Archive of Our Own ^beta

Six-year-old Naruto walked aimlessly through the streets of Konoha. He didn’t want to go home. He felt lonely there. It felt cold, dark, and too big for just one little boy like him.

Lord Third did come over this morning, and Naruto couldn’t help but be happy about it, even though the old man didn’t stay for long. He laid an envelope on the kitchen desk, sat on one of the wooden chairs, talked a bit to him, and then went on his way right after.

The world was once again letting him down. Naruto just didn’t get what was so wrong with him. He was nice and fun, and he really just wanted a friend. Not Iruka-sensei, but a real friend. 

A friend with whom he could play, eat and fight like the big ninjas. He’d really do everything for them. He just knows, that if someone gave him a chance, he wouldn’t fail them.

What was so wrong with that? 

What was so wrong with him?

Did… did he do something mean and can’t remember? Why did everyone seem to hate him or even worse, seemed scared of him?

Little Naruto wandered off into the woods. No one would search for him anyway. And even less in the woods. Maybe Iruka-sensei, he thought. He’ll most certainly scold him for going out in those weather conditions. But maybe he could also get a treat at Ichiraku afterward, if Naruto played his cards well.

Though he didn’t want to get his hopes up. 

So, he walked along the pathway, watching his little feet kick pebbles on the dirty road. His hands were hidden deep inside his pockets, trying to warm them up. Iruka-sensei told him that the best way to warm his hands was to put them under his armpits. Naruto did try it out multiple times, yet his shirt would always roll up getting a cold tummy. 

Looking up from his feet to where he was actually going, he gazed to the side when he heard some noise coming from some bushes. His heart stopped for a second when he could observe some movement, thinking maybe that it was finally time to use all his new ninja skills to protect the village, and mostly himself.

He tiptoed as quietly as possible to those bushes, which stopped making noises, and slowly crouched down. 

With shaky little hands, Naruto pushed the leaves and branches aside and fell back on his bum when he caught a glimpse of the enemy. 

He first thought it was a cat but then he remembered that cats definitely didn’t look like that. They didn’t have such a puffy tail. It also couldn’t be a dog. He once had seen Kiba and his family walking with their dogs and not one looked like that furry ball covered in leaves.

It looked really cute, though, and Naruto couldn’t help but want to touch it. It was small and fluffy and orange, like his favorite color. 

And it seemed so lonely. Cold and lonely. He felt bad for this little animal.

“Where are your parents?” little Naruto whisper-yelled when he approached the orange fluff ball, half-expecting the baby animal to answer him. His still shaky hand reached out to touch it, yet scared to harm him in any way. That’s when a little cry came from the little animal at his feet. 

Naruto again fell on his bum but recovered fast and reached out once again to caress it.

And he finally did.

The cat-dog-like baby’s fur felt soft under his tiny fingers. It was as smooth as he imagined it’d be but cold. So cold.

He felt bad for the baby.

So, he sat there on the ground, now also covered in leaves, petting the animal next to him, when he felt raindrops falling from the cloudy skies. He looked up and one fell exactly on the middle of his forehead. 

He sadly thought it was time to go, but he couldn’t let his buddy there all alone. Naruto knew how it felt to be all by himself and he wasn’t about to let his new friend suffer from the same fate as he did.

So, he did the only thing he could think of at the moment and that was to snatch the furry ball in his small arms and take him with him to somewhere more covered.

Running as fast as he could, protecting what he held in his arms from the cold, Naruto nearly fell when he stepped over a thick root. He slowed down, watched his surroundings, and discovered the biggest tree he had ever seen.

He could hear his little friend cry once again, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He quickly made it under the tree, plumped down against the thick trunk, and tried to recover from his speed run.

That was a good place, he thought, as he kept stroking the soft fur. They were definitely safe from getting wet here and could relax for a while until the sky cleared up from its heavy clouds.

Just when he was about to lean back and close his eyes, he heard some shuffling, coming from his right side. Again, his heart stopped beating for a second.

He tried to make as less noise as possible, even halting his respiration as he was still a little kid, and that he was sure he couldn’t protect both, himself and his new buddy.

When the shuffling became louder and some swearing could be heard, he shut his eyes close, praying to Kami to not be discovered. The shuffling stopped, the swearing too and that’s when little Naruto thought, whoever was there, went on his way.

His eyes still closed, he thought he was finally safe. That’s when he felt someone covering him with something. His eyes fluttered open and widened when he noticed the figure of a man, with hair as blonde as his, and eyes as blue as the sky, watching him intently.

He thought for a second that this was the time when he’d finally die.

The man looked him up and down. His hard gaze on him made Naruto feel antsy. He didn’t like to be stared at and that’s when he remembered that he was Uzumaki Naruto and that he was gonna be Hokage one day. He couldn’t cower like a fool before an enemy.

“Staring is rude.” He told the big guy.

Indeed, it was rude to stare at someone, and even more, if it was from up close, or that’s what Iruka-sensei told him. His gaze wandered off to the cape, the blond man wore. It was white and looked like the one of a hero.

Was this man a hero? Naruto, himself, wanted to be a hero. Though that man, he thought, didn’t seem like he was cut out for it.

He totally should give me his cape, Naruto snickered to himself.

The guy still didn’t say anything, but his expression softened when his gaze fell on the little guy in front of him with the baby fox in his arms.

“What do you want from me?” Little Naruto didn’t like how that man looked at him. It was disconcerting. Shouldn’t one introduce themself when meeting someone new? Plus, he didn’t like that the man still didn’t open his mouth to scold him or anything.  

Well, if the guy didn’t get to learn some manners, then Naruto would gladly teach them to him. “My name’s Uzumaki Naruto and I’m gonna be the next Hokage! Best believe it-ttebayo! Now, who are you?”

The older guy just smiled fondly, and Naruto felt weird. He made him feel weird. For the first time, someone seemed to not mock his words.

“Nice to meet you Uzumaki Naruto. So, Hokage, huh?” Scratch that. That guy was a prick.

“Yeah, Hokage, old man. So, who are you?” Naruto, unconsciously, held the baby fox tighter in his arms, making the little guy cry once more. His attention went back to his lap where the baby was making a fuss to escape his death grip.

Naruto was startled and quickly let go of his friend.

His baby blues followed the furry ball scurrying off to the man, who took him in turn in his arms, cooing him like a baby. Again, that irritated Naruto. That was his new friend. Not the old man’s.

“Nice to meet you, kid. I’m Uzumaki Naruto.” The guy suddenly said, making Naruto furrow his brows in confusion. That was his name!

“First you steal my tree, then you make fun of me being the future Hokage, then you steal my new friend and now you also steal my name?! What’s with you-ttebayo?!”

“First off, I didn’t steal your tree. I was there before you-ttebayo.” Little Naruto was about to contradict him when the old man held a hand up in the air, silencing him in a beat.

“Secondly, how did I make fun of you being the future Hokage-ttebayo?! Wait, don’t even answer that. And I didn’t steal your fox, I just merely saved him from your death grip, so that your little friend could live a while longer. You should thank me or that, ya know? And lastly, how can I steal your name when I’m older than you, huh?” So, it was a fox, Naruto thought amazed. He’d never seen a fox up close in his entire life. Weren’t they extremely shy animals, or so someone told him?

“Why are you wearing that cape? Are you a hero or somethin’?” The blonde guy, who also called himself Naruto, pushed little Naruto a bit to the side, so he could sit down next to him, adjusting the blanket on the boy’s lap. He didn’t want him to get sick.

“Something like that.” The adult Naruto replied. He wouldn’t go this far as to call himself a hero, but it definitely didn’t bruise his ego, that’s for sure.

“Hn.” The smaller version of him sneered, catching the smug expression on his face.

“What you’re doing out here all alone?” Adult Naruto turned serious once again. He didn’t like seeing his younger self here outside, where anything could happen to him.

“I was bored. Then I found this baby fox and then you came out of nowhere.”

“Don’t you wanna go home? It’s cold out here -ttebayo.” Naruto, once again, shrugged. He didn’t want to go home and be even more bored. Here, he, at least, had some company. Even if it was just this weird guy with the same name as him.

“You’re hungry? Want some ramen?” Little Naruto broke out of his somber thoughts, just to look up at the adult Naruto with twinkling eyes. Naruto chuckled when he caught his mini-self drooling over the thought of some instant ramen.

“Sure, old man! Thanks!”

Twenty minutes later, both Narutos, plus their new friend whom they named Kurama, ate some noodles while enjoying the calmness of the forest.

“Ramen’s also your favorite? Mine too. I love ramen. There’s nothing better than the ones from Ichiraku.” Younger Naruto babbled in between some bites.

“It sure is.” The older man’s blue eyes twinkled. “Though, I also love Hinata’s homemade cooking…” he mumbled under his breath, but the youngster still heard him.

“Hinata? Hyuga Hinata? Where do you know her from?”

“Never mind.” Adult Naruto just smiled and ruffled the youngster’s hair.

Little Naruto was curious as to know why that man, who proclaimed himself to be Uzumaki Naruto and to top that off, thought of himself as a hero, was so nice to him. Nobody was that kind to him without expecting anything in return. Though, he wasn’t about to complain. It was nice and he felt like this guy could be trusted. He still thought he was weird, but he felt comfortable with him.

“Shoot your questions, kid. I know you’ll explode if you don’t ask them soon.” Could the man read his thoughts? Was he a magician? Wait, no, Iruka-sensei told the class that only one clan in Konoha could read minds. What was it called again? Yapa… Yapanochi? Yamanochi? Yaman…? Whatever, he’ll just gonna ask him.

“Are you from Konoha?” The guy nodded but didn’t say more. That made Naruto suspicious. He'd never seen this man in his life. Konoha wasn’t that big of a city, so he surely must’ve crossed his path, even if just once.

“You’re from the Yamanochi clan?”

“Yama what?” Older Naruto burst out laughing.

He clearly wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, back then. And still isn’t now…

“Yeah, the mind-reading clan!”

“Why would I be from the Yamanaka clan? Wait, also don’t answer that. But no, I’m not. I told you, I’m an Uzumaki. From the Uzumaki clan -ttebayo.” Naruto’s eyes lit up.

A clan?

“The Uzumaki clan? Is it a big clan?”

“It sure once was.”

“Once? Doesn’t the clan exist anymore?”

“It still exists. I mean, you’re an Uzumaki. I’m an Uzumaki. And there are still more somewhere out there, but just not as many as there once were.” Little Naruto was totally flabbergasted.

He knew of the Hyuga clan, one hell of a scary clan to be honest, except for Hinata-chan. She wasn’t scary. She was nice and sweet to him. Even if she often seemed like she'd explode. She probably just has a fragile health.

Naruto also knew of the Uchiha clan. His biggest rival was an Uchiha, so logically he remembered that name. But the Uzumaki clan? Sure, he knew he was an Uzumaki, hell he screams it out loud every day, but he really didn’t know of a clan.

“Are we… are we a strong clan?”

“Yeah, believe it -ttebayo.”

“Okay, okay…Ehm… How many Uzumakis do you know?”

“Man, really? I don’t know… There’s you, there’s me, then there’s my wife-?

“You have a wife?” That wasn't the kind of answer the adult Naruto was expecting. It took every ounce of his self-control to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, you little brat, I have a wife.” He snapped back, munching on his noodles like a brooding little kid.

“Is she strong?”

“Really strong. And nice. And beautiful.”

“Beautiful? Like Sakura-chan?”

“Even more beautiful. The prettiest woman on Earth.”

“Wow. What does she look like?”

“You know her. You just have to open your eyes and then you’ll see her, little brat.”

“Hn. Whatever. So, who else do you know? How many?”

“Well, my kids are Uzumakis.”

“You have kids?”

“Why are you so shocked -ttebayo?! Yeah, I have kids. Two of them.” Older Naruto grumbled while glaring at his younger self.

Six-year-old Naruto watched his companion in awe. He didn’t know why but the thought of the man having a family made him happy. Really happy. Though, he didn’t know why.

“Two kids? How old are they?”

“My boy must be a bit older than you. He’s seven. And my daughter's four years old. They’re also strong Uzumakis.”

“Wow, that’s nice. You live with them?”

“Yeah, I have to protect them, ya know. I love them.” Mini-Naruto nodded at what the man just said. It seemed logical.

“So, you’re never getting lonely with such a big family, huh?”

“No, indeed, we’re never lonely anymore.” Adult Naruto whispered, smiling to himself.

His mini version watched how his companion’s face softened at the mention of his family and his heart skipped a beat. The man seemed so happy when talking about his wife and kids.

“What are you doing here? Don’t… don’t you have friends?” He whispered the last part. He didn’t want to come off as rude, it’s just, why was he here?

“We have a lot of them, don’t you worry,” Naruto answered the question his younger self really wanted to know, and little Naruto seemed to light up at that.

“Who are our friends? I… I mean your friends?” He blushed but still didn’t back off. He felt as if… as if all this was really important. This conversation was important. He had to know. Even if he’d certainly never see this man again.

“Well, there are too many of them. Just know that they’re also our family and that they’ll always protect us.” Mini Naruto nodded pensively. He was glad the old man could count on his people. And even though, he, himself, didn’t have those friends, his heart warmed up knowing the other Uzumaki Naruto had them.

“Do… do you have a best friend?” he hesitated for a moment, but then looked up to see the big Naruto smile fondly at him.

“We have. He’s like a brother to us. We had to sometimes remind him of that, but he’s now by our side and won’t go away.” Naruto felt his cheeks burn, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest.

“Is he cool?”

“No, we’re much cooler -ttebayo!” He winked and started to pack away their finished ramen cups.

“How did you remind him that we uh… you’re his best friend?”

“With my fists and him.” The hero patted his stomach, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“With your tummy?! How did you do that?!” If mini-Naruto’s eyes could even get bigger, they’d sure plop out.

“You’ll know one day, don’t worry.” Again, Naruto ruffled his younger self’s hair. He was just way too curious.

“So, you’re strong? Really, really strong? You have to be strong if you’re a hero!”

“We’re strong.”

“How strong?”

“The strongest.” And again, younger Naruto blushed. They were strong? The strongest? And they had a family? And friends? He had to remember that it wasn’t him but the other Naruto, though he didn’t care.

Older Naruto was about to stand up when a little hand held him back from it. He gazed down at his copy, whose red cheeks rivaled the ones of his wife.

“What is it?”

“Are we happy?” he asked at last, and Naruto could only nod.

“The happiest we’ve ever been.” He crouched down to the height of his younger self and held him in his arms. Little hands gripped his cape, and older Naruto could feel small Naruto smiling against his chest.

“Thank you,” he whispered but the older Naruto just held even tighter.

“Everything for you, champion. You’re a hero. Don’t forget that. People will hate you but it’s because they don’t know you yet. Keep training, fight for what you love, and most importantly, never give up. We’ll never give up. That’s not our nindo.”

“Okay.”

“Promise me that you’ll never give up.”

“I promise to never give up, Uzumaki Naruto.”

“That’s right, kid.”

They held each other a while longer, until Kurama, their new baby fox, started making a fuss.

“I have to go now. My kids and wife are most probably already worrying about me.” Little Naruto’s eyes brimmed with tears. He didn’t want to leave that man just yet. He still had so many questions to ask him.

The older Uzumaki took something out of his pocket and that’s when little Naruto’s eyes lit up, watching in awe as the first one opened his wallet.

And not any wallet but Gama-chan. The same one he has, just smaller and definitely less heavy.

“No way! You too?!” He took his own out of his back pocket. The smaller version of it.

“Dude, no way did I have one when I was barely 6!” Naruto didn’t understand what his new friend meant by that, but quickly hid it behind his back when noticing the older one looking at it a bit too intensely.

“Okay champ, hear me out. I’ll make you a deal you can’t refuse.” Naruto doubted it but prompting him to go on.

“What about you give me your wallet in exchange for mine?”

“No way! Iruka-sensei gave me that one! I can’t exchange it for another.” Naruto senior grumbled but then a lightbulb lit up in his head.

“Even with the whole content?”

“What do you take me for? This was one of the first gifts I've ever got. And it means a lot to me! So, back off, old man!” Our blond Hokage chuckled. He was so proud of his younger self. He, himself, was not a hero, but clearly, this little guy before him was.

“Okay, okay, man. Here, let me just give you some cash. Treat yourself to some ramen.” Before mini-Naruto could refuse, Naruto senior put it in his miniature wallet and closed it. He patted his baby self’s head one last time, before turning around, with a heavy heart. He still had a mission to accomplish and therefore had to find Sasuke in this timeline.

“Take care of Kurama! And Kurama take care of him! Maybe you could treat Hinata with this money to some ramen, huh? Ja ne, Uzumaki Naruto!” And so he went on his way, leaving behind the future mini-Hokage.

“Ja ne, Uzumaki Naruto…” Naruto whispered now all alone, staring at the retreating form of his new friend.

“N-Naruto-kun? Who w-was t-that?” He turned around, finding Hinata hiding behind a tree.

“Hinata-chan!” He asked himself how long she's been standing there and how much she’d heard from their conversation. “You mean this old guy?” She nodded and he grinned to the fullest.

“That’s a hero, Hinata-chan! Though a weird hero. But a hero, nonetheless.” Hinata blushed a deep red. She was talking to her crush!

“Let’s go for ramen, Hinata-chan. I’m still hungry. My treat! By the way, meet Kurama, my new pet fox.” Naruto ran to her side with Kurama on his shoulder. He took her small hand in his and pulled her with him back to the village gates.

Older Naruto watched his future wife and past-self walk hand in hand, smiling fondly at the scene.

He loved her so much. He loved them so much.

They were forever destined to be one another’s soulmates.

His next stop would most probably be her. For a next time.

“Teme!”

“What is it, dobe?!”