Author's Note: Hi, this is my first fan fiction.ever really. Most of the
writing I do in my free time is usually more original in origin. I'm sorta
doing this to win a bet. I'm a little rusty right now since I'm a bit out
of practice, but hopefully the quality will pick up a bit as I get further
into the story. I may actually do a bit more fan fiction writing as I've
forgotten how fun it is to just write in my free time. Maybe I'll do an
Inuyasha fic next.
On another note:
// // : Voices in head
Disclaimer: I'm not sure what I'm supposed to put here, or how to make this anymore or less interesting then the thousands of other Disclaimers that get written. I don't own Naruto, its characters, and whatever else that might include. Yada yada yada..
Chapter 1: Retake
Naruto was still sitting at the ramen shop staring into his empty bowl. Iruka sensei had left a while ago, he had missions to do after all. Naruto sat there silently trying to collect his thoughts. The past weeks had been rather rough. Jiraiya was a very... different... teacher. Still, it had been time well spent. He learned a new jutsu, and had helped convince Tsunade to become the fifth Hokage. There were still things that were bothering him. He knew that he was nowhere near the skill of any of the other six ninjas that had been at the battle near Tanzaku castle. There was still a lot he needed to improve on. He knew it, Kakashi sensei knew it, even Iruka sensei knew. but that didn't bother him. What had bothered him the most was when he had confronted the traitor, Kabuto. Kabuto had made the accusation that the only way he had gotten this far was because of the kyuubi. Granted, he hadn't been aware of its presence most of his life but it seemed that every thing in his life was overshadowed by that monster. Most of his life people saw him as just that, the Demon Fox. Itachi had come, not for Sasuke, but for him, or more specifically the fox. Just how many people saw him as only the Fox? He sighed, this reminded him of what he had thought when he met Kohonamaru all over again.
Perhaps they were right. While Naruto didn't like to admit it, he knew that the Kyuubi's chakra was affecting him even if he wasn't actively using it. He healed way too fast to be considered normal. Even injuries such as broken ribs would be gone within days, if not overnight. His hearing was above average, and he often wished it wasn't as he often caught things he didn't care to hear. Was his abnormally large amount of stamina also an attribute to the fox's presence? Too many questions played across his mind, but not enough answers. He knew he was a capable ninja, after all he was a future Hokage. Yet he also didn't want anyone to have doubts about his great ability. Just because his chakra was supposedly rooted in that of a demon's he had other traits that made up for it right? He was surprisingly clever in battle capable of catching even veteran ninjas off guard, he could learn very difficult and complicated jutsus in a fairly short amount of time, he possessed an unmatchable determination, and few could deny that he had come an amazingly long way since he graduated from the academy.
Still, only few people seemed to take notice. It bothered him to no end. He still couldn't keep count of the number of people in this village who gave him those menacing glares when he walked by. Sakura-chan still ogled Sasuke- kun. Sasuke rarely acknowledged him as anything but an idiot. It was frustrating, but he was prepared for this uphill battle. he always had been. It would take time, but it never failed to bring down his mood when he thought about it. With a sigh he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head, thanked the vendor and quickly left the noodles shop.
He stared silently at the sky for a while as he wandered about the village in thought. He had planned to check in on Sasuke, but since he had woken up, there shouldn't be any more problems, and Sakura-chan was probably enjoying their time alone. Perhaps he would go train a bit. However, he had no idea what he would practice. His control of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was almost perfect. He could work on the Rasengan, but Jiraiya had insisted that he work on it only when he was certain nobody else could see him practice. He knew a lot of basic jutsus from reading scrolls, but while he could do them. He couldn't remember the order of the seals without the scrolls. Lost in thought, he wandered through town. He didn't even notice as he walked right by the training area and into the woods beyond. The sun slowly lowered over the horizon, before Naruto stopped and looked around. Seeing the thick groove of trees he was lost in, he frowned.
" Aww, man, I need more room." He groaned as he began looking for a clearing. It took him about an hour to find an area clear enough to practice the jutsu he had in mind. Forming the seals, it was a Katon type jutsu that while not as impressive as Sasuke's, was something that should have been easy to remember, and simple to do. The Jutsu only created a simple small fireball. The ball sailed harmlessly through the air, until it crashed into the ground and set the grass on fire.
"Whoops!" Naruto gulped as he tried to remember a suiton type jutsu to put it out. He frowned, even if he had remembered one, he'd need to be by a source of water anyway, since he wasn't good enough to create a significant amount of water on his own yet. He looked about frantically as the fire continued to spread. If this continued he might accidentally burn down the forest. A fire during this season could spread faster then he could run as well. There's was a good chance if this fire spread too much he'd become caught within it. Looking about frantically for an answer out of the blue he was surprised to find one. There was something else in the clearing he hadn't seen when he had entered.
"A well!" He cried in surprise. Although his surprise was equally as great when he discovered there was in fact a bucket and a rope to draw water from it as well. Wasting no time, he quickly dumped bucket after bucket over the blaze, and panted in relief after he finally got it under control. That had been a close one. As he returned the bucket to the well, he noticed a sign planted into the ground right next to the well.
"Wishing well. Throw in a coin. Make a wish." Naruto read the sign aloud. This was the strangest thing he had ever heard of. He chuckled as he pulled out his wallet, "A wish, huh."
Good thing he had all these coins now. He had lucked out with a slot machine while on the road with Jiraiya. He still didn't quite understand the concept, but the machine had given him plenty of coins. Taking one, he tossed it down the well as he yelled down into it, "Well, I wish I could prove myself without the stupid fox around. As long as I'm wishing, I also wish that there was a hot girl that liked me, and to be stronger then Sasuke-kun."
"Why am I even doing this?" Naruto sighed as he slumped down near the edge of the well. Who was he kidding? Sitting around wishing for things to happen wasn't about to change anything. With a heavy sigh, he decided he had enough excitement for one night and prepared to head home. Until he realized he couldn't remember which way that was either. He frowned, "Not good." He told himself as he leapt up into the branches of a nearby tree. Hopefully he would gain enough height to be able to look above the forest level. He couldn't have been too far from the village, since he had only been walking. So he should have been able to spot the Hokage monument. The moment he got his bearings he began leaping across the treetops heading back to the village in a hurry. It was very late, and he was thoroughly exhausted by the time he made it back to his house. As he unlocked the door he realized something wasn't quite right. He looked about curiously, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he shrugged and went inside. Perhaps he was a bit too wound up after that excitement with the fire. A little sleep was all he really needed. After taking a quick shower, he changed for bed, and went to sleep.
--------------
" Oy! Naaaa-ruuuu-to! Wake up!" A voice floated through the darkness. Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, it was mourning. The mourning light came streaming through the nearby window, along with an annoyed voice.
"Heeey! Come on! Are you going to spend all day in bed?" The voice continued. Naruto groggily looked out the window. There was someone standing on the narrow street outside his home looking up at him. The coat with the fur trim was more then enough to tip off who it was. The small dog that was being kept in it was the cincher.
"What do you want Kiba?" Naruto groaned, "It's too early..."
"Come on! Get up! We're going to be late for class!" Kiba yelled.
Class?
"I'm not going to be late again cause of you Naruto!" Kiba yelled as he took off down the street.
Naruto blinked. Then blinked some more. What was he talking about? He sighed as he decided to at least get dressed. Putting a pot of water on the boil, he yawned as he headed for the bath room to wash up. At the sound of the pot whistling, he came back and made himself one cup ramen. After quickly devouring it, he then went to change out of his night wear. As he got dressed for the day he noticed something, Pants, shirt, jacket, sandles, kunai holder, shuriken case, travel pouch...
"What the...?" Naruto frowned as he looked around in surprise, it couldn't be, "Where's my head protector?"
In a frantic search he overturned his room, yet couldn't find it. He couldn't believe he has lost it. Perhaps it had fallen off during his strange training exercise last night? But he remembered taking it off last night. So where had it gone? Naruto sat down to think. This was. confusing. Kiba had come up to his house asking if he was ready for class. When they both knew they hadn't had classes together, much less actual classes since they graduated from the academy. And now he couldn't find his head protector. Naruto blinked, as something clicked in his mind.
"No.way." He frowned as he ran downstairs to check his calendar.
"No way." He gasped as he stared at the date on the calendar.
"No way." He gasped, according to this, he hadn't graduated yet. In fact, graduation wasn't for another three months at least. What the hell was going on?
"This must be Kiba's idea of a joke." He frowned, as he went back upstairs to find his goggles.
Naruto's confidence about that judgment, slipped as he began to wander about the city. During the surprise invasion during the Chuunin examines. Several blocks of the city had been demolished by giant serpents and a giant toad. Yet today they seemed to be standing as they always had. How they had repaired the buildings so fast was beyond Naruto. Iruka sensei had said that most of the ninjas in the village were out on missions. So there would be nobody left in town to do all the work. Something was definitely up. Then the unthinkable happened. As he was walking through the streets, he realized people were smiling at him.
"Hey Naruto, shouldn't you be in class?" "Oy, Iruka is going to kill you if you don't get to class soon." "You aren't planning some sort of prank again, are you?"
Naruto, quickly ran all the way to the academy. This was beginning to get creepy. What the hell was going on? The academy wasn't much better.
"Yo, Naruto, late again, eh?" "Iruka-sensei's going to have a fit." "Glad to see you decided to join us, Naruto."
"Err... Iruka Sensei." Naruto blinked. He had made his way to his old class, and sure enough there was everyone.as well as Iruka sensei. Naruto hastily took a seat, and the lecture continued as normal. Naruto was definitely confused, but he refused to let himself show it. This couldn't be one of kiba's jokes. Too many people were involved, and Iruka sensei wouldn't have played along with this sort of thing.
"This shouldn't be happening..." Naruto told himself trying to make sense of what was going on.
"This can't be happening." Naruto corrected himself because it made no sense at all.
"Why is this happening to me?' Naruto asked himself.
//Because you wished it would happen.//
Naruto looked around in surprise, the students sitting next to him were all paying attention to Iruka none of them looked as if they were about to talk to him. So who had said that?
//I wish I could prove myself without that stupid fox around.' That was your wish wasn't it?//
Who? Naruto frowned trying to figure out where the voice was coming from as Iruka continued to lecture away.
//Idiot//
"HEY!" Naruo yelled at the voice, although a little too loud.
"What is it Naruto?" Iruka asked in a tired voice.
"Er...uh... didn't we already cover this?" Naruto asked sheepishly.
"Yes, Naruto, that's why it's called a review."
Several people in the class laughed.
"Oh right."
He sat there wondering in disbelief and confusion. As he tried to figure out where the voice was coming from he realized it wasn't really coming from anyone else at all. It was coming from his own head. He frowned, was he going crazy now too?
//I can't believe you think you can do anything without the Kyuubi.// The voice sighed.
//Just who the hell are you?// Naruto thought back,// and how do you know what's going on?//
//Someone concerned about you. You're stuck in a world that's not yours because you wished it would happen. You wished you could have a chance to prove yourself as a ninja without the fox. So your wish was granted. You are now in a world where the fox was not sealed inside of you. Didn't you wonder why the other people in the village don't stare at you anymore? They're not afraid of you anymore. The Kyuubi was defeated in the battle 12 years ago instead of sealed within you. This is your chance to prove you're really a ninja.//
"Eh-heh." Naruto smiled. Finally.
//I certainly hope you're up to it. After all, this world is very similar to the one you left. Although I can't guarantee what will happen or not. There will still be obstacles you have to face, Challenges you have to meet, both old and new. I certainly hope you don't get killed before then. After all what are you going to do against some of your opponents without the Kyuubi? Like Haku, or Neji...//
"err..."
//Or Gaara?//
Naruto's blood froze. True, none of that had happened yet. During each of those fights he had drawn off the power of the Kyuubi, and against Gaara that had barely been enough. He frowned, this was an interesting handicap. He would just have to become a whole heck of a lot stronger in very very little time he had to prepare for them. More training was needed, much more training.
//Ah? Scared already? That's never a good sign. I hope you enjoy yourself. Naruto Uzumaki. Just remember, you brought this upon yourself.//
"But..."
The voice stopped talking after that. Naruto sighed, he would face those challenges when he got there. Right now he wondered exactly how he was going to face this first obstacle; not dying of boredom from Iruka-sensei's long lectures.
-------------
During the lunch break, Naruto locked himself in the restroom, and tried to see if the seal was still on his stomach. He wasn't surprised to see that it wasn't there. Even when he channeled a considerable amount of chakra through his body it didn't appear. It confirmed the voices' statements, but puzzled him even more. If the fox was gone, then who was he talking to? He tried to ask, but the voice didn't seem to want to answer. Naruto only scowled, and sat through the rest of the boring class. It wasn't boring because it was Iruka sensei teaching it. Now it was boring because he had indeed learned this. Although he did realize that if he had learned this properly the first time, Kakashi Sensei wouldn't have had to force him to climb trees in order to do so. When class finally got out, the first thing Naruto did was make a break for it back into the woods.
//Hmm? Where are you headed off to all of a sudden?//
"Back to that well." Naruto growled, "and why are you so interested in what I do?"
//Like I said, I'm someone concerned about you.//
"And just who are you?"
The mysterious voice didn't answer. Naruto scowled. So the voice bothers him at any time it wants and ignores his questions. He has just picked up a presence that was more annoying then the fox. At least the fox didn't make him think he was crazy. As he tried to remember exactly where the clearing was, he was surprised to find that something seemed...odd about the woods that he had never noticed before. Except he couldn't quite place what it was, just like last night in front of his house. He shook the feeling off and continued his search. After about two hours of hopping wildly from tree to tree. Naruto finally came across the clearing he thought he had been in last night.
"How!?" He asked in shocked surprise as he found the slightly burned clearing. The grass was still charred from the fire last night. A discarded bucket lay on its side a few feet away. However, there was no well. Naruto stood there silently. He figured this much. Well there was no turning his back to this now. What ever happened he was in it for the long haul. He let out a heavy sigh as he turned and headed back to the village and prepared to live his life all over again.
On another note:
// // : Voices in head
Disclaimer: I'm not sure what I'm supposed to put here, or how to make this anymore or less interesting then the thousands of other Disclaimers that get written. I don't own Naruto, its characters, and whatever else that might include. Yada yada yada..
Chapter 1: Retake
Naruto was still sitting at the ramen shop staring into his empty bowl. Iruka sensei had left a while ago, he had missions to do after all. Naruto sat there silently trying to collect his thoughts. The past weeks had been rather rough. Jiraiya was a very... different... teacher. Still, it had been time well spent. He learned a new jutsu, and had helped convince Tsunade to become the fifth Hokage. There were still things that were bothering him. He knew that he was nowhere near the skill of any of the other six ninjas that had been at the battle near Tanzaku castle. There was still a lot he needed to improve on. He knew it, Kakashi sensei knew it, even Iruka sensei knew. but that didn't bother him. What had bothered him the most was when he had confronted the traitor, Kabuto. Kabuto had made the accusation that the only way he had gotten this far was because of the kyuubi. Granted, he hadn't been aware of its presence most of his life but it seemed that every thing in his life was overshadowed by that monster. Most of his life people saw him as just that, the Demon Fox. Itachi had come, not for Sasuke, but for him, or more specifically the fox. Just how many people saw him as only the Fox? He sighed, this reminded him of what he had thought when he met Kohonamaru all over again.
Perhaps they were right. While Naruto didn't like to admit it, he knew that the Kyuubi's chakra was affecting him even if he wasn't actively using it. He healed way too fast to be considered normal. Even injuries such as broken ribs would be gone within days, if not overnight. His hearing was above average, and he often wished it wasn't as he often caught things he didn't care to hear. Was his abnormally large amount of stamina also an attribute to the fox's presence? Too many questions played across his mind, but not enough answers. He knew he was a capable ninja, after all he was a future Hokage. Yet he also didn't want anyone to have doubts about his great ability. Just because his chakra was supposedly rooted in that of a demon's he had other traits that made up for it right? He was surprisingly clever in battle capable of catching even veteran ninjas off guard, he could learn very difficult and complicated jutsus in a fairly short amount of time, he possessed an unmatchable determination, and few could deny that he had come an amazingly long way since he graduated from the academy.
Still, only few people seemed to take notice. It bothered him to no end. He still couldn't keep count of the number of people in this village who gave him those menacing glares when he walked by. Sakura-chan still ogled Sasuke- kun. Sasuke rarely acknowledged him as anything but an idiot. It was frustrating, but he was prepared for this uphill battle. he always had been. It would take time, but it never failed to bring down his mood when he thought about it. With a sigh he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head, thanked the vendor and quickly left the noodles shop.
He stared silently at the sky for a while as he wandered about the village in thought. He had planned to check in on Sasuke, but since he had woken up, there shouldn't be any more problems, and Sakura-chan was probably enjoying their time alone. Perhaps he would go train a bit. However, he had no idea what he would practice. His control of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was almost perfect. He could work on the Rasengan, but Jiraiya had insisted that he work on it only when he was certain nobody else could see him practice. He knew a lot of basic jutsus from reading scrolls, but while he could do them. He couldn't remember the order of the seals without the scrolls. Lost in thought, he wandered through town. He didn't even notice as he walked right by the training area and into the woods beyond. The sun slowly lowered over the horizon, before Naruto stopped and looked around. Seeing the thick groove of trees he was lost in, he frowned.
" Aww, man, I need more room." He groaned as he began looking for a clearing. It took him about an hour to find an area clear enough to practice the jutsu he had in mind. Forming the seals, it was a Katon type jutsu that while not as impressive as Sasuke's, was something that should have been easy to remember, and simple to do. The Jutsu only created a simple small fireball. The ball sailed harmlessly through the air, until it crashed into the ground and set the grass on fire.
"Whoops!" Naruto gulped as he tried to remember a suiton type jutsu to put it out. He frowned, even if he had remembered one, he'd need to be by a source of water anyway, since he wasn't good enough to create a significant amount of water on his own yet. He looked about frantically as the fire continued to spread. If this continued he might accidentally burn down the forest. A fire during this season could spread faster then he could run as well. There's was a good chance if this fire spread too much he'd become caught within it. Looking about frantically for an answer out of the blue he was surprised to find one. There was something else in the clearing he hadn't seen when he had entered.
"A well!" He cried in surprise. Although his surprise was equally as great when he discovered there was in fact a bucket and a rope to draw water from it as well. Wasting no time, he quickly dumped bucket after bucket over the blaze, and panted in relief after he finally got it under control. That had been a close one. As he returned the bucket to the well, he noticed a sign planted into the ground right next to the well.
"Wishing well. Throw in a coin. Make a wish." Naruto read the sign aloud. This was the strangest thing he had ever heard of. He chuckled as he pulled out his wallet, "A wish, huh."
Good thing he had all these coins now. He had lucked out with a slot machine while on the road with Jiraiya. He still didn't quite understand the concept, but the machine had given him plenty of coins. Taking one, he tossed it down the well as he yelled down into it, "Well, I wish I could prove myself without the stupid fox around. As long as I'm wishing, I also wish that there was a hot girl that liked me, and to be stronger then Sasuke-kun."
"Why am I even doing this?" Naruto sighed as he slumped down near the edge of the well. Who was he kidding? Sitting around wishing for things to happen wasn't about to change anything. With a heavy sigh, he decided he had enough excitement for one night and prepared to head home. Until he realized he couldn't remember which way that was either. He frowned, "Not good." He told himself as he leapt up into the branches of a nearby tree. Hopefully he would gain enough height to be able to look above the forest level. He couldn't have been too far from the village, since he had only been walking. So he should have been able to spot the Hokage monument. The moment he got his bearings he began leaping across the treetops heading back to the village in a hurry. It was very late, and he was thoroughly exhausted by the time he made it back to his house. As he unlocked the door he realized something wasn't quite right. He looked about curiously, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he shrugged and went inside. Perhaps he was a bit too wound up after that excitement with the fire. A little sleep was all he really needed. After taking a quick shower, he changed for bed, and went to sleep.
--------------
" Oy! Naaaa-ruuuu-to! Wake up!" A voice floated through the darkness. Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, it was mourning. The mourning light came streaming through the nearby window, along with an annoyed voice.
"Heeey! Come on! Are you going to spend all day in bed?" The voice continued. Naruto groggily looked out the window. There was someone standing on the narrow street outside his home looking up at him. The coat with the fur trim was more then enough to tip off who it was. The small dog that was being kept in it was the cincher.
"What do you want Kiba?" Naruto groaned, "It's too early..."
"Come on! Get up! We're going to be late for class!" Kiba yelled.
Class?
"I'm not going to be late again cause of you Naruto!" Kiba yelled as he took off down the street.
Naruto blinked. Then blinked some more. What was he talking about? He sighed as he decided to at least get dressed. Putting a pot of water on the boil, he yawned as he headed for the bath room to wash up. At the sound of the pot whistling, he came back and made himself one cup ramen. After quickly devouring it, he then went to change out of his night wear. As he got dressed for the day he noticed something, Pants, shirt, jacket, sandles, kunai holder, shuriken case, travel pouch...
"What the...?" Naruto frowned as he looked around in surprise, it couldn't be, "Where's my head protector?"
In a frantic search he overturned his room, yet couldn't find it. He couldn't believe he has lost it. Perhaps it had fallen off during his strange training exercise last night? But he remembered taking it off last night. So where had it gone? Naruto sat down to think. This was. confusing. Kiba had come up to his house asking if he was ready for class. When they both knew they hadn't had classes together, much less actual classes since they graduated from the academy. And now he couldn't find his head protector. Naruto blinked, as something clicked in his mind.
"No.way." He frowned as he ran downstairs to check his calendar.
"No way." He gasped as he stared at the date on the calendar.
"No way." He gasped, according to this, he hadn't graduated yet. In fact, graduation wasn't for another three months at least. What the hell was going on?
"This must be Kiba's idea of a joke." He frowned, as he went back upstairs to find his goggles.
Naruto's confidence about that judgment, slipped as he began to wander about the city. During the surprise invasion during the Chuunin examines. Several blocks of the city had been demolished by giant serpents and a giant toad. Yet today they seemed to be standing as they always had. How they had repaired the buildings so fast was beyond Naruto. Iruka sensei had said that most of the ninjas in the village were out on missions. So there would be nobody left in town to do all the work. Something was definitely up. Then the unthinkable happened. As he was walking through the streets, he realized people were smiling at him.
"Hey Naruto, shouldn't you be in class?" "Oy, Iruka is going to kill you if you don't get to class soon." "You aren't planning some sort of prank again, are you?"
Naruto, quickly ran all the way to the academy. This was beginning to get creepy. What the hell was going on? The academy wasn't much better.
"Yo, Naruto, late again, eh?" "Iruka-sensei's going to have a fit." "Glad to see you decided to join us, Naruto."
"Err... Iruka Sensei." Naruto blinked. He had made his way to his old class, and sure enough there was everyone.as well as Iruka sensei. Naruto hastily took a seat, and the lecture continued as normal. Naruto was definitely confused, but he refused to let himself show it. This couldn't be one of kiba's jokes. Too many people were involved, and Iruka sensei wouldn't have played along with this sort of thing.
"This shouldn't be happening..." Naruto told himself trying to make sense of what was going on.
"This can't be happening." Naruto corrected himself because it made no sense at all.
"Why is this happening to me?' Naruto asked himself.
//Because you wished it would happen.//
Naruto looked around in surprise, the students sitting next to him were all paying attention to Iruka none of them looked as if they were about to talk to him. So who had said that?
//I wish I could prove myself without that stupid fox around.' That was your wish wasn't it?//
Who? Naruto frowned trying to figure out where the voice was coming from as Iruka continued to lecture away.
//Idiot//
"HEY!" Naruo yelled at the voice, although a little too loud.
"What is it Naruto?" Iruka asked in a tired voice.
"Er...uh... didn't we already cover this?" Naruto asked sheepishly.
"Yes, Naruto, that's why it's called a review."
Several people in the class laughed.
"Oh right."
He sat there wondering in disbelief and confusion. As he tried to figure out where the voice was coming from he realized it wasn't really coming from anyone else at all. It was coming from his own head. He frowned, was he going crazy now too?
//I can't believe you think you can do anything without the Kyuubi.// The voice sighed.
//Just who the hell are you?// Naruto thought back,// and how do you know what's going on?//
//Someone concerned about you. You're stuck in a world that's not yours because you wished it would happen. You wished you could have a chance to prove yourself as a ninja without the fox. So your wish was granted. You are now in a world where the fox was not sealed inside of you. Didn't you wonder why the other people in the village don't stare at you anymore? They're not afraid of you anymore. The Kyuubi was defeated in the battle 12 years ago instead of sealed within you. This is your chance to prove you're really a ninja.//
"Eh-heh." Naruto smiled. Finally.
//I certainly hope you're up to it. After all, this world is very similar to the one you left. Although I can't guarantee what will happen or not. There will still be obstacles you have to face, Challenges you have to meet, both old and new. I certainly hope you don't get killed before then. After all what are you going to do against some of your opponents without the Kyuubi? Like Haku, or Neji...//
"err..."
//Or Gaara?//
Naruto's blood froze. True, none of that had happened yet. During each of those fights he had drawn off the power of the Kyuubi, and against Gaara that had barely been enough. He frowned, this was an interesting handicap. He would just have to become a whole heck of a lot stronger in very very little time he had to prepare for them. More training was needed, much more training.
//Ah? Scared already? That's never a good sign. I hope you enjoy yourself. Naruto Uzumaki. Just remember, you brought this upon yourself.//
"But..."
The voice stopped talking after that. Naruto sighed, he would face those challenges when he got there. Right now he wondered exactly how he was going to face this first obstacle; not dying of boredom from Iruka-sensei's long lectures.
-------------
During the lunch break, Naruto locked himself in the restroom, and tried to see if the seal was still on his stomach. He wasn't surprised to see that it wasn't there. Even when he channeled a considerable amount of chakra through his body it didn't appear. It confirmed the voices' statements, but puzzled him even more. If the fox was gone, then who was he talking to? He tried to ask, but the voice didn't seem to want to answer. Naruto only scowled, and sat through the rest of the boring class. It wasn't boring because it was Iruka sensei teaching it. Now it was boring because he had indeed learned this. Although he did realize that if he had learned this properly the first time, Kakashi Sensei wouldn't have had to force him to climb trees in order to do so. When class finally got out, the first thing Naruto did was make a break for it back into the woods.
//Hmm? Where are you headed off to all of a sudden?//
"Back to that well." Naruto growled, "and why are you so interested in what I do?"
//Like I said, I'm someone concerned about you.//
"And just who are you?"
The mysterious voice didn't answer. Naruto scowled. So the voice bothers him at any time it wants and ignores his questions. He has just picked up a presence that was more annoying then the fox. At least the fox didn't make him think he was crazy. As he tried to remember exactly where the clearing was, he was surprised to find that something seemed...odd about the woods that he had never noticed before. Except he couldn't quite place what it was, just like last night in front of his house. He shook the feeling off and continued his search. After about two hours of hopping wildly from tree to tree. Naruto finally came across the clearing he thought he had been in last night.
"How!?" He asked in shocked surprise as he found the slightly burned clearing. The grass was still charred from the fire last night. A discarded bucket lay on its side a few feet away. However, there was no well. Naruto stood there silently. He figured this much. Well there was no turning his back to this now. What ever happened he was in it for the long haul. He let out a heavy sigh as he turned and headed back to the village and prepared to live his life all over again.