Author's Note: hey all, presenting you this chapter which i both hate and love with the former being a more persistent feeling. consider it an in-between sort of chapter. it's the first one with no character study start, book excerpt (this will be more of a permanent thing coz the book's over) and literally no sealing lore which is :').

buuut at the same time, i think it's an important chapter anyway. so, hope you enjoy and read on!

"Minato?" Naruto echoes, his forehead creasing in confusion. "As in, Minato Namikaze–the fourth Hokage?"

The strange man snorts, waving a hand, "Who else, kid? You've seen many other famous Minatos running around in the village?"

"Well," Sasuke interjects quietly. "Technically, we've never seen the fourth either. He's long dead now."

The man freezes at that, something much like grief pooling into his eyes, giving them a glossy shine. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. His hand comes up to mess with his hair and he turns away, biting his lip.

Naruto shares a look with Sasuke but neither of them know what's wrong with the man. So, the blond steps forward because stranger or not, he's not going to stand back when someone is in evident distress in front of him.

Before he can say something vaguely comforting though, Kakashi comes jogging into the backyard. He spots the man and approaches him slowly.

"Hey, hey, Obito... " he calls out softly, and the angle isn't right but Naruto can see something much like tears going down this Obito's face. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Obito doesn't embrace Kakashi–instead he sinks onto his knees and then sits back on the ground, pulling his old friend with him.

Sasuke silently observes this odd interaction between their lazy but intense teacher and his newly not-dead cousin. It's an odd thing to think about–how he has family now, how his clan doesn't begin and end with him and his brother. There's another member alive and it makes Sasuke feel like he belongs, even though he doesn't know anything about Obito beyond the superficial details the man has provided him.

"Sensei... " Obito rasps, looking dazedly at the ground. His hand fidgets with the fabric of his shirt and Kakashi does nothing to hinder the tic–not like he would've when he was twelve and an asshole to boot. "Sensei," Obito repeats, "he's... he's dead. He's gone... oh kami, he's gone!"

His eyes snap towards Kakashi and there's something frantic in them, something fragile and broken and it takes all of Kakashi's control to not break out into tears himself.

"I... I killed him, didn't I?" and it's like the rest of the world has dissolved around him, like Obito isn't anchored to reality anymore, so fixed as he is in his past and the memories left so open for viewing. "I murdered sensei. I know I did."

"Obito, look here," Kakashi says, hand pressed onto his friend's. "I said look here."

He waits and eventually, Obito complies, his head raising to meet Kakashi's solemn gaze.

"You didn't kill him," Kakashi says forcefully, trying to pour all his abysmal persuasion skills into this moment because he knows that if he fails, Obito may never heal from this choking, misplaced guilt. "You weren't in control. It wasn't your choice. It was that bastard's."

Obito holds the eye-contact, some of the shininess giving way to some clarity and he exhales a ragged breath. He gives Kakashi a watery smile and a hesitant nod, "Okay. Okay, Kakashi. Okay."

And Kakashi understands.

He knows this will happen again, that Obito will feel responsible for the things his body was made to do. That this won't be one single wound that will scab over but a series of them that will scar forever.

But he'd been a bad friend once and he won't let history repeats itself. So, he'll always be by Obito's side, helping in whichever way he's able to. That's simultaneously the least and the most he can do for this man who'd sacrificed himself to save him all those years ago.

"Sensei?"

The worried voice catches his attention and he curses himself for not being more attentive towards his surroundings. By the looks his two students are sporting, it's safe to assume they'd witnessed the entirety of their conversation–which was at least some degree of disturbing to their young minds.

When he looks up though, the first question Naruto asks him is,

"Will he be fine?" he gestures towards Obito's hunched form.

Kakashi gives him an eye-smile because that's the only way he'll be able to keep his emotions in check. "Of course. Don't worry, Obito's a tough one," he pats the man's back and Obito swats his hand away absently. Kakashi grins and does it again. This time, Obito's face takes upon an exaggeratedly angry look and he pounces the moment Kakashi's hand touches his back, shoving the man onto the grass.

Sasuke gives them the most judgemental look he can muster and coughs.

"Children," he says flatly, "no fighting in my backyard."

The two men ignore him, and continue the fake fight, if only to forget the sombre topics brought on earlier. Naruto watches them and fails to curb his grin in the face of such an amusing sight. He walks up to Sasuke, bumping shoulders.

"So who exactly is he?" he asks, because he still doesn't know the answer despite the conversation he'd been an audience to.

"My cousin," Sasuke says, shrugging. "He'd died years ago. Killed in action. But as you can see, he's still alive so obviously we were misinformed. Or he was actually killed and someone performed a highly revolting ritual and brought him back from the dead. Take your pick."

A short laugh bubbles from Naruto's throat before he realises this isn't a funny story–but something quite morbid and he does his best to appear understanding.

He fails.

"So this Obito guy thinks I look like the Yondaime... " he begins because that's the part where his brain is seemingly stuck. To hear someone say he resembles such an iconic shinobi is as unbelievable as it is flattering. The fourth is his idol, after all.

Sasuke hums, before abruptly turning away and tugging Naruto with him by the arm. The blond follows along, if only because he's curious to know what the expression on his friend's face means.

They stop a block away from the main house where the silence permeates the empty street of shops.

"Eh... what's on your mind, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha's eyes show the internal debate waging a war inside his head but Naruto knows he has to be patient. He won't get any answers by hurrying Sasuke to spill his thoughts.

After a long moment, Sasuke sighs, seemingly decided on a course of action. He beckons Naruto to take a seat on the stairs of a shop.

Once seated, he begins, voice tight with apprehension.

"I think... I think I realised something," Sasuke says, eyes scanning Naruto's face carefully. Naruto nods at him in encouragement and he continues.

"Obito... he called you a mini version of the Yondaime and it made me think, I guess. You've seen the coloured portrait of the fourth that hangs in the Kage office?"

Naruto swallows, the air suddenly turning thick with unsaid revelations. He nods again.

"So, he'd got blond hair... like yours, and blue eyes, also like yours. And he died the night they told you your parents did," Sasuke stops, and there's something in him that wishes for Naruto to start raging, to start shouting at the top of his lungs so he wouldn't have to continue this conversation. Wouldn't have to say what he thinks is the truth long hidden.

Naruto stays painfully silent though, and the realisation is slowly creeping onto his face. But he wants Sasuke to say those words. To confirm something he's starting to suspect. And Sasuke carries foward.

"It's a bit obvious, isn't it?" he says quietly, each word rolling off his tongue in unwilling eagerness. "That you're his son. That Minato Namizkaze is your father."

Naruto's breath hitches and his face is that of horrific comprehension.

"Oh gods," he says with a rush of breath, torn between unprecented happiness at finally knowing one of his parents and profound sadness that such a fact was kept from him for so long. "I'm... I am... " Sasuke doesn't point out his wavering voice, "he's my father. I can't.. "

He shoots up, looking at Sasuke, his feet, and Sasuke again. He needs to get away from here because the dam gates won't hold much longer and he's not ready to feel completely the effects of this revelation in company of another person yet. He wants to go home and bury himself under his blanket, to forget what he's heard and what he knows and what he'll never be able to forget.

Because there, niggling at the back of his mind is voice that tells him. It tells him that this village, that he thought might've hated him for his parentage, hates him for completely different reasons than what he'd imagined.

If this is true, and he knows it is, then he's the child of Konoha's beloved leader yet still disliked by the populace for a reason that eludes him.

The villagers treat him coldly, not because of his parentage but despite it.

And this other and wholly unwelcome realisation makes his stomach drop.

"I've gotta go," he mumbles, turning around. He misses the way Sasuke's face turns panicked for a second, a hand springing up to stop him but Naruto's already moving. His feet hit the ground heavily as he sprints towards the exit, not sparing a single glance towards Sasuke or the two men who are walking down the street towards his friend.
He can't afford to think right now. He needs to get home so he can throw something brittle onto the walls and cry till his throat is hoarse.
He needs to let it sink in that this village hates him and somehow, he alone is to blame for it.


Tenten taps her foot impatiently, eyes roving over the assembly of her friends for the tenth time.
"He's not coming!" she huffs at last, throwing up her hands.

"But he would've informed us somehow if he wasn't going to show up," Sakura says reasonably, features displaying her concern. "He's never missed these meetings before–and he wouldn't oversleep or something. He's got too much respect for you to do that. He knows you two are about to make a breakthrough, you know?"

Tenten nods in understanding, "Do you think he got into some trouble?"

"Yes," Shikamaru replies in Sakura's stead. "And we are gonna go help him get out of it."

Sakura gives him a small smile, "We should go find him."

Tenten steps forward to join them but Shikamaru shakes his head, "You stay. This seal needs to be complete before your mission two months hence. Naruto will be mad at you for not putting every minute you have into it–"

Tenten snort cuts him off, "The bloody seal can wait. Naruto's wellbeing is more important to me. So you better accept that and let me come along or I will burn your precious ponytail right off your head."

"Friends, friends!" Lee shouts from the sidelines, hopping off the branch he'd settled into, Chouji trailing after him. "Let's not pass any more threats and behave more youthfully!"

"Oh shut up, Lee," Tenten rolls her eyes. "Of all the role models to emulate, you just had to pick Gai-sensei? Why?"

Lee beams at her, "His youthful spirit is most motivating, that's why."

"Er... guys," Sakura interrupts. "Think we're getting a little off-topic, don't you think?"

"Right," Chouji says, "we are all going to find Naruto, then." He turns around, cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, "Kiba! Shino!"

The two boys, currently engaged in a spar, stop their respective attacks and look at him. He gestures for them to stop and gather around. They do so and after a brief explanation, Shino says,

"I'm coming, too."

Kiba adds his agreement enthusiastically and everyone looks at Shikamaru with utmost determination, daring him to refute.

Shikamaru sighs then nods reluctantly, still of the opinion that they shouldn't march towards Naruto all together but he realises there's no way to stop them. They care as much for their friend as he does.

He starts walking, "Let's get going."

So the group of seven moves towards Naruto's apartment, following Sakura's lead. They make small talk on the way but once they're at his door, suddenly everyone is short of words.

"Do I... you know, knock or something?" Shikamaru asks, jerking his thumb towards the wooden door.

Tenten shrugs, as if she's still making her mind about their next move.

"Yes," Chouji intones, looking disappointed in the lot of them. "That's what people generally do."

Shikamaru accepts that information and knocks softly on the door. Once, twice and steps back.

"I highly doubt Naruto heard that," Shino mutters. "Because I didn't and I'm standing just two feet from you."

Shikamaru throws him an incredibly sour look–a feat given the perpetually half-lidded state of his eyes and flourishes his arm in mock-invitation.

"Why don't you try your hand at it then, considering I'm such an amateur in the art of door-knocking?"

Shino doesn't bat an eye and steps forward. Chouji still radiates disappointment while Sakura tries to hold back her giggles. Lee and Kiba watch on, similarly confused, and Tenten follows every one of Shino's movements with an unnecessary intensity.

Shino raps his knuckles against the door loudly. Once he starts though, he doesn't stop. The knocking continues for a good few minutes before a yell stops his aggressive banging,

"Oh my freaking Sage! Who in kami's name–"

The door flies open and Naruto's blotched but highly irritated face comes into view.

Shino gives him a smile.

His jacket hides it though, so his attempted placation falls flat.

Naruto's gaze sweeps over them and his face grows less annoyed, "What are y'all...?"

"You didn't come to the grounds," Sakura blurts, stepping forward. The tear tracks on Naruto's face are fresh and it clenches her heart to know her friend is evidently troubled.

Naruto blinks, a haze clearing behind his eyes. "Oh. Yeah, I–I forgot. Sorry."

"No, it's alright. Don't worry about it," Tenten hurries to say. "We were just concerned about you."

The blond shakes his head, eyes on the stone flooring. "I just. I'm dealing with something right now. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Chouji assures with a smile, his arms held back from running upto Naruto and hugging him. He knows his friend won't be comfortable with it right now.

"Can we come in?" Shikamaru asks, peering inside Naruto's apartment over the blond's head.

Naruto looks up at him, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He runs a hand through his hair before exhaling a rough breath.

"Yeah, dammit, sure. Why not?"

Shikamaru nods in thanks and they move inside, each shooting Naruto a concern-filled look.

If they're surprised to see the disheveled state of the house, they don't say a thing. They notice, though, the shards of glass near the far wall, the pieces of a painted vase lying near the sofa.

"Um," Naruto kicks away a few glass pieces, ignoring the way Sakura winces at his carelessness. "Sorry for the mess. We can just go to my bedroom. It's cleaner."

"Cool," Kiba says, already walking towards hallway that leads towards another door he guesses is of Naruto's room. When everyone follows after him, he knows he's right.

The bedroom is, as Naruto said, much tidier than the living room. No sharp debris mar the floor and they each take up a spot and settle down.

Naruto doesn't sit at first but Lee simply pulls him till he's seated comfortably on his futon. They can see he's exhausted and wary of the upcoming conversation so no one wants to break the silence.

So Naruto himself does.

"I guess you all wanna know why I look like," a vague gesture towards his face, "this."

Sakura smiles sheepishly at him, "Yes. But only if you want to."

Naruto chews the inside of his cheek, head turning from side to side as he takes in his friends' appearances.

Thing is, he trusts these seven people. Trusts them more than he's ever trusted any adult in his life. And their sincerity touches him because he knows if he says no right now, they'll instantly pretend that nothing happened and treat him the way they always do. They'll respect his secrets like he does theirs.

But he doesn't want that, he realises with a jolt. He wants to share this piece of himself with his friends because just thinking of unloading that knowledge is relieving. So, he shrugs and says,

"I found out who my dad is."

And all hell breaks loose.

Sakura shoots up, quickly settling in front him, their knees inches apart and her smile is equal parts happy and confused. Shikamaru's mouth is actually dropped open–nevermind that it's only by a hair's breadth.

Kiba is patting his back in congratulations, asking him what his father's name is. He hears Chouji opening up a pack of chips, saying something roughly along the lines of 'it's celebration time.'

Tenten lets out a whoop of joy because she knows how important this is for Naruto–to know his heritage, to know his parents.

Only Shino stays silent and after a minute of chatter, the rest follow.

Slowly but surely, it dawns on them that this news isn't all good if Naruto looks so pained by it.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asks softly, her hands on top Naruto's slightly shaking shoulders.

"It's... " Naruto takes breath. "I–my dad is Minato Namizkaze."

For a moment, they all just blink at him before the noises start anew. Shikamaru gains a pinched look on his face because now that he's heard it, he can't deny Naruto's uncanny resemblance with the fourth. It's so damn obvious that he wonders how more people haven't caught on to the fact. Then again, he hadn't realised it either. He supposes people will always see what they want to and deny what they don't.

"Oh my god, how are you not a celebrity?" Kiba says, eyes wide.

"This is such youthfully charged news!" Lee proclaims, much to the confusion of everyone present.

"I can see it," Tenten declares, "the hair, the eyes, the mind. Yes. I can see it."

"Yeah, me too," Naruto agrees and he's smiling now so they count it as a win. "It's like I've been blind all this time and now I can finally see."

"Hey Naruto," Chouji speaks up hesitantly. "Why were you upset by this? Isn't it a great thing?"

Naruto nods, looking away. "It is, it is. I just... I just don't get why they wouldn't tell me. Why they didn't let me know who my father was. Why keep it such a secret? I think... Kakashi-sensei knew, maybe. That man was his friend and–"

"Which man?"

"Er... long story," Naruto rubs his eyes with the heels of his palms. "I'll tell y'all later. Or I'll make Sasuke do it."

"Wait," Shikamaru says, "Why Sasuke?"

"Oh right. Well, he was the one who actually realised this first," Naruto scratches his neck. "I sort of just walked away from him after that."

Sakura nods firmly, "I will squeeze every bit of information from him tomorrow, don't worry."

"Oi!" Kiba stands up, grinning at Naruto. "You got playing cards in this dump of yours?"

Naruto snatches the pillow clasped under Lee's elbows and throws it at the Inuzuka.

"Bold of you to insult my home while standing in it," he says lowly, two steps away from strangling the boy.

Kiba's grin is intact as he speaks, "I speak my mind buddy. So, got cards or not?"

"Yes, yes," Naruto crosses his arms, refusing to pout. "They're in the drawer there."

Kiba nods, going to fetch them and the group spreads down into a circle. Naruto sits in-between Shikamaru and Sakura, the former's shoulder pressed onto his. It's a nice contact, grounding and familiar and when the game is underway, he leans into just a tad. Shikamaru doesn't mention it, not then and not when Naruto peeks into Sakura's cards and wins the game.

They share tiny conspiratorial smirks and amidst the hollers of victory and defeat, of yells of outrage and displays of righteous anger over Naruto's cheating ways, the group of eight cement their friendship into something solid, something that will become unbreakable someday.

Kakashi's head is braced against his palms, elbows on the table ahead of him. It's his usual brooding pose and he refuses every attempt at conversation that Obito makes.

He only looks up to accept the tea offered to him but his lips stayed glued together.

It's after fifteen minutes of this nonsense of his that Obito finally explodes.

"Oh for fuck's sake, you over reacting piece of buffalo poop! I didn't know okay? And you never told me–so it isn't. my. fault. And do you realise how stupid this sounds? 'Oooh, let's not tell the son of the fourth hokage–the darling leader of Konoha and the village's most loved martyr–that he is the son of the fourth hokage and let the boy think his parents were randos who died in the kyubi attack 'cause if this child doesn't face adversity in his early childhood, he'll live too healthy a life for our tastes'. Like gosh. Seriously. What the fuck is this reasoning?"

Kakashi glares at him heatedly and finally breaks his silence.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Obito," he says and it's almost a whisper. "You don't know the pile of shit we're in, now that Naruto knows he's sensei's son. It wasn't supposed to come out like this. We were going to prepare him for it, we were going to tell him when he was ready to hear it. Hear all of it.

"All of it?" Obito repeats, confused, "What do you mean 'all of it'? What else is there for him to know?

Kakashi sighs again and in one abrupt motion, he kicks back his chair and stretches his feet onto the table between them.

"Naruto is the nine tails' jinchuuriki and please don't give me that look. You know he was the only one eligible to contain the kyubi that night. I don't know what was going on in sensei's mind but he did it and now Naruto's got the beast in him. But he doesn't know about it–"

"Why?" Obito bites out and he looks angry now

"Think, Obito," Kakashi says. He sounds drained already. "We wanted Naruto to grow up as normally as he could, without being aware of this massive burden placed over him. We wanted him to be a happy kid, instead of him feeling like he's this war deterrent whose job is put himself on the front lines and change the tide of whole battles singlehandedly. We didn't want him to grow up under that kind of pressure," he pauses, his visage turning bitter, a raw regret shining in his eyes. Obito holds his breath for the next bit because he knows what's coming won't be anything pleasant.

"But that didn't work out as well as we thought," Kakashi smiles and it looks horribly painful on him. "He didn't grow up happy, Obito. He's not been happy for a long time."

"What do you mean? Why not?" Obito asks faintly, but he isn't sure he wants to hear these answers. He's only seen the kid once yet the love he feels for Naruto is already overwhleming–it's a touch scary how attached he already is to the son of his teacher, though, he guesses it's inevitable. Such bonds don't follow reason, but only the irrationality of one's heart.

"Because of the villagers," Kakashi snorts unhappily, "they're a bunch of blind brainless bitches, that's what they are."

Despite himself, Obito huffs a laugh full of wry humor, "Tell me about it. The way they treated my clan was proof enough."

"And it only got worse, way worse, after the kyubi attack–which we won't talk about 'cause frankly, I don't know how to console people and you still cry easy. So, well, sorry for that."

Obito waves him off, "No problem. I've always know what a douchebag you are."

Kakashi chuckles, "Thank you. I'm truly honoured."

Obito stretches out, his legs coming to lie beside Kakashi's, "Back to the topic please, which is Naruto and the series of supremely stupid decisions you and Sarutobi made regarding him. You've still not told me why you wouldn't tell Naruto about his parents."

"It isn't how you make it sound like. We were gonna tell him once he was a chunin and mature enough to handle these revelations. Of course, you just had to ruin everything we worked so hard to keep under wraps," Kakashi stops and now his tone turns serious. "You know what would happen if we just announced that Naruto was Yondaime's son. Here, in the village, he would be adored but news would travel everywhere. He would be a prime target for assassinations. People in our world know how to hold a grudge, Obito. And sensei might've been a good man for us but he was also an enemy of many nations and they haven't forgotten the bloodshed he caused when he was in the field. Naruto would have to grow up with a sword dangling above his head–our barriers aren't full proof and we've had plenty infiltrations before. The jinchuuriki thing already puts him in so much danger. We didn't want to add onto it."

Obito tries to digest this. It's too difficult to swallow that their world is ruthless enough to try and kill a vulnerable child that hadn't done anything wrong. But he knows how true it is, how credible this speculation is.

Still, he wonders if it was worth it. If it was worth letting Naruto live in that crippling uncertainty that he'd too experienced long ago.

He rubs a hand down his face, mentally exhausted all of a sudden.

"I still think this is all a hot load of bullshit," he stands up. "But I'm sleepy as fuck and can't deal with your defensive answers right now. So I'm just gonna call it a night–on your sofa, if you don't mind."

Kakashi rolls his eyes, "You're still as insufferable as ever."

Obito grins unabashedly, "It's all a part of my natural charm."

"I'm sure," Kakashi snorts, getting to his feet and moving towards the door.

"Where are you headed?" Obito asks, plopping onto the couch, cushioning his head over his arm.

"To the Hokage–gotta tell him all the wonderful things that have happened today."

Obito closes his eyes, "Good luck–and oh Kakashi?

Kakashi stops in the entryway, "Yup?"

"Close the lights on your way out, thanks!"

Giving him a mock-salute, Kakashi does as he's bid to.

"Sleep well, Obito," he says softly. "You deserve it."

The door closes shut behind him.

Author's Note:

i need a break from writing dialogue, like holy fuck, the sheer amount of talking these people do and then it still feels like it was barely anything when i edit. just wild.

anyway, hope you liked it! leave me your thoughts or opinions if you wish to and have an awesome day ahead!! :))