Chapter Ten: Oyako

Naruto didn't know what to think when Kakashi-sensei deposited a hysterical, giggling clone on the ground with another drenched and dripping bunshin walking sullenly behind. He'd seen the whole thing play out in front of him, but he just didn't understand it. The wet one looked up from his scowling to meet the boy's gaze with a small smile.

Until Naruto stupidly asked, "Why'd you fall in?"

That set the crazy one back into fits of laughter, and turned the other's face decidedly neutral. Naruto briefly worried he'd offended him, before remembering they were his own clones, even if Kakashi's weird knife had made them act strangely. One of them even claimed to be his mother! Which kinda hurt, actually, but he hid it well.

The dripping bunshin rolled its eyes at the other before making a quick hand-seal that caused the strange walls of inky lines to fall away. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he and his teammates went over to join their sensei, and the odd-ball clones.

"Naruto!" the laughing one exclaimed, sobering quickly just so they could pounce on the blonde boy and capture him in a hug. At least this time it wasn't nearly suffocating him. "Did you see your father's face when he fell through the water? Priceless! Better enjoy it while you can, Minato's worse than the Uchiha brat when it comes to being better than everyone. You can't even get mad at him for it! He's just too damn nice all the time!"

Father? He raised his eyes to regard at the other clone, who smiled softly back.

"Don't worry, though, Mommy will teach you some tricks even he does-"

"Stop it!" Even he was a little surprised when he suddenly shouted and shoved his clingy kage bunshin off of him. He felt guilty at the surprised-hurt expression on their face, but turned determinedly to his silver-haired instructor for answers. "What was that strange kunai, and why did it make my clones act crazy?!"

Kakashi blinked at him, before turning to the slightly-less-crazy-clone with the knife. "He might find it easier to believe if you two looked like yourselves."

"Probably," the bunshin agreed forming a hand-seal.

The other one let out a choking gasp, "I've been a boy this whole time? Eww, gross! Why didn't anyone tell me?" then quickly copied the other.

They both transformed at once and Naruto felt his stomach try to tie itself into knots when the smoke cleared. The same spiky blonde hair, the same clear blue irises; it was like looking into a mirror and seeing his future self. The red-head standing next to him wasn't nearly as obvious, but there were a few things; the face shape, the large expressive eyes that betrayed her nervousness in spite of the confident smile she kept in place.

It hurt to breathe, and all his thoughts and emotions jumbled together into one big mess as he tried to make sense of everything. He wanted to believe, he really really did, but his life had already been filled with so much disappointment...

He looked up at his sensei for help, but it was the blonde-man -his father?- who stepped forward instead. He crouched down to be more at eye level and spoke softly, "I know this is a lot for you to take in, and I'm sorry we just dumped all this on you without warning, but it couldn't really be helped. I'm Namikaze Minato, and this is my wife, Uzumaki Kushina.

"Twelve years ago we had a son, and on that same day the Kyuubi attacked the village. What actually happened is very complicated, and I'd rather not get into it right now, but essentially your mother and I died to seal the nine-tails away where it wouldn't hurt anybody anymore." He stopped and looked as if he wanted to say more, but decided against it and moved on.

"Before we died, however, we were able to seal a bit of our chakra inside of our son in case the... in case of an emergency." Here he paused and held up the white-handled three-pronged kunai that had started everything. "This, is one of my Hiraishin blades."

Sakura let out a small excited squeak that she quickly stifled and then turned red when everyone looked over at her. "Sorry!" she apologized, "I still can't believe you don't know what that is! Or who he is!" She clamped her mouth shut after that, however, and refused to say anymore.

"Heh, I didn't know they put that in the textbooks," the elder blonde commented, rubbing his head self-consciously and Naruto returned his attention to him. "Er, moving on, on this blade is a seal that allows me to instantly transport to it's location from anywhere else so long as I'm in range to sense it. Just recently I found out exactly how... versatile that is.

"This specific blade is one I gave Kakashi as a gift for making Jounin. I'm a little surprised he still carries it around with him, but it's a good thing he does, or else I never would have figured out that I could use it to transport my spirit into a kage bunshin body. Which is where we are now."

Minato peered carefully into his son's face, trying to decipher what he was thinking. Mostly the poor kid looked confused.

"Did you understand all of that?" he asked hesitantly. "I sometimes have difficulty keeping my explanations simple... if you need some time to think it over, we could leave and-"

That provoked a reaction. "NO!"

Only his training at predicting people's movements and sheer force of will kept Minato's fragile clone form from being dispersed as he was suddenly bowled over by an emotional teenager. "Don't you dare leave!"

"I won't," the yondaime quickly reassured him. The boy had his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, and his fingers clutched desperately to the back of his shirt. He was shaking, and Minato wasn't sure if it was from anger or some other extreme emotion. He was just wondering if he should try and reciprocate the embrace when Naruto looked up with watery eyes.

"You... you're really here? I'm not dreaming? This isn't an illusion? Or... or..."

"You're not dreaming, this isn't an illusion, and yes, I'm really here. We both are."

Kushina took that as an invitation to join the group-hug/dog-pile on her husband. Then reached up and pulled Kakashi into the hug as well. "Kakashi is here too! He's your big brother, you know."

"Adopted," the jounin was quick to clarify, "and only because she says so."

"Quiet, you. We took you in after your father died, you're as much my son as Naruto is."

Hatake sighed, but didn't protest further. "Does this mean you'll release the seal on my arm?"

"No."

"I didn't think so."

It was several minutes later before Kakashi, with a little bit of Minato's help, convinced the others that they were, in fact, still on a mission, and really ought to get Tazuna home. The bridge builder had been standing off to the side the whole time with Sasuke and Sakura, generally feeling like it wasn't a good idea to interrupt the little family moment.

Sakura had been watching with slightly misty eyes and no small amount of disbelief as it became more and more apparent that Naruto was the son of the Namikaze Minato. Not to mention, how could Sasuke-kun and Naruto not know that name?! He was one of the most famous ninjas in the whole village!

Sasuke hadn't watched for very long, grinding his teeth and finding the foliage to his left much more worth his interest. He would not be jealous of the dobe. He was relieved when it finally ended and they could continue on with the mission.

They only got a few steps before Kakashi suddenly collapsed for no apparent reason.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in alarm, while Sasuke merely frowned.

Minato chuckled as he bent down to examine the prone jounin. "I was wondering when that was going to happen."

"Chakra exhaustion?" Kushina asked. She nudged the motionless figure with a foot and received no response. "The Sharingan still takes a lot out of him, huh?"

Her husband began leveraging the silver-haired jounin onto his back. "This brings back memories. Though, last time, he was fourteen and about half the weight." The last part was said with a grunt as the yondaime settled Kakashi's weight into a comfortable position for carrying.

They changed their walking formation after that, with Minato and Kakashi in the middle beside Tazuna; Sakura in front of them with Naruto and Kushina protecting the rear. Sasuke silently took point.

The dark-haired boy was walking a good distance ahead of the gaggle of idiots behind him when he suddenly felt two hands grab him under the arms and lift him up as if he were a small child. "Sasuke-kun!" a female voice called out that was definitely not Sakura. Wasn't she supposed to be in the back?!

"Look how big you've grown! Last time I held you, you were just an itty-bitty baby!" She set him down and he leapt away from her quickly. This woman knew him?

Kushina tilted her head as she looked him over thoughtfully, then stated definitively, "You don't look anything like Itachi."

He felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Anger flared up into a burning inferno of rage and he felt like he could set the woman on fire with his glare. How dare she say that man's name!

"No, you definitely take after your mother. Which is good, because Mikoto-chan was way better looking than your father. Fugaku was not a handsome man..."

"Stop it...!" the Uchiha hissed, her casual mention of his parents cutting like knives against old festering wounds.

The red-head paused and blinked in surprise as if completely unaware of the affect she was having on the teen. "Stop what? Oh, I suppose you're right. I did promise Mikoto-chan I'd try to be more civil when talking about her husband. Fine. Fugaku was a fine shinobi and a loving husband who took good care of his family. There. Happy?"

Sasuke looked anything but.

"Kushina...?" Minato asked, uncertainly. He knew his wife was purposely pushing all of the teen's wrong buttons, but couldn't figure out why. She merely shot him a look, and the yondaime knew instantly he needed to shut up and stay out of whatever it was she was doing. He nodded in acceptance and nudged Naruto back to his place as rear guard. He hoped she hurried back to her position, he didn't like leaving their son on his own.

"Did you know," Kushina went on, ignoring the enraged teen, "I used to go with your mom to take Itachi to the park once a week? We used to stop by Teyaki-ojisan's bakery for a snack on the way-"

Sasuke's self-control snapped and with an angry shout he launched himself at her, kunai in hand. The fight was very short and very one-sided, going about as well as the Uchiha had predicted before he'd lost his senses. Minato and Naruto hadn't even had the time to react before Kushina had him tied up neatly in chakra chains.

Her arms folded over her chest as she regarded the struggling boy with a stern look. She picked carefully over her next words, trying to find the best way to say what was on her mind. She waited until he'd calmed down enough to hear her words before speaking again. When he'd gone from murderous rampage to sullen-promises-of-death glowering, she knew she had his undivided attention.

"It's alright to be angry, it's alright to be sad, it's even alright to swear and plot vengeance upon the one who has wronged you... but it is not okay for you to take that sadness and rage and direct it upon people who do not deserve it!"

She stepped forward until she was right in his face. "Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the only one who mourns them! Especially do not make the mistake to presume you are the only one with the right to mourn them! Your mother was like a sister to me; and if I choose to remember her by telling stories of the good times we had together? Then that is my business, and my right to do so!"

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she fought to control the torrent of emotion she tried to channel into her words. Mikoto's death had hit her hard when she'd heard about it through Naruto. She and her husband had spent much of that day and the next swapping stories of the Uchiha they'd known. She didn't even fully know the details of Uchiha massacre because her son had never shown an interest in it, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that her sister-friend's son was suffering, and Kushina had a promise to keep.

Hatred smoldered under dark obsidian as he snapped back, "Shut up! Don't pretend to understand what I'm going through! You know nothing! I lost everything that night! How could you understand with you and your perfect little family over there!"

Kushina's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Minato winced. That was absolutely the wrong thing to say to Uzumaki Kushina.

"You-!" She paused, then took a deep breath to calm herself before starting again. "Tell me, Sasuke, have you ever heard of a village called Uzushiogakure? The Land of Whirlpools?"

The Uchiha snorted contemptuously, "No, what does tha-"

"It was a small village," she interrupted him softly, "not even half the size of Konoha, but they were world renowned and their skills in fuinjutsu, the sealing techniques, were the envy and fear of every other shinobi village. One clan in particular stood out above the rest, the Uzumaki clan. Crude, they were called, because their fuinjutsu techniques were unique and ever-changing. Nothing was impossible in an Uzumaki mind, and because it is said that fuinjutsu is only limited by your imagination... well, you can see why they were seen as a threat."

Kushina had grown quiet, and Sasuke's glare had lost a significant amount of heat as he sensed where this story was leading.

"It happened in one night. I didn't just lose my clan, I lost my entire village. So don't you dare accuse me of not knowing loss! I may not know exactly what you're going through, but I do understand what it's like to lose everything!" she hissed at him.

They spent a silent moment glaring at each other while Kushina made sure her words sunk in. Then she released him and dismissed her chakra chains. "I also know what can happen if you let that loss consume you, and I know what can help lessen the pain. Yes, you've lost everything, and no there isn't any way to bring them back or to make it stop hurting; but you're still here. You can make new bonds and gain more precious people.

"Actually, you have some already if you're willing to claim them," she mused, wryly. "Mikoto-chan made me -unofficially and without your father's permission, of course- your god-mother right before I died. I doubt this is what either of us had in mind when I made the promise to see you and Itachi taken care of should the worst happen, but I'm still fulfilling it the best way I know how. As far as I'm concerned, you're one of my sons. I now have three."

She smiled and lashed out a hand to ruffle his hair affectionately before he could duck away. He shot her another glare before storming off to go brood at the front of their group again. She chuckled then shouted after him.

"And if you ever want to share stories about your family, I've got some really funny ones of a two-year-old Itachi getting into your mother's kunoichi make-up bag!"

The teen froze in his tracks but didn't turn around as he wordlessly continued on his way.

A/N: So, there you go. Fluffy goodness. Not quite so much humor in this chapter, but I think the fluff makes up for it.

There was a point where Kushina was chewing Sasuke out, when she 'tied him up' with chains, that I was going to use the phrase 'Trussed up like a duck for roasting', but then thought the scene was too serious to be commenting on the state of Sasuke's hair. XD Oh well. I did get that 'Duck' comment in later, props if you snickered at it like I did when writing it.

I hope you don't see this as bashing, because I honestly think these characters would react this way in this situation. I don't hate Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, or any of the Naruto characters, really. (Except maybe Fugaku, I may be on the 'DO NOT LIKE' band-wagon with Kushina there. Also Danzo, but I think everyone hates that guy.) It was about time people stopped treating Sasuke like he was made of glass and started telling him what he needed to hear. Seriously. :P

Oh, and so very sad to say, but my updates are going to be slowing down. Work starts back up tomorrow. D: Boooo...

As always, thanks for reading!

-Py