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Discovering Home Discovering Home - 2


Naruto was slowly going insane.



It had been almost a week since he had first woken up to find the world had turned upside down. He was stuck ten years in the past, with no way back, and no idea what to do with himself. It didn't help that his main companion was a Sasuke who seemed to be the living epitome of the saying 'the lights are on, but nobody's home'.



No, Sasuke was still in there somewhere, he knew. He was just enjoying making Naruto's life miserable, as usual. Sooner or later the bastard would wake up and smirk at him, and...



To be honest, he had no idea what Sasuke would do. He had always imagined that he would be able to drag Sasuke back to Konoha once Itachi was dead. He hadn't bargained on Kakashi dragging them into the past and then dying on them. To be fair, he knew that wasn't what their sensei had intended. Really, it was only thanks to his intervention that they had survived at all. Deidara had pretty much sealed them into that cave before collapsing it in on them; there was no way they could have made it out any other way, injured as they had been. In fact, it was probably partially Naruto's fault. Kakashi had asked for chakra, true, but Naruto had probably overdone things a bit.



"You could have saved some for yourself, you know," he murmured. "Then we might not be in this mess now."



Brushing moisture away from his eyes, he shook his head of the thought. Kakashi wasn't one to hold back when people he cared about were in danger.



"I'll protect you with my life," he'd promised on that mission to Wave Country, four years ago. Naruto had never wanted to see the end of that promise, but nor was he going to waste the precious gift his sensei had bestowed upon them.



"And neither are you," he informed Sasuke, who only continued to stare at the wall blankly. Leaving his chair by the window, he moved to Sasuke's side, seating himself on the edge of the bed so that he could place himself in the other boy's line of sight. "You're going to have to wake up sooner or later, bastard. And when you do, I'm not going to let you walk away again." He snorted softly. "Not that you have anywhere else to go, either."



A knock on the door warned him a second before it was opened.



"Itachi," he greeted the boy neutrally as he nodded, surveyed the room briefly then stood aside to let Sandaime into the room, closing the door behind him. Naruto was somewhat relieved that he didn't stay, even though he could probably hear everything anyway from his post outside the door. "Old man."



"How are you feeling today, Naruto?" Sandaime asked as he settled himself on Naruto's bed, facing him.



"Like I want to get out of here," he replied, as he had every other time the Hokage had asked. "I'm all healed up. The bastard's fine physically, and he's probably more sociable like this anyway. So, any chance we could get new rooms in a place that doesn't smell like antiseptic and has ramen on the menu?"



"Actually, I have had rooms prepared for you," Sandaime informed him with a weary smile.



"Really?!"



"However," the old man continued, "there are a couple of things we need to discuss first."



Naruto sighed. He'd known there was going to be a catch. He always felt uncomfortable when the old man wanted to talk, never knowing how much he should be saying, or how much he should keep unsaid. There were plenty of things he wanted to change about his past, but did that give him the right to try and make a difference here? Hell just being here breathing the same air could have changed things for all he knew. He'd tried to be discreet in their conversations, but he was sure the old man was picking up much more than he intended. Whether or not that was a good thing he couldn't tell; he could only hope that it worked out for the best in the end.



"Okay," he said, having mentally braced himself. "Go ahead."



"How do you want to live your life?"



He blinked. That wasn't a question he had been expecting. "Huh?"



"There is already an Uzumaki Naruto here in Konoha. He's seven years old, and goes to the Academy. Uchiha Sasuke is a classmate of his, and goes home every night to his parents and older brother. You," he gestured at both of them with his hand, "are no longer that Naruto and Sasuke. So I must ask you: who are you to Konoha, and how do you want to live your life?"



For a sickeningly long moment Naruto had felt more alone than he had ever been in his life. He didn't belong here. He wasn't just unwanted this time, he truly /did not belong/. He almost threw up until he realised the Hokage was watching him with solemn eyes, waiting to hear his answer. He took a deep breath.



"And if I still wanted to be me? If I still wanted to be sixteen year old Naruto? What would /you /do, old man?"



"Remind you that it was your choice when idiots who want to know the future hassle you day and night."



Naruto blinked, grinned lopsidedly and rubbed at his chin. "Heh. Hadn't thought of that." Sighing, he glanced over at Sasuke. What would the bastard want to do? Shaking his head, he turned back to the Hokage. "I don't think I can give you a full answer until sleeping beauty here wakes up, 'cause this will affect him too, right?"



Sandaime nodded in agreement. "I have sent a request to someone who should be able to help. I believe you know her." He indicated the necklace that hung around Naruto's neck.



"The old lady?" He felt himself smiling. "Yeah, she can help for sure. Thanks, old man!"



"She actually lets you get away with calling her that?" Sandaime asked in amusement.



"Eh, well..." Naruto shrugged the question off, his expression turning earnest. "There's one thing I can definitely tell you right now, Hokage-sama. I am a shinobi of Konoha, and I will protect the people of this village with everything I have to give!"



The Hokage met his gaze solemnly. "I believe you," he said, nodding once. "Itachi, Kakashi."



The pair appeared instantly, one through the door, the other through the window, Itachi bearing cloaks and bamboo hats, as well as fresh clothing similar to what they had been wearing when they had arrived. He passed one set to Naruto, who couldn't help but think of Akatsuki as he changed into them. At least the cloaks didn't have red clouds on them, he mused, turning to help Itachi dress Sasuke. The shirt he'd brought for Sasuke had the Uchiha fan on it, Naruto noted. He wondered whose it was, as it would have been somewhat large for the younger Uchiha. Wherever it had come from, he was fairly sure the bastard would approve - as much as he approved of anything, anyway.



"Right! Let's go!" Naruto declared, grabbing Sasuke by the hand and dragging him out of the room. Not that he had any idea of where the old man wanted them to go, but anywhere besides the hospital was good in his opinion.



"Finally!" He drew in a deep breath of fresh air as soon as they'd left the building. He would have liked to feel the sun on his skin as well, but the hat was there for a reason, he supposed. Itachi moved to his side, gesturing subtly. Naruto took the hint and followed the young ninja's directions through Konoha's streets.



It was a good morning, even allowing for Naruto's decidedly biased opinion, with pleasant weather and no real sense of urgency anywhere. There were plenty of people around, which made their passage a little slower than it might otherwise have been as many people paused in their activities to greet the Hokage. Few people spared more than a glance for his companions, which left Naruto with mixed feelings.



For once, he was in the midst of the villagers and not receiving dark looks at every turn. On the other hand, he felt as though they didn't see him at all. If he hadn't been obviously accompanying the Hokage, he might as well have been invisible. He honestly wasn't sure which he disliked more.



The route they were taking passed fairly close to the Academy, and he couldn't help but wonder what his younger counterpart was doing now. The Academy held both good and bad memories for Naruto. Good, because he had found companions at last, even if they didn't truly become friends until much later. As for the bad, well, he'd been called dead last for a reason. No matter how hard he'd tried, there were a lot of things that had just never worked or made sense for him. It hadn't helped that most of the teachers had despised him, of course, but he knew some of it was just him. He'd tried talking to Iruka about it once, but the Chuunin had just looked at him with such a stricken expression that he'd laughed it off as nothing and run like hell. An emotional Iruka was like a force of nature, not something Naruto was eager to be caught up with unnecessarily. Still, he missed his old sensei, and found himself wanting to stop by the Academy just to see him, never mind that he barely knew Naruto at this point in time.



He turned towards the Hokage to ask permission, when he caught sight of someone else in a bamboo hat in the distance. Two people, in fact. His eyes followed them as they wove through the crowd. Sure enough, they were wearing high collared cloaks with red clouds.



Damn.



He didn't bother trying to explain anything to his escorts, simply dropping Sasuke's hand and running, dodging through the villagers as he raced to catch up with the Akatsuki members. What was their purpose? Did it have to do with the unidentified person who had been drawn through time with them? It was a pity Pakkun had lost track of them. There were only three possibilities, really, as everyone else involved in the battle had either escaped before Deidara sealed the cave, or died within it. Deidara himself had been badly injured, but still fighting as he literally pulled the ceiling down on them. Kabuto had been lurking somewhere in the shadows, lingering like a bad odour in the air. Lastly, the Akatsuki member with the orange mask, Tobi, had been making a pest of himself even after Naruto - or Kyuubi, rather - had torn their leader apart. Any one of the three could cause problems on their own, but if they'd already reported to the Akatsuki of this time, then the pair here in Konoha could be after -



He felt his eyes widening as the Academy came into view.



Shit.



He put on an extra burst of speed, hands forming the seals for Kage Bunshin as he ran. In an instant there were dozens of clones rushing towards the Academy building; dimly he noted that he'd lost his hat and cloak somewhere along the way. There was still the flickering shadow of a cloak just a little behind him, though, and he almost tripped as he realised that Sasuke was following him of his own accord. It figured that the bastard would pick the worst possible time to show signs of independence. Or perhaps the best, since Kakashi at least had attested that the bastard was quite capable of fighting even in his mindless state. He could only hope that would include holding his own against Akatsuki, because Naruto himself was going to have his hands full: just as the cloaked figures approached the building, a horde of children stormed out through the doors into the playground.



Fuck.



Desperately he searched amongst the children for two in particular: one blond, one dark-haired. For several long seconds he couldn't see either. Suddenly a small blond jumped out of a window, followed quickly by the appearance of an enraged teacher's head.



"UZUMAKI NARUTO! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"



For a moment Naruto was torn between shrieking at Iruka for the pointing him out to Akatsuki, or strangling his younger self for whatever idiocy had incited the Chuunin's rage. Fortunately he had much better targets to take his frustration out on, and he slammed a kunai into the nearest Akatsuki even as his clones started collecting children left, right and centre.



"Iruka-sensei!" he yelled, startling the teacher considerably. "Get the kids out of here!"



After half a second spent gaping like a fish, Iruka blasted the children with the evacuation order that would send them running to the academy training grounds. Half of the kids moved to obey, while the other half looked at each other uncertainly.



"I SAID MOVE!"



Iruka was out the window in a flash, herding the children out of the way. Naruto's clones moved to assist, dragging everyone clear of the conflict that was unfolding in the yard. Trading blows with the Akatsuki he'd stabbed, he caught sight of his younger self in the arms of one of his clones, before being whisked out of view. He could only hope the younger Sasuke had also been pulled clear, as he hadn't seen the distinctive tuft of dark hair anywhere. Focussing his attention fully on his opponent for the first time, Naruto recognised at last who he was facing.



"Sasori of the Red Sand," he acknowledged as he dredged his mind for everything Sakura had told him of her fight with the puppet master.



"Uzumaki Naruto," came the dry response. "I see the report was true, to some degree at least."



"Heh, doubting your sources?" He grinned, which quickly turned into a grimace as he narrowly dodged the tail that stabbed towards him, arcing from beneath the long cloak.



"It wasn't a particularly likely scenario, you have to admit. It does present certain opportunities, however." The puppet's left arm shot forward. Naruto's eyes widened in realisation, hands lightning-swift in their movements. Just as the first needles began to shoot from the arm, a swarm of clones piled on top, hiding it from view. After several seconds, all that was left was a circular pile of needles and a cloud of smoke - from which Naruto emerged, clone alongside, to shove a Rasengan down the puppet's throat. The puppet flew backwards through the air, hitting the side of the academy building with a large cracking noise, bits and pieces of it scattering the ground between its landing place and Naruto.



Keeping one eye on Sasori, the blond ninja scanned the area quickly. The children were almost all gone from the playground, only a few left here and there hiding nervously behind trees and bushes. Several of the clones were returning for them, so Naruto let them be, turning instead to the other pair of combatants. His hands clenched into fists as he watched Sasuke dance with Orochimaru, swords engaged in an elaborate thrust and parry that was exquisite enough to be seen as a performance rather than mortal combat. There was only one thing wrong with the picture, in Naruto's opinion: the Snake Sannin was smiling.



"Sasuke!"



The combatants paused momentarily, swords locked. Orochimaru was still smiling, but as Sasuke turned his head slightly Naruto could see that he wasn't the only one. The bastard's usual smirk was back in place - and his eyes were red as blood.



"Brother!"



Naruto whipped back around to face the origin of the cry, even as he felt the rush of someone passing by. Itachi had almost reached the younger Sasuke when a spike flew out of the ruins of Sasori's puppet, thick cable trailing behind as it homed in on the Uchiha brothers.



"Look out!" He launched himself forward, knowing he wasn't going to make it in time but making the attempt regardless. He was brought up short by a rain of kunai striking the cable in quick succession, pinning it to the wall, preventing it from reaching its target. Casting a quick glance at the thrower, he found a masked ANBU with short sword in hand looking down on them from a nearby tree. The cable twitched, snakelike, drawing his focus once again as something moved within the rubble of the broken puppet.



"He uses poison on his puppets, so don't get hit!" Naruto warned the new arrivals as Itachi scooped his little brother up into the safety of his embrace. He didn't keep him there long, however, thrusting him almost immediately into Naruto's arms. The blond didn't know who was more startled - young Sasuke or himself. "Hey!" he protested even as he settled the boy against his side with one arm, but Itachi was already charging the new puppet arising from the wreckage of the old.



The chest of the puppet opened up, strings shooting out in an array around it. Naruto and the ANBU both jumped back out of reach, but Itachi maintained his ground, weaving amongst them until they were a writhing mass filling the air. Eyes narrowed, he reached out and deliberately tangled several threads around his fingers, drawing breath as he brought the strands towards his lips. Fire blazed down the length of the strings, centring in on the puppet's chest and exploding outward again as it engulfed the puppet's torso.



Remembering Sakura's account of her fight, Naruto took advantage of the distraction to fling his clone, transformed into a kunai, into the container embedded in its chest. Two more kunai followed quickly after, striking true, and the puppet slowly collapsed to the ground.



"That was too easy," Naruto muttered, eyeing the burning mass warily. Itachi stepped closer, examining the remnants of his opponent with sharingan eyes.



"The body is changing," he noted dispassionately.



"What?!" Naruto dashed forward only to freeze in place at the look in Itachi's eyes. Right. He'd forgotten about -



The bloodcurdling gasp of a dying man drew his attention back to his Sasuke and his opponent. Orochimaru had been impaled upon Sasuke's lightning sword - only he wasn't Orochimaru anymore.



"Damn it! I should have known..." Shouten no Jutsu. They'd been wasting their time on mere copies. Where were the real Orochimaru and Sasori? They would have to be close by to maintain the jutsu. He started to tell the others just that when he discovered they had another problem. Sasuke's eyes were still red as he advanced towards them. Naruto wasn't worried so much about that, because at least it was a change from the dark, empty eyes he'd had all week. No, the problem was that he was staring with those eyes at Itachi, and he still held his sword in his hand.



Knowing he was asking for it, he stepped between the two anyway, mindful that he still had young Sasuke clinging to his side. The older Sasuke continued to stalk forwards, ignoring Naruto until the blond grabbed him by the shirt, holding him in place. Red eyes met blue.



"He's only twelve. You remember being twelve, don't you?"



The hand with the sword lifted slowly from Sasuke's side. Naruto didn't move a muscle, keeping his gaze locked with that burning red, although he could feel the child Sasuke flinching away. The lightning chakra retracted as the hand continued to rise, so that when it rested on the fabric of Naruto's shirt, it was only mildly warmer than would be expected. They stayed like that for several heartbeats.



"Who are you?"



The sudden, sharp query brought the rest of the world crashing in on them. Naruto looked around to find that the commotion had drawn a fair sized crowd, most of them toting weapons which were currently aimed at them.



The pale hand over his heart dropped away, and the blond found himself peering into dark, dull eyes as Sasuke withdrew into himself once again.



"Bastard," Naruto accused, his eye twitching as he turned to face the crowd of onlookers alone.

April '07 [MirrorForest][Fanfics][rhionae@hotmail.com]