Disclaimer: I still do not have any ownership of Naruto, nor anything from the BBC or Benny Hill.

Uzumaki Complex – Sunday morning

Chronos was slaving over the stove thinking about the last week's events with fondness. Over the rest of the week, the weekdays were rather hectic. Every morning was the same as the first. The boys gradually became accustomed to reveille after a couple of days and even managed to awaken a few minutes before Chronos would barge into their rooms.

Chronos decided to alter the PT sessions since they both seemed to like his taijutsu style. The morning exercise routine turned into the three of them going over different taijutsu techniques, each one taking a turn watching the other two and fixing flaws. Sasuke didn't like it at first when Naruto saw a flaw in his stance, saying he was leaving his head unprotected too much, but got over it when Naruto spotted Chronos doing the same thing and made the same comment to him.

After a bath and breakfast, the trio would make their way to the Academy, where Chronos would converse with Iruka and some of the kids before class would start. When they parted ways, Chronos would always find his instructor for the morning outside.

Those mornings would be spent with either Kakashi going through the basics of chakra control. Kakashi wasn't surprised by the color of Chronos's chakra when he saw it formed for the first time, but he quickly learned how much of a benefit it was. It took one morning to get the tree walking exercise down, even though they needed to use three trees to finish the exercise. The other two had too many dents after his previous attempts. The water walking exercise took a while longer, mostly due to memories of a drowning incident in Chronos's youth, but by the end of the first week, both of those exercises were down.

After a decent lunch, afternoon training sessions would be with Anko or Hayate depending on the day. Hayate had Tuesdays and Thursdays while Anko had Wednesdays and Fridays. The afternoons with Hayate on the first week was mostly confined to polishing up Chronos's kenjutsu style. Hayate was interested to find that Chronos was equally gifted with one-handed stances from both the left and right hands, but the katana transfers and disarming methods in his style were sloppy, so that was where most of the first week was concentrated on.

Chronos didn't show it, but the part of the week he liked the best was the training with Anko. It reminded him so much of being in the service, and who wouldn't love being trained by a female drill instructor? She first tried to run him into the dirt, but found he had more endurance than she did, so she reintroduced him to her private training area and tossed in a surprise. She had him start wearing weights throughout the day and made him run through two scenarios each day. The first one would be him to breach an encampment or structure and obtain some object, while the second one would be an evasion exercise. He would have to go from the first objective to the exit gate while Anko would launch barrage after barrage of kunai, shuriken, taijutsu strikes, snake summons, and the occasional jutsu. It was during that first evasion exercise that something came to mind.


Flashback

'I hate running for my life, but I don't have much of a choice.' Chronos thought as he dashed from tree to tree. 'I'm glad Kakashi-sensei helped me with the tree climbing exercise or I'd be skewered by now.'

Chronos paused atop one branch to catch his breath, only to have three pythons dropping from the branch above. He leapt to the next tree, only for it to give way as a kunai was already lodged on the blindside of the branch. Attached to that branch was an explosive tag, which went off as soon as Chronos went to leap off of the limb.

The explosion threw off his jump, causing him to overshoot the next limb. Only through his quickened reflexes was he able to avoid taking the next branch completely in the chest, turning his body to make it a glancing blow. He also managed to fall mostly unharmed to the ground, except for a sprained ankle. It didn't matter for when Chronos got to his feet, there was Anko. She just smirked and raised her left arm.

"Seneijashu" Anko exclaimed and four snakes shot from under the sleeve of her trench coat. They bound themselves to his arms and legs, effectively hog-tying him.

She laughed antagonistically and strutted her way up to Chronos as he struggled to break his bonds. She bent over and whispered into his ear with much satisfaction. "Better luck next time, runt." Finishing her tempting taunt with a small flick of her tongue on Chronos's ear, she left him stunned and frustrated.

He just watched her walk away leaving him furious that he was still trapped, frustrated from the chills that went down his spine and the goose bumps lingering from the sensations her whisper gave him, and annoyed that she was leaving him stuck there.

"Come back here and get me out of this!!!" Chronos furiously shouted at her retreating form, which Chronos actually took a small liking to. All Chronos heard was a laugh from Anko, followed by the snakes uncoiling.

He got to his feet and rambled his way up to Anko. He looked over at her and saw the positively evil smile that graced her face.

'That bitch enjoyed tying me up. GRRRRR!!! It's on now.' Then for some reason, it dawned on him.

"You took it easy on me during the test a couple days ago, didn't you?"

Anko just grinned like a snake that just ate a mouse. "Well it wouldn't have done much good if I killed you off on the first date right?"

"You call that a date?? I wonder what you call a romantic evening. Torture??" Chronos replied flabbergasted.

"You will have to see, now won't you?" She retorted with a playful slap to his posterior.


Chronos resolved to get her back today, if she wasn't too gutless to show.

The fun part for the new family was the late afternoon and evenings during the week. Each day, the trio would recount the lessons that they did separately, and every time it would degrade into a training session. By Thursday evening, things became so routine that they even called it 'family time'.

Family time would consist of Naruto and Sasuke giving a period on instruction on something they learned in class that day. Sasuke actually seemed to be the better teacher of the two. He came off rather professional to the point of having the air of a professor in his teachings. Everything seemed so proper and formal with every point he would make and there was a sense of intellectual arrogance about the lesson. Naruto was more informal and often made jokes and humorous analogies to emphasize points. Every point he would make was easy to understand, because he tried so hard to make it seem simple.

After the lectures were over, each person would go over a demonstration of what practical skills they learned or tried to learn that day. Chronos ended up getting plenty of instruction on the Academy level jutsus from Sasuke and Naruto and seemed to have Henge and Kawarimi down by Friday night. Bunshin was another story. Just like Naruto, it seemed Chronos could not make a proper clone. They figured that it could be a family trait and decided to look into it at the library on Monday, since Saturday was a day to rest and Sunday was a day to play.

For the boys, they enjoyed having their Otousan teach them the tree walking. One of the more serious as well as hilarious family bonding moments occurred on that day they did the water walking.


Flashback

The trio made their way to the closest pair of trees that had decent clearance for walking along the side. Chronos turned to Sasuke and Naruto and started the lesson.

"Today I learned a rather interesting training method for chakra control. I managed to learn this in an afternoon, so if you are willing, I'd like to teach it to both of you. You game??" he asked them both.

"Sure thing, Otousan, but why are we over here next to these trees?" Naruto inquired.

Chronos smiled and then calmly walked over to the tree and then, to the amazement of both boys, he walked up the side of the tree to a height of about five meters and then jumped off.

After landing calmly, he turned to the boys. "According to Kakashi-sensei, this exercise will help with your chakra control and make it much easier to learn almost any jutsu. I didn't believe him at first until he showed me how easy it was to defy gravity with just some concentration and effort. Are you willing to try this out?"

Both boys nodded and seemed rather eager to learn.

"Alright then, do both of you have a kunai?" Sasuke and Naruto pulled out one from their equipment pouch. "Good, what you should do initially is to get a running start and then try to go up the side. When you feel yourself about to fall off, mark the tree with the kunai. Go ahead and give it a couple tries. After you do that, I'll answer a question or two if you are confused."

Both boys nodded and took towards the new goal with gusto. After the first few tries, Sasuke left a couple dents in the bark but managed to get five steps before dropping, while Naruto only could manage three steps.

"What am I doing wrong?? You did it, it shouldn't be that hard." Naruto stated frustratingly.

Chronos put a calming hand on his shoulder and motioned Sasuke to come over and sit down. When both boys were seated, he gave an explanation. "With most things in life, if you don't do enough, you fail. That is somewhat how things are going with you, Naruto. You are using too much chakra, and negating what you're trying to do. On the other side of that coin, if you use too little, you cannot achieve a strong enough effect. As you can see, there are dents in your trees. That is from using too much chakra. With the best things in life, they are best done in either moderation or in some sort of balance. Thinking that way got me to the top of the tree. Any thoughts or questions?"

Sasuke spoke up quietly. "So you are saying that if we don't use enough chakra we fall and if we use too much, we break the tree, and that with jutsu in the future, you have to use just the right amount of chakra to make things work correctly."

"Couldn't have said it better myself. You should speak up more, Sasuke. You can help more than just yourself that way and improve yourself more in the long run." Chronos said kindly.

"How would that make me any better or help me with my goal?" Sasuke asked darkly.

"Which goal is that?"

"To kill a certain man." He stated looking off to the horizon.

Chronos put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Don't worry about that now. Sunday, we will talk about it, just don't let it stick in your mind. You are much better than that if you give yourself the chance." Sasuke did nothing more than a simple nod and grunt in acquiescence.

"Now are there any other questions or concerns?" Neither Sasuke nor Naruto made any attempt at a question. "Fine. We only have an hour of daylight left, so get back to it."

Naruto and Sasuke took a minute to relax and then charged the trees with gusto. In about fifteen minutes, Sasuke finally was able to make it to the top of the tree. He repeated the feat two more times before being satisfied. When he reached the ground, Chronos congratulated him and turned to watch Naruto.

'Damn that Sasuke-teme. I'll show him!!!' Naruto swore to himself and threw himself into the training. After five more minutes, he made it to the top of the tree and started to cheer. Chronos was elated, until Naruto did something… Naruto-like. He jumped punching the air in celebration, forgetting he was still in the tree.

Chronos saw this and dashed to his youshi's rescue with Sasuke watching on in bemused wonder. Unfortunately for Chronos's back and their dignity, he overshot where Naruto was going to drop and ended up catching him with his back.

Sasuke started to walk towards the two until he noticed the position he was in. When he did, an event unheard of in Konoha history until this day happened. Noticing his Otousan sprawled on the ground face first and Naruto caught in a straddle position just behind his rear, Sasuke couldn't help himself.

He laughed. He laughed very loudly. He was even rolling on the ground.

"Oi TEME!! What's so funny!?!?" Naruto exclaimed in anger.

Between laughs, Sasuke managed to give out a response. "I didn't know you loved Otousan that much."

Chronos and Naruto looked at each other and then noticed the position they were in. They split apart quickly and glared menacingly towards Sasuke. Sasuke looked at the two and knew one thing.

He needed to run. With that, the chase was on. For some reason, Chronos swore he heard a saxophone in the air and was wondering if there was a man in a monkey suit in pursuit. (Editor's note: I swear I didn't do it! It was a kid dressed up like me!)


Chronos sat back in the kitchen recalling everything as he finished up the breakfast. Sundays were a big day for him as it was a family and friends day. He planted the seeds of that tradition last week and Monday, hoping to continue it today.

Plating the eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit and toast out, he brought the boys' plates to them in the dining room. After retrieving his own, they started eating and Chronos felt the need to get a feel of their view of the day's events.

"You two looking forward to today?"

Naruto nodded as he happily ate his eggs, made over easy, sopping up the yolk with his toast. Sasuke however seemed impassive to the idea.

"Is something wrong with today, Sasuke?"

He looked towards his Otousan dejectedly. "We aren't training."

"Why so upset, teme? All our friends are coming over including Otousan's senseis. This is going to be fun." Naruto stated cheerfully. He was looking forward to this day. Not only is all his friends coming, but they were going to watch some movies, work in the greenhouse, and play cards.

"Now Naruto, don't bug him about it. As a matter of fact, anything can be considered training. It doesn't have to be something related to the ninja arts to be considered training."

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke inquired.

Chronos smiled at his youshi. "You will see. Some things that don't seem like training now actually are training for the mind and soul. You can't always concentrate on jutsus and chakra or you will kill part of yourself in the end."

"Fine. So what do you got for me today, Otousan?" He replied mockingly.

"We are planting Akanasu and learning how to play poker. Plus we got some movies to watch." Chronos replied anticipating today's fun. All Sasuke heard was Akanasu and started eating quickly.

"What is the rush Sasuke?" Naruto inquired.

"Akanasu." He replied with a hungry, even lustful look in his eyes, before finishing his plate and rushing off to the kitchen to clean his dishes.

Chronos and Naruto looked on in disbelief as Sasuke then sprinted upstairs to change into work clothes suitable for working in the dirt.

"Have you ever seen him do anything that fast?" Naruto asked.

"Nope. I wonder if I should tell him we are waiting for the girls to show up before going to the garden." Chronos screwed his eyes to the ceiling as if the answer were etched above him.

"Nope." They said in unison and happily finished their meal.

About an hour later, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura showed up along with a tall blonde couple that could only be considered to be Ino's parents. They carried potting soil, seeds, and infant plants for the two greenhouses. Chronos greeted them warmly and paid the couple for the supplies, which they tried to refuse, stating that it was a gift to the new clan. Chronos wouldn't have it and gave them some of the money for nothing else but the effort it took for hauling the supplies up the mountain.

After some more pleasantries and giving Ino's parents a short tour of the place, Chronos bid the couple farewell and took the rest to the greenhouses to start planting. Ino, Hinata, and Naruto went to one greenhouse to plant Naruto's greenery as well as some herbs and various flowers, including a few of Hinata's lilies.

It was halfway through their work that a soft melody filled the air of the greenhouse. Hinata and Ino were working on Hinata's lilies when the sweet sound graced their ears. They turned to where the sound was emanating from and found Naruto happily humming a simple tune as he was tending to his aloe root.

Both girls were astonished that the brash, hyper-active runt was so calm and peaceful tending to his plants. The harmonious tune coming from him had a soothing nature to it making the moment even more confusing for the two girls. Hinata was dazed at the sight of it and could only stare. She tried to speak but no sound came forth even while her lips moved.

Ino had no such impediment and was able to freely vocalize her curiosity. "Naruto, why do you carry that tune while gardening?"

Naruto turned around and both girls saw the most peaceful and caring smile on his face. Ino had never seen Naruto this way before, so the look shocked her, but Hinata took it in and made a silent vow to Kami to let her see that look every day, hopefully directed at her.

"Ano… It just comes out. I haven't put much thought into it, but…" Naruto said calmly turning back to the plant. "When I am doing something like this, it is like I am in my own place, free from the weight of the world." Naruto left his work as he saw it finished in his mind and turned back to the girls, scratching his head in true Naruto form.

"Maybe we should finish up, eh?" Both girls nodded and happily finished with the rest of the herbs and flowers, not risking their voices to steal the moment away.


In the other greenhouse, Sasuke, Sakura, and Chronos went to work on the vegetables, ending with a long section of Akanasu. Sakura and Chronos chatted away while planting most of the other vegetables while Sasuke performed preparatory work on his planter's boxes, brooding since his Otousan wanted to save the actual planting of the Akanasu for last.

For Sasuke, it was a tedious and monotonous hour of replacing the soil and mixing in the proper amounts of fertilizer, all instructed by Sasuke as Chronos worked on his carrots, peppers, celery, onions and beans. Sakura lent a hand in the prep work after a little prodding by Chronos and the two got along rather well.

The duo looked satisfied at their work and felt it was time to plant the starter Akanasu vines. Sasuke made his way over to Chronos to get the vines, but he ignored the young Uchiha while he was planting the last of the onions.

"Otousan, the boxes are ready to go. Show me how to plant those starter vines." Sasuke demanded. Chronos just hummed along to a tune in his head.

Sasuke grew impatient and nudged Chronos, who just turned and glared at Sasuke.

"Is there a problem, Sasuke?"

"You aren't assisting me with the Akanasu." Sasuke retorted.

"Five minutes. Sit and wait." Chronos replied pointing and the ground next to him.

"Whatever." Sasuke muttered and sat down.

Sighing, Chronos glanced over at Sasuke and deduced this was the proper moment for his lesson.

"Sakura, come over here please and sit next to Sasuke."

She complied rather happily and sat as close as she could to Sasuke, who seemed slightly uncomfortable with the intimacy she was trying to conjure. As soon as the two were settled, Chronos started his lesson.

"Sasuke, what are your goals?"

Letting out a frustrated grunt, he replied. "We went over this already, Otousan. I want to revive my clan and kill a certain man."

"I know we discussed that before, but which one is more important to you?" Chronos asked expectantly. He already knew the answer, but wanted to hear it.

"I need to do the latter before I can revive my clan."

Chronos nodded and turned back to the onions, letting the two youngsters digest what Sasuke stated. Sakura, in her infinite wisdom, turned to Sasuke and asked an all-important question.

"Why is that so important to do first?"

"If he is still alive, then my clan wouldn't be safe."

Chronos heard this and threw a question over his shoulder. "I am in your clan too, you know. I am as much an Uchiha as an Uzumaki. Are you saying I am in danger?"

"Itachi would kill you."

"Would he defeat you right now?"

"Yes." Sasuke affirmed in his usual monotone.

"Could we defeat him together?" Chronos asked, again knowing the answer he would hear.

"No, and besides, it's my task, not yours."

Sakura took in the conversation and felt heartbroken. Her crush had taken it upon himself to accomplish an arduous task that most of the adults in the village could not do, and didn't want anyone to shoulder that burden with him.

"Do you need to do things alone?" Sakura asked sorrowfully.

Sasuke turned to Sakura with a vacant look on his face. "I don't need help."

Chronos turned to Sasuke and looked him dead in his eyes with a powerful glare. "That is so weak of you. Haven't you noticed you have been getting help all along? Your Academy sensei, myself and Naruto, as well as those clan scrolls are all forms of assistance you received. Even now, with those Akanasu, you wanted some help. Is it so hard to ask for help with Itachi?"

Sasuke turned away and muttered something that neither Sakura nor Chronos could hear. Chronos had an inkling as to what it was and wanted it vocalized.

"IF YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY, SAY IT!!"

Sasuke turned and glared defiantly at him. "No one else is going to die by his hands! I can't allow it!"

Finally it was out in the open; the real reason behind the vengeance. Sasuke was afraid to have anyone close assisting him and dying. Chronos sighed with a hint of regret for forcing that response from Sasuke, but it was needed for his own good. Finishing up the onions, he turned and knelt in front of Sasuke, grasping his shoulders.

"If you do this alone, not only will you not accomplish your goal of reviving your clan, but you will end up broken or dead. You have people here willing to help. Naruto said as much when the three of us first met as a family. I said as much then too. If you look closely, there are others that will help if it means you come back alive." Chronos stated motioning over to Sakura. "Do you remember the rules of life I mentioned earlier this week?"

Sasuke weakly nodded still entranced by Chronos's forcefulness. Sakura herself was speechless at the scene developing in front of her.

"If you stay on the path you are on, you would be breaking those rules. You would be abandoning family, not listening to those around you, and living in the past. Would your parents be proud of you for doing that?"

The shock of those words hit Sasuke hard. He never took the time to think of anything but what his otouto told him that fateful day. He took Itachi's words to heart and nurtured his hate of him, thinking that would lead him to the strength that was needed. He forgot about his kaasan and otousan, as if he was still stuck in the Mangekyou that Itachi cast that day. He released the memory of his father heading the Uchiha Military Police, taking it upon himself to ensure that the entire village had protection during their day-to-day lives fade into nothingness. Sasuke at one time had wished to follow in his footsteps, until Itachi was made ANBU captain. It was all he could do to hang his head in shame.

"Sasuke," Chronos said comfortingly. "It is not too late to change for the better. We are all here to help you get stronger and wiser. Just don't be afraid to ask. Even your otousan had to ask for assistance at one point in his life. I bet Itachi had to once as well. I just ask one thing of you now, Sasuke."

"What would that be?" Sasuke stated slowly recovering from his guilt.

Chronos hardened his gaze into one of fierce determination that made Sakura cower and Sasuke hold his breath. "When it comes time to go after that teme, you take me with you and we bring him back alive to rot in a cell?"

"Bring him back ALIVE?! Why!?" Sasuke questioned startled that anyone would want to attempt that in relation to the S-class missing-nin.

"Wouldn't it be more fitting that he would have to wallow in the despair for the rest of his life, knowing it was his otouto that defeated him, locking him away to rot for all time?" Chronos inquired mischievously letting out a small chuckle.

Sasuke took that in and nodded. He may not have agreed with it, thinking that any longer that Itachi was alive was time that the Uchiha clan would be endangered even if he was behind a cage door. "Alright, we will do it your way for now."

"Hai. Now, let's get those Akanasu in the dirt." Chronos said helping everyone to their feet. Sakura didn't catch the look but Chronos did. For once, there was a genuine smile on the stone face of the last pure-blooded Uchiha in Konoha.


(A/N): Again, I want to give my appreciation to my wonderful editor, Scorch-sensei. I also truly am humbled by the reviews, story alerts, and favorites that my readers have given this story and myself as an aspiring writer. Hopefully I can live up to everyone's expectations. Trust me when I say we got a long road ahead of us and this story won't be over for quite a while. As far as my son goes, things are looking up. I may have him here for Christmas, with a chance he will stay until the summer.

I do have one question for everyone. I still have a second story stuck in my head, but trying to burst out, like the Kyuubi from his cage. Do you think that I should try to write this second story at the same time that I write this one?