kyuubi broke the hug and smoothed Itachi's hair away from his face.
"I'm sorry he scared you."
"It's okay.." Itachi looked down.
"It's really not okay." Kyuubi sighed. "Don't worry though..Naruto and Sasuke should be coming tomorrow."
Itachi nodded.
"Sorry I couldn't protect you in time." Kyuubi whispered under his breath.
It was quiet on their way back. Sasuke sat in the front of Naruto on Mimi and Naruto had an arm around Sasuke's waist. People were staring at Naruto, but he didn't care. His heart was beating so fast from what just happened.
Sasuke looked back at Naruto and could see a grin on his face.
"That wasn't too bad." Naruto sighed. "I honestly thought it would be worse."
Sasuke nodded.
"I love you Sasuke." Naruto said softly.
"I..I love you too." Sasuke whispered.
Soon, they were out of sight of other people and Sasuke turned back to Naruto.
"I..is Itachi okay..?" Sasuke remembered that Naruto's dad said something about apologizing to him.
"Itachi's okay, don't worry." Naruto hasn't really heard Sasuke actually say Itachi's name in a while.
"What about Kyuubi..?"
"Kyuubi?" Naruto sighed. "I don't know what happening really..I feel like things are just falling apart. I guess things aren't doing too well."
"U..uhm..does your dad not like me still.." Sasuke's ears fell.
"He's still trying to accept it..I just wish he would just listen for once."
"I'm happy though.." Sasuke started to play with Naruto's hand that was wrapped around him.
"I am too." Naruto gave a small smile. "Now why don't we stop by town and finally get you your balloon."
"O..okay."
As promised, Naruto took Sasuke to a street vendor that was selling balloons. They hitched Mimi with a caretaker there and walked together.
"How about I pick one out for you."
Sasuke nodded and Naruto had him turn around so he could choose a balloon. It was quick choosing what he wanted to give to Sasuke.
"Here you go Sasuke." Naruto appeared in front of Sasuke.
Sasuke looked up at a red heart balloon. He flushed and took the balloon in his hand.
"Th..thank you." Sasuke smiled.
"Why don't I buy you some warmer clothes. It might start to get cold now."
"W..what about aniki?"
"I'll take him later, or maybe Kyuubi might want to take him since they've gotten so close."
Sasuke nodded and followed Naruto around. They went back to the shop where they bought Sasuke and Itachi clothing.
"Welcome back." The same lady from before smiled.
"You remember us?" Naruto was surprised.
"Well, there aren't many people who will buy clothes for their hybrids, and he's also wearing a sweater bought from here." She smiled.
"Oh, I see." Naruto scratched his head. "Oh yeah, do you sell winter clothing?"
"I do, I'll show you." She got up and started walking.
Naruto and Sasuke followed her and ended up in a section with thicker clothing.
"There's boots over there." She pointed to an area.
"Thank you."
Naruto had Sasuke try on a black coat with small buckles on the front.
"How's this one?" Naruto gently pushed Sasuke to a mirror.
Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror and touched the coat. He's never had an actual coat for himself. He rarely went outside during the winter, but when he did, it was for punishment.
"I..I like it." Sasuke touched the coat.
"Do you want to try on another?"
Sasuke shook his head. He wanted the one he was wearing, so Naruto found the correct size. Sasuke held onto his coat while Naruto had him try on boots. Sasuke chose black again for the boots.
"How come you want so much black?"
"S..so when it snows..I don't get lost, a..and then you can find me."
"You've gotten..lost?"
"B..before..I was forced to go out..but I accidentally went too far..and it took them awhile to find me.."
"Well I'll buy you this, but I promise that will never happen again." Naruto had a feeling the reason it took them awhile to find him was intentional.
"O..okay..thank you." Sasuke squeezed onto his coat.
Naruto messed Sasuke's hair and smiled. He bought Sasuke several pairs of pants. A couple of them had material at the area where the tail went through. The tail goes through the material that was about couple inches long. It helped prevent snow from actually getting inside the pants.
They left the store and went back to Mimi. Naruto carried Sasuke's bag so he could carry the balloon. Naruto helped Sasuke get on Mimi and got on himself behind Sasuke. He had Sasuke carry the bags while they headed back home.
When they finally reached the gates, they entered and hitched Mimi back to her stables with the others.
Itachi heard Sasuke and Naruto's arrival and was nearly running out the door.
"Sasuke..!" Itachi quickly ran up to Sasuke and gave him a tight hug.
"Aniki!" Sasuke tightly hugged Itachi back.
Both of their tails were swaying around, coiling around each other. Sasuke showed Itachi the new balloon he got as they walked back into the house.
Naruto followed the brothers back after he got Mimi settled. He had their things and caught up to them. They entered and Naruto was forgotten as Sasuke and Itachi started to talk to each other.
He decided to check up on Kyuubi and headed downstairs. They ended up bumping into each other as Kyuubi was heading upstairs.
"Hey. Welcome back." Kyuubi said as he continued to walk up the stairs.
Naruto turned around and followed Kyuubi.
"Are you okay? I just talked to dad, he said he'll list you as his son."
Kyuubi nearly exploded.
"How the fuck is that supposed to help?! He's already said that I would never be his son, and now he's trying to make me his son?!" Kyuubi shook Naruto's hand that was trying to hold his wrist. "Let go of me!" Kyuubi pulled away from Naruto, who had managed to get a good grip on Kyuubi's wrist.
"I honestly think he didn't mean it." Naruto told Kyuubi. "He cried..he said he loved you."
"That doesn't change what he said to me." Kyuubi growled. He broke away from Naruto and started heading to the back door.
Naruto kept on following him.
"Yeah, but this is dad we're talking about..! He's never cried, not since mom died..even though that was a long time ago, you should at least know that."
"I..I don't care." Kyuubi rushed out the backdoor.
Naruto wondered why he was going out here. He continued to follow him and then closed the door behind him when they were outside. He felt a cooler breeze brush past them, signalling season change.
Kyuubi's ears and tail popped out as he ran across the field of grass, passing the agrden.
"Kyuubi! Where are you going!" Naruto yelled as he chased him.
Kyuubi continued running, until he came to one of the biggest tree there was. Usually, none of them really ventured off this far since it was a long distance.
Naruto watched Kyuubi climb the tall tree swiftly.
"What the hell.." Naruto mumbled. Kyuubi only climbed trees so he could be alone.
"Kyuubi!" Naruto yelled. "You need to be careful! You're still sick!"
Kyuubi kept on climbing until he was at a thick branch. Any higher, and it wouldn't be safe. He was a decent distance away from the ground, from Naruto. He sighed and leaned on the trunk, letting his legs hang from the sides of the branch. He thought he'd be able to peacefully sit there, but his ears twitched as he heard twigs breaking.
Naruto was gritting his teeth as he climbed after Kyuubi. He was never that good at climbing and it took a great deal of energy from him. Plus, he was tired from their long trip back.
"I don't want to talk about it.." Kyuubi mumbled, too low for Naruto to hear.
Naruto finally made it to Kyuubi. He was out of breath and wished he never climbed up there.
"H-help me." Naruto held out his hand, afraid his grip was slipping.
Kyuubi sighed and grabbed Naruto's hand. He pulled Naruto up and moved over so he could sit as well.
"Ah shit, this is too high." Naruto was gripping at the trunk.
"You're such a baby." Kyuubi was sitting normally on the branch, able to balance on his own.
"I'm not like you." Naruto grumbled.
"Why'd you even come up here."
"Why did you come up here." Naruto retorted.
"Does..dad..really love me.." Kyuubi was looking down at the branch.
"Of course he does.." Naruto softly said. "You know how dad is..sometimes he just..says things without thinking."
"You two are just like each other." Kyuubi mumbled. "You guys are both idiots."
"Hey! You shouldn't be talking you know. And can we please talk about this inside of something." Naruto was getting nervous. "I don't like being this high."
"Whatever." Kyuubi jumped off the branch and landed almost gracefully. He quietly cursed when he almost stumbled as he landed.
"Hey! What about me!" Naruto angrily called out.
Kyuubi waved his hand back and forth and headed back to the house. He could hear Naruto cursing at him and couldn't help but smirk.
When he made it back to the door, he noticed Itachi and Sasuke staring out a window on the second floor. He crooked his finger to them, signalling he wanted them to come down.
"W..where's Naruto..?" Sasuke saw both of them go out, but he was confused as to why Naruto didn't come back.
"I'm not sure, maybe Kurama will tell us?"
Sasuke nodded and they both went downstairs to meet with Kyuubi.
"Ah, your boyfriend's stuck in a tree. Kinda weird right?" He snickered, feeling a tiny bit better. "There's a ladder in a shed near the stables. That should be able to reach him. He's further back on an older tree. Do you think you can handle that?" Kyuubi asked Sasuke.
"I can..!" Sasuke scampered out the back door to help Naruto.
"Ah, uhm..excuse me." Itachi quickly gave a small bow.
Itachi quickly followed after Sasuke, knowing he couldn't do it by himself. He found Sasuke using all his strength to drag the big ladder across the grass.
"Sasuke, don't push yourself." Itachi grabbed the back of the ladder, carrying more of the weight.
It wasn't long until they found Naruto attempting to climb down the tree himself. He was so relieved when he saw Sasuke and Itachi come.
Naruto finally touched the ground safely and hugged Sasuke.
"My god, thank you." Naruto grinned. "That was pretty terrifying."
Itachi couldn't help but wonder why someone like Naruto couldn't get down a tree by himself. Of course, he kept that to himself and greeted Naruto, apologizing for ignoring him earlier.
Naruto and Itachi carried the ladder back, while Sasuke still talked to Itachi about their trip. Naruto smiled, loving the excitement Sasuke was showing.
When they went inside, Naruto started to yell at Kyuubi across the house, angry that he just left him there and looked for him.
Itachi and Sasuke sat at the kitchen table, still talking about Sasuke's trip. Itachi was glad that he had fun, and he was really surprised when he found out he had made a friend there.
"What's his name?" Itachi was curious.
"Mine! He..he has small, floppy ears, and his tail moved a lot when he was happy."
Itachi could guess that Mine was a dog hybrid. He's met some of them after their separation, but when they were together in the past, they rarely encountered other hybrids.
"N..Naruto also gave him our ph..phone number."
"You didn't get his though?"
Sasuke's ears fell, and then he shook his head.
"W..we didn't..b..but I know he's going to call..!"
"Yes, I'm sure he'll call you soon." Itachi smiled.
"Sorry to interrupt, but do you want some snacks?" Sakura couldn't help but smile upon Sasuke's return.
Sasuke nodded.
"Is fruit okay?"
Sasuke nodded again.
Sakura looked at Itachi to see if he wanted anything, but he politely declined.
"Ahh, it's nice to have you back Sasuke. I missed seeing that cute face of yours."
"What about me?" Naruto could hear them and he was coming up the stairs, done ranting at Kyuubi. He was also told that Kyuubi wanted to be left alone for now, so he listened.
Sakura's face almost had a look of disgust.
"You're not cute Naruto. You might be more on the handsome side, but you are not cute."
"You didn't miss this handsome face of mine?" Naruto asked as he sat down.
"No way."
"Ouch." Naruto leaned on one of his arms. "What're you guys talking about?"
"O..our trip." Sasuke quietly said, a little bit embarrassed for some reason.
"I'm glad you had fun though." Naruto messed Sasuke's hair.
Sasuke nodded. They continued to talk and Sasuke ate his fruits Sakura cutted for him. They stayed at the kitchen table for some time before Kyuubi was feeling better.
Kyuubi came up the stairs and joined them at the table. He sat next to Itachi and put his head on the table.
"Hey 'Tachi." He mumbled.
"Hello." Itachi responded.
Kyuubi turned his head and faced Sasuke.
"Welcome back Sasuke, 'Tachi really missed you."
"Th..thank you." Sasuke nodded.
Kyuubi looked at Naruto, but then turned his head away.
"Hey, that's rude." Naruto crossed his arms, sulking.
"Whatever." Kyuubi mumbled.
Suddenly the doorbell rang and Naruto got up to get it. He was startled when he saw his dad standing right out the door.
"H..hi dad, did you get out of work early?"
Kyuubi suddenly got up when he heard that. His chest started to hurt and he was starting to leave before Itachi grabbed onto his shirt.
"I don't think he's here to hurt you." Itachi said softly, he could feel a soft presence from Minato.
They could hear Minato walking to the kitchen and Kyuubi froze when their eyes met.
"Hello Kurama." Minato said before sitting down at the head of the table. "Will you please sit."
Kyuubi hesitated before sitting back down. Only Itachi could see it, but his hands were trembling on his lap.
Naruto sat down next Sasuke, waiting for what his dad had to say. He didn't expect him to come so soon.
"I deeply apologize for my behaviour from before." Minato started. "Itachi, Kurama, both of you. I'm sorry for my outburst. Especially you Kurama. I really..didn't mean to say that to you. I raised you, of course I love you as my son." Minato gave a soft sigh. "I was just angry. I felt betrayed. I felt lied to, and I took it out on you. I mean..I shouldn't have taken it out on any of you."
"I..I don't understand." Kyuubi's lips were trembling. "Why do you always want me to call you uncle then. I..it's not like people even care for me anymore. I've only become a myth now..and I won't hurt anyone anymore." Kyuubi was referring to him being the nine tailed fox.
"Kurama. I know what I've said. My reason was to just keep suspicions away from us. We wanted you to act as one of our distant relatives that was living with us."
"But no one cares anymore! I just want a family I can call my own..!" Kyuubi's eyes started to water. "I..I just want to be part of your family.."
Minato suddenly stood up and made his way to Kyuubi. He had Kyuubi face him as he bent down onto his knees and held Kyuubi's hands.
Kyuubi was startled when Minato did that. They've never really been that close, and the last time they hugged was when he was little.
"Kurama. I was wrong. I know this is going to be extremely hard for me to be forgiven, but please understand that I do love you. I've always been..paranoid. Paranoid about what people would say about our family. I was afraid that people would find out you were the nine tailed fox. It was a much better cover up to say you were my nephew than son. It was..less suspicious; a distant nephew rather than a son who came from nowhere.
"Kurama, I really love you. I know I haven't been a good father, but after Naruto came to me, I've had time to think. I realized how hard I tried achieving this 'perfect' family. But we aren't perfect. We all have our strengths and our flaws. We all like and dislike differents things, and that's..what makes us who we are today. We are all different. And because of how I was viewing things..I took it harshly. But Kurama, will you please forgive me. I'm asking this from you as your father. You are really important to this family. I'm sorry that I made you feel this way." Minato was trying hard to suppress his tears.
"D..dad.." Kyuubi's tears started streaming down his cheeks as he got off the chair to hug Minato.
Minato hugged Kyuubi tightly, an embrace he hasn't felt in a while. He could see the sadness through his ears and tails. He gently patted Kyuubi's back as his whole body shook from the tears he was spilling. Minato could feel his heart ache from seeing just how soft Kyuubi had become from this moment. He felt he almost took that pride away from Kyuubi and that he held responsibility for it. He let his tears trickle down as Kyuubi poured his emotions onto him.
Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi watched the exchange. Sasuke was nearly in tears, while Naruto and Itachi were softly smiling.
It was at that instant, they felt the tension was gone. Itachi and Sasuke didn't have to worry about Minato doing them wrong. Naruto was relieved to see his dad change and open up his heart instead.
Kyuubi finally calmed down and started to sniffle. Minato let go of him and got up, helping Kyuubi in the process. He turned to the rest and quietly asked for tissues.
Sasuke quickly got up and fetched it for him, earning a soft thank you.
Minato wiped Kyuubi's tears with the tissues until Kyuubi was embarrassed and said he could do it himself. He had to admit that it was weird seeing Kyuubi cry. Everyone in their family had rarely cried in front of each other. It made him realize that showing emotion was okay.
Minato sighed and sat back down when Kyuubi had calmed down.
"Naruto, Sasuke, I'm sorry for earlier. I was just angry. That's all I could think of; how angry I was. I thought of everything that was bad, but I didn't look at what was good. I did realize the change in your behaviour Naruto. You became more..light, as if a burden has come off of you, is that true?"
Naruto didn't actually take the time to actually think about that before. He realized how much he did change.
"I.." Naruto started. "I think Sasuke really changed me. I know I don't express it much in front of you dad, but I was extremely stressed before I met Sasuke. I think it affected others too, but the company of Sasuke really did change my views. He's probably not even aware of it." Naruto paused to look at Sasuke. "But I really love him for helping me. I feel like I've become a better person, and now Kyuubi and I are on better terms."
"Well, I'm sure I'll come to love Sasuke as part of our family. Itachi too. Maybe we should spend more time together from now on. It would probably be better for us." He looked at Itachi. "I'm sorry for frightening you the other day. I was just..blinded by my own anger. I would..never do that to anyone, yet I did it to you, so I'm sorry."
"I'm okay..thank you." Itachi said softly.
They sat in silence for a little bit before Minato got up.
"I guess I should head home now. You guys probably still need time to actually forgive me." He sadly smiled to himself.
"Won't you stay for dinner at least? It will count for the other time we were supposed to eat together."
Minato scanned their faces, looking for any disapproval, but he saw none.
"I'll stay for dinner then." He said.
Naruto started to grin.
"It feels weird that you're actually here with us, like as a family. But it's a nice feeling."
"What do you usually do around here?"
"Nothing much, Sasuke and Itachi sometimes play outside while I do work or they have lessons with Iruka sensei. Kyuubi's actually teaching Itachi how to play the piano."
"Oh?" Minato looked at Kyuubi. It was rare for him to make friends, let alone teach someone something.
Kyuubi turned his gaze away from Minato, a little embarrassed for some reason.
Naruto nervously laughed.
"Aniki plays really good." Sasuke quietly bragged.
"Would you mind if I hear it?" Minato asked.
Now it was Itachi's turn to get flustered. Him? Play for the Hokage?
"A..ah uhm..sir..I'm not really that..good. I've only been playing for a couple months.."
"No..! Aniki's really good..!" Sasuke stubbornly said.
Kyuubi couldn't help but snicker when Itachi got even more flustered being put on the spot by Sasuke's confession.
"I..I can play for you if that's what you really want.." Itachi said quickly and softly.
"Well then, let's hear it." Minato suggested.
They all got up with a really flustered Itachi and headed downstairs together as a family. It was really at that point, at that time, all was forgiven. It wasn't easy though. It will still take some time for everyone to actually forgive Minato, but they would all try. It was Minato's turn to show that he actually cares for his family.
Minato had finally realized what was best for his family. He knew it was what Kushina would have wanted as well. He noticed how much happier the atmosphere was. It was something he hadn't felt in a while.
And it felt good.