"Hey, Ben... if you're hearing this, then... then it all went wrong. I had Ship keep this just in case. I don't know how it might have happened, but it did. I know you're probably hating yourself, thinking you could have done more, but, I think you did everything you could."
Ben woke up in a cold sweat, grabbing onto the ring dangling from his neck. Her voice, it was still like it happened yesterday. His eyes started burning as tears threatened to spill, but he wiped them away and glanced at the ceiling.
It had been a while since he had that dream, of hearing that message. He didn't think it would still hit him this hard after so long without thinking about what had happened, but it still hit him like a bulldozer.
"Well, I'm sure you don't believe that. If it ever does happen, just know, regardless of whatever might have happened between us, I was happy. Being with you, Ben... it... it was the best thing that I could have had happen to me."
He climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. As the ring laid against his chest, Ben couldn't help but think about all the things he was missing in his life. She could have been here right now, reassuring him that everything would be okay, they might have even had a child by now.
Ben could imagine the little giggle of the boy or girl Tennyson, and a weak smile appeared on his face. The giggle soon turned to another voice, one that brought him back to reality. He was thankful to hear a voicemail come across his phone from Gwen.
"Ben, I don't know if you'll get this, but I'm worried about you. Grandpa hasn't heard from you in months, and I know you've asked for your privacy, but at least let us know you're okay. We miss you. Kevin doesn't admit it, but he does. Heard you and Azmuth were attending to some sort of business, and they said you're off-world now. I hope you're being careful. Just give me a call when you can."
Gwen's voice was heartbreaking to put it lightly. If she only knew why he and Max hadn't spoken in so long. I'll call you soon, Gwen. I promise.
The truth was, he had only kept his distance from Kevin and Gwen to alleviate their own guilt over that day. They couldn't have seen that happening, and each time they had looked at him it was like they were reliving that day over and over again. Ben couldn't do that to them. From what he had heard Kevin was a mechanic and Gwen had graduated from college. She hadn't known her major for the longest time, but Gwen was a doctor now. Gwen always did have a knack for saving lives, and even though she probably missed being a hero in the front lines, it was for the better. Gwen had a daughter to look after now. Little Sherry Tennyson-Levin. Two years ago she had Sherry, and to think, Ben hadn't even seen her.
Ben took a shower, and got dressed before sitting at his desk for a little bit. Gwen had said somebody told her he was off-world. He hoped that meant he wouldn't get too many messages or calls for a while.
Grandpa hasn't heard from you in months. Yeah, he hadn't heard from Ben because of their last conversation. They had gotten into an argument about whether Ben even was capable of being an instructor at the Plumber facility Max was working at. It wasn't a physical job, but Max had been adamant on denying his request. Max kept claiming that this was Ben's way of trying to sneak back into his old habits, and Max wasn't gonna let Ben get himself killed. It didn't end well and Ben hadn't spoken to him since.
"I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS!" was the last thing Ben had said to his Grandpa before he left. Not another word was spoken between the two, and even though Max had tried calling him, Ben didn't answer a single call. He listened to every voicemail though, just to hear his voice.
Pulling his phone over to him, Ben went into his voicemails and found the last from Max. "Hey kiddo, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, but I'm worried about you. I shouldn't have been so hard on you. It's just, I don't want something happening to you is all. What I said, it came out harsher than I intended. I know you want to feel like you're doing something to help people, but being a part of the Plumbers, Ben... in your condition, instructor or not, that puts you in danger. All it takes is one criminal to come through and see you, without the Omnitrix, and they'll try to get a piece of you. I love you kid, but your hero days, they're long behind you. I just hope you understand that. I want you to be happy, I want you to get to have a family; you can't get to have any of that if you're gone. I love you Ben, and if you ever need me, I'll be here."
Ben wiped his eyes again, and put his phone away. He hated feeling sorry for himself, he honestly did, and god was Ben not one to cry. How much did he cry when he woke up from his coma and found himself in a never-ending nightmare? Nevermind that, honestly, the past three days had been the happiest he'd been in a long time.
He finally felt like he was doing something important, Azmuth treated him like an equal, even if he did his usual degrading of his intelligence, but Ben felt like he belonged, and on the plus side, that kid seemed like he needed help. Ben smiled, pulling out his wallet. He had all his money for the time being transferred into the Ryo currency. He was loaded here, which made a wicked smile form.
Being a hero, Ben knew was dangerous, but there were plenty ways of being a hero... hell, you could be a hero just for giving a kid a chance to feel like he was a part of a family.
Ben got up and made his decision. Naruto Uzumaki was gonna start having a better life from today forward, regardless whether that council would try to stop him or not.
Today was officially the start of a brand new journey for the young shinobi as he opened his eyes. Rolling over, he was able to see the Omnitrix strapped to his right wrist, and he couldn't help but smile lightly. It was certainly a long night, and Naruto wouldn't be surprised if he had slept in longer than he meant to. What would happen if he did? After all he had nothing better to do right now. Sitting up and stretching his arms, the events of the previous night came back to him, and his smile soured into a frown as he remembered the incident with the nine tails.
So, you weren't a figment of my imagination, right? Naruto thought silently, and just like that he heard a low chuckle.
Of course not. Morning to you too.
Sorry, just hard to imagine that we're able to just, you know, talk freely.
Don't think I'll chat anytime you want. I can shut you out any time I want.
Oh yeah?
No response came, and Naruto rolled his eyes. I can practically hear you turning your head away.
I wasn't. There's a presence at your door.
Naruto couldn't imagine who would have been at his door, after all, nobody comes to visit him. This was place was basically cursed in the eyes of the entire village. Even the ANBU wouldn't come to his door. Whenever he got to play with one of them when he was younger, they were never at his house, they were always at an old training ground far away from the villagers. Naruto knew well enough that the ANBU, Konoha's black ops unit, weren't meant to play with a child, but the one in the dog mask, he always took the time to. He didn't remember saying much to him, but Dog as he called him would take the time to play with him and just sit with him as the day went by. It was a nice memory, but Naruto hadn't had anyone around like that in a long time. The point was, nobody came to his house, ever. In fact the only person who had been in his apartment was Ben. Then it hit him, so he got dressed and walked to the door. Just as he figured when he opened it he was greeted by the former Omnitrix user himself, holding a couple bags in hand.
"Hey, didn't know if you'd be up or not," Ben greeted with a smile.
"Just woke up, actually. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, which caused Ben to lift the bag up as response.
"Well, I figured your apartment doesn't look like it can keep enough power to keep your food from spoiling, so I got you breakfast. I hope that's okay."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, moving to the side to let Ben in. "Y-yeah, of course. It's just, I don't normally get visitors, is all."
"I figured as much. We'll see if we can get things better for you in the upcoming future."
The blond chuckled lightly, shutting the door behind him. "Really?"
"Of course. You shouldn't have to live like this."
Part of Naruto felt overjoyed at Ben's kindness towards him, but the other part couldn't help but feel weary behind this. He wanted to believe this was just his new mentor being kind, but the part of him that'd been abused all his life by the villagers, thought this was just trying to get his guard down and b- no, that wasn't who Ben was, not from what he'd seen so far.
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Ben nodded silently, and the two went into the dining room where they sat down and had breakfast.
It was nice, getting to have a meal with someone. Naruto and Ben chatted about a lot of things during their meal. Mostly, it consisted of Ben asking about how Naruto had grown up and while the blond didn't like to dive into that pile of needles, he felt more comfortable talking about it with Ben.
He told him about the fact that when he was a kid he wasn't allowed to hang out with other kids his age, those who did come near him bullied him. Bullied him, beat him, and cursed him for just being alive. How for the longest time he didn't even understand why everyone treated him like that, until he learned the other night from Mizuki about the Nine Tails being sealed inside him.
I just wish I knew why you were sealed inside me.
Maybe... maybe another time. The fox said lowly, clearly wanting to avoid the subject. It was odd, seeing the drastic change in his voice, he was almost regretful or something along those lines. No, that wasn't it. He was ashamed.
Listening to Azmuth and the Hokage talk about Naruto was one thing, but hearing it directly from the kid himself, Ben was hurt to even think about what he had to endure.
"I, I'm so sorry. People can be so hateful. I'm guessing that it's because of the nine tails in you that your body doesn't have many scars, if any."
Naruto shrugged.
Yes.
"He said it is," the blond nodded.
Sometimes I wish I didn't heal you at all.
Rude, again.
I'm a demon fox... it's mandatory.
I'll tear that hate out of you one day, if only to stop you from going on a killing rampage.
Haha, let's see you try, kit.
Oh CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
"You're arguing with it right now, aren't you?"
Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. Ben smiled, unsure of whether that would be something he'd get used to or not.
It was admittedly a little strange to be having a meal with somebody he barely knew, but it was peaceful, something he never really got to feel often.
Their meal came to an end, and as they sat there just chatting away, Ben realized that he and Naruto did have a lot in common. Naruto was a prankster, sure, but more so than anything he just wanted to help people. In a way, it reminded him of how Ben was when he was ten.
"So, can you tell me how you got the Omnitrix? I know you said you were camping with your Grandpa and cousin."
Ben smiled, and proceeded to tell the story from the beginning. Naruto listened intently, more intently than he ever had with anything, not even on the lesson about the Fourth Hokage at the Academy.
By the end of the story, Naruto was simply enamored. Even at that age, Ben was all about helping people. Immature at the time, sure, but he wanted to help more than anything else.
"I think that's why Azmuth really chose you, Naruto."
"What do you mean?"
"Lord Third, when we were talking in our initial meeting, he told me how even though you were hated by the village, you were alone, and had every reason to turn your back on everyone, you were always the first one to jump and try to help someone in need, even if it ended with you getting hurt."
"Yeah. Lord Third always thought it was strange I wore my orange outfit when I was training to be a ninja. I know I take a lot of abuse, more than most people can withstand. In the academy, when they talked about the next step after graduation, when you finally become a ninja, you get placed into three man squads, with a jonin leading. I wore that because I didn't want my future teammates to get hurt. If I could bring the attention away from them, they wouldn't get as hurt and I could protect them."
Ben just glared at him with intrigue, and watched as Naruto's entire demeanor changed back to his smiley self. He knew that Naruto was faking the smile, and wanted to change the subject, so he didn't argue. "I suppose it's a good quality to have if you want to be the Hokage in the future. To give everything to protect your family, that's certainly a desirable trait, even if it's a little dangerous."
Naruto gave him a bright smile and hopped to his feet. "So! I was wondering, when do I get to start training with the Omnitrix?"
"Tomorrow after you get done with your Ninja I.D. Photo." Ben explained. "I know you might be eager to start, but just keep in mind, Azmuth hasn't even activated it to where you could transform yet. He's only programmed it to where it's bonded with you. Even if you try to use it, (please don't) you won't be able to do anything with it."
The blond gave a nod, although he wasn't exactly pleased, but good things came to those who waited.
"Alright."
Naruto watched as Ben pulled out a device and glared at it for a moment. Placing it down, Ben sighed and stretched his arms out. "That was Azmuth. Duty calls. Hey, if you need anything just ask Lord Third where we are."
Getting up, Ben cleaned the table up and dealt with the garbage much to the surprise of the blond. Naruto's eyes were ever on the man as Ben put the device in his pocket and got ready to leave.
"If I don't see you later today, I'll see you first thing in the morning," Ben informed him, before they said their goodbyes and Naruto was suddenly alone in the apartment once more.
Well, wasn't that nice? the kyuubi mockingly called out to Naruto, earning an eye roll. I don't even have to see you to know you rolled your eyes.
Wasn't trying to hide it. Considering how chatty you've been ever since we actually met, I'm surprised you didn't talk more during the meal.
I told you I didn't want my vessel being weak and pathetic. Hence why I was thinking of something. You ready to become the shinobi you always wanted to be, kit? Because what you're about to learn is gonna change everything.