Naruto: Fun House Mirror

We met in the most odd of circumstances. I'd spotted him before he me, but I didn't really think much about it...I had other things on my mind. This was my normal time to do research for my stories, and I wasn't going to be interrupted.

But, somehow in the midst of avoiding an interruption, I'd gained a far worse one...a far more permanent one. Fate had shoved a mirror in my face.

In training the boy, I grew close to him. He reminded me of youth and innocence…and of the Fourth...two things that had been far in my past and slightly understated in my current situation, if not altogether forgotten. And with him, he brought a man who reminded me of my original purpose for leaving Konoha. Not that it too had been forgotten, but I had taken on many…side quests in my time away.

Watching this boy strive his hardest struck something within me and made it burn. It brought back memories of struggling to keep up with Tsunade and Orochimaru in my youth. Thinking about it all made me miss my home a little bit. And it made me miss those two even more.

Now that I think of it, if not for him, I probably wouldn't have come back to Konoha at all…even if I had discovered Orochimaru's plans on my own. But his face brought back countless warm memories, and made me want to defend my home.

The truth is, I see myself in him. He's the class clown like I was…slow to understand new things and heavily reliant on the few skills he knows well. His strengths were once my own…power and stamina…immense chakra. I train him as Sarutobi trained me once…in the hopes of creating a tank warrior that overwhelms his enemies with his heart and skill. But that's the least of our similarities.

It's not the physical traits that make me feel like I'm looking in a mirror, however. It's the way his heart beats. The boy had a rough past, but once he found friends, he fell in love with them. He'd die for any one of his friends, especially Sasuke.

Sasuke…

Their relationship unnerves me. Even when I first met Uchiha Itachi's little brother I was wary of what I saw in his eyes. It felt far too similar to things I'd seen 35 years ago in the eyes of a far paler person. When I saw the curse seal on the boy's neck, I realized Orochimaru felt the same way about the boy.

Damned if history wasn't repeating itself.

Now, I'm sitting on Naruto's bed in the hospital, staring into eyes that reflect my own pain. The ending's been the same for both of us. We refused to let go of our rebellious friends, and we paid for it. True, Naruto had the advantage of a beast within him that healed his wounds and fed him power, but he was also fighting the battle 15 years earlier in his life than I had. The result was the same.

I feel his pain as if it were my own, because it is. Everything on his face reflects pain I've been holding within for decades. It's like watching yourself on tape. At first, you can't believe you felt this way…a bit later, you're on the verge of crying yourself.

I bite my lip and try to help him cope, but as I do, the tale stops being my own.

I realize I'm not reliving my story, because Naruto is more stubborn than I ever was. Unlike me, he refuses to stop going after Sasuke. Can't he see what that's going to do to him?

Yes, he can…but he doesn't care about that. He wants his friend to be safe. It's stupid. Brave, but stupid. Then again, considering how things worked out for me, who am I to call his idea into question? If he stops Sasuke from becoming half the tyrant Orochimaru is, wouldn't that be worth the effort?

I just know I'm watching my reflection do something I didn't do…and now I find myself wanting to mimic it.

Tsunade's warned me a million times not to let my…less appreciated techniques and traits to rub off on Naruto. Someone should have warned me…he's the one who's contagious.

---

Reflections
Ever looked at someone else's life and only seen your own?
When the one who's called a hermit met the boy who lived alone…
He saw himself in every way, and couldn't turn his face…
From the glass before his eyes that made him feel such great disgrace.

The pain in his reflection's eyes wasn't stronger than his own…
His hidden fears and deep, sad sighs…were stronger than he'd known.
He almost didn't recognize the face behind the glass…
The one that swore to not ignore the fate it felt so crass…

The one that fought like he'd forgot his place was at dead last…
The one that swore he'd save his friend and whoop Orochi's ass…

Truth was this mirror wasn't true, this face was not his own.
It might have looked quite similar, but truth lied in the bone.
When he had suffered this great pain, he'd folded up and died.
The glass showed a man whose heart still beat…who hadn't let fate go by.

How was this glass so strong today? How did it hold its form?
Such strength in youth, no matter where, was surely not the norm…
But this glass was built for taking pain, and cutting all clenched fists…
And luring people to its gaze with what they won't resist…
When cold hearts looked for their reflection, they'd see what they had missed.

The strength of the boy in the mirror he saw was far more than he'd guessed…
And the path Jiraiya swore that he'd ignore…was before his feet afresh.
This time, he swore, he'd do his best. His reflection had had its say.
When the mirror sends forth a challenge…how can anyone walk away?