Awaken from the Ashes (Naruto Childhood Friend Story)

Chapter 4: Parents

"Come on, we should probably let her rest." Minato told Naruto and Kushina when he returned. They both nodded, but Naruto was a little hesitant to leave Kaya. After what happened today, he was worried about her. But, when Sakura reassured him that she'd take care of her, Naruto finally accepted the idea of leaving.

"Thanks Sakura-chan." He had thanked her, and she nodded in response.

It was only when he and his parents decided to leave Kaya that his situation hit him. His parents. They were really here, alive. He finally got to meet his parents, and now he had a chance to be with them, even if only temporarily. He didn't want to get his hopes up that this would last, but he would take the time he has now.

They started walking out of the hospital in silence, none of them knowing what to say. This wasn't a situation any of them had faced before, and none of them knew what they should do. Kushina was the one to break the silence, finally, with a slightly dramatic sigh. "Sixteen years, huh? That's an awful lot of time to miss, dattebane." Kushina commented, seeming to direct it to no one specifically, but she hoped it would help start a conversation with her son. "Would you mind filling us in on what we missed?" She asked him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, unsure of where to start or what to say. He wanted to tell his parents everything, now that he had the chance to meet him, but there was a lot. He nodded though, after a moment, then started thinking of what he would start with. He was completely unsure.

Kushina noticed his uncertainty, so she decided to try to help him. She wanted to know everything, and Minato did too, so it didn't matter what Naruto wanted to tell them first. Not having much of a reference point for where to start, she decided to ask the first thing that came to her mind that might help the conversation. "Do you know that pink-haired nurse?" She asked, remembering the casual way that he addressed her when he thanked her.

Naruto was thankful for the question. "Yeah. Sakura-chan is on my team, along with-" As if on cue, the person Naruto was about to mention was the one that interrupted him as he happened to be walking by.

"Hey Naruto." Kakashi waved to his student with one hand while holding his book open in the other. When he noticed the two people Naruto was walking with, Kakashi froze, his one visible eye widening in shock, but that shock quickly being replaced with a doubtful look.

Noticing his sensei's mistrust for the two, Naruto stepped in. "Granny Tsunade already confirmed their identities. They're real. And guess what? They're my parents!" Naruto told him, excited when he said the last part.

Kakashi's expression returned to shock. "Minato-sensei, Kushina-san? How are you alive?" He asked them.

"We aren't really sure, dattebane." Kushina answered. "But anyway, did he just call you 'Kakashi-sensei'?" She asked. She didn't expect that Kakashi to decide to become a jounin sensei!

Kakashi nodded with an awkward laugh. "I didn't expect you to become a sensei." Minato commented, proud of his student for deciding to help train the newer generations of shinobi.

"It took a while to find a genin team that could pass the test though. Even Naruto's team barely passed." Kakashi commented. "I decided it would be interesting trying to lead a team." He added. "Anyway, we can get caught up some other time. I'm sure you want to spend some time as a family, right?" Kakashi said then left before waiting for an answer.

Naruto had forgotten until that conversation that Kakashi was the Yondaime's student. Does this mean he knew about his parents this whole time...? He would have to ask about it later.

"Kakashi-sensei is in charge of mine and Sakura-chan's team." Naruto said to try to finish what he had been mentioning before. "But he's always late every time we're supposed to meet for a mission or for training, and he always gives these super lame excuses, dattebayo!" He added. His parents both laughed a bit, both at Naruto's mild complaining and at Kakashi's change of character. Thinking about the always-on-time Kakashi as now being the always-super-late Kakashi was funny to them.