KM: Here is a one-shot about what I think is happening to Minato while being in the Shinigami's stomach. Hence the title!
Disclaimer: … does it look like I do?
Shinigami's Stomach
So dark. It was so dark here. He couldn't see anything in here. But why was it so dark here. But furthermore. Where was this here? Why was he here? He couldn't remember who he was, what he was and why here was. He thought about it but there was nothing. Till he heard a baby's cry. Oh yeah that is right. He remembered now. He remembered his life. He remembered his childhood, his perverted Sensei, him becoming Hokage, marrying the love of his life, the Kyuubi attack, his son's birth and how he sealed the Kyuubi no Youko in his own flesh and blood. His legacy, his son. His only son and his heir. But he couldn't remember how he got here at this dark place.
He remembered using a forbidden technique to seal the king of bijuus. How the Shinigami was standing behind him. How the arm of the death god was going through him like he was nothing but water. How he felt so uneasy when this happened. The feeling of everything being lost and not worth to fight for. How being dead would be better than being alive. He shuddered at the memory. It wasn't a pleasant one. His blue eyes widened when he remembered how the Shinigami took a grab of his soul and then threw him in his stomach. Though here he was. In the stomach of the Shinigami with no way out to see if his son and wife were okay. He gasped. His family! Thousand questions were running through his mind this moment.
Were his wife and son alright? Did the third made sure that his wife was okay? Did the villagers respected his last wish? Did they treat him like the hero he is? And what about his wife? Was she okay? Did she live through the birth? Was everything okay with her? Was she sad about him passing on without him telling her what he had planned? Or without saying good-bye? Was she crying about all this? What about his son? Does he know who his father is? Is he angry for what his father has done to him? Or was he proud of his father for being a hero?
So many questions but no answer to them. How he wished that he could be with his little family now. But he can't for the simple fact that his soul was in the stomach of the Shinigami. As far as he knew there wasn't a way out of it. Though he couldn't go and see them. He looked again around in this dark... nothingness. He hoped that someone other was here too. But no such luck. He was alone without anyone here that he could talk to. He sighed sadly and began to walk around. It was better than being in the same place without doing anything. Besides it gave him the time to think about things. But somehow he could hear a baby's cry here. But there was none here.
It was then that it dawned him. That was his son crying he could here. His son that he would never see grow up. Never see his first attempt to walk, talk and soo many other things. He grew sad and gritted his teeth when the baby's wailing grew louder. It was as if the Shinigami was taunting him with this. Torturing him with his son's cries. Trying to break him, to drive him insane with it all. But he would not give in. After all he wasn't called bullheaded without a good reason. But he did asked himself why his son was crying. Wasn't someone looking after him? What about his wife? Why didn't she look after him. It was then that he heard a conversation and wished he didn't.
"Please we have to kill it! It's the demon Sandaime-sama!" he heard a council man say.
"NO for the last time! This boy is NOT the Kyuubi incarnate! He is it's jailer and nothing more! And from now there will be a law about this! It is forbidden to tell the younger generation about this! When it is death shall be the punishment in public! I want this to be clear! The boy is not the Kyuubi but a hero for containing it! This is now an double SS class secret is that clear!?" he heard the old man say with anger in his voice.
"Hai!" was the chorused replay.
"DISMISSED!" he heard the old man sigh. "Oh Naruto. I am sorry that I can't do more. I can only hope that this will help you to make friends at least. Not even your mother is under us anymore to help you. I can see already that your life will be hard."
His world came crushing down when he heard this. This was not what he had planned. Not at all. He had thought that his wife had lived through the birth. She looked fine to him before had left to fight the Kyuubi. And now this. What had he done to deserve this. What has his son done to deserve this!? His poor boy will now live a life full of hatred thanks to him. He had thought that his wife was at least there to make sure that he had a normal life and take him away if this happens. But now that she was gone too. He couldn't bare to think of it more. And fort the second time this day. He cried. He cried for his deceased wife, Kushina, and the dead Shinobis. But he cried the most for his son, Naruto.
He couldn't believe that his son would be the scapegoat for the villagers now. He hadn't wanted this. Nothing of this. He just wanted his son to be happy. But then came the Kyuubi and took it away from him. His family. The family that will never be now. He cried heavier now. His tears were bitter and so full of sadness and sorrow. It hurt to cry them. He could hear the Shinigami laugh at him. Such a cold laugh. It sounded like metal being scratched with claws and so hollow and empty. It gave you the feeling of death would be the only way out. And now Minato knew why he could hear his son's wails.
The Shinigami was taunting him. Making live through his son's life with only hearing but never seeing anything. Making him hear what his son has to go through for his life. Making him suffer and showing him his mistake of doing this. Making him loose his sanity with it. Always being in the dark and hear everything that was going on. But never really know what is going on. Never see his son. And Minato knew in this moment then. That Shinigami had won against him. He knew that he would loose his sanity here in the stomach all alone and hearing the life of his son. He knew that this was a battle he would never win.
Minato gave up in this moment when he noticed what the Shinigami had planned. He just couldn't win against this.
Lilly: Dammit! KM you promised no sad one-shots anymore!
KM: I did that with ItaNaru! But I never said anything about it with it being about Minato and the likes!