Bondage Style
Chapter 18
Disclaimer: Naruto and Co belong to Kishimoto.
Author's notes: Getting towards the end, more and more things are beginning to change from my first vision of how this was going to go down. Parts I originally planned to include are going to vanish as I bring things into focus.
I plan to have both BS and Echoes finished before the year is out.
This chapter's a bit heavier than the previous ones, getting a lot of the drama out of the way before moving on. Probably tempered with how I wrote most of it after the death of my grandfather.
-The Hokage's Tower-
"YOU!!!" Anko's had a kunai draw as she jabbed it in the direction of a suddenly nervous looking Hokage.
"Err... Hello, Anko-chan... Can I... um... Help you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi stared wide eyed at the down right seething woman who was starting to stalk in his direction.
"Don't you DARE Anko-chan ME!!!" Anko growled, grip tightening even further on her kunai.
"Anko-chan?" Iruka chose that moment to pop up, glancing from where his girlfriend was caught up in a rage greater than any he'd seen her in before, and the visibly shrinking Hokage. "... Why are you pointing at the Hokage with a kunai?"
"This BASTARD..." Anko growled, her eyes burning harder, hotter than he ever thought possible. "Grrrr! That word doesn't even begin to describe what kind of piece of shit our 'beloved' Hokage is!"
"Anko-chan, why don't you calm down." Iruka walked up to her, ignoring the way her kunai was actually trembling with rage, something he didn't think even Orochimaru could evoke in her. "And tell us what's wrong... I'm sure the Hokage..."
"Iruka." Her eyes bored into his, and he couldn't see anything of the playful psychotic sex kitten she liked to pass herself off as. "What is the ONE thing, Naruto wants more than anything else?"
While Iruka's face scrunched in confusion, he missed the color draining from the Hokage's face. "To know about his parents, why?"
"HE KNOWS!" Anko snarled as again her kunai flashed as she gestured towards the man seated behind the desk. "What's more, he's fucking outlawed ANYONE who knows from telling him!" Her eyes burning she turned her head again to face the man. "He gets the worst fuckin' news ever. He has the Kyuubi dumped in his lap, and that's it. Nothing about who or why... he just... ARRRRRGGH!"
"Is this true...?" Slowly Iruka turned his head, his eyes landing firmly on the Hokage as those normally warm, friendly eyes hardened into chips of dark steel.
If anything the Hokage shrank even further down into his chair as he noted the two begin to slowly advance on him. When silence was the only answer he received, Iruka spoke up again.
"Hokage-'sama'." The honorific was hissed past his lips as the chunin locked eyes with the man. "Would you be kind enough to explain to me WHY it was, after he was told about his burden in the worst, possible way, you didn't tell him who his parents were."
"It would have only added to his burden." Sarutobi protested, his hands rising up as he carefully shifted back in his seat, trying to inch away from the two figures glaring down at him.
"ADDED TO HIS BURDEN!?" Anko practically screeched out the words as she dug her fingers even tighter onto her kunai. "Have you even MET Naruto?!"
"How would knowing who his parents are have added to his burden?" There was a shot of confusion in Iruka's eyes as he turned his attention towards Anko.
"His god father is Jiraiya." The woman stated flatly, growling slightly as she took a moment, and nodded to the picture of the Fourth on the wall. "Do the math."
"..." Iruka stared for a moment as the implications of just what his girlfriend was saying seeped into his mind. Slowly then, he turned his head and any hope that Sarutobi had that this would be solved amicably vanished in an instant. "He's HIS son and you haven't told him?!"
"Think about the kind of problems that he'd have if it got out." Sarutobi countered as he levelled a look at the pair, struggling to regain control of the conversation. "The son of the Yellow Flash... Think of all the expectations, all the enemies he'd make, just because of who his parents are!"
"And what, you think you couldn't tell him because he'd go around telling the entire village?!" Anko growled even darker, her eyes smoldering as she clenched her fingers harshly against the kunai in her hand. "Like I said.... Have you even MET Naruto?!"
"We're talking about one of the most loyal, dedicated and talented nins we have." Iruka picked up where the woman paused, his eyes glinting like stone as he growled at the man. "You'll trust him to keep the secret of the fox, but not about his parents?"
"I'd rather he didn't know even that." The Hokage shot back, his eyes hardening back as he looked back at the irate ninja in front of him. "We're talking about..."
"The thing he's been denied his whole life." Anko snapped, her eyes burning still as she glared into the man's face. "We're talking about how you let the secret of the Kyuubi on him, but didn't tell him about his parents! Hell, I'm not surprised he didn't come to you after it was all..."
When Sarutobi couldn't keep his eyes on her, Iruka's gaze burned even more harshly into the man. "He did, didn't he?! He did, and you still didn't tell him?! The worst night of his life, and you didn't...? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"
"I..." There didn't seem to be any words he could summon forth to protest it. To tell him that he was acting for Naruto's best interests. Those words, seemed so hollow, so empty and worthless confronted by two people who cared so deeply for the boy.
Finally, Iruka snorted in disgust as he turned his back to the village leader. "Tell him, today. Or your law and penalty be damned, I will."
"Chunin Iruka Umino, what you're talking about is treason!" The Hokage snapped out, desperate as his eyes widened.
Casting his eyes over his shoulder Iruka glared back at the man. "Those that don't follow the rules may be trash, but those that abandon their comrades are worse than that. You might have forgotten the saying that the Fourth's Team 7 adopted, but I haven't. And I can only imagine, from where ever they're watching you, a pair of blue eyes are waiting."
He paused at the door a moment before he spoke once more. "And when I die, I will be able to meet those eyes with pride, and say that I knew his son, and stood by him, like he deserved. Can you honestly say the same?"
As the Hokage slumped down into his seat, Iruka slipped through the door, as Anko followed in his footsteps, before sending the man who felt his age like never before one last, hardened gaze. "I'll send Naruto here." She turned her head then, her fingers lightly gripping on to the door's frame. "I still remember the man who stood up for me when I refused to abandon the Leaf after my sensei turned traitor. The man that had the strength to see what was right, despite everything."
As she started forward again, he could hear the last few words she let out. "Do you remember who Hiruzen Sarutobi is, Hokage-sama?"
And with that, the old man was left, quiet and alone with the company of silence, and the weight of his fears eating away at his heart.
-o-o-o-
"Will you stop following me?!" Naruto glared slightly at the amused Jiraiya as he lead a still clinging Kin towards his apartment.
"Now, why wouldn't I want to follow my cute little godson and his pet off to wherever they'd be off to?" Jiraiya responded back with an innocent smile on his lips.
"It's more that said godson wants nothing to do with a piece of shit that abandoned him for 13 years and expects to be able to waltz back into his life as if nothing ever happened." Naruto shot back, before pausing, a sudden, even grin on his lips as he turned his head and looked at something past the white haired man.
"Hey, that's not fair, I had responsibilities!" Jiraiya responded defensively, before blinking a bit. "What're you smiling at."
"I believe that would be me." A dull monotone spoke up behind Jiraiya, causing the white haired man, to jump, shrieking slightly as he bounced away from the blank eyes of the red headed Gaara.
"What.. tha... How the hell?!" Jiraiya blinked in shock as he hopped away from the eerie boy as Naruto waved cheerfully to his friend.
"Heya, Gaara, what's up?" Naruto smirked ever so slightly as he watched the red head glance towards Jiraiya a moment, before reappearing in front of Naruto in a swirl of sand.
"Bored mainly." Gaara admitted as he shrugged slightly. "Sakura has to go through a team meeting and find out what she's going to be doing for this month. Kankuro is off whining about getting his ass kicked, and Temari is hanging out with the guy that beat up Kankuro."
"Speaking of Kankuro..." Naruto spoke up, before pointing towards a confused looking Jiraiya. "He's the guy that writes Icha Icha."
"... What?" Gaara blinked slightly before that dull gaze turned onto Jiraiya, staring with a cold glint as he studied the man.
"Normally, I'd be proudly boasting about it," Jiraiya noted as he slowly inched backwards. "But, judging by the fact that he told you, and that I vaguely recall him mentioning that name in a less than good light... I'm going to guess that you're not a fan?"
"My brother is." Gaara stated flatly, coldly as he glared at the man before he raised his hand, a stream of sand rising out of his gourd at his direction. "For what you have done to him, I will destroy you."
"Oh, hell." Jiraiya paled visibly as he quickly hopped away from the first impact of the sand crashing down on the spot him'd been an instant before. Twisting his body around, he thrust an accusatory finger towards Naruto. "You did this on purpose!"
"Well, duh." Naruto stared back at the man as if what he'd said was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, seriously... Where's the downside? It gives Gaara something do..."
"For which I thank you." Gaara filled in as he guided another series of sand spears towards Jiraiya. "Boredom... is less than pleasant."
"... And it keeps you off my back, so where's the downside?" Naruto observed as he lightly ran his fingers through Kin's hair, his lips quirked slightly in amusement.
"I'm one of the sannin!" Jiraiya shot back, even as he jumped up to avoid a stream of sand aimed directly for where his crotch had been a moment before. "HEY! Watch where you're aiming!"
"I think he was." Kin noted as she giggled softly and leaned into Naruto's hand. "I mean... I know its a small target and all..."
"HEY!"Jiraiya paused glaring down at the girl. "No snarking from the runaway princess!"
"Plus, really, Orochimaru is one of the sannin too." Kin continued on, as if the man hadn't said a word. "And look at him! So, really, all he's doing is treating you how your teammate would be treated."
"Hey, I'm the GOOD sannin!" Jiraiya immediately protested as he dodged another lashing strike of the sand.
"All things considered, that doesn't say too much." Naruto noted with a slow shake of his head and a long drawn out sigh. "Considering the fact that the other two are a low life snake and an irresponsible gambler drowning herself in booze, I can see how being a smut peddler who abandons his responsibilities is considered the good sannin."
"... He is a sannin?" That made Gaara pause a moment as he studied the white haired man with squinting eyes.
"Of course I am! I am the gallant...!" Jiraiya immediately slipped into a Kabuki-esque pose only to be be interrupted by Gaara monotone.
"...Disappointment." The red head finished for him with a simple snap of his lips.
"... You think that's bad? Try finding out he's your godfather." Naruto responded sourly as he shook his head and motioned Gaara to follow. "Come on, you can crash at my place. We'll figure out something to do."
"He's your godfather...?" Gaara blinked slightly as he again moved with his sand, appearing next to his blonde haired friend with a touch of curiosity breaking through the stony mask he wore. "Isn't he...?"
"Yes." Naruto responded flatly.
"Then...?"
"Indeed."
"My condolences."
"Thanks."
"You two vibe way too easily." Kin noted as she sighed and shook her head, palming her cheek lightly.
"Oh, Gaara, I think you remember Kin-chan here?" Naruto noted as he lightly pet the former Sound Kunoichi atop her head.
"A vague recollection." The red head admitted. "Has she learned the error of her ways, or do I need to erase her existence?"
"...EEP!" Kin shrunk back away from Gaara, staring up at him with wide, fearful eyes.
"... I swear, you get off on freaking people out." Naruto deadpanned lightly as he mildly glared at his friend.
"It is amusing." Gaara admitted with a hint of a smile before turning and looking down at the still cringing Kin. "And I was kidding. I'm cutting back on my seeing how squishy shinobi can be quota."
"What're you at anyway?" Naruto asked with a curious quirk of his brow.
"Well, I was doing fine until her teammates..." Gaara nodded his head towards Kin.
"EX-teammates!" Kin corrected quickly as she shook her head. "Idiots never fuckin listened to me."
"Such a foul mouthed princess you are, Kin-chan." Naruto noted with amusement before shrugging slightly. "Though she's right about them being idiots."
"Princess?" Gaara quirked his head lightly to the side, questioningly.
"Yeah, yeah... She's actually a Tsuchi. One of THOSE Tsuchi." Naruto responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders as he started walking again, completely ignoring the way Jiraiya looked rather displeased at being so completely and suddenly ignored.
"Indeed?" Gaara studied the blushing girl for a moment, before his attention reverted to Naruto. "Lucky."
"Eh, I think I'm at my limit, even with legendary endurance." Naruto admitted as he chuckled slightly. "Trying to keep up with three of them now? I MUST be crazy."
"Of course you are." Gaara responded simply as he shrugged his shoulders just a bit. "Almost as much as I am." He paused a moment, his face neutral before he offered Naruto the slightest of grins. "You just get to sleep, so you're not as likely to go killing people."
"Sleep is a good thing." Naruto admitted as he peered lightly at the dark lines around Gaara's eyes. "So, you have trouble sleeping?"
"I don't sleep." Gaara responded simply, before shuddering slightly. "Not unless I want to let Shukaku out."
"That wouldn't be good." Naruto admitted quickly as he shivered involuntarily.
"Huh, so you're the container for the Ichibi?" Jiraiya chose then to enter the conversation once more popping up even as he quickly avoided Gaara's sand. "That explains things."
"You do realize that there's a reason not a single one of the ANBU watching us have lifted a finger to help you, right?" Naruto glared slightly at Jiraiya, even as the man waved it off with a slight shrug.
"Eh, sure kid whatever you say." The man rolled his eyes slightly as he spoke casually down at the boy with a wave of his hand.
"Actually, he's completely correct." An ANBU spoke up as he appeared next to them in a swirl of leaves. "We like you, Jiraiya-sama, just not enough that we'll piss him off and get him coming after us." The man bowed apologetically. "You're on your own."
With that, the ANBU vanished in another swirl of leaves, leaving Jiraiya staring with his mouth agape before he turned his head and stared at the amused looking trio of young teens.
"I warn them, but they never listen." Naruto noted with an exaggerated sadness to his words as he looked helplessly towards Gaara. "So sad, isn't it?"
"But if they did, would you be able to have as much fun?" Gaara asked curiously.
"Well, no." Naruto admitted with a shrug. "Fortunately, the smut peddler here's hotel wasn't too hard to find."
That made Jiraiya freeze up his eyes practically bulging out of his head now. "Wha...? But.. You've been here the whole time!"
"Shadow clones are handy." The blonde boy deadpanned lightly and then chuckled softly as he smiled sweetly at the man. "So many notes.... so many creative ways to destroy them."
"GAAAH! MY BABIES!!!" And with that Jiraiya was racing off, sprinting across the rooftops as Naruto popped off a clone that nodded to the original and then followed after the sannin.
"You didn't actually find his hotel room, did you?" Kin's voice was tinged with amusement as she glanced up at the man.
"Of course not." Naruto chuckled just a bit as he casually continued onwards. "Why would I go through all that effort of tracking down where exactly he is in Konoha, when I can just bluff, get him to go after his notes? That way, I have a clone track him, while I get some peace and quiet." He paused a moment, before frowning. "Actually, let's pick up the pace, I want to put off him finding out where I live as long as possible."
"That would be understandable." Gaara nodded in agreement before smirking just slightly. "Also... I am curious about your books."
"Looking for tips on what to do with Sakura?" Naruto offered up with a sweetly innocent smile on his lips as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
"Would you prefer I asked Kankuro?" The red head responded with a flat stare directed back at the boy.
"Could be amusing." The blonde boy teased back as he grinned broadly at his friend.
"... Do you hate me so much, that you'd leave me dependent on my brother's advice?" Gaara stared back at the blonde, a touch of pleading in those words as his eyes grew large, almost glistening.
"...Dude... you have the scariest fucking puppy dog eyes I've ever come across." Naruto shuddered visibly as he stared back at the suddenly smirking Gaara.
"Creepy." Kin agreed as she shivered visibly away from the red head.
"All the better to get people to do what I want." Gaara countered with an innocent smile, before lightly tapping his chin. "It's that, or my reputation as a homicidal maniac, I'm never sure which."
"Your puppy dog eyes are scarier." Naruto responded sagely even as he shuddered and winced. "Just... yeah."
"Thank you."
-o-o-o-
"Huh, that's weird." Naruto blinked slightly in uncertainty to see Iruka waiting for them in front of his door. "Hiding out from Anko-chan, Iruka-sensei?"
"Naruto." Iruka greeted the boy, his face serious even as he glared slightly in annoyance. "Why would I be hiding from Anko-chan?"
"Why were you hiding from her last time?" Naruto countered with a slight smirk before shrugging a bit. "Oh, before I forget, he's Gaara, and she's Kin-hime."
"Princess?" A slight bit of humor touched Iruka's eyes as Kin glared slightly at the boy. "My, what do Hinata and Ino have to say about that."
"It amuses them." Naruto shot back, smirking a bit. "Considering she was born..."
"Naruto-sama!" Kin whined softly, staring pleadingly up at the boy as she shifted uncomfortably. "You don't have to tell EVERYONE!"
"I know, I'm only telling the ones I know can keep a secret." Naruto responded, making a slight note of the grimace that blossomed across Iruka's lips. "Iruka-sensei, Kinuko Tsuchi. Kin-chan, the only man to ever keep up with me in a prank war." The blonde paused a moment, before making a light gesture towards Gaara. "Oh, and that's Gaara of the Desert, youngest son of the Kazekage, and container of Shukaku, the Ichibi."
"Hello." Gaara nodded his head towards the bug eyed chunin as he stood there, arms crossed about his chest.
"... Naruto, does anything EVER happen simply in your life?" Iruka groaned softly as he shook his head, just slumping his shoulders in numbed shock. "I'm here to escort you to see that damned worthless old man we call the Hokage."
Now THAT made everyone blink. Immediately, Naruto pushed himself up to Iruka as he forced the forehead protector up and felt the man's skin. "Are you feeling all right Iruka-sensei? You aren't sick or anything are you?"
"I'm fine Naruto." Iruka practically growled as he pulled the boy's hand away and readjusted his forehead protector. "Anko and I just had a... 'talk' with our 'beloved' Hokage."
"Ah." Naruto blinked slightly as he arched a brow at the man even as he opened up his apartment. "So, what's the body count?"
"Funny." Iruka glared slightly at the boy, before sighing softly once more as he pinched the bridge of his scarred nose. "I'm just... Anko clued me in enough for me to figure out who they were."
"Okay." Naruto responded with an almost flinch and a sigh as he gestured into the apartment, arching a brow as Iruka merely stood his ground while Gaara and Kin slipped inside. "Um, going to just stand out here in the hall Iruka-sensei?"
"I guess you didn't hear what I said to begin with." Iruka shot back. "We're going to go see the old bastard, where he's either going to tell you who your parents are, or I will."
"Really?" Naruto stared back at Iruka, uncertain as he struggled to work his mind around what the man had just said.
"If anyone should know, it's you."Iruka responded, his face solemn as he looked into Naruto's eyes.
"That's just... wow..." Naruto leaned against the door frame, his eyes wide in absolute shock as he shook his head. "Well, I suppose it'd be nice to know who would name an irresponsible old pervert like that poor excuse for a sannin, Jiraiya."
"There is that." Iruka winced slightly but nodded none the less.
Turning his head, Naruto paused a moment before studying Kin and Gaara, before his arms crossed about his chest. "Can I trust you two to not cause too much trouble while I'm away?"
"Yes!" Kin responded a bit too quickly
"No." Gaara's simple monotone shot back as his arms remained rebelliously across his chest, earning a look of pouting betrayal from Kin.
"… Can I trust you two to keep the damage OUT of my apartment?" Naruto offered up, sweating slightly as he stared at the pair.
"Reasonable." Gaara admitted before looking around the apartment, a slight frown on his lips, his eyes searching.
Sighing slightly the blonde boy shook his head and gestured towards a chest. "The pranking supplies are in there, but you're replacing whatever you use, am I clear?"
If he was anyone else, well anyone that he didn't already hang out with extensively, he would have been rather disturbed by the looks of pure and malicious glee that spread across the pair's faces. Pausing a moment, he then rubbed his hands slowly together. "Ohh… When this exam is over, the things we will do… oh yes…"
Cackling softly, Naruto turned his head to behold a rather… amused looking Iruka, who shook his head and chuckled just a bit. "Ah, how you leave me longing for the days of yore…"
As the pair began to walk away from the apartment, Naruto chuckled just a bit as he threaded his fingers behind his head and whistled softly. "You do realize, anyone that contributes to a performance review is entitled to pay and a corresponding mission completion on their record, yes?"
"Yes, but with the amount of planning you put into your little reviews, I'd have to skip out a day or so from the Academy." Iruka smirked just slightly in response as he casually adjusted his headband.
"So? You could use the break." Naruto shot back, his eyes twinkling playfully as he stretched out.
"Yes, but Hanabi and Konohamaru would run roughshod over the remaining instructors without me there to deflect their influences." Iruka paused a moment, before lightly tapping his lower lip. "And, I'd rather not be reduced to the only teacher at a smoking crater that used to be an academy."
"I could have a word with them?" Naruto offered up slightly as he smiled innocently. "Make sure they only break a few of the instructors and leave the academy standing?"
"Tempting, Naruto, tempting."
-o-o-o-
"So, I heard you wanted to see me, old man?" Naruto piped up as he walked into the Hokage's office next to Iruka as Anko nodded to them both from where she leaned back against the wall, before sending a glare at the old man.
The Hokage himself looked old, for lack of a better word. His face slightly ashen, he leaned back in his chair and gave a slow, quiet nod of his head before he spoke. "Yes, Naruto… Your… Family I suppose I should call them, have been most… adamant that you are ready to know the truth about your heritage. And in fact that it should have been revealed to you some time ago."
"… I don't have another Jiraiya floating in the family tree, do I?" Naruto offered hopefully even as he fought to repress the shudder that rippled through his body. "I mean, one is quite enough thank you. Anymore and, well… I'm not sure just what I'd do."
"No, Naruto, the only Jiraiya in your family tree is your godfather." Hiruzen smiled slightly at that as he watched the way Naruto's face collapsed into a look of abject disappointment.
"Dammit, I was hoping you'd tell me he was lying about that." Grumbling slightly he shook his head. "It was hard enough to lose him the first time."
"Lose him, brat?" Anko offered up, a brow arching slightly as she chuckled just a bit.
"Lose him, make him think I was burning his notes, same difference." Naruto responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. "A bit gullible that one."
"Burning his notes?" Iruka blinked slightly his face scandalized as he crossed his arms about his chest. "Naruto, just destroying the notes of one of the sannin…."
"His 'research' notes." Naruto clarified, as he lightly curled his fingers in visible quoations as he spoke. "For Icha Icha."
"Oh, carry on then." Nodding his head Iruka smiled back at the boy as he slipped over and took the spot on the wall next to Anko, before glancing meaningfully towards the man Hokage.
"Well, I didn't actually do it." Naruto answered, not missing the look the chunin had sent the old man. "Kinda surprising he actually thought I could cover all of Konoha that quickly and find his room." He paused, before smiling innocently. "That doesn't mean that I don't have a clone following him so I can do it later."
"Poor Jiraiya-kun." Sarutobi smiled slightly before looking out the window, towards the Hokage mountain as he looked at the faces staring sternly down at the village, his eyes drawn to one face in particular. "Naruto… I honestly never really wanted to tell you this. I didn't want to burden you with any more expectations of what you should be."
"More of a burden than Mizuki revealed?" Naruto arched a brow slightly and rolled his eyes just a bit. "I kinda doubt that's possible, old man."
"Maybe, maybe not." With a slow sigh, Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped open a folder for a moment, before withdrawing a single, aged piece of paper, then slid it forward across his desk. "Here, Naruto."
"What's this?" Naruto blinked slightly as he picked up the paper, then let his eyes widen in shock as he stared at the paper.
"Your birth certificate. The real one." Sarutobi responded with a quiet sigh as he slumped back in his seat and slowly shook his head. "The one, only a very, very small number of people knew existed. Your original teacher, her husband, and a few of your parents closest friends."
"This… this is real?" Naruto was staring at the paper in numbed shock, his eyes frozen on the name written atop the spot for his father. "He…. This… He was…?"
"Minato Namikaze." The Hokage again looked out the window, and stared at the stern face etched onto the mountain. "Konoha's Yellow Flash, our Fourth Hokage. One of the most intelligent and dangerous ninja to have ever lived, and paradoxically, one of the kindest."
"The man who gave his life to seal the Kyuubi inside of me." Naruto finished the unspoken remainder of the man's description with a quiet release of breath. "So, I wasn't just some random orphan."
"How could he ask someone to place the burden on a child, when he wouldn't place it upon his own?" Sarutobi responded simply as he shook his head quietly. "So, he placed it upon the only child he trusted to be able to handle it. His son."
"And thus, did I become Konoha's whipping boy." Naruto responded sourly as he shook his head and slowly rand his fingers a bit further down the birth certificate, lightly brushing across his mother's name. "Kushina. So, I was given my mother's family name."
"You were burdened enough as it was, I didn't want you to…" The Hokage began as he watched the mix of emotions warring across Naruto's face.
"And you don't think the fact that I was his son, wouldn't have swayed people? Wouldn't have stopped them from looking at me with those cold, hateful eyes?" Naruto growled slowly, angrily as his eyes narrowed at the man. "You let them know that I contained the demon, but not the reason WHY I was chosen for it? Just an orphan, no real background, no family, no history… All the easier for people to believe that I was the fox instead of the boy."
He paused a moment, a pulse of anger burning across his face as he stared back at the man in front of him who seemed so weathered, so old, and he ruthlessly crushed the squirming tendril of pity he could feel blossoming for the man. "So, what, you told yourself you were keeping me safe? That you were preventing me from growing up in my father's shadow? That you were keeping me safe from his enemies?"
Naruto clenched his fingers tightly into his palms as he shook his head, his eyes shutting as he took a slow series of deep calming breaths even as he could feel Iruka and Anko's hands coming to rest comfortingly on his shoulders. "Everyone that was supposed to be there for me, either abandoned me, hid the truth from me, or was forced to step back." Shaking his head, the boy stood up, glaring down at the defeated looking Sarutobi. "You fucked up, Hokage-sama."
Never before had that title stung as hard as it did from the lips of a boy who'd never in his years ever called him by it. Without a further word, Naruto rose up and gave a grateful nod to Iruka and Anko, before walking away without a further word. For a moment, a heavy weight of expectation clung across the room, before Anko and Iruka looked at one another, then back to the Hokage, before they turned and quietly left the man alone.
There, in the quiet solitude of the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi dipped his hand down into a waiting drawer, and drew forth a bottle of sake, not even bothering to take a glass with it, as he proceeded to take a deep, heavy swig from it.
-o-o-o-
"Drinking on the job, Sensei?" Jiraiya's voice was cautious as he slowly slid down through the window as he looked at the half empty bottle of sake in the older man's hand, and the look of resigned defeat on his face. "A bit irresponsible, don't you think?"
"I told Naruto about his parents." Seven words, and it summed up so much as they left the man's lips.
"Ah… it didn't go over too well?" The sannin offered carefully as he studied his teacher with a careful eye.
"I forget sometimes, just how sharp that boy is." The Hokage responded quietly as he shook his head and sighed slightly. "And how deep he can cut when he strikes."
"Told you that it was a bad idea." Jiraiya responded with a shrug as he took the bottle from his teacher and he took a slug of his own. "Look on the bright side."
"The bright side?" Hiruzen Sarutobi arched a brow as he looked at his wandering student as the words fell incredulously past his lips. "And where in this, is there a bright side?"
"You were there for him his whole life." Jiraiya countered simply as he poured the sake into two waiting bowls before setting the bottle down on the table between them. "You, he'll eventually forgive." He paused a moment, as he stared down into the shining surface of his sake before downing it quickly with a grimace. "And you're not the one he hates."
"I don't know if Naruto can hate anyone." Sarutobi shot back quietly as he shook his head and settled back into his chair, taking his own bowl and sipping at the rice wine. "Even you."
"He tricked me into revealing my hotel room and where I was hiding my notes, just so he could watch my face when he destroyed them in front of me." Jiraiya responded with a flat look at his sensei, before he picked up a mess of pages, doused and ruined by pink paint. "That takes a lot of hate."
"Oh, Jiraiya-kun, I simply said anyone, as in a person." The elderly man responded with a slight smile on his lips. "I said nothing about him not hating your book series."
"Ugh." The sannin groaned softly and shook his head as he poured himself another cup of sake. "Joy, what's he hate about it so much anyway? Most men love my work!"
"They also either hide their enjoyment in shame, or are very, very lonely men." The Hokage countered with a slight smirk on his lips. "Have you ever actually read the boy's work?"
"No, not really." For a moment he paused, before shrugging slightly. "Never really had any reason to until today."
"It's quite good." Hiruzen responded as he pulled out his personal copy of Naruto's latest work. "There's a reason he has his girls."
"Speaking of which, you know the Sound girl he picked up?" Jiraiya spoke up, a tinge of amusement twinkling back into his eyes.
"Kin something as I recall, Tsuchi or some such?" Sarutobi offered as he took another slow sip of his sake. "What about her?"
"Kinuko Tsuchi," the white haired man said the name with a deliberate relish as he watched and waited for his sensei's reaction.
"Kinuko Tsuchi… that name seems so familiar." The Hokage sighed slightly as he frowned, leaning back in his chair. "I seem to recall reading a report a few years back relating to that name…"
"Mhm… I sent you one as well." Jiraiya noted as he grinned slightly. "I thought her recovery would be quite the feather in our cap, then my godson goes and does it without even realizing it."
"Recovery? Ah yes… she was a…" At that, the elder man's eyes snapped open as he stared, incredulously at Jiraiya. "That boy has the Tsuchi clan heiress as…?"
"Mmmmhmmmmmm…." Jiraiya waggled his eyebrows with an exaggerated wink. "And she's already quite attached to the boy and his other girls. I mean, very, very attached. Plus, she didn't just go missing."
"Kidnapped?" The Hokage offered up, his eyes glinting curiously as he studied his pupil.
"Nope. Runaway." The sannin sipped at his wine for a moment, before grinning slightly, "It seems she didn't want to become 'that kind of kunoichi' as she puts it. She apparently has issues with her clan's… specialty."
"And yet, now…" There was another hint of humor in the old man's voice as he left the end of the statement hanging.
"Ah, but that's more her choice with people of her choosing." The student countered as he sipped at his sake once more. "I'm not sure what her specialty is, but I'm fairly certain it's not the kind've thing that she'd be doing if she stayed with her clan."
"You do know that we will have to release that information, yes?" The Hokage responded simply as he looked down into his bowl of sake. "I was thinking, probably about the same time I publically announced Naruto's heritage."
"You're plotting something." Jiraiya noted as he studied the suddenly grinning again Hokage.
"Yes." Sarutobi agreed as he lightly rubbed his hands together. "How to set things up so that old bastard the Tsuchikage dies of a heart attack when he finds out."
"Ah, creative." Jiraiya nodded his head in approval as he grinned back at his mentor. "And there's no way they can do anything about it. Killing him without killing him."
"Yes… no messy maneuvering, no manipulating others into action, no covert forces… Just the pure and simple shock of finding out their precious princess is so eagerly attaching herself to the son of the Yellow Flash." Hiruzen paused a moment, before sighing wistfully. "Oh, how I wish I could be there when he gets the news."
"You're an evil, evil man when you want to be, Sensei."
"Well, I had to put up with you three." The man countered with a sour look on his face. "Sadly, some of your evil rubbed off."
"Hey!"
-o-o-o-
"This is one of those moments where you just expect to here a: 'Dun Dun DUN!'; isn't it?" Kushina noted as she settled back against her husband's chest, watching the screen in front of them.
"Mhm." Minato agreed as he lightly traced his fingers over her stomach. "Utterly and completely."
"Very, very interesting." She noted as she shook her head and sigh. "I'm not sure if I should be rooting the old man on, or plotting how I'm going to torture him for using things like this."
"Mmm why not both?" Hinata's mother asked lazily as she lay out on her couch, stretching slightly as she watched the screen. "He's still a bastard, even if he's doing it in a way we approve of."
"True." Kushina admitted with a slight smile to her lips. "Mmm whatever shall we do, I wonder, hmmm?''
"Start planning the party for Iruka and Anko?" Ino's mother offered up with a simple smile on her lips.
"I like it." Kushina agreed quickly, before grinning softly. "But, after the Chunin exams. I've got a full schedule until then."
"Lots of sex?" The Hyuga woman offered.
"Tons of it." Kushina affirmed.
"Delightful."
-o-o-o-
Hinata blinked slightly as she saw her grim faced teammate walking through the Hyuga compound with his lips set in a hard, thin line. Frowning, she broke from her kata and quickly jogged over to the boy. "Naruto-kun? What's wrong?"
"Hinata-chan…" The words were thick, heavy on his lips as he struggled with so many conflicting emotions before he took a slow, deep breath and looked into her eyes. "I need to speak with your father."
"Is… is there something wrong?" There was fear, worry in her voice as she watched the boy she cared so deeply seem to struggle with himself.
"Yeah, but I need to talk to Hiashi." Naruto responded quietly as he looked meaningfully into Hinata's eyes.
"Naruto-kun…" For a moment, she pressed, curiously wanting to know more as she stared back up into those deep blue eyes of his.
"Just… Let it go for now, ok, Hinata-chan? I have to talk to you father, because I don't know of anyone else who has the answers I need and will tell me."
She stared pleadingly up into his eyes, the hurt shining in her gaze even as she reluctantly nodded her head and surrendered to his question. "He should be in his study."
"Thank you Hinata-chan." The words fell so softly past his lips as he nodded his head in her direction before he offered her one, sad little smile before heading back down the halls without a further word.
The girl stared at her teammate's back for a moment, before she returned to the slow, deliberate work of her kata. Focusing on it as she tried to block out the look that seemed to haunt the boy's eyes so deeply. Shaking her head she shivered just a bit, as she couldn't help but wonder just what had happened to her Naruto-kun.
Down the hall, Hiashi lifted his head with a frown as he heard the rapping knock strike the door to his study, before with pursed lips he spoke up. "Enter."
The Hyuga man's pale eyes widened slightly as he beheld the familiar visage of a boy who had been the closest thing to a son and later, brother that the man had since the passing of Hizashi. "Naruto… is something the matter?"
With weary blue eyes, Naruto's gaze met his own, and something sank in the pit of the man's stomach, before Naruto spoke the words Hiashi wasn't sure he'd longed for, or dreaded. "Hiashi… would you tell me about Minato and Kushina?"
And in spite of the fears, in spite of the worries, Hiashi Hyuga smiled softly as he nodded his head and gestured across his desk. "Of course, Naruto, of course."
-o-
Author's notes: Another one down, and another one less to go before BS is completed. Since my dry spell is hopefully over, I should have it completed soon enough.