Don't own Naruto Characters

A new but short one-shot. It's a lot different from what I normally write. Before you read though, go to Youtube and listen to Lullaby For A Stormy Night by Vienna Teng as you read. I was all teared up and almost bawled as I wrote it.

Enjoy...

The Best

"I was supposed to give this to you once you turned sixteen." The silver haired ninja told the younger blond sitting on the bench in front of him and handing him an envelope.

"Huh? What is it?" The blond asked taking the aged envelope from his sensei Kakashi's hand.

"It's a letter." Kakashi replied turning his back on Naruto. "From your father."

Naruto jumped shocked and turned wide blue eyes to the thick envelope in his hands. He looked up only to see Kakashi had disappeared and with shaking hands he turned the envelope over to see his name written in a neat hand. My father?

Gently he opened the envelope and pulled out the sheaves of paper and began to read it slowly.

"My dear, beloved son;

I am unsure where to start. By now you are a man…and you have been alone. I am Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage, and most importantly…your father.

As I write this my hope is that you are considered a hero by the village, a hero from your birth and what I am going to do to you. But I know people too well to expect it to stay that way. By placing the nine-tailed fox inside of you I hoped for many things; for you to be regarded as a hero; for the village to be safe; and for you to grow into a powerful ninja.

If you are anything like me…or your mother, then I know that you will grow up to be wonderful and kind and strong, in both body and mind. You will never bend, never break from your beliefs and that is how it should be.

I hope one day you are loved and seen as a hero, if not for your sacrifice, then for your own talents, which are probably considerable.

But…if there is only one thing you walk away with from this letter…I want it to be that you know your mother and I love you.

When…your mother died giving birth to you, I was devastated. I loved your mother more than I had ever thought possible. She was a good woman, a trickster, and a strong ninja, and she loved you even as she lay dying.

But with her death…she had given me you. A beautiful perfect little baby boy. We named you Naruto, after your Godfather Jiraiya's character in his auto-biography. Your godfather liked to pretend it wasn't him in the book, but…I knew my sensei very well.

You opened your eyes and smiled at me and your mother and began to laugh. You laughed, every other baby begins to cry as soon as they breath but you smiled and laughed, giving us joy.

I was never so proud in my life, not of my students, not of your mother, not of myself. I was just so proud that I had born someone who wanted to give joy to others.

There is a battle going on right now. I can hear the screams of the injured, the cries of the living and the terrible silence of the dead. I know in moments I am about to join one of the dead. The jutsu I am going to use will kill me. There is no other choice though.

I hope you can find it in you to forgive me. I know your life won't be easy, not only will you be alone…but you will have to live with the fact that the most terrible thing to come to the village lives on inside of you. I hope you can forgive the villagers as well. They are hurting and afraid. Many of the ninja's will be there for you, even if they never appear to be there. Kakashi will watch after you, as will the third, and your Godfather.

But my beloved son…I will be there as well, watching you, loving you, and protecting you as well as I can.

Grow strong and be a ninja that you can be proud of. Because I am already proud of you.

I love you Naruto.

Live well.

Minato Namikaze"

Naruto gently wiped away the tears that trailed down his whiskered cheeks as he finished reading the letter. He'd only learned recently who his father was and he'd tried not to think of the man who had not only sacrificed his own life, but the life of his son for the village. He had been unsure if he was angry or proud of The Fourth.

He'd always wished he could hear a father tell him he was proud of him. And now he had. The best ninja in the world, the best hokage…and the best father, had told him that he was proud; proud of the Village's Number One Knuckleheaded Ninja, proud of the Nine-tailed Foxes container; proud…of a lonely little boy.

Naruto leaned back and closed his eyes as the tears continued to rain down his face. He'd cried on this bench when Jiraiya had died and mourned the loss of someone he'd known and cared for, who'd cared for him. Now he was crying again but it was bittersweet. He'd find his father and it was already too late.

"Minato loved you." Kakashi told him quietly sitting beside him.

"I know." Naruto replied looking over at his sensei unrepentant of his tears. "Was he a great man?"

"He was the best." Kakashi replied his lips forming a wistful smile beneath his mask.

Naruto's own lips smiled softly and tucked the precious letter into a pocket by his heart. "Yeah…yeah he was."

Please review. I want to know if this touched anyone as much as it touched me.