He wasn't quite prepared for the feeling of being sucked through a straw.
Nor was he really prepared to be a ghost observing this potential timeline.
The Sandaime nodded as the two he'd summoned entered the room and closed the door behind them. "I have something I need to request of you."
"What is that child doing here?" asked the mother.
"'That' is what I wanted to speak to you about," said the Third Hokage.
Inoichi Yamanaka considered the child, then considered his blonde wife. "I see. You want us to adopt the child."
"WHAT?!" asked Suiko Yamanaka.
"If seen as a distant relative adopted into your clan, you would be able to protect the child," said the Hokage.
"But he's-" Suiko said, her voice trailing off. As a civilian who worked in her family's flower shop, she didn't have to toe the line a shinobi would, but the Hokage DID have some authority over her.
"He's the child of the Fourth Hokage, though nobody can be allowed to know that," said the Third.
"More secrets," said Inoichi, making a face.
"Well, we ARE ninja," chuckled the Third.
"I'm not," reminded Suiko, eyeing the child with a bit less hostility though.
"There will be a stipend, not much I'm afraid, paid to your family for the duty," said the Third. "Though there are other reasons for requesting this of your family."
"The Yamanaka techniques," said Inoichi, glancing at the child. "Because of our hijutsu and our bloodline, we can monitor him in case the demon within him ever shows signs of gaining dominance or influencing him."
The Third nodded. "Which may quell some of the more hostile voices a bit. I understand you can't pass on any secret clan techniques, but his survival will be much more likely with a clan's backing."
"How can I fast-forward this thing?" asked ghostly Naruto.
Images sped up, becoming a stream that Naruto could only register the occasional snapshot from.
"Wait. What was that. Go back a little. There. What's going on there?"
Age six:
"Will he make it?" asked the clan elder.
"Yes, though he's a bit shaky at the moment," said Inoichi.
"Damn stupid thing to do," said another elder.
"Not stupid, arrogant, though admittedly sometimes there's not a lot of difference," said the first elder.
"Can one of you explain it to me?" asked Suiko Yamanaka. "Keeping in mind that I'm not a ninja and am not technically inclined?"
"Fuu attempted to deep-probe Naruto, go in as far and deep as he could," said Suiko's husband. "From what I saw, he attempted to shift memories. Why, I don't know. I myself just used a light probe to determine what had happened."
"Yes, I know, you have a very delicate touch when you want," said his wife drily.
Both of the clan elders flushed and found something to look at in the carvings on the walls.
"He ended up in the cage with the Kyubi," said Inoichi. "However, the Kyubi didn't simply devour his spirit as you'd expect."
"I wouldn't have expected the destructive fox spirit to somehow convince Fuu that he's actually a girl named Fuuko born in a male body," said one of the elders. "While we've determined that the Kyubi is not influencing Naruto, apparently the other way around IS something that is occurring."
"This is so troublesome," said Inoichi.
"You've been hanging around with Nara too much," said Suiko.
"Oh," said Naruto. "Huh. I remember that guy from somewhere. He just didn't wear pink yukata then. He gets better, doesn't he?"
More or less, came the distant reply from a crossripping cat.
"So do I at least learn superspecial kickass jutsu?" asked Naruto.
The Yamanaka clan specializes in telepathy, or jutsu that imitate that sort of thing. Their side-specialty is actually Water Affinity techniques. Which you are not normally good at.
"Yeah, my primary is Wind," said Naruto.
Yeah. Typical shonen protaganist there. Not that I couldn't change it if it would be amusing. That also relates to Ninku with your orange clothes I suppose.
"Huh?"
Never mind. Because their knowledge is focussed on other areas, they have to go a bit further afield for help in teaching you.
"Oh?" asked Naruto, checking.
Besides, there's the bit about how that experience 'somehow' unlocked your uncontrolled ability to see glimpses of potential futures. Which is how your knowledge of the future is going to be explained when you are re-inserted into the timeline.
"Well, what about this?" asked Naruto.
"I need to do this," said Naruto, continuing to do push-ups.
"Just because you're behind Sasuke-kun?" asked Ino. "He's SASUKE. There's no way you can catch up with him."
"You're right, one day I'll surpass him," declared Naruto.
BONK!
Naruto pulled himself back up, his push-ups abandoned so he could rub his head. "Hey! He's my rival. Gotta have a rival you know."
"No, you don't and you're just annoying Sasuke-kun," said Ino, preparing to hit him again.
"Besides," said Naruto, his voice dropping to a whisper. "She's here."
Ino frowned and dropped into a squat so she could whisper back. "Who?"
"Her," said Naruto, his face completely serious.
A flicker of movement caught Ino's eye then, someone who had edged out from behind a tree and then just as quickly ducked back.
Ino frowned, getting that there was a 'her' involved but not any other details of it, when an idea occurred. "Something you've 'Seen'?"
Naruto nodded.
"Hmph!" said Ino, getting louder as she straightened up. "Well, you better clean up before you come home! And do something about your hands, those knuckle-push-ups leave your hands all messy."
"Right," said Naruto, his own voice back to a more normal volume. "I refuse to lose to Sasuke-teme!"
BONK!
"Stop that, sis!"
Weeks later:
Ino Yamanaka had kept an eye out, and had seen the girl in her class, followed that girl's gaze, and had the little detail click.
She spent an inordinate amount of time staring at Naruto - check.
As soon as Naruto noticed and looked back, she'd look away and blush - big check!
Seemed a bit shy and withdrawn around everyone, but around Naruto would have a freaking meltdown - oh yeah.
Was known to get a faraway look on her face, sigh, and go off to la-la land while Naruto was exercising - BIG check.
And so cornering her little brother (being a whole three centimeters shorter) as they left school she pounced, ready for use of such teasing material.
"Don't," said Naruto simply.
"What do you mean, don't?" asked Ino.
"Don't tease her, she has... some problems at home," said Naruto.
"What did you See?" Ino asked, using a particular emphasis on the last word.
"I saw her die, sometimes by her own hand, sometimes at the hand of her cousin, sometimes even at her father's hand," answered Naruto. "Pain. Death. Suffering."
"What?!" asked Ino, thoughts of good-natured teasing with the girl fading. Whenever his visions hit, it tended to beat Naruto's usual upbeat mood down pretty badly.
"On the other hand, if I can become her friend," said Naruto, "I saw a different future."
"Better than that?" asked Ino.
Naruto looked at his sister for a few moments, obviously considering how to put it. "Sometimes she gets a seal on her."
"Which is why you've been studying all this stuff on seals and medical jutsu?" asked Ino.
"Not that we've got a whole lot," acknowledged Naruto, with a nod. "Yeah. Some of the futures I've glimpsed are... kinda happier."
"Oh?" asked Ino, remembering more about his visions. "It's the same problem as the rest of the time. You can't See how to get from here to there. What's the happier?"
Naruto blushed and looked away. "Uhm. Kinda."
Ino got the finely honed sister's instinct that a subject for prime teasing was coming available. This got her curiosity going all the more. Then she put her observations from earlier together with Naruto doing something similar. "HER?"
Naruto nodded, still not looking at his sister.
"You two..." sort-of-asked Ino.
"I saw her as... my bride," said Naruto, sounding a little disbelieving himself. "She was a strong kunoichi then, with long hair in a hime cut. She was - happy."
Ino whistled. "So, how do YOU feel about it?"
"I'm kinda mixed up about it all," confessed Naruto. "She's cute and all, but it's like..."
"Do you like her?" asked Ino.
"I don't even know her," said Naruto. "She won't talk to me. She gets quieter when I'm around."
"Hmmm," said Ino, thinking that meddling in her brother's love life was a REQUIREMENT for a concerned kunoichi sister. "I've got a plan."
"I can't See it, but I've got a bad feeling about it," said Naruto.
Naruto-ghost watched as his younger self continued to exercise in the park, seemingly unaware of his visitor.
He also watched as Hinata suddenly straightened and marched purposefully up to his younger self.
Then the scene froze and a panel lit up with four choices. "Huh? What's this?"
Choose one. Each choice you makes determines what happens later on.
"Okayyyy," drawled out Naruto as he considered it. "I haven't played a whole lot of games like this. What if I want to do something else?"
That's why there's a choice marked 'something else' isn't there? said the voice of the elder deity offscreen. If you don't choose in thirty seconds, I choose for you.
Hurriedly, Naruto looked over the choices and selected one.
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(Posted Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:21)
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