The sun in the sky above warmed his face pleasantly, while the grass at his back was soft and cooling. The wind washed over him in soft and soothing waves, carrying with it the scent of the Sakura petals that leisurely rained down on two friends enjoying the day, and their time together.
Naruto and Sakura were in a vast field in Japan's countryside, taking a reprieve from riding their bicycles together one pleasant afternoon. Naruto was dressed to match the warm Sumer weather, wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. Sakura herself a pretty yellow sundress and an oversized sunhat, discarded and since carried a distance in the breeze.
Neither of them cared enough to chase after it, choosing instead to bask in each other's company.
Their heads were were close, separated only by tufts of blond and pink while their arms touched only barely. But it was more than enough to make his heart race every time. And just like in times before, no matter how much he urged himself, he simply couldn't build the courage to take hold of her hand. Opting instead to simply commit the memory to heart, hoping one day to find the courage he needed to hold her.
"Do you ever wish a day could last forever, Naruto?" Sakura turned her big beautiful eyes to regard him with what he perceived to be an incredible fondness, and also forlorn.
"I do," he admitted with a smile in contradiction to the familiar sensation of longing and loss weighing down his heart. "It can, and it will. I know I'll always remember this day."
"You will?" Sakura asked curiously. The natural pink dusting her cheeks darkened ever so slightly, her blush contrasting beautifully against her normally pallid features, increasing the hammering of his heart.
"I will, will you?" Naruto asked, feeling incredibly bashful but hopeful for her response.
She smiled sweetly at him, the gesture creasing her eyes and dimpled her cheeks. "Forever," Sakura whispered, her smile deepening briefly before she returned her attention to the sky.
Naruto joined her in watching as the fluffy white clouds swam gently across the sea of deep blue above. As he did, he pondered on what she asked of him, and what it would be like to live forever in one of the happiest days of his life. To experience a world in which time stood forever still, free of worries and with no sadness to contend with.
But that wasn't possible. This was a fact Naruto was painfully aware of, and it was a lesson he'd never forget. Because like clouds, everything was fleeting. Happiness didn't last forever. Everything had to end.
"Naruto?"
Sakura had moved much closer to him now and her blush and become more pronounced still. She was so close, in fact, he could smell her floral perfume, pleasant but not overwhelming; the perfect balance of subtlety and allure.
Naruto was aware he was likely blushing too and he felt incredibly bashful for that and many more reasons, but that wasn't enough to keep him from staring back into her large eyes. Just then, he was nearly overwhelmed by the sudden urge to kiss her on the same pronounced forehead she was always so self-conscious about.
And then her lips.
But he was a coward, so he didn't. He couldn't.
It was a regret he would always live with.
"Yeah, Sakura?" Naruto acknowledged.
"You'll find me, won't you?" Sakura asked in what almost sounded like a plea.
"What?" Fear gripped his heart seeing her begin to visually artifact. Something was wrong but he simply couldn't understand what that was then. Sakura, what's wrong?"
"You'll find me, won't you, Naruto?" There were tears in Sakura's eyes now and her words became more desperate. "Please don't forget me, Naruto! Promise me you won't!"
Confusion and fear paralyzed Naruto as an encompassing darkness began to quickly spread across the once blue sky above while the ground beneath him crumbled out of existence. He was abruptly overwhelmed by the horrifying sensation of free fall, sinking into the earth itself, into a surrounding darkness that pulled him further away from his friend.
"Sakura!" He helplessly reached out to her but the distance between them was expanding exponentially. "Sakura, wait! Please don't leave again!"
"Promise me, Naruto!" Sakura desperately called out after him, her own hand outstretched began to pixilate, spreading down her arm, she began to disappear.
"Sakura!"
"Promise me!"
"I promise!"
"Naruto!"
Hours Earlier
After another long, mind numbing day at Arasaka academy, Naruto liked to unwind by the koi pond on the campus grounds. He sat on the concrete edge of the pond, his feet mere inches from touching the water's edge as he enjoyed the rare display of nature in the twilight of the twenty-first century.
All around him the voices of his schoolmates coalesced to create an indiscernible ambience of idle chatter that, along with his current state of disassociation, lulled Naruto into his own mind, but there were no real thoughts crossing it.
His integrated communications rang three times before he noticed it. By the fifth he realized it was his father calling, as indicated by his heads-up-display.
"Dad?" Naruto's eyes glowed bright blue and were wide with surprise in his reflection in the rippling water.
"How are you, Naruto?" His father asked.
His portrait picture for his father, because he always refused video communication, was the default silhouette of a person. It perfectly reflected just how Naruto viewed his father, thus his surprise at the sudden call.
"Fine, just got off school actually. Why, what's up?" Naruto couldn't think of any immediate reason his usually distant father was calling him so abruptly.
In the absence of an answer, his imagination began to run rampant and he began to worry thinking Arasaka Academy had notified him of his recent drop in grades in his financial securities class.
It happened only that morning, when he flunked the exam because he'd stayed up later than he intended on the night before scrolling BD's. It started with an interactive one in which he was a shinobi fighting in space, ending inevitably with the one he always found himself replaying, over and over again, he lost himself for hours into the early morning.
He'd spent so much time in his final BD, in fact, Naruto thought it somehow wasn't quite how he remembered his most cherished memory to be.
He would have to remember to message his Brain Dance editor and ask for further tuning.
"I'm coming home tonight," his father continued evenly. "Around eight or so."
"You're back in Japan, then?" Naruto, in his excitement and immense relief at not being reprimanded, voiced his question out loud as apposed to in the privacy of his thoughts.
Last he spoke with his father, which was longer than he was comfortable admitting, he was to be away on business somewhere in North America for an undetermined amount of time. Where exactly, Naruto knew better than to ask. He was never given an answer, at least not a complete answer, much less a truthful one.
He didn't even know what his father did for Arasaka beyond the fact he worked for them in some capacity. Whatever the position, it would be naive to assume it was something ethical or even legal; whatever that word was defined as anymore.
Though only fifteen years old, Naruto was well aware of the mega-corporation's reach beyond the propaganda that passed off as history and what was reported in the media. Arasaka roots ran deep in almost every aspect of life within Japan in the year twenty-seventy-five as government and the corporation were almost indiscernible, with one being beholden to the other.
Everyone was aware of who answered to who.
As things were, in two years time, he would also be working for Arasaka. Not of his own volition, but of an unspoken obligation.
"Yes, I'll see you then," his father confirmed.
"Preem! Dad, maybe we can — " Naruto watched his own smile fall away as the light of communications literally left his eyes. His father ended their call abruptly. "Never mind, I guess. Well, at least I'll see him later."
"Who'll you see later?"
Naruto didn't know but he did recognize the girl who suddenly spoke to him. But that was only because she wore glasses. As in actual prescription glasses. Or so he assumed. The pair currently sitting across the bridge of her nose could very well be simple glass or plastic, but somehow he doubted it.
There weren't many people who wore glasses beyond sunshades either as a fashion statement, or to conceal their optics for any number of reasons. He suspected the latter considering most ocular ailments were easily corrected at birth or by a simple trip to a doctor.
The way in which the sun reflected off her lenses made it rather difficult to see the true color of her eyes either way, but that could of been by design as well.
"Oh, uh, my dad," Naruto wasn't sure why she was talking to him, or why he chose to answer honestly. Before then, he'd not exchanged a single word with her despite sharing a class with her.
That class being cryptanalysis.
"Oh, that's nice," her words were added almost as an afterthought as she adjusted her glasses. There was a light dusting of pink currently coloring her cheeks. "L-Listen, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to, and it's totally cool if you don't, ahh… you know…"
"Yeah?" Naruto urged her patiently, feeling his own face heat up at the implications of her behavior and the possibilities of the context of her words. But he also didn't want to jump to any conclusions because he was, at the end of the day, pessimistically honest with himself in acknowledging he wasn't exactly popular when it came to girls.
"Do you maybe want to hang out sometime? You know, to study… or something," she finished quietly, looking away.
Shit, Naruto cursed in the privacy of his mind despite projecting what he hoped was an easygoing smile.
He didn't know her name.
"Yeah," he cleared his throat when his voice broke. "Yeah, I, uh, yeah. Definitely. I'd like — I mean, yeah, that'd be Preem," he didn't know how to broach the subject without hurting her feelings, or his chances. But he did have an idea. "But like I said, my old man's coming home tonight, so…"
"Oh, yeah, right," she tucked a strand of her platinum blonde hair behind her ear, looking away in an attempt to hide her disappointment.
"But if you'll just shoot me your deets, we'll definitely hang soon!" Naruto added quickly. He didn't want her believing he was turning whatever it was she was offering him down or away. Be it a friendship or more, he would take either at that point. "Ya'know, to study… or whatever."
He swung his legs back and over the pond's edge and stood to find he eclipsed her height by at least a head and a half. His standing also revealed just how close she was to where he'd been sitting, drawing a cute squeak and backpedal from the girl.
"Or I could just give you mine, ya'know? It's up to you," Naruto offered.
"Yeah, I'd like that," she muttered shyly.
Their differences in height revealed her eyes were a dull blue in color, which glowed briefly the same color as she initiated a secured transfer of her contact information. This revealed her name to be Shiho and her chosen profile picture was a cartoonish pink bunny holding up a victory sign.
Despite his excitement, Naruto couldn't help but find it a little odd she didn't share her full name. But it wasn't exactly unheard of acquaintances to share only that information with one another, because despite his thoughts on her intentions, it was all they were so far; just assumptions and acquaintances.
Nevertheless, Naruto was just happy to now have more than three contacts. The first, and in order of frequency of communications, being Ichiraku Ramen, the second his BD editor, third was his father, and now Shiho.
More importantly, it was a girl! He had a girl's number!
"Nova," Naruto confirmed cooly and accepted the contact information, sharing his own in the process. "And I guess it goes without saying, but I'm Namikaze Naruto."
"Shiho," she introduced herself, keeping her last name to herself still. But Naruto didn't pay this much mind seeing how she tucked yet another strand behind the same ear, as though it were her nervous tick. "Well then, Namikaze Naruto. I guess I'll be seeing you around?"
"Definitely," Naruto agreed with a grin.
His lonely trip back home on the public train was traveled in much higher spirits than he was typically accustomed to. Sure, he didn't know Shiho at all, but she matched his definition of cute and he figured after five long years, it was time to move on.
It was a thought he entertained for all of a city block before recalling what he never truly forgot; his promise.
Naruto sent his BD editor a message requesting another tuning and was surprised when, before arriving at his final stop, he was sent confirmation of job completion.
Must've been a slow day at the office, Naruto thought.
Typically BD alterations took anywhere from a couple of days, to a couple of weeks, depending on the editor's workload and the modifications requested. His own requests weren't exactly extensive, but he had been asking for differing changes over the past few weeks. It was possible an iteration of a previous request was sent his way.
With something more immediate to look forward to before seeing his father, Naruto picked up his pace, reaching the residential district. He lived in a high rise apartment, one of many owned and operated by Arasaka in the heart of Tokyo, reserved for those in prominent positions within the company.
Be it officially or otherwise.
It was not uncommon for him to walk passed politicians, celebrities, or those in high standing within religious organizations. As such, security was always stringent, making the final stretch of his trek home that much more arduous.
The first step into entering the building, even for known residence, was a deep weapons and cybernetics scan. This was followed by an extensive identification scan in where one was required to physically jack into the security system.
To most, such extensive invasions of privacy were just another price to be paid for peace of mind in a violent and tumultuous world. But for Naruto, who wouldn't exactly consider himself to technologically paranoid, he simply couldn't agree with just how little privacy he was allowed at any one time on Arasaka property.
But there wasn't anything he could really do to remedy the situation other than to comply. Any ocular modifications that concealed one's facial features, or any encryption programs meant to spoof identification systems, while on Arasaka grounds, would result in criminal charges.
That being the best case scenario.
More often than not, those charged with corporate espionage, which most crimes against Arasaka were typically considered and tried as, would simply never be seen again.
Those were the rumors.
Disinformation, the dissemination of it, and outright corruption; all in plain sight. But this, of course, was blatantly denied by those entrusted with speaking truth to power, and generally ignored by the public at large despite being common knowledge.
Such was life in a world run by corporations.
"I'm home," Naruto announced as he entered his apartment on the forty-sixth floor.
"Welcome home, Master!"
A very attractive and provocatively dressed woman greeted him with a bow. Her dark verdant hair, held in place with a golden band ending in twin roses, framed her beautiful angular face and fell over her shoulders as she did so. Her crimson eyes met his affectionately with a smile to match.
"You've got a message at your private computer, Master," she informed him as she approached with a seductive swing to her hips. Her finger traced along his jaw as she circled him. "If you give me permission, I can tell you the contents. Or would you perhaps like to see something else?"
"Fuck, I gotta change you back before the old man gets home," Naruto said to himself as he walked through her just as she tugged on the straps of her black dress, disrupting the hologram, causing it to visibly waver.
"Is that a command, Master?" She asked, still keeping the seductive edge to her tone.
"Yeah," Naruto muttered, releasing his shame in a long drawn out sigh while raking a hand through his hair.
"Very well."
She blinked out of existence briefly before returning to the default system settings. Though still an attractive woman, the projection became more transparent, while also taking on more of a visible blue tint. No longer did she look like the protagonist of the old anime Naruto was currently binging, but a rather beautiful Latin American woman.
"You have a new message at your private computer, Namikaze-sama," she repeated in a more natural and neutral voice. Her stance, much like her current business attire, was also much more conservative, taking to holding her own hands behind her back. "If you give me permission, I can read to you its contents."
"No thanks, Joi," Naruto dismissed as he tossed his things onto the nearby sofa. He moved into the kitchen next, working on his usual dinner of instant ramen and an energy drink to wash it down with. "But go ahead and play some music from my favorites. Just make sure to shut it off and alert me when my dad gets home."
"As you with," the V.I acknowledged her orders before disappearing from view.
Naruto entered his room with his bowl in hand, moving straight to his computer. He cringed realizing his desk had become more than a little cluttered with instant ramen cups, empty bowls with bits of dried ramen within, and even more energy drinks from long nights of gaming and BD's.
He made a literal mental note to clean his room before his father arrived, but he had a BD to update and ramen to eat. So he did just that. He opened his commercial editing program and began to transfer the updated file he received from his editor, slurping on his spicy noodles as he waited for it to finish.
It was taking longer than he was used to. Naruto found this rather odd, but figured his editor must have finally installed the texture pack he'd been requesting for some time, making the experience all the more vivid, and hopefully closer to his real memory.
Though a much bigger file than usual, the transfer was still finished rather quickly and his father wouldn't be home for a couple of hours yet. With this in mind, Naruto put on the headset, set the sequence on a two minute countdown, and headed to the rooftop to enjoy a quick trip back to the last time he was happy.
"Naruto!"
His father's harsh uttering of his name finished shattering the memory. The world he previously inhabited was now lost to him, though the sensations lingered from his abrupt disconnection. He jumped in place, feeling the horrifying feeling of falling come to a jarring end; the feeling of the sun that once warmed his face was replaced by the bitter cold of Japan in January. Night had since fallen and so had the temperature.
His father looked down at and on him, his disappointed tinted neon pink with splashes of green from a nearby advertisement.
"Dad… I… I," the fog of the BD continued to muddle his thoughts. Her final pleading words in particular echoed clearly within his mind as though he'd just experienced them in reality.
And in a way, he had.
The way in which his heart hammered heavily in his chest was proof of this. As was the notification within his vision warning him of an abrupt spike in his heart-rate without any physical exertion. He dismissed the notification, that and the six others sent to him by the Joi V.I informing him his father was home.
"What have I told you about using this thing?" Minato questioned, somehow managing to remain stoic while also sounding reprimanding. He had the headset in his hands, bending it beneath the force of his grip. "And out in the open no less? Haven't I taught you better than that? Just because we're on Arasaka grounds doesn't mean — "
He seemed to rethink his words and didn't continue, but he did look rather angry now.
"Yeah, I know dad, I'm sorry," Naruto didn't know what else to do or say other than apologizing again.
His father somehow always found a way to make him feel incredibly foolish with words alone, and he was remised to admit it was always with reason.
Just like that, the brief expression of anger his father projected disappeared, his face falling to its default. In fact, he almost seemed to deflate as he handed him back his headset before nearing the edge of the sky-rise, leaning on the concrete railing to overlook the city.
Naruto stood on shaky feet to reluctantly join him at his side, staring at the amalgamation of lights in the distance, listening to the sounds of the city bustling below. He heard his father light a cigarette he smelled a moment later; a relic from the past that persisted in the present.
"You know I'm only trying to look out for you, don't you, Naruto?" Minato asked following a cloudy exhale.
"I know, dad," Naruto acknowledged truthfully.
He didn't particularly enjoy being reprimanded as if he were a child, but he would be lying to himself if he denied understanding his reasoning. Sure, he'd only intended on taking a quick trip into his own mind and memories after a long day at the academy, but as always, he found himself lost in his most cherished memory.
But something was different this time. His memory; the BD's end did not at all reflect what he remembered. It had never ended that way before.
He should have suspected something was awry considering just how quickly the turnaround from request to delivery. Either his BD editor corrupted his memory on purpose, or he did so out of neglect.
Either way, he would need to have a word with them.
"I realize we live in Arasaka housing, but that's what makes it all the more dangerous," Minato warned, and not for the first time. "If anything, this is where you should be the most aware and on guard. But you already know this, son, and yet here we are again. What're you going to do if I ever — "
His cherry glowed exceptionally bright and crackled audibly with the strength of his inhale.
"I know dad," Naruto felt incredibly idiotic at having to repeat himself, and for having made his father repeat himself. "It won't happen again, I… "
He promised.
How many times had he made and broken the same promise? He promised he would find Sakura and he'd failed in that regard too. What good was his word if he couldn't seem to keep it?
"Do you know what day it is today, Naruto?" Minato asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Oh, uh," a quick search of his display indicated the day. The same day this father no doubt was aware of, so there must have been a reason why he was asking. He just couldn't think of why that may be. "The tenth, why?"
"Of what month, son?" Minato asked, his tone gaining some levity.
Naruto was taken aback to see him smile, however small it may have been. It was an expression he'd witnessed only a few times in his life. "October? Why is it… oh," he joined his father in smiling at the realization. "It's my birthday, huh?"
"And how old are you today? Please don't tell me you forgot that too?" The slight inclination of his eyebrow indicated his humor.
Another rarity.
"Sixteen, I guess," Naruto muttered, suddenly feeling bashful.
"You guess?" Minato nudged his shoulder with his own.
"I'm pretty sure," Naruto checked him back with a chuckle.
Minato hummed the final draw of his cigarette from his nose before flicking it off into the relative darkness. He ruffled his hair briefly before moving away from the ledge. "Come on then. You may've forgotten your birthday, but your father didn't. I got you something."
Naruto I experienced a spike of anticipation and excitement at the possibilities his father's words promised. It wasn't as if he was exactly wanting for anything with whatever it was his father did for Arasaka, but his father's gifts were far and few between.
He didn't mind, though. Because whenever his father did give him a gift, it was usually something substantial. Not necessarily in price, despite it sometimes being the case, but meaningful to him. It served as a reminder to Naruto that, despite being both distant both emotionally and for business, his father really did care.
"Now, before I give you your present, I need you to promise me you'll be careful with it," Minato said to him as soon as they passed the threshold of their apartment.
"Uh, yeah, okay," Naruto was reluctant to agree to another promise, but this one seemed manageable.
He was also rather excited to see exactly what it was his father was about to gift him that required his word. He doubted it would be a new BD set, now that he needed another, but perhaps it was a firearm.
It wasn't that he necessarily needed one despite the increase in worldwide violence, or because of just how suffocating Arasaka security was. Yet he really wanted his own ever since his godfather had taken to a range one year he was in the country.
He quite literally had a blast.
"Gonna need more of an answer than that, son," Minato pressed patiently.
"I… I promise, old man," Naruto's grin faltered briefly and he hoped his father hadn't notice.
Of course he noticed, he lamented.
Minato nodded in acceptance regardless. "Wait here," he said, disappearing into his room.
Naruto sometimes hated how his mind worked. One moment he was happy and joking with his father, and the next he was saddened to see him enter the room he was supposed to share with his mother.
"I don't want you swinging this around the house," Minato warned as he emerged from the room with the pitch black sheathe of a katana in hand. It somehow glinted in the artificial lights, while also somehow seeming to absorb all light that touched it.
"No way, is that…" Naruto almost couldn't believe what he was seeing and yet there was no denying it was the most beautiful katana he'd ever laid eyes on.
Its handle was a vibrant, burnt orange in color, with bright blue wrapping that laced perfectly to create a traditional vertical parallelogram pattern. Its hand guard was of a most interesting design. Like the hilt, it was also black in color, with nine individual curves that swirled into the blade's center, creating an almost whirlpool-like pattern.
"Your mother's katana," Minato confirmed absentmindedly. He regarded the blade with a great affection, his stoic default loosing ever so slightly, as if reminiscing on something pleasant. After admiring the blade for a time longer, he finally presented it to him with a care that bordered on reluctance. "Yes. And now it's yours."
Naruto reached out for the katana, only for his father to pull it back abruptly, his expression back to its previous vacancy.
"I'm serious, Naruto," Minato warned. "Kyuubi was your mother's most prized possession, and I hope you'll treat it like yours from now on."
"I will," Naruto agreed just as serious and with true conviction. After all, he didn't own much of anything regarding his mother beyond a few holo-pictures. This was a guarantee he could easily keep and adhere to. "I promise."
With an expression that almost resembled pride, Minato finally passed on the katana.
Naruto took hold of the hilt, and then the handle. He inhaled sharply but maintained his grip on it when his display indicated an attempted connection from the katana. He looked to his father for an answer and received one before he could actually ask for it.
"Your mother always intended on giving you Kyuubi," Minato informed him. The whole of his attention remained on the katana. "When she created it, she coded it specifically to work with her neuralware only. Not even I can use it," he finally met his eyes. "When she learned she was pregnant with you, she personally chose and modified your neuralware to work with Kyuubi, making you the only other person beside her capable of wielding this katana."
"She did?" The question was rhetorical and after hearing the explanation, Naruto accepted the connection feeling tears pooling in his eyes. He tried to hold them back in the presence of his father, but found it difficult after hearing just how much his mother prepared for him.
Naruto always assumed she must have loved him because that's what mothers were supposed to do. But having tangible proof in his hands and in his head was enough to both warm and weigh at his heart.
His display indicated an upload process had initiated, pausing when it reached half completion to inform him he needed to unsheathe the katana to progress. He did just that, exposing the blade in a gesture that was a first, but felt so natural to do.
So familiar.
The katana's blade was just as beautiful as the rest of it. Its ridge, like the sheathe and guard, was pitch black. The darkest shade of the color he'd ever witnessed, darker than the aforementioned section of Kyuubi overall. It was almost as though light itself could not refract or escape it. The blade's edge, meanwhile, was a contrasting bright crimson red, with symmetrical wave patterns encompassing the entirety of it.
"It's amazing," Naruto put words to his feelings of awe. He was so enthralled by the sword, in fact, that he failed to take notice of the progress of the connection and how it remained at half.
"It is," Minato agreed as he reached into his expensive suit to present him with a shard. "Take this too."
"What is it?" Naruto asked as he accepted it.
"Slot it," Minato told him. "It's a basic instructional shard meant to help you take care of Kyuubi. It also has some entry level stances and sword techniques."
With another surge of excitement, he did as was asked of him, slotting the shard in the slot behind his ear. This seemed to finally push his connection to Kyuubi further along, but he hardly noticed this because he suddenly felt as though his entire body ignited.
A warmth that quickly became searing overwhelmed his senses and his optics began to glitch. Next, the information displayed within his vision became glaringly bright, making it difficult to see clearly.
Unknown to Naruto, his systems were attempting to contact Trauma Team but his communications were blocked.
"What the fuck?" The ground beneath him began to sway, as did the world around him. Soon he couldn't keep his footing, falling down to his hands and knees, still holding Kyuubi tight. His head was pounding, feeling the burning sensation give way to excruciating pain all over. It felt as though he was being torn apart from the inside out. "D-Dad, what's happening to me?"
If his father responded, he didn't and couldn't hear him over the racing of his heart so loud in his ears. He vomited, he was in so much pain.
"Dad, please, I — "
His now blurred vision was filled with notifications he still couldn't read, indicating one indicating his internal central processing unit was running beyond safe capacity, with another warning he was currently undergoing an attack against his intrusive countermeasures electronics surrounding his root processes.
But Naruto couldn't focus on anything outside the overwhelming pain and keeping the encroaching darkness out of his peripherals.
But despite his every effort, it wasn't much longer before he lost consciousness.
Minato laid his son down on his bed, wiping the tears from his eyes with his thumb before tucking him in beneath a light blanket. He hated seeing his son suffer but knew it was both a necessary and momentary sacrifice both had to contend with if he was to survive what was to come.
I just really hope you knew what you were doing, Kushina, Minato thought.
As much as he loved and revered his late wife, and trusted in her abilities, he also loved his son. Kushina was gone but Naruto wasn't and he intended on doing everything in his power to save him. He would not fail his family twice.
Minato initiated a call once he concluded the scans he was performing on his son, relieved to know his vital signs were beginning to level out. He was far from being safe, but he was no longer crashing either.
"How is he?"
"His body's adjusting to Kyuubi well enough. As well as anyone can, I imagine," Minato said as he initiated another round of scans. "I can already see the changes taking place, sensei." He focused on the scar on his son's left foot and how it was beginning to disappear before his very own eyes. "It's incredible."
"That's good, at least," Jiraiya sounded equally relieved as he felt. "Kushina was deceptively intelligent when she really put her mind to something."
"You know what she would have done if she heard you saying that," Minato informed him matter of factly.
"Oh I have a pretty good idea. She did shoot me once remember? " Jiraiya muttered. Within his image frame he was rubbing his left shoulder with a grimace.
There was a brief lull in their communication following that.
"I'm worried, sensei," Minato finally admitted. "It's happening now. With this, it's all set in motion. It'll only be a matter of time before Danzo catches on to what we're doing. And if he discovers Naruto has the Kyuubi — "
"We'll all be well and truly fucked," Jiraiya acknowledged. "I know. But then again, knowing Danzo, he could very well try and use this opportunity to tip the balances in Taka's favor. You know as well as I do he'd do anything to take the old man's place as top 'Saka."
"I know, and the last thing I want is to have my son be an unwilling participate in corporate warfare," Minato sighed heavily, well and truly feeling the weight of his decision irreversible compressing his chest with an emotion he'd thought to have long since suppressed.
Fear.
"They'd make him a living weapon not unlike Adam Smasher," Jiraiya acknowledged grimly. "That is if they don't try and rip it out of him."
"He'd die," Minato acknowledged regretfully.
"It won't come to that," Jiraiya encouraged.
"Maybe, but that's not the only reason I'm worried, sensei. I just don't know if Naruto's ready for this," Minato said as he continued to observe his son. "He's too… he's immature."
"Well I don't see how anyone can ever be ready for this life. I mean, I get where you're coming from but tell me something, kid. Is it that you really think Naruto's not ready, or is it that you're not ready?" Jiraiya asked.
"I don't know," Minato admitted through a heavy exhale. "I really don't."
"You can't put off his training anymore. You know that as well as I do. And if I'm being honest, you've already held out too long," Jiraiya said with the frustration that accompanied repetition. He seemed to compose himself quickly, though, taking to smirking with arms crossed. "Besides, Naruto's a tough kid. Smart too, in a Kushina-esque way. The best of both of you, if I'm being sappy."
"But this isn't what Kushina would've wanted, sensei," Minato uttered his own repeated counterargument. "He's still a child. He shouldn't have to go through this."
"It's not what any of us want for him, but there's a reason she prepared that shard for him, kid," Jiraiya said. "But you already know that. She knew this day would come. Or at the very least she obviously prepared for it."
"Are you implying my wife knew she would get murdered?" Minato almost snapped.
"You know exactly what I meant," Jiraiya responded with patience in understanding. "Look, kid, I know this is harder on you than anyone, but he needs to be prepared for what's to come. Don't forget, he's my godson. I worry about him too, you know."
"I know, sensei."
"So you'll do it, then? You'll train your son to be just like you?" Jiraiya asked.
"I have no choice at this point," Minato sighed audibly and kneeled down next to his son to rest a hand on his warm forehead. "But no, he won't be anything like me."
"What'd you mean?" Jiraiya inquired.
"I will train him to be a Shinobi," Minato ruffled his son's hair gently. "Because I know Arasaka will send theirs after him one day. But Naruto will be better than me, that much I know."
Jiraiya chuckled, his grin wide and unmistakably proud. "Somehow I can see it. Don't take this the wrong way, but you and Kushina made one hell of a kid."
"That we did," Minato agreed with a genuine smile of his own. "Keep me updated, sense. I'll do the same," with their connection ended, he regarded Naruto again. "Sleep well, son."
I honestly didn't expect to like the Edgrunners anime as much as I did. It got me playing Cyberpunk again and holy shit every time I hear that song I'm reminded just how good of a story it was because of how it makes me feel; sad.
That said, there were some aspects of story, mainly David's choices and how some characters ended up, that frustrated me. But I guess that's why this website exists, so that we can try for the ending we would've liked to see.
With that in mind, this is going to by my attempt at a story involving Naruto, if he were born in the world of Cyberpunk.
As for the pairings, that's going to be kind of hard because after watching the anime, i'm leaning more towards the Edgerunner girls. Though fem-V isn't entirely out of the question and, neither is Judy despite her proclivities. That's because I really like their characters too. So for now, the pairing will remain ambiguous.
Lastly, yes there will be some other Naruto characters in this, but they won't be the main focus. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses.
Until next time!