disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Warnings: male/male, unbeta-ed and for this chapter fluff, I guess ;;

Sasuke: 7

Naruto: 17

Itachi: 13

Minato: 25

Kakashi: 18

This chapter is for all those of you, who have been with me since the beginning, always letting me know what you think about it. You guys are great.

Chapter 14

Minato was surprised by his former student's visit so soon after he had set him on his task. After watching the blond teen in the hospital he wouldn't have thought Kakashi had something to report on the very same day.

"Kakashi." he greeted the silver haired ANBU that stood next to the window he had used to enter the office.

"Sensei." the young man nodded back. His hands formed a complex series of seals as fast as lightning, causing the room to be encased in a soundproof bubble.

Minato's brows rose at the display. Whatever Kakashi had to report he deemed serious enough to protect from spies.

"You know, sensei, the target you set me own is very entertaining. That was the very first time someone fainted at the mere sight of me." Kakashi's voice was deceptively cheerful, but his visible eye wasn't twinkling as usual.

"Chivalrous man that I am, I carried him to his room. When he woke up some time later, he was obviously disoriented. Nonetheless, he called me by name, referring to me as "Kakashi-sensei" and implied that he was glad to see me again, since he had been afraid that he'd be already dead when I returned from my mission.

Then he told me about that crazy dream he had had. A dream in which not only Sasuke was alive, though in younger than he should be, but the Yondaime as well.

He also beseeched me to talk to the heirs of the ninja clans, because apparently the council had become so rotten that the younger generation considered leaving Konoha for good."

Minato nodded thoughtfully. He could only imagine what the council would be like a decade in the future if nothing changed. It was one of the reasons he had set the ANBU to spy on the council members after all.

"While that is very interesting, no part of that information would be too dangerous to get back to the council, Kakashi."

He watched as the absent twinkle crept back into the silver haired ANBU's uncovered eye and swallowed hard. Mischief and Kakashi were never a good combination, no matter how it lightened his heart to see the teen act his age.

"Well, I know I'm a bit late and usually you should be told by a nurse, but, congratulations, it's a boy." Kakashi exclaimed cheerfully, smiling widely at his sensei behind the mask.

"What?!"

"You see, he ranted at me how he was told just a couple days ago that had his father lived, he would have been known by the name of Namikaze Naruto instead of Uzumaki Naruto." he explained to the bewildered Hokage.

The blond Hokage shot his student a measuring look, before replying calmly: "And you believe him."

"He believed to be in his world, with his sensei. There was no need for him to lie about his ancestry. And his features support his claim, he looks like a younger clone of you, sensei."

Thoughts raced through Minato's mind at the speed of light. He had no wife, no lover and no child that he knew of. The boy's age made it also impossible for him to be his own. Yet, the boy had said that Sasuke was too young, if that was the case, then perhaps the boy himself would have been younger here, too.

Still, no one would believe a boy of his age to be the son of a man his own age. Therefore, even if the boy told the truth, they had to think about a cover that explained the boy's likeness to him without bringing alternate dimensions and fabled demons into play.

"Take one of his blood samples to Rin and let her run a comparison to mine. Afterwards destroy it and should there be a relation between us have her draw up a file that states him to be the son of my deceased elder sister who came to Konoha in search of the last of his family.

Then you will take Itachi with you and report back. I cannot be seen near the Uchiha district without the council finding out about it and I don't want them to know about the boy till he's mentally more stable."

Kakashi nodded, cancelled the jutsu and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

O

I

O

Minato closed his eyes and rubbed his temples tiredly. He felt like everything came crushing down around him. The Uchiha rebellion couldn't have happened at a more inopportune time. The peace negotiations with Cloud had been difficult enough and as soon as word about the death of most of the clan got out, they would become a thousand times more difficult.

Cloud never negotiated in good faith and the only thing the current Raikage respected was strength. If Konoha appeared weak, he would not hesitate to attack them.

Konoha must not be weakened further by open hostilities between the Hokage and the council. And that was exactly what would happen if the council got wind of a perceived hidden child of the Yondaime. He had been too adamant in opposing their more outrageous demands and regulations for them to not know their time was running out.

Seen in that perspective, Naruto was a living powder keg that could explode into his face at any given time if he wasn't very, very careful.

Worse, he believed the boy's claim. The likeness was too great for Naruto to be anything but family. Minato was an orphan, the last of his line and he'd never had any siblings, aunts or uncles to speak of.

Despite his best intentions, his mind started to think about all the women he had met, trying to find the one that could have been Naruto's mother. And with a stab through his heart he remembered long, dark hair, laughing amber eyes and a shy smile. He had met her during his time as a Genin and her family had left Konoha soon after. He had never known her name, her family had watched like a hawk over her, making sure she never interacted with shinobi in general and boys in specific.

Ibiki had told him later that the family had engaged their daughter with a wealthy nobleman twice her age and didn't want to court trouble by letting her form bonds with anyone else.

His heart still ached when he thought about the few times they had met on the streets, at the market or in the park.

Resolutely putting those thoughts back where they belonged, he opened his eyes again and looked at the ANBU reports lying on his desk. Itachi's squad was very, very good and the reports all mentioned a worry about possible dealings between the council and Cloud.

Well, the Raikage's representative would visit in two weeks, a visit that would last for approximately seven days. If the council did work with the enemy, their plans would come to fruition then. And ANBU would be ready to use the collected evidence against them.

O

I

O

Naruto looked curiously around. He was standing in Sasuke's old apartment, but everything glowed in a soft yellow light and looked a bit hazy.

"Of course it looks hazy, this is a dream, dobe." an amused voice sounded from behind him. His heart ached at the sound of that deep, bitterly missed voice.

Slowly he turned till he was facing the kitchen. There, languidly leaning against the counter stood Sasuke. His Sasuke, looking the same as the day he had last seen him in a cell in Konoha and after that as a phantom.

"How?" he whispered brokenly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Sasuke's gaze grew sad and remorseful as he watched the tears.

"I'm here to tell you that you are acting stupid, as I always do." Despite the caustic words there was no anger in Sasuke's voice. Five quick steps later he was standing right in front of the blond, one hand gently brushing the tears away.

"Naruto, you have been given a second chance for happiness and I am here to make sure you take it. Give this world, this Konoha, a chance to prove itself, before you bury yourself in your mind again.

Your precious people are still alive. Of course they don't know you, yet, but that's never stopped you before. Don't be a coward."

Naruto froze, then, as two warm arms enveloped him, he shuddered and started to sob his heartbreak out.

"I don't want to leave you. I don't want to be left behind again!" his yell muffled by Sasuke's neck.

"Dobe." the dark haired teen whispered. "This time it'll be me waiting for you. But don't you dare show your face on the other side before you've lived a long, happy live. Or I'll just have to kick your ass back again, got that?"

Naruto laughed through his tears. "You're such a bastard, you know?"

"Hn."

The light faded slowly and Naruto felt himself waking up. He closed his eyes and tightened his arms around his friend. He knew this was good-bye and he wanted to treasure every second of it.

Dimly he heard someone call for him in the distance. The room and Sasuke vanished to be replaced with darkness and Naruto finally understood what the voice was saying.

"Naru-chan, wake up. Don't cry, it's just a bad dream." the voice was that of a young boy and Naruto could feel two hands shaking his form gently.

Groggily he opened his tear-crusted eyes and looked at the little boy trying his best to wake him up.

"Was that man mean to you, Naru-chan? Is that why you cried? If so, I'll tell Itachi-onii-san and he'll punish him for you."

Two obsidian eyes shone up at him, causing Naruto to smile and ruffle the boy's dark hair. "Thank you, Sasuke, but it wasn't a bad dream at all."

TBC