The Forgotten Past

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

A/N: and here’s the next chapter. Thanks to all of those who are taking the time to read and review my stories. Enjoy the next chapter.

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Chapter Four

A loud noise broke through the silence of my apartment. I groaned and slammed a hand on the snooze button of my alarm clock. Man, I really did not want to go to work today, not after last night. I was finally able to go back to sleep after a couple cups of tea. The thought of HIM being this close still had me nervous.

I rolled over on my back and threw an arm over my eyes. I sighed, no use hiding in my apartment. I had a class to teach. I threw off the covers, and made my way to the closet. I grabbed the first outfit I saw and changed. Next I headed toward the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. I opened the fridge a grabbed some breakfast ingredients. After a breakfast consisting of an omelet and a couple cups of coffee I was ready for work. Grabbing my travel mug and filling it up, I headed for my car.


Fifteen minutes later I was heading toward my first class. The permission slips were sitting on my desk when I arrived. I flipped open one of my old college notebooks and searched for a discussion topic. They wanted to know about the haunted places in Japan, and then I would tell them. Five minutes later the first bell rang, and the students started pouring in. About five minutes after that, the second bell rang, signaling the start of my class.

“Ohayõ,” I greeted them. They replied back. I walked around my desk to lean against the front.

Taking a breath I started my lecture. “Okay, yesterday I mentioned that there were some haunted places here in Japan. Today I thought I would tell you a little more about them. But before I get into that I need to let you know about a little field trip I have planned. I found out that the best way to learn about something is through hands on experience. So I got an idea, You want proof of ghosts and things like that, so I decided to take you to two of those place I mentioned yesterday.”
I reached behind me and grabbed the stack of papers. “This is a permission slip. I need you to fill it out and have your parents or guardians sign it. The trip is Monday morning at seven o’clock a.m.”

I split the pile into four and handed one to each student in the front.

I walked back to my desk and glanced at my notebook. “The first place I’m going to talk about is Konoha. It’s also known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Many Shinobi died in that village. One minute the village was peaceful, the next it’s in ruins. It’s been said that there was a massive attack that killed everyone. But the village was supposed to be safe. Konoha is mainly haunted by those killed. Ninja and civilian alike died there. The spirits are said to be able to possess people. They do know that they are dead, but they seem to associate many living people with those that they knew back then. They act like they are still alive, going on with their lives like normal.

“The second place is The Village Hidden in the Shadows. That village is said to be haunted by spirits who died a very violent death. It is haunted by a past that cannot be explained. Many of the people died at night, leaving the authorities to suspect a night predator. Whether it is an animal or something more deadly they don’t know. The Kage sent word to Konoha to send a team or more of ninjas to investigate the murders. Konoha replied that they were sending four teams, sixteen ninja total; four jonin and twelve genin. Everyone managed to make it back to their own village in one piece, everyone except one ninja. There was only one casualty, a genin.”

I stopped my lecture there. I knew there were going to be questions and I wanted to answer as many of them before class was over. I looked over my class, at the many raised hands. I spotted two familiar hands. I knew they were going to have questions.

“Okay Shikamaru, you first,” I called.

The Nara asked, “What kind of attack could have killed that many people?”

“I don’t really know. They said it must have been a powerful jutsu, at least an S rank jutsu.”

“S Rank jutsu? What’s that?” Ino asked.

“Jutsu’s were classified according to their difficulty. D rank was the most common and easiest to learn. S ranks were almost always forbidden, because most of them resulted in the Nin’s death, that or they drained all of their chakra.”

“Is Konoha really haunted? Have you actually seen a spirit?” ‘Hinata shyly asked.

“As a matter of fact, I have, many of them. I used to go to those ruins a lot in college.”

“College wasn’t the only time you’ve been there, was it?” Neji asked curiously.

“You’re right. I went there many times after college as well.”

“Why?” Shikamaru asked.

“I’m trying to find out what happened, how that village got destroyed.” I paused. “An old friend of mine requested it before she died. That attack was never meant to happen, and she wanted to know why.”

“How would someone know about something that happened a long time ago?” Sasuke asked.

Here was where I paused to consider my answer. After a long pause I answered, “She was the ancestor of the Godamie Hokage of Konoha. She wanted to know what happened to her grandmother’s village.”

“How are you going to find out what happened?” Shikamaru asked.

“I’m hoping some of the spirits saw the attack and remembered.”

“Do you think the attack is what keeps them in this world?”

“I’m pretty sure it is, though I don’t know if they’ll leave even if I find out what happened.”

“How much about the attack do you know?” Sakura asked.

“Hmm… Let’s see…” I picked up my notebook and turned to the correct page.

“You keep notes?” Shikamaru asked surprised.

“Well duh, how else am I supposed to remember everything?” I asked sarcastically.

“Sorry, it’s that you don’t seem like the type of person to do that.”

“Gee, thanks,” I replied rolling my eyes. Even not remembering who I was, he still managed to read me too well. Man, what have I gotten myself into? This trip was going to much harder than I thought. At this rate they might remember everything, and then I’ll have a lot of questions to answer. But then again, I won’t have to hide who I am from them if they do remember.

“Let’s see…what I found out so far is this…The person who cast the jutsu was a high ranking ninja and possibly a criminal. It is said that he attacked the village in hope to draw out a certain person. But that person had already left the village hoping to draw the attackers to him. He wanted to protect the people of the village.

“But the ninja attacked the village instead. When the other ninja got back to the village it was in ruins. And everyone was dead, ninja and civilian alike.”

“Why would the attacker be after only that one ninja? What was he after?” Sasuke questioned.

“The ninja he was after was special. Back then demons were common, you could run into them anytime, but a few of them were special. They were called the tailed demons. There were nine of them total, the one-tailed was the weakest and the nine-tailed was the strongest. The attacker had already managed to capture the rest of them, but the nine-tailed demon kept eluding him. So he decided to go after him himself.”

“This tailed demon was a ninja?”

“Actually she was sealed into a ninja.”

“She?”

“Yeah, the nine-tailed was a female kitsune.”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“Most of it I got from that friend of mine. The rest of it I got from the spirits of Konoha.”

“What was the name of the demon and the ninja she was sealed inside?” Ino asked.
“The demon’s name was Kyuubi.” I paused. “The ninja’s name is Uzumaki Naruto.”
“Hey, isn’t that your name?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru frowned; I could see he was putting the pieces together. “What happened to the demon? You spoke of her in the past tense but spoke of the ninja in the present tense.”

“Kyuubi died, in the war.”

“What war?”

“The demon/human war, it was a war that spread all across Japan. Many humans and demons died that year. After a hundred years of fighting they finally made peace between the two species.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you spoke about the ninja in the present tense.”
I was saved from answering by the arrival of my boss.

“Change of plans Naruto. The trip is going to be tomorrow. You will also have three more teachers going with you as well.” Yamamura said entering the room.

“Who will be going also? And what about the permission slips?”

“The permission slips all already taken care of. I had a meeting with the parents early this morning. And the three other staff members are Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai.”

“Ah…alright, then I’ll finish the notes tonight. It’ll probably take us about two hours to get to the forest then another two hour walk to Konoha from there.”

“Alright then, I’ll let the others know the new schedule. See you later.” With that my boss left the classroom.

“Sounds like you all may be getting out a little early to prepare for tomorrow. So I’ll finish up this conversation tomorrow.”

Five minutes later the bell rang and soon everyone was on their way home.
I headed home as well. I had a lot to prepare for. But first I had a friend to see. So instead of going straight home, I headed for the “Blood Moon Club and Bar”.

Arriving at the club I parked my car and waved hello to the bouncer standing by the door.

“Hey Kisame is Itachi inside?” I asked the dark skinned male guarding the entrance.

“Oh! Hey Naruto! Hai, he’s working at the bar as usual.”

“Well, I’m going in to talk to him for awhile. I have a class trip in the morning, so I’d thought I’d stop by before I left.”

“Good luck, I have a feeling you’re going to need it with all those kids.”
“Yeah, so do I.” after a brief chat with Kisame, I headed inside the Club. Inside I headed straight to the bar. Spotting the dark haired man at the counter, I yelled, “Hey Itachi!”

Itachi looked up from the drink he was fixing, and called back, “Hey, Naruto. What’s up? You want the usual?”

“That’d be fine. How’s the club doing?” I said walking up the bar and taking a seat.

“It’s getting to be pretty popular. Thank you for giving me a chance.”

“You deserved it, it’s the least I could do. Besides, this place is doing a lot better now that you’re running it. I mean look at all the people.” I waved my hand encompassing the large crowd. It was a typical Friday night; the club was packed with young and single people looking for a happening place to relax. The club was a 21+ club, because the drinks served are mostly alcoholic.

“You do have a point. But I still want to say thanks. If it hadn’t been for you Kisame and I would still be in that gang.” Itachi paused, “you got us out of there and gave us a home and a job.”

“Like I said, you deserve it.” I paused, “Now for the reason for my visit. I’m taking my class on a trip. We’re heading for the ruins on the other side of the forest. They want to learn about spirits and haunted places. So I thought I’d take them there for some firsthand experience.”

“You sure that’s a good idea? What about that thing that’s hunting you?”

“I guess I’m going to have to take my chances. I can’t run from him forever. I have to face my past someday, why not where it all started?”

“I guess you’re right. Just be careful.”

“Thanks, my friend. Well, I’d better get home, so I can prepare for the trip. I’ll stop by when I get back.”

“You do that. Better say goodbye to Kisame on your way out.”

“Will do,” with that I finished my drink and headed for the exit. I paused to have another word with Kisame, and then I headed for my car. I drove home and parked my car. After I unlocked the front door and kicked off my shoes, I headed for my office. I grabbed my pack and threw some clothes and my notes into it. Then I headed for the shower.

After a quick shower, I went to my bedroom with one of my notebooks in hand. Flipping through it, I found my last entry. Remembering my dream from last night, I wrote what had happened down. I hoped to not have to live through it on my trip, but I didn’t count on being that lucky. After jotting it down, I got into bed, and fell asleep.

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A/N: and that’s chapter four. I should have chapter five up real soon.
Read and review. Ja Ne.