Everyone deserves a normal life, normal childhood and friends. Even if you have to face your everyday with a plastic mask to deserve those things, things aren't just about how you interact but how you encounter it.

No one seemingly knows how past will shape you of who you didn't want and like to be. Everything that shapes you is the hardship and suffering you went through, the pain that doesn't stop, and the wisdom you build to yourself of who you want to be.

Why was it always hard to give up when everything and everyone around you seems to pull you down and stop you? It's not wrong to hope but giving up should be the last thing to think of.

If there's something a particular blonde kid learned, it was how to supress every bit of your emotion into a smile or a mask. Every bit of his sadness, loneliness, anger, feelings of betrayal and sorrows are well locked up inside a door within his own mindscape.

His father didn't die during the Kyuubi attack miraculously because he survived his own deadly technique the Shiki Fuuin with no particular fact how. But Minato was sent out for a mission to other countries which only him could do and devoted himself so much into it because of the lost of his wife.

So Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime, was temporarily positioned as Hokage again upon Minato's absence. Minato's son, Naruto, was under the Sandaime's care but Sarutobi couldn't keep watch on Naruto everytime due to his Hokage duties.

So under the circumstances without his father for whole eight years was hard and lonely. Naruto grew up trying to make friends but failed. So he grew up being a prankster. Even if others mistreats him and takes the opportunity to kill him because he was the Kyuubi's container, he didn't let this particular reason to stop himself to let others acknowledge him. He is always positive like his father.

But he is loud, talkative and a happy-go-lucky person like Kushina but no one bothered to know it was just a mask to hide his pain all along. He didn't hate the whole village, because he could understand the pain they've gone through..

But it was just too much.

His mother died during the Kyuubi attack. She was diseased while giving birth to a new born baby boy, Naruto. But the boy's loneliness was starting to vanish when his father came back after eight years. Minato, on the other hand, was quite disappointed at the villagers when Sarutobi explained to him how they mistreated and tried to kill his son because they believe he was the Kyuubi.

But he was relieved when he heard Naruto hasn't dicovered about the Kyuubi yet, so the law he issued about mentioning the Kyuubi is still on effect. He immediately looked for his son after his report to the Sandaime.

As soon as he reached the Namikaze compound, he immediately looked for his son. He went around and around but no sign of a blonde kid. So he wandered down the streets. He then heard some leaf-nins shouting and beating a small child who was crying. He then approached them, his eyes widened to see it was his son whom they were beating. He looked at them with pure anguish and released a horrifying level of killing intent.

"What are you doing?" asked Minato in a monotonic voice of anger, his eyes never leaving the nins who just stood there kicking the child.

"He's a demon! He deserves to die!" one of the ninja shouted not facing Minato who pointed out the crying boy. He then felt his companion shaking and sweating.

"Hayato! It's the Fourth.." his companion said with his voice shaking pointing the blonde man who was gritting his teeth in anger, the ninja who was said to be Hayato gasped, trembled and immediately kneeled in fear for his life.

"Minato-sama, please forgive my actions.. I.." Hayato pleaded in fear who was kneeling and shaking.

"I was gone for eight years and this is how a leaf-nin acts to my son when I almost died saving this village and you?" Minato stated in anger, clenching his fist while walking slowly towards them. He gazed over the boy who was trembling in fear because of the inhuman killing intent he was releasing, looking at him with fear. He let his self calm down because he couldn't let his own son get scared of him and might think he also wanted to kill him.

The killing intents his son felt when the villagers and other leaf-nins who tried to kill him was enough, it shouldn't come from Minato also.. that was what Minato realized. So he summoned Kakashi, his student, into the scene.

Kakashi poofed in a smoke of dust, holding his precious little literature. "Yo!" was his response. His eyes widened when he saw a beaten blonde kid whom he believes to be his sensei's son. While in the corner is where his sensei was standing, angry-looking, laying his angry-predatorial eyes to the leaf-nins who were trembling. He sighed. These things about Naruto being beaten isn't new to him, he rather felt guilty though for showing always late.

It's a bad habit, he knows too well. He better be prepared for his sensei's long lecture or worst spending a whole day of torment in the Interrogation Department of the infamous Morino Ibiki.

"Kakashi, would you mind escorting this two crazy ninjas to Ibiki?" asked Minato in sarcasm. He felt his own intent leaking out but forced to suppress it because he felt Naruto was getting scared of him.

"No, I'll gladly escort them." was Kakashi's reply and held both ninjas by the shoulder and disappeared in a Shunshin. Thank Kami, I was safe. was his thought just before disappearing.

With Kakashi gone already, Minato immediately approached the shaking and crying form of his son. Meanwhile Naruto has several cuts in both legs which were starting to heal thanks to Kyuubi, his clothes were torn, he has Kunais stabbed to his hands. Then there came a man whom he presumes to be his father, saved him and now currently standing beside him. The man was the Yondaime.

He was tall, has long blonde hair almost at shoulder level, cerulean blue eyes like his, a jounin uniform inside his white cloak with flame designs in the bottom and something written in its back which he could read clearly 'Fourth Fire Shadow'. He cried when he felt his dad hug him and he felt so warm and cried at his father's chest.

Minato wasn't expecting this to be their first meeting where his son was nearly killed. He realized he made a mistake leaving his son to the wrath of the angry villagers he once saved. He felt guilt, pain and anger.. He decided to start over with Naruto. He did not retrieved his position as Kage yet, he wanted more time to spend he hadn't had with Naruto.

Sarutobi understood this and affirmed his request.

Five years have passed. Minato rather find his son's personality within these years to be really interesting. He inherited his and Kushina's traits after all. He likes ramen (like Minato), training (especially with his dad), he is some sort of a prankster (his pranks worked several times with his father, Minato don't find this rather funny though), he is loud and talkative like Kushina and always gets involves in fights.

He really grew upon Minato's expectations. Naruto's dream was to be a Hokage so others would acknowledge him. Naruto was now thirteen, but Minato, after this five years he spent with his son, he would experience what fate brought upon the day his son was born..

Something that he didn't expect to turn out.

He wasn't ready to be Naruto's father.

AN:

Trying to do some serious fixing, I don't own Naruto.

~Lianne M.