The Forgotten Past

Disclaimer: Still don’t own Naruto.

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. And here’s the next chapter. It’s the first part of the one you all have been waiting patiently for.


Chapter Five


Saturday morning found me inside my class finishing up the preparations for the trip, when my boss walked in followed by five other people. I immediately recognized the others with him. There were Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, Kakashi and Iruka; I walked over to where they were waiting.

“You ready for this?” I asked them.

“Yes, my youthful comrade. This should be a very enlightening experience for our young charges.” Gai replied flashing a bright grin.

I inwardly laughed, that was so like him. I wonder if “bushy brows” still takes after him. I’m surprised he hasn’t talked much during class. Well, that’ll probably change during this trip.

“That’s good to hear. Have you ever seen a ghost?”

“Not personally, no.”

“Well this will be an interesting experience for you.” Just then I heard the voices of my students coming down the hall.

“Looks like everyone is here, I’m going to go grab the lunches, and then we’ll head out.” I said as I left the room. Five minutes later, I was back in the class room, “Alright, our ride is in front to the school. It’ll be about a two hour drive to the forest, and then we’ll have to walk the rest of the way from there.”

“Why do we have to walk?” Sakura asked annoyed.

“Because the roads are not drivable, the forest is too thick.”

“Besides, it’s not like many people want to visit a haunted village.” Shikamaru pointed out.

“Well, let’s get going,” I said leading the way out of the classroom. We boarded the bus and soon we were on our way.

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Two hours later, we arrived at the forest. We all left the bus and gathered outside it. I stood in the center of our group. “Now we walk from here,” I said, leading the way. Another two hours found us arriving at the end of the forest. As soon as I stepped into the clearing the memories assaulted me. I cried out and collapsed on my knees, the memories taking me back to that fateful day.

(Flashback)

I ran through the forest hoping I wasn’t too late. Why did I even leave? I should have known he’d go after my friends. Anyone who knew me knew that I’d protect them first.

I burst through the forest, and then came to a complete stop. I fell to my knees, an inhuman sound escaping my throat. It was gone; the whole village was completely gone. I shakily got to my feet and again started forward. I passed by the bodies of the fallen ninja, my eyes seeking for those heartfelt familiar faces. I stopped dead in my tracks, and then I just stared.

“No, this can’t be happening,” I whispered in a broken voice. I walked closer to the still body of my best friend. I collapsed at his side, my hands shaking as I turned his still body over. I was instantly covered in blood. It poured out of the gaping wound in his stomach, coating the grass in a blanket of red. “Sasuke…” I whispered. Another fallen figure caught my attention next, her blue eyes staring at me lifelessly. “Ino…” I gently gathered her body in my arms and cried. I just broke down, my friends…

I gathered my strength and continued on my way. I had to know if anyone could have survived. I passed through the ruins of what was the entrance of the village. I passed the shattered check point and made my way through the ruins of what was then my home. I walked though the ruins passing by collapsed buildings and vendors, passing by bodies of ninja and civilian alike. I unconsciously made my way toward the Hokage Tower, seeking one comforting presence. She had to be alive, I don’t know what I’d do if she wasn’t. I passed by familiar sites, and paused when I reached the academy entrance. I reluctantly made my way into the crumbling building, walking the familiar halls, searching for someone. I found him in my old classroom. “Iruka-sensei…” he had died protecting the students. His bloody body was covering another’s protectively. I searched the room; I spotted couple of familiar forms. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon were there helping to protect the younger students. I spotted Choji’s familiar form as well. I left the academy and continued on my way toward the tower.

I stopped at the entrance, and stared at the tall structure in disbelief. There was hardly anything left, the building was barely standing. But I had to know, so I continued toward the structure. The entrance was completely inaccessible, so I jumped to the window at the entrance to baa-chan’s office. I avoided the broken glass as I climbed inside; I immediately spotted the blonde crumpled figure of the Godamie Hokage. I rushed over to her side. “Baa-chan…” I whispered gathering her fallen body into my arms. I dropped my head onto her chest and cried and cried. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling, “How could this have happened? How did he have that much power?” I whispered into the air. My questions went unanswered. As I sat there cradling her broken body, I saw a sight that just broke me. Whatever composure I had left fled, and a strangled cry left my throat as I gently laid Tsunade’s body down and crawled over to his side. “Shika…” I whispered, collapsing onto his crumpled form. “No, no, no…” I moaned in despair. I lay there, for how long I don’t know, but I just couldn’t bring myself to move, to leave him. “Koi…how did this happen?” but my love gave me no answer.


(End flashback)

I became aware of a hand on my shoulder. I also became aware of the tears coursing down my face. I slowly came out of my memories, and back to the present. I recognized the hand on my shoulder. It was Iruka. His concerned voice reached my ears, “…Naruto? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

I lifted my tear-stained face to find concerned brown eyes searching my sad blue ones. “Y-yeah…I-I’ll be okay…” I managed to get out. I shakily got to my feet and saw everyone had gathered around us.

“What happened, sensei?” Hinata asked concerned.

“A very bad memory.” I answered more in control of my emotions. I looked around and saw the crumpled pillars in the distance. I turned my gaze to the people surrounding me. “Konoha is on the other side of those pillars there,” I said pointing straight ahead.

“You sure you’re okay?” Shikamaru asked walking close to my side as we started moving. I looked into those concerned black eyes and nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. This place has a lot of memories for me, and not all of them are good.” I answered, easily keeping place with him.

Shikamaru was about to ask another question, but a delighted squeal interrupted him. “Naruto-kun, you finally came back.”

Everyone just stared in complete shock as a younger version of Ino ran up to me. I caught the flying figure with a laugh. “I promised didn’t I?”

“Yep, and you never go back on your promises do you?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“So is there a special reason for this unexpected visit?”

“Actually there is, I’m here with my class.”

“Oh, that’s right! You told me about being a teacher the last time you were here. What was is it that you taught? I think you said history, paranormal…something like that.”

“It’s called paranormal studies.” I said as we continued on our way, ignoring the incredulous looks we were receiving. This happened every time I came here so I’m used to it.

As we passed by Sakura and our Ino, I heard Sakura whisper, “Hey Ino, that looks just like you. How is that?”

“Don’t know, ya think she’s a ghost?” Ino said, staring at her younger self.

“She looks pretty real to me.” Sakura replied. She and Ino looked at each other, and then decided to follow me. The rest of our group came to the same conclusion.

We continued our walk toward the village, with ghost Ino chatting up a storm. She was filling me in on what has been going on since my last visit.

We stopped when we reached the gates, or what used to be a gate. “So, are you going to see everyone else while you’re here?”

“I’ll try; I only have a day here, though.”

“Why such a short time? You have somewhere else to go?”

“They want to see the Village Hidden in the Shadows, before we head back.”

“That creepy place, are you serious? Do they know what happened there?” Ino sounded horrified. “I’m still trying to get used to that fact that you aren’t dead. I mean you died in Shika’s arms.”

“What do you mean he died?” Sakura interrupted. “How can that be?”

Ghost Ino turned to face everyone else, and then she explained, “Tsunade sent us on a mission to a village. It was supposed to be a simple recon mission, but something horrible happened. Naruto got attacked. We thought he died. I mean Shika found him and his heart stopped. But three years after the attack, he shows up in the village, completely fine, but he didn’t remember the attack.”

“Where did he go?”

“We don’t know, he never remembered.” Ino turned back to me, “any memory now?”

“The only thing I remember is going down the stairs after Neji dared me too. I had just reached the bottom of the stairs and found another body. Kyuubi snarled a warning and I spun around. There behind me was a creature; I can’t really remember what it looked like though. Anyways, I jumped out of the way and into the grasp of another one. I remember a sharp pain in my neck, and then everything went black. And that’s it.”

“Still no closer to knowing what happened to you back then. Hmmm…I wonder if we’ll ever find out what really happened.” Ghost Ino said deep in thought.

We arrived at the crumbled gates of Konoha. I heard more than on shocked gasp as we entered the village’s ruins. I looked back at the others and saw thoughtfulness on the faces of Shikamaru and Neji. Something had their interest peaked.

I grinned and asked, “What’s got your attention?”

“This place feels familiar. It’s like I’ve been here before.” Shikamaru answered, with Neji nodding in agreement.
They didn’t know how right they were. I just shook my head and continued walking. Just as we passed the entrance check point, I was yet again tackled by a familiar figure.

I yelled in shock as we both fell to the ground. I looked into the smiling brown eyes of Konohamaru. I laughed and looked over his shoulder to see Udon and Moegi standing there as well.

“Naruto-sama, you came back!” Konohamaru yelled. “I missed you; don’t stay away so long next time, okay?”

“I’ll try not, too.” I laughed again as he finally let me get back to my feet. Shikamaru was there with an outstretched hand. I grabbed his hand as he hauled me to my feet. I smiled thanks and turned to the three chunin eagerly waiting my attention.

“Have you all been behaving while I was gone?”

“Hai,” a chorus of answers came back.

I laughed; this was a much welcome sight. It was so good to see them like this. I turned to my class and fellow teachers. I waved to the trio and introduced them. “This is Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi. I’ve known them since they were genin.” The last part just came out naturally. I got a few confused looks, but no one asked any questions, which surprised me. I sneaked a look towards Shikamaru and Neji again, trying to judge their expression. They had the same thoughtful look on as before.

“So, is there any place in particular you want to go or to see?” I asked the gathered group. They all shook their heads. I turned back toward the trio of ninjas. “You have a special place you want to take them?”

Ghost Ino was the one who answered my question. “Why don’t you show them the training grounds?” she asked with a mischievous grin.

I noticed the grin and smiled back. I knew exactly what she was up to. The training grounds were, where we will most likely find either Sasuke or Lee or both. And they were probably going to challenge me to a spar. I could hardly wait.

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A/N: that’s a good place to end this chapter. Tell me what you think. Read and review people. Ja Ne.