Chapter 35 - Understanding

After Lex Luthor was confirmed dead, many of the metahuman criminals were scared into hiding. After a very long time, not only Gotham City but the biggest part of USA too was finally experiencing a Christmas and a New Year where no metahuman wrecked havoc. Furthermore, after the ovations of the thousands of people gathered in Gotham City on the streets appeared on the news, none of the imprisoned metahumans have attempted to break out.

There was one thing that everyone understood in that moment: there was a merciless killer out there. One that held no respect or fear for any kind of authority. A killer that - not coincidentally - has only murdered villains until then. And the people actually voicing out loud their support for his actions made the villains fear for their future. It made them fear for their lives. Those that used to terrorize other people were now feeling themselves what living in terror was like. It was to the point that some of those that were imprisoned were feeling glad that they were locked up in high-security prisons.

It was the middle of January when Naruto, Misaki and Barbara were returning home from a session of physical rehabilitation under a specialist's supervision at the hospital. They were all in a rather elegant black BMW, Barbara being the one driving it seeing as Naruto didn't have a license and Misaki was still not physically apt for it. Naruto bought the car only for Misaki and Barbara to have a means of transportation. He was not interested in studying for getting a license because no car would ever be able to compete with his own body's speed, not to mention freedom of movement.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the two of you are a couple." Barbara said and smiled at the reflection she was seeing the mirror: Misaki was sleeping soundly all the while hugging Naruto's muscular arm, her head resting on his shoulder. While the medic said she was well on her way to a full recovery, physical effort was still very exhausting for her. Merely walking felt strenuous. That's why, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep on their way back.

"Seeing how you watched each one of her moves for the past two weeks, I'd say you're the one that has a thing for her." Naruto said back half-jokingly, half seriously.

Barbara looked straight ahead purposely, not wanting to meet Naruto's piercing gaze in the mirror.

"Hypothetically speaking, just hypothetically, if I really were to have a thing for her, what would you think about it?"

She went ahead and actually asked what has been on her mind for weeks already! She was afraid of the answer she would get because it depended on what Naruto said whether she would actually have a chance at having something with Misaki or not.

"No need to hide behind a finger, Barbara." Naruto said. "Do you like Misaki that way?"

Barbara gulped audibly. She pressed the breaks of the car and pulled it on the side of the road, stopping. She turned in her seat with her face towards and looked him in the eyes.

"I don't just like her... I love her."

"Alright then."

"Ehh?!" she exclaimed startled.

"What?"

"You're fine with it just like that?"

The redhead had expected Naruto to make her swear on her life or some other difficult things to prove the authenticity of her feelings. She certainly had not expected him to be so casual about it.

After all, Barbara knew better than anyone else just how big of a siscon Naruto was.

"Why would I not be? I know your feelings for her are genuine and my sister cares a great deal for you as well. As long she is happy, I am happy too. That's all that matters for me."

Relief washed over Barbara and a smile was deeply etched on her face as she continued to drive the car back home.

"What about you, Naruto?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've known you since forever. And I've never seen you showing interest in any girls."

Naruto looked like he was deep in thought.

"When I was younger, I was too preoccupied with finding ways to survive the old man's training from one day to another...you know how he used to be." He said and chuckled.

Barbara nodded in acknowledgement. Whenever she came over to the Uzumaki siblings' house, Sarutobi Hiruzen was always nice to her and Misaki. But Barbara would often see Naruto sporting new bruises every week - most them were not from the scuffles he was getting into with other thugs on the streets but from the old man himself.

"By the time I got in high school I had already sent dozens of idiots to hospital. My name came to be known and feared not only in hour school but most of the surrounding neighbourhoods as well. Even if I had wanted to start a relationship with someone just what girl would have dared to come anywhere close to me?"

Barbara couldn't find anything to say at his words as they were perfectly true.

"However, the biggest reason behind me not showing any interest in other girls is Misaki."

A lump appeared in Barbara's throat.

'Does he really feel that way about his own sister?!'

Seeing the scandalized look in Barabara's eyes, Naruto felt like bonking her on the head. And he would have done if she had not been driving in that moment.

"Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"What I wanted to say is that I've always compared the girls I knew with my sister...be it beauty, smarts and a pleasant personality - Misaki has them all. None of the girls I've met have ever come anywhere close to her."

None of them said anything for a while. Eventually, Naruto added out of the blue:

"Besides, even if I found a girl matching my sister's qualities, it would be impossible for me to be with her."

Barbara didn't ask for clarification. He understood where he was getting at. Even so, Naruto continued, feeling the odd need to confess about that to someone. After all, he has not had any personal discussion with someone ever since Misaki was "killed".

"Look at me - just who would accept me? I killed hundreds of people until now. Not to mention that there's no secret to which lengths I will go to get my revenge on someone. I'm a rather horrible person now that think about it." Naruto said and chuckled bitterly.

"Do not lose hope." Barbara said quietly, inwardly moved by his words. "Maybe, just maybe, one day, you will find someone who will accept you as you are. You never know what will life bring forth for you."

Naruto snorted. He knew very well what a cruel mistress life was for him. Two lives and neither had been easy or devoid of suffering. Furthermore, he knew that even if he found someone who accepted him as he was, he would still not be able to be with her.

"Even if someone fully accepted me as I am, it would still not be possible for us to last...I've become infamous world-wide. The number of people I killed is not small and the ones that would jump at the chance of harming me are more than I can count."

"If...If I ever get the chance to have a relationship with someone, that girl will have to be very powerful. At least as powerful as I am. I don't want a damsel in distress. I already have an adorable and helpless one in my life. Two would be too much even for me." Naruto said while gently caressing the top of Misaki's head who was still sleeping soundly despite Naruto and Barbara's chatting.

"What I need is someone that will be able to support me...someone able to stand by my side as my equal. Someone I can count on."

As he said those last words, the image of a very beautiful woman with baby blue eyes and blonde hair appeared at the front of his mind.

'She's certainly powerful. Talk about a woman who could actually kick my ass. Not to mention just how attractive she is...'

'If only she had long hair, she would be even more beautiful than Misaki. Her body, at the very least, is unbelievable.' Naruto thought.

Still, he knew nothing else about her... What kind of person was she? Was she loyal? Would she be faithful to her partner? What type of personality she had? Was she intelligent?

Naruto stopped himself from thinking about the matter any further. He snorted at his own naivety.

'What am I even thinking of? The first time we met, we greeted each other with a fist. The second time, we fought to against each other to death and I killed her. The third time, she nearly killed me. She destroyed my house and melted off half of my body... what could possibly happen between the two of us after all of this?'

Naruto and Barbara spent the rest of their trip in silence, both of them deep in thought. Eventually, they reached their destination - their new home.

When Galatea attacked Naruto, the shockwaves of their fight and Kyuubi's escaping had turned the place in a complete wreck. After the New Year passed, Naruto wanted to hire a house-building company to fix all that damage but, when he thought about it better, he decided against it. Since he had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life without working, why not enjoy it?

In the end, he put the Monkey King's Dojo for sale and bought a medium-sized but cosy house at the periphery of the city, in of the best and most quiet residential districts of the Gotham. It had 5 bedrooms, a large living room, a kitchen and two bathrooms. Furthermore, what Naruto liked the most about the place that he had bought, was that it was very spacious with around 1000 square meters of garden. He could make a small training field for himself there, plant a few trees and build a pavilion for them to just relax there or even dine together with his sister during summer.

Scene break

It was night. Barbara went back to her home earlier before and Misaki was still sleeping.

Naruto was in the living room absent-mindedly watching a match of boxing - more exactly, the World Championship final of the heavy weight category.

Sure, they were just ordinary humans, not having any superpowers whatsoever. Ever since the apparition of metahumans, traditional fighting sports that were once adored before were now experiencing a period of decline in popularity. After all, why would anyone go to see a boxing match between two ordinary guys when they could watch "live" and for free how Superman or Green Lantern kicked some supervillain's butt?

Still, it wasn't like they declined completely. And there still were people that truly enjoyed watching and analysing the fights meticulously. People like Naruto.

Thanks to the gruelling training his grandfather had put him through from a frail age, Naruto was now a very accomplished fighter. He appreciated the beauty of clean K.O., the importance of the fighters' footwork and so on, on a level that many people couldn't.

'I wonder, if I hadn't gotten to know the power of chakra, would I have been able to stand against them on equal grounds?'

A sudden knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts.

"What the...?"

There was a doorbell at the gate. And the gate was closed. How come someone was knocking on the door? Furthermore, it was past 10 o'clock in the night, no normal person would try to bother someone else at this hour.

When he went to the door, he saw through the glass the culprit. His annoyance disappeared right away, thinking that he should consider himself lucky that said person was just knocking, not doing anything excessive. Because it was none other than Galatea! Last time she came to his house, she nearly demolished it. Naruto couldn't help feeling almost grateful that she didn't simply smash her way inside.

"Hey." Naruto greeted when he opened the door.

"Hi."

The two of them stared at each other awkwardly, neither of them knowing what else to say for a while. In that time, Naruto couldn't help taking a second look at her.

The blonde woman sported a totally different outfit compared to what she used to wear before: a pair of black, high-heeled ankle boots, faux leather black leggings were hugging her shapely legs tightly, a dark beige woollen blouse that reached her thighs and a long black coat that went past her knees. A black leather purse and chic black hat completed the outfit, giving it a stylish vibe.

It was a rather normal outfit that many of the young women in USA loved to wear during winter. It didn't reveal any skin and it wasn't meant to outline the sexiness of the wearer. It was a proper winter outfit. However, Galatea being dressed in it made Naruto unable to utter a word for a brief moment.

But when he finally met her eyes, he realized that the blonde girl in front of him was far from being well. After dressing his voice, he asked:

"What brings you here?"

Galatea looked at her feet as she asked after a moment of hesitation:

"Can I come in?"

Scene break

Whether it was because of his discussion with Barbara earlier that day or because Galatea's new appearance had that much impact on him, Naruto wasn't sure which was the reason, but he was feeling self-conscious in that moment, like never before.

Normally, he didn't really care about his appearance or whether his room was tidy or not - they were trivial things in his opinion. However, when he let Galatea in, odd thoughts started to appear in his mind. For example, he realized that was dressed in just a pair of pyjamas trousers and a t-shirt - definitely not something one would wear while having guests. Furthermore, a strange embarrassment came over him when he spotted a few empty cans of Coca Cola and ripped chips bags on the low table in front of the sofa.

Hurriedly, he tidied up the pillows of the sofa and offered the girl to take a seat. Then, he tried to take away everything from the low table as fast as possible. But, in his hurry, a can fell of from his arms. Naruto felt his face heating up when he picked the empty can from the floor. Forcing his voice to sound calm, he said, all the while almost sprinting towards the kitchen:

"Make yourself at home while I prepare some hot chocolate for you, ok? Or maybe you want some tea?"

"Chocolate is fine. Thank you!" Galatea said quietly, but loud enough for Naruto to hear her.

When he got to the kitchen, he threw everything into the trash bin and then palmed his face with both of his hands.

'The heck is wrong with me today?!'

He felt like walking on thin glass. It wasn't like him to get flustered from small things...or from anything at all. He was always in control.

While waiting for the water to start boiling he closed his eyes and circulated the chakra through his meridians. His two chakra hearts gradually calmed down and his agitated mood reverted to normal. When he opened his eyes, he sighed in comfort.

Coming back to the living room, he found Galatea still seated where he left her, not having moved from her place. Seeing the way her coat and her hat were slumped over one of the sofa's armrests, embarrassment bit at him again as he realized what a terrible host he was.

He placed the 2 mugs of hot chocolate on the table and then he took Galatea's coat and hat and hanged them on the stand in the entrance hall. Returning, he took a seat next to her, on the sofa, unconsciously calculating the perfect distance so he would not be too close to her and invade her personal space while also not being too far as to make her think he doesn't want to get anywhere near to her. Once again, it wasn't something he did on a normal basis.

"Now tell me what happened to you. You seem distressed." Naruto started.

Galatea took on sip from her mug before saying:

"I found my father."

"Oh... did you kill him?"

The girl swallowed what looked like a node in her throat.

"No. He committed suicide, right under my eyes."

Naruto was stumped for words. He had certainly not expected that. The Orochimaru he knew from his past life was desperate to obtain immortality, to live forever. To think that THAT man took his own life was inconceivable to him.

Taking Naruto's silence as a sign to continue, Galatea said:

"Before he died, he... he said some words – I know what you think... but that was not me...Back then, it wasn't me..."

"He left me a notebook. This notebook." She said and she took a notebook from her purse.

Naruto flipped it open, curious as to what it would be written in it. There wasn't much: only one page.

Dear Galatea,

If you read this then it means that I am dead. I want you to know that I loved you more than anything. More than my own life. I would have never hurt you.

You know about my past life. There were some people that had special ocular abilities. They could place other people under their illusion and control their actions completely - the Uchiha clan.

One of them, was reincarnated in this life as well - Uchiha Itachi. He is a core member of an international terrorist organisation - the League of Shadows. He was the one that made me kill you. I had no control over my actions. It was only after you died that I was released from the genjutsu - the illusion.

Ever since I learned that you have managed to survive somehow, I knew that you would come after me and that you would not give me a chance to explain myself or that you would not believe me.

I couldn't let you kill me...I didn't want you to stain your hands and your consciousness with the blood of your father - that's why I decided to end my own life.

Don't feel sorry for me. I have lived my life like I wanted and I ended it on my own terms too. Furthermore, I didn't live a fruitless life: out of both of my present and past life, you were my greatest achievement. A masterpiece. If there is one regret that I have is that I couldn't gouge that bastard's eyes out with my own hands. Still, I know that he will not escape. Even if you won't go after him, the demonic fox that Uzumaki Naruto keeps at his side will certainly make sure that the Uchiha will die.

My daughter, I ask of you only these few things: keep your will firm and your mind clear. Live well, according to your heart's desires and never bend your back in front of anyone. Because nobody is above you. You are the ultimate warrior. You are perfect.

I want you to know that no matter what you will do from now on, I will always love you.

Orochimaru.

When he finished reading it, Naruto couldn't find his words for a while. Eventually, he asked:

"Are you sure he is dead?"

After reading the contents of the notebook, Naruto felt suspicious. He couldn't wrap his mind around the drastic difference between this Orochimaru and the one that he used to know. He was finding it very hard to believe that one of the most selfish and vile people that he had ever met would choose to die just so he could spare someone from feeling guilt.

"Yes, I saw him dying with my own eyes. Not only he stabbed himself in the stomach, his body also melted afterwards as though it had been submerged in acid. Not even the Pit that brought me back to life can possibly do anything about him anymore."

A lone tear fell down her cheek but she wiped it right away and turned her face to the side, ashamed of letting her weakness being seen like that.

After she composed herself, she asked:

"Is what he said about that man, Uchiha Itachi, true?"

Naruto chose his words carefully before speaking.

"I don't know whether he really is alive in the present but the Uchiha Itachi that I used to know was able to cast one of the most powerful illusions in the entire world. And we're speaking about a world with that had millions of what you would consider as metahumans."

"Nonetheless, if Uchiha Itachi is alive then, what Orochimaru said might have been very well the truth."

Galatea sat up.

"Thank you. That is what I wanted to know from you. Now that I got the confirmation, I know what to do."

She headed towards the entrance door and just as she grabbed her coat, she heard her name being called.

"Galatea!"

It was the first time Naruto actually called out her name.

"Where are you going?"

Naruto didn't really understand his own actions. Why did he even care what was she going to do?

"That man caused my death and my father's as well. I will make him regret ever being born. I'll kill not only him but his entire family..."

"No... I'll save him for the last. I'll kill his parents first. Then his siblings, and then the rest of his family. I'll kill even his dog if he has one. I won't let him die until he tasted the same despair that I did."

With her eyes blazing red, she looked like heat beams were about to be shot.

"Don't tell me you want to stop me! Not after all you did to get your vengeance!" she said, glaring at him aggressively.

"I'd be a hypocrite if I tried to stop you. Besides, why would I? What would I gain from it? Nothing."

"Do what you want to do. However, how are you going to find him? How are you going to do that when you couldn't in 2 weeks? - there's no way you have not tried to search for Uchiha Itachi during this period of time when you were away."

Galatea had indeed looked all over Switzerland for the League of Shadows but the hideout where she had been kept previously was demolished when she went there. She had also tried to get intel about them from information brokers but to no avail. Either they didn't know anything about it or they were too afraid to divulge anything.

"So, does that mean that you can?"

"I'm not saying for certain that I will find him, but my chances are much higher. I'm rather well acquainted with Batman, who is not called the World's Best Detective for nothing. Furthermore, I know a truly exceptional hacker – I broke him out of prison. If the FBI or CIA has any classified information about the League of Shadows, it will not take long before we will obtain it."

Galatea looked at him deeply.

"That does sound promising. But what do you get out of it? Why would you even try to help me in the first place, after what I've done to you?"

Galatea's words made Naruto actually question his own motivation. Why was he helping her? Why did he even care? It was then that Nagato Uzumaki's speech from his past life came at the front of his mind.

"In my past life, someone told me that if you don't share someone's pain you can never understand them."

"But the pain of losing the most important person in your life – I've felt it. I've experienced your despair, your rage. I can relate to you. I've been in the very same situation not long ago."

"I'm only offering you my help, not forcing you to do anything. The choice is yours."