==============================
Chapter 04: The Effects of the Past
==============================
¡§Do the two of you know about Kyuubi?¡¨
The two mentioned shook their heads simultaneously.
Kakashi sighed.
He did not want to be the one to tell them about the secret that has haunted Naruto for all his life. Naruto was supposed to tell them, and he had wanted to, so badly. But then he found out about all the groups like the Akatsuki, who either wanted to revive the Kyuubi, or destroy it. Either way, if he told them, they would be in great danger, and he did not want to put his teammates in that predicament.
So, he had kept quiet, and his Seal remained the only secret he had ever kept to himself.
¡§Let¡¦s just say that his existence seemed to bother the less-than-open-minded villagers in Konoha. He will personally tell you what really happened when he gets his memory back-¡¨
¡§But what if his memory doesn¡¦t come back, and he stays like this forever?¡¨ Sasuke interrupted in his ever-so-calm voice laced with worry. ¡§What if he stays like this forever?¡¨
¡§His memory WILL return.¡¨ Kakashi responded firmly. ¡§And he will NOT stay like this for the rest of his life.¡¨ //He just can't.//
¡§As I was saying,¡¨ Kakashi continued, ¡§His presence bothered these people so much, they decided that maybe if they just ignored him, he would one day just disappear. But he did not. He remained among us, and he was a constant thorn in their side.¡¨
¡§If he had been older, or if he had had parents, or if he had a sibling, then this would not hurt him as much as it did. But keep in mind that we are talking about a child no more than three, and an orphan to boot. I¡¦m pretty sure that even though he doesn¡¦t show it, this feeling of resentment directed at you for reasons you could not comprehend must have pained him deeply.
¡§As I have said before, their eyes are mercilessly cold when they look at you, but do not see you. And because the adults are the ones who set the example, the children followed it.¡¨
Here, Sakura cringed, remembering that she was once one of those children, who hated Naruto simply because her parents and friends did. That she thought he was just a stupid loudmouth kid who would never amount to anything and that the best he could ever be was a waiter at some run-down restaurant.
¡§That is why the Naruto that we know is so noisy and irritating. He has learned, from a young age, that being loud and obnoxious was a way to get people to notice him. That is why he acts the way he does. That is the only reason why he acts like this, and the boy who left here with Lee is living proof of that.¡¨
¡§Huh?¡¨ Sakura asked, and at the same time, Sasuke said: ¡§What do you mean?¡¨
¡§That boy. Tell me how he acts. Is he the Number One Loudmouth Hyperactive ninja? Or is he the most well behaved boy you¡¦ve ever seen? The Naruto you see right there is the Naruto that would be had he grown up with a normal life.¡¨
//That would be Naruto? //
¡§But it doesn¡¦t fit the idiot.¡¨ Sasuke said, almost angrily.
¡§He¡¦s not longer The Idiot, Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi replied quietly. ¡§I hate to say this, but this boy might as well be a stranger. He doesn¡¦t know us, and we don¡¦t know him.¡¨
¡§Don¡¦t say that.¡¨ Sakura objected angrily. ¡§Naruto is Naruto. This boy is Naruto. So he is still Naruto, whether his nature is good or bad.¡¨
¡§Believe what you want.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§But the fact is, that the Naruto we knew is gone. This complicates things by a lot.¡¨
¡§What do you mean?¡¨
¡§Well, Naruto is detested by everyone because of reasons he cannot control. But it doesn¡¦t get to him that much because he has had deal with it every single day in his life. But now he has become a boy far too innocent and naive to be in this world. Which leads me to my next question.¡¨
¡§What?¡¨
¡§Where is he going to live? He can¡¦t just live in his own apartment. He doesn¡¦t know his way around Konoha well enough, and he could get lost easily. I¡¦m not saying he needs to stay at someone else¡¦s house permanently. I¡¦m just saying that he needs a temporary home. Any ideas?¡¨
¡§Well. . .¡¨
========== END CHAPTER 04 ==========
Author¡¦s Note: I have re-edited this chapter (slightly), because of a few people who told me that my reasons for Naruto being ¡¥homeless¡¦ was, in a word, dumb. The reason was because that this chapter was a little rushed. I didn¡¦t know where to start and where to end. And I wrote it at 11 at night, and next week is Exam Week (Yes, I am still in school) so. . . yea, I¡¦m sorry.
Also, I wanted to make it so that Naruto would end up living with his Significant Other.
The next chapter is chapter 05. Which means that in the next chapter, the couplings (all of them) will be revealed. The polls will be open until December 30, 2003. The next chapter will be released on January 01, 2004. This means that you will have up to two weeks at least to get all your votes in. Yes, you can vote four times for more than one couple.
On January 01, I will begin accepting ideas for other stories. EMAIL them to me. DO NOT PUT THEM IN A REVIEW. The ONLY REASON that you can have for putting it in a review, is if you do not have an email. My email is icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com . In your email, please include the character, plot, genre, length and whatever else (quotes, imagery, length, etc.) you want me to include in there. I will dedicate the story to you, and whatever. More details in the next chapter.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
-Yume
Chapter 04: The Effects of the Past
==============================
¡§Do the two of you know about Kyuubi?¡¨
The two mentioned shook their heads simultaneously.
Kakashi sighed.
He did not want to be the one to tell them about the secret that has haunted Naruto for all his life. Naruto was supposed to tell them, and he had wanted to, so badly. But then he found out about all the groups like the Akatsuki, who either wanted to revive the Kyuubi, or destroy it. Either way, if he told them, they would be in great danger, and he did not want to put his teammates in that predicament.
So, he had kept quiet, and his Seal remained the only secret he had ever kept to himself.
¡§Let¡¦s just say that his existence seemed to bother the less-than-open-minded villagers in Konoha. He will personally tell you what really happened when he gets his memory back-¡¨
¡§But what if his memory doesn¡¦t come back, and he stays like this forever?¡¨ Sasuke interrupted in his ever-so-calm voice laced with worry. ¡§What if he stays like this forever?¡¨
¡§His memory WILL return.¡¨ Kakashi responded firmly. ¡§And he will NOT stay like this for the rest of his life.¡¨ //He just can't.//
¡§As I was saying,¡¨ Kakashi continued, ¡§His presence bothered these people so much, they decided that maybe if they just ignored him, he would one day just disappear. But he did not. He remained among us, and he was a constant thorn in their side.¡¨
¡§If he had been older, or if he had had parents, or if he had a sibling, then this would not hurt him as much as it did. But keep in mind that we are talking about a child no more than three, and an orphan to boot. I¡¦m pretty sure that even though he doesn¡¦t show it, this feeling of resentment directed at you for reasons you could not comprehend must have pained him deeply.
¡§As I have said before, their eyes are mercilessly cold when they look at you, but do not see you. And because the adults are the ones who set the example, the children followed it.¡¨
Here, Sakura cringed, remembering that she was once one of those children, who hated Naruto simply because her parents and friends did. That she thought he was just a stupid loudmouth kid who would never amount to anything and that the best he could ever be was a waiter at some run-down restaurant.
¡§That is why the Naruto that we know is so noisy and irritating. He has learned, from a young age, that being loud and obnoxious was a way to get people to notice him. That is why he acts the way he does. That is the only reason why he acts like this, and the boy who left here with Lee is living proof of that.¡¨
¡§Huh?¡¨ Sakura asked, and at the same time, Sasuke said: ¡§What do you mean?¡¨
¡§That boy. Tell me how he acts. Is he the Number One Loudmouth Hyperactive ninja? Or is he the most well behaved boy you¡¦ve ever seen? The Naruto you see right there is the Naruto that would be had he grown up with a normal life.¡¨
//That would be Naruto? //
¡§But it doesn¡¦t fit the idiot.¡¨ Sasuke said, almost angrily.
¡§He¡¦s not longer The Idiot, Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi replied quietly. ¡§I hate to say this, but this boy might as well be a stranger. He doesn¡¦t know us, and we don¡¦t know him.¡¨
¡§Don¡¦t say that.¡¨ Sakura objected angrily. ¡§Naruto is Naruto. This boy is Naruto. So he is still Naruto, whether his nature is good or bad.¡¨
¡§Believe what you want.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§But the fact is, that the Naruto we knew is gone. This complicates things by a lot.¡¨
¡§What do you mean?¡¨
¡§Well, Naruto is detested by everyone because of reasons he cannot control. But it doesn¡¦t get to him that much because he has had deal with it every single day in his life. But now he has become a boy far too innocent and naive to be in this world. Which leads me to my next question.¡¨
¡§What?¡¨
¡§Where is he going to live? He can¡¦t just live in his own apartment. He doesn¡¦t know his way around Konoha well enough, and he could get lost easily. I¡¦m not saying he needs to stay at someone else¡¦s house permanently. I¡¦m just saying that he needs a temporary home. Any ideas?¡¨
¡§Well. . .¡¨
========== END CHAPTER 04 ==========
Author¡¦s Note: I have re-edited this chapter (slightly), because of a few people who told me that my reasons for Naruto being ¡¥homeless¡¦ was, in a word, dumb. The reason was because that this chapter was a little rushed. I didn¡¦t know where to start and where to end. And I wrote it at 11 at night, and next week is Exam Week (Yes, I am still in school) so. . . yea, I¡¦m sorry.
Also, I wanted to make it so that Naruto would end up living with his Significant Other.
The next chapter is chapter 05. Which means that in the next chapter, the couplings (all of them) will be revealed. The polls will be open until December 30, 2003. The next chapter will be released on January 01, 2004. This means that you will have up to two weeks at least to get all your votes in. Yes, you can vote four times for more than one couple.
On January 01, I will begin accepting ideas for other stories. EMAIL them to me. DO NOT PUT THEM IN A REVIEW. The ONLY REASON that you can have for putting it in a review, is if you do not have an email. My email is icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com . In your email, please include the character, plot, genre, length and whatever else (quotes, imagery, length, etc.) you want me to include in there. I will dedicate the story to you, and whatever. More details in the next chapter.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
-Yume