THE DICHOTOMY OF FAMILY AND GENETICS
Naruto never though much about her own family; then she got one whether it was wanted or not. All of a sudden, she finds herself missing what she had never had, and what she had never missed, before. SasuNaru (FemNaru), slight GaaSaku, ShikaIno, KakaRin, JiraTsu, MinaKushi, & YahiKonan.
CHAPTER IX
~ MINATO & NARUTO, SASUKE & TAMAMO ~
I'm going to watch you shine; I'm going to watch you grow.
I'm Going to paint a sign so you'll always know,
As long as one and one is two,
There could never be a father that
loved his daughter more than I love you.
Tsunade hated working on the abortion ward; it was one of the depressing parts of her job, and every time she picked up the appointment sheets, it was the start of a bad day. Today promised to be no different.
She passed through the job, only bothering to glance at the names on her list when it was time for the patients to be called through. She always found it was easier that way. It kept things more clinical, and made her less likely to offer her true opinion if one of the patients asked her.
She wasn't supposed to give it after all, simply make sure people knew their options, and she hardly wanted to get on the chief's bad side when she had just taken on the job only a few months ago.
She had gone to St. Tobirama's after Sarutobi's had been knocked down, and had recently taken on the job as head of obstetrics besides her midwifery job. Minato worked here too, so that was another reason for accepting the job – she hardly saw him at home now that he had moved to the other side of the city.
"Tsunade, just a reminder to let you know the 1:30 appointment has been changed to 2:00; Fuu messed up the books again..." one of the nurses told her as she headed for the nurses station to gather up the next load of patient files.
"Thanks Yugito..." she replied absently, flicking through the appointment file for the patient Yugito had just mentioned.
It was already 1:30, so they would be arriving any time now; it would be best to get a head up on the exact circumstances as best she could; opening the file, she scanned her eyes over the relevant information, and felt her hear skip several beats when her eyes settled on the name printed on the top sheet.
"Tsunade? Are you alright?"
Tsunade jerked her attention back to the nurse behind the desk and let out a grin.
"I'm fine Yugito; I'm just hungry is all. I haven't had anything since this morning" she lied.
The woman gave her a light scolding about skipping meals, but she ignored her; she was too preoccupied by the sudden fear that had inundated her. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be her - she was just reacting to the name.
Konoha was a huge city, and people came from all over fire country to get access to the doctors at Konoha General. Just because it was the same name didn't mean her next patient was her granddaughter - Uzumaki was a fairly common surname after all. It would have been different if her name was Namikaze, but it wasn't. She didn't believe her own assurances though.
Flicking through the folder, she looked for the twin doctor abortion-approval slips (and found them), a few prescriptions, but nothing that indicated any health problems; then she found the photocopy of the birth certificate; it had her date of birth as October 10th, and the spaces for her parents names were blank - there was a note on the back informing her of her living circumstances.
It still didn't mean it was her though... it didn't! Tsunade slammed the folder shut and headed back to the consult room to get things set up, if only to distract her mind from the situation in front of her. 2:00 came all too quickly, and she headed towards the waiting area with lead dread in her stomach.
'Please don't be her... Please just let it be a coincidence...' she begged before turning the corner and scanning her eyes across the waiting room; her heart sank when she saw the redhead in the yellow coat and the blue hat staring frozen at her feet.
Oh, this was... This wasn't right. She didn't mean being faced with the situation herself, but the one that had her granddaughter frozen in her seat like a rock. Her face, those familiar eyes, were set into iron determination, but her knuckles were white from the grip on her coat hem.
She was so much like her mother and she didn't even know it.
Tsunade could tell straight away that the boyfriend - whoever he may be - didn't have a clue she was even here. She had seen that expression too many times to mistake it. She didn't want the tiny formation of genes slowly growing inside her, but she was terrified.
Tsunade had seen quite a few girls of her age coming into the abortion clinic, and many of them had come in with that look on their faces. Now she had to look at it on her granddaughter face. She didn't know which was worse, who was in the situation, or the situation itself.
Taking a deep breath of composure, she stepped out in front of the seats.
"Naruto Uzumaki?"
Her head shot up, and any lingering hope that it was not her granddaughter sitting a few meters away from her was shattered as she stared into the eyes of both her granddaughter and her son.
"Naruto, jut take deep breaths okay? They'll help you calm down..."
Tsunade was crouched in front of the girl in the hallway, in front of the bench she was sitting on; the girl had only been in the room for twenty minuets as she explained the process before she started hyperventilating and had bolted for the door.
"I... don't want it though! I don't need any family! I don't... I just wanted to... I don't want it!"
Naruto bent her head over her knees, finally following her instructions and breathing in long gulps of air; she was seated on one of the benches in the hallway; head leant over onto her knees.
The words 'I don't need family' hit her like an arrow through the chest; what on earth had she done? This girl in front of her had not grown up like she had hoped; how on earth had she thought that living in social care would have been a normal up-bringing?
That wasn't normal at all - normal was being with family, no matter how old they were or were not; she should have ignored Kushina, and just taken the girl home with her. Time had passed since that utter shocking night, month, and she had no doubt now that Minato would have been capable of looking after her, especially with help from herself and his father.
He had gone into paediatrics! About two months after crashing, he had bluntly told them at the breakfast table he was going to be a paediatrician - her head-in-the-clouds son, a children's doctor! She had wondered if he was psychic considering the timing of his decision, and had passed it off as a phase but...
She had over heard a conversation he had held with his brother, and the subject had been enough to bring the guilt swimming to the surface so much even Jiraiya noticed something was off for a few days: 'I like kids Yahiko, but I liked Kushina too much, so if I can't have them, the next best thing is to look after them instead...'.
"It's alright, there nothing shameful about reacting like this; if you want to come back, your welcome to, but... if you want to take another option, that's fine too" she informed the panicked girl in front of her; it seemed to calm her down a little, but she still needed to breath better.
The sound of footsteps approaching was dim on her ears, but the skid as they stopped a few meters away drew her attention; a dark haired boy was staring at her granddaughter with mixed emotion of anger and confusion on his face, before they disappeared into shock, then worry. Alongside the anger of course.
So that was the boyfriend; didn't seem a very cheerful kid, but who was she to judge? Her suspicions that he didn't know a thing were confirmed, and she wondered how many more blasts from the past were going to stab her today. The boy didn't look like he knew what he was supposed to be doing; leave them to it or approach? She solved the dilemma for him.
"Looks like you have the neighbourhood watch out for you; go home, and get some rest. If you need anything else feel free to come back," she said soothingly, nodding her head in his direction.
Naruto raised her head, glanced in the direction she had just indicated, and jerked in her seat at the sight of the boy standing a few meters away from them, blinking in disbelief before biting her lip. Tsunade fought down the urge to do more to calm her down; a hug from a complete stranger wasn't really what Naruto needed right now.
"Well, I've got work to do, and you look to be in safe hands; take care of yourself kid" she informed the red-head, standing up and straightening out her trouser suit and lab coat.
She felt her eyes lingering on her back for a few long moments as she headed back down the hallway, before the sound of short footsteps and someone taking a seat reached her ears; rounding a corner, she stopped and listened to the conversation between the two teenagers.
"How did you find me?"
"I was worried so I went to your place; some Yugito woman left a message... Why didn't you say something?"
There was an awkward silence and Tsunade decided she didn't need to eavesdrop on the conversation; if Naruto picked another option, and came back to Konoha General, she would worry over her then, keep an eye on her as best she could but if not...
Well, the girl had her own life now, and she had removed both herself and her son from that life. If Naruto didn't come back, it would be like it had the first day she had met her granddaughter – as if it had never happened.
There was a chill silence in the Namikaze household as Tsunade finished recounting the exact story of how his daughter had appeared, or had not appeared, in his life; his father was completely stunned, his jaws parted and eyes wide as he stared at his mother in shock, but Minato didn't know how to react at all.
The logical part of his mind could see exactly why his mother had kept quiet – she had been under oath, and he had been a pretty ditzy kid. It was the best she could have done on short notice, and she had done pretty well in only a month.
Logic and reason were not big factors on his mind at that moment though; how could she just dictate things like that? Just decide what was best without consulting him on what was a very, very, important decision? His mother had no way to know he would have freaked out the way she had imagined!
He would have freaked out a little at first, what kid wouldn't, knowing they were a parent before even reaching the status of a full legal adult, without any sort of warning? He would have adapted to that though! That was why he had gone into paediatrics in the first place! Because he was certain he wouldn't have any kids after Kushina had left!
God, he wasn't just a dad, he was a grandpa too – his daughter had a kid of her own, and that just made him more certain that he would have coped! Naruto, albeit with a shaky start, had done it. She hadn't even understood the proper concept of family when she had found out she was pregnant, but she had taken the whole situation in her stride!
God, Naruto. His daughter. His daughter; it staggered his mind almost as much as his mother's actions did. He didn't know what he was supposed to think, do, how he was supposed to react to that... He had always wanted kids, but with Kushina, and no-one else. Now, completely out of the blue, he did.
"There were so many times when I almost told you, every year on her birthday, I came so close to... but I didn't even know if she was still at that orphanage; what good would it have done? She could have been fostered for all I knew..."
"That shouldn't have stopped you..." he muttered, running his hand through his hair, as if the action would calm the storm of anger and confusion whirling around his head – he didn't dare look at his mother right now. He didn't want to do something stupid, and he might just do that if he actually set eyes on her.
"...I never thought I'd see her again, but then I did. I thought... She looks so much like Kushina, I thought that if... I thought you would pick up some things yourself... I think. I don't know... It was never supposed to... I didn't... This is not what I wanted; at least trust me when I say that, if nothing else again..."
She did look like Kushina; her face shape, her hair, same last name, they were almost exactly the same; he had even mistaken her for Kushina when he first saw her, almost, but not quite. Sasuke had snapped him out of his gaze, and he had realised he was wrong, that he was just seeing a ghost. Especially when he saw how bright her eyes were.
It had been a shock to find her wandering – well, collapsing – in front of the ICU after waking up, but he had noted the similarities then too – she was just as fiery, impulsive, and stubborn. He hadn't thought for a moment those were his own eyes staring back at him though. She was just one of those people, a stranger with an uncanny resemblance to another. There was a saying that everyone had a twin somewhere in the world, wasn't there?
Gods of fire, what on earth was he supposed to do with all this? This wasn't what he had been expecting today at all, not in the least.
"I don't know what happened to Kushina, she just disappeared. I did search her records though and... She'd been going to general long before I took the job there - I don't think she left because she was pregnant. She was sick... Very sick if I was reading right. I don't think she wanted you to find out..."
Kushina? Sick? Now that she mentioned it, she had looked pretty off for the few months before leaving, but he couldn't really deal with that information now. There was another, far more pressing and immediate matter in front of him.
"Do you still have her birth certificate?" he asked, very quietly.
He needed to see the physical confirmation other than having met the girl himself; he still couldn't quite believe this wasn't some sort of cruel, badly thought out prank. There was the sound of feet on the carpet, moving over to his mothers liquor cabinet, before the sound of keys and a door opening; so that was where his mother kept the safe. No-one in their right mind would go near her sake stash, so it was perfect.
There was the sound of feet again, and he looked up enough the see the slightly-faded pink sheet of stiff paper being held out to him; taking it, he cast a single glance over the 19 year old ink, and then the tiny fraction of doubt was gone. There was his name, plain as day beside Kushina's, and just above Naruto's, her full one; Naruto Mito Uzumaki. Born 5th of September, her weight, and other such birth babble he saw everyday at the hospital.
This... She really was his daughter. If he had been the type to laugh when awkward or took by surprise or even scared, he would have laughed enough to burst his own eardrums. He wasn't though, so he just buried his face further into his hands instead. He didn't know how long he sat there – long enough for his father to start talking to his mother in sharp whispered tones, but he couldn't stand it forever.
Leaving his seat, he headed for the door; he couldn't even think of talking to his parents right now, and Yahiko was no use either. It didn't help that it was almost 12pm. Any of his friends that he could have talked to would be asleep right now. The hospital was the only place he could go at the moment – there were a few patients he could keep an eye on...
It was better than aimlessly wandering the streets and it would help... help him think on... it would help him think.
Naruto had made some tofu for Tamamo, and then disappeared into their room.
She hadn't moved for three days since then.
Sasuke had gone in a couple of times, and tried to coax some information from her, but she had just pulled her legs up and buried her face in her knees. He'd never seen her like this, even when Tamamo had been sick, and they had been arguing, she hadn't been so... withdrawn.
He wasn't the only one who had noticed either; a glance to the baby monitor beside the phone told him Tamamo was awake again, and he was forced to hang up on Sakura before he could get any of the advice he was looking for. Heading into her room, he found her sitting up blearily, peering through the half-railings of her baby-bed.
It wasn't a cot, but it wasn't a bed either – a crossbreed. She glanced through the bars at her father looking very disgruntled at having woken herself up, and somehow anxious; Tamamo was a smart toddler, and Sasuke didn't believe any of that rubbish about kids being oblivious to what was going on around them.
Maybe she didn't understand the exact mechanics, but when her bubbly mother decided to stop talking for half the week and disappeared, it was obvious that something was wrong. At the very least, Tamamo knew that Mama was sad, and she knew her Papa was worried about it. That was enough really.
"Want Mama..." she mumbled as he picked her up; she was fairly insistent, but she didn't begrudge being picked up either.
"Mama's still sleeping Hellspawn... You'll just have to make do with me again, okay?" he replied heading for the kitchenette.
He cast a glance at the door of the room he shared with Naruto as they passed it, hoping she would suddenly recover from her melancholia, but no such luck. Reaching the kitchen, he began to take drastic measures in getting his daughter a decent night's sleep; he heated some milk up slowly in the microwave (he didn't dare touch the cooker) and then added a bottle-cap and a half of rum to the warm mix.
Tamamo was teething too, so it would probably help with that, or was that rubbing it directly onto the gums? He couldn't remember; he'd seen Naruto do the same thing when the girl had a restless night before though, so that meant it worked... didn't it?
He was usually back late from his job even when he was back early, and Tamamo was usually in bed by the time he got in. He knew how things went in the morning, but restless nights? He'd not encountered very many of those, and the ones he had, Naruto had always taken over...
In spite of his worries, he travelled back to the sofa and handed the small mug of liquid to the redhead on the sofa. He was certain it was alright to put a little bit of rim in her milk. He didn't know where from, but he was certain a tiny cap-full wasn't going to harm her.
Tamamo drank it quickly, perhaps recognising the procedure, then curled up against him as he leaned back against the arm rest and tried to think of some way to jerk his girlfriend back to reality; it was hard when she wouldn't even tell him what had happened though.
Tamamo fell asleep, slumped against his chest with light snores emerging from her lips, and he didn't disturb her; watching her he began to see every little detail in her, one he usually passed over. Details like how her short red hair stuck up a little at the back like his own, not much but enough, and how much bigger she was since that day he had first met her two years ago, despite still being tiny.
He was only assuming here, but without any actual explanation, the only reason for Naruto's actions that he could come up with was that Minato had completely and utterly rejected her. That, or had told her the flat truth, that he hadn't wanted her if he had known about her.
Looking at his own snoring daughter, he couldn't understand how someone could even contemplate that notion; no, that was a lie. Naruto had almost done the same thing after all, and with good reason, but he still felt pissed off and disgusted on her behalf. Again, this was presuming what had happened, was what he thought had happened.
This didn't seem like the reaction he would have expected if Minato had completely rejected her – Naruto had held off on calling for those reasons, but she wouldn't let them get to her this badly. There was something else at work here; he just didn't know what it was.
Frowning, he reached a hand out onto the coffee table and picked up his mobile, and scrolled through the contacts list; he paused on Itachi's name, before deciding against it, and scrolling down to Obito's instead. He had to try a few times, but Obito eventually picked up the phone.
"Sasuke... If the world isn't ending, get off the phone and lemme sleep..." he groaned.
"It sort of did... Naruto met her dad a few days ago, but... Obito, she hasn't said a word since. She won't move, or do anything. She's shut herself in the bedroom and won't come out... Even Tamamo's noticed; I just had to put rum in some milk for cripes sake! I don't know what to do..."
"Naruto met her dad? Oh yeah, doctor guy... Sasuke why are you calling me? Itachi's better at this stuff than I am... I don't-"
"Itachi solves things I guess, but he won't get to the root of it..."
He heard a mumbled sigh and a groan before he heard the sound of movement – presumably his brother sitting up in bed to give him full attention rather than his half-sleepy one.
"Start at the beginning then..."
He explained everything he knew about it, including her reluctance to even call the number. It didn't take very long, then Obito asked a few questions about Minato, specifically his behaviour around Naruto that he had seen; he replied as best he could.
"...I think you need to go talk to the guy Sasuke; he doesn't sound like he knew about her, but if the guys a paediatrician, then I don't thing he would have reacted that badly. I mean, I only met him once, but he seemed like a pretty level-headed kind of guy. Something else has her bugged, and he might know what it is..."
And that there was exactly why he had called Obito instead of Itachi; he was a good judge of character. If Obito said the guy was OK after only meeting him briefly, then he wasn't the one at fault. Or at least, not completely at fault.
"Thanks Obito... You have no idea how much that helps" he replied.
There was a grumble from his brother before he hung up; Sasuke dropped the phone back onto the coffee table, and carefully began to shift his sleeping daughter into his arms; what he had in mind was probably futile, given the time of morning it was, but... he couldn't think of anything else. He had tried everything else, and it hadn't worked.
He was desperate. He pulled Tamamo's arms carefully through the sleeves of her coat, then her hat and gloves and another pair of pyjama bottoms, before pulling on his own coat and heading out of the house with a note for Naruto, though she probably wouldn't read it.
If Minato Namikaze was the problem, then he would just have go directly to the source.
Sasuke handed the taxi driver some notes, and stepped out of the car with his still-snoring daughter in his arms.
The driver had sent suspicious glances in his direction through rear view mirror, especially towards the sleeping toddler in his arms; Sasuke realised he probably looked like some sort of kidnapper, but he could hardly leave her in the flat with Naruto in the state she was. That was just stupid.
The man seemed to relax a little bit when she woke up and asked 'Papa' where they were going though, and he ended up chattering away in low whispers when she had fallen asleep again. It was a relief at the time, but as Sasuke walked through the clinical halls of Konoha General's paediatric unit, he wished he'd used the time to come up with something to say.
He didn't even know what had happened; Naruto may have just completely overreacted to something he'd said. She was prone to doing that after all. This was, of course, presuming the man was even there at this time of the morning. It was almost three now, but he really didn't know what else to do.
He caught sight of Fuu at the nurses station, frowning in confusion over two sets of files held in her hands; it wasn't until he waved a hand in front of her face that the let out a squeak of surprise and jerked back to reality.
"Sasuke? What are you doing here at this time of the morning? Is something wrong with Tamamo?" she asked, shooting the delicately snoring toddler in his arms a worried glance.
"No... Is Dr. Namikaze here? I need to talk to him – it's urgent..." he asked, glancing around the hallway in the hopes he might show up from nowhere.
Fuu had a puzzled expression on her faze for a few moments, then her eyes widened in surprise and astonishment.
"No way! It's really true? I though Yugito-sempai was lying!" she gasped, the folders clattering to the floor as her hands went to her mouth.
That struck several alarm bells in Sasuke's mind; Fuu knew something about what had happened yesterday. He decided he would be best to interrogate her before he went looking for Minato, or went home and called him at his own residence tomorrow. He might be able to get a bit more sense of the whole situation that way...
"Is what true?" he asked.
"Dr. Namikaze and Tsunade-sensei! He's really Naruto's dad?" she blurted in a hushed whisper, seemingly paranoid about being overheard by someone for some reason.
"It's pretty certain... Why? What happened up here yesterday?" he replied, getting to his main goal in the conversation.
Fuu looked around nervously for anyone who may interrupt, before bending over the desk her hand covering her moth to avoid being overheard. Her eyes were still flicking around the reception of the children's floor nervously as she whispered in his ear.
"You don't know? Tsunade-sensei dumped her at an orphanage! Dr. Namikaze didn't even know about it at all! I thought you'd know more than I do, but that's the gist of it... We're not supposed to talk about it though, or Yugito-sempai'll go nuts. 'Not our business' she says, but Naruto gave Tsunade-sensei a huge shiner, so the whole hospital knows about it!" she hissed.
Sasuke froze the moment he heard the few words from Fuu's mouth; lots of little snippets of information that hadn't made sense began to snap into place with dull resounding thuds.
Tsunade had dumped Naruto? She had known about her all this time? Since the first ultrasound?
No, she would have known since Naruto tried to get an abortion! Tsunade knew she had been looking for her family, and she just stood there and watch it gnaw away at her! He couldn't even begin to imagine what that felt like for Naruto, but he could understand her turning nearly catatonic a little more now.
He could feel his hands threatening to shake with anger, but he held it back; he probably wouldn't have been able to do that if he hadn't been carrying his sleepy daughter. After everything that woman had done for them, this was where it all came from? Guilt? How could she just toy with people lives like that? She didn't have the right at all!
It wasn't only Naruto she had wronged here either; how could she hide something like this from her own son? How on earth could she do something like that to her own flesh and blood? If his mother and father had done that to him, and he found out then, he'd be seriously close to killing them! This whole mess was completely...
It was just... It didn't even register with him! You just didn't do things like that to family! He didn't care what reason that woman had, if she had anything plausible at all! She was on his shit list!
He knew he wouldn't be able to stay mad at her forever, but that was a long way off. He'd only consider it after Naruto had forgiven her, and that would take years. Naruto wouldn't be able to ignore her though, not if she wanted to get to know her father, so he knew that she would in the end.
That wasn't now though, so he was perfectly free to hate her as much as he wanted to, both personally and on Naruto's behalf.
"Uh... Dr. Namikaze is checking on the kids in the palliative ward at the moment, but you can wait for him in his office; I'll tell him you're there when he comes by for some more charts..." Fuu said, a little wary of the expression on his face.
Sasuke glanced towards her once, muttered his thanks and headed away from the nurses station towards Minato's office.
Sasuke didn't sit down in the chairs; he didn't think he could sit down when he was this incensed; instead he carefully paced the floor, trying to vent out some of the boiling rage without waking Tamamo.
It didn't work; she stirred in his arms and started up at his fuming face with sleepy eyes. His expression jerked some of the sleep away, and he completely forgot about his anger when she actually looked scared of him. He stopped pacing and sat down on the sofa that Minato kept in his office for napping on when he had a break, mumbling an apology to her as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"Want Mama..." she mumbled sleepily, already leaning back on his shoulders as sleep began to return.
"Sorry Hellspawn, you'll have to put up with me for a little longer" he replied as she drifted back into sleep; she should have brought her stroller. She was heavy after carrying her for so long.
Before he could dwell on Tamamo though, the door to the office opened. Minato stepped through the doorway, looking half ready to bolt back through it, and half confused to the core as to why Sasuke was sitting on his couch.
"Sasuke, what are you doing her so late?" he asked, closing the door behind him; he sounded weary. Not physically tired, but more like something very heavy had been pressing on his mind.
"I... I don't really know. I wanted to find some things out, but there's... Can I ask something?" he foundered, not finding the words very well.
Minato flopped onto the sofa beside him with his exhaustion clear in his actions, ran his hand over his face and through his blonde hair, then turned to face him and reply to his question before he could even ask it.
"I didn't have a clue Sasuke; this is... out of the blue moon for me. I thought she looked like Kushina a few times, but I didn't think there was any connection there – I just though she was one of those faces..." he sighed, staring up at the ceiling as he leaned back on the sofa.
Sasuke found himself running his fingers through his daughter's shoulder-length hair, like Naruto was so prone to when she was worried, stressed or thinking and the girl was in close proximity. That at least moved the man completely from his shit list. He didn't think he would have been very calm if he'd gotten another answer. That still left his primary reason for coming though, and he wasn't sure how to broach it.
Now that he was here, he was wondering if asking Minato for help was really his best idea given that he had his own side of the coin to be dealing with. He might have been better calling Itachi after all, or even his own father.
Hell, even calling Iruka – someone who still hated his guts for reasons he couldn't quite fathom - would have been better than this stupid idea. Minato had his own side of things to sort out – he shouldn't have come here at all...
"What is it you wanted to ask Sasuke?"
Sasuke jerked his head towards the man in surprise; he didn't seem to know what he was going to ask, but there was a knowing sort of look on his face at the same time. Like he had expected it or something. It was strange, but there was something reassuring in his calm tone of voice, so he took a deep breath and explained Naruto's reaction.
"...I don't know if coming to you is the best idea I could have had, but I don't know what this is like, and neither does anyone else I could phone, except Sakura, but she's in the capital... Naruto's never been like this before, and I don't know what to say to her... you might though, since this involves you too so..."
Sasuke did something he had never done to anyone except his parents and on occasion to Iruka; he actual ducked his head; he couldn't really form the slight bow properly since he was sitting down and had his arms full of a sleeping toddler, but the gesture was obvious enough.
"Sasuke...!"
He looked up again to stunned eyes from the man beside him; Minato knew him well enough to know how big his pride was. He was certain that he understood just how desperate he was at the moment thanks to that bow of his head.
"...I know you're having major headaches too, but I honestly don't know who else could understand her at the moment; its a part I've never gotten the complete grasp of, but its never... She wouldn't even talk to Tamamo! She won't budge, and I don't know what to do! I know it isn't fair to you but... I can't think of anything else!" he finished, turning away from the man's gaze to look down at his daughter – she was still sleeping despite the slight increase in his tone.
There; he'd said it. He didn't think he'd get an answer form the man, but at least he had tried. He'd just have to find some other way of jerking Naruto out of her near-catatonia. He shifted Tamamo in his arms, jerking his eyes from Minato as he slowly pulled himself back to his feet, trying not to wake her. What on earth had he been thinking?
Why should this man be of any use? He might just make the whole thing worse! Really, worry had made him sleep deprived; he should have had some of that rum that he put in Tamamo's milk for himself. Maybe then he would be thinking rationally but... he got the feeling he would have ended up back here anyway.
"I'm not asking you to suddenly jump for joy or anything like that, I just... I'm seriously out of ideas..." he muttered, turning away from the man and running a frustrated hand through is hair.
He really was being stupid. Naruto would probably kill her father, then seriously maim him and not bother communicating with him for two months at least. He had dragged Tamamo out with him too, and she really needed to be sleeping properly right now. Naruto may have been emotionally stunted, but he was certain she would have seen to her if the situation was dire while he was gone...
"Actually, forget I came – it's not my place to be saying any of this. You have your own problems to be dealing with right now. I'm sorry for barging in like this..."
Getting to his feet, Sasuke secured his grip on his slumbering two year old making certain her jacket was tightly secured, and began heading for the door; usually, he wouldn't let his emotions out so blatantly, especially around a man he hardly knew, but the fact was he had a great deal of respect for Minato Namikaze. As far as he was concerned, if it hadn't been for him, Tamamo could have died of pneumonia.
That and Naruto trusted him more than she did the other doctors that Tamamo had seen during the same time-frame. That was probably why he had sought him out after talking with Obito, but it was that respect that let him speak so... frankly to the man. Still didn't mean he was barking up one of many wrong-tree-solutions though.
"Sasuke, wait while I hand these forms in to Fuu for a minuet, you came at the perfect time; I'm not supposed to use patient details personally see, so while I have your address, I can't actually look at it without undermining doctor morals... You don't mind showing me the way, right?"
Sasuke almost fell over; in fact, he had a strong suspicion that had his daughter not been soundly snoring in his arms, he would have been flat on his face.
The trip back to the flat with Sasuke was to say the least a little bit awkward.
For one thing, Sasuke was so embarrassed about his earlier display that he kept his eyes glued to the window, or on his daughter when she shifted in her sleep. For another... well Sasuke was for all intents and purposes his son-in-law. Sort of...
Was he? Minato wasn't all that certain.
He just knew that the boy was his daughter's boyfriend, his granddaughter's father... How had everything turned so topsy-turvy in just one day? He didn't even know why he was here right now – surely the best way to work this through would be by himself? That was his fear talking he knew, but a healthy dose of fear was a good thing in his opinion.
His mature side told him he was probably doing the right thing by jerking his daughter out of her funk – they were in the same boat after all, just from different ends. Naruto had been denied knowledge of her father (it was easier to think than 'himself' at the moment), and he had been completely oblivious to the existence of his daughter.
He still felt like he was going to shit himself as Sasuke opened the door to the flat though.
Stepping in after him, he glanced around the small flat as Sasuke disappeared to put Tamamo... put his granddaughter back to sleep properly. It wasn't a very big flat – the kitchen and living room were only distinguished by the sofa in front of a small table, directly between the kitchen area and the TV, but...
Childish pictures and photographs covered the fridge, held in place with letter magnets, or magnets from visits to notable tourist destinations. Such as the one of Hokage Rock, just outside Konoha. The picture had been taken in the later years of primary school judging by appearances in it; the two young parents were covered in mud and water after falling in one of the mountain streams on the mountain.
Beside it a picture of Tamamo at the most recent Christmas (looking very proud of herself next to her snow covered father) and another of her in Naruto's arms on what looked like Christmas day. In another picture he vaguely recognised a couple of Naruto's friends – that redhead and the two pink-haired girls, and beside it another group photo that could have been friends of Sasuke.
Then there were pictures Tamamo had drawn, a photo of Naruto and another blonde girl with a little black-haired boy on her shoulders piggyback-style. More of Sasuke's family, some with Tamamo in, some without, though most had Naruto in them at various stages in her life.
Then he felt a twinge of jealousy, and a larger twinge of anger; he should be in those photos, even if Kushina wasn't.
He was broken from his musings by the creak of a door opening behind him, then a sucked-in breath of surprise. He knew it was Naruto before turning around. She was standing in the doorway of what was probably a bathroom if the tiles were anything to go by, a very crumpled not in one clenched hand.
She stared at him, almost afraid. He couldn't help but feel the same way – he'd come here, but he didn't know what else to do. What was he supposed to say? She had clearly woken up some, but that didn't mean the conversation was going to flow just like that. What the hell was he supposed to say now that he was facing her?
"I... I'm sorry..."
Minato's head jerked towards her in response to the sudden, and confusing, apology.
"Pardon?"
"I'm... for yelling like that in the hospital. I shouldn't have snapped like that..." Naruto mumbled, gripping the door frame very tightly with one hand, avoiding her... avoiding Minato's gaze.
She had been jerked awake from her daze by the sudden urge to vomit about half an hour ago, and once recovered, she had been lucid enough to remember she had been out of it for almost the entire week. She'd ignored Sasuke; she'd even ignored her own daughter.
Panicking, she'd darted around the appointment in a frenzy, and found the note from Sasuke. He said he'd gone to the shop for milk, but she knew that was a lie. She'd always bought the larger milk cartons, and there was till some left. Besides, and she knew him better than that. He was freaking out and had gone to find someone who knew how to knock some sense back into her, taking Tamamo with him.
The relief had enough to make her feel queasy, instead of feeling queasy with the guilt.
Seeing her father in front of her made he feel like throwing up again, but... maybe Sasuke had a better idea of the whole parent-issues thing than she really thought. Or maybe he just knew her too well. It was probably the latter, but still. Much as she wanted strangle him, then throw up, he had probably done the right thing.
"It's not your fault; you had every right to be mad... It's a miracle I wasn't yelling either when she..."
She felt the floor vibrate and heard the door behind her creak as Sasuke returned from putting Tamamo back down to sleep; silently thanking the gods for the distraction, she turned to look him in the eye. She was trying to get her apology across – she shouldn't have freaked out like that, not to that level.
She didn't say anything, but he seemed to understand, even if the matter wasn't completely dropped (she could see the slight furrow in his brows). He kissed her on the cheek, squeezed her shoulder, and then headed back into their own bedroom for some sleep of his own.
'Deal with him for now, sort out the details later' was the message he sent, and it was probably the right one to be sending. The door closed behind him, and Naruto turned back to her... father. She brushed her feelings surrounding Tsunade aside for the moment, and let her eyes flicker all over him, burning the familiar face into her mind with the new connotations it held.
She didn't look like him much, not in hair or body structure, but she had dyed her hair once before, and it hadn't looked half bad. Now that she knew there was natural blonde in her blood, she knew why. She had the same eyes as him though, and she got her height genes from him too.
She was pretty tall, even if she wasn't especially strongly built. She had even been taller than Sasuke for a year or so, before he started growing like a weed. She wondered if the iron-stomach came from him too... It must have been a whole minuet before she realised she was staring, and ran to hide in her cupboards, looking for something to do instead of just staring at the man.
Much to her despair he followed, his eye casting a long glance over the pictures stuck to the front of it. Then to the pad of sticky notes she and Sasuke used for leaving messages when they were busier than normal. At the moment, there was a reminder to but tofu fro Tamamo, along with the usual jerkish sappy comment only she could appreciate.
Naruto watched him warily as he took one of the pictures – one of her and Sasuke in the hospital with Tamamo that had been taken by the very man holding it.
"I didn't realise you'd known Sasuke for such a long time..." he murmured, replacing the picture and continuing to glance over the rest of the pictures and baby scribbles.
"I've known him since I was about five years old... I hated his guts for the most part when I was younger, but we were good friends all the same... He's still hanging around, so we must have done something right. I... can't really imagine not having him around. He's like Tamamo... he's my..."
Naruto halted before saying family – was that really what he wanted to hear right now? He shot her a wan smile, and she relaxed a little, but it was still so awkward talking to him. This man, her child's doctor, was her father. He had been under her nose all this damn time. What was she supposed to say?
"You love him" Minato suggested quietly, still staring at the photos.
"Yeah. Shit loads..." Naruto replied, still feeling uneasy in conversation.
It certainly hadn't helped that the last time she had seen him, she'd punched his mother, been swearing, crying her eyes out, and causing general mayhem in his place of work. What a brilliant first impression that must have been. Not that it was a first impression, but it still was as far as their biological relationship went.
"How did you...? I mean, I know Kakashi was looking but... this is..."
Proof. He wanted proof. She was almost offended by that, but she wasn't the only one in shock here, so it was alright really. After asking him to wait for a moment, she crept back into the bedroom (to avoid waking Sasuke – he deserved the rest) and dug the files Kakashi had gathered up for her from the box of issues in her wardrobe.
Heading back to the kitchen units, she silently handed him the files; He flicked through them, and she watched as he read over the pages. She could tell which ones he was reading as he turned the pages and by the expressions; the baby monitor on the counter top set of and Naruto left him to it.
Entering Tamamo's bedroom and noting the splatters of pink and yellow on one wall, Naruto made a mental not to go out and buy some green instead, before going to the cot-bed. Tamamo was sitting up rubbing her sleepy eyes. Realising it was not her father who was coming to check on her, she immediately reached out towards her with her short arms.
Picking the girl up Naruto shushed her back and forth; Tamamo was mumbling in between speech and baby babble, something Naruto knew only happened when she was very shaken or upset. Nothing seemed to be worrying with her, but Naruto knew better. She'd never snapped at Tamamo like that before excluding when the girl was behaving badly, never ignored her for more than a few minuets, never not spoken to her.
She had been so out of whack that it had scared even her two year old. After a few minuets, Tamamo fell back asleep, her arms clamped around her neck. Naruto almost didn't have the heart to disturb her. She managed to unclasp her though, and placed her back in her bed.
If she woke up again, she'd just go to bed with her and keep her with her, but she needed to sleep. It wasn't good for Tamamo to be waking up like this, and the guilt that she was the cause was horrible. Heading back into the kitchen, Minato was on the last pages of the files, the ones about her mother.
He saw her coming and closed the folder, placing it on the counter top. Naruto suddenly felt the awkward coming back with the action, and wished the ground would swallow her whole.
She had no idea what to say to him, and turned back to her cupboards, looking for something to distract herself with; the stock of tomato soup in the fridge was nearly used up. She could make some more. She always made enough for the week since Sasuke and Tamamo devoured it like she and Tamamo devoured ramen. Half the food money went on tomatoes just for it...
No, actually cooking would just be plain rude, but she had to do something. Going to another cupboard, she caught sight of something she could half distract herself with though. She used it all the time when she was trying to avoid Sakura's nosey-but-helpful side, or when she had a fight with Sasuke.
"Um, do you want some ramen?" she asked, holding out one of the many packets of instant noodles that liven in one of the cupboards.
Minato blinked at her several times, his own rattled mind trying to compute what she ad just said, before he laughed. Not just a tiny little laugh, but full gut wrenching laughter that had her stupefied. Had she done something? Was something on her face? What was so funny about ramen?
"I'm sorry... That's not funny it just... Kushina always did that. If she didn't know what to say or do, or she was angry, there was always ramen for her to fall back on... every... every single time..."
All of a sudden he burst into tears. Naruto would not for one moment say she was an expert in understanding people, especially crying people, but there was one thing she did know to be appropriate at that moment. Ignoring the shaking that had flooded her, she stepped forward and gave her father a very wary hug.
She kept her hands at the front of his shirt, trying to respect his privacy despite her attempt at empathy, but when his arms wrapped around her back, she felt her own tear glands going into overdrive. This man was her father. Her real-blood family, and he was hugging her.
This was what it felt like to have a parent. Ok, maybe he hadn't raised her, but there was something. She knew there was something. He wouldn't have come all the way here with Sasuke; he wouldn't have started bawling if there wasn't something parent-ish there, would he?
This was nothing like being a parent. In being a parent, it was different. She was the responsible one, the watchful lookout for her daughter. She knew the difference wasn't very big, but it felt immense. It... It was nothing like the family she had created for herself in her friends and in Sasuke's family.
Finally letting the overwhelming emotions win over, she clamped her own arms around her father's back for the first time in her life, and felt no shame in the fact that they were both sniffling like idiots.
After a long moment of respective snivelling and hugging and incoherent mumbling, Minato broke the contact and glanced at the clock on her wall just as the baby monitor went off again. Naruto heard movement on it but no actual crying...
"I suppose that's means I've outstayed my welcome for the time being but... providing there's no objections... I mean..." he frowned thinking about what he wanted to say when the words wouldn't come out.
"I always wanted kids, but I knew that after Kushina disappeared I want going to have them – I've never been interested in other women, and while I think adoption is a brilliant thing, it wasn't what I wanted so... It's why I went into paediatrics, but now... I don't really know how this works, and I know it's sudden but... I'd be very happy if you can fit me in to those pictures one day"
Naruto felt her eyes welling up again and she gave him another, shorter hug in response.
"I'm sorry I punched your mum..." she mumbled groggily.
Gods, she hated crying. It made her go all blotchy and snotty and bleaargh. Sasuke, for some unfathomable reason, found it endearing, but she hated it.
"I... I think it's deserved... I think it's all that kept me from hitting her myself after she explained the whole thing to me..." he muttered half to himself.
Naruto, stiffened a little at the knowledge, and broke away form the embrace.
"S-She told you?"
She'd never had a chance to ask how she had landed up in the orphanage in the first place – she had been too incensed about the general realisation to ask...
"If you want to come by my office tomorrow afternoon I can explain it to you... There's actually a good ramen take-out just across the street, so if you have time..."
Naruto blinked then nodded.
"I-I'd have to take Tamamo with me but if that's not a problem I think that would be good..." she replied; she felt her face flushing form the whole awkward mess. A glance up at his face revealed a similar reaction.
"Of course not... Sasuke could come along too if he wants, it saves you from retelling it all and... Well, I want to get to know him properly too so... is 2:30 good?"
Naruto nodded – nether of them were working tomorrow - and after some more awkward stumbling with words, he headed towards the door. After an awkward goodbye, Naruto felt like collapsing onto the floor.
After retrieving Tamamo from her own room (the girl fell asleep again in a matter of seconds after being picked up) Naruto headed to the room she shared with Sasuke. Sorting the pillows out for Tamamo to share her own, she placed the girl down, and stripped her clothes off to her underwear.
Pulling on the thin-strapped vest she used as a pyjama shirt, Naruto crawled in beside her boyfriend. She was surprised when Sasuke stretched an arm out over both herself, and their daughter slumbering between them. She had thought he was sleeping...
"I stayed up just in case..."
Naruto started at the sound of his voice, wondering if he knew what she was thinking again, or was just being informative. There was a tense note in his voice that said he wasn't finished speaking, and what followed was not a surprising set of words, if she was honest.
"...You seriously scared me this time you know, you scared Tamamo. She kept asking for you... Please, for the love of fire, don't get like that again Naruto..." he mumbled, shuffling closer under the covers, though taking care not to squash their red-haired daughter.
"I'm sorry... I never thought things would go so badly... I punched Tsunade..." Naruto mumbled, feeling sleep taking over.
She flicked her eyes to the pillows across from her own and caught the tired glimmer of amusement in Sasuke's own. His dark eyes were almost indistinguishable from the darkness surrounding them, but she could still see them.
"I heard – apparently you caused a stir up at the hospital..." he half snickered; Naruto felt queasy at the thought.
"He wants to talk tomorrow; he said... you're not working right?" Naruto asked, feeling the words stick in her throat.
Sasuke responded by pressing his lips against her own for a brief moment, then tightened the grip of his arm around her; all her remaining anxiety disappeared with the gesture. Naruto knew she'd have to put some overtime in to make up for loosing it so badly, but in spite of that, thing weren't going to fall apart this time around.
She didn't know how things were going to with Minato, but even if they didn't work, it'd still work out. She meant was she said to him about Sasuke – she really couldn't picture life without him any more. She couldn't picture not having Tamamo in her life either.
Even if things went similarly pear shaped as they had with Tsunade, it'd be fine. She'd still have her family, and if she had to choose... it was easy. She didn't know her father that well, nor Tsunade. They were family (so was Sasuke's boss come to think of it) but it was still only blood.
Sasuke and Tamamo were more important. She didn't think things would go pear-shaped with Minato, but she'd be okay even if they did.
Um... *hides from sharp pointy weapons*
Update-no-jutsu? Been a while since I updated this fic; It's a hard one to write without deviating from the style too much, especially since my Heads all full of Angsty Blurred Sound plotline lately. In any case, Sasuke has a bit more of a role in this chapter. He has his part to play next chapter too.
That should be the end of the angsty stuff with Minato though; nothing hut happy fluffy father-daughter moments now. Tsunade is another matter though, and as for Kushina... Well, I don't know if she'll have an exact role in this story much. I have something in mind for an epilouge, but she'll probably just be mentioned as far as the rest of the story goes. I really want to finish this, but I can't guarantee any speed.
Got to be patient with this story, or it doesn't come out right ^^;
Quote is 'Father & Daughter' by Paul Simon; LONG LIVE THE WILD THORNBERRYS!
Hope you liked the chapter :)
Nat
xxx