AN: Re-written as of June 14th 2024

Here we go with the next chapter of EX. Getting closer to the completion of the toddler time. Not to worry though, as the story Naruto/Masato & Naruko/Makiko will continue on in at least two more fics following the completion of Extraneous!

I got this one out a little sooner than I expected I would be able to, but I'm tentatively thinking the next one won't be until sometime early April, rather than saying there will be one more this month. It's also, unlike past chapters, almost entirely Minato centric.

Hope you enjoy~


Chapter XVI: Home for Three


"Are you sure you don't want to leave the twins here with us for a while longer?" Kaho-san was saying, a frown on her face. "It would be better to let them settle into life in Konoha before moving them around to different homes." Her dark eyes moved to Masato who was still rubbing his eyes with his right hand, his left holding onto his brothers.

He was likely the reason for the Nara's concern and suggestion that they stayed with them longer. The boy had wound up feverish after Minato had left that morning. Kaho had just decided he needed to be taken to the hospital and had gotten ready to leave when the fever had started to break.

She still brought him in, but by the time they'd gotten there he was barely fevered at all. The staff could only say that maybe all the changes in the last few days had been too much stress for him, as they couldn't find anything wrong with him.

It was for that reason Minato didn't want to wait to bring his siblings home though. Stress induced fever, when the day prior Maki had had a panic attack. Both had been alone with Inokai-san and Shukatsu long enough to be questioned about who knows what. The trance-like state Masato had gone into when he'd rattled off a series of numbers… a genjutsu that had been triggered on Makiko's end. Stress points that had happened here.

"Thank you Nara-san," Sakumo spoke up from just behind him. He had a hand placed on his shoulder. Makiko kept looking back over at the white haired man as she kept close to Minato. "However I would like to get them settled into a stable schedule in their own home, before Minato is required to leave the village again on missions."

There was that too. He was a shinobi. He couldn't just stay at home with the twins all the time. Minato was the only Namikaze income… they couldn't afford for him not to go on missions. And he needed to make chunin as soon as he could… a genin's salary wasn't going to cut it. He didn't want to have to continually borrow money in order to raise his siblings.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Minato added politely, his usual smile in place. "Sandiame-sama has made arrangements to allow me to stay in the village for the next six weeks though, so Now is really the best time to get them settled in at home." After six weeks he'd certainly be back on missions that took him out of Konoha one way or another. He wasn't going to be able to spend all his time at home during these six weeks either, but at least he'd be there every morning and every night.

Kaho-san looked between him and Sakumo and then smiled, though it didn't look like she personally approved. "I see… well if you ever need any assistance we're more than happy to lend a hand," the woman answered kindly. "Aren't we, dear?"

Shikatsu gave a simple 'ah' rather than a proper response. Until Kaho shot him a look, and he straightened from where he'd been leaning in the doorway. "Of course."

This was the first indication Minato had witnessed that Shikaku hadn't been exaggerating when he alluded to his mother being the one wearing the pants in his parents' marriage. It was quite a telling interaction though, and Minato decided that Shikaku was likely right.

"Thank you," he replied again before bowing his head courteously.

"We'll be on our way then," Sakumo spoke up, and the man's hand left Minato's shoulder. Minato turned to follow the white haired Jōnin out of the Nara compound.

They walked in relative silence until they were back on the general streets of Konoha. At which point both Makiko and Masato started tugging at his hands, looking up at him with wide, curious eyes. "Ni-san, Ni-san," they said in unison. He honestly didn't know where to look with them on either side of him.

"Where are," Masato started, causing him to look to the boy. Then of course it was Makiko who had finished with the "We going?"

He smiled, looking between the both. "We're going home," the genin explained.

Maki screwed up her face in an expression of confusion. "Thought we already home?"

Ah… that was right, he'd told them Konoha was home. "Well we are in our home village," he told them. "Konoha is home, but it's also home to a lot of other people. Families have their own home, their house, that is just theirs."

"House," Masato murmured, his face scrunched up a little bit in thought he assumed. "Namikaze house? Our House?"

He grinned at his little brother's ability to reason that out. "That's right, our house. A home for three."

Home for three… It had always been that. Even after his father had died… after his mother had left. It never felt comfortable to him again once he was living there alone. But it was still home. An empty home that was missing something important, only having memories to give him the warmth of a family.

A home wasn't much without a family. Not to Minato anyway.

But now there would be three Namikaze under its roof again. What had been little more than a place to rest his head when he wasn't on a mission would truly be a home again. A home for three like it always had been.

Masato seemed very excited. "Maki! Maki!" he was chanting his sister's name with a huge grin on his face. "We have a house!"

We have a house.

If he hadn't known that they'd been living off the land while on the run, it would have been an innocent enough thing to say. It was pretty common for young families to live in apartments rather than their own house within a settlement as big as Konoha. Young families anyway.

But Minato knew that wasn't it. While he kept his smile in place, it was difficult.

His siblings had never had a place to come back to before. A place that they could feel safe and comfortable in. Somewhere that was theirs.

"A house, a house!" Maki exclaimed back, just as excited.

He turned his full attention back to the road, listening to his siblings excitedly enthuse over the idea of having their own house. He caught Sakumo's gaze as the man walked ahead of them. It was just for a moment, but the look was certainly a knowing one. He felt his cheeks colour a bit in embarrassment at how easily he was read by the Hatake.

"They'll need toiletries," Sakumo spoke up. "There isn't any in the stuff the Nara's graciously provided." He was carrying a bag in one hand that had some clothing that had been given to them. Minato felt bad about accepting it, but at the same time he knew it would be really helpful. He'd tried to offer some money for the clothing, but Kaho insisted he take it as a welcome gift for the two. "I'll pick up any necessities you'll need for the day. It's probably better for both of their health to wait a day or two before taking them shopping for anything else they might need."

"Thank you Sakumo… I'll pay you back." Minato replied, because really he didn't want to be a charity case. "Makiko, Masato, do you have favourite colours?" He turned the conversation to the two little toddlers before Sakumo could protest the idea.

The twins looked at each other, and then up at him before Masato scrunched up his face and Makiko tilted her head. Likely both of them were thinking about the question. Probably whatever they answered would be whatever colour caught their fancy in the moment, as he didn't really think that they would have much in the way of long lasting favourites at this age at least. Not with their life up until now anyway.

His favourite colour was red… but well, it hadn't always been. It was the first time he'd seen Kushina that he'd decided it was his favourite colour instead of green.

The twins looked back at each other, and grinned. "Yeah?" Makiko said, and he wondered where that had come from.

"Yeah!" Masato agreed.

"Oh-rahnge!"

Orange?

Sakumo looked back again. "Orange… well, I'll keep that in mind," though he looked a little… worried perhaps. Likely because the selection of orange might not be nearly as expansive as more common children favourites like pink or blue. "And Minato, you don't need to pay me back for every little thing… This time consider it a gift, won't you?"

The Namikaze narrowed his eyes at the Jōnin, but he could see that Sakumo would continue to insist. He didn't want to back down either though.

"I'm not thinking of it as a charity case, you know," Sakumo added. "The Hatake are responsible for the three of you… it's only natural to buy some things you might need. Besides, you're like the little brother I never got to have." Minato sort of deflated at that, and smiled. Sakumo's mother had died when he was a baby the way Minato had heard it. His father had never remarried, so the man never had any siblings, and all of his cousins he apparently hardly interacted with growing up, because unlike them, he was clan heir. Even in a small clan, that seemed to set him apart from his peers.

So for Sakumo to openly admit he saw him like a brother. He was touched that the white haired man thought of him that way, really.

"Alright, fine," he acquiesced. "But if the tables turn, you better not try and tell me no." If Sakumo thought of him like a brother… well… the feeling was mutual. And Minato would insist on assisting the Hatake if he was ever in a position to need it.

Sakumo chuckled, as they turned onto the street where the Namikaze home was located. "Wouldn't dream of it kid," the man replied easily.

Part of him wanted to protest at being called kid. He was a genin now… but making a fuss over that was a sort of childish thing to do, so he kept any protest to himself. He'd been doing a lot of that today. Being a genin just wasn't good enough anymore. He'd been so satisfied with the independence it had granted him before.

Now that his little siblings had come into the picture it was clear that it just wasn't nearly enough.

They came to the gate to the Namikaze property. Or what was still theirs anyway. His mother had sold off a large portion, though there was still a decent amount of yard left. There was room to expand… just not the money to. He'd been thinking of selling off the extra land since he didn't really need it… He might need to do that for funds now.

But then what would he do when the two bedroom home wasn't big enough anymore.

"Well here we are," he told the twins with a smile, Sakumo opening the gate for them so they could all head into the smaller front yard. At least he still had a tree and some shrubbery to keep the front of the house feeling more private. There was nothing around back at all but grass, and a few target stumps that had been put in by hand by his father… apparently when he was born.

Minato never added to it. He hadn't wanted something he'd needed to maintain. Even the stuff around front he didn't do much with. Usually it was Hashuro who did that… it was a hobby of his.

"Wow!" Makiko murmured with wide eyes as she looked at the house. "Tall house!" she announced, and tugged on his hand as she seemed quite interested in getting a look inside.

It was a two storey house… not a very big one though. There was the living room kitchen combo downstairs, the hall, a storage room and the bathroom laundry combo. Upstairs there were two bedrooms, and a half bath.

Sakumo opened the front door, though he shot him a disapproving look when he found it to be unlocked. "You'll need to remember to keep it locked now that you've got these two around," he warned. Minato could only nod… he would. The last thing he needed was one or both of them wandering out when he wasn't paying attention.

"Let's sit here and take off our shoes okay?" He instructed his siblings to sit with him before stepping up in the hall. Sakumo pulled out two pairs of slippers from the bags he'd brought, handing him one pair before he squatted to help Masato take his shoes off and put the slippers on. Minato helped Makiko since she seemed a lot more wary about letting other people help her with things than her brother did.

"What other favourites do you have?" Sakumo was asking Masato as he assisted the boy. "Favourite animal?"

"Froggies!" the boy announced without missing a beat.

"Froggies and Fahwxes!" Makiko chirped though she hadn't been asked.

"Yeah! Fahwxes too!" Masato readily agreed with his sister.

Come to think of it some of those patches on their clothing had been vaguely shaped like animals. It was a little strange they liked those two animals… but maybe those were the ones they could remember if Haruka had actually told them the patches were animals. She'd used to patch his clothes with little frog appliques when he was that small.

Sakumo laughed. "Frogs huh. Your Ni-san likes them too, did he tell you?" the white haired man told the two siblings who looked at him with wide eyes before giggling and clinging onto him.

"Froggies are great!" they said in unison and he couldn't help but laugh with them.

"Yeah, they are pretty cool," he found himself saying. It wasn't a lie either. It was fascinating how they went from being born in the water like a little fish to becoming hopping creatures, losing their tail for four legs instead.

The Namikaze could see that the Hatake didn't agree, but that was no surprise. Sakumo had summon trained Ninken. The Hatake were a dog family. Not like the Inuzuka who usually only had one dog, that could grow quite large and were mostly of the same breed. The Hatake made their name in training any dog (and sometimes other animals), and finding a way to be able to summon them so they didn't have to be with the shinobi all the time.

Their ninken weren't like a regular summons, but they weren't like the Inuzuka Ninken either. He wouldn't have minded having one if he could, but there was no way the Hatake would impart the secret that allowed them to summon their furry companions with someone from another clan. A clan needed to hold onto whatever speciality it had, or there was no point of them being there. Nothing setting them apart.

Then again, that was a path purposefully chosen by some clans when they'd joined the village. They were talked about in history classes, but you never heard about anyone who descended from them now… or you rarely did.

What did the Namikaze have that set them apart though… how were they able to become a shinobi clan from a merchant one… on the surface level. They had always been at least partly a shinobi clan, wearing a merchant face, and he'd never even suspected it until today.

Some shinobi he was turning out to be, to not have noticed something about his own family until someone outright said it. There was really so much he'd not even considered until today. And he may not have even thought of some of it for days, weeks, or months longer, if it wasn't for the older shinobi around him.

As annoying as the morning had been, it was also informative.


Finally the door to the room opened again after he finished reading and then re-reading the three scrolls he'd previously ignored. The person at the door was the Uchiha again.

Protection of asset clans… The reason why Fugaku was there could be related to that. If it was just about the paperwork then someone as high up in the police force chain as the clan's heir wasn't really necessary right? Not if his clan was just one of the other small clans that really didn't have anything that special about them when you compared them to the big names in the village that held enough weight for political positions to be granted to them (or in the Uchiha's, home security.)

The Uchiha were also apparently involved in efforts to 'preserve' clans that were in danger of being lost. Protecting them from larger clans perhaps... he wasn't entirely sure. That wasn't the only precaution though… the whole thing about him not being able to head up his clan until he reached chunin and sixteen, or Jōnin at any age seemed to be because of this as well.


There was still a lot to consider about what he'd read in those scrolls, and about the presence of Fugaku. And not all of it would be pertinent of course. He had to also separate what actually was of value in his circumstances, from everything else.

The Namikaze clan had to be more than he had ever thought. And more than he even suspected as the day started. There was clearly so much left for him to figure out.


"Namikaze," Fugaku spoke lowly. "Sandaime-sama is ready for you."

Ah. Fugaku as the messenger of the Hokage? Yeah, that was certainly a bit strange in his mind. Still he got to his feet, both annoyed and relieved that finally he was going to see the Hokage. Hopefully he'd get some answers about all of this.

He followed Fugaku to the Hokage's office, and then proceeded him inside. Sakumo was still there, but when he met his gaze he didn't smile like Minato half expected him too. Well, that just meant that whatever this was about was going to be a serious discussion… Whether that was bad or good for him he'd have to wait and find out.

"Sandaime-sama," He greeted the Hokage politely as he moved to stand next to Sakumo. Fugaku situated himself near the door on the inside of the room.

The fact that he was remaining in the room likely meant he was at least partially right about why Fugaku was there.


Even considering the presence of the Uchiha clan heir now, he wasn't sure he had a better idea on the whys of that now than he had before. All he knew was that there was a meaning to it. An important one. And really, it wasn't that Fugaku's presence was important, so to speak. It was what that meant. That the twins were somehow important… some how needing to be placed under this particular brand of protection provided by the Konoha police, and not anbu… So it was sensitive… but not of such immediate importance as to require the highly secretive Anbu who answered directly to the Hokage.

And he needed to know why. Despite everyone acting as though he was too young to be privy to those details.


"Namikaze Minato," the man responded evenly, his usual smile replaced with a more neutral expression. "I apologize for having you wait so long… however you'll be pleased to know your brother and sister have been officially recognized as Namikaze, and your clan re-registered among Konoha's active clans."

Well… he'd guessed that was what was going to happen when the paperwork had been brought in earlier. Still hearing it said by the Hokage was a lot more reassuring than just guessing that was going to be the case. His siblings weren't going to be taken away from him… for now at least. "Thank you Hokage-sama," he voiced as he was sure the man expected him to say something.

For a moment he smiled before he continued on to inquire. "How much did you're mother tell you about your clan?"

How much.

"Not much," he admitted though he didn't like to. He spent some time telling the man what he had been told. The Sarutobi nodded as if that was precisely what he'd expected.

"And do you believe that the Namikaze were a wholly merchant clan before establishing themselves as Shinobi in Konoha?" the man asked next.

Do you believe it?

"I hadn't thought about it much before now, but no… It doesn't really seem to add up with the little history my mother did tell me." He admitted it truthfully, because any of the other three in the room would probably be able to tell if he lied about it.

The Hokage nodded. "Well you happen to be right. Do you know where the Namikaze clan originally hailed from?"

Originally?

Where their historic homes where before the villages? In the vicinity of where Uzushio was later founded, wasn't it?

"A little. Somewhere around where Uzushiogakure was formed. Their trade routes were on water ways." Some of that he only knew from what he'd heard about the Namikaze after his mother left. She'd never said anything that could connect them to Uzushio that he knew of.

Wait… hadn't the primary clan of Uzushio been the Uzumaki? Where they the shinobi that the Namikaze had allied with in the past? Was the Namikaze originally an Uzushio clan?

"I see you're connecting the dots," the man behind the desk spoke evenly. "The Namikaze where the financial backing of Uzushiogakure when it was first formed, and a founding clan next to the Uzumaki. Of course the village was known for the Uzumaki." Sarutobi Hiruzen explained to him as he rested arms on his desk, fingertips touching. "The Namikaze wore a merchant face to the world, but a keen eye to history reveals hints that the clan had two faces."

Two faces. Merchant and Shinobi.

His earlier suspicion seemed to be right.


A shinobi clan all along. He was almost ashamed of himself for never realizing that until he found himself suddenly needing to head up a newly re-registered clan with two small clan members depending solely on him. Somewhere he couldn't ever have expected to be. Not at the age of ten, anyway.

But an Uzushio clan… even though so much hadn't quite added up, the hints of that… well he hadn't quite believed it until it was confirmed by the Hokage. Even when he started to suspect the truth of his clan having at least some shinobi members before they came to Konoha.

Uzushio which had fallen not that long ago…

And Uzushio… home of the Uzumaki. Home of Kushina. He had never once suspected he might have something so unexpected in common with her… but to find out now…

He probably wouldn't tell her… it would be cruel to remind her of her destroyed home village that way. Especially now, when no one knew how many Uzumaki might have survived save for those already established in other villages… if any from Uzushiogakure had…

And he also felt a little ashamed, because he didn't know that much about Uzushiogakure, where his clan was from… one more thing about his own clan that he didn't properly know about. How they were in the village… how many there knew they were not just merchants?

Even the Hokage didn't seem to know.


"How true that is within Uzushiogakure and further in the past is beyond us, as the Clan records have likely been lost along with Uzushiogakure," the man went on, and he could tell the Hokage was watching him carefully.

He frowned and turned his eyes away for a moment. He remembered when he'd heard that Uzushio had been attacked and destroyed only a few months ago. It was what had set them off on these border patrols in anticipation of war, as Uzushio was Konoha's closest Ally. The only one that had been their ally from founding. Before then to an extent, as the Senju and Uzumaki were supposedly related to some extent.

But Uzushio was gone.

And if the Namikaze were from there originally that very well could mean their history was gone now as well. His heritage. They'd only have whatever had made it to Konoha. Sure there could be other Namikaze out in the world somewhere, but they might not have any information on the clan's past. If they did there was no guarantee at all that they would share it, or even be on friendly terms with Konoha.

"However," the leader of the village went on, drawing Minato back out of his thoughts. "There are still some clan records here in Konoha. While you aren't the clan head, you are the current Heir of the Namikaze clan leadership, and as such there is one scroll you can be permitted to read."

He looked intently at the Hokage at this news. There was something he could read that might have some answers.

"However I must caution you against attempting to dig for more information. It wouldn't be wise for you to attract more attention to your little family with your twin siblings having just arrived in Konoha." With these words the Hokages tone of voice and his expression remained unchanged. But Minato couldn't help but feel like the words were very nearly a threat. He clenched his hands beside him. "When you wish to read the scroll, ask Sakumo to bring you to the Clan archives. He has the authority to retrieve it for you."

So he couldn't even retrieve it himself.


There had been a moment then he had almost spoken back to the Hokage. Because the restrictions on him for his age and rank had never felt more unwarranted, unfair, then they did in that moment. To be denied the ability to even look into his own clan records! As one of the few surviving members of the clan in this village… it had rankled.

But he had already been warned by the Hokage to keep his emotions in check. To not act upon them recklessly again. So he bit his tongue. Answers as was expected. He'd play by the rules…

Or at least, he'd try to.


"I understand," he said lowly, though he really wasn't happy about it. All he had learned about his own family was that they had always been shinobi and had hid that fact. There were any number of things that fact could mean. For him. For his siblings. For the reason why Fugaku was present.

"Good," the brunette man answered with a nod. "Now… on the matter of supporting your siblings and seeing they are well taken care of while you take missions." Hiruzen changed the subject. "Currently we have re-assigned D rank missions to the academy students do to the rising tensions with other villages. In a few months time we will hold the Chunin exams again, and I'm sure you would like to achieve the promotion in quick order for the monetary benefits."

Minato couldn't help but raise a curious brow at this. D ranks being reassigned, proceeding a mention of the Chunin promotion exam being held soon. It was a strange combination. However it wasn't that hard for him to come to a conclusion on it. "Are you suggesting I stay in Konoha and supervise academy students on their D-rank missions, for leadership experience prior to the exams?"

Hiruzen smiled now. "You are a bright young genin," he said with approval, "Yes, That is one option you can take. You've enough missions under your belt to qualify for the exams."


This offer from the Hokage had been a needed windfall for him. Though he was frustrated it was necessary, and that it was also yet one more way he was being treated as… well… almost like a child, due ot his rank. But he couldn't argue with the logic, even now.

Jiraiya sensei had mentioned that once they completed their patrol mission they'd have enough missions, though he hadn't really brought it up beyond that aside from saying that didn't mean they were ready to be chunin.

Chunin however was something he needed to reach in quick order. And beyond it.


"The experience heading D-ranks and being responsible for the academy students would increase your chances, as well as allow you to remain here in the village… however it will mean you'll earn less while you are here. And I can't take such a talented Genin off of our C ranked missions for an extended period of time."

Extended.

That could mean anywhere from a week to a number of months honestly.

"Masato and Makiko will need time to assimilate," Sakumo spoke up. "The longer Minato can stay in the village the easier that process will be. Perhaps a month?"

The Sarutobi nodded in agreement, before looking to Minato. "What do you think of this solution? You could instead ask to be assigned to more challenging missions for a higher pay out and perhaps some recommendations for fellow shinobi that way. But you'd be away from the village almost constantly."

Sandaime was giving him the choice? Well… he wanted to just say he'd prefer to stay… but money was a concern as well. Did he have enough saved up to last a month? Maybe not… could he manage to make it work? Well… if he borrowed some money, an idea he didn't much like the thought off. However if he got promoted to Chunin after then it would solve his financial concerns hopefully. And it was one step closer to making Jōnin, at which point he would be considered the head of his little clan and the Hokage wouldn't be able to withhold clan histories from him.

There was the well being of his little siblings to consider as well. Makiko might have PTSD. And just because Masato had not yet shown signs of it… that didn't mean he didn't possibly have PTSD as well.

Both of them needed to learn to feel safe at home, as well as gain some weight.

"I'll stay in the village and supervise the D-rank missions," he answered after some consideration. It did seem like the best option when thinking about the twins.

"Very well. Report to the mission desk at seven the day after tomorrow," Hiruzen instructed simply. He assumed it would be for his mission scroll. That gave him tomorrow at least and the rest of today free to spend with Makiko and Masato.

"Understood."


"I'll be back in a half hour or so," Sakumo was saying as he straightened, now done with helping Masato. Minato blinked, and then smiled, and then pushed his feeling about the lack of answers he wanted to the back of his mind once more.

"Alright," he replied as evenly as he could.

Sakumo turned to leave, but then paused. "You just got back from a long term mission… there isn't anything edible in your fridge right now is there?"

The boy blinked, and then groaned. "No… there wouldn't be." Had he remembered to pull out anything that would expire while he was away? He wasn't sure. He usually did… but he couldn't claim that he had not forgotten a time or two.

"An hour then. I'll bring back food for today," the light haired man announced. "And I'm sure Minori will be happy to prepare some meals for you when she hears."

Minato again wanted to tell him it was alright, he didn't need to… but he knew better. When Minori offered food, you took it. And the last time he'd tried to stop Sakumo from buying him groceries the man had decided to drag him through the whole market and stumble through bartering for the best produce until he dreaded the next stall. He normally didn't bother trying to get a good deal, or spend that much time trying to pick out the right head of lettuce and what not.

After that experience he never stopped Sakumo from doing the grocery shopping again… it was much less painful, even if the man still dragged him along, for the simple fact that if he didn't argue about it Sakumo did all the bartering and selecting.

But, glancing at his siblings, and remembering how they had looked when he'd bathed them in that stream… Well… it seemed a lot less like wasted effort to be a little choosy with selecting ingredients. Or bartering for the best price. With limited funds, but to undernourished toddlers to feed he may just need to actual use the skills Sakumo had been trying to teach him.

Sakumo really was a great help to him.

"Thanks… one moment," and he stood, slipping his feet into his own slippers, and then shuffling quickly down the hall to retrieve his money from the family safe. He hadn't brought any on the mission save for the small stash of emergency money that had been in his shoe, and hadn't thought to pick up any when he'd been here yesterday. He shuffled quickly back to the front door and held out the frog wallet to the man.

Sakumo rolled his eyes, but he took the wallet anyway before he turned and left the house.

"Ni-san!" Masato called, and he glanced to see him halfway down the hall, but dancing in place and looking around confusedly. "Need to pee!"

He held out his hand as he closed the distance between himself and the boy, and then looked back to his sister. "Do you need to go to the bathroom too Maki?"

She nodded shyly and shuffled over to him to take his other hand as Masato took the one he'd offered. "Alright, it's this way."


Home

It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Masato asked her through their reformed connection. When he'd first woken after his fever they hadn't been able to reach each other again for an hour, and it had taken until Minato came to get them for them to hear each other as clearly as they were before.

Yeah, it does. It wasn't that it was an alien notion, far from it. She'd had a home with her children and her husband in her last life. It was more that she'd never once had one as a child, and certainly not one in this life. So it was nice to have that. A family to grow up in.

I like our little family of three. Masato thought to her a little idly.

She looked between him and Minato, who was bringing a plate of snacks over to the low table in the living room where they both sat. So do I. She agreed, smiling as Minato placed the plate down and Masato immediately grabbed an apple slice that the older boy had a little clumsily sliced into a rabbit. She'd been unsure how to feel at first, it was strange for her father to now be her brother… but he was such a good older brother already. Different from what Naruto or Sasuke had ever been for her. It was… nice.

She looked around the room as she nibbled on her own apple slice. It was a little hard given she still didn't have a full mouth of teeth and she kept trying to chew with molars she didn't have yet. Still, at least she had all of her other teeth aside from three of her molars (one of the three was coming in and it wasn't a comfortable feeling).

The room had tatami flooring in what would be considered the living/dining room space. There was a low couch, facing the window that let in natural light on the front wall. A bookshelf and other shelving lined the other walls, and she spotted some picture frames. They depicted a family of three. A blue eyed, blond haired mother and son, with a blonde and green eyed father. There were no pictures of just their mother from what she could see, and she only featured in pictures that also had Minato's father. She wondered if he'd taken pictures with Haruka down after she didn't come back to the village?

The family she saw in the pictures looked quite happy though… she had a hard time putting credit in the idea that Haruka might have betrayed Konoha when she looked at them.

There was a gap in time within the pictures though. Of a year, maybe two. There was no pictures to be seen until one of Minato's entrance to the Academy, standing next to a white haired man she figured must be Sakumo's father. Minato didn't look that much younger than he was now… perhaps only a year.

This must be very strange for him. Going from a family of three to no family at all, and then suddenly being a family of three again. But one where his role was essentially the opposite of what he had before.

She knew how it might have felt to live in this house by himself… empty. Even just her small apartment hadn't felt like a home when she was growing up.

A house was just that without a family in it.

How long had Minato been alone in the house she wondered? A number of years at least. Before she and Masato where born, or maybe just after. It was hard to gauge with the pictures she could see. She had no way to know which of his parents had left the picture first.

That didn't change how lonely he must have been.

Lets make this home again, Masato thought to her resolutely.

A home for Three.


Word count: 6307


To the Reviewers:

I realized after I posted the last chapter that I'd missed a couple of reviewers, as they weren't on the last chapter I'd posted. So I'll get to those now as well.

Noldenas : Such an easy thing to say, but not so easy to accomplish. How do they find him. How do you kill whatever Zetsu is? Who knows, maybe they'll tackle that idea =)

Animecutylover : Oh yes, I suppose they do technically have a body, and can have a grave to visit. Better than their first go at life when they was probably graves but they didn't know about them.

EclipseNightClub : Thanks for keeping track of this story =)

vyoom : Thank you for the praise! It means a lot.
As for why there isn't more reviews… perhaps because of how inconsistent I have been in the past with updating? I don't know. I'm just happy it has gotten as many as it has to be honest =)

KaixDecayx : I'm so touched that you are still with this, thank you =)
well, you may get a nice taste of Kushi interactions before the story moves on to its next saga ;)

Riku Uzumaki : Glad to see your still with the fic as well =)
I hope it's a good mysterious lol. All will become clear ;)