"Otou-chan... where are we going?" the two-year-old girl asked, blinking her fuchsia eyes up at the old man. She gave a loose cough, dragging her heels slightly as he pulled her along at a quick pace. Her skinny frame was draped loosely in a large t-shirt and too-big pants, which she tripped on occasionally. Her father took no notice of this, gripping her hand, showing no sign of recognition as the sky opened up and poured rain down on everything.

The black-haired girl sneezed, pulling on her father's hand weakly. "Okaa-san and Ming-jiji said I wasn't to get cold, or I would get ill again."

Her father looked back at her with an unreadable expression, "We're almost there."

After a few more minutes, they reached a large, ominous-looking building, with stone pillars along the front and a grey stone canopy, shielding a tall, ornately-carved oak door. Her father pulled her through this door, then sat her down on something cold and high up, in a cold, dark room. She felt something wrap around her wrists, holding them apart from each other, then binding them above her head. The same thing happened at her ankles, and the girl mewled, trying to move, but unable.

"Otou-san... what's going on?" her father stood beside her, looking downwards at her, and made some mysterious movements with his hands, before many flames lit up, one after the other, in a circle around them.

Her father whispered a few unfamiliar words, and a large mass of purple-silver energy made itself known, writhing and puffing in a gas-like form at the ceiling.

"Otou-san, I... I'm scared..."

The man just ignored her, making more hand-seals, before pulling all of the silvery energy down from the air. He placed his glowing hand onto her forehead, and a mess of spiralling patterns worked down from her head over her whole body as she screamed in pain.

"It burns!! Otou-san, it burns! Make it stop!"

She writhed on the stone table, but the symbols continued working down her skin. Her face screwed up, and she became lost in a world of pain, the feeling of being burnt alive too much for her.

The door suddenly crashed open, and a man with spiky blonde hair, along with the girl's mother, appeared. It was clear the girl's mother was murderously angry; she was glowing with furious orange-red chakra that formed a cloak around her body, and her pink-red hair was whipping wildly around her face. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks, seeing her daughter writhing and screaming in pain.

"What are you doing to her?!! You bastard!" the woman roared, the chakra bubbling and slowly forming into a second tail. The blonde man quickly sprang into action, placing a paper-seal quickly on the woman's forehead, then attacking the dark-haired man. He allowed himself to get thrown back.

"Ha! So that's the power of Konoha's Yondaime Hokage-!" the sneering tone cut off as he realised that the very person he had been mocking was now behind him, pressing a kunai to his throat. Minato's expression was steely, in a frown at this man for doing something like this to his own daughter.

"You're coming with me."

* * *

Two ANBU shinobi guarded the prisoner, while the Yondaime spoke with the woman whose daughter he had saved. He regarded her with slight sadness; he had grown fond of the woman and her daughter.

"He'll be dealt with as soon as we get back to Konohagakure." he said, eyes moving to the unconscious girl in the woman's arms. "I'm sorry we didn't get there faster, Kushina-san."

"It's not your fault, Minato-san." Kushina said, watching as her daughter stirred slightly, then winced, and buried her face into her mother's warmth. She was still covered in those purple symbols, and her hair was seeming to grow even as they watched her. "He had spoken about making her into such a weapon, but... I didn't want to believe that he would truly do it."

Minato put a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him. He gave her an easy smile. "Do not worry, Kushina-san. She's an Uzumaki- all of your clansmen have strong will and spirit. She will be fine."

Kushina stared at him a second, then gave him a breathtaking smile. "You're right. Thank you, Minato-san."

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" Minato's head snapped up from his paperwork, look of boredom diminishing at the urgent call. "There is a woman with a child at the front gate wishing to speak with you."

Minato sighed, getting up from his seat behind his desk. Why did they always shout to him in that tone if it wasn't urgent? It was just setting him up for disappointment.

Once he was a few feet from the gate, his gaze was drawn to a head of long, pinkish-red hair, and he sped up. "Kushina-san?!"

* * *

After explaining her situation, Kushina pulled her now three-year old daughter closer to her, while the Yondaime had a thoughtful look on his face. The little girl stared up at him, her short, snow-white hair hanging over her big, fuchsia eyes.

"Is it really her? Is this really little Kaoru?" Minato asked with a smile, looking down at the little girl. She just stared at him, then smiled back tentatively. "Is the white hair a... side effect?"

Kushina nodded minutely, ruffling her daughter's fluffy hair. "It became like this shortly after you left, Minato-san."

Minato nodded. "Of course." his expression became pensive, and he leaned his elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers. "You and your daughter may stay here, Kushina-san, until the matters in Uzushigakure are resolved."

Kushina and Kaoru were soon moved into a house nearby the forest, just big enough for the two of them. It was about six months before Kushina started dating the Hokage, and three months more before her and Kaoru moved in with him. Two months later they got married.

Kushina was quite a brash and bossy woman, though caring, and could be manipulative when she wanted. It was evident that, figuratively, she wore the trousers in the relationship. Kaoru had also grown noticably stronger, no longer the frail, sickly child that Minato had met all those months ago. But the purple, tattoo-like seal on her forehead, that remained hidden by her white, thick fringe, was reason enough for that.

Minato found it hard to believe that Kushina had never been a shinobi, but loved her dearly all the same, along with her softspoken, adorable young daughter. Kaoru had also grown closer with the young Hokage, loving him like a Father, and had a habit of following him around whenever he was doing something interesting.

"Otou-chan? Where're we going?" the young girl asked, running up to her father-figure and scampering up onto his back, then wrapping her arms securely around his neck. Minato smiled at her, hooking his hands around her legs so she wouldn't slip.

"I have training scheduled with my team. I guess you want to come along?" the girl nodded vigourously, so much so that her head might just have rolled off of her shoulders.

"I wan' see Obito-chan!" she said, beaming at the prospect of seeing said raven. He was her all-time favourite person, next to her parents, as whilst she loved Kakashi-kun and Rin-chan, neither of them played the fun (and degrading) games with her that Obito-chan did.

* * *

"Otou-chan?" Minato looked up from his paperwork and saw Kaoru, clutching the hand of Mei, Kushina's sister and Kaoru's aunt, who was visiting from Uzushigakure to give the two parents a break.

"Yes, Kaoru?" Kaoru let go of the redhead's hand and scampered over to her respective father, bare feet making a little slapping noise against the polished floor. She was five now, and should have known better, but the girl still refused to wear shoes.

"Why is 'kaa-chan's belly getting so big? She looks like she might explode, but she's so happy all the time." Minato chuckled, ruffling the girl's short hair.

"That's simple, Kaoru. You Okaa-san has a baby growing in her tummy." Minato explained, and Kaoru's eyes widened in horror. She stepped back a bit, in shock.

"Kaa-chan ate a baby?!"

* * *

"Kaa-chan? Can I... can I feel the baby?" Kushina looked down at her sincere-looking daughter, and smiled, feeling her eyes tearing up. She carefully sat down on the floor, and took Kaoru's hand.

"Of course you can feel your little sister or brother!" she said, and guided the small hand to her inflated stomach. Kaoru's eyes widened, before she smiled, and a tear rolled down her pale cheek.

"What's wrong?! Kaoru?!" Kushina panicked, wiping her daughter's tears away. Kaoru sniffed, and looked up at Kushina, her eyelashes wet with the tears, and smiled.

"It's you, kaa-chan... I can feel your happiness... and.. and I can't help it. I'm sorry." Kushina laughed shakily, partly from the shock, and pulled the five year old into a firm hug.

"Never apologise for crying, Kaoru... never. It's a good thing to cry." Kushina said, and Kaoru looked up at her mother.

"Really? My old Otou-san said it was a weakness, I remember."

"Really." Kushina said firmly, feeling slightly annoyed at her now-jailed ex-husband. "That man didn't know anything."

Relieved, Kaoru smiled, shutting her eyes and relaxing into the embrace.

* * *

Kaoru sniffed, staring around in a panic. The feeling was only intensified by the baby's wailing in the background, making her want to wail too. The baby- Naruto, as Kaa-chan and Otou-chan called him- had very strong emotions, strong character, and it was making Kaoru's senses go haywire.

Kushina was dead; she had died giving birth to the baby, and Minato was out fighting with the other shinobi. There was little Kaoru could do, being only eight and barely started the academy. But...

She realised one thing, as she wiped some of the blood off of her face and hands with her sleeves. She then picked up the wailing baby and shushed him gently, cradling him in her arms how Kushina had showed her to.

It was time for her to grow up.

----

Eheheh, PROLOGUE PEOPLE!!

I decided to write this'n cuz I just watched the arc in Shippuden where Itachi dies (ToT)/ so sad!! I cried!! (TTДTT )

And also, coz Itachi's HAWT!! \(//∇//)\ His eyes are actually bootiful!! (=｀ω')

So yeah, enjoy!! Itachi's in d next chapter :D

-/.\- = that way!! -->

PEACE!! (^O^)／