-Mikoto-

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Mikoto is on her way to pick Sasuke up from Naruto's apartment.

Usually, she just lets Sasuke come back when he's ready. But this time she has a reason. Sasuke's birthday is coming up, and knowing Mikoto's little boy, he hasn't invited his friend. He'll also probably regret not inviting Naruto when the big day comes around, and Naruto might be hurt that Sasuke didn't invite him. So Mikoto's just cutting that off ahead of time and going to invite Naruto herself.

Besides, she's rather curious about the child who regularly gives her husband and the entire police force the run around. Clearly Naruto has talent, and he probably has some sort of teacher if he progresses this fast. Yet, he consistently turns down just about every teacher that comes his way. Jiraiya, Might Gai, Anko... although Mikoto can see his reasons for each of them.

Ah, there's Naruto's door. Mikoto reaches out to knock...

And Naruto opens the door before she starts. Perhaps he has a sensing ability? That would help explain his ability to consistently evade both the ANBU and the police force. Especially if it's a particularly well-developed one.

"Hi! You're Sasuke's mom, right? Do you wanna come in?"

Mikoto pulled herself out of her thoughts to answer.

"Thank you, but I'm just here to pick up Sasuke. I was hoping to visit the market with him, to get an idea for what he wants for his birthday."

Naruto perked up.

"Sasuke's birthday is soon?"

"Yes, in a week. I take it he hasn't said anything?"

"No! SASUKE, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BIRTHDAY?!"

Mikoto winced as Naruto screamed back to Sasuke in the apartment. Sasuke came to the door.

"Hi, Mom. It didn't come up, idiot."

"Sasuke! Don't be so rude to your friend!"

"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Sasuke's Mom! He does that all the time! I even call him a broody jerk right back!"

Mikoto wasn't exactly pleased with her son's lack of manners, but she supposed that friends are just like that sometimes. Sasuke has a hard enough time making friends that she can let it slide. Either way, she still was on a mission.

"Well, I suppose if you're alright with it, I'll leave it alone. Either way, would you like to come to Sasuke's birthday party in a week?"

"MOM!"

"YES!"

"Perfect. It'll be at lunchtime next Thursday. I trust you know your way to the Uchiha Compound?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically while Sasuke groaned and tried to melt through the floor. Smirking, Mikoto politely said goodbye to Naruto and pulled Sasuke away to look at presents. Mission accomplished!

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-Naruto-

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Naruto was a little offended at first. That jerk! What, was he going to let Naruto just skip his birthday? Was he going to wait until the last second so Naruto couldn't get a present or something?!

Actually, that's a bigger priority right now. Naruto needs to get a present. Most stores don't like to have him around (his campaign of "promoting" the worst shops through singing kind of backfired), so it's kind of hard to shop. Yeah, Naruto uses transformations when he needs to get shopping done, but it's still kind of annoying.

He's putting the pig before the pen, though. Naruto needs to figure out what to get Sasuke before he goes out to buy anything. What would Sasuke like? Not really much that Naruto can think of. He wouldn't want a plant (it probably wouldn't survive long in his house anyway. He wouldn't bother to water it and the Uchiha like to burn incense and candles a lot. Candles around dry plants sounds like a Very Bad Idea.), and he'd probably be downright offended if Naruto got him a toy or stuffed animal or anything like that.

Ugh. Thinking about presents is hard. Naruto's going to practice the new wind jutsu he picked up.

Naruto paused.

Actually, that's a great idea! Naruto grinned and ran off to get Sasuke's present.

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-Fugaku-

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Believe it or not, Fugaku does love his children. He may not show that love very often, but he does listen occasionally.

He knows Sasuke prefers quiet, and dislikes crowds. So Fugaku does not throw a big party, but only invites a few people and tells Sasuke he can invite anyone else he wants.

Of course, there are things that he does that Sasuke probably doesn't appreciate. Fugaku wants Sasuke to be strong enough to survive the shinobi world, so he pushes him to catch up to Itachi as best as he can. Fugaku knows that Sasuke is isolated and craves affection, so he limits that affection and uses it as a reward for progress.

Fugaku might not be the greatest as far as fathers go, but he's a shinobi. He knows the world is harsh, and his sons are going into a far harsher world than most children will. Coddling will not help them survive.

And there is much to worry about right now. Fugaku's clan, and thus his sons, are being mistreated and mistrusted more and more each day. There are ROOT ANBU spying even on Sasuke's party today. Sasuke's party! He's turning seven! And with that warmonger Danzo slowly pushing them further and further into disgrace, the clan will only have so much time to act before the damage is irreparable.

Fugaku wants to make sure his clan and family survive as intact as possible. A coup might be their only option if things get worse, but Fugaku doesn't want to waste the lives of his clan members if it isn't necessary.

He observes Sasuke's party. There aren't many people here, just a few close family friends like Shisui. The inclusion of Naruto Uzumaki is rather notable; it is rare that an Uchiha makes friends with someone outside of the clan, and Sasuke in particular prefers to keep to himself. Watching the children, it looks more like Naruto just invited himself into Sasuke's life and Sasuke just gave up trying to push him out.

However it happened, they look close now. Good. Fugaku might hate being terrorized by that kid, but he clearly has talent. He could make a strong ally for Sasuke in the future.

Actually, that might be a good train of thought. Naruto clearly still loves the Hokage, as evidenced by his continual use of the affectionate "Jiji", but it seems as if their relationship has soured recently. So long as there isn't any conflict for the next few years, Fugaku thinks they could actually get Naruto to help them once Lord Third steps down. And a Jinchuuriki, the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki no less, is an incredibly powerful ally.

Perhaps Fugaku won't need Mikoto to pester him into socializing this time.

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A/N - Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I've got a test this afternoon, but I indulged a bit with this chapter because studying for math sucks. On another note, there are a few reviews (especially the most recent two from sandmanwake) that have questions with really long answers. I'd essentially need to explain my whole thought process and headcanon relating specifically to Kurama, Naruto, and their relationship. I've already said that I don't want to do long author's notes, and I don't want to dedicate a whole chapter to explaining the story instead of continuing it, so I've decided I'm going to write it all out in a separate story (I'm calling it my Author's Commentary). It's totally optional to go read it, but it might help explain my approach to writing this story. Later I'm going to put a list of chapter ideas in the second chapter to the Commentary, just to get a feel for what you guys might think of some of them.