Adding yet another project on my list...yay(?) At any rate, I'm starting this one, so I hope you all enjoy it. *crosses fingers*
Oh! And I don't own Naruto! That right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Kushina was pissed…but at the same time exhausted.
Of course giving birth, and having the Kyuubi taken from you, would do that to anybody if they didn't straight up die afterward. Just a perk of being an Uzumaki she supposed.
The redhead could hear Naruto sleeping, just right beside her. He was so adorable, what with his baby fat, his whisker marks and his small head of hair. She was slightly peeved that his hair was blond…it was such a generic hair color...why couldn't it have been red?
After just a few moments there was a brief silence, followed by the Kyuubi just appearing in their general location with Minato, who was breathing heavily. He was clearly exhausted from all of the things he'd been doing.
"It took a lot of my remaining chakra, but I managed to get a barrier around the Kyuubi," her husband told her while breathing heavy.
Said Bijuu was currently ramming itself into the barrier, small cracks starting to appear on the surface.
"Minato, you went too far!" she chided. "I could have made the barrier."
Her life partner simply looked at her and the baby in his arms, "Kushina, you look like you're about to drop dead if you use any of your chakra right now."
"That doesn't matter, I can still use my chains! I'll seal the Kyuubi back inside me, and then kill myself…that way I can prevent its resurrection."
Minato simply shook his head at her proposal...it just seemed so...Kushina, "Kushina, you made me the Yondaime Hokage! You made me a man, and a father! Yet, you'd…" his voice cracked with emotion.
Kushina stood up and reaffirmed her will, "Minato…don't look at me like that, I'm happy. You…you love me…and it's our son's birthday. Most importantly, when I think about what our life would be like together…if I lived, I can only picture happiness."
She could see Minato's tears, though he fought hard to keep them from falling. At least, he'd be able to grow up with their son this way.
"If there's one thing I regret," she continued, "it's that I won't get to see Naruto grow up."
The sound of the Kyuubi continually slamming into Minato's barrier broke the sentimental moment, and reminded the parents of the situation at hand. Naruto started to cry, as if he knew he was going to lose a parent soon.
Minato wiped his tears away and looked right at Kushina, "There's no need for you to die with the Kyuubi."
Kushina looked at him confused by what he said…what exactly did he mean by that?
"I'll seal your remaining chakra inside Naruto with a Hakke Fuin. Then I will take the Kyuubi down with me. Since I'm not a jinchuriki, I can use the Shiki Fujin!" he told her while he rocked Naruto back to sleep.
Kushina's eyes widened in shock, "But with that seal you'll-!"
Minato cut her off, "There's one more thing. I can only seal half the Kyuubi's power. It's just not physically possible for me to seal it completely…it's not smart either. If you take the Kyuubi with you, there won't be a jinchuriki for it until it reforms, and the balance between Bijuu will be thrown out of whack."
The redhead blinked. She hadn't thought about that…if the Kyuubi reformed and there wasn't someone to seal it in, there was no telling what kind of destruction it could wreak.
"With Shiki Fujin," he continued. "I can seal half the Kyuubi's power forever and the other half…" Minato paused for a moment as he looked at the baby in his arm. He bit his lip and then continued, "I will seal within Naruto with the Hakke Fuin!"
As if it was even possible, Kushina's eyes widened futher. He was planning on making their baby boy a jinchuriki?! That wasn't the kind of life Kushina wanted for her son!
"I know what you want to say, but Jiraiya-sensei talked about a coming revolution and the catastrophes that'll come with it!" Minato told her. "Today, I realized two things. The masked man that attacked you…he'll bring the catastrophe! And our son is the one who will stop him. As the Kyuubi's jinchuriki, he will clear the way to the future…I just know it."
He began going through the handsigns for the Shiki Fujin, as Kushina looked on.
"But...Minato…"
"Have faith in this child!" Minato interrupted as he summoned the Shinigami. "After all, he is our son!"
The two argued, back and forth about the entire thing. Kushina didn't want her son to bear the burden of being a jinchuriki, but Minato was resolute. Nothing she said was changing his mind.
"Seal," Minato commanded after he summoned a shrine to place Naruto on.
Kushina couldn't see the Shinigami, but she could see the Kyuubi shrink to half its size. She could also see the seal that appeared on Minato's stomach as he stood paralyzed. Before anything else could happen, she fell to her knees when her leg muscles failed to continue holding her up.
"Kushina!" Minato shouted as he knelt next to her.
It was then that the worst decided to show its face.
The Kyuubi finally managed to make a space in the barrier big enough for its arm and then attempted to shove its claw through Naruto.
Kushina saw this and attempted to jump in front of it to stop the impalement. Just before the claw could run through her, she felt a tug, as if a massive hand wrapped itself around her body. Faster than she could comprehend in her current state, she found herself with the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
'When did he get here?' she thought as she looked around. Very quickly, she found herself looking at her husband impaled by the Kyuubi's claw, along with a teen with grey hair. There was only one person she knew of with grey hair, Kakashi. Substitution was the thing that immediately came to her mind. It was clear that both he and Minato together had managed to stop the claw from piercing Naruto.
The exhaustion she had been fighting back now came to her in full force. Her limbs grew heavier, and her eyelids were slowly closing no matter how much she fought to keep her eyes open. Kushina wanted to see this through to the end.
'Minato…Naruto…Kakashi,' were her last thoughts before everything went dark.
XxX
White, bright light. That was what greeted Kushina when her eyes opened. The redhead squinted and moved an arm to shield her face. She waited for her eyes to properly adjust before she surveyed the room she was in.
It was a dull white, the florescent light only amplifying the dullness of the color. A constant beeping sound alerted her to a machine on her right, with wires from it leading to her body. Wait…her body?
Ah hell. She was in the hospital. With a heart monitor steadily reminded her that she was alive. Well, as long as there wasn't a needle in her body or something she was fine.
Kushina moved her other arm, but something felt off about it…like there was something in it. She turned her head, almost robotically, to see her left arm…with a needle in it.
Almost immediately, she felt sweat beginning to form on her brow as her heart started beating faster. She began to hyperventilate, and her arms began to shake. Facing the Kyuubi? It had nothing on this. She'd rather face twelve copies of the Kyuubi than look at the needle that was currently IN HER ARM!
Gathering herself as much as she could in the midst of her panic attack, she did the only logical thing…
"Someone help! There's a needle in my arm, -ttebane!"
..She yelled.
Soon after, a doctor and three nurses came rushing into the room. The redhead would normally feel shame about something like this, but at the moment she didn't care. She just wanted the thing out of her arm.
"Take it out! Take it out!" she commanded while she attempted to calm herself.
Two nurses held her down, while the third calmly took the needle out of her arm. Once it was removed, the doctor placed a hand on her shoulder and look her in the eyes.
"Easy, easy…the needle's out now okay?" Once Kushina nodded he continued. "Okay, now deep breaths…in and out…in and out."
She did as he commanded, and tried to take in as much oxygen as possible into her lungs before breathing it out. She repeated the process several times before she began to feel calm. Her heart rate slowed down to normal levels, and she stopped shaking.
"Are you good now?"
The redhead nodded, "Yeah doc…I'm fine now."
"Good," he replied. "Do you need anything?"
"Yeah, actually. How long was I out?"
"Sandaime-sama brought you in here right after the Kyuubi attack two days ago."
Kushina blinked, "So I've been out for a good long while."
"Yes. You were near death when he brought you here. I'm honestly surprised that you're alive."
"Why's that?"
"Let's see. You had a bijuu extracted from you, and your chakra was so low that if you had used any jutsu or those chains of yours, you would have died. Honestly I'm surprised you survived at all," he told her while he looked at the clipboard he got from her bed.
"Oh…" So if she had set up the barrier with her chains, she would have died. "…Wait…did the Sandaime also have a blond baby with him?"
"Yes, he had us perform some check-ups on the boy before he took him to his tower…I believe."
"Good. Then I've got to get over there!" she said.
Yanking the wires away from her body, she attempted to stand. Turned out to be very hard when she couldn't even get out of the bed. Not letting that little fact get in her way, she managed to get her legs off the stiff mattress and pushed herself from the rest of the bed.
"No! Stay in bed!"
Naturally she ignored the doctor's orders and let her feet touch the ground. Slowly, but surely, the redhead managed to stand up, bringing a smile to her face.
"Now to get my son, -ttebane!" she shouted as she began walking on wobbly legs.
"But you're still in a hospital gown," one of the nurses protested. "Plus you still haven't fully recovered!"
"I know when I'm recovered enough!" Kushina stated as she was leaving her room. She didn't get far. She didn't even make it past the doorway when her legs gave out, sending her falling to the floor. "I'm not recovered enough!"
"Kushina? What are you doing on the floor?"
Said woman looked up to see a head of hair that she was quite familiar with.
"Mikoto-chan! Help me up!"
Mikoto Uchiha, a fair-skinned woman with long, black hair. Bangs roughly framed the sides of her face, and she wore brown blouse, a dark purple skirt with blue shinobi sandals. Most villagers called her the most beautiful woman to come from the Uchiha clan. Many enemies called her danger to be around on the battlefield. She was a loving wife to the head of the clan. Kushina called her the bestest friend ever in the whole world, though.
"So why are you on the floor?" Mikoto asked as she helped her friend up.
"Oh, I was about to leave the hospital to go to the Hokage Tower."
"Why? You should be in bed. Resting. For several weeks."
"Rest is for the weak! Plus the Sandaime is holding my boy hostage, -ttebane!" Kushina told her, a wide grin on her face.
"Really?" the Uchiha asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh yeah," the redhead replied. "He can't give my child the love that only a mother can give. So Naruto is definitely a hostage."
"Oh well we can't have that," Mikoto said. "How about I get him back from Sandaime-sama while you recover here?"
"Excellent! He's at the Hokage tower," Kushina informed as Mikoto helped her back into bed, the doctor and the nurses long gone.
"I'll get him and come right back," Mikoto promised.
XxX
The clock ticked.
Kushina blinked.
The clock ticked again.
Kushina blinked again.
She'd been staring at the clock in her hospital room for a solid 10 minutes. It, of course, felt like an hour to the redhead. Every second that ticked on the clock was another minute that she didn't have her son. Damn it, where was Mikoto? She said she'd be right back!
Heck if she used the Shunshin, she would have gotten back in less than half the time. But then came the problem…Kushina didn't know if Mikoto knew Shunshin…ah, she probably did. Kushina could trust the woman, she was her best friend after all.
A single knock interrupted her thoughts, with another getting her attention to the door.
"Come in," she told her visitor as she fixed her hair.
Let it be known that even with her personality, Kushina was still a woman and she cared for her appearance.
"Ah, Kushina. It's wonderful to see you up, yet not about," a voice, wizened with age told her.
A man with whitening hair walked in. He wore the Hokage robe and hat, which hid the wrinkles that were starting to show up. Despite his aged appearance, he was powerful and any shinobi worth their money in the Bingo Book could recognize him. His name was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage.
"Sandaime-sama,"she greeted, "and where is my child?"
The man walked over to her and handed her a bundle that had a hole for a face, one she recognized as her own son's. He was currently asleep, and if Kushina paid attention she could hear his breathing.
She spoke in a hushed tone, "He's so adorable, -ttebane."
"That he is. That he is. …Now, I assume you want to know what's happened while you were out."
"Straight to the point huh? Sure," she answered as she rocked her baby.
"I've decided to re-take the Hokage seat."
Kushina looked up, "But you're getting old."
The man laughed, "Would you like to take the seat then, Kushina?"
"After seeing the paperwork Minato had to do?" Kushina smiled. "Hell no."
Seeing the old man fight the laugh that would have, no doubt, woken the sleeping Naruto made Kushina feel good. It was nice to know that even after nearly dying, she was still awesome.
"And here I thought I was done with this job," he sighed. "Continuing on, Konoha is already rebuilding from the Kyuubi attack, the elders want answers, and the villagers want to know what happened to the Kyuubi…and poor Minato-kun."
With that said, Kushina was starting to remember the fact that Minato was now dead, along with…Kakashi. Wait a second, Kakashi!
"What happened to Kakashi!?"
"It appears he managed to sneak away from his peers after being evacuated away from the village."
Kushina blinked, "How?"
"From the reports given to me, it appears that Kakashi asked permission to take care of his business."
"You mean pee," the red head cut in.
A pregnant silence followed for a while before any of them spoke again. Clearing his throat, the Sandaime continued.
"He sent a clone in his place, and came to the Kyuubi's location, where he substituted with you just before the claw impaled you. Minato-kun sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto just before he and his pupil died."
"…I see."
It took a lot of willpower to stop her arms from shaking. The man began to walk out of the room as he took his pipe out.
"I'll leave you to your devices, Kushina."
It was only when the Sandaime left, and Kushina made sure she was alone with her baby before she started crying.
XxX
Kushina hated the sun. With a passion.
Honestly, to have the nerve to stay constantly shining during the entirety of Minato's, and Kakashi's, funeral. Where was the rain? The gloom that should have been around more, but wasn't because the sun was shining?
Now Kushina was here with her son as people left, sadness radiating from everyone. None of which surpassed Kushina's own sadness. Even several minutes after everyone had left, tears still streamed down her face. She walked towards the memorial stone where her husband's newly carved name lay.
"Damn it Minato…You didn't have to die," she started. "You could have just let me seal the Kyuubi and die. Then you'd have been able to watch as the little boy that you and I graced the world with grew up into savior you believed he is."
Kushina let out a humorless laugh as she remembered her time in the hospital.
"You know, I'm the first jinchuriki on record to ever survive extraction of their Bijuu, though I still have my seal…it's weird. When I'm not out walking or shopping for food, the staff at the hospital monitor everything going on in my body. I've still got more chakra than the Sandaime, but it's still not as large as I'm used to having. The doctor's say that if I continue my career, I could possibly get my reserves back to what it was before the extraction…but I don't know if I want to. Continue my career that is.
"I know you're probably angry at me for saying that, but just hear me out. I've lost a village, I don't know if my clan is still around. I nearly lost another home, but most importantly…I lost the love of my life. Minato, how am I supposed to live without you?! You taught me to love my hair, allowed me to fight alongside you during the war and you helped me become the woman I am today. The only thing I have now is our son, and the home that you bought for our family.
"Then again…our son won't have an easy life. He'll probably be hated, and targeted by other villages, so he'll need someone to protect him. And I can't trust any shinobi here to do that correctly, so…I guess I'll have to do it!" she clenched a fist and tapped it to the memorial stone. "I promise you Minato…I'll become the most badass kunoichi in the village and keep my son safe. No matter what!"
Kushina's ears picked up the sound of footsteps and turned to see a boy wearing a green full body jumpsuit and orange leg warmers. Normally Kushina would laugh at his ridiculous bowl cut, but today seeing the boy mourning like her, she couldn't. Maito Gai had lost his father to the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, and now Kakashi to the Kyuubi. She was a little upset that he interrupted her alone time with Minato, but that could be forgiven given the circumstance.
Gai knelt, and placed flowers near the stone. As he spoke, Kushina realized that she hadn't spoken to Kakashi yet. But what could she say? 'Thank you for saving my and my son's lives, sorry for you needed to get impaled to do it?' That wouldn't do. It wouldn't do at all. Kakashi had a long life ahead of him, and he traded it away to let his sensei's son have a living family member.
"Gai, Kakashi wouldn't want you to cry over his death," she told him. "He'd want you to celebrate how youthful he went out."
Gai looked at her, the tears still streaming down his face, "Kakashi went out…youthfully?"
"Mmhmm," she affirmed. "He protected the next generation most youthfully. He placed himself in front of the Kyuubi's claw to save one of Konoha's future shinobi. Before his death, Minato said that this boy would bring about change to the shinobi world. I guess Kakashi saw that in Naruto too."
Kushina motioned to Naruto, who captured Gai's attention immediately. The redhead could see the sadness that previously occupied Gai's eyes fade away, replaced with a sort of determination.
"Yosh! This baby is Kakashi's legacy, and I will do ALL I can to keep him safe!" the boy exclaimed.
The redhead leveled a glare at him, "He's not just Kakashi's legacy. He's Minato's legacy."
Gai blinked, "You mean?"
She nodded, "Mhhm. He's the son of our late Yondaime Hokage. I can personally attest to it."
Kushina then began walking away as a dumbstruck Gai watched her leave. With every step she took, Kushina felt a weight leave her shoulders. She wouldn't, couldn't, forget the sacrifice that her husband and Kakashi made, but now she felt she could rest easier…hopefully.
'Kakashi…thank you for letting me grow up with my child.'
XxX
It was just a few hours later when ANBU showed themselves at her home. Luckily, she had already breastfed Naruto, so no embarrassing happenings there. But really, they could have knocked before entering her home as it was common courtesy.
A man wearing an otter mask told her that she was expected to meet with the Hokage and council in the Hokage's office. After telling them she'd get there, they left her to her devices.
Now, with Naruto in tow, she made her way to the tower wondering what the council wanted to see her for. Making her way up the tower, she knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Given permission, Kushina let herself in to see the Sandaime and his council. Besides seeing the Hokage, she saw Koharu, a grey-haired elderly woman wearing a long kimono, Homura, an elderly man wearing robes similar to the Hokage with glasses and Danzo, an elder with a half-bandaged face and an X shaped scar on his chin.
"Good," Danzo started, "you brought the jinchuriki."
Kushina narrowed her eyes in his direction, "Minato and I didn't spend several days in bed to have our son be an object. He has a name, –ttebane."
"And what, pray tell, is the child's name?" the man asked.
"His name is Naruto," she replied. Something about Danzo had rubbed Minato the wrong way during his tenure as Hokage, so she made a mental note to keep an eye on him. "So what am I here for Sandaime-sama?"
The man took out his pipe before speaking, "We wish to know what happened the night of the Kyuubi attack."
She blinked, "Do you want all the details?"
"All that you can remember," the Sandaime affirmed.
"Well alright then," Kushina replied, with a smile that most definitely did not promise verbal evil. "It all started as I began giving birth to Naruto…"
XxX
"…then, the masked man managed to get the Kyuubi out of my weakened seal."
"And how, pray tell, did the man do that?" Homura asked as he composed himself from Kushina's very descriptive tale.
Kushina blinked, "I don't know. He just stared at my seal and said, 'Come, Kyuubi.' Then the guy came out."
"Can you remember anything defining about him?" the Sandaime asked.
The redhead sighed and searched her memory, "I think I saw a Sharingan in his right eye socket."
"A Sharingan?" Danzo muttered. "So it was an Uchiha who attacked the village."
"Pardon me Danzo," the Sandaime started as he glanced at him, "but the man's face was covered, and he wore a cloak. Why immediately jump to the Uchiha being the ones behind the attack, just because he had the Sharingan? For all we know, this man could have easily killed an Uchiha during the war implanted it on his own person."
"We cannot rule out the possibility, Hiruzen."
The Sandaime put his pipe to his mouth, and sighed, "We shall discuss this at a later time. You all may leave. Kushina, please stay."
As the elders left the room, Kushina relaxed. They always put her on edge.
"Do you have any questions before I speak to the villagers?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do actually. My seal is still on me, and I want to know why. I thought that the seal would disappear once the thing being held back was gone?"
"I have an answer for that one. During the Kyuubi's rampage, it left a concentrated amount of chakra in the village. I managed to seal that leftover chakra into you, while managing to reapply your seal. I have reason to believe that that, coupled with your Uzumaki vitality, is the reason you are standing here today."
"…So…I'm still a jinchuriki."
"I believe the term 'pseudo-jinchuriki' would be the proper term," he told her.
"…Still a jinchuriki," she replied. Either way, she still had Bijuu chakra in her. There was no need to differentiate. "I also have a request…if you don't mind Hokage-sama."
"What is it Kushina?"
"When you talk to the villagers…tell them who Naruto's father is."
The silence in the room was palpable. The Sandaime looked at her like she had grown a second head.
"Kushina do you realize what you're asking me to do? Iwa would come for him once he became a shinobi. And a simple genin, jinchuriki or not, would not fare well against a team of jounin."
"I don't care about Iwa. They can suck it. People die during war, they're just being childish. So what if Minato killed like…hundreds or thousands? I guarantee you that the Shodaime, Nidaime and yourself killed more than that in your lifetimes."
"While that is true, there is the fact that Iwa shinobi would still attack him without cause if they should encounter him."
"Then let me become his sensei once he becomes a genin!" she yelled, letting her feelings overcome her rather quickly. "There's nobody better to do so than someone who knows what he's going to go through!"
"Kushina, calm down," he commanded, his voice full of authority. "You're letting your emotions get the better of you."
Kushina took a deep breath, "Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Good. Now, I will consider your suggestion to be his sensei, but won't you be a bit bias once it comes time?"
The redhead simply shook her head, "You have my word as an Uzumaki that I will not be bias once the time comes."
"…I'm having trouble believing you right now now. But we'll see."
Kushina beamed, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
"Now…let's get the villagers up to date."
XxX
As it turned out, getting the villagers up to date involved 20 minutes of telling them of Konoha's rebuilding process, and how the economy was going to be affected as a result. It was really boring.
"Now, for the news I'm sure you have all been waiting for. Yes, our beloved Yondaime Hokage is dead. We all went to his funeral, so this should be common knowledge. But you don't know how he died, or at least you shouldn't. He died after being impaled by the Kyuubi's claw, but not before he sealed it in a baby." It was at this point that the Sandaime raised baby Naruto into the air, to be viewed by all. "The baby that he and Kushina Uzumaki made with all their love and affection. I present to you, Naruto Uzumaki! The son of the Yondaime, and jinchuriki of the Kyuubi!"
Kushina's heart soared once she heard the last three sentences. Hopefully, this was the start of a bright future.
And we end on a hopeful note. Boom. Mission accomplished.
I originally wanted to post this tomorrow (October 10) to give Naruto a nice little birthday present, but I don't know if I'll have the time tomorrow. So you guys got this early. Love it. Love it with all your heart.
Of course, I've been working on the second chapter for a while so that stalled the editing for this one. Expect that up eventually...I hate how short my chapter are...meh. I'll hopefully find a way to overcome that.
Happy birthday Naruto Uzumaki! You know...tomorrow...