A/N There is a additional warning for this chapter (Scroll the very end if you want to know- but it will spoiler the story)
Kakashi was nervous. Very nervous. He wanted to meet Naruto, but he had no idea how to do it. How did you approach a kid that should have been your younger brother? Confused and very worried by that question he went and cornered the only person who could probably tell him what to do. "Yo. Weasel. I need your help."
The young ANBU turned around. "Yes, captain?"
"You've got a younger brother, right?", Kakashi asked, curiously leaning in.
"…I do.", Weasel replied slowly. "Why are you asking, captain?"
"Well...", Kakashi scratched his head. "I know this one kid that's kind of my younger brother…"
Weasel hummed. "You are talking about Uzumaki Naruto, correct?"
"...Am I that obvious?"
"Yes.", Weasel answered immediately. "If I remember correctly you were threatening to decapitate the vendor who threw a rotten tomato at him."
"Ah…", Kakashi replied sheepishly. "That might have been a bit-"
"I approve.", Weasel interrupted him.
Kakashi blinked. "You…approve?"
"Yes.", Weasel agreed calmly. "It's the duty of the older brother to protect the younger one. Any threat towards the younger one's safety should be removed resolutely and without mercy."
"I see.", Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. That really made sense. "Any tips on how to interact with Naruto? I am about to meet him for the first time."
Weasel tilted his head. "I can tell you how I usually interact with my younger brother."
Kakashi pulled out his notebook, attentively listening to Weasel ratter of an entire set of instructions.
"...and don't forget to poke him.", the young ANBU finally finished.
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and closed his book. "Thanks, Itachi."
"Hn."
"Rise and shine, Hare!"
Naruto glared at the overly cheerful ANBU. It was a mystery to him how Parrot could be so chipper every morning.
"That's Parrot for you.", Badger remarked off-handedly, correctly interpreting the boy's glare.
"So what are we learning today?", the over-excited Parrot ANBU asked their captain.
Lion rolled his eyes behind his mask.
"Oh! I know it!", Owl answered, waving his hand. "It's shunshin!"
He threw his arm around Naruto's shoulder. "That means you get to spent lots of time with me today!"
"Yay!", Naruto yelled, honestly happy and twisted around to hug him.
"There is something I wish to teach you.", Tobirama told Naruto after Team Ke had waved him goodbye.
"What is it, sensei?", Naruto asked curiously.
The Nidaime turned to look at him. "I wish to teach you how to utilize chakra pressure. But before I can do that, we will have to look at Barrier techniques. The ledge is protected against chakra leakage, but you will need to learn how to set up secure places on your own. We will start with a simple silencing barrier and move up from that."
"I am going to learn how to make secret hideouts?!", Naruto was excited.
"Yes.", Tobirama confirmed calmly. "Now calm yourself and concentrate. We are starting."
"Yes, sensei.", Naruto answered and settled down.
The Nidaime started to pace up and down in front of him. A habit he had when he was about to start a long lecture.
"Barrier techniques require a lot of concentration and precision. Some people are under the wrong impression that they can casually throw up a barrier during a battle whenever they want, but that is not advisable.", the Second paused to let his words sink in. "While you are upholding your barrier, you are limited in your ability to move and react because your entire concentration will be focused on maintaining the barrier. It might work during a one-on-one fight, but once you are fighting multiple opponents, it is a very bad decision."
Tobirama stopped to reaffirm his student's attention, before continuing. "Because of this most barriers are better suited to covering areas instead of people and prepared before the battle begins – you can achieve that in conjunction with seals."
"Like the one covering the ledge?", Naruto interjected.
The Nidaime nodded. "Yes. The pendent you made to train your chakra was something our father gave to us when we first started to train. My brother and I later developed a barrier that would use those pendants as a means to open it."
"So I am going to have to learn sealing, too?", Naruto asked.
"If you wish to use barriers effectively.", the Second replied. He fixed Naruto with a considering look. "It might interest you that this is your legacy, too."
Naruto perked up. "My legacy?"
"The Uzumaki clan used to be very proficient seal masters. My brother's wife, Uzumaki Mito was very talented. I have learned quite a lot from her."
"There is an Uzumaki clan?", Naruto asked excitedly and jumped up. "A real clan?! Where are they?! Why haven't I met anyone?"
"I am not sure.", the Nidaime replied honestly, sounding very displeased by this admission. "I am not aware of anything that transpired after my…death. I will have to remedy this as soon as possible."
Naruto nodded absently.
"Well, enough about that.", his teacher's stern voice yanked him back into reality. "We were talking about sealing. So the first thing you have to keep in mind is –"
Naruto threw a concerned look at his teacher. The man had acted strangely the last few days. He was lost in his thoughts way more often than usual and his gaze kept wandering towards the Hokage mountain.
But today he was looking especially sad. He had not even said a single word the entire morning, standing as still as a statue in front of the window, his gaze fixed on the monument.
Naruto was really starting to get worried. What was wrong with his teacher? Why did he seem so sad? So lost?
Was it connected to his brother? It had to be.
The young boy bit his lips in thought.
Senju Hashirama.
The Shodai Hokage.
He was forgetting something.
Something important.
Quietly Naruto ducked into his bedroom and grabbed his history book. He flipped hastily through the pages until he found the section about the first Hokage.
Quickly glancing over it, his attention fell on the small cross next to today's date.
Naruto dropped the book and ran back into the living room, throwing his arms around the unmoving man and squeezed. "I am sorry.", he whispered into the man's rigid back. "So sorry."
For a long moment the Second remained frozen before his posture relaxed slightly and the words fell from his lips, quietly and full of sorrow.
"It was a cold day like this. Hashirama and I had been called to the battlefield…"
"Hokage-sama!", the door to the office was thrown open and a panicked shinobi ran through the doors. "The barrier has been broken. The enemy has invaded the village!"
Hashirama jumped up, his face serious and his eyes burning with the intensity of thousand fires. "They will not take this village." His gaze turned towards his equally grim-looking brother. "Are you with me, brother?"
"Always.", Tobirama answered, not even pausing to think. There was no question about it. He would defend Konoha, defend his brother. Like he always had. Like he always would.
The First smiled, it was not a happy smile. It was sad and pained and it looked completely wrong on his usually cheerful face. "Good. Then let us go."
They left the Hokage tower and were greeted by a picture of death and destruction.
Fires were raging through the streets; people screaming in fear and pain among piles of broken stone.
A female body was slumped over a piece of debris, beneath her the lifeless shape of a young girl, sheltering her even in death.
The Shodai's eyes blazed with the need to protect, to end this needless carnage. He charged in, his black hair swirling behind him like a raging storm. Nature answered to his call as vines and trees sprouted out of the ground, closing around the attackers and crushing them.
Tobirama joined in as well, his sharp blazing figure only a blur on the battlefield, the force of his concerted chakra alone strong enough to bring his enemies to their knees.
"Hokage-sama!", a voice suddenly yelled. Tobirama whirled around because of the sheer panic in the caller's voice, eyes searching desperately for his brother.
He found him, at the end of the street, standing protectively in front of a young child.
Blood was seeping down his chest.
For a second Tobirama froze in horror. The time around him seemed to stop.
No. Not him. Not his brother. Not Hashirama.
He rushed forward, flashing to his fallen brother's side. "Hashi.", Tobirama murmured quietly, stroking over Hashirama 's face with a trembling hand... "You…"
"Shh…", his brother replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't have much time…I am sorry brother…sorry…I could not stay here longer…I'll leave Konoha to you, little brother."
"No.", Tobirama replied vehemently. "No! You cannot die Hashirama! I won't allow it!"
Hashirama smiled sadly. "I'll leave my dream to you, Nidaime Hokage."
His chest stilled.
For a moment Tobirama just stood there, his mind refusing to acknowledge that his brother had just died.
Then he rose, his brother's body carefully cradled against his chest, chakra crackling around him in cold fury.
The air around Tobirama condensed and became warm and dry.
Every Konoha-nin in the vicinity fled as water crashed against the remaining invaders, crushing them beneath a raging, all-devouring wave.
Naruto felt the tears trickling down his face as the Nidaime ended his tale with a broken voice. "Let's visit him.", he suggested suddenly. "Let's visit your brother."
The Second shifted slightly to look at him. "Visit him?", he repeated.
The child released him and gently grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the door. "His tree. Let's visit it."
Tobirama nodded slowly and allowed the young boy to lead the way.
The ghost watched as the child cheerfully chatted with his brother's tree.
"Your brother has been looking after me.", Naruto told the Shodai's wooden memorial. "He's really great. I think I'd be lost without him. He's been teaching me so many things.", the child waved his hands excitedly. "Really, he's totally awesome. Well, I guess you were totally awesome too, being his brother and all-"
Tobirama snorted, his heart warming even further towards the young child. Naruto was really precious. Hashirama would have loved him.
He was starting to love him.
"He's been missing you, you know? He's getting all sad and mopey whenever something reminds him of you."
Tobirama's eyebrow twitched. He was not mopey!
"…but he's getting better. I think he even made a joke some time ago. I didn't really get it, but it was a joke."
The tree's leaves rustled, it almost sounded like laughter. Tobirama crossed his arms and looked away.
"Well…anyways. I just wanted to tell you that he's okay. I promise I'll look after him. He's really important to me, you know."
Tobirama felt himself moving before he even realized what he was doing. His hand landed on the boy's shoulder and Naruto turned to look at him.
"You really are, jiji.", the boy told him seriously.
For a moment Tobirama stilled at the child's form of address, strange warring emotions running through him, before his gaze locked with Naruto's and warm blue eyes met a gentle red.
"You are important to me as well, Naruto.", the ghost admitted quietly and rested his hand on the child's head.
The cold air blew harshly around them, but neither boy nor ghost felt the icy bite of the first winter's eve.
A/N
This chapter is a bit shorter than usual. I did not want to take the impact from the last scene. It's too important for that and it did not feel right to prolong it.
Yamajiji Thanks :D Yeah, it's nice to see someone cares! And Naruto's gonna be great.
Azla Hashi Thank you. :D So that's how you found 'll I am glad. *xD* I don't usually write pairings.I think they take away too much attention
from the story. So I prefer writing and reading gen. Kakashi is going to have a lot of hilarious ideas, so you'll probably end up laughing at night more
often. Not sorry about that. *xD*
I don't mind your questions. Ask away :D But if you want to get an answer sooner, you're always welcome to ask as many questions as you want over at tumblr. (linewalkers .tumblr .com) *xD* So the answers:
1) Currently I still picture him with the white shirt and that red swirl on the front. I've seen him wear that on many kid pictures. But I am contemplating about giving him something related to both the First and the Second Hokage. I am open for ideas here.
2) Kakashi will turn up very often, I've yet to decide how big his role will be, I don't want to take away too much screentime from Tobirama and Naruto
3) I have currently not planned on summons yet. I think it might be overkill with Tobirama already around. But then some charas might be rather...insistent.
4) Maybe? ;-)
5) Well, at the current pacing I'd say it will take me quite a while to finish that story.
Guest Thank you! =) I am really happy to her that
theneed4beer corrected ;)
alharethabdelmonum "Now go forth and spread my benevolent name." *rpg out* There will be a scene in the future where the power-scaling of this fic will become very apparent.
Blu3b3rryT3a Well, that's Tobirama for you. *xD* And Kakashi really needs to learn what normal is. Ah the shadow, he was one of the dark omens foreshadowing things to come...Thanks for leaving those funny reviews. I really love them :D
Princess Hinashi Thank you! :D I don't want him to die either... :-/
Ahmed554777 Well, I thought Kitsune was overused and honestly, calling Naruto that when he's not supposed to know about his burden is really...illogical.
Yes, the upcoming plot will be very difficult to write and hopefully very different from everything all of you expect ;) I've currently no plans to include Sasuke and Sakura - there are so many other fics out there with them in it. And thanks for your beta offer, but I'm currently not looking for one. I'll keep you in mind, though!
Additional Warning: Battle Scenes, Character Death (mentioned in flashback)