Freedom. Chapter 7: Elderslie.
(Note: Before I start writing this chapter, I just want to say that I just made a William X Sakura video with the song "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera. The video itself is called "William Wallace X Sakura Haruno ~ "I've Hurt Myself By Hurting You, William." Part of the title is a reference to that one part of the chorus in the song, so be sure to check it out. My YouTube account is the same as my FFN and deviantART account, so be sure to check it out, and please comment on it because I've worked really hard on it, and it's my first AMV (which took me about 2-3, maybe 4 days to make), so please be nice about it, and no rude comments. Also, Happy Birthday, Naruto. This chapter is actually dedicated to him, not to mention that he's also in it. Well, enjoy.)
The next morning, Naruto woke up, stretched and yawned. Then, he noticed that Kakashi and Sakura were not inside the tent.
"Kakashi-sensei? Sakura?" Naruto looked around the tent, calling their names. He shrugged his shoulders and went outside of the tent only to find Sakura and Kakashi standing next to William, while the rest of William's men were talking.
"Ah, you're awake, Naruto. Did you sleep well?" William asked.
"Yes. But, what are you guys doing?" Naruto quizzed.
"Well, I've talked about this with Sakura last night while everyone was at the bar with you and Kakashi, and both she and I've decided that I'm taking all three of you to Elderslie, my hometown," said William.
"What made you want to do that?" Naruto wondered with a raised eyebrow.
"Well since we won our battle with the English at Stirling, I've decided to take you to Elderslie as a special treat for all the hard work that you've paid off during these last three months," William stated as he began to smile, which made Naruto's face light up with excitement, and he began jumping up and down like a little kid. "Wow! Thank you, William! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
William chuckled with a smile.
"You're welcome. Now come on. Let's go."
"Wait. Do the other Scots know that Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and I are going with you, William?" Sakura inquired.
"Yes. I told Hamish to tell everyone else," William replied, which made Naruto raise his right fist high into the air with a grin on his face.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"
"Right," William answered as he, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto got on their horses and rode to Elderslie.
Later that day...
By the time the quartet reached Elderslie, they came upon a hilltop overlooking a village.
"This is where I was born and raised," William looked at Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. "Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, welcome to Elderslie."
"Wow," Naruto was in awe at it.
"It almost reminds me of Konoha, because of its beautiful greenery. Actually, Scotland is beautiful. I feel like I could live here forever," Sakura agreed.
"Come on. I'll show you around," William said as he took Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura to the village while giving them a tour.
Finally, the quartet came across a barn.
"Well, here we are, This is my house," William voiced.
Naruto gave a confused look at William.
"You live in a barn? What, did you grow up on a farm or something?"
"Aye. But like I said, it's not just any ordinary farm, Naruto. This is my home," William responded.
"I know that. It's just that... I don't know. I was expecting that you'd live in an apartment or a mansion just like everyone else back in Konoha," Naruto was baffled.
William ignored Naruto's comment and said:
"Come. Let's go inside."
And so, Team Kakashi followed William inside of the house.
As William was the first one to walk inside the house, he looked at Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi and told them:
"Go on. Have a seat. Please, make yourselves at home."
"Okay," Naruto said as he, Kakashi and Sakura sat down on the floor right next to the fireplace. William lit up the fire, and sat down right next to Team Kakashi.
"Hey, William," Naruto said as William looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Remember how you said that your father and brother were killed by the English? How did it happen?"
William paused for a second, and looked away from the trio (Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura).
"William?" Sakura called his name as William looked at them, and responded:
"Well, it all started seventeen years ago. I was only ten years old. The year... was 1280. My father Malcolm and my brother John were on their way to MacAndrews, who was a man that was supposed to meet them at a gathering. I wanted to go with my father and brother of course, but they told me to go home. Then, by the time they got to MacAndrews' house, as soon as I followed my father and brother inside the barn, I came upon a horrifying sight."
"What "horrifying sight?" What did you see, William?" Kakashi wondered.
"I saw the body of many Scottish nobles who were all hanged by Longshanks. Although I was very young, ever since then, I've always been haunted by it."
"William...," Sakura thought to herself in symapthy as she imagined seeing Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, her parents and all of her friends being hanged. Only except in her imagination, instead of them all being hanged by Longshanks, according to William's information about him seeing all the dead Scottish nobles when he was young, in Sakura's mind, her parents, and friends; including Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were all hanged by Orochimaru and the rest of the Akatsuki. A shiver ran down Sakura's spine as she shuddered while hearing those words coming from William's lips.
However, Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by William who continued talking.
"Later that night, I overheard my father and brother talking with the rest of the Scotsmen, wanting to declare war on the English. The next day, I wanted to go with my father and brother to help them in the war, but again, they told me no. However, before they left me alone to take care of the farm, my father said something to me that I'd never forget."
William glanced at Sakura.
"Sakura, remember that day at the Battle Of Stirling, you told my army that you could fight, to which they all laughed at you in disbelief?"
"Yes," Sakura nodded.
"Well, Sakura, as soon as I heard you say that, I remember saying those exact same words that I told my my father before he, along with my brother went off to go to war against the English. He told me that he knew I could fight, and that he said that it was our wits that make us men. But however, while I hoped and prayed that my father and brother would return home from the war alive, my worst fears were confirmed when I discovered they were tragically killed."
Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura felt sorry for William, who continued speaking.
"Afterward, the next day, my uncle Argyle told me that he'd take me back with him, and raise me as if I was his own son. Although I didn't want to leave, I had no choice but to go with him. During my absence, he taught me the skills of archery, and I was sent to a school called Paisley Abbey that's located in Dundee, Scotland. There, I studied to become a monk and even spoke many languages; including Latin and French."
"Whoa. You have to teach us how to speak Latin and French sometime, William," Naruto complimented.
"Who knows? Maybe you will speak both languages one day, Naruto," said William.
"Wait. But you said your wife was killed by an English noble. How did that happen?" Sakura asked William.
William got quiet as flashbacks of him fighting the English before finding out about Murron's death came to his mind.
"William?" Sakura mentioned William's name who snapped out of his trance.
"Huh?" William looked at Sakura. "Oh. Yes, Sakura?"
"How did your wife get killed by the English?" Sakura asked William again.
"I'd rather not say...," William stated in a monotone voice while thinking of Murron.
"O... K... well, can you tell us later?" Naruto questioned.
"Sure. I'll tell you another time, though," William said. "Anyway, now that you know a little bit more about me, what's your background?"
Then the expression on Naruto's face turned solemn.
"Hey. What's wrong, Naruto?" William asked, concerned for his teammate.
Naruto began to sigh and looked at William.
"William? Have you ever heard of something called the Nine-Tailed-Fox?" Naruto asked.
William blinked in confusion.
"No."
"Well, almost seventeen years ago, I was born with something called the Nine-Tailed-Fox, also known as the Kyubi named Kurama, who attacked Konoha, and killed many people. In fact, William, I know what it's like to lose your family," Naruto replied.
"You do?" William asked curiously.
"Yes. All my life, I grew up with no parents or siblings. People would shun me because the monster inside me killed their loved ones. I felt isolated. However, my teacher, Iruka Umino, thought of me as if I was his own son. The Nine-Tailed-Fox killed his parents, and I felt pretty awful and guilty for that. But eventually, I met Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, and they grew to accept me for who and what I was – a jinchuriki, or in other words, a host of a tailed beast," Naruto voiced.
William put his left hand on Naruto's left shoulder.
"Naruto."
Naruto looked at William.
"Yes, William?"
"Listen. I bet you're probably thinking that now that I know that you have a beast inside of you, that I'm probably going to shun you like everybody else, right?" William asked.
Naruto nodded his head slowly.
"Don't worry. I'm not like those people who called you a monster. In fact, if the people back in Konoha were still making fun of you, then I'd defend you. Believe me, I would," William responded with a serious look on his face.
At that moment, Naruto imagined William standing up to the villagers back in Konoha who made fun of Naruto.
In Naruto's imagination...
Naruto imagined himself as a twelve-year-old again sitting on a swing looking sad.
"Hey. Look. It's that kid again," one mother said.
"He shouldn't even be here. He's not one of us," one father said.
One of the parents (a man) walked up to Naruto and grabbed his collar.
"Hey! Freak! Why don't you get out of here and kill yourself?! Nobody likes you, so beat it!"
The parent punched Naruto on the face which made him land on the ground.
"Well? Are you going to run like the little coward you are?! Go on! Scram!" the father screamed.
"Wait!" came the voice of William, which made everyone (including Naruto) turn around to look at him.
"And who are you?" the father who was beating up Naruto asked.
"I'm William Wallace, and I suggest you leave that boy alone right now!" William shouted.
"Ha! It's none of your business! Now get out of here, you mongrel! This boy has nothing to do with you, so stay out of it!" one of the mothers yelled.
William clenched his fists in anger.
"What gives you the right to criticize a child like him just because he's different from all of you?!"
The villagers got quiet.
"There's a difference between us. You all think that just because you live in this village, you can make fun of this boy, right? Well, you're wrong. You think that you exist to mock someone who's not like you. I think that instead of you ostracizing him, you should show him a little more respect," William looked at Naruto. "And I go to make sure that he has it."
William held out his hand fot Naruto to hold it, and the two of them walked away from the village, leaving everyone stunned by William's words.
Out of Naruto's imagination...
Tears formed in Naruto's eyes.
"Hey. What's wrong, Naruto?" William asked.
"It's just that... I began to imagine of what it would have been like if you were there to defend me from those villagers who shunned me. I'm so glad to have such great friends like you, Sakura, Kakashi, my other friends back in Konoha, and the rest of the Scots here in Scotland," Naruto, who was overwhelmed with tears of happiness, hugged William who returned the hug. "Oh, William. I'm so glad that you understand, and that you accept me for who I am. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Naruto. From this day on, the four of us will be best friends forever, no matter what," William said with a smile as the two of them stopped hugging one another. "So. Anyway, tell me about this Sasuke guy. What's he like?"
Although Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi didn't want to tell William about how Sasuke betrayed Konoha, instead they talked about Sasuke's personality. Sakura put a finger on a chin, and thought of Sasuke while saying:
"Well... he is kind of like you, William. Except you're a little nicer than him. However, like you, he can also be pretty serious at times."
"Yeah. Sometimes he can be a real jerk. Back when he lived in Konoha, Sasuke and I used to be great buddies. That is, until one day...," Naruto said, remembering his fight with Sasuke at the Valley Of The End, and of how he couldn't stop and save Sasuke from going to Orochimaru.
"What happened?" William asked.
"I... don't want to talk about it," Naruto answered.
"Oh. Okay," William shrugged his shoulders, and looked at the fireplace. "Come on," he stood up. "We should be getting back to the camp. Everyone's probably concerned about our whereabouts. Let's go."
"Right," Sakura stood up along with Naruto and Kakashi, and the quartet left the house.
As Naruto, Sakura, William and Kakashi got on their horses, Naruto spoke.
"William?"
William looked at Naruto.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Thanks for taking us to your hometown. Promise us we'll come here again with you."
William smiled.
"Don't worry. I promise."
With that, the quartet left Elderslie and went back to William's camp.
While they were on their way there, Naruto asked William:
"Oh yeah. Hey, William. There's one thing I wanted to ask you."
"What is it?" William wondered.
"What does "Alba gu brath" mean?"
"It means "Scotland forever." William responded.
"Oh," Naruto understood.
Three days later, on September 15, the Scots, Naruto and Sakura celebrated Kakashi's 31st birthday, and almost a month and five days after that, they celebrated Naruto's 17th birthday, which was on October 10.
(Note: Okay, I know I'm a day late, but Happy Birthday, Naruto. His birthday was on October 10. This was yet another fun chapter to write (which took me two days to write), because I wanted to focus on Naruto's past. Also, when I was writing a little bit about William's childhood, I actually had to go by both the movie, and at the part where he was educated at Paisley Abbey (even though that part was never shown in the movie, but in that one scene where when William and Murron are sitting on a mountain, he did mention that his uncle took him on a pilgrimage to Rome). Anyway, William is kind of a fun character to write as I'm writing this fanfic, because not only is he an interesting character and person (since he was a real person), but I notice that his personality is somewhat similar to Sasuke. Only except William would never betray Scotland, unlike Sasuke who betrayed Konoha as he (Sasuke) went to Orochimaru in order for Sasuke to get his revenge on Itachi for killing the Uchiha Clan. Now, originally, when William tells Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura about how he saw the Scottish nobles being hanged when he went in that barn during his childhood, I was going to save it for when he talks to Isabelle after meeting her for the first time. But I thought William would explain it to Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura, and then later on like in "Braveheart," he'd (William) explain it to Isabelle. You know, because it is part of his past. Oh, and the part where William is defending Naruto, on the line where he says, "There's a difference between us. You think that you exist to mock someone who's not like you. I think that instead of you ostracizing him, you give him a little more respect. And I go to make sure that he has it." is kind of a reference to the line that William says in "Braveheart" to the Scottish nobles, which I'll put in the next chapter. Also, I'm thinking that from now on, instead of me referring to William's army as the Scottish, I'll refer to them as the Scots because it's shorter. P.S. Before I end this chapter, I thought I'd give a birthday message to Naruto from William, Sakura, Kakashi and the rest of the Scots. Take it away.
Sakura: Happy Birthday, Naruto!
Kakashi: Happy Birthday, Naruto.
William: Happy Birthday, Naruto. Remember: they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom! May all your dreams come true.
The Scots: Happy Birthday, Naruto!
(Note: Well, anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review, and stay tuned for Chapter 8! Hope you all enjoyed Chapter 7 as much as I did! Bye! :D)