(This chapter has been edited for better organization and structure. I just learned a new grammar rule thanks to a review and am now putting it into effect.)

Yo. I wanna say that I finally decided to do some heavy edits to the story. I deleted a few unnecessary chapters and deleted unneeded scenes. I fixed a few light mistakes and made the story more cohesive. I wanted to focus only on the parts of canon I wanted to change. There was no need for a lot of my writing to exist. In other words, after a year, I finally asked myself whether or not I would read my entire story from front to back.

That was a resounding "NO". So yeah, the story might be a little sloppy now, but It makes for a much easier reading experience now.

Enjoy.

General narration

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Narration

Bijuu talking

Narrator: This is a tale of pain, suffering, and futility. In a Shinobi World, that is an inevitability. And that suffering only leads to another to cause further suffering. Throughout the millennia, many special individuals have tried to break this cycle, to change the world, to create an era of peace. From a certain moon rabbit to a horned sage, and his descendants. The most recent of those to attempt this, are 2 boys. The last of 2 great bloodlines, and by far, the most powerful of all, with powers that transcend their destinies, and their curse of suffering. But before their story can be told, the stories of others must be told first. The origins of the last Senju, and the last Uchiha.


Ugh, I need a drink." was the unenthusiastic statement of a man looking to be in his mid 20's.

"What makes you say that Yuuto-san?" inquired his companion.

" I just had what could possibly be the single worst day of my life." was Yuuto's exasperated reply.

"In what way?".

" You were there Akio! Don't ask stupid questions!" That shut his companion up. Akio at least had the decency to look apologetic.

Hyuuga Yuuto is a Chunin of Konohagakure. He is a branch member of the famous Hyuuga clan of Konohagakure. His day started with him oversleeping, and not being able to have breakfast. He then got a last-minute notice of a mission that needed to be done that day. The First Great Ninja War was in its latter stages, and some missions couldn't be put off. Shinobi die every day. Sometimes by a lack of skill, experience, power, or intelligence. Other times its just plain bad luck, as with their Shodaime Hokage, who perished by a mysterious illness early on in the war.

Unfortunately, today happened to be Yuuto's unlucky day.

His team was paired with many others, but only Akio's is of note. They just happened to stumble upon a fortified enemy base on their way back from completing their objective. There were many casualties. Unfortunately, Yuuto's entire team was killed, with him the only survivor. Akio's team made it out fine with minimal injuries. Maybe that's why he is so oblivious to his emotional state. He just couldn't understand him

And to top it all off, getting back to the village, he is greeted by a messenger hawk from his girlfriend, telling him she wants to dump him.

'Couldn't she at least have the decency to tell me face to face!? How uncouth.' He muses

Feeling frustrated with everything around him, Akio decides to get away from everything, including his clueless companion.

"I'm going to look for a bar. I just want to get wasted. I want to be left alone, blackout, maybe find a good lay to maybe cut the edge off. Don't follow me. Don't worry about me. If I perish from organ failure, the Iryo-nin will fix me right up." An absolutely unnecessarily long way of telling someone to fuck off, but it served its purpose.

"Geez fine. Don't come crying to me when you have to be forcefully retired after another instance of liver failure. They warned you last time." was the genuinely worried statement of his clueless friend.


The next morning, Yuuto wakes up with quite possibly the worst hangover of his life. Killer migraine, extreme soreness, dry throat, blurry vision, bitter taste in his mouth, the works. Looking over to the right, he sees a figure in the empty spot on the bed he is on.

She appears to be naked. He is naked. Fuck. Maybe the soreness is not from his hangover. Regardless, he examines the room. This isn't his room. Where is 'here'? Kami-sama he can barely see. Looking at the woman, at least he hopes it's a woman, he can't make out anything at all. His vision is unfocused, and the sunlight hurts his eyes. All he could catch was a glimpse of golden blond hair. Eh, whatever. He decides it's not his problem, and he goes home, never to meet his one-night fling again. He eventually forgets it the next day, after another bender, which is rather fortunate, since if his clan found out, he'd be executed. Little did either party know that this chance encounter would change the world.


Namikaze Nozomi woke up with a splitting headache. A terrible migraine. She vows to never drink again. Her body is sore, and her mouth tastes of lead. Looking around, she winces, as the sunlight burns in her ocean blue eyes. After a few moments to readjust, she looks around once more. She doesn't recognize the room she is in. It's quite bare and boring. Maybe a hotel room? She examines herself, and she finds herself naked. Fuck. She examines herself further, and she feels sticky near her pelvic area. Between her legs to be exact. Using a finger to further examine, she brings up the mysterious substance to her face. Is that? Yep. It is. Fuck.


9 months later, Nozomi gives birth to a healthy baby girl, who she names Kokoro. Namikaze Kokoro. She inherits her radiant, golden blonde hair, and her piercing, baby blue eyes. No matter how hard she tries, she just can't seem to remember anything about that night. She can't recollect the skin tone, hair color, length, build, or eye color of whoever she slept with. At this point, she doubts that night even happened at all. Regardless of how unprepared she is and young, Nozomi vows to try as hard as she can, and for as long as she can to provide for, and love her baby girl.


Namikaze Kokoro is a slender-figured young woman, more on the petite side. She has golden-blond hair, a rounded face, ocean blue eyes, and ivory pale skin. She has recently turned 20, and there haven't been any wars as long as she has lived. She has been together with her childhood sweetheart, Namikaze Daichi for as long as she can remember. Namikaze Daichi was a tanned, tall man with an angular face, blue eyes, and spiky yellow-blond hair. He was her first friend, and just like her, is the last of the Namikaze. She has asked her mother many times what happened to the rest of their clan, and her mother told her that most died off during the first war. She learned that quite early, so from a young age, she learned to hate violence and Shinobi life, so she decided to not become a Shinobi. Most of the clan were civilians anyways, but that specific generation largely decided to become shinobi. Those that remained in the village were all too old or unfit for children.

'I have been running my mother's ramen shop since she passed away 3 years ago. My Kaa-san was an old drunk.' Nozomi was eccentric. '"No such thing as a drink too many '', she used to say. A wake up in a bed not your own type of woman. The drinks caught up to her, and her body gave up on her long before I ever would have. I never gave up on my Kaa-san. She is the best Kaa-san I ever could have asked for. It's a shame that all her goodwill went towards motherhood. She just didn't have enough love left for herself. I wish she could be there to see Daichi-kun and I get married, or be there for any children we have, though I always fear for any kids we may end up having. The next generation of Namikaze might grow up fatherless.'

It was a valid fear. Although Kokoro rejected the Shinobi life, Daichi himself didn't. Daichi is a rare talent. He is one of the most promising Chunin to be produced by Konohagakure, maybe ever, at least so far.


A year later, Kokoro and Daichi got married. A beautiful end to true soulmates. Childhood best friends turned sweethearts turned lovers. Early in their marriage, Kokoro got pregnant. When the young couple heard the news, it was the happiest day of their young lives. For Kokoro, this moment is even happier than when they got married, and for Daichi, this is greater than when he got his promotion to Jonin last month. Unfortunately, the Shinobi world isn't built for happy endings, because in such a cruel world, any happy moment, or reprieve from death is just overdue suffering.

3 weeks before Kokoro was due, she and Daichi finally settled on a name for their child. They wanted to keep the gender a surprise, so, if it is a girl, they'll name her Emiko. If their baby turns out to be a boy, they'll name him Minato. Secretly, Kokoro hopes it's a boy, and Daichi hopes to spoil his little princess if it is a girl of course. Immediately after deciding the names of the child, an ANBU appears before Daichi.

"Namikaze-san, Hokage-sama asks for your presence effective immediately." Daichi frowns, unsure of why he is being summoned.

"Why does Sandaime-sama request my presence Usagi-san?" The Anbu with a rabbit mask humors him, despite not having to do so.

"As you know, tensions with the other Hidden Villages have been... uncomfortable lately. Hokage-sama needs you to take a mission, one which only you can do." Daichi creases his brows, and a deep frown settles on his face. He turns to face his heavily pregnant wife. He gives her a sad, apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry Ko-chan, but it seems I have little choice in this matter. Please forgive me but I might not make it in time to greet our baby into the world. Whatever happens, give our child enough love for the 2 of us, at least until I get back." If one were to focus enough, one could see the absolute dread that appeared on Kokoro's face the second Daichi finished his speech, but it left just as quickly as it appeared. A weak smile appears on Kokoro's face.

"It's okay Daichi-kun. Minato-chan and I will be waiting for you when you return." Daichi lifts an eyebrow at this.

"Minato-chan eh? How are you so sure it's a boy?" A strong, confident look appears on Kokoro's face.

"Because I'm his mother". They both share a bright grin at the remark.

"Thank you for being patient with me Usagi-san. Please, lead the way". The rabbit-masked ANBU gives a stiff nod at the remark. Unfortunately, Daichi never returned from his mission.


"Ahhhhhhhh." Ghoulish screams are heard in the maternity ward of a hospital. If one were to go into the hospital room, they would see the grim expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses. A blond, blue-eyed woman is seen in utter agony during her labor. After hours of hard labor, the wails of a baby are finally heard. Relief fills the face of the woman on the hospital bed. The doctors still have a look of dread on their faces. The reason is not out of fear for the baby, but for its mother. The baby came out feet first. This was a breech pregnancy. A cesarean section would normally be performed, but only Iryo-nin are qualified enough to even attempt such a thing during this time period. Unfortunately, prior to Tsunade Senju, Iryo-nin were very rare. The baby's mother is dying. Out of courtesy, the doctors, after cleaning the baby, hand him over to his mother.

"Mina-chan. I am your Kaa-san." The baby faces toward his mother. He opens his eyes, showing ocean blue eyes, just like his mother, tanned skin like his father, and a tuft of blond hair on his head. Too short to tell his hair type, but the color is exactly like his Tou-chan. Yellow-blond.

"I am sorry Minato-chan, but I won't be able to be there for you. I won't be able to see you grow up, have friends, see you get married, meet my grandchildren. I don't know what your likes are. Your dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. If you are anything like your Tou-chan, then you will be quite the ambitious little thing. I hope you don't, but if you do become a Shinobi, know that I will support you with all that I am.

It doesn't matter if you are talented, incompetent, a genius, or a dunce. If you want to take up our family business or follow your Tou-chan's footsteps. I hear that his potential is so great, they are considering making him Sandaime-sama's successor. I get the feeling that if your Tou-chan doesn't achieve his dream, you'll achieve it for him. Even though I won't be there, at least you have your Tou-chan there to guide you." Just as Kokoro finishes saying her departing words to her son, a Messenger Shinobi walks into the maternity ward. He barges into Kokoro's hospital room. This confuses Kokoro.

'Why is a Messenger Shinobi here? They only drop off messages to the Hokage and important information directly to Shinobi. Why is he here?' Just as she is finished with her thought, she observes the Shinobi conversing with the Head Doctor. The Shinobi turns to face her and starts walking towards her. Just then, a thought enters her mind, one she wishes to forget. The third, and more obscure responsibility of Messenger Ninja.

To deliver to families news of the passing of a Shinobi in the family. And he is coming towards her….

"no...No..NO….NONONononoNonOno!" A tremor racks through Kokoro's body. She remembers what she regrets with her mother. She regrets her mother not being there to see her get married, to see her have children, to see her be happy. Those are now regrets she now has for Minato. And her biggest fear, having her children grow up fatherless. She thought that was her biggest fear, but now she is living something worse. She is living in a world where her child will grow up orphaned. Unbearable pain, anguish, and sorrow burrow deep in Kokoro's heart. Her heart and mind shatter, and she dies in her hospital room without any semblance of comfort, and the wails of her baby in the background reflecting the mood.