"𝐀𝐍: 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.𝐧𝐞𝐭 "𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐥𝐞" 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭?, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬?(☞ ͡ ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡ ͡°)☞"
"Hello there!" (Talking)
'Who's this?' (Thinking/Thought)
"𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬" (𝐁𝐢𝐣𝐮𝐮/𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠)
'𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠' (𝐁𝐢𝐣𝐮𝐮/𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠)
=
Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's biggest knuckle headed shinobi, was sitting in Ichiraku's Ramen in deep thought. It wasn't a surprising sight to see Naruto thinking to himself and spacing out, after everything that had happened, people were surprised that he hadn't snapped and started killing random villagers, even if he was only twelve.
It all started with him being called to Sarutobi's office one morning after waking up with no food or water and the land lord demanding his pay or leave, in which he disagreed on both ends. It was a horrible way to start a day but it only got worse from there on.
As soon as he arrived at the Hokage tower he was greeted with Sarutobi himself outside, which was very rare because Sarutobi never had his meetings outside his office, let alone his tower. It was also the way Sarutobi looked at him as he asked on the progress of his education in the ninja academy. He was sure he saw pity and guilt in those old eyes as he told the old man how great he was becoming.
Then afterwards, he was escorted into the tower by Sarutobi, who apologised profusely on what would transpire, although the little twelve year old didn't know what to make of that. When they got to the office, Sarutobi told him to keep an open mind and he hoped that Naruto could forgive him one day before opening the door and changing Naruto's life forever.
When he walked into the office he was greeted with the view of the Yondaime, The Yellow Flash, his true hero, sitting in the seat that would originally be Sarutobi's place; there was a woman with him too, with long red hair and two kids at her side.
The first was a girl looked no older than three years old and had short red hair like the woman.
(𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐳 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝟑 𝐲𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝.)
The other looked about his age and had a lot of similar physical qualities that matched his oiroke no jutsu.(𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐲 𝐧𝐨 𝐉𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐮).
(𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞)
He was surprised to see his hero alive and well...But what happened next shattered his image of the Yondaime.
"Ah! Naruto, I'm glad you're here," Minato said with that foxy grin that Naruto couldn't help but compare to his own.
"Look at you, so handsome already. You have your father's looks alright," the redhead woman gushed.
"... Father?" Naruto registered that word pretty quickly because as far as he knew he was an orphan and his parents died, nor did he knew he had sisters.
"That's right son! I told you he'd take after me didn't I, Kushina?" Minato said looking at his wife.
"Tch, whatever; he still has my face," Kushina playfully jabbed, never noticing what a grave mistake their antics had made.
"Naruto, I'm sure you're familiar with the Yondaime Hokage, and this is Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze. They're your parents," Sarutobi finished with a grim expression.
Naruto just stood there in shock for a long time. He didn't move nor look like he was breathing. That kind of behaviour worried his parents.
"Sochi, are you okay?" Kushina asked, looking concernedly at her son.
"..."
"Now I know what you must be thinking: How come it took us this long to come home? Well, with Jiraiya and Tsunade taking care of you, we just figured we'd wait a while and train Naruko a bit more. Why I bet those two Sannin had been beating you to the ground with how serious they were when it came to training. Oh yes! I'd like you to meet your two sisters!" Minato said gleefully as he indicated to the older sister holding the little redhead.
"Is that nii-san?" The little girl asked her older sister softly.
"Yes Narumi-chan, that's Onii-san," Naruko said warmly to her, rocking the little girl gently. She nervously walked up to Naruto and stood at a respectable distance and cleared her throat.
"H-Hi u-uhhh N-Naruto-nii-san. My name's Naruko and I'm your younger twin, and this is Narumi and she's the youngest of us. I-I've been waiting to meet you for so long Nii-san and I-I'm so honored," Naruko said suttering a little as she was very nervous meeting her brother for the very first time. She then smiled brightly at her brother and bowed.
"Haha! They've always wanted to meet you ever since we told them they had an older brother. Gosh, it seemed like yesterday when the Kyu-"
"That is enough Minato!" Sarutobi cut in. He understood Minato's excitement in seeing his son after all the years he staged his death and left Naruto in the hands of Tsunade and Jiraiya. But Minato didn't know of what happened while he left Naruto at the mercy of vengeful villagers who despised the 'Kyuubi brat', nor did Naruto know about the Kyuubi altogether, and Minato was just digging himself a bigger grave with every word he spoke.
"What is it Sarutobi?" Minato asked.
"I told you to hear me out before you did anything but did you listen? No! You have no idea what you've done. You have no idea what a grave mistake you and Kushina made," Sarutobi said with a frown.
"What are you talking about Sarutobi," Kushina questioned confusedly.
"...So you know them?" Naruto asked, his bangs covering his eyes from everyone.
"Yes Naruto, I know Minato and Kushina and I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am for not informing you about them," Sarutobi said sadly. He wouldn't be surprised if Naruto hated him; hell, right now, he hated himself. He only knew about Minato and Kushina's disappearance after the Kyuubi attacked. He found a letter stating that Minato had trusted Jiraiya and Tsunade to look after their child together since they were both the child's godparents. They would train Naruko on controlling the Kyuubi's chakra, under the knowledge that Naruto only had the soul; Minato sealed a part of the Kyuubi in both children, but it didn't work out that way.
"He couldn't say anything because it was an S-rank secret, sweetie," Kushina cooed.
"And I'm sure you know all about that since you're in the ninja academy, if what I read is correct," Minato said, looking at a paper with a proud smile.
"Minato, we really need to talk. These are not happy times and I'm sorry to say that things didn't go the way you hoped all those years ago." Sarutobi said, staring down at Naruto in sadness.
"Am I free to go, Sarutobi-sama?" Naruto asked emotionlessly.
"But sochi-"
"Yes, you're free to go Naruto and I'm sorry," Sarutobi said, ignoring the furious look Kushina sent his way as Naruto left the office.
=
Word got out about the Fourth Hokage's return and the village celebrated in honour of their hero, even after it was revealed that he faked his own death.
Minato also expressed his disappointment and fury at the villagers for what they did to his very own flesh and blood, a lot of villagers were confused on that, but Minato soon cleared that up with the shocking revelation of Naruto being his son; some of the villagers already knew they were in big trouble.
Kushina went on a rampage, attacking any villager that was reported to have hurt her sochi.
She beat's them up so badly that she was forced, by Minato himself, to house arrest. He didn't like these people too but he was the Hokage again.
Kushina was angry at that, stating that he didn't care enough about his child - in which he replied that he would have gladly taken Naruto's place if they were there for him in the beginning.
Both parents knew they messed up and they even tried putting the blame on Jiraiya and Tsunade, who weren't present, but a heartbroken Naruko told them it was as much as their fault for trusting people that weren't family to Naruto's care and they should have kept track on what was happening to him from the beginning instead of blindly trusting someone with their own child. The family knew they deserved nothing but hatred from the boy but they were resolute to do whatever it took to get Naruto in their lives again.
"Order is up Naruto-kun," Ayame said as she handed him his ramen. Her heart went out to the poor boy. When she found out about Minato and Kushina being Naruto's parents, she was very angry at the two, she still was. How could someone just up and abandon their son after sealing the Kyuubi into him and expect everything to be okay when they showed their faces? How could they call themselves parents? She knew all about Naruto's hard life and the thought of Naruto's 'family' out there in the world, having a good time while he suffered beatings and near deaths, made her want to attack Minato and Kushina anytime they passed by, asking her if she had seen Naruto, in which she would always say no.
She looked at Naruto and sighed sadly, it had only been a few days when all this chaos started and he really looked broken. She could clearly see he wasn't focused on reality because he hadn't even made an attempt to touch his ramen, his favourite food.
"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Ayame asked in worry.
"Huh? Don't worry about me Ayame-chan! I feel great!" Naruto said with a forced smile.
He felt like crap. All this time he had a family and they never even made an effort to see him until a few days ago? He wanted to hate Sarutobi for not telling him about this, but to be honest, he couldn't. The old man had been there for him more times than he could count, that didn't mean he wasn't upset with the old guy though.
He didn't know what to feel about his family, his emotions would go numb every time he thought of them. Minato and Kushina had been doing their best to get involved in his life, but he would dodge them every time he saw them coming his way; he would even sleep in a ditch somewhere when they came and waited for him at his apartment. He didn't want to be near those two. He didn't like them and he wasn't going to pretend like he did; that happy mask was long gone.
Naruko had also tried to seek him out but he wasn't known for eluding the ANBU for nothing. If he wanted to, he could disappear for weeks without anyone finding him - he was that good.
But...
The only person that he couldn't escape anywhere he went was Narumi. The girl could find him no matter where he was in the village and that freaked him out a lot. A three-year-old that could track him down better than any ANBU black ops agent ever could? She would always run away from home whenever she got a chance and hunt him down, much to his annoyance since he had to carefully bring her back near her home; he was not going in that Estate even if he was welcomed.
He didn't hate the girl but her parents could use her to get to him and he shivered at the prospect. He was not ready to talk to them yet.
The villagers also started to treat him better ever since they found out he was the Yondaime's son. But that only made him dislike them more, because they'd put him through hell and just expected everything to be okay after what they did? It had been five days when all of this had started and he didn't know what to think.
"Okay, but I'm here if you need me," Ayame said. She wasn't convinced in the least by his answer and her worries only increased upon seeing bags under his eyes. God, he looked terrible.
"Nii-san~! Nii-san~!"
Oh crap, he forgot about Narumi and her tracking ability. He was going to make a run for it when something bumped and clung to his feet.
"*Sigh* How many times have I told you to stop calling me that, Narumi," Naruto said.
"Up! Up!" Narumi said gleefully, putting her hands up in the air so he could hold her.
Naruto sighed again but picked the little girl up and put her on his lap. He just couldn't hate Narumi; she was way too young to be involved in anything and she was just too adorable.
"Why are you here, Narumi?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.
"For Nii-san!" Narumi said cheerfully.
"How did you get out this time?" Naruto asked as he rolled his eyes. Those babysitters really sucked when it came to looking after the little girl.
"Babysitter say I'm tomato," Narumi pouted cutely. She didn't know many things, but she knew what a tomato was and she didn't like tomatoes.
That wasn't the answer he asked for, but he allowed a ghost of a smile at her antics.
"Want some ramen?" Naruto asked and watched as Narumi's eyes lit up in curiosity.
"Wamen?" Narumi asked.
"Yeah it's really delicious, try some!" Naruto said.
*𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐤*
"Naruto-kun, don't be an Idiot! Narumi's just a little baby, she can't have ramen yet!" Ayame scolded the twelve-year-old as she was listening in on their conversation.
"Ouch, okay!" Naruto said as he rubbed his head. He saw Narumi trying to get a taste of the ramen on the counter and quickly stopped her.
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," Naruko said as she huffed.
"Nawuko-nee-chan!" Narumi shouted happily.
Naruto froze. He just knew this would happen sooner or later. He looked behind him and sighed in relief as he saw Naruko wasn't with anyone else.
"How many times have I told you to stop running out of the house," Naruko scolded as she made her way inside and saw Narumi sitting on her big brothers lap. It was a touching scene and it only made her long for something similar with her brother.
"Naruko," Naruto addressed emotionlessly.
"Nii-san," Naruko greeted back. She didn't care when he looked at her in annoyance.
"Don't call me that," Naruto said irritably.
"No, I'll never stop calling you my nii-san," Naruko said seriously. She meant it too. She would keep calling him her brother until her last breath.
"Tch. I take it you're here for her?" Naruto said indicating to a happy Narumi hopping on his lap and looking around curiously.
"I was, but since I can see she's in good hands, I'll settle for getting some ramen," Naruko said.
She made her way and sat next to an annoyed Naruto, who shifted his seat so he had a bigger distance away from her. But she didn't care, she desperately wanted her brother back and she would endure his worst if it meant obtaining his love.
"What kind of ramen will you have, Naruko-chan?" Ayame asked chirped.
She didn't like Naruko in the beginning, but that all changed when Naruko came to this place looking for Naruto. Ayame was so furious with Naruto's family that she called Naruko to the back room of the restaurant and proceeded to take out her anger on the girl by shouting at her and calling her horrible things
Naruko took it all with tears and never said anything back.
When Ayame had finished shouting, she was treated to a sobbing blonde on her hands and knees, begging for forgiveness. Naruko told her everything, from her parents abandonment of their son, to her finding out she had a brother at the age of seven and trying on many occasions to convince her parents on seeing him, but to no avail; she even tried running away to find Naruto herself but she easily got lost and was treated to scolding from both parents when they found her.
As Ayame heard this she too also cried and apologized for what she said but Naruko said she deserved it and understood. After that they started bonding and Ayame convinced her to not give up on her brother. Naruko thanked her for her support with a bittersweet smile.
Ayame was convinced that they could become a loving brother and sister if they could work out their differences.
"Miso please," Naruko said with a smile, and then looked at her brother with longing.
"...What?" Naruto asked in irritation, noticing Naruko staring at him for far too long.
"N-Nothing...! How are you, Nii-san?" Naruko asked awkwardly.
"None of your business!" Naruto replied.
Ayame frowned. Naruto had the right to be angry, but taking it out on the girl who tried her best to be there for him was a bit much in her opinion. She decided not to voice anything, however.
"O-Okay," Naruko said as her shoulders slumped.
They ate in silence - well, except for Narumi who kept screaming 'What is that!' At anything new to her. When they were finished Naruko felt it was time to leave, she would earn his forgiveness another day because Narumi needed to sleep and Naruto really looked like he didn't want her near him.
"It was nice spending time with you Nii-san," Naruko said as she took a tired Narumi from Naruto.
"Whatever... You should tell your parents that those babysitters are horrible in looking after Narumi," Naruto said.
"They're your parents too, you know?" Naruko said with a frown.
"..."
"*Sigh* Thanks for the advice... Don't forget tomorrow is team placement in the academy. Bye and we love you, Nii-san" Naruko said sadly and then left for the Namikaze Estate.
"I know you're upset Naruto-kun and you have the right to be, but please don't let this change who you are," Ayame said.
"What do you mean, Ayame-chan?" Naruto asked.
"The Naruto-kun I know wouldn't let this stop him. You never give up in what you believe in and you only strive to help anyone you can but there was always one thing that made you different from everyone in this village," Ayame said as she took one of Naruto's hands in hers.
"What made me different?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Even after everything the villagers did to you, the torture, the beatings, the near deaths, you never resulted to violence against them. After everything you've been put through, you never hated the people in this village. You're not like anyone else Naruto. You're the light that counters the darkness, you are the good that defeats evil. You're not someone who hates someone else like this and I pray that day never comes. Hatred is a horrible emotion that could destroy someone and that's the last thing I want for you, Naruto-kun. I'm not saying that you should forgive your family but please don't stick to hating them," Ayame said.
He told her all about his life when she forced it out of him. He was sad that day and she wanted to comfort him in any way possible, so she settled into hearing his whole story, even if she knew most of it from rumours going around. She knew she should heed her own words but she wasn't someone like Naruto and she wasn't going to pretend to be.
"But I do hate the villagers!, after everything they had done to me, you expect me to just simply forgive them!?" Naruto shouted.
Ayame was a little surprised at the blonde's sudden outburst, but she understood why he was like this, the sudden return of his 'family' a few days ago, the constant beating's he gets from the villager's, it was all too much now and Ayame thought that it's best to let the boy alone for now, she doesn't want to make it worse for him by voicing out her opinions and thought's even though she has nothing to do with this in the first place.
"I understand Naruto-kun, I'll still support you no matter what decision you make." Said Ayame.
"...I have to go home, Ayame-chan," Naruto said as he made his way out.
Ayame looked on sadly. Maybe it was hopeless to try and keep Naruto on the straight and narrow after everything he had been through, all that suffering would have change any other man but she knew Naruto was different. Maybe she was wrong, She was surprised when Naruto turned and looked at her with a small smile.
"Thanks," he said softly and Ayame couldn't stop the grin that came to her face, even if she wanted to.
=
"Okay, after long deliberation. I have decided on the Jonin that will be assigned to the passing genin," Minato said
"Team one will consist of..."
"... Since there had to be changes because of the addition of my daughter to the roster, I have decided that Team Seven will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze with Kakashi-"
"I want to be in that squad," Kushina said suddenly as she appeared in the room holding papers.
She had been helping Minato with his paperwork ever since he came back to being Hokage and it left her no time for her children. She desperately wanted to mend the shattered bond she had with her son, she would never stop thinking of herself as a horrible mother until she did. This was the biggest opportunity she had because now she could see Naruto all the time without him hiding from her. She felt so disgusted with herself for being so careless when it came to her baby. If Jiraiya and Tsunade ever showed their faces here, she would make sure to make them suffer but right now, Naruto was more important. She will be there for him and no one was going to stop her, not even her husband.
"Kushina-sama, I've already been pick-" Kakashi was cut off with a glare.
"And I should care why? I want to be on that team," Kushina said looking at Minato seriously. No one even thought of opposing and she was glad for that.
"Kushina, Kakashi was hand pick-" Minato was cut off with Kushina's chakra flaring.
"I don't care if Kami herself was chosen! I want to be on that squad, NOW!" Kushina shouted and everyone knew there was no stopping her; besides, she also had the right to request a squad since she was a qualified Jonin.
"I'm getting a headache," Shikaku said. He understood why Kushina was doing this. When she was pregnant with the twins, she had always expressed her deep love for them before they were even born. So to find out that her own son had a horrible life growing up must have been a huge blow to the loving woman. This was so troublesome.
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𝐀𝐍: 𝐇𝐞𝐲! 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝? 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲/𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!.
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟑,𝟗𝟗𝟏 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬