Chapter 1
It is not the first time that the people around him made it clear how much they dislike him.
He knows it will happen over and over again
The glares and insults thrown at him burned into his memory. Even as he reaches his apartment, the events of today spiral in his mind. Naruto lets himself fall on top of his bed without changing his clothes or caring for his empty stomach. He can't forget the glares, the harmful words, the way they avoid looking at him directly. Today some petty teens tossed stones. After coming out of the academy, after his teacher scolded him for something he doesn't understand no less
The small golden haired boy clutches his pillow with all his strength.
His face pressed firmly into the material.
He wants the tears to stop. The memories to be tucked far back into his mind, so he won't have to think about it any more. But every time the wind pushes against the window he flinches. Every time he hears a voice outside on the street his body tenses up.
Naruto is scared, can't ignore the shaking that ripples through his body with every breath he manages to get past his hiccups.
But when did crying ever help him?
It will subside at some point. it always does. He will fall asleep and wake up with a dull headache as the only reminder of his emotional turmoil. Drawing his knees closer to his body he really hopes that would happen soon.
Because his eyes simply won’t stop to burn and his mind is so loud he would press his hand over his ears if he had any hope that would help.
Just for a moment he feels like there are more than his own thoughts. Something deep and rumbling tries to fuel his sadness with anger. Rage deep in the back of his mind that is too strong to be his own. Upon realizing Naruto lets a whimper escape his lips, his body burns up. Like fire erupting from his stomach that cascades through his whole body, before it was sucked back in equally forcefully. His belly hurts. He would have checked what was going on, but all the energy left in him is pulled out, till his limbs feel too heavy to move. At least the sleep he so desperately wished for finally comes as he falls unconscious.
///
She is dying.
Cold running through her body, her chakra following her last command. The feeling of her blood running down her stomach long forgotten with the hope Minato would survive. Hoped her baby would at least have his father. But he was right behind her, his heartbeat stuttering against her back.
Then the world, loud and burning around her, narrowed down into silence. The light assaulting her eyes vanished in an instant. Did Minato teleport them? But he isn’t there, it is silent and dark and his weight on her back is gone. Kushina can’t tell what is going on, but her training kicked in before her worries could. Taking deep controlled breaths, she looked around.
A tiny apartment that smelled like wet walls and stall air. Low light from the night outside the window. No screams or noise of a fight. And then her eyes landed on the small blond boy on the bed next to her. His brows furrowed in his sleep, the pillow in his arms pushed tightly against his chest.
Kushina shuffled closer to the bedside, her dress clinging to her stomach with blood that didn’t dry yet, but her body was free from pain, she isn’t bleeding anymore. She lifted her hand, reaching out before her thoughts could catch up to her, carefully running her hand through the small kid's hair. “Naruto?” The question escaped her in a hushed breath. And she knows she is right, can’t tell how her baby grew so old in the few seconds she experienced, but it doesn’t matter.
He is right there, he is alive and well and he is right there, she can't stop herself from reaching out. In the low light she can see his features relaxing with her touch, his breathing turning slower a bit deeper too.
Kushina stayed there, on the side of his bed running her hands through his hair, for who knew how long. Afraid this is a Genjutsu or a simple hallucination, before she moved on from her life. But she doesn’t, can feel her chakra replenishing, her body and senses growing stronger the longer she stays.
This is real.
And doesn’t that throw her mind for a loop? How? What? Questions spiraling in her mind, not fully formulating before another pushed itself into the forefront of her mind. She can think of those questions later, right now she is here and it is real and she can keep her baby safe with everything she got. That is all that mattered, should be all that mattered.
Uzumaki Kushina is more than confused, she is disoriented and exhausted. She can see the red rims of her son's eyes and the tension in his body, never really leaving him.
She is angry.
Cold rage burns through her veins as she takes in her son's state and the room he is sleeping in.
She is a mother first and a shinobi second, but she needs to take in the situation to know what she is working with. Mind made up, she reluctantly leaves her son's side to silently inspect the place he lives in. To her horror it is small, uncared for and way too empty for a child.
The fridge is bare of any food, buzzing into the silence without any care of not being used. The cupboard above her head unfilled as well. Assuming Naruto can't reach those, no one else is. It made her heart twist.
The cupboard on the ground however is filled to the brim with instant ramen and while she understands his love for the food, even she knows it isn't healthy for a growing boy to not eat anything else.
The bathroom is equally disappointing as is the closet inside the room her son is sleeping in. His clothes look worn and a tad bit too small, even those he had on. One look out the window and she suspects that this place is located close to the flower district.
The more she figures out the harder it gets to suppress her boiling anger. After she and Minato …died. And it still doesn't feel real. Someone should be here.
There had been so many. They had friends and family that were supposed to take care of Naruto. ‘Where the fuck is Jiraiya when you needed him? And what the hell is Sarutobi doing? Is that old fart even Hokage again?’ Spiraling in her train of thoughts she doesn't notice the child on the bed behind her waking up.
“W-who are you? What do you want here?”
His voice is laced with fear and stubborn resignation. And doesn't that curl around her heart like a vice grip?
As she turns around she can see him trembling slightly in the dark. Blue eyes fixed on her uncertain.
An unfamiliar figure in his home, at night, he has every right to be scared. Smiling softly she raises her hands and kneels down, making herself smaller, less of a threat.
“Hello Naruto, my name is Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina.” And while his eyes go wide in recognition of their family name, he doesn't seem to know her. She will punch Sarutobi right through his office wall if she gets the chance to.
“You have the same name as me…” His mind must be racing a mile per minute, but he keeps his questions to himself, still clutching his pillow like a barrier between himself and her.
“Do you know who your parents are?" She asks softly, just to see a frown and narrowed eyes directed at her. If she could just scoop him up into a hug.
“I don’t have any. Demons don’t have parents.” He whispers, but Kushina is able to understand. ‘ Fuck this. ’ She carefully scoots closer to her son.
Her son who shies away from her, pressing himself into the wall behind him, not knowing his own mother. Closing his eyes his breath picks up when she reaches his bedside.
"Naruto." She says softly. "Naruto, please look at me." And Kushina has never been known to have much patiencs, but right in this moment she channels all of Minato's calm demeanor as she waits for Naruto to open his eyes.
His soft blue eyes, that look so much like his fathers and hers combined.
"Of course you have parents." She reassures. "And me and your father love you very much, I am so sorry that I am so late to tell you this."
She grinned and reached a hand out stopping herself before petting his hair, not wanting to overwhelm him but feeling the need to give something. Right now she wants nothing more than to scoop him up in a tight hug, but it is his decision how much he believes her and how much he is willing to reach out.
Teary eyes stare at her and flicker to her outstretched arm for a moment.
“Really?”
“Really, ‘ttebane.”
That is the moment he brakes. Jumping straight out of his bed towards Kushina. She catches him with ease embracing her son fully, holding him close for all intent and purpose to never let him go.
His arms wrap around her neck, his legs around her waist he burrowes his head against her shoulder just the way he did with the pillow before. Small sobs escaping every other second.
Kushina sits down on the bed with her son in her lap, running her fingers through his hair until his breathing evens out.
“I have a mum.” He mumbled into her clothes. A chuckle runs through her body.
“Yes.”
“I really have a mum.” He repeated.
"Yes, you do.”
“And she is here.”
“I am here.”
She could and would do this forever if he needs it.
After a while repeating the same things over and over he pushes back a bit to look at Kushina. He looks so much like Minato. But his face is round and soft like hers was when she was his age.
“You are not lying to me?”
" I am not lying."
“And you won’t leave me again.” Kami, her son is too precious for her heart.
“Never.” She promises.
For the first time this night her son smiled small and timid at first, before breaking out into a bright sunshine grin and yes, that is her smile. She hugs him closer again.
“Good." His voice is slightly muffled.
The rumble of his stomach and his yawn that follows make Kushina chuckle.
“How about something to eat and then a bit more sleep? We can talk tomorrow.” And take care of healthy food as well. “Do you like ramen? I have lot's of the best ramen in the village.” His eyes glint excitedly, his arms spread wide at the declaration .
“Of course, ramen is the best.” She answers sagely, nodding to herself.
"Especially Ichiraku's" They say at the same time. Followed by soft laughter.
She knows Naruto wants to ask a bunch of questions, can see the nervous energy buzzing in his every move. So did she. But sleep is more important right now. So they eat, she forces him to brush his teeth and swap his clothes before tucking him into bed.
Before closing his eyes, he reaches out, clutching her hand with a careful questioning look, as if to make sure she didn’t disappear, but afraid he isn't allowed to hold on. She just squeezes his hand, settling next to his bed, ready to stay awake the entire night watching over him.
He fell asleep shortly after.
///
The next morning, a dreading conclusion settles in her mind.
After Naruto wakes up they talk. Naruto reasonably wants to know more about his parents, but she puts that on hold. With a promise to tell him everything he wants to know after Naruto told her more about his own life. That made the young boy giddy, he eagerly exclaims that he is already six and would become seven soon and that he is going to the ninja academy to become a great Hokage.
A grin forms on her lips, she tries to not think about how small he is, that he doesn't look like a six year old and that she missed so much of his childhood already.
He kept going, telling stories about shadows that protected him and that he learned to avoid them when he wanted to pull pranks. She laughed at that, her son was impressive. And while he rambled on, Kushina could fathom what was going on. Knows he must be talking about ANBU's that are following him. But also knows he is hiding something, leaving large parts of his daily life out.
If he was never told who his parents are, so was no one else in this village. Seeing his room and listening to Naruto, she understands. He is alone, no one to take care of him. Not any longer, but for six years no less. And assuming the village knew he was the Jinchuriki, but not that he was the Yondaime's son, she could interpret how they treated him.
Hell, she knows how she was treated after arriving in Konoha. At least she was able to protect herself back then. Was older and had a village and family that stood behind her back home. At least in the beginning.
“Naruto, who is taking care of you? Who do you go to if you need help?” She dreads the answer, sees the boy slumping a bit where he is sitting in front of his own kitchen table.
“Jiji comes by from time to time.” From his earlier stories she knows he means Sarutobi.
“Anyone else?” He shakes his head.
“How often does he come here?” His hands started to fidget with the hem of his shirt, not sure if he should tell her. “Naruto.” He looks up to her.
“I am not mad, I just want to know.” Well, she also wants to figure out who she needs to beat up and if she should keep them alive. The list gets longer every time her son reveals something new, but never mentions any of the people that are supposed to watch him.
“Once a month.” He looks ashamed, like it was his fault no one checked up on him.
Kushina suppresses the urge to go right now and murder her former friends, instead scooting over to Naruto. She picks him up, carefully cradling him in her arms. He reaches out, grabs her dress to hold onto. “Do you like Konoha?” That question visibly surprises him, his head snapping up to look at her.
An idea settles within her. Minato had loved his village and she always respected that. She learned to love it as well, but it isn't her home, not without her family here.
And it obviously isn't Naruto's home either.
“I don’t know.” He mumbles. She really needs to do something about his insecurity. One step at a time.
“Does it feel like home? Like you wanna stay here forever?”
“I wanna be Hokage.” He bursts out without thinking. Kushina waits, till the blond starts to fidget again.
“What does home mean?”
And wow, if she thought he broke her heart the past couple hours talking, he completely shatters it with this simple question. Not wanting him to see her distress she keeps a small smile on her lips.
“How about I show you? Not here, but in our home village?”
And it shouldn’t be so easy, he shouldn’t be so desperate to leave this place.
His eyes nearly glow when he looks up to her.
Blue seas excited and giddy and so hopeful she wishes he would never stop showing this expression.
“We have a village?”
“We had, the Uzumakis are the leading clan from Uzushio. It was destroyed a long time ago.” The light in his eyes dimes a bit.
“But I am sure we could build it back up. As long as Uzumakis are in Uzushio the land itself will help us.” Her hand runs through his hair, patting his head while telling more about her hometown.
“It is beautiful, the ocean and land combined in peace. The people of Uzushio were masters of Fuinjutsu, I am sure some places are still standing thanks to the strong barriers.”
She sees he wants to ask, but is holding back to not interrupt.
“We will find other Uzumakis, those that survived, and people that love the land as much as I do. I can teach you all about Fuinjutsu and what it means to be an Uzumaki.”
She keeps rambling on, explaining the beauty of Uzushio, how the land itself has a sense of being alive and is living with its people in harmony.
Her son is all but drawn into what she tells him, not once losing his focus.
She thinks she can build it back up. That it will be a better place for Naruto and herself. The consequences of taking Konoha's Jinchuriki be damned. They will have to find her first and then take him out of her cold dead hands if they want him back.
And knowing her home, the lands of Uzushio, the waves and whirlpools will not let anyone unwelcome reach them once she brings the barriers back up. It took multiple villages to reach them the last time and it will take more after Kushina put hers and Minato's knowledge into protecting what was hers.
‘If they didn’t want him to leave, they should have treated him better.’
They keep talking after that. Naruto talks about the academy, about ramen and sometimes feels safe enough to tell her how he was treated. Not often, he tries to make his memories seem happy, but she encourages him to be honest. He opens up bit by bit while they talk till he is emotionally exhausted. Kushina then tells him more about Uzushio and when he decides that he wants to experience it for himself she changes the topic. Naruto listens with admiration while she talks about Minato, wants to know everything she can tell him about his dad.
Makes a face when she describes how Minato would cook in a bright pink apron for her while she was pregnant and listens with stars in his eyes when she talks about the Hiraishin.
In her mind, she makes a plan on how to leave without being noticed. Naruto is being watched every second of his life and she could just hope no one realized her appearance so far.
Since she hasn't felt any ANBU getting closer than to patrol the place and no one stormed into the room to subdue her. ‘Well, they could try if they wanted.’
She assumes her existence is unknown so far.
As much as she wants to make a show out of this, she can't risk Konoha stopping them. Kushina will need to go against her nature and do this as quietly as possible. They will leave at night. She just needs to gather a few things before they can go.
That evening she created a Kage Bunshin . Naruto is eating ramen, again because she didn’t have the time to get anything better, and watches the clone with glowing eyes.
“That’s so cool, I wanna do that too.”
A fond smile stretches over Kushina's lips, similar to the Bunshins.
“I’ll teach you everything you want to know once we are at home, Naru-chan.”
He beams at that.
The Bunshin used a Henge to change appearance and Shunshined towards Kushina and Minato's old house to gather a few scrolls and supplies as well as some of her other belongings.
Their house is still protected by strong barriers, so everything should be unchanged even if she wasn't around the last couple of years.
While she herself helps Naruto pack his few things and makes sure he sleeps a bit before they leave.
“This is not a dream, right? We are going home together?” He blinks sluggishly, trying to keep his eyes open. Kushina sitting next to him on his bed draws circles on his back. “It is not a dream, we are going home.” With that Naruto fell asleep reassured that his mother will wake him when it's time to leave.
The Clone flickers back into existence in the narrow room of the kitchen, places everything she has gathered on the table and dissolves in a silent poof. Now she can start the real work.
///
Finally back in her ninja gear she feels safer, less exposed. Seals tucked away in every other pouch. The weight of her Kunais reassuring. It is 2am when she wakes Naruto. A few minutes later he is fully awake, remembering the situation and grinning up to his mum.
“You look so cool.” He whispers, feeling the need to be quiet, but not able to conceal his awe.
Kushina grins, ruffles his hair and pulls out a set of smaller Shinobi clothing, all black with a traditional green flag jacked just like hers.
Old clothes from Kakashi that Minato had kept when the boy grew out of them. He had been a sentimental idiot like that sometimes. Still a bit too big for him but it will work for the task at hand.
“You’ll look really cool too.” She whispered back.
He changes, gets his backpack and looks around his place. They both made sure he doesn't leave anything important, not that there was much to begin with.
She kneels down catching Naruto's small hands. She explains her plan one last time, since they won’t be able to talk too much till they get far enough away from Konoha's walls.
“I’ll use the seals I attached to our chest to make us nearly invisible. As long as we don’t use chakra or talk no one will notice us. That also means we need to run all the way, silently. I know you can do this sweetheart. If you get tired, use the hand signs I showed you. I’ll carry you”
She pauses, watches his gaze to make sure he understands.
“It’s okay to get tired, Naru-chan. You're young and you will grow strong, stronger than anyone. But till you are, ask me for help if you need it. Understood.” Her eyes show determination and he nods reflecting her look.
Activating the seal she stands again. Forming a single sign she taught him before.
Go.
That night the two Uzumakis left Konoha, unseen and unheard by any. They left with no regret. Left for a place they could call their home.
Unbeknown to them, a week later the Sandaime Hokage nearly had a stroke, the ANBU with the hound mask a mental breakdown and one sly council member a raging fit.