Devastated! It was the only word to describe the condition of the Hidden Leaf Village. Last night, the nine tails had attacked after being unleased from its jinchuriki host – not that anybody needed to know that. After all the remaining bodies were present and accounted for, all the people took time to clean up the streets and count the fallen from the attack. A funeral would be held when it was time.
Kakashi Hatake looked down with deep regret. Last night had been heart wrenching to him. It wasn't just because his teacher and his wife - who would dote on their team occasionally in the past - had died. No it was because he felt like a failure to them. He stared down at the blonde haired baby being cared for by a nurse at the moment with absolute caution. She'd already heard through the grapevine what was contained by the child and was completely wary of it. Kakashi felt saddened that she didn't see him as a newborn or a hero at all. Just a nuisance she could probably do without. It also saddened him, that because of him, that baby would grow up completely alone now.
He'd been there to witness the deaths of his master and his master's wife. He'd watched as, as soon as the barrier had fallen, a man in a mask that looked like driftwood twisted into a spiral encompassing one eye had swooped in and had kidnapped the two children that'd been laid peacefully together. He along with Gai who had broken apart from their guarded group earlier, had pursued them with Lord Third leading the way. In the valley of the end, he fought with everything he had with his teammates to get back the stolen children. Then he'd watched amazed as a hand made of chakra reached out from the baby girl and pushed her and her brother away from the man and out his grip.
Gai had continued to fend off the enemy while Lord third had caught the boy and then Kakashi had dived down the steep waterfall, picking up speed in order to catch the girl who was reaching out for someone to stop her fall. He'd been caught off guard as a shadow clone of the masked man halted him in his descent until he'd managed to roll them both off the stone they'd landed on, dispersing the clone with a kunai. However, the hesitation had been just enough to make him too late. Never before had he been so mortified.
He'd had to live through life without a mother who'd died when he was too young. Then he'd been alone as his own father took his own life. Next he'd had to live through a bloody war in which he'd had to kill many and then he was forced to watch as his best friend and rival, died in a rockslide caused by the enemy. He'd been forced to kill his other comrade later because she'd impaled herself heart first onto his lightning blade and then he'd watched his teacher and the woman who'd been like a surrogate mother to all of them die by the claw of the nine tails to protect their children. However…none of that could ever compare to the strangled cry given by the baby girl as she met the churning waters of the waterfall; the cry of an infant being taken by the elements before she ever got a chance to grow and leaving her brother to his fate.
When he'd returned from that night, his other friends and comrades who still lived could tell he wasn't himself. Gai knew as he'd watched it happen as well while he'd fought the kidnapper and apparent attacker of the Leaf. He knew how hard it had hit Kakashi as he too had heard the strangled cry from the infant. He too would forever be changed by such a tragedy. But for Kakashi it would be worse as it had added itself to the top of the pile of regrets he had. Never before had he felt so…lost.
It was now that he forced his eyes to turn away from the baby Naruto. He shunshined away from the area and landed on the ground a bit of ways away where he began walking through the village with a heavy heart. He would occasionally stop to stare up at the clouds and ask whatever god there might be why everyone he got close to had to suffer and perish; why he was left alive to suffer through the torment of his failures again and again. As he walked further through the village, he sensed a presence before him. He glanced up to see Gai looking at him with concern. He sighed tiredly.
"What is it Gai?" he asked dejectedly. Gai remained silent for a bit before blinking and allowing his comrade's words to catch up to him.
"Huh, oh," he said shaking his head clear. Then he brought a fist up and coughed into it before looking Kakashi in the eyes. He held up something that looked familiar.
"I know what happened was tragic; I for one am devastated to have watched that precious youth be taken away. But I did some searching and came up with the remainders. There was no body!"
Kakashi shuddered at the thought before taking in the small baby blanket that was being held out to him. It looked slightly damp as if it'd been in the water too long. He took it and held it up to see a name elegantly stitched into the bottom. Unfolding it, it had the pattern of an aurora borealis. He smiled sadly remembering Kushina's last words in Lord Third's arms had been to tell them the names of her children. Kushina had named the unexpected twin after the colourful lights of the sky that sometimes appeared in colder and more northern regions closer to the land of iron or the land of mist.
"I thought it could be a part of a shrine or something. We could set it up right next to her parents," Gai suggested. Kakashi nodded. However, instead he pocketed the small blanket causing Gai to give him an odd look. However, he didn't press the matter. Kakashi walked by him.
"This blanket is too wet and dirtied. I'll wash it!" he stated without any sign of feeling behind it. Gai nodded.
"I think a shrine is a good idea," he added as he continued walking. Once again Gai nodded.
"Alright then! I've already asked Lord Third. We'll set it up before the funeral." Kakashi nodded solemnly as he continued to trek on. Eventually he left Gai behind completely and made it to his own residence which just like his life remained intact despite the massive damage and carnage surrounding it. Once inside, he lay down on his bed with a groan and stared up at the ceiling, letting the minutes tick by. Daylight soon began to fade and he was still lost in his thoughts. Finally he pulled out the blanket from earlier and held it high to stare at it.
He lifted his headband from over his left eye to stare with his sharingan – another gift from someone he couldn't save. He let the bloodline limit trace and memorize every little detail of the blanket before shoving his headband down again and bringing the blanket up to his nose. He inhaled deeply and was pained yet relaxed as he could still smell the remnants of the child beyond the dampness and must. After a while, he rose from the bed again and added it to the pile of dirty laundry in the laundry basket.
Then he went downstairs and thankfully the room with the laundromat wasn't as full. He paid the price for the machines and washed his clothes but did the blanket separately. The same happened with the dry cycle. Once it was done, he took it all upstairs again and switched on the light to his now dark apartment. Finally he set the clothes hamper down and picked up the blanket again to smell it. Despite the added scent of the detergent and dryer sheets he'd used, the blanket still smelled like her. He didn't know why, but it brought him relief to smell the scent of their child. He wondered if the other one with the nurse smelled the same but shook the thought from his head. He'd be seen as a creep if he went around sniffing babies.
Finally, when he'd had enough of it, he folded the little blanket and placed it neatly on his bedside table. That night he had dinner alone and had a long night of – thankfully – dreamless sleep.
The next few days saw him and Gai along with some of their friends putting together then finishing up the shrine to the little girl. By then the rumours of the fourth hokage's wife having been pregnant had passed around and were closely followed by the rumours that their only daughter was killed after birth by the nine tails. The village mourned for the loss of the child while for safety reasons, Naruto's identity as her twin brother remained a secret amongst a faction of trusted advisors under Lord Third Hokage.
On the day of the funeral all the villagers brought her offerings and gifts they could find and give. The shrine had been built right underneath her parents graves, in between the two. Kakashi stood through the speech from the third hokage in a daze, not really registering his words or that the funeral had ended moments later until Asuma had to shake him from his stupor.
As time passed by, the shrine would be visited on the date of her birth to commemorate the daughter of the hokage and his wife. She'd receive birthday gifts each year that were later stored in a special shrine house for her when the event was over. Kakashi would frequent often while watching her younger brother growing up from afar with a saddened heart at how his sister was treated fairer than him while dead while he didn't know he had a sister for he'd been given his mother's last name and she'd been given her father's. Each time he'd visit, he'd bring her blanket which he kept in his house for a reason he couldn't define and drape it over her continuously reappearing teddy bear as if it were her. He'd talk to her and sometimes even apologize. Eventually, she became another excuse for him to be late to somewhere.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The truth is…well the truth is unbelievable. However, by miracle of miracles; the spirit of the little girl is alive and she remains a part of the living world. But to tell her story right, I need to tell it my way. So…hold onto your seats because I'm about to reveal to you the truth of the fourth Hokage's daughter and just as a warning; it's not all pretty. I would know. Why you may ask? Because my name is Aurora Namikaze Uzumaki and this story is mine! So pay attention!
AN: I had started this story with a different prologue before but in all honesty when I returned to the beginning of the planning phase and re-read it, I realized it wasn't the best way to start this off. So be assured that all details will be revealed to answer specific questions as chapters move along. Also know that if there comes a long pause in the postings then it is not because I'm lazy it's because I am a University student which kind of preoccupies my time and also I'm not that great at writing out fight scenes in great detail so those parts take time. And finally, I do have other stories I'm trying to produce. So wrapping all that up; I hope you enjoy the new prologue to the Golden Red. There's more to come so stay tuned.