Wrong Again.

Chapter 4

Naruto was walking along the main road. He had been discretely searching Konoha, especially by the academy and the playground and even by the lake that was off a ways by the Uchiha compound. Still, no sign of the elusive Sasuke.

He didn't dare approach anyone else and he shied away from Shikamaru and the others when they were at the playground. The only person he talked and interacted with was Obito and that had only been that first time and a couple of days ago. The man was busy and was constantly away on missions.

Naruto only really had his own company and that of the empty apartment. For the past week he had been trying to find Sasuke but had come up empty handed.

Several scenarios came to mind after a while. What if Sasuke had never been born? There were plenty of Uchiha's still walking around so he figured they were still all alive. But there wasn't any signs of the other boy so he might never have…

Naruto shook his head. He couldn't think like that. Just because Kakashi was…dead, it didn't mean that Sasuke hadn't been born either. There was just no way that Sasuke hadn't been born.

Maybe it was time he stopped procrastinating and went and saw the old man Hokage. It was only a matter of time before the old man noticed that he wasn't with his caretaker. The more that Naruto thought about it, the more excited he became to see the Hokage. Three years was long time to miss someone.

He practically bounced his way up to the tower. There was no way that he'd let some stupid guards turn him away this time.

Half an hour later Naruto was sneaking around the corner of the hallway; when the coast was clear, he dashed to the door and opened it quickly but silently and slipped in.

Once inside he closed the door with a loud slam and looked up with his best grin. He had just proven that he still had it in him to be sneaky.

His grin disappeared though at the sight before him. Instead of the red and white Hokage hat there was a mop of blond hair attached to a mumbling, brush holding person who was obviously not the old man.

"You!"

"Hey Naruto, let me finish this first then I'll get to you," the blond thing mumbled around the brush in his mouth. Naruto could only gape at the man. He was sitting there in the flesh, worrying about some inconsequential paper like he hadn't been dead for over fifteen years!

The Fourth swore loudly, forgetting that there was a child in the room when the brush in his mouth fell and splattered onto the document he was reading. As he tried to catch the fallen brush, the one in his hand made an even larger slash across the already ruined scroll.

For once in his life, Naruto was speechless, not because it hurt too much or because Sasuke had managed to one-up him in their banter; he was just in shock. He didn't notice that his mouth was moving erratically, trying to form something to say.

Finally his brain managed to send out a sequence of words that his mouth could process.

"You…You're dead," he gasped out unaware that his words would be taken differently.

Yondaime looked up distractedly from his desk with a frown. His face had ink stains on them and he added even more when he wiped his hair out of his eyes. He needed a trim one of these days.

"I know I've been busy but that's no reason to want me dead you know," the man teased. He set the brush down with a mental sigh at the site of the ruined scroll. His aid was going to give him that look again.

The blond boy didn't even process the teasing, just the fact that he was alive and breathing and talking to him. Suddenly the overload of surprises made itself known and Naruto did the only thing he could think of that might make things better aside from fainting that is.

He took a step back plus another until he felt the door behind him. Grabbing the handle, he eased it open and stuttered out, "I think I have the w-wrong room." And just like that he left as quickly as he had entered.

The Fourth's eyes widened in surprise. That was weird, even for Naruto. What had that boy gotten himself into this time? The thought that the villagers or worse, his ninja had done something to the boy behind his back made him furious. As his anger rose he stood up only to let out a breath in an attempt to calm down.

He had to see the boy first before he could go jumping to conclusions, or worse, jumping people and preferably pounding them into the ground. He went to the door and opened it. He could no longer feel the kid's chakra anywhere but he had half expected the boy to be standing outside waiting to pounce on him for a prank.

Well, the boy was outside in the hallway but he didn't look like he would be doing any pouncing. In fact, it looked like he had seen a ghost.

If Naruto knew what the Fourth was thinking, he couldn't have agreed more with that thought. As it was, he was having trouble just concentrating and breathing and not fainting. He was perilously close and the older man approaching him was not helping.

The Fourth bent down and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder only to have him jerk away with wild eyes.

"Naruto?" he was concerned. What the hell happened? He had never seen the kid like this before, even after some of the first attempts on his life.

"Tell me what's wrong, son," he gently cooed. Unfortunately his attempt only had the kid's eyes widening in disbelief before those blue eyes rolled and the kid fainted.

"Shit!" he caught the limp body that hardly weighed a thing and he swore someone was going to pay. He'd start with that damn caretaker; where the hell was that woman anyway? He roared out to the guards to call over a medic. They scrambled to obey the suddenly furious Hokage.

Rarely did the man ever lose his temper and it only seemed to happen around the little demon brat. But no one dared to say anything lest he turn on them.

He lifted the boy and took him back into his office. He had learned not to take him to the hospital unless Rin was there, and she wasn't and wouldn't be back until later that day.

There wasn't anywhere to place the unconscious boy so he simply sat down in his chair with Naruto in his lap. After what seemed like forever the door opened and a harried medic rushed in with a chuunin guard.

"What's wrong, Hokage-sama?" the man asked as he quickly approached. He had been called in several times for the blond boy and he knew the Fourth had no patience for dawdling.

"He was acting weird-scared actually. Then he just fainted when after I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong," the Fourth rambled out quickly, nervous that he had done something wrong to the boy to incite the bout of fainting.

"Scared of what?" the medic asked calmly for the both of them as he checked the boy's vitals. The talking was more for the older blond who the medic knew hated situations like these.

"Scared of me," Yondaime whispered only loud enough for the medic to hear. At that the medic frowned; that wasn't right. The boy adored the Fourth and would never do that and he told the older blond so.

"I know but," he stopped himself. He wasn't helping the situation and the medic didn't need to act as his psychiatrist.

"How is he?" he asked instead. The medic had pulled back causing the blond to ask.

"He's fine, there's nothing wrong with his physically. But his chakra's a little chaotic; mostly due to a mental occurrence." The diagnosis left much unsaid but the implications were there of what could have happened.

"Nothing that a quick nap won't cure, at least temporarily," the medic offered quickly as he watched the Fourth's face darken. The man seemed to catch himself once again and he nodded.

"Thank you," he gave him his gratitude and the medic waved it off. He dismissed the man and the guard. He didn't let go of the little boy in his arms. Many called him unreasonable for getting so worked up over the kid but he knew that if he had had a son, half this shit wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Some days he would fall into a depression as he regretted placing the burden of the fox demon into the baby boy. Holding the boy now, he could almost pretend that this was his son and that he could make everything right.

Hell, the kid even looked like him! And he shared his love of ramen as well. But he knew he didn't have a son. Any chance of that had fled when he broke Kushina's heart and she had left him.

The child whimpered and he pulled the boy closer as he whispered sweet nothings to soothe him. Naruto quieted down when those warm arms tightened around him. Like a baby in its parent's embrace he slept on.

In another part of Konoha, a sleeping boy was woken by the sound of his cell door opening. This person was silent unlike the others who had marched in. The door closed as quickly as it had opened and the figure approached him with a bundle in their arms.

Too tired to really care what this person planned to do with him he let them approach. The figure squatted down in front of him; he didn't bother to hide the fact that he was awake.

"Sasuke," the figured murmured brokenly as it hesitated, not sure what to do. He recognized the voice immediately. Who didn't know the voice of their own mother?

He didn't move; despite all his thinking of the past week, whether this was real or not, this was his mother and he was for all intents and purposes, six years old.

"Mom," he choked out with a sob. There weren't any more thoughts as both embraced each other fiercely. Sasuke let himself go and just cried. His mother pulled him onto her lap and hugged him tighter as he sobbed harder. He didn't hear anything that she said other than the fact that she was talking to him and the sound of her voice was enough to ease him.

Soon he was asleep but Mikoto continued to rock him. She hadn't seen her baby boy in over a week. Fugaku had refused to tell her what was going on and finally fed up she had snuck in here to see her boy only to find him looking half dead.

Honestly she didn't care what they said about him and she didn't care that he had hurt her. She knew her boy was hurting and he was confused. Call it maternal instincts but no matter what they said about him being an imposter, she knew her baby.

He needed her and to hell with anyone else. She brushed her fingers through his hair softly, her heart wrenching at the dirty matted strands. Her boys' hairs were so soft and to see them looking like this made her want to cry again. She smoothed his hair down and wrapped her arm around his back again.

She wasn't going to stand aside and let them take this son from her as well. Itachi had been a given being the first born to the head of the clan. That's why she had tried so hard to have a second child.

Finally, seven years after Itachi and her little Sasuke was born. He was a desperate little thing always seeking approval from the two male figureheads in his life. When he got a little bit from Itachi, he had grown so attached. Secretly she had been glad that Fugaku hadn't cared much for Sasuke.

But now that this had happened, whatever this was, there really wasn't any way for her to save her baby boy without bringing the entire clan upon them. She wouldn't be able to live an outcast like that; she would be useless that way, unable to help him.

Yet, there was hope. There was someone who had gone against the clan head on willingly and was still alive and for the most part happy; happier than he had ever been.

Mikoto stopped rocking her child and she stood up, grabbing the blanket at the same time. Carefully so as not to wake him, she wrapped him up and a quick genjutsu made it look like she wasn't holding anyone at all.

She hadn't been a kunoichi for nothing.

A/N:

Yes, she's breaking Sasuke out of prison! Go Sasuke's mom! There are a variety of stories out there with her ranging from a loving, devoted mother to a frivolous ditz. This is the mother that I see her being. And for clarification, Naruto knows who his father is, hence the reason for fainting again but Minato doesn't know that Naruto is his kid. Any questions or comments please let me know! I love hearing from my readers any day XD