An American Ninja in Konohagakure
A Naruto fanfiction by Andrew Joshua Talon
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan based parody. Naruto is the property of Shonen Jump, Viz and Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the official release.
The safehouse took an hour to get to, and the long journey was a bit exhausting. Sakura felt like she couldn't hop one more tree by the end of the journey, and glared enviously at the chipper Naruto.
"All right! In we go," he said, landing in front of the small, old looking house. He pulled the door open and looked around. "Yo! Mizuki-sensei?"
"He doesn't appear to be here yet," Sasuke said. Naruto walked into the dusty room, and rummaged in his pockets. He pulled out a flashlight, and shone it around the dusty, cobweb covered tables and chairs that inhabited the dark interior. Sakura made a face as Sasuke leaned against the door with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Ugh... Well, I guess they'd have students use an old safe house," Sakura commented. She wandered over to the nearest table and frowned at the stacks of beakers left behind by the former occupants. "Weird... What's all this junk?"
"Junk," Naruto said with a shrug, brushing some of the stuff out of the way and setting the scroll down. He opened it up, and grinned as he shined his flashlight on the passages. "Oh, cool! A Clone jutsu!"
"Naruto!" Sakura growled. "I told you-!"
"Look, I want to get extra credit here!" Naruto whined. "Shouldn't you be encouraging my academic aspirations?"
"Do you even know what that word means?" Sasuke asked flatly, raising an eyebrow. Naruto stuck his tongue out, and looked pleadingly at Sakura.
"Besides, I suck at the regular Clone jutsu! Come on, let me have this one?"
Sakura sighed, and rubbed her head. "I... It... Oh fine," she mumbled. "But I want a look at the scroll too! It has some interesting fuuinjutsu, I want to learn some... Uh, for my final project," she covered. Naruto grinned, and unfurled more of the scroll. Sakura walked up, and examined the instructions on the next jutsu. Sasuke wandered over, and watched them in a disinterested fashion.
"Not sure why you're getting a jutsu from a practice scroll, Weirdo," Sasuke said. "Why would they trust anything cool to us for a training mission?"
"I don't know, but this jutsu looks like it's awesome!" Naruto practically crowed. He practiced the handseals, and focused his chakra. "Nnngh... Gnngh...!"
"Oh stop it, you're doing it wrong," Sakura huffed, still examining the scroll's contents. This jutsu... It was very odd, very strange... What was wrong with it?
"Well, tell me how to do it properly then," Naruto responded maturely. "Brainiac."
Sakura hit him for that, but when he got back up she sighed.
"You don't just throw all your chakra into it! I can feel it activate from here, what you're wasting" she admonished. "Try a little less chakra, you won't burn so much away!"
"Less...? So I should use more control?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded.
"Yes!"
"... How do I do that?" Naruto asked. Sakura groaned, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You... Haven't you been paying attention?!"
"I've been catching up on... Stuff I missed in Whirlpool," Naruto explained, sighing. "Sides... I... Wanted to get this done for my birthday, ya know?"
"Huh?" Sakura asked, blinking. "Your birthday is...?"
"October 10th," Naruto replied. Sakura blinked several times, staring at the boy in front of her. Something wasn't right, something... Nagged at her.
"Born on the eve of the Kyuubi Festival," Sasuke said. "There are worse birthdays to have."
"Yeah," Naruto sighed. He looked back at the scroll and resumed his practice of the handseals. "It's just such a bummer... My family not... Being here."
Sasuke very slowly nodded. Sakura worried her lower lip.
"... So let's learn some jutsus that let us blow stuff up real good for it," Sasuke decided. Naruto grinned.
"Really?!"
Sasuke snorted, and unfurled more of the scroll. "I'm not doing it for you," Sasuke retorted, "but as an Uchiha, I must be the best. It's only natural."
"Whatever man, you want to meet to blow up stuff in your backyard?" Naruto asked happily. Sasuke shrugged, as Sakura looked aghast.
"Sure," he grunted.
"I can't believe I... It... Urgh," Sakura groaned angrily. Naruto looked over at Sakura in disbelief.
"What's your problem-?"
"Nothing!" Sakura growled. "Work on your jutsu!"
Sasuke hummed, and scratched his chin as he read the kanji for another jutsu. "Edo... Tensei?"
"Edo Tensei? What's that?" Naruto asked, as Sakura's jaw dropped. Sasuke shrugged.
"Impure World Resurrection...? It's a jutsu that lets you raise the dead."
"Woah, cool! Zombies!" Naruto enthused. "I didn't know you could do that!"
"Wh-Why is that on this scroll?!" Sakura gasped. "It shouldn't be on this scroll... None of these should be..." She stopped, and took a deep breath.
"... Naruto... Sasuke... W-We should go back. Back to the Hokage's office," she said quickly. "Bring this right back. This isn't right!"
"Isn't right?" Naruto asked. "Why? It's just bringing a big scroll of super powerful and forbidden techniques to an out of the way place after being told to keep it a secret from every... Body..." Naruto's eyes widened, as did Sasuke's. "Okay, maybe just to be safe we should head back," he said, rolling the scroll back up.
"Ah, my beloved students," spoke a familiar voice. All three kids turned to see Mizuki standing there, grinning broadly. "So good to see you accomplished your mission! Passing marks, all around!"
"Mizuki-sensei, uh..." Naruto coughed, as Sasuke and Sakura stiffened. He managed a grin. "Um... Yep! We did you proud! Got you the... The scroll... So! Why don't we head back out for ice cream? To... To celebrate our success?"
"I'm sorry Naruto," Mizuki said with a smile that was growing falser by the moment, "no ice cream for you."
"... How long have you been the-?" Naruto began, but Mizuki pulled a hidden lever in the door jamb. The floor dropped out from underneath Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto's feet, and they screamed as they fell down a trap tunnel. Mizuki smirked, and yanked the lever back up.
"Long enough..."
It had felt like a stupid question, though Naruto wasn't sure why. He had become old enough to ask real questions, and get answers. His father had treated them all like serious questions, even the ones about his imaginary Cat named Underwear. He wouldn't understand until later, much later, that his father had been laughing at a lot of them after he left.
This one he didn't laugh at.
"Daddy... Why do you do what you do?"
He'd seen a news report about bombing missions in Iraq. He knew his father flew planes. He'd seen people hurt and injured-Crying faces. He was looking up at his father, feeling a little betrayed and not sure why.
His father looked back at him, and gave him a sad smile. He reached out and pulled Naruto into his lap. "Why do I fly? Or why do I... Drop bombs?"
Naruto nodded. His father sighed.
"... You remember that saying? With great power, comes great responsibility?" He asked. Naruto nodded.
"Spider-Man," he identified. His father smiled, almost looking sad and Naruto didn't know why.
"Well... All superheroes... Everybody with power, really... Have to be responsible with it. Because the more power you have, the more... The more people you can hurt. The more lives you can ruin, even if you don't mean to. I want to stop bad guys... Stop them from hurting people, ruining lives, with my power..." His father let out a long, sad breath. "Sometimes innocent people get hurt... You hurt people, like the villains would."
"Does... Does that mean you're a villain?" Naruto asked. His father laughed softly.
"Sometimes... Sometimes, I ask myself that question," he admitted. Naruto was confused. His father rubbed the top of his blonde head. "It all depends on whether or not most of your actions did good. If most of them didn't hurt people. Sometimes you can control that, sometimes you can't... But you need to question yourself. To ask if what you're doing is right. And if it isn't, change it."
He gave Naruto a serious look, one burned into his mind. "That's the difference between a hero, and a-"
"Wake up, demon," hissed an unfortunately familiar voice. Naruto started, and tried to move-His arms and feet didn't cooperate. He was lying on something cold and metallic. He opened his eyes and the leering face of Mizuki dominated his vision. He breathed hard, and looked around.
This place... Wherever it was, looked slightly better kept than the dusty safehouse. But it was infinitely worse for the simple reason that it seemed to be a lab of some kind. Examination tables, carts of instruments, dark blood stains on the walls... His teammates also tied to tables nearby, propped up like in Frankenstein movies.
"Sakura! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. He was rewarded with the girl and boy stirring. He looked up and glared at Mizuki. "What the hell did you do?!"
"Me? Nothing. The tunnel has anesthetic gas dispensers to knock out intruders," Mizuki said with a sickly smile. "Orochimaru-sama designed it that way... After all, specimens shouldn't die until they need to."
"Sp-Specimens?!" Sakura gasped. "Orochimaru?!"
"You had us steal the scroll... For that lunatic?" Sasuke growled. Mizuki laughed.
"Oh my, yes," he said, cradling the Forbidden Scroll under his arm. "He's still got friends here... And he rewards initiative. With this, I'll become a jounin, easily..."
"So... Uh... Why not just take your scroll and go?" Naruto asked. "I mean, come on! You've got what you wanted... Right?" He managed a nervous smile, trying reason. It worked in hostage negotiation, right?
Mizuki grinned, his eyes narrowing. "Oh yes... I do... Though, a simple scroll of Forbidden Jutsu... That's all well and good." He chuckled, and looked over at Sasuke. He walked over to Sasuke, and patted his head. Sasuke glared death. "But the last Uchiha... The Sharingan, at his command? That will make me a prince in his eyes."
Sasuke snarled, his eyes boring into the traitor's face. Mizuki chuckled, almost good naturedly.
He walked over to Sakura, shaking his head sadly. The pink haired girl stared in horror and anger.
"I'm terribly sorry you got caught up in this, but then," Mizuki smirked and patted her cheek gently, "I did need a third-OW! Bitch!"
Sakura bit him hard, growling. Mizuki smacked her across the face, and Sasuke and Naruto struggled against their bonds. She spat up some blood, and glared at him hatefully. Mizuki snorted, cradling his bloody finger.
"But he could always use another test subject," he hissed. "I hope you die slowly."
He wandered back to Naruto's table, bandaging himself. He smirked down at Naruto, as the blonde seethed and tried to pulled himself free. His bonds weren't giving!
"You though... Oh, I have waited for the longest time for this," Mizuki said, raising a kunai up. "Demon..."
"What? What did Naruto do?!" Sakura shouted. "And for that matter, what did I do?!"
"Sakura!" Sasuke cried out in shock. Sakura yelped.
"I-It came out wrong! I mean, what's your deal with him?" Sakura asked quickly. Mizuki paused, and then shrugged.
"If you must know," Mizuki said with a smirk, "he killed my parents. Twelve years ago... This night." He finished with an insane glare. Naruto stared, a sinking feeling in his gut. A fire within him stirred...
The Kyuubi... He... It killed... His parents...?
"I... I'm not him! I didn't-I'm sorry-!" Naruto tried, but Mizuki snorted.
"Sealing that demon into human form... Letting it run around, letting it have free reign like a child," he snarled. He tightened his grip on the kunai. "That's when I realized how this worked... How it all worked." Mizuki chuckled. "So maybe it is a bit selfish... But then? That's the real ninja way." He lifted up the kunai. "The real-"
BANG! Naruto looked up in shock-Smoke was burning from one of Sakura's restraints. Her arm was free, and her hand yanked on Sasuke's restraint strap. It came loose, loose enough for Sasuke to grab a kunai from his still present pouch and throw it at Mizuki. The silver haired traitor dodged, the blade taking a few hairs from his head. Mizuki crossed the distance, his hands going around both of Naruto's friends' throats.
Red rage filled him. Hatred and anger and a need... A desperate desire filled Naruto...
No... No, no...! He pulled at his bonds, harder, harder...!
"I guess you want to die first, huh?" Mizuki snarled, as the Academy students beat on him ineffectually. They struggled to breath.
NO! NO! DAMNIT... I... SOMETHING! SOMETHING HELP ME! HELP ME NOW! LET ME SAVE THEM! NOW!
"Making your own exploding seal from your blood? Smart girl, smart," Mizuki hissed, as the frantic struggles got fainter. "Not smart enou..."
A snarl filled the air. Mizuki turned, face ashen. That fear, that terror filled the air. Just as it had...
A fist caught him in the jaw, flinging him up to the ceiling. He smacked into it, and fell down in pain. His eyes met the furious gaze of the blonde, just before his haymaker met the side of his face. Mizuki flew into a cabinet, smashing into it. Sprawled and shocked, Mizuki slowly looked up.
Naruto, his aura flaring red and orange, his eyes burning and his teeth sharp, turned from him and ripped the bindings off his friends. They looked shocked and dismayed, but when the blonde turned to face the traitor, they hopped down and stood beside him without hesitation. Naruto clenched his fist, as Mizuki gaped.
This was the time where the hero would say something epic, dramatic and awesome. Maybe even eloquent.
"Let's beat the shit out of him!" Naruto bellowed, charging with Sakura and Sasuke alongside.
Well... He could always say he said something else after.
Sasuke was the top of the class in terms of taijutsu, and it showed-Thanks to the hits Naruto had gotten in, Mizuki was unable to block his kicks and hits. Naruto was still blazing away with the Kyuubi's chakra, and that paralyzing fear kept him from retaliating. Sakura though was hanging back, after getting in a kick or two. There simply wasn't room for her to get much else in with how Sasuke and Naruto were beating on the traitor.
But he was still a chuunin, and he seized on the nearest mass he could switch himself out with.
With a poof of smoke, Naruto, Sasuke were left beating the hell out of an old chair. They swung around, Naruto growling loudly. Mizuki was still standing, smirking with his arm around Sakura's neck. He panted dangerously, his kunai poking into Sakura's neck. The pink haired girl's eyes were wide, and she gripped Mizuki's arms as she tried to get free. Her hands beat on him all over, but the chuunin wouldn't budge.
"That's-That's enough of that!" Mizuki snarled. "Demon showed his true colors-Big fucking deal! But if you want the girl to live, well, you surrender to me!"
Sasuke blinked. "Wait... You're taking her hostage when you already said Naruto is the Kyuubi?" The Uchiha scion pointed out. Mizuki growled.
"Yeah?! So?!"
"I don't even like her! You're relying on my good nature to save yourself, even though I'm supposed to be a demon!" Naruto snarled, his eyes still burning red. "You are an asshole!"
"Don't
like me?!" Sakura managed, her anger overcoming her fear. "Wh-What do you mean you don't like me?!"
"You're always hitting me and you're kind of judgemental," Naruto pointed out. Sakura glared.
"It's because you're an idiot and because you keep taking up all of Sasuke's time!" She growled. Sasuke blinked.
"That's why?" Sasuke asked. "You're jealous of him? I keep saying we're not gay-"
"No you don't!" Naruto growled, exasperated. "You just kind of stoically glare and say nothing! That makes it worse!"
"Well you loudly screaming that you're not gay doesn't help either, does it?" Sasuke pointed out. Naruto threw his hands up in the air.
"What the hell else do you expect me to do?! I'm not saying I am gay, I'm not!"
Mizuki's jaw dropped in disbelief at this admittedly ridiculous exchange. "I... It... Wha-?" Sakura stomped on his foot. "OW!" He snarled and dug the kunai deeper into Sakura's neck, making her cry out. "Stop that, you bitch! Or I'll kill you!"
"If you kill her, you don't have a hostage anymore," Sasuke pointed out, eyes narrowed. Naruto nodded.
"And if you kill her... I swear by my pretty little bonnet, I will end you," he snarled, the Kyuubi's chakra flaring. Mizuki's legs shook, but he forced a laugh.
"S-So what?! Sound ninja are on their way! In a few minutes, you'll be a couple of runts against them!" He grinned. "Here's the thing... Let me go, and I might be persuaded to let herlive." He smirked. "And if the bitch stops struggling, maybe I'll let her little boyfriend and the demon go without telling the Sound Ninja to murder them! Hm? Fair deal, all around!"
Sakura grit her teeth. She was crying, the sudden realization that this lone chuunin was going to have back up soon shutting her up. She was breathing hard, fearful. She looked over at Sasuke and Naruto, not sure what to say. Naruto considered. Sasuke remained focused. The two looked at each other, as though communicating silently. Naruto even waved his hands around, as he often did while talking. Strangely though, Sasuke was doing the same thing-Often covering Naruto's hands up from view. Naruto looked back at Mizuki, his eyes narrowed. Sasuke rubbed his wrist significantly, leaving Sakura puzzled... Until she realized it was the same one she had freed.
With the explosive note she'd improvised... She felt blood in her fingers, and she struggled a little more, her hands gripping Mizuki's forearm. She tensed, ready to move...
"There's a saying back home, where I'm from," Naruto began. "You never leave a man behind." He looked back at Sasuke, who slowly nodded. "Even if she is annoying... She tried to save me." The blonde grinned. "So we're going to save her."
Sasuke nodded stoically, and assumed a fighting pose. Sakura's heart beat a bit faster, and she blushed as Naruto did the same. Mizuki snorted.
"Fine then. You brought this on yourself, demon," he sneered, raising his kunai to slash across her throat. Sakura's heart skipped, but she kept her eyes on Naruto and Sasuke in that infinitely long moment.
A pair of orange covered arms came around her from the side, and Mizuki squawked as another pair siezed him around the throat. Sakura broke the chuunin's grip and sprang away, stumbling to get over to Naruto and Sasuke. She turned and gaped-Three other Narutos were struggling with the traitor. Clones?!
"Sasuke! Do it!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Sakura and pulling her behind an upturned table. Sasuke smirked, finished the hand seals-
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Sasuke bellowed. Mizuki had just enough time to look up and gape as the fireball slammed into him. Sasuke got behind the upturned table just as the fireball exploded, and all three academy students clustered together as the small lab was filled with a gigantic explosion that shattered glass and ruptured cabinets. Naruto was kind of amazed he could still hear after that blast-He chalked it up to the chakra, as he peered over the table at the fiery conflagration that was the lab.
"Um... I think we should go," Naruto said quickly. Sasuke nodded, as did Sakura. Naruto managed to spot Mizuki among the burning wreckage-He was burnt and unconscious, but even from here he could see he was still breathing. "And drag him with us."
"Why?" Sasuke growled, and despite herself Sakura nodded in agreement. Naruto shrugged.
"Batman doesn't kill. Neither do I," he said. "Besides! He's gotta confess to his crimes, or we'll be in real trouble."
"Oh," Sakura said, and then nodded. "Right. Let's get him out of here then."
It didn't take too long for ANBU to find the three dirty, soot covered academy students and their unconscious, pale haired captive. A few applications of Shunshin and they were back at the Hokage's office. Said Hokage gave them a wry expression, his eyebrow raised. There was a slightly tense silence for a few moments-Naruto wasn't sure how long.
"So... Who would like to go first?" Sarutobi asked.
"Um... We came, we saw, we kicked his ass?" Naruto offered. Sarutobi's lip twitched, and Naruto winced. "Please don't tell my mom."
"I won't," Sarutobi agreed, "but the fact remains you did fall for an obvious deception."
"Obvious?!" Sakura blurted out. "How were we supposed to know?! I mean, he was a chuunin! We're his students! We need to trust him!"
"On the other hand, us falling for his trick led to his exposure as one of Orochimaru's agents," Sasuke pointed out. "Almost as though we knew his intentions all along."
"Uh... Yeah!" Naruto said, nodding quickly. "Yeah! We totally knew it from the start! We just played along!"
"Wha-No we didn't!" Sakura said, outraged. "We didn't know anything about-Mmph!"
Naruto and Sasuke covered her mouth. The blond grinned.
"Yeah! We knew all along, but didn't give the game away because we're awesome ninjas! And totally deserve to pass our exams!"
Sasuke nodded. Sarutobi chuckled softly.
"Well then... In light of this, I'd say all three of you have proven the potential to be great ninja... Work on covering your incompetence next time."
"That's what experience is for," Naruto pointed out. Sarutobi chuckled. He pulled out three forehead protectors from his desk, and slid them across. Naruto grinned and took his happily.
"Oh, so cool!" He enthused. "Does it give me any enhanced abilities? Is it lined with kevlar to protect my head from bullets-I mean, kunai?"
"It is a symbol of your worthiness to protect Konoha, and to carry out missions to aid your home village," Sarutobi said with a proud smile. "Just like your mother and father before you."
"... Sooo, it doesn't have any special abilities?" Naruto asked. Sakura and Sasuke elbowed him. "Urk! I mean... Thank you Old Man! You're so awesome!" He grinned.
"Yes, and your parents will be especially proud," Sarutobi said with a nod. "When you tell them."
Which would save Sarutobi from having to tell them. He was arranging to be very, very busy for the next few days.
"Awesome!" Naruto enthused.
"Now... Let's start from the beginning," Sarutobi said.
An hour later, Sarutobi was looking ashen faced.
"So uh, he basically said he wanted to get revenge because..." Naruto trailed off. He patted his stomach. "You know... That... Thing-"
"Because the idiot has the Kyuubi sealed inside him," said Sasuke flatly. Sakura nodded. Sarutobi gaped.
"Y-You-?"
"Yeah, they know," Naruto said, not looking at them. The young man was grim and anxious. "And uh... Well..."
Sakura sighed. She punched him. "Idiot! Why would we believe that asshole over you?"
Sasuke shook his head. "You're still a dumbass, and not a demonic monster that could kill us all."
"You guys are assholes," Naruto said, but he managed a real grin at them. And Sarutobi found himself relaxing a bit. He smiled warmly.
"Good... Now... Go home," Sarutobi said. "I believe Miss Haruno still has a final project to finish?"
"Does she really need to, given she's already-MMPH!" Naruto got his mouth covered by a flushing Sakura. The girl nodded and smiled.
"Thank you Hokage-sama! We're going!" She said quickly. Sasuke returned a respectful nod to Sarutobi. The three newly minted genin headed out the door, shutting it behind them. Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"So... Uh..." He looked at his friends nervously. "You... You weren't just saying you were cool with the whole... Kyuubi thing to avoid trouble with the Hokage, right?"
"That you have to ask that proves you are really are an idiot," Sakura laughed.
Sasuke nodded as well. "Hn..."
Naruto sighed. "Good! Good... Now all I have to do is..." Naruto paled. "Tell my mom that I was involved in an anti-spy sting and nearly died... Uh..." He winced. "Well, maybe it won't be that bad...?"
"Your mom?" Asked Sakura. "How bad could she be?"
Naruto stared at her. He shook his head. He looked over at Sasuke with a dead expression. The Uchiha survivor shook his head back.
"You're on your own, Weirdo."
"You guys are the worst friends ever," Naruto said. "Seriously."
Anko was grinning when he came home. It gave Naruto a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Uh... Hello, Anko-nee-chan," he said. "Is there any chance I could get out of telling my mom what I did?"
"If I couldn't, you can't," Anko said cheerfully. She seized him by the collar, and tossed him into his room.
"Oof! Hey!" Naruto yelped. "I stopped an evil chuunin from turning my friends into lab rats!" He shouted through the door, pounding on it. "Doesn't that count for anything?!"
"Actually, it does," spoke his mother. Naruto turned and worried his lip as he saw his mother's face on the computer screen. She and his father were sitting in view of the camera, tense but looking somewhat calm. He walked over to the chair, and sat in front of the screen.
"Um... Hey Mom, hey Dad," he said. Mary sighed, and rubbed her face.
"I'm not angry, Naruto," she said. "I mean, with you. Given how teachers abuse people's trust here..." She shook her head. "I'm just..."
"I know," Naruto said softly, holding a hand up to the screen. "You don't want me here."
Mary smiled wanly. "Can you blame me?" She asked. "I wanted you to grow up to be what you wanted... With me supporting you. And now... Now I have no choices at all."
Rob sighed, taking Mary's hand. He squeezed it, and she squeezed his hand back. Naruto's hands clenched instinctively, wanting to feel his parents' comforting grip. That said...
"I do want to be back home, Mom and Dad," Naruto said. "I really do... But..." He shrugged. "I mean... This is home too, now. Not just for the old guys, but... My friends now." He smiled. "Sides... I think this world needs me."
"So does this one," Mary said. "Not to fight, not to war... But... To be our son."
"I still am," Naruto said, leaning forward and touching the screen. "I am! I always am... But this is... Well... Someplace I need to be."
Mary glanced over to Rob, her eyes narrowed. Rob gave his son a smile.
"I understand that," Rob said. "I hate it... But sometimes a man has to face the storm," he said, to Naruto as much as his wife. Mary scowled.
"When he's a man," Mary emphasized. "Not a boy!"
Naruto grimaced. They usually kept their fights private, but if it was spilling out like this it must have been really bad. "Guys, please," Naruto begged. "Look... I am stuck here. But I'm not gonna turn out like... Ya know... Your nightmares, okay?" He said with a smile. Mary sucked in a deep breath, and wiped her eyes. Rob chuckled.
"... You are growing up, aren't you?" Mary asked softly. Naruto shrugged and smiled.
"Maybe a little," he said. He smiled warmly at his parents. "Besides... What can I do but be... Ya know... Superman?"
"Little different circumstances, buddy," Rob pointed out. Naruto shrugged.
"Still fits. Earth... Is my home," he said with a smile. Mary smiled back, even as tense as she looked. She touched the screen too, and Naruto swore he could feel her love for him.
"Take care... And your birthday present is coming through," Mary said. She glared. "I expect you to wear it on every mission, even if it's just to walk dogs. Every. One."
"Well... Okay mom," Naruto said, with a quick nod. "I will... Promise."
He looked over at his father, pleading... And Rob smirked.
"Considering I helped put it together? I'd feel very insulted if you didn't wear it," he replied. Naruto groaned.
"Okay, okay," he said. "But it had better not be too embarrassing."
They talked a bit longer after that-Learning about the whole caper, from beginning to end-before his parents wished him goodnight, and the screen went off. Naruto sighed, and rubbed his whiskered face. He looked out the window at Konoha, as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon and bathe the mountain monument in pinks, oranges and golds.
He couldn't help but wonder how he would have turned out if he'd grown up all his life here in Konoha. If he'd have still become a ninja. If he'd still befriend Sakura and Sasuke. If Mizuki would have made the same choices. If anyone would.
The life of a ninja was scary, dangerous and life threatening... But that sense of triumph, that amazing victorious feeling... It was stronger there than the dread or terror. It made him feel... Like a hero, despite everything. Like what he did mattered, and shaped the world.
And as much as he loved home and missed his family... He liked that feeling. And wanted to keep feeling it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
