The Kyuubi attack.
An event of immense catastrophe, where many ninja and civilians lost their lives, racking up to perhaps the hundreds. The beast's mighty tails and roars were enough to change the very structure of Konoha and its future.
Indeed, it was a night no one would forget.
Those of the Sarutobi clan mourned for the loss of their beloved Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi; the astute and brave man who had sacrificed himself to seal the legendary fox.
Inside what, one may ask?
Why, amongst the commoners, it was known to be sealed in the great daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, Narumi Uzumaki-Namikaze!
"To have the daughter of the Hokage carry such a beast...what a curse!"
...is what they muttered.
Of course, that wasn't the whole truth.
Not even close.
What truly happened that night was only known to a select few. Including the fact that Narumi had only received half the Nine Tails, with the other half going to her near dead mother, Kushina Uzumaki.
How did it end up that way though? How could such a powerful ninja — not to mention the wife of the Hokage — be on the verge of death?
It all started with a single masked man breaching the Anbu protected barrier, and taking the first son of the Yondaime, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. After a battle of wits and trickery, the Yondaime had managed to fend away the ninja and teleport away with his twin children.
Yes, twin children. Kushina had, in fact, bore fraternal children that day.
It was at that moment of birth a ripple effect occurred; an effect that even those up above took note of.
Nevertheless, once the Hokage placed his children in one of his safe houses, he teleported to his wife just in time to save her from being killed by the recently extracted Kyuubi. After reuniting the mother with her children, the father went out to protect his village.
As his infamous name described, the Yondaime arrived in the nick of time, having teleported the Tailed Beast Bomb away, right before it could destroy the Hokage Rock.
And here came the greatest result of the aforementioned ripple effect.
The Yondaime was successful in contacting the Sandaime. For some reason, the masked man had been late (far too late for Minato's liking when he reflected back on that day).
Although the unknown Sharingan user still engaged with the Fourth in a struggle for power (which the masked man ultimately lost), the damage had already been done. The Sandaime had made up his mind; to activate the Reaper Death Seal and seal the Kyuubi for the good of the village. With the help of Kushina's infamous Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Professor was able to successfully place the Yang half of the Tailed Beast in the female infant, with the Yin in the red-haired Uzumaki to prolong her life.
And in the end, both she, the Yondaime, and their children were saved from the brink of death.
That was all sixteen years ago.
However, even those who claim to know the "truth" of that night...
...were in fact very far from it.
"Alright, we've finally graduated!"
Narumi had always been an energetic child, but today, she was beyond her usual game. Her bright yellow hair — a trait she inherited from her father — was split into two tails and bounced behind her gently. The sixteen year old off-spring of the Yellow Flash and Red Death was no doubt a star, both in academics and looks. It wasn't her body shape that stood out— or, it did, but just not as much as some of the other females in the class.
Still, she wore a short-sleeved, tan kimono blouse with a dark embroidered border, held closed with a black obi, and a dark short skirt with stockings that stopped at her thighs. Now though, she had the addition of the village's forehead protector, combined with an air of confidence that quite literally magnetized everyone, and reminding the older ninja of her mother.
Indeed, trickling out from the door was the rest of the class, most with satisfied or relieved looks. The gentle cool wind brisked against them, and the Academy playground that they had oh-so been acquainted with would finally disappear from their general sights. Even though the students could technically leave school grounds, most decided to stay as to discuss the exam and their future plans.
Speedily catching up to the blonde were Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, each close friends of Narumi. Although their friendship had been quite artificial at first due to the two girls' obsession with a certain Uchiha, it slowly turned into something more as the Academy went on.
"Slow down, Narumi-chan!" Sakura's sharp tone caused the blond to freeze, and sheepishly look back, "I get that you're excited, but we still have a few days until we get assigned into teams."
"Yeah, yeah." the blonde waved off, before looking over her friend, particularly at her forehead, which held the Leaf headband. Sakura had shoulder-length pink hair, and her red top was accompanied by black gloves, knee-high boots, and black shorts underneath a short grey apron skirt. All in all, it suited her. "The headband looks great on you, Sakura-chan!"
The pinkette blushed at the compliment. "You think?"
"Pfft! Not as if Sasuke-kun will notice you that way!" the other blond of the group, Ino, addressed this competitively. In response, Sakura glared at her, and two entered a short glaring contest. Of course, Narumi came in between them and sighed.
"Ladies, ladies. Enough with the Uchiha wank."
The two sent out one last glare, before humphing away. Narumi sighed again, and looked toward the Yamanaka. She was probably more attractive than Sakura, and as a kunoichi, that was moderately useful. The fair-skinned sixteen year old wore a seductive purple outfit consisting of a high-collared blouse and matching apron skirt, while also exposing her midriff and having mesh armour on her thighs, elbows and knees. Her headband was worn as a belt, and Narumi had no idea how Ino did that based on how little time she even had the damn thing.
As they chattered away, two faraway figures with unusual blank white pupils watched with mild amusement, as if judging the crowd of students below them. The taller, more bustier one smirked as she leaned against the isolated Academy tree, donning an unzipped lavender and cream hooded-jacket, revealing her brown mesh armour. She had navy blue pants, black low-heeled sandals, and hair reaching to her lower back, with the framing strands growing to shoulder-length.
"We probably could've graduated three years earlier if it weren't for that dumb blond."
"Agreed, Onee-sama. "
The other female, sitting on the Academy's well-known swing, spoke with a prideful tone. Even with that superiority, there was a hint of longing in it, as if to want approval of some sort from the Hyuga known as Hinata. Hanabi's own face was similar to her sister's, though quite clearly one head shorter. Another key difference (besides her thinner body shape) was her shorter hair, framing her face in an asymmetrical bob style with the front bangs reaching below her chin. She was garbed in a sleeveless, blue v-neck shirt with mesh armour underneath, along with a tan vest jacket over it.
One would call call her a cute little clone of Hinata. She was, afterall, one year younger than her; a prodigy at the ripe age of fifteen that would also be graduating with her sister.
She wasn't the only prodigy graduating earlier, however. There was another; coincidentally from their rival clan, the Uchiha, and her name was Satsuki. The female had just exited the Academy doors and began her journey home, contrasting the majority of the other students. Satsuki had fair-skin with long black hair that went down to her mid-back and onyx eyes which were inherited from her father, Fugaku Uchiha.
She was dressed in a white shirt that had red borders and cuffs, and chose to compliment that with white shorts that reached her mid-thigh. To represent her clan, she had an unzipped long sleeveless black vest, with the Uchiha clan symbol on the front left side and back. For some diversity, her midsection was wrapped in a blue cloth, and instead of typical sandals, put on thigh-high ninja boots.
And of course, just recently, put on the the standard Konoha forehead protector, which was slightly covered by her dark bangs.
As she walked past the crowd, her presence was noted by Narumi, but not acted upon; as if there was some sort of barrier preventing her from calling out to the Uchiha. Not a physical one, but emotional.
The only one who noticed said reluctance was Shikamaru Nara, who had been behind Satsuki due to his coincidental intent to also go home. Sighing, he looked to his right, his best friend Chouji casually eating a bag of chips. Unlike the females in their grade, the two were not model-level lookers on any end, nor did they have any sort of relationship issues.
The Nara was whipped in a short-sleeved grey jacket with green-edged sleeves and the rudimentary Nara clan symbol on the back, under which was a green-lined mesh armour T-shirt. He also wore brown pants, a pair of his clan's traditional silver hoop earrings, and his brand new blue forehead protector around his left arm.
Chouji sported a red suit with plated armour on his torso, arms, and upper legs, having the same kanji for "food" on the front. With the standard red forehead protector and hoop earrings, he wouldn't be that bad looks-wise, if it weren't for his large body mass. And the chips he was munching on weren't helping with that either. The excess weight played in-hand with his ninja abilities, hence it wasn't anything he was too concerned about. Most of the time, anyway.
"Ya know, I sometimes think women have it easy, with their good looks and all. Then I remember how troublesome their drama is."
"Mhm, mhm." Chouji nodded, mindlessly agreeing with his friend whilst crunching on his junk food. He put his hand down to reach another one, before realizing another person had already delved their hands into it. Looking to his left, Chouij found the overly confident Kiba eating his chips. If it were a stranger, Chouji would've immediately knocked them out, but knowing it was Kiba, he allowed it.
"Man, oh man, we're finally Genin!" eating the crisps, he continued. "Aren't you guys excited!?"
"Just not as much as you." Shikamaru replied while yawning. At least, before he suddenly jolted, as he felt something rub against his leg. Dragging his vision down, he saw a large, white dog, or Akamaru as he knew it. It was Kiba's dog, and someone Kiba didn't leave with. Ever.
"Look, even Akamaru is excited."
A bark came from the dog in response to his owner's declaration, and the two seemingly grinned at one another. Or stuck his tongue out, in Akamaru's case. However, the wolf-like creature abruptly stopped his happy behaviour to look at a single figure who had just passed them.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Figured in a black one-piece that resembled a short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, he more notably had many small belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around both legs. His Konoha headband was firmly on his forehead, yet for some odd reason, Akamaru would always be somewhat wary around him. Not aggressive, but definitely on-guard.
It was the same way with Shino Aburame, the whole guarded behaviour. Luckily, that Genin had already long left the Academy parameters. Nonetheless, his long green coat, hood, and black sunglasses (not even mentioning the satchel on his back) obscured his face to the point where he was outright considered both the most mysterious and creepy student of their grade and the next.
"How 'bout we go for some barbecue, big guy?" Kiba popped the question, to which Chouji nodded vigorously to. Shikamaru sighed, indicating that he would join in. With a glint in his eyes, the Inuzuka added, "We can pick some girls up along the way, hehe~!"
Chouji and Shikamaru exchanged glanced, before groaning. Here came another one of Kiba's attempts to flirt with literally any of the females in their class. Although it'd be somewhat effective against the civilian girls, most of the popular and notable women rejected his advances.
"If you're going after Hinata-san, not a chance." Chouji deadpanned, with Shikamaru curtly adding. "Or literally any of the clan girls."
Kiba moaned, though surprisingly not by the fact that he couldn't approach those particular two. "Oh, come on! Even I know when a girl isn't interested."
"Highly debatable."
"Hey!"
The three continued bickering, making their way out of the school grounds and into the Leaf pathways, with absolutely none of the aforementioned Genin noticing the Academy doors opening once again.
Coming out last (and incredibly late), walking with absolutely no swagger and complete meekness, was the prodigal son of the Yondaime, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. With thick black glasses laying on his nose, along with a black tracksuit that had a red fire symbol on the left breast, and dark pink stripes along the sides of his black pants, the blue-eyed sixteen year old smiled triumphantly.
'I did it!'
Pumping a silent fist, he continued forth with a flustered look on him, the source of it being the leaf symbolised headband on his forehead. Unlike the others, graduating was an enormous deal to Naruto.
To explain, Naruto was average beyond average. He went through curriculum of the Academy while struggling here and there, like most civilians would have, and trotted with only one affinity, wind. His aptness in it wasn't particularly impressive either, especially when compared to Narumi. In nearly all aspects, he was unlike most of the other clan students, who not only had an incredible connection to one or two elements, but were gifted with Yin or Yang Jutsu as well.
His mediocrity was to the extent that some wondered whether he was actually an adopted child of the Hokage, since he clearly didn't inherit any of his parent's talent. He wasn't shunned for it, but he wasn't exactly praised either. He was always considered the other child, the second, even though ironically enough he was the elder one.
Still, it wasn't as if he hated them, or vice-versa. No, it was better this way. Naruto was, after all, a very shy teenager, always quiet and timid. He preferred being in the background rather than the spotlight. It was the exact opposite of his sister, and more especially, Hinata.
Indeed, unlike Narumi, Hinata was the type to flirt with every single guy in the class. Of course, it didn't work on some, such as Shino or Sasuke. Fortunately, Naruto had never been on the end of her flirtation due to his lack of presence. To be frank, it was really just a way for her to up Narumi (who was far too bashful to do such things) and increase her overall influence.
Not to mention it was another way to compete over the "Rookie of the Year" and "Kunoichi of the Year" titles. The runner-ups were (obviously) Sasuke, Narumi, and Hinata. In Naruto's humble opinion, he thought Sasuke was going to win, simply because he had beaten Narumi more times than not. Not that she had never beaten him, mind you. In fact, she was first (and only) one in the Academy who had beat him in a full-on spar. If he recalled correctly, their score was 55-1-30; meaning, 55 wins for Sasuke, one interrupted, and 30 wins for Narumi.
Other than that, Sasuke had never lost, whereas Narumi struggled to defeat Hinata, Satsuki, and some of the other clan children. Even so, those kids were on an entirely other level, far beyond his own comprehension. Thankfully, Naruto had never fought them all that much, preferring to spar with the civilians instead. The one time he did fight a notable individual, it was Shikamaru, who gave up in the middle of it because it was getting too hot and he wanted to be in the shade.
Not that it really mattered to the blond. He always had someone to cope about his own insecurities and lack of talent.
'Aibou?'
He called out the name in a low yet joyful tone, and as he expected, an answer was formed from inside his head.
'What's wrong, Naruto?'
Aibou...that was what he called him. His other self. His partner.
Aibou had always been with Naruto for as long as the blond could remember. At first, he considered him an imaginary friend, and even his parents did too. He was a child, after all. It was natural that children had those sort of things. It wasn't until Naruto entered the Academy when he realized how abnormal it was; no one else was talking to their imaginary friend. Not anymore. And Naruto had been too shy to pose the question to his sensei's or parents.
When the medical portion of the Academy curriculum came, he had wondered whether he actually had Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Aibou was kind, cool, calm, and an overall collected person. He had always patiently helped Naruto in coping with his shyness, and in all the years Naruto had known him, he had never lost his temper either. However, he was sometimes overly quiet and dull, and similar to Naruto, wasn't too experienced in social interaction.
If one were to describe him exactly, he was...a really nice edgelord.
Naruto had never actually seen him physically — due to, ya know, being in his head and all — but the blond always did know that he was watching in some way. And with that confidence (combined with a few incidents), Naruto knew he wasn't another aspect of himself. He was an entirely different entity, which, in fact, Aibou confirmed with his very own words. He was indeed a different person from Naruto, and had somehow wound up inside him.
To back it up, Aibou claimed to have a memory outside of Konoha; toads, snakes, slugs, hawks, and creatures of all kinds of manner surrounding him. Aibou had an inkling that they were helping him building something. There was another memory too, a super blurry one where an old man (maybe women, he really couldn't tell) was talking to him about something super important.
Or at least that was the feeling Aibou got in the shaky memory.
Nonetheless, the closest thing Naruto could compare him to was like...a Tailed Beast or something. In fact, there was one instance in which he actually took over his body entirely. He was unconscious during the whole thing and it was an emotionally taxing time for him, sure, but the point was that Aibou meant no ill-intent. He would do his best to support him, a notion Naruto believed wholeheartedly.
'Ah, it's nothing. I'm just really excited!' after a couple seconds of hesitance, the host finally replied,
The man chuckled, his deep yet kind voice echoing through his head. 'That's natural. You are equally nervous, no?'
'Yeah! But I won't mess up!'
Undeniably, the three part exam was difficult: there was the written portion, the practical portion, and the application. Each section had its own day dedicated to it.
The written portion was the first and obviously in the form of an exam, containing material from the entire Academy curriculum. He wasn't all that good at academics, and today, Iruka had revealed he had gotten a seventy-two. At least it was better than Shikamaru, who never tried and pretty much gave himself a passing grade. Everybody knew he could do better, but the Nara just never tried.
The second day was the practical portion, which was further split into two parts; Ninjutsu and weapon usage. Although the test was different for each person, in Naruto's case, he had to do the Clone Jutsu along with shuriken throwing. From what he heard from Narumi (in her overly loud conversations), she had to do a Transformation Jutsu plus kunai throwing.
Finally, there was the application portion, where they had to spar against their Chunin teachers for a 5 minutes. Fortunately, Naruto was able to do so through his use of the Substitution Jutsu and other defensive measures. He could tell Iruka-sensei was being lenient with him though. The man had an odd soft spot for him.
However, Naruto was completely overshadowed by the other students: Narumi, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, Satsuki, and Hanabi all defeated their Chunin instructors outright. Apparently, it wasn't even close. That was to be expected, of course. They were all the products of Konoha's greatest clans.
Naruto was sure Shino could've done so too, but chose not to due to his reserved nature. Aibou was apparently weary Shino, telling him he was someone the blond should not make an enemy out of. It was something Naruto kept close to heart, since Aibou did not even remotely consider someone like Sasuke as a threat. And Naruto personally thought he was the strongest of their grade. Maybe he was wrong?
For now though, Naruto was heading home.
"So Naru-chan, how's it feel to finally be Genin!?"
That gushed tone of voice emerged from a red-head wearing a sleeveless blouse under a long, green loose-fitting dress with a wristband on the left wrist. This was Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, mother of the fraternal twins.
Naruto had just entered the kitchen, and saw their mother making dinner. At her full height, she stood at around 5'4, exactly 4 inches less than Naruto. He smiled at her nervously, but before he could respond, a new voice from the living table entered the field.
"You must be incredibly excited."
The tone was kind and gentle, and Naruto registered it to be his father: Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage. Most of the time he was at the office working, but on certain occasions, he would be at home, wearing casual clothing whilst drinking coffee and reading a book, such as now. Their house was quite big, with two floors and all, yet his parents opted to have the living room and kitchen in the same area for more ease.
"A-ah. Yes, I'm really excited..." he mumbled out, scratching his cheek with his finger. Looking to the side, he saw a patch of yellow beside his father's green chair, and smiled gently. His father pushed his chair up into the table, giving Naruto the space to confront the tiny creature known as Mito Uzumaki-Namikaze.
Unlike Minato, Naruto, and Narumi, Mito was not a blond, but instead, a red-head similar to Kushina. Admittedly, Naruto never really talked to Narumi. Though they were raised together, their personalities clashed too much for them to have a lot of chemistry. However, with Mito, due to Narumi being constantly busy with her friends, Naruto always had the time to play with her, something Kushina appreciated immensely.
And in front of her, he could act at least moderately confident.
"Hey there, Mito-chan." Naruto greeted softly, causing the young girl to turn her head. Her eyes became filled with joyful recognition as she saw him, and she beckoned her older brother toward herself.
"Look, look, Onii-sama!" she held out a piece of paper while Naruto kneeled down to her to see it, "I made a seal! And I didn't need Tou-chan's help!"
Squinting, he looked over the black ink plastered on the paper. Minato took a sip of his coffee as to hide the proud smile on his face. Knowing her brother was about to praise her, the tiny three foot girl stood up with a toothy grin. Patting her head, Naruto replied honestly.
"To be honest, Mito-chan...you're incredible."
One might think Naruto said that because it was his responsibility as an older brother, but that wasn't true; he really did mean every word. Mito was only four years old, but she was able to write Fuinjutsu on a level beyond that of a typical Chunin. The Yondaime had been encouraging the practice of Fuinjutsu for the past sixteen years, yet this little girl was better than half of the ninja in his force!
Even in the Academy, the students were taught basic Fuinjutsu, and (besides Narumi) Naruto was sure that Mito was better than every single student. Their mother had remarked that she had never met someone so adapt at Fuinjutsu in her life. And she had been raised in a village of Fuinjutsu users!
As for Naruto? Well...as you would expect from his previous records, he was average at it. Nothing special. Their parents had hoped his talent would bloom in the form of Fuinjutsu, but once again, he let them down.
Pushing those thoughts away, Naruto smiled down at his younger sister. He had no doubt she would surpass both their father and even Narumi. He could feel it.
"I'm home!"
An excited voice echoed throughout the house, and the two heads of the house let a smile embrace their face as they heard running footsteps. Minato was still in his usual spot, but Kushina had moved to one of the armchair sofas. Narumi swung herself into the room and launched onto her mother, hugging her as she squealed.
"I finally became a Genin, Okaa-chan! Now I can become Hokage like you wanted!"
Patting her head, Kushina widened her smile, though still commented jokingly. "Mi-chan, please act like your age. You're sixteen."
"Ma~!"
Rubbing her cheek against her mother's, the two red-heads lightly laughed, with the only male in the room snickering under his breath. The two playfully glared at the Hokage, to which he shrugged off with a smile. Getting off her mother, Narumi let out a laugh before blinking and asking a question.
"By the way, where's Mito-chan? I wanted to show off my headband to her!"
"Ah, she's in her room with Naru-chan." Kushina stretched back into her sofa, going into another one of her so-called well deserved naps. Who could blame her, parenting was hard.
"Again..."
Narumi muttered those words not hatefully, but definitely with some ounce of jealousy. With how busy she was with her friends (combined with training), she never really got to play with Mito all that much. Sometimes, she thought she was a bad sister when comparing herself to Naruto.
Naruto...she never thought badly of her brother. When they were kids, there was a time when she always wanted to up him. Sibling rivalry and all. He, of course, never recuperated those actions, and as a result, she dropped the whole act. Plus, there was no point in doing anything like that either. It was fairly obvious to nearly everyone that she was better of the two in — no offence — quite literally everything.
Still, it was her responsibility as the stronger sibling to protect the family. And become Hokage while she was at it. She was going to surpass her mother as a kunoichi, and become a ninja independent from her father. Being the daughter of such powerful figures, she had always been called the "Honourable Daughter". It was frankly annoying, and she wanted it to stop as soon as possible.
She wondered why Naruto never found it bothersome, but it was probably because nobody talked to him. She felt bad saying it, yet it was true. She tried helping him here and there. However, he was way too shy to talk to any of her friends.
Not to mention in her case, there was the unease some of the villagers had with her. It was very slight, but it was there. Narumi wasn't a total idiot. She knew one of the reasons why their father pushed the Academy graduation age was due to her inability to control the Kyuubi. There was "The Incident", where she completely lost control at the fifth tail.
Consequently, she severely scarred her Godfather, Jiraiya of the Sannin; he had been taken to the hospital and remained there for two weeks. Her mother, Kushina, went out of retirement to go on a month long mission to drag back Tsunade of the Sannin and heal him, scars and all. Her mot
After all that, it took six whole months before she could will herself to train again. In that time, Sasuke had gotten far ahead of her, explaining their large gap in base power.
Anyways, that all happened four years ago.
Her parents chose to stop the Jinchuriki training all together, deciding it wouldn't be wise for a Genin with such a powerful creature inside to roam around, lest she hurt her allies (much less her enemies). That resulted in the push for Academy graduation. Narumi couldn't recall a time where she had been more miserable in her life. Luckily, Ino and Sakura helped her pull through. It was why they were such great friends. The two looked past her royalty and curse. They comforted her even when some said she was acting stuck-up.
Unlike a certain Hyuga pair...
Sighing, she twirled to head to the exit and into the hall. She trampled up the stairs quickly; her sister's room was at the end of the hall, and she barged through the door.
"Hey, Mito-chan!"
Said girl jolted, and slowly turned her head. She was sitting in a tiny stool, with Naruto across from her, though the two were separated by a small table. It looked like they were doing a tea party. And she just ruined it. Great.
"Ah, Mi-mi!"
That was Narumi's nickname, and one Narumi simply couldn't get out her sister's head. It was Narumi, for crying out loud! It meant "Roaring of the Sea", and it was an awesome name for a ninja! Allowing those mildly aggressive thoughts to dissipate, Narumi smiled and pointed to her headband.
"Ya see this? I've finally become a Genin!"
The youngest sister tilted her head in confusion, before grinning. "Oh, like Onii-sama?"
Onii-sama...another thing to be jealous about. How come she was called "Mi-mi", while Naruto was given a super formal title like "Onii-sama"? It was unfair! Narumi's gaze went to the only male in the room. Naruto faltered under her glare-like stare. Sighing, she dropped her head down, and nodded. "Yeah, kinda like Naruto's..."
"You wanna join us in our tea party!" Mito suddenly declared, raising her tea cup towards her. Narumi blinked, before crouching down and allowing a toothy grin on her face.
"Yeah! That'd be awesome!"
Naruto watched the two interact with gentle eyes. He could feel the man in his head smile too. These were no doubt precious times.
Japanese Terms
Kyuubi = Nine Tailed Fox
Konoha = village hidden in the leaves
Yondaime = Fourth
chan = used to refer to children and female family members, close friends
kun = used to address men who are younger or the same age as the speaker.
Onee-sama = refers to a highly respected older sister or female
Onii-sama = refers to a highly respected older brother or male
Okaa-chan = Casual. Close to "mommy."
Tou-chan = Children and lower class family use it. Close to "daddy."
A/N:
LINK TO FANART IN PROFILE
Hello, hello! My first fanfic ever! I put a lot of effort into it, so hope you enjoyed! Updates are going to be monthly or bi-weekly, I haven't decided yet. More than likely it'll be the former tho.
I'm new to the whole fanfic writing thing, and tried my best to avoid cliches and tropes through "Naruto Fanfiction Cliches" by solartai and the NarutoFanfiction Subreddit. They really helped subvert some stuff I was planning tbh. I've been reading Naruto fanfics for a couple months now, so I know the basics at the very least. Not saying I'm an expert in Fanfic writing on any regard. I'm sure I made plenty of newbie mistakes in this chapter lol
I'll make this clear though: this is not a neglect fic.
Minato and Kushina aren't douches and would certainly not leave Naruto behind just because they had another child. At best, because this child had the Nine Tails, they would place a bit more attention in training.
That wouldn't mean they'd forget Naruto's entire existence, nor is there any logical reason for Naruto to feel jealous, since...ya know...said child has a planet destroying demon inside that could be let loose if the child loses their temper. Any reasonable person would feel a tinge of fear and concern for something like that.
Anyway, moving on, most descriptions were from the Naruwiki, since I didn't feel like writing each and every person's clothing. The point was that they were in their Part II clothing (Sasuke was based on his Chunin Exam clothing, since I really like that outfit). Hanabi is based on her Part II, while Satsuki is based on a Narufanon character that I'll post in my profile once again.
Naruto has Boruto's outfit, since I find it neat (hair is the same as canon Naruto since Boruto's hair is not my thing lol). Also glasses because they're cute uwu
Their home is also based on the Uzumaki Residence in Boruto. I didn't want to do the trope where the Namikaze estate is "twice the size of the Earth". Plus, it makes logical sense for it to be big, but not too big. I imagine Minato and Kushina being modest people. Furthermore, it's stated in the pedia how Naruto and Minato were the only Hokage's to not move into the Hokage Estate, so ye. The Boruto house fits perfectly.
Obviously there are historical changes in this story. That's why I state it's an AU in the summary.
Hanabi is only 1 year younger than Hinata (rather than 4), and same with Satsuki to Sasuke. The Academy is also pushed 4 years back; meaning, everyone is 16, except for the aforementioned girls, who are 15. These extra years give them more backstory stuff, not to mention is easier for me to write with (12-13 year olds acting mature is weird for me).
In terms of Naruto...he's going to remain the shy guy for a while. In his mind/conversations with Aibou, he's more normal and in-line with his canon self, since I don't think anyone stutters in their heads. I don't, at least. It's not a mask or something, he's genuinely bad at conversations.
As for Hinata's personality, well, I have plans for that which you'll see in the far future. As of now, she's similar to her "Road to Ninja" counterpart. For now tho (;
Aibou is going to be cool, I hope. Try not to think of him as an OC, even though he kinda is, and more of another personality of Naruto's (at least for now).
If it wasn't obvious this story was based on Yu-Gi-Oh, with the whole Yugi/Atem relationship instead being Naruto/Aibou. If you couldn't tell from the writing, he does have his own original backstory like Atem. For those wondering, it won't divert from the canon world or anything. It'll fit within the world of Naruto. It's one of the few things I actually have planned. I dropped a few vague hints in this chapter.
Speaking of, there's a lot of story elements in the Academy / past that I also hinted. It'll all be explained sooner or later. Just because Minato is Hokage doesn't mean everyone is at peace. There's a lot of plot stuff I hinted at, but did not explain thoroughly. Don't be worried tho, they will be explained in the form of a fleshed-out flashback. You can count me on that
Here's another important thing to address:
I have no real plan for any romance.
There might be crushes or something, but I probably won't delve any deeper than that. This is my first fanfic, so I have no clue how to properly write that in. And in my short time as a Fanfic reader, I hardly encountered romance, and when I did, I disliked it heavily. I might change my mind in the middle of writing, but we'll see.
And no, no incest or anything of that sort. Narumi will have her own story stuff, and Minato won't be getting cucked. I think he's badass as hell.
Actually, my favourite character list from top to bottom goes: Kakashi, Gaara, Sasuke, Minato, Shikamaru, and then Naruto. As much as I like Naruto, Kakashi is the real GOAT in the series.
FYI, there might be swearing, blood (not overly gorey, but it might need warning lol), and violent stuff which is why I made it M for mature.
Anyway, review and all that jazz. Ariguatou everyone!