The Windmill Turns Both Ways

Transfer

Naruto felt a mixture of relief and dread as he and Nagato neared the walled-in area where the medic camp was set up.

"I hope Sakura-chan and Shizune-neechan don't murder me for sneaking off like that," he muttered. "They can't blame me for wanting to get out and do something, right?"

"AHA! There you are!" the older Naruto came popping out of the bushes, making the younger screech loudly and stumble backwards. "Heh, that was actually really easy!"

"Calm down, Naruto. It's the real thing. A real bunshin, anyway," Nagato said, catching the younger Naruto's arm before he stumbled into a prickly bush.

"Damn it, aniki! Don't scare me like that!" the younger shouted, recovering himself quickly and dusting leaves off his pants.

"Oi! That's my line, don't you think?" the bunshin said with a scowl. "I guess you wandered off with a fake me or something, like you couldn't even tell the difference!"

"Hey! I'm you, so that means that you would have done the same thing, idiot!" the younger pointed at the elder stubbornly.

"You can't call me an idiot! I'm older, and I know more—"

"Are there any sealers at the medical camp?" Nagato deflected patiently.

"Huh? Oh, right. There aren't any here right now, but they're calling someone here so we don't have to get close to the battlefields again." The older Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Alright. We'll stay here to wait."

"Okay—er, what happened, anyway? Everyone was really worried you'd be captured again, little bro," the bunshin said as they walked into the medical camp. "But you showed up again before we even had time to look for you. I could sense you guys coming this way. I guess Nagato was able to find you before anything bad happened?"

"Uh... kind of," the younger said.

There were guards at the entryway. They looked surprised and more than a little wary. Sakura appeared behind them, craning her neck to look.

"And who are you?" one of the guards asked Nagato suspiciously, holding on tightly to the long pole he held.

"He's with us, it's fine. It's a long story, so don't worry about it." The bunshin waved one hand casually.

The guard frowned, but Sakura pushed past them before he could respond. "Naruto! What were you thinking, going off on your own like that? Didn't you learn your lesson the first time? I swear..."

"C'mon, it wasn't my fault! No need to rub it in," the younger grumbled.

Sakura sighed. "At least you didn't get hurt. Come on in."

"I guess this means you're going home, huh?" the bunshin said as they walked into the camp. There weren't many people there, but the ones that were all stopped to look when they passed.

"Yeah," the younger said. He looked from his older self, to Sakura. "We really can't wait anymore. I guess Sai, Neji and everyone else are off fighting, right?"

Sakura cast him a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid so. We were all put into different units once we got to Kumo."

"It would be a pain to say goodbye again, anyway," Naruto mumbled, scuffing the ground with his foot. "Is there anything you guys want me to pass along when I get back home?"

He jumped when Sakura suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. His older self jumped back as well, screeching in shock.

"That is from me to you," Sakura said, backing up and smiling. "Make sure I train hard with Tsunade-shishou, and don't let me give you a difficult time. I always hated being so far behind you guys, so use that if it seems like I'm trying to give up."