Again I was distracted and occupied, so I decided to update what I had so far. All the action will be in the third and final part of 'Caged Beast' which will take me a while to finish.

Also, one comment from the previous chapter makes me believe that some of you think that this is a Minato and Kushina alive Fic. All I have to say about that is that while some differences are for the better, there will still be some tragedy.

Finally you might find some hints on what is to come after reading this chapter.

Caged Beast Part 2

Standing in front of door at the Namikaze residence was Kakashi Hatake, one of the students of Minato Namikaze, wear his black t-shirt with white stripes in the middle of the sleeves, metal arm protectors and dark pants. Kakashi is amongst the most famed shinobi of Konohagakure, not only for being a student of the Yellow Flash now Yondaime Hokage, but also for being the prodigy of his generation who graduated top of his class and quickly escalated from genin to jonin.

Kakashi was asked by his sensei if he could come over at his house as a casual visit to which he complied, although he was mostly motivated by his sense of loyalty to come. He rings the doorbell to notify his arrival. A few seconds later, the door opens to reveal Minato on the other side.

"Kakashi, glad you made it. Come in." Minato happily gestured his student to enter. Kakashi responded by simply walking in the house.

"Was there something that you needed Sensei?" Kakashi turned around to ask his sensei.

"Just something I wanted to discuss, but that can wait. Come." Minato told his student. Kakashi then followed him into the living room where, to his surprise, saw Kushina, Saidame Hokage and his wife at the table. All three of them were smiling and had their attention on a baby with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing an orange onesie. The baby was sitting on the table in front of the aged Hokage, waving his hands up and down while giggling, causing Hiruzen to chuckle at his antics. He looks up when he notices the two walk in.

"Ah, hello Kakashi." Hiruzen greeted the newcomer.

"Lord Third, Lady Biwako, I didn't know You would be here." Kakashi said to the elderly couple.

"Minato and Kushina arranged this small get together to introduce young Naruto to those closest them, at least those this still in the village." Biwako told him. The ones that would have qualified to be here but aren't are the two Sannins Jiraiya and Tsunade, both of which are somewhere far away from the village.

"You especially should be here Kakashi since you've kept guard of him and Kushina for nine months." Minato explained to him.

Kakashi is a shinobi who has suffered emotionally from the loss of his teammates during the last war, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. Rin's death had the most impact, leaving him with haunting memories that at one time affected his performance in a mission and nearly cost him his life. It was then that Minato decided to help his student embrace the darkness by assigning him to the ANBU black ops, a division of elite shinobi hand-picked by the Hokage himself to handle all the covert operations. When it didn't have the result he hoped for, Minato gave him the task to guard Kushina during her nine months of pregnancy, hoping that the protection of new life would ease his pain over the loss of life. Inviting him over to see the baby was a part of that.

"Ow." While everyone had their attention on Kakashi, Naruto grabbed Hiruzen's gotee with both his hands, and pulled on it hard enough to give him a small feeling of pain, bringing their attention to the amusing display.

"Naruto." Kushina got up and walked towards her son, gently making him let go of Hiruzen's gotee and then picked him up.

"Oh it's alright Kushina, he's just brimming with curiosity as he should be." Hiruzen reassured her.

"Do you want to hold him Kakashi?" Kushina asked him as she was approaching him, completely surprising him with the idea.

"I'm not..." Kakashi couldn't even come up with a response quick enough, and despite that, she went ahead and handed Naruto over to him. The only way he could react was by complying and grabbed the baby.

Kakashi was now face to face with a curious looking Naruto. After a lifetime of living in a world where he had to do things for the sake of his village and himself that mostly involved bringing harm and death to others, breeding only hatred and conflict, he didn't know what to feel encountering something so innocent and pure.

Naruto then started to smile, indicating that he likes Kakashi. That smile has given Kakashi more emotions, ones that make him feel good. If he were to describe what he was experiencing right now, it would be that he's touched by a spark of light in a world of darkness he was born into.

He started to like Naruto back and gave his own smile from behind his mask. Unexpectedly, Naruto reached out and grabbed said mask with both his hands and pulled on it, stretching it out enough to exposed what was hidden behind it, earning laughter from everyone else. Kakashi quickly reacted by lifting him up so as to incline his stretched out mask upwards, saving his face from being fully revealed. Finally, he pulled him away far enough for the mask to slip out of his fingers and slap him back into position. He then handed him back to his mother.

"Was that on purpose?" He asked Kushina with a hint of frustration. She simply avoided eye contact, giving an impression of guilt. He could swear that while his mask was pulled out, Kushina tried to look downwards to get a glimpse of what was inside.

If Kakashi Hatake was known for one thing, it was how he embodies the concept of a shinobi's reliance on secrecy and deception by always wearing

his signature mask that covers the lower half of his head, from the middle of his nose to the base of his neck. This has made his full facial appearance a complete mystery to everyone who has ever known him. A while ago, he also started to wear his headband in a way that covers his left eye due to a war injury, leaving only his right eye as the visible part of his face on a normal basis.

There have been several attempts to have the mask removed just to see what was behind it, but he's always found a way to counter them. He figured that handing Naruto over to him, while as a kind gesture, also served as an opportunity to take advantage of his playful curiosity to see what was behind the mask.

...

It was late enough that the sun began to set. Hiruzen and Biwako were heading home, both of them giving Naruto a pat on the head before they left. Afterwards Kushina brought Naruto to his room to play with the new toys he received from the Sarutobi's as gifts, leaving Minato and Kakashi sitting across from each other to have that discussion.

"Now Kakashi, what I wanted to talk to you about concerns the well being of my son." Minato started of, his student recognizing the seriousness in his tone gave his full attention.

"As you know, I've had to keep my marriage to Kushina a secret for her protection, but we don't want the same thing for Naruto. We wish him a happy, safe, normal life and that he is loved by the 's why I plan on revealing him as my son." Minato explained. It made sense, a shinobi works best in the shadows, learns to live in the shadows, but he should never be born in the shadows so as to never know the light.

"That being said, it would also make him a target from a number of threats, both external from the village, and possibly internal as well." He continued. "So I have to be sure that If anything happens to me and Kushina that we're no longer able to protect him, Naruto is left in good hands."

After hearing that, Kakashi came to the conclusion that he's going to ask him to be his child's guardian. Kakashi was stunned, thinking that he would be entrusted with such a great responsibility that he had no idea if he could carry it.

"Minato Sensei, I understand what you're saying but are you sure about this? I don't know anything about taking care of a..."

"Whoa calm down, that's not what I'm getting at." Minato interrupted him before he came to the wrong conclusion, laughing at his student's misunderstanding. Kakashi felt relieved and slightly embarrassed as a result.

"I mean, I trust you enough for such a task but I'd be asking to much from you. I already covered that issue with Lord Hiruzen, you don't have to worry about it. What I wanted to ask you Kakashi, is that if you'd be the one to train Naruto when he's old enough." Minato told him.

"You want me to train him?" Kakashi ask him, not expecting this to happen, altough it's better than what he assumed earlier.

"It goes without saying that we want him to grow up to be as strong a shinobi as he possibly could, and if we're not there to protect him than all the more reason to train him so that he could protect himself. Jiraiya would've been more suitable but his duties keep him outside of the village, so you're the best choice, Not just because you're a talented shinobi yourself, but also because you're one of the people I trust the most." Minato told his student.

"Sensei." Kakashi was touched to hear him say that. He knew that he was very talented as a shinobi, but to be an instructor himself, the thought would never have crossed his mind until today.

He thought about it for a moment. At first, he wasn't confident that he was the right choice, but thinking back on the trust Minato has for him has turned him around. His sensei may not have taught him much, only because of how skilled he already was, but he was still his sensei and the one man who has been trying to help him overcome all of his grief. This would be his chance to repay him and protect young Naruto who has earned his fondness. He knew his decision.

"This isn't an order from a Hokage, but a request from a friend, so take your time to think it over. I understand if you don't..."

"I'll do it." This time it was Kakashi's turn to interrupt Minato. "Please don't think that I'm rushing it or that I'm doing it out of obligations. I want to do it sensei, I'm sure of it. For Naruto's sake, and to repay you for all you've done. If need be, I'll do everything I can to help him grow up to be strong." Kakashi gave his answer.

"Thank you Kakashi, this means a great deal to me." Minato gladly stated. He reached for the back of his hip and took out a scroll

"Here take this." He hands it over to Kakashi who took it and looked at it for a second. "We already came up with a training regimen. Everything I planned on teaching him, I've written it down on that scroll. Remember, It's up to you how you'd train him, that scroll can be used just for reference." He explains. Kakashi took it into consideration.

...

About a month and a half has passed since Naruto was born. In that time, Minato gave the word of his family's existence, spreading like wildfire from the hierarchy to the populace until it became public knowledge. The whole village was happy for him, although if there were any exceptions, it would be all the single women who had their eyes on him, feeling disappointed that he was already married. Regardless, Naruto was viewed as a prince to everyone which came with high expectation of following in his father's footsteps.

Kushina was over at her friend's house, Mikoto Uchiha matriarch of the Uchiha Clan, for an evening visit while their husbands were working late, Minato with his Hokage duties and Fugaku as head of the Uchiha Police force. Kushina brought Naruto brought Naruto with her for a play date with Mikoto's youngest son Sasuke who was only a couple of months older than him.

It was both of their mother's hope that they grow up to be close friends, and this evening has proven to be a good start. The babies were in the living room playing around with their toys while they're looked after by Sasuke's older brother Itachi who was happy to see his little brother having fun with his new friend. The women were at the table having conversation and tea.

"They're getting along nicely." Mikoto stated while looking at the boys.

"Yeah. I like to think that Naruto might have a crush on Sasuke, thinking he's a girl." Kushina joked and they both laughed. This was in reference to how her son was his usual grabbing self and clinged onto Sasuke when he first laid eyes on him, and the fact that Sasuke's appearance makes it so that he's easily mistaken for a girl.

"That reminds me, I'm pretty sure tonight's Hitomi's due date." Mikoto remembered about a friend of theirs from the academy days, also going through pregnancy.

"That's wonderful. We have to see her." Kushina stated with excitement. Mikoto simply nodded in agreement.

It was about time for Kushina head home and put her son to bed, who was already asleep and resting his head on his mother's left shoulder. Kushina was at the door getting ready to leave with Mikoto seeing her out, holding a sleeping Sasuke and having Itachi stand by her side.

"Thanks again for inviting us over Mikoto." Kushina said to her friend.

"My pleasure." She replied.

"And thank you Itachi for watching over the boys." Kushina bows down towards the five-year old.

"Your welcome aunt Kushina." Itachi replied, warming up Kushina's heart by referring to her as aunt.

"Have a safe journey home Kushina." Mikoto told her.

"Hey, I'm a Hokage's wife. Can't go anywhere without eyes on me, Ya know. Goodnight." Kushina replied, and with that made her way home.

Her comment earlier about eyes on her refers to the fact that being a Hokage's wife tends to attract the attention of nearly all the villagers that were around, and even when there weren't any, there would always be one particular individual watching over and that would be an ANBU agent in hiding under 'Guard Duty R', a long-term ANBU position meant for the protection of the Hokage's family, not dissimilar to when Kakashi watched over Kushina during her pregnancy only that when her marriage to Minato was still a secret so his task was also a secret even to his fellow ANBU.

Kushina makes it to the front lawn of her house, but halfway on the walkway that leads to the front door, her shinobi trained senses tells her that there's someone behind her. The fact that this person somehow appeared behind her and that he didn't do anything to inform her of his presence means only one thing, an enemy about to make his move. In any other situation, she would've turned around and make the first strike, but it didn't leave her mind that she was holding precious cargo. Her motherly instinct told her to run so as to keep her son from harm's way. She complied by turning right and jumped away with her chakra enhancing the power of the jump for greater height and distance.

However, while in midair she feels something tightening around her waist, like a chain, and then she was forcefully pulled back towards the enemy. She lands with her back hitting the ground while her hands hold onto Naruto tightly. She opens her eyes and sees a masked figure looking down on her. The mask had only one eye hole, revealing a glowing red eye. Looking at that eye has somehow made Kushina unable to move, but she could still hear him speak:

"I finally have you now."

Hate to leave you with a cliffhanger, but I had to do it at least once for the sake of suspense.

I'm happy with all the followers and favorites I've received so far, but I would like to have just as many reviews as well to hear the opinions of my readers