A/N: Update date - 7/1/10. I was originally make this chapter a lot longer, but seeing as it's 2:40 AM right now, and that I found a perfect place to leave off, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to finish this part.
Damn, this chapter was really hard to write. Not in terms of difficulty, per se, but I cried a bit writing it. I warn you, it gets super depressing in a few parts.
I want to thank pharaoh-90, who gave me permission to use an awesome story device he came up with in his fic, "Memory Room". I highly recommend checking it out, it's a great two-shot. I loved using it, and I hope I've done it justice. You'll probably see this device used frequently in later chapters.
To my reviewers: Thank you so much! I really appreciated the comments, and it's because of you guys that I'm updating so frequently (and writing this at...2:45 AM, now).
My reviewers from Chapter 9 were:
Thousand Tailed Holy FlashFang, Icecce, Shinigami, BKwriter, Sora Nadeshiko, .Alpha, KitsuneSage-Benihime, wind dancer1981.
Thank you! I loved reading them. Let's see if we can hit the 100 review mark!
Personal responses to my reviewers:
Shinigami: That whole thing was a flash-forward (if you don't know what that is, I recommend looking it up), so chances are that will all be explained in due time. But as I mentioned, Karura was a victim of a terrible sealing process, and Naruto happens to be a sealing master...
BKwriter: Think about Naruto's character. He's the kind of guy who would sacrifice himself for his friends in a hearbeat.
Sora Nadeshiko: I assume you'll be satisfied by this chapter, then. But yes, I will.
Icecce: Naruto (MANGA SPOILERS) gained complete control over the Kyuubi's chakra; that's canon.
In case you were wondering, the chapter title, Sometimes A Great Notion, is inspired by the episode of the same name from Battlestar Galactica (and the original source, the novel of the same name by Ken Kessey), which deals with the themes of suicide in the face of great despair. With that cheery note...
Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Sometimes A Great Notion
"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" Minato stood beside his wife and son, a little worried; he knew that Hiruzen knew of Naruto's status, and likely knew a lot more about his son that he himself did.
"Yes, now…Naruto, I know I mentioned a decision before about certain…personal choices, but I'm afraid I have to make an exception in your case. I believe you know exactly what I mean, so if you'd like to take a few minutes alone to discuss this with Minato-san and Kushina-san, that'd—"
"They already know, Ojisan." Naruto appreciated the Hokage's skill with skirting around difficult subjects, but the awkwardness was still annoying.
"Oh. Well then, that makes my job much easier. Without further delay, then…" Hiruzen cleared his throat, and spoke in an official but warm tone. "Namikaze Minato, I have watched you grow from a little academy student to one of our villages best ninja, and I believe your accomplishments speak for themselves. You are highly intelligent, and show great potential above your already remarkable skill. It is for those reasons and more that I appoint you as my successor—as the Yondaime Hokage."
Naruto smiled knowingly at his father, who was flabbergasted by the announcement. Kushina was something between surprised and immensely proud of her husband.
"You were a bit later than last time, Ojisan."
Hiruzen caught Naruto's meaning immediately. "Well, I wanted to give you some time to bond with your parents before appointing him Hokage—which would have forced me to tell him all about you, as I'm sure you're aware."
"T-thank you, Hokage-sama, I…I will serve Konoha to the best of my ability," said Minato.
"I'm sure you will," Hiruzen said, though Naruto could detect a hint of sadness in his voice.
00.000.00
Mikoto had left Itachi with Yumi, Obito's older sister, so that she and Fugaku could talk with Sasuke in private. She had been wavering between worried and elated after discovering that Sasuke was her son; she loved kids and wanted to have at least one more after Itachi, but this teen appeared to have some very bad memories.
"Sasuke…I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but if you are willing to, we're all ears," said Mikoto.
He fidgeted nervously for a few moments, sighed, and looked at his parents with sad eyes. "It's probably the most painful memory of my life…I don't even like thinking about it. But…it's a memory that has defined my life and has carried new meanings several different times, so I keep going back to it. It's the night where I lost everything, where all that I held dear was destroyed and what I had left was turned into something that haunted me."
Fugaku took note of every word; his son had obviously lived through something terrible, and it very likely pertained to his family and the Uchiha clan as a whole.
"When I was seven, I came to the Uchiha District late one night to blood in the streets and weapons strewn about. I turned the corner to see bodies littered about like trash, Ojisan and Obasan among them." Mikoto and Fugaku grew deathly pale; the mention of their relatives being killed was hard to swallow, but for a mere boy to deal with something like this…
"Terrified, I ran home, hoping to find my parents," he looked at each of them, "you two, Kaa-san and Tou-san. I searched the house, but it seemed empty, until I reached the doors to the sparring room. I…realized that someone was in there, and I was beyond frightened…but I forced myself to enter, to a sight that remains burned into my memory. I saw…you two, dead on the floor and covered in blood."
Mikoto gripped her husband's hand even tighter as she tried to cope with the aching pain in her chest. "Sasuke…I'm so sorry…" she whispered.
To their shock, Sasuke didn't even look phased at recalling such a memory. "It wasn't…no, I shouldn't say that. I wish I could say it wasn't your fault…I wish I could comfort you and say that it was merely a tragedy of some kind, but that wasn't the case. You were at fault, at least somewhat. I wouldn't even know the truth for many years, but it turns out you were planning a coup against the Hokage. Though the Hokage himself had attempted to reach a settlement, his advisors and a…certain man of authority determined that the complete extermination of the Uchiha clan was the only option."
Fugaku was not only shocked at hearing this, but suddenly hit by a wave of guilt and depression at learning that he had been the reason for his clan's downfall and ruining his son's life.
"Though like I said, it was only somewhat your fault. The man who caused it all is still out there, and I plan on making him understand some of my pain before I kill him. In a way, the Uchiha Massacre was inevitable…that man would have carried the act out himself eventually, and I would have been killed as well, and then I wouldn't be here now to warn you."
"Who is this man?" asked Fugaku.
Sasuke looked at him with hate glazed over his blood red eyes. "Uchiha Madara."
Fugaku's and Mikoto's eyes bulged. "Uchiha Madara? That can't be possible, the man's long since died!" protested Fugaku.
"No…he's alive, that much is for certain. I've met the man myself."
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," whispered Mikoto. "You've been through so much, and we're even partly to blame. I can't begin to express how terrible I feel about that…"
Noticing his parent's distress, Sasuke decided to change the direction of the conversation. "You aren't at fault. Everything has changed now, and there's no use blaming yourselves for what you could have done. I've done some terrible things in my life, too, so I can't act like a victim here."
They seemed to accept his words, though Mikoto wasn't about to let it go completely. "Still…to come home to find your entire clan and family murdered in a single night as a child…it must have been horrible…"
"No, that wasn't the horrible part."
His parents looked up at him, perplexed. How could something like that not be the horrible part?
"If it was just the case of losing everyone in one night, it wouldn't have been so bad, in retrospect."
Now the heavy feeling returned to Mikoto's chest. Whatever else happened that night to make everything else seem 'not so bad' would be unimaginable.
"In that case, I would have grieved, and eventually been able to move on. But the truth is, there was one other survivor of the Uchiha clan that night. You see, my nightmare only began when I saw your bodies on the floor, covered in blood. At first, I was greatly relieved to see another survivor walk out of the shadows of the room, thinking I was finally safe and that he could tell me what was going on. The man who I viewed as my role model, as my idol, turned out to be the very same man who turned my whole world upside down, who massacred the entire Uchiha clan in one night. You already know his name."
"W-who?" asked Fugaku.
"Uchiha Itachi." And just like that, their world had been shattered. The cute boy they were raising, cute little Itachi, would eventually massacre his own family and his entire clan in a single night. Their son.
"I wouldn't learn the truth for many years, as I said, but he was ordered to do it, for the sake of peace. Had the coup happened, there would have been a civil war. Itachi loved peace, and would do anything to protect it, even kill his own family. He could have chosen not to, but in the end he would rather take the lives of those he loved with his own hands…with the hands of someone who would weep over the act, instead of some callous soldier who wouldn't give a damn. That night, he buried his emotions as he killed his relatives, his father, his mother, and his lover, but in the end he could not bring himself to kill his little brother. He left me alive, the Last Uchiha, so that one day I would avenge the Uchiha clan and become a hero of Konoha. But in order for that to happen, he tried to lead me on a path to revenge, a path to power, and a path that would leave me completely blind to the truth. I'll never forget his words that night." Sasuke stared at the ceiling, as if in a trance. "As you are right now, you are not even worth killing. Foolish little brother. If you wish to kill me, then blame me, hate me. Live on in shame…run, run and cling desperately to your wretched life. And one day, come before me with the same eyes I bear now."
Mikoto and Fugaku couldn't find words, they couldn't think of anything to say in the face of such horror.
"And that became the credo I lived by. I swore to myself that I would obtain power no matter the cost, that I would sink to any depths to complete my revenge and kill my older brother, Itachi."
Sasuke awoke from his reverie, returning his earlier pose. "He kept up the façade of being a monster so that I would never even suspect the truth. He fooled me even up to the point where I killed him. Where he let me kill him. And even in his final moments, despite living a life so terrible I can't even fathom, he died with a smile on his face. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't a bad person. He did the most with what he had, and despite his mistakes, he never stopped being my loving older brother on the inside. So don't you dare hate him. Don't you dare look at Itachi like he's some little monster or a murderer in the making, because if you do, I will never forgive you. I will stop at nothing to protect him, and I would take my own life if it were a mere whim of his. I will honor his memory for as long as I live.
"I don't want you feel guilty about anything, nor do I want you to apologize. You never committed any of those acts, and Itachi will never have to deal with such despair as long as I am alive. You need not weep for my sake, either. I've gotten over that loss. Take the knowledge I have given you and ensure that none of it ever happens. Ensure that the Uchiha clan stands loyal behind the Hokage, ensure that the very same attitude of power, entitlement, and arrogance that plagues the Uchiha clan is stomped out without delay. Make their sacrifice worth something, so that you can recall this story and say, 'I made certain that it will never happen.' Do not despair; use the pain to motivate you to save others from it."
00.000.00
"Thank you all for coming," said the Sandaime. "I summoned you all here for very serious reasons, so it is in your best interest to believe everything I am about to tell you."
Several days had passed, and with the announcement of Minato as the Yondaime Hokage, the entire village was in high spirits. Gathered in an odd-looking room adorned with intricate seals were an equally odd collection of people. All of Team Minato and the parents of each of its members; Kakashi-jisan, Naruto, Sai, Sakura and her parents, Sasuke and his parents, Hinata and her parents, Kushina, and several jounin and other high ranking Konoha officials.
"These six people in front of you are all Konoha ninja who are from the future, and have accidentally traveled into the past—our time. I know this will be difficult for many of you to process, but please accept everything I am telling you as the truth in order to speed up this process."
Several confused looks spread around the room, but the families of each of the time travelers were not surprised; they had all been informed ahead of time by their children.
"Now that you know that," the Sandaime continued, "it is paramount that you understand what you are about to be shown. According to these future ninja, Konoha was attacked on October 10th, 207 by the Kyuubi no Youko and none other than Uchiha Madara."
Only Minato's students remained stoic at that information. Minato himself was stunned at the news; he and Kushina had purposely avoided the topic of the day of Naruto's birth, hoping to connect on happier levels first.
"It was during that attack that several things happened; we lost the lives of many ninja, including our esteemed Yondaime Hokage, Namizake Minato…" Hiruzen let that information sink in, hoping that the audience would realize the gravity of the situation from that tidbit alone. "…and Minato-san's son was born, whom you see in front of you now." Many people looked at Naruto in wonder, now putting together the image of the Yellow Flash and Konoha's Great Peacemaker. "But equally important to all of the above, the Kyuubi was sealed into Naruto, making him the future Kyuubi Jinchuuriki."
Naruto noticed his parents' eyes bulge, taken aback by this new revelation.
"What you are going to see now are the memories of the future Hatake Kakashi, who is the only one here old enough to recall the events of that day. We're in what is called the 'memory room.' Through the seals placed in this room, you will be able to enter the minds of those presenting their memories, and experience them in intricate detail, though with a few modifications. Namely, you will not experience pain nearly as intensely as the memory contains, and you will also view the memories as something between being there and observing it. It will take some getting used to at first, but I'm confident each of you will be able to handle it in a short amount of time. Its use is rather simple, take a seat and place your hand on the seal in front of you, while the person inviting others into his or her mind will channel chakra through their respective seal. If at any point you wish for others to exit from your mind, you may simply will it to happen or stop your chakra flow. Kakashi-san, if you will begin…"
Blackness enveloped Minato's mind until he felt…cold? He looked around, seeing that it was heavily snowing, and that he was also on a narrow path of snow, with each side dropping off into a black abyss. Minato's eyes peered at his student, confused. "This is your mind, Kakashi?"
The silver-haired jounin nodded, and motioned for everyone to follow. "Watch your step," he warned, "you don't want to fall." They continued walking on this narrow path until they came to a plateau of ice that seemed to stretch on for eternity into the darkness. "Stay close to me."
After a few minutes, they arrived at a spot that seemed absolutely no different from everything else. "It's right here," he said, almost regretfully.
Hiruzen nodded, and a thick fog enveloped everyone. Strangely, Minato could see everyone else when he wanted to or concentrate on the fog. Deciding the latter for the moment, he let his senses readjust to very different surroundings.
He was in a hospital, that much Minato could tell immediately.
"Oh come on, Kakashi-kun. Minato-sensei said that you could come inside, and waiting our here twitting your thumbs just looks pathetic."
He looked up to see a fourteen year old Rin staring at him with a smile. He sighed, sat up, and entered the room. On the bed was an obviously pregnant Kushina with Minato by her side, donned in his famous white and red sage cloak. Nurses prepped equipment around the room, and one told Kushina that it would start very soon.
He stayed near the door, obviously nervous, acting like he shouldn't be here. Rin gently pushed him forward. "For someone who has gone headlong into battle several times, Kakashi-kun, you get nervous over the most ridiculous things."
Minato turned to face his students, beaming. "Glad you could make it, Rin, Kakashi. Knowing you, Kakashi, you'll probably want to leave when the actual birth takes place, but you're welcome to stay until the—" Minato froze, and everyone in the room felt the chakra spike. His face grew serious instantly. "Kushina-koi, I'm going to go see what that was, but I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry, you're going to be fine, the doctors will make sure of that. I love you." He kissed her chastely on the lips before turning to his students. "Kakashi, come with me. Rin, stay here and keep an eye on Kushina."
Minato could scarcely believe it, he was witnessing his wife give birth to his son through his student's memories. He was overjoyed at the sight, but he quickly recalled what would happen next, and his mood darkened considerably.
They made their way out of the hospital and to the village wall, taking note of the scared look of civilians and shinobi alike. Upon reaching the top of the wall, they quickly saw the source of the chakra spike: in the distance was a beast nightmarish in both appearance and in size. Behind the giant fox were nine swinging tails and a path of fire and destruction. The sky above the creature glowed red.
Minato continued staring at the beast as it approached, and he started to get worried. "Sensei?" he asked. "What do we do?"
He was about to repeat his question in the face of Minato's continued silence when he finally spoke up to the ANBU awaiting instruction. "Alert the village defenses and order an emergency evacuation to the shelters. I need you all to buy me some time. Kakashi, you're with me."
They went back to the hospital, but Minato stopped outside the door of Kushina's room. He could see the pained look on his sensei's face, but before he could comment on it, his sensei entered.
"Minato-kun! URGH….what's…going on?" Kushina asked, panting through the pains of labor.
"Kushina-koi, I need you to focus on what you're doing and worry about the birth…everything else is being taken care of." Minato sat next to his lover, stroking her hair with a solemn look.
He understood immediately. Telling Kushina about the beast would only add stress and panic into an already stressful process, and the results could be disasterous. But what was sensei doing, waiting for his son to be born while the village was under attack?
As Kushina's pained screams echoed throughout the room, he remained diligent and waited near his sensei, despite his discomfort. After several minutes of intense labor, the baby was born.
"Congratulations, it's a healthy baby boy!" exclaimed the nurse.
Minato took the baby and wrapped it in a blanket before walking over to his lover. "Kushina, say hello to Naruto."
She looked at the baby, exhausted but smiling. "Naruto…" she said, her voice weak.
"Kushina-koi…"
She looked up at her love. "There's something I have to do…and you're not going to like it…"
Her features were overcome with worry. "Minato-kun…what do you mean?"
"The Kyuubi no Youko is attacking the village, and I know of only one way to stop it…"
Kushina, a sealing master in her own right, immediately caught on to his hints. "You don't mean…"
Minato nodded, tears starting to spill from his eyes. "The Shiki Fuujin. Nothing else will be powerful enough…"
Tears spilled out of her eyes, too. "But you'll die!" That caught his attention. What? he thought.
Minato looked into his love's eyes. "I know. But it's the only way."
"Minato…" she croaked, overcome with grief. "No…"
A small earthquake ripped through the building. "Kushina-koi, there's no time. I have to go. I—" he sobbed, unable to contain his sorrow. "—I love you, Kushina."
Minato kissed her, and all too quickly, stood up and turned to leave the room. "Minato!" she called after him, but he kept going.
He stared at the scene before him, too overwhelmed to move. Remembering his orders, he quickly got up to follow, but kept his head facing the room, seeing Kushina's terrible grief and Rin's tears. With that last look, he followed his sensei out of the hospital and to the village wall.
The fox was close now, very close. He noticed dozens of shinobi futilely trying to distract the beast, but they were swat away like flies by the demon's mightly tails. It roared, shaking him to his very core.
"Hold him for a moment, Kakashi…" He looked at his sensei, who still had tears spilling out of his eyes. Quickly taking the baby from Minato's arms, he marveled at how tiny the baby looked. This was his sense's son, he realized. This little boy…
Minato weaved several seals, slammed his palm into the ground, and a huge puff of smoke appeared just outside the wall. Minato motioned to take the baby back, and he complied.
"I go it alone from here, Kakashi. I want you to know, it's been an honor being your sensei. Let Rin know that, too. Tell Kushina that I'm sorry, and please…take care of my son." With that, Minato jumped into the smoke, which cleared a few moments later, revealing a giant coat-wearing toad. The toad approached the fox and began to battle it, but it was clear who was superior.
"Kakashi!" He turned to see his teammate jump up onto the wall next to him.
"Rin?" he asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to stay with Kushina-nee-san!"
"I was! But then she started saying something like, 'he needs me,' or something like that, and stormed out of the hospital after grabbing a pair of pants! I tried to force her to stay, but you know nee-san…"
He knew all too well. "Where is she?" he asked.
"I don't know exactly, but I think she went to go fight THAT thing!" she yelled, pointing at the huge beast getting ever closer to Konoha. "She's in no condition to go fight, but she knows that! There must be something that Minato-sensei misse—"
Before he could react, a huge blast of chakra and earth smashed into the wall, sending him flying into a building below. His head ached from the pain as he tried to take in his surroundings. He quickly deduced that he was lying in a pile of rubble, but wasn't seriously injured. He coughed a few times, and shakily stood."RIN!" he yelled.
He walked out of the rubble, only to notice that the entire area had been reduced to the same state. "RIN!" he repeated, trying to get a hint as to her location. He channeled chakra into his nose, using his enhanced sense of smell to track down her familiar scent. He finally caught it, and rushed over to her position.
But when he got there, he couldn't see anything but a pile of rubble. "Oh no…RIN! Hang on!" He began clawing at the rocks, trying to get to his buried teammate. "No, no, no…" He continued to desperately throw the rocks away, until he saw a foot. With renewed vigor, he clawed the rest away, eventually reaching her face, which was bruised and covered in blood. The worst part, however, was the eyes…they were those eyes, the ones that stared off into nothingness…
He gasped, but quickly checked her neck for a pulse. Finding none, he began to break down. "No…no, no..." Flashes of memory of Obito crushed underneath a rock surfaced in his mind's eye. He leaned over his dead teammate and wept…
The fog cleared, and not a single person managed to keep their eyes dry. Naruto wept for his parents, seeing them knowingly go to their deaths with him in their arms; Minato and Kushina wept at the utter nightmare before them; Kakashi and his teammates wept at the loss of each other, and everyone else wept for the sheer tragedy of it all. Rin's parents hugged their child; Obito's parents did the same. Minato and Kushina embraced each other, taking Naruto into their circle. Kakashi placed a hand on his younger self's shoulder, and held him as the teen cried. After several minutes of sobs, Kakashi broke the partial silence.
"I would not be able to bear recalling that in such vivid detail were it not for the fact that you're all alive right now," said Kakashi. "So take a moment to process your emotions, but remember that this has not yet happened, at least not in this time. I showed you all this so we can be better prepared when the attack comes. But if you forget everything else, remember at least this: we have the power to stop it this time. All we need to do is make the right preparations."
A few moments later, Hiruzen addressed everyone. "If any of you from the future have any memories of the Kyuubi or a similar power, now would be a good time to show them. We need to know exactly what kind of power we're dealing with here."
All five of Team Kakashi looked at Naruto, who nodded. "Then I guess I'm your guy. We'll enter my mind now."
Kushina grew anxious, she didn't know much about her son's life, and seeing his mindscape might give her clues…
The scenery faded into darkness before a faint green light entered her eyes. It was dark, but not in the same way as it had been with Kakashi's mind. Adjusting her eyes, she saw that they were in something of a sewer and in ankle-deep water. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, but what unnerved her was that every couple dozen feet, there was an intersection with another hallway that seemed to be just as long. Water dripped from leaky pipes above their heads. She had imagined many things, but this was…unnerving.
"Come on, he's this way." Naruto began walking, taking random turns with freakish familiarity.
"What do you mean, 'he'?" asked Kushina.
Naruto looked at her with a raised eye brow before turning another corner. She followed him, and to her astonishment, they were no longer in a system of hallways, but a giant room. They all walked in, and Naruto turned to face them.
"Now, don't panic…" he said.
"What do you mean, Naruto?" she aksed.
"Boo."
A/N: Yeah, quite the cliffhanger.
I made my own version of the Kyuubi attack. Honestly, Madara has successfully fulfilled the "Complete Monster" trope as of Chapter 500, but I can't work that into this story. I'm sorry. I hope you find this version entertaining, at the least.
In yet another case of impromptu writing, I didn't even realize the parallels with Rin's death until after I wrote the first bit, but it ended up working perfectly, giving Obito, Rin, and their families glimpses at Obito's brutal death.
PLEASE REVIEW!
Until next time!
