Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow
Things as they are
Chapter 16
Naruto paced the length of his room irritably, his heart thundering in his chest as his lungs heaved. The more he thought over his conversation with his father the angrier he became. What was Minato up to?
He paused in his pacing and griped his hair in frustration - the blond spikes that reminded him far too much of his father. An aggravated growl rumbled in his chest, but he bit back the curses that begged to fly from his mouth.
Even alone, he was far too used to clamping down his emotions to stop now.
Words and images swam through his mind, creating a confusing mess of what he remembered and what he'd been told.
Could he trust nothing anymore!? A burst of lightning hot rage raced through his body, buzzing in his limbs. Had everything he'd ever known been a lie!? His father was supposed to be the good, honest all loving Hokage. That was the image Naruto had of him. He was the man that had been missing from his life while he dealt with his mother's passing. He was the man that had been so in love with his wife that he hadn't been able to face the world for months after her death.
Thatwas supposed to be the reason he hadn't been around. That he'd been so consumed by grief that he'd left the care of his only son to Senju Tsunade while he drowned himself in the day to day care of the village, drowned out his grief by keeping busy.
Naruto started pacing again, faster than before, only to avoid taking his anger out on the objects around him. A lone photograph, with a familiar dominance of bright lava red and spring field green lingered in his peripheral vision, fuelling the turmoil within his mind and heart.
His father, whom he'd sat every night and every day for weeks after that night waiting for, never came and he eventually stopped waiting. In the beginning, his naive mind had understood, had taken the fact that his father was Hokage to heart and forgiven him his transgressions. His father was the mighty and all powerful Yondaime. The man that was taking care of the village, making sure no one else had to suffer the fate that young, defenceless, Namikaze Naruto had to. Or so his young mind had deceived itself into believing.
The anger had only come later. When the fact that no retribution had been made became clear, once he understood that punishment was supposed to be given and none had, even though his father was the supposed mighty and all powerful Yondaime, that was when the anger had come.
Forgiveness turned bitter and understanding became harder to come by.
He'd blamed his father for the lack of progress. It had been years and still NO ONE KNEW THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT! NO ONE!
Only to find out that Minato had been forcefully kept away, locked in a cell like some kind of common traitor, and by the very people that should have understood his father's pain – should have allowed him all the time and resources in Konoha in order to ensure his revenge. Naruto grit his teeth at the thought.
What did he believe? Was his father really locked away? Could no one be honest with him? He wasn't a child anymore. He was a Shinobi. Why hadn't they told him? He might have been a child then, but everything that had happened. . . Why didn't they trust him? He wasn't a child anymore, hadn't been for a long time and the fact that they would even entertain the thought enraged him to no end.
He'd gone from anger and bitterness to a slow burning rage. A rage that was fuelled daily by the need for answers, the need for revenge. He'd decided to get them himself when it became all too apparent that his beloved father wasn't going to do a damn thing! He started training, vowing to get his revenge. But Minato got in his way. After the man finally returned home, he was different. He was too controlled, too happy for what they'd gone through. He smiled too much. Thinking back now, those smiles has been far too strained.
And if Naruto allowed himself to think a little more, those crystalline eyes had been crying out for help just as much as the eyes he saw in the bathroom mirror every morning.
Nothing made sense anymore. He was supposed to get his revenge. He'd given up on his father a long time ago. Most especially around the time when his father had forbidden every single Shinobi in the village from teaching Naruto anything unless they had the Yondaime's say so. Naruto had seen that as his father's weakness, that he hadn't wanted Naruto to surpass him. Only now did he realise how childish he was in that notion. He was so far from surpassing his father it was laughable that he'd even thought he had a chance while he'd been in the Academy.
Naruto had paused in his pacing once again, and he realised he was standing in front of his full length mirror. He could see his heaving shoulders, his angry and bitter scowl, see the way his hair stood even more on end and the way his clothes had crumpled in his agitation.
He lashed out at the image, at the physical proof of his state of mind. His fist connected with the glass before he could stop the action, think it through. It shattered with a sharp crack, falling to the floor with varying grating tinkles.
The mirror had been his mother's.
The only reason the heirloom was in his room at all, and now he'd gone and broken it. His shoulders sagged and his arms went limp at his sides.
The action was enough to clear his mind, even if only a little. Enough from him to conclude that he needed time, time to process what he'd been told.
Sasuke, the Uchiha would be helpful to him in this regard. He could confirm a few things. Maybe. And if he couldn't confirm them, then he could at least help find the answers. The Uchiha seemed to be nosy. Yet, he couldn't actually use Sasuke. He'd proven to be far more vexing than his father. He wasn't Sasuke and therefore he couldn't answer Naruto's questions. The blond was sure of it. Again, a dead end.
Sasuke. The name brought a renewed anger to his raging emotions. He'd rejected the spar. As though Naruto was nothing more than an inconvenience to him. Had he already dismissed Naruto as someone unworthy of his time? Was 'Sasuke' so far above him?
In the Academy he'd done nothing but beg for a spar at every chance he got. He would challenge Naruto over everything, anything. Yet now, he couldn't even be bothered to show a hint of excitement when Naruto challenged him. There had been no reaction at all. Then again, this wasn't the Sasuke Naruto knew, he had to remember that.
Minato and Sasuke, the two people who were supposed to have been his precious people. And he couldn't trust them anymore.
Naruto knew without a doubt that he needed retribution for what had happened. It was something he could not simply move past. To hell with having been young when it happened. Things needed to change. He needed to get stronger so that he could find those that had wronged him, those that had taken everything from him.
Orochimaru was able to go toe to toe with his father. He'd been a candidate for the position of Yondaime and he was a Sannin.
Touching the seal on his neck, he remembered the power it gave him. Despite the pain, that power was exhilarating. No one in Konoha could offer him that. No one was offering him that. Perhaps it would be best if he–
The knock on the door startled him, the pain in his hand from his earlier episode becoming more evident as his thoughts returned to the present. He'd have to clean the shards of the broken mirror later.
Walking to the door, the blond tried to sense out if it was an ANBU, a jonin, a normal messenger or a villager.
Sakura was not an answer he was expecting. But then again, she did have that crush on him. He'd just pushed it out of his mind because she hadn't been so forceful about it as of late.
"Sakura." He noted as he opened the door.
Sakura looked far too stressed for this to be about her crush. Naruto narrowed his gaze as he waited for her to say something.
"There's something wrong with Sasuke-kun. I can't get hold of him and I can't get into his place. I didn't know who else to go to." Sakura explained quickly, not even bothering with small talk. "And I'm worried because he just got out the hospital."
"Fine." Naruto grumbled. He would be lying if he said the situation didn't at least peak his curiosity. "Let's go."
.0.0.0.
"Teuchi-san, I see you found something unusual today." Kushina said with a smile as she seated herself in front of the man, doing her best to calm her raging emotions, soaking in the relief of seeing her son safe and sound. Naruto squirmed when he saw her, smiling brightly. "Kaa-chan!"
Sasuke sighed in relief as the memory played itself once more. Not only did the fox agree to help him again, Sasuke hadn't even said a word as he had approached the cage, hadn't needed to. The chakra had come without warning, engulfing him almost immediately. Sasuke wasn't complaining even though the experience has left him dizzier than what had been necessary.
"I'm helping to make the food of the Kami!" Naruto declared, puffing up his chest and pushing his shoulders back with a proud grin stretching his whiskered cheeks. "I just know you want a miso-ramen. Everyone wants a miso-ramen." Naruto stated cheekily, giving his mother a grin that begged her to tell him he was wrong.
"Everyone Naruto-kun?" Kushina replied teasingly. "What about Tou-chan?"
Naruto gave her a considering look. "Tou-chan likes it, he just won't admit that he likes it. And besides, I know my baby brother agrees with me so Tou-chan's opinion doesn't matter." He nodded his head in agreement and beamed at Kushina once again.
Kushina looked down and Sasuke was surprised to note the swollen belly she placed gentle hands on. A feeling of the deepest love washed over Sasuke. A mother's love.
He felt his heart stutter. Naruto did not have a baby brother.
"And what if it's a baby sister, Naruto-kun?" Kushina asked, her tone more at peace than moments earlier when she'd been frantically searching for the toddler.
"Nah uh. It's a boy because I'm a boy so he's got to be a boy." Naruto pouted his displeasure at the idea of a girl.
Kushina couldn't help the laugh that bubbled free. Only to one so young would that make sense. "When is he coming though?" Naruto asked. Teuchi moved the toddler onto the seat next to his mother and placed a bowl of miso ramen in front of him.
"Soon, Naruto-kun. He'll be here before you know it." Kushina gave Teuchi a grateful smile and ruffled the little blonde's hair.
"That's what you said yesterday." Naruto protested around a mouth full of noodles. "I want to tell Sasuke about my brother. Then I get to have a brother just like he does. Only mine can't play with me just yet."
"Patience, Naruto-kun. You're far too much like your mother." A deeper voice rumbled from behind them and another wave of deep love emanated from Kushina. Only this was different from the first. This was the love for a partner, a lover, for her husband. Kushina turned and smiled at Minato.
He smiled back but there was a tightness to his eyes that suggested they needed to talk, yet they would only do so later.
"Tou-chan! Have some miso-ramen." Naruto cheered with a bright grin.
"Ah but Naruto-kun, if I have some ramen now, I'm not going to finish my dinner, and wouldn't that be terrible? After all your mother's cooking is the best." Minato mock sighed at the predicament he found himself in. "But if you hurry up with your ramen, there's enough time for some ice cream before dinner." Minato leaned closer and gave Naruto a wink.
"Before dinner?" Naruto whispered, eyes wide in awe at the idea.
"Before dinner." Minato nodded in agreement, almost changing his mind when Naruto turned back to his ramen and slurped it up so fast he was afraid the toddler would choke. Sasuke knew better than to ever be afraid that Naruto would choke on his ramen.
While Naruto was distracted by the slurping of his noodles Minato leaned in and kissed Kushina on the cheek, pulling closer still and whispering in her ear, "There were five, maybe more. They're clever enough to have slipped though the search party's parameters. We only managed to capture one. Unfortunately I didn't get to mark any of them and they avoided all the places that I have a kunai or mark set already. I'm starting to think it's partly an inside job." The displeasure at their failure was clear in Minato's voice.
Yet Sasuke noticed something else. Even disgruntled, Minato's entire demeanour and tone of voice was different from what he had in their current time.
It was almost as if the version of Minato that he knew was a watered down, diluted version of his former self. And with Kushina having been pregnant, Sasuke couldn't blame the man. He was sure that had his own clan not been murdered and had no coup taken place he probably wouldn't have been so cold and distant. Arrogant perhaps, but not an uncaring baka.
"It's okay. Don't be so hard on yourself. Naruto and I are both safe. And so is the little one." Kushina smiled and pulled the unsuspecting blond into a tight hug. She pulled Minato's hand towards her stomach, gently laying it on the section where their second child was being very much active. "They can hear you. They're excited that you're visiting."
"You know I really wish you'd let Tsunade-Hime tell us if it's a boy or a girl. People are going to start thinking we're expecting twins if you carry on like that." Minato smiled and carefully rubbed the spot where he felt tiny feet kicking away. The little feet were quickly pulled away and Minato chuckled.
Naruto suddenly pounced on to Minato's back, hanging on till the older blond adjusted his position. "Ice-cream! Let's go get some ice-cream!" Naruto stated happily, oblivious to the threat that had almost taken his life.
"And ice-cream we shall get. Onwards we march!" Minato crowed loudly, only getting Naruto more excited and earning a soft glare from Kushina as a result. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
Sasuke watched as the family of three walked through the streets of Konoha, greeted by Shinobi and Civilians alike. Little Naruto happy greeted them all, loudly and enthusiastically. It was instantly clear that Konoha loved the three Namikazes and the Shinobi would have readily throw themselves into the line of fire in order to protect them.
"Sasuke!"
"Naruto!" The childlike response was immediate and it made Sasuke jump. He hadn't expected to see the smaller version of himself, wearing the brightest blue shirt imaginable, with even brighter orange shorts running towards them, holding onto Itachi's hand and forcing the older Uchiha to run as well.
This scene displayed such a contradiction to what the world around him had become. It showed an easy friendship between himself and Naruto and it also showed a happy Sasuke; a Sasuke that wasn't a Jinchuriki.
"Can Sasuke get ice-cream with us?" Naruto asked, giving his father his best impression of puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeeeeease?" He added as an afterthought.
"If Itachi-kun allows it." Kushina replied.
And of course Itachi couldn't deny his younger brother anything. He let the small brightly dressed Uchiha at his side goad him into going for strawberry favoured ice cream and he stayed with the Namikazes long past his allotted time for being in the market place, unwilling to pull Sasuke away from his friend until the last possible moment.
The two families said their good byes, Kushina being sure to pull Itachi into a hug despite his soft protests. It seemed like it was a happy scene, something from a movie or a book.
But Sasuke knew that the fox would not be showing this to him had it all ended happily.
It was later, as the three were eating a light dinner, that an ANBU arrived, handing Minato a black scroll. Minato's face immediately darkened and he nodded to Kushina before shunshining away, the ANBU following.
"Ka-chan, what's the black scroll for?" Naruto asked quietly, realising the severity of the situation which hinted at the fact that this Naruto might have been a genius and not the idiot Sasuke's Naruto was.
"It means there's a lot of bad things about to happen in the village, Naruto-kun, and that we need to start moving towards Sasuke-kun's house." Kushina replied, standing and moving towards one of the other rooms in the house. "Let's go pack an over-night back, alright?"
Naruto nodded and followed her, abandoning his half eaten dinner.
Kushina and Naruto quickly packed clothes and other essentials into a small bag, the motions clearly practised. Naruto's little face was grim as he stood ready by the door, Kushina sealed the bag into a scroll and tucked the scroll into a little knapsack that Naruto carried on his back. "Alright Naruto-kun, off we go." Kushina smiled warmly, but Sasuke picked up on the tension in her features.
She opened the door and immediately the world went black, her vision registering the bright lines of a seal activating on the other side of the door as she collapsed to the floor.
.0.0.0.
"Hokage-Sama."
The curt greeting was that of the ANBU's that had just shunshinned into Minato's office.
"Report." Minato stated tiredly. His conversation with Naruto hadn't gone as planned, not at all and he wasn't sure what his next step would be. He wanted Naruto to stay, he'd tried telling him that but Naruto had reacted far differently than what the blond Hokage had thought he would.
Honestly he wasn't even sure what he'd been expecting at all.
"The Kyuubi Jinchuriki has been unresponsive for several hours despite disturbances caused by his team members."
Minato was instantly more alert. He nodded once to the ANBU and shunshined out of his office, using the seal he'd placed in Sasuke's apartment the day he'd moved into it as a guideline. Reappearing in the tiny Uchiha's room, he was greeted with a sight that almost made his heart freeze. Kakashi was leaning over Sasuke who'd only just been released from the hospital. A chakra glowing hand was moved over Sasuke's temples while Kakashi's lone eye was fixed in an expression of deep concentration.
Sakura stood in one corner, next to a scowling Naruto. Naruto looked like he didn't want to be there anyway, and upon seeing Minato's arrival he tsked and turned away from the older blond completely. Sakura had her hands pressed to her chin in worry, her brows pulled together as she chewed her lower lip.
"Report." Minato stated the second time in as many minutes.
"Haruno came to ask the Uchiha for a sparring session, wondering if he'd recovered enough from his stay in the hospital to participate in one at all. When he did not answer and the seals in the entry prevented her from entering the apartment she went to Namikaze." Kakashi stated tonelessly, looking up at Minato and stopping what he was doing. "Once the two found a way in, it was not immediately apparent that anything was amiss. They then attempted to wake Uchiha only to receive no response."
"What are your findings on Uchiha?" Minato asked, skipping ahead to what was more important to him.
"There's no activity in his mind, Hokage-sama. I haven't been able to pick up on anything other than basic commands needed to keep his body functioning." Kakashi stated quietly.
Minato moved towards Sasuke, not liking how pale the boy had gone. He lifted the boy's shirt, noting that the seal was glowing faintly, barely visible on his skin. But it was a sign that perhaps Sasuke's mind wasn't as inactive as it first appeared.
"What is that fox up to?" Minato muttered, lowered Sasuke's shirt and picking Sasuke up gently, "Kakashi tell those at the Hokage Tower that I won't be returning till this matter is resolved." Kakashi nodded and disappeared. "Sakura-chan, Sasuke will be alright. He appears to have merely ventured too far in his meditations. Thank you for your swift response." She blinked owlishly but didn't comment. She didn't know enough about the Shinobi mind or body to question the Hokage. "Naruto, I'd like for you to come with me, if you'd like to do so."
Minato didn't wait. He walked to the door, only for the sake of seeing if Naruto would follow. He did. He then waited for Naruto to be close enough so that he could place a hand on his shoulder and shunshin them to a safe house far outside of Konoha's inner barriers.
"Where are we?" Naruto asked tonelessly, looking around at the sparse living space.
"This is a safe house. It was once supposed to be used for your mother. But it'll be what we'll need should his seal break." Minato placed Sasuke down on the bed, adjusting his position so that he'd be more comfortable.
"Seal?" Naruto asked, looking slightly curious even if he'd later be angry for it.
"You wonder why we don't see Sasuke as an imposter when to you it's so blatantly obvious," Minato started, not giving Naruto a chance to confirm or deny it. As it was the blond was shocked that his father knew that at all. "We don't think he's an imposter for two reasons, one being that he has the Sharingan, impossible to fake. And two, he is and always has been since his Academy days, a Jinchuriki."
"A Jinchuriki? Him?" Naruto was not ignorant to what a Jinchuriki was, and he certainly wasn't a stranger to them either. As the Hokage's son he'd accompanied his father on many diplomatic journeys and they almost always contained something relating to Jinchuriki. He'd even met one or two.
"Why would his seal break?" Naruto questioned, skipping past wanting to know why and when Sasuke had even become a Jinchuriki at all. His mind could already place some pieces together, some very painful pieces. So he avoided that part altogether.
"Because it's doing something and I don't know what. So therefore, prepare for the worst." Minato pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. "The last thing I need is a Kyuubi rampage."
"Why am I here?" Naruto asked, moving to sit in one of the chairs.
"Because there are very few people that can become a Jinchuriki and you happen to be one of them. If the worst should happen, would you be willing to become a Jinchuriki?" Minato looked directly at Naruto, his gaze piercing and demanding.
"Was he given the choice?" Naruto fired back. "Besides, if I have to make that choice that would mean he's dead and I don't think it'll come to that."
Minato kept silent, seeing that Naruto was still angry about their earlier conversation. Not to mention that the younger blond was right. He shouldn't assume the worst. He should just wait it out and see where it went.
.0.0.0.
When Kushina came to again her world was filled with pain. Nothing but deep and excruciating pain. Sasuke bit his bottom lip, surprised at how much it was affecting him.
No one was touching Kushina, but she had been placed in a seal designed to keep her in place simply by causing such tremendous amount of pain that one was physically incapable of moving.
Effective but inhumane on so many levels. Not even Orochimaru had done something like that.
"Okaa-chan!" The tiny yell of panic cut off with a yelp of pain and Kushina forced herself to look in that direction.
Naruto was sprawled on the floor, his legs kicking out furiously as a Shinobi pinned him to the ground merely by placing his boot on top of the toddler's chest.
Naruto was not restrained in any way. He simply did not register as that much of a threat to the enemy. He was entertainment, a play thing for the moment, amusing to watch struggling around in vain, able to do absolutely nothing to prevent them from hurting his mother.
Sasuke bit his bottom lip harder.
Naruto's current persona suddenly seemed cheerful in comparison to what it should have been, taking all that had happened to him and his mother into consideration. He was almost friendly. If Sasuke was the one being pinned under the Shinobi's foot, being unsociable would be the least of anyone's worried where he was concerned.
"Let him go!" Kushina yelled, trying to get up, moving past as much of the pain as she could. Her child was in danger. She probably made it further than any other Shinobi under that seal ever had.
However, she only managed to get onto her hands and knees before the seal flashed and the pain intensified. She crumbled in on herself, curling around her stomach protectively as everything inside of her felt as though it was tearing itself into shreds cell by cell.
Her every thought revolved around her children, both Naruto and the one she still carried. This would not be good for the little one. Even if it killed her, she had to get Naruto and the baby out of here.
"Now, now Kushina-san, I'd rather you didn't try to move. Think of the child. The more you move the more the seal will respond." A soft voice said patronisingly. However, there was no real concern in his tone. Only a veiled amusement.
Kushina tried to look at those in the dim room around her. What markings did they have to show which of the other villages was to receive her husband's wrath? There would be consequences for this, surely. They could not get away with it.
Minato wouldn't let them.
But they showed nothing. Not a single symbol was visible on any of them. And there were so many, hiding in the shadows, silently watching as she suffered. What did they want?
One of the shadows detached itself and walked slowly towards her. The seal reacted to his presence, decreasing its intensity. Kushina knew better than to try and make a dash for it. There was something about this man, the way he'd spoken, and she as sure it was him, that told Kushina that she'd need more than a moment of freedom, a moment's lapse in her captors concentration to get out of this situation.
"Kurama . . ." the soft whisper that echoed in Sasuke's head was weak, desperate. "Please help us." Kurama? Was that the Kyuubi's name? It seemed such an odd thing, that the Kyuubi would have a name and yet at the same time, it seemed so logical.
"I cannot. The seal is also a barrier. You'd be better off trying to smash through it with your chains but you already know that the moment you try and use any sort of chakra the seal will worsen." The answering echo was almost regretful. By the strain however Sasuke knew that the Kyuubi felt the pain just as much as Kushina did.
"What do you want from me?" Kushina asked, closing her eyes and trying to focus past the pain, trying to sense out the tiny life force within her. She needed to know if the baby was okay.
"The child is fine, for now. It will be as stubborn as you." Kurama silently assured his jailor, surprising Sasuke with his civility.
"You?" The same quiet voice from before. Only closer. So she had been correct in her earlier assumption. "Not much. You're the distraction, you see. So just sit there and be a good distraction." The seal lessoned its intensity once more. "And try not to get any smart ideas. I'd hate to have to resort to more drastic measures. I'm not above killing a child or two, especially ones with the potential to become a very powerful enemy."
A direct threat to her children. Kushina was now able to sit up without encountering too much pain.
A distraction? What was the end goal?
She got no more answers as the ninja melted into the shadows once more.
Sasuke watched as things went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as could be expected given the situation. Naruto wasn't touched and Kushina didn't try to escape. But in her mind she kept watching, learning, trying to find an opportunity that best suited her current needs.
Things changed when little Naruto shuffled from the corner he'd taken to huddling in and tried to move to his mother. A hand gripped his throat – shocking the toddler so much that he burst into uncontrollable tears – and lifted the wailing toddler as though he were no better than a rabbit about to be slaughtered for dinner.
"Leave him alone!" Kushina demanded, getting to her feet and attacking the barrier with a glistening chakra chain before the seal activated and she was forced to her knees once more.
"Kaa-chan. . ." Naruto wheezed through hiccups as he attempted to control his crying, trying to reach for his mother only for the Shinobi holding his throat to chuckle humourlessly and grab the boy's arm, breaking it with a short sharp – clean - snap!.
"Leave him alone!" Kushina yelled again, the desperation bubbling in her tone, trying to be suppressed but not quite achieving it as emotion clung in her throat and cracked her words.
"You were told to behave. The boy will not be harmed so long as you behave." A stern warning that held no hint of remorse, or pity.
Naruto was carelessly dropped to the floor, jarring his broken arm and a new round of sobs started. Kushina's heart squeezed. How much longer would they have to stand this?
"At least give him something to eat and drink." Kushina pleaded, not daring to ask them to give Naruto something for his pain. They'd only deny it. She didn't know how long she'd been here, but Naruto must have been getting hungry. He was used to a solid three meals a day and snacks whenever his heart desired. Hunger was not something Naruto had ever known.
Her request was outright ignored.
"Naru-chan, look at me." Kushina tried her best to use a warm loving tone. It wasn't hard when she was looking at her little boy. But the moment the now sniffling blond looked up and at her, a kunai whistled past, brushing his check. The blood that gushed from the wound showed that the kunai had been thrown closer than what Kushina liked.
She had to reminder herself over and over that head wounds always bled more than most and that it wasn't as bad as it looked.
Naruto retreated into the corner once more, sniffling and whimpering as quietly as he could while holding his broken arm carefully against his chest.
Kushina watched the scene with a growing frustration. Her own pain did not matter. All that mattered was getting her children out of there. Silently and carefully she directed her chakra towards the ground, trying to form chakra chains without being noticed. But the seal noticed the flare in her chakra and reacted. She grit her teeth, trying to move past it. She couldn't give up. Naruto needed to get out of this alive.
"Kushina, the child will not last much longer if the seal should increase its hold." Kurama warned. Kushina wanted to scream and lash out. All her life she'd been in the middle of the conflict, doing her best to protect those precious to her. He answer to most problems was to physically beat it into submission. Minato was the one for calm thoughtful action.
But now she was powerless, forced to stay silent and still.
She almost sobbed at the frustration.
But she didn't have time.
"It's too late. The child needs to come out!" Kurama barked a moment before the first wave of pain hit, a pain more intense than what the seal could ever create.
She cried out and moved a hand to her stomach. The seal was immediately deactivated and she was pulled from the ground, placed on a bed that materialised from the darkness around them. How long would this labour last, why was it happened now at all? Hadn't she tried her best to remain calm? She was a Shinobi, she was trained to handle stress far better than a civilian.
Kushina didn't understand what was happening, why things were happening so quickly.
She was treated with a surprising gentle touch as a flurry of activity around her all pointed to the enemy helping her deliver her next child. Why? Why would they do that?
Did they want the child for themselves? Were they going to take him from her and Minato? Instil a loyalty to another village and later send the child to destroy Konoha? A child born of Kushina and Minato would be powerful. That would be the general assumption.
Kushina's mind began to grow fuzzy as a sedative was injected into her system. No, she couldn't afford to lose touch with reality now!
"Kushina, look at the seal." Kurama instructed, his tone clear and demanding. "That seal, I've been imprisoned within the Uzumaki long enough to know that there is more to it than what there should be."
Kushina moved her head towards the seal where she had been imprisoned. She and the fox had long ago come to an understanding of sorts. While they weren't friends exactly they had agreed to live with each other civilly, they helped each other where it was necessary without questions.
And the fox was right.
There were three seals placed on top of each other. One for containment, one for pain . . . and one to induce labour?
That seal had been created when the birth of a child was imperative, when the mother and her child's life was in danger if the child was not born soon.
What was going on? Why did they want her child to be born early? Wasn't she supposed to be the distraction? Something wasn't right and at the pace things were going, she was going to lose her child. Of that she was certain. Minato would lose all of them.
"Kurama, you need to warn Minato. If he hasn't found us yet, he isn't going to in time." Kushina whispered weakly, trying to ignore those around her.
"You know what that means for you?" Kurama asked, his tone hesitant.
"I do. But it must be done. My children must live." Kushina had pushed her presence into her mindscape. She approached the seal that kept the Kyuubi in his prison. The paper seal was cracked and peeling, perhaps from the stress of the situation, Sasuke wasn't sure. He didn't know enough about jinchurikis to know for certain.
"There is no going back, Kushina. You will not survive this." Kurama warned, his tails lashing about it agitation.
"I know. Now take care of my children you silly fuzzy fox." Kushina smiled at the Kyuubi, showing an expression of the purest love before swiftly snatching the seal from the bars of the cage before she could change her mind. The doors immediately sprung wide and the world was engulfed in red. "Please, Kurama, find Minato and bring him here!" Kushina yelled before she was pushed out the crumbling mindscape, forced to return to the world of her captors.
The view suddenly changed, become that of the kyuubi's as Kushina lay on a hospital bed, a flurry of Shinobi around her.
"The seal is collapsing. I thought we had more time!"
"The stress of the situation might have changed things. Hurry and get the child before the kyuubi's chakra causes irreparable damage."
Sasuke watched as the Shinobi worked terrifyingly fast, slicing Kushina's stomach and pulling the tiny child from her womb with a coldness that only a medic-nin could display. It took a moment for the shock to register and the baby was suddenly squalling his displeasure loudly to the uncaring Shinobi around him.
"Wrap him. Keep him warm. He'll be needed to reseal the nine-tails. Get the sealing team!"
But the kyuubi had been sealed within Sasuke and not the child. As far as he knew the child wasn't alive anymore so what had gone wrong? Had Kushina's sacrifice been for nothing?
Sasuke looked at Kushina, his heart catching in his throat when he realised she was already dead. Her hand stretching out to a wide eyed and traumatised little Naruto.
All the while the red chakra of the fox grew thicker and wilder, swirling around the room, seeming to be waiting for an opportunity. As soon as the infant was moved away from his mother, away from the worst of the red chakra, Kurama lashed out. The entirety of his power roaring towards the ceiling and breaking through with enough force to disintegrate any rubble that would have fallen to the ground around them.
His chakra took on a form, becoming the ferocious snarling beast Sasuke knew him to be. Glistening claws swiped at the captives, some not able to dodge the full speed of an enraged Kyuubi.
Kurama roared his hatred to the sky, attempting to climb through the hole in the ceiling and succeeding. Sasuke took in the clear, wide open surroundings. This place, it was familiar. He'd travelled a lot while with Orochimaru. But the name of this place escaped his memory for the moment.
Kurama was suddenly pulled back into the room with an unnaturally strong gust of wind. It had to have been a jutsu.
Naruto saw this as an opportunity to try and reach his mother. He dashed towards her, only for an enemy Shinobi to kick him full force in the stomach and send the toddler crashing into a wall. Sasuke heard several snaps and winced. A fireball jutsu whizzed at the Kyuubi, narrowly missed Naruto who'd tried to wiggle out of the way, yet struggling immensely. Sasuke didn't know how much more of this he could watch. It was too much, even for him.
As it was Naruto's back reacted to the heat of the jutsu and started to bubble and blister, the damage thankfully minimal considering it didn't touch him.
But it was enough to make the toddler scream out in pain and fall down to the ground again, doing his best to huddle into as small a ball as possible, heavy sobs wracking his form.
Kurama lashed out as best he could in the confined space but there was something blocking his power, Sasuke could feel it through the fox's memory and he was amazed the enemy had such means. A sealing ritual had been started, the tiny newly born baby - still crying - placed in the centre. Shinobi were trying their best to act as quickly as possible, trying to activate the seal despite Kurama's attempts to behead them all.
Was this their end goal? To create a Jinchuriki and steal him away?
"Hokage has been sighted!" A panicked warning.
"Kill the child." A coldly calculating tone said, no remorse, no hesitation.
"Hai." A reply that held no questions.
Yet Sasuke was confused. Why do that?
The answer came in the form of a sudden sound distortion as the memory focused on one individual in the room, the same one that had given the order to kill Naruto's little brother. The words spoken next chilled Sasuke to the bone, giving an explanation but bringing about a whole new set of questions.
"If the Yondaime had to ever see the child now, he'd know. We don't have time to seal the beast and leave with the child. He'd catch us. He isn't the Yellow Flash for nothing. If we raised him as we do all the other children, he'd know immediately. As I'm not sure that I will survive a battle with Namikaze at present, it would be best to kill the child and leave the Hokage to his grief. His grief will also allow me a chance to try and take the hat for myself as he'll no doubt put every effort he can into catching those responsible. He won't be very interested in running the village. It's time we left. We have but moments."
Who the hell would kill Minato's child, if they knew Minato personally?
Not only was the thought of hurting Minato inconceivable, but the thought of trying to withstand his wrath was simply ludicrous.
The Uchiha could do nothing as he watched a kunai being raised above the tiny newly born Namikaze boy. The Kyuubi lashed out, tails and paws trying to get to the child. The memory distorted as pain clouded the kyuubi's vision. Several ninja tools had been thrown at the Kyuubi at once, piercing his body and driving deep into the muscles. A roar rattled Sasuke's eardrums, shook the foundations of the building.
A yellow flash streaked through the room, and Shinobi fell to the ground wherever it went, throats slit and blood gushing from the wounds. A heaving Minato stood in the middle of the room, eyes wild and ferocious. They darted from one place to the next, taking in the situation with a clarity only the rushing dangers of battle could provide.
But that ferocity was lost the moment his eyes landed on Kushina.
"Kushi . . ." the word trailed off as the powerful Yondaime was reduced to a man on his knees, his gaze that of a Shinobi pleading silently with any Kami that would listen, to tell him that his eyes were being deceived.
Even Kurama's presence in the room had died down to nothing more than a quiet hum. He seemed to be waiting, taking in the situation.
ANBU and the Sandaime rushed in after him, their entrances much less dramatic. One ANBU ripped off his mask to reveal Kakashi-sensei, tears streaming from his lone eye. "Naruto!" the silver haired teen rushed to the fallen toddler, buzzing around him as he didn't know whether to pick him up or to leave him where he was for fear of further injuries. Sasuke noticed the blood running from a gash in Naruto's head and winced at the thought of the kind of damage he had sustained.
"Get the boy out of here Hatake! He needs to see Tsunade. NOW!" The Sandaime took charge, noting that his best Shinobi were far too close to this. "And take Namikaze with you." Sarutobi added as an afterthought, his tone much gentler. With the way Minato was now, he couldn't help them.
"The rest of you, scout the place, find anyone that you can. Anyone that Namikaze hasn't already killed." The ease with which the Sandaime handled traumatic events spoke volumes about how long he'd been wearing the hat. "Itachi, stay with me." All but a small child left the room and Sasuke wondered why Itachi was there at all.
"Your help has been most exemplary today Itachi-kun. But I'm going to need it once more. The kyuubi must be sealed, do you understand."
Itachi couldn't have been more than seven years old. He would have only just woken his Sharingan.
"Sensei!" A distance voice interrupted before Itachi could answer. "I brought the child."
A hurried looking Jiraiya moved into the room, holding onto a blanket wrapped, sleeping Uchiha Sasuke. He even had his thumb lodged firmly in his mouth.
But why had the Sandaime chosen him, when he could have chosen Naruto? How did the Sandaime know to have Sasuke brought there at all? It made sense to assume they'd only asked for him after realising that little Naruto needed health care, needed to see a medic and couldn't afford to be a part of any sealing processes. But wouldn't the Kyuubi have healed Naruto?
Probably not right away as the seal would be too tightly wound.
"This will not help the discontent the Uchiha feel, Sandaime-sama. It is small now, but this will only help it to grow." Itachi stated sadly. Sasuke was surprised at how old Itachi sounded for someone so young.
"I have the utmost faith in you Itachi, you know what needs to be done."
The memory suddenly jolted and shifted wildly making Sasuke want to throw up.
When it cleared everything was different.
The Sandaime was lying on the ground, looking like he'd just survived a battle with Orochimaru. Jiraiya was kneeling in front of him. And Sasuke got the impression that this was no longer from the Kyuubi's point of view, but rather his own.
"Jiraiya, whatever happens, make sure Minato . . . . Keeps being . . . Hokage."
"Don't speak Sensei, save your strength –"
But Sarutobi continued, cutting him off. "There are those . . . that wish to . . . wrest the village from his . . . capable hands. He must know that he can survive . . . this monumental disaster."
"Sensei?" Jiraiya whispered, but he already knew that it was too late. "You should have let me do the sealing. This village still needs you, now more than ever. What am I going to do now?"
"Sasuke-kun?" A quiet warmly familiar voice called and the view tilted towards Itachi who was holding his hand. "I'll always be here for you, but now it's time to sleep." Itachi's Sharingan activated, two tomoe spinning lazily before suddenly whirling violently and the younger Uchiha's world went dark.
Sasuke was lurched from the memory, thrown back into the mindscape just as quickly as he'd been thrown out of it at the start of the memory.
"Now you know what happened to the brat's mother. Leave." Sasuke was dismissed from the mindscape before he could ask any questions, and he had so many questions.
There were at least two distortions in the memory that had the ability to change the whole view point. Was the fox hiding something or had it been irrelevant?
Sasuke pulled his mind towards consciousness, knowing that the younger version wouldn't know and that the fox was at his limits of how much he was going to help.
He blinked awake, only to jump in surprise at the dull blue gaze that blinked back at him.
"Yamanaka Inochi." Sasuke drawled, too used to Kabuto doing such things to really let it get to him.
"Uchiha Sasuke. Good to see you back in the land of the living." Inochi greeted in return, moving away so that someone behind him could talk to Sasuke as well.
Sasuke's gaze moved to the Yondaime and his heart ached with the sadness of Minato's past. He didn't deserve what had happened with Kushina. Neither he nor Naruto did. But how was Sasuke supposed to convince Naruto that his revenge wasn't needed?
Sasuke knew that he himself certainly wouldn't listen in the same situtaion so what made this Naruto any different?
What was he going to do now?