by Songbird21
Chapter 36
Please read and review. I love reviews! Thanks!
Sorry about the delay on this chapter. I've been getting swamped with orders for my custom anime My Little Ponies (Yes, you read that right). People want them done for Christmas so I've been doing almost nothing else in the past month. At any rate, this chap is nearly 4000 words long, so at least I made up for it a little.
((Alarm sounds)) ANGST ALERT, ANGST ALERT! Lol. Naruto reviews some of his early memories. Just thought I'd warn ya.
Radioplay News: Chapter 2 is finally well underway. I found our new Kyuubi. I'll let you guys know when it's ready. About the review boards for the radioplay: I had to make it so only members can post. I apologize to all the people who don't like signing up for message boards, but I had to do it. Some jerk kept posting ads in the threads. :(
Doujin News: We have the next four pages, which I will be posting soon. Please don't forget to thank SilverKleptoFox for her lovely work on that. :)
COLAD Side story: Some of you have seen it already, but I'd wanted to mention that I wrote a prequel of sorts to this fic. It's called "Day of Destiny" and you can find the link in my profile. :)
Hinata sat in the main parlor of her home, waiting for her father. He didn't ask to speak to her in private often and whenever he did, it was about something upsetting. Hiashi walked in and she sat stock straight. "Ohayo, Otousan," she said with a polite bow.
Without a word, Hiashi sat down on the pillow opposite Hinata. After a few moments of watching his child fidget with her hands, he sighed heavily. "Hinata, I have recently received a rather disturbing report from a member of the house staff," he said sternly.
Hinata felt her chest tighten with nervousness. "R...report?"
"Yes. They said you've been hiding something from me. You were seen putting on, a wig," Hiashi said as his eyes narrowed.
Hinata swallowed.
"Hinata...is this true?" Hiashi asked as he tapped one finger on his knee.
Hinata looked down. "H...hai, Otousan."
"Take it off," Hiashi commanded, "Now."
Hinata timidly nodded and removed the pins from her wig before sliding it off. Her hair fell to her shoulders in thick, blue-black ripples. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she stared at the floor, waiting for the venomous chastising to begin; when it never came, she chanced a glance upward. What she saw made her jaw drop in shock. There were tears in her father's eyes. "O...Otousan?"
"You...you look just like her," Hiashi said with a shaking voice.
"Her?" Hinata asked quietly.
"Your mother," Hiashi said as he closed his eyes.
Hinata's eyes widened. "I...I look like...Okasan? Is...is that why you didn't want me to grow my hair?"
Hiashi sucked in a deep breath. "Yes. In fact, from the day you were born, I knew that you would be her twin." He was silent for a moment as he chose his next words. "At first, I was happy, but after she died..." Hiashi swallowed. "...I could barely stand to look at you."
Tears began to flow from Hinata's eyes. "I...I see."
"So, I made you cut your hair. Although the pain has lessened in recent years, I knew if you grew you hair long, it would resurface again. However...the result is, apparently...not what I expected."
Silence.
"What I am feeling," He shifted a bit in his seat. He wasn't used to speaking with anyone that way and it made him uncomfortable, "is not the pain I feared, it is pride," Hiashi finished with a small smile.
Hinata's eyes suddenly held hope. "R...really?"
Hiashi nodded. "Pride that my daughter is just as beautiful, as her mother."
"Otousan... Thank you...thank you so much!" Hinata chirped as she hugged her father tightly.
Hiashi was so surprised that his quiet, reserved, and abnormally shy child would do something so bold that, for a moment, his arms stayed at his sides. When he heard the small sobs coming from her, he embraced her gently. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I should have shown pride in you long ago."
After a while, Hiashi cleared his throat, and father and daughter parted. "I do have something else I would like to speak to you about, though."
Hinata resumed her place on the floor pillow she had occupied earlier. "Something else?"
"Naruto..."
Hinata was suddenly a bit nervous again. "Oh..."
"I would like to know what you see in such a boy," Hiashi answered plainly.
Even through her nerves, a blush crept over Hinata's cheeks. "I...I've liked him for a long time. S...so many people don't take the time to see what's inside him."
"Go on," Hiashi said as he folded his arms.
"He has a good heart, he's c...caring, sweet, and he always does his best. Th...that's what I admire about him the most. He never gives up. No m...matter what anyone thinks of him or how bad things get, he keeps on trying." Hinata's voice became a bit quiet. "In fact, b...before he graduated, he tried so hard that...that he...he pretended to smile all the time," Hinata said sadly.
"Pretended...you mean all of his idiotic grins were fake?"
Hinata shook her head. "Not all of them, b...but mostly. I wanted s...so much to talk to him, but I didn't know how. Now that he has friends and family, most of his smiles are real. I...I want to be there to see all those smiles, Otousan. P...please, don't take me away from him," she said as she threw herself into a very low bow.
Hiashi sighed and closed his eyes in thought for a few moments. "Alright."
Hinata looked up from her bow with disbelief and hope.
"I will allow you to see him...for now. But I want to speak to him sometime in the near future. I still consider him rude, loud, and uncivilized. It will take much before I will change that opinion."
Hinata decided two hugs in one day might be pushing it, so instead she opted for another bow. "Thank you, Otousan. I promise you will not regret it."
"We shall see." Hiashi rose from his seat. "I have a few matters to attend to. I will see you at dinner."
"Hai."
Hiashi began to walk away.
"Otousan?"
"Yes?"
"I...love you," Hinata said in a small voice. Hiashi said nothing in return, but he did smile and nod. Hinata knew that was the best 'I love you too' he could manage, so it made her happy.
As Hinata stepped outside the room she noticed Hanabi standing there with a contemplative look on her small face. "Hanabi-chan?"
Hanabi cocked her head to one side, as if sizing up the older girl. "So, father has accepted you."
Hinata made an attempt at a smile. "Yes. At...at least a little."
A smile slowly crept its way onto Hanabi's usually stolid face. She reached up and placed a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Good...then perhaps I won't have to act like the older sister anymore," she said before turning and walking away.
Hinata smiled as she watched her sister go. Things were finally turning around. Suddenly, being the future clan head didn't seem so daunting.
"Seriously, brat, you're both healthy humans, and the same age. She would give you strong pups. Why don't you take her?"
Naruto sat in meditation in front of Kyuubi's cage, wondering why the hell he couldn't seem to find a teacher who wasn't vying for pervert of the year. "Because we're only fourteen, that's why!" he snapped.
The great fox rolled his eyes. "You humans and your 'society' rules. We kitsune mate as soon as we are sexually mature."
Naruto gritted his teeth. "I'm also not married!"
"Another one of your human idiosyncrasies. For kitsune to be promised to each other we have only to become mates."
"Will you drop it already!-?"
"Fine. But you have no idea what you are denying yourself."
"Heh. I know what I'm denying you," Naruto answered with a knowing leer.
Kyuubi growled and laid down in a huff.
"Dammit! You broke my concentration!" Naruto complained after trying to resume his meditation.
"I don't think this technique is helping you," Kyuubi stated as he got to his feet. "There is something else I want you to work on anyway."
"What?"
"Your ability, or lack thereof, to think well outside of a battle situation," Kyuubi said with a bemused smile.
"Hey!" Naruto shouted.
"Understand that I think of you as quite intelligent. You are simply socially unpracticed. Not to mention that you are used to blocking things out in order to keep your sanity."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the constant taunting from the adults of your pathetic village, and later, from the children. You've worked hard at perfecting your ability to ignore emotional pain. And although I've noticed you've relaxed a lot since your graduation, very often you still subconsciously ignore about half of what people are saying, hence your inability to know what they were trying to say."
Naruto's face broke into a huge grin. "What are you talking about? I'm fine," he said with a chuckle.
For the first time since Naruto had begun speaking with the Kyuubi, the giant fox's face wore a look of genuine pity. "You can't lie to me, kid. I've seen your memories."
Naruto's expression made a complete one-eighty. "My memories are none of your business," he growled.
"We occupied the same body for thirteen and a half years. I'm more than entitled," Kyuubi answered simply.
Naruto's glare could've turned someone to stone. "I'm going." He concentrated, and began to fade.
"This only proves my point, kid."
Out of curiosity, Naruto re-solidified. "What point?" he spat.
"One mention of your older memories and you are prepared to block me out."
"I'm blocking you out because you looked at my memories without my permission!" Naruto yelled.
"You didn't get this angry with that pink haired girl."
"SHE, is my friend and was only in here because she was worried about me! You're just nosy!"
"No...I looked because I had to know what I was dealing with--how to help you. You need to face these memories or one day you will self destruct."
"Uh uh. They can stay as far in my brain as I can stuff 'em," Naruto retorted.
Kyuubi sighed. "I doubt you'll forgive me for this, but since I don't think I can stay much longer it doesn't matter much." He closed his eyes for a moment and the scenery around them began to ripple.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked with a nervous look as he instinctively took a step backwards.
There was a sound that was an odd cross between a crack and a pop just before everything disappeared. Before Naruto had a chance to adjust to the black nothingness, he heard a rapid banging sound as nine doors came from all directions--eight landing across from each other, creating a short hallway with the ninth door capping end. Kyuubi opened his eyes. "I've managed to find the doors with the worst memories."
"Yeah, and you can go through them yourself!" Naruto said as he attempted to leave. Nothing happened. Shock and mild panic shown on his face.
"I've blocked you from leaving. You won't be going anywhere until you face them."
"You son of a bitch!"
Kyuubi shook his head. "Insulting me will get you nowhere."
Naruto sat down. "I'll just sit here till you leave. I can last without eating for a day."
"I'm certain you can...but can you handle being buried alive?"
Naruto's eyes widened a bit. "What do you mean?"
"In order to keep you from returning to your conscious mind, I had to put you in a near death state. If someone finds your body, they'll think you've died. I know I don't have to tell you what would happen next..."
Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. He knew he wouldn't be fighting his way out of this one. After a moment his face softened and his shoulders slumped. "Please..." he asked softly, "Don't make me see these."
Kyuubi truly felt pity for the boy, but he had no choice. "I'm sorry, Kid...but this is necessary."
Naruto's face scrunched up in anger, frustration, and a little bit of fear. He turned toward the doors. There were only nine, but to him it seemed like the longest hallway in existence. Slowly, he walked over to the front door on the right. His fingers trembled a little as he held them over the knob, but he grasped it firmly, turned it, and stepped through.
"Good luck, Brat."
Naruto blinked rapidly as the light around him slowly faded. He recognized the room he was in immediately. It was the orphanage where he had spent the first three and a half years of his life. After a moment, he noticed a small boy sitting on the bed at the far end of the room. He walked over to him and swallowed. "So...you're me, huh?" The child didn't respond. "You can't hear me, can you?" Silence was the confirmation.
Footsteps sounds from the hallway and a woman in her mid twenties poked her head into the room. "Naruto-chan, you'd better hurry on to lunch." The boy on the bed sighed and stayed where he was. "You don't want Miyu-san to hit you again, do you?"
Naruto-chan shook his head fervently. "Uh uh."
The woman smiled and held out her hand. "Come on then. I'll walk with you."
Naruto-chan hopped off the bed and left with the woman.
Naruto smiled at the memory, but it quickly faded when he remembered what happend next. "So...this is that day." He sighed heavily and followed himself and the woman down the hall.
Not far into their walk, the trio was stopped short by a tall woman with black hair, tied up in a bun. Her clothes were completely devoid of cheer. Nothing but dull, grey-ish tones and sharp lines. "So...late again, are we?" she said with a glare at Naruto-chan.
Naruto-chan hid himself behind his friend's legs. "G...gomen," he peeped.
"Haruka-san, you tend to your duties, I will take Naruto-chan to lunch," the older woman said with a smile that would've made Itachi run for his life.
Haruka glanced backward nervously at Naruto-chan. "It's no problem, Kikyo-san. I don't mind taking him."
Kikyo glared at Haruka. She knew what she was trying to do. "Do as you are told," she said with a voice that meant there was no way Haruka would win this battle of wills.
"Yes, Kikyo-san."
Naruto-chan's eyes went wide with panic. "Don't leave me, Haruka-nee-san!" he cried as he attached himself to Haruka's leg.
Haruka bit her lower lip. "I don't have a choice, Naruto-chan. Just...be silent, and maybe she won't do anything mean," she whispered. She hugged Naruto quickly and pried him off her leg, running off down the hall before he had a chance to re-attach himself.
Naruto-chan's eyes showed that he was fighting back tears as he took Kikyo's out-stretched hand.
Naruto's fists clenched at his sides. He knew what was coming, and there was nothing, nothing he could do to stop it.
They came to the top of a long flight of stairs and started to walk down. Naruto-chan made sure to keep his mouth tightly closed. He didn't want to risk a beating. Suddenly, his lower shins hit something, and he went tumbling down the stairs. He hit the floor with a horrible cracking sound.
Kikyo pulled back the leg she had used to trip him and watched the blood slowly leak out of the back of Naruto-chan's head for a moment, before putting on a mask of fear. "Somebody, help!!" she screamed with her best performance.
At that second, Haruka came tearing down the hall. "NARUTO-CHAN!"
Kikyo started down the stairs as soon as she saw Haruka. "Hurry, Haruka-san, he's hurt!" she said with practiced tears.
The sad eyes of her boss didn't fool Haruka for a second. She knew exactly what had happened. "Naruto-chan!" she cried. The boy groaned in pain as she inspected the back of his head. There was a fairly large crack, but she couldn't tell if it went into his skull. "Go get a medical team..." she gave Kikyo a look that made her thoughts very clear, "...NOW!" she screamed.
Kikyo nodded and ran off.
Haruka was cradling Naruto-chan in her arms. She held a section ripped from her uniform to his wound, but the blood was quickly soaking through. "Why didn't I listen to you? I'm so sorry, Naruto-chan!"
At that moment, the scene before Naruto froze. His younger self had blacked out and heard no more of what was going on around him, so his mind had nothing to extrapolate from.
He allowed himself a small smile. He'd forgotten how kind Haruka had been. In fact, it was her kindness that had acted as a safety net for his heart. It was also not long after that incident that she had finally gone to the third, and told him of Kikyo's cruelty. Four days after that, he was given a room at the Hokage tower. He didn't get to see the third much, and the Gennin and Chuunin that were told to look after him weren't very kind, but at least he hadn't had to fear for his safety any longer. "Thank you," Naruto said to the image as it faded away.
"Welcome back."
Naruto looked behind him to find Kyuubi. "Yeah," he said quietly.
"Better get to the next one. I don't know how long you have."
Naruto nodded numbly and reached for the next door knob.
Six doors later, Naruto was getting tired. He sat on the floor of the hallway, breathing slowly.
"Come one, Brat. You only have two more to go," Kyuubi gently prodded.
Naruto sighed and got to his feet. "Fine." He opened the next door and was surrounded in the now familiar white light.
Naruto's heart was beating like a jackhammer. Only one more door till the last, and he had a feeling that last door would hold something so awful that he had managed to block it out completely. He was not looking forward to seeing it. But, for now, he dealt with the present.
He saw his eight-year-old self walking home. This was a day he remembered clearly. It was the first day at his new apartment. He remembered how proud of himself he had been, that the Hokage had allowed him to live alone at that age. Granted, someone checked up on him a few times through the day, and he spent his lunches with the third, but it was still exciting. He followed himself to the apartment and gritted his teeth. This was also the day...he had learned that a lot more people hated him than he'd realized.
Across young Naruto's door, "Monster!" had been spray-painted in a horribly accurate blood red. The door was intact, but someone had picked the lock because it hung open a crack. A horrified look came across the young boy's face as he bolted inside the apartment. Who could have done this? Were his belongings intact?
The bag he'd been carrying his academy books in fell to the floor as he took in the scene in front of him. Everything was in ruins. There wasn't a thing in his home that hadn't been broken or vandalized. His dinner table was cracked in half, his clothes were scattered everywhere and ripped, all of his mangas had the pages torn out, and the only gift he'd ever gotten--a set of orange ramen bowls the Hokage had gotten him as a housewarming present-- was smashed into hundreds of pieces.
He suddenly noticed a somewhat 'clear' spot on the floor and flipped the light switch to see why. His eyes went wide at the message that had been spelled out on the floor with the remnants of his kitchen chairs..."DIE!" The poor child dropped to his knees and cried loudly, then the scene faded away.
Naruto swallowed as he gripped the handle of the final door. There were no other really bad memories he could recall, and that made him nervous. He let out a deep breath, and walked through.
For the first time since he had begun this odd journey, Naruto had no idea where he was. His nine-year-old self was walking along in front of him. It was dark...lots of trees...a dirt path...a small house about a hundred feet away... "Oh right...Haruka-nee-chan's place. Wait...when did I come back here? I never saw her after the third came to pick me up." And yet, as Naruto watched himself walk, he felt as though something was telling him to run away as fast as he could and never look back.
Suddenly, three shadows came out of nowhere and descended on the younger Naruto. Naruto could do nothing, but watch as the boy screamed while being hit over and over.
Finally, a fourth shadow appeared. It bent over and lit a match, which in turn, lit a lantern. The lantern was placed on a rock and the eerily under-lit face of Kikyo was instantly recognizable.
"K...Kikyo?"
"I've been waiting for this..." Kikyo said in a dangerous tone. "Waited for the right moment to strike. For...FIVE...LONG...YEARS!" she yelled as she accentuated each word with a neck-whipping close-fisted slap to his face. "You little piece of trash. My life was RUINED because of you!" She punched him hard in the gut. He doubled over and spat out blood. "I was fired!--Lost my license, and for WHAT? To protect someone not worth SPITTING ON!!" She kicked him in the shoulder.
Her helpers held young Naruto down as Kikyo picked up a large rock and held it over his head. "Your worthless existence ends here, MONSTER!" she yelled she heaved the rock forward. Young Naruto squeezed his eyes shut in preparation for the pain.
"NO!" Haruka came running out of the woods and jumped in front of the rock, using her body to shield the boy. The rock fell to the side and her limp body fell heavily over his.
"HARUKA-NEE-SAN!!" Naruto screamed. Now he remembered this. All of it. He wished with all his heart for it to be blocked again, but it was not to be.
"Haruka!" Kikyo shrieked. She gritted her teeth. She still wanted to do away with Naruto, but she knew being caught killing someone who was not the demon would be extremely bad. "Let's get out of here. We'll take care of him later."
The attackers once again became shadows and the scene vanished. Naruto didn't bother to leave right away. He fell to his knees and cried in the cold, still darkness.
Naruto paused in front of the green sliding door. He adjusted his grip on the flowers he was holding and walked into a hospital room. A woman of about thirty five years of age lay on the bed. Her long, red hair was spread out around her head on the pillow.
Naruto swallowed. He walked forward and placed the flowers into the dry vase on her bedside table and filled it with water from the sink.
He placed his hand on hers. As he watched her sleep, tears slowly rolled down his face. "I'm...sorry I forgot about you. I'll never do it again. I'll bring you flowers every week...until you wake up." He released her hand. "Thank you...Haruka-nee-san..."
Naruto walked away, turning and giving her one final smile, before going out the door.
...TO BE CONTINUED
That chapter was so weird. I don't know what I was thinking. Anywho, next chap will prolly end this. And then it's on to the sequal! Yay:) Hope you all liked that. Please please review. :)