TEAM TENSAI

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The characters belong to their respective owners.

28th March

"Ahhhhhh! I'll die! I'll die! This pain will kill me!"

Kizashi Haruno paced outside the ICU frivolously, his dull-pink brows etched in concern. His wife had gone into labour unexpectedly early, she was still in her eighth month, dammit! Being the head of the hospital, he knew she was aware of, and had even assisted in many childbirths herself. But even after knowing what to expect, the way she was yelling and shrieking loudly made the man gain a newfound respect for the opposite sex.

It had been over seven hours that Mebuki Haruno had been rushed into the emergency room, and since then her cries had upset him deeply. They had been unable to conceive a child for years…until now. Kizashi could never forget the look on his wife's face when she announced that she was pregnant. The woman had practically been radiant.

He stood waiting outside the room with bated breaths for what seemed like years when his wife's cries and ragged breaths finally came to a standstill. An eerie silence developed for a few moments before the sound of an infant crying pierced through to Kizashi's ears. Immediately, a grinning nurse flew open the closed doors of the ICU, beckoning him to enter.

He tiptoed inside, careful not to make any sudden movements. His eyes travelled to his wife, who was lying on the single bed, an IV hooked to her right hand, small beads of sweat on her face and her dark blonde sticking around it. She opened her green eyes slowly, giving him a tired smile.

A plump nurse appeared before Kizashi, handing him a cloth-y bundle. "Congratulations! You have healthy baby girl!"

He looked at his child in pure awe, taking everything in, from her round cheeks to her small, small limbs, her small mouth in a sloppy pout and the most atrocious pink hair tousled upon her small head. "Sh-she's…she's so tiny!" he spluttered, looking from his daughter to his wife with an incredulous stare.

The woman just chuckled, propping herself up with the help of a nurse. Kizashi walked to her, and didn't try to supress his grin when she almost snatched the bundle from him.

"Although her forehead is kind of wide though," he commented merrily, showing all his whites.

"Kizashi! Don't you dare joke about that!" Mebuki half-heartedly berated, sighing exasperatedly, all too well aware of her husband's jovial ability to make almost-awful jokes and puns. Well, those were one of the traits she found the most endearing about the man in the first place.

He just guffawed loudly in response, reassuring his wife cheekily.

The blonde woman shook her head and turned to her infant, a soft look on her face. Her eyes widened in as a realisation dawned on her. "I'm a…mother!"

Kizashi nodded at her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He softly ruffled his daughter's pink hair, pecking his wife's cheek lightly. "Thank you, Mebuki."

"She…she's my…no, she's our daughter!"

"Yes, darling, our beautiful daughter."

"Excuse me, Mebuki-sama, Kizashi-san, what are you going to name her?"

The couple looked at the overexcited apprentice nurse bouncing on her feet with a clipboard in hand, then turned to each other. Kizashi nodded, and Mebuki cradled her daughter closer to her chest.

"She is…Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

23th July

Fugaku Uchiha was not a man of many emotions. However, even he couldn't resist a genuine, soft smile as the nurse finally let him scoop his new-born baby boy in his waiting arms.

His wife, Mikoto Uchiha, looked on with serene black eyes, a wide and unwavering smile on her face. "Have you decided a name?"

The Uchiha-clan head nodded, joyfully bouncing the crying bundle in his arms. "Aa. Sasuke…Sasuke Uchiha."

"That's a beautiful name." Mikoto nodded. She took the little Sasuke from her husband's hands and lowered him a little. "See, Itachi, he's your little brother!"

The said five-year old boy looked on with awed eyes and furrowed eyebrows. He curiously poked the cheek of the small baby's cheek with a finger and retracted it immediately when he looked ready to cry again.

"Do you want to hold him, Itachi?"

Nodding, the elder brother took the baby in his arms, gently rocking him back and forth. "Sa-su-ke…" he uttered, rolling the name over his tongue.

Fugaku patted the head of his elder son, looking at the new-born baby with something akin to pride and confidence in his eyes.

"Be like your elder brother, Sasuke."

10th October

Minato Namikaze had the patience of a saint. It took a lot to anger him, really. However, if someone were to see him right now, they'd probably run screaming in the opposite direction. His usually gentle sapphire eyes were currently marred with specks of pure rage. His wild, deep blonde hair fluttered in the wind, and the cape with 'Yondaime Hokage' written on the back in kanji swirled behind him.

The demonic, nine-tailed fox in front of him let out a deep rumble, thrashing about and destroying multiple structures at once. Fires broke out, buildings toppled like dominoes and people ran with all they had. It was all a huge chaos.

But none of that currently interested the young Hokage's mind, for his eyes narrowed sharply as he teleported himself sooner than one could blink. Just in time to catch his wife's crumpled form in his arms, he silently cursed himself for even leaving her alone with the intruder in the first place.

Teleporting back to the safe house, he placed her gently on the bed beside their new-born baby. Her violet eyes glistened with unshed tears as she glanced at her husband first, then stroked the small boy's cheek lovingly. Minato looked on, allowing him to picture his family for a second before readying himself for the task at hand.

"Kushina…please take care of Naruto."

Minato fought, and fought hard. And it bore its fruits when he, after some difficulty, finally placed the 'contract seal' on the masked attacker, completely erasing his control over the nine-tailed fox. However, he still remained on guard. This man was dangerous. He had intruded in an ANBU-protected place, attempted to kill his new-born son, kidnapped his wife, extracted the nine-tails from her and then proceeded to almost destroy the entire Hidden Leaf Village using the beast. Minato knew the man wasn't someone to be trifled with. However, with a bitter sneer, the attacker merely disappeared from view.

"Heh, it is only a temporary setback, mind you."

The young Hokage then turned to the nine-tailed fox attacking his village. Flying through a set of hand-signs, he teleported himself and the beast to the safehouse Kushina and Naruto were in. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but it was the farthest he could go from the village within his capacity at the moment. He looked pensive for a moment, not sure what to do with the nine-tails thrashing around. he needed a way to subdue it. Kushina, even though her eyes were tired and her body was obviously struggling, took a defensive stance before her baby. "I can do it, dattebane!"

Getting a nod from her husband, she closed her eyes and focused her chakra. In a split second, long, golden chains materialised from her torso, wrapping themselves around the huge, huge beast, holding it in place. Additionally, the chains also created a barrier around them, preventing the trapped beast from escaping.

The redheaded woman dropped to her knees in exhaustion, but never once did her chains or resolve waver. Having the tailed-beast sealed inside her now released, she knew it was only a matter of time before she'll die. Using the adamantine chains had almost dried her already low chakra. The woman looked at her husband with a steely look in her eyes. "Minato…seal the nine-tails back in me. I'm already dying, at least this way this monster will die with me."

The blonde man didn't-couldn't-answer. She gave a sad smile, breathing hard. "My only regret is…I won't be able to see Naruto grow up."

Minato tried hard to swallow the lump in his throat. He cleared his throat. "That man may attack again in the future. Nine-tails' power will be needed to fight him."

Making up his mind, his hands flew through the 'Dead Demon Consuming Seal', effectively cutting the Nine-Tails' chakra in half. Kushina's eyes widened as he sealed the 'yin' half of the chakra back in her and the 'yang' half in the new-born Naruto, who was crying loudly, using the 'Eight Trigrams Seal'. He'll be damned if he didn't fight tooth and nail for his family.

The nine-tailed fox was not happy with the plan. He growled in rage, ready to attack the mother and baby who were to be his 'jinchuriki'. He was finally free after years and years of being trapped in humans. How dare they do that again! He extended his claws viciously and swiped them across the family before him. However, Minato having anticipated his attack, jumped in front of the two, taking full brunt of the attack. The claw pierced right through him, effectively rupturing his stomach and probably his lungs, but it didn't matter, he was going to die anyway.

Kushina jerked up immediately, cupping her hands around her husband's face, who was gazing with oh so much love at her. With blood dribbling down his chin, he smiled shakily at her. "I-I…wish things could be different but…he will at least have his mother with him, ne?

I know I don't have to tell you this, my red-hot habanero…take care of yourself…and Naruto. He…is lucky to have you as her mother, Kushina."

She stood frozen in her hands. Even after the sealing of the nine-tails was complete and Minato's crumpled form hit the ground, she didn't even so much as flinch. Eyes glazed over, Kushina unconsciously withdrew her adamantine chains. Dropping to her knees, she cradled her now-dead husband's head in her lap, running her hands over his face, through his hair. She didn't cry though, because no tears came.

"Kushina!"

The said woman slowly looked up, meeting the horrified and shocked expression of Hurizen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. Anything he wanted to ask was halted when he saw his successor's dead form on the ground.

The Sandaime's presence had stirred something in her as she gently caressed his fallen lover's face one last before standing up and walking towards her wailing baby. A gentle, serene but painful smile marred her face as she scooped up her offspring in her arms. Cradling him to her chest, she, with the help of an ANBU, slowly made her way back to the cave she had been in for childbirth. The nurses and medics immediately turned at her presence. A deathly silence befell them as Kushina kissed the top of Naruto's head before beckoning a nurse to relieve her. Immediately springing to action, the nurse precariously clutched the little baby, rocking him back and forth.

The redheaded woman settled on a small, make-shift couch, almost shrinking in it. A hollow and blank look encased her fair face, worrying all the occupants around her, but no one dared to make a single move towards her. That is, no one except Mebuki Haruno, the top medic who had assisted the woman with her childbirth, in addition to taking care of her all through her pregnancy.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Kushina carefully turned around to meet dark-brown eyes completely etched with concern. Mebuki didn't say a single word as she sat next to the redhead, not that words were necessary.

Kushina felt the dam breaking as she threw herself against the medic, suddenly losing grip of the single thread she had been holding onto all this time. Tears streamed down her face, never threatening to stop.

This was a shinobi's world. People died all the time. It wasn't a new concept. It may sound harsh, but most shinobi were thought to just settle with the loss. Kushina knew that starting tomorrow, she will have more responsibilities than she ever did before, and with her resolve, she will fulfil every single of them.

But tonight…tonight she will grieve for her lost husband.

-END OF THE CHAPTER-

Author's Notes:Well, I hadn't planned for this originally, but I was just wondering…if either Kushina or Minato would've survived the attack, Naruto (both the anime and the character) would've ended up so…different.

As you can see, I made a couple of other changes. This kind of AU gives me more freedom as I'm literally starting from scratch with our 'Team Tensai'. If the characters appear OOC, I apologize in advance but I hope we won't come to that.

Reviews are appreciated! Let me know what you thought of this 'prologue-ish' sort of chapter. This half-baked idea could very well end very interesting. Also, I look forward to any suggestions you might have!

Oh, and tensai=genius.