Apophenia

Nighttime stories

"Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another."

—Umberto Eco

Comfortably tucked in his bed, with warm blanket and soft pillow, the blond four year-old looked up to his father with bright blue eyes filled with expectations. "Can you tell me again Tou-chan?"

"What story do you want me to tell this night?"

"… well," the child hesitated. "Can you tell me about that night again?"

"Again?" the man smiled.

"Bububut…"

"Don't worry Naruto-chan. I'll tell you," Namikaze Minato chuckled.

"Kaa-chan doesn't like that story…"

"No, she does," Minato mused. "But I am sure she told you that she is very happy that that night turned out good."

Naruto nodded with fervor. "But she always gets teary. She tries to hide it, but I feel Kaa-chan is sad."

'Feel? Ah, it was to be expected that the two of them would have a strange bond. After all, this is a unique situation. Never before has a jinchuriki survived the extraction of a Bijuu,' Minato looked thoughtfully at his son. "The night you were born, it was very chilly. And…"

"Wasn't the evil masked man cold?"

"…you shouldn't-"

"But he hurt Kaa-chan!"

"Naruto," Minato gently put a hand on his son's head. "Calm down. You know that the masked man lost that night. He cannot hurt you or Kaa-san ever again."

"The mysterious man-" Naruto nodded eagerly. "Can I ever meet the mysterious man?"

"He said that he would return to Konoha in due time," Minato repeated the thing he had often told his son.

"I really want to meet him," Naruto yawned. "He saved Kaa-chan, and even helped Tou-chan to stop the evil man and his monster."

"Who told you about a monster?"

"An older boy at the park said his father died when a monster attacked the village," Naruto blinked. "He said it was the same night as-"

"Don't worry about it, son," Minato bent over and gave his son a kiss on his forehead. "No more masked man, no monsters. You are going to sleep. You don't want to miss tomorrow, do you?"

"No! Kaa-chan is going to take me to the park. And then we're going to eat ramen!"

"You two and your ramen," Minato shook his head, and he ruffled his son's hair before switching off the lights. "Sleep well, tyke."

"Love you, Tou-chan."

"Love you too."

A woman scraping her throat startled Namikaze Minato when he closed the door to his son's bedroom. Even a man like him, feared across the nations and practically worshipped as a god in Konoha, still froze when his wife made a sound like that. Of all the people he knew, only Namikaze Kushina, before they were wedded Uzumaki Kushina, could frighten Minato in this way. Then again, he had always loved her for her ferocity. But ever since their son was born, he knew that there also moments when he could be on the receiving end. 'Perhaps she's a bit overprotective?'

"The masked man? Again?" Kushina tapped her right foot on the floor, a warning signal for Minato that her patience was running thin. "I thought we agreed on not telling Naruto anything more about the night he was born."

Minato cringed, but still had the courage to keep smiling. Seriously, how did his wife do that floaty thing with her hair? After all these years, Minato still hadn't figured that one out.

"He was the one who asked. And you agreed that we had to tell him parts of the story, if only to prepare him," he hushed his wife and nodded to the door. This was not the kind of thing to talk about right outside Naruto's bedroom. So they went back downstairs, and continued their discussion in the living room.

"Why?" Kushina simply asked.

"He just told me that he could 'feel' your sadness, when we talked about the incident."

"Feel?" Kushina blinked. "How do you-"

"You remember his hypothesis?" Minato brought up the words of their savior.

"He talked about some kind of weird connection. But we don't know if-"

"Kushina, in all of history there is not a single example of any jinchuriki surviving the extraction of a Bijuu. Until now, we just assumed that extraction would mean certain death. The seal would be ruptured, and the vast quantity of chakra that would be forced through it would completely destroy your chakra pathways."

"…it still did," Kushina sighed. Being unable to assist her husband as a kunoichi was something she loathed.

"But still, he managed to stop the decay. You know why he made it impossible for you to ever manipulate chakra…"

"I will die if I perform a jutsu," she grimaced.

"But you lived. Our son kept his mother because of what he did. I kept you… I mean what I said back then, I still do. I wouldn't have known what to do without you," pulled her close and comforted her with a hug. "I'd be lost without you."

"I'd rather have lived on like a kunoichi, than as some half-crippled weakling… I hate being a bur-"

Minato halted her by putting a finger on her lips. "Don't you ever say that again! Don't you dare calling yourself a burden. I made my vows the day we married. I will always support you, just as you have always, and will always, support me. Half the world might be shaking in their boots before they even see my kunai, but we both know that none of my accomplishments would ever have occurred if not for you. My life would have been empty without you and Naruto."

"Minato…" Kushina smiled gently, and stepped toward her husband. Only to be stopped once more.

"But, you know the importance of Naruto knowing the truth. It won't be that much longer before we could expect him to show the first signs of being able to manipulate chakra. And when he does, the Kyuubi will become a factor."

"Will the creature honor its promises?"

"He seemed to be convinced of the creature's sincerity, so I am inclined to agree. Still, despite the conditions the Kyuubi made, we have to make sure that Naruto knows what the stakes are. We cannot be there to help him, when he first meets the creature. We can only help him from the outside. And you know better than anyone what he will face."

"I still wonder if his warnings… Are there really going to be more people after the creature? Trying to capture our son to rip the fox out of him?" Kushina sighed. "I know that masked man did the same thing to me, but our son, Minato. Our son. I can't bear the thought of… that such a thing would happen to him!"

"I know, honey, I know… And as long as I breathe, I will never allow such a thing to happen to him."

"I know, but… It terrifies me."

"Me too. I wish he was more concrete with regard to his warnings, but so far he has been right: Danzo's secret anbu group, and Orochimaru indeed being a traitor-"

"Thank Kami that Hiruzen was there, that day," Kushina grimaced.

"Yeah… He nearly escaped. If not for Sandaime-sama, I'm sure I would have fallen for his trick," Minato sighed. But after the death of the treacherous Sennin, the Hokage and his predecessor found so much evidence… The results of the horrible experiments they encountered that day still filled the worst nightmares Minato had. But to think he had prepared an arm, and that it served for Danzo to plug in all the sharingan he stole over the years…

"…escaped like that filthy Danzo," Kushina mumbled, showing that she had followed the same train of thought.

"It is exactly why I can't keep Naruto shielded forever. There are things he has to deal with, and I'd rather have him prepared for when the time comes. Who knows what could happen if he reacts the wrong way? This is the Kyuubi; even if it made a promise, I'm still wary to trust the creature."

"It is the embodiment of hatred," Kushina repeated the words the Bijuu had said to her, one of the first times she met the demon when it was sealed within her.

"And that is why he needs all the skills he can get," Minato agreed. "Both physically and mentally."

"Hiruzen agreed, didn't he?"

"He did. When Naruto is ready, he will start helping us to train Naruto. Jiraiya-sensei promised the same thing."

"Even Tsunade-sama did," Kushina smirked. "Though I think we should wait until Hiruzen and the pervert are finished training Naruto before we ask her for her help…"

"I nearly forgot you trained under her, back then."

"It was a really memorable lesson on evasion," Kushina shook her head slowly. "That woman is nuts. Even when she is not drunk."

"All the sannin are," Minato chuckled. "Or 'were', in the case of that snake."

Toddling in front of her, Naruto seemed to be really happy to go to the park with her. Kushina felt more relaxed now that she had been able to voice her worries to Minato last night. It had been an issue she had been struggling with for a long time, but she had always repressed those feelings so that she wouldn't be a burden to her husband. Minato already was so busy with his duties as Hokage. Danzo fled the village when the net closed around him, but Minato was convinced that he still had plenty of supporters. Smoking them out, however, was no easy task.

'Fighting on a battlefield is so much easier. Out there, good or bad is decided by a glance at a hitai-ate. But here… there are so many people scheming- especially now that the Uchiha seem to have become more and more discontent with their situation in the village,' Kushina sighed. She suddenly noticed that her son was looking at her, head slightly tilted, with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Why are you so worried, Kaa-chan?"

'He really can feel my emotions, can he? It is a bit annoying that it doesn't work like that the other way around. It would be a lot easier to catch him when he is trying something mischievous,' Kushina smiled at her son. "Don't worry about me. I was just thinking about the problems Tou-san has to deal with."

"…would you rather go to Tou-chan?"

"What? As much as I like to see your Tou-san, the two of us are going to the park. It was a promise, right?"

"Yes!" he flew forward and gave her a hug. Well, he hugged her leg, considering that he didn't reach any higher. And he was always strangely cautious with her, never jumping in her arms when she didn't expect it, or such things. As if he understood her weakened physical condition, despite his four years of age.

Once they reached the park, Naruto immediately rushed towards the swings. "Kaa-chan, push!" he shouted, with a wide goofy grin.

"Hold tight," Kushina warned. He really loved this. He liked the slide, the sandbox, and all the other apparatus where the little children could play. But above anything, he liked this swing. No, not just that, he liked it when being pushed by her or Minato, although the latter rarely happened lately, considering how busy he was nowadays.

Enjoying the pleasure that Naruto radiated was also a good way to enjoy the whispers of the other adults around the playgrounds- or the children who were pointing at either her or Naruto. Most of the looks were reverent, as if they felt blessed that the family of the famous Yondaime Hokage was nearby. But others… some of the adults looked at Naruto with a disgust that made Kushina's blood boil.

The attack from the Kyuubi four years ago had caused many victims. As a result, there was much more hatred towards the creature than during her tenure. More people seemed to fear Naruto than Kushina could remember from her own childhood. 'It makes me shudder at the thought of what would happen to our boy if we had died that night. Minato said that Naruto would be treated as a hero, but I wonder if he truly understands what it means to be a jinchuriki. He is too optimistic. Usually, I love that about him, but in this case…'

No. Kushina stopped that train of thought and forced herself to focus on the loudly laughing Naruto, who cheered "higher, higher!"

The child truly seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of energy. Kushina had little doubt that the fox itself was an influence in this aspect, as she had felt the same sensation herself for years as well. But not any more… the extraction had made her weak. She was physically brittle, with limited stamina, and little resistance altogether- a mere shell of her former self. Even the famous Tsunade had stood for a riddle when she first examined Kushina. Minato had tracked her down several days after the incident when Naruto was born, but even Tsunade couldn't explain what that mysterious man had done to stop the seal from crumbling even further. Nor had she any idea on how she could heal Kushina. In fact, Tsunade was certain that any messing with the current equilibrium of her chakra pathways would spell unavoidable death for Kushina.

That man had saved her life, but her quality of life had certainly dropped. She needed more sleep than ever before, and grew tired as rapidly as an old woman. Initially, it was infuriating for a short-tempered woman like her, but, just like on so many other occasions, Minato had been able to calm her. He told her that they should rejoice. Even if it meant that she had these limitations, they were still blessed by the chance she got. That strange man had saved her that night. He had given her a new life when all things seemed lost.

She could see her hyperactive little boy grow up, becoming stronger than either Minato or she had ever been.

But those were not the things she cared about after a half hour playing around with Naruto. Right now, she was out of breath and exhausted. So, little Naruto did what he always did when this happened: "Yugao-neechan!"

It didn't take more than two seconds before said anbu appeared. "Would you please not call me by my name, Naruto?" the cat-masked woman sighed.

"But you're not a kitty, you're Yugao-neechan," Naruto shrugged. He didn't see the point of her mask, nor her codename 'Neko', at all. "Kaa-chan is tired, could you help her? She's too heavy for me to drag, and to stubbon to listen, either."

"It is 'stubborn', not 'stubbon'," Kushina corrected her son, even as weary as she was.

"…He does have a point though, Kushina-sama," Yugao shook her head. It was the same chain of events over and over again: Naruto playing with too much enthusiasm, and Kushina getting dragged into it while being too stubborn to take a rest when she needed it. "There's a bench nearby, I'll take you there."

"I'll stay here, 'kay?" Naruto smiled after he hugged his mother. Yugao smiled behind her mask when she saw the little boy trying to cheer his mother up, even though it was completely obvious that he was concerned about her. That too was a regular occurrence. 'Minato-sama is right, it is impossible to separate mother and son. It's like they're glued to each other.'

"That kid… worrying about his Kaa-san like that," Kushina mumbled under her breath, as Yugao supported her while walking to a bench.

"He sees your weakened condition, and worries about it, Kushina-sama," Yugao replied. "And he is right. You should not demand too much from yourself."

Kushina glared at her guard, but Yugao knew that it wasn't any serious anger. The anbu might still be young, barely considered a woman at all, even by shinobi standards, but in spite of her fifteen years of age she was deeply loyal to Kushina. As an Uzuki, it was her fate. She was the last of a clan which had sworn loyalty to the Uzumaki clan long before the system of the hidden villages was created by Senju Hashirama. As kenjutsu and taijutsu specialists, the Uzuki clan served as the perfect guards for the fuinjutsu specialists if the Uzumaki. After all, unlike ninjutsu, fuinjutsu took time to set up and apply- time which the Uzuki bought for them.

It was not that those old ties really defined Yugao's loyalty. No, when the servants of Kushina were killed, that fateful night Naruto was born, only young Yugao had been left. Her older sisters had perished along with everyone who had been amongst Kushina's and formerly Mito's entourage. But it had been Kushina and Minato who took the lonely girl in. To them, there was no relation as master and servant, but rather one between sisters.

However, Yugao tried to act like a proper anbu, ever since Minato had personally given her that mask four months ago. So, as much as Kushina hated it, Yugao called her 'Kushina-sama'.

Slightly uncomfortable with the silence that had fallen, Kushina decided to tease the girl. "So, I heard Hayate returned from his mission yesterday?" The mask may have hidden Yugao's blush, but the fact that she nearly tripped gave her away. 'Hook, line and sinker,' Kushina snickered.

Naruto kept an eye on his mother and surrogate sister. He could clearly feel his mother's annoyance with her own condition, but he knew she would be well if she took some rest. Still, the swing wasn't fun all alone. It just felt so lonely, to sit on this swing without his mother nearby. Other kids playing nearby kept their distance from him, making it even worse to Naruto.

He never had many friends. His mother brought him along at times, when she visited other clans, but most other kids were strange. There was this one time, two weeks after his fourth birthday, when she dragged him along to a tea ceremony and Naruto had to play with three children of clan heads. But one was only busy stuffing himself (Naruto got sick just from looking at the scene), the second was sleeping all the time (lazy-ass deluxe), and the last one… the blonde girl just didn't leave him alone- nagging, nagging, and more nagging.

Sitting on his motionless swing, Naruto looked at the flowerbeds bordering the playgrounds. Yes, flowers had definitely changed that day. Just when Naruto had been fed up with the blonde girl's nagging, she dragged him along to the gardens. After all, it was her house they were in that day. Naruto may not have had much love for her nagging, but when she started talking about those flowers… well, that day had been fun after all.

With that thought in mind, Naruto jumped from the swing, and began exploring the flowerbeds. Perhaps there were some beautiful flowers over there. "I'm sure some nice flower would cheer Kaa-chan up," Naruto mumbled to himself. With Yugao distracted by Kushina's teasing, Naruto simply wandered off unsupervised.

At least, not supervised by friendly eyes.

"Oy, kid!"

Naruto turned away from his flowers, and saw three bigger youths approach him. "Hello," Naruto smiled.

"Ya know what yer Tou-san did?" hollered the biggest one, a boy of about fifteen years old. His long brown hair looked shabby, and his clothes were much like rags. Naruto had drifted off and approached one of the orphanages housed by Konohagakure.

"Tou-chan?" Naruto frowned.

"Yeah… I know who ya are, ya shitty little brat," the tall boy growled. "Yer Tou-san is tha Kage."

"My- Yes, he's the Hokage," Naruto chirped proudly.

"Look at da goofball, in his green whimpy shirt," the boy mocked Naruto. "You must be pretty rich, clan-boy…"

"Rich?"

"Money, ya dobe!" one of the boy's goons exclaimed, pushing the young Namikaze.

"Yeah, gib us ya money, ya fool!" the other chimed in. "Or we are gunna beat ya up, ya hear?"

"But… I have no money," Naruto was now on the verge of tears.

Something which the fifteen year old ringleader capitalized upon, as he gave Naruto the final push, literally and figuratively. He ended up on his bum, with tears silently flowing down. Little Naruto had never been bullied before, and he sure as hell did not like the experience.

"Seriously, what's with da whiskers," the eldest boy scoffed.

"What kinda freak has whiskers?"

The two kids were closing in on Naruto, and the eldest grew 'brave' enough to go one step further. However, the moment he moved his leg backwards, preparing the harsh kick he wanted to deal out, he was hit by a pebble.

"Hey, wadda fuck!"

An entire volley of pebbles followed. One of the two minions was even hit smack on the nose, while the eldest… well, the stone hit him right in the rocks.

"Leave him alone!" a little girl yelled.

"…dat hurt," the chief-bully moaned. "Dat frikkin' hurt!"

Before he could take a step towards her, the girl unleashed another volley. Naruto was amazed by the accuracy at which she threw. None of the pebbles missed, and the three bullies quickly gave up and ran.

"Cowards," the little girl huffed. Now that she moved closer, Naruto could see the blushing girl. She had the oddest hairdo Naruto had ever seen, with her brown hair formed into two buns on top of her head. He face was a bit dirty, dusty as she was from playing outdoors for the entire day. And her clothes… well, they were rather messy. They were patched up on her knees and elbows, but they were still obviously old, as the fabric lost nearly all its color.

"Who are you?" Naruto sniffed.

"Tenten!" the slightly older girl lost some of her initial confidence when she saw the teary-eyed Naruto, as if she was uncomfortable dealing with a child who broke down like that. "And you? Why did those bullies pester you? Are you part of a clan? Are you here all by yourself? Are you an orphan too? Are you-"

Little Naruto put up a hand, trying to get her to stop. It didn't work, though.

"Naruto! Where are you Naruto?" a red-haired woman hobbled towards them. Strangely, she had felt his distress. Not that she really understood how, but she had realized something was wrong with her Naruto. She had never felt anything like this before, though now that she thought about it, she did always have those vague pulses in the back of her head. Was this her link to her son? She never sought for it before, as she had forgotten about the hypothesis of that man, but now that she was looking for it she found all the hints. Was this the connection established as this bond of being the former and current jinchuriki of the Kyuubi? 'I will have to ask Minato-kun. Perhaps Sandaime-sama or that pervert would know more?'

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto jumped up and rushed to his mother. Seeing how she got ignored all of a sudden, Tenten felt dejected and wanted to walk away. "No, I'm not feeling ouch. Tenten-chan saved me!"

"Why are you walking away, little girl?" the woman spoke loud enough to make the girl freeze in her steps.

"Awa.. I, eh.." Tenten didn't know what to say, and her perpetual blush expanded until her whole face was red as a beetroot.

"I told you, Kaa-chan: Tenten-chan saved me from those meanies!" Naruto chirped, darting towards Tenten. Before she could say a thing, his tiny hand grabbed hers, and he dragged her towards Kushina.

"Thank you, Tenten-chan," Kushina made a small bow to the child, one which the bun-haired girl returned with a much deeper bow. The submissive look on the girl's face completely contradicted her earlier expression, something which even Naruto noticed.

"Are you sick?" he poked with his index finger against her red cheek.

Bewildered, the five year old girl looked at the blond boy. From his orange shorts, to his green shirt with red swirl logo, she couldn't understand his behavior at all. Furthermore, his whiskers gave him a strangely exotic look, but it was his bright blue eyes which drew her attention. As if she was looking at the summer skies, these eyes radiated a warmth and cheerfulness she never encountered before.

"I'm not sick. I, err.. I have to go home now," she shied away from his touch.

"Hmm, this is a somewhat rough neighborhood," Kushina frowned. "Do you want us to walk you home?"

"No! No, that's not necessary," Tenten immediately tried to talk her out of it. But she didn't know Kushina, at all. If there was one thing Naruto had to say about his mother, it would be that she was stubborn. She made an offer, and he knew she would persist.

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, young lady."

Yes, there was the mother he knew. Naruto could see Kushina was still exhausted, but if they walked at a slow pace, she wouldn't have much trouble. "Yeah, we're gonna walk on your home!"

"Naruto-chan… it is 'walk you home', not 'walk on your home'," Kushina corrected her son reflexively.

"Ehh? But what…" Naruto continued to argue, as well as his four year-old mind allowed him at least, but Tenten barely paid attention.

She knew how people reacted. They were nice, until they would figure out that she lived in an orphanage. Children from orphanages were seen as nuisances, a fact which Tenten had quickly understood, in spite of her age. But on the other hand, the warden had been very clear that it would be even ruder to lie. Plus, the fearsome red-haired woman had asked her a question. 'I have to answer it, I would be rude not to…' Tenten sighed. She knew she had no choice but to admit it. "I live in this neighborhood."

Naruto stopped mid-sentence, and look curiously at the girl.

"At the orphanage?" Kushina realized. 'A that is why she is wearing these rags… Poor child.'

"Kaa-chan, what is an oropage?"

"An orphanage, Naruto-chan, is a place where children live who don't have parents anymore," Kushina explained.

"Ehhhh? You don't have a Kaa-chan?" Naruto blinked, turning to Tenten. He didn't even know such a thing was possible.

"No.. Warden-sama says Kaa-san died four years ago. I don't even remember her," Tenten said on a woeful tone. "I wish I did."

"And your Tou-san?" Kushina probed as carefully as she could.

"I dunno. They say I'm illgiltelmit child," Tenten shrugged.

"Illgiltelmit?" Naruto frowned, looking up to his mother for explanation. "What's that?"

"Dunno either, but it sounds kinda important, doesn't it? I'm sure it's because I'm super strong!" Tenten boasted.

"It is pronounced as 'illegitimate'," Kushina interrupted.

"But Kaa-chahaaaan," Naruto whined. "What does it mean?"

"Does it really mean that I am going to be as strong as Tsunade-sama?" Tenten asked with starry eyes.

"How do you know Baa-chan?" the little blond blinked.

"Baa-chan?" Tenten looked puzzled at Naruto.

"Tsunade-baachan!"

"Wh-wh-WHAT?" Tenten shrieked, startling both mother and son. "You dare call Tsunade-sama a granny!"

"But she is," Naruto rebuked weakly, half-hiding behind his mother's leg, holding the green fabric of her dress as if it were a shield. "She's a granny, even if she hides it under her gunthingy. Gunjutsu."

"Genjutsu," Kushina sighed, poking Naruto so that he would let go. "But Tenten-chan is right: it is not polite to call someone like that."

"Eh? But she older than you and Tou-chan! And Gama-jisan said she was just as old as he is."

"Don't try to be clever now, kiddo," Kushina warned her son not to keep defending himself. She wasn't tolerating any protests- unlike her husband, who was far too soft with their son. "You need to learn to act appropriately to your standing, and you know how important Tou-san's job is, right?"

"Right…" Naruto sighed.

Wide-eyed, Tenten stared from Kushina to Naruto. "Is your Tou-san an important person?"

"Tou-chan is the strongest shinobi of the village!" Naruto proudly stuck he chest out.

"Pff.. Everyone knows the Yondaime is the strongest," Tenten remarked skeptically. Though, she halted when both Naruto and Kushina nodded in agreement. "…you're not trying to tell me that-"

"Minato is my husband, yes," Kushina couldn't help but laugh when she saw the shocked expression on the five-year-old girl. Her amusement waned, though, when the girl fell to her knees and groveled in front of them. "What are you doing?"

"I'm terribly sorry," Tenten said on a submissive tone. For a second, curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she had forgotten her lowly position. "I apologize for acting so familiarly to someone as high-born as you, milady, Naruto-sama."

"Milady?" Naruto blinked.

"Stop acting so ridiculous," Kushina said firmly. "Get up, stand on your two feet." The girl complied. "And for Kami's sake, stop looking away!" the red-haired woman added with more than a little frustration.

"Yes, milady."

"It's Kushina," the elder Uzumaki grumbled. "Don't call me 'milady', it makes me feel old."

"As you wish, Kushina-sama."

"Arrgh, don't be so frustrating!" Kushina exclaimed. "It's just Kushina. Drop the formalities."

"Why am I a 'sama', Kaa-chan?" Naruto tugged her green skirt, demanding attention.

"Never mind that," Kushina turned around and shouted "Yugao!" once. Within a second, the anbu operative with a cat-face mask jumped down the trees. Yugao had found Naruto before Kushina did, but considering how Tenten interfered, she had deemed it unnecessary to punish the bullies any further. The ringleader was hit especially hard, considering how he was limping and holding a hand in front of his aching crotch. 'That girl sure has one heck of a throwing arm for a kid her age…' the purple-haired anbu thought.

Tenten, however, had no clue whatsoever of where the masked kunoichi had been hiding, nor why she was watching them. To her, the masked shinobi were the elite of the village, something that went wayyy over her head. Now she suddenly stood near one, and near the wife and son of the legendary Yondaime Hokage! The boy's familiar comments about her great hero, the slug sage Senju Tsunade left her a dumbfounded five year-old.

"Kushina-sama, could you please not refer to my real name when I have du-"

"Stop it with the 'sama', you're just as bad as the kid," Kushina shrugged it off. Her exhaustion made her a little snappy. "You're going to tell the orphanage that Tenten-chan won't be home before dinner."

"Kushina-sama?" Yugao cringed when Kushina smacked her for the usage of the suffix. In her defense, it was such a habit to Yugao that it was rather difficult to change, no matter how often Kushina protested, hating those formalities from someone whom she deemed 'close'. Besides, it was something that belonged to her function as anbu. Yugao couldn't act formal and familiar while she wore that mask. Yet, neither Kushina nor Naruto seemed to bother about it.

"Which orphanage do you live in, Tenten-san?" The anbu decided not to question Kushina's decision any further.

"T-the one in the north-western sector?" Tenten completely lost track of what was going on.

"Good," Kushina grabbed her son by the hand, and offered the other one to Tenten. "Don't look at me like that, kid, it's just a hand."

"I… Ehm, what… why?"

"You saved my son from a group of bullies, so the least I can do is to repay you," Kushina smiled widely. "And considering those rags, I think you might enjoy an afternoon in the shopping district. We'll first get something to drink, though." She really wanted to rest for a bit.

"Shopping?" Naruto exclaimed in horror.

"Yes, shopping," Kushina replied sweetly. The underlying threat did not elude Naruto, so he just admitted defeat, dramatically sagging down with his head and tiny shoulders. He could feel that she was determined, so that arguing was useless. However, he could not interpret the strange mixture of emotions he felt through their 'link'.

With her status as the former jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, and his as the current one, it meant that they understood each other way better than deemed 'normal'. It was as if their minds were, to some degree, open to each other. But Naruto was too young to comprehend her mixture of guilt and gratitude. Kushina was thankful that the girl rescued Naruto, but at the same time she felt guilty that Tenten was orphaned because of her- because she had failed to contain the Kyuubi.

She knew all that happened because the Masked Man had struck that day, but still she couldn't escape that feeling of guilt whenever she saw someone who lost someone dear on that night. Even though he extracted the Kyuubi at the moment she was weakened due to giving birth to Naruto, Kushina still thought that she should have taken more precautions. But the contingencies which Minato had put in place had seemed enough. How foolish they had been…

But how could they have known that man would strike? Even the one who had saved them had been too late to prevent the Kyuubi from damaging the village. The one did manage to prevent her from dying, and after Minato saved the village, he also managed to convince the Kyuubi that there was some bigger threat around. The Masked Man, who had claimed to be the infamous Uchiha Madara, had only provided the evidence for that claim. The mysterious man had prevented her husband from killing himself, prevented her from dying, and saved Naruto. Even when Minato had been the one to do all the fighting and all the sealing, that man's presence had tipped the delicate balance in their favor. Due to him, her son did not have to grow up as an orphan like this girl. But it had been close… So terribly close.

Whenever Kushina saw a child like Tenten, she was reminded that it could have been her son who could have had that empty look in his eyes.

"Shopping?" Tenten repeated Naruto's question. Kushina sighed, and just looked at the girl. "I have no money," the tiny brunette admitted with reluctance.

"Tsk, as if I would let a little kid pay when I offer to take her out shopping," Kushina shot down the girl's hesitations. Even if it would be only for a day, she would give this child some hope, and bring that lively sparkle back to her brown eyes. "I'm not taking no for an answer, Tenten-chan, so just take my hand. And Naruto-kun, you stop sulking or we won't dine at Ichiraku's."

"Ramen?" he asked. Tenten took a step back when she saw the fanatical glimmer in the blond's eyes. "Kaa-chan, can we go now?" he tried dragging his mother along, but she was too big and strong for his tiny frame.

"Is it truly all right, Kushina-sama?"

"Only if you drop the 'sama'. Seriously, if you keep saying that, I'll consider it as an insult. You hear me, kid?"

Tenten blushed, and nodded. "As you wish, Kushina-san."

Rolling her eyes, Kushina internally decided to take what she could get and not object to the girl's insistence on politeness any longer. 'But I wish Naruto-kun had a bit of her manners,' she conceded to herself. The irony of her own thoughts escaped her, because it wasn't exactly his father's fault that Naruto had such a disregard for formalities…

Tucked into his bed once more, Naruto had held a long monologue to his father. "…and then Kaa-chan bought this really pretty red dress. It had a yellow fastening buttons. The woman at the shop told me that the buttons were called that way. And she said the dress color matched really well with her blush. And then she… And then Kaa-chan… And I did…"

Minato smiled as his son rambled on and on. Kushina had warned him that Naruto was rather lively today, having made a little friend and all. But for him to be talking for fifteen minutes non-stop… 'He really takes after Kushina, doesn't he? Jiraiya-sensei was right when he said that Naruto may look like me, but acts exactly like Kushina. Even his speaking quirk is similar to Kushina…' Although he couldn't decide what sounded cuter, 'ttebane or 'ttebayo.

"… and when Kaa-chan gave her that dress, she suddenly started to cry. Do you know why she had to cry? Tou-chan? Kaa-chan said that Ten-chan was crying because she was happy, but why would someone cry because she is happy, Tou-chan? Tou-chan? Are you sleepy, Tou-chan?"

"Oh, sorry Naruto. Yes, it was a tiresome day.."

"Did Sasuke's family bother you again?"

"The Uchiha did file a complaint, yes," Minato admitted. "But you asked me something else?"

"Yes, Ten-chan was crying when Kaa-chan gave her that pretty dress!"

"Sometimes people cry because they are happy, Naruto-kun."

"But why?" Naruto sighed. "I don't get it!"

"Kaa-san cried when she first saw you," Minato recalled. "And do you remember when you gave her those flowers on her last birthday?"

"She cried too," Naruto frowned. "I thought she was illogical to the flowers."

"Illogical?"

"Like when those stupid yellow sneeze-flowers bloom," Naruto explained in the typical impatient way kids react when they think adults are slow on the uptake.

"Oh, you mean allergic!"

"I said that," Naruto huffed.

"Illogical and allergic are two completely different things," Minato laughed at his pouting son. "But crying is just a way to express one's emotions. You can do it when you are really sad, but also when you're really happy."

"She didn't cry when we ate ramen together, though- even when she smiled really, really widely," Naruto frowned.

Minato nearly choked when he saw Naruto's pensive frown. "Not.. Not everyone is as crazy about ramen as you and your mother are, Naruto," he laughed.

"Ehh? How can someone not like ramen? Kaa-chan says that it is the food of gods!"

"But ramen is not everyone's favorite food," Minato chided him with a friendly smile. "You will understand when you are older."

"But I wanna understand now," Naruto pouted, shrugging further underneath his blanket.

"But not today. Now it is bedtime for you, so I'm going to read you one story, and then you are going to sleep."

"Like Kaa-chan?"

"Yes, like Kaa-chan," Minato chuckled. His wife had really exhausted herself, and now she was paying the price. She'd be fast asleep until noon tomorrow, judging by the look in her eyes when he last saw her. "Let's see. The one with the Llama is already finished, so why don't we start with 'Toad Toad Red Coat' today?"

"Is it from Gama-jisan?" Naruto asked with more than a little suspicion. The man always tried to tell Naruto stories, but for some reason they always revolved around toads.

"Who else but Jiraiya-sensei?"

Naruto smirked, knowingly. "'kay, I'll give it a chance."

Author's notes:

Another story from me? Yes. But Apophenia isn't just some random drivel. I always felt intrigued by stories where Naruto didn't lose his parents. So, I created a somewhat insane plot where both Minato and Kushina would survive. Naturally, the latter is severely weakened due to having the Kyuubi ripped out of her, but she lived. How did they live, you ask? Who helped them, who 'cured' Kushina, you ask? Who is the 'mystery man'?

Well now, a joke wouldn't be funny if the punch line was told before the actual joke. So, I'm going to leave this as a bit of a mystery at first. I think that at this point only Ensou (thank you for your advice!) and my beta Illuminated have a clue of where this is going. But when all the random bits of data connect together, it will make sense to the rest of you as well. At least, I hope so. Anyway, for that reason I picked this difficult-sounding name as a title.

But Zil, why the 'M' rating? Well, I intend to make this a story where the shinobi world is seen through the eyes of children. And it's not like all the problems in Konoha are just magically solved by saving Minato and Kushina. That would be boring. So, there will be some darker things happening in future chapters, thus my choice for the M rating, just to be safe.

Now, please read, follow, fav, and most of all: review!

-Ziltoid-

Additional notes:

1) regarding the Japanese language used: Tousan means 'father' and Kaasan means 'mother'. Chan is simply a more personal term, to show your endearment. It suffices to say that it is highly informal, and even a bit childish. Compare Kaachan to 'mommy'. The 'o' prefix is to show more respect. So, Okaasama is wayyy more formal than Kaachan. Ji-san means 'uncle', and Baa-san means 'grandmother'. I'm not master in the language by any stretch of the word, but I'll be using these kinds of basic terms. But if you've watched the anime, or read the manga, you will have encountered most of them anyway.

2) regarding Naruto's name: as Minato and Kushina survive in this AU, Naruto carries the name of Namikaze instead of Uzumaki. Why? The Uzumaki clan was supposedly feared throughout the world (although Kishimoto never really expanded on it), but the clan is practically extinct. Meanwhile, the Namikaze name might be new, but it is tied to a person who was infamous enough to get flee-on-sight order on his name. I'm not sure why this particular choice is upsetting readers, perhaps it is because changes are scary, which makes me wonder why people read fanfic in the first place, but I prefer this logical option. The Yondaime Hokage might not be part of any fancy clan, but I think his name carries more weight, both in and outside Konoha, hence my decision to go for the name 'Namikaze Naruto'. After all, unlike the manga there isn't much of a reason to hide Naruto's heritage now...