AN: I'm a little hesitant with using Japanese terms in stories, especially since I'm not natively Japanese, but I'm natively Filipino. But, it's quite difficult to not use these terms, especially in a world such as Naruto. I'm sure you all would understand. Also, please try to give me some leeway with some of the inconsistencies. Someone pointed out that Yugao would not technically be an ANBU yet as of last chapter, but I ask you to please suspend your imagination. There's always a lot going on in the Naruto-verse and I don't think I'm adequately versed in it yet.

I appreciate all of your suggestions and I do appreciate it when you point out problems.

For future reference: "Meinichi" means "Death Anniversary" and "ryo" is the currency in the Naruto world, which is based on the currency used in Japan before the Meiji period.

Also, I'm sorry in advance for any mistakes. I do not have anyone who betas for me.

Chapter Two:
The Flowers that Replaced Cherry Blossoms

"They say that it's a mother's job to nurture and a father's job to protect, but what is forgotten is that the offspring often has a job that both parents cannot seem to remember…"

His tails lashed out and fire burned, consuming everything, absolutely everything. Fire, fire like none other he had felt before licked and shredded at his skin. Globules of red blood floated before him, an eerily stunning sight to behold.

They were all dead, all of them, and weren't they beautiful? Everyone was struggling, moving, wheezing for the air they could no longer have. Limbs were torn apart, bodies askew, knives and weapons flying but never reaching him, the triad of an ironically poetic song of the deepest evil. His fur was resilient, tendrils of red and seething chakra extending from it and consuming whatever was in sight. Ashes were in the air and there were coughing humans, pitiful humans…

The scenery changed and he heard a gentle yet firm voice. "Have a little faith. He is our son after all."

Then a pain so haunting and excruciating clenched at his gut, devouring all of what seemed like peace. There was none he could turn to, no one at all. A white-hot sensation pinched at his stomach, tearing at it, making it hurt like the bottomless pit of hell had embodied itself as the boy, consuming him, eating him alive until he was skin and bones with no innards left…

A strange boy, a young one with raven black hair stood nearby staring somewhere off into the distance, looking away from him as he writhed on the ground, besieged to stay alive.

"…I don't have any dreams," the mysterious intruder muttered ominously, "but rather an ambition to kill a certain man and avenge my clan…"

Avenge.

Revenge.

"Vengeance! What a sour, smoldering, word!" another man shouted, obviously proud and wearing an orange mask. "Take it, Uchiha! Use it to kill! Use it to become what you were meant to be! Kill him! Destroy your best friend! Bonds will only weaken those who are already weak, weaken the already strong! They're useless! He is of no use to you anymore! Become the avenger of the great Uchiha Clan!"

"Yes…I will kill them all…"

"Chidori!"

Just as the fair-haired, hurting figure upon the floor was about to surrender to a flickering and overwhelming amount of power, one made of visible lightning that would surely pierce his heart beyond repair, he screamed and yelled and begged. He couldn't go like that! Not to his best friend! He thought they were friends! What about…what about…?

A four-year-old Naruto Namikaze shot up in his bed, yelling bloody murder. The blond was panting, sweat drenched his face and chest, his night shirt was soaked and tears streamed down his cherubic cheeks. The child shivered, grasping desperately at his blankets, the cooling sweat making him feel cold. A creak on his bed startled him, but he ignored it in favor of attempting to calm his sobbing.

"…bad dream, Naru-chan?"

The little boy gasped in surprise. Hovering over him with his mask still pulled over more than half of his face and silver hair shining in the moonlight was Kakashi.

"Kaka-nii?" the blond mumbled, sniffling.

The eighteen-year-old jounin did not answer. Instead, he nodded and he wordlessly opened his arms to the child, willing the blond to cuddle into his arms. Normally, this scene would be downright taboo and utterly rare, but Kakashi figured that it couldn't hurt. The room was dark and there was no one else around to see him succumb to his protective instincts.

He was like an older brother to his teacher's son, especially since Naruto would never have a sibling. It was too dangerous to have another child as Kushina herself had deemed. Besides, the mother was not even sure if her body would be able to handle holding another life within her after all the stress she had to endure when giving birth to her only child. For all they knew, the Kyuubi could have damaged something within her that would not allow her to give birth again. Minato had no choice but to wholeheartedly agree.

"I was a big monster. I hurt everyone…I hurt my friend…and everything was scary," the tiny boy murmured into the Hatake's black nightshirt and the older male could feel the fabric beginning to soak with wet. "I was scary…and bad. Kaka-nii, I—I'm scared!"

Kakashi sighed. As soon as he had heard Naruto wailing into the night, he had run straight to his room. Perhaps it was a lucky choice that he had fallen asleep on his teacher's couch again and was subsequently ignored after the fact, besides that blanket that he was sure a certain red-head had placed upon his sleeping form.

The dream was predictable, but he was sure that it was no less than terrifying, especially for a four-year-old toddler such as Naruto. Damn, the whole thing was ironic. What a fantastic way to begin a fourth birthday: dream about the moments your home was practically destroyed and blood flew as frequently as the breeze.

Damn, October tenth. What a day that was, four years ago to the moment. What a damn perfect day for the Hokage's child to be born into the world, immediately have his life threatened, have a damn demon fox sealed into him, and almost have his parents killed on the day that he just got them.

Naruto would've been ridiculed and shunned had the people not known the Fourth was his father, the silver-haired jounin mused, Imagine what it would have been like if they weren't convinced the kid was a hero.

He held the boy close to his chest, determined to somehow will him to stop crying. Sobs wracked through the fox container's body, unrelenting and promising a very long round of sadness and heartache. After all, this happened every year so far, ever since the boy could utter a single word when he turned two. He supposed that it was to be expected, but he could not kid himself. Kakashi had hoped, even if it was just a minute sliver of hope, that little Naruto would begin his birthday on a happy note.

Damn. What a birthday…

ooo

Lights flashed brightly outside, sparklers gleamed in reds, yellows, and oranges. Yet, as joyous as the atmosphere seemed to be, there was an underlying texture of despair. All around them, people and their families gathered round, periodically making their way into both the civilian and shinobi burial grounds and grave sites. Many were somber, others looked like they were trying to be cheerful, and yet the ambiance was confusing. There was a conflicting mix of happy and sad, smiles and tears, black and white, light and dark.

Yellow and white chrysanthemums decorated the streets and cobblestones of Konoha while some danced and glided down from the air. Children and adults alike captured a flower in the palm of their hands, pulling them free from their stems, and released them from the tops of their roofs or from their balconies. The perennials floated gracefully to the ground, and harmlessly landed atop sidewalks, streetlamps, and wherever else the air would guide them to.

The practice had become a tradition. Because of the encroaching season of autumn, the cherry blossom trees would not bloom. So in order to breakdown the barrier, the citizens of the Hidden Leaf began letting chrysanthemums loose. Even though the falling flowers and petals was a beautiful site, it was also heartbreaking. Chrysanthemums were the flowers used for sad occasions, losses, placing on top of tombstones and graves. While the yellow variety symbolized a feeling that was deeply respectful and little love, white meant sincerity and truth. They were sad flowers, ones to replace the symbolism of falling cherry blossoms, which represented the heroic fall of warriors.

In essence, the cherry blossoms couldn't fall, so the people made other flowers fall for them. It was a perfect ritual for this day and swirls of white and yellow petals caressed cheeks, brushed through hair, the everlasting symbols for sorrow but tears within the truth of loss.

The day was October tenth, the day the Kyuubi attacked, the day many lost their lives, and the day when the Fourth Hokage had sealed the beast within this newborn son. The people were happy that the monster was defeated of course, and honored their heroes and fallen fighters with a celebration, but also counted their losses. So, like the previous three October tenths, a festival was going on amidst the melancholy.

The Fourth had never given the direct go-ahead to start the traditions of the annual happenings of this particular day, but the shinobi and civilians had somehow gathered up the notion that something needed to occur, so they started it themselves and their beloved leader was dragged into it.

Speaking of being "dragged into it", the reigning Hokage groaned inwardly as yet another villager had come to him, asking him to please give a speech regarding the ceremonies. After trying to step around the requests for the twenty-seventh time, he couldn't take it anymore. It was time to gain a grudging acceptance from the wife.

"Ah," Minato grimaced; quickly glancing at the happy ball of sunshine he called his son that clutched the hand of his fiery spouse, and then looked back up to her. "Kushina, I think I should, maybe…well…" He hesitated at her glare. "…it's not my fault! They keep asking! I'm their Hokage! What should I do?"

The Uzumaki woman pouted, a shimmering glint in her now narrowing eyes. "Idiot! Geez, you're so flaky! How are you the genius of our generation again? You're the Hokage! Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're my wife! Aren't you supposed to be the boss of the house or something? Naruto and I are constantly under your radar! You know?" He gestured with his hands, wiggling his fingers and earning odd stares in his general direction. "Alpha woman? Hear you roar?"

He earned a particularly evil glower at that comment. Minato chuckled nervously and added, "…or something like that…?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, currently ignoring their son's curious wide-eyed gaze while he blinked at his bickering parents. "Ugh. Fine. Go. It's getting annoying that they keep asking anyway. Go do your 'Hokage business' for an hour or two while Naru and I go explore the festivities. We already got the sad part out of the way and visited the graves as a family, so we're going to make the best out of his birthday."

A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Meet back up at Ichiraku's then? I'm craving some salt ramen and I know Naru loves miso ramen."

"Ah, okay, but—" her husband began to say before he was rudely cut off.

"And no 'buts', Minato! I know you like my homemade meals and all, but Naru's favorite is ramen, and frankly, so is mine. It's our son's fourth birthday! Lighten up! I'll cook you a meal tomorrow, got that, Yellow Flake?"

The Yellow Flash's head dropped and he groaned out loud this time. There were mysterious snickers from the surrounding villagers. He was so going to regret this. What he give for a more complacent partner sometimes. Kushina could be such a strong woman at times, it was intoxicating. But, perhaps that's why he loved her. His reputation as one of the strongest shinobi of his time could be overwhelming if she did not keep him in check. He supposed that fact was alright. Though, he did wish that their banter did not have to be so public. Didn't he have reputation to uphold? Apparently not.

With that happy thought, the blue-eyed father turned and left, but not without tousling Naruto's blond locks and giving a nervous smile to his wife. He'd have to entertain the crowd for a while and while he did cherish his duty as leader of the village, he still wished that he could spend some more time with his family on his child's birthday.

The red-head smirked at her son whose blue eyes were wide and twinkling, his lips forming into something akin to innocent and instant curiosity. She gently tugged on Naruto's plush hand, willing him to come along and follow mother.

"Ne, Naru-chan, where do you want to go first?" Kushina asked the boy walking beside her.

The four-year-old blinked, tilting his head up and replied, "Hmm…mommy, can we go catch fishies? I'll get one for Kaka-nii and daddy b'cause they're doing important stuff!"

Laughing out loud, Kushina nodded in response to her son's request and the two of them headed down the row of colorful stalls. The late afternoon sun placed odd shadows on each of the booths, following bouncing children of every age and casting silhouettes of dangling painted masks that hung by the nail from one vendor's booth in particular. This caught the miniature blonde's attention.

"Ah, ah," he said halting his mother gait, "Mommy, look 'ver there! Can we get one, please?" He pointed a small, chubby finger at the stall with the handcrafted masks and Kushina sighed, Well, it was his birthday after all. She could give in this once. A festival was supposed to be fun anyway.

"Okay, Naru. Which one do you like?" She asked as mother and son walked up to the booth's host. He was an old man with graying hair, a sharp, pointed nose, and a strangely elongated mustache with square glasses tipped off on the ride of his nose. His back was hunched over and if it weren't for the kind grin on his face, one would think him quite intimidating.

Naruto released his mother's hand and 'hmm-ed' before reaching out and trying to appear taller by rising to his tip-toes, attempting to grab hold of a fox mask that was predominantly higher up than all the other masks. At his antics and at the fact that the mask this little boy had chosen just had to be depicting a fox, both the vendor and Kushina chuckled.

"Alright lad," the old man said, touching his fingers to the edge of the fox mask and lifting it up off its hook, "There. You can have this one then. It's a beauty. My daughter made it herself. Took her days to get to what she deemed 'the right kind'. Though, I don't know how she does it.

"Enjoy it, boy. I'm giving this one to you for free. It's your birthday, isn't it, little one? And it's also Fox Festival Day and Meinichi. Some day you must be having every year. One pretty mask is just a little of our appreciation for what you're doing for us and what you're holding back. I know I appreciate it. I know my wife would. It isn't your fault anyway. You were just a baby…"

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "You know we're not supposed to tell him exactly what he's holding back yet until he's a few years older. He won't understand."

"Ah, yes, my Lady. Sorry about that. Little Naru's just a ball of sunshine is all. I really appreciate it, really do," the man smiled, aging eyes never leaving the child's face as he looked in awe at the free gift he had received and not really paying attention to the conversation.

The two adults nodded to each other and the Hokage's wife walked away with her son in tow, mask still in his grip and her motherly hand wrapped around his shoulders as she guided him. She noticed how Naruto grinned when an Uchiha ran past them, holding the hand of his older brother who was trying desperately to keep up. She noted that his name was Sasuke.

"See you at the fi'works Sasuke!" The Namikaze shouted at the raven who responded with, "See ya later Naruto!" and they kept their pace onward after the pause.

Mother and son halted again in front of a stall, this time, being their original destination in which people stooped low near plastic tubs of water and scooped up goldfish into a smaller plastic tub with a paper net for a few ryo.

Kushina handed two ryo to the vendor and her and her son stooped before a tub, paper nets in hand along with a plastic container. Both of them unwittingly giggled in delight, excitement engulfing their auras, and immediately got to work, much to the bewilderment of the stall owner.

"Mmk, mommy," Naruto said very seriously, which amused the older red-head. "We need to catch three fishies," he continued, holding up three fingers and counting off three people as he used his other hand to carefully point to a single finger each, "One for mommy, one for daddy, and one for Kaka-nii. So, mommy, you need to get fishies to help me!"

"Alright Naru. How about one for you?"

He shook his head vigorously. "Nuh-uh! I already have Mr. Fox Mask, remember?"

Blinking at the odd response, Kushina merely chuckled and bent over her part of the tub, sticking her paper net into the water and hoping that the moisture would not break a hole through too soon before she managed to catch at least one goldfish. She observed how the blond boy's tongue stuck out cutely from behind his lips as he furrowed his light little brows in absolute concentration. He jumped up unpredictably when a splash of water hit his cheek, effectively leaving part of his face wet. The mother couldn't help but make her smile wider at that.

She observed her current "enemies" swimming before her, concentration also appearing quite obviously upon her façade. As the late afternoon easily transformed into early evening, the sparklers that children swayed around on the cobblestoned and paved streets reflected off the pool, flickering and popping as sparks flew in numerous shades and hues. Ripples formed upon the water, the fish reacting to the stabbing and erratic motions that the two humans were projecting towards their prey, prodding their paper, round, nets as a disturbance in hopes of catching a few of the goldfishes' brethren.

An energized squeal sounded beside her as Naruto revealed that he had captured his first fish and placed it into his plastic container filled with water. A few seconds later, Kushina herself made an identical sound when she caught one of the swimming creatures and earned a silent, but nonetheless exasperated sighs from the adults surrounding them.

A few minutes afterwards, both she and Naruto shouted exuberantly at the same exact moment when they both lifted their nets in unison in crouched stances of triumph. They had both caught a goldfish at the same time.

"Well Naru," the mother said while out of breath, "Looks like we caught four fish after all. I guess that means that you have to get one too!"

"Aw, but mommy…!"

She shook her head once in a gesture that clearly meant 'no'. "Not 'buts'! You're just like your father! Believe that! We both caught the fish and I paid for the nets, therefore it's a fact that I win this round!" She grinned and yelled proudly to a pouting son, "Hah! I win!"

The two were found just moments later, carrying two clear bags of water, two golden fish twirling and swimming around in each. Their tails flicked around the liquid as if it were nothing.

They soon stopped in front of a lottery stall in which involved manually rotating the handle to a ball made up of light strips of metal that were arranged so that it appeared to be made out of netting with square holes. A closed hatch indicated a miniature door built on it. Inside were folded pieces of paper and if you chose the right one, you could get one of the prizes sitting behind the counter which consisted of a myriad of items including a signed copy of the first book in Jiraya of the Sannin's Icha Icha Series, a drawing by a famous Konoha artist, stuffed plush toys, a box of rare wasabi-flavored pork rinds (possibly donated by the Akamichi Clan), and a fluffy green frog wallet. The latter caught the attention of Kushina, so she made for the booth, Naruto attached to her hip as he followed along.

She smirked, handed over a couple of coins to a confused woman, and with a determined sparkle in her eye, placed a firm grip upon the lottery contraption's handle and spun it like there was no tomorrow. The papers inside were out of control and she growled in heated frustration after a thin wisp of smoke started to curl into existence on the handle. If it was even possible, the overexcited Uzumaki was somehow making a lottery ball overheat.

She let the handle go, watching as the ball rolled of its perch upon the table and onto the floor, tiny door hatch cracking open and a roll of paper pouncing out. Biting her lip and ignoring the numerous raised eyebrows, the kunoichi bent downward and picked up the paper, unraveling it, and squinted her violet irises, reading the number written in black ink.

With a force unknown to normal man, she thrust her retrieval to the stall owner. "Three. It says three. Give me prize three."

"Ah," the frazzled owner grimaced, "Lady Namikaze, could you…um…please pick up the—"

"Prize three! That's the frog wallet! Please give it to me!"

The poor old woman scrambled from her stool instantaneously and grabbed the green frog, reluctantly handing it to the crazed mother. She nodded towards the fallen contraption and asked her again to please pick it up and replace it back onto the stand, to which came the reply, "Why didn't you ask me to before? Of course I'll do that for you! Silly woman!" and the owner sighed. Well, the Hokage's wife was definitely a direct contrast to the village leader himself, that was for sure.

Grinning like a maniac and practically skipping with her son alongside her, the two Namikazes were off yet again to wreck havoc upon the festivities. Though perhaps it was just Kushina herself? In the son's arms was yet another winning of the day: the childish frog wallet that he had named "Gama-chan". One way or another, Kushina had managed to get her child a birthday gift without outwardly telling him that she did so. She knew it would upset him if he acquired too much. He was never one to act spoiled.

The mother realized that night was fast approaching. It had already been past the two hour curfew she had given her husband. Minato was never one to be late, so she supposed that it was best for the two of them to head over to Ichiraku's before he latched onto his overprotective side and decided that it was the proper time to start a village-wide search for his family.

Pushing back the short curtains of the outdoor restaurant and parking her son on top of a wooden stool, Minato moaned.

"There you are!" he said, waving his arms in the air. "I was getting worried! I was about to get out of here and start a village-wide search for you!"

Kushina held back the urge to roll her eyeballs. "Of course you were," she replied, making sure that their child did not lose his balance. "We got a little sidetracked at the lottery booth." Then, she leaned over to her husband and whispered, "I won Naru a frog wallet. He absolutely refuses a proper birthday present, so I did it the discreet way."

The Fourth's mouth twitched and whispered back into his wife's ear. "Discreet? 'Discreet,' as in bellowing for 'prize three' and knocking off a poor citizen's lottery ball? I heard about that from some of the villagers when I was walking over here."

"Ugh. Shut up. You're so infuriating. Just order some ramen already."

"Dear, there's three bowls of salt ramen already prepared and in front of you. Naruto's eating his miso ramen."

As if caught completely off guard, she blinked and swiveled in her seat to stare openmouthed at her already eating son. Needless to say, half the noodles and soup were gone already. She huffed and shoved her chopsticks into the porcelain bowl in front of her and devoured the food angrily, much to the enjoyment of the Hokage, the other two customers sitting at the ramen stand, and along with Teuchi, the vendor.

After sipping the remnants of the residual soup within their bowls, the Namikazes were out of the outdoor restaurant, leaving space for new potential customers. They said, "Thank you for the food," to the cook and that they hoped to see them when the fireworks started in thirty minutes. Minato carried his son out, who was resting his head on his father's chest and clasping onto Gama-chan, his bag of goldfish held by his mother.

Naruto beamed toothily at his father and said, "Daddy, me and mommy got you and Kaka-nii fishies! Do you like them?"

Minato chuckled. "Of course I do, son! How could I not?"

Instead of answering, the fox's container snuggled closer into his father's protective grasp, closing his azure eyes and totally emanating an impression of happiness. His chubby cheeks, still not quite devoid of baby fat, squished into the older blond's dark green jounin vest. A childish smile seemed to never leave his face as he murmured, "I love you, daddy, and mommy too…"

Upon hearing the statement, the Fourth couldn't stop smiling stupidly at everything around him. His wife noticed and laughed to herself, relishing in the fact that their little boy could do something like this to the great prodigy of their village.

The evening air turned colder and more crisp, attuning to the expected autumn chill in October. The chrysanthemums and their respective yellow and white petals were lifted to the gentle, caressing, wind currents, and the festival lights sputtered on, tangles and strings of light bulbs appearing like stars that had landed upon the earth. The sparklers that children decidedly played with were even more prominent now and parents chased after them, trying to round everyone up for the fireworks showing that would soon appear above the crimson Hokage Tower.

Fold up chairs for the elderly were being carefully arranged before the building, lined up in rows, and ANBU standing at the corners nearest to the Tower in order to keep watch. Other civilians and shinobi alike had spread out quilts and blankets on the nearby grassy hills and others were standing in the background, some fathers holding up their kids atop their shoulders.

But before the trio parked themselves in the standing crowd, they stopped at a small stand that sold mitarashi dango. It was the perfect festival and fireworks snack. They bought two, seeing as Naruto could not finish his and instead shared with Minato. There were four rice flour balls aligned on a stick, like a shish kabob, and were dipped evenly in syrup made from soy sauce, sugar, and starch.

"Look, daddy," Naruto spoke loudly as he pointed to the four members of the Head Family of the Uchiha Clan that were walking towards a blanket upon a low, grass covered hill. "I see Sasuke and Ita-nii! Can we go to them? Please?"

"Alright. Your mom probably wants to meet up with Mikoto anyway."

And so, the little family made their way over, periodically being stopped by villagers that wanted to greet their Hokage, who smiled in return. When they finally decided not to disturb him, seeing as he was in a situation that practically screamed "family time", they left Minato alone to his business and did not even bother to ask for another opening ceremony speech. He had given one earlier that afternoon anyway and humored the citizens for a few hours.

The Namikaze-Uzumaki family joined the Uchihas, sitting cross-legged on a patch of grass nearby to the blanket. The two four-year-olds, Naruto and Sasuke, quickly became acquainted with each other, having known each other since Naruto was a few days old, and started chattering excitedly. Mikoto Uchiha, her raven black hair swaying in the wind, talked to her red headed friend. Her husband, Fugaku with his hard stare, was as quiet as ever, and Itachi, the nine-year-old heir to the clan hovered protectively beside his younger sibling.

A few minutes had passed them by, and suddenly flashes of bright lights sparked above the Hokage Tower, creating a colorful glow about the Hidden Leaf. Booms and claps of the fireworks resounded in the night and the whizzed through the ambiance.

Then, quite abruptly and unexpectedly, one of the firework rockets careened off course, headed for a (thankfully), empty game booth, and a terrible explosion shook the grounds. Shouts and yelps of anxiety rippled through the crowds and people started panicking, groups of civilians already began to run for the nearest vacant pathway as an exit. Giving a meaningful look to Kushina and the Uchihas, the Fourth Hokage took off and sprinted to the scene.

Without uttering a word, he formed a short series of hand signs.

"Water Release: Spouting Water," he stated firmly, performing a simple C-rank technique that would easily wash out the escalating fire. However, as the Yellow Flash fulfilled his job as Hokage, something else was happening without his knowledge.

Back at the clearing where his family and their friends resided, a group of civilians had conveniently knocked into them, causing quite a ruckus as the families tried to stand up to avoid the crashing people. Leaves and petals from the chrysanthemums scattered into the wind and no one noticed as a well-situated cloud of dust had arisen from the earth and obscured their vision. Not thinking this as any kind of potential threat and just an accident, none of the Uchiha members even thought of activating their Sharingan, but if they had, they would have witnessed the struggle as the young Naruto Namikaze attempted to yell out, only to have a rough palm shoved on top of his mouth as ninja who clearly were experts in extinguishing their chakra whisked the boy away.

The hand muffled the child's frightened screams and he squirmed and kicked and even tried to bite his way out of the death grip. The wind howled in his petite ears, a clear sign that he and the intruders were moving very fast. They must have been running to high hell by that moment, afraid of getting caught.

By the time he and the three-man cell had reached a deserted street in between two tall buildings at the far edge of Konoha and near to the main entrance gate, Naruto had wriggled free and ran as fast as his feet could carry him in the opposite direction until he had unluckily reached a dead end. His blue eyes widened in horror and he swiveled around swiftly, raising his tiny fists in a crude form of juvenile defense. His whole body was trembling in pure terror, fear overtaking his senses and tear ducts prickling, burning with helplessness.

"Ha! You really think a puny little brat like you could defeat us well-trained Iwa nins with those little breakable fists of yours?" One of the ninja, a large, burly and brunette man with a scar carved across his chin spat. "Get a clue, you Namikaze shit! Come with us quietly and we won't try to hurt you…yet." And he mocked the boy.

Naruto gasped, not liking the harsh tone of the man and replied with a shaky voice, "M—my daddy says I shouldn't talk to strangers!"

The shinobi scoffed at that. "Oh boo hoo. Daddy this, daddy that. Your daddy is a cold-blooded murderer, that's what he is! He killed my entire squad and my own brother in a border dispute during the war! He doesn't give a flying fuck about anything that breathes, let alone lives! Why should we, whose families and whose village your father has helped to tear apart in the past, allow him to have a son like you roam around unharmed when he would've gladly done it to our sons had he had the chance when he was a jounin?

"Why should we, victims of your father's slaughters and bloodied hands, allow him to live happy and carefree while we, as a direct result of his unforgiving actions, live with the nightmare everyday thinking how if we could've been stronger, could've been there to incapacitate that bastard, we could've still been as happy as before!"

The man breathed heavily, pointing a threatening kunai at the child's vulnerable throat. A female ninja with curly, dark hair that reached just past her shoulders and an unrelenting emerald gaze placed a gloved hand upon her fellow's shoulder. "Riku," she stated resolutely, "That's enough. Calm yourself. Focus on the objective."

He visibly relaxed, but his cold stare never left Naruto. Without moving an inch, he responded. "Ah, Midori. You're right. Sorry." He narrowed his eyes and then said, this time directing his full attention to the scared-out-of-his-wits child before them, "You, Namikaze brat. Come with us then."

Naruto shook his head, stumbling as he tried to back up into the brick wall that barred his escape, his lips opening and closing as he struggled with if he should say something or not. His senses were on hyperactive mode. He could feel every drop of nervous sweat, every hitch of his scared breathing; hear every step the adversaries took towards him, smell his own radiating fear…

He raised his fists closer to his face, trying to remember what his father had said about always protecting his head so that he was less likely to get knocked out. He blinked back the burning sensation he felt in his eyelids, tried not to give into his childish instincts of giving up and not fighting back. No, he couldn't give up! He was the Hokage's son! He was supposed to be brave and powerful like his father one day. He had already made up his mind about what his ninja way would be, and that was that he would never give up and that he would never go back on his word.

"I—I can't come with you. I—I can't! My mommy and daddy and Kaka-nii and Saskue wouldn't like it very much. So…so you can go away now." His fists clenched tighter. "I—If you don't then I—I'll fight you and get my daddy and—"

"Shut up, brat!" the same ninja that yelled at him previously growled. Then, a crazy and completely insane and cruel idea sprouted within the depths of Riku's mind. The old, war hardened shinobi smirked. This would be a piece of cake. "You love your mommy and daddy, don't you?

"If you don't come with us, we'll hurt them…" The Iwa ninja sneered at the little blond boy, an evil glint in his eye. "We'll hurt your mom and your dad…especially your dad. We'll kill him for what he did against our village during the war."

The dam had finally broken. A crack had formed and now the boy had begun to silently cry. He didn't even notice as tear tracks made themselves known upon his widened, innocent orbs. He tried to shake his head 'no' and backed up another step even though all his feet met was a wall. But as he did so, there was a loud crack as Riku slapped the boy across the face, an angry red spot bloomed on the boy's left cheek and instantly began to swell.

"Don't you understand the situation you're in, you dimwitted child? Either we take you with us or your precious parents burn in hellfire! You're choice! Do you want to be the one who's responsible for hurting them like that?" He slapped the fox's jinchuuriki again. "Piece of shit! Answer me!"

The kid was suddenly well aware of the frog wallet he had gripped in one of his fists. How he had managed to not drop it in all of this time, he did not know. Gama-chan was something his mother had given to him. He had a fun birthday. He had fun eating at Ichiraku's with his mom and dad. The boy remembered how his father had carried him tenderly when his stomach was too full to allow him to walk properly after that fact. It was then that he made his decision.

Naruto shivered and couldn't help but give in, tears flowing down his face and his blue eyes glistening in sorrow and fear. Sobs wracked his body as he nodded, nodded his consent. Yes, he would go with them, he said, trying to be courageous. He would go because he never wanted anything bad to happen to mommy or daddy or anyone. He said that he didn't care as long as mommy and daddy were safe, as long as mommy kept smiling and daddy lived and protected Konoha like he always did because he was Hokage after all. He went with them and stayed true to his word. As long as his mommy and daddy were alive and well, as long as mommy and daddy loved him, Naruto would love them all the more.

Yet, the shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Stone were not as kindhearted. In order to keep the boy silent for the rest of the journey, one of them had shoved a chloroform doused towel in front of Naruto's nostrils, and the boy was knocked out instantly. On the way, they made sure to drop a note and did not stop to watch as it floated to land near a green frog on the dusted terrain.

The three-man cell and their intended target ghosted out of Konoha. The chuunin supposedly guarding the entrance gates never even knew what hit them. They left, mysteriously undetected and out through the gates and into the forests of the Fire Country, headed northwest into the Land of Earth and towards their homeland.

The young child dreamt. Another nightmare was at the pinnacle of his skewered thoughts…

"Mommy I'm hungry," Naruto murmured while he huddled in the lonely corner of his cell. "Daddy, I'm scared…" Sometimes it helped if he pretended that they were there beside him, comforting and embracing him in the cold, dank, darkness, of his prison.

ooo

The hidden village of Konoha was in a state of utter chaos. Apparently, the seemingly random explosion of the firework to a booth had been a diversion from an enemy's real objective. An Iwa nin had appeared out of the blue after the Hokage had extinguished the flames and had subsequently, but futilely, tried to attack him. Obviously, it was clear who the winner was. The poor ninja from Iwagakure never stood a chance. He was incapacitated within seconds.

The jounin hailing from the enemy village gurgled as he was held at knife point by an ANBU called Dog.

"What's your true objective, Iwa nin?" Dog asked harshly. "And answer truthfully. We can easily have you interrogated by the Yamanaka, and everyone outside of Konoha even knows of their mind-numbing techniques." He didn't bother to laugh at his own pun.

The enemy leered in retaliation. "True objective? I don't mind telling you at all. In fact, if I never told you or if you never found out, there wouldn't have been a point to this whole mission in the first place, now would there be?" The kunai at his throat tensed and was pressed closer to his jugular. A trickle of blood formed.

"Stop beating around the bush!" Dog glowered and was sorely tempted to pound a foot into the guy's mouth. "What were you doing here tonight?"

The ominous leer only grew in size. "Now, what would it do to hide it from you? I'm sure your Fourth Hokage will soon notice that something is missing, something very…ah…precious to him and this accursed village. Of course, why should I say exactly what we took? You'll find out soon enough."

The kunai clattered to the ground. The circular crowd around the two had fallen silent. The enemy had taken something precious to them and their Hokage? What could that mean? A million and one questions surfaced in everyone's minds, but no one bothered to voice them out loud. The Hokage, who was standing sternly behind the ANBU had noticeably tensed. Something was going on, but what? What did they take?

Dog growled threateningly. "Tell me! What did you take? Did you—"

The shinobi underneath him laughed, and what a tremendously menacing laugh it was. Whatever they took, whatever they had managed to glean off of their village, did not bode well for any of them. "It's not what we took, but rather, who we took."

"You didn't…"

The crowd separated unexpectedly and noises of pushing and shoving and yelps from citizens were heard. At last, a frazzled looking Kushina stood, legs shaking and apprehension building up inside her chest. Close behind came a frightened Sasuke Uchiha and the rest of the Head Family of the infamous clan. Everyone stood stark still. If the Uzumaki woman, the Hokage's wife looked that shaken up, something dreadful must have occurred.

"Minato! Minato!" she bellowed unsteadily. "MINATO! He's gone!" The red-head collapsed on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "He's gone! Naruto! They took him!"

No one dared to say anything. The enemy had taken the Hokage's only son. The realization was devastating.

Barely anyone slept a wink that night. The villagers were terrified, holding their children close to them at all times. Naruto's peers and childhood friends kept asking where their friend had went off to if they had "taken him", but the parents never had an answer. The parents of shinobi families knew very well what was going on, but they chose not to reply to their children's advances.

The Dog ANBU had ordered his squad to immediately scout about the village to search for the boy and to search for any clues without the Fourth's consent. But, he knew very well that his teacher approved of the search team. If he hadn't done the deed straight away, Minato would have ordered the service later or at a more opportune minute.

At the moment, Dog kneeled reverently in front of his teacher's desk. Piles and stacks of paperwork teetered precariously atop it and although it was clear to anyone that there was a lot of desk work to be done, the man that usually had his head buried within the mess did not sit in the chair behind it, nor did he bother to make a move to.

Other people were in the room and one of them could not seem to stop looking down. Her eyes, which were once so full of life in the previous evening, were clouded with misery and guilt. Kushina sat on the edge of one of the couches in the Hokage's office, a pink puffiness surrounded her eyes as a sign of crying and there were bags underneath them. Mikoto had placed a comforting hand on her back.

The ANBU gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he remained in his prostrate position. "Hokage-sama. There has been no progress as of yet. My ninja dogs are out searching for clues left behind by the enemy…"

"Right then. Keep up the search. Inform me of any progress at all. This is not a mission your team can hope to fail, do you understand me?" Minato emotionlessly replied. His back was to his student and his hands were clasped behind him as he hid his face from view. The new day's morning rays escaped from behind Konoha's buildings and framed his intimidating silhouette as he stared out into the grand window that revealed a picturesque sight of his home.

Startled at his teacher's lack of feeling, he only grunted a response.

Abruptly, a puff of smoke poof-ed into existence as one of Kakashi's ninja summons materialized. The light brown pug was huffing and panting, obviously tired and worked to the bone.

"Pakkun! Did you find anything?" Kakashi asked, his ANBU mask still firmly concealing his true identity. "Any clues? Anything at all?"

The pug's body slouched, whimpering as all sad dogs do, and lifted his head, revealing a fluffy frog wallet between his jaws and a torn, square of paper. They had, at least, found a clue.

When Minato witnessed this, his blue eyes hardened considerably. "That frog is Naruto's," he pointed out and then continued, "That note. Give it to me," he commanded.

As his eyes scanned the letter, he scowled. "Damn them. It's a ransom," and then he sighed, looking to be much older then he actually was, "A trade. My son, for me. What a low and heavy blow."

"Damn," Minato breathed, clutching his fists at his sides, "Damn it." He tried to keep a calm façade. He was the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the Hokage of the Land of Fire. He had to keep his emotions in check, but yet the feat was virtually impossible. He never thought his enemies would stoop so low. Iwakagure had stolen what was most precious to him, his only little boy, his four-year-old son. How could they?

His insides boiled when he thought of what those shinobi could be doing to Naruto. The boy must be scared, he must be quaking in fear and crying for his parents to come and hold him, but oh how the Fourth wanted more than anything else at the moment to hold him and keep him safe from harm, just as he had promised four years ago when his son was just a mere newborn.

The father, the mother, the adopted brother, the best friends, and others who cared, glanced around the Village Hidden in the Leaves and noticed, as if for the first time, the flowers that had replaced the cherry blossoms that littered the streets. They were glaringly fake compared the falling petals that symbolized beauty and fallen warriors, glaringly too much like surrogates for the real thing, just as those people who hoped beyond hope that they could find little Naruto had glaringly fake smiles gracing their features, hiding their hurt from the rest of the villagers who did not yet know.

"I'll kill them," the father murmured to himself, unbeknownst to everyone else in the office, "even if the Council won't let me go on a mission myself."