"Photos are a gateway through Time for the Retrieval of lost Memories"
"Photos"
A Naruto Fanfiction
Rating: T/PG-13 for Violence and Suggestive Themes
Acknowledgements/Dedications: My best friends, voices10 and DayinTynSane for their all-around support and help with this entire series. If not for them, my fanfiction would have been doomed, without a doubt.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Kishimoto Masashi's "Naruto". I do not claim them as my own in the legal sense. All rights reserved and so on.
Author's Note: This is the FINAL time I have revised "Photos". This time, it has taken a great turn. You will notice, if you were originally a reader, that the chapters have been changed drastically.
Prologue: The Mission
It was with the flip of a page in his book when it happened. His spine shot straight up, he stood completely still, his hair raised on end, and his senses became unintentionally alert. He looked around, as if expecting to see whatever it was that caused his actions, but he couldn't find anything. He was in the middle of the road, his book lowered down to his side, with everyday people going about their business around him. A single bead of sweat ran down his face as he recalled the feeling he'd had. He couldn't pin his finger on it. Not by a long shot.
After a few more moments of contemplating it, he finally shook his head, trying to wave it off. He decided to go on ahead and meet his team then, since he was already late. They were supposed to meet in front of the Hokage's office, and so he turned around and headed back towards his destination.
· · ·
"Kakashi," the Hokage said. "I'd like to speak with you alone."
'Oh no,' Kakashi thought. 'Nearly a month from our mission with the Tazuna-san, and I'm being asked to speak with him alone… What did Naruto do this time?'
"But-" Naruto began to demand, as it was his usual instinct to refuse to be excluded from anything.
"Go on," Kakashi told his team, waving his hand carelessly away.
Sasuke and Sakura dragged Naruto from the room, and they were soon after followed by the councilors. "You too, Iruka," said the Hokage, turning to the Academy teacher who was practically his aide.
"But-" the man began to protest.
"This is for Kakashi's ears only," he told Iruka. "You are dismissed."
Reluctantly, the Chunnin left, and Kakashi and the Hokage were the only ones in the silent room. "Kakashi, I want to speak with you about your next mission."
"Okay," Kakashi said calmly, though he was truthfully relieved Naruto hadn't set any fire or caused damage to the village since their return.
"This mission is more of a…personal mission," the Hokage said, taking on a more familiar tone with the Jounin. "You see, there are three of Konoha's ninja – a Jounin and their two Genin students – but they live outside of the village… It's been more than a month since I have last heard from them… I'm worried something has happened to them… It was planned that, in the upcoming year, the Academy was to take full custody of the two Genin because they are in latent danger..." He stressed the word "latent" purposefully. "I am asking you to take your team outside of the village for a month or so. Do not abandon the forest line unless necessary, just stay in the forest for a month and report back to me any signs of what happened or if you meet them."
"Sounds simple enough…but why me?" Kakashi asked, succeeding to sound more curious than wary, even though he felt the balance of both on his chest.
The Hokage smiled at the young man. "If you meet them, you'll see, but, even if you do not, you will learn…"
Kakashi sighed disappointingly. "All right. We'll take the mission."
"Good. I wish you luck then. You are dismissed." He waved his hand, and Kakashi stepped out the door to find his students – or at least two of them – arguing.
"Naruto!" Sakura was growling, holding the blond in a firm headlock. "You shouldn't be eavesdropping! That's rude!"
"You know you want to know, too! Now let go!" Naruto snapped in return.
Kakashi sighed once more. "Is there ever a time when you two can act like you're not married?" he muttered more to himself than them.
"Whaaat?" roared Sakura, dropping her hold on Naruto.
"Now, now," Kakashi told her, holding up his hands defensively. "I was just kidding. The three of you need to get packed for about a month's trip. I'll fill you in on what details of the mission I can when we meet at the village gates. Goodbye." With that, the silver-haired man disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
· · ·
Kakashi looked around his apartment room thoroughly. The feeling from earlier on the road had returned, but it was definitely weaker than before. He had been trying to ignore it, but when he had packed his things, he could no longer fight it off. He rubbed the back of his head, curious at what was going on. "Maybe I forgot something…" he mumbled to himself, eyeing his room a fourth time. His eyes caught his desk, lingering there for just enough seconds for him to step forward towards it. He opened the first drawer, his eyebrow furrowed in sheer confusion. He carefully lifted its contents until he reached the bottom, only to find a picture frame with a photo placed inside of it. He blinked, growing more confused, as he picked up the picture and shut the drawer, dropping the contents back in place.
He leaned against the desk absentmindedly and stared at the picture in his hands. He could barely remember ever having it. In fact, he was sure that the photo was possibly seventeen or eighteen years old. He looked at it carefully, studying the scene with a critical eye. 'Could this be what was bothering me all day?' he wondered as some of the unsettling feeling seemed to ebb away in some sort of satisfaction.
The photo depicted a clear night sky with a full silver moon etched in its darkness, and the stars were few at this specific angle. Shadows were cast by leafless trees on a light snow of silver sheets. The faint reflection of the moon was seen on the glistening surface, and it was visible that a soft wind had blown the bare trees to the right.
Kakashi continued to stare at the photograph, contemplating its very purpose. He wasn't sure where he'd gotten it, nor why he had it. To top that off, he couldn't explain the strange familiarity and longing the photo held for him. It left him completely calm, but he wished deeply that he could find the answer to the question why he forgot about it.
When he realized he was going to be later than usual, he finally decided that he was either having an off day or a memory lapse. He turned back around to put it back, but he stopped once he opened the drawer. He blinked, staring at his reluctant hand and then glancing at the picture again. "Okay…" he muttered, shutting the drawer and walking over to his bag. He carefully placed it inside, and stepped towards the door. Once he was sure he wouldn't stop before he reached the knob by some supernatural force, he walked out and left to meet his team.
· · ·
Earlier that morning, at the Ichiraku, a lone man sat in utter silence, unnoticed by the owner and his daughter…
Ayame looked up from the dishes she was washing to see the man sitting silently at the bar, his fingers weaved together with his nose pressed against his thumbs. "Oh, hello," she greeted kindly. "May I help you?"
The man looked up from his brooding position. "Perhaps," he said, his voice edged with a misty air. "I'm wondering about a boy named Uzumaki Naruto."
Ayame looked at the man with a furrowed brow in surprise. "Er… What about him?"
The man forced her eyes into his, keeping a strict contact with her orbs. His eyes were a cold hazel – a knowing hazel. She gulped. All of a sudden, the man chuckled light-heartedly. "My old friend Umino Iruka had told me of him. I was just wondering how the boy was doing. If Iruka-san has thought so highly of the boy to tell me, then I was hoping to learn more about him from the people in this village. I was told he quite liked this ramen shop, so that is how I knew where to come."
Ayame sighed. If anyone knew Iruka, they couldn't be all that bad, and they certainly weren't untrustworthy. "I'm sorry. Naruto-kun is one of our best customers and a delightful boy. I couldn't help but be a bit worried."
"That is all right, ma'am," the man said, unweaving his fingers and setting them on the countertop. "Tell me, though, how is the boy doing? In his ninja work and everything you know." Despite his now more light-hearted demeanor, his voice was deep – business-like – and it was still cold. His eyes, as well, did not even lessen from their knowing air, but Ayame seemed naïve to that fact as she began to think of the boy.
"From what Iruka-san has told me, and-" She lifted her hand to her mouth as she chuckled lightly to herself. "-what he says when he's here, he's making progress. He was on a mission in Nami no Kuni with his team and came back successfully. It was his first 'exciting' mission. He was so thrilled to have gone on such a task."
Her voice took on a more serious tone. "He does seem a lot stronger, though. He's matured some as well…" She let out a small, silvery sigh. "He's always been a sweet boy, despite…" She caught herself before she said it.
The man nodded. "What happened twelve years ago. I know."
She bowed her head sadly. Then the man asked another question. "How long ago did he go to Nami no Kuni?"
"It was about a month ago. Yes. Nearly a month without our prized customer…" said a man, walking forth to the bar.
The man looked up at the shop owner. "Thank you, Sir," he said breathlessly. 'So he was one of the Genin…'
"Good morning A-" came a voice from behind the man. Iruka stopped beside the seat the mystery man sat in. "Oh, I'm sorry. Hello."
The man stood up and only nodded at Iruka. "Thank you again," he told Ayame and her father, giving them both a stern look with his cold hazel eyes. With that, he left the Ichiraku as Iruka turned to them.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"Y-You mean, you didn't know him?" Ayame asked anxiously.
"No… Was I supposed to?"