Crystal: Konnichiwa minna-san! This is my first actual multi-chaptered Naruto fic (Cravings doesn't count!) and there are things you need to know first:
One: This happened after the first two and a half years Naruto and Jiraiya left Konoha
Two: There might or not be any spoilers and whatnot, but expect the unexpected, ne? And I'm sort of behind the manga so... -coughs- Or either that I might makeit a semi-AU... what do you think?
Three: There will be M-Preg. So, if it makes you uncomfortable then please be civilized and leave.Since I'm stressed out a lot, I don't need any more weirded out comments to increase the gigantic migraine on my head.
Four: Please enjoy the first instalment of Moments and have fun reading! -smiles-
And Five: Thank you, ChibiNekoSakura, for being my beta for the whole fic! -bows- I appreciate it every much!
Warnings: Yaoi and M-Preg in later chapters, and possible sexual contents as well. You have been warned!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but merely using them to my own sadistic pleasures...
Moments
Prologue: You've Changed
'Oh, my back's aching so bad…' she thought as she walked out of the Hokage tower, stretching her arms back. Inserting a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked at the sun setting over the Hokage Mountain. Had she been working that long? She only thought a couple of hours had passed. 'I am never, ever, EVER going to volunteer to help Shizune-san and Godaime-sama again!' she continued ranting off inwardly, despite the fact that she would have to help again tomorrow. There was just too much paperwork to be done.
She sighed. 'Oh well… there's nothing to do much anyway…' The female kunoichi kept walking down the streets, saying hello to the passers-by when they greeted her politely. When she passed by the ramen stand, a soft, sad smile appeared on her lips. She missed the loud voice of one of her dearest friends. The one-million-watt smile that could make a hellish day for someone turn into a happy one.
"Naruto…" she murmured slightly and walked away from the stand. Three years. It had been three years since he left with one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, to train somewhere outside Konoha. During those three years, she had grown… everybody had grown. She was positive that her blond friend too had done some growing - specifically towards height.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll keep my promise… I'll bring Sasuke-teme back here even if I have to drag him by his ass!" She remembered hearing when he tried to get Sasuke back the first time. He promised to her…
But… what if, it had all been in vain?
'I'm sorry Naruto…' she thought, as she entered the flower shop the mother of her best friend owns when she saw her friends hanging out there. 'But I've given up on Sasuke-kun now…'
"Sakura-san!"
Sakura gave a huge grin and let herself be hugged by her boyfriend. "Hello, everyone! Sorry I'm late…" she trailed off and then looked at the person who was holding her. "And hello Lee-kun," she kissed him on the cheek.
Ino pretended to gag at the lovey-dovey scene when she came out of the doorway, carrying a vase full of flowers. She too had given up on Sasuke, and now she was dating Shikamaru, out of all people - both of them are still wondering why they chose each other after two years of dating. "Could you not please make-out in front of the customers that are buying here? You're scaring them away, Forehead-Girl," she said good-naturedly.
The pink-haired girl laughed and stuck her tongue out childishly. "I don't see anybody here but the rest of our friends, Ino-pig."
"Pfft, look again, Haruno."
With her green eyes, she saw Kiba doting on the still shy Hinata by giving lots of flowers with him telling the blonde kunoichi every now and then to put it on his tab - even though it was nonexistent. Out of everybody in the group, Hinata had changed the most. Sure she was still shy from time to time, but she no longer stuttered or blushed furiously anymore. And like Sakura and Ino, Hinata had moved on from her first love-interest.
She shook her head at the scene and then realized that three people were missing. "Where are Shino-kun, Chouji-kun, and Neji-san?" she asked Lee.
The black-haired youth shrugged his shoulders and gave an apologetic smile. "Gomen nasai, Sakura-san. But, I don't know where they are at the moment."
Sakura raised her eyebrow and shook her head exasperatingly. Ever since they started dating, Lee was still calling her 'Sakura-san' and he seemed too modest. Once she had asked him why does he keep on being so formal, but he only smiled and said, "Because you deserve to be treated with utmost respect, Sakura-san." Needless to say, she was very touched, but it would be nice if he could at least call her 'Sakura-chan' once in a while.
TenTen came out of the same doorway where Ino exited a few moments ago, also carrying a vase full of flowers. "Neji and the rest of them are by the Konoha gates. It's their turn patrolling," she greeted Sakura with a smile as she helped Ino rearrange the flowers carefully. She has taken quite a like to arranging flowers, and often right when she was not spending time training or when she was with Neji, she would often come by the Flower Shop and help the blonde kunoichi. To this very day, it was still mystery to her as to why she started liking the art of flower arranging.
Haruno closed her eyes and gave half a smile. Three long years… so many things have been happening. She wished they had experienced these changes like she had. "Do you guys want to get something to eat now? I'm getting quite famished," she said, blushing slightly when she heard her stomach growl quietly.
Kiba stopped making his girlfriend blush and gave a huge canine grin. "FINALLY, somebody mentions the word food! Akamaru and I have been waiting for someone to suggest we start eating." Right beside him, a dog barked loudly in agreement.
"Che, troublesome," Shikamaru finally muttered, yawning slightly, waking up from his nap. "Oii, woman, are you almost done with that stupid flower arranging?" he drawled out, earning a glare from Ino.
"Shika, unless you want a stupid flower sprouting out of your nose, just be quiet. TenTen-chan and I are almost done over here," she hissed whilst waving a daisy menacingly.
Everybody laughed at the weird flirty ways of the couple as the sun lowered a bit more to end a very normal day - as normal as it can get - in Konohagakure.
--
Hyuuga Neji gave an involuntary yawn as he kept watch over the gates of the Fire Country. He did not really know why he would waste his time watching over the stupid gate when he could very well be training. He looked over his colleagues and friends: Aburame Shino and Akimichi Chouji were sitting. The former was as quiet as always, with his arms crossed over his chest. The latter was eating yet another bag of barbeque flavoured potato chips, eating it slowly as he savoured his precious food.
The oldest of the three sighed and blinked his bored eyes. Only one more hour until their shift is over so he could rest and get ready for the upcoming mission he was going to in three days. The Hokage had offered him a week off, but he politely refused, saying that instead of having a week off now, he would just take it after he finished with this mission so he could spend time with TenTen for their anniversary.
Suddenly out of nowhere he could feel two chakra signatures. One was not really familiar to him, but the other… he could almost recognize the chakra, although it was a bit different in some way but it was still familiar…
Could it be?
"Hyuuga, can you feel that?" Clear eyes looked over to the bug user and nodded.
"Chouji, alert the Godaime-sama. Tell her we have visitors…"
Seeing the solemn expression on Neji's face - despite the fact that Neji's face was always serious - Chouji gave an affirmative nod and quickly did some hand seals, transporting quickly to the Hokage Tower. After he left, Neji looked over at the entrance and activated his bloodline limit.
"Byakugan!"
Looking through the horizon, he gave a small, almost nonexistent smile at the two figures walking down the path. 'Just as I suspected… He's returned.'
Meanwhile, barging into the Hokage's office, Chouji stammered as he tried to catch his breath - instead of teleporting straight inside Tsunade's office, he appeared right in front of the tower instead. Tsunade frowned when she saw one of her subordinates gasping for air right in front of her.
"Akimichi-kun, is there something the matter?" she inquired when Chouji was able to take a breather again.
Chouji nodded his head. "Neji told me to tell you…
"We have visitors."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Visitors? She peered through Chouji, who seemed sort of excited at the news he was going to tell her. "What do you mean, Akimichi-kun?"
As if on cue, Neji and Shino came inside and bowed at the respected Leader. "Hokage-sama," Neji started as he stood right beside Chouji. He seemed troubled to Tsunade when the blonde kunoichi saw him. His eyebrows were knitted together and his frown was permanently in place.
"We have urgent news." He nodded to Shino who opened the door.
As the door opened and the two figures that Neji saw from before, Tsunade gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. It had been a long time since she had seen him. Having grown at least a few inches the past three years - even though he was still shorter than the other three - and his figure turned slightly slender. His face was rid of baby fat, and was a bit more defined. His taste in clothing had changed as well. Instead of the ridiculous orange jumpsuit he used to adore above the rest, all of the clothes he was wearing were black. Pure black. However, despite the sudden change in clothing, the medic Sannin would have recognized the boy she treated as her little brother immediately if it were not for his eyes.
His once cheerful eyes were as blank as a sheet of paper. Not a trace of emotion in sight, the lustre of brightness that used to look so adorable on him was gone, as if it was not there in the first place. That over-confident grin and cocky posture was gone as well; his façade has dropped quite a few notches, making him distant.
"N-Naruto…?" she asked uncertainly.
The blond shinobi looked at her and gave a grim smile. "Tadaima, Tsunade-baba," he said quietly.
Tsunade ignored the insult and quickly grabbed the blond into a bone-crushing hug. When she touched him by the arm he flinched visibly but she ignored it for a while, asking Jiraiya - he was surprisingly standing quietly to one side, the Hokage mused - later once Naruto has settled back into his apartment. "You brat," she said affectionately. "I thought you were never going to come back…"
"You assume things too much, Baba." She could feel the tremor that was hidden in Naruto's voice when he said that. Tsunade let go immediately, making a mental note of the slight emotion on the boy's voice. "I feel a bit tired… is it okay if I go back home now?" he continued, itching to get out of the stuffy office and back to his cozy apartment. When he saw Tsunade's approval, he instantaneously opened the door, but before he could leave…
"Okaeri nasai, Naruto."
Normally he would have turned back and grinned, but he just left without saying anything.
--
After she sent Neji, Chouji and Shino back home, Tsunade gave Jiraiya a look that meant 'Something has happened and I want to know what it is'. She thanked Shizune when the assistant came in with a tray of lukewarm green tea and assorted sweets and placed them on the table.
"Something has happened to Naruto," she merely said instead of asking as she poured the tea onto her former teammate's cup. She watched Jiraiya's thoughtful face and nodded seriously.
"I suppose you could say that…" he murmured, as he took a sip from his cup. "After all, three years is a tad too long for him to train."
Tsunade frowned at the perverted hermit's subtle avoidance in their conversation. "He flinched when I hugged him earlier, Jiraiya. I knew you saw it… hell, even Naruto's friends saw it. He never, ever flinches. I want to know what happened!" She didn't care if she sounded a bit whiny, all Tsunade can do is worry.
'If it were only easy, Tsunade…' Jiraiya thought inwardly, though he said out loud, "I noticed it; I'm not that stupid, you know. It happened a while before… when we passed by the Wave Country. The bridge builder, Tazuna, gave the brat a hug when he saw him and Naruto flinched so hard that he had to make a stupid excuse when he was questioned."
Sighing, the Godaime Hokage stood up from her seat and walked towards the window, leaning her head against the cool glass. "What does it all mean…? Did Naruto tell you anything? Anything at all?" she asked, hoping that Jiraiya would nod. "What about the Kyuubi? Do you think the youkai kitsune is doing something to Naruto that he has to act like this?"
Unfortunately he did not and shook his head sadly. "Not even I, his sensei, knew what happened to him…" then he snorted and crossed his arms. "And I thought you were smart. You're forgetting that Naruto's merging with the Kyuubi. Even if something like that is happening, Kyuubi wouldn't be successful since the brat has complete control of the demon's chakra." He heard the blonde Sannin sigh in defeat.
"Now what're we going to do?" he asked her.
Tsunade looked at him and said, "We look after Naruto for now… to see if anything else, aside from the sudden coldness in his eyes and personality had changed." She silently hoped that if her surrogate little brother had changed… it was for the better and not the worse.
--
When Iruka learnt that his favourite student had come back, he was very ecstatic. He had missed the bundle of orange that strolled around the streets of Konoha, occasionally humming some kind of nonexistent tune he just conjured up and show at Ichiraku, ordering miso ramen with delight. But he was not however, expecting this.
Right in front of him sat Naruto, but instead of grinning like the mischievous ninja he always was, he was actually brooding. And to Iruka, when the blond is brooding and whatnot, it usually means serious business. Heck, even if it were a serious business, Naruto would not be brooding like…
…Like a certain Uchiha.
"It seems awkward, doesn't it?" a voice said in his ear, making the brunet jump a bit. He turned around to see his lover, Kakashi looking at the blond shinobi, who was stirring his miso ramen every once in a while. "I never even knew that brooding was in Naruto's vocabulary list."
Iruka ignored him and walked towards Naruto smiling gently at him. "I didn't know you were back, Naruto. How come you didn't tell me?" he gave him a mock glare. He was surprised when he saw those dull blue eyes when Naruto looked up from his ramen.
"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I was just really tired yesterday… I didn't even get a chance to cook dinner," was the silent reply from the blue-eyed blond.
Kakashi copied what Iruka did and ruffled Naruto's head, noticing that the latter had flinched. "Maa, you disappeared for three years and now you suddenly appear without saying hi to your favourite teachers? I'm really hurt, Naruto…" He - and Iruka - waited silently for the typical outburst of, "NANI? WHAT DO YOU MEAN FAVOURITE TEACHERS? IRUKA-SENSEI IS MY ONLY FAVOURITE TEACHER, YOU PERVERT!" from the blond, but none came.
Instead, Naruto seemed so tense when the three years was mentioned.
The Chuunin teacher worriedly waved his head over his former student's face and said his name.
"H-Huh?" Blue eyes blinked furiously as he looked at his former teachers. Before he could have the chance to answer he was fine, somebody had said his name out loud.
"NARUTO?" Three shinobi looked behind them and saw Sakura with her jaw dropping down and her green eyes as wide as teacup holders. She was on her way to the training grounds the meet with Lee for the day since Tsunade had given her a day off until she saw a familiar tuft of messy blond hair, sitting down and eating ramen. "I-Is that you?"
Lifeless blue eyes peered towards the kunoichi, making her shiver slightly at the coldness of her friend's eyes. Why were Naruto's eyes like that? It seemed as if… as if his soul was sucked out of his body and became an empty shell. It is almost as if…
… He had turned into another Sasuke.
"It's nice to see you again, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied, as he stood up from the stool he was sitting in, not turning to see her. He dropped a couple of money onto the counter and said good-bye to the owner. "Arigatou for the food, Ji-chan. Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, I'll see you later." With that he left the three of them dumbfounded with their eyes looking at his retreating figure. They were even more surprised when the ramen bowl he was eating was still full with noodles, meat and vegetables.
Sakura could feel her heart pounding so hard in her chest, as a sign of a bad feeling. What happened to that obnoxious boy she used to pretend to be annoyed with? What happened to one of her cherished friends? After whole three years he disappeared… he finally returned to where he belonged, but why did it feel like he still was not there?
'Naruto… you've changed.'
Tsuzuku
Next Chapter: In which Sasuke makes his own appearance and Shikamaru and Sakura try to confront Naruto and his weird behaviour.
Crystal: So... what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Should I continue? Or should I leave it and never ever continue it again? This idea has been lingering in my head for quite a while now...
Anyway, please leave a review and it will be appreciated! Until next time!