Fate's Garden

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 2 - Haha, you're a duck-butt!

Okay, let me see if I've got this right.

Alright.

The fourth hokage, is my father, and he married a former nin of the whirlpool village.

Yes.

Because the fourth lived through the sealing, which occurred differently in this world as you and I are bound but you are outside of my body…

Yes.

He stopped Itachi and…Madara?

Correct, Madara was the initial cofounder of Konoha, and the founder of the Uchiha clan.

He stopped them from leaving after the Uchiha massacre by killing both. My…mom, er, Kushina…took in Sasuke shortly after so that he wouldn't go to a family that would think he was weird?

Yes.

And as far as anyone knows there has been no sign of activity with the Akatsuki or Orochimaru?

Correct.

God this place is weird.

To you, maybe. But to us, the world you described sounds just as 'weird' if not more so.

After the introductions Sasuke and he had returned 'home' to a drool worthy lunch of homemade ramen. Naruto had never imagined that he might find ramen better than Ichiraku's but…life was full of surprises. When asked about the meeting, Sasuke had answered for the both of them he talked so much. Naruto couldn't remember Sasuke ever being this chatty unless he was explaining what he was going to do to you before he killed you, and just how much it would hurt; or, unless he was talking about how he was going to avenge his clan some day. That was definitely the longest rant in all of history. It got longer each time you asked about it, and sometimes new, uninteresting details were thrown in. All of it was spoken in a low, hateful way that was almost monotonous after he reached a certain part. Naruto had made a habit at one point of initiating the rant after a long tired day on a mission just so he could get to sleep faster when they'd made up camp. Sasuke had never figured out Naruto's nefarious plot, despite however clever he might have been. Naruto wasn't really surprised by the way Kakashi had acted, or that he was the former student of the yondaime…or anything like that. Sasuke seemed thrilled about it, commenting on how if Kakashi annoyed them, he could always get him in trouble with their Dad. No, the things that surprised him more was how the introductions had gone.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like manga, sparring, and hanging out with my best friend Ino. I hate being stuck on a team with the two hugest losers of the school, even if they are the hokage's sons. My dream is to someday become the head medic nin at the hospital in Konoha."

"My name is Sasuke Namikaze. I like training, pulling pranks with my brother, and my mom's dumplings. I hate being stuck on a team with the popular girl who makes fun of my brother and I incessantly because she's too vain and has nothing better to do! My dream is to someday become head of the ANBU so I can protect my brother when he's hokage!"

Here it was. Naruto's turn. He'd had to confirm some things with Kyuubi but he managed to introduce himself just fine he thought. "My name is Naruto…Namikaze. I like training with my family, pulling pranks with my brother of course, and all of my mom's cooking! Um…I don't really know what it is that I don't like off hand. My dream is to become hokage, just like my Dad."

He'd had trouble coming up with something he hated so vehemently. There were quite a few things that Naruto loathed. Like Itachi Uchiha for driving his younger brother into an 'I must avenge!' frenzy that would span his entire lifetime. He hated Orochimaru for taking Sasuke in as his groupie. He hated the village sometimes for hating him and stabbing his childhood in the heart. But, all of those feelings were his, not this Naruto's. They wouldn't really make sense. Though Kyuubi offered up some examples for him, such as hating Sakura and Ino and their little 'clique' in this world, he couldn't say it. His first and foremost instinct was to ignore Sakura's bitchy attitude and wait for her to become the kind, caring person he knew she was. But…there was also the troubling thought that maybe she wouldn't grow out of it. Maybe in this world she really was stuck like this. She wouldn't ever become the Sakura he knew from his…home…world. His sister, his best friend, whom had grown into an extremely powerful medic nin and never let him down. He sighed.

While the truth of the matter that their 'survival training' the next day would either let them continue as three of nine official genin didn't shock him in the slightest, it certainly gave Sasuke and Sakura a heart attack. Both of them pouted and scowled as they took their printouts. Naruto ignored it for the most part, staring out over the town from their perch up on a higher crest where they'd met in Naruto's world too. Then, when they got home, Sasuke had more than enough to say about their jounin sensei. He also reminded their mother that they were not eating breakfast the next day so they wouldn't throw up at their survival training. Kushina's eyes twinkled, and at that instant Naruto was sure she knew the real reason behind why they weren't eating breakfast. The fact that she didn't enlighten Sasuke was both frustrating and amusing. Mostly he was hoping she would tell Sasuke so that they would both end up eating anyways out of self-preservation. But no, she just let it slide right past him. God damnit. He'd have to sneak down early the next day and get some breakfast. There was no way he was suffering through that twice.

Thankfully, their mother didn't comment on Naruto's silence. He asked Kyuubi, and it turned out this Naruto was the quieter of the two. Probably because the speed at which Sasuke talked, there was no way that Naruto could get a sentence in edgewise. He found this both hilarious and annoying. He 

wasn't sure how long he'd be able to last with a Sasuke who talked faster than Ino and Sakura combined. In the middle of their lunch, their Dad entered the kitchen. Naruto hadn't heard the front door open or close, but he guessed that Sasuke's rapid speech might have drowned it out.

Naruto had managed, over the course of the day, to smother most of his reactions to things. This was becoming increasingly helpful as more and more things showed up that would have made him keel over in a dead faint. One such thing was the legendary yondaime of his world standing in the kitchen, speaking with them jovially. Sasuke was already shifting his word vomit trajectory to their father, the poor sod. Naruto shook his head.

"Dad, dad, guess what?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, what?!" Minato retorted, obviously used to this sort of verbal assault.

Naruto chuckled, and Sasuke, completely unfazed, carried on with his explicating.

"Kakashi Hatake is our jounin sensei!"

Minato's eyebrows lifted marginally and chuckled, "I know Sasuke, I'm the one that assigns the jounin-sensei to their genin cells, remember?"

Sasuke paused, blushing slightly, "Oh yeah."

"He also came to my office a little bit ago whining about how you and your third teammate were glaring each other to death."

"Well what did he expect? We got landed with Sakura Haruno!"

Naruto was starting to wonder if he'd ever regain his hearing completely. The volume and rapidity at which Sasuke spoke was painful to sit next to. He cringed slightly but decided to not let any further reaction come from it. This Naruto was probably used to it. So he should be used to it. He grumbled inwardly.

"Oh, that girl that always gives you and Naruto trouble at school?" Minato clarified as he accepted a bowl of ramen from his wife.

"Trouble? She makes fun of us nonstop and makes sure that all of her friends do too!"

"Well, make fun of her back." Minato shrugged.

"Honey, don't encourage them like that." Kushina scolded. Her husband shrugged again and came to sit next to his sons at the bar.

"But we do, Dad, it doesn't matter, they don't listen to us." Sasuke pouted.

Minato grumbled and whined conspiratorially with his raven haired son until it seemed Sasuke had worn himself out with his own talking. Naruto thought the inhalation of so much ramen might have 

also put him into a sleepy stupor, or perhaps it had been a little of both. Either way, Sasuke ended up crawling up the stairs to the bedroom so he could take a nap. Naruto was about to follow him when his 'dad' started talking to him. So far, Naruto had been using his brother as a security blanket. For some reason, in this world, they tended to see him instead of Naruto, so he didn't have to act so much. But now he'd been cornered he couldn't necessarily say 'I gotta go, bye!' to his parents and jet up the stairs. So he stayed behind and climbed back up onto the bar stool. Kyuubi was watching him in amusement and Naruto glared.

"So, now that the chatterbox has worn himself out, how bout I hear how your day went." Minato chuckled.

"It went okay." Naruto started. But when his dad continued staring at him, Naruto realized he expected more than a one sentence answer.

"Well, I mean. I don't think Sakura and Sasuke are going to get along at all. But if maybe he didn't react so quick to her she'd give up. I think she only does it to get a rise out of him."

"I think you're probably right. But you know how your brother is…"

"…like a puddle of whiskey just waiting for a lit match to come along?" Naruto offered.

Both his 'parents' laughed whole heartedly. He'd done well. The funny thing was…that's exactly how Kakashi had described Naruto once. In his world, he'd been the puddle and Sasuke the match. But not in this reality, here Sakura was the match and Sasuke was the puddle. Naruto couldn't believe how different this version of himself was. As he carried on a warm, easy going conversation with his parents, Naruto was torn between telling them the truth and continuing this little act.

Not yet Kit. Wait.

But if I tell them, especially the yondaime he can help prevent things that might still happen in this reality!

Like what?

Like the invasion of the sand nin during the chuunin exam, akatsuki, Orochimaru showing up?! Any of that ring a bell?

Kit. Think about it. If your offspring suddenly told you they weren't really yours anymore, that you were the soul of some other reality's version of them…and you'd punted your version's soul out on accident…

Okay! Okay I get it!

Naruto yawned, hoping his parents would let him go finally. They relented after another few minutes of extra prodding. He nudged Kyuubi in the hip with his foot and headed for the stairs. He 

should have realized that the fox would follow him with or without prodding, but he forgot. Kyuubi had described to him on their way home that part of the seal was a sort of leash that no one but other demons or jinchuuriki could see. It was a single cord wrapped around Naruto's ankle that also wound around Kyuubi's. The farthest Kyuubi could be from him before he was tugged along was at the base of the stairs while Naruto was at the top. This helped when Naruto had to go to the bathroom and such, but also ensured he didn't get too far. It was a rather smart idea, Naruto thought.

He opened the door to his bedroom and slipped inside, allowing Kyuubi in after him before he shut the door. Sasuke was sprawled out on his bed belly down. His head was turned so that Naruto only saw the duck-butt. He felt strongly compelled to tell someone what happened. He reasoned that telling Sasuke would help because they interacted more and would be spending far more time together. Kyuubi warned him that he shouldn't. The 'dark furred kit' would merely run to the 'vixen' and tell her everything he'd learned. There was the slight chance that Kushina wouldn't believe him, or tell him to go back to sleep. But they couldn't rely on that. Naruto sighed heavily, eyes still glued to his 'brother'. He shuffled over to Sasuke's bed, tempted to crawl up onto the bed and snuggle against his back. The urge was so strong, and alien to him that Naruto took a few steps back. That wasn't him, was it? He didn't normally take a look at Sasuke and want to…cuddle…did he? Geez, even saying the word was painful. That didn't stop his body from moving back towards the bed and acting against his will. Soon he was lying on the bed, molded to Sasuke's back as if he'd done it for years. They fit together perfectly, Naruto's left arm just under Sasuke's shoulder, and the other over the top of his waist. Sasuke shifted slightly, so he could glance at his brother over his shoulder.

"Naru…you okay?"

"Yeah." Naruto wished the embarrassment of the position would force his body to move, but it didn't. "Why?"

"Nothing…it's just…you haven't cuddled like this in years…except that one time but you were really hyped up."

"I'm fine…it's just…my nightmare." That was the only answer Naruto could find to that statement.

"Oh, that really got to you huh?"

"Yeah…you have no idea."

"Well…wake me up if you have another nightmare like that, m'kay?"

"Kay."

After that Sasuke let his head fall back onto the pillow, trying to press back against Naruto so they could somehow be even closer. Naruto had to scoot them forward so they wouldn't fall back off the bed after a few minutes of Sasuke's insistent wiggling. Once they'd finally gotten into a position that pleased the duck-butt, it fell asleep instantly. Naruto refrained from chuckling just in case it woke him 

up. Naruto wanted to stay awake and interrogate Kyuubi for even more details about this life, but he was finding himself to suddenly be very sleepy. As soon as his forehead came to rest in the feathers of the duck-butt he was dead to the world.

"What the fuck are you doing, dobe?!"

That was how he woke up: a very Sasuke-like indignant screech paired with being kicked off the bed. Naruto squinted at the Sasuke he'd just been curled up with on the bed, instantly he knew something was different. No…he shouldn't get his hopes up. But that's when Kyuubi stood up and Sasuke gave him that look of complete disbelief. Before he could fully form a Chidori Naruto tackled him and held him down. Sure enough, his sharingan was activated. This…this was…

"Sasuke, what's the last thing you remember?!" He questioned, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Being killed by that stupid ANBU friend of yours, that you replaced me with…" Sasuke trailed off, probably horrified by the insane grin that had spread across Naruto's face.

"Thank god it's you!" Naruto breathed.

"Why wouldn't it be me, dobe? If you try to spoon me again I'm going punch you in the balls with a Chidori…"

Yes, this was his Sasuke. The one that killed him just that morning…er, whatever. This Sasuke hated him, enough to kill him 'on a whim', but now he was here, and Naruto had never felt such profound relief in all his life. But…after that relief washed away…he was left with a resounding 'How the fuck did he get here…?'

TBC…