Chapter 2 - Planning

Chapter 2 - Planning

A couple of weeks passed. The bear turned out to be just a bear. So, Minato added it to his son's growing toy box. He hated leaving most of the decisions to wife. There was so much to do in order to get ready but she had the time, he didn't. So, the nursery was decorated with orange and red. Colors that Minato thought didn't look good together but he wasn't going to tell Kushina that.

Minato spent as much time with his wife as could, but it felt like it was barely any time at all. So he compensated by buying random toys & baby accessories. Often when he was out he would find something that he thought Naruto would love. Then he would bring it home. Kushina mocked him every time he did this but that didn't stop Minato. He wanted Naruto to have a full and rich childhood. What his wife thought was irrelevant.

He handled all the planning for the birth though. With Kushina being a jinchuriki, the pregnancy was dangerous. It was dangerous not just for her or Naruto but for the entire the village. So, every detail of the birth had to be planned out meticulously.

He had been going over the arrangements with Lord Third for a weeks now. The location had to be secret and far away from the village. So that if the Ninetails got out they had time to deal with him. Minato relied on Lord Third's advice for the guards. Minato was still new at being the Hokage and he wasn't totally sure who he could trust. Lord Hiruzen knew. If he said that they could be trusted, then Minato believed him. He trusted him with his family's lives. Minato believed that he would not let them down.

Still, he had many fears about the day. So much could go wrong. He could lose them both. It was the last thing that Minato wanted. They were his family and he wanted them by his side. Minato was going to do anything to keep it that way.

It didn't help that lately there had been reports of disappearances within the village. Villagers were disappearing. There was no breach of the barrier and no sign of where they had gone. It was troubling - especially now. If someone existed that could get through security barriers then all their planning would be for nothing. They could attack Kushina and the baby. Minato had to protect them just in case. He was so afraid of losing them both . . .

Minato should have told his wife about his preparations for the birth. He should have told her about the disappearances. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to scare her. Besides, there was no proof that anything would happen. So, he decided not to tell anything until he had to. He would protect them even if that meant hiding things from them. He could live with that so long as they were okay.

It was late when he arrived home and Kushina was already asleep. Minato could hear her loud snores from their bedroom room as he came in. On his way to their bedroom he stopped at the empty nursery. He opened the door then looked in.

It had Kushina written all over it. Still, he was glad that it was there. It meant that the time was coming. Naruto was on his way. It wouldn't be too much longer now. They had to finish preparing for his arrival. There were so many details left undone. They didn't have much time. He had to be ready.

For those of you who noticed, this is a replacement chapter. It was missing somehow from the piece. I happened to notice it today. I will never, ever just post a chapter with my comments. I hate that. So, if you ever see something like that again - on ANY of my stories - let me know! I'll fix it. I keep a master file available on my stories. I can fix it! See ya!