Summary: This is simple. This chapter/one-shot is a short opening for multiple other stories I have in mind, each of which has the premise of Kushina's survival and running away from Konoha. The thing is, she isn't going alone, and she's taking more than just Naruto with her.
Note: Ignore canon. I can and will screw with it as I feel the need. It's why these stories are called FAN-FICTION.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Spirited Away - Prologue
A woman with long bright red hair sat in a chair in what could only be a hospital room, nursing her newborn son. A gentle smile radiated comfort, serenity, and joy in equal measure as she looked upon the feeding child. This was what all those hours of painful labor were for, what the previous months of carrying this small babe beneath her heart had led to. And she wouldn't trade it for anything.
A small frown marred the woman's otherwise beautiful face. Well, there was one thing she wished she could have changed, but it was a moot point now. Her husband, the father of her child, had died the previous night. He was killed when he decided to suicidally summon what could only be called the Shinigami, the God of Death, in order to bind an ancient force of nature, a force that took the form of an enormous fox, into a vessel.
Vessels, she corrected herself silently. She had managed to convince the man to seal half of the beast into herself, though she was sorely tired from giving birth not an hour before. The rush of energy and power kick-started her body's natural healing, which was something of a blessing since she herself had originally been the container for the beast in question. Only then she had held the full might.
The other half had been sealed into their son. This also turned out to be a blessing, as the child had been born with a failing heart. The sudden wave of energy had managed to reinforce that heart, rather than the possible opposite of forcing complete failure.
So she lived, and her son lived. In exchange her husband died. Granted they had only been married for a short time, a few years, and it was a secret marriage at that, but it still hurt to know that the man she had sworn to love was gone.
The secretiveness of their marriage had been mostly at his insistence, largely due to the number of enemies both of them had made in their lives. Though she had also made quite a few friends…
A small popping sound pulled her attention back to her child, who had finished his meal and was now fussing uncomfortably. Placing him face down over her shoulder, the woman gently patted his back, coaxing a small burp that settled the boy down. With that over, the child promptly fell asleep in his mother's arms.
A renewed smile of tender happiness crossed the woman's lips, and she gently nuzzled the baby boy. He was her light now. Her reason for living. If anyone or anything wanted to harm him, they would have to go through one incredibly vindictive mother first.
There came a soft tapping on the door to the room, and then it opened to reveal an aged man in his mid-fifties. Balding grey hair, wrinkles from both laughter and grief, deep set dark eyes, a small grey goatee, and swathed in red and white robes over his somewhat undersized frome. This was Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, and her husband's predecessor.
And he bore a look of resignation, even as he averted his eyes from her still-exposed breast.
"You told them."
It wasn't quite an accusation, more a statement of fact, but the old man winced at the flat tone in the woman's voice. He closed the door and drew up a second chair to sit facing the woman, whom had thankfully closed up her gown to cover herself again.
"I did," He admitted wearily, his eyes downcast. "I had hoped that they would at least honor Minato's last wish, but... "
"But humans are stupid and mindless, and when in grief they revert easily to idea of venting their rage at the situation on the easiest explanation," The woman finished for him in a cold tone that indicated they had had this very conversation already. She snorted in derision, "I told you they would react like that, Old Man. I told you that the secret of a Jinchuuriki must be kept for the sake of the vessel. Now you have painted targets on the backs of both myself and my son."
Hiruzen sighed, his age easily apparent. "I'm sorry, Kushina."
The woman snorted again, but again it was without amusement. "If sorry was all it took to get rid of the label of demon, Hiruzen, this would be a much nicer world. Now, how much did you tell them?"
"Just about you, the Kyuubi, and young Naruto." He shook his head, "I felt that keeping Minato's name out of it was for the best. Few knew you were married, fewer still would accept it now. And with all the enemies outside of Konoha's walls he made…"
"So you instead left us to be victimized by his enemies inside Konoha," Her lips quirked into a cynical smirk.
Hiruzen just kept shaking head, but it wasn't in denial. The entire situation was Bad, with a capital B, and he knew that he had added fuel to the flames with the knowledge of the fox's sealing. Shinobi understood that a container was not its contents, but the civilians were practically ignorant savages in regards to the intricacies of the Sealing Arts.
"I wish I could deny that," He said softly.
"I wish you'd been smarter about it all and listened to me," Kushina retorted sharply. "But what's done is done. We have to move forward, Hiruzen. How long do you think it will take them to get up the courage to come and 'kill the demons'?"
"Isn't that a little much, Kushina?" He asked, hope in his voice, "I know I'm old, and not really at the top of my game anymore, but…"
Kushina chopped the air with one hand to cut him off, "I may be being paranoid, Hiruzen, but just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean someone won't try to get us. Now, how long do you think we have?"
Hiruzen winced at her scathing remarks. She wasn't wrong, but… she wasn't wrong.
His body sank into the chair a little further, a sure sign of his exhaustion. "I'd estimate at least another few hours. No more than four at most. I have what's left of the Anbu running crowd control, but their numbers are reduced from fighting the fox."
"Then I don't have time to be sitting here," Kushina determined calmly as she stood up and placed Naruto in a small crib provided by the hospital when she refused to let them take him away to a monitoring room for newborns. She walked to a small closet, inside finding a set of gender-neutral clothes. Stripping the maternity gown from her body without shame, utterly ignoring Hiruzen's indignant and surprised squawk as he hurried to cover his eyes, and never once letting the sleeping Naruto out of her sight, she dressed quickly.
The outfit was plain, a simple set of dark gray pants and white blouse, with standard civilian sandals. It was a tad snug on her in the hips and bust, however, it covered what needed to be covered, and wouldn't really draw attention to her.
The next thing she did was cast a simple illusion over her face and hair. Her coloring was too distinctive, and the red of her hair would stand out too much. So now she looked like a typical brown-haired and eyed woman. Her heart-shaped face was now leaner and the cheekbones sharper and more prominent.
All in all, if Hiruzen hadn't seen her change, he wouldn't have known her on sight. And the illusion was so subtle that he doubted anyone outside of either a Hyuuga or Uchiha, with their clans' distinct eyes active, would see through it. It was more along the lines of cosmetics rather than illusion, and so he guessed it would work better.
Kushina picked up Naruto, quickly casting a similar illusion over him to hide his distinctive blonde hair, and opened the window silently. Peering out from behind the wall beside it, she saw nothing that gave her any reason to delay further.
"What are you going to do, Kushina?" Hiruzen's tired voice brought her attention back to him, "Where will you go? If you run, you'll eventually be declared a Missing-nin and hunted. Other countries and villages will search for you and Naruto to add you to their ranks, I know Kumo still hasn't given up."
She scowled at the mention of the village that had somewhat successfully kidnapped her as a fresh Genin. She would never allow them to have her, neither her nor her son.
But she had an idea. And it was just crazy enough to work. It would just require more than herself to use.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she regarded the tired old man. Giving him a gentle smile, she said, "It's late, Hiruzen. You should get some sleep. And don't worry too much, despite going against my wishes Minato and I set up a few precautions. Naruto and I will be fine."
He eyed her warily, and sighed. "You're leaving then. You know when you're found missing the most I'll be able to give you is twenty-four hours extra?"
Kushina smirked, "I only need three."
With that she and her son disappeared out the window, heading for places Hiruzen was quite certain he didn't want to know. That granted him better plausible deniability should he ever be put to the question. He may be Hokage again, and he had made many a difficult decision in his previous reign, but damned if he didn't see that fiery redhead as a daughter. That alone was more than enough for him to ignore the rules and regulations to at least give her a head start.
He rose from his chair slowly, and with a wistful glance around the room, he left.
It was indeed a late hour. Old people needed their sleep. Especially if they were cursed to be awoken in the early morning by people screaming about one stupid thing or another.
XxXxXxXx
Kushina raced as well as she could through rubble-strewn alleyways, keeping to the shadows at all times. She was grateful that it was twilight so her movements would be harder to track. She just hoped that she could get to her destination in time as it had taken her nearly an hour to get this far. Her biggest problem in reaching that place, though, wasn't the shinobi or the civilians, it was the physical fatigue from birthing and having the fox extracted that still slowed her down.
What would be her destination you ask? The answer was simple. A nice, seemingly innocuous hill behind her house. The hill was in fact a large underground bunker that had been stocked with damn near everything she could think of for an emergency.
Heh, I told the old man that Minato and I did it together, but it was all my own paranoia that stocked it and made that other thing… Kushina thought as she bypassed another group of shinobi working to unearth possible survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Still not sure how well it's going to work though. She admitted silently. But I don't have much choice anymore. It's use it or live through this village's likely attempts to kill us. Yeah, not brain surgery by any stretch of the imagination. … Gonna kinda miss this place, it's been home for so long now… but Naruto's safety comes first!
She didn't have far to go now, only a few more blocks. The deepening twilight was definitely working in her favor. Well that, and everyone being still too busy trying to uncover items and people from the rubble, so there was currently no time for them to form a lynch mob.
Have to get back anyway, Kushina thought with a small amount of worry, I left that child there. And if I'm going to leave Konoha, I'm not going to leave her behind to face the world alone!
Just as she reached her home's front door, the building itself was intact having been out of the way of the battle, two figures melted out of the shadows of a nearby tree. A startled oath slipped from Kushina's mouth, and she quickly settled into a defensive stance, only to recognize her visitors. Her best friend, Uchiha Mikoto, and her six year old son, Itachi. Upon a second glance, Kushina amended her count to three, because Mikoto was holding her second child, this one only a few months old.
Kushina wasn't certain if the child was male or female, she had been a little preoccupied when Mikoto told her.
Mikoto was not quite beautiful, but motherhood had lent her features a certain softness that made the concept moot. Long raven-dark tresses fell to the small of her back, pale-ish skin from not seeing as much of the sun as she might like, somewhat rounded face that reminded Kushina of her own, garbed in a simple dark dress and apron with sandals, the woman stared at Kushina with red eyes. Three tomoe spun in a lazy circle within those crimson orbs, eyes mirrored by the young boy beside her.
Kushina's gaze slid over Itachi with a practiced eye, careful to not make eye contact. Dark shirt and pants, high collar to partially hide his face, deep lines running from his eyes indicated he didn't really sleep well. His raven hair, a trademark of his clan, was short, but neatly pulled back into a small ponytail. His little face was uncharacteristically grave for a child so young, but Kushina knew his father was pushing for great things from him… probably the source for his lack of sleep.
The Uzumaki abandoned her disguise. It was useless in front of those eyes. The Uchiha Sharingan could see through damn near all Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu, then they would remember it and could use it against you. Cheap little….
Mikoto's voice snapped Kushina out of her uncharitable thoughts, "So you're leaving then?"
She didn't sound hurt, or angry, or anything that Kushina would have thought. Instead the raven haired woman sounded tired and broken.
"Yeah," the redhead admitted, a slight bit of her pain in her words. "I'm sorry, Miko-chan, but they're gonna blame him for it, and I won't allow my son to be hurt just because some people can't look past their hate. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye, but..."
Mikoto just stared for a moment, then nodded. "Then it's a good thing that we're going with you."
Kushina blinked. "What?"
"I know you heard me. We're going with you," Mikoto repeated, a small smirk on her lips as she gently passed her sleeping child to her son. "So come on, get that door open. I already spoke to the others. If you think we're going to let you get away that easily, you have another thing coming."
Mikoto's voice softened as she pulled Kushina into a light embrace, careful not to squish the sleeping Naruto. "We're your friends, you little bint. There is no way we could just leave you alone."
"What about Fugaku and your clan?" Kushina whispered gently. She never understood how her friend could love that man, but but she knew that Mikoto loved him a great deal.
"He's dead, crushed by debris," Mikoto whispered in return, the pain of loss evident in her tone as she hugged Kushina tighter. "And to hell with the clan. They're a bunch of power hungry fools who would use a child to gain even more prestige."
The redhead shuddered in sympathy. Breaking away from her friend, Kushina quickly wiped her eyes clear of forming tears. There was no time for that now.
But later…!
With the swift and certain movements of one who has done something a thousand times, Kushina released the seals locking her home, and ushered her guests in. She then rushed upstairs to the only guest bedroom the house had.
Upon opening the door, Kushina found herself looking at a young girl packed up and ready to go. The girl was only about five years old, and was the child of an old acquaintance of Kushina's who sent the child to her a few months ago for safety from her father. She had short black hair, and deep dark eyes. She wore a simple pink kimono with a black obi to hold it closed. The girl's features were soft, but not too soft, giving her an almost androgynous appearance.
Yuki Haku, Kushina had met the girl's mother a few times on vacation. They had hit it off, but the husband had held certain beliefs that made the woman scared for her daughter's life. Then, one day, the girl showed up at Konoha's gates with a letter for Kushina stating that Haku was now in her care.
"Haku-chan? What are you doing up?" Kushina asked, surprised by the fact that the girl was awake.
The girl shrugged, "I could feel something bad was going to happen. It felt like when Mommy sent me here. So I packed my things in case someone came and told me I had to go."
She stood slowly, slightly wobbling as she walked to Kushina with tears welling in her eyes and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist and buried her face in Kushina's blouse. "I was afraid I'd lost you. I was scared at the idea of being alone again, and I couldn't sleep. I don't want to lose you like I did Mommy."
Kushina slid to her knees and gently hugged the crying girl, "Hush now, Haku-chan. I'm still here, and look!" Kushina brought Naruto to the girl's attention, "we have someone new to our little family. Meet Naruto-chan."
Now, for all you males out there, if you didn't know, there is something about babies that makes most females go absolutely gaga. Haku was hardly proof against this as she squealed quietly and snatched Naruto from Kushina's grasp in order to cuddle him. This woke him of course, but instead of crying he just bore with it, his cherubic features somehow portraying an expression of long suffering. Kushina thought it odd, but a moment later it was gone causing the redhead to wonder if her mind was playing tricks on her.
Kushina pushed the odd thoughts away, and focused. "Haku-chan, why don't you take your things and Naruto-chan downstairs? I have to grab a few things first, then I'll meet you down there."
Haku nodded distractedly, still caught up in the new child in her arms. Almost without conscious thought, the girl turned to pick up her traveling pack as Kushina left.
It didn't take Kushina long to grab what she thought she'd need. Most of it was already stored in scrolls and ready to go, so all she really needed to do was find a large bag and shove everything in. Then she made a dash for downstairs, hearing quiet conversation from her living room.
When she got there, there were two more people. One was a frail-looking woman with long dark hair, eyes hidden by that hair, wearing a dark formal kimono, and carrying a large sack over one shoulder. The other was a young girl, only a few months old and wrapped in an adorable lavender child's kimono.
Hyuuga Hitomi and her daughter, Hinata. Hitomi was another old friend of Kushina's, dating back to the academy. They had graduated together, and were even placed on the same team. They were close enough that Hitomi had even named Kushina as godmother to Hinata.
But Hitomi was swaying on her feet unsteadily, and that made Kushina's stomach twist even as she swiftly moved to support her. "Hitomi-chan?"
The woman shook her head slowly, regretfully, her face hiding in the shadow of her hair. "I'm sorry, Kushina. I couldn't stop myself. He was going to hurt her, I couldn't let him."
Mikoto gained a worried look, "Hitomi, what did you do? Who was going to hurt someone?"
Head still shaking slowly from side to side, she answered. "I killed him. I killed the Elder, Hiashi's father," Hitomi raised a tear-streaked face, her usually milk-white eyes shot through with blood, "And he killed me."
Kushina gasped and rushed to her friend's side, "What do you mean he killed you?"
Hitomi sobbed quietly as she was embraced by the redhead. "Father-in-law damaged my heart with his juuken. I don't have much time left. Maybe a few hours to a couple days, upward of a week I would guess. He was going to hurt Hinata. He wasn't thinking, too much happened tonight, from the attack to Hiashi dying from chakra poisoning and Hizashi being declared the new Clan Head, for him to take in and Hinata started crying, and I just reacted."
The other two women looked at her in horror, Mikoto asking, "Isn't there something that can be done?"
Hitomi shook her head again, "Not with Konoha in this state. The hospital is already overrun, and he somehow triggered a hidden defect in my heart. Maybe Tsunade could have healed me, but she's gone. I don't know just how much time I have left now."
The Hyuuga Matriarch paused for a moment, obviously pulling herself together. After what seemed like an eternity, Hitomi finally raised resolute eyes to her friends, "Kushina, Mikoto, I will not give up until the end, but please, make sure to take care of Hinata for me."
The other two women nodded, silently agreeing with the request.
What else could they do?
XxXxXxXx
The underground bunker wasn't the most comfortable, but it had the space that Kushina had needed for one particular last-ditch fuinjutsu. Just as important, it also had the ability to whether anything shy of a full Bijuudama once the door was shut and locked.
Kushina triple-checked that door just to be safe.
Now all eight of them stood inside of a large intricate circle, holding hands and keeping the newborns close in special carriers, save for Kushina who had linked elbows with both Mikoto and Hitomi because she needed her hands free for the handseals required.
Kushina began the seal sequence.
Whoever created this sequence was either impossibly brilliant, or just plain insane… Maybe a bit of both… Correct that, She grimaced internally while making certain not to mess up the pattern, definitely a lot of both. A 777-seal sequence, and a chakra requirement that could only be possessed by a Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi or higher. Fuinjutsu: Sekai ōdan*… Good thing I've got the scroll to go off, or I'd probably miss something.
The lines of the Sealing Circle began to glow an eerie red as Kushina neared the halfway point. The air in the bunker started to swirl along the outer edges of the circle, visible in the red light. The faint light of the lamps flickered in and out, and blackness coalesced in strengthening wisps as it was seemingly pulled by the wind.
As Kushina completed the last handseal, she slumped slightly, held up by the combined efforts of her two friends. The last thing the redheaded woman knew was a globe of complete darkness that snapped into a tiny ball, crushing everyone within into infinitesimal space without actually harming them. Then she faded into blissful unconsciousness.
Success or Failure, she had made sure that no one in that world would harm her child.
XxXxXxXx - Ending Notes
Yes, this is it. From here I can take it into so many different worlds or even other choices, only time will tell what I have in store for these characters. Kushina, Naruto, Fem!Haku, Mikoto, Itachi, Sasuke (whether male or female will depend on my mood with the follow-up stories), Hitomi (who knows? I might save her somehow), and Hinata. If you don't like my selections, that's just too bad. I will not have Naruto-verse problems follow them, though I might add a few people in later stories, people who I forgot about.
1- Fuinjutsu: Sekai ōdan - Sealing Art: World Transverse - Made for the purpose of this fic, this incredibly long and involved Sealing requires the use of 777 handseals, a prepared inscribed circle, and a crap-load of chakra. Upon correct implementation it will transport all those within the inscribed circle to a random world in another universe. Luckily it will not place its travelers in more danger than what they may have left.