Author's Note: Here I am with another chapter! I am terribly sorry for the delay on this one. I didn't think many enjoyed the last chapter since not many reviewed on it so I was dragging my feet to start this chapter. But I got a few reviews recently asking for another update so I decided I couldn't delay any longer. I hope this nearly 10 page chapter makes up for my lateness! Please review and tell me what you guys think. I finally got to the kidnapping chapter! Yes! Now my original ideas can really come flowing out. I hope you enjoy my take on the kidnapping of Kushina. Sorry for any errors that are in this. I read over it a few times and changed some things and added, but truthfully I could do that all do so I had to stop somewhere. Tell me what you think okay? Thanks so much for all of you that have stuck around with me so far on this story! I hope I have made you smile with this update.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. And the original ideas that I incorporate into the story belong to Kishimoto. The only things I own are the idea's that spring from my head and that are not in the manga or anime.

Chapter 7- Kidnapping

9 months later...

Somersaulting into the air Minato Namikaze dodged multiple attacks from his teammates and Sensei. The young protege had been a Genin now for almost a year, and in that year he had managed to grow well beyond anything a typical Genin achieved.

Jiraiya placed his hand thoughtfully on his chin as he pulled out of the fray to allowed his other two students take a stab at Minato alone. If things kept progressing as quickly as they were it wouldn't be long until Minato became a Chunin and then from there a Jonin. A cry wailed and his black eyes went to the boy that was clutching his knee, his pubescent face contorted in pain.

Minato was instantly by his side, crystal blue eyes filled with concern. "Hirako, are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't mean to throw with that much force."

Hirako, a small boy with freckles and brown curly hair that hung into his eyes, gritted his teeth, "I'm...okay. You really need to learn how to handle your own strength, Namikaze."

Sheepishly Minato rubbed the back of his neck, his eyelids hiding his blue eyes, "I really am sorry about this. Here let me help you." From there the exceptionally talented Genin proceeded to place his hands on the injured knee, feeling for anything that could be broken.

Jiraiya was going to step in to stop things but he halted when he saw the concentration on Minato's face. Was it possible that he was interested in learning medical ninjutsu as well? 'Wouldn't that be something else? This kid...how am I ever going to keep him on his toes when he's constantly keeping me on mine?'

Hirako grunted as Minato began to wrap a bandage around the hurt knee. "Ouch! That hurts dammit!"

"It has to be tight so that way nothing is jostled while we take you to the medical center. If I knew medical ninjutsu I'd give you the simple healing now, but I don't."

Hirako grumbled something under his breath and Minato in reply gave him a reassuring smile, and got to his feet once the bandage was wound tightly. All business, the boy looked at Jiraiya, "He's ready to be moved now. Nothing felt broken but swelling was starting to form...he'll probably be out for a week."

Jiraiya stepped forward and easily swept Hirako up in his arms. "I agree with your diagnosis. So, while Hirako is healing up we'll take a break from training. Hirako isn't the only one that is tired, Naraku is as well."

Minato nodded as he put the supplies back in his pouch, "And you are tired as well Sensei. I think rest is the best thing we could do at this time. It'll help our teamwork in the long run if we are all well rested and take the time to rest when it is needed."

"Yes, that much is true. I'll take Hirako to the hospital, you and Naraku head home and rest. When we hear how long Hirako's knee takes to heal I'll send word to you about when we'll meet again for training. And if a mission comes along before then...well, we'll have to ask another team if we can borrow a member."

Naraku's black eyes narrowed in disgust, "Do we really have to do the mission with another person? Couldn't we just refuse the mission until Hirako is better?"

Minato looked over at Jiraiya, never the one to input his words when it would be better for the oldest member of the team to take the lead. Jiraiya sighed, "Naraku, we've gone over this before. If we get a mission we will take it. Don't bring this up again, do you understand? It is the way things are here in the village."

Naraku folded his arms, his lips going into a tight line. A sense of unease and unrest flowed through the team as they walked away from the training grounds towards the village. Minato was silent the entire way, his mind constantly turning with what had happened during the training session. He hadn't meant to hurt Hirako, it had just happened. 'I need to get stronger...so that way I don't ever hurt those that are close to me. Right now my focus is still not where it needs to be. If I did this...' The Genin began to think of all the ways he could improve on his focus, and control of his strength that he didn't even notice when Naraku took the first street to the right once they were in the village. Leaving the three without a word.

It was his Sensei's voice that snapped him out of his thoughts. "Mrs. Yamanaka is waving at you. I think she's missed seeing you come in everyday to visit with her."

Minato's eyes went over his shoulder - since they had passed by the flower shop - and when he saw the blonde haired lady standing at the entryway to her shop he began to walk backwards. Raising his hand he waved back at her. Normally someone would shout a greeting but Minato had never been that way. He was mostly silent when it came to things like this but he was slowly changing. And the reason he was changing was a certain red haired girl...

Hearing his Sensei chuckling he ducked his head and started walking straight, "I didn't see her."

"I noticed, you were off in your own world again. Want to talk about it?" Jiraiya asked, Hirako unusually quiet in the man's strong arms.

Minato licked his dry lips that were beginning to show signs of cracking, "No it isn't anything worth discussing."

The older man grinned, "How about Kushina? How is she doing?"

"I don't know, been busy with mission's and the same with her team. Plus...she doesn't really talk to me all that much anyway." Minato answered, not wanting to talk about the girl he couldn't stop thinking about.

Jiraiya hummed his response to Minato's words. It was easy for him to see that the young boy harbored feelings for the girl. Feelings he probably didn't even understand at the young age he was. Perhaps it would be best to take Tsunade up on her offer to help bring the two kids together. It could be a good match...

"Sensei, is it okay if you take Hirako the rest of the way to the hospital? I think I better head home."

"Sure, sure, make sure to keep in contact all right? I want you to come to me if you need anything, even if you need someone to eat with, got it?"

Minato tilted his head up so he could look at his Sensei, "It has been weird without having you crash at my place all the time. What are you planning on eating for dinner? Knowing you it'd probably be something strange...so why don't you come over and I'll fix something good."

Jiraiya hooted at that, "You want to make me dinner? I'd never refuse that offer, I'll be there around seven."

"Great!" Minato exclaimed with a wide smile. He then took a couple of fast steps so he could look at Hirako, "Sorry again about your knee. If you need anything -"

"- I won't need anything." Hirako cut him off, his eyes downcast, "But thanks for the offer. Make sure to really rest Minato. You work too hard."

Giving a small wave in farewell Minato stopped and watched as the two continued on in the direction to the hospital. Work too hard? It was possible but not likely, all he wanted was to become strong and someone capable of defending those he cared about. With that goal - and the goal of becoming Hokage - Minato had never felt like he was overworking himself. He was just doing what need to be done in order to achieve his dreams.

A week had passed by with little to no surprises for the young Genin. Hirako had called him several times during the week to make sure he wasn't off training without the team. "We need to work together Minato, you can't keep going off on your own and doing things. You're already a powerhouse, what needs more focus is teamwork."

Of course Minato knew that was true, so he had kept to his promise and hadn't trained. So what he had been doing instead was spending time with Mrs. Yamanaka in her flower shop, and in the library, studying ninjutsu and taijutsu.

At the moment he was in the flower shop, sitting on a bar stool behind the counter that Mrs. Yamanaka had retrieved from the back room for him to sit on. Currently he had a strand of blue ribbon in his hand - apparently he had to twirl it into some kind of bow - and he was stumped on how to do so.

A sing song voice laughed melodically, "Do you need me to show you again?"

Meekly the blonde haired boy nodded, "If you wouldn't mind...I thought I understood it but when I went to do one on my own..." he blew out a breath in mild contempt, "...I obviously couldn't. I can throw a kunai with no problem, but this..." Minato held the blue ribbon up that hung limply from his hand, "is nearly impossible."

Mrs. Yamanaka took the ribbon from his hand and sat down beside him. Moving so he'd be able to see her hands clearly she began to loop the ribbon slowly, "You never give up on things, so I know this won't be any different. See? That's all there is to it." She held the finished bow out to him and Minato took it.

Furrowing his eyebrows he pressed his lips together, "I can see you doing it but when I try to do it, I can never get it to work the same way."

The middle aged woman patted his shoulder and grabbed another ribbon, this one green. "It takes practice Minato, just like anything else you learn." Handing him a pink ribbon she began to show him the steps, having him do them along side her. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they began to make several bows.

When the ten year old boy was on his third bow he broke the silence, "Are you worried about the war?"

It took Mrs. Yamanaka a moment to form the words to answer him. The boy studied her from the corner of his eyes, instantly regretting the question. She gave him a warm smile, "Yes I am. My husband is a ninja like you and he's gone a lot these days. I miss him tremendously and wish he didn't have to be gone so much...but I know he's needed to protect the village."

"I don't know why the Cloud nation can't get along with us." Minato stated softly, "Why do they constantly want to attack us?"

"Because we are strong, and when one is strong, they are envied...and feared." Mrs. Yamanaka answered gently, her eyes softening.

"So...when one is afraid...that is when people do horrible things." Minato stated, not at all questioning his reasoning. It made sense, when he was afraid he was going to do everything he could to protect himself. And if he was afraid of what could happen to those he cared about...it made him all the more determined to protect them. But if there was a way to keep his loved ones from being harmed...and stop himself from fearing for them...he'd take it.

"Yes. It is human nature to want to protect the ones we care about. Even if it means hurting others to do so." The flower shop owner said sadly. "As long as there is love in the world, there will be hate. Its like the Yin and Yang symbol, we need both to survive."

"Both of them..." Minato mumbled, his hands making another bow without his mind focusing on the task. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the red haired girl that walked past the shop entrance, her eyes trained on the ground, her training clothes stained and dirty.

Minato's eyes snapped open, his heart suddenly lurching in his chest. Bolting upright in bed he looked out the window that was beside the bed. Listening intently he focused on the noises in the night air. Mostly all he could hear was the hammering in his own chest. Then the noise of the alarm filled his ears like drums being beaten in the silence. Dread seeped into him as he quickly scrambled out of bed. It was the signal that all able shinobi report to the Hokage's residence. Something had happened...something bad, he could feel it as he strapped his sandals on and tied his headband in place.

Flashing out of the apartment he hurried to the Hokage's residence. There were several other shinobi there when Minato arrived, one of them being Mrs. Yamanaka's husband. The blonde haired man with his hair in a ponytail, acknowledged Minato with a nod. Minato in return did the same, and went to stand closer to the front so he could hear the Third Hokage clearly.

Anbu surrounded the Hokage but moved aside when he stepped forward. The young man with his brown gote spoke, "One of our own has been taken from the village early this evening. We were not made aware of it until one of my Anbu went on patrol and noticed the disturbance at the Uzumaki residence."

Minato stepped even closer at hearing the family's name. Uzumaki...that was Kushina's home!

"The one that has been taken is Kushina Uzumaki, it is imperative we retrieve her! She has unique chakra and that is precisely why the Cloud want her!"

The Cloud took her? Minato looked up at the moon that was high in the sky, there were several dark ominous clouds in it as well. Not good, if they didn't hurry and find her soon...she'd be lost forever. One of the Shinobi raised a hand, the man seemed to be around Jiraiya's age. "Why are we going out of our way for her? It's possible that they have already crossed the border, it may be futile to act now."

"It will be," Minato hadn't realized he had spoken until every head turned in his direction, "if we continue to stand here arguing about what to do. Adults tend to think too much about these things, I for one will go after her. I will find them before they reach the border."

The group around him laughed loudly, "You? You are only a Genin, there is no way you'll find her if we cannot."

The Third Hokage smiled, "Minato Namikaze is correct. As adults we do think too much about the situation placed before us. For this instance we will take his advice and we will strike back before we lose our comrade. All of you are charged with searching for Kushina Uzumaki! Do not let them cross the border!"

Everyone chanted their compliance and when the Hokage raised his hand they all leapt away, Minato faster than the majority of them. Minato had followed with some of the older Shinobi but when it became clear they were having no luck he turned his head in another direction. It would be a long shot since it was not in the direct direction the Cloud would take since it'd add several more hours...but it was worth the look.

He turned to tell the others but saw that they were gone. Grunting in annoyance he jumped into the trees and headed in the direction. 'I have to find her, I can't let her fight this on her own. It isn't like the other struggles she's had until now. This one I can step in on, because this time they have messed with the village. They have messed with me.'

Grabbing a branch of a higher tree he flipped up and landed on another branch further up. His blue eyes were cold as he scanned the area. 'Kushina is strong, but this fight isn't one she can win alone.'

There was a few broken twigs on the branches of the trees in front of him, good, it was a sign he was going in the right direction. Glancing back behind him, Minato knew he should go back for reinforcements, but there just wasn't the time for it. A few minutes could result in them crossing the border or not. No, it was just him and he'd have to be the one to pull this mission off on his own.

Taking his pack off his hip he opened the bag and quickly double checked the supplies he had. Five kunai's and two smoke bombs and even a light bomb. Some trip wire...he could do it. As long as there wasn't more than five of them he'd be fine. The likelihood of there being more than that was slim since teams were usually of four man cells to make them more efficient, and this was a stealth mission to the 't' so they weren't likely to stray from the normal set up.

Minato put his pack back in place and made sure his headband was tight. His blonde bangs mostly covered the leaf symbol but the edges of it could be seen. He had nothing to hide, one day he would be the most known ninja, starting with this night. Eyes set in determination the Leaf Genin swung to the next tree and from there followed the tiny traces that the Cloud Ninja's left behind. 'Must be Chunins, I can't imagine Jonins leaving trails like this.' He stopped, suddenly seeing that no more clues were left behind.

'Looks like they are smarter than I thought. They purposely led me here...which means...' he spun to the right and back tracked for a while in search for something else that could let him onto the direction they had taken. That was when the red strand stuck out in the grass and dirt. If one hadn't been looking they would have completely overlooked it. But not him, he could never overlook it because it was a beautiful color, the most beautiful he had ever seen.

Falling from the trees he picked up the strand, sure enough it was Kushina's hair, she must have pulled it out in order to leave evidence that she had been there. Gripping it tightly in his hand he looked in the direction it led. This way would take them at least two hours more to reach the border since they would have to backtrack quite a bit in order to get there. He had time, he could make it.

Running forward he found another strand of hair. Kushina was leaving a trail! 'You are amazing Kushina! I knew you'd find someway to let us know where they were taking you.' With a smug grin he quickened his pace, knowing that he would soon gain on them with the help Kushina was providing.

Minato Namikaze continued to pick up strands of hair that ,Kushina Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan, left behind. If the others had managed to come in this direction they probably would have missed the trail all together. After 20 minutes, figures could be seen in the distance. A smaller figure was in the middle of them, protected on all sides. Kushina.

Adrenaline coursed through the Genin's veins as his eyes scanned the surroundings. They were still in the land of fire, this was his backyard, he had the advantage. Flashing over to the one in the back ,he easily took him out with a swift kick to the head, effectively knocking the man unconscious.

From there Minato gracefully moved through the men, knocking them unconscious as he went. The last however realized what was happening and quickly jumped into the trees, hiding in the vast leaves. Pulling out his kunai the boy held it firmly in his hand. This cloud ninja had taken someone precious to him and had almost made him lose her completely. There was no forgiveness for that. And Minato was going to make sure he never had the chance to repeat the act.

Flying through the air Minato did a flip as he pushed off a tree. With the added speed he was able to reach the Cloud ninja from behind, without a second thought Minato plunged the kunai into the man's neck. Blood gushed from the wound almost falling onto Minato's clothes. Luckily he moved quickly enough that it only splattered on his sandal. The ninja fell from the tree with a loud crash, birds sailed into the air, having been disturbed by the loud noise. His first kill. The Cloud ninja was the very first person he had ever killed while on a mission.

The normal reaction would have been to get sick with the sight and the thought of killing another human, but for Minato none of those feelings came. Instead he felt nothing...there was a twinge of guilt but nothing beyond that. This was the way his life was going to be. Being a ninja meant sacrifices had to be made, and choices. There were going to be times when one had no choice but to take anothers life. That's what it meant to be in war.

Minato didn't notice anything else around him as he jumped in front of Kushina who had a vacant look in her eye as she kept trudging along, moving one foot in front of the other. Wetting his lips he spoke gently, "You're safe now."

His words slowly seeped into the girls brain and she looked up at him. Minato smiled encouragingly at her as he saw the life slowly come back into her face. However, when her eyes rolled to the back of her head the boy nearly panicked. Running over to her, Minato caught her in his arms. "Easy now. I got you."

Unwinding the rope that had been around her wrists he jumped into the air - the rope falling carelessly to the ground below them. Kushina was wide awake now and she was blubbering about being heavy or something to that effect. Minato chose to ignore her until he landed on the top of a tall tree.

"Y-you...but, why?" The red haired girl fumbled with her words, her voice cracking from lack of water.

"I couldn't let them take you." Minato answered simply as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

The girl furrowed her eyes, "But you never helped me before."

The Leaf Genin almost laughed out loud but held it back, "That's because all the fights you had until now I knew you could win by yourself. But this dispute is between villages, therefore you don't need to do this alone. That's why I came."

Kushina's eyes fell to his left palm where the strands of her red hair blew in the gentle wind. Minato followed her gaze and explained, "Your hair is beautiful so I noticed it right away." He smiled down at her, "I'm glad I was able to find you, without your smart thinking I'm not sure I would have made it in time."

Pushing her hair behind her ear that had moved with the breeze Kushina muttered, "You are the only one that came?"

Smile fading he nodded, "Yeah, the others looked for a while but they all searched the normal routes. I wasn't convinced they went that way so I came looking in this direction."

Kushina said something else under her breath but he wasn't able to catch it because another gust of wind hit them. Tightening his hold he looked in the direction of the village. "What do you say about heading back home?"

"I'm an outsider..."

"No you aren't." He argued, "Doesn't matter if you came from another village, now you live in the leaf village. You are apart of us."

His words seemed to stir something in her because her cheeks flushed. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

Determination glinted in her eyes and she looked up at him, "Then let's return home! I'm sure people are worried about you, you know?"

Minato chuckled at the phrase he had come to know was one of her trademarks, "Everyone will be happy to see you."

Kushina poked his shoulder impatiently, "Then what are you waiting for? Let's get going."

"Yes'em." Minato said as he stepped off the branch, lunging them both into the darkness of the trees once more.