Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Twist of Time ❯ Confusion ( Chapter 3 )

Ten, Naruto thought, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. How can I be ten? What in the world happened? Just the other day I was…

"This Jutsu alters the time in and about one's body."

Crap.

But… But he didn't want to be ten! When he had been performing the jutsu, he had supposed that he would wind up being about sixteen - fifteen at the least! Not ten! He didn't like being ten. He had never liked being ten.

"Well, that does it," Naruto grumbled, throwing the sheet off him and crawling off the bed, fighting down a wave of dizziness. "I'm going to Tsunade and getting this damn thing taken off me." And if this were one of her damn jokes, he was going to kick her ass.

Naruto had made it halfway to the door before stumbling and dropping to his knees.

"Damn it," he hissed. Why wasn't he healing? Normally the wound and side effects would be all but non-existent by now. Refusing to allow this to deter him, he sat back on his heels, waiting for his vision to clear.

He was just pulling himself back to his feet when the door flew open and the nurse looked down at Naruto, a frown settled on her lips.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" she demanded, stalking over to him and lifting his up by one arm. "You shouldn't be out of bed -"

"I have to see the Hokage!" Naruto ground out, trying vainly to wrench his arm from the woman's grasp.

"Not now, you won't. The Hokage is very busy." The nurse forcefully placed the flailing boy back on his bed. "If you are that desperate, then we will go first thing tomorrow morning after your check-up."

Naruto, exhausted from the exertion his new - old? - body wasn't quite used to yet, grumbled something out before allowing himself to fall back onto the sheets and into darkness.

~*~

The blurry hospital ceiling was the first to greet Naruto's vision as he came to, proving that all his previous thoughts were not a dream. To continue to dash all hopes, the nurse was just walking into the room, clipboard in her hands. After fussing over the blonde for a bit, jotting notes down all the while, she put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"All right, boy, you're doing just fine. You should be able top get out of here in about a day."

"And the Hokage?" he pressed, peering up at her.

"Just let me get some clothing for you and we'll leave."

"'Get some clothing'?" Naruto parroted. "What about what I was wearing before?"

"That? That's way too big for you. I'm certain you'd drown in fabric if you were to put that on. I don't know, nor want to know, why you were wearing them in the first place."

"But - but my vest…"

"Vest? Boy, there was no vest anywhere near you when those two found you."

"But… I…"

"Yes?"

"I just… Never mind. When I get to the Hokage I'll be able to sort things out."

"All right, then." And with that, the nurse left the room for a few minutes, returning with a bundle of clothing that she unceremoniously dumped on his bed before retreating to just outside the door. Pulling a face at the innocent cloth, Naruto dressed slowly so that his head wouldn't hurt so much and stepped out of the room after grabbing his hitai-ate and stuffing it in one of the pockets, looking up at the nurse.

Her soft eyes scrutinized him, as though to make sure he'd put on the black pants, brown shirt and too-large blue zori correctly. Apparently pleased with what she saw, she nodded to herself and waved a hand to motion him onward.

"We'll stop by the front desk before we go. The entire trip should take us around ten minutes. If you feel dizzy or short of breath all of a sudden, tell me. I don't fancy having you pass out in the middle of the street on me, ok?"

"Yeah, sure," Naruto replied, already moving forward.

The nurse merely quirked an eyebrow before setting off behind the blonde. It wasn't long at all before the duo found themselves in front of the main desk where the nurse told Naruto to wait for a moment while she talked to the receptionist.

"May, I'm taking the boy from room 234 to the Hokage-sama's office. If either of the children comes by, please tell them that we will be back shortly."

"Yes ma'am," the young woman said with a smile that the nurse returned. The elder then turned back to Naruto and told him, "We're clear to go, so hurry on."

The blonde merely gave an impatient shrug before he was led out of the hospital and down the streets of Konohagakure.

From the first step he'd taken, something had immediately struck Naruto as "off." He continued to glance up and down the streets with narrowed eyes, nibbling on his lower lip, attempting to discern what he was feeling when a young man connected eye with him. Instead of the usual flinch and disgusted head turn, the man merely smiled and waved at them before heading off on his own way.

That was it!

Nobody was scowling at him!

Naruto's eyes knitted together at this sudden revelation as a single question fluttered through his mind.

Why?

Even with becoming a Jounin, passing with fairly decent scores, Naruto was still hated. The one thing he could truly count on in the village, no matter how sad it may have been, was the villager's hatred of him. But this man…

This man had smiled at him. No malice anywhere in his stance.

Had Tsunade managed to do something for him while he was out?

He shook his head before placing a hand to it gently as his vision swam for a moment.

Something else to ask the old hag, he thought.

"Here we are," the nurse said, jerking him out of his thought and back into the real world. He looked up at the Hokage building and nodded firmly to himself. He was not going to leave that building until his questions were answered.

Entering, the duo passed down several hallways, pausing to let the nurse converse with several people, before stopping before a decorated doorway, a brunette ninja standing just before it.

"The Hokage-sama has been alerted to your presence and is now expecting you. You may enter," he said, stepping aside. The nurse bowed her thanks and ushered Naruto into the room, the blonde opening his mouth to rant at Tsunade. When he saw he Hokage, however, his mouth froze and four thoughts made themselves known.

One - the Hokage was distinctly not female.

Two - the Hokage actually looked about fifty.

Three - the Hokage had black hair and eyes, a long pipe sticking out of his mouth.

Four - this was not Tsunade. It was…

"Sandaime?"

~*~

~*~

~*~

-wide grin- Bet I confused the crap outta y'all with those last lines, now didn't I? ^^

Itachi: -deadpan- Great, she's happy. This won't end well for us.

Angel: -ignores him; is happy- No one's has guessed what I'm doing with this yet. Joyous day. ^^

Yondaime: Well no one can! You're too eccentric even for us!

Angel: I do try. -suddenly whines and give Ash-chan the puppy eyes- Can I have my muse back, yet? Please?

Naruto: -points and laughs- She's ignoring you!

Angel: Silence, pawn! Or I shall name your son "Toilet"!

Naruto: -grinblegrumble-

Nine: -sigh- Ah, the joys of Harvest Moon. -rolls eyes-

Angel: Bah on the lot of you! Anyway, I don't own Naruto, so, till next time! ^^