A/N: I RETURN! It's been such a long time since I've touched this story! A very long time! And durig that time, I've had so many different ideas building up inside my head it feels like my brain has been about to burst! I know I've kept you all waiting and since you're probably dying to know what happens next, I'll skip the usual rant. Spoilers ahead; blah blah blah I own nothing, everyone is the property of their respective creators and what not. Disclaimer over! As another note we also see an interesting turn of events as things begin to diverge from the main timeline. And with that...
...Onto the next chapter! And of course...ENJOY!
"Sometimes...anger is the appropriate response."
~Naruto.
Divergence
Later that night, Naruto had the dreams again.
This time, however, they were different. He did not see Konan or Tayuya. He didn't even see Sakura. Instead he found himself granted a glimpse of the future; a day in which he was fighting for his very life. He was in peril, that much swiftly became clear as he beheld himself, aged nearly twenty three years to the day, clad in full armour, fighting for his life against a young man nearly half his age. But something was wrong. His suit, usually so clean and polished, was faded and worn. Multiple scores in the beskar showed flesh beneath, suggesting they'd been struck so many times, that his opponent's lightsaber had actually burned through the iron in places, rendering his defense utterly useless...
Sapphire and saffron lightsabers clashed on a burning planet whose name escaped him; his arms were sore and aching, his chakra levels near depleted. Despite this, he fought fast and furiously, utilizing every trick he had ever learned in his career as a shinobi and bounty hunter to stay one step ahead of the owner of that blazing blue blade. And he was losing the fight. Sorrow twisted like a knife in his gut as he struggled to hold his own against this insatiable assailant, unable-unwilling-to bring his full might to bear upon his sith opponent.
For this man was sith. His eyes, once an expressive brown, now blazed a deep and hateful yellow, a sickly shade of saffron that showed just how twisted his mind had become. Rage emanated from him in waves, a fury so fierce, so powerful that it scalded to the touch.
Naruto screamed at himself to cut the enemy down before it was too late, but his body refused to obey.
He could feel the exhaustion in the dream, fouling his concentration, rendering him open to mistakes he normally wouldn't make...even on his worst day. As the nightmare gradually became more and more vivid, more and more lifelike, he felt intense heat warming him from all angles. Wherever he was, it was more than hot. It was scorching. He returned himself to the battle, he could sense that things were drawing to a close. Then the image seemed to blur; when next it cleared, he found himself standing upon a repulsor platform across a river of lava-yes, lava!-facing down his attacker positioned on another such platform.
"Enough of this, boy!" he felt his mouth move behind the helmet, the words rough with age. "You're not going to kill me, and I don't intend to kill you!"
The young man's only response was a furious snarl as he manuvered closer, their sabers clashing once more.
And then, through the saberlock, Naruto finally caught sight of his attacker's face. He felt no hesitation in his future self, but his current self froze. He was staring into the face of the man his son would one day become, a proud warrior, corrupted by evil. He was looking at...
Anakin?!
Vzzhm!
His momentary lapse cost him; sparks sprayed before his vision as the lightsaber seared across his helmet. The HUD sparked feebily and died; even here in the dream, he felt pain as the burning blade slashed an angry line across his forehead and cheek before he could bat it away. Black spots speckled his vision; he nearly lost his balance and plunged backward before he righted himself. Their duel continued across the river of lava, a precarious perch with the two of them trapped upon the platform.
"I've failed you, son." The words broke his heart as he heard them. "I have failed you." He paused to straighten himself, raising his blade before his visage. "Shimi would weep if she saw you like this."
"Don't you," Anakin growled then; deep and low in his throat. "Talk about my mother like that! You betrayed her!"
"And what proof do you have of this?" Naruto's future self scoffed at the baseless accusation, his son's strikes had grown sloppy with rage, they were deflected now as easily as an errant thought. "I was always faithful to your mother, Anakin, never doubt that!" His mind raged to break free from the dream-or was it a vision-but to no avail, no amount of pain of sorrow could tear him away from the scene playing out before him. "You can't blame me for moving on!"
"Be quiet!" Anakin raged at him. "I don't want to hear anymore of your lies!"
Their blades blurred against the lava, colliding then separating, colliding again. Naruto was amazed at himself; in the dream his body moved with a fluid skill he lacked in the here and now. As their battle wore on he did the unthinkable, parrying strikes with one hand, his fencing style gave him an distinct advantage over the brawling, brute force style, his child favored. And it showed. The anger that'd first drove Vader at the beginning of their duel was slowly destroying him as the battle wore on, leaving his form open to more and more mistakes. Whereas Naruto became more and more resigned, giving himself to the Force as exhaustion struggled to claim him, supplanting himself with a strength he daren't call upon. Until now.
"Listen to yourself!" The dream Naruto spat as they broke apart, his tone strident. "You've allowed this dark lord to twist your mind...
"Shut up."
...until you've become the very thing...
"Shut up!"
...I always feared you would be!"
"SHUT UP!"
Anakin reached out to silence him with the force and his face twisted with the strain of the effort; it was like trying to strangle a marble statue. Naruto could feel the sheer force behind the effort in his dream as his son-his own flesh and blood-tried to choke the life out of him, and it broke his heart. He felt the Force gather in his body as he reached out, pinching his son's windpipe, denying him air, just for an instant. Vader faltered, as the air left his lungs, as his face began to purple, as veins imploded in his eyes-
He couldn't do it.
Naruto let go of the Force and let Anakin toppled back to the platform, even as the energy urged him to finish what he started. He couldn't do it. He could not end his own son.
"I hate you!" Anakin roared, swinging wildly with his saber. "I should've known you were plotting to take Padme from me!"
"Wake up, Annie!" Naruto hissed as he parried another strike, resuming their deadly dance of death once more. "I did no such thing! You drove her to me with your madness! Sidious is manipulating you! He has been from the very beginning! Can't you see that now?! I've had no part in it! You've let your feelings run away with you; you've orchestrated your own downfall! Don't you understand?! Sidious is evil!"
"From my point of view, you're the one's who's evil!"
Naruto spat at him.
"Well then, you are lost!"
"I SAID SHUT! UP!"
Anakin lunged at him then, but apparently this aged Naruto knew better than to take the bait.
Naruto watched his future self step backwards and fly to safety; the thrusters of his jetpack carrying him clear of his son's lightsaber with the last of its fuel, freeing him from the restrictive confines of the repulsores platform and carrying him to the rocky shore. He alighted heavily upon the bank, ripped the helmet from his head, and turned to face his progeny, exposing a sweat-slicked visage to the world; his now bearded face twisting in a grimace of fresh pain against the scar marring his visage.
"It's over, son!" he declared, shouting down at Anakin. "I have the high ground!"
Anakin-no, Darth Vader glowered up at him, eyes blazing against the lava's glow.
"You underestimate my power, old man!"
With impending horror, Naruto realized what his only son was about to do. It was a mistake he'd made many a time in his youth; letting the anger get the better of him. He watched his stance slip, muscles tense in preparation of a monumental leap. Straight at him.
"Annie," his voice broke on the word, knowing full well the foolish mistake his son was about to make. "Don't try it!"
Too late.
Vader gave a leaping lunge, his lightsaber flaring an unholy red in the lava glow, and then-
Naruto woke with a start.
Heart hammering he struggled upright, gasping for breath. Cold sweat slicked his body, leaving him damp.
"Dreams again?"
The blond turned his head, momentarily alarmed to find himself inside his bunk aboard the Konoha, the covers a tangled mess around their feet. Their? Wait. That surprise became a pleasant one once he realized Shmi Skywalker was laying there beside him, her legs tangled in his, her youthful face peering up at him with an understanding he didn't deserve. She'd exchanged her day clothes for a simple white shift, one that left all her curves tantalizingly accentuated, one that also left little to his imagination. Her hair had since been freed from the bun she'd worn earlier this morning, freeing her auburn tresses to cascade down her back and frame at her face in a tide of dark brown, tempting him with her scent.
Naruto blinked, struggling to recall how he'd got here. He vaguely recalled returning here after sparring with Qui-Gon...but the rest remained a blur. He must've fallen asleep, at some point. Waking to find that she was here beside him-that she'd left the hut and snuck aboard just to see him-was almost enough to banish these old fears of his.
Almost, but not quite.
"Something like that," he admitted, touching a hand to his face, absently feeling where the scar should have been. Already, the memories of the dream was fading. There were so many questions. Why had Anakin gone dark? Who was Sidious? What role did Padme have to play in all of this? How, had he been able to use the Force in his dream? And why, did he suddenly have the terrible feeling he was going to lose the only woman in this universe he'd ever truly loved? He gazed at her, as if he could somehow capture this moment in his mind and preserve it there. Forever.
"I worry about him." Naruto admitted, "Annie, I mean. He's a good kid, don't get me wrong, but the dreams...
Shmi didn't say anything as she lay there; she didn't ask him if he wanted to talk about it, didn't pester him for details. Instead she simply scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him, allowing him to drink in her prescence, to bask in her warmth. Naruto shivered at her touch, suddenly aware just how close she was, how little she wore. Not only that, but also...how much he loved her. This wonderful, gorgeous, beautiful woman in his arms; the light of his life, mother of his child, and the center of his universe.
Naruto sighed and ran his fingers through her hair in slow, circular motions, occupying his mind as best he could. Shmi smiled and turned toward his touch, her cheek brushing against his just in time for him to kiss her on the nose. She snuggled closer to him, making no secret of her desire for him; her fingers working at the leather straps of his vest.
"Did I ever mention how much I love you?" Naruto sighed with a bliss he truly felt.
Shmi's smile grew another inch as she helped him out of the cumbersome jacket.
"Yes, but tell me anyway."
"I love you." he whispered, stroking her hair, then the small of her back through the soft fabric of the shift. "Adore you. I swear, if I didn't have someone like you, I'd be lying facedown in a gutter somewhere right now, ya know? Okay," he ammended at her amused expression, "Not the best way to turn you on, I know. But how about this?" He drew her close and pulled her into a soul-searing kiss, tongue probing at her lips, asking for entry, entry she gladly gave.
"Mmm." Her blood vibrated at his touch.
"How does Coruscant sound?" the question was sudden as they pulled away, wiping the arousal from her face with the inquiry. "When we're free, we can't just stay here, ya know."
Shmi pretended to think about the question, shook her head no.
"I'd prefer someplace remote."
"Mandalore, then."
Shmi looked at him oddly.
"Mandalore." she repeated, frowning. "Isn't that where you were trained by Jango?"
"Yeah." Naruto admitted, well aware of the weight of her gaze upon him.
"Problem?"
"No, not a problem." his mate shook her head. "It's just, I've been thinking, lately."
"Of?"
"Letting you train Annie."
A beatific smile blossomed on the blonde's face. He didn't care to ask why; all that mattered was that they'd finally cleared the one and only obstacle in their relationship; the decision to let Naruto train Anakin as he'd been trained. With that gone, the jinchuuriki felt such joy blossom in his chest that he couldn't help himself. Nor could he be blamed for what he did next.
"It's official." he decided, thumbing Shmi's chin up to meet his.
"What is?" she purred, her lips brushing his.
"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."
"What does that mean?"
Naruto smiled and kissed her again.
"That I fucking love you."
She kissed him then, and there were no more words between them that night. Naruto gave no more thought to the eerie vision he'd had; because, he was determined to prevent it, no matter the cost. He would not let his son become that monster he'd fought in the dream. He would not allow Shmi to die, either. He would find a way off this planet for them, Watto and Jabba be damned. He would protect them. Both of them.
Even if it cost him his life.
As it turned out, Watto was easily swayed. Funny how persuasive a blaster in one's face could be. Wagering their ship as goods, they were able to gain entry to the Boonta Race, much to Naruto's charign. The blond did not say it aloud, but Qui-Gon could tell: the father had serious reservations about his son's racing. All that seemed to fade away once father and son set to work on the pod; Naruto created a couple of clones to help the job along, and Anakin soon began pestering his father to learn the technique.
Finally wearing each other down, father and son laughed and set to work on their pod; even with the clones, they worked together in such tandem it seemed almost uncanny.
While Anakin and his helpers were thus engaged, Qui-Gon mounted the back porch of the Skywalker home, glanced around to make certain he was alone, and switched on the comlink to contact Obi-Wan. His protege answered immediately, anxious for a report, and Qui-Gon filled him in on what was happening.
"If all goes well, we will have our hyperdrive generator by tomorrow afternoon and be on our way," he concluded.
Obi-Wan's silence was telling. "What if this plan fails, Master? We could be stuck here for a long time."
Qui-Gon Jinn looked out over the squalor of the slave quarters and the roofs of the buildings of Mos Espa beyond, the suns a bright glare overhead. He couldn't help but feel that they'd landed here for a purpose, that the Force itself was trying to tell him something. But what? When nothing came to him, he returned his attention to the comlink. "A ship without a power supply willl get us nowhere," he answered his apprentice, very much aware of how terse he sounded. We have no choice."
He switched off the comlink and tucked it away.
"And there is something about this boy," he whispered to himself, leaving the thought unfinished.
Shmi Skywalker appeared through the back door and moved over to join him; Qui-Gon acknowledged her with a nod. Together they stood watching the activity in the courtyard below, observing father and son as they doggedly worked on the battered podracer.
"You should be proud of your son," Qui-Gon said after a moment. "He gives without any thought of reward."
Shmi nodded, a smile flitting over her smooth face. "He knows nothing of greed. Only dreams. He has...
"Special powers."
The woman glanced at him warily.
"Yes."
"He can see things before they happen," the jedi master continued, "That's why he has such quick reflexes. It is a Jedi trait."
Her eyes were fixed on him, and he did not miss the glimmer of anger that shone there.
"He deserves better than a slave's life," she said quietly.
Qui-Gon kept his gaze directed out at the courtyard. "The Force is unusually strong in hm, that much is clear. I believe I already know the answer to this question, but...who is his father?"
There was a long pause, long enough for the Jedi Master to realize he had asked a question she was not prepared to answer. He gave her time and space to deal with the matter, not pressing her, not making it seem as if it were necessary she answer at all.
"Naruto is Annie's father," she said finally. She shook her head slowly, her eyes distant. "But it was strange. I knew I was carrying his son after our first night together. I don't know how else to explain it. I wasn't even pregnant for a full nine months, when I carried him; I gave birth so early, I was fraid he might..." she deliberately cut herself off before resuming, her words steely. "I raised him. I knew he was going to be special-that he was meant to do great things, from the moment I first held him in my arms. I can't tell you anymore than that. I just knew." She laid a hand upon her flat stomach, touching the first stirrings of life within. "Just as I know now that I'm with his child again." She smiled, faintly, stroking her stomach. "It will be a girl this time, I think." As swiftly as it had come, her joy faded.
"But...Naruto...I know him. He can't bear the thought of me having another child in slavery. And he doesn't have enough money to free the both of us, Annie and I. That makes him desperate. And if he's desperate, he might do something reckless to free us. Something that will get him killed." Her eyes welled with unshed tears. "I don't want this child to grow up without a father like Annie almost did."
Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow. It shouldn't be possible for her to be aware of the life stirring within her womb, only a few days after its conception. Did Anakin's mother also have some semblance of the Force? And if so... what did that bode for them? They were such a remarkable family, the Skywalkers.
Shmi touched his arm then, drawing his eyes to meet hers.
"Can you help us?"
Qui-Gon was silent for a long time, thinking. He felt an attachment to Anakin Skywalker he could not explain. In the back of his mind, he sensed he was meant to do something, not just for this boy, but for his family as well. That it was necessary he try. But Jedi were identified within the first six months of birth, and given over to their training. It was true for him, for Obi-Wan, for everyone he'd ever known, or ever heard about. There were no exceptions.
Can you help us? He did not know how that was possible; or what-if anything-he was meant to do.
"I don't know," he told her, keeping his voice gentle, but firm. "I didn't come here to free slaves. Had your son been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early, and he might have become a Jedi. And your husband is much the same. They each have the way. I'm not sure what I can do for them."
"Oya!" Naruto's defiant shout reached their ears from the courtyard, demanding attention. "Give it a try, Annie! I think we finally got it!"
Flames exploded from the podracer's afterburners, and a huge roar rose from the Randon-Ulzers, building steadily in pitch until Anakin eased off on the thrusters, then settled back into a throaty rumble. Cheers rose up from Naruto, Padme, and the other spectators and Anakin waved his hand in response.
Shmi Skywalker nodded in resignation, but her face revealed, beneath the mask of acceptance, a glimmer of hope.
"Ow!"
Anakin gasped as he cut himself on a sharp piece of metal as he clamored out of the pod, opening a thin slice on his finger. Before he could react, Naruto was there. Not hovering over him, as a protective parent might, rather, admiring him and his stubborn refusal to cry out despite the fact that the tiny cut on his finger must've certainly stung. He reached a large hand down to muss his sandy-blonde hair, drawing a sniffle from Annie as he tended to the injury.
"Atta boy." He chided something else softly in mandolorian, helping his son from the pod. "You really are a trooper, aint'cha?"
"You said so yourself; men don't cry." Anakin bit his lip stubbornly, wincing as Naruto applied some bacta spray to the wound, cringing as it stung.
"I did, didn't I?" Naruto sighed.
Anakin grinned as his father set him down. He still couldn't believe this man was his father. His father! He actually had a father. It all made sense now, Naruto's constant doting on him, why he constantly came back to Tatooine-when he could've easily been anywhere else in the galaxy. It also explained things with his mother. Why they were so incredibly close.
"By the way, I got a surprise for ya." Naruto grinned, breaking the boy from his reverie. "Your mother finally saw the light!"
Anakin blinked wordlessly, utterly baffled.
"Ummm...what?"
Naruto barked out a laugh and plunged a hand into one of the many pockets on his vest. "Catch!" Withdrawing a scroll, he proferred it to the boy, the item spiraling end over end as it passed from father to son. Anakin tried to snatch at it with fumbling fingers, almost dropped it. Frowning, he opened it, unfurling its contents, idly thanking his father for teaching him the native language of Japanese. His eyes got huge as he peered into it, deciphere its contents, understood exactly what it was that he was looking at.
"You mean...?"
Naruto grinned a megawatt grin.
"She's gonna let me train ya, kid! So whaddya say? You still up for it?"
There was a silence; then:
"YES!"
Naruto roared out a laugh and swept out his progeny off his feet and into his arms.
"That's my boy!"
Padme watched the scene wordlessly, her eyes distant and sad.
Darkness cloaked Mos Espa in deepening layers as night descended. Anakin sat quietly on balcony rail of his back porch while Qui-Gon studied that very same cut on his hand,the one Naruto had treated. Annie was sure it wasn't infected, but it had started bleeding again sometime during the afternoon's prep work on the Podracer, and in typical boy fashion, he hadn't even noticed it until now.
Anakin gave the injury a cursory glance as the Jedi prepared to clean it, then leaned back to up at the blanket of stars in the night sky.
"Sit still, Annie." Qui-Gon instructed.
The boy barely heard him. "There are so many! Do they all have a system of planets?"
"Most of them." Qui-Gon produced a clean piece of cloth.
"Has anyone been to all of them?"
Qui-Gon laughed. "Not likely."
Anakin nodded, still looking up. "I want to be the first one then, the first to see them all-ouch!"
Qui-Gon wiped a smear of blood from the boy's arm, then applied some antiseptic.
"There, good as new."
"Annie! Bedtime!" Shmi called out from inside in the same moment that Qui-Gon produced a comlink chip and wiped a sample of Anakin's blood onto its surface. The boy leaned forward interestedly, fascinated by what the Jedi Master was up to.
"What are you doing?"
The Jedi barely looked up. "Checking your blood for infections."
Anakin frowned. "I've never seen-
"Annie!" This time it was Naruto not Shmi, who called out, more insistent this time, emerging onto the porch. "There you are. Didn't you hear your mother calling you...?" The bounty hunter arched an eyebrow when he saw Qui-Gon on the porch, but if he found anything amiss with what the Jedi was doing, he didn't seem to be in any hurry to admit it.
"Go on," Qui-Gon urged Anakin, gesturing to the doorway. "You have a big day tomorrow." He tucked the cloth into his tunic and turned toward Naruto. "Doesn't he?"
"That's right, son." Naruto placated, ushering his progeny toward the door. "Don't worry; I'll be by to tuck you in, in a bit. If you're patient, I might even tell you about that trip I made to Dathomir...
The boy's eyes shone with renewed interest; there was nothing he loved more than a bedtime story.
"Really?"
Naruto nodded.
"Really."
Anakin hesitated, his eyes fixed on the Jedi Master, intense and questioning. Then he turned and darted off into his home, his footsteps were soon lost within the hovel. Qui-Gon waited a moment, making certain Naruto wasn't about to protest, that Anakin had truly gone to bed. Then, and only then did he turn to face the blond hunter. He held another comlink in his hand, a backup in case of an emergency. He'd never imagined a need for it, but he was suddenly thankful he'd brought it along regardless.
"I'd like a sample of your blood as well, if you don't mind."
"To check for an infection." Naruto's deadpan was barely concealed. "Cut the crap, ner vod. You know damn well I don't get sick. What's this really for?" From what little Qui-Gon knew of the Mandolorian language there had just been an implicit declaration of trust on the blonde's part. Naruto had just called him, in no uncertain terms, a brother in arms. The notion was humbling. That the shinobi trusted him this much staggered him. A unspoken bond had formed between them since the moment they met, and the jedi had done nothing to question it so far.
"I wish to run a midi-chlorian test on it."
Naruto frowned.
"You know I can't use the Force in excess without causing chaos." Qui-Gon was suddenly brought to recall the sudden sandstorm...yesterday afternoon. It had come up out of nowhere, and only shortly after Naruto had attacked their little band. Was that storm a result of Naruto using the Force? Or merely a natural phenomenon? One could only wonder...
"Even so, I would still like to know."
"Whatever you say, bub."
Naruto shrugged and raised a finger to his mouth, bit down. Hard. A droplet of blood leaked between his teeth; Qui-Gon caught in on the chip of the backup comlink. He then slipped the chip with the boy's blood sample into a relay slot in the first comlink, followed by Naruto's in the second and called Obi-Wan aboard the queen's transport.
"Yes, Master?" his protege responded, despite the lateness of the hour.
"I'm transmitting a pair of blood samples," Qui-Gon advised, glancing at Naruto guardedly as he spoke. "Run a midichlorian test on it."
He sent the blood readings through the comlink to Obi-Wan and stood waiting in silence. He could feel the beating of his heart, quick and excited. If he was right about this...
"Master," Obi-Wan interrupted his musings. "There must be something wrong with these samples."
Qui-Gon took a slow, deep breath and exhaled softly. "What do the readings say, Obi-Wan?"
"They say the boy's midi-chlorian count is twenty thousand." There was a slight quiver in the youth's tone when next he spoke. "The man's...Master, its at least five times that amount." The younger jedi's voige rose an octave in alarm, tightening with surprise and distress. "No one has a count that high. Not even Master Yoda."
Naruto whistled. "I take it that's a good thing?"
"Master, is someone there?" Obi-Wan asked.
Qui-Gon wasn't listening.
No one. Qui-Gon stood staring out into the night, staggered by the immensity of his discovery. Then he let his gaze wander back to the hovel where the boy was sleeping, and stiffened. Shmi Skywalker stood just inside the doorway, staring at him. Their eyes met, and for just an instant it felt to the Jedi Master as if the future had been revealed to him, in its entirety. Then Shmi turned away, embarassed, and disappeared back into her home. Her gaze caught Naruto's and held it, and in her gaze Qui-Gon saw an unspoken demand for the blonde to retire as well.
"See ya in the morning, ner vod." Naruto laughed, clapping him on the arm as he brushed past and stepped indoors. "Don't worry; my boy will win this thing! Oya!" With that, he stepped across the threshold, wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and allowed himself to be led inside, but not before he got one last word in edgewise!"
"Aliit ori'shya tal'din, ner vod!"
Qui-Gon blinked; Naruto laughed a this confusion.
"Family is more than blood, my friend! Remember that!" And with that he was gone, leaving the Jedi Master alone, silhouetted against the setting suns.
Qui-Gon paused a moment, then remembered the open comlink.
"Good night, Obi-Wan," he said softly, and clicked the transmitter off.
The vision he'd had yesterday prickled at him, demanding his attention. He felt a sudden urge to follow Naurto, to reveal to him what he had seen, but something held his tongue at the last instant. It was as if the Force itself prevented him from speaking of what he'd witnessed. There was something about Anakin Skywalker and his father, Uzumaki Naruto. Something he was missing. Something incredible. Their massive Midi-cholorian counts only lent confirmed these suspicions.
Ironically, his mind gravitated back to Naruto's words. Ner vod.
From what Qui-Gon knew of the Mandolorian language, he'd just been referred to as family.
As a friend.
A slight smile tugged at his lips as he too, stepped inside; whatever mysteries the Force had in store for him, they could wait until tomorrow. He found this thoughts drifting as he found and empty bed and laid down, all too swiftly sleep came to claim him. Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day of the race, upon which all their fates hung. And if something somehow went awry, well, Naruto had a contingency plan in store for them; a plan that involved the deaths of notorious gangster Jabba the Hutt and other scum that would undoubtedly put an end to his illustrious bounty hunting career.
Qui-Gon sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that. Naruto's livelihood was one his family relied upon. But one way or another, with or without his help, Anakin and Shmi Skywalker would have their freedome. Who knew what lay in store for them beyond that. Perhaps their paths would diverge. Perhaps not. Either way...
...tomorrow would change everything.
A/N: LO AND BEHOLD! Events are reaching a climax... Just what will happen next!? It's not exactly a wise idea to underestimate Naruto...
Stay tuned...to find out, next time, on The Shinobi Menace!
So...in the immortal words of Darth Vader...
...Review...IT IS YOUR DESTINY!
Translations:
Aliit ori'shya tal'din - "Family is more than blood."
Ori'jate - "Very good"
Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum - "I love you."
R&R! =D