A/N: Hey guys, you know the drill.
Chapter 4
Naruto sighed as he snuggled further into the pillow, only for small whimpers to escape his lips when a wave of cold air washed over him. Blinking his eyes open, he saw a sign shrinking in the distance, still, he could make out the letters clearly thanks to his sub par shinobi training back home. It read, 'Welcome to Storybrooke'.
Great, we made it finally, and I slept for two hours. Naruto thought groggily, despite the fact that both his inner fox and the dashboard clock argued against his estimate of two hours.
You feel that Kurama? Naruto thought to his inner fox, who grunted in response, annoyed at having his nap interrupted until he felt what Naruto was referring to.
"Yep, magic. This whole town has a dome surrounding it; it feels almost 'evil'." Kurama replied, and Naruto shivered. When a giant demon fox referred to something as evil, it probably meant you should stay off from it.
Looking to the side, Naruto saw that Henry was still fast asleep, light snores emanating from his chest as Naruto smiled kindly, glancing at the book, only for it to capture his full attention, which was decidedly around ten percent in his current sleep-addled state.
The page had a picture on it, beautifully rendered with a baby in a basket, a warm looking blanket wrapped around the child. Like so many babies these days, the baby's name, presumably' was stitched into the blanket. The name was Emma, and after reading the page, Naruto realized that maybe the boy's suspicions weren't that far off the mark.
This lead to Naruto realizing he had been hanging out with a princess for the past ten years or so. Some of the things they did together, like going out to get drunk, or the nights when Emma and Neal just couldn't keep quiet, or that time when Emma got arrested, all very non-princess things.
Looking into the front of the car, he saw that Emma was stopping in a crossroads of sorts, which was empty of people, not unbelievable considering it was in the earlier hours of the morning. If they did manage to find Henry's parent, mother, adopted mother, she would undoubtedly be upset that Henry was out all night. Luckily it was Friday night/ Saturday morning, so Henry didn't have school to attend today.
After getting directions from a man in a waistcoat, with ruffled hair and glasses, who was out walking his dog, a Dalmatian, Emma drove on towards her destination until she pulled up in front of a large mansion-like house. Henry had said his mother was the Evil Queen, not what she actually did for a living, although it apparently supplied great dividends.
Clambering out of the car, Naruto followed Emma, slipping a hand under Henry as he picked the younger blonde up, carrying him easily. He remembered to grab Henry's book before shutting the door with his foot, balancing in one hand while holding Henry in the other as he walked up the stone path to the door.
Emma rang the doorbell, several times in fact before Naruto heard footsteps inside, coming down a flight of stairs before stopping at the door, peeking through the peephole no doubt. However, Naruto was not the mood to continue holding a preteen boy much longer, so he stepped forwards, presenting Henry to the peephole as the door was flung open.
Standing in the light coming from inside was a woman, beautiful in that way that Naruto had noticed all politically shaped women seemed to be. Lawyers, CEOs, Mayors. Naruto bet on the last one considering how small the town was, besides, wouldn't a queen, even an evil one, make a great mayor?
"Hello, I believe you're missing a young boy, blondish, preteen, named Henry." Naruto said, drawing the woman's glare from Emma to him, noticing Henry in his arms.
"Yes, hello. I d like to ask where you found him, although I don't recognize you two from around town. It's my job as mayor to know everyone around town, even those that are just passing through." The woman said, holding her arm across the open doorway as if to block Naruto or Emma from entering.
"Well, he showed up at our apartment, my apartment, Naruto here just happened to be home at the time. I'm his umm, his biological mother." Emma said; her leg twitching like it did when she was being nervously scrutinized.
"How did he find you, I thought it was a closed adoption, you shouldn't have been able to track him down." The mayor said, still ignoring Naruto's displeased expression.
"He said he used some of your connections to get them 'unsealed', form there he used a credit card to draw out some money and took a bus to Boston, where we live. So maybe you should be wondering which of your friends helped Henry out, without telling you. Speaking of which, maybe you could point to his room, I'm sure he would be more comfortable in his bed rather than my arms, Madam Mayor." Naruto said, clenching his teeth as he addressed her formally. It tweaked his nose to show deference to someone who hadn't earned his respect, something he'd carried over from his multi-dimensional trips.
"I'm not letting you just come into my house, I don't even know who you are. For all I know, you could the one who kidnapped him in the first place." The woman said, crossing her arms defiantly, her eyes practically daring Naruto to try and force his way inside. However, Naruto had training in these types of situations, and ah dealt with people who made the wrong choice, so he stood his ground, not backing up, but he didn't force the issue.
"Kidnapped. Lady, we just brought you your son back, you could at least be a little thankful." Emma said, her own stubborn nature coming out as she stared the mayor down. Finally, they both looked away, although the mayor still looked determined to not let Naruto through the door.
"My name is Regina, not 'Lady', or Madam Mayor will do. Now then, why don't you hand over my son before I call the Sheriff?" Regina said, and Naruto smiled sarcastically as he handed Henry over, the woman struggling slightly to hold up Henry weight. However, she managed to get him to the nearby couch, returning to the door. "I hope you have a safe trip back to Boston, and that we don't have to keep you here any longer than necessary. Now then, good night!" Regina said, slamming the door in Emma's face. It would've been Naruto's face, but he had already turned back to the Bug, slumping into the passenger seat as Emma walked over and slid into the driver seat.
"Well, that went well." Emma said, and Naruto gave a short bark of laughter as he looked at Emma, spying that familiar look in her eyes.
"You want to stay and see what's up with this town, don't you? See what kind of things are going on that a nearly ten year old boy ran away from home, all the way to Boston, just to track down his biological mother who gave him up fro adoption. Not to mention all this 'break the curse' business, which I think maybe his way of reaching out for someone to pity him, and mother him, something he may have done without. Well, you know, considering your own history in the system." Naruto said, and Emma stared out the windshield
"I was thinking about going home and getting drunk, and forgetting all about this town, but when you guilt trip me like that." Emma said finally, and Naruto smiled, lightly punching Emma's shoulder as she returned the gesture. Emma started the car, and drove to the nearest and only hotel/inn in the area. She never noticed that Regina had been watching the pair in the car, or that another man was watching them when he met them at the Inn, welcoming them to Storybrooke. She also never noticed that the giant clock in the town center began working again, at exactly the moment the key was dropped into her hand for her room, Naruto's across the hall.
As she turned to go to her room, she almost ran into a man with a cane who was watching the exchange. He had the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth as he saw Emma's face. However, Naruto's was mildly shocked by the meeting decreed by fate. He didn't really believe in fate, but this couldn't have been anything but.
"Whoa, watch out, dearie. Welcome to Storybrooke, I hope you have a good stay here." The man said, walking off, his cane clacking against the floor as he walked with a slight limp. Emma turned to see him leave, the tiny bell over the door ringing as he opened the door.
As it shut behind him, Emma began walking up the stairs to her room, while Naruto continued to look after the man.
What are you doing here, Stiltskin? Last I saw of you, you were in The Enchanted Forest, trying to figure out how to get to your son. It would seem you've finally succeeded. Naruto thought as he grabbed the railing, climbing the stairs, wishing a goodnight to the old lady manning the desk, as well as the young woman next to her, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here.
A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted tell you that I'm going away on vaction for a few weeks, so I won't be able to upload anything for a little while, but I promise that as soon as I get back, I'll upload two chapters to make it up to you guys, k?
