I DO NOT OWN ANY OF MY STAR/OSHI NO KO'S CHARACTERS OR ANY NARUTO CHARACTERS, ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COPYRIGHT OWNERS,THIS IS PURELY FOR FAN SERVICE AND I ONLY OWN THE OC'S I CREATE AND THERE IS NO PROFIT INVOLVED WHATSOEVER THIS IS A HOBBY AND THE ONLY THING I GAIN IS A BAD SLEEP SCHEDULE FOR FREE, THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!
Bold = Important Text
Italic Thoughts
Bold Italic Other people speaking inside the mind
Underline Voices from the past
Disclaimer: The old/canon Naruto is not actually used much at all in this story and a new last name, and an adjusted personality (Will be different an extent) will be placed for obvious reasons if you clicked on a story like this, but I am so sorry if I got your hopes up for the original canon character, but tbh making the canon Naruto character and abilities is wayyy too boring, so I hope you understand, HOWEVER, I will work chakra into the story somehow, so just bare with me it's not totally ditching Naruto's character and powers.
Chapter 1: Born Anew Or Return Unchanged?
A drop of water falls into a mass of shallow natural flowing water lit up with purple light where a beautiful girl lays, this girl has long back length purple hair with bangs that sweep to the left alongside pink highlight strips in said purple hair, she wears a gray long sleeve pinstripe shirt over a white sundress that hangs just around the knees where she wears black leg length stockings over her legs, but the most defining of this girl are her beautiful purple twin star eyes that shine bright like the stars at night, the name of this beautiful girl? Ai Hoshino, a former Idle now deceased after having been attacked and stabbed to death via a crazed fan, leaving her children alone at the crime scene as she ascends into darkness and into this natural flow of water where she opens her eyes hesitantly, confused when looking at the dark ceiling.
"Where am I…?" Ai asks herself in disorientation, her eyes glowing bright like the night sky before widening, recalling her murder. "Oh….that's right…..I died…." Ai says calmly before sitting up and burying her knees into her chest while looking at the ground. "Aqua….Ruby…I'm sorry…..it's because of my reckless nature that you both are left all alone without a mother.….and even after I finally said I love you…." Ai says softly whilst leaking tears from her eyes, letting them fall into the purple lighted water as she sobs in sadness.
"What makes thee think thy children are all alone and motherless?" An old man's voice rings out, causing Ai to look up from the ground in surprise to see the back of a white robe that holds 3 rows of 3 black magatama as well as a small circle in a ripple pattern above the magatama alongside an open white collar where the back of spiky gray hair can be seen. "While thou may not be there to see thy children grow up does not mean thy children are without a mother."
"Wha-...what do you mean….? D-do you know what happened to my children after I died…!? Are they alright!?" Ai asks in motherly worry, forgetting about her teary sadness mere moments ago.
"Thy children are safe, they have been placed under the care of the one you know as Miyako Saitou." The old man says, causing Ai to let out a breath of relief and smile solemnly.
"Thank goodness…..I was so worried….the next time I see the president's wife I'll have to thank her for all she has done for me and more importantly my children…." Ai thought with happiness before opening her eyes back up in acceptance, looking back at the old man's back in anticipation.
"So where am I sir, is this heaven…? And if it is…are you…..god?" Ai asks obliviously, causing the old man to chuckle to himself a bit.
"Tis quite a precise question for this place but…what thou see before them is not heaven and merely just a fragment of thy mind, as for what thou see before them, I am a ghost of one that was once considered a god among men." The old man says vaguely, causing Ai to look at him questioningly as said old man slowly turns around whilst floating in his sitting position.
"So….if this is my mind…..then why are you here…? And if you aren't a god, then who are you…?" Ai asks curiously, leaning forward in interest.
"I am a herald who has come before you to decide the fate of the known as Ai Hoshino, and as for who I am, I am…..my name is Hagoromo."
"Ooohhh, you know Mr. Hagormo, you speak a lot of smart words, are you some kind of royalty or something?" Ai asks with a bright smile, causing the newly named Hagoromo to sweat drop at the girl's careless nature.
"Forgive me I'm an anachronism, over the passage of much time, cultural traditions, and notions ethics, have managed to bring about some rather significant changes. In each instance where I cross time and meet others who have yet to decide their fate, I have come to sense the differences between myself and them, overtime I was able to learn new forms and words. Forgive me if it is a bit hard to understand me, one particular reincarnation of my son has helped me come to realize that." Hagoromo says with a smile, causing Ai to smile back at him.
"No no it's fine, I can understand you just fine right now really!" Ai says while waving her arms in declaration before coming to a realization. "Hey wait a minute, did you just say your son had a reincarnation?" Ai asks in confusion, causing Hagoromo to nod. "What seriously! All that stuff about reincarnation is real!?"
"To put it simply, yes, but to fully understand the mere concept of reincarnation one must learn about the mysteries of chakra, a mythical source of power that was once used by humans a long time ago." Hagoromo says, causing Ai to nod whilst following along. "People of my time and many generations further would use this chakra in Ninshu, the Ninja Creed, and I Hagoromo am the founder, the Sage Of The Six Paths."
"Wait..sage!? And did you say Ninja!? Like the guys in all black and masks." Ai says while tilting her head, causing Hagoromo to chuckle to himself.
"The ninja creed is much more complicated and traditional to what your time has toned it down to, Ninshu, not to be confused with conflict of Ninjutsu, is a ninja creed that was birthed to give hope to the world." The old sage says with a smile, causing Ai to look at him confusingly.
"Ok, but what does all that stuff about Ninshu have to do with how reincarnation began..?" Ai asks to Hagoromo's amusement as said man grabs his black sun and moon staff before floating toward Ai, stopping just in front of her.
"In a way you are both different, and just like my sons reincarnate." Hagoromo says with a smile before touching his staff to the water, creating a mirror image of the past for Ai to see. "Long ago I had two sons, I named the elder Indra, and the younger Asura…." Hagoromo says softly with a fond smile, causing Ai to widen her eyes.
"No way….you're the father of the two mythical gods Indra and Asura..!? You mean they're actually real?" Ai asks with an excited smile, causing Hagoromo to nod.
"Indeed, while they might not be the same as the gods you are thinking of, they do share similarities with one another." Hagoromo says with a solemn smile. "As both brothers were old enough, I taught them the ninja creed of Ninshu, but like the gods you have come to know, there was a huge difference between the two of them, one possessed the genes that contained my powerful chakra, and the other one did not. In short, there was the exceptional older brother Indra, and the dunce younger brother Asura." Hagoromo says to Ai's confusion.
"Aw, it sounds like he had a hard time as a kid, I hope it all went for him." Ai says with pity in her voice, causing Hagoromo to nod.
"Asura is similar to you in the way of your actions Ms. Hoshino." Hagoromo says to Ai's confusion.
"Really? How so?" The starry eyed idol asks curiously."
"Indra and Asura walked very different paths in life, elder brother Indra possessed strong visual prowess and senses from birth, and was called a genius, he always did everything by himself, leaning only on his strength, and came to understand that his powers were different and special, he perceived that power could achieve everything." Hagoromo says, causing Ai to gain a look of realization.
"Ohh, so he got special eyes like you, I was going to point them out earlier but I didn't want to seem rude or anything." Ai says before sticking her tongue out in an eye smile.
"Yes I understand, although you also have special eyes, eyes that aren't the same as elder brother Indra's but eyes that draw the same attention as his." Hagoromo says, causing Ai to look at the water reflection with a smile.
"I always knew my eyes were special, but I just never knew why until now…." Ai says with a solemn smile, getting a flashback of Aqua and Ruby with their own respective starry eyes.
"On the other hand nothing ever went well for the little brother Asura from the time he was small, and he couldn't do anything on his own. In order to obtain the same power as his older brother, he always needed the cooperation of others, in addition to his own effort, while struggling the power of bodily chakra awakened within him, and he attained power rivaling his brothers, he understood that he became strong thanks to the cooperation and help of those around him, he learned of the love for others that arises from thinking about them, and perceived that is was love, that can achieve anything." Hagoromo says with a smile, confusing Ai.
"W-wait….I thought you said we were similar…..I've never had a good grasp on love before….so how could we be alike in any way." Ai asks with a frown, causing Hagoromo to look at her curiously.
"You say that as if you didn't care and think about the others around you each and every second of your life, like younger brother Asura you also attained a status that could rival or even overpower the best, only using the hard work and help from others and having very little gifts in the aspect of birth like elder brother Indra." Hagoromo says, causing Ai to widen her eyes at his words before pondering them for a moment. "As time went on, I believe that I caught a glimpse of new possibilities within younger brother Asura's way of living, because of this I named younger brother Asura the leader and the guardian of the ninja creed, believing that his older brother Indra would cooperate with his younger brother like everyone else Asura surrounded himself with." Hagoromo says with a subtle solemn tone that Ai notices in an instant.
"Something went wrong…..didn't it?" Ai asks with a frown, causing the Sage to nod hesitantly.
"To my dismay, Indra did not accept my decision, and thus from that day on, interminable conflict raged, even after the two perished, the chakra the two honed, continued to reincarnate across time…..without vanishing, over and over." Hagoromo says, causing Ai to frown.
"I see…..so in doing so they started a tradition in a way…." Ai says solemnly, causing Hagoromo to nod sadly.
"Yes indeed they did, it only stayed as a function between them for thousands of years until two of their reincarnates….Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha….finally broke the curse of hatred between the two brothers, finally letting their souls move onto the afterlife in peace." Hagoromo says with a solemn smile, causing Ai to look up at the man with a bright grin.
"Really? You must be so happy that your children stopped fighting, I know I would if something like that ever happened to Aqua and Ruby." Ai says with a soft smile.
"Hmm." Hagoromo nods at the girl, causing her to grin.
"So what now? I mean you've told me about how the cycle of reincarnation started, but what does that mean for me….? You said you were here to decide my fate so…..what is my fate…?" Ai asks the Sage curiously, causing him to look at her for a moment.
"That isn't for me to decide." Hagoromo says to Ai's confusion.
"What..…..what do you mean..?" Ai asks in pure and utter confusion.
"The only one who can decide Ai Hoshino's fate…..is Ai Hoshino." Hagoromo says vaguely, causing the girl to tilt her head.
"What do you mean by that….? What are you even saying….?" Ai asks with hope in her voice.
"Everything in life has a reason, even reincarnation, so tell me Ai Hoshino, what is your reason?" Hagoromo asks, causing Ai to look at him whilst getting flashbacks of Aqua and Ruby in her head.
"I….I…" Ai mumbles out while starting to leak tears. "I want to be there to see my kids grow up..!" Ai yells while crying her heart out, causing Hagoromo to smile solemnly as he remembers Indra and Asura.
"Then tell me one last thing before I let you go, Ai Hoshino….if you'd like to become someone new in your second life, go north." Hagoromo says while pointing right before pointing left with his other arm. "If you'd like to return as a reflection of who you once were, go south." Hagoromo says in expectancy. "The real question I have for you, Ai Hoshino, what will you choose in the end?" Hagoromo says before Ai stands up, looking at him face to face.
"Mr. Hagoromo, thank you…...for everything….!" Ai says with a happy smile, leaking tears that cause the old sage to nod before smiling as Ai begins to walk away from the old man, beginning to run south. "Aqua…..Ruby..! I will see you again no matter what..!" Ai thought in her last few moments as Ai Hoshino before the light in her vision fades into darkness.
"Hmph, I can only hope that she will have a happy life with Asura's former reincarnate." Hagoromo thought with a smile before the light reflecting off the water around him begin's to turn from purple to yellow.
Flashback - Many Thousands Of Years Ago
"Oh…..so I'm back here again….." Naruto Uzumaki, a blue eyed spiky blonde haired boy with three odd whisker-like birth marks on each cheek wearing a battle worn mesh shirt with one sleeve torn off alongside wearing orange pants. "So does that mean I'm….dead…." Naruto asks himself while clutching the stub of his now missing right arm.
"We've already had this conversation before, no? So why do you still believe that you are dead? Naruto." Hagoromo says, widening Naruto's eyes and causing the blonde to sit up and look at him with surprise.
"I-It's you, Super Gramps Sage!" Naruto yells with surprise, causing the old sage to nod his head.
"Indeed, we meet again, reincarnate of younger brother Asura." Hagoromo says with a smile, causing Naruto to grin before getting a confused look.
"So…. if I'm not dead….then what happened….?" Naruto asks with confusion.
"In simple terms, you are dead, but only physically, you bled out once you made an unconscious Sasuke undo the Infinite Tsukuyomi." Hagoromo says, causing Naruto to get a flashback of said events and having a small talk with Sasuke before passing out.
"I see….so then what do you mean I'm only physically dead?" Naruto asks in curiosity.
"You see Naruto, when a person dies a residual part of their chakra still lingers on their body, if another person with strong enough chakra gave them a boost with their own chakra, then said dead person may return from the dead, that is why the reanimation jutsu is incomplete, because only those with chakra of the sage of six paths can fully restore a person." Hearing this from the old sage causes Naruto to widen his eyes and gain a grin on his face.
"Oh, so does that mean you bring me back then Super Gramps Sage!?" Naruto asks excitedly, causing Hagoromo to frown.
"Yes, in theory I could…." Hagoromo says, causing Naruto's grin to brighten. "But I won't."
"Wa-wait what!?" Naruto shouts in disbelief, dropping his excited grin completely. "What the hell old man! What do you mean you won't bring me back!?"
"Ahem, I should have worded that better so that you could understand." Hagoromo says with a look of interest, catching Naruto's attention and confusing the blonde. "Now that the battle between Indra and Asura has concluded, their souls have moved on from the afterlife. Normally you would do the same like any other person, but since you are a reincarnated vessel of younger brother Asura, your fate is entirely up to you, whether you want to go back to your old life as a Shinobi a leaf, or be reborn as something new." Hagoromo says, causing Naruto to widen his eyes in surprise.
"Reborn….? As in reincarnate like your son?" Naruto asks with curiosity, causing Hagoromo to nod. "Reincarnate…..no what am I saying!? Sasuke, Kakashi sensei, granny Tsunade, and the others need me right now, I can't just abandon them!" Naruto yells in denial of the offer, causing the Sage to look at him with interest.
"Would your choice be any different if I told you that it'll all work itself out whether you're there with them or not?" Hagoromo says with curiosity, causing Naruto to look up at him, his will wavering at the question.
"I-...wha-what do you mean whether I'm there or not it'll work out….are you saying that I'm not needed anymore…..?" The blonde shinobi asks with hesitation in his voice, causing Hagoromo to look at him before grabbing his staff and tapping the water below him, showing images of the world's future without Naruto in it. "N-no way….."
"As you can see, the future is unchanged whether you return to the land of the living or not." Hagoromo says to the distraught shinobi.
"B-but I just got Sasuke back…..I can't just leave now….." Naruto says with a hint of sadness, causing the sage to look at him curiously.
"Are you telling me that or are you telling that to yourself?" Hagoromo asks the blonde questioningly.
"I can't leave…..I still need to become Hokage…..Granny Tsunade is counting on me…!" Naruto retorts back at the sage.
"Tell me this Naruto, does one simply become Hokage to gain acknowledgement from others? Or does one become Hokage because they already have acknowledgement from others?" Hagoromo asks the blonde, causing him to widen his eyes at the question.
"Only those already acknowledged will ever become Hokage." Itachi Uchiha's voice rings out in Naruto's head, causing Naruto to fall to his knees.
"Judging on your reaction I suspect that you already know the answer to that." Hagoromo says with a smile before tapping the water at Naruto's knees with his staff, showing Naruto an image of the Hokage mountain with his face carved into it.
"Super Gramps Sage…..what is this….." Naruto asks calmly, causing the Sage to look at the image.
"It's exactly what it looks like, whether you live, or you die, you have been acknowledged as a Hokage of the Leaf Village." Hagoromo says with a smile, causing Naruto to start tearing up.
"I see….so what now…?" Naruto asks while silently leaking tears, causing the old sage to look at him with curiosity.
"That's up for you to decide, if you'd like to become someone new, go north, if you'd like to return to who you once were, go south, no matter what your choice is, something special will cross your path one day." Hagoromo says to the blonde as he stands up.
"So I guess this is goodbye…..huh?" Naruto asks, causing the old sage to nod.
"Hmm, until we meet again, Naruto Uzumaki." Hagoromo says to the blonde one last time as said Shinobi begins to walk south, thinking of the images Hagoromo showed him before stopping. "Is that what you truly want?" Hagoromo asks before smiling as Naruto begins dashing towards north, leaking tears as his life flashes before his eyes.
"I know this is wrong….and that it's selfish of me to do this…..but I can't help it ya know…..forgive me…..mom…..dad..!" Naruto thought to himself while continuing to cry.
"You said ya know…there's no doubt you're my child." Kushina's soft voice rings out in Naruto's head, causing him to cry even harder.
"You're my son, in this world, there is nothing more valuable to me and your mother, you're very special." Minato's voice rings out tenderly in Naruto's ear with each step, causing the blonde even further pain.
"Naruto…..thank you so much for letting me become a mother…..and thank you for letting Minato become a father…thank you for being born to us…thank you..!" Kushina's last words before disappearing ring out in the blonde's ear.
"Don't you worry, I'll make sure that I'll tell her about everything..!" Reanimated Minato's last words before disappearing play out in Naruto's head, as the light in Naruto's vision fades to darkness.
Flashback - End
"Hey, you're Ichigo Saitou right? The president of Strawberry Productions?" A man with short blonde hair and blue intriguing starry eyes wearing a gray winter coat over a black long sleeve shirt and black pants with black shoes says to another depressed looking man under quite the influence.
"What's it to you..? I'm not in a good mood right now if you haven't noticed already so get lost!" The newly named Ichigo Saitou, a man with thin stubble facial hair, short somewhat spiky blonde hair, and amber eyes under tan rimmed sunglasses wearing a black suit jacket over a white dress shirt and black pants with brown shoes, yells at the other blonde haired man, who just smiles.
"So it seems, it's all over the news ya know, the death of your talent, the super idol Ai. My deepest condolences." The blonde haired man says solemnly, causing Ichigo to give him a side glance of annoyance.
"Tch, why the hell do you care…..you weren't the one who raised her….what would you know about Ai…" Ichigo says with disdain in his voice, causing the other blonde haired man to take a seat next to him.
"Nothing, I wouldn't know what it's like raising someone like her, but I do know what it's like to lose a loved one….I know it hurts deep inside….she was like a daughter to you right?" Hearing this from the other blonde haired man makes Ichigo grip his ice filled glass tight.
"What's your point..? Did you just come to give me some sympathy or something, because if so you better buzz off pal, I'm not looking for a half assed apology from someone I just met." The blonde says with annoyance, turning to look at the other blonde haired man with a glare.
"You're right, that's my bad, but you need to hear me out at least." The blonde haired man says before turning to look back at the glaring Ichigo with a serious face, catching the blonde business man by surprise in the process.
"Alright then, get on with it, what do you want me to hear that is so important?" Ichigo asks with a serious face of his own, slipping into work mode and pushing the depression to the side momentarily.
"Here, take a look at this." The blonde haired man says while sliding a picture to the blonde business man, widening Ichigo's eyes under his sunglasses.
"Wait…..am I seeing this right..!?" Ichigo asks while picking up the picture with both hands, losing all interest in his alcoholic beverage. "Is this some kind of sick joke, where did you get this photo!?"
"Fortunately for you, no, what you see in that picture is no lie, it was taken just only yesterday." The blonde haired man says while looking at the picture in Ichigo's hands, revealing it to be a young 5 year old girl with neck length purple hair with pink highlight strips wearing a plain white shirt and black shorts, but the most intriguing part about her are her purple starry eyes.
"Tell me…..what's this girl's name…?" Ichigo asks with a bit of hesitation.
"Ai, Ai Fushiguro." The blonde haired man says with a smile, causing Ichigo's eyes to widen largely. "Her parents must have been a big fan of the idol Ai or something, that or it's because of the uncanny resemblance, but nonetheless that doesn't matter. Believe it or not she's my son's best friend, the two have been neighbors since birth, hell I'd say they practically live together at this point."
"Ok….and what does telling me…or showing me any of this for that matter, do for you? What is it that you're after here?" Ichigo asks with suspicion, causing the other blonde haired man to smile.
"Nothing, I don't gain anything out of telling you this or showing you this photo." The blonde haired man says softly, causing Ichigo to look at him with a confused face.
"Wha-what? You're kidding right? There must be something you want from me. Money!? Women!? Connections!?" Ichigo says with disbelief whilst the blonde haired man denies all of the usual desires of men in the entertainment industry without hesitation.
"No, I don't want any of the sort, I just heard you lost your talent and thought I'd give another one to you in return, give another chance to the youth ya know? God knows that little girl needs all the love she can get, her parents have already left her, my son is all she has left…." The blonde haired man says with a sad smile toward Ichigo, who widens his eyes in disbelief.
"This girl's story….her name….it's as if she's a mirror reflection of my Ai…." Ichigo thought with hesitance in his thought
"I'll give you the address, but only on one condition." The blonde haired man says with a solemn look, causing
"So there is something you want after all, alright then, what's your price?" The blonde businessman asks with anticipation.
"Like I told you I don't want any money, all I want is that if you do decide to go check her out and you take her under your care, then I want you to take my son as well." The blonde haired man asks with expectancy in his tone, causing Ichigo to look at him with a blank face.
"Wa-wait…..seriously? That's it? That's all you want?" Ichigo asks in disbelief.
"You may not realize it now, but when you meet the kid you'll know this is a deal of a lifetime." The black haired man says before giving Ichigo the address of the building and standing up, confusing the blonde man greatly.
"Wa-wait a second!" Ichigo calls out when standing up, causing the blonde haired man to stop in his tracks, his back turned to Ichigo. "I don't even know your name, let alone this kid, what am I supposed to do if the kid goes asking about where his father is at?"
"I highly doubt he'll do that…..but if for some reason he does end up doing it, tell my son Naruto Uzui that I'm sorry that I couldn't be the father he deserved, from Minato Uzui." The newly named Minato says before walking off out of the bar, leaving Ichigo there speechless.
"Damn….what the heck was that all about….?" Ichigo asks himself before sitting back down looking at his phone with a picture of the idol he nurtured for so long until now, Ai Hoshino. "Ai….I should be saying those words to you….you deserved a better father figure than me….." Ichigo says before looking at the photo of the little child carbon copy of Ai in hesitation. "Ai Fushiguro huh…"
Timeskip - Hours Of Alcoholic Courage Later.
"You're Naruto Uzui, right?" Ichigo asks a walking 5 year old with a black backpack stops in his tracks, turning and revealing his face being eerily similar to that of Minato's in face structure but being drastically different in other aspects such as his short blonde hair parted to the right in a Karma Akabane timeskip cut with maroon red highlights all throughout his blonde hair, giving it a unique fiery red look to it, but the most intriguing factor of his appearance are his blood red starry eyes, he wears black shorts with white lines down the sides of them as well as a basic red short sleeve shirt.
"What's it to you?" The newly named Naruto asks the blonde adult who looks at him with surprise.
"Damn this kid looks a lot like his father, the resemblance would be uncanny if his dad was dyed in red highlights…." Ichigo thought with a sweatdrop, causing Naruto to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"So what do you want, and why are you looking at me like that, what are you a freak?" Naruto asks with a deadpan, causing Ichigo to get a tick mark on his forehead in annoyance.
"Why you little-!" Ichigo says in annoyance before sighing, calming himself and adjusting his sunglasses "It's nothing, you just look like him is all."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asks with confusion.
"Don't worry about it, it's my own issue." Ichigo says with a shrug before smiling and kneeling down to Naruto's short height. "So your dad came to visit me today, he told me all about you kid."
"Did he now….?" Naruto responds with disinterest.
"Yeah, he said some pretty interesting stuff about you so I thought I'd stop by and say hello." Ichigo says with a warm smile.
"Well you said hello already, so goodbye." Naruto says with disinterest before said 4 year old turns around and begins walking away.
"Wa-wait a minute, he also wanted me to tell you-"
"I don't care." Naruto says, interrupting the blonde and shocking him in the process.
"Huh?" Ichigo mumbles out in confusion, causing Naruto to turn back to him with a dull face, his starry eyes changing from white stars to black abyssal ones.
"I have no interest of where he is or what he's doing, what "nice" things he wanted to say to me he should have been here to say it to my face, hell even if he did show up it's been so long I don't even remember what he looks like, so I probably wouldn't even know it was him anyway." Naruto says coldly to Ichigo
"I see before turning his attention toward a slide door opening on a balcony where a young Ai Fushiguro steps out with a smile, gasping in excitement.
"Naruto, you're home!" Ai calls out to the red and blonde haired boy with a cheerful smile, her purple starry eyes sparkling bright, the same as Naruto's as said boy turns to look at her, dropping all coldness in his face and looking at her with a smile of happiness as his red eyes return to their normal white starry gaze.
"Hey there Ai, I'm glad to see you safe too." Naruto says with warmth in his voice, grinning at the girl brightly, causing her to smile right back.
"Stay right there, I'm on my way down!" Ai yells with a bright smile before running back into the apartment, causing Ichigo to look at Naruto's back with a smile.
"Seeing this Ai in person…..it's almost like my Ai never left…this boy is hurt deeply by the actions of his own father...….yet she's able to put a smile like that on his face…." Ichigo thought with sadness before Naruto turns to him with a sheepish smile.
"You're probably wondering who that is, she's my neighbor, and like me she's been abandoned by her parents too….I guess that means they're finished with us, and they're off enjoying themselves somewhere else…." Naruto says with a sad smile. "Still I'm glad they did..…without her I don't know what I would do, I wouldn't have been able to stay sane for as long as I have if she wasn't here, so in a way I'm thankful for her parents leaving her…..is that selfish of me to say?"
"Of course not you dummy!" Ai yells from her doorstep after opening the door, running from out of her abandoned apartment and over to Naruto, hugging him from behind and causing his smile to brighten.
"You mean it…?" Naruto asks with a genuine smile, putting a hand over Ai's arm in the process.
"Of course silly, you are my best friend, I wouldn't trade you for anything..!" Ai says with a bright smile of joy, causing Ichigo to smile at the scene.
"Well aren't you two cute together, it's almost like I'm watching a married couple talk their feelings out, heh." Ichigo says with a hint of amusement, causing Ai to blush at the thought, making the purple haired girl sputter and separate from the red highlighted blonde boy to Ichigo's amusement.
"Isn't the truth…that you actually do wanna love people? It's just that you don't know how, you've just never found the right object for your love…." Ichigo's words in Ai's past life ring out, causing her to widen her eyes a little and look up at the blonde man and recognize him in an instant.
"So, who are you mister….?" Ai asks in a daze of nostalgia. "It's the president….for him it's been only a couple weeks since he last saw me…but for me….it's been 5 years….that much time feels so much longer than really it is…." Ai thought with a bit of sadness.
"Hey there, my name is Ichigo Saitou, I came to swing by and have a little chat here with Naruto, he told me you guys were living on your own, is that true?" Ichigo asks with a warm smile, causing Ai to widen her eyes before lowering her head in sadness.
"Yeah…we've been on our own since Naruto's dad left a year ago….." Ai says sadly, giving her small flashbacks of her old mother doing the same to her in her old life.
"I see…..so it is true…...how are you guys holding up? It's gotta suck living on your own like that." Ichigo asks with a frown of disappointment. "That bastard just left these kids here!? Of all the things holy…..even his own son can't remember his face…!"
"Oh, we're doing just fine! Naruto started writing novels and he's been making a lot from it!" Ai yells in excitement whilst looking up at the blonde business man with a proud smile, making Naruto and Ichigo look at her with a face of shock.
"H-hey Ai, what the hell are you doing!?" Naruto yells in disbelief, causing the girl to look at him with a confused face.
"What? Was it something I said..?" Ai says innocently, causing Naruto to sigh in defeat.
"You can't just blurt stuff like that out to people you just meet." Naruto says with annoyance, his eyes twitching in agitation.
"Whoops! My bad, I forgot that you need to be extra careful while you're famous." Ai says with a cheerful smile, causing Naruto and Ichigo to gape at her.
"You think!?" Naruto and Ichigo comedically thought at the same time.
"Geez, this little girl and Ai really are alike….." Ichigo thought with a sweatdrop before coming to a realization."Wait, so you write novels kid?"
"Ye-yeah….you could say my grandpa used to write them and that I just kinda took over for him after his passing, heh….." Naruto says sheepishly with a nervous sweatdrop. "I hate that this new life is making me bring back pervy sage's work…but I gotta give it to him, they sell well….it almost feels like a part of him is still with me inside his work…." Naruto thought before smiling solemnly at the ground, remembering Jiraiya teaching him how to write on their training trip alongside forcing the former pure blonde to read every book in the Icha Icha series.
"I see, it must sell well if you can sustain a life for two, what series have you been writing?" Ichigo asks with a smile, causing Naruto to look to the side whilst sweating bullets.
"Uh…..the Ich Icha series…" Naruto says with an embarrassed face, causing Ichigo to face fault and look at him with a dumb expression.
"D-did you just say the Icha Icha series…!? The one by the Author every fan of the series has been looking for all this time? The Legendary Jiraiya!? You're telling me that he's just a kid!?" Ichigo yells in surprise, in shock at the thought of such adult-like material being written by a child.
"Ye-yeah….I'm not proud of it….but the fans seem to love it, and it sells well so I don't mind." Naruto says sheepishly before smiling at Ai. "Besides, it helps me support Ai so I don't mind continuing my grandpa's work."
"What's so special about the Icha Icha series, is it some kind of miracle story or something?" Ai asks innocently, causing Naruto and Ichigo to sweat bullets before chuckling nervously.
"Ye-yeah….you could say that….I'm actually a big fan of the series myself so I would know, heh…" Ichigo says with a blush on his face whilst Naruto nods his head profusely.
"Oh, then I might just give it a read myself!" Ai yells with a bright smile.
"Absolutely not!" Naruto and Ichigo yell at the same time, scaring Ai at the volume at which they yelled.
"Oh…ok, then maybe I'll check it out later..?" Ai responds with a sweatdrop before Naruto covers her mouth with a serious face.
"You won't be reading it until you're older, at the very least when you're 16." Naruto says with certainty, not wanting to indulge Ai in such content yet.
"Awww, why not." Ai pouts with disappointment.
"Because I said so, that's why!" Naruto retorts demandingly, causing Ai to puff her cheeks out in annoyance.
"Maybe I really am watching a married couple…." Ichigo mumbles out with a deadpan.
"We're not married!" Naruto and Ai yell at Ichigo in annoyance, causing the man to start laughing in amusement.
"Hey, I got an idea, why don't you two come live with me? I'd feel awful if I left you two here by yourselves without any adult supervision, you can come work with my agency, you'll get to be on TV and stuff, so what do ya say?" Ichigo asks with a grin. "Even if you aren't the same person…..this time….I won't fail you Ai…." The blonde businessman thought with determination whilst the young Ai Fushiguro smiles brightly and nods at him, causing Naruto to sigh and hesitantly do the same. "I promise you two won't regret it!"
To be continued….
I really enjoyed making this, once again I'm sorry if you were hoping for the original Naruto, but in a way this is him, just reborn as someone new and no longer being influenced to make decisions as a vessel of Asura, I WILL FIND A WAY TO ADD CHAKRA IN THIS STORY, do Ai and Naruto know they're both reborn? Find out next time on My Star: Shinobi's Rebirth! Leave a review of what you thought of this chapter, leave suggestions. I'll read them and if I find them interesting I'll consider doing it.