-ooooooooooooo-
It's only been a week since Kushina left her husband and son to return to her clan and family, and the 4th Hokage was already regretting letting his wife go.
For a mere 7 days Minato had to act as both mother and father for his small, unshielded family, which wasn't easy to do, nor was it helped by the cruel advice the elders and advisers spoke to him. The elders, or councilmen as they were referred as, consisted of Mitokado, Utatane, and the late 3rd Hokage, Sarutobi. Out of the three elder shinobi, Sarutobi was the only one to give actual advice. Mitokado and Utatane, though being extremely useful during the days after the Nine tails attack, had become increasingly difficult to handle.
The main issue came about with Naruto, his son and only family still here in Konoha. Despite Minato's wishes, it appeared a lot of the villagers had already grown prejudice opinions against the babe, despite him being but a few weeks old. It all came down to the demon, naturally. Minato had briefly explained during a speech a few days after the attack, that the demon had been sealed away into his son, and that the village was now safe.
Obviously, some did not feel the same.
With Kushina gone, at least for a decent amount of months by his own estimation, the 4th was left to raise Naruto as if nothing was wrong. However, this clashed with his duty as Hokage as he literally did not have the time to be the village leader, a father, and a mother.
With merely a week by himself, Minato was tired beyond belief. His brain barely functioned, and he sat in his office for some time, just dozing with his eyes slowly betraying him, as they closed in attempts to rest. Lucky that Minato had Shikadai Nara, one of his old classmates, to help him finish paperwork. Despite the lazy Nara's help and his grumbled 'Go home. I'll cover you', Minato couldn't shake the feeling of desperation.
Minato had started his 'shift' early, coming in at 7 sharp, and had been working until Shikadai practically shoved him out the door, leaving just gone noon. However, in that tiny expanse of hours, the two banes of his existence had come in several times to make everything more difficult. Those two, Mitokado and Utatane.
(Earlier that morning)
Minato was rubbing his sore eyes with the back of his hand, whilst looking down at the papers in front of him which he vaguely knew where asking for planning permission for something or other. Most likely a replacement for another building. Wouldn't surprise him. Before the blonde man had a chance to scower over the words written on the papers, a knock sounded at his door. Looking up briefly, Minato sighed and spoke clearly:
"Come in!"
Much to his pain, in came an elderly pair of individuals, both having enough wrinkles that Minato could count their years like a tree stump. Mitokado looked displeased as usual, though that didn't bother the Hokage. What did was the look on Utatane's face, which wore an expression similar to that of a sour grape. Aged enough to sicken whomever eats it, but pleasant enough looking to appear harmless. Minato knew better.
"Hokage. You appear tired, I see?" Minato didn't bother gracing the women with a response. He'd already dealt with her whining earlier the same week, giving a sweet smile in an attempt to push them away from his life, but clearly that hadn't worked. Sadly for them he wasn't about to play Boy Scout again.
"Is there something I can help you to with? I am rather busy, and I don't have time to appease you" Minato had learned a number of things from his wife. One was the ability of bluntness, mixed with rudeness just enough that most would just awkwardly leave. The tone and words however, did not seem to be blunt enough.
"Minato, you wouldn't be this tired if you just rested. One mustn't tie themselves down so quickly-"
"I am your Hokage, and you will refer to me as such until I believe you may use my name. Furthermore, I shall point out that you attempts to 'take in' my son are laughable. You merely see him as a liability, and for that, I intend to keep him close so that he may not become a weapon. We are not Suna"
Minato's voiced sadden as he finished his little speech. He truly felt for the youngest of the current Kazekage. Gaara, his memory supplied. The boy was also barely a few months old, and with his birth came the subsequent death of his mother. The Kazekage, though being his father, wanted to turn his son into a weapon and thus boldly protested his son's 'strength' to the world. Naruto was very much in the same state know, except Minato wanted nothing more than to hide Naruto away from the world.
They needn't know of his 'strength', and nor does his own village in a matter of speaking. Naruto would be seen as a tool; something to threaten other villages with. An object to destroy enemies, or protect the village. That was what the elders saw.
"Minato. At this moment Konoha is weak. We need everyone on high alert. As the Hokage, you have to set a standard" Spoke Mitokado dispassionately. Mitokado always spoke without any emotion, and that allow irritated the 4th. Losing his patience, Minato decided to bite back.
"Mitokado. Utatane. I could care less about what you believe I must set an example as. At this moment in time, I am a father and my son needs me. I will not put that off because my 'image' is being tarnished. If you'd even call it that. I believe the villagers would be happy to see a 'human' Hokage, someone that has a life and problems, yet can still provide in times of need. As for an example, near all of the shinobi in this village are suffering one loss or another, some family whilst others friends. They are all in pain deep down, but do they let that consume them? No! They strive forward, ignoring the winding trying to push them back!"
Minato paused for a few moments, giving time for his words to sink in.
"I am not perfect. I never will be. I will not become perfect by handing my son over to someone else to 'take care' of. You merely wish for my son to become inhuman like the jinchuriki in Suna, and be used as a tool. So help me I'll remove you from your position if you even suggest it again. And trust me, I can play my cards. I just saved the village from complete destruction from the most deadly Biju in existence, the shinobi and villagers adore me, and my skill is above anyone my age and even older. You cannot replace me"
Allowing his words to float in the air for a few more seconds, Minato then coldly growls:
"Leave."
(Back to the present)
Minato had just got back from the office after Shikadai chased him out with a warning to not come back until he slept, and the young Hokage was now seated on the sofa in his home silently staring at the ceiling. He'd been thinking about the days earlier events, and he found himself somewhat embarrassed by his lack of self-control. Oh, Kushina would be laughing at him right now, grinning and stating how 'proud' she was of him and his show of manliness. She always said he was somewhat soft spoken, and needed to grow a backbone and stand up against the elders that constantly nagged him about traditions and such, even before Naruto was born.
Minato let out an exasperated sigh, before placing his palm to his head with a mild headache. He got up out of the chair slowly, to avoid aggravating his sore head, and poured himself a glass of water. Downing the glass in one chug, he refilled it and stepped back from the sink. Allowing a smile to grow across his lips, Minato left the living room and climbed the stairs, fully intending to go to Naruto's room to check on his son.
Opening the door, Minato raised his free hand in greeting to Sarutobi, who was currently sitting in a chair in the right corner of the room, reading a book. Seeing the blonde, Sarutobi nodded in return, offering a smile of his own.
"I presume you are back for the day?" Asked the elder's soft, yet gravelly voice. Minato couldn't help but smile wider.
"Yes. Shika' chased me out of the office, grumbling that I was useless" Sarutobi let out a low-toned chuckle.
"Well, I'm sure he gave you a good list of locations to nap in?" Minato laughed, unable to help himself. Shikadai may have been and classmate and peer, but there was no doubt he was well accomplished in the sleep department. Still laughing, Minato replied:
"He never mentioned any. Shame really, he must have a lot of pointers. Probably can't tell though. Must be a secret only the Nara's can know" The pair laughed for a good few minutes, until the atmosphere thickened and Sarutobi's smile saddened.
"Sensei, how has Naruto been?" Minato asked in a whisper.
"Naruto has been well. He's slept a few times since you left this morning, but he hasn't been possessed too badly. I prevented him from hurting himself though"
Minato walked over to the crib where his young son lay. Unbelievably small hands clutched at the blanket, and his face showed a troubled expression as he slept. Every once in a while his eyes would twitch, yet remain closed, and he'd flail his little arms. Whilst Minato placed his glass down on the nightstand nearby and moved to ease his son's distress, Sarutobi observed him.
He felt bad that he couldn't do much to assist the young Hokage. He could only watch Naruto for so long, and when he couldn't, the 4th had to take Naruto with him. Though not exactly a problem, seeing as Naruto was a surprisingly quiet baby, Minato would fuss him and check him constantly, which made the point of him being at work pointless.
Sarutobi had no idea how Minato would be able to manage, unless… Yes. The old man grinned to himself. Yes, it's about time someone developed some 'life-skills'. He'd have to send them in one day after relaying his idea to Minato. For now, Sarutobi could happily watch father coo over his son for the next few hours.
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Author's Note:
Hey guys, here's another chapter for you! Sorry I took so long!
And before you ask, drama involving people distrusting Naruto is still going to exist, though it'll be more on the same lines as Gaara. With someone like the 4th Hokage protecting him, I doubt the villagers would pick a fight with our little blondie, right? Though trust me, I need to get through some baby Naruto and Kakashi torturing before we can move on the meat of the drama. I'll try my best to get all the baby chapters out the way so we can move on to when he's older.
I know I could easily time skip to the drama, but we all need some cuddly baby times and besides, it'd be a missed opportunity.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always, any reviews would be great! Though there's now much to review yet, but oh well! Thanks for being awesome, peace out!