Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto's Life ❯ Family Ties ( Chapter 2 )

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Chapter 2

Family Ties

      ; Jiraiya and Naruto were walking back in a shroud of complete silence, both reflecting upon that days astounding events. Jiraiya was trying to figure out who and how Naruto got that bloodline from because as far as he knew, Naruto's parents were ordinary ninjas and neither had bloodlines. Naruto, who was looking down at his hands as if they had become someone else's, couldn't believe that he had such power. He also was trying to figure out how he had gotten that power and where. Thinking back to his earliest memories, the only thing he could remember was that even his care-taker had hated him and left him as soon as he was 6 years old. Looking over at his adopted father, Naruto couldn't help but feel excited and happy with the knowledge that he had a father even if it was a very perverted one. Smiling at that thought, Naruto returned his thoughts back to the task at hand and continued to search his memory for any sign of his lineage. Jiraiya, who was watching his son out of the corner of his eye, noticed the intense look upon his features and smiled knowing that Naruto was searching with all his might to find out who his parents were. Arriving in Konoha just before the gates closed and sealed for the night, the pair made there way home silently promising each other to renew the search even more vigorously in the morning, with a fresh outlook on the matter.

Reaching Naruto's apartment, Naruto unlocked the door and let Jiraiya enter first and the followed his father in and closed and locked the door. Walking into his bedroom he stripped down to his under garments and fell into bed knowing that Jiraiya would do the same on the couch. Drifting off to sleep, Naruto was struck by a thought. Reaching into his mind, Naruto entered his mind and found himself in a hallway filled with doors of all sorts of colors. Instead of opening one of those doors, Naruto followed the hallway down until he reached the very end, There stood a steel door barred with steel chains and a gigantic seal across the steel plate. Walking up to the door, Naruto saw the chains fall away. Reaching up to the seal Naruto bite his thumb and drew blood and the smeared the blood on the seal. With a gut wrenching grinding sound that made him cover his ears and wince in pain, the door raised itself into the ceiling. Walking forward into the gloom within, Naruto waited a few short paces form the door. With a sudden burst of light the room revealed itself. Taking up most of the room was a gigantic steel cage with the same seal that was on the door, imprinted on all the bars. The cage wasn't the only thing awing about this room... For inside the cage sat a fox of humongous proportions. With and evil grin and a growl the fox raised itself up. Not showing any fear in the slightest, Naruto brazenly walked up to the cage and yelled: “Hey you perverted, giant fur-ball. Do you know anything about my parents?”, he said with a serious tone in his voice and a serious _expression on his face. Rumbling with a growl the Kyubbi, for it was the great Nine-Tailed Fox that was in the cage, looked down and looked at the puny human that was his container and said in a deep bass growl: “No, I don't but you should. I mean just use the technique that you use to talk to me to unlock the doors in your mind and look at your memories.”. Thinking about the fox's answer Naruto saw that it was plausible and decided to try it. “Thanks, giant fur-ball. You can go back to sleep now.”, Naruto said happily before he turned around and walked out. Without even hearing the crash of the door resealing and chaining itself, Naruto walked to the first door he saw. Turning the door handle, he was suddenly surrounded by his own memories. Realizing that these particular memories were his most recent he shut the door and continued back down the hall back the way he had come. Reaching his entrance point he saw only one door left. Approaching the door he was suddenly stopped by an invisible barrier. Striking it with his fists, Naruto was thrown back and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. Gaining his feet, he charged the barrier and was again thrown back but even harder and farther this time. Getting back to his feet again, Naruto thought about his next course of action. Decision made, Naruto walked back to the fox's room and said: “I need your help.” Looking up from his resting place, Kyubbi was surprised by this revelation. “With what would you need my help with?”, he asked curiously, because of the tone of voice in the young man's voice. Seeing the fox's obvious interest, Naruto explained his plan: “I need you to demolish a barrier in my mind so i can reach the memories that are in there.” With a gasp and a backwards jerk Kyubbi' exclaimed: “Do you know what that would do to your mind not to mention your body?”, he asked with a bit of terror in his voice. “Just do it, or are you scared of some little memories. Its not like they can hurt you.”, Naruto sneered trying to provoke the fox. Succeeding, the fox growled: “Very well, but do not say that I did not warn you.”, with that said Kyuubi walked out of his now ethereal cage and advanced upon the invisible barrier. Reaching out with a huge paw, Kyuubi swiped at the barrier and destroyed it. Suddenly, with a great howl of anguish the fox was jerked back into his seal and the door to the room was sealed once again, cutting off his howl. Naruto, who had followed the demon to the barrier, was surrounded by the memories. Looking at them he realized that these memories were from the day he was born. Submerging himself in them, Naruto gazed wide-eyed as he watched doctors swarm around him. He felt his memory self being carried somewhere and laid down in a comforting place. The baby Naruto, curious of everything looked up and saw the one thing that the now 16 year old Naruto had forgotten... his mother. With a tears freely flowing from his eyes, Naruto looked upon the woman he knew without a doubt to be his mother. He examined her face as much as possible from his point of view. Tearing his eyes from her beautiful face, Naruto looked around at the memory room and saw a shadowed man standing over his mother. Looking up at the man, his mother said: “Look at him husband. He takes after you.”, she whispered with a _expression of pure joy and love on her face. Naruto jerked back in surprised when his mother reached down and kissed the baby Naruto's forehead and he had felt it as if she had really kissed him. Naruto was trying to figure out who his father was, when the memory flashed forward to him laying on a red cushion with his bloody father standing over him. The man was still shrouded by shadow. Looking up he saw that his father seemed to be smiling at him, with a small hand the baby Naruto reached up and tried to grab his Father's hand. With a shake of his head, the man turned and disappeared from his field of vision. With a wailing cry, both baby and teen-aged Naruto began to cry and with a violent jerk he ripped himself from the memories and let himself return to reality where he saw that almost no time had passed. With a small sob of both happiness and grief, Naruto fell into a deep sleep where he was not disturbed by dream or nightmare.

The next morning...

The net morning, Naruto got up with a mixture of feelings going through his stomach. He felt happiness because he knew who his mother was and grief because he knew some how that some how his father had died that night. Slumping to the bathroom, he crawled into the shower and let the scalding water warm his skin and smooth away the worst of the feelings. Getting dressed, Naruto headed into the kitchen to find food and Jiriyai both at the table, waiting for him. With a smile, he sat himself across from his father and dug in to the large breakfast with zeal, wishing that his dad would let him eat some ramen once in a while. Finishing breakfast, the two shinobi washed the dishes and started getting ready to resume their search for Naruto's parents. Naruto, who was watching his sensei getting all his equipment and items together, thought about what happened the last night; and if he should tell his father. Reaching a decision, Naruto cleared his throat in a clear sign that he wanted to talk. Jiraiya, who had halted his activities at the sound, looked up expectantly. Naruto gestured for the older man to take one of the couches and with a heavy thump Naruto plopped down on the couch that was on the opposite side as the one that Jiraiya now occupied. Naruto watched his sensei under a mask of complete emotionless ness. Taking a deep breath, Naruto collected his thoughts and began to speak. “Last night as I was going to sleep, I got an idea. Using a technique to enter my mind I went to talk to Kyuubi. I asked him that since he had been living in me since i was a babe, if he knew my parents. He said that he did not but i should be able to find out who they were by looking into my memories. So using a jutsu that he showed me, I started looking through my memory doors.” Interrupting Naruto, Jiraiya asked: “What do you mean by dream doors, and what jutsu did Kyuubi teach you?”, he asked with a queer look in his eyes and a tense voice. “He taught me the Kinen Yochi (Memory Scope) jutsu. This jutsu reveals doors that represent a place in your mind that store your memories. Each door holds certain amount of time's worth of memories. Each door is color coded by the most prominent emotion of the memory. Most of my doors are gray representing loneliness. All the others are either red for angry or black for extreme pain of one form or another, and blue for the very few times that I was ever truly happy.”, Naruto said with the same emotionless voice that he had started with although their seemed to be tears on the verge of emerging from his eyes. At hearing and seeing this Jiraiya began to silently cry to himself knowing that this experience most have been hell for Naruto to go through. “I started the search at the doors that were the nearest to Kyuubi. These doors were my most recent memories. That is where I found the most blue doors. As I went back farther and closer to my entry and exit area the doors ranged from gray to red with only one blue door. I search all of them all the way down to my memories of my care-taker at the age of six. I didn't find any hint as to who my parents were and I was about to give up when i noticed that there was still one door left. I tried to get to it except that it was blocked by a barrier of some sort. So I went back to Kyuubi's cell and told him to break it. When I did, he told me that if it was opened that I may lose my mind or worse. I told him to go ahead and do it. As soon as he broke it, he was jerked back into his cage and the door slammed closed and sealed itself. As soon as that happened I was engulfed by memories. They started off at the hospital. That was when I saw my m-mom.”, he finished this part of the explanation with a quiver and a short sob and a look of deep sorrow past over his features almost to fast for Jiraiya to see. Using all his will power to stay put and not go over and hug his adopted son, Jiraiya thought about what the boy had said but he hadn't let it sink in yet. Naruto, who was forcing himself back into his emotionless mask, took another deep voice and said: “Her name was Natsuki Hekri, member of the Hekri clan and a keeper of the lightning element bloodline, one of the ten elemental bloodlines.” With a sigh, Naruto finished his story and waited to see what his sensei would say. Jiraiya, who was still trying to assimilate the fact that Naruto had found out who is mother was, was amazed that he knew so much about her. With a gasp, Jiraiya realized that if he knew who his mother was that must mean that he also knew who his father was. “Son... did you by any chance also find out who your father was?” he asked with a little apprehension. “No, but I do know that he did die the night that Kyuubi attacked and was sealed inside me. I never did find out what happened to my mother either.”, he said with an expression of bemusement on his face and a voice of curiosity. Jiraiya getting up from his seat across from Naruto, walked over and hugged his step-son, letting his son who could not hold back his tears back any longer cry as he shook with grief and anger at the world and his parents. Pulling back from Jiraiya, Naruto wiped his face and composed himself and gave his new dad a smile that showed genuine thanks for being there. Returning the smile, Jiraiya motioned to the door and picked up his things. Leaving the apartment, Jiraiya knew exactly where to go from there, headed to the Hokage's tower to use on of the many favors that Tsunade owned him to gain access to the Vaults of Records. Naruto, who was still thinking about that fact that he now knew who his mother was, headed down to the bridge where he and his teammates used to meet. Reaching the bridge, Naruto leaned over the side and watch the placid water flow under the bridge and get lost in the horizon. So lost in his thoughts, Naruto didn't even notice Anko walking up the path that lead to the bridge. Anko, who used the bridge as a good thinking spot saw that someone was already there. Continuing up the path, she realized that the person that she was actually thinking about standing there looking out over the railing. Walking up to Naruto, Anko waited for him to notice. While she waited she looked him over, from the top down. She saw that under the baggy pants, muscular legs hid, and she saw all the scars that lined his back including the one that he had received from the traitor: Sasuke. The Chidori scar was a dull pink next to his shoulder blade. It reminded her that this man, for that was what he was now, fought for the people he loved with awesome power. It was that power that drew her to him. The power that she knew would be able to take down Orochimaru. Naruto, who was coming back to reality, noticed that person behind him and slowly turned around. Jerking back in surprise, he saw that it was Anko and not Sakura. Sighing in relaxation, he smiled a small smile and returned to looking out over the railing. Following suit, Anko leaned against the railing but faced Naruto. “Is there something wrong Naruto?”, she questioned. “No..”, he replied again using the toneless voice. “You want eat lunch with me? I feel like ramen.”, she asked hoping that she might be able to get him to tell him how he had gotten so powerful if she bought him some ramen. Perking up at the sound of ramen, he looked over at her and saw her smirk of amusement. Unable to control himself, he smirked back and nodded his head, walking soundlessly to the ramen stand. They both waited for the other to start the conversation. After ordering the meal still past in silence, and after about twenty more minutes of silence Anko couldn't take it anymore. “I was curious, especially after I saw you defeat those clones, on how you had gotten so powerful so fast and so easily.” she said with her face a mask of innocence, and with a voice that tried to feign at indifference. “I trained night and day and I always thought of the people that I needed to protect. I got stronger for them, not for me. I was only after the second year that I realized that no one or at least very few people cared about what happened to me. After that I got stronger to show them that I can and will be the best.” he stated without modesty or any sort of feeling in his voice or face. “I see...” she replied, her face locked in the innocent mask. Finishing the meal with pleasantries after that, they parted after Naruto paid the bill. Anko, wandering off thought about what Naruto had said and realized that she was going about her life in all the wrong way. With that thought in her mind she went home and began to revise her life.

Naruto, who after having lunch with Anko thought about training but knew that he wasn't in the mood, so he went back home and was surprised to find Jiraiya there. “I thought you were at the tower looking at the records.” he accused thinking that he sensei and father had gone researching again. 'Damn Ero-Sennin, always being a pervert.' he thought silently to himself. Stabbing Naruto with a reproachful look as if he knew exactly what Naruto was thinking, Jiraiya replied: “I was, but I found what I was looking for.” Gesturing like Naruto had earlier, Jiraiya now occupied the seat that Naruto had earlier and vice versa. “I'll start at the beginning so that you can understand some of the things that happened. It started about two years before you were born. The Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud were warring. Each side had spies and informants. Your mother was one of our informants. When the cloud found out about her, they immediately sent a team of Jounin to get her. Your mother knowing that they knew about her wrote as much in her last report to us. Your father, who read the report, rushed out the village to rescue someone he didn't even know. We later found out that she had visited us before and that they were good friends. Anyways, your father arrived just in time to stop the Jounin from capturing your chakra-usage exhausted mother. Taking a more leisurely pace back here, your mother and father become very close. They eventually dated, got engaged and married a year later. Cloud found out about the marriage and that your mother was still alive. They marked her as a missing-nin and sent a squad after her even though she was now registered as a leaf ninja. Your father once again stopped her from being taken. At that time cloud saw how foolish it was to keep trying, and so they gave up and stopped. With an uneventful life again your parents thought about kids. They had you a year later on the fateful day that Kyuubi attacked. Knowing that the only way to save everyone from more harm was to seal the beast, your father found a scroll and sealed him in his only child killing himself in the process. The rest you know.” finishing his tale he waited for the info to sink in, knowing exactly how hard it was because the same thing happened to him when he had read the scroll. With a gasp, Naruto gazed in amazement at his step-father. “So your saying that my father was the Y-Yondaime?”, he stammered with a quivering voice and a look of great joy and happiness on his face. “Yes, I am Naruto. Your father was none other the Arashi Uzumaki, The Fourth Hokage and Savior of Konoha.”, he said beaming. With a explosive out rushing of air Naruto fainted. Smiling at his overwhelmed son, Jiraiya picked him up and placed him in the bed and got ready for the trip.

The next morning...

Naruto lay awake in bed still trying to digest the fact that his father was the Yondaime. Getting up and taking a shower, he headed to the kitchen for some breakfast after getting dressed. Entering the kitchen, Naruto saw Jiraiya in the process of making a large batch of sandwiches. “What are all those for?”, he asked still trying to get the cobwebs out of his brain. “These are for the trip down to the Cloud Country.”, Jiraiya responded with a grin and a chuckle. Rubbing the back of his neck in bewilderment, Naruto tried to think of any reason of why his sensei was going there. “I give up... Why are you going there?” he asked. “You mean, Why are we going there, and we are going there to learn more about your bloodline.”, he amended with a smile at Naruto's stunned face. “I have relatives that live there?”, he asked dumbly in a stuporish voice. “I hope so or this is a wasted trip.” Jiraiya replied amused at Naruto. Finishing his sandwiches, the older man walked over and put half of them in one bag and half in another along with some ramen: “There that should be good.” Picking up and tossing Naruto his pack, Jiraiya said: “Its time to go. I already have Tsunade's permission to go, so lets get going.” “Alright.”, Naruto replied amiably once his mind had caught up with his hearing. Locking the door behind him, Naruto shouldered his pack and followed his sensei out the gates and toward the cloud country.

One week later...

“Wow, this place is huge.”, Naruto said in an awed voice to match his _expression. Jiraiya just nodded totally agreeing with his step-son. They had arrived at the capital of the cloud country and found where the Hekri clan estate was located and set off for it. They now stood before the house and training grounds that were adjacent to it. Reaching for the knocker, Jiraiya knocked thrice quite loudly. After what seemed to be an eternity and just before Jiraiya was going to knock again, the doors swung open on silent hinges. Standing in the gap between them stood a woman, walking forward Jiraiya bowed and motioned for Naruto to do the same. “Yes, what do you want?”, the woman said quietly. “We are here to see the leader of the Hekri clan.”, Jiraiya said in a formal voice and commanding voice. “I am she.” the woman replied in a wary voice along with her face slipping into an unreadable mask. “Well then, I think that you and us need to speak privately.”, Jiraiya informed the woman. Nodding her head, the woman moved aside and allowed them to enter the compound. Jiraiya was just about to follow the woman when he noticed Naruto wasn't following him. Looking around he saw that his son was crouched on the floor with a kunai aimed at the wall. Before Jiraiya could stop him, Naruto threw the kunai at the wall and was rewarded by a voice shouting in angry. “You almost hit me with this.” the voice said revealing itself to belong to a child of no more then 8 years. “I wasn't trying to hit you.” Naruto said evilly with an evil fox grin plastered to his face. Clearing his throat, Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to follow him. Returning to the woman she didn't even look to have noticed the shout or the child. Turning back and walking down a hallway, she led them to her office. “Now this is a private conversation. What did two Hidden Leaf ninja need to talk to me for?” she asked immediately upon the door closing. “We are here about this clan's bloodline.” Jiraiya said cautiously. Immediately becoming wary, the woman replied: “What about it?”

Turning to Naruto, Jiraiya nodded his head. With eyes turning white and sparking, Naruto called out: “DANSU ZANA HEKIREKI JOUTON (Dance of the Thunder God)”. The air seemed to become charged with electricity and power. Allowing the power to rush through him a bit, Naruto released the power. Returning to normal he looked over at the woman and waited for her reaction.

“It seems the great Hekri clan lives again.” she said simply before fainting.

A/N: Please Read and Review (ones that we can read preferable) THX.