Disclaimer

I don't own Naruto of any sort.

[Part 1: Promise of a New Beginning]

Jutsu – bold & italic

Prologue

The night sky was a beautiful sight filled with countless twinkling stars. Its feeble light spreads throughout the snow-covered forest floor, giving it a somber appearance. Hidden within the trees was a small two floor house. It was framed with a door and five windows, two on the side, one on the back, and the last two on the second floor. Light can be seen on the top left window. Beside the house was a frozen river that stretched far beyond the empty plains to a bustling town nearby. Across the river sat a hill overlooking the small town. At the top stood a single tree, and resting on it was a single man.

Dark red hair framed his young face that went past his shoulders. He wore dark baggy pants with matching boots, a thick blue jacket on top of a tan-colored sweater, a headband imbedded with a spiral pattern, and a crystal necklace was tied on his neck. If one were to look at this young man, you would clearly see the anxiety evident on his features. Concern with a mix of impatience, fear, and a look of hopelessness that said 'What am I going to do?'

He breathes a sigh and tries to calm his jittering mind. His thoughts ventures to the small house where a woman laid in a small bed, giving birth to his child.

He sighs again.

He wanted to be there with her. He wanted to comfort her, to hold her hand, and to kiss away her pain. But he was too shaken by her screams. His breathing was heavy. He fidgeted around and was at a loss for words of comfort. He was panicking and that did no help at all. Seeing her husband acting so out of character made the young woman feel very afraid. And it only made her stressed even more. The midwife, seeing the discomfort of the girl, told the young man that if he wants to be of some use, he should just wait outside and try to calm his nerves down so that girl could concentrate on giving birth instead of worrying about him.

And here he was, sitting on a tree and trying very hard to calm himself. It has been fourteen hours now and still no sign of it ending.

He sighs again for the millionth time and gets up.

'I need to be there for her. I need to be there to comfort her...I need to be there when she gives birth to our child.'

Looking one last time at the beautiful night sky, he sighs and goes to where his wife was.

~oOoOoOo~

Pain. It was all that seems to register in her mind. The loss of the warmth of her husband only made her more agitated. She wanted him beside her when their child finally comes out. She was annoyed that the midwife sent him away, but was somewhat grateful for it. She didn't like the look that her husband gave her. He was afraid. And he wasn't a person like that. No, he was very strong and very brave. He wouldn't let anyone stand and try to hurt her. He would protect her no matter what. He wasn't afraid however strong his opponent maybe. He would crush them all. He was strong, really strong. He wasn't afraid of anything up until now. And he was always there for her. That's why she was upset that he wasn't here. Yet it unnerved her to see his frightened face.

She was banished from her thoughts as she screams in pain as another wave of contraction hit her hard.

"Almost there. Keep pushing. I can see its head now," the midwife says. The young woman closes her eyes, breathing heavily, as she hears the older woman say, "Now again. One...two...three...push!"

She screams from the top of her lungs, fingers clutching the sheets tighter. Panting from the stress of the work, she lies there, breathing like there's no tomorrow, as she gets ready for another wave to come.

She really wished he was here...

~oOoOoOo~

He can hear her screams from outside the house. He quickly gets inside and follows the sound of her voice, only for him to stop in front of the door where from the other side, his beloved lies in pain. He closes his eyes and steels himself as he forces his trembling hands to open the door.

There she was. Clearly she was downright exhausted. And as he walks in the dimly lit room, her tired cerulean blue orbs rest upon his dark chocolate brown ones. The moment their eyes met, her blue orbs lit up, and a smile adorns her beautiful face. The smile that always seems to pierce his very soul. Seeing that smile on her face immediately washes all his fears and troubles away. He quickly sits beside her, her fingers automatically finding his. And their clasped hands send strong waves of emotion of comfort, joy, and love.

"Kazuki." Her voice breaks away with joy as tears starts to form in her eyes.

"Shh...it's alright Kotome. I'm here. I'll be always here."

She tightens her hand within his grasp and screams as another wave of pain engulfs her. He strokes her long luscious crimson red locks and kisses her forehead as comfort that tells her 'He's here with her all the way.'

"Almost there," the midwife says, "Get ready. Okay, one...two...three...push!"

Kotome pushes again, praying hard for her child to please come out. She sags on the bed, panting very hard.

"One last time child. Give it all you've got. One...two...three...push!"

She pushes with all her might, clutching her husband's hand to give her enough strength. Enough strength to get her child out of her and into her loving arms.

A shrill cry wakes her from her thoughts as she slumps to the bed. All her strength drains away. A cry echoes throughout the walls. The cry of her new born baby.

"Congratulations. It's girl." The midwife sets the baby girl within the mother's embrace.

Kotome tiredly looks at her child. The child she and Kazuki made together. She had small tufts of red hair protruded on top of her head, long eyelashes that complemented her thin red brows, cute button nose, and lips so sturdy, yet so soft. Only one word described her perfectly.

"She's so beautiful." She croaks. "So, so very beautiful." She touches her crying daughter's cheek. "It's okay, little one. Mommy's here. You don't have to cry anymore because I'm here. I'll always be here."

Her daughter's cry gently comes to a stop as soon as Kotome soothes her to sleep.

Kazuki looks at the mother and daughter. Both were his and he to them.

'Kazuki, Kotome, and...' He stops. 'Oh yeah, our daughter's name. What's our daughter's name?'

"What are we gonna name her?" he asks, still stroking his wife's hair.

"I have no idea." She chuckles and looks again at her beautiful daughter. "She's so beautiful. Reminds me of Tanami and Kushiyuya."

"My sister and your mother?" He contemplates on what name would be perfect for their beautiful daughter.

"How about Kushinami? It's a combination of their names."

He thinks about the suggested name, but shakes his head. The name just doesn't feel right. And then it clicks to him.

"Tayuya"

"Huh?"

"How about the name, Tayuya?"

"Ta-yu-ya...hmm...Tayuya..." A smile forms Kotome's face. "Well, it definitely fits her so much better than Kushinami."

He smiles at that. "Our beautiful baby girl, Tayuya."

She closes her tired eyes. "Tayuya...Tayuya Uzumaki."

~oOoOoOo~

Heavy rain pours down the valley. Thick clouds of mists surrounded the nearby town, the empty plains, the forest, and the surrounding mountains beyond. Loud thunderous drums cover the whole valley. Throughout the chaos outside, a lovely voice could be heard inside the top left window of a small two story house. Kotome can be seen singing a lullaby to a distraught little baby Tayuya. Hearing no more loud rumblings, little Tayuya closes her big dark chocolate brown orbs as her mother's soothing melody entices her to a peaceful slumber.

A loud thunderous crack suddenly tears through the open sky. Eyes fling open, and a loud wail erupts inside the room.

"Yuya-chan, whatever am I going do to make you sleep?" Kotome softly asks.

The question wasn't directed to her baby. Rather, it was a question to herself. She then smiles as she got an idea.

"Yuya-chan, do you want to hear mommy play you a song?"

She gets up with Tayuya cradled within her arms and puts the wailing baby on top of the bed. She fetches her mother's flute, which was now hers, inside a small drawer.

'It's been a long time since I played you. Will you please help me ease me Yuya-chan's pain?'

Kotome sits on the bed Indian style beside Tayuya. "I hope you like my music Yuya-chan. Sorry if I'm not that good. Mommy forgot to practice playing the flute."

She looks at the still wailing baby and delicately holds the flute with grace that can only be seen to a professional musician. Her soft pink lips lightly press against the cool metal. She takes a deep breath and lets the magical melody fill the room.

It starts with a low tune, soft, and mellow, like the morning of a green grass meadow. Warm light envelops the clearing. The sweet soft chirping of birds echoes throughout the surrounding trees. In the middle of the grass lies a teenage girl. Bright crimson hair contrasts with cerulean blue eyes. She wears a khaki-colored jacket and underneath was a dark green shirt, khaki shorts that went a little above her knees, and dark blue colored sandals. The girl suddenly sits up as familiar figures stands before her. A childish grin spreads across her young face.

The feeling of joy radiates from the memory. The emotion weaving with the soft melody.

Her fingers suddenly picks up as the melody changes to a brighter tune. Children running happily down the streets. Adults sitting with happiness plastered on their faces. The girl, from before stood a little way off. Adorned on her face was her usual grin. She waves at them, but they didn't respond. She runs toward them. But as she tries to get closer, they only seem to go away farther. She couldn't catch up. Her breathing becomes very shallow. She stops and bends down to catch her breath. And as she looks up, she could only stand back in horror.

The melody changes to faster tune. Dread accompanies the sound. There was fire everywhere. Blood was splattered all over the ground. The warm happy people from before were now cold lifeless bodies. Even with the light coming from the fire, darkness seems to fall over the scene. Dark evil red eyes appear from the darkness. Slowly they creep up to the trembling girl. Tears starts to stream down her face. She wanted to move and get away as far as possible, but her body wouldn't respond. They were getting closer now. Closer and closer. The darkness also coming in close. A crooked hand reaches up to her. It's cold blooded fingers just inches away from her face. And then...

Everything stops.

Instead of feeling the icy cold fingers, she felt warm ones. She was broken from her memories by that firm touch. She looks beside her to see her loving husband's face.

"Kazuki." Her voice breaking as a single tear falls down from her face. "I-"

"Shhhh. Kotome, Tayuya-chan's sleeping."

Kotome looks at her sleeping baby girl. A peaceful smile decorated her face. 'At least one of us is happy.' She thought.

"Let's go downstairs." He holds her hand as he led her to the living room. The walls were bare. There was nothing much except for a sofa, two chairs, a table and a couple of racks on the side. "Why did you play your flute?" He starts.

"I...I was just playing it for Yuya-chan, Kazuki. It's no big deal." She looks away. "You don't have to worry about me. It was just-"

"Kotome..." His voice was firm yet at the same time, loving and understanding. She looks up to see his pained face that made her heart stop. "I know that when you play your flute...you see images from the past and even feel the strong emotions that come with those particular images. I know how painful the past is. I also know that you suffered more than me. You were there, and you saw it. Saw everything that happened to them. To our clan. To our family. I was too late, and I couldn't save them. I was too powerless. For the future clan leader you would guess that I'd be powerful."

He takes a look of guilt and sorrow, and it breaks her heart to see him like this. She knew he blamed himself for not being there when it happened. For not being able to protect her from that scar. She holds him close. Her arms wrap around his neck, and her head rests on the curve of his neck. He follows suite as he lifts his firm arms and wraps it around her waist.

"You know it wasn't your fault. We were young. Even the adults couldn't defeat them. They were too many, and we were only but a few."

"But-"

"Without you Kazuki, I would have surely died!" She tightens her grip on him. Tears stream down her face. "So please stop blaming yourself. Stop beating yourself up for something that you didn't have control of."

"Kotome."

They look at each other. Teary blue orbs gazes up to sad brown ones. He wipes her tears and kisses both her eyes. Their faces now inches away from one another. Slowly, they close the gap and seal it with a deep kiss. It was filled with comfort, love, and forgiveness.

"Okay."

"Hmmm."

"I forgive myself."

Kotome gives him her trademark smile. The smile that always seems to melt his heart away. He gives her a smile as well and pulls her closer. She rests her head on his chest. The smile never leaving her face.

"I was really just playing the flute for Yuya-chan."

"Huh?"

"Isn't that the one that we were supposed to talk about? Me playing the flute."

"Ah." He smiles sheepishly. "I guess we got carried away and talked about my own problems. So..."

She chuckles. "Yuya-chan couldn't sleep because of the thunder. The loud sound scared her. So I got an idea. When I was little, mother would play me a song from her flute to calm me whenever I was scared. When I hear her playing, I always felt safe. Nothing would go wrong. And the next thing I knew, I was sleeping soundly beside her. I wanted Yuya-chan to feel safe. To feel what I felt when mother played for me. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course."

"She comes first. She's the future of what remains of our clan."

Kazuki frowns. "Speaking of the clan, it's been two months now since her birth. The clan secrets are hers to inherit."

"I know...it's just-" She says, her eyes getting teary again.

He hugs her tightly. "I know Kotome. I know."

"I don't want her to suffer the clan's burdens. I don't want her to live a life always running away and hiding from those who wish to capture or destroy her. I want her to live her own life. To live without fear of those who wish to use and those who fear our clan's jutsu. I don't-"

"Shhhh. Don't cry on me now. Okay." He looks her in the eye. "It's very important that our clan must not be forgotten. We cannot forget the sacrifices that our clan died protecting for."

"I understand." She speaks with a dejected voice.

"We'll seal our clan's secret within her body, and..." He smiles at her. "I'll also put another seal to hide the first seal and to also suppress her special chakra, so she wouldn't accidentally use her unique ability. Whatever it is. The only ones who know about this are you and me. Plus, we have the key to unlocking it. When she's old enough for the responsibility of our clan's jutsu, that's the time when we can give her the key to unlock it herself. So, you don't have to worry about her not growing up with a normal life. Okay." He kisses her and breaks away only to find her crying again. "Kotome, please don't cry. Please."

Kotome shakes her head as she smiles at him. "These tears are not because I'm sad, but tears because I'm so very happy." She hugs him tightly. "Kazuki."

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

They both smile as they embrace each other...

~oOoOoOo~

They laid her in a small bed. Strange symbols covered her feeble body. The room was mostly bare except for the candles, the baby, and two figures. The two people were seen writing characters on the floor. It was a simple design. A circle formed by characters and symbols with a spiral design in the middle, is drawn where the object of sealing is placed. From the circle, nine lines of character symbols were branched out. The Eight lines stopped by at the end while the ninth connected with a smaller set of characters also formed into a circle. In the middle of the circle was a spiral design, and lying on top of it was a sleeping Tayuya. It was a very simple sealing jutsu, but it was dangerous nonetheless. One wrong character will make everything a disaster. As they finish, they go to their respective positions. In front of them lies one big scroll. The scroll that contains the secrets of the Uzumaki clan.

"You know what to do right?" Asks Kazuki.

"Yeah. We seal the scroll inside her. When the time comes to close the seal, you'll start the other seal to make sure this seal will remain hidden and also suppress Yuya-chan's special chakra, but retain her natural chakra. While I make sure to buy you some time to finish the suppressing seal before closing the first seal." She smiles slyly. "Did I get everything right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Show off." He pouts then changes to a look of seriousness. "It all sounds simple with words, but doing it is way different. We need to do this perfectly."

She nods. "Ready?"

"Ready."

They look one last time at the sleeping Tayuya before forming the needed hand signs for the seal. As both of them finish, they slam their palms on the floor, both shouting. "Uzumaki Clan's Secret Sealing Jutsu: Nine-Headed Dragon Seal!"

The eight lines of characters surrounded the scroll. The scroll seems to melt with the eight symbols. As it finishes merging with the symbols, it connects with the ninth sealing symbol. The jumble of symbols that was once the big Uzumaki scroll snakes its way to the sleeping form of Tayuya. The symbols crawl to her skin and into her stomach, forming a circular pattern with surrounding eight characters.

Kazuki quickly runs to Tayuya, forming the needed hand signs on the way. "Uzumaki Clan's Secret Sealing Jutsu: Seventh and Eighth Body Seal!" He places both his hands on Tayuya. The symbols covering her body separate into two. One going to her stomach, and the other going to her back. Kazuki raises his hand to give Kotome the signal to close the first seal. A spiral design appears inside the circular pattern on her stomach.

He breathes a sigh of relief and looks down to see a wailing Tayuya. 'She must've woken up when I activated the suppressing seal.'

He picks her up and tries to soothe her to sleep. He notices the seal on her back. There were three circles surrounding a small swirl-like pattern. But it soon disappears before he could study it more closely. He wonders what kind of ability she possesses as her special chakra was concentrated on her back.

"We did it, Kazuki." Kotome says with glee.

"Yeah. But Tayuya-chan's awake now. Even worse, she's crying. Oh what, oh what am I going to do." He sighs. But still, he couldn't help but show the grin on his face.

She chuckles. "You and your silly drama. Here, give her to me. She's probably just hungry. Aren't you my precious Yuya-chan. You want some specially made milk from mommy?"

At that moment Kazuki's stomach grumbles.

"Aw, Zuki-kun. Do you want me to cook you dinner or do you also want to share my special milk with Yuya-chan?" She grins slyly.

At that statement, Kazuki blushes so bad that his face was the same color as his hair. "W-W-What!"

"It's okay. Yuya-chan doesn't mind sharing it." She grins evilly, walking toward him. Their faces now inches from each other.

"R-R-Really?" There were so many mixed expressions in his face. It ranges from shock, to embarrassment, and a possibility.

When Kotome saw his expression, she couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing.

"Wha- why are you laughing?!"

"You should've seen the look on you face! It was so priceless." She laughs again.

"S-Shut up!"

"Oh, don't be like that Zuki-kun, I was only suggesting the special milk I made from the last ingredients you bought for me."

"W-What. I-I thought that-"

"Hmmm. What was that? What were you thinking, Zuki-kun." She slyly strokes his chest.

His face flushes with embarrassment. He tries very hard to calm himself. "Nothing."

His stomach grumbles again, making his face red again. She chuckles and smiles at him. Seeing her smile, he couldn't help it. He couldn't stay upset when that smile was around.

He smiles at her and at their cute wailing baby. 'Kazuki Uzumaki, Kotome Uzumaki, and Tayuya Uzumaki'.

AN:

Yehey! First chapter finished! I'm so happy!

Guys this is my first time writing a fan fiction, and I hope you like it. I also hope you like my writing. I'm not that confident with it. I don't mind critics. It helps me see my mistakes and learn from it, but I'd be much happier if it's a positive feedback. So please review if you find something wrong or praise me for my work or give suggestions or just plain update. I appreciate all your reviews anyway.

So, how was the story so far? I made Tayuya in this fic an Uzumaki, but she doesn't know that little detail. The story will revolve around her childhood, to her meeting with Orochimaru, and then her final mission to get Sasuke. Unlike the prologue which has a third person pov, I'll make the rest of the chapters in the Tayuya's pov.

So if that's all. See you guys. Please read and review.