A/N: Update Date - 7/10/10. This chapter was very interesting to write, and the second half was just downright fun to write.
I REALLY appreciate the reviews you guys have given me. Even the criticism; that's helped me and I'm very glad you took the time to critique my work. After all, it's the fastest way to improve.
Also, I've heard from an anonymous reviewer that placing responses to reviews here is against the Terms of Service...but I don't recall seeing that, and it isn't at all mentioned in the guidelines that you have to agree to to publish stuff. If you could point that rule out to me, I'd greatly appreciate it and fix my supposed error.
But unfortunately, I will be stopping my tradition of listing the usernames of each reviewer from last chapter in the next one, for a few reasons. One: It's not exactly fair or inclusive to the people who are just starting the story and review earlier chapters. Two: It takes space, which might be against the Terms of Service. Once I get that clarified, I might change my mind. Three: It also takes a while :p
Personal Responses:
Zashire: Thanks for all of the reviews and advice. Yeah, the explanations, especially about the time traveler (and family) status were definitely the hardest parts to write because they felt repetitive and...well, what do you say in a situation like that? It's so surreal that a likely dialogue escapes my imagination. And I don't mind writing action scenes, and I think I'm pretty decent with them, but this story never was about action, so it can get in the way of what I want to write here.
Icealeena: Glad you like it, thanks for the reviews :)
ShamaLamaDingDong: Good question. Logically, it's pretty much impossible for any of the Konoha 12 to be genetically identical to their canon counterparts. That said, I can make them so similar that it won't matter (I plead creative freedom and necessity), except in specific cases, like with Asumi. You'll see.
The Epitome of Eccentricity: Yes, yes you do. And I'm taking hours of my time to write this, so is 15 seconds so much to ask for in return?
Shinigami: Gaara's sealing was pretty much explained in the same chapter where Naruto reveals his true identity to the Kazekage. Basically, assume they kept their word and performed a safe sealing after Gaara was born. Logically, Yashamaru is not hell bent on revenge since no one died.
OverLordRevan: In canon, yes. But I planned out some events for this story before Chapters 499-501, and I had to change some things to fit my story.
FYI: See above; I've never heard of that rule, and I can't find the Terms of Service (unless you're talking about the Guidelines, which don't mention that supposed rule). Still, thank you for bringing that to my attention. As for the other stuff...I apologize. I'm still trying to improve, and I've made things progress "by the speed of plot" out of my desire to move on to the real purpose of this story. Hopefully it will get better from here on out.
baltz00: Grammar and punctuation are your friends. Use them. Please. But thank you for the review :)
Crystalzap: In a way, there will be. Stay tuned.
yarra: "Don't even think about using auto-fire, or I'll know." (If you can tell me where that quote is from, I'll write a chapter just for you).
Chapter 14: Home
Naruto ate his breakfast with a grin as he watched his parents play with his two month old sister. She was tied right up there with Hinata for cutest thing in the world in his mind, and he couldn't be happier. But seeing the scene in front of him made him realize that he would have to really start planning how to ensure that his family, along with many others, would not be destroyed by the Kyuubi attack. Strong as he may be, one cannot simply kill a bijuu; let alone the most powerful one of them all. He had control over most of the Kyuubi's chakra, but using it effectively was still quite difficult for him. And trying to balance the demonic chakra with sage mode and everything else was like a juggling act with a thousand razor blades—even if you succeed, you're still going to end up cut in a thousand places.
But first thing's first, he decided. I have an appointment to keep.
00.000.00
Staring at her baby sister, Hinata was faced with a conflict that tore at her very being—would Hanabi eventually replace her namesake, or could she keep the two siblings separate? When her mother was picking out names for the baby with her father, Hinata suggested the name Hanabi, to be named after—she made that part very clear—her younger sister that now only existed in her memory. Her parents agreed, finding it a way of tying the family further together.
Hanabi was still far too young to tell what she would look like, but Hinata knew for sure that her sister would not grow up in the cold and harsh environment she had and would always have someone to help her in any way possible.
00.000.00
"You're here, good. I believe you're all wondering exactly how I know you three," Naruto said as he looked at each of the Ame trio in turn, "and I'm here to answer those questions. We're in what's called the memory room…" Naruto went on to explain its function and purpose before initiating the seals. He hadn't used it much in the past year, and neither had his teammates, for they had all agreed upon building a foundation of happy moments before exposing their families to the often very depressing ones of their lives. His parents had at one point asked him if they could see memories of his childhood, but he had quickly refused—something they definitely picked up on. In all likelihood, he would never show them memories of his childhood, for it would certainly break their hearts. The hints they received made them visibly upset, but he tried to focus on the present rather than the past. Even with a loving family now, thinking back on those years of lonely hell still hurt in ways he couldn't express. Finally, the surroundings of the room faded to a cold, dark sewer.
Entering Naruto's mindscape, Jiraiya and his students took a look around."This is your mind?" asked Nagato. It was downright creepy, especially with the greenish lighting.
"My mindscape, yeah. Before we dive into my memories, there are many things I need to explain. You know that I'm from the future?" They nodded. "What you don't know is that I'm the Kyuubi jinchuuriki of my time, which is about 17 years into the future." He looked at his guests warily. "In those 17 years, a lot happened. The Kyuubi, under the control of Uchiha Madara, attacked Konoha on the day I was born. My father, the Yondaime Hokage, sacrificed himself to seal the Kyuubi no Youko within me." His gaze then turned to Yahiko. "You died in that ambush, starting a series of events that would lead you two," he said, now looking at Konan and Nagato, "down a very dark path. You took on the alias of 'Pain', Nagato, and attacked Konoha. I know you three because I've fought you. I learned your story from Nagato, whom I watched die. That's how I knew about Tiny. That's how I knew about the ambush. That's why my father and some others were shocked to see you…because they saw the same memories I'm about to show you."
He waited a minute for that information to sink in. Nagato seemed to be reacting the worst of the four, due to the fact that he was the center of whatever Naruto was about to show them. A hazy fog enveloped the group, changing the scenery to a small apartment.
I woke up groggily, face down on my pillow. Sensing a familiar presence, I turned my head to see Kakashi-sensei standing outside the window. "Ka…Kakashi-sensei?"
"The Godaime wants to see you. Get ready immediately."
We walked towards the tower, where I spotted Gamabunta and Gamakichi. After a short exchange, we went on to the office and entered. In the room, aside from Tsunade and Shizune, were Sakura, Sai, and several toads. The small, elderly one looked at me intently. "So this is Jiraiya-chan's student, eh?"
"Yes," replied Tsunade. "This is Uzumaki Naruto…he's the 'child of prophecy' you talked about.
"Are you one of the old man's frogs? What's going on?" I asked, confused.
"Watch your language, Naruto! This is Fukasaku, one of the two great sages of Myobokuzan. He's come all this way to speak with you."
Now I was really confused. What could a little old frog want with me?
"Actually, I'm one of the two great sage frogs…but more importantly, there's no doubt you're Jiraiya-chan's student, now, is there?"
"Jiraiya-chan? Chan? Why're you treating Ero-sennin like a kid! Just who the hell are you, you old frog?"
Tsunade let her temper show yet again. "I said watch your language! This is Jiraiya's teacher, the one who taught him his sage techniques."
Instead of taking offense at the insult, Fukasaku erupted in laughter. "Ero-sennin! That fits Jiraiya to a T."
"What's that old sage want with me?" I asked. This whole meeting just felt…weird.
Fukasaku looked down, all semblance of laughter gone. "Where should I begin…well, I guess I'd better start with this…" He looked at me intensely. "Jiraiya-chan died in battle."
I froze. I did not just hear that. How could he have died? He was the strongest shinobi I'd ever seen, second only to the Yondaime himself! What… "…huh? Wh…what're you talking about…?"
"His throat was crushed in battle by Pain. Jiraiya-chan left me this message as he fell. This is it…" Fukasaku lifted off his cloak, revealing the random series of numbers engraved on his back. "No doubt he did it so Pain wouldn't realize. This is all that's left of him."
Only many years of hard practice allowed me to remain composed. The man who was the closest thing to family I'd ever had…
I was hurting on the inside with a pain that was indescribable. But I wouldn't sit in a corner and cry like I did for my whole childhood. I did what I had grown used to doing with my grief over the years…channeling it into anger. "Did you send him?" I asked, venom hinting out of my voice.
"…I did."
My calm façade broke. "Why did you let him go?" I shouted, barely containing my rage. "You know how he is! How could you send him into danger all alone?"
Kakashi stopped my rant in its tracks. "Stop it, Naruto…you must know how she feels."
I turned to storm out of the office. "Damn it!"
"Naruto! Where are you going?" Sakura yelled after me.
My hand was on the doorknob, shaking. "If Ero-sennin had been made Godaime Hokage, then he wouldn't have forced Tsunade to do this…I know it…"
The fog receded, revealing completely white surroundings. Nagato's expression screamed shock, while Jiraiya looked uneasy. Understandable in both cases, given that Jiraiya had just found out that he had died in the future, at the hands of his student, no less.
"That…can't be…I would never…" Nagato stammered in disbelief. It simply made no sense, how could he possibly bring himself to kill the man he looked up to as something like an uncle?
"Surprised?" asked Naruto. "Like I said, you became a very different person after Yahiko's death. Years of war and loss changed you. When Jiraiya-sensei stood in the way of your plans, you killed him without hesitation." Knowing that Nagato was reeling, Naruto tried to comfort him. "You shouldn't look at these memories thinking, 'I'm going to become that,' or, 'I'm going to do that.' Look at them knowing what could have happened. I know you're a good person, Nagato. I hope that you'll see that, even when you view the next memory."
Jiraiya, despite his uneasiness with the recent revelations, was overjoyed to see his teammate not only back in Konoha, but as Hokage. It was very fitting, he decided, especially given the dreams of Dan and Nawaki. But after that, he became immensely curious; how could Nagato have changed so much after Yahiko's death as to kill his own sensei?
Naruto knew that showing them the memory of Pain's invasion would be very hard to take in, but he was determined to go ahead with it anyway. They needed to see this. In the same way that Team Minato and his family needed to see the night of the Kyuubi attack, Jiraiya and his students needed to know what it would have been like to lose everything, so that they would always cherish what they had. So that…it would never happen again.
00.000.00
Nagato was nothing short of horrified. Horrified at what his future self had done, horrified at his use of Yahiko's body, and horrified of what his future self looked like: a half-dead, barely human cripple. His only relief came from his future self's dying actions…perhaps he didn't become a complete monster after all. But it was beyond surreal…it was like seeing a monster that merely resembled him. Could he really…have become that? The thought made him shudder.
"You don't have to get all depressed, you know." The red head looked up at Naruto. "I showed you this so you would know what could have happened. A lot of bad things could have happened. I could have become a revenge-driven psycho, but I didn't. And now, hopefully, you won't become what you just saw. That said…there were some good things you could take out of all this."
"What do you mean?" asked Nagato. What good could possibly come from a hellish vision of a possible future?
"You were powerful as hell. I think it'd be pretty cool to see you in action…you know, when you're not trying to kill me and everyone I care about. Especially that jutsu at the end…you revived the dead. And from what Konan said, it seems like you could do that without killing yourself…as long as you aren't exhausted beforehand." Naruto pointed at his head. "Think about it."
"You read my book?" asked the Toad Sage.
"Hm?" The blond's expression turned to amused curiosity. "Of course I did. It's where my name comes from, after all."
Jiraiya smiled, having now realized that his book had changed a lot.
00.000.00
Walking through downtown Konoha, Naruto headed for a place that used to hold nothing but bad memories for him: the Konoha Orphanage. The building was roughly the same…but everything else was different. There were no glares or cold shoulders; virtually everyone smiled at him as he walked by. It was such a contrast to his instincts and memories that he almost didn't trust it…or any of them, for that matter. He always gave people another chance, but he rarely trusted anyone. It had been ingrained into his psyche throughout his entire childhood. Far, far too often his trust had been betrayed in cruel ways. And nowhere was that more prevalent in his mind than his current destination.
Despite his misgivings, Naruto mandated to himself that he would visit the orphanage often to help out the children who were in some ways just like him…alone, feeling lost and without a place where you belonged.
He volunteered on his off hours, often to entertain the kids with his crazy antics (juggling with ten shadow clones tends to amuse kids greatly, he soon found out). Sometimes, though, he would talk to them on a personal level. After a few weeks of frequent visits, the head caretaker asked him to talk about himself in front of many of the older kids in the orphanage. Obviously, he was very uneasy about that, since even if he could tell the truth about his past it would be far too dark to tell. So instead, he settled on teaching his personal philosophy to them, which had been honed through years of experience and lessons learned the hard way.
"I used to be an orphan, just like all of you guys," he said, smiling. "I grew up without any family and had to do and learn a lot of things on my own. But I learned some things along the way, and I want to share that with you." He walked along the front row of kids, he were raptly paying attention. "One of the most important things I learned was that home isn't a comfy building or where you live. Home is where people think of you. Remember that—because if you aren't adopted by a family, you have to learn how to deal with that loneliness. When you make friends, you get a place where you belong. Where you feel safe and liked is where you should stay. Be nice to everyone, make as many friends as possible, and one day, you will not feel alone anymore. You all came from somewhere, from people who loved you. If you try hard enough, you can make yourself a home. You can make a place where you belong."
That was how his first speech went, and judging from their reactions, it went very well. Over the following weeks, he saw many of the kids take his advice to heart, and some of them even came up to ask him more questions—which he happily answered.
Several weeks later, he had another talk with the kids. "Just because you're an orphan doesn't mean you can't be somebody important. Did you guys know the Yondaime Hokage, the leader of the village, was an orphan too?" He tried to inspire them. He knew exactly what to say, and the kids reacted extremely well to that. All he had to do was speak from the heart—he simply recalled what he had felt as an orphan, and imparted his hard-earned wisdom to assuage their fears.
For that, he could always smile. It was almost as if, by helping these children in ways he had needed help when he was in their position, he was healing himself.
Exiting the orphanage at lunchtime, Naruto was jumped by a joyous bundle of energy he had long since known as Hinata. "Want to grab some lunch at my house, Naruto-kun? My mother and I just finished cooking something new that we want to try out. We need an…expert opinion."
Naruto turned around in his girlfriend's arms, smiling as he kissed her. "Sounds great." They had been growing closer over the past year, even to the point where Naruto no longer had any uneasiness when around her family. To his surprise, the Hyuuga, Uchiha, Hatake, Tatsushiro, Haruno, and Namikaze families were becoming something of an extended family of its own. Several times, they had all had a big group dinner or even had a friendly spar, which produced some of the most fun experiences any of them had ever had.
The first one in particular brought a wide smile to his face whenever he thought about it.
-Three months earlier-
Standing at a large, open training ground, the extended family stood around, watching the show. All able-bodied ninja present were in the clearing, waiting for the spar to begin. Everyone else, including a pregnant Kushina, Mikoto, and Hitomi, stood by on the sidelines cheering their husbands and children on.
"Okay!" shouted Kakashi-jisan. "The teams will be as follows!" Naruto was giddy with anticipation; he was actually quite similar to Lee when it came to enthusiasm for spars. "Everyone versus Naruto and Minato-sensei!" The two named shinobi stood there blinking for several moments before they suddenly had Obito, both Kakashi's, Sasuke, Fugaku, Hiashi, Hinata, and Yumi charging at them with grins on their faces. Minato, quick on his feet, flashed over to his son's side before grabbing him and flashing to a safe distance fifty meters away.
"Any plans, Naruto?"
The blond teen struck his classic thinking pose for a few moments before lighting up. "Got it!" As his son whispered his plan into his ear, Minato's lips gradually moved upwards into a bigger and bigger smile.
"Oh, your mother will love this one."
Hinata spotted her boyfriend right away with her Byakugan, but when she saw the Yellow Flash grin like an idiot as Naruto whispered into his ear. Knowing her boyfriend well, she quickly surmised that something very bad was about to happen.
Suddenly, two thousand shadow clones leapt from the trees they were hiding in and unfurled a scroll that each of them held. Expecting a hail of kunai and shuriken, she prepared for a Kaiten…only something far more sinister rained from the scrolls above.
Water balloons. Only Hinata, Kakashi-jisan, and Sasuke, who were quite familiar with Naruto's pranking style, were in any way prepared as the balloons blocked out the sun and peppered the group. Hinata performed her Kaiten and was saved from the torrent of water, but Kakashi-jisan wasn't nearly as lucky. He possessed no such complete defense, and was sopping wet. Sasuke, however, shocked nearly everyone by forming a Susano'o to shield himself from the prank. "Your pitiful attacks can't penetrate my ultimate defense, Naruto!" he yelled, obviously trying for laughs more than anything.
But she should have known better; she should have known that Naruto was a pranking legend who never left a plan so simple. The two thousand clones chucked their Hiraishin kunai into the grass near the group and dispelled. Before she could react, the two Yellow Flashes filled her vision as they chucked water balloons at her and Sasuke mercilessly. Sasuke, who had failed to notice that a Hiraishin seal had already been placed by his feet, had his laugh of triumph cut off by a dozen water balloons to the face. Naruto and Minato instantly appeared in the middle of the clearing, gripping their sides as they laughed their asses off. Almost immediately, everyone on the sidelines joined in, shortly followed by the humiliated—and sopping wet—opposing team.
-Present Time-
00.000.00
The Yondaime Hokage watched his clock with intense scrutiny. In the back of his mind, he knew that watching the seconds tick by only made everything seem slower, but he grin slowly grew as he watched the second hand near the twelve. Finally, lunchtime. In less than a second, he was back home, admiring his wife and baby daughter.
Kushina heard his entrance, looked at the clock, and laughed. "Punctual as always, Minato-kun." She placed her daughter in a large sling, holding her with one arm as she offered her other hand to her husband. "Shall we?"
00.000.00
Seeing the dumbfounded looks on the gate guards' faces was a fantastic start for her return home, Sakura decided. They headed for the Hokage's office first, but found it empty, so decided to take a more scenic route around town. Sakura decided to show Tsunade her team's old training ground, which she quickly recognized as her team's old training ground, too. Before they could comment on the coincidence, a teenage boy went flying towards them, followed shortly after by another silver haired teenage boy, landing with their backs towards the group.
"Damn it, Kakashi, I told you it wouldn't work! He's a Kage level jounin with decades of experience up his belt! We should have gone with my plan instead!" Obito pointed heatedly at his teammate while fuming.
The silver-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like stealing that book of his would help us at all! And what did you think a paint-filled balloon was going to do? Make him laugh to death?"
"At least I managed to hit him with it! Your attack just got us thrown across the clearing!"
"You two haven't changed one bit." The arguing shinobi snapped their heads to see their teammate smiling at them.
"Rin-chan!" yelled Obito. "You're back!"
Kakashi-kun's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly broke into a warm smile. "It's great to have you back, Rin."
Kakashi-jisan casually strolled out of the clearing, book in hand, though his face deceived his body language. He was out for blood…no one gets paint on his now priceless Icha Icha Tactics, especially considering it was the only one in existence. "YOU TWO!"
Kakashi-kun and Obito shuddered in fear as Kakashi-jisan approached them. To Rin's amusement, they audibly gulped as he stepped right into their faces. "Do you two have any idea how valuable this is? It's the last one in existence! I brought it all the way from the future! And you just got PAINT on it!"He turned to the rest of the group with a sudden, classic eye smile. "It's great to see you again, Rin, Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade-sama."
Sakura casually strolled up to Obito and Kakashi-kun. "If I were you," she said with a creepy smile and overly friendly tone, "I'd run as fast as my little legs could carry me, and then beg for mercy with puppy-dog eyes. Of course, you'd still get your asses kicked, so I'd hide behind Rin-chan and Tsunade-sama for now."
Fearing for her teammates' lives, Rin quickly stepped forward. "I believe it's been a while, Jisan. Care for a spar?" she asked, fiery determination in her eyes.
Now intrigued, Kakashi-jisan temporarily put aside his anger in place of amusement. "Sure. Think you can make them work as a team again?" he asked.
She eyed her teammates with a spirited, determined look in her eyes that they were not at all accustomed to seeing. "I'll beat some sense into them if I have to," she said, lightly punching her fist into the open palm of her other hand.
Obito and Kakashi-kun audibly gulped once again.
