Author Notes:

Dark and Alive Minato, Minato fans beware.

Alive Kushina.

Darker Naruto.

Original Characters x Established Characters

Not sure what everyone's big beef is with a background coupling but it's not going to change so you might as well stop reading now. The same goes for the OC's, they are not going anywhere so if that is really such an issue for you then just stop reading here, it doesn't bother me either way.

Discord Server Link: /dEp5XDRKUF

Chapter 23: Secrets?

When Jiraiya arrived at the Uzumaki compound he found that his two students and their student were already sitting at the table waiting for him. As the white haired Sannin approached the table, Kiro went through hand signs. Suddenly black markings came from where he placed his hand before it circled them. Jiraiya looked closely at the markings, examining them, before he looked over at him with a rose eyebrow, "So both of you have been hiding things from me huh?"

The elderly sage just stared at his pupils as they said nothing. Sighing he sat down in the chair across from his two pupils, "Kiro I expected to be a problem prying information from. He has always been a bit on the rebellious side. From you, I am surprised though."

His eyes locked onto his oldest pupil who just looked right back at him. The brown haired man sighed then looked at his sensei, "Kiro and I are both used to the spy life, we don't like to let information leak out."

Shaking his head, the white haired sage went through his own hand signs and summoned Fukasaku. As the elderly toad appeared he looked around at the 4 shinobi at the table before focusing his gaze on Jiraiya, "Why am I here Jiraiya-boy?"

The white haired toad sage smiled at him, "I am wondering when you taught my dear student senjutsu?"

The old toad sat down on the table with a sigh, "About a year ago, maybe a little over that. Time is funny like that when you are as old as I am."

Staring at the old toad, Jiraiya glared a little, "You didn't think that was something that you should tell me?"

Fukasaku looked from Jiraiya over at Darious, "He asked me not to. Something about aces, his explanation got boring and I zoned out."

Rolling his eyes, Darius reached back and pulled out his ponytail, letting his hair cascade around his shoulders and to the middle of his back. Kiro was leaning back in his chair as Naruto looked at everyone, thinking how awkward this all was. Jiraiya looked over at Darious, "How far along have you come with your senjutsu skills then?"

The man shrugged, "Not as far along as I would rather like to be. I have the blend perfect, not incomplete like yours, but I need to work on my control. I waste nature chakra like a first year student trying to cast a fireball. Fukasaku-sensei says that with time I will be able to control it better, everyone has their kinks at the start."

The white haired toad sage nodded, accepting the answer for now before turning his attention over to Kiro, "And you? When did you become so practiced in Fuuinjutsu?"

The Ookami stopped leaning back in the chair to look at his sensei. He stared at him for a moment before sighing, "I have practiced it for quite some time, during the training trip after Naruto was more or less on his own I dedicated more time to it since I had some to spare."

Jiraiya stared at him, "Why didn't you just try to achieve senjutsu as well?"

Sighing and rubbing the back of his neck he shook his head, "They are not willing to teach me yet."

That was when Fukasaku spoke up with a condescending tone, "Wolves... just so picky."

The Ookami growled at him, "Quite toad."

Jiraiya glared at his student, "You WILL show respect to a sage Kiro."

Kiro looked at him with a curled lip then sat back in his chair. Darious looked at his kohai then sighed, "The Wolves won't teach him yet... he has something he has to complete before they are even willing to broach the subject."

Their sensei looked at him, "Hana."

The long brown haired man nodded his head, "Yeah, they claim since he is ignoring his instincts about his mate he isn't truly accepting his destiny or fate. The elders of the wolves claim that it is a grave offense to them, that he can not even discuss it until that part of his life is accepted."

Rolling his eyes and leaning back some more, Kiro muttered, "I'm going to have to stop telling you things..."

Darious smiled before looking at him, "You would've told him eventually, even you are not that rebellious."

He rolled his eyes again before sighing, "He is right about why they are not willing to let me use it yet."

The white haired shinobi leaned back in his chair as he put his hand under his chin to think, "Interesting... it is almost like since you aren't acting enough like a wolf they won't let you fully into the pack."

Kiro stared at him then looked back at the ceiling. Darious looked at him then spoke again, "He also has matured to a certain milestone in his bloodline."

He felt the glare coming from his kohai but he figured that their sensei deserved to know. Jiraiya was looking at Kiro then looked back at Darious as he continued, "Apparently when an Ookami hits a certain age a full moon has an effect on them. His instincts become harder to ignore and he becomes restless."

His eyes went to his older pupil before moving back over to his younger one, "The Inuzukas are similar to that. Probably not to the same degree since they seem like they are still in full control of themselves."

Both of his students stared at him then Darious nodded his head, "I wouldn't describe it as he loses control per se, but now you are caught up."

Jiraiya nodded his head then Kiro released the barrier as the marks reabsorbed into his hand. They all stood from the table as Fukasaku disappeared. They looked to see Kushina standing there, "I need a moment with Naruto please."

Everyone nodded as the blond sat back down while Kiro, Darious and Jiraiya all took their leave. As the two Uzumakis sat there Kushina smiled at him a bit. He just stared at her, "Tsunade told me what your rank is."

That was probably the most interesting thing that he had heard at this table so far today. He raised his eyebrow in anticipation as his red headed mother smiled at him, "Tokubetsu Jounin for the time being. When you get some more experience you might be given the full rank of Jounin."

His mother handed him the flak jacket that represented his rank. Naruto sat it in front of him as Kushina continued to stare at him and he looked up at her still sitting there, "Is there something else that you wanted to speak to me about Kaa-san?"

She leaned back in her chair as she stared at her son, "A few things to be honest with you. The first one is this marriage that the council is trying to force upon you. Do you even care or plan to follow through with it?"

The blond jinchuriki sighed as he sat there, leaning back into his chair as well. He looked like he was internally debating about the idea before letting out another sigh, "I don't really know Kaa-san, I think that I can draw it out long enough that I can get my fight with Minato. At that point in time I doubt marrying me off will be their concern."

Kushina stared at him, "Their concern will be to find you right? You have dropped a few hints about where you are going to go and hide afterwards."

Naruto nodded his head, "That is so that you can find me if you need me for something."

With a long sigh Kushina started to rub her temples before locking eyes with him, "I know of an heiress that is very much willing to marry you right now. Perhaps it would be for the best to just get it out of the way and please the council. You can always run afterwards, leave her in my care if that is what needs to happen."

Her son ran a hand through his hair, "I am assuming that you are talking about Naruko."

The red headed matriarch nodded her head, "Naruto, she really wants the chance to be with you."

Her heir just stared at her, "She had that chance and told me what she really thought. Had the events of that day gone differently then maybe there would be some hope for what she really wants. I just don't see it playing out that way now. She is not strong enough to handle how the majority of this village would react to that idea that you all are peddling. Everyone knows who my father is, they all know the same asshole is her father as well, when the news reached them she would be treated how I am treated."

Kushina gave a soft smile, "She is much stronger than you give her credit for Naruto."

That made it so he rolled his eyes, "You both have said that now."

She just continued to give him her soft motherly smile, "You know full well that our clan allows your joining. You also know that our clan laws would protect not only you, but her and any children that you would sire. What I am really hearing is that you are not willing to open up again."

The way that he was staring at her was giving her the answer to her statement. He didn't reply, making her continue on with the train of thought, "Sweetie, she regrets the way she took the news. She wishes that she had done what you hoped that day. I know that opening up wasn't easy for you, and that it ended up hurting you, but weren't you happy for awhile when you had?"

Naruto sat back in his chair as he continued to stare at her. His mothers gaze never wavered though, "I was so happy when I realized that you opened up to someone finally. I wasn't exactly ecstatic on your choice in a partner, sure, but you can't choose who you love in the end. Give her the chance to correct her mistakes Naruto, she really wants to make things right and fix things between you two."

He stared at her before finally speaking up again, "Why should I? She couldn't even handle that one secret. How do you think she will react to my killing Minato? Or when I flee the village? I don't deny that she wants to fix things, but I know how it will turn out. I was right last time so why do people keep thinking that I will be wrong this time?"

Sighing and shaking her head the red headed matriarch looked at her son again, "You're just determined to not cooperate on this aren't you Naruto?"

When he didn't say anything then she shook her head again, "Well... I guess that it is up to her to convince you then. Onto the next thing, I was wondering if you would be okay with me..."

She sat there quietly for a moment while fiddling with her shirt before she finished speaking, "...marrying Asuma-kun."

Naruto gave her a bit of a quizzical look, "Why would my opinion matter Kaa-san? That is something that you should decide yourself, do you want to marry Asuma?"

Her head started to eagerly nod then went to speak until he interrupted her, "Then it is decided, you should marry Asuma. You have to stop trying to live your life around me Kaa-san. I want you to be happy, and for a reason that still escapes me he does that for you. If my blessing is that important to you then you have it though."

The red haired woman smiled at him before they both stood and she kissed his forehead as he came over to her. As she pulled back she gave him another motherly smile, "Love is a great thing Naruto, perhaps you should give it a chance." The blond man sighed as she walked away, off to tell Asuma the news.

LINE BREAK

With Darious and Shizune...

Darious entered the room he shared with his wife to see his two children sleeping on their bed. He smiled then walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before speaking softly into her ear, "How long have they been asleep?"

The black haired woman smiled, "Not long, maybe ten minutes."

Her husband nodded his head before she noticed the look on his face then looked at the kids again. She let out a long sigh before speaking softly, "What are you worrying about now?"

The man smiled before looking at her, "How do you know I am worrying Shizune-koi?"

Said woman shook her head before she looked at him, "I am your wife so I know all of your looks. That is the look you have when you worry. You only worry about a few things so is it Kiro, Naruto, Jiraiya, me or the kids?"

Darious smiled at her before he stood up straight, "I am worried about Kiro and Jiraiya-sensei. Naruto doesn't concern me that much unless he is fighting. As long as no one brings up Minato he usually stays fairly calm. As for you and the kids, do I have a reason to worry?"

Shizune shook her head before standing and taking his hand, leading them out to the balcony of their room. They stood there with Darious looking at the backyard, Shizune looking in at the kids as she spoke to him, "Why are you worried this time?"

Smiling a bit Darius took his gaze away from the backyard to admire her in the sunlight before speaking, "Well I think that it is my job to worry about Kiro in general, at least it seems that way. I am also worried about his relationship with Jiraiya-sensei, it wasn't ever extremely strong but it seems to be deteriorating a bit lately."

His wife looked at him, "Is it because the full moon is coming? If he never had a strong bond with Jiraiya-sama then maybe he doesn't view him with that pack mentality. Just look at how he is with us, the kids or Naruto when the full moon is. He gets insanely protective and very agitated around people he doesn't trust."

Sighing he looked at her before turning his gaze back to the backyard and speaking softly, "He should have that bound with his sensei."

Shizune shook her head no, "You were his sensei Dar-koi, he never looked at Jiraiya that way. Even I can see that and you yourself have said that Jiraiya was an absent mentor to Kiro, that you took the reigns. I just think that Kiro doesn't seem to see him the way that you do. I think that his pack will get bigger while we are here but Jiraiya won't be as integrated in it as you would like."

He continued to look at the backyard before looking back over at her then stole a swift kiss, "You know, you're incredibly sexy when you're being all smart like that."

The black haired woman blushed at his comment then smiled, "Easy there mister, I don't need any more kids just yet."

Darious gave her a cocky grin, though he did take notice of the yet in her sentence, "It doesn't have to end with kids. Just want to make sure that my wife is very, very happy."

Shizune's blush got even deeper at that point before she saw the kids starting to move around, "Looks like nap time is almost over, guess you'll have to wait."

She went back into their room to tend their children as he looked back out at the backyard, 'The full moon is right around the corner Kiro, I hope you know what you are doing.'

LINE BREAK

The Inuzuka Compound...

The head of the clan appeared at her front door and waited, letting the scent waft off her body a bit. As she heard the sound of feet rushing to the door she opened it to see Hana. The heiress looked at her mother then her eyes narrowed, "You actually did it!?"

Tsume smiled at her eldest daughter, "I guess you will just always have to wonder about that Hana."