A little Yondaime/Naruto Parallelism, and chicken soup for the Naruto lover's soul.

Cheshire

He smiled gently as he held the bundle in his hands, marveling at how much more peaceful the child was when he slept. Soon, he would wake. A frown crossed the man's face. It'd be his fault the young one's peace would end. His fault, and there would be no undoing it. No going back to sleep.

A lump collects in his throat as he holds the boy. It isn't fair. Not to him, not to the man, not to the future that could have been, but he smiles on anyway. Smiles that broad, toothy smile made of sterner stuff than any hardship could break. That hopeless, stubborn smile that only he can summon. That smile that says "I know I can't win, but I'm going to try anyway. You wont take that from me." And they can't. Nothing, nobody can. They can break his body, even kill him, but his soul, his spirit, his dogged passion is his, and no earthly force can take that from him.

The Yondaime smiles now, and he cuts deep enough to draw the blood necessary. He smiles even harder as he paints the seals, and even through tears his grins blaringly at his only son, now stirring from his slumber at the touch. Because it's his courage, and his hope, and his love, and it's all he can give him.

They stand apart from one another, glares burning, on either statue, the water rushing by below them. One sneers, and chuckles. All the other can feel is hurt. In his heart, in his mind, and in his body, he is hurt. This must be what sacrifice feels like. Slowly, he works up that big grin. That big, stupid, stubborn grin that only he can summon. That sunlight that shines through cloudy pain, illuminating the world through sheer persistence and refusal to yield.

Because it's his courage, and his hope, and his love, and it's all that he can give him.

I hope you guys like this, I thought it was pretty touching.

To Chevira Lowe, who has made the Yondaime my hard-times hero.

Also, for Eternal-Night-Ride, who's in-depth, shining reviews (even for fics i thought sucked) have filled my heart with fuzzies.