Disclaimer: I really got a well of inspiration for this one and it just won't stop. Sorry for those who were hoping for a RWTP update, I promise as soon I finish riding whatever high this is I will turn my attention back to it.

For now, enjoy and tell me what you think, as always. With regards, Roarend Darkhowl. Also, I do not own Naruto.

The Prodigal Sun

Chapter 1: Monkey meets Fox

Alright, let's recap for a second, just to put everything into perspective.

I'm a twenty-seven-year-old man in the body of a one-year-old baby boy in the Naruto-verse's Leaf Village with Leaf Village ninjas for parents and we just survived what I was pretty sure was the Kyubi's attack on the village.

Well, welcome to the world Naruto, I guess. Sorry for the intrusion, I guess.

As bad as this is going to sound and as much as it hurts to acknowledge, I actually have to give the Kyubi a bit of thank you.

I mean, I'm not good friends with the guy and probably never will be, no matter whose universe I was in the guy probably just got done killing a good third or fourth of my family, dammit! People I'd grown to care for because they took care of me and welcomed me as one of their own, even if I didn't feel I belonged.

However, to give credit where it's due, the furball's immense freak out in the village did lead to the subsequent focus of my senses.

Before, my vision was steadily improving from the initial crappy, blurry mess it had been, which reminded me of how I'd been able to see without my glasses before in my life. Now not only was I now able to see things with a good deal more clarity than before, but I could now understand the language, which I was thankful for.

If I had to listen to a conversation without understanding the content for a single second longer, I would've quickly turned into a terribly bratty baby.

To use an analogy, before I was like a microwave tray that wasn't set correctly. I still held the things you needed to warm up, but I didn't spin and was constantly rattling.

Now, armed with my finally defogged senses, I was able to figure out and pick up precisely where I was rather quickly.

The first of those things was my parent's names that I could now understand now. Before where I thought of them solely as 'Mom and Dad', now I could more historically categorize them as 'Kyako and Hasuna'…Sarutobi.

Okay, I'm a member of the monkey clan. I'm actually cool with that, as we're one of the possibly more normal clans of Konoha.

Think about it for a second, just for comparisons sake let's say I was born into a different clan.

Yamanaka? I have no experience with healthy minds, why would I want to delve into one that might be more fucked up than my own.

Uchiha? Fate would be an absolute asshole for wishing that on me.

Aburame? Yeah, the idea of being a human hive and bearing with bedbugs for my entire life was strangely not appealing, for some reason.

Hyūga? I will go out on a limb and say that that might've been cool but terrible all at once, as I wouldn't have minded the Byakugan but I would've probably become an even bigger pain in the ass then I had been in my previous life.

Inuzuka? I have no want to smell other people's funk, no matter how cool it would've been to have a doggy companion.

I would've probably been okay if I had been born a Nara or an Akimichi, though.

I mean I was naturally lazy in my past life, so that part wouldn't have to be faked, and I had been told I was smart enough to make other people feel stupid just by talking, so there's that.

I was also used to dealing with carrying weight around with me my entire life and getting a license to eat all the time seemed pretty cushy to me, especially since I'd be able to go Apache Chief on someone's ass if they called me names.

But I'm digressing. The Sarutobi clan was perfectly fine for me. No crazy homicidal tendencies— out of work of course—, no mind-fuckery, no complicated pinkeye, and if Asuma was anything to go by, a pretty laidback outlook with plenty of potential for awesome was in my future.

I was perfectly content with that.

So, of course, almost like fate was picking up on my decreasing panic levels, I was tossed a curveball immediately.

My parents and I, after a tearful reunion where my mother and I cried a bunch while dad sniffled something fierce during a relief-induced group hug, moved about the 'house', which I now knew was the Sarutobi clan compound, checking on relatives.

Well, my parents did a great degree more of that than I did, as I was still marveling at my newfound understanding of the language. It was during the third group hug with family members, that we were interrupted.

"Hasuna-san. Kyako-san." A member of ANBU had just shown up from out of freaking nowhere, causing me to already clamp down on my cry reflex that wanted to kick in at the shock of fear his sudden arrival had induced in me.

I could tell it was going to be hard to 'man up' as a one-year-old already.

Thankfully, my dad took care of everything and, by the time that my mini panic episode was over, we were moving to the exit of the compound, moving opposite of some relatives I was happy to see were alive.

Just to highlight how unbelievable awesome my mom is for a second, she had an encouraging word for every single Sarutobi we passed that was injured or in mourning, all while carrying me in the crook of her arm.

I don't know how many times I was crushed by hugs between her and other people during that period, but I wasn't complaining I was such in awe of her.

Case in point, just as we were leaving the compound, a clan member in his forties with gray already pecking away at his dark, close-cropped hair is leaning against the gates, white-faced and hollow looking.

Most people would pass him by while giving him a compassionate if not pitiful look with a side of understanding, not my mother.

She immediately rushed over to him and pulled him into an embrace, which I studiously wriggled a bit out of the way of so I wasn't squished. She spent a good few minutes with him, whispering hopeful words and offers of aid should he ever need it while the man took the time to break down on her shoulder.

Thank God, or…Kami, I guess, that mom turned out to be a kunoichi otherwise the weight of this grown man might've flattened her...and subsequently me.

After reconnecting with my dad, who was giving mom one of his gentle smiles, and the ANBU, who I couldn't tell how they felt because ANBU, we left the compound.

Now, this struck me as something to mention, as I didn't know it about Konoha previously.

Clan compounds were actually located between the village walls and the village interior where most of the entirety of civilian homes, businesses, and village infrastructure was located. They acted kind of like a barrier between the outside world and the populace that ninja are sworn to protect.

Our clan compound, from what I could see anyway, was one of the compounds in a forested section of the village that stood between the walls of the village and the village itself. There was a great stone entrance with a gate and monkey carvings, which we exited from after ninja running down the path out of our compound, with the Sarutobi clan symbol depicted above it.

Now, we were moving a bit fast, but I saw one other stone entrance further to my mom's left that was actually a part of enclosed walls and had a symbol etched not only above the gate but also at intervals along the walls.

It was the symbol of a circle with three wavy diagonal lines through it, with those lines being connected by straight vertical ones. I had no idea what symbol that was or which clan it was for, but the gate seemed rather plain looking in comparison to ours.

Now, as a side note, being a baby that is being held while actually being able to see that we're roof hopping, was fucking terrifying.

Sure, later on I would come to appreciate the feeling of the air gently parting before us and the steady rhythm of hopping from one roof to the other, but at that moment, I had to close my eyes to keep from crying.

In case you were wondering, yes the instinctive crying thing was really starting to wear on me.

After what seemed like an eternity of hopping, mixed with the smell of burnt debris and the cries of the wounded, we finally made it to our destination.

That was a new one for me as well. What with no exposure to any of the hells of war and misery beyond what I saw on TV or video games, I was ill prepared for the atrocities brought by battle. I was again glad I'd not opened my eyes, otherwise I'm not sure I could've handled the sight of it all.

The building that we reached was surprisingly intact, which was good as it seemed to be somewhat of an administrative hub. People were coming out and going in at a hectic pace, all of them with frantic looks on their faces, everyone was yelling out orders or reports.

I was surprisingly chill, just trying to take in everything at once: the faces, the words, what was being said.

I'd had a pretty good head for administration and clerical work in the past, as it was one of the only jobs where you just had to handle and input information. Bonuses included not much movement, a nice desk to sit at, and an awesome spinning chair that I suddenly missed.

Anyways, we entered the building after moving carefully through the masses, with my parents exchanging a word or two whenever they saw people they knew.

It was at this moment that I realized I had no idea why we were here. I must've missed the information whilst trying not to have a heart attack…freaking ANBU.

Still, everyone seemed to know where they were going, ascending several sets of stairs that made me happy I was being carried.

After passing a waiting room that seemed to have been heavily populated in the last half hour or so, what with all of the cigarette butts and dirty footprints staining the carpet, we were waved on by a rather haggard-looking secretary who was writing almost frantically, to finally stand before a door that I assumed was where we were going.

I had a bad feeling about this door, like I was going to find a particularly sigh inducing dilemma behind it that was going to make my budding life…well, Shikamaru Nara couldn't put it better.

I had one warning before the fact and it almost caused me to choke on my own spit. The ANBU with us seemed to move his hands innocuously, which I thought meant there were other people around I couldn't see, ANBU bullshit striking again. Then he stood aside and motioned for us to go in. His parting words however were the kicker: "Go on in, your father is able to see you now."

…I'm sorry?

I froze for a good second and before I could do anything, which probably would've been along the lines of mentally exploding into curses of denial, we entered the room.

Yes, it was the Hokage's office, right down to the long row of obnoxious windows that any assassin worth their salt could see their target through and the desk that separated the head honcho himself from his loyal subjects.

Yeah…it was Hiruzen Sarutobi… my grandpa…fuck my life.

Don't get me wrong, I thought the Third was cool and everything. You definitely had to be a badass to earn the moniker of 'God of Shinobi'. I mean this is the guy who mastered over a thousand different jutsu and all five elemental manipulations without a cheating eyeball, coughKakashicoughcough.

However, this infamy also meant that, as his immediate family, my parents and I were prime targets for the shinobi world. Kidnapping, assassination, you name it and we were possible candidates for it.

If babies could sigh, I did a fair approximation of it. It may have sounded like a whimper, but I assure it wasn't.

The Professor himself sat at the desk rubbing his temples, decked out in the red and white clothing of a newly reinstated Hokage. A little bit of me felt bad for him at that moment, having to come out of retirement to take up a position you were certainly hoping you'd seen the last of.

However, most of my faculties were still too busy flipping out over the fact that I was THE THIRD'S GRANDSON…wait…was I Konohamaru?

Before I could begin working out that life-changing thought process, another person in the room made themselves known.

My heart jumped for a second, latching onto the fact that maybe this was my grandfather and I wasn't the grandson of a Hokage, possibly saving myself from all the trouble that would bring me. However, I was doomed for disappointment when a familiar figure with a toothpick in his mouth got off the couch against the wall and approached us.

My uncle Asuma seemed about seven or eight years younger than my dad, his Chunin uniform looking almost uncomfortably new on him.

His hair was longer and shaggier in his apparent youth. He also hadn't yet acquired his trench knives, if their absence on his person was any indication.

He seemed about as weary as everybody else in that room though, now that I took a good look at everybody. Not that I blame any of them, trying to fight off a giant entity that probably doesn't even acknowledge your best shots and protect your home from it will probably do that to you.

Oh crap, incoming…next thing I know I'm part of a group hug with my immediate family, being squeezed between my mom and my grandfather, who'd snuck up on us when I was scoping out my cool, new uncle.

I caught a whiff of a familiar acrid scent from my gramps, and then he looked at us, me specifically, and placed a hand on my head.

I had a feeling of déjà vu when he started speaking in such a way that I was immediately at ease.

"Ah, thank Kami, I wasn't sure if he'd end up like all the other cases or not." He seemed especially relieved to see me, though I'm not sure why as the clan compound wasn't anywhere near the fighting.

My mother was concerned too, probably for the same reason. "What do you mean? What other cases?" She clutched me a little tighter to her, as if to reassure herself that I wasn't going anywhere.

I didn't mind, as I was morbidly curious and appreciated the comfort the gesture imparted.

The old man sighed, taking his hat off and placing it on his desk, rubbing once more at his temples. Just looking at his exhaustion was making me tired, well that and being woken up in the middle of the night by a giant, raging chakra monster didn't help.

"The Kyubi's attack has taken a toll on everyone. Even our youngest were not immune to its presence in our village. We've had reports of children and babies all over Konoha of ages ranging from newborns to two-year-olds not waking up from their sleep. Just…" He stumbled with his words for a second, as if the concept took some of the heart out of him. "…just giving up and passing on."

Oh wow…that was something I had no trouble believing, not with how I was feeling earlier.

If I hadn't been mentally older than I was, my one-year-old mind probably wouldn't have been able to process the terror I was feeling. My little heart would've given out in an instant. At least, that was the only thing I could think of that set me aside from the others who'd been unable to cope.

I realized that everyone had gone silent and was now looking at me strangely. I wasn't cool with that, no matter how much I appreciated attention, I didn't like all kinds of it.

Thankfully, my dad, being as awesome as he is, saved me from further scrutiny. "Well, I guess our boy's just got a head start when it comes to his Will of Fire, not giving up like that." Thanks dad, I owe you one.

His inclusion of my mom made her hug me a bit and look at me tenderly, while my dad fondled my head.

It was painful some times, the amount of love I felt from them. I often wondered if this was how my parents were with me and I just didn't notice, or worse didn't appreciate it. There were so many mistakes I made in my past life, but I resolved to make less of them in this one.

"Kid's certainly got our stubbornness down pat, I guess."

Even the compliment from Asuma, as backhanded as it was, made me feel like hugging the guy, with the emotional state I was in.

I tried to do it too, my little hands reaching out towards him in grabbing motions.

Thankfully my mom understood, otherwise I'd have never made it. She unceremoniously dumped me into Asuma's arms, which came around instinctively to hold me up. He gave her a mild glare, which she surreptitiously ignored by moving forward to hug the Hokage comfortingly, something that I was glad for, as he looked like he probably needed it.

This left me to start my exploration of my uncle's face with my pudgy little hands, like a boss. He seemed a little peeved about it, to be honest.

I didn't really care though, so I began my trek up Mt. Asuma using his vest's rigid pouches as feet and hand holds until I was eye-level with him. He looked at me a little askance, like he was wondering what I was doing or how I got the climbing thing down, so I couldn't imagine how his expression changed after I put my arms around his neck.

The mental picture alone made me gurgle happily and pop drool bubbles down the back of his vest.

I heard some laughter behind me, so I knew I couldn't be too far off my guess. However, when he handed me off to my dad, I found that Asuma was looking at me warmly and even ruffled my hair a little bit. I smiled back at him, best I could, happy to form some kind of bond with my casually chill uncle.

However, I was quickly drawn back into the conversation that my mother and grandfather were having. They'd relocated to a crib tucked in a corner that I hadn't seen…wait, crib?

I had to overhear something about 'sealing process' and 'no parents' before I got a clue.

I tugged at my dad's collar relentlessly, pointing as best I could, until he got the message. He walked us over, looking about as curious as I felt, before stopping next to my mother.

I looked down and got an eyeful of my savior…no, of this world's savior.

Naruto Uzumaki was a small thing, like a loaf of bread with blond hair and whisker marks. He was sleeping a bit restlessly, maybe having a nightmare or something, poor kid. I know I'd probably have nightmares too if the first thing I experienced in life was someone trying to kill me.

Now at least then, I knew that I couldn't be Konohamaru, as I was older than Naruto by a year and a bit. I should've really figured that out when the Kyubi attacked, but a lot had happened and I was still trying to catch up.

His eyes snapped open all of a sudden darting around like he was…he was scared. He was a tiny baby, not even a few hours old probably, and he was scared for his life just like I had been when I was semi-blind and couldn't breathe.

I felt something then, at that moment.

Something angry and protective came over me, something that didn't like the terror that lay in those sky-blue eyes. I'd never had a younger sibling in my past life, but I'd had younger cousins that made me feel like this.

He started crying.

I couldn't blame him, but it was this sight that triggered something in me that I couldn't explain.

I began furiously struggling against my dad's grip, reaching out towards the crib, trying to grab a hold of anything that I could. He tried several times to re-adjust his hands on me, but I was squirming and sniffling, I wasn't going to cry but I wanted down, dammit!

I could see the Hokage was looking at this exchange with a serious expression on his face all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye.

In the end, it was my mother who once again came to my rescue, taking me gently from my father.

I struggled against her too at first, thinking she was just going to hold onto me and keep me away, but I stopped once she started placing me inside the crib. I plopped down onto the firm cushioning of it and started scrambling over towards Naruto, putting my epic crawling skills at work.

I soon found myself eye to eye with a suddenly quiet Naruto, my arrival startling him into silence.

He had some seriously blue eyes.

No joke, it was like the color blue was made for them alone, but that's neither here nor there.

I was happy that he'd stopped crying, but he still had that scared back-to-a-corner fear in his eyes. It was easy to place, as I'd probably had the same look in mine a few hours back. I hated seeing it there for some reason, so I did what I could, which wasn't much.

I started out basic, just to test the waters and see if he was the kind of baby that my little cousin had been.

I booped his nose with my index finger and made a face at him.

There was a rather pregnant silence that followed, but I'm sure my dad was trying not to laugh his ass off. That was the same kind of thing that he did to me to get my attention.

Now, when Naruto gurgled in delight, I felt the tension leave my body and I lifted the little guy as best I could into my lap.

However, I wasn't really coordinated enough to do any of that, so we kind of ended up with Naruto lying against my side. I began petting his head though, my fingers dragging gently through his sunny locks, his blue eyes blinking happily up at me.

I remembered how safe and comfortable my grandfather's voice made me feel when I first entered this world. I hoped that this felt at least something like that, anything like that instance for Naruto. I wanted to reassure him that he wasn't already alone, that he wasn't already by himself.

"Goodnight."

I heard my mother gasp and my dad immediately chuckled to himself when she threw herself into his arms.

My voice was stilted and sloppy, the random amount of teeth I had in my mouth feeling strange on my tongue, but I did it. I spoke my first word driven by a need to comfort another, a need to comfort Naruto.

Apparently, I understood the language enough to recognize the phrase my mother and father always said to me before leaving me to sleep.

How he did it didn't matter to me, but the moment when Naruto closed his eyes to sleep once again, I knew I wanted to help him. To do that I needed to get stronger and this was when I first acknowledged the usefulness of being the grandson of a Hokage.

Sure, I probably needed to do that for my own sake too, something that was undoubtedly best for me.

But that wasn't the reason that sparked it. No, I just…didn't want someone who would have to go through so much, do so by himself.

I pushed aside the old me who couldn't – or rather wouldn't – lift a hand for anyone but himself, replacing him with a picture of me the way I always wanted to be…with a little golden ball of light at my side.

The same night that Naruto Uzumaki was born, was the same night he gained a brother.