A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, multiple severe adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.

NEW:

Well, you guys voted, and here it is!

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

Thoughts or emphasis on certain words.

Demonic voice or evil tones

1/16/2010

Chapter 1: A Success

In Konohakagure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Yondaime Hokage faced the Shinigami, the god of death. He had done his sworn duty as Hokage. He had just defeated the greatest of the Biju, the Kyuubi no Kitsune...at the cost of his own life. Minato Namikaze had sealed the beast into his own son, scarcely a few hours old.

"Shinigami-sama, may I make one request? I know the cost of Shiki Fujin, but may I have ten minutes before you take me?"

"Very well. Such a miniscule duration is nothing to a being of eternity such as I." The Shinigami replied.

Minato opened his eyes, seeing his predecessor, the Sandaime Hokage, standing above him.

"Hiruzen, listen carefully." He gasped, his body already failing despite his soul still present. "I do not have long in this world. Help take care of Naruto, do you hear me? Kushina-chan is going to need all the help she can get—"

"Minato…" Sarutobi said mournfully. "Kushina died as a result of complications in childbirth."

Minato closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to Kami. I won't even be able to see her in the afterlife. "Then Naruto's welfare depends on you, then. Make sure he is treated well. Make sure no one hates him for his burden." The tall blonde looked down at his son in his arms. The seal was fresh on his stomach, but would fade away soon. Minato had specifically designed this seal himself, and knew every facet of the seal like the back of his hand. The Kyuubi shouldn't be able to influence Naruto whatsoever until Naruto started drawing on large amounts of the Kyuubi's youkai, which hopefully wouldn't have to happen until Naruto had the mental maturity to control the demon. However, Minato feared that the villagers might see Naruto as the reincarnation of the Demon-Fox, instead of the person who kept it contained.

"The Kyuubi will not be able to control Naruto. Make sure people know that. Take care of him…" Minato's voice trailed off as his soul began to leave his body. Sarutobi, you'd better not screw up in taking care of my son... "…or I'll come back to kill you myself…" With that, he died.

The next thing Minato saw was the Shinigami. "You have my eternal gratitude, Shinigami-sama." He said, realizing that eternity was exactly how long he would be in the belly of death. "I am ready, now."

Minato shivered as the Shinigami's cold hand wrapped around him. But the Death God did not bring his hand towards his mouth to swallow him. Instead, Minato felt himself being lifted higher and higher.

"Shinigami-sama, I do not understand. Am I not supposed to reside in your stomach, tortured for eternity?"

"You were, mortal. However, because you used Shiki Fujin for purely altruistic reasons, knowing full well the consequences of such an act, Kami-sama allowed me to give you a test. If you had tried to fight back to stop your soul from being consumed, then you would have failed. Instead, I have chosen to allow you access to the afterlife."

Minato smiled as he felt a warm light on his face. Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad after all. "Wait for me, Kushina-chan. I'll be right there."

"ENOUGH!" Sarutobi roared. "If Minato's son dies, the Kyuubi no Kitsune will be released again! Is that what you fools want? Do you think the Nine-tails will be happy?" He suppressed a smile at his own lie. This way, no one would dare attack Naruto.

The council immediately quieted. Almost immediately upon hearing what had happened to the Kyuubi, they had demanded the death of the child before even asking his name or thinking about consulting his parents. A few members paled at the thought of the absolute betrayal of the Yondaime they would be commiting by harming his son, while others shivered at the thought of a released Kyuubi no Kitsune, bound to be even angrier and more destructive than before.

Sarutobi reveled in the effectiveness of his little white lie. "Hmmm…Minato wasn't sure, but too much emotional stress may also release the Kyuubi." He said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

A man with bandages covering his entire right side spoke up. "We should train him, make him into a weapon! With the power of the Kyuubi at our fingertips, Konoha can rise to become the greatest village of all."

The Sandaime scowled. "What part of 'no emotional stress' didn't you get, Danzo?"

"That's just the thing. With my training methods, he will have no emotions."

"No." Sarutobi said flatly.

"But—"

"I said no, Danzo! As Hokage, I forbid it! If, and only if, Naruto wishes to become a ninja, then he will receive the proper training. Knowing his father and mother, that is literally a guarantee, yes?" Sarutobi looked around the council, seeing the acceptance on everyone's faces. "Now, there is still the issue of his upbringing. Naruto is the heir to the Namikaze Clan, but he is only a baby. As such, he will live under the care of others until his twelfth birthday. Is there anyone who believes they deserve this honor?"

Much to the surprise of the other council members, Hiashi Hyuga was the first to stand. "Minato was a good friend of me and the Hyuga. If our situations were reserved, he would do the same for my unborn daughter. I, Hiashi Hyuga, humbly request the privilege of taking care of Namikaze Naruto." There were gasps around the council room.

Next, a feral-eyed woman with dark hair stood. "The Inuzuka owe a debt of loyalty to Minato Namikaze as well. Minato was a fine man, and Hiashi-san is right: he would take care of another's pup and treat it like his own. I, Tsume Inuzuka, humbly request the privilege of taking care of Namikaze Naruto." Perhaps Kiba and Naruto will become friends, as well. Tsume thought, referring to her two-month old son.

Sarutobi nodded. "Very well. Anyone else…Shikaku, please wake up."

Inoichi snorted in amusement and elbowed his friends in the ribs. The scarred Nara shot up. Apparently, he had actually been paying attention...while somehow still sleeping? Sarutobi figured it must be a Nara male trait.

"Huh? Oh, it'd be too troublesome for me to have more than one kid in my house. My wife would probably make me play with both of them. Nah, far too much of a drag for me."

Small laughter could be heard around the council as Shikaku basically confirmed the basic stereotype of the lazy Nara male. "Fine. As the Sandaime Hokage of Konohakagure no Sato, I declare that Namikaze Naruto will spend the first twelve years of his life living with the Inuzuka and the Hyuga. He will live with them in periods of two years each before switching. The Inuzuka will have custody of him first, and after two years the Hyuga will take care of him. This switching will continue until he is twelve."

Hiashi and Tsume nodded. "That sounds most fair, Hokage-sama."

Three years later…

Hiashi smiled at his young charge, Naruto, and his daughter, Hinata. A year ago, Tsume had relinquished Naruto to the Hyuga, with little lack of regret. Apparently, ever since Kiba had been born, Naruto wouldn't stop crying, and neither would Kiba. Tsume had to put their bedrooms at opposite sides of the Inuzuka Compound! Even when they were awake, if Kiba and Naruto were in the same room they would both immediately start crying!

If it weren't for little Hana-chan, Tsume had said, I would have gone insane. Lets hope that a similar situation does not occur with your daughter and Naruto.

Hiashi suppressed his own amusement, but his wife still caught on. Hitami just knew him too well.

"Something amusing, Hiashi-kun?" She asked, a single eyebrow delicately raised.

Hiashi shook his head. "Just thinking about how well Naruto and Hinata get along, Hitami-chan."

And really, Naruto and Hinata were practically best friends. In stark contrast to life at the Inuzuka's, Naruto's situation at the Hyuga's was far different in relation to the respective clan heirs. Naruto and Hinata were incredibly close, almost like siblings. They even slept together, although just for comfort in the night, and Hiashi and Hitami doubted anything inappropriate would occur, as they were only three. They were even calling each other "Nawutoh-kun" and "Heenatah-chan".

Hitami smiled. "I know. Its really such a shame that they aren't older, isn't it. Then we could tease them about having crushes on each other."

Hiashi chuckled. "I don't know if would be such a good idea…maybe Hinata picked up your shyness." He joked.

Hitami blushed. When they were younger, Hitami had been unable to confess her feelings for Hiashi. But when she had… "Maybe Naruto would faint, like you did when I told I loved you."

Hiashi gasped up in mock outrage. "You swore to never mention that again! Now I must uphold the Hyuga honor and punish you accordingly." He joked.

Hiashi pinned his wife's arms behind her back and passionately kissed her. Hitami broke away, breathless. "Hiashi-kun, Naruto and Hinata are in the next room." She gasped, scandalized and excited at the same time.

Hitami moaned as Hiashi caressed her. "Staying quiet is half the fun…"

(AN: What? Hanabi hasn't been conceived yet, and babies don't just happen… well, you do, but that's only when you get completely wasted.)

Hiashi awoke. It was early in the morning, around 3:00 AM, perhaps. He had a bad feeling, and activated his Byakugan.

Hiashi swore, waking up Hitami. "Hiashi-kun, what's wrong?"

Hiashi was already dressing. "Someone is in Hinata's room. Wake up everyone else!" In a blink, he was out the door.

Hiashi chased the intruder through the Hyuga compound. His rage boiled as he saw a sack carelessly draped over the intruder's shoulder. His daughter was in that bag! With glee, Hiashi noted that the man wasn't fast enough to get out of the compound before Hiashi caught up. Unfortunately, the kidnapper seemed to sense this too, and tried a different approach.

Juang ran into the nearest room with the intent to grab a hostage. It was a risk, but a slim chance was better than no chance at all. Juang knew he would be killed instantly if the Hyuga head caught up to him. Keeping the sack with the heiress over his shoulder, Juang grabbed the sleeping occupant of the bed. He saw a child with blonde hair. Damn! This isn't even a Hyuga! I needed someone important to keep that bastard from killing me!

Regardless, Juang jumped back into the hallway, seeing Hiashi still approaching, his Byakugan blazing. Juang held a kunai to the boy's throat, and surprisingly, Hiashi stopped, his indecision clear on his face.

"Don't move!" Juang warned unnecessarily, backing up all the while. Wait a minute, spiky blonde hair, blue eyes…this is the Yondaime's kid! Maybe Raikage-sama will forgive me for getting caught if I bring him the son of the Yellow Flash!

Hiashi froze. He wasn't fast enough to kill or stop the man before he could kill Naruto, but if he didn't stop him, Hinata would be kidnapped!

Juang took advantage of Hiashi's hesitation and fled, still carrying Hinata and Naruto. Hiashi immediately reacted by running after him, but he could see that he wouldn't catch up in time. Hiashi saw the intruder disappear into the bright light of the outdoors. He immediately followed, but when he got out, the intruder was nowhere to be seen.

Hiashi fell to his knees. No… Hitami, Minato, Hinata, Naruto… I've failed you all.

AN: Alright, so there it is; the first chapter.

Now, 20 of you voted on my profile for this story. I think its reasonable to expect half of you to review.

I'm not going to do any ultimatums, and the next chapter will come regardless of how many reviews I get, but it would be great if people let me know their thoughts. Tell me if you love it or hate it, what I can improve on and what I can keep the same.