Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
The Savior That Can't Be Saved
Chapter 3:
The Talk: Ramen, the Academy, and Memories.
Uzumaki Naruto sat at his bed, closed his eyes, thinking about a million things at once. The future, the past, the present… It all felt like a blur yet seemed entirely clear at the same time. It confused the former young adult now child. He knew something must have happened… Well, of course something happened! He was a five year old for crying out loud!
He sighed and allowed himself to go into his mindscape.
XXX
Naruto opened his eyes, hearing the familiar dripping of water droplets coming from the rusty pipes of his mindscape. What surprised him was the cage. Nothing was different from the cage whenever he saw it when he was younger, the paper seal was still intact on the lock and the cage looked exactly the same except the height of it. It seemed less tall to him so he looked into the water on ground and gasped at what he saw. The reflection of his sixteen year old self looked back at him with the same shocked expression, wearing the familiar orange and black jacket and orange pants.
He scrunched his eyebrows. What the hell…?
He stopped his thoughts when he heard very little footsteps that grew louder each moment. The sound of splashing water filled his ears as he waited, in his stance, for what would come before him. He kept a calm look on his face, but inside his mind, he was a little shocked, wondering what or who was causing these sounds as it seemed that the Nine-Tails was still inside the cage, judging by how intact the seal was. He looked and was really shocked at what came out of the darkness of his mindscape, appearing before him, breathing out a little heavily, and leaning down with its hands on its knees.
It looked up to Naruto, still breathing a bit heavily, revealing familiar eyes that were cerulean, hair that was full of spikes and was a bright yellow color, blond, and a small five year old face that Naruto had recently seen in the mirror in his apartment. The very same one that held whisker marks on its cheeks. It looked scared at the unfamiliar surroundings, Naruto, and lastly, and most importantly, the cage that was sealed. The boy was about to speak when a deep growl from the cage frightened and interrupted the boy's thoughts of what he was about to say.
"It seems you have come to see what has happened, eh, Naruto…?" The familiar deep voice said with a friendly chuckle, showing that this was the Kyuubi he had come to know. Naruto chuckled lightly, shocking the little boy that this man was chuckling to this monster in this cage and how the heck did he get here!
"Exactly, Kurama… Now, I'm sorry that I don't have the time to have a cheerful conversation. Let's get down to what the hell is going on here and why I went back in time."
Went back in time? The little boy thought as he went over and looked at the man that was talking to the monster in the cage.
Naruto looked down as the boy was shocked to see that the man looked exactly like an older version of him. Naruto got kind of creeped out when the little boy stared at him with adoration and stars in his eyes; a sweat drop appearing on the side of the shinobi… Well, former shinobi since he went back in time. Suddenly, the boy leaped at Naruto, pushing him onto the wet ground, making Naruto grunt silently at the feeling of hitting the hard floor.
The boy became a motor mouth, talking at the same speeds that Lee ran without his weights. He pestered Naruto with questions of the future like "Will I become Hokage!" and "Will I ever marry that pink-haired girl I see around the village!"
It pained Naruto in knowing that this boy may not know of things in the future as it seemed that he was stuck in the mindscape, this five year old Naruto while he was the main functioning part of the body.
Kurama lightly chuckled at the display, getting the small Naruto to jump off Naruto. "It looks like you were having fun there…"
Naruto glared at the fox, now slightly showing from the bars of the cage, "Did you find out why I was able to go back in time?"
Kurama looked at Naruto with his kitsune eyes. "It seems that you hold a secret Kekkai Genkai unknown to even your parents and your ancestors… The ability to use some of your life span in order to go back to a time you think of and go on from there; that is what appears to be your Kekkai Genkai. You seem to have inserted yourself into the memory by wanting to go there before you died. It triggered it and allowed you; I was included, back in time, memories intact. Though it seems that it's almost like just taking your soul and inserting it into your body of that time, making the five year old part of yourself here alone, without being able to be a part of you."
"So, what do I have to do to allow the five year old me back?" Naruto asked, surprised that his parents didn't know of this Kekkai Genkai of sorts.
"That is simple; you fight with your five year old self and beat it, allowing you to take over completely, or the easier way out, but not as fun, you simply have your five year old self accept you and become a part of you. After all, there can't be two of you after all…"
The little Naruto was scared, but listened enough to know kind of what was happening. The older Naruto looked down to see his younger self clinging desperately to his orange pant leg, looking a little scared of Kurama, but seemed to be getting more confident and relaxed. Naruto leaned down with a sincere, light smile on his face, looking at his younger self, getting his attention.
"I'm going to share these memories with you and hopefully, you'll take the easy way for once…" Naruto said, though his tone showed that he was talking about himself, not his five year old self in particular, but himself as a whole in the past and future. He touched the boy's forehead as the memories seeped slowly into the little boy's mind. The Academy, his class mates, Iruka-sensei, his headband, his teammates, his new sensei, the Chunin Exam, the Perverted Hermit, Obaa-san… The years came and went, but Naruto made it stop and excluded certain memories to make the younger him accept what he had said.
Naruto stopped sharing the memories with his younger self, who just stood there, taking everything in for a moment, until he grinned that familiar grin that made Naruto smile. "Alright, dattebayo!"
"Thank you…," Naruto said as the younger Naruto faded, and Naruto felt something more inside him, like he was becoming whole. Naruto stood there for a moment until a noise from Kurama got his attention.
"Now, that that is over, I need to tell you that all the events that have pasted have not official happened which means you can change or keep them the same. Though I caution you of what you change… You'll never know what happens if you change it… So take cautious movements in your choices and don't be an idiot for once…" Kurama grinned slyly. "Or you'll end up kissing that Sasuke kid once again…"
"Hey!" Naruto barked as Kurama just chuckled and Naruto smiled, his mindscape disappearing from his sight.
XXX
Naruto awoke, smiling about the events in his mindscape. He noticed for the first time what he was wearing, a pair of orange shorts with a blue shirt that held a white-grey spiral in the middle, the same outfit his younger self held in the mindscape. He grabbed his goggles and put them on his forehead, smiling at the mirror until his stomach reminded him of something.
My ramen!
He went over to the ramen cup, felt that it was colder than usual, but didn't bother checking why. Taking his wooden chopsticks, he sat and dug in, only to make a weird expression, stop eating, and spat his giant mouth full of cold ramen noodles into his trash can.
"IT'S COLD!"
Soon as Naruto threw out the cup of cold ramen, a knock came to his door. Naruto grinned, yelling, "Coming!" He raced to the door, knowing exactly who and what was on the other side.
XXX
Sarutobi Hiruzen was outside the door of the apartment that contained the jinchuriki of Konohagakure, Uzumaki Naruto. He was about to knock on the door when he heard the exclamation of that very boy about something being cold. The Sandaime Hokage chuckled at what he heard and, then, knocked at the door.
He heard the young Uzumaki yell the word, "coming," before he raced to the door and opened it. He smiled a wide grin and rushed at the old man, nearly knocking him over, as Hiruzen just chuckled and rubbed the boy's head of hair affectionately.
"It seems you were eager to see me," Hiruzen smiled down at the boy, though inside his mind, he slightly questioned Naruto's actions. How did he know exactly if a friendly face was going to knock on the door? It could have been an angry villager or the person that runs this apartment place…
"Why wouldn't I be, ojii-san?" Naruto asked the Hokage, happily, as the elderly man just chuckled again. Looking at the young boy, Hiruzen noticed the look inside those cerulean pools, the look of a shinobi that lost everything in a war. He wondered why Naruto held this look in his eyes, but decided to just smile at the boy, hearing the growl of the young boy's stomach. Naruto's face flushed red in embarrassment as he chuckled with Hiruzen, rubbing the back of his head. "Is it alright if we go to Ichiraku's?"
The Sarutobi knew exactly why Naruto wanted to go there: the owner Teuchi, his daughter Ayame, and, of course, the Ichiraku Ramen. After all, it was really the only restaurant that served Naruto since the others would have people file complaints about a certain thing being near them. He smiled sadly at the blond for a moment before almost immediately changing it into a happy smile.
"Alright, we'll go there, Naruto-kun…" Hiruzen's smile grew when Naruto whooped with joy, running toward the stand from his apartment while Hiruzen just followed him there, his smile never leaving his face.
I can't wait to tell him about where he's going tomorrow… The Third Hokage thought, chuckling as they approached the food stand that Naruto so enjoyed.
XXX
"You're sending me to the Academy?"
Naruto's eyes were wide and strangely sparkling as he flipped the curtain that hid the Ichiraku's interior, the seats, the kitchen, and other things such as the napkins and chopsticks lay out with a paper menu underneath the bowl. Hiruzen chuckled at the priceless expression of the blond until he noticed the boy get a down cast look on his face as he sat in his seat.
"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Ayame, the waitress of Ichiraku Ramen and the daughter of the owner, Teuchi, asked the blond, a concerned frown decorated the young, feminine face along with her smooth, silky brown locks of hair. Her matching eyes also had a look of concern that matched her frown.
"Yes, what is wrong, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked the boy, touching one of the boy's shoulders, while Ayame put her delicate hand on his other shoulder, inching her face toward Naruto's to show him she was listening.
Naruto looked up and gasped as he saw Ayame's face up close and personal, showing him her cuteness of when she was nine. His face flushed red for a bit as he shook away the blush and grew a melancholy look in his cerulean eyes. It wasn't about the Academy at all. It was about how he never got to see Ayame and Teuchi before he departed to the island where he learned how to completely gain control over Kurama… Well, technically, he gained almost complete control over Kurama… It still saddened him when he was on the war front against Sasuke and that masked man… How he wasn't able to see their two smiling faces, to talk to them about his day, to see how they were doing, to nourish himself in their "food of the Kages."
At least I have more time to see them now… Naruto thought, always the optimist. Though he couldn't help but think of the bitter irony of the later part of his life in the other timeline. How he was the pessimist, just wanting the darkness to come, looking at how everything was going to fall… But now he had the chance to pick it all up. He smiled before making it fade. He knew that Ayame and the Third were waiting for his answer, and probably the owner of the establishment, Teuchi, who was in the back of the stand.
"I fear that I won't have any friends at the Academy… After all, the villagers already hate me…" Naruto said very sadly.
"Naruto-kun, I'm your friend!" Ayame yelled at him with a big, childish smile, not surprising since she was a child still. "Even if you don't make friends at the Academy, you know that you'll have the Hokage, my daddy, and… me…" She blushed a bit when saying "me." She went over the counter of the stand and hugged the boy. "I know you! Surely, you'll make some friends!"
Naruto smiled at Ayame and wrapped his arms around her, smiling lightly, sincerely. "Thanks, Ayame-chan." He let his arms loose with Ayame, letting her see his smile before he turned to the Hokage. "You too, ojii-san…"
Hiruzen smiled, ruffling the young Uzumaki's hair with his hand, "No need to thank me, Naruto-kun. After all, Ayame-chan was the one to help you." He smiled at Ayame, who looked at Naruto, blushed, and looked away. The old man chuckled at the display as Teuchi came in with a smile, but it quickly changed to a frown. He approached Naruto, who was wondering what was up with the ramen chef.
"'Ey, Naruto-kun…," Teuchi had his head lowered and, then, he was right in front of Naruto. He raised his head up with anime tears streaming down his face. "What about me? I deserve to be loved!"
Naruto freaked out, knowing he had to act like whenever he was five, "Teuchi-san! I'm sorry, so very sorry! Please, don't take my ramen away!" Naruto had tears streaming down his face, kneeling down to the chef as Ayame giggled at the display and Teuchi and Hiruzen smiled.
"No need to worry, Naruto-kun." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, smiling. "I've already got some of your usual order ready, along with yours, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen smiled kindly to the chef, "Thank you, Teuchi-kun."
Teuchi smiled at them and quickly returned with a few bowls of ramen, one for the Hokage and two for the young Uzumaki. They both ate their food, one more mannerly than the other. Once they were done, the Hokage pulled out a sum of money and placed it on the counter.
He, then, turned to Naruto, "So, what do you say? Do you want to go to the Academy?"
Naruto had his signature grin on his face as he said, "Yeah!"
Hiruzen chuckled as the two left the ramen stand, leaving their goodbyes with Ayame and Teuchi.
"I'll go through the registration form tonight. An ANBU will knock on your door to take you to me in the morning once you are ready. I will take you to registration and your first day of school tomorrow. That sound good, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto grinned once more at his guardian. Or Naruto thought of him as a guardian. After all, he had taken care of him all his life whenever he could. "Ya bet, ojii-san!"
Hiruzen let out one more chuckle, ruffled Naruto's hair, and departed to the tower. Naruto enthusiastically got his bed clothes on and went to bed, eagerly awaiting tomorrow. But as he lay in bed, he remembers the faces of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Ayame and Teuchi of the past, the present, and the future. He, then, remembered when he heard news of all of their deaths, and he had started to cry. Eventually, he fell asleep.