AN: Yosh! Another chapppie… I though it would be hard to write a chappie after such a stunner, but it went smoother than I expected so… enjoy! ;) ALSO… THIS WAS DONE A WEEK AGO but somehow, I kept getting error 2… if anyone hasd this problem, theres a simple solution… when you get the error page, look to the URL and change the word "ptoperty" to "content" worked like magic! ;) cheers 'yall!

The stunned silence was palpable. There was nothing said. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Naruto was frozen. He had never… in his life expected anything to stump him as the words fluttering form his Father's lips had. Kakashi, by the look of him, was feeling relatively similar emotions. He had his eye wide, still as a statue. His eyes locked with Naruto's; both of them were completely beyond speech.

"I probably shouldn't have told you that," Shisui's voice cut the rocketing silence. "But I didn't want to die with my only son thinking that I'm a monster. Although I'm not sure if the knowledge will change your opinion of me, maybe you'll at least question what happened enough to give me a sliver of credit."

Naruto moved to the nearest chair he could find, he didn't trust his legs to keep him standing for much longer. He hated how shivery and shaky he became. That shouldn't have happened over anything. Yet here he was a quivering ball of uncertainty all because of an unsuspected revelation.

"Speak then, I want to hear all of it." He managed his self control strong enough at least insofar that his voice came out steady, albeit quiet and somewhat raspy.

"What could I possibly say?" Shisui shrugged his shoulders. "I loved the man more than my own life. I would have done anything… anything to keep him happy, would have cut my heart out and handed it to him on a silver platter…" he took a shuddering breath to regain his composure. Naruto didn't know whether it was because of the illness or his own emotions.

"You're cruel boy," Shisui looked at him, "you make me remember something I buried a long time ago… you could say that I died the night he came to let me know he was in love with her…. Yes "he closed his eyes and leaned back, sighing again. "He killed me that night, and when I awoke from my nightmares come morning, he did it all over again."

Naruto's eyes were unwavering from the old, tired face. His mind was spinning out of context. Sasuke kept popping up in his head, relentlessly, those dark pools of onyx haunted his vision. He had to shake his head to clear his mind. His father had loved and was betrayed by an Uchiha, and here was he, in a disturbingly similar predicament, although he gave himself the credit of fighting it.

"He and I were friends from youth, we did everything together, hunted, studied, and sparred even, because out Fathers thought that it would be good to keep fit and sharp. He was soft, quiet, and he appeared to always understand, comfort, reassure. He was the perfect gentleman, the prime catch of our days. It had women going crazy, here was an angel with looks to kill, and he was smart, funny, sharp minded, with a very high social standing… they fell over themselves at social functions for a dance." He laughed then, a bitter, sad sound. "But I knew the truth, he was all that, but so so much more. When we first bedded, I saw a primal animal, a darker, more sensuous side to the man I thought I knew. We were hunting together, and went further than we intended into the woods, night befell us and we decided to camp out. It was a first time, and we were excited and a bit scared…." He broke off to level his eyes to Naruto's progressively widening ones. "I took him there, and he took me, there was equal exchange in what I thought we had. He was a furious lover, and hell-bent on pleasing and being pleased." That night, in front of the roaring fire, I lost my heart, and the devil tricked me into losing it forever."

Kakashi grunted, stirring. "Maybe I should wait for you outside? Seems that this is a bit personal…"

Shisui waved him back to his seat. "No need, I have relived this so many times that this is just a throbbing rerun… No matter what, the pain will not abate, and you have been a good friend, you deserve to know the truth at last."

He turned to Naruto, "Do you have any questions so far boy?" All Naruto could do is shake his head, his voice was wondering far away now, and he wanted to hear all of it. It occurred to him painfully that Minato hadn't been completely fair to him, although he did still love him, a deep gnawing emotion was ripping itself in his gut. He had been living a lie, and now he was paying the price for believing that there were people that were entirely good. He wanted to hate the man that sat there in front of him for this, but he reasoned that he deserved what he got, and if it was sitting here and being stripped of the only surety in his life, then he guessed it would just be easier to leave it all behind. He stubbornly squelched the thoughts of Sasuke away. He couldn't deal with that now.

"We became lovers, and trust me, that was a feat in this hateful, prejudicial society… We somehow managed it, because we were friends most of our lives, our always being together never aroused suspicion. We just had to keep the glances, small touches and the incessant need for each other away from the public eye. That was hard to do, but we were nobility, we were hardly ever questioned, and that gave us some degree of freedom. The worst hit came when my father announced that he thought me ready to marry." He spat the word, like it was a poison on his tongue. "I tried to explain to Minato, and he took it rather well, better than I did actually." He laughed, "I took many beatings form my Father for that, and finally relented when Minato said that it wouldn't change anything between us. But it did… it ripped us apart…" he broke off, looking away. "I just didn't know it then. At first, his loving became more punishing, more forceful, but I admit I liked it, I had thought that it was just him letting off his anger, his want. He was my best man at the wedding, and I acted like a scared bride beforehand, I cried to him, and he held me, promised everything would be all right. That was the last time we kissed; really kissed, ferociously, like our sustenance was at stake.

After that, his visits became shorter, fewer between. I though it was his way of telling me that the marriage was breaking us apart. So I went to him, I slipped out at night and rode all the way to his house, I sneaked in through the back doors, like so many times before. And into his room, and I begged him to run with me, I begged for forgiveness and none came. He said that we needed to end this, that it was too dangerous for me… " Shisui broke off, looking at Naruto with concern marking his features. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Should I stop?"

"No…" Naruto shuddered, "please continue."

"I later learned that they were lovers. Minato saw Kushina at the wedding, they became friends, and somehow, in the midst of all that, she became his love." He took a break to take a sip from the cup next to him.

"I guess it's partly my fault, I never paid attention to her, she was a nuisance in my head, and we only coupled once, during the wedding night. I made it clear that I never wanted to again. A couple of months later, she told me that she loved Minato and that the feelings were reciprocated. I asked him, he confirmed. I think I would have taken a bullet to the chest with thanks, anything was better than that. But I ran, I traveled, not with you Kakashi, and I'm sorry for that, but you were too close a friend for me to drag into the chaos. Perhaps I should have." He thought about it for a while, finally breaking off the silence, "Not like it can be undone anyways…" he muttered, more to himself than to them.

"I returned from my trip to find Kushina in labor, she said it was Minato's, and I believed her. I hadn't thought to calculate the cycle, I never asked either one how long they were lovers. I… I was afraid to know the truth… It was easy to believe her. So I sent her off, I didn't want to see the outcome of my personal hell. I guess you can blame me for your Mothers' death." He looked at Naruto. "If anything, I was the one to send her away. The rest you know, Minato accepted you, loved you, cared for you. I can only guess what he had to think when he saw you grow up to look almost like a copy of me… But you have your Mothers' eyes… I guess you were a gift to him, a memory of two loves; both lost… maybe a curse? Who knows, I didn't know about you being my son until two nights ago. I had always wanted to keep the remains of this hell form myself." He sighed heavily. "But here you are, and now you know the truth, and although it's twisted, and completely unnecessary, you deserve to know the truth form someone. And if you're going to hate me, then at least now you can hate me for the truth."

Naruto was silent. What he hated was that he couldn't hate him now. It had been so simple before, but now he just felt sorrow. "How can I hate you after what you said to me? How can I hold someone who was betrayed and hurt for the simple act of loving?" he asked, almost breaking into hysterical laughter. "I can't hate you, but I can't hate them either…" he choked out, "I wish I didn't exist… then maybe, maybe somehow this would have turned out differently." He couldn't say more the heavy lump in his throat threatened to explode, and tears were the last thing he needed now… Or ever, for that matter.

A strong, warm hand brought him back form his hypnosis. "Don't ever say that… You are my son, and although I messed up my life, perhaps yours was given so that you can make it what you want. I am only so sorry I haven't done anything more for you."

Naruto looked up, the eyes leveled with his held brilliance and strength, and sorrow... Much of it, but now they sparkled with a renewed youth, and their open truth shocked and scared him.

Shisui marched to the door with a stride of a young man. A maid waiting just outside the door. She peeked in when the doors opened, scared but curious to see what the commotion was about.

"Get me the chancellor, and my papers, and make it quick!" He snapped at her, and she fled down the hall with a tiny "yes your lordship!"

Naruto got up and went to him, "I don't need your money, I don't think I deserve it, not after all I heard from you, after al this, I won't sit well with me."

"Nonsense!" Shisui scoffed, "I know law boy, don't tell me they let you keep anything Minato had, not with his greedy, power hungry family."

Naruto smiled sadly, "You know about them?"

"I know his brother, the son-of-a-bitch would slaughter his own children for more power, when Minato was given head of family, his brother ran off to America, made himself a not-so-small fortune I heard, it won't be long before he's pushing his nose into what was left here.

"Fath… Minato… Left the will of the estate to his youngest son." Naruto said, not wanting to mention Sasuke more than he should have. "He's already here, ready to take over. I find him… intriguing."

"Well, at least one thing that he did right then," Shisui snorted as a man came running back with papers under his arms. Shisui took them and close the door in the protesting man's face. "I can sign myself damn it!" He shouted through the door, "and I'm capable of reading as well you dimwit! Wait for these outside!"

Naruto chuckled despite himself, and the grin on the old man's face was clear. "Intriguing you say…?" He brought the topic back to what Naruto had hoped would be a closed topic. "Say his name."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Pardon?"

"Look me in the eyes and say his name."

"Whay would I do that?" Naruto gavce a nervous little laugh. "It doesn't matter whet it is, Im leaving soon anyways."

"So then do it, consider that my only death wish form my son." Minato challenged. Facing him and crossing is arms.

Naruto was never one to back down form a challenge, he could face a wild beast at night in the woods, why the hell was saying Sasuke's name so hard?

"He too, crossed his arms and looked his father squarely in the eyes. A white eyebrow rose in challenge and amusement.

"Sas…Sasuke." He finished quickly, cursing himself for stuttering and turning himself as fast as he could from the piercing eyes. He looked around, Kakashi managed to slip out sometime in their talk, and he had never even noticed.

"You said you're leaving?
" Shisui's amused voice rang out behind him. Naruto turned to look at him.

"Like hell you are."