Akira spent weeks wandering a wasteland alone, over two years without anyone around minus the enemy he swore to kill, and even longer than that with only Team 7 around. Sure, he was naturally a people person, but when the majority of life on the planet wants to kill you and your loved ones? When every touch is an attack aimed to kill you?
... You learn to be alright with just yourself- learn to dodge all touches you could and learn to brace yourself for the ones that slipped through.
All that being said, it shouldn't have been a surprise that Akira didn't take well to entering the village. (The same village that scorned him once upon a time- the same that nearly killed him time and time again for something he didn't do. The same village that turned right around and expected him to save them time and time again even after all the abuse he'd suffered.)
When you added Akira's more recent trauma to his experiences in sensing similar if not identical hatred and suspicion from the people from his youth, well, it wasn't a pretty picture.
His breathing came quicker and quicker the further into the village they went, his ears buzzing from all the activity. His mind felt familiarly cloudy as it practically shut off, searching for a marker that didn't yet exist.
Thankfully- thankfully-, just as his knees threatened to give out, a hand gently wrapped around his wrist, forcing his mind to assess the threat. Akira managed to divert the attack into an action- running his hand through his hair- and followed the gentle pulling from the girl behind the hand.
He didn't know how long or how far they went, but when his breathing finally came under control, he realized where they were.
Stone spikes not as familiar as him, but no less comforting for the red-head who knew the man personally. Yes- the spikes of Hiruzen Sarutobi were around them, giving the two of them a perch capable of watching the entire village. The wind gently swept through the village, bringing various scents up to the mountain. Muted scents, yes, but still there. From the sun, Akira guessed the time was around 2-3 in the afternoon.
Meaning his meltdown took at least a couple of hours.
"Sorry," he told the girl sitting somewhere behind him, his head dipping in a bit of embarrassment. "It's been a long time since... since I've seen so many people in one place."
"How long is 'a long time'," Rin gently questioned, nothing but concern and curiosity and comfort in her tone.
For a moment, silence rang as Akira thought about his answer. Eventually, he responded. "Time lost meaning after a while," he lowly stated, closing his eyes in thought. "After the first wave of chakra... that must have been about six months into the fighting," he recalled, ignoring the spike of worry and concern from the kind girl. "Then about... three? Yeah, three years with just my teammates. Our teacher had been... missing for that time."
The barely concealed horror was the only thing revealing Rin's thoughts and letting Akira know just how fucked up his situation was. "After that... I was alone with the enemy who caused all of it for... What, two years?"
The determination ringing underneath her sadness was all the warning Akira got for her next action. She slowly walked in front of him, her eyes shining with unshed tears and arms up to show she was unarmed as she...
Hugged him.
The action was slow, giving him more than enough time to leave or shake his head, but he still stiffened when her arms wrapped around him.
It took a long moment for him to reciprocate, and that only happened because she started to pull away, an apology on her lips. But once that happened?
Akira wishes he could say his eyes stayed dry, that the large dark spot on Rin's shirt was just sweat.
After what felt like both forever and a blink of time, he finally pulled away with a deep breath, his mind calm for the first time in a while. "Okay," he stated, hoping his voice carried the calmness within. Meeting Rin's eyes, he gave a small smile, letting down some of his walls as he said, "Thank you."
Rin only smiled, reaching out to place a hand atop his head in a motion he'd done a million times- first with Konohamaru, then Hinata, then his own team when children were forced into the war and training had to happen on the field. "Of course. I'll explain to Sensei- I'm sure he and Hokage-sama will understand. Shall we meet them at the office?"
With a nod, they were off, walking the entire way. The gradual build-up of sensations really helped Akira keep his cool, but even more than that was the way Rin would squeeze his hand when he so much as breathed slightly off, letting his mind focus on that one point of contact for a while.
When they made it to Hiruzen's office, Rin knocked on the door.
Those few seconds between the words 'Come in' and the door swinging open felt like an eternity, Akira worrying about what he would find- what he might see from his mind. But no amount of worrying stopped the door, and he was face-to-face with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Luckily, the only things the now-brown hair and considerably less aged face brought were warmth and relief. "Apologies for the delay, Hokage-sama," Rin stated, her shoulders squared and ready to leap to Akira's defense. Obito's silence drew to the fact that he wasn't present- probably dismissed hours ago. "I'd like to explain later, but I have errands to run at the hospital right now. Might I be excused for the moment?"
With a nod, Rin was gone, determination shining bright in her chakra. Whatever she was doing, it was dearly important to either her or her dream of being a medic. After a beat of silence, Minato spoke up. "Akira, this is our Hokage. Hokage-sama, this is the Uzumaki we told you about."
Sharp eyes went to the red-head, but equally sharp eyes stared right back without fear. "Hokage-sama," Akira dipped his head slightly in greeting.
"Akira-kun. I've heard much about you."
"And you're about to hear a lot more," Akira replied without missing a beat. "I'll be honest, Hokage-sama, I've been going back and forth on what to tell you. Where to start, how much you need to know, who to tell, and how much is crossing the line. Whether or not I should even try to explain these crazy circumstances or if it'd be easier to lie and change things from the shadows."
His words didn't inspire confidence in his character, and both the men in the room and the ANBU in the shadows felt uneasy. "What have you decided upon, then?"
Akira paused, letting the silence fill in. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure yet," he slowly stated. "But even my being here is changing things, and I'd rather have someone else know the whole story." Running a hand through his hair, Akira sighed through his nose as he figured the best way to share his story. "I know a seal that will let you enter my mindscape," he started once again, letting his gaze meet Hiruzen's once more. "I'd rather my story stay between those with the hat and myself."
Minato's eyes lit up at 'seal', leading him to turn what amounted as puppy eyes towards the shinobi known as the Professor. "Let's see the seal, then." Akira nodded, unsealing a brush and some ink. He did the small seal on himself first and let the other two take a look at it.
Once it got approval from Minato, Akira quickly put the matching seals on Hiruzen's and (after a moment of hesitation) Minato's wrists. The sooner we get this done, the better.
Ready?
Taking the moment Minato and Hiruzen spent studying the seals, Akira responded to his friend. No. I don't even know if what I'm doing is for the best, but...
You can't take another minute without human companionship.
It hurt to admit. Yeah. I miss having a bed, four walls, a bathroom... but more than the physical stuff, I miss the people I called home. Or even having the option to find those people.
It'll work out, kit. For now, best not to keep our audience waiting.
With an aura of confidence he didn't have, Akira cleared his throat to gather the room's attention back to himself. He easily took a seat on the floor, crossing his legs to be more comfortable. "I recommend taking a seat. The transition from reality to mindscape and back again can be a bit... disorienting." Once Minato gave a nod and joined him on the floor, Akira spoke up again. "Alright, close your eyes. Two things to keep in mind- time runs differently in the mindscape. A second here can feel like an hour there or vice versa, depending on the examinee's- in this case my- perception of time."
A round of nods went through the room before Hiruzen spoke up. "And the second thing to keep in mind?"
Akira, closing his eyes, felt a sly smirk work its way onto his face. "I'm not alone in there."
No one had the chance to react before the familiar (to Akira) sensation of falling started.
.
.
.
The falling was definitely disorienting, and if he wasn't a seasoned shinobi, Minato might have lost his lunch. As it was, he settled for losing his balance for a moment. When he stood to look around, he had to pause.
It was Konoha. There was no mistaking that- the buildings were too new, and some were rearranged from what he could tell, but before him was still Konoha. A quick glance down showed where he was- atop one of the stone heads. Lord Third's, perhaps? The spikes seemed a bit... off, though. Cackling drew his attention, and Minato leaned over the edge to see who it was.
Blond caught his eye first, though it took a long moment of searching. The next was orange, tied around a small waist. It was a child- a blond child with blue eyes that looked hauntingly familiar and a smile that reminded him of Kushina's. Around the child were buckets of paint, a rope keeping the kid from plummeting to his death as he worked.
"Is he..."
"Painting the Hokage Monument?" An unfamiliar laugh coupled with a new voice answered. "Believe it. He did it in broad daylight right before school- got up ridiculously early to get it done before anyone noticed. Even though he looks like a walking highlighter, he didn't get caught until long after he was done."
Minato wanted to whirl around and see who was talking, but something about the kid drew his attention and held it. "What's his name," he asked after a beat, the rising sun painting the mountain in an orange matching the kid's jumpsuit.
"Naruto. He's 12 years old here, pulling off the biggest prank of his life. I think if his mother could see him, she'd be impressed at this one, if not ready to punt him into next week for making such a mess." It was hard to tell, but there was something... more in the stranger's voice.
Some kind of heartache.
It wasn't until a guard squad chased the kid off that Minato could look away, finding the source of the voice standing right behind him with a nostalgic smile. "Are you the 'other' here," he asked, taking note of the blond hair, blue eyes, whisker marks, dried blood and dust coating skin, and shredded clothes. Perhaps a jumpsuit? The colors were impossible to make out from under that layer of dirt and grime, and they were probably faded anyway.
The man- who looked too much like Minato to be a coincidence- smiled, and something about that action rang tons of bells in his mind. "Not quite. I guess my mental image hasn't shifted quite yet... But we should hurry. Things will become clear soon, but we shouldn't dawdle. Kurama gets antsy when strangers spend too much time here- even if they're not complete unknowns."
"Are you Naruto?"
The man glanced at Hiruzen, who had been observing and thinking this entire time. "Watch what's shown to you, and I'll answer questions when it's done." He nodded beyond Minato and Hiruzen, hands in his pockets.
The ground tilted, then, and when Minato blinked away the disorientation, he found-
Kakashi?
A silver-haired man with a mask stood in the classroom doorway, chalk dust falling to the ground from the erasure on his head. Familiar cackling filled the room along with an unfamiliar, shrill voice saying "Naruto, you idiot!" Said voice gained a softer quality when it spoke next- something akin to politeness. "I tried to make him stop, Sensei. But-"
The man in the doorway plucked the erasure out of his hair, letting it drop to the floor with an uninterested hum (but Minato could see the tension- the sleepless nights, the antsiness that came with extended time off, the sadness that seemed to cling to this Kakashi's very bones). "My first impression of you all? Hmm, how do I put this..." Fingers clasped a masked chin in thought, single gray eye closing. "I hate you. Meet me on the roof 5 minutes ago."
And then he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
The room was still for a moment before a head of sunshine and onyx darted through Minato, a head of bubblegum following close behind.
But Minato's mind was stuck on Kakashi. "Was that..."
"Young Kakashi," came Lord Third's voice. "It seems so. I was under the impression time-travel was a work of fiction."
That familiarly-unfamiliar voice chuckled at that. "It was. I guess they don't call you the Professor for nothing, huh Gramps?" A pause filled the air with contemplative silence, Minato's mind running a thousand kilometers an hour to try and process the new information.
Time travel? So this Naruto went back in time? Why? A couple of lines connected- memories of something Akira said or did.
"That chakra's deadly to any living thing- plants, animals... humans. Infects their systems and destroys them from the inside out," the Uzumaki had said, his gaze going blank for a moment as memories probably flashed behind violet eyes.
Then, he shook his head, hair wildly swinging with the motion. "Sorry. It hasn't been long since... Since it ended."
And Minato understood. Akira was like a walking portrait of what his team's going to look like after the war- after they really process Obito. The red-head already mirrored some of the older shinobi in the village, if just a tad more open about what he went through.
But he had to wonder why he's never heard of the war this child went through.
The ground tilted once more, and it didn't take long for Minato to recover, thankfully. Now, he was on a rooftop, five beings in his vision. The three from the classroom on his right (sitting on the steps, facing the edge of the roof), Kakashi on his left (leaning against the railing casually), and the older Naruto standing right across from Minato, an unreadable look in his eye.
"Alright, go ahead and introduce yourself."
"But Sensei, what should we say?"
Kakashi's answer was more than familiar, and Minato was struck with how similar this scene was to when he first got Team 7. "Well, how about your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future?"
The same girl who spoke up earlier did so again. "Will you go first so we can see how it's done?"
Surprise coated Kakashi's eye as he pointed to himself. "You want me to go?" At two nods and an indifferent 'hn' (an Uchiha, for sure), Kakashi spoke again. "Well, my name's Kakashi Hatake. I don't feel like telling you my likes, and I have many dislikes. You don't need to know my hobbies, and as for my dreams for the future... Well, I've never really thought about it."
Minato could only gape at the man in front of him as he gestured for the little Naruto to go next. His mind catalogued the children's responses (Naruto likes ramen, Sakura's a fangirl for the Uchiha, and something dark is in Sasuke) even as he was still focused on Kakashi.
The scene paused as the elder Naruto pushed off the railing, walking until he was between Kakashi and the new genin. "That's the four main players in this game," he stated, eyes on the children. "I'd show you every little thing, but we don't have the time for that. Your ANBU are getting antsy as-is," Naruto stated, sliding his hands into his pockets. "So, instead of spoiling everything that's to come, I'll introduce you to my tenant."
The ground shifted once more, and it was only reflex and instinct that Minato landed on the water instead of in.
"If you wish me to lend you power, I am prepared to consider it... Naruto," came a deep, intimidating voice. Minato whirled around, coming face-to-face with-
"The Kyubi," came the gasp from beside him, Hiruzen's shock as obvious as his own.
"I'd be happy to borrow whatever power you've got for me," came a familiarly-unfamiliar voice, "but first there's something I have to make sure to tell you." Minato whirled to the new voice and-
Naruto.
The boy was older now- a teen with ragged and torn clothes, orange and black on his frame and a headband saying 'Shinobi' instead of the Konoha symbol. "Thanks for what you did when Madara was attacking back there. The strength you gave me... It really helped."
Minato didn't need to see the fox to sense the shock and surprise at the blond's words. The shock he felt made him skip over a few words, his mind coming back to the present when the fox said "I merely felt like watching your battle a little longer. Yes... I only seek entertainment!"
"Hey! Why are you getting angry at me for thanking you?! How about you start by fixing your attitude, or you'll never-"
Naruto broke off, staring dumbly at the giant orange fist hovering just in front of him. He smirked, leaning back on his heels, but still relaxed. "Don't tell me we're playing chakra tug-of-war again?"
"Imbecile! This time, I'm not asking you to give me anything. Then again, I have nothing better to do."
"Is the nine-tailed fox..."
"...offering power? That's simply... unheard of."
Naruto smiled, met the giant fist with his own for a moment, then turned around, a hand on his stomach.
The lock keeping the gate closed clicked open in time with Naruto's words. "You're not the monster fox anymore. You're a member of Konoha's tag team, together with me."
The lock hit the final click with Naruto's cry of, "You're Kurama!"
The gates flew open, an aura of pure chakra surrounding Naruto at the action and making the water surge in waves around him.
Panic flooded Minato's system for a moment- but the Kyubi didn't do anything. Well, nothing besides bestowing power upon Naruto, that is. "You can control the Kyuubi," came Hiruzen's airy voice- as though he hadn't meant to say his thoughts aloud.
"Didn't you hear my speech, old man? He's not the Kyuubi- he's my partner, my friend- he's Kurama. And don't you forget it."
Minato spoke up before Hiruzen could. "I apologize for the slight. It's simply a shock to see him in this light after decades of thinking otherwise."
Naruto nodded, humming. "Yeah, some of the older villagers had a hard time recognizing that. At least, they did before everyone…"
Minato nodded, knowing where the Uzumaki's mind went. "More pressingly, did you say Madara when you were thanking him?"
"That's a conversation best had in reality. We're on a time-limit here, remember?"
That was the last thing stated before the ground tilted and the world went dark.
. . .
hey! long time no see, huh? so, i saw quite a few comments asking if i was continuing this fic, and ive got to say: y'all of so little faith
this fic simply takes longer to update than my others, as it takes longer to figure out where the hell it's going and my muse is a cruel mistress. trust that ill say if i abandon any work, and simply be patient for the next chapters, as each one is over 3000 words for this fic, and it'll be going more in depth than even Changing the River of Time- which is this fic's predecessor in all but completion (which is quickly being rectified.)
TLDR: this story wont be abandoned unless i die, ill let everyone know when/if that happens, and River will update more frequently/regularly only because i have more chapters in the wings for it, and it's second part is already on chapter 4 or 5
i hope yall have a great day/night, and i hope youll continue to be patient for this tale :)