Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Reflection of Oneself ❯ Reverence ( Chapter 24 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Reflection of Oneself

Chapter 24: Reverence

Awe.

We are forever in wonder and fear of the mysterious and the miraculous. Why did it happen? How did it happen? When did it happen? With all these questions, we are forever unable to let what is better off left alone remain a mystery. And of course, it is that part of us that is the curse of our human nature. If we are in wonder of it, we analyze it until nothing magical is left to dream about. If we fear it, we destroy all knowledge of it so that when we die, those who come after us will never have the chance to choose otherwise.

Curiosity killed the cat. Too bad ours just seems to keep coming back.

Boot Camp.

By the end of the week, the genin of Team Thirteen loathed the word. Nanikato felt numb after all the Jyuuken-induced beatings, Kozue had lost his fair share of blood, Toboe ached in places she wouldn't have thought were able to ache and Yukimaru had come close to being neutered numerous times. The trouble was, there was nowhere you could hide from a Hyuuga - especially one that was only satisfied if you were rolling around on the ground in pain.

By the end of the week, the sensei of Team Thirteen was thinking she might actually like the job after all. As a sensei, Hyuuga Hanabi was a fierce taskmistress, allowing no excuse to soften the cruel fate of her unfortunate victims. If she had to make sure these three became ninja worthy of serving Konoha, then she wasn't going to be gentle. Besides, in her opinion, children shouldn't be coddled.

Sitting back, Hanabi watched as the three genin, plus one dog, avoided the booby traps rigged throughout the demolition field and dodged explosions at the same time. They weren't doing badly, but they weren't doing very well either. The blond was doing the best, of course, but she knew it was only because he had a year's worth more of hands on training then the other two did. Forced into such a situation, the trio had to rely on strengthening their teamwork if they were going to go home at night without battle scars. It was a cruel form of training, but hey - whoever said she was kind?

Nanikato winced as his right leg was snagged by a strand of barbed wire, and when he pulled back, it shredded the protective layer of clothing and bite deeply into the flesh beneath. He cursed for a moment, in a style that would have made Tayuya proud, until he got his injured leg free, then hopped around on one foot until the wound had healed satisfactorily.

His teammates weren't faring any better either, but at least the Hyuuga was attacking them like she was attacking him. Seeing as he was the most experienced genin on the team, Hanabi-sensei had decided to level the `playing field' by throwing a lot more obstacles in his way. And although he knew this exercise was to promote teamwork, he had pretty much given up on helping his teammates, seeing as the only girl seemed to blow regular hissy fits every time he decided to lend a hand.

Having been on much the same wave length as the blonde, Kozue was wishing desperately that Toboe would calm down - even Yukimaru was looking scared of his companion. He hated feeling like he was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, the boy wanted to befriend his new teammate and on the other, he didn't want to lose Toboe. She was fickle that way, which was why her attitude could change at any given second.

Sighing, the crimson-eyed boy caught a brief look of pity from his male teammate before it vanished. Having noticed it, he smiled. Perhaps there was a chance that they could have a mutual understanding if not a friendship.

Then Toboe's hawk-like eyes caught sight of his smile.

“What are you smiling about?!” she snapped irritably, swatting at a rogue bee from the beehive she had upset an hour ago. “We're an inch from death and you're smiling? Do you want us to get killed?!”

Kozue blanched.

“It isn't like that, Toboe-chan.”

“Of course it isn't,” Nanikato, added. “He's just imagining how comfortable death will feel compared to this.”

“No I wasn't!”

“Sure you were. With how reckless she's being; death would be a joy because you know she's going to get us killed.”

Toboe glowered at the blonde. “I am not being reckless!”

“What do you call it then?” he asked. “You triggered more then three quarters of the traps in this field today because of overconfidence and because you didn't want to listen to reason and common sense.”

“Shut up!”

When her fingertips began to spark with electricity, Kozue thought his heart might stop.

“Toboe-chan, please stop it! If you keep this up, we're all going to get killed!”

The silver haired girl whirled around on him, her tattoos having disappeared into the crimson of her rage. If he wasn't so afraid of what might happen if she lost control, he might have been scared of her then as she grabbed him by the lapels of his coat.

“How dare you take his side!” she shrilled, for once acting her age as she began to throttle him. “You're my friend - mine, mine, mine! I won't let this interloper brainwash you into thinking he's the good guy.”

At the same time, Nanikato heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes skyward, silently asking Kami-sama why he had to be so cruel as to stick him with her?

And as if sensing that he had just rolled his eyes, the Inuzuka flung the brunette aside and raised her sparking fingers.

“Raiton: Inabikari Mori!”

Kozue's eyes widened in horror.

“TOBOE-CHAN!”

The blond, who had barely managed to dodge the bolt of oncoming lightning as it seared a hole through the right side of his poncho, was briefly impressed that a eleven year old girl - from a country where lightning affinity was rare - could pull off a Raiton jutsu with such precision. It passed quickly, however, as a sudden feeling of foreboding grasped him tightly in its smothering grip.

It started with sound of a snap and a sharp crackling hiss.

Toboe had noticed it too, her dark eyes widening as she heard the crackling and as one, the three children and one puppy turned towards the noise.

`This is not good…' Yukimaru whimpered, cowering behind Toboe's legs. `We should get out here - now!'

“You think?!” Kozue snapped, his voice having taken on a higher pitch.

The crackling, of course, was coming from a pile of low-grade explosives that individually didn't have much power beyond common fireworks, but there was a pile of them. When Toboe's lightning jutsu had struck the ground behind Nanikato's back, it had caused a stray spark to ignite the fuse of the top most explosive and thus allow the fire it created to eat its way toward the chemicals that would recreate the Big Bang. If Toboe had just listened to Kozue's warnings, she would have also known that they were surrounded by landmines…

“RUN!”

No one would ever know who said it first, but by then it really didn't matter. Dancing as fast as they could between the triggers for the underground bombs, they ran like they had never run before. They were only twenty feet from the blast zone before the fuse reached its final destination. The explosion was enough to pick the four would-be escapees off their feet and throw them another twenty.

But that one explosion wasn't the end of their problems. It had triggered the surrounding landmines, which sent dirt and shrapnel flying around them like swarms of hornets - thus riddling the unfortunate children and canine with lacerations big and small. Seeing as there was really nowhere else to run without getting themselves even more hurt, the unlikely foursome scaled the fence, determined not to be caught up in the rest of the explosion-of-the-century.

Of course, they failed to notice the sign that was hanging off of the fence a couple hundred feet away and thus began a rather precarious quest into the Forest of Death.

“This is all your fault!”

Darkness seemed to descend upon them as soon as they were on the other side, allowing only a few shafts of light to penetrate the dense foliage above. It didn't even dawn on the two Konoha-born genin that they were no longer in the normal forests that surrounded their village, but rather the point of oblivion that hosted the second part of the Chuunin Exams. It was only after at least twenty minutes of running that the group realised they were lost.

“And how is that?”

“Don't try to play the innocent act, you asshole!”

“Get your facts straights, dog-girl - you set off the explosion.”

“It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't pissed me off!”

“Actually, if you pulled that stick out of your arse, none of this would have happened in the first place.”

“Why you--”

Toboe paused in mid outburst when Yukimaru whined loudly, his tail between his legs. The girl paused, then looked down at her trembling companion.

“What it is, Yukimaru?”

He wined again. `Death…'

“Death? What do you mean death?”

The puppy was practically crying now.

`We're in the Forest of Death!'

The Inuzuka froze, her jerky movements getting the attention of her teammates.

Kozue blinked, having been assessing the extent of his teammates' wounds moments before. “Toboe-chan?”

She turned to him, quivering slightly.

“W-we're in the - the - ”

“The what?”

“The Forest of Death!”

The boy gasped, panicking as he whirled this way and that, trying to convince himself that Toboe was only yanking his chain. She wasn't, however, and that terrified him even more. Instinctively the pair and the puppy huddled together, although wincing in pain from their wounds, and shook with fear as they vividly imagined being eaten by giant centipedes or some other sort of dangerously fierce creature with a big appetite and a taste for children.

So while they were panicking, Nanikato was gazing around himself in wide-eyed wonder. Having been `born' in Oto, he had never seen trees so massive and scary looking in his life, nor such a spectacular collection of flora in one place. In his opinion, this was paradise and if given the chance, he wouldn't mind living in here as a hermit. After all, Sasuke-shishou had told him the tales of his forest and that meant he knew what to expect.

But of course, the silver haired girl had to notice the blond's growing grin and intuitively matched it up with his train of thought.

“How can you like this place!?” she demanded. “It gives me the creeps!”

As Kozue nodded frantically and Yukimaru whimpered in agreement, Nanikato turned towards them, his grin becoming wicked to the point that he was giving them the creeps.

“Oh come on, you chickens! It's not that bad.” he laughed.

“Then why is “HELP!” burnt into that tree!?”

The blonde's blue-eyed gaze followed the direction the girl was pointing. Sure enough, burnt deeply into the bark of an old, decaying tree were the letters H,E,L andP. Nanikato stared at the tree for several moments before he burst out laughing - so loud were his gales of laughter any hungry monsters out there would know exactly where to find their next meal.

Without thinking, Kozue and Toboe pounced on him, clapping their hands over his mouth.

“Shush! `Do you want them to find us!?” the red-eyed boy hissed.

“`Them'?”

“The giant centipedes and hungry beasties!”

Nanikato peeled their hands of his mouth and smirked.

“It's called psychological warfare, children.” he said, waggling a finger. Sure, he knew how much he must have looked like Kabuto-san in lecture-mode right then, and as much as he didn't like the thought, it couldn't be helped. “While I don't deny that this forest plays host to many dangerous creatures, I have also been told that it is the stomping grounds for the Chuunin Exams. Whoever wrote that `warning' was undoubtedly trying to scare the shit out of you so bad that you'd mess up and get yourself killed, thus being unable to pass the exam and narrowing down the competition for the others.”

Toboe bristled angrily and gnashed her teeth. If there was one thing she hated more then being called a child, it was when the person saying it was being condescending (or at least what she considered condescending) - and by a boy not much older then herself at that! Having stewed in her anger long enough, she took a deep breath and prepared to smack him for it when she noticed that she was alone.

Spinning in a circle, she noticed the two boys - and Yukimaru! - had continued on without her!

“Get back here you bastards!” she screamed, giving chase. “Yukimaru - you little traitor!”

-.ooOoo.-

The two boys had been in the middle of a conversation concerning jutsu experimentation when the first bloodcurdling scream told them that they had left Toboe behind. The second scream told them she was in danger and the third scream told them that, if she died, she'd be coming back to haunt them for the rest of their lives (which Nanikato believed wholeheartedly due to the fact that he could see and talk to ghosts).

Nanikato stared, his blue eyes growing wider by the second. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

The girl was held aloof in the air, tangling precariously from one leg by a tentacle. Strange, considering that land mammals didn't have tentacles. But one thing was for certain - the creature was draining Toboe of her chakra! And although they were absolutely terrified of what was hurting their friend, Kozue and Yukimaru attacked back blindly.

Brave they were, but their actions could do little to help the girl.

“I can help you defeat this thing,” a voice whispered in his ear. Nanikato flinched, whirling around to find who had spoken but found no one. “You will not be able to see me, child.”

“Are you a ghost?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

`Sort of - I have long since lost sight of myself and have become nothing more then an echo. I could not bare to even look at myself - my failures were too great - and not even you can see me.'

“And what is that thing?”

“I don't know exactly what it is myself, actually, but I do know that it used to be one of Orochimaru's failed experiments. Imperfect as it was, the creature took refuge in the forest and has been living here ever since. Sadly, its main pray are the unfortunate participants of the Chuunin Exams that get caught in its grasp.'

Nanikato snorted. “I hope it knows that eating her will give it indigestion.”

The invisible spirit at his side sighed heavily.

“A sad existence, ne?” the ghost asked.

“Nani?”

“How tragic it is that with every generation, the children become more distant. But that creature needs to be stopped. If you are a good person at heart, you will save your teammate. Please… let me guide your hand.”

The blonde blinked. “But how?”

“It is much like when one thinks that they have become possessed by a restless spirit. I will not possess you - rather I would stand behind you like a teacher guiding your movements in a dance. You would not be able to repeat it, but then are capable enough to learn on your own. Do you accept?'

`Yes.'

And he could sense the ghost begin to smile.

`Good choice.'

Nanikato didn't even get the chance to orientate himself before he was propelled into action, his limbs moving on their own. He could sense the presence of the unseen ghost behind him, guiding his movements as he attacked the beast.

The next ten minutes passed by in a jumbled blur. The failed abomination dodged his attacks and blended in with the environment around it for camouflage with only the dangling Inuzuka as physical confirmation to where it was. Without so much as a word between them, the seriousness of the situation had Nanikato and Kozue fighting together against their foe as if they're had been doing it for years. Yukimaru was bounding from shoulder to shoulder, performing aerial stunts that shouldn't have been possible for a quadruped.

Then finally, the crimson-eyed boy managed to land a decisive hit on the beast with some poisoned darts from his blowgun. The poison went to action fast, numbing the tentacle that held Toboe captive until it dropped her and promptly fled.

The girl screamed as she dropped, having not enough chakra left to cushion her landing. She closed her eyes in hopes of not having to see what her bloody landing looked like as she died. In mid fall however, she found herself taken firmly in a pair of foreign arms. Still not daring to open her eyes, Toboe held on tightly as they continued to drop, the end of the trip announced by a hard landing, a chorus of pained groans, and a tangle of limbs.

Finally daring to open her eyes, the Inuzuka found herself staring into blue. To her utter shock, it had been her ever loathsome blond teammate that had caught her while Kozue and Yukimaru helped to brake their fall.

Nanikato felt the presence of the ghost leave him while the girl gaped unabashedly at him, pleased that the children were finally safe.

“I…”

Toboe would have continued staring at the older boy if it hadn't been for the loud cough that sliced through the stunned silence like a hot knife through butter. The three genin, the silver haired Inuzuka still safely secure in Nanikato's arms (and still holding on with a death grip), winced and slowly looked up into the pale eyes of their sensei.

Hyuuga Hanabi was standing over them, her arms crossed and her expression annoyed. But there was something about the icy woman that had never been there before. A satisfied smile - though it was more of a smirk actually - graced her lips.

And she began clapping.

“Well done twerps - well done.

That was all she said before turning around and leading them out of the Forest of Death, and it was all she needed to say.

-.ooOoo.-

The Following Day:

“Okay, I must admit that yesterday's events were rather impressive by your standards.” Hanabi announced the following morning. “Seeing as you three have finally proven that you're worthy enough to move onto the next stage my curriculum, I am going to start you off by allowing you to advance in your own personal styles by adding to them. Now from the introductions I got from the three of you on our first day together, I assessed your individual strengths and weakness, thus I will now be able properly to train you in how to work with them.”

She turned to Toboe.

“Inuzuka Toboe. You possess strong elemental affinity for Lightning while you are also proficient with long-range combat concerning your clan's jutsu and you have a knack for the longbow.”

Reaching into her hip pouch, Hanabi withdrew a small scroll. Biting her thumb, the Hyuuga smeared blood upon the seal and opened it, spreading the paper across the ground. Forming a few choice seals, she slammed her palm down upon the kanji on the paper and reached into the void. The three genin watched as she finally grasped something solid, and then pulled out what looked to be a bundle of folded poles. With a flick of her wrist, the hinges connecting the poles snapped into place - creating a longbow.

“This is a lightweight, collapsible longbow used by archery specialists in Kumogakure. It is made of a mixture of steel and aluminum for strength and low weight. It is also infused with copper conductors at each end to connect the strand of electricity that creates the bowstring. When being used, the wielder must have enough chakra to keep the electrified bowstring acting as livewire while they fire off rounds of lightning-based arrows.”

She reached into her hip pouch again and withdrew a scroll, which she handed Toboe along with the bow.

“This scroll contains the information for the Raiton jutsu used for creating the arrows harnessed by the bow. Now I expect you to take good care of them - I acquired both during a battle with a Kumo missing-nin that had the misfortune of dying by my hand.”

The girl gaped, speechless.

“Sarutobi Kozue. You possess minor elemental affinities for both Earth and Wind while you show excellent promise with short-range jutsu and an aptitude for the battle fan.”

Hanabi reached into the summoning scroll again and withdrew an elegant battle fan. It was only a foot and a half shorter then Kozue, with crimson paper lining folds and several six-inch blades fused to the ends.

“I acquired this from your cousin yesterday, who was more then happy to give me the means of continuing the training you've abandoned. If I understand correctly, this fan was created especially for you by Sabaku no Temari, Sunagakure's foremost battle fan specialist?”

Kozue swallowed. “Y-yes. I got it as a present for my fifth birthday while visiting Suna when Shikamaru-ojisama was the ambassador.”

“Good. I leave it up to you to learn to the Fuuton jutsu left to you by your father.”

Without pausing, she turned towards Nanikato and thus didn't see the red-eyed boy flinch at the mention of his dead father.

“Kyuuzano Nanikato. You possess incredible elemental affinity for Wind; you practice a unique mixture of full range combat and wield a katana that is hidden upon your person. May I see it?”

The blonde frowned, then whispered the release command and withdrew his sword from the point where it was sealed in his back, earning wide-eyed stares from Toboe, Kozue and Yukimaru. When the Hyuuga reached out her hand to take it from him, Nanikato shook his head.

“It would be very detrimental to your health if you tred to take Seijun Kaze,” he said. “The jutsu used to create this blade was forbidden for a reason. Although I didn't know until after the fact, I nearly got myself killed in the process of making it. Of course, for safety reasons, it has an anti-theft jutsu infused into it so that it harms anyone whose hair isn't woven into the hilt.”

They eyed the woven rope around the hilt and only Hanabi could tell that the red and black strands of rope were the exact some color as Uchiha Sasuke and Mateki no Tayuya's hair. She knew at once that the blond's odd weapon wouldn't hurt the two S-class shinobi, and if she had the capacity to worry, Hanabi might have considered the two toned blade a threat.

“Very good,” Hanabi nodded, and then tossed him a scroll similar to the one that she had given Toboe. “This scroll, courtesy of the Hayate clan, contains a couple of C-rank kenjutsu forms that you might like to learn,” she then clapped her hands together. “Now you three may have the rest of the day off and I expect to see you back here, on time, in one day from now. Considering that the festival is tomorrow, I'm being kind enough to let you have tomorrow off as well. But don't you get the idea into your heads that I'm going to continue being this lenient - I'm going to work your arses into the ground our next meeting.”

With a few choice seals, the Hyuuga vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the three genin to contemplate the task that their sensei had just given them. They walked together in silence as they departed training ground thirteen and made their way back towards the village. None of them spoke so much as a word until they reached the far side of the academy.

“Well…” Kozue murmured, scratching the back of his head nervously. “I gotta go. See you tonight Nanikato-san.”

And so the raven haired boy went on ahead, his mind focused on going home and telling his mother that he was finally ready to start learning the jutsu that his father had left behind for him. Of course, that left Toboe and Yukimaru with Nanikato…

The blond didn't even look at her while the silver haired girl babbled on about nothing of particular importance. He had to admit though; she had changed dramatically since he had saved her life yesterday. Sure, he had saved her sorry arse numerous times before, but nothing like that. Although she wasn't his friend or anything, she had quit picking fights or complaining because she was forced to be within a two foot proximity of him.

With a sigh of confused defeat, Nanikato reached over and began to scratch behind Yukimaru's ears and the pup accepted his ministrations so gratefully that he toppled off of Toboe's shoulder and into his arms.

`That feels so good.' Yukimaru murmured, snuggling deeper into the boy's arms. `More to the left please.'

Toboe eyed her companion with a look that was only slightly disgusted.

“Traitor…”

Nanikato smirked, following the canine's orders. “He can't help it - in the end, I always win them over.”

“I can tell.”

“Was that sarcasm?”

“Shut up!”

“You started it.”

“No I didn't!”

“Yes, you did.”

“No I - do you want to go to festival with Kozue and me tomorrow?”

Nanikato actually stumbled when he heard those words. He looked down at Yukimaru, who was equally started by the girl's unexpected invitation. Obviously, he wasn't a part of the plot and planning that had caused his companion to suffer from spontaneous brain damage

The blond stared at her, examining her intently in order to find out exactly how it had happened. When he found no reason as to why it happened, he simply settled for staring at her with a `who-are-you-and-what-have-you-done-with-my-evil-teammate?' look.

“What?” she snapped. “Can't I be nice?”

Yukimaru snorted.

`Its official - she's gone completely nuts.'

“My sympathy to you, pup.”

Toboe fumed silently, glowering at the pair. Yukimaru was supposed to be on her side, dammit! If she didn't love the little furball so much, she'd have turned him into a pair of slippers for his mutinous behavior. Tempering her irritation, she crossed her arms and looked at Nanikato inquiringly, waiting for an answer.

“So?”

“So what?”

She scowled at him and… was that a blush? “Are you going to come with us tomorrow or not?”

Now that he wasn't distracted by the Inuzuka's out-of-character behavior, Nanikato finally realised what she had been talking about in the first place - the Kyuubi Festival. He couldn't help but feel physically ill just thinking about it, wanting nothing more then to puke where he stood. Go with them? She really had to be crazy. Just last night, Shikamaru-sama had arranged for his first visit with Sasuke and Tayuya since they had agreed to his terms of becoming a Konoha genin. The young blonde had become thirstier for information about his brother - his original - after having that talk with Kiba. He wanted to know about Naruto - but he wanted Sasuke to tell him.

And that was how he learned of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, as the demon fox had been at the root of all the problems that had led to his creation. He learned how Naruto's life had been ruled by cold stares, harsh words, abusive treatment and numerous failed assassination attempts. His brother had lived a life of sorrow and though he always kept smiling, the pain was raw behind his mask. In knowing Naruto, Sasuke had glimpsed a terrible life that mirrored and went well beyond his own. Too caught up in his own grief, the Uchiha had destroyed his best friend's only chance of attaining true happiness and tragically, his own as well.

The thought of going with his teammates to a festival where people celebrated on a national day of mourning made him sick. Tomorrow was the day that Naruto had been born and subsequently cursed with a heavy burden. Tomorrow was the day that the Yondaime, who was Naruto's father and the man who had given his brother his curse, had sacrificed his very life to save a village full of ungrateful people.

Thinking about it caused the back of his mind to itch, reminding him of his insane alter ego, who he now understood to be partly a byproduct of the demon that had once inhabited Naruto.

“No.”

Toboe's dark eyes widened in shock. After what had happened yesterday, she had decided to give the blond the benefit of the doubt. She had extended her hand, offering him a companionship she rarely offered, only to be turned down. It had never happened before and the rude awakening left her speechless.

“Not that I wouldn't mind the company,” he continued. “But there's no way I'm going to participate in such a foolish mockery of all that was sacrificed.”

The girl blinked, then nodded.

`Of course.' she told herself. `Lots of people don't like going to the matsuri. Kiba-ojisan never goes and neither does Hinata-chan or Shino-san. Now that I think about it, none of the Hokage go either.'

“Did you have family in Konoha, even though you're from Oto?”

Nanikato winced, looking away. Having seen the pained look on the older boy's face, Toboe actually felt a twinge of sympathy.

“Yes…”

“What happened?”

“They gave their lives to protect what they believed in and in the end, no one honored their memory. One was glorified and the other was crucified, though neither deserved it and I'm sure they would have told you as such themselves. Now you know why I hate Konoha, and it isn't just because they want to kill Sasuke-shishou.”

He locked eyes with her.

“I don't know what it means to you, but doesn't it bother you that they celebrate a day of mourning? Get your uncle to tell you what really happened twenty-five years ago. Tell him I sent you and make sure he leaves nothing out. I'm sure that by the time he's done, you won't want to go either.”

Toboe shivered as the blond broke eye contact with her, put Yukimaru down and silently walked away. Numb with shock, she could hardly hear herself think. But there was something she had enough mind power to focus on and that was her getting her uncle to tell her the real story of what happened twenty-five years ago…

-.ooOoo.-

October 10th - The Kyuubi Festival:

A light breeze whistled through the trees and danced with the brightly colored fallen leaves as if reaching for the grayish clouds that wafted like a patchwork quilt in the pale autumn sky. The chill and lack of sunshine signaled that the winter months of gloom were swiftly approaching, and that it would be many months before the fresh new leaves of spring arrived.

High above the village, atop the mountainside monument, a lone figure sat with the wind ruffling his flaxen hair. Blue eyes watched the happenings of the world below. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and wishing that he could be anywhere else but here.

It wasn't long before the sound of approaching footsteps came up from behind him and the blond turned, his gaze moving upwards until he was staring up into blue eyes identical to his own. They stared at each other for a few minutes, neither one of them ready to break the silence. Finally the newcomer grimaced and sat down next to the man atop the stone head. Still, they did not speak, but rather looked down on the village and the hundreds of people milling about, oblivious to the two spectres as they joined in the merriment of the Kyuubi Festival below.

“Well, this a rather symbolic time to meet, don't you think?” Minato said, turning to the boy who had sat down beside him.

“You could say that…” Nanikato replied dryly without looking at him. “You're Minato, right? Niisan's father?”

The Yondaime nodded, unable to find his voice at the moment. His eyes stung as they fought off the urge to water at the sight of the boy. So much like his son, the boy looked - like the boy who had possessed his beloved Kushina's feisty spirit. But appearances, of course, could be deceiving.

“Good - I'm Nanikato.” the boy held out a hand, which he tentatively shook. “When Obito-kun told me I should talk with you,” he continued. “I decided that it should be today seeing as it is, or would be, after all, nii-san's twenty-fifth birthday.”

The older blonde chuckled, but it sounded raw and painful. “Not to mention the twenty-fifth anniversary of my death.”

“That too,” Nanikato agree with a nod. “From what've been told, those people down there weren't very respectful of your sacrifice. How do you deal with it, stuck only able to watch and unable to act?”

“Like hell. I was able to watch my son grow up, which few of us `dead people' get the chance to do, but I couldn't protect him like a real, living father should. Although Naruto couldn't see me, feel me or hear me, I was constantly by his side whenever he was within the walls of Konoha. My greatest regret was that I would never be able to apologize for the torment I unintentionally put him. I guess that's why I have remained tied to the earth. I have spent many years yearning to be with my dear Kushina again and… to the son I never got to know.”

Minato looked away, missing the sad smile that tugged at the boy's lips.

“Would you like a chance to move on?”

Blue eyes widened as the Yondaime's head snapped sharply around to stare at Nanikato disbelievingly.

“You can do that?”

“Of course.” the boy nodded. “You just told me that your greatest regret was that you could never apologise to your son. Seeing as he's dead and has already moved on himself now, you are bound only by your feelings of guilt. If it will make you feel like you're paying him, would you allow me to summon you when I need you most? Naturally, I have permission from Shinigami-sama to do so.”

“Really? Is there anyone else you can summon?” he asked curiously.

“My most recent contracts were Obito-kun and Nawaki-kun. I also have contracts with Momochi Zabuza, his apprentice Haku and a clairvoyant civilian Tanabata-hime from Oto.”

Minato scowled.

“Obito? Damn, why didn't that gaki tell me?”

“I think he wanted it to be surprise.”

Nanikato smirked when his nii-san's father - could he call him father as well? - cracked his knuckles, his eyes glinting dangerously as he smiled that sinister smile all teachers get when they suddenly have the urge to punish their unruly students.

“When I get my hands on him, I am so going to --”

“They've already been punished enough, but if you want to add to it, be my guest. Nawaki's punishment was to be smothered by Tsunade-sama until the conditions of the summoning wore off and he became a ghost again. Obito's punishment, of course, hasn't been completed yet. When word got to Kakashi-san that I had the power to summon his late teammate, Obito turned to making up excuses whenever the man came begging to get me to summon him again.”

The two blonds sat together as another bout of silence wormed over. The older of the two looked immersed in complicated thoughts, perhaps on inventive ways to maim Obito's ghost. While they sat there, Nanikato took the time to look the older man over, memorising every detail of the man who, in a better life, would have been his father. Was he going to look like that when he got older? He hoped so because it was far better than the scrawny teen that he was currently.

“Okay…” Minato finally said. “I have only one condition to being summoned.”

“And that is?”

He laughed, his blue eyes twinkling joyously.

“I want the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord at Ichiraku's! Twenty-five years without ramen is just too much for one man to take!”

-.ooOoo.-

Translations/Original Jutsus:

Raiton: Inabikari Mori/Lightning Release: Lightning Lance - a lower C-rank ninjutsu. This technique allows for close combat pinpoint accuracy. Forming a lancing bolt of electricity, it works perfect for close range sneak attacks. Although not the very powerful, it packs enough to knock out a full-grown man for several days if used properly.

Shishou - Master