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The past long forgotten

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Naruto didn't like this. He was trapped in his memories, the ones he shoved to the back of his mind to be forgotten in time. They were bright and vivid, as if he was there right at this moment, and they felt so real.

The darkness swirled as a memory was brought forth, and Naruto landed painfully on the soft carpet of a warm red room. There were two other people seated on a tan leather sofa, and a baby sitting in the middle, a blue dummy bobbing around in his little mouth. The father laughed a smooth deep chime, his blue eyes squinting with happiness. His fingers carded through the little boys' blonde locks, which looked silky and soft. The man's own hair shone in the sunlight that was blaring through the windows, slightly darker than the boy's. The baby also had his father's eyes, but they were wider and brighter, the blue so deep and unusual compared to the dad's sky blue ones.

The mother looked nothing like her son at first glance. She had long red hair that reached down to her knees, and the locks that would cover her grey/blue eyes were pinned back with a single yellow clip. Her smile was gentle and kind, and the curve of her nose and that smile was inherited by the baby.

Naruto stared with wide eyes. He pushed himself up to his feet, and covered his mouth with his hands.

He was looking at his parents.

He had almost forgotten what they had looked like.

Stumbling forwards on weak legs, he stood in front of the happy family of three, the two adults staring at the baby with love and adoration in their eyes. Naruto reached out a trembling hand, intending to touch his mother's cheek, wanting to see how smooth her skin was under his fingers. However, they went straight through her. Choking back a sob, his hand retreated, his fingernails biting into the tender flesh of his palm and he clenched them into a fist.

He wanted to touch them, to feel their warm skin, to see them alive and with him again. But he knew that he would never see them the way he wanted for the rest of his life. And only then, when he dies, will he be reunited with them.

His eyes then stared at the baby, the younger Naruto, the unmarked child gargling happily, clapping his podgy hands clumsily as his dad pulled silly faces. His smooth cheeks were unblemished and clear, unlike the older Naruto's, which were scarred for life with those ugly whisker marks adorning them forever.

Quickly brushing the tears from his eyes, he sat down in front of the happy trio, watching as they played and giggled and loved each other, not knowing that in six years' time, their time together would be over.

Then suddenly the image shifted, blurring into the darkness before another memory took its place, this time at a local park.

The sky was blue and the sun was a white disk shedding its golden light onto the world. The wind was nice and gentle, smelling of flowers and summer. Along one of the stone paths, a little boy of four was pulling his father along by a small hand, leading him to the swing set.

"Daddy!" he cried, smiling brightly and tugging relentlessly on his father's fingers. "Push me, daddy!"

Minato, the father, laughed lightly, picking up the young Naruto and blew a raspberry on the child's stomach before placing him into the child's swing. The older Naruto stood in the distance, in the shadows of the green rustling trees. Tears appeared in his wide blue eyes as he watched his younger self squeal in delight and thrill as his father pushed him, laughing in that low, soothing voice.

Naruto missed them, and looking back at these memories only made the ache inside his heart that much more painful. But these memories, despite the pain, were ones to cherish and to love, ones to remember instead of all the bad times. He was grateful for the time with them, and that shouldn't be overshadowed by the memory of their death.

His thoughts must have been triggering the memories, because the next thing he knew, the image of the sunny day was blurring back into the darkness, and before his eyes, his old bedroom swirled before him.

A sleeping, six year old Naruto was on his stomach huddled in his blankets, blonde hair falling over closed eyelids, little hands up by his small mouth. A night light shone dully in the corner, casting just enough light to make out the shape of the objects in the room.

In the still quietness, a creak was heard from downstairs. The older Naruto stumbled back, eyes wide and hands covering his mouth as he realised what memory this was.

"No…no... It can't be!" he murmured hysterically to himself. He could feel his heart pounding fast and erratically in his chest, and a light sheen of cold sweat clammed up his hands and forehead.

But no matter how hard he wished and pleaded, this was the memory when it all ended.

The night his parents died.

The sounds of footsteps were loud and penetrating, splitting the silence. It was an endless sound, the soft thump thump of shoes on the cream carpet of the stairs. Naruto's breath hitched painfully as those footsteps stopped once the person reached its target: his parents' room.

The sleeping child did not stir as the person opened the door that sealed his parents from the rest of the world. Silence fell again, until a piercing scream of a woman shattered it –

The young child bolted upright, blue eyes wide and clouded with tiredness. He didn't know what was going on. Clutching his stuffed fox close to his chest, he slipped from his bed and shuffled his way to his parent's room.

"Mama?" he cried as he stepped out the room. He turned towards his parent's room, the door ajar, letting a sliver of amber light blare through the crack, breaking the darkness. "Daddy?"

Stubby fingers pushed cautiously against the door –

"Let her go!" Minato cried within the room. Naruto could see the pure terror on his face, the way his eyes were wide and dilated, and his tan skin pale and slick with cold sweat. Little Naruto paused. Did they have a friend round?

Another scream sounded, along with a pained grunt and a loud crash as something hit the wall. The child jumped, clutching the fox closer to his body.

"Daddy?" he said louder, voice high in fright and body trembling.

The older Naruto stood still, skin a pale, sickly white as he was forced to watch.

"Minato!" his mother cried, her voice desperate and fearful. Little Naruto, despite his trembling limbs, set his jaw in determination. No one hurt his mama and daddy!

"Mama!" he yelled as he burst through the door, feet stumbling on his too long pyjama pants. "Daddy!"

"Naruto, NO!"

Little Naruto looked up into his mama's eyes, seeing them wide with fright and now terror as she watched her little boy run in on their murder. Around her thin neck was a pair of beefy hands, and attached to those hands was a man clad in black, all his skin covered except his eyes.

"Naruto, run!" This time it was Minato's voice, emitting from his place in the corner. He scrambled to his feet, and ran over to where the intruder held his wife, slowly strangling her to death –

Minato slammed into the man, knocking him over and making him release Kushina. He pinned the man in black down, trying to ignore the struggles the stranger beneath him. "Kushina! Grab Naruto and run!"

"But what about you!" She screamed in reply, grabbing little Naruto round the waist and cradling him in her arms.

"Don't worry! Just go!"

Kushina hesitated, but seeing the pleading in her husbands' eyes, she turned and ran, grabbing her phone on the way out –

The man gave an almighty roar, shoving Minato off of him and pushed himself to his feet, slamming his fist into the blonde's stomach before running after the red-head and her child –

He caught her half way down the stairs. He wanted to see her scream, plead him to stop… and he knew how to get that.

He pushed her the rest of the way down, her body instantly curling around little Naruto, shielding him as the stairs bruised and battered her body. The stranger smirked, following behind, listening to her quiet grunts.

Kushina pushed herself against the nearest wall, knowing that all escape was impossible now. He had blocked the exits with his body.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and took the sobbing Naruto from out of her arms. Kushina shouted, reaching out, trying to pull her child back into the safety of her arms. The man tutted and side-stepped, narrowly avoiding the glass vase that was thrown at his head, the glass shards now littering the carpet.

"You try anythin' funny and this kid 'ere will get it. You 'ear?" He pulled out a dagger and held it to the child's neck, and Minato quickly held up his hands, moving next to Kushina.

"P-please… let Naruto go… please…" Kushina begged, pearly tears rolling down her pale cheeks. Minato, however, stood tall and strong, trying to imitate the man into letting him go.

However, the man only chuckled. He looked down at Naruto, who was holding onto his stuffed fox for dear life. "Ahh, you like foxes, ay? Well, let's make sure you'll never forget this 'ere moment." He held the child against his chest, pinning down his legs and arms, and drew the dagger to the child's cheek. In a swift swipe, he cut the clear skin, making the child squirm in his arms, a painful scream ripping from his throat. He did it twice more, and did the same on the other cheek.

Naruto's parents watched helplessly as their child was cut, leaving bloody, raw whisker-like marks that would scar his skin forever. Minato was dying to jump forward, but he knew, with the dagger so close to his child's face, it could end in disaster.

"You bastard!" Minato opted for instead, rage pooling in his blue eyes, eyebrows furrowed, and lips twisted in anger.

The man, who was currently staring at the crying Naruto, who had blood coating his cheeks, looked up with crazy dark eyes and without a second thought, chucked the child to the side like he was nothing but a pile of waste. Clenching the now bloody dagger in his gloved fist, he made his way over to Kushina and Minato, dagger poised to strike, not caring if the 6 year old was watching –

The older Naruto jumped back. He didn't want to see it again! Turning around, he looked wildly for an exit, but he didn't know how to get out of this nightmare. He was trapped. But then he realised. This was a dream, so he must be asleep. He just needed to wake up! Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore his parents' screams as they were stabbed to death, and focused on feeling his body, the air in his lungs, the hand holding onto his own –

That's it! Holding his breath, he concentrated on that single touch, and suddenly, he was surrounded by darkness. Opening his eyes, he looked around, and saw a tiny pinprick of light, and he instantly knew that was where he was supposed to go.

Still shaking from the onslaught of unwanted memories, he ran towards the light. It grew as he got closer, bigger and brighter, and his mind cleared, like a sleepy haze finally disappearing after a long period of time. His could feel his body, the whoosh of air in his lungs, and that hand that still held tightly onto his own.

However, as soon as he went through the white light, pain attacked his body. His skin prickled agonisingly, like pins-and-needles throughout his physique. His throat felt like it was on fire, and when he grunted from the sudden pain, it flared and tore his gullet even more so.

The hand clutching his suddenly tightened, and from behind his eyelids, a shadow blocked what light made it through. His ears picked up a strange buzzing noise, but as his ears cleared, he recognised it as a voice.

"N…to?"

He knew that voice, but couldn't put a name on it. It was warm and friendly… safe. However, still in the throes of his memories, he found himself unable to open his eyes.

"Ca…ou…he…me?"

Yes! He wanted to scream, but his lips wouldn't listen. He felt like he was trapped in a cage inside his own mind, unable to escape or control his numb body.

"Naruto!"

That voice, so desperate and urgent, made Naruto try his hardest to break through the weird spell, and finally, finally, he managed to open his eyes. He was met with white. It was so shockingly bright, that he had to turn his head and close them again to stop the onslaught of light.

He felt the hand holding his own move up his arm to his shoulder, until it landed tangled in his hair. He turned his head back and cracked his eyes open once more, sighing in relief when the light didn't feel like it was about to burn out his eyeballs.

A face was hovering above his, miss-matched eyes staring intently at him, and he instantly knew who it was.

"Ka-" he winced, face screwing up as pain tore through his throat, and suddenly, a glass of water was pressed against his lips. He drank greedily, realising just how thirsty he really was. The cold water soothed his burning throat and he was able to speak with only a slight twinge.

"Ugh… W-what happened?"

"That's not important, Naruto," Kakashi murmured whilst he helped Naruto prop himself up. "We are safe now, and that is all that matters. How are you feeling?"

Naruto grimaced. "Terrible. What about you?"

Kakashi chuckled, taking a seat on the side of the bed. "I'm fine, Naruto… What hurts?"

"Everything…" Naruto muttered, his blue eyes curiously looking round the strange office. He looked back at Kakashi. "Where are we?"

"A small town called Konoha." Kakashi smiled. "As I said, we are safe now. Shall I get Tsunade?"

"Who –"

"KAKASHI! Why didn't you come and get me as soon as he awakened?!"

Naruto's head swivelled round and saw a blonde lady with gold fire burning in her eyes. When she saw him looking at her, the angry look vanished from her pretty face and she smiled brilliantly, walking over to the bed.

"Naruto!" she chirped, taking a seat on the other side of the bed. "Nice to see you're finally awake!"

"Err..." Naruto deadpanned.

"Oh! I'm Tsunade… Kakashi's friend. It's nice to meet you!" she held out a pale manicured hand for him to shake.

"Hello." Naruto smiled, the woman's happy attitude infecting him as well. He took her hand and they shook.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her happy face fading into a concerned one in a matter of seconds. Naruto blinked, surprised at how fast the woman could change personalities.

"Terrible. You?"

Tsunade frowned but then smirked. "You're very polite, aren't you? And I bet you do. Your body has to get used to your normal temperature."

Naruto blushed and looked down at his fingers, shocked to see them so pale. Looking up quickly, he asked again, "What happened?"

Tsunade turned to Kakashi, eyebrows raised. "Yes Kakashi, what happened?"

The silver-haired spy shot a glare at Tsunade before turning to Naruto.

"Do you remember we were being chased by those cars?" At Naruto's nod, he carried on. "Well I failed to notice the drop in front of us because the tree branches covered it, and we were plunged into the lake below. Remember?"

Naruto looked back at his fingers. He remembered feeling cold, so, so cold… and darkness. He looked up sharply. "Why am I in bed?"

"Naruto, you had Hypothermia."

The small blonde looked over at Tsunade and nodded. "Alright. Thanks for helping me."

Tsunade smiled. "I bet you're dying for a bath. You stink of rotten lake water."

Kakashi chuckled as Naruto lifted his arm and sniffed it, pulling a face at the putrid smell. "A bath would be nice." He grinned.

"Kakashi, help him up, would you?" Tsunade asked, walking off to what Naruto presumed was the bathroom.

Naruto shoved back the quilt, and to his shock, found himself only in his boxers. He glared at Kakashi, who chuckled.

"Tsunade had no clothes that fitted you," he explained. "And besides, it was easier for you to warm up like that."

Naruto hummed as he swung his legs over the side, and gripping the metal bed frame, dropped onto his feet. Kakashi was there in and instant, arms held out ready to catch him if he fell.

Naruto burst into laughter. "I'm not disabled, Kakashi," he giggled. "I can walk on my own."

"I know that!" Kakashi said disbelievingly as he retreated a little, but still held his arms out. "But you've been in bed for a while; your legs may be a bit wobbly."

"A while? How long was I out?"

"four days."

Naruto gasped. "Four days!? That's mad…"

"Come on Naruto, the bath is waiting for you. No offence, but you really do smell."

"Thank you Kakashi. So do you."

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