OK, thanks so much for the reviews and favs! Really, i'm so glad you guys like the story . . . isn't Chibi Naru-chan so cute? So, without further ado!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.
That evening the Namikaze-Uzumaki family had an early dinner at 6:30. Kushina had cooked a fine spread, feeling in a grand mood that evening. The scene was not unusual for that time. Naruto was happily chattering away at some topic or three, as his parents nodded along and tuned in at certain parts, for the most part sending each other amused glances at his never ending commentary.
For one Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, however, the night was far from the usual. This would be the night he'd kick-start his plan.
The: Retrieve Tsunade Plan!
Naruto decided, that there would be no better present that Jiraiya-jiji could ever want, than to have Tsunade-baa-chan at his birthday party, since she was one of his precious people. All he had to do was get to Tanzaku Town, convince Tsunade-baa-chan to come back to Konoha, and get back in time for Jiraiya-jiji's party!
Simple, right?
So that night, keeping in mind what he was about to do, Naruto was less rowdy, and more subdued in his mischief. He even helped his kaa-chan with cleaning up the kitchen, besides the usual chore of drying the dishes as she washed, as per usual. Minato and Kushina exchanged curious glances as they cleaned, wondering about what it was that made Naruto extra involved in helping. Getting the boy to do more than dry and stack dishes was usually a bit of a chore, but tonight he was actually eager and willing.
Kushina decided to find out. "Ne, Naruto, what's got you so much more eager than usual to help out?"
Naruto at first felt a flash of panic, then sternly scolded himself for getting overexcited, before responding in his usual cherry manner. "Well, 's just that I've been going out all this week. I haven't spent too much time at home so I just figured . . . well actually, I don't really know myself." He admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, a nervous tic he inherited from his father.
Kushina eyed him for a moment, before taking the explanation. "Well, arigato, Naru-chan." She smiled, bending down to kiss the top of his spiky head. When she lifted back up, Naruto had turned away as if he was intent on his work, but actually hiding the nervousness that no doubt showed in his eyes.
Her kissing his head reminded him that he had never been apart from his parents for longer than a few days. Suddenly, he began to grow nervous about his pending departure. Could he really just leave and go off on his own for two weeks? They had only barely covered wilderness survival training this year . . . could he do it?
Almost immediately after, irritation spread through him like a wave for his moment of weakness, and he slapped his cheeks hard.
"Naruto!" Kushina and Minato gasped, shocked at the unexpected action.
Wincing, Naruto shook his head like he a fox shaking off water, before locking his hands behind his head, laughing. "Just a matter of conflicting emotions is all!" Then, still laughing, he sauntered out the kitchen, leaving behind two extremely confused parents.
Naruto stayed in his room for the rest of the evening, and though it concerned his parents, they thought perhaps the boy just needed some space. After all, the boy was constantly surrounded by a group; either his friends in the clan, the few civilian friends he had (a surprise to his ninja family and friends, especially as none of them were below the ages of 17), or his family. Though uneasy with this conclusion, nevertheless they stuck to it, only stepping into their musuko's room to wish him goodnight, and kiss him on the forehead. Closing the door to his room, they quietly stepped down the hall to their own room, and retired for the night (well, not really, but this is a CHILDREN'S story, so let's not go THERE).
Naruto waited with increasingly stressed nerves as he waited for some sign that his parents were asleep. It seemed like ages to Naruto, but each time he looked at his glow-in-the-dark clock, only scant minutes had actually passed. In an attempt to calm himself Naruto closed his eyes and worked to steady his breathing, as well as go over the plan one last time.
Step 1: Sneak onto those guys' cart. This would be easy since he scouted it already, and the cart was covered with a tarp to keep the elements from harming their cargo. It might get a little warm, but he could handle it. More importantly, they would never see him.
Step 2: The first rest stop on the way to Tanzaku Town was Otafuku Gai, and there he would separate from his unknowing carriers. It would be too risky to do the same thing twice, he would have to leg it from there, or perhaps rent another mode of transportation if possible. He was sure there would be some way, since the town was an entertainment spot in its own right.
Step 3: Like before, once he reached Crater City he would drop the transportation. From Crater City he really would have to leg it to Tanzaku Town, as risk of exposure would be high on the last leg of his journey. It would take a while, this he knew. From Crater City to Tanzaku was about 15 miles, so the journey would be tiring, but he would do it!
Step 4: Find Tsunade as soon as he got to town. He couldn't rent a hotel room on his own, he was too young and he would most certainly be stopped. He wasn't really sure how he would convince her to come back to Konoha, but he figured that she would remember him, and perhaps their connection would make her a bit more sympathetic to his cause.
Step 5: Hightail it back to Konoha, using whatever means necessary.
Step 6: Convince Tsunade to shield him from the wrath of his mother, father, Jiraiya-jiji, Saru-jiji, Asuma-oji, Kashi-nii . . . well, from everybody he knew most likely.
Satisfied with that, he opened his eyes and looked at the clock again. He started in surprise; he had spent an hour thinking about the plan. It was now 10:30. He'd have to leave now, it took time to evade the ANBU and make sure there was no trail. Naruto whipped the sheets from his body and carefully lowered himself onto the floor. He grabbed his bag from under the bed, rising and snatching the note he had prepared beforehand from his nightstand. He turned, but then paused as he turned back to the nightstand. He looked at the picture of his parents and him, before taking it and placing it in his bag with loving care. He jogged over to a chair in the corner of the room covered in things he had yet to put away. Fishing out a black jacket with orange sleeves and hood, he put it on. The jacket was slightly too large for him, ending at his knees, and the hood when he pulled it up nearly covered his eyes.
Naruto grinned. Perfect! He thought happily.
Sneaking to his door, he held his breath as he oh so slowly and carefully eased the door open. He opened it just enough for him to squeeze through. Closing the door just as carefully behind him, he descended to the first floor, and headed straight for the kitchen. Coming to the counter, he placed the note in an obvious area where his parents would be able to spot it as soon as they entered. The note read:
Dear kaa-chan and tou-chan,
DO NOT PANIC. I have not been kidnapped, or tricked, I haven't even run away! I just need to go somewhere for a little bit to get a certain someone for a certain something. I will DEFINETLY be back before Jiraiya-jiji's birthday. It's the promise of a lifetime, dattebayo!
Love,
Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hokage of Konoha!
P.S: I certainly can't be Hokage if I don't come back right? Consider that as good as an iron-clad promise on top of the first one!
He climbed atop the counter moving next to the window in front of the kitchen sink. Experience told him that they would be switching guards in exactly five minutes, and not only would their guard be lax, but this area would be a blind spot as well. Counting down in his head, when the guard switched he made his move. Swiftly opening the window, he jumped out and down to the ground below. His descent was not silent, so to be sure he took out a slingshot and picked up a pebble from the ground, took aim at the trees in the far back of the yard, and fired.
Satisfied that the rustling of the bushes would hold their attention, he made his getaway. In the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow move to where the pebble landed, and he grinned in victory. Naruto ran fast, practically sprinting to the pick-up area. A few adults were still walking around, going to bars or heading to larger groups of their friends, talking about this and that. Naruto stuck to the alleys when he could, and soon made it to the cart he knew belonged to the three men from earlier.
Quickly, because he wasn't sure when they would arrive, he hopped and caught the edge of the cart, hoisting him up, over, and under the tarp. Wiggling around amongst the other bags for a good position, he flattened himself and held still, keeping quiet and even taking shallow breaths to keep even quieter. Not a moment too soon as it turns out, because a couple minutes later the young men quickly arrived, jumping onto the cart, pumping themselves up and laughing freely.
"Alright boys, forwards to Tanzaku!" one of the men— Naruto thought about it and remembered that voice belonging to the dude with the ponytail— cheered.
The wagon slowly moved forward, and Naruto was hard pressed to stop a cheer from escaping him. As the wagon slowly ambled on, Naruto's stomach filled with butterflies, both from the excitement of getting away with his plan, and the fear that he was celebrating too early. It seemed like the latter was right when the wagon lurched to a stop, and he heard another adult's voice, this one unfamiliar.
"Papers, and state your intentions." A voice said in a slow, lazy drawling voice. Naruto's eyes widened.
Crap, they do a check at the gates for visitors and anyone leaving! Naruto cursed himself darkly for forgetting such an important detail. He was done for now!
"We're just heading to Tanzaku Town, for the festivities." The brunette of the traveling trio said. Naruto held his breath and pushed the palm of his hand hard into his stomach, in a vain attempt to ease the butterflies in there.
"Alright, no need to check your cart I can see just luggage in there. Have a nice trip." The voice said this with slightly more animation than before, and the trio bade the gate guards' farewell before making their way. The clattering of the cart on the road was all that concerned Naruto for a long while. In his mind, he whispered, 'Bye. Just for a little while.'
Exhausted from all the commotion, Naruto's eyes drifted shut, and he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
"Hey, we're almost to the hotel guys!" the shout made Naruto jerk awake, looking around wildly to regain his bearings. The sun was now high up in the sky, so the light shone through the cloth tarp, and let him see everything under there. It was most likely afternoon, he deduced.
'Oh . . . they made it here already! How long was I asleep?' Naruto wondered, rubbing his eyes with a small fist. The cart suddenly came to a stop, and Naruto tumbled back to the floor, bumping his head against a suitcase. Grumbling in irritation and rubbing the back of his head, he suddenly remembered what he had to do. Quickly, he wiggled around to face the end of the cart, grabbing his bag. The cart suddenly rose a little from the loss of weight as the three men got off the cart. Quickly, Naruto scrambled out from under the tarp and jumped down from the cart, quickly walking away. Looking back Naruto smiled when the traveling trio didn't even turn back to look.
Turning back around, he walked jauntily down the street, darting around people and just reveling in the high his success gave him. Absently he thought, 'I sure hope kaa-chan and tou-chan aren't too upset.' It never even crossed his mind that 90% of the Konoha Ninja Corps and half the civilian sector were genuinely frantic with worry for the little ball of sunshine that had touched their hearts in some way.
Meanwhile in Konoha . . . !
"I want every. Inch. Of Konoha. Searched." Minato's voice raised no farther than the softest caressing tone, his voice practically a purr, but it was soaked in poison and carried an edge as sharp as Hayate's swords. All ANBU and jounin present felt an intense fear bloom into being deep inside of them. A few even took a step back from the coldly furious blonde Hokage. The rest did the same when an expression like thunder suddenly came upon Minato's face. "GO." He hissed, angered at their hesitance.
The room cleared away either by pure speed or the body flicker technique.
Almost immediately afterward they left, Minato's body slumped back into his chair, and he barely caught himself on his elbows from face planting on the desk. He looked askance at his hands, only just noticing the faint tremble. Sighing shakily, he buried his hands in his hair, tugging just enough to feel a sting. Jiraiya had left to search the forests outside of Konoha as soon as he heard (and he had never seen such a look on sensei's face before), and Sarutobi was quick in helping Minato assign ANBU teams areas to search. Apropos of nothing, Minato pointed a long digit into the shadowy corner of the office. An ANBU bearing the mask of the bear knelt in front of his desk the moment he looked up.
"Bring me Kushina." Was all that he said. The Bear ANBU nodded, leaving at once. Minato dragged a hand down his face, sighing heavily. A sound of knocking at the door caught his attention, and when the door opened revealing his secretary, the collected Yondaime Hokage was back in place of the exhausted and fearful father. The act, however, was not enough to fool his secretary Ayako. Smiling in sympathy she placed a tray of tea and cups down on the desk, pouring a steaming hot cup of tea for her boss.
"Your favorite and more is on the ready for you." She spoke softly, as if he had a migraine, and the Hokage was extremely thankful for his competent secretary. Even more thankful that she was happily married with three kids of her own, so he knew her intentions weren't flirtatious or anything like that.
"Thank you." He sighed, taking a sip of the tea. He then noticed her fiddling with her wedding band, something she only did when nervous or pressured. "Something the matter?" he inquired, putting down the tea.
She looked vaguely uncomfortable. "Hokage-sama, I . . ." Her eyes darted down to the picture of his family for an instant before she returned her gaze to him. At once, he understood. Naruto often made trips up here to visit him, and as such had formed a fast friendship with the sharp-witted woman. She adored him, and was just as concerned about him as any of them. Smiling softly, yet sadly, he reassured her, "He'll be home soon. Whether we find him first or he just comes waltzing back in here like nothing happened."
She smiled. Bowing to her Hokage, she walked briskly out the room, now confident with the words of her Hokage so she could concentrate on her work. As soon as she left, Minato slumped back into his seat, wishing he could be reassured as easily as her. However, he soon had to shake himself out of his despondent state, and rose up from his chair. The person he had to be strong for the most was approaching. And she was mad.
Kushina flew in through the open window, hair trailing behind her like flames— or, he thought wryly— the tails of the Kyuubi no Youko. She made no move to approach him from her place next to the window. His eyes narrowed; Minato was in no mood to be disobeyed.
Kushina's voice only pushed his ill mood further; there was nothing but ice in her tone. "Minato, why are you calling me now? I'm looking for our son."
"Sit down Kushina; I have the others on this." Did she not hear the soft yet dangerous edge in his voice?
"No, now if you're done—" When he appeared right before her, face inches from her own, her voice failed in the middle of her sentence from shock. She went from shocked to downright surprise when Minato gripped her arm tightly, and steered her to the couch in the room. She sat down without a sound, and Minato's face eased up a bit, but she decided not to test him more than she already had. He came back to stand in front of her, but Kushina only saw his feet as her head was tilted down, the super-long strands of her hair covering her face from view and nearly dragging on the floor.
Minato sighed, and knelt before her, a teacup filled with the fragrant drink in his hand for her to take. He held the cup in one hand and with his other hand tenderly caressed her face before tilting it up so that they looked each other in the eyes. "Kushina, have something to drink. You need to rest honey."
Kushina took the cup slowly, looking into its dark depths. Her body slowly tensed. Her hands shook. She quickly set the cup on a nearby table or else she would have thrown it, and then she buried her face in her hands and cried. Minato had enveloped her in his strong embrace the moment the cup had settled on the table. Kushina cried, holding tight fistfuls of her husband's cloak, and he looked off into the unknown over the top of her head, Brandeis blue eyes becoming moist over the pain of his beloved's hurt. 'Where is our son?'
Well how about that? I was kind of conflicted onto how to write the situation from Konoha's POV . . . mabe Minato and Kushina are overracting to you, but i always imagined they'd be overprotective parents, and so . . . they'd freak out, especially with that note. So, review and let me know how it is!