We know Naruto's an orphan, but do we ever really know what happened to his parents? Here's a look through his mother's eyes...
TT: One-shot drabble here, guys! It's my first time writing for the fandom, so let me know what you think. Believe it or not, this is actually a birthday fic for my little brother - APC. Just don't show mum, okay bro?
It is possible to see the idea that the 4th is Naruto's father in this, but it's not intentional. Pretend what you like!
------ThIsIsAbReAkLiNe------
The scent of burnt flesh wafted over the battlefield, from the fox's firey attacks. The forest had been torn apart, leaving a barren wasteland in its waste. Deep gouges lay in the earth; scarring the area for what the humans thought would be an eternity.
It was over; the fox was gone… But, somehow, it didn't feel as if they'd won – they'd simply lost a little bit less than the fox, and even that was doubtful.
The survivors lay amongst the carnage, exhausted and drained emotionally. Those who had, somehow, been fortunate enough to survive with only mild wounds were rushing those, whose injuries were much more serious, to the already unbelievably crowded hospital. The rest simply stayed where they were, mourning. Their hokage was dead; he had died to save all of them. It left them both humble and furious; their Yellow Flash was no more, because of that - that fox! Somehow, no insult they could think of seemed horrible enough to describe the monster.
Somewhere in Kohona, a woman lay on the bed, exhausted. She found it hard to believe she'd had the energy to clean herself up; who knew that birth could be so exhausting?
She didn't even know what had happened to her child, or if her beloved (who had gone to fight the fox) was still alive… The woman's face crumpled, wanting desperately to sob, but not having the energy to do so.
A throat was cleared, and she looked over. The third hokage looked at her, face gentle and sympathetic.
She swallowed, voice weak and hoarse from screaming, "Is he…"
The third looked away; that was all the woman needed to see to know; her beloved was dead. She lowered her head towards her hands to sob, but paused when the Third held his arms out, revealing something wrapped in clothe for her to see.
The weary woman stared at the tiny babe. Spiky blonde hair was already dusting his head; she felt a bubble of motherly love rise up inside her – he probably had his father's eyes, too.
He had her nose, or so she'd like to think, but those where his father's fingers… Her eyes rested on the whisker marks on either side of his face, dread lying heavy in her stomach.
She looked at the seal on his stomach; her beloved had died, for that simple seal. A monster lay inside the child; his father had allowed it to happen – her beloved must have hated the child! Must have known that no good would come from the babe's presence.
The child opened its eyes; blue, as she'd expected. The tiny baby stared at her wordlessly for a moment, and the woman was sure she saw those blue eyes flash red.
A that cold dread, heavy in her stomach, rose up her throat like bile, clenching around her heart along the way. This wasn't a child, this was the fox, the monster fox, inside a weaker form, waiting and biding its time. Her beloved's sacrifice had been in vain. She wasn't sure how she'd come to that conclusion, but somehow she knew it must be true! She had not only lost her husband, but also her child, oh her child's soul had been devoured by a demon that stole his face! The creature even had the nerve to scar her child's face with its own whiskers, mocking her.
The 3rd hokage held the tiny infant in his arms out to her, "Aren't you going to hold your son?"
The woman stared at the infant for a moment before she turned away, eyes cold and hard, practically bleeding with hatred, "I have no son."
As if it could understand the conversation around him, Naruto began to cry.