A: I am possibly the worst, but I do have an explanation. So, since like December, I have been begging my mom to buy me internet security so I can make sure that my laptop is protected. She had not gotten me anything until just last week. I am a very paranoid person and I thought that my laptop had a virus (who knows it still could) so I didn't want to touch my internet just to be safe, until I got my security. So, now that I have it, I am going to try and write more chapters. And now I could write and upload this one! I hope you don't hate me too much. I love you guys. Hope this one is good! xx
I ran into the nearest closet; locking myself in, hoping she can't find me.
A flash of red hair blurred past the door. "Naruto!" she sang out loud. I tried to slow down my breathing, but my beating heart was not going to cooperate.
Her footsteps became distant and I let out my breath. She was gone.
Suddenly the closet doors open, and there stood my mother; her face was contorted into something I had never seen before. "I found you!" she plucked me right off the ground, gripping onto the collar of my shirt.
"Mom, please. I don't want to!" I cried, trying to escape her grasp.
"If you won't marry Hinata, we have to make other arrangements," she spat, "that means marrying the only other option, Naruto honey."
"Mom. Don't," I begged her.
"Sorry, honey, but you have to marry Neji!"
"Nooooooooo!"
I wake with a start, my breathing rapid and rough.
Scanning my surroundings, I calm down, releasing a long sigh. It was just a dream, I assure myself, just a dream. I'm safe and sound in my . . . wait, where am I?
I crawl out of the comfy bed and step on the wooden floor, trying to figure out just exactly where I am.
Last night, I don't remember coming home and falling asleep. All I can remember is training all night with Sasuke and then I must have gotten tired and fallen asleep out in the woods… but how did I end up here?
The only bit of light shines through a small window. I slowly walk towards it and peek out. I can hear the faint sound of chatter and by the looks of it, I'm in town. Huh. I must have walked myself to a home last night after I fell asleep.
My thoughts are broken by the growing sound of footsteps, coming up the stairs. I jump back into bed and pretend that I'm asleep. The door creaks open and a head pops in with long raven hair and startlingly familiar dark eyes. "Your name is Naruto, correct?" her small voice speaks. Cover's been blown.
I sit up in the bed, and nod.
"Oh, it's so nice to finally meet one of Sasuke's friends!" the woman walks into the room and closes the door behind her. "He never brings anyone home. Then again, I don't think he has any other friends…"
"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Uchi–"
"Please, call me Mikoto," she grins, cutting me off.
"Mikoto. So, uhm, did Sasuke bring me here last night? I don't really remember leaving the woods," I rub my head sheepishly.
"Well I would imagine you wouldn't. When Sasuke carried you in you were fast asleep. Did your parents not care where you were?" she sits on the bed next to the one I fell asleep in last night.
"Uh, no," I lie. "I don't live too far from here."
"Oh where do you live?" her dark eyes are exactly like Sasuke's, but hers have more of a light to them. Sasuke always seems to be hiding something.
"Just a couple minutes from here in town." Not a complete lie. The castle is just up the hill, and it is in town. Technically. "Uhm, where is Sasuke exactly?"
"Helping down in the shop with his brother and father." Oh right. He had mentioned that he couldn't stay out late because he had to wake up early and help with his older brother. "I made some breakfast if you're hungry," Mikoto smiles after a couple of silence filled seconds. She pats the bed and walks out of the room.
I get back out of the bed and follow her downstairs where the air fills with a different aroma.
Spread out on a slightly large wooden table lies different types of breakfast foods. From scrambled eggs, to sauce smothered waffles, to a basket of biscuits. I cautiously take a seat at the table and gather up some delectable choices. Sasuke's mother places a glass next to me filled with freshly squeezed orange juice.
"We like to make a lot of our own ingredients and juice. We can make a profit off of the crops and still have some left over to make our meals without spending too much extra money."
Mikoto takes a seat next to me and sips out of her mug.
"That's really smart," I take a bite of my biscuit. "Did you make this jam all by yourself?"
She nods with her eyes squinted shut; a smile planted on her face.
"Well, you do an excellent job. As good as my – " I stop myself. I can't reveal that I have servants that make my food. No one in this town is rich enough to have people do that for them. They either do it themselves like the Uchihas or buy what they can in the market. "Mother," I finish before she asks who I was going to say.
Mikoto thanks me and we finish our little meal in silence. She does ask me several questions once I have finished eating my delicious breakfast, but none of them were too personal for me to answer.
"What's your mom like?" she asked me as I helped her clean the dishes.
"She has really pretty red hair, and I get a lot of my traits from her actually.. she is very hotheaded, is an amazing cook, likes to prove people wrong when they disrespect her, and just.. she's lovely."
"That's very sweet. I hope I can meet her one day." I stopped cleaning the dishes and looked over at the woman. Realizing that this reaction might be a little odd, I faced the sink and continued to help her.
After that she let me go and I thanked her for everything and she made me promise that I would come back some time to visit. I promised and went to go find Sasuke.
It wasn't that hard to find the raven-haired boy considering he was still working in the shop. He looks up at me and then gets back to work when he notices that I'm not a paying customer. "Get plenty of sleep?" he casually asks me without glancing in my direction.
"I guess you could say that," I lean against the wall and wait for him to reply.
"Good." Silence.
"Thank you."
"For what?" Sasuke walks over to a fire pit and begins melding the weapon.
"For carrying me back to your home and letting me sleep in the extra bed."
He stands up straight and faces me. "I didn't – "
"Don't even try to lie to me about taking me in. I know it was you, your mother told me." He bites the inside of his cheek and narrows his eyes, mumbling something under his breath.
"Whatever. I didn't want you to get murdered by some random person that happened to walk through that part of the woods. You wouldn't wake up so I had no choice but to drag your heavy body back into town. My mom said it would be okay for you to stay at our house and so you did. There was nothing more to it, Naruto."
"You know, your mom said that you don't have any other friends. Is that . . . true?" Sasuke sighs and turns back to the burning steel.
"Why do you care?"
"I just wanted to know.. if you don't have any other friends, then why did you pick me as your friend?" His anger is back and now he's right in my face.
"We aren't friends, Naruto. You may have it set in your mind that we are, but we're not. We're what you would call an acquaintance, or even just trainer and trainee. I'm not helping you out of love, I'm helping you because you're a hopeless case and you won't last another minute out in this world by yourself if you don't get the proper training which you clearly haven't. So please, don't refer to me as your friend until I, myself, have made it clear that we are, okay?"
I feel my throat closing up from his harsh words and without giving him an answer, I shove his chest slightly and leave the Blacksmith shop, heading back to my home where I belong.
(Enjoy the exclusive Kushina POV for this chapter! It will be all in italicized font.)
I pace around the house with my hands placed firmly on my hips just wondering where my son could me.
I understand that I was a little harsh on him with the whole arranged marriage thing, but he needs to understand that it's common for kids his age and with the fact that he is a prince.
The Hyugas have been nothing but loving people to our family for generations and generations. Their own leader of their kingdom is more than fond of my husband and our kingdom itself. Hinata – although she is rather shy when it comes to people – is a lovely lady and nothing short of perfect for my son.
Oh goodness, listen to me. I'm not even considering my sons feelings right now. And he isn't wrong when I said that Hinata wasn't right for him just a couple days ago. But, how would he have known that? Minato and I were having a private conversation about that one night and Naruto had just gone to bed. Then again, he has been sneaking in and out of this castle without warning so I can assume that he was snooping around that same night.
"Kushina, love, you need to stop worrying so much," Minato places his hand on my lower back and kisses my temple. "Our son is a smart boy. He'll come back home. He probably just went to go find his friend that he seems so fond of."
"Minato, that doesn't make me any less worried. How do we know we can trust this stranger? He has never showed his face to us. In fact, he might not even be friends with our son. What if this entire special training that Naruto seems to be talking about is a perfect opportunity for this Sasuke fellow to distract our son and kidnap him and then ask for a ransom? You never know with those townsfolk. They know that we have a lot of money and we know that they don't. Minato, this is a disastrous situation and I fear for our son's safety."
Minato grips onto my shoulders and forces me to face him. I hang my head so I don't have to make any sort of eye contact. "Look at me," he cups my chin and tilts my head upwards. I stare into his blue eyes that are so like Naruto's it almost makes me want to cry knowing I may never see him or those beauties again. "Our son will be okay. There is no doubt in my mind that Naruto will be back here sooner than you can say his name." I let a tear slip down my cheek and onto the polished floor. Nodding, I feel Minato kiss the top of my head and he holds my hand as we travel into the dining room to eat some breakfast.
A couple hours later, I find myself relaxing in the lounge chair right in front of the castle doors. He still hasn't come home.
Minato went into his office and hasn't come out since, leaving me alone in the empty halls.
I start to lose hope of our son's return when one of the castle guards walks in with an expression that I can't quite read on his face. "What is it?"
"The prince has returned." I run outside onto the pavement and find Naruto walking across the bridge. His battered and tired face makes me run even faster, and I capture him in my grasp and squeeze him tight. "Mom.. can't.. breathe.." Naruto gasps.
I give him one last squeeze and lessen my grip on him. "Where the hell have you been, Naruto Uzumaki?!" the last thing I should probably do is yell at him and make this situation even worse but I'm beyond furious and yet very relieved to know that my son is back at home; safe and sound.
"After last night, I was upset with you and pa – especially you since you lied – and I just needed to get away from the smothering air of the royal life. I went into the forest," I gasp at the reveal, "and then I went and found Sasuke and he helped me train until I ended up falling asleep in the forest." Another gasp. "Sasuke had carried me to his house, though, after several attempts to wake me up and I slept in the extra bed in his room. His mother fed me with a delicious meal in the morning and then I came back here. I wandered around a bit, but I did come back here and I'm really sorry mom. I hope you're not too mad at me about all of this."
I sigh and give him another hug; gripping onto a tuft of his blonde hair. "I'm extremely upset with you, Naruto," I begin to whisper in his ear, "but there are no words to describe how worried I have been for the past couple of hours. I am so happy that you are finally at home, sweetie. Please don't ever leave me and your father that worried again."
"Dad was worried?" his blue eyes look rather glassy and I can tell he is close to tears.
"Oh of course he was! Naruto, your father loves you so much, whether he shows it or not. Please, come inside and we can talk for a bit, okay?" He nods, but I can tell that he doesn't want to talk anymore. Every single time he talks to us, something bad happens and he ends up leaving the castle. I can't let that happen ever again.
Minato of course scolds Naruto for worrying me and himself and that just puts Naruto in an even worse mood. He apologizes but Minato shuts him out and just yells at him before going back into his office.
"Yeah, he loves me alright." Naruto slumps down in a chair and hunches over; throwing his head into the palms of his hands.
"He yells at you out of love," I assure him. He doesn't seem too convinced but he leans against my shoulder anyway. "So tell me, do you really care for this Sasuke boy?"
Naruto lets out a laugh – one that almost sounds evil. "That ass? No. Hell, I don't even think we're friends anymore. Oh wait, we never were friends."
"Naruto, what are you talking about?"
"Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that Sasuke said I need to get this little fantasy out of my mind that we're friends, that we're more like acquaintances and all our relationship is, is for training. Nothing else. He tried to deny that he even carried me back to his place and then covered up whatever real reason that he actually did it. I'm sick and tired of him. I thought I had made a friend, but I was wrong. His mother is more open and honest about things to me than he is, and I think that says a little something." Naruto frowns and hangs his head yet again.
I can't believe that someone would do anything like that to my son. I know, that sounds like something every mother would say. But Naruto is one of the nicest kids around. He never wants to hurt anyone – except for maybe his father, but that's a different story – and he loves almost every living thing. He always his heart set on others before him. The fact that this Sasuke just dropped him like that is rather strange news. Naruto has always been loved his whole life by everyone he has ever met. I know he hasn't met too many people, but that matter doesn't change Naruto's personality.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. What was his mother like?" I try to change the subject while rubbing his back to calm him; something I've done since he was a baby.
"Like.. like you. Just with dark hair and dark eyes. She didn't seem to get as mad as easily, but everything else was almost exactly like you. She even knows how to cook."
"You said that Sasuke's last name was Uchiha correct?" He nods. "May I ask you what her name is?"
"Mikoto." I sit up straight and stare forward. I catch a blur of Naruto's hand wave across my face but I'm completely out of it. "Mom, what's wrong?" I hear him call.
Mikoto Uchiha. I haven't heard that name in forever. She was a childhood friend of mine back when we were just young girls. Even in our teenage years we spent most of our time together. She and I were always told that we looked alike, but like polar opposites. Her inky black hair wasn't even close to my fiery red locks. She ended up leaving me once she met Fugaku; her first boyfriend and maybe her last. I wasn't about to ask my son if he knew her husband's name; assuming she has one. We grew distant almost instantly after that. I found Minato and then I never heard from her again after we moved into this kingdom and my social class had greatly changed. I never imagined I would hear about her again. Especially that she was here in the town. I wanted to catch up with her, fix our broken ties. Can you imagine that? Our sons met. And without knowing we were friends once.
I come back into reality and turn to look at Naruto. "Sorry. I just.. she used to be my friend. A lot happened and I haven't spoken or even seen her in years. That's incredible that you befriended her son. Well.. not actually. Met her son. Sorry."
"Wow, really?" he ignores my comment about Sasuke and them being friends. "I can't believe it! Just imagine if I had told her your name when she asked about you!"
"She asked about me?"
"Well, she asked about my mom. She didn't know it was you, of course."
"Naruto?" He gives me his full attention. "Do you think, that maybe tomorrow, or some other day, you and I could go out into town and find her? I really want to talk to her and catch up."
Naruto's eyes widen and his jaw drops slightly. "Are you serious? I can't come with you mom. She can't know that I'm the prince."
"Well, she obviously doesn't know I'm the queen, so I don't see why not. Come on, please?"
He sighs, and nods his head slowly. "Fine. Whenever you want, mom." I grin and hug him, kissing his little nose.
Years and years ago, I never thought I would see her again, and now I get to. Maybe I can make things right once again.
Mom is nuts.
A: Yay, that's the end of the chapter! I know, I planned on making it longer, but honestly, writer's block sucks so much. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and the little snippet of Kushina. I felt that Mama Uzumaki needed some love this chapter. Thank you to all of my readers. I love you guys so much. I'm gonna actually try and update more often this time. I'm serious.