บท 69: Chapter 2: As the Sands of Time begun to fall, the Hands of Fate has begun its turn
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WISH I DO.
Taking care of children has been easier since there were many who aided Minato and Kushina. The Yondaime had told his wife about the prophecy and agreed that they had to give their baby girl, their little Nuriko, extra attention and training. They loved both children just the same in the eyes of the people… but it was not hidden within the family who really was more cared for.
At the age of four, little Naruto had already figured out that his sister was more lavished and more loved than he. And as much as Naruto wanted to complain about it, he did no such thing.
Growing up with Nuriko had been a challenge for him. By three, he asked to be moved to the attic which Naruto had turned into a bedroom with a library within it. It was more of a library than a bedroom. He rarely came down and his parents rarely called on him when he had moved up and shut himself from them.
The only ones who cared for him with Uchiha Itachi, his younger brother, Sasuke, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, Hatake Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko, Maito Gai, and Umino Iruka.
Sasuke didn't like Nuriko because she was friends with Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura and all three girls were fangirls. He hated them with a passion.
Shikamaru liked Naruto because they played Shogi together and would beat Shikamaru five out of ten matches.
Shino liked Naruto because the blond boy had not shunned him for his bugs or for 'not having eyeballs' as the twin sister had phrased it. Naruto even went as far as defending Shino to Nuriko who had huffed and left them alone instantly while muttering that losers will attract losers. Shino knew, as well as Shikamaru and Sasuke, that Naruto was far stronger, greater, and intelligent than he showed.
Naruto was the exact opposite of Nuriko: intelligent, patient, observant, cunning, a fast-learner, a natural sensor, and an elemental that could bend all elements with his mere will. Nuriko was a loud mouth, brash dead last of the class, rambunctious, and knew nothing but pranking, gossiping, and stalking.
In class, Naruto was always flanked by Sasuke on his right, Shikamaru on his left, and Shino guarded their backs. Sasuke and Shino both clicked because they hardly spoke and if they did, it was about techniques and training.
Shikamaru was the tactician of the group, lazy but with a high I.Q like Naruto. Both played shoji ever afternoon and Naruto would challenge Shikamaru's mind with shoji, beating the other every other game.
Shino was their tracker and with his bugs, nothing got fifteen feet near them without Shino knowing. Even if Naruto was a sensor with a range of fifty feet radius, it didn't keep Shino from doing his share for the group.
Sasuke was their kinjutsu and ninjutsu specialist. He had an affinity to lightning and fire that he used from time to time when he was sparring with Naruto who could bend anything and everything around him.
Naruto, was the leader of their group. It did not need to be said but many of the others knew of this fact. The younger twin was far more talents and intelligent than the older twin yet the children did not understand why it was the girl who was more praised than Naruto.
They all remembered the sparring contest where the twins were facing each other. Naruto had simply used taijutsu and slammed Nuriko to a tree, cracking the tree with sheer force. Yet the Yondaime and his wife fussed over the girl more, telling Naruto softly to be more gentle with his sister. The cold and expressionless look Naruto threw his so-called parents made the children shiver in fright.
Since then, they stayed away from Naruto's group and made sure to never side with his sister as well.
Not long after the contest, Namikaze Nuriko had teamed up with Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, and shockingly, Inuzuka Kiba. The rest of the class knew why the Inuzuka hated Naruto. It was simple, Naruto was also everything Kiba was not. Kiba was just like Nuriko so it did not surprise them long and brushed it off as nothing of importance.
Two classes had then clashed one day in the playground and Hyuuga Neji ended up crucified to a nearby tree when he decided to challenge Naruto to a spar. The teachers who watched were scared for the Hyuuga when they saw the Namikaze boy's eyes turn freezing cold as he stood up. The match was one sided and didn't even last five minutes. The Hyuuga was taken to the hospital instantly as Naruto somehow used a Hyuuga paralyzing technique on Neji before crucifying him.
The next week when Neji got out, he was seen with Naruto's group and has stuck to them like glue. Neji was another challenger that Naruto and Shikamaru welcomed when it came to shoji, Sasuke when it came to trainings, and Shino when it came to History and theoretical thinking and deducing.
On the twins' seventh birthday, the couple had taken Nuriko out to celebrate, completely forgetting Naruto who watched them from his window as they left the mansion gates. He narrowed his eyes and went to his father's study, making sure to keep his chakra to a zero to leave no traces of him being there.
He knew where his father kept the Forbidden Scroll and he made a copy of its contents before retreating back to his domain, only to find Uchiha Itachi, Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko, and Hatake Kakashi waiting for him.
"Happy birthday, Naruto. Gai hasn't returned from his mission but he already gave me his gift for you just in case he didn't make it back in time. And Iruka is in town too. His in-charge of some booth that was set up by the Academy officials. He sends his gift along as well." Kakashi greeted with his cheerful tone.
"Happy birthday, gaki. Yugao-chan is on patrol right now but she sends her greetings and her gift." Anko beamed at the blond child, showing the two wrap gifts that was from her and Yugao.
"Happy birthday, Naruto-kun." Ibiki spoke as well.
"Happy birthday, 'ruto-kun. Sasuke wanted to come but mother made him come with her to town. Shino-kun and Shikamaru-kun are in town as well. And Neji-kun is guarding Hyuuga Hinata as the Hyuuga Clan roamed the village. They all asked us to give you their gifts and that they will see you tomorrow in school." Itachi explained as he placed the wrapped gifts on the table in Naruto's library/room.
Kakashi brought cake, Anko brought three bottles of apple juice that Naruto loved and Ibiki brought a bag of Naruto's favorite candy from Tsukigakure.
The celebrant gave them a rare smile that they had seen only a handful of times ever since they had known the child. Naruto just never really smiled at all. And even if the others couldn't be there, he knew they wished they were and that was enough for Naruto.
They made him blow the candles and they ate a few pieces before they had to return for their evening patrol duty. Naruto thanked them and gave them a rare hug for their time and presence in his life. It was one of those treasures that both ANBUs and the Tokubetsu Jounins slash T&I top interrogators kept close to their hearts.
Naruto placed the cake back into its box and went down to the kitchen to place it inside the fridge so it didn't spoil. He returned to his room and began to learn the techniques that he had copied. He was a Seal Master despite his age. Naruto could rival his father without breaking a sweat and he himself had already created multiple seals that he used on a daily basis, right under his family's nose.
The next day, Naruto entered the kitchen where his family had gathered. Nuriko was about to slice the cake that was not for her when Naruto froze her where she stood.
"If you don't know how to read, the cake has my name on it. What gave you the right to touch what does not belong to you?" Naruto asked coldly as he slid the cake away from his sister.
Minato and Kushina looked deeply ashamed when they saw the words "Happy Birthday Naruto' on the cake. They had totally forgotten about him yesterday.
"N-naruto…" Kushina called out but stopped when her son sent her a cold look.
"If you are going to apologize for forgetting about me yesterday, do not bother. You never remembered me since I turned three. What makes this year any different? Don't answer. I already know even if you don't say it." he remarked and closed the box and left the kitchen and the house altogether.
Nuriko fell on the floor and whined that Naruto be punished for freezing her. Minato and Kushina didn't hear it because they both were still in shock as their own son felt more like strangers than family.
Minato tried to get into Naruto's room and was stunned to see how much books his child had. There was a bed near the window, a study table next to it, a table to eat (whenever he didn't join them downstairs), and the rest were shelves and shelves of books. He roamed about and noticed that his son had books that didn't even seem like it came from the Fire Country. There were three shelves of scrolls near the window at the other side of the attic. Naruto had somehow torn the walls down to make use of the whole area and not just a side of it. When Minato tried to take a scroll a lightning zapped him and he instantly pulled his hand back.
He took a strand of hair and threw it forward only to watch it get fried to ashes.
He went back to the study table and saw a large cork board in front. It had a few photos on it and an album was on the side. He was glad that the table wasn't rigged like the shelves. He pulled out the album and saw photos upon photos were inside… and there was no trace of him, Kushina, and Nuriko at all.
There were photos of Naruto sleeping with Uchiha Sasuke, one where Naruto was playing Shoji with the Nara heir. On another page was of Naruto with the Aburame heir, it showed his child was being shown a bug that Naruto was holding on his palm and the other photo was of his son and the Hyuuga child sparring in some training field Minato recognized somehow but couldn't pinpoint which.
As Minato flipped more pages, he was starting to feel worse when he saw that his boy had photos with his shinobis and as far as Minato could see, they knew his son better than he did. On one side, Kakashi and Naruto were both wearing face masks that hid the lower part of their faces while on the other side, the one with Ibiki, both with the same blank bandana that Ibiki used to cover his head.
On the next page, Gai and Naruto wearing green spandex and posing around like Gai did and on the other side of the album was one of Iruka and Naruto, with a book in front of them; Iruka looked like he was reading to Naruto.
A few more pages and Minato saw one photo of Itachi was teaching Naruto how to hold a kunai and another photo showing Naruto and Uzuki Yugao having cake with Gekko Hayate.
Near the end, even Anko had a photo with Naruto and both were wearing a trench coat that Anko always wore; and yet not a single one of them with the family.
Minato returned the album back to its place and left his child's room, looking dark with shame, self-disappointment, and self-loathing.
Kushina had just waved their daughter goodbye when she saw Minato enter the living room and looking like he had killed someone he knew.
"Minato? Is something wrong?" she asked as she sat next to her husband.
The Yondaime couldn't bring himself to look at his wife.
"Do you know that we don't photos of Naruto as he grew up?" he asked her rhetorically.
Kushina frowned.
Don't be silly, of course we have photos of Naruto growing up." She said as she stood up and went to the shelf to fetch the photo album they had.
Minato didn't say anything as he just waited for his wife to realize that he was right. He watched with a heavy heart as Kushina flipped from page to page, slowly at first before she began to quicken the pace, reaching the end of the album.
Suddenly, Kushina felt her hands lost its strength, dropping the album on the floor and stumbling back to the armchair was that behind her.
"W-w-we don't have a-a-any p-p-photos of N-n-Naruto growing up… it's all Nuriko… Just Nuriko." Kushina whispered as she tried to gather himself and not break down into pieces.
Minato didn't have the strength to move and comfort his wife as he himself was too busy trying to find any memory of him spending time with Naruto. He got more and more frustrated as he thought and dug deeper into his mind.
Nothing.
Not one single memory.
What else didn't they know about their own son?
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