What is in a Name- Inspired by Menma and the reason his hair turned black...Inspired by Gaara's sand... Yakumo's Ido... The creation of Black Zetsu and the Bjuu...
" ... Where am I?" Slowly, I Stood, head aching horribley as I tired to figure out the answer I sought. " A forest... that's right... Shadow clones, I learned them... I think." Images fluttered across his vision, like a movie only he saw through someone's eyes. Breaking into the Hokage's office, grabbing the massive scroll, using the Sexy jutsu to escape..." The old man... I'm supposed to love him right? I remember loving him, like a grandpa but... he's just a face." the Old man's face was like one of those fake sneeze, there was a lot of build up but in the end nothing but odd disappointment. There was nothing, it was like looking at a character in a movie, sure you knew what they were called and what they were like but other then that you felt no real anything towards them. " After that, I was in the woods, looking at the big scroll... Shadow clones, we trained in it... right? I can't remember."
I looked at my hands, the looked the same as the hands in my memories. Small and scratched up, with slightly chewed nails and a dirt stain on the left hand. He was wearing the same orange jumpsuit, only it felt heavier then it should... " Why do I like this, its so... bright, but Orange is my favorite... right?" Again there was that feeling, like I was supposed to feel something, a build up that just fell away leaving emptiness and disappointment in it's place. " I... I'll deal with it later. What else... I got the shadow clone jutsu down then Iruka popped up and So Mizuki... I have the Kyuubi inside of me."
Finally, I felt something, shock and annoyance and anger but it wasn't as big as I remember feeling. It was more like, when you add too much water to Ramen Broth and it starts to taste weak and funny. You knew it was Ramen Broth, but it was just way too weak to enjoy.
" The Last thing I remember is Mizuki hurting Iruka and Iruka defending me... saying that I am Naruto Uzumaki, Ninja of the Leaf and Then I stopped him and made a lot of clones, then Everything went dark." Kami I felt tired, weak and just wrong. I wasn't sick, but I wasn't okay either. " I need to see the old man."
Turning around I Tried to jump into the trees... only to stumble and fall, barely able to breath. " I feel so weak, like when I spent all of my grocery money on Ramen when I was eight... " Grumbling and annoyed, I picked myself up and stumbled through the forest. Every minute or so, I had to lean up against a tree and relax. " What's wrong with me, I'm never this tired or out of breath."
It hit me, then, that my voice sounded different. Maybe it was because I wasn't yelling like I could remember myself doing alot, or maybe it was because my voice wasn't so scratchy... I wasn't sure.
Regardless of all of this it took me at least an hour to get into the village, just as the Sun was rising. I felt a little bit better, enough to hurry to my apartment to get something to eat before I went to the old man.
As I walked through the village though, that weird feeling came up. I knew I was supposed to feel something, love or hate or anything but I just didn't. I knew which buildings were apartments and which were stores but it all meant nothing. Actually that wasn't quite right, they seemed different, new, like I had read about them or heard about them but am actually getting to see them for the first time.
" This is getting weird... I need to see the old man quickly." I decided to risk it and leaped onto the roof, hoping until I got to my apartment... only to find that I didn't have my key. I had lot my key more then a few times, so I always left a window open in my kitchen. " Food... wait, is that...snoring?" Freezing for a second, I turned around and slowly crept to my bedroom. What I saw hit me like a ton of bricks. " How... is that me? Am I a clone, is he a clone..." Remembering how to dispel shadow clones, I held out my hand and flared my ... catra? Whatever it was called, but the me drooling on my bed didn't dispel. It became hard to breathe,especially when I realized that I felt my body getting weaker. The world turned, everything went grey before I managed to pull myself away from the room. I could almost feel my catra pulling out of me, pushing to the other me... " I can't be here... I'm a clone but I'm not right... I don't, the other were just other Naruto's but I'm not. I don't feel like they do... I am a copy, a fake, a clone..."
Maybe it wasn't the smart choice, but I was freaking out... so I grabbed a few cups of ramen and one of my... his old backpacks and shot of out of the window. Unlike the other... the real Naruto, I couldn't leap through the village without thinking about it. I had to really focus, the remember what he saw... what he remembered. Still, I got out of the village easily and ran as fast as I could out of the village despite the tears in my eyes and my exhaustion.
Eventually, I don't really know how much later, I collapsed against a tree and passed out using my bag as a pillow.
"""
It was night time when I woke up next, weaker then before and so hungry...Slumping, I slowly managed to get a fire started. Like when I was in the village, I had to really focus on what Naruto saw and figure it out. I wasn't remembering something I did, I was remembering what he saw. It wasn't really my memories... it was like watching someone else doing something, like trying to copy something in a movie. I cut myself twice trying this...
Finding water was easier, I was near a creek. It was then that I realized that I had nothing to boil my water in... " Shit... maybe, I fished... no he fished. Okay, what did he do?"
Again it was hard to copy since Fish were slippery and I didn't have the stuff to make a fishing pole like he did. I did manage though and soon I had fishes cooking in the fire on sticks. Unfortunately because of that, I had time to think... and that kind of sucked.
" What am I... I don't understand. Okay, I am a clone that makes sense. The clones are me, uh him. They are the same people right, so maybe something went wrong? But, why didn't I go away like the others? Why do I feel like I'm not really Naruto? Gah, my brain hurts...Okay, so I'm not Naruto but if that's true who am I?"
I may have started slapping my head in frustration, don't judge, but I was so frustrated! Everything I was, I had, was borrowed. I wasn't real, I was a fake...
" But I don't feel like fake... I feel like me but who is me... who am I?" With more anger then I should have felt, I ripped my jumpsuit top off, tossing it into the fire... only for it to poof away and a lot of my tiredness to go away. " Wait, even my clothes are clones... fakes, borrowed...Kami, I can feel my catra trying to go back to him." Like a compass my catra was twisting to point to Naruto, back to the village. It was the same feeling I had felt before, when I saw Naruto sleeping in my... his bed... only not as strong. " Maybe I should go to him, I'm not even real..."
Standing, I turned started to walk away from my camp when I felt... something. " What the... is ... is there another clone?" It wasn't as strong but I could feel my catra pulling in a different direction. " I... I don't want to be Naruto, but maybe I'll figure out what I am if I find whatever that is?" The growl of my stomach stopped me. "Uh... maybe I should eat first..."
The Fish was pretty good, I was proud that I did something all on my own. Sure I used Naruto's memories, but you know I am the one that did it!
" Am I still a Ninja?" Even without the emotion, I knew that Naruto wanted to be a ninja and the Hokage. " Do I want to be a ninja? I don't really have any memory other then training to be a ninja, besides I... I think it would be nice to have that kind of power... Okay, I think I am going to be a ninja but I need a sensei." I could remember the lessons that Naruto went through, but I couldn't really hear them... maybe it was because Naruto rarely paid attention and skipped class a lot. " Damn it... that bastard's laziness means I don't know how to be a ninja!"
After chomping down on my last Fish , I realized that I was kind of stinky and sticky so taking a bath seemed like a good idea. The Creek water ended being the only way I could get not so stinky... only for anger to strike once more. " I... even have his face! I don't want his face, I don't want to be Naruto... I may be his clone but I'm me!" I glared at my hair, hating that it was blonde and spiky, a reminder that I wasn't really me... I wasn't sure if cutting my hair would do anything, since my clothes just poofed away, so I glared at it, wanting it to dissapear! " What the hell!" I could feel it, my hair melting into my head until It was shiny and bald! " Cool... maybe it's because I'm a clone! I'm just catra, so I can change what I look like like a transformation! " Practically giddy, I looked at the reflection of my eyes and imagined them like Sakura's. Even if I didn't love her like Naruto did, I thought she had pretty eyes. I could remember them so clearly that it was easy to make my eyes change colors. " I don' t think I like the bald look...hmmm...Mizuki had nice hair, even if he was a bastard... maybe..." Slowly my hair grew out and turned that blueish white, but I didn't make it long like his. Instead I left it like a buzzcut I remembered one of Naruto's class mates have.
I played with everything for a few minutes but found that I couldn't do anything about the Whisker marks , and other then my hair and eyes I couldn't keep up any changes for more then a minute or so... still with my different eyes and hair I felt different enough that it was okay. I was a clone of Naruto but I wasn't him, I was more like a brother or cousin. We would always look alike but not perfectly. That made looking at my reflection easier... I felt like a person...
" I need a new name... I can't be Naruto, that's his name... ... Eiji, it means the Second Born...Hibiki, that means echo and I kind of like it... Tomo, that means twin... I like that... Tomo Hibiki... Twin Echo... I kind of am his, his echo..."
Smiling, for once happy in my short clone life, I hurried back to camp and put out the fire all of the way before hurrying to whatever was pulling me away from Naruto. I knew my purpose, I would figure out who and what I was.
""' Noon the next day"""
" Huh... that is a very big building..." Smiling, I hurried up the steps of the massive building, hearing grunts I knew was from sparring. When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw a lot of people sparring. They were wearing goofy robes and most were bald. They all kind of looked alike to me.
I could feel something pulling me, like with Naruto, only this didn't make me feel tired and weak. I felt stronger, happier, warmer. Before I was kind of cold... whatever was pulling on me, I decided that I liked and wanted more of it.
I was so distracted by all of this I almost missed Someone, a really tall bald guy, walking over to me with a smile. " What brings you to our Temple, young one." I tried not to laugh, his hair was really weird, shapped like an oval leaf!
" I'm... I'm trying to find myself. " I'm not sure why I was being honest, but the words gushed from my mouth. " I lost my self and I want to find me sir, the new me, you know?"
" Yes, many come to us in search of themselves. You could say that in many ways, that is the purpose of this temple and all of the other Ninja Temples. My name is Chiriku, and if you so chose, you may join us here at the temple as you find yourself."
Warmth slowly filled my heart, and for once I knew it had nothing to do with Naruto. " Thank you... will, I will I be able to learn how to fight like them?"
Chiriku, seeing where I was pointing, laughed. " Of course, though you would be considered a Monk in training and you would have a lot of responsibilities. Cleaning the hall, collecting fire wood, studying our history and faith. Are you willing to put in that kind of work?"
Naruto would have said no, that books were boring and he wanted to learned fancy Jutsu. I knew that... so naturally, I did the opposite. " Yes sir."
" Then follow me, I will get you settled in and you can met your fellow student. His name is Sora and he is my apprentice. He has quite a few years of experience, having lived here since he was five, so don't try and measure your self with him."
As we got closer to wherever this Sora was, the less hungry I felt. It was weird, but I just felt better, stronger, warmer. When we finally reached a bedroom, I knew that for whatever reason, Sora was the one drawing me. It was exactly the opposite from Naruto, I felt his catra coming into me, making me stronger and everything felt... right.
"Who's this?" Sora reminded me of what I remember Naruto sounding like... kind of rude, kind of angry. I liked his hair, it was a pretty blue... but I didn't like how long it was, long hair was weird.
Chiriku seemed a little annoyed, glaring at Sora. " His name is ... oh, I forgot to ask your name, how rude of me."
" It's okay, Uh... my name is Na... " Gritting my Teeth, I had to take in a deep breath. " My name is Tomo Hibiki. It's nice to meet you." They both were staring at me, looking worried and annoyed ( Chiriku and Sora respectively).
" Well Tomo, I hope you enjoy your stay here and find all you are looking for. Sora, please show him around the Temple, get him some robes and explain how things work around here. You are excused from your afternoon chores."
The monk in training shrugged,looking a little uncomfortable. " Sure, Chiriku." He turned to me, annoyed and bored. " Follow me." Then walked away, closed off and ...
' He's like Naruto... I think he was treated like Naruto was.' It was weird but as I looked at Sora's back, I saw Naruto and knew that was part of why I felt drawn to him... ' I wonder why...' Brushing it to the side, I smiled and looked up. ' I... I'm done with Naruto. I'm not him, I'm Tomo Hibiki and I am going to figure out what that means and why I feel so much stronger around Sora.'
Satisfied, I hurried after the monk in training, eager to answer those questions.
Chapter End, tell me what you think in the reviews.
Any guesses as to what Tomo is, are welcome. I am pleased with his character and what he means to me, and I hope you all enjoy his story!
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
