Prologues Open Books, Epilogues Close Them
"The first time god stepped upon his earth, he left his mark upon the ground. The second time he stepped upon his earth, he wondered who left so great a mark upon his creation."
-An Auntie Peggy Sue story is a story that functions as an inverse of a Peggy Sue plot. Instead of a single character receiving future knowledge, an Auntie Peggy Sue story is one wherein everyone else but the main character is aware of the future. Everyone; allies, enemies, all know that given a little time, a little effort, a little support, the protagonist can change the world. Originally conceived as an Anti-Peggy Sue, putting pen to paper found the tone used to be generally warm and friendly, like a beloved aunt or uncle. It also helps that in this kind of story, the aunt would also technically be a Peggy Sue. If the pun in any way offends or annoys you, take heart that all of it is intentional and that I will not apologize for my using it. You can call it whatever you like, I'm calling it Auntie Peggy Sue.
Chapter One: The World Turns Without Us
I lay on my bed, yes bed, and melt into the softest sheets I've ever touched and felt. This house, this castle, was mine now. My father's and mother's and now mine. My inheritance and their legacy. There was a large portrait of my parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzamaki, that the old man had delivered a few hours ago but it was what that dog-masked ANBU had given that had my attention. A simple photograph, framed in the most expensive frame I could find since I was rich now, apparently, of a fiery haired woman and a beaming Fourth Hokage holding a squealing baby boy. It's nearly midnight and I'm tired from my genin exam and I wanted to sleep, was told to sleep, but that would mean not looking at the picture and not enjoying everything that was happening to me.
Today was, without a doubt, the single best day of my life. And the old man only promised it would get better.
It's amazing what can change in just one day. Yesterday everyone looked at me with hatred and fear and the next day they act like I'm not just the last Hokage's son but the Hokage himself or something! The civilians seemed eager to talk with me for once and, get this, apologize for all the stuff they've pulled before. When I asked if the old man made it a law to apologize to him or something as a joke they denied it saying that they've simply realized the error of their ways and wish for his forgiveness. After I forgave one of them, others appeared from out of nowhere, all of them asking for not only forgiveness but favors, promises, and a bunch of other stuff! It got to the point that some ANBU had to intervene. Not that I was complaining or something like that. It's just weird. I could tell something had happened but I can't figure out what. Every time I ask, the adults would make this weird face and the other kids would just look at me like I was stupid or something, asking to see my Reshiram or something. I dunno. The old man won't tell me anything and some of the ANBU went out of their way to make sure the other people don't tell me anything.
Ah, well, the old man probably knows what he is doing. Classes were great, for the first time in ever, at least. One of the teachers, Mizuki, got replaced today and Izuki got told to fill in for most of his classes. That would normally be not so great but he seemed to have cooled down a lot since yesterday. He was awesome now. The other ninja students were acting weird as well, but they turned back to normal after Shikamaru said something to them. Well, normal-ish. Sasuke seemed weirdly interested in talking to me and had taken to actually answering whenever I challenged him and Sakura seemed nicer overall if still ignoring my declarations of love. This girl, Hinata, introduced herself and we talked a lot about our lives outside the Academy and our dreams. She seemed disappointed for some reason when I said I wanted to get a date with Sakura but she promised to be my friend either way, which was great!
Of course, Hinata promising that convinced the other kids to become my friends as well. It was great having more friends, but it all seems suspicious. Many of them had this weird look in their eye he'd seen in some shifty merchants before. Now that I think about it, Hinata also had this weird glint in her eye when one of the girls tried asking me out. I'd almost said yes before Sakura and Ino dragged her off somewhere. Another girl ran up to me but this time it was Hinata who dragged her off. She turned to face everyone in the room before taking the girl away. Everyone froze like statues and they only stopped acting like that when Hinata left. No one tried approaching me afterwards and I can't help but wonder if she did something to them while she was facing away from him but she's a girl so she probably knows a lot more about having friends than I do.
Genin exams were okay. There were a lot of amazing people this time around but a lot of people who failed as well. The people who passed did crazy good while those that didn't did terribly. Like all the clan kids, plus Sakura, did perfectly on their exams. The ones who failed, on the other hand, got much, much lower scores than he did on even his worst exam. Shikamaru said most of those that failed failed on purpose but he couldn't see why. Who wouldn't want to be a badass ninja?
I passed, if anyone was wondering. The written test was horrible but I did well on the weapons test. I didn't have to do the Bunshin for once and my Kawarimi was enough to let me pass. The other successful genin seemed confused about that until the bastard decided to congratulate me on passing. After that, they congratulated me as well. Now, I could see why the other students liked him but he was still a bastard.
As soon as the exams were finished, the old man arrived at the Academy and told me to go to the Tower. He leaned in and whispered that it was some sort of secret test that was only meant for me. There was a scroll in the Hokage's Tower that he needed and he could only use me to get it. There'd be a bunch of guards and ninjas on the lookout out for anyone trying to get in but if I succeeded in finding the scroll, he'd teach me a super secret forbidden jutsu to use.
The jutsu was the Kage no Bunshin, if you were wondering. Totally worth being called a super secret forbidden jutsu, I might add. The guards didn't seem too annoyed at me tricking them but they insisted the old man had nothing to do with it. I don't think they were lying but they were definitely hiding something.
Eh, I could replace their shampoo with hair dye as punishment later. Anyway, Kage no Bunshin, or as I like to call it, better Bunshin. Lets me make a bunch of clones that can actually hold and do stuff. I could also make a ton of them, which impressed the old man. He said it was forbidden because most could only do one or two before exhausting themselves. Any more and they might just die of chakra exhaustion. The fact that I could do so many and not even feel it was amazing.
"Just like your parents," he said at the end as he told me to follow him, which got me curious. He wouldn't answer though, repeating that I just had to follow him. We walked and talked about classes and ramen for a while before we stopped in front of one of the biggest houses I had ever seen. It was practically a castle!
"The Namikaze residence, home of the man who was both my successor and predecessor," the old man said, sounding like his age for the first time since we'd met, "it hasn't been opened since his death during the Kyuubi attack. All attempts to enter it have failed. Not unexpected given he and his wife's skill in the sealing arts. The seal protecting the estate could only be opened using the blood of one of his direct descendants."
He gave me this weird smile while I nodded in awe at the home of the Fourth Hokage. After a few seconds, I began wondering why he had brought me here. I recognized his smile as the, 'I have you now but I want you to figure that out for yourself' smile and the instant I realized that I couldn't help but snap back to the giant house then back to him. He couldn't mean... I mean, I'd imagined being the long lost son of some Hokage before but it couldn't possibly be-
The old man handed put a kunai in my hand and gave me a very warm smile. "We will see it opened today, Naruto. Draw some blood and smear it on the door. It is time to receive your birthright."
I'll be honest, I don't remember much following that. I remember making a cut on my palm, putting my hand on the door, and the door opening. I remember being given a tour of the house, my house apparently, as well as an explanation of the history of my mother and father. I was rich now, very rich, and that everyone in Konoha now knew I was the Fourth Hokage's son. A lot of the words just fell out of my head as I focused on my house, the pictures and portraits of my parents, on my family and our legacy.
He promised to continue tomorrow. The old man, I mean. I think he asked if I had any questions. I might have ignored him for a while. Maybe a long while. I'm not sure. He led me to the bedroom, my parents' because I can't really sleep in a crib, and told me to rest. Some guards will guard the estate or something as well. One of those guards hands me the photograph and accompanies me as I go buy a frame. That's probably what happened.
The bed feels so soft and I imagine a man who looked like an older me and a woman who seemed the embodiment of living fire in the bed with me. I close my eyes and open them immediately, worried that I was in a dream and closing my eyes for any longer would somehow wake me up back to yesterday.
There was a feeling of deep, unrelenting despair as I realized I was no longer in my bed but in a dark and flooded sewer instead. A giant creature stood before me trapped in an equally large cell. This was the Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox and the ninth Bijuu. This was the creature that killed my father and so many others and the one that nearly brought the downfall of Konoha itself. I stared in confusion and fear at the creature before it bowed low before me.
"Welcome bearer of Asura's will and successor of the Sage of Sixth Paths. I, Kurama, humbly greet you."
