A New Frontier

by Wickerstein

The strong devour the weak. That has always remained a fundamental law of nature. To think otherwise is farcical. For no matter what, there will always be a winner and a loser.

2. Fire II

Disclaimer: All respective characters and settings belong to their respective franchises.

---

"Alright, Hiashi," Sarutobi began, "let's hear it."

The blinding rays of morn filtered into the Hokage's office as two men were staring each other down, creating a fitting ambiance. Their respective auras were at tepid levels, but unflinching, the shadows of the room failing to betray the ANBU on guard in case tensions turned.

Hyūga Hiashi was standing in the middle before their village leader, arms crossed. He was boring into the elderly shinobi with an unreadable face, though Sarutobi could tell what was behind the facade, having known the man long enough to read him. A handsome, middle-aged man with dark hair that fell down to his waist, he was a pristine image of dignity to all but the keenest of observers.

The two had been nothing but silent for a good ten minutes since their meeting began, but Sarutobi relented that this matter needed to be resolved, his duties needed elsewhere. This only being the start of his already contesting work hours.

"Are you not going to explain yourself?"

It was a question that he already knew the answer to, but to hear it from the man's mouth would give him further incentive to not revoke the clan's privileges from the insubordination. His authority had been challenged, so there were consequences that required meting out for the one that bore the responsibility.

Hiashi was nothing but the perfect image of stoicism, still as an unmoving statue. Combined with his white irises that gave off an unwavering stare, the mere sight of him would have unnerved a lesser man.

"Right," Sarutobi rapped his fingers against his desk, "the hard way, then."

"It was for the good of the Hyūga Clan."

Sarutobi wished the man hadn't said those very words after finding his voice.

"Three of your finest clansmen - dead, torn apart, mangled beyond recognition - by a traitor working for Orochimaru, who may or may not be in possession of valuable information on your heir, is for the good of your clan?"

"Our intent was to do away with Mizuki under our own terms," Hiashi explained unabashedly. "To secure the clan's interests cleanly and swiftly."

Sarutobi's fingers stilled, rendering the room utterly silent. The Hyūga were a clan that; out of all the others in Konohagakure no Sato after the Uchiha were all but decimated, saw themselves as above village politics when they saw fit to act on their own behalf. For their own interests where their Kekkei Genkai was concerned, they were prepared to do virtually anything to protect it.

Not without reason, though, and for that, he sometimes wondered if they were worse than the Uchiha in that regard. Independence laced with no shortage of arrogance.

"Forgive me if my propensity for irony isn't as refined as yours." Hiashi resumed his silence. "Had you cooperated, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Worst case scenario;" Sarutobi chuckled sardonically, "and I'll get to you on that soon, but a coordinated effort would have yielded better results. Would it have turned out the same? Casualties are unavoidable, we both know that, but even a fraction of success would have made all the difference."

Hiashi didn't buckle. "It was put to a vote by our council of elders."

"Who I have had more than enough of in all my years of being acquainted with," the older man almost spat. "This was none of your call to make, Hiashi. Do you even understand the situation you've placed us in? Yourselves in?"

"What else would you have had me do?" Hiashi finally cracked a small scowl.

"Anything else short of just giving away clan secrets like party favors," Sarutobi rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'd like to think I'm a reasonable man, and I am when I'm at my best. Otherwise," he takes a breath, "I do what I must for the sake of the village."

Sarutobi had grown numb to using that justification, in no small part thanks to a certain individual.

He massaged his left temple, turning away from the Clan Head. "Have you seen the report?"

Hiashi, to his credit, responded with, "Yes."

"Parts of them were missing."

"I wouldn't worry about that," the Hyūga Head assured. "The seal ensures that the Byakūgan (White Eye) is destroyed upon the bearer's death. Mizuki would get nothing from extracting samples."

"Do not underestimate Orochimaru's ingenuity, Hiashi," he wanted to slap the man for such a dismissal. If anyone was capable of milking every bit of knowledge they could from even a single cell, it would be the snake. "We all know his hunger for power will reach for any source that interests him. He yearned for the Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye), he won't refuse an opportunity with the Byakūgan."

"What are your terms, then?"

"Unless Mizuki is found, expulsion from the council and all the privileges afforded to your clan," Sarutobi took another breath. "Your children becoming wards of the state."

"I need time."

"Very well. Dismissed."

Nothing else needed to be said between them, but as he was about to take his leave, the esteemed Head of the Hyūga Clan leveled a glance at his leader.

"I was outvoted."

The man who had earned the epithet 'God of Shinobi' from his years of impeccable, admirable service to his village and the Fire Country deflated in his chair as soon as the man exited the door.

Damn them.

They couldn't have devised a better trap. No, that was wrong. They could outdo themselves, if they were feeling especially sadistic to twist the knife in further.

Personally, he would have given Hiashi all the time and chances needed to make amends, but without his ultimatum to hang over the man's head, his peers would take note of this as weakness, failure at doling out the necessary consequences.

Pushing his authority than he needed to would sow dissent within the Hyūga Clan, and the very last thing he and everyone else who wasn't actively plotting against him needed was a repeat of the Uchiha Incident. He could count on Hiashi as being loyal, but his position left him vulnerable.

A slave as much to the clan's traditions as his brother had been, and Hiashi knew it.

Then, there was the window of time that they needed to capitalize on before all was lost, and Konoha would be weakened further, opening the likelihood for their enemies gaining ground before war could even be on the table.

Orochimaru and his old friend were anticipating his every move, and the former was no doubt enjoying every second Sarutobi was writhing to his venomous tune, while the latter was always waiting for him to trip.

---

Meanwhile…

Nara Shikamaru was what any person who didn't know him would call at first glance unmotivated, lethargic, lazy, with any self-respecting shinobi family finding the classifications shameful, worthy of being disowned.

Over a year ago, he had no problem telling anyone who asked that only his mother cared about such distinctions, save for the disowning part.

Maybe.

The woman would yell at him for the usual report card he dropped at her feet, all low marks, while his father would sit quietly to enjoy his sake after a day's work. He'd just lounge on the floor, barely listening, letting his mind wander still in the clouds.

When he was free, he'd spend a good clear day watching the sky with Choji if they weren't training, as little as they could accomplish.

There were times his mother would pull at his ear to attend to the deer; those horns weren't going to harvest themselves. Put together, it became formulaic, repetitive, boring.

Troublesome.

Near the end of his third year at the Academy, he was ready to call it quits. He had stopped caring. He had become sick of the monotony and wanted a way out, or a change in scenery. A career path that deviated.

Looking back, had he told his parents that he wanted to drop out and see if he could pursue other callings, his mother would have lost it, and he'd find himself with a sore ego and an even sorer ear.

Over a year and half ago, this started to change.

The motivation could be credited to the one person he least expected would inspire it.

Uzumaki Naruto.

The one most qualified to be 'Dead Last' over him. It wasn't what one could call a direct act of sorts. More of an accident.

---

A year and half ago…

It was after school, and his mother had ordered him to buy some potatoes from the market for her medicinal curry that day. Troublesome, as always. He wanted to take a nap after not getting nearly enough of it during class due to another one of Naruto's antics, cutting into everyone's valuable time and patience.

With that said, of all the people he had to run into, it had to be him.

Buying fruit, of all things.

'Attempting', would have been more apt. Based on what he, and everyone else in their class knew about him, he mostly subsisted on a diet of ramen, both instant and prepared by the local shop, Ichiraku. He could say that it wasn't exactly…too bad of a meal, but Shikamaru couldn't in good conscience call it healthy in everyday consumption. Knowing what he did now, it was because the resident class clown couldn't afford anything else.

So, it was unusual for the young Uzumaki to be seen at the marketplace, carrying a plastic bag of…what he could vaguely tell was produce and other kinds of food that were in varying degrees of rotting.

Not at all shy to pry, he approached the blonde.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto whirred to face him. He in turn took note of how…peckish he seemed, taking better stock of his appearance. He hadn't cared to notice it in class earlier that day, but after getting a closer inspection of the other boy now, his cheeks and eyes were sunken in, the rest of his form trembling from starvation. Did his classmate always look this underfed?

"Hey Shikamaru," he waved in greeting, his grin a little too strained.

Shikamaru onced him over again to be sure that it was the same mischievous and hyperactive kid. "Buying food?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "You?"

"Same thing," the young Nara grumbled. "It's always something with that woman."

"What woman?"

"Who else? My old lady," he shrugged. "You ever get that from someone, Naruto?"

Naruto stared at him for a moment, a subtle shift in his demeanor, scoffing. "I wish."

The young Nara opted for something more discreet as he accompanied the blonde heading for another stand. "Buying condiments to top your ramen?"

This drew a chuckle from Naruto, but it sounded subdued. "Nah, no ramen for now. Or tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" Shikamaru wondered inwardly if this was an enemy shinobi infiltrating the village.

His classmate shrugged. "It's not like I eat ramen that constantly. I sometimes buy meat and bread. Milk that isn't too close to expiring if I'm lucky. I'm still a growing boy, after all. Ramen's just cheaper."

"Don't you ever eat rice?" Shikamaru asked. Did he? He had to have been getting other sources of carbs.

"Sure I do, just…" Naruto's visage fell, a bit miffed at how he was failing to hide his discomfort. "I just don't get to that often for budget reasons. Plus, it takes too long to cook."

"No, it doesn't," Shikamaru refuted. "Rice isn't even that expensive. Ten grams ought to cover you for about a month."

Naruto would have replied had he not garnered the owner's notice, used to the stink eye directed his way. "Hey, old man, an apple and an orange."

He locked gazes with the man intensely, half expecting to be shooed away like the other vendors had done. He wasn't so much as fazed when the man pointed him to a pile reserved for fruit that was plainly spoiling. Shikamaru stood by as Naruto thanked him, proceeding to sift for what was still close to being remotely fresh.

He was thrown off his task when the man started to yell out, "Tch, stop, don't do that! I still have other customers. You trying to clean me out of my good stock?"

This irked the blonde, "Come on, not this again. You've got a lot. I only need one each."

"Bah! That's one too many already. Here." Slackjawed, Shikamaru watched with no shortage of bafflement as the man picked out and shoved two of the most rotten fruits into the other boy's hands. "Now, pay up."

The Nara heir was about to give this hustler a piece of his mind when Naruto erupted. "Give me something fresher, you stingy geezer!"

The loud noise drew in stares from the surrounding crowd, with Shikamaru darting to and fro across the gaggle of market goers who resumed with their business; with a few rolling their eyes, while others kept their sights glued to the scene and were…smirking?

"What? You want me to add in some caviar with that? Be lucky I'm giving you anything at all. I'm trying to run a business here."

To Shikamaru's watchful gaze, Naruto looked like he had been struggling to bottle up his emotions for the duration of being in the market, and that this was the final straw that broke the camel's back out of all the slop he forced himself to accept without complaint.

"I just want one of each!" the child protested, swinging a fist down. "Just. One!"

"Bah! Do you have any idea how fortunate you already are? You've got some nerve, you greedy little fox!" That seemed to set off alarm bells in the man. Shikamaru could have sworn that one second, the guy was as red as the tomatoes. The next, all color seemed to drain from him the moment the last word escaped his mouth. He swept his gaze over the crowd once again, watching as they dispersed, placing a noticeable gap between them.

Squirming like an overexcited chicken, the pallid man cleared his throat, a sheen of sweat starting to glisten off his forehead. "F-Fine, take the freshest you can find and pay up. Make it snappy!"

Naruto felt like just throwing the rotten fruit back at the asshole's face, but had calmed down enough to accept. He picked out the freshest out of the pile, and gave the money he owed. Counting the amount, the man clenched the payment within his hand to form a tight fist, as if he was begrudged to even receive anything from the boy.

"What's with that look?" Naruto was glowering at him, and Shikamaru took note that the vendor had become nervous, his earlier swagger diminished, his eyes shifting back and forth. "Remember what I told you the last time you were here? Never look a gift horse in the mouth, brat! You're lucky you got anything at all. Now, scram!"

Minutes later, the two were walking down the street in the direction of the slums, with Shikamaru deciding to follow and lag behind for a while.

"How can you stand it?"

The lad in front ground to a halt, back still facing him.

"I don't," Naruto's head tilted to the side, "I'm just used to it."

"Same thing," Shikamaru argued, earning a light scoff. He then plucked a potato out of his bag. "Here, you can have-"

"I don't need it!" Naruto snapped curtly, gesturing towards his own bought goods. "I'm fine with this."

"No, you're not. Those bananas you got are darker than the burnt toast I had this morning. I can practically smell them from here."

"What the hell else am I supposed to eat?!" Shikamaru had never heard Naruto raise his voice in such a manner in the years he's known him. He usually expressed himself in fruitless boasts and pranks.

He almost went with ramen, but Shikamaru had a good feeling that that'd be unwise.

"Troublesome." He pondered to himself what to do, and for this, he didn't need to have a second thought. "Come on."

"What?" Naruto felt a tug on the sleeve of his jacket, and before he knew it, he was hollering like a monkey for Shikamaru to let go of him.

His protests got louder when they arrived at the Nara compound, in the wealthier side of the village. "What are we doing here?!"

"To shut you up." As soon as the clan heir opened the gate, he pulled Naruto in, deterring him from sneaking away. "My mom's making curry tonight, and we're gonna need an extra mouth."

"You're joking," Naruto was beside himself with disbelief. Being invited, or rather, abducted by someone; a clan heir no less, to have dinner with him and his family. This had to be a prank that rivaled all of his own put together, or delirium brought about by his hunger-addled mind.

"Don't make me regret this," Shikamaru grumbled as he opened the door, ignoring the looks from some of his clansmen that they passed by. "Ma, I'm home."

"About time, I thought you were out dawdling again and-" she blinked her eyes wide when she drank in the sight of her son and…his guest, and to her concerns, it was one she recognized all too well. "What manner of tomfoolery did you get yourself into this time?"

Her son scoffed. "Figured I'd invite someone else other than Choji for dinner. You won't have to prepare that many extra portions, so be thankful."

"Thankful? For-" she paused to spare the boy a glance, who had failed to move from the doorway, embarrassed as his gaze became stuck to the floor. "For being rude to leave your guest gawking at nothing? Bring him in, you lout!"

"You heard her, and take off your sandals," he beckoned his classmate inside. Naruto still felt like he was imposing, much less intruding. Shikamaru gave him an exasperated look that reminded him not to be an embarrassment. For both their sake. Reluctantly, the blonde removed his sandals without placing them on the rack where he should have.

Mother and son didn't even bother reprimand him when he failed to bow or display any etiquette, betraying his lack of proper upbringing. The matriarch of the Nara clan sized the child up, and could hardly believe this was Kushina's boy, his gait and appearance indicative that he was starving.

She didn't need to say anything else as she headed for the kitchen, checking to see if they had enough for a fourth. Shikamaru led Naruto to their dining room and insisted that he sit down.

Naruto couldn't ignore a sense of foreboding that he didn't belong here. It was cleaner, more orderly, and lacked that smell his place had. It must have been written on his face, because Shikamaru bothered him with a conversation.

"Don't get used to this. It's only because I couldn't leave you alone after what happened back there."

The other boy took the offered motive in stride with barely a nod, eyes glued to the table.

"When was the last time you ate anyway?" he asked, and had to tap the boy on the shoulder again to urge a response.

"Last night," Naruto mumbled.

"You idiot, you mean to tell me you didn't even eat lunch?" Shikamaru admonished him, resting his cheek on his palm.

"Had to," the young Uzumaki reasoned, "I wouldn't have had money to buy groceries." Reminded of this, Naruto felt around for his plastic bag.

"I had it thrown out."

"You what?!" Naruto snapped, breaking to his feet, the rage back at the market boiling up again. "After all I did to get that much?"

"Either you eat some of that garbage and get a stomach ache 'till next week, or you shovel some real food into that mouth of yours," Shikamaru drawled, yawning. "I could care less what you think."

Naruto simmered in his anger. He knew it. He knew this was just a trick to make him suffer. Shikamaru was like all the rest. He should have just run back to his place and…ate that rotting banana, that mulching lettuce, and…and…

He plopped back down on the floor, finally giving up. What the hell was he even doing here?

As if to answer him, or maybe not, the door opened, and in came a man that uncannily bore a resemblance to the young Nara, or was it the other way around?

"Hey, old man," Shikamaru greeted his father.

Shikaku gave his son the usual fatherly grin, then turned to Naruto, shuffling apprehensively to a vacant side of the table, as if his appearance had frightened the lad. He took careful stock of the boy, Minato's son and their village's Jinchūriki. Like his wife, he could see for himself how malnourished he looked.

"So, I hear Shikamaru invited you for dinner with us," the clan head started casually. "What brought this on?"

"I bring Choji around and you never ask," his son deflected, causing the patriarch to bark out a guffaw.

"I'll give you that," Shikaku acceded, turning to the blonde next. "So, Naruto, I hope my boy didn't give you any trouble."

Naruto flinched, frantically avoiding eye contact with the man as he sputtered, "N-No, he-I was-I-"

"Easy there, son. Relax, you're fine here. It's just that it isn't everyday Shikamaru brings over someone else other than Choji. Who knew my boy was getting more popular?" Shikaku held down the disgust he felt with another hearty laugh. Not towards the Uzumaki, but for the people he knew were persecuting him, leading to what he was witnessing now.

Shikamaru mockingly mimicked his father, muttering his annoyance. "Yeah, popular."

Dinner was served shortly, and true to what Shikamaru had told him, they had enough to accommodate four. Or, they hoped they did. He voraciously polished his first plate, and was merciless on his second. By the third, they were beginning to think that Naruto had some Akimichi in him.

To Naruto, the curry was like nectar sprinkled with ambrosia, a gift from the heavens to sate his battered soul. Every bite, every undulation of his jaw, the smell, the taste, the mouthfeel of the rice, it was like he hadn't lived until now. He was oblivious to the tears that trailed down his cheeks while he ate, the three Nara looking on in sympathetic astonishment.

"So, Naruto," Shikaku began, stirring his meal with his spoon, "Shikamaru tells me that you're quite the troublemaker in school."

He winced when he felt a kick to his shin, catching his wife throwing him a look as she ate at a calmer pace.

Naruto swallowed a mouthful of his curry rice. "Uh…y-yeah."

"Heh, me and the guys used to get into our own brand of mischief back in the day." Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his father's tale. "Me, Choza and Inoichi, did all kinds of crazy sh-" there was that kick again, "-fun, driving the teachers crazy. We were at the best time of our lives, feeling like kings that ruled the Academy."

"You looked pretty kingly after me and the girls beat you morons up for peeking under our skirts," Yoshino, his wife, reminisced coyly.

"Gee, dad, no wonder you married mom," Shikamaru teased his parents, earning a bop on the head for his troubles. From both.

Naruto watched the interaction blankly, drearily unused to this…familial atmosphere.

"Would you like some more, Naruto?" Yoshino interrupted his train of thought, offering him more rice and curry.

His tears had subsided, the tracks mixed with his sweat courtesy of the curry's spiciness. Before they ate, Yoshino made the young man remove his jacket and goggles, leaving him in only his gray shirt and pants.

"Uh, th-thank you," Naruto struggled to say, the words sounding foreign to his tongue. The only people he had ever thanked sincerely for food his whole life were Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. The duo who ran Ichiraku Ramen.

"How are you doing at the Academy?" Yoshino asked as she was shoveling another helping of rice onto his plate.

"Huh?" Naruto paused, his stomach twisting into a knot, and he knew that it wasn't from the curry.

"Your performance in school," she reiterated, putting him on the block. "My Shikamaru? Can't even get his grades up, the bum. Never studies, too. No matter how hard I try to drill it into his head, he doesn't listen, and just blows me off to go hang out with Choza's boy."

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru grumbled, taking one big spoonful from his plate to stuff into his mouth.

"Don't give me that lip, you punk," Yoshino spat at him. "One day, I expect you to be the dignified head of the Nara clan. Not some vagrant lying around all day doing nothing."

"I'd be fine with an office job," Shikamaru declared.

Shikaku snorted, "If being a desk jockey is what you want, the Hokage is always welcoming for some schmuck to take a load off his paperwork."

"Lazy old man," Shikamaru muttered.

"Finish school before you have any gall to call others lazy, much less the Hokage," Yoshino bopped her son on the head again.

"I…" the three Nara, as if suddenly remembering that they had a guest, threw their undivided attention at the young Uzumaki. "I'm not doing so hot in school, either. I'm probably worse than Shikamaru."

Yoshino huffed, "I find that hard to believe."

"N-No, I'm definitely doing worse than him," Naruto affirmed, flushed. "The last time we sparred, he kicked my ass."

"What makes a shinobi is more than just the physical aspects," Yoshino explained to refute the belief. "They have to possess the knowhow to calculate where their kunai will land, how to search for openings in an enemy's defenses, formulate the best strategies, and how to navigate through politics. The greatest men in history didn't build this village's prosperity by measuring each other's di-"

"What my wife is trying to convey, Naruto," Shikaku shot her a look in retaliation for those kicks, "is that a shinobi's worth isn't always judged by their strength alone, but their skill, ingenuity, their intelligence. A single soldier who can perform their duty reliably is worth more than a hundred men, and if a hundred can do their own part just as reliably, they're worth more than a thousand, and so on. Unlike the samurai in Iron Country, we shinobi thrive best in being cunning. As such, you have plenty of room to improve. Just study."

Naruto hesitated to answer, but was nonetheless awed by the man's speech, "That's what our teacher told me. The studying part, I mean."

"Umino, right?" The Nara patriarch knew him to be a good man. Unremarkable, but adequate for an academy instructor and chūnin. "Well, he's correct. You both need to study in order to improve. Nothing will come from doing nothing. At least in my son's case," he grinned at said son scoffing, "but for you, I can tell you still haven't explored your potential. Who knows? Maybe you two are just late bloomers. Work hard and put in the effort, and I have no doubt the difference will astound you."

"Wow, dad, do you do that kind of motivational speaking to the other Jōnin whenever they're down in the dumps?" Shikamaru snarked, earning another bop from his mother. "Quit it!"

Naruto felt like he had just swallowed a bucket of ice water in one gulp, terribly unused to this…sensation. "I'll…I'll see what I can do, sir."

"None of that 'sir' business. Outside of work, Shikaku-san or Nara-san is fine," he smiled at him, and almost wanted to find the scum abusing his former superior's son then and there when he saw the boy shrink away from his gaze.

The meal went on in relative silence, with little words exchanged. When Naruto offered to do the dishes, Yoshino opted that they do it together to finish faster.

Once done, Naruto was given a bag filled with fresher vegetables, fruits and bread. The Nara family, ever the gracious hosts, showed him to the gate.

"You fine on your own?" Shikamaru asked, drawing a nod.

"Yeah. I've been out at night since I was six, and nobody ever gave me too much trouble." The keywords 'too much', that both Shikaku and Yoshino caught.

"I can walk you home," Shikamaru offered.

"Thanks, but I don't want to give anybody the wrong idea about us," Naruto grinned at him, and funnily enough, Shikamaru took the remark in stride, glad the blonde got back some of his pep to talk shit.

"Moron," the Nara heir grinned back, then waved a farewell as his maybe-or-maybe-not friend strode away.

When Naruto vanished into the darkness, Shikamaru went inside first. Unbeknownst to their son, his parents had a little banter of their own.

"Shikaku," Yoshino gave her husband a look, which he silently acknowledged. "For how much longer?"

"Hopefully, when he turns sixteen," the Jōnin Commander answered, scratching the back of his head, the pit of guilt in his stomach gnawing at him. "By then, I'm fully prepared for whatever he decides to do."

Yoshino's face fell, unable to do anything but be patient and believe in her husband's words, inwardly asking for Kushina's forgiveness wherever she may be.

---

Present…

Shikamaru tapped his foot as he leaned against the wall next to their compound's gate, arms folded behind his head. Ever since that day and the night after, he came to reflect on his own life. He was fortunate that he had a home, a family, and a social life that wasn't too barren; since he didn't like to waste his time caring about what others thought.

Yet, it was because of catching a glimpse into what Naruto's life was like outside the Academy that he started to truly contemplate what he was doing with himself, and maybe for the foreseeable future. He still enjoyed being lazy from time to time, but compared to how he was now, he had made gainly improvements by taking his father's advice to heart, added by his mother nearly beating the crap out of him in a last ditch fit of desperation to properly motivate him. He was still subpar in his taijutsu, but that could be alleviated with practice. He just needed a partner.

What? Like he said, this wasn't charity, and Naruto was fine with it that way. Made it less shallow. Better for this to be a mutually beneficial endeavor than some handout.

His father's words that night still resonated with him.

'Nothing will come from doing nothing.'

Speaking of, he caught a glimpse of orange heading his way. For today, he half expected his classmate to forget bringing anything, but to his mild surprise, he canvassed a burlap sack that the Uzumaki was lugging over his shoulder.

"I knew you'd be late," Shikamaru chided, and he was. By about five minutes. A yawn from the boy told him everything he needed to know.

"This is all I got," Naruto declared, letting the comment slide. He swung the sack off his person and rummaged through the contents after fanning it open.

The items presented were the standard textbooks, but two were noticeably missing when he brought out his equipment next. The heir of clan Nara let his shoulders sag upon seeing how poorly maintained Naruto's kunai were, as if he just left them lying around his apartment. Some were barely usable because of the uneven weight distribution, picking one up and giving it a whirl. Others were a combination of chipped, dull and/or rusty. Honestly, the only ones that stepped up to quality standards were a meager handful.

Unlike the textbooks, which were oddly pristine, with a visible layer of dust gathered on the covers.

Naruto closed his eyes as he yawned again, still poking around in the sack, allowing a stray kunai he missed to nick his finger.

Shikamaru watched with lifeless eyes in poignant realization as Naruto sucked on the injured appendage.

Later…

Naruto strode down the trail leading back to his apartment, the hour after three in the afternoon being the time they finished the study and training session. A limp in his step, he was still reeling from Shikamaru sinking his elbow into his fibula during their first spar of the day, his kick not landing at an area that could have left the Nara heir stunned. The soreness of his muscles told him that this was going to be his routine for the coming weeks, but he hammered down any real complaint from escaping his throat.

"I'm going to graduate, I'm going to graduate, I'm going to graduate, I'm going to graduate…" he kept repeating the mantra mentally, using the pain as proof that he was making progress.

Finding himself in the business district, he detoured to the weapon shops.

"Buy yourself new weapons. I don't want to hear it. Just show them this, and they'll have to accommodate you. Fair bit of warning, don't use this to buy anything else, because the last thing my old man needs is for the merchant guild to give him a headache."

He dug a hand into his pocket for what Shikamaru gave to him before he left the compound. It was a wooden plaque in the shape of a convex polygon. Etched in the center was the Nara Clan symbol. Naruto was unsure if this was going to provide him the service he needed, but he hadn't been let down yet.

Picking one at random, he sauntered into the bare open shop, only to be immediately met with opposition from the owner, brandishing a broom to swing at him that he didn't get a chance to show him the plaque.

He went to another, but was met with similar hostility. For the third, he made sure to have the plaque already splayed out in front of him, but the owner only laughed in his face and threw him out.

Moving on ahead to the fourth and last shop at the very far end of the street, he thought he heard something from behind, only for a quick peek to reap nothing. On this, he shrugged, chalking it up to his imagination.

Speaking of, ever since waking up this morning, he hadn't experienced any genjutsu attacks. Strange, but not unwelcome, giving him more leeway to focus on Shikamaru tutoring him. What made it peculiar was that he hadn't had any sort of 'off' day since the visions started. Was it a sign of his luck turning around, perhaps? He wasn't willing to get his hopes up. For all he knew, the bastards behind it were simply coming up with new ways to mess with his head.

Arriving at the shop, his brows flattened in disappointment upon seeing the doors chained shut with a placard that read, "Closed: Owner Out".

Looking up, he read the sign containing large black characters; "Emporium Kagura".

Unable to do anything about it, he figured tomorrow would yield a better opportunity. He was just about to go on his way home, when he was brought to a halt by the owner of the third shop who ran out of his establishment to beckon him over, much to his bewilderment.

He…apologized, if Naruto could even call it that, clear as crystal that he was forcing it out with a strained grin, sweat trickling down his temple. Confused, the young man once again showed the plaque to him, and almost jumped out of his own skin when the man practically pounced on the ground to go down on his knees begging him to have anything in his shop. At half price.

"Uh…all I need are five regulation kuna-"

"Done!"

The man snappily handed him a box, which was a standard Academy set filled with five kunai and five shuriken. He nearly balked at the price tag; 800 ryō.

"But-"

"Half price!" The jittery owner didn't give him time to say anything else, hastily snatching the 500 ryō coin from the boy's enclosed palm and replacing it with a 100. "Anything else?!"

The baffled young man blinked, giving an utterly perplexed, "...no?"

"Good! Haveanicedayandcomeagainsoon!"

He had no idea how he got back into the street with his bounty safely tucked in his burlap sack, but he figured nothing else weird could possibly happen today.

This speculation was drowned to death when he spotted two familiar figures heading his way, one with flower pink hair that went down from her shoulders and sea green eyes, with a fair complexion that made him feel weak in the knees.

And, Ino.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" he called out to her, running up to the duo.

Two things happened simultaneously at that instant.

The girl known as Sakura beheld him like he was an especially persistent vagrant begging her for money after she just gave him some already. Ino, on the other hand, ogled at him in equal parts pity and…concern?

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sakura asked with a scowl, immediately regretting asking him that when he shined her with his trademark goofy smile.

"Just wondering what you're doing here."

"Why?" Sakura's brow twitched, already knowing what the thorn on her side was going to say.

"'Cuz if you're free, I was thinking we could-"

"Goodbye."

"Wait!" Naruto pleaded, intercepting her shoving past him. "I wasn't asking for a date."

"Let me guess," Sakura heaved a breath, "you want to go together for ramen."

The enamored blonde retreated shyly, stepping back. "Well, sure, if you want."

"There's only one problem with that, Naruto."

"Yeah, what?"

Sakura propped both hands on her hips, balled into fists, and said with a firm tone, "I don't want to eat ramen, nor am I even remotely hungry for anything right now."

"Uh, okay? Naruto conceded simply. "Maybe later?"

"No," Sakura shook her head, the scowl she was sporting never leaving her face that Ino knew anyone else would have understood brooked for no argument, "you are not getting it. Not 'later'. Nor, tomorrow. Nor, the day after that, or even the end of the whole damn month. Buzz off and leave me alone."

Not wanting to give up, Naruto slid in front of the girl's advancing form once more. "Come on, I just want to hang out. Is that so wrong?"

Ino slapped her forehead, while a vein popped on Sakura's own, jaw clenched, letting her arms drop and tightening her fists.

Wrong? Sakura was only too willing to show him why it was just that.

"You're really asking for it, huh?"

Ino had to admit, if Naruto could be any more pathetic than he normally was, it was whenever he was in front of Haruno Sakura. Why? For the life of her, she could never tell, but while she had been just as crazy over Sasuke as the next girl, she at least knew when to take a hint.

"Oh, I am," Naruto naively agreed. "I'm always up for hanging ou-"

A hard fist traveled at breakneck speed to connect squarely to his cheek, cutting him off harshly and sending him sprawling to the ground. His sack unceremoniously landed next to him, spilling its contents.

Sakura didn't even wait for him to recover before marching off, leaving Ino behind, who made no moves to follow. To her credit, the Yamanaka heiress hadn't been asking for too much drama to come her way, but this was just everyday pedestrian fare for her. This was Naruto after all.

She inwardly sighed as she watched with resigned disappointment the other blonde pick himself up and proceed to gather his scattered things.

"You really don't know when to quit her, do you?" she pointed out as she stepped up to him.

Naruto rubbed the red sore that was forming and winced from a sharp pang. "You know me. Comes with the package." He then curled the hand that touched the bruise into a fist. "Uzumaki Naruto is no quitter!"

Ino visibly cringed, her arms folded under her chest. "I don't even want to waste time convincing you why it'll never work out."

"I know," Naruto agreed.

"So, why do you keep trying?" Ino had her mouth set to a frown.

"... you haven't given up on Sasuke."

"I have."

This made Naruto stiffen, lifting his head up to gawk at her. "Excuse me?"

It was the equivalent of having just heard that he was the long lost grandson of the Hokage. She had to be bullshitting him.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes."

"You just answered with a straight face."

"Yes."

"Can you not do that?"

"No."

Naruto went back to his task. "After singing Sasuke's praises every other day, you expect me to take you seriously?"

"For crying out loud, Naruto, if anyone's more obsessed with Sasuke than I'll ever be, it's Sakura," Ino shook her head. "I'm not even kidding. Compared to how you're head over heels for her, it's like you guys were cut from the same cloth."

"Yeah," Naruto wasn't that blind. He had seen how much Sakura would fawn over the young Uchiha like he was the only one in her world. It was frustrating because some tiny inkling of him wanted to give up on her.

"But, things could change, right? If you can get over him, why not her?"

It was clinging to false hope, she of all knew, Ino swiftly regretting mentioning her discarded interest in the Uchiha. "Whatever. Anyway, what's with the sack? Up to another one of your pranks?"

"No, no pranking," Naruto stood up, lugging the sack over his shoulder with a grunt. "Just got back from being tutored by Shikamaru."

Ino gasped, "No way! Absolutely no way is that true. Come on, get real with me."

"Ask him yourself, non-believer, for I, Uzumaki Naruto, am well on my way to redeeming my place within the ranks of Konoha's elite!"

He broke into a scowl at her gasping laughter. "Maybe in your dreams. You? An elite? I know what an elite is. My pedigree speaks for itself," she flicked a lock of her sun bleached tresses, "and you, good sir, are no elite. You don't even hold a candle to be my sandal bearer."

Naruto arched a brow at her. "You have a sandal bearer?"

"No," Ino shot him a smug smile, "but it's all the same that I can make such a claim and not be called out on it 9 out of 10. That is the very gap in our class. You simply can't compa-and you're ignoring me now. Wait!"

For whatever reason, Ino tagged along with him, passing by street after street. When he came to the market district, he quickened his pace, a slew of bad memories resurfacing.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?" Ino called out from behind, catching up to him.

"Nothing!" Naruto internally cursed when his response came out louder than he wanted. "Why are you still following me?"

"I do what I want, kamaboko breath," Ino harrumphed, sticking her tongue out at him, "besides, you're heading to where I want to go, so there."

"That reminds me. What were you even doing with Sakura?"

"We just happened to bump into each other. She was buying new material to help her review for her own evaluation, while it's not any of your business where I'm going."

Naruto sighed, praying that this day couldn't get any more tedious.

"Hey guys!"

Following the voice, the two spied Choji heading their way, carrying two large and full bags of groceries.

"Hey yourself, Choji," Ino greeted back, "doing errands for your mom?"

"Yep," the Akimichi nodded, "mama's cooking a feast tonight."

"When doesn't she?" Ino shot him a grin.

"Oh, but this time, it's an occasion," Choji tittered happily. "I passed my evaluation!"

Naruto's jaw went slack. "Say what?!"

"That's right," the Akimichi confirmed, oblivious to Naruto's shock. "I was fourth on the list. I passed just barely, but my results were good enough that I'll be returned to a regular class once everything's done with."

"Congratulations, Choji," Ino praised. "Mine will be by next week, but since it's yours truly, I'll ace it and be back where I belong. With all the beautiful people."

Choji didn't quite get the gist of the metaphor, but wished the Yamanaka heiress luck all the same.

"Hang on, so when will Shikamaru's be?" Naruto asked anxiously, fearing the answer.

"At the start of next month, duh," Ino informed him, "the order of the list goes from highest to lowest. Shikamaru may have rebounded in the second semester last year, but they're basing it on our overall performance records. What? Afraid after Shikamaru's done with his, he'll drop your sorry ass?"

Naruto went pale. "Uh, n-no. I mean, by then I'll be fine to study on my own, so-"

"You don't have to worry about that, Naruto," Choji chimed in, assuaging the blonde. "Shikamaru won't back out from helping you. He'll stick by you through thick and thin. I should know. Hey! Maybe I should come and join you guys."

"Choji, you do know the rules, right? No leaks. You'll all be expelled if you're caught," Ino warned.

At the mention of the word, 'expelled', all of Naruto's alarm bells rang off. "That's okay, Choji, we'll be fine on our own."

"I know that," Choji waved away the concern. "Of course I'm not gonna leak information. I'll just help you guys with what I can provide. Like an extra sparring partner."

Naruto wanted to refuse, but seeing Choji's disarmingly cheerful face, he decided to accept. What harm could it do? Could it be any worse than the alternative?

"Well, if it ain't Whiskers."

The young Uzumaki went still.

"What's with the sack? Finally leaving Konoha? Good. The trash is taking itself out for a change."

Ino and Choji frowned when they caught sight of a chubby boy with brown hair done in a bun, wearing a gray haori over a black kimono. Black oval spectacles adorned his eyes, which only complimented the sneer he was throwing their way, or more specifically, at Naruto. Accompanying him were two other boys that were dressed just as smartly, tagging them as being from other well-off families.

"What are you doing here, Iwasaki?" Ino asked curtly.

Iwasaki Kanda was the son of a local merchant. Given this, it was apparent to even those fortunate enough to not know him personally that he was an arrogant lad, with no qualms about flaunting his status and clout amongst those he saw as beneath him.

That being said, that was as far as his credentials went, ending with him knowing not to mess with the children belonging to the greater clans lest he and his father found themselves 'inconvenienced'.

Incidentally, he was free to do whatever he wished to one Uzumaki Naruto, whom he saw as being the lowest of the low.

Refusing to give Kanda the satisfaction, Naruto didn't turn to face him, but remained glued to his spot. He didn't fail to notice Ino and Choji inch closer to flank him, as if protectively.

"Just got done being tutored by my uncle, who's a veteran chūnin," Kanda boasted, his jeering gaze lingering on the orange eyesore before whipping to Ino. "What have you been doing?"

If looks could kill, the Yamanaka heiress' glare, sharper than any dagger, immediately extinguished the flirtatious leer he sent her way.

Kanda quickly schooled his features, flipping back to his favorite target. "What's the holdup, Whiskers? Forgot to walk? Go on and leave already. This village could use one less burden and even less a deadweight."

Choji glanced at Naruto over his shoulder, who kept his silence, unmoving. "Naruto isn't leaving, Kanda. He just got back from being tutored, too."

"Really?" Kanda looked genuinely taken aback, a disbelieving cock of his brow. "No way! Him? The clanless orphan?"

"Do be more tactful, Iwasaki," Ino lightly scolded the boy, belying the outrage she felt at the low blow. Choji felt the same, but the outward smile on his face remained fixed.

"That's gotta be a joke," Kanda kept going, "'cuz if it is, it's barely funny. What's the punchline? That he's being taught wrong?"

"No, Kanda," Ino refuted. "The criminal that was our former instructor, Mizuki, already did plenty of that."

"Heh, then he was doing everyone else a favor," Kanda defended the nuke-nin, folding his arms over his puffed chest. "Sucked that he did it to other chumps, but with Naruto, he was never wrong."

Ino didn't deign to dignify him with a reply. Instead, Choji filled in for her.

"What he did was wrong. That's not how a teacher should be."

"Give me a break, Akimichi. Naruto's dumb and worthless. He'll never amount to anything, nor make the cut to genin, so yeah, Mizuki was doing great until he got caught. Might have even got Whiskers to drop out."

The sneer from earlier turned vicious. "Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you! Didn't your mother ever teach you proper manners? Oh, that's right; orphan, almost forgot."

That was where Ino wanted this to stop, but before she could get another word in, Kanda's crony by his left; Kōza, grinned devilishly.

"I know where she is," he exclaimed, hand raised like he was volunteering for recitation.

"Really, Kōza? Where?" Kanda egged him on knowingly.

Hearing this, Naruto couldn't refrain his head from tilting in their direction, but kept his features neutral.

"At the red light district. One of her customers knocked her up," Kōza announced shamelessly. "My dad told me!"

"You hear that, Naruto?" Kanda cheered mockingly, hands spread out. "Kōza just did you a favor. Now, you can reunite with your whore of a mom and your shitty dad, and you can all be one-" A fist connecting to his cheek killed the rest of his statement, courtesy of the kid to his right.

"Wha-" Kōza started in shock, catching the other kid winding his arm back. "Ichiro, what the hell?!

'Ichiro' gave him a smile and a wink, then a punch squarely between the eyes, knocking Kōza out cold. The next thing anyone knew as a crowd gathered, Ichiro was scratching the crown of his head, wondering why his two friends were lying unconscious on the ground.

While that was happening, the trio snuck away from the scene quietly after Ino regained her bearings. None of them made so much as a peep as they meandered their way to the adjacent street, suburban houses lining each side.

"You didn't have to do that," Naruto mumbled.

The young Yamanaka clicked her tongue. "Like I told you, I do what I want." Her expression turned dour. "You didn't have to take that from them."

"I'm used to it."

"Naruto-"

"Does that always happen?" Ino glanced at Choji after he cut her off. "I heard from Shikamaru what happened months ago at the market, and…do you always deal with that?"

"What happened, Choji? Why wasn't I told of this?"

The Akimichi pouted guiltily. "We didn't think it'd be that important after Shikamaru helped him out. I wanted to, but I ended up thinking the same."

Choji recalled as much of what Shikamaru told him of what transpired between Naruto and the fruit seller.

Neither of the heirs could claim they knew the exact reason why the young Uzumaki was often at the end of such oppression. At first, the easiest assumption was that it was a natural consequence of his mischief-making. What was unusual, though, whenever they received glimpses into their classmate's life were the incredibly numerous range of people who; in varying degrees, disliked and outright despised him through actions, word of mouth, etc. Rumor can spread of such a reputation, but for him to be denied service, or worse, driven out like one would a stray animal, was already stretching it. As if he had done some heinous crime that went beyond just pranking.

From adults most of all, no less, while many of their peers often operated under example. They themselves were told since they could remember to keep their distance from him. If they were curious as was natural to children at that age, any questions they had that ranged from innocuous to intuitive were dismissed, or given vague answers.

Perhaps it was tied to Naruto's family? His parents? It was foolish, if not, totally pointless. What good was making someone's child pay for any presumed wrongdoing if they weren't even around to witness it? They weren't naive to how people could be, since their parents saw fit to teach them all they needed in order to better operate as shinobi for their foreseeable careers. One didn't survive in their world by being oblivious to such signs.

The Yamanaka especially were adept in studying the human psyche, behavior and emotions for the proliferation of their clan jutsu. To Ino, Naruto was a case study of someone whose life went beyond the parameters of what could be considered 'normal', even for a shinobi.

"I told you, I'm used to it."

"Well, you shouldn't be!" Ino slipped in front of the lad unexpectedly, blocking his path. "That isn't normal, Naruto. People aren't always nice or agreeable with one another, that's for sure, but your situation is just a step too far. Do you even know why?"

Naruto looked at her like she had just grown a second head. "If I did, you think I'd have known by now? What's it matter to you? Since when did you care?"

"Since I had the decency to give Kanda and his goons nothing less than what they deserved," Ino leaned forward so that she was just inches apart from his face, rendering Naruto dumbstruck. "Don't get the wrong idea here, but even I couldn't stand what he was saying. Somebody had to put them in their place."

Naruto blinked a few times, body arched back from how much Ino was looming over him more for every word she said, until she realized what she was doing and snapped back to straighten her posture, clearing her throat with flushed cheeks.

"What Ino is trying to say, Naruto, is that she sees you as a friend," Choji declared helpfully.

"Choji!"

The Akimichi heir had been smiling tenderly at the exchange the two had, and could tell that Ino did care more than she wanted to admit.

Her fair cheeks darkened a deeper shade of crimson, sputtering, "Y-Yeah, right. As if I could be friends with this loser. My reputation would be in shambles. Besides, he might end up clinging to me like he does Sakura."

"Huh?" Naruto's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Ino massaged the bridge of her nose. Might as well get this off her chest. "Naruto, what do you see in Sakura?"

"Again with this?"

"Just do this one thing for me, and I'll never ask again. Deal?"

Naruto stared at her. "... are you-"

"If you say I'm jealous, I will break every bone in your body so that you can't even drink through a straw," Ino murmured with raw killing intent, intimidating both Naruto and Choji to take a few steps back in retreat. "Just. Answer. My. Question."

Shaking like a leaf, but no less able to do as she demanded, he relented and began with, "She's pretty?"

"What else?" Ino said in a tone equally as dry as her expression became at that admission. What was she? Third runner-up for Miss Konoha?

Naruto's brows scrunched deeper, contemplative. "She's smart?"

"And?"

"W-What else…is there?" he wondered aloud, befuddled. That's when it occurred to him.

What else was there?

"What has she ever done for you?"

"Oh?" Naruto blinked, thinking to himself again. "Well, she…"

"She, what?" the heiress egged him on.

"She…"

Ino folded her arms, tapping her foot against the dirt road not so patiently. "I'm waiting."

To Naruto's growing unease, he…couldn't think or recall any act; recent or otherwise, from Sakura that he could deem positive. Every time he so much as looked at her with a lovestruck daze, she'd frown back, escape his notice, and once used a Kawarimi (Substitution) to get away from him.

And, of course, her tried and true deterrent - a punch to the face.

The layers surrounding the source of his feelings for Sakura ebbed away as Ino observed his body language.

Eventually, Naruto struck gold. "I got it. It was during our First Year. Well, to me it was my second since being held back, but I remember that she was a lot nicer to me."

On her end, it was as if Ino had an epiphany of her own. "There we go."

"There we go, what?"

"That's why you like her."

"Because she was nice to me?"

Ino nodded. "How did you feel back then? Can you remember?"

This was getting a bit tedious to him, honestly, but he answered all the same with a shrug, "Good, I guess. Where are you even going with this?"

"That feeling you had from her being nice to you. Let me take a guess. After getting a taste of what you rarely felt as a child; that being positive attention, you decided you wanted more of it, and imprinted into yourself that you 'like' her in a bid to gain more."

"Uh, yeah, that's what I said. I like her," Naruto pronounced, knitting his brows in befuddled frustration where Ino was getting to.

"That's where you've got it wrong. That crush you have on her," Ino pointed at him for emphasis. "It isn't something borne out of genuine affection, but from something you lacked a lot from when you were younger."

"What are you saying? That my feelings for her are fake?" his nostrils flared slightly, the grip around his sack tightening.

"You're fond of her, that much is true," Ino shrugged. "But, your feelings for her stop right there. What you want is a repeat of what you felt back then. What you don't always-"

"Stop!" Naruto spat at her, getting ready to leave. "I don't need to hear this."

"Yes, you do."

"What, because Sasuke doesn't like you back, you wanna ruin what I have for Sakura, too?"

Unfazed, Ino pushed on. "Naruto, what you want from her isn't something that'll make either of you happy. That's not what you could even call love. It's…emotional validation. That you want someone to acknowledge you in a positive light. Telling you what you want to hear, doing what you want for them to make you feel good about yourself."

"Isn't that what love is supposed to be?"

"No, it's not," Ino retorted.

"Yes, it is!"

"Do you even know Sakura that well?"

"Sure, I do!"

"What's her favorite color?"

"Pink!"

Ino shook her head. "Red. Do you know her favorite food?"

At this, he was stumped. "Uh…"

"Anko Dumplings in syrup. Her hobbies?"

"R-Reading?" he answered carefully.

"Close. She likes playing crossword puzzles."

"... Seriously?"

"I know, I know," Ino mumbled dismissively. "So, tell me, do you know anything else about her? At all?"

Naruto clicked his tongue stubbornly. "Whatever! I'll sweat the details eventually. What matters is that I do love-like…whatever. I, of all people, should know how I feel!"

"It isn't as simple as that."

"Yes, it is!" he maintained insistently.

"I'm not going to argue with you on what you have no real clue on."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Choji's face fell. "Naruto, Ino's just-"

"What?! Helping me?! Bullshit!" The now enraged boy was seeing red, glaring dangerously at the Yamanaka heiress. "You think you know everything there is to know, huh? Here's what I know! Unlike me, you - both of you - have families, friends, people who've always cared about you, cooked you good food, taught you right from wrong, telling you that they love you! While I never had any of that!"

All he had were caretakers whose job it was to look after him, and that was it. Never did they ever extend anything close to what he had always been missing. What he had craved ever since he came to feel the first morsel of positive emotion he could grab onto.

"No, that's…I like Sakura. I just do, not for anything else. Isn't that…love enough?!"

Naruto wasn't certain when he had run back to his apartment, but the next coherent thing he took in was standing by the front of his door. Without a pause, he barged in and rammed it shut, bathing in the dim lighting of his lonely home.

Minutes earlier…

"Did you have to tell him all that, Ino?" Choji bemoaned, staring worriedly in the direction Naruto had run off to.

Ino didn't say a word as she did too at the wake of Naruto's departure. She felt guilty that she did, but didn't at all regret that she told him what he needed to hear, not what he wanted.

"It's better that he wakes up to reality, Choji."

"Still, though."

"I know, but it's better that he understands sooner than later. He's not going to survive believing things will always happen the way he wants them to."

"Like you and Sasuke?" Choji asked challengingly.

He expected her to lash back, but instead, Ino simply smiled at him wanly. "Come on! Sasuke's hot, smart and rich. What girl wouldn't be head over heels?" She ambled past the boy. "But, that was before…I saw…that side of him."

Choji became puzzled. "That side of him?" he echoed. "Why? What do you mean?"

Ino could never forget that day, the memory still fresh, when she happened upon Sasuke training by himself in a secluded section of the forest in Konoha. She had been ordered by her father to search for a rare flower that was cultivated by the Yamanaka Clan in a secret location, held as a test for their clansmen to be taught the basics of their clan jutsu by finding said flower and presenting it to the Head, and only the Head.

To her delight, she chanced upon the flower and the Uchiha, like a sign of fate favoring her. To her building horror, however, the clearing that the two of them were in was soon engulfed in a hail of kunai, with the flower; which incidentally was in the pathway of one by hanging off a tree, shredded to pieces. Every blade struck true at a target that was positioned in strategic angles surrounding the Uchiha. It was a feat that both amazed and frightened her.

Not because it had happened so fast, or that it was done by someone at such a young age where experienced chūnin could barely pull it off, but her spine had gone ice cold with terror from the dark killing intent that briefly saturated the ozone, like a shot that rang through the air. She broke into a cold sweat, her fight and flight instincts awakened.

She didn't dare go near, her feet melded to the ground as Sasuke; who likely knew she was there, left without so much as a care.

It had taken her until midnight, but she found another flower to give to her father, who could tell that something was amiss. Nevertheless, he was proud and relieved that his daughter had not only passed his test, but returned home safely, taking her into his arms to comfort and congratulate.

She never did tell him what could have left her so shaken, but he understood that it was hers to tell alone, thus, why she was recounting it now to Choji.

"If I ever do find the man of my dreams, it won't be Sasuke."

Would still be a hoot to mess with Sakura on it, though. Whether or not their broken friendship will repair itself overtime remained to be seen, but the pettiness of it had been haunting her for allowing it to go on for this long.

With her final remarks made, she bid Choji farewell, going their separate ways. Him, back to his house where he was anticipating their celebratory feast. Her, to a customer that wanted to have her order of hydrangeas replaced because of allergies with one of her relatives.

Later that night…

Naruto had lost track of how long he had been stuck in bed, under the covers, still in his wardrobe. The lights were out, abstaining from his afternoon and evening rituals after he had abruptly arrived in a fit.

His lifeless gaze drank in the light of the moon as it painted a portion of his room that led to the door, his memories of today hazy, the lessons he and Shikamaru had reviewed becoming obscure.

He had enough.

No more.

This was where he was done.

It didn't matter anymore, since whatever he did, he'll always fail. The worst part about it was his disgust with himself for wanting to give up.

Uzumaki Naruto is no quitter!

He bit into his bottom lip, hard enough that he almost drew blood, but stopped when the pain snapped him out of his funk a little. He slowly sat up, letting the blanket slide down to his waist.

What was he doing? That's right. He wasn't a quitter. He shouldn't - couldn't - let this get him down.

He shook away the cobwebs fogging his mind, deciding that he needed a distraction. He figured it was as good a time as any.

Regret filled him as he made his way to the computer in his living room, an apology forming in his chest at his outburst against two of the only people besides Shikamaru and Iruka who didn't think he was a diseased animal that needed to be kicked out of the village.

It made him feel stupid, more than how he did when he allowed Mizuki to manipulate him.

He found his new computer sitting in the living room where he had left it, finding the need of a desk superfluous for now, content with sitting on the floor. Turning it on, he patiently watched the PC boot up. As he did so, Naruto's eyes wandered and landed on top of the CPU, the hunk of plastic still resting on it. He recalled what Tsubasa had requested for him to do, taking hold of the hunk of plastic and curiously inspecting it. This thing was stopped to store data?

He pursed his lips, taking off his goggles, which he neglected to do since having arrived home, letting the blood circulate. Absently, he thrust the drive forward to the monitor, waiting for what he was told would happen, eyeing the dot for any reaction.

Nothing. No lights, no beeping, just a seemingly useless hunk of plastic. He let out an exasperated grunt as the computer was done booting, seeing the familiar white screen with a yellow…circle? Now that he looked at it again more closely, it resembled more of a sun, or a crown.

He grabbed the mouse and tapped the button with his index finger, rolling his eyes when he remembered that he didn't have any other games installed…except.

Checking the time, it was already 10:56.

Hmm, he could probably punch it in.

"Digimon Frontier, huh?"

He clicked the blue icon and waited, only to be blocked with the same pop-up.

D-SCANNER REQUIRED

"Stupid old man."

He hammered the mouse with a few clicks at random, hoping it'd allow him access to the game. When nothing still happened, he slammed the mouse lightly. Maybe he can scrounge up the money to buy something better. How much could they cost?

He let his eyes travel again, when his peripherals espied the drive that was still clasped in his left hand.

The dot was blinking.

Hang on, seriously? This was how he was gonna do it? Why didn't that weird old man make it clear to him?

Whatever, maybe it could get him to play this game. That'd be a plus.

He stuck the drive directly on the glass screen, and he spied the pop-up change.

D-SCANNER DETECTED

Alright, he was getting somewhere, but as he was about to expect the game to work, the monitor went black.

Brows furrowed in confusion, he waited for it to change. When a moment passed, he moved the mouse around the pad.

"Now what?" He hammered the mouse down against the pad a few times, thinking that would stimulate something. "If this thing is busted, I'm gonna find that old man and-"

His train of thought was interrupted when the monitor became active again, flashing, blinking, then a blurring static that flooded the entire screen. The computer didn't come with speakers, so Naruto was caught off guard when he started hearing noises directly from the machine.

W̴̥̲̠̻̜̑͌̓͋͛̃͂͂̔͝͠a̵̳̱͕̗͈̠̣͖͓͈̯̺̹͌̔͒̋͗͊͛̃̇͝ṙ̶̨̛̘͍̞͙͉̲̱̳̰̟͙̈́̌̈́͗́̿̆͊̉̉ř̸̨̪͔̟̮̻̠̜̈́̐̑͌̽̂̇͜͝į̵̟̤̰͇͕͇̰̫̯͙͋͂̈̃o̵̧͎̤̱̫̲̊̉͑͂̍́̾͠r̸̨̧̻̣̪̯̱̤̻͓̍͌̓̎̽̀̑̋̃̋͒̈́

̷̧̡̫̭̪͙̻̥͕̙̍̉͌͂̈́̕͝͠C̶͖̦̱̞̳̓̐́̀̈́̀͋̈́̿̕͘h̷̡̧̡͓̣̹̣̖͙͈͉͙̝͉͎̐̎̏̏̽̇͑̔͒͂̂̑̿̕ơ̵̺̟̬͕͂͒̀̑̾͊̉̿̅͊̈̓̕͠ͅş̵̮̫̰̦̫͎̒͆̈́̈̈́͠e̵̡̡̝̯͂̇̑̈́̌̈́̍ṉ̶̘̰͚̲̩̄̉͆̀̇̈̄͝

̴̧̛͍̼͈̥̹̪̗̌̈́͊́͒̽͆̕ͅD̷̹͈̱͇̥͙̬̼̻̯̩̅̅̎̆͝ȋ̴̹͈͙̯̺͖̼̫̞̫̥͇̬̮̾̅̋̾͘͝͝g̶̛̖̗͎͎̪͒̈̈́͛̑͒̈̆̒͆̃͝͝͝i̴̢̹̞̘̻̫͋ͅm̷̨̹̖̱͕̻͓̯̯̟͍͍̾ớ̶̧̛͈̻̠̲͈̯̪͇̭̲̲̪̫̌̇͒̈̋̈́͒̀̊͝ņ̷͍̖̣̭̳̫͙̬̦͎̂̀̂̈̏

He felt the noise cut off when a particularly loud spike of static assaulted his ears, causing him to cringe in pain. He couldn't rightly decipher what he had heard, but for some reason, it felt…nostalgic? Almost familiar. Like he had heard it before.

He closed his eyes when the screen then strobed in bright flashing colors so radiantly that the entire room was painted in a cavalcade of shades and hues, releasing both the drive and mouse to lift his arms to help shield him from the light show.

Finally, as suddenly as the strobing began, it all stopped.

Silence once again permeated his living room, the curled boy undulating his eyelids to peer at the computer. As if it was taunting him, the screen was back to normal, the yellow circle looking back at his foggy perception.

"What…the…?"

Blinking away the cobwebs, he whipped his gaze to and fro, adjusting his eyesight. Taking stock of the computer, he went about examining it to see if anything had become undone. He relaxed a little when the cursor could still be moved, then right clicked it to refresh. Next, the menu and everything else seemed to be in order.

He let out a passive breath; maybe it was still okay.

But…what was that?

Past his fizzled senses, his eyes traveled downward to the keyboard, and resting on it was…something. It had an ergonomic shape, curved on one end, with the other end flat. A small screen surrounded by a silver hexagonal border was located at the uppermost section by the flat end above two white circular buttons. The body was light in weight, black with the exception of the right side, which was fitted with a red grip. Naruto dragged a finger over the surface, discerning it to be a rubbery or silicon texture.

He languidly inspected the odd device, mesmerized as he flipped it over. Two gray sections were engraved on the upper right edge adjacent to each other from the screen, and across, a third button slightly larger than the other two.

"Where did this come from?"

The small screen abruptly lit up in the middle of his inspection, and believing another series of flashes was going to occur, dropped it near the monitor. That was when another pop-up appeared.

D-SCANNER DETECTED

ACCESS GRANTED

Naruto sat, transfixed to the screen owlishly. This thing was the D-Scanner? He carefully seized the queer device and studied it again, at a loss as to where it came from or how it landed in his possession. Wasn't this…wasn't this just the drive a minute ago?

What could have happened? How did it change? Great, just great. Could anything else get any weirder around him?

Not only was his day ruined, but now, his disappointment was immeasurable.

What else could possibly go wrong?

Would you like to start, or not?

YES

NO

"What now?" Naruto palmed his face when another pop-up in the same vein of the game appeared. No, duh. After that seizure attack waiting to happen, no way was he gonna bother with this glitch trap of a game. He'll just go and buy a new one. He won't even give a damn if it was the cheapest shit he could find. He was done. So, motherfucking, done.

He clicked YES.

"..."

Uzumaki Naruto-kun

The game to decide your future has started.

Wait, did this mean that he was actually going to play it? Huh, huge thanks for small favors. Even knew his-

"Huh? How did-"

Before he could make sense of anything else, a blinding light exploded from the screen and swallowed his entire line of sight, basking his surroundings in white.

"W-What the-?" He tightly closed his eyes shut and brought his arms up again when an odd sense of…weightlessness overcame him. "What the hell?!"

Not long after, the weightlessness escalated, as if some force was lifting him up into the air and caused his body to go ramrod, arms still coiled up protectively.

Blinking away the fog left by the flash, he witnessed through the narrow gap his surroundings shift. The ensuing sequence happened so quickly as the light coalesced within the circle on the screen, warping into a sort of tunnel that began to draw him in closer.

He tried to resist, but the effort proved fruitless, feeling his body contract, bend and stretch like elastic.

He was being sucked in.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

Naruto's harrowing scream left an echo in its wake, the light unraveling from the living room to reveal his absence, the computer still on and in place.

The Hokage's office…

"..."

A stress filled day of speaking with Hiashi, update on the border, directing more resources towards the search for Mizuki, and compounded with the paperwork for the merchant guild about an embargo Kumogakure is waging on their fruits, the Academy, and least of all, a classified report regarding an ANBU raid on what they suspect to be a ROOT cell miles outside of Fire Country despite the organization being formally disbanded by Hiruzen a year ago, was fairly routine all things considered.

If the pipe that fell from his hands and now threatening to set his robe ablaze told the ANBU that were guarding him anything, was that what he spied on the crystal ball that allowed him surveillance of his ward was not part of that routine.

Now on his second term as Hokage and close to his 70s, Hiruzen Sarutobi liked to think that he could lay claim to anyone who asked that he had seen it all.

Glued to his chair, jaw unhinged in a mix of unbridled shock and panicked fear, determined said claim could now be freely challenged as dubious.

"Dog."

"Roger." The ANBU's muscles were already tense after he watched the scene in the crystal ball as well, needing only the order to act.

Meanwhile…

Naruto screamed as he sailed past the tunnel of light, speeding through a vast space filled with a deluge of shapes and symbols that he could barely make sense of even at the velocity he was traveling.

"W-What's happening?!" His mind raced as he tried to move, fighting to free his body from the force keeping him in place. Was this another genjutsu attack? No. None that he had ever experienced were ever this elaborate before.

He wiggled, squirmed and struggled to bend his way loose, but still to no avail as he kept flying. Finally, in what felt like hours, Naruto could scope out a white dot up ahead. The dot seemed to grow bigger as the seconds ticked by, or was it that he was getting closer? He found it to be the latter shortly, as he exited out of a threshold and into an even wider open space that looked like something out of a sci-fi magazine he read through once. Everything around him, from the 'walls' to the surface below was translucent. Countless arcs of light that cascaded like pathways converged towards a gigantic orb at the center. He…couldn't describe it, but it looked like a globe bright green in color, and how bright it was, like millions of shining emeralds orbiting around to form a gigantic spherical shape. It would have been a magnificent sight if Naruto wasn't heading towards it at an alarming pace.

He braced himself once more, and rather than colliding with a hard surface like he expected, he felt…like he had passed through a lukewarm barrier. Before long, the air around him cooled, and his ears picked up…air currents?

Opening his eyes in a hurry, he closed them again from the friction of his descent. He was falling! His scream died in his throat, however, when he lifted his head to help endure the burn and look where he was going.

His voice failed him.

The sky. While it was as blue as he knew it to be, decorated with a few white clouds, he could make out strange patterns that seemed…painted across the entirety of it. The skyline was filled with forests for miles around, dotted with a few hills and monuments.

Gaping, he knew what he was seeing right away as he remembered.

These were parts of his genjutsu visions.

"Not this again!" he wailed in distress, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. No! This was real. It smelled real. Everything, right down to the ground, to the pressure zipping past him. This was no genjutsu!

He needed a landing plan, and fast.

Providence must have heard his pleas, because he fell right past a tall cliffside, thankful for the foot-long gap. Knowing this was his only chance, he focused every ounce of strength he had to his legs, the adrenaline overclocking his stamina. He wasn't going to get another chance, so he pushed and connected the balls of his feet to the cliff, equally grateful that he hadn't bothered to remove his sandals.

He springboarded himself away from the steep wall, but it was far from perfect, feeling his legs rattle as he was still falling, but now, it was at a scale that he could manage from years of leaping through rooftops. He braced himself as he collided on a thick canopy, enduring the prickling of leaves and branches, but his velocity had whittled enough.

His reflexes screamed at him as he reached for what he hoped was a strong branch with his hands and winced from the rough surface, but it was worth the effort as he swung from it and landed on the ground on his rear, his legs having gone numb.

"Ow," Naruto grunted in pain, then blinked in wonder. "Huh?" He expected it to hurt more, but it felt…soft?

"Get…get off me!" Naruto heard with a start.

He whipped his head around. "Who…who's there?"

"Below you." He heard the voice again, sounding more ruffled. Curiosity overriding caution, he peered down, and to his surprise, he was sitting on something…or someone.

His legs were still getting some feeling back, so he jerked his body off of the…creature, eyes widening to saucers when he gained a better look at it as said creature sat up with a groan.

It was short. Shorter than he was, skin a cream white, with the only article of clothing it had on a pink haramaki of all things around the waist. Its short arms and legs had three black stubby claws respectively, while the lips was a coal black and oddly reminded him of stubble. At the top of its head was a crest, while each side sported small pointy ears.

Its black beady eyes roved over itself for any severe harm, then rubbed its sore back where the boy had landed. It whirred up and scowled in umbrage at him.

"What's the big idea?"

Naruto sat fixed to the loamy ground, staring dumbfounded while fumbling. "Uh…I'm…s-sorry. I-I didn't mean-"

"Wait a minute," the creature declared, a change in its demeanor upon getting a better look at him in turn. It rose to its feet, beady eyes scrutinizing, placing no small amount of discomfort in the young man as it trudged closer. "Are you a-?"

Mouth going dry, Naruto swallowed a lump lodged in his throat. "Y-Yeah?"

The creature stopped mere inches from his face, chin cupped with its right claws as it scanned him more closely. Common sense told Naruto that if this thing was hostile, then he needed to hightail it out of there, and if not, defend himself.

The problem was, his knees were trembling and his sense of flight muffled by fear.

"Are you…?"

Naruto's fingers brushed over grass, combing for a rock, anything to defend himself with. He had remembered that his weapon pouch was back in his room with a silent curse.

"Pardon me for asking, but are you a human?"

The query caught him off guard, deflating slightly. "Excuse me?"

"You." The creature pointed at him with a stubby claw, gaze set analytically. "Are you a human?"

The words in Naruto's mouth became jumbled as the gears in his mind seemed to creak back to life enough for a response.

"Yes?"

Hearing this, the creature's lips curled into an elated smile. "Outstanding! A live specimen!"

"A live-what now?"

"You!" The creature pointed at him again. "What you are. You're a real live human, right?"

Was this guy trying to find out if he could be made a meal out of? Oh no, no way was he gonna be eaten. Uzumaki Naruto was nobody's dinner. Having regained some feeling in his legs, he clumsily bolted into a leap and landed in a battle ready crouch a short distance away from the diminutive cannibal.

"That's right! So what if I am? Got a problem with me being human?"

This action only seemed to excite the curious thing more, and to Naruto's growing amazement, it dug into the haramaki around its waist to procure a…pen and book? He would have asked what those were for had it not started writing.

"Subject appears to be in the cusp of adolescence, although stagnation of growth indicates malnourishment, tan skin tone, blonde hair, about; hm, 145.3 cm–147.5 cm in height, 40.1 kg–40.6 kg based on body structure. Garb consists of what I personally judge to be a tacky orange jacket and pants combo, and a pair of blue sandals. Subject is also displaying signs of being on guard," the creature speedily wrote down after opening the worn looking tome. "Will attempt a friendly approach to establish communication."

"Say what?" That all went a bit too fast for him to follow.

The creature shot him an odd look before writing down again. "Subject has displayed limited cognitive ability. Will require further probing."

An alarming fit of dread sprang inside Naruto's belly when he heard that last part. "Ooooh no! I know I may not be that smart, and I can barely make sense of what you're saying, but probing?! I know what that is, and you're not getting your mitts anywhere near my butt!"

He's read the magazine. Scratch off being eaten! He was well aware of the danger he was now in. Had he been transported to some alien world? Was he going to have to fight for his survival, find a ship, and cruise his way back home? Hell yeah! Uzumaki Naruto, intergalactic adventurer extraordinaire!

"... I'm sorry?"

"Spare me your apologies, you dirty alien! My ass is off limits, you hear me?!" Naruto exclaimed, his fists up.

The creature stared at him with a raised brow. "What would I want with your anus?"

Anus? Was that code? Dear god, was he about to be brainwashed?

"You can't fool me with your alien mind hypnosis trick," Naruto affirmed harshly. "I'm onto you! So you better not come near if you know what's good for you. I know taijutsu! I'm a living weapon!" He fanned both arms high, hands jutting straight forward, right leg raised halfway in what he thought was an intimidating stance.

"Subject is indulging in what I can only presume to be a performative dance of some sort. Likely folk in origin."

"Hey!"

"I seem to have offended Subject by misinterpreting the origin of this strange, and what I can additionally presume to be, ritualistic dance."

"It's not a dance!" Naruto fumed. "I told you already! It's taijutsu. Don't you know what that is?!"

"Uh, actually, I do," the creature answered plainly. "I can name a handful of Digimon that know taijutsu, but what you're doing, it's definitely not any I've ever seen."

Naruto sputtered, eyes shifting. "Yeah, well, I'm still gonna kick your ass if you so much as touch me!"

"Subject-"

"And will you knock that off?!" The exasperated young man hollered, breaking out of his stance. "My name isn't 'Subject'! It's Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!"

The creature stopped writing to espie him once more. "Is there a '-mon' at the end to go with that?"

"Wha-?"

"'-Mon'," the creature repeated, seeing his obliviousness. "Like me. Dang it, should have started with that, so, my sincerest apologies." It cleared its throat.

"My name is Bokomon. A pleasure to meet you, Su-uh…Na-ru-to? Did I get that right?"

Naruto's posture went lax, but he was still ready to make an escape if he needed to. "That's right, and you better remember it. Uzumaki Naruto, and no, I don't have a…'-mon' at the end. What even is that?"

The creature; now formally known as Bokomon, paused.

"I think I know what's going on here. Okay, back up. Let's start this over right. First thing's first. Where did you come from?"

Naruto hesitated to answer, unsure if he wanted to reveal anything to this alien-

"I'm not an alien," Bokomon corrected him, shaking the youth. "No, I don't read minds, either. Look, just…I have good intuition, okay?" he trailed off, muttering. "I also don't expect you to trust me, but just know, I'm not gonna hurt you. Can't, even if I tried."

"You're…not gonna hurt me?"

"Nope," Bokomon promised firmly. "Besides, I'm not built for combat. I'm also not a robot, by the way," he stated before the boy's mouth could open.

"Then…what are you?" Naruto asked.

Bokomon smiled again. "Why, I'm a Digimon, of course. That's short for 'Digital Monster', and as you might be able to glean from the name, we're lifeforms composed of highly evolved data that's long since become self-aware. In layman's terms, living computer data. That means, I'm as alive as you are. You may ask when, how, and why, but that's part of my occupation to find out."

"Your occupation?"

"I'm a scholar, you see," Bokomon revealed, patting his chest. "To be precise, historian, amateur archeologist, interpreter. I just love to learn, and, when I realized what you were, I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to study a real live human."

"Why?" Naruto turned his head to and fro searchingly. "You don't have…humans here?"

"Well, no," Bokomon folded his arms. "Not any live ones that I'm aware of." Naruto wasn't so certain how to feel about that scrap of info, but definitely not in a positive light. "Regardless, I really mean you no harm. What I want isn't actually any different from a regular interview."

"You…want to interview me?" The words to him felt foreign as they left his lips.

Bokomon nodded eagerly. "Yeah! So, back to my questions. Where are you from? What's it like in your world? And," he sniffed the air, which was weird to look at because of no visible nose, "why do you smell like ramen?"

Naruto's form finally loosened. Should he risk it? Needless to say, he was still reeling heavily from being uprooted out of his room. Practically abducted, and if he was in an alien world with no means to go back, then, what other options did he have? Years of dealing with the villagers had given him a disposition fairly mired in mistrust, but every now and then, he'd have lapses in judgment.

More out of his own emotional shortcomings than anything, but the situation he found himself at present necessitated that he be more prudent.

"Ramen's my favorite food. I've been eating it for so long, the smell kind of stuck." He shrugged. "You have ramen here?"

"At the Gourmet Zone, but that's way too far compared to where I was headed. Come on, we can talk more while we walk. I know my way around here, so be sure to stick with me, alright?"

Naruto nodded, almost losing his balance when his knees gave out from taking another step. Dang, guess that stunt he pulled took a lot more out of him than he thought. "By the way, where are we?"

"South of the Server Continent. Nothing but forests for miles."

"No, I mean, where am I? What is this place?"

The boy's inquiry inspired a smile from the scholar, having always nursed a fondness for those with curious minds. "The Digital World. Don't worry, I know this place like the back of my hand."

Naruto couldn't do anything else but nod, figuring he needed someone who knew the lay of the land, and a native to boot.

Bokomon and Naruto forged onward, the Digimon scholar providing him a crash course on what he needed to know about the basics. Mindful of his surroundings, Naruto examined some of the flora that Bokomon presented to him from inquiry. The large forest they were in wasn't too dissimilar to what he was used to back in Konoha, like tall trees that looked like they could almost touch the sky.

Closer appraisal derived some fascinating differences and similarities. There were insects that he recognized, like ants, cicadas and; to his annoyance, mosquitoes. It had an added calming effect on him to help manage his dilemma because of his pastime reading books about botany and gardening.

At 8 years old, he aimed to borrow from the library because the instructor at the time assigned them homework on history. The librarian, whom he'd never met until that point, barred him from entering.

Not knowing any better, he had stayed by the front door for hours, watching as people came and went who were apathetic or annoyed by the sight of him.

By noon, with the sun at its peak, the librarian had had enough of his presence and tossed him five random books that were no longer needed. All of them were outdated by a decade, two being 'Gardening for Beginners' and a journal on what medicinal plants could be found in Fire Country.

The history book, interestingly enough, proved itself good enough for him to get a barely passing grade. One of the rare times he did. Embarrassed to openly admit it, he developed a relaxing hobby for reading the botanical books he presently kept within his room.

Per their deal, in exchange, Naruto filled him in on bits and omitted pieces of his life. He supposed that Bokomon, a complete stranger, didn't need to know all there was about him. Besides, one of the fundamental lessons that Shikamaru expounded on was that a shinobi shouldn't disclose much about themselves, if any at all, and he was more than fine with that.

Plus, since this was an entirely alien world, what would it be worth for Bokomon to know? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It…honestly felt refreshing. A relief.

Relief, that maybe…

"So, if I'm getting this right, you live in a village full of shinobi?" Bokomon asked to confirm.

"Well, obviously, not everyone's a shinobi. Only guys who willingly enroll in the Academy can get into the service," Naruto provided, thankful that, for the past hour they've navigated the thicket of forestry, he fell back on some pointers from Shikamaru's cram session with him earlier that morning.

"Huh, you know, we have shinobi of our own around here."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes gleamed in surprise. "Are they human?"

"Digimon. Most of them live in what more or less is kind of similar to your home village based on how you described. What was it called again?" Bokomon, for the majority of their conversation, had been deftly writing details into his book, not even needing to look where he was going.

"Konohagakure," Naruto answered, hands in his pockets. "The Village Hidden in the Leaves. So, where's this shinobi village that you're talking about?"

"East, at the Folder Archipelago, but you have to travel by boat to get there," Bokomon directed with a free claw, eyes glued to his book. "It's even called the Shinobi Zone."

"Whoa…" Naruto hummed in awe. "By the way, Bokomon."

"Yeah?"

"What's with that book? Is it your journal, or something?"

Bokomon came to a halt and looked up at the blonde, who was twice his size. "This is my 'Monoshiri Book'." He brandished the tome to the human child. "Everything I know and learned is written, recorded and archived right here."

"Can I see?"

"Sure, it's always a pleasure to share knowledge." Bokomon happily handed him the book.

Grasping the cover with his fingers, the tome had a leathery texture to it, light green in color and quite worn, pointing to its age. Red lettered symbols that Naruto had never seen before were etched on the front, ordered in a square formation. At the center of the letters and the spine, a symbol that resembled the shape of Bokomon's head was stamped, but instead of all white, with the exception of the crest, it was a blue circle.

He carefully opened it and thumbed to a random page, then another, and another, until he noted a prevalent trait amongst every single one.

He couldn't read a damn lick of it.

"What…is all this?"

"Huh?"

"These…characters? I can't read any of them." The text in each and every page looked like scribbled gibberish. Not the kana that he was used to, and this was him having performed poorly in languages and writing.

"You can't read it?" Naruto shook his head in confirmation. "Huh, figures. It's only logical since we're from different worlds, we wouldn't have the same written language."

"We can understand each other just fine," Naruto pointed out, eliciting a thoughtful nod from the scholar.

"It could be that our verbal language is identical. Our script is where the similarities end." It was Naruto's turn to nod.

"What about all these drawings?" The blonde showed what he was referring to, and true to his word, the illustrations in the book looked like they were done by a toddler using crayon. Monsters, strange humanoids, and animal-like figures that…looked familiar. "Who did these?"

"What do you mean?" Bokomon plucked the book from him in mild confusion. "This is how I always draw."

Naruto regarded the small Digimon strangely, the remark on his artwork shining some doubt on his previous claims. Maybe scholars weren't that good artists?

A low growl from his stomach alerted him to another matter that he had foregone doing at home.

Bokomon must have heard it as well. An understanding grin stretched across his face. "Got 'ya covered there, kid. Follow me. Running a little on empty myself."

Naruto obeyed and trailed behind a waddling Bokomon, stomping across the shrubbery with stubby legs. It was like watching a small child walk.

"Hey, Bokomon," Naruto started to ask again, his arms folded behind his head. "How old are you?"

"10,587," Bokomon answered casually.

"Oh, I see." Naruto took a few more steps before he fell down, his face connecting with a tree root.

"SAY WHAT?!

"Hm?"

"You're kidding, right?!" Naruto asked incredulously, eyes bulging from their sockets and an angry red welt on his face. "Tell me you're kidding! 10,587?! You're practically ancient!"

Bokomon sighed, guessing that this was going to be a regular thing between them. "Not even close. Digimon have incredibly long lifespans. Some of us can even live past that, and I happen to know some who have."

Naruto blanched at this revelation. "Seriously?!" he squealed.

"Well, what's the average of how long humans live?" Bokomon queried, determining he could file it for later in his book.

"Average is right! We'd be lucky enough to live up to 90, much less over 10,000!" Naruto clasped his head. "What crazy fountain of youth do you guys drink from?"

"First of all," Bokomon pointed at him, "a 'fountain of youth' sounds absurd, and I've seen plenty of happenings that often stretch the realm of absurdity, and second, we're just naturally long-lived."

"Are you guys immortal, or something?"

This made Bokomon laugh for the first time since the boy first fell on top of him. "I wish! No, we Digimon can still die. Though, if anybody's immortal around here, it has to be Yggdrasil."

"Who's that?" Naruto arched his brow. "Sounds like some big shot."

"I should say so," Bokomon told him pointedly. "Yggdrasil is our God."

"God?" The scholar nodded.

"It is said that Yggdrasil is the one that oversees the entirety of the Digital World. A consciousness that serves as the host computer that manages the 'Network'," Bokomon elaborated in reverence.

"Network?"

"It is the space outside our universe," Bokomon explained. "Outside of the Digital World."

Naruto perked up. "A space…wait! I-I think I know that place. I-I've been there!"

"Seriously?!" Bokomon gaped in exclamation, nearly dropping his book. "Did-Did you see Yggdrasil?"

Naruto paused in thought. Did he? All he did see were numbers, beams of light, and symbols he couldn't make heads or tails of.

"By the way, how did you end up here?"

The displaced young man groused in anger, "A weird ass computer some weird ass old man gave me. Should have known it was a scam."

"Come again?"

"Nothing important," Naruto waved away his gripe, wanting to focus on what was more urgent. "You were about to find us some food, right?"

Bokomon looked like he still wanted to grill him on the nature of his arrival, but relented when hunger demanded they find some much needed sustenance. It was getting dark soon, and they needed to report to his shelter.

"Over here," Bokomon swung his forearm in the direction of some thick bushes. They tore through the dense growth to find an apple tree ahead.

"Alright, now we're talking!" Naruto sped up to the tree, his hunger instilling a spring in his step. He launched himself from below to pick at the first one he pawed after landing on a thick branch, tugging it with gusto.

"No, wait!" Bokomon called, feet pounding the dirt frantically to keep up. "Don't!"

Unheeding, Naruto took a hearty bite of the green, and perfectly round, apple. The taste that instantly assaulted his tongue gave him pause after a few gleeful chews.

He spat it out in disgust. "What the fuck is this?!"

"You should have waited for me!" Bokomon chided him between shallow breaths. He really needed to work on his cardio.

Naruto hocked out traces left of the vile fruit, sticking out his tongue to help air out the aftertaste. "Ugh! It tastes like raw meat."

"That's because it is."

"Huh?" Naruto watched as Bokomon clawed at the bark to try and scale the tree, with little success. He let the fruit fall and extended the same hand to help the scholar up. The scholar weighed as much as a small child as the Uzumaki then lifted him with both hands, placing him on the branch facing him. "What are you talking about?"

Bokomon took a breath to help ease his throbbing chest. "As I should have told you had you been more patient, you only needed to pick the fruit and bring it down for us to cook."

"Cook?" Naruto echoed disconcertingly.

Better to demonstrate, Bokomon warily stood up on the branch, then reached with a claw to pluck for himself the nearest fruit. He held it towards the boy, a lecturing air in the way he proceeded to explain. "Contrary to what you might have assumed it to be, this isn't an apple. It's a Meat Fruit."

"Meat Fruit?" Naruto blinked, inclining his gaze closer on the supposedly mistaken fruit.

"That's right." Bokomon pointed a free claw at it. "One thing you have to learn about the Digital World is that we don't have livestock here."

"No…livestock?" Bokomon nodded.

"Not even chickens."

Naruto jerked back, leaning with his hands to help keep balance. "Say what?! Then, how do you get your food?"

"We grow it. All of it."

"You're joking." A shake of the head in the negative disabused Naruto's skepticism. "You…grow your food? Even eggs?"

Another nod. "Come on!"

"I never joke when it comes to knowledge, and guess what, the more you know." Bokomon narrowed his gaze. "Most of it is exported from the Gourmet Zone since it's a farm/marketplace where any kinds of crops can be grown as long as it's food or ingredients. Meat, eggs, milk, lard, you name it."

Abject disbelief was written on the young Uzumaki's visage. "How? Like, really, how?"

"Data." Naruto silently urged him to elaborate. "Everything in this world is made out of it. You remember when I told you that we Digimon are living data? Well, aside from being self-aware with a will of our own, we also gain information the more we develop, increasing in intelligence. Call it being downloaded pre-programmed code as a form of adaptation for better survival, especially after we evolve."

"Huh?" Naruto scratched his head.

"Like how I knew that you were a human even though I logically couldn't have ever met or studied one, or how I know things that are parallel between our two worlds based on what you've told me. What cows, chickens or pigs are. Where could I have possibly learned all that?"

Naruto shrugged at the hypothesis, not fully comprehending what Bokomon was alluding to.

"Yggdrasil."

"Your God?" Naruto pondered vocally.

Bokomon nodded, clearing his throat. "Yggdrasil is the source of our knowledge, our emotion, our spirit. Yggdrasil provides the land's bounties and treasures. Yggdrasil is the reason for our very existence. Yggdrasil is all!"

The scholar shrugged. "At least, that's what his cults say about him."

Naruto's expression dimmed, much of what was said going over him. "So, basically, this…Yggdrasil guy, puts stuff in your head, and grows your food?"

"...Yes, Naruto, that's the meat of what I just told you. It's actually more complicated than that, but I'm already oversimplifying things." Bokomon juggled the fruit in his hand. "Speaking of meat, let's grab a bunch so we can start cooking."

Peeking over the canopy after gathering about a dozen of the fruits, he could see the sky had darkened. Bokomon's brow furrowed in worry. The nocturnal Digimon were restless once night touched down, and only docile in the wee hours.

Thankfully, he had the foresight to have found a cave near the area days ago after arriving in this forest where they could hovel overnight.

The mouth of the cave was a cavity carved into a mountain that was about Naruto's size, but the inside was much larger after they climbed in and slid down into a cavern about a diameter of the young Uzumaki's living room. It had a quaint setup of a child-sized sleeping bag, with a fire pit at the center under a small kettle. In the corner, Naruto espied a bundle of firewood stacked in a neat pile.

Bokomon brought out a small flashlight from his haramaki to light up the place.

"Make yourself at home."

"This is where you live?"

"Nah." Bokomon placed the flashlight on a nearby rock so he could clear the fire pit. "Just where I'm staying until I'm done with my expedition."

"Expedition?"

"I'll tell you later." He reached into his haramaki again, and drew out what Naruto could vaguely make out to be a bamboo tube. "Help me with the firewood."

Naruto did as told, and Bokomon placed some kindling he had lying around in-between the logs to build a fresh mound. Next, he split the bamboo he had in two, and took some of the leftover kindling to scrunch it into a small hole on one end of a thinner tube. He pieced the two together again.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, sitting on the floor with his hands on his linked feet.

"Starting a fire." Bokomon raised the bamboo high and stabbed the cavern floor with the end stuffed with the kindling in a swift motion.

Naruto's lips pursed in befuddlement. "Shouldn't you be using something else?"

"Huh?" Bokomon turned to him.

"I'm the last person to be an expert on starting fires, but that's not how we do it back home."

Bokomon looked between the child and his bamboo tool. "How do you do it, then?"

Naruto stammered, suddenly feeling conscious.

"Uh…gas?"

Bokomon's gaze flattened. "Did you happen to find any propane tanks lying around before we got here?"

They have gas? Shit. "Rubbing sticks together?"

"Too time-inefficient and costly. Plus, if you're thinking it's literally rubbing two simple sticks together until they start catching fire, you're severely misinformed."

If, by some miracle, he ever finds his way back to Konoha, he's gonna deck Hiruta in the schnoz.

"Lighters?"

"Pretty good, but I don't smoke."

Okay, they have that, too. Figures. "We, uh…we, uh…kind of, uh…"

"Yeah?"

"We…use jutsu?" Naruto blurted out, inwardly chiding his impulsive mouth.

"Jutsu? Like, taijutsu?"

Naruto perked up a little. "Not exactly. When I told you about shinobi techniques, they're actually divided into three basic categories." He was really working his brain overtime now - thank you Shikamaru! "Ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu," he counted with three fingers, Bokomon already with his book out and furiously jotting down. "Ninjutsu is the most commonly used, and consists of techniques that we utilize during missions for both combat and convenience if necessary. Though, this isn't always recommended due to the waste in energy that would be better suited in the likelihood of an attack from enemy shinobi. For example, if we could, we'd light a campfire using a fire oriented jutsu, build a makeshift shelter using an earth jutsu, and so on. Or; and this is one of my favorites, do undercover work with-"

A grin drew itself on his lips as he made the hand seals for Dog, Boar, and Ram. "Henge (Transformation Technique)!"

In a puff of smoke, Naruto's place was taken by an identical Bokomon, claws flashing a peace sign. "Yo!"

Rather than be blown away like he expected, Bokomon instead calmly sauntered in front of him with an inquisitive scan, looking him over from side to side and running a hand at space where his mass should be.

"Is this a physical transformation where your atomic, genetic and molecular structure is subjected to a recombinant metamorphosis?"

"..."

"Did you really turn into me? Right down to being anatomically accurate?"

"..."

"Did your brain just shut down?"

"Give me a minute." Naruto said in Bokomon's voice, which actually did impress the scholar a little. "There we go. What were you saying?"

Bokomon sighed. "Can you at least tell me how you did it?"

"Chakra," Naruto stated like it was obvious.

"And, what's that?"

Naruto quailed, breaking out of his transformation with a puff. "Oh boy…Chakra is life energy. We, uh, use it to fuel our jutsu."

"How?"

"Uh…"

"Is it an external or internal source?"

"I-Internal."

"How do you process it? What are the mechanics behind the activation and manifestation of the technique?"

Naruto wavered. "I…I just feel for it. I do the combination of hand seals needed, mold the chakra, and use the jutsu."

"But, how? Can you provide a more intricate explanation? There has to be more than just "feeling" it."

"Uh…that's…" Naruto stuck an index finger to his forehead. "I'm not really sure."

"You're not sure? Did you just learn it?"

"...Tutored."

"Ah," Bokomon went, understanding the implication with a nod of his head. Seeing Naruto crestfallen shined light on another. "Nothing to be ashamed of, kid."

"Like you would know," the boy grumbled hotly.

"I do, actually. I get hired for tutoring and teaching jobs every now and then. I've taught my fair share of 'works-in-progress' like you."

"That's funny," Naruto snorted, feeling like he wanted to be upset, but Bokomon hadn't said anything wrong, and had done nothing but be helpful since he got here. Things would have turned out differently to a lot worse had he been without shelter and food. "The guy who's tutoring me said the same thing."

"I already know I'd get along with him if we ever meet," Bokomon chortled.

"Right." If he ever found a way back home.

Or, wanted to.

"Well, that was a riveting detour and all, but back to a more important matter." Bokomon twirled the bamboo tube. "How about I tutor you in the ways of survival?"

Naruto swallowed his pride and nodded.

"This little baby right here," Bokomon began as he raised the tool, "is called a 'Fire Piston'."

"Fire Piston," Naruto repeated to help him remember it.

Bokomon nodded, illuminating it with the ray of the flashlight to flaunt its intricacies. "It may not look like much, but this tool's usefulness outdoors is precisely because of its simplicity and ease of assembling. You can carve one out from sticks just lying around, but if made with better materials, it'll last long and get better results."

"I see. So, how does it work?"

Bokomon split the tube again, revealing that one was a hollow cylinder sealed at one end and open at the other, the hole wide enough to snugly fit the piston into, which had a thin ring fitted near a small cavity where he placed the kindling. The kindling from earlier was now a charred black, the ignition it had having subsided from the time of their dialog.

"The principle behind this contraption is when gas is rapidly compressed, pressure and temperature increases at the same time, creating a combustion effect to light up the small amount of tinder that I tucked into this tiny cavity right here." Bokomon flicked the used tinder out and replaced it with a fresh batch. Before he plugged the two back together, but not all the way, Naruto was taken aback by Bokomon slathering some saliva around the tiny ring around the shaft. "It's to help lubricate the piston. The seal or 'o-ring' is to ensure that it's airtight to maximize the pressure. Now then, like so."

Bokomon repeated the previous motion of stabbing the ground with the bamboo, hard and fast so that the two parts pressed together. He then quickly pulled the piston out and showed the result to the boy, the tinder now alight into an ember. "You need to pull it out of the cylinder to keep what little oxygen is inside from being depleted, because if you don't, it'll extinguish."

"Oxygen?"

Bokomon would have smiled sympathetically, but thought better not to, nary missing a beat in explaining to him the composition of fire. Oxygen, fuel, heat, and the chain or chemical reaction. "If any one of those components is removed from the equation, the fire fails to sustain itself. Hence, the need to expose it to the oxygen in the atmosphere, the kindling serves as the fuel, the reaction is the application of pressure, which results in the heat."

With the still smoldering ember, the scholar ran back to the fire pit to drop it on the mound. He carefully blew some air on the same spot until smoke gradually wafted. Before long, light crackles sounded, feeble flames consuming the dry straw and wood.

"And, there we have it," Bokomon declared proudly.

"Cool!" Naruto hunkered on all fours to behold the growing fire.

"Actually, it's hot." Bokomon remarked, not getting the idiom. Naruto ignored it and toothily beamed at the scholar.

With Naruto tending to the fire, Bokomon took the rucksack where the meat fruits they picked were stored, fished one out, and with a small knife he drew from his haramaki, sliced it in two. He did the same with five more, making twelve slices in all. From the same rucksack, he retrieved four metal rods with a sharp point at the end.

Each of the rods skewered three slices, which he then tucked the blunt end between rocks that surrounded the pit.

As the fruits were being cooked, Naruto asked the scholar about the expedition.

"As I told you, I'm an amateur archeologist apart from being an historian, and I've always been fascinated by the history of the Digital World, especially its ancient past."

"So, what exactly are you searching for? A tomb? Treasure?" Naruto's features brightened. "Is it a treasure? Oh man, that would be so cool."

"Who knows?" Bokomon shrugged. "Which is why I want to go there and find out for myself."

"Where, exactly?"

"A shrine," Bokomon revealed with a reverent tenor in his voice. "Dedicated to a 'Legendary Spirit'."

"Legendary…Spirit?" Naruto muttered, stiffening. Where had he heard that before?

"It's an old legend," Bokomon cleared his throat. "Long ago, when the Digital World was still in its infancy, and Digimon were still primitive kernels of data, Yggdrasil breathed life into ten beings that represent the ten elemental attributes that would eventually be inherited by modern Digimon. Fire, Light, Thunder, Wind, Ice, Water, Wood, Steel, Earth, and finally, Darkness."

Naruto listened raptly, hanging on every word. "These beings, who are revered even today as deities, were known as the Ancient Ten. Using their powers over their respective elements, they formed the very planet itself. The skies, the land, the sea, the forests, matter and antimatter. They would then go on to be the guardians of this world, acting in times of great crisis."

"Whoa," Naruto whistled. "They made this entire world? They gotta be really strong."

"Strong? Heh," Bokomon huffed as if he took issue with the word. "Take whatever definition you have of 'strong' and turn it over its head. They were the strongest Digimon to have ever lived. Just one of them was insanely powerful, but together? They were unstoppable!"

The lines of Bokomon's features faltered. "Until…"

"Until?"

"Food's about ready."

Naruto was ruffled out of his enraptured stupor by the smell of meat wafting up his nose, refocusing to see Bokomon hand him a stick with sizzling chunks of meat.

"Alright!" He gratefully grabbed hold of the end, mindful of the lingering heat. "Thank you for the food!" He bit into the first chunk of meat at the top and almost lost his senses from the taste. "Delicious!"

Chewing happily, he munched on some more. "This tastes like pork! The best damn pork I've ever eaten."

Bokomon was eating his own in moderate bites for his size. "Try the one in the middle."

"Hm?" Naruto paused, swallowing. He bit into the middle as he was told, and his eyes widened. "What the-" he bit off more, savoring the taste as he identified it. "Is this…beef?"

"Yep! Try the next one."

Naruto did. "What's this?"

"Duck. Never had it before?"

"No, but, how?"

"While not our sole source of meat, Meat Fruits are what you can commonly find outside the Gourmet Zone. What makes them both fun and a pain to eat though is that it's a gamble in how randomly they turn out. It takes a trained eye and years of experience to be able to pick the right kind."

"Are these even really fruits?" Naruto questioned. When he had tried the first one he plucked uncooked, it had the same texture and crispiness of an apple, but the taste and juices were that of raw meat. A combination he never wanted a repeat of. Looking at it now, the finished product still had green skin, but the innards were now soft, tender and succulent as cooked meat. They even looked like the ones they tasted.

Bokomon smiled. "They are, and aren't. While not from actual animals like in your world, they're more or less composed of data that emulate the properties of those animals. Think of it like a shortcut. As for nutrition, don't worry, you'll get the same amount as you would, too."

"This is great!" Naruto ate each of the chunks in succession, savoring as he chewed like his life depended on it. "If I had one of these back home, I won't ever need to buy from the market again. I could just grow some. I wouldn't even care if it's random. I could have any or the same kind of meat whenever I want!"

"That's diligent of you. Doing chores for your parents." Bokomon ate away at his share, the crackling of the fire bouncing off the cavern walls. He peered over to the boy, noticing that he had stopped, becoming fixated on the dancing glow of the flames. "Naruto?"

Naruto's countenance had become subdued, in stark contrast to how enthused he was seconds ago. Realizing how he may have looked, the lad stammered out a dispirited smile. "...Yeah, I-I'm…"

Past the dimness, Bokomon interpreted the boy's body language. "Oh…I didn't know."

"S'okay." Naruto responded softly.

A heavy silence blanketed the duo, isolated from the noise of embers and charring wood. No longer having much of an appetite, Naruto was left to his thoughts.

"Maybe, I'm just fine right here."

Not like he'd be missed too much.

He slipped a glance at Bokomon. "I could stay with him. If…he'll have me."

Seeing no harm in trying, he mustered some courage. "Say, uh, Bokomon-"

"Shh!" A single claw flew to Bokomon's lips, beckoning Naruto to silence. His other hand pointed to the entrance of the cave.

Naruto, grasping this, grew vigilant, quietly listening for any stray sounds. Only the crisp pops of the fire permeated the entire cavern now, allowing the two to perceive what might deviate. Erring on the side of caution, Bokomon fastidiously picked up a burning strip of firewood.

He thrust it towards the entrance.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Naruto could hear the quake in the scholar's voice. Taking the initiative, he made a grab for Bokomon's knife to arm himself.

A chill ran down Bokomon's spine as he braced for anything, using the makeshift torch to better canvas where he was frantically searching for an intruder. He was well within his rights to be quailing in fear, the woods of the Server Continent being home to Digimon he'd think twice of being anywhere near within a hundred mile radius. He had survived up till now by traversing the safe routes, but a chance of just one wandering by would be enough for him to entertain abandoning his expedition. He wasn't a fighter, and could never see the day that he'd come to harm another, even in self-defense.

Many would label him a coward, and in the Digital World where strength decides one's fate, he wouldn't blame them for thinking that. He just preferred to talk things out in earnest.

Naruto, meanwhile, didn't know what to expect. Being in an alien world left him at a huge disadvantage. He was terribly behind in the Academy, so he wasn't under any delusions that he'd be capable of fighting off whatever intruder it might be. Had he still been a cocksure braggart with something to prove; and some sliver of him still fostered that old bluster, he'd dive right in without a care.

Wild beasts? Bandits? Bokomon did say that there weren't any humans or the common domesticated animals in this world, but who was to say that others were excluded? Some of the common insects from back home were here, so he couldn't weed out the speculation of there being bears or tigers. Gah! His imagination was beginning to run away with him, feeding into his fear.

He needed to focus and follow what Shikamaru taught him.

"If you can, never lose your cool. Being able to think rationally is always a boon when you find the odds stacked against you. Don't be an idiot or play hero. I've had stories my old man tell me of shinobi who botched missions and paid with their lives because they thought they were hot shit. And, that's not even the worst compared to being captured. The very last thing you'd ever want is an enemy village to get their mitts on you. Konoha is not going to waste resources to mount a rescue if you happen to not be carrying any valuable info or aren't an invaluable asset. Understand this, it is the shinobi's responsibility to ensure their own survival. Always. Even when a teammate's got you covered, never leave anything to chance."

The fire reflecting off his eyes cast a brief shadow of his resolve - he was going to survive here. He was going to live. Like Bokomon, he lifted a torch up from the pit, preparing to lunge it at the eyes of any ugly bold enough to pop their mug in.

"Nyo?" The grip on the knife tightened; here it comes.

Sliding down from the mouth of the cave, Naruto could make out the vague shape of a…weed? Could it be a means to find out if the cave had occupants?

Bokomon released the breath that he'd been holding, dropping the burnt lumber onto the pit. "Don't scare me like that. It's okay, Naruto."

"Huh?" The 'weed' stood up. "Eh?"

"It's just a Nyokimon." Bokomon delicately lumbered up to the newcomer, mindful not to frighten it. "Hey there, little guy, are you lost? Did you get separated from your friends?"

"What's a Nyokimon?" Naruto asked, setting down the knife and sidling next to Bokomon now comforting the plant-like creature. Its appearance resembled a seed, with the body pitch black in the dim cavern, and atop its head jutted out a pair of leaves that drooped apart. Two beady yellow eyes warily gaped back at them.

"This is a Nyokimon," Bokomon answered demonstrably, having gently scooped the poor thing as it trembled in a mix of fear and worry. "It's in the Baby I stage of its evolution cycle."

"Baby I? Evolution cycle?"

"Let's give him some water first."

Bokomon ambled to his rucksack and took out a canteen that was fastened on the side. "Help me out, Naruto. Hurry!"

"Right!" Naruto sped into action, following Bokomon's instructions to spread out a small towel from the rucksack next to it. The Nyokimon was gently laid on the improvised bed, with the rucksack acting as a pillow. Looking at it closer by the light of the fire, a transparent membrane of tissue completely surrounded its body, and was panting from a small mouth.

"Poor thing's dehydrated," Bokomon announced gravely. "They normally live in groups underneath the soil to absorb nutrients until they're ready to evolve."

Unscrewing the cap of his canteen, he poured a tiny amount into it to use as a cup. "I wish I had a pipette for this."

"A what?" Naruto asked in a whisper.

"Eye dropper." He brushed the cap gently against the infant's mouth. "Come on, drink up. It's water. Clean, yummy water. That's it. A little more. There, there."

Naruto watched the scene in both amazement and longing, the role of a parent oddly befitting Bokomon.

If he ever had parents, would they have doted on him like this? He liked to believe the cruel accounts he heard from the occasional villager about them were lies, jokes and the like. Yet, deep down, he knew to himself that he was abandoned. Unwanted. The why and how always eluded him, leaving it to guesswork and theories.

He used to be comforted with the thought that they'd simply made a mistake and would come for him.

He was 7.

By 8, he gave up on that.

The Nyokimon's eyes drooped, the tiniest of whimpers escaping from it as Bokomon kept feeding it water. Two capfuls later, the infant had fallen soundly asleep, with the duo looming over its form.

"This is another Digimon?" Naruto asked in a low tone.

"Yeah," Bokomon nodded. "This one's still young, though. Very young. The very first stage in its life and evolutionary cycle."

"What did you mean by that?" Naruto continued asking. "What cycle?"

"I did mention to you that Digimon are highly evolved self-aware lifeforms, but it doesn't stop there. We Digimon are highly adaptive, and once we grow strong enough, or reach a point in our life cycle of incorporating sufficient data, we undergo a process of change. 'Evolution'."

Bokomon grinned abashedly. "Technically speaking, that's how it's commonly referred to. The more apt term to label it is metamorphosis. Most get bigger, others get smaller, faster, heavier, lighter, we're so varied in how we branch in our development that you'd be hard-pressed to count them all."

"Evolution…kinda sounds cooler, don't you think?" Naruto argued, earning a look from Bokomon.

"And, the bastardization of terminology continues," groused the scholar.

Ignoring that, Naruto loomed over the sleeping infant. It was honestly adorable, and the few times he was near one so young. The rare times he was ever near infants, only once was he violently reprimanded.

"You still hungry?" asked Bokomon, motioning to what was left of the meat.

"Nah, better save that for breakfast."

The two of them worked to get ready for bed, clearing up any leftover tools and storing the food in a sealed plastic baggy. They left the fire to wane on its own.

"Sorry I don't have an extra sleeping bag, or one that's your…size, but you sure you'll be okay on the floor?"

Naruto waved off the concern. "I've slept on tree branches before. The floor's hardly a bother."

He rose to do a stretch, when he felt something hard bulging in his right pocket.

"Hm?" Naruto reached down to pat it, and twitched in recognition from the shape, hastily pulling it out to have the screen of the D-Scanner peering back up at him. "This thing?"

Out of all the stuff around him when he was engulfed by the computer, it had to be this. Was this thing cursed? Must be, not needing to be a genius to fathom how his current predicament could be owed to this gamepad from hell.

Wait. Was it a gamepad? He pressed the buttons randomly, wanting it to turn on, light up, make a sound; anything. When none whatsoever came of his efforts, he had had enough, and threw the blasted device straight at a nearby wall, the noise of plastic smashing against the hard surface satisfying to his ears.

"What was that?" Bokomon hissed, checking to see the still sleeping infant. "Naruto, what happened?"

The blonde spared a moment to calm down, his glare was locked on the dim floor before glimpsing at the slumbering Nyokimon.

"Nothing."

Bokomon had seen enough of this behavioral pattern to not pry further.

"We better get some sleep," the scholar sighed. "We've all had a long day."

Naruto didn't care to acknowledge the remark, singling out a corner to lie down on.

---

In Konoha, Naruto's apartment…

"Naruto…" 'Dog' muttered, eyes glued to the screen of the computer, having watched the boy's progress ever since having landed in the living room, unable to believe that what he was seeing was real at first.

He did the standard genjutsu dispelling, and nicked his hand with a kunai when the supposed illusion persisted. He didn't have a good enough explanation and was fine for now without one, content with watching over his former sensei's son.

He didn't dare touch the keyboard or; heaven forbid, cut the power off. It was like being on a boat without a paddle. He's dabbled with computers before, but the real eggheads in their intelligence department were more suited. Yet, instead of calling them, he settled for the person that needed to know about this first and foremost.

A parallel world through a computer?

Digital lifeforms?

Ten legendary monsters that existed rivaling, if not far surpassing, the Tailed Beasts?

Just another day in the life of Hatake Kakashi.

"I could hardly believe it if I wasn't seeing it."

"I'm just as at a loss as you are, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, without his conical hat, stood behind the ANBU captain, watching as Naruto had fallen asleep. "Is he…inside that thing?"

Kakashi would have snorted at his direct superior betraying his age. "Not inside the computer itself, per se, but it seems to serve as a gateway to a parallel world that this Bokomon was kind enough to explain to Naruto, and in extension, to me before your arrival."

"How do we bring him back home?"

"For now, we cannot risk interfering with how delicate this situation is and the circumstances attached." Kakashi remained fixed to the screen. "Is the perimeter secured?"

"With whom we could spare, considering how thinned our forces are."

Kakashi nodded his head. "None, and I mean none, go in or out. I had my men place security seals throughout the building. This apartment is now in the black. For now, we need only observe for any further developments."

Sarutobi nodded, this entire fiasco way beyond his comfort zone. All these new fangled gadgets and gizmos youngsters are going crazy over; he always knew they were trouble. He just hoped the boy would be able to come back safely.

---

Update 4/26/22: When it comes to the most common Naruto fanfiction cliché, it's always about the "council". I've been inundated with so much of the nonsense to learn how NOT to write a story, that the "council" slipped through in order to try and make sense of just one of the most massive plotholes plaguing Kishimoto's writing. In an actual military dictatorship; which is more or less what shinobi villages are, civilians cannot hold any governing power whatsoever. Or, shouldn't. Even if they happen to be wealthy or hold some leverage over the actual power, the ones ultimately running the show are high ranking officers.

So, no, there's no "conspiracy". Which is not at all what I want you to think.