Naruto and Hinata: Stories After "The Last"! (Bi-weekly Updates)

Back to the Past: Part One

~A continuation from "An Old Friend Returns"~

I hear...

...

I hear...something...

It sounds like, leaves, rustling in the wind. Not a lot, just a few. And it's peaceful. Like I've just had a really great nap. But I smell...I smell....

Naruto opened his eyes to some sort of figure being shoved right into his senses; whatever it was, it smelled awful! So awful, that it had clearly roused him from his deep, deep sleep, making him sputter out in disgust as he kicked his legs away from the scent until his back hit the base of a tree behind him. He clutched his nose indignantly.

"Ughhh, what the hell is that??" he croaked, his eyes slightly watering from the truly terrible stench.

"It's one of Shino's stinkbugs." Sakura's voice was first to emerge, her tone implying that he should already know that. "You weren't waking up, so we had to get you to, somehow."

"Huh?" Naruto reached up to rub the moisture from his eyes that was still lingering, "But what would Shino's insects be doing here?"

"Are you nuts?" Sakura scolded. "You know that Shino's bugs don't go anywhere without him in close range."

But Shino's not on this mission....

Naruto finally rubbed the sting from his eyes, expecting to open them to see Sakura, Hinata and Sasuke in some variation – well, and now Shino, who had somehow stumbled upon their group. But he wasn't exactly right about that...and he wasn't exactly right about his surroundings, either. Instead, as the blur left his vision, his eyes settled upon Sakura and Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, Lee and Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. That's right...all seemed to rush to his aid, either that or viewing his rather sleeping, lifeless body with amusement. Not to mention that he seemed to be back in Konoha, on a really tranquil and sunny day.

In fact, now that he was taking notice of things, everyone seemed just slightly different, somehow. It caused Naruto to stare down at his own clothing, and to his surprise, he was in his old orange and black jumpsuit that he was certain he'd grown out of just a year or two ago!

"H-hey, where are my clothes?" Naruto grabbed at the jumpsuit on his body. This was just getting stranger and stranger as the moments when on. He hadn't the faintest memory of getting back into his old clothing, and at this point, he would surely dwarf them with his added height and girth. He became slightly more frantic as his eyes searched around. He'd lost time, somewhere, somehow.

"On your body, I would certainly hope..." Ino quipped back at his words, her sultry eyes shifting to the side with a satisfied grin.

"Man, that must have been one heck of a dream you were having there." Kiba chuckled, his eyes closing and a prolonged incisor protruding over his lower lip.

"A dream of being totally in the human element...now that is a true expression of youth." Lee proclaimed, Ten-ten dropping her head embarrassedly at her teammate.

A dream. You mean...Sasuke's return to the village...rescuing Hinata...Kakashi Sensei becoming Hokage...that was all just a dream?

"A really vivid dream..." Naruto added, though it was a bit mirthless as his eyeline fell to the ground beside him. He reached up to clutch his head, as if physically touching the memories that weren't really memories at all. Memories came from the past. What sort of memories came from the future?

He was sixteen again....

"Well, come back to reality for a little bit, would ya?" Shikamaru stood up, his hands lazily folded into his pockets. Naruto also stood up, a few inches shorter than he last remembered, or thought he remembered. "There's something I was told to come and tell you." Shikamaru added, as the rest of the Konoha ninja rose to their feet.

"A message? For me?" Naruto questioned innocently. After all the strange happenings, he could hardly imagine what that would be about. But before he could listen any further, something caught his attention that was a bit more important in this shinobi's mind. Long, flowing dark hair, those byakugan eyes...it was none other than....

"Neji!" Naruto called out to the Hyuga who happened to be walking by on the road past. His heart swelled. It was the man who'd saved his life, whom he never got to properly thank, who watched over Hinata so dutifully that he'd give up his own life to protect the person she loved most...

Neji's gaze turned toward the mention of his name, as he stopped walking. His look was inquisitive, though not irritated; calculated, as always. Naruto rushed toward him, having to stop himself from attempting a full-on embrace. What was real and what was fake still intermingled in his mind, though he could see Neji's sacrifice happening as if it were right before his very eyes. "Y-you're alright!" Naruto's tone was gleeful. "Hinata must be so happy..."

Neji crossed his arms, an eyebrow arched precariously at the foolish statements. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" he questioned. It was blatant to see that the words had caught him off guard, but almost not as much as the second sentiment. "And what's this about Hinata? Where is she?"

Naruto's heart pounded. The knucklehead had clearly said some things that only made sense to him in that moment, and looking upon Neji's slight scowl reminded him so much of Hiashi, that he nearly deflated into himself.

"Eh..." he chuckled awkward in response, a slight nervous sweat glistened over his features as he searched for the words to redeem himself.

"Neji...you'll have to excuse Naruto. He's not acting quite right today. Isn't the right, Naruto?" Sakura came to his aid out of pure ownership over him in that moment, a cautionary glance headed his way from her emerald eyes. Neji let out a 'hmm...' as if determining for himself what this was all about.

"Hinata mentioned something about picking cherry blossoms for a bouquet near the park." Shino enlightened Neji next, knowing that the mention of her by Naruto had put him slightly on edge. But there was no reason. She was safe within Konoha, as far as this Aburame knew.

Naruto's heart pounded again, this time a little quicker, a little lighter, in a hurt that somehow felt good. It was all at the talk of Hinata. One things was for sure – whether the future with her were real or not, his feelings hadn't dissipated. He wanted to go and find her for himself, but he realized quickly that she'd likely have the same response that Neji did. Once again in the moment, everything seemed so real...

Neji simply nodded, giving Naruto a final lingering glance before turning away to continue on his trek.

"Hey, Neji! You had promised me yesterday that you would spar with me today! Don't tell me you've forgotten already!" Lee took off to catch up to him his rival, who was visibly stiffening in annoyance from behind. Ten-ten sighed, catching up to the pair was well as they went on their way.

A cough from behind Naruto grabbed his attention, as it was meant to. It was Shikamaru clearing his throat for that exact reason, stepping forward to regain control of the conversation.

"Like I was saying..." his lackadaisical voice cut through the slightly tense moment, "The whole reason I came to find you was to relay a message. Then we found you laying under that tree, and I couldn't wake you up, so I had to go looking for the others. It was quite a drag." He explained, clearly trying to get to the point of the message.

"Oh yeah. What was it?" Naruto questioned.

"It's from Master Jiraiya. He wants you to meet with him at the west bank as soon as possible."

And it seemed Naruto's emotional rollercoaster wasn't quite over...at the mention of his master, his body stiffened and the world around him stopped. Without another word, his frame flashed, and he darted in the direction. To see his master again...that was surely better than any dream. Right?

--

Thanks for reading part one of "Back to the Past"! here's a little sneak peak of what's the come in part two:

Needless the say, Naruto rushes to his master...

Only to find him peeking through some brush with inane, satisfied laughter...

Naruto's eyes narrow at Jiraiya. "You were peeping on Hinata?!"

See you next time ~