Sleep was becoming a lost cause. Naruto hadn't been able to get a full night's sleep since the Kyuubi had left a weeks and a half ago. And when he did sleep, it was hardly restful. Why was the memory resurfacing now? One or two nightmares he could understand, but why was it happening every night now. He had been trying to block that memory out for three years now, and up until Rin asked about his injury, he had been succeeding.
Naruto stared up at the ceiling of the room he was staying in. He always awoke at the same point: as he entered the clearing and saw the face of the laughing man. It was better that way. He didn't have to remember what had happened when he stepped into the clearing; what he had done. Even now, he was suppressing the rest of the memory. Subconsciously he knew what happened next, but as long as he didn't dwell on it, he could pretend it never happened.
Turning to lie on his side, Naruto looked out through the window in his room. This Konoha looked so different from the one he was used to. Pein's attack had entirely changed the landscape, and Naruto hadn't realized how much he had become used to the new look, until he was in the past. He wanted to say he missed when Konoha was like this, but how could he? This was the Konoha that hated him as a child. This was the Konoha that refused to acknowledge him. It was the Konoha after Pein's attack that had finally started looking at him like a person and not a monster. But there were some good things about the old Konoha. He had made some of his first friends in the old Konoha: the Sandaime, Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, the Rookie Nine, Team Gai, and Jiraiya. Sasuke. He had made many friends in those first few years. Yes, some good things came out of the old Konoha, but he belonged in the new one.
Was time moving forward in the future? Was he stuck here in the past? If he didn't know how he got here, how was he supposed to return? Right now, Kyuubi was trying to find a way home, but what if he couldn't find anything? What if he was stuck here forever? Could he stick with his decision to not alter the future? Could he let his new friends die? Could he let his parents die? If he changed just one thing, would it change the entire future? If his father lived would Itachi still massacre the Uchiha clan? No, the Uchiha's started their plans for an uprising after they were accused of being behind Kyuubi's attack. If Minato lived then he would've been able to say that it was a single Uchiha working towards his own goal that released the Kyuubi.
What would life be like without the Kyuubi? If he was never removed from Kushina, then he never would've been sealed in Naruto. At first he had hated the fox; hated what his life had been because of him. Then things changed during the 4th Shinobi War. For some reason, the Kyuubi had decided to trust him enough to give him his chakra, and they had beaten Tobi as a result. Afterwards, they had become tentative friends, though Kyuubi had insisted that he was doing it out of boredom. He said he only talked to Naruto because there was no one else to talk to and he wanted some entertainment. If he had never had the Kyuubi, surely he would've had more friends as a child, he might have even been known as the Yondaime's son, but would he change the friendships he now had just so he wouldn't be lonely during his younger years? No, he couldn't. Those friendships were too precious to him.
The night hours crept by slowly, but Naruto could find sleep. To be honest, he wasn't looking too hard. The only thing waiting for him was that same nightmare, and his biggest fear was that it would play out. As much as he woke up in fear, he was also relieved. At least he didn't have to think on what happened next. If he didn't think on it, then he could forget it happened. There could have been a different ending.
A prickle against his mind alerted Naruto to another's presence. He tensed for a minute and then relaxed as he recognized the familiar presence of the Kyuubi. Hopefully Kyuubi had knew more about their situation now. He waited until the Kyuubi had settled in and was lying down before he entered his mindscape, still a sewer even after befriending the Kyuubi. When he told Kakashi what he saw, the jounin had looked at him strangely, though Naruto couldn't understand why. Naruto walked the path to the Kyuubi's former cage. Where the gate used to be sealed shut, they now stood open. The Kyuubi was resting in the entrance, his paws sticking out past the gate.
He opened his eyes when he felt Naruto approach, but said nothing. Naruto climbed onto one of the Kyuubi's paws and leaned against him. His own eyes drooped closed. He had been planning on talking to the Kyuubi, but the safety the Kyuubi's presence was offering was too much to pass up on. He would talk to the Kyuubi in the morning, right now he would rest. Kyuubi closed his eyes and put a blanket over Naruto's and his own minds. Until morning, their heads would be empty. They both needed rest.
oOoOo
Minato listened as the servants around him talked about Hiro's recent promotion. The man would now be managing a group of servants. Minato hoped he was a part of that group. It would give him easier access to Hiro. The servants continued to gossip while working. Today Minato's job was dusting and polishing the hallways and anything in them. The work was easy, but there were many hallways, making it one of the longer jobs.
"Jun." It took a minute for Minato to recall that was the name he had given everyone. It was rare for someone to actually call him by it. He turned to see Hiro waiting for him. "Come with me."
Minato didn't care much for being ordered around, but he followed the man. Hiro lead him away from the group, and down several corridors. After ten minutes of walking, Hiro opened a door on the right of the hall and gestured for Minato to enter.
The room was sparse. An unused desk lined one wall, a dusty picture hung on another, and a lantern was placed in the center of the room. It was an odd place to put a lantern, but it served its purpose. The light from the lantern lit the entire room. Minato heard the door close behind him. He turned to face Hiro. The man was eyeing him closely, studying him. "You're not who I was expecting when the Hokage told me he was sending someone to help me." The Hokage? Minato watched in shock as Hiro reached into the pocket and pulled out his hitai-ate. "I don't usually carry this around with me, but I figured you wouldn't believe me if I didn't show you it."
"You're from Konoha?" Minato sputtered out. Why wouldn't the Hokage have informed him that he was joining someone on this mission? And why had Hiro waited until now to tell him? Minato looked over Hiro. He didn't recognize the man, but that could mean many things. Most likely was that this was an Anbu member, or he was using a henge.
Hiro scowled. "I just showed you my hitai-ate, didn't I?"
Minato reorganized his thoughts. "Is this mission still an attempt to gain control of the Daimyo, or is there more to it?"
Hiro scoffed at him. "Control the Daimyo? There's no point in that, he not a big enough player in the war." Hiro went to the desk and pulled out a drawer full of papers. He rifled through them, searching. "The shinobi pay so little attention to this city, that I've been using it as a home base for my spying. Iwa has no idea that we have a base set up in their country."
Minato stared at Hiro's back. "Then what is the point of working for the Daimyo? And why was I sent here? You seem to have everything under control."
Hiro found the paper he was looking for and pulled it out. "A few of my spies work for the Daimyo and becoming a servant made it easier to communicate with them. One of them is in charge of keeping track of chakra disturbances. A little over a month ago, he reported that there was a massive disturbance in the chakra levels. He's been monitoring it since, and he says that everything's balance is now off. It seems like a great source of chakra suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
Minato took the paper from Hiro. He knew enough about chakra balances to know that chakra growth was gradual. Even if a child was born or someone tapped into a great source, the strengthening of it had to happen slowly. A sudden increase in chakra was impossible. "How could something like that happen?"
Hiro shrugged. "Don't know for sure. Our job is to make sure it has nothing to do with Iwa. It's too convenient that a sudden increase of chakra occurs during the war. The Sandaime has confirmed that it's not our doing, and all the other Kage's are claiming the same. Iwa is the only village to have said nothing on the matter."
"Why did you wait until now to inform me of this?" Minato asked. He could've been helping for over a week now, instead of spending everyday cleaning.
Hiro shrugged. "The Hokage didn't tell me who he was sending. I told you, you aren't what I was expecting." Minato tried not to take offense at that. Who had he been thinking the Hokage would send. Another dot connected. Jiraiya. The Sandaime had hoped that Jiraiya would be included in the servants' lineup. Goes to show that not everything happened the way you planned.
"How are we going to go about investigating this?" Minato knew a good deal about chakra, but definitely not enough to be considered an expert.
"We believe it has to do with sealing." That's why the Hokage sent him. Seals he knew. "Iwa has probably found a new seal that has enabled them to increase their chakra levels." Which was bad on two levels. One, Iwa shinobi could now have more than their natural chakra, increasing their strength. And two, if the offset of chakra continued, then the balance of the shinobi world could shift significantly. Who knew what would happen then. It was part of the reason the Bijuu balance was so important. When a host died and it took the Bijuu a few weeks to resurface, there had been several reports of chakra not working correctly. Minato thought back to the time frame Hiro had mentioned. A little over a month ago…nothing had really changed except for Naruto's arrival in Konoha. But people traveled all the time. That was hardly something to make note of.
"The seal makers work outside of the hidden village, which is a benefit for us. Reports say that the seal maker base is ten miles north of here. We should be able to make it there and back in one night."
"How are we supposed to get into the base?" Seals were important, they wouldn't be left unguarded. "It's most likely that the entire building will be covered with seals. I know quite a bit about them, but it'll take some time to work through."
Hiro looked him over again. "You're a seal maker?" For the first time, there seemed to be respect in the man's tone.
Minato shrugged. "More or less. I still have a long way to go before I can claim to be a master at it, but I've been working at making my own for some time now."
"That'll be useful." Hiro took the paper back and put it away in the desk. "I've noticed that you disappear at night. Are you with another shinobi from Konoha?" Minato nodded and told him about Jiraiya. Hiro seemed pleased to have him on their team. "We'll meet up after ten tonight. We only have one shot at this. If it takes as long as you think it will, I'll have to leave you two. I can't risk not being here in the morning. I've been working undercover for months, I can't blow that now."
oOoOo
"Did you find anything about our appearance here?" With the Kyuubi's assistance, Naruto had slept without any fear of the nightmare. Now that they were both rested it was time to talk.
Kyuubi was slow in answering. "I don't think we're here by accident." He finally said.
"If it wasn't an accident that brought us here, than what did?" Something had to have caused their trip to the past.
Kyuubi sighed. "I don't think it was what, but whom. I searched through most of the hidden villages, and none of them seem to know anything, except for Iwa. There's been a lot of recent activity in their seal making base, which causes me to believe that they are onto something."
Could their presence here be Iwa's doing? "You think someone made a seal that brought us from the future? Why would they do that?"
The Kyuubi gave him a I-can't-believe-I'm-sill-stuck-with-this-idiot look. "You're the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, baka! Someone wants to use us to win the war. They probably know they can't use Kushina, so they found a way to pull a jinchuuriki from the future into the past."
Everything Kyuubi said made sense. Someone had brought them here to use them in the war. Naruto's stomach churned. Someone wanted to use them as weapons. They wouldn't succeed though. Whoever it was had made a mistake in bringing a Konoha jinchuuriki into the past. There was no way they were going to attack their own home.
"Did you find anything to get us back?" Naruto asked. If a seal had brought them here, then a seal would be the way to send them back.
Kyuubi shook his head. "I don't think they made a seal to return us. They probably don't care whether we return to our home or not. There's more." Of course there was more. Because being stuck in the past wasn't enough. "My presence here has thrown of the balance of things. There are currently ten jinchuuriki in this time. That's more chakra than the shinobi world was made to handle. We need to find a way to get back to our time before our presence creates something irreversible."
If they couldn't have a seal made to get them back home, they would be stuck. If they were stuck, then the world could start to collapse. They couldn't let that happen.
Naruto stood up. "I was getting a little bored with things here anyway. It's a shame this S-rank mission came up so close to the chuunin exams, though." Naruto smiled at the Kyuubi. "That's one more chuunin exam I won't complete.
"You should give up on becoming a chuunin."
Naruto shrugged.
Naruto left his mindscape and sat up in his bed. The sun was high in the sky, meaning it was close to 11. He had slept later than planned. Oh, well, he wasn't going to training today anyway. He grabbed his weapon pouch and headed out through the window. Though the sun was shining brightly, the air was chilly. Once he got into a rhythm of running, he would warm up. He dodged behind a building and sent out three Kage Bunshin in opposite directions. Once he was sure the Anbu following him were gone, he set off again. The Sandaime really needed to find better Anbu.
The trip out of Konoha was going well, until Naruto spotted a small figure with the Uchiha fan on his shirt up ahead. Naruto turned to avoid being spotted, but he was too late. Contrary to popular belief, Obito was observant. Naruto slowed from his run as Obito approached him with a smile. "I knew I was running late, but I wasn't expected you to be too."
Naruto shrugged. He was going to suggest Obito going on ahead and then leaving, but something held him back. This could be the last time he saw Obito. Did he really want to leave him on these terms? He had already messed up with this Kakashi, who still refused to speak to him. He knew that Kakashi was eventually shown the importance of teammates, but he still didn't know how to let go of the past. At least Naruto would have a second chance with him if he ever got back to the future. He wouldn't have that chance with Obito. He had tried to ignore it, but he knew that Obito was going to die. He had always known.
"Obito." His tone must have alert Obito that he was serious, because the usual goofy grin on Obito's face was gone. "I'm sorry that you are treated as an outcast by the Uchiha's." Obito's eyes widened. They had been pretending not to notice the others' mask for as long as they'd known each other. Naruto continued. "You shouldn't worry about what they think. You're a great shinobi. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." Naruto could see the beginning of tears form in Obito's eyes. For as much as he was a shinobi, he was also a child. Naruto didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he grabbed Obito and pulled him into his arms. He held Obito as he wished someone had held him as a child. Obito clung to him, tears silently streaming down his face. It seemed like an eternity before Obito pulled back and lifted his goggles enough to wipe his eyes. Naruto smiled when Obito didn't give a lame excuse for his tears.
"Why don't you go ahead?" Naruto suggested to Obito. Obito nodded slowly, understanding: Naruto's time in the past was up.
Obito turned to walk away, he had only taken two steps when he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "We're the same, aren't we?"
Naruto nodded. "We are."
"Then I'm sorry for whatever happened to you." Obito gave him one last wave before he was off. Naruto stared at his retreating friend. He felt the all too familiar sadness of losing a friend. No matter how many times he had to say goodbye, he would always be terrible at it.
He walked the rest of the way towards the gates of Konoha, routinely keeping track of whether or not he was being followed. He did a henge before he reached the gates and slipped past the guards. He ran for a mile before he released the henge. They would find him missing soon enough, but he would be long gone by then. A journey to Iwa usually took three days, but with the Kyuubi's chakra, he would be able to make it in a day. Naruto ran.
oOoOo
Kushina stared at the small folder on the Sandaime's desk. This was it. Inside that folder was the result from the blood test. Across from her, the Sandaime was settling into his chair. "I really wish you wouldn't add to my paperwork, Kushina-chan." The Sandaime joked.
Kushina offered a small smile, but she was too nervous to do anything more. She wasn't sure what she was hoping for, but she knew that the best thing would probably be for the test to be negative, that the two were unrelated. There was a chance that Naruto just happened to look like Minato. Everyone's got a twin somewhere, right?
The Sandaime opened the file and quickly read through everything. His face gave nothing away. When the Sandaime finished the reading, he carefully closed the folder before looking up at her. "We had the nurse use the fastest blood test possible, which would only show immediate relations." The Sandaime sighed. "There's no doubt about it: Minato and Naruto are related. And closely. Fifty percent of their blood work is a match, meaning they are most likely cousins or even half-brothers."
Kushina had to remind herself to breathe. Was it possible one of Minato's parents had an affair? Or was Naruto the son of Minato's aunt? Whoever Naruto was, he was Minato's family. She suddenly wished beyond anything that Naruto was innocent of anything the Sandaime might suspect. By being a part of Minato's family, Naruto was also a part of hers.
The Sandaime called an Anbu into the room and told him to bring Naruto to him. Kushina focused on the first task set before them. They needed to figure out what exactly brought Naruto to Konoha.
An hour later, the Anbu had not yet returned. Kushina shifted uneasily in her seat. Maybe Naruto was training and they were having difficulty locating him. Another half hour passed before the Anbu returned.
"He's not here, Hokage-sama." Kushina and the Hokage stared at the Anbu.
The Sandaime cleared his throat. "What do you mean he's not here?"
"He's not in Konoha, Hokage-sama." The Anbu said.
"You mean that you let a nineteen-year-old genin get away from you?" The Sandaime's voice was more menacing than anything Kushina had ever heard. Though it was not directed at her, she straightened in her seat.
The Anbu shifted from one foot to another. "We've been watching him closely. He shouldn't have been able to slip away from us." Kushina gasped as the implications came to her. A genin never would've been able to slip away from trained Anbu. The Sandaime had been right; there was more to Naruto that he claimed. Minato was wrong.
A/N: Well, it took me three weeks, but here's the next chapter. I was really blanking on what to write. I wrote the first paragraph and the rest of the chapter seemed to appear onto paper. I wrote everything in one sitting, my only stop was for lunch. I think this might be my favorite chapter.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I was surprised when I hit 400 reviews, my original goal had been 100. Thank you for the support, and please keep reviewing.