Summary:
Naruto runs into an old friend.
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The landscape changed as the twelve year old trekked across the Land of Fire. Tall Hashirama trees became sparse and wide fields overtook the woods. The green fields drifted and changed to deserted, uninhabited spaces. The land bespoke of a history forgotten.
The pedestrian paths were filled with weeds and shrubs. They were untravelled, untouched by people for a long time. Abandoned. The blond genin had been on the road for an entire month, taking nondescript and unpopulated pathways to ensure his anonymity.
The wind shifted and grew more crisp. The small woods he trailed through were empty. The blond genin halted his travels and gazed up at the setting sun. Uzumaki Naruto's lips quirked upwards in anticipation. The air tasted different.
He was close to his destination.
Naruto moved to set up camp in the low trees. He flexed his fingers and his strings sailed upwards. He latched onto the trees and propelled his body into the air.
He whirled at a high altitude and landed silently on the branches. Naruto gazed at the greenery and stretched out his palms, creating a barrier of an intricate spiderweb on the ground.
The genin pulled off his bag and leaned against the thick trunk. He gazed up at the setting skies and ate through his dinner of bland dried provisions. The sun sank further in the horizon and he felt a sense of serenity surround him.
His journey was starting. His road had been a long and tiresome one. Naruto peered up at the skies with a weary gaze. He was tired. In his past and in his current life, he had to journey alone.
The burden was always a heavy one. Naruto pulled away from his deprecating thoughts abruptly as a crack of a branch resonated through the quiet space. He stiffened in alarm and held his breath, his eyes searching through the thick trees.
No one should be here.
He was far too deep in the woods for travellers or bandits. He was far from civilization. Wildlife should be his only companion. Naruto flexed his fingers silently, hardening the strings of his web. His blue eyes narrowed as a figure broke through the clearing.
He was tall, lean and darkly clad in layers of black. Naruto frowned at the sight of the kitsune mask. It was unprecedented. The figure paused at the foot of the clearing, tilting his head to the side curiously. His gaze locked on the invisible web and he looked upwards to the trees knowingly.
Naruto felt his heartbeat speed up rapidly. He knew. He was aware. How? The man had a long katana strapped to his back and his belt held a number of blades. He was a shinobi.
The blond gritted his teeth and he cursed in his head at his terrible luck. He was close to reaching Uzushiogakure. Naruto masked his chakra and moved his strings towards the nin silently, watching them slither towards him with lethal intent.
The nin leaped away with practiced ease and he body flickered to the trees in a flash of black. Naruto cursed and broke out of his hiding spot. His strings attached to his back and he pulled his dual swords off in a fluid move.
He whirled in the air at heightened speed and met the nin with a strong blow. The nin blocked his swords with his long katana and he moved in rapidly. Naruto held up his swords defensively and they traded rapid hits.
The clash of metal on metal filled the woods and Naruto grunted in irritation. The bastard was strong. Naruto flexed his fingers and his strings lunged forward. His eyes widened in alarm as the nin evaded his attack with a low chuckle. The blond furrowed his brows in confusion.
The nin had expected his attack. There was something off.
"Who the hell are you?" He rasped impatiently as he blocked a kick and sent back a hard punch.
The nin caught his wrist and pivoted on his foot, throwing him over his shoulder. Naruto twisted in the air and landed on his feet. He raised his swords defensively in front of him and glared vehemently at the enemy nin.
The nin released an airy chuckle and shook his head. Dark curly locks fell over his painted mask.
"It's good to see your skills didn't grow rusty." He spoke with a low tone.
Naruto frowned.
"Kozō."
He stiffened.
There was only one person who addressed him in such a manner. No. It was impossible. He glared ahead in rage. An imposter. How dare he?! The genin moved his hands in a rapid seal and sent a slew of wind bullets towards the nin.
He wanted to eviscerate him. Tear him apart in a million pieces for acting a part that meant the world to him. He was going to mince him and pull out his innards while he screamed in agony.
"I will kill you." He hissed vehemently.
"Oho? That's a new one!" The nin chuckled and jumped backwards, evading the air bullets.
Naruto gritted his teeth and moved through a fast one-handed seal. He spread his palms open and aimed - String Net - and his nets flew forward to catch its prey. The nin laughed and substituted his body with a fallen log.
"I forgot how annoying your attacks are." The nin spoke from behind him.
Naruto whirled around and blocked a blade to his throat.
"Tsk tsk, there's an artery here kozō."
Naruto grunted and flexed his fingers. The nin laughed and moved backwards. He moved his hands through a familiar seal and the blond's eyes widened at the impossibility of his situation. It couldn't be. The nin ripped off his kitsune mask in a quick fluid motion and he took a large inhale of air.
Naruto felt his entire world stop.
The nin grinned a wide Cheshire grin that was achingly familiar and he launched flames from his lips.
Naruto's eyes widened in horror as the massive wall of flames surged forward. It was immense in size. He had never seen anything like it. It was incredibly destructive.
Naruto willed his body to move and he threw himself to the ground shakily as the flames flew over him. The heat lingered and it filled the air with the stench of ashes. The genin lifted his head and stared in disbelief at the desecrated grounds.
It was entirely charred.
The nin was smirking a familiar infuriating smirk and he sunk his sword into the blackened ground. Naruto gazed towards the blade and he eyed the white bandages wrapped on the handle with a thudding heart.
The impossible was beginning to seem possible. He flexed his strings hurriedly and he tore off the coverings. The bandages fell into the ashes and Naruto's breath hitched in alarm. Intricate artful red swirls adorned the black steel in traditional Uchiha patterns.
Uchiha.
Naruto's mind spun at the implications and he stood up shakily. His heart pounded loudly in his chest and he gazed ahead, taking in the familiar regal features of his best friend and mentor.
Dark curly locks that were longer in length adorned a familiar pale face. The nin had a dark eyepatch over his right eye and he looked older - more hardened - His sole crimson eye regarded him with warmth and sadness.
Six whole years.
Naruto felt his swords slip from his weakened grasp and the blades clattered loudly to the ground. He raised his shaking hands into a seal, expelling the genjutsu.
"Kai," he whispered brokenly.
This couldn't be real.
He desperately wanted it to be real.
He needed it to be real.
Naruto felt his eyes grow moist in tentative hope and fear ensnared his heart as he stared ahead. He was terrified the image would dispel before his eyes. He couldn't bare it. Not a second time.
Please be real.
"Kai." He croaked weakly as he fought back the onslaught of tears.
He was tired.
He couldn't handle another devastating heartbreak.
Please be real.
Naruto lowered his hands shakily and the tears slipped past his cheeks freely. He was alive. The illusion did not dissipate. Uchiha Shisui smiled a small tentative smile and he stepped forward.
"It's been a while, kozō."
Naruto stared ahead mutely. Six whole years. Six fucking years. He was going to kill him. Naruto felt the anger and hope build inside him, creating a disequilibrium of stormy emotions. His heart ached and yearned. His stomach churned and twisted. His throat ached and clogged up.
He was alive.
Uchiha Shisui was alive.
Naruto wanted to break something. He wanted to break the bastard's face but he also wanted to run towards him and ensure he wasn't a manifestation of his tired, discombobulated mind. Naruto curled his fists angrily and he lunged forward with a cry of rage.
"You fucker!" He screamed as his fist met his best friend's face, sending him catapulting into a tree.
Shisui slammed into the tree painfully and he leaned forward with a groan. He placed a scarred hand over his aching jaw and winced.
"I deserved that."
Naruto snarled and grabbed the older nin by the collar roughly. He wanted to throttle the bastard. The tears slipped on his tan cheeks rapidly and he shook his friend angrily as he tried to formulate the words.
There were no words. His mind was an utter mess. Shisui reached forward slowly and rested his scarred hands on his smaller fists. Naruto blinked slowly at the pale large hands.
They were warm.
The blond's breath hitched in alarm and he tightened his hold on his friend's collar desperately, not wanting to let him go. Uchiha Shisui was back. The blood pumped through his veins. His chest rose and fell in steady breaths. His skin was warm. His body was not cold and dead.
His dark eye was lit with emotion; a stormy black that bespoke of a long period of waiting. His gaze was not dead and unseeing. He was alive and whole. Naruto released a broken sound of distress and confusion.
Shisui gazed up at him with a sense of understanding.
"Hey kozō," he said with a wan smile. "Won't you listen to my story?"
Naruto listened.
The dark haired nin rested his back against the charred tree tiredly. The sun had set in the horizon and his throat was hoarse.
Uchiha Shisui gazed around him at the desecrated battlefield and he shook his head sadly, pulling himself away from the painful memories forcefully. His dark curly locks fell over his pale face and he lowered his gaze despairingly.
"The village had forsaken us kozō," Shisui spoke lowly.
His voice was a small hushed whisper in the empty landscape. The pale Uchiha prodigy stared down at his callused hands and his gaze darkened in rage and hatred.
He lifted his dark gaze and peered at the genin who gazed back at him steadily.
"We fought in the war." He continued tiredly. "We lost so many loved ones, we were in the front lines. We were one of the founders and yet..." He gritted his teeth and he clenched his fists angrily.
"They turned on us. They faulted us, laid the blame on us and then..." He swallowed past the lump lodged in his throat. He took a deep centring breath and gazed ahead angrily.
"They killed us all."
The silence descended on the clearing.
Shisui gazed down at his hands. His skin was littered in numerous scars. Small slashes from his training sessions, spars and battles. The scars signified the blood and tears he spent on the village.
Shisui pressed a shaky hand to his forehead where his hitae-ate had resided many years ago. It was gone. Buried in the depths of the rushing waters - gone - like everything else he cherished.
Gone, like Itachi. Gone, like his clan. Gone, like his home.
"Konoha..." The blond rasped with narrowed eyes. "How do you perceive it? Is your allegiance to it?" The genin slowly. "Do you view it as your home?
Shisui sneered at the word. Home. He had been so blind. He had tried desperately to preserve the peace but there was no peace in a world ruled by shinobi. Peace was an illusion in the Elemental Nations. Shisui shook his head and glared ahead hatefully.
"No." He hissed darkly. "Konoha is merely structures, buildings, alleyways. It's an empty carcass. A home is not a place but it's the people."
Shisui stood up and he stretched out a hand to the blond genin. His eyes were determined and honest. No lies. No half-truths. No barriers. Everything was bare for his friend to see.
"A home is its people and my people are gone."
His hand hovered between them and the blond gazed at it silently. His expression was closed off. There was tension in his small form and a tightness to his jaw. Shisui smiled a weak, tired smile.
"My people are gone and you're the only one I have left. I'm with you, Uzumaki Naruto."
The wind blew harshly through the charred woods at his declaration and Shisui heard the distant crashing of the stormy waves. He waited and waited and waited.
His trust was well-placed and he knew where he stood. His heart was solidified. His resolve was immovable. Nothing would change his mind. No one would change his mind.
There was no going back.
Shisui released a wet chuckle as the blond clasped his hand tightly in a firm, unrelenting grip. Sharp cerulean met hardened onyx. The genin repeated his words solemnly and renewed their promise.
"I'm with you, Shisui."
The landscape shifted from flat planes to mountainous hills and ragged cliffs. Two forms made their trek through the early hours of dawn. Naruto moved down the steep hill eagerly. His strings stabilized him and his friend as he leaped from boulder to boulder.
They reached the sandy grounds, peering ahead at the crashing waves in silence. The sight was magnificent. Blue skies met massive blue waves that stretched on for miles and miles. Birds flew ahead and the sun peeked through the horizon, signifying the start of a new journey.
The blond closed his eyes, listening to the peaceful sounds of nature and he felt a sense of serenity overtake him. There was a gentle pull - a call to come home - a warm and sad greeting in the air.
The land recognized her heir.
Naruto opened his eyes slowly and he took a deep inhale of the sharp, salty air. He gazed at the waves reflectively and his heart settled after years and years of rage and silenced grief.
The land calmed him down and it welcomed him. He felt a warmth settle in his bones and his heart soared. Naruto stretched a steady hand forward and he turned to his friend with a rare small smile.
"There, past the waters, is Uzushio."
Shisui stepped forward and he stood next to him. His body emanated heat and warmth. For the first time in a long time, Naruto did not feel alone. Shisui smiled and he gazed ahead with an anticipatory gleam.
Naruto felt the chakra beast stir inside him, curious and eager. The blond felt his smile stretch and he pressed a hand to his seal with a promise.
Uzushio was calling him forth and he would answer her call.
He was home.