Reminiscing

Disclaimer: Nope… Kishimoto owns Naruto…

Hey guys! I hope everyone has had a good week :) Sorry it's been a while… I am going through university transfer applications at the moment. But soon I'll be backed to my usual life schedule :)

Wanna say thanks to Nell1994, TrappedInHappiness, and Nala87 for following this story! :D

A clouded sky met and meshed with the grey city environment, the misty weather scared off the usual busy crowds. A few people, huddled in their coats or hoodies, scurried down the sidewalks. Their downcast eyes focused on the splashes each step made in the puddles form from last night's rain. The air was thick and humid, a predicting sign that it would rain later in the day. An orange hoodie stood out against the dull background, the bright red spiral on his back wrinkled and folded with his every move. Naruto walked along the concrete sidewalk towards the house he once called home. The night before went uneventful, except for Naruto burning the crap out of the last slice of bread. The rain continued all night and into the early morning, but it somehow helped the blond get to sleep. In the morning, Naruto threw on some clean clothes and rushed out the door with thoughts of a busy day. He stopped by Ichiraku first and was promptly met with a scowling cook. Iruka scolded him for thinking of work on his first day off in five years. The brunet quickly booted the blond out the front door and watched Naruto's receding shadow.

Once he realized that autopilot had taken control, he abruptly stopped and took in his surroundings. The large neutral buildings had turned into smaller, brick, housings. Fences lined the properties and extravagant gardens decorated doorways or stairwells. One lone house deviated from the uniform look within the neighborhood. The structure was faded and had a weathered wooden fence surrounding the property. The blond jogged the short distance to his destination, laying a hand on the chipped wood fence. The yard consisted of yellow patches and a variety of weeds. The places where children toys were constantly left were easily found due to permanent indents.

Naruto was shaken from his thoughts when the front door opened, a busty blonde woman emerged with a cardboard box filled with picture frames. "Tsunade!" Naruto called out as he fiddled with the stubborn gate.

The older woman turned her head, "Oh! Naruto!" she smiled gently, then giving her attention to what she was doing previously.

"H-Hold on, wait!" He exclaimed as he finally broke through the rickety gate. Naruto reached her just in time to hear the click of the door's lock. Dramatically, he hung his head low and sighed aloud. The woman's brown eyes squinted in confusion at the young man

A smack on the head promptly made Naruto stand up straight, "What is it you want brat?" A slight smirk appeared on her lips.

"Old hag…" he muttered under his breath while rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"Do you want to be kicked where the sun don't shine?" His blue eyes widened, he whimpered. Full well knowing that Tsunade wouldn't hesitate.

"I just wanted inside the house." He batted his lashes as he tried to pull off some puppy-dog eyes.

"Tsunade groaned, "Fine…" she shifted the weight of the box onto her hip. "But first you have to help me with this." She shifted once again to give him the box.

Naruto grunted at the weight of the box, wondering just how many picture this woman had. They walked together back out the gate and towards her white Toyota. The blond wasn't surprised to see a few dents on her bumper. A small beep sounded and she lifted the trunk door. There were a few boxes already in the trunk, all varying in contents. One held children's clothes, two others had some kitchenware or other appliances, and another was filled to the brim with brightly colored toys. Naruto set the box down next to the clothes filled box. "So what made you decide to move?" He asked with a serious tone.

Tsunade's face softened, she knew Naruto loved this house and all the children that lived in it. "It's just time to move on" she sighed, "the children keep getting sick and the building is getting old."

"Can't you just fix up the house?" He pondered, leaning a tan arm on the trunk door.

"It's like the house is telling us to leave. The kids keep getting weak, but when I took them to the suburbs, they got their energy back." She stated. "Plus," she added, "we don't have the money needed to fix up this place." She waved her hand towards the lone house. Naruto's eyes sank, a look of disappointment washed over his face. She turned to the boxes and rummaged through the newly placed box. She pulled out a picture frame, opened it, and slid out the photo inside. "Here." She handed the young man the picture. "Since you won't be able to see us as much." She explained with a slight smile.

Naruto gently took the picture, it showed a group of kids gathered and smiling brightly. A familiar blond boy was placed in the back, behind a scowling red head. Little Naruto was in mid laugh as he pulled the cheeks of the other child, forcing a smile-like sneer on the other child. "But…" he started, "I can't take this." He tried to hand it back to the older woman.

"Keep it, I have the negatives. I'll print another."

"Thanks" He smiled.

"Oh!" Her face lit up, "You wanted to go in the house!" she suddenly remembered. "Here is the key to the front door, make sure to lock up when you're finished." She handed him a small silver key on a little key-chain and gave him a hug.

"Wait, how am I going to return it to you?"

"Just bring it when you come to visit!" She winked as she closed the trunk and headed towards the driver's door.

Naruto started back to the house and managed his way through the gate. He gripped the key tightly as he waved to the blond woman, "See ya later grandma!" He happily shouted to her.

Instead of the usual threats, she smiled warmly. "Can't wait brat!" she smirked as she got into her car and started the engine.

The young man stood in the yard and watched the white car disappear into the misty distance. Once he was 100% that she was gone, he walked to the front door. Before unlocking the door, Naruto pulled out a zip-lock bag from his pocket. It contained his cellphone, a worn wallet, and a red key-chain which held his apartment keys. Tsunade always scolded him for playing in the rain. When he got older, she would sneak a plastic baggie into his favorite jacket Naruto picked it up as a habit and never came home with a water damaged electronic again. The blond man slipped the photo into the bag, between his phone and wallet. After putting it away, he finally turned his attention to the door.

A dark hallway greeted the blond, small rays of light made their way in through windows in other rooms. Naruto smiled to himself as he remembered the happy and active environment that he use to walk in to every day. He ventured from room to room and looked around, the emptiness was surprising and depressing for the man. As he went from the dining room to the kitchen he started to feel off. His stomach churned and he felt somewhat dizzy, but he brushed it off as his body reacting to his sadness. Around the corner of the dining room was a staircase, carpet that was supposed to be white covered each step. He faintly remembered the pitter patter of children's feet climbing up and down constantly. He lightly held the railing and ascended towards the upper floor.

The top floor was as barren as the lower level, indents in the carpet showed where furniture use to stand. Naruto's eyes lit up at the sight of his old room. Upon entering the room, the first thing he noticed was the change in wall color. At first, little Naruto and the red headed child couldn't agree on what color to paint the walls. Naruto wanted orange paint, but the red head wanted either red or black. They eventually decided on a yellowish gold color, the other child agreed since it was the color of the sandbox. The walls now had a lilac color painted on them with pale white ceiling tiles. He could easily still see the layout of his old room. Two desks sat opposite from each other, twin beds lay near the window, and a bookshelf stood tall near the door. He rushed to the area where his desk used to sit, he looked up at the tile above his head. Now that he was an adult, he didn't need the boost of a desk chair to reach the tiles. He reached up and pushed a tile aside, then feeling around with a free hand. He felt what he was looking for and started to bring down the treasures.

This spot in the ceiling was what Naruto called his "Secret Treasure Chest". He hid some of his favorite sweets and books/mangas, the ones he didn't want to loan to any of the other children. What currently interested him the most was a small key that unlocked the tree-house out back. It was suspended from a key-chain with a clip that they used to hang around the belt loops of their blue jeans. A low chuckle vibrated from his throat as he remembered getting grounded for continuously hiding the key. Naruto slid the key into his pocket as he turned to leave the room, though he paused momentarily to consider taking the mangas along. Ultimately deciding that the books were already too damaged due to dusty surroundings and exposure to leaks. He bounded down the stairs but felt the dizziness return as he reached the last few steps, he gripped the railing tightly as he thought about waiting for it to pass. Stumbling, he ventured towards the front door.

With only one more part of the property to visit, Naruto exited the house. He thought about what Tsunade would do if he forgot to lock up the building which caused a shiver to go down his spine. A quick turn of the key and he was set, before heading to the backyard he slipped the key into his baggie. Small drops landed on his hair and made their way down to his nose. With a flick of his hand, the orange hood settled on top of his head. A chilled breeze blew rain and mist into his eyes, his nose reddened slightly from the sudden cold. With a sniffle, he started walking.

Naruto headed around the side of the house, slipping past the garbage and recycling bins. The backyard was larger than the front yard, it was broken into sections. A small play area sat in the right corner of the yard. A rusty slide, monkey bars and a lone sandbox stood among many years of footprints. A small, withered, garden was next to it. Tsunade would spend her time there, humming and taking care of the plants while supervising the playing children. In the opposite corner of the property stood a lush tree. It was still around the same height as Naruto could remember, though the branches were longer and hung lower than before. A nauseous feeling found its way back into the blond's stomach, a sharp pain stabbed his head as well.

As the distance lessened between Naruto and the tree-house, the pain and uneasy feelings increased greatly. His vision started to act up once he reached the make shift ladder, small wooden planks nailed to the tree trunk. It took him longer than it would normally to climb up the ladder, he staggered with each notch of wood. The door to the small wooden structure couldn't be opened by the blond's push because of the rusty, but still working, lock. Naruto fumbled in his pocket and grabbed hold of the small clip key-chain. It took a few tries, but he eventually was able to open the wood door.

"Grahg" He grumbled when he hit his head on the ceiling. "Shit… I remembered this being much bigger when I was younger." Naruto mumbled to himself. He rubbed the top of his head and pouted. A sudden churn of his stomach caused him to stick his head out of the tree-house window and let loose the contents from breakfast. Once he was finished, the blond turned back to the interior of the house. Some writing had been etched into the wall which made Naruto internally scream. He started for the desecrated wall but stubbed his foot on a protruding nail. "Gah!" The blond gasped as he lifted his foot. The same feeling of nausea and faintness washed over him, making him loose his balance. He felt his body fall and prepared himself for the landing, he tightly shut his eyes and put his hands out to catch himself. He heard a minuscule clink, instantly associating it with the tree-house key landing on the floor. He was bewildered, how did the key land if he was still falling?

Naruto reluctantly opened his eyes only to result in them widening. The floor of the tree-house vanished and what he was falling into was a large body of freshwater. He screamed and flailed as the lake came closer and closer. A large splash occurred when the blond met the cold water, the blond had plunged headfirst. He quickly gained control of his actions and swam back to the surface. Blond hair stuck to his neck, water droplets rolled down his cheeks and back to the lake's surface. Blue eyes looked to the sky, where he had fallen from, "What….?" He asked with a breathy voice. A small ring floated in the sky, when he squinted he could see the tree-house's interior in the strange ring. The vision seemed to fade in and out, "NO!" Naruto panicked. He frantically swam to the closest shore and dragged himself onto the dirt. Naruto laid on his back and watched as the transparent ring disappeared, the only upside he could think of was the disappearance of the sick feelings.

Hope you enjoyed it :D