He Sees Darkness, But Smiles Like The Light

By The Un-wanted Angel and Beta'd by Morgan Yukimari

I wanna' thank all of my reader who have loyally made it this far with the story, we've come a long way, haven't we? Well, everyone, our little blonde boy has grown up, sadly from Minato, but he'll just have to accept it. Naruto is now officially 12 years old. And almost graduating from The Academy, let's move on with the show and Morgan and I hope you enjoy this chapter

*smiles*

We do not own Naruto

CHAPTER 15

**6 years later**

"Happy Birthday, Naruto!" A happy cheer came from Naruto's window sill. Naruto slowly woke up and rubbed his eyes. Naruto couldn't see, he'd ask Kyuubi for Chakra later at his party, but he could tell from that voice that it was Kakashi.

"Hi, K'ashi." He smiled. "Thank you."

"It's not everyday you have a birthday, they only come once a year." Kakashi smiled.

"I know, are you coming to my party tonight?" Naruto asked, searching his dresser for some clothes to wear. Kakashi said that he'd meet him downstairs and Naruto nodded. He was so excited, Kakashi was right, it's not everyday you have a birthday. After he was dressed in some clothes he hurried downstairs where he could smell food cooking.

"Go-o-o-o-od morning!" Naruto cheered.

Sasuke pretended not to hear Naruto, Minato too.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Oh, morning Naruto." Sasuke greeted. "Just another...boring day, huh?"

Naruto's smile fell and he grew concerned. "What? Tou-san, you know what today is, right?" He asked, worried.

"Yes...it's Monday." Minato tried not to laugh.

"No, no, today has a meaning!" Naruto gasped. "Something happened on this very day twelve years ago!"

Minato pretended to think about something while making pancakes. "You're right...twelve years ago.." He started creating suspense for Naruto as the birthday boy leaned closer to hear his father's words.

"Twelve years ago...something did happen. But I don't remember what it was, so it must not be important." Minato pretended not to care, as he slid a small package from his sleeve into his palm. Naruto frowned.

"You forgot?" He said in complete disbelief.

Minato nodded. "Unless..."

Naruto sighed and took a seat in his chair, slumping down on the table. Sasuke smiled.

"Unless it's my son's birthday." Minato smiled. Naruto turned and beamed.

"Yes, yes it is!" He smiled back, excitement returning to his features.

"Well, happy birthday, Naruto." Minato grinned back, placing a plate of food in front of Naruto and giving him a soft hug. Naruto returned the hug and then began to eat his food.

"I have somthing for you." Minato set the small package on the table, Naruto reached out to the small box, taking off the string to open the lid. Inside, Naruto couldn't see but he felt, was a small blade. It wasn't fancy, but Naruto's name was engraved into the blade. Naruto beamed, he thought this was the coolest thing in the world.

"Thank you, Tou-san." Naruto smiled.

"You better be careful with that, I don't want you using that knife without supervision." Naruto pouted, same old Tou-san.

Kakashi entered the room.

"So...any plans today, Naruto?" He asked.

"I dunno." Naruto admitted.

"Well, it's your birthday, we can do whatever you want." Sasuke suggested. Naruto thought for a moment, he liked the sound of that, but he didn't know what to do. He shrugged.

"I'll think of somthin'." He said, going back to his food.

From the counter, Minato had a slight frown on his face.

Twelve years ago... He repeated in his head. Twelve year ago...my wife died, my son was born and Kyuubi was unleashed. This day, twelve years ago, was the happiest, scariest and the most unbearable day of my life. Minato felt so guilty. Today was his son's birthday, he shouldn't be mourning now, he needs to focus on Naruto.

"Tou-san, hurry up and sit with us," Naruto called out.

"Oh, C-coming!"

He couldn't decide if it was Naruto growing up so fast, or if he was cursed. Minato sighed, right after breakfast Naruto wanted to practice before the Exams (secretly Sasuke wanted to as well, but he didn't think he'd be doing training on Naruto's birthday) so he and Sasuke were aiming at targets. Naruto had been doing really well with targets, even for being blind. Minato sulked while watching Naruto and Sasuke throw kunais at targets. Kakashi sat next to him.

"Seems like only yesterday he was a baby pulling on my hair begging me to cuddle with him," Minato commented, a frown creasing his young face. "Are you not supposed to blink while parenting or it all goes too fast, is that it?"

Kakashi sighed, he knew where this was going.

"Sensei, may I give some advice?" He asked. Minato shrugged.

"Naruto, yes is growing up, but you have the joys of him being an adult to look forward to. You know, when he moves out of the house, gets his own, becomes Hokage, never bothers you-eep!" He stopped talking seeing the disgusted and horrified look on Minato's face.

"Or...not." Kakashi sighed seeing Minato flee to Naruto, tackling him to the ground squeezing the daylights out of his son.

Later that day, Naruto ran to answer the door. He grinned once he heard the familiar voice of his Godfather.

"Hello, Naruto," Jiraiya greeted the blonde by ruffling his hair.

"Hi." Naruto replied, removing Jiraiya's hand from his head.

"Yes, hello Naruto." A soft, fluffy voice came from behind Jiraiya.

"Tsunade? You came?" Naruto asked and beamed. He stepped aside letting the two enter his home.

"Well, this ol'perv told me to come with him because if I did and agreed to call it 'a date' then he'd stop harassing me," Tsunade glared at the Toad Sage, while he fumbled around in the bag looking for Naruto's present. She turned back to smile at Naruto. "Not to mention I haven't seen you in awhile. How are you?"

"I'm great!" Naruto smiled, leading Tsunade to the party room. Tsunade looked around.

"Are your friend's coming?" She asked.

"No, I already had a friendparty. This is the family party. Tou-san insisted it they be separate." Naruto shrugged. "Though, after the party I wanna' ask him if I can visit Kaa-san's grave with him." Naruto replied softly. Tsunade nodded.

"Well, Naruto I happen to know that your mother would be very proud of who you are today." She smiled and patted Naruto's head. Naruto blushed, grinning a cheeky smile as Minato walked into the room.

"Oh, Hello Tsunade, did you come here with Jiraiya?" Minato asked.

As if on cue the author tripped into the room, still holding bags of presents. Tsunade closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head, trying to calm herself. Minato gave a weak smile.

"Well, now that everyone is here, what would you like to do, Naruto?" Minato asked, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto grin was filled with mischief. He had an idea.

"Hold on a second...Kyuubi!" Naruto called to the fox.

Kyuubi didn't answer.

Naruto held up his index finger, indicating that he needed a moment. Leaving his family confused, he left the living room and went to the bathroom.

"Kyuubi?" He asked once more.

"What do you want?" Kyuubi asked.

Naruto almost flinched. That was a little harsh.

"Kyuubi, it's my birthday today and I need Chakra to have sight, may I please borrow some chakra for the day?" Naruto sweetly asked. He heard Kyuubi sigh.

"Kit...Other than your birthday, do you know what else today is?" Kyuubi asked, his voice wasn't calm, let alone nice. It sounded more annoyed than anything else. Naruto shook his head. Kyuubi almost scoffed.

"Yeah...I thought so. Today's not just about you, ya' know."

"What do you mean, Kyuubi?"

"Think about your mother, and your stupid father sealing- Here's some chakra. Leave me alone."Kyuubi left the conversation after that, leaving Naruto confused. Naruto looked in the bathroom mirror. He had seen himself many times he remembered one day he spent the entire day just looking at himself in the mirror, fascinated by his image. But now in the mirror reflected a puzzled twelve year old.

"What did he mean by that?" Naruto asked himself.

Knock, knock. "Naruto?" A worried call came from outside the bathroom. It was Minato. "Are you alright, Naruto?" He asked.

Naruto opened the door. "Oh, yes, Tou-san. I just had to ask Kyuubi for chakra."

Minato smiled, seeing nothing was wrong. "Oh, alright then, let's go do what you wanted." Minato started to walk away when Naruto stopped him.

"Um...Tou-san?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"...Other than Kaa-san dying...and my birth. Did something else, happen today, twelve years ago?" Naruto asked. Minato didn't respond, instead his eyes grew a tad wider and he broke into a cold sweat. He was mind-boggled on how to answer that question. Minato knew that Naruto knew that Kyuubi was inside him, but Minato was pretty sure that Naruto had no ideathat Kyuubi was sealed inside him, by his father. Naruto assumed everyone had a fox or something inside him.

"Well, you see..." Minato began. "How about...I tell you when we visit Kaa-san's grave?"

Naruto nodded. "oh...okay."

The party was nice. It was simple, quiet and relaxing. Naruto loved having parties, but he loved family parties more than anything else. There was no reason why, he just did. Tsunade had gotten Naruto a few scrolls and quick medical kits for when he was old enough to go on long term missions and needed assistance. Naruto's perverted Godfather had to ditch the idea of giving Naruto a porno (obviously ordered by Minato, who wanted Naruto to stay innocent for as long as possible) and had given Naruto a few starter books on justus, and most of all a real frog. It was already in the tank; water and food were in the kitchen.

Sasuke and Kakashi had both given Naruto a new Kunai set and some homemade firecrackers that the boy loved so much.

Minato saved his present for last.

Naruto slowly opened the tissue paper and held back a smile that managed to creep on his face. It was a red photo album. Pictures of his mother were inside. There were others, but mostly of her.

"It was Kushina's." Minato remarked. "It was the only thing she had other than the clothes on her back for when she first came to the village."

Naruto nodded. "T-Thank you...Tou-san." Naruto smiled. The two embraced in a hug, making everyone 'aww'.

"Speaking of Kaa-san, would you like to see her grave?" Minato asked.

"Oh, yes!" Naruto smiled. "Want to come?" He asked the remaining four.

"Oh, no, Naruto." Kakashi said. "You go with your father this time. Spend some family time with her."

Everyone agreed and decided to watch a movie until the two returned.

Half of Kushina was in an urn in the house and the other half had been dusted and carried along with the wind over a cherry blossom tree on the outskirts of the village. It was far from where anyone lived but close enough to where they would still be considered in town. Minato was the first to climb the hill and he took a deep breath, walking closer to the tree.

"This is where I first met your mother." Minato smiled as tracing his fingers over some engravings, the memories flooding back to him. Naruto guessed they were by his mother or the two of them. He trailed his fingers along the heart with the etchings:

Mina+Kushi = forever

"She was trying to throw some stars or kunai, always something. She did horribly. I followed her everyday here." Minato said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"So, you stalked her?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at his father.

Minato laughed. "No. No, more like: Watched from a distance."

Naruto nodded, though he didn't quite understand. Minato sighed. He sat down in front of the tree and leaned his back against it. He looked up to his son and smiled, opening his arms as an invitation. Naruto hesitated and Minato teased him for it.

"Too old to sit with me?" He joked.

Naruto turned bright red but tried to shrug his embarrassment off. "Though it's my birthday, I guess I'll cut you some slack," Naruto replied trying to act tough as he sat on his father's inviting lap.

"Oh, really? You'll cut me some slack?" Minato replied and laughed. He tickled Naruto as a punishment. Naruto giggled and wiggled in Minato's lap and nearly fell off. It was painfully obvious to Minato that his son was soon going to be too big for his lap.

After a few minutes of that the two leaned back against the tree. The enjoyed each other's company in a comfortable silence. Naruto started to understand why his parents must of loved it here. It was quiet, beautiful, relaxing and just... perfect.

"Not only did I meet her here, but this is where we hung out." Minato began, getting lost in the memories of the past. A smile came to his face as he talked, "I remember giving into her pleads and pretending to marrying her, right where we're sitting. But all the accomplished was getting chased all over town by her with a butcher knife, threatening me. She kept says that if I wouldn't marry her, then she'd cut all my hair off. And I rather like my hair." Naruto laughed. He couldn't quite picture it but it was pretty funny. His mom sounded amazing.

"This is where we first kissed too." Minato stated, remembering the fireworks, the sweltering, summer heat and sweet, strawberry flavoured lips. It was a great summer.

"I proposed to her here as well. It's also where she told me that she was pregnant with you." He hugged on to Naruto as he spoke.

Suddenly the gears started to turn in Naruto's head. He was putting the pieces together and he narrowed his eyes at his father. Though the memories were vague and incomplete, he was certain.

His voice wasn't harsh or accusing. For once he spoke calmly, almost unnervingly calm. "You sealed the fox in me, didn't you?" Naruto inquired and Minato's body stilled.

Minato searched hard for the courage to say, "...Yes. I did." Naruto was silent and the silence killed Minato. He didn't know what was going through his boy's mind. Instantly he felt the need to apologise. "Naruto, I'm so sorry-" Minato tried to say but Naruto cut him off.

"Don't. Don't apologize." Naruto said. "I mean, Imagine what could have happened if you didn't. We'd all be dead, probably." Minato went silent and listened intently to his son. "I'm thankful. For you and Kaa-san. Though I never got to meet her, she sounds like a wonderful person," Naruto noted with a smile.

Minato nodded in agreement. "That she was, and more." He confirmed.

And to think...it's my fault. If I wasn't born, Tou-san would still have her. Naruto felt his eyes start tearing up and he shook his head, preventing them from falling.

"Tou-san, can we go inside? I'm cold." Naruto wanted to leave and leave fast. The fastest way to leave would inform his father that something was wrong. Minato held tightly on Naruto and in a flash they were in their house, just outside the kitchen. Naruto wiggled his way out of his father's trong arms as Minato tried to feel Naruto's head for a temprature.

"I'm kind of tired, Tou-san. I'm going to go lay down for a while," Naruto informed his father.

Minato curiously looked at the clock. "It's only one o'clock in the afternoon, Naruto,"he stated. "Is somthing wrong?" Minato panicked a bit and reached out for Naruto's shoulder.

A little agitated, Naruto snapped, "Tou-san, boundaries!" He cringed at the harshness of his words, know his father was only worried.

Minato was startled by Naruto's sudden words but backed off anyway. 'Boundaries' was Naruto's cue that said: You're getting too close to me and you're acting over-protective. Minato went silent and peered at his son. Naruto looked exhausted, emotionally and physically. The boy was obviously upset and it upset Minato.

"All Partied out?" Minato joked, trying to ease the tension that was building between them.

"Yeah..." Naruto answered solemnly.

"Well, Naruto. I'll be up to check on you later." Minato said and forced a smile onto his face. Naruto only gave him a swift wave of his hand as an indicator that he heard but didn't really care.

Minato sighed. What happened at Kushina's grave? Did I say somthing wrong? Did I make him feel guilty? Minato wondered as he became more worried and panicked. A cold chill ran up his spine and he suddenly started really regret taking down those cameras .Naruto pretty much forcibly made him take down when he was younger. He thought he was ready, but he was wrong.

"No. No. I need to give him space, he's a ninja of Konoha now. I must seem him as one." Minato recited to himself. But after a moment's silence, a disgraceful frown came to his dignified face. "Screw that! He's my son before any ninja!" He declared with rock solid resolution and he stormed off to check on his son.

Moments later you could find Minato outside Naruto's window. He stood on a thin ledge that cut the house in two and held tightly to the roof. He needed to check on his son, but he couldn't using the bedroom door. That would have been too obvious. Instead he chose to scale the side of the house and peek in through the window.

At the moment he was bent over, trying to peek through Naruto's window. He couldn't quite see into the room though, as it was fogged from the crisp, cool air of October. "Is he crying?" Minato asked himself as he struggled to get a better view. He sought out Naruto shape and when he found it, he gasped. "He is!" He insisted as he watched his son. All he could see was Naruto's back but the boy's entire body shook and convulsed with the indication of sobbing. He watched Naruto shiver and couldn't take it anymore.

As he was about to barge into the room and comfort his son, Kakashi called out to him. Startled, Minato lost his balance. He nearly fell from the ledge but at the last second he managed to grab a hold of the gutter. Down below, Tsunade, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Sasuke all gasped in fear for the Blonde as they watched Minato hang on for dear life.

"Hold on, Minato!" Tsunade screamed, "We're coming!"

Minato felt like a fool dangling from the gutter of his own house. Jiraiya and Kakashi took off to the nearest tree and began to climb with the intention to help Minato, but Naruto was there first. Not knowing what was happening, he slid his window open. At the ledge hung his father. Surprised and confused Naruto called out to him.

"Tou-san?" He said. Sadly, his appearance had a negative effect. He startled his father for the second time and this time the Hokage wasn't so lucky. He lost his grip on his only lifeline and dropped ten feet to the ground.

Naruto could only watch it all unfold, completely shocked. His father lay on the ground below and he wasn't moving. As he lay there, red liquid began to form a puddle around Minato's head. The blood soaked into his blond hair and it was all Naruto could do to shout:

"PAPA!"

Uh-oh, what's gonna' happen?