"What were you thinking, Brother?" I questioned quietly as I stared at the glittering stars.

They were twinkling brilliantly and reflected gently off the moisture gathering in my eyes. I stared up at the stars, finding familiar patterns to help coaxes my emotions into a controlled, constant ache. I screwed my eyes shut and took a deep, soothing breath. I opened my eyes shortly after, revealing them to be significantly more dry and gave a fleeting glance at the night sky.

"Guess I'll just have to suck it up, huh? Isn't that what you always used to tell me when I was a kid?" I laughed lightly as I thought of all the struggles my brother had gone through to make me a strong kunoichi.

I spent the majority of my childhood complaining about everything little thing I could. My ramen was never warm enough, my wrists hurt from target practice, the sun was too bright (but sunglasses were lame), books were boring, you name it. Everything was susceptible to my ridiculous, childish critiquing. Luckily for him, that stage only lasted about two or three years.

By the time I was ten, I had convinced myself that I was the strongest ninja in all of Konaha and expected to be treated as so. I trained myself to death and brought my poor brother along for the ride. Not a day went by that we didn't spend honing my skills. On my birthday, he had a giant boomerang handcrafted for me and of course I had to try it out right away. Which lead to a full day training session on my birthday. Of course, the boomerang was bigger than I was, but I dragged the darn thing around town for a full month before I was able to actually lift it enough to practice with it (It's currently strapped to my back). Unsurprisingly, I became a genin that year, and the year after a chunin. It wasn't until I became a chunin and was finally knocked down a few pegs by my elders that I got my attitude straight. Well, as straight as our family came.

But even with my crazy attitudes and ridiculous behavior, he was always there for me.

I stared hopelessly into the endless spread of stars and for the moment, focusing on two that were placed directly next to each other and were twinkling brilliantly. A small pain-filled laugh bubbled from my throat.

"Stars can't to help me," I whimpered bleakly to myself. Yet I couldn't tear my eyes from those two shining, star diamonds. They were a painful reminder of my brother's eyes which had always shone with that same quality.

Weeping and frowning won't fix things, kiddo. No matter what's wrong, the more you smile and laugh through it, the sooner it will get better. I promise.

We were both dressed in funeral garb at the time, tears dripping down both our faces, surround by people we barely knew. I couldn't have been more than six at the time, I cried miserably as I stared at the mounds of dirt that had swallowed our mother and father. I didn't know why, but I knew that they weren't coming back. I understood that much, but what truly baffled my childlike mind was that my brother had a small, genuine smile plastered on his face. I tugged his pant leg, my brows set in a furious line.

How come you're smiling? How come you're not sad? I screamed at him angrily, tears rolling down my face even faster. He bent down to my level.

I am sad. He assured me with that same infuriating smile.

Nu-uh! You don't look sad. Sad people don't smile, I protested and crossed my short, thin arms bitterly. He slowly uncrossed my arms and forced our identical eyes to connect, then said to me the words that got me through the hardest parts of my life. Now was one of those times.

"I don't know how to raise a child, you idiot! I'm only seventeen, I can barely remember to shower."

I stared down at the tears which landed on the roof tiling.

My brooding was interrupted by a tiny cry from inside the small apartment. My head shot up and I leaped straight into the window of my bedroom, which held my nephew's small crib. My eyes darted around the room and I began to unbuckle the straps of my boomerang. After a minute, I realized that there was no danger and walked over to my whimpering nephew. His eyes were tightly shut and he was shifting restlessly while his chubby fists clutched his blanket tightly to his chest. His eyes fluttered open and he stared quietly at the ceiling, then began to wail. I panicked for a second, trying to rationalize why he was upset. I couldn't sense any danger? Was there something hurting him?

There is no rationalizing a screaming baby, you dope! I scolded myself.

I sighed and with uncertain hands, hoisted the baby into my arms. To my complete surprise he stopped crying and just stared up at me with my family's familiar eyes. I smiled lightly at the child cuddling in my warm arms.

"Come on. You're not letting go anytime soon," I chuckled, leaping deftly back onto the roof. I squeezed the small bundle tightly against my chest so that I didn't drop him and then began twirling pieces of his thick, baby hair.

"He looks just like you-OW! And he's got him mom's grip too, geez," I whined as I untangled a lock of my hair from the child's unforgiving fingers. I looked up and saw those two stars twinkling almost joyfully down at me.

"Hey look, Naruto. Mommy and Daddy are looking out for you. Can you see them? Those two right there, connected at the hip like usual!" I laughed, switching the baby to my lap and pointing into the vast ocean of stars. Naruto reacted excitedly, reaching out desperately to my outstretched fingers. I brought my fingers down and allowed him to wrap his tiny hand around my finger. He stared at it momentarily, squealed joyfully and then chomped down on my finger with his gums. With a wince I tried to pull my finger from his mouth, but he held on tightly and began to suck on it. I crinkled my eyebrows in slight disgust.

"That's so gross, little dude!" I scolded humorously. To my confusion the little trouble-maker was already sound asleep, one fist bunched in my thick, jounin jacket and the other holding my finger hostage in his slobbering mouth.

"Good night to you too, kiddo," I whispered with an amused smile and then heaved myself to my feet with a sigh. I looked up one last time.

"What have you gotten me into, Minato?" I asked bleakly to the pair of twinkling stars.

Naruto stared longingly at the two granite stones, the flickering light of the scarce lanterns and the shine of the moon and stars allowing him to read clearly.

Yondaime Hokage - Minato Namikaze

Kushina Uzumaki

His parents' eyes stared straight at him through the glass of their mounted picture frames. His father's eyes, so similar to his shone with intelligence and mirth, while his mother's held that same spark of mischief as her son's. Naruto knew every inch of this graveyard. Iruka would take him here more than once a year, back when he was a child and knew nothing of the significance that this place held in his life.

We should pay our respects to these people. There are some very important heroes in this graveyard. Iruka would tell him while laying flowers and dusting off granite markers.

The only important person here is the Fourth Hokage! I don't even know who these other lame-os are! Naruto would retort.

You will know the importance of these people eventually, Naruto. For now, you should pay your respects to them. We owe them our lives. Iruka would always end the argument in that fashion. After a while, Naruto gave up trying to understand why and just let it become a tradition between himself and his sensei.

His startling blue eyes scanned the headstones and in the case of the most recent ones, their photos. He'd never really looked at the faces in the pictures when he was younger. But now it was different. He knew they were his family. His brain couldn't memorize as fast as his eyes moved from each headstone. Naruto stopped suddenly on one in particular, a grave on the other side of the Hokage's which had a giant, immaculate boomerang imbedded into the dirt above it. He walked close and was met with eyes identical to his and the goggles from his childhood staring at him.

Masuyo Namikaze

"She is your aunt. She raised you when your parents died and sacrificed her life for yours," Iruka's voice carried on the wind from the entrance of the graveyard.

"That doesn't make any sense. I can't remember her," Naruto said shaking his head in disbelief. He squinted his eyes faintly at the photograph, trying to force his memory to recognized her. She definitely looked like him and Minato. They had the same striking, blue eyes that held a definite spark. Her hair was a golden, hinting on orange color and looked constantly windswept, but held the same spikey quality as her brother and nephew's. The goggles, though. Those same goggles that rested around her neck sat in his apartment on his dresser, he would recognize them anywhere. Naruto looked at Iruka almost desperate for information.

"Come sit with me, Naruto," Iruka urged from a bench directly across from the woman's grave.

"I don't get it, why don't I-" Naruto began but was interrupted by a silencing hand from the sensei.

"Not many of the details are known about what happened in those three years that she raised you, but I'll tell you what I can," Iruka started, leaning his elbows on his knees and dangling his hands between his legs.

"She was an extraordinary ninja. She and your father's parents died when she was very young during a S-rank mission. Minato raised her from then on, and they both wemt on to greatness. Your father was the youngest Hokage in our village's history. And your aunt could have rivaled him if she put her mind to it. She was a jounin at the age of 16 and at the age of 17 offered a position in the ANBU ranks. Which she had to decline, I'll explain why later," Iruka said, effectively stopping the young man's interruption.

"Anyways, after your parents death there was no one left but Masuyo. So she took you in, even though she was only 17 and had no idea what she was doing. I remember seeing her completely exhausted when she was running around the village. It was rare, the small amount of time that she did leave your side to go run errands or continue her missions as a jounin. This is why she denied the ANBU request. It was rough for her, she was barely an adult and I'm sure had never considered children yet. She didn't get much help from the village either. They were all terrified of the 'horrible demon child' that she was raising. But, she took care of you as well as any other mother or family would." Iruka was fierce in his defense of the woman and Naruto in his story. His eyes burned at their mistreatment, while Naruto just looked at him with a blank expression.

"So what happened to her? How come she's dead and I don't remember her?" Naruto questioned. Iruka sighed as if a heavy weight had been hefted onto him.

"You were only three when she died, much too young to remember anything. But those first few years of your childhood were dangerous times. Everyone in the village and beyond to the other lands knew what you were. The village wanted you…destroyed," Iruka finally spit out as if it burned him to say it. Naruto just nodded his head and urged him on. He was well aware of what the village used to think of him, how some still do.

"By the time you were three, you had to of had at least 30 assassination attempts. But like I said, your guardian was no ordinary woman. That boomerang behind her grave was her main weapon. Minato had it crafted personally for her. It was like her second arm, you could almost swear that she could control it after she threw it. Some believed she could, what with her air chakra control. Her strongest move was said to use winds so vicious that it ripped a body completely apart. That's why she used those protective goggles," Iruka said and then cringed when he felt a small gust of wind run over his arms.

"I still don't get it. If she was so strong, how the hell did she die!" Naruto growled, frustrated and impatient.

"I said she was strong, not indestructible Naruto. There was an attempt to kill you while she was on a mission. I'm not exactly sure what happened here. But the rumors say they somehow got the message to her that you might be in danger. She made a five minute journey back to the village in what would take a normal ninja at top speed a half an hour at the least, according to rumor. Must have spent a lot of her chakra doing it too. She didn't leave you totally unprotected though. You were being watched by an elderly kunoichi who lived near the center of the village. Masuyo set up enough traps and gengutsus around that house to hold off an entire army. The old women held the assassins off long enough for her to get there and wreck havoc." Iruka winced slightly at the memories of the destruction that was caused. He had seen it the next day as the tendrils of smoke rose from the center of the village. The house and those around it were torn to shreds and most of the roofs on the neighboring buildings had needed repairs. Iruka barreled on before Naruto could rush him again.

"She must have thought they were all dead. She was ambushed again by a second wave of assassins. They killed the old kunoichi and went straight for you. When the jounins finally pulled the wreckage from around Masuyo and you, she was dead. She used her final attack inside that small room and it destroyed everyone and everything around it for a few blocks. They found her with you wrapped in her arms, swaddled in layers of blankets, her goggles over your eyes, and screaming your head off. Miraculously, you were fine. But her wounds were too severe. She was crushed by the house and had too many open slashes from her own attack. Masuyo sacrificed herself to save you from those assassins," Iruka said with finality. Naruto stood, his eyes shaded by his bangs. He sat stiffly on the bench, then sprang to his feet to kneel in front of Masuyo's grave.

"Sacrificing themselves for me…It must run in the family, ne?" Naruto spoke softly, his hand stretched out to rest lightly over his aunt's eyes. He stared down at the tears that were being absorbed by the dirt.

"What is it with everyone in this stupid village always dying because of me!" Naruto shouted, squeezing his eyes shut and slamming his hand on the granite slab with his aunt's name. A hand landed lightly on Naruto's shaking shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"It's not because of you. It's for you. Your friends and family sacrifice themselves because they care about you. They choose to do so because they love you!" Iruka said encouragingly, yet Naruto continue to shake and cry.

"It's just…It's so stupid!" Naruto slammed both his fists into the dirt and leaned his head against them, curling into himself.

"Love isn't stupid, Naruto. Naruto, look at me!" Iruka urged. Naruto took a few breathes to gain some semblance of composure, but his face was still drenched in tears and anguish and his eyes burned a bright red. Iruka suddenly became very still and serious.

"Your mother and father sacrificed their lives for you so that our village and you could have a future. They knew that one day you would become the protector of our village. That you would live a wonderful life and have a home and be loved. You know that. Masuyo saved you because you were her child as much as you were your parents'. She took you in when no one else dared and raised you for three long years. Imagine where we would be now, if someone had gotten a hold of the Kyuubi. We would all be dead! You are a lot more important than you think you are, Naruto!" Iruka said, looking sternly into Naruto's quickly softening eyes. Naruto ducked his head down once again and heaved a giant breath. He swiftly pushed himself up, the wind ruffling his hair.

"Yeah. I've got work to do then. Are you comin', Iruka-sensei?" Two determined, blue eyes looked at him and a hand pulled him to his feet swiftly.

"What kind of work, what are you talking about Naruto?" Iruka asked puzzled and suspicious. With a smile, Naruto whipped his sleeve against both sides of his face. A fox grin was plastered to his face, his blue eyes were twinkling deviously and shone with unshed tears.

"I've got a village, wait no a country to protect! My family and friends didn't die for me so I could sit here on my ass and cry about it. I'm gonna make them all proud!" Naruto said, punching a determined fist into his palm. Iruka looked at him strangely and then pulled him into a fierce hug.

He's grown so much.

"They are already proud of you, Naruto. We all are,"

Naruto stared out the window of his small apartment, trying to clear his head with some fresh air. His eyes gazed out into the expanse of stars and his fingers idly handled a pair of worn goggles. His fingers outlined the tiny letters MN, which were carved into the inside of the leather straps. His own initials, NU were engraved on the opposite strap and until this day he had no idea what the MN stood for. And after so many years of it being there, he just accepted that it was there for some reason that he didn't know. It could be a label of the person who made it, but it's not like it mattered! Naruto had more things to worry about in his childhood, like planning his next prank, or figuring out how to become the best ninja in the world, or what flavor of ramen he would eat for dinner. That wasn't the exact case anymore, he knew what those letters stood for. And they meant a whole hell of a lot more now. Naruto's thumb lightly traced the engraved lines and his gaze went to the clouds that had appeared to block the stars and the moon. But Naruto's keen eyes spotted two stars side by side glinting brilliantly and a second later another star gleamed directly above the other two, creating a tight triangle shinning gallantly in a small patch of cloudless night sky. Naruto looked down at his, no Masuyo's goggles and then back to the three close-knit, glittering stars. His blue eyes twinkled in return, but his tears did not fall.

"Thank you. Mom. Dad. Aunt Masuyo," Naruto spoke softly, clutching the goggles tightly in his hands. The wind gently caressed his skin and ran through his hair, he took one last mind-cleansing breath before crawling into bed. The window was cracked open to let the wind drift into the room and the curtains were parted so that the starlight shone gently into the bedroom.

"Good night to you too, kiddo."