Summary: What if Minato and Kushina had two children? What if one of them was Itachi's age and just as skilled? How would it affect the one born under his father's shadow and one under the Kyuubi's shadow? Read to find out.
Last page. Kazuki smiled as he put his name—'kazu' for 'harmony' and 'ki' for 'hope'— on the paper and began the last assignment for his homework. The questions weren't hard considering his father, Namikaze Minato, had taught him shinobi fundamentals when he was younger. Since Minato was extremely busy as the Hokage, he couldn't really teach Kazuki. Kazuki honestly didn't need much help; the textbook was enough.
Last week, the teacher had Kazuki and Itachi stay after class. The two exchanged looks and listened to the teacher, 'Your fathers want you two to graduate early. You two are perhaps my best students and I believe you two could go far in this world with skills like yours. Even though you don't have much say in what the Hokage and Uchiha patriarch says, I do have a say. Do you two want to graduate together?'
The two nodded. The teacher nodded. 'I'll tell them that you two are skilled enough.'
Kazuki finished his homework and got up from his desk. He walked through the elegant hallways of his home and as he was reaching into the fridge to heat up fried rice his mother had left him, a wave of ominous chakra surged through the house from the village.
Kazuki was frozen for a moment before he began to calm himself and think rationally. He trusted his father to protect his mother as she gave birth tonight to his younger brother, but he couldn't help but worry. He ran to his room, slipped on a jacket, grabbed kunai and some paper with seals written on them, only needing chakra to activate them. As he burst out of the house, he saw orange flames dancing in the village.
Memories of the Third Shinobi World War, in which he had fought in alongside Itachi, flooded back. Even though two years had passed, Kazuki sometimes got nightmares, something he hid extremely well from his overprotective mother. He shook his head and raced towards the safe house his father had shown him once. Jumping on top of rooftops, he managed to get there only to find it had been obliterated; wood was everywhere. Kazuki noticed how one had blood on it and tried not to think about it hitting his father or mother.
When he finally found his parents, they were arguing and then when the Kyuubi's size had decreased by half, in a split second, his parents were impaled the Kyuubi. They had obviously stepped in to protect the crying baby, one who had Minato's hair color. Kazuki's red hair stood out even in the faint moonlight as he began to tear out seals from his pocket and infusing them with chakra and with shaking hands and tears rolling down his cheeks applied them to the seal his mother had put up. It didn't work; her seal was much too powerful. Denial and horror raced through his mind as he threw kunai at his mother's seal. Nothing seemed to work as blood rushed out of his parent's bodies and tears out of his mother's eyes.
This can't be happening!
Kushina began to give her last words to the baby. She looked up, sensing chakra a few feet away outside the barrier.
"Kaa-san…Tou-san…what…?" Kazuki couldn't find any words.
"Kazuki, your mother and I love you. Protect Naruto," Minato smiled despite blood rimming his lips. His mother looked powerless to stop it, even though she had been the one who sometimes scared him half to death when he had gotten home late one night, training with Itachi, and sometimes beat his father for coming home late from seemingly endless amounts of paperwork, but sometimes held him gently and often taught him fuuinjutsu when his father couldn't and taught him about the Uzumaki culture, something he 'should cherish because his red hair is precious; the Uzumaki were ancient clans like the Uchiha and Senju'. At least, that's what she'd said.
And Kazuki would never hear their voices, welcoming him home, never to hear them coaching him in fuuinjutsu and other jutsu practice. Never to celebrate another birthday, never to see him graduate from the Academy.
"Hakke Fuuin!" Minato said and Kazuki heard himself cry out in vain as a bright light shone and then his parents were on the floor, the baby was screaming, and the Kyuubi was gone. Kazuki ran to his parents' side and found his father dead but his mother was still alive. She reached up to stroke his face and gave a smile.
"Kazuki, his name is Naruto, from Jiraiya's book. I'm sorry I can't be there for either of you, but I love you both," Kushina said as the air rushed out of her lungs and her hand fell limp beside her long red hair, matching the wound on her stomach that killed her. Kazuki shook and found himself crying. Soon, screaming reached his ears and he recognized the voice as his own. He felt himself picked up by someone and saw that he was looking into the eyes of Hatake Kakashi.
"What happened?" Kakashi asked, the fourteen year old looking weary and Kazuki blinked. His surroundings began to get clearer and he found himself in the hospital.
"How long have I been here?" Kazuki asked, his voice hoarse.
"Maybe an hour. What happened to Minato-sensei and Kushina-san? And what about Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"They're dead," Kazuki stated simply, the words seemingly sinking in. Kakashi stiffened and visibly paled. As Kakashi was about to ask the six year old more questions, denial in his eyes and fear rushing through his veins. The door slid open, a rather loud sound in the exceedingly quiet room, revealing the Sandaime Hokage. The Hokage sat down and looked at the two carefully. Kakashi looked simply overwhelmed and Kazuki looked scared, truly scared. Hiruzen could only tell from the way his hands shook and how he bit his lip until the faint gleam of blood ran across the thin line between the child's lips. His face was emotionless, but his eyes shone with his father's blue color and anger and worry.
"In order to protect Naruto, you two must not approach him. This is a mission for the two of you. The consequences will be severe," Hiruzen said, his each word ringing in Kazuki's ears.
"Hokage-sama, please—" Kakashi started.
"This is a mission that must be followed no matter what. Minato made a lot of enemies in the Third Shinobi World War. Because of this, word can't get out that Minato had a second child, especially one that is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Kazuki, as of tonight, you are a Genin of Konoha on a team with Uchiha Itachi and Kimura Kimiko," Hiruzen tried to rush out, not wanting to overwhelm the child.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kazuki said.
Hiruzen took a deep breath and stood. His footsteps quietly tapped on the floor until they were no longer heard after he closed the door with a swift motion. Silence stretched between the two and Kazuki closed his hands trying to stop the shaking.
"I'm going to see if we can see him for the last time," Kakashi whispered.
"You didn't hear Hokage-sama? We've got to stay away from Naruto," Kazuki pointed out. Kakashi flinched and then ran out. Kazuki looked at the sheets and gripped them hard. His forehead wrinkled with frustration and anger as he threw the sheets off in an agile movement. He got off the bed and slipped on his shoes. As he jumped out the window to get to his parent's home, he wondered why this had to happen. Why did the Kyuubi attack the village? Why was his parent's sacrifice the only way?
Kazuki went past the gate, which had a seal to prevent any unwanted visitors who didn't know how to get in, and went into the house. He ran into his room and curled up under the blankets. He felt cold even though his mother had replaced the sheets to be the warm ones because it was the beginning of October; the temperature was dropping. He threw the covers off and ran to his parent's room and smothered himself with pillows and blankets.
When morning came, he awoke to the sun beaming in his eyes. He blinked and sat up, a smile making its way onto his face.
"Kaa-san, what's for break—" Kazuki stopped, remembering what had happened. He pulled the covers closer until the scent of his father and mother were present. He breathed it in and pushed down the feeling of loneliness. He thought about what his mother had said to Naruto and to him and looked at the picture of the three of them, smiling on his sixth birthday. Minato wore his white haori with red trim, Kushina wore a kimono with Uzumaki clan spirals representing whirlpools on it and Kazuki wore a kimono similar to his father's but blue with white trim. They all smiled and Kazuki felt himself smile. That day had been such a happy day.
Kazuki shook off those thoughts and focused on eating breakfast and reporting to the Hokage to retrieve his hitai-ate and possibly meet his sensei and this Kimiko girl. He heated the fried rice and eventually found strawberry shortcake with peach slices on top. He ate a slice and smiled a little more. His mother had an affinity for making sweets that made him smile even if things were bad. Even if she was dead.
He washed his plate and chopsticks and set them to dry in a rack next to the sink. He stripped and went into the shower, not caring if it was ice cold water. Once he was clean, he donned a clean shirt and pants and fastened the kunai and shuriken holsters on his back and leg. He stood in his room for a moment of indecision before deciding to take some blank seal paper and ink.
Ten minutes had gone by and Kazuki was jumping in an arc across rooftops; the Kyuubi's destruction had been extensive and concentrated in the middle of the village, wiping out the middle of the village. His parent's house was on a compound with seals protecting it much like the Uchiha or Hyuuga clan's compound. However, this house was smaller but still large enough to have enough bedrooms, a nice kitchen, a spacious yard, and a large area in the courtyard to train.
As Kazuki walked through the hallway of the Hokage's office, many shinobi rushed back and forth, a few ANBU appearing and disappearing via shunshin. Kazuki could care less about any of them until one of them decided to talk to him.
"I'm sorry about your father. He's a hero. You should be proud," a kunoichi said gently.
Kazuki shook off the hand on his shoulder when she'd bent down to try to console him. Her face lifted in a shocked expression as he walked past. Kazuki stuffed his hands in his pockets and knocked on the Hokage's office door.
Kazuki hoped against everything that had happened and the horrific memories that his father would be sitting there, chiming for him to come in, a kind smile with bright blue eyes that matched his own, blonde hair that just made everything seem lighter and more comforting.
"Come in."
Kazuki twisted the knob, hope trying to sprout in his heart, hoping to see his father there. As the door swung open, it revealed Itachi in the office as well. Kazuki's eyes moved slowly, not wanting to be proved wrong, to the person with white robes, and a wrinkled face. Kazuki's eyes lost their glimmer as he bowed respectfully at the Hokage.
As a child, Kazuki often accompanied his mother to literally drag Minato out of his office from staying past 8 p.m. If it was even five minutes after the hour and Minato hadn't used the Hiraishin to be home in a flash, the wrath of Uzumaki Kushina was awakened and all could feel the killer intent from a mile away. Minato would sit there, sometimes just as the door splintered to pieces cringing as he tried to sign more paperwork with his head down and eyes wide in fear trying not to notice the woman with beautiful floating red hair. Other times, as the door splintered open, and the couple made eye contact, Minato would wave both hands in a sign of nonaggression and misunderstanding, his eyes wide again and a smile that was ready to morph into a scream of terror.
Meanwhile, Kazuki would stand there smugly as his mother growled at his father. Occasionally, he'd stand up for his father and then the angry Uzumaki would stand down, turning completely innocent as her darling son was so kind as to stand up for his girly father. Then he'd get slapped down, with Kushina more enraged, 'As if, ttebane!' Still, at home, she'd hug them but never really apologized. It wasn't like the two needed her apology; they loved her anyway.
"Kazuki, let's go," Itachi whispered as the Hokage had seemingly stopped talking and had dismissed them. Kazuki wanted to ask Itachi where their sensei was and where this Kimiko girl was, but he'd ask as Itachi explained their mission that was hard not to guess: rebuild the village.
"Where are the other two?" Kazuki asked softly as Itachi handed him his hitai-ate. Kazuki fastened it around his forehead in a similar fashion Itachi had done.
"In order to hasten the process, teams are split in half. Normally, it's the Genin together and the sensei alone, but I suppose we're special. However, I suspect that Hokage-sama wanted me to accompany you. I heard what happened. What of your mother's child?" Itachi asked.
"Tou-san and Kaa-san died protecting him and the village by sealing it in him. I'm not allowed to see him; it's a mission directly from the Hokage," Kazuki explained.
Itachi's deep, warm black eyes widened in shock, but instead of giving pity the way Kazuki was going to be given for years to come, he smiled.
"I understand you're grieving, but our village must be rebuilt, right? Our top priority is protecting what your parents died for," Itachi said.
"Y-yeah," Kazuki said. On the inside, he smiled a little. Itachi is truly a good friend. He always knows what to say.
Roughly four years later, the village was rebuilt to the point where only those who either lived through the experience knew the extent of the damage. The buildings looked the same way they had four years prior and village life continued more or less as usual.
Last month, Kazuki's name began to echo again. He'd passed the Chuunin Exams along with Itachi and because he was already an interesting subject due to his heritage, his name was beginning to be well known. During the Chuunin Exams, teams would outwardly confront him just because his father had killed a distant uncle in the previous war. Kazuki had rolled his eyes and easily stole their scroll after their hatred clouded their mind.
Kazuki walked through the village, the wind blowing his red hair around his face. A soft smile made its way onto his face. Many children followed him, two of which many talked about. One was the younger brother of Itachi, Sasuke. The other was Kazuki's younger brother. But no one knew that. Only Itachi, Kakashi, Hiruzen, and only about three or four others.
"Kazuki-niichan! You're the Yondaime Hokage's kid, right? You're really strong right? Teach us how to be strong!" the children chimed.
Kazuki blinked and before his nonexistent skills with children could be discovered, Itachi found him. The children awed and Sasuke explained that Itachi was his older brother. Naruto looked at him with jealously and the need to one-up him. A frown appeared on his face before he spoke up.
"Hey, Yondaime's kid," Naruto started. The other children noticed him and ran away with fear in their eyes. Naruto looked longingly at them before continuing with only Sasuke, Itachi, and Kazuki left to stand there.
"What?" Kazuki asked, about to choke on the heart that had leapt into his throat and he couldn't hear anything besides his loud heartbeat in his ears.
"Do I have an older sibling? Cause everyone seems to have one," Naruto looked at Kazuki hopefully. Kazuki knelt down and looked him in the eye. Naruto flinched at the sudden touch and closeness, but decided to savor every second of it.
"You did. He died a long time ago," Kazuki said. "I killed him."
Naruto's face fell before he looked up again from his feet to ask the famous and model ninja with amazing red hair and how did he get it that color and the perfectness of his existence. More questions popped in his brain, like how would he get to be strong like him and how does he get friends and how does he know his older brother and if he knew his parents and could he train him?!
Wait, he killed him?
"Kazuki, we need to go," Itachi said, breaking into the silence as people glanced at the hero's son, the Uchiha prodigy and a cute black-haired child, and the hated demon child. An angry shopkeeper stormed up to the blonde boy with a broom being brandished in one hand and a hate-filled expression. Naruto hated that look.
"How come they all look at me like that?!" Naruto asked Kazuki, his eyes filled with loneliness and hurt and confusion and the want to be loved. Kazuki held up a hand to stop the shopkeeper. Naruto hugged Kazuki's legs and gave him a pleading look.
Kazuki looked up at the sky and sighed. Tou-san, Kaa-san, what would you do in my situation? Would you disobey the Hokage's direct orders or would you continue deceiving him for the sake of his life and the village's sake?
"As if I'd tell a demon like you," Kazuki said harshly and pushed him away, and made his eyes cold and heartless.
"W-wait, you killed my brother? Why?" Naruto's voice quivered; he couldn't believe the village's favorite shinobi would kill his brother, the only family he had. And he didn't look like he was going to explain himself, that murderer!
Naruto stepped back and noticed the large amount of people amassed around them. Naruto saw that perhaps many people would finally hear him and see him.
"I'm going to kill him and be greater than that Yondaime dad he has! All of you just watch!" Naruto yelled and ran off, hateful stares following him as he ran away. Kazuki pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair and turned to follow the Uchiha; he'd been invited over for dinner.
The village had truly changed. After the Kyuubi incident, nothing was the same. The buildings cast shadows at odd angles. The paint on the buildings didn't seem to be the same shade they'd used to be. Orphans from the orphanage snuck out in the night on a quest to find Kazuki to make him adopt them.
Most of all, Naruto was alone. And he hated Kazuki.
Kazuki ate Mikoto's food with forced enjoyment when his first real interaction with his brother was replaying over and over in his head.