Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its affiliated products.
Days pass as minutes, and years as days. How many hours have we lost, hours that just slipped away from us? I think that is a question none will enjoy the answer to.
July
The morning was warm and humid in all the wrong ways. Already my shirt stuck to my skin and beads of sweat dripped to the ground. And while it was bad now, by this afternoon it would be down right unbearable.
I can see why they called this place the Land of Fire.
I lazily kicked my feet and watched my cousins and other extended family rush about the compound from my perch on a very comfortable stone bench that was placed by the front porch of my home. There were brief hellos and good-byes, maybe one even had a word or two of conversation to spare in their haste. It seems like the people were busy, but with what I couldn't say.
Everyone seemed to be rushing lately. The formerly silent compound was now buzzing as people and shinobi darted back and forth, hurrying to complete some undoubtedly pressing task, or what they thought was one anyway.
I rested my chin in the palm of my hand and sighed. Even though a few weeks had passed since the Uchiha Party, I still hadn't fully shaken what happened out of mind. There was too much going on, too many secrets and plots I wasn't privy too, and that showed no signs of changing any time in the foreseeable future.
The adults, and how strange it was for it to feel natural to not associate myself among their number. I barely qualified or felt like an adult when I died back on Earth, I decidedly don't feel like one now.
That was an unsettling realization that cost me several hours of sleep as I processed it.
Now as I was saying before I digressed about my brewing mental breakdown, the adults' meeting went tensely, tensely enough even the normally laid back Murakumo was jittery and Uroko's nerves were clearly shot to hell by the time I was practically dragged out of the Uchiha Compound.
Add in Orochimaru spying on them, and things got a hell of a lot more complicated. What was the Snake even doing here? Had he not defected yet? How many experiments had the madman already performed? How many more was he planning?
I shook my head in dismay. Too many questions, too few answers. And I had nothing to show for my time spent here thus far, if one didn't count being introduced to Itachi Uchiha before his spectacular descent into insanity that is.
I'd have to tread lightly around him in the future, especially if I wanted to prevent the Massacre. If I even could prevent the Massacre. I have a sneaking suspicion that Zetsu might have a stake in what happened there, so he might be ready and waiting for me to try and intervene.
I'd have to keep my guard up, but what else was new?
All this monologuing is to say, that I have exactly bubkiss to show and little hope for any new progress.
I sighed before idly scratching my chin with my hand. A cool breeze filled the air as light clouds gave us a temporary reprieve from the harsh sunlight. I smiled, it was good to get out of the sun for a moment. Said gratitude quickly transition to boredom of the more insidious sort. I can't believe I'm even saying that given I'm in the world of my favorite childhood franchise, but as a kid with no school, no friends, and no job there's not a lot one can do to pass the time. Contrary to Shikamaru Nara's insistence otherwise, cloud watching is quite possible the dullest hobby imaginable.
I can't even read a book to break my monotony, everything I was allowed to touch was more in the line of Naruto's Dr. Seuss then anything intellectually stimulating. Dear god how I missed a good mystery novel, or even a cheap and cheesy one.
Stupid restrictions about what books I can touch.
The rice paper door behind me slowly slid open and Uroko stepped out, wincing slightly as the clouds drifted away and she endured the fully renewed light of the sun. The fact her hair was in a loose bun and she was wearing her mildly less formal kimono meant she was in a relaxed mood; well, relaxed by Uroko standards anyway. That could be either very good or very bad for me, depending on how said mood made her feel. A moment of silence passed and she smoothly sat down beside on the bench and hummed.
"Watching anyone in particular?" She asked. I looked up and smiled slightly at the attention before pointing to a small copse of oak trees near the edge of the compound.
"Cousin Hiroshi is practicing climbing trees with chakra." I remarked. Hiroshi was a decade my senior and was viewed to be a prime candidate to advance the Kurama Clan's standing in the coming years.
That's what he liked to say anyway. He certainly had the ego to back up his hype at least.
Idid feel bad about it, but there was a slightly vindictive amusement in seeing the arrogant teen fall on his face a time or two. Maybe that will teach him a lesson about pride.
A cloud of dust floated in the air after Hiroshi flung himself back onto his feet yet again. His dark brown hair was matted with sweat and his brown eyes stared hatefully at the ancient oak that was the source of his displeasure. His temper looked to simmer and nearly burst before he breathed deeply and strode away, mumbled curses slipping from his mouth all the while.
"That was very mature of Hiroshi." Uroko remarked casually as the boy nearly slammed the door to his own home. "There's no shame in admitting something is beyond your abilities."
I think I have to agree to disagree with you there, Uroko. How else are you supposed to progress if you don't keep at it? Something's got to give, and it might as well be the task instead of you.
"When can I learn how to use chakra?" I asked, changing the topic with what I was sure to be subtlety. I even added what I'd say was an adorable smile to punctuate my point, but Uroko's amused grin made it clear that I was not quite as smooth as I thought.
"I see I wasn't able to talk you out of being a ninja then, hm?" She asked playfully, but I could hear the strong note of disappointment in her voice. Which is fair, I'd be upset if my kid was trying to learn how to kill people with fire breath at the age of four.
But this wasn't my world, and if I don't get ahead of the curb, I might fine myself flattened on it.
Uroko sighed, as she looked towards the tree Hiroshi was climbing moments before with old and tired eyes.
"You are still young yet, Asaku. There's no need to rush these sorts of things. You'll have your fill of chakra and ninjutsu soon enough." She gently ruffled my hair and smiled. "Why don't you stay my adorable little sunbeam for a little bit longer, okay?"
The warm feeling of butterflies in my stomach rose again and I smiled back.
"Okay, Mom." And I found that the word carried little of the emotional pain from before.
Maybe I was moving on from the pain it my last life.
Maybe staying here wasn't so bad after all.
August
Leaving the compound was becoming less of a rarity the longer I spent in this world, but the excitement never seemed to wane no matter how many times I ventured outside the walls.
But this trip was special, even by my admittedly low standards. Today I was going to meet my other side of the family.
Uroko was a Sarutobi who married into the Kurama four or five years ago, and she kept close ties with her birth clan ever since. The Sarutobi were people who greatly respected camaraderie in all shapes and forms so Uroko liked to make the trek back home every now and again.
This however, was the first time in my 'memory' I could recall making the trip, and I couldn't help but be excited. I had the chance to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi! The Third Hokage himself! My inner Naruto fan was exhilarated by the idea and I barely kept myself from running forward along the old dusty streets lining Konoha.
Uroko laughed at my enthusiasm, but she didn't release her grip on my hand. Even in her good mood, one that had lasted a good few days, thank goodness, her wariness of the outside world never wavered.
I have to wonder if that's the reason why the Kurama Compound gates were always closed?
"No need to hurry along so much, Asaku." Uroko gently chided with a firm shake of her head for good measure. "Uncle Hiruzen and Aunt Biwako will be there when we get there."
I nodded sheepishly, properly chastised. Sue me, I want to meet one of the coolest characters in Naruto. Plus on a more practical note, Hiruzen might one of the few people left alive who personally knew Tobirama Senju. Perhaps he could shed some light on the mysterious man, and if Kaguya was being truthful when she claimed he was also reborn in this world.
The consequences of that being true were more then I cared to think about at the given moment, so I buried the thought and tried to think about anything else.
Like the approaching Sarutobi Clan compound, thank god.
I was told the compound once stood at the edge of the village, but as Hiruzen was elected Hokage and the clan's political power grew, the village spread and grew like spokes on a wheel. Now the compound was practically the center of the village, and it was impossible to do anything important in the village without passing by their grounds.
The compound had no walls and instead the streets entered the clan's grounds unhindered, the only mark signifying ownership was a single arch bearing the Sarutobi crest proudly emblazoned upon it. That was a stark difference from the other two compounds I'd seen, and perhaps attested to how the Sarutobi were the 'heart' of Konoha?
In either case, Uroko almost beamed at the sight and quickened her pace. I wasn't gonna call her on her sudden hypocrisy at the moment. I shared her excitement wholeheartedly after all.
We entered the grounds with no fanfare, as the compound lacked even guards at the entrance. Around us people thronged about the shops and homes lining the roads, a happy murmur of voices blending with the sound of music coming from a harpist sitting on a rooftop. His spiky brown hair swayed gently in the breeze as he played a melody. I wasn't much of a musical critic, but I was enjoying the tune and Uroko's almost always ever present frown faded. Her eyes closed, and she appeared to be remembering something from a time long past. When she opened her eyes, it was as though years of stress slid off her shoulders, and she looked far younger then she did before.
"Never change, Tetsuo." She laughed softly before walking on. "Never change." Curiosity driving me, I tugged on Uroko's hand in my best imitation of a curious child.
"Who's Tetsuo?" I asked. Uroko laughed again before turning her gaze to the harpist, who played on oblivious to the impact he was having on those below.
"He's a cousin of mine, he wanted to be a musician instead of a shinobi when we were younger. Everyone thought he was crazy, even I thought so at the time. But here he went proving us all wrong. Now, I'm glad that he managed to fulfill that dream." Uroko said wistfully before tearing her eyes away and adding softly. "Not everyone can."
There was a definite undertone to that I wasn't a fan of. What could Uroko be wishing that was so different? What did she have to regret? I really hope I wasn't the answer to that question.
Ahead of us, the Sarutobi Clan Head's home waited. The carefully manicured lawn and large dojo sitting behind the building made it clear it belonged to someone of high status. Waiting in front of the building was the man, the myth, the legend, Hiruzen goddamn Sarutobi. It was a bit of a shock to see him without his trademark Hokage raiment, and for his eyes to not be as creased with the years of regret and sorrow from a life he believed to have been wasted.
I always thought the harsh criticism of Hiruzen among fans was partially unwarranted. While he did make a good number of colossal screw ups, he tried his best to make them right until the moment he died. He always struck me as one of the most human characters in the franchise, maybe that's why he was divisive.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Uroko." Hiruzen laughed, his voice husky from his many years of non stop smoking. Uroko bowed, and pulled me into one alongside her.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lord Hokage." She said, her voice even more reverent then when we'd spoken to Minato. Hiruzen gestured for us to rise, a bittersweet smile on his face.
"I am not the Hokage no longer, that is Minato's burden and responsibility now. I've retired, and am looking forward to a much simpler life." He said, before his dark eyes landed on me.
It was quite the experience to be sure, having one of your childhood heroes appraising you. I hope I held up to his standards, whatever they were.
"So you must be Asakumo?" He asked after a moment and then smiled. "I haven't seen you since you were very young."
"Y-yes." I managed to squeak. My clear nervousness seemed to amuse him, because he gave another deep laugh at the sight.
"There is no need to be so nervous, my boy. I'm just an old man, nothing more." His eyes crinkled as he smiled, and I couldn't help but share the expression.
Best day ever.
Hiruzen shook his head slightly before heading to the door leading to his home behind him.
"Where are my manners, please come in. Biwako should have some of your favorite tea brewing, Uroko." He said, sliding open the rice door with a fluid motion.
The interior of the Sarutobi Clan Head's home was markedly different then my own. The color scheme was darker, the walls were a brilliant crimson and an interlocking floral pattern of gold practically lit up the room. The floors were a rich and dark shade of brown, and the few flowers adorning the shelves and tables were clearly chosen by an expert decorater.
Now I wonder if said decorater was Hiruzen or Biwako? Because there was something about Hiruzen being a master decorater that seemed hilarious.
Inside the sitting room, a middle aged woman puttered around a tea pot and hummed softly as she worked. Her head rose at the sound of our entry and her worn and hard features creased into a chiding smile.
"Uroko, it's been too long since you last came home. I was starting to think you stopped caring about us the moment you started dating that Kurama boy." Uroko blushed slightly in response.
"That 'Kurama boy' is my husband." She admonished with a small frown. "I'd request that you don't mock him during our visit, if it pleases you Aunt Biwako."
The older woman rolled her eyes and huffed before smiling.
"Very well then, since he's so important to you I'll hold off chastising him for the evening." Biwako's wizened eyes landed on me and she knelt down to near my height.
"And who is this?" She asked with a grandmotherly smile.
"This is my son, Asakumo. He's grown quite a bit since we lasted visiting, but I believe should know a good deal about him." Uroko said, placing her smooth and manicured hands on my shoulders.
Biwako snorted in amusement at some hidden joke..
"I'd better. I was the one who pulled him out of your-" Here the older woman paused and gave a glance to me before clearing her throat. "I was the midwife at his birth."
That's a weird thing to know about someone, and honestly the less I thought about it the better. I still thank God or any Kami except Kaguya for not having to awaken as an infant.
I'm not sure my already fragile sanity could've taken it.
The matron of the Sarutobi Clan looked me over, a discerning gaze clear to see, and I subconsciously stiffened at her eyes. Those were wise and knowing eyes, that could take you apart with so much as a glance. She may be no Kage, but Biwako Sarutobi was in a league of her own.
At least that was my estimate anyway.
"You were much cuter then, before your father's looks started showing." She pronounced suddenly, as though that was a grave sin against my character.
I gave an over the top frown and pouted, and Uroko merely shook her head with a long suffering but amused sigh.
"Lay off of the boy, Biwako." Hiruzen chided as he stepped into the room once more, a hearty odor of freshly burning tobacco in the air. The former Hokage took a long puff from his pipe before nodding.
"I think he's certainly dignified enough at the moment." He noted with a smile.
That was another wave of warm and fuzzies, the idea of how awesome it is to be complimented by one of your childhood heroes can not go understated.
Biwako shook her head before turning back to Uroko.
"Now sit dear, I have that tea blend you like just about ready, the one from the Land of Lightning." The Kurama's eyes lit up and she quickly sat down at the small table, pulling me alongside her as she did so.
"I didn't think you could find that, not with the war's aftermath disrupting trade routes."
Hiruzen sat down across from us and took another puff, the odor of tobacco permeating the air and adding a sense of ease to the conversation.
"That, you can thank Danzo for." He remarked. "He has a vested interest in this blend himself, so he pulled a few of his strings to have some delivered."
A conflicted expression formed on Uroko's face but she squashed it down.
"I'll have to be sure and thank Lord Danzo the next time I see him."
Hiruzen and Biwako's eyes however, clearly noticed her discomfort, as did I. But I was clearly once again out of the loop. Who the hell was Danzo? And why did Uroko seems so hesitant to mention him?
"He doesn't blame you, you know." Biwako began softly, as though upsetting an old wound.
Uroko's hands trembled for a moment before she sighed.
"But I do, and that's what matters." Her tone was broke and defeated and I suddenly had an urge to hurt what ever made her hurt like that.
To borrow a phrase, No one hurts my precious people.
"He'd do it again if the choice arose." Hiruzen continued. "He's never regretted-"
"Please." Uroko said sharply, her social graces fleeing her for once in the entire time I'd known her. "Can we not talk about that, today of all days? I have something I want to tell you."
The two Sarutobi elders shared a glance before Hiruzen nodded softly.
"As you wish."
An uncomfortable silence settled into the room, which Biwako filled by beginning to pour tea for the four of us. Once she reached mine, she gave a warning stare to me before wagging her finger.
"If I have to clean tea stains out of my floor this will be the last drink you have in my household outside of the kitchen." Her warning was one part humor and two parts foreboding, and I had no desire to test her on such.
"I can drink it without making a mess," I huffed as I picked up the cup. "I'm not that clumsy."
Biwako merely gave me a skeptical look before turning to her own glass.
I took a swallow of this exotic tea blend and immediately saw why Uroko valued it so much. It tastes similar enough to tea from my world, but with a very potent lemon or citrus tang underlying the flavor.
It was undoubtedly delicious.
Uroko sighed before taking a sip of her tea and basking in the warmth the cup gave her hands. My best guess was that she was gathering her thoughts, but as to what end I couldn't say.
I could guess though.
While I may not have noticed it if I was truly four years old, it was becoming quite clear Tsume wasn't bluffing when she implied Uroko was pregnant. It was becoming clearer by the day.
Neither of the Kurama had officially said anything to anyone as of yet, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were actively hiding the fact from the public, but once again I have no idea as to why.
I just know Yakumo is coming, and with her the beginning of the end to the Kurama Clan.
Poor kid to have all of that resting on her shoulders.
"So about this thing you wished to tell us?" Biwako said bluntly after a minute had passed, and while Ninja were associated with subtlety on Earth, I was quickly starting to believe they didn't even understand the word here.
I hadn't seen a modicum of tact from a single person in this world yet.
Uroko stared down at the amber liquid in her white porcelain cup for a moment before looking towards the Sarutobi with a content smile.
"You probably already knew from the moment I walked in, Aunt Biwako. You are a skilled medic, maybe even the best in the village since Lady Tsunade left."
The older woman nodded, a smile threatening to break out across her weathered face. "I did teach the girl much of what she knows." Uroko once again paused to compose her thoughts for a moment more before speaking.
"I'm expecting my second child." Uroko said, and a weight visibly fell off her shoulders as she did so.
"Congratulations, my dear!" Hiruzen said with a laugh and Biwako shared his enthusiasm with her own grin. Uroko turned towards me with a jubilant smile as a rare moment of joy flashed across her face.
"You're going to be a big brother, Asakumo. Just like Itachi with little Sasuke." I smiled back at her, how could I not? It's not like she could know about the sickening sense of a stone sinking steadily deeper inside my gut the longer the words echoed around the room.
I was a horrible human being and an even worse little brother to my last sister, and she was older than me; how the hell was I supposed to help Yakumo through her own trials when I so clearly screwed up my own life?
But I kept up the nervous smile nonetheless. I was lucky, if any of the adults noticed my trepidation none of them cared enough to say anything.
"Where is your husband, he should be here for this." Biwako asked innocently enough, but it was clearly a condemnation of Murakumo's, well everything to be honest.
Some of the joy faded from Uroko's eyes, and she was back to the cautiously hesitant woman I'd grown to know.
"Elder Unkai has sent the Kurama Clan some business he's collected during his pilgrimage, and Murakumo needed to tend to it immediately." Uroko said with a demure nod. "It was business of a most important sort, so I deeply apologize for my husband's absence."
So the mystery man returns, causing drama everywhere he went as usual. Unkai was starting to strike me as one of the types who stir up trouble for laughs, no matter what result comes from the incident. Hiruzen took a long drag from his pipe before slowly lettting the smoke seep out of his nostrils.
"I do not envy him that. I have known Unkai Kurama for a very long time, and he's grown no more personable then he was the day I met him under Lord Second's tutelage."
Now that was interesting. Unkai knew Tobirama? Then maybe he could be persuaded to fill me in on more about him? But now was my chance, if I was getting any dirt on the Second it would be now.
"Uncle Hiruzen?" I asked hesitantly, trying to play up the image of a curious child intent on knowledge. The former Hokage turned his eyes towards me and nodded.
"Yes, my boy?"
"What was Lord Second like?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs nervously. Only half of that was an act, this was in fact incredibly nerve wracking. I couldn't afford to show my hand just yet and my life depended on not accidentally revealing information about Kaguya or Zetsu.
I absolutely had to be subtle with this.
Hiruzen pulled the pipe from his mouth and hummed.
"Why do you want to know?" He asked, potentially very dangerous curiosity staring to form inside his brown eyes.
Time to put on all the charm.
"Because he's my favorite ninja ever!" I cheered, an oversized smile bursting forth and a laugh coming right behind it. I even gave a little fist pump for emphasis.
I was playing for keeps.
Uroko looked playfully offended and put her hand to her chest.
"I though I was your favorite ninja?" She asked. I stared her straight in the eye with the biggest smirk I could make.
"Nope, it's always been the Second." Uroko rolled her eyes fondly before we turned our attention back to Hiruzen. The older man's eyes were distant, as though he were living a memory long since faded.
"Where would I begin? Tobirama-Sensei was many things, few of them easily summarized, especially in a moment." Hiruzen closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. "He was a cunning man, that I remember most clearly. His mind was as sharp as chained lightning, and he quickly devised solutions even his brother and Madara Uchiha themselves couldn't keep up with. For all his genius, I believe even Minato pales before the fully focused mind of Tobirama Senju." Hiruzen paused and took another puff of his pipe, ruminating on past experiences.
"It was lucky then, that he was so rarely focused. His preferred method for life was always the unorthodox, he was constant trying outlandish experiments to solve even his simplest of problems. He would never take the simple or easy solution if he believed a more precise method existed. At times it seemed like he was a madman, but all his plans and ideas somehow worked. I can't even begin to follow his thought process on many things. He alone revolutionized infrastructure and administrative capabilities of the village by decades." This lined up with what Kaguya said before, that Tobirama was an bureaucratical genius and could organize as easily as he could breathe.
High praise from a self proclaimed goddess.
"He also viewed himself to be rather witty." Hiruzen laughed softly. "His deadpan humor had put out Madara's flames countless times." The man stroked his goatee in thought. "To this day I never found out what he meant when he called Madara a 'Bogus Goth Wannabe'." Hiruzen hummed. "Whenever I asked he merely laughed under his breath and deflected the question."
Did, did Tobirama literally say the word 'Bogus'? When was he from, the Eighties? Or he was some sort of hipster trying to revive old slang? Both seemed equally plausible and equally dumb to me.
I was shaken from my musings as Hiruzen continued softly, lost in his own thoughts.
"The two of them never got along, perhaps Tobirama saw something in Madara we all should've seen coming. If we had, maybe we could've avoided such a tragedy as the death of our co-founder." Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke that hung around the room and refused to dissipate.
"But I think that's enough of old memories tonight." He said, the nostalgia fading from his eyes, and he was once again the doting grandfather I knew for the anime.
And this evening, he'd certainly left me with more questions then answers.
Sorry about the delay on this one folks, but to hopefully make up for it, there will be a double update! Feel free to cheer for that if you want.
As always, Happy Reading.