Beginnings
Somewhere in a forest, hidden in the Land of Fire, there was an idyllic, peaceful village. Nestled against a cliff face carved with the faces of three men, with a fourth face nearly completed, the village seemed calm and quiet. But a careful observer would note the inhabitants' military vests, confident air, and the roof-hopping of the ninjas and know otherwise. This was Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the first and greatest ninja village.
In the Konoha hospital waiting room, several ninja (and the medic-nin secretary) watched a young man anxiously pacing the floor. One older man with spiky white hair spoke up after a moment.
"Minato. Calm down, she's going to be fine. Take a seat, relax, …"
An older man with a goatee chuckled and fiddled with his empty pipe. "I know you're nervous, Minato – I was the same way when my children were born – but wearing a hole in the floor won't help anyone." Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his voice and added, "Besides, as Hokage, you're making the medics and patients nervous."
Minato Namikaze stopped, sighed, and ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair. Giving another sigh, he walked over and sat next to his two senseis. "I know, but... I just can't help myself! I want to do something for Kushina, analyze and defeat the problem, but..."
Sarutobi nodded in understanding, then discreetly elbowed Jiraiya to stop his leering at a passing nurse. "It's hard for any man, but ninja especially, to wait while their wife is in labor. In the end, all you can do is wait, and trust the medics to do their job."
Minato exploded – a rare thing for someone of his calm demeanor – "I still don't see why they had to kick me out! I mean, I'm the Hokage, after all!"
Jiraiya snorted, "Ha! You got kicked out because you were more worried and stressed than Kushina was! The medics decided you were too distracting, and in this matter they outrank you!"
Minato scowled as the older men laughed at the memory, recalling how the medics had finally persuaded his ANBU bodyguards to keep him from trying to reenter the room. At least if I'm really needed, I have that seal for my Flying Thunder God Technique still on my chair...
The secretary hid a smirk as she thought, Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, feared by many of our enemies... and he's this distraught over Uzumaki-san's labor. And she hasn't even been here for two hours! She wished something would come up to distract Namikaze-sama from the woman's pain.
At that moment, the earth abruptly shook and a few bits of plaster fell from the ceiling. The ninja were abruptly up and rushing to the door, even as a horrible sickly feeling descended upon the village and a tremendous roar shook the air.
The Kyuubi no Kitsune was back to attack Konohagakure for the first time since the First Hokage's battle with it and Madara Uchiha. And it was not any happier this time.
Author's Notes: I'm probably not supposed to put these in, but I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about this short fic. First, yes, I do keep up with the manga, and I do know that this is not how the delivery or the attack worked out. I wrote this before that had been revealed for a fanfic I was planning to write, but never really worked on. Which leads to the second thing: no, there will not be another chapter or anything. I might eventually get around to writing the fanfic I mentioned, but if I do, I've decided to use Kishimoto's story instead. It just fits a lot better and flows far nicer with the current knowledge than mine. (Besides, the Minato vs. Madara fight was way too cool to try to surpass.) If I write the fanfic, I'll start it shortly after the fox's sealing and do what I need to change it to fit. I'm just posting this in case anyone wanted to see it.