Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 3 - Second Opinion

The few moments after Sasuke's suicide were the most awkward and infuriating minutes Naruto had ever experienced. Hinata, next to him was petrified, staring at the rigid corpse of the two year old on the floor. All because he didn't want to be a toddler, Naruto thought bitterly, what a selfish bastard. Now what was he supposed to do? He was still the Kyuubi's jailor in this life, there was no way anyone would believe he hadn't killed his own son. He was a 'monster'. That, and it made more sense than a two year old slashing his wrists. Granted he had a witness, Hinata, and with her reputation they could get this investigated properly. Ino could come in; check their memories out to see if they were telling the truth. They were, and if the third favored him, which he probably would, then the investigation would be called finished and he would be allowed to carry on with his life. Of course the village wouldn't believe the facts and he'd be hated even more. All of this because Sasuke didn't get what he wanted.

Naruto forced himself to calm down, and as he was about to turn to Hinata and talk to her everything went dark. It wasn't as if he'd fallen asleep or passed out. Someone had dropped an impenetrable veil over his eyes for just a moment and then lifted it. Gone was the hospital, and Hinata, and the life he'd had. Now, now he was standing in a lush garden, surrounded by squat plaster walls probably no more than four feet tall. The sky overhead was blue, small fluffy white clouds drifting across it, and yet no summer warmth washed over him. This is the place Sasuke had been visiting all along.

"Kit," a familiar voice called, "over here."

Naruto turned around and saw for the first time, his father. Kyuubi, in his human form was sitting on a short red bench on a tiny island in its small pond. His long black robes were pooled at his feet, and Naruto recognized the long twitching fox ears to be nervous. Naruto offered him a reassuring smile and made his way to the island with confident strides. As soon as he sat down he was pulled into a firm hug. A whimpering yip escaped his father, and Naruto knew it to be the foxes' sound for relief, bittersweet joy. He returned the hug, just as happy to see his father, yet confused as to why he already felt so close to him when this was their first encounter.

"D-dad…" Naruto stuttered as he removed himself only the slightest bit from the embrace, "…why am I here right now?"

"So I can tell you about the new life that's going to take the place of the one you just left," Kyuubi reverted to fox speak, though Naruto barely noticed, "your mate's actions in that life have canceled out any learning to be gleaned from it, and so you have both been given separate lives to go through, in order to learn the lesson you were supposed to there."

Naruto reeled back from Kyuubi on the bench and gaped at him, "…separate lives? The next one I'm going to be without Sasuke the whole time?"

Kyuubi smirked, "In a way, yes."

"What does that mean…?"

"Kit, so far through this whole experience you have been doing well, accepting and going with the new lives and working with them to understand the lessons there. Despite your mate's interferences and distractions you have done splendidly," his father praised, and Naruto felt the smallest bit of triumph in his chest.

"But as I have observed," Kyuubi interjected before Naruto grew too proud of himself, "you and your mate are having quite the misunderstanding…and this cannot happen for you to successfully endure your last life together."

Naruto stared sullenly at the pond.

"So what," he grumbled, "you're going to put us through marriage counseling for gods?"

Kyuubi chuckled, "Sort of."

"I was joking," Naruto reprimanded.

"The life I will be sending you to, Naruto is the life that would have happened if you'd survived Sasuke's attack…and Sasuke had been taken back to Konoha."

Naruto growled, leaping backwards off the bench and catching himself just before he landed in the water. No…he, he couldn't go back there. He'd moved on! He'd progressed past that life…to go back to where it all began would be pure agony. His Kakashi-sensei, his Sakura…everyone…

"This life will be identical to your very first up until this defining point. He will be the closest to your mate there is. I have arranged…for the two of you to return to civilian life instead of carrying on as nin for the sake of convenience. Anything you tell him about this," Kyuubi gestured to the garden and himself, "and your lives, or your mate, he will not be physically capable of telling anyone. No one has ears for this information but him. You speak of these affairs and anyone else that hears it will hear nothing but elaborate gibberish."

"I'm still confused, Dad, what's the point of this? You're going to a lot of trouble to make it so I can tell him everything. Don't you think that's unfair to him…to tell him that basically he'll cease to exist because he's not the Sasuke who's bound to me?"

Naruto glared as his father laughed, "Kit, I think you underestimate your mate's power of understanding."

Kyuubi stretched, yawning wide. He stood up and shuffled over the short red bridge to the rest of the garden, gesturing for Naruto to follow. So Naruto followed; still slightly confused and angry with his father and wanting answers. He didn't even have to ask.

"Naruto, if you think there's something wrong with you when you go to the doctors, and they tell you you're fine, what do you do?" Kyuubi questioned.

"Um, I'd probably be relieved and go home," Naruto answered honestly.

"But if you were truly determined, you knew, supposedly, there was something wrong, what would you do then?"

"I guess I'd go find another doctor and ask for a second opinion."

Kyuubi stopped abruptly in his walking and turned to his son; he smiled and placed one soothing hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Childe, you are about to get your second opinion."

Realization struck him just as the ground disappeared beneath his feet and he plummeted out of the gardens and into a life he was dreading.

Sasuke awoke to the sound of an alarm blaring next to him. He grumbled as his arm flailed out to the side and connected with what felt like an electronic clock. He fussed with the various buttons with his eyes closed. When the atrocious sound was still echoing in his cranium he opened his eyes and forced himself to find the off switch. He sighed, blessed silence. Sasuke's eyelids slid shut once again and he hummed in content. Then…then he remembered where he was. His eyes sprang open and he sat upright, gaze crawling madly over the walls the floor, everything.

The room he was in was fairly plain with dingy white walls with nothing on them. The smooth brown carpet on the floor was crisp, spotless. The bed was in the center of the room and to his right, only a few feet away, was a pair of sliding wooden doors, probably concealing a closet. To his left was a blonde oak desk and sitting upon it was a rather ancient looking computer. A few feet in front of the bed was a door, a way out of the room and towards the rest of this new life. Sasuke wished suddenly that Naruto was with him, he was the one with the memory gaining powers. He didn't want to have to figure everything out by himself.

Looks like I'll have to, for now, Sasuke grumbled to himself.

The clock said that it was roughly seven in the morning. The alarm had gone off to ensure he woke up at this time, so he must have an appointment of some kind. Work, or school perhaps? Though why would he be in school if…Sasuke's eyes raced back to the mirror hanging on the closet door. He wanted to whoop with joy, he wasn't a child, if anything he was back to the age he was in their very first life. People did not have school past the age of twelve…unless they failed their exams or were civilians. Sasuke pushed himself out of bed and over to the closet to inspect its contents.

There was a neatly organized rack inside with pairs of jeans and slacks separated and stacked on top of one another. Shoes, some sneakers and dress shoes were smartly arranged in a row at the bottom, and hanging up on plastic coat hangers were t-shirts, button up shirts, and a few suit jackets. Sasuke noted in the far right end of the closet was a tux in plastic bag, kept separate from the other articles of clothing. As Sasuke thumbed through the suit jackets he came across one with an identifying patch on it that read Fairview High School in orange, black, and white. He was a civilian, and he attended their strange school system.

Sasuke allowed his eyes to sweep over the room again for any other clues, but was halted in his quest for information by a small voice at the door.

"Sasukeeee, it's time for school, daddy's going to be mad if you don't come down and make breakfast before we go."

Sasuke struggled with an answer before finally replying, "Alright, I'll be down in a minute."

Tiny footsteps moved away from the door and down the hallway outside it. Sasuke saw a bag of some sort at the foot of the bed and picked it up, placing it on the bed. It was surprisingly heavy, but not too much for him. Inside were two texts that appeared to be references and were the same size, shape, and weight of a paving stone. Next to that were a few binders, in each were at least one spiral notebook, several sheaves of paper, and more than a few dividing tabs. But, more than that, Sasuke's attention was drawn to the small little book in front. He plucked it out of the bag and looked closely at the cover. There was a picture on it, showing a massive brick building and a few young adults like himself maneuvering around in front of it. He noticed the boys' attire and then glanced at his closet. He had the pieces…he just had to arrange them the right way.

When he was sure that he matched the boys on the cover he inspected his appearance in the mirror. He was wearing trim, spotless black slacks, a matching belt, and shiny leather dress shoes. Sasuke had then donned a pressed, white button up shirt, tucked into his slacks, over it a black vest, and the suit jacket he had found with the patch on it. Then, like the boys in the picture, he'd put on a dark orange tie. The cufflinks on his dress shirt were orange, and so were the buttons on his vest. He looked like some silly ghost child from a kindergartener's Halloween tale heading off for its first day of school.

Remembering the voice telling him to hurry he grabbed his bag and opened the door to his room looking back and forth down the hall. He headed for the stairs to his right and ventured down them into a kitchen. It was fairly large, one counter on the left, another on the right, and in the middle an island with a stovetop. Whereas his bedroom had been plain, this room was a picture perfect example from a better homes and gardens magazine. The walls were a vibrant red, the counter tiles a sun burnt orange, and the tile on the floor was made of huge sandy colored concrete slabs. Immediately off the stairs to the right was a breakfast nook where a strange assortment of people was gathered.

There was a woman, sickly, pale, and bony with stringy black hair and dark brown eyes. She was sweaty, and rasping for breath, her head leaning completely into her hands, with her sharp elbows were propped onto the table. Sitting to her right, appearing relatively happy was a little girl with sleek black pigtails and a heart shaped face, her turquoise eyes gleaming. Next to her was a boy maybe a few years older than her who appeared very solemn, his brown eyes clouded over and his black hair particularly ruffled, he was glaring at nothing. Lastly at the woman's left was a barrel-chested man with dark brown hair and sea-green eyes like the little girl.

"Son, I did you the courtesy of getting the things out for breakfast since you took so long but now you need to hurry up, we all have places to be you know," the man reprimanded him.

Sasuke managed to look appropriately chided before setting about the task of preparing a meal for the more than likely perfectly capable people slouched at the breakfast nook. He didn't find the task too bothersome and it gave him some more time to think. He tried his hardest to remember the names of these people as his hands absently found the things he needed and prepared a meal he'd never cooked before. The little girl and boy…they were his…siblings? Yes. The boy was Suoh, and the girl was Masumi. Suoh was nine, almost ten, and Masumi was six, almost seven. He drove them to school every day.

Mechanically he found himself setting full plates before each person at the table. When he noticed exactly what he'd served them he felt annoyance grow in him, he had no clue what that meal was called let alone how to make it. He'd been so busy trying to figure something else out that he'd just done it automatically. He hoped it would be the same way with driving. The man whom he assumed was his father directed him to cleaning up the 'cooking' mess he'd made, and he assented easily, his mind transfixed on images of a strange transportation device he'd never encountered before flashed before his eyes. It was some type of advanced engine inside a metal frame, with wheels made of rubber, and with leather, cushioned seats inside. They were the standard mode of transportation in this world, and were very fast. He knew how to operate these things, they were called…cars? He would be expected to use one that was waiting for him outside, to 'drive' his younger siblings to 'school'.

"Sasukeeee," Masumi chirped, "time for school let's go!"

The little girl pushed and shoved her way out of the booth and skipped past Sasuke towards the entry way at the other end of the kitchen. His little brother was quick to follow her, idle concern and annoyance etched onto his face. That left Sasuke alone with his 'parents'. He noticed that his 'mother' was still shaking slightly, she hadn't touched her food at all and was staring aimlessly, sweat pouring off of her. She looked severely ill. He was about to say something about it when his father spoke up.

"Now son, I know we just moved here and you aren't all too excited about starting at a new school, but don't let that bring your grades down. You're too good of a student to be affected by things like that," intoned the man warmly. There was something…off, about his new 'father' that he couldn't quite place. Sasuke figured he would discover it soon enough but he already felt himself disliking him.

"I won't, don't worry," Sasuke replied.

"That's my boy, now, your mother and I are headed to her doctor's appointment, and you can go make sure the tykes make it to their new school?"

"Of course, I'm sure Suoh will keep an eye on Masu during the day." Sasuke walked with his parents out of the house. He barely remembered to pick up his 'backpack' on his way out of the kitchen.

His mother was stumbling along, clutching at her husband's arm for stability. She looked like she might fall over dead at any moment. With Sasuke's worry for her increasing he was becoming steadily distracted from his father's words. After exiting the house, locking the front door behind them, Sasuke was treated to his first view of the new life he would be leading. The house they'd walked out of was one in a dozen down a newly paved street, each one slightly different in structure and with bright green lawns and gardens. All had equally aesthetically pleasing 'cars' in front of them, and there were a few families heading towards their own, just as Sasuke's was. There were two cars that belonged to Sasuke's family. One was a small, crisp black vehicle that was squat and low the ground, it looked like an aging potbellied man in a funeral outfit. His mother was carelessly tossed into the side of the car without a wheel in front of its seat, and the door slammed shut. Sasuke tensed as he watched her attempt to strap herself into the seat while his father continued speaking to him.

"Now, your school gets out at…2:30, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Sasuke tore his eyes away from the sickly woman and faced his father.

"The kids there get out at around two, but they'll be in the classroom until you get out of school and come get them, I gave a note to Suoh to give to their teachers but, just in case could you go into their class with them and talk to the teacher about it?"

"Sure."

"Thanks a lot son, you're doing us a huge favor today, this whole first day for everything is sort of putting us all in a bind."

"It's okay Dad."

"Alright, son, we'll see you later tonight."

"Okay."

Sasuke watched as his father fell into the other front seat and turned the car on. Soon he was staring behind him and backing out of the drive and into the street. In only a few minutes they were sailing down the road and out of sight.

"Sasukeeee we're going to be late!" Masu exclaimed at him, stomping her feet impatiently.

"Sorry," he muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys which he assumed belonged to the car he would be 'driving'. I can do this, really, Sasuke thought to himself, I can keep up with a sannin in full on combat, I can perform S-level techniques, I am Sasuke Uchiha…I can 'drive' a car. How hard could it be?

TBC…