Ties That Bind

Tails, Inabi Has Three of Them

Naruto had seen Getsu Inuzuka grow from a runny-nosed kid making trouble at the academy to a ninja capable of accepting missions and protecting their village. He had personally watched the Chuunin exams, and witnessed the loud-mouthed kid – who obviously took after his father, Kiba, in more ways than just looks – cockily take down his enemy and walk out of the arena on his own two feet.

He could have seen the kid save the entire world, and it wouldn't have made him feel any better watching Getsu come up to his front door and leave with his daughter in hand.

. . .

"Don't you dare," Hinata warned, her once squeaky voice morphing into something akin to a bear protecting it's cub. Naruto had become accustomed to reading her tones over the years, and this one coupled with the narrowed eyes screamed suspicion. She was onto him already, and he hadn't even said a word.

"Don't I dare what?" Naruto asked innocently. He turned his chair away from the door, as if he hadn't just watched his daughter skip down the stairs and leave with Getsu. He was plotting, that was for sure, but even though Hinata knew that much it didn't mean she knew what he was planning.

"Ruin her date. Inabi's been looking forward to this for months."

Naruto scoffed at that. "She has not."

"Of course she has."

He turned to his wife with wide eyes, scandalized. "Since when?"

"Since she started liking him," Hinata said, and even though she spoke in an exasperated tone she ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately. "Just don't ruin it." She sighed, having obviously given up on stopping Naruto from grabbing his jacket and rushing out the door, leaving the kitchen chair to precariously tip back before falling.

. . .

"You're sure she won't kill us?" Mito asked, following his little brother through the back alleys of Konoha. Hizaki made a soft snorting sound and glanced back at Mito to quirk an eyebrow at him.

"She can't kill us if she doesn't know we're here." Hizaki laughed, that laugh that meant he was up to something and made small alarms go off in Mito's conscious, letting him know that what they were doing was definitely not okay...just in case he had any doubts.

The two Uzumaki brothers scaled the side of a particularly tall building. The moment their feet hit the roof, Hizaki lead the way to the edge that looked over a busy civilian street. Mito joined him and the two crouched low to the ground so they wouldn't be seen. It took him mere seconds to spot the head of messy blonde hair – Inabi – and the taller boy beside him with red fang marks on his cheeks – Getsu.

"There they are," Hizaki said, his pale purple eyes flickering between them and their destination, a tea shop that looked to be far too cutesy for Inabi's taste.

"We can get a better view through the front window from that building," Mito whispered, motioning over to the next building over. It was significantly shorter than the one they were on, but it would give them a better view of the tea shop.

The boys silently leaped over the gap and hurried over to the edge of the building.

"Over there." Mito motioned to a large vent that stood at least four feet tall, and it would give them a bit of cover in case Inabi decided to look their way. The two boys quickly ran over and stealthily snuck around the vent, coming to sit so that the two could see the tea shop.

Both boys froze when a loud ruffle sounded beside him.

A bag was offered to Mito. Muscles still tense, he turned to see his father grinning at him, looking as if he had made himself comfortable against the vent some time ago by the empty ramen bowl and several bags of chips littered around him.

"It's going to be a long day, boys. Chips?"

. . .

Author's Note:

This is taken from the personal experience of being a little sister, growing up with a protective brother.

Does anybody else think that Naruto would be an overly protective father? I get a sense of that from him in the series, and it just seems to be a quality that fits well with him. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think of this little family I've made for these characters.