Chapter 2:Memories

People from the Seam traveled on foot.

So Naruto had never even been in a horse and cart before. A car something completely new. But it didn't make any difference to him today as it would have any other day. He just sat silently in the back seat holding the mockingjay pin in his hand, twisting it around and watching it glint when the light caught it just right.

The train station was packed with cameramen flashing their fancy lenses in his face as he was escorted towards the open door of the train. He spotted Ino walking in the same direction who although clearly hadn't been crying, looked like she might start any second now. They had to stand side by side on the doorway of the train while the cameras focused on them for another minute, flashing as they took photos of them for every newspaper the Capitol provided. Then the door slid shut.

Naurto had never been on a train before either. Travelling between districts wasn't allowed, except transport goods to the Capitol like coal in their case. The speed of the engine was unbelievable. Shizune led them down the corridor and showed them both their own private compartments, which included a comfy bedroom with a dresser packed with fine clothes, and an attached bathroom with hot and cold running water. Unless they boiled it they never had hot water at home. He'd become used to cold baths. Their train was even more extravagant than the room in the Justice Building.

"Feel free to do what you like," Shizune said cheerfully before leaving him. "But be ready for dinner at six then I'll come and get you!"

Left alone to the silence of the room, Naruto fingered the pin in his hand again before setting it down on the dresser. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he stepped into the bathroom and began peeling his clothes off. He didn't bother folding anything; he just tossed it on the floor before stepping into the shower, turning the hot water on full blast. He'd never had a shower, they didn't have one at home. It was like summer rain, but warmer.

Then Naruto found himself pressed against the shower wall until he was sliding on the tiled floor, legs, tucked against his chest. Just thinking of summer rain made him think of home and that was what made the tears start streaming down his cheeks. Burying his face in his knees, he began to sob, finally able to let go in privacy. Home. The mines. The forest. Kiba. His mother, and Boruto. And Shino. What were they doing now? Sitting at home with the shutters tightly closed. Would they be able to eat or go to bed empty? Were they going to watch the recap on the battered old TV?

He just firmly told himself that whatever they were doing, it didn't matter now because he wasn't there with them. He just had to focus. Focus on getting home again. That was the most important thing. Though he knew that the odds weren't likely to end up in his favor anytime soon. He turned the shower off and dried himself off, furiously rubbing his hair until it was a tangled mess but all the moisture had been removed. Digging through the clothes provided for him, he put on a dark shirt and pants pinning the mockingjay onto his shirt and pulling his socks and boots back on. He brushed his hair a little and deemed himself ready. It was probably better not to look like a complete mess in front of everyone. Like a helpless and frightened child.

Shizune came back to take him to dinner leading him down the corridor to a compartment large table in the center covered with very breakable crockery. Ino was there already and Naruto sat down next to her, Shizune settling down on the other side of the table. That was when the serving began. The huge meal came in courses; vegetable soup and green salad, beef and a huge vat of potatoes and various sauces, fruit and chocolate cake. He never had chocolate ever. Naruto wanted to eat everything, and he figured he may as well put on some weight for the games. He and Ino both dived on the food, because they never saw so much available to them in their lives.

"It's good to see you two have table manners," Shizune said briskly as they ate the main course. "The two last years just gobbled down the entire meal with their hands. It was disgusting, really upset my digestion."

Naruto stopped eating, staring at her with wide eyes. Glancing at Ino, the girl looked back at him before turning to look at Shizune with unhappy eyes. "The tributes last year were from the Seam, like me," Naruto said coldly. He hated the Capitol. "Not once in their entire life, have they ever had enough to eat. I'm sure manners were the last thing on their minds."

"It's different for me," Ino added with a hard glare. "I'm not from the Seam, I never been as hungry as they have. You don't understand."

Without another word, as if some unspoken communication had passed between them, they resumed eating their food, finishing it off with their hands just to get to her. To add a little more, Naruto wiped his fingers slowly and deliberately off the tablecloth when he was finished Shizune pursed her lips together but said nothing. "So, where's Jiraiya?" Ino asked to fill the slightly awkward silence that came afterwards.

"Oh, who knows?" Shizune replied, seeming much more cheerful simply being reminded that Jiraiya wasn't here. "Sleeping, perhaps? Come now, we'll go watch the reaping."

They walked into another compartment and sat down, Naruto unable to help clutching his stomach. He wasn't used to such rich food, and especially not so much of it. Ino looked pretty similar to him at that moment, but he was determined to keep it all down. They turned the television on for the recap of the reaping. They carried it all out in one day, taping it live for the Capitol people to see, then they broadcasted a recap for the people of the districts who'd missed it. Naruto and Ino knew that this was important, because they would see their competition.

Naruto watched with careful and wary eyes, some tributes standing out more than others. Though he remembered each name, there were only a few who stood out in his mind. The tributes from 1 to 4 were always tall, broad and strong. They trained for the games, despite the fact that it meant to be illegal. He and Kiba had always called them the Careers. These were the districts where voluntary tributes were common. There was a girl with straight brown hair cut in a chin-length bob named Rin Something from District 1, who lunged forward to volunteer the second she could. A scary and spiteful spiky gray-haired form 3 called Hiden. The next thing he noticed was that form 5, 6, and 7 the female tribute all like weapons. Tribute 5 was a black hair with two Chinese style buns, tribute 6 were a flowing maroon colored hair, and there was a dark pink hair that fell past her shoulder. Naruto couldn't help thinking that it would be funny if they formed an alliance and called themselves The Kunoichi. Though it wouldn't be good for him.

Then what caught his attention was a small young boy from District 8, even younger than the one he'd barely glanced at from 6. He was short with pale skin and spiky black hair, and couldn't have been older than twelve years old. And nobody offered to take his place. He found himself indifferent to the next two districts, watching them walk up on the stage and thinking that they didn't look like much to worry about. Then came 11, which began with pink short hair and green eyes, a pretty girl, and ended with a tall boy, with pale skin and spiky black hair with a blue tint. He looked kind, and determined. And Naruto didn't know why he'd noticed.

They finally reached twelve. He saw Ino being chosen and taking her place on the stage, then the panic from his family as Shino's name was called out. He saw himself, sprinting towards Shino and pushing him to the side, and he realized for the first time that he really was a lot smaller. He saw Shino, screaming and begging them not to take him, and Kiba pulling him away. The commentators talking over the broadcast seemed lost for words when it came to the farewell gesture that replaced the applause. They were only talking about District 12 and it's strange customs when Jiraiya fell off the stage. Ino burst into laughter. "Oh, good old Jiraiya, always making his presence known!"

"I bet he's still drunk," Naruto said with a laugh. "He's drunk everyday."

The two tributes giggled next to each other, Shizune watching them disapproving. "I'm glad you two seem to find it so amusing!" she snapped. "Do you know what's really funny? Jiraiya is your mentor, your guide in the games, your key to gaining sponsors and supporters and could even be the life and death for you!" Right on cue Jiraiya stumbled into the room. "Brats, heel!" he slurred, before promptly throwing up all over the food and collapsing right into it almost comically.

Shizune hopped up and hurried out of the room in disgust. "It's very funny now isn't it?"

Jiraya was not half passed out, lying in the pool of vomit. Naruto stared at him, utterly repulsed. But he didn't want to leave him there, so he hopped up and grabbed him up a little. He started panting; immediately, the man was heavy. Ino rushed forward to help him; she was surprisingly strong, and soon they had him on his feet and helped him down the corridor.

They took him down to the compartment that they assumed was his, given his grumbling and struggling in that direction. "I can take him from here, if you'd like," Naruto offered, thinking Ino probably wouldn't enjoy stripping a well-built and scrubbing vomit from his chest hair.

"Don't be ridiculous." Ino replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure the last thing you want is some of our Capitol assistants coming to help."

And she was right so they both drugged Jiraiya into his bathroom, Naruto stripping his clothes off while Ino filled up the bath. They both managed to heft him into it, and Ino promptly grabbed him clean, while Naruto busied himself with washing the clothes on the other end of the tub. As he looked up at Ino, something about her soft blue eyes reminded him of Shino. He smiled to himself and went back to his work.

Ino was the baker's daughter, seventeen and the middle child of three. The baker was a kind man, thought the same couldn't really be said for his temperamental wife. He went to school with her, though he didn't even see her much because they were different ages and ate at different times. This was the reason for his friendship with Hinata; the two eating lunch alone had led to eating lunch together. However, they were both younger. Well, unforgettable for Naruto anyway.

It was the winter of his father's death. Naruto was cold, and hungry, stumbling along the snow-covered road alone. He came close to the bakery when the smell of bread was too much for him to resist. He was only ten, after all, and at that moment his rumbling stomach spoke louder than the rational side of his brain did. So to the bakery he went, the sky dark and the late evening air chilling him to the bone. However, the journey ended up being a little too much for his short legs to stand, and the back door of the bakery had barely come into view when he collapsed in the Yamanka's garden, shaking and too weak to get back up. He must have been seen, because only a moment later the back door opens and the smell of the bread wafted out of the lit up kitchen. Mrs. Yamanka stood there, scowling down at him. "Get out of here you little bagger, before I call the Peacekeepers on you!"

Then Naruto saw Ino standing behind her mother and watching him thoughtfully. Twelve years old, her blond hair framed the pale face that watched him so intensely before the door snapped shut, the garden going dark once again. Naruto shivered, pulling his oversized jacket tighter around him, though it did little to warm him up. He couldn't get up just yet; his legs needed the rest, so he stayed there in the snow for another minute or two. Then the door opened again, and Ino appeared at the door. Glancing behind her and clearly worried she would get caught, she tossed something across the garden towards Naruto. Two things, one after the other, before shutting the door again. Crawling forward a little and picking them up, Naruto hugged them close to his cheat with a happy little whimper, tears actually in his eyes. Two hot loaves of bread, slightly burnt but otherwise perfect.

After eating a bite or two himself, he took the loaves home. It was good bread, filled with nuts, raisins and seeds. It lasted them the next couple of days. But Naurto couldn't forget what Ino had done for him, so the next morning he went back down to the bakery, not to see if there was more available, but to thank her. However, when he got there, she was outside on the street, kicking a ball back and forth with some of her friends, and he didn't want to go any closer.

Then something happened that caught his attention. Ino kicked the ball, but sadly her aim was a little off and it smashed against the coal box outside the door.

With a crush, the coal all fell onto the ground. Ino started at it in horror, as did her friends. Beware the wrath of Mrs. Yamanka, even over insignificant things like this. And she came storming out holding a wooden spoon, the children knew the fate that awaited poor Ino.

"Did you do that?" Mrs. Yamanka screamed angrily at her daughter. "You did, didn't you? You little brat!" she grabbed Ino by the arm to haul her inside.

"No she didn't!" Naruto called to her, standing a little closer to the children gathered.

"Who did it, then?"

"It was me," Naruto said to her, trying to appear unafraid. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"Get away from my bakery! Seam vermin!" she screamed in rage, looking ready to snap him in half. But he knew she wouldn't hit him, because he wasn't her child. He glanced at Ino and saw her smile at him. He gave a tiny smile back before turning around and running off home. They were even now, or at least as even as they could be. Naruto had never forgotten that.

"Naruto? Are you ok?"

Naruto's head snapped up to look at Ino. "Sorry?"

Ino chuckled fondly, almost the way a mother would. "You completely zoned out, and I'm pretty sure those are clean by now."

"Yeah, they are. Sorry." Naruto picked the clothes up, wringing them out before draping them over the heated towel rack. "Need a hand getting him out of the tub?"

They heaved Jiraiya out onto the tiled floor, drying him off and ignoring his grumbling protests. Once that was done, they managed to tug his underwear on and get him into bed, throwing the covers over him and shutting off the light. However just as they were leaving they heard a murmured, "Thanks." before some painfully loud snores. They left the compartment and shut the door firmly after them. "Um, I think I'll go to bed too," Naruto said to Ino. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The drawers in Naruto's compartment contained a large selection of night clothes. But he just chose to take off his shirt and pants, tossing them on the floor and going to sleep in his underwear. But as he took off the mockingjay pin off the discarded shirt and held it in his hand, he walked into the bathroom and picked up the shirt he'd worn to the reaping, pulling it back on and buttoning it up. He was happier that way. He left the pin on the dresser and curled up in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. He felt like crying again, but he was just too tired. Tired of everything. For the second time, he wondered how Shino and the others were, before he drifted off into a restless sleep.

"Look at them, Kiba!" Shino cried, gesturing towards the TV screen where the reaping was shown. "Just look at them! They're all so tall, and strong...oh, for goodness sake, that guy looks like he's out for blood, and a lot of it, too."

Sitting in Kiba's house in front of the television set, Shino hid his face in his hands so none of the Inuzukas would see how close he was to tears. "Naruto doesn't belong there," he murmured. "He doesn't stand a chance."

Kiba sat down next to Shino, holding out a cup of tea for him to take. "Naruto is a lot more equipped for this than you would think, Shino. You don't hunt with him." he couldn't help smiling at the thought of those moments. "Have you ever seen him climb a tree? He's like a squirrel, I'm not kidding. He's fast too, and he knows how to hunt for food. Chances are a lot of them won't."

"He's naive, Kiba! He's sweet, and innocent, and he's going to let somebody get inside his head and take advantage of him! He's only a child!"

"Like he was when your father died?" Kiba questioned with a frown. "Surely you think he's grown a little since then, if not too much."

"He's still only young. I guarantee you he'll be one of the youngest and smallest tributes there. And that's a disadvantage to him."

Shino ran a hand through his messy dark brown hair, shutting his eyes. "I shouldn't have let him take my place…"

"You didn't have a choice-"

"I could have tried harder to stop them from taking him! They took him away from me, Kiba! I'm never going to see him again!"

When Shino stood up, grabbed his cane and hobbled away towards the door, Kiba left his family and hurried after him.

"So what, you're just gonna give up on him completely?" he demanded walking after him down the deserted road. "You don't have any faith in him?"

"It's not about that-"

"Yes it is, Shino! You don't believe he can get far, you don't think he's capable!"

"Of course I don't, he's my baby brother!"

"He's not a baby anymore, and hasn't been for years now! And you know what happened after the explosion!"

Suddenly Shino turned around and delivered a swift right hook to Kiba's jaw. "Don't you ever talk about that!" he shouted, eyes shining with tears. "Ever, do you hear?"

"Why not?" Kiba shouted back, a hand on his stinging face but not backing down even for a moment. That wasn't in his nature. "Because you can't get back at Danzo, is that it? Because you can't punch a Peacekeeper like you just did to me! Is that your problem, Uzumaki?"

Shino shook his head, turning away again. He realized he just didn't have the will to be angry anymore. "It's just another thing I couldn't protect him from," he said softly, knowing Kiba was next to him and could hear. "He had to face that on his own."

"He chose it."

"He was young and desperate! He didn't know what to do! He didn't have a parent to tell him what to do, he only had me." Shino shook his head. "I'll never forgive her, never, it's her fault. I don't give a damn how upset she was, I will never forgive her."

Slowly and a little hesitantly, Kiba pulled Shino into a comforting hug, the older finally letting go and crying into his shoulder. They had never been close, but right now it didn't seem to matter. He knew he was talking about, and privately felt the same. His own mother was literally days away from giving birth to keep it together. Funny, how much parent's decisions could influence their children's so much

But there was one thing Shino was right though Kiba would never admit it.

Naruto didn't belong in that arena.

And the chances weren't good that he would come back out.

I know Shino eyes are a different color but I wanted him to have blue eyes.

Hope you like the story

Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto if I would, Naruto and Sasuke would end up together.

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