A/N: Hi everyone! Once again, I'm sorry! I'll get rid of this habit of being late with the updates somehow, I promise. But, more importantly… I have an awesome beta now (Pen-Name-Kitsune-chan), who's helping me greatly! So, we'll try our best from now on to bring you even more enjoyable chapters!

Naruto, getting over his initial surprise, finally managed to tear his gaze away from the older boy.

"That was a cheap trick, you know," he mumbled, examining the ground by his feet.

"But it worked, right?" The older Naruto smirked, crossing his arms. "Consider it a punishment for all the pranks we used to pull on the villagers. They weren't really happy with us back then."

"They're still not particularly nice or anything, so they deserved it," Naruto grumbled, looking back up at his older self. It still seemed unbelievable that they could ever be the same person. How could he ever brush off everything so easily?

Older Naruto studied the pained expression on his younger self's face. There was that sad and haunted look, which he did not see in the mirror anymore. Somehow he had managed to overcome his resentment towards the villagers and, thus, wished the younger Naruto could do the same. He still had to reveal a lot of things that would aggravate his younger self. So the least he could do was free him from the unnecessary suffering that despising everyone had brought him. If he could somehow spare this boy from following in his steps, he would gladly use every means possible to succeed.

"You know what? I don't hate them anymore." The older Naruto grinned widely. "I realized that hatred is pointless... It only festers and creates more pain and hatred. Those who turn their eyes only to darkness and anger will never be happy.

He knew it perfectly well, because he had learned it the hard way. Hatred was not only self-destructive, if you let it corrupt your heart, everything around you would be sucked into the darkness. As long as they existed things like hatred and revenge brought only misery to people who submitted to them. If you kill someone, people who seek revenge on you would appear. Then, if you get killed by them, you friends would try to avenge you. This circle of hatred can go on forever; more and more people would be caught in it until it is a full-fledged war.

"When you hate someone the thing you really do is closing off your heart. You're just trying to get away from the things that hurt you. But that won't get you anywhere." The older Naruto stated, his voice full of determination. "It felt unbearable for me at a times but I tried to leave my heart exposed to them. So, that maybe one day they would get over their preconceptions and see the real me."

The older Naruto studied his younger self who seemed quite thoughtful.

"And, you know, somehow that worked! They've accepted us!" He stretched out his arms in a triumphant gesture and waited for the other's reaction, half expecting to be called a liar again and have to prove his point once more. But there were no outbursts of emotion, quite the opposite, the boy stilled in his spot and seemed more docile than ever. The younger boy looked intensely at the teen, searching for something in his expression to give him out, but it was genuine.

"You really mean it?" Younger Naruto's voice wavered a bit.

"Actually, I'm not sure myself when they did. A lot of things have happened." Naruto smiled, nostalgic. "Unpleasant ones, too. So, I had to solve those problems first. I couldn't have cared less what the villagers thought of me at the time. But then, one day I realized that they didn't hate me anymore. They'd finally seen me for who I really am."

Naruto closed his eyes for a second, recalling the moment. Everyone had gathered around him in a circle once again, but the atmosphere had changed dramatically. People weren't starring him down, gossiping behind his back, or just trying to ignore his existence. Instead, they all smiled approvingly at him. When he met their eyes he didn't see cold stares or shamefully averted eyes. All of them looked back, all of them saw him. They recognized his strength and the fact that he used it to their benefit, how he went to unimaginable lengths and endangered his life just to save them. They finally understood and appreciated. They cheered for him. And in an instant he was their hero. At that moment everything seemed like a miracle.

But as he was looking back, that turning point in his life did not seem so sudden anymore. Rather, the clash with Pain and the annihilation of the village just turned out to be the last brick to the bridge of trust that had slowly formed through years between the villagers and him. Iruka laid the first brick, but what he really did was even greater – he helped Naruto open up, have faith in himself and build up enough courage to believe that one day he would not be hated anymore. Then came Team Seven, granny Tsunade and Jiraiya. All of them helped him to find himself and climb out of the suffocating darkness that had surrounded his childhood.

Of course even those precious people cause him grief at times. First the loss of Jiraiya put him off track. Then again, Sasuke could have been rich by now if he was given a coin each time he hurt Naruto. But even for free the Uchiha was doing it with an admirable zeal. That was not altogether his fault, though. Although best friends in a sense, they could not help hating each other's guts. Twisted as it might seem that mixture of hatred, rivalry, mute understanding and complete trust worked perfectly for them. Well, at least before everything shattered. However, Naruto was too stubborn for his own good to let it go. Still, it was no doubt quite natural to be possessive of one of the dearest things he had ever had. And his bond with Sasuke was unmistakably one of those rare things. Even though to others they seemed like complete opposites, forever destined to fight to the death, Naruto remembered when they'd once stood at the same crossroads – had looked into the abyss of hatred and wavered between falling into that familiar misery and striving for something new, unknown and terrifying.

"Then I just don't get it why I can't be a Hokage," the younger Naruto wondered, scowling lightly despite the warmth in his chest. To think that he would be accepted like that... "I mean, what was it that prevented you from becoming Hokage even though everyone acknowledged you?"

"Nothing," the older Naruto replied curtly, frowning again.

The time stopped for a second or so the younger Naruto thought. He'd actually managed to do it; he'd fulfilled the dream of his life. He couldn't even clearly put into words the emotions that swirled through him at that revelation.

"Then, I... er, I mean you, if everyone approved, you couldn't have given up just then. You really did it, didn't you? Tell me you've actually became Hokage!" Naruto clenched his hands into fists, his voice rising in pitch and volume. His heart stuttered and raced, flushing his skin. A grin pulled at the edge of his lips.

Older Naruto nodded slightly, confirming his younger self's guess. Seeing the younger one bouncing happily, completely fascinated by his words was somewhat hard. He felt a pang of guilt about having to discourage him now, but did not have a choice.

"I did become Hokage and that's the problem." Naruto deadpanned, heaving a sigh. "It's hard to explain, but I really shouldn't have."

"I won't run anymore, so speak up." Younger Naruto's expression grew serious as he prepared to hear out his older self. Something was definitely wrong, but he could not afford to run from it anymore. Whatever the problem was, he would face it.

TBC

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