Naruto POV
Naruto was getting a little worried, he had finished training a few hours ago and had taken to just lazing around and raiding the fridge when he could. Now he was sitting by the window, looking out over the village as he waited for his parents to return with his new sister. He was excited as well, he was going to play with her loads and teach her lots of things like Jutsu, as soon as he learnt some of course. He already had the substitution down; it was part of his father's speed training to see how many times he could substitute in a minute.
Now though it was getting late, it was well past his bed time, not that he would ever admit to needing one. However, his eyelids were growing heavy. Yet, he wanted to be awake. He was eagerly awaiting for his new family to return home. Even so, his vision was getting a little cloudy and the couch he was lying on was getting increasingly comfortable. He didn't think it would matter much if he just closed his eyes for a few minutes, he was sure he'd have plenty of time before his parents got back.
And then it happened. He suddenly jolted up on the couch, his eyes darting back and forth in panic as he listened to the sounds of screaming and destruction. Skin prickling, heart racing, he rushed to the window, only to see a sight that belonged in his childish nightmares. The village was burning. Plumes of fire towered to the sky, dwarfing familiar homes, thick black smoke smothering the thunderous clouds. Buildings lay in ruins, getting worse towards the edge of the village.
And then he saw it. The enormous fox. Its warped form growling madly near the centre of the village, its nine long tails thrashing and snapping out behind it, flattening buildings with single sweeps. For a moment, when time seemed to come to a halt, Naruto could have sworn the enormous creature looked straight into his eyes. The boy stumbled backwards from the window, the Fox continuing to destroy more of the village. Naruto turned from the window even as screams echoed, his hands clamping over his ears. He was alone. Where were his parents? He ran upstairs, his legs burning, his body shaking. He swallowed frightful breaths, wrenching his eyes shut, diving onto his parent's bed as he dug underneath the covers, snuggling tight into the gentle, lingering warmth they left behind.
Suddenly, surreally, his father appeared. Looking around frantically, he called, until he spotted Naruto - a lump in his bed. He quickly ran over, going down on one knee as he looked his son straight in the eyes. Naruto didn't know why he was wearing his Hokage coat.
"Naruto I really need you to be brave right now." The redhead nodded quickly as he stifled a sob, trying to pull himself into a more dignified position as his father gave him a weak but warm smile. "You need to come with me, there's something we have to do." Naruto nodded again, confused but he could never turn down his father before, on anything. Minato smiled again as he pulled his son into his arms, lifting him up off the bed.
"Tou-san, where's Kaa-san and Imouto?" Minato didn't say anything but if Naruto had seen his face he would have noted the single tear that rolled down the usually unflappable Hokage's face. Both disappeared in an instant, reappearing only moments later to the louder screams of terrified civilians. The acrid stench of destruction and burning was full in Naruto's nostrils and it made his eyes water. His father set him down on the roof they had arrived on. He looked around until his eyes landed on the fox; it was looking straight at him, its massive jaws pulled back in a snarl as it continued to swipe at the Shinobi attempting to stop it.
He was about to scrabble backwards, away from the unbelievable aura of oppression and darkness the beast gave off. His father's words suddenly came back to him, he needed to be strong; he stood in trembling feet, watching as his father summoned Gamabunta down on the fox's head. Naruto was suddenly swept off his feet again as his father picked him up, all of them vanishing once again until he fell to the floor. He looked around again, immediately spotting the shock of red hair that could only belong to one other person.
"Kaa-san!" Kushina swept up her son into a hug even as a large altar poofed into existence behind them, summoned by Minato. The nine-tails was thrashing around violently, wondering where it had been taken now in its red-haze of vision.
"Naruto, I love you, please be strong." Naruto sobbed again, not understanding what was happening, it was all going too fast for him.
"Kaa-san, I don't unders-" They both looked up as the enormous demon crashed its hand down on the ground, upsetting the earth and creating a massive cloud of dust. All he saw was his father standing there, his shirt blown open as he just stared at the enormous fox, bound by the chains erupting from his mother's back. He found himself being laid back in the altar, staring up into his mother's perfect purples eyes. He saw the tears, they were swollen and red but they looked down at him comfortingly.
"It's going to be okay Naruto-chan; everything's going to be okay." Naruto just nodded, his mind not working right as he tried to take comfort in his mother's eyes. Suddenly he felt a blinding pain like his insides were being set on fire. He screamed out but his mother just held him tighter, pulling him into her chest as fresh tears spilled down her own cheeks. Naruto was breathing heavily, his breaths coming out in rasps as the pain continued to flow through his body, not even noticing the seal that began to write itself on his stomach.
He opened his eyes, only to freeze in shock as he saw his mother standing over him, holding back the enormous claw of the beast. She gulped, tears streaming down her cheeks as she took one last look at her son.
"Naruto I, I lo-" She fell limp a moment later, her body falling to the ground in a growing pool of her own blood. Naruto could do nothing but stare in shock, frozen by fear and disbelief as he watched his mother's body draw its last breath, still looking into his eyes as they locked together one last time. He didn't even notice as the great beast dissolved in front of him, the energy rushing into his body that was already numbed.
Seconds, or maybe hours trickled by as he just lay there, staring at his mother's body until a warm hand found its way onto his shoulder. He turned, almost mechanically to look up at the pain-stricken face of his father, although he hid it well. Naruto looked down at the strange spiral seal on his father's stomach, not knowing an identical one now rested on his own.
"T-Tou-san?" Minato just smiled weakly at his son, already feeling his life slipping away and finding the words hard to speak.
"Know that we're proud of you Naruto, we always will be. I wasn't fast enough..." he coughed into his hand as he slumped down onto his knees, his body growing weaker "...you have to be faster for me, okay Naruto?" Naruto just nodded his head in a stupor, a part of him not really believing that any of this was really happening. Minato's last action on this earth was to take of his coat and slowly wrap his son in it before his body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
That was the scene Hiruzen finally emerged at, seeing the dead Hokage and his wife surrounding their shivering son who could do nothing but stare at the bodies of his lifeless parents. Hiruzen sighed sadly, knowing beforehand that this was a possibility as he made his way over to the shivering boy gently. He carefully picked Naruto up, sighing again as the small redhead just fell unconscious in his arms, everything finally catching up to him.
The old Hokage stared down at the legacy of what was supposed to be his successor, a single tear in the corner of his eyes as he looked back at two of his dear friends. He had already lost so much tonight, his wife, his friends but Naruto; he had lost everything. He walked away from the clearing, allowing the ANBU to do their jobs and quickly recover the fourth and Kushina's bodies. The village would require him to be strong right now; Naruto would need him to be strong.