Sweet Sacrifice

Jiraiya was deep in thought as he drank sake with Tsunade and Kakashi. His son Arashi had surprised him. He really couldn't wait until he could talk to both of them, Arashi and Naruto. The Gama Sennin was sure it would be an interesting conversation to say the least.

"You both noticed that Arashi can hit as hard as Tsunade didn't you? Without chakra to boot."

His fellow drinking partners were not quite sure what to say. The Sansai apparently more than deserved his reputation and had earned the fear he inspired in others. All of them had seen, or rather had not seen, how fast Arashi moved and how hard he hit. His intelligence was shown through how sharp his tongue had been and how accurate the words he spoke were; Arashi's analysis had been flawless. All of them now had a healthy respect for the young Sennin but it was scary to know that he was holding back, a lot.

"I had Shizune check the medical report of the Uchiha after he was examined at the hospital. The spoiled little snot's jaw was completely shattered from the kick. Several other bones, especially his ribs, were broken and fractured from going through that tree. The doctors had to remove quite a few large splinters from his back and his left side. He will be in the hospital and eating from a straw for a long time as well as being taken off the active duty roster. He will be demoted back to genin for trying to provoke and attack an important dignitary as well as harrass them. The Council can not dispute his punishment or his demotion considering who it was he was harrassing and provoking."

Kakashi looked rather apathetic about his former student's fate while Jiraiya was laughing, not bothering to hide his amusement over Uchiha Sasuke's predicament.

"He never did learn how to back off from opponents far stronger than him. He was that way as a genin when he was under my command and he still is. Orochimaru probably let him have his way, or at least let him think he was having his way, and inflated his ego."

"There is nothing you can do about it Kakashi. Students have to have the desire to learn and the capacity to listen to learn at all. Minato and Naruto were the best students I ever taught. Both were eager, willing to learn and listen, obedient for the most part, imaginative, and independent, as well as more than willing to work alone and ask for help when needed. I couldn't have asked for better students. That's probably why I can't wait to meet Arashi."

Tsunade snorted. "You're probably just going to try to infect him with that perverted filth you write. That or see if he already reads it."

Jiraiya just smirked at his loyal remaining teammate while Kakashi chuckled quietly at Tsunade's words.

Arashi barely waited for the door of the room in their large suite that Gaara and Naruto had escorted him into closed before stripping off all of his clothes, leaving him nude. Jinchuuriki were not body conscious and Arashi was no exception. He was polite enough not to strip or walk around without clothes on in front of Temari and Kankuro, as were Gaara and Naruto. But Gaara and Naruto were the only ones in the room with him at the moment and it wasn't anything they hadn't seen before. Arashi had seen them both naked on numerous occasions as well as in compromising situations. Not that the two mates had stopped what they were doing on Arashi's account. They both trusted Arashi, though the silver-eyed seer's control still amazed them. He didn't react in the slightest to their displays, the ones he had witnessed.

So not paying any attention to his nakedness in front of his brothers Arashi climbed into the bed and settled down. He didn't say anything when the two mates settled onto the loveseat in the room together. Arashi knew by the size of this room in particular that it was the master bedroom of this suite and thus Gaara and Naruto's bedroom for the duration of their stay. They had taken him to sleep in their bedroom, on doubt so that they could guard him while he was vulnerable. He really should have known better than to think for even a second that they would have missed how out of it he really was. Even in sleep a Jinchuuriki was alert, unless they were as tired and drained as Arashi currently was.

It didn't take Arashi to fall into slumber listening to the quiet murmuring and calm presences of his precious brothers.

But it didn't take long for Arashi to wake up either. Opening his eyes Arashi observed Gaara pounding into Naruto, who was on his knees with his hands gripping the arm of the loveseat. They were lost in their passion for each other. 'At least I got two hours or so of restful sleep.' Arashi could tell they had been going at it for quite some time by how slick their bodies were and by how much come was sliding down Naruto's inner thighes. The room was thick with the scent of sex and arousal. It was times like this that Arashi was very thankful for his very strong self-control and that he cursed living so far away from his lovers, of which he had several, at least until he had a mate, if he ever mated.

It didn't take long for them to finish; their cries of pleasure filling the room. When Gaara and Naruto returned to themselves they became aware of Arashi leaning up on his forearms staring at them in amusement.

"Couldn't resist an opportunity to join together?"

They both wore slightly sheepish looks in response to Arashi's amused question.

"It is alright you two. I don't mind you taking advantage of chance to relieve your stress. Clean up and get in bed."

Seeing that their brother wasn't mad at the interruption of his rest they did as he bid them to and cleaned up. However, instead of climbing into bed together they climbed in on opposite sides. This left Arashi between two nicely toned and completely naked bodies. Arashi didn't mind the intimate contact, in fact, all three of them enjoyed it greatly, but Arashi made a mental note to make sure that neither Kankuro or Temari saw them in this position. This was just Gaara and Naruto's way of comforting him and comforting themselves. Kankuro and Temari didn't quite understand that, not yet anyway.

Arashi had begun to dicuss very intimate things with Naruto and Gaara in front of dehumanizing, or perhaps a better word would be unconditioning, Temari and Kankuro so that neither would be unprepared for having a Jinchuuriki mate. Konan and Ranmaru probably would have shocked the two silly had Gaara, Naruto, and Arashi not collaborated in an effort to ease them into what to expect from their future mates. The first time the three began discussing sex in front of Kankuro and Temari they had both gone very red in the face and had nearly suffered heart attacks. Now they barely batted an eyelash at listening to the frank discussions, but seeing Arashi naked and entwined in bed with Gaara and Naruto might actually make them suffer those heart attacks. Some things were better left alone and this was just one of those things.

Arashi woke about an hour or two after the sun rose into the sky still entwined with a naked Gaara and Naruto. They all must have been more tired than they thought. But they really did need to be getting up. Gaara had a meeting with the Hokage as well as the Mizukage who was arriving today. Temari and Kankuro planned to go check on the genin from Suna who were in the tournament and the jounin who was responsible for them. One team had been sent and all three genin had made it into the finals.

Naruto was probably going with Arashi to the hotsprings to meet with Jiraiya. Naruto was rather fond of his Ero-Sennin and he wanted to be there to support both of them. Besides it would probably be highly entertaining to watch and listen to.

Naruto and Gaara woke when they felt a source of warmth leave their bed. Both opened their eyes to the sight of Arashi completely unclothed with his spikey silver-white hair cascading unbound down to the backs of his knees in the morning sunlight. It was a very rare treat to see Arashi's hair unbound, about as rare as seeing Gaara without his Suna no Yoroi or Naruto not displaying his mating mark.

After seeing that Naruto's mating mark matched the mark on Gaara's head he insisted, with Naruto's help and assisstance, that it be apart of the Sabaku Clan crest and that it be the Clan marking like the Inuzuka's red triangles. Arashi, Kankuro, and Temari had the crimson kanji 'ai' on their upper right arms like a GALE operative. GALE being the Suna equivalent of the AQUA of Kirigakure, the FLOW of Amegakure, ANBU of Konohagakure, the CRAG of Iwagakure, the BOLT of Kumogaukre, the ECHO of Otogakure, and the SEED of Kusagakure.

"Rashi why aren't you still in bed?"

Arashi removed his gaze from the open window to look over at the two in the bed in faint amusement.

"Well Naruto, it is rather late in the morning, for us that is, and Gaara does have a meeting to attend in about an hour. Besides, I plan on going to the hotsprings to relax and perhaps speak with my... father Jiraiya."

The silver-eyed seer did know just what words to speak to make them panic. Gaara had less than an hour to get presentable enough to go to the meeting between the Kages in attendance for this Chuunin Exam, seeing as Zabuza was arriving today. While Naruto helped Gaara by getting everything together for him while the red-head showered, Arashi was getting dressed and making sure Naruto did as well. The blond could be single-minded when it came to Gaara, but that was just how mates were so Arashi just made sure Naruto didn't forget to get ready and watched indulgently as the blond fussed over his crimson-haired mate.

Going back into the bathroom for a few moments after he dressed Gaara came back out to just in time to see Arashi sitting on the loveseat with Naruto sitting on the floor between his legs brushing Naruto's long golden-silver locks. Grooming, and even close contact, was considered intimate among Jinchuuriki, well it was unless you were on assignment and seduction of the target was involved. So it was perfectly acceptable for family to do such intimate things like what Arashi was doing, but it would not be acceptable at all to Gaara if say, Kiba, was doing it because though a friend of Naruto's the Inuzuka was not strictly family. Temari in particular loved to touch, play with, and brush both Naruto and Arashi's long hair. Thus, Gaara wasn't surprised with what he was seeing, in fact, it reassured him that Arashi and Naruto were feeling well today because they were comfortable enough to do so.

Arashi looked up when he felt Gaara's fond gaze focus on them. He was glad his brothers were both so relaxed this morning, especially considering where they were. The silver-eyed seer had no liking for Konohagakure no Sato and had feared that Gaara and Naruto would not sleep peacefully last night. His calm presence had helped center them and his being slightly vulnerable had given them something to focus their thoughts and attention on, thus distracting them from any dark thoughts.

"Have a good meeting Gaara. Perhaps it will not be as boring as the ones you have to sit through at home."

"Yes Gaara, good luck with your meeting. Hopefully Zabuza brought Haku with him. It has been ages since I last saw him, unlike Kankuro and you Arashi. Kankuro would probably be really happy if Ranmaru came as well."

Nodding in acknowledgement of their words, Gaara hopes that the meeting is not as boring as those he has to sit through in Suna as well. It was rather hard to stay awake when those ancient withered wind-bags sat there an bickered like old women for hours on end. Gaara couldn't even get Naruto to attend those meetings with him, though Arashi could be persuaded to suffer with him on occasion, but then he owed his brother a favor.

Arashi tilted his head slightly to the left as if listening to something. The two mates were both rather sure that Arashi was listening to the wind speak. The silver-eyed Sennin was adept in and used almost all of the different arts of divination and had an amazing as well as strong connection to nature in all its forms.

"Haku and Ranmaru are with Zabuza," Arashi's eyebrows furrowed slightly which caught their attention, "Kisame is with them as well. Zetsu is not in the area at all; he is still in Ame no Kuni, the capital in fact. Perhaps he is helping Nagato prepare for the large conference to be held there in six months or so after this Chuunin Exam."

"Conference?" Gaara and Naruto asked in unison.

Arashi looked up from his task of brushing Naruto's long hair to look Gaara and Naruto in the eyes as the blond turned around.

"The conference the Daimyo plan on having for peace and trade talks. It is being held in the capital of Ame because Ame has been rather neutral and isolationist since Nagato killed Hanzo and took over. Amegakure no Sato is still recovering from Hanzo's rather harsh and iron-fisted rule." Both of them noticed the way those silver eyes flickered away as if Arashi wasn't saying something.

"Arashi, what's wrong? Gaara and I won't get mad at you, you know. But we can tell you're not telling us something. So what are you trying to avoid telling us?"

Arashi sighed. Sometimes his Sight was a gift and a curse. He had Seen some things about the conference that Naruto and Gaara were really not going to like. He was aware that if the two mates went over what he said that they might have an inkling of what he didn't want to say was. He really didn't want to worry them, no matter how cautious they would have to be concerning the conference. But the conference wasn't the only thing he had Seen.

"The Daimyo of every country as well as the Kage of every village is going to be there." Arashi could see the upset comprehension dawn in their eyes. "The Daimyo of Ta no Kuni, Rice Field Country, is obligated to attend as well as the Shodai Otokage Orochimaru who is charge of the shinobi forces of Ta no Kuni."

xxxxxxx

Gaara was not expecting those words to come out of Arashi's mouth. Through their mating bond he could feel Naruto's anger and anxiety concerning the Hebi Sannin. Orochimaru was not legendary for nothing and no shinobi lives long enough to be considered ready for retirement because of old age unless they are very skilled. This development was not a pleasant one or an expected one. Actually, the whole thing gave Gaara a feeling of forboding as if his instincts were trying to warn him. But what were they warning him about? There was nothing they could do at the moment. They did have at least six months to prepare because there was no way Gaara was going to put his precious people in danger. Not after he finally had them.

"You have Seen this? In that vision earlier? The one that upset you so much?"

Arashi looked at Gaara with solemn eyes. "It was one of them. It would be best if I saved the other things for another time. We all have things to deal with now and time to deal with the other things later."

Gaara exchanged a look with Naruto. Those dearly loved sapphire eyes told him to leave things as they were, for now, and drag it out of Arashi later when they were safe and secure at home. So Gaara nodded in agreement before leaving quickly after a glance at the clock.

xxxxxxx

Naruto was rather amused at the moment. A year of living with his mate and their family, their Clan, had softened his views and made him more forgiving. He could now say with no doubt that he had forgiven Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sarutobi, and Kakashi. And his father. He had slowly over the year of being happy forgiven Namikaze Minato. The man, his father, really had had no choice. Arashi had explained that Fate did have a role in who would be one of the Guardians, the Biju, the Jinchuuriki, and the Gifted. So Naruto was destined to be a Jinchuuriki but something seemed to bother Arashi when the seer spoke of the Sealing of Kyuubi.

Arashi had been very helpful when he had stolen and copied a great number of important scrolls and files in the Hokage Tower. The white-haired seer had made sure to procure everything he could find about Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina for Naruto's benefit. Naruto hoped to have a private talk with Jiraiya later to confirm what he had read. His father... it was still so strange to acknowledge the man as such, had been forced by the Council of Konoha to marry Kushina. Naruto hadn't been the only one to have been fucked over by the greedy meddlesome Council. And it hadn't been a happy marriage at all from what he had read. But Naruto had the strangest feeling that there was something missing from the files, something vital that would help him make sense of this mess.

There had to be a reason that the Yondaime Hokage had sacrificed himself in the Sealing of Kyuubi when the Sandaime had offered to make the sacrifice for him. That piece of information would make this puzzle make complete sense. And it would.

xxxxxxx

Leaving his thoughts to be pondered another day, Naruto watched Arashi interact with Jiraiya. The two, father and son, separated as they were, fit together. And deep down Naruto wished wistfully that he could have had the chance to interact with his own father in the same way. All of them were sitting under one of Konoha's great trees in the shade.

When they began to speak of hobbies and Jiraiya began to talk about his writing Naruto spoke up. "You know Sensei while your books are good I like Rashi's better. Of course, that might be because all of them are geared toward same-sex couples. Temari and her intended both love the yuri books you have written and quite a number of us, Gaara and myself included, love the yaoi books you have written so far."

"Where did you find them Naruto? I had no intention of publishing those, especially since some of them were inspired by several of our kind, you and Gaara included."

Jiraiya looked his son over curiously. He could almost swear that he had seen him in a painting or had his son described to him years ago. The way Arashi looked, and he wasn't talking about what he saw every time he looked in the mirror, just tugged at a vague recollection of his that wouldn't go away, but he stobbornly pushed it to the back of his mind. Those startling silver eyes coupled with that hair were just too hard to ignore though.

Jiraiya was interested. Apparently his son was just as good of a writer of smut as he himself was. Being good writers must be a family trait. He knew Arashi was a good writer because it would have to nothing short of fantastic for Naruto to like it, much less love it. He himself wrote mainly heterosexual smut, though he did branch out into more adventurous sexual practices, having tried quite a few. Though it did surprise him that his unmated son, who was a Jinchuuriki, had so much experience in the more carnal and sensual side of life. But who was he to be a hypocrite?

The Gama Sennin became even more interested when Naruto unsealed several copied versions of the books Arashi had written and handed them to Jiraiya for the Sennin's expert opinion. Clearly Naruto thought they should be published; a feeling that was shared by more than several of those who were among the Guardians. After reading several pages Jiraiya was among the number who thought Arashi should publish them. This was erotic and absolutely addictive. Jiraiya decided right then and there that he would publish them himself.

"You know Arashi I do own my own publishing company. I bought it to publish my Icha Icha Paradise and would be more than happy to publish any of your books."

Arashi looked between Naruto and Jiraiya taking in their encouraging expressions. It made him feel a little warn inside to know that his father liked his books as much as his friends had. Though it still amazed him how much everyone who had read them liked them and how addicted they were to them. Konan and Tobi asked if he had finished another one everytime they saw him. Not that the rest of the Akatsuki were any better. In fact, Arashi still remembered the time when Tobi had managed to destroy Arashi's clothes before dumping the seer right in the middle of Nagato and Itachi's bed with practically nothing on so that Arashi could be inspired. His occasional lovers had been more than happy to follow Tobi's suggestion; they liked the books too and loved to know that they were inspiration for them.

"If you think they are good enough then that would be fine. Do what you wish."

Arashi observed Naruto for a moment as Jiraiya and the blond-haired Jinchuuriki celebrated Arashi allowing his works to be published. Naruto clearly wanted to speak with Jiraiya alone for a little while. There was obviously something on his blond brother's mind. So making a quick decision the silver-eyed seer stood up, gaining the attention of the other two.

"I will leave you both to speak to each other privately for a little while. I need to speak with Haku, Ranmaru, and especially Kisame about certain things." Arashi barely gave them time to understand what he was saying before disappearing into thin air as was his habit.

Naruto stared at the place his silver-eyed brother had occupied moments before. It was very clear, at least to him, that Arashi had sensed his need to speak to Jiraiya in private, away from attentive listeners who didn't need to hear what he wished to speak of.

Jiraiya for his part noticed the serious expression that had settled upon Naruto's face. He too had understood what his son Arashi was doing by leaving and he wasn't surprised by his son's actions, not with what he knew of Arashi. Obviously Naruto needed to speak with him about something of importance and private in nature. Arashi would not have left as he did if Naruto wanted him to be hear when they discussed what ever they were going to discuss.

"Sensei... I have read every file that Arashi found for me on my... father. Before you even think about trying to defend him I will tell you this; I no longer hold any ill-will against him. Namikaze Minato did what he had to do. Arashi explained that I would have been a Jinchuuriki even if my.. father did not seal Kyuubi within me. But he always avoids speaking about what he Sees in regards to my father so I never speak of it with or around him. Tell me about him. Solve the mystery I sense."

How was Naruto to know Arashi avoided the subject because of the bad feelings Naruto gave off when the subject of Minato came up? An how was Arashi to know that those feelings were not inspired by Minato, but by Kushina whose very mentioning reminded Naruto of far too many bad memories? Kushina left Naruto by choice; Minato was taken from Naruto.

"Minato was very lively around those he trusted but very reserved otherwise," Jiraiya paused and looked at Naruto very hard, as if he were analyzing the blond's very soul.

There was no reason to keep this from Naruto, who would not scorn his father for what he was. If anything it would help Naruto understand and empathize with his father better. Not to mention Naruto might be able to help Jiraiya figure out the mystery surrounding Minato's death.

"Naruto, this might come as a bit of a shock, but I am not lying at all. It was not widely known, at least not in Konoha, but Minato was the Jinchuuriki of the Fenikkusu Kasei, just as Arashi is the Jinchuuriki of the Kimera Kuronue and you are the Jinchuuriki of the Kitsune Tenkou also known as Kyuubi."

Naruto really wasn't sure he could be anymore shocked than he was right now. His father was a Jinchuuriki just as he was. Then realization dawned. This was why Arashi didn't bring up the subject of his father. Someone had interfered at the Sealing of Kyuubi because Minato should still be alive. This was why the Yondaime Hokage had been the one to do the sealing instead of the Sandaime. Jinchuuriki, those who were immortal that is and Minato was more than old enough to be immortal, could summon Shinigami safely to ask for a favor in return for giving Shinigami a great deal of chakra and perhaps owing a favor if the favor asked is large enough to warrant it.

Minato and his Guardian Biju Kasei had been pulled into Death's realm and had stayed there for a little over sixteen years; something that was not possible without someone meddling. This revelation upset Naruto quite a bit. He would have grown up with his father's love and guidance if some meddling, or more likely power-hungry, asshole hadn't interfered with Kyuubi's sealing. He listened as Jiraiya continued to speak.

"Minato was forced into an arranged marriage with Kushina. He was not happy with her in the slightest and had no desire to marry her at all. I knew that his interest had always been in males, though he had never given any indication that he was interested in anyone." There was that tug again. Jiraiya really wished he could remember what memory he had forgotten that seemed to elude him every time he tried to reach for it.

"She was a jealous bitch and she used you as a way to control your father when she could. Of course the Council did put a stop to that after she unwisely threatened to abort the Yondaime's child in front of a greedy Council member; a Council member who couldn't wait for Konoha's most powerful shinobi to have a legacy so that Konoha would have another strong and malleable weapon to weild. You already know that Kushina left you. I had my network try to keep tabs on her but she is one slippery bitch to catch."

"Don't be sorry about that Sensei. I do not care about that traitorous bitch. Though what you have told me has cleared up quite a few things." Then Naruto explained what had most likely happened to Minato. It was not a horrific fate for a Jinchuuriki to be in Death's realm, but it was hard to leave without knowing how. It would take quite a bit of hard and in-depth research to figure out how to retrieve Minato from Death's realm, but by no means impossible.

Naruto looked Jiraiya in the eyes to convey his seriousness as he spoke. "I forgive him Sensei. He was never at fault, the villagers are for there treatment of me. My father did not make them act as they did. All of them are responsible for their own actions and decisions. He never imagined someone would sabotage the sealing and leave him unable to take care of me, which was his obvious intent. All he was trying to do was spare Sarutobi-Jiji a sooner death when he could summon Shinigami safely and then be able to raise me. Thank you for telling me."

xxxxxxx

Fenikkusu - Phoenix
Kimera - Chimera
Kitsune - Fox