Hey guys, back for another chapter. I was kinda taking a while so I could fix up this chapter, and give it pazzaz! I hope your happy with it, because my parents are getting pissed at me sitting in my room, staring at my computer screen with a zombie expression, and typing away. So LOVE it.
Review response:
Darksnider05: dude, tenten is in there. but, sakura stays, because she is NOT a sasuke fan. and neither is ino.
Challenger: already there
nma1: why thank u.
Lady Arianrhod: NOOO!! You weren't supposed to cry at the end!! I worked so hard on that. now you make me cry. huddles in a corner at her great failure
Demonkid: never heard of that quote before. i'll be honest, i prefer mine. and thanx!
Bobboky: hehehe, capturing hearts one at a time. I'm brilliant. lol
poisoned-naginata: thank u very much, and ur question is answered below far in the author commentary. somewhere.
spedclass: thanx, and i have updated extremely fast compared to my usual ways. in which i wait months. but then again, this is my recovery story. the faster i write, the more i recover.
Warper: well, since u mentioned it, i dedicate the first part of this chapter to you. it's horrible, in my opinion, but i hope u like it!
Kael Hyun: NO. no hinata. everyone else can write NaruXHina for all i care, but not me. i don't do 'shy girl' and 'village pariah'. i do village savior and dominant female. and as for the other part of your review, see the bottom. and no, i am not trying to bitch at you, just so u understand.
StunningSpellRocks2345: updated. and thanx!
creedboy: i know, aren't i? lol
slayereyals: if i had a tail, it would be wagging at ur comment. that was one of my favorite parts on that chapter as well, and your right, it does help define what sort of women Minato/ and son are highly attracted to. well, thanx for reading and reviewing.
Zarcade: thank u, i appreciate ur review, and i highly understand where your coming from in the typical naruto start out. it is so boring most the time, reading the exact same in different words. I hope all my future chapters keep up with my readers expectations, as well as my own.
Rahzenshia: thank u, and i really wanted to change out the order of how stories start. i'm so used to seeing just the start with fourth sacrificing himself, and then it turns to Naruto. i want variety, so i guess i need to create my own. at least it entertains myself. and the fact that i like to pride myself in not being in the norm of others writing. i realy like that about myself. and as to why there is no femHaku...well, you'll just have to keep reading now, dontcha?
KatonRyuuka: thanks for reviewing, and yeah, i wanted Kushina to have some plans to Naruto's life, and thanks on agreeing with the no Hinata. shes a sweet girl, but she annoys the hell out of me. then again, i'm a dominant girl myself, even though i can be shy myself, i at least can overcome shyness. hinata just plain pisses me off. and as to the other two girls, i think i answer that below. and i hope u enjoy reading.
Skendall: thanks for comment, and yeah, no hinata mean yay for me. and yeah, i know, i wanted to hit myself over the head for forgetting two very important characters in Naruto's future in the first chapter; Tsunade and Hiashi. but at least i have a bit of Hiashi and the others in this. And on Miyako being genjutsu, trust me when i say, everyone is in for a surprise when i say Haruno clan is more than just genjutsu types. is currently rubbing her hands together with a maniacal expression while laughing devilishly
mysteryman2000: thanks. and here your update.
Burnning Truth: XD yes sir, i have a big ass smile on my face from reading your review. that really does mean alot. and i hope that ur expectations are blown out the window with my awesome chapters of awesome coolness. well, maybe not this one. but the future ones, i hope so.
Words of the Wolf:
- A wise monkey never monkies with another monkey's monkey!
- I think the worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades...or a game of fake heart attack. -- Demetri Martin
Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto, but I love it dearly. However, the plot, story, and characters that do not exist in the Narutoverse, all of it belongs to me, baby. Believe it.
Senpuu
"Minato, I wish you would reconsider. I don't understand why you are doing this!" Hiashi pleaded to his dearest and closest friend, whom he often thought of as a brother. The blond man continued on his task, painting seals on the belly of his sleeping new born son.
"It's for the best, Hiashi." His deep voice was dulled out, a far cry to his usually cheerful though sometimes annoying voice. Hiashi glared at the room around them, a secured sealing area in a cave near the attacking demon that was dark and surrounded in candles in specific positions, seals on the floor that Hiashi had helped put there.
The Hyuuga head answered viciously, "I don't want to hear that! He doesn't deserve what you ask of us!" Normally, Hyuuga decorum forbid such outbursts, though Hiashi had long since broke away from the Hyuuga train of thought, he still prided himself in holding his more negative emotions in check. But this…this was breaking him.
Then a pair of blue eyes looked up from his work, dead compared to its always bright blue. The look held all that Minato was feeling at that moment; loss, anguish, pain. Hiashi had asked him when he came back with the babe what was wrong, as Minato rarely cried. And when he learned why…it was driving Hiashi even further to curse Kami-sama and all his ancestors for the fate he had placed on his two best friends. It was horrible enough that Minato was to leave this world to defend the village he swore to protect, but Kushina was passing on with him, leaving their son with out parents.
And now Minato asking him and the others to leave his son to the clutches of Konoha for a set time period? This infuriated the Hyuuga. The two love birds weren't the only ones awaiting the birth of the two's child. All of their friends had also waited for the beloved child, even to the point of planning all the things they would help teach the child along with their own. And all the embarrassing stories they would tell the child.
Only to have this ripped from them, because Minato wanted to protect the child from his father's enemies. Those blue eyes were still staring at Hiashi, who only glared back, wishing against all hope that his friend's stubbornness wouldn't make this more difficult. But instead of the stubbornness, Minato was begging with his eyes,
"Hiashi, even you know that it would be suspicious if the ninja clans of Konoha randomly chose a…orphan to protect and train. How would you get away with explaining that? For my son's protection…I can't be associated with him publicly until he can protect himself or the Namikaze clan returns to Konoha. Please Hiashi. I'm not ordering you as a Hokage, but I am asking you as my best friend, please do this for me."
Hiashi was torn, between doing as Minato asked, tears brimming those dieing eyes, and the fact that he was leaving his godson to be a target of this village. The guilt was rising in him, knowing that Minato's reasoning was right, no matter how much the Hyuuga wanted to protest. But the thought of leaving the blond infant to this cruel world sent him to unashamed tears that fell from his normally impassive pale lavender eyes.
His voice was harsher, constricting as his throat was closing on itself. "I will do as you ask, Hokage Minato-sama." For a brief moment, the Namikaze's blue eyes lightened up, with a range of emotions that Hiashi could not begin to describe. Putting his son down in the cushioned cradle, he kissed the sleeping babe on the forehead.
"I'm sorry, Naruto, but there is no other way. I hope you can forgive me one day…I love you, and I am proud of you, my Senpuu-ouji." Hiashi still had tears running down his cheeks when Minato turned to face his best friend a last time. Hiashi wanted to throttle him, seeing that foxy grin that had always been Minato's trademark, even though this situation was so serious.
"Ne, Hiashi, I'll see you in 50 years or so, you old stickler. Be good…and don't forget to live." And with that, the fourth Hokage left the cave, with out looking back at the son and godfather. When Hiashi knew he was gone, riding away at the top of Gamabunta's head, he stood by to watch the child, letting his tears flow at the knowledge of the inevitable death of the greatest Kage to date, the passing of an incredible fiery woman he had come to think of as a very dear sister, and the idea of banishing the prince of Konoha for the first few years of his life from his presence.
It wasn't long for Hiashi to see the seals being put to work, glowing brightly in blue and white, then a surge of red that centered towards the babe, who now awakened, crying at the pain that he was receiving, wishing for the comforting presence of someone. Hiashi had to remind himself not to run to the child, and waited for the process to complete. When the seals died down, and the surge of Kyuubi's spirit and chakra entering his prison inside the boy, Hiashi ran forward, tenderly picking up the fearful infant, and quickly began to sooth him.
The crying subsided with in a minute, and Hiashi looked down to closely inspect his godson. The seals were still showing on his bloated belly, and the Hyuuga noticed that three small black whiskers that adorned each of the boy's cheeks, and would forever mark him as the container of Kyuubi. He then noticed the blue eyes that his best friend had, a blue that made the sky envious. Naruto was looking up at this strange man, with no knowledge of what is about to him. Yawning, the barely 4 hours old babe returned to his much needed sleep, and Hiashi sighed, holding the child close to him for one last time before being torn from him for quite some time.
Placing the babe back on the cushion, Hiashi looked back at him, a sad smile on his face. "Sleep well, Senpuu-ouji." He then walked out the cave entrance, ready to report of finding a suspicious scene in a cave near the dead Hokage and the once rampaging Kyuubi.
Two days since the attack. Two long days of disorder and mayhem, in which he was forced to take office again at the untimely death of his predecessor. Two very long days of the most grueling and ancient tortures known to man were inflicted upon the old man, and he cursed Minato for making him take back this position he gladly gave up.
What were these tortures forced upon the old Hokage, you ask? Of course it is the murderous meetings with the vicious bloodthirsty village council (well, it was the civilians trying to get the power. The shinobi were still trying to see who was left in the ranks), seeking to grab power with the loss of their Fourth Hokage, and the Sandaime had to rein in these fire breathing demons to make sure they got nothing, searching the law books and history of Konoha he knew so well to make it impossible for them to get anything.
And then there was the most heinous of terrors that sent a shiver down any kage's back. It came straight from the ninth circle of hell, and it stayed with them until death or relinquish of office. Yes, it is none other than the dooming paperwork.
He sighed, facing away from the mountains of paper that littered the office, his office once again, as he gazed out the window to see his destroyed but recuperating village. Despite what many would think, he had not been glad to don the robes and hat of office again, but he knew that Minato had been right. There was no other way.
The sky was the blue shade closest to the now past Namikaze's eyes, and now it was made jealous by his son's eyes. Speaking of the boy, he wished so badly that he could hide him away from the world, protecting the heir of Namikaze-Uzumaki from the cruel world, but he couldn't.
If he was anything like his parents, he would always be the center of attention, and of course demand much socializing with others. But he couldn't very well put him into an orphanage when he had those markings on him. At least not yet. And he knew that the council would absolutely try to make sure he had as little contact with the child as possible, that much he was certain of. He needed to stay on the council's good side for now, even if they held no official authority, not only to protect his unsteady position, but to be able to protect the sun kissed child as he grew up.
He did not know what to do with the child. The ANBU watching the boy were on full alert, fully informed of who the child was, from pedigree to the 5 story chakra powerhouse demon inside his stomach. And he trusted them to care for the boy with every ounce in his body. The heir of the fourth Hokage and his stunning and breathtakingly deadly wife was a child bred for greatness, and they had their loyalties to both their Yondaime, and to Kushina, their comrade.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he collected himself before going to yet another meeting, this time bringing news of the child to them. He had every viable speech ready, every loop hole checked, and ready to answer any question they had. It would be the most prepared battle in his life.
The walk to the council room was long and dark in his mind, but as he came close to the door, he saw that 4 ANBU were standing nearby, one of the men, Panda, holding the sleeping babe gently while rocking him silently, the blond slowly falling a sleep, his lungs gasping for a little air when he shifted, before it continued in a smooth pattern.
The Hokage smiled gently, running a hand through the already formed small blond spikes, and they were soft and silky despite their appearance. With a nod to the 4 ANBU, he headed into the room first, knowing other ANBU were well hidden for means of protection. The round table had already been filled with the shinobi clan heads, except the chairs of the Namikaze, Mitarashi, and Hatake, and prominent civilians that made up the village council, and Danzo the ex-ANBU commander, and they all turned to him, nodding their heads to show at least some form of respect.
He made his way to his chair, and sat without any prompt with the four ANBU behind him, though the one with Naruto in his arms was more hidden than the other three. Sarutobi spoke gravely,
"Not many of you know what really happened the night Kyuubi attacked. So I will give you the bare details. Minato-kun had no other choice than to seal the Kyuubi into a human child, making the boy a jinchuuriki. As his dieing request, Yondaime asks that everyone of Konoha sees the child as a hero, because he was sacrificed to be the bearer and prison of the Kyuubi, protecting us with his very life."
With that, the panda masked ANBU stepped forward, showing the room the blond whiskered marked child. Gasps were heard around the room, and then mutters. And then the oppositions came.
It came first, naturally, from one of the civilians. "Kill it now, before the demon gets out!" Many of the other villagers agreed to this point, though several stayed silent, looking at the child with scrutinizing eyes, not so easily swayed by emotions unlike counterparts. The ninja in the room however stayed quiet. Many already knew who the child was. The looks were a dead give away. And the fact that all of them, minus the Uchiha and the missing clan heads, got a scroll the day after the attack with a 'Read now or suffer the wrath' on the faces of Haruno Miyako and Inuzuka Tsume, was a big clue. Though they weren't telling anyone about it.
One of the villagers, a haggard elderly woman, turned to the silent ninja, and asked in a voice that oddly quieted and gained everyone's attention. "What do you think? You are after all the experts on these things. We know nothing of these skills, or what it takes to keep the demon secure in the boy's body."
This actually shocked the shinobi that a civilian would come to them for an opinion in something they knew more about, instead of making their rash judgment's again. But what was even more surprising was when Hyuuga Hiashi answered first, in a tone that was not condescending, but matter-o-fact.
"The boy is human, not a demon, and the seal will hold. His- The Yondaime would never have placed a faulty seal on a child. And as a shinobi, and a long time friend and team mate to Minato, I know that his seal mastery was the best. It rivaled if not surpassed our sensei, Jiraiya the toad Sannin. This boy is the only reason we live at this very moment, and we should honor the Yondaime's last wish, and celebrate the rising of our hero."
Tsume's eye ticked, knowing full well that he almost let it out that Naruto was Minato's son despite that Minato swore them all to silence for now. The Hyuuga saw this action, and from his slight body language, she knew he was squirming on the inside at nearly ruining all the plans laid out by the clans of shinobi close to the boy's parents.
No one but they could know of the boy's royal and powerful heritage and dormant bloodlines for now. If the villagers found out, they would gossip, and it would reach the wrong ears, and there was a high risk of the boy being hunted down, and the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. They weren't prepared as of yet, especially with the visit from the damned demon fox, but when the time came, they would inform the world of the boy's existence, and they would be ready to protect him and Konoha. They just needed time, and to keep this away from Sandime for a little before everything was planned out so the 'Professor' had no chance to pull apart their strategies.
After many more discussions, it was decided that the village was to be informed of the boy's burden and the Yondaime's last wish. Oh how this would later come to infuriate the shinobi, as they learned almost too late that this village was filled with idiot civilians.
The funeral for the Yondaime and all shinobi who died that night was a week after the attack. There was no sight of Tsunade, as expected, but no one was able to find Jiraiya either. Obviously, to mourn the loss of a great man, the Daimyo Daiki came with his entire family, and grieved with the people of Konoha. Very few knew the reason why they were weeping with them.
But those who did could only stand beside them, unable to speak a word of whom they were all really spreading tears for. The Daimyo had lost a son-in-law and a daughter, and there was no word on his grandchild, and by the looks of it, he had already lost hope. And they couldn't tell him the truth to his face, in front of the crowd.
Tsume wanted so badly to go up to her friend's family and tell them, point them in the direction in which the child was, so she couldn't be tormented anymore. She had lost her husband in the fight, but she at least had her daughter, her baby son, and her clan.
Naruto was going to be raised with no one who loved him. His ANBU guardians didn't count, because they weren't permanent. And they themselves couldn't be revealed until he was old enough to start training, but that would be six long years that the boy would grow up alone. No Minato to coddle and prank with his son. No Kushina to whip the boy into shape while also feeding him those amazing treats she made for only her friends.
Miyako and Keiko were beside her, the pink haired ANBU holding her child in her arms like Tsume was, and Keiko's belly full from her pregnancy. She wasn't supposed to be out of bed rest, but the normally shy woman even scared Hiashi when she told him she was saying goodbye to her two dear friends.
Both of her fellow kunoichi and long time friends had tears in there eyes as well, and all three yearned to save Naruto from the horrible years a head of him before they could act. They only hoped the boy did not hate all of them.
A hand squeezed Tsume's shoulder, and she saw Akimichi Chouza with his own wavering smile, along with all their friends and fellow councilmen (minus an Uchiha who stood beside her clan). The men all had somber faces, all with the same thoughts the three women had in mind. But Chouza, with a look that wasn't really determined, just absolutely sure of what he said,
"Naruto will forgive us. He'll understand why we are doing this. But for now, our prince is to remain unknown."
Tsume sobbed out a laugh, letting two tears slip past her normally well kept mask. Their prince, the clans called him. They were banishing their prince for six years, even if it was for the best. And it hurt. It felt like she was betraying her best friend by doing this to her blond son.
She looked to her daughter beside her, only four years old, and so much hassle. But Tsume loved it, it made her feel needed, and she had two beautiful children that made her days trouble and tiresome, but so worth it to see their smiles and laughs.
Kushina would never get to feel this way, nor will Minato. And that was what made it hurt the most. Her sobs wracked her body, as she held her son closely to her chest, and after barely a second, strong arms wrapped around her, and she cried into Chouza's chest (despite his wife beside him holding their son), while her friend's watched her, knowing this hurt, as it hurt them just as much. The normally wild Inuzuka woman wept, and whispered for only them to hear what brought about her out burst.
"They'll never get to hug him, or scold him. They won't be here to see his first step, or his first word. They won't hear his laugh, or see his smile. They deserved him, and they can't even have him."
The other's heads hung low, knowing she was right. The two had been so happy about the coming baby, beaming and making a ruckus as they situated a room in the empty Namikaze compound for the baby, and several of them had helped. Kushina's smile as she looked at her stomach was so beautiful, that they knew her child was loved from the beginning.
Shibi spoke softly, gentle to their ears as always was,
"For them, we will remember everything about him, so that when it is our turn to join them, we can tell them the story of their son. That is the best we can do for now."
At that moment, Hana tugged her mother's black kimono, innocent of what was going on, but seeing that her momma was crying, and she didn't like her momma crying. "Okaa-san, when is otou-san coming home? He can make us your favorite cake!"
Tsume was about to tell her a story, but Hiashi beat her to it, grabbing the girl by the waist and placing her on his hip, as he had many times before. He joked, despite the situation. "How about we make you the cake, Hana-chan?"
The girl's eyes shot open, gasped at the idea that Hiashi-jii would do such a thing. Then she saw his slight smile and she pouted. This made all of the adults chuckle, as little Hana started quietly ranting about Hiashi-jii being very mean, and a flower cake sounded very bad.
The sky was bright, on this day of mourning, and very different from all the other days he mourned. He had become accustomed to the skies crying for him, and it was irksome that on this day, when he had lost his sensei and father figure, sensei's wife who was a mother to him, and the little babe he was to be a big brother to, there was not a drop.
How could the skies not cry for them? Minato-sensei and Kushina-hime were the greatest impacts on his life, and he often thought of them as parents, and they accepted the roles they played in his harsh and drawling life.
And yet not a drop was spared for them, and the sky was the shade of blue closest to Minato-sensei.
Kakashi-kun, all life ends, but it is up to us to protect the youth of this village, because they are the next step, they are the future.
Minato had told him that, when Kakashi asked why his sensei wanted to be Hokage. But it was taking Kakashi down a path of thoughts the young Hatake did not want to take. He had lost everything he ever held dear, and now Sandaime seemed to be hiding something from him.
A cry behind him woke him from his thoughts, and it took him a second to remember where he was. The room around him was light blue, decorated with baby animals on the walls, and toys surrounded the room. A crib was on the far wall from the window, and inside was a baby boy.
Quickly, Kakashi rose from the rocking chair he had been sitting in, and went over to the crib, gently picking up the infant with whiskered cheeks, and after checking for any smell, took him over to the mini fridge, and grabbed a warm bottle he had just made a minute ago.
Settling into the rocking chair, the boy, Naruto, quieted down with the warmth of someone holding him, and the food given to him. Kakashi gazed down at the unfortunate orphan. He wasn't so stupid as to believe that this child was Kyuubi, and he trusted his sensei in this. Some of the other shinobi had fallen into the spell of their pain, but a vast majority still kept their wits about them.
And yet it was too dangerous to put the babe in the orphanage until he was 2 or 3. Because of the Kyuubi, forces were stretched very thin, and had to take even more missions to build its foundations again. But Sarutobi had made sure to place a guard and baby sitters on the little tyke. And most of the older ANBU were extremely protective of the child, Kakashi noticed.
The light shining through the window was warming to the Hatake and orphan, casting them in a halo of light. After a while, Naruto finished the large bottle, and Kakashi put him over his shoulder to burp him, which didn't take long. When he was satisfied, he put the babe back in his lap, deciding to play with him for a bit, if only to occupy the both of them.
And then he saw them. Those blue eyes that made the heavens jealous. His sensei's eyes. And they were this child's eyes. But that would mean…
The infant gurgled a toothless laugh, and Kakashi's mismatched eyes lit up for the first time in a week. So this was what Sandaime had been hiding from him. Well, he could pretend too, if to keep the old man under watch. He leaned forward, and Naruto grabbed his mask, and with a rather strong grip, pulled it down from the Hatake's face.
Kakashi smiled at the toothless smile of his sensei's son, and with certain pokes, the baby started shrilling in laughter again. Gray and obsidian eyes stared into those endless blues.
"I guess we have a lot of talking to do when you're older, ne, Naruto-ouji?"
The Hatake rearranged his earlier thoughts of how the day should be raining. Maybe it was best if the sky was trying to match the fathomless blues of his sensei and the infant. Because he at least had one left.
After the long ceremony, Tsume gave Kiba to Keiko to hold as she completed a task set before her. She'd need to do it discreetly, which was kinda hard considering she was surrounded by ninja everywhere.
Seeing the reddish brown hair of a familiar woman, she rushed forward and despite all the children surrounding the Uzumaki ninja, she accidentally bumped into the Crown Princess.
She feigned anger as she turned around on the person, but it quickly went to surprise as she saw who it was. She bowed low, and apologized,
"Gomen nasai, Kasumi-hime. I was in to much of a rush." Kasumi nodded, a light smile on her lips, "Understandable. No harm was done." Tsume nodded, and rushed off once again, planning to meet with the others at bar after she took her kids home from the Hyuuga's and put them to sleep.
Kasumi rushed her children back to the pavilion, making sure Shun, her 5 year old daughter, had her two younger siblings, 3 year old twin brother and sister Yuuko and Kenshin, under control, while she held her one year old Yuuto in her arms as she sat in another pavilion, beside her husband.
The ride back to the palace was uneventful, and she, with the help of the maids, put her children to bed for the night, and went to her personal training area. Upon entering the safety of the dojo, she took the scroll Tsume had passed to her earlier, frantic as she saw the hand writing of her dearest sister.
'Kasumi, by now I should have passed to the next adventure along with Minato. I gave birth to a son, and Minato and I named him Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. But you need to understand something. Remember the stories about our ancestors who sealed a demon within one of their strongest daughters, and the Kamigan was granted to her? Well, that is kinda what has happened to Naruto.
When the Kyuubi attacked, there was nothing Minato or anyone could do but to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto. A jinchuuriki, they will call him. A disgusting name, but they will come to call him that. But enough on that. I don't have much time, but I have a feeling Sandime will hide Naruto's identity.
In fact, for the first few years of his life, this is a good thing. Me and Minato have too many enemies, and if they find out about Naruto not only being our son, but also a prince…well, you know what would happen. The Namikaze's have been in hiding for years, as you know, so I don't expect them to find Naruto until he is 8 or so, and Jiraiya-sensei won't come around until he is 12. Tsunade…I don't know if she'll ever see her adopted grandson, though I hope she will.
This will be cruel to you all, but please don't claim Naruto as family until he is a year to being a genin. Make sure father understands that this is for his grandson's protection. And only when Naruto is a chuunin can I let you tell the world about his status. I know you didn't do that with me, but his situation is different. Because of the Kyuubi, it will be hard for him, and he will need all the help he gets.
If you want, train him in the bloodline, and give him the last secrets of the Uzumaki. The Kamigan that my son will wield is going to be powerful with the backing of the Kyuubi, and he will need the help of the last Whirlpool ninja to guide him. Also, the kunoichi who gave you this, Inuzuka Tsume, is one of my dearest friends, and undoubtedly she is planning along with some others to train my son, as well as other things. Maintain contact with her, to stay inside the realms of the plans, and keep tabs on my son, our Senpuu-ouji.
I have some scrolls sealed away for our parents and brothers that I ask you give to them, along with my Whirlpool hitae-ki, which I want you to give to Naruto as a peace offering of sorts. Besides that, there is really nothing left for me to say, that I have not already said. And anything I want to say can wait the long time before you join me in death, dear sister. So, this is my good bye. Ride the wave with no fear, sister, for you're journey is long from over. See you in the ice lands of our ancestors.
Love, Kushina.'
Kasumi let her pale blue eyes cry, as she read it again. Kushina, her dearest sister, was a baka. She smiled to herself, and planned to do everything her sister asked of her. This was her nephew, her sister's son. She would do anything for him, as would her brother's once they learned that Naruto lived. And gazed upon the hitae-ki her sister entrusted her with. Kushina had still worn it through the years along with her Konoha hitae-ki, a mark of her stubborn pride. But it was for that Kasumi would gladly give it to Naruto, and she would tell him all the stories of his mother, and of the traditions of Whirlpool, and he will earn his Uzumaki blood.
What she despised was the idea of waiting so long for her family to reunite with their lost little maelstrom.
"And there he goes again. Who wants to get him this time?" said one of the ANBU, who had been playing cards in the lounge of ANBU headquarters. The boy Naruto was now a year old, and quite the handful.
When he was only 5 months he started crawling, and was pretty much a racer on all fours. And very shortly after that, he was walking tall, though he could be rather clumsy and hit things. A lot. This provided great entertainment for the men while the women fused over the little charmer. And when he started teething, all the woman tried all sorts of remedies to make him feel better. But it was when one of the men rubbed the boys gums with a little alcohol did the babe hush up and chew his soft rubber toys.
After Naruto got walking, he was quick to run, and it surprised all of them with the speed a 7 month old could possess. Then again, to most of them that knew his pedigree, it shouldn't be a shocker. The boy was scary smart at times, and could smell people out and who was where, they learned. Though, he also learned about ramen with in 8 months of age in exchange. They had to fight him to make him eat more than the heart attack noodles.
Naruto was a light in the ANBU headquarters, compared to the abysmal way of life they were used to. He gave them normality…somehow. He gave them fast paced 1 yr old hell, and he never knew just how grateful they were to have the innocent rowdy bundle of sunshine.
BAM! The ANBU in the lounge turned to see the bright blond on the floor, tears spilling from his watery blue eyes, though he refused to cry out loud, trying really hard to be a big boy like everyone told him to be. There was a deep gouge in his forehead, and blood was dripping down his forehead to his cheeks and nose.
With in seconds, he was scooped up into the comforting arms of one of the ANBU, saying he was a good big boy, and let the man look at it. Naruto was sat on the table that had previously been used for cards. The ANBU started crowding around the table, all of them trying to make sure he was alright, and one of his caretakers, a woman with pink hair and wolf mask, came forward with a first aid kit. She made him sit still as she cleaned they blood off, but then she and everyone else in the room froze.
He blinked at them, confused, and then felt something…weird. His head wasn't hurting anymore. Lifting a chubby hand to his forehead, he realized that there was nothing there. This made him smile brightly, and he laughed out loud. "Okami, it hurt no more!" He said in his childish broken speech. This seemed to unfreeze everyone, who patted the boy on the head, or in case of the wolf masked woman, she brought him into her arms and held him, and with the help of several others, they helped tickle the blond into laughing loud and in squeals.
When he couldn't breathe anymore, they quit, and he was passed into the arms of a bear masked man, who refused to relinquish his hold of the blond, and Naruto settled down, seeing as someone brought him food. It wasn't ramen, sadly, but it was really good, and they said it would help him grow really tall like them. Something called broccoli and beef with a glass of milk.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" They could all hear the baby scream come from the designated room of one blond. Fear gripped into more than one, as did apprehension. How had anyone gotten passed them all? Yeah, they had a party the night before, but still, it shouldn't have affected them to much.
More than one person ran to the blonde's room, frantic in their charge to kill anyone who would dare harm the little boy, especially among their presence. It didn't take long for them to see that there had been no intruder, but in fact that Naruto had awoken from a nightmare. He was curled into a ball to protect himself, as he was scrunched up against the wall of his bed. There were a few tears in his eyes, and they could hear muffled whimpers coming in his direction.
The ANBU settled their nerves down, seeing as there was no physical harm to the boy, and some went back to sleep, while several stayed in the room to provide a comfort for the small child. One of them walked forwards slowly, a young teen with a dog mask, and he swooped down to capture the frightened blond in his arms. Upon seeing people he knew wouldn't hurt him, Naruto transferred swiftly from the bed to hold onto the slightly older boy, curling his body into the warmth and his small hands clenched onto his clothes with all his might, which for a child was extremely strong.
He was starting to get rocked, the hand soothing on his back as he was calmed down, and his whimpers ceased. When he was calm he looked up to the masked dog, and muttered, "Gomen." He heard several chuckles from the adults, and the older boys arms just tightened around the blond. "Maa maa. What was so horrible, Naru-chan?" The blond almost whimpered again at the memory of his horrible dream.
"Naru-chan had dream of bad people. The ones that wanted to hurt Naru-chan. They got Naru-chan." He felt himself being held closer to the teen, and he noticed that everyone else stiffened as well. A couple months ago, the old man (Naruto called him Jiji-san) in the cool hat had come by, like he did quite a lot, and said that Naruto needed to start entering the village more often. Naruto wasn't supposed to hear this, but he also heard that they were going to be taking him to the orphanage when he was 3, because he needed to be with children his age. He heard that some of his guardians protested, but Jiji-san told them it was an order. What ever that was.
So, the almost two year old was taken out into the village, though his guardians were hiding. The first month of going out alone was ok, but he always had a lot of people glaring at him, and he could hear the mean things they said about him. A lot of them threw things at him. This confused poor Naruto, because he never did anything to those people.
But, one day, Naruto had gone out on his own, and in a game that he created, hid from his guardians, because no one else would play with him. The blond then realized this was a bad idea, as he was knocked out and taken to someone's basement, and a lot of people came to hurt him. They were about to do something real bad after they had beat him up, but his guardians had found him, and they were taken away the bad people to Ibi-jii. Ibi-jii later came to him and hugged him in front of everyone, which he never did before, preferring to keep his emotions in check in public view.
Naruto learned after that never to leave his guards. That had been a month ago, but it still scared him, along with all those other times he got hurt really bad, or someone said mean things to him. Jiji-san tried to hide it from him, but Naruto was smart, and he understood what assassinate was, despite not even being two.
He spoke up again, fiddling with dog masks armor. "Why do they hate Naru-chan? Naru-chan did nothing." One of the others came to sit on Naruto's bed, while the others came in closer around him. The young woman with a snake mask took him from dog mask's hold, and she held Naruto just as tightly. "Because they are hurt, Naru-chan. What they do is wrong, but they are hurt very deeply. So they take it out on you." Naruto wasn't satisfied, and pouted. "But why Naru-chan?"
The teen girl sighed quietly, though in her head she was impressed that the blond was not so easily deterred. "We can't tell you until your older, Naru-chan. Just trust us when we say you are not what they call you. You are Naru-chan, and that's that." Naruto nodded with her explanation. The adults always told him to wait until he was older. He hated it, but he knew no matter after much pestering that they still won't tell him.
But that didn't solve his problems of his bad dreams. So, he ended up going to bed with dog mask, who held him to make sure he wouldn't fall off the bed. It was nice, and he had no bad dreams.
There were only a few things that two year old Naruto hated with great passion. One of them was hospitals. He had to go there once in awhile. It's not like the people there were mean. By no means were they mean to him, even when Jiji-san and his guardians weren't there. In fact, they were extremely nice, especially the ladies who always hugged him or pinched his cheeks. Well, the people who worked there did. The other patients were really mean though.
No, he hated hospitals because of the horrid smell. It was disgusting to his advanced senses, and he could hear all the sick people. It gave him the chills every time. And what was worse, was the evil needles they sometimes poked into him. They said it was to make sure he was a healthy boy, and to make sure he could grow big and strong. But it still hurt a lot, and it was just weird!
He heard from Jiji-san, eavesdropping again with his really good hearing, that Naruto was very much like his father in the respect of how he felt about hospitals, and ramen. This pleased Naruto very much, to see that at least someone agreed with his opinion. It was not an irrational fear. And to know his dad, even though he had no idea who he was, loved ramen just as he did made the blond cheerful that entire day in the village, though when Jiji-san asked, he just said it was a nice day. Jiji-san didn't need to know everything.
It was Jiji-san's rare day to take Naruto out into the village, meant to give the blond protection without his guards for once. Naruto learned a lot of things, like how the village functioned, and why it was necessary to have civilians. He also learned why everyone liked Jiji-san. He was a Hokage, and they were to be respected, as did other kages from other ninja villages.
He left Naruto at the Hokage tower, telling the blond to run straight to the ANBU head quarters, and even though Naruto did just that, he was still attacked. It wasn't any shinobi, but a few civilians that cornered him in an alleyway. They beat him up, really hard, but left when they saw the boy lying motionless on the ground in his blood, and not breathing. They snickered as they ran off, pleased with killing him, but the second they had left the alley, Naruto stood, wobbling on his good leg, and quickly took to the shadows and went on his way to his home.
When he got there, he wasn't surprised that no one was there, as almost everyone had a mission today or were off to see there own families. It took him a good 10 minutes, but he found the first aid kit, and tried to clean off the blood first.
Only to be caught by some of the returning adults. They were stunned at seeing Naruto in the kitchen sink, sitting on the counter, his clothes torn, and they could see several of his bones were broken, and his right eye swollen from a black eye. They were deeply angered, and helped Naruto clean up and fix up, getting rid of the poison in his system, and the weird thing happened again as his body began fixing itself, and he was quiet as he felt his bones fix themselves.
When they asked who did this to him, he merely shrugged his small shoulders. "They all are the same now." It took a couple seconds to understand what he actually meant, but then he surprised them with his next words, a stern determination on his face.
"I am going to be Hokage one day. Then they'll understand that they can't beat me."
These words struck a cord in the ANBU's hearts, and that look was so familiar, once on the faces of two strong people. And then they realized he was talking like an adult now, instead of his cute baby way. It was a mix of sadness and pride that Naruto had taken the first step.
He didn't like this. He didn't want to leave this place. It was his home, and here he was protected, and people wanted him. But Jiji-san had said it was for the best, and that Naruto needed to grow up with kids his age. So, with a heavy heart, he held hands with dog mask as he was taken to the village orphanage.
He could already tell it was not going to be fun here. The head lady sneered at him, but she was forced under Jiji-san's order to board Naruto there. He was shown around the place, with dog mask holding his hand through out the whole thing. The other adults were looking at him just like the head lady. It really wasn't going to be fun here.
When he was shown his room, the lady left them to go do something else, so Naruto had time to say good bye to dog mask, since he had already said his good byes to everyone else. The older teen crouched to Naruto's level, and took off his ANBU mask, and Naruto took off his mask for the last time. Kakashi-nii-san smiled at him, before giving Naruto a hug.
"You gonna be good for us, Naru-chan?" The just turned 3 year old nodded, solemn. Kakashi ruffled his soft blond spikes. "We can't come out and play as much as we used to, but we'll try to once in a while, Naru-chan. Now, be a big boy and give me that smile of yours." Naruto did as asked, and that foxy grin was on his face once again. Kakashi grinned back, kissing Naruto on the forehead, and then placed both masks on his face again, standing his full height.
"I'll see you in a few years, Naruto-ouji." And then he disappeared in a flurry of leaves.
"You demon brat! Why don't you just die!" He was slapped hard, again, by the head lady of the orphanage. He had just come to her office because he got into a fight with the other kids. Or really, they got into a fight with him, for absolutely nothing. He was just sitting there by his favorite swing, doing nothing, and he gets surrounded by the kids. One of the kids sneered that he wanted to play on the swing, and Naruto stood to give it to him, turning his back to let them play.
But then they attacked him. Every since the first day of living there, they had been just as mean as the adults, which he discovered quickly was because the adults told them to be mean. So, when he fought back to defend himself, one of the kids ran screaming to an adult and said he was picking a fight yet again. And then his punishment was isolation (which he much preferred), 'discipline' from the adults, especially when they learned of his fast healing, and all other things. An everyday occurrence, along with taking anything he had except clothes, and he was given horrible ones, taking away his blankets and toys, and then he went with out food on many occasions.
This was his life for the past year. He hated it. No one wanted him. And the ANBU couldn't guard him everyday like they used to, so more than once, he was thrown to the adults of the village, and ended up in the hospital.
But, today was his birthday, and he had a plan. Jiji-san had asked for him to go to the Hokage tower, and when he got there, he'd ask the old man to get him out of the orphanage. He had no evidence of what they did to him, but if Jiji-san wasn't going to listen to him, he would simply leave the orphanage, along with stealing back all his things from the other children. The adults didn't think he noticed. Stupid civilians, as he remembered many ANBU calling them that.
So, as he was walking through the village, minding his own business once again, he saw the festival preparations for the infamous day of October 10. Surprisingly, a lot of people were to busy at their work to notice him. Until the back of his ragged clothes was picked up, and his body was in the air by the scruff of the neck, and he found himself in the clutches of an angry looking man. He smelled really bad of that stuff called alcohol, and a couple other things that Naruto couldn't name. He was an already ugly man, but the ugly sneer on his face was worse.
"Fucking demon brat! How dare you walk around and act like you own this place! You should have died the second you were born." Naruto was speechless for a few seconds, before he glared back at the man, "Let me go! I didn't do anything to anyone!" The man had a harsh laugh. "Didn't do anything? You killed my wife and daughter, you fucking scum!" With that, he smashed the side of Naruto's head with the glass bottle of alcohol, making it break and tear some of Naruto's skin, while the contents of the bottle dripped on him.
But Naruto was used to this, and the pain. He didn't let a tear come with in miles of his eyes. He just glared at the man, the side of his head bleeding, while the crowd around them watched, ready to join in in pulverizing the demon. For some reason, something was heavy in the back of his mind. Not like it hurt, but there was a pressure that he couldn't explain, except that it wanted to be released.
"I've never done anything in my life! I've never killed anyone!" This incited more people, and before long, he found himself being hauled off to the forest, with quite a handful of people ready to hurt him for no reason. It wasn't long for him to be thrown to the dirt and grass floor of the forest near Konoha. They proceeded to insult him, kicking him hard, and even a few stabs with knives or anything else they could find.
The pressure in the back of his mind continued, until it started getting unbearable. Naruto, deciding to apply chakra that he had learned from watching others, did just that, and then something weird happened. He had been in the center of the crowd one second, and the next, he was beside one of the trees farthest from them. The civilians looked around, confused, and spotting him, that look of fear and hatred came to their faces.
A few started running forward, but on instinct, Naruto clapped his hands together, the chakra in them somehow made the trees move, because next thing he knew, there were tree limbs whapping the people out of no where, and he was being protected by some encasing. After a few seconds, he realized he was inside the tree, and using the chakra again, he got out, only to see that the people were all on the ground, moaning or knocked unconscious.
Fearful of them getting up any time soon, he ran from the forest all the way to Hokage Tower, his chakra still flaring, and for some reason, he was really fast, more than usual. He went up the flights of stairs, and before long, he burst into the Hokage's office, panting only slightly, a glare in his eyes as he saw the shock and horror on his Jiji-san's face. He didn't really notice the blood falling on the floor, or that his ragged clothes were two more snips from falling off, or his body covered in deep gashes and bruises.
His always clear voice evenly rang through the office to the Hokage and the ANBU.
"Either get me an apartment, or I'm leaving, and not coming back."
Jiji-san was quick to doing as he asked, along with a stipend for him to live off of, and some new clothes, as well as another trip to the hospital with the guards of the ANBU back with watching him. When Jiji-san asked what happened, those blue eyes just turned to the old man, silently pitying the old man for being so silly. Jiji-san didn't need to know what people are really like.
His new apartment was great compared to what he was so used. Of course, after living in it for a month, people found out where he lived, and they constantly destroyed the inside of it, writing on the walls such horrible things. They even burned his night cap. What the night cap did to them, he would never know.
He only cried the first time they did this, but after that, it became normal. It still hurt him deep down, but he just kept going, not seeing the reason in crying over material possessions. They were replaceable, and as long as they didn't touch the instant ramen, everything was fine, and his day couldn't be put down. At least, that was what he made it look like.
He remembered his ANBU guards, in which he only saw on rare occasions these days, and their masks. And then he remembered one of his lessons about how shinobi had to protect who they really were by wearing masks, both real and metaphorical (it hadn't taken a couple hours for someone to finally explain to the pestering blond what that meant).
So, he kept his feelings hidden, and created a mask of someone always happy. Sometimes, to make it realistic, he'd trip himself, to just stop those ugly eyes civilians glared at him with. Those eyes gave him nightmares all the time.
After only living at his apartment for a week, he had found himself a place he could call his haven. A ramen bar, Ichiraku ramen, owned by a really nice old man, and was helped by his short pretty daughter who was only 7. The old man, Teuchi, had welcomed Naruto to his shop with out any hesitation. When Ayame had left to go to the back, Naruto asked why he was so nice to the monster of Konoha.
The old man was shocked that a four year old would say such a thing, and he reached across the counter and bopped Naruto on the head. With a stern frown, he said, "You are no monster, and definitely no demon. Any who say that are blind fools, and are nothing but the real demons." This stunned the blond, as the old man then smiled gently at him, affectionately ruffling the spiky blond hair. "Now, how about Miso flavor? I know you like beef, but try this one out."
The blond never knew anything, even ramen, could have tasted as good as that bowl of miso ramen, along with a platter of vegetables, chicken, and apple slices. The old man made him eat it all, saying that a young boy needed to eat healthy as well, or he'd never grow. And despite usually never listening to older people, this old man he'd listen to whole heartedly.
Author Commentary:
MWAHAHAHAHAHA!! Cliffs are an interesting part of the landscape, I must say, even though there isn't one here. Originally, this chapter was 13 pages, but I decided to beef it up, and give you some background, because when I put in the first chapter on fanfic, I was already up to chapter 10, and I thought, why not go back and fill it in, give it a little more juice. It's wasteful, but I thought it was cute it some parts. And I really wanted to add Kakashi and Ichiraku, when I had planned to leave them out. This chapter actually just started with Sarutobi, and then the funeral, then Kasumi, and it went straight to Naruto being five, and meeting Sasuke. But, with me adding in some detail, I made it so the next chapter was brimmed with just Naruto and Sasuke, growing up from four years to six. It was mainly for development of both characters.
Yes, this chapter was a rushed shoddy piece of work, but way better than nothing. And as some of my readers should know about me, I always put a little drama into everything (though in real life I despise it, and am a bore in my opinion). And personally, the part with Sarutobi was hilarious to me. I know that everyone makes a play on it (and I plan to several times throughout), but it is pretty freakin funny.
And since basically everyone is expecting me to right a harem fic (ok, I'll be honest, the second I downloaded the first chapter into, I was already preparing in changing my already 10 written chapters to make it NaruxHarem), yes, it will be a harem fic. I will ask, please be nice, because this will be my first one, and it's kind of hard to separate the women he is going to marry. And to keep people quiet, this is how it goes; Sakura is the first wife, Ino is second, Yugito is third, Temari is fourth, and Tenten (I just CAN NOT leave her out, I heart her) is the last.
This was just to start the timeline and explain some of the things when I meant I turned character personalities into complete changes. And yes, I change personalities and people. I am a fucking GOD! Lol.
Yes, Hiashi is an awesome guy in this. Since he was 6, he was the best friend of one Namikaze Minato, and later Uzumaki Kushina. And I gotta ask, who does not change when stuck with Naruto type people?
Yes, Hiashi will be a warm person in this, no, he will not hate his brother, yes, he will be one of Naruto's many father figures, no, he will not try to set up Hinata and Naruto, no, he will not be a bastard, and yes, he will be a freakin cool dude. Kapesh?
And on the note of Neji. He won't be coming about until blondie's taking the chuunin exams (for now, at least), yes, he will be a dick face at first, but will quickly warm up to Naruto after an extreme ass whopping the likes no one has ever seen. Ok, so maybe in my mind, when in actuality, it will be a really shitty written battle scene.
And to certain people who think Hinata should be Naruto's girl. Hell no. I know that everyone and their grandmother think they are the cutest little couple, and she already has a jump start on liking him in the manga/anime, but NO. I honestly hate the couple, just like I hate SasuSaku. It doesn't feel right to me, and Naruto has no interest in her in the manga, currently. Honestly, I despise those two particular couples, because despite what people say, they don't mesh well together, and it's just horrible (Though, NaruSaku and SasuHina is quite the catcher for me). I'll read a story of those couples (NaruHina, SasuSaku) if it's good, but I won't be exactly all that happy with it. And in this story, Hinata, Hanabi, and Naruto are technically siblings!! So EWW! And besides, I'm tired of seeing NaruHina. And no amount of pestering and whining to me about how you want NaruHina will get me to move on this, so either shove it, or read another story. I'm tired of it. While others can write that pair to the ends of the earth, I will give people a spice of life, even if no one likes it. So start eating the spices.
To the ones who tried and write to me and to correct me on something I know much more on, since I'm kinda writing this story; Hiashi is a GODfather to Naruto. Jiraiya is a GRANDfather to Naruto. And yes, there is quite a difference. I know what I'm doing guys, so chill. I've only been writing stories since the 1st grade, and that was 13 years ago, so I think I have a bit of experience to back me up. Mind you, those stories in the first grade make no sense to me now, but that's beside the point.
And no, people, there will be no affairs. As clearly stated, the entire group of parents are a network of very close friends, and Chouza was being a very good friend and letting Tsume cry. Any of them would have done so, but he was the one standing closest.
Alright, so it's time to wrap up, ladies and gents, so don't forget, read it, review it, and love it.
Love to laugh, because that is the only way to live. - Tiffany Carr
Wolf
