Chapter Text
Minato had no idea what he was looking at.
A man who looked... vaguely familiar... was laying in his brothers living room, his younger nieces and Shin all piled on top of him, and was reading aloud a children's book. The red head might even pass for normal if it weren't for the fluffy fox ears and his veritable mound of twitching fuzzy tails.
“Yo.” His voice was so deep it made Minato feel a bit... emasculated? Who the hell was this?!
“Hey Minato.” His hair was messed up by Haruki's large hand. Minato finally clicked into place why he looked familiar. He looks like Haruki... kind of.
“Who...” He would remember someone like that. Any Shinobi who would go around so flamboyantly-
“Oh, that's Kurama. You know, the fox.” His blood ran cold for all of a second before his brain and eyes caught up.
The man who looked like some sort of fairytale version of a kitsune was reading to the kids was the same chakra beast that had nearly destroyed Haruki's village when he was a baby and haunted Kushina? The big softy who was reading Ninja Kitty Goes to School to his nieces?
“How is he... out?”
“It's kind of like a spiritual medium or a proxy clone? If the body can't be maintained his consciousness goes back to me, and were still connected even now.” He watched Kurama flick his tails as Megumi and Bashira attempted to grab them to tie bows on them. “The uh... the kids found out so... they know about him...”
Minato rubbed his temples.
“Does anyone else?”
“... Tsunade may have talked to him... the last time she was here...” As long as she didn't tell anyone it should be okay. What the hell were they going to do about this? A nearly seven foot tall kitsune man built like a brick wall wouldn't go unnoticed forever.
He would have to talk to Kushina. They were having new years here in a few days, so she needed to be warned.
“Hey, baba?” The massive man hummed, and Fu wrung his hands, shifting the blade between them nervously. “We look alike.” Fox ears twitched at that. “So could you be my real dad?”
“No chance. But it does make me happy that we look alike.” His baba fixed the hold he had on the blade, “Brace this with your thumb more. Have you never stabbed anyone before?”
“No.” His baba just shook his head. “Daddy told me I have to wait until I'm older...”
“Hmm. I'm going to take you and your siblings on a night hunt.” He grumbled as he adjusted Fu's posture before letting him go back to practicing his stances, “At the very least you're old enough to kill your first rabbit.”
“But I don't want to kill a rabbit. I want to kill Elder Danzo.”
“You don't start killing tigers, you start with rabbits and work your way up.” Fu pouted, it was around then his daddy noticed they were knife training again and came down to scold them.
“The new years party is starting in a few hours, go wash up, Fu.” He got around the corner into the hallway of the lowest floor before he could hear his baba being chewed out for trying to teach him knife play again. Fu ran up the stairs at a fast clip until he was at his room, running into his bathroom to freshen up after training and struggling to put on the nice kimono that his papa had given him for the holiday. He fingered the scale like embroidery along the cuffs as he struggled to put it on. He went two rooms clockwise and knocked on the screen.
“Whats wrong?” Kakashi poked his head out and Fu gestured to his mess of a kimono. Kakashi had already changed and sighed, helping him get dressed. He could hear through the open courtyard screens that their older sisters were running about changing hair pins and the like.
It was their first new years as a family. His oji and oba would be coming for the party, Hizashi-san and his family would visit too, and Kakashi's friends were coming. Tsunade oba would bring Tenzo and Shizune too, and their papa had been cooking with baba's help off and on all day. They'd go ring bells tomorrow with his other oji and oba, and there were going to be fireworks tonight.
Kakashi didn't say anything when he hid his knife in his sleeve.
Fu had been... bad. He was worse, but now it was just bad. He didn't want to sleep alone, so when Kakashi was home he would crawl into his futon beside him, and when Kakashi wasn't home he'd bounce between Urushi's room and Chiyo's.
He had also been treated strangely at school, like people thought he was made of glass.
Fu wasn't scared though. He was angry.
He was just so full up on burning rage that he couldn't sleep. Their new baba, or old he guessed, Kurama... He understood. His new baba was trying to help him channel his rage, and he could listen to him without getting upset because of how Fu felt. Kurama had told him that if he could, he would have killed the man who imprisoned him initially without hesitation. Time had mellowed it, but he wasn't trying to force Fu to make it happen for himself. In some ways... it was calming him down. Kurama was letting him be angry and take the steps he felt he needed to so he could get his revenge. Daddy and papa allowed it because at least training with baba he had someone that could make sure he did things safely.
“Fu, come on. Don't you want to eat the snacks papa made?” It's quiet. His big brother never calls them daddy or papa when they're around to hear it, but he's been doing it when the two are alone. Maybe someday his brother would be brave enough to say it around them.
“Yeah...” Kakashi was a good big brother. He took his hand and let himself be led upstairs. He knew Kakashi still felt like it was his fault, but Fu didn't blame him.
He didn't always understand, but he knew everyone was worried about him.
Kakashi hugged his shoulders with one arm.
He'd be okay. Someday.
Once he got his revenge.
