Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
A: Oh hello, it's me! It's been such a long time and I am very sorry for that. I also apologize for the poor quality of this chapter. I have had writer's block for the longest time and I am finally getting back into my writing groove a little bit. (I write these notes after I finish the chapters in case you were wondering). But I have been so busy with work and school that I haven't had time to really write anything. I have become addicted to some new things and have gotten some things for myself. I hope every single one of you guys have been okay, and I swear I am getting my shit together! Carry on!
Kushina Uzumaki. Seems like a calm, cool, and collected queen when you meet her, but trust me when I say my mom has her moments.
She was nonstop talking about meeting her childhood friend, Makoto Uchiha. She kept saying how it would be perfectly okay if I came with her because Mikoto didn't know she was queen so my secret would stay a secret. But I don't think my mom realizes that I never said she didn't know she was queen. I just said she didn't know who I was talking about when I mentioned details about my mom.
I mean, I couldn't just TELL her that Mikoto knew with all of her being that my mother was queen. She was way too excited about this. Try imagining this: you tell a kid that they get to go to their absolute favorite place in the world – packing up all your stuff and shoving it into the car – and then you look them dead in the eye and say, "Oh sorry, we aren't going anymore," crushing their little fragile heart. THAT'S what it would be like if I told my mom the truth.
"Oh, Naruto!" My mom pulls my arms and swings me around in a circle. "I can't wait until tomorrow!" She kisses my forehead and skips down the halls, humming a little tune. The truth is I don't want to go tomorrow – considering I just had my huge feud with Sasuke, the trip wouldn't be a joy – but I have to sacrifice some things for myself just to please my mom.
I walk around the castle for a while, thinking about tomorrow. I predict the trip will be unpleasant for me – other than seeing my mother's smiling face. It was one of those smiles that could brighten up the whole world.
The silence of the castle began to get to me. I still have yet to figure out whether that's because I don't like being alone, or if it's merely because I have gotten used to the constant noise in the background from the villagers roaming around. It's funny how even the softest crickets calm me down nowadays.
Kicking the air as I head to my room, I continue to think about how I am going to approach Sasuke tomorrow. If it wasn't already clear, I am going to have to ditch my mom from the start. No one – and that honestly means no one – can know that I, Naruto Uzumaki, am the prince.
Yes, I know it's weird that people of the kingdom have never seen me. Of course the queen's pregnancy was announced and even my birth was celebrated throughout the whole kingdom, but they only that blonde baby wrapped up in a blue blanket. Ever since I grew up, my father never let me leave the castle. The backyard garden was the only exception. The only people that ever came to see us were the Hyugas, and that was because they are royalty. No visitors, no leaving the castle. Only he and my mother could if completely necessary. Even now nobody knows what I look like. They just know I exist.
I am about to walk into my room when my mother peeks around the corner, holding up two different dresses.
"Naruto, honey, which dress looks better?"
I fold my arms and tilt my head to the side. "Hmm... I like the one on the right. Doesn't scream 'I'm queen, peasant!'" I wave my arms rapidly to emphasis the point. She rolls her eyes at me and giggles, thanking me; leaving me alone yet again.
The darkness soon consumes my room and I find myself slumping down the staircase to the dinner table. Father doesn't even look in my direction – obviously still mad at me for making him and mom worried – while my mother sends me sympathetic looks, rubbing my father's back.
Thankfully for me, I finish early and am excused from the table.
(Yay for more in the Kushina POV! Lots from her view in this chapter! All is in italicized font!)
The rest of dinner is filled with silence as Minato refuses to speak to me while he's still clearly upset with our son.
The lovely servants take out plates away and Minato and I head up to our bedroom.
I lay my dress out on my end table – making sure that it doesn't get any wrinkles overnight – and sigh, collapsing on the bed.
Minato comes and lies next to me, running his fingers through my long, red hair. "Kushina, why are you so excited about seeing Mikoto?" he asks quietly after seconds of silence.
I tilt my head a bit to glance up at me and back to the ceiling. "She was my best friend, Minato. It will be nice to catch up with her after all these years."
"Didn't she leave you for Fugaku though?"
I sigh and prop my weight against my elbows. "Why are you so against me seeing her?"
Minato looks away for a second. "I just want you to be careful. She might try to beg money off of you."
"She is not as shallow as you are making her out to be. Please, Minato just let me handle this. And if things don't go well, I have our son. I think he can handle a little lady."
Minato goes silent. The subject of Naruto coming with me on this adventure was nothing that he wanted to talk about. Not only was he a little iffy about me seeing Mikoto, but he still didn't want any harm to come to Naruto either. He especially didn't trust him after he had left the castle so many times in the past couple of days. But, it wasn't always his decision.
Minato crawls out of bed and heads into the bathroom. I tie my long hair into a ballerina style bun so I won't pull on it while I'm sleeping, and lie back down. I instantly fall asleep once my head hits the pillow. Here's to a good night's sleep for a brand new beginning.
My mother was rather slow in the morning which worried me greatly because she had seemed so eager the day before.
I later learned that it was because she didn't know what to wear – even though I had picked out a perfectly good dress for her –, whether she should bring a gift, blah, blah, blah… "Mom, it really doesn't matter," I lightly tell her. "She probably isn't going to be focused on stuff like that if you guys were as close as you said."
She argues with me for a couple minutes about how it indeed does matter before sighing. "I suppose you're right."
"Of course I am. Now, let's a get a move on before it gets too late." I hook my arm with hers and we walk out of the castle in perfect harmony.
Naruto leaves my side once we start reaching town. He pulls his hood over his head and walks slightly farther away from me.
I wish he, himself, wasn't so concerned on people knowing that he is the prince. No harm can be done to him, but I guess it's what his father wants, too. Naruto's protection is what matters most when it comes to our family.
I plaster a smile on my face and follow Naruto's direction of travel – wishing that he was by my side instead.
Naruto heads over to the bakery. I could have sworn he said – "Sorry, mom. I just want to grab a quick snack," Naruto whispers into my ear real quick, heading into the store. I inhale the aroma, taking in all that buttery goodness and other treats that are to die for. Several people walk by and give me their greetings; nothing unusual for the queen's arrival in town.
I start to grow impatient when Naruto walks out of the bakery with a bag full of goodies. "Alright, follow me!" he says with a cookie-stuffed face.
I roll my eyes and continue to follow him. He stops abruptly in front of a two-story building; the bottom half is open wide and young men are at work within it. No sign of Mikoto. "Are you sure this is the right place?" I ask my son in a whispered tone.
"Of course. She may be inside, so we might have to –" He doesn't get to finish his sentence because I gasp and interrupt him. Out walks Mikoto Uchiha; she looks exactly the same as when we were younger.
Memories begin to flood my mind and my emotions start to stir. Naruto and I walk forward and I'm a little reluctant to say something, but I speak anyway. "M-Mikoto?" I manage to choke out.
She turns and her dark eyes lock onto me. Her mouth opens slightly and she says, "Kushina?"
Mikoto starts to walk towards me and I check my surroundings to find that Naruto had left my side. I caught the blonde son of mine walking into the bottom half of the building – heading towards a very angry looking, raven-haired boy. That must be Sasuke.
Mikoto grabs my shoulders and scans me up and down as if she was checking to make sure I was actually standing in front of her. "Oh my god, what are you doing here?"
"I guess I can ask you the same question," I laugh. "How have you been?"
She blinks. "Fugaku and I are doing fairly well. We're making a living here with our two kids: Itachi and Sasuke. It's a lot of hard work to run a shop, but we make it work. I don't even have to ask how you're doing."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well, you are the queen of Konohagakure! I can't believe that you married a prince, Kushina! That's amazing! You know, I was going to come and visit you, but I don't think just anyone can walk up to the castle and ask for the queen."
I had frozen halfway through her talking. She knew that I was queen. Naruto said that she had no idea who I was. I glance over at my son who is having what looks like a fueled argument.
"Asshole!" I bark.
Sasuke Uchiha was officially the most horrid person I had ever come to encounter. He was also my only friend. Well, up until he said that we were acquaintances.
"Naruto, I told you that we aren't friends. Why the hell are you visiting me if you don't want to practice training?" Sasuke narrows his dark eyes at me.
"I can't tell you why. Look, why are you pushing away the idea of having a friend, anyway? Am I not good enough for you?"
"Why are you so obsessed with the idea of having a friend, hmm? I'm not the only one that has some issues here." He continues to work on the sword in his hands.
I became at a loss for words. It seemed impossible to even try and get this Uchiha to understand my side of the story. I grew up without anyone. That day where I first met Sasuke, I actually felt like someone other than the castle folk cared about me; that I actually might have a chance to have a friend. But all of that was shattered because Sasuke Uchiha didn't know how to accept friendship.
"I'm sure you could tell me why the queen is here though," Sasuke changes the subject.
"Wh-Why would I know about the arrival of the queen at your shop?" my voice comes out a little higher than usual.
"Oh please, I saw you walk up here with her."
"You must be mistaken," I try to change his mind in a panic-like manner. "The queen had to of been walking behind me when I came here. That's an easy mistake though."
"Whatever. Why is she talking to my mom though? And why does she keep looking over here?"
"Slow down there Sasuke. I can only answer so many questions at once." He narrows his eyes yet again and starts to work on another sword.
"Full of secrets, Uzima," Sasuke breathes, still not looking in my direction.
Uzima? Oh yeah! I gave Sasuke a fake last name the first time I met him so he wouldn't think I was the prince. Dang, Naruto, you should remember what you tell people.
"Oh yeah? How about yourself?" I retort.
Sasuke smiles as much as he seems capable of and lets out a little laugh. "I don't always reveal myself to those that aren't worthy of knowing more than my name. And you, Uzima, are not worthy."
"Would you stop with that?" I take a bite of my blueberry muffin, glancing over at how my mother was doing with Mikoto. She seems to be giving me the daggers every now and then, but I can never be too sure from the distance between us.
"Stop with what?"
"All of this bull shit you keep pulling on me! I know that you didn't just carry me back to your house all by yourself the other night because you felt like it. You obviously cared enough to lift my weight and lug me all the way back here. Whether you want to admit it or not, you do care about me."
Sasuke's dark eyebrows narrow.. again. He places the newly made sword up on the wall and walks over to get ready to make a new one. "I don't care about you so please –"
"Dammit Sasuke!" I raise my voice. "Just admit it for once!"
The eyes of everyone within a 20 yard radius were on me. A man with a frown on his face and tired eyes come join Sasuke and I. "Is this boy bothering you, Sasuke?" His voice is full of annoyance. He reminds me of Neji Hyuga. I hate that.
"No, father," Sasuke quietly speaks. I knew he had to be related to the Uchihas somehow. He looks exactly like them all with the same dark eyes and dark hair. Sasuke's father glares at me, looking me up and down. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Uh, no. That's insane. You can't possibly know m –"
"Is that Kushina Uzumaki?" Mr. Uchiha ignores whatever thought he had before. His dark eyes focus on my mom who is still talking to her childhood friend. Sasuke looked over at me with a certain gleam in his eyes when his father said my last name.
My mother looks over at the three of us and waves at Mr. Uchiha. "Hello, Fugaku!" she calls at him.
I notice that Naruto's conversation is going south, so to help him out, I call at Fugaku Uchiha when I notice him looking in my direction. Mikoto and I travel over to the boys and I put a big smile on my face, trying my best to ignore my son standing so close to me. It's nice to have him near.
"Hello, Fugaku! It's been so long!" I beam at him. His face is stern, which comes as no shock. I never quite understood how Mikoto and he came to be.
"Indeed it has, Kushina," he nods.
"So are these your boys?" I open my arms at the boys in front of me.
"Two of them, yes. That blonde one is not a part of anything." That blonde one is a prince, and he's my son.
"This one must be Sasuke!" I point my finger at the raven-haired boy standing next to Naruto. "I've heard so much about him!"
Sasuke gives me an up and down glance when my mother mentions hearing 'so much about him'. I shrug at him as if saying 'I don't know'.
Sasuke shoots Naruto a look. Oh, I may have caused some troubles. "Mikoto was talking about how wonderful and helpful your boys are." Sasuke's expression eases up, but he continues to glare at Naruto through narrow slits.
"They are incredible! Always willing to help me out in the garden and their father in the shop," Mikoto smiles wide, her eyes closing. "Would the two of you like to join us for lunch?" Mikoto asks me and Naruto. I am shocked at the question, considering she didn't know Naruto was my son. "Would that be okay with your parents Naruto?" I give him a weird look, but he pretends not to see me. Mikoto must just be asking the two of us at once as kindness.
"I actually have to be home by lunchtime," Naruto shrugs. "Sorry, Mrs. Uchiha. Maybe some other time?" She smiles at him.
"You are always welcome to come over here, Naruto. And you, Kushina?"
"My husband also enjoys spending meal times with the family, so I must be going rather soon. We can always meet up another day though. I'm sure he would understand. He just doesn't like to be caught off guard," I gave her a warm smile, and she returns it.
"Of course, of course. It was so lovely to see you again, Kushina. So sorry that you have to go so soon."
"I will be sure to visit again," I assure her. I wave goodbye as I head back up the trail to where the castle lies. Naruto catches up to me in a few minutes, when no one is around to spot us. I grab him by the earlobe and pull him close to me for a whisper. "You have a lot of explaining to do."
A: Uh so yeah! That's the end of the chapter! Sorry, I know it's horrible, and I am so unbelievably sorry that it took me this long to actually write the rest of the story out. I also apologize for the shortness. Like I said, I have had writer's block for the longest time, and if I repeated myself, I apologize once again because I did not review this before typing the rest of the chapter up. But uhm thank you for reading! Your follows, favorites, and especially the reviews keep me motivated to write! I promise I will try my best to update more!