A/N: Thank you to all the people who reviewed :)
Sorry about the length for this chapter... It's short for a reason but still...
Next time I write a short chapter I might do a raging Dattebayo (I really wish they still did subs) special and put up two chapters at once to make up for the shortness.
Chapter 2: Memories of a Frog
Jiraiya stares at the angular memorial that shines in the moonlight. After the tower was destroyed the newly formed council had decided to leave the crater there and erect a memorial at the centre. In memory for all those who lost their lives in the tower. Among the many names etched in the marble stone are Konan and Rin. It still pains Jiraiya to think that his old friend Orochimaru will be forever remembered as an evil, twisted dictator... Strange but true. He can still recall with perfect clarity meeting Orochimaru for the first time at school and still remember the horrible, shocking news when Ororchimaru had started to modify children... Jiraiya sighs and looks at his reflection in the marble.
I'm the complete opposite to Kakashi, he thinks ruefully. Never been the type to hang onto the past but after today I just had to come here...
For a brief moment a smile flicks onto his face as he recalls the events earlier in the day…
"Naruto… Naruto… Naruto!" Jiraiya shakes his godson. The blonde teenager rolls over in bed moaning something about Sakura. Jiraiya scowls. "Naruto!"
"What?" Naruto mumbles into his pillow.
"Happy birthday."
Suddenly Naruto's wide-awake and he sits up with a grin. "It's midday… You've wasted half of your birthday already," Jiraiya tells him knowing all too well what Naruto's reaction will be.
"What?" Naruto yells and he jumps out of bed. Amused, Jiraiya watches Naruto check his alarm clock.
"Quarter to nine… Jiraiya!" Naruto says flopping back down, pulling the duvet over his head.
Chuckling, Jiraiya walks out of the room adding, "You better come downstairs if you want your present… and your birthday ramen." By the time he gets to the kitchen Jiraiya can hear Naruto thundering down the stairs.
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto chants as he sits down at the table. The 10th October is the only day of the year when Naruto is allowed ramen for breakfast. Simply because, if allowed to, all Naruto would eat would be ramen. Birthday ramen is just Jiraiya's way of ensuring Naruto doesn't get some kind of nutrition deficiency.
Jiraiya watches Naruto, half smiling, half grimacing as Naruto downs his ramen. "Well seeing as you're sixteen now," Jiraiya says as he pulls out a brightly wrapped present from a drawer. "I decided to give you this."
Surprised, Naruto takes the rectangular package and rips away the paper to read The Tale of an utterly Gutsy Boy named Naruto. "Hey he has the same name as me!" Naruto says.
And he's supposed to be sixteen, Jiraiya thinks sighing.
"You gave me a book you wrote?" Naruto says, the look on his face plainly saying 'you're a cheapskate'.
"Yes, and of course you share the same name," Jiraiya tells him. "You're named after the main character after all."
Naruto's eyes widen and he flicks open the cover. There, in faded writing is:
Dear Minato,
I hope you enjoy the book! It is my first published novel after all.
Jiraiya
Jiraiya smiles as Naruto says, "this was my dad's?
"Yep and it was his favourite book too," Jiraiya says. He's telling the truth too. Minato took that thing everywhere. He loved that book. The faded cover, the dog-eared pages and battered spine is proof. Shame no one else saw what Minato did in the novel.
"He wanted you to be like the main character," Jiraiya says. "Here." Taking the book off Naruto he flicks to the centre page. Nestled inside is an old photograph. Sitting down next to the blonde teenager Jiraiya shows him the photo.
"This was taken during the days of the resistance of Danzo," Jiraiya says. "Look." He points at Minato and Kushina. With a small smile Jiraiya watches as Naruto stares at the picture intently. For years Jiraiya kept the photo in the drawer. The last time he actually looked at it properly was five years ago when Kakashi came across it in his hunt for spoilers on Make-Out Tactics. Unbearably sick. That's how Jiraiya feels whenever he sees that picture. Those happy faces are so unsuspecting... Only four out of the twelve are alive now. But… Jiraiya feels it's wrong to lock away and try to forget them. Naruto has a right to see.
"Thanks Jiraiya," Naruto says softly.
Suddenly there's the sound of a key turning in the lock. Naruto's face brightens. "Kakashi!" He says jumping up leaving Jiraiya. Jiraiya leans back in his chair. You'd be proud Minato, he thinks.
"You're late!" Jiraiya hears Naruto accuse Kakashi down the hall.
Without missing a beat Kakashi replies, "ahh my bad... There was this old lady and she needed help with her shopping..."
"That's a lie!"
Later when Naruto had gone out with his friends Kakashi had told Jiraiya the news about Asuma. Jiraiya stares up at the sky, the cold air pricking at his face.
"It's a never ending cycle…" Jiraiya says to the still night air. "How to stop it?"
Silence. That's always the answer to that eternal question. "Idiot," Jiraiya tells himself chuckling slightly. Turning round Jiraiya decides to leave knowing that Naruto'll be home soon after going to Ichiraku's with his friends.
Just as Jiraiya turns he sees a dark silhouette standing on the lip of the crater.
"Just an old fool reminiscing," Jiraiya calls out to the figure. "You know what they say. A frog in a well does not know the great ocean." He approaches the steps that lead out of the crater. Slowly the figure begins to descend from the shadows. As they approach Jiraiya narrows his eyes. Suddenly, when the moonlight hits the person he gasps.
The figure is tall, dressed all in black with a hood over their head. But as they tilt their head to face Jiraiya, he sees an orange spiral mask.
Jiraiya knows all about Obito. Tsunade has told him after the tower fell. That's why Kakashi's been constantly brooding for these past five years. That uncertainty to whether he would come back as Obito or Tobi. The agonising truth that Obito may never come back. It had pained Jiraiya to watch Kakashi torture himself. But now… Jiraiya watches as the person get to the bottom. His mouth dry Jiraiya's almost frightened to call out. He knows it would destroy Kakashi if it isn't Obito.
They remove the mask with slow deliberation and a pale face stares back at Jiraiya. He's matured, Jiraiya thinks. That's when it hits him. The serious face, the almost sad eye. None of them belong to Tobi.
"Obito?" Jiraiya calls out. "Is that you?" Obito doesn't answer. He takes another couple of slow paces toward Jiraiya, his steps echoing eerily.
"Kakashi will be glad that you're back," Jiraiya says.
Obito pauses and says in an odd voice, "Who's Kakashi?"
Jiraiya's blood freezes and his breathing sounds unnaturally loud. "Don't you remember Kakashi?" Jiraiya says cautiously. He widens his stance, tensing his muscles. Something is definitely not right. Because that's not Tobi. And the voice… it sounds like a matured Obito… A wiser Obito who has seen the horrors of the world. But if that's Obito-
"Oh him," Obito says. "Hatake Kakashi… Yes... I remember…"
"Don't you want to see Kakashi?" Jiraiya says frowning.
Obito's face is strangely emotionless. Almost as if he doesn't quite understand why Jiraiya is asking him that question. "Why would I want to see him?" Obito says. "I came to see you."
Jiraiya's eyes widen and he distances himself from Obito. "And why's that?"
"You are a major and a councillor of this city. Therefore you must be eliminated," Obito says mechanically.
"Obito, what are you talking about?" Jiraiya says.
The red sharingan glows in Obito's eye. "Obito?" He says.
Suddenly Jiraiya blinks and Obito's gone. Then the air is knocked out of him and Obito flashes in front of Jiraiya before he can even react. That's when Jiraiya sees the menacing glint in Obito's sharingan. Leaning forward Obito whispers softly into Jiraiya's ear, "I should have mentioned earlier but… I'm not Obito."
A/N: Sorry if Eventide is turning out to be a bit depressing... It won't all be like that!
Hope you liked the chapter and I'll try not to leave you on a cliffhanger for too long :) Any constructive criticism is appreciated!