"Naruto" - Person Talking
'Naruto' - Person Thinking
"Naruto" - Summons/Bijū talking
"Naruto" - Summons/Bijū thinking
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" - Jutsu
Hey guys, it's Dom here bringing you another chapter. It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry bout that, been caught up with work, being new on the job and having to do a bunch of important stuff first thing in the morning is kinda a pain. So what've you kids been up to? Homework, tests, studying, reading and all that good stuff I hope. This chapter, this chapter is a bit weird; I've kinda been hitting a wall with what I wanna do next and it's kinda killing me. This Chapter didn't turn out like I wanted it to, but eh, I had a fun time writing it; especially the comedy filled bits, they're always a blast to write since I'm kinda really bad at writing anything other then the lame broody, serious junk. So yeah, I gotta thank all you cool cats and dogs who actually wait for this story to update and enjoy reading it. And just a heads up guys, that poll on my profile; it's closed so go take a look cause I'm gonna be putting a new one up in a few days, like three or four. The results were pretty interesting, haha. So lots of you cats and dogs really like Hisako, Naru, Mito, Narumi, Haku and Satsuki the most huh? Poor Yakumo, left behind by her teammates and best friends... And again, I'm working on a "Character Profile" series, which is basically information about a specific character with a brief paragraph or two and miscellaneous information about the characters in the story, so tell me if your actually interested in it so I know I ain't wastin' my time writin' it. So yeah, hopefully, you all remember the routine right? Read, Review and PM me if you want to; I really do enjoy reading your PM's and Reviews cause a lot of the time they're just awesome. Well, that's enough of me yapping right? You came to read right? Well, let's a go.
A Son Forgotten - Chapter 33
Right before his eyes, right before the eyes of his daughters, was a young man who was the splitting image of what he'd dreamt his son would have looked like. His once pale platinum hair now a deeper, sun kissed blonde that was a hair lighter then this own golden locks. His once lightly tanned complexion now a bit richer from working in the garden that resided beside the hostel. And his stature, a once slightly above average tall boy was now a very tall young man with a heavily athletic yet lithe build. But the most telling feature that told him that this was his son was the eyepatch that covered his left eye, a permanent reminder of one of his greatest failures. There wasn't a hint of doubt in Minato's heart or mind, everything within him told him that the young man staring at him was his son, his child, the child that he had betrayed and failed all those years ago. Standing in before him and his daughters was his eldest child, standing before him was...
"Naruto...?" Minato repeated once more, the hope and disbelief in his voice thick enough to draw even the most cold-hearted individual to tears.
"Yes, can I help you with something...?" Naruto asked the strangely familiar man before him, taking note that he brought his hand up to stifle a sob that he choked out.
"It's... It's really you..." Minato said with a sob, tears now freely falling from his eyes as he took in everything new about his son.
It wasn't just Minato, Mito and Narumi had managed to reign in their wildly dancing emotions enough to take in everything about their beloved older brother as well. Their faces becoming a fuller shade of red when they saw just how much more handsome he had become over the years. His once boyish and cute features had developed into a handsome and mature visage while retaining a few of his younger traits.
As the trio continued to stare at him, their bodies were already moving before they registered it. The result was a collision of bodies with Naruto caught up in the center of it, the group tumbling to the group as Naru and Hisako quickly rushed to the source of the noise. When they arrived, they both froze when they saw what was the cause of such a loud disturbance in the normally quiet hostel. Laying on the ground was their beloved blonde with three others latched tightly onto him, tears of happiness and whimpers of relief leaving them.
"Naruto, it's you! It's really you!" Minato shouted in joy as he happily embraced his eldest child, the amount of happiness flowing through him trumping everything he's felt after his apparent death.
"Naru-nii, it's a m-miracle! It has to be a miracle!" Narumi cried into his back as she tightened her grip on him, ignorant of the fact that she was exerting her strength in her hug.
"A-A-Aniki! I-I-I'm s-so h-h-happy! U-Uwaaahh!" Unlike her normally cool and collected self, Mito was openly sobbing like a child who had just seen her brother for the first time in a number of years.
While the trio unloaded their pent up and recently unearthed emotions, they failed to notice that Naruto was blinking in confusion at their actions. Not only that, Naru and Hisako were both staring at the group with varying expressions and degrees of shock. Not only was Naruto being smothered by two attractive women but, in Naru's case in particular, they were also addressing him with such intimacy that only family used. After a few more seconds had passed, their patience worn its welcome as they marched up to the blonde and, in Naru's case forcibly, removed him from the bawling group.
"W-What do you two think you're doing!?" Mito shouted at the pair, her eyes burning with unrestrained anger as she secured Naruto's arm in an ironclad grip.
"P-Please let go of Naruto!" Hisako asked the trio in a polite yet firm tone, hugging his arm to her chest as the brows of Mito and Narumi twitched at the sight.
"How about you two let go! He's our Nii-san!" Narumi snarled at the duo, Naru's eyes narrowing immediately as she wrapped her arms around Naruto's bicep.
"What do you mean your Nii-san? He's my Onii-chan." Naru stated in a frigid tone, the eyes of the Uzumaki-Namikaze family members widening at the shocking piece of information.
"W-What?! W-We don't have another sister!" Mito and Narumi shouted in unison, Minato paling as a number of terrifying and unwanted theories flashed through his mind about Naru's possible origin.
"T-That can't be possible! Kushina and I have been faithful to each other since we were children!" Minato shouted more towards himself to reconfirm her and his feelings for the other more then anything else, the blank stares of his daughters wounding him more then he had anticipated.
As the group fighting over the young man between them started to escalate, Naruto released an exhausted sigh before carefully freeing himself from the holds the two groups had on him. Wincing a bit at the hurt looks that both groups gave him, he settled for ruffling Naru and Hisako's heads gently while a reassuring smile marred his face. The gestures of love and affection lighting up their hearts, they settled down immediately as she both took a place beside him; resisting the urge to snuggle into him despite the burning desire to that filled their hearts.
Turning to the Uzumaki-Namikaze family, he took in their devastated and heartbroken faces and had to suppress a wince as well. Sighing, turned to Hisako and Naru and asked the two of them to prepare a tray of tea and snacks for the trio before them. Getting a gentle nod of the head from the two, Hisako and Naru both gave him a peck on opposite cheeks before turning and heading to the kitchen with more of a delighted and energized aura to them; the blonde simply shaking his head with a tiny smile on his face while the trio before him just gawked at the scene.
"Come'on, let's talk somewhere private." Naruto said in a calm tone while motioning for the still stunned trio to follow him, the three finally snapping out of their stupor when they saw the blonde heading down a corridor.
Arriving in a closed off room, they saw Naruto unlock it before gesturing for them to enter. Still a bit out of their wits, they entered the room in a trace-like manner, their minds still on what had just transpired in the past few minutes. While they were still dazed, Naruto created an undetectable soundproof barrier to keep unwanted information and outbursts from leaving the room. Entering the room, they were broken out of their stupor when they saw just how beautiful the interior design was and how calming the atmosphere felt. Taking a seat on the cushions that laid beside the center table, they nervously and impatiently awaited the company of the blonde who was helping Naru and Hisako with bringing in their tea and snacks. When they finally arrived Naruto thanked them before asking for them to leave the room, the four sitting in a tense silence for a few seconds before Naruto broke it.
"So, what's your connection with me?" He asked the trio sitting across from him in a curious tone, the eyes of the three widening with confusion and heartbreak.
"W-What? Naru-nii, it's us! It's your family! It's Tou-san, Mito-nee and me!" Narumi told him in a sure but shaky tone, the quiver of her voice causing Naruto to grimace a bit as a dull ache echoed through his heart.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before. I'd certainly recall meeting with the Yondaime Hokage and his children." Naruto told the three in a sure manner, their eyes still not gaining any hint of backing down from his claim.
"A-Aniki, what are you talking about? W-We're your family, it's me! It's Mito! Don't you remember me?" Mito asked in a frantic tone, Naruto wincing at the amount of desperation her tone held as tears fell freely from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I truly am, but I think you've got me mistaken for someone else." Naruto said in an apologetic tone, the hearts of Narumi and Mito breaking at the firmness that his tone held while Minato could only remain looking at the floor.
A solemn and stressed silence taking hold once more, Naruto idly drank his tea as he awaited the other male in the room to voice his claim. Minato taking a deep breath, he was about to speak when an enormous amount of noise sounded from outside the room. The three watching Naruto's eye narrow to a dangerous level, they felt the cold hand of death brush past their necks as he rose to confront the source of the noise. But before he was able to take a step towards the door, it flew open as an angered Kushina stormed in with rage clouding her vision.
A few minutes before, Kushina having taken notice that her husband and daughters had disappeared from the festival grounds. Her first instinct was that they were safe but when she noticed that Minato was also gone, her instincts flared to life. Grabbing the rest of her family, telling her fellow vacationing family friends that they were going to look for their lost family members, she stormed towards the place where a smaller group of people were heading. The direction containing the chakra signatures of her missing family members, she wasted no time in dragging the rest of her family to them with a lecture pre-prepared for them about leaving without alerting anyone.
But when she stormed into the Kyuukai Hostel, ignoring the panicking silverette and blank faced blonde, she marched up to the room that her daughters and husband were holed up in before roughly slamming the doors open. What she saw, or more specifically who she saw, immediately blew away and calmed the haze of rage that clouded her vision. At first, she felt confusion which melted away into disbelief. Her eyes watering almost immediately when she took in his features; his sun-kissed blonde hair, his lightly tanned complexion, his single navy blue eye. She knew as soon as she saw his face, that this young man was her baby boy she had buried all those years ago.
"Naruto..." She choked out in sob full of relief and disbelief, immediately moving to embrace the blonde in a bone crushing hug as she sobbed into his chest.
As Kushina sobbed into the chest of the confused and slightly unnerved blonde she was embracing, she failed to notice that the family members she had dragged along had finally entered the room with her. The eyes of Kakashi, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune and Menma widening at the sight; the eyes of Shizune, Kakashi and Menma started watering at the sight of the older blonde.
"N-Naruto-kun...?" Shizune asked in a hopeful tone, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she did her best not to voice out the hope that the blonde before them was really the same blonde she loved.
"Naruto...?" Kakashi whispered in a quiet tone, his lone eye staring straight into the lone eye of the blonde.
"Nii-san!" Menma shouted with unrestrained joy and disbelief, a smile brighter then the sun on his face as he did his best not to shed tears at the sight of his older brother.
"Get back!" Was all that left the mouths of the three Sannin as they forcibly and roughly separated Kushina and Naruto, shoving the blonde back as they shielded the bodies of their family behind them.
Impossible. It was impossible what they were seeing with their own eyes. There was no way, no chance, that the young man they were seeing was the same boy that they had failed and buried all those years ago. Tsunade and done the autopsy and confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that the body she had forced herself to examine was the body of her oldest godchild. Orochimaru had run numerous tests and scenarios in the event something even remotely similar happened, and found that there was no possible chance of such an event like this happening. The prisoners who he had "talked" to being able to confirm that they did indeed kill his eldest godson. Jiraiya had combed through his spy network countless times for any information about a person matching his godson's description and came up empty. The same though ran through the minds of the three as they narrowed their eyes on the confused man before them.
"There's no way in hell that that's Naruto! I... I had my network search every nook and cranny for anyone who looked even close to Naruto, there's no way that he's my godson!" Jiraiya shouted at his family in a slightly hysteric, ignoring the flash of confusion and anger that passed through their faces.
"Jiraiya's right, there's no possible way that's Naruto. I saw him, I performed the autopsy, I... I was the one who prepared him for his funeral." Tsunade said in a quiet tone, the slow burning anger inside her heart being swallowed by the sorrow also filling it.
"They're right. There is no possible way that man is our Naruto. The possible odds of meeting someone who looks like him are astronomical, nearly impossible, but not unheard of." Orochimaru said as he took a defensive position before the others, wincing a bit as he himself saw his godson's face overlaid on the young man before him.
Stunned from the aggressive way the three were denying their claim that the blonde before them was their Naruto, anger flooded the system of the group the Sannin were shielding. Gritting her teeth, Kushina marched up to the three before shoving her way past them. The sudden forceful shove knocking them slightly off balance, they watched as Kushina stood protectively in front of the confused blonde as she glared at them with such intensity it would be able to melt steel. A bit taken back by her glare, the three found themselves a bit speechless before regaining their wits.
"Kushina, are you going to defend some stranger just because he looks like Naruto!?" Jiraiya shouted at his honorary daughter, Kushina's solid stance quivering a bit before steeling once more.
"You don't get it, you all don't understand! It's not logic or anything that can be explained by words! I... I know that he's my baby boy! My instincts as a mother are screaming at me that he is, how do you explain that!?" Kushina shouted at the three, everyone in the vicinity flinching at the desperation and hope that her tone held.
"...Kushina...?" The name jolted through Naruto's mind as he winced, a very faint memory of crimson and the smell of cherries echoing through his mind.
Grimacing, he gripped his head as another faint memory emerged from the seemingly infinite darkness that gripped his past. His form hunching over a bit, he missed the horrified look that appeared on Kushina's face as she immediately sprinted to his side. Ignoring the shouts that her older family members were directing towards her, she focused her heart and soul on tending to her oldest son and the pain he was experiencing.
(Flashback - Many Years Ago)
(Scene Change - Namikaze-Uzumaki Household: Kitchen)
"Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan, come in the kitchen quick!" A young blonde enthusiastically called out from within the confines of the very room her was calling his mother to, Kushina giggling a bit as she headed towards her eldest's location.
"I'm coming Naru-chan!" Kushina said with a giggle as she placed down the load of laundry that she was carrying, a bit curious as to what her oldest was up to when the two of them were the only ones in the house at the moment.
Entering the kitchen, Kushina's eyes widened before they started watering as she took in the irregular but endearing decorations that lined the walls of the kitchen. From drawings of a certain blonde and herself, to pictures that he had taken of the two of them, the room was lined with varying kinds of mementos and memories of some of the happiest moments that she had spent with her oldest.
A bit confused but no less touched, Kushina was about to smother Naruto in her patented bear hug but stopped when she smelled the faint aroma of something sweet, wax and a flame. Her mind snapping from its momentary trip from memory lane, she focused on her oldest once more as her eyes widened before closing softly when she spotted the small cake with a single candle resting in it.
"Happy birthday Kaa-chan!" Naruto chirped with a small blush lighting up his face along with a radiant smile, Kushina doing her best to not cry as she returned his smile before moving to embrace him in a bone crushing hug.
"Oh you! Is this why you pretended to be sick? So you could surprise me all by yourself?" She asked Naruto, the blonde blushing a bit as an embarrassed smile lit up his face.
Getting her answer, Kushina simply giggled before gently blowing out the dancing flame that laid on the wick of the candle. Both of them smiling at the other, Kushina took a bite of the cake that Naruto had made and almost fell back when the taste hit her tastebuds. A perfect mixture of sweetness and savoriness that put her own sweets to shame, Kushina couldn't help but feel a mix of pride and damage to her own pride when she savored the taste of the cake. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she simply smiled before leaning down and planting a loving kiss on the forehead of her oldest, Naruto giggling happily as he embraced his mother.
"Again, happy birthday Kaa-chan! I love you!" He quipped in with a brilliant smile on his face, Kushina mirroring it as she giggled happily.
"I love you too, Naru-chan!" She whispered as she smothered her son's face with a relentless assault of kisses, the laughter and giggles of the two echoing happily around their home.
Though, those happy moments and memories would soon fade as time passed.
(Time Skip - A Year Later)
"Kaa-chan? Kaa-chan, where are you?" Naruto called out as he searched around the house for his mother, growing a bit apprehensive as he was unable to find a trace of her.
Over the course of the past year, Naruto had noticed a strange trend with his family members and those who he considered friends. A few weeks after his mother's birthday party, he began to notice that his family was beginning to avoid him like he had done something wrong. At first he thought they were mad at him for not including them in his surprise party, but that was knocked out of the window when he received a rather terse response from his younger siblings.
Entering the kitchen, he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces when he saw the state of the mementoes and memories that were scattered around the room. The pieces of memory with his image in them were crossed out with red marker, some more blatant then others. His eyes widening with tears filling them, he could only choke out a sob as he clutched a ruined memory of his most important memory. It was a simple photograph of himself and Kushina, a photo of the very same day last year. The ruined image burning itself into his young heart, Naruto could only silently let his tears escape as he tried to rationalize it as best as a child could.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He whimpered to himself as he forced himself to stand and head to his room, his heart breaking with each and every step he took away from the ruined scene.
On that fateful day, the debt that the Shinigami had forced upon the young blonde had been collected by the same deity. The sealing of a beast so powerful even a god of death was unable to fully seal in exchange for the love of those he held dearest. A truly appalling debt that the child held accountable for was ignorant of. On that fateful day, a young Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze felt worthless and unloved for the first time of his young life. Of course, that hardship and bitterness would only grow as did he.
(Flashback - End)
(Scene Change - Kyuukai Hostel: Eastern Wing - Soundproofed Private Room)
"Kushina...?" Naruto thought once more as a mix of nostalgia, heartache, bitterness and faint warmth echoed from the recesses of his heart.
Leaning against the wall for support in his pained state, Naruto failed to notice that Kushina had moved over to him and was tentatively checking him for any injuries. As his pain started to fade, he noticed her fear stricken and panicked expression and finally uttered what was on his mind since the wave of nostalgia washed over him.
"Who... Are you...?" He asked in a confused and longing tone, the fear and panic on Kushina's face instantly shifting to confusion before it turned to a mix of concern horror.
"W-What...? Naru-chan, i-it's me! It's your Kaa-chan! Y-You... You haven't f-forgotten about m-me have you...?" She told him in a shaky tone, her eyes reflecting her tone as she did her best to reign in her rampant emotions.
The panic in her tone and the desperation on her face being more then anything that he had seen, Naruto winced when he saw just how stricken she was at his answer. But, something about her did set off a sense of familiarity inside of him. Something about her, her crimson locks, her violet eyes, her tone; something about her made him feel a sense of both comfort and sadness in his heart. Shaking his head to clear it of the unneeded and unwarranted emotions clouding it, he finally managed to stand while using the wall for support. Taking a calming breath, he pushed off the wall and stood tall in front of the gather group; the three shielding the others tensing immensely at the action.
"I'll ask again, just who are all of you and what's your connection to me?" He asked the Konoha ninja with slight longing in his tone, their eyes widening as he acknowledged that he had some connection with them.
"Naruto, it's us! It's your family, don't you remember us?" Kakashi called out to him, Naruto giving him an eerily familiar blank look before shaking his head in the negative.
"I... I don't have any memories of my past... I woke up a few years ago in a river, and that's as far back as my memories go." He told the group using a mixture of lies and truths, the eyes of the Konoha ninja widening at the piece of information.
"Amnesia...? You've got amnesia Naru-nii?" Narumi asked in a hopeful manner, praying that what he said was true as it would mean that his memories weren't lost.
"Enough!" Orochimaru shouted in a mixture of irritation and anger, the heads of everyone snapping to him as he glared in a harsh manner at Naruto.
"It's impossible that our Naruto is alive. You've all heard it from Tsunade, she was the one who performed his autopsy and confirmed that it truly was Naruto that we buried that day. I'm sorry everyone, but that man over there isn't our Naruto. He was buried in Konoha years ago because of our mistakes." Orochimaru said in a heated tone, though it gradually turned somber and self loathing near the end.
"Orochimaru is right everyone. As hard as it is to accept it, our Naruto is gone. While that man over there looks like him, eerily so, he's not him." Jiraiya added as the tension in his body left, his form slacking as he seemed to age a few years right before their eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept that." Minato whispered as he disappeared and reappeared in a flash of yellow beside Kushina and Naruto, his eyes shining with a determination and hope they had not seen in years.
"Kushina was right when she said it. There's no words to describe the feeling that we're experiencing right now, but I can assure you all of this; this is our Naruto. This young man is my son, I'm willing to bet my life on it." Minato said in an equally determined tone, Naruto wincing once more as another wave of pain rattled his mind at the tone of the man before him.
The tension in the room reaching its peak, Naruto finally had enough of the faint traces and hints of familiarity and nostalgia as he let out an irritated sigh. The action catching the attention of everyone in the room, he glanced around and resisted the urge to remark on what exactly it was about each of them that caused the sensations of nostalgia and opted to reconsider the situation. No doubt the others of their group would be on their way to the hostel, not to mention the amount of guests still residing there from the abrupt invasion attempt.
"Could you all please keep it quiet? I'm not exactly in the best of moods right now and we're with a lot of injured people who need rest." Naruto told them with an exhausted tone, the group blinking in surprise when he addressed them before nodding their heads slowly in understanding.
"If you don't mind, could you all contact your friends and get them to come here? Filling out all the paperwork at once would be a lot easier then doing it in a fractured manner." He asked of them, the group blinking once more before slowly nodding and doing what they were asked as Minato vanished in another flash of yellow.
With that done, Naruto gave them one more glance before giving them a tiny smile while moving out of the room to the kitchen. Taking note of their euphoric and shining expressions at the tiny but reassuring gesture, he took a few calming breaths to steady his heart and mind as he ran through another set of possible scenarios that could play out in the coming moments. But before he was finished, two missiles collided with him, Naru and Hisako snuggling into him as he felt his tension and fatigue leave. Smiling softly, he gently embraced them as they snuggled deeper into his chest.
"It's fine you two, everything's alright." He reported as he gave them a reassuring squeeze to ease their rattled hearts, the two nodding their heads in acknowledgement.
"Come'on why don't the two of you get some sleep? I can take care of things from here on out, so you don't need to worry." He asked as they predictably shook their heads in the negative, Naruto sighing a bit but with a gentle smile as he shook his head at their actions.
(Scene Change - Taiyo no Kuni: Minato's Position)
"I-It can't be possible... Can it? No! I... I need to make sure..." Minato whispered to himself as he mentally prepped himself for what he was about to do.
Creating a few clones, he had them flash back home to Konoha in order to carry out a rather disturbing mission. Seeing as the young man he had just met was his son with an aged appearance, he had to be one hundred percent certain that the man he was assuming and hoping to be his son really was who he thought he was. In order to confirm that, Minato had steeled himself for opening up the grave of his son. If his body wasn't there, then there was a chance, a possibility for what he was hoping and praying to be true would be in fact, reality.
"Kami-sama, please let this be true..." He prayed as he flashed to the location of his family, his resolving both steeling and wavering as he ran a number of possible scenarios in his head.
(Time Skip - A Few Minutes Later)
(Scene Change - Kyuukai Hostel: Eastern Wing - Soundproofed Private Room)
Arriving with the rest of the Konoha group in front of the Kyuukai Hostel, Minato ignored the awed and astounded looks that his friends and their families were giving the building in favor of who it was that was still inside. Quickly ushering them inside, he was getting strange looks from the others as they found his behavior rather hurried and happier in contrast to his normal self. About to ask, they were a bit surprised when they saw that it wasn't just him but the rest of his family as they were sitting around a beautiful room without even admiring the ornate and impressive decor. Instead, they were fractured into two different groups; one with euphoric and shining expressions on their faces while the three Sannin were warily glancing around the room. About to ask, their mouths were slammed shut as their eyes widened to comical proportions when an extremely familiar blonde entered from the same doorway they did.
"N-N-Naruto...?!" Zabuza shouted in complete shock, his eyes wide with disbelief as he took in the aged appearance of the boy turned young man he thought of as a son.
"N-No way, h-how is that possible?" Anko asked to no one in particular, the shock of seeing someone they had all seen buried affecting them all in a myriad of ways.
"Is this your entire group? I'm guessing you'll all want to stay the night, right?" Naruto asked Minato, the older blonde flinching before inclining his head softly.
"We're a bit packed because of what happened with the village nearby, I hope this room is comfortable enough for you all." Naruto told them in an apologetic tone, causing the Uzumaki-Namikaze family to flinch a bit with how heartfelt his tone was.
"Y-Yeah, this is fine." He replied in a shaky tone, a bit stunned by how hospitable the blonde was when dealing with them as guests.
"Alright then, I'll get some bedding for all of you. Dinner is already over, but I can prepare you all something if you're feeling hungry." Naruto offered in a polite manner, getting minor negative shakes of the head in return for his offer.
Seeing their bewildered expressions, he couldn't blame them for their lack of enthusiasm; after all for many of them they were looking at what was essentially the walking and talking dead. Looking at the faces of his old friends up close, he felt his gaze soften and his heart ache as their stricken and disbelieving expressions. His gaze meeting with Haku's, he was a bit taken back by how beautiful she had become over the course of the past few years. While he had seen her a while back, he was more focused on dealing with Kakuzu and Hidan to observe her for more then a second. Now that he was observing her from close-up, he was a bit taken back by the sheer beauty that she held.
Quickly shifting his gaze before herself or Zabuza caught him staring, he scanned the faces of his old friends and found that it wasn't only Haku but Satsuki and Yakumo who's beauty grew as they did. When he glanced at Zabuza and Anko, he surprised when he saw the matching rings on their hands and the curious eyed child nestled in Anko's arms. Though, that surprise melted into happiness and blessings for the two; the two of them being a rather fitting and cute couple.
"Then I'll leave you be for now. If you require anything else, please don't be shy." He said as he bowed his head in a cordial manner, the restraint on a few of those in the room finally shattering as they all but attacked him.
In a rapid surge of movement, Satsuki, Haku and Yakumo had practically tackled the blonde once he turned his back on them. A noise of surprise leaving his mouth at the sudden impact, the blonde and the three young ladies clinging onto his back fell to the ground in a rather ungraceful manner. A bit irked by the sudden tackle, he turned and was about to reprimand the ones responsible only for the words to die in his throat. The three young ladies clinging to him had pearl-like tears falling from their eyes as they did their best to avoid appearing weak in front of the blonde, though the small and sporadic shakes of their bodies spoke volumes about what they were truly feeling.
"Hey...? Are you alright?" He asked in a soft and gentle tone, wincing a bit at how weak he sounded though he felt that the feelings of the three latched onto him were much more important then his petty pride.
"A-Are we a-alright? Are we alright?! You idiot!" Satsuki shouted as she moved to slug the blonde on the jaw, though it ended up as a rather impactful slap more then anything else.
"A-All this time, all this time we thought you had died! Y-You're the absolute worst!" Yakumo shouted at him as she slapped him as well, both of his cheeks now sporting matching red slap marks as the other men in the room winced at the scene.
"You're not getting out of this without feeling the pain we all felt from the past five years, Naruto-kun." Haku told him in a frigid tone, her eyes as sharp and cold as the ice that she used.
But that facade was shattered like the finest pane of glass when Haku leaned forward and claimed the lips of the man she loved. While the jaws and eyes of everyone else in the room dropped and widened, Haku ignored them in favor of savoring the feeling of the very same lips that took her first kiss. The impossibility of seeing one who was considered dead was thrown out of Haku's mind as soon as she locked eyes with the blonde she was kissing. While he was able to fool everyone else, even herself to a minor degree, there were some things that a man just couldn't hide from a woman. The softness and nostalgia lurking in his gaze was one of those tiny things that he wasn't able to hide from Haku's eyes.
"I'm never letting go of you ever again, Baka." She whispered after parting from their brief kiss, the strangled sounds escaping from the mouths of the others in the room being all that was able to be heard.
"W-What...? What? WHAT?! Y-You! You! You tramp!" Satsuki screamed as she forcibly pried Naruto away from Haku's "thieving" arms and into her own, instantly crimson with both rage and jealousy as she stammered a reply to the bold act committed by her friend.
"Y-You can't just kiss someone outta nowhere! Y-You were supposed to slap him like Yakumo and I did! T-That's just cheating! You just made Yakumo and I look like we hate him or something!" She continued with a deepening blush on her face, Haku blinking a bit before a rather haughty smirk slowly spread across her face.
"Oh? I didn't tell you two to slap my Naruto-kun now did I Satsuki? That was all on your ends, I for one just wanted to let him know that he still held my heart." Haku said in an innocent tone, though the smugness underneath could be heard in spades.
"Y-Y-You...!?" Yakumo stammered out with a crimson face, unable to properly articulate the words that raged around in her mind at her friend's "betrayal".
But Yakumo's thoughts about Haku being a thieving cat were trounced by the same thoughts of her best friend when Satsuki gave Naruto a demure but no less loving kiss of her own, the Uchiha moaning softly as she felt warmth and security unlike anything she had experienced in the past. If the jaws of the others present were on the ground, they were now falling into the earth as they witnessed not one but two of Konoha's "Ice Princesses" in a row. That notion was once again shattered when Yakumo forcibly pried Satsuki away and gently planted her lips on the blonde, a shiver running down her spine from the jolt of pleasure that resulted from the contact.
As Yakumo was about to make the kiss she was sharing with Naruto a bit deeper, she was pried off by her embarrassed and angry faced best friends. The three of them quickly falling into a nostalgic scene of three maidens in love fighting for the man they love, they were ignorant of the incredulous stares of their family. Yakumo's parents having large smiles on their faces as they chuckled about their daughter's love. Zabuza and Anko having knowing and happy smiles on their faces as they watched Haku glow with happiness and radiance that she had lost years ago. The Uchiha family just staring in complete and utter shock at their daughter's rather bold and out of character action; Itachi, Fugaku and Sasuke's brows twitching with barely controlled restraint as they watched her shower Naruto with love and affection.
However, the familiar scene of romantic comedy came to an end when Naruto finally snapped out of his stupor and shook his head in a mix of embarrassment and irritation. When he was a bit happy that they still felt so strongly about him, he forcibly crushed that feeling when he remembered what he had done, or not done rather. Seeing as he made zero effort to contact them or ease their guilt and worries about his apparent death, he had no right to be loved by them as much as he was. Taking advantage of their bickering, he slipped out from under them before standing a safe distance away. The action catching the attention of the three and their families, they narrowed their eyes at him as he winced a bit at the danger and challenge that was present in them.
"Oh~? And where do you think you're going, Na~Ru~To-kun?" Haku asked in a syrupy sweet sing-song tone, many of the men in the room cringing at the danger her tone presented for the blonde.
"I've got to ask the three of you something." The blonde said in a serious tone, the mood of the room dropping as the three young ladies stiffened immensely before nodding slowly.
"Do you three kiss anyone named Naruto? Or am I just an exception?" He asked the three, the young ladies quickly flinching like he imagined that they would.
"What are you talking about you idiot! Do you really think I wouldn't recognize the person I lov- I-I mean, the p-person I've spent a lot of time with?!" Satsuki told the blonde, many either smiling knowingly or frowning at the slip of her tongue.
"She's right, Naruto-kun. Do you think we're the kind of ladies who would happily kiss anyone with your name?" Yakumo asked in a slightly offended tone, though there was a hint of something that Naruto picked up on but was unable to identify.
Internally grimacing a bit from the ironclad looks of certainty that they were giving him, Naruto was a bit hesitant about his next move; his old friends certainly not giving him any leeway though they weren't even sure that he was the person that they buried all those years ago. About to speak, he paused when the three Sannin stepped between himself and the group. Narrowing his eye at them when he saw their own narrowed expressions, he readied himself for anything that they might try to throw at them.
"No matter that anyone else says, there's just no way you're Naruto." Jiraiya stated in a stern tone, his eyes reflecting it though there was a hint of hope hidden underneath it.
"There only possible explanations I have for this is one of two things: one involves Hiruko and the possibility of cloning. The other... I'd rather not think about it happening to someone I should have been watching over." Orochimaru said in a solemn tone, grimacing a bit when he thought about the Kinjutsu involving his godson.
"Even if by some miracle or calamity you happen to have the same physical makeup and DNA that our Naruto had, you wouldn't be him. Can you really be someone we knew when you have none of the memories they did?" Tsunade said in a terse tone, the others perking at her statement as they mulled over the question.
But their thoughts were broken when the door to the room opened up, Hisako and Naru heading inside with a small tray of snacks. A bit surprised at the tense atmosphere, Hisako and Naru quickly brushed it aside when they felt something nip at their instincts as women. Narrowing their eyes, they made their way towards Naruto before snuggling up tightly against him. Their action causing the eyes of the young ladies who also held affections for him to narrow dangerously, they were about to speak out only to stop when Naruto did.
"Well, I'll tell you that I'm not the same Naruto that you are all talking about. Who I am and who I used to be, they're two completely different people. I'm sorry, but I can hardly remember any of you." He said in an exhausted tone, though he immediately cursed himself to high hell when he realized his complete and utter idiotic slip of his tongue.
Panic setting in, he was about to speak out only to freeze when he saw the disbelieving and reassured looks from his old friends from Konoha. Tears now welling up in the eyes of the ones who were skeptical about his person, he released an exhausted sigh as shook his head bitterly at the major mistake on his part. The action causing his two new family members to look at him with concern in their eyes, they turned towards the Konoha ninja before giving them all a glare; even the soft spoken and well mannered Hisako gave the group a rather unsettling glare, many of them feeling "something" emanate from her person.
"L-Let's go Naruto. I can set up their sleeping arrangements, you go get some sleep." Hisako said in a soft and loving tone while leaning her head against his chest, many of the girls flinching with wide eyes at the way she was so intimately interacting with the blonde.
"Hisako-san is right Onii-chan... We can finish things up, then we'll come to bed." Naru said in a comforting tone, squeezing his arm reassuringly as she nuzzled against his arm as the distress on the faces of the others increased.
The situation taking a steep turn for the worst, Naruto could only curse himself to oblivion for possibly the largest mistake he's made in his life. The mixture of exhaustion, stress and panic having caused the slip up, Naruto could only accept the fact that he wasn't going to break out of the situation as it stood. Releasing another sigh, he steeled himself for the oncoming storm of questioning, tackles, hugs, kisses, attacks and whatever else they had in store for him. His thoughts and posture being read by the young ladies closest to him, both Naru and Hisako adopted protective and rather threatening positions while still embracing the blonde. For the Konoha ninja, they all felt the pressure emanating from the two; the hazy manifestations of two disturbing creatures appearing behind the two deterring all attempts at apprehending the blonde.
"This is Naruto, Naru and my home, this is our home and we're a family. I won't let anyone take my Naruto away from me and Naru, even if they really are his old friends." Hisako thought with a determined mindset, a faint glow of silver hidden behind her bandaged eyes.
"This is my new home, Hisako and Onii-chan are my new family. I won't let these people break my family apart." Naru thought with vicious intent, her pupils dilating as she slowly began to exude killing intent at the group.
"What gives you two the right to stop us from being with our son!?" Kushina shouted at them in anger, her eyes now glowing a similar color as her own locks.
"O-Onii-chan?! Naruto-nii is MY nii-chan! Not yours, you imitation imouto knockoff!" Mito shouted at Naru in blind rage, Naru's eyes darkening even more as her killing intent doubled the instant those words left the redhead's mouth.
"She's right! He's OUR brother, not yours you fake!" Narumi added on in anger, snarling at Naru along with her elder sister as Naru's mouth twitched a bit before turning down slightly.
"Let go of him you floozies! He's not yours!" Haku shouted at them in a mix of anger and jealousy, the rage in her voice reflected in her eyes.
"Oh? And you think he's yours?! He's not yours either, Haku!" Satsuki shouted at her best friend, Haku turning her burning glare into an icy one when it locked onto the Uchiha.
"Fighting like two girls over a stuffed toy, no wonder Naruto-kun would never see either of you as someone to take care of." Yakumo quipped as an offhand insult to the two, both of them turning to snarl at her as she looked away.
"You two brats! Let go of my future son-in-law!" Anko and Zabuza shouted in tandem, Ruto laughing loudly at the energy that was filling the room.
"S-S-Son-in-Law!? You've never brought that up with us Zabuza!" Minato told the man, Zabuza wincing as he felt Fugaku and Murakumo's gazes fall onto him.
"Your son-in-law? Surely Naruto-kun would be more fit as a son to my family, Zabuza." Fugaku said in a knowing tone, the eyes of nearly everyone widening as they heard him actually approve of someone to marry his beloved daughter.
"I disagree, Naruto-kun and my daughter would make a far more attractive couple." Murakumo quipped as he nodded his head in agreement, the stares of everyone intensifying as the stakes rose.
"W-What?! Why is Nii-san so popular with all the ladies?!" Menma asked loudly to no one in particular, in complete disbelief that his older brother was such a ladies' man despite his behavior.
"This... I'm not sure I can find the correct words to use..." Hiashi said in a confused manner, his family mirroring his state of mind given that they weren't particularly close with the blonde even before his death.
"Naruto-san is alive...!" Hanabi whispered in a soft tone, her cheeks coloring a bit as she admitted to herself that he looked a bit different then what she imagined he look like in her dreams.
"I-It's a miracle! I-I'm not dreaming or anything, right?" Kakashi asked himself as he unveiled his Sharingan to ensure that it wasn't a genjutsu or some form of trickery that he was seeing.
"Naruto-kun... I'm so glad..." Shizune whispered to herself in a relieved manner, wiping away a few tears as she giggled happily at the scene playing out before her.
Soon, more and more squabbles between the people gathered in the room rose as they slowly became comfortable and accepted the idea that it was indeed their Naruto that was standing before them. Though, the Sannin were still skeptical about the entire situation if their wary gazes were anything to go off on. For Naruto, the blonde in question was doing all he could to restrain the irritation that was slowly bubbling to the surface, the only thing really helping to restrain it being the silverette clinging onto him. Taking another deep breath, he released it before finally deciding to speak his mind.
"Enough!" Naruto said in an extremely irritated tone, catching the attention of everyone present as they stiffened before snapping to face him.
"That's quite enough bickering and slander. You can continue this tomorrow, but for now, get ready for bed." Naruto all but ordered, everyone quickly stiffening up before nodding to him in confirmation of his orders.
Shaking his head, Naruto moved to the side of the room where the closet laid before opening it up. Once open, it was revealed to contain a large number of rolls, blankets, pillows and futons for the guests situated in the room. Quickly setting up the room with the help of a smiling Hisako and Naru, the three had the room set up for the Konoha ninja in three minutes.
Giving his helpers a small smile of gratitude, Naruto gave the ninja one last warning look before heading out of the room. As he left, Hisako followed quickly behind but not before giving her guests a bit of a tense bow and smile, Naru following suit but only with a small bow. As the trio left them alone, the Konoha ninja finally broke from their stupor before the realization of what had just happened hit them.
"...I still don't think that man is our Naruto..." Jiraiya said in a quiet tone, the others turning to face him with varying expressions on their faces.
"This... This is rather peculiar... Being able to fake one's death is one thing, but faking one's own death and fooling the likes of Tsunade? It's just surreal, I'm not sure what to believe." Orochimaru said under his breath, trying to find a logical and reasonable answer as to how his godson was able to stage his own death.
"I need sake... None of this is making any sense to me..." Tsunade muttered in a drained manner, still trying to wrap her mind around what had just been revealed to her and the others.
"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade... I know that it seems impossible, but I know for a fact that that young man is my Naruto, my son." Minato said in a confident but solemn tone, the others turning to face him at his declaration.
"How are you so sure Minato-kun?" Orochimaru asked in an inquisitive tone, everyone quickly growing both curious and tense when they saw him grimace.
"I... I checked Naruto's grave on our property..." He started before trailing off, many eyes widening at the horrible and rather rushed reasoning for desecrating the grave of someone so close to them.
"You did what...?" Kushina asked in a quiet tone, her body trembling and feeling numb from the words that just left her husband's mouth.
"What did you find? If it was in vain..." Tsunade trailed off in a stern tone, Minato's expression quickly shifting from solemn to serious as he heard her question.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No smell, no remains, nothing." He reported as their eyes widened even more, the medical ninja in particular as they knew that even after years of decomposition there had to be some residue remaining.
"Impossible... Then that's really...?" The three Sannin trailed off, their eyes widening as they turned to face the direction that the blonde had left with the two young ladies.
"Yes, now I'm one hundred percent certain. That's our Naruto." Minato said in a joyous tone as he flashed them all a brilliant smile unlike anything they had seen in the past few years.
(Scene Change - Unknown Location: Research Command Center)
"H-Hiruko-sama! W-We've done it! A subject has managed to remain sane after being exposed to that liquid!" An eager scientist reported to the silver haired man situated before a large monitor, a sinister smile creeping over his face as he stared at the statistics and reading laying about the screen.
"Ho? Is that so? What are the results of the subject's physical and mental evaluations?" Hiruko asked the scientist, the man quickly pulling up a number of charts and graphs on the monitor before the bandaged man.
"From previous experiments and situations, being under the influence of that liquid increases the infected subject's physical attributes to the heights we've only dreamed of. The mental states of the subjects however... They are at best, suffering in the most horrific manner imaginable." They reported in a professional tone, though a bit of guilt and pity could be heard underneath.
"Interesting... Pull of the live feed, I want to see the condition of the subject." Hiruko ordered as the younger man nodded, quickly hitting a button as a video of a purple shrouded man appeared.
(Scene Change - Unknown Location: Experimentation Area)
"Guhhhh... M-Make it stop... T-The pain... M-Make it STOP!" The man roared as a number of discolored bones suddenly protruded from his body, the man covered in a familiar looking black marking as he held his head in agony.
Still clutching his head as he felt like it was going to split at a moment's notice, the pale man stumbled about the testing chamber as he tried to ease the agony that was coursing through his body. Banging his head against the wall in a futile attempt to divert the pain he was feeling internally, externally, the man only caused his pain to multiply as the bones protruding from his body started to corrode and change. Moaning and groaning in agony, he fell against the wall before sinking down it; being unable to stand the agony coursing through his body any longer.
"P-Please... H-Hiruko-sama... Make the pain stop..." He pleaded in an agonized and desperate tone, moving his hands from clutching his head to holding his chest as the pain started to echo from his core.
(Scene Change - Unknown Location: Research Command Center)
"It appears that Kimimaro-kun is the only subject that survived being exposed and infected. The others, myself included, believe that it has something to do with either having a Kekkei Genkai or being mark with your seal Hiruko-sama." The man reported as Hiruko nodded his head, a rather sinister smile sprawling across his face as he contemplated the possible uses for this new discovery.
"I want you all to confirm this. If you can prove to me, without fail, that those with my seal or with a Kekkei Genkai are able to resist being destroyed by that Virus, I want to harness that power for myself." Hiruko stated as the scientist's eyes widened at the statement.
"M-My lord! T-That's far too dangerous!" He said as Hiruko simply shook his head in amusement, clearly underestimating what he was dealing with.
"Do not worry. I will not succumb to some infection." Hiruko stated with absolute conviction, a power-hungry grin on his face as he contemplated the uses for his eventual new power.
"R-Right, I'm sorry for his my disrespect!" The man apologized while bowing deeply, Hiruko shaking his head as he moved out of the room.
"In the meantime, set Kimimaro out to hunt for the Akatsuki. They've become far too powerful to ignore now." Hiruko ordered as the man nodded his head, moving to relay the orders to the guards beside Kimimaro's testing chamber.
"Once I have this Virus under my command, nothing will stand in my way..." Hiruko muttered in a sinister tone as he headed into his private chamber, already planning for the oncoming future.
(Scene Change - Tower of God: Peak)
"It appears that the time for action has come... What will you do Naruto-kun? Who's side will you fight for and what is it that you will fight for? Even I cannot see that in the future..." White asked himself as he gazed off into the distance, a bit interested in what the blonde he had met a short while ago was going to be involved in.
And that's a wrap guys, tell me that you think alright? Again, kinda a weird chapter and all that jazz. Didn't really dig how it came out all that much but eh, what're you gonna do. So what the heck is gonna happen now?! The gang is together all under the same roof! Is blood gonna finally spill? Are tears going to be wept like a waterfall? Are even more kisses going to be stolen? What's gonna happen between the original siblings and the Naru? Will Hisako assert her dominance even more? Is Kimimaro truly in control of the Virus? What the heck is Hiruko planning on doin' with the Virus? Can White see the future? Or is he merely predicting what will happen? Oh my goodness, there's way too much going on. Haha, well you kinda get the point right? Stuff is gonna hit the fan even more, and I hope it isn't too messy. And again, check out the poll on my profile. Guess who's getting a One-Shot! Haha, I kidd, I kidd. That's for another time. Again, I really do enjoy reading your PM's and Reviews, so leave a few for me, eh? So yeah, I hope it was enjoyable for you all to read. And you know the drill, right? Till next time, you all stay awesome.