Chapter Two part I

Sasuke was walking through the park near his house, heading home. It was already eight o'clock and with winter approaching, the sun had set early. The park lamps were flickering to life around him and his mother would have been furious at him being out so late, if it wasn't for his big brother walking casually beside him. At twelve years old, Itachi was Sasuke's idol, he was awed by everything his brother had already achieved. The only reason their parents even allowed Itachi to walk his seven year old brother home was because he was a black belt in two forms of martial arts, he had started when he was three and they knew he could take care of him.

Itachi was never one for conversation but with his little brother, he'd always make the exception, "Did you have fun at your classmate's house?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke looked excited at the prospect of telling him all about it, "Gaara's a lot of fun! He doesn't talk much but his brother, Kankuro-Kankyto or whatever it was, talks way too much and he plays with dolls!" The dark haired teen chuckled at the boy's disgusted/horrified face, reaching down to ruffle the spikes at the back of his head. Unperturbed, Sasuke continued, "But his big sister, Temari, she made us grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato slices in them. They were yum yum delicious!"

"You only liked them because of the tomato."

"Yeah so?" Itachi smirked at the pout that formed on the boy's face, his little arms crossed tightly over his chest.

An evil sounding chuckle filled the momentary silence before a voice spoke out, "How lovely, a little quality bonding between brothers."

"It's so sweet, I'm getting a cavity." Another more nasally voice added.

Itachi's obsidian orbs landed on a man with long black hair and ominous yellow snake like eyes. A giant of a human stood just to the right and a bit behind from him and four more men of different sizes, stood off to the left.

The snake like man made his way toward the pair, Itachi pushing his little brother behind him, "So beautiful, you truly live up to your namesake, don't you?" The man brushed his knuckles over the elder's cheek, the boy immediately slapping the hand away with a scowl, "And feisty too. Just like your father. I'm going to enjoy training you." The smirk that came to his features made Itachi shudder.

"You know who we are? How?" Whatever this person had planned for them, the elder raven knew it wasn't something good.

That evil smirk widened, "Your father is very good at keeping his children out of the spot light but everyone has their ways and mine are secret. Now how about you come along quietly, we wouldn't want to frighten little Sasuke, would we?"

Itachi stood taller at that, a snarl on his face, "You keep your filthy hands off my brother." He could feel Sasuke's fingers tightening in the back of his coat and he knew he wouldn't be able to fight with the boy hanging on. Reaching a hand behind him, the elder gently pried the fingers off, squeezing once in reassurance before letting go.

The man seemed to shrug, motioning with a hand and the four men off to the side came forward. Different looks of sadistic glee on their faces, with one or two cracking their knuckles as they approached.

"Don't hurt him too badly, I'd like to take the both of them if possible." Sinister yellow eyes glowed under the lamp light as he moved out of the way.

Sasuke wasn't sure what to do when his brother moved away from him, Itachi had never fought more than two at a time before, and the boy was worried that four was too many. The tiny brunet had huddled himself next to the lamp post, hoping that no one would pay him any attention. His big brother may be a dual black belt but he was not, his mother was allowed to be much more protective of her younger son and wouldn't let him take any martial arts until he was five. Even then, she would always stop any match whenever he was hit or knocked down, making it extremely hard for the boy to learn effectively.

A large hand landing on his shoulder had Sasuke jumping up in fright with a scream, "Itachi help!"

At the call of his name, the older boy kicked the man he was fighting in the stomach, sending him to the ground with a grunt of pain. He turned to take on the one after his brother but the other three blocked his way. Itachi could just see Sasuke, through the three large bodies, defending himself from the hands trying to grab him and unfortunately his little brother would have to cope until he got there, hopefully the boy could manage that long.

The little brunet was quickly backing away from the giant after him, he could see his brother couldn't help him but maybe if he could lose the guy in the dark then he could run home and get help. A pair of arms wrapping tightly around his waist ripped another scream from him. He struggled as much as he could, feet kicking and nails scratching up and down the person's arms. When one of the hands reached up to silence him, Sasuke bit down into the soft flesh between thumb and finger. The man holding him grunted, and before the boy could get his bearings, was practically thrown into the giant's arms. The large hands held his arms easily to his sides, suspended as he was in the air and making his feet useless when he was held out so far. Sasuke's dark orbs were wide as the yellow eyed man stomped up to them, he saw the strike before he felt it but it didn't matter either way, the force of it sent his head jerking harshly to the side. The last thing Sasuke saw before the black dots ate up his vision was his big brother rushing toward him, it was going to be okay then, Itachi never let bad things happen to him.

Itachi looked up at his brother's cry, watched the snake eyed man hit the boy and felt his blood boil at the sight of it, nobody hurt his little brother. The older Uchiha easily took out the last two men, the anger in his system making him faster, stronger. He charged them, fist raised but as he prepared to strike, his wrist was caught in a tight grip.

"That's enough of that boy. Don't you see it's pointless to fight me?"

The young raven spoke calmly, "Release my brother and let us both be on our way, then I'll stop."

"So arrogant, you Uchiha are all the same. Thinking you're so superior to everyone else but beware of the ants you step on, one day they may start biting back. Unfortunately, your parents are going to be learning this the hard way," The man twisted the hand holding the boy's wrist to check his watch, "In three, two, one..."

BOOM!

The boy's head whipped toward the sound. Dark billowing clouds rose to the sky, bright red-orange flames licked up, trying desperately to keep hold of the black plumes of smoke. Itachi's coal black eyes widened slightly as he realized where exactly the fire was, "...No..." He whispered, turning quickly back to the snake man, "You did this, didn't you?! You're scum!" His oil colored orbs hazed over with red, his other hand already fisted for a strike but he was angry and sloppy which made it an easy catch in the bastard's other hand.

"Now now, that's not going to bring your parents back-"

"Fuck you!" The words were joined by a large wad of spit against the yellow eyed man's cheek.

Calmly wiping the saliva away, the man chuckled, "If that's the way you want it, so be it," A loud crack was heard in the silence that followed as he bent the boy's wrist until it snapped. Itachi bit his lip to keep in the scream threatening to escape but a pain filled grunt passed his clenched teeth instead. The bastard threw him to the ground, the boy barely catching himself with his good hand as he hit the dirt path, "Make sure he can't follow us."

The four lackeys that Itachi had beaten earlier surrounded him, the pain started then, all over his entire body. He wasn't sure how long he lasted before he passed out but the last he ever saw of Sasuke was the giant tossing his little brother over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and disappearing into the shadows with the snake eyed monster.

xxx

The ringing phone woke the couple sleeping soundly in their bed, "Answer the phone." One nudged the other in the side with his foot.

"Why can't you get it? It's on your bedside table." The other grumbled as he rolled over to face his sleeping bedmate.

"Because I'm sleeping."

"Well I am too."

One dark eye opened half way, "Please..."

Unfortunately, the second man's eyes were open too and the pleading look made him scowl and sit up. Crawling over his lover, he grabbed the still ringing phone and put it to his ear, "Hello?" His scowl turned to shock before frowning, "No I'm not, just a minute..." He covered the microphone, "Kakashi it's for you."

The first man, Kakashi sat up as well, taking the phone, "Hello?"

"Is this Kakashi Hatake?"

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"My name is Shizune, a nurse at the General Hospital. We have a young boy here by the name of Itachi Uchiha," The silver haired man frowned, wondering why they would be calling him about this, "As his legal guardian, we need you to come down to the hospital and fill out a few forms for us."

"What?! Where are his parents?!" Kakashi was having a hard time understanding what exactly was going on, was he still dreaming?

Iruka Umino was just as confused, only hearing one half of the conversation. His lover seemed distraught about whatever the woman on the other end was saying and it was making him worry. He was tempted to lean closer to try and hear but decided against it, he could interrogate him after.

"Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha were critically injured when their home exploded just over two hours ago. It is very unlikely either will survive the night. Young Itachi was found beaten to near death in the park by his house though his injuries are critical, he made it through surgery and should easily survive until morning." The woman paused for only a moment, the silver haired man could hear a second voice over the line and dread filled him when the lady returned, "I'm afraid I have an update on Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha. I have just been informed that neither made it. I'm sorry for your loss."

Kakashi lurched forward on the bed, his free hand covering his mouth. Iruka was beside him instantly, rubbing his back and asking quietly what was wrong. The man couldn't answer, couldn't tell his lover that the people who helped him all through college and were the first to promote his own martial arts business were dead.

"Mr. Hatake? Mr. Hatake? Are you still there?"

The voice on the phone pulled him from his hysteria for the moment, "Yes, sorry. What were you saying?"

"We are going to need you to come down to the hospital now-"

"Will I be able to see Itachi?" His dark eyes darted back and forth in his agitation before something important came to mind, "What about Sasuke? Where's Sasuke?"

"I'm afraid we don't have anyone here by that name. We will check with the officers on the case and other hospitals in the area but we will still need you to-"

"Yes yes, I'll be there shortly." Kakashi didn't wait for the woman to reply before disconnecting. Dropping the phone on the bed, he leapt from between the sheets and rushed across the hall to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet.

The brunet followed quickly, pulling the man's long silver hair from his face and rubbing his back in small, soothing circles. When Kakashi was finished emptying his stomach, the man stood on shaking legs and made his way to the sink, rinsing his mouth and brushing his teeth before slumping back onto the now closed toilet seat, head in his hands.

Now seemed to be the best time to ask the questions burning at the front of Iruka's mind, "Kakashi, what was that phone call all about? What about Itachi and Sasuke? Please tell me what's going on."

Silver strands shook as he spoke, not lifting his head, "Fugaku and Mikoto... they... they're dead," The brown eyed man gasped in shock, a hand going to cover his mouth. The silence in the room was deafening but he didn't speak, waiting for his lover to finish, "Itachi is in critical condition at the hospital. Apparently he was beaten badly in the park by his house and nobody seems to know where Sasuke is. They want me down there now and I don't know if they'll even let me see Itachi or not."

Iruka crawled to his knees and wrapped the near sobbing man in a tight hug, he wanted desperately to cry too but he couldn't just yet. He had to be strong for his lover. The brunet opened his mouth to speak, but the words spoken were not his own.

"Ruka? I heard someone being sick. Is Kashi not feeling well?" A small ten year old blond stood in the bathroom doorway, his blue eyes shining in the bright lighting.

Iruka shook his head, "Everything's alright Naruto. Go back to bed, I'll be in shortly to check on you."

"But why are you guys crying? What's wrong?" The boy looked on the verge of tears himself and the brunet never could turn away crying children.

"Come here," He held open an arm for the child to crawl into his lap and cuddle against his chest, "Do you remember Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha?"

The blond nodded vigorously, "Yeah, Mrs. Mikoto was really nice and she brought cookies for us but Mr. Fugaku was kinda scary when he wasn't smiling. I remember they said they'd bring their kids next time they came to visit." The large grin on the boy's face made tears slip from Iruka's brown eyes.

"Naruto... Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha won't be coming to visit again," The grin disappeared instantly, a frown taking its place, "Something bad happened at their house and they won't ever be coming to visit again."

Naruto wrinkled his nose once then his eyes went slightly wide as understanding dawned on him, "You mean they aren't coming back the same way Mommy and Daddy aren't coming back." It wasn't a question, it was a statement... the boy knew exactly what he was talking about.

Naruto couldn't remember why they went out for supper or to which restaurant, all the memories before and a lot after were lost to him but he could vividly see the events in that dreaded alleyway...

The small family had just left the restaurant, celebrating their son's second birthday. Minato Namikaze had his arm wrapped firmly around his wife's waist, his other arm was full of his son, who was pointing excitedly at everything they passed. So when a lanky looking man stopped in front of them, Minato couldn't defend his family as they were herded at gun point into the nearby alley.

Near the back of the dark corridor, where people passing by couldn't see or hear them, the man stopped moving, "Alright, hand over all your valuables and nobody gets hurt."

The blond haired father immediately reached into his pocket for his wallet, a hand halting the process almost as soon as it had started, "What are you doing?! Don't give this dirt bag anything!" His wife hissed in his ear.

"Kushina please, just give him what he wants and he'll leave us alone." The redhead scowled but followed her husband's example, tossing her purse and jewelry at the man's feet.

The mugger grinned, crooked yellow teeth showing. He looked satisfied, about to reach down and grab his loot before a lecherous sneer formed on his face, "Hey you, Foxy Lady, back your pretty self against that back wall," The man turned to Minato, "Don't worry, we'll only be a few minutes."

Kushina nearly retched at the mere thought, "Never you sick pervert!"

"What did you call me?"

While his wife was arguing with their mugger, Minato slipped towards the side wall and setting the bundle in his arms down on the bottom step of a small staircase, placed a kiss to his forehead, "Stay here Naruto and don't make any noise alright? Mommy and Daddy will come and get you when it's over." Another kiss to the top of the boy's blond mop before he made his way back to his wife, "Please Kushina, how about we all just calm down and I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

Navy orbs narrowed at him, "You can't be saying that you want that asshole to touch me, are you?!"

"No of course not, but we can't just yell at him, he has a gun."

"Well I'm not just going to bend over for him! I wouldn't let him near me with a ten foot pole!"

"Shut up! Just shut up the both of you! Now Foxy Lady, against the back wall." The mugger didn't look very happy anymore and Minato was worried things would get out of hand if they didn't cooperate.

"I told you no!"

"Kushina-"

A silenced handgun was suddenly pointed at the blond's chest, "I told you to shut up!"

"Okay, please I'm sure we can-" His sentence was cut off as a bullet tore through his chest. Minato gasped in pain, looking down at the red liquid spreading over his white dress shirt. His blue spheres glanced to his wife, who had her hands over her mouth in horror as his shaking legs collapsed from under him and he dropped to the ground, somehow ending up on his back. The blond's head twisted to the side, his eyes landing on his beautiful two year old boy, sadness clenched his heart as he was unable to comfort the crying child. Kushina finally snapped out of her trance, a scream ripping from her throat. Minato heard his wife's yell cut off abruptly and knew what had happened, could feel the thud through the dirty ground and felt her warm blood pooling around his own outstretched hand. It hurt that he was too weak to even turn his head and look at her a last time but it didn't matter, with blue orbs still open, Minato took one last breath before stilling.

The mugger squinted his eyes, surveying the two unmoving bodies and bending down, he began collecting the personal belongings of the people he had just killed. As he stood to leave was when he heard the crying. Finding the child was easy enough, the boy was under a dim light against the side wall, and he smirked widely as he approached.

"Hey kid," At the voice Naruto looked up, crying harder when it wasn't one of his parents, "Hey stop crying would ya," The blond seemed to ignore the man but only until he was grabbed and thrown to the ground. The mugger straddled the small boy, feet holding the child's kicking legs down while his knees held Naruto's arms to his sides, "Ya know, you're kinda foxy looking too, just like your Mommy. But you're missing something important." Reaching into his back pocket, the lanky male pulled a small switchblade out. His grin was sinister looking as he grabbed a fist full of blond hair and twisted the boy's head to one side.

Naruto was crying, little whimpers and sniffles as he called out for his parents. He screamed as the knife bit into his skin, "It hurts! Mommy... Daddy... it hurts! Stop, it hurts! Daddy! Mommy!"

The man just laughed and when he had finished three even cuts on one cheek, he wrenched the boy's head roughly to the other side, digging the blond's fresh wounds into the dirty concrete and starting the process over again. He finished quickly enough, "There, now you really are foxy." Laughing, he climbed off the child and left him to sob on the ground.

It was hours later when Naruto was finally found by one of the chefs of the restaurant the family had eaten at. The man recognized them and the police were called. Minato and Kushina had no other family for the child to go to and he was placed into an orphanage, one that just happened to be frequented by none other than Iruka Umino (who regularly volunteered at multiple places), and quickly grew attached to the blond and brought him home within the first month.

The small blond head was buried into Iruka's chest, the boy's shoulders shaking as unwanted memories came to the forefront of all their minds, "Shh... Everything's going to be okay."

Kakashi cleared his throat, not wanting his voice to be scratchy, "Ruka's right. Even though something very bad happened and Fugaku and Mikoto won't be visiting again, their kids, remember how they said they were around your age?" At the slight nod, he continued, "Well they're going to be coming to stay with us from now on."

Watery blue orbs looked up at that, first into his adopted father's brown eyes and then into the darker ones of his silver haired second father, "Really?" The voice was quiet and meek, not the usual vibrant and loud way things were normally said.

Iruka nodded, "Yup. Kashi is going to take care of them the same way I take care of you. Is that alright with you? Do you mind sharing your family with two more little boys?"

At first the brunet was worried Naruto might get possessive, like he did sometimes over his father figures, but the bright smile and nod made the knot in his chest loosen just a bit, "That means I'm going to have two brothers right? I wouldn't mind having brothers to play with all the time," The boy paused momentary, chin in hand and looking to the ceiling, "As long as I don't have to share my toys all the time too."

Both men chuckled a bit, Kakashi finally getting to his feet, "I should get going." His brown eyed lover only nodded, a sad smile on his face. He inclined his head just slightly, the same small smile on his lips and let his family know he'd keep them posted. The last thing he heard as he headed back into his bedroom to change was the two arguing about going back to bed.

"But I'm not tired anymore."

"That doesn't matter. It's after ten Naruto and you have school."

"But Ruka..."

"No buts young man."

Finished changing, the silver haired man let out a laugh as he slipped into his boots and coat and left the house, heading off to see about his new wards.

I must say this chapter was ridiculous! I had a hard time writing it and then every time I thought I was done, I found something more to add to it. It got to the point that I had to split it into two parts and even now I'm still adding to part two. But hopefully I'll have the second half done soon.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear from you 3 Like it, hate it? Please tell me :)