I am so sorry that I did not get this chapter out a lot sooner, but when you have two stories and then have writer's block on BOTH of them… Well, let me just say that it is not fun and easy to get out new chapters. So, just for the readers' information, the next few months are going to be really slow for updates because of Marching Band. Fun, I know. And now that we have a new director, he is expecting the leadership—which I am a part of—to help him out. Just had to let you guys and gals know before people start thinking that I am dead. Oh and when I post updates I will post back and forth between both of my stories. Actually that is my goal.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! I ONLY OWN MY OWN IDEAS!
Chapter Four:
Last chapter:
"Egao, what happened?" Sarutobi asked getting up from his desk and standing in front of me. He glanced at Jiraiya who had his gaze only locked on the hand gripping my shoulder.
"Orochimaru… Ambushed me… Fought back… Too many clones… Marked me on the shoulder… Through the pain I attacked… With Rasengan… Said I shouldn't be able to move… Plus that he marked Sasuke…" I said through my teeth as I started to grind them in pain as I tried my best to ignore it and stay conscious as well.
"How did that bastard get into the village?!" Jiraiya asked to no one in particular.
"I don't know…" I growled out. Renewed pain suddenly lanced through my shoulder and I cried out digging my fingers into my skin drawing some blood. Another, stronger, wave of pain made my knees buckle and blissfully I blacked out with Sarutobi crying out my name echoing in my head as the pain faded away.
N-N-N
"Egao…" A voice said as if from a great distance. I groaned and cracked open my eyes to be half-blinded by a blank, never-ending, white void. This sight, after my eyes had adjusted, made me bolt up into a sitting position on high alert. Swiveling my head, I looked all around me for the person who had called my name, as well as the end of the void. I came up with nothing and did not notice the black strands that were falling into my face.
"Egao… Egao…" The voice said again, and this time I felt like I had heard it before. Slowly I got my feet under me in a crouch before raising up to my full height, but as soon as I did I felt that something was… off. Curiously, with my eyebrows drawn together, I looked down at my hands. Strangely enough they looked the same as they always looked in comparison to my body. Absolutely confused I finally noticed the black strands that were falling into my line of sight. Almost reflexively, I tucked what I knew was my hair back behind my ear before I froze.
"Wait a minute…" I whispered in a voice that was slightly higher than what I was used to, and looked at my hands again, closer this time, and realized that they seemed to be a lot smaller. I shakily moved my hand to where the plate of my headband was supposed to be and ended up fingering the soft clothe instead of the hard, slightly warmed metal. I started to panic, not understanding what was going on, but stopped myself with all of my will that cam in the form of a deep breath.
"Egao…" A voice that was deeper than the first called, and immediately my eyes widened. I did recognize those voices. With a nervous gulp, I turned my head to the right and saw two, almost indistinguishable figures in the distance that I was pretty sure were not there earlier when I looked around.
The first and taller of the two had blonde hair, a blue outfit, and a long, white coat with orange-red flames trimming the bottom were the most noticeable trademarks that I could see. The other one had a bright shock of straight, long, fiery red hair that tore anyone's gaze away from her civilian-like clothing that I didn't really care about after seeing the familiar colors. Both seem to be facing me.
"M-Mom…? D-D-Dad…?" I stuttered in a choked voice as it suddenly broke and hot tears welled up in my eyes. I took a deliberate, but tentative, step towards the pair, then suddenly broke into a full pelt run. The tears streamed down my face as I looked at two people that I had thought that I would never see again until I died.
As soon as I was close enough, I threw myself at their legs, bawling out my eyes as I gripped one leg from each and pulled, or at least tried to pull, them closer. Gradually, they crouched down, so as to best not to disturb me too much, as well as to let me adjust to the movements. Once fully crouching I was pulled into a bear hug from both of them. When my tears stemmed enough for talking, I sobbed into the man's chest, "I-I-I thought… I-I th-thought th-th-that I w-would never s-s-see y-you a-again…" Confusion was pulsating off of the two in waves after the statement.
"Now what made you think that?" Minato finally asked as he and Kushina then pulled back to look at me with questioning eyes. I sniffled as the tears finally stopped. As I looked into the Fourth's questioning, blue eyes that were the exact same shade as his son's, the burning sensation that foreshadowed tears, burned my eyes.
"'Cause… on the night that the Nine-Tails escaped from mom and attacked the village… you… two…" I broke down crying again and buried myself in Minato's arms, his green jounin vest darkening in splotches with my tears.
"Shush… It's okay…" he soothed, apparently understanding what I couldn't bring myself to say. Gently and awkwardly he rubbed my upper back in small circles. When I heard mom snicker softly, I knew that the blonde was giving his wife a pleading, help-me-look. I gave a weak smile that was missed by the two adults as they had a silent war of wills with their eyes. I figured that mom won when Minato shifted uncomfortably and tightened his grip around me slightly. Slowly my breaths went to shuddering inhales with my chest heaving and an occasional hiccup.
"Better?" Mom asked, her tone giving away the fact that she was grinning. I pulled away from dad slightly to give her a wobbly, but bright, smile that was accompanied by a nod. Her green eyes flickered over the two of us, resting on me and then Minato before she laughed softly. Lost, we looked at each other with a Huh?-look and looked right back at her with our equally confused looks. At both of our confused looks the redhead busted out into full-blown laughter and somehow managed to splutter, "She has somehow gotten your smile, Minato."
I blinked, unsure of what to say, then craned my neck to look at the blonde who had his eyes brows raised to the point that they were almost hidden under his headband. He looked down at me with the same look on his face with now a look in his eyes that said, I bet. You agree with me right? I blinked in conformation, and simultaneously we gave each other a goofy grin. Almost immediately we both started to laugh along with mom. I had no idea how long we stayed there laughing our heads off, but when we stopped my sides hurt and I could barely breathe. I, of course, did not want it to end but of course every good thing has to end at some point—and this is whether you want it to or not.
Suddenly, I realized that there was another presence in the void and tensed. My foster parents noticed this and whirled around and got ready to fight as they looked at the third person. He gave the three of us a smirk as he observed us with cold, cat-like, amber eyes. A sharp pain ran through my right shoulder and I bit back a hiss but could not stop the sharp inhale that I took. Minato shot me a concerned look as Kushina positioned herself behind me, her eyes not leaving the pale, snake-like man.
"Hehehe… I should have realized that this is where you would feel the safest," Orochimaru said smoothly, "your own empty place with the two people you love, but miss terribly. We are more alike than I thought."
"Shut up!" I commanded in a much calmer voice than I felt on the inside. "I am nothing like you. I would never perform experiments, have obsessions with eternal life just because I want to learn every jutsu out there for no reason, or abandon the village because of the aforementioned. Never!"
He looked at me and raised a mocking eyebrow his eyes glistening with amusement. He smirked again and I felt my stomach drop. With that same amused and half triumphant look he questioned, "Oh, really…? Then what was—"
"Shut up!" I said again, this time with anger leaking into my voice and glared at him. I felt chakra streaming to my eyes, enough for my Byakugan-Sharingan. I reached for some invisible power, hoping it would work since this was my dreamscape, and shoved him hard. He stumbled backwards and looked slightly perplexed about what had happened. He was surprisingly quiet as he peered at me as I looked down at the white floor with my eyes half-lidded. In a hard tone that did not fit someone the age that I figured I was, I whispered, "Get out…!"
When he did not move I lifted my head up the slightest bit, but not enough that the others could see my eyes as I peered through my hair that was in my face and watched as the white dreamscape started to turn a light blue. "I said get out…"
"Or what?" He asked, half-taunting, and half-curious.
I did not answer but used that odd power to push out again, this time with more force. The snake was forced back a greater distance and just about fell. Once more I pushed, this time putting all of the blue that had changed the color of the world around us behind the shove, making it fade away. This time he was sent flying away and I could feel the shock coming from my parents as Kushina started to get in front of me again to see what was happening better. Minato did not have a clue what was going on, from his posture and the expression on the sliver of his face that I could see.
"I told you to get out, Orochimaru. And I meant now!" I said, finally lifting my head up and exposing my eyes, which locked with his amber ones. For some time there was only silence as the blue came back to the world. After what felt like a few minutes, he smirked darkly and my eyes widened for a millisecond before pain shot through my body. The surrounding world suddenly became a dark, sickly purple. With a pain-filled cry I dropped to my knees as I found the source of the fire-like pain: my right shoulder. My hands gripped the offending shoulder tightly.
"Egao!" Mom exclaimed as I dropped and started to look me over for some kind of injury. When she got to my shoulder, and after she had pried my hands away from when I grabbed at the cursed-seal, she apparently still did not see any wound. With one eye closed I saw her looking confused before she saw something that I could not see. Almost gingerly she pulled the collar of my shirt over, stretching the cloth to its limit to expose my shoulder and gasped. "Minato… You need to see this… Swap."
In a blur of movement the two adults switched places, and dad was suddenly next to me. In a business-like, but gentle, manner her pulled the collar of my shirt down like mom had done and examined the mark on my shoulder. Slowly his eyes trailed up to my face before dropping down to my right arm where it was exposed at the elbow. Following his gaze I was surprised to find black marks that were almost continuos swirls—resembling the Uzumaki spiral to a great degree—that was marring the skin on the underbelly of the forearm.
"Wha—argh!" I started to say but was interrupted by a sharp stab of pain. The black swirls crept down my arm another centimeter. Glaring at Orochimaru, who was smirking, I thought, Stupid snake bastard…
"Very good, Egao," He said his eyes shining with anticipation, "You have figured out how to call upon the power of my gift. Now…" He paused, and a feral grin contorted his countenance as Minato whirled around to glare at him, "Let me see how you work…" He snapped his fingers and the world started to distort and become black.
I felt like I could not breathe as the pain retreated before fading altogether. I saw my parent's faces flash to me in worry before they were gone, and I was left alone in the black void with Orochimaru. Soon even he disappeared as he faded into the darkness. Before I could start to formulate a plan of what I was going to do, I was suddenly standing in my old home and listening to a few people talk about something.
"I'll be there for the birth…" I heard dad say from around the corner in the dining room. "We have to take care of the seal and everything. I'll get everything prepared beforehand."
"This is what we did for your predecessor Mito-sama as well. The seal nearly failed when she gave birth." I heard old man Third reply and I resisted the temptation to peer around the corner to look at the adults.
"I'm afraid that we'll have to prepare for the worst… We'll set up a place outside the village and erect a barrier to protect it." He continued, and my brow crinkled slightly since I was slightly confused about what they were talking about. "Only Minato, my wife Biwako and Taji from the ANBU will be inside. This must be kept top secret.
"Of course there will be reinforcements outside, ANBU under my direct command." Sarutobi finished and I shifted my weight slightly away from the corner.
"I'll tell yiz where the place is, go get your things ready!" A woman that I assumed was Biwako ordered.
"Yes… Thank you both." Mom said softly in reply, and slowly, when the conversation was not continued, I started to tiptoe away in the silence.
I glanced over my shoulder for a second when I heard no one move to get up and suddenly ran into something that had not been there a second ago. With wide eyes I looked up at the stern face of Minato and smiled sheepishly. I had been caught. "Um… Hi, dad!"
He sighed and ushered me around the corner to the table where I took the remaining chair. I looked at the adults in the room and looked guiltily at the table because of the stern looks that I was receiving from everyone—although the old man's gaze was slightly amused. Fiddling with the straps that kept the kunai pouch on my leg on I waited for the fussing and questions to begin.
"Egao," I looked up to Sarutobi and he gave me a reassuring smile that made me relax slightly, "What did you hear?"
"Something about a seal…" I replied and suddenly the adults looked tensed, especially mom. Quickly I continued, "But I don't know what all that was about though. You mentioned Mito-sama and the seal nearly failing when she gave birth—I still am completely lost about that by the way. You are going to erect a barrier around someplace outside of the village should the worst happen, and that only dad, Biwako-sama, and Taji from the ANBU will be inside. And outside there will be reinforcement ANBU directly under your command, old man."
He smiled slightly at the end because of my nickname for him but he had a serious glint in his eyes as he thought about something. After a few moments of silence I glanced at my parents. Craning my neck to see dad I noticed that the blonde looked like he was fighting some internal battle as he thought over something. Mom on the other hand, had that same look of wanting to just say whatever was on her mind like she normally did, but was biting her tongue for whatever reason.
Suddenly, dad sighed, drawing my attention back to him. Looking at mom with his blue eyes serious he said, "I think we should tell her, Kushina…"
She did not even get a chance to respond when Biwako said, "I think not! This is not something for a child to know!"
"Know what?" I asked, almost acting as if the elderly woman had not just spoken, but right then I was too curious to care about the disrespect. What could mom and dad not have told me?
"Egao," the redhead said slowly, almost as if she was choosing her words carefully, "You know of the Nine-Tailed fox, right?" Confused I nodded my head in confirmation and waited for Kushina to continue.
"Well, Mito-sama was the fox's jinchuuriki, or its living container." She said and I was confused. How did this relate to the topic at all? "The fox was sealed in her and when she had her child the beast almost broke out because the seal was weakened because... Never mind, I'll tell you that when you're older. Simply, it has to do with chakra and where it is directed to."
"But, mom, how does this have anything to do with you?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it as my head tilted to the side.
"Because, Egao, Kushina is the fox's new jinchuuriki," Minato explained gently and I gaped at the blonde. I looked back at mom for conformation and she nodded.
When I finally regained my voice I yelped, "But the fox can't hurt Naruto can it!? The chakra can't hurt Naruto right!? Because Naruto is in your belly and the fox is… well somewhere in you and, and, and…"
"No, the fox can't hurt Naruto," Kushina soothed and I visibly relaxed by slumping against the back of my chair to the point that my eyes were level with the table. I missed the smiles that were passed between my parents as I looked at Sarutobi and bit my lip slightly in thought.
"What is it, Egao?" He asked and I blinked.
"Eh?" I said and he raised his eyebrows some. I looked at the table as I sat up a little straighter. "Oh, well… I… I was wondering if… If… If I could… Um… If I could be somewhere near the barrier or something so that after Naruto was born dad could quickly take me to where ever it is so I can see him or her…?" I said hopefully lifting my gaze.
I saw him open his mouth after a moment of pause to think, but what he said was lost as Orochimaru appeared again with a bored look on his face and I focused on him. He snapped his fingers once more and I found myself suddenly sitting in a cave and staring a stretch of wall in front of me as a woman screamed behind me. I went to turn around when a hand landed on the top of my head and forcefully turned my head back around. Sticking out my bottom lip I pouted, and glared at stone in the wall.
Over the screaming I heard dad say or yell, I was not too sure, "I, uh… I've never heard Kushina in so much pain, are… are you sure she's alright."
"She's fine! Just keep your eyes on the seal!" Biwako snapped and I snickered. Dad was having one of those mother-hen moments that he had frequently, again.
"But she's—" he started to say when Biwako yelled at him again.
"Good lord, you're the Fourth Hokage! Don't Panic! This is why women have babies, you men can't handle pain!"
"I'm never having a child if it hurts as much as I guess from the way mom is screaming," I muttered and the ANBU behind me laughed. "Shut it, you…"
"Hang in there Kushina! Hang in there Naruto!" Dad said and I barely heard it over mom's screaming.
Suddenly a cold chill ran up my spine and I shivered before I could stop myself. Something was off. I did not know what but there was something wrong, somewhere.
"MMMMNNNNNNNNN!" Mom screamed, and I screwed up my face.
"The head's almost out!" Biwako cried. "Almost there, Kushina!"
"Keep going Kushina-san!" The other lady yelled—I had not really felt the need to remember the name in the excitement of getting a sibling in all but blood. After a moment of thought I figured that she must be Taji.
"Naruto get out here! And Nine-Tails, you stay right where you are!" Dad said desperately.
Crying suddenly filled the cave and I started to turn around but was forced to face the wall again as Biwako ordered the other lady to get hot water. I heard dad say something, but missed what the exact words were because of mom's heavy breathing and Naruto's crying.
"Congratulations, it's a healthy baby boy!" Someone said.
Loosing patience I called over my shoulder, "Can I get up now?"
"Yes, Egao… Haha! Look at me, I'm a father!" Dad said and I scrambled to my feet and scurried over.
"What am I, dad? Chopped liver?" I asked as I stood on the tips of my toes to look at my little brother. "Aw, you're so cute, Naru! And you got dad's blonde hair! I wonder if you'll have his long bang-sideburn things? Can I hold him?"
"Naruto…" Mom whispered as I was gently handed the baby and instructed how to hold him, "I finally get to meet you…"
"Okay, Kushina!" Minato said surprising me and I blinked owlishly up at him as another cold chill ran up my spine making me step closer to him. He did not even glance at me. "I know you're exhausted from the birth, but we've gotta get the Nine-Tails completely sealed!"
"Right…!" Mom panted with a wobbly smile.
There was a thud before Biwako and Taji cried out with two more thuds and suddenly I was on the other side of the room with my ankles tied together and my hands bound behind my back. Thankfully I was not gagged. I lay on my stomach blinking as I tried to my right hand only for the rope or wire to dig in to my wrists. A man in a cloak with the hood up stood over me and slightly to the right, I could see a piece of his striped mask.
"Fourth Hokage… Minato." He said and I saw Naruto in his right arm as his left hand moved over the child with the fingers hooked. "Back away from the jinchuuriki or your son dies at the rip old age of one minute. And then your daughter at the ripe old age of seven."
Oh, crap! I thought and started writhing around to see if I could get loose but only felt pain as whatever was binding my arms and legs dug into my skin and I felt a very small trickle of blood roll down my wrist to my back. I glimpsed skin right below the strange man's pants and above his ninja sandals and got an idea.
"Kushina!" dad cried as her seal made a bubbling sound. I wiggled closer to the man and prepared myself to lunge forward as I got a grip with the toes of my sandals. I was plaintively ignoring the motionless bodies of the ANBU, Biwako, and Taji as blood slowly pooled around them.
"Back away from the jinchuuriki… Or don't you care if your son and daughter dies?" The masked man repeated a kunai now in his hands.
"Hold it, j-just calm down!" Dad said and I lunged forward right then. Somehow I did manage to bite his ankle and gagged at the taste before he promptly kicked me away. I spluttered as blood ran from my nose.
"Jerk!" I spat and wiggled to get to the kunai pouch on my leg. The man gave me a glance that I figured was amused. After contorting my body into a very uncomfortable and slightly painful position, I managed to get my hand in and slip out my one regular kunai. Quickly, I sawed at what bound my wrists and cut through it to find it was rope, then started to hack at the rope on my ankles.
"You should take your own advice, Minato. I'm perfectly calm." He said and I got to my feet as he tossed Naruto up into the air and drew the hand that he had held the kunai in back. With wide eyes I jumped up to catch him as mom cried out his name. As I passed the masked man I felt a light tap on my right arm, but did not think anything of it until I heard a hissing sound that made me look that way and my eyes widened.
On the sleeve of my gray coat trimmed in black flames so it slightly resembled dad's cloak and stopped at my elbow, there was an explosive tag. Instead of trying to catch Naruto I started to take the coat off and before I knew it I was in someone's arms and was sideways. I blinked and looked at dad who had a serious and angry look on his face. This interrupted me for a second before I started to squirm again to get out of my coat.
"You live up to the 'Yellow Flash' moniker, but what now?" The man asked.
I heard a hissing sound coming from Naruto's blanket and quickly Minato slipped it off of him right as I was about to get my coat off of me. Next thing I knew I was flying through the air with an explosion around me, and all of a sudden dad's grip on me slipped and I went flying on my own. Suddenly, I collided with what I assumed to be the ground and cried out in pain as I heard a pop and pain flared in my left shoulder. I rolled to a stop and curled on my right side and clutched my left shoulder with my right hand and noticed that I had burns on my forearm that stretched all the way to the tips of my fingers that started to burn as soon as I saw them.
"Thank God… You're not hurt… Ow…" I heard dad say softly somewhere behind me, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position with my good arm and hissed in pain. He snapped around to look at me, and his blue eyes widened in worry.
"Yeah… He's not hurt… But I am… Stupid ground and explosive tags…" I tried to joke with a weak smile as my left arm hung limply. I must be a sight. A dislocated shoulder, a bloody nose, and some serious burns, I thought before I blacked out from pain right as Minato pulled a piece of wood out of his leg.
N-N-N
I was suddenly jolted awake when my shoulder was forced back into place. A scream escaped my lips and reflexively I kicked out randomly to my left as my right hand flew to cup my shoulder gingerly. My kick was blocked and my eyes flew open to see my father's worried face.
"Sorry, but that had to be done. I'll be back soon, watch after Naruto." He said as I glared at him. Slowly I sat up and watched him disappear in a flash of light as a distant roar reached my ears. Looking to my right on the bed I saw my little brother under the blanket and gently picked him up, along with the blanket, and put him in my lap. I examined my right arm that was bandaged up to my elbow and shrugged. Leaning back against the wall I closed my eyes and before I knew it I was asleep.
N-N-N
Distantly I heard a loud noise but only shifted closer to the warmth that was near me. I felt myself moved but was barely conscious of the movement as a whipping-like sound reached me, but this time it seemed closer. Suddenly in the darkness a familiar wailing made me try and struggle out of the darkness that bound me. Naruto… The familiar tones of mom and dad's voices entered the confusing myriad of noises making me even more desperate to wake up. Finally I managed to make out some of the words that were being said.
"… Happy that it's… our son's… birthday." I heard mom say weakly. "Like… If I try to imagine surviving and the four of us… living together… I can't think of anything… beyond 'I'd be so happy…'
"If I had any regrets…" she said after a short pause, "It would be that I won't see Naruto and Egao grow up."
"Kushina…" Dad whispered, "You don't need to take the fox down with you. We can use our last bit of chakra to at least see Naruto one more time!"
"…Huh?"
"I'll seal the rest of your chakra into Naruto with an eight trigrams seal. With a seal that only a non-jinchuuriki like me can use, the dead demon seal!" Dad said and I felt my heart freeze up. If he used that seal he would…
"But that… The user will be—"
"But I'll only be able to seal half the fox's power… It's just too great, It's physically and conceptually impossible to completely seal it all." He said interrupting Kushina as I tried to wake up fully but was still in that in-between state. "I can't let the Nine-Tails be revived without a jinchuuriki, the balanced of the tailed beasts destroyed.
"But with the dead demon seal I can permanently seal half of the fox's power along with myself. And the remaining half…" Here the blonde paused slightly for a deep breath. "I'll seal the remaining half inside Naruto with the eight trigrams seal!
"I know what you want to say… But Jiraiya-sensei spoke of the world undergoing a revolution, and with it, a great disaster! Tonight I've confirmed two things. The first is that masked man, the one who attacked you… He is the harbinger of that disaster!
"And Naruto will be able to stop him. The jinchuuriki who will blaze the trail to our future. I just… know it!"
"But… Minato." Mom said as I heard the clapping of hands as dad performed the necessary handsigns.
"Have a little faith!" He replied and I figured that he had a half-smile on his face. "He is our son after all!
"After I finish the dead demon seal I'll place your remaining chakra into Naruto as well. You'll meet the grown-up Naruto sooner than you think… The time will come when he'll attempt to take control of the fox's power… I want you there to help him."
"Our son…" Mom said anger in her voice. "That's why! I don't want him to bear such a heavy burden all on his own!"
There was an extremely long pause of silence and I managed to wiggle a finger before Kushina yelled, "But why… why the dead demon seal?! There's no reason for you to die… just so I can meet him for a few minutes when he's older! I wanted you to be there for him and Egao… I wanted you to raise them! Why…
"Why are you sacrificing Naruto just to preserve the balance of the tailed beasts… To save the village… and the country… Why are you sacrificing yourself for me?!"
"Turning your back on the country, on the village is just as bad as abandoning a child." Dad replied quietly. "You should understand… You saw your own country fall apart. You know the pain of growing up without a home of your own… And you know that we are a family… Of shinobi!
"Besides, even if I lived I could never substitute for you. There are things that Naruto needs to be told, things I could never say myself, and neither could Egao do it. That's the mother's job, and I need you to carry it out even if you only have the briefest of moments to do so. This isn't just for you… It's for Naruto!" He paused and I worked to open my eyes even a crack to see, but they felt like lead. "Dying to make a better life for his son and daughter… That's the stuff you let the father handle."
Suddenly he said, "Seal!" A bone-rattling roar made all of my muscle tense and my breathing accelerate along with my heartbeat. Slowly I started to open my eyes to see a very hazy world and finally noticed that I was on my back. I heard dad say, "Now for the eight trigrams seal! I'm going to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto."
There was an old sound as something loosened while mom coughed and Minato yelled, "Kushina stay with me!"
My eyesight cleared up even more so I rolled my head over to look in dad's direction and blinked when I saw mom with chains coming out of her back and blood coming out of the corners of her mouth down her chin. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound followed by the squelch of pierced flesh. Shakily I rolled over then pushed my self up into a half-sitting position and looked around to see a small pedestal with Naruto on it and on the opposite side…
"MOM! DAD!" I screamed in horror, my stomach clenching as my eyes widened. Both adults had one of the fox's large claws through their chests and the dangerous nail had stopped just a few inches from piercing Naruto.
"Finally awake, kiddo," Dad said looking at me and giving me his best smile that was ruin by how shaky it was and the blood that was now down his own chin. Deftly I nodded as my eyes filled with tears.
"If the father can do this job…" Mom said to Minato with her own weak smile, "the mother should be even better… right?"
"Damned humans!" The fox growled.
"You win…" Mom continued, "First argument… you've ever won… I guess… you're really serious."
"Thank you, Kushina…" The blonde replied softly. Shaking, he swiped some of his blood on the palm of his left hand and held his arm out and said, "Summoning technique!"
"Nn!" the odd looking told said before he caught sight of the Nine-Tails and cried, "Aah, the Nine-Tails! And Fourth, what the hell happened to you!?"
"Heart of a lion that one…" I murmured as I sweat-dropped as I cried.
"Gamatora… I'm entrusting you with the key to the seal. Hurry to Jaraiya-sensei… Store it with him…" Dad instructed, his voice firm.
"Got it!" Gamatora said. "Good… Goodbye!"
Once the toad had disappeared with in a poof Minato said, "That does it… It's time for me to go, Kushina, Egao… I'm going to perform the eight trigrams seal… and try to leave a little of my own chakra in Naruto, too! We don't have much time… If you have anything left to say to Naruto or Egao…"
"Naruto…" the redhead said as the tears in my eyes spilled over, "Naruto… Don't be a fussy eater… Eat a lot and grow up to be a big boy! Take your bath every day… Go to bed early and sleep well!
"Make friends… It doesn't matter how many… just make sure that they're real friends… people you can trust… even a few is enough! And study your ninjutsu… I was never very good at it, maybe you will be… Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not… Don't feel bad if you can't do it all.
"Make sure you listen to the teacher… at the academy. And not to mention your sister… no matter how bossy or mother-hen-like she may get… she'll do it because she loves you and she gets it from your father." Dad and I smiled some at that comparison as mom glanced at me.
"And remember to avoid the three vices of shinobi. Don't borrow money it you can help it. Save what you get from missions… No drinking until you're twenty, and don't overdo it or you'll ruin your body. As for women… Well, I'm a woman so I don't know what to say, but there are only men and women in this world, and you'll want a girlfriend someday… Just try not to pick a weird one… Try to pick someone like your mother… And the fourth warning… watch out for Jaraiya-sensei!
"Naruto… You're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering… Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… And don't stop trying until it comes true! … There's… There's… There's… so much more I want to say… To teach you about… I want to stay with you… I love you…
"Egao…" She said finally addressing me, "The same things apply with you… And listen to the old man Third… I know how bad you are about that…" I sniffled as I gave her a sheepish grin. "Although you should avoid Jiraiya-sensei more… especially when you become a young lady… You'll grow up to be beautiful… so when you want a boyfriend… Well, pick a good one… One like you're father…
"You'll experience a lot of pain and suffering too… Mainly because of your heritage… but also because you'll stand by Naruto…" She told me and I looked at my little brother still asleep. "When you become a ninja… I know you'll be just like your mom… There's more I want to say to you too… but… I love you, Egao… So very much… As if you were my own flesh and blood… I'm sorry, Minato… I took all our time…"
"It's okay…" he said gently. "Naruto… This is your dad… Listen… to your motor-mouth mother. Egao… you too. I'm so glad… I adopted you… Grow up… to be just like… your mom… beautiful… strong… And be careful of… sensei when you're older… okay. Don't forget to master… your Byakugan… and Sharingan once you… unlock the later." I nodded, as I sobbed, barely able to see my parents through my tears. "I love you, kiddo. Eight trigrams seal!"
I closed my eyes tight; the image of my parent's proud yet pain-filled and bloody faces burned into my memory. I heard two; simultaneous thuds as their dead bodies hit the ground. Opening my eyes I averted my gaze from them and to Naruto who had started to wail. Getting to my feet I went over to the pedestal and picked him up and held him close to me as I sat down, not really caring that it was in a pool of blood or that there was a black seal now tattooed on his stomach. Still sobbing, I started to hum a lullaby that mom would sing to me when I would wake up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. His crying quieted and died down to sniffles as he calmed, and even then I did not stop. I did not want to. I was afraid to. I was afraid that if I did I would break, break like a dropped pane of glass.
"Egao…" a familiar voice questioned, but I did not look up from Naruto's face. "Egao." The voice tried again this time the owner placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked up, still humming, at the old man as tears kept rolling down my cheeks. "We have to go back to the village. Come on." I nodded and got to my feet. A ninja that I did not know came over and tried to gently take Naruto away, but I clutched him closer.
"Egao, may I please have the jinchuuriki." The man said and still humming as if he had not said anything I clutched Naruto even closer. "Please hand over the jin—"
Suddenly, I stopped humming and had my Byakugan activated and was glaring at the ninja as I jabbed at a chakra point in his arm, making it go limp. In an angry and choked voice I growled, "His name is Naruto!" Deactivating the Byakugan I started to hum the lullaby again where I had left off.
"Egao, may I please have Naruto?" Sarutobi asked and I nodded, he was the only person here that I trusted. After changing his staff back into his summoning which quickly went away, I handed him my brother. Without giving him a warning, I jumped on his back and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as far as I could before grabbing his vest. I was going to ride piggyback whether he wanted it or not. Sighing he held Naruto with one arm and hooked the other under one of my legs. "You're not going to let him out of your sight are you?"
"Nope…" I whispered in his ear, pausing just long enough in my humming to say that one word. Like this we started back to the village and soon enough I was asleep once again.
"So… That's how you tick…" A voice said in the blackness and amber eyes suddenly opened up, reflecting light that did not exist. "I will have your Sharingan-Byakugan. And my extra special gift will only make your eyes stronger and more valuable… But only if my little experiment doesn't kill you first my little One-of-Two…"
N-N-N
My eyes flew open and a bright light right over me immediately blinded me over me making me snap them shut once more. Squinting to see, I grumbled, "That's a stupid place to put a light." I went to rub my eyes and sit up but found that I was unable to either. Immediately I started to panic, but forced myself to look at my wrists to see that they were cuffed to the bed. Lifting my head up I looked at my feet to see that my ankles were cuffed, too. Adding chakra to the muscles in my arms I jerked only to feel weaker after the attempt.
"What?" Adding chakra to my right hand I expected to see it turn blue, but instead I felt the chakra being drained. That's when I lost it and yelled, "Who the hell restrained me to this bed with chakra restraints?! Whoever it is I'm going to make them pay!"
Growling I lay there when suddenly a stab of pain went through my right shoulder. Reflexively I went to grab it and was stopped by the cuffs. Unable to do anything else, I balled my hands into fists, feeling my nails dig into my palm, and tried to wear through it. When I saw swirls starting to creep down my left arm my eyes widened in horror and I cried, "Shit!"
"My, my, someone has gained a colorful vocabulary." Someone said from the doorframe and I saw a familiar head of silver-white hair and a crooked headband.
"Kakashi, shut your mouth and help me out here, or so help me I will pulverize you when I am free!" I glared at him as the marks crept further down my arm and the seal made my chakra network burn as if on fire. "Damn it!"
"Egao, calm down," A voice said from behind Kakashi. The scarecrow moved aside so the old man could walk in. He sat down in the chair next to my bed and looked at me as he placed his pipe in his mouth.
"No smoking in the hospital, old man!" I smirked and he put away his pipe with a slightly sheepish look.
The sheepish look quickly faded as he went into Hokage mode. Looking at me he said, "You cannot be released from the chakra restraints yet because of the seal. Thankfully you didn't go insane when you woke up like Sasuke did. It's unstable on you though for some reason. It may be because of your quick temper or because of your two bloodlines."
"Or it could be because of my age. I don't think that Orochimaru normally marks people as old as me. He's obsessed with teens because they have a greater potential to be stronger than people that have already hit the beginning of the time period where they can't grow too much in strength." I said and thought back to my dream and tried not to flinch at the thought but something came to mind something that the Orochimaru figment had said. "Or could it be that it's an experimental seal…" I thought aloud as slowly the marks started to recede due to me not using any chakra anymore.
"Experimental? Where do you figure that, Egao?" Kakashi said eyeing me carefully.
"Give me a minute 'Kashi…" I said using the nickname that I had called him by when I was little because I could not say his name right, this made him sigh. I did not smirk though as I closed my eyes in thought, trying to figure out how to explain it. Slowly I said, "There was an Orochimaru figment in my dreams. He said before I woke up that he would have my Byakugan-Sharingan, and that his gift would only make my eyes more valuable—if it didn't kill me. But how can… it… make… them… He didn't." I growled at the end as I snapped my eyes open, and glared at a random spot on the ceiling.
"What?" Kakashi asked as Sarutobi's eyes narrowed.
"Old man, blood test. Do you know whose DNA to use?" I asked and the old man nodded then called a nurse in the room. Quickly he explained that a blood test needed to be done and she scurried out of the room. When she came back she had a needle and wiped a spot near the crook of my elbow and plunged the needle into my arm and drew some blood. Once that was done, she wiped away the trickle of blood that dripped down my left arm and stuck a band-aide over it. She ran out of the room while I gave her and incredulous look. "Really, a band-aide?"
"I have to go and get some trusted ANBU to run the test because if it turned out to be positive then…" The third paused, then threw Kakashi a ring with one key on it. "Kakashi, we need to get her seal sealed up as well."
My eyes narrowed as the scarecrow's visible eye widened and pink tinged the top of his cheek right below his eye. In a nervous voice he stuttered, "Um… But… But… She'll…" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and an almost mischievous glint entered his black eyes, and the jounin slumped in defeat. In a flat tone he said, "Yes, sir."
As the third walked out of the door Kakashi started to unlock the cuffs. Immediately after my hands were free I bolted into a sitting position and rubbed my wrists. In a casual tone I asked, "What happened after I blacked out?"
"Um… Jaraiya and I brought you and Sasuke hear. When we stepped foot into the building you started to thrash about, and Jaraiya—he was carrying you by the way—got punched in the jaw and you gave him a kick to a very sensitive area. We barely got you into that bed restrained after we called for two ANBU. When you're asleep you fight dirty, you know that?" Kakashi stated as he put the key ring into the pouch on his leg and pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise book.
"Yeah, I know about those reflexes. They've saved me from drunks a lot when I didn't have enough money to sleep in an inn and had to camp out in the woods near a town. Let me just say that they woke up with more pain than just that of a hangover in the morning." I said a smirk forming on my face that disappeared when I voiced what had been on my mind for a few minutes now. "Now, 'Kashi, what was that about with sealing my seal?"
His eye widened and he put his book away, which I found odd. Slowly he started, "The seal needs to be sealed so you can actually use your chakra again. The seal relies on your own will to not use the mark. So if your will wavers then so does the strength of the seal. Only Jaraiya and myself can perform the seal, and the Hokage figured that you would prefer that I would do it rather than that pervert."
"What does…?" I started to ask before I realized exactly why he had been blushing earlier. "Oh, hell no! There is no way that… No! No! No! No! No! I am not going to take my shirt off to get a seal even if it is for my betterment! No way in hell! I would only do that for my father, and even then it would be a reluctant sealing! I would rather walk around with the thing unsealed!"
Kakashi sighed, apparently he had expected this kind of reaction. "Then the Hokage will have no chance but take away your ninja status and have your chakra sealed away. The only thing you would have left would be the ability to pass down your bloodline limits to any children you may have." I gapped at him in shock as he paused to look at me before continuing. "So I will ask this question, will you take the seal or not? I promise that it will only be business because I do not—I repeat do not—fancy you. You're like a little sister to me so that thought is repulsive."
"Ugh…" I complained as I realized that I was backed up into a corner. Either I could leave the seal as it was and become in just about every aspect besides knowledge a civilian or I could have it sealed and stay a ninja. The choice was obvious because I still wanted to be able to protect Naruto to some extent until he could fully protect himself or the Akatsuki was destroyed or disbanded. "Shit… I'll get the damn thing sealed, but any funny business, any at all, and when I wake up after it is sealed I will put you in the hospital for at least a weak." I threatened and he gulped as I got up and strode out of the room, thankful that they had not been able to force me into once of those hospital gowns.
Looking down at my clothes I realized that soon I would need a new outfit. The black T-shirt I was wearing was tattered along the edges as well as the black ANBU-like pants that were tied around my ankles with sports wrap bandages, which were torn at the knees. Thankfully the fishnet chain-mail mesh underneath the shirt was still fully in one piece and not in need of being replaced. Thinking about it, I had no idea how I was going to get more clothes because I was short on money. Maybe I could ask the old man if he could lend me some money or something along that line. I barely took notice that Kakashi was following me.
"Oh, great…" I groaned as a realization hit me. "I'm going to have to go to the Hyuga compound again. At least I can see if I am able to get that stick out of Neji's butt. Plus I can help Hinata gain confidence once she is out of the hospital and fit enough to train… Wait a minute… Where are we going, Kakashi?"
Author's Notes: I am so very sorry that this was not out sooner, but I had writer's block and when that disappeared there were like three ideas on how this chapter was going to go, but the first draft that I made just plain sucked. It didn't even follow cannon even partially so what I had to do was reread that entire section of the night of the Nine-Tails attack and add Egao in somehow. I ended up not figuring out how to get her into the cave like I wanted to so I made a plot jump. So I cheated. ^_^ I went brain-dead ok! I ended up writing the part from the house and getting caught to the very end in one day with a fare amount of interruptions. If that hadn't been the case I would have been able to get it out a lot sooner so, I hope you guys forgive me. Until next time!
P.S. This is the longest chapter in this story to date! 9 3/4 pages in size 10 font of Times New Roman!
