Alright! So after that cliffhanger here is my next chapter! Sorry I have to be slow about updating. I'll get better I promise! Oh btw, just gonna state it again, I don't own Naruto. If I did than we'd skip the stupid filler in the anime and Naruto and Hinata would just kiss already!
Kyuubi talking is in bold
The Past Resurfaces
Minato and Kushina opened their eyes to see darkness around them. They saw Naruto walking towards them. Kushina looked confused but Minato just nodded.
"This isn't the real Naruto. He won't be able to talk to us but he will lead us to his memories. We may have to help him if the memories are locked to far back." Minato told her. Kushina nodded as the Naruto standing before them pointed for them to follow him as he ran down a dark path. They nervously followed. The paths kept changing as they walked, on one side would be a bright room where they would see a version of their son laughing and having fun. On the other side they would see a dark alley and there they saw their son crying in agony. Kushina tried running to him but Minato stopped her.
"He's not in real pain, it's a side of his personality. All of these versions of him are just different parts of his personality. With his happy side comes his sad side. With his confident side comes a nervous side. Even if they don't show themselves as much in him normally they're there." Minato tells her. The Naruto leading them nods and continues to walk down the long hallway.
They hallway suddenly splits into two different directions. One turns to a way that has many more passageways leading to who knows where. The other passageway led to what seem to be a sewer. There are sounds of crashing and struggling from that path. What's more the feeling of a killing intent was so strong it was almost tangible.
"Minato, that force, is that really where it's being held inside of him?" Kushina asked as Minato nodded his head.
"It may be dangerous, but before we leave we should go and see that monster. It's been a while since he saw me. I bet he knows I'm here and is wanting to finish our fight." Minato said and smiled. He then turned away from the path that would lead him to the Kyuubi and followed the version of his son down the other path.
They walked for a long time, seeing many sides of Naruto's personality as they walked past. Finally it led to two big wooden doors. Minato led the way inside with Kushina close to him. They went into a dark room where they could see nothing. But they heard many voices talking all at once. The voices were all whispering. They were talking about many different things and Minato and Kushina couldn't pick out what the voices were saying but they knew what they were. They were just little traces of memories that when focused would show a full memory.
"We need to go farther, much farther. These memories are really recent. We'll start from the back and just slowly move up from there, ok?" Minato said. Kushina looked nervous about continuing but held on tight to Minato's hand as they continued walking down a never-ending path. Gradually, they memories started changing to the past, they could once in a while pick out certain things from the whispering voices. Very simple things like something Naruto said back when he was a new genin. Or something about someone yelling at him pulling a prank. They kept walking and were starting to figure out what part of his memory they were in.
They noticed that the farther they went back the harder it was to hear the voices. It was for two reasons. One, it was because the memories were so long ago. And two because they were so horrible for him, Naruto had locked them away in hope that he would never see them again. They walked until they felt it was far enough back. The whispers from the memories were barely audible.
"So what happens now Minato?" Kushina asked as she closed her eyes to try and pick out any whisper left.
"We just need to start picking memories to see, once we start the other memories will start to slowly come out too. Just listen and then once it's sounds clear enough we'll be able to see it." he said and then closed his eyes to concentrate. Kushina closed her eyes and held on tight to her husband's hand. She knew that what she was about to see about her son would be a very painful thing for all of them. She concentrated and suddenly the sounds of whispers started to become louder. She opened her eyes as the memory started to turn from words to images before her. She tugged on Minato's arm and they both watched as the memory became clear.
They were suddenly in the middle of one the busy streets of Konoha. Everything seemed normal. Among the crowd they saw their son. He couldn't have been any older than three in this memory. He was smiling and looking happy just like any child his age would. As he walked closer they could see that he was completely starved. He was basically a walking skeleton. Kushina gasped and Minato just looked horrified. How could anyone let a child look like this when there was food all around him?
The boy stopped in front of a food store. He looked inside and smiled as he reached into his pocket. He had only a tiny bit of money and it looked like it was his greatest treasure. His smile grew wider as he ran into the store to buy some food. The only thing he could afford was a loaf of bread but to a boy like him it would be a feast. Kushina let out a sigh of relief as she saw him going to get food only to have her happiness shattered a second later as screams came from inside the store.
Naruto ran out with his arms over his head as a woman pelted him with the items from her store. The poor boy fell and he started crying. His small body was shaking horribly as he tried to curl into a ball so the lady attacking him wouldn't hurt him.
"I-I… I-I'm s-sorry! I-I just wanted to eat something... I-I have the money! I-I was g-going to pay for it!" the boy said through his tears. It looked like every time his little body shook it was taking too much effort. The woman just glared at him and kicked him.
"You damn demon! Just die already! You took my husband and my two boys away from me! Why would I ever give food to you?" she screamed. Many other villagers came to see what the yelling was about they also yelled at Naruto and some even took shovels and planks of wood and move toward him. Naruto screamed as they got closer to him. The memory faded after that as he felt the first beatings and blacked out. Kushina and Minato just looked shocked at what they witnessed. Their only son being starved by people, being blamed for a crime he did not commit. A crime that he was too young to even know about. After pausing for a moment the closed their eyes again and concentrated for more whispers of memories.
It took another few moments before a new memory came. They looked around to see Naruto sitting on a swing. He was smiling and gazing longingly at the academy.
"I can't wait to be big. I wanna go to the academy too and be a ninja. I'll show everyone I'm strong. I'll be the coolest ninja ever!" he said to himself allowed. Even though his body was weak and cuts and bruises covered every inch, he was still smiling. Both his parents were happy to see that their son was happy.
Naruto jumped as he saw all the kids come out of the academy. He got off the swing and hid behind the tree. He didn't move but he continued to watch them. They all ran over to their parents who happily greeted them. Naruto's eyes started to fill with a mixture of sadness and jealousy as he watched the families. He sat down and took a stick. He drew three stick figures in the dirt and let a few tears fall from his face. He gave one of the stick figures hair that looked really long and then the one in the middle he gave all of his own features. His spiky hair and his whiskers on his cheeks. He just sat there looking at his drawing, not noticing the kids and adults approaching him.
Before he knew it two of the kids kicked him in the chest and sent him flying back into the tree. The kids laughed and their parents praised them. The adults let their children beat up the little boy saying that they were proud that they were practicing their moves "on a target that needed to be beaten". Naruto didn't say anything. He just let himself be constant hit again and again with blows.
When they finally stopped and left him he was bleeding and crying on the ground. He coughed up some blood and just sat there trying to breath properly. He looked down at where his drawing was a few minutes ago. Now only to see it all wiped away except for the drawing of himself, now covered in his own blood. Naruto cried and curled himself up into a ball. He didn't move as the image went black and Minato and Kushina found themselves staring at where they saw their son a few minutes ago.
They stopped for a moment but continued. Slowly making their way through his memories. They would see him through every kind of pain and torture they could think of. It was probably worst when while watching the images their son went through they started to hear the thoughts that went through his head. Thoughts that only had one question in them, why? Why did everyone hate him? What did he do wrong? He never hurt anyone. So why are they calling him a monster? Memory after memory was filled with this question before it faded away. But they continued.
As the new memory came to them they saw Naruto sitting on a bed in the orphanage that he lived in. he was alone in this room while he heard the other kids outside laughing and playing. He was locked in here after he ever did anything wrong. He didn't know what he did this time so he hopped off the bed and knocked on the door. Hoping someone was out there and would answer him. A few minutes passed and an angry looking drunk woman stood before him.
"What the hell do you want kid? I gave you food so shut up!" the woman bellowed at the small child. But Naruto tried his best to hide his fear and look up at the woman.
"I-I… I don't know what I did wrong. I want to know so I can make it better." He told her. She slapped him and he fell back hitting his head on the ground.
"You goddamn demon! You being born was what you did wrong. That's it! This is for my son! I'm killing you right now and saving this village!" the woman shouted as she grabbed Naruto by his hair and dragged him out of the room. Naruto started screaming and tried to fight her. He pushed her and the woman fell back and hit her head on a metal bedpost. She let go of him and fell to the ground. Blood started falling from her head as she blacked out. Naruto already knew it. He had killed her. In panic he ran out of there, he left the orphanage and didn't stop running until his legs couldn't carry him anymore. He fell and dragged himself over to an alleyway. Hiding himself in a box he curled up and cried.
"I didn't mean to do it. I was scared. She was hurting me. I wanted her to stop but I didn't want to kill her." he thought. Minato and Kushina went over and kneeled beside him. Even though they couldn't comfort him they sat beside him and desperately wished they could hold their son in their arms. The little boy cried himself to sleep and as the memory faded they heard his last thoughts to himself.
"They're all right, I am a monster. I really should just die." After that the world went black around them.
"Kushina, I think we've seen enough, let's go ok?" Minato said. His voice tried it's best to sound happy like normal. But after seeing those events his heart couldn't feel any happiness. As they started to walk back Kushina stopped and closed her eyes.
"Wait Minato. I hear something. I want to see this last memory and then we can go, please Minato." She asked and her husband. He nodded as the memory started to show itself. It took a longer time than the others. This memory was locked away in far parts of his mind. Kushina prepared herself for what she could tell was going to be the worst memory of all.
As the light surrounded her and she opened her eyes she noticed they were all in Naruto's old apartment. She sighed as at least this time she wouldn't see her son in the streets fighting for food. She saw Naruto looking out the window. He watched as people down on the streets were all dressed in black and had white flowers with them. Kushina knew this wasn't any kind of festival but then what could it be? She walked over to where her son was sitting on his bed and sat beside him.
"I'm bored! Why can't I go out? I wanna go to the park! That old man won't let me go out today. It's not fair! Everyone else gets to play and have fun on their birthdays! Why can't I?" he asked himself. Kushina froze as she realized what this was. His birthday, everyone was in black thinking about the people who died in the battle with the Kyuubi. No wonder he was like this. It was smart for that old man at least to try and keep her son safe but Kushina wished at least the Hokage would have come to visit him on his birthday.
Naruto sat there for a little while longer before hopping off the bed and putting his shoes on. He went and opened the door. Peeking out cautiously before fully leaving the safety of his apartment. Kushina quickly raced after him with Minato close behind her.
The little boy walked through the streets by running from alleyway to alleyway. They all knew that if someone spotted Naruto he would be attacked for sure. As Naruto walked down the streets he passed a shop filled with cakes and chocolates. His mouth watered and he dug through his pockets to find his money. It wasn't much but he had enough to buy one small thing. The shopkeeper there was an older woman who didn't beat Naruto as he came in to buy her food. He picked out a cupcake with rainbow sprinkles on it. He smiled and anxiously walked up to the counter.
"Can I buy this please?" he asked nervously. She nodded and as he told her why he wanted he she even gave him a single candle. Naruto's eyes widened as the woman gave him something like this.
"On a child's birthday he should always have a candle." She told him. Naruto tried to pay for the candle but the woman refused the money. Naruto thanked her and ran out with his cupcake. Kushina was amazed. She thought he was going to be miserable in this memory. This was one of the happiest memories she had seen of her son's past. As he ran back home he stopped as he saw a mob of people waiting for him at his apartment. He tried to escape but they spotted him.
"Hey you demon brat! Get back here! Today we are finally going to avenge the deaths of our loved ones! You killed them and now you shall pay!" the man yelled. Naruto fled from the mob. He heard them following close behind him. It didn't take long for them to catch up and attack him. A few men grabbed him and took his precious cupcake away from him. Others beat him and laughed. When they finally were finished torturing him they walked away. One of the men was still holding his cupcake.
Naruto slowly got up and followed the man. Trying to go and rescue the only present he got that day. Even if he didn't get the cupcake back, he wanted the candle as proof that someone could be kind. He followed the man until he got to his house and went inside. Naruto knew he couldn't rescue his treat now. He was too tired from being beaten to go back home. He heard sounds from inside the house of the man. The man had given it to his own child as an early present. Naruto's heart broke as he heard someone else have his present that he got specially. It hurt him to know someone finally showed him kindness and then others took it away. He heard the family talk and laugh with each other. When he heard the family sing he started crying. He stayed there until the streets were dark and he could go home safely.
As he walked home he felt more tears falling down his face as he started to sing to himself.
"H-Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me. H-Happy Birthday dear… N-Naruto… H-Happy birthday… t-to me…" he said as more and more tears fell. The boy ran away as the memory faded and darkness surrounded Kushina and Minato. They held onto each others hand as they left the darkness to where they entered. They met the image of Naruto that had led them there. His eyes were red from crying but he wiped them away the second he saw Kushina and Minato. He led the way past all the sides of Naruto's personality. When they got to the part that would have led them back the way they came Mianto stopped and headed down another path.
"We'll go, but not before I talk to a certain furry prisoner." He said. Though his voice made it sound like a joke his eyes showed he was pissed at the demon. He ran down the path that turned to a sewer until he stood before a large iron cage with a seal holding it. As Minato approached the cage two red eyes opened and glared down at him. The beast recognized him immediately and started thrashing against the cage to try and break free. Minato glared at the demon and it stopped and glared back at him.
"Well now, it's been a while hasn't it Yondaime Hokage? You know you shouldn't glare at me like that. I was watching the kits memories too. Though personally I was amused. But you should know that all of those injuries, I healed them. It's thanks to me your son lived so long. If it wasn't for me he'd be dead a long time ago. You should be thanking me." Kyuubi said and smiled evilly behind the bars. Mianto just continued glaring.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. You just wish I'd bow to you. You know that no matter how much you threaten you can't do anything to me or Naruto." Mianto yelled at the demon fox. Kyuubi glared and smirked back.
"Yes, I admit, for a mortal your seal is very strong. It's held me here almost 19 years. But I will escape. And oh how much fun I will have devouring this kit of yours right in front of your eyes! The seal is weakening. I will be free before you know it! Count on it!" the demon yelled. Minato turned away and left with Kushina.
They released the jutsu and found themselves back in their kitchen. Naruto was still unconscious in the chair but tears were still visible on his cheeks. Minato and Kushina helped him to his room and let him rest. They were still taking in everything they saw in their son's memory. How could anyone do that to a child?
"That's Kushina, we're going to give him a good birthday. I don't care if he wants it or not I need to know we did something to help him live past those horrible things he had to suffer through!" Minato said as Kushina tried to smile. Tears still running down her face as she went back to sit beside her sleeping son.
PLEASE READ NOTE!!
Sweet! Longest, most dramatic, and most interesting chapter yet! Ok, thank you as always for reading my story. All I want to say is please review. I know at least some people like this story because 35 people have this in their favorites and 62 people have it in their alerts so I know someone is reading this and wants to know when new chapters come out. I'm working on two stories at once and then there is the whole school thing I'm forced to go to so I am going to be writing chapters based on how many reviews I get. If a story gets more reviews I'll work on that one sooner than the other story. I'm not begging for reviews but I'm just using it to know which story to update sooner. I mean, I released a chapter in each story on the same day. This story got two reviews that day. While the other got 6. Just keep in mind that the more feedback I get the sooner new chapters come out. Sorry for ranting. Please review!