Author Input:

YES I KNOW, I'm updating a whopping 2 weeks late I'm really really really sorry :(

This chapter is so plot heavy I had to rewrite it again and again and THEN I had writer's block and THEN I was really behind on schoolwork and THEN the family holidays came 'round and well…..you know how it is.

Oh, yea I thought I should warn you, this chapter is a definitely rated T because of Violence and its kinda dark.. If you can't stomach mentions of blood, mildly graphic portrayal of death or if you have a phobia of water/drowning then I don't recommend reading this chapter.

Just being cautious, this isn't horror lol xD

Well, enough of all that, here's chapter 4 for you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 4

Flashbacks

Naruto didn't know where he was.

It wasn't necessarily dark. But there was a distinctive feeling of blindness that he couldn't seem to shake.

*drip*

Naruto looked around him. He seemed to be inside of what looked like a basement* of some sort. Pipes ran along the ceiling and the floor, which was flooded with water up to his ankles. Two red pinpricks pierced through the darkness.

They blinked.

The boy stared. The eyes stared back. Naruto walked towards the two dots.

They blinked.

*drip*

"Who are you?!"

The blonde heard laughter. "Who am I?" The person chuckled, "Why I'm you of course."

"How is that even possible?! Show yourself and stop hiding!"

"Very well."

A figure stepped out of the shadowy, golden light. Blonde spiky hair, Blue eyes, whisker markings on his cheeks. There was no mistaking it.

It was him.

Well, besides the red pupils and black where the white parts should've been.

"Don't you see? I'm the real you. The one who lives deep down inside. I know everything about you Naruto."

"W-what?"

"Don't pretend you don't understand. I can't wait to lose control… It's been awhile since I was able to walk around free to do whatever I want."

"Wait, if you're me, then what do you want?"

"Revenge, Naruto. Don't you want revenge?"

"Revenge on who?"

The red-eyed Naruto scowled at him, eyes narrowing, "People, idiot. Everyone who wronged us. Don't you ache for it?"

"No! That's not what I wan-"

"Oh? You aren't angry at them for everything they've done?

"What the heck are you trying to say?!"

I see. Well, let me show you something they should've told you a long time ago."

"He has your eyes, Kushina… "

"But they're blue, like yours…"

A tiny infant with a tuft of blonde hair was staring up at his parents, a tiny hand clutching the powder-blue blanket he was swaddled in.

His mother, a slender woman with bright red hair, scooped him up, her violet eyes gazing tenderly at his tiny face. "He's beautiful…"

Baby Naruto stared curiously at his parents. He raised a chubby hand, trying to touch their faces.

His mother laughed.

For a second, everything was perfect.

Suddenly screams sounded from outside the Uzumaki residence. Baby Naruto began to wail. Sounds of destruction exploded from outside.

"Minato, what's happening?"

Naruto's father leaped up and made for the door, snatching his Hokage cloak from a hook by the window. He frowned looking at his wife and crying son, "It must be some kind of attack. I'm sense an unusually strong chakra."

"But… I thought… They said the fighting was over!"

"I guess we were wrong."

"What do we do? Please, Minato!" Kushina eyes filled with tears, "We have Naruto now, and what if you-." She was unable to finish her sentence.

Minato Namikaze walked over to his wife and son. He wrapped his arms around both of them. Naruto's wails were reduced to faint whimpers. Kushina's shoulders shook.

He stroked his wife's hair and sighed, "Sweetheart, I'm the fourth Hokage. The village needs me. You need to take Naruto and get out of here, It's up to me and the few ninja we have left to make sure this village survives."

Kushina smiled at him, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I understand, love, it's just, if you were gone… I don't know what I would do."

Minato squeezed her hand, "Don't worry about me, evacuate with the other villagers, you're still weak from the labor. Take Naruto and stay safe, we'll be together again before you know it." He embraced his wife and kissed Naruto on the forehead. He walked away from them put his hand on the doorknob.

"I love you Minato."

He gave one last look at the two of them, eyes filled with pain. "I love you both."

The door clicked shut.

It was a demon spirit.

Streams of orange chakra flowed around it, demolishing buildings on contact.

Minato ran as fast as he could towards the destruction. A flash of silver by his side indicated that he was accompanied by his star student, the prodigy, Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi turned to him, "Sensei, what do you suppose is the reason for this attack? Didn't the ancient shinobi wars stop a long time ago?"

Minato frowned, his eyes on the confusion ahead of him. "I don't know, but if it is the work of enemy shinobi, the ninja behind it is exceptional, to say the least."

The masked ninja didn't pursue the subject.

They arrived at the scene.

Minato sprang into action, fluidly performing hand signs.

"Sensing Hexagram Seal!"

The Jutsu radiated from his palm in a series of green rings. The Yondaime smiled and turned to Kakashi.

"It seems like our enemy didn't suspect that we would've uncovered his secret. You see, demon spirits don't normally attack humans. They can't be released from the realm unless there is human intervention. With this in mind, I immediately suspected that someone had control of the beast and was provoking it to attack. I seem to have been right, because I have sensed the enemy's chakra just outside of the village. They didn't even bother covering their tracks"

Kakashi nodded, marveling at his teacher's quick thinking as he and Minato took off in the direction of the hidden enemy.

There was a whole group of them.

Black cloaks. Red clouds.

暁 Akatsuki.

"Minato! What is it? What's happening out there?"

Kushina was astonished to see her husband teleport in the middle of the evacuation area hidden within the hokage rock, wounded and breathing heavily.

Minato looked at her, "A spirit attack, there's no time, we need to seal the demon inside Naruto."

"What!? Why?"

"There's a group just outside the village, they forced the spirit to come here. Kakashi and I were able to break the connection but now…" He held his head in his hands, "The demon is running free. If we don't do something, the whole village will be destroyed."

""But why Naruto? And that Jutsu! It'll…."

"The spirit will destroy everything in it's path unless its sealed in the body of an infant born the day of sealing. Besides", he smiled faintly, "This chakra, this power, if he learns to control it, it will be an asset for him later in life."

Kushina closed tear-filled eyes, she knew what had to be done. They didn't have a choice.

The two of them went to work immediately, both determined to do what they could to help the village. Kushina, exhausted as she was, tied her leaf headband around her forehead with a determined tug and stood guard at the door of the house as Minato summoned the Shinigami, perspiration dripping off his forehead as he concentrated.

Performing the Jutsu that would suck the life out of him.

Suddenly, the stone walls shattered, debris flying everywhere. Kushina activated her Adamantine Sealing Technique and jumped in front of her husband, shielding him.

"Damn it! It knows what we're trying to do!"

Long golden chains wrapped around the demons horrific form as Kushina struggled to keep the monster at bay. She yanked on them, securing the beast in place. The thing let out a scream that sounded like scraping metal shards.

Arms trembling, she shouted over her shoulder, "I can't hold him for much longer!"

"I'm done!" Minato finished the technique and faced the newcomer. Rising into the air behind him was the Shinigami, a gaunt, translucent spirit, ten times larger than a man. Utterly terrifying with purplish skin and red horns, its razor-sharp teeth were clamped around a long sword-like blade. It reached a hand through Minato's chest and towards the beast.

In one final attempt to stop its imminent fate, the demon broke free of the gleaming chains and rushed towards the infant lying in the cradle, arm swinging in for the kill.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Both Minato and Kushina rushed forward and put their bodies between the demon and the child, arms outstretched.

Skewering themselves on the blow meant to kill him.

Minato coughed up blood and raised his hands shakily.

"Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"

The spirit screamed, but it was too late. Shinigami's clawed hand reached out and the demon was sucked into the baby's small body, black seal markings appearing on his stomach.

Kushina limped to her newborn child's cradle. She stroked his cheek, tears running down her face. She knew only too well what lay in store for her son. Isolation, loneliness, and hardship. She hugged Naruto to her chest and sobbed. She was slipping away and her husband was surely dead or dying.

Minato slumped down on the other side of his son, facing his wife. The deadly jutsu was taking its toll, he'd be dead in minutes. He looked at Kushina. They clasped hands and gazed at the child in between them.

"We love you Naruto. We'll always love you."

" I just wish… we could've had more time together….."

When the hokage found them, Kushina and Minato were cold and lifeless, arms wrapped around their son as if in an eternal embrace. Baby Naruto stared up at Hiruzen with innocent blue eyes, one small hand clasping a piece of paper.

"His Name is Naruto Uzumaki. The Demon Spirit is sealed within him. We bequeath everything."

Naruto stared blankly into space, barely aware of the tears streaming down his cheeks.

His mom, his dad, his life. No one had ever told him this. He had asked who they were, but everyone had just shrugged him off, saying they had died in an accident a few years back.

His father, the hokage? The Yellow Flash of the Leaf. He had heard stories about what a legendary shinobi he was, but never in a million years would he imagine that that man was his father! And his mother was a kunoichi, a ninja as well. Both of them were absolutely amazing people, and no one ever told him.

He felt empty. It was too much, so much he didn't understand. Who were those men in cloaks? Why had they attacked the village? Were they still alive? Did the whole village know?

He turned around and glared at his red-eyed double. "It all your fault! If you hadn't come to our village, my parents would still be alive! I would have a family, a home, everything!"

Naruto was so angry he didn't even know what he was doing, all he could see was the blood seeping from his mother's mouth and his father's ragged breathing.

He ran at the other Naruto, swinging his fists. The demon just turned his head to the side, easily avoiding his punch. Naruto swung blindly, wanting nothing more than to enact revenge for what he'd done, what they'd done. Everyone had lied to him.

"That's pitiful, you really don't understand, do you?"

The blonde ignored him and kept fruitlessly trying to land a hit on his opponent.

"You idiot! You are the demon. You killed hundreds of innocent people. You are hated by everyone."

Naruto froze, comprehending what he had just heard. He shook his head violently and put his head in his hands, "No… I-I didn't…"

"Then who am I? I'm you Naruto, and I'm also the demon. We are one. No matter how you try to explain it away, the fact is that…. You are the monster that killed your parents…."

Naruto fell to his knees, shoulders shaking.

The golden water began to rise around him, faster and faster, he couldn't swim and his limbs felt like lead. The rushing water began swallowing him up. He couldn't escape. Water filled his lungs, choking out his life. He screamed but his demon-double only laughed. He was drowning and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Unlike Naruto, Sasuke knew only too well where he was.

The Uchiha crest, a red and white fan, was plastered everywhere. He was standing in front of a large wooden building adorned with the crest atop a four pointed star.

The Police Station.

His vision pulled him in the direction of the streets. His younger self was standing there, frozen in horror, school bag still slung over his shoulder. Blood stained the cobblestone in varying shades of crimson. Bodies were scattered everywhere, kunai knives sticking out of some of them. Blood had splashed all over the proud Uchiha symbols along the walls. Turning them a nasty shade of dusty red.

Sasuke's stomach felt sour, how very symbolic.

It had been eight years since the last time he'd had to re-live this. It was the night he lost everything. The Uchiha Clan Massacre.

He heard screams and his younger self ran towards it. It was his house. Little Sasuke put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door, screaming at the sight of his parent's mangled bodies. Both of them were dead, icy, lifeless.

Standing above the fallen was a young man in an ANBU assassins uniform, his red eyes glowing like hot coals in the shadowy darkness.

"Well well, if it isn't my foolish little brother."

Sasuke ground his teeth, Itachi, his older brother, was just as arrogant as before.

Younger Sasuke fell to his knees with hiccuping sobs, "Why?" He choked, "I-tachi… why d-did you do this?"

"To test the limits of my abilities."

"You're telling me that's the reason you butchered every single member of our clan?"

"It was of utmost importance."

Sasuke wanted to tear man standing in front of him to shreds. White-hot anger coursing through his veins. Utmost importance his ass. He did it because he was a psychotic murderer who didn't deserve to live. Oh, how he yearned to kill him.

He watched as the younger Sasuke, utterly traumatized, tried to cut Itachi with his kunai knife. Itachi dodged easily and punched him in the stomach, hard. He choked eight-year old Sasuke and held him against the wall.

"Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Everything around them had changed color. The sky was blood-red. Black clouds floated above.

The Uchiha panicked, this was the Tsukuyomi. These images from it haunted him even now. He looked around wildly, trying to escape.

Itachi used his Sharingan to replay the events of that night. Sasuke was unable to look away as he saw his mother pierced through the chest with his brother's traitorous blade. Her face going slack, body slumping to the ground in a pool of scarlet. The same mother who had packed him a Bento that morning, kissing his forehead and ruffling his hair when he left for school.

He felt cold wetness on his cheeks and realized he was crying. His heart ached and his stomach seemed to be tied in a million knots. His family. His home.

He watched Itachi go from house to house, slaughtering entire families without a second's hesitation. He saw the hardened, icy look in his eye and knew that he was truly gone. Seeing this for a second time proved that he was no longer the caring older brother Sasuke had once envisioned him to be.

The jutsu broke and younger Sasuke crumpled to the ground. Itachi walked out of the Uchiha residence and into the streets. Younger Sasuke stumbled after him and fell to the ground again.

"W-why….. why didn't you kill me…"

Itachi turned to face him, "You aren't even worth killing… My foolish little brother… if you want to kill me someday, in hate, and revenge… Run… Cling to life. And then, someday, when you possess the same eyes as mine, come fight me…"

Then he vanished.

Sasuke wandered around the Uchiha compound, staring at the scenario that had become his worst nightmare. He stumbled blindly into his old house and knelt down next to his parent's bodies, the scent of their blood poisoning the air.

Tears streamed out of his eyes and dripped off his face. He didn't bother wiping them away.

Sakura blinked and looked about her, Naruto and Sasuke had disappeared and she was standing by herself in what she supposed was the forest of death.

But it wasn't, the greenery was different. The sun more visible, the atmosphere brighter.

She heard music in the distance. It was a clear, sweet, tune that reminded her of tinkling bells and flowing water. The kind of melody that reminds you of the birds chirping at dawn, welcoming the new day.

She followed the hypnotizing music until she came across a cliff that dropped into the ocean. Sitting on a jagged rock was a small girl, looking out across the horizon and playing on a silver flute.

Sakura felt a lump form in her throat, it had been forever since she played on that flute.

She turned around and tried to collect her thoughts. She now knew that she was on Ongaku Island, her old home. It was an island connected to the mainland** by bridge and had a fairly small population, mostly civilians who wanted to enjoy the quiet scenery.

Sakura stared at the girl on the rock. It was definitely her, with that complicated braid that her mom used to make for her, not to mention the long crimson dress with the Haruno clan symbol on the back. She couldn't be more than eleven years old. Which meant…..

Sakura tore through the forest, she wanted to get as far away from this place as she could. She didn't stop sprinting until she was out of breath, but, strangely, even though she was running away from her younger self, the vision made her end up exactly where she had started. She couldn't escape it, she had to watch this happen to her all over again.

A teen boy with sandy brown hair and blue-green eyes walked towards the eleven-year old Sakura, tapping her on the shoulder. She stopped playing her flute and smiled brightly at him.

"Hey Akiro-Kun! I'm making up a new song! It needs a bit of tuning but I'm nearly there! Do you think Mama and Papa will be happy if I give this as a gift for their anniversary?"

The boy smiled nervously and nodded, obviously distracted by something.

"Oh yes Saku-chan, that would be nice, but, we need to go to the Konoha for a quick visit. Your parents… They had an urgent meeting that they had to attend."

Sakura's face fell, "But Mama doesn't work! And Papa's job is in the weapons shop, why would they need to go to meetings?"

Akiro stuttered, "W-well, I don't exactly know, but don't worry. We'll have tons of fun while they're busy! We just need to go to the shop to get a few things and then we'll be on our way."

He took her hand and began to walk in the direction of the main square.

The scenery had changed, Sakura was standing in her father's weapons shop. Kunai knives of various designs were hung up on the wall, some engraved with special signs. Shuriken, razor-sharp and plentiful, were hung on nails in about fifty different places. There were smoke bombs, senbon, brass knuckles, paper bombs, and basically every weapon a Shinobi could ever need. Sakura could remember how she used to watch her father's customers come in and bargain, taking with them loads of dangerous weaponry. She used to wonder how anyone could be able to kill another human being when she would cry if she accidentally stepped on a ladybug.

She heard someone shift in a corner of the room. Her younger self was sitting on a stool, nervously tugging on her hair as she waited for Akiro to get the "few things" he needed.

She heard urgent whispering and it seemed like someone was arguing. Little Sakura couldn't conatin her bubbling curiosity. She tip-toed and put her ear to the wooden slats.

"No father, we can't let her stay, you know they're gonna be after her next."

"But what if they aren't looking for their Haruno speciality? What if they were just called in on an urgent mission?"

"It doesn't matter, we really can't risk it. You know what she's like, innocent, imaginative, and naive. Something like this could scar her."

"I agree, but don't be hasty Akiro, you might just be acting overprotective. Take her to the mainland for now and inform the hokage that numbers 493 and 494 have vanished. I'll stay here and keep tracking the chakra signals."

"Thank you father, I will complete my mission with excellence."

"Be on your way now, the enemy forces are still in range."

Younger Sakura leaped away from the door and hurriedly sat on her stool just as Akiro came out, a fake grin plastered on his face.

"And were off! Why the long face Cherry?"

Young Sakura was silent, her mind still trying to make sense of what she had heard. Akiro brushed it off and took her hand, leading her outside the shop.

"Hey, Akiro-Kun?"

"What is it Saku-chan?"

"Why were you arguing with Kabuuyo-San?"

"Oh that. We were just talking about some security concerns, you don't have to worry about it."

Sakura knew he was lying but again, she said nothing. She was thinking hard on what Akiro's father meant by "Haruno Speciality".

What had happened after that was a blur to Sakura, she could remember being tugged along different streets by Akiro. Sometimes backtracking and taking side paths in order to avoid detection.

He had abandoned trying to convince her that they were going on a trip, it was obvious now that they were trying to escape something.

So when the men with black face masks showed up it wasn't a huge surprise.

"Sakura! Run! Run as fast as you can. Get away from here!"

Akiro placed stood in between Sakura and the men. Sakura was scared out of her mind. She scrambled backwards, running as fast as she could to the one place she knew she would always be safe.

Home.

She must have been running for miles by the time she could begin to see smoke rising from her father's chimney pipes. He always had a fire in the grate at this time of day.

Sakura felt giddy with joy, her mother and father would take care of everything, they always did.

She ran up the steps to her front door and was about to open it when a man with a black mask jumped out from behind the trees.

He snickered, amused by her terrified expression.

"How's it going pretty? Looking for your parents?"

He laughed, as if he was in on some secret joke that only he knew.

"Well you're coming with me, we have some questions for you."

Sakura backed away from him, shaking her head, trying to look for an opening so she could make a break for it.

And walked right into someone standing behind her.

Before she could do anything, a cloth was pressed roughly over her face and she blacked out.

Special thanks to:

Thabane Tha Creator: Thanks for the constructive criticism on chap. 3! I appreciate it!

Laloobug: It's a summoning animal, sort of a cross between spiny lizard thing that isn't a lizard and a clawed mammal…. Lol, don't ask who summoned it. I have no idea, I thought of it randomly on Friday morning. Thanks for reviewing!

Reading Pixie: Thanks! Reviews make me smile. I seriously appreciate you clicking that review button and saying a word or two. You're one in a million. :)

Ta Da! Clap your hands if you luv MinatoxKushina! 3 3

* This is the same "basement" that Naruto talks to the Nine-Tails in. In the Anime, they call it his Subconscious.

** The mainland they keep talking about is Konohagakure. I don't care if its connected to the ocean or not, it does in this story!

If I made Kushina a little bit toooo emotional in some parts, you must remember she just gave birth, women are very emotional at such times.

And yes Sasuke is a bit OOC in his little section. Then again, even in the manga, he would freak out and lose his cool when anyone said anything about:

(a) Itachi

(b) His Clan

(c) Their Murders

So yea….

I will now be updating every Thursday or Friday instead of twice a week.

Until next time!

-Silla