"Talking"
"Thinking"
'Jutsu'
"Tailed Beast Talking"
"Tailed Beast Thinking"
Chapter 1: The First Few Weeks
It was late at night, and the sky was mixed with red and orange due to the building and crop fields burning intensely. The battle was intense, and it was hundreds against fifty. Among them were civilian and children. Normally this would be considered overkill, especially with half of the them being born members of the powerful clan. This clan was very powerful, and many villages wanted them on their side. Yet, they never joined a Hidden Village. Instead, they ruled over their own country. They were powerful, yet very beloved by their people. They were also their country's only military force. Despite being few in number, they had incredible skill and managed to maintain the peace in the land.
Eventually, other Hidden Villages believed they could suddenly change their minds and join a rivaling and hostile village. So, they figured they'd wipe them out. This had been the case since the Hidden Villages were founded. Yet, they had managed to survive all of the attacks. But they've never encountered and invasion of this magnitude. Those who married into the clan were only civilian, so they were quickly being wiped out. The children were of course born members of the clan, but some of them weren't old enough to fight. Those that could, were guarding the other children. The shinobi however, had already killed many of the enemies. But, they were slowly becoming exhausted. It didn't help that one of their combatants had just given birth when they were attacked.
-Inside one of the houses-
A brunette haired woman was standing outside one of the rooms. She could hear the battle raging on outside, so she was doing her best guarding the newborn twins inside. Hearing the sounds of the battle was frustrating her, since she had just given birth to said twins. Although she should be resting, being the only one here kept her from doing so. She needed to protect her children. Suddenly, an explosion came from just above her. This caused the roof and ceiling to collapse, and the wooden beams fell on top of her, knocking her unconscious, and barricaded the entrance to the door.
A few moments later, a group of twelve ninja appeared within the hallway where the woman was out cold. All eight ninja were dressed in black, and wore hoods of the same color. The only thing you could see, was the headband that showed who their allegiance belonged to.
"You think she's alive?" One of them asked.
"Not a chance. Besides, we have our orders. Wipe them all out!" Said another.
"Yes sir!" The other replied, indicating that the man was the leader.
Just then, they heard a sound. It sounding like a baby crying. After removing the wooden beams, and the woman away from the door, they entered the room. There they saw that it wasn't one baby crying, but two babies crying in perfect unison.
One of them went up to the cribs, prepared to finish them off. But before he could bring his kunai to them, he was stopped by a hand on his wrist. Following the arm to the see who it belonged to, he was surprised when it was their leader.
"Hm?"
"These are infants. The other children were old enough to have memories of what happened here. These two however, will never have that. I'm sure we could make these two an exception, and take them back to the village with us. There they would be raised as loyal shinobi of our village, and never learn of this." The leader explained.
"I understand, sir." Said the man, replacing his kunai upon his newly freed wrist.
Just as they were about to take the infants, a new voice from the door way. "To hell you're going to take MY CHILDREN!"
They all looked to the door way, seeing the woman they thought was dead. "These are newborns, maybe just a couple hours old. And if you're their mother, that means you're too weak to do anything against us. Take her out." The leader ordered, indicating one of his men.
The man quickly charged her with a kunai drawn. As he was prepared to stab the woman, he stopped as soon as a loud *snap* was heard. The man then fell to the floor with his head facing 180 degrees in the wrong direction.
"What the hell?! Didn't she just give birth?! How could anyone have the strength to do that?!" One of the men yelled.
"It seem one really shouldn't mess with a mother who's determine to protect their children. *Sigh* Just do what it takes to kill her." The leader ordered.
"Sir!" Replied another two of the men, as they went for an attack.
The woman easily dodged their attacks. She kicked one of them between the legs, causing him to buckle at the knees. She then grabbed the other one's throat as tight as she could, before ripping his Adams apple from the rest of his body. That man's body collapsed, releasing a large pool of blood onto the floor. Picking the other man up, she quickly snapped his neck, before she tossed his body toward the others in an attempt to separate them from her children.
For the most part, it worked. The leader was the only one who didn't dodge, as he just knocked the flying body to the side. The woman then immediately charged him, intent to kill him. Unfortunately, she was then attacked from the sides. They came in with Taijutsu, since it was too cramped for Ninjutsu. She had no choice but to try and fight back.
The leader then took a look at the two infants, he knew that the Elders of his village would be glad about his decision. He then noticed the documents on the cribs' headboard, and took a look at their names. "Hm. A boy and a girl. While a girl could easily be used for breeding, a boy can impregnate more woman within a short period of time. Increasing the numbers of his clan's strength much faster than a woman could. Still, I'd rather take both." The leader thought, as he contemplated which one he should take if left without a choice.
He then proceeded to take them, while he still had the chance. He managed to scoop the young boy in his arms, along with the document. He then proceeded to take the girl, only to have a dead body fly across his path. Looking toward where the body flew from, he saw the woman even more enraged then earlier. She even seemed to be fighting at an even higher level than before. Deciding to cut his loses, he took the boy and left through the window. Leaving his men, the woman and the infant girl behind.
As he jumped through the air, he heard an explosion coming from where he just left. Looking behind him, he saw that the house was in flames. If his men survived, then they'd eventually catch up to him. "I'll just have to wait for them at the rendezvous point. If they don't get there by the time I meet the others, then they either died or they'll have to head to the village afterward." The man thought, as he headed toward the Land of Rain.
-About a day later, in the Land of Rain-
"They're still not here yet. Must've died." Said the man, as he was talking to himself. Luckily for him, it was one of the rare days that it didn't rain in this country. He was currently camping in a small clearing, where it was discussed that would be the rendezvous point, after they had succeeded in wiping out the clan. He had little doubt that they had succeeded, but only his squad was to meet up here. Yet, not a single person had shown up yet. And that was slowly getting annoyed with his current predicament.
Shortly after leaving that clan's home, he had to stop in a nearby town to buy baby formula. He didn't like children, and he didn't like having to babysit a child. Especially, an infant. Luckily, the child was currently sleeping. Deciding to take out the document, he prepared himself to recognize the child's name. The name was an unusual one. Then again, the names of anyone from that clan had unusual names.
"Bryon Kaiser. Interesting last name, considering their Clan name is Konig. This is the first time I've heard of them with a different name, other than Konig." Said the Leader, talking out loud. (Note: Konig, is German for king. In the german alphabet, the 'o' has two dots above it. In English it's typically written 'koenig'. But I feel like making it look as close to German as possible.)
"A member of the Konig Clan, huh? You're not acting like a member, so you must've kidnapped the kid." Said a feminine voice, from behind him in the trees.
Shocked at the appearance of the new voice, the man stood and turned to look at who had spoken. There he saw a Leaf Ninja. Looking around, he saw that he was surrounded by three of them. They were standing as though he were in the middle of a triangle.
The one that spoke was a kunoichi with long bright red hair. Behind him on his left, was another that had midnight blue hair. And she had her Byakugan flaring. Finally, the last one was an elderly woman with brown hair. She was behind him on his right. All three of them had their hair done up in a high ponytail, and all wore a typical Leaf Jounin outfit.
"Damn it! I let my guard down. I should've known better, while in hostile territory." The man thought, berating himself. Now that he was no longer near that clan's home, he didn't have a need for wearing his mask. He was a middle-aged man with dark and slightly greying hair, and sported a goatee. He had a scar from his left cheek down to the right side of his chin.
"We must be careful. If he could survive a battle with the Konig Clan, then he must be a strong ninja. Also, we must take care that our attacks don't harm the child." Said the Elder woman.
"Oh, Biwako. You're always so serious. We know this already." Said the red head, showing a large foxy grin.
"Kushina, take this seriously! According to the birth certificate in his hand, the baby is only two days old!" Said the Hyuga clan member, scolding her friend.
"Hikari's right. We're in a war zone. We need to finish this as quickly and quietly as possible." Said Biwako.
"Ok. No need to gang up on me you guys." Kushina replied, scratching the back of her head.
"That red head is a strange one. Is she really the Red-Hot Habanero?" The man thought to himself, before his world went black.
"Nice one Biwako! Using a Shadow-clone to attack from the forest when he's focused on us." Said Kushina, praising their squad leader.
"Considering that he had a newborn with him, he would be too tired to notice an attack from such a distance. Now, will you keep your voice down, Kushina. Like I said before, this is a war zone. So be quiet." Biwako scolded, jumping down into the clearing as her clone dispersed.
"Ok ok, sorry." Kushina replied, as she and Hikari jumped down to join her.
The three of them went over to the man's body and the sleeping baby. Hikari picked up the birth certificate, and examined it. "Bryon Kaiser. It has the Konig Clan's seal on the bottom right corner, just like it would be with most clans. And it seems authentic. It seems this man was part of a force that invaded the Konig Clan a couple days ago. It's about a day in a half's journey from here. But, we'd need permission to go to their country. I'm sure that they might've survived, and they'd like to have one of their children back." Said Hikari, as she finished looking at the birth certificate.
Kushina had went straight ahead and picked up the child, and held him close. "Aww. He's so cute. Those little chubby cheeks, that little button-like nose and that little bit of black hair. Ooooh! He's so cute!" Said Kushina, causing everyone else to sweat-drop at her action.
"Kushina, don't get too attached to the child. He's of another country, not to mention another clan. He's their responsibility. I'll send word to Hiruzen, and get permission to return this child. We wouldn't want that clan to cause us trouble. Rather have them grateful for what we've done, than accuse us of helping this man's village in the attack. Of course, that's just the worst case scenario as far as their thought process would be concerned." Said Biwako, having summoned a small monkey to send her request to her husband/Hokage.
*Sigh* "I know. But he's sooo cute." Kushina replied, as she smiled down at the baby in her arms.
"We should search this guy's stuff. He must've had some baby formula stashed away in order to take care of the baby, considering how young he is." Said Hikari, already searching through the man's belongings. It didn't take long, as she quickly found the scroll containing what they would need for the baby's care.
Once they had what they needed, they quickly left before any possible reinforcements decided to show up.
-Two days later-
Biwako had received a reply from her husband/Hokage the day before, and were given permission to return the child. During the wait, and the travel, Kushina had gotten close to the child. Against Biwako's and Hikari's advice.
Kushina had noticed that this baby seemed different from other babies. She knew that when babies cry, they're typically loud upon doing so. Which could prove fatal when they're in a war zone. Yet, this baby always had a quiet cry. Whenever he was hungry, or needed to be changed, his cries were as loud as if one were borderline whispering. The others also believed it was strange, but paid it little mind since Biwako said that he was healthy.
They were almost to where the Konig Clan's home was supposed to be. The Konig Clan preferred to live within a large valley, known as The Royal Valley.
"We're almost there. If they surround us, don't retaliate. It would be a big mistake." Said Biwako, as they were climbing up the final hill.
"You hear that little guy? You're almost home." Said Kushina, with a reluctant smile. The baby just stared up at her, with his deep brown eyes.
"We're here." Said Hikari.
It was surrounded by trees, and had a river running through it. In the middle they could see a large plain, with houses and crops. But, it looked like the houses were destroyed along side the crop filled plains. White smoke was rising from everything in the area. The land was charred, showing where the fire had traveled.
*Gasp* "This place really was attacked! How could they do such a thing?!" Hikari asked, seeing the damaged that had been done.
"It's quite typical actually. They've always preferred to be on their own, and have always had the power to hold their own against invasions. However, this last one may have been the biggest of all thus far." Biwako explained, as she continued to enter The Royal Valley. The others following behind her.
-A few minutes later-
The group was almost to the plains, yet they haven't come across anyone yet. "Something isn't right. We should've met someone by now. Were they really completely wiped out?" Biwako asked herself.
They then reached the clearing, and what they saw now was even worse now that they were up close. "What the hell?! Bodies are everywhere! And by the looks of it, over a hundred of them are all over the place!" Said Hikari, finding it hard to believe what they were seeing.
"Hikari, use your Byakugan and check for survivors. And count how many enemy ninja there were, if you can." Biwako ordered.
Hikari followed the order, and searched their surroundings for any signs of life. After a few minutes, she deactivated her Clan's Kekkei Genkai. *Sigh* "I'm sorry. There's no one here. It seems everyone has been killed. That, or the survivors have already left. As far as enemy corpses go, there seems to be a total of One Hundred and Fifty here on the outside. And another seven in a room, in that house over there. The room has two baby cribs inside, but no babies." Hikari reported, sad for the destruction of the entire clan.
"If survivors had left, then it would've been the invaders. The Konig Clan would've stayed to clean up and bury their dead, and sent a couple to track down that man who took the baby. *Sigh* It seem that this child, is the last of the Konig Clan." Said Biwako, explaining the current scenario.
The rest of them stood there wide eyed at the information they just heard. Kushina looked at the baby in her arm, and couldn't help but shed some tears for the boy's circumstance. The baby just looked up at her with slight curiosity, not knowing what was going on.
"What should we do with the boy now, Lady Biwako?" Hikari asked.
"Give me a moment to think." She replied. "Obviously we can't leave the boy here, in this country. If word were to get out, they'd just come back to finish him off. And without ninja, they'd have minimal to no resistance. We could bring the boy back to the village with us, but that would mean abandoning our position in the field. Unless of course, we get Hiruzen's permission. The boy would be safe inside the Leaf Village, where there is ample protection. I'll just have to ask Hiruzen what he thinks." Biwako thought.
Summoning the same monkey from the other day, she gave him her report to give to her husband, and asked for a speedy reply. Luckily, her husband had another monkey in his office so that they could get quick updates.
"Now, we wait." Said Biwako, once the monkey had disappeared in a *poof* of smoke.
"Should we give them a proper burial?" Kushina asked, after a few minutes of silence.
"There's no need. The Konig Clan prefers to die in battle. Funerals are only given to those who die here at home but, without survivors this became and will remain a battle field. Besides, they leave their bodies on the battle field. I don't know why, but that's how they do things. They don't have a Kekkei Genkai, so they don't have to worry about their abilities being stolen. Yet, despite not having a bloodline, they're extremely powerful. It's rare for anyone to survive a fight to the death against a member of the Konig Clan. In fact, I've never heard of anyone who beat a member of that clan and live from their wounds. Assuming they didn't die before they did. In fact, I haven't so much as heard rumor of such a feat." Biwako answered, showing her knowledge of this powerful clan.
"For so few of them, to take out over a Hundred and Fifty invaders, it's unheard of. It's incredible to think that a Clan could be so strong by themselves. Not many clans can claim what happened here. It looks like all the invaders were Jounin too. Will this child be as strong as they were?" Kushina asked herself, while also thinking of her lost clan. "So young, and this child and I already have something in common. It's sad to think that it's something tragic though."
About an hour later, Biwako summoned the monkey again, sure that there was a reply by now. "Sarutora. Did Hiruzen give you a reply to pass onto me?" Biwako asked.
The small white monkey replied, with a bow. "Yes, Lady Biwako. He said to go ahead and bring the child back the Leaf Village. Your temporary replacement in your platoon have already been dispatched. Just be careful upon your return trip. Once the child has been brought to his office, you'll be sent back to your platoon to resume combat."
"I see. Thank you. You can go now." Biwako said, after taking a deep breath. Without a word, the monkey disappeared. "Let's go home, and get that child safe. I figured Hiruzen would come to this choice." Said Biwako, as she began to leave the valley.
"Yes ma'am!" The others replied, following suit.
-Five days later, Hokage's office-
"So, this is the child you rescued?" The 3rd Hokage asked, smiling as he saw the baby in Kushina's arms.
"Yes it is, Lord Hokage." Biwako replied, acting formal in the presence of her husband.
"Hm. The last of the Konig Clan. It would be dangerous if they found out he was here. Likely to bring assassins within our walls, in order to kidnap or kill the child if necessary." Said Hiruzen.
"Um, Lord Hokage?" Kushina asked, getting his attention. "The name on the birth certificate doesn't say Konig, it says Kaiser. It's possible that they won't recognize the relation. I'm sure he'd be safe inside the village, as long as it doesn't become public knowledge." Kushina explained, believing the child will be safe in this village.
Hirzen closed his eyes in thought, knowing what she said to be true, since he saw the birth certificate himself just moments ago. "Hm. It's possible. Even if that weren't the case, we couldn't let the child remain in danger. He could grow up to be a great shinobi for our village. Assuming he decides to join the ranks. Hmm." He thought, opening his eyes and seeing Kushina's worried look. "She must see some of herself in him. Interesting."
"Don't worry, Kushina. I wasn't suggesting we abandon the child." He began, seeing Kushina settle down. "He could one day be an asset to our village, either as a shinobi or even a civilian. But that can wait for now. I'll personally take the child to the orphanage, so that someone there can take care of him. That way you four can immediately head back to the battle field." Hiruzen explained, as he got up and walked up to kushina.
Kushina understood what had to be done, so she reluctantly handed the baby over to him.
"Alright. Let's get going. They're going to need us on the battlefield." Said Biwako, as she headed toward the door. Hikari and Kushina followed after, although Kushina was once again a bit reluctant.
Once they were gone, the Third Hokage left as well to deliver the baby to the orphanage.
-At the orphanage-
The Third Hokage had just arrived at the orphanage. Walking through the gates, he smiled as he saw the children playing. Despite being in the middle of a war, it was always nice to see children smiling, laughing and having fun.
"Lord Hokage? What are you doing here?" A middle-aged woman, with greying brown hair asked.
"Ah, Katsumi. How are you today?" The Third asked.
"I'm doing well, Lord Hokage. But, why are you here?" Katsumi asked.
"Ah, yes. That would be thanks to the little one here." He answered, gesturing toward the baby in his arms.
Katsumi looked down toward the Third's arms, and saw that he was holding a newborn baby. "Aww. How cute? Wait, it's not an orphan. Is it?" Katsumi asked, hoping that that wasn't the case.
*Sigh* "I'm afraid so. He came from a small village, and was the only survivor." Hiruzen explained, telling a white lie for the boy's protection. Hiruzen handed the baby off to Katsumi.
"Aww. Poor boy. Don't worry, Lord Hokage. We'll take good care of him. By the way, did you find out what his name?" Katsumi asked, as she took the baby from his arms.
"Bryon. It's unusual, but that's all we managed to find out." He answered, keeping his last name a secret for the boy's safety.
"I see. Well like I said, we'll take good care of him." Katsumi said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I'm sure you will. Good day, Katsumi." And with that, the Third Hokage headed back toward his office and back to his damned paperwork.
-With Biwako and Co.-
Biwako and her team had left the village a few hours ago, and Kushina had *sigh*ed a number of times. "Pull yourself together Kushina! You can visit him at the orphanage once you come back! But, you have to keep your head here with you, not in the village!" Said Biwako, getting tired of Kushina's current depression. She understood what she saw in the boy, she really did. But now wasn't the time for distractions. Distractions were what gets you killed during a war.
Kushina knew she was right. She couldn't afford to be distracted, but she couldn't help but see her own past when she looked at that baby. But, she would have to dwell on that later. Taking a deep breath, she brought out her resolve. "You're right Biwako! I'm alright now, promise!" Said Kushina, without even the slightest hesitation.
"Good! Now, let's get out final mission over with! So that we can retire as housewives!" Biwako ordered. "Although, this will be my second retirement. I only came out of it to help my village." Biwako thought.
"Right!" Was the reply she heard.
-Two weeks later-
Biwako, her team and a few other teams, were arriving at the Hidden Leaf's gates. It had been quite a while since some of them had been home, for others it's only been a couple weeks. Either way, it was a good feeling to be home again.
"Aaah! It's so good to be back in the Leaf Village!" Said Kushina, happy to be in the village again.
"Now, the other team leaders and I need to report into the Hokage. The rest of you are dismissed." Biwako ordered, as she was the most senior of the Jounin Squad leaders.
"Yes ma'am!" They all replied, as Biwako and the other squad leaders headed toward the Hokage's Tower.
Everyone else just went their separate ways. Kushina and her friend/comrade went with each other for a few minutes before she eventually split off from her friend to go home. Unlike Hikari, she didn't live in the Clan District of the Leaf Village. Instead, she lived more out of the way from the other villagers all together. Mostly considering she was living with her husband, Minato Namikaze.
"Oh, that's right! Minato said he'd be home by the time I got back from my mission! Heehee! I better head home fast!" Kushina thought, as she began to run home.
It only took a couple minutes till she saw the two pillars that held the gate to the property. Outside the gate, she saw the man she had just been thinking about. Minato Namikaze was leaning against the gate, looking to be waiting for someone. Looking to his right, he saw Kushina running up to him. "I've been waiting for you." Minato said, standing upright and smiling at his wife.
"Minato!" Kushina yelled, wrapping her arms around him before giving him a kiss.
Once they parted lips, Minata asked. "Miss me much?"
"Only more than anything." Kushina replied, despite the question being a rhetorical one.
"Same here. Anyway, I got a surprise for you." Said Minato, smiling wider as he saw Kushina looking confused.
"A surprise? What is it?" Kushina asked.
"You'll see. C'mon, let's go." Minato replied, taking Kushina's hand as he started walking in the direction she came from.
-Twenty minutes later-
Minato had taken his time walking to their destination. Despite Kushina's prodding, he couldn't help but smile as she pouted after telling her to "Just be patient."
He suddenly came to a stop, in front of a pair of open gates. "We're here." He said, facing the opening. It led to an open courtyard that held a long three story building. In the courtyard, children were playing.
Looking where they were, Kushina couldn't help but *gasp* in surprise. "Minato. What're we doing here?" She asked, as they started walking into the courtyard.
"Did you already forget about the baby you and your teammates rescued?" Minata asked.
*Gasp* Indeed, Kushina had forgotten. But only because she had to focus on getting through her last mission. Sure, there were a few times where her mind wandered to Minata or the baby. But she had to quickly forget about them, in order to focus on her mission. It may have only been a couple weeks, but it was still a difficult mission.
"You really did forget, huh? That's ok. Because you remember now, don't you? Haha." Minato laughed, as he poked fun at his wife's expense.
"That's not fair. I had to focus on my mission." Kushina replied, pouting at her amused husband.
"Hey look! It's visitors!" A random child yelled out, as he saw the adult couple. The children then all crowded around the two, yelling as children do. Trying to get adopted by them.
"Calm down, children. I've told you, that's not how you get someone to take you home with them." Said Katsumi, as she walked up to them from her place on the bench near the entrance.
All the children then backed up, and bowed to them. "We're sorry ma'am! We're sorry sir!" They all said at once.
Smiling, Kushina replied. "It's alright. Go ahead and play now, ok."
Straightening up, they all replied simultaneously. "OK!" They then went back to their games, yet kept an eye on the adult couple.
"Kushina and Minato Namikaze. How may I help you two today?" Katsumi asked, as she approached the married couple.
"Umm, well..." Said Kushina, scratching the back of her head. She wasn't really sure why they were here.
"You're such a young married couple. Are you really looking to adopt?" Katsumi asked.
Kushina looked shocked, when she asked that. "Is that really why we're here?" Kushina asked herself, as she looked at Minato.
"Well, we're actually just here to visit the baby that was brought here a couple weeks ago. Lord Third said he personally brought him here." Minato answered, scratching his head with a nervous smile.
"Oh, of course. His entire village was said to have been wiped out, with him as the sole survivor." Katsumi replied, instantly remembering which child he was talking about.
Kushina was about to correct her but, Minato quickly replied. "That's right. Kushina here, was the one who actually found him. She and her teammates then brought him here to the village, and reported their finding to Lord Hokage. He brought him here personally, because Kushina had to go back into the field. And he didn't want to bother anyone with the short babysitting job."
"I see. Well right this way. He should be in the middle of his nap right now, assuming he's not hungry again." Katsumi said, as she turned around signaling them to follow.
Kushina looked to Minato confused, but the look in his eye said he'd explain later. Nodding, they quickly followed.
"That little one is a quiet one." Katsumi said, smiling. Not that those following her could see it but, they could hear it in her voice.
"What do you mean he's 'a quiet one'?" Minato asked.
"It means that he's quiet when he cries. At first I thought it was because something was wrong with him but, he's completely healthy according to Lady Biwako." Kushina answered.
"A quiet crying baby? That sounds hard to believe." Said Minato, looking confused at the concept.
"I agree. But if it wasn't for this one, I'd never have believed it either." Said Katsumi. "Here we are." She said, as she opened the door afterclimbing up to the second floor.
They all walked inside, Katsumi closing the door behind them. Inside, they saw a number of cribs. Of which, most were empty. A couple were occupied with the babies crawling around, another had a baby standing up, and finally one contained a sleeping newborn.
Minato and Kushina walked straight to the sleeping newborn, peering inside the crib to see the baby sound asleep. "Aww. He's still so cuuute." Kushina whispered, so as to not wake the baby.
Minata wrapped his arm around her shoulder, silently showing his agreement.
"That he is. Yet he's so quiet, that we have to have someone in here to watch over him. That way he doesn't accidently get neglected." Katsumi whispered, as she came up to the other side of the crib. "But of course, we're always careful with newborns. Having someone watch over them for the first few days, to see if they're as healthy as they look."
"Can I hold him?" Kushina asked hopefully, as she looked up at Katsumi. Receiving a nod in response, Kushina then carefully picked him up, so as not to startle him. Kushina then noticed that in just two weeks, his hair had noticeably grown just a little bit. He also seemed slightly heavier, which was a good sign that the boy was indeed healthy.
"Heh. By the looks of him, he could probably grow up big and strong. Or at least, that's what I think." Said Minato, keeping his knowledge of this boy's heritage a secret.
"Well, we'll leave you two alone. Come, Suzumebachi." Said Katsumi, signaling for the young black haired teenager to follow her. "Let us know if you need anything." Katsumi said, closing the door behind her.
Kushina waited a few seconds, until she looked to Minato. "Minato. Why did you interrupt me earlier?" Kushina asked, making sure that her voice remained a whisper.
"Because, Lord Hokage prefers that we keep his heritage a secret. Hikari will have been told the same thing by now, by Hiashi. He also told me about your affection for the little guy." Minato answered, while giving her a knowing smile.
Blushing slightly, Kushina looked at the baby boy in her arms. "I just couldn't help it. He reminds me so much of myself."
"Because of the loss of your clan and place of birth being a different country. I understand. And I can't blame you if you want to take him home with us." Minato said, slyly.
Kushina's head snapped so fast that he almost thought it might pop off. "What?" She asked, in a barely contained whisper.
"Nothing. Just said I can't blame you if you want to take him home with us. I got a feeling he'd make a good older brother for when we have a kid of our own. But that's just me. What do you think?" Minato asked.
Kushina took a couple minutes to let what her husband said to sink in. "You're serious?" Kushina asked, in response.
"Yea. I've heard how you've cared for him the whole time, since you first held him in your arms. Besides, if he's already got that much in common with you, then I'm sure I can love as my own as well. I know we're young, but we married at a young age as well." Minato answered.
"But, do you think we can handle such a responsibility so soon?"
"Well, only one way to find out. And neither of us are the type to give up when things get rough. So, what do ya' say? Give it a shot?"
Kushina looked back down at the baby boy in her arms. "Do I really want to take care of this boy? I know we have a similar past in common, but would that be all that's needed to love him like he's my own? What should I do?" Kushina asked herself.
As if fate wanted to answer her question, the small child opened his eyes. Kushina and baby Bryon looked in each other's eyes. She didn't know what it was, but there was something about those eyes. Yet, it somehow brought her to make a decision. *Sigh* "I suppose we could try. I mean, who knows when he'd be adopted by a loving family. If ever." Said Kushina, as she smiled to the little baby in her arms.
"So, that's a yes?" Minato asked, although it sounded like a statement more than anything.
"Yes. But are you sure that you want to do this?" Kushina asked, looking toward Minato.
"Haha. I'm sure, Kushina." He replied, earning a large smile and a quick kiss from Kushina.
"Well, why don't we go talk to Katsumi and take care of the paperwork." Minato replied, giving Kushina a kiss and lightly rubbing Bryon's little cheek with his index finger.
And that's chapter one. Not a lot of action, but hey, this is supposed to be his life's story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you, and please review.