Prologue
Hey there everyone, welcome to our first story here on Fan fiction. I (Nicky) and my sister (Double A) will be posting any story we write together here on this profile. The idea of this story was originally hers, but since she told me the story, it has now become ours! I started the story off with this ridiculously long prologue because my sister was too lazy to start it.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave a review! Reviews are awesome and they motivate us! XD
Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto!
"Kakashi?"
The child turned around, the tears he tried to hide so desperately staining his face. He reacted quickly to wipe the away, but it was too late. Minato saw and walked up to him slowly.
'I'm so sorry, Kakashi," The blond apologized, although he had done no wrong. But he knew it was polite and respectful and respectful for him to do so. Kakashi didn't talk but when his eyes met with his sensei's, he casted them downward. The tears threatened again, burning the back of his eyes and he knew that if he blinked, they'd start spilling again. "Why sensei…" Came the hoarse voice. There was so much emotion, so much sadness and confusion, Minato's own heart ached. "…why did he do it?" The blond had no answer. But he had to say something.
"Honestly, Kakashi," Minato shook his head, "I don't know." Never before had he seen his student so miserable, so broken and lonely. His ego completely tramped over. But he needed feel that way.
"I'm here, though. I'll always be here and I'll protect you."
Kakashi looked up at his sensei, his eyes slightly wide. The state he was in was unhealthy for him, unhealthy for anyone. The news must have hit him hard. "Promise?" He said.
"Promise." Came the reply. Minato smiled and crouched down to Kakashi's height, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And Kakashi…" The silver-haired chunin met his eyes. "It's OK to cry. Let it all out."
The blond's eyes widened in surprise when Kakashi threw his arms around his neck in a hug. He knew it was out of his student's nature, but his own arms wrapped around the child in a comforting, warm hug. His embrace tightened slightly and his eyes closed, hearing the soft sobbing as Kakashi cried for the first time in front of him.
In the following weeks, things began to look slightly brighter. Kakashi's mourning over his father's death had ceased a bit and he tried to get his arrogant attitude back, even though the others could see how much he was still hurting inside. But day by day, he started to act like the Kakashi they knew; an arrogant bastard.
"I won that match and you know it!" Kakashi scowled at his best friend, also his greatest rival. Obito grunted, his arms loosely crossed over his chest, scowling back at the Hatake.
"Cheating does not make you a winner." Kakashi retorted calmly, a smirk playing on his lips, "And I still bet you, so you cheated for nothing." Obito's chest rose up in anger.
"I did not cheat, you-!"
"That's enough, Obito! Drop it!" The Uchiha froze at the strong command. He gave Kakashi one more look before turning his back on him, his face flushed. "Sorry, sensei." He mumbled. Everyone was quiet, once again caught off guard by his actions. For these past weeks, he'd surprised all of them by turning up on time for the meetings, trainings and missions. They had all thought he was doing it for the sake of Kakashi.
"OK, back to training!" Minato looked to Kakashi to see how he was handling it. He knew it was foolish of him to worry, but he couldn't help himself. Kakashi needed to take things easy. Minato had suggested for their training to be light for the first few weeks, but Kakashi refused. He'd told the yellow clad that he was fine and they shouldn't take things easy because of him. And after much arguing and protesting, mainly from Minato, the blond had just simply given up and sighed.
"So how have you been holding on?" Minato asked. Training was over and the two walked side-by-side, heading over to Kakashi's place. Minato looked ahead. The sun was setting, making the sky glow with a warm amber color.
"Good. Training is not that hard." Kakashi's reply was simple and straightforward and he walked slowly, dreading every footstep. He wasn't in a rush to get home. There was no body there waiting for him anyways.
"I was talking about how you were coping," Minato chuckled and looked down at his student. Kakashi looked up and their gazes met. He saw the smirk on his sensei's face. "But if training is not hard enough for you, I can turn it up a notch." Kakashi's smile was visible behind the mask.
"I'm fine, sensei. Really." Minato was quiet convinced yet.
"I hope you're not lying." Minato stopped. Kakashi, surprised by the sudden stop, looked to see that they had reached his apartment. "Do you want me to walk you inside?"
"No, it's OK." Kakashi walked up to the front door and opened it.
"Are you sure? I mean, I don't mind-,"
"See you tomorrow, sensei." Minato bit his lips and sighed. Kakashi disappeared inside and the door shut close, but Minato wasn't going to give up that easily. His lips curved into a grin and his hands formed signs with inhuman speed. A clone appeared next to him. "You know what to do." Said Minato and the clone nodded. Minato waited until it disappeared behind Kakashi's apartment before he turned to leave. He didn't know if Kakashi knew or not, but he had his clones watch and monitor him since the day his father died. Looking back at the house one more time, Minato disappeared in a whirl of leaves. He had to do something. He couldn't let Kakashi stay in that apartment all alone any longer.
"Did you miss me?" Minato wrapped his arms around Kushina's waist from behind, nuzzling her neck. "How is my baby doing?" He un-wrapped his arms and turned Kushina around, kissing her lips before he got down on one knee to caress her bulging belly.
"Your baby has been excited, today. He has been kicking me all day, non-stop. It's like he's having a party in there!" She laughed, running her fingers through Minato's hair. "So much energy he has!"
Minato looked up at her, grinning widely. "That's my boy!" The proudness in his voice didn't go unnoticed and Kushina smiled. Her eyes remained on him as he straightened back to his full height, now towering slightly over her, and he kissed her lips lightly.
"It won't be long before he is brought into this world." The redhead inquired. She turned around to go and prepare dinner, but Minato stopped her and told her to let him do the honor. After their meal, Minato allowed Kushina to use the bathroom before him.
"Goodnight." He whispered, just having returned from the shower, a towel around his waist.
"'Night." Kushina whispered back. She yawned and closed her eyes, a hand rested on her belly. Minato smiled and went to kiss her forehead before kissing her belly. "Goodnight to you, too." He whispered to his unborn child.
Minato couldn't sleep. He forced his eyes closed before he opened them again and groaned before sitting up in bed, throwing his legs over the edge. The sound of steady breathing reached his ears and he turned to see Kushina fast asleep, the moonlight casting its glow on her face. He smiled and then stood up to go and find the source of his discomfort, not expecting to actually find anything at all. The bright full moon outside lured him into the balcony and he stared up at it. He smiled and looked at the view. The village looked so peaceful, the moon bathing it in moonlight. Minato frowned. There was that discomfort again. He scanned the village again more carefully, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. His senses were picking up something, though. A strong chakra of some sort, but it was too far away for him to make out if it was an enemy's or a friend's, so he pushed the thought out of his mind. Besides, there were more serious matters for him to worry about. Like what he was about to do, tomorrow. His eyes turned to look over at the Hokage's tower and he sighed. "Oh, Minato. The things you get yourself into." A smile appeared on his face and he went back to bed, forcing himself to get some sleep.
"I'll take full responsibilities, Hokage-sama. I promise."
Sarutobi blew on his pipe and studied the blond carefully. Minato was going to have a child of his own in about two months or so, and here he was, asking to adopt another.
"Well, I don't see a reason to say no," The Third Hokage said. He then paused and raised his eyebrows. "But have you talked to Kakashi about this?" The look the jounin sensei gave him was an answer itself. Minato's shoulders sagged and he sighed.
"No," He replied, "…but I'm sure he'll say yes…won't he?" Sarutobi laughed, detecting the hint of doubt in Minato's voice.
"Let's ask him, then, shall we?" The Hokage nodded towards the active ANBU in the room and in understanding, the ANBU bowed and disappeared, reappearing a few minutes later with Kakashi.
"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama and Minato-sensei?" Kakashi stood there politely, looking at the duo.
"Ahh, Kakashi," The Third gave him a warm smile. "Minato has something to ask you." The silver-haired chunin's attention turned to focus on his sensei and all of a sudden, Minato felt nervous.
"Yes, sensei?" Kakashi prompted when Minato didn't say anything.
"Er…I was wondering if you'd…um…if you'd like to," Minato paused to consider his next words, sweat already forming at his temples. The anxious look the child was giving him made him even more nervous than he thought possible. What was he so scared for? Was he afraid that Kakashi might reject his offer? That was absurd! Of course he wouldn't. "I was wondering if you'd like to come and live with us. Kushina and I." Minato crouched down until he was meeting eye to eye with Kakashi before he continued. "I'm asking if you want to join our family; become a Namikaze."
"Are you adopting me?" Kakashi asked.
"Only if you're willing to accept?" Minato held his breath when Kakashi went quiet, manipulating his decision in his head. The two held gazes and when Kakashi nodded his head, Minato had a wide grin on his face. So big that it matched the one he wore the day the Kushina had said 'I do'.
"That settles it, then! You are now officially my son!" That was an announcement of ownership and something in Minato's voice told Sarutobi that he was going to be one over-protective father.
"Don't be shy to start calling me 'father' any time soon." Minato bit his tongue the moment the words had passed through his lips. The excitement had gotten to him that he had forgotten that a month barley passed since the passing of Kakashi's real father. He had no right to say what he had just said. Minato looked at the child with a sad and an apologetic look. Even Sarutobi turned to see the boy's reaction to the tongue-slip. To their surprise, they saw Kakashi had a small smile on his face, the mask nowhere in sight.
"OK…father." He said.
After having a few minutes to talk to his new father, Kakashi was dismissed from the Hokage's office. Minato, too, was about to take his leave when the Sandiame's voice stopped him.
"Hold on, Minato. There is something I want to tell you." The Third said and Minato turned back to look at him. "I had a meeting with the council a week ago and we all agreed that we need to appoint The Fourth Hokage." The Third continued and Minato raised one eyebrow, wondering where this was going.
"Why do we need a Fourth Hokage now?" The yellow clad questioned, wondering what this had to do with him in the first place. "I mean, we have you. You're still strong, alive and kicking."
"True, true," Sarutobi acknowledged, inhaling on his pipe, "but that's not the reason for our decision."
Minato brought his eyebrows together in suspicion. "This has nothing to do with the paper-work, does it?" Sarutobi laughed at the accusation and shook his head.
"No, not at all. But I just wanted to let you know that I've appointed you, Minato, to be the Fourth Hokage." Minato's jaws dropped and he blinked several times at the Third.
"SAY WHAT?"
TWO MONTHS LATER.
Minato was so confused. Everything was going wrong and his whole body ached. He'd given up trying to locate the pain and ease it because now, pain shot up from every muscle in his body. His gaze drifted back to the chaotic monster in front of him. The Nine-tails. There was just no stopping that damned demon, but he had to make sure it didn't destroy the village and leave it in a rumbled mess. A scream echoed off in the distance and Minato gritted his teeth and cursed, going back into a losing battle.
"HA! HA! Pathetic humans! Do any of you really think you can defeat me? All your petite chakras and strength combined together and still you wouldn't stand a chance!" The Kyuubi roared with laughter, his tails swishing in the air and slamming down, destroying his surrounding and reducing it to dust.
"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" Minato jerked his head to the source of the voice, wondering who on earth could be calling him at a time like this. A medic-nin ran towards him and his eyes widened in concern.
"Kushina-sama…she's…she's," The medic-nin panted heavily, struggling to get the words out. "S-she's…giving birth!" In an instant, Minato was gone and all the medic-nin saw a yellow flash.
When Minato arrived at the hospital, it was too late. Kushina had already given birth.
"We're losing her, Hokage-sama. Her chakra is extremely low." A medic-nin informed. Minato rushed into the room Kushina was in and was by her side. His eyes shot over to the crying baby in one of the medic-nin's arms before he turned them back to look at Kushina.
"Minato...I…I don't think I can…" Kushina trailed off, a weak smile on her lips. Minato held her hand tightly and shook his head, fighting back the tears. He knew what she was getting at and he could feel it too. Minato didn't want to believe it though; refused to even! "Isn't he just so beautiful?" Kushina lifted her gaze to look at their son but Minato's eyes never left her.
"Please don't do this to me. It's not fair!" Minato's pleading voice cracked. Kushina closed her eyes and sighed. Minato held his breath. Her chakra was fading fast, along with her life.
"Tell our son that I love him, for me," The redhead whispered, opening her eyes again. She looked deep into Minato's eyes and smiled. "And I love you, too, Minato…" Her voice was so low, just barely above a whisper.
"No, Kushina! Please don't do this…please…" He'd lost his chance to say 'love you, too' when he spoke those words instead. Kushina seemed to take one deep breath and then…nothing. Her eyes were closed and her body went limp, the grip she had on Minato's hand loosened. Her chakra disappeared. The room was silent except for the wailing of the new born child. The medic-nins were quiet, some letting silent tears roll down their cheeks. Minato just sat there unmoving, his hands still clenching Kushina's.
"Father?"
Minato turned his head towards the door. Kakashi stood there, hands by his side as he stared back, concern in his eyes. He walked over to Minato and looked down at the motionless figure of his adoptive mother.
"It's OK to cry." Kakashi's voice was barely above a whisper. "Let it all out."
Minato stared at Kakashi for a while and then looked at Kushina. He slowly let go of her hand and stood up, wiping the tears away.
"Thank you." Minato said, taking his baby from the medic-nin who apologized for his loss and bowed. Minato looked down at the infant in his arms and for a moment, the baby stopped crying and looked back at him. Round baby blue eyes stared back into ocean blue ones. The sound of the Kyuubi's roar caused the older blond to tear his gaze away from his child and walked outside the room, Kakashi following behind him. The roar of the nine-tails demon fox got louder and Minato knew that he must be getting closer to the core of the village. He couldn't let that happen. Even at the cost of his life. The whimpering of a baby made him look back down at his arms and suddenly he wished he didn't. An idea struck him but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He felt guilty just thinking about it. Minato couldn't do that to his own flesh and blood, but the idea refused to be ignored and shoved aside. Minato found himself looking at the child again. He had already lost someone precious; he didn't know how much more he could bear to lose.
"Naruto…" The name was spoken softly. And it now belonged to the little infant in his arms. Naruto.
"Kakashi, listen to me carefully," Minato turned around to address the confused Kakashi. "I want you to promise me something," He began and then continued when Kakashi nodded his head to show he was listening. "I want you to promise me that you'll take care of your little brother, of Naruto. I want you to promise!' Minato was aware of what he was asking of the child. He knew he was putting too much responsibility on him, but there was nobody else.
"I promise, father."
There was a moment of silence before Minato smiled and then said. "And Kakashi?"
"Yes?" Kakashi replied. Another loud roar from the Kyuubi sent a chill through his body and he shuddered.
"I love you, son. And I'm sorry." Before Kakashi had a chance to reply, Minato was already gone, leaving him to there all alone in the hospital hallway, shocked and confused as to what just happened.
Minato quickly arrived not too far from where his shinobis were battling the demon fox with Naruto in his arms. He looked at them all with sad eyes before turning and focusing on what he was about to do. 'I'm really sorry, my sons,' He thought with sadness and regret. 'But this is the only way.' Placing Naruto down on a secure branch, he began to mold his chakra, making it rise high enough to get Kyuubi's attention. His hands performed hand signs with an inhuman speed. A sad regretful smile graced his lips as he looked down at Naruto, Shinigami, the death god, now standing behind Minato. The child was crying, but there was no turning back now.
"We love you, Naruto. Your mother and I love you very much. And I'm sorry that I have to do this, but it's because I know you can handle it, so that's why I must. I know you will be strong and you'll fight your way through life. Be brave." Minato spoke. He then turned to face the demon fox, ready to conclude his life. The Kyuubi looked more raged than before, realizing what the blond was doing. Minato smirked. The nine-tails was too late.
"Minato…" Minato didn't turn his attention away when the Third appeared next to him.
"I'm sorry that I have to retire so soon. It looks like you'll have to take on the paper-work again." Minato smiled and when Sarutobi didn't laugh, he continued, his voice now serious. "I want Naruto to be treated like a hero; A hero of Konohagakure. A hero…not the monster I'm about to put in him." The Third nodded in understanding and giving the blond on sad look, he fair welled him and then disappeared. All shinobis and kuniochis stopped and watched as their Hokage sacrificed his life.
"You damned human! How dare you!" The nine-tails raged but to no avail. Minato's hand came together and the leaf village and surrounding areas were engulfed in bright light.
Once the light cleared, the Kyuubi was gone. And so was Minato.
Tears rolled down Kakashi's cheeks. He had just lost another father.
Kakashi sat in the Hokage's office with Naruto in his arms. The after effects of Kyuubi's attack still fresh and half the village was reduced to rubble. ANBUs gathered in the office as well and Kakashi listened as the Third and now current Hokage, assigned them a life mission to protect the sons of the Fourth Hokage at any cost.
"Hey there, Naruto," Kakashi spoke and smiled. Naruto had Kakashi's finger clenched in his tiny fist and he looked up at him. "I'm Kakashi; your big brother."
Holy shit! That's one long prologue. I don't even think it deserves the right to be called a prologue anymore! We have officially broke the record for the longest prologue in fan fiction…we think. O_O But seriously…this is freaking long.
Nicky: I shall rename this prologue chapter 1!
Double A: Er…you can't do that.
Nicky: Um…why not?
Double A: Because we already have a chapter 1.
Nicky: And your point is? *yawns*
Double A: My point is, we can't have two chapter ones!
Nicky: Oh that's easy, sis. We can just name chapter 1, chapter 2.
Double A: *annoyed* We can't have two chapter 2s either! And no, we can't rename chapter 2 chapter 3.
Nicky: *pouts* Buuuutttttt…
Double A: *Frowns* No buts…now end this 'prologue'. I have a story to read.
Nicky: *rolls eyes* Whatever. Anyways, bye everyone. This is our first story and we wished you all enjoyed it! Please review! We would really love it! :D
Ciao.
Oh! And for those who don't know what Naruto means (some of you might already know…or have a clue of what it might mean), it means fighter! Yep, that's right, Fighter! :D
Happy reviewing!