A/N: There will be canon elements in this chapter as well, still with a bit of a twist though. Thank you to everyone that faved, followed, and reviewed! Now, this chapter is my longest one (so far at least), I didn't want a single thing to be rushed.

TWO WEEKS LATER

Tsunade had been in surgery with Lee for eight hours. It was enough to test even her medical skills. Sakura and Ino were there the entire time but weren't allowed to touch their friend, all they did was observe. It was moments like these that Tsunade wished Shizune was with her, that way she wouldn't have to do the surgery solo. Finally, the legendary ninja stopped and checked the boy's vitals. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead when she turned to her two apprentices and announced, "It was a success."

Outside of the door, a yell could be heard.

"Tsunade-sama's youthfulness has rewarded her, the surgery was a success!" It was obvious the man behind the voice was no other than Might Guy. Other various cheers could be heard as well. Everyone, however, knew to stay outside of the house until Tsunade gave the OK to come in.

Tsunade sat down in a chair to take a quick breather before she let people come in. "What did the two of you learn?" She asked Sakura and Ino.

"That you're badass," Ino replied, winning a chuckle from Tsunade.

Sakura, on the other hand, supplied the woman with a more serious reply. "As a medical ninja, you can't stop what you're doing- even if you're tired. You have to learn how to push yourself to your limit." She looked at Ino and stuck her tongue out to which Ino did the same thing. Tsunade's throat clearing warningly was enough to stop their antics.

Guy's ear was on the door when he heard Tsunade say, "I guess people can come in now." He barreled in the second later. Other people, in a more dignified manner, steadily began to fill the room as well. Tsunade took the distraction as an opportunity to slip out.

The night before, Jiraiya had slipped out of the compounds, and the blond needed to make sure he had gotten everything they needed. They had agreed to stash everything in his house since no one ever went in. When asked why the reply would be something along the lines of "I don't want to walk in on you doing something perverted."

Tsunade stealthily entered the humble abode before closing the door and locking it. Jiraiya, who was in the kitchen, popped his head around the corner and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh the number of times I have imagined us in a locked room together," Jiraiya said with a snicker. He had debated whether or not to say it aloud and figured he could get away with it just this once. Luckily, he was correct and Tsunade simply clenched her fist and rolled her eyes.

All of the ingredients were gathered on the dining table. "Do you think he suspects anything?" Tsunade implored.

"Pshh," Jiraiya replied. "I'm pretty sure the kid has forgotten his own birthday this year. Last year he wouldn't even let me do anything to celebrate."

"That's probably because he hardly knew your perverted ass back then," Tsunade paused before nervously asking, "Do you think he'll be upset when we tell him?"

Jiraiya pondered the question, he could honestly see it going both negatively and positively. "I'm not sure, but if he is then he won't exactly be in the wrong. His lineage was hidden from him for fifteen long years…"

Tsunade nodded, knowing most of those years had been absolutely awful for the boy. "We'll tell him at the end of the day. Let's let him have fun at first."

Everyone outside was charged with distracting Naruto, which wasn't hard since Ino was with him. The two had continued to grow closer over the past two weeks. The only time they were really apart was when they did solo training with Tsunade/Jiraiya.

Bets were made over who would make the first move and how long it'd take for one of them to do so, unbeknownst to Naruto and Ino. It was pretty even. Hinata had been the only one to not make a bet when asked she just walked away solemnly.

Hinata had been sad when she first found out something was blossoming between Naruto, her longtime crush, and Ino. The first person keeping her and the blond boy apart was Sakura, and now Ino. She couldn't really blame either of the girls though, she's the one that was too shy to make a move. 'If only I had told him how I fell… Maybe everything could've been different.' Hinata knew her father wouldn't have accepted it. He wanted her with someone of a higher standing. The Hyūga thought back to the last memory she had of her father.

"O-Otōsan," Hinata stuttered as she bowed her head to her father in order to announce her presence. She had something she wanted to ask, or rather something she needed to request. 'What if he says no,' she worried.

Hiashi turned around and looked at his daughter expectantly.

Hinata steeled her nerves before quickly answering the silent question. "A group of p-people are forming that don't s-support Danzo-sama. I-I'd like to join them." Her father looked at her with disappointment, something she was quite used to.

"No-"

"B-but!"

Hiashi crossed his arms and in a stern yet steady voice said, "I will give you an ultimatum. Either stay in the comfort of your home, where you belong, or leave and lose your title as heiress to the clan."

Hinata's eyes began to water. She knew he wouldn't understand but for once in her life she felt that she desperately needed to make a decision that her father didn't support. Hinata turned her back on her father, on her clan, and walked away. Little did she know that Neji had heard the entire conversation, Hiashi on the other hand did.

"Come out," the clan head ordered.

Neji walked out from behind his hiding place and waited for what his uncle had to say. The teen had already decided to follow his cousin. He had taken a vow to the clan to protect the heiress, and when that happened Hinata was that person. Whether or not fate agreed, he would follow her.

"Protect Hinata," was all Hiashi ordered before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

For once, it looked like fate sided with Neji.

It had been decided that Sundays would be a day of rest for those that wanted it. Almost everyone would take the chance to relax. Guy would always be doing something active and tried to get people to join him. Sakura and Ino would study the medical books together for a decent amount of time. Sakura had more stamina for it though so Ino would find something else to do while they continued.

That's what Ino was currently doing. She was excited for tomorrow and had her own hidden present for Naruto. The plan Tsunade and Jiraiya told everyone included keeping the events to happen a secret. She'd tried to hint at Naruto amount his birthday but it appeared to be that he was completely clueless as to it being so near. Ino had a part in this plan, and for the time being that part was to keep Naruto from finding out what Tsunade and Jiraiya were doing.

Ino walked around the compounds while trying to find Naruto. She was about to give up when she caught sight of the blond out of the corner of her eye. He was laying down in the grass, where everyone trained, and appeared to be panting.

"You know it wouldn't kill you to go a little easier on herself." Ino sat down next to Naruto and brought her knees up so she could rest against them. Her head was turned towards Naruto.

Naruto chuckled. "I told Bushy Brows that I'd train twice as hard, half for me and a half for him, util he could get back to top speed."

Ino smiled, knowing that Lee was receiving no physical benefit from the act but it was still sweet. She laid down and all of the tension in her body immediately released itself. The grass was so soft and smelled fresh. Ino turned her head to comment about how blue the sky but found that Naruto was peacefully asleep with his head still facing her. His presence alone was comforting to her, even if he was passed out. Ino giggled, Naruto's mouth was wide open. She looked back up at the sky, clouds could be seen in the distance. It would rain within the next day or to.

Naruto stayed asleep the rest of the day. A few of the other gennin would mess with him to try and wake him up but nothing worked. Ino figured that he must've been tired from all of the training. She eventually left him so that she could retrieve a medical book and study that. Ino read until it was too dark to do so. Naruto didn't show signs of waking up anytime soon so she tried to pick him up but it didn't work. Ino eventually decided to just take a quick nap and hope that he'd wake up. She would've just gone to bed but didn't want to leave Naruto alone.

When Naruto woke up the stars were shining brightly in the night sky. He looked down when he noticed a weight on his chest and saw Ino's head resting there. The last thing he remembered was talking to the girl about Lee before passing out. "Ino," he said quietly while tapping her shoulder lightly.

Ino opened her eyes and immediately realized that she must've moved closer to Naruto at some point in the night to seek out warmth. She sat up, none of the lights were on so she had to guess that it was late. She grinned, hoping it was past midnight. Ino leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against Naruto's forehead. "One," she said in a soft voice.

Naruto's eyes widened as he fully woke up from the kiss. He was about to ask Ino what she meant but she stood up and walked away, only looking at him from behind her shoulder and smiling. He touched the sport on his forehead where Ino's lips had touched and blushed. After he regained his senses he too went to bed.

When Naruto woke up the next morning it was quiet, eerily quiet. He was more than aware that either he or Tsunade were usually one of the last to wake, but even then there would be noise with everyone moving around. Sometimes Akamaru would even get sent in to wake him up with a loud bark or slobbery kiss.

A knock on the front door alerted Naruto to someone's presence. 'Thought they all left me for a sec there.' Naruto quickly put on his daily outfit so that whoever it was wouldn't have to wait too long for him. He opened the door to see Ino awaiting him with a smile. His heartbeat picked up as she leaned forward. Naruto closed his eyes and puckered his lips.

Ino grinned as she moved to the side at the last minute and kissed Naruto's left cheek before saying, "Two." She then did the same to the right one. "Three."

'WHAT IS GOING ON?!' Naruto pondered. He didn't have a problem with the kisses, he was actually very fond of them. Naruto just couldn't figure out what the numbers were for though. The blond had been wanting to make a move for a while now but his nerves always got the best of him. He was able to put together that the kisses were being counted, that much even he could figure out- to what number they would end he did not know.

Ino grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him towards their destination. Her heart was rapidly beating in her chest. She couldn't get Naruto anything for his birthday since she didn't really have much money, so she had come up with the idea of giving him fifteen kisses. When she proposed the idea to Sakura and Tenten they both giggled and teased Ino for the feelings that she was finally admitting to having out loud.

Naruto looked at Ino oddly, trying to figure out just why they were in front of Jiraiya's house. Even he, the sage's student, hadn't been there yet. Ino only grinned. He didn't receive a response but was gifted with another kiss- this time on the hand.

"Four."

After the small kiss, Naruto was gently tugged into Jiraiya's house. He felt like he was being punked. Naruto had stumbled and before he even had the chance to fully recover hands were covering his eyes.

"Wha-" he tried to say before yet another kiss sent a shiver down his spine.

"Five," Ino announced after pressing her lips against the nape of Naruto's neck. "Just keep walking," Ino urged with a chuckle. She carefully maneuvered the other blond into the kitchen so that he wouldn't walk into anything.

A slight pull against his face signaled for Naruto to stop. When Ino dropped her hands Naruto opened his eyes and then widened them.

"Happy Birthday!"

What was said next caused everyone to face vault.

"But it's not my birthday," Naruto said with a confused tilt of the head. "It's on October tenth… Oh, wait…" It took Naruto longer than it should've, but he eventually realized that the day came around sooner than he expected. He hadn't really been keeping track since his birthday had never been celebrated before. The most he had ever received was a cupcake from the Third Hokage on his fourth birthday and a bowl of ramen from Iruka the last year he was at the academy.

Everyone recovered and smiled when Naruto slowly walked up to the table. There was a large cake in the center of it with three packages on instant ramen on each side. On the outside of the ramen were several differently colored balloons.

Figuring Jiraiya had something to do with the ramen he exclaimed, "You finally budged on ramen!" Naruto inspected each of them and found that they all had different flavors: Miso, shrimp, beef, chicken, a meat combo, and Shio.

Tsunade cleared her throat, slightly annoyed that Naruto had completely disregarded the cake.

"Wait, did you actually make this, like from scratch?" Naruto asked with big eyes. The cake looked so good. He couldn't tell what flavor it was, but the frosting was orange and that was enough to make Naruto love it. Neatly written over the top, in blue frosting, were the words Happy Birthday Naruto. Fifteen candles were stuck around the words so that they would still be able to be seen.

"She did have SOME help," Jiraiya answered before Tsunade had the chance. The man put his hand to Naruto's ear and whispered, "She might be able to concoct every poison known to man but she can't bake for shit. I helped so you would like the cake." He snickered out the last part.

A tick mark appeared on Tsunade's temple as she ground out, "What was that, Jiraiya?"

The sage turned around with a toothy grin and replied, "Nothing Tsunade-hime, just telling him how good the cake would be and that this is the only day he will get to eat cake for breakfast."

Tsunade looked at her former teammate like he was stupid. She had clearly heard what the man said, and it was nowhere near that. The slug princess dropped the matter since it was Naruto's birthday and she had promised herself that she wouldn't lose her temper for the day; waking up at the ass crack of dawn didn't help the matter. In reality, it wasn't that early but in Tsunade's mind it as well of been.

Ino considered giving Naruto kiss number six but felt anxious about doing it in front of so many people. A few people had been able to see number five but she was obscured by Naruto's body for the most part. She decided to just do it, reasoning, 'They'll see it at some point.' This one was the quickest out of all of them. It was just a quick peck to the boy's shoulder. "Six." When she saw that Naruto hadn't made a move to blow out the candles she added, "You know you're supposed to blow out the candles, right?" It was supposed to be a joke but ended up being new knowledge to Naruto.

Naruto looked to his side when Ino moved out from behind him and asked, "I just blow? Am I supposed to use wind chakra."

"NO!" Everyone in the room yelled at once, knowing how much of a mess would be made if that happened.

"Wait," Kiba said while putting his hand out and sporting a doubtful look. "You've never had a birthday cake before?" He glanced to his side with an annoyed look when there was a small pinch on his elbow and saw Hinata shaking her head. That's when he remembered Naruto didn't really have a family when he was growing so there was no one to throw parties or make cake for him. Kiba awkwardly scratched the back of his neck while muttering out an apology. To make it up he tried to demonstrate what to do for Naruto and gave a simple blow. Akamaru tried to mock him but only ended up slobbering on the floor.

Naruto wasn't bothered in the slightest, he knew that Kiba had meant no harm with his words. He knelt down so that he was eye level with the cake, smiled, and blew out the candles.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, make a wish too!" Kiba informed and Akamaru barked in affirmation.

Naruto's face turned red as he briefly glanced at Ino and said, "I wish that In-"

Ino slapped her hand over his mouth, a bit rougher than necessary but not enough to hurt him. "If you say it out loud it won't come true," she clarified. If she was right about what he was about to say then she also wanted it to come true, more than anything. She looked back at everyone else to see them either grinning or smirking knowingly. In an effort to divert the attention away from her and Naruto she clapped twice before asking, "Isn't it time to eat cake? I think it's time to eat cake."

Cake was passed around, some ate more than others. Everyone marveled at the taste. It was a simple flavor, just chocolate, but still so good. Naruto had his original serving then finished off what hadn't been eaten. Anko almost ate as much as he did but just couldn't manage it. He patted his full stomach which bulged out slightly. No one else over ate since they knew what would happen next.

"Alright," Tsunade said loudly enough for everyone to hear while clapping her hands together. "Today will be a half day of training. We'll continue with nature training and sparring, everything else will be continued tomorrow. After we finish you can eat and take the rest of the day off." She'd thought setting up spars that involved nature training but wasn't sure how much the gennin, other than Sakura and Tenten, knew.

Naruto groaned, regretting how much he had eaten. He looked up and saw Ino offering him a hand. At this point, almost everyone else had filtered out. Before Ino helped him up she bent down and kissed his hand again. 'I can get used to this,' he thought with a dopey grin.

"Seven." Ino smiled and pulled Naruto up. She was glad that she and Naruto both trained with Jiraiya, it would make it easier to give him the other kisses.

Kiss number eight through eleven happened during elemental training. Two of them were on the forehead, one on the shoulder, and one on the nose. It was harder for Ino to be sneaky since they were in the open but she managed to get the job done, without the knowledge that Jiraiya had been keeping a close eye on them. He didn't say anything though, opting to poke fun at them for it later.

Only a single round was done for sparring; usually there were three to five. The gennin were paired off into different groups since it was Naruto's birthday he was allowed to choose the pairings. Lee was still recovering so he stayed in his room and Guy accompanied him.

Naruto tapped his chin as he tried to come up with people that could make for an interesting spar. "Let's see… Kiba and Neji. Choji and Hinata. Tenten and Shikamaru. I'll take Sakura and Ino since there's an odd number."

Sakura and Ino looked at each other with a smirk. Naruto didn't know how bad of an idea it was to pair the two of them against him. Tsunade had begun teaching the girls how to enhance their blows with chakra. The only reason she hadn't sparred with them herself yet was because they needed to know how to stop a blow from her, which required a concentration of chakra as well.

Ino leaned towards Sakura, never taking her eyes off Naruto and whispered, "I have an idea. I'll need you to restrain him two times though. Think you can do it?"

Sakura looked at her fellow medical ninja in training and grinned. "It's Naruto, of course I can do it."

The first fight was Kiba and Neji with Neji. Kiba couldn't find the Hyūga's blind spot when he performed his fang over fang jutsu since Neji was able to defend from every side. Kiba ended up getting his chakra flow plugged and couldn't continue.

The second spar was Choji and Hinata, and for the second time that day a Hyūga. However, the fight did last longer and Choji had closer to winning than Kiba did. Hinata won using the same technique Neji did which caused Choji to roll high into the air when he formed into a human boulder. The distance had been too much and the fall left Choji gasping for air. Tsunade checked on him and told Choji he'd be fine to which he replied with a simple thank you before pulling out a bag of chips.

The third match was the shortest. Shikamaru simply threw up his hands and forfeited. If it was any other day he would've done it, but the Nara found no benefit from a single round of sparring so he just didn't do it. Tenten was kind of annoyed but dropped the matter when Neji offered to spar with her when the official ones, or as official as they could be, were completed. She knew she'd lose but took the chance to spend time with her teammate/crush since they never got quality time together anymore.

Everyone, that wasn't a part of the match, stopped off to the side. Naruto stood at one end of the fighting area while Sakura and Ino were at the other.

Jiraiya shook his head when Naruto charged right on the second they were told to begin. 'He never learns...' Tsunade, on the other hand, looked on both proudly and surprised by what her two apprentices did. It didn't compare to her strength but it was still impressive.

Ino and Sakura waited for the perfect moment. When they found it they simultaneously threw chakra enhanced punches towards the ground. Since Ino had an earth affinity she was able to add a small little shockwave by simply sending her chakra into the ground as if it was a pulse.

Naruto's eyes widened at the joint attack, realizing it was a bad idea to have two of Tsunade's students fighting him at once. 'Oh shit,' he thought to himself before summoning two shadow clones so he could be thrown into the air. They both dispersed when the attack hot them so Naruto summoned two more while in the air. 'Guess I can't take it easy on them.'

Sakura was able to read what was about to happen before it did. "Ino, take care of the clone coming after us!" She yelled the second a clone was thrown at them. Sakura moved to the side so that she'd be able to see Naruto and was right in her assumptions. He was trying to form a rasengan.

Ino wanted to use her mind transfer jutsu to stop the real Naruto but he wasn't staying in one place for long enough to do so.

Sakura looked down. Her foot was in a puddle. 'It rained last night!' Tsunade had taught her and Tenten a simple yet useful move that would be perfect for the predicament her and Ino were in. She just had to perform it correctly. Sakura had had confidence issues in the past. Thanks to Ino she no longer did. With Naruto's attack aimed at Ino, it was time to return her thanks.

"Water style: Water whip!"

The second Naruto had his rasengan fully formed, and before he could react, a vine of water wrapped around his wrist before flinging him into the ground. A small explosion happened when Naruto's rasengan made contact with the earth. Dirt flew up in the air and made it hard for anyone on the outside to see what was happening. He tried to turn around but couldn't because the water whip had moved to wrap around both of his arms and torso. Naruto stood when he felt a pull from the whip and was face to face with Ino.

Ino kept a fierce face, waiting until she saw Naruto gulp in fear. She then smiled, glad that they could not be seen clearly. She pecked his left cheek. "Twelve." The blonde then moved to Naruto's right cheek but kept her lips there longer. "Thirteen."

Naruto felt like his heart was going to explode. He tried to lean forward to return the gesture but was stopped when he remembered that he couldn't move his upper body.

Ino tsked at the boy and whispered, "Ah ah, Patience is a virtue, Naruto."

The dust fell a moment later. Everyone was looking at the center expectantly for the results. Tsunade was now even more proud of Sakura since she had been able to successfully pull off the water whip in battle. Since the use of elements was not banned she didn't say anything about it breaking the rules.

Jiraiya shook his head when he saw a bound Naruto. "Kid, you didn't even last ten seconds. You need to learn how to be patient."

Naruto was becoming irritated, that was the second time that day someone told him something about patience. "Yeah yeah," he muttered as the whip disappeared from his arms and finally allowed for him to move freely again.

After that everyone moved away from the sparring area. Tsunade made a mental note to move it outside of the compound next time since the elements were beginning to get involved. The last thing she wanted was for her ancestral home to be destroyed by training.

Naruto ate one of his instant ramen bowls for lunch. Everyone else either snacked on something small or ate a meal of their own. He took a nap afterwards, not surprised when he found Shikamaru already passed out when he got back to their shared house.

Ino let Naruto have his alone time. She too decided to use the time to rest and study a bit more. When she got bored or reading medical books she tried to revive another fish. It didn't work but there was a twitch, so that was more than nothing, and it didn't explode so that was also good. Sakura eventually took over since she didn't want to waste a scroll when Ino already had one at the ready. Ino left her house to see if Naruto had woken up yet.

Naruto turned around when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He had just left his house in search of something to do, hoping he could find Ino.

"Hey, Naruto! I was just going to find you. Want to join me for a walk around the compounds?" Ino asked excitedly. She silently pleaded that she didn't sound too excited, not wanting to scare the boy off before they even actually got together. 'I can finally give him number fifteen.

"Yeah, let's go!" Naruto said with the same amount of enthusiasm as Ino had.

The pair walked around in a peaceful silence, both content to just be in each others presence. The sun started to set, much like it had the first time they almost kissed. Ino thought it was just perfect for what she had planned. Before she could hatch the final part of her plan Naruto's voice caught her attention.

"Ya know what would really make this birthday good?" Naruto asked with a nervous smile. He stopped moving and took a step towards Ino.

Ino leaned closer, her old plan abandoned. "What would that be?" She asked before kissing his earlobe. "Fourteen," she whispered. A last, number fifteen was next; she was both anxious and giddy about that one. Ino smiled when Naruto began to nervously fiddle with his hands. She found the act to almost be endearing.

"By being my girlfriend," Naruto replied with a light blush that was illuminated by the setting sun.

'FINALLY!' Ino shouted mentally. She decided to tease him though. 'What's the fun in making things easy?' "Is there a question in that statement?"

Naruto chuckled nervously. He took a quick breath, letting out all of his fears, and smoothly asked, "Will you, Ino-chan, heiress to the Yamanaka clan, do me the utmost honor of becoming my-"

"Naruto I've been looking for you everywhere!" Jiraiya announced, oblivious to what had been going on between Naruto and Ino. He shivered when Naruto turned and gave him an icy glare. "Glad to see you've picked up Tsunade's facial expressions, kid, but we need to talk." Jiraiya glanced at Ino before adding, "Alone."

Seeing how annoyed he was, Ino put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and said, "Go on, I'll be waiting for you to finish that question and to give you number fifteen when you're done." Her eyes never left Naruto's as he began to back away. Ino's hand slid down to his hand and gave it a quick squeeze before the distance became too much and they were forced to separate.

"This better be good," Naruto grumbled with an annoyed expression while he followed Jiraiya. They ended up going to Tsunade's house. Naruto looked at the door confused, not knowing what they were doing there. "I thought you said we had to talk alone?"

Jiraiya glanced at him for a brief second, his face emotionless as he did so. "Alone plus one," the sage clarified as he opened the door.

Naruto shrugged off Jiraiya's hand when he tried to urge him forward, still annoyed that he had to put his moment with Ino on hold. He turned the corner into the kitchen and saw Tsunade sitting down with a sake bottle in front of her. His jaw dropped when he saw Jiraiya take it away. No one took alcohol away from Tsunade, even Shizune wasn't that ballsy. What surprised Naruto even more was that the woman made no move to retrieve the bottle.

"This will not make it any easier."

"Make what easier?" Naruto questioned. Things were starting to look more and more suspicious.

Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to sit, only then did the man reveal the reason the three of them were here. He pulled out a scroll that he had temporarily stored on the inside of his kimono and gave it to the blond.

Naruto took it and asked, "What's this?"

"A sealing scroll that will only respond to your blood," Jiraiya answered.

Naruto looked towards Tsunade for clarification but all he received from her was an unreadable mask. As the clock ticked Naruto only became skeptical. The atmosphere in general just felt heavy and off. He sat back with his arms crossed, waiting for a better answer.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, just to check on her. The man knew his former teammate was nervous about everything that would soon be revealed. He sighed before saying, "It's from your parents."

That got Naruto's attention. He suddenly sat up in his chair. Dozens of questions flowed through his head yet he was speechless at the same time. Naruto stared at the scroll for a minute before finally bringing his thumb to his mouth so that he could draw the required blood. Summoning forth what was in the scroll only left him more confused. There were five identical kunai, all with three prongs. He picked one up and it felt both awkward and weighty in his hand. Underneath the kunai was a note. When Naruto opened it he saw that there were old tear stains littered around the paper.

Naruto,

If you're reading this then that means I didn't make it. There are some things I need to tell you though. The first, and most important one, is that I love you, your father and I both. You are destined for greatness, ya know. Fight for what's right, even if you're standing alone. Respect your elders. Eat your vegetables and bathe every day. Make sure you have friends, the kind that will have your back no matter what. When you begin looking for a girl… I would say to find someone that is like me, but you were robbed of the opportunity to get to know who am. In short, find a girl that isn't afraid to say know, someone strong-willed, someone that will stand up for herself, and someone that isn't afraid to admit they love to you.

The kunai are your father's, ya know. He used them for his signature jutsu, the shunshin. He would often talk about teaching this to you so I only thought it would be fair for you to have the chance in case we aren't there. Undo the seal on this note and you'll be able to learn it.

Don't listen to everything your godfather says or you will most likely get into trouble with the women. He's a good man but he can sure be stupid sometimes, ya know?

Love, your mother, Uzumaki Kushina

A fresh tear fell onto the note as he carefully folded it and put it in his pant pocket for safe keeping. There was one person that got in trouble with women more than anyone else, and everyone in the elemental nations knew it.

"Jiraiya," Naruto said in an almost inaudible voice. "What was my father's name?"

"Namikaze Minato, the fourth Hokage," Jiraiya replied while carefully analyzing Naruto's expressions and movements.

Naruto knew who he was, and was more than aware of the fact that that man is the reason he became a jinchuriki. 'He would seal the fox into his own son? My own father is the one that sentenced me to a life isolation and loneliness… Not just him...' Naruto redirected his attention to Jiraiya. He had blurry eyes as he said, "Where were you?"

Jiraiya figured that something in the note made the boy aware of their relation. The least he could do was try to explain. "I have failed at a lot of things throughout my life," Jiraiya replied sadly. He would tell his godson the same thing he told Tsunade fifteen years ago. "I couldn't risk failing in raising you."

Naruto's face morphed from one full of emotions to one taken over by anger. "You couldn't fail me?" He began slowly but his words soon increased. "You were supposed to take care of me. You, the bravest person I know, were a coward! That is how you failed me, failed my parents!"

Jiraiya's face fell and he looked away. The teen was true so there wasn't anything he could say to argue with.

Tsunade finally spoke up for the first time since everyone settled into her kitchen. "Naruto, calm down."

"Calm down?! What about you? We share some of the same blood and you left me the same way he did." Naruto waited a couple of seconds for an answer. When he didn't receive one he continued. "I had no one for years, all because the both of you abandoned someone that was supposed to be your family! You both left me to deal with the hate by myself." Naruto abruptly got p and headed for the door, not wanting to do something he'd regret. Just as he touched the doorknob a hand caught around his wrist.

"Wait-" Tsunade tried to say. There was so much that Naruto didn't know. Naruto ripped his hand away and Tsunade's heart felt like it was cracking. She looked at him as more than a cousin, to her he was like a son. They hadn't known each other for long but something continued to draw her towards Naruto. What it was the woman didn't know, but it was the same thing Tsunade felt when she first met Naruto.

"No," Naruto ground out. "When I needed you, when I begged for attention, when I was desperate to not be alone, you weren't there. You turned your back on me and now I'll do the same thing to you."

Naruto left and Tsunade began to cry while sinking to her knees. Her heart no longer felt like it was cracking; it was broken.

Jiraiya knelt down and wrapped his arms around the kunoichi. He held on strong even when Tsunade began to fight against his hold. "Except my love just this once will you? We both need it and you know it." Tsunade relented a moment later and fell against his chest as her cries began to turn into sobs.

"Just give him some time to let out his emotions. Everything will be OK, I promise." Jiraiya prayed it was a promise he could keep.

Ino hadn't been eavesdropping, but she could clearly hear yelling. She hadn't moved from where she and Naruto parted, that way he'd know where she was when he was done talking to Jiraiya. Her worry carried her towards Tsunade's house. She kept her distance, still wanting to give the three some privacy, but Ino did begin to worry.

Naruto busted out of the door, oblivious to everyone that was now watching him from the outside. Ino tried to catch up to him. When she passed by the door to her mentor's house, which was still open, Ino was met with the sight of Jiraiya comforting a crying Tsunade. 'Kami, what happened?' She wondered before chasing after Naruto.

"Naruto, hold up!" Ino called out to no avail. When she thought she'd finally gained some ground on him Naruto sped up. Each second that passed only ended with her worrying more. "Naruto!" She tried a final time. He was headed towards the tree line Ino had a bad feeling about Naruto leaving the compounds, especially now. In Ino's experience, when people became furious their judgment was impaired and they lashed out. 'Forgive me, Naruto.' "Mind transfer jutsu."

Ino had performed the mind transfer jutsu over a hundred times yet what just happened to her had never occurred before. Different scenes flashed before her, all of them having to do with Naruto. Some of them involved watching Naruto being shunned by adults, and at times they would get physically rough with him. Other times Naruto would watch kids play while he was all alone. There were also times when the blond would be doing something as simple as walking into an empty and dark apartment. One of the most upsetting things Ino saw was Naruto giving a man some money that he dropped, only to be repaid by being spat on.

'These have to be his memories.' Ino felt suffocated by the tone of everything, it was all so depressing. She didn't know how Naruto could smile and laugh as much as he did while having grown up in such a way. To Ino an eternity had passed, it had been no more than a few seconds. She returned to her body with a new realization of just what Naruto dealt with when he was younger. She sat up and saw Naruto on the ground. The Yamanaka ran down and slid next to him. She followed by rolling him over and putting his head on her lap.

"Naruto, come on babe, wake up." Ino was beginning to panic. She couldn't figure out what was wrong. Everything about him seemed to be normal, his pulse was slightly elevated but that was it. This was not the effect of her jutsu, when done on a person there shouldn't be any reason for them to pass out. Ino was shaking, she didn't know what to do. She needed Tsunade. The kunoichi wasn't willing to leave Naruto. Her throat felt like it was closing in on itself, there was an unnatural tightness to it.

Before Ino had left Konoha, her father had been teaching her how to communicate with people telepathically. She knew the basics but hadn't gotten it to work. Ino was now determined to do just that, seeing as how it was the only option she was willing to take.

Ino went through the steps. 'Please work.' First, Ino had to find Tsunade's chakra. That part wasn't too hard since Tsunade was still nearby. The difficult part was connecting her mind to Tsunade's. It was all about chakra control. Ino's nose bled from the exertion but she ignored that, in her mind, it was trivial to everything else going on.

The Yamanaka was ecstatic when it worked. She was able to feel the connection. 'Tsunade-sama, something is wrong with Naruto. He won't wake up. Please help.'

Tsunade came running the second she heard the message. She sprinted in the direction she saw Naruto head towards, pushing chakra into her legs to make her even faster. Five second tops, that was the most it took her to find and kneel next to Naruto. The first thing she saw was her grandfather's necklace shining. 'The fox is trying something.'

In Naruto's mind, something completely different was happening.

'Damn it, why does this have to happen now? I'm tired of reliving memories I'm not even a part of.'

"Just because you don't remember doesn't mean you weren't there," a man's voice said, Naruto didn't recognize it. He knew it wasn't the fox, this voice was rather reserved and kind.

'What, who's there?' Naruto asked into darkness. It wasn't a memory Not a thing could be seen except for his own body. He wasn't where the kyuubi's cage was, it was somewhere else- somewhere more peaceful. Naruto had to squint his eyes when a figure began to walk towards him in the distance. "Who are you?" Naruto yelled. Suddenly the person appeared before him in a yellow flash.

"Y-you're," Naruto stuttered before glaring at the golden haired man. The boy threw a sloppy punch and it was easily intercepted. "How could you do this to me?!"

Minato looked at him solemnly. "Naruto… Look at yourself."

Naruto looked down, the ground reflected both him and his father. Minato looked the exact way he did in pictures. Naruto was shocked to see his own appearance. His irises were red and without pupils, the rest of his eyes were black.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked while tightly gripping his hair and squatting down.

Minato squatted down and brought up his son's chin so that they were making eye contact. "The nine tailed fox has chakra running through you. When you're angry it's activated, and because of how much hate is within his chakra you're emotions become charged. If you have enough anger, or hate, the kyuubi will be able to control you."

"How do I stop him?" Naruto asked while standing up. He became worried about everyone on the outside, if the kyuubi took over then they would be killed.

Minato put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and replied, "Accept this side of you, the way you are now. Accept your anger and your hate. Accept your past. You don't need to forget about it but don't let it consume you. Let it make you stronger. Fight to change everything."

His past, loneliness, that's what flashed across Naruto's mind. "How could you both leave me?" Tears were now falling out of Naruto's clinched eyes.

"It wasn't supposed to be that way. I was supposed to be the only one to sacrifice themselves. What I did… it was for everyone, the entire village. What your mother did, that was solely for you."

"What-" Naruto started to ask before he was pulled into a memory. What made this one different was one thing: Minato was with him. He saw the nine tails being restrained with golden chain that were connected to a red haired woman. "Is that?"

Minato nodded. "Yes, that's Kushina."

Naruto was speechless. 'She's so pretty.' Even with messy hair and scratches all over her body Naruto could imagine the good looks his mother must've had. 'Hey, that must mean I'm handsome!' He noticed Kushina was next to a baby, one with blonde hair and whisker marks. It took Naruto a moment to realize that the baby was him.

Minato chuckled, "I know, she's beautiful."

"How was she able to keep the beast controlled?"

"Before you, Kushina was the jinchuriki. During labor the seal weakened and the nine tails was able to be extracted."

Naruto knew there was a second jinchuriki but hadn't known who it was. He felt bad for his mom, wondering if she'd gone through the same things he did. One thing that he realized was that happiness was a possibility, his very existence was proof.

The jinchuriki returned to the scene before him. A spirit arose from Minato's body, the one that was a part of the memory. The only reason that Naruto had managed to identify it as the Shinigami is because he'd researched the cause behind the death of the third hokage. He knew the summoner would die as well. He was about to watch his parents die… Naruto wanted to look away from the sight but couldn't bring himself to do it.

The Shinigami set the seal in place, and in turn severing Minato's spirit from his body. After this happened Naruto watched as Kushina's chains dispersed. The second the chains were gone the kyuubi brought back his paw before slashing forward. Everything that followed was almost too fast to follow, almost. Both Kushina and Minato jumped in front of the fox and were impaled by a single claw. Their feet ground into the dirt so that the momentum could be slowed. Blood dripped onto Naruto's small form yet he remained asleep. His mother was crying and she began to talk to him, basically saying what he had read in the note.

"Do you understand now?"

Naruto's eyes returned to their normal blue color. More pieces still needed to be placed into the puzzle for him to completely understand, but for the time being it was enough. He wasn't left by Minato and Kushina; he was saved by them.

The memory faded away and Naruto returned to the same place he had met Minato, but this time a golden light filled the area.

"I don't have much time left, Naruto. The chakra I sealed into you has almost run out."

Naruto stepped forward while saying, "But there's still so much I need to ask you?"

Minato smiled sadly at his son. "There are others that will be more than willing to answer your questions."

The brightness faded until Naruto was in front of the fox's cage. He was being lifted up and surrounded by red chakra. His hand was on the seal, it had almost been torn off. Naruto glanced behind him when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Minato stood there with a smile and gave him a nod. Naruto returned the gesture before pushing the seal back into place.

"NOOOO!" The Kyuubi bellowed ferociously.

Naruto's feet returned to the ground. He turned around but his father was already but his last words could still be heard.

"Accept each part of yourself. I believe in you, we believe in you."

Naruto felt a rush as he was pulled out of the nine tails lair. He opened his eyes with a quick intake of air. Before he could do anything something hard hit his cheek.

"Don't ever run away from me like that ever again!" Ino yelled before pulling Naruto into a hug.

Naruto felt hot tears hit his shoulder. He wasn't even aware that Ino had been following him, anger had completely taken over his senses. Naruto wrapped his arms around Ino, hoping the embrace could show her just how sorry he was.

When Tsunade saw that Naruto woke up she stood up, ready to walk back to her home. She figured he would still need some time to cool off after the revelation.

"Wait," Naruto requested. He continued when Tsunade looked at him. "I'm ready to listen now but only if Ino can come with." Being near the girl comforted Naruto and she had a way of keeping his emotions in check.

Tsunade sighed in relief. 'Thank Kami, he doesn't hate me.' "Of course, I'll tell you whatever I can," she replied.

"We'll meet up with you in a sec, Tsunade-sama." Ino waited for the woman to walk away before she looked back at Naruto and hugged him again.

Naruto figured he knew what Ino wanted to say. The last thing he remembered before passing out was her performing the mind transfer jutsu. "I'm not mad, you were just tryna protect me."

Ino shook her head, there was more to it than that. "I saw how you grew up. I should've done something but-" she was cut off by Naruto putting a finger to her lips.

"I am learning to accept my childhood. If I didn't go through what I did then we might not be where we are now. I would go through everything all over again if it meant I would have you." There wasn't a shred of doubt to Naruto's voice, he was being completely honest. He would've done it all a thousand times if that is what it took.

Ino looked into his eyes. No matter what he said she had her own regrets. However, she was still more than grateful for his forgiveness. "Fifteen," she whispered before leaning forward and pressing her lips against Naruto's.

The kiss was soft and experimental. It was a first for both Naruto and Ino. Naruto put his hands around Ino's waist while her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. The pace was slow as each of them got used to the feel of the other person's lips against their own. There was a slight awkwardness to the kiss but neither of them cared, as long as they were with each other that was all that mattered. They only parted when their lungs began to beg for air.

Ino leaned her forehead to Naruto's, not ready to separate just yet. "That was…"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied, also at a loss for words.

'Perfect,' they thought in unison.

"Sooo…" Naruto chuckled nervously. "Does this mean that you'll be my girlfriend?" The boys smiled when Ino nodded. He hugged her and spun her around in a circle.

Ino giggled at the gesture before leaning forward enough to just peck her boyfriend's lips.

They walked hand in hand to Tsunade's house. A few people asked Naruto if he was OK, to which he would respond, "I am now." Once they entered the home the two went into the living area. Tsunade sat in a love seat while Jiraiya leaned against the wall. Naruto and Ino took spots next to each other on the loveseat.

Jiraiya and Tsunade patiently waited for Naruto to begin. The sage was surprised that Naruto seemed so calm compared to how he was no more than ten minutes ago. All he knew was that Tsunade had run out of the house without any explanation. Thinking the woman wanted to be alone he remained where he was, wanting to at least attempt to be there for her when she returned.

"Whose idea was it to forbid me from knowing who my parents are until now?"

Jiraiya was the one to answer. "It was the third's idea. He believed that if word got out that Minato was your father that you would become a target." Jiraiya remembered that day vividly. He had argued with the third, trying to persuade him that Naruto should at least know. "Everyone was banned from saying anything about both you being the jinchuriki and Minato and Kushina being your parents."

That answered Naruto's next question, which would've been if the villagers knew. 'They knew I was his son, a hero's son, and they still hated me.'

Ino's eyes widened at the revelation, but after a second she wasn't really all that surprised. No one else, with the exception of Naruto, had hair like the fourth Hokage did. She squeezed Naruto's hand to let him know that she was there form him.

Naruto glanced at Ino and gave her a small smile before inquiring, "Why didn't either off you check up on me?" That was all he really wanted to know. If they had at least visited, even if it was just one of them, the loneliness could've subsided.

"You might not have seen me but I was there," Jiraiya answered. "If I allowed you to get to know me, you would've asked questions. I didn't want to lie to you so I watched from afar until I deemed that you were ready to learn what I have to teach. I protected you from the shadows." Jiraiya meant the last part quite literally. On one occasion a civilian had made out to murder Naruto and he stopped the man. If he hadn't been in Konoha at the time then there was a chance Naruto wouldn't even be alive.

Naruto turned to Tsunade, awaiting her answer to the question.

Tsunade didn't know if he'd accept her answer but she wouldn't lie. Enough had been kept from the boy already. "I was told that the third would look after you. I imagined you growing up under his complete protection and didn't think I could offer you anything better than that. Also… I was, for lack of better words, beginning to go down a dark road. Who would want an alcoholic compulsive gambler as a guardian? That's what I asked myself and from there things only got worse." Tsunade sighed heavily. 'Maybe if I took him in then the light could've returned to my life sooner.'

Arms wrapping around her caused Tsunade to lift her head. Relief, that's what she felt as she hugged Naruto back.

"I didn't go through what you did, so I can't completely understand your reasoning, but I forgive you." Naruto looked at Jiraiya before adding, "Both of you."

As everyone put the past behind them the atmosphere lightened exponentially. "What happened to my body when I was unconscious?" He silently pleaded that he hadn't unintentionally hurt anyone.

"A cloak of red chakra surrounded you, and Tsunade-sama's necklace began to glow. That's pretty much it. Tsunade and I were the only ones there. She'd told everyone to stay away," Ino informed her boyfriend. She quirked her eyebrow at him. "Did something different happen to you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the Kyuubi was taking control of me. I was me but not me at the same time. Then I met my father. He'd sealed some of his chakra into me when he died. He helped me understand a little bit and stopped me from taking off the seal." Naruto looked down and held onto the crystal part of the necklace. "You can have this back. I don't even know how I got it."

Tsunade stopped Naruto from taking the necklace off and chuckled. "I gave it to you when the cloak surrounded you when we had to fight the ANBU members. Think of it as a present. It represents my belief in your dream to become Hokage and achieving greatness. Speaking of presents…" Tsunade stood up and went into her room. She'd been waiting to give it to Naruto for a long time now. It was what she'd secretly bought at the clothes store when she first met Naruto.

Naruto sat up curiously. His obvious excitement was enough to make Ino laugh and Jiraiya smirk while shaking his head lightheartedly. Naruto caught something when that was tossed to him. It was a shirt, that's what he first realized. The shirt was black and had some type of symbol of the back of it. The center looked like the blade of his father's kunai. On each side were two symmetrical lines connected to what would be the left and right part of the kunai. The image was bold so it was able to stand out against the black. Naruto didn't recognize it but did like that it was orange. "What's this," he asked Tsunade.

"That's the symbol your father made to represent the Namikaze clan. Like you, he never knew his parents. He was found as a baby on a windy day near the harbor during high tide so he was given Namikaze as a last name and Minato as a first. As Hokage, he made the clan official and needed a crest to make it known. This is what he came up with."

A wide grin spread across Naruto's lips. Other than the kisses from Ino, the shirt was the best present he'd ever received. "Thank you, Baa-chan." Naruto grinned when he looked up and saw Tsunade's eyes twitching. The name was no longer meant to be an insult and Naruto knew Tsunade picked up on that. There was one final question Naruto wanted to ask. "Can you tell me about them, my parents?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya both nodded with smiles on their faces.

Jiraiya had much more to say about Minato sense the blond had been his student. He told Naruto how his father never did anything without a reason. He told him how, as a kid, Minato had the biggest crush on Kushina. Around this time Tsunade butted in and told Naruto about how Kushina didn't want anything to do with Minato at first.

The reason Tsunade knew so much about Kushina is because she'd visit the redhead anytime she was home from missions. She had first been introduced to the girl when she first came to Konoha. Mito had asked her to try and show her around since the girl had no friends yet. She agreed of course, curious as to why Kushina had come to the village in the first place. They were close until Tsunade left the village then they just grew apart.

Naruto heard the tale of how his parents fell in love, Tsunade and Jiraiya had different versions of the story so he wasn't really sure who to believe. They were telling the tale of Minato and Kushina's wedding when Tsunade looked over and saw that both Naruto and Ino were fast asleep. Ino was leaned up against Naruto's shoulder and he had his arm around her.

"Jiraiya shh," Tsunade said while waving at the man to stop talking. She retrieved a blanket before laying it over the two. Naruto's eyes opened briefly and Tsunade ordered, "No funny business, brat. You can both stay here for the night." Naruto mumbled something before going back to sleep and pulling Ino closer to him.

"Hey Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya said while wiggling his eyebrows. "Can I stay here too?"

Tsunade gave him a half-assed smile. "The doors that way," she replied. She called out to him before he could open the door. "Thanks for earlier."

Jiraiya looked behind his shoulder. "Anytime." There was so much more the man wanted to say but restrained himself, it was nothing Tsunade hadn't heard before anyway. Anytime she needed a shoulder to cry on he'd be there.

A/N: I chose the setting where Minato was found because Namikaze directly translate to wave (Nami) wind (kaze). Minato means port/ harbor. Now, some possibly sad news, I have two college papers to write, one being a final, and I will have to prioritize them over this story. It might take a few weeks for me to publish the next chapter because of that, but it could be no more than three. One more thing, none of the ships I've thought about are set in stone, except NaruIno, so anyone is welcome to give me their opinions on the matter.