A Couple Steps Back

Chapter 2

Third person pov

Naruto woke up breathing heavily, and drenched in sweat. He jolted into a sitting position, squinting through the darkness around him as his hand groped under his pillow for the kunai he kept close. Panic settled in when he did not find it. Why was he in a bed? Getting to sleep in a real bed was rare, even an uncomfortable one like this one. He kicked at the sheets tangled around his feet, his head snapping left and right. He let out a wave of chakra to see if he was being watched. He did not feel anyone, at least not in the room.

Naruto feel to the ground with a thunk, groaning in pain. "You ... idiot." Kurama wheezed, chuckling. Naruto paused, his blue eyes wide as he stared at the pale, cracked ceiling. 'Kurama ?! Are you okay? What happened? ' Naruto questioned. The fox inside of him coughed weakly, sending shivers down Naruto's spine. What had happened? "The jutsu ... i-it work ... ed ..." Kurama's voice drifted off, but Naruto could still feel him in there. The blonde took a few deep breaths. The jutsu? What in the world was Kurama talking about? Naruto did not remember anything. Just he, Shikamaru and Sasuke sitting on a broken building and-

Oh. 

Naruto leaped to his feet, scrambling towards the bathroom. His apartment was warm, almost cozily so. The boy tripped several times due to his new height, but did not stop him. It was a bit hard to reach. The bulb was almost blinding, and Naruto had to clench his eyes shut. The electricity has gone out a year or so in the war, leaving them with oil lamps and battery powered things. Tents and these were never this bright. Naruto was not sure if he should be happy about running water and light or not. 

The Nanadaime Hokage has been shown to have its own war-stricken blue eyes in the mirror. He could only see a little bit of his own face, but it was clear to him that he was not going to look much like a child. Not with eyes like these. He hoped nobody would notice, although he was sure they would. He has a lot to do with his face, even in the presence of those he lost. This whole thing was already an uphill battle, and he was not at the steepest part yet. He needed to get to Shikamaru and Sasuke as soon as possible. Naruto was clearly a kid. There was a good chance Sasuke's clan was still alive, that Itachi was still alive. The Kyuubi-holder was not sure how well Sasuke would take that.

Naruto climbed onto the small step stool he had in front of the sink, examining himself in the mirror. He immediately went pale, letting out a loud groan. "Dammit." He grumbled, eyeing himself contempt. His arms were riddled with scars. Chidori scars were in various places on his body. There was also the issue of the scar on his neck. The reanimated form of Kakuzu had given him that. A little revenge, he guessed. Sakura is a man who has been undergoing a therapeutic surgery. The thought made Naruto snort lightly. Sakura...

Naruto shook his head. He could not think of his lost comrades right now. He could save them all, so it was fine. It was all fine. "I just need to get to Shikamaru and Sasuke." He muttered to himself, stepping off the stool and trudging towards his closet. He could wear it. Something that was bright orange. It 's not that it did not like orange, but he had worn far too much as a genin. When he was a child in the academy, his clothing choices had not been too bad. Just one item of clothing was orange, if he was remembering right. He probably was not. It was okay, he'd hunt something down. And if he could not, he's borrow something from Sasuke. His clothes were always depressing colors. 

Naruto hunted down a long sleeve dark gray shirt with Konoha's symbol on the front, and threw on an orange hoodie vest over it. Both smelled mildly like old ramen, but then again, so did his entire apartment. He could not remember the last time he'd enjoyed a bowl of ramen, let alone of the instant stuff. He was sure there was some in the kitchen behind him. He was actually craving it now, but there was no time to eat. Not with a future to save. He had to make sure Sasuke and Shikamaru made it back okay.

Slipping on some black ninja pants, his tucked them into his blue ninja sandals. He winced. He hoped nobody would notice the fact that he was missing his fourth toe on his left foot. It wasn't super noticeable, but it would definitely catch the attention of anyone who did lay eyes on it. There would be enough questions coming his way as it was. He was about to start improving rapidly, and with his two friends by his side. His two friends who he didn't even talk to before. It was going to raise some questions.

The next thing Naruto did was check the date. He wasn't sure exactly how old he was, but he hoped he wasn't eight. If he was eight, the Uchiha Clan Massacre had happened, or it was about to. The closer they were to the tragic event, the harder it would be to stop. It was better if they could tackle the issue before it became an issue. "It's... I'm five?!" He screamed, ripping his calendar off the wall. He thought he was going to be at least seven! Five was way too young. Sure, he was turning six this year, but that wouldn't be for months! It was only February! "Oh man, this is definitely going to be suspicious looking, believe it." Naruto groaned, letting the dusty calendar slip out of his hands. He rubbed his eyes with the pads of his thumbs. 

"Alright, alright, this is fine. I can work with this. The more time the better." Naruto muttered to himself as he trudged to his front door, expertly stepping around old ramen cups, piles of clothes and other miscellaneous pieces of trash. Although, and he would never admit this to his two comrades, he did raise his leg just a little to high more than a few times. Just enough to make him stumble or nearly fall on his face. He brushed it off each time, feeling only mildly embarrassed. He was sure he'd level out soon, and his balance would return to normal. Or he hoped. 

He forced the rust-hinged door of his apartment and stepped into the hallway, letting a haggard yawn escape his lips. He turned right, his shoulders slumped yet tensed, and his posture rigid. The sun was just beginning to reveal itself, and with it, Konoha's people. The smell of fresh breads, breakfast foods and coffee filled the air. Naruto closed his eyes and breathed it in. Breathed Konoha in. It had been so long since he last smelt the scents of him home, and he missed it. He'd missed it so much. 

Leaping onto the roof of the building next door, Naruto was forced into an awkward roll when he misjudged the distance between his feet and the wooden shingles. He let out a slightly gasp of pain as the wood dug painfully into the back. He hissed. This was all such a pain! He hoped to hell it was worth it. He was glad that Kurama wasn't here to make a snide, sarcastic remark on how clumsy he was. 

Sliding off the end of the roof, he landed hard and loud on his feet, gaining the attention of a few civilians passing by. The immediately scurried away, but Naruto ignored them, glaring at his feet. Why was he so loud? Before, he could walk so silently that not even Kiba and Kakashi could hear him with their heightened senses. He missed that. He would definitely have to work on it, and get that skill back. It was useful. All his skills were.

He set off for the Uchiha compound.