Carry On Pt. One
Staying alive is all that matters now
Minutes.
Naruto wills himself awake, Kurama's chakra mixing with his own and giving him just enough energy to stand. Ears still ringing, he turns to see the forest; trees reduced to wood chips and burning into ash, thick gray and black smoke filling the air as white fire rampages, torching everything in its path. He yells out for Mika, his voice muffled as his hearing slowly recovers. He coughs hard and yells again. No response.
Hours.
Naruto spends some time wandering through what remained of the forest, tracking how far he'd gone by the strength of the smoky air. Neither of them had said a word, still in shock. The occasional coughing fit forces him to stop and draw in sour breaths then keep moving. Mika was gone and there's no point in turning around. His last words echo through his mind. Go and don't look back. Go and don't look back. Go and don't look back. He finds his way out of the forest and to some abandoned looking house, taking refuge before falling asleep and hoping for Mika to return.
Days.
Nightmares. Constant nightmares. Naruto had spent his nights in cold sweats dreaming of being kidnapped by the villagers and killed in gruesome ways. Some days, he was beaten to death, others flayed and crucified or stabbed thousands of times over as he regenerated and was forced to live through through the torture. A bout of sleep paralysis nearly gave him a heart attack, luckily Kurama could fix that, but that was the only thing he got used to. He cried every day, hoping for Mika to come back, to say that it was just a cruel joke. Kurama had insisted they move on but he stubbornly refused to let himself believe that one of the only people that had shown him nothing but trust, genuine trust and was willing to sacrifice himself so he could make his escape was gone, just like that. He waited for what felt like weeks before moving on and giving his only friend a pseudo burial, leaving a purple flower and six coins on an empty grave.
The two of them mourn for their loss but on Kurama's insistence, Naruto begins to train. It takes him only two days to master what little taijutsu he could be taught, mostly sparring against earth clones. Ninjustu was a work in progress though wind style techniques took him only a few hours to get the hang of, the Kitsune chalking it up to an affinity. Genjutsu took him longer, he mostly used it to forage and hide from anyone that might be on the hunt so it was on the weaker side but it got the job done. And so his journey began, traveling a dangerous world at such a young age and with presumably an entire village hunting him down; it was daunting but he was never one to give up so easily. His first few months he spent looting and hiding as he lacked skill in transformation jutsu, waiting for the heat to die down and when it was safe, honing his skills. A rule was established, he would never stay in one place for more than a couple months and used a pseudonym wherever he went, multiple if needed and if he couldn't remember his most recent one, Kurama was there to keep track.
Naruto, now going by Menma and using some stolen make-up to cover his whiskers, walks down a busy street with nothing but an orange shirt and blue pants to his name. He smells ramen, is distracted by it and ends up bumping into someone. He looks up to see a red haired teen in a green and black checkered kimono with what looks like a box strapped to his back.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to." Naruto says, giving a hopefully real looking smile.
The redhead smiles back, a real smile. "No, it's my fault, really. Deepest apologies." He responds, bowing slightly. "I'm Kentaro, by the way."
"Na…mikaze. Menma Namikaze."
"Nice to meet you, Menma. Aren't you a little young to be out here by yourself?"
"I'm actually looking for a job." He lies. 'Why did I say that?'
"Oh, there's a place down the street that's hiring. C'mon, I'll show you."
"I think I can find it-"
"It's alright, I insist."
Those last two words rattle him as a nervous tension builds up in his stomach. "Lead the way."
The two of them walk down the street and sure enough, end up at a small restaurant.
Kentaro stands by his side and waits. "Alright, this is the place. Good luck."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Kentaro walks away, giving him a wave and a smile. Naruto waves back and walks in. The place was quiet compared to outside and much more inviting with its dark green walls and various woodland animals painted on them. An array of dark red booths sit against the wall to the left of the door with a bathroom at the end of the walkway. To the right is a wooden counter with a set of swiveling stools, brown and yellow cushions forming a pattern. Behind the counter is a ramen kitchen and various supplies and out of the bathroom comes the owner of the place; a man with brown skin and dark circles around his eyes wearing a blue apron and a white shirt with turquoise leaves printed on it.
"You here for the job?"
"Uh, yeah." Naruto replies, somewhat taken aback by him seemingly not caring about his age.
"Got any experience?" He moves behind the counter.
"No, not exactly." Naruto takes a seat at the counter.
"That's fine, I can teach ya. Have a seat and I'll show ya how it's done. The name's Tominoko."
"Menma."
Tominoko chuckles as he starts on prep. "Menma, eh? What's next, you got a brother named Naruto?"
Naruto gives a nervous laugh and watches on, the clatter of the equipment and aroma of the heating food exciting his taste buds.
"Alright kid, let's start with the basics."
The training lasted about a week and he was officially hired the day of the shop's opening. Tominoko had docked his pay, citing all the unsold bowls of ramen but did give him Saturdays off. He typically took the time off to return to Mika's grave and talk with him, tell him how life is going and how much he misses him despite their short time together. He tried to sleep in the abandoned building but after a ninja dog had nearly found him and some borderline begging, Tominoko had let him sleep in one of the booths in exchange for getting up early for prep. After a few days, he just let Naruto sleep through the morning and woke him up whenever the shop opened. Everything was going well and for the first time in a long time, Naruto was happy. One of those days, a bright smile on his face as he cooks away, two more customers walk in. They were strangers but those Leaf Village headbands were unmistakable and filled him with dread as they placed their orders, his stomach turning in knots but smiling anyway.
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Leaf, a class of testing academy students eavesdrop on a muffled conversation just beyond the door.
"S rank? He's just a child!"
"Keep your voice down, Iruka."
Mizuki leans against the wall, Iruka standing nervously as he explains further. "It doesn't matter if he's a kid or not. He killed thirteen shinobi in one go and then disappeared. Besides, Lord Third's decrees can't be reversed that easily."
Iruka sighs tiredly. "Damn it."
"I know this may sound a bit cruel but-"
Iruka looks him in the eyes. "What?"
"Don't you think it's better if he's gone?"
Iruka looks away, a lump forming in his throat. "I'll admit it. I still don't like him and I don't think I ever will but…a kid shouldn't have to know the fear of death."
"He's not a kid. That monster is using his body to get around."
"Those are just rumors."
"He's got whiskers."
"They're still rumors."
"The demon fox was a rumor too but here we are."
Iruka glares at him, turning to leave. "I have to get back to my class."
"Whoever finds that kid is gonna be a dead man or very, very rich."