Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. You'd know if I did.

Chapter One: Childbirth

"When I look up at the sky

The stars, see, are sparkling

Each giving off its own light

Like the people on this planet

Yeah, so I, too

Want to shine particularly bright

I close my eyes and make a vow in my heart

And entrust my dreams to that shooting stars

…

Looking up at the sky, there are countless stars

The same number now that there was years ago

My dreams are endlessly and crazy

Incredibly bright, like that star"

Original Lyrics (Japanese): Home Made Kazoku

Translation: Don't know who (Yeah…)

Naruto was born dead.

As his eyelids were opened by the medic-nin to be checked, Mina cried at the bluest sapphires – at the pear-colored skin, at the sunny hair, at the pale (should be rosy) cheeks. From the baby, however, only silence.

How could it be? Mina had felt him in her only yesterday, only a week ago. Naruto had been kicking and Mina had been smiling, even though her back hurt like hell and she couldn't even feel her shins. Kiyoshi had been cheerful in the last month, red hair vibrating through their house. And now…

Now…

Mina was sure that she heard sobs and was also certain that they were her husband's. But the blonde couldn't make herself look at him or comfort him. How could she when her own heart was broken in tiny pieces? Was it even allowed to have their months-length happiness destroyed in a few minutes?

The medic was wrapping the – dead, dead, dead – baby in a blanket and taking him away. Mina asked in a whispered voice to see him, but Biwako, the Sandaime's wife, promptly prohibited it, saying that it would do her no good. There wasn't anything too be seen, either way, with so many tears covering her entire face.

The blonde closed her eyes for a few moments.

"Mina, Mina, Mina," she heard Kiyoshi call from what seemed a faraway land. Her vision was blurred as she looked at her husband's incredible red hair. He was handsome. Naruto would have been this handsome, Mina was sure. Had he not died, that is. "Honey," he called once again, caressing her left cheek.

"Kiyoshi," the small woman managed to gasp. She was still lying down on the table used for the childbirth, which meant not many minutes had passed by. "Na… ruto, he…"

"I know."

And that was it. They didn't say anything for what felt hours, just holding each other hand.

The last months had been long. War had ended three years ago and Mina had been made the Hokage, the first woman to be in such position. Lots of ninjas had died and the economy wasn't at its best. Destroyed paths and more enemies made. All in all, Mina became the leader of Konoha in a difficult hour, but was doing okay. Iwa absolutely hated her, but she commanded Konohagakure, not Iwakagure – and the former's citizens absolutely loved her.

As the other countries were also affected by the war, Konoha was still the strongest nation out there – and was even stronger with Mina leading it to the top. She had finally married Kiyoshi as the war ended and they couldn't have been happier when, around eight or seven months ago, the medic told them that Mina was pregnant.

Kiyoshi was glowing so much during next week that someone might think that he was the pregnant one. Anyway, passed the bliss that was discovering a pregnancy, a problem emerged: enemies. As stated before, Mina had made lots and lots of enemies in the war, and they would be out for her and her child's blood when discovering this little fact. So, Jiraya, Kiyoshi and she worked together to create a seal that would hide her growing belly and baby.

It worked perfectly.

Until the baby was born dead.

Was it because of the seal or natural causes? Mina couldn't even begin to think of the former option without tears gathering in her eyes. Guilt would eat her away. And the seal was still painted over her skin, a little under her bellybutton.

"Honey, don't cry, shh, shh," she heard Kiyoshi once again. She wasn't crying – she wasn't. Or maybe she was. Maybe that's why her face felt so wet and her nose tickled so much.

Tears – guilty tears, sad tears, shameful tears.

She had it all written over her cheeks.

And she sobbed for the fourth time this minute was when she also heard a voice that made her blood freeze.

"I humbly apologize for interrupting such a sad moment, but I must proceed with my plans."

It was a man, there was no doubt. His voice was deep and carried no pity as his words might suggest. Kiyoshi stood in front of her and, lying down tired as she was, Mina couldn't see exactly who was there. But the person was wearing a high-collared, black cloak with hand-covered-length sleeves.

"Who are you?"

Mina vaguely noticed the dead body of Biwako and the medic-nin. This meant that Naruto was on the floor. Naruto shouldn't be on the floor.

"Kiyo… shi," she gasped through her remaining tears, "Na-ru... to is…" But Mina couldn't finish it, as her throat hurt too much and she was feeling too tired. Childbirth had been incredibly exhausting.

Kiyoshi, however, wasn't paying attention to it, but to the intruder.

"Who are you?" The redhead jounin repeated.

The man was wearing an orange mask – otherwise Kiyoshi would have seen the smirk.

"You may or may not know me. I am alive yet I am not," was the only answer he got, before advancing. It happened so fast that Kiyoshi wasn't sure how it occurred: one minute he was handling a kunai in front of his wife, the other he was being sucked into a spiral and appearing in another place. The cloak-wearing man was in front of him and the redhead was held by ropes.

Mina was nowhere to be seen.

As for the blonde, she was still pathetically crying for her dead child on the floor.

It was Mina's father that saved her that day.

When she was eight, Mina's mother – Yuki – had been declared missing in action. The small child had lived the next two years alone when she finally graduated from the Academy and received Jiraya, the Sannin, as her sensei. The white-haired Sannin was an okay teacher, though perverted. Her teammates – Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuuga Hizashi – were silent and the team worked well.

The surprise came only two years later, when they were already chunnin and almost in war with other countries. Jiraya was her father. The man himself did not know. The fact only came up because blood tests were necessary for a transfusion (long story involving a mission and a fast-blood-losing Hizashi) and the correct blood type was necessary. In the end, there was no mistake.

Jiraya was her father.

To Mina's credit, she wasn't angry – she hardly ever was. She wasn't happy, either. It had been a shock after all. But the small, at the time, teen grew used to the idea. Jiraya wasn't "Father", "Dad" or any other variation – just sensei. He started caring and loving her more than anything in the world, and, in exchange, she loved him just as much. But Jiraya still wasn't her Father per se.

He hadn't been there when she was born, when she talked or walked for the first time, when she spent two years alone with no love. Mina forgave him for this – how could he know, in the end? – but did not forgive him for abandoning his mother. She had loved her mother with all her heart, but Yuki, apparently, had just been a one-night woman. And Mina was the result of this one night.

As for Jiraya, well, the man was as sane as a man could be upon discovering a teenager daughter. He never called her this; neither did he tell her that he loved her as much as a Father could love his child. But in his mind everything was perfect. Jiraya was used to live in disappointment – he had been a dead-last most of his childhood, after all – but not to this degree. So, when Mina said that she was pregnant, he found his chance.

His grandson or granddaughter would be born and this chance he'd not miss. He'd love this child with all his heart and spoil him endlessly. Jiraya was just finishing a mission through his spy web when he arrived at the cave where the child birth was happening. The Sandaime said that it was too risky to do it at Konoha, since enemies were aware of Mina's pregnancy and any scenario could emerge from this.

Jiraya agreed and almost ordered his daughter to do it in safe place.

Mina wasn't arguing against this, anyway.

There are no words to describe how surprised Jiraya was when he arrived at said cave and found three corpses and a crying Mina.

"Mina-chan?" Jiraya immediately came closer, caressing his daughter's wet cheeks.

She sobbed in response.

Looking around, Jiraya saw a blood in the ground from Biwako and the medic-nin. The smallest body in the room was the baby's one, but there was no blood. His corpse was in perfect conditions, if not unhealthily pale.

"Sen-sei," Mina choked between sobs. She was so pitiful right now that it was hard to believe this was the Yondaime Hokage.

"Mina-chan?"

"Naru… to, he… was… dead…" she murmured and sobbed three times, a long gap between one speaking and another. "Born dead…"

Naruto was born dead, Jiraya understood. This explained why she was crying so much, but didn't explain why there were two more dead people and Kiyoshi's missing presence.

"Mina-chan, where is your husbad?"

Jiraya wasn't sure if his daughter had heard until she answered in a whisper, "A man wea… ring a clo-ak… took him… I…"

Jiraya nodded and gathered her in his arms.

"Sensei…" She protested weakly.

"Silence, please. You are hurt and need treatment. Kiyoshi is a strong man and will be fine for a few minutes even against an unknown enemy. My priority is to take you somewhere safe."

"Naruto…"

"I'm sorry about him," Jiraya kissed the top of head, but Mina was already uncounscious.

He truly was sorry. Like the baby's parents, he had started loving the infant as soon as he heard the news. Now, he couldn't take the dead body, but would come back soon. He sent a toad summon to inform his own sensei of the problems and soon received a response that ANBU were sent to gather the corpses.

Corpses.

Mina's and Kiyoshi's house was in the old Uzumaki compound and had become beautiful after the former modified the building itself and the garden. Now, in the dark, at night time, it was only lonely, if not sad. Jiraya reached it in ten minutes of running and entered the house as if it were his.

The couple's room had a big bed and it was there that the white-haired Sannin deposited his daughter.

"There, Mina-chan, sleep," he murmured against her hair when he bended down to kiss it.

"Naru…to," she urged even in her sleep.

And that was when Jiraya looked out of the window and saw an enormous shadow far away in the night. At first, he couldn't distinguish and them a thick tail became nine and everything was clear.

The Kyuubi no Yoko was attacking their village.

When Mina woke up, she was alone on her bed.

For a moment, the blonde wondered if it was only a horrible dream when she noticed that her clothes were the same of the delivery's one. So it wasn't a nightmare. Naruto was truly dead. But where was Kiyoshi?

Kiyoshi!, Mina shouted in her head, intending to get up. A sharp pain from her abdomen made her think again. Gritting her teeth, the short woman got up anyway. Blood accumulated around the lower part of her hospital gown, though her tights were clean – Biwako had taken care of her. Biwako…

Mina walked to the closet and managed to gather her usual clothes without collapsing. Where was Jiraya-sensei? Mina was sure she hadn't dreamt his appearance in the cave. And where had the cloak-wearing man taken her husband?

Already dressed in common jounin attire and her own white cloak, the Hokage walked out of her house only to see Hell in the land. A huge shadow roared in the distance, destroying every tree in her path – and coming closer and closer to her beloved village.

Kyuubi no Yoko was set free – which meant that Kiyoshi was extremely weak somewhere.

To save her village or to save her loved?

In the end, she went to the Kyuubi. It was a bigger threat. And she had to take care of it. But there was no need to choose, because the demon fox was still closer to her beloved. Said person was lying on the ground pale as a ghost.

"Honey," he coughed blood and Mina felt like crying one again.

Damnit, she had lost her baby, she couldn't lose her husband too!

There was no cloak-wearing man around and the Kyuubi attacked the trees around them with no control of itself.

"Honey," Kiyoshi tried once again.

"Don't," she said in a stern voice. However, Mina herself wasn't in her best condition and could only do so much.

"I'll seal the Kyuubi inside myself again," all that was said between pauses and gasps of pain. Mina squeezed his hand with all her mighty.

"No. This will kill you."

But Mina knew that Kiyoshi was already aware of this fact anyway.

"I must."

"You will not," she stressed, "do this. I will."

"Let me help," the redhead protested. His dark blue eyes were so full of sadness that the blonde couldn't refuse him. Chakras chains emerged from the ground and held the terrible threat down.

Mina wasn't going to seal it back inside her husband. Though his chakra paths had grown used to the beast's power, his life force was barely there and wouldn't resist the impact of receiving the Bijuu back. No – she was going to seal it inside herself.

As she started the required hand-seals, the chakra chains disappeared and the beast roared once more. Mina looked down to see a limp Kiyoshi lying beside her. He couldn't manage even now.

He was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

Naruto and Kiyoshi. Both of them.

Mina knew she was going to die upon receiving such a big power without the modified chakra paths that grew with the Jinchuuriki. That's why using a child was much better – but there was no child. And no time to think.

Mina didn't take into account a seal already drawn in her abdomen – the one for her pregnancy. She wasn't thinking straight as she would in normal circumstances. The Shiki Fuuin wasn't completed as it normally would.

The beast was sealed inside herself – that could be seen by the newest addition to her belly: a seal forming from her bellybutton. And a little under this was the pregnancy seal innocently staying still.

The Sandaime and a few ANBU were the only witnesses to the Yondaime's change – to a much younger Namikaze Mina.