DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters in this story, as they belong to the creator(s) of Naruto. I am by no means claiming to own the rights of any character, object, or anything for that matter involved in the Naruto Series. Thank you! :D
There was a giant fire covering an apartment building. Several floors were engulfed in flames. Suddenly something had crushed the left side of the building, and it came crashing down. The young Minato opened his eyes and was surprised when he saw that he was saved.
The roof of the apartment was coming down on him, but someone had saved him. He turned his head to his left, and then to his right. It was almost unbearable to see the horror all around him. All of the homes of his friends had been demolished. His own home had fallen to the ground.
He heard screams echo across the horizon. Fires all across the city had lit the night sky. Their light revealed the ruins of a once large city. The forests in the outskirts, that stretched to the mountains had been scorched.
Minato slowly stood up. He was so distracted by the fires, he was almost entranced. He turned around, and let out a gasp when he saw it. It was as tall as the mountains in the distance. It's gigantic red eyes glowed brighter than the fires around him.
The beast sent its claw swiftly down to crush the remains of the apartment complex. Minato was too slow to avoid it. But a man appeared out of the shadows and grabbed Minato, evading the powerful strike. Minato felt the temperature slowly drop while his eyes were shut.
When he opened his eyes he saw a group of people standing around him, led by a white haired man. It was Jiraiya. The entire group looked frightened. Minato saw that his mother was among them, but was too afraid to speak to her. He really wanted to be held.
He listened to the group's conversation, hoping that they could save everyone and make everything okay again.
"We need to buy the Military some time." Jiraiya began with a determined look on his face, "We need to hold a barrier and restrain the Kyuubi to a small area away from the city. Tsunade is trying to get more military forces involved. I will be helping with evacuation.
Until more help arrives I'm afraid that you will have to distract the Kyuubi. Remember, the Kyuubi Kitsune is not an ordinary beast. Do not underestimate it's intelligence." Jiraiya paused, "Are there any questions?"
"Hai," Minato's Mother quickly drew Jiraiya's attention, "Who will be the new host?" Jiraiya's expression reflected the grief in his heart. He answered, "A little girl. She's no older than Minato-kun." She looked at Minato and made a sad face, "I see..." she replied.
They all dispersed, leaving Minato by himself at the park. Minato simply looked at the beautiful green grass that surrounded him. He layed his head down and stared at the bright full moon above him. He fell asleep.
About an hour later, he was awakened by a loud roar that could be heard for miles. He was immediately terrified. He had never heard anything like it. The beast was approaching him, as he sat alone. It was looking right at him. It's gaze seemed to cut through him.
The beast raised it's claw, preparing to strike Minato. It's claw came down with great speed. Minato was frozen in fear, and there was no way he could avoid it. He thought for certain that he was going to be killed.
He closed his eyes and shut them tight as he screamed as loud as he could.
He felt somebody push him. When he hit the floor, he heard the loud crash of the claw landing right next to him. Debris was scattered everywhere. Minato opened his eyes to the sound of gurgling. It was his mother who was laying beside him. Her eyes were wide open.
The life had faded from them as they stared right at Minato. Blood was oozing from her mouth. Her lower half had been completely smashed off. The remains of her organs were leaking from her body. Her bones were piercing through her skin.
A pool of blood covered the ground around her.
"Mommy..." Minato said quietly. "Mommy... Wake up." He carefully said as he tried to lie to himself. "Wake up..." He shook her, as his voice squeaked. Blood was getting all over his clothes.
"Mommy... Please... Please wake up... I'm scared..." Tears filled his eyes as he slowly sat a few feet away from her. He stared at his mother's body, subconsciously hoping for her to get up.
A claw came crashing down on her corpse, splashing blood onto Minato's face. His eyes widened, and he felt his stop momentarily. He let out a small gasp as tears ran down his cheeks.
The beast lifted it's claw, revealing the pool of blood, bone, and guts that was now Minato's mother.
"No! Mommy!" Minato screamed in pure horror.
Minato woke up, covered in cold sweat. He was still crying and shaking alone in his room. It was 4:21 AM. His throat had closed up from his panic attack. He remembered to breathe through his nose, as he needed to every night since that day.
He fixed his hair, got dressed, ate breakfast, and finally prayed to his Mother's shrine.
"Mommy... I'm so sorry." he ended with tears in his eyes.
Though it was on 5:13, he headed outside. He was surprised to see the Uchiha's were waiting for him. They asked him to come with them to their house, and that it was very urgent.
Minato knew that he was about to be scolded, when they stopped in the courtyard. "Minato-kun. You have disappointed me. You gave a young boy outside of the clan our family's power, failed to stop Danzou, and furthermore, you failed to save Obtito!"
Itachi's father shouted. Shouting was normal, because he was a strict father. The courtyard grew quiet, the stone floor was still wet from the morning dew. The sound of the fountain's water echoed throughout the housing complex.
"Explain yourself to me. Why didn't you act immediately, and save Obito? Why did you hesitate?" Mr. Uchiha demanded, his voice growing louder. "Sir. There are no excuses for my failure. Danzou had no openings, and I was simply too slow to defend Obito. Gomenasai."
Minato answered very formally, and bowed to Mr. Uchiha apologetically. "I see. And why did you pass the Sharingan on to some child, not born of our clan?" Mr. Uchiha responded. "It was Obito's Shi No Ganbou(Death Wish) Sir." Minato answered with a hint of remorse in his voice.
He recalled Obito's last words, and looked to Mr. Uchiha for a response. His face looked ashamed, which surprised Minato. "I see. Your actions were indeed noble, Minato-kun. But I can't simply let this go unpunished. I must ensure that you learn from this, Minato-kun.
Obito's parents are very depressed because of your misaction, you know." Mr. Uchiha declared. "H-hai." Minato replied, with a guilty expression on his face.
"As punishment for your failure, I will no longer be paying for your rent, nor will I offer you any sort of financial aid." Mr. Uchiha announced. Minato's expression reflected how worried he became by hearing those words. "But, sir. I don't have a job! I can't-"
"We, cannot break tradition, Minato-kun." Madara coldly interrupted as he walked into the courtyard. Mr. Uchiha was immediately silenced. Minato felt uneasy, because killing intent flowed out of the man like a river. Madara had never approved of Minato. He hated anyone
who was not of the Uchiha clan. He broke the awkward silence, "However. Perhaps there is a way for you to, atone, for your failure." Madara's statement surprised everyone. He had never been one to show any sort of mercy.
Minato's face reflected his interest. "Sir. Please, what is it that you want me to do?" Minato carefully asked, noticing the silence of the courtyard. Madara's expression looked pleased. "You must kill Danzou. After doing so, bring me the Sharingan that he has stolen."
He was so blunt, and he did not even hesitate with his words. Madara smiled and stared into Minato's eyes. Minata felt a cold chill run down his spine. "H-hai." Minato replied and bowed to Madara, who quickly dismissed him.
"Kusa... This sucks." Minato thought. "I can't kill anyone, I'll go to jail!" He said aloud in a pouting tone. He walked down the street, when out of nowhere, "Yo." Kakashi greeted him. Minato jumped and turned around. Kakashi looked joyful, but Minato responded with an annoyed expression.
"Oh hey. How are you?" Minato asked joyfully, exposing Kakashi's false joy. "Fine I guess. What did you want to meet me for?" Kakashi replied. Minato was rather surprised at how awkward the conversation was. For it was Kakashi that met him here.
"Well..." Minato tried to look cheerful, "I just wanted to give you this." Minato presented a special knife to Kakashi. "I made it as a token of apology. I hope you find it useful. Gomenasai." Minato bowed to him. "Ah. Arigatou, Minato-kun." Kakashi took the knife, and returned
his bow respectfully. "Ah! Sumimasen! I gotta go! I'll see you later." Minato paused, "Kakashi-kun, don't worry about Danzou." Kakashi's expression was most surprised. "A-ah, hai. Goodbye, Minato-kun." Kakashi replied.
When Minato arrived at school, he was surprised to see Jiraiya was waiting for him. He was leaning against a red brick wall, with a tree next to him, and his arms crossed. The sunlight made his white hair glow.
"Jiraiya-sensei? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Minato asked curiously. Jiraiya's expression looked annoyed and cocky. "What, Mina-chan? I can't say 'hi' every once in awhile? Jeez..." Jiraiya noticed Minato was returning his annoyed expression, and sighed.
"Okay, okay! You got me... Jeez, Minato-kun. I have something very important to tell you about Kushina." Jiraiya announced, taking a long pause.
"Well? What is it, Jiraiya-sensei?" Minato said, growing most impatient. He was very eager to verify if something was wrong. "She is the girl, that the Kyuubi was sealed into." He answered Minato in a very serious tone and continued, "She is a Jinchuuriki."
Minato was shocked, as he recalled what the beast had looked like. He started shaking a little. He hated the Kyuubi for what it had done. It surprised him though, that Jiriaya had not told him sooner. They were very close, so it was unusual for Jiraiya to hide things.
"What will he do?" Jiraiya thought, while carefully watching Minato. "It was sealed against her will. Her parents were furious when they found out, and abandoned her." Jiraiya broke the silence. Minato looked angry and remained silent for a few minutes.
He finally began thinking aloud, "No family... Isolated. No help from anyone this whole time... Kusa. Kushina-chan... You've been hated by some many people."
"He's taking this seriously. They must be much closer than I thought. What will you do with this knowledge, Minato-kun?" Jiraiya thought, still watching Minato. Minato was remembering the pain of being alone. The pain from being hated because he was a bastard child.
He was able to connect himself to Kushina. Though he could not forgive the Kyuubi, he did not blame Kushina for the beast's actions.
Minato whiped his eyes, and finally said, "I see. Well, Jiraiya-sensei... She needs my help. I understand her better than anyone else. I'll definitely do my best to help her." Minato looked very serious. Jiraiya smiled, and punched him in the head.
"Yosh! That's the spirit, Mina-chan! Look at you! Watch out cool guy!" Jiraiya laughed hysterically while Minato held his head in pain.
"Baka-sensei! What the hell was that for! Who the hell do you think you are anyway?" Minato shouted and comicly kicked Jiraiya in the stomach.
After a few minutes of play-fighting, they settled down. Jiraiya slowly looked at Minato and said, "She really needs you, you know?... You make her very happy. And a girl like that is rarely ever happy. Minato-kun. Take excellent care of Kushina. I'm counting on you."
Jiraiya smiled. "Hai!" Minato replied and smiled back.
"You've grown a lot haven't you, Minato-kun?" Jiraiya quietly thought to himself, waving Minato goodbye. "You'll definitely change us all one day."
Right on time, Minato was waiting for Kushina outside of the cafeteria. "Minato-kun!" Kushina greeted him pleasantly, with a smile. She looked very pretty. He could tell that she had spent a lot of time on her hair and makeup. He appreciated it, because it made him feel special.
"Kushina-chan! Hey!" Minato returned her greeting and smiled back. "Good morning, Minato-kun! I-" Minato interrupted her by giving her a warm hug. "What's this for?" Kushina asked in a whisper. "Well... No reason really. I just wanted to hug you." Minato replied.
"But, why did you want to hug me?" Kushina asked a little louder, with a look of confusion on her face. "Well," Minato gently lifted her hair away from her ear, then whispered into it, "Because I love you, Kushina-chan."
Kushina turned red, and tears filled her eyes. She hid her face against his shoulder and squeezed him gently. After a few moments she finally whispered, "I love you too Minato-kun."
She looked into his eyes, and suddenly said "B-ba-baka!" she punched his head-in the same place that Jiraiya punched him-and he fell over. "What do you think you're doing surprising me like that?-" Minato, in the background responded with "Oro?" "I almost had a heart-attack!"
She continued her rant in embarrassment. "Oro?" Minato looked at her in genuine confusion. "What?" She looked almost angry. But Minato saw through her. She was really happy. He stood up and smiled at her. "I love you, Kushina-chan." He said quietly and kissed her.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She began to cry quietly. Minato knew that they were tears that had been bottled up for a long time. He held her in his arms, and gently rubbed her back.
They went to class shortly after the bell rang. Unaware of what was about to happen.
