Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Fire and Leaf: A Collection of Naruto One-Shots ❯ Haunted, Part 3: Regret ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Yamisui
Naruto learns what it means to be haunted...and to live a life without regret.

Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Horror / Drama | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 03.09.2005 | Updated On: 01.03.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 526 | Status: Completed

Haunted
Part 3: Regret
He stood on a high platform, facing the mountain. The faces of those gone before stared down at him, the shadows of the setting sun etching stern lines beneath the stone eyes and lips. He felt very small, standing here beneath their regard.
A cold wind went wailing past.
“Why the hell am I HERE?” he asked loudly, scratching at messy yellow hair and managing to tousle it into an even wilder disarray.
He was wearing his orange jumpsuit and hitai ate, which struck him as being incredibly weird because he distinctly remembered going to bed in a night-cap and pajamas.
“Was I sleepwalking?” It seemed the most likely, because he didn't remember the trip here from his apartment at all. That had to be it. He shrugged; at least he hadn't sleep-walked out the door naked.
Then he heard footsteps behind him, and a new possible explanation occurred to him. Maybe someone was playing a prank . . .
“Oi!” he shouted, whirling around sharply to face the person coming up the stairs. “What's going ON? If this is---” The accusation died in his throat.
The man who stepped onto the platform didn't look like anyone he knew. Immediately, Naruto's hand flew to the pouch at his thigh, drawing out a kunai.
“Who're you?” the Genin demanded, in a lower voice. Kidnapping was the next conclusion his mind jumped to.
The stranger smiled quietly. His face was strong and angular, and his eyes were a very piercing blue. He was a young man, but his eyes seemed old; there was a certain ageless quality about him that made Naruto a little uneasy. He wore the Konoha hitai ate, but that didn't mean anything. Even treacherous Mizuki had worn the leaf at his brow.
“I'm not here to threaten you, nor to do you harm in any way,” the young man said softly.
Naruto held the kunai aloft between them, to make sure the stranger got the message that he was armed and dangerous.
“Really?” He squinted up at the young man with the old eyes. “Why the hell are you here, then?”
The stranger raised an eyebrow, and then he vanished.
Naruto's mouth fell open, and he almost dropped the kunai out of sheer amazement. He had never seen a human being move so incredibly fast. Not even Kakashi. He wasn't even sure this was a human being anymore.
“If I really wanted to kill you, you would no longer be drawing breath,” the stranger said, suddenly standing close behind him.
A shiver ran up Naruto's spine as he felt what he thought was the man's breath ruffling the hair atop his head. Then he realized it was only a breeze, passing between them. He spun around, facing this lightning-swift menace with both hands balled into fists. At the sight of Naruto's fierce expression, the young man seemed to be trying very hard to suppress a smile. This only served to make Naruto angrier.
“Well?” he demanded, backing away. “Why the hell did you bring me here?”
The stranger made no move to follow. Instead, his expression grew grave. He turned to face the mountains.
“I didn't `bring you here',” he said quietly. “We met halfway. I saw you were here, so I came to speak with you.” He paused, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the platform railing. In the fading twilight, the young man's profile looked very noble, and a little sad.
“Who are you?” Naruto asked, peering up at him in curiosity. “Have I seen you before?”
Wordlessly, the young man nodded. Then, abruptly, he asked, “Do you really want your face up there?” He nodded toward the memorial monument carved into the mountainside.
Slowly, Naruto relaxed his stance. It really did seem like the stranger just wanted to talk.
“Of course,” he agreed. “It's my lifelong dream!” He said this a bit sullenly, because the randomness of the stranger's question confused him.
“Heh.” The young man laughed curtly, with very little mirth. “You want the name Hokage because everyone will acknowledge you then?”
Naruto glared at the stranger's back. He didn't like being laughed at. And he didn't like what he felt were stupid questions.
“I don't want to be Hokage because of that,” he insisted.
The stranger didn't reply, keeping silent for a bit, and Naruto's temper cooled enough for him to give the man's question fairer consideration.
“Well, maybe a little,” he admitted, squinting one eye because he hated admitting he was wrong. “But whether or not I want it, people will still acknowledge me when I'm Hokage. There's no getting around it.”
Faintly, the young man inclined his head in agreement.
“It's going to be a long, difficult road for you,” he murmured, changing the subject again. But this time his tone was sad, and Naruto didn't take offense. The young Genin stepped forward to join him at the railing, leaning his elbows on it in a similar position.
“You mean the road to being Hokage?” Naruto asked, watching the stranger intently. The man was staring at the mountains as if he weren't really seeing them.
“Because of the burden you were given, it will be hard,” he answered. “Think how hard you've fought to gain their acceptance.”
When Naruto didn't reply, the stranger looked over at him.
“Do you hate them?”
Somehow, this time Naruto knew exactly what he meant. He took a moment to answer. In front of them, the sinking sun stained purple the shadows of the mountain. The graven faces of the Hokage seemed gentler now that the light was softening.
“No.”
“Do you love them?”
Another pause before the answer. Naruto leaned further forward, resting his chin on his forearms.
“No. But I want to be strong enough to protect them all.”
“It is the same.”
To Naruto's utter surprise, the man suddenly laid a hand atop his head. He made no move to shrug it off, however. The hand was unexpectedly gentle.
“I'm glad,” the stranger said, for no apparent reason.
Naruto turned questioning blue eyes his way.
“Why? What does that have to do with you?”
The kindly hand slid away, and the stranger stepped back from the railing. The green outer jacket that he wore rippled in the breeze.
“Regret is what haunts a man most, Naruto. Hatred for what you can change; sorrow for what you can't. True strength is being able to accept that and to set it aside.”
Naruto gazed at him in amazement. The wind caught his hair, and the fiery light his chiseled features, making him seem as perfect as graven stone. Naruto thought to himself that he had never seen a person so noble-looking.
The moment passed. The wind died, and the young man smiled down at him, finally turning away from the mountains. His face was relaxed now, as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
“It was cruel, the burden forced upon your shoulders,” he said quietly. “It was something I regretted. The truth is, Naruto, I came to meet you in this twilight world to ease my own guilty conscience, not to test yours. But I see that you are stronger than I'd dreamed, and I have no reason for sorrow.” He sighed, crossing the platform while Naruto watched in bemusement.
Then Naruto realized he was heading for the stairway, and started after him.
“Hey! You're leaving?”
The young man hesitated with one hand on the stair railing, looking back.
“One can only linger here so long,” he replied, smiling again. “But from now on, my dreams will be lighter.”
“Hey! Hey, wait!” Naruto enthused. “You seem like a cool guy. Let's go get dinner!”
The stranger's mouth quirked. This time his self-control lost, and he burst out laughing. Naruto stared. His teeth were very white.
Then the young man turned and descended the staircase. Naruto just watched him go, confused again.
“I don't see what's so funny about food,” he grumbled, scowling.
Behind him, the sun set further, and stars were beginning to gleam overhead. A sudden cold gust of wind wailed across the platform, chilling him to the bone. Naruto hugged himself, shivering, and decided it was time to head home himself.
He walked to the top of the stairs.
Below him, the stairway was empty.
OoO OoO OoO
 
“. . . and then I woke up.”
Iruka stopped chewing, staring at Naruto with bulging cheeks. He swallowed hard.
“You saw a ghost?”
They were sitting on stools at Ichiraku. Sasuke had gone home early, in an inexplicably sour mood, and Sakura had followed soon after. Fortunately, Naruto didn't have to eat his second helping alone for long, because Iruka came by after working late.
Naruto's face screwed up in a frown.
“It wasn't a ghost. Otherwise I would have been scared.”
Iruka swallowed and opened his mouth to argue otherwise, but then decided not to bother. There was no sense arguing with someone not bound by truth, logic, or common sense.
The Chuunin turned back toward the counter, gazing pensively down at his small cup of sake. He picked it up, swirling the liquid around to warm it.
“So he said that, did he?” Iruka murmured. “He must be proud of you.”
Naruto lifted an eyebrow.
“Eh?”
Realizing that Naruto didn't understand, Iruka smiled warmly at him.
“The Fourth.”
“EHHH?”
“Oh, well.” Iruka sighed, reflecting on the strangeness of dreams, and of ghosts. “A toast then, Naruto.” He lifted his cup, and Naruto his ramen bowl. “A toast, to a very wise man. May we all be so wise, and live our lives without regret.”
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