Fork in the Road

Ch. 2

Thank You

"Tajima-sama!" A medium length haired man with black eyes that matched his hair came running in, sweat cascading his brow.

"Arata, what is it? You've look like you've seen the shinigami." The man named Tajima was standing next to his 13 year old son who had spiky long hair that reached his neck and equally black eyes. The boy had been discussing his patrol duty with his father when his uncle had come in and interrupted their conversation.

"T-The Kyūbi no Yōko has dissapeared! He was last sensed a few miles off in the confinements of it's cave but just an hour ago we lost track of it's chakra!" Tajima had all but ignored his son in favor of listening to Arata, a glare on his face. This was important. Important and dangerous.

"How is that possible?! How can you lose track of a chakra force that large!"

"I-I don't know! It just dissapeared!"

"Well you better find it. It is our duty to keep that demon under control and if destroys a nearby settlement or clan territory it'll be on our neck." The man nodded quickly and ran back in the direction he came.

"Incompetent." The boy next to him merely glanced up at his father who began reading a scroll.

"Madara check on your brother and head out for scouting duty. I'll be busy so go train afterwards." Madara frowned as his father walked away, the man not even listening to a word he had just said. This was expected though.

"Are you okay nii-san?" Startled a bit, he turned to see his younger brother in his training clothes. Black spiky hair that had a bit of a blue tint framed his creamy white face as the bangs parted down the center. He nodded with a bit of a far away look on his face.

"I'm fine Izuna. It's just another perk of being the son of a clan head, ya know." Giving his younger brother a grin, the boy walked passed him but not before ruffling the short hair.

"I'll be back in an hour or two. Take care until I get back." Izuna could see the small joy in his brother's eyes. It was weird. He had always expressed dissapointment when he was put in scouting duty.

"Maybe he's got a secret lover." Scrunching up his face at the thought of his brother being lovey dovey with another person was...disgusting. But he was interested in what had gotten his brother so happy about scouting duty. Guess he'll have to find out.

___________________

Their tears were dry after crying. Their once heavy hearts felt light and at peace. It had felt good to cry and even better in the memory of their sibling/son.

"Thank you...Naruto." Naruto grinned knowing fully well how good it was to cry after years and yesrs of holding back. He just thanked whatever lucky stars convinced them to expel all that pent up emotion. It'll help in the long run. Hopefully.

"No problem. Ah...I just wanted to ask if I could crash for the night. I'll get moving along in the morning." He had things to do, people to turn and keep good, and so much more. It would be convient if he coud stay with the Senju clan especially with them so close to the Uchihas, in terms of territory, but he didn't want to intrude on their lives. He wasn't a part of this time, and he had no right to be a part of their growing lives.