For little Naruto, the routine was the same almost every evening.
He would be in the Hokage's Mansion, playing with toys or reading a book, when his father, the Fourth Hokage, would enter the residential portion of the building after a long day of work. Naturally, Naruto would run up and hug the Yellow Flash, cheerfully announcing his arrival. Before, his father would take him in his strong arms, laughing heartily along with his son. This time, however, the Fourth only smiled sadly, ruffled his son's hair, and gave only a half-hearted greeting. It seemed as if every day, he grew more tired and depressed.
When Naruto looked into Minato's sad blue eyes, they no longer held brightness or charisma. His already long, blonde hair seemed more unkempt as of late. Minato's strong and proud posture, even, was beginning to stoop a little.
After reluctantly pushing his lovable son away, the Fourth walked solemnly towards his big bedroomk, not even stopping to take off his Hokage cloak.
Minato was becoming more and more isolated from his son, with the Feudal Lords keeping him busy with this or that. It's like they thought they could push him around because of how young he was. Especially that vile and awful Danzo. He was the worst of them all, going as far as to take Naruto away several times in order to keep him as a "secret weapon" for the Leaf. It crushed Minato to know that some only saw his life and blood as a "weapon" because of the demon fox sealed inside him.
Perhaps protecting and ruling a whole village and its people was just too much for someone as young as Minato to handle.
Naruto, from the hall, watched in confusion as the door to the bedroom closed behind his father. He sighed sadly and dropped his toys on the floor, frustrated. This was how it had been for weeks now. The people working in the Hokage's Mansion would always remind the small child not to bother his dad until dinner. Even then, Minato would not be his usual self, barely speaking or eating his meal.
Naruto had few friends, since his father was so overprotective of him and rarely allowed him to venture far from the mansion alone. Naruto didn't mind so much, because to him, his father was his best friend. Even while being Hokage, Minato would always find some time to play with or train the future shinobi. Naruto looked up to his dad, who was the bravest and strongest ninja in the Leaf. He was his hero.
The young boy got up and went up to a framed picture sitting on one of the tables. The picture depicted a younger Minato with a big grin, and an arm around the shoulders of smiling young lady. The lady was petite and beautiful, with long, bright red hair. Her hazel eyes were both subtle and bright, glowing with emotion. Naruto touched the frame fondly and sighed. It was times like those that made him wish his mother was there. She would know what to do.
Naruto crept toward the bedroom door carefully. He thought that maybe his father was falling ill, and that was what was making him so moody lately. He gulped and reached up for the doorknob, hoping that the Yellow Flash wouldn't be angry.
Inside of the bedroom, Minato Namikaze was laying on the bed, alone. He always rested like this when being Hokage began to drain him of energy. He took naps like these when he first became a Kage, too, but these ones were different. There was no one there next to him, soothing him with her lovely voice, running her fingers through his mane of hair, or nestling in his arms.
The Fourth expelled these agonizing thoughts, squeezing his eyes shut. He unconsciously began curling into a ball as the images that haunted him began flashing behind his eyelids.
Almost immediately after Naruto was born, an evil masked man had appeared and attacked the new family. Minato was fast enough to save his newborn son, but Kushina had been taken by the man, who released the Nine-Tails and destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village.
In all of his life, Minato had never felt such a great amount of anger, pain, and agony as he did then. He had to watch helplessly as his dying wife used up almost all of her chakra restraining the Nine-Tails with her chains. She had coughed up blood and begged him not to seal the Fox into himself or her son. However, Minato had come to his decision: he would seal himself and part of the Nine-Tails' chakra away forever using the Reaper Death Seal. The rest would be sealed into Naruto, burdening him with being a Jinchuriki. He had convinced his distraught wife that this was what was best for Naruto, as he believed he was the one destined to defeat the masked man.
The Fourth's plan had not gone accordingly, in the end. As he was trying to prepare the seals, his chakra began faltering, bringing down the barrier trapping the Nine-Tails. This had allowed his predecessor, Hizuren Sarutobi, to intervene. The older, wiser man had reminded Minato that the Leaf would need a strong leader in order to restore order and rebuild. That was his most important duty as Hokage.
Minato, in all honesty, didn't quite remember all of what the Third had said. He only sat there and watched in numb awe as the old man quickly cast the Reaper Death Seal on the Tailed Beast, falling to the ground gracefully as he did. The Fourth had looked away, upset and knowing that he would have to have a long talk with Asuma afterwards.
Suddenly, baby Naruto had begun to stir and cry as he was placed in position to seal the Nine-Tails. Minato had held his child close to his chest, trying to comfort him with his soft but broken voice. However, he then heard the furious roar of the Nine-Tails and Kushina's weak cry of alarm. He had turned around just in time to see a large, clawed paw flying towards him. Without enough chakra to teleport, the Fourth had closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.
The impact never came. Minato had only felt a slight poking at his chest. When he had opened his eyes, however, what he saw made him want to scream and rip his blonde locks from his scalp.
Standing not a foot away was Kushina, with a huge claw stabbed through her back and out her chest. She had barely shielded her husband and baby from the attack. Even through all of the mutilation, she still stood and smiled lovingly. She had said that her biggest regret would be not being able to see her Naruto grow up. She had wished for Naruto to be safe, make good friends, and become a great ninja like his father. Minato couldn't take it anymore. He had begun to sob harshly, cursing the Nine-Tails and the world for taking his beloved away, and leaving him all alone as the Fourth Hokage. He had quieted down when he felt a weak but soft hand caressing his face and wiping away the tears. Kushina had reached out to him from where she stood, begging Minato to stop crying and be strong for their boy. She had urged him to go on with the sealing, and be there to protect Naruto as he grew. With newfound determination, Minato had done just that, but watched in agony as the Tailed Beast was sucked, roaring and screaming, into his crying child.
At that moment, several Leaf Jonin who had arrived in the area had begun tending to the family's wounds; a medic took the dead Third and Naruto and made sure he was unharmed, and several had gone to heal Minato. They didn't try to heal Kushina, partly because there was no saving her, and as to not disturb the Hokage, who was holding her close to him, crying as she gave her last breath.
"Daddy?"
Minato's tearful eyes shot open at the sound of his sweet son's voice. Naruto was sitting on the bed next to him, looking at him nervously with his matching blue eyes. Even in the darkened bedroom, his bright hair shone like an accidental highlighter stain. Minato quickly tried to compose himself, putting on a smile even though he was so broken inside and tears were beginning to flow freely from his eyes.
"Hey, kiddo," Minato whispered so that Naruto couldn't hear his voice cracking. "Is something the matter?" he continued as he gently took the toddler in his arms and held him close.
At first Naruto was silent, snuggling into his father's comforting embrace. He hadn't been so close to his father in a while, and enjoyed this feeling of warmth and love. However, he still wanted answers.
"Daddy, why are you crying? Are you sick?"
Minato was quick to deny the allegations, saying that he was just tired after working for so long. "It's OK, Naruto. Daddy's just really busy all the time. There's more to being Hokage than fighting the bad guys. I have to make big and important decisions all the time for the Leaf Village. It can be very stressful."
For a few moments, silence engulfed the bedroom. The village outside, resting as the night arrived, did little to decrease it.
"Oh," Naruto replied innocently, "That sounds tough."
His father hummed in agreement. He relaxed his head into the pillow, sleep beginning to overtake him again. It would have, if his trained ears hadn't heard his son sniffling against his chest. Instantly, Minato's fatherly and protective instinct took hold and he jolted awake.
"Naruto? Honey, what's wrong?" He asked urgently but softly, trying to soothe the toddler. He gently ran his fingers across his son's face, trying to halt the flowing of the tears.
"I...I did something...something bad," Naruto sniffled into Minato's chest. "Please...don't hate me, Daddy!"
The Fourth Hokage was worried. What was his baby getting all worked up about? "Naruto, I could never hate you," he reassured, "Tell me what happened, OK?"
It took Naruto a few moments to compose himself before he spoke, but his ever-patient father waited silently.
"Today, I ran away from the Mansion and the ANBU. I just wanted to explore the village," the boy said with melancholy. "I'm never allowed to go anywhere. That's why I left."
Minato tensed up and tightened his hold on his precious son. There was a very good reason why Naruto was sheltered from the unforgiving and judgemental world outside. It killed the Fourth Hokage inside, knowing that he had burdened his child with such a terrible fate.
"I saw some kids outside playing ball," the toddler continued quietly. "It looked really fun, and I asked if I could play, too. They let me play, and they were really nice. They thought I was cool because you're my dad."
Minato sighed in relief. He was glad that his son was unharmed after his little adventure, and also was able to bond with kids his age. Naruto rarely got to do that, and his father decided then to be more lenient in the future about him leaving home.
The Yellow Flash chuckled sadly at his son. "Honey, there's nothing wrong with going out and making friends. While you shouldn't have snuck away, I'm glad you were able to bond with the other children."
Naruto looked up, his eyes shining hopefully. "Really? You're not mad?"
Minato sighed and kissed Naruto's forehead. "Just ask me the next time you want to go out, OK?"
Naruto, surprisingly, didn't respond the way he had expected. The boy looked happy, but then, some sort of realization dawned on him and he looked down in shame, repositioning himself in his father's arms.
"Dad, there's something else I forgot to tell you," he whimpered, "Some people...in the village...they were really mean to me!"
Minato's illusion of his son's security came crashing down.
"What? What happened? Tell me what happened!" the Fourth hissed urgently. Naruto, startled, hid his face and began to sniffle again.
Minato immediately felt like dirt. He never wanted to see Naruto so distraught, and yelling at him certainly wasn't helping. He felt like the worst parent in the world. He could only wish that Kushina was there to give their son motherly condolences.
Nuzzling his son's hair, Minato tried to calm him down enough to talk. "Forgive me, kiddo. I just want you to be safe and happy. Please tell me what happened."
Naruto was silent for what seemed like hours before he spoke up again. His voice was quivering with fear and shame.
"Those kids' moms came and made me go away. They yelled at me and told me I was a bad kid. I never want to to go out there again!" he whimpered.
Minato's eyes went wide. He didn't know what to say. What right did those damn wenches have, telling those things to a boy as kind as Naruto. An old, forgotten rage began blossoming inside him. He began devising a cruel punishment reserved for the ones who dared lay a finger on what he held dear.
Almost immediately, that fiery feeling he felt was melted by shame and hopelessness. He truly was the worst father the Leaf had ever seen. Because of him, his son would have to endure all of the hate the village will direct towards him.
Minato lay still as Naruto continued to sniffle against his chest. The Fourth hugged his son tightly. It was all he could hopelessly do to repay for what he had done onto Naruto. Even that, unfortunately, would not be nearly enough in his eyes.