First fic, always been a fan since the show started in 05, read every chapter (too much filler in the anime). I created this account a while ago but college got in the way, but since this is summer break for me, I figured I'd use this time to see if I can write this stuff. I hope you like it.
"Shit."
This was all 14 year old Naruto Uzumaki had to say. He didn't know what happened. He just knew that something happened. It was obvious in the sudden change of landscape. One moment before, he was on the outskirts of the camp Jiraiya had made for them. Now, he was in the front yard of what seemed to be a small town of a few dozen houses and stores. Luckily, it was dark and around midnight, so no one had seen...whatever happened to him.
He began to look around, confirming what he already feared. Any trace of the camp was long gone. All of his stuff, gone. Jiraiya, gone. All he had were the things in his pockets. Which, if he remembered correctly, was a relatively full wallet with about 15,000 ryo (1500 US dollars), about two dozen shuriken, 5 kunai, and some gum. He patted himself down, and was relieved to find all of those things on his person. He made a quick reach to his forehead, and was happy to see that his headband was still intact. He quickly got to thinking about the things Jiraiya had been teaching him in the last year or so, and the first thing that came to mind was about hiding your identity when coming to a suspicious village. So, hesitantly, he slipped off his headband and stuffed it inside of his pocket. Deciding it was probably a good idea to take a rest in order to figure out what the hell was going on, Naruto decided it was a good idea to find a place to sleep. And since he had nothing to camp with, he decided to hope that their was some sort of hotel in these row of houses. Peering into the darkness looking for a sign that said hotel or vacancy, Naruto began to make up his story.
After a dozen houses or so, he sees that a 3 story building has a sign saying "Nightly Rooms For Rent." Figuring it was his best shot, he slowly walked to the front door. A small sign on the front said "Enter From Dusk to Dawn." Naruto began to have a few suspicions about this place, but it was best shot at a warm bed. He decided to open the door, and the lingering smell in the air made him instantly know what this place was. If Jiraiya was around at all in this weird new town, it would be in this house.
A girl smiled from behind the desk in the front room as Naruto entered. He saw the prices being offered for a "double" or "triple" or "special single", and had an "hourly rate" price next to them. Swallowing his pride, he entered the place looking legitimately embarassed.
"Welcome to Niko's Hotel. How are you doing tonight?"
"Um, I'm doing okay. Look, I'm kinda lost here right now. Can you tell me how far away the town of Rokkasho is? The one near the border of Land of Fire?"
The woman's smile dropped to a neutral expression. "Oh, you are that kind of customer. It's about 15 kilometers northeast of here."
Well, that confirmed to Naruto that he didn't travel anywhere. Jiraiya had told him they were going to Rokkasho in the morning, and it was 15 km northeast from where camp was. So something else changed. He knew the woman he hoped he was a real customer, but he really just wanted a bed.
"Thanks, my... uncle told me to meet him there. He's been on business in the Land of Fire for a few weeks now, and wanted to meet him half-way." The woman nodded, uninterested in what he was saying. "If it's possible, could I just have a... normal room for the night?" Naruto did not want any special surprises.
"Give me a minute." The woman got up and walked into the door behind her. He guessed she was talking with the guy who ran this place. He began to tap his toe before the women came out of the door. "My boss said it's okay, but you gotta pay for the rate for the double." Naruto gave the sign a glance, and saw it was a 1200 ryo for the night. He grimaced at paying that much, he was hoping for a room half of that, but he doubted a small place like this would have another hotel.
"Yeah, I can pay that." Naruto grabbed the wallet out of his pocket. "Can you make sure the...uh..bedsheets are clean?" Naruto knew how the procedure worked in these kind of places. They were often not the cleanest of places.
She gave a grin. "I can make sure for another 50." Naruto knew she was hustling him, and it should be free at that price, but a clean bedsheet was a luxury in a place like this. He pulled his big bills to pay for the room, and slipped the 50 ryo coin to her. Slipping it in her pocket, she told him, "I'll be a few. I'll tell you when the room is ready." She then left to go upstairs. Naruto gave a big exhale, and took a seat in one of the cheap chairs offered.
He got to thinking about how he should have asked things differently, about how he was looking for his uncle and to see if he was here. Though he had a feeling he already knew that the answer was no, the chakra in the air told him he was the only shinobi around. Considering what he knew, he only had one idea about what to do next. Return to Konoha.
Something funky had happened, and he didn't know what. Entire towns don't just spring up in the blink of an eye. He had thought it was a genjutsu earlier, but he failed to find any trace of one. So Naruto had to assume this was the real world, and the safest place for him to be in the real world was Konoha. He was hopeful that whatever had gone on in this world, Konoha was still safe.
After another minute or so, the woman came down the stairs, taking off a pair of rubber gloves. Naruto was curious if that was normal sheet changing wear, or if that was the best 50 ryo he had ever spent. He decided against asking. She threw the gloves in the trash, and reached under desk to grab a key. "It's for room 2, the second floor. You can stay until noon, but not a second later. Don't wreck anything, and don't disturb any of the guests or our long-term boarders. Get it?" Naruto walked over and nodded. "Good."
Naruto took the key from her hand and wished the woman a good night, before heading up the steps slowly. He looked around as he made his way to the landing, but didn't see anyone. He heard things going on in a room next to him in room 3, and something going on upstairs. He casually listened as he tried to figure out which remaining room was 2, in order to see if he could hear Jiraiya, but the room next to him seemed to be two women, and the one above him was a guy with a huskier voice. He guessed Jiraiya wasn't there after all. Sticking his key into the doorknob, he opened up and saw a fresh pair of sheets on the bed and pillowcases, but the blanket that was off on the side, folded up on the nightstand, looked grimy. He shrugged, and figured he was just going to sleep without. It was better than being outdoors, but still a rip-off.
He slipped off his shoes, and put his jacket on the hook they provided for customers. He then remembered to lock the door to be on the safe side, and let out a yawn. His day had been tiresome, and worrying about what the hell was going on. He saw a calendar on the wall, and was curious if it was still the same day as it had been before this town magically appeared, March 3rd. He saw x marks going by the first two days of March, which he guess meant it was March 3rd. He almost looked over another detail in the magazine, but caught it in the corner of his eye. The year was off. Unless he was totally off, it was the year 361 in his memories. The system starting with the most recent calender system being put into place. But the calender in front of him said the year was 366. That was ridiculous. If that was true, then it meant he had gone 5 years into the future, and that was impossible.
Right?
Right?
Naruto laid there in his bed for a good hour wondering that very fact.
The next morning, Naruto woke up a little after sunrise. He decided he had some time before he needed to bail, so he reassessed everything he had. He counted his money, and saw that he had 13000 ryo in cash and 275 in coins, which was enough to last a bit if something was really amiss. He decided to go along with the idea that the year was indeed 366 over 361 and not bring it up. He didn't want to be seen as a lunatic. He stretched for a bit, and put on his things. He made sure to have his key ready, as he walked out of his room and quickly made his way to the bathroom, realizing he needed to go. After relieving himself, he passed by what he assumed was the husky voiced man, shirtless and waiting in the bathroom. With a courtesy nod given to one another, Naruto headed down the steps. The woman from before was not there, and instead was a grimy sort of man who was wiry and looked not to be cross. He eyed Naruto as he handed him the key. "Room 2 key." The guy looked Naruto in the eye before grabbing it from him.
"You the kid who got the no fuck room?" He bluntly asked him. Naruto gave a nod, he wanted to get going. The man chuckled. "Kid, you gotta learn a few things. First, you would have had a better night if you had just gotten the double. And second, you gotta haggle. I told Emi to take anything over 750, and you gave her the first number she asked for. You gotta learn kid."
Naruto didn't really care about this lesson but just gave a simple nod. "Thanks for the advice." He told him in an unsure voice. "Have a good day."
The guy grunted. "Thanks." Naruto didn't hear a 'have a good day' back, so he thought it was time to leave. He slipped out of the door, and quickly made his way to the northeast exit of this no name town. He didn't want to reveal his role as a shinobi. He was also curious about a what-if going through his head. If he did time-jump or whatever 5 years, what happened to him during those 5 years? Did he vanish, or what? And what happened to Akatsuki, and Sasuke, and Baa-chan, and Sakura, and sensei, and Pervy Sage? Or was it something else entirely? He read a book about people entering the world of a book, maybe something like that happened. Did he enter one of Pervy Sage's books? He hoped not. He made his way into the forest's edge and casually jumped into the tree line to make his way quickly home. At the end of the day, all Naruto knew was that the answers for this mess would be located in Konoha.