Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Reality ❯ Return of Unpleasant Memories ( Chapter 3 )

CrimsonCat101: Alright! The long awaited update is here! Sorry for the delay, but I'm having finals and I still have finals on 6/18/07 and 6/19/07, so I'm almost done with school, FINALLY! So yeah I made this update my longest chapter so that I can make up for the delay.

 

Reviews:

Mimicv18: like i said befor with so little its hard to rate but its realy good so far. Just so you realise when Naruto returns he would be high A rank to maybe low S rank ninja after constant training every day all day from a sannin as well as having the nine tailed fox sealed inside him. On that note consider changing the graduation age at the Ninja acadmy to 14 or maybe even 16 so you can actualy have a realistic paring rather than this pre teen crap you get in so many other fictions were the age of graduation is still 12, all so the fights will have a much more realistic view to them rather then all these 12 year olds beating each other up and spouting off about the truths of the world when they havent even done or learnt enouth yet to even know what there going on about most the time and having them 2 or 4 years older then you planed has no effect on the overall story line but makes what you write seem more realistic. Maybe you can still use the whole controling fire and air idea from may last review, hint, hint, hint lol. Heres a tip for when you write a fight scean, dont have every one say there jutsus as it slows down the fight scean and makes them look stupid as only idiots tell the enemy what Jutsu you are about to do i mean there ninja for crying out loud masters of stealth and assinination so you can just do this instead: Naruto jumped back, shooting off a dozen fire balls at Zabuza befor going into a backwards roll as he landed raising wall of earth to block the hail of water bullets: hope you consider it dont worry though i will continue to read ever way, good luck with the next chapter

 

CrimsonCat101: Holy! WOW! That's a long review! You deserve a cookie! You put thought into this review so I sincerely thank you. You pull up many good points, and I had to think about this for a while. Now all this was considered and you will just have to wait and see what I do. Heh heh, don't worry I have something planned.

 

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto Masashi Kishimoto does.

 

A Different Reality

-Return of Unpleasant Memories-

 

Hinata walked to the academy as a branch member escorted her. She followed the woman in silence as they passed several blocks.

 

They were about a block away when a blonde haired girl and a pink haired girl came into view. They were gossiping to each other and laughing. A raven-haired boy passed them on the way to the academy, and the girls immediately set their eyes on him and giggled.

 

When Hinata entered the academy doors, she sat at the back where she usually did. She looked around in search of her blonde friend, but didn't spot him. She waited and watched as the students filed in.

 

None were Naruto.

 

She continued to watch the door, hoping the whisker-marked boy would enter. When class started she got a little worried. She wondered if maybe he would be late, because he was pulling a prank. She told herself this throughout the class period.

 

When class ended she hesitantly walked up to the Iruka. “Iruka-sensei.” She whispered. He turned around to face the shy girl, a soft smile across his face. “D-Do you know w-where N-Naruto-kun is?” Iruka looked at her and his smile dropped.

 

“Hinata, I'm sorry to inform you like this, but,” Iruka showed sympathy for the girl. He knew that since Naruto was her only friend, that this news would most likely hurt her quite a bit. He sighed; he to missed the blonde mischief. “Naruto has left the village temporarily, due to some…circumstances.”

 

The news hit Hinata instantly, as her shoulders slumped, and her eyes shook in silent shock. Then she remembered he said temporarily. “W-When will h-he be b-back.” She stuttered, her eyes looking at Iruka with a sense of hope.

 

“I'm afraid that I myself don't have a clue.” He looked at the girl as misery clearly filled her features. He spoke again in attempt to cheer her up. “Don't worry though, he will be back one day. We just have to be strong and wait patiently, ok?” Hinata nodded, and walked out the academy doors somberly.

 

The branch member that was to escort her home was about to ask her why she had stayed after class, but when she noticed the small girl's sadness she decided to leave her be. They walked home in a depressing silence, Hinata's thoughts racing at the events that transpired today. She wondered many things like, why he left, where did he go, and most importantly, when would he come back?

 

 

(Large time skip; 5 years later)

 

“Nevertheless, I'm glad to see that you've come back to us.” The Sandiame gave a friendly smile to the boy that stood across from his desk. The boy's blonde hair was unruly and spiked, and his cerulean eyes showed warmth, but also experience in the hardships of life. He wore a crimson trench coat over a black sleeveless top. His pants were black with many pockets for storing scrolls and equipment. A Kunai holster was strapped securely to his right leg. He also wore custom shinobi sandals that were black in color.

 

“However, I'd like to know where Jiraiya is at this time.” The Sandiame asked the eleven-year old, who only sighed before replying.

 

“Take a guess. Ero-sennin isn't that hard to figure out.”

 

The Sandiame gave a heavy sigh knowing what the boy was trying to imply, “Bathhouse?”

 

Naruto nodded affirmatively, “Bulls-eye.”

 

The Hokage shuffled through some papers on his desk. “So I'm guessing you want to be tested to determine your rank and status as a shinobi of the Leaf?” Sarutobi questioned, without taking his gaze off the papers cluttered on his desk.

 

Naruto grinned, “I guess nothing gets past you, huh?”

 

The Sandiame chuckled lightly, “I guess not.”

 

Naruto already knew almost all the rules and laws of Konoha. If he wanted to be Hokage he had to, right? He knew that the Hokage could test a person however he chose to determine the rank of that person. This procedure was usually taken when said person was just joining the village. It could also be done whenever the Hokage felt it was necessary.

 

The Sandiame took a puff from his pipe before continuing, “Well, I'll arrange the test, I will have it ready by tomorrow. Until then, why don't look around? You have been gone for five years.”

 

Naruto chuckled sadly, “I might want to see the village, but the village might not want to see me.”

 

“Naruto I know that it will be tough, but I know you will pull through in the end. Unlike others, you will have to work much harder to get the villages' respect.”

 

“I know that all to well…but, thanks anyway.” Naruto exited the office through the door, leaving the Sandiame to his thoughts.

 

 

Naruto just exited the Hokage's tower, passing the two guards on the way. He knew he couldn't be beaten anymore, but the hatred filled glares still put him on edge. At least now he knew why they did that. It was during his training when he was informed about the devastating secret.

 

FLASHBACK (4 years ago)

 

The force of the Sennin's attack threw Naruto back. The sparring match between the two was an all out taijutsu match. They continued to exchange blows. Unfortunately Naruto continued to take the brunt of most of the attacks. Naruto took a hit to his forehead, throwing him back where he then hit his head against a tree. The force of both attacks made him dazed. Jiraiya took advantage of the moment and gave Naruto a blow to the gut. It was then that he slipped into unconsciousness, his vision blurred until the world went black.

 

Naruto's vision began to clear, as he looked at his surroundings. He was no longer in the woods, but in some type of sewer. Pipes lined the walls and ceiling, and water filled the passageways to his ankles. An unpleasant scent loomed through the passageways. If he had to describe the scent, he would say that it smelled of death and decay.

 

While he was observing the area, a faint red glow illuminated part of the passageway. The glow seemed menacing and malevolent. The direction of the red aura was the only lead he had to getting out of this place, so he cautiously walked towards it.

 

He followed it through, and as he got closer to the source he could now hear a faint growl. He continued towards it, the growling increasing in volume, until he reached a cage that had a paper attached to it. He looked at the paper more closely, only to realize that it read `seal'. His gaze drifted from the seal and into the cage where an unsettling presence was felt. The pitch black within the cage was suddenly lit with large, red, demonic eyes.

 

“Well, look who finally decided to pay a visit.” A demonic voice sneered behind the cage bars. Naruto jumped in surprise, and his eyes widened to a size that seemed inhumanly possible. “What's the matter brat? Are you perhaps frightened by my awesome power? Because you should be! For I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, feared throughout your lands as the greatest Bijuu in existence.”

 

“Y-your the Kyuubi?” Naruto stuttered in shock.

 

“Why yes, actually. Do you know where we are?” Naruto shook his head slowly as a foxy grin stretched across the Kyuubi's face. “Brat, we just happen to be inside you.”

 

“Me?”

 

“That's right, I was not killed by that human you call the Yondiame, but rather sealed within a newborn child. This newborn child, just so happens to be you.” Naruto looked at the demon in shock, but after a few seconds that shock turned to anger, as his eyes narrowed in fury.

 

“You're the reason the villagers hate me!” Naruto growled.

 

“Hai, they believe you to be I. They see you as their scapegoat for what I have wrought.” Kyuubi watched as his expression became unreadable when a shadow had engulfed his face. All went quiet as Kyuubi waited for the boy's reaction, however Naruto's reaction was that of not which he expected.

 

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU'RE THE REASON MY LIFE IS SUCH A FUCKING MESS! THAT”S WHY I FEEL…” Kyuubi watched in amazement as the young boy began to go through a long line of insults in a rather colorful manner. After a few more minutes of the angry speech, Kyuubi decided it was best to cut him off.

 

“Alright, I get it. Now would you please cool down, unless you want to continue this rant for eternity.” Naruto sent the fox a heated glare, but the fox stood passively. “Good, now in return for my burden on you, I will allow you to call upon my chakra when I feel it is necessary. For you see, if you die, I will die. I have no intentions of dieing, so I will help you out when it comes to the matter of my well-being. Now that that's cleared up, you should wake up right now. If you have any questions ask your sensei, he's known all along.”

 

When Kyuubi finished speaking, Naruto blinked and found himself in the woods. Naruto sat up and went to talk to his sensei about his experience.

 

FLASHBACK END

 

`Alright, now where to?' He continued walking through the streets of Konoha, until an enticing scent filled his nostrils.

 

He sniffed once…twice…

 

Those that were glaring at him saw him sniffing the air and immediately wondered what he was doing. The blonde began to walk in a different direction, following scent that filled the air.

 

Ayame sighed they haven't had any customers and they were due to go out of business any day now. It was then that she noticed a blonde boy walking towards their stand. Teuchi saw her and looked in the same direction. Sure enough, Naruto came to a halt before the ramen bar.

 

The two stared at the blonde, in astonishment, as he now sat across the counter.

 

“I haven't been here in a long while. I sure have missed this place,” Naruto said, a reminiscing smile playing across his face.

 

He remembered when he was little, that this place was his only sanctuary. It was the only place that didn't kick him out, or raise their prices ridiculously high. Teuchi and Ayame were always kind and cheerful towards him, and for that he was grateful.

 

Teuchi looked at him curiously, then he saw his whisker marked cheeks, and knew immediately who he was. He held no anger against the boy he could plainly see that he was innocent, unlike many other ignorant people. He believed in the Yondiame's abilities, having total confidence in the previous Hokage. He saw the boy as a hero, like he was supposed to be viewed.

 

“This place has indeed been quiet since you left Naruto, I'm very glad to see your back healthy and well.” Teuchi said, a caring smile directed at the young blonde. Ayame gave him a cheerful smile to, agreeing with Teuchi.

 

Naruto ordered a bowl of ramen, and the two began to prepare it. Naruto talked to them as he the food was being prepared, telling him where he's been and what he has been doing. He left out the training he did with Jiraiya and gave them a very broad explanation. They were happy nonetheless, and handed him his bowl of miso ramen.

 

“Itadakimasu.” Naruto said breaking apart his chopsticks, and devouring the bowl of ramen in seconds.

 

Teuchi and Ayame smiled cheerily, seeing that life has been brought back to the quiet ramen stand. Naruto asked for a second bowl and Teuchi chuckled heartily.

 

“I see that your appetite hasn't decreased in the years! A good thing for us, because we were going to close down shop, due to the lack of profit and customers.”

 

Naruto gulped down the ramen present in his mouth before speaking, “How could you get no customers with the good ramen you make?”

 

Teuchi smiled, “Don't worry! Now that your back, I foresee a better business.”

 

Naruto nodded and grinned asking for a third bowl, handing Ayame his second.

 

 

Naruto started to regret eating seven bowls of ramen, when his stomach began to send him painful aches. He cringed slightly, as he walked to his old apartment. He wondered if it would even be in a livable condition. He sighed, he knew what to expect from the citizens of Konoha.

 

He reached his room, unlocking it with the set of keys given to him by the Sandiame, but not before noticing the insults spray-painted on his door. He ignored them as he walked in, shutting the door, and flicking on the lights. To his horror the furniture was upturned and thrown against the wall, some things were broken and smashed, and more threats were present on the walls and floors. The threats were usually the same like `die demon', `evil incarnate', or `cold-blooded murderer'. At first the threats made him depressed, scared, and confused, but now he thought nothing of it. He wasn't going to get all depressed, because he knew that it wouldn't change anything.

 

He knew the quickest way to solve his current predicament, so he began the hand seals, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.” Five shadow clones puffed into existence, crowding the rather small apartment.

 

Jiraiya had taught him the kinjutsu because he felt that it would help with his training, alongside with a few other forbidden techniques. The clones were solid, unlike the regular academy taught `bunshin'. These `kage bunshin' had their own chakra system, allowing them to use jutsu, however their chakra supply was rather limited. Jiraiya also told him when they were destroyed the memories of their small life span were transferred directly to him. Jiraiya warned that too much information would put strain on his mind, and may knock him unconscious. Naruto listened to his advice, but would do it occasionally anyway. He would create many shadow clones, practice something, destroy them when depleted of chakra, absorb the information, and then fall unconscious. When Jiraiya scolded him several times, he made sure not to do it too often.

 

The five shadow clones set to work, cleaning, sweeping, and throwing away what was broken beyond repair. The real Naruto walked to his room dodging one of his clones that was carrying a battered and broken chair. He entered, the clones still busy in the living room/kitchen, and began to look at the damage.

 

His bed was placed on its side against the wall, and the spring mattress was stabbed and laid completely useless in the center of the room. His clothing that were previously hung in his closet, were now burned to ashes, not that he wanted the clothing anyway, he had actually grown in the past four years to a height of 4'10. How did he grow? Jiraiya simply took away his all ramen diet, making him eat properly during their trip.

 

Naruto began to clean his room, when he noticed a face down picture frame with tiny glass shards surrounding it in the corner of his eye. Naruto instantly stopped what he was doing and ran toward the said object, but careful as to not step on the glass. He kneeled down and carefully picked it up, turning it over to reveal the picture.

 

The picture was of the Yondiame Hokage, Naruto's biggest role model. The Yondiame may be the one that had caused him to suffer so much, but he was the one to sacrifice himself and Naruto for the sake of the village. Jiraiya told Naruto that he was the Yondiame's sensei, and Naruto was like him in some ways. When Naruto learned about the Kyuubi, he couldn't help but be angry with the great Hokage. I mean, he was the one that partly caused his suffering. Eventually he decided that the Yondiame had no other choice at the time, and began to idolize him again.

 

`I wonder what you would do in my situation…'

 

Naruto took out the picture and put it on the desk that was still left intact in his room. A clone walked in and began to sweep up the shattered glass, as the real Naruto stood out of it's way.

 

Naruto walked back into his living room, noticing that the clones were just finishing up and had begun to clean bedroom and bathroom. Naruto casually plopped down on the couch and pulled out a small scroll from his pants pocket. He unrolled it, and without looking at it's contents, bit his thumb and ran a trail of blood down the center of the text. Instantly a brush, a small container of black paint, and a notebook appeared in his hands.

 

He walked over to his door, setting the notebook down and the container of paint. He opened the plastic container, and dripped several drops of his blood in the ink. He then dipped his brush in it's contents. With his other hand he flipped through his notebook until it reached a certain page. He looked at his personal notes and began to paint a seal on the door.

 

The notebook held his seal designs and notes on each one. Studying and analyzing seals were more of a personal hobby of his, rather then something he was taught. Jiraiya never learned of Naruto's hobby, because he usually did it in secret. He was no seal master, but he could do some fairly complicated seals. He created several original seals through trial and error. He had to do it in a large area because sometimes they backfired, sometimes quite…harmfully.

 

He finished the seal on the door, when it was completed it vanished. Naruto sat up and began to paint the same seal on his windows. The seal that he was writing was one he created himself, a fairly basic seal. The seal would simply alert him when a person touched, or went near the seal. It would alert him the same way a `kage bunshin' would when it disappeared. The information would simply be sent to his mind, because his blood was used in the creation of the seal. He also made so that it would explode on the intruder.

 

Once he finished securing his apartment, he laid back down on the couch. The shadow clones finished cleaning and repairing what they could and vanished. Naruto began to fall asleep on the couch, because his bed no longer had a mattress. He thought about the Sandiame's test, but eventually gave in to the long awaited rest.

 

 

(Hokage's office the next morning)

 

The Sandiame interlaced his fingers as he stared at a silver-haired jounin, who leaned against the wall in a lazy manner.

 

“So you are the one I chose to hold the test for him, just make sure not to underestimate him.” The Sandiame cautioned the jounin, who gave nothing but a respectful nod. With that the jounin `shushined' out of the room, with an audible poof.

 

The Sandiame turned his head towards the open window in his office, as a white-haired man entered via the window. “I see you finally decided to come visit.” The Sandiame watched as the sennin casually walked to the center of the office.

 

“I bring some more information on the Akatsuki, as well as Oto, and Suna.” Jiraiya said sternly, making the Hokage curious.

 

“Suna and Oto, you say?”

 

Jiraiya nodded, “I heard from my information network, that Suna and Oto have been having `talks' concerning our village. These secret meetings have been about the Chunin Exams being held in our village soon, I fear a secret alliance has been formed between the two.”

 

The Hokage nodded, “I will look into that right away, now what about Akatsuki?”

 

“It seems they are coming out of the dark, and revealing themselves. Their goal has something to do with the tailed beasts, as it seems the four-tailed jinchuuriki has been reported missing after being seen with two people dressed in cloaks with red clouds.”

 

“This does not fare well at all. We will have to continue on watching their actions carefully.” The Sandiame concluded, a brief silence was held for but a second. “Jiraiya what have you to report about Naruto?”

 

“Let's see we mostly stayed in Hi no Kuni (Fire country), but we traveled to Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning country) for some training, as well as Mizu no Kuni (Water country). Although Naruto may be only eleven, be sure not to underestimate him, because I feel you will be fairly impressed with Naruto's improvement. He was slow at learning at first, but after about a year he began to improve considerably well.” Jiraiya explained, finishing with a proud smile.

 

“I see…what rank do you believe he is at?” The Sandiame asked with curiosity laced into his voice of authority.

 

“I would say...” Jiraiya closed his mouth and smiled mischievously at his previous sensei. “You know what? You will just have to wait and see at his test.”

 

The Sandiame sighed, “Alright, have it your way, your dismissed.” Jiraiya left through the window, as the Sandiame shuffled through some papers on his desk.

 

“Izumo,” At the Hokage's call a chunin `shushined' into the office.

 

“Hai, Hokage-sama?”

 

“Inform Naruto to be at training field twenty-one for his test today at 2:00PM.”

 

“Hai.” The chunin poofed out of the office, as the Sandiame went back to signing papers. `This test will definitely be an interesting one, but why do I have the feeling that it will increase my paperwork?' The Sandiame shrugged off the ominous feeling and continued his paperwork.

 

CrimsonCat101: Finally! Action in the next chapter! Hooray!