Author Notes:
Dark and Alive Minato, Minato fans beware.
Alive Kushina.
Darker Naruto.
Original Characters x Established Characters
Not sure what everyone's big beef is with a background coupling but it's not going to change so you might as well stop reading now. The same goes for the OC's, they are not going anywhere so if that is really such an issue for you then just stop reading here, it doesn't bother me either way.
Chapter 19: A Variety of Goodbyes
After a week the Daimyou announced who would become the new Hokage, it was Tsunade Senju. The news came as a surprise to everyone, especially Tsunade, who didn't seem super ecstatic about the idea. Everyone was happy for her, even Naruto said something almost close to positive when he said, 'At least it isn't an idiot in charge again.' Everyone was a bit surprised by this since he had been relatively dark since everything with Naruko happened, a regression that wasn't all that surprising.
Everyone was saying their goodbyes since Tsunade had finished her acceptance ceremony. Naruto only had a couple of people he wanted to say goodbye to. Luckily for him they were both in the same place.
With Naruto…
The young teen approached the two as they sat outside talking, neither knowing that he was coming just yet so when he got there he looked at them silently for a moment. He had to say that he approved of Asuma and his mother. The Sarutobi had surprised him a bit with this, he never had anything personally against Asuma but he always believed that no one was good enough for her. He couldn't deny though that there had definitely been an air of happiness around her after they started to date.
For whatever reason that even after all this time he didn't understand, he made her happy. Since he made her happy he would approve of it and let it continue without protest. As he stood there behind them he finally made his presence to them known, "Kaa-san, Asuma-sensei..."
They both looked over at him and his mother gave him a soft smile, "Hey sweetie."
His eyes went back and forth between the two, "I came to say goodbye."
Expecting this to be a private moment, Asuma went to stand up and leave until Naruto spoke again, "That includes you."
Looking at Naruto with a bit of surprise, he sat back down next to his red headed lover. Kushina smiled at him then at Naruto, "We will see you a couple times during the trip right? You will have to come back to resupply and what not."
The blond teen looked at her, "I highly doubt it, they know how to survive without major villages so I figure to not return until my three years of training come to a close. I will write though, there are probably things that will make it so that we see each other at some point."
Looking at him with a bit of a downtrodden look, Kushina got up and gave him a strong hug and kiss on the forehead. He hugged her back then looked at her, "Can I speak to Asuma-sensei alone please?"
The red head nodded her head then went inside as the two men stayed outside watching her leave and waiting for the backdoor to close. As the audible click went through the air Naruto looked at Asuma, "You have surprised me with how good you have been for my mother. I was sure after awhile you would take off but you haven't. You seem to really care and she cares about you. This is the trial run for why I chose you Asuma, you HAVE to protect her while I am gone. Do you understand?"
He nodded his head then Naruto nodded and turned to leave. The Sarutobi then spoke up, "Naruto, you don't have to carry all this pain and guilt around. No one blames you for anything."
Stopping, Naruto looked over his shoulder at Asuma. For a moment he just stared at him before leaving, speaking as he walked away, "Don't forget why you were chosen Asuma."
With that Naruto came inside and grabbed his bag, heading to the front gate to meet Darious and Kiro so that they could start their trip. He wanted to get out of Konohagakure, there were too many things he needed to get away from right now, to many turmoils that he felt because of being here. For a moment, he thought about saying goodbye to Naruko in person but thought it was for the best to leave it at the letter. She made it clear, he was nothing to her now and he would respect her decision, as much as a part of him wished to try and change her mind on it.
With a sigh Naruto tightened the straps of his bag and headed to the gate. He just hoped that Darious and Kiro wouldn't keep him waiting around forever while they said goodbye to their girlfriends.
With Darius…
The brown haired man was currently sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. He was waiting for Shizune to have a chance to speak to him. He wanted to tell her goodbye before he left with Naruto and Kiro. It felt a bit wrong to him, after all that time apart and all his suffering he had to leave her this time.
He had finally got her back, she was his again and now he was leaving. He had to tell her that if she didn't want to wait that he would understand. It would hurt like hell to hear but he could understand, three years was a long time to wait. He hadn't told her something important and he didn't think it was smart to tell her now.
Finally he heard the door open and looked up to see Shizune smiling at him, "Thanks for waiting Dar-kun."
He smiled back at her before he stood up, "Shizune-chan... I am going to be leaving today."
The smile that had been on her face slowly faded as she looked at her lover. He stared at her with a pained look, "It is three years... that is a long time to wait for someone. I... um... I will understand if you don't want to wait for me to come back."
He rubbed his neck and reached down for his bag. He put it over his shoulder then went towards the door. He kissed her on the cheek and smiled a bit, "I will miss you Shizune-chan, more than I could ever put into words."
At that point he went to leave until she grabbed his hand. He looked back at her as she held it tightly, "I am going with you."
Darious stared at her, caught off guard by a declaration he had not been expecting, "Shizune-chan, you're in charge of the hospital now. You have responsibilities here."
Said woman gave a determined look, one that he was more than familiar with, "I also have responsibilities to make sure Naruto stays safe. Neither you nor Kiro know medical ninjutsu, right? The Kyuubi may not be able to heal something, or he may refuse to heal something. If that is the case then I will be the one that heals him."
The man just continued to stare at her before he gave her a kind smile, "You can still be so damn stubborn."
She stuck her tongue out at him with a wink, "Come along and help me pack Dar-kun, we don't want to keep them waiting at the gate for too long now do we. I will send word to Tsunade-sama through one of the staff members."
He nodded his head at her and followed her back to the Uzumaki estate. They quickly packed a bag before they walked hand in hand to the gate to see only Naruto was there. Darious looked at Naruto, "Kiro isn't here yet huh? Did you say your goodbyes Naruto?"
The blond teen nodded his head then they all stood there waiting for Kiro to show up. They wouldn't have to wait long until the Ookami survivor showed up though.
With Kiro...
The Ookami was walking through the clan district of Konohagakure. He had something he was determined to do. He had a set look on his face as he replayed what he was going to say in his head, 'Hana-chan... I know that you're not exactly one hundred percent on the mate thing but I know that I love you. I want that with you and I want you to come with us on the training trip. I want you to be with me, I know how I feel and I want to try to make you feel the same. Three years apart may do the opposite of what I really want for us.'
As he got to the door of the Inuzuka Clan he went to knock but stopped as he heard yelling. It wasn't really all that much of a surprise. Hana and Tsume often argued, it seemed to be how they communicated.
Inside of the house, Tsume was glaring at Hana, "Dammit Hana! He will be leaving soon and you haven't gone through the mating process with him!"
The heiress of the Inuzuka clan just glared at her before throwing her hands up in frustration, "Don't start on this with me again!"
Her mother gave her a very audible growl, "WHAT IF HE FINDS SOMEONE ELSE ON THE ROAD!? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO THEN!?"
That was when the heiress snapped, shouting back in anger, "SO WHAT!? I WASN'T EVEN SURE THAT WE WOULD WORK OUT ANYWAYS! I DON'T THINK THAT HE IS MY MATE!"
The matriarch of the Inuzuka clan just shook her head, "Whatever Hana, if you want to lose him then whatever. You will understand at some point what you are giving up you stupid girl."
There was one knock that sounded more like a thump on the door and that was Kiro's head hitting it. Hana growled at her mom then went to the door, opening it to see him, her eyes widening as she saw him. He slowly looked up at her then adjusted his bag, "Goodbye Hana."
Turning to leave and tightening the straps, Kiro started to leave the property but she quickly grabbed his wrist. This made him stop but he didn't look at her, "Was it a lie the entire time? Just to get me back here?"
Hana shook her head no, not that he was able to see, "It wasn't."
Kiro didn't say anything but he didn't look at her either. He slowly pulled his hand away from her then she went to stand in front of him. He looked up at her as she stared at him, "Kiro..."
He shook his head, "Stop... just don't alright? It was better to hear it before I said what I had to say anyways."
The Ookami survivor went to go around her again until she spoke, "What did you want to say to me Kiro?"
Said man just looked ahead, "What is the point of saying it now? I know what you want and it has always been that I would do what you want. You don't want this to continue so it won't."
Hana just growled a bit, the fiery temper that he had fallen for coming to the surface, "TELL ME!"
With a sigh he finally looked at her and she was surprised by the pain in his eyes. He looked at her, "I wanted you to come with me. You may not have been on board with the mate thing but I was. I... I grew close to you and I didn't want to wait three years to see you again. Now that I know, it's better that you don't come. Three years with me on the road when you don't feel even remotely close to the same would be torturous for us both."
Kiro sighed at her then shook his head before looking at where he was heading, "This is goodbye then Ms. Inuzuka."
Hana didn't miss the fact that he didn't call her Hana before she grabbed his hand again, "Are you coming back?"
With a small, pained laugh, he shook his head before he looked at her , "What is there to come back for Ms. Inuzuka? To have to smell you no matter where I am in this village and know you don't want the same as me? To have to watch you choose someone else? Why would I come back for that pain? So no, I will not be returning, I will do my duties and train Naruto then I will leave them to come back on their own. I will get a different mission from Jiraiya-sensei and that will be the end of it."
The Inuzuka heiress looked at him with a little panic in her heart and eyes, "What if I want you to come back?"
The Ookami looked at her, "Why would you want that? You don't want me in that way remember? I am not what you think of when you think of a mate."
Hana sighed, thinking that he was only hearing parts of what she said, "I said I wasn't sure not that I didn't want that Kiro."
All that she got from him was a blank look, "You're not sure, so I will make this choice easy for you and make it so that it doesn't exist. I will not be returning, that way you do not have to be with me out of some sort of obligation and you do not have to decide if I am what you want."
Tightening his straps again he gave her one last look, a new depth of pain in his eyes as he did before he turned forward again, "Goodbye Ms. Inuzuka, I hope you find what you are looking for."
Finally he was able to walk forward before she looked at him and yelled after him, "You will come back for me! I know that you will! I didn't say no and your instincts will bring you back to me Kiro!"
He looked over his shoulder at her as he kept walking then went to the gate. When he got there everyone was looking at him as Naruto spoke up with an annoyed tone, "You're late."
Kiro glared at him and lashed out at him with a ferocious tone, "Shut up you little shit."
He kept on heading out the gate at that point. Everyone was wondering what put him in such a foul mood. It wouldn't be until later that night that Darious found out about everything. He didn't seem to be able to completely cope with this break, something that would trouble him over the next three years.