DISCLAIMER: It is with a heavy heart that I admit that the exclusive rights to Naruto aren't mine, nor will they ever be. T.T It's so sad

Full Summary: Minato and Kushina love each other and live happily despite Minato's job - which he loves - keeping them apart. Then, while he is out, a pregnant Kushina falls ill and dies alone. Minato returns home, blaming himself, and vows never to leave. Years pass in solitude… But what's this? A letter from his beloved and the child he thought he lost as well?

~A Love Once Lost~

It seems like just yesterday… I can see them perfectly – the way they looked at each other – the way they held each other. They had the kind've love reserved only for fairy tales…

Minato, he loved his job almost as much as he loved Kushina. He loved seeing the world and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wished he could share such a sight with his beloved… but it was too dangerous.

Kushina would stay up all night, listening to all the adventures Minato went on – all the sights he saw, and then he'd tell her of the people he fought and how one day – when the world was at peace, he would show her what she was missing.

But, the world was only shrouded in darkness – tainted by the greed of others and the death of war. It seemed as if these star-crossed lovers would never share such a dream together…

Minato smiled brightly before kissing Kushina once more, lingering there for a moment before taking a step back and pulling his Anbu mask down over his face.

"I'll hurry back." He promised, caressing her swollen belly where their child was nestled.

He had been assigned another long term mission, this time S-rank, and though he promised Kushina he'd hurry – there was no way he could rush such a perilous mission without putting other Anbu member's lives at stake. As Leader and next in line to be Hokage, he had to put Konoha's affairs before seeing the birth of his child. He knew it, and Kushina knew it.

"Don't worry about us." Kushina replied, taking Minato's hand in hers, "We will be here when you get back, eagerly awaiting your return."

"I love you." They whispered to one another in unison before reluctantly letting the other's hand go.

Kushina watched with a smile and a small wave as her husband left to go do the job he loved, not a doubt on her mind that Minato would return safely to her.

Minato was always faithful to Kushina, his eye never once strayed whilst he was away from his beloved. Their love had been so pure and true, it hurts my heart just thinking about the tragedy that befell them. They were to kind and innocent, undeserving of such a thing… but alas, love works in such mysterious ways.

Not long after Minato left fire country, did Kushina fall ill. No one, not even I could tell what it was that made her ill. All I knew was that we could not cure what we did not know. As time passed, and her sickness burdened her more and more each day, Kushina and I began to worry for the baby's health.

She'd fret over her unborn child, worried that her sickness would not only take her life, but claim her child as well.

Months passed, and I still knew not what burdened her… all I knew, was that with the birth of her first child drawing nearer and nearer, was that she would not last.

Minato knew not of her suffering, and Kushina knew it as well as I that when he returned – It would not be into her arms.

Saddened, Kushina used her final moments making preparations for her loves return. She wrote a letter to him, lest he did not return in time, and gave me a neat set of instructions.

They were simple really, to leave Minato with the letter and let him know not of their child til the grieving process was over. She did not want her son to be neglected whilst Minato mourned.

The village was rejoicing when Minato and his fellow Anbu returned home. The mission had been a success, and everyone could feel that the world was finally beginning to become pure once again.

He hurried home, intent on being in his loves arms once more. He just hoped he had not missed the birth of his first and hopefully not last child.

But fate had other plans, Minato realized, when he returned to a cold and empty home. Thinking that Kushina might be in labor, he rushed to his mother and the village's best healer's home.

"I'm sorry." Was the first thing Tsunade said when her son burst into her house. He had been smiling, and his skin was sweaty from running.

"What?" he questioned, genuinely confused as he eyed his forlorn mother, his smile slowly melted to a frown.

"… I think you should sit down."

"No…" Minato whispered, fearing the worst, "No! I refuse to do anything til I see Kushina first!" he yelled, his voice cracking.

"Oh Minato… I wish you had returned only a week sooner…" Tsunade said, tears in her eyes as she reached out for her shaking son.

"Kushina… is dead."

Minato's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically, "No!"

It could not be, surely not! His beloved… no… he couldn't believe it – would not believe it. But the look on his mother's face spoke only the truth… that he would never see his lovely wife ever again.

He fled from the house before I could present him with Kushina's letter, though I doubted he even wanted to see it at the moment.

A week passed before I visited his home, intent on giving him the letter but he didn't answer. He locked himself away in his and Kushina's house, refusing to leave – not even to go on the mission's he loved so much.

Seeing the world without Kushina with him repulsed him and I knew that he blamed himself for the death of his love. 'If only I had been there' he would say, 'I could've done something.' … But there was nothing he or anyone could have done.

Years passed and he never left his home, intent on staying in the place Kushina was most, in the place he thought he should have been. I suppose he thought their child to be dead… if he thought of his son at all.

"Minato please, you must come out of there." Tsunade begged for seemingly the hundredth time today, and the millionth time this month. She hated seeing her son this way – not that she could see him, for he refused to answer the door – locked up in a stuffy old house, living off Kami knows what.

Eight years… that's how long it had been since the death of Kushina, and Tsunade often worried that she would find her only son dead one day. She dropped off food every week, and it was always gone the next day, so she could assume he was eating food and not rats or any other rodent that wanders into an ill-attended house. Hopefully, no one was stealing the food she left, but she seriously doubted such a thing. This was Konoha, and everyone knew of Minato – the anbu who had saved them from Sound – and formerly soon-to-be Hokage – and the villagers wouldn't dare steal from him.

"Oh, your poor mother is dying!" she cried dramatically as she threw herself into the wall, but there wasn't any sign of movement indoors.

"Fine, leave me here to die on your front steps!" she snapped, but that too went ignored.

Try, after try, after try. Not once did Minato answer, he simply ignored me, even when I sent anbu with an official letter claming I was dead. He simply did not care anymore, not for me, and not for himself.

It was then, that I decided enough was enough. So I gathered up Naruto, their baby boy, who by then was eight years old. I have him an o-bento for two and Kushina's letter. I told him, 'Break in.' I wanted him to show himself to his father – they were practically twins – and show my baka son that he had something to live for. Then, if his carbon copy was not enough, Naruto would give his father the letter.

"Hee hee! That was a cinch!" Naruto cheered as he tumbled into his father's house through the chimney. He carefully set their o-bentos down – he and his father would enjoy a nice lunch together – and clutched his mother's letter to his chest. Though he looked confident and sure of himself, he was worried his father would reject him.

There was a shuffling in the other room – he must have alerted his father to his presence when he stumbled into the home – when suddenly there was a kunai flying at his head.

"Hey, are you trying to kill me-tebayo!?" he demanded angrily as a figure shuffled into the room, and then he smiled – immediately recognizing the man from Tsunade-baa-chan's pictures.

"Tou-san…" he breathed, hardly able to contain his excitement. Minato looked bewildered at the 'mini-him' that had just called him father.

"You probably don't recognize me… well you shouldn't I guess 'cause you never met me but… I'm your son, Naruto… dattebayo."

And suddenly Minato looked angry and Naruto found himself pinned to the ground, and a kunai at his neck.

"My child is dead." Minato seethed, "Who do you think you are barging in my home, claming to be my deceased son?!"

"Please Tou-san," Naruto begged, tears welling in his eyes – not because of the harsh treatment, but because of the rejection, "I really am your son. Look, I have a letter from Kaa-san."

Minato's grip slackened a bit and Naruto used that as a chance to shove the letter in his father's face where 'Minato' was written in Kushina's hand writing.

"This…" Minato breathed as he took the envelope and climbed off Naruto who rubbed at his neck absently.

It was silent minus their heavy breathing and the crinkle of paper as Minato read. For what seemed like hours to Naruto, they sat like that, before Minato lowered the page to look at his… son.

His mouth hung open, trying to find words, so Naruto spoke first.

"You… never stopped grieving. I-I wanted so bad to see you, but Tsunade-baa-chan wouldn't let me. She said that you'd only make me sad… that you weren't ready. I was scared that you'd never be… ready that is. But baa-chan and I got tired of waiting. She said I was growing up too quickly and that I needed a father, that I… that I needed you."

"… You, are you happy to see me Tou-san?"

And then Naruto found himself in his father's arms, Kushina's letter lying forgotten on the ground, as Minato cradled him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He chanted as he rocked Naruto in his arms who had begun to cry, "Please forgive me."

Naruto returned several hours later, with my idiot son in tow, and two empty o-bento boxes. "What happened to your neck?" I questioned when I noticed the small bruise my grandson bared. They relayed the story and I had bopped Minato on the head for attacking a child, let alone his son.

Their relationship was a bit shaky at first, but they soon fell into step with one another, and if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought they had been together forever. There were still times, where Minato would get this far off look – a look that said 'If only you were here Kushina', but I was confident everything would be alright.

And things were.

When Naruto turned twelve he joined the academy, and though he had terrible chakra control, he made Minato very proud. I couldn't help but tease my son, that he too had terrible chakra control as a child. Minato did not join the anbu again, he was just fine staying by Naruto's side. He did though; get a job as a Jounin and a teacher of his own genin team.

Naruto decided, that he would someday be hokage, something that Minato encouraged, so long as Naruto didn't join the anbu forces. Naruto was perfectly okay with that, because the thought of being an assassin didn't bode well with him. (1)

And so, life went on. Naruto grew to be a strong, young man and even found himself a lover - an Uchiha Sasuke, a Konoha Military Policeman (2).

… What is that? Oh yes, Naruto became hokage. In fact, today is his inauguration. Why am I sitting here getting drunk? Because I made a bet with my dimwit son that I could go a week without drinking… I won obviously, why else would I be missing my only grandson's swearing into office? What do you mean that doesn't make any sense?! It makes perfect sense! I've gone a week without any sake and I am suffering from withdrawals, I HAVE to drink!

~Owari~

1 - The ANBU, meaning "dark side" is actually short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (literally Assassination Tactics Special Military Force)

2 - Originally founded by the ancestors of the Uchiha clan, the Konoha Military Police Corps are responsible for maintaining city peace and law enforcement.