Pictures of Home
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and all characters and original series belong to Masashi Kishimoto. But I do own the plot.
"Again!" Jiraiya's voice echoed through the trees. Rin chuckled flipping the page of her book that lay nicely upon her lap. They had decided to stay at the temple for the month and Rin ordered that Jiraiya still train Naruto during the allotted time. So the past few days Jiraiya focused on basic jutsus like Henge, which they were still working on.
"Thinner!" he shouted, "Rounder!"
Rin could hear the explosions of smoke from the Henge technique, repeat over and over from the other side of the forest's brim. Chie who was leaning against the tree next to her looked suddenly confused as if some strange realization fell over her. She reached over and tugged on Rin's shirt.
"Rin-san, don't you think that they're doing something strange?"
Rin made no reply but simply stared at the girl and laughed, then tousled the girl's short, dark locks.
"I guess you're right, it doesn't sound like actual training, does it?" Rin complied. Chie raised her eyebrows.
"It may even border upon Jiraiya-sama's strange ideals," Chie added. Rin smiled with a nervous giggle and carefully stood. She set her book down on the grass at the trunk of the tree and walked towards the outlying resonance of Naruto's training. As she walked, Rin thought of how wonderful it was that Naruto could now perform basic techniques, but for some reason, she felt something horribly wrong.
"That's perfect!" Jiraiya yelled happily, turning in circles at the genius of his work. A female Naruto sighed and sat on the ground in a huff, returning to his normal form.
"This is so weird, I can't believe I'm doing this!" he whined to himself, "But the Perv did promise me ramen so it all works out," he grinned devilishly. Then something caught his eye. "Oh shoot," were the words that ran through his mind. Jiraiya stopped his circling and started to gape. Rin stood there, her eyes downcast and fists clenched with so much force that it turned a pale white. Behind her was a mortified Chie who was banging her head on a tree trunk, moaning and wishing aloud that the image she had just seen would leave her mind.
"This…is…TRAINING!?" Rin hissed, her anger spluttering from her like an erupting volcano of magma. Naruto quietly repositioned himself so that he was firmly on his feet. He shot in the air and ran away as quickly as he possibly could.
"It was his fault!" he screamed, running frantically. Jiraiya shook his head vigorously.
"N-no, i-it wasn't! Rin, I swear!" the man yelled, putting up his hands defensively. Rin seemed to take no heed; she walked slowly and menacingly towards him.
"How dare you manipulate a child to do such a horrid act to satisfy your sick-minded thinking and desires!" she screamed, her eyes ignited with flames of rage. Chie dashed behind a tree to prevent from seeing the ugly scene that would follow. She quickly putting her hands on her ears to try to block out the painful thoughts that kept coming at her. A few moments later, when the birds began to return to their ecstatic chirping and the leaves on the trees settled, Chie gradually peered from behind the tree and saw what she had predicted. Both Jiraiya and Naruto lay beaten and bruised on the grass, their eyes swirling from the sudden violence, obviously learning their lesson for the day. Rin dusted off her hands and crossed her arms over her chest, then in a huff she turned and stomped away, "Chie, come on," she ordered when she past the frightened girl. Chie nodded and scurried after her, silently hoping that she would forget the whole thing.
Two hours had past and Jiraiya and Naruto still hadn't returned, and the sun was slowly setting into the thin horizon. Rin began to fret, scuttling to and fro, fiddling with her fingers. Chie merely watched, amused.
"Chie…" Rin murmured causing the girl's ears to perk up.
"Don't worry they're not unconscious, nothing was broken except their spirit and pride," the child said answering her thoughts. Rin nodded though a bit doubtful of her conclusion.
"AHH!" a sudden voice screamed from behind the shrine. Rin recognized it as Tsunade's and immediately ran to the direction of her voice, with Chie dashing along besides her. They skidded to a halt and when they saw what had happened they heaved a heavy sigh.
"See, I told you there were fine!" Chie grinned at Rin.
Tsunade was taking a bath and caught Jiraiya spying on her, Naruto was caught in the crossfire and both were in excruciating pain. When Rin inspected the Sannin, she cringed. She reported that he had a few broken ribs, and even with the help of a medical jutsu, it would take a couple weeks to heal well. As for Naruto, Rin struggled as she tried to keep him still in order to put a few bandages on him.
"Naruto keep still!" she ordered. He finally did shutting his eyes as she put stining ointment on him. When she finished, she praised him for being strong and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek but noticed that his expression was neutral.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Rin, Chie told me," he confessed, "About the Kyuubi,"
Rin's heart skipped a beat, "Naruto, I'm sorry…" her voice worriedly stating, grabbing the boy's arms. He didn't reply but simply shook off her grasp.
"Naruto, I wanted to tell you but…." she cried, her face teeming with fret and concern.
"But why didn't you?" he asked, his voice obviously showing hurt.
"Naruto, please, I love you," she testified, tears forming in her eyes. He looked away, his chin quivering. "Naruto, you're my brother, and I love you, nothing can change that! And your father sealed the Kyuubi inside of you for a reason! Naruto look at me!" she pleaded, collapsing onto the floor. He shook his head, his lip quivering and tears formed in his eyes.
"I wish you could have told me sooner," he stuttered, a flowing tear then trailed down his cheek.
"Do you hate me?" she asked, her face filled with worry. "Do you hate me because I didn't tell you?"
"No, I just hate you for not cooking as well as Chie," he said, a smirk spreading over his face. Sudden shock stripped Rin of her sadness; she blinked several times.
"I was worried that you might hate me for not telling you," she said in relief. She felt him shake his head.
"I could never hate Rin," he smiled, giving her a large hug.
The sound of Naruto's snoring reverberated within the walls, echoing through the house. But it was droned out by a soft tune. As she stared at the stars, a simple song left her lips, a soothing and calming music that she sang to the sky. And amongst the sparkling balls of light, she saw the eyes of the people of her past life. Slowly her voice left and only her lips were moving, so slow that each word she mouthed lay imprinted in the corners of her mind, which slowly dated her back to distant memories.
She turned to face her sleeping brother who lay snoring on the laid sheets. The boy was grinning in his sleep, as if dreaming about something incredible. Then it struck her. She collapsed onto the wall, slowly sliding down.
"We kind of look the same," Obito laughed, his figure appearing behind the child. Rin stared, her heart beating faster, her breath nearly leaving her.
"Wow, he has Sensei's smile, doesn't he?!" Obito commented, laughing aloud. Rin lifted her hand, shaking with fear and hope.
"O-Obito!" she murmured. The boy turned to her with his devilish grin, then slowly began to disappear.
"See you, Rin," Obito's voice echoed through her mind, "I got to go now,"
"Obito, I love you," she whispered, a single tear ran down her face, dropping onto the wood floor as his figure slowly disappeared from her sight. She turned to Naruto, who still lay sleeping and smiling. Slowly she shifted her body so that she sat close enough to him in order to stroke the strands of blonde on his head. The pungent smell of the outdoors still clung on him as he breathed in rhythm of the chirping crickets that sang just out the darkened window.
"He does look like Obito-kun," she murmured, and then chuckled, "It's too strange,"
"It's too strange," Rin's voice echoed.
"Rin?" Naruto sat up, and then shuddered. He was in the large room again. Pure white surrounded him, no creases could be seen, a trembling emptiness.
"Heh, looks like you're back, brat," a sudden voice exclaimed. Naruto didn't turn, he knew who it was.
"It's you," Naruto hissed quietly, his fists clenched. The fox roared.
Suddenly his sight was filled with a bright light and nearly knocked him down. The cry of fox boomed. Naruto dared to open his eyes, and when he did he gasped. A large bird floated before him, a fierce blue aura made up its body. Its feathers were flowing strands of azure, and the eyes were onyx ovals, fierce yet calm, holding this air of elegance.
"Great," the fox swore, inching away, but then crouching into an attacking position, "I hate it when you interfere!"
The bird made no reply but continues to stare menacingly into the wild eyes of the Kyuubi, showing no fear.
"Yah, Baka! When are you ever going to back down! He's my prey!"
"And I the prey's guardian," a strange voice suddenly filled the room. Naruto looked up at the bird, realizing that it strangely resembled the Phoenix of Tsubasa, too much in fact.
"And you, Kyuubi, are the enemy," the phoenix stated, the eyes narrowed, and spread its wings so far that Naruto couldn't see the tips of the wings.
"Though you are trapped within this boy's body, you shall not bring any harm to him,"
The fox hissed in disgust. Suddenly Naruto fell to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain but strained his eyes to see the fox being forced back farther from the bars of the cage.
"Naruto," the Phoenix voice murmured, "Ask and it will be given, and then your questions will be answered," the bird turned back to the fox.
The fox roared in anger, the flames that made up his body suddenly bloomed into a darker and fiercer red.
"The time will come when the boy will have to withstand you on his own, but until that time the blood that flows through his veins will protect him and never let him waver nor fall at the intents of his enemy,"
"I hate it when you talk in stupid riddles," the Kyuubi hissed, "Just wait, I'll find and opening. And when I do, that kid is dead!"
"Naruto," a soft voice asked, "Naruto," it repeated. He exhaled and started to mutter, his eyes shut tightly.
"Naruto, wake up," Chie's voice ordered. Naruto suddenly felt his body move on its own accord. Chie stared distantly at him, her black eyes now stunning amber. He cringed in alarm.
"You talked to Rin last night, yes?" she asked.
"Ah" he answered, "Now can you let me go," frightened of the grappling aura that had imprisoned him. She smirked and did as he requested. He fell to the ground in a sigh.
"Today's your last day," Chie muttered sitting next to him.
"But we can always come next year," he said hopefully.
"Yeah, I guess," she posed. Then she turned to him, "Do you want me to pack some ramen for you?"
"YES!" he shouted eagerly, jumping high into the air.
"Ja-ne!" Noriaki shouted as he waved.
"See you! And come back!" Chie shouted to Naruto who waved back. Noriko just smiled and gestured a farewell. Rin chuckled and did so as well, gently waving goodbye as the five made their way back to Tsubasa.
"Phoo! I never felt so refreshed!" Tsunade yelled in joy, stretching her arms over her head, "They had the freshest bath water I had ever felt in my whole life!" obviously impressed by the bath she was given at her time there.
"Noriko's cooking was also very satisfactory!" Shizune added.
"And Noriaki taught me some cool moves to bring down Mamoru-ojichan!" Naruto shouted with glee. Rin eyed Jiraiya, who was looked somewhere into space, both lagging behind the other three.
The air of the road was serene and calming, the distant sound of Naruto and Tsunade arguing were off in the distance. Each step they took would reverberate, since the atmosphere that surrounded them stood stiffly.
"So Noriko-san had the information you needed?" she finally asked. The Sannin nodded.
"He hasn't officially left but is slacking on the missions he's given," he stated flatly, "It's obvious that he'll leave if something interesting comes up,"
"My guess is that we'll be coming back next summer," Rin posed.
"Still as smart as ever," Jiraiya said awed, "It's not a wonder that Junko was inspired by you!"
Rin winced, her eye twitching and legs squirming under her.
"Eeeehhhhh," she hissed, sending a bitter glare at the man who instantly put his hands up defensively.
"J-just Joking!" he stumbled.
"Ma-ma," Mamoru said, bowing low before the regal sovereign, who nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"Has the boy returned?" she asked, returning to her calligraphy, gracefully moving her brush to a certain rhythm. He shook his head.
"They will arrive tomorrow at midday," he answered. A moment of silence past, nothing heard except for the sound of brush upon paper.
"You have a request?" she asked, carefully eyeing him.
"Hai,"
She laid her brush down and pushed the small table away, so to focus her attention onto him.
"And what would that be?"
"I believe that you are aware of it, Ma-ma," he answered, a steady blush conquering most of his features. The woman shook her head, and turned to her array of bells, gently disturbing the smallest one. A maid entered the room from the side door and handed her a small scroll. The woman took it and gestured for the frightened maid to leave.
"To have such a thought circle through your mind is unheard of, Mamoru," she stated coldly, opening the scroll. "For an advisor and a man of royal blood to wed a simple orphan girl…is completely out of the question,"
Mamoru's heart sank, his spirits dampened.
To this sight, the woman stated, "But you are of age of which you bond yourself to another,"
He nodded.
"So this I may consider," she finally stated, obviously skeptical about her decision. "But she must show total agreement with the proposition,"
"Thank you, Ma-ma," he replied, then bowing low he made for the door.
"Rin may show to be a suitable wife but do you not think that her heart is still set on another?" the sovereign's voice suggested. Mamoru paused in his steps, and turned to face his grandmother.
"We'll see," was his short reply that was said alongside a quick smile. The maids slid open the door and the advisor left the woman to her thoughts. Her eyes darted from the door back to the scroll that she held. She smirked, it was a letter from the Hokage. Quickly she scanned it and pondered what the contents had asked for.
"Again he asks for their return," she thought to herself. Gently stroking her chin she brought out the small table again and pulled out a clean scroll and began to write.
"In order for him to make a decision, we must not disturb his mindset and his mentality. His return to Konoha will only mean more complications. But it may work the other way."
She stamped it and called for the messenger to take it away.
"The past few months he has asked nothing except for that boy's return, has he no thoughts for anything else?" she pondered. She rang a bell and a maid came in with a tray of a cup and a pot of tea. The maid carefully poured it into the clay-molded cup and handed it to her, who took hold of it and sent the girl away. She breathed in the aroma of herbs and slowly sipped her tea with relish.
"I have grown too old, my time will come soon," she muttered into her cup, "And soon that boy will have to decide whether to continue the reign, that boy…"
"Uzumaki Naruto,"
Inspired by:
The uneventful bus ride from school to home