Chapter 4: Family? We Are No Such Thing.

"Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are." ~Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince.1513

That evening was spent in silence. Minato ordered Naruto to have dinner with them. His son came down with his vest and his hitai-ate on his head and his mask still up. Now that he faced his son, he wondered when his son started to wear the mask like Kakashi.

Kushina wanted to make all of Naruto's favorites but when she got to the kitchen, she realized that she didn't know what her son's favorites were. Thinking further, she also came to be slapped by reality that she didn't even know anything about her son. What was his favorite color? Did he like any particular sweet? What did he like best: orange juice or milk? It made her depressed further when more and more questions came up and she had no answer to even one.

Nuriko had not said anything. She had watched her brother attempt to leave the house but was stopped by their dad who commanded him to stay. What was happening? And what was in that file that had been on the floor before her daddy gathered them up? She couldn't see anything or even managed to read one page. And why was Naruto wearing a jounin vest and a hitai-ate?! She had thought he had dropped out of school when he had stopped attending classed after their sixth birthday. But low and behold, he was wearing a damn jounin vest!

When they were called for dinner, Nuriko heard her daddy order her brother to have dinner with them and he came down wearing his vest, his hitai-ate, and a mask! Since when did he wear one?!

When they all had sat down, the dining room was filled with tension but to Nuriko, her brother looked detached.

"Let's eat." Minato said softly, breaking the silence of the room.

"Naruto, would you like to try the fish curry?" Kushina asked.

"I'm allergic to seafood." Was his answer and Kushina gasped.

"Oh! I am so sorry, Naruto! I didn't know! Uhm… how about the chicken roll then." She said, trying not to cry once more while passing the plate to her son who silent accepted it.

Minato swallowed hard. He couldn't eat seafood as well since he would bloat up and redden. So, his son was allergic like him. He inwardly smiled a little.

Nuriko was trying not to burst and remain silent as she glanced at her brother who seemed more of a stranger to her than her twin.

"Aren't you going to drop the mask? How will you eat?" she asked but got a raised brow in return.

Naruto raised his chopsticks and ate as if the mask was not there at all. Nuriko's eyes widen in shock. How was her brother doing that?

Minato and Kushina were all too familiar with it since Kakashi was just like Naruto.

"When did you start wearing a maks?" Nuriko asked again.

"After my first A-rank where hunter nins from Kiri heard of Ibiki-sensei and Anko-sensei's apprentice that just turned Jounin." He answered her which shocked Nuriko.

Her brother was indeed a jounin and had gone to A-rank missions already.

"Since when were you a jounin?!" Nuriko was losing her temper.

"Since I turned seventh. I passed the Academy when I was six. Passed the Chuunin exams after I turned seven then jounin sixth months later." He answered her, dismissing her rising temper.

Minato and Kushina were mentally taking notes of their son's answers.

"What?! How can that be?! You dropped out! You stopped going to school!" Nuriko finally burst.

"Dropped out? I stopped attending the Academy since I already passed the Academy tests. Morino Ibiki of the T&I Department had requested for my apprenticeship and trained me single-handedly. He then requested for me to take the Chuunin Exams then the Jounin Exams six months after I had passed the Chuunin Exams. You would have known that if you weren't so busy stalking Sasuke, gossiping with the mind invader and the abnormally pink haired girl with a large forehead and SPD." Naruto told her coldly, extinguishing her temper instantly as he glared his ice cold eyes at her.

Nuriko had never seen her brother angry before. Heck, she had never seen him since he had left the Academy. And to think that they lived in one house. Then Naruto's words came back to her.

"I do not stalk Sasuke-kun! And don't call Ino and Sakura weird names!" she yelled at him but he merely raised a brow at her.

"You do and you know it. Inu, Weasel, and Karasu knows you stalk him. The Yamanaka are mind invaders as they can enter the enemy's minds during interrogation. And Haruno has an abnormally large forehead and has SPD. If you would ask you mind invader to enter Haruno's mind, you will find out that I am telling you the truth." He told her and she turned red in the face.

The ANBU knew?! Whatever do they know?! And what the hell was SPD?

Minato and Kushina would have laughed at this banter if the situation was lighter.

"And seeing that look on your face shows you know nothing. SPD stands for Split Personality Disorder. So far from observations that I have seen whenever I see you three, she doesn't have MPD which is far harder to cure. And in case you didn't know what MPD meant as well, it means Multiple Personality Disorder." Naruto told her passively which was annoying Nuriko so much.

Nuriko was looking more like an idiot in front of their parents the more she questioned her brother. She didn't know if it would be a good or a bad thing to keep interrogating him. But her curiousity got the better of her.

"What were on the files that daddy brought home and showed mommy?" Nuriko asked and the whole table froze.

Naruto eyed Nuriko before turning to the couple who stared at their daughter.

"I am not sure, either that was my file folder containing everything about me or something else. Why don't you ask the Hokage himself?" Naruto challenged her and knew that she would fall for it.

"Daddy, what was on those papers?" Nuriko asked and Naruto smirked behind his mask and resumed eating.

"Well uhm… you see Nuriko… Those papers were…" Minato began to sweat.

How was he going to tell his daughter that it was her brother's folder file about all his achievements, mission lists, abilities, and skills?

Naruto on the other hand, was amused to see the man squirm under a simple question. Did Minato fear his daughter's reaction when she found out how different they really were and that Nuriko would finally see that she was nothing compared to him? Whatever the reason, Naruto didn't really care.

"Nuriko, it's about Naruto's… prior missions and reports." Minato said in a low voice.

Nuriko looked confused. If they were mission reports, why did their daddy have to show their mommy? Nuriko would have pressed on if the knock didn't interrupt them.

Kushina instantly stood up and ran to the door to see who it was and wonder why someone would come to their home this late. She opened the door to see Kakashi, Iruka, and Ibiki standing outside their door.

"Oh Kakashi-kun, Ibiki-san, Umino-kun… What can I do for you three?" she asked them.

"Good evening, Kushina-sama. We were just wondering if Naruto is here. He was supposed to meet up with us two hours ago." Ibiki spoke for the group and before she could say anything, Naruto came and spoke.

"Gomenasai Ibiki-taicho, Kakashi-sempai, Iruka-sempai. The Yondaime ordered me to stay as I was about to leave. I had forgotten to send a missive to inform you that I can no longer move to live with you Iruka-sempai." Naruto said as he bowed.

Kushina was surprised at this. Naruto was going to move in with Iruka? Again, before she could say anything, Minato came to the door this time.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama. Our deepest apologies for disturbing your evening meal. We were just worried when Naruto-kun didn't show up earlier." Iruka spoke this time.

Minato looked torn in between angry and hurt. Angry because he had heard that his son was moving in with his secretary and hurt that his son chose to leave them.

"My son will not be moving out as he doesn't have the need to. He is still ten years old as it is." Minato's lame excuse rose up.

"My apologies, Yondaime-sama… However, may I remind you that I am considered an adult as it is since I am a jounin and have been for the last four years? I could have moved out long ago and you would not have noticed at all had I not told you earlier." Naruto bluntly pointed out and Kushina chocked and swallowed her sob.

She didn't want to cry in front of these men.

Ibiki shifted and nodded.

"Then we shall take our leave, Hokage-sama." Ibiki said then turned to Naruto.

"We shall see you tomorrow then, Naruto-kun."

"Hai, Ibiki-taicho." Naruto replied and nodded to Kakashi and Iruka who followed Ibiki down the path and out the Namikaze compound.

The three went back inside and Naruto was heading back to his room when Kushina called out to him.

"Naruto… would you really have moved out and leave your family if your father had not ordered you to?" Kushina asked, hoping he would say something to calm her down however the look on his face and the coldness of his eyes spoke differently.

"Family? We are no such thing. However, he is my Hokage; I would not dare disobey his order. Good evening to you both, Hokage-sama. Kushina-sama." He answered and left, hearing the woman who was once his mother fall on the floor and cry once more.

He did not see the man who was once his father cry in silence as both watched him walk away from them, realizing that what he said was right; they were not a family. They never had been a family to him.