Ch.3 An Old Friend
I don't own Naruto T-T sadly…
WARNING: may contain curses, words that should not be used by children and maybe some blood and violence
A/N: Ok, so I'm back, and as you may or may not have noticed I changed Naruto's name cause I agree with some reviewers that his name wasn't 'Japanese' enough.
"blah" = speaking
'blah'= thinking
"blah" = Kyuubi speaking
"blah" = when reading or in a flashback
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
A week has gone by and Naruto was released form the hospital. He'd immediately gone shopping, he needed new clothes, his old clothes where ruined and he didn't want to walk around in the standard shinobi clots of marine blue. Luckily he had had almost all his money on him when he came here, they had been in his pouch, safe and protected. He bought a short sleeved black top, dark green cargo pants, and bandaged his wrists and hands except his fingers. He decided to lay low on the orange vibe cause of the past thingy, cause anything related to him here in the past, could show in the future. But he still bought a necklace which had the Uzumaki swirl in orange stone around his neck.
Damn he was glad he'd left both headband, passports and identification papers, necklace and original clothes back home before the mission. He'd done that because everything that could ID him would be dangerous to have on an undercover information gathering mission. Though he hated to go around without his headband, his hair was in his eyes damnit!
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
Word had come out that Minato had a younger brother. So Naroyu had more or less been keeping inside. He didn't like a lot of attention form a crowd of unknown people, especially when he didn't know what kind of attention he would get. He'd been staying with Minato, even though he felt like he was imposing. He wasn't used to something like this… family and bonding and such… it was completely new to him.
Minato was on his way home, his team meeting and training session went alright… if you don't count the missing member that left the air feeling a bit thick. Obito's name had been carved into the memorial stone, and he and his remaining students had visited it and paid their respect to the lives lost to this and the previous wars.
When he came in the door, he saw Naroyu, his newly found brother, asleep on the couch. 'Well couldn't blame him, after all he's had it tough the last week. Being close to death, finding family, getting a lot more attention that I think he's used to cause he's been wary of a lot of them. But not just that, he's hiding something, I'm sure of it' Minato thought.
Ever since he'd flinched at the hospital when Tsunade had mentioned the word 'Condition', he knew that there was a lot to his new family member. What he was hiding, he didn't know, all he knew was that he'd seen a glimpse of fear run through his eyes when the word was mentioned.
He went over and put a blanket over him. He'd let him sleep, hopefully sometime soon he'd trust him enough with this secret he had. Right now he was to meet Jiraiya about something, the toad sage hadn't exactly told him anything about it, only that it was important.
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
Naruto woke up finding a blanket over him and thought back to Minato and smiled. Sure he might have been the one to seal Kyuubi in him, but he didn't seem that bad, plus with all he'd heard of him, he knew he didn't mean for him to have the childhood that he did. He didn't blame him for it, he couldn't have known that would be the outcome, he had trusted his village. Naruto guessed that if he had ever found out, he'd be more than angry, both at himself and the village itself.
He stood, he had had a chat with Kyuubi and found out some interesting stuff… well if you could call it that, after all he figured the possibility that Minato could be his father. 'But then why would my last name be Uzumaki?', he pondered… oh well, if Minato was his father he wouldn't think much of it, of course he'd be shocked, but at least they where related, that's more than he'd ever ask for. He had always been alone in the world that was family. Of course he had Tsunade, Jiraiya, Sarutobi-jiji, Iruka, Kakashi and the rookie's, but he could never really know what it was like to actually have family. He'd always wanted that, a family.
He had figured out all of this because of this blood test they had taken. According to Kyuubi the mach had to be very similar, at least 90% to be able to tell that they where brothers. Although it was the same similarity between father and son, the only way to separate the two was the different genes. He would have had genes that Minato didn't even have a trace of in his DNA, because they would have come form his mother, not a member of that particular bloodline. He could only hope that they didn't check that, that would be a pain to explain.
Kyuubi had also said that it was weird that he was still inside him, cause in this time he should have had another container, but he couldn't find his other self's presence anywhere. Naruto didn't know why, but it troubled the old fox. Naruto also figured that there was something the furball wasn't telling him, but let it slide. He'd get it out of him anyway.
He went over to the kitchen and took a glass of water. He wanted to train, but didn't want to go outside in case some of the villagers, who had heard of him, would see him and bombard him with questions he wasn't sure he could answer.
He sighed and sat back down on the couch he'd been sleeping on. He should just take things as they came. He'd figure everything out soon. And with that he fell back to sleep.
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
Minato was on his way home, it was pretty late and he'd been out thinking. His talk with Jiraya upset him a bit. 'No that's just not possible, he cant be a spy…' he was worried. His talk with Jiraya had made him ask several questions as to why his brother would just appear out of thin air in a pool of blood, without any ID, like a passport or, if a shinobi, a headband, but still had a kunai pouch and a lot of money. Jiraya had said it was suspicious, but also that he needed to figure out more about him to be completely sure. He didn't want the brothers relationship to go sour because Minato had accused Naroyu to be something he wasn't and had no part nor knowledge in. That would surely put an end to their relationship and he'd leave.
He walked in to his apartment and found Naroyu still asleep, as if he'd never left. He smiled sadly, he didn't want what Jiraya had said to be true, he wanted his brother to be a normal traveling shinobi with a normal life. But… if Naroyu was a spy, or some sort of information gatherer… he didn't want to think about that.
He sat down at the kitchen table and saw the glass on the counter. 'So he has been up, probably tired' he thought and looked at his brother, well Jiraya had said he should get to know him better, maybe that would take away the possibility of him being a spy. Yes, he would do that, after all that's what he wanted. He gave his brother a last look, eyes set in determination, before going to bed.
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
Naruto woke to the smell of food, in the morning. Well this was certainly something he wasn't used to. He rose, found his neck stiff from how he'd slept on the couch and went over to look into the kitchen. There, at the stove, was Minato, looking happy while making pancakes.
Minato turned as he felt someone in the kitchen, he smiled when he saw Naroyu staring at him oddly. He shrugged it off, and said "Pancakes?" while grinning, hoping he would get an answer.
To say Naruto was stunned would be correct, he's never had anyone make him breakfast before. He always made that himself, mostly ramen, when he had time, which he usually didn't. But he really didn't need to say anything as his stomach growled, it was the he remembered he'd only eaten lunch yesterday, nothing more. "Um…" he flushed, that was embarrassing.
Minato laughed lightly and motioned for him to sit down. He placed a plate in front of him and took one for himself. He wanted to get to know his blond brother, and since he had no team meetings today, he would spend the day with him. He grinned a little when he saw Naroyu's confused face. He guessed this was pretty new to him, after all he said he was a traveling shinobi, this couldn't be very normal for him.
They ate and talked about their day, Naruto exclaimed that he thought the villagers were a bit overwhelming as he wasn't used to being around people a lot. Minato understood, but slightly wondered why. 'I mean even if he's been a traveling shinobi, he must have stayed at villages from time to time' he thought briefly.
They finished up and went for a walk, the trip through town wouldn't be long, Minato would lead him towards the woods and maybe try and get some privacy. He wanted to show him the view of the village from the Hokage monument.
Naruto was happy, well not because of the freaking stalkers (villagers) that followed them through town asking questions and throwing interesting looks their way, but because he had someone that tried to get to know him. It was a long time since that had happened, with everyone he knew, he was the one to try and get to know them, except for Iruka that is. He smiled at the memory.
He noticed where they where walking and knew Minato was taking him to the Hokage monument. He liked that place, it always gave him some sort of peace of mind to watch the lively, but calm village from the heights. He would go there when he needed to think or just relax.
When they where in the forest Minato asked him where he had traveled in his life. Naruto answered that he had traveled across the entire fire country and some other places. He said the route he and Jiraya had taken on their trip. He mentioned some memories from that time too, just to make it more convincing. It wasn't like he was lying, just neglecting some important information… right… well at least Minato didn't seem to suspect anything.
Minato heard of Naroyu's trip and was fascinated. He had seen so much of the world already, he was also happy that his brother seemed to have had a good life. Not like him, at least he could travel with this uncle-ish figure that he talked of. He himself had stayed at a village on the outside of Konoha in an orphanage until he was 11 when he'd run away and Jiraya had found him and taken him with him along to Konoha to live and train him to be a shinobi together with his two teammates. He never had anyone before that. Well he had some friends and the caretakers, but he had never bonded with someone other than Jiraya. Jiraya was like a father to him.
Minato told him of his life and saw his brother's eyes soften, but surprisingly there was no pity in them. He was glad for that, but was curious as to why? Any other person would have, at least anyone that he'd met so far.
They came to the clearing atop the monument and Minato said "Well here we are, what I'm about to show you is something I think you will never forget" while he turned to Naroyu and smiled. They walked up and on to the thirds head and looked down upon the village. It was in the middle of the day and the sun was high in the sky. It's beautiful, that's what Naruto thought when he saw it. It was a long time since he'd seen the village in this glory. After it was destroyed by Pain, it wasn't the same, but here right in front of his eyes was the village he remembered. Although it didn't have the newer districts, it was still same old Konoha, and it made Naruto smile.
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
Later that evening after they had eaten, and Naruto had gotten a tour through the village (A very painful tour as he had yet again gotten a million questions), Minato had said that they had to go to the Hokage's office to get him registered into the village. Minato was quite happy that his new family member had decided to stay in Konoha.
Naruto nodded and they headed to the Hokage tower. It wasn't before they reached the stairs that Naruto thought about who he would meet in that office. God why hadn't he thought of that before now? The third, his grandfather in everything but blood, was alive. Suddenly a small nervous smile entered his face, then a thought hit him 'he doesn't know who I am… he wont recognize me. How am I gonna face this' and then the sudden smile became a slightly pained face. 'No one I knew in the future will recognize me here, not jiji, not Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka… Ero Sennin…' his thoughts ended with sad look as he remembered his sensei. 'He's not dead here' he thought and his eyes gained new determination. He would make sure he got to know the ones he once knew, and would know.
Minato watched these emotions go through the other blond as they slowly walked towards the thirds office and became curious. What could have caused that, they were just walking when suddenly he had slowed and gotten lost in his own world. He didn't get to think more though as they neared the office.
Naruto looked up and saw that he was just in front of the door that lead to the person he was overjoyed, sad and scared to face. He briefly heard Minato talk with the secretary and her saying the third would see them. He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. It didn't work very well, he still looked nervous and it looked like Minato saw it, well if the amused smile on his face was anything to assume from.
Minato had just spoken to the secretary and gotten permission to enter when he saw the nervous stance the other blond had. He smiled and said "Why are you so nervous?" and grinned a little. The younger of them glared a little before he said "Ehh, well the one in there is the third Hokage, right. Well isn't he considered the god of shinobi?" uncertain.
Naruto wanted to hold his breath, he had countered the question with another, he hoped Minato didn't notice that. And well the question was practically true, he knew that Sarutobi was the third and called the god of shinobi, and that was one of the reasons he was nervous. The others were because he knew he would become emotional when he saw him after so long. 'not to mention he's been dead for over 5 years in my time' he thought briefly.
Minato nodded and looked at his brother "Yes he is, but he's actually really nice, well if you're not an enemy that is" he said sheepish. He thought it funny that Naroyu was nervous, he didn't seem like the type to be that. He was more like the 'I can face any challenge' kind of guy, but he wasn't at all cocky. No he was more like the one who would give anything for the ones he cared for, put himself last. Well that was at least the impression he'd gotten from him so far.
When they walked in Naruto first looked at anything he could that wasn't the third. Then he braced himself and looked at the third with a nervous smile. He noted surprised that he looked a lot younger than he remembered. His hair had not yet gone gray, he had no liver spots and a lot less wrinkles, almost none. He had a stern, but friendly look on his face, you could almost feel the power around him. This was the third in his younger years, he definitely deserved the title of god of shinobi.
The third looked up as the door opened. He saw the two blonds walk in and smiled a small smile studying the whiskered boy with a calculating eye. He hadn't seen the blond since the hospital and he was still a little stumpt over the similarities between the brothers. He noted that he wouldn't look at him immediately and that he looked tense and nervous. But when the boy looked at him his nervous expression changed into curiosity.
Minato was the one who talked first. "You wanted to see us Hokage-sama" he said very casual, like he wasn't talking to the highest ranking shinobi in the village. The eldest of them looked at Minato and answered "Yes I did Minato. Naroyu-san you wanted to stay in Konoha right?" at the end his gaze moved towards the youngest blond and saw that his eyes widened a little.
Naruto cursed in his head, his voice was just as he remembered. He put his hand in the pocket on his pants and clenched his fist so hard he was sure he could draw blood. He struggled not to let his mind wander to the times he spent with the elder man and felt prickles in his eyes, so instead he focused on the question. "Uh, yes I do. I've never really belonged somewhere before, so I don't know how it would be. But I'd like to give it a try" he said a little uncertain. It was true, he never really felt like he belonged to somewhere, like it was home. Sure he loved Konoha and all but he just didn't seem wanted there. He lived alone, no one to welcome him home and his friends where always busy when he was free. He hoped that it would be a bit different here, and he would give it a try.
The Hokage smiled and spoke up "Well, if you want to be a shinobi of the village you have to have a one month trial first, we have that because the 'will be new' shinobi needs to learn his way around the village and to see if he can be trusted" he said. Naruto translated 'we need to run a background check on you and will have you under mild observation while we make sure you're not a spy'. "I understand, I expected as much" with a smile.
The third continued "Good, now what rank would you say you are?" this was important for two very important reasons. It would be easier to put him in their ranks, which made less paperwork, and it would be easier to see if he was a spy or not. If he was a spy, he would definitely say he was a chuunin level shinobi because he didn't want too much attention, and being chuunin was pretty normal, especially for his age group. As a chuunin he would also have access to a lot of information on people from the village. Not including ANBU, Hunter and the ones at T&I. That was perfect for spies that wanted information on people or the village in general.
Naruto looked thoughtful, what rank was he actually, even if he had had time he wouldn't have bothered to take the chuunin exam again. He was ranked genin officially, but that didn't stop Tsunade from giving him A-ranked missions. "I'm actually not sure, I've haven't tested my abilities In a long time" he said a bit sheepishly rubbing his hand on his neck with a small smile and apologetic eyes.
Sarutobi looked surprised at that "Um, well I guess we'll have to test your abilities then. That will happen in three weeks a few days before you join the ranks" he Said with a smile. That answer was unexpected, he thought a bit higher of the boy now. He seemed honest and a bit humble.
The blond smiled "I guess, and thank you" he said.
~~oooooo-oo-oooooo~~
A/N: Ok I'm really sorry I haven't written and updated in a while. I don't really have a good excuse other than I haven't had any new ideas for this story, but my muse has returned. Just so you know I NEVER leave a story unfinished, I hate unfinished stories. If, and that's a big if, I discontinue one I will put it up for adoption or remove the story.
So what do you think?. Personally I think I made Naruto a bit too nonchalant to everything, like being in the past and meeting the third. So please Read and Review, especially if you have questions.