I'm not sure what to say about this. I just got the inspiration for it and figured I'd type it up. I'm rather proud of it though :]
Title: his father's son
Rating: T; One foul word; Kushina, Minato and Naruto's deaths.
Pairing: MinaKushi; One-sided NaruSaku and very slight NaruHina.
Summary: He really was his father's son; from the way he persevered to be Hokage, to the way he was so critically underestimated, to the way he died knowing he couldn't save his precious person.
"Whatcha lookin' at, brat?"
The child standing several feet in front of me turned, the blue of his eyes rivaling the sky and the shock of unruly yellow hair surprising me. It had been the first thing I had recognized as I watched him gaze out in front of him - he was Minato Namikaze, the Kohona's Yellow Flash, after all. It didn't take a genius to realize who he was.
Even as a preteen boy, his name was in bingo books everywhere. "Minato Namikaze, age 12. Blond hair, blue eyes, five foot four." He was known for his speed, his ruthlessness and his respect.
But he was still a boy, still just a child. He cracked a familiar grin, the dimples on his cheeks showing as the gesture overtook his face.
"I'm planning my portrait," he said proudly. I furrowed my eyebrows, puzzled.
"Whatcha mean?"
"You know, sensei!" He said, rolling his eyes, before pointing out in front of him at the Hokage Monument. It currently had three faces chisled into it, the most recent being the Third Hokage - the Sandaime, Sarutobi.
"I'm gonna be Hokage one day, sensei!" He continued, the grin on his face widening still. "I'm gonna have my face on there, too!"
"Is that right?" I drawled, muffling my laughter with a cough. He frowned at once, not buying my act at all.
"I'll prove you wrong. I'm gonna be the best Hokage that Kohona has ever seen. Just wait!"
"I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!"
I couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled into my throat. Sure, Minato had been one thing, but this dead-last? This orange-clad, obnoxious brat?
He turned around, sticking his arm out and putting his thumb up happily. It was then I noticed the shock of blond hair and his gleaming, bright blue eyes.
"You are, are you?" I asked, my laughter dying down. The boy's smile widened, the corners of his eyes crinkling from his expression.
"Mmmhm! Sure am, old man!" He said, his bold voice and brash personality reminding me of a red-haired woman I once knew. "My face is gonna be up there, right next to Yondaime. I'm gonna be even better than him! You'll see!"
I frowned at him, before walking over and planting a hand on the top of his head.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, the fifth Hokage!"
I knew he would be.
"Don't be ridiculous," the girl said, her hands planted on her hips. I stood next to my student, watching the bold teenage girl with the lively eyes and the bright red hair. She had it tugged into a ponytail at the side of her head, an pair of obnoxious orange shorts sitting on her hips. "You? Be Hokage?" She was scoffing now, "yeah, sure. The day you become Hokage will be the day I wear a kimono!"
She pulled her hand out, and, in one swift movement, flicked my blond student's nose. He didn't even blink, mesmerized by the girl in front of him as she turned and began to head off.
Minato finally opened his mouth, and, to my amusement, stammered,
"H-Hey! What'd you say your name was?"
"Kushina Uzumaki, the best damn shinobi Kohona will ever see!" And, with that, she turned and continued on her way. Minato stood there, speechless, his cheeks turning the same shade as the girl's hair.
"Sensei," he began, blinking several times before looking over at me. He stood nearly at my height, his hands stuffed into his chunin vest. "I think... I think I'm gonna marry her."
I couldn't help but roar with laughter. The one person who discouraged the sixteen year old next to me would be the one he'd fall in love with. Oh, Minato.
"Naruto, are you kidding? You're never gonna become Hokage," my face contorted in rage as I watched the pink-haired brat talk down to Naruto, her eyes half-lidded in a, "don't you know anything?" sort of way, and her hands sitting on her hips. This scene, while familiar, wasn't going to turn out the same way it had the first time.
"Why not?" Naruto asked, his face blank, but the resentment clear in his eyes. "Why not, Sakura?"
"You can't create a Bushin correctly, you don't have chakra control, you're loud and annoying..." She rambled, and, with a bit of a fond smile, finished, "face it, Naruto. Sasuke is more likely to make Hokage than you."
My frown deepened, and, after putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder and hitting her with a glare, I murmured,
"C'mon Naruto. Let's go get some ramen."
The boy didn't even look up, sticking his hands into his pockets and shrugging my hand from his shoulder. As he passed and I followed him, I heard a faint,
"I believe in you, Naruto."
The blond-haired sixteen year old glanced over at the sound of the voice - the violet-haired Hyuuga girl. She froze in embarrassment, beginning to ramble out apologies, but she was silenced when Naruto stuck out his hand.
"C'mon. Let's get ramen," he said, offering her a smile. And, with out a single beat of hesitation, she reached out and grabbed his hand, the two of them heading to Ichiraku as I lagged behind.
"Jiraiya," the man in front of me rasped, tears streaming down his face. The Kyuubi had been sealed, the boy sitting on the ground several feet away sleeping silently, not even awakening as his father sobbed. He brought up his bloodied hands and covered his face, his once blond hair dyed orange by the blood that had been shed. "Did... did I do the right thing?"
"Of course you did, kid," I said, reaching over and ruffling Minato's hair. He wasn't going to live much longer, judging by the gaping gash in his stomach, and the seal he'd just implemented on his son.
"I - I failed Kushina," he sobbed. The anguish, the pain he was feeling - I'd never seen it before on the headstrong, proud Hokage. "I - I failed."
"But you saved the village," I said, raking my hand through his hair. "Don't feel bad, kiddo. You saved thousands of lives," I said.
"Kushina's dead." He said, bringing his hands down from his face. His cheeks were covered in blood from his hands, his bright blue eyes swimming in tears as he looked up at me. His expression - it didn't matter he'd saved his village. His girlfriend was dead; he'd failed. He hated himself, he loathed himself; he was absolutely resentful that he couldn't save his precious person in time.
"I'm so sorry," I heard him say, before coughing up a fistful of blood. But he continued, rasping, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
I couldn't stomach the scene anymore - the bloodied man in front of me, the crumbling building around us, the crying villagers out in the streets - but, most of all, I couldn't stomach him anymore. Not his self-loathing expression, not his bloodied body or his tears.
I stood, and, without even looking back, strode away from the dying Yondaime and his awakening son.
"Jiraiya-sensei..."
I stared at the blond-haired, blue-eyed teenager in front of me, his eyes swimming in tears and his hands clenched in fists. He had just barely made it into the village, his blond hair matted with sweat and blood, his cheeks grimy with dirt and mud.
But the hole - the huge, gaping hole in his stomach - was what caused me to want to retch. He was dripping blood - from his stomach, his arms and his mouth, tears threatening to spill.
"I failed," he said. I'd seen pain on this boy's face before, but not like this. Nothing like this. "I - I failed Sakura. I couldn't... couldn't bring Sasuke back."
He fell to his knees, before his palms covered his eyes, his hands grabbing at his hair. And sobbed.
"Naruto -"
"I couldn't keep my promise," he whispered, "I couldn't - I just couldn't."
My jaw clenched, and I waited for the chant that I knew was coming.
"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry - "
I couldn't help the horrible, sick smile that rose onto my face as I stared at the man on his knees. He really was his father's son, after all.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
"I'm so sorry. I'm - I'm so sorry..."
I turned around and walked away from the dying Hokage that so greatly resembled his father, not even glancing back.