By: Selim
Summary: When the newlywed Iruka wants to adopt a child, he meets a discriminated boy named Naruto with a dark past. Can Iruka and Kakashi obtain a small family with the boy, or lose him back to the boys original parents…
Pairings: Kakashi x Iruka, Sasuke + Naruto
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Information of this fiction: This is a slight AU. Though it has to do with Ninjas, has Kyuubi, and both Kakashi and Iruka are at designated jobs in the manga, some things are different. Instead of 25, Iruka is only 22, and Naruto is 9 along with all the other kids he grew up with in the manga. Beware of OOCness, because there are so many characters, and the amount of manga I've read only introduced a few. Also, this is being beta'd now – just for y'all to know.
Thanks for reviewing (FF) DeusExMchna, ToboeShi, Crysania Fay, Kativa-Chan, Twiztidchick666, PryaWiccan, Lunabasketcase, Chewy-Chan, Snow887, trabeck, Fitful Fantasy, Lil Saiyan, DepthsOfPassion, Silvermane1, Anongirl88, Kouga-luv, Crystal Blue Dry Ice, Alaskantiger, Zoomi, Ree'rhea, Kuroune's Forbidden Lover, Kagime and the owl, Inumoon3, IceNight009, Tea, KonOdoriko, Coldplayer, Ed-N-Envy's Matchmaker, Kage-Youkai Girl, xWolfDevilx, Silver fox aka Vash, Blackmoon13, (AFF)SapphirexKat2, Shadow2007, Inoku, Anon, Eve4mem, ShadowofLight, Demonrights, MazokuOnna, Chibi, Cloudy, Briryan, Lonelylulaby, Reno'sLover, Anonyomous, and Lemo
Setting Naruto on the ground, Yuki took his hand and began walking past the ramen shop, ignoring the boy tugging her towards the shop. "Can we get ramen now? That shop there is owned by Ichiraku-san, it's his private business. He gives me a bowl of ramen after school, for free!" He pointed towards the shop, but Yuki stopped him from heading that way. "You said we could go!" Naruto cried.
"I know, but not today, Naruto. Toshi is getting bored; so let's go home. I know you can't wait to see our house. You were born in it." She smiled, taking her husband's hand. "Sweetie, aren't you going to say anything to our son?" She asked hopefully.
Glaring over at the two, Toshi turned his head. "There's nothing to say."
Frowning, Naruto tightened his hold on his mother's hand. "When do I get to go home with Iruka and Kakashi? I left Saiai and Yoshino at their house. I want to tell them I have a mommy and a daddy, along with two daddies."
"You don't have two daddies," Yuki chided, "and never think of them as your daddies. That's your daddy, and I'm your mommy. We might only live with each other three days out of the month, but I'm going to make you enjoy those three days because I want us to be a family again." Bending down to the ground, Yuki hugged her child tightly. "Mommy's missed you so much the last few years, but I'm going to make it all better from this point on. No one will ever take my little boy away from me."
Leaning into her hold, Naruto stared up at Toshi, meeting his glare with curious eyes. "Can we get a fox toy before we go home since I don't have Saiai and Yoshino?"
Toshi hushed his wife before she spoke; his glare seemed to narrow more. "Not in my house, we'll have no foxes in there." He continued walking, ignoring both wife and child. "Hurry, let's get home, I'm hungry."
"Of course sweetie." Yuki lifted the nine-year-old again, letting Naruto hide his face in her hair. "Don't worry, Naruto. He might seem mean and cold, but he loves you very much."
"Why haven't I lived with you before? Why was I always at the orphanage?" Naruto breathed in his mother's hair, relaxing at the smell. His conscience seemed to be singing, loudly and obnoxiously, about pigs – making the child smile. That was why he loved his conscience. He might not have his plush toys anymore, but his first friend would never go away.
Yuki stopped walking, her hold on her son tightened as tears glistened in her eyes. "I was very…young when you were born, so I wasn't a very good mother. Hokage-sama put you in the orphanage until I was a little order and much more mature to take care of my baby."
"I'm not a baby…" Naruto whined. "I'm a big boy."
Smiling, Yuki continued walking towards the end of town. "Of course, you're my big boy. Oh! Look, there's the house!" She pointed, easing Naruto close to her side. Naruto turned to face it with wide eyes. Recently painted white, covering newer wood and older evidence of the Kyuubi attacks. Obviously remnants of the attack nine years ago finally finished. "I admit it's more of a relic than anything else, but its home."
Not understanding what she meant, Naruto just nodded as he was placed on the ground. "Can I go look around inside?" When he received a nod of approval he ran towards the building, touching the old woodwork of the door before stepping inside the room. Toshi was sitting on an old couch, his feet popped up as he relaxed. "Hi…" He smiled at the man before continuing through the house.
It was a large house, a corridor opening where he took of his sandals before entering the large living room where Toshi was. A fine homely setting, much like Iruka's, but with a feminine touch. Decorative blankets on the couch and chair, and a rocking chair in the corner dressed by a handmade quilt. Curiously, Naruto ran his fingers over the texture of the blanket before continuing towards another room. The kitchen.
Like the living room, it had a woman's touch. Spotless from any piles, dishes put away and decorative rags and oven mitts on walls. As before, Naruto ran his fingers over each surface, taking in the location before turning towards the front room. "Where's my room, Yuki-san?"
"Call me mom, and it's that way. I'll show you the way." Yuki started walking towards the back room, her smile never faulting as she pushed open the door.
Compared to the room Iruka and Kakashi had given to him, the room seemed bare. A bed in the corner, with a baby blanket tucked around the pillows, a large bear sat in the corner of the room on a tiny chair and there was a small desk. In the closet were clothes hung up, each a cool color of blue to the dark of black, three white shirts and some khaki pants. Not a stitch of orange or other vibrant colors that Naruto liked. Alone was a deep blue fabric still in plastic lining, probably recently bought. "What's that?" Naruto reached towards it and pulled it out to stare it over.
"The hokage has required of me to continue sending you to the academy, that's your outfit for it. A little more ninja than orange and other bright colors you usually go to school in, but still flexible enough for you to move around on the playgrounds and during training." The pink haired woman reached to put the outfit away. "So, since today's your special day, what do you want for dinner?"
Without thinking of it, Naruto said, "Ichiraku ramen!"
"That's not healthy." Yuki sighed.
Tears shined in Naruto's eyes but Yuki ignored the look as she started in the kitchen. "But you said…" He whined as he was left behind in the room. She lied to him. Again! Sitting on his bed, Naruto curled his knees to his chest. "Conscience-san, why does she lie to me, moms aren't supposed to lie. Iruka didn't lie to me."
"Because you trust her too easily. Don't worry; you'll see Iruka in school on Monday. Run to him, ask for ramen, I'm sure he'll deliver." Conscience hummed, his deep voice echoing in Naruto's mind. Suddenly, he began to sing again, about the pigs and a market. Instead of them heading home, they'd travel in the words where a hungry demon would…invite them to dinner; Conscience never specified anything further than that.
Grinning, Naruto uncurled himself and stared into the kitchen as Yuki was putting on her apron. "Can we have curry then?" He smiled happily as she returned the look.
"Fine by me, want to help cook?"
"Can I?" He asked hopefully as Yuki reached through a drawer and pulled out a lime green apron with a frog on the side. She helped him get dressed in it before turning towards the wet bowl of rice. Brightening up, Naruto ran toward her, ready to help cook whatever she asked him to.
After dinner, Naruto took his bath and Yuki put him to bed. Sadly she didn't read him a story no matter how much he probed her about reading him a story, any story, she dismissed it by saying he was a big boy and didn't need a bedtime story. Glancing over at the setting sun, Naruto growled in his throat. He never had to go to sleep this early in the day on a weekend! Struggling, he pulled out of bed and sat at the desk, looking for some paper so he could draw to pass the time away.
"Conscience-san, tell me a bedtime story!" Naruto squealed. The little voice in his head always knew some of the best stories, but they weren't as fun as when Iruka told bedtime stories. Iruka could change his voice and play around in the story with Naruto. Kakashi rarely did the same, but when Kakashi read stories; Iruka would come running into the room to stop him. Unlike those two, Conscience spoke in the same intonation throughout the story, but they seemed more real than the magical stories in his books at Iruka's house where everything turned out well for the hero.
One story the voice in his head had told was set in Konoha, talking about a great war (very close to the one in his history books during school!) where the demon was only going through the town to tell the Hokage (who was a kind man - in theory Conscience always reminded him) that the village was settling too far into the woods, taking over the demon's home. Things went from there to the chaos would happen; people would throw things at the poor fox-demon who only wanted his home back.
And, like in the history books, the events didn't end well. The poor demon fox was 'killed' (in theory, Conscience would remind him), the hokage was dead, and the mean villagers took more of the demons home. As much as Naruto disliked the story, he also liked it. It gave him love for foxes, always asking if the people in Konoha knew what the Kyuubi wanted when he attacked.
Tonight, the voice in his head seemed almost reluctant to tell him a story, but finally he relented and began his story while Naruto drew. A beautiful forest in the leaves, where animals lived and played with one another and the world was at peace. A utopia, Conscience described it even though the boy had no understanding what a 'Utopia' was. The voice continued to describe the forest of leaves as demons settled in it, living off the land in primal states among the other animals, and then humans came around.
Naruto tensed as the voice in his head became harsh in describing the humans' actions upon the land before calming again to switch topics. "I can tell you about the human Arashi."
"You can?" Naruto looked up from his artwork of the scenery Conscience had originally described.
"Yes, I could, but that will be a story for another night. It's dark now child, go lie in bed. I'll tell you one of those silly stories you like."
Nodding, Naruto pulled away from his desk and walked towards the bedroom door. "First I want to tell Y-mom and dad good night." He left the room and started towards the living room where stern words flowed. When his name was said, Naruto froze and stood just outside the room, waiting for the two to finish talking before he intruded.
"-You could at least be a little nicer to Naruto! Speak with him as a human being, don't just humor me! He's your son, or will be in a few months. He needs a strong father to look up to, or he'll just turn out like those two that claim to be fathers. I promised his daddy before he died that I'd take care of our baby, and it's the least you can do for the child as well!" Yuki's voice seemed broken as she cried.
"He's your bastard! I refuse to claim him, much less care for him! You decided to cheat on me; you can take care of your own responsibility! I agreed for you to take him back in, but I refuse to be a father to that – Thing!" Toshi yelled back, a loud thump followed after, likely his fist to a table.
Falling to his knees, Naruto wrapped his arms around his pajamas and listened closer to what they were talking about. "-If it weren't for the fact that you're infertile now, I'd never let that monster into my home!"
Sniffling, Naruto stood up and walked towards his room, carefully closing his bedroom door. He didn't want to stay in this house anymore; he wanted to go back to Iruka and Kakashi's. Or that place Conscience always spoke about, that utopia where everyone got along. Deciding that, he opened his window and crawled out, leaving the house and going towards the woods.
"Where are you going, kit? It's far too dangerous for you to be wandering around at this hour, go back to that couple's house – Toshi and Yuki's."
"No…" Naruto whispered, defiantly. Tears fell from his blue eyes down his chubby cheeks, moistening the ground as he walked. "Toshi-san doesn't want me, he said I wasn't even his son and didn't want me in his house. I want to go to those places you always told me about, with the animals and demons that all get along. They'll like me more than anyone here would…"
"What are you talking about? What about Iruka and Kakashi? They love you and would miss you if you disappeared. I think Sasuke-kun also has a thing for you." The Conscience chuckled, but didn't crack a smirk from the small boy. "Trust me kit, what I tell you are now stories. Woods where animals and demons live at peace are nothing but lies and shit like that, these woods are full of missing ninjas that would love a nice reward for slitting your neck. The satisfaction of killing both of us, head back."
Instead, Naruto ignored the voice as he went deeper into the woods, drowning the voice out with rapid thoughts, replaying the conversation he'd overheard. He must have replayed it six times before he stopped moving and put his hand against the bark of a tree to catch the breath he didn't know he'd lost. Owl hooting surrounding the area, followed by the rustling of leaves.
Naruto didn't look up though as he fell to his knees on the ground and started crying. He grabbed his head, screaming and shouting until his voice was hoarse and his breathing rapid again before just sitting back against the tree and staring hopelessly around him. The grass where he'd stepped entering that part of the woods was no longer flat due to pressure and everything seemed past the disturbance he'd caused. The moon lit the sky just above him, reflecting the stars of a beautiful night as a chill came down from the mountains and for the first time since running in the forest, Naruto wanted to know where he was.
He couldn't remember which direction he went upon leaving Konoha or which direction he turned in his anger. Deciding it was best not to move, Naruto remained seated, staring up at the clouds. "Conscience-san…" He whispered, but nothing replied to him besides the flapping of wings that followed with the shuffling of feet causing Naruto's chest to tighten in fear. He looked around, trying to find where the noise was coming from, but couldn't pinpoint it.
In a defensive position, he waited patiently for the disturbance to make a move against him, but nothing happened. Instead, the forest fell dead again as time ticked, making Naruto wonder how long he'd been in that area. It seemed forever before the shuffling started again and a voice rose through the movements. "Naruto! Are you out here?"
Crying, Naruto ran in the direction of the voice, not caring whom it was. He was scared and just wanted to go home, with either parent, he just wanted to get out of the woods! "Naruto!" The voice yelled again, this time closer, it wasn't the same voice as before, but definitely a male one. Finally, he saw the two sources up front, which quickly turned to face whatever was coming at them. Iruka and Kakashi. If Naruto screamed with joy, he didn't hear it as he threw himself into Iruka's arms and cried.
"Sh. It's okay, we're here now." Iruka whispered, sitting on the dirt with Naruto on his back. "We're here…Sh." He rubbed the boy's back as he cried. When he finally quieted, Iruka took the boy's chin in his hands and stared the boy's face down, looking for any flesh wounds. "Why did you leave Shizuki-san? They're your parents. You scared them when you just disappeared in the middle of the night."
"No I didn't!" Naruto cried, starting to cry again. "T-Toshi said he doesn't want me because I'm not his kid!"
Iruka held the boy close again to calm him down once more. "Did he tell you that?" The boy nodded. "Sh. don't worry. Everything will be okay. You scared Yuki-san though; she came over to our house crying that you ran away from home, thinking you came to us."
Kakashi sat down, looking crestfallen. "Don't listen to what Toshi-san says, Naruto. He might not want to accept the fact but Yuki-san really wants to be your mother, you have to give her a chance."
"But I don't like them! They lied to me that we'd get ramen on the way home, but we didn't even stop for any! Then she said I could have whatever I wanted for dinner, but wouldn't let me have ramen because it's not healthy! Then they made me go to bed really early and didn't even read me a bedtime story! Toshi didn't say anything to me since they took me home. I don't want to stay with them; I want to go home with you guys. Iruka can be my mommy and Kakashi can be my daddy! I don't want them to be, please take me home with you!" Naruto screamed as he began to tear up again.
Reaching over, Kakashi took Naruto from Iruka's arms and stood the boy up in front of him, dusting the child off. "We didn't decide this, Sandaime didn't want to do this, but he had to. He had to give your real parents a second chance, but he only gave them three days with you every month. They could see you randomly, but you only stay under their household for three days, the rest of the month you're a Hatake, like it or not. You have to let them see the sweet little boy and give them a chance. It wouldn't be fair if you decided based on one day that you didn't want to stay with them. Remember, Yuki-san hasn't had a little boy to take care of since you were taken from her and she doesn't know how to take care of you, just like Iruka and I didn't. She is approaching it differently, but don't turn her down yet, give her time. She'll relax and fall into an environment that you both like. Be good, for us?" He nudged the boy's cheek but didn't earn a smile.
"Does that mean I can't come home with you guys?" Naruto wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist.
"Yes, it does, but you'll see Iruka on Monday." Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Nodding, Naruto fell into Kakashi's arms, hugging him while releasing a yawn. "Let's get you back to the Shizuki house then." Kakashi took Naruto into his arms and stood up, followed by Iruka who rubbed Naruto's spiky, messy, hair while the boy fell asleep.
"I want him to come home with us, Kakashi." Iruka finally whispered as they set up towards Konoha.
"I do too, Dolphin, but it's only two days, two nights at the least, then he'll be in our care again. We can survive that long." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, not quite accepting his own words. They might be able to survive through all this until the final adoption trail, but could Naruto?