Date: October 11th, immediately following the end of the Kyuubi's assault on Konoha.
Time: Very early in the morning
"Do you think it's over?" Aiko Kukina – one of the many pregnant women in the village, thanks to the baby boom that had come with era of peace marked by the end of the Third Great Shinobi War and the recent ascension of Minato Namikaze to the position of the Yondaime Hokage – asked aloud in a hushed whisper. "It's been very quiet for so long now…"
"It's either over," Doctor Anastasia Inugami, mother of a two-and-a-half year old and in charge of supervising the very full nursery - which included her one month old daughter - and dozen expectant and recent mothers that were not combat-ready during this new crisis, said; not bothering to speak quietly, hugging her 30 month old son, Sho, close. The normally inquisitive boy was oddly quiet and staying close to his mother without being asked – almost as if he knew that now was not the time to wander around. "…Or the fight has moved to the far edge of the village."
"Byakugan." The pregnant wife of Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the Hyuuga clan, said aloud, the veins around her silver-white eyes becoming more prominent as she used her Kekkei Genkai to pierce the reinforced walls of the hospital to look out on the battlefield that their city had become several hours earlier. A loud sigh of relief escaped her lips, "It's gone! The Nine-Tailed Fox is gone!"
A cheer came from the women as the first good news in so many hours was spoken aloud, followed quickly by the cries of awoken infants that had – mercifully – slept through the disaster.
"Still, I can't help but wonder what the hell happened to Uzumaki…" Mebuki Haruno grumbled in irritation. "Kushina's never had a lapse like this before. What the hell good is a Jinchuuriki that can't keep their Biju under control?! This never happened with the Shodai Hokage's wife was in charge of the Kyuubi!" The woman's acerbic words resonated in the room with the other women whom had grown up with the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" of Konoha, though Anastasia Inugami remained silent.
As an outsider – the late-to-learn medical ninja had been born a daimyo's daughter in the lands far to the west of Hidden Rock, beyond the territory of the Land of Iron, home of the Samurai nation – her views and inputs were considered irrelevant to the ladies of the village… Unless they were medical in nature. It was an annoyance to the former princess – though for her own safety only her husband, whose cousin had saved her life during a military coup, knew her true history – but it was an annoyance that she'd known she'd face when she married into the Inugami family several years ago.
To the women of the village, she'd merely been lucky to marry above her station.
Had her parents lived, it would have been a scandal for the crown princess to marry a mere doctor-nin.
She also remained silent because – thanks to her husband's role as Head of Medical Experimentation and Analysis Department and second in command of Konoha's Hospital – she was privy to two of the biggest secrets in Konoha; one social, one medical. The latter of the two provided all the explanation as to this evening's events, though the first caused a bit of confusion.
Suddenly, the nursery doors slammed open and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the legendary Sandaime Hokage, stormed into the nursery; flanked by four ANBU agents and Anastasia's own husband, Kurando, who held a blond-haired infant who was squalling inconsolably. The normally hale mid-50-year-old "God of Shinobi" was haggard-looking beyond words; as if his dedication to duty was the only thing keeping him moving at the moment.
"Papa!" Sho crowed in delight, as if seeing his father told the boy that everything was all right, though he looked at his mother in confusion at the death grip she was keeping on his shoulder.
"The threat of the Kyuubi is past us," The Sandaime's rough but friendly voice declared, "But our victory has cost our dear Konoha greatly…" Tears glistened in his eyes. "Countless members of our village family have fallen in the fight for our home; including Minato Namikaze."
"No, not the Yondaime!" One of the women wailed as everyone in the room old enough to understand Hiruzen's words burst into tears.
"For now, find your loved ones and hold them close; we will hold a state funeral for all those whom have died this night in a few days." Sarutobi said, his throat bobbing with emotion. "But rest easier knowing that I shall resume the mantle of Hokage come the morning until such time as a worthy successor to the Yondaime can be found."
The Sandaime whispered something to the ANBU guards, who then began to help the pregnant women to their feet, while the recent mothers collected their children and began to filter out of the room. Sarutobi himself went first to Lady Hyuuga, assisting her to her feet, before coming to Anastasia. As she accepted the Hokage's hand, Sho bolted to his father as fast as his small legs could carry him.
"Ho, ho… A quick one, I see." The older man chuckled, savoring the boy's unintentional effort to raise spirits in spite of all the misery the night had seen. He had a distant look as Kurando accepted Sho's clinging to his leg as he carried the blond infant to the neonatal care unit.
In spite of herself, Anastasia giggled as Sarutobi pulled her standing. "Yeah, he runs like he's trying to catch the wind itself." She said, wiping the tears away; there would undoubtedly be more later, but the surprise bundle in her husband's arms that was catching her son's eye had caught hers as well. "Is that..?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, an orphan ward of Konoha." Hiruzen whispered softly. "The Kyuubi's new Jinchuuriki."
Anastasia gasped; her hands flying up to cover her mouth in horror. Both Minato AND Kushina had died?! What on earth could have possibly happened?! Fresh tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. As a Jinchuuriki Kushina had been treated as an outsider, much the way Anastasia was, so the two women had built a friendship because of it. "Uzumaki? Not Na…"
The third Hokage made a staged cough to cut her off; there were still people in the room that were not privy to the knowledge that the Kyuubi's prior Jinchuuriki had been pregnant – Kushina had been using the transformation technique while in public to hide her condition – or that she'd been secretly married to the Fourth Hokage.
"Being an orphan is a terrible burden." Sarutobi said. "Adding the role of Jinchuuriki for such a volatile Biju as the Kyuubi to such a child is a heavier one; I intend to issue an edict that no one tell the boy of this burden until he is old enough to understand." He sighed. "If it were known that Naruto is his father's son, it would be a veritable death sentence; given his father's enemies."
Anastasia had to nod at the Sandaime's wisdom in the matter. Kushina hadn't been the most social person, so it would be easy for the public as a whole to believe that the Jinchuuriki had had a secret lover, so giving the boy his mother's family name made the most sense. And the Yondaime HAD made plenty of enemies by "winning" the Third Great Shinobi War so not giving Naruto his name or having the boy's godfather Jiraiya – the man that made the Yondaime the man he was – take care of the boy would put a target on Naruto far before he'd be able to protect himself.
"But still, what on earth happened, Hiruzen-dono?" The female Dr. Inugami asked. "Your wife, Biwako-sama, and I went over the records from Mito Uzumaki's pregnancy. Between her, Taji-san and Mi…" She coughed, catching herself as one of the last mothers – Aio Haruno with her year old son Nakahito – walked past. "…The boy's father, this SHOULDN'T have happened."
The Sandaime's face fell. "I fear we will never know the full truth of what happened, Ana-chan… Everyone whom was present for the child's birth is dead: mother, father, security detail, and… midwives."
And the hits kept coming! Anastasia staggered back – Biwako had been one of Anastasia's primary trainers in the medical arts when she'd come to the village nearly six years ago at age 14. "Oh, gods, Hiruzen-dono; I'm so very sorry!" She cried, hugging the older man in sympathy.
"Nearly everyone has lost someone close this night, Ana-chan." The Hokage said thinking of his wife of the last 20 years and how her loss would impact their family; at least their children were teenagers now… Their youngest, Asuma, would be turning fifteen in eight days. "But thank you for your kind words."
So much had gone awry this night! Kushina and Anastasia had talked at length about their dreams for the future: that once Minato had been established as the Yondaime Hokage for two full years, he would reveal that – like the Shodai Hokage – he was married to the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. That Sho and Naruto would grow up along with the likes of Sasuke Uchiha and be like brothers to each other. Maybe even someday become the next generation's Sannin.
All those dreams lost in a single night.
The two shinobi were silent in the now empty room for a few moments. Finally, Anastasia said. "Kurando and I will help make sure that Naruto is cared for; help settle Kushina's estate. I owe her that much as a friend." She placed her hand on her belly. "Maybe we can even adopt…"
"Settling her affairs will be more than enough, Ana-chan." Hiruzen said, shaking his head. "But I cannot allow any family to adopt Naruto – if his parentage were discovered, any family that took him in could suffer reprisals. And you have your own burgeoning family to concern yourself with... No; better that we keep him a ward of the Village. You can see to his medical care, but I will see to his housing and educational needs until he is old enough to learn to care for himself and choose his own direction in life." A wry grin crossed his lips. "If he has a fraction of his parent's personalities, Konohagakure is in for some interesting times; to say the least."
To the side, the neonatal care door opened and the wails of little Naruto Uzumaki echoed in the main nursery as Kurando Inugami opened the door, his son Sho leaning into his broad chest; asleep on his father's shoulder. "Well, he's a bit undersized, but perfectly healthy despite the excitement surrounding his entrance to the world." The medic-nin declared. "The seal on the Kyuubi is as solid as I've ever seen in a Fuuinjutsu before… I doubt his Jinchuuriki powers will develop much before he turns 16 or so; but I'm hardly an expert in such matters." He nodded back to the wailing infant. "Ana? I can't seem to get him to calm down. Can you work your… magic? I'll take Sho home and get him to bed."
Anastasia Inugami nodded, bowing her leave to the Sandaime. As she came up to her husband, she gave him a hug and kissed her son on the forehead. "Sample?" She asked, softly enough that not even the sharp-eared Hokage would hear. Anastasia had shared secrets with Kushina and Minato that no one else in the village had been privy to; not even the Sandaime.
"Beside him." Kurando whispered back. The Inugami were an old family, with sizable secrets of their own; ones that came from long before the Land of Fire was the Land of Fire. Their secretive nature was probably why – like the Uchiha – they were respected and feared in equal amounts in Konoha. Only the fact that the Inugami had never been very numerous kept them from the upper strata of Village life, which made keeping their secrets far easier.
"I'll be home as soon as he settles down and I can get one of the trainees in to keep an eye on him." Anastasia said aloud.
Kurando nodded as he began walking to the door. "And I'll probably be back to care for the wounded as soon as I make sure Mother is okay and get her to watch Sho and Karin."
"Saki-san's dedication to the village this night was admirable." Hiruzen said. "As the director of the Hospital she saw to it that the triage medic-nins were on site almost as soon as people were wounded. I daresay our losses would have been more substantial without her efforts."
The male Dr. Inugami smiled. "It would be good if you'd repeat that to her in person. She's been a bit ornery since she had to remove herself from the active field duty list for even the standard medical corps. Her bone cancer is still in the early stages, but it is oddly resistant to treatment and it's inhibiting her movement."
Sarutobi smiled sadly. "I'll make sure to do so when the dust settles… We've still got a long night ahead of us…"