R/L: HOLY SHIT! It's been how long since I've posted something? I've been busy with R/L stuff, occupied with other ideas and been working with a writer named /glass empire on a story called Anthem of our dying days. I apologies to all readers. Without further ado, I'll hand you over to Welshaldy—
A/N: "WELSHSCOT! MY NAME IS WELSHSCOT, DAMN IT!
R/L: Fine, Welshscot. (Note; A/N is from the point of view of my OC character, who is nicknamed Welshscot. R/L is me, the writer. Also note that the following A/N is full of hint of story ideas I've had but I am not working on at all. And that it's outdated since the character and the jokes will be changed for the next A/N)
A/N
"...And I leaped through the Portal."
Itachi and I were sitting in my room, both armed with cups of our choosing (I had coffee and Itachi had tea); and we were both sure that our drinks were devoid of a bitch's urine. We had double checked today, for 'Oh the bitch is back, stone cold sober as a matter a fact'.
I had just finished telling Itachi about my 'bouncing' months. Some people say that I was relaxing; they are sure as hell wrong. In real life, the person who writes the stories and me (Welshscot), he was busy with massive amounts of work and other social problems.
Me? I had been travelling to all sorts of places, from one universe to the next; from a tester in Aperture Science to a punch bag for Hell Wraiths. It had been worth it, for my writer's block is now (as suggested by HinaLuvLuvChan) a small sculptor of Naruto punching the shit out of Sakura's dead body (like what happened in the first chapter).I also discovered some interesting things about myself, like the fact I go berserk after consuming Scottish Whiskey. (R/L: Aka, idea making)
Along with that lovely piece of art was a Portal Gun, a hip flask, a blast shard, a Geth's head (which I'm using as a lamp), and a lovely Scottish Broad sword (and spear) . They were all on my desk, mementos of my month's adventures and chaotic trips and beatings. (Which, to be honest, I DON'T OWN AND WON'T BE SEEN FOR SOME TIME!)
Itachi was chuckling at the story I just told him, his cup an inch away from his lips. "Ho-hum, that was close. That will teach you to travel to the MK universe wearing robes; especially around a wraith who had his family killed by a sorcerer."
"How was I supposed to know I'd land in the Netherrealm?" I huffed, "The long range Portal feature is unreliable; it's not even part of the original Portal Gun..."
As we both drained the dregs of our drinks, Naruto and Shikamaru entered our room; one was trying to engage the other in conversation while said other just wanted a nap. The new arrivals soon caught mine and Itachi's attention, and the blonde turned to us for conversation.
"Hi Welsh-sama, Itachi-kun; I see you got the room tidy at last." Naruto's eyes observed the room, which a while ago had been dust strewn and spider infested.
"Yep," I replied, a grin on my face, "The spiders are gone; the dust is at bay and..." I pointed at the window by the side of my desk, "...I managed to replace the glass, cheap. The inner Scotsman in me is pleased."
Everyone laughed; even Shikamaru gave a dry chuckle at my stereotypical joke. Clearing my throat, as the laughter died down, I began my author's notes:
A/N: Alright, first things first...Dragon Man 180...DAMN, YOU'RE SHARP! How did you work it out, I didn't think anyone would. Yes, he did...and that's all I'm saying! And yes, Rye will be a present character in my story.
Hektols, you have pointed out two very important things. Now, Tsunade wouldn't fall to poison in the real anime. But Jiraiya was once fooled by Tsunade, and he is a Sanin. But only because Jiraiya trusted her; and Tsunade wouldn't expect her pupil to turn on her and her village.
Temari's attitude is OOC, she would be after Sasuke like mad. But I needed something to hit home to Shikamaru (in future) and Naruto. Shikamaru becomes cold and distant to everyone and Naruto is having an inner struggle of his promise to Itachi (the one where he promises to save both the village and Sasuke).
He does give up on that promise, but people have doubts if he could kill Sasuke due to his brotherly feeling for him; causing the villagers to doubt him and his friends to question him. That's all during the dark years of the future, the last two years to be exact (in total is four years after defeating Pein).
But all the same, Hektols, I appreciate your honest review and welcome it. I know I have shit spelling and reading, but your reviews are worth reading; either good or bad. So, as I think it's nice to say it, I must thank the following:
Hektols: for sticking with me and giving honest opinions; good or bad.
forbiddenluv4Naruto: for sticking with me. (PS: Yes, the future Hinata does know about the fox. But there is a secret that she, and everyone else, doesn't know about Naruto. That was a spoiler, not saying anything more.)
Dragon Man 180: for sticking with me, suggestions and sharp eyes.
Rose Tiger: Just sticking with me.
And Uzumaki Ricky: for sticking with me and giving my real life self a push (that did work, it's just real life being a bitch and was, and still am, busy with Anthem of our Dying Days.
RisingMist: Yeah, I see what you mean. I was trying to say that he was lacking in different types of Elemental manipulation; like ones involving hand seals. And I have found a beta, which is unreliable. So thanks for the honest review.
And, last but not least, Deathmvp: for help with my couple problem and giving me ideas that are just golden :)
As I paused for breath, Naruto poked me in the back and asked, "Wait a second, we're not ready!"
I spun round, startled by Naruto's poke and statement. "What do mean, Naruto? Everything's ready, I just need to finish my A..."
But Shikamaru interrupted, his voice sounding as bored as usual. "Not everyone is present, Welshscot-kun. Sakura has returned from hospital, unfortunately..." This was followed by nods of agreement. "...But we still need Sasuke. He has been missing for months now and we've seen neither hide nor hair of him..."
Naruto looked concerned as he saw the problem, but Itachi and I both grinned. In answer to our action, I told the blonde and the genius, "Didn't I say? I found Sasuke during my travels. He's in his room, doing his usual routine of brooding."
Naruto looked relieved at this news, but Shikamaru still had more to say. "And we also need to let Kiba down."
"Huh... What you on about?" I replied, confusion sliding across my face. In answer, both Shikamaru and Itachi pointed to...ah.
It was Kiba, falling down and down...and down. It was a second before I clapped my forehead, and exclaimed, "Oh, right! Of course, I infinity looped you!" If you read the previous A/N, you'd know that Kiba laughed at me for...what I did; so I trapped him in a loop of never ending falling. Now I need him out, without killing him.
Cursing the fact I had left my long-fall boots behind at Aperture, I looked around wildly for a way to free Kiba from the loop and not his body. After about two minutes, in which I began to notice Kiba's yells of 'LET ME OUT OF HERE', I found my solution.
As I stood up and picked up my Portal Gun off my desk, the inner Scotsman in me groaned, {Why do we have to do this? It wasn't blooming cheap, lad, that's for sure!} Ignoring my Scottish side, I aimed at the ceiling above my bed, and fired an orange portal.
Kiba, with the force of a battering ram, came crashing down upon my bed; resulting in a tremendous smash that could be heard all the way to the Netherrealm. My bed stood no chance, its metal frame buckled under the force of impact.
The metal framework broke apart, sending bits flying all over the room (almost giving Shikamaru an earlier nap). The mattress, which bore the body of Kiba, had been the only thing that stopped Kiba from dying and causing major damage to my house.
My inner Scot was crying at the sight, while my Welsh side shrugged, {Meh, it's just a bed. We can buy a new one, you blubbering thistle.} In case you don't know, Welsh people are known as thieves or people who don't care what their given. This is a case of either impending urges to rob or just a Shikamaru attitude. (Please don't be offended by this or become upset. I am insulting myself, after all.)
Back to Kiba; his bones seemed to be intact as he managed to stand up on my mattress. He did stumble, as he gingerly got off my ruined mattress, so Naruto decided to lend him a hand. As he helped the dog ninja to walk, I saw the said ninja's face. It had a marginal green hue of G-force sickness. Underneath that, rage was thrice and vengeance plenty; his eyes the keeper of said fury.
While his left arm was hooked around Naruto shoulders, his right began pointing at me; his hand was either shaking from G-shock or with anger as it pointed at my head. "You..." He gasped, his voice sounding dazed but enraged, "...are so..."
Luckily, as he guessed what Kiba's next word will be, Shikamaru interrupted him; his voice sounding as bored as ever. "Kiba, as much as you want to throttle Welsh, we also need him for the chapter. If you feel the need to extract revenge, do it after he's finished narrating."
Kiba glared at Shikamaru, who had begun to watch my ceiling's green paint dry with mild interest, until he turned his furious gaze upon me. It clearly read 'Next time, you're dog meat'. His canines added a PS: 'And Sakura's old hospital bed will have a bowl next to it; with your name around the rim'.
Message sent; Kiba, Naruto and Shikamaru began exiting the room at a slow pace. My mind discarded Kiba's threat in an instant, only to be struck by another thought. As Kiba and Naruto were about to leave the room, having passed Shikamaru who'd only moved a few inches, I suddenly shouted after them, "Hey, during the next chapter, don't say 'tentacles' around Sasuke!"
The leaving trio turned to look at me, each with his own look of amusement and confusion. Before they could query; I hurriedly explained, "Don't ask why, I'll tell you later. Just don't say it; we need to do this chapter, without me being interrupted at all. So don't say it, ok?" Not waiting for a reply; I threw the Portal Gun, I was holding, onto the desk and sat down in front of my laptop.
Kiba, Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a last look of bewilderment, before finally leaving for the chapter; with Shikamaru at the rear. Itachi, who had not moved a muscle and was still holding his empty teacup, looked round to stare at my back; as my fingers began to fly across the keyboard. "You know Kiba is going to say it, don't you?"
His words fell on deaf ears, as I began writing the story that you have been patiently waiting to read.
Night Terrors and Training: Shikamaru's first clues Part 1
[Different denotes neither bad nor good, but it certainly means not the same. -Cheshire Cat-]
Dark was the path that the old child took,
Damp was the ground where the young man stood.
"No kidding. I'm up to my knees in water and this place could do with a few candles."
Down in the ground the old child squandered,
Around and around the young man wandered.
"Odd, children are younger than men. Whoever is reciting this poetry needs to find a thesaurus."
Tall is the child that plays near demons,
Short is the man who fears believers.
"...Wait, why is there a guy reciting poetry? Aren't I...No, it can't be..."
Naruto blinked, his eyes adjusting to the new gloom. He was standing...In a sewer! Naruto spun round, his eyes recognising the place that had been his mindscape; the place where he had held back his tears from the world. Even though this place was old, it felt different; the darkness was more pronounced and the water was icy cold.
He looked down at himself and was surprised to see he looked just like himself. Not a child of twelve, but a man of twenty. His father's coat was on, covering a deep red-brown cotton shirt and brown shinobi trousers. This combo of red, brown and white looked like it would stand out in both crowds of people or leaves. But with the coat set aside, the rest was perfect for blending against tree bark or stone faces.
His eyes moved past his attire and onto... His eyes narrowed, as they spied the bars of the Kyuubi's cage; which seemed to hold only darkness. However, further investigation proved that statement false.
At the very edge of the cage, just in front of the bars, was...him? Naruto blinked and took a step back, his eyes gazing upon a smaller boy, in an orange jumpsuit. The child Naruto looked like his old self, but was clearly just a distorted version. The child's eyes were blue, but they looked dead and empty.
As the older Naruto gazed at his double; the child opened its mouth, and whispered;
Fool is the child who holds back tears,
Fool is the man who lies in fears.
Naruto took a step back, deciding that an image of his younger self that spouts creepy poetry was not something to get close to.
The man then stopped, not in safety, but in fear. Behind the boy tendrils of red, bloody muscle loomed from the dark. Before the man could say or do anything, the tendrils wrapped around the boy; enveloping him from head to toe as he gave a piercing scream.
The man watched, frozen to the watery spot, as blood dripped down the blonde boy's jumpsuit; turning bright orange to dark red. The tendrils, once having completely covered the chest and legs, began plunging into the boy's skin and eye sockets; the screaming intensified to unbearable levels.
But the screams of pain turned into cackles of high pitched laughter. The child Naruto turned its head to face the real, adult Naruto; with bloody sockets and fanged teeth.
Dead is the boy who clung to promises,
Soon the man who relies on CHANCES!
And as it gave another shriek of mirth, it opened its mouth. More blood strewn tentacles emerged from the gaping hole, and Naruto finally regained his leg power.
The twenty year old was racing away from the Kyuubi's cage, the sound of dripping blood and splashing foot falls filling his ears. As he pelted through the dark tunnels of the sewer, faces began appearing out of the shadows.
Iruka, his scar open and bleeding, Shino, his glasses askew and face white, Hinata, tears of blood streaming down her cheeks, and countless others; the blank, accusing stares of the people he had sworn to protect. Whom he had failed to protect.
As the eyes of the fallen pressed in around him, while he continued to run through the veil of darkness, another face joined the throng. At first, it was small; an unrecognisable dot in the darkness that stretched before the fleeing man. But as Naruto got closer, the memory of the tentacles (which were still chasing him with earnest) took a back seat.
The small head, that had been so far away, was now right in front of him, joined to a small, teenage body. Naruto's eyes widened, as his sea blue eyes stared down into black, beetle ones; which were cast into shadow by the teen's straw-hat.
The teenager smiled at Naruto, as a brother would smile at a brother, and at that moment; the blonde knew. He raised his hand, trying as fast he could to pull the teen out of harm's way, but to no use.
As his fingers where a fraction away from the teen's shoulder a whooshing sound was heard. Next second, the teen's shirt was ablaze; red flames were already spreading to the tips of his fingers and toes.
Naruto withdrew his hand, the tips of his fingers burnt, and watched in horror as the boy burst into flames. The scream was agonizing reverberating through Naruto's ear drums. But even so, the teen's smile was still there; plastered on his melting face. But the smile, though wide and toothy, was blank and bare.
The smile of a skull is always like that, wide but full of no meaning. It only vanishes when one smashes said skull or buries it deep down underground. But for Naruto, it left his sight when it cascaded to the sewer floor; along with the rest of the teen's bones.
Naruto was shocked, his heart beating like a heavy metal drum, as he gazed upon the bones of...
His head shot up, as the sound of an all too familiar 'humph' reached his ears. Standing in front of the blonde, and behind the new heap of bones, was the cruel face, raven hair and red eyes of Sasuke Uchiha.
Naruto, with rage coursing through his veins, automatically reached for the inner pocket of his coat; where he hid the tools of his ninja trade. But as the man's fingers entered the hidden coat pocket; a loud cackle sounded behind him.
He spun round, his fingers pulling out...nothing. He starred at his empty hand, confusion etched into his eyes. He took a glance at where the new sound had come from; and both his mysteries were answered.
Standing a feet away, holding an array of kunai and shuriken, was Sakura. Her pink hair was still the same, but her face shown with malice and her dress was dripping with blood. As Naruto stared at the girl, whose eyes were bulging with mirth as they looked upon the dead teen's bones, an emotion began its own course in his body.
Rage joined this feeling, making it more potent and concentrated. This feeling was hatred. Pure, uncontrolled loathing was descending upon Naruto's face; making the anger at Sasuke look like a loving hug. Weapon-less, he charged at Sakura; his hands outstretched for her throat.
Without warning, Naruto felt a tug that almost pulled him off his feet. Wild with surprise, the blonde looked at his right fore-arm; and to his horror, he found five, bloody tentacles. They had snaked under the water, camouflaged by the blood that was dripping off Sakura's dress, and where now claiming their reward.
As four more coiled around Naruto's arm; he felt another pull that felt like something was trying to rip his left arm out of its socket. His gaze found the source, and it was not too his gaze's pleasure. More tentacles had slithered out of the darkness, this time, from behind the duck butt, Sasuke. However, these tentacles did not ooze blood. Instead, they roared with a dark, reddish flame; one that Naruto knew only too well.
Naruto began struggling against the iron grip of the tentacles, and equal number now on either side. Both sets of tentacles, with the force of a heard of horses, pulled at the blonde man; earning a yell of pain.
They pulled again, this time sustaining the motion. A tug of war, between fire and blood, had begun; and Naruto was the unwilling rope. The blonde continued to struggle, till a hard jerk from the right ripped off his arm.
Naruto's screams seemed to echo in the sewer, as blood gushed out of his right arm socket. The bloody tentacles did not stop there. On the contrary, the nine, bloody things began to move towards his head. The left, having almost pulled off the man's left arm, seemed to notice this change of target. The flaming tentacles left the arm, which was hanging off by a slither of flesh, and joined the bloody nine in their new pursuit.
Naruto's screams where muffled, as a tentacle wrapped around his mouth. Then the tentacles, left and right, began to tug and pull. The pain Naruto was in was unbearable. He began to feel his face tear apart, his brain being crushed and his forehead spilt down the middle.
Then, with one last tug, his head was...
"NOOOOOOO!"
Naruto shot up, throwing off his cover by the mere speed of his movement. He was sweating bullets, SMG grade, and his entire body was either covered in cold sweat or was shaking like a leaf. The blonde's next move, out of mindless worry, was to check if his head was still in one piece. Both of his hands began feeling around his face; from tapping his chin to rubbing his forehead. After a minute of frantic panic, Naruto finally laid his head back down on his pillow.
He tilted his head to the left so his eyes could see past the window pane, and at the view of Konoha. It was only of a few buildings, a glimpse of the Academy and a small view of the Hokage faces; but it soothed Naruto to know that his village was safe and quite. As his sight became unfocused and glassy, for sleep was wrapping its arms around him again, he saw the faint image of his reflection...the image of a child's face...
He sat up; bolt upright, as all the details of his nightmare came flooding back. Having shrugged off sleep's embrace, he looked back at his faint reflection. His breathing had raised an octave in those few seconds, but it soon returned to normal levels as Naruto saw his sea blue eyes; not a trace of red to be seen. Furthermore, unlike the baby blue eyes of a child, Naruto could see a certain...dullness in his iris. It wasn't an ugly effect, but it made it look like his eyes were older than his face.
He wondered if other people had noticed this about his eyes. He wasn't worried that they would guess he was from the future, who could deduce that without the aid of a large bottle of sake, but it could lead to awkward and unwanted questions.
Abandoning all thoughts of sleep, Naruto turned his head to the room at large, and swung his legs out of bed. Now sitting on the edge of his bed, he aimed his vision at the alarm on his bedside table. It read, twenty past five. He had woken up forty minutes earlier than usual.
Six was his rising hour, for it took him half-an-hour to wash, eat and get dressed. Then, after a couple of laps around Konoha, a habit that the spandex duo had drilled into his brain, he would arrive at his usual training ground for seven o'clock. He would then practice either his Taijutsu or Ninjutsu for about two hours.
Well, that had been his routine 'till about four days ago. Instead of heading straight to training, and also skipping out the eating part of his half-hour, Naruto now sat down at Chi Eat; accompanied by the raven haired beauty, Hinata Hyuuga.
Following the advice of the chef/owner of Chi Eat, an ex-shinobi named Rye, Naruto and Hinata had agreed to do morning training sessions. Hinata had been worried about getting up early at first; worrying that Naruto might not like having to wake up at the crack of dawn. But after the blonde had assured her that he was already training early, her misgivings were forgotten. It was nice though, that Hinata had been concerned about Naruto's feelings. It was more the problem that Hinata had almost fainted when Naruto asked her the same question.
Despite that, they agreed to meet at seven for breakfast at Chi Eat; where Rye gave them, not only a healthy breakfast, but a minor 'training' discount. After about fifteen minutes of tea and rice, the training partners made their way to Naruto's training ground. The first time they travelled to the training ground, they had done so in an awkward silence; since both kids were still shy around each other. At the end of their first training session, they both managed to banish their blushes from greetings and goodbyes.
The two ninja had begun their combined training with chakra control, meaning that Naruto was teaching Hinata how to do the tree climbing exercise. It turned out that Hinata did know of the tree exercise; her father had told her about it and had demanded her to do it, without even showing or telling her the basic principles of how to accomplish it. Her father had done this with many other techniques and forms; demanding her to perform them to his standard without even an example to go on. This had been news to Naruto, as Hinata's future self had never mentioned her training with her father, and it not only annoyed the blonde that her father had been such an idiot, but it also explained to him why Hinata was always so derogatory of her own skill.
After a quick pep talk, about how her father had been a baka and that she shouldn't be put off by the man's stupidity, Hinata excelled; mastering the tree climbing and water walking exercises without even getting wet. Somehow, Naruto thought that his pep talk might have been said in the original timeline, probably by her Sensei, Kurenai, and the reason why it had such a dramatic effect now, was that it had came from him.
From chakra control, Taijutsu was there next focus. Naruto decided to start slowly with Hinata, despite her new found confidence. He summoned a single shadow clone to fight Hinata; ordering it to just stand still, so the Hyuuga could practice her gentle fist. But from stationary, the clone was told to doge, then to defend and then attack. Soon, Hinata was facing against five or so clones; all trying to land a blow upon the lavender eyed girl. This is when Naruto joined in, fighting his own bunch of copies. It went well, even when something...painful, happened...
*Four days ago; 7:30 AM*
Flying through the air, a black sleeved arm raised, Naruto aimed at his target. The target ducked, grabbed the blonde's failed strike and threw him over its shoulder. The blonde slammed into the ground and puffed into a cloud of smoke.
The target, the real Naruto, quickly straightened his legs, spun on the spot, elbow raised, and connected it with another clone's jaw. In the same fluid movement, he continued spinning and unleashed a spinning round house kick; causing two more clones to vanish. As his kicking leg landed back on the ground, which formed a karate horse stance, Naruto pivoted to the right; brining a left uppercut to finish off the last clone.
Naruto lowered his fist, panting lightly and smiling broadly. Having finished off his last enemy, the black jacket wearing shinobi turned to his left; as so to watch his crush, crushing her own copies of himself.
They had moved from the main clearing to the forest river, as so to practice water walking, and both of the shinobi had their own fighting space; the blonde had the north while the raven haired girl had the south. She, with her byakugan blazing, was striking left and right; giving the clones no chance to think. Three had already fallen and the last two were soon to join them. In a last, ditch effort, one of the clones tried to charge at Hinata from behind; whilst the other tried to distract the Hyuuga from the front. She saw both the decoy and the attack and decided to go for both.
She pretended that she had not seen the clone behind her and instead moved forwards; her sharpened eyes focussed upon the decoy clone. Falling for her bluff, the clone behind her leaped through the air; his right leg primed for a drop kick. Hinata quickly wheeled round and aimed a sharp jab at the clone's extended leg. However, for some unknown reason, Hinata's aim had been off by a fraction. Instead of striking the tenketsu point (chakra point) in the clone's upper leg muscle, she had accidently struck the point in the clone's pride.
Now, due to the memory sharing feature of the shadow clone jutsu, Naruto also received a faint jolt of pain, depending on how the clone got killed. In battle, Naruto could ignore them. But if he was stationary, like watching a girl train, he could receive a nasty twinge. So the moment the clone, who Hinata had hit in the 'bottom scroll', had disappeared; the blonde bent over double, clutching his privates and yelling in pain.
Hinata, who had seen the original collapse with her 360 vision, gasped in horror and hurried over to the blonde's side; leaving the last clone to mirror its original's pain. "Naruto," she cried; her concerned eyes watching the blonde squirm. "Are you ok? Do you need help?"
"Ow...I'm fine, Hinata-chan." When this did not convince her, he added, truly, "Alright—No, I feel like my member is bleeding. My shadow clones can pass on memories back to me, including pain. I can usually ignore it when I'm fighting..." He winced as he tried to sit upright, as so to look Hinata in the face. "...But if I'm standing around, I get a full blast. And..." He glanced down at the space between his legs. "...That was the first time I received a Gentle Fist to my nuts. I hope you weren't aiming down there..."
Hinata shook her head; a slight pang of guilt began crossing her face. "I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I didn't mean to hit you there; I was aiming at the tenketsu point in your clone's leg." A sudden thought struck her, one that didn't bode well for their friendship. "I-I didn't...Did I...?"
Naruto got her meaning, causing him to chuckle, softly. "No, they're fine, Hinata-chan. I only get the memory, not the physical damage." The blonde tried to stand, but his legs were still reacting to the pain and he almost fell over. Hinata helped him to his feet and kept him standing 'till he regained control of his bottom limbs. The tension was still thick as Naruto tapped his feet onto the ground, to test his movement, so the blonde tried to lighten the mood. "Well, at least I've got for warning of what'll happen if I make you mad."
What happened next could have been caused by many things; Naruto's encouragement, her success in training or that it was just too hot. By some force, Hinata decided to try something. "Oh, I don't think I'll ever get mad at you, Naruto-kun..." If it was how alluring her voice purred or how she batted her eye lashes, Naruto was tomato red and he felt like he could faint there and then.
"You two seem to be having fun."
Hinata and Naruto spun round, the action causing the blonde to tumble to the floor, embarrassing him even more. In between two trees and wearing a chief's apron, was Rye; who was wearing a broad grin that made his scars more visible. Now that they saw him without being behind a counter, Rye looked as tall as Asuma; except dark skinned and clean shaven. They also saw his hair, which was jet black and about as tall as cut grass.
As Naruto leapt back onto his feet, Rye had managed to stride across the open ground that lay between the trees and the river. "Rye," said Naruto as he dusted himself off, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see how you two love birds were getting on." The young ninjas blushed at that comment, which earned a small laugh from Rye. "Ha, ha; I'm starting to see why Ibiki teased me and..." He paused as a memory seemed to flit across his mind, which caused a slight smile. He broke off from his reminisce and began to speak in a hearty tone. "Anyway, like I said, I wanted to see how you'd train. I'm impressed you started with chakra control, very good, and I must say that using shadow clones for dummies is a good idea. I was worried that you would over use the technique, but it looks like you've got an amazing supply of chakra. Not bad for a kid your age."
Naruto gave him a slightly annoyed glare, which Rye either ignored or not noticed as he continued speaking. "Now that you've finished Taijutsu, in a rather abrupt way..." Hinata gave off a nervous laugh, but no red appeared on her cheeks. "...I think it's time for Ninjutsu. Now this is quite advance, but I think I might be able to help you with elemental jutsu. I've brought..." The chief then pulled out two pieces of blank paper, which Naruto recognised as... "...Chakra paper, sheets of chakra infused paper that react when chakra is channelled through it." Hinata, who had looked confusingly at the paper, now looked excited.
Naruto pretended to look excited, while inside he was scared. He did not want to reveal that he had three affinities, two his own and one of the fox, because only people who had trained constantly could achieve even a double element. He could pass it off as a rare, natural ability, but it would still draw more suspicion upon him and that was the last thing he needed.
Rye handed Hinata her Chakra paper and did the same with Naruto; though he noticed that the blonde did so with a slight resentment in his eyes... The chef shook his head, vigorously. He still had the same, crazy feeling that caused him to think the word, 'older', every time he looked the blonde in the eyes.
His mind was distracted from this, as his ears noticed the sound of dripping. Hinata had coursed chakra through the slim piece of paper, causing it to wilt as it went soaking wet. "Ah," exclaimed Rye, with excitement. "You have the same element as me, water! This is good, I can teach you the basics myself! Also, because it's usual that girls have better chakra control than boys, I could teach you the basics of being a medic. You could have a multirole; an attacker and defender with water jutsus, a tracker with you kekkei genkai and a healer with your medi skills."
The very idea of how useful she could be with either skill entranced Hinata; her eyes seemed to shimmer with excitement. Seeing this, Rye didn't have the heart to tell her how hard it would be to learn these skills. But with the encouragement and advice from Naruto, Rye guessed that she already knew the hardships that were in store, and is ready to face them head-on.
Speaking of the blonde, Rye was in for a pleasant surprise. Turning his head round, Rye saw three things. He saw Naruto's chakra paper split in two, become dirty and gritty and finally burst into flames. There was a moment's silence, as Rye looked at the smouldering remains of the chakra paper. Hinata, who did not fully understand the significance of this event, just looked from Rye's stunned face to Naruto's look of surprise; which, for some strange reason, looked slightly put on.
"So..." Said Naruto; his voice sounding questioning and bemused. "...Does this mean I have multiple affinities, or something? Like what Iruka talked about during his lectures?" In his head, Naruto decided to not play dumb with affinities; it would clash with his 'faking the idiot' excuse.
"Yes, Naruto..." Rye answered, slowly. "To be precise, you have affinities with wind, earth and fire." The chef bit his lip, his brow screwed up in concentration. "This...is surprising. Very few ninjas have three affinities. And they had to train continuously to even get the potential of having a third."
Naruto laughed a little and gave a sheepish grin. "Ha, if that's true, then I must be a rare exception. I mean, I have dabbled with elemental manipulation; but I never thought I'd have that many affinities..."
Rye and Hinata both starred at the blonde, questioningly, until words from the day before resurfaced in their memories. "Wait, by 'dabbled', do you mean the stuff that your father left for you...?" Hinata faltered, as a dark cloud seemed to pass over the blonde's head. Mentioning his father, by the looks of it, seems to be a taboo around Naruto; something which Rye and Hinata now realised.
After what seemed an age, Rye finally sparked life amongst them. "So, Naruto—Can you show me your results by...'dabbling', with elemental manipulation?"
From there, the training session began moving again. Naruto had shown Rye and Hinata his 'dabbling' with elemental jutsu; to some certain extent. He showed them the basic attempts at Genin water and lighting exercises; which he knew due to the fact that his father had listed all element exercises, in case Naruto had different affinities. Also, he did this so not to arouse suspicion. If he claimed to have only trained with the elements he was affiliated with, after claiming he had just discovered this fact, it would raise awkward questions.
When he came to wind manipulation, he had no choice but to go to the full extent of his training; due to Iruka witnessing his first attempt on the night he returned to the past. Hinata was amazed at Naruto's skill, as he sliced two stones in each of his palms. She was even more impressed when Rye revealed that it was a Jounin level exercise. The ex-Shinobi was also amazed, but a gut feeling asked if a boy, who was self taught, could have learnt to achieve such power without help.
Rye did not comment, and after the blonde showed a Chunin earth exercise and a Genin fire exercise (in which the blonde burnt his mouth), he had dismissed the urge from his gut feeling. The next half hour almost flew by, and Rye had to say it was productive. He had spent most of it supervising Hinata, showing her a basic water manipulation exercise and giving her a realistic talk about how long it should take to master it; which was about a whole year. She had taken it well and spent the thirty minutes crouched by the river; trying to make water float up and around her hand.
With Naruto, the chef decided to show the blonde a tricky Earth Jutsu (which he had learnt from a comrade he once knew) to keep him occupied. It was called, Golem's Staircase. The hand signs were easy to perform, but this jutsu required a mixture of chakra control and balance. Once a person lands on the last sign, the serpent, they raise their foot and the ground will rise to the bottom of their heel. The jutsu was designed to be non-lethal, a way to move around easily, but Rye discovered that it could be used to make lethal kicks. If, after activating the Jutsu, you swing your leg skywards, like if you're trying to kick a person in the chin but miss narrowly, then the ground will raise to your feet like usual, whilst first connecting with a man's chin.
Naruto took to the challenge with an eager glow in his eyes; which was soon struck by a pillar of dirt. After thirty minutes passed, they all agreed to stop for the day; Rye in great spirits, Hinata with a sense of achievement and Naruto with a black eye. The three marched back to Chi Eat, where Rye gave the two ninjas a strong cup of herbal tea.
As Naruto downed his third cup, Hinata pulled out a small pot of ointment and said, slowly, "Naruto-kun, would you like some ointment for your eye?" Her hands were slightly shaky, but her face was confidant and devoid of embarrassing colours.
The blonde squinted through his puffy eye, realised what it was, and gave a small smile. "Thank you, Sunshine-chan." It was only after he had taken the ointment and began to prize the lid off when Naruto realised what he had said.
Rye, who was cleaning his side of the counter, had a hard time deciding which ninjas' face was a deeper shade of red. As the silence dragged on, the chef began wondering if he should break the ice for the young love birds. But just before he could turn thought into words, the raven girl managed to ask, "W-hat did you call me, Naruto-Kun?" This was the first time in a while her voice had betrayed a stutter; quite a feat if you ask me.
"S-sunshine-chan..." Replied the boy; his own voice just as shaky. "You know—your name means, 'Towards a sunny place'..." His voice trailed off, his blue eyes now fixed upon the ground. "I-I'll understand if you don't want me to call you that—"
But Hinata shook her head; a small smile was spreading across her. "No," she replied, in a low and stutter-less whisper. "I like it...I like it allot." Naruto raised his head, a sheepish grin now hung on his mug. They stared at each other, their eyes fixed upon the other, their heart beats thumping at the same, fast pace. The blonde opened his mouth and—
"Aw, young love."
Naruto and Hinata continued to stare, but death shone in their irises and Rye was the one sweating.
*Present Day*
Naruto chuckled as he remembered that last detail of his memory. Rye might be a rotten teaser, but he was a great teacher and an outstanding cook. The blonde had only just met him and he had already grown on him. It was amazing to think that this man had always been there, cooking rice and serving tea, trying to achieve his dream of his parent's acceptance as a fine cook of the Chi Eat Restaurant, since before he joined Team 7...
That supposedly lucky number had brought to mind what day it is today. It was the day he was placed with Sasuke and Sakura, the future destroyers and traitors of Konoha. {No,} thought Naruto, {I won't let that happen. I can save the village and hopefully them two...}
But deep within him, in a dark corner of him soul that had nothing to do with the Kyuubi, a voice asked, {But do you want to save them? After all they did to you, to this village, do they really deserve your kindness? You could end their lives now, like they ended your friends, your teachers...your lover...}
Naruto shook his head, trying to rid himself of his dark thoughts. He began muttering to himself, trying to drown his inner evil with hurried muttering, "No, they haven't done anything yet, they're not like their future selves and there're never going to be!" He shouted that last past, causing his dark, vengeful desire to vanish...for now.
A sudden, loud ringing brought Naruto's senses back to the real world. His alarm clock, now showing six, was raging like a mob of women chasing Jiraiya after he had been caught peeping. Slamming his fist upon the red ringer, Naruto jumped to his feet; his body soon began moving into the boring morning routine. Like a robot, Naruto picked out his clothes (the same outfit he had bought and worn on his first shopping trip with Hinata-), put his pyjamas in the wash and had a shower. Since he and Hinata had agreed not to train today, the blonde was pulled from his routine as he asked himself: "Chinese breakfast or Western fry up?"
Soon, the sounds of sizzling sausages, eggs and bacon filled the apartment. With a knife and fork in hand, the blonde began to devour his breakfast; savouring the delusions taste of one of is pork sausages.
In the future, the western cuisine had taken the village by storm; bring to light beverages that had lain dormant in food markets for years like coffee and milkshakes. Though this had been in the final days before the dark cloud of Sasuke's invasion took to the sky above Konoha, Naruto had taken a great liking to the new trend of cutlery dining.
While he sliced into the yoke of his fried egg, his mind began to turn to a very important matter. How would he treat his soon-to be (again) teammates? Naruto had already decided not to go along the route of idiocy, but how he would cooperate with the Duck-butt and Banshee had been kept totally at bay. He couldn't pretend the whole, 'Sasuke's like a brother to me' feeling, as it had been broken long ago (or later on) by the atrocities he had committed. And he as sure as hell wouldn't be drooling over Sakura; he'd do that when Jiraiya stops being a pervert. Even thinking of that traitorous, two faced whore made him want to kill someone...
He closed his eyes, counted to ten and dropped his now bent fork; which fell onto his empty plate with a clatter. It was obvious that Sasuke, despite all he did to the innocent people of the Elemental Nations, would not rouse as much hate as it would with Sakura. She had been one of the last people he could trust when the Ninja cities began to fall, and she turned out to be the cause of their destruction, of the entire village.
{It looks like my main challenge in this mission,} thought Naruto; his hands now busy with cleaning away his breakfast. {Is to do my best to ignore my hatred of Sakura; or at least when the time comes to save Sasuke from himself. No need to make her redemption painless...}
He gave a small smirk, as his future seemed a little brighter. As the alarm-clock hand reached half six, Naruto began to open his bedside table's draw. His blue eyes seemed to shine with joy and purpose, which was reflected on the metal plate of Iruka's head band. Carefully, like he was handling a new born baby, the blonde picked up his head band; his face screwing up in grim determination. When he tied it round his head, when he finally pulled the knot tight, he felt like this moment, this repeat of his past was marking the start of his struggle. His struggle to save the village, his friends, the Nation, from the future that was carved out by the acts of two people. Two, hollow and self-centred people whom he need to save form their greatest enemy; themselves.
Without further ado, he strode to his apartment door. Taking one last look back at his tidy, perhaps over tidy room, he swung open the door and proudly strode out; off to face the challenges of the day.
It was after he had leapt onto the next rooftop, with purpose streaming out of him, before he realised that the academy wouldn't be open for another two and a half hours.
R/L/A/N: To be continued...soon, hopefully. Until then, sorry for the long wait.