Another Host
Prelude: The Fourth Hokage's Decision
The Fourth Hokage, a tall, lean man with sky-blue eyes and spiky yellow hair, looked around his roomy office and tapped his finger impatiently on his desk. He sighed and twiddled his thumbs aimlessly out of sheer boredom. He then got up and paced around his room as he had done hundreds of times tonight.
His ears perked up as he saw a leaf… no, two leaves, that appeared out of nowhere. There were more leaves, and more joined these leaves, until the entire room was filled with blowing leaves. The Fourth Hokage looked around. Was this a kidnap attempt? If so, the perpetrator had found the perfect cruel irony. Being kidnapped by the symbol of his village was humbling, to be sure.
His fear dissolved when he saw who was in the center of the blowing leaves. It was his former student, Hatake Kakashi.
"So, uh, like it?" Kakashi smirked (or what could be identified as a smirk, given that he wore a mask covering the lower half of his face).
The Fourth Hokage was livid. " You could have given me a heart attack! I thought that was a kidnapping or an assassination!"
Kakashi looked down ashamedly and shrugged. Then he straightened up and saluted the Hokage. "So, uh… I have news about the Kyubi."
The Fourth Hokage's ears perked up at this, and he fixated his gaze on Kakashi. "Well, what is it? Did Uzumaki get born on time?"
"Yes, he was on schedule. His mother is still very weak, and I feel a justu like the Reaper Death Seal will kill her outright."
The Fourth Hokage sighed. "Is there any more bad news?"
Kakashi paused for a while. " There was an inexplicable avalanche in the Snow Country. The Kyubi was in the middle of it, and he'll be delayed for a week or more. Uzumaki's cord will have healed."
The Fourth Hokage's eyes went wide and he pounded the desk. "Damnit! Isn't there anything we can do?"
"Uh, yes. If he is born on time, there is one else."
"Well, who is it?"
"This could be a problem. He has more family than just a mother. His name is Uchiha Sasuke."
Kakashi regretted giving the news to the Uchiha clan, even if he had volunteered. It was a very hard decision for almost any family to make. Not the Uchihas, tough. They had all agreed it was for the good of the village. Now Kakashi waited outside the door, waiting for the Fourth Hokage to use the fatal jutsu.
The Fourth Hokage's blood-crusted eyes struggled to make out what was going on, but he knew what he was doing regardless. He had practiced this justu enough times. He knew that it was succeeding as the crying baby slowly began to show a mark on his stomach and The Fourth Hokage felt his life slipping away…
-----
All right, information. This stays mostly true to the American manga printed in Shonen Jump. Last names come first, and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox is referred to as the Kyubi. Anyway, read and review! I'll update as frequently as I can, but I'll still have about two-week gaps between chapters. Good-bye for now, and I hope you enjoy it!