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Naruto sat alone by the swings, staring at the Fourth Hokage's stone head. Dad.....
He tried ignoring the lively chatter near the gates, sensing the flickering chakra signatures of the proud parents, raving about how they'd recommend their kids for the Jounin Exams. He tried to stamp down the jealousy.
He was happy for his friends, truly.
But every time he stared at the Hokage Mountain, he couldn't help but feel bitter. Bitter at fate for snatching a life he could have had. Bitter at the choices his parents made. They chose the village over themselves.
Naruto was bitter his parents hadn't been selfish.
Why did you have to be such heroes?
It wasn't fair......
"Yare, yare. There you are. I've been searching all over for you." A sudden voice emerged to his right, Naruto not surprised anymore. Sage Mode made him uncharacteristically sensitive. That or the Uzumaki sensor genes, he couldn't tell. Not like he knew much about his heritage either. After all, the Village had gone to lengths to keep Naruto away from his legacy. "Making your old sensei work so hard."
"Kaka-sensei." Naruto greeted, eyes downcast.
Kakashi stared at Naruto for a minute before taking a seat beside him. "So, the Jounin nominations are coming up." He started, conversationally.
"Yeah." Naruto looked away, brooding.
"Mah don't sulk. You need to make Chunnin first, Naruto."
"I will! But then what dattebayo?" He muttered under his breath, not meeting Kakashi's eyes.
"Hmm." Kakashi tipped his head back, watching the stars. "After that.....I will nominate you for the Jounin exams."
Naruto remained silent.
"Your dad did it for me, I suppose its only fair." Kakashi spoke into the silence, acknowledging the state-secret for the first time since the Pein Invasion. "And Jiraiya-sama did it for Minato-sensei. I guess its a Team 7 tradition at this point."
"It's a stupid tradition." Naruto groused, kicking the pebble in front of him.
Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's head, ruffling his hair. "Come one now, traditions are an inheritance."
"Yeah well, I'll do just fine without such an inheritance." Naruto looked down, blinking the tears away. He was proud of his parents and he was happy he got to meet them at least once, even if it was in his mindscape with Pein wrecking havoc on the village.
Yet one part of him selfishly wished he wasn't the hero's child. He wished his parents had not been the Hokage and jinkchuriki, but just his parents. That they didn't sacrifice themselves for the village but instead lived for Naruto.
Kakashi sighed, nudging Naruto. "Come on kid, what's on your mind? You're not one to mope around like this."
"Nothing." He answered in a petulant tone.
"Naruto....."
Naruto sighed. "I just wish...... All that they went through for the village only to be erased by history? Just.....all that remains of them is a stone head."
Kakashi himself hadn't liked the erasure of his sensei's legacy but knew it was out of his hands. And there was no point in complaining now. The Sandaime's Decree and Sandaime himself, both ceased to exist. "To be a stone head, that's the highest honour in Konoha, you know." Kakashi said quietly. "An honour you yourself are working towards."
"I know that being Hokage is a huge responsibility but a stone head on the mountain can't say welcome home." Naruto spat out, bitter and jealous. "How does any of that matter now? The youngest person that remembers them is you." Kakashi flinched, Naruto internally cursing himself. He knew it was difficult for Kakashi as well, and yet here he was having this conversation with him for Naruto's sake.
"The 'what ifs' are a dangerous path to go down on, Naruto."
"I know. But Kaka-sensei, don't you sometimes wish things had gone different?"
Kakashi stared into the horizon. "Of course I do. If things had gone differently I wouldn't have been a stranger to you, Naruto. You would have grown up knowing me." Kakashi said, eyes fond and sad, reminiscent. Minato had a lot of dreams for Naruto and Kakashi, simple ones. To train his boys together, to have a family.
But being a shinobi meant, a happy ending was too much to ask for. "But these 'what ifs' are a dangerous illusion. A shinobi can escape another shinobi's genjustu one way or another but to escape from the prison of your own thoughts...it's not easy Naruto."
Naruto hummed and smiled wistfully. In the little time he had with his parents in the mindscape, both never failed to mention Kakashi, Kushina especially. It was only after Kakashi sat down and told him about his parents, Naruto realised how close they had been, Kakashi being Minato's apprentice since he was five years old. Of course his parents would ask about him, Kakashi practically grew up in front of their eyes. "Mom and Dad, they were more of a parent to you than me, ne, Kaka-sensei?"
Guilt pricked at Kakashi's heart for simply for experiencing Minato and Kushina's love. He felt like he had wrongfully snatched something from Naruto, his share of their love, their memories. The love that should have been Naruto's.
Before Kakashi could say anything to lift Naruto's mood, an unknown chakra signature made the hair on their neck stand, the two slipping into hyperawareness.
The air shifted, heavy, dense and awfully still. A chill breeze made the hair on his arms stand up. Naruto grabbed a kunai, back braced against the jounin's. Kakashi's sharingan swirled red, scanning the area.
"Sensei?"
"I know. Stay on guard. Be prepared to retreat if needed."
Naruto gritted his teeth. "I won't run away!"
"Naruto! Now is not the time for heroics!" Kakashi ordered, sharingan zeroing in on the unknown chakra flare. Kakashi snarled, weaving handseals. "Madara."
"Long time eh? Uzumaki Naruto. Hatake Kakashi." The orange mask gleamed under the pale moonlight, taunted, voice raspy and irritating, like metal scratching against glass, looking down on them. The Akatsuki head was sitting by the rails, lounging about casually in the village as if he wasn't a wanted S-rank criminal, walking about the village as if he owned the place.
Naruto clenched his jaw, springing forward.
"Naruto wait!" Kakashi called out, going unheard, air growing denser by the moment. What are you planning, Madara?
"Rasengan!" Naruto surged forward, the blue swirl growing in his palm, a hint of the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out. The ground below his foot shattered as he coiled chakra in his feet and jumped up, lunging over the field to ram the concentrated chakra right into Tobi's chest only to pass through—like walking through an illusion.
What?
Naruto's eyes widened, balance faltering. Naruto felt his footing slip, crashing into the fence head first, a sickening crack echoing through the ground, rasengan fizzling out. How? It was like as if Tobi was simply a hallucination, a figment of his imagination.
"You never learn do you, Naruto?" Tobi sighed, words cutting off as lightning split the air. Kakashi's Raikiri impaled him and exploded, causing a crater form in the middle of the playground, air electric and sizzling like burnt hair.
Kakashi and Naruto whipped around, Tobi behind them, clicking his tongue. "Well this is a bit unplanned, but we can't help it now can we?" He cackled, a red bubble floating up to cover the moon. Kakashi and Naruto instinctively leaped away, shielding their eyes, a bright supernova exploding in front of them, the light searing in through the closed eyelids.
The huge gust of wind settled down suddenly, the atmosphere jarringly empty, as if removed externally, making Kakashi peel his eyes open.
"What? Where did he disappear, dattebayo?!"
"He retreated." Kakashi's sharingan swirled, doing a clean sweep of the area before turning to Naruto with a stern look. "Naruto, how many times have I told you not to rush in?! He could have gotten a hold of the Nine-Tails!"
"I had it under control!" Naruto huffed, adamant.
Kakashi sighed, rubbing his neck, knowing just how stubborn his student can get. "In any case, we should report it to Hokage-sama. The village might have to go on lockdown."
Naruto snapped his head up, worried. "Lockdown?"
Kakashi put his hand over his shoulder, keeping his sharingan uncovered. "Let's go." He steered Naruto out of the field, keeping a tight grip on the teenager, Naruto still silently stewing, furious.
His emotions seem to feed the Kyuubi's chakra, giving it more power. Kakashi wondered if he needed to have another talk with Tsunade. While Naruto had acquired Sage Mode, the Kyuubi's interference seemed to derail Naruto's progress.
"Hinata? Kiba? Shino too!" Naruto's voice pulled Kakashi out of his thoughts, Team 8 walking by. Naruto shrugged Kakashi's hand off his shoulder and ran to his comrades. "You guys! Madara is loose in the village, we—" Naruto trailed off when Team 8 didn't react at Madara's name. "Oi, are you listening to me?"
Kiba dug his finger in his ear. "We are. Who is Madara? Is it some kind of fish?"
Naruto and Kakashi blinked, exchanging a worried glance. Naruto frowned, confused when he took in their appearance, something Naruto couldn't place his finger on. Their faces were familiar but their body language, their way of talking everything seemed.....off. It was the same people, but drastically different.
"Oi this isn't time for jokes!" Naruto looked close to tearing his hair out, Kakashi deciding to intervene.
"Kiba, can Akamaru pick up on this scent. I managed to make contact with Madara." Kakashi held out a small piece of fabric clinging to his glove from the Raikiri.
"I mean....not like he'd listen to me." Kiba seemed nervous, not meeting Akamaru head on. "Akamaru.....go to Kakashi-sensei—OW!" Kakashi and Naruto balked at the scene in front of their eyes, barely processing as Akamaru bit Kiba in the ass, growling at him. Kiba shrieked, hiding behind Shino. "I told you! Why couldn't I be a cat user?" Kiba wailed, skittering to the side, Akamaru chasing him down the street.
Kakashi took personal offense at the statement. "Cats aren't better than dogs."
"Not now, Kaka-sensei." Naruto elbowed him. "Um, Hinata?"
Hinata arched an eyebrow, perfectly drawn with an eyeliner so sharp it could impale someone. "What are you two doing out this late at night? Are you secretly meeting with Sakura?"
"Hah? Why would I—" Naruto scratched his head, not able to make head or tail out of this conversation. "Why would I meet Sakura this late?"
"Good." Hinata smirked. Not a smile— a smirk, a cruel and self indulgent one, happy to get her way, like a spoiled brat. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down to her eye level. "I don't like other people touching what's mine." She purred, byakugan activating slightly, releasing him. She leered at him a moment longer than what was polite, whistling as she herded her team away.
Kakashi and Naruto blinked, frozen in place from the encounter they just had. When had Kurenai's team get so bold? And out of order.
"Ne, ne, Kaka-sensei. Did I hit my head too hard fighting that one-eyed bastard?" Naruto paled, letting out a full body shiver as Hinata's words echoed in his mind.
Kakashi seemed to jerk out of his stupor. "Hmmm? No.....no I saw that too. Something is definitely wrong."
Naruto frowned. "Madara did release some weird red bubble thing into the air. Could it be a genjutsu? Even if it is, how are we seeing the same one?"
"No this seems more powerful than a genjutsu. This seems to be some kind of tsukiyomi or alternate universe."
"Alternate universe? How do we get back, dattebayo?!"
Kakashi set his jaw. "I don't know, we need to get to Tsunade-sama, right now."
Naruto kept close to Kakashi, trying to not drag too much attention to himself. He may be recognised among the shinobi after winning against Pein, but the civilians were still wary of him. They no longer misbehaved with him, too frightened of his powers, avoiding him point blank.
If he thought Team 8 was acting weird, the villagers were a whole different story. They smiled at him as he passed by, acknowledging him, sometimes even bowing slightly in a greeting. One lady even tried to hand him a free sample of dango, close to ushering him into her shop.
Konoha felt weird.
"The town doesn't look all that different, does it?" Kakashi commented, taking in the surroundings, the market bustling with night life.
Fairy lights, packed restaurants and carts selling piping hot snacks, perfect for midnight cravings. It certainly looked too well and structured for a village that was recently annihilated by a Rinnegan-user.
"Naruto-kun!" A familiar voice called out, making Kakashi and Naruto pause in their tracks.
Naruto did a double take, his teammate approaching them. "Sakura?" She looked different, long hair done in an elaborate braid, a hint of makeup dusted over her cheeks and eyelids. She looked cute.
Sakura clasped her hands behind her back, smiling coyly, dipping her head, bashful. "Ne, Naruto-kun, where are you going without me?" She pouted, twirling her hair.
Naruto blushed a deep red, not used to Sakura looking at him like that....the way she used to look at Sasuke. "Um Sakura-chan, Kaka-sensei and I were just going to go to Tsunade-Baa chan."
"How cool." Sakura squealed, looping her arm with Naruto's making the blond boy combust. "So responsible. I'll come with you too!"
Kakashi blinked at his student, wondering when did his strong and level headed kunoichi revert back to her fangirl phase. And Naruto's fangirl at that. Naruto looked like a lost deer, blinking, confused on whether he should enjoy the attention or be afraid to it. "Um....."
"Oh come on, do you really have to fawn over that Usuratonkachi in front of me?"
Kakashi and Naruto bristled at the voice, something that has been haunting them for the past four years. A voice they had almost died trying to bring back to Konoha. Naruto looked stricken, a myriad of emotions flowing through him, a low hiss escaping his throat. "Sasuke."
"Ah, so the great Uzumaki Naruto does know us commoners." Sasuke sneered, sliding up to them. Naruto blinked, balking. Was that a rose wedged between his teeth? Sasuke sauntered upto them, Sakura blatantly, ignoring him. He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close.
Kakashi and Naruto balked at the role reversal, Sasuke draping himself all over Sakura while Sakura rejected his advances.
"Sensei, what the actual fuck?"
"I.....I....." Kakashi stammered. If it wasn't for the mask, his jaw would be wide open, just like Naruto's was, ears tinted red as if he was seeing a live action reenactment of Icha Icha Tactics. Naruto looked close to throwing up or smacking his head against the pole.
"Come on Sakura, you'd have a better time with me than this stuck-up."
Naruto's shock fizzled away, a vein popping on his forehead, involuntarily falling into old habits, forgetting the fact that Sasuke wasn't supposed to be roaming around freely in the village in the first place. "Who are you calling a stuck-up huh, teme?!"
Sakura shot Sasuke a withering look, something Kakashi never thought she was capable of. "Yeah, mind your tongue while talking to Naruto-kun!"
"-kun?" Naruto pointed to himself, staring at Kakashi for help.
Sasuke seemed to have the same idea. He grabbed Sakura's free arm and turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, don't you think Sakura and I make sense together? The child of heroes and the Last Uchiha?"
Kakashi felt a tiredness deep in his bones. Never did he think that while stuck in an alternate universe, his biggest headache would be to solve his genins petty love quarrels. Much less the quarrel being voiced by his emo student. Kakashi decided to focus on the one thing that needled his curiosity. "Child of heroes?"
Sasuke knocked an eyebrow, the familiar condescension dripping in his voice. "Did you hit your head and forget Sakura's parentage?" Sasuke pointed to something behind Naruto and Kakashi.
Kakashi and Naruto exchanged a confused glance before following Sasuke's finger, the two stunned at the Hokage mountain, specifically where Minato's head should be carved. "Haruno-san?" Kakashi mumbled under his breath, having met the man once when Sakura was appointed to Team 7.
Naruto pulled himself out of Sakura's hold, siding upto Kakashi. "Sensei, Dad's face.....What is happening?"
Kakashi didn't answer, gaze razor sharp, mind running through a million scenarios of what could have happened. His chakra slightly flared, confused, angry and seeking answers. "This has to be one of Madara's tricks, to confuse us into lowering our guard and capture the Nine-Tails." He whispered so only Naruto could hear him. "But why would he drastically change the world if he wanted to trick us?"
A well cast genjutsu was one that was woven tightly into reality, making it impossible to distinguish. So why.....what was Madara trying to get at? Realization sunk in Naruto, slipping into his mission mode. He couldn't get a hand on the Nine Tails in the real world so Madara had orchestrated a fake world.
"This world is going to be heavily in his favour sensei. If he's changed who the Fourth Hokage was, there is no saying what else has he changed. Our powers or worse, his." Naruto said seriously, Kakashi nodding along, in agreement.
Naruto and Kakashi spared a glance at their teammates, Sasuke fawning over a disinterested Sakura while showing way too much cleavage, leering while Sakura turned away, close to punting him into the moon.
"Kaka-sensei, I need to get out of here. I cannot watch this. Team 7 dynamics are so messed up here, I need to be away from this." Naruto was conflicted.
Seeing his team complete had been his singular goal for the past couple of years. But seeing it in right in front of his eyes, knowing fully well that it was fake, it made Naruto nauseous, wanting to rip out of his skin.
It felt wrong.
Kakashi nodded, in the same boat as Naruto. "We'll go to the Hokage tomorrow morning. If this is a fake world, let's just lie low and figure out a way carefully. For the time being, we should just play along."
"You're right. Might as well deal with this in the morning. Matta ne, sensei." Naruto agreed and jumped up the rooftops, running off to his apartment, Kakashi moving towards his own house, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to quarrel amongst themselves, the two not realising Kakashi and Naruto slip away.
Sasuke's image kept flashing in Kakashi's mind. He has grown tall.
After three long years of searching, this was how he got to see his former student again.
In a fake world.
Kakashi never got the chance to see Sasuke up until now since Yamato had led the Sasuke retrieval mission. This was the first time he saw his student after the Chunnin Exams, three years ago.
Kakashi glanced up at the Hokage Mountain. Usually, looking at Minato's face helped him calm down, think with clarity. The new face where his sensei was supposed to be, was jarring to say the least. Kakashi shook himself, forgoing the visit to the KIA stone.
He didn't need anymore surprises.
Kakashi dragged himself up the stairs to his apartment, a familiar face greeting him. A pleasant warm feeling bubbled in Kakashi, happy to see the person slumped near his apartment. "Yo Gai."
"Ah Rival." Gai drawled, nodding in greeting, oddly lethargic. "I came to drop of some groceries I had leftover. I'll be leaving on a mission tomorrow."
"Thanks Gai." Kakashi accepted the bag with a slight hum. It was their little tradition of trading rations every time the other left for a long mission since they were teens. It was an odd comfort that even when the whole world got upside down (quite literally) some things never changed. "Come on, where is the spirit of youthful spring?" He teased, using his rival's words against him, slightly elbowing his rival.
Gai let out a long suffering sigh, which was somewhat a Kakashi trademark, and slumped forward. "I cannot sit through one of your "youthful spiels" today Kakashi. I'm so tired! Hokage-sama makes me work so hard." He grumbled.
Kakashi sweatdropped. I rant about youthfulness in this world?
"Ja, Kakashi. I should be back in a month." Gai waved lazily, like he couldn't be bothered to raise his hand completely and dragged himself out.
Kakashi sighed and removed his sandals, about to cross his apartment's threshold when a screech grated his ears, startling the sleeping cat on the corridor wall. "KAKA-SENSEI!"
Kakashi turned to see his blond student gasping for breath, pale and mildly disgusted. "Are you alright, Naruto?"
"This world is more messed up than I thought!" He huffed, pushing past Kakashi into the apartment.
"Make yourself at home, I guess." Kakashi said wryly, Naruto ignoring the snark with practised ease.
"There is some squatter in my apartment. My house is not mine!" Naruto grumbled, rummaging through his cupboards and pulled out a cup of instant ramen. "And, and it's not just our team or Hinata's team that's weird. N-Neji is a pervert, Shikamaru is a glutton and.....AND CHOUJI IS THIN!" He yelled out in one breath, shoving the scalding ramen into his mouth.
Kakashi winced as Naruto burnt his tongue, handing him a glance of water. "All right calm down, calm down. It is ten years too early for you to have your mid-life crisis. It's an alternate universe, remember? Just stay over at my place tonight and we'll figure something out."
Naruto weeped into his ramen cup. "I want to go home, Kaka-sensei!"
Kakashi sighed. This was going to be one long night.
Kakashi placed the breakfast on the table when he found Naruto staring at the photo frames on his dresser. "Something the matter?"
"Hmm?" Naruto stared at the photo, distracted. He pointed to a photo frame. "Sensei, how old was Dad in this picture?"
Kakashi looked over Naruto's shoulder, the blond boy holding the genin team picture of Team Minato. "Ah, this was a long time ago. Sensei was around twenty at best I think."
Naruto's eyes never strayed from the picture. "He...looks so young. He made Hokage two years after this picture?"
"Yeah." Kakashi stared at the picture. They all were so young. Obito and Rin couldn't have been older than thirteen, the baby fat still on their cheeks. Kakashi had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that Naruto was older than what Obito and Rin been at the time of their deaths. And in Kakashi's eyes, Naruto still looked like the child he picked up from his sensei's cold hands, far too young to be holding such a huge burden. Minato had been certainly strong to survive burying two of his students. "We should hurry up and meet Tsunade-sama."
Naruto hummed and set the photo frame aside and tightened his forehead protector. "Let's go dattebayo!"
Tsunade pushed the glasses up the bridge of her nose, interlocking her fingers. "I see. I'll tighten border security. Jiraiya did mention in his last report that there is an organization harvesting kekkai genkai. Shizune, tighten the security on that Cassanova Uchiha."
Naruto and Kakashi deadpanned at alternate Sasuke's reputation. Naruto couldn't help the twinge in his chest. Ero-sennin is dead in this world too huh? A small part of him hoped he'd be here. Just to spend one more afternoon with him. Or split a popsicle. Or drag him away from the onsen. Just one last time. "Baa chan, did Ero-sennin leave any intel on how to defeat that masked man?"
Tsunade crossed her arms. "There is only one way—"
"You should use the Scroll of Sealing, the Red Moon Scroll." A new voice spoke from behind them. Naruto jerked at the voice, Kakashi pale and stricken, refusing to turn around, that voice buried deep in the dark crevice of memories. The same voice that had been haunting Naruto, echoing in his mind since the Pein Invasion.
Naruto twisted around, eyes widening. Ever since he saw his dad's face replaced on the Hokage mountain, a small part of him secretly hoped but didn't dare voice it out. But now, standing in the Hokage's office, he was face to face with the one thing he had wished since his childhood.
"Mom? Dad?" Naruto's voice quivered. "You're alive?"
Kushina's soft smile morphed into a snarl, red hair curling up like menacing tendrils, her fist striking down hard on Naruto's head. "Is this the way to greet your parents once they come home from their mission?!"
Naruto winced, rubbing his head. Kakashi helped him up, lifting his head to meet his sensei's fond smile, his heart twisting painfully in his chest. "It's nice to be home, Naruto, Kakashi." Minato beamed at the two, both looking away, not used to someone looking at them with such......fondness. Kakashi had gotten used to it until it was mercilessly snatched when he was just fourteen years old.
Minato-sensei. Kushina Nee-san. Kakashi let himself observe the two as they gave Tsunade their mission report. They were nothing like the couple Kakashi remembered, hints of grey sprinkled in their hair, laugh lines and wrinkles near the corner of their eyes.
Signs of a life well lived. Something the real Minato and Kushina never got to have.
Kakashi was startled out of his thoughts when Naruto slammed his hand on the Hokage's desk, demanding Team 7 be a part of the mission to retrieve the Red Scroll. "Chotto Naruto!" Kakashi grabbed him by the shoulder. "What do you think you're doing? This mission could be Madara's trap!" He hissed.
"This could be the key to get to our Konoha faster. I don't want to sit on my hands and wait!"
"Hokage-sama." Minato's voice interrupted the two's hissing fit. "Please let Team 7 accompany us on this mission. I think their skills would be an asset for the retrieval." Naruto stared at Minato, not expecting the support come from him. Minato noticed Naruto's gaze and smiled at him, Naruto tearing his gaze away. "Come on both of you, time to go home now." Minato reached out to hold Naruto's arm, the blond jerking out of his grip. If Minato was surprised by the behaviour, he didn't comment on it.
"Don't touch me!" Naruto snarled. "And I'm not coming home. I'll crash at Kaka-sensei's!"
Kushina and Minato raised an eyebrow, exchanging amused smiles. "Sensei? Seems like 'Kashi finally managed to beat that habit into you. I thought you'd end up calling him Kaka-Ni even during missions." Kushina teased, Minato chuckling slightly.
It felt like someone had plunged a kunai to their chest and twisted it every time Minato or Kushina looked at them as if Naruto and Kakashi were the most precious things in the world to them.
"Kaka-Ni?" Naruto mumbled under his breath, sparing his sensei a glance, Kakashi's words echoing in his mind.
If everything had gone well, you would have grown up knowing me. I would have been a bigger part of your life.
Naruto and Kakashi didn't know how to feel, about a bond they could have had.
A life that was supposed to be theirs. A role Kakashi would have filled in Naruto's life. How were they mourning something that was never in the cards for them?
So close to having the perfect life.
Minato placed his hands on Kakashi's shoulders, gripping tightly. Kakashi stiffened, he knew this move. "Kakashi....." Minato grinned. "You aren't escaping this time."
After the emotional rollercoaster he just had, Kakashi didn't have it in him to fight his sensei. The harrowing days following the Yondaime and Kushina's death had plagued Kakashi with drowning guilt for rebuking all the dinner invitations, wishing he had spent more time with them.
It wasn't called treasure unless it was lost.
"Yosh!" Kushina punched the air, grabbing Naruto's wrist. "Family dinner!"
Naruto reacted violently to the word 'family' smacking Kushina's hand away. "I said don't touch me!" And ran out, not looking back.
Kushina and Minato didn't seem to confused although Kushina looked a bit put off, pouting. "Mah is he rebelling already? Minato, you should have a talk with him!"
Minato jerked. "Eh? Me?"
"Yes these are the conversations a father and son should have!" Kushina nodded sagely, thus all knowing.
Minato chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Come on, it won't be a first for us." He faced Kakashi, tone teasing. "Kashi was exactly like Naruto at this age. All high and mighty. Both our boys cut from the same cloth."
Kakashi swallowed the lump in his throat, closing up. He cleared his throat, stepping away from Minato, moving towards the door, the Hokage's office suffocating him. "I....I'll go get Naruto."
Kakashi soon found Naruto loitering near the Training grounds, decimating the place with rasengans. He stayed silent, letting him stew around, slamming the swirling chakra into the trees.
Naruto's jaw was clenched tightly, nails long enough to be claws, eyes tinted yellow. The Kyuubi's chakra was leaking out. The last time Kakashi had seen him this agitated was when Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki.
"He's toying with me!" Naruto growled, slamming one last rasengan into the wooden stump, slumping to his knees, fingers twitching with rage. "Madara....he's gone too far this time.... showing me these fakes. To get me to lower my guard by showing me—"
Showing me everything I ever wanted.
Kakashi tucked his hands into his pockets, waiting for Naruto to vent out his frustrations. "Well alternate universe apart, Kushina Nee-san's anger is very real. I suggest we play along until we find the scroll."
Naruto glared at Kakashi. "I'm not playing house with fakes! I....won't dammit!"
Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, guiding him back home. "Just for tonight, Naruto. One dinner. We leave for the mission tomorrow."
Naruto clicked his tongue, looking away.
"Naruto...." Kakashi warned, sighing when Naruto locked himself in the room the minute the stepped into the Uzumaki residence. He had expected this.
Minato smiled helplessly, unperturbed by his son's rebellion. It wasn't long before Kushina managed to kick down the door and all but yank Naruto out by his ear. "It's a hundred years too early for you to be back answering ttebane!"
"Told you her anger is not something to be taken lightly." Kakashi whispered as Naruto settled into a chair beside him.
"Shut up, Baka-sensei." Naruto groused, Kakashi's eye crinkling. "They're treating my like I'm a kid!"
Kakashi hummed. He himself had been manhandled into the chair like his thirteen year old self, before everything went south. "You are their kid."
Naruto gulped, eyes trained on the plate. A small part of Kakashi was glad they got sucked into this universe, it was nice to see them again, but largely for Naruto's sake.
Naruto to be a part of the family that once used to be Kakashi's. To feel the warmth of Kushina's smile. To train with Minato. For his sensei to get to do all that he had planned for his unborn son.
Naruto and Kakashi watched the two work seamlessly, Minato looking at his wife like she was the whole world while Kushina teased him, setting up the table. Kakashi frowned, Minato and Kushina sat down with them neither moving to serve the stew, as if waiting for something.
The table was set for five.
Naruto seemed to notice too, their unspoken question answered the moment the door opened. Kakashi paled, the blood in his veins freezing when he felt a familiar chakra signature slip into the room, petrified to turn around. Sweat rolled down the back of his neck, desperately trying to keep his chakra in control.
No, it can't be.
"Ah you're back, Naruto, Kakashi. How did your mission go?" Naruto watched a young brown haired woman, somewhere around Kakashi's age and purple markings on her face smile warmly at them, moving around the house with familiarity, taking the empty spot.
She was the girl from Kakashi's genin team picture.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Didn't sensei say his teammates were dead?
Naruto struggled to remember her name, but seeing his sensei pale as a ghost, he decided to speak up for the two. "Um yeah it was a C-Rank, we came back today." He mumbled, unsure of how to address the stranger who spoke to him with such familiarity.
"Come on Rin, the stew's getting cold." Kushina ushered the girl, asking about her work at the hospital.
Rin! Nohara Rin! Naruto remembered tracing her name on the KIA stone when he would join Kakashi sometimes, especially after Jiraiya's death. So this world is aimed at Kaka-sensei too, showing us the people we lost. Kakashi astutely refused to look at Rin, burning a hole into his plate, losing his appetite.
The two felt out of place, like outsiders watching somebody else's life.
Minato, Kushina and Rin fell into a easy conversation, while Naruto and Kakashi played with their food, not really participating in the conversation.
It wasn't everyday you had dinner with the ghosts that haunt you.
Dinner passed by in a breeze, Kushina dozing off at the table, Minato clearing the dishes and Rin walking Kakashi out the door, not before ruffling Naruto's hair.
The two walked in silence down the street. "You've been unusually quiet." Rin commented.
"I'm always quiet."
Rin sweatdropped. "True, Kakashi-kun is till that little brat."
"Harsh." Kakashi crinkled his eye, throat closing up when he tried saying her name. His tongue hadn't spelled out those syllables in decades, the name locked away deep in his mind, shackled down by guilt.
Rin unperturbed by his silence, linked her arm with his. "Come on, let's grab a drink and I'll tell you all about my blind date. So there is this guy at the hospital—"
Kakashi let her chatter along, humming, just drinking the sight of what a woman Rin would have had the chance to become. Confident, kind, funny. Saving lives, the backbone of the hospital, on the road to be as great as Tsunade-sama. She was just like how Kakashi had imagined in his regrets.
Thriving in the life he had robbed her off.
A small doubt lingered in the back of his mind. Whoever wrote this Tsukiyomi, Madara/Tobi, whatever he was, he knew Rin a little too well to nail her character this perfect. Every other person had major character flips, but not Rin.
She was just the way she way when she died.
"Hey Kakashi, are you listening?" Rin huffed, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes, yes, the guy was dull and wanted a housewife."
"I know right? The nerve! And—" Rin prattled off in animated hand gestures, almost knocking over Kakashi's drink, the two breaking into a fit of laughter. Maybe it was the weight of the alcohol weighing down, Kakashi pushed the morbid thoughts to the back of his mind and let himself relax. For a moment, he wasn't a shinobi. Just a guy grabbing a drink with an old friend.
Kakashi allowed himself this small precious memory to take back home. The comfort of growing old with friends.
I'm so sorry Rin.
Naruto observed the house. Home, he supposed. Decorated with photo frames, sandals and kunais scattered all over, books and sealing parchment stuck behind the desk.
Naruto picked up a photo album off the shelf, flipping through the pages. It was filled with his pictures. He didn't even know how he looked as a child. Pictures of Kushina cradling a newborn Naruto, Minato sobbing at Naruto's first day at the Academy, Kakashi and Rin babysitting.
Kushina and Minato's wedding picture.
He had always wondered about their love story but Kakashi's re-telling didn't hold a candle to the truth. Minato looked at Kushina as if she was the moon glimmering in the sky, completely enamoured and utterly smitten.
And Kushina......she maybe his mother and an esteemed Jounin but every time Minato was near her, she just....melted. Nothing but a girl in love. And a woman well loved.
"It's rare for you to open that." Minato's voice pierced through his inner monologue, smiling fondly at his son.
Naruto didn't reply. "Why did you.....back at the Hokage office. Why did you convince Baa-chan to let me come on the mission?"
Minato paused. "Well my son doesn't throw a tantrum for no reason, now does he?" He winked, Naruto looking away, conflicted.
Is this what it feels like, to have someone believe in you?
Naruto leaned against the Village gates, tapping his foot impatiently. Kaka-sensei was late in this universe too. He steered clear of the distorted Team 7 and the fakes calling themselves his parents.
Thankfully Sakura picked on his brooding mood and didn't come near him. She still shot him heart eyes from a distance, while Sasuke leered at Sakura trying to hold her hand.
His parents were a bit closer, talking in hushed tones, like an inside joke, Kushina swatting Minato's arm when he said something funny, Minato fixing her forehead protector. They were disgustingly domestic and sweet.
Naruto clenched his eyes shut, inhaling sharply. I'm gonna kill Kaka-sensei.
After another hour of waiting, Sakura had sidled up beside him, linking his arm with hers and Kushina sending him teasing glares. It was weird, being the epicentre of attention.
Two hours passed by when Kakashi finally sauntered in sheepishly, flimsy excuse in tow. Naruto felt a vein pop on his forehead.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Three voices bellowed in perfect sync and unison. Naruto faltered, noticing Sakura on his right and Sasuke on his left. Team 7 moved like a well oiled machine, the three against their sensei. Just like they did back when they were genin, years ago.
Back when everything was fine.
Naruto gulped, looking away, not before catching the wistful look in Kakashi's eye, no doubt reminiscing the time their team was in one piece.
Kakashi felt like someone plunged a kunai in his chest and twisted it, the three's behaviour reminding him of simpler times. When the three were Kakashi's students. Only Kakashi's students.
Not the Sannins. Not Konoha's ace weapons. Not the Traitor, Village Hero and Genius Medic. Just his cute little genins.
"Mah forgive your old sensei." Kakashi scratched his neck, Sakura huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. Sasuke scoffed and looked away. Naruto stood at the far end.
Minato clapped his hands, gathering everyone's attention. "All right, let's get moving." Minato led the team through the track, stopping before a huge clearing.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Big Boss?" Why are we hiding from him? Naruto surged forward in a crouch, ready to drop down into the clearing, a firm hand yanking him back. "Kaka-sensei?"
Kakashi had a firm grip on Naruto's shoulder, index finger lifting to point at Minato. "Sensei is hesitating. That means you both don't have the frog contract in this world. They won't recognise you."
"We can't just sit around on our hands! I got them to listen once, I'll get them to listen again!"
"You had Jiraiya-sama as your middle man." Kakashi hissed, "Naruto, no!" Naruto shrugged off Kakashi's hand, jumping down.
It all happened too fast. Naruto frantically trying to get the Frog summons to listen. He even activated sage mode, but the frogs weren't listening, a purple poison bubble shooting towards him.
"Dammit." Kakashi's sharingan swirled. Team 7 jumped down, evading the frogs. "We'll have to leave the Red Scroll to the Uzumakis."
Sasuke nodded and scouted the area, Sakura punching the ground to form craters, disbalancing the frogs for a split second. The Uzumakis' could use all the openings they could get.
"Naruto watch out!" Kakashi yelled. There was no telling how Naruto's body would react to poison in the Tsukiyomi. This could very well be Madara luring them out, something Kakashi had been apprehensive about. Before Kakashi could get to his student, Kushina got there before him, pushing Naruto out of the way, taking the hit for him.
Kushina winced in pain, faltering as she plummeted in a twenty foot drop.
"Kushina!" Minato yelled out, racing forward to catch his wife.
"Move dobe!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto out of the way, the blond boy pale and stricken, frozen in place.
"W-why? Why did she do that?"
Sasuke hefted Naruto off his knees, slinging his arm around Naruto, guiding him away from the poison bubbles. "Your mom will be fine."
"Why did you grab me? The poison could have hit you too."
Sasuke simply smirked. "What? Think I'd just let you fend for yourself, scaredy cat?"
Naruto's heart lurched into his throat, looking away. If the Real Sasuke had never left Konoha, maybe they would be just as good, working in tandem, just like they did now.
If only you had stayed back Sasuke, we would have been unstoppable.
Sakura's hand glowed green, Kushina unconscious. Minato's eyebrows creased with worry, eyes not leaving Kushina's frame until he caught Naruto sulking in the corner and grabbed him by his arm, pulling aside. "Want to tell me what that was all about? If you hadn't been reckless Kushina wouldn't have—"
"I never asked her to do that!" Naruto shot back, tone downright venomous, heavy with guilt. "She didn't have to take the fall for me! I can deal with the consequences of my own actions—"
A stinging smack resonated, Naruto's cheek pulsing red. And as a shinobi, Naruto knew Minato was holding back a great deal. "I'm afraid that's not how it works. For a parent, their kid always come first. It's our instinct to shield you from the world."
Naruto reeled back, a specific memory forcing itself to the forefront of his subconscious.
"How did my parents die?" Naruto asked Kakashi one day, the two sitting in front of Minato and Kushina's grave, Naruto only recently being aware of their resting place.
Kakashi stared ahead at the epitaph. "The Kyuubi's nail. It was aimed at you. They got in between, the nail piercing through them. The medics couldn't have done anything."
Minato's eye softened, placing his hand on Naruto's head. "Mom will be fine, don't worry kid. It's not your fault."
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, the weight of his father's hand unbearable. He willed back the tears, freezing when he felt Kushina's arms wrap around him. "Stupid, reckless son of mine! What would your father and I do if something had happened to you!" She yelled into his ears, her hold tightening with every word, cradling his head as if he was a baby. A thought stabbed Naruto's heart.
Did his mother ever get to hold him, in the real world?
Naruto couldn't stop the lone tear, hands reaching up to hug Kushina back, feeling her smile against his shoulder, watching Minato smile warmly at them. So this it what it feels like, the warmth of your mother's arms.
"They sure are a loving family." Sakura said absentmindedly.
Kakashi couldn't look at Minato. There he was, the man that raised him, looking at Kushina and Naruto, at his whole world with such fond eyes, that same sparkle in sensei's eyes when he found out Kushina was pregnant. In all these years, that sparkle never dimmed, only growing with Naruto.
You deserved so much more. Up until now, I didn't realise the sheer magnitude of what you had lost, Naruto.
The walk back from the Hokage's office was disappointing to say the least. The scroll couldn't be activated before the eclipse, two weeks away. "What now?"
Kakashi shrugged. They had managed to ditch fake Sasuke and Sakura. Minato escorted Kushina to the hospital for a second check up. "Guess we play the part. And in the meantime hope Madara doesn't rip the Kyuubi out of you."
Naruto let out a full body shiver, pale. "Why you gotta say it like that, sensei!"
Kakashi's eye smiled. "I like making you miserable." He said cheerfully.
Naruto pouted. "Keep that up and I'll complain to Mom. You're supposed to be nice to your younger brother dattebayo!"
"Hmm? I get bullying rights, Minato-sensei said so." The two chuckled, the smile fading away as reality sank in.
They didn't grow up as brothers in their universe. They never got to be family. Not until they became a team.
But it was easy to forget when Minato and Kushina addressed them the same way. With the same parental sternness and discipline laced with an endearing tone. They saw Kakashi and Naruto as one.
It was easy to forget when everything you ever wished for was handed over to you on a silver platter.
The days passed by and Kakashi and Naruto slowly started losing their objectivity. They started to forget this was just a genjutsu. That this wasn't their real family.
They forgot that Minato and Kushina wouldn't always greet them with an okaeri.
They forgot Team 7 was once splintered. Broken.
They had forgotten how miserable their lives used to be.
The following days were some of the happiest for Naruto and Kakashi.
Naruto and Sasuke came up with a combination technique, their Fire Style and Wind Style complementing each other, roaring into a powerful jutsu that even Kakashi's sharingan didn't stand a chance against.
Working together like the rivals they were meant to be. Brothers in arms.
"See my Wind Style made your fireball so much more powerful and interesting Teme, thank me!" Naruto laughed as Sasuke thumped his head.
"You still have a lot before you catch up to me." Sasuke smirked. Before Naruto could retort, Sasuke sashayed towards a civilian girl, rose materialising out of thin air.
Naruto sweatdropped. Yeah there was no way he was getting used to that.
Minato rubbed his eyes and yawned, sporting a terrible bedhead. "What is it that you had to show me at, 4 a.m, Naruto?"
Naruto had half dragged Minato off the bed and across the floor in his excitement. "Look at this, dattebayo! I perfected your jutsu."
The sleep vanished from Minato's eyes, twinkling with curiosity and a little bit of a challenge. "Oh really? That's a tall claim."
Naruto grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Your time has ended, Yellow Flash. There's a new hotshot in town."
Minato rolled up his sleeve. "We'll see about that. I'm still your father, squirt. It's gonna take a lot to usurp me."
"Old goes out and in comes the new talent."
"All I'm seeing is a lot of bark and no bite." Minato teased.
Naruto smirked and jumped back. Minato crossed his arms, all attention solely on his son. Naruto weaved the handseals and grabbed his forearm.
Minato's eyes widened. The blue concentrated chakra in his palm grew, larger than Minato ever managed to conjure. But that wasn't it. The mass of chakra morphed, the edges becoming sharper, casting a long shadow as Naruto lifted his hand.
No way.......
Naruto simpered in glee at his father's astonished face. "Futon: Rasen-shuriken!"
Minato's face split into a wide smile, in awe, still staring at Naruto's hand, long after the jutsu fizzled out.
"So Pops, what do you think, pretty neat huh?" Naruto waggled his eyebrows, jogging up to stand in front of his dad, expectant.
"You.....you took something of mine and....made it your own." Minato beamed with pride, ruffling his hair, slinging his arm around Naruto's shoulder. "That's my boy."
Naruto's breath hitched, willing back the tears pooling in his eyes. "Gotta live up to the name, Son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Blooded Habanero."
"You're your own person, Naruto. Konoha's No. One Unpredictable Ninja. And next in line to be Hokage, eh?" Minato sighed wistfully at his little boy, suddenly all grown up. "Did I ever tell you why I created the rasengan?"
Naruto settled down beside him on the grass. Maybe the alternate version of him had but Naruto never got the heart to heart that boys usually get with their father. "Nope. Why did you create it?"
Minato glanced at the horizon. "As you know, before you, your mother was the jinkchuriki. Her seal was different from yours, the traditional Uzumaki Sealing Technique. The Kyuubi's chakra used to leak in often, contaminating her chakra. Sometimes she didn't know where she ended and the Kyuubi started."
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "Mom had trouble controlling the Kyuubi?"
Minato hummed. "The rasengan is like a spiral of concentrated chakra to counter the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out of the seal and contain it. It was to help her regain control. Well at least that's what I intended for the jutsu."
Naruto blinked. "That's it? You created the jutsu for Mom and it just so happened it got useful during missions?"
Minato chuckled, scratching his cheek. "Mah, I've always kinda been like that. Your mother always came first for me, everything else more of an afterthought."
Naruto hid his smile at Minato's smitten look, he got all soft and gooey whenever Kushina was the topic. "Gah it's far too early for you to be sappy, old man."
Minato laughed, standing up and rolled his shoulder, eyes glimmering with mischief. "Now, let's see how far your new jutsu holds against the original."
Naruto smirked. "Careful, you shouldn't be doing strenuous things at your age."
"How dare you?!" Minato fake gasped.
Naruto chuckled. "You're forty."
"Not until next month! I'm still thirty-nine!"
Laughter echoed through the field. And if Kushina yelled at them for tracking in mud through the living room, the father and son took it all with a wide smile.
When the novelty wore off, it was easier to see the cracks. No fights. No arguments. No chaos.
Their life felt too planned and orchestrated.....fake.
On paper, it was everything Naruto ever wanted. A loving family. The perfect team. Sakura paying attention to him rather than Sasuke teme. A rival that kept on his toes.
But they weren't his Sasuke or Sakura. It was odd and weirdly out of dynamic for them. He thrived in the Team 7 chaos. The real Team 7 was dysfunctional and downright a mess. But it still had it's charm.
Sakura wasn't Sakura if she didn't punch him at least twice a day, Naruto was starting to miss that.
"Naruto-kun! Where are you lost?" Sakura's voice pierced through his thoughts. She had accosted him into a date, the two walking past the edge of the forest.
"Um nothing Sakura-chan. What's in that bag?" Naruto changed the topic.
Sakura opened the messenger bag, removing a haori from the bag. The Yondaime's cloak. "Dad's cloak. I needed to get it mended. I have a bad case of moths at home."
Naruto hummed, letting his eyes trace over the kanji. His father's mantle. Minato hard earned title. The youngest and shortest reigning Hokage of Konoha.
"Sakura-chan can I ask you something?"
Sakura got all heart eyed, "Of course Naruto-kun I'll be your—"
Naruto cut her short. "Do you sometimes get mad at your parents?"
Sakura paused, taken aback. "What?"
"You're all alone. Don't you wish they had chosen you over the village?"
Sakura got uncharacteristically quiet and somber. "No. My parents never chose the village over me. They chose me over themselves. They sacrificed their life so I could live to see another day."
Naruto remained silent, seeing the silent pride in Sakura's eyes, laced with grief. Before Naruto could say anything air got chilly and dense, the moon bleeding red.
Sharingan Red.
"What is going on?"
"It must be because of the eclipse, Naruto-kun."
Naruto whipped his head. "Eclipse? It's today?" Naruto cursed under his breath. Both him and Kakashi had been lured in by the genjutsu, forgetting about the Red Scroll and their real world.
They had let their guard down. They had fallen right into Madara's trap.
"Sakura-chan get out of here. We need to get to Baa-chan and Kaka-sensei.......Sakura-chan?" Naruto whirled around, Sakura nowhere to be found, her bag and the Yondaime cloak lying on the ground.
Naruto growled. Madara. He's using Sakura-chan as bait.
He hurried to the town centre, Madara's clones all over town, wreaking havoc in the civilian district.
Naruto gritted his teeth and made a choice. Sakura was a kunoichi she can hold her ground for some time. The civilians came first.
Minato and Kushina were already in shinobi gear, evacuating the civilians when Kakashi rushed in frantic. "I can't find Sasuke."
The entire village was in chaos, the Hokage being targeted, a shadowed figure floating above the city, just like Pein did.
"I think Madara is going for the Red Scroll. He's using Sakura and Sasuke as leverage." Naruto reasoned, holding up Sakura's bag. "He will destroy this world until we go to him, Kaka-sensei."
Kakashi took a long hard look at him, black eye calculative. He nodded, giving Naruto the go. This was as good as a plan they had.
Naruto's eyelids tinted orange, activating sage mode, he scanned the area, pinpointing Sakura and Sasuke's location to the temple at the west. He bristled as he felt multiple foreign chakra signatures. They were outnumbered.
"We need to hurry." Naruto braced his feet, ready to run when he felt Kushina grab his arm, Minato grabbing Kakashi's."
"Sensei?" Kakashi felt confused, close to wrenching his hand out of Minato's grip. "My students need me, you can manage it here." He said, misinterpreting Minato's reluctance.
"No! You don't know what you're dealing with! We are only humans Kakashi. We can't play hero all the time."
Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief and anger. "So you won't even try?"
"We have our limits. And I don't want to gamble on your lives! You are our kids." Kushina said, teary eyed.
"And those are mine, Nee-san." Kakashi spoke softly. "My kids need me."
The bangs cast a shadow over Naruto's eyes as he gently removed Kushina's hand from his. "Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. That's my sensei's lesson."
Naruto lifted his head, grinning at Kakashi. "We need to get our team back, Kaka-sensei. No one left behind." Warmth bloomed across Kakashi's chest, a surge of pride coursing through his veins.
Maybe he did something thing right with Team 7 after all.
"Naruto, please." His father pleaded. "I can't lose you."
Naruto pulled the Yondaime's cloak out of the bag, staring at the kanji. "I am a son of two heroes. I hold their will of fire in me." He pulled on the cloak, glancing over his shoulder and giving his fake parents a reassuring smile. "That's my inheritance!"
Kakashi watched his student with pride, looking like Minato in that split second. The same drive to save his people.
A born leader, someone worthy of following into war.
Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, nodding in a silent support. I'm on your side, Naruto.
Konoha was in shambles but hte threat was dismantled. No lives were lost and Madara retreated. Kakashi and Naruto could feel the edges of the Tsukiyomi fraying, the fake world dismantling the moment Kushina and Minato had their Kakashi and Naruto in their arms.
It pricked to see them fawn over their real kids. Something that belonged to them for the past few weeks, temporary as it might be, it was nice while it lasted.
"If our Naruto and Kakashi are here then who are you..." Minato couldn't help ask, conflicted.
"We're from another world, sensei. Where things didn't really work out as well as here." Kakashi explained. Naruto had his back turned, refusing to meet Minato's eyes. "Naruto, say your goodbye before it's too late." Kakashi whispered as they started to fade out.
Naruto rubbed at his eyes, lip trembling as he struggled to keep the smile on his face. "Thank you for coming to save us! For taking care of me, for making me dinner, for training with me, worrying about me, getting mad at me."
Kushina's eyes were downcast, breath hitching when she realised there was a version of her kid who grew up alone. Minato remained silent, staring at Naruto, drinking in the sight of the boy that he knew like the back of his hand and yet so drastically unfamiliar.
This was the version of his son who grew up without him. Minato couldn't help but blame himself.
The air felt heavy with regret and unspoken promises. Of memories they couldn't have.
Naruto smiled at the sky, feeling his words deep in his bones. "Thank you, for being alive and well. It wasn't for long but it felt nice to have a family 'ttebayo. I never had that before. Truly, thank you."
"Kakashi. Take care of my son in that universe." Minato smiled sadly, holding onto his real son's hand tightly.
Kakashi met Minato's eye and nodded. "I will. I promise sensei."
Like footsteps receding, Kakashi and Naruto faded away, never to return.
Naruto sat down on the grass, enjoying the view. Usually he'd sit on the Hokage Mountain, close to his father's stone head but today he was on the other end of the village, watching the sun dip behind the Hokage Mountain.
Today he was facing his father's face rather than hiding behind it.
Dad....just wait and watch from above, I'll surpass you one day. Mom, I'll make you proud.
Ever since they returned to their own world, Naruto felt his parent's absence harrowing. The apartment felt colder and quieter.....haunting almost.
But he was never alone.
He had the list of Kushina's rules plastered on his wall. He prepared his stew with the recipe Minato taught him. He kept a box of salve made by Rin on his person at all times.
He heard his family in the whispers of the wind. And one day, he'll have a family to get back to. A marriage like his parents, kids hopefully not as mischievous as him, and a house filled with the echoes of his family's laughter.
For now, the memories would do.
Naruto lowered his head and smiled. "It's kinda weird, ne sensei?" He said before Kakashi's feet touched down. He didn't turn to look at Kakashi, the two staring at Minato's stone head. "I miss them yet I feel....they're right here with me."
"When you love someone, you never truly lose them. You just learn to find them in different forms." Kakashi stood beside him, ruffling his hair.
"I'm proud to be their son." Naruto leaned back, a peaceful smile no his face. No regrets. "And I'm going to fight for Sasuke. The way they fought for me."
Kakashi's lone eye crinkled, extending a fist. "Sa, let's go get that wayward teammate of ours back home, shall we?"
Naruto beamed, bumping his knuckles against Kakashi's, the orange glow of the sunset sealing his promise to his sensei. And elder brother.
"Team 7 is going to be back before you know it, dattebayo!"