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Uzumaki Naruto, eh? by Lethe

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Story notes: I'll start this off by thanking Nalina at deviantart for a nifty bit of fan art and and BelleDragon for putting it in her sig at Narutofan. It was the main inspiration for this little bit fanfiction. Since this will only be a few chapters long (2 or 3 at the most) I look forward to any comments or criticisms you choose to share...and it is still true that I don't own nuthin
Chapter notes: I've wondered as I read through the Manga just what would possess someone to do what Yondaime did...and since Naruto's parents now have actual names...This just sort of wandered in

Hope you enjoy
Uzumaki Naruto, eh?
by achitka


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What's the boy's name?" the frog next to him asked.

Lost in concentration the Fourth Hokage looked away from the scroll he was working on. "Name?"

"Surely you weren't planning to do this and leave him without a name...Minato?"

"Name..." The infant on the cushion nearby let out a yawn then began to cry and Minato set down his brush. Reaching out to the infant, he was momentarily surprised by how strongly the infant gripped his proffered finger. The baby quieted as he watched him with eyes bluer than his own and Minato thought, Yes, you need a name...a strong one to match your will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The medic says it only for a few weeks until the baby is strong enough to make it on its own," Minato said as he looked out the window of the small house on the outskirts of Konoha.

"It's your fault I'm stuck here, you bastard."

Minato looked back at the woman in the bed nearby and grinned as the baby picked that moment to roll and she twisted a little to find a more comfortable position. "As I recall, Kushina, you were a willing participant in the endeavor. It's still hard to believe that in less than a month, I'll be someone's father."

"I know what you mean, and I don't mind really. I'd hang upside down if I thought it would help. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"I had the worst kind of premonition last night..."

"Is that why you've been drinking tea all day? Reading your tea leaves again?" Minato sat on the bed and rested a hand on her swollen belly as he leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Do you remember what you told me your leaves said about me?" Kushina didn't answer, but she did blush. "Things are not always what they seem."

"I know I'm being silly, I know that, but I still can't shake this feeling I won't..."

"You're just on edge is all, how about we change the subject to something useful."

"Such as?"

"A name, you must have one or two in mind by now."

"Oh we can't pick out a name for the baby yet."

"And why not?"

"I haven't seen its eyes."

"You are such a difficult woman, Kushina."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of snarling pulled Minato out of his thoughts as his eyes refocused on the baby in front of him. The baby still held his finger but had fallen asleep. So trusting and completely unprepared for what was to come. The baby shivered and Minato picked up the blanket that had fallen off the cushion nearby.

"It can still go wrong, you know," it was the frog speaking again.

"You're a bit of a pessimist, today. Don't worry, I've made provisions, you'll be well cared for," he said as he settled the blanket on the baby, No need for you to be cold while we wait, he thought.

"It's not me I'm worried about."

Another rumble from the nightmare behind him gave Minato pause and he said, "My fate has already been decided. Step one, is now complete."

The frog made no comment and there really wasn't any time to waste since the next step was already underway. After a second glance at the baby, Minato went back to working on the half empty scroll.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iruka pressed his ear as close to the door as he could. He needed to know why the Hokage was there.

"You can say no to this request, I know you have a family, but I'm in need shinobi I've worked with in the past for this."

"All the more reason, Hokage-sama. People are already dying so you can rely on us to do our part as well."

"Thank you, both. Please take these," the Hokage said and Iruka heard the dull clank of a pair of kunai being laid on the table, "Meet at the assembly point in 30 minutes."

Though Iruka heard his father's answer, the meaning didn't set in. Carefully sliding the door open, Iruka was surprised to see the Hokage gone and his parents removing the weapons from their leg holsters and replacing them with the kunai they'd just been given. They were a lot bigger than the ones he used at the academy for practice and both had some kind of writing on the handles.

"I'm going to check on Iruka," he heard his mother say and Iruka quickly slid the door shut and scrambled back to his bed. Something was wrong, his mother hadn't come to check on him since he was five and Iruka struggled to keep his breathing even as she came into the room. Thinking him asleep she gently arranged his blankets as his father stepped quietly through the door. Sitting on the bed next to him, she kissed his cheek while his father stroked his hair, then with out a word they slipped back out the door and were gone.

An overwhelming feeling of panic paralyzed Iruka and he kept his eyes squeezed shut. His shoulders shook and he pulled his pillow over his head. A loud crash in the distance startled him as his eyes flew open and he fell off the bed in his haste to reach the window. Something was definitely wrong and determined to find out where his parents went; Iruka took off into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Minato dipped his brush into a small jar of blood and carefully traced out various symbols on the stomach of the still sleeping infant. This was proving difficult, since the baby would often kick unpredictably between brush strokes. Examining the completed image, Minato compared it to his notes and decided it was done enough.

"Step two, complete," Yondaime murmured.

"So, you figured one out yet?" The frog sounded bored. Minato ignored the question and turned his attention to the candles set up around the cushion, marking each with a separate symbol.
"Well?" the frog croaked.

After lighting each, Minato favored the frog with a withering glance as he gazed again at the baby and answered, "No."

"It's not like you to waste time like this."

"It's not like you to be so chatty, but I suppose I'd best get on with the next step." Picking up his ink and brush Minato continued his work on the scroll in earnest. Half an hour was not much time and though he tried to ignore it, his mind wandered back to earlier in the evening. He was beginning to doubt he'd come up with a proper name for his son in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is she alright?"

"I'll tell you honest, she had a rough go of it, the boy was breech. We got him turned the right way, but the cord was wrapped tight 'round his neck...I've never seen a baby so blue that weren't dead."

"What are you saying..."

"I'm saying, she and the boy are lucky to be alive, I thought for sure we were going to lose them both. As to that, Yondaime, you look a bit beaten down yourself, are you alright?"

"I too am lucky to be alive, but am well enough for now. Can I see her?"

"As long as you promise to keep it short. It's still touch and go so she'll need to rest if she's to recover, but don't mention what I said about him being blue, it will only upset her."

Minato nodded and opened the door to the darkened room only far enough to poke his head inside. Kushina was awake, propped up with pillows her head was lowered, as she gently coaxed the infant in her arms to eat. It was unlikely she was unaware of the baby's potential problems; it showed in her face, as her expression was pensive almost wary. That quickly disappeared when he opened the door the rest of the way and Kushina saw him. She schooled her features into one of her made up smiles, that he so disliked. A distant explosion caused them both to turn their heads toward the window and Minato stepped all the way into the room, closing the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired," Kushina said.

The resignation in her voice surprised Minato, it was unlike her to sound so sad and defeated. Her gaze remained locked on the window and Kushina shifted the baby closer to herself as Minato approached the bed. He paused as he passed a small table with a tray of dishes and immediately noticed the teacup, carefully set aside from the rest of the dishes on the tray. It was turned down, Damned leaves. It rested on a napkin and Minato tipped the cup.

Normally he didn't put much stock in such things, but the swirling pattern of the leaves reminded him of something he'd been trying to work out for the past few hours and was so unusual, Shishou..? he thought. The remaining liquid stretched itself from the outer edge toward the middle stopping just short of the leaves in a series lines that reminded him of something familiar, but it was what he saw at the very center held his attention. The leaves had twisted themselves into what looked a lot like one demonic eye. Is that even possible? Minato wondered. As he stared at that eye, the beginnings of an idea bloomed in his head.

Tapping the cup, he set it back in its former position and pondered while he rounded the bed. Another slightly less distant explosion shook the tiny house and Kushina's tentative smile fell back into that thoughtful expression Minato noticed when he came in. Time was not his friend in this, but he sat on the bed next to her anyway. He stroked the infant's wispy blond hair, trying not to disturb the baby that had now fallen asleep. "He's beautiful, Kushina," he said and when Kushina's head dropped, he thought, She definitely knows. Minato lifted her chin and was surprised to find her skin unusually cold as he gently brushed aside the hair from her eyes and said, "He's perfect just the way he is. Thank you."

A roar echoed in the distance and Kushina's sadness instantly turned to anger. "Minato, I know you have to leave, but I want you to take the baby with you."

It was an odd request considering the chaos outside, but Kushina was a creature of her instincts and more often than not, she was right. "Why?"

"It knows we're here."

"How could it know something like that?"

"It just does." Her tone was flat and Minato noticed her attention had returned to the teacup. Looking down at the newborn asleep in her arms, she traced one of the baby's eyes with her finger and Kushina said to the infant, "This isn't exactly how I imagined this day would be, little one, but I am glad you and I were able to finally meet."

"If we're leaving then you are coming along too, Kushina, right now."

"No."

"What? Why are you picking now to be difficult, woman. We can't stay here, it's too dangerous." Minato froze as he pulled the blanket back. The bed sheets were soaked with blood, a lot of it and as he turned to call the medic, Kushina stopped him, "Don't Minato, it's too late for that now."

"But you're-"

"I'm...I'm happy."

"Happy?"

"I know. It sounds strange, doesn't it? But since I had that premonition, I got to thinking of that story you told me...you know which one..." Kushina faltered as she carefully tended to the newborn. Her movements were slow and deliberate; it was becoming more apparent she was having trouble keeping herself upright. "I told myself if you came then it was meant to be this way...but I've had doubts...doubts of how this could possibly work out for the good." When Kushina finished tending to the boy, she wrapped him carefully in a blanket and offered him up to his father and said, "But even with those doubts...if there's a chance...even a small one for our son to do more than just survive..."

This was not something he'd considered and if he were to do what she was suggesting...if he used that jutsu and sealed up the fox demon within this baby, there were no guarantees the baby would survive the process. He already had serious doubts that jutsu would work at all in dealing with the kyuubi, but sealing it in a person might just make things worse. Jinchuurikki were never treated well and there would be no way for him to know, since this jutsu would definitely kill him. Minato's thoughts turned back to those eight spidery lines on the napkin and he looked again at the baby.

Maybe if...hnn, the boy really was too small a container for so much monster and Minato realized his brain was already working out a way to modify the necessary hakke seal to suppress the kyuubi's chakra, but would it be enough? An extra step would surely be required, but what?

As if reading his thoughts she said quietly, "He is your son...but you are the Yondaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. It falls to you to do what is necessary to fulfill your vow and protect the village. Even at this cost..." The baby slept on and Kushina's anger drained from her expression as Minato gingerly took his son from her. Easing back into the pillows, Kushina's smile returned and she said in a sleepy voice, "The only real regret I have...he never opened his eyes for me..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's amazing how much he favors you, Minato," the frog said as it hopped to where the child lay and stared down at him. There was a long moment of silence before the frog said, "You never mentioned what became of the boy's mother."

"She is...at rest with her family," Minato said quietly putting the finishing touches on the scroll.

"I see..." the frog said, "then it is doubly important you name the boy properly."

"Yes, but it will have to wait until we get back, the offensive is about to begin."

"Will there be time?"

"Time enough," Minato said as he lifted the frog and set him on his shoulder. The frog disappeared under his cloak and settled on the middle of his back. The Yondaime Hokage placed five of his special seals in a semi-circle on the floor near the cushion. Sandaime should arrive soon, but if everything went as Minato planned, he'd be back before then. He paused and watched the infant as he slept and Minato was strangely hesitant to set the final stages in motion. And again, Minato wondered if there wasn't some other way he'd overlooked. The frog shifted, reminding the Hokage they needed to get going and Minato sighed as he walked out of the room to do what was needed.
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