Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Returning ❯ Meeting ( Chapter 11 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Returning

chapter 11- Meeting

kougasmate- okay, read and review!




The sun was out early that morning, rays of light penetrating the room in which Aza had taken refuge after a night of tears and grief. Her hair was dishelved, and she still trembled, but she was dry of tears, and her throat was raw. In one hand, she clutched a picture of the yondaime, her late love, and in the other, a picture of her child, whom she had abandon out of weakness and spite.
Jiraiya had given it to her as he told her stories of his adventures and antics. How he had changed so many people, how strong he had become.

"He is so much like Toku..." Putting the pictures side by side, she smiled mournfully. He was a living replica of her love, from his sun bleached hair to his self assured smile, everything about him was a reminder of Toku.

"Toku! Toku!" Glancing around and seeing the angry glares she was recieving for calling the Yondaime by his first name, she winced, "I mean, Yondaime-sama!"
The villagers gave her a final warning glare, and continued on with their lives.
Toku laughed, putting a hand on Aza's shoulder. "Hello Aza-chan, how are you?" His voice was strong, deep and wonderful. Aza could almost feel herself melting in her shoes. "I, uh...actually, I was wondering if you wanted to, maybe, go with me to...to eat?"
The blond man grinned, "Of course Aza! I'd be delighted, but there's one condition."
Aza blinked innocently, "Yeah?"
"can we get ramen?"
Aza mentally gagged, she would never understand his fascination with ramen, but aloud she answered, "Sure! Let's go!"

She could still hear his voice, and recall his face, when she closed her eyes. She remembered everything about him, his scent, the way he spoke, the way he always had the power to make her blush with all the power of a smitten young school girl.
"But I was, at that time, wasn't I?" She asked, glancing at the picture of Toku.
A sob racked her body, and she brought both pictures to her chest. "I was so stupid...How could I have done that? I'd be surprised...if he accepted me..."



"Sakura, you talked to my mom, right?"
Sakura stopped mid-step, and looked at her feet. Today, Naruto would meet his mother, and today, his life may change.
"Yes Naruto...I did."
"Well, what did she say?"
"She is very sorry Naruto, that she left you..." She sighed, and turned to him, "She really wants to make things right. But... She seems so fragile, as if being denied would kill her."
Naruto's eyes turned hard, like stone, and narrowed as he voiced hatefully, "Then she might die..." Sakura opened her mouth to object, "Are you...Are you going to reject her? After she came back!" Naruto glarred, "What the hell good does her returning now do? She waited until she was able to face me, but what if I need more time? It's not easy, this whole thing. I don't know if I can forgive her so easily."
Sakura hung her head, "I understand."
"No..." He walked passed her, "You don't. You truly don't."
Up ahead, Sasuke waited. Once Naruto had caught up to him, he continued walking. He, at least, understood a little better than Sakura, being an orphan himself.
At length, the trio reached the Hokage's office.
Naruto could feel how tense Sakura was, and wondered why he wasn't as nervous as the pink haired girl beside him. He wondered why he didn't shake in anticipation or fear, why he didn't feel even slightly worried or scared. He wondered alot of things, but as the door opened, the time for ponderings was over, and he stepped in.
All at once, he was hit with a feeling of fear, and looked around for Iruka. Finding him, he offered a nervous smile, before walking over to stand by the Hokage's desk. A chair had been set out for him, in front of the desk facing Tsunade, and Naruto took it gratefully, glancing at the buxom blond behind the desk.
"Naruto... Are you sure you want to do this?" She questioned, watching the boy in front of her with all the compassion she had once shown her younger brother.
"Yes Hokage-sama, I am...Even if I do not accept her, I have to face her, because I don't want to."
Sakura looked at Iruka, "What does he mean?"
Iruka sighed, "I think he's trying to become stronger, emotionally, and stronger willed, by forcing himself to come to terms with this whole thing."
The kunoichi looked down. "I see..."
The door leading into the office opened, and Shizune walked in, followed closely by Jiraiya and Aza, who appeared to have taken special care with her appearance. Her lips were painted red, and her hair had been curled beautifully. But no amount of make-up could hide the fear that hid in the depths of her eyes. She shook plainly as she clutched Jiraiya's arm, and her eyes were already watering.
At last, her eyes fell on the image of her child, the boy she had forsaken so that she could escape the trauma. Clutching the necklace Willow had given her, she replayed Willow's words in her head, 'sin condemned, strength rewarded...' Taking a steady breath, she opened the eyes that she had closed, and her lips turned up in a small smile as she looked at Naruto.
"H-hello...N-naruto..." A tear fell down her cheek as she sat in the chair opposite of him, her skirts rustling like autumn leaves in the wind.
"Hello." He replied cooly, locking her gaze with one of his own, daring her to look away and prove how truly weak she was. Aza could sense the underlying resentment in his voice, and hung her head, "I... Naruto..." She covered her mouth and inhaled deeply, "I don't know what to say..."
Sasuke made a small sound, somewhat of a scoff, and rolled his eyes, but the action went un-noticed as Aza watched Naruto, who seemed to be weighing his words.
"I'd prefer you didn't say anything..." He said bluntly, ever the truthful individual, "Because everything you say will just be excuses and half hearted apologies..."
Looking at her clasped hands, Aza recalled the night that she left, praying to whatever Gods that would listen that she could restart from there. But she had asked so many times, that the Gods must have begun to completely ignore her.


"WAAAHH!"
A child's wailing woke Aza out of her fitfull sleep, in which she was dreaming that the man she loved had not perished.
Slowly, she sat up in her bed, her hair rumpled from sleep and still the midnight black that it had been, illuminated by the light of the moon, which continued to rise, night after night, even though Aza's world had come to a complete stand still. Bringing a hand to her cheek, she found it to be wet with tears, shed in the realization that her dreams were just that. Dreams.
Standing slowly, not even bothering to pull on the robe that hung by her bed, she stumbled over to Naruto's crib.
Inside, a child with a mess of blonde peach fuzz squirmed, waving his chunky arms in the air. Making uncomfortable noises, he squinted, cracking one eye open to glance some what impatiently at his mother. She stood watching him for a few minutes, her instincts not yet kicked in, allowing her to ignore her child's grunts of displeasure. At length, the instincts of the lyuubi kicked in, and he took control of the infant. Aza may not know how to respond to the child's cries, but the growling of a great demon was another story entirely. Naruto's eyes glowed red, and he growled angrily, red chakra swirling around him.
Aza gasped, and stumbled back, succesfully falling over a chair. Standing slowly, she walked back over to the crib, peering in fearfully. She took the child, quivering in fear, who still possessed by Kyuubi, and said, "I get it... you want to be fed, ne?" The growling quieted, and Naruto's eyes returned to the same sky blue they had been, leaving Aza to wonder which was worse. The eyes of the demon, or the eyes so similar to her loves. She really couldn't tell which caused her heart more pain.
"Shh shhh Naruto, c'mon, hush now..." She cooed as she wrapped the baby in a blanket, tucking yondaime's favorite night cap in with the other assorted items in the large basket. After packing a few things in the basket, she sat at a desk, and took out a pen and paper. An hour, and six sheets of paper, later, Aza had a letter in hand. Opening the door to her apartment, she slipped out.
After an hour of walking, she stopped. Setting Naruto down, she fed and changed him one last time, tears obscuring her vision. "I'm sorry Naruto...I'm so so sorry..."
Picking up the child again, she finally arrived at her destination. In front of her was Jiraiya's home, damaged slightly by Kyuubi's rampage. Crying, she placed the basket with her child inside just outside the door, and placed the letter on top. Kissing Naruto's forehead, she picked up the bag she had packed for herself and slipped off into the trees, leaving behind her sleeping child in the hands of a hateful village...

Aza trembled as the memory faded, "You're right..."
In that moment, Aza seemed to age ten years, at least to Sakura she did. Her shoulders sagged forward, and her eyelids drooped. She looked thoroughly tired, as though life had not been kind to her.
"But," Naruto said, "I will listen to what you have to say, whatever it may be..."
The gypsy nodded sadlly, chocked up on tears, "th-thank you..." She bent down and pulled a small envelope out of a bag by her feet, "But first, you should read this. Yondaime...Toku, your father, wrote this for you before he died... He wanted me to give it to you when I felt ready, and I think that now would be an appropriate time..."
She passed it to Naruto, watching as he clasped them in his hands sturdily. A light cover of tears engulfed his eyes as he looked at the envelope, and at the writing that he now recognized as the name that stood next to his on the summouning scroll. "My father...."



kougasmate- hahahahaha! you get to see Toku's letter next chapter, okay? And a few things-
Kakashi's age during Kyuubi's attack- He was 17 (I did the math!), I made the mistake of calling him a child, but he wasn't, but I'm to lazy to change it.
On future couplings for Aza- some people have written to me directly asking that her and Kakashi hook up. They are the same age, so that's not a problem, it jsut seems...wierd, you know? Tell me what you think in reviews.
on the way the stories going- should he accept her or not? send me your opinions. They will not decide the story, just influence it a little, maybe.

Well, review please! oh, and this is definately my longest chapter yet, don't you think?