'_" means fourth wall break for this chapter. That will make more sense in a moment. ;)

White surrounded him as echoes of a past called out faintly. He continued to walk as the voices around him continued their calls.

"NARUTO!"

"We can't do this to him!"

"I know, but for the best of the village…"

"Damn the village!"

New voices emerged after as the echos continued to follow him.

"Kushina…"

"Please don't take him. He needs me."

"Don't worry Mikoto, I promise he will be fine."

"But how do I know? I can't lose him after I lost her. And he needs someone to be there for him. Please."

"I will make sure he is well taken care of. No matter what."

The white began to grow into color as blurred images formed.

"Ahhhhhhh."

"Shut it! This is what you deserve. For his sins."

Sounds of beatings echoed. He didn't stop. Fire was heard as red burned. He didn't stop.

"Hello, is someone there?"

"Naruto! No no no…what? How? Why?"

"Mikoto we can't."

"Don't you dare! I was right this whole time and you know it. I told you something wasn't right. Not even letting anyone see him. And yet you said it was all fine. NO, he's staying, consequences be damned!"

The images became more clear now as the memories formed. He walked through them as if a part of them himself.

"Sasuke, stop being jealous." She called to the boy who pouted in his chair.

"Wanna be wiff you." A little Sasuke said as he crossed his arms. Mikoto smiled as she held a little Naruto on her lap, he himself covering his face in her chest.

"I know you do. But I need him to eat so be patient. I'll be with you in a moment." She went back to her task of giving food to the child. Getting a spoon full of porridge she brought it up to him, though he didn't seem to want it. "It's alright sweety, it's good for you I promise."

He smiled at the sight. It was adorable watching such a sweet moment between this family. Memories of his previous life flashed in his mind as he watched her fail to get the small boy to eat, the other one showing his disgust for the food which didn't help the situation. He chuckled as both boys seemed to be on the same page, porridge was bad.

"Heh heh, agreed." His gruff voice echoed, though no one made any motion to indicate he was even there. He looked to the kitchen door as it began to open. He followed it as a new memory formed.

"Miko, Miko?" Naruto waddled around the house as he looked for Mikoto. He followed the boy as they both made it to the living room. "Miko?" Naruto began to cry as he couldn't find Mikoto anywhere. He frowned as the boy cried. Footsteps were heard from behind him as he turned to see Mikoto running to make sure the boy was ok.

"Naruto, are you ok? What's wrong, come here." She picked him up as he began to calm down. "No find. Scawed" She kissed his forehead as she sat on the couch with him. "Oh baby it's ok. I wasn't leaving you. So don't worry."

He stood over them as they both stayed together. He didn't want to keep watching as he walked to the next door. Room after room was another memory. One of Naruto and Sasuke in the bath, another was of the whole family at a party, another of Naruto and Sasuke with Itachi. Every room led to a new memory. But none of these rooms were what he was looking for. Time went on as the memories showed the boy get older. Now he was on the last days of the Uchiha. Mikoto and Naruto going shopping. Kakashi coming to the Uchiha's. The party. The Uchiha's last day. He saw them take both the boys away. The last memory was finally here.

Naruto and Sasuke screamed as Anbu held them down. Hiruzen and Danzo talked to a tall white haired man as the boys tried to escape.

"So Jiraiya, are they ready?" The man nodded as he held up two paper seals. "Yes sensei. All that's needed is to place them on and they'll forget everything." Hiruzen smiled. "Good. Danzo, any word on Itachi?" The bandaged man shook his head. "He's better than we thought. He's escaped." Hiruzen frowned. "We need to find him. If word ever gets out we could lose everything. Go look for him, I'll handle this." Danzo nodded as he walked away. Hiruzen looked back to the boys as Jiraiya held the seals. "Put them on." Jiraiya nodded as he placed both seals on the boy's foreheads. They began to quiet down as the world began to go dark. Hiruzen's muffled voice said something he couldn't hear as Naruto's memories came to an end.

He looked around for a door. He was told it would be around here once the sealed memories ended. Suddenly a door faded into existence as his tail began to sway. He walked slowly to the door as he reached for it, his four fingered hand gripped it gently as he sighed. "Here we go."

The door opened to reveal Naruto's old room. Not the one from the Uchihas. No, his first room.

It was dark and cold. Spiderwebs covered it and mold was starting to grow on the walls. A leak on the ceiling dripped water in a regular form. Drip, drip, drip.

He looked around. His eyes were better than any man's and his nose was even better, so why couldn't he find him.

'Wait, didn't they say something about…uuuuuuuh. Oh no, not again!' He'd forgotten what they told him. Typical Re…

"Eep!"

"Huh?" He looked to the originator of the sound.

'Uhhh, what?"

Uhhhhhh. :( He looked at the crib in the middle of the room.

'Thanks. :)"

Don't interrupt!

'Sorry :("

Huhhhh. He looked to the crib in the middle of the room. It was small and wooden. Chips in the paint and scratches on the wood itself showed it was clear that it hadn't been taken care of in a long time. His large size allowed him to see what was inside without getting too close. And what he saw shocked even him.

Inside was a small boy with what looked like rags to cover him. His body was nothing but skin and bones and his features were grim. He had dust and grime all over him and his eyes were void of life, as if it was taken from him long ago. The boy looked at him for a moment before trying his best to get into a ball, terror flooding him.

He looked at the boy as sorrow and rage entered into him, though even he wasn't dumb enough to let it show in front of the child. He held up his hands as he tried his best to look as non threatening as possible.

"H-Hey, don't worry kid. I-I won't hurt you." The child didn't seem to believe him. The boy whimpered as he whispered to himself. "mama, papa, help."

He noticed this as he went down to be on his knees, hoping even a little less height would show he wasn't dangerous. Well, less dangerous.

'Not helping."

"Hey kid it's ok. I promise I won't hurt you. I'm a good guy."

The boy looked at him for a moment. "no, bad."

"No, I'm not bad. I'm friendly. And very nice. I can do some magic too, see." He waves his hand as a small blue flame appears. This only scares the child more as he tries his best to hide once again as tears begin to run down his face.

'Wait, WHAT!"

He's afraid of fire, you idiot. HAVE YOU NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION!

'Heh heh, um…no :)"

THEN START!

'OK, ok I'm sorry :("

"He-Hey wait I didn't mean to scare you like that. Um, oh no. Hey calm down. I won't hurt you." He tries his best to calm the child down but it doesn't seem to work. The child continues to cry as he thinks to himself.

'Ok, hold on. What's his name again? Ummm…OH RIGHT'

"Hey, Naruto right?" The boy stops for a moment at the calling of his name. Looking up he sees as glowing stick figures dance in the air. Really? These look like a child made them.

'Shut up, I'm not good at this!"

The figures dance around as patterns form around the crib. Naruto continues to look at them as he sits up, holding his legs close to his chest. The shapes and images continue to dance as he then begins to make a new shape. Naruto watches him as the dancing images begin to bring light into the dark room.

The man continues to work on this new shape as Naruto starts to get closer, curiosity fueling him as he notices the shape begins to look recognizable. As the light begins to flood into the room Naruto finally sees this man, as he starts to get confused.

The man doesn't seem like a man at all. He's big, bigger than anyone he's ever seen. Even bigger than that one white haired man. His skin is blue and looks weird. Like the skin of a lizard. What did Itachi tell them they were called, scales?" His body also had a lot of muscle, more than he'd ever seen on someone before. His hands were also big, and even had only four fingers, each having sharp claws on the end.

He looked at this man as he saw a tail behind him. His legs also looked short for the body they were on, it kinda looked funny to him. He also didn't have any shoes, just large three-toed feet with claws too. This man even wore weird clothes.

They looked almost like the clothes a samurai would wear but not quite. He had striped pants with blue and orange stripes running down them. He liked them for that. His belt had what reminded him of samurai waist armor that went to his knees from the side of his legs. His shirt was a light brown and he had no sleeves. This helped Naruto see the man's muscled arms, on his wrists he could see some bracelets with spikes on them, cool. He also had some cloth that went down the front of his pants past his knees. Naruto wondered why since he had pants. This guy was just so weird.

Looking to his face he noticed this guy had almost no neck, and he also noticed that some scales on his neck had a light green color to them as they went down to be hidden by his shirt. Naruto wondered if his belly was also green.

His face looked very odd. It looked like one of the dinosaurs from Sasuke's old dinosaur book but his lips were moving like a person. He also had three short horns on his head that pointed to the back of his head but pointed up slightly.

Naruto continued to look at this dino man as he continued to make this object in his hands. Finally after a few moments of silence Naruto broke it. "Dino."

He looked up from his little creation as he looked to the boy, his hazel eyes looking into the dark eyes, a small amount of blue finally beginning to peek out. He gave a small smile as he spoke softly. "Heh heh, yep I am." Naruto gave a small giggle as he got a little closer.

"You talk funny."

"Heh heh, I do don't I." Naruto giggled again as he looked at the ball of glowing shapes in the man's hands. "What making?"

"You'll see in a second." Naruto pouted a bit as the man gave a toothy smile. Naruto gasped as he pointed at the sharp teeth. "Pointy!"

He looked a little confused as he put a finger to one of his teeth. "Hm, guess they are. Good job." Naruto beamed at the praise as he looked at the glowing thing in the man's hands before looking back to him. "What name?" He asked innocently.

The man took a moment as he wondered if it was a good idea to say.

'It can't hurt him to know right?.'

"Call me Rex." He said as he gave another smile. Naruto thought about that name.

"That a funny name." Rex just gave a small chuckle as he continued his little project.

"Heh heh, it is isn't it?" At that moment he had finally finished his project as the light around it faded, revealing a fox plushie that little Naruto knew all too well.

"Foxy!" He exclaimed with joy as he grabbed at the toy. Rex obliged, giving it to the child, as he watched him hug the toy with more love than he'd seen in a long time. Rex smiled as he let little Naruto continue to pour his love into his favorite toy as the room began to change. The dark room began to vanish as it was replaced with Naruto's old room with the Uchiha's. The crib also transformed as it became a small bed. Though what changed the most was Naruto himself as his body began to change. His skin became less dirty and gained more color as his body gained weight, his features becoming rounder as fat developed once again. Even his clothes changed as they became the pair of orange pajamas with the Uchiha crest on the back, the very pair he'd wear at home when it was time for bed.

Rex only smiled as he watched the changes unfold. It seemed he was doing the right thing this time.

Naruto finally stopped hugging foxy as he looked to Rex, the biggest smile he could muster plastered across his face. "Thank you mister Rex!"

Rex just nodded as he stayed seated on the floor. "No problem kiddo. Anytime." Naruto bounced with excitement as he jumped off his bed and gave Rex a big hug. The man was a little shocked as he took a moment before returning the hug. "There you go. Now, how are you feelin?" He said as he lifts little Naruto and places him on his lap.

The boy giggles as he holds foxy in his arms. "Better."

"That's good."

Naruto looks around as he now seems to look for someone. "Where Sasuke?" Rex flinches slightly as he tries to give a smile. "What do you mean?"

"He not here." Naruto says as he looks into Rexes eyes. Rex doesn't know what to say as he scratches at the back of his head.

"Um, well. He's around. He should be getting up soon. And so should you." Naruto looks at the man confused as he tilts his head. "What you mean?"

Rex gives a sad smile as the door to Naruto's room opens. "They're through there."

Naruto looks at the door as all he can see is a white glow beyond it. "Who out there?" He asks as he begins to get a little scared. Rex frowns as he notices the fear in the child. "Hey, it's ok. Everyone's just out there. Sasuke, your mom and dad!" Naruto gets a little excited at that. "Mama and Papa?!" He asks with some excitement.

Rex nods as he places Naruto on his feet, he himself finally standing up. "Yep, all four of them." Naruto looks to the man in surprise as a small smile begins to form on his face. "Really!"

Rex nods again as he leads the boy to the door. Just before they can go through however Naruto stops. "Hey it's ok. You don't need to worry. I'll be right by your side the whole time." Naruto looks to him as he hugs Foxy tight. "Pwomise."

Rex nods. "Promise." Naruto takes a moment to think before he lifts his hand up to Rex. He crouches as he takes the boy's hand into his own. Both look to the door for a moment before they both begin to walk, entering into the light as the room becomes filled with nothing but white.

XXX

Naruto's eyes begin to open as he is blinded by the light around him. Squinting he begins to get a clear picture as his surroundings as the room he and Sasuke shared while on their mission comes into view. He blinks a few times as he begins to sit up, growing a bit as he hears his joints begin to pop.

Sitting he rubs his head as his mind begins to feel foggy. He can tell however that the fog is fading as his memories begin to return.

"What a weird dream." He hears a gasp as he looks to see Sakura staring at him from the doorway. She looks at him with almost no color inherent face as Naruto starts to get up. "Sakura, are you…"

She collides into him as he begins to cry. "You're ok!" she cheers as Naruto blushes. "Well of course I am. I just got hit a little too hard is all. I can't die that easily." She grabs him by the shoulders as she looks into his eyes.

"You idiot! You both scared me so much! Don't joke around when I thought you two died!" He was now confused as he looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She took a quick breath before talking once more. "You and Sasuke got hurt and then Sensei helped those two ninjas and they killed Gato only for them to bring you back here. And sensei didn't explain anything the whole time so I thought you both died and I got so worried." She began to tear up again as Naruto tried his best to calm her down. "Sakura it's ok. I'm fine and I bet Sasuke is too if…he…"

It was then that the fog cleared.

Naruto looked around the room as he searched for the one person he needed to see more than ever. "Sakura! Where's Sasuke!" She jumped a bit at how he asked so loudly as she took a second to answer. "He's outside." Naruto didn't waste a second as he raced out the door. Sakura followed him as she called out to him. "Naruto, wait!"

He didn't wait for her. He raced down the stairs as he made it to the front door. Opening it he called out only for Sasuke to be just ahead.

"Sasuke!"

The other boy looked to him as he seemed different. He had less rage in his eyes, as if clarity had finally come to him. They both looked as one another as Sakura looked to them both very confused. Naruto began to walk as he stopped just in front of Sasuke as they both gave each other a smile. Not one that a friend would give to the other after not seeing them in a long time. No. This was a smile that could only be given to family.

Naruto could almost cry as he realized that Sasuke seemed to realize what he had. It seemed the fog had lifted from both of them. They embraced as Sakura was now even more shocked. 'What's going on?' she asked herself.

Both boys stayed this way for what seemed like an eternity before they finally let each other go, as Naruto finally said what he'd been waiting so long to say.

"Bro."

Sasuke smiled as he nodded.

"Bro."

Sakura was even more confused as she was about to ask what they were talking about, only to then feel a hand on her shoulder. "Oh sensei."

Both boys looked to their teammate as behind her was Kakashi, his eye showing what could be seen as sorrowful joy as he looked at all three of them. "It's time I explain everything to you three."