Discalimer: Kishimoto, fight me.

A/N: I know I didn't update over the weekend like I promised but the proofreading took longer than expected (a one woman editor here TTvTT). I did get around to reading the comments left on my last author's note and you all are so sweet. Honestly. For those who said they feel shy/or don't know how to word their thoughts in a review please don't worry about that. I would never think a review is dumb and I'll understand what you're trying to say. Promise. And yes, I do see them and make sure to reply to everyone's reviews because I like to talk to my readers. I saw that someone was worried their review might go unseen, so just know that I do see them. :)

"It's so hard to find
Someone who's true and kind
Kind in every way like
To my body, soul and mind.
I really like what you've
done to me
I have no clue
what it is you do
But all I know is
I be loving you
But all I know is
I be loving you." ( - Into You. Sydney Renae. /SasuNaru.)

Warning: Un-beta'd (excuse any mistakes.)

Chapter 50 - Cherished.

Naruto straightened up as much as he possibly could on Sasuke's lap and looked him directly in the eyes, unsure if he had heard the Uchiha right. "What.. do you mean? My father.. was friends with your father? Like, they- They knew each other..?" He didn't know why he was asking again because Sasuke had clearly already given him the answer to his question not even a minute ago, but it was just… his brain didn't seem to be processing what Sasuke had disclosed to him too well.

In fact, his mind was in a jumble.

Eyeing the Uchiha intently through honing blue eyes, the nod he received from Sasuke set his heartbeat and adrenaline off.

Sasuke thought it would be best not to say anything more at the moment. He could tell by the bewildered furrow between golden brows that the Uzumaki was struggling to grasp onto the information. 'Shit. I wonder if I should have told him in another way?.. .'

Naruto parted his lips to speak, but gathering words from his brain was turning out to be a difficult task for him. He closed his eyes momentarily, letting the information sink in before he tried again, re-opening his eyes. His brain had finally formulated some kind of response. "W-Wait, b-but how could you know that? I've never heard anything about-"

"My father told me." Sasuke elaborated immediately, the movement of his adam's apple prominent as he swallowed.

"Sasuke," Naruto's brows creased in further. "he told you this when?!" He motioned his hands, gesturing for the raven to give him more than one statement at a damn time.

Sasuke swallowed, again, a small ball of anxiety beginning to build in his gut at the sharpened and demanding look on the Uzumaki's face.

'I guess it would be better to tell him everything I know before he blows a fuse.'

"In bimani ast. Ugh, who is it now?" Deidara muttered under his breath in response to the annoying knock that came at his dressing room door and the make-up artist blending the under-eye concealer in with the natural coloration of his skin giggled. The sigh that left him next expressing his genuine exasperation, he pouted slightly. "I really wish you could feel my pain, Ameno. I swear it never ends for me. I can't even get ready without someone badgering me about 'this' or 'that', un. ..."

"Still, I think you handle it pretty well," Ameno commended with a small smile, her light brown gaze trained on the flawless perfection she was conceiving beneath his teal eyes.

Deidara parted his lips to invite whomever was at his door in, but, of course, before he could even do that, Hidan came barging into his dressing room, in all his contemptuous glory.

"And here I was, trying to be polite 'nd shit, but you had to go and make that difficult for me." Hidan groused, shutting the door behind him and looking over at the blond in the dressing room chair.

Deidara sucked his teeth and Ameno stepped aside so he could see Hidan, giving a slight bow of her head in greeting to Hidan as she did so.

"It's not like you even waited for a damn answer, Hidan," Deidara chastised through his teeth, giving a roll of his eyes.

Hidan clucked his tongue tediously, strolling over to the plush, black sofa in the room across from where Deidara was getting all dolled up for a shoot. "You complain that I don't knock, so I fucking knock, and then you complain that I don't wait for an answer. It's a lose, lose with you, princess."

Deidara knew it was pointless to even argue with him on the matter of 'respect', so he didn't bother. "What do you want, Hidan?" He asked and Ameno went back to attending to his face.

Hidan plopped down on the sofa and reclined back, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. "Why haven't you replied back to Itachi's damn text?"

Deidara rolled his eyes up his head, annoyed. He wouldn't be surprised if they rolled all the way to the back of his skull and stayed stuck there at this point. He didn't feel like being bothered with this shit right before a shoot. It was already difficult enough for him to stay focused on work with everything going on.

"You still haven't decided to go pick up your stuff from his place?" Hidan raised an eyebrow at him.

Deidara felt his eyebrow twitch. "And why is that any of your business, un?"

"It wasn't any of my business until he asked that I relay his message to you," Hidan caught the acute glint of interest that sparked in Deidara's eyes, which let him know that the stubborn 'prima donna' hadn't even taken a look at the text message Itachi had sent him. The guy shouldn't look so hopeful, though. "Not that I'm in the mood to be dealing with this shit either. I do have a busy schedule of my own, bitches to fuck," Eying the make-up artist moving to grab something off of the vanity counter.

Deidara read into his contemplating stare. Hidan didn't want to say too much in front of her.

"It's fine, Hidan," He told him flatly with a sigh, crossing one leg over the other under his robe.

"'Tell him to come pick his shit up by Friday,'" He witnessed the flash of insult flare across Deidara's face, or was it hurt? Well, frankly, he didn't give a shit. "that's what he said."

Ameno inwardly grimaced, stepping back over to Deidara with the setting spray and a couple of hair pins. She felt the sting of those words herself, and they hadn't even been meant for her. So, even Uchiha Itachi could sound that nasty when he was upset? She made certain to act as if she hadn't heard anything as she pinned back the front of blond hair so that Deidara's hair would stay out of the way.

Deidara scoffed humorously, despite the bruised expression on his face and fluster burning along the highs of his cheekbones. "Who does he think he is, un? I'll pick up my stuff whenever the hell I feel like it."

"You don't think he's serious, then?" Hidan mused. He found Deidara's denial to be rather amusing. Of course Itachi was serious.

"No, I don't," Deidara denounced before closing his eyes so that Ameno could spritz his face with the setting spray, and once she was done, he re-opened his eyes and looked at Hidan. "He simply needs some time to cool his head, so I'm giving him that, un."

Hidan's eyes widened, laughably. "Deidara, you have to be shittin' me. Have you forgotten everything you two said to each other in that argument-"

"I was drunk, Hidan."

"Yes, you were drunk. Itachi was not."

"He was angry."

Ameno cleared her throat, nabbing Deidara's attention and he turned his head, glancing at her. "Excuse me for interrupting your conversation, Deidara, but since I'm finished here I'll go let the hair-stylist and everyone else know that you're ready for the first look," She informed him with a small smile and he gave her a nod. She gave a bow of her head to both him and Hidan before leaving out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind her.

Hidan pointed off at the door with a smirk. "Nice tits, that one."

Deidara frowned up his face, making a repulsed sound at Hidan's ill-bred remark about his make-up artist. "As I was saying, Itachi was angry. He just needs some time to cool his head, un."

Hidan directed a finger at the long-haired blond. "Angry and serious, Deidara. Ya'll are not together anymore. I am one-hundred percent certain he broke up with your ass-"

"He can't j-just break up with me!" Deidara fumed, his face igniting redder.

Hidan sighed, putting his arms up on the back of the sofa. Now Deidara was just being a brat. "Actually, he very well can."

Deidara inhaled deeply, working to calm himself and then reclined back in his chair. "No he can't, Hidan, and I'm not buying into it either. ..Once he's cooled his head, I'll go and talk to him, un. Then, we'll get back good and everything will be like it was."

Hidan deadpanned, looking at Deidara as if he had lost his entire mind. The look on Deidara's face looked so convinced that it was eerie. He hadn't thought much on it before because he hadn't thought it was genuinely something that deep to ponder on, but did Deidara truthfully love Itachi that much? He and Yahiko hadn't suspected that Deidara and Itachi's feelings for each other were anything serious since they had known for years that Deidara and Itachi fucked around from time to time, but that was all it was.

Fucking around.

They hadn't thought it was anything more than friends who screwed on occasion. They hadn't believed for one second that Itachi and Deidara were actually in love.

However, right now, it seemed as if Deidara at least harbored something deeper for Itachi. Did he love him that much that he had no plans on letting Itachi go, romantically? Did Deidara not realize what it was doing to his and Itachi's friendship?

"Deidara, you can't possibly believe that," Hidan's facial expression was solid. "Have you forgotten the fucked up shit you two said to each other that night? He said that he was tired of you. That you disgusted him. I don't think Itachi is even considering getting back together with you, and even if he was, do you honestly believe that things can go back to how they were before, Deidara?"

Deidara bit at the inside of his lower lip, the conviction on his face wavering slightly. Of course he hadn't forgotten. He regretted that night more than anything. "I can…," He took a pause, allowing himself to take a deep breath in before he swallowed and exhaled. "forgive him for what he said in the heat of the moment."

Hidan stared him directly in the eyes. "Yes, but I don't think he can forgive what you did, Deidara. You did openly admit to cheating on him."

Deidara couldn't even ignore the dread and guilt he felt beginning to fill his gut.

"What happened with him anyway?" Hidan asked, breaking the silence and a blond eyebrow rose in confusion. "Red head?"

Deidara averted his eyes off to the side. "…I've spoken to him, un."

Hidan shook his head, finding that to be comical. "So, you're still in contact with him?" He read Deidara's silence loud and clear. If he cared for Itachi as much as he said he did, he would have never talked to his little fuck-toy ever again. It was almost like Deidara knew how fucked up that was, hence his silence, but he didn't care all that much. Hidan breathed out, tipping his head back. "…Deidara, you're really something else."

"It wasn't like that, Hidan!" Deidara quickly contended, turning his gaze back on him. "I.. had to make sure he was okay, un. He's in the hospital, you know? He's got a dislocated jaw thanks to either you or Itachi-"

Hidan erupted into laughter, throwing himself forward. "No fuckin' way! Seriously?!" The glare that appeared on Deidara's only brought him to cackle harder. "Well if that's the case, Itachi is definitely the culprit! That punch was something mighty! Haaa, man…," He wiped at his eyes, unfazed by the look on the blue-eyed model's face.

Deidara stared at the platinum-haired man in distaste. "Yeah, you would laugh at some shit like that, too. I don't think there's anything funny about him being hospitalized for a dislocated jaw, un."

Hidan smirked, still coming down from his fit of hysteria. "Of course you wouldn't since he was the one screwin' your brains out."

Deidara flinched back at Hidan's choice of words and his face flushed red, out of annoyance, frustration, and maybe shame.

"I would assume he was better than Itachi, seeing as you were so ready to 'risk it all' for him. Although, I didn't think that was possible," Hidan stroked his chin in mock of wonder, arching a brow. He couldn't deny that he just wanted to get under Deidara's skin right now. "Especially with the gossip I've heard from both women and men who have dealt with Uchiha Itachi. They say Itachi's a gift from God when it comes to dick-game. A complete pleasure God."

"He…" Deidara went quiet, bringing his thumb and finger to the bridge of his nose, and then let out a loud groan. Why was he even answering this? "Of course he wasn't better than Itachi, un. How could anyone be?" If anything he desired for Itachi to be the one screwing his brains out right now.

Hidan sighed, taking his feet off of the coffee table. Eh, that was no fun. He wasn't expecting Deidara to react so ..compliantly. "Deidara, we'll go and get your shit whenever you're free next week. So let me know what day works best for you." He concluded, getting up from the sofa.

Taking his fingers away from the bridge of his nose, Deidara felt his eyebrow twitch. "Hidan-"

"Even if I have to drag you there, princess," Hidan started toward the door. "And that's the end of it."

"I don't need a fucking chaperone, Hidan!"

"We'll you're getting one," Hidan stopped before he touched the door handle and turned his head, his scowl not at all harsh. "at least to make sure you two get your friendship back on track." He voiced before leaving out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Deidara's eyes widened at the door.

…Their friendship?

He hadn't even thought about that. He tried to breathe easy and tipped his head back, staring up at the ceiling. Was that what Hidan was so worried about? That was ridiculous. Of course he and Itachi would still be friends.. .

Right?

It wasn't long before a knock came at his dressing room door and he lifted his head, shaking off the uneasy feeling that overtook his heart.

"Hello, Deidara-san! Can I just say, I'm so excited to be taking care of you today!" His hair-stylist for this shoot gleamed after coming into the room, the wardrobe crew bustling in after her.

"Thank you very much, un. I'm excited as well, to be working with someone as skilled and praised as you," Deidara showed her a friendly smile and she blushed hard as she stood in front of him.

"Your hair is so beautiful," She gushed, the loud commotion of the others in the room preparing his first outfit in the background and Deidara played modest. She turned his chair so that he was facing the mirror of the vanity and her eyes glimmered in reflection of the long locks flowing like a pure, gold water-fall down his shoulders. "You have been deemed the most beautiful person in the universe for this issue, why not bask in it? No?"

Deidara looked back at himself through the mirror as his stylist began taking the pins out of the front of his hair.

The most beautiful person in the universe.

So, why didn't he feel like it?

"We're done. You disgust me. So, get the fuck out. And you can cry over the fact that after this I'll be calling over three of the millions of models I have on reserve that happen to be twice as gorgeous as you are, and that I'm going to fuck them all in the same bed that I fucked you in."

If anything, he felt like the ugliest person in the universe right now.

"My person is soft, like the white snowflakes,"

"That person is hurting me! Oh.., the wind blows, and it seems like it'll take you far away! So, I am protecting you by your side, again, today!" Menma's cheeks were stained red as he sang along in Korean to the ending theme of drama playing on the TV in the living room. He had never been this emotionally invested in a drama series in his entire life.

He wiped at his teary eyes and sniffled, forcing his dramatics. "This is so sad, ..she deserves so much. It's gonna suck when she finds out that's not even her brother," With another sniffle through his nose, he raised his shoulders and threw his hands out to either side of himself. "Bruh, it's gone be over then. Everything is gon' be over."

Iruka stifled a laugh from where he stood behind the sofa and Menma stiffened in surprise before he quickly turned his head to look at the man.

"Oh! It's you, Dad! You're back," He sighed in relief, puffing out his cheeks and his father flashed him a playful smile. "I didn't hear you come in, you know? You scared the heck out of me. .." He admitted through a quiet murmur, putting a hand over his heart. Fuck, why did he have to sneak up on him like that?

"I'm sorry, but you seemed so into what you were watching that I didn't want to interrupt," Iruka replied with a chuckle, reaching his hand into the side of the Uzumaki's hair and ruffling the dark, disheveled locks. "Since when have you been into these romance dramas, hm? I could've sworn you found them to be 'lame' and 'boring' not that long ago," He inquired humorously, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I guess..," Menma felt his face warm as he averted his gaze from his father's. "..I got curious about them one day, and after actually watching a few, I realized they're not as lame as I thought they were," He responded and the prolonged hum that left his father was one of amusement. He could tell, and for some reason it made him feel kind of embarrassed.

Iruka drew his fingers out of Menma's hair, intrigued by the boy's sudden new interest in this kind of thing. "Really?"

His blue eyes on the TV, Menma picked up the remote beside him on the sofa and turned the volume down. "I don't know.., I just see them differently than I did before. They're actually pretty good and enjoyable, and every one of them is different from the other, Dad. Did you know that? It's so interesting how.. every drama depicts a different form and meaning of love," He spoke unabashedly and the look that started to work its way onto his face expressed just how complex he still found the whole concept of 'love' to be, himself. He was still trying to understand it. He couldn't figure out why he had this urge inside of him to understand it, but it wasn't a feeling he could say he disliked. He was actually quite fond of it.

Iruka leaned forward a bit to get a look at Menma's face and his eyes grew wide. The expression on the Uzumaki's face was one he recognized all too well, but it wasn't one he had ever expected from Uzumaki Menma, the kid who found love to be such a 'ridiculous' and 'bothersome' thing.

Was it possible that Menma perhaps had someone he... liked?

"Wouldn't you rather him fall in love and have sex with just that one person than him have multiple partners? I know I would." Kakashi voiced, honestly.

"And if he brings home some asshole or someone j-just.. terrible?" Iruka turned back to Kakashi. "What then?"

Leaning up and placing his hand on Iruka's leg, Kakashi worked to soothe his 'dolphin.' "I believe that whoever he chooses you should trust his judgement, even if it turns out to be a mistake, Iruka. It'll be a mistake he'll learn from."

Iruka knew Kakashi was right, but he still hated the thought. He didn't want to think about Menma growing up. His eyes soft, he frowned dejectedly. "You're so lenient with him, why? He's just a baby."

However, the look on his face right now wasn't that of a 'baby' and the yearning in his voice wasn't that of a child, but one of a young man experiencing something internally, in his heart. He wondered if Menma was aware of that himself. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't checked the boy's cell phone in a while, like he had normally done before to make sure Menma wasn't up to anything out of pocket. Who could have possibly caused this change in Menma?

"-Dad?! Did you hear what I said?" Menma damn near shouted, breaking the man out of his own head.

"Oh, h-huh? No. Sorry about that," Iruka laughed out, sheepishly, and then reached up into his hair, freeing his locks from the ponytail they were in. "It's really hot out, so I was taking in the AC."

Menma mouthed an 'ah' and nodded. That was why he hadn't taken his ass outside today and good thing because from the alert he saw at the bottom of the screen on the television, there was a heat-wave going on right now. He could imagine it felt like hell itself. "I asked you what you're making for dinner tonight?"

"I don't think I'm going to cook anything tonight," Iruka walked around to the front of the sofa and plopped down on it next to Menma. "What I was thinkin' was that we would go out to eat. Kakashi gets off early today, so I thought it would be nice to have a family night out tonight, especially since it's supposed to cool down later," He looked at him with a smile. "What do you think?"

Menma shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm up for it. As long as I get to eat as much seafood as I want," He wiggled his eyebrows at his father.

"Yes, boy. Whatever you like—Ah! Damn it, I almost forgot!" He snapped his fingers together in remembrance before pointing to the teenager. "I need to you to go around the corner and grab those oysters from Darui. He bought a little more than they actually needed and when I drove by his place this mornin' he asked me if I could take some off his hands, but I was on my way to work so I told him you'd come by and grab 'em later on. So go and take your behind around there."

His mouth dropping open, Menma's brow furrowed. "Me?! C'mon, Dad!" He moaned out in despair, but the man's stare simply narrowed at him, sternly. "Aw, but it's so frickin' hot out! Like, out there could probably be mistaken for the damn bowels of hell itself!"

Iruka snorted, laughter crawling up his throat at the melodramatic display of praying the boy started doing beside him, but his facial expression stayed harsh. "Aye, what did I tell you about that cursin'?" He chastised, slapping the teenager in the arm and Menma grimaced. "Now, get your ass up and go around there."

"Oh my God.., it's too hot!" Menma groaned out, taking his sweet ass time getting up off the sofa.

"Menma, you better get a move on because if I have to repeat myself for a third time, there's going to be a problem. Please don't test me today."

"Fuck, this ain't fair," Menma strolled up to the Kumogakure residence, fanning at his face with his hand and was not at all surprised by what greeted him in the driveway.

A broad back bent over and a firm, sinewy-built pair of arms buried elbows-deep into the hood of a glistening, white Land Rover.

Darui was a guy who probably took more pride in the welfare of his cars than he did in the pretty-okay-ish job he had done in raising his younger brother, Omoi.

Menma watched the guy work for a moment before he finally decided to call out to him as he walked passed the driveway and headed for the front steps of the house. "Yo, Darui! My dad sent me to pick up the oysters!"

The frosty haired man turned his head over his shoulder and glanced at him, shooting him a faint, affirming grin. "How's it going, whisker-face? It's been a while since I've seen you 'round here," His gravelly voice remarked as he leaned up out of the hood of his Land Rover a bit to get a better look at the kid. "It seems ya got somewhat taller since I last saw ya as well,"

Menma pursed his mouth, picking up on the 'mock' in his voice right away. "Oh ha-ha. You better watch it! I'll be taller than you one of these days, old man," He warned through his teeth, bringing his arms across his chest.

Darui laughed, nodding in surrender and then put his aloof gaze back into the hood of the precious vehicle. "Still so mouthy. If I was your tutor I'd need a damn holiday away from you as well. Oysters 're in the fridge!"

His narrowed cobalt eyes rolled in his head, and with a scoff, he moved to start up the steps of the house, but this small, itty-bitty voice in the back of his head made him think twice about that. Then he stopped, on the third step. He turned back to Darui, nibbling at the inside of his bottom lip in a fit of reluctance. In all honesty, he wanted to avoid any and every kind of temptation. "C-Can you," He paused, nudging his thumb in the direction of the house door. "Could you go and get them for me, ..please?"

Darui didn't even spare the kid a glance, his focus fixed on the greasy inside of his car. "A little busy here, whisker-face! They're in the 'fridge, blue container!"

Menma's mouth tightened in annoyance, and all he could do was inwardly curse as he stormed his way up the rest of the steps and into the AC chilled house. He slid his sandals off at the genkan and stayed there for a moment, hearing the sound of the television on in the living room and the frustrated, husky voice accompanying it.

He breathed in, his fists balled in determination.

His only objective was the kitchen, so he went straight for it, ignoring the glimpse he caught of a certain frosty-haired, university student sitting on the couch with a video game controller in his grasp as he rushed passed the living room. He rounded the kitchen island and strolled over to the refrigerator, opening the left side of it.

However, when he looked inside, there were about four blue containers in the damn thing.

He ran his fingers through his hair, glaring at the containers. Oh, God had to be testing him right now.

He huffed, giving a roll of his eyes and shut the refrigerator door. He didn't have much of a choice at this point. He left out of the kitchen and peeked his head into the living room, his eyes almost immediately drawn to a bare and tension-stricken, muscular arm.

He shut his eyes and swallowed. 'This is NOT what you are here for, dumb ass!' Re-opening his eyes, Menma spotted the guy's lean jaw clenched up and the lollipop in his mouth bulged against the side of his cheek as the guy cursed at the flat screen, or rather at the UFC game he was playing on it. Menma just might ask him if he could borrow that game now that he thought about it, but back to the mission at-hand.

"Omoi," He called out, his tone casual and Omoi looked to his voice with an eyebrow cocked.

"Oh. Yeah? What' up, Tater Tot?" He turned his dark, accentuated eyes back to the television and continued on with his game.

Menma scowled at the horrid nickname, which Omoi clearly refused to dispose of anytime soon. "My dad sent me to get the oysters. Which container do I take?"

Omoi snickered, picking up on the irritation in the fifteen year old's voice. "Top shelf, to your left. The biggest one."

Menma walked away with a frown and went back into the kitchen.

The nerve of him to still be calling him 'tater tot' when he had grown at least three full inches within the last two weeks!

He opened the refrigerator door with his cheeks puffed out and reached into the chilled space, taking out the big, blue container to his left and closed the door back with his foot. Shizune promised him that he would shoot up in no time, but that did nothing to douse the agitation he felt on the matter.

He huffed and turned around to see Omoi with his lower back leaning against the side of the kitchen island, his hands propped behind him on the granite surface and lax stare fixed on him.

"What, dip-shit?" Menma clipped, setting the container down on his end of the kitchen island, his cobalt eyes glaring at the older male.

Omoi's face showed a look of expectancy rather than one of offense. "A thank you would've been nice."

Menma shrugged his shoulders, not really giving a shit. "And calling me 'tater tot' was not."

Swapping the lollipop in his mouth over to his right cheek, Omoi propelled himself from the side of the island and strode over to the Uzumaki. He lowered his gaze down passed sultry features and onto that naturally pouty mouth, and then onto the white, short-sleeve midriff Menma wore, the shirt hovering right above a pierced navel and the tight pair of camo-print, midi shorts that rode high on that slender waist, the pieces of clothing far more seducing than they should be.

He couldn't believe he almost forgot how damn fucking sexy Menma was, and then there was something different about him. He didn't know how to explain it, but something about him was more mature, and 'what' began to harden in Omoi's basketball shorts liked something about that.

There was definitely something different about the Uzumaki, and notably the kid had gotten hotter than when he had last saw him, which he didn't expect to be possible.

Menma wasn't blind to the glint in Omoi's wandering gaze. The man was damn near undressing him with his fucking eyes. Although, it wasn't a look he was annoyed by. It was rather one he had been craving for a while, which was why he hadn't wanted to come into the house in the first place. He was weak to this.

He turned to him fully and looked up at him, admiring the university student's imposing height, firm build and refined features.

Omoi put his arm on the island counter and leaned down onto it so that he was looking Menma right in the face, eye to eye. "I haven't heard from you in a while, Menma. Where've you been lately?" He asked, directly.

"What? Did you miss me or somethin'?" Menma said cheekily, grabbing the stick hanging outside of Omoi's lips and alabaster brows furrowed as he plucked the lollipop out of his mouth and took it for himself. "I'm sure you could have found some cute, little idiot on your campus that would love to suck your dick," He gibed, closing his lips around the raspberry flavored lollipop and giving the candy a nice, long suck.

Omoi watched the way Menma sucked on his lolli' and ached to thrust something bigger than a lollipop into that sexy, plump mouth of his. Such pretty lips. "I could have, but that would take too much effort," He took hold of the lollipop stick hanging out of Menma's mouth and toyed with it, stirring it around in the warm cavern. "and you..," He let go of the stick and instead reached his hand behind the Uzumaki, settling it just above the curve of Menma's ass. "don't." He determined, his fingers caressing the material of the Uzumaki's shorts.

Menma had to admit that, that stung a bit, but it was true. A lot of the 'friends' he had were there for his own convenience as well, Omoi being at the top of his list, so it would be hypocritical of him to be pissed off by what he said, even if it was how he honestly felt. Usually when shit like that was said to him it never bothered him, but maybe how he felt right now was because it had been a while since he fucked around with one of his 'usual friends'. Maybe time had made him …soft?

He and Omoi had been fucking around with each other for the longest, so he was used to the way he talked. His feelings weren't hurt, but for some reason he wondered if this was how Itachi had thought of him in the beginning. He didn't know why he was having that thought, specifically, but it made him feel kind of.. bad about himself. What the hell?

He felt Omoi firmly grope his ass and breathed out in exasperation before grabbing Omoi's hand and removing it off of him.

"Oh c'mon, Menma."

"I can't, Omoi. If I stay too long my Dad will be pissed," He told him, although as more of an excuse, but it was still the truth. Besides, it had been so long since he had done something like this and.. he kind of didn't want to revert back to this.

Omoi, however, felt like he could see right through the Uzumaki's bullshit. "Seriously, Menma? When has your father being upset with you ever stopped you before," He remarked and Menma frowned at him. "Don't tell me.., you've got someone..?" He inquired, laughably.

"Not someone like that, but yeah. Kinda. I agreed I wouldn't have sex with anyone but them, so I really can't." She would kill him, and she explained that to him in very graphic detail.

Omoi saw that Menma looked completely serious and started laughing, leaning up off the counter. "Holy shit, hell must have frozen over! I swear, you have me right now. I'm waiting for you to tell me you're bullshittin' around, tater tot!"

Menma glared up at him.

"Menma."

"Piss off!"

"Alright, alright. I believe you," Omoi raised his hands in surrender, his laughter dying. "But, come on," He reached down, pulling the lollipop out of the Uzumaki's mouth and put it down on the counter. He then pressed his thumb against Menma's mouth, the feel of those soft, cherry-red lips making his hard-on turn to full on 'steel.' "don't tell me 'this' is off limits as well?"

Menma said nothing for a moment, watching the blistering desire flicker in Omoi's stare. He leaned away from the nineteen year old's thumb and looked at him, pointedly. "That's all you want? If so, it's all you can get, and I mean that shit, Omoi."

"Yes, yes," Omoi grabbed the container of oysters, taking it and putting it back in the fridge. "I can settle with just that, so let's do that," He shut the door after sliding the container back onto the top shelf and sauntered back over to the younger teen.

Menma stared up in amusement at the enraptured stare fixed on him, Omoi's obsidian eyes damn near undressing him on the spot, like before.

Omoi touched his face, slipping his hands up either side of the Uzumaki's jaw, his fingers settling behind Menma's ears underneath dark, strewn hair.

Menma rolled his eyes flatly as the guy said nothing, just stared at him in silence, as if he had forgotten what his face even looked like before today.

"Nah, maybe you haven't changed much. You're still as vicious as before," Omoi said in a low laugh before ducking his head low and kissing him.

This was certainly something Menma was used to, but he couldn't ignore the fact that for some odd reason the kiss didn't.. feel as good as it used to. It's a realization that startles him a bit. It's a realization that makes him feel uneasy.

Kissing him back, he focused on the feeling of Omoi's mouth on his and curled his tongue around the older male's, in urge to force the fucking thrill he was used to feeling in moments like this.

Omoi pulled away just enough to suckle at Menma's bottom lip, in love with how plump and pouty the fifteen year old's mouth was, before pulling back completely and reaching behind Menma to grope his ass in the both of his hands.

He peered into sharp hues of blue, the color of Menma's irises as piercing as usual. He gave a half-smirk, squeezing Menma's ass. "You're really only going to blow me? I feel like you're fuckin' with me," He said, his eyebrows quirked skeptically.

"I'm fucking not, Omoi!" He snapped, reaching back and grabbing at the hands on his ass. The guy was beginning to annoy him because he was talking as if him not having sex with him was impossible for Menma to accomplish. He wasn't that weak to this motherfucker's dick. He tried to take Omoi's hands off his ass, but Omoi had a strong grip on him and wasn't letting up. "Nah, get the fuck off of me, I'm going home."

"Ard, ard! Chill," Omoi drew Menma closer by the hold he had on his ass, trying to sound apologetic, although he was snickering. "I get it. Let's go upstairs, okay?" He hadn't even waited for the Uzumaki to agree before he was lifting Menma up off the floor by the back of his thighs as if he weighed nothing.

Menma clicked his tongue, despite locking his legs around the university student's waist. "You better pray you're still getting your dick sucked because—Ugh, I swear- ..You love pissin' me the fuck off, don't you?" He grabbed Omoi by the throat, his fingers threatening to apply pressure.

Omoi tipped his head back and smirked wide. "Yeah, I kinda do. I love it when you be on that aggressive shit. It's sexy as hell," He closed a toned arm around Menma's middle before he started moving for the staircase.

"It's far beyond what we would call realistic, so I don't know how well it's going to work out for him," Shizune laughed, handing Phoenix's drawing over to blonde-haired Uzumaki in her office.

Naruto laughed as well, taking a look at the playground contraption drawn. "I'm sure I can work something out for him,"

He expected as much from Phoenix. His eyes wandering the inept and gaudy 'blue-print' of what looked more like a theme park ride rather than something that could fit in a backyard, Naruto sat down on the settee bench in the room, admiring the child's illustration.

So, this was why the boy asked if he could have a little more time to finish. Naruto had come by and collected all the other kids' 'blue-prints' a few days ago, but Phoenix had requested a little more time to finish his up. Naruto was impressed. The kid had quite the imagination. Or was it that the boy yearned for this so badly, as if this was the only chance in life he would ever get for it, that he really put all his effort into it?

There was this heavy tug at Naruto's heart. He remembered what it was like for him when he was a kid and prayed for things that never seemed to happen for him. He felt like the universe had been against him for so long as a child, but now he had the chance to do what hadn't been done for him. He had a chance to show the kids that the universe wasn't against them. That they mattered in the world. That they were loved just as much as everyone else. That they were just asimportant as everyone else living on this earth, despite their circumstances.

He lowered the drawing down onto his lap, his eyes never leaving the drawing, but his mind was starting to go elsewhere.

"It.. It was a while ago, back when I was looking for a manager for Daisuke. I had gone to ask my father for some advice on the matter and in his office there was a photo that caught my eye. I naturally began to notice the resemblance of the person in the photo next to my father. He looked like you.. somewhat," Sasuke went onto explain, licking over his bottom lip, maybe out of nervousness. Naruto couldn't tell. "The blond hair, the blue eyes, it was all too much of a coincidence. ..So, I asked my father and that's when he told me the person was Namikaze Minato, your father."

Naruto said nothing, the surge of emotions that began to wriggle up inside of him catching a hold of his tongue.

"Although, I could tell it wasn't something he wanted to share with me. I don't even think he expected for anyone to take notice of the photo," Sasuke said in almost a whisper, appearing to be treading lightly with the information he was sharing with Naruto.

Naruto was quiet as he started getting up off of Sasuke's lap and the Uchiha's gaze followed him, attentively. He then released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and slid his fingers back through his hair, trying to get a grasp on one of the many thoughts circling around in his head. "Why are you just now telling me this, Sasuke?" He finally asked, somewhat irritated. "This is something you should have told me right away. Why would you wait this long-"

"—Naruto, I had no idea how to tell you," Sasuke stated immediately, cutting him off. "I didn't know the right time or the right way—You were already under a lot of stress when it came to your mother- "

"That doesn't matter, Sasuke," His voice starting rear and eyes slightly glaring into Sasuke's. The fact that Sasuke had kept something so important away from him was.. hurtful? Deceitful? Ugh, he didn't know how to describe the feeling inside of him right now, but it for damn sure felt painful. "No matter what I was going through at the time, you should've told me. I would've liked to know something t-that—That significant, Sasuke." He said to him, working to keep his voice down because he didn't want Daisuke to think they were arguing.

"Well I'm sorry," Sasuke apologized, the look in his eyes genuine, along with a glint of worry. "But I didn't know how to handle telling you, Naruto. You're.. You're not angry with me, are you?"

Closing his eyes, Naruto leaned his lower back against the computer desk and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, massaging the skin there, in hopes that the ministration would help him sort though his thoughts. "No, ..I'm not ...upset with you," He re-opened his eyes, dropping his fingers from his face and sighing out, "I'm just... I'm a little bit annoyed, and I—I don't know how to feel if I'm being completely honest." He admitted, taking in the intent expression on Sasuke's face.

He stayed silent for a moment, and so did Sasuke.

Fugaku had known his father.

"...Friends, right? How exactly did they know each other?" Naruto asked eventually, breaking the silence and he could see the Uchiha swallow before giving him an answer.

"It appears they went to school together, from the photo that I saw."

The feeling of fingers threading through his hair disrupting the chaos going on in his mind, Naruto raised his eyes from the drawing and Shizune stood above him, her expression soft, but concerned.

"You know, if you need to talk, I'm here to listen, kiddo," She voiced softly, her gentle fingertips caressing his scalp.

Naruto stayed quiet for a moment, lowering his eyes, and then gave a small nod.

Shizune drew her fingers from his hair and took a seat beside him on the settee. "What is it that's bothering you, Naruto? You're so in your head right now, and I can tell."

Naruto laughed a bit and shook his head before looking over at her. "Wow, .. it's kinda crazy how you can still tell, Nee-chan. I'm not even a kid anymore..,"

"Yeah, well, even though you've grown older, that much still hasn't changed about you," She touched his shoulder, her gaze inquiring. "What's bothering you, hm? Or am I prying?"

"Huh?—No," Naruto responded immediately with a firm shake of his head. "Of course you're not, Nee-chan. I've always liked that I can talk to you about anything, and even if you were prying you know I wouldn't really mind it at all."

Shizune could feel this fuzzy warmth spreading throughout her chest as she heard that. Naruto really hadn't changed after all these years, and that honestly made her happy because she had hoped and prayed he wouldn't become a guarded person. That was often the end result for children born into circumstances such as his, which was understandable to someone like her, but it seemed Naruto was still a person who wore most of his heart on his sleeve. "So, what's up? What is it you're thinking about so deeply?" She asked.

Naruto's fingers began to fiddle with the corner of the paper in his lap. "Sasuke withheld some information from me about my father—my biological father," He answered and Shizune's eyebrows arose in surprise. "and.. I don't know, I guess…it's bothering me a lot,"

"It's more than 'bothering' you, right? You're upset about it," Shizune inferred, knowing him all too well. She was surprised to hear that Sasuke knew anything about Naruto's birth father, but she was glad that Naruto was getting to know more about who his biological parents were since more often than not, many orphans didn't get that opportunity. The universe certainly worked in the most mysterious ways.

Naruto groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face and then dropped them from his face with a sigh. "A little, yeah. Even though, I told him I wasn't mad, but I can't help feeling a little pissed. But shouldn't I be, Nee-chan?" He looked at her with a pair of doey eyes in hopes of receiving some kind of affirmation that he wasn't blowing this out of proportion. "Isn't it only natural for me to be pissed about something like this?"

Shizune nodded, understanding the honest uncertainty in his voice. "Well, I don't think I really have the right to say if how you feel is wrong or not because what you're going through is something I've never gone through, myself. With that being said, I feel you're entitled to feel however you want on the matter," She expressed and she could see that Naruto took that as affirmation by his cease of fiddling with the paper. "But," She added quickly, putting her hand on his shoulder and Naruto looked her in the face with a willing gaze. "I don't think Sasuke meant any ill-intent by keeping the information from you-"

"-No, I get that! Of course not!" Naruto punctuated, moving his hands in refute. "I didn't think he did, Nee-chan, and I would never think he'd do that-"

"Then, tell me, why is it you're feeling upset with him, Naruto?"

"I…," He started, but then stopped, his brow beginning to crease. He felt conflicted now. Shizune's question had thrown him off, but eventually he realized that's what she meant to do. To get him to seriously think about what it was he was feeling exactly. He sighed, once again, brushing his fingers through his hair and his leg began bouncing in reaction to the internal frustration spinning in his head. "..I don't know, it's just—Ugh, I don't think I'm really upset with Sasuke. I'm upset with him thinking that I'm some delicate child that can't handle anything. I can't stand it when people keep important information from me, especially something so personal. I'm not some fragile object like glass or china that will break easily damn it," He gritted out, feeling like he had finally released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

The corners of Shizune's mouth twitched up. "I see that much hasn't changed about you either,"

Naruto scowled slightly, a pout claiming his lips as he stared at her and she giggled at the look on his face.

"Did he tell you the reason? The reason why he kept it from you?"

"He said, because I was already stressed enough when it came to my mother," He uttered with a huff of his breath. "But-"

"Nuh-uh," Shizune cut him off with a raise of her hand, the tone of her voice admonishing. "I don't need to hear anymore. The reason explains itself clear as day, and yet, you've failed to realize that, Naruto. His reasoning is something you should be very grateful for," She brought to light and Naruto's expression furrowed in genuine confusion. Shizune reached over, settling her hand in blonde hair and began to smile at him. Naruto was hopeless when it came to seeing that he was misreading someone's pure intentions and she remembered how often it caused him to make issues bigger than they actually were when he was a child. "Naruto, he didn't want to overwhelm you. He saw how much of a hard time you were having when it came to your mother, so he decided to wait it out and tell you when he felt like you were prepared to handle it. ..You also have to understand that this probably isn't something he's ever had to deal with before, withholding delicate information when it comes to an orphan's parentage. That had to be so hard for him to keep to himself,"

The confused expression on Naruto's face receded and his blue eyes seemed to glimmer in sudden realization.

"And it shows how much he cares about you, and even your mental state. He didn't want you under anymore stress, and that's something you've got to give him credit for, Naruto," She witnessed the guilt appear in Naruto's eyes and she didn't like it. The last thing she was trying to do was make Naruto feel bad about how he reacted. She only wanted to get him to understand Sasuke's intentions.

That Sasuke hadn't been trying to hurt him.

She slipped her hand from his hair, down to the side of his face and caressed his cheek, hoping that the feel of some tenderness would alleviate the guilt from his chest. "He loves you, Naruto, ..and he didn't keep it from you because he thought you were weak, or fragile. Because you're right, you're not some object that can be broken easily," She spoke gently, Naruto leaning into her touch. "But it's okay to handle you with care."

Naruto felt those words dawn on the inside of his chest, cloaking his heart like a comforting blanket and his entire mindset on the matter of Sasuke keeping information about his father from him changed. He didn't feel… upset about it anymore. He didn't feel annoyed with Sasuke anymore.

He felt… cherished.

He had been upset and annoyed about it because it was his first line of defense because he had automatically thought that Sasuke was treating him like a feeble child. He hadn't thought that maybe Sasuke was just trying to lessen the turmoil in his mind and now he felt bad.

"Don't be upset with him, alright?" Shizune advised,lifting her hand off of his cheek and brushing only her thumb back and forth over his whiskered cheek. "I'm sure poor Sasuke was dreading that wrath of yours, even when he believed he was helping you," She gibed playfully, giving his cheek a light pinch.

Naruto laughed lightly, feeling remorseful. "Yeah, I hear ya. …I wonder if a mostly tomato-based dinner will serve as a good enough apology," He murmured, looking off to the side with a pout on his face and Shizune laughed.

"So his love for tomatoes is still as strong as I remember it to be, huh?"

"Yup. Unfortunately for me, it is."

"Naruto, he didn't want to overwhelm you. He saw how much of a hard time you were having when it came to your mother, so he decided to wait it out and tell you when he felt like you were prepared to handle it. ..You also have to understand that this isn't something he's ever had to deal with before, withholding delicate information when it comes to an orphan's parentage. That had to be so hard for him to keep to himself."

Naruto sat in deep thought in the seclusion of his car as he eyed the stop-light ahead of him through the windshield. He was supposed to be on his way back to Sasuke's place, but there was still so much he wanted answered.

He leveled the traffic light a narrowed look, the music playing through the car stereo drowning out in his ears.

He was sick of this.

He was sick of everyone else knowing more about him than himself. He had a right to know everything, down to the tiniest, trivial details! He deserved to know where it was he came from!

He chewed on his bottom lip out of frustration, and once the traffic-light changed to blue, he made the very conscious decision to make a U-turn and started driving in the opposite direction of Sasuke's place.

He had to do this himself.

His grip on the steering-wheel tightening, he headed for the outskirts of Tokyo, the sun high in the sky, beaming brightly over the city and through the azure horizon.

Naruto finished parking the car before taking his keys out of the ignition and opening the driver's side door, stepping out of the car.

He looked to the doors of the Uchiha mansion, determined to get all the information he wanted from the man who seemed to hold the keys to just about every-damn-person-he-came-into-contact-with's past and future.

Naruto walked across the expanse of the curving pathway and approached the grand doors, only having to wait a few moments before the left side of the doors came open.

Like when anyone who arrived on Uchiha property, one would have to use the gate intercom in order to be let in, so of course, there was no reason to go through the trouble of ringing the doorbell since either Mikoto or a worker was already notified of one's arrival.

The young man who opened the door for him stepped aside to let him in with a welcoming expression gracing his face. "Good afternoon, Uzumaki-kun. It's not everyday we get a visit like this from you. We've quite missed your liveliness around here," He smiled, closing the door after Naruto walked in and then went over to the large closet beside the genkan area to grab Naruto a pair of clean 'house' slippers.

"Aw, really? ..Well if this place wasn't so far out I'd love to stop by everyday," He assured with a slight laugh, removing his sandals in the genkan. "I guess I.. really wanted to see Papa-Fu today, so here I am," He turned to the servant approaching him with a pair of slippers and showed him a grin as he took them, hiding his inner frustration well. He wondered how much Fugaku would actually tell him if he demanded to know.. .

Would he tell him anything at all, even?

"Ah, Fugaku-sama?" The young man watched Naruto slip on the slippers, an eyebrow raising. "You've got good timing, then. He's just returned home from a business meeting and seems to be in a good mood. The perfect day for you to pester him, wouldn't you agree, Uzumaki-kun?" He snickered as they began on their stroll through the entryway.

Slipping his hands into the pockets of his capri pants, Naruto smirked a little as they were approaching the main hall in the mansion. "You know me well, Kazue. However, I have to admit," He smirked wider, looking over at him with a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes. "even if he was in a bad mood, I would most certainly still pester the hell out of him. It's a hundred times more fun that way, when he looks like he's about to bust a fuckin' vein,"

The other man cackled at that, voicing how absolutely terrible that was of him, although Naruto didn't think it was that bad.

Fugaku deserved it at times, with how he treated Sasuke and such. It was a form of revenge for Naruto, even if he did love the man as if he was his own father, he was protective over Sasuke, no matter if the threat happened to be family or not.

When they were entering into the radiance of the main hall, Naruto's eyes were naturally drawn to the tall walls around them and high crystal chandeliers above. His heart rate started increasing. He was here. He was really going to dothis.

In wonder of what Fugaku would tell him, ..was he sure he was ready for it? To know everything there was to know about his father? Could he handle knowing the good and the bad? The things that he maybe didn't want to hear? Naruto wasn't too sure.

Before Naruto headed up the staircase, Kazue told him that he was actually supposed to be preparing a meal and some tea for Fugaku and that he would phone Fugaku from the kitchen to let the Uchiha know that Naruto would be coming up to his study.

Naruto was fine with Fugaku knowing at least that much. It's not like the man knew why he was here.

He started on his journey up the stairs, unable to keep his train of thought on one specific thing at a time. Such as, 'what question should he go with first? Would Fugaku actually tell him? What was his father like? What were his favorite foods? Was he good at sports? How smart had he been in school?', things of that nature. At this point his brain was beginning to become a jumble of antsy inquires and excitement.

Strolling through the corridor that led to Fugaku's study, Naruto gnawed at his bottom.

He greeted a maid he passed with a wave and a smile and she bowed her head slightly in return, giving him a warm smile before continuing on her way.

When he finally came to the doors of Fugaku's study, he stopped and breathed in.

The doors seemed towering right now.

If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that he didn't want to turn back.

He cleared his throat and then raised a clenched fist, knocking on the smoothly polished wood before him.

There was a simple 'come in' returned not even a moment later and Naruto opened the door.

Fugaku was seated at his desk, his hand moving elegantly as he was writing on a document. He raised his head momentarily and took a glance at the Uzumaki standing in his office before he returned his eyes back to the paper work on his desk. "It's not everyday I get a visit like this from you, Naruto-kun. Is everything all right?" He inquired, finishing up what it was he was writing.

"Um, ..not exactly," Naruto didn't know how to answer that because everything was not all right, and of course Fugaku picked up on the tension in his voice, raising his dark eyes back onto him.

Now that Naruto was aware that Fugaku had known his father, he knew that there was a sentimental meaning behind that question, 'is everything all right?'. Fugaku had been friends with his father, so it wasn't hard for him to figure that the man's concern for him was genuine right now. He really did think of Naruto as one of his sons.

Naruto licked over his lower lip as he shut the door behind him before he went over to one of the two armchairs in front of Fugaku's desk and took a seat. "Why didn't you tell me that you knew my father?" He asked, without even an inkling of hesitation.

"Hn," Fugaku's expression, however, didn't change at all. He appeared impassive, as usual, and simply set the ink pen in his grasp down on the paper and reclined back. "I'm assuming you heard from Sasuke, correct?"

Naruto answered him with a nod, but his stare hardened. He couldn't help but feel ticked off about having something like this kept away from him.

"Do you believe I had no intention of telling you?"

"I only found out because of Sasuke, so if he hadn't told me then-"

"Naruto-kun, considering your circumstances," Fugaku interjected immediately. "such information is delicate, is it not?" He witnessed the hard look in blue eyes relent, Naruto appearing to agree with him there. "Of course I had every intent on telling you about the relationship I had with your father, Naruto-kun, but I also had to consider the appropriate time to do that."

Naruto leaned back, saying nothing because he understood that now. It was the same reason Sasuke hadn't known how to tell him. However, it was still a hard pill to swallow.

All he had ever wanted in the whole entire world, since as long as he could remember, was to know about his parents.

Naruto tipped his head back and swallowed, his eyes wandering the glistening, rosewood ceiling and the lighting fixtures hanging from it.

Rich people could be pretty intimidating in this aspect. They could dig up anything and everything about anyone that walked or was buried in this planet.

"You know about everything," Naruto finally said, raising his head and meeting the dark stare that fluently seemed to be studying him. "don't you, Papa-Fu? Even about my mother? About her wealthy family?"

Fugaku hesitated for a moment before he nodded. He was surprised to hear that Naruto knew about that. "Yes. When you're someone in my position, naturally that's an obligation. I know about every single person that comes into contact with this family. That goes for Iruka, Kakashi, and even Menma-kun. Down to every last detail."

Naruto scoffed incredulously and shook his head. "Is that really necessary though, Papa-Fu? I mean, c'mon,.. . Everyone in the family knows everything there is to know about my dad and Kakashi, and there isn't one thing you could tell me about Menma that would shock me because I know everything there is to know about him."

"Oh? Are you so certain of that?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow at him, amusingly. "Even when it comes to Menma-kun you would be shocked."

His eyes narrowing oddly in response to that, both of Naruto's eyebrows rose this time. "I know that Menma's …birth father," He tightened his lips and his nostrils began flaring in hatred. Even having to refer to that sick fuck as Menma's 'birth father' felt like venom on his tongue, and it almost burned to say it. "was a junkie and a drug-dealer. That he was physically and mentally abusive towards Menma…, and… sexually abusive towards him," He struggled to string together, his jaw tight and Fugaku eyed him, almost quizzically.

Was he wrong about something? "And his mother was the one providing for the household. She worked as a nurse in a hospital for sometime before she lost that job and then she started doing some modeling in the.. adult entertainment industry—Or something like," He muttered the last part, but he was confident that everything he was saying was one hundred percent factual. "She isn't any better than that guy in my eyes since she didn't put a stop to anything that he did to Menma."

Fugaku didn't respond right away, sitting forward and beginning to sort all of the paperwork he had lying out his desk into one pile. He broke the prolonged silence after he had the short stack of documents in his hands and his voice was curt, "That vile excuse of a human-being is not Menma-kun's biological father, contrary to what Menma-kun believes."

Naruto entire face went blank, immediate disbelief thumping in his chest. "W-What? Wait.., what do you mean that's not his biological father-"

"During his stay in the hospital after the incident that caused the scar that runs across his abdomen, there was a DNA test conducted when the authorities were trying to figure out where they could place Menma-kun at the time. If he had any family members that could take him in from his father's side. However, after it was revealed that there was no blood relation between Menma-kun and that man, Menma-kun's mother had informed them that when she ran away from her household and met him, she was already pregnant with Menma-kun and that there was no one who could take him in."

Naruto didn't know what to say as he watched Fugaku pull open a drawer in his desk and place the papers in it.

Fugaku shut the drawer. "I've been able to make certain of all the details. Menma-kun's biological father is Elek Mahdi. I don't know if you've ever heard of him, but he's quite infamous in Saudi Arabia and throughout Europe for his musical genius," Naruto's eyebrows flew up, his mouth open. "From a very young age Elek has been gifted with musical talent, and when he was only nineteen an elder in the Uzumaki family requested that he come to Japan to tutor your mother's younger sister," Fugaku disclosed to him and blue eyes flickered in conclusion. "Of course I'm sure I don't need to explain any further for you to figure that he had a rather intimate relationship with Menma-kun's mother before he left Japan."

"Wow..," Naruto murmured breathlessly, slacking back against the plush of the armchair. "that's …crazy," He pondered if that was why Menma was so naturally in tune with music, especially when it came to just being able to dance to any beat and do it well. The control Menma had over his body was incredible and he moved so swiftly, giving off an 'ice-skater-like' sensuality and charm to the eye. He was also super attached to his violin now. What if all of that was almost like a genetic thing, in some weird way?

"Elek now owns one of the most prestigious musical institutions in Europe." Fugaku added, idly reclining back in his chair. "Hn. Quite a few of his pieces are well respected among this family, so you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that he is Menma-kun's father."

Naruto was quiet, beyond stunned by what was just told to him. He felt a great sense of relief on Menma's behalf that the scumbag Menma had thought to be his father wasn't. If Menma were to know this, how would he feel about it? He quirked an eyebrow at the Uchiha in question. "Does he know about Menma?"

"Hn," Fugaku started, the tone of his voice musing. "He seems to be a very fit and attentive father when it comes to his other children he has with his wife, so I believe he has no knowledge of Menma-kun's existence. I haven't encountered him personally, but from what has been reported to me, he is very much a man who holds his children as top priority, so if he did know of Menma-kun I think he would have tended to that information by now."

"And if I were to tell Menma?" Naruto saw how Fugaku's brow raised, but it wasn't in an admonishing manner. It was almost as if Fugaku didn't think Naruto would have use for any of the information given to him. "About who his real father is, I could, couldn't I?"

Fugaku nodded, inwardly smiling at the solid expression on Naruto's face. "You can do whatever you wish with the information I have given you today, Naruto-kun."

"..Does my dad know?"

"Iruka has known for quite some time now." He replied and Naruto blinked unexpectedly at that answer. "However, I can't help but ponder how you think that information could benefit Menma-kun?"

Naruto frowned slightly and tilted his head to side, audaciously. "I don't know, how could knowing that information possibly benefit you, Uchiha Fugaku?" He countered.

Fugaku snorted, a smirk spreading across his lips at Naruto's prowess. "It is because of me, Uchiha Fugaku, knowing such information that Menma-kun now holds a violin that I've heard he's quite entranced with, isn't that right?" He voiced and blue eyes wavered in confusion. "I am the one who encouraged Mikoto to give him an instrument after I heard about his disorderly behavior from Kakashi."

Naruto scoffed, laughing slightly. Of course.

"Hn," Fugaku smirked wider, satisfied with himself. "and wouldn't you agree that it has calmed him considerably, Naruto-kun?"

"...It has." Naruto couldn't exactly argue that he hasn't noticed a change in the younger Uzumaki ever since Menma started to play the violin. He went quiet, considering other things that he had come to notice as well. "But, I could say that Itachi has had more of an affect on him than anyone or anything else." He said, honestly.

"Is that right?" Fugaku seemed to ponder.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded before lowering his head, interlacing his fingers together. He licked over his lips because they felt a little dry and then swallowed.

"I want to know about my father. I want to know what he was like," He voiced, his tone demanding as he raised his head and looked Fugaku in his eyes. "Please, Papa-fu,"

Fugaku stayed quiet for a couple of moments as he took in the desperation and longing in Naruto's voice. The time had come and if he was being completely honest with himself, he had been anticipating it. He would like to think that, in spirit, Minato had been as well.

"From the time that I had met Minato," Fugaku started and Naruto felt his heart do this weird skip when he heard Fugaku use his father's name. He could feel this sense of intimacy in the way Fugaku pronounced it. He could hear how much the Uchiha cherished his father. Naruto couldn't even imagine the feeling of losing one of his best friends, and he hadn't really given much thought as to how difficult it must be for Fugaku until now. "he was someone who was very astute and collected. As you know, I studied aboard in England for my last two years of high school. Minato was my underclassman, so for someone as young as he was, I found his demeanor to be remarkable," Fugaku chuckled incredulously, as if he still couldn't manage to wrap his head around that to this day and Naruto began to smile.

"He sounds the complete opposite of me so far,"

"In that aspect, yes, but you've acquired many of his traits. Minato was kind and generous, he enjoyed giving back to communities a lot. He even tutored the children of middle-class and lower-class families in his spare time. He was determined and independent, always working to accomplish the goals he had set for himself without the help of his family name. You're much like him, Naruto-kun. You're generous and kind, and especially independent. Trying to aid you with just about anything is like pulling teeth,"

Naruto blushed a little and rubbed at the back of his neck, sheepishly. "..I don't think that's so wrong,"

"Hn. It isn't, but accepting help every once in a while isn't so wrong either," He lightly reprimanded, although there was a faint smile on his lips. "Your humor is much like his as well. As your father and I started getting closer, I'd come to realize that Minato had a rather.. wacky sense of humor. It was quite startling to see come from a person usually so poise," He said and Naruto laughed, his blue eyes sparkling and facial expression enthralled in the subject of Namikaze Minato. "He could be shrewd at times as well and he hasn't failed in passing that on to you." He mentioned comically and Naruto's mouth dropped open.

"Shrewd?!" He whined, puffing out his cheeks. "Papa-Fu..,"

Fugaku shrugged his shoulders, his expression light-hearted. "What? I am simply being honest with you, Naruto-kun. However, don't be mistaken. I admired that about him."

Naruto gave a nod, although still pouting. He guessed he preferred the honesty when it came to learning about his father.

"Throughout the United Kingdom the media often referred to him as Humanity's Prince. He despised the name, however. He didn't like being glorified for caring about people because he was genuine. It was something that came natural to him and not an act he did because of his high-status in society or the family he came from," Fugaku spoke thoroughly, his tone tender, like he was in deep thought with the memory of Minato.

Naruto's smile had returned, his heart feeling like it was swelling. There was this bitter-sweet sensation spreading throughout his chest, but he was happy. …He wished he had known him, but he was happy to know that his father was so loved by the world. That he was a decent person.

"Minato had his flaws, of course, but your father was an outstanding man, Naruto-kun."

"Mm," Naruto nodded his head, his gaze soft. "Yeah, .. he sounds like I would've been proud to call him 'Dad'."

Fugaku smiled, unabashedly, hearing that. "More than anything, I know he would have loved to hear that from you."

Grinning wide, Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the Uchiha. "So, how did you two meet, Papa-Fu?"

"I met your father in the campus' library," Fugaku replied, sitting forward and allowing his elbows to lean on his desk before interlacing his fingers together beneath his chin. "and I recall that day vividly. He approached me while I was reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu and asked me if he could sit across from me with a high stack of books in his arms. I.. more or less acknowledged him with a 'yes,'" He nodded to himself in remembrance and Naruto snickered, probably thinking that that sounded very much like him. "I don't think you would be too surprised to know that I wasn't very talkative, even in my high school years."

"I got the sense. You probably made more of a sound than anything, instead of giving him an actual 'yes'," Naruto snickered harder, turning his head.

"Hn," Fugaku nodded his head, indifferent of the Uzumaki's teasing. "You're correct."

Naruto looked back at him, holding back a laugh. "And? What happened?" He inquired, curious.

"The first thing he said to me was, 'why is it you're always reading? Anytime I see you around campus, your nose is in a book' in Japanese that sounded exceptional,"

His eyes widening, Naruto's lips parted.

"So, at this point I've raised my eyes off of the page I was on, and immediately I recognized him as the heir of the Namikaze Group. I felt as if he was patronizing me, and responded back to him with 'why are you speaking to me in Japanese?' in exceptional English myself,"

Naruto nodded his head rather impatiently. He could feel the goosebumps prickling on his skin,finally able to make out a mental image of his father and his personality.

Fugaku inwardly chuckled as he recalled what happened next. "What your father said next is what had intrigued me, it was what made me inquire about his person. He said to me, 'I want you to be comfortable. I want you to speak to me without having to think. You always look so trained, firm,' and he's still speaking to me in Japanese with this sincere smile on his face,"

Naruto smiled wide, almost feeling a bit teary-eyed. He wished he had gotten to meet his father. He seemed like such a charming person. He was beginning to admire him.

Fugaku continued to tell him the story of his and Minato's first encounter with one another and then Naruto wanted to hear more stories, and Fugaku shared more with him, and in between that time, a servant had brought Fugaku the meal that was cooked for him and his tea.

They asked Naruto if he would like anything, but he denied the offer. He was too into what Fugaku was telling him to even think about eating.

It was the most Naruto had ever really heard Fugaku talk, conversation wise. He told him about how he and Minato had begun to meet up in between their class periods to talk, and then the next time to snack, and then the next time to study together. About how they had begun to meet up in the dorms. About how his father started always coming to Fugaku's dorm room to complain about his own father and how Fugaku found himself venting about his own parents to Minato. About how they started to tell each other about their lives, about what it was like growing up and even secrets they could never share with anyone else outside of each other.

Naruto felt so much closer to his father, like he had known him, personally.

"That's absolutely insane! No wonder I was so rebellious as a teenager! I can't believe he got drunk and did that! It's so embarrassing!" Naruto laughed, his cheeks red as Fugaku finished telling him the story of the time he and Minato had snuck and gotten drunk together in his dorm room, and for Minato it had been his first time since Fugaku was older and had already had drinking experience. Apparently, his father was a 'giddy' and 'clumsy' drunk who didn't have much… modesty.

Fugaku reached for the cup of tea beside his meal on the tray on his desk and reclined back in his chair. "Hn, he was mortified the next morning, I can assure you."

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes smiling and mind basking in the stories of his father and Fugaku sipped at his tea.

Naruto didn't feel so bad about the age he started drinking at now that he knew his father hadn't been such an angel himself as a teenager. He wondered if his father would've been a harsh father with him?

Then, that led him to wonder about other things…

Had Fugaku met his mother before?

Fugaku set his cup of tea down, noting the obvious wonder on Naruto's face. He knew there must be so many questions and curiosities thrumming around in his head. He could tell him everything there was to know about his father, but there wasn't much he could tell Naruto about his mother on an intimate level because he hadn't known her personally.

"Your father, he wasn't a man who overly fixated over women," He began to offer and Naruto tilted his head. "he had never spoken to me about women, or about having an interest of any kind in a romantic relationship, said he didn't think that there was enough room in his life for that kind of thing because he was so overwhelmed with business affairs often. So, when the moment occurred that he began telling me about this junior-high student that wouldn't stop pestering him and pleading with him to teach her how to run a business because she couldn't learn about such matters from her own father, I was surprised,"

Fugaku fell silent, lost in the memory of Minato's perplexed, but oddly intrigued cerulean eyes as his friend spoke to him about 'her' and Naruto's mouth started to curl into a smile because he had a good idea of who the girl was. "He wanted my advice, didn't know if it was capable for him to turn her away b-because..," The Uchiha tilted his head to the side, slightly, his expression precarious as he recalled Minato's exact words when he was describing the girl to him in an utmost enamored voice.

Naruto kind of wanted to laugh because it was very rare, if ever, for Uchiha Fugaku to be lost for words, or have difficulty forming them.

"he said, her hair," Fugaku squinted his eyes thoughtfully and gestured above his hair with an open hand, working his damndest to convey how breathless Minato seemed at that time when he spoke about Naruto's mother. "was very vibrant.., enchanting. He expressed to me that anytime she was in his presence, he couldn't find the voice or the strength to turn her away because her hair was so beautiful," He finally concluded and Naruto twiddled with his thumbs, his heart captured by the small bit of information on how his father and mother possibly came to be. "That was the first time I had heard of her, your mother. But, of course, I had no knowledge at the time of what would transpire between them."

"Then what happened? Did you ever hear anything about my mother from him again?" Naruto asked, his eagerness prominent in the way he leaned forward, his eyes wide in a child-like manner. A child enjoying one of their favorite bedtime stories as their parent read it to them.

"No. Minato and I eventually became distracted in our own lives for sometime and a year had gone by since that particular conversation about his dilemma. Then, one day he was plastered all over the tabloids, being talked about on every news station, gossip network, just about every damn media-outlet you can imagine with the daughter of one of the most powerful politicians known in the world right at his side. They were under the suspicion of having a 'disreputable' relationship, which was both scrutinized and glamorized by the press and the public. Your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, had only been fifteen at the time and your father had been twenty-one, so such speculation caused quite an uproar in the eyes of the public, and in the eyes of Kushina's father."

His heart's excitement starting to reel back, Naruto inwardly grimaced.

Of course he hadn't forgotten about the age-gap in his parents' relationship, and he could only imagine the back-lash his mother and father faced, even if at that point in time whatever was between his father and mother was just an innocent thing. He couldn't bring himself to judge their relationship badly because in the videos that he received from his mother, she looked so jubilant and content beside his father, like there was no where else in the world she would rather be, and because of his parents, he was here.

They couldn't help that they had fallen in love with each other and he wouldn't shame them for it.

Their love had nothing to do with their age, and although it took him a while to wrap his head around that, he admired their love for each other.

His mother had loved his father until her very last breath on this earth.

To be continued...

Author's note: I've had this chapter planned out since like chapter 26 so finally getting this out feels like a breath of fresh air. VoV