Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Life Drabbles ❯ Hidden Side of a Leaf ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: shattered-words 
She was alone and scared, so I kept her company. In the process, I developed a dream. (No pairings.)
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Shounen / Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.07.2007 | Updated On: 08.16.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.0K | Visits: 137 | Status: Completed
She was alone and scared, so I kept her company. In the process, I developed a dream. (No pairings.)
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Shounen / Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.07.2007 | Updated On: 08.16.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.0K | Visits: 137 | Status: Completed
Hidden Side of a Leaf
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it’d be called ‘Gaara’. So, isn’t it a shame that I don’t own it? (Quote by Toni Morrison.)
Summary: She was alone and scared, so I kept her company. In the process, I developed my dream. (No pairings.)
AN: I think the title went well with this character, since his connection with the main character of GoF was over looked. The first ending I had for this got lost during a trip to McAllen. I nearly cried, cause I lost part of a chapter from GoD. T.T Waaah! But, I preserver because I'm stronger then that. Once, I thought I had lost all of GoF! I almost collapsed but thank god for small favors! Without further ado, the story. This is dedicated to my boyfriend, because without him there, I would have broken down weeping.
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“Birth, life, and death - each took place on the hidden side of a leaf.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The day was hot and not a single cloud touched its limitless blue surface, and the temperature wasn’t too hot for summer. It was a day where children of the village could play or cause a bit of mischief. For anyone else, it might have been a day to enjoy the ninja Chunin Selection Exam, but not for a certain five-year-old boy.
He had eyes that rivaled the heavens, and unruly hair the color of spun gold. The three whisker-like markings on each chubby cheek only served to increase his adorable appearance. However, when he was seen on the streets, he was shunned and avoided at all costs.
For this very reason he pulled practical jokes to get attention and it didn’t matter if they were annoyed glares. At least then he was acknowledged and wouldn’t be invisible. He was the orphan, pariah and all-around troublemaker, Uzumaki Naruto.
Everyone knew who he was and the adults knew why he was so despised, but not Naruto himself. The younger generation also didn’t know the reason he was hated, but they followed their parents’ example and so the blonde was alone almost every day. The leader of the village, who was an elderly man well past his prime, at times invited him for Ramen, but it wasn’t always and he wanted to have someone his age to play with him.
Today was a big event that many were going to at the stadium, as well as many foreigners, but Naruto had no idea what was going on. He’d tried to get in but he’d been stopped in every attempt by men and some women wearing white masks. After his fifth attempt, one of them had decided that physical punishment was in order.
Naruto grumbled in annoyance and winced in pain at the bump forming on the corner of his mouth and right eye. “He didn’ hab to hit me soh hard,” he whined, his words slightly slurred due to the swelling of his lips. Most of the streets were abandoned by this time since the adults and anyone old enough to be in the stadium would be there right now. It was almost pleasant since there was no one to avoid him or throw fearful or hateful looks his way.
As he was walking along, he bumped into a woman wearing a green flak vest and dark blue pants, and since the vest was left hanging open he could see a sleeveless black shirt underneath. Her light brown hair had natural blonde highlights in it and it was pulled into a French braid that reached her shoulders.
She turned to glare at him with a furious expression and he shrank away from her as he remembered the man that had struck him. “Ano, Gomen,” he hastily replied, but she saw that her eyes had softened when they’d landed on him.
“Oh, Naruto-kun,” she muttered quietly and with a smile. “I thought you might be my good for nothing son. He’s skipped his training again.”
Naruto had blinked in confusion before he recognized the woman. She was the only medic-nin that ever attended him when he wound up in the hospital. He hadn’t recognized her at first since her face was usually kind and she looked ready to kill something at that moment.
“You hab a sohn, Akiko-san?” he asked, since she hadn’t ever mentioned having any children. In fact, at times she seemed sad about something and rarely talked about anything but his own life.
Akiko nodded and then frowned after a moment when she noticed his injuries. “What happened to you here, Naruto-kun?” she asked, and she watched with interest as his eyes widened the slightest bit and shifted up and to the left. “And don’t you lie to me.”
The blonde sighed as he was caught before he could even tell the lie and it had been such a well thought up one to. ‘I fell off the slide.’ He folded his arms behind his head as he grinned at her. “I wah causin’ trauble af the stadum,” he admitted sheepishly. Although at first he felt that the man had hit him unjustly, maybe he really had deserved it for bothering them.
One thin brow lifted at his words and her lips pressed into a thin line. “Oh, is that right?” she asked. “Did the one that hit you have a mask?” At his nod her eyes narrowed. “What did the design look like?”
Naruto waved his arms around. “No, Akiko-san. Jus’ leb if aloun,” he told her with a shake of his head. When she glared at him he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head stubbornly. The last thing he wanted was for her to pummel the man and then he would know that it was because of him and then no one would even look at him anymore, even when he pulled his pranks.
Akiko sighed and nodded in the face of his stubbornness. She took his arm and started to drag him toward the nearby hospital. “Come on, I want to check you over,” she told him. He started to fight her hold since he probably already knew the other reason she was taking him there and she chuckled. “Gomen, Naruto-kun, but it’s time for your monthly check-up and vaccinations.”
“Noh shots!” he protested but she merely sighed and pulled him along. Every month was the same thing but she didn’t mind attending to the blonde boy. He reminded her so much of her own son, which had died during the Kyuubi invasion. She didn’t resent Naruto as everyone did for having the nine-tailed fox inside of him.
Akiko saw him as the hero the Yondaime wanted everyone to see him because if Naruto hadn’t been sacrificed then her other two children would have died. He bore the weight of their hatred, and hopes that the biju would never again escape and spill anymore blood.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto sighed as he sat on the bed in the hospital and waited for the test results to return. Akiko-san had drawn blood to make sure he was okay but he had heard her muttering something about how that seemed like a low possibility. Now, all he could do was wait until the results and the medic-nin returned.
He sighed and after a moment he made up his mind and hopped out of bed. The blonde was only wearing his boxers and a hospital gown, and Akiko had taken his clothes so he wouldn’t try to escape. Well, she said that he couldn’t leave the hospital, but she hadn’t necessarily said he had to stay in the room.
Naruto tied the gown more tightly around him and snuck out of the room. He crept along the halls, hiding when someone came around a corner or out of a room. After avoiding being spotted several times, he had reached a ward that was labeled ICU, but he had no idea what that meant.
As he wandered down the hall, he was seen and he fled from the nurse and entered a random room to escape her. He was pressed against the wall beside the door and only moved when she had ran past. Naruto breathed a sigh and turned to face the room and paused at the sight before him.
There was a bed in the middle of the room and there was a small figure attached to several machines that were beeping, and a tube that was attached to a bag that was dripping a liquid so it flowed into her arm. He moved closer and peered at her and saw that her eyes were closed and that most likely meant she was asleep.
She looked his age and had long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the side of her head, and her left shoulder and most of her chest was wrapped in bandages. Naruto thought that she looked so frail and would break if he got any closer. However, he could have sworn he had seen someone leaning over her bed when he’d entered, but he was gone the next second, he might have imagined it.
The man had long black hair that flowed down his back and had been wearing what appeared to be a kimono and sandals like a lot of people wore. He’d never seen him before, but he’d also never seen her either, since he knew most of the children of the village since he suffered their taunts on most days.
He heard the door open and he jumped and hid under the bed. The person entering wouldn’t have seen him since the curtain had been partially drawn and it would have covered his retreat. It was one of the nurses and he tried to lessen his breathing so she wouldn’t hear him.
Naruto heard someone else enter and saw that it was the doctor. He looked over the charts and listened to the nurse tell him of the treatment the doctor on the previous shift had done. “She’s from one of the visiting villages so he was very careful on what medications to give her. Also, he reported that there was a strange chakra coming from her that prevented most of his healing of the injury.”
He nodded and slipped the chart under his arm as he used a stethoscope to listen to the beat of her heart. “The wound was very close to the heart,” he muttered to himself. “How did the injury occur?”
“Her brother is in the Chunin Exam and he was training. The accident happened at that time yesterday afternoon. He claims to have no fault, but wouldn’t say what had caused the tree to fall on her.” She sighed and approached the bed as Naruto shuffled further under. “Hokage-sama has allowed him to only tell his instructor and parents since it might have something to do with a village secret or ability.”
The doctor nodded and assigned the same medication to keep the girl from feeling pain and they both exited after a minute more. The blonde sighed in relief when they’d gone and he crawled from under the bed and pulled the curtain shut and sat on the chair besides the bed.
‘A tree fell on her?’ Naruto thought. He leaned forward and patted her hand affectionately. “I hob you ge’ befer,” he lisped. He was shocked when her eyes fluttered open at the contact of their hands. She turned her head slightly and blinked at him.
“You’re not him,” she muttered in confusion. There was a frown twisting her features but she looked a bit dazed.
Naruto tilted his head to the side curiously. “Nof who?” he asked her as he watched her try to regain her consciousness through the haze that clouded her eyes. She was most likely still asleep.
“Shirimasen,” she muttered. “He said that I go with him and be his Hime.” She shook her head as if she was trying to clear it but she still seemed to be affected by it. “I say I didn’t want to leave Eizan-nii-san and he did something.”
The whiskered boy was at the edge of his seat as if he were hearing an exciting tale. “Wah he du?” he asked anxiously. He wanted to know what this evil man had done but he wondered if perhaps she’d been dreaming.
Her hand moved toward her throat, most of it covered with the bandages. “He gave me shot here. It hurt and I sleep,” she whispered. She turned her eyes to look at him, and her small fingers pulled back the bindings and he saw the puncture wound of the needle. “I’m scared.”
Naruto frowned and wondered if perhaps she was telling the truth. He reached out for her hand and held it as she gripped back. “I stay wif joo,” he reassured her with a smile. He expected her to shun him as everyone else did, but he was surprised when she smiled and then closed her eyes.
“What’s your name?” she muttered as she started to fall asleep once more.
“Uzumaki Naruto,” he responded but she had already drifted off. He sighed and pulled the chair closer and laid his head on the bed beside her as he continued to hold her hand. Naruto would keep his promise and stay with her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto felt a hand shake him awake and while it annoyed him to be woken up, the action wasn’t rough. His cerulean orbs opened and turned to see a teenaged boy standing beside him. He looked a lot like the little girl on the bed, who was still sleeping soundly, but he had mesmerizing gray eyes instead of black with crimson sides like hers.
“Konichiwa, and who might you be?” he asked him. Naruto was relieved that the older boy wasn’t angry about finding him sleeping beside Arisa. In fact, he looked very tired and a bit bemused but not upset. He had on a black bandana with a metal plate around his forehead with an hourglass symbol on it.
He had seen many people wearing it around the village but theirs had the leaf sign. Naruto had asked the old man what they meant but he hadn’t given him a response and Akiko hadn’t either. It was almost like they were trying to keep something from him.
“Uzumaki Naruto,” he said his name once more. He looked at the girl and pried his fingers from hers as he sat up. “Who’re you?” He was glad to notice that the swelling in his mouth had gone down.
The boy smiled through his fatigue and pulled up another chair but didn’t order him out. Naruto was glad since he didn’t want to leave Arisa alone. “Ashikaga Eizan,” the older male responded. “Ari-chan’s my sister and we’re from Sunagakure.”
Naruto tilted his head to the side. “Hidden...in Sand?” he asked, a bit confused. That’s another thing he didn’t understand. Their village was called Konohagakure, hidden within the tree leaves. He just didn’t know why they were hiding. “Why do you hide?”
Eizan chuckled and shook his head. “Because ninja are supposed to hide from the rest of the world,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Ninja?” he asked. “What’s a ninja?”
He seemed genuinely surprised as Naruto asked this question. “You don’t know what a ninja is?” The blonde shook his head and Eizan scratched the back of his head. “Well, that’s strange. What are your parents teaching you?”
The Suna-nin saw the grimace of pain that passed over his features and immediately knew what it meant. It was the same reaction he had when he was asked about his real mother, or when he remembered her. This boy’s parents were either gone or they had died. “No parents, huh?” he asked sympathetically.
Naruto nodded miserably and Eizan ruffled his unruly hair. “Well, that’s too bad, but don’t let it get you down,” he said with a smile. He peered at his sister and his expression turned sad. “My mother died because she was a ninja. A ninja is also known as shinobi, and they protect the village from any threat or danger.”
He motioned to his headband and the piece of metal on it. “This is a hitai-ate and it signifies that you’ve become one, but you’ll only be a low rank one.” He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “You have to work hard to advance to the next level and become a great ninja.”
Naruto liked the sound of this ninja business. If he became one then people would start to acknowledge him for more than just his pranks, but he had to be the best. “What happens when you’re the best?” he asked him anxiously.
“You become a Kage. A Kage is the leader of his village and has the respect of being the most powerful ninja in the village. For your village, it’s the Hokage and ours is the Kazekage.” He pondered this for a second. “Your Kage is old and wears a long white robe and a red and white hat. Have you seen him?”
The blue-eyed boy realized that he was talking about old man Sarutobi. “Saru-jiji is the Hokage?” he asked incredulously. “But he’s old!” The way he said it made it seem like that explained it all.
This only served to amuse the older boy even more as he laughed and shook his head. “While I agree with you, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s the Hokage of your village. I hear he’s one of the most powerful ones that Konoha has had and he’s been called “The Professor” because he knows so much knowledge and jutsu.”
Naruto was one again confused by his words. “What’s a jutsu?” he asked him. Eizan sighed and dreaded explaining things to this kid he hardly knew.
His sister already knew the basics of a ninja since he had started to show her what he had been learning in the Academy since three years ago. He didn’t want her to be defenseless if he was unavailable to protect her. Yesterday's accident had proven more than anything that he couldn’t always be there to protect her from every danger.
Eizan was exhausted after his basic explanation of a shinobi and spiritual and physical energy to produce types of jutsu of the wind, air, fire, earth, and lightning variety. After a while, he had fallen asleep in the chair as the blonde boy watched over both of the siblings. He felt comforted with them sleeping so soundly and securely close by him.
He only left when the nurse had shooed him away because he wasn’t related and only members of the girl’s immediate family were allowed in her room. Naruto had grudgingly left but made the nurse promise she would deliver a message to the still slumbering Eizan. He hadn’t wanted to wake him since he looked so tried.
‘I come see Arisa again. -Naruto’ Had been written in his childish and barely distinguishable scrawl. The old man had taught him only how to write so he was at the elementary level.
As he left the hospital, he lifted his face to the heavens and enjoyed the remaining warmth the fading sunlight had to offer before he made up his mind. He grinned and started to run toward the Hokage Dairi because he had said something to Eizan and he planned to keep his word.
‘I want to become Hokage! Then they’ll all respect me!’
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He ran with a renewed bounce to each step and a grin on his features as he moved down the busy street. The once morose blonde was elated to be alive and to know he could also have a purpose in life. A ninja. He would be a shinobi of Konoha and one day Hokage, and then people would respect him.
The girl’s brother had made him want to be the kind of person that commanded respect with his skills and very presence. Naruto hadn’t known him for too long and yet he’d realized that he was deep seeded in his belief of being a ninja of his own village and protecting those he cared about. The boy didn’t have anyone to care about yet, but if he continued to work hard toward his dream, then he would.
He’d asked the Sandaime about becoming a shinobi and he had seen surprise and then sadness in his tired brown eyes. The emotion had confused Naruto, but the old man had reassured him that nothing was wrong. He had explained that anyone that wished to be a ninja had to enter the Academy at a young age. Luckily, Naruto was just in time to be able to register before he had become too old.
So, Naruto was glad he met the girl and her brother. Now he raced back to the hospital to visit them as he had promised and also to tell them the good news.
When he reached the building, the nurses at the entrance wouldn’t allow him to enter since he couldn’t remember the name of the patient. He suspected it was something else, but he didn’t voice that as he left with a frown.
A grin split his features a moment later as he remembered that the girl’s window faced a tree that had grown in a strange, crooked way. He ran around the hospital, trying to find the tree and he finally came to it and wasted no time in climbing it. Her room was on the third floor.
He scaled the tree like a monkey and swung from it so he sailed through the air and latched onto the edge of the window. It was lucky for him that he was naturally agile and he’d had practice swinging from trees during his pranks.
Naruto scrambled through the window and grinned as he lifted his hand to greet whoever was in the room, but the greeting died on his lips. The room was empty and the bed was made as it waited for a new patient. They were gone.
The blonde stood there for a few seconds in disbelief. Naruto had realized that they’d be returning home, but he hadn’t known it would be so soon. He felt tears sting his cerulean orbs as he rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t fair.
Eizan had been so nice and he’d been very patient with him when explaining what a ninja was, even if Naruto had interrupted several times to ask questions. No one had ever treated him like that except Sandaime and Akiko, but they were adults already. The girl had been his age and the boy hadn’t been that much older than him.
He sniffled and turned toward the window once more when the door open and he heard someone pause as he was spotted. Naruto didn’t hear them yell at him for being there and turned expectantly toward the person. It was the nurse and he remembered that she was the one he had given his message to.
Naruto wondered if perhaps she had merely crumpled it and not given it to them, and he felt an anger manifest within his chest. He wondered why he had to be hated so much when he hadn’t ever done anything wrong.
“Ano,” her hesitant voice stopped the words that were about to form on his lips. She stepped forward and held out a folded piece of paper. “Ashikaga-san asked me to give this to you.”
He felt a pleasant surprise wash over him and knew that she must have given Eizan his note if he was responding. Naruto ran toward her and took the paper. Naruto hugged the nurse, who squeaked in surprise, and then left the room through the window as she cried out in surprise.
If he’d looked back he would have seen the nurse peer out the window with shock and worry and would have been comforted, but he was clutching the letter against his chest as he ran. He wanted to read it by himself and it didn’t matter how much he stumbled over the words.
The first words he deciphered were on the outside of the letter itself and that had been easy. ‘Don’t read until you’ve become a real ninja.’ Eizan had explained that to become a ninja, one had to be strong enough to protect those that couldn’t fight for themselves. A real ninja was ready to lay their life down to defend those they cared for.
Naruto put the piece of folded paper away in a safe place in his shabby apartment and determined that it would be a long time before he became a ninja, but he would wait. He could wait since he knew that one day he would become that type of person. Because when he found people that he cared for and who accepted him, then he would overcome any obstacle to protect them, even death.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The blonde boy was led inside by a taller male with longer dark brown hair and who resembled a girl more than anything. As they entered, he pulled away and stumbled but he shook off the other’s offer of help as he pressed the bandage against his forehead. “I’ll be fine by myself, Haku-kun,” he assured his companion.
Haku didn’t seem convinced of this, but knew how stubborn the blonde could be. “Alright, Naruto-san, but you better come to see Akiko-san later,” he warned him. “You know how she gets.”
Naruto winced as if reliving old memories and nodded. “Hai, I will but later!” He waved him away as he straightened his tattered clothing.
The invasion had left this part of Konoha untouched and he was glad that he didn’t have to look for a new apartment. He still wasn’t well liked and it’d be harder to find another place. Ever since he had started to take on missions, he had insisted that Sandaime and Akiko-san stop paying for his utilities and food. Naruto wanted to be able to support himself and then later, be able to pay them back for all they’d done for him.
He felt an ache in his chest as he remembered that now he wouldn’t ever be able to pay the old man for all he’d done for him. During the invasion, Sandaime had battled against Orochimaru and he had lost his life. Naruto didn’t believe it when he had found out because it seemed like a lie that the old man could be dead.
Of course he had been old and frail, but there was also an untouchable quality about him that made it impossible for him to be gone. Although, he doubted that Saru-jiji would ever truly be gone from Konoha, and the hearts of those that had known and loved him.
He led his friend to the door, holding it open for him as he walked out. However, before he left, the former Kiri-nin seemed to remember something. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Eizan-san said something during our battle,” he muttered. He frowned, and Naruto knew that he was confused as to why she had left him alive. “She said, ‘Tell Naruto-san that the scroll is not intended to hurt anyone.’ Have any idea what it means?”
Naruto blinked and shook his head. “Iie, I don’t,” he muttered thoughtfully as he looked around the room but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “I’ll let you know if something turns up.”
Haku got the impression that the blonde was trying to get rid of him and wondered for a moment why, but didn’t want to push his presence on the Genin if he had something he needed to do alone. “Alright then. Konbanwa, Naruto-san,” he said with a wave as he exited the apartment and moved down the hall.
The Konoha-nin waited until he had turned the corner to close his door and lock it. He threw off his dirty jacket, pants and sandals before racing through the small living room and into his room only in his shirt and boxers. When he reached it, he fell onto his hands and knees beside his bed and reached across the floor.
His fingers felt around the floor boards for several moments before he found a distinct indentation and slipped two fingers into the holes in the wood. He gripped the board and pulled as it came away with a creak. It had been a while since he had pulled it open. Seven years to be exact.
Naruto was wiggling with excitement as he groped around inside the opening and pulled out a small metal box. He had a good grip and crawled back with it as he sat on the floor with it on his lap.
He fished around inside his shirt and pulled out a slender chain with a small, silver key attached to it. Naruto removed it from around his neck and slipped the key into the lock with a shaking hand as he turned and unlocked it.
Now he paused as he took in a deep breath before pulling it open and pushing several things aside until he came to an old envelope. From it he extracted a folded piece of paper that looked to have seen many years. He set the box aside as he looked it over, and there were faded words on the outside, but he could still read them, ‘Don’t read until you’ve become a real ninja’. Naruto opened it and started to read at last.
“Naruto-san,
If you’re reading this, then you’re either cheating and the nurse just handed you the note, or you’ve finally become a real ninja! Now, a lot of people will tell you that being a shinobi is to become a tool to be used and then discarded when its’ use is over. That is true in a lot of instances, but not always.
Being a ninja, to me, means everything! My mother was a ninja and she died as one, but I don’t think that it’s just about obligation and killing. You’re able to protect people you care about and ensure that the place where they live continues to be safe and peaceful.
If you’re reading this then you were able to push fear aside and protect your friends and loved ones in the face of death or injury. At times, we get true strength when we fight, not for ourselves, but for those who can’t. I find comfort in the knowledge that everything I do is for the benefit of my beloved sister.
A wise man once taught me that I had to treasure her or she’d be taken from me, and I plan on showing him one day that I became a great ninja that is able to protect her from all harm. Of course, I also want to punch him in the face, but that’s a story for another day.
I’m sorry we won’t be here when you return but I made the nurse promise that she’d give this to you without reading it. She seems sincere enough. We live in Suna, which is a few days walk from Konoha so we might not meet for a long time, or we might never meet again. Either way, thank you for keeping Ari-chan company and for listening so attentively to every word I said. Until we meet again, if we ever do.
-A.E.”
Naruto sat back and blinked in confusion and awe at the letter he had just read two times in a row. He laughed and shook his head since it was everything he had expected, and yet he hadn’t known what he had been expecting.
He was disappointed to realize that he couldn’t remember the boy’s name, whom had taught him long ago what a ninja was. Either way, he would cherish this letter until he was able to meet him again. For some reason, the thought of the older boy always seemed to make him sad, although, he had no idea why.
The letter was carefully folded back and placed in the envelop that he had placed it in so long ago, and now he sealed it. He returned it to the metal box that would protect its contents even in a fire, and locked it securely before returning it to its hiding place. Naruto sat beside his bed for a moment in contemplation before standing.
The blonde froze half way to his feet as he spotted a scroll on the bed and tilted his head in confusion. Haku’s words came back to him. He suddenly realized that it had to be from Eizan. Naruto practically lunged for the scroll and broke the seal without hesitation and started to read.
“Naruto-san,
If you’re reading this...”
Naruto felt a sense of déjà vu at how the letter began. He shook it off and continued to read.
“...then I didn’t get to speak to you during or after the invasion. I hope you weren’t injured during the invasion and if you were, then I apologize. It wasn’t my intention to see anyone hurt, but we’re shinobi and it’s inevitable. Many of my worries and doubts over this were mainly for you and Uchiha Sasuke. You may ask why I worry for him, but now is not the time to answer that.
There are many things I want to say in this letter. First of all, thank you for everything you did for me. I don’t know how I could have survived this past month without your help. You saved me when I thought all hope had been lost. It was probably the heartache, but I think I pushed my teammates away. I just didn't know how to face them after this.
Also, I was able to return to my hotel room and recover the rest of my possessions and money. I sold most of my clothes and belongings to a second hand store and you’ll find the money you lent me in the first top drawer...”
The blonde stopped reading once more and scrabbled over to the drawer and pulled it open. He pushed his shirts aside and found more then enough to cover the month that she had been living there with him. Naruto only separated what he’d lent her and the other rolled it up so he could return it to her when they met again. He returned to the letter once more.
“...and it should cover a month’s rent. You’d probably insist that I take it back, so I decided to leave it and not tell you and that way you’d have no choice. So, try and buy more clothes without orange. It’s an interesting color and I’m not saying to stop wearing it, but wear something different on missions for Kami’s sake!
I actually had a bit of a talk with that Sakura girl when she came to the apartment once and she told me that you wear orange during missions. I don’t want to hear later that you were killed during a mission because you were discovered by way of your flashy clothing. Buy black clothing!
Also, I’d like to ask a favor involving the Uchiha. Keep that bone head safe and within Konoha. His revenge will drive him over the edge and I’d hate to see an old friend in pain...”
Naruto stopped once more and blinked in confusion. He hadn’t realized that Eizan had known Sasuke before now. The Uchiha hadn’t shown any signs of recognizing her. He shrugged and resumed the letter.
“There was one more reason why I left this letter, and that’s to tell you what I’ve been doing all month. If you noticed, the proctor for the preliminaries mysteriously disappeared, and many assume he’s dead. He’s not. I was ordered to kill him, but couldn’t bring myself to do it because he never wronged me.
It’ll be said that I didn’t end his life because I was weak, but that’s not true! It takes courage not to kill, and at times we have no choice, but when we do then why not spare as much life as possible?
I would admit that a part of me wanted to end his existance, but I kept myself from drowning in these thoughts. That’s not me. I did, however, keep him sedated most of the time and fed him whenever he woke up.
I wasn’t cruel and did nothing to hurt him. He’s sickly so I don’t think he’ll survive for too long if he’s left there without food or care, so please hurry to him. I would have released him before the exam, but I didn’t want to risk the plan to destroy Konoha. Frankly, I hope we fail.
Until we meet again, if ever. Take care of yourself.
-A.E.”
The Konoha-nin felt his eyes widen at the initials at the end of the page and immediately dropped to the floor and pulled the loose board up. He took out the box and hastily unlocked it and tore the envelop open, but made sure not to damage the letter. The blonde felt his breath catch in his throat at the initials there. “A.E.”
He compared the letters and although the handwriting was slightly similar, it was still distinctive. Also, there was no way that short Eizan could have been that tall boy, and besides at the time he’d most likely been thirteen. Seven years had passed since then, so that Suna male had to be at least twenty by now.
Naruto remembered the incident with the Shinobi Skill Cards that Kabuto had, and about how there had been different teammates, a boy and a girl. He paused as he also recollected that the card had listed him as “Deceased”. The blonde plopped on the bed and Eizan’s words came back to him. ‘I don’t have anyone else to fight for. My parents and brother are gone, and now Gaara-dono has cast me from his side.’
He knew sorrow at realizing that the first Eizan, the one that had taught him what a ninja was, had died shortly after they’d met. It had listed him as dead more than six years ago. Naruto now knew that the Eizan he had met during the Chunin Exam was the girl in the hospital and her brother is...was the boy, whom had woken him from slumber so long ago. He had the impression at the time that the boy cared a great deal for his sister, so he assumed that the sister also loved her brother the same way. It was only logical that she had taken his name after he had perished.
‘Ari-chan,’ he silently mused to himself. If they were to ever meet again, he’d make sure to tell her what connected them. It was no wonder that he had felt a strong need to protect her when battling against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. He’d done it before by staying at her bedside, and his instincts had told him to do it again.
Naruto shook these thoughts off and pulled the scroll more open to reveal the map that she’d drawn. He memorized it and realized that it wasn’t too far from where he lived. As he changed, he thought about her actions and knew that she wasn’t a bad person since she had spared one of their Jonin and told him where he was being held. After all, her brother was the one that had taught him that being a ninja didn’t mean just being a tool.
When one was a shinobi, you were able to protect those you care for and the place you called home. So, he would continue to work hard and proce one day that he was the best. Naruto slipped on his sandals and left the apartment via the window, and soon he was sprinting over the roofs as he let his memories take over.
-
Eizan chuckled at his enthusiasm as he asked another question, this time about hand seals. He didn’t become mad when he interrupted him, and quickly showed him how to position his hands for the tiger seal. When he nodded eagerly, the older boy laughed once more. Naruto enjoyed the sound of his laughter, since all he ever heard from the villagers were shouting and cursing.
“A series of different seals will cause the user to perform a certain type of jutsu. It combines spiritual and physical energy,” he explained. The boy gave him a confused look and he motioned for him to follow. He entered the restroom and filled a cup with water and pumped soap into his hand from the dispenser. “Imagine that the water is spiritual energy and the soap is physical energy. Now, when you combine them...”
He added the soap and started to mix it with his finger. They became foam that started to spill over the top of the cup. “The foam is the jutsu.”
Naruto’s features lit up in a grin and he started to bounce around. “I get it!” In his jubilant dance he impulsively hugged Eizan. He froze as he remembered the last time he’d done that, and the villager had smacked him. The blonde was surprised and overly relieved when he only laughed and ruffled his blonde locks
“Keep it down, you,” he chastised good naturedly. “We don’t want to wake Ari-chan.”
He released the older male and they started to leave the restroom. The younger boy paused and peered up at him. “Eizan-nii-san, why did you want to become a ninja?” he suddenly asked. He stopped in the doorway and Naruto wondered if he’d asked something he shouldn’t have.
He turned down and smiled but he could see the sadness in his eyes. “I wanted to be a ninja to be as my mother.” They had started to move away from the restroom and toward the window. “Now I just want to be able to protect those I love. I’ll probably become a Jonin later on.”
They looked out at the village. Naruto jumped up onto the sill and let his legs hang over the side as Eizan lightly smacked him upside the head. Naruto blinked at him in confusion and the other just pulled him inside a bit more so one leg was inside and the other outside.
“What about you, Naruto-san?” he asked him, changing it after the boy had refused to be called “Uzumaki-san” He leaned out the windowsill besides the blonde.
The jinchuriki hesitated and glanced outside as they watched villagers go about their daily lives from the third story room. “I want to be able to live and not be hated.” His face lit up and gave him a foxy grin that lit up his cerulean orbs and features beautifully. “I want to become Hokage! Then they’ll all respect me!”
Eizan blinked at him with a neutral expression before he grinned and burst out laughing. “Now that’s dreaming big!” he exclaimed as he ruffled his hair. The blonde blushed but grinned all the same. “You remind me of what my mother always use to say to me...” Naruto listened attentively to his next words.
-
Naruto jumped to the next roof and as he soared through the air, the wind pulled at his garments as his hair became even wilder. He turned his tanned face toward the heavens, and the dying sunlight warmed his face and body.
‘Dream as if you’d live forever, and live as if you’d die tomorrow.’
He would strive to achieve his dream to become Hokage and keep living as if it were his last day because as shinobi, that's all they had. Naruto gave a grin reserved for the one that had taught him what it meant to be a ninja.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
Shirimasen: For those that don’t remember, it means “I don’t know”.
Saru-jiji: Naruto’s nickname for Sarutobi. Saru means monkey and -jiji means old man, so he’s calling him old monkey man? lmao! XD
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End, Hidden Side of a Leaf.
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it’d be called ‘Gaara’. So, isn’t it a shame that I don’t own it? (Quote by Toni Morrison.)
Summary: She was alone and scared, so I kept her company. In the process, I developed my dream. (No pairings.)
AN: I think the title went well with this character, since his connection with the main character of GoF was over looked. The first ending I had for this got lost during a trip to McAllen. I nearly cried, cause I lost part of a chapter from GoD. T.T Waaah! But, I preserver because I'm stronger then that. Once, I thought I had lost all of GoF! I almost collapsed but thank god for small favors! Without further ado, the story. This is dedicated to my boyfriend, because without him there, I would have broken down weeping.
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“Birth, life, and death - each took place on the hidden side of a leaf.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The day was hot and not a single cloud touched its limitless blue surface, and the temperature wasn’t too hot for summer. It was a day where children of the village could play or cause a bit of mischief. For anyone else, it might have been a day to enjoy the ninja Chunin Selection Exam, but not for a certain five-year-old boy.
He had eyes that rivaled the heavens, and unruly hair the color of spun gold. The three whisker-like markings on each chubby cheek only served to increase his adorable appearance. However, when he was seen on the streets, he was shunned and avoided at all costs.
For this very reason he pulled practical jokes to get attention and it didn’t matter if they were annoyed glares. At least then he was acknowledged and wouldn’t be invisible. He was the orphan, pariah and all-around troublemaker, Uzumaki Naruto.
Everyone knew who he was and the adults knew why he was so despised, but not Naruto himself. The younger generation also didn’t know the reason he was hated, but they followed their parents’ example and so the blonde was alone almost every day. The leader of the village, who was an elderly man well past his prime, at times invited him for Ramen, but it wasn’t always and he wanted to have someone his age to play with him.
Today was a big event that many were going to at the stadium, as well as many foreigners, but Naruto had no idea what was going on. He’d tried to get in but he’d been stopped in every attempt by men and some women wearing white masks. After his fifth attempt, one of them had decided that physical punishment was in order.
Naruto grumbled in annoyance and winced in pain at the bump forming on the corner of his mouth and right eye. “He didn’ hab to hit me soh hard,” he whined, his words slightly slurred due to the swelling of his lips. Most of the streets were abandoned by this time since the adults and anyone old enough to be in the stadium would be there right now. It was almost pleasant since there was no one to avoid him or throw fearful or hateful looks his way.
As he was walking along, he bumped into a woman wearing a green flak vest and dark blue pants, and since the vest was left hanging open he could see a sleeveless black shirt underneath. Her light brown hair had natural blonde highlights in it and it was pulled into a French braid that reached her shoulders.
She turned to glare at him with a furious expression and he shrank away from her as he remembered the man that had struck him. “Ano, Gomen,” he hastily replied, but she saw that her eyes had softened when they’d landed on him.
“Oh, Naruto-kun,” she muttered quietly and with a smile. “I thought you might be my good for nothing son. He’s skipped his training again.”
Naruto had blinked in confusion before he recognized the woman. She was the only medic-nin that ever attended him when he wound up in the hospital. He hadn’t recognized her at first since her face was usually kind and she looked ready to kill something at that moment.
“You hab a sohn, Akiko-san?” he asked, since she hadn’t ever mentioned having any children. In fact, at times she seemed sad about something and rarely talked about anything but his own life.
Akiko nodded and then frowned after a moment when she noticed his injuries. “What happened to you here, Naruto-kun?” she asked, and she watched with interest as his eyes widened the slightest bit and shifted up and to the left. “And don’t you lie to me.”
The blonde sighed as he was caught before he could even tell the lie and it had been such a well thought up one to. ‘I fell off the slide.’ He folded his arms behind his head as he grinned at her. “I wah causin’ trauble af the stadum,” he admitted sheepishly. Although at first he felt that the man had hit him unjustly, maybe he really had deserved it for bothering them.
One thin brow lifted at his words and her lips pressed into a thin line. “Oh, is that right?” she asked. “Did the one that hit you have a mask?” At his nod her eyes narrowed. “What did the design look like?”
Naruto waved his arms around. “No, Akiko-san. Jus’ leb if aloun,” he told her with a shake of his head. When she glared at him he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head stubbornly. The last thing he wanted was for her to pummel the man and then he would know that it was because of him and then no one would even look at him anymore, even when he pulled his pranks.
Akiko sighed and nodded in the face of his stubbornness. She took his arm and started to drag him toward the nearby hospital. “Come on, I want to check you over,” she told him. He started to fight her hold since he probably already knew the other reason she was taking him there and she chuckled. “Gomen, Naruto-kun, but it’s time for your monthly check-up and vaccinations.”
“Noh shots!” he protested but she merely sighed and pulled him along. Every month was the same thing but she didn’t mind attending to the blonde boy. He reminded her so much of her own son, which had died during the Kyuubi invasion. She didn’t resent Naruto as everyone did for having the nine-tailed fox inside of him.
Akiko saw him as the hero the Yondaime wanted everyone to see him because if Naruto hadn’t been sacrificed then her other two children would have died. He bore the weight of their hatred, and hopes that the biju would never again escape and spill anymore blood.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto sighed as he sat on the bed in the hospital and waited for the test results to return. Akiko-san had drawn blood to make sure he was okay but he had heard her muttering something about how that seemed like a low possibility. Now, all he could do was wait until the results and the medic-nin returned.
He sighed and after a moment he made up his mind and hopped out of bed. The blonde was only wearing his boxers and a hospital gown, and Akiko had taken his clothes so he wouldn’t try to escape. Well, she said that he couldn’t leave the hospital, but she hadn’t necessarily said he had to stay in the room.
Naruto tied the gown more tightly around him and snuck out of the room. He crept along the halls, hiding when someone came around a corner or out of a room. After avoiding being spotted several times, he had reached a ward that was labeled ICU, but he had no idea what that meant.
As he wandered down the hall, he was seen and he fled from the nurse and entered a random room to escape her. He was pressed against the wall beside the door and only moved when she had ran past. Naruto breathed a sigh and turned to face the room and paused at the sight before him.
There was a bed in the middle of the room and there was a small figure attached to several machines that were beeping, and a tube that was attached to a bag that was dripping a liquid so it flowed into her arm. He moved closer and peered at her and saw that her eyes were closed and that most likely meant she was asleep.
She looked his age and had long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the side of her head, and her left shoulder and most of her chest was wrapped in bandages. Naruto thought that she looked so frail and would break if he got any closer. However, he could have sworn he had seen someone leaning over her bed when he’d entered, but he was gone the next second, he might have imagined it.
The man had long black hair that flowed down his back and had been wearing what appeared to be a kimono and sandals like a lot of people wore. He’d never seen him before, but he’d also never seen her either, since he knew most of the children of the village since he suffered their taunts on most days.
He heard the door open and he jumped and hid under the bed. The person entering wouldn’t have seen him since the curtain had been partially drawn and it would have covered his retreat. It was one of the nurses and he tried to lessen his breathing so she wouldn’t hear him.
Naruto heard someone else enter and saw that it was the doctor. He looked over the charts and listened to the nurse tell him of the treatment the doctor on the previous shift had done. “She’s from one of the visiting villages so he was very careful on what medications to give her. Also, he reported that there was a strange chakra coming from her that prevented most of his healing of the injury.”
He nodded and slipped the chart under his arm as he used a stethoscope to listen to the beat of her heart. “The wound was very close to the heart,” he muttered to himself. “How did the injury occur?”
“Her brother is in the Chunin Exam and he was training. The accident happened at that time yesterday afternoon. He claims to have no fault, but wouldn’t say what had caused the tree to fall on her.” She sighed and approached the bed as Naruto shuffled further under. “Hokage-sama has allowed him to only tell his instructor and parents since it might have something to do with a village secret or ability.”
The doctor nodded and assigned the same medication to keep the girl from feeling pain and they both exited after a minute more. The blonde sighed in relief when they’d gone and he crawled from under the bed and pulled the curtain shut and sat on the chair besides the bed.
‘A tree fell on her?’ Naruto thought. He leaned forward and patted her hand affectionately. “I hob you ge’ befer,” he lisped. He was shocked when her eyes fluttered open at the contact of their hands. She turned her head slightly and blinked at him.
“You’re not him,” she muttered in confusion. There was a frown twisting her features but she looked a bit dazed.
Naruto tilted his head to the side curiously. “Nof who?” he asked her as he watched her try to regain her consciousness through the haze that clouded her eyes. She was most likely still asleep.
“Shirimasen,” she muttered. “He said that I go with him and be his Hime.” She shook her head as if she was trying to clear it but she still seemed to be affected by it. “I say I didn’t want to leave Eizan-nii-san and he did something.”
The whiskered boy was at the edge of his seat as if he were hearing an exciting tale. “Wah he du?” he asked anxiously. He wanted to know what this evil man had done but he wondered if perhaps she’d been dreaming.
Her hand moved toward her throat, most of it covered with the bandages. “He gave me shot here. It hurt and I sleep,” she whispered. She turned her eyes to look at him, and her small fingers pulled back the bindings and he saw the puncture wound of the needle. “I’m scared.”
Naruto frowned and wondered if perhaps she was telling the truth. He reached out for her hand and held it as she gripped back. “I stay wif joo,” he reassured her with a smile. He expected her to shun him as everyone else did, but he was surprised when she smiled and then closed her eyes.
“What’s your name?” she muttered as she started to fall asleep once more.
“Uzumaki Naruto,” he responded but she had already drifted off. He sighed and pulled the chair closer and laid his head on the bed beside her as he continued to hold her hand. Naruto would keep his promise and stay with her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto felt a hand shake him awake and while it annoyed him to be woken up, the action wasn’t rough. His cerulean orbs opened and turned to see a teenaged boy standing beside him. He looked a lot like the little girl on the bed, who was still sleeping soundly, but he had mesmerizing gray eyes instead of black with crimson sides like hers.
“Konichiwa, and who might you be?” he asked him. Naruto was relieved that the older boy wasn’t angry about finding him sleeping beside Arisa. In fact, he looked very tired and a bit bemused but not upset. He had on a black bandana with a metal plate around his forehead with an hourglass symbol on it.
He had seen many people wearing it around the village but theirs had the leaf sign. Naruto had asked the old man what they meant but he hadn’t given him a response and Akiko hadn’t either. It was almost like they were trying to keep something from him.
“Uzumaki Naruto,” he said his name once more. He looked at the girl and pried his fingers from hers as he sat up. “Who’re you?” He was glad to notice that the swelling in his mouth had gone down.
The boy smiled through his fatigue and pulled up another chair but didn’t order him out. Naruto was glad since he didn’t want to leave Arisa alone. “Ashikaga Eizan,” the older male responded. “Ari-chan’s my sister and we’re from Sunagakure.”
Naruto tilted his head to the side. “Hidden...in Sand?” he asked, a bit confused. That’s another thing he didn’t understand. Their village was called Konohagakure, hidden within the tree leaves. He just didn’t know why they were hiding. “Why do you hide?”
Eizan chuckled and shook his head. “Because ninja are supposed to hide from the rest of the world,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Ninja?” he asked. “What’s a ninja?”
He seemed genuinely surprised as Naruto asked this question. “You don’t know what a ninja is?” The blonde shook his head and Eizan scratched the back of his head. “Well, that’s strange. What are your parents teaching you?”
The Suna-nin saw the grimace of pain that passed over his features and immediately knew what it meant. It was the same reaction he had when he was asked about his real mother, or when he remembered her. This boy’s parents were either gone or they had died. “No parents, huh?” he asked sympathetically.
Naruto nodded miserably and Eizan ruffled his unruly hair. “Well, that’s too bad, but don’t let it get you down,” he said with a smile. He peered at his sister and his expression turned sad. “My mother died because she was a ninja. A ninja is also known as shinobi, and they protect the village from any threat or danger.”
He motioned to his headband and the piece of metal on it. “This is a hitai-ate and it signifies that you’ve become one, but you’ll only be a low rank one.” He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “You have to work hard to advance to the next level and become a great ninja.”
Naruto liked the sound of this ninja business. If he became one then people would start to acknowledge him for more than just his pranks, but he had to be the best. “What happens when you’re the best?” he asked him anxiously.
“You become a Kage. A Kage is the leader of his village and has the respect of being the most powerful ninja in the village. For your village, it’s the Hokage and ours is the Kazekage.” He pondered this for a second. “Your Kage is old and wears a long white robe and a red and white hat. Have you seen him?”
The blue-eyed boy realized that he was talking about old man Sarutobi. “Saru-jiji is the Hokage?” he asked incredulously. “But he’s old!” The way he said it made it seem like that explained it all.
This only served to amuse the older boy even more as he laughed and shook his head. “While I agree with you, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s the Hokage of your village. I hear he’s one of the most powerful ones that Konoha has had and he’s been called “The Professor” because he knows so much knowledge and jutsu.”
Naruto was one again confused by his words. “What’s a jutsu?” he asked him. Eizan sighed and dreaded explaining things to this kid he hardly knew.
His sister already knew the basics of a ninja since he had started to show her what he had been learning in the Academy since three years ago. He didn’t want her to be defenseless if he was unavailable to protect her. Yesterday's accident had proven more than anything that he couldn’t always be there to protect her from every danger.
Eizan was exhausted after his basic explanation of a shinobi and spiritual and physical energy to produce types of jutsu of the wind, air, fire, earth, and lightning variety. After a while, he had fallen asleep in the chair as the blonde boy watched over both of the siblings. He felt comforted with them sleeping so soundly and securely close by him.
He only left when the nurse had shooed him away because he wasn’t related and only members of the girl’s immediate family were allowed in her room. Naruto had grudgingly left but made the nurse promise she would deliver a message to the still slumbering Eizan. He hadn’t wanted to wake him since he looked so tried.
‘I come see Arisa again. -Naruto’ Had been written in his childish and barely distinguishable scrawl. The old man had taught him only how to write so he was at the elementary level.
As he left the hospital, he lifted his face to the heavens and enjoyed the remaining warmth the fading sunlight had to offer before he made up his mind. He grinned and started to run toward the Hokage Dairi because he had said something to Eizan and he planned to keep his word.
‘I want to become Hokage! Then they’ll all respect me!’
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He ran with a renewed bounce to each step and a grin on his features as he moved down the busy street. The once morose blonde was elated to be alive and to know he could also have a purpose in life. A ninja. He would be a shinobi of Konoha and one day Hokage, and then people would respect him.
The girl’s brother had made him want to be the kind of person that commanded respect with his skills and very presence. Naruto hadn’t known him for too long and yet he’d realized that he was deep seeded in his belief of being a ninja of his own village and protecting those he cared about. The boy didn’t have anyone to care about yet, but if he continued to work hard toward his dream, then he would.
He’d asked the Sandaime about becoming a shinobi and he had seen surprise and then sadness in his tired brown eyes. The emotion had confused Naruto, but the old man had reassured him that nothing was wrong. He had explained that anyone that wished to be a ninja had to enter the Academy at a young age. Luckily, Naruto was just in time to be able to register before he had become too old.
So, Naruto was glad he met the girl and her brother. Now he raced back to the hospital to visit them as he had promised and also to tell them the good news.
When he reached the building, the nurses at the entrance wouldn’t allow him to enter since he couldn’t remember the name of the patient. He suspected it was something else, but he didn’t voice that as he left with a frown.
A grin split his features a moment later as he remembered that the girl’s window faced a tree that had grown in a strange, crooked way. He ran around the hospital, trying to find the tree and he finally came to it and wasted no time in climbing it. Her room was on the third floor.
He scaled the tree like a monkey and swung from it so he sailed through the air and latched onto the edge of the window. It was lucky for him that he was naturally agile and he’d had practice swinging from trees during his pranks.
Naruto scrambled through the window and grinned as he lifted his hand to greet whoever was in the room, but the greeting died on his lips. The room was empty and the bed was made as it waited for a new patient. They were gone.
The blonde stood there for a few seconds in disbelief. Naruto had realized that they’d be returning home, but he hadn’t known it would be so soon. He felt tears sting his cerulean orbs as he rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t fair.
Eizan had been so nice and he’d been very patient with him when explaining what a ninja was, even if Naruto had interrupted several times to ask questions. No one had ever treated him like that except Sandaime and Akiko, but they were adults already. The girl had been his age and the boy hadn’t been that much older than him.
He sniffled and turned toward the window once more when the door open and he heard someone pause as he was spotted. Naruto didn’t hear them yell at him for being there and turned expectantly toward the person. It was the nurse and he remembered that she was the one he had given his message to.
Naruto wondered if perhaps she had merely crumpled it and not given it to them, and he felt an anger manifest within his chest. He wondered why he had to be hated so much when he hadn’t ever done anything wrong.
“Ano,” her hesitant voice stopped the words that were about to form on his lips. She stepped forward and held out a folded piece of paper. “Ashikaga-san asked me to give this to you.”
He felt a pleasant surprise wash over him and knew that she must have given Eizan his note if he was responding. Naruto ran toward her and took the paper. Naruto hugged the nurse, who squeaked in surprise, and then left the room through the window as she cried out in surprise.
If he’d looked back he would have seen the nurse peer out the window with shock and worry and would have been comforted, but he was clutching the letter against his chest as he ran. He wanted to read it by himself and it didn’t matter how much he stumbled over the words.
The first words he deciphered were on the outside of the letter itself and that had been easy. ‘Don’t read until you’ve become a real ninja.’ Eizan had explained that to become a ninja, one had to be strong enough to protect those that couldn’t fight for themselves. A real ninja was ready to lay their life down to defend those they cared for.
Naruto put the piece of folded paper away in a safe place in his shabby apartment and determined that it would be a long time before he became a ninja, but he would wait. He could wait since he knew that one day he would become that type of person. Because when he found people that he cared for and who accepted him, then he would overcome any obstacle to protect them, even death.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The blonde boy was led inside by a taller male with longer dark brown hair and who resembled a girl more than anything. As they entered, he pulled away and stumbled but he shook off the other’s offer of help as he pressed the bandage against his forehead. “I’ll be fine by myself, Haku-kun,” he assured his companion.
Haku didn’t seem convinced of this, but knew how stubborn the blonde could be. “Alright, Naruto-san, but you better come to see Akiko-san later,” he warned him. “You know how she gets.”
Naruto winced as if reliving old memories and nodded. “Hai, I will but later!” He waved him away as he straightened his tattered clothing.
The invasion had left this part of Konoha untouched and he was glad that he didn’t have to look for a new apartment. He still wasn’t well liked and it’d be harder to find another place. Ever since he had started to take on missions, he had insisted that Sandaime and Akiko-san stop paying for his utilities and food. Naruto wanted to be able to support himself and then later, be able to pay them back for all they’d done for him.
He felt an ache in his chest as he remembered that now he wouldn’t ever be able to pay the old man for all he’d done for him. During the invasion, Sandaime had battled against Orochimaru and he had lost his life. Naruto didn’t believe it when he had found out because it seemed like a lie that the old man could be dead.
Of course he had been old and frail, but there was also an untouchable quality about him that made it impossible for him to be gone. Although, he doubted that Saru-jiji would ever truly be gone from Konoha, and the hearts of those that had known and loved him.
He led his friend to the door, holding it open for him as he walked out. However, before he left, the former Kiri-nin seemed to remember something. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Eizan-san said something during our battle,” he muttered. He frowned, and Naruto knew that he was confused as to why she had left him alive. “She said, ‘Tell Naruto-san that the scroll is not intended to hurt anyone.’ Have any idea what it means?”
Naruto blinked and shook his head. “Iie, I don’t,” he muttered thoughtfully as he looked around the room but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “I’ll let you know if something turns up.”
Haku got the impression that the blonde was trying to get rid of him and wondered for a moment why, but didn’t want to push his presence on the Genin if he had something he needed to do alone. “Alright then. Konbanwa, Naruto-san,” he said with a wave as he exited the apartment and moved down the hall.
The Konoha-nin waited until he had turned the corner to close his door and lock it. He threw off his dirty jacket, pants and sandals before racing through the small living room and into his room only in his shirt and boxers. When he reached it, he fell onto his hands and knees beside his bed and reached across the floor.
His fingers felt around the floor boards for several moments before he found a distinct indentation and slipped two fingers into the holes in the wood. He gripped the board and pulled as it came away with a creak. It had been a while since he had pulled it open. Seven years to be exact.
Naruto was wiggling with excitement as he groped around inside the opening and pulled out a small metal box. He had a good grip and crawled back with it as he sat on the floor with it on his lap.
He fished around inside his shirt and pulled out a slender chain with a small, silver key attached to it. Naruto removed it from around his neck and slipped the key into the lock with a shaking hand as he turned and unlocked it.
Now he paused as he took in a deep breath before pulling it open and pushing several things aside until he came to an old envelope. From it he extracted a folded piece of paper that looked to have seen many years. He set the box aside as he looked it over, and there were faded words on the outside, but he could still read them, ‘Don’t read until you’ve become a real ninja’. Naruto opened it and started to read at last.
“Naruto-san,
If you’re reading this, then you’re either cheating and the nurse just handed you the note, or you’ve finally become a real ninja! Now, a lot of people will tell you that being a shinobi is to become a tool to be used and then discarded when its’ use is over. That is true in a lot of instances, but not always.
Being a ninja, to me, means everything! My mother was a ninja and she died as one, but I don’t think that it’s just about obligation and killing. You’re able to protect people you care about and ensure that the place where they live continues to be safe and peaceful.
If you’re reading this then you were able to push fear aside and protect your friends and loved ones in the face of death or injury. At times, we get true strength when we fight, not for ourselves, but for those who can’t. I find comfort in the knowledge that everything I do is for the benefit of my beloved sister.
A wise man once taught me that I had to treasure her or she’d be taken from me, and I plan on showing him one day that I became a great ninja that is able to protect her from all harm. Of course, I also want to punch him in the face, but that’s a story for another day.
I’m sorry we won’t be here when you return but I made the nurse promise that she’d give this to you without reading it. She seems sincere enough. We live in Suna, which is a few days walk from Konoha so we might not meet for a long time, or we might never meet again. Either way, thank you for keeping Ari-chan company and for listening so attentively to every word I said. Until we meet again, if we ever do.
-A.E.”
Naruto sat back and blinked in confusion and awe at the letter he had just read two times in a row. He laughed and shook his head since it was everything he had expected, and yet he hadn’t known what he had been expecting.
He was disappointed to realize that he couldn’t remember the boy’s name, whom had taught him long ago what a ninja was. Either way, he would cherish this letter until he was able to meet him again. For some reason, the thought of the older boy always seemed to make him sad, although, he had no idea why.
The letter was carefully folded back and placed in the envelop that he had placed it in so long ago, and now he sealed it. He returned it to the metal box that would protect its contents even in a fire, and locked it securely before returning it to its hiding place. Naruto sat beside his bed for a moment in contemplation before standing.
The blonde froze half way to his feet as he spotted a scroll on the bed and tilted his head in confusion. Haku’s words came back to him. He suddenly realized that it had to be from Eizan. Naruto practically lunged for the scroll and broke the seal without hesitation and started to read.
“Naruto-san,
If you’re reading this...”
Naruto felt a sense of déjà vu at how the letter began. He shook it off and continued to read.
“...then I didn’t get to speak to you during or after the invasion. I hope you weren’t injured during the invasion and if you were, then I apologize. It wasn’t my intention to see anyone hurt, but we’re shinobi and it’s inevitable. Many of my worries and doubts over this were mainly for you and Uchiha Sasuke. You may ask why I worry for him, but now is not the time to answer that.
There are many things I want to say in this letter. First of all, thank you for everything you did for me. I don’t know how I could have survived this past month without your help. You saved me when I thought all hope had been lost. It was probably the heartache, but I think I pushed my teammates away. I just didn't know how to face them after this.
Also, I was able to return to my hotel room and recover the rest of my possessions and money. I sold most of my clothes and belongings to a second hand store and you’ll find the money you lent me in the first top drawer...”
The blonde stopped reading once more and scrabbled over to the drawer and pulled it open. He pushed his shirts aside and found more then enough to cover the month that she had been living there with him. Naruto only separated what he’d lent her and the other rolled it up so he could return it to her when they met again. He returned to the letter once more.
“...and it should cover a month’s rent. You’d probably insist that I take it back, so I decided to leave it and not tell you and that way you’d have no choice. So, try and buy more clothes without orange. It’s an interesting color and I’m not saying to stop wearing it, but wear something different on missions for Kami’s sake!
I actually had a bit of a talk with that Sakura girl when she came to the apartment once and she told me that you wear orange during missions. I don’t want to hear later that you were killed during a mission because you were discovered by way of your flashy clothing. Buy black clothing!
Also, I’d like to ask a favor involving the Uchiha. Keep that bone head safe and within Konoha. His revenge will drive him over the edge and I’d hate to see an old friend in pain...”
Naruto stopped once more and blinked in confusion. He hadn’t realized that Eizan had known Sasuke before now. The Uchiha hadn’t shown any signs of recognizing her. He shrugged and resumed the letter.
“There was one more reason why I left this letter, and that’s to tell you what I’ve been doing all month. If you noticed, the proctor for the preliminaries mysteriously disappeared, and many assume he’s dead. He’s not. I was ordered to kill him, but couldn’t bring myself to do it because he never wronged me.
It’ll be said that I didn’t end his life because I was weak, but that’s not true! It takes courage not to kill, and at times we have no choice, but when we do then why not spare as much life as possible?
I would admit that a part of me wanted to end his existance, but I kept myself from drowning in these thoughts. That’s not me. I did, however, keep him sedated most of the time and fed him whenever he woke up.
I wasn’t cruel and did nothing to hurt him. He’s sickly so I don’t think he’ll survive for too long if he’s left there without food or care, so please hurry to him. I would have released him before the exam, but I didn’t want to risk the plan to destroy Konoha. Frankly, I hope we fail.
Until we meet again, if ever. Take care of yourself.
-A.E.”
The Konoha-nin felt his eyes widen at the initials at the end of the page and immediately dropped to the floor and pulled the loose board up. He took out the box and hastily unlocked it and tore the envelop open, but made sure not to damage the letter. The blonde felt his breath catch in his throat at the initials there. “A.E.”
He compared the letters and although the handwriting was slightly similar, it was still distinctive. Also, there was no way that short Eizan could have been that tall boy, and besides at the time he’d most likely been thirteen. Seven years had passed since then, so that Suna male had to be at least twenty by now.
Naruto remembered the incident with the Shinobi Skill Cards that Kabuto had, and about how there had been different teammates, a boy and a girl. He paused as he also recollected that the card had listed him as “Deceased”. The blonde plopped on the bed and Eizan’s words came back to him. ‘I don’t have anyone else to fight for. My parents and brother are gone, and now Gaara-dono has cast me from his side.’
He knew sorrow at realizing that the first Eizan, the one that had taught him what a ninja was, had died shortly after they’d met. It had listed him as dead more than six years ago. Naruto now knew that the Eizan he had met during the Chunin Exam was the girl in the hospital and her brother is...was the boy, whom had woken him from slumber so long ago. He had the impression at the time that the boy cared a great deal for his sister, so he assumed that the sister also loved her brother the same way. It was only logical that she had taken his name after he had perished.
‘Ari-chan,’ he silently mused to himself. If they were to ever meet again, he’d make sure to tell her what connected them. It was no wonder that he had felt a strong need to protect her when battling against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. He’d done it before by staying at her bedside, and his instincts had told him to do it again.
Naruto shook these thoughts off and pulled the scroll more open to reveal the map that she’d drawn. He memorized it and realized that it wasn’t too far from where he lived. As he changed, he thought about her actions and knew that she wasn’t a bad person since she had spared one of their Jonin and told him where he was being held. After all, her brother was the one that had taught him that being a ninja didn’t mean just being a tool.
When one was a shinobi, you were able to protect those you care for and the place you called home. So, he would continue to work hard and proce one day that he was the best. Naruto slipped on his sandals and left the apartment via the window, and soon he was sprinting over the roofs as he let his memories take over.
-
Eizan chuckled at his enthusiasm as he asked another question, this time about hand seals. He didn’t become mad when he interrupted him, and quickly showed him how to position his hands for the tiger seal. When he nodded eagerly, the older boy laughed once more. Naruto enjoyed the sound of his laughter, since all he ever heard from the villagers were shouting and cursing.
“A series of different seals will cause the user to perform a certain type of jutsu. It combines spiritual and physical energy,” he explained. The boy gave him a confused look and he motioned for him to follow. He entered the restroom and filled a cup with water and pumped soap into his hand from the dispenser. “Imagine that the water is spiritual energy and the soap is physical energy. Now, when you combine them...”
He added the soap and started to mix it with his finger. They became foam that started to spill over the top of the cup. “The foam is the jutsu.”
Naruto’s features lit up in a grin and he started to bounce around. “I get it!” In his jubilant dance he impulsively hugged Eizan. He froze as he remembered the last time he’d done that, and the villager had smacked him. The blonde was surprised and overly relieved when he only laughed and ruffled his blonde locks
“Keep it down, you,” he chastised good naturedly. “We don’t want to wake Ari-chan.”
He released the older male and they started to leave the restroom. The younger boy paused and peered up at him. “Eizan-nii-san, why did you want to become a ninja?” he suddenly asked. He stopped in the doorway and Naruto wondered if he’d asked something he shouldn’t have.
He turned down and smiled but he could see the sadness in his eyes. “I wanted to be a ninja to be as my mother.” They had started to move away from the restroom and toward the window. “Now I just want to be able to protect those I love. I’ll probably become a Jonin later on.”
They looked out at the village. Naruto jumped up onto the sill and let his legs hang over the side as Eizan lightly smacked him upside the head. Naruto blinked at him in confusion and the other just pulled him inside a bit more so one leg was inside and the other outside.
“What about you, Naruto-san?” he asked him, changing it after the boy had refused to be called “Uzumaki-san” He leaned out the windowsill besides the blonde.
The jinchuriki hesitated and glanced outside as they watched villagers go about their daily lives from the third story room. “I want to be able to live and not be hated.” His face lit up and gave him a foxy grin that lit up his cerulean orbs and features beautifully. “I want to become Hokage! Then they’ll all respect me!”
Eizan blinked at him with a neutral expression before he grinned and burst out laughing. “Now that’s dreaming big!” he exclaimed as he ruffled his hair. The blonde blushed but grinned all the same. “You remind me of what my mother always use to say to me...” Naruto listened attentively to his next words.
-
Naruto jumped to the next roof and as he soared through the air, the wind pulled at his garments as his hair became even wilder. He turned his tanned face toward the heavens, and the dying sunlight warmed his face and body.
‘Dream as if you’d live forever, and live as if you’d die tomorrow.’
He would strive to achieve his dream to become Hokage and keep living as if it were his last day because as shinobi, that's all they had. Naruto gave a grin reserved for the one that had taught him what it meant to be a ninja.-
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Translations:
Shirimasen: For those that don’t remember, it means “I don’t know”.
Saru-jiji: Naruto’s nickname for Sarutobi. Saru means monkey and -jiji means old man, so he’s calling him old monkey man? lmao! XD
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End, Hidden Side of a Leaf.