Naruto

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was a mama's boy, born and bred. Cousin Kakashi told him that for the first year of his life, he clung to his mom like his life depended on it, and would start crying the nano-second Kakashi, his dad, or anybody else apart from his mother tried to hold him. So, during that time, his dad had to handle the Uzumaki affairs while his mother focused on training Naruto to behave without her. He did get better, but he never stopped loving his mom more than life itself, and missing her whenever she went away on diplomatic missions. The world may want their Queen Kushina, but Naruto wanted his mom. Of course, it didn't help that his dad and Cousin Kakashi spoke so fondly of her. He loved hearing stories about how she took no nonsense and straight up sucker-punched anyone who dared to insult her or her beloved Minato, but that just added to the pain he felt.

Anyways, the point is, he loved his mom a lot, and he was going to kick someone.
Well, not someone as in anyone random, but quite specifically, the person who made his mother cry.

It was a rarity for her to cry, because she, like Naruto himself (or him like her, I suppose), was a very happy and optimistic person, and she hadn't cried this much since . . . they don't talk about that.

Anyways, for Naruto to walk into his parent's bedroom and find her hugging his dad, bawling into his shoulder while holding a crumpled piece of paper, him rubbing circles on her back, and Cousin Kakashi standing beside them with his head bowed down, was certainly something he didn't expect.

"Hey! What's going on, ya know?!" He yelled. Their attention snapped to him, and his mother quickly broke away from the hug, hastily wiping her eyes.

"Naruto, it's j-just that-" She broke down into tears again. Cousin Kakashi awkwardly lent her his hand, and she took it, squeezing it to what looked like a painful extent while silently sobbing.

"Come here, Naruto." His dad said. Okay, something was definitely wrong. His dad always had a calm voice, but this one sounded kind of, broken. He was getting angrier by the second. Hurting his mom, and his dad? That was basically a death sentence! Nevertheless, he made his way to his dad, an sat down beside him.

"You know how I have parents who have parents?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Well, they are your great-grandparents."

"I know that!" What kind of idiot did his father take him to be?

"Well, your mom also had two grandparents, who are your great-grandparents." His dad's voice seemed to get sadder by the second.

"Okay...?"

"Mito Uzumaki Senju and Hashirama Senju." Naruto's eyes bulged out at that.

"You mean, King Hashirama and Queen Mito?!"

"I mean just that."

"Wait, what's up with 'had'?"

"Well, that's the thing. They're dead." Naruto wanted to drop his jaw at that, but even he knew that that wasn't okay.
"Oh."

"Oh indeed." Minato ruffled Naruto's hair.

"How...did they die?" Naruto asked. He hoped it was because of old age, but it wouldn't be as sad as it was if that were the reason.

"Well, we're not completely sure, but they were found to be impaled with multiple shurikens in their bedroom by Princess Sakura." This time Naruto did drop his jaw. He knew from experience how much shurikens hurt, and it was definitely not a pleasant sight either. It must've been rough for whoever this princess Sakura was to see that.

Mom overheard dad, and started wailing even louder. His dad rubbed her shoulder, and gave Cousin Kakashi a look. Kakashi nodded.
"Come with me, Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Hey, wait! What the hell are you doing?" Naruto yelled, as Kakashi swiftly picked him up and began to leave the room.

"You're going to stay with me while your parents go to Senju City for the funeral. Oh, and mind your tongue." Kakashi stated.

"Wait, who decided I'm not going with mom and dad?!"

"They did."

"No they didn't!"

"We d-did, Naruto." Naruto turned to face his mother. Her eyes were puffy now, but she had stopped crying.

"Why?!"

"Yo-you're the heir to the Uzumaki throne, N-naruto. People will try to kill you if you go with us, you know."

"Won't they try to kill you first?"

"We can defend ourselver Naruto." His dad said. "You can't."

"Are you saying you're too weak to defend me?" A flash of something crossed Minato's eyes as his son said that, but he steeled himself.

"It will be too problematic, and I don't trust you enough to believe that you'll behave yourself, Naruto. This is important for your mom."
"Well if its important for her, its important for me too! I don't care if I get attacked or if you think I won't 'behave myself', I'm going!" Minato started, but Naruto cut him off

"Since I'm the Uzumaki crown prince, shouldn't I know more about the Senjus? My mom's grandfather was a Senju, so was her dad, really. The Senjus are our closest and strongest allies, and I'll be damned if I won't be there when my mom needs us. What about that Sakura girl, huh? She's Granny Tsunade's daughter right? That's means she'll be the crown Princess now. Shouldn't the heirs of the Senju and Uzumaki kingdoms get to know each other, especially since we're supposed to maintain this 'alliance' thingy with them, ya know? Shouldn't I get to know the closest person I have to a sister?!" Naruto sharply inhaled. Going on that rant was worth the oxygen deprivation.

"Naruto, you can't go." Minato said.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm going!"

You're really not in the position to decide that."

"But I told you, I'll behave!"

"And I also told you that you can get attacked, and I'm sure you won't like dying a sad and painful death, would you?"

"If I may intervene, sensei, I think Naruto should be allowed to go. The heiress is his age, and as he already stated, they should get to know each other, and the Senjus might consider it disrespectful and insensitive on our part to not bring the whole Uzumaki royal family along. As for us getting attacked, it's highly unlikely, and although Naruto has some behavioral issues, it seems he's willing to put those aside. He should be exposed to how one behaves with allies and in grievous situations." Kakashi finished. Naruto felt insulted, but he was just trying to help (something that honestly shocked him).

"And anyways! I'll stay by mom's side and help her and you with whatever you need. I promise, no, I swear upon the Uzumaki Kingdom that I will."

Minato gave in. "Fine, but one wrong word and I'll have your title as prince and your Ramen privileges stripped."

"Okay. I'm going to pack my th-" Kushina cut Naruto off, pulling him into a bear hug that honestly hurt, but he'd never tell her that.

"Where do you think you're going? You're staying with me you know, you said you'd stay by my side and help me with whatever I need. Kakashi can go pack your stuff, along with his." Kakashi was shocked. Naruto honestly found it remarkable how much emotion he could show through just one eye.

"I have two questions." Kakashi began.

"Yes?" His dad said.

"Firstly, why am I going? Secondly, why should I pack Naruto's stuff? Doesn't he have 10 maids?"

"Well, Kakashi" Minato said, "Kushina and I have known you for fifteen years, ironically double the years we've known Naruto. So, you're like a son to us, and an older brother to Naruto. Of course you're coming, because you also give the additional perk of being his babysitter. I don't know why she told you to pack Naruto's bags. It's either because you know him better than any of the maids and will know what he wants to keep, or it was to piss you off. I personally think it's the latter."

Kakashi sighed, but went off to pack their things anyway.

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Kushina thanked Shikaku for promising to look after their kingdom while they were away, but Naruto felt irritated by how stoic and curt Shikaku was being when his parents were trying to be friendly. Shikaku's son Shikamaru was also standing with him, outside the gates of the Uzumaki castle, but he was just as dismissive as his father was of their attempts to befriend them, so Naruto ignored him.
Shikaku, however, was going to get a piece of his mind.

"Listen up, you old geezer! You'd better drop this emo ass act and socialize like a normal being, because my parents are trying, and they deserve that much! Oh, and if you don't listen, I'll bite you!" He yelled. Shikaku looked startled, and gave Naruto a disdainful look.

"It's such a drag to deal with idiots like you." Shikamaru drawled. Does it really matter if it's the father I bite or the son? They look the same anyways.
Thinking that, Naruto chomped down on Shikamaru's arm.

"Naruto!" Minato yelled, grabbing Naruto by his collar and dragging him off of Shikamaru, following up with a glare that made Naruto's blood run cold.

"Sorry about that, you know." Kushina embarrassedly said, but to her surprise, Shikaku chuckled lightly, and ruffled Naruto's hair.

"He's a very weird one, but at least he takes no-nonsense and respects his parents." Shikaku then gave a look to Shikamaru, who was shocked at his father's words.

"Thanks for that, Lord Nara." Minato said, as he tossed Naruto into their carriage. Shikaku gave the faintest of smiles, and Shikamaru gave an annoyed eye roll.

"Hey, listen up, geezer junior! I'll come back for you!" Naruto yelled, but sensing another one of his father's glares, said

"Bye! Don't kill anyone, ya know!" That was better, right?

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It had been about an hour, and Naruto could tell that his father was starting to cool off. He was pretending to be angry at his son, despite the fact that he found the whole situation funny, which he was sure Naruto could tell by the upward twitch of his lips. Kushina didn't cry, but he could tell she was trying to keep it together, and silence was her way to do it. Best not to bug her.
Kakashi was the only one who talked to him, and since this was one of the rare occasions that Kakashi wasn't teasing him, scolding him, or silently laughing to double meaning jokes that he thought Naruto didn't understand, Naruto decided to drop the blabbering for now.
"Hey, Kakashi!" Naruto asked.

"That's Sir Kakashi to you, Naruto."

"No it's not! Anyways, tell me, why are we travelling through a forest? Don't we have roads for that?"

"It's because people will target us. I mean, Queen Kushina, King Minato, Crown Prince Naruto and the highest ranked knight, Sir Kakashi? Who'd pass up that assassination?"

"Can't we defend ourselves? The Uzumakis have the most Chakra after all, right?"

"Naruto, we aren't like the Shinobi from hundreds of years ago. We may be strong, but we're not always prepared to fight. Moreover, assassins targeting royals are generally very highly-skilled, so we won't always be able to dodge their attacks either. It's much safer for us to go through the forest route, which is conveniently also shorter."

"Why do we have guards then?"

"To protect us from any remaining attacks. The woods aren't free of animals, and some people who found out about our travel route through Kami knows what means could be around. If you're wondering why we don't have as many guards as we usually do, it's because the Senjus don't like to make a big show of things, and in turn don't like it when other kingdoms do either, and with the whole kingdom grieving, it's most certainly not a bright idea to waltz in with a hundred guards in gold and ruby armor. That's also why we all came together, because normally, nobles or royals travel separately to minimize the damage assassins do to them, since if one of them is discovered, the others will still be safe."

"Okay, I guess."

"What is it Naruto?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, I know you. You would never pass up the opportunity to talk, so tell me."

"I was just thinking of what happened to that Tobirama Senju guy."

"Wh-what about him?" Naruto noted the falter in Kakashi's voice.

"Wasn't he also travelling through these woods when he got captured by the Uchiha?"

"Well, yes."

"He's hella strong, right?"

"Language, Naruto. But yeah.

"So if he got captured, that means we could too." Kakashi didn't respond, but nodded his head.

"Shikamaru said that he was probably being tortured out of his mind, and beaten up everyday. That's gotta suck." Kakashi nodded again.

"I'm not feeling good about this route. What if someone captures us too? I just want mom and dad, and you to be safe, ya know?" Kakashi's eyes softened.

"We will be, Naruto."

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Was Kakashi lying, or was it just his shitty luck?