Manicherryblossom33
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This is my second fanfic, which I was inspired to write by all those who replied and praised my minakushi fanfic. Thank you all. I didn get to be as romantic with the Minato and Kushina history fanfic as I wanted. The reason is that I'm not very good with romance. I have no experience with it, and I'm afraid it will come out cheesy and lame like twilight (truth be told I feel bad or Stephanie Meyer). Anyway this will be a challenge for me but I'm willing to tackle it. You gotta face your fears sometime right? Please enjoy this naruhina/sasusaku fanfic. There is near zero romance in the prologue. Please be patient. If anyone has an complaints about the length, sorry. I'm posting it Dom my phone and its too hard to do the color font and bold here. I'll edit later.
A future without you (sasusaku/naruhina) fanfiction
Prologue:
He stared blankly into the white space as he floated around on his back.
There was nothing at all here. And he was very tired. Despite that, he couldn't sleep.
He searched his mind for clues. What he recalled were three small pieces of info that only made the mindless-zombie feeling even stronger.
One was a fuzzy memory, more blinding and painful than the white space. Something to do with three people, bento boxes, and bells.
Another was a mental picture of a couple, smiling encouragingly at him.
The last was a name.
NARUTO, said a voice inside his head, IM HERE TOO.
He was pulled deep into his own psyche, where his mental self sat on his knees, leaning forward, staring blankly at his own reflection in the floor.
"Naruto, its me! Hey!" Said the beast. He looked it in the eyes. It was huge. A fox, maybe...? A giant fox, with nine tails...
"We...ird..." He said. For some reason it was as hard to talk as it was to move.
"Who you calling weird? Oh right, you don't know who I am do you? That makes this more difficult..."
His blank expression remained the same, while the fox looked hurt. Disappointed and very, very hurt.
"Well it's not your fault I guess. This is all that girls fault." He griped.
"Wh...Ere...is th...is..." He asked. "Where...am...I?"
"Would you stop that?!" The fox snapped. "You sound like some demented... Wait a minute, just how much is missing? How much do you remember?!"
He blinked and fell forward. The fox caught him with one of his tails and lifted him in the air, through the bars so they were on eye level.
"Come on, Naruto." He said. "I know you can do it. Look at me."
He was slumped over, staring into one great, giant eye at a time. Such big eyes. Big red eyes...
Red...
ONLY MEN WHO COMPLIMENT MY RED HAIR GET TO HEAR THESE SPECIAL WORDS FROM ME. WILL YOU ACCEPT THEM NARUTO?
"Naruto... My name..?" He asked.
"Yes." The fox narrowed his eyes. "We've established that. What else do you remember. Think hard."
YOU'LL FIND THE ANSWER. I BELIEVE IN YOU.
"Dad... Mom..." He said.
The fox frowned. "You're sure taking your sweet time about this aren't you? I get the feeling this will be a while... Well it's gotta be done. Think harder, Naruto."
“Gi’ichi! Be careful, or you’ll fall!” Tazuna shouted at him. His old friend was starting to lose his edge… He could kill himself at this rate.
“I can’t do this! The crack is too deep and wide. We’ll need more men.” He yelled back. “What about your grandson! He could be useful! He’s very talented.”
“Inari is out with his girlfriend.” Tazuna muttered just as a huge wind blew over them.
“What was that?!”
Tazuna whipped his head back, angry. “I said he’s out with his girlfriend! Now concentrate or you’ll—”
The safety strap keeping him tied to the bottom of the Great Naruto Bridge tore, dropping him into the ocean.
“Tazuna!”
“Inari, what are we doing out here?” Mina whispered, keeping her arms wrapped so tightly around his arm that she was cutting off the blood flow. Funny how girls panicked over every little sound they heard in the dark.
“Ouch! Loosen up, Mina!” He grinned while hiding his true thoughts (“the pain, the pain! Ow!). “I told you, I thought I saw something here. Some flash of light or… Or something…”
Suddenly she was very concerned. "Like a forest fire? Should we go get help..."
Inari smiled at her. "It's okay. I'll protect you. But if something does happen, you run okay? I'll bide you time."
She wrapped her arms around him.
"Okay. I changed my mind. I'm staying with you."
"Who goes there?"
Mina shrieked and ducked behind Inari's shoulder.
Inari gasped. There was a middle aged man, sitting in front of a fire. He wore a red and black coat over fish net armor and a black vest and pants. There was a headband with a spiral on it over his forehead and he had long red hair that curled into a swirl behind his back.
Where had he come from? It was like he appeared out of nowhere.
"Are you a ninja?" Inari asked.
Th man chuckled. "What gave me away? The veterans aura or the sudden unexplainable appearance? Or maybe its how I'm dressed..."
He didn't seem like a bad ninja. The way he moved his hands when he talked, messed with his hair nervously, and smiled so modestly and kindly made him seem like a good person.
"Ahh... The clothes." Inari answered, blushing. "What are you doing in our woods? Ninjas never come to peaceful nations like this unless their escorting someone to our ports."
"Haha, oh I don't have any business here." He folded his legs to his chest (he was so skinny, with spaghetti limbs). "I just go wherever."
"Why not go home? Or to one of our inns?" Mina asked.
The man smiled, but it was nostalgic for Inari. It reminded him of his fathers smile. Full of pain, and wisdom.
And strength.
"I have no home to go to anymore." He answered. "I have no destination. With no home and no goal, I just wander endlessly, hiring myself out to good folk who need it. Sometimes for free if I'm feeling generous."
Mina took a seat beside him, looking sympathetic.
"What happened to your home? Your family?" She asked, pulling on his sleeve.
He met her eyes. "Haha... You remind me of my sister. We were very close. Twins. As for our home... We were a talented clan of fuinjutsu masters. Even our toddlers were skilled. My sister was heiress, and the older of us twins. She protected me during the massacre of our village, and she was stolen away. Our cousins were kidnapped too. I'm the only one who managed to hide myself as far as I know. The others are probably dead by now."
Inari's eyes watered. He quickly wiped them dry.
"That's terrible." He admitted.
"Yes well, something good will happen sooner or later." He smiled and threw another stick into the fire.
"That's what my sister would tell me, with that silly grin of hers... Actually, now that I think of it, there WAS a reason I came here."
"Really?" Inari was still wiping his eyes. "What?"
"I heard that cracks appeared in this nations treasure, the Great Naruto Bridge. I thought it ominous, especially considering what happened to him two years ago."
Inari frowned silently. It was after the shinobi war was won, and the ninja returned home. Naruto nii-san supposedly went on a mission to the mountains in the hidden mist, the "chakra-slick mountain range" as they were nicknamed. They were called that because the walls were coated in a strange substance that repelled chakra. So if you fell, you couldn't use the tree climbing exercise, nor cling to the wall. You just fell and fell, to the very bottom, into a darkness so terrible it was like a black hole. Apparently nii-San had been trying to save some people. He fell in, and no one had seen him since.
Most thought he was dead. But konoha, and Inari, held out hope that he was still alive. Somewhere, somehow he had to be alive.
Naruto wouldn't die from a stupid fall.
"Tazuna!"
Inari flinched. "Grandpa?"
The red head took off in a flash, with Mina and Inari following behind. By the time they got there, they saw the ninja carrying Tazuna on his back. Both were dripping wet.
"Grandpa, grandpa!" He called.
Tazuna got off, patting the ninja on the back.
"Ugh. Maybe I'm getting too old for this! Thank you, youngster."
"Oh I'm not a youngster. I'm 53." He smiled, scaring them all down to their bone marrow.
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"How can that be?" Inari questioned. "You look like your in your early twenties."
The red head was wringing his hair out with a grin. "The jutsu I practice every day lets me keep my youth and my finesse shinobi skills. Are you alright, old man?"
Tazuna was angry. "You have no right to call me that!"
"Tazuna!! Run!!" Gi'ichi yelled from atop the bridge.
"I'm fine! He's no thre--"
Giichi threw his arm out.
"WHIRLPOOL!!"
The four turned around, horrified. Whirlpools weren't supposed to manifest THAT quickly. But it was there, sending walls of water in every direction.
"Run!!" Tazuna shoved Inari and Mina, but the red head ran out to the water, to the center.
"What are you doing?! You wanna die!?" Inari shouted.
But the man kept running.
I HAVE TO DO THIS WHILE THE EYE ISN'T TOO DEEP. He thought, jumping and performing a series of hand signs.
"Water style!! Reverse Uzumaki no Jutsu!!"
He slapped his hand down on an invisible wall, and the whirlpool began swirling up instead of down. The water gathered into a balloon at the top and exploded into harmless fog.
He landed on the water, exhaling in relief.
"That was close. Good thing I... Stopped by... Here..."
He stared down into the water. Was that...?
A hand shot out of the water, followed by a head, and then the rest. The young man was breathing desperately, trying to catch air. He looked so thin and pale.
Uri knelt, gripping the young mans hand and trying to calm him down.
"Easy. Take deep, steady breaths." He ordered. "Easy, easy... I'm not an enemy. What's your name? I'm Uri. Uzumaki Uri. What's yours?"
One final, desperate gasp later, the young mans eyes snapped open. Bright blue eyes with a desire to will that burned in them as clear as the sun.
Uri hadn't seen eyes like that in years.
"Naruto..." He breathed heavily. "Uzumaki Naruto."
Uri shuddered. No way...
He started crying.
"Kushina..." He hugged Naruto, relieved. "I was wrong! Your son is alive!"
"Red head!" Inari called from the shore, behind all the fog. "Are you okay?!"
Uri got to his feet, throwing Naruto over his shoulder. The young man was moaning and Groaning an trembling.
"You must have been swallowed up by the space by accident.
No wonder no one could find you." Uri concluded. "Don't worry, though. I'll protect you."
"Kurama... My head feels heavy..." He spoke. "My whole body feels like its full of lead..."
"That's because you haven't moved in two years." Uri told him. "And my name is Uri, not Kurama..."
He walked back to shore, locking eyes with Tazuna.
"Help him." He ordered. "I'll take that as payment for my services."
"Who is that?" Tazuna pointed.
Inari's face lit up. "That's!!"
"Help him!!" Uri insisted. "He needs water and food now or he could die."
Uri used Naruto's hood to hide his face after convincing the four civilians to keep this a secret. They went to Tazuna's house where his daughter, Tsunami was more shocked than the rest of them and more in control. She ran through the house, boiling water, making a second dinner, and gathering towels. Uri and Tazuna did their best to dry Naruto off. Afterwards, instead of freezing cold, he was burning hot. And still trembling.
It was the recoil from being in the space for too long. Two years should have killed him. His current temperature should have killed him.
There was only one explanation for his survival: this one wanted to live no matter what.
They got some food in him, and his fever broke. He sweated through his shirt and blankets, and they had to change both. Uri noticed his coat and shirt were cut to ribbons in some spots, and they stank of blood and sweat.
After a while, he relaxed. The rest of them were exhausted too.
"You need to explain." Tsunami told them.
Uri met her eyes. She and the rest of them seemed to know Naruto well. They were relieved, but concerned.
"I'm sorry." He layed his head down on the kitchen table. "I can't disclose such information to non-shinobi citizens who can't defend themselves. You could be targeted. All I can say is he was hidden in a secret place that likes to move around a lot. Every once in a while, it opens up and pulls in whatever is close by. Then it closes and disappears."
"How can places move?" Inari breathed shakily. "That's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible in this shinobi world." Uri insisted. "If you don't wrap your head around that now, everything will confuse you."
He stood up, stretching. "I will guard him. But first, I need to send a message to an old friend."
"You're going to alert konoha?" Mina asked.
"I must. They have probably been more worried than even I, since they know him best."
"You talk like you know Naruto." Tazuna spat. "I thank you for saving me, and him, but you're really suspicious. Can we really trust you?"
"I am an ally of that boys parents." Uri stated. "I have met him before, but it was important that he not remember me, so I erased myself from his thoughts."
"Eh? How did you do that?"
"I cannot answer that question." Uri opened the door to Naruto's borrowed room. "I assure you I'm no threat. It's late, so get some sleep."
He closed the door behind him and went to Naruto's bedside. The boy seemed to be having a chaotic dream. His expression was one of intense pain, and he was muttering something unintelligible.
Uri lit up two fingers with brilliant golden chakra and poked them against Naruto's forehead.
"Calm down." He ordered. "You're
only dreaming Naruto."
The young mans eyes fluttered open then quietly closed.
He sat on the floor beside him, burying his face in his short sleeve.
"I found him. How surprising." He thought aloud. "The five great nations all organized search parties. Two years pass and I'm the one that finds him..."
He looked up at him. Naruto looked a little different. Kushina's round face was still there, but he'd grown out of it enough so that barely a trace remained. And he'd gotten taller. His eyes weren't as big as they were when he was a child.
"You look more like Minato than ever." He commented, a little disgusted. "I hope your personality hasn't changed."
He summoned a ninja dove, something Kushina used to tease him about. They weren't all that great in battle. But they were wicked fast and delivered messages quickly.
"What should I write? I'm not even sure where to begin..." He tapped the wooden tip of his paintbrush against his forehead. "Oh well. The footnotes should do for now. I can explain in detail when he gets here."
He wrote quickly, sending the dove on its way, message strapped securely to its back.
"I must not fall asleep." He said, determined. "It's possible im not the only one who knows about the space. I have to keep an eye out."
Naruto stirred, blinking his eyes open.
"It's too early, go back to sleep." Uri told him.
Naruto sat up, looking around in confusion. He seemed to have more energy now.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"I sent a message to Konoha." Uri grabbed his shoulders, trying to calm him. "They'll be here soon, Naruto. You're safe with me until then."
"Konoha..." He said. His expression wasn't sad at all, but he started crying.
Now he looked even more confused.
"What? Huh?" He whispered, wiping the tears away. "Konoha... What's konoha?"
Uri's eyes widened.
"You... You don't remember?"
Naruto looked annoyed as he kept wiping the tears away only to have them keep coming. Like a waterfall.
"This is bad..." Uri brushed his hair back, anxious. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to look inside your head."
"Huh?" Naruto said as Uri did a series of hand signs and clapped his palm between his eyes.
Uri grit his teeth. There was hardly any memories. About forty percent of it was experience from moving around and talking. He probably recalled all of this during his two years in the space. About fifty percent were jutsu and techniques. Good so he could still perform all of his previously learned skills. biju mode and sage jutsu were also there. The rest was a messy blur. Uri saw a photo album of short memories flash before his eyes. A cup of ramen, a small apartment, a white dog with brown ears. A number of different faces, all so unclear he had almost no idea what they looked like. There was one final thing.
Naruto himself was tied to a stump. A boy and girl, who looked like black and pink human-shaped static, sat on either side of him. The boy held something out to Naruto.
"Bu...!" The girl said. Her voice came out more staticky than her form. "Said...!"
"...Worr...eeed..." Said the boy, his voice sounded drawn out and shaky. "Milesss... Now..."
The memory ended there.
Uri let him go, and he fell back, gripping his head and twitching.
"Ungh... Augh... Aaah!" He gnashed his teeth together and buried his face in his blankets.
"This is impossible. The space doesn't cause AMNESIA!" Uri bit his thumb. "Unless..."
WAS IT MY SEAL? THE ONE I PUT ON HIM YEARS AGO...? He did the math quickly. HE WAS ABOUT THIRTEEN AT THAT TIME, AND HE WAS 18 WHEN HE DISAPPEARED. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE WAS ONLY A FIVE YEAR TIME PERIOD BETWEEN WHEN MY SEAL WAS PLACED AND WHEN THE SPACE CONSUMED HIM...
Uri bit his lip and pulled Naruto to his feet.
"Change of plans!" He told him, shaking him awake. "We have to leave. If konoha finds you now, it'll be bad!!!"
Back in Konoha, Kakashi yawned, pulling on his mask.
"Hmm. What a nice sleep." He got to his feet. "No dreams. Hm?!"
He rushed to his window.
"That dove!!"
Please tell me what you think
A future without you (sasusaku/naruhina) fanfiction
Prologue:
He stared blankly into the white space as he floated around on his back.
There was nothing at all here. And he was very tired. Despite that, he couldn't sleep.
He searched his mind for clues. What he recalled were three small pieces of info that only made the mindless-zombie feeling even stronger.
One was a fuzzy memory, more blinding and painful than the white space. Something to do with three people, bento boxes, and bells.
Another was a mental picture of a couple, smiling encouragingly at him.
The last was a name.
NARUTO, said a voice inside his head, IM HERE TOO.
He was pulled deep into his own psyche, where his mental self sat on his knees, leaning forward, staring blankly at his own reflection in the floor.
"Naruto, its me! Hey!" Said the beast. He looked it in the eyes. It was huge. A fox, maybe...? A giant fox, with nine tails...
"We...ird..." He said. For some reason it was as hard to talk as it was to move.
"Who you calling weird? Oh right, you don't know who I am do you? That makes this more difficult..."
His blank expression remained the same, while the fox looked hurt. Disappointed and very, very hurt.
"Well it's not your fault I guess. This is all that girls fault." He griped.
"Wh...Ere...is th...is..." He asked. "Where...am...I?"
"Would you stop that?!" The fox snapped. "You sound like some demented... Wait a minute, just how much is missing? How much do you remember?!"
He blinked and fell forward. The fox caught him with one of his tails and lifted him in the air, through the bars so they were on eye level.
"Come on, Naruto." He said. "I know you can do it. Look at me."
He was slumped over, staring into one great, giant eye at a time. Such big eyes. Big red eyes...
Red...
ONLY MEN WHO COMPLIMENT MY RED HAIR GET TO HEAR THESE SPECIAL WORDS FROM ME. WILL YOU ACCEPT THEM NARUTO?
"Naruto... My name..?" He asked.
"Yes." The fox narrowed his eyes. "We've established that. What else do you remember. Think hard."
YOU'LL FIND THE ANSWER. I BELIEVE IN YOU.
"Dad... Mom..." He said.
The fox frowned. "You're sure taking your sweet time about this aren't you? I get the feeling this will be a while... Well it's gotta be done. Think harder, Naruto."
“Gi’ichi! Be careful, or you’ll fall!” Tazuna shouted at him. His old friend was starting to lose his edge… He could kill himself at this rate.
“I can’t do this! The crack is too deep and wide. We’ll need more men.” He yelled back. “What about your grandson! He could be useful! He’s very talented.”
“Inari is out with his girlfriend.” Tazuna muttered just as a huge wind blew over them.
“What was that?!”
Tazuna whipped his head back, angry. “I said he’s out with his girlfriend! Now concentrate or you’ll—”
The safety strap keeping him tied to the bottom of the Great Naruto Bridge tore, dropping him into the ocean.
“Tazuna!”
“Inari, what are we doing out here?” Mina whispered, keeping her arms wrapped so tightly around his arm that she was cutting off the blood flow. Funny how girls panicked over every little sound they heard in the dark.
“Ouch! Loosen up, Mina!” He grinned while hiding his true thoughts (“the pain, the pain! Ow!). “I told you, I thought I saw something here. Some flash of light or… Or something…”
Suddenly she was very concerned. "Like a forest fire? Should we go get help..."
Inari smiled at her. "It's okay. I'll protect you. But if something does happen, you run okay? I'll bide you time."
She wrapped her arms around him.
"Okay. I changed my mind. I'm staying with you."
"Who goes there?"
Mina shrieked and ducked behind Inari's shoulder.
Inari gasped. There was a middle aged man, sitting in front of a fire. He wore a red and black coat over fish net armor and a black vest and pants. There was a headband with a spiral on it over his forehead and he had long red hair that curled into a swirl behind his back.
Where had he come from? It was like he appeared out of nowhere.
"Are you a ninja?" Inari asked.
Th man chuckled. "What gave me away? The veterans aura or the sudden unexplainable appearance? Or maybe its how I'm dressed..."
He didn't seem like a bad ninja. The way he moved his hands when he talked, messed with his hair nervously, and smiled so modestly and kindly made him seem like a good person.
"Ahh... The clothes." Inari answered, blushing. "What are you doing in our woods? Ninjas never come to peaceful nations like this unless their escorting someone to our ports."
"Haha, oh I don't have any business here." He folded his legs to his chest (he was so skinny, with spaghetti limbs). "I just go wherever."
"Why not go home? Or to one of our inns?" Mina asked.
The man smiled, but it was nostalgic for Inari. It reminded him of his fathers smile. Full of pain, and wisdom.
And strength.
"I have no home to go to anymore." He answered. "I have no destination. With no home and no goal, I just wander endlessly, hiring myself out to good folk who need it. Sometimes for free if I'm feeling generous."
Mina took a seat beside him, looking sympathetic.
"What happened to your home? Your family?" She asked, pulling on his sleeve.
He met her eyes. "Haha... You remind me of my sister. We were very close. Twins. As for our home... We were a talented clan of fuinjutsu masters. Even our toddlers were skilled. My sister was heiress, and the older of us twins. She protected me during the massacre of our village, and she was stolen away. Our cousins were kidnapped too. I'm the only one who managed to hide myself as far as I know. The others are probably dead by now."
Inari's eyes watered. He quickly wiped them dry.
"That's terrible." He admitted.
"Yes well, something good will happen sooner or later." He smiled and threw another stick into the fire.
"That's what my sister would tell me, with that silly grin of hers... Actually, now that I think of it, there WAS a reason I came here."
"Really?" Inari was still wiping his eyes. "What?"
"I heard that cracks appeared in this nations treasure, the Great Naruto Bridge. I thought it ominous, especially considering what happened to him two years ago."
Inari frowned silently. It was after the shinobi war was won, and the ninja returned home. Naruto nii-san supposedly went on a mission to the mountains in the hidden mist, the "chakra-slick mountain range" as they were nicknamed. They were called that because the walls were coated in a strange substance that repelled chakra. So if you fell, you couldn't use the tree climbing exercise, nor cling to the wall. You just fell and fell, to the very bottom, into a darkness so terrible it was like a black hole. Apparently nii-San had been trying to save some people. He fell in, and no one had seen him since.
Most thought he was dead. But konoha, and Inari, held out hope that he was still alive. Somewhere, somehow he had to be alive.
Naruto wouldn't die from a stupid fall.
"Tazuna!"
Inari flinched. "Grandpa?"
The red head took off in a flash, with Mina and Inari following behind. By the time they got there, they saw the ninja carrying Tazuna on his back. Both were dripping wet.
"Grandpa, grandpa!" He called.
Tazuna got off, patting the ninja on the back.
"Ugh. Maybe I'm getting too old for this! Thank you, youngster."
"Oh I'm not a youngster. I'm 53." He smiled, scaring them all down to their bone marrow.
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"How can that be?" Inari questioned. "You look like your in your early twenties."
The red head was wringing his hair out with a grin. "The jutsu I practice every day lets me keep my youth and my finesse shinobi skills. Are you alright, old man?"
Tazuna was angry. "You have no right to call me that!"
"Tazuna!! Run!!" Gi'ichi yelled from atop the bridge.
"I'm fine! He's no thre--"
Giichi threw his arm out.
"WHIRLPOOL!!"
The four turned around, horrified. Whirlpools weren't supposed to manifest THAT quickly. But it was there, sending walls of water in every direction.
"Run!!" Tazuna shoved Inari and Mina, but the red head ran out to the water, to the center.
"What are you doing?! You wanna die!?" Inari shouted.
But the man kept running.
I HAVE TO DO THIS WHILE THE EYE ISN'T TOO DEEP. He thought, jumping and performing a series of hand signs.
"Water style!! Reverse Uzumaki no Jutsu!!"
He slapped his hand down on an invisible wall, and the whirlpool began swirling up instead of down. The water gathered into a balloon at the top and exploded into harmless fog.
He landed on the water, exhaling in relief.
"That was close. Good thing I... Stopped by... Here..."
He stared down into the water. Was that...?
A hand shot out of the water, followed by a head, and then the rest. The young man was breathing desperately, trying to catch air. He looked so thin and pale.
Uri knelt, gripping the young mans hand and trying to calm him down.
"Easy. Take deep, steady breaths." He ordered. "Easy, easy... I'm not an enemy. What's your name? I'm Uri. Uzumaki Uri. What's yours?"
One final, desperate gasp later, the young mans eyes snapped open. Bright blue eyes with a desire to will that burned in them as clear as the sun.
Uri hadn't seen eyes like that in years.
"Naruto..." He breathed heavily. "Uzumaki Naruto."
Uri shuddered. No way...
He started crying.
"Kushina..." He hugged Naruto, relieved. "I was wrong! Your son is alive!"
"Red head!" Inari called from the shore, behind all the fog. "Are you okay?!"
Uri got to his feet, throwing Naruto over his shoulder. The young man was moaning and Groaning an trembling.
"You must have been swallowed up by the space by accident.
No wonder no one could find you." Uri concluded. "Don't worry, though. I'll protect you."
"Kurama... My head feels heavy..." He spoke. "My whole body feels like its full of lead..."
"That's because you haven't moved in two years." Uri told him. "And my name is Uri, not Kurama..."
He walked back to shore, locking eyes with Tazuna.
"Help him." He ordered. "I'll take that as payment for my services."
"Who is that?" Tazuna pointed.
Inari's face lit up. "That's!!"
"Help him!!" Uri insisted. "He needs water and food now or he could die."
Uri used Naruto's hood to hide his face after convincing the four civilians to keep this a secret. They went to Tazuna's house where his daughter, Tsunami was more shocked than the rest of them and more in control. She ran through the house, boiling water, making a second dinner, and gathering towels. Uri and Tazuna did their best to dry Naruto off. Afterwards, instead of freezing cold, he was burning hot. And still trembling.
It was the recoil from being in the space for too long. Two years should have killed him. His current temperature should have killed him.
There was only one explanation for his survival: this one wanted to live no matter what.
They got some food in him, and his fever broke. He sweated through his shirt and blankets, and they had to change both. Uri noticed his coat and shirt were cut to ribbons in some spots, and they stank of blood and sweat.
After a while, he relaxed. The rest of them were exhausted too.
"You need to explain." Tsunami told them.
Uri met her eyes. She and the rest of them seemed to know Naruto well. They were relieved, but concerned.
"I'm sorry." He layed his head down on the kitchen table. "I can't disclose such information to non-shinobi citizens who can't defend themselves. You could be targeted. All I can say is he was hidden in a secret place that likes to move around a lot. Every once in a while, it opens up and pulls in whatever is close by. Then it closes and disappears."
"How can places move?" Inari breathed shakily. "That's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible in this shinobi world." Uri insisted. "If you don't wrap your head around that now, everything will confuse you."
He stood up, stretching. "I will guard him. But first, I need to send a message to an old friend."
"You're going to alert konoha?" Mina asked.
"I must. They have probably been more worried than even I, since they know him best."
"You talk like you know Naruto." Tazuna spat. "I thank you for saving me, and him, but you're really suspicious. Can we really trust you?"
"I am an ally of that boys parents." Uri stated. "I have met him before, but it was important that he not remember me, so I erased myself from his thoughts."
"Eh? How did you do that?"
"I cannot answer that question." Uri opened the door to Naruto's borrowed room. "I assure you I'm no threat. It's late, so get some sleep."
He closed the door behind him and went to Naruto's bedside. The boy seemed to be having a chaotic dream. His expression was one of intense pain, and he was muttering something unintelligible.
Uri lit up two fingers with brilliant golden chakra and poked them against Naruto's forehead.
"Calm down." He ordered. "You're
only dreaming Naruto."
The young mans eyes fluttered open then quietly closed.
He sat on the floor beside him, burying his face in his short sleeve.
"I found him. How surprising." He thought aloud. "The five great nations all organized search parties. Two years pass and I'm the one that finds him..."
He looked up at him. Naruto looked a little different. Kushina's round face was still there, but he'd grown out of it enough so that barely a trace remained. And he'd gotten taller. His eyes weren't as big as they were when he was a child.
"You look more like Minato than ever." He commented, a little disgusted. "I hope your personality hasn't changed."
He summoned a ninja dove, something Kushina used to tease him about. They weren't all that great in battle. But they were wicked fast and delivered messages quickly.
"What should I write? I'm not even sure where to begin..." He tapped the wooden tip of his paintbrush against his forehead. "Oh well. The footnotes should do for now. I can explain in detail when he gets here."
He wrote quickly, sending the dove on its way, message strapped securely to its back.
"I must not fall asleep." He said, determined. "It's possible im not the only one who knows about the space. I have to keep an eye out."
Naruto stirred, blinking his eyes open.
"It's too early, go back to sleep." Uri told him.
Naruto sat up, looking around in confusion. He seemed to have more energy now.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"I sent a message to Konoha." Uri grabbed his shoulders, trying to calm him. "They'll be here soon, Naruto. You're safe with me until then."
"Konoha..." He said. His expression wasn't sad at all, but he started crying.
Now he looked even more confused.
"What? Huh?" He whispered, wiping the tears away. "Konoha... What's konoha?"
Uri's eyes widened.
"You... You don't remember?"
Naruto looked annoyed as he kept wiping the tears away only to have them keep coming. Like a waterfall.
"This is bad..." Uri brushed his hair back, anxious. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to look inside your head."
"Huh?" Naruto said as Uri did a series of hand signs and clapped his palm between his eyes.
Uri grit his teeth. There was hardly any memories. About forty percent of it was experience from moving around and talking. He probably recalled all of this during his two years in the space. About fifty percent were jutsu and techniques. Good so he could still perform all of his previously learned skills. biju mode and sage jutsu were also there. The rest was a messy blur. Uri saw a photo album of short memories flash before his eyes. A cup of ramen, a small apartment, a white dog with brown ears. A number of different faces, all so unclear he had almost no idea what they looked like. There was one final thing.
Naruto himself was tied to a stump. A boy and girl, who looked like black and pink human-shaped static, sat on either side of him. The boy held something out to Naruto.
"Bu...!" The girl said. Her voice came out more staticky than her form. "Said...!"
"...Worr...eeed..." Said the boy, his voice sounded drawn out and shaky. "Milesss... Now..."
The memory ended there.
Uri let him go, and he fell back, gripping his head and twitching.
"Ungh... Augh... Aaah!" He gnashed his teeth together and buried his face in his blankets.
"This is impossible. The space doesn't cause AMNESIA!" Uri bit his thumb. "Unless..."
WAS IT MY SEAL? THE ONE I PUT ON HIM YEARS AGO...? He did the math quickly. HE WAS ABOUT THIRTEEN AT THAT TIME, AND HE WAS 18 WHEN HE DISAPPEARED. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE WAS ONLY A FIVE YEAR TIME PERIOD BETWEEN WHEN MY SEAL WAS PLACED AND WHEN THE SPACE CONSUMED HIM...
Uri bit his lip and pulled Naruto to his feet.
"Change of plans!" He told him, shaking him awake. "We have to leave. If konoha finds you now, it'll be bad!!!"
Back in Konoha, Kakashi yawned, pulling on his mask.
"Hmm. What a nice sleep." He got to his feet. "No dreams. Hm?!"
He rushed to his window.
"That dove!!"
Please tell me what you think
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