A/N
Well, this is probably the last chapter until the weekend. Something has come up, a good thing, that will be taking most of my time. Thankfully I should have time on the weekends to continue this...thing. Thank you for the encouraging comments. See you when I get a break.
A/N
Who is Naruto? That question had been overtaking my mind since I first met him. The reports had him as foolish and weak, yet any experienced jonin could see the soft power rolling beneath him. A lesser shinobi would credit the fearsome Nine-tailed fox for this, however, I know differently. That power, so warm yet full of pain was completely his.
His words reached deep into the subconscious, poking, and prodding your emotions until you feel what he wants. The first time he spoke to me I felt as though the universe were just the tiniest bit brighter, in reaction I tried to dispel whatever genjutsu he had placed on me. There were none to dispel.
That fighting technique, one I recognized but couldn't pinpoint, made him equally as dangerous on the field. Alone he was no match for me, but after Sasuke and Sakura began to help that changed. His movements seemed to perfectly fit between them, filling the gaps they unconsciously left behind. They won.
Other than that you could say he was normal. His voice was a little louder than most, likely caused by his incessant screams that he would be Hokage. He enjoyed spending time with his team and others. Honestly, I nearly threw away my doubts, then he showed another facet of himself. For the first time since I met him I felt hate. He abhorred someone he had seen within the Hokage Tower, as of now I haven't pinpointed who. Although I do have a few suspects, the primary ones being the secretary, a random old woman I had never seen before or one of the elders. They were the only ones there while we were, but none of them acknowledged our existence then and none of them have been there while we have since then.
What had happened to make Naruto hate someone? As far as I was aware no one had ever truly harmed the boy, at least not physically. It could have been emotional but I've seen his reaction to the villagers, none seem to phase him. So, in the end, I asked him.
"Naruto," I called to him as his teammates walked away. He turned those powerful eyes on me and I felt the effect immediately. I knew his confusion as well as I did my own and for a moment I forgot that I was the one questioning him. "Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer."
His confusion only grew with mine, until at once the confusion was gone, replaced by smoldering curiosity.
"Do you hate someone?" I asked. All of a sudden I had the urge to laugh, to throw my head back at the utter ignorance of that question.
"Of course I hate someone," He answered me, a broad smile stretching across his face. "Why shouldn't I?"
"It's just, you always seem so happy."
"Of course, usually I'm surrounded by precious people!" He exclaimed in joy. "I'm able to see what I have and what I give others. You could too if you stopped staring at names all day."
He left after that leaving me stunned. Frozen and pondering. Was he right? Is my mourning actually helping me be happy? No, it isn't but I don't deserve to be happy. Not after I let my family die.
My feet dragged me to my weeping place. A stone monument, created to hold the names of fallen heroes. The ones who gave their lives in service of a village that would only forget them, but I refused to lose them here too. My dark eye traced over Obito Uchiha's name as it had a million times before, but for the first time, he wasn't waiting for me.
His childish body did not appear in my mind's eye. There were no hues of blue and orange. No goggles staring up at me from his shorter height. He was gone, completely.
In fear I looked to Rin Nohara, trying once more to summon my ghosts. She did not come either. Instead in her place was a pink-haired girl with ivy green eyes. A red dress that accented her hair covered her instead of the dark blouse of Rin.
My eyes once more shifted, running along the characters of the greatest hero of the leaf and his fiery wife. Where they once came to berate me were Asuma and Kurenai. A gentle green giant standing behind the group with his signature.
"Kakashi!" They all cheered at once, a symphony of baritones and alto. Then more voices joined in until there were dozens of people surrounding me. All of them happy at the sight of the Copy-cat nin. Directly behind me stood an orange-clad boy, blue eyes blazing with his infinite kindness. Then his arms wrapped around my legs, a sudden flare of warmth racing throughout me. The others smiled at the scene before fading into me, each a segment of warmth.
My hand rested atop my blonde student's head, a small form of gratitude. It was this day that I would begin to see more than the ghosts of my past, all thanks to one strange child.