Naruto's POV.
Where am I?
I open my heavy eyes. Pushing myself off of the dirt ground I realize that I'm still at the Academy training grounds. Looking around I see the three boys, lying motionless before me. Their bodies look limp, lifeless. Blood covers their ripped up clothes, and the marks of nails cover their bare chests. I shudder at the scene before me.
I bring my own hands up and look at them. Crimson blood oozes down my palms and drips onto the dirt ground. My eyes widen in horror. I notice that all around me, I'm standing in a pool of blood, their blood. My body trembles, unable to move a scream rips out from me. Hot tears run down my whiskered face. I force my feet to move and I bolt away from the scene, completely forgetting about Minato's Kunai.
I run through the woods, my feet barely able to keep me up. Stumbling over a rock, my face meets the woody dirt ground. I land with a thump, and bite my tongue. Curling up in a ball I cry my little heart out.
I really am a monster. I killed those boys, it was all me. If Minato finds out, he'll throw me into a foster home in an instant. I sob even harder at the thought. I lay in the forest, the chirping of the birds my only company, letting a waterfall flow from my puffy eyes.
Minato's POV
I'm walking through the village trying to find Naruto. I checked the whole entire house, but did not find him. I checked all of his favorite spots, but no luck. I'm rushing past villagers, asking them if they have seen my son when suddenly a piercing shriek echoes throughout the village. My body whips towards the sound.
It's Naruto.
I flash to where the scream was projected and what I find is not pretty.
There are three boys, lying dead on the dirt floor, completely destroyed. Their bodies are enveloped with blood, slashes running across their bare chests, and it seems like a stray animal did this. I gulp thinking what could have possibly attacked them, but more importantly where is Naruto? I survey the area some more and find a stash of my Kunai scattered around a target. Picking one up I observe it and see that it's covered in blood. Did Naruto kill these boys? My body numbs at the thought. No he's nine years old, he can't possibly just kill people out of pleasure.
Focusing my chakra around the Kunai I manage to pick up Naruto's nature energy. He's not too far from here. I make my way towards where he is, but before I leave I signal some of the anbu following me to take care of the scene at hand.
I race through the woods looking for my little blond boy. When I spot his body, curled up and covered in crimson blood, my heart sinks. I run up to him and bend down.
"Naruto! Are you okay?" I say worriedly. He stops crying and it seems that his body completely freezes. He turns around slowly to face me. His eyes widen and he shoots himself away from me. The sudden action surprises me. He backs away so that we are a good distance apart. Breathing heavily he stands up, his legs shaking.
"Get away from me." He growls, and I realize that his voice is not his own. I sense the Kyuubi's chakra and immediately walk towards him. As I get closer and closer he screams louder and louder.
"Please get away! I don't want to hurt you!" I continue walking, ignoring his pleas. "I'm a monster, please just leave me alone!" My body stops as the words spill out of his mouth. He falls onto his knees and grabs at the dirt. Tears spill onto his bloody hands and his body trembles. The Kyuubi chakra disappears into thin air and I breathe out of relief.
"I-I don't want to hurt you." His voice trembles, sounding so weak. I crouch down so that I'm at his level. "Naruto, you won't hurt me, I am the Fourth Hokage…" I say a hint of pride in my voice and his body relaxes. He takes deep breaths before asking a question that makes me want to faint.
"Do you think I'm a monster?" He asks, fear glazing his sky blue eyes. My heart stops at his question and I feel like embracing him, nuzzling my face into his golden locks and telling him over and over that I love him more than anything, but I refrain myself and just give him a simple answer.
"No, I do not." He looks up at me completely surprised. "What happened back there?" I say gently and notice his expression fall.
"I-I don't remember. All I remember is waking up and finding…finding those boys…dead." He chokes out and tears fall from his watery eyes. I bring him into a firm embrace and he doesn't struggle out of it, but instead nuzzles his face into my shirt. I feel the tears spill onto my clothes, but clothes are just clothes and I could care less about a little stain. I hold him tightly and run my fingers gently through his hair soothing him.
It's obvious that this was not Naruto's doing, it was the monster inside of him. I think I can put together what happened back there pretty well. Those boys were harassing Naruto, they must have done something terrible to make him fall into Kyuubi's clutches. My blood boils; I thought that the village was respectful to Naruto? Since when did he have people going after him?
Then it clicks. This has been going on for years, this is why he's come home with bruises, cuts, and broken bones. It's not because of training, it's because he's been getting beat up constantly. My heart breaks as I think of all the times I've seen him limping through the house, bandaging up his cuts, and putting lotion on his bruises. But, never have I asked what's happened. I always figured that he's okay since he wasn't asking me for help. I should have gone up to him and asked, but I didn't. And I'm positive that he never asked me for assistance because I was constantly pushing him away. It's my entire fault that he's been enduring this pain. And the worst part is, that I'm responsible for the fact that he's a monster because I sealed that monster inside of him.
Naruto stops crying, his body relaxing in my arms, and I feel him grab my soggy shirt.
"Why are you so nice to me, if you know that I'm a monster?" He asks not releasing from our little embrace.
"It's because you are not a monster. Those villagers have no idea what they're talking about. You hold the monster prisoner, Naruto didn't someone mention that to you before?" I ask hoping maybe he'll remember my speech. He was so mad at me after I told him I was the one that sealed Kyuubi inside of him. It's not like we had some relationship, but after that things just got worse.
"No one's ever told me that before." Naruto says into my shirt. I frown, disappointed that it didn't open up some memory for him, but smile shortly when I notice his small arms wrap around my back. It's funny, that after his memory of me is erased, he seems to like me a whole lot better. I hug his small body tightly and gently place my lips on the top of his head, making sure he doesn't notice.
Naruto's POV.
Minato's words ring in my ears as I stand in the shower. He doesn't think I'm a monster, he thinks I hold it prisoner. The words make me feel strong, and really warm inside. I've finally found one person that doesn't think I'm a demon.
After our small embrace Minato led me home, well to his house. He asked me if I was hurt and I assured him I wasn't. Then he led me to the bathroom so that I could wash up, and here I am lathered in soap.
The memory of those boys is still fresh in my mind. Why exactly did I kill them? I honestly can't remember anything, anything about how it even happened. All I remember is the low growl enveloping my hearing and the sensation of numbness taking over my small body. Although the result was the death of those boys, it felt so…so good. It was the first time I've ever won a fight. I usually just let them beat me to a pulp, but today, today was different. I felt strong, powerful, in control.
What am I thinking? I shake my head trying to force the thought out of my mind. I'll become strong my own way; I don't need that monster's help.
I step out of the steamy bathroom, fully clothed, and walk down the stairs. I find Minato sitting in his library and opening the glass door I poke my head in. Minato looks up, his reading glasses slightly falling from his nose, and smiles when he sees me.
"All cleaned up?" He asks motioning me to step in. I walk in, closing the big bulky doors behind me. Nodding to his question I look around the room. It's a lot bigger than I had thought. All the walls are covered with bookshelves that are jam-packed with manuscripts. Scrolls lay spread out on Minato's desk, which is pushed into the far end of the room, and there is a little candle on his bureau. Behind his desk, a huge window looks out onto the village. It's probably the coolest room I've ever seen.
Minato chuckles at my awed expression.
"What are you doing?" I ask looking at all the scrolls burying his desk. There are things written on them that I can't understand even if I tried.
"Just researching some sealing techniques. It's a hobby of mine, I do this a lot." He says taking a brush and writing something down with ink. The smell of ink fills the air and I scrunch up my nose.
"Smells kind of gross." I retort and Minato pokes my nose. "That's why you don't shove your nose into my scrolls." He says laughing, as my cheeks turn red. I rub my nose, the touch tickling it slightly.
"I was just curious…" I pout scuffing my foot on the floor in embarrassment. I figure that maybe I should leave and let him…do whatever he's doing. Turning around, I make way for the door, but before I can exit he stops me.
"Naruto, before you go there is something I would like to speak with you about." Minato says his voice persistent making me stop in my tracks. I turn around on my heel.
"What is it?" I ask nervously. If he's going to talk to me about the incident earlier I might actually throw up. I can't really figure out why I did it, why I even bothered to fall into the clutches of the demon, but for some reason I did. And, I feel awful killing them, I…I don't want to become the monster, the title that all the villagers have given me.
"I want to talk to you about your condition. You do know that you had a seizure a few days ago…yes?" Once he asks the question my body relaxes. Phew, this topic is easy.
"Yeah, brain damage or something like that right?" I say confident in my answer. Minato nods.
"Yes, and since you lost some of your memory I was wondering if you wouldn't mind getting checked out by a Yamanaka…maybe later today before dinner?"
I had memory loss..right. I didn't really pay attention to the old lady yesterday, but I guess what she was explaining was true. I don't really know what Yamanaka's do, but if Minato thinks it's a good idea I'm sure I'll be okay.
"Sure." I answer.
"Great! Hey Naruto, would you like me to teach you how to throw Kunai? I saw that you were practicing today…" He says giving me a smirk. He totally knows that I stole his Kunai. I get all nervous and embarrassed.
"I'm sorry! I was going to return your Kunai I swear, but then you know that happened and I kind of forgot." I blurt out quickly trying to cover my mistake. Minato just chuckles and gets up from his desk. Walking over to me he ruffles my hair and bends down.
"You don't have to apologize, but next time before you do something like that just ask me okay? I know I wasn't around this morning, but you could have gotten one of the anbu surveying the house to let me know. What if you had cut your hand, or gotten hurt? I wouldn't have found out until after it had already happened. Just, ask me next time, so that I know what's going on." He finishes giving me a warm smile. I nod, not able to form words.
It's the first time someone has really cared about me and the feeling of warmth in my chests burns making me all bubbly.
"Come on, let's go hit some targets." He says stepping out of the room, and I follow him eagerly.
Minato's POV.
We step into the backyard, which is reserved for training purposes. Although, there is a small section near the porch where a never used grill stands and some flowers blossoming, but nonetheless I'm only really out here to train. Naruto looks around the backyard, at all the targets and dummies, and I can see that he's enjoying it. His eyes are bubbling with excitement and I can't help but feel excited myself, he's just contagious. Besides, it's my first real time training with my son. I wonder what the academy has taught him these past three years.
Walking a far distance from the target I stop and whip out a Kunai. Twirling it around my finger I flick it off and it lands perfectly right in the center of the target. Naruto's eyes widen at the move I just displayed and he looks from me to the target.
"You're so good!" He exclaims, his eyes beaming with awe.
"Well, its years of sweat and hard work. Now, let's see how you're doing." I say tossing him a Kunai. He catches it, just barely, and looks down at it. His aurora has changed. He's not happy or bubbly anymore. He's shy and fidgety. I examine him, as he takes the Kunai and performs a stance I have never seen before. Throwing the Kunai with no force or aim, it lands somewhere not even close to the target. He turns around and gives me a nervous smile.
"That's the best I got." He says slouching a bit with defeat.
Who the heck taught him that?! That's not how you throw a Kunai, he wasn't even performing the proper stance!
"Naruto, who taught you how to throw a Kunai?" I ask, seriously curious.
"My academy teacher, but he told me that I had to perform a special stance since I'm 'different.'" Naruto says playing with his fingers. I can see that he's clearly embarrassed.
My blood boils. Those darn academy teachers. They obviously only taught Naruto how to fail because of the grudge they hold on the demon inside of him. And all this time I thought he was getting grade A education. I mentally slap myself for not training with Naruto sooner.
"Let me teach you the correct way to throw a Kunai. Just watch what I do carefully." I say grabbing one from the ground. Holding the Kunai in my right hand I spread apart my feet and hold the Kunai so that my arm is across my face. Holding the point of the Kunai so that it's at eye level I look at the target and examine its center point. I toss the Kunai, forcing my arm back so that it receives the given power to fling it, and then release giving it a little whip. As it flies through the air it hits the target, dead center within seconds.
Looking back at Naruto I see that his face is full of determination. He grabs a Kunai from the ground and performs the stance he had just seen. My eyes widen in surprise as I notice that he's mirroring me perfectly. And in seconds the Kunai leaves his small hand and lands on the target. Not perfectly in the center, but still fairly close.
He's good, and has natural talent. Those darn academy teachers wasting it by teaching him everything wrong.
Naruto's eyes widen as he notices that he was only centimeters away from the middle of the target.
"I-I hit it!" He exclaims turning his attention to me. "That's the first time I was so close!" I chuckle at his enthusiasm and ruffle his hair. Those fatherly instincts are really kicking in; I've been showing more and more affection towards Naruto these past two days than I have throughout his whole life.
"If you keep practicing like that you'll be able to hit it dead on every time." I give him a reassuring smile and he mirrors it.
"Then I gotta keep practicing!" He exclaims, rushing over to the target. Picking up the Kunai, I can hear him hum a song and his mood is completely lifted. Before I showed him how to properly throw a Kunai he was so shy and embarrassed. But, now he's beaming with excitement and striving to keep practicing. I get a warm feeling in my chest.
Naruto practices for a good hour straight before collapsing with exhaustion. The warm spring day doesn't help cool him down and I force him to come inside before he passes out from the heat. He sits at the kitchen counter as I prepare something cool for him to drink. I can hear him pant but he blabs on about how is training went.
"Your technique helped me so much! I was able to hit the target three times! Now, I can show my class that I'm not the dead last." He says his voice full of joy. "And it's all thanks to you!" His smile flashes across his face as I hand him the cool glass of lemonade. He gulps it down and it's gone in a matter of seconds.
He's the dead last in his class? Why didn't he tell me sooner? A memory sparks in my brain.
FLASHBACK
A young boy with yellow hair pops his head into the office opening the door slowly.
"Father, can I come in?" Naruto asks, his voice quiet. I sigh, not looking up from my paperwork," Yes, come in and shut the door behind you."
He walks in and stands by the door quietly. He doesn't say anything and I get irritated.
"Naruto, did you just come here to watch me work? What do you want, I'm kind of busy." I say my voice growing a bit angry. He cowers a little as my voice raises and then squeaks out a question.
"I was just wondering if you could help me train, we're learning about how to throw-" He's not able to continue because I cut him off, my mind already made up.
"I have a lot of paper work to do today. Why don't you see if one of your friends isn't busy. Maybe next time, okay?" I say, my voice becoming warmer, but no matter how warm my voice may have sounded his face falls with disappointment. He bites his lower lip and nods slowly.
"Okay, sorry for bothering you."
And with that he exits the door, slamming it shut behind him.
END OF FLASHBACK
That's right. He's asked me to help him train before, but I didn't even bother to put aside my paperwork and help him. For goodness's sake I didn't even let him finish his sentence. I look at Naruto, who's sitting before me pouring himself some more lemonade. Why did I push him away for so long? Kushina's death was not his fault, it wasn't. So why did I ignore him and act like it was? I'm pretty sure Obito was the one to explain to Naruto about his own mom, gosh I am really such a failure.
Naruto finishes his second glass and hops off of the stool.
"Do you mind if I go change, then we can go do whatever you mentioned earlier?" He asks fanning himself with his soggy t-shirt. I nod, and he runs upstairs.
I watch him run upstairs and lean against the kitchen counters. It feels so good to see him so happy.
I'm glad I'm finally spending some time with my son, it took me long enough.
AU; Hope you guys like this chapter! Let me know what you think of it. (But srsly that Father/Son bonding really kills me...its just s'cute!) Anywhoo thanks for all of the support for this story so far, really means a lot! :D Oh and to my one hater who literally makes no sense, please JUST DON'T READ THE STORY IF YOUR GONNA CUSS AT ME AND YOUR INSULTS DON'T EVEN MAKE SENSE! lol please tell me your not like five...-.- but srsly if y'all don't like the story there is no need to hate, just move on. And ending on such a note, until next chapter toodles~ (love you guys!)