Hey guys. There are going to be errors in this, because the BETA'd version is in the PAGES format, and I can' open it to change. Will re-upload it at a later date.

Enjoy, Industri

xx

Chapter 6

Naruto

"So Naruto," my dad said, his voice calm. The sort of controlled calm that meant it was only a small while before he blew. I didn't need to know him well to recognise that sort of tone; I had been faced with it many times through my ninja career from friends, teachers... actually pretty much most people. "Care to explain why I came to the Uchiha's this afternoon and found you drunk?" I giggled nervously.

"Would you believe me if I told you that it was Sasuke's idea?" My dad gave me a look that said he clearly wouldn't – which wasn't fair as it was Sasuke's idea. "It was a collective effort." I mumbled. I could see Yondaime's jugular popping threateningly on the right side of his neck.

"Naruto, how could you be so stupid?" he yelled. I flinched back, having not heard him like this before. "If you'd drunk too much, your liver or kidneys could have started to fail; your body is only small it wouldn't be able to handle what an adult can before it started to go wrong. I only left you for an hour. Why couldn't you have just been sensible?"

Yondaime

I'm not sure how long I was yelling at Naruto. But I do know that I had gone around in a circle with my words about three times and was now on my fourth time around. I hadn't even looked at Naruto since the second time and when I did, I saw he wasn't looking at me either. He actually had his knees pulled up to his chest and was looking down at them. He was also shaking. Was my son scared of me? He'd been told off and yelled at many a time by me and others so it shouldn't be any different. Maybe what I'd said to Sandaime earlier was a bit more than coincidence. Naruto was different.

I stopped what I was doing and sat down, lifting Naruto up off the sofa and sitting him on my lap. He didn't look at me, but the shaking increased, though only slightly.

"Naruto..." I started.

"I'm sorry Dad. So, so sorry and I know I shouldn't have done it!" Naruto interrupted before I could say any more. I could hear the clear panic in his voice and couldn't hold back the flinch.

"I know son," I said. "There's something you're keeping from me. I know there is. Earlier, you said you were glad you came here. What does that mean." Naruto visibly flinched, but didn't say anything. I waited patiently for about five minutes. Just as I was about to give up, he spoke.

"This isn't my Konoha," Naruto said, very hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my confusion evident in my voice. As far as I knew, there was only one Konoha, how could he have come from another.

"In my Konoha, I'm an orphan. You died sealing Kyuubi no Kitsune. He was attacking the village and you couldn't kill him. But you could seal him into a newborn – that was me. In exchange, the Shinigami had to take your soul," he stopped here. My mind was going at 100 mph. No, I wouldn't have done that; I wouldn't have left my son to fend for himself. "I was in an orphanage until I was five, but they kicked me out because I was too much of a risk to the other children, so the Sandaime provided me with a flat to live in." I felt a surge of anger rush through me. How dare they throw him out? "When I graduated from the Academy, I was put in a team with Sasuke and Sakura, Kakashi was our sensei. Sasuke's whole family was killed by Itachi – I still don't know the details, so I can't explain that – but he left after the chuunin exams to be with Orochimaru who offered him the strength he needed to kill Itachi." I couldn't imagine this at all. I knew there was nothing more important to Itachi than his family. "After the Sandaime was killed battling Orochimaru, Tsunade took over as Hokage and Jiraiya took me away to train for two years. Basically, when I was training when I arrived back in Konoha, the jutsu caused an explosion and I woke up here. Last night, I woke up from a dream where a goddess came to me and told me this was second chance to be with you. Same for Sasuke as well; he came from my Konoha as well."

I sat there in silence long after Naruto had finished, just trying to absorb everything Naruto had just told me. He'd come from a Konoha that was a completely different world from ours. All because the gods had decided to give him a chance to have the family he'd never had. Without thinking, I stood up and headed down the hall to my study. I sat down in my chair and picked up the picture of Kushina sitting on the desk.

"That's a lot of information to take in," I said, reaching out and running my finger across her cheek bone. In my mind, I could still feel her soft, warm skin under my finger tips and smell the scent of grass that always seemed to cling to her due to the infinite amount of hours she always spent outside. It was comforting. "But he's still Naruto, my son, and he deserves a family more than anyone else in this world."

I stood up and went back into the living room to go and get Naruto. When I got in there and looked at the sofa where he had previously been sitting only to find it empty. I felt every sense heighten as I had that rush of adrenaline along with the overwhelming panic that seemingly always accompanied it. I ran out of the front room and around the whole of the lower floor. Then, I remembered something. I'd attached one of my special seals to the ring on Naruto's dummy which should hopefully still be with him. I flashed through some hand signs and felt that pulling sensation as the seal activated and I was taken to Naruto.

When I stopped, I saw that I was in the nursery and Naruto was sat in the corner of the room. I ran over to him and quickly scooped him up, holding him close to my body.

"Oh, Naruto. Thank God, I thought you had been taken and I hadn't noticed any intruders. Don't you ever disappear like that again," I said. Naruto was completely relaxed in my arms but tensed up as the last few words left my mouth.

"I thought you wouldn't want me anymore," he said. I felt my eyes sting at his words. "I'm not your son."

"Your name is Naruto Namikaze, correct?" I asked. Naruto shook his head. "Uzumaki?" I tried again. He nodded this time. "Then you are my son, always will be. It doesn't matter where you come from, you are always my boy." Naruto's arms found their way around my neck and held on tightly.

I carried him downstairs and deposited him in his high chair while I tried to find something for him to eat. In the fridge was some Miso that I usually used to make ramen with. I knew it was something Naruto would probably eat and he couldn't object as it wasn't actually baby food. I put it into a bowl and warmed it up a little with a jutsu, before picking up a spoon and starting to feed Naruto.

Once again, he didn't put up any objection. I think the real issue was that we were trying to feed him baby food, which he found insulting – and, rightfully, disgusting. I would just have to find other foods that would be suitable for him to eat but was actually 'adult' food.

Once we were done with eating, I took him through to the living room and we curled up onto the sofa together. I could tell the after affects of the sake were still with Naruto and he was getting tired, so I took advantage of his lethargic state and took him upstairs to wash him – which was accomplished with little resistance – and fed him a warm bottle in the nursery before putting him to bed.

I hoped he was going to sleep comfortably through the night this time – no weird dreams to wake him – and, even though it was still quite early evening, wouldn't wake until a decent hour tomorrow.

Then, I went downstairs and back into my study. I sat back down behind my desk and picked up my photo of Kushina again.

"Kushina-chan, I miss you so much," I said as I looked into her brilliant green eyes. I couldn't stop the tears from filling my own. "If what Naruto says is completely accurate, I have to do this all over again – not that I don't want to, he's my son and I love him more than anything in the world – but there were times when I really needed you. And Naruto needed you. But this Naruto, all he needs is for someone to show him the love he was always denied by the looks of it." I sat there in silence for a few minutes before setting the photo back on the desk as I felt a rush of warmth again. "I miss you more and more ever day. You were the best wife there ever could have been and you were going to be an amazing mother. I love you, Kushina-chan."

The tears were flowing rather freely now and I knew the words I had been dreading the last sixteen years were swelling in my throat, waiting to be said. I swallowed and leant forward, kissing the photo gently. "Goodbye love," I whispered. Something inside of me loosened at that moment and I was able to take a deep breath. For sixteen years, I'd held into her, but now she was free and I was able to finally let go.

Nothing would come between Naruto and I this time. Not work or my grief. He would always come first, just like it was always meant to be. This time, I was going to do it right, because Naruto needed me right now.

Standing up, I went round the lower floor, picking up the small mess I'd made in my frantic search for Naruto and sorted through my kitchen in an attempt to find something that he would be willing to eat tomorrow. I sensed another trip to the market coming soon and groaned. What the hell was I going to do with all the baby food I had bought. Maybe I could donate it to the orphanage or find someone with babies that wouldn't mind eating it.

Sighing, I headed upstairs and climbed into bed – the stress of the day and middle of the night interruptions having worn me out almost as much as Naruto.