"Come on!" Kakashi said, "We've got to get her to the hospital!"
He picked up Kushina. She screamed and went limp. She was unconscious!
"T-that's not normal, is it?" Iruka yelped, "Kakashi?"
"Go find Yondaime-sama!" Kakashi cried, "Meet us at the hospital!"
"Hai!" Iruka hesitated a moment, "Take care of her, Kakashi."

Kakashi ran to the hospital, all the while talking to Kushina, "Please, wake up, Kushina, please. Please wake up…"
When he finally arrived at the building, he kicked in the doors and ran in yelling for help.
Several medical-nins appeared and pulled the unconscious woman from his arms, "What happened?" One of the medical-nins asked as she pulled Kakashi away from Kushina, "You've sustained injuries to the left side of your body and superficial cuts and wounds." The medical-nin jerked Kakashi's face towards her and pulled up his forehead protector.
"H-hey!" Kakashi yelled, pushing her away, "I'm fine! You've got take care of Kushina!"
"Uzumaki Kushina is being cared for by several medical-nins. You've sustained injury, Hatake Kakashi. You must also be cared for." The medical-nin said as she scribbled down notes on a clipboard, "You may have also incurred a concussion. My name is Koyama Rumi. Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?"

"The monster…"Kakashi said, feeling dizzy, "Kushina ran to help the people outside the walls of the village. There was a wind… we flew… everyone else hit the wall but Kushina landed… she… landed… in the forest…" He clutched his head feeling supremely dizzy.
Rumi stood unfazed as Kakashi threw up, "Landed in the forest? She must have hit a branch…"
"…branch…?" Kakashi whispered, "She… she said she wasn't… hurt…"
"She's got a broken back." Rumi said softly, "Is there anyone we should call?"

"WHERE IS SHE!?" A man screamed, running through the doors of the hospital, "WHERE IS KUSHINA!?"
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka panted behind him.
"Hokage-sama?" Rumi said, surprised.
"Kushina…" Kakashi said as he stumbled towards Minato, "I'm sorry… Minato-sensei… Kushina… she…"
"She's sustained serious injuries, Hokage-sama." Rumi said, "You must speak to Kogure Akihiko. He is Uzumaki Kushina's principle doctor."

Kakashi pitched forward and was caught by Minato, "Kakashi!?"
"He has sustained some injuries and he needs some rest." Rumi said, "He will be fine."
She motioned for two nearby medical-nins to come, "Pick him up. He shouldn't be standing."
Kakashi looked up at Minato, "I tried to stop her, sensei… I begged her to return to the village… this is all my fault."

Minato frowned, "Don't be stupid, Kakashi. Iruka-kun told me everything. And believe me - no one can stop Kushina when she gets it in her head to do something! Now go with your doctor and get better."
Kakashi shook his head and groaned, "Kushina… please… I have to see her…"
Minato grimaced, "You two," He gestured to the two medical-nins, "Pick him up. Follow me. You!" He pointed to Rumi, "Take me to Kushina and Kogure Akihiko."
Rumi nodded, "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

Kakashi found himself in front of a pair of doors. The lit sign over the door read, 'Intensive Care Unit 5'.
A scream exploded from the room.
"KUSHINA!" Minato cried, bursting through the doors.
"Hokage-sama!" Rumi followed him, "You must wait for the doctor!"

"MINATO!" Kushina cried, "The… the baby is… coming. There is a… a monster… outside the village…"
"Don't worry about that." Minato clutched her hand, "I've sent teams out. I… don't worry…"
"It's powerful." Kushina gasped, "It's so powerful… Minato… it… it was a fox…" She groaned, "It had several tails, Minato… like in the myths…"

"K-kushina…" Kakashi whispered, "Please forgive me!"
Kushina stared groggily at him, "F-forgive you…?"
"I should have protected you…" He struggled to be free from the medical-nins, "Why didn't you tell me you were injured…?"
"Come here…" Kushina whispered, "Kakashi, come here."

The medical-nins walked Kakashi forward.
Kushina reached up to him and flicked his nose.
"Ow!"
"Don't be stupid, Kakashi." She smiled and touched his masked cheek, "But you can't help it, can you?"
She grimaced and grabbed Minato's hand, "OH GOD!"

Rumi ushered Kakashi out of the room, "You need to recline, Hatake-san."
"No!" Kakashi protested, "Let me stay here… please…!"
Rumi opened her mouth to argue but Kakashi pulled away from the medical-nins and stumbled to the waiting bench, "I'll recline…" He mumbled, lying across the bench, "Please…"
Iruka sat beside his head, "Kakashi-kun, is Kushina-sensei okay?" He looked up at Rumi, "I heard you say that she had serious injuries. Is… is she going to survive?"
Rumi sighed, "I… I don't know." She sat down on the bench across the hall.
Another scream issued from the room and Kakashi felt a shiver run down his spine.

Two hours later, a group of ninja found Kakashi and Iruka.
"Have you seen the Hokage-sama?" One of the ninja's asked hurriedly.
"He's in the room." Iruka said, "With Kushina-sensei."
Rumi went into the room and returned with Minato a moment later.
"Hokage-sama, the monster is moving towards the village. As of yet, it's still far but we cannot let it come any closer."
"H-hai…" Minato rubbed his face, "Call in all shinobi. We must mount a defense first and a plan for an attack. Call in Sandaime-sama."
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The ninja's disappeared.

"Minato-sensei." Kakashi called, "How is she?"
Minato looked distressed, "She's… in pain."
He touched the heads of the boys, "Thank you, boys… if you hadn't been there with her, she might have gotten hurt even worse."
"MINATO!"
Minato rushed into the room.

"Hokage-sama…" Iruka murmured, "He cares for Kushina-sensei, doesn't he, Kakashi-kun?"
Kakashi nodded slowly.
"When I found him, I told him Uzumaki Kushina was going into labor. I told him about the men who saw the monster and about Kushina-sensei had run to help the men outside. I told him that we were picked up by the wind… He was with the council and they said that he must do his duty and organize the shinobi to defend against the monster if it came closer but he ignored them and came to the hospital… I think I under…"

There was a scream unlike all the others. It lasted for what felt like hours and then died out. The medical-nins inside were yelling and shouting. There was the plaintive cry of a baby.
More yelling from the medical-nins.
And then Minato's voice, "Kushina…! KUSHINA!"
Kakashi and Iruka stared at the door in horror.
Inside the room, someone sobbed.
The voices inside quieted.

"Kushina… sensei…" Iruka whispered.
Kakashi stared at the door. It was quiet besides the muted wail of the baby.
Kakashi could hear his own heartbeat. It pounded in his ears.
As if in slow-motion, the light over the door darkened and one of the doors opened.
A tall medical-nin walked out slowly. He turned to Kakashi and Iruka.
Kakashi thought that his eyes looked infinitely sad.

"Kushina-sensei?" Iruka stood, "Is… is she…?"
"The baby survived…"
Kakashi cried out, shoved himself up off the bench and ran through the door with Iruka behind him.

Minato stood before them, a bundle in his arms.
"Minato-sensei…" Kakashi said.
"Kushina…" Minato whispered, "She…" His face was pale. Tears dripped from his chin, onto his robes.
"Kushina said to… please… watch over him." Minato said, looking at the bundle in his arms, "She named him… Naruto."
Minato walked through the door and found himself facing several ninjas.

"Hokage-sama! The monster is getting closer! None of our attacks have had any affect on it!"
"It's too powerful!"
"The village will be destroyed!"
Minato stared at them for a moment and finally said, "Send out every available shinobi. I'm coming."
He turned to Kakashi, "Follow me. We must find Sandaime-sama."
"Every available shinobi…?" Iruka whispered, "Mom… Dad…"

Kakashi followed Minato to the Adminstration building where the Sandaime Hokage was waiting.
"Minato…" Sandaime said when he saw them, "This is… your child?"
Minato nodded.
"And Kushina…?"
Minato shook his head slowly.
Sandaime sighed deeply, "How can this be…?"

"The creature, Sandaime-sama. What is it?" Minato asked.
Sandaime's face clouded, "I thought it was just a legend…"
"A legend?" Kakashi whispered.
"It is the Kyuubi."
"Kyuubi? You mean, one of the bijuu – the tailed-beasts of legends?" Minato asked.
"Yes – the kyuubi is the strongest of them all. The nine-tailed fox."

"Can we defeat this monster?" Minato asked.
"I do not know. I cannot think of any attack that could possibly harm it…" Sandaime sighed, "It has managed to destroy a part of the village. Several people were hurt."
"I think I know of a way to defeat it." Minato said. He gazed at the baby in his arms, "Sandaime… I must perform the Shiki Fuujin."
Sandaime stared at the Fourth Hokage, "Yondaime-sama – that is forbidden."
Minato managed a shaky smile, "So was my marriage to Kushina." He pressed his lips against the forehead of the baby and put him in the arms of Kakashi, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A second Minato appeared. He glanced at the baby in Kakashi's arms and left, running towards the entrance of the village.

"Sandaime," Minato said, taking the baby from Kakashi, "We must prepare my son as the… the Jinchuuriki."
"J-jinchuuriki?" Kakashi whispered.
"He's just a baby, Minato!" Sandaime exclaimed.
"He is my son." Minato said, "He is Kushina's son. He will grow to become a powerful shinobi. If he has the power of the Kyuubi, he will find a way to use it to protect the village."

Present Day

"Yondaime-sama used Shiki Fuujin jutsu to capture the Kyuubi and seal it into you, Naruto. It was his Kage Bunshin who performed the jutsu in the field so that he could stay with you until the end," Kakashi said.

He didn't tell Naruto that he remembered every moment. He remembered the way Minato screamed when his soul was pulled from his body. He remembered the mark that appeared on Naruto's belly when the jutsu was finished. He remembered hearing the cheers of the people as they realized their Hokage had defeated the monster that threatened to destroy them all.

15 Years Ago

Kakashi held the baby at the mass funeral.
Many shinobi died protecting the village from the Kyuubi. Their pictures were lined up. Right next to Minato's picture, which was in the middle and the largest, was Kushina. When the people heard she had died rescuing some men from the monster, the rumors of her personal life stopped. They began to talk of her as a hero. A hero belonging solely to Konoha. Below her picture, though, was the name, 'Uzumaki Kushina'.
Kakashi argued that it should have been changed to 'Namikaze Kushina' but Sandaime had decided otherwise.

The baby, too, had the name Uzumaki Naruto.
Sandaime explained to Kakashi that Naruto was the child of the Yondaime Hokage and if he kept his name – Namikaze - he would have powerful enemies. It would be safer for him if he kept the name of his mother – just another shinobi who died as a result of the Kyuubi.

When Kakashi's arms began to get tired, Iruka tugged on his arm and took the baby.
After the funeral, Iruka stood before the pictures of his parents holding Naruto in his arms.
Kakashi stood beside him.

"He is Yondaime-sama's son." Iruka said suddenly.
Kakashi's eyebrows rose, "What makes you say that?"
Iruka looked at Kakashi, "His hair is as yellow as the sun. Like Yondaime-sama." Iruka looked at the now-snoozing baby, "I heard that Yondaime-sama sealed the monster within him."
Kakashi swallowed hard.

"Imagine… having an evil monster inside you." Iruka's voice cracked, "A murderous monster…"
Kakashi began reaching for the baby.
"…within an innocent child." Tears slid down Iruka's face. "This poor boy… his life will be hard."
"Iruka-kun…?"
"I know what you're thinking, Kakashi-kun." Iruka said, looking up, "I know what people will think about this boy when they find out about the demon inside him."
He touched Naruto's baby-fine blond hair, "I also know, Kakashi-kun, that he's an innocent who didn't ask to be the cage of a monster. Others might not realize that but I do. That's why I promise to help care for him."
"You will?"
Iruka nodded and wiped the tears from his cheeks, "Of course. He's had this demon thrust upon him and he won't live an easy life but I will try to help him, as I can. He deserves that…"
He smiled, "Only a baby and already a hero."

More to come.

-4ng3legg