Neonn:This takes place a bit after the others, and well, yeah. And part of the reason this took so long was because I wasn't sure of pairings--I'd be hated whatever route I went. So, while it's not my OTP, well, whatever. And yes, I know I'm throwing around Japanese around like there's no tomorrow. :P Hitomi's name cracks me up. Seriously.
xXx
"Mister! Hey, mister! You shouldn't be here!" Naruto turned to regard the small child. Obviously, she was talking to him, as he was the only one around. She let out a small gasp as she saw the damage inflicted. She knew instantly he was a ninja—how else could that have happened. A large slash went across from his right shoulder down to his left thigh, and his clothes were a mess with blood and holes and mud. He must be fighting in the war...but was he with Sunagakure...? No, he had the hitai-ate marking him as one of Konoha's own. An old one, to be sure, dented and outdated, but it had the Leaf.
"Ne, ne, don't mind me!" He said cheerfully. "It's just...sauce! I'm a very messy eater!" she didn't look like she believed him, especially considering there wasn't any of the ...red...on his face, but she decided to agree, because the alternative was too horrifying to contemplate. Naruto studied her closely. With those eyes, she was obviously a Hyuuga, probably no more than six.
"You shouldn't be here, mister. Don't you know where you are?" she told him seriously, eyes looking up at him earnestly.
Naruto laughed lightly. "Well, actually, I'm kind of lost." A lie. He knew where he was. He had been here many times, years ago. He had become friends with most of the clan—well, the important members, anyway. Neji, Hiashi, Hanabi...Hinata... "So, what's your name?" he asked.
"...Hitomi. I'm...Hitomi." Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Ne, Hitomi-chan. Do you know where I can wash off my sauce?" She nodded shyly.
xXx
"So, Hitomi-chan," asked Naruto as he furiously tried to wash the red stains out of his shirt in a small stream. Stupid blood. This was his last shirt--he'd have to get a new one. That meant shopping later. He brushed the thought to the back of his mind. "Do you know a Hyuuga Hinata?"
"You know hiibaba?" said Hitomi, surprised. Naruto's eyes widened. "She's your great-grandmother?" She nodded, wide-eyed. He frowned. Great-grandmother. So she had found someone else then. Well, that was good for her. He was pleased, he was. He really, really was.
"Are...are you a ninja, sir?" asked Hitomi curiously. She was sure he was, but he wasn't like any ninja she had ever seen--wearing bright orange, and that haircut certainly wasn't cut to the requited length, the blonde spikes poking out every which way.
"I am. From Konoha, actually, but I've been traveling, and haven't been around for a while. Imagine my surprise to come home to a war—and with Suna, at that! I wasn't prepared to be ambushed, that's for sure!" He laughed.
"But...we've been fighting them since before I was born!" she blurted out.
"Huh? Strange. We were allies last time I checked..." he mumbled, half to himself. He hated how time seemed to skip for him. Part of the Kyuubi's influence, he had no doubt. It was difficult for him to keep track of time--hours, days, seasons, they all seemed to blend together; it seemed he could now apply that to years as well.
"Hitomi-chan! Hitomi-chan, who is that with you?" a woman called, and Naruto could hear her walking quickly towards them. Naruto cursed silently. To see him through all the thick undergrowth, she must have the Byakugan. He could detect the faint note of hysteria in her voice--she must've seen his chakra system with those eyes as well--unnatural, and far more powerful than most.
"'Kaachan! Ohayo! This is...um...a nice man!" said Hitomi, going to meet her mother. The woman was tall, confident, with the typical dark hair and white eyes characteristic of the Hyuuga clan.
"Ah, gomen. I was visiting, and ran into some unpleasant company," he gestured sheepishly at his ruined shirt. Hitomi's mother eyed him suspiciously, picking the girl up and holding her close. "Tell, me, when did the war start?"
"...seven years ago. It's common knowledge," she added the last part quickly. "Everyone knows that."
"No need to get defensive! I'm not a spy. I'm a loyal ninja of Konoha. I've just...been away for a while." Naruto rose, and turned to leave. Two sets of white eyes followed his every move.
"If you are a ninja, then why aren't you in the regulation uniform?"
"I said I'd been away, didn't I?" Though he had grown up, Naruto tended to degenerate into rudeness when harassed--something unchanged from his youth. The woman stood her ground, not moving despite his outburst, nor saying anything. "I...sorry," he apologized, "I...it has been a long time. But I am a loyal shinobi. And I won't let anything threaten my home. Ever. And now that I'm back..." he grinned cheekily at the two, "Those Sand-nin won't know what hit 'em!"
XXX
"My grandmother used to tell me stories, you know. Of a ninja with hair like the sun, and clothes and a disposition to match. She would say, 'Naruko, that person was amazing. He turned tradition upside down and sideways, but everything always worked out. He opened the cage and chased out all the birds.' I wasn't sure what she meant by that... but I was named after him."
"What happened to him?" asked Hitomi curiously.
"He disappeared—missing in action. A hero. His name is on the memorial stone. But they say that sometimes, you can see his spirit., in the town, the surrounding forest..."
"He's a ghost?" the poor girl looked terrified.
"You could say that. But he's our protector. Many ninja saw him in our war with Sunagakure--several were rescued personally by a 'ninja wearing orange, with spiked, blond hair.' He was there one minute, gone the next, but wherever he went, that team always accomplished their mission."
"What did he look like?"
"You've seen pictures of him before--my grandmother keeps one in her room.
"But the only pictures in there are of her family, and they don't have yellow hair."
"None of them? Are you sure?" Hitomi thought hard for a moment.
"You mean her husband? My great grandfather?"
"That's right—Uzumaki Naruto. One of the greatest ninja there ever was--a hero."
Out of the corner of her eye, Uzumaki Naruko thought she saw a movement. Something brightly colored. But it was probably nothing--a guardian spirit, perhaps.
-End-
Neonn: I'm not sure I used hibaba correct, but whatever. And I have found out that a naruko is a castanet-like clapper, originally designed to scare away birds. I thought that was funny, and oddly appropriate for Naruto.
And, yes, that is the END. Wow, the tone changed in the last chapter. A bit of a happy ending. After all, Naruto got what he wanted--he's regarded as a hero :)