It was seven years ago. Naruto foolishly spent all his money on sweets and had none left for ramen. He remembered looking out at the blue sky on the sculpted head of the Fourth Hokage at Hokage Rock. While having no knowledge of fishing or hunting, he managed to get some trout from a river that flowed in the forest above the faces. The sun was setting as he cooked them.

He bit into the cooked fish and noticed Sarutobi staring right at him, inches away from his face. "Ohl mn?!"

"Don't talk while you're eating."

He tore a piece free and began chewing. "Old Man Hokage." Swallowing, he squinted at him. "What are you doing here?"

"That's a question I should be asking." He froze as his stomach growled. "...You wouldn't happen to be charitable enough to feed an old man, would you?"

Laughing, Naruto handed him one of the makeshift skewers. "Here!"

"How kind of you." Sarutobi sat by his side and ate the fish with him as the stars came out.

"Just look at the sky!" The boy stared up at the glittering lights. "There's always so many."

He nodded. "This world is boundless. Compared to it, we are but motes of dust, but that's not a bad thing." Smiling, he patted the confused child on the head. "When you are regarded or regard yourself as a big thing, you can lose sight on what's really important. You focus so much on yourself when no one in this world lives forever."

"Then what does?"

"Ideas, stories, and families. Time passes all of us by but what matters is what we leave behind. This village was entrusted to me by my mentor, who was entrusted with it by his brother. They both died; still, they passed on their will, the Will of Fire, to me and everyone else living here. It's their love, my love: our ideas, stories, and our families."

Naruto hummed. "Old Man Hokage…" He drifted off and looked down. "I don't have any ideas, stories, or a family. I… I don't know what love is."

"You will have your own in time and know, but you already have someone else's."

"Whose?" He tilted his head at tears emerging from the old man's eyes. "Uh?"

Sarutobi lay his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Your parents: you are their idea, story, family, and their love."

"...Who are they?"

Words could not describe the feelings in their hearts on that day. Neither ever forgot nor ever would. It was beautiful, sad, and miserable. That single question defined their entire relationship and haunted them both throughout it.

The inside of Naruto's subconscious mind was quiet, save for a single noise. It was a combination of metal striking a solid object and splashing water. Anger, sadness, and despair in one. That was what Naruto slamming his protected forehead against the ground was.

"Pointless! Pointless! Pointless! Pointless! Pointless! Pointless!" He screamed. "It was all fucking pointless! I should've known better! He never answered that one fucking question! What the hell was I thinking!?" He grit his teeth. "He chose him! He chose them! He chose everyone else but me!"

The Nine-Tailed Fox looked down on its jailer with conflicted eyes. It was getting everything it ever wanted. This was the breakdown it was working him towards. The answer to that question it was saving for a special moment, but it turned out to be unnecessary: the seal was about to bust wide open.

Tears fell from his eyes into the water. "He died for him!" His voice broke. "He actually died for him! He fed me to a snake, did all kinds of shit, toyed with Anko-sensei, and tried killing him, but he still fucking died for him!" He sobbed. "What did I do wrong?! Was I really that bad?!" He forced his eyes shut. "I just wanted you to love me!"

Its victory felt hollow. After everything, the boy was breaking because of something unrelated to it. All of its efforts were for nothing. It'd been free if it just waited and relaxed from its perspective.

"I hate you, you stupid old man! You pathetic old piece of shit! God of Shinobi and you die alone at the hands of your own fucking student!? What a joke! You deserved it!" He stopped and hugged himself. "But if that's how I feel, what is this pain in my chest?! Why do I want you to hold me so much?! You were the only one I ever used to look up to!" He laughed. "Do I love you or do I hate you?!"

It saw him go from a crying brat to a shinobi that could face down the runt of its litter. He handled Shukaku with grace and style, just as it would have. His words about forgoing anger reminded him of the old sage. For a moment, it felt pride in him.

He wailed. "I don't know!" Sobbing, he clutched his head and shook. "I don't know! I don't know! I don't know! I don't know! I don't know anything anymore!" His eyes widened in realization. "Oh shit! I'm totally freaking out right now!" He laughed. "I'm fucking everything up, aren't I!? Could've gotten respect, made chunin, and got to see the look on all those fuckers' faces!" He burst into laughter. "But I just couldn't take not having one thing!" His laughter devolved into crying again. "You being there to tell me how proud you are!"

The feelings of humans weren't something it understood. They were the exact opposite of them in every way. It's not like they didn't share them, but their meaning was different. It was immortal while the boy was destined to die one day. Almost everything passed.

"Those eyes…" He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. "Oh fuck! They're going to hate me! Teuchi, Ayame, Iruka-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Anko-sensei, Hinata, Jiraiya, and Hana are going to hate me!" He shut his eyes. "I fucked that all up! Dammit!" He began hitting himself. "Stupid! Fucking! Idiot! What were you thinking?! They'll never let you do anything after this! No one could ever love you! Did you really think anything would change?!"

Things did change. In ways it'd never imagine, it saw him do the impossible and become the complete opposite of what he once was. His will overwhelmed its. That was something it would never forget. It was something it respected.

He stopped beating himself pointlessly. "I don't know what to do… I don't know what to do!" He collapsed into the water. "Someone… help me."

"Naruto."

He lifted his head and laughed. "That's the first time you've ever called me by my name."

It tilted its head. "Rip this seal off, and I will save you from your suffering. No more doubt, no more anger, no more sadness, and no more pain."

"What will you do?"

"I will destroy everything. Everyone who ever slighted you. Everyone who could ever hate you. I will keep your soul safe and sound."

"...I don't want them to hate me." He looked down. "But they will either way."

"I will kill them before they can, so they will rest forever with their memory of you as you were." Its red eyes glowed.

"That's fine with me, I guess." His body rose to its knees and a strange blackness leaked from his stomach. "What is…" Eyes turning red, he stood up and shambled over.

"There is no need to fight me anymore."

The moment he reached the bottom of the cage, water swirled about his form to lift him to the seal. He felt relieved. It was all coming to an end. There was no need for him to be strong or fail ever again. His hand grasped the flimsy paper.

Then a hand grabbed his wrist and threw him back into the water.

"You?!"

He looked up to see the owner of his would-be savior's hand only to be pulled into a tight hug. "Who?"

"I've seen the lies weigh on you and hurt you for far too long." Tears fell from the stranger's blue eyes into the water of his subconscious mind. He looked down at the boy's face and saw his widen. "I a–"

"You Yellow Dipshit!" He gut-punched him and bounce-stepped back.

"Naruto," the Fourth Hokage called out, voice filled with warmth and sadness.

"How do you know my name?!" He glared at him. "You took me from my parents, didn't you?!"

The Hokage winced. "Naruto, I–"

"Stop saying my name like you know me!"

"Do you want to tell him or should I?"

The Fourth Hokage snapped his fingers and they were in a white void with just the two of them. "That was awfully civil of the Nine-Tails."

"You decide everything for me and then you take over my own fucking mind!" He bounce-stepped forward with a punch only to be embraced again. "Let go of me!"

He didn't flinch even as the boy jabbed at his sides. "I can't: you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Who…" He stopped. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Naruto, I'm your father." He closed his eyes when the boy stiffened.

He looked up at the face of the man and gradually put together the resemblance. "No…" He stepped back and out of his arms. "That's not…" Shaking his head, he grit his teeth. "If that's true, why didn't… This is…" He held up his head to start laughing, bitter and angrily. "Of course! Of fucking course! Of all people, it would be you!" His face contorted in hatred. "Gaara's was piece of shit, so why would mine be any different!?"

"Naruto."

"Shut up!" Tears streamed down his cheeks as he shifted into sadness. "Of all people, why did it have to be you?! Do you have any idea how many times I imagined what my dad and mom would be like?!" He sobbed. "I just wanted someone to love me! To actually love me for being who I am instead of anything else!"

"I do love you!" The Fourth let more of his own tears fall.

"Then why did you seal that bastard into me?!"

"Your mother was the previous jinchuriki, and a man with a Sharingan broke her seal when it was weak, when she was giving birth to you!"

He froze. "My mom was…" He glared at him. "You made me into the next even after everything she went through?!"

"The only beings in existence that can seal the Nine-Tails are the Shinigami. I traded my soul because there was no one else that knew the jutsu to summon them present at the time, and it was going to kill you. Kushina, your mother, was dying after her seal broke, but I couldn't let her fight for eternity in the Shinigami's stomach."

"...You left me alone." Naruto scoffed. "You, mom, and the old man."

"Your mother and I jumped in the way of its claw with our dying breaths to save you. During the Third Great Shinobi World War, I killed more shinobi than any other man in recorded history to the point the Hidden Stone had a flee-on-sight order for me: the shinobi world runs on grudges like that. If the Third got too close to you, they'd look into your existence, find out the truth, and seek vengeance."

"I don't care; you left me alone."

The Fourth's face scrunched in agony. "Don't you think I know that?! I don't even know if the real me will remember this! Please, I want you to see past your own pain, like you did after you woke up from your coma!"

"That was before I knew how fucking pointless it was!"

"I did what was best for you and the village!"

"The fucking village!" He shivered in seething rage. "Those pieces of shit look at me like I'm trash when I'm the reason why they're alive to even do that!" He pointed an accusing finger at his father. "You loved them more than me, just like the old man! You loved mom more than me! You loved yourself more than me!" He laughed. "I'm going to kill them! All of those worthless villagers down to their fucking children!"

"Naruto, you don't know what you're saying."

"After I'm done with them, I'm going to kill that piece of shit with the Sharingan!"

The Fourth put a hand over his chest. "Please, I'm begging you! Listen to me!"

"I'm done listening to everyone else! I should've known…" He shed the last of his tears. "I'm the only one who really loves me, who will ever love me."

"...I'm repairing the seal." The Fourth walked over and held out his hand, stopping the inky blackness from his stomach from leaking anymore. Shinigami could make it, but he knew enough to manipulate their handiwork. Task done, he hugged his child one last time. The punches and headbutts he received were more than an acceptable price. "You don't ever have to forgive me and, whatever you do from here on, know this: no matter what, I will always love you."

"Quit lying to me, you piece of shit!" Naruto glared up into his old man's warm yet sad eyes. "I'm going to kill all of them, do you understand me?! They wanted to shame a monster, and a monster is what they'll get! Wipe that look off your fucking face! You stupid dipshit! They're all going to die because of you! Everyone of them is going to die!"

Minato Namikaze only held his son closer, the image of the smiling babe he originally left behind in his chakra imprint's mind. It would come back to the real Minato, and he would be content with his parting words and the feeling of his son in his arms. Other than fixing the seal, the rest of the chakra went into making sure the damage the Nine-Tails' chakra did wasn't fatal. No matter what, he couldn't let his precious child suffer anymore.

Only those present could truly understand the meaning of whiplash. One moment, it seemed as if the Nine-Tails was going to emerge to finish the job it started thirteen years ago. And it was gone the next, as though nothing, save the damage to the arena it caused, happened. No one would believe it if the damage was repaired as well.

Kakashi and Anko rushed over to a massive crater left behind. In the center, they saw the still body of their co-taught genin. Both jumped down, picked him up, and immediately rushed to the hospital, active warzone be damned. So help the enemy ninja that got in their way.

The balcony of the wounded had every one of its population watching by the railing.

"...What the fuck was that?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto…" Hinata whispered, Byakugan active and wide-eyed.

Neji watched them move with his own kekkai genkai. "I can't believe it."

"Believe what?" Kiba looked to all three of the Hyuga with the eye-sight to see who the mysterious being really was. "Come on, guys."

Kurenai sighed. "Naruto Uzumaki is the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox: he's been carrying it in his being for as long as he's been alive. What you saw was him losing control of it, but he fought it back in the end."

"...Holy shit."

"I saw nothing of the sort doing our fight or when he took on the One-Tail!" Neji shivered.

Hanabi's eyes sparkled with greater admiration. "That was all him!"

"No wonder he kicked that sand thing's ass!" Tenten scoffed. "He's been facing down the biggest monster this world's ever seen his entire life!"

Lee pumped his good fist into the air. "I knew you had it in you, Naruto!" Heartfelt tears left his eyes. "You were always strong in the greatest way that mattered!"

"Anko believes in that kid for a reason," Izumo said.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "Other than them being alike?"

"They're right." Kurenai looked from one of the duo to the other. "You're both stupid." She walked away from the railing. "Let's not gawk." Looking to her female trainee, she raised an eyebrow at her still shocked expression. "Hinata?"

"Kurenai-sensei, Lord Third…" Tears left her blank eyes.

She looked to Neji, who only averted his gaze in response. "Not a word, understand?"

"What happened?" Kiba asked.

Hanabi took to her sister's side. "It's okay." She took her hand in hers. "He's smiling."

They crept back into the less open balcony. Much was uncertain about their future. A new-found respect was felt by them all for the unfortunate child. His true strength, the fortitude of his heart, appeared much stronger than any of them thought and what it actually was. Had the Fourth not thought to leave an imprint of himself, they would've all died.

Everyone on the shinobi balcony witnessed the horrifying series of events. Hiashi was about to declare their deployment when they felt the infernal chakra of the Nine-Tails emerge. The sight of the fleshy manifestation brought back bad memories for almost all of the shinobi there. When it disappeared, the relief was as palpable as the creature's hatred.

"That...was Naruto, right?" Shino asked.

Sakura wiped tears from her cheeks while Sasuke sighed in relief. "Yeah." She shook her head. "I hope he's okay."

"It's Naruto: he always makes it out alright," her partner affirmed, patting her shoulder.

Shikamaru clucked his tongue. "Eight tails by my count. Troublesome; he's something else entirely." He glanced at his gaping team members. "It's a long story. The Nine-Tailed Fox and the One-Tailed Tanuki are both assholes I never want to hear converse again."

"Wait, what?" The two members of Team 7 said in unison.

"Long story. I'll tell you some other time if you're not troublesome."

Sasuke squinted. "So you'll never tell us."

"You catch on fast, Uchiha. That makes you troublesome."

"You think everything is troublesome," Sakura deadpanned.

"So I've been told."

"Enough gossiping!" Hiashi stomped his foot. "We have a village to secure, hostile ninja to kill, and lives to save!" He looked to his captains: Raido, Genma, and Asuma. "Deploy!"

They took off with no further word, following Asuma's lead. Each commanded several squads of men. Hiashi in turn commanded them. The Byakugan gave him nearly full view of the village in its entirety, so he was best suited for it besides his years worth of experience. He'd give them orders, and they'd follow them before regrouping for more. Other clan heads were already beating the enemy back. With his abilities, what was a sure victory became an absolute one. He'd gather on the balcony roof where Sarutobi rested with the other jonin and heads when it was done.

Two days passed until they held the funeral. Naruto was comatose and covered in burns, a slight improvement over the skinned condition he was in during the Forest of Death. For the first day, Team 7 and Anko spent nearly their entire time in his hospital room. Hiashi, Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji dropped by as a group to pay their respects, leaving a big jar of their secret ointment to assist in his healing. Shino stopped by alone. Guy and Lee went together to lighten their rivals' moods. Hana dragged Kiba along with her to check on her competition. Iruka visited with Konohamaru but had to drag him out when he tried shaking his idol awake. Jiraiya checked his condition and the seal's to leave looking as if he saw a ghost. Nearly every shinobi was present for the mourning ritual in the appropriate clothes.

"It's okay, Konohamaru," Iruka said, patting him on the shoulder.

The boy shook his head. "You don't understand! It's Boss! The old man was the only one I ever saw him respect!" He sobbed. "He was like his dad! I know it doesn't seem like it, but he was the only person I ever saw him listen to!"

Sasuke and Sakura watched and overheard the little Sarutobi. "When I… lost everyone, I thought I was living in a nightmare afterward." He held her hand. "My father and mother were cut down by my brother, and I didn't know what to do: I was angry, sad, and felt alone for the longest time. Going back to the compound reminded me of that." Turning to her, his vision blurred for a moment. "That's what Naruto must have felt when he saw, and he lost it almost completely."

"...I've never lost anyone before." Sakura averted her gaze for a moment. "But when I think about that time in Wave where we thought you were dead, and I saw Naruto so helpless, covered in blood… And again when both of you could barely stand yet kept pushing yourselves." Tears left her eyes. "I know you have to do what you have to, and it's not close to the same thing. I can't help the way I feel: I care a lot about you two."

"I care about you too, Sakura. So does Naruto. You're allowed to feel however you do, but there are things our feelings won't help with. Sometimes...feelings keep you from seeing the truth or seeking it."

She nodded. "I understand. I just need to get used to it, I guess."

"That took me time too." He looked up to the cloudy sky and thought of his brother. "...The truth."

There would come a time, sooner rather than later, they'd meet again. Each had their questions and their answers. It was unlikely they'd satisfy each other at all.

Kakashi was at the memorial stone. Jiraiya was behind one of the posts reminiscing about his past, just as he was. Yugao was approaching with flowers. Everyone lost the Third Hokage, but his loss reminded them of many more. Fresh wounds too near old wounds tended to reopen them. They were not unique in having them or being a victim of it.

"For Hayate, right? Better be quick: Lord Third's funeral has already begun."

She walked up the monument and set the flowers down. "Paying respects to Obito?"

"Minato." His eye stared deep into the stone. "I've made so many mistakes, and now I'm making them with my student. I wonder what he'd think of me, losing them outside a time of war."

"He's okay, isn't he?"

He shrugged. "For now, I suppose." He shut his eye. "He was just one inch left over the edge… I don't know what to do."

Yugao put a hand on his shoulder. "Do what you can: be there for him. I know you'll do the right thing, Kakashi. You always have." With an affirmative pat, she left her old anbu teammate.

Jiraiya stroked his chin, mind drifting back to the previous day rather than his bell test ones. The seal was stronger than it was when he first checked up on it. That could only mean one of two things: his most successful student came back from the dead or the Shinigami that created it stopped by to give it a tune-up. He summoned Gerotara to check for certain no absolute mad man broke into Mount Myoboku to retrieve the key and was told no one did. It was tempting to strengthen it when he saw the damage Orochimaru had done, but it seemed counterproductive to the seal's intent to blend the chakras. The child was strongly against using the power anyway and displayed a level of control that reminded him of what he heard 'perfect' jinchuriki were capable of. While he was a seal master by nearly every other village's criteria, he was a journeyman in comparison to Minato, who had the tutoring of an Uzumaki absolutely smitten with him.

"What we thinking about?" Kakashi asked behind him, making him jump.

"The seal!" He shook his head and scoffed. "I'm getting careless in my old age."

"You looked scared. I was going to say something, but I didn't want to worry the kids."

"It's just...impossible. That thing was handcrafted by a Shinigami. You'd need to be a sealing master or the Sage of Six Paths reborn to tamper with something like that."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Then it looks like my student really is promising."

"Oh please." Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Sure, he took down a Tailed Beast but when I was his age…" He flinched. "Uh."

"Are you sure his will wasn't a factor? He's forced away the power before. Maybe the seal responds to things like that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the designs of a death god."

There was no helping it. The few that could understand the inner-working of seals to the extent of reading a Shinigami's design were gone from the world. It wasn't as if knowing would help the real issue anyway. Sealing jutsu were only good for storing things away.

Anko only left Naruto's bedside when she needed to go to the bathroom. The medical staff brought food for her to eat and so did the rest of Team 7 when they were present. She didn't have the heart to go to Sarutobi's funeral or leave the boy alone. Together, they slept side by side for nearly an entire month, after years worth of loneliness. He was now the most important man in her life.

"That Hyuga girl wasn't mad at me at all when she came by." She pursed her lips. "I guess she realized you and I weren't like that." Humming, she tilted her head. "Maybe when you're older, and she still hasn't said it. At that point, fair is fair: how long can you expect someone to stay a virgin for, much less a man?"

The pulse she felt in his wrist was her only answer.

"...I know what it's like to love someone and to want them to love you back so much, even when you don't really think you do. You and I didn't grow up with that. We were alone right from the beginning. How could you know what love is without any family? Sure, some people make you feel warm, but it's not like they'd strive to do anything for you as much as they would for their parents or brothers or siblings."

A slight chill grew in the wind.

"They don't realize what they have most of the time. I felt so jealous and angry when I saw them together. I acted out, like a total bitch. Did that with everyone until I met Orochimaru." Her grip tightened on his hand for a moment. "When...they hold you even when you hit them, it's like they're taunting you by seeing what you are: a kid that just wants to be loved. He was everything to me after a few of those." She laughed. "I even tried gouging out Kakashi's Sharingan when he showed interest in it. Grabbed his dick, felt like I was grabbing a kid's wrist. Tried asking him out after that, but it didn't go anywhere: I was the crazy guys didn't want to stick their dick in then." She blinked. "...I guess trying to gouge their dead friend's eye out for good girl points isn't a good sign either."

Naruto's steadily rising and falling chest was an affirming sight.

"We have no idea what good relationships look like because we barely have any to start with. No boundaries, no norms, no role models, and chances are no friends. You weren't good enough for your parents, so why would anyone want you?" She flinched. "Sorry, that's my bullshit talking. I admire you for having the balls to do what took me forever: getting over yourself. You were trying so hard and doing so well… But you were doing it for someone else?" She shrugged. "I don't know. Old Man Hokage was important to you too. Couldn't believe it either, but he took me back after everything I did. Maybe it was my fault? I made him think it was possible for Orochimaru to come back too."

The boy's condition remained the same.

She pressed her forehead protector against the bed. "I don't know what I'm doing. I feel pathetic for clinging on to you and other people, but isn't not wanting to be alone normal? You're a kid, and I let you touch my tits out of some half-thought whim that misled you into thinking you might have a chance. What the fuck is wrong with me?" She clenched her eyes shut. "Is that even my issues talking or a legitimate question at this point? What I did to Jugo… Oh fuck, he was just a kid, and I used to rip his eyes out for shits and giggles. Used that healing ability of his as an excuse for it." Her hand tightened on his wrist for a moment but stopped. "Am I behaving well for a good reason or because that's just what the old man praised? You asked me if it was for the Hyuga boy's sake or yours when I asked if you were going to kill him… You were asking me if I really cared about you."

His hospital bed absorbed her tears.

"Well, I do. I really do. This is the first time I've ever had anything like this with anyone instead of just being the hopelessly faithful apprentice. I really don't want to fuck this up with anything romantic or by making you think we're a thing. All of that flirty shit I do is just to make you want to stay. Kind of like why you poke at everyone: you want to see if they care about you or have any weaknesses." Her grip tightened only a little. "So, please, wake up. I want to be the one who holds you in their arms and tells you it's okay. I want to share smiles and laughs with you, so you don't have to do them alone. I love you, Naruto, and I can't stand seeing you like this."

It would take a little more time for him to wake. There was much left for his mind process and to come to terms with. When he woke up, many things would change. He learned the truth in the worst way possible. Few could help him now.

AN: Very dialogue and feels heavy, I know. Sorry if I hit any sore spots. This was hard for me to write as I kept going along. It's 11:59 in my time as I type this. Made it just in time.

This is my Christmas gift to you guys.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of a review or PM.