This is the advised version of The Light In the Darkness. Someone had given me advise to bring two chapters together instead of just one at a time, and I found that it was actually better that way, so I'm changing it. I'm sorry for the trouble if I had caused you any, but here you go!

In the streets of Konoha, it was a beautiful day, and there were people everywhere. The merchants didn't need very much, as they had a beautiful business that was blooming in Konoha, and there wasn't much trouble for them as they received a lot of customers. That wasn't true for an orphanage on the other side of town though.

"Please mister," the owner begged as she got onto her hands and knees. "Please adopt the girl. I assure you that there are no demons here. This is a demon free space, and the girl is in desperate need of a home. Please, take her!"

"No, I saw it with my own very eyes," the man hissed as he walked out of the building. "Everyone knows who the demon of Konoha is, and if you expect me to adopt someone here, then you can forget it!" He started marching down the road, not even looking behind him to see the little girl that he had been thinking about adopting. He didn't want to have a child that might have been infected by that demon child.

The owner of the orphanage sobbed as she was denied once again of a purchase that might be able to save her business. She didn't know how she could fix this problem, but she knew that it had to do with getting that demon brat away from here. For four years, no one had made a purchase from her, and she was going to make that change.

"NARUTO," she yelled in a fit of rage as she stormed towards the attic, where his room was. It was the only place she could have thought to be able to put him when he was dropped off here by the Hokage, and she's regretted it ever since. She wished many deaths for this child, nad she never wanted him to be here ever again.

XxXxXxXxX

Naruto was laying down on the bed, crying because he had no clue why everyone seemed to hate him. He was so distressed about it, but he knew that he was going to get in trouble, as he always did. And it always started by someone coming into the building.

Flashback

"Naruto," Aoi, the owner of the orphanage called from down in her office. Naruto quickly scurried down from his bedroom and made his way down to her, as she never liked when he wouldn't be fast enough. He had learned that on many occasions and he didn't want to get hurt again.

"Yes, Aoi," he questioned as soon as he entered the room. Now, she was a very plump woman, and she was middle-aged and single, but she looked older as she was starting to get gray hair entwining with the dark brown color it had originally been. The older kids had said it was that way from all the stress she's been through, at least, that's what Naruto had heard from the sidelines. She had nice green eyes though to go with it that were very enchanting, and she would have been an excellent escort for any man if they would have chosen her when she was younger.

She turned around as soon as she heard his voice. "Now, Naruto," she smiled at him, and he didn't like it at all. It was always meant for Naruto if he didn't do what she wanted, and then he'd be getting a beating from her if he did it wrong. None of the other children ever received this sinister smile of Aoi's. "Today, we are having a special guest coming here. You know what to do, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Naruto said as he looked down at his feet.

"Repeat it to me," she ordered.

"I am not to leave my room. I am not to contact with the guest. If he or she were to enter my room, I was to hide. I wouldn't make a sound when I am up in my room either," he recited, his voice blank of emotion.

"Very good," she replied. "Now, are there any questions?" She glared at him, her eyes saying that if he did, he wouldn't get an answer anyway; he shook his head. "Now, go to your room before he gets here." Naruto then started running up to his room, and Naruto sighed when he entered it. He was going to be very lonely up in his room. He had no friends, as the owner of the orphanage wouldn't allow him to hve any, and he didn't have any kind of toys up here since all of them went to the other children first. There never was enough for him when she came to the end of the line, as Aoi would always say. He also didn't have anything to color on, as that was his favorite activity because he loved art. It was one of the times that he was liable to escape the world he was in. He didn't have any learning materials either, meaning he couldn't read or write, unlike some of the other kids in the orphanage. The others around his age were starting to learn, and it always made him sad that he couldn't learn also.

"Welcome," Aoi's voice carried throughout the orphanage, and Naruto heard as all of the other children started to run towards the new person, as not many people come, only a few a year at the best. There was a chorus of greetings, and he was sure that Aoi was making them look their best for the guest. Naruto just sighed as he listened to all the action that was happening for a little while before he crawled into his bed, thinking he'd be able to have a nap as the visitors never come up to his room. Aoi would always steer them away from it before they even got the chance to think about it. None of them were ever stubborn enough even to defy her. Naruto had always thought that was a stupid rule, but he had to say it in front of her, or she would hurt him. She had had him memorize the rules when he was only two, and now he was four.

Naruto had fallen asleep by the time that the man and Aoi had made it to the third floor of the orphanage. The man saw the door and he was instantly curious, as she had never informed him of any more children or rooms than the ones she had already. "What is up there," he questionedas he stopped, looking as if he could see through the door with his own eyes.

"There is nothing," Aoi smiled sweetly at him, but in the inside, she was worried. This was the first time that the demon had ever really obeyed her and had actually stayed in his room. She wasn't about to let it slip now when she was so close to being able to actually get a buy from this stranger. All of the others were able to actually see Naruto when they were taking a tour of the living environments. She was worried that this would spoil her chances of having one of the little girls being adopted as this man said that his wife had an interest in having a little girl, and he had wanted to see them before she was told about them, just to see if he'd actually like having this girl around in his house since his wife wasn't able to bare any children of her own.

"I'd just like to check and make sure though because you never know when you come to these kinds of places," the man started. "Besides, I had heard rumors and I would like to see for myself if they were actually true."

"What are these rumors, if I may ask," Aoi questioned, concerned that this rumor would be about Naruto, the demon in her mind, that was staying here. She didn't want any bad business because of him, but he always seemed to come into the loop somehow.

"It's just like squats out in the streets," he waved it off as he started walking up the stairs towards the room.

"Let me just check if it's locked," the owner suggested. "You never know with the attic really; I mean, I usually keep it locked just in case the children would be running around. I wouldn't want anything to happen to them. They are all sweethearts, and it would just break my heart if it were to happen, especially to Aiko. She's the cutest little thing." Aoi had noticed that the man had lingered when Aiko came in concern. She was only three, but every villager that came here loved her. It was always the demon brat that got in the way of her being adopted though. It was such a shame in Aoi's eyes.

Aoi wrapped the doorknob a couple of times, just to make a show that the door was locked (when it truly wasn't). "You see," Aoi smiled before she started walking down the stairs again, expecting the visitor to follow her. "The door is locked. Trust me when I say that you have nothing to—" She turned when she heard a noise behind her, and she watched as the man walked into the room. "Sir!" But it was too late.

"Demon," he yelled as he quickly scurried down the stairs. She hustled up the stairs to find Naruto rubbing his eyes and looking confused as he lie in bed. She glared at him before she quickly ran after the visitor.

End of Flashback

Naruto quickly tried to run down the stairs to escape the fury of the owner, but he was too late. Aoi came charging at him from the other end of the hallway, and he tried to get to his room as quickly as possible, but Aoi caught his leg as soon as he was going to enter the room.

"Get down her, you brat," she yelled as she flung him behind her. He cried out in pain as soon as he hit his head. Tears started streaming down his face. "Don't you dare act like you can cry because I know that demons can't." She slapped him in the face, but that only increased his sobbing state. "Go."

"Wha—What," he sobbed his question, looking up at her with confusion and tears in his eyes. Aoi had trouble not believing the tears were real, but she kept thinking to herself that this was the demon of Konoha, and it had to get away from here.

"Leave this place, and never come back here again," she growled, shoving him towards the stairs that led downstairs. He quickly scurried off the floor and he started running toward the exit of the building, crying the whole way. The other children looked on him with pity as they saw him leave, and they all wished him the best of luck in the outside world, as this had never happened before to any of them.

XxXxXxXxX

As still crying as he came to the busy streets of Konoha. No one stopped to ask where this child's parents were, as they all knew him as the demon brat. They didn't hesitated to push by him, hoping he would get hurt. It didn't take long before Naruto was pushed down by one of the villagers, and his sobbing increased.

"Watch where you are going," the man growled before spitting on Naruto's face. It didn't take long before the streets were filled with Naruto's sobs of pain. Those who were mothers started looking around to see if it were their child, but they found no sobbing child around them. They returned to whatever they were doing, with pity in their hearts for the sobbing child that they could not place, not knowing who they were pitying.

"Hey there," a man soothed as he came over to the crying boy. He was a merchant from Suna, so he had no clue whom this child was. The boy looked up at him with fear in his eyes, and the merchant smiled as he tried to relay that he was a friendly guy. Naruto was still hesitant about it, as he had seen this act before. He wasn't able to get played into it again. "Why are you crying?" No answer was received. "Where are your parents?" The only answer was more sobbing. "Hey there, we'll find them."

"Yo—you know wh—who m—my pare—parents ar—are," Naruto sobbed, looking up at him with curiosity. Naruto had never been informed of who his parents were, and the owner of the orphanage claimed that she hadn't known who it was. He really doubted it though, as she knew everyone else's parentage.

"No, I don't," the man said with sympathy in his eyes. Naruto started rubbing at his eyes, trying to make them not cry anymore tears that only seemed to want to increase. "Now, aren't you supposed to be at the orphanage or something?"

"I was kic—kicked out," he explained as he finally was able to calm his sobs.

"Now, why did that happen?"

"Because the owner doesn't like me; I don't know why," Naruto explained as a couple of tears dripped down the sides of his face.

"Why don't we get you some candy," the merchant smiled as he finally thought of something that would cheer him up. His trait was selling candy, and he was in no need to reprieve this deprived child of some happiness in his tiny world. He reached into his pocket, and he was going to hand it to the boy when he heard something.

"Hey, the demon's trying to steal from that merchant," a random man yelled as he pointed their way. That man had been looking for an opportunity to run after the said demon for a couple of days now. Naruto had been hiding from them, making it improbable to find since he was at the orphanage, trying to stay in his now ex-room.

"Get him," some guy said that seemed to be his friend. Then a mob started running towards Naruto, and Naruto dropped the candy before he started running, hopping that would get rid of his problems.

"Hey, you dropped this, and stop chasing him; it was a gift," the merchant yelled after the mob, but they all ignored him.

"Are you alright, sir," questioned the women as they all flocked around him, trying to sooth the man of his troubles with the demon. "Let me help you." That seductive comment was enough for the merchant to put the boy's troubles into the back of his mind.

XxXxXxXxX

Naruto was currently running from the mob, and it only seemed to get bigger. He couldn't understand why they were chasing after him as he had dropped the candy, and he didn't do anything to hurt the man either as it was offered to him. He had just wanted some candy as he was hungry for not eating at all that day.

"Got ya," the man sneered as he caught the demon by the nape of the neck. Naruto started crying as he knew the pain to come. He wished he could avoid it, but he just wasn't fast enough.

"That's for trying to steal," a man yelled as Naruto was punched in the face by the man. Then Naruto felt a punch to the stomach. "That's for disturbing the peace!" A side kick to the face. "That's for ruining my time with my family!" A bat to the head. "That's for killing my mother!" Then Naruto felt himself fall, and he screamed in pain as soon as he hit the ground as he had hurt his arm. Then they started kicking him in the stomach violently.

"Mommy. Mommy! MOMMY!" That was all Naruto was screaming ever time he got hurt. He wished that he did have a mommy, someone to protect him from all of this violence. He wanted someone to hold him, to love him, and to cherish him. He needed all of that because he didn't have anyone else.

Up in the third floor of the building next to where Naruto was getting a beating, a woman with long red hair lie in the hospital bed, lonely and in a coma. She was absolutely beautiful, and anyone would have killed to be with her, but she was still comatose.

"MOMMY!" Everyone could hear that lost word, and it was carrying around the hospital. Outside of the room, a nurse sighed as she was with her friend.

"Oh boy! This means that that demon brat is going to come in here again," she sighed as she threw down her papers at the nurses' station.

"Yeah, why can't he just heal himself," the friend growled. "I mean, that's what he does everytime that he comes in."

"You said it, girl," the nurse replied before she started walking off to her next patient.

In the room, once again, the woman heard that one word, that one plea. She hadn't heard anything in years, and now, she was finally waking up because of her son was calling to him. Anyone that would have been in there would have seen the twitch of her finger and would have seen the awakening of Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, known as the Red Death. Kushina started looking around, trying to memorize everything around her. She analyzed the whole room, figuring out that her family wasn't with her within seconds. She had so many questions running through her mind: How long has it been since that night? Where is my Mina-kun? Where is my baby? What has happened in Konoha? She couldn't get any of the questions out of her head, and she wasn't about to until she found out her answers.

Flashback

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU greeted as he rushed into the house. "There is an emergency council meeting."

"What could they want at this time of hour," Minato questioned as he got out of bed, touching his wife's pregnant stomach once more before getting up to change and get ready to go to the meeting. "Now, Tsunade is only down the hall, and Jiraya isn't too far away either. If you have any problems, then tell the—"

"Minato, you worry too much," Kushina whined, causing him to smile. He was always the worry wart between them, and Kushina secretly loved it.

"I just don't want anything to happen to my family," he smiled before giving Kushina a quick kiss and running off towards the meeting. Kushina tried to fall asleep, but she wasn't able to get comfortable without Minato beside her. She sighed before getting up and she started walking out of the room. She had started getting uncomfortable last night, and she just couldn't seem to relax. Minato was able to calm her down a little bit, but she still had discomfort. She sighed before walking to the kitchen slowly, not wanting the baby to be hurt. She decided to get something to eat, her favorite ramen. Minato and she shared that same trait, but she didn't eat as much as him. He could swipe out anyone's wallet with just one meal. Jiraya always complained about it, and Tsunade did the same with her. It was quite funny to Minato and her though.

"You know, you should be in bed, young lady," Jiraya said as he came into the kitchen while she was heating the ramen up.

"Couldn't," she sighed in response.

"Is it the baby?" Kushina shook her head.

"I don't think so; I just feel uncomfortable. I'm sure that it will pass soon enough though." Jiraya nodded before he yawned.

"Where's Minato at anyhow," Jiraya questioned.

"There was an emergency meeting that he had to attend. I am not sure what it was about though; the ANBU never stated any specifics."

"They never do," Jiraya chuckled. "I'm sure that it isn't much to worry about though. Konoha is in good hands, especially with Minato as their leader." Kushina nodded and smiled at him before she gasped in pain and grabbed her stomach. "Kushina?" Kushina groaned as the pain increased and Jiraya watched as her waterbroke. "Tsunade!"

XxXxXxXxX

"Minato, you have been summoned here to inform you that the Bijuu, Kyuubi no Yoko, is closing in on Konoha," Homaru informed him. Minato's eyes widened in shock.

"What do you have planned, Hokage-sama," Hiashi, his best friend, questioned, looking at him with sympathy as what he had planned would probably affect the entire village to it's core.

XxXxXxXxX

"Get me a room," Tsunade ordered. The nurse nodded as Tsunade followed behind her with Kushina in Jiraya's arms.

"Come on, Kushina," Jiraya smiled at her painfully. It was hard for him to carry this pregnant woman, but he did it for his student, and for Kushina as they both needed this.

"Let's get the room ready," Tsunade ordered. "And I want everyone who isn't supposed to be in here, out!" Jiraya set Kushina onto the bed, and then he stood next to her. "Jiraya, that means you too."

"Someone should be here to support her, Tsunade," Jiraya stated. "Since Minato can't, I should."

"I am not having you get to your perverted side. Now go tell Minato that his wife is in labor now!"

"I'm insulted," Jiraya grumbled as he exited the room. "No respect; no respect at all."

"Now Kushina, you are going to have to listen to me and do everything that I saw," Tsunade instructed.

"Yes, sensei," Kushina gasped as she was in pain once again.

XxXxXxXxX

Jiraya had just made it to the Hokage's office, and we went in to check if Minato was there, which he was indeed.

"What is it? I'm busy," Minato questioned, not even looking up to see who had entered the room as he looked for a solution to his problem. He was looking for the seal that would seal up the Kyuubi no Yoko.

"Minato," Jiraya stated. Minato immediately looked up as he recognized the voice. He looked around to see if his wife, Kushina, was here, and then he immediately knew what was happening.

"No," Minato whispered, putting his head in his hands. "No, no, no, NO!"

"What is it, Minato," Jiraya questioned, desperate to see why Minato was so anxious about his child being born into the world.

"It can't be right now," Minato gasped. "Couldn't he have waited a couple of more weeks?"

"Minato, you can't manipulate when a child is to be born," Jiraya stated. "Now, what has you so distressed?"

"I have only found one solution to defeating the Kyuubi," Minato said gravely as he looked up at his sensei with a sadness that any parent would have for the loss of their child. "I have to seal it into a newborn baby, who had just had his umbilical cord cut.

"You mean," Jiraya gasped. Minato nodded gravely.

"It's my only choice," Minato said as he got off of his chair for what could be the last time, and he made his way to the hospital to say goodbye to his wife and child.

XxXxXxXxX

"Kushina, push," Tsunade ordered. Kushina screamed in pain as she felt her child start to move through his track inside of her, waiting to be born. "Come on, Kushie! One more push. I can see his head!"

"I told you to never call me that again, sensei," Kushina screeched before taking a deep breath.

"Am I late," Minato questioned as he entered the hospital room.

"Mina-kun," Kushina yelled as she raised her hand, waiting for him to come over to her. She had wanted Minato to be here for a while now, and she finally felt ready for that last push.

"Come on, Kushina, it's the last one," Tsunade stated as she situated herself to be able to help pull the baby out.

"Arrg," she yelled as he grabbed Minato's hand tightly while she pushed her baby into the world. Within seconds, there was the sound of a baby crying that filled the room. Kushina laid her head back against the pillow with a smile on her face. She was finally going to see her little baby, what she had been waiting for months now.

"Kushina, Minato," Tsunade smiled as she came towards the couple with a bundle wrapped into her arms. Minato realized that it was his child that she was holding, and he felt tears spring to his eyes at what would be happening after shortly. It was a bittersweet moment for him and one of his lasts where he could see his family, his wife. "I want you to meet your son." Kushina reached out, waiting for her baby boy to be in her arms.

"We did it," Kushina smiled tiredly over at her husband. "We finally did it, Minato." She kissed his forehead lightly. He looked like a clone of Minato's, and Kushina was secretly happy about that fact, as she had wanted another Minato to run around with them.

"Tsunade, could you leave, for a moment," Minato questioned, turning serious as he needed to inform his wife what he was about to do. Tsunade nodded, knowing when to leave, and she sat in the hall with Jiraya.

"How's the kid," Jiraya questioned, turning towards his teammate, and then one who he had secretly (or not so secretly) loved throughout the years. He just wished she loved him back.

"The baby's healthy, just like his dad," Tsunade smiled.

"And Kushina," Jiraya questioned, looking just as serious. She was about to answer, but then she heard Kushina's yell throughout the hospital.

"NOOOOOOOO! NO, NO, NO! You can't! Not my baby!"

"What's going on," Tsunade questioned as she got up to try and check out what was happening, but Jiraya stopped her.

"Minato is going to use the kid for sealing the Kyuubi no Yoko," Jiraya answered sadly. "And Minato won't be making it out alive this time, I'm afraid." Jiraya's eyes started to water, and Tsunade pulled him into a hug, hoping to comfort her long time friend from the terrible fate that has happened here.

XxXxXxXxX

Kushina had watched as her husband had walked away, with her child in his arms. Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. That was his name. Maelstrom, that was the meaning. It had been after Jiraya's character, and it seemed all so fitting. Kushina cried as she felt the loss so early of losing her Mina-kun, knowing that he was never going to come back and hold her, just like she had always loved; he wasn't going to come back and pick her up, just to annoy her and be close to her; he wasn't going to stop her from any of the pranks she would want to do, and most of all, he wasn't going to be there for her when she raised Naruto.

"Kushina," Tsunade questioned hesitantly as she entered the room. She knew that this had to be stressful for her student, and she didn't want anything to happen to her, as she was the only one that she really had left besides Shizune and Jiraya. They were the only ones connecting her to Konoha, the place where her heart had broken into pieces, with only a couple of pieces left. She couldn't handle any more pain from Konoha.

"Could yo—you just give m—me a cou—couple of min—minutes, sensei," Kushina questioned, as tears streamed down her face as she started to sob.

"I'll go make sure that everything is prepared for Naruto," she smiled sadly at her, before she went and gave a hug. Kushina sobbed into her shoulder a couple of times before she pulled back, and Tsunade squeezed her hand once, knowing what she was going through, before she left the room and started walking back to the Namikaze household with Jiraya in tow.

It had been a while that Kushina had been crying, and she looked out towards the battle field to see the Kyuubi no Yoko and Minato on top of Gamabunta. She watched as they moved towards each other, and then there was a bright flash. Kushina blocked it with her hands, and then she looked to see neither of the figures there, and she knew that Minato was dead, and then Kyuubi no Yoko was now sealed. 'Goodbye, my love.' Those were her thoughts as a lone tear trailed down her cheek in an attempt to catch up with the others.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the doorway, and Kushina turned towards it to see three ANBU with no patterned animals on their face.

"What are you doing here," Kushina questioned. "I demand to know what is going on!"

"We have come to enclose your death," the leader said as he stepped forward. "May you rest in peace." Then he came, faster than Kushina was ready for, and he stabbed her into the chest, where she started bleeding profusely. The last thing she heard was, "Danzo-sama will be pleased that his work is done."