Some Days-A Naruto Oneshot

Konaxookami

(Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything aflicited with him…I just enjoy screwing them around)

There were days where it would be hard to walk home, and hard to make it to class. Days where a person would throw things at me, and days where they would yell hateful things. Days where I would cry and curse the sky for making me be alone. Days where I wish someone had been there.

There were days where I was envious of all my friends-because they had parents to go to when they fell off the swings, or when they wanted to go out for ramen. I remember being stupid enough to purposely fall off the slide and hit my head, to see if anyone would come over and say it was alright and kiss it better. I remember waking up in the hospital with a annoyed nurse watching over me-saying how foolish it was to do such a thing.

But then there were days where I would wake up and feel happy, with a small smile on my face, a dream having made me feel as though someone would be in my kitchen making me instant ramen-only to find there was no one there at all. Those days made me cry the most.

But somehow, as I lay on my bed crying-I felt someone there, rubbing my back, humming soothingly. I felt warmth that I had never known, and when I cried, it felt like a blanket was wrapped around me, and I felt things I never knew existed. And when I would finally cry myself to sleep They'd be there.

I'm not sure if they were my imagination, or just a memory-but they were kind, and they held me and told me it was alright. They made the hurt go away, even if it were only for a moment. And then when I woke up, I felt like they gave me the strength to go on. I never said thank you though-it never occurred to me they may be real people.

"Naruto-kun! Are you even paying attention?" My eyes snapped open and I eyed the person who'd yelled at me with a groan. "Sakura-chan…I'm way to tired, can't this you know, wait until I get some more sleep?" I grumbled, replacing my head on my desk, nestled in my arms. I heard her huff and storm away, and for a brief moment I thought I had won. It didn't last though.

WHAM!

"Uwaa! Sakura-chan I'm Up! I'm Up!" he cried, fumbled out of my chair and rubbing the now throbbing bruise on my head. "That hurt…what'd you hit me with?" She huffed, brandishing her weapon of choice, a large tome of what had to be tax records. "The only thing thick enough to get through your skull," she muttered, dropping it on my desk. "uhh, I don't have to look through that today, right?" I asked nervously. Sakura shook her head, huffing again. "Moron! Someone wants to visit you, and here I find you drooling on your desk!"

"I wasn't drooling!" I protested, reached up to the corner of my mouth to check-"okay, I was drooling, but I'm tired! Sleep deprived! I need rest!" I whined, pouting. Sakura shook her head rolling her eyes, "details details…" She tossed me my jacket and headband. "Get your stuff on, don't want to look like a slob do you?" she muttered. I smiled. Sakura was like a sister to me, and even as adults she was always looking out for me. It figured most of my bruises came from her instead of missions, but I really couldn't do anything about it, could I?

"Toto-san!" I looked down at the yellow blur racing towards me and grinned, ducking down and grabbing the child. "Minato! What're you doing?" I teased the child that was now resting on my shoulder. Pale silver orbs gleamed. "I was going to go out with you today toto-san! Kaa-san said I could!" I laughed lightly, of course Hinata would say that, anything to get the little energy ball off her hands…not to mention you can't say no in the face of the 'puppy dog ninja eyes'…I smiled at my son. "Alright Minato, we'll go together," Minato pumped his fists in the air. "Alright!"

Minato was named after the man who helped me become Hokage. My inspiration, the Fourth Lord. It was his jutsu that helped me through all those times, and him sealing the kyuubi in me had helped me protect those I cherished, and even now, his guidance follows me when I think about how to run the village. Minato looked much like I did as a child, save his pale eyes and black rooted hair. Somehow he'd gotten hair dye and tricked someone into dying his hair so he would look like me. I laughed to myself. Little maverick. He looks down at me, his eyes bright. "Toto-san-are we seeing Kazakage Gaara-sensei?!" he asked brightly. I shook my head. "No, Gaara-sama didn't say he was coming-and Sakura-chan didn't say he was either," Minato pouted.

"Then who?"

"Her." Came Sakura's voice, and I turned, finding her waiting with an annoyed look on her face, with a middle aged woman, standing next to her, a rather dumbfounded look on her face. Minato jumped from my shoulder, causing me to stumble and collapse from the force as he ran over to Sakura. "Sakura-oba-san!!" he cried happily. All the sudden Sakura's expression changed form annoyance to kindness. Yes...thanks for the love Sakura-chan…She smiled at him, "What is it Minato-chan?" I heard a breath hitch and I looked up from my position on the ground up at the lady above me. Her eyes had widened, their emerald hue flying with sparks of unheard memories.

Minato noticed, clever boy, and left Sakura's side to look up at her. "oba-san, what's wrong?" he asked curiously, before letting his imagination get the better of him, "oh! Did you get caught in a Genjutsu and get hurt!? Or was someone using the Cloaking jutsu and punch you!?" he asked, almost bouncing with excitement. She looked down at him for a moment, stunned, but laughed, patting his head lightly. "No, just…" she trailed off, trying to think of a legit answer, "just a wound from a battle, that's all." she finished with a smile. I blinked, that didn't seem right, but it would seem Minato believed it just fine. Which left me stunned. Was I that gullible as a child?

"Toto-san!! She's a shinobi too!!" he called excited, pointing at her and grinning at me with excitement. I ran a hand through my messy blonde tresses. "ano…Minato, it's not nice to point," I reminded, at a loss for words. Minato pouted, "sorry…" Sakura giggled and looked at Minato curiously. "Minato-chan…did you dye your hair?" Minato looked up at Sakura proudly, "Yeah! I took some of Ina-oba-san's dye and got her to do it for me! See? I look just like toto-san now!" I shook my head walking over to the boy and kneeling, "and you nearly gave your mother a heart attack. It's bad enough that I had to watch a raven haired blur around the house, but a yellow flash is all the worse," I grumbled. Minato stuck his tongue out, "Yeah-but I'm trying to be like Yondaime! You know, the Yellow Flash of Kohona!" he said pumping his fists in the air.

Another gasp, again from her. This time Minato was too preoccupied with his ranting to notice it. I looked at her, a bit concerned but shrugged it off. "I'm sorry anyways ma'am, Minato's a bit…Hyper," I apologized uneasily, looking at the now running boy who was surely going to break something in my office. She laughed, "It's not a problem, he's not causing any harm, right?" she said grinning. I blinked at her grin, there was something eerily familiar about it. It was the same one that I wore in pictures all the time. How…strange? As I struggled to find the right words I heard crash on the side of the room and cringed as I looked over to see Minato tangled in a bunch of scrolls. I groaned audibly and caught the woman's comment.

"I spoke too soon?" I shook my head, detaching my boy from the pile, seeing his quivering lip. "Are you hurt Minato?" I asked quietly. He shook his head no. I smiled, "Alright, then how about we go out for ramen?" I asked brightly, watching his eyes sparkle. "Yeah! Barbequed Pork! Chicken! Alright!" I heard Sakura clear her throat behind me and I blinked, "what?" I asked innocently. She pointed at the woman who has a bemused expression and I blushed. "Ah! I'm sorry!" I apologized quickly, putting my boy down. "Sorry Minato, some other time okay? I've got work," Minato sniffed slightly, looking at me with a pitiful expression and I almost fell for it before Sakura saved the day.

"Minato-chan, I'll take you out instead, okay?" I shot Sakura thankful smile and she giggled as she and my son walked out, Minato betting he could eat at least 10 bowls. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously and smiled uneasily. "Sorry about that, I get so caught up when he's around that I sort of forget my job," I laughed nervously, sitting behind my desk a let my face turn cheerful. "So, what can I do for you?" I asked. She smiled, bowing her head, "First a introduction, right? Uzumaki Kushina of the Whirlpool village," I sat there stunned. That was my surname. The one I'd flaunted proudly for years was now being used by some woman I'd never met. It took me a moment to remember my response. "Uzumaki Naruto-Rokudaime Hokage," I stuttered, gripping my pant legs tightly. I took a closer look at the woman before me. Her hair was a rustic red and the dull shine bounced off it from the windows of my office. She wasn't pale, but she wasn't tan either. It would seem to be she looked a bit like a guy, if her hair weren't up in it's long ponytail, calling her off. Her shinobi clothing was loose, and dull in colors. In all words plain. But she was beautiful in a strange way. You had to look to see it, but it was worth it when you did.

She smiled and noticed my uneasy position. "perhaps we could talk outside?" she suggested pointing to the area right outside the office. I stood abruptly and nodded. "Yeah! Um…" I walked over to the glass door, opening it and walking out with a blush, the cool spring air hitting me lightly. I light smile crossed my face as I turned towards Hokage mountain. My face was up there. Mine. I'd proven that I could become a splendid ninja, and I did it all with the help of my friends. "you resemble him you know," she said, leaning on the rail casually, "Namikaze Minato that is," she said, the name coated in endearment. I blinked, looking at her with a confused look, "who was Namikaze Minato to you?" She looked at me quizzically, "what's he to you? Your son is named after him," I gulped, and shrugged. "I dunno. I've always kind of looked up to him for guidance. I was never bitter to him for sealing the fox in me, because he wanted me to be a hero. We had the same teacher too. Ero-sensei…" I bit my lip at Jiraya's title, "and I perfected his Jutsu too. Rasengan," I lifted my palm, focusing as the Chakra swirled around it, the light blue sphere appearing before me, wind whipping around it before I let it fade down. "He was…someone precious to me I guess. Not like Hinata-chan, or Sakura-chan, or Minato-kun, or Sasuke…But he's been my drive. I always wanted to be stronger then him and everyone else." I snickered, grinning mischievously, "I even went as far to graffiti-ing his face-just like every other Hokage when I was 13," I remembered. I looked at her curiously now, as her expression went warm and dearing. "so? What about you, Uzumaki-san?" I asked, my name sounding so foreign with a honorific attached to it.

She blinked, as if startled from her thought and bit her lip, thinking how to choose her words. "I…I was the mother of his child," she stated calmly. I blinked, once, twice, three times before it sunk in.

"WHAAATT??!" I cried in shock , nearly falling over the railing in surprise. "Whu…what do you mean-mothered his child?! Yondaime didn't have any children!" I protested, gripping the rail tightly as if it were my only line to reality. I was bordering the thought I'd been placed under genjutsu when she laughed melodically. "ah…not that anyone knew about no. If they'd known…" she smiled in my direction, "You would have been treated much better around here," I blinked again, eyes going wide with shock. "Ah…wha??" I stuttered again, my grip on the railing slowly denting the rock it was formed of. Kushina shook her head, a slight frown on her face. "ah…damn, how to explain this?" she grumbled, tapping her chin in thought. I scowled slightly, trying to take a calming breath, seeing as it would seem this insane lady was instigating that I was Namikaze's love child. She shook her head to herself and smiled, turning towards the hokage mountain, pointing at the statue of the Old man. "Back when me and Minato met, Old man Sarutobi was still the Hokage, and we were budding new genin. It was around the time of the Chuunin exams when we met in battle," she chuckled to herself, "He totally dominated me…but while stuck in the forest we decided to talk. I got to know him, and by the time the finals were rounding-we were having training sessions together," I looked at her in disbelief, it was hard imagining the great Yellow Flash as a genin.

"He of course beat me once more in combat, but I was glad when we were both promoted. Even though I had to go back to Whirlpool, I always seemed to get the missions where I would be coming to Kohona. He was always there too, cheerful and smiling," I blinked, nodding, "alright…so?"

"Before I knew it we were pretty much adults, and he was already in line to become Hokage," She smiled nostalgically, "he was too much of a stubborn man to admit he really loved me so it took some time to actually get him to propose," I let a skeptical look cover my face. Behold Uzumaki Kushina: the only shinobi to trick Yondaime…She returned my skeptical look with one of her own and rose a eyebrow, "what?" I shook my head, "It's just hard to believe that Namikaze-sama was that….unconfident," I replied. She shrugged again, "hey, you can believe it or not. Your choice Naruto-kun," she said casually. I pouted. Yes lady, thank you for dropping the title I'd worked so hard to get and replacing it with my teenage 'kun'.

"After a while it became clear that I was with child, and besides the fact that our marriage was secret, we had to be sure only those we trusted knew," I looked at her, silently questioning. "Sarutobi, Tsunade, Jiriya, Kakashi…" she shrugged, "There weren't many, and those who did know knew to keep quiet about it. If and when both of us died it wasn't to be told about it's lineage. That was the plan Minato decided was best…To my despair,"

"Despair?" I repeated.

She nodded, "I wanted him to know that he had parents he could be proud of, and hold his head up high and say he was a Namikaze. Things don't always work out that way though," she sighed dejectedly. A smile, small and tired graced her lips. "We choose his name from Minato's sensei's book, because we wanted him to be like that hero. Never giving up and always trying to help everyone," she closed her eyes, a serene look on her face. "Naruto…it was such a beautiful name," she whispered. My eyes widened. My name. She was talking about MY name. The name I'd thrown around so proudly, Uzumaki Naruto-ninja legend. I gulped, my throat running dry, "N-naruto?" I stuttered, the sound of my name suddenly very foreign to my tongue. She looked at me quietly, before grin broke onto her face, "You look priceless right now. Your face is hilarious!" she giggled, covering her mouth to smother the laughter. I blushed, feeling incredibly stupid. She was pulling me around! Trying to get a laugh! Trying to make it seem like I had a family when I knew the word family only meant the one I'd built up. She was trying to-My train of muddled thoughts ceased when she cupped my cheeks lightly, running her fingers across my whisker scars. "I always wondered…what had happened to you after Minato took you with him to the battle…" I saw tears glimmering in her eyes, unshed and probably having been there and poured countless times before.

"When I asked what had happened to the two of you when I finally came to…I'd passed out soon after the two of you had gone off…they said neither of you had survived the sealing," she shook her head, trying to smile, but failing, "I wanted to believe it wasn't true, I wanted to believe that both of your were still alive…but when I saw his body…" she shivered, a grave look going over her face. She let my face go and as soon as the warmth of her hands left I almost frowned. It had felt good, the touch, and almost assuring.

"I ran back to Whirlpool, alone and guilty," she confided, walking back to the railing. "It was about 13 years until I would even look at any news from Kohona, the past had still been eating me up. I think it was the Chuunin Exams list, of everyone who'd entered. That was when I saw it. Uzumaki Naruto," she looked at me out of the corner of her eye, "You were on the list for the exams."

I nodded dumbly, mouth agape. "Yeah…me, Sakura-chan, Sasuke and the rest of the rookie nine…" I replied. She nodded, "I'm not quite sure why…but when I tried to get to the exams final stage they wouldn't let me anywhere near Kohona," she mused. I answered that one. "Orochimaru-he tried to take over, killed old man Sarutobi, and I had to beat Gaara as Shukaku," I answered gravely. Kushina's eyes widened, "Ororchimaru killed Sarutobi?"

"Yeah…but he took Orochimaru's arms with him." I confided, grinning. Just like the old man to take something with him. Kushina looked down and sighed. "I see…well, that's interesting…And Tsunade was the fifth?"

"Tsunade-baba? Yeah, she became fifth after I talked some sense into her-even got this in the bargain," I said proudly, displaying my necklace to her. She looked at it and then chuckled, "If someone told me she was going to bet that someday I wouldn't have believed her." I shrugged, "She was half drunk anyways," I said nonchalantly. Kushina laughed, "ahh…that sounds like Tsunade," she giggled, turning her back to me. "Eh? Kushina-san?" I tapped her shoulder hesitantly. She rose a finger as a sign to wait as she dug around in her weapons pouch for something. I lowered my hand and blinked, waiting. She filled the wait with words.

"Ever heard of the God flash?" I blinked, shaking my head. "It's a jutsu developed by Minato-and he used it by means of seals. He would find the seal he was looking for and the jutsu would get him there," she pulled out a peculiar shaped kunai. "He gave this to me as a gift-the seals on it call him where ever I am when I'm in need of him. I only need to throw it," she offered it to me gently. I hesitated, this was very important to her, for sure. I took it lightly in my fingers, grasping it as I would any other kunai. The balance was in a different center than most, giving it a awkward throw for sure. But at the same time it must fly extremely fast. "It's…different," I murmured, spinning it slightly. "The seal has katakana I'm not familiar with too," I mused. She snatched it out of the air with a grin, "What, never learned your alphabet?" she teased. My face flushed, and I turned away. "well-who was gonna teach me?!" I snapped back weakly. I'd learned to read and write only from reading scrolls and learning at the academy. I'd never learned more than I needed to. I could feel her remorse.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry…I was only joking around," she whispered painfully, placing a gentle arm on my shoulder. I didn't flinch it away. "It's okay…you didn't know," but it still stings. She sighed, turning me almost forcefully to look at her. "Sorry." she said firmly and I blinked, arching an eyebrow. She explained, "It's not really sorry if you can't see the face right?" I blinked, "uhhh…sure?" She patted my shoulder, and looked me up and down. "Gosh, Naruto-kun…you're pretty tall…" she mused, sizing me up. "just about as tall as Minato was," I frowned.

"Minato…am I that much like him?" I whispered. She shrugged, "which one? If it's the little one, I'd say he must take after you. If it's the older one…You seem to have the same mantra. And you look so much alike," she whispered the last part, smiling. I stood there stunned for a moment before fidgeting. "But of course-you've got the Uzumaki attitude Naruto-kun!" she laughed, punching my arm playfully. "From what you said before you're just a everyday trickster huh?" she said winking. I still stood stunned.

Parents.

She was telling me…that I had parents. And not just any parents.

Namikaze Minato was my father.

I swayed slightly, grabbing the railing for support again. This was all a bit much to take in. She noticed the sway and I gulped. "You're my mother?" I croaked, barely able to get the words out. She blinked, a stupefied look on her face. "I thought we discussed a little while ago," she muttered. I blinked. We had, hadn't we?

Way to go Naruto…way to let that one sink in densely. I groaned, standing upright. "Okay….lemme get this right. Namikaze Minato's my father," a nod, "and you're my mother," another nod, "and Ero-sensei named me?" a hat trick! I paled, looking down. A family. I'd had a family. A real one.

"Why didn't you search for me?" I whispered. She came over, already sensing my growing despair and embraced me. "I thought you two were dead-and I was scared. What was I supposed to do Naruto?" she whispered back. I shuddered, I mean-why didn't they let me know I had a family?"

"all of it was supposed to be swept under the rug. Without Minato to tell them what to do-They used poor judgment and decided to keep it all hidden," I bit my lip. Why me?

The old man, Tsunade-baba, Kakashi-sensei, ero-sensei, they all KNEW, so why?

I felt the turned burn hot in my eyes and I pressed my face to her shoulder, clinging to her like the child I once was.

Funny thing was, she treated me just like the child I wanted to be right then. She soothed me, and stroked my hair, just as Hinata would for Minato when he was scared. I'd asked how she did it, but she'd always just shrug and call it instinct. Now I knew how it felt to have this done to you. It felt good. Good enough to make the tears stop. I lifted my head, wiping my eyes dry, embarrassed now that the moment was over. "Sorry…" I muttered, turning my head away. She shook her head, "No, I've been waiting to do that for such a long time," she answered relieved.

I blinked, "Hang on- if you knew I was alive all this time…what stopped you from coming?" She blushed, "well…the first time I tried they said you were out with one of the Sannin, the next time it was the same answer. The third time I came they said you were training with a toad," She shook her head, "I thought I was just going insane-so I waiting a while," I laughed, "well…the toad training was a bit…" I shrugged, trailing off. I smiled, "do I have to call you kaa-san now?" I asked wearily. She thought for a moment before dismissing it with a wave. "I really can't think of you calling my that. Just Kushina or something is fine by me," she answered flatly. I grinned, "Good, 'cuz I really don't think I could call you Kaa-san, Kushina-san," We shared a glance before laughing loudly. This was a stupid conversation really. But I'm glad it happened all the same.

"Naruto-kun!!"

"Toto-saaaaann!!" I blinked, looking down, seeing Hinata smiling, holding Minato by the hand, the boy waving ecstatically. "Hinata-chann!! Minato!! Come on up, I have some one for you to meet!" I called down with a grin.

Yeah.

I wonder if Hinata'll faint?

R&R are lovely as always