Chapter 13- Kushina

A few days ago,

Uchiha Mikoto was still in recovery. Her pregnancy with her second son, Sasuke, had taken a toll on her body. She had endured labor for over 24 hours, and poor Sasuke had come out almost blue in the lips.

Mikoto was unable to get out of bed for weeks following Sasuke's birth, and even now, months later, she found herself somewhat immobile and prone to exhaustion.

The worst part however was her own inability. Sasuke latched, and was eager and hungry like a normal child, but Mikoto could not produce the life sustaining liquid that every baby required, mother's milk. Mikoto, already affected bya particularly nasty post-partum depression fell into an even deeper spiral downwards. Mikoto hated herself and her inability to properly care for her son.

The Uchiha were a prominent clan, and Sasuke was not without milk, but it still gnawed at Mikoto that she was incapable. She felt like she failed in the simplest task a mother can have, and she cried herself to sleep more nights than not. Her husband, Uchiha Fugaku, a man of quiet emotion and eternal support, was by her side the entire time, but he could not help his wife in any meaningful way. He simply watched over her, and suffered with her.

This night was particularly bad. Only a single night had passed since the attack of the Kyuubi, and Fugaku was required elsewhere. Mikoto has alone with Sasuke, as Itachi, who spent every waking moment he could with his mother and younger brother, had already fallen asleep.

The night was moonless, and the Early Autumn chill was apparent, winter was heralded loud and clear.

Mikoto was in the kitchen, Sasuke cradled in her one of her arms. Sasuke was hungry, crying and whimpering. It was times like these when Mikoto felt the worst.

Though she hated every second of it, she took the purchased milk from the refrigerator and started to warm it on the stove. The drying rack by the sink still held the bottle, so she grabbed it a quickly dryed it with a fresh towel.

The milk was starting to come up to temperature, when Mikoto heard a knock at the front door. Mikoto, though ailed by her pregnancy, was still a jonin, and she was on full alert.

At this time of night, inside the clan grounds, who would dare to knock on her door?

She however soon heard.

"Mikoto, it's me, Kushina."

Mikoto quickly walked to the door, with Sasuke still in her arms, and opened it. Uzumaki Kushina, her best friend, was standing at the door, infant Naruto swaddled and clutched to her chest.

Kushina was silently weeping. Her eyes were red and puffy but the tears still came. She had obviously been crying for a long time already.

"Do you have a place for me and Naruto to stay?"

Mikoto hurriedly ushered them in.

"Always Kushina, what happened?"

Kushina shook her head.

"I'll tell you everything in the morning."

Mikoto and Kushina woke up the next morning and they met in the kitchen. Mikoto was carrying Sasuke, and Kushina carried Naruto. Itachi was ever present, and silent as always. He stood behind his mother, his hand grabbing on to the hem of her clothing.

Mikoto quickly slapped his hand.

"She's not that scary, go greet you Aunt. Then please go back to you room. I have business to discuss with her."

Itachi let go and bowed to Kushina before retreating. Kushina only chirped a short laugh. She had been a little too affectionate with Itachi when he was small, and he still held onto that instinctual fear.

Mikoto set down Sasuke in a nearby crib, and Kushina set down Naruto beside him. The two women sat down at a table in the kitchen and the women were silent for a short time. Kushina broke the silence.

"Minato and I are fighting."

"Over what?"

Kushina proceeded to tell Mikoto everything, from his performance of a suicide jutsu to hie plans to seal the kyuubi in Naruto. She even told Mikoto about the mysterious Uzumaki that had saved her from death following the removal of the Kyuubi. Kushina continued.

"And the worst part is that bastard thinks he's right and doesn't even try to understand! He's only talking about responsibility and duty and strength."

Mikoto listened in silence. At this point, her friend needed to vent. Kushina had started crying again, and Mikoto could understand. Kushina's husband, her love, her son's father, had tried to orphan their son and damn him in a single fell swoop. Mikoto stood up and walked around the table. She sat down to the weeping Kushina and hugged her, holding her friend tight.

Childbirth was hard by itself, and Kushina had to deal with so much more at the same time. Mikoto was impressed that Kushina still held herself together as well as she did. Mikoto simply sat there, rubbing her friend's back.

Uchiha Fugaku had been on duty for the past 48 hours as required by his position as the Chief of Police, and he was responsible for pacifying and calming the citizenry in the wake of the Kyuubi attack. It was the hardest part of the job. Enforcing the laws was easy, but building a relationship with the citizens was something that he, along with most of the Uchiha clan, struggled with.

He got home later in the morning, and when he entered his house, he was surprised to see his wife's friend, Uzumaki Kushina, and her son, in his living room. As soon as he walked in, he gave a quick glance to his wife, Mikoto, who met his eyes. Mikoto explained to him.

"Kushina has some issues she is working out and needs a place to stay; she will be living with us as long as necessary."

Mikoto's brisk and clipped tone brooked no argument from Fugaku; his wife never spoke to him like this unless it was important. Furthermore, he was content to allow his wife free reign over the house. He had bigger reponsibilities and was content to leave his stronghold in his wife's capable hands.

Fugaku quickly noticed that he had seemingly interrupted the pair of women's conversation. Though he wanted nothing more than to sleep in the comfort of his own bed, it seemed that he would have to wait a little longer. He called out into the house.

"Itachi, I have time, do you wish to train?"

"Of course father."

Itachi nearly instantly appeared in front of his father, eager to impress, and chomping at the bit for every single possible chance of advancement. Itachi followed his father out of the house towards the Uchiha training grounds. Perhaps this would be the first day that he would meet his father's standards for the Great Fireball Jutsu.

Kushina and Mikoto continued to talk long into afternoon. Though initially Mikoto was supporting Kushina, Mikoto slowly started to reveal her own problems and worries. Kushina reciprocated the support she had received. They were friends through thick and thin.

Later that night, before Itachi and Fugaku had returned, both Naruto and Sasuke started to cry from hunger. Naruto was quick to latch, and Kushina was just as quick to produce milk. Her mother had once told her that the Uzumaki genes made them some of the best mother's in the world, but Kushina had always thought that her mother was bragging. However, Kushina, in her current state, was forced to agree. Naruto was a voracious eater, but she never seemed to run out.

She fed Naruto and looked on at Mikoto, going through her ritual as she removed milk from the fridge, warmed it on the stove, and bottle fed Sasuke.

Kushina couldn't hold her tongue in front of the scene.

"Mikoto..."

Kushina had hesitation all over her face, but she steeled herself and pressed on.

"Do you want me to feed Sasuke?"

Mikoto was but on her back foot by the question, and during her shock, the milk on the stovetop was scalded. Kushina continued.

"I can't really thank you enough for all the support, and this is one of the few ways I can help you right now. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but I figured..."

Mikoto interrupted Kushina with a hug.

"Please Kushina..."

Mikoto trusted very few people in this world completely, but Kushina was one of them. And even if it hurt Mikoto to think that Sasuke would be fed from the breast of another mother, what was best for Sasuke took priority.

Kushina was already seated, with Naruto placed to her chest, so Mikoto walked over and handed her most precious treasure over to her friend.

Kushina fed the two bosom brothers as looked on.

When Fugaku returned late that night, he was much more tired than he was in the morning. He had hoped that Itachi would be satisfieed with a shorter training session, but the child was never satisfied. Even after not eating an entire day, Itachi still wanted to practice late into the night, his stomach rumbling. Fugaku was almost worried about what drove his son to such lengths.

Fugaku slowly trudged into his home. He was bone weary. His wife greeted him at the door with a big smile and his youngest son in her arms. She held Sasuke out to his father.

Fugaku would never say no. He took Sasuke into his arms and gazed in love at his second son. Sasuke was growing well, and that was all that Fugaku would ever hope for.

Fugaku held Sasuke in a single arm and with the other, pointed a finger out. Sasuke naturally reached up and grabbed onto his father's finger with both hands and babbled. Fugaku was weary. Fugaku was sore. Fugaku was sleepy, but he would never tire of this.

While Fugaku played with Sasuke and walked around the house, Mikoto disappeared to the living room and drug Kushina back with her. Kushina was holding Naruto, and giving Mikoto a clueless look.

Fugaku quickly looked up at his wife, tearing his eyes away from Sasuke. Mikoto stood in front of her best friend and opened her arms.

"May I please hold Naruto, Kushina?"

Kushina, with the smallest doubt and unease that a mother could never rid herself of passed Naruto over to Mikoto. Mikoto rocked the child and cooed at him while walking towards Fugaku.

Mikoto stood face to face with Fugaku and commanded him.

"Other arm."

And she held out Naruto to the Uchiha.

Fugaku slowly took Naruto into his free arm and stood there, holding the two babies.

Mikoto continued.

"In one arm, you hold our son Sasuke, and in the other is his bosom brother Naruto. We are going to be his godparents."

Kushina was shocked.

"Mikoto... you don't have to..."

But Mikoto waved her off.

"If you will give the strength of your own body to support our son in his weakest state, the least we can do is support Naruto for the rest of his life. Naruto will never be an orphan as long as I and Fugaku still draw breath,"

Kushina tried to reject.

"But Minato said that he wants Jiraiya-sensei to be Naruto's godfather."

Mikoto scoffed.

"The more I hear, the worse it becomes. There is no way in hell that pervert is going to godfather Naruto. Please let me do this Kushina; I won't be able to rest easy otherwise."

Kushina broke down in tears and hugged Mikoto. Fugaku bore his normal stoic face, but inside, he was reeling.

Somehow or another, he had gained a godson, and much more than that, he was now the godfather of the Hokage's son. His mind started swirling with the political repercussions.

His wife was usually one with sense, but it seems that her emotions had gotten the better of her this time, or more accurately, Mikoto wanted to succumb to her emotions and act selfishly.

The political ramifications of this were immense. To bind the son of the Uchiha to the son of the Hokage was double-edged sword.

It all depended on how Minato would react.

For now though, Fugaku needed to sleep on it.

The next morning, everyone in the house was awake, and Kushina fed the two babies before joining Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi at the dining table. Kushina spoke first.

"Mikoto, Fugaku-senpai, I can't explain how much your support means to me right now."

Mikoto reached over to hug Kushina once again, and Fugaka replied.

"Think nothing of it."

Itachi however wasn't convinced.

"Will this really be okay, father?"

Fugaku frowned. He could never read his son. Was Itachi merely concerned that Kushina was caring for Sasuke while remembering his own torment at her hands? Something about the child suggested not. His dark eyes were too intelligent, and his gaze too even. Fugaku sometimes wondered if the soul of an old man dwelled within Itachi. Itachi was almost definitely thinking about the political ramifications that had kept Fugaku from sleeping well.

'Probably. Itachi, probably."

The four of them ate breakfast slowly and quietly while Naruto and Sasuke took a nap in a nearby cradle. The two of them had only been together for a short time, but they seemeed almost insperable and Kushina and Mikoto, to the sheer delight of both of them, often found their sons holding hands and were enthralled by their cuteness.

A loud crash and yell broke the comfortable silence from outside the house.

"KUSHINA!"

Fugaku instantly disappeared from the table while Mikoto and Kushina both cringed slightly. Minato had finally come, and they were dreading the interaction.

Fugaku reappeared in the courtyard outside his house, where to no surprise, the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, stood before him. Fugaku spoke first.

"Hokage-sama, what bring's you uninvited to my humble-

"Cut the shit, Fugaku! Where is my wife?"

Fugaku bore a slight frown and his face was impossilby grim.

"Even the Hokage cannot come and go as he pleases in the Uchiha Clan's grounds."

"I don't think this place can bear our clash, so just tell me already!"

Fugaku agreed, and took a step back.

"It's true, I have granted Uzumaki Kushina and her son asylum. However, I am under no compulsion to allow you to meet her or her son if she does not wish for it."

Minato was in no mood to play games. Shikaku had ripped the wool from his eyes. Minato was so focused on protecting Konoha and his son that he had forgot that Naruto was Kushina's son as well.

When he first realized it, it was like the glass around him had shattered and his normal confidence had turned to ashes and salt in his mouth.

He realized the immensity of his betrayal. He had sacrificed the most important person in Kushina's life to an excruciating road of loneliness and pain.

In Kushina's eyes, he might be Naruto's greatest enemy. He remembered back to what she thought were her final words. She had made him promise that he would spoil Naruto rotten.

And what had he done instead? Kushina had confided in Minato that the day the Kyuubi was sealed in her was the worst day of her life, and he had tried to inflict that same fate on her son.

Back in the house, Kushina stood up, grabbed Naruto from the crib, and started walking towards the front door.

Mikoto tried to stop her.

"You don't have to confront him, Kushina. Fugaku will not permit him in, and he would not dare to break in either."

Kushina shook her head.

"The conversation has to happen eventually. Its time to rip the bandage off."

Kushina walked out into the courtyard while holding Naruto, and Fugaku and Minato both looked at her.

She didn't say a word and looked at Minato; she expected him to say something.

He would try to persuade her again.

He would ask her to look a the big picture.

He would talk about how Naruto could handle it.

Well, she was sick and tired of hearing it. Everything sounded like an excuse.

Minato was used to putting the village above himself, above his own interests.

He would sacrifice himself for the village, but the issue was obvious.

He considered Naruto more an extension of himself than a person of his own.

And thus, he was willing to sacrifice him for Konoha.

Kushina was immensely unwilling. Konoha would burn before she gave up her son.

She was expecting more excuses, so she was little surprised when Minato wordlessly walked over to her.

She met his eyes, and there was something just a little off about them. She scanned her memories to try to place it.

She remembered with horror. Minato had this same exact look when he left to fight Iwagakure. He was ready to die, and his determination was set.

Kushina's mind was running at full tilt, could Minato be resorting to brute strength? Was he going to force Naruto and her to return? Was he going to take Naruto?

She held the infant a little tighter to her chest, and started to rouse her chakra. Minato had turned into an unrecognizable bastard, and she wouldn't let this man touch her child.

So when Minato stopped a few feet in front her of her, she was surprised.

Kushina barked out a harsh question.

"What do you want?"

Minato flinched under her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

Kushina was just getting madder.

"You're sorry? That's it?

What are you even sorry about?"

Minato was trying to meet her eyes, but mainly looked down at his own feet in shame.

"I was wrong about everything.

The Kyuubi, you, Naruto.

Everything.

I'm sorry."

Kushina held her baby close to chest, protecting the infant.

"Well that isn't going to fucking cut it!

Do you even understand what you tried to do to our son?"

Minato looked up with tears in his eyes.

"I do, please trust me, I do.

I made some really big mistakes Kushina, but please.

Please let me make it up to you and Naruto.

I'll do anything."

Kushina was still boiling over. All the emotions she had been keeping to herself started to flow out.

She had always had that bad habit of speaking before thinking.

"What makes you think that you even deserve to be in Naruto's life at this point?

You tried to orphan him and turn him into a fucking jinchuuriki of all things!

Naruto would be better off without you!"

Minato's eyes were unwaveringly staring into Kushina's. His face was set in a grimace, and the tugging at the corners of his mouth belied his pain.

He spoke, but it came out more like a prayer, a plea.

"Kushina, you don't mean that..."

Kushina's hard eyes looked back into his.

"Maybe I do."

Minato collapsed onto the ground, kneeling in front of his wife and son.

The tears were flowing freely from his eyes, now a shattered crystal blue.

Kushina was starting to calm down, and she was more than capable of seeing the remorse, guilt, and despair in her husband's eyes.

She couldn't bear to inflict such feelings on him, but Minato had to learn, and this was his opportunity.

As he knelt there, his eyes were desperately reaching out for any sign from Kushina.

She could no longer bear to look at his pain, and she set her mouth in a hard line and looked away as her own tears started to form.

That was her mistake.

Minato was silent.

Kushina gathered her breath before speaking.

She had cut him down, and it was time to build him back up.

She would always pick up his pieces, and she would always build him back bigger, better, and stronger.

"Look, Minato..."

Minato closed his eyes and shuddered as he took a deep breath before opening them back up again and interrupting Kushina.

"I am the worst father in history."

With a flick of his wrist, a three-pronged kunai with the seal of the Flying Thunder God appeared in his hands.

He raised the knife up in both hands, and before anyone could react. slammed the knife hilt deep into the left side of his abdomen and tensed his frame in preparation of ripping the knife across and disemboweling himself.

Uchiha Fugaku was the first to react. As soon as the weapon came out, he was on guard, but he never could have expected the current events would unfold.

As one of the strongest shinobi in the village, he was fast. Not as fast as the fourth Hokage though.

The Fourth Hokage had already slammed the knife into himself by the time that Fugaku made it to his side. The Hokage was immediately critically injured, so Fugaku was able to knock him out with a chop to the back of the neck.

However, most of the damage had already been done, and though Minato could not complete his ritualistic suicide, he already sported a near fatal stab wound.

Fugaku immediately fired the emergency flare he always kept and started to administer first aid to the Hokage.

Kushina stood there with a look of horror on her face before collapsing to her knees. She started to whisper to herself.

"No, no, no, no, this isn't happening, no, no it's not..."

Her face was twisted and she was shaking her head from side to side, eventually shutting her eyes and pretending not to see.

Fugaku cried out.

"Mikoto, get Kushina back inside NOW!"

Mikoto came out as fast as she could and only stopped for a split second at the scene before her, before she grabbed the frozen Kushina and dragged her and her son back into the house and out of vision. By the time she reached the door of the house, Kushina had already fainted.

Fugaku continued to administer first aid, and he gazed at the flare burning bright above him.

Shit... I hope someone with medical training gets here fast enough.