Chapter 12: Interlude-What Comes After, Age 11
"Everyone thought that things were getting back to normal. They had no idea that normal didn't exist for me any more. Normal had been smashed on the rocks beneath the bridge."
― Cat Clarke, Undone
Naruto
'Ugh, my head is pounding!'
He rubs away grit from his eyes, studies the coming sunrise with hazy confusion. Outside the streets are quiet not yet alive with civilian and shinobi mingling about, fog in the distance rolls over the mountains soon to reach the village. The sky above is the same mix of buttery yellow to fiery red he's used to seeing every morning, owl hooting in the distance as the moon falls away.
It feels like he's been sleeping for hours, maybe even a whole day and yet he still feels a heavy grogginess encompassing him like he never slept at all.
'Weird. I didn't get put into some genjutsu or something, did I?' Naruto considers worriedly.
No, all the jutsus he had been studying yesterday had been physical in nature.
He thinks?
Unless he came upon a brand new one! Though if he did, he surely implemented it wrong if he's feeling like this.
His eyes slowly adjust to his surroundings to make sure he isn't somewhere new. Same room, same ramen boxes and laundry scattered about.
But in the pit of his chest he feels something is off.
And then he hears it, something sizzling coming from the kitchen.
Naruto instantly leaps from his bed. Crap, he must've left the oven on or one of the stovetops last night!
'No, no, no! If the fire alarms go off again that Old Hag Yukari may report me again to the landlord or Old Man Third!'
He isn't in the mood for either of their long-winded lectures, picking up the pace to get to his kitchen before smoke can slip out the windows or main doorway. There's a figure hovering by his stove that makes his eyes widen a fraction, too late to stop himself from running straight into spiky white hair.
'What the?!'
Naruto hurriedly jolts backwards, spits out strands of hair on his tongue taking in the man.
"Who are you? What're you doing in my kitchen?!" He sputters out, getting into a defensive position as the man slowly turns around.
"Making breakfast for us?" Jiraiya responds only further puzzling him.
Jiraiya simply cocks his head curiously, regarding Naruto up and down. He thought Sarutobi said he was going to be dealing with an adult Naruto, but nothing about the kid before him seems like a young man to him.
'He doesn't recognize me either.' Jiraiya notes suspiciously.
Unless he's feigning innocence, the Naruto before him now truly doesn't know who he is.
'It seems he and Hinata only behave that way for a day, still don't let your guard down.' Hiruzen words echo to mind. The Naruto he had apparently dealt with had been strong and fast enough to pin him down, could've easily truly harmed him if he had wanted too.
The Nine Tails didn't take him over; did it?
Naruto cautiously looks at the meats sizzling behind Jiraiya and he chuckles. There's an assortment of fruit, miso and beef soup, fried fish, onigiri, and tamagoyaki set out upon his table. No one's ever cooked so much food for him before, not even Teuchi! He wipes at trickle of drool, forces himself to focus.
'Okay, some weird old guy is in my house! If he's trying to capture me, I can use a smoke bomb maybe? Or the clone jutsu to throw him off!' He determines.
Except, he's terrible at both and it's clear this man will catch him if he tries to do any type of attack.
"Err, are you going to tell me who you are and why are you here cooking for me?" He can't help but question.
Jiraiya smiles. "You don't remember? I'm Jiraiya; your godparent. As for my cooking, well half the stuff in your fridge is expired kid, good thing I brought along some groceries or you might've gone and poisoned yourself."
He waits for some clarity to come to his cerulean eyes, but Naruto still looks utterly confused by why he's here. The 24 hours have passed, he's no longer the adult Sarutobi and the other jonin were apparently dealing with yesterday...
So leans back against his table and observes as wonder comes into Naruto's expression before clouding with wariness. He can't blame him for his reservations, the only people who normally come to check up on him since being born are Hiruzen or one his guards.
"...What?! Where have ya been all this time if you're my godparent?!" Naruto demands, pointing at him accusingly. It's his fault he's been alone this whole time? Surely if he's his godparent, then maybe he can actually explain to him what happened to his parents and why people keep such a wide berth around him no matter where he goes in the village.
"I'm a spy for the village. I keep tabs on any enemies Konoha has and report it back to the Hokage before any rogue shinobi can blend in with the civilian here." Jiraiya explains just enough.
Naruto blinks, excitement returning to his features in awe.
'Wow, he must know plenty of jutsu then; maybe he could train me!'
Jiraiya beams, pulls out his latest draft for his Make Out Paradise series.
"I'm also an author! I write a bit about my travels and experiences!"
Naruto barely spares a second glance to his papers.
"I don't care about any of that y'know! That just sounds like those boring books I see Ebisu-sensei reading during break sometimes."
Rude.
He shuffles the papers away, nods to a sealed envelope on the table.
"I'll pretend you didn't just call my books boring! You got a letter waiting for you on the table by the way." Jiraiya hmphs.
Naruto reluctantly glances to the envelop, there's no address on it, but the penmanship is familiar...
Like his own, albeit a bit neater.
He gazes back up to Jiraiya who nods encouragingly.
"Go ahead and open it kid, might clear up some of your confusion."
'And I'm curious to see if you can somehow break the seal when I couldn't.'
It has to have come from that alternate Naruto Sarutobi spoke of.
If it opens for him then it's proof a clear was seal placed upon the letter to ensure Naruto would be the first to read whatever it contained.
Hinata
Hinata bites her lip, palms sweaty at her sides. A migraine pulses at the sides of her head, no amount of tea has helped to lessen the throbbing ever since she's awoken.
Attendants have avoided meeting her gaze all morning for the most part, Natsu flashing her an uncomfortable smile when she asked if a wave of illness might've gone through the compound recently.
Even Neji doesn't stare as her as coldly as usual, puzzlement lighting his normally sharp pearl eyes.
"You were cool yesterday Big Sis!" Hanabi whispers in admiration as she passes her a plate of onigiri and Hinata forces a smile wishing she knew what exactly she did that brings such excitement to her features.
'I should try and get some more sleep, maybe that will help.'
But upon returning to her room to get extra rest, conversations linger in the hallways about her apparent change in behavior from yesterday.
A yesterday she can't recall...
'What are they talking about?' Hinata moves back into the shadows, neither attendant looking her way as they describe how easily she went toe to toe with both Neji and Father.
This girl they describe sounds nothing like her...
"So it was just a fluke? Her strength and abilities only lasted for one day?" A kitchen aide whispers, Himiko she thinks.
"Seems like it? It's too bad Lady Hinata seemed like she was showing true promise for once. She commanded attention and was able to knock Neji out in just a few blows." Hagama murmurs back, tapping his garden shears against his pants absently.
Hinata stiffens, decides to walk the long way to her room instead.
Surely she would remember beating Neji, the confidence to actually talk back to Father and fight him!
Her head dully thrums when she tries to recall, memories stuck in haze.
'Perhaps I was knocked out and that was the work of an imposter?'
Though why they anyone would want to make her look better to her family is a mystery. She doesn't interact much with her peers outside Academy hours and she won't officially be on a 3-man team until next year.
How many people saw this 'other' Hinata?
Did Naruto see her?
A blush burns at her face imagining his confusion at her sudden personality change or worse, disgust. He already thought of her as strange and quiet from overhearing one of his conversations with Kiba and Shikamaru, yesterday probably only cemented those thoughts.
She buries her head into her pillows trying not to picture hundreds of different scenarios, light poke to her shoulders forcing her to look up.
'Father?'
"Are you still feeling ill?" Hiashi questions, Hinata about to quickly shake her head only to feel bile skim the back of her throat. Her stomach tightens, punishment surely coming for whatever actions she did.
Her skin must grow pale because Hiashi sighs, leaning back from her.
"Lord Third said you would experience the memory loss again, though I was hoping it would stick this time. I don't know why you only show such promise and strength in bursts." He regards.
Hinata sits up slowly, fights the urge to burrow into her sheets from his piercing white orbs.
"Father, what...what exactly did I do yesterday? Why can't I remember any of it?"
Hiashi studies her for a long moment silently before his gaze roams towards the garden. Together they watch as white and pink hydrangeas come into bloom, marigolds and poppies unfurling in the coming sunshine. Hinata starts to consider he isn't going to give her an answer until he speaks again.
"Before you went to bed last night, you gave me a letter. You seemed hesitant at first to hand it over, knew it would be confusing come today. You couldn't fully explain the skills you had or how you got them in a way that satisfied me or the Elders. All you kept saying over and over was that you were from the future, time-leaping to different ages." He states, stare still focused on outside.
Hiashi looks back at her again, sees the fear and puzzlement swimming in her eyes.
This is the Hinata he knows, the girl who prefers the shadows over the spotlight.
'She's back to her usual self, when did she start to gain that confidence?'
Naruto.
Hinata gets married to him at some point, but telling her that may make her faint for hours to days and she's already panicking enough today as is.
He removes the envelop from his sleeves, passing it into her hands.
"Let that letter be a guide to you; hopefully it will clear up some answers you have." He grunts, pushing back to a standing position.
Hinata reaches for him, fingers slipping out of reach from his haori.
"W-Wait, please Father! I don't understand-"
"Just read that letter. I don't know how else to explain it to you." Hiashi asserts, cutting her off.
Hinata swallows, watches as he slips out of her room before peering back down the envelop.
'To Hinata.' She reads.
She recognizes the neat calligraphy as her own, carefully undoing the seal to read the opening statement.
Good Morning Hinata,
I know this morning you might've woken up feeling groggy, maybe scared or even confused. The last 24 hours might seem like you were stuck in a fog, trying to connect puzzle pieces that won't fit.
Heh, as I much I know this may make you freak out, Naruto and I have been time-leaping. It doesn't make sense and there's not enough ink or paper in Konoha or the world to explain this situation, but I just want you to know you're not crazy for feeling worried that you've lost your memories. When Naruto and I time leap, we get stuck in that age's body for the day, leaving you I assume to sleep unaware of what's happening. This is just a simple message to let you know everything will be okay. Naruto got a similar letter too; don't be afraid to talk to him!
Signed,
Hinata Uzumaki
Her fingers tremble taking in just the beginning; heartbeat rising in her ears to a frantic tempo. None of this answers her questions, if anything, it only tells her the one way to get to the truth.
Naruto; she needs to find him.
Naruto & Jiraiya
"This doesn't really clear anything up, you know!" Naruto gripes waving around the letter his apparent future self wrote.
Jiraiya sighs, pushing the note from his face.
"Did you actually read it Kid or get bored halfway through?" He counters.
Naruto pouts at his amused grin before huffing. "I did read it and I still don't fully understand! It talks about some device my future self is looking for to get to his right time period and family. He said Hinata will clear up my confusion, but I've never even talked to Hinata; who's that?!" He bemoans.
'Still maybe I need to take this older Naruto seriously. He knows all the secret spots I keep Gamachan to stop thieves! And he knows my worst grades, skills, and...my parents, no our parents.'
Everything nobody would tell him about.
Jiraiya rolls his eyes. Besides his looks, Naruto acts nothing like Minato.
He's Kushina's twin when it comes to personality on the other hand, observing as Naruto scours the letter once more before tangling his fingers through his blond locks once more.
It's confusing, exciting, and painful all at once as he reads over and over what sticks out.
'Dad was the Fourth Hokage and Mom was the previous jinchuriki holder...
'You should start training with Pervy-Sage! (The guy with long white hair, uses toads. He should be stopping by shortly if not already via Old Man Third's request.) Oh, and don't forget-
His gaze fall to the bottom, blinking feeling coils wrap around his chest.
'Hinata and I start a family, we're just trying to get back to our kids.'
Finally, Naruto's eyes land back upon him.
"Why...Why does it take this long for me to learn about my parents?! All Old Man Third told me was that they died in the Third Shinobi World War. But he never said just how important they were to the village! Dad became Hokage?! What is this beast inside that was in my Mom? Is that what killed her?" Naruto questions in rapid fire, rasp in his voice.
His breathing turns hard, catches his reflection in his glass only to see crimson instead of blue to his eyes...
Jiraiya bristles, nearly snatches the note from Naruto's hands only for him to abruptly step back.
"Whoa now Kid! Take it easy!" Jiraiya begins only for Naruto to growl out a no, teeth growing elongated.
'Shit. The fox's rage is taking over! I need to get control of this situation fast.'
"Wait, where does it say all that?!" Jiraiya prods forcing calm into his tone, reaching for the letter only for it to scald his fingers.
"It's at the bottom. You're my godparent; aren't you? Were you even going to tell me about this?" Naruto mutters, anger deflating some.
Tears prick his eyes he doesn't bother wiping away. If his apparent older self wanted to give him this rush of grief, joy, and pain, then it worked.
Jiraiya wrinkles at his stare, knows Naruto won't understand the complexities of village secrets and rogue shinobi who'd seek him out...
But he has to say something, better than whatever Sarutobi has put into his head.
Jiraiya wraps him in a half-hug, Naruto stiffening at his touch before relaxing into his hold.
He studies the note quietly as Naruto holds it back out to him, though words are a a jumble of blue and black ink to his eyes.
'The seal is stronger than I initially imagined.' Jiraiya realizes.
Whoever the fūinjutsu user was that wrote this letter made sure it catered strictly for Naruto's eyes only even just to open and see its contents.
Naruto straightens at Jiraiya's change in demeanor. Sees without him even speaking that everything in the letter rings true.
"Hinata. I should check in with her, you know!" He decides.
He begins to shoveling food in his mouth to get going, soup and rice clumping together in the back of his throat.
"Oi, chew properly Naruto! Honestly, I doubt the Hyuga are going to even be welcoming to you despite the circumstances." Jiraiya scolds, dark eyes turning contemplative.
Naruto stops midway in biting into his omelet.
"Why wouldn't they? If what my older self said is true, then our clans are going to come together via the children Hinata and I have together."
Jiraiya pauses in awe, he has a point.
Naruto picks at his food with his chopsticks the more he dwells on it. The Hyuga are the ones with those weird eyes that remind him of the moon he briefly recalls. Hinata is maybe that girl who always stutters when Iruka-sensei calls on her to answer a question, who always turns a cherry red whenever he manages to catch her staring at him.
'Well, that means she isn't a Sasuke fan-girl like Sakura or Ino if she picked me!' He tries to perk himself up.
A sudden thought strikes him, tries to recall the last time he caught Hinata watching him.
It'd been the afternoon Iruka-sensei broke them into partners to review hand jutsus, signals to give in cases of emergencies during a mission.
"Break into groups of 2 everyone; use your neighboring if need be! We'll be going over every basic hand sign and codes to use to make sure your opponent or enemy can't figure out your plans!" Iruka announces.
Naruto sighs, hears the frosty muttering of Ami's disgust she may be paired with him.
"No way am I pairing with the Dead Last. I'd rather take an F."
He's heard variations of his so often, maybe he should skip class again despite Old Man Third's reprimands he needs the basics to become a truly great shinobi.
To become Hokage one day.
But for today he just feels the breeze of Ami's midnight locks as rushes past him to get to Sasuke.
A flood of girls from the first and second rows are already way ahead of her.
Guess he'll do this lesson alone.
Again.
"Umm." A soft voice squeaks to his right where Ami just sat.
Naruto cocks his head in confusion, cobalt orbs flickering between her and a series of eyes observing them.
Great. Has she been set up to prank him or something?
"Yeah?What do you want? " He states harsher than usual.
Hinata's cheeks bloom red, shuffling with her fingers. Her voice comes out soft, Naruto straining to hear her.
"I well, umm well I was...I was wondering if you still needed a partner for Iruka-sensei's assignment." She blurts out in a rush.
Naruto scoffs, he's not going to fall for this.
"Nope, got it handled on my own, y'know!" He answers dryly.
Hinata's shoulders droop, nodding.
"Oh, okay." She whispers, Naruto ignoring the way his stomach clenches seeing her pure white eyes cloud.
"She was just joking with me, right?" Naruto questions himself.
There was no other reason for her to come and ask him of all people.
Ah, so that day she wasn't trying to trick him.
Naruto & Hinata
"Hormones kicking in, huh? Jiraiya teases with a nudge.
The weather has turned humid, light wind barely cooling them as they enter the marketplace, vendors and civilian shuffling about. Sunlight casts long shadows along colorful fruits imported from Kusagakure's fields, brighten displays of flowers, spices, and weaponry on sale.
"What? No, geez is your mind truly is always in the gutter! Do you have to make everything perverted?!" Naruto hisses.
His future self warned him, but this is worse than he thought.
And Jiraiya has shamelessly already forgotten his existence as his attention turns to a pair of twins looking over a set of shuriken and kunai. A leery grin rises up, gives Naruto a 1 minute signal.
"Ooh, it's not often I see twins around here! Double the bust size and fun!" He snickers.
"What about finding Hinata?!" Naruto demands before his voice gets swallowed by the noise.
Jiraiya shrugs, half looking to him and then the twins before they can walk off to another stand.
"She has the byakugan surely! She may find you first Kid!"
And then he's off.
Naruto rubs at his head to stop a headache from forming, turning to go the opposite way.
At least Gamachan is safely protected from his clutches!
He strolls along what's nicknamed spice street, feels glares on him hotter than the sun as shop owners avoid his eye or shuffles their goods out of his reach or view. He wishes there was a cloud nearby to block him somehow, a sudden rainfall that would obscure him from their stares.
Old Man Third said to ignore it, but that's easy for him to say when he's greeted with smiles and discounts.
"Naruto?"
The voice comes from his left and just like Pervy-Sage assumed, Hinata is weaving her way through the crowds towards him.
She grabs his arm boldly keeping him rooted in place, mouth going dry realizing in his gaze what both of their mornings must've been like. Slowly, she unfurls her grip upon him, cheeks burning all over again realizing her hastiness.
"Ah, s-sorry! I didn't mean to just grab you like that!" She hurriedly apologizes.
Naruto shakes his head, mouth suddenly dry.
Neither speaks, words escaping them.
"Hinata, hey! Did you get a strange letter too?" Naruto starts cautiously.
Goosebumps erupt across her skin, nodding slowly.
"From your future self; right?"
Naruto brightens, relief pouring in realizing he isn't alone in this.
"Yes! It's confusing; right?! I don't even understand half the things our apparent older selves were talking about, though I have to assume that I do get like super strong if it was enough to make Pervy-Sage and Old Man Third wary of my power!" He beams.
Even Sasuke must crumple before the strength he'll gain!
"P-Pervy-Sage? Who's that?" Hinata questions making Naruto's smile dampen.
He rubs his chin thoughtfully, there's no positive way to spin Jiraiya's behavior to Hinata especially when he's probably currently away in some brothel or club wasting away ryo.
"A dirty old man who just happens to be my Godfather." Naruto decides after thinking it over for a moment.
Hinata's brows furrow at the description, giggle escaping her lips before she can help it.
"That's quite a err unique way to describe your family!"
The opposite of the known steel and iciness that the Hyuga clan is associated with.
Despite what sounds to be like a colorful past, it's clear from the brightness in Naruto's expression that he's played a positive role in his life in a short amount of time. Naruto interlaces their hands nervously, Hinata feeling her face flush meeting his gaze.
"Pervy-Sage is family, but ah, so are you Hinata! At least we will be down the line! And...And that's okay with you; right?" Naruto questions, words tumbling together. Hinata smiles, thumbs rubbing at the inside of his sweating palms. It's rare to see this uncertainty, to see the boy normally so bright and confident fidgeting and tongue-tied to find the right words.
"Yes, we're in this together." Hinata confirms.
Naruto squeezes her hands a bit tighter, sees what his future self probably took to long to notice. Sunlight makes her eyes iridescent, glow to her cheeks that seems reserved for him alone.
But then from behind he sees a dark figure shuffle backwards deeper into the forests.
'We're being watched.' He frowns.
And the weight of this gaze is different from anyone else he's come across today.
It's sharper; colder.
Naruto & Hinata- Age 23
"Pool time, Pool time!" Boruto sings aloud while running in circles between Naruto and Hinata.
"Boruto, please hold Papa's hand. And stop running or you'll trip and hurt yourself!" Hinata instructs while keeping a hold on Himawari as she begins to wiggle. The sunflower bathing suit fits her perfectly, though she rather as well be trying to swaddle Hima with the way she fidgets, tiny fingers trying to tug at the petal decorations and straps.
"I can hold her Hinata, maybe you should grab Boruto's hand." Naruto suggests.
Hinata passes Himawari over who takes to playing with his hair.
"Bah!" Himawari babbles, Naruto wincing as her fist grabs onto his front locks.
'I forgot how strong of a grip she has when she wants something!' Naruto recalls too late, blue eyes glimmering with excitement.
"Papa's hair isn't a toy Hima!" Naruto murmurs, making a clone to search for her favorite panda, frog, and penguin plushies.
Hinata meanwhile watches from the corner of her eye as sapphire orbs brighten with mischief, Boruto's mind rushing to a new idea.
"I know! I can walk to the pool by myself!" He beams.
"No!" Naruto and Hinata order in unison making him instantly pout and cross his arms.
"Hurry up! What if all the hamburgers are gone by the time we get there!" He bemoans.
Naruto holds in a laugh at Hinata's nudge. There's far worse scenarios he can think of.
Whatever patience he had in getting ready is quickly running out.
"I don't know how we're going to gather information with him all jumpy like this y'know." Naruto mutters as they finally head out. The weather indeed makes it a nice day to go the pool, no clouds in sight leaving the sun to bear down on them.
Hinata sighs, half-smile forming as Boruto swings his arm up and down and into zigzag patterns. They have a chance today to communicate with Shikamaru, Sakura, and potentially even Sasuke if he's coming along to this party as well.
One of them will have information on Kabuto and Katasuke Tōno's connection.
"We'll think of something." Naruto promises as lightly leans her head against his shoulder.
They always do.
-x-
It was nice to write this chapter from Naruto and Hinata's younger selves perspectives after their future selves leave! Back into the main storyline and fleshing out Naruto and Hinata's plans for getting back to their correct bodies and time period coming up!
Let me know your thoughts as always!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!