Naruto's Crash Site
Van's and tent's could be seen around the crash site of Naruto. There was caution tape all around the sites, and plenty of people were inspecting the craters left behind. One of these people was a man named Ryoujirou Shiba. Otherwise known as among his colleagues. is an old man who seems to be in his late 60's. He has no eyebrows, and always has a lazy look in his eyes. The most noticeable feature about him are his thick, gruffy mustache, and his glasses with oblong were currently investigating on what seemed to be a meteor hit the outskirts of Tokyo. However what puzzled not just him, but everyone else investigating the area. Was that there was no meteor to be found. Absolutely nothing. It was if the craters just appeared by themselves.
'This really is a doozy' thought. Him and his team were deployed here to possible do some research on the flying object that came from the sky. They wanted to test out what would happen if they implemented parts of meteors into quinques, and possibly what would happen if they implemented it into a Quinx's frame. So far they had no luck finding any pieces a meteor left behind. Not even a pebble.
Letting out a sigh, massaged his temples. He was clearly stressed out, and the operation for the Quinx wasn't making it any better. The operation for the four candidates was only two weeks away, yet he was already nervous.
'Yes, those four had the perfect body structure to hold the four kakuhou. With the ghoul who'll be mentoring them. I have no doubt they'll be a great asset for the CCG' Shiba thought.
"SIR! We found something!" A girlish voice yelled at the old man.
's eyes widened at that. Making his way past the caution tape; he made his way towards the middle of the large crater. He took notice that the girl who was digging in this area hadn't dug out the object of interest yet. However, when he looked at the hole she made. He was surprised to find a pouch instead. Picking up the pouch he noticed that it didn't have any tears on it, and seemed to be in a good condition. The pouch was circular and had a beige color to it. Opening the pouch his eyes widened on what he found inside. There were many kunai and shurikens, but what puzzled him the most was the paper found in the bag. It had strange writing on it, one that he has never seen before, and a scroll in it. The scroll seemed to have a lock on it, and had a kanji for seal. Next to the scroll a book was found with the title, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja.
"Intesting... " muttered to himself.
Turning to the finder he held up the bag, "Where did you find this?" He asked calmly.
Standing up from the ground the excavator spoke, "It was a bit under the ground Doctor."
Nodding at her words he explored the insides again. Turning the pouch his lazy eyes picked up something he hadn't seen before.
In the pouch laid writing that read, 'Property of Uzumaki Naruto'.
"I wouldn't suppose we have a Uzumaki Naruto on our team?" He was looking at the name on the pouch, but it was clear to the girl that the question was directed at her.
"I'll check right away Doctor." She replied as she went to one of the vans.
'Interesting… it seems that it wasn't a meteor that hit here, but... but possibly a person?' thought before following the girl.
With Naruto
"ACHOO!" Naruto sneezed out.
"Come on Star-kun! You almost got your disgusting snot all over me and the book!" Hinami yelled at him.
"Oi! It's not my fault someone's thinking about me!" Naruto yelled back.
"Pfffff. Don't make me laugh. Who would be thinking about you Star-kun?" Hinami replied teasingly.
Naruto stood up in a defensive position, "I'll have you know I have a lot of people thinking of me! I have Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, Baa-..." he stopped mid way when he was about to say his surrogate grandmothers name. Naruto gained a downcast expression before staring at the floor.
"I almost forgot they're still in the Infinite Tsukuyomi…" Naruto muttered out.
No one had heard him except Hinami who was paying close attention.
"What's that?" Hinami asked curiously.
Hearing this Naruto gained a sad smile before looking at Hinami, "Don't worry about it." he told her as he ruffled her hair, "It's my problem so it doesn't concern you or anyone from here." The same smile was plastered on his lips.
Hinami seeing the smile gained a mischievous one, "It's probably the blue haired girl from the ramen shop." she teased.
Naruto however didn't get it which caused him to look at Hinami confused. Blinking a few times he spoke, "Why would she be thinking about me?"
Hinami just keep the mischievous smile and glean, "Ah who knows. I'm surprised you're not the one thinking about her."
"Oi Hinami, are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?" Naruto asked blankly.
There was a pause between the two. In an instant Hinami turned around and started waving her hands side to side as he face changed from a teasing one to an angry one, "WHAT! SHUT UP BEFORE I HIT YOUR HEAD ON SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!"
Naruto became a little nervous before he backed up a little on his chair. Closing his eye he couldn't help but laugh.
"Ma, ma Hinami-chan. I'm just confused why you would think that." Naruto said as he tried to calm the girl down. It seemed to work slightly as she stopped her yelling.
"Huh? You know it's pretty simple really, but I guess someone as dense as you won't get it."
Naruto however was still confused.
'What?' Naruto thought.
"Ah come on Hinami. You're confusing me now."
Hinami let out a sigh at his words. Naruto reminded her so much of her Nii-san, but at the same time he was so different. She wondered how the two would have gotten along if they met each other.
Naruto looked at Hinami. It was obvious to him that she was reminiscing something.
"Hey, Hinami" Naruto started in a warm yet worried tone, "You ok?"
Drops could be heard hitting the floor. Tracing it's source he realized that it was Hinami. She was crying. Placing his hand on the girls shoulder, it caused Hinami to look at him. Brown eyes held a look of sadness as they looked at his one cerulean blue eye. However instead of pitying her Naruto gave her a reassuring smile. Hinami's eyes widened at that and she immediately hugged him as she cried on his shoulder.
Not knowing what to do Naruto patted her back with his one arm.
"I miss him… I miss him so much" Hinami spoke in between sobs.
"It's ok Hinami. I'm sure that person has you in their hearts." Naruto spoke warmly.
The girl gave the blond a confused look. Her tears had turned into sniffles. Placing his hand on her head a smile graced Naruto's lips. With eyes filled with warmth Naruto spoke, "Just keep thinking of him, and eventually he'll come back."
Hinami's eyes widened at that. She was about to speak but-
"Hinami… I think you should go to your room." Touka's voice cut through the silence of the room. The entire time she was watching Hinami and Naruto as the younger of the two thought the older one. It was clear to her she got a bit emotional with the thought of Kaneki.
Hinami nodded as she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away a few tears. Naruto's eye held a look of empathy. He knew better than anyone how much it hurts to lose someone. An image of his parents, Jiraiya, and Neji flashed through his mind.
Gaining a sorrow look on his face he looked at the table and closed his eyes. Not even a full day has gone by, and he already made someone cry.
'Nice going Baka'
Letting out a sigh he turned to his right, and realized that Touka took a seat next to him. It seemed Hinami went to her room that was the floor above the cafe. There was a silence between the two.
"You remind her of someone" Touka spoke somberly. Hearing this Naruto turned to her. "You actually remind all of us of someone." She spoke as her hair covered her eyes. Naruto didn't need to hear anymore.
"I'm sorry" he spoke downcast, "I'm sure whoever they are, they're holding all of you in their hearts. Whether they know it or not."
Once again there was a silence between them.
"You know… Hinami's thinking of leaving us to find him."
"You should let her." Naruto spoke. This had caused Touka's eyes to widen. "The short time i've been here I can tell that you try to hide Hinami from the pain of this world. I already know that all of you have been through a lot, and you all use that pain to get through the day. To protect the ones you love, and to make sure that they never have to go through anymore pain. But… someone once told me, 'Sometimes you must hurt in order to know, fall in order to grow, lose in order to gain, because life's greatest lessons are learned through pain'. When he told me that I wanted to punch him straight in the gut, but… but after witnessing the horror that the world truly i... i've grown as a person. It only made my desire to protect my friends and follow my nindo, to grow only more. So… in my opinion you should let her do what her heart wants. She's strong, so you don't have to worry about losing her."
His words hit close to home as tears started to build up in Touka's eyes. Part of his words were true, but the other part of her didn't want to let Hinami go. How could she. Hinami was one of the few things she had left in the world. On one hand she can let Hinami grow from experience, or on the other she can nurture her and hide her from the world like she had been doing. Wiping away her tears she excused herself before making her way upstairs. She was going to talk with Hinami.
"Good job you baka. Now you've made two people cry in less than five minutes." he mumbled to himself before looking at the ceiling, "I wonder what you'd do if you were here?" He thought out loud as images of his sensei appeared. It seemed as if the toad sage was sitting next to him, and had a wide smile on. The image of his master ruffled his hair before disappearing as if the wind blew him away. They were indoors. How the hell is there wind? Letting out a sigh Naruto stared at the table.
'Now what do I do?'
With Touka
The purple haired girl stood outside Hinami's room. She was facing the door with a worried expression. Preparing herself she knocked on the door.
Knock knock
She didn't get a response. Putting her hand up again she was going to knock, but stopped herself as the door opened. Looking down she saw Hinami's red face. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were red. A frown appeared on her face when she saw her like this.
Hinami went back to her bed. Her body hitting her head as she buried her face into her pillow. Touka seeing this lightly closed the door, and made her way towards Hinami's bed. Sitting down she couldn't help but have a feeling of dread. There was a moment of silence as Touka observed Hinami's room at the cafe. It was blank. Nothing that stood out except a bed.
After the Owl Suppression Operation their whole life seemed to be crumbling down on them. Tsukiyama was bedridden from something, Hinami wants to leave them, and they lost people… people she swore to get back.
Closing her eyes she prepared herself for what was to come.
"Hinami…" he voice held a dejected tone. She had come to a decision on her little sister's future. The young girl immediately turned to face her.
"Do… do you still want to join Aogiri?"
Hinami stared at her older sister. Trying to figure out her motives, but finding none, Hinami gave her a nod.
A lone tear fell from Touka's eyes.
"Just… just be careful ok?" She told her worryingly.
Brown eyes widened at Touka's words. Hinami couldn't help herself but hug her older surrogate sister. Touka returned the hug twice fold, and couldn't stop the tears from falling. They stayed like that for a while. Both feeling the warmth coming from the other. They knew it would be the last time for a while before they saw each other again.
Letting go of the embrace Touka looked at the young woman in front of her. She was so proud of Hinami that she couldn't even tell her how much she was. Using her thumb to wipe away a tear on Hinami's cheek, Touka gave her a small smile.
"Let's pack your things" Touka spoke softly.
Hinami noded and let out a small 'Hai'.
A Couple Hours Later
Naruto was bored out of his mind. He had nothing to do- well he was lying. He could be reading the book Touka gave him, but he was never one who could learn by himself. His academy record was more than enough to prove that.
The noise of two pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs caught his attention. Down came Touka and Hinami who looked as if they were going out. Hinami was carrying a bag.
"Huh? Where you guys going?" Naruto asked curiously.
Both of the girls turned to face him.
"She's growing up." Touka replied softly.
Naruto's eyes widened at that. His shock expression turned into a soft smile before he got off of his chair. Scratching the back of his head, Naruto gave them a foxy smile. "Can I come too? I don't really have that much to do here, since…. you know." He asked sheepishly.
Touka gave the blond a stern look before shaking her head. Frowning at her actions Naruto's eye lost a bit of their gleam.
"Aw come on please! I promise I won't get into any trouble, and i'll do anything you ask! I promise!" He pleaded.
Letting out a sigh, Touka gave Hinami a side glance. The younger ghoul feeling Touka's gaze on her turned to her older sister. Understanding the look, Hinami gave Touka a nod. Once again the older ghoul let out a tired sigh before speaking, "You must do exactly as I say without question. I don't care what happens, but you listen to me, got it?"
At her words Naruto furiously nodded.
"Come on" Touka spoke tiredly.
"Yatta!" Naruto cheered.
The two ghouls smiled at the blond's excitement. However it was only Touka's whose was replaced by a frown when they realized where exactly they were going. Hinami had already contacted the person who had been trying to recruit her after the Owl Suppression Operation. That of course being Takatsuki Sen. They were supposed to be meeting at an abandoned subway station located in the 9th ward. It would mean they wouldn't be back at the cafe for a couple hours, since the 9th ward wasn't relatively close to the 13th ward that they resided in.
9th Ward - Sometime Later
They had pulled up next to what appeared to lead into an abandoned subway system. Of course to Naruto it just looked like a long tube going underground, but from what he skimmed through the book he could have sworn he's seen it before.
'Subpay? Sublay? Or was it… Subway! Aha! Uzumaki Naruto strikes once again Dattebayo! Take that stupid book!' Naruto thought as they descend into the darkness. Just like when he snuck through their house, Naruto's eye quickly adjusted to the darkness.
Once they made it down the stairs Naruto followed Touka. He had no idea where in the world they were going, but if worst comes to worst he was going to protect the two of them. Even though he wasn't fully recovered, he could still surprise them and by some time. They eventually went down another set of stairs, this time it led to a dimly lit room. It was fairly large and had graffiti all over it's walls. There was a single light that kept flickering on and off, which gave the room an ominous feeling.
'Please tell there aren't any ghosts in here' Naruto begged in his mind. If there was one thing that Naruto was deathly afraid of… it was ghosts. He could proudly say that he would rather fight Madara all over again, than have an encounter with a ghost. He shuttered just thinking about it.
Touka saw the shuttered, "Naruto, if you're scared than you can go wait in the car. This shouldn't take long." Touka spoke sincerely. She didn't want the blond to feel uncomfortable.
Naruto hearing this regained his nerves. Scratching the back of his head he felt quite embarrassed at what he was going to say, "Aha… it's not that…. It's just…."
The three stopped moving. The two ghouls gave Naruto a curious look.
"It's just… uh…. There aren't any ghosts here?... right?" he asked hopefully.
Touka's and Hinami's eyes immediately fell from his words. The way he was stuttering made it seem like he had something important to say.
Smack
"Ow, ow, ow. What was that for Touka?" Naruto asked hurtfully.
Touka gave him a serious look which caused the blond to shrivel up. 'I guess I deserved that. This is the last time she's going to see Hinami-chan, for kami knows how long, and i'm only adding onto her worry. Baka. Of course there's no ghosts here. Or are there….' Naruto thought.
Taking in the surroundings once more, Naruto couldn't help but notice the two giants circular openings. If he remembered correctly, not just from the book but from experience, trains would stop here, and than leave through one of those holes to who knows where. Honestly, the last time and first time he saw a train, it was trying to run him over.
Making their way onto the railway the group of three made there way into one of the dark tunnels. The second Naruto's foot hit the darkness his shinobi senses kicked in. Jumping back Naruto looked back at the place he was previously standing. In its place were spike-like crystals. That's when he sensed it. His eyes widened when he realized that they were surrounded. Looking at Touka and Hinami they seemed to be looking at something. Touka had a slight scowl on her face while Hinami had a neutral expression. Looking at where their eyes were Naruto saw a pair of red irises. Out of the darkness came out a lean teen who seemed to be one or two years younger than him. He had blue messy hair which swept down in front of his eyes. The teen had a rough looking face, and clothing that made him think of an emo Sasuke in this world. Although what surprised him the most of the striking resemblance he had to Touka.
"Eh! Touka I didn't know you had a son! You look so young yet… wait do ghouls still have their youth even when they get older?" Naruto spoke innocently.
The teen seemed to growl at his words, but it didn't faze Naruto. However he shut up as soon as Touka gave the look. He had seen that look many times. How couldn't he? Of course when he did receive the look he would keep talking, which would always wind up with him getting punched through something. Be it Sakura or Baa-chan. However now wasn't the place or time. He had promised Touka he would follow her instructions, and he wasn't one to break his promises.
Things seemed to quiet down after that. That was until hooded figures started making their presences known. At this point Naruto was nervous. From what he could sense there were at least twenty or more of them. If things got out of hand, he wasn't sure if he could protect the three of them. After all he hadn't exactly trained to fight with one arm, and his chakra was still recovering.
"Touka… " the blue haired teen spoke as if there was tension between them.
"Ayato... "Touka responded with the same tone.
Once again there was a silence between them all. It was if red eyes were meeting purple in a stare down against wills. To Naruto there was obviously something going on between the two. Eventually the blue haired ghoul turned to Naruto before he observed him. It didn't seem that he was impressed when he saw the blond.
"Who's the blond?" he spoke uncaringly.
"He's new. That's all you need to know." Touka responded with a hint of coldness. It made it clear to Ayato that he shouldn't threaten him, or else he would have to deal with her. Not like he cared.
"He smells weird"
"I told you that he's new, and that's all you need to know Ayato." Touka spoke warningly.
However Ayato ignored her. He was focused on the blond before him. The blond didn't smell like a ghoul, but instead that of a human. At the same time he didn't exactly smell like a human… a one eyed ghoul? It would explain the fact that he has his left eye covered, but what about his arm?
"What's your name." Ayato spoke passively to the blond.
Naruto turned to Touka for confirmation. Seeing her nod he faced back Ayato before answering, "Uzumaki Naruto."
"And what exactly are you Uzumaki Naruto?" He spoke his name with a hint mockery.
Smiling at the man, Naruto couldn't help but let his prankish side come out a little. "One of a kind." he replied innocently.
The answer seemed to slightly annoy Ayato. He was going to further question the blond, but was stopped.
"You're here to take Hinami. Not interrogate one of my employes." Touka spoke out coldy.
Hearing this Ayato turned his attention towards his sister.
"Oh? You're still going into the coffee business. I thought you would have learned after Anteiku."
His words seemed to aggravate Touka. Before she could speak she was cut off as Hinami walked towards Ayato. Stopping next to him while still facing the darkness of the tunnel she spoke, "Can we just go."
There was a silence after those words were spoken.
"Yeah…" Ayato spoke as he had his eyes on Touka's, "Just one more question. He isn't the replacement for Kaneki is he? Have you really gotten this weak that you accept random strangers now?" he spoke mockingly.
Opening her mouth, she was cut off by the slightly pissed of Naruto, "Oi! I don't know who the hell you are, but-"
"Naruto!" Touka's stern voice shut the blond up.
A chuckle was heard escaping Ayato's lips.
"I guess I have my answer. We'll be going now. Till next time sis, and try not to get into too much trouble. It's already a pain cleaning up after you."
With that the Aogiri Tree group disappeared into the tunnels with Hinami. The shinobi and ghoul stood there watching the tunnel, as if they were waiting for something to happen. However the only thing they got was the sounds of footsteps running in the distance.
Once again there was a silence in the station. Turning towards Touka he realized she had a far away look on her face. He knew that look. It was one of reminiscing the past. Although the 'who' was what Naruto wasn't sure about. Looking back at the tunnel, Naruto couldn't help but feel as if the next time he saw Hinami it would be a short reunion.
Touka was in her own thoughts. She hadn't realized it, but a lone tear made its way down her face. This always happened when she thought back to the old times. Seeing Ayato again especially triggered some bad memories. It was her fault her younger brother was the way he was, and maybe if she just did something different… than maybe… just maybe things could have ended up differently.
'Ayato… please keep Hinami safe.' Touka thought.
Grumble
The two were brought out of their attention by the noise of Naruto's stomach. Gaining a sheepish look Naruto scratched the back of his head not able to meet eye contact with Touka. He hadn't eaten anything since he met the blue haired girl.
Touka looked at Naruto with a faint smile. No matter what the blond did, be it on purpose or on accident, it seemed he could always make the people around him smile. She was still slightly irritated by the blond from his interaction with her brother.
'Seriously, 'one of a kind'. What a smart ass response.' Touka thought with a smile. If the atmosphere was different she was sure it would have brought a couple of laughs. However it wasn't. She had just let Hinami go, and no matter what the blond did he couldn't replace that feeling. A sorrow feeling of seeing your younger sibling not need you anymore.
There was nothing else to do here. Turning around Touka started making her way out of the underground station. For a while Naruto stood there watching the purplet's retreating form. Looking back into the tunnel he gained a sad smile.
'I'll see you later Hinami'
Turning around Naruto jumped onto the station platform; before jogging to catch up to Touka. Just like they entered, they stayed in silence. Only this time with one less person.
Yeah so like I said this chapter is shorter than the others, and now that it's out I can tell you why. I thought that it was a good place to stop, and since it's shorter I released it earlier. However now i'm gonna make the next chapter longer, and than after that hopefully I can keep at it at a decent pace. Now you gotta wait until not the next monday, but the following one. Well anyway i'm getting sidetracked here. Thank you all so much for the reviews! You guy's actually don't know how much it means to look at the reviews, expecting feedback and such, but instead getting nothing but positivity. I have to thank you guys for that, and I hope I can keep delivering! One thing I noticed was that people were a bit upset that I nerfed Naruto, but i'm sorry about that. I truly am. Trust me I love reading OP Naruto fics as much as the next guy, but I wanted to make my story where we can watch Naruto grow; instead of annihilating everything in his way. Once again sorry about that, but hopefully you can find another fic to satisfy your brain. Also someone was confused if this is a paring or harem. It's a pairing. Now, i'm not sure if you guys actually check you pm box, but when I gather the courage I actually send some of you guys messages based on your review. Once again than you guys so much! Thanks for reading! Till next time!