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Nara Shikako would very much like to know who was in charge of the universe because she desperately needed to file a complaint. Or maybe even sue. There had to be a limit of how many ridiculous situations one could end up in, right?
As she took in the smoldering remains of the cave she’d appeared at, the rapidly cooling corpse of Uchiha Madara donning a lollipop mask at her feet, and the squirming bundle she held in her arms, Shikako came to the sinking realization that she really wasn’t getting paid enough for this. All of this. With that also came the awareness that it might be time for her to disappear before the parents of said squirming bundle recovered their wits.
Shikako might not have the self-preservation instinct of her more normal friends but she was well aware that getting into a confrontation with both the Yellow Flash and the Red-Hot Habanero was detrimental to one’s health. Especially at a time like this.
With that thought, she turned into shadows and stole away into the night.
It was only well outside Konoha’s gates that Shikako became aware of a slight miscalculation on her part. Her heart sank as the bundle that was baby Naruto let out a piercing wail reminding her of his presence in her arms.
Ah, she thought with vague dismay, I knew I was forgetting something.
Despite having thwarted an invasion and killed the most notorious missing-nin in Konoha’s history, Shikako seriously doubted that she would be easily forgiven for the kidnapping of the Yondaime Hokage’s son. That was if anyone ever bothered to get her side of the story before she was executed. Her best bet would’ve been to steer clear of Konoha until she became but a memory.
The only issue with that plan was that she still needed to find a way to return baby Naruto, preferably without getting killed in the process.
But first, baby supplies. Only after that will she be able to plan a baby return. Reverse kidnapping? Delivery by a stork?
She looked down at the tiny face scrunched up in tears. Truly adorable whisker marks adorned each of his chubby cheeks.
At least he’s cute, she thought with a smile as he grasped her finger in his tiny fist.
It had been two days since the unknown kunoichi disappeared with his son and Minato was nearing the end of his rope.
It’d happened so fast. For all that he was called the Yellow Flash, Minato would likely still feel like a failure every time he thought back to that day. He almost lost his wife and could’ve been responsible for the destruction of his village if the unknown ANBU hadn’t killed the masked man.
(Uchiha Madara was alive. Or had been before he was unceremoniously decapitated with a sword shining bright with lightning. Minato knew that he would have to deal with that revelation but that would come later.)
But worst of all, he hadn’t been able to protect his son. He didn’t even know if Naruto was alive or not and it was weighing on his mind every waking moment.
The ANBU bat mask hadn’t been in circulation for longer than a year and the unknown kunoichi’s physical description hadn’t matched anyone on the force. Aside from that, the investigation into her identity hadn’t turned up anything.
(No, that was a lie. The investigation had revealed something. The fact that Danzo had a private force in ANBU was something of an open secret in certain circles, but it was supposed to have been dismantled. To find out that ROOT had simply dug itself deeper into the foundations of Konoha in an effort to hide in the darkness both was and wasn’t a surprise. Kushina took deep pleasure in helping out the council member with its (forceful) dismantling as she searched for the unknown kunoichi in its ranks.)
Search parties had been sent out to all parts of Fire Country and spies dispatched all around the Elemental Nations. There had been no sightings of either Naruto or his kidnapper. Not even rumors.
Minato was startled out of his thoughts by a paper crane suddenly appearing in front of him in a flash of smoke. He jumped back from his desk but the thing only flopped on its side, looking eerily innocuous amid his piles of paperwork. He approached it cautiously, checking for traps but only finding a seal on one of its wings. The kanji for “send” was at the center of a triskelion and surrounded by some unfamiliar characters. Clearly the work of a sealing master. One that was unknown to him.
He warily unfolded the origami bird to find a message within:
“Naruto. Valley of the End. Come alone.”
As if mocking him, the snarling mask of a bat was doodled in a corner in blood-red ink.
Shikako thought she was doing alright all things considered.
Baby Naruto seemed perfectly happy with the goat milk she‘d procured and was sleeping peacefully in his makeshift crib, surrounded by a veritable army of plush animals. (She may have gone a bit overboard in that aspect but his chakra sang so happily when he buried his face in the soft toys that she couldn’t help herself from buying out the toy store’s entire stock. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the plush toad seemed to be his favorite.)
Her experience in taking care of babies was mostly limited to the rare times she couldn’t escape her babysitting duties at home. It was somehow both easier and harder to keep baby Naruto occupied and happy long enough for her to finish her preparations for the Yondaime’s arrival.
She really hoped she’d be able to get a word in before she got attacked. Knowing her luck though, she thought that it was highly unlikely.
Minato knew he was walking into a trap. He knew but he didn’t care. His son’s life was on the line. He would happily massacre his way through an entire army just to keep him safe.
His only consolation as he hiraishined toward the designated meeting spot was that he left Konoha in good hands. Kushina would be able to take care of any threat in case this turned out to be a distraction to get him out of the village.
He came to a stop at the top of the valley while turning his attention below, where he could feel the only chakra signatures around.
The fake ANBU wasn’t wearing her mask anymore but there was no doubt that it was the same kunoichi that had killed Uchiha Madara and kidnapped his son. She was younger than he’d thought she would be, perhaps only a couple years older than Kakashi. Her dark hair was twisted up into twin conical odango hair buns. Together with her youthful face and her ANBU uniform, it gave off an incongruous air.
She was standing next to a crib, from where he could just barely spy a tuft of bright yellow hair, just like his own.
Naruto.
Then he saw something that chilled him to the bones. Dark shadows, almost solid in appearance, were twisting above the crib in an unmistakable fashion. The Nara shadow-neck binding jutsu.
Heart pounding in his chest, Minato threw his hiraishin kunai straight down and was transported behind the kunoichi in an instant. He grabbed the kunai from the air in a reverse grip and plunged it into her neck.
It sank in without any resistance.
There was no blood. There was no gurgling that usually came from such a wound. It was as if he was striking air.
Intangible, he thought, just like Madara. Does she have the same limitations that he did?
A weight slammed down on him and Minato faltered as he felt his chakra disappear. No, not disappear. It was still there, but he couldn’t seem to reach it anymore. His chakra was sealed away.
A trap.
A trap that he’d so thoughtlessly sprung.
He hadn’t even noticed the seal. How did she manage to tag him?
The kunoichi finally turned around to face him. She looked even younger from close.
“What do you want?” he bit out harshly. He was powerless. If she decided to harm Naruto with her shadows, he wouldn’t be fast enough to stop her, especially since he couldn’t even touch her.
She lifted her hands in defense as if to say that she wasn’t a threat. Her eyes were wide with an unknown emotion and her mouth was parted as if in surprise.
“This is all a misunderstanding!” she blurted out.
“You stole my son and you call it a misunderstanding?” he growled out.
She waved her hands around a bit helplessly. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! It just happened!”
“It just happened,” he repeated in disbelief. “And I suppose the ransom note was a mistake too? You sealed my chakra by accident?”
“The ransom note? What ran— Oh, crap.” A look of realization flashes on her face. “That wasn’t a ransom note! It didn’t even have a ransom in it, how could it be a ransom note? It was the only way I could think of to contact you without getting killed! And the sealing was just to get you to stop so I could explain everything. I’ll remove it after our talk.”
“And the shadow jutsu you were using before?”
“Ah… well, Naruto seemed to like my shadow puppets,” she said sheepishly, her lips curved into a fond smile.
He relaxed slightly at her earnest expression. Her next words startled a laugh out of him.
“Please take him back. I’m not good with babies.”
She stepped away from the crib, finally letting him take a better look at Naruto. He was lying down in the center, surrounded by more than a dozen toys. His wide blue eyes were shining and he was smiling widely.
Something in Minato’s chest settled at the sight. He grabbed Naruto gently for the first time since he was taken away and finally felt at peace.