Author's Note: I'm pretty sure most of you readers are cussing me out right now, but I don't really care because as a matter a fact, I think I'm going to like this version of 'Fool Me Once' better than, (and I'm going to put as most of you say), my lame-ass copy of 'Underwater'.

-shrugs-

Oh well, I don't care! I hope the readers that don't cuss me off enjoy this! Read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

Warning: Yaoi (MalexMale), crude language, (future) sexual content

Rated: NC-17

Pairing: Minato Namikaze & Naruto Uzumaki

Fool Me Once

Chapter 1: Prologue

"Are you sure about this?"

The moonlight twinkled brightly above the two hooded figures standing calmly in the middle of a vast landscape located in a thick forest. Not a sound was heard as another roar erupted from far away where their destination was.

The smaller of the two men inclined his head and took long strides with inhuman grace toward his partner. He wrapped an arm around the lithe waist, his other arm coming up to gently remove the hood from the shadowed face.

He was met with the most stunning cerulean orbs he had ever seen and had grown accustomed to over the past years with him. The man looked down at him with concern and fondness, the last emotion making him slightly angry because it wasn't what he was yearning for and yet he received it nonetheless. His pale hand brushed against soft spiky golden locks, making them bounce back up to their normal gravity-defying state.

"Naruto..." He breathed, taking in the breathtaking sight presented before him. An elegant eyebrow was raised in return and the blond smiled, coming up to pull off the taller man's hood as well.

"What's wrong, Itachi? Are you nervous?" Naruto grabbed one of his dark bangs, tugging at it playfully. Itachi said nothing, still taking his time to admire the twenty-year-old before him. Naruto's smile faded and made a move to retreat his hand, but a hand around his wrist stopped him from doing so.

The thirteen-year-old raven leaned up, teetering on the tips of his toes and brushed his lips against the older male's. He pulled back, searching the whiskered face for any indication of disgust. He was pleased to find a look of shock instead. Almost immediately, blue irises softened and looked down at him solemnly.

"Itachi-" The Uchiha raised a finger, silencing the blond from what he was about to say.

"I know, Naruto..." He said with a hint of malice lacing through his words. He ran his thumb over chapped lips and sighed once more. Naruto smiled down at him, pulling the boy flush against his body in a bone-crushing hug.

"Remember the plan, Itachi. Whatever happens out there, stay inside with your mother. If you start feeling a slight burn on that seal I put on you, don't you dare go outside. I'll try to absorb most of the pain as much as I can, alright? If I can't...well then, you'll just have to bear with me, ne?" The raven nodded stiffly while unconsciously rubbing the winding thorn-like tattoo imprinted on his left wrist.

The sounds of battle cries, clashing metal, and the horrendous roars from Kyuubi alerted them that their mission had yet to be completed. Naruto finally pulled away from him when he saw a familiar giant toad suddenly appear out of nowhere from afar. He leaned down ever so slightly to peck Itachi's cheek, and just before taking off towards battle, he winked at him.

"And don't forget to tell Sasuke I said hi, because after this I probably won't be able to see daylight ever again...even if Minato is hokage."

With a whisper of the wind and a swirl of dancing leaves, he was gone.

Itachi swallowed thickly.

It just wasn't fair that Naruto was most likely going to be executed (or imprisoned for life if his assumptions were correct and Minato manages to convince the council to be lenient against Naruto) because he was saving his homeland.

...It just wasn't fair...

"Take care of Naruto for me, ne?"

Kushina smiled weakly up at her husband, lifting up her hand to wipe away the tears falling freely down his cheeks. Minato sniffled, grasping her fragile hand gently in his and squeezing it reassuringly.

...Well, as much as he could reassure a dying mother.

"Of course." He whimpered pathetically.

The blond Hokage chocked down a sob as his wife closed her eyes and went lax in his arms. He gently laid her lifeless body on the ground and slowly got up. His raven-haired student looked sadly at him, his crimson eyes glancing down at the sleeping bundle in his arms.

"Minato-sensei!"

The blond man fell to the ground on his knees, a hand clutching his abdomen where Madara had wounded him. The sole female of his team rushed to his side immediately, easing him carefully on the ground.

"Sensei, don't stress yourself too much." She reprimanded him softly, trying to avoid the painfully obvious corpse of her dear sensei's wife that lay not even five feet away from them. Minato smiled weakly up at her, averting his gaze upwards as her hands glowed a bright green.

"What are we going to do now, sensei?" Kakashi asked, walking up to Obito and gently prying the new born from the boy's arms. The raven reluctantly let go, waving forlornly at the sleeping baby. When Rin finished, she let out a tired sigh and leaned back on her haunches. Minato carefully sat up, wincing slightly as his sore muscles protested with his actions.

"We aren't going to do anything. You guys are going to the front line and just stay there while I go and handle this...disaster."

Obito was about to open his mouth to protest but Minato was quick to interrupt.

"This is an order from your Hokage!" He snapped harshly, making Obito take a step back, flinching at the tone of voice that the usually composed blond used toward him. Kakashi swallowed thickly while Rin chewed on her bottom lip nervously, glancing at the bundle in her silver-haired teammate's arms.

Minato let out a grunt as he stood up on shaky legs. He slowly made his way towards his two male students, a smudge of a smile settling on his lips as he gazed down at the peaceful face of his newborn son. Kakashi was hesitant in handing the baby over to him, but in the end it wasn't his decision to make as little Naruto began to stir from his slumber.

The baby shrieked, beads of tears rolling down the sides of his face. His hands curled into tiny fists, opening and closing as if he already knew his father was close enough for him to reach for him. Minato grinned weakly, taking the child into his arms and cradling him gently. Naruto's cries immediately ceased and he cuddled into the newly found warmth.

Minato's muscles relaxed and he spared his team a glance before flicking his wrist and disappearing in a flash of yellow. Rin let out a sob as she shakily stood up. Obito clenched his fists and grit his teeth. Sucking in a shaky breath, he slowly started making his way to the front line as his sensei instructed, but before he could disappear from sight a yellow and black blur ran right in front of him.

Obito recoiled back in surprise and blinked his one eye as the face of the blur appeared in his Sharingan eyes. He grinned and glanced back to see if his other teammates had noticed anything as well. Kakashi's sole Sharingan eye looked at him knowingly before going back to gazing up at the snarling demon fox in the horizon.

A thought crossed through both of their minds as they saw a small silhouette land on Gamabunta's head, and not a second later, a blinding light was formed.

'You better save him, Naruto.'

The shrill cries of a baby were muted by the gruesome roars of the nine-tailed fox. Minato shielded his son as another harsh wave of sound hit them. He hissed as he felt his ears ring.

"Don't cry, Naruto. Everything will be over soon...shhh." He whispered softly. Little Naruto did not cease his crying though. In fact, his screams seemed to crescendo with each intake of breath he took. Minato frowned and lifted his hands to form an unknown signature.

The baby quieted down immediately and watched in rapt fascination. His cerulean orbs mesmerized at how fast his father was going. They widened when a figure suddenly appeared behind his father from out of nowhere.

Blue clashed with blue and the baby smiled, reaching out towards the figure.

"Please Kami-sama, let this work."

The child narrowed his eyes as a bright light sprouted from his father's palms, and as he felt something inside them start to climax...

….everything abruptly stopped.

Little Naruto blinked blearily up at his bemused father. He watched as Minato blinked, then slowly, achingly slowly, turn his head to stare at the person who had dared to disrupt his forbidden jutsu.

Familiar azure eyes that he had not seen in years gazed back at him.

Naruto solemnly glanced at him before jumping over him and charging with a mighty roar toward the nine-tailed fox.

"Please stop crying, Sasuke..." A soft voice choked.

The woman let out a sob as she cradled her newborn son closer to her body as another crash sounded through the village. There were cries of people who were being mutilated by the wrath of Kyuubi and then a few moments of silence before it started once again.

She wept silently, stroking her son's ebony hair as he continued to cry because of the loud noises. His tiny hands were clenched into fists and his face was flushed red as he cried harder.

The raven haired woman sat huddled in a corner at the far end of her house. The others were somewhere located in the compound, but they had not let her in because of her bawling baby. She hugged Sasuke and wheezed miserably. A few moments passed before only silence was heard.

She looked up hesitantly, wondering what had made Sasuke stop crying, and gasped when she was met with the crimson eyes of her long lost son.

"Itachi?" The name passed her lips before she could stop it. Her eyes watered even more as he knelt down to the ground, taking the crying child away from her and shushing him immediately. Itachi sat down next to her, avoiding her gaze as he stared down at his five-month-old baby brother.

"Itachi..." She whimpered, hesitantly reaching out to touch him. He did nothing to stop her, merely sitting perfectly still as she grasped his shoulder like it was a life line.

"Do not cry mother, it does not become of you." He said flatly, finally turning to look at her frail-looking form. Sasuke let out a yawn as he clutched his big brother's shirt, snuggling up to him and letting out a contented sigh.

Suddenly, his mother hugged him close to her, and disturbingly so, he did not mind. In fact, he hugged her back full force, careful not to disrupt his brother from his sleep.

Itachi let out a hiss as the tattoo on his wrist began to burn intensely against his pale skin, burning it slightly. It glowed a bright shade of red and his nostrils filled with the scent of burnt skin. His mother paid no heed, only holding him tighter and sobbing louder.

He did the same, a single tear escaping his eye as the burning continued.

'Please Kami-sama...please help him.'

"Gaaaaaahhh!"

"Naruto!"

He was vaguely aware of Minato's voice calling out his name, but with the way Kyuubi was swinging around his head, he couldn't even tell which way was up. With the little amount of energy he managed to muster up, he held harder onto the orange fur of the fox and heaved himself up.

"Get out of here Minato!" He yelled before he was flung off the head, his body colliding with the thick trees and knocking them down along with his fall. The fourth Hokage's silhouette was growing smaller and smaller each mile he passed.

Naruto coughed as he stood up on shaky legs and dusted his clothes off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move momentarily and before he could register what it was, he was crashing into a cliff that had been fifty miles away from him. A big crater formed itself upon the impact, sending chunks of weathered rock down below.

Out of instinct, the blond immediately jumped from his spot and onto the top of the rocky height. Not a moment later, the gigantic form of the nine-tails crashed into the cliff, making the entire escarpment tumble down to the ground. He wobbled, trying to stabilize his balance and keep from falling.

Once he realized that he couldn't escape his thwart from future catastrophe, he jumped off the rocks, diving straight towards the snarling face of Kyuubi.

Minato suddenly appeared a few miles from the avalanche, little Naruto still wrapped securely in his arms.

Before he knew what exactly was happening, Naruto's entire body was covered in something crimson. It spread around his body like wildfire, and Minato could practically feel the power radiating off of the twenty-year-old.

And just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared as Naruto dove straight into the nine-tail's mouth.

Everything was eerily silent.

Then a heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the forest.

"Narutooooo!"

A/N: Read and review folks! Tell me your opinions!