It took almost a week to reach the border of the Earth country. Once the shinobi guarding the border checked the group out, they were allowed to travel farther. It took another couple of days to reach the capital city. Large, open gates greeted them with people going in and out. A large, beautiful flower decorated the gate.

"Hanabira" Dai said in awe. The flower was the symbol of the royal family so the city was called Hanabira or Hana for short, though that was a nickname. Most people couldn't remember the original name since not many used it. It was rumored to be very lovely and was the second most populous behind only the hidden village, Iwagure. Keiji snapped out of his trance and turned to Minato

"Hey, we gotta get to the hidden village before tomorrow night so we should probably get going"

"Yeah" Dai nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for all your help" The blond shook hands with both of them.

"No problem, I'm sure we'll come back through here again. Good luck" Keiji said before taking off.

"See ya Minato" Dai waved and went after his friend. Minato stood there for a few minutes longer then went inside. The village was alive with activity. It took him a second to get used to it again. He'd forgotten how busy it was. A couple of people bumped into him but he kept moving. After an hour or so of walking around he decided he couldn't put going home off anymore. He made his way a residential area. It was much quieter. In the distance he could see the outline of the palace. He stopped at a medium sized house with a large tree in the front. Minato began to hesitate, slowly backing up. He couldn't do it.

"Minato?" A voice squeaked off to the side. He turned to see his twelve year old sister watching him. Her short blond hair was pulled back into two ponytails. She was slightly tanner than the last time he'd seen her. She wore a long sleeved shirt with a short skirt and leggings underneath. A bandanna with the Earth symbol was tied around her arm. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

"Sky" He whispered. When she was born, she had abnormal clear, blue eyes. Those same eyes were watching him, slightly confused. Naruto was not a mirror image of his mother or his father, both parents had agreed that he looked just like Sky. Seeing her brought unwanted memories back.

"Whats wrong? Shouldn't you be with your wife and the baby?" Sky had always admired her big brother and didn't understand why he was acting so strange or why he looked so tired. He hadn't really shaved. His clothes seemed a little big, actually he looked like he'd lost weight. He was starting to scare her. When he began to cry, alarm bells went off in her head. Rushing over, she knelt in front of him and hugged him.

"Minato whats wrong?"

"They're dead"

An hour later Minato was sleeping in his old bedroom while Sky, her father and mother were in the kitchen. Sky sat at the table, absentmindedly stirring her spoon in her bowl of soup. Masaru Namikaze sat at the end going over his candy shop's inventory. He held the pen he was using up to his chin thoughtfully. Masaru was considered a living legend. He had brown hair with gray streaks running through it. His hazel eyes missed nothing even when it seemed he wasn't paying attention. A scar ran along his right cheek, forever reminding him of whet he used to be. His left ear was pierced, not something you'd normally see on a man his age but had always had his ear pierced and had no intention of letting it go just because he was getting older. In fact many of the younger shinobi got their ears pierced too so they could be like him. If you didn't know him, he could seem cold and uncaring but in reality he was a very loving person who was now worried about his only son. Over by the stove Masaru's wife, Sachiko, stood cooking. Her long blond hair was piled on her head to keep it out of her way. She was slightly round but didn't mind it, especially since her husband loved it. Sachiko was a very confident woman which at times could be mistaken for cockiness. Though she had no formal shinobi training, she did possess insane amounts of chakra which she could control very well. She added a little more seasoning to the pot while humming. She had been on her way to the grocery store when she'd seen Minato crying on his sister. Immediately she'd gone into action, getting him inside and on a bed to rest. Masaru hadn't said anything when he'd seen his wife and daughter bring him in but now he wanted to know what was going on. He wasn't a very patient man. Slamming his fist on the table he said

"So what's going on Koko?" Koko was his nickname for his wife. She continued cooking.

"Dramatics aren't going to get an answer any faster out of me"

"You were back there with him for at least fifteen minutes"

"He told me Kushina and the baby are dead" Sky piped up still playing with her soup. Sachiko nodded.

"What?! How did this happen?! We were supposed to go down there next week to visit!" Masaru clenched his pen "I'll kill whoever did this!"

"Dear calm down" His wife said "You remember that mission she was on some months back before she found out she was pregnant?"

"Yes, she fought some shinobi. The battle put her in the hospital for at least a week"

"Then you should also remember that the doctors said she'd never fully recover from it. Having any children in the future could kill her"

"But Konoha has amazing doctors. I never thought…"

"None of us did. Minato said the doctors tried to get her to terminate the baby but she refused. They named him Naruto and according to him, the baby looked just like you Sky"

"Me?" Her voice was a little high pitched

"Yes"

"Ok Kushina died giving birth but what about our grandson? Did he die too?" Masaru asked.

"No, in a cruel twist of fate the nine tailed fox attacked the village" Sky gasped "Minato sealed it inside of his son but something happened in which he was transported out of the village. He found out later that Naruto had died too" Sachiko allowed a few tears to fall before wiping them away. They had all loved Kushina and now she was gone, so was Naruto.

"But…" Masaru was having a hard time accepting this "Minato"

"Maybe its for the best that his son didn't survive"

"MOM!" Sky dropped her spoon

"Think about it sweetie" Sachiko was always the more logical one out of the family "If he'd survived who knows the things he'd go through. Just because Minato is his father doesn't mean the villagers would accept him. Masaru you've seen it happen before. You'd help someone only for them to be ungrateful in the end and treat you bad"

"You may have a point but still…"

"I know, I know. I try to see the good in different things but right now I'm having a hard time" She started to sob. Her husband got up and hugged her. Sky crept away to her brother's room. When he was gone she'd always play in it. In fact some of her own clothes were on the floor. She walked silently over to his bed. Minato was tossing and turning and mumbling incoherently. Sky climbed onto the bed and laid next to him, wrapping her arms around him she hummed softly. He gradually relaxed and started to sleep peacefully. She didn't know how long she stayed like that but eventually the sun began to set.

"Is he ok?" A woman asked walking over to the other side. Kaya was the oldest sibling. With long, brown hair and a thing for having pierced ears, she resembled Masaru but had more of her mother's personality. Her hair fell around her shoulders. Large earrings in the shape of a half moon, hung in her ears. She was pale since she preferred to stay indoors. She wore an orange summer dress that made her look younger. Kaya also had the names of her parents and siblings tattooed down one of her arms. Down the other she had her new husband's name and Kushina's, the two had become very good friends. Sky could see her makeup running so she said

"Mom told you?"

"Yeah" Kaya laid down on the other side, getting as close to her brother as she could. The girls didn't say anymore as each tried to sleep, thinking that maybe all this was just a bad dream.

The next morning found the whole family, except Masaru who had to leave for work, at the kitchen table for breakfast. Sachiko and her daughters kept passing worried glanes to Minato who was simply staring out a window. The matriarch of the family cleared her throat before saying

"Dear when do you intend to retrieve…your wife and son? We can bury them in the Namikaze cemetery"

"I'm not going back there" He answered curtly. Kaya and Sky looked at each other then their mother who was taken aback.

"But Minato, don't you want to have a ceremony of sorts for them? We cant leave them in Konoha. If you want, your father and I can go…"

"No" He cut her off. Her cheeks puffed out in irritation. She understood he was grieving but shouldn't he want to have them where he is? She started to say just that but Sky opened her mouth before she could

"Minato walk me to class!" She jumped up from the table, kissed her Mom on the cheek and made for the door. Sachiko watched her son follow. Kaya rose too and said before she left

"Give him time Mom".

The three made their way to Sky's academy. She skipped happily ahead while Kaya and Minato walked together, neither saying anything. Finally they reached a large old building with many kids waiting outside. All eyes turned to stare at Minato. The kids whispered excitedly while the parents who knew him waved. He gave a half hearted wave back. The doors to the building opened and all the students began to go inside. Sky ran back to her brother and sister, giving them a hug before racing inside. Minato didn't miss the mean glares and envious looks his sister received by her classmates.

"She has only one friend" Kaya stated as they started to walk back

"Why? She used to have lots of friends when she was little"

"They abandoned her when she became known as the Hanabira prodigy. Her old 'friends' became jealous, especially since she is a Namikaze". Minato frowned

"You wouldn't know it by how she acts"

"Yeah, I only found out because I happened to see some of those evil looks a few weeks ago. She wouldn't tell me outright so I had to ask her friend"

"So she's hated because she's good?". Kaya nodded "I wish I could deal with it instead for her" He clenched his fists

"Me too" After a pause she said "Lets go to Dad's shop"

'Sweet Dreams' was what Masaru had allowed his wife to name his shop. It sat in between a restaurant and antiques store which was a fairly good spot since the restaurant was named one of the best in the country. Many who went there ended up going next door. Inside the shop it was painted dark blue with a moon painted on the ceiling along with stars. Masaru had chairs and tables specially made in the shape of clouds. Minato had thought he'd lost his mind back then but the shop had become very popular. When they entered it was full of people even though plenty of them should've been at work. Though Masaru specialized in candy, he also made other sweets like cupcakes. Kaya and Minato took a small table near the window. He watched as his father's employees tried to keep up with the crowd.

"Its worse around lunch" Kaya stated "Minato …"

"What?" He turned to her

"Do you really want to just act like nothing's happened? You don't want to talk about it?". He frowned before turning his attention out the window. Since he could remember he always could talk to Kaya whenever something was wrong.

"It just feels unreal. One minute I have Kushina and my newborn son, the next she's dead and I'm trying to seal the demon inside my child" He put a hand over his face "What was I thinking?"

"Why did the fox attack?"

"I have no idea, I mean we've had problems with it before but not like this. Naruto…I killed my son"

"You don't know that!"

"Putting something that powerful in him killed him. I know it Kaya"

"No you don't so don't start blaming yourself, is this why you don't want to go to Konoha?"

"Part of it"

"Hey you two! Come over here and help!" Masaru yelled from behind the counter. Kaya rolled her eyes. They used to work in the shop when they were younger and needed extra money.

"This conversation is not over" She said sternly. He nodded. They rose to go help their father.