Naruto awoke with a start and quickly looked around his small apartment. Everything was as it should be…but that dream again…no that nightmare. Why was he having it now? This was the third night in a row and each time it was just as painful as before. He had already experience it once and seeing it again couldn't change the past… Naruto glanced up at his clock and sighed. It wasn't even six yet.
'Well…I suppose it wouldn't help to go in early today.'
He thought as he stretched. He flicked on the lights and yawned. His room was sparsely furnished but heavily decorated. Yellowing newspaper clips covered one wall completely and photos of different places and people another. The other two walls were adorned with random posters and marker. In one corner of his room stood a darkly stained dresser, on top of which lay his most important possessions. There were only 6 things but they meant more to him than anything else in the last hundred years.
There was a black frame which held a picture of happier times and five headbands, each with metal plating bearing the same symbol. Naruto reached out and carefully picked up the black frame. He stared at the picture, wishing he could be absorbed into it. His sensei smiled at the unknown photographer as he stood behind the rest of his team. Naruto's female teammate was grinning girlishly while he glared at his stoic raven haired teammate. He gazed intently at it for a few more moments before setting it down. He picked up each of the headbands in turn and dusted them off carefully.
This had become a daily routine for him. The picture was just a picture and the headbands were just outdated accessories, but they represented something bigger and more important than anything else in Naruto's world. They were reminders of his life…the life where he had truly belonged. You see, Naruto Uzumaki was no normal human. Oh sure, he may have looked like any other 16 year old but he was, in fact, almost 120 years old. The dream he had experienced earlier had been more than a dream. It had been a memory based off of his actual teenage years.
In his life time he had witnessed the death of everyone close to him, the destruction of his home village by unknown hands, the rebuilding of that very same village and many, many other important things. He had been around when the first car had come hurtling down the street…well, actually he had been in front of it…he had been a 'reporter' in those days…but that was a story for another time.
To him, the most important thing he had done was help found a museum, dedicated to the history of this city. Unfortunately, so much time had passed since the day of ninjas, that many believed them to be a myth. So, Naruto's idea to devote a section of the museum to the history and complexity of the ninjas had been overruled. He had dealt with it calmly, like any other business man would but he had gotten back at them…Oh yes. Not only had he outlived those idiots, he now worked at the museum…as a lowly custodian, but still… It gave him an opportunity to share some of the true history with people… if they were willing to listen of course. It was more difficult than it sounded though…he had to be very careful about the way he spoke. He couldn't reveal to them they way it had felt to see his home reduced to rubble or how it had felt to wake up in an unfamiliar place afterwards. No…Naruto didn't want to scare them. People these days didn't understand the way it had been…they didn't believe.
The few people who still spoke of ninjas were under the misconception that they had been super-human. People told gruesome stories that twisted facts until they were fiction. No…Naruto knew that if he told people what he really was he would be carted of to a lab and used as a guinea pig to all sorts of horrid tests. He also knew that he would be disposed of when they were finished and that realistically, no one would care. Therefore, he preferred to keep to himself.
By this time, Naruto was dressed and ready to go. His blonde hair was as unruly as ever but there wasn't much he could do about it. His living room was more furnished than his bedroom and much messier. A large desk stood in the corner and was littered with papers and open books. The blank computer screen flashed to life as Naruto moved the mouse he had just uncovered.
"No new messages…go figure." He muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.
A book shelf to the left of the desk was crammed full of books, each with papers sticking out and pencils between the pages. It had become sort of a hobby of his, collecting history books and rewriting the parts that were untrue. He made himself a quick, unhealthy breakfast of ramen and grabbed an apple as he walked out the door. It took him about 15 minutes to walk to work and he was greeted warmly by the museum receptionist.
"Morning Naruto." She said with a smile.
Naruto grinned and nodded in acknowledgement. His eyes darted to the left of the desk where a framed photograph was centered on the wall. Underneath it a small plate identified it as a picture of the museum founders. Naruto found himself quickly…2nd row, 3rd from the right.
He was easily the youngest person in the photo. His hair was shaggy and auburn and contacts made his eyes seem green. He had also used a different name back then for obvious reasons. About every 5 or 6 years he had to find a new apartment and change his appearance and name. People would be suspicious if the same kid lived next to you for 10 years and never changed a bit…
"Hey did you hear me?" the secretary's irritated voice broke through his thoughts.
"What?" he asked, feeling stupid.
"There's a school group coming in at 8, Mr. K wants you to make sure that all the floors are done." She said.
Naruto nodded and pulled out his headphones before heading into the locker room to change. He always listened to music while he worked. It kept him focused. He glanced at himself in the mirror and chuckled. The jumpsuit that served as his uniform was bright orange. He hated, however, feeling confined to an article of clothing that covered his body so he rolled the top down, exposing his plain, black T-shirt.
He worked his way through every room, making sure not to leave any muddy shoe prints or puddles of dirty mop water. When he finally finished he looked up at the clock with a smile. The time read 7:45. 'Perfect! Done and with time to spare.' He thought smugly. He turned to look at a large glass case with a reminiscent smile.
This was his favorite piece. It was a replica of his home, downscaled thousands of times. The Hokage monument towered over the tiny buildings, each of which was perfect. There was even a tiny Ichiraku ramen stand. Naruto found that if he stared at this thing long enough, he could clearly picture himself walking down the streets again, his teammates by his side.
His headphones were still on so he didn't hear the squeaking of shoes on his freshly washed floor. He turned around only to collide with something hard and fall onto the floor. He glared up angrily, a few well chosen swear words ready to be fired at whoever knocked him over. But these words, along with anything else that might have resembled a thought, vanished from his mind the moment he looked up at the teenager in front of him.
A pale face framed by dark, raven colored hair stared down at him. The boy's dark eyes were narrowed into a glare.
"Maybe you should try apologizing instead of sitting there gawking at me."
His voice was softer and gentler but it spent shivers down Naruto's spine all the same. The blonde scrambled to his feet and apologized quietly. The 'Sasuke look-alike' just shrugged and walked away with the rest of his class. Naruto made a grand effort to avoid the high schoolers for the rest of their tour and was glad when his shift was finally over.
As Naruto sat at his kitchen table eating dinner, he couldn't help but feel stupid. He had spent most of his morning thinking about his past right? So how did he know his mind wasn't playing tricks on him? How did he know that he hadn't seen a kid with dark hair and imagined that he had looked so much like Sasuke? He didn't. Therefore, it was the most likely solution.
'Besides…' Naruto thought as he rinsed off his plate. 'Sasuke's dead and the dead don't come back to life.'
He walked into the living room and was about to sit down at his computer when there was a knock on his door. He opened the door and blinked…once…twice…three times. No, he wasn't imagining it… the 'Sasuke look-alike' was indeed standing in front of him.
"Um…Hi." Naruto said, forcing a smile.
"Hi." The boy's reply was short but pleasant.
The two stared at each other for a moment before the raven shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and reached into his pocket. Naruto's instincts caused him to tense slightly but he relaxed when Sasuke pulled out an MP3 player. It looked strangely familiar… Naruto quickly checked his pockets only to discover that his beloved music player was gone.
"I found this…on our way out… so I asked the receptionist for your address. She offered to give it to you tomorrow but I wanted to do it myself." The boy said.
Naruto raised his eyebrows as he accepted the small blue device.
"Why's that?" he asked.
"Well…I also wanted to apologize I guess… I know my behavior was rude earlier." The raven said.
Naruto's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he remember that the boy standing in front of him wasn't really Sasuke.
"It's fine." He said easily. "I should have been paying more attention." He may have had a hard time admitting the fact that he was wrong when he was younger but a few extra decades of life had certainly made it easier.
"Anyways, thanks a lot for returning this…I don't know what I'd do without it." Naruto said with a smile.
The boy just nodded.
"So…since you went through all the trouble to find me, why don't you come in for a few minutes?" Naruto asked.
The raven shrugged and stepped into the apartment. Naruto blushed a bit when he realized that it was quite messy but noticed that the other teen didn't seem to mind.
"What was your name again?" he asked, knowing perfectly well that he hadn't been told already.
"Oh, sorry. My name's Sasuke…Uchiha." he said.
Naruto managed a nod and sat down on the couch before his knees gave out on him. How could this be possible? Sasuke was dead…he had been that way for over 100 years now. Naruto discretely took a few deep breaths to calm himself as Sasuke looked around. He smiled and stood up.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He said and stared intently at the raven, praying for a spark of recognition but there was nothing. "Do you want something to drink?" Naruto offered.
"No thanks…I should probably be going actually…my brother is waiting for me." Sasuke told him.
"Your brother?" Naruto asked curiously. Surely this boy's name was a fluke; some twisted joke played on him by god… there couldn't be more to this.
"Yeah, Itachi." Sasuke said. Naruto felt as if he had been hit in the stomach. It took him a few moments before he was capable of stringing a sentence together.
"Do you live with him?" Naruto asked. He couldn't help it…he knew his questions were a bit personal…Sasuke was technically a stranger after all but… he had to know.
"Yes…my parents died in a care accident when I was little." Sasuke explained.
There was no anger in his voice…no regret…It seemed as if he had moved on from that time in his life. Naruto took some comfort in the fact that even though Sasuke's family was gone, his brother hadn't been the one to do it.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?" he asked again, frowning when the boy nodded. He as becoming desperate.
He needed to find a way to keep this boy here… to watch him for just a few more moments just in case. If Sasuke left and it was the last Naruto saw of him, it would be like losing the raven all over again.
"Hey, do you by any chance know a girl named Sakura?" Naruto asked. He wasn't sure why he asked it…some sort of morbid curiosity I guess. He was shocked once again when Sasuke nodded.
"Yeah, she's one of my friends… why? Do you know her or something?" he asked. Naruto smiled a bit, not realizing that the sadness he was feeling seeped into it.
"Yeah…I guess you could say that…" he said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but shrugged and let it go.
"Hey…I know this might sound weird but do you think we could do something together sometime?" Naruto asked as he walked over to the desk and searched for a pencil and pad of paper. He saw Sasuke shift uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye.
"I guess we could… I mean, I don't always have very much free time…" he explained. Naruto grinned.
"That's okay. If you're ever bored just give me a call." He said. He moved to hand
Sasuke the slip of paper with his cell number on it but jerked his hand away. His fingers had barely touched the raven's skin but there was a sort of spark that ran through his entire body. He stared at his hand for a moment before realizing he had probably freaked the other teenage out.
"Sorry about that." He said sheepishly.
Had Sasuke really not felt that? He once again held out his hand and the raven took the paper almost reluctantly. After Sasuke left, the headache that had been threatening him since the knock on the door kicked in full force. He lay down on the couch and closed his eyes, letting his body shut down as his mind raced. Was all of this really possible? Had he really found his friends? If so, how? They had died…they… Naruto sighed and stood up. He pulled on his coat and shoes and put his hands together, his eyes closed in concentration. Suddenly there was an odd popping noise and he was replaced by a cloud of smoke.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer standing in his living room. He was in a small clearing of forest. In front of him were stairs that led down to a door. On the door were three small slips of paper. His hands moved quickly, blurred by speed as he made familiar hand signs. The papers glowed blue for a moment and fell to the ground. The room behind the door was the opposite of his apartment. It was spacious and tidy. Nothing was out of place. It was full of an assortment of training equipment from weapons to punching bags and dummies. You name it and it was probably in there somewhere. It was his training room, his safe haven, a place where he came to let of steam and be his 'true' self.
There was another door in the far left corner and has he put his hand on the handle, a familiar chill passed through him. He opened the door and removed his shoes before entering. He quickly found a box of matches and lit several candles. Unlike the outer room, there were no electric lights. The hard, packed earth was cool under his feet as he turned to face a sort of altar. The room was a shrine, dedicated to his friends and anyone else who had died while trying to save Konoha. It was also a grave to some degree. After Naruto regained consciousness, he had taken his friend bodies and had them cremated and brought them here after it was built.
Naruto only disturbed this place of peace and solitude in times like these, when he need help…when he needed guidance. He knelt down and bowed his head in prayer. When he was finished he sat down and crossed his legs. He was fully away that the urns which contained the ashes of his precious people lay buried beneath him. So how was it that he had been talking to one of those people only a short while ago?
"Help me…please. I don't know what to do… Should I leave him alone or is there something I'm missing? What is going on?" he cried softly.
His hands clutched his pants and balled into fists. He hung his head and was silent. He pictured himself in a place far away from here, back on the bridge in Konoha, his friends and sensei next to him.
"So I meet this kid today and he looks exactly like Sasuke but he's different and I don't know what to do." He explained. Sakura turned to him and smiled.
"Did you talk to him at all?" she asked. Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, and go figure his name is Sasuke Uchiha also! He even lives with his brother, Itachi." He explained. He saw Sasuke stiffen out of the corner of his eye. "Well, he's not exactly the same as you. I mean, he lives with his brother because his parents were in an accident." Naruto added hastily. Sasuke just shrugged.
"Whatever." He muttered. Naruto smiled…some things never changed.
"Well Naruto, it can't hurt to make some new friends you know." Sakura chided, though the smile didn't leave her face. Naruto looked down at his feet to avoid meeting her eyes.
"I know but…I don't…I don't want to forget." He whispered. Sasuke stepped forward. He was irritated and Naruto could easily tell.
"Naruto, you can't keep doing this to yourself…you can't keep shut-" Naruto's head snapped up.
His decision was made. He stood up and bowed once more before blowing out the candles and walking out of the room. He knew what he would do. It seemed so incredibly simple now. He would just ignore them. It was as simple as that. He would keep to himself just as he always had. Sakura was wrong, he didn't need to make new friends…he would just wait to be with his old ones.