Silence. The sound of the emptiness left, of the time after the struggle when all is lost except the hope for the future. Silence, broken only by the sound of the wind, and the wails of a child.

Two bodies lay dying in the grass.

Red pooled around his feet. Sarutobi looked down at the young family, the hope and promise that had been snuffed out like a candle in a single night… just like all the other hopes crushed this sad, tragic night.

A blonde head turned to look at him. "Sarutobi-san…" he rasped. Minato's eyes, known for their brightness and cheer, were now dulled, a dark ocean set in a pale face.

"Don't speak." Immediately the old man knelt down at his successor's side. "The medics are coming. They will take c—" A bloody, shaking hand on his made him stop. Minato smiled, a sad echo of the smile that had endeared him to any who saw it.

"Shinigami… too late…" A hoarse laugh escaped his lips, making him cringe in pain. "Kyuubi… sealed it… please… take care of… them…"

Sarutobi bowed his head. A shinobi must never show their tears. "I will," he promised, covering the hand with his own.

"My children will be heralded as heroes." The Fourth Hokage said. A command, not a request. His very last. The irony did not strike the Sandaime as funny. "Especially…" He coughed, suddenly, without warning, blood spurting out of his guts and his lips. Sarutobi did not look away. He owed him at least that.

"I'll take care of them," he promised once again, unable to keep a note of sadness out of his voice.

Minato smiled, one, last, grateful smile. His gaze turned towards the wailing child by his side… and the wide-eyed babe beside it.

"Take care of your sister… Naruto…"

They called them the Demon Twins.

When the moon closed its eye and the stars disappeared from the sky, and the people hunkered down in their homes, they spoke of them. Wayward children would be hushed with tales of the Kyuubi; how it, with its last dregs of power, cursed Konoha as it breathed its final breath. Adults spoke with fear, wondering if the Kyuubi the Yondaime had given his life to seal away… wasn't as gone as the Sandaime had assured them it was.

No one knew where the rumor came from, but someone finally confirmed a sighting. On the third anniversary of the Kyuubi's death, of the victory of the Yondaime and the deaths of many others, someone saw them—two cursed children, running through the streets, eyes wide and heads turning, as they looked upon the colorful festivities.

One was the very image of the late Yondaime, still remembered with regret and fondness by most of the villagers. It was like their Hokage had been reborn, with its spiky blond hair and round blue eyes. At first he inspired wonder, then awe, and not terror.

It was his companion that sent fear into the people's bones.

It was the start of a riot. People screamed, in terror or fury. Several swore vengeance, moving against the Kyuubi incarnate with bat, bottle and broom. That's when the shinobi moved in. More people cried out in fear, as the dreaded masked ANBU appeared at the monsters' side. Many would remember that night as a night of pain and horror, cradling their arms as the ghost of broken bones twinged at the memory.

The next day, the Sandaime addressed his people. He spoke of the Yondaime, and honor, and the wish of a man for a pair of orphan children to be treated as heroes. But it was too late. No one heard his words, barely took note of the law passed unto them that very same day. All eyes were on the children, standing on either side of their esteemed Hokage. Hatred fostered in every heart that set eyes on the cursed spawn of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

The blond one clung to the Hokage, staring wide eyed at the crowd before him. All felt hatred at the Kyuubi's mockery of their hero.

The Hokage spoke of a seal.

The people saw a child.

The Hokage rested a hand on the shoulder of the one on his other side. It looked up, and peered at the crowd with a gaze that froze all who stood before it.

Her hair hung around her face like a veil of blood. Her blue eyes were rimmed with black ink, stretching from the corners of her eyes and reaching for her temples.

It was the face of the Kyuubi reborn.

"How are they?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

The ANBU agent stood to attention. His porcelain mask identified him as Uma—Horse. "The children are resting in the waiting room downstairs, Hokage-sama. Inu, Tora, and Kuma are guarding them at the moment." The Hokage gave a nod of approval. Hound, Tiger and Bear were shinobi he knew well, and could trust with the children.

"Continue."

"Naruto-san has been very... impatient." Impatient was an understatement, but the shinobi didn't think he could say "The kid's practically bouncing off the walls" to his superior. "He has not ceased asking questions since he entered the room. His sister has answered a few, but mostly stares out the window. She has shown no outward emotions since the announcement was made."

"Thank you, Uma. Please have Inu bring them here." Horse bowed—a sign of trust, baring his neck to his superior—and shunshinned away.

The Hokage sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He hadn't intended to announce the existence of the Kyuubi in a jinchuuriki so early. His original plan was to keep the children a secret, until the Kyuubi was more of a memory than fresh history.

He doubted most of the civilians he had addressed earlier had understood—or even listened—to his explanation of the sealing. The wounds from four years ago were still fresh… and the twins' existence the salt that returned the pain anew.

A flare of chakra alerted him to approaching ninja. Wind whipped through the room as first Hound, then Tiger arrived, carrying a child each. Bear did not appear, though Sarutobi sensed him take position on the roof of the building.

"Oh yeah! That was so cool, dattebayo! Again, again, again, again!" Naruto yelled in glee from Hound's shoulders, tugging on the poor man's wild hair like reins. Sarutobi hid a smile behind one hand. It seemed that, while Hound was adamant about avoiding his teacher's children as much as he could, he still could not resist Naruto's enthusiasm and boyish charm.

Compared to her brother, Minako looked quite pale as Tiger slowly set her down. "Thank you." Her voice was soft and a little shaky, but clear. Tiger gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, the closest and ANBU could give as a reply.

Sarutobi studied the girl over his folded hands. Her pale state only served to emphasize the dark markings around her eyes, miniature versions of the black lines that extended from the Kyuubi's snout into its ears. Combined with the flaming red hair she had inherited from her mother, it was no wonder the crowd had panicked at the sight of the child.

"Naruto," he finally spoke. "Please stop pulling Inu-san's hair. I don't think he appreciates it very much."

"But! It's so spiky, dattebayo! It's weird! It gets up even when I squish it!" The boy demonstrated, patting Hound's hair. True to form, it sprung back into position the moment his fingers left the strands. Once again, Sarutobi had to hide a smile behind a hand at Hound's obvious discomfort. Certainly Tiger and Bear were having the struggle of their lives hiding their amusement at their comrade's predicament.

"Naruto, that's enough." Minako said evenly, craning her neck to look up at her brother. He pouted, but obeyed. Hound reached up and grabbed him by the torso, finally setting him down beside his sister. Without hesitating, she grabbed Naruto by his own spiky hair and pulled, hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.

"Owowowow! Min'ko-chan, that huuurts-ttebayo!" the child wailed, grabbing his sister's arm and hopping in an effort to alleviate the pain.

She twitched. "First of all, it's Minako. Second, this is what you've been doing to Inu-san all morning. Now go and apologize."

Naruto pouted. Minako glared back. It was, quite frankly, adorable. Sarutobi could no longer hide his smile as Naruto apologized sullenly to Hound, who could only nod in reply.

Minako showed a surprising level of maturity for a three-year-old. Where Naruto was loud, she was quiet. Where Naruto was rude, she was polite and diplomatic. Where Naruto was wild, she was restrai—

"I'm not a killjoy, dattebana!" said girl shrieked, stamping her foot loudly on the wooden floor of the office. She blushed immediately at her loss of control and glared at her brother. He stuck out his tongue in reply.

The Hokage winced. Or maybe he was thinking too much.

"That's enough fighting you two." He scolded. The children jumped to attention, two pairs of bright blue eyes trained right at him as they each muttered their own apologies. He gave the ANBU a nod. They bowed, and disappeared in a 'poof' of chakra smoke.

He scrutinized the children as Naruto gave his customary yells of awe while his sister covered her face in exasperation. The medics had said they hadn't gotten even a scratch in their ordeal, but… "Are you two alright?" he asked. Twin sets of blue returned to him once more. With more age and knowledge behind them, those two would make an intimidating stare.

"We're okay, thank you…" Minako replied slowly. Her eyes were clear of any visible emotion, but sharp with intelligence. Her exotic facial markings only served to emphasize her eyes, turning her blank gaze into something more… intent.

"Are you sure?" Such ordeals left more than physical wounds. The twins nodded in unison, though Naruto's was more subdued. His sunny outlook had clouded with indecision. Sarutobi focused his attention on the boy. "Is there something wrong, Naruto?"

"Ne, jiji…" Naruto blurted. Minako quickly jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"Naruto, manners!" she hissed. "You can't just address the Hokage like that!" Her brother's face fell.

"It's alright, Minako," Sarutobi quickly intervened. "I don't mind." Very much. Ah well. Tsunade would say it would keep him humble.

He was rewarded with Naruto's delighted look in his direction, before the kid shot another raspberry at his sister. She rolled her eyes.

He had a feeling he was going to regret making that statement in the future. "Anyway, you were saying, Naruto?"

"Um…" the boy mumbled, tugging on the hem of his shirt nervously. "Why… why did the people try to hit us?" he asked, with all the wide-eyed innocence of a three-year-old.

Sarutobi sighed. He'd been waiting for that question. "It's not something I can explain right now, Naruto. You'll understand when you're older."

"Does it have something to do with the Kyuubi?" His gaze snapped faster than lightning to the quiet sister. She stared back, face carefully blank, blue eyes cold and sharp. Now that expression was familiar. Sarutobi pushed back the nostalgia of blue eyes narrowed in determination and framed with golden hair.

"And what makes you think that, Minako?" he asked calmly, letting no sign of his surprise rise to the surface. Her hands began to fumble with each other. She bit her lip as she thought over her answer. But her eyes never strayed from their intense look at his face.

"Well… it was the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack yesterday, right? So, I thought…" Here she trailed off, color rising to her cheeks once more.

Funny. Most people spoke of that day as the day of the Yondaime's heroic death, not of the Kyuubi's attack.

"I see." He paused, glancing over the two children once more. So young and already causing an uproar. Inheritors of the legacies of two great shinobi… one of the twins a container of the strongest bijuu in the world… "Like I said, you'll understand when you're older."

"B-b- That's not an explanation, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled in outrage.

"It's all you're going to get." He silenced the blond's next protest with a glare. "Be patient. You want to be a shinobi, right, Naruto?"

The boy's expression immediately brightened. "Yeah! I'm gonna be a ninja, just like Inu-san, dattebayo!" The kid was like a sunflower – turning this way and that, changing moods in a flip of a coin, but always turning back to the sun the moment he was able.

"Well here's your first lesson. A true shinobi knows how to be patient. Your prey will not appear to you if you run around noisily because of your inability to wait."

"So… the expl- eekksplinayshun… is my prey?" Naruto squinted slightly as he tried to understand.

Sarutobi took pity on him. "I suppose… yes, you could say that."

"Then I'll definitely wait! I'll become the best ninja ever, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, smacking his chest for emphasis. Then his face fell. "But I hate waiting-ttebayo!" he cried out in distress.

"Well then," Sarutobi smiled. "Now's a better time to start than any, right?"

The boy grumbled and pouted. His sister sighed. "So dramatic…" she murmured.

The Hokage straightened, nodding at the both of them. "If that's all, it's far time for you two to head back to the orphanage." Both children groaned. He shoved away the warmth building in his old heart at the sound.

"Can I ride on Inu-san again?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sarutobi thought about it. He felt like he'd already asked too much of Kakashi. The boy had lost so much… it was no wonder he had no desire to see his sensei's children. To be forced to interact with them like today… "I'm afraid not, Naruto. That'll be enough riding for now. You can wait for Minoru-san at the lobby."

"Aww…" The child sighed in disappointment.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Minako bowed, before tugging on Naruto to do the same.

"Please, Minako. Sarutobi is fine." He smiled benignly at the polite child.

"Then…" A mischievous light entered her eyes. "Thank you very much… Sarutobi-jiji."

He winced. Ah, so it looks like the impish behavior was not restricted to just one twin. "Go on, get." He sighed tiredly and flapped his hands at the two to leave. They giggled, darting out the door to wreak havoc in someone else's life.

As the door swung shut, so did the grandfatherly expression on Sarutobi's face. He twined his fingers together, eyes lit with the spark that had led to him being granted his title as 'Professor'.

That intelligent, calculating light in Minako's eyes… and if Naruto's rambunctiousness was any indication…

He lit his pipe and brought it to his lips. Will the children someday surpass the legends that were their parents?

I wonder.

A/N:

edited 01/14/2020

I've always wondered how a man as intelligent and esteemed as the Professor, Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, would sentence the child he was supposed to be taking care of to a life of rejection by announcing to the world, oh hey, here's a baby that contains the monster that just killed all your loved ones. My theories for the original Naruto's situation shall remain buried, but for this situation, I figured with Minako's facial features and Naruto's resemblance to his father there was no way they could stay secret for long. If you're wondering how they managed to escape their guardians at the tender age of four… well, it is Naruto we're talking about here. Plus Minako. Who's an adult. Mentally. Those poor guardians didn't stand a chance.

One last note: I researched all the possible Japanese suffixes that put emphasis on the sentence that comes before it (ex. -yo, -ne, though -ne has a different connotation). -na is the one I found most acceptable, which indicates a "casual emphasis on a decision, suggestion, or opinion". Men can also use it as a very emphatic "Don't do this!". (thank you, japanese about dot com). Hence, we get Minako's customized dattebana.