Title: A love through time
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or it's characters.
Warning: Occasional language and Shounen ai.
Summary: They were destined to be together. A love that transcends even time. As kids they were drawn together. One admired and loved the other, hated and feared, brought together by fate but stayed together through a power unknown.
Namikaze Minato paced restlessly, back and forth, down the hall. He stopped every couple steps, shooting an anxious glance towards the closed door where screams were being emitted, before continuing his pacing. "What the heck is taking so long." he growled under his breath, ignoring the looks being shot his way.
"Minato, calm the hell down, will you," Jiraiya scowled at his former student and current Hokage, "You pacing isn't doing anything but annoying the hell out of me." the toad sannin crossed his legs and leaned into his seat, turning his head pointedly ignoring the glare the blond was directing at him.
The door sliding open caused all present to whip their attention towards the woman stepping out of the previously closed room. The blond woman offered a tired smile, wiping her sweaty bands from her face, "Congratulations Minato, you're now the proud parent of a young, healthy and very beautiful baby boy."
Minato's smile was so bright, everyone was hard pressed not to squint at the sight that could rival the sun in all it's brilliance, "Thank you Tsunade-sama, Can I see both Kushina-chan and my baby, now?" The blond woman nodded, giving him all the answer he needed, disappearing in a flash of yellow.
Sarutobi chuckled, "You can go as well Kakashi-kun, you don't need to stay here you know, besides, your like a younger brother to Minato and Kushina, and I'm sure you'll make an excellent uncle towards Minato-kun child." Kakashi blinked, standing up, he slowly bowed his head towards the Sandaime and his two students before making his way towards the room.
Sensing his approach, Minato looked towards the fifteen year old with a wide grin, waving his arm towards the gray haired shinobi, "Come Kakashi-kun, take a look at Naruto-kun, he looks just like Kushina-chan." his excitement was evident as Kakashi walked over, gray eyes peered at the infant within his teachers arms.
"His going to be blond like you sensei." he whispered, "But he does have Kushina's bone structure." the Hatake nodded his head in agreement to what Minato had said; his son will look like Kushina only with blond hair and seeing as both parents had blue eyes, it was highly likely the babe would inherit that color as well; the shade, that's still up to debate. "He's very beautiful sensei."
Minato smiled, blue eyes shinning, "He is, isn't he."
The exhausted female smiled happily from her position. "We make good kids Minato-kun." the redhead teased, closing her eyes in contentment, "Naruto-kun is going to be a heart-breaker, I'm sure." Kushina was happy, ecstatic even, at her husbands enthusiasm while the Sandaime chuckled and Jiraiya laughed heartily.
Tsunade rolled her eyes playfully with a smile and Kakashi snickered. "Well you can't deny facts." The busty blonde stated, eyes scanning the child held protectively against his fathers chezt. "He's quite a stunner." the female sannin cooed at the baby who giggled contently, blue eyes opened and sparkling against the dim lighting of the hospital room. "Look at that, blue eyes. He definitely inherited that from his parents though the shade of those eyes, they'll be quite amazing when they change."
The males blinked, staring at the infant before directing their stare at the female medic, "What do you mean by that, Tsunade-hime? Are you saying his eyes are going to change colors? How can you tell?" Jiraiya questioned, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
"I just do." The blonde grinned, "Watch, I'm telling you, his going to have all the heads in Konoha turning. The kids around his age will be falling all over themselves in order to get a piece of him. Just watch." the males shivered, they didn't like the way she said that.
Kushina shifted, opening her arms, silently asking to hold her child which Minato obliged, placing the infant within his mothers arms. "My precious little maelstrom." she cooed into the babies ear. "How beautiful you are." the redhead lowered her head, placing a gentle kiss upon the babes forehead.
A dark chuckle rang out causing all eyes to turn towards the source, "Who are you? How did you get in here?" Minato called out, standing, a hand placed against his leg, in closer range towards his holster. "What do you want?" the blond leader questioned.
"My name is of no importance to you." the unknown male spoke, voice deep and filled with maliciousness that sent shivers down the gathered shinobi's spines. "And what I want, well, you will soon find out." the man faded from view, appearing on the other side of Kushina and before anyone could comprehend what had happened, the man had snatched the now wailing baby from the redheads arms, whose weak protest did nothing to hinder the masked assailant.
Minato growled, "Return my son this instant." the blond hissed through gritted teeth, blue eyes hard and angry, beside him Kakashi shifted, hand raising with intent to unleash his sharingan eye. Tsunade cracked her knuckles, Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and Sarutobi had summoned Enma within his staff form. "If it's a fight you desire, it's one that you won't win."
"We'll see about that Yondaime!" the man snarled, "Catch me if you can!" he taunted disappearing from sight, leaving a room filled with enraged and deadly shinobi's.
Kushina tried to get out of the bed only to be pushed back against the mattress, "Do not try to move Kushina, you're still weak from child birth, getting up right now, in your condition could be fatal to your health." Tsunade informed the angry mother.
"I don't care, Tsunade, that psycho took my precious baby, I won't just stay here and wait while all of you go out. I can still fight, this won't keep me from helping, ittebane." the redhead again tried to get up, only to be pushed back down once more, this time by Minato. "Minato..."
The blond shook his head, "Not right now Kushina. You rest, trust me and the others enough, that we will retrieve Naruto. I won't let any harm befall our son Kushi-chan, alright, but I need you to stay here and rest, for when we return, Naruto will need his mother is top shape." At those reassuring words and knowing Minato wouldn't let her down, Kushina nodded her head, muttering a plea to her husband before he left with the three, "Sarutobi-sama, return to the village and alert the ANBU's about this threat and notify the village of a possible attack. The chunins and genins are to take the civilians to the shelters. We don't know if this man came alone or not, so be ready for anything." the group nodded their heads. "Kakashi-kun, go with him. The ANBU's will listen to your directions, despite your age, you're greatly admired by your peers."
Kakashi looked torn, he wanted to accompany his sensei in his search for the man who took his nephew, but knew he would be a better help, instructing the ANBU's and getting the village secure encase there was an attack. With a nod of his head, he turned and followed the Sandaime towards the village while the three continued their search for the masked man.
Nearly half an hour into their search, Minato finally stopped when he spotted the man holding his screaming, red in the face son, "Naruto!" the new father exclaimed, clear worry tinting his voice at the sight of his child. "Give him to me." the masked man smirked, which went unseen before he tossed the infant over the cliff he was standing on, with a cry of outrage, Minato charge forward and with no hesitancy on his part, leaped over the cliff, falling after his wailing son. Knowing he wouldn't make it before his son met the Earth, the Yondaime vanished in a swirl of leaves, reappearing on the ground, catching Naruto with seconds to spare.
"MINATO!" Tsunade yelled out, appearing beside the yellow flash with Jiraiya, "How is he? Is he hurt at all?" Minato, shaken and terrified at what could of happened had he been even a second too late, shook his head, cradling the child who had finally stopped his crying and was now shivering and whimpering, releasing the occasional hiccup.
Jiraiya scanned the area, "Let's get back to Kushina." the toad sannin whispered, "I have a bad feeling, something terrible is about to happen if we don't get back to Kushina as soon as possible. It's strange how that masked man lured us all the way over here, to the Hokage mountains only to vanish without a fight, no, he's up to some thing and I have this weird feeling it's connected to Kushina, or more specifically what she holds."
Minato's eyes widened at the implication, vanishing in a flash of yellow, after making sure Naruto would be alright. Arriving beside his wife, he stared in horror as the man who had nearly cost him his son, stood over his wife, the seal glowing before vanishing. "What have you done?"
Maniacal laughter escaped the mans lips as he stared at the blond with red eyes, "I know you know what I've done, so there is no need for you to question me, is there Yondaime." the figures laugh died down, glowing red eyes pinned themselves against the blond, "But, I'll be nice and tell you anyways. I freed the Kyuubi from his prison,. You better hurry on back to Konoha, Yondaime, unless you want your people dying."
Minato stared wide eyed as the masked man vanished, "Minato..." the soft voice of his wife pulled the blond from his thoughts as he turned his attention towards the redhead, "The seal, the one you've been creating, use it to seal the beast. It's the only way, and since the Uzumaki blood is the only thing strong enough to hold the nine tails at bay, I want you to use Naruto as the vessel, it's the only way, I won't be of any help as I am now and Naruto is the only other Uzumaki so it has to be him."
"But..." Tsunade trailed off, "There has to be another way..."
Kushina shook her head, "There isn't, so please..." Minato bit his bottom lip, blue eyes glistening at what he was force to do. He knew his wife was right but to force this burden upon his son, he didn't know if he was strong enough to do something like that. "Minato, you mustn't hesitate, you have to use Naruto, trust me, I don't like this anymore then you do, but it has to be an Uzumaki. Naruto will be the third Uzumaki to contain the feared nine tails." Before he could change his mind, Minato quickly set out, Tsunade and Jiraiya following the blond man after making sure Kushina would be alright.
Hours later
The aftermath of Kyuubi's rampage
Konohagakure
The village lay in crumbles, shinobi's and civilians alike stared at their home in devastation, those who lost loved ones were being comforted by their friends and comrades. Sarutobi stared sadly at the sight that laid before him. The fourth hokage laid curled around a wailing baby. On the other side was a redhead woman in the same position. "Even in their last moments, the only thought they had was protecting their son." he whispered, walking towards the infant, "Your parents loved you more then anything, Naruto-kun." brown eyes narrowed upon the seal, "And despite the kind of life you'll have when everyone finds out, I want you to know and remember these words, 'you are loved!'
Three Years Later
Konohagakure
A terrified three year old blond took off down the streets of Konoha, a group of drunken civilians chased after the boy, yelling insults, curses and threats at him. The small boy took a turn into an alley and whimpered upon coming to a dead end.
"Ha, we got you know, you little monster." a woman hissed, tossing a stone towards the child, "Hopefully this time you'll die and return to hell where freaks like you belong." the woman was joined by a man who threw a knife, slicing the blonds cheek, causing a cry of pain to escape the child's lips, which only increased their glee as they closed the distance between themselves and their target.
With a wail of desperation, Naruto picked himself up and ran towards the group, due to his small frame, he was able to slide in between a large set man and the wall, making his escape, ignoring the shouts echoing behind him. He ran and ran, not stopping until he collapse out of exhaustion, tears blurring his vision, the three year old leaned against the tree, drawing his legs upwards as he wrapped his arms around his ankles before burying his face against his thighs.
"Hey, what's wrong?" startled by the sound, the blond whipped around, eyes wide as he took in the form of the other boy, looking about four or five years older, so, give or take, the other was about seven or eight years of age. "Are you hurt?"
Naruto shook his head, not wanting to tell the boy. Everyone hated him, they cursed him and beat him; he had no idea why they do it, there was only one person who was ever nice to him and that was 'Inu'. Inu was an ANBU member that always watched over and protected the blond unless he was out on a mission.
Dark eyes narrowed, a frown pulling at his lips at the obvious lie, but decided to let it go knowing he wouldn't get a different answer from the child. "Where's your parents? Are you lost?" Once again the blond shook his head, two pairs of eyes darted towards the side where a flash was seen. "Who are you?"
The blue eyed boy lit up at the sight of the familiar mask, "Inu-niki." Naruto called out, running towards the gravity defying silver headed male, who patted the blonds hair as he stared at the child, who no doubt, belonged to the Uchiha clan.
"Who are you, kid?"
The Uchiha male narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "Uchiha Itachi. Don't you dare call me a kid." the genius heir stated, dark eyes glancing towards the child once more before he turned his gaze towards the ANBU member, "I'd take him home if I were you, and make sure he's alright." with that said Itachi pivoted and left the duo, leaving behind one curious boy and an amused teen.
"Lets get you home Naruto, then you can tell me all about the reason you're not at the orphanage, but before that, how does some food sound." Naruto nodded his head, he was really hungry. "Alright let's go."