Never Forgotten

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The nighttime breeze rustled the late spring leaves in the trees and carried with it the various smells of the large village tucked away at the base of the large cliff. Slowly a figure stepped out of the shadows of the trees and walked into the full moonlight, his nine tails shifting ever so slightly behind him. Other than the tails, fox like ears and his slitted red and blue eyes he looked almost completely like a normal human, though a few of his actions suggested otherwise. The tailed blond set his hands to the sides of his head as he tried to remember what had drawn him to this place with the word Hermitage written upon it's massive gates. A low longing moan left his throat and rung throughout the cool night air, he wanted so badly to remember the dreams that had drawn him here. Only one worn came to mind as he looked down on the village of Konaha.::

“Home.” He whispered in an awkward voice, his ears twitching slightly as he heard the tiniest noise in the distance before darting into the bushes without a trace as two masked men approached where he had been.

“I'm telling you, it came from here.” One of them said, examining the ground carefully looking for any clue. “Hey, does this look like a footprint to you?”

“Kind of looks like somebody was standing on their toes here- are those claw marks?” His partner asked, lightly touching the impression in the soft dirt. “It's not too old, let's make a note of it and report it at the end of our shift.”

~*~*~

Sakura curled up underneath the small black memorial stone like she had done for the past few weeks since she had returned, like she had since she had witnessed one of her closest friends die in such a horrible manner. Her eyes hurt and her cheeks were red and puffy from crying, she could still see his face so clearly in her mind's eye- the pain and terror etched into every detail as he struggled to maintain control as his seal finally broke and the beast inside him was freed. His last words stilled echoed in her ears as his skin was forcibly shredded from his muscles and blood mixed in with the cloak of chakra that engulfed him.::

“Sakura-chan, run.” She whispered with her memory before she broke down crying again, she had listened to him and she had run as fast as she could away from him- she had run from her closest friend without question or hesitation, and he was dead because of it.

They had never managed to find his body among the bloody battlefield where he had last been seen, part of her wondered how hard the shinobi had tried Naruto was after all just a monster in the eyes of most of the villagers. She barely registered it as a pair of warm hands and powerful arms lifted her from beneath the carved stone, her own hands brushing against his name one last time before she looked to see who had her. She tried to dry her tears as she looked up at her old silver-haired instructor, burying her head in his shoulder so he couldn't see when she failed.::

“Why?” She pleaded with a muffled voice. “Why did he have to die like that Kakashi-sensei?”

“Ninja's die on the battlefield all the time Sakura, it's part of our life.” He answered softly. “Naruto knew what could happen from the beginning, he chose this, we all did.”

“No, he wasn't supposed to die like that!” She screamed, shoving the Jonin away and landing on her own to feet with a murderous look in her eye as she pointed to the Hokage monument. “He was supposed to have his face up there, he wasn't supposed to die like that, I should have stayed, I could have helped him- I could have...” Her words came out in choked sobs as her teacher pulled her into a hug. “Why him, why did that monster have to be put in him? It wasn't fair.”

“I know, just let it out.” Kakashi said, stroking her hair gently as she cried into his flack jacket.

“I miss him.” Sakura said when the tears finally stopped coming. “I keep coming here hoping to see him, but he's never here.”

“I know.” He nodded, thinking of his own friend who had died so long before as he closed his eyes. “Let's go get something to eat.”

Something about her was familiar but the young man hidden in the trees couldn't place exactly what, his tails twitched slightly in aggravation as he tried to connect the pieces of his of his shattered memories.

“Sakura-chan?” He asked quietly, repeating the name she had said while she was alone- holding his head as another memory forced its way to the surface before speaking in a low growl once more. “Red eyes.”

*~*~*

The young man was no more than a blonde and red blur as the pre-dawn light began to peak over the landscape, before anyone even noticed his fluffy tailed backside he had already swiped a some clothes that had been left on the line to dry overnight. For two days he had been observing the people of Konaha from a distance, trying to piece together what roll the strange place played in his life- trying to figure out why he had the urge to both raze it to the ground and protect it all at once. Following a strange instinct he concentrated on what he would look like without his furry tails and foxy ears and to his surprise when he opened his eyes both were gone, curiously pawing at the air where they had been briefly before feeling his ears to find them replaced by pale flaps of flesh and cartilage.::
Awkwardly he put on the stolen clothes before standing up to take a step forward, only to fall face first onto the roof as he overbalanced- expecting to have his tails to balance him out. He blew a out a puff of air before standing up again and this time imitating the way he had seen the people of the village walk, concentrating on putting down his heel than his toes as he got used to the lack of tails. He giggled slightly at the strange way of walking as he gradually became more and more adept at it, eventually feeling confident enough to follow one of his odder urges. His hands connected with the roof tiles as he shifted his weight to them to perform a simple cartwheel, just in time to catch the sunlight directly in his eyes, with an awkward yelp he shielded his acute eyes from the stinging rays with an arm only to find himself overbalanced and falling over once again.::

“Hey, what are you doing up here?” A mature voice demand, catching the confused blonde's attention and drawing it over to a white eyed man in loose fitting robes- the man's breath caught in his throat and his pale eyes went wide as the fox boy turned so he could get a clear view of his face. “N-Naruto?”

“Na-ru-to?” He repeated the syllables curiously before giving a shrug and bolting across the roof on all fours like an animal, leaving tiny scratches in the ceramic tiling.

“Naruto! Wait!” The long haired man shouted, running after him with an arm extended before staring slack jawed as the blonde made an incredible leap from the roof out and into the city.

“Neji, what are you shouting about?” The gruff voice of one of the Hyuuga elders demanded from down on the ground. “Are you trying to wake the entire clan?”

“No, it's just- I, er, never mind.” The Jonin sighed, jumping to the ground. “I apologize Elder, please forgive me.”

“Yes yes, move along, and try not to make so much noise so early in the morning.” The wrinkled man sighed, waving the branch member away with a withered hand.

The white clad blonde dug clawed fingers and toes into a wall some distance from where he had lept, leaving several long gouges in the previously smooth surface as he came to a stop. With a light thump he landed on a small but solid canopy a few feet below him before taking a seat. One leg drooped over the jutting cover as he sat thinking about what the white eyed man called him, why did he look so familiar?::

“Naruto?” He asked the wall across from his, speaking again a few minutes later with a nod. “Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?” A woman shouted from the window below him just before he he felt a broomstick connect with his heel. “Shoo, go on now, get!”

Before the wicked shaft could connect again he jumped at the wall across from him and tried to scale it with his claws, only to find himself slipping back into range of the crazed woman and her infernal broom. Another memory came to him as he clawed at the wall, trying in vain to regain his quickly slipping height and he suddenly found himself standing in a forest. He looked on curiously as he saw the pink haired girl from the monument, as well as the sliver haired scarecrow, some dark haired boy and, much to his curiosity, himself. He listened carefully as the girl explained to him the secret to climbing trees with only his feet, it seemed a bit odd, but he watched curiously as his younger self did in fact start to climb higher and higher up the trunk of a tree with only his feet. When his eyes opened again he recalled what he had been told and quickly pulled chakra to his feet and hands as he continued to fall, he looked down at the ground below when he felt his entire body stop moving before scrambling up the wall, hearing something about a damned ninja as he went past the woman's window for a third time, coming to a stop only when he finally reached the roof, his lips splitting apart in a self-satisfied grin.::
His bi-color eyes looked curiously around the dirt streets as people started to filter out of their homes to go about their daily business. They all looked so strange as they moved around below him, sometimes only one or two at a time, sometimes more as they day went on. Naruto sat quietly on the roof as he watched it all unfold as the day slipped by, he didn't exactly know why but for some reason their actions amused him as he sat so far above the people, it was kind of like watching ants at work on a lazy summer day. The barking of a large dog snapped his attention from his inner musings as a blur of snapping jaws and shaggy white fur barrled toward him like a living rocket.::

The lithe blonde managed to jump over the top of the massive dog as a man with two red fangs painted on his cheeks came running in behind, shouting at the animal. “No, bad dog Akamaru! Leave him alone!” He shouted as the young man landed on all fours and crouched low, grabbing onto the canines thick neck to hold him back before he could do anything else. “I'm really sorry about this sir, I don't know what's come over him- we were just going for a walk and he just came charging...”

“Keep him away from me.” The blonde said in a low tone, backing away on his hand and feet as he growled at Akamaru defensively.

“You shouldn't move like...” The brunette started to speak, cutting off as he got a good look at the other man's face. “Naruto?” He asked, unthinkingly releasing one arm from his dog to rub his eyes- the chase was one before he even finished blinking.

Akamaru barked wildly as he chased the blonde teenager down the streets, who would occasionally look over his shoulder and let out a defensive growl. Without thinking about what he was doing his hands formed a few seals as he approached a crossroad and suddenly there were eleven more copies of him. The growling dog stopped short as the crowd of blondes split up, four taking each path- leaving the very confused pooch trying to sort out the scent of the real one. The real Naruto came to a stop some distance later, panting for breath as he hid behind the corner of a building, his clones having long since been released. His nostrils flared slightly as he caught a familiar scent and slowly he moved away from the wall, sniffing occasionally as he followed the faint smell to a raggedy old apartment building and up the stairs. He stopped as he came to an old door and sniffed again, beyond the wooden barrier the scent he followed mixed with one even more familiar. His own. Slowly he reached for the doorknob, trying to think of why his own scent would be inside. His heart raced as his flesh closed around the handle before it swung open from his inside, his heart nearly stopped in his chest as he found himself staring at another person wearing a similarly shocked look across their face.

=~=

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AN: Yep, leaving it on a cliff hanger like the sadistic bastard I am, I dunno- I think it's kind of interesting, tell me what you think. Flames are very welcome, I'll use them to keep warm- or possibly to keep the pipes from freezing. Stupid cold weather. For anyone wondering why I spell 'blond' with an 'e', I just do, I've done it that way for years- it's a perfectly acceptable spelling, look it up if you don't believe me. Later. WS.