Um… Hey. Insidiae here (you can just call me Diae). Hm… Well this story basically goes through seven of the rookie nine's life, one person at a time, one year at a time. Starts of mad angsty, then goes happy, and then ends off on sort of neutral ground.
Comments much appreciated!
SPOILERS LIKE WHOA FOR THE JAPANESE ANIME, MAKING UP OF UNEXPLAINED CANON EVENTS, AND GENERALLY TAKING GREAT LIBERTIES WITH LOGIC.
Disclaimer: All Naruto characters and themes are the property of Kishimoto Masashi.
ONWARDS!
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NAME: UZUMAKI NARUTO
BIRTHDAY: DAY OF BIRTH
The monster was sweeping the village. So many were dead already, and most of them were ANBU. If the Special Ops couldn't do anything, then….
The Yondaime's heart ached. For all his acclaim and perceived skill as a leader, as a fighter, he couldn't even save Konoha, his own village, his own people. His cherished ones. All he could do was watch as his own squads told him to stay back for his safety (wasn't he supposed the be the strongest in Konoha?), then charge in only to be burned or trampled by the Kyuubi. He knew he had to do something, but…. But….
But it was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, damnit! The Demon King of legends! The other bijuu couldn't beat him, so what chance did this village, full of pathetic mortals, have?
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
He heard it. Even over the sounds of people screaming and mourning, of fires blazing and buildings crumbling, the blond man heard the child's cry. And, while he could do nothing to stop the beast destroying his home, he was still determined to help, somehow. He was the Hokage, damnit! The leader of the fire country! And if he couldn't even save a child….
He made his way to the source of the sound, climbing over jagged chunks of concrete and shattered glass windows. He found the baby trapped beneath a broken water pipe, crying as the water soaked his skin and made him shiver.
The Fourth freed the naked child from the metal and picked him up, cooing to him softly. He faintly realized that despite being washed off by the water pipe, the boy was partially covered in blood and other bodily fluids that came from childbirth.
A newborn! But the mother was nowhere to be seen…. Probably dead, the Yondaime thought as his heart shook.
He looked at the baby again. The infant had rested his head against the blonde's shoulder, calmed down by his soft sounds and caresses. A newborn. Gods, such a pure thing. And to be born in such evil. If only, the Hokage thought faintly, his pureness could neutralize the horror of the Kyuu-
He looked back up at the fox (easily seen towering hundreds of feet over the village), and then back to the boy again. He repeated the movement a few times, before deciding that he could indeed do something for his village. Though….
"I'm so sorry," he said, giving the newborn a sad look. "Please forgive me. If the village is anything like I know it is, they will cherish you for your heroism tonight."
Of course, the boy had no idea what the Fourth was talking about, and was perfectly content resting against his (warm, oh so incredibly warm, the feeling of someone who cherishes you) chest, oblivious to the suffering around him. And the Yondaime marched up to the beast, the Kyuubi, the King (for he truly was a king, a ruler, so regal!), and faced him dead on, despite the protests of his (few remaining) ANBU. He looked the great demon right in the eye.
"I may not be able to beat you, but I will stop you."
He held the child in the crook of his arms as his fingers flew through seals and there was chaos and fire and screaming and darkness and power and he was drowning in the abyss of the noise and the suffering.
And there was silence.
No one really knew what happened, exactly, just that suddenly, the nine-tails was gone, and the blond man who had guarded Konoha so dearly lay dying, next to a naked baby.
And the child became cursed. Because the Hokage was wrong. Because the people of Konohagakure would never see the boy as a savior, but as a monster.
And the Fourth used each of his last breaths to murmur his sad apologies to the blue-eyed kid, up to the moment he died.
And a baby, later named Uzumaki for the spiraling black ink upon his stomach, cried.
So what did you think, huh? Please review!
-Insidiae-