Author note: I love my reviewers and my readers. Without you guys, this story would never have been continued. Woohoo! My story isn't dead! Yay! Oh, and if you are reading this, Sasuke, Naruto, Kyuubi, and a few more characters will be introduced either in this chapter or in Chapter six. This is for you readers out there, I'd like to present…drum role please!…Chapter 5! (I love special effects and dramatic entrances…hehe…)
MWAHAHAHAA!! I call this, The Chapter of Flashbacks!
Pairings
KagomeXItachi
"I'm talking."
'I'm thinking.'
Onto Chapter 5!
TIME TO START…
A pair of sapphire eyes opened to greet the rising morning sun. 'Ugh, it's barely dawn. Why the hell am I awake? I'm going back to sleep…wait, why is my pillow moving?' The eyes looked over to the moving pillow. The pillow was none other than Itachi. "Mmm, don't move so much Kagome…sleep," he said as he tightened his grip around her waist.
She looked at the arm that rested comfortably around her waist, 'When did he? Why am I even the same bed in the first place?'
Flashback
The group was sitting around in Kagome's room in their pajamas. Everyone was looking at either Raizen or Raiden. The wolves sighed, which were noticed by the chibis who were looking at them slightly worried.
'Great, when they both sigh like that, it usually means something's going on with me and Ita-kun…great…'
'They sighed…not good…perfect…another pointless argument…'
They were snapped out of their thoughts when they saw Raizen's smirk.
'Uh, oh…THAT is definitely not good,' they both thought.
"Kag-chan, Ita-kun, let's talk sleeping arrangements," Raizen said with a slightly noticeable grin.
"What do you mean by that exactly?" Kagome asked, slightly worried.
"Well, considering you two are not to leave each other's sight…" Raizen started.
"You two are to sleep in the same room together," Raiden finished.
The Chibi's eyes widened.
'3...2...1...' both wolves thought.
"WHAT!"
"Raiden, good call on making the place soundproof for this."
"Thank you. Now back to the topic at hand…"
"Why do I have to sleep in the same room as him/her!?" they both shouted at the same time.
"Hey Raiden, did you ever notice they usually say the same thing at the same time?"
"Hmm…come to think of it, they do, don't they?" Both wolves looked at the fuming Chibis.
"We do not!" They both stopped and looked at each other before glaring. You could see the static.
"See what I mean! They do talk at the same time!"
'Good thing they don't know the side effects of the power surge.'
'For once Raizen, you didn't do anything stupid.'
'I'll tell 'em about the side effects later.'
'Great…just great,' they were snapped out of their mental conversation by the wrestling chibis. They both currently had each other in a headlock.
"Hey! Don't kill each other!" Raiden yelled at them. He grew angrier when he noticed they weren't listening.
"I'm not sleeping with you!"
"Why would I sleep with you?"
"Why you arrogant Uchiha!"
"Look who's talking Higurashi!"
"Let go of me!"
"Only if you let go first."
"If you two don't stop killing each other this instant, I'm eating you both!!" Everyone looked surprised at Raiden's outburst.
"Whoa! Didn't think you had in you little brother!"
"Shut up or I'll eat you too! Both of you let go! NOW!!" Everyone shut up as they released each other.
"Good. Now since Itachi-san's room is bigger, you'll sleep in his room."
"Can I at least sleep on the floor, or something?"
"No. Considering you two didn't listen to me, you're both sleeping in the same bed as punishment," he noticed they were going to argue, "and if you two argue with me, you're not going to like what I'll do to you."
They were going to protest once again, but stopped when they saw Raiden's normally gentle amber eyes, were beginning to bleed a menacing crimson.
"Heh-Heh, hey Itachi, what say we go to bed now before he gets madder at us," Kagome nervously said as she pulled Itachi into his room with surprising speed. Once they left the killer wolf in the other room, they shut the door, and sat on the bed.
"Kagome, what just happened?"
"I'm not sure; we must have really pissed him off. I can tell he was holding back."
"Holding back?"
"Yeah, the last time he became this angry was when I was attacked by enemy ninja a few years ago. They were the ones that killed my parents, so they came after me instead. They slashed at my side, and the second Raiden saw the blood, his eyes turned red, and Raizen made sure I couldn't see anything since he carried me away from the scene the second he jumped at the enemy. All I could hear were terrified cries of pain. It even made Raizen wince. He set me down in a stream so he could wash the cut and bandage it. After Raizen somehow managed to bandage and stopped the bleeding, Raiden came back," Itachi noticed Kagome's eyes darkened to a dull cobalt as she continued her story, "When he came back, his black fur was a bright red. His fur was dyed red from all the blood. He jumped into the river, and as the blood washed off his fur, the entire stream turned red as well. We left him alone in the stream. He stayed in the water for a long time. Eventually, he calmed down enough to apologize 'I'm sorry you had to see that, and hopefully, you'll never see that again,' was all he said before he poofed away," she then looked at Itachi, "that's why I ran, he wouldn't hurt us, but if we were someone else, I get the feeling we would no longer exist."
She looked at Itachi's questioning gaze. She lifted the side of her shirt just enough to see the scar on her waist.
"It looks like a bear tried to claw at your side."
"Yeah, I tend to get injured quite a bit, but when he saw all the blood, and since there was so much of it, he snapped," she said as she pulled down her shirt. Her eyes then turned a brilliant sapphire as she looked at him once more, "I suggest we listen to him and go to sleep. If we don't listen, he really will eat us. Besides, I don't think you'd like to be wolf chow anytime soon, do you?" She grinned as she playfully pushed him backwards onto the bed.
"What was that for?" He said as he looked at the ceiling.
"Hmm, no reason," she said with a grin. Itachi got up and went under the covers. He surprised her by lifting the covers, "Get in or he'll kill us."
She shook her head with a small smile as she slid in next to him. She gasped once she was lying down. She looked down and noticed that he had placed his arm around her waist, holding her to him. She blushed lightly as he buried his face into her hair.
"What was that for?" She quietly whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
"Hmm, no reason."
She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway as she buried her face into his neck. Soon, they were both lulled to sleep by their body heat.
End Flashback
'Oh yeah…I remember now. Eh, I'll just go back to sleep and wake up in a few hours,' with that, she went back to sleep mumbling quietly about 'lazy wolves' and 'arrogant Uchiha'. Unconsciously, she snuggled up to Itachi, and buries her face in the crook of his neck, who in turn, held her a little tighter, and buried his nose in her hair, taking in her soothing scent.
HALF AN HOUR LATER…
Raizen was looking at the sleeping seven year olds. He smiled, not a mischievous smile, a normal smile. The smile grew a little as he walked over to them, 'Heh…I guess I should wake them now. They have a team to meet after all. I just hope Raiden managed to tweak the records.'
He looked over at them before getting a look in his eye, 'This little image is too good to pass up! I have to get this on camera! First things first, I need a camera…' He sniffed around before poking his nose in Itachi's small, walk-in closet, 'Hmm, let's see, clothes, boxes, other things that I don't care about…OW!!'
He jumped up as he stepped on something sharp and pointy, it was a small Kunai. 'AHH!! Why the hell does the brat have a KUNAI FOR!! It hurts…' He limped out of the closet, and then sat down. He carefully pulled out the kunai, then watched himself heal almost instantly.
'It maybe healed, but that still sort of hurts…anyway, back to the camera,' he thought as he went back into the closet, more careful this time. He sniffed around, until his nose led him to a box. He carefully pulled it out as he slightly limped away from the closet. He pulled the lid off, and inside, he found his prize.
'Ha! I found it! Now, how do I use it without thumbs?…I need thumbs…Oh! I know! I just have to remember what father taught me…ok, let's see,' he closed his eyes in concentration, 'Ok, transform into a human…human...human…' With a small poof, his front paws turned into furry clawed hands, causing him to sweatdrop, 'O…K…I need some more practice since this is NOT what I had in mind…I'm a black, golden eyed wolf with thumbs…I'm a freak of nature…ARGH!! I learned this years ago! Why can't I get it right?! Anyway…this will have to do for now, since they'll probably wake up any minute.'
He awkwardly grabbed the camera, and quickly took a photo, the flash startling the kids awake. They shot up, effectively getting tangled in the covers. After a pointless struggle to get free, they fell right off the bed.
After a couple of minutes, Kagome managed to release one of her arms from the cover's unsuspecting attack. She sat down and proceeded to take the covers off with her freed arm, accidentally pulling the covers out from under a half-asleep Itachi, who in turn, fell and landed on Kagome, effectively sending them both to the ground.
Kagome looked up, and noticed him on top of her, "Um…that's new…you're usually the one who gets knocked down…"
"…yeah…"
A bright flash brought them back to their surroundings. They turned towards it, and saw Raiden holding a camera," Oi, Sleeping Beauty…um, well, you know, you really should get off your girlfriend. You're heavier than she is," he said as a slight smirk appeared on his face.
Itachi had a visible tick mark on his forehead. Kagome hid her face in embarrassment in his shirt.
"Wolf."
Raizen blinked at an angry Itachi, "Yeah?"
"Leave."
"Alright."
Itachi's eyebrow rose in confusion while Kagome looked at Raizen with questioning eyes.
"You're leaving without a fight?" She asked him.
"Yeah, sure, why not? I need to show this picture to Raizen anyway. After I get it developed, I'm sure quite a few people will love to see this as well. Man, did I get me some major blackmail…just one more picture," he quickly took another picture of them, then, with an enormous grin, he disappeared with a POOF! Leaving two horrified chibis behind. Their eyes widened as his words clicked in their heads, and the dots left their vision. They looked at each other with horror in their eyes as they scrambled out of his room.
They ran downstairs as quietly as possible for fear of waking the others in the Uchiha Manor. After passing quite a few doors and hallways, they made it to the living room, where they saw a large, black, furry form curled up with a wagging tail.
Since their mind was still foggy from sleep, they completely missed the fact that this black, furry, tail wagging blob was smaller than the black, furry, tail wagging form of Raizen. They looked at each other and nodded. They turned back to the blob and were ready to pounce on it, when the blob jumped up into the air with tears in its eyes, effectively waking up the chibis completely.
That was when they noticed this blob was smaller than Raizen. This blob was none other than Raiden, who looked like he was going to yell in pain as he looked at his seemingly abused tail. They looked down at his tail to see if they could identify the source of his pain. Once they found the source, they sweatdropped at the sight that met their eyes.
There, on his tail, was the one and only Sasuke Uchiha, hanging onto Raiden's tail with his teeth as if it were a lifeline with a seemingly angry look on his face.
Kagome decided the ask the unanswered question, "Um, Raiden, why is Sasuke biting your tail?"
He turned to look with slightly surprised eyes at the two figures standing in the room. He looked at Sasuke, then back at the other two as he practically begged, "Can you get him off my tail first? For a 2 year old, he has sharp teeth. Then I'll answer your questions."
With that said, Kagome and Itachi proceed to gently remove Sasuke from Raiden's tail. Once he was off and sitting on the floor, Raiden looked at the irritated looking toddler. He gently poked the toddler's chest with his nose, who in turn, grabbed onto the furry snout as it carefully lifted him then set him down, effectively lightening the toddler's mood. Once Sasuke was content, Raiden sat down, then lied down when Sasuke tried to crawl on top of him. With a little help from the wolf, he was happily, not to mention securely, sitting on the wolf's back. With a giggle and a smile only Sasuke could pull off, he wrapped his small arms around as much of Raiden's neck as he possibly could.
"Rai-Rai!" Sasuke managed to say between giggles as a smile formed on Raiden's face. "Technically, it's Raiden, but I'll accept that," he said more to himself than anyone else.
Kagome and Itachi watched with curiosity at what had just transpired in front of their face. Both their eyebrows rose as Kagome decided to break the silence.
"Rai-Rai? Since when did he call you that, and more importantly, why is he here in the first place?"
"Yes, I'd like to know as well as to why my brother is here."
Raiden completely forgot about his little audience as he obtained a sheepish look on his face.
"Heh-Heh, he just started calling me that about half an hour ago. The only reason why he's here, instead of in his room, is because he woke up about an hour ago, and I didn't want him to wake anyone one up. So I brought him down here, and he took an interest in my tail, so it kept occupied for quite some time. At first, he just tried to see if he could catch it, but I guess he grew frustrated and decided to bite it instead, and apparently, he succeeded. The kid has sharp teeth, my tail still sort of stings where he bit it."
'Well, I guess it's a good thing his parents didn't wake up…or else we wouldn't be able to live it down,' Kagome thought, too bad a certain black, furry blob overheard her thoughts.
'Won't live what down? Hmm, I guess I'll find out sooner or later,' Raiden thought as his attention was focused on the toddler who was currently playing with his ears, 'Heh…good thing I decided to watch this kid. I can tell this kid is going to be quite entertaining when he gets older. His room arrangements alone were quite entertaining.'
Flashback
"May Sasuke sleep with me from now on?" Raiden asked Mikoto as they watched a one year old Sasuke play with a couple of toys.
Mikoto looked at Raiden in surprise and shock. "Why so you ask such a question?" Mikoto asked with confusion in her voice.
Raiden looked at her confused expression, then turned back to Sasuke who crawling towards the wolf. He poked Sasuke's head gently with his nose, who in turn, giggled. Raiden lifted his head with a small wolfish smile on his face as he answered Mikoto's question.
"I want to watch over Sasuke as grows. I can tell he's going to need someone as he grows older, a pet for his first few years if you will, but a more of a reliable friend over time. For that to happen, I'd like to watch over him until he decides to refuse my aid," Raizen said before a small smirk appeared on his face, "but even then, I'd still make sure he doesn't get dragged into any of Raizen's many antics unwillingly."
"Unwillingly? Is it even possible to get dragged into his schemes without force?" Mikoto looked skeptical at the mere thought. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Raiden chuckle. She turned to look at him. She saw his golden eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Trust me, it's possible. Everyone that has ever known that crazy wolf has agreed to willingly take part in at least one of his schemes. Every single one, the clan head, a random civilian, myself, even Kagome-chan and Fourth Hokage have partaken in his little schemes. Sometimes, you just end up helping in his plans, no matter how crazy." Raizen laughed at Mikoto's shocked face, "Anyway, we're going off topic here. So, what do you say, can he sleep with me?"
Mikoto calmed down after a sigh, "Fine, if it will help him in the future, then he may sleep in the same room," she replied in a defeated voice. 'It will be even better if he manages to stay away from that crazy wolf's plans. I just hope he doesn't get roped into a prank or an actual plan, unlike myself.'
'So, she was roped into a plan as well. I wonder which one…interesting, she's remembering…guess my curiosity will be satisfied after all.'
Flashback within a Flashback
One year earlier…
Mikoto and Raizen were in the study. Mikoto reading a book, while Raizen stared at the flames flickering in the fireplace. He lifted his head and got Mikoto's attention.
"Hey Uchiha-san, can I get your help on something?" Raizen asked Mikoto. She looked at him with a curious look.
"What do you need my help with?" She asked Raizen who was hiding his smirk.
"I need help playing matchmaker on a couple of individuals."
Mikoto mentally sighed, "Dare I ask, which individuals does your plan involve?" That was when she saw his smirk as he turned to look at her. She was regretting her question.
"It involves your tenants," as he saw her eyes widen, his smirk grew more mischievous as he continued, "you have guessed correctly, it involves your son, and my summoner, Itachi-san and Kagome-chan."
She visibly sighed, "Give me three good reasons why, and I might help you."
He grinned as he gave his reasons, "Well, first off, they look good together. Second, you know you want to…" he grinned as she flinched almost unnoticeably as he went on to say his last reason, "and lastly, if you help me, you'll get adorable grandkids in the future…" Mikoto hid her face in her book, "So, what do you say Uchiha-san, will you help me?"
She was going to refuse him, hoping to not get roped into his evil plan, until she saw his face when she put her book down. Raizen had puppy dog eyes, complete with tears, flattened eyes and his tail between his legs as he looked up at her. All in all, he looked like a kicked puppy.
She couldn't turn away as he began to whine. She was going to break, and he knew it. Soon, she threw her arms up in frustration, "Fine! I'll help you! Just stop with the look! That's just cruel." Raizen stopped the kicked puppy look and gave his Yes!-I-got-you-to-help-me-in-one-of-my-plans look. Mikoto buried her face in her hands as he walked out of the study.
He paused at the door before looking back, "Hey, cheer up! At least no one saw our little exchange, or you would get one hell of a shocked look from everyone." He walked out his comment. Mikoto looked at the doorway, then up at the ceiling as she leaned back in her chair with a sigh, 'What did I just get myself into?
End Flashback with a Flashback
'So that's what happened…I've been wondering why she always has them go everywhere together…that clears up a few things,' Raizen thought as he curled around a sleeping Sasuke. 'Well little one, you are definitely going to have one interesting life ahead of you,' he thought as he became overrun with a hidden sadness.
'It's unfortunate that I can't stop or protect you from the tragedy that is going to happen to you in a few years time, but I will help you through the betrayal you must face, I can't guarantee my assistance at times, but I will help you if you ask for it.' He looked at Sasuke's sleeping form with a smile, 'Sleep well little one.'
End Flashback
'That was one interesting day,' he looked up at the Chibis as they heading towards the kitchen to get some breakfast. He then looked out the window as he whispered quietly to himself as Sasuke played with his tail, "I wonder what Raizen is up to…wait…scratch that, I'd rather not know… I still wonder where he disappears to every day."
SOMEWHERE OFF IN THE WOODS…
Raizen hid in the shadows carrying a messenger bag as he entered the rundown part of the village. 'Ugh, I hate sneaking around the village like a common criminal…it'll be worth it once I reach my target.' He snuck around and went behind buildings trying to stay out of sight.
He went into an alley as he headed towards a small rundown building. He went around back jumped to the roof of the small two-story building, at least, it was small by Raizen's standards. He went towards a vent twice as small as himself. He reached into his bag as he grabbed a wrench out of it. He used his human-like paws to unscrew it loose, leaving it wide open. 'Good thing my little mishap earlier left my paws like this. It's so much easier than using my jaws.'
He looked at the size of the vent and sized, 'Ugh, I hate squeezing through this tiny vent. Oh well, might as well shrink myself,' he closed his eyes in concentration as a cloud of smoke covered him. As the smoke disappeared, in his place, was a miniature form of himself. He walked over to the vent, and crawled in. once he came out the vent, he was overcome by smoke once again, and he regained his normal size.
'Heh, good thing I at least managed to master changing my size or I would have to break something…Dad did say it would come in handy…Visitor hours haven't begun yet, oh well, I'll visit anyway.' Raizen snuck through the hallways to a lone room at the end of the hallway. He opened the broken door, and headed towards the makeshift bed in the corner of the room.
He walked towards it and looked at the torn, moving blanket. He pushed it aside with his snout, and it revealed a head full of blond hair. He completely removed the blanket off the squirming bundle, revealing a two year toddler with clear blue eyes, blond hair, and three whisker marks on each cheek. He wore a worn shirt and a pair of shorts. He pulled Naruto out of the bed by his shirt and set him on the floor.
Raizen looked at the toddler with a loving smile on his face when Naruto rolled onto his back and looked up at the wolf, "Hello Naruto, I'm back little guy. How have you been?" Naruto sat up and giggled at Raizen, "Rain!" Raizen chuckled lightly in amusement, "Yep, That's me. Good to know you remember me little guy. Your birthday's not for a few months, but I brought you something anyway."
Raizen reached into the bag and pulled out a small orange blanket with Naruto's name etched into the corner. He placed over Naruto's head, who giggled as he pulled it off his head with a tug from his little hand. Raizen smiled as he pulled out a small stuffed animal as well. It was a pure black wolf with yellow eyes. He gave it to Naruto, who in turn, hugged it, then showed it to the wolf. "Rain!"
Raizen chuckled as he poked it with his snout, "Yep, that's me. Too bad it's not as good looking as the original." He smiled as Naruto hugged the stuffed animal to himself, then hugged Raizen's furry leg as if saying thanks. Raizen's eyes softened at the contact. Raizen's eyes widened as he heard footsteps coming down the hall, and heading towards the room.
He grabbed Naruto, then placed him on the bed, grabbed the old blanket, pushed chakra to his feet, then ran up the wall, onto the ceiling, and hid in a shadowy corner just as a woman walked into the room glaring at a trembling Naruto.
"Here's some food you demon," the woman said with venom in her voice as she tossed some food in his direction, landing next to the bed. "If it wasn't for Sandaime's Law, you would've been killed by now. Have a good day demon." The woman stalked out of the room, and shut the door behind her.
After she left, Raizen released his chakra, and landed on the floor. He walked over to Naruto who was trying to reach the food from his pathetic excuse for a bed. Raizen's eyes filled with sorrow as he pulled Naruto out of the crib and set him onto the floor. Once he was down, he started walking towards to food.
"Naruto, don't touch that food," Raizen said in a stern voice. Naruto looked up at Raizen as he stopped in his tracks. He watched Raizen walk towards the food and sniff it.
Raizen growled as he crushed the food with his paw in a blast of fire, reducing the food to ashes. "That pathetic excuse for a human woman! Poisoning the food like that! This time the poison is fatal! I should tear her apart for this, then I'll let her rot in the seventh layer of hell!" Raizen calmed down when he felt a tug on his fur, and an image of food came to his head. He realized it was Naruto's thought.
He looked down at Naruto and licked his cheek, "It's alright Naruto. I knew this would happen again, so I always come prepared as always." He reached into the bag, and pulled out a box. He opened it, and inside was food that Naruto was able to eat.
As Naruto grinned, then dug into the food while Raizen just gained an amused look. 'Don't worry kid. I'll be your first friend, and I'll protect you as much as I'm able. That's a promise to myself, your father, mother, and mostly, to you. It's a promise, and I never go back on my word, no matter how screwed up my promises are.' As if hearing his thoughts, Naruto looked up at him, and gave him a wide grin.
Raizen smiled and remembered the events that led to that fateful day. The day that he met Naruto, and saw his friend Minato for the last time.
Flashback
October 10, two years ago…
A shadow dashed through the night as it headed towards the Hokage Tower.
"Oi! Blondie! Wake up! I've got important news!" Raizen yelled as he crashed through the window, successfully interrupting Minato from his nap.
Minato sighed, but grew confused at Raizen's slightly panicky face. "What is it this time? It better be important…"
"It is important!" Raizen practically shouted in face as he jumped onto his desk.
"Well?! What is it?!" Minato yelled back in frustration.
"It's Kushina! She's in labor! She's giving birth to Naruto!" Raizen said as she shouted once again. The clones' eyes widened as they disappeared with a poof, leaving a terrified Minato at his desk. Poor Minato was frozen in fear.
Seconds seemed like hours until Raizen snapped him out of his episode, "Well?! What are you waiting for?! Get going!!"
"Right! Let's move!"
"Thank you!"
They both jumped out the broken window and headed towards the hospital. They practically crashed through the front door and headed towards the hallway in a blur of black and yellow, effectively scaring the receptionist out of her wits.
"Which room?!"
"312!"
"Right!"
They ran towards the room, knocking down the doctor that came out of the room. They stopped in their tracks and begun to help him up.
"Are you alright?"
The doctor blinked the stars out of his eyes as he nodded a yes.
"Is Kushina in there?"
"Yeah, she's in there. She just gave birth to a boy. Come to think of it, he has blonde hair, just like you. Why do you ask Hokage-sama?" The doctor looked skeptical at the Hokage's panicky face. Raizen came up with an excuse at the last second, saving Minato from an unwanted explanation.
"We're close family friends. We're like brothers to her actually, and, he's also the godfather of the kid in there. Her husband died along with her family, so we're all she has left," Raizen said calmly, hoping the doctor would buy his excuse.
The doctor looked even more skeptical, but walked away as he finally agreed. So they decided to make their presence known.
"Kushina!" Minato looked at his wife as she lay in bed, holding a small bundle wrapped in a small fuzzy blanket.
"Look Minato, it's our son, Naruto," Minato carefully walked towards her and looked at the bundle. His hand trembled as it reached out to touch his son.
"Would you like to hold him?" All Minato could do was nod a yes. Kushina placed Naruto in his arms. He looked at his son. His hand slowly rose as he gently placed his hand on Naruto's blond fuzzy hair. A warm smile made its way to his face as Naruto's eyes opened. That was when everyone realized that his eyes were a brighter shade of blue than his father's.
"He looks just like you Minato-kun."
"Hehe, he does, doesn't he? He may have gotten my looks, but he probably has your personality," he said as he sat down next to Kushina as she pet little Naruto's head. Both were completely oblivious the black wolf fumbling around with a small camera, at least, until a flash went off.
Both looked at the wolf who just smiled in return, "What?! It's a good picture! I want to be able to show this to little Naruto when he gets older! Is that such a bad thing?" They both sighed and shook their head in amusement. The heartfelt, but amusing moment was cut short when they heard a crash and the building shook.
They looked out the window, and standing there in all it's glory, was the Kyuubi laying waste to the village.
"Shit! It shouldn't be here yet! The scouts said we still had a couple more days to prepare!" Raizen shouted as he looked at Minato and Kushina, "We only had time to devise that one plan! We have to use the Reaper death seal!"
Both Minato and Kushina sighed as Minato took Naruto from Kushina's hands. They talked, and both agreed that if it had come to this, they would use Naruto for the jutsu. Minato burst through the window as he summoned Gamabunta. As soon as he appeared, he landed on his head, and headed towards the fox, leaving Kushina and Raizen in the hospital room.
"Raizen, I can't help but get the feeling I'm not going to survive this night. I'm already weak as it is. So can you promise me this?" Kushina said as she lay in the small bed.
"What is it? If it's in my power, I'll give you my word."
Kushina smiled as she began to speak in a pleading tone, "Take care of Naruto. Seeing as he's going to be the Kyuubi vessel, he's going to be shunned and abused his entire childhood without a single friend to help him through it. Originally, I hoped I could raise him, but my strength is waning with each passing second. So please, promise me this, protect Naruto from as much of this as you can. I couldn't live with myself if I left him alone. It would bring me some peace if I knew you were there for him."
All Raizen could was nod a yes as he licked Kushina's cheek as if saying goodbye. She smiled as she forced herself to say one more thing, "Thank you Raizen." Then, all was still as her eyes closed and she fell into a peaceful sleep.
Raizen sat up, and let loose a long sorrowful howl as tears came to his eyes. He walked towards the broken window, and stopped. He took one look back, then forced himself to leave the room. He jumped out the window, and headed towards the Kyuubi.
He arrived at the scene moments after a blinding light surrounded the Kyuubi. As the light died down, Gamabunta disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a falling figure in the air. He jumped up and barely managed to catch Minato without hurting Naruto. He landed softly on the ground, and gently set his passengers on the ground.
Minato had a glazed look in his eyes as he turned his head to look at the wolf. Raizen looked at Minato before giving him the news, "She's gone."
Minato gave a sad smile as he looked at his son and clutched Naruto closer to him. He looked back up at the wolf, "Take care of him now that she's gone. He's the Kyuubi vessel now, and it would give me peace at mind if I knew you're taking care of him."
Raizen smiled again before answering him, "You sound just like her. I promised her the same thing, and I'll promise this to you as well. I'll make sure he's not alone Minato."
Minato chuckled softly before turning serious once again, "You actually said my name, and if he's anything like his mother, he'll be a handful for you. I also have one more request before my time is up. I want you to tell Naruto of his lineage, and of the fox, but tell him to keep that information to himself even if someone else tells him. No one else knows I have a son except for Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi. If everyone knew this important information, not only would he be in danger for harboring the fox, my old enemies would want to destroy him as well. Oh, before I forget, make sure he sees the picture you took earlier."
Raizen's eyes watered once again as three figures landed next to him. He looked over to Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade who were each on the verge of tears. Minato looked over at them before saying his last words, and thinking his last thoughts that only Raizen would hear.
"Sarutobi, I want Naruto to be seen as a hero for containing the fox and saving the village. Don't tell the younger generation that the fox is inside Naruto. I don't want the children to be influenced by past events," Minato then looked at Raizen and sent him his thoughts, 'Thank you, for everything.'
Then, his eyes closed and his grip on Naruto slackened. Naruto, as if knowing his parents were gone, began to cry. Tsunade began to cry as Jiraiya held her in his arms as a lone tear trailed down his face.
Sarutobi walked over and took little Naruto in his arms. As soon as he took Naruto off Minato, all the other Shinobi came.
"What happened?!" A random Shinobi asked.
"The Fourth sealed the fox inside this newborn," Sarutobi answered.
"What of Hokage-sama? Is he alright?" the Shinobi asked.
Sarutobi's face fell as he began to answer before a long mournful howl was heard. He turned toward the source of the sound and realized it was coming from Raizen. The howl was heard throughout the village as another mournful howl accompanied it. After the howls died down, Raizen set his head down on the Hokage's chest and began to cry. Until that moment, he forgot that wolves could cry. The second the tears came, everyone's heads finally registered that their beloved Hokage was dead. Many began to cry, while others became furious and turned to glare at Naruto.
"We should kill that abomination for destroying most of our home and taking the life of our Hokage!" A Shinobi yelled as many agreed.
"Silence! This child is not the fox! He is not to be killed!" This was all Sarutobi could say. Everyone then began to glare icy daggers at Naruto. At least, until they heard a menacing growl. They turned to look at the owner of the growl. A terrifying sight met their eyes.
Raizen was growling as his fur stood on end, making him look twice as big, his claws were sharper and larger, his teeth were even bigger and deadlier, and his eyes were a deep crimson. He was surrounded by what seemed like a halo of flame.
Raizen began to speak in voice that seemed deeper and angrier than his own. "Leave. If any of you take a step forward, you won't live to see the next sunset," he said in an eerily calm tone that promised his threat.
Everyone tried to glare back, but no one could match the sheer terror of his rage-filled glare. Everyone then decided to glare at Naruto before leaving the clearing.
As soon as everyone left, he calmed down, and looked more like his old self with each passing moment. He walked over to Minato, and carefully set him on his back. He walked over to Jiraiya, "Here, he's too big for me to carry, and I haven't learned how to change my size yet…" Jiraiya nodded as Tsunade helped him take him off, and placed him on Jiraiya's back.
"We should go," Raizen solemnly said.
Everyone nodded as they headed towards the village with Raizen trailing behind. He looked at Minato's peaceful face before his eyes hardened in determination, 'Don't worry my friend, I'll keep my promise."
He then turned to the now sleeping baby in Sarutobi's arms, 'I'll take care of you Naruto. That's a promise to myself, and to you, and no one's going to stop me.'
End Flashback
Naruto was currently playing with the stuffed wolf as Raizen watched.
'Heh, good thing I had a Genjutsu placed on those, or that poor excuse for a woman would've taken them away. I need to thank Old Man Sarutobi for helping me with this.'
He stood up and placed Naruto back in his bed. "Alright little guy, be a good boy and don't eat anything that mean lady gives you. Eat the food in the box that the mean lady can't see," Raizen said making Naruto giggle. "Your parents will watch over you when I'm not here, alright?" All Naruto did was give a wide grin.
"Good, because I have to go, but I'll be back later. Now, give me hug before I go?" Raizen asked, and Naruto released his hold on the stuffed animal and hugged the real one around the neck instead. Raizen smiled and licked his cheek as soon as he was released.
"Bye little guy. See ya later!"
Naruto waved goodbye as Raizen left the room. Raizen left the way he came, and he screwed back the vent to make sure he wouldn't be caught. As he ran through the shadows, he stopped and looked back, 'Don't worry Naruto, I'll get you out of that orphanage if it's the last thing I do." He turned forward and ran back to the Uchiha manor. "Heh…I think I should break up their fight get the chibis to go meet their team. Considering they probably freaked out Raizen asking for my whereabouts after eating their breakfast, then Ita-kun said some sarcastic comment, then Kag-chan argued against it, then they begin arguing, then they'll probably about to kill each other with a head lock."
He laughed, startling anyone nearby enough to hear his laugh. He dashed towards the woods and headed to another building for a quick visit, "Better drop off the camera before I forget. Heh-Heh…this oughta be fun when the pictures get developed….I can't wait," he quietly said to himself as he made himself run even faster.
TO BE CONTINUED…
…If only Raiden knew what his crazy brother was up to…and if only Raizen knew how right he was…hehe…this is definitely going to prove interesting…
Haha!! Would you look at that! I completed this chapter in record time! I apologize for the long wait, I got grounded by my dad because I lost his credit card somewhere…yeeaah…I was supposed to put it back in his wallet when he placed all this wood in the truck…my dad's a carpenter type person…and I guess I lost his credit card somewhere while I helped him carry some extra wood…
Soo, after I was ungrounded yesterday morning, I ran to the computer and typed this chapter as an apology for my carelessness. Turned out better than I thought. I didn't want my readers to wait any longer, so I began typing, and here is the outcome!
…I think I write better when I'm in a hurry…oh well! The chapter's finished, and I'm so proud of myself in being able to finish typing it.
WOOHOO!! I want pie…that was random…but I do want some pie right now…
-Taichou