I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"
'thinking'

Chapter 15:

Shukaku was overwhelmed with the sudden change to his life. Not only had he been provided a room, but he had also received new clothes and everything her could ever need. More so could be said for Matatabi who's room was filled with tons of toys. Both of their rooms were as big as the living room of the apartment they'd grown up in. Honestly, he didn't know how he felt about taking up Naruto's offer to live in the Uchiha Manor.

Shukaku was forced by Kurama, a woman he clearly feared, to stay there to heal. A doctor was even called in to look at his wounds. Every time Shukaku tried to leave, Kurama would get in his way. And each time, he turned tail and went back to his room. The reason Shukaku was afraid of Kurama was that when she found out that he had been the one to give Naruto a black eye, she went into over-protective-demon-mom-mode. Nothing Shukaku had seen before had been as scary. He had nightmares every time he closed his eyes about her.

Two weeks passed before Shukaku was allowed back at school. Everyone noticed a change in the boy. He no longer bullied anyone and he had dropped his bad-boy persona. Shukaku had to admit that the change in himself was good. When he got to the class he shared with Naruto, he took his seat next to him happily. Over the last few days, they had become friends. Gaara hadn't welcomed Shukaku's sudden change and friendship to the blond, but he quickly got use to it. They had a lot in common since Gaara's mother had died during his birth and his father blamed him for her death. Gaara lived with his two siblings in an apartment that the man had provided since he didn't want to look at any of his children. They didn't seem to care. Shukaku and Gaara talked about their similar experiences while Naruto just sat back listening.

On his fifth day back at school, Shukaku was brought to Kakashi by a combination of Naruto and Kurama. He spilled everything to Kakashi. Luckily, Kakashi said the right things. It wasn't long before news of Shukaku's father going to jail reached him. Shukaku was happy with the news. But he still went and talked with Kakashi. After his sessions with Kakashi, Naruto had his. Shukaku began to wonder why Naruto saw Kakashi.

"How do you know Kakashi?" Shukaku asked the blond while they were working on their homework together. Naruto put his can of soda down. Hesitation was clear on his face. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Naruto swallowed, taking a deep breath. "Ever heard of Sound's Penitentiary?" Shukaku's eyes widened at the name. yes, he'd heard of it. "I was raised there until I was fourteen. One day, Kohaku was placed in my cell. I took care of him and gre to love him. Sasuke came to take back his son and I kind of forced him to take me with him. I only wanted to make sure he wouldn't hurt Kohaku. And Sasuke loves Kohaku."

"Why were you sent there?" Shukaku asked. "And why Kohaku too if Sasuke loves him?"

"I didn't have any family and I wasn't needed," Naruto said. "From what I know, Kohaku's mother cheated on Sasuke, so he doubted the child was his. As punishment, he sent her there shortly after she gave birth. She died in there of some illness. I don't know why, but Sasuke must have realized that he'd done something wrong. But I know he loves Kohaku. He gives everything he can to him."

Shukaku nodded. "Sound's Penitentiary, you survived living there. How?" Naruto told Shukaku about Dani and the guard. He felt better afterwards, just as Kakashi had said. "I'm sorry, about what I've done."

"It's fine," Naruto said. "I know why you did it."

"Hm," Shukaku smirked. "Got the answer to number five."

"Of course!" Naruto said. "It's... um... I... I don't know." Shukaku smiled as he moved closer to Naruto to help him out. He enjoyed being near Naruto.

Sasuke, who had been standing in the doorway for the last twenty minutes, turned around and walked back to his office. He sat down, leaning back in his chair. He had heard everything that Naruto had told Shukaku about Sound's Penitentiary. And it pissed him off. Naruto had spilled everything to Shukaku, who less than a month ago had been an enemy. Yet for nearly four years, Naruto never talked about with Sasuke. Sasuke began to wonder if Sai or Kurama knew about Naruto's past. From the way Kurama acted with Naruto, he wouldn't be surprised if she knew. But then why didn't Sasuke? Did Naruto not trust him? Sasuke suddenly looked determined. He'd earn Naruto's trust if it was the last thing he did.

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The first thing Sasuke decided to do was to invite Naruto out for some fun. He thought about going to the movies, but it wouldn't give them a chance to talk. Sure, they could go out to eat afterwards, but that sounded more like a date than anything else. The next place that came to his mind was the zoo. Sadly, Naruto had already gone there with Sai and Kurama. Sasuke was sure he'd like to go again, but he wanted to pick a different place, somewhere better. That's when he remembered the one time he went to an amusement park. He had been six when his mother forced his father to take the day off and she had brought all of them to Suna's amusement park. It had been fun and even Fugaku seemed to have enjoyed himself.

The next problem was how to invite Naruto out. He could just flat out ask him, but again, that sounded like a date. His eyes fell on a picture of Naruto and Kohaku. Of course! He would just use the excuse that he's taking his son to the amusement park. Nodding to himself, Sasuke pulled out his planner and his cell phone, ready to make time to act out his plans.

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"I have today off," Sasuke said suddenly to everyone at the breakfast table. Sai was still gone, doing who knows what. Kurama's parents had already left for the day saying there was some work that needed to be done. That left Kurama, Shukaku, Matatabi, Kohaku, Naruto and Sasuke in the dining room.

"Really?" Kurama said surprised. "I can't remember the last time you've had a day off."

"I made sure to move any and all appointments to another day," Sasuke said.

"Why?" Kurama asked.

"I'm taking Kohaku to Suna's amusement park," Sasuke said.

Kohaku's eyes lit up. "Amu-Men Park? Wiff wides?"

"Yes," Sasuke said.

"Yes!" Kohaku yelled. "I wanna go! We have fun! Nawu come wiff us?" He looked at Naruto with pleading eyes.

"If it's alright with Sasuke-san," Naruto said.

"Daddy?" Kohaku asked, ready to do the puppy-dog-pout.

"Of course you can come with us Naruto," Sasuke said. "I need your help watching over Kohaku."

"An amusement park huh," Shukaku said. "I haven't been to one in years."

"We go too?" Matatabi asked.

"May be some other time," Shukaku said. "We wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense!" Kurama said. "I think all of us should go. Right Sasuke?" She gave the raven a look that dared him to argue with her.

"Hn," Sasuke said. "That's fine."

"Awesome!" Shukaku said. "Matatabi, let's get you ready." He lifted his happy sister out of her chair and rush up the stairs. It seemed he was the most excited to go.

"We should do the same," Naruto said to Kohaku. The little boy nodded and jumped down, following Naruto to his room.

"Sorry," Kurama said once she and Sasuke were alone. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you just wanted it to be the three of you. But I think Kohaku will have a better time if Matatabi goes too."

"That explains why they are going, but what about you?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll help you get alone with him," Kurama said. "I know that something is bothering you about Naruto and I want to help you two out." She stood up. "We better hurry up. Don't want four kids calling us slow pokes. Oh! And we better stop at a store to buy some bathing suits." She turned around and heading for her own room. Sasuke stayed behind for just a few second before he too went to get ready. Part of him was wondering why they needed bathing suits.

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They stopped at the mall and went to a store Kurama's family owned. There, they quickly found bathing suits for themselves. Kurama had picked out Sasuke's since the man was too stubborn to try any on. How she knew his size, he didn't know. She also helped pick out orange trunks for Naruto and blue ones for Kohaku. She ended up with a red bikini that caused Shukaku to blush when she came to show it off. Matatabi picked a blue princess one and just like Kurama, she showed it off. Kohaku called her pretty, causing Matatabi to yell that this was the one for her.

Kurama also picked up two bottle of sunscreen, two backpacks, and six pairs of sandals that matched everyone's bathing suits. Again, Sasuke was surprised that she knew their sizes. She place Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Kohaku's stuff in one bag while Shukaku's and Matatabi's thing were in her own. She also threw in a few small towels just incase. Before leaving the mall, Sasuke stopped at the bank, taking out way too much money. He didn't care if he didn't use all of it at the park or not.

The lines to get into the park were long, but Sasuke went straight into the VIP line. He was going to get the best tickets this place had to offer. The tickets were very expensive. Naruto and Shukaku tried to tell Sasuke that normal tickets would be ok, however, Sasuke didn't listen. The lady at the ticket booth handed the Uchiha his tickets and he walked on ahead, forcing the others to follow him. Kurama didn't see the harm in Sasuke buying the titanium ranked VIP passes. Sasuke handed the tickets over to the men that handed out the bands. Each man wrapped a blue band around the right hand of their group. The two men took out six reusable bottles. Kurama grabbed three of them while Sasuke grabbed the rest. Sasuke and Kurama each took a map of the park. The men quickly look through the contents of each backpack, checking for anything that wasn't allowed at the park. Once that was done, a coupon book was handed to Sasuke who gave it to Kurama. Kurama knew that Sasuke didn't really care about the coupons. She decided she'd simply give it to someone who might need it later. It only took a few more seconds before they were allowed into the park.

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Sasuke didn't know how, but all of a sudden he was alone with Naruto. It had only been an hour ago that the group had been having lunch, talking about all of the rides that couldn't wait to go on. They had gone into a mirror house only to get separated. Naruto and Sasuke managed to get out, but the others were nowhere to be seen. Sasuke pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, ready to call Kurama. His rang just as he was about to select her name.

"Kurama, where are you?" Sasuke asked. "What? Why? I don't care if they wanted to go on another ride. You should have waited for me. Is Kohaku ok? I see. Fine, we'll meet you there." He hung up the phone. "Seems the other went on ahead."

"Ok," Naruto said. He stepped forward. "We're going to meet up with them right?"

"Hn," Sasuke nodded. Naruto followed him to a sitting area. Sasuke picked a spot where Kurama would be able to see them no matter which direction they were coming from. He pulled a bottle of water from his backpack. "Do you want yours?"

"Sure," Naruto said. Sasuke handed him a bottle of orange soda. The two sat in silence, occasionally taking a sip of their drinks.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. He wondered how to approach the subject of Sound. He was tempted to call Kakashi and ask him how to bring it up. Kurama would tell him to just get straight to the point. "Naruto."

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed.

"You told Kakashi about your time in Sound," Sasuke said. "Right?" Naruto nodded. "Are you ever going to tell me?"

Naruto stopped in the middle of a sip, moving his arm back towards his lap. "I… I…" He fell silent.

"You don't trust me?" Sasuke more said than asked.

"Of course I do!" Naruto yelled. Several pairs of eyes turned towards him. Sasuke just glared at them, forcing them to look away. "I mean… I trust you… more than anyone. It's just… I don't want you to hate me." His voice got quieter as he spoke, but Sasuke still managed to hear him.

"I couldn't," Sasuke said. Naruto looked up. "I could never hate you, Naruto."

Naruto bit his lip, blushing slightly. Then his mouth opened, forcing the words to come out. He told Sasuke everything he'd told Kakashi including the incident with Sai. Sasuke cursed Sai's name, setting a reminder to yell at the other when he popped up next. Once Naruto was finished speaking, the two let the silence return. Naruto glanced from his drink to Sasuke and back, hoping that Sasuke would still allow him around Kohaku.

FInally, Sasuke spoke. "It isn't fair," he said. "Honestly, who would send someone to that place?" He froze, his eyes widening. He had not only sent one, but three people to Sound. One committed suicide, one died of illness, and the third was his own son. He wanted to die. He had nearly given Kohaku the same fate that Naruto had or may be even worse. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Naruto asked. "You did what you thought was right. And then when you realized that you were wrong, you saved us. Kohaku is too young to remember any of it. Besides, I'm here now. You not only took me away from the place, but you gave me a place to stay."

"I want to give you more," Sasuke said. "I want to give you everything you deserve and more. I wish I could go back in time and take back what I've done to Mizori and Sena. Yes, they cheated on me, but I took it too far. A divorce should have been enough."

"Then you wouldn't have met me," Naruto said. "I know it may be selfish and bad of me to think this, but personally, I'm glad you sent them to Sound. If you hadn't, I'd still be there. Well, at least I hope I would be. For all I know, I could have ended up like Dani." Naruto and Sasuke shivered at the thought of the blond being dead. "But I was lucky."

"My mother use to say that things happened for a reason," Sasuke said. "I guess she was right."

"Will you tell me about them?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smiled at Naruto. "Soon." He stood up. That was when Naruto saw the others coming towards them. Sasuke started yelling at Kurama who tried to play it off. Kohaku had run towards Naruto, blabbing about all the fun he'd had with the others. Sasuke sighed, deciding since his plan had worked mostly thanks to Kurama that he'd let it go, this time. The group moved on together towards the next ride.