Chapter 22: Aika's Feelings

Chapter 22: Aika's Feelings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Hmm…."- Bijuu

"Hmm…."- Flashback

Chapter 22:

Aika's Feelings

One Uzumaki Naruto had a worried look on his face as he shifted awkwardly as he stood before both Aika and Haru, the former tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. The trio had quickly made their way back into their classroom in hopes of getting some privacy, Thankfully, their sensei had already left to take his lunch break as well. So it was only the three of them.

The reason for Naruto's current mood was because it was the time for answers. Due to circumstances beyond his control, both of his friends that he had made in the Academy had been exposed to his biggest secret: he really wasn't who he said he was. It was something that Naruto had hoped would never come to pass. But it had. And it hadn't even been a month yet since he had arrived to the past before someone had found out about his secret too. Man, he really did suck at stealth all right.

Kurama snorted in amusement in his mind but didn't comment.

"Well?" Aika pressed, leaning forward slightly. "We have the privacy you wanted. Now, give us the answers we asked you, Naruto."

The blond flinched a bit at the girl calling him by his name instead of the nickname that she had given him. It just showed him that she was being serious with her demand. Not that Naruto blamed her. The blond knew that he would be the same way if he were in her shoes. But he wasn't. Naruto knew that what he had to tell them wasn't easy. Not only that, but what Naruto feared the most was that they would freak out and never talk to him again once he told them who and what he really was. It would suck. The blond had found himself becoming quite attached with both of them. He didn't know why either. He just knew that he would gladly risk his own life for theirs by this point.

"Give them some credit, brat," Kurama spoke, seeing it as his duty to talk some sense into his host since all of his other siblings were taking the chance to rest for the time being. "They haven't left yet, even after what they had to go through at that temple. That should tell you that they're at least open to hearing what you have to say."

Naruto sighed, knowing his furry companion had a point. And the blond jinchuriki was certain that he wouldn't be able to walk out of here without telling them anything. He knew how Aika was by this point.

"Well….." the blond began with an uncertain voice, shifting a bit more. "There's quite a bit I have to say. And I don't really know where to begin. But I guess that I should start by saying that I'm not from this time….."

Aika looked at him with a blank look while Haru raised an eyebrow. The blond Uzumaki could almost see the wheels turning in their heads.

"….did I hear that right?" Aika asked, her blank look prevalent.

"I told you it wasn't easy," Naruto muttered before shaking his head. He had decided to cross this bridge. So he would see it to the end at least. "But yeah, that's right. I'm not from this time. I came from the future. So I guess you could call me a time traveler."

Silence.

After a few more moments of this, Naruto began to sweat, wondering if his fears from before were going to become reality right this moment.

Aika then groaned, bringing one of her hands to her face. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're being serious right now? You're not joking with us right?"

"I don't think he is," Haru replied, answering before Naruto could. "I mean, I'm sure even Naruto isn't dumb enough to joke right now. Especially with something as time traveling."

Naruto t'sked. "Thanks, Haru. Don't know if you're vouching for me or insulting me, but thanks. I really appreciate it."

Haru laughed awkwardly, realizing that his blond companion had a point.

Aika for her part crossed her arms in front of her, looking between the two. "All right then. Say we believe that. Just how did it happen? Why are you here exactly? And are you really an Uzumaki for that matter?"

Naruto frowned at the last question. "Well, to start: yes, I am an Uzumaki. At least, partially. I would never lie about that."

"Partially how?" the girl said, pressing on with her little interrogation.

Shrugging, Naruto answered, "My mom was an Uzumaki." The blond held himself back from telling them just who his mother was. He wasn't sure just how they, particularly Aika, would handle to that. "My dad wasn't, though."

"It sounds like you didn't meet them," Haru said with a curious look.

Naruto sighed. Scratching the back of his head for a moment, Naruto knew that he would have to settle for the half truth here. He really didn't want to explain to either of them who his parents were.

"I didn't."

Haru glanced at Aika. But the girl stared at him with a look that Naruto couldn't decipher.

"Then how do you know your mother was an Uzumaki?" Haru asked, seeing as Aika wasn't going to ask.

"The Sandaime Hokage told me," Naruto answered. Chuckling awkwardly, "Yeah, I pretty much grew up in Konoha. And it also has to do why my mother fell for someone who wasn't an Uzumaki like her."

"Uzu was destroyed, wasn't it," Aika stated without a shred of doubt. Haru looked at her with wide eyes while Naruto had a look of surprise.

"Yes…..how did you know that?"

Shrugging, the girl answered, "It's the only thing that makes sense. The policy here about outsiders is pretty much clear. So the only way I could see that happening is if Uzu didn't exist anymore."

Naruto whistled, once more impressed with how insightful the girl could be when she wanted to. "Yeah…just why does that law even exist anyway?" Naruto asked, clearly interested in wondering why his clan had such a stand about the rest of the nations.

Haru was the one who answered, even if he was still recovering from his shock. "It goes all the way back to when the clan first split away from the Senju. At the time, the Clan wars era was at its peak. Seeing the endless bloodshed, the first clan head decreed that no person from the clan was ever to associate with an outsider in such a way. He feared that if others started coming in, it would only start more violence and corruption within the clan. Most felt the same way as he did, so it was made into a law. It still exists today because of tradition mostly. But most of the older generation still believes that our stance in isolationism is for the betterment of the clan. But since you just said that Uzu does fall one day, then maybe it isn't true."

Naruto frowned, mainly because of what Haru had just said. He still wasn't sure just how Uzu was destroyed. His mother hadn't actually gone into detail when she had told him about her past. Not that he could blame her. With everything else that she had to tell him in her limited time, such a thing was irrelevant considering the circumstances. But circumstances had changed. Not that anyone could have ever guessed such a thing. The other reason he was frowning was because of this "Isolationism" belief that was prevalent in his clan. Naruto could understand why the clan would feel like that. At the same time, however, it was the complete opposite of what he was trying to do. Trying to foster better relationships among the nations was fruitless if even his own clan didn't believe that such an idea was a good one.

"I don't think that it's wrong," Aika said, looking at Naruto in particular. The blond could feel those icy blue eyes studying him. Naruto had no doubt that the girl had a pretty good idea just why he was here. "The clan has survived this long without depending on anyone else. There's no crime here. Everyone trusts one another. We're all a family. As far as I'm concerned, this is the closest to an utopia that there will ever be in the Elemental Nations. Not even Konoha can claim such a thing."

"But then how could things actually change for the better if no one is willing to try?" Naruto countered, feeling as if the girl was challenging what he believed in. "If you only look out for yourself, then you can't expect for conditions to head down the right path."

"That's because people don't want that," Aika stated with narrowed eyes. "If people really desired peace, then the concept of war would only exist in fiction. While things aren't as bad as before the village system was introduced, it's still a far cry from true peace. There are still wars. It's the dual nature within people to desire both violence and peace. It's as simple as that."

Naruto frowned. He liked the girl. He really did. And at the bottom of his heart, he truly did believe that she was a good person. But the way that she saw the world was just too…..dark.

Seeing things beginning to escalate, Haru decided to step in. "I think we shouldn't fight amongst ourselves," he said with a strained smile. "We're friends here. Besides, we still need to get the rest of ours answers from Naruto. Right, Aika?"

The girl huffed before crossing her arms again.

Haru decided to take that as her confirmation. Looking at his blond friend, he asked, "Then how exactly did you get here? And just why are you here in the first place?"

Scratching his stomach, Naruto replied, "The how would be too complicated to go into. A lot of things happened. But the basic story has to do with the bijuu. Have you heard of them?"

"I've read of them," Haru said while Aika merely shook her head, indicating that she had not. "They're supposed to be chakra monsters right?"

Hearing a small growl from within his mind, Naruto corrected, "Not monsters, but chakra beasts. They don't take to being called monsters all that well."

Both redheads turned questioning looks towards him, silently asking how he would know such a thing.

Placing a hand on his stomach, Naruto chuckled as he said, "Have you two ever heard of the term jinchuriki?"

While Aika looked confused, Haru had a look of understanding. Wow, the boy really did read a lot. "Are you telling me that you're a jinchuriki!?"

"Sshhhh!" Naruto hushed him, quickly looking towards the door of the classroom to see if anyone had walked in or something. "You can't go shouting that out!"

Haru had an embarrassed look, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. "S-sorry." Heh, he hadn't stuttered all day either. Until now anyways.

"Okay, just what is this jinchuriki that you guys are talking about?" Aika asked, not particularly liking that she was being left out of the loop here.

"It basically stands for power of the human sacrifice," Haru answered, coming out of his embarrassment. "Jinchuriki stands for those who have had a bijuu sealed into them in hopes of controlling the beast's power. Right?"

Nodding, Naruto said, "That's the gist of it. But I guess what I should also point out is that I just don't have one sealed into me. I have nine."

Haru looked shocked. "All nine!? But that's impossible! The Shodai Hokage spread the bijuu among the nations as a way to keep peace! They shouldn't be all in one place!"

Naruto shrugged. "They weren't. This has to deal with why I'm here." Looking at the two of them, Naruto took a breath in before saying what he needed to tell them so that they understood.

"In my time, a dangerous organization composed sorely of S-ranked rogue ninjas was formed." Both Uzumakis' eyes widened at the detail. But Naruto was just getting started. "Their objective was basically to capture all nine bijuu so that they could bring peace to the shinobi world." Well, not all members were aware of that. Hell, even Nagato didn't know that the true plan was to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi and not his bijuu weapon that he had desired.

"How is capturing all the bijuu bringing peace to the world?" Aika asked with an incredulous look, one which was mirrored by Haru.

"The leader behind the organization wanted to activate a certain jutsu. A massive genjutsu," Naruto explained with a sigh. "In the genjutsu that he would cast on the entire world, he would be able to control every human on the planet. He would dictate all. No wars. No violence. No deaths. Nothing but this so-called peace. That's what the Infinite Tsukuyomi represented to him."

"That's just….." Aika had no words to describe it. Nor did she know how she truly felt about such a technique. On one hand, she could see why someone would pursue that path. It did sound nice, she had to admit. A dream world. No violence. No deaths. A world where her parents didn't have to go off and fight because of the selfishness of others who didn't give a damn. But at the same time, it really was nothing more than an illusion.

"And this genjutsu can only be activated by gathering the bijuu?" Haru guessed.

Nodding, Naruto continued, "Yes. Once he brought all of the bijuu together as one, he was able to reform the Juubi: it's the combination of all of the bijuu. Through it, this genjutsu could be achieved. To do so, he first needed to become its jinchuriki. He did so. But apparently he wasn't able to control the massive power which resulted in there being a break created through time which also brought me here."

"And you have all nine because…?"

"That's the tricky part," Naruto said to Haru's question. "What happened at the temple…I don't know how, but that woman was somehow able to free all the other bijuu from their confinements and seal them into me. Originally, I only had the Kyuubi with me. None of the others." The blond didn't use Kurama's real name since he had the feeling that the bijuu didn't want others to know his real name. At least, of this time period. He didn't trust any of them for that just yet.

Haru rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming. Not that Naruto could blame the boy. It was a lot of information. Not only that, but he had skipped a lot of details. But at the moment, that was all that was needed for them to understand his situation.

"So then, I'm guessing you're here because you want to stop that from ever happening," Aika spoke up, making the boys look at her. At Naruto's nod, she continued with, "Not only that, but I'm also guessing that you also want to achieve some some sort of agreement or peace among the nations. In order to forever stop that from truly happening again."

Naruto sighed, scratching the back of his head. "You know, Aika-chan, you read me too well for me to actually have any surprises left."

Aika rolled his eyes. "Whatever, whiskers. You're just easy to read."

Naruto hid his smile, glad that she was at least calling him by his nickname. It showed him that he was making progress here.

Nodding, Naruto nevertheless said, "Yep. That's pretty much it. It's the will that my master left behind for me. And I want to achieve that. It's why I'm here today. I believe that it's plausible, even with everything that you said, Aika-chan."

"But such a goal," Haru muttered. Naruto already knew that the boy was calculating the odds of it being a success. And Naruto didn't need to be a math genius to know that his odds were slim. But he had never once believed that the road he had chosen for himself was an easy one. It was why he was fully prepared to face whatever laid for him in the future head on.

"Do you truly believe that you can accomplish it?" Aika asked, a look of complete seriousness befalling her face. "The world out there….it's not so nice. I know that I don't know everything, but the world we live in exists for a reason. Do you really think that you can actually change all of that?"

"I do," Naruto answered without hesitation. "As long as I'm not alone, I know that anything is possible. I may not be able to do it on my own, but if I have you alongside me then I know that it can be achieved."

Aika locked eyes with him. Haru looked on between the two, knowing for a fact that they were pretty much telling one another just how they felt about the issue. There was an intensity in both sets of eyes.

That was until Aika's softened. "You're a big idiot, you know that right, whiskers?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look. "So you keep reminding me just about every day."

"And I'll keep doing that," Aika retorted as she walked up to him. The girl then proceeded to take both Naruto's and Haru's hands, bringing them together into a small circle.

"I don't know if what you're saying is possible," she began, "and I don't even know what we're going to be able to do to help you with your dream. But as idealistic as it sounds, I'm at least willing to stand behind it. What do you say, Haru?"

The body nodded. "I feel the same way too. Statistically speaking, it should be impossible. But then again, in the time that I've known you, Naruto, you haven't exactly come off as the kind of person that would let that stop you. The fact that you're here right now proves that. So I'm also willing to stand alongside you to help you."

"Well then," Aika said with a smile as both she and Haru turned to Naruto, "that's that. It's a pleasure to get to meet the real you from now on, whiskers."

Naruto's face softened while tears threatened to spill out from his eyes.

"Awe," Aika said, her smile still present. "Someone is going to cry."

"No way! I just had something in my eyes," Naruto said as he tried to wipe his tears away. At least, that was the case until Aika pulled them together into a group hug.

"We're true friends now."

Naruto could only nod, glad that things had worked out in the end. Inside his mind, Kurama merely smirked.

The brat continued to amaze him.

Aika's eyes snapped open before she stood up in a sitting position in her bed, the sun shining through the window in her bedroom. The girl rubbed her eyes, trying to take the sleepiness out of them. A few minutes later, she was out of bed and doing her usual morning routine.

Dressed and ready for another boring day at the academy, Aika found herself alone in the kitchen in her house. Her parents had left along with most of the shinobi in the village in what she had heard was to be the assault force against Kumo. So she had spent her afternoons alone in her home for the past two weeks. What was worse was the fact that Naruto should have been back by now. The idiot had promised them that it wouldn't take him this long to return. Then again, Aika should have known that her blond friend would just get mixed up in one thing or another. She had already learned that trouble gravitated towards him.

A sigh escaped her lips as she stared at the piece of toast in front of her. She had no appetite at the moment. It was something that had been more common these past few days since she had done some research. The young girl had felt as if Naruto had left quite a bit in the aspect of being a jinchuriki. And while Haru did seem to have a firm grasp of just what the jinchuriki were, the girl had felt the need to search herself. Which was exactly what she had done. She didn't know why she was so interested except that perhaps it dealt with her desire to want to know more about the blond. He had told them that anything else was pretty trivial. But considering the fact that he didn't know who his parents were, Aika had a feeling that the blond's childhood wasn't as great as hers or Haru's.

What she had found at the library pretty much confirmed her beliefs.

'The jinchuriki,' she thought bitterly. Just thinking of the word made her want to vomit. From what she had learned, the jinchuriki weren't that well liked even though they were a village's greatest asset. And that was a pretty way of saying that they were a village's pet beast which they could unleash whenever they wanted to. But no one was grateful for that. Instead, they despised and cursed the jinchuriki even though they really didn't have much say in their situation. Aika was certain that Naruto had been put in the same situation. It was why the girl was amazed that the boy had turned out the way he had. She couldn't blame him if he had desired some sort of vengeance against Konoha.

'But maybe I'm wrong,' Aika said to herself. 'After all, books don't spell out everyone's life story. Maybe he did have a good childhood…'

But some part of her knew that that was just childish thinking. Odds were that Naruto had spent most of his time ostracized for something he had no control over.

'I really need to ask him more about it when he comes back.' She made a mental check of that. Looking at the clock on the wall, Aika realized that she needed to get going if she wanted to be in time for homeroom. Looking at the untouched breakfast in front of her, the girl got up before making her way out the door.

Her breakfast remained, untouched.

Aika entered the classroom without a word and a bored look on her face, just like she had done so before she had met Naruto. Looking up towards the back of the classroom, however, her eyes brightened as she spotted Haru already sitting as usual with his eyes closed.

Feeling eyes on him, Haru opened his own, immediately locking gazes with Aika. The boy waved at her which she returned before making her way to him.

The other academy students that were already there didn't pay much attention to this, already having gotten used to the fact that the two were now friends.

"Morning, Haru," Aika said with a small smile as she sat next to him.

"Good morning," was the boy's pleasant response.

"It looks like another day without the idiot around," she added after a few moments with a sigh.

Haru nodded, already knowing that the girl was really worried about their blond friend. Not that he could blame her. Not having been outside of Uzu before, Haru could only imagine just how different the rest of the shinobi world was. Not to mention with the Second Shinobi war raging on. Things were sure to be dangerous. But the young Uzumaki was certain that Naruto could take care of himself. While he wasn't aware of what Naruto could do, Haru was sure that the blond had to be powerful. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to go out there just like that because he needed to get those kunais of his. And Haru knew that not even Naruto was stupid enough to overestimate himself like that…right?

At any rate, Haru also knew that this did nothing to alleviate the girl's concerns. But Haru also knew that it wasn't just Naruto that was on her mind: her parents were also there. That being said, Haru also shared that same worry as well. After all, his father was out there at war already too. But Haru believed in him and his skills.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Haru said in a hopeful tone. "I mean, he won't be out there forever. And if something had happened to him, then his clone would have disappeared."

Speak of the devil. Both turned towards the doorway just as the Naruto clone and Kushina walked in. This also wasn't rare. The clone, just like its original, wanted to maintain a good relationship with the girl. It was something that Aika did not understand and did not like. Haru…he didn't question it. As far as he could tell, it was just in Naruto's nature to try and be friends with everyone if he could.

The clone went towards them without missing a beat while Kushina made her way towards her own group of friends. As usual, though, she did send a look towards the clone which Haru found puzzling. He couldn't describe it. He didn't know if Aika noticed it and ignored it or if she was just oblivious to it as she never commented on it.

"Hey, guys!" the clone said with a wave of his own and a cheery tone. "Another morning, eh?"

Aika rolled her eyes for a moment, finding it really hard to remind herself that the Naruto in front of her was just a clone and not the original. The goofy grin and tone certainly didn't help all right.

"Yes, another day without your original showing up again," Aika said while the clone sat next to her. The comment made the clone freeze up while Aika got a dangerous look in her eyes. "I wonder just who I can take my anger out on for that? Any suggestions? Hmm?"

"We've been through this already, Aika-chan," the clone said with a small gulp, fearing for his existence. "You'll blow the boss's cover if you do. And we both know that you don't want that. Right?"

The girl gave him a stare which made the clone wonder if she really would just to teach his boss a lesson about keeping the promises he made. Which was ironic since the clone knew that his boss was always up on key with that. Which meant that something huge had happened. Unfortunately, since he wasn't a shadow clone, he wouldn't learn of it even if the boss did create them. Which sucked.

Aika finally relented with a sigh. "Fine. But the minute he's here, you're a goner. Got that?"

The clone could only nod, silently wondering why the boss attracted the violent ones. Honestly. The only timid one had been Hinata…Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Temari all had their tempers.

'He must be a masochist or something,' the clone thought in amusement before it dawned upon him. 'Wait…wouldn't that make ME a masochist as well!?'

The clone fell to despair at the thought.

Haru could only sigh at the spectacle in front of him, once again wondering just how even a clone of the blond could be such a…goofball. It was amusing at least.

It was at that moment that their chunnin instructor walked into the room with his usual pace.

Aika sighed, knowing that she was in for another usual day. While some part of her didn't mind that since it was better than there being a sudden emergency, it was boring. Feeling a set of eyes on her, though, Aika turned her head to the right to see none other than Kushina looking straight at her. But instead of the usual cold look, there was something else on there today, something which Aika could not decipher.

Talk about weird.

"Whooo! I just know that he had to be the one responsible!"

"He sure is excited," Haru said with a small smile as he watched the Naruto clone literally bounce up and down as they made their way back into the forest that they had gone in when they had discovered that old temple. They were going to see if they could actually find a training spot to get some practice in since there really was nothing better to do. Aika also really didn't want to go home.

"Well, I'm sure his excitement isn't unfounded," Aika added with a smile of her own. Before their sensei had dismissed them for the day, he had dropped big news on them: the Uzu strike force had been able to penetrate through the Land of Lightning's border and were already on the march towards Kumo itself. He hadn't told them anything other than that, but it was enough to raise the spirit of the class. Especially the clone's.

Aika was certain, just as the clone was, that Naruto had to have had his hand in that. She didn't know how, but it was almost certain. Maybe that was the reason why he was taking so long in coming back too.

"But this way, it looks like the war might really end soon," Haru said with a thoughtful look. "I mean, I'm pretty sure not even father was expecting for the operation to go as smoothly."

Aika glanced at her friend, already aware of the fact that his father shared with him some of the things happening in the village that no other kid their age knew about. It just spoke levels about the trust the man had in his son. Not that Aika could blame him. Haru was smart. He knew to never speak of anything like that with anyone. Aika had been the exception since their sensei had mentioned to them about an attack that Uzu was carrying out against Kumo. But by that time, Naruto had left so he hadn't been here to hear about it.

"Are you really sure about?"

Haru looked at her, shrugging slightly. "It's plausible. If we do manage to get close enough to their village gates, I'm sure that that will put enough pressure on them to rethink their stand on the war. Hopefully."

Aika nodded, trusting her friend's judgement on the matter.

The three came to a halt, however, as they felt a rustling in a nearby tree. High above the tree for that matter. That was soon followed with some cursing.

"Dammit, I'm seriously gonna have a long talk with Ma and Pa about that jutsu the next time they plan on using it on me. Even if it did bring me back here."

Three sets of eyes widened, each owner of said eyes recognizing the owner of that voice.

There was more rustling before another blond came flying down on them from the tree above with a cry and landed on none other the clone himself.

Both Aika and Haru blinked as before their eyes stood two Narutos, both rubbing their heads while muttering under their breaths.

"Whiskers!"

"Naruto!"

"Dammit, boss!"

Uzumaki Naruto blinked as all three voices hit his ears, tilting his head to the side as he did so.

"Hmm?"

Naruto was rubbing the back of his head as he, along with both Aika and Haru, made their way back to the village. After having dispelled the clone, Naruto was instantly bombarded with all of its memories which were enough to give him a light headache. Thanks to Kurama storing them up in a separate part of his mind for now, Naruto would be able to go through them later. At the moment, though, he was in the middle of getting scolded by Aika while Haru just watched, knowing full well what would happen to him if he got involved.

"It wasn't my fault," Naruto muttered with a defeated look, knowing that he had been out of Uzu longer than he had promised. "I mean, things just came up."

"So you really did take part in helping us get to into the Land of Lightning?"

"Pretty much," was Naruto's answer.

After he had defeated the Raikage, Naruto had quickly retreated from the battlefield. There really hadn't been any point in staying any longer since the force from Kumo had been in full retreat by that point. Not only that, but Sasuke had also dealt with Kiri's fleet in one blow with that new upgraded Susanoo of his. The combined operation had been crushed. So using Kurama's chakra. Naruto had headed straight back into Kumo as soon as possible. There, Ichiro had given him a scolding since he had been a day late to pick up his order. But at the very least, he had been able to get the kunai set that he had wanted as well as the exact amount. They were now safely stored in Mount Myoboku with the toads until he learned to be able to duplicate the Hiraishin seal formula.

However, Naruto had remained in the Land of Lightning an extra week to see how things were going just in case he felt it was necessary to step in. Despite having won that battle at sea, Kumo's main force hadn't been defeated. Naruto had seen how the main force had been called from the battlefields all over the Elemental Nations and back to Kumo to try and push back Uzu's forces. Fortunately, by that point Uzu had already established a very protected stronghold. Not to mention that both Jiraiya and Sasuke had remained with them the whole time. A few days after that, a Konoha force arrived to assist Uzu in pushing towards Kumo. After having seen how the combined force was steadily making its way to Kumo's doorsteps, Naruto had known that his presence was no longer needed. It was then that he had finally turned back on his way to Uzu. What amazed the blond the most was the fact that the toads had actually been able to summon him back inside Uzu instead of him trying to sneak his way in the same manner that he had snuck out. Apparently the toads did have some of their own within the village. It made the blond feel stupid since he could have used that method to have snuck out in the first place.

Another reason why he had come back now was because a ship from Uzu's fleet had made its way back as well. The ship was carrying the wounded along with the corpses of the casualties that they had sustained in their campaign so far. It was something that Naruto didn't want to think about, but it was reality. As much as the blond detested it, he knew that there were going to be casualties the second that Uzu announced they were taking part in this damn war.

Glancing at Aika, the blond suddenly remembered how her parents had also gone off to be part of the force as per the village's request. The blond Uzumaki was cursing himself for having forgotten that since he had been over there for an extra week and not even once checked to see how they were doing. Naruto could tell that it was killing the girl. Not that he could blame her. He was sure that he would feel the same way if he were in her shoes. At the very least, the girl could tell that the information had flied over his head but wasn't blaming him. Despite her tough exterior, Naruto knew that she really was soft inside. It made him smile for a moment, something which Aika caught as well as his staring at her. The two quickly looked away from one another with Naruto not being sure why he was suddenly so embarrassed.

Haru looked on between them with a shake of his head. He wasn't going to comment on this all right. It wasn't any of his business.

The trio were soon back in the village. But instead of going their respective ways, they headed straight for the main harbor that the village had that would no doubt be where the ship was going to dock. They were going there as both Naruto and Aika's request, but mainly Aika's. She wanted to see if her parents were there or not. Hopefully not, and if they were then just barely injured or something.

The rest of the trip was made in silence. But it was a comfortable one. Naruto was glad to be back, even if some part of him wanted to be in Kumo fighting alongside the others. But Naruto realized that Sasuke was handling that, even if the blond didn't know just why the Uchiha got involved and how for that matter.

"Heh, something must have happened to that Uchiha brat," Kurama stated with a bored tone. "At least, you can count on him not betraying you for the time being."

'I never thought that once, Kurama.'

Kurama shook his head. Naruto's trusting nature was both a gift and a curse at times. But at least, Kurama could admit to the fact that maybe he had misjudged that Uchiha brat if his actions at the battle were anything to go by. For the moment, he would reserve further judgment until they were able to talk face-to-face with the boy.

The three Uzumaki reached the harbor in the next few minutes. And just as they had guessed, the ship was already docked there. They could see how some of the wounded were already being brought from out of the ship and onto land where some medical shinobi were already waiting. While Uzu didn't have anyone in Tsunade's or Sakura's level when it came to medical ninjutsu, they weren't that lacking either. Especially since Naruto could tell that they must use fuinjutsu in some form or another to their advantage. Something that Fukasaku had drilled into his and his clones' heads was the fact that fuinjutsu had endless possibilities. A true master in the art could do just about anything. The only problem was time. Fuinjutsu wasn't something you could learn overnight, something Naruto was finding to be true even with his clones lending him a hand. The bottom line was that most people didn't want to spend the time learning it. In all honesty, Naruto would feel the same way except that the blond realized that it was his birthright. His clan specialized in fuinjutsu. As such, he felt that he needed to master it as well. Besides, it couldn't hurt to add fuinjutsu to his arsenal.

The whiskered blood also picked out a familiar figure already there, one which he hadn't seen for nearly two weeks now even if his clone had.

"Yo, baa-chan!"

Kazumi felt her eyebrows twitched at the nickname before turning around. And sure enough, it was her favorite blond running towards her with his two friends in tow. The woman let an internal sigh. She didn't look THAT old right? The woman calmed herself, telling herself that it was only the boy's way of expressing affection towards her. She only wished that he didn't scream it out loud, though.

"Ah, Naruto-kun," she began with a smile despite her thoughts, "what brings you and your friends here?"

"Aika-chan wants to know if her parents are back yet or not," Naruto answered as he pointed to the girl standing next to him. She currently had her eyes fixated on the many wounded shinobi being helped off of the ship. But so far, none of them were her parents.

'Ah,' Kazumi thought in realization. Her heart did go out to the girl. It wasn't easy, especially at that age, to look forward to finding out whether or not your parents were alive or dead. It was yet another problem of the many she already had with them going into this war. But it had been her husband's decision. And she needed to respect that. Especially since she knew that he wouldn't endanger the lives of his family without a good reason.

"But what are you doing here, baa-chan?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, Naruto-kun, I'm the current head of the clan right now since Arashi isn't here," she answered. It seemed as if she had forgotten to mention that. But honestly, it wasn't something that was brought up at the dinner table all right.

Naruto whistled. "That's awesome, baa-chan. I always knew you were awesome!"

'He always does know how to brighten one's day,' Kazumi thought in amusement. Being the current leader wasn't something she was fond of at the moment since she had to see her brethren being carried off near their deaths. It was the one part of the job that she detested, even more so than the paperwork.

It was at that moment that they heard Aika release a small gasp. The two quickly followed where she was looking. And sure enough, her father was walking down the ramp and onto the dock while holding his right shoulder. From here, Naruto could see how the man had been patched up from some kind of injury.

It didn't take long before Aika ran towards him. Naruto and Haru soon followed behind with Kazumi trailing behind them, already knowing that they weren't technically supposed to get this close to the ship. But she would allow it for the girl's benefit this time.

"Dad!"

Hiroshi, Aika's father, looked up to see none other than his daughter running towards him. Seeing her made the gap in his heart grow even bigger for he knew what he would have to do in just a few moments. It would be the hardest thing that he would so far in his life.

Aika embraced him as soon as she was close enough. But the girl quickly released him when he stiffened, no doubt from whatever injury he had received.

"I'm so glad to see you," Aika said with a smile while tears gathered around her eyes. Behind her, Naruto and the others stood a few distance away to see the happy reunion between father and daughter.

"Where's mom?" Aika asked while looking behind him, trying to see if she could see the woman walking towards them. "Did she not come back with you?"

Aika paused as she felt her father flinch at her question. "Dad….?"

Hiroshi sighed while slowly shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Aika. But your mother…she-"

Aika didn't need for him to finish his sentence. She already knew what he was going to say. It was because of that reason that she zoned him out, not wanting to hear what he had to say. That would just hurt too much.

Off to the side, Naruto had a shocked look on his face, not quite believing what he had just heard. Next to him, Haru and Kazumi were in a similar situation, Haru even worse so. Kazumi merely sighed, once again silently cursing the fact that they had been dragged into this war.

Naruto took a step forward with his arm stretched forward in an effort to try and reach his friend. "Aika-chan-"

The girl simply turned around and walked past him without a word. There weren't any tears, but Naruto could tell that she was just being strong right now. That she didn't want others to see her crying.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Naruto looked up to see Kazumi giving him a sad smile. "You should go to her, Naruto-kun. She's going to need a friend right now."

Nodding, he was about to chase after her until he looked at Haru who slowly shook his head. "I don't think that I'll be of any help right now. Only you, Naruto."

Slowly nodding again, Naruto took off running after Aika, all the while silently cursing himself for what had happened.

Behind him, Hiroshi didn't move a muscle, feeling powerless to do anything. He had failed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. This is my fault. If I hadn't-"

'This isn't your fault, Matatabi,' Naruto said truthfully. 'You couldn't have predicted that this would happen. If anything, I should have done more. I shouldn't have just-'

"Take your own advice, brat," Kurama cut in with a scowl. "You couldn't have predicted that this was going to happen either. If anything, the one at fault is this damn shinobi world. It's the one that makes such things possible. So don't blame yourself for something you didn't do. You'll only hurt yourself. Nothing more."

Naruto didn't reply, but he silently gave Kurama his thanks.

It didn't take him that long to find Aika. The girl had taken off back towards the forest. But instead of going through the path that led to where the temple had once stood, she had instead headed for the beach that stood just beyond the forest. Naruto silently gave the girl some credit. She could run when she wanted to.

Emerging from the forest and onto the beach, Naruto silently made his way towards Aika who sitting down on the sand while hugging her knees as if to give herself some comfort.

"You left your dad hanging back there, you know," Naruto said softly as he sat next to her. Glancing at her, Naruto saw how his words had made the girl flinch slightly.

"I'll have to apologize for that later….."

Naruto smiled at hearing that. "You know you don't have to bottle your feelings up. If you want to cry, cry. It's the best cure in these situations."

Aika glanced at him with tears already rolling down her cheeks. It made Naruto's heart ache at seeing the usual vibrant girl in this state.

"I actually did some research on the jinchuriki, you know," she said out of nowhere.

Naruto paused at hearing that. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to get to know you better," she admitted softly. "You just seem out of our reach at times. How passionate you get about your goal. About achieving peace. It makes me feel like I'm standing next to some great hero. It's incredible honestly."

Despite the situation, Naruto felt himself blush at what she was saying.

"But how can you do it?"

The blond looked at her with a questioning look, the blush disappearing.

"With your past, you out of anyone else should have the right to want to destroy this world," Aika stated while looking out towards the rolling waves. At this point, she had already made up her mind about what she thought Naruto's past was like. She didn't know how, but she just knew. Looking at him, she added, "I honestly can't say I would fault you for wanting to destroy the world instead of wanting to save it. Because that's what I'm feeling right now. And my pain is probably nothing compared to yours."

"Don't say that," Naruto said with a shake of his head as he brought his arm around the girl, bringing her closer to him. "Pain is pain. There's no need to make any comparisons. I'm not going to make light of what you're going through. I know that it has to be tough. I've felt like abandoning everything at times too. To turn my back on everything that I believe in. It hasn't been easy. I have lost. I have been alone. And there was a time when I hated the world too. But I have come to realize that not everything in this world is dark. There is goodness too. I realized this through the many bonds that I have formed along the way. That is why I can't give up. Too many people have put their trust in me to let me get where I am today. If I did, I would be betraying every single one of them and their trust in me. And I just cannot do that."

Aika let her head fall to the crook of Naruto's neck. Despite the hoodie that he wore, she could still smell his scent. That and combined with the natural warmth that he emitted was enough to make the girl forget about everything except this moment. It really was a wonderful feeling.

"Is that why you don't agree with the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. Such a world isn't real. It's only an illusion. An escape. No matter how else you would like to see it. It comes down to that."

"But this is reality," Aika said in a whisper. "Such things that you want to be made possible can only happen in dreams. Reality will only slap you in the face and tell you that such a goal can never be attainable in it."

Naruto chuckled. "Maybe so. But even then, too many people believe in me for me to simply give up just like that. And I'm not alone in trying to accomplish this. I have you for one. And that makes my goal ever closer to achieve. At least, that's what I believe. Besides, I've also been known to be extremely unpredictable. I can make the impossible possible."

"You really are an idiot, whiskers."

Naruto merely smiled, feeling the girl relax in his arms. Maybe he was. Maybe what he was doing was fruitless. But even so, he wouldn't give up. Uzumaki Naruto never gave up on his dreams. That was a fact. And looking down at the girl in his arms, Naruto realized that he also wanted to protect her. To never let her feel like what she had felt today. He wanted to keep her safe. Along with the rest of the village. He may have been too late in making many things stop from occurring in this war, but in the next one he would make sure to not let things get out of control. And that the next war would be the last one. For good.

Looking back at the sea in front of him, Naruto made that promise to himself.

Aika was already fast asleep in his arms.