Chapter 3: The Naming
Racing through the beautiful growing trees was nostalgic. Everything was full of life. Kilometers passed with a breath as he drew nearer and nearer to his village. A sudden realization dawned upon him. He could not enter the village looking like a short-haired Minato; he had to change his appearance.
He was a shadow, invisible to the naked eye. It was fitting that he blend in with even villagers. He chose an austere look, black hair and brown-black eyes. The face he chose was genial, neither overly intimidating or friendly, simply a kind face that you quickly glance over while going about your business. He was nobody, nothing. He chose an average height for a shinobi at 175cm he was just under his previous height. Broad shoulders and a somewhat stocky build finished off his look.
Kneeling down on a limb, he unsealed some ink and a brush from a scroll located in an intricate design on his left forearm. Delicately, he dipped the brush into the well. The ink seeped into the light colored bristles. The brush weaved itself in a unique design, original to his appearance.
Outwardly, the seal behind his right ear appeared to be a small naruto, signifying his past. Raising a finger to his mouth, he bit, drawing blood. He carefully added the blood to the seal, making it so that he was the only one able to remove the henge.
Satisfied with his work, he rose to stand. The black-haired man wore a jounin vest and blue battlesuit typical of your usual jounin. He did not tape the sleeves of his battlesuit, simply leaving them to blow in the breeze so that he had access to the seals hidden below the blue fabric. Upon his hands were fingerless gloves with non-reflective metal plates, on which were inlaid leaf symbols. Black ANBU pants joined the ensemble, taped at the ankles and leading down to blue shinobi sandals. His hitai-ate was on blue fabric and laid simply over his forehead.
All-in-all he looked like your stereotypical Konoha jounin. Nothing about him was spectacular or unique. He looked not at all like the number one unpredictable ninja and he was glad for it.
Channeling chakra to his feet to muffle the sound, the nameless shinobi stood and continued on his path. Hiding his chakra signature was second nature, but he put a certain twist on it. He decreased the amount of chakra escaping from his body to that of a regular jounin instead of his normal overwhelming amount. Now, he truly was just a typical jounin. Nothing about him screamed excellent or even above average.
He was a new person. An anonymous entity. Of course, the best way to remain anonymous is to hide in plain sight. He would integrate himself into Konoha life as if he had always been there, simply an average jounin who had been overlooked.
A familiar chakra signature caught his attention. It was one he had been around for nearly his whole life. It was the most important signature in his life. It was... Kakashi. The man sped up his pace. The signature was weak, flagging up and down, indicating injury. His heart nearly stopped.
He quickly caught up with the injured man, but hid in a tree, unwilling to confront the man he loved quite yet. His heart thumped uncontrollably in his chest. Kakashi's hair had a slight red tinge to it, the memory of the color hurdled him through time. He was too late. Always too late.
The grayish-red haired man took a stumbling step forward and fell, crumbling to the floor like a forgotten doll. He froze. Not again not again not again not again not again his mind raced, out of control. Without any consideration about Kakashi's potential team or enemy, he descended. His mind was numb, simultaneously in the present and future.
He fell to his knees next to his wounded comrade. His hand reached out on its own volition, caressing the stained locks. Numerous gashes had found their way across the copy nin's body. There was no time for the tears that threatened to fall.
The man carefully pulled Kakashi onto his back, the copy nin's head lolled gently on his shoulder. It was nostalgic. He took off in a full sprint, not caring about chakra conservation any longer. His hands were fully occupied keeping his comrade comfortably on his back, leaving him unable to defend himself, but he didn't care. His only goal was the hospital.
All he could think of everything he loved about the man. From his careless attitude to his inner-most feelings of adoration towards his comrades. He was always late not because of carelessness, but because of love. He not only was teaching patience, but giving those who had died for their country the attention they deserved.
Kakashi was careless when his loved ones were faced with danger. He cared not for himself, only for their safety. He was willing to die for those that he considered his precious people, just like the man himself.
Slight motion on his back rose the man from his thoughts. A masked nose inhaled the scent he was confronted with. Steel. Blood. Sunshine. A sweet concoction that smelled like home. The copy nin's gray eye opened to see black locks of hair tickling his face. His instincts screamed home, yet Kakashi was on high alert. He glanced up to see the ninja's forehead hoping to find affiliation. Seeing the Konoha leaf symbol, the rest of the energy in his body drained.
"Who are you," Kakashi murmured into the hair that smelled of home.
"No one," the man responded. Actually, he just hadn't thought to come up with a name. He thought he had plenty of time before interacting with anyone who would want a name.
"Ok Mumei, whatever you say," he mumbled before losing the battle with consciousness.
Mumei it is, he thought. Mumei pushed himself harder, ran faster, refusing to let the man he loved die. The man was seen in the future, he wouldn't die at this point, but Mumei wasn't thinking in that way. All he could see was what was directly in front of him; a wounded and dying Kakashi.
I could use some help, Kurama, he spoke to his inner demon.
The Kyuubi hissed in response and removed himself from the seal, materializing in the form of a one-tailed fox. The wolf-sized beast sped alongside Mumei in the trees. A red chakra manifested itself in the air around the fox and was absorbed by the man next to him.
Mumei took in the glowing red chakra easily, as if breathing air. He pushed more into his feet and flew higher and further in the air than before. Kurama rolled his eyes in contempt, not understanding why humans were so peculiar in their affections.
Mumei's feet took on a red aura as he practically flew down his path towards home and safety. Red trailed behind the trio, emitted by the fox and shinobi's feet. Mumei was on high alert for any villagers or shinobi in the area. If they were to stumble upon this sight, it would definitely raise a few questions, questions that the man certainly did not want to answer.
Finally, Mumei, the fox and Kakashi neared the front gate.
"Kurama, disperse," Mumei ordered the ornery fox. Quickly, the man absorbed the rest of Kurama's chakra, removing it from his feet and integrating it with the rest of his system. Glowing red feet would be hard to explain to a passer-by.
Whatever, he muttered, descending the branches and running off to the South in search of prey.
Don't harass any humans, he called after the disappearing fox.
You take all the fun out of hunting, Kurama grumbled from inside Mumei's head.
The ornate main gate appeared in Mumei's sight. Finally.
He sped by the gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, avoiding an uncomfortable conversation. The black-haired pair widened their collective three eyes in surprise, seeing the infamous Kakashi no Sharingan unconscious on the back of another shinobi. With the copy nin on Mumei's back, it was unlikely that the duo would report an intruder as it was obvious that he was part of the village.
It wasn't like he had to sign in; the gate guards typically knew every ninja and civilian that passed through and marked down who came and went. He probably could have talked his way out of being reported, but this was actually much more convenient.
The fact that the guardians were Izumo and Kotetsu narrowed down the time frame he was in. At the very least he was in a time before the Fourth Great Shinobi War and after he was the age of 5 when they first started their time as gate watchers. Time seemed trivial with his sensei hanging onto life on his back.
Mumei took to the roofs, hoping to avoid the civilian traffic of the main road that cut through Konoha. The hospital was located off to the left side of the main road three quarters of the way into the village.
Being back in his village, alive, whole, almost gave him pause. Mumei had no time for reminiscing, his only desire was seeing his ex-sensei tended to by medics. Of course, that didn't mean that he couldn't look around and take in the sights while he was running.
His eyes narrowed upon the sight of the Hokage Mountain. There were only 4 figures. That meant that Tsunade was yet to become Hokage. Naruto was between the ages of 5 and 14. This wasn't a bad range of years to work with. Much could be changed in those 9 years.
Arriving on the roof of the hospital, he was met by several medics with a gurney. Izumo and Kotetsu must have radioed ahead, he determined. Mumei resolved to make sure that his younger self played less pranks on those two than he once had.
He gently laid his companion on the gurney, lightly holding Kakashi's hand as he was whisked away. They remained in contact for as long as possible before suddenly Kakashi was gone down the hallway.
Once the Hatake was gone, the medics seemed to suddenly realize that there was another shinobi there, as if they hadn't seen him carry the copy nin there. They scrambled towards him, assessing and determining that there was no harm done. It was a new sensation. He had never had hospital workers interested in his well-being.
Mumei had spent his youth ignored and abused by everyone he met other than his Jiji and Team 7. This was an odd feeling. He couldn't determine if he was upset by the fact that they treated others so utterly different than his young self or he was still rattled by the near loss of his beloved.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Mumei followed down the hallway where they had taken Kakashi. He stopped at the nurse's station to quietly ask which room they had taken him to. The nurse happily replied, absolutely no contempt that he had once adjusted to present in her voice.
Medics were consumed with activity, fluttering around Kakashi's prone body checking vitals, healing gashes and chakra coils. Quietly, he assumed a spot in the corner where he was out of the way but still able to keep an eye on the goings-on.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a cheeky nurse going for Kakashi's face mask. Consumed with anger, his hand shot out and grabbed the nurse by the wrist. "Don't," he growled. The nurse was taken aback, she had not even noticed that Mumei was in the room.
She bowed at the waist, clearly apologetic. She ran from the room, tears starting to escape from the corners of her eyes. Mumei grunted and returned to his corner. Nobody would disrespect his Kakashi while he was unconscious and unable to defend himself.
Once again, he unsealed his fuuinjutsu materials from his forearm and drew another seal on the man's skin behind his right ear, just as he had done to himself earlier that day. The medics looked at him oddly when he took a swipe of Kakashi's blood as well as his own and placed them on the seal. Now, nobody could dispel the henge on Kakashi's face except the man himself and... well, he was feeling a bit possessive.
The seal appeared as a small naruto tattoo. Mumei apparently now had a signature for his seals; a naruto was ambiguous and wouldn't lead back to him, fortunately.
One by one, the staff left the room once Kakashi was in stable condition. Mumei left the corner he had claimed as his own and settled into a chair next to the copy nin's side. He estimated that Kakashi would not awaken for another few hours. This gave him enough time to watch his beloved for a while, taking in each breath as if it were a message from Kami-sama.
Slowly, his eyes closed. How long had it been since he last slept? A week at the least...and he was out.
As Kakashi regained consciousness, he scented the air, determining his location. Antiseptic... hospital. Steel, blood, sunshine... home. He opened his eyes in shock, how was that scent home? Gray and red mismatched eyes quickly jotted around the room, taking in their surroundings. They were indeed in the Konoha hospital.
A very plain man who he had not seen before was seated next to his hospital bed. He reached for his hitai-ate which sat on the table next to the bed and placed it over his sharingan eye. Narrowing his gray eye, he took in the sight before him. The man was, well, average. His chakra seemed average, his face was average, his eyes were average, his black hair was average. Nothing about him stood out.
Not a single scar marred his average face, leaving nothing for a memory to attach to. His hair was similar to Minato-sensei's. It stuck out at odd angles on the top and two locks of hair lept smoothly over the standard headband and framed his face. Home man was cute. Wait, did I just think that? He startled. There was absolutely nothing extraordinary about him. How the hell could he find him attractive?
It was probably tied to his scent. Kakashi's sense of smell was very well-developed, better than that of an Inuzuka. It must have been the scent that drew Kakashi to this stranger.
Suddenly, he realized that he had no shirt on. His sleeveless shirt was attached to his mask, therefore he was maskless! His hands flew to his face, but found a mask there already. Kakashi felt like he was going crazy for not the first time that day.
His sharp movement seemed to awaken the stranger, as brown-black eyes snapped open. They blinked owlishly and the man stood quickly. It took all the strength in Kakashi's body to keep from reaching out and grabbing the man's hand to force him back into the chair. What is wrong with me today? I'm definitely going crazy or this is a dream.
"Who are you?" he decided was a good line of questioning.
"Uh... Mumei," the stranger replied. Mumei? That was a dumb name.
"Ne, why are you in my hospital room, Mumei.
"I don't know, Hatake-san. I just wanted a place to take a nap. I'll be seeing you," he replied, raising his hand in a salute before quickly performing a Shunshin and disappearing in smoke.
That was weird. Not so average afterall. Now he just had to figure out the mystery of the appearing mask henge.
Mumei panted against a wall near his old apartment, not from exhaustion but panic. Holy shit that was close. He couldn't bare to be around Kakashi like that. Not being able to touch him, to tell him everything was draining to say the least.
Now that he was inside the gates, he had some things to accomplish. First of all, he had to inform Jiji that he was from the future. It was something he had debated for a very long time, but in the end, three was no way to be a ninja in Konoha without the old man knowing him. He didn't want to burden the man with the truth of the future, but he had to do it for the sake of ever Konoha citizen.
So, he set out for the Hokage Tower on foot through the village. His approach would have to be very non-threatening. No window entrances as he was "average" and only extraordinary shinobi used the window as their means of approach. Door it was, then.
As he passed by many shops, stands and houses, he realized what it felt like to be normal. Not hated, not beloved, just... accepted. He didn't like it. It felt wrong. Having spent his whole life either one or the other, being somewhere in between felt like the world was just not quite right. A shiver sent itself through his spine. What a terrible feeling.
He approached the Hokage Tower practicing over and over in his head what he would say to the old man. How would he convince the Hokage of the future?
I can show him, Kurama butt into his thoughts yet again.
How? Mumei questioned the Kyuubi.
Must you ask so many questions? I'm already helping you out.
Fine, fine. You just do your thing when it comes time.
He could feel Kurama mocking him from where he stood.
Opening the doors to the ground floor, he felt like he was coming home. So many times had he opened these doors, barely able to reach the knob, and came to see his loving Jiji. He pushed forward, winding up the incline of the spiral ramp. He imagined a younger version of himself, fresh from his trip with Ero-sennin, walking up this ramp with the rest of Team Kakashi. Oh how he missed them.
He nodded to the chuunin at the desk in front of the Hokage's office. Mumei passed through the doors with ease, no confrontation to be had. He braced himself for what he would find behind the door. It had been over a decade since he had seen the Third. His death had been his first ever loss of someone that he loved; the first time he had failed someone.
The door slowly opened. Mumei stepped through the opening, prepared for what he would see.
The sight of the old man's face, liver spots and all, froze him in place. His small beard gave the Hokage a monkey-like quality, fitting because of his summons. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure he could do it anymore. How could he tell the man that raised him that both his son and grandson were dead in the future and it was all his fault?
No. He must be brave. For his precious people, he could fix this. He could change the Path. He could save Asuma, save Konohamaru, save everyone.
Mumei walked into the room. The Hokage looked up from his paperwork, a puzzled look on his face. "Wh-," he began, but Mumei quickly spoke.
"It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening," Mumei whispered, barely audible.
"Leave us," the Hokage quickly demanded of his ANBU guards.
Several masked shinobi and kunoichi appeared and then quickly vanished.
Mumei knelt, removing a pre-made barrier seal. It would shield the room from chakra and sound from both entering and exiting.
The Third narrowed his eyes and looked at the stranger expectantly. "How do you know that phrase?"
"I'm the Nanadaime Hokage," he replied gently, biting a finger and placing it on the seal behind his right ear. The henge dispersed. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm from the future."
Disclaimer: I did not make that phrase up, I stole it from The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I thought it was oddly fitting.