Chapter 34

"I'm so stupid. Why did I expect a six year old to understand? I might as well have just announced it to the entire Academy by telling Ino." I slammed the door to the roof shut behind me and was about to head down the stairs but a familiar face was standing at the top of the steps and grinning, holding an empty bento.

"What do you want, Naruto?" I seethed, still angry at myself for trying to trust the Yamanaka girl.

"Hey, Haru. I just wanted to thank you for lunch. It was great! And no vegetables!" Naruto said cheerfully, holding forward the empty lunch box.

I snatched it from his hands and lashed out at the boy, "Do you want to know the truth, Naruto? The truth is that I'm a freak of nature and I have no idea why I even exist." I immediately regretted saying it. But it was true. The story would have ended just fine without me. Naruto and Sasuke and Madara, and then happy ending. I was completely unnecessary. I was just ruining things by my mere presence. I regretted ever talking to Naruto in the first place, years ago in his room at the orphanage.

Naruto simply sat down on the top step and looked far away through a window. "I know the feeling. I ask myself the same thing sometimes. Why my folks chose me. Why I have this...thing inside me," he said seriously.

I let out a deep sigh and then sat down next to my estranged friend. "I guess Jiraiya explained it all then?" The sky outside the window seemed so calm.

"Yeah. The old man also said I shouldn't trust you. That you ain't normal. Suspicious, he said." Naruto admitted apologetically.

"That's for sure," I concurred. "Hey, Naruto..."

"What's up?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything sooner."

"That's okay, Haru. I kinda get that you have your own problems. Like the broad who's listening to us," Naruto said with a wily smile.

Ino asked, making her presence known, "So it's true? Everything you told me was true?"

"As far as I know," I answered with another exaggerated shrug.

It was only a short pause before Ino asked another question, "If we're friends, Haru...can you turn into that older guy again? And you gotta look like that when we're together. But don't show it to anyone else! You're only allowed to look like that when you're with me!" I suddenly wondered whether Naruto had ever invented Sexy no Jutsu during his time with Jiraiya. It would explain why he was laughing so hard.

I was in an unused training field, furiously practicing my Academy Clone Technique when I thought I heard someone above me in the trees. "Hey, Kabuto, do you want to get some anmitsu?" I said on a whim without turning to see who was there.

"One day I'll find out how you do that," the young man grumped as he landed on the ground nearby.

"Being mysterious is one percent timing and 99 percent talking to thin air," I mused to myself before I turned to greet Kabuto. "I know this really great place by the library. The waitress there is really cute. And she's single. Who knows? The two of you might hit it off."

Kabuto Yakushi pushed up his glasses and ignored my suggestion. "You're an interesting person, Haru," he remarked as he leafed through a voluminous manila folder he had pulled out of seemingly nowhere. The folder in his hands was littered with clipped in notes and papers of all shapes and colors. "You give T&I the runaround and yet you're entirely willing to reveal your innermost secrets to a sad, little girl."

That killed my mood completely and I dropped the friendly persona. "What do you want, Kabuto?" I asked, weighing my options carefully. "Chakra low. Body exhausted. He's far enough away that I could summon a supernova before he would get into scalpel range, but I probably only have enough juice for one. Genjutsu seems more cost effective at this point though." I prepped an illusion while I waited for him to answer.

He lifted page after page of what was presumably my complete file, ignoring my question. "Anti-genjutsu? Experimental fuinjutsu? An elemental transformation of one of the Fourth's personal techniques? And so many curious visions. If only someone knew what it all meant. Did you know that they're calling it a kekkei genkai? The 'Many-Worlds Eye'? Yamanaka Inoichi's notes are quite fascinating."

He set upon the ground a small black jar, covered in seals. Then he gently kicked across the space between us so that it rolled lazily into my sandal. I picked it up and examined it gingerly but it was completely opaque and I could only guess what was inside.

"Just consider that a token of good will. It's what you wanted, isn't it? The Sharingan?" Kabuto chuckled sinisterly. "If you ever decide you've had enough of Konoha, I would be happy to take you in. You will know where to find me."

"Kabuto, tell me one thing," I said, intrigued.

"Haha, ask away," the innocuous young man allowed confidently.

"Why should I expect Orochimaru to give me anything I want?" I asked in genuine curiosity.

"You think Orochimaru is the reason why I invited you to come along with me?" Kabuto asked. I had wanted to speak to something deep inside him but apparently he was merely amused by my question. "I suppose I expected too much from you right now. Well, I'll be seeing you around." And in the second before he disappeared in a shunshin, I could have sworn I saw a flash of sadness overtake his expression of mirth.

Suddenly alone, I decided maybe I should just go to bed early today, lest someone else decides to have an even more interesting conversation with me. The small jar felt ominously heavy in my pocket as I walked home.