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Changing Times. Naruto Version. (1)	By : bloodyreign Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1798 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the character, nor do I make any money off of this. Standard disclaimer applied.

Chapter List
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I woke up, if waking is the right term for whatever it was, in midair. I was falling, though why I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t even remember my name, but I did know my age. 19. Why did I know my age, yet not know my name? Also . . . why did my back hurt? Why did it feel like there was something wet dripping down my back?

The pain in my back intensified and I was still falling. I twisted my body around to see that the ground was way down there. The pain strengthened and radiated through my body. There was a wet, thick, ripping sound and the pain worsened the louder the sound got. The white shirt I was wearing ripped apart and the shreds flew. I reached back to touch my back and felt something wet, fluffy and soft. Turned my head around to see what my hand was touching. Wings? Why did I have wings?

Then I looked down to see my chest. Bare. Large, round, topped with rosy nipples. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling self-conscious even though nobody could see me. My body was twisting, turning, and I could feel the wind rushing around my wings, pushing at them.

The hard impact drove the air from my lungs, but the sand was soft. I got up to my hands and knees, shaking my head. “Ouch.” I looked up to see a hand being offered down to me. Looked up further to see a man standing there, red hair, pale teal eyes. Pale skin. What I recognized as a “love” Kanji on his forehead. Crossing one arm over my chest, I took his hand, let him help me up. I looked around to see that I was standing on a floating pedestal of sand. “Who are you?” I asked, raising my eyes to his.

He shrugged off his tan, ankle-length jacket and held it out to me.

I took it. “I-it won’t do any good . . . since I have wings on my back.”

“Put it on your front.”

I slipped my arms into the sleeves and he moved behind me to pull the jacket beneath my wings, moving my wings slightly–which made me gasp and wince. “O-ouch.”

He moved my left wing, gently touching my back. “Your back is torn up like your wings tore through your back. Your back and your wings are caked in blood.” My wing protested being touched, pain shooting through my body.

I whirled, grabbing his hand. “It hurts.”

“Just hold still and let me check your back out.” He walked around me again, gently prodding at my back and the wing. “Why were you falling?”

I shrugged and it felt extraordinarily awkward doing so, painful. “I don’t know. I just . . . woke up. . . .”

He walked around me to meet my eyes and I just suddenly had a memory flash. Those pale teal eyes. . . .

“Gaara. . . .”

“You remember me.”

“D-do I know you?”

He nodded. “Yes, you know me. How could you have forgotten?”

I stared up at him. “I-I don’t understand.”

“Starlight . . . what happened to you? Do you remember anything?”

I shook my head. “No. Nothing.”

“You disappeared for three weeks and now you don’t even remember who I am.”

I started to say something and choked on something in my throat. Turning away, I coughed into my hand, coughing until something hard fell out of my mouth into my hand. Blood splatter and a tooth. Eyes wide, I reached up to wipe blood from my mouth and clenched my hand around what was in my palm.

“Are you okay?” He reached for me.

“Don’t touch me!” With my open hand, I pushed at him and jumped off of the pedestal of sand. My wings twitched, but I couldn’t get them to work for a few minutes. I fell for awhile until I realized I was slowly starting to fly. By the time the ground was close enough for me to touch, my wings were slowly flapping. They collapsed and I hit the ground, dropping to my hands and knees. My wings fanned out around me, hiding me from view, and I was coughing again, hands cupped over my mouth.

More blood and teeth fell from my mouth and I reached up to touch my hair, feeling itchy, and a handful of hair fell into my hand. Fear pulsed through me and I screamed.

I felt the ground vibrate and heard Gaara’s voice. “Starlight, let me see you.”

“G-go away!” I was coughing too hard to talk well. I pulled on my hair and it came away in my hands until my head was smooth and bare. Feeling that made me scream again and I spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth. When I opened my eyes, everything was fuzzy, like I was seeing through a veil of fuzzy white.

“Move your wings.” His voice was closer. “I’m not going anywhere.” He was moving my wings as he talked so that I had no choice but to move my wings. “Your hair. . . .”

“Yes, I know!” I coughed again and my gums were exceedingly sore. My skin felt waxy and unreal.

He reached out and raised my face up with a hand under my chin, turning my face to his. “Are you okay?”

“M-my hair . . . it fell out. And my teeth. . . . Why can’t I see?”

“Open your eyes and don’t blink.” Hand firm and strong on my chin, he held me still and reached out, plucking something from each eye. Doing so made me blink and made my eyes close and itch. “Open your eyes now.”

I opened my eyes. Everything was painfully clear now. “W-what was wrong with my eyes?”

He held up some kind of clear, plastic-looking thing with a blue hue in the middle, like a fake blue eye. “These were in your eyes.” Dropping them, he reached forward to touch my head and I felt his hand in my hair. “Your hair is growing back very quickly.”

That made me reach up to feel my hair. An inch long and rapidly growing, it felt thicker and silky soft. “But-” I stopped trying to talk when I felt sharp, sharp teeth bite into my lip. “Ouch!” My hand came up to touch full, thick lips and to feel behind those lips, sharp, hard teeth. Like cats’ fangs.

“Stand up,” he commanded, pulling me up. “Close your eyes.” Once I obeyed, I felt him peeling something off my body, like peeling off a layer of skin. He gently took his coat from me–which made me want to grab it back–and started peeling again. I heard a sharp ripping sound that made my eyes open and I saw that he was ripping his jacket. I watched him rip it. He went around me, held the ripped end of the jacket against my chest and tied it around my throat, then knelt and tied the bottom of it under my wings. Another ripping sound and he made a sash that went under my breasts, up and tied onto the strip of fabric around my throat. Almost like sleeves. “Does your skin feel better?” he asked, finished.

I nodded. “Except m-my legs. Y-you didn’t have to do that.”

“Your skin was peeling off.”

“Everything is falling off of me.” I shook my head. “What is going on?”

“I . . . don’t know. I doubt if even Kakashi would know what to do.”

With that name, memories flooded back and I knew Kakashi was dead. I knew other people. Sasuke . . . Naruto . . . Hinata . . . Neji . . . memories upon memories flooded me of people I had known and I suddenly knew . . . Kakashi would be able to help. If he was still alive, he would know exactly what to do. He could help me figure out what was going on. If only I could . . . could’ve stopped his death. . . .

An almost-painful twisty feeling flooded my stomach and I looked up at Gaara, about to say something, when his face started to blur. Everything started to blur, like I was spinning. The spinning stopped and I dropped down to my knees, gasping.

“Well, who is this?” A female voice caught my attention and I looked up to see a very well-endowed blonde woman with two men. One was tall with wild white hair and the other was pale with black hair.

“My name is Starlight.”

“Well, Starlight. You just popped out of nowhere. How did you manage to do that?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“What are those things on your back?” the black-haired guy asked.

“They’re wings.”

“How did you get wings?”

Somehow, I had a feeling I was in the wrong time.

I didn’t get to change the times around until after the Great War. By that time, I was able to control my powers relatively well. I’d found out that I was exceedingly powerful and extremely strong. The next time period that I ended up at was another time of war. This time, I did manage to find Kakashi, but it was way too early to keep him alive. Instead of being where I needed to be, I was with Kakashi, the legendary Fourth Hokage, Obito and Rin. As I had done in the first time period, I fought in the war. I even stayed long enough to see the Fourth Hokage die, but I did not prevent his death.

By the time I left that time period, my control over my power was nearly perfect and I could remember some things about my old life. I couldn’t remember anything about me, but I remembered the lives of everyone else. It was like I’d lived it with them, but I didn’t remember my own life. It was as though I hadn’t existed. I opted to remain anonymous in both wars, but every person that I’d fought beside of and/or against knew my name. Everyone knew who I was.

So the next time I ended up, I walked straight up and through the village gate. Laughter hit me and yelling. Someone yelling, “Stop! Naruto!” and Naruto’s laughter. I saw him running away, laughing, and, glancing up at the faces on the mountain, I saw he’d painted on it. So I stepped to the side as Naruto ran toward the gate and reached out, grabbing the back of his shirt.

Naruto’s laughter stopped abruptly. “H-hey! Le’ go! Let go of me!”

“I believe you’re looking for this?” I asked, hauling the struggling boy back into the village.

The guards stopped, staring at me. “Thank you,” one of them said, grabbing the boy’s arm. “We’ve got him now.”

“Hokage’s in his office, right?”

“Why?”

“I’d like to talk to my old friend.”

“Old friend? You know the Hokage?”

“Bring me to him and find out.” So they brought me and young Naruto to the Hokage, whose eyes widened when he saw me. I waved. “Hey, old friend.”

“Starlight . . . you’re looking as young as ever.”

The guards and Naruto stared between me and the Hokage. “You two know each other?” Naruto asked.

“In a manner of speaking.” I didn’t look at the boy. “I’ve come to settle in the village.”

“I have to have a blood test done. You know that.”

“To make sure I am who I say I am, of course. And then?”

“Then I’ll set aside a place in the village for you to stay.”

“No, Honorable Sir. I’d prefer to pay for my own place. I’ll do a couple of missions and get my own place. I just need a place to crash until then.”

The Hokage’s eyes hit Naruto. “Well, then. Stay with Naruto until then and keep an eye on him. He’s a spirited youth. Until the blood test comes back, Naruto, I expect you to keep an eye on our guest.”

“W-what!? She can’t stay with me! What are you talking about?!”

“Do you question your Hokage?” one of the guards asked.

“N-no, but my place isn’t big enough!”

“This is your punishment, young man. To regain your honor, you will watch her. Understood?”

His jaw fell open. “Wha?!”

“Come on, Naruto. I’ll make you some homemade ramen,” I told him, walking out.

That made him brighten up. “Well, okay!”

On the way out, I flashed a salute to the Hokage. “If Kakashi comes by. . . .”

“I’ll tell him you’re here.”

“Thanks, old man.” I winked and left. Memory served well because I easily found his place, went inside and started cooking.

“Soooo . . . who are you? What’s your name? Where are you from? What’s going on? How do you know the Hokage? And who’s Kakashi?”

“That’s Kakashi-Sensei to you.” I did not answer any other question and, instead, set the ramen in front of him. “Eat and hurry up. I expect to see your Ninja skills after you’ve eaten.”

“My Ninja . . . oh!” He ate, devouring that bowl and the rest of what was in the pot. “That was delicious! So you want to see my skills?”

“Naruto . . . while I’m here with you, I plan to help you improve your skills. I expect you to graduate with flying colors.” I stood. “Come. Let’s go to the training area.” Left, heading toward the training area quickly. Turned to face him. “Show me what you’ve got, Naruto. Transform.”

“Transform? Um, okay.” He did the handsigns quickly . . . and incorrectly. His Chakra was unbalanced. The Iruka transformation in front of me was poorly executed. He undid it.

“That . . . was horrible.” I shook my head, walked over to him. Showed him the handsigns slowly. “Like this. And, Naruto, balance your Chakra better. You’ve got to be balanced to get it done well.”

He tried again. The handsigns were better, but his Chakra was still unbalanced.

“Ugh, Naruto . . . you can do better than that. Really focus!”

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder.”

A third time. This one was not as bad as the first two. Much better, actually. Not perfect, not yet.

“Again.”

“Again? What?”

“You want to graduate, don’t you, Naruto? You want to be a Ninja? You want to be Hokage? Then you’ve got to practice and work hard until you get it right!”

“How’d ya know I wanna be Hokage?”

“It’s written all over your face. Now go! Transform! And do it better!”

Two days passed and Naruto’s Transformation Jutsu got much better. We were practicing his Jutsu in the training field when the Hokage showed up. He nodded at me; I nodded back. “How’s the blood test, Hokage?”

He glanced at Naruto. “Still working on it, but I do have a mission for you.”

“A mission? Already?”

“I don’t need a blood test to tell me you’re Starlight Windcan. Kakashi needs some help on a mission. I thought of you. It’s been awhile since the two of you went on a mission.”

“Did you tell him I would be his partner in crime?”

“No. I thought I’d leave that to you.” He glanced at Naruto. “How’s he doing?”

“Better. Naruto, show him.”

Naruto transformed into me; then let the Jutsu go. “See? See? Was that good?”

“Yes, I see. Good job, Naruto. Being able to transform like that should make it easy to graduate.” His eyes turned back to me. “Now, Naruto, if you would excuse us, we have some things to talk about.”

Naruto slunk off.

“What’s up, Hokage?”

“The blood test did come back. I would like to know . . . how you remain so young for so long. You’re still nineteen years old.”

“Doesn’t it make you think I’m not Starlight?”

“No because your blood test is a perfect match for Starlight. That and you’ve never seemed to age. I was just wondering how you’ve managed to stay the same age for so long. You were in the First Great War.”

“And the Second.”

“Yet you’re still the same age.”

“Probably always will be.”

He shook his head. “Never mind. It’s not important. Kakashi awaits at the village gate. He has all the equipment.” He turned and left.

A few minutes passed and I called, “Okay, Naruto, you can come out now.”

He crept out. “How did you know I was there?”

“I felt you. You should work on your stealth.” I stretched. “Tell you what, Naruto. If you graduate from the Academy, I’ll teach you a new Jutsu when I get back.”

His eyes brightened. “You promise?”

“Yes. As soon as I get back, I’ll teach you a very difficult Jutsu. For now, practice your Jutsu and I’ll see you when I get back.” I bolted to the village gate, eager to see Kakashi. “Hey, old man! How ya doing?” I called when he was in sight. He had his back to me.

He turned, eye wide. “Is that who I think it is?”

I stopped a few feet from him. “That depends. Do you think it’s Starlight Windcan?”

“Yes. Well, it’s been quite a long time since I last saw you. How have you been?”

“So, so. You?”

“Pretty much the same. Did the Hokage tell you the mission?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“Orrochimaru has been spotted close to the village. We’re going to check out the place he’s been seen most.”

“Ah, old Roachie. Well, I’m ready.”

“I should think so. I’ve got all the supplies.” He handed me one of the packs. “Here.”

I took it, pulling it onto my back. “Let’s go.”

We crept low to the ground toward the cave and glanced at each other. I pointed at Kakashi, then at my eyes. He shook his head and copied. I shook my head and pointed to the left opening of the cave, then at me. Pointed at the right opening of the cave, then at him. We nodded at each other and separated into the cave’s openings. Once inside and alone, I stood straight up, looking around myself. The cave was dark and damp, just what you would expect for a cave.

I didn’t creep or stalk. I simply walked deeper into the cave. Of course I knew that Orrochimaru was watching me. Once I got to a large cavern, I stopped and called, “Come on out, Roachie. I know you’re watching.”

There were four openings in that cavern. One across from the one I’d come from; then one on each side of the cavern. He came out of the one opposite from mine. “Starlight . . . how good it is to see you. . . . You look as young as ever.”

“You look as evil as ever.” I paced back and forth once. “What do you want, Orrochimaru? Why are you slinking around the village?”

“I want the same thing I wanted years ago; immortality. Something I know that you have. If I had even a single drop of your blood, I could find the gene that makes you immortal.”

“That’s something you’ll never get.”

“You never did trust me . . . even when I was on the good side. Why is that, Starlight?”

“I always knew you would be a traitor.”

“You do know me so well. . . . Too bad you won’t join my side. You would be an incredible ally.”

“I would die before I allow that to happen.”

“That could be arranged.”

“And stay away from him.”

“Him? Oh, you don’t mean Kakashi . . . so you know. . . .”

“Of course I know, you twit! I know your tricks. I know what you want. I am not stupid. You want his body. Stay away from him, Orrochimaru, or I swear I will kill you.”

“You think you’re still stronger than I am? I have grown much stronger than the last time we fought.”

“You know damn well I’m still stronger than you. It’s why you haven’t attacked me yet.”

He chuckled. “And why haven’t you attacked me yet?”

“Because I am not stupid. I know your tricks. I know that is a clone standing there. I know that the moment I attack your clone, the real you will attack me or another clone will attack Kakashi. I know that you have your minions or even a clone watching Kakashi. You know where he is. Your clone or minion is probably lurking back in the shadow behind him right as we speak. I attack you, your clones and minions attack. What could I possibly gain by attacking a clone?”

“Ahh, Starlight . . . still as smart as ever.” He started to circle me and I let him. “Tell me, you really think you are stronger than I?”

“I know I am.”

“Too bad for you . . . I know your weakness. I fought alongside of you.” He stopped pacing me and stood facing me, ten feet away. Pain.

Kakashi stepped out of the archway, stumbling forward. I loped to him. “You okay?” I asked, holding him up. Pain exploded in my abdomen. Twice, thrice–before I could even react, I’d been stabbed seven times. I looked up to see that Kakashi wasn’t Kakashi. It was Orrochimaru. He transformed back.

“Seems as though your weaknesses are still the same. Deathly allergic to iron and weak toward your friends.”

I shoved away from him, coughed up blood. Shit. He must’ve hit a lung. “You bastard.”

“I’ve got your blood now, Starlight. You said I’d never get it.”

In a flash, I threw a kunai. Not at him, but at the kunai in his hand, knocking his kunai away. I scrambled for it, wiped it off on my clothes, turning to see Orrochimaru looming over me. I threw the kunai at him, hitting his shoulder.

He let out a gasp. “Still as feisty as ever, I see.”

“You tricked me.”

“Should be more careful.”

My vision was blurring. “Get away.”

“Hey, Orrochimaru! Over here!” I heard Kakashi call vaguely. A kunai whizzed through the air, hitting Orrochimaru, who then turned and launched at Kakashi, who turned to run.

Another Kakashi crept out from the side archway, kneeling beside me. “You okay, Starlight?”

“Yes. Shadow Clone Jutsu?”

“Yes.” He pulled my arm around his shoulder. “There are five of them here. Once we’re away, I’ll undo the Jutsu. First, we’ve got to get you out of here.”

That was the last thing I heard. The next thing I knew, I was in a white hospital room. I looked around. Kakashi was sitting on the window sill, reading his book. “One of these days, I’m going to burn that book.”

He turned the page. “You’ve been threatening that for years now.”

I sighed. “Glad to see you got us out of there. Sorry I fouled up the mission.”

“No, you found out what Orrochimaru wanted. I do have a question.” He set the book aside. “Who were you telling him to stay away from?”

“Ah, so I was right. You were listening.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, by the way. There was a minion right behind me. So who is he after?”

“A certain boy whose powers come from his Bloodline trait.”

“Ah,” he nodded, “I see. He wants your blood, too.”

“Yupp. He’s wanted that for years now. Closest he’s ever gotten.”

“You were stabbed seven times.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Couple of weeks.”

“Damn.”

“The Third Hokage and I told the Medic Ninja that you’re deathly allergic to iron. It’s a good thing we both knew that. If we didn’t, you could’ve died.”

Which reminded me. “Shit! Did Naruto graduate?”

He nodded. “After he stole the secret scroll, learnt the Shadow Clone Jutsu and nearly put the village in danger, yes.”

I rolled my eyes. “Remind me to kick him.”

“He’s outside right now. My whole team is.”

“Your . . . whole team? Oh, you were chosen to be Naruto’s Sensei?”

He gave a small nod, picking up the box. “I told them to sit outside while I checked in on you.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Oh, about an hour ago.”

“Then you got to reading and got lost on the path of life,” I teased.

A small nod. “Yea.” He walked to the door, opened it and said, “Come on in. She’s awake.”

The three Ninja trainees came into the room, Naruto first. His eyes were wide. “You almost died!”

I shrugged. “Happens.”

“You’re okay now, right?”

“Yea. So I see you’ve passed Kakashi’s test. Good job . . . all of you.”

Sakura was smiling, Naruto was grinning and Sasuke . . . was Sasuke. Bored. “We even went on our first mission!” Naruto said happily.

“Good job.” I sat up, groaning. “Ouch.”

All three Ninja trainees’ pair of eyes turned to me. “You okay?” Naruto asked.

“I’m fine.” I took a deep breath. “Kakashi, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with each of your Ninja friends alone.”

Kakashi nodded. “Who first?”

“I’ll go alphabetically. Naruto first. Everyone but Naruto out. Then Sakura. Lastly, Sasuke.” Everyone left me and Naruto. “Naruto, what is said in here stays between us, understood?”

He nodded. “Yea.”

“Good. . . . Now I knew your father-”

“You knew my dad? Who was he? What was he like? What was his name? Was he strong? What was he like?”

“Shush, Naruto. I can’t tell you who he was. I can only tell you that he was a strong, proud, honorable Ninja. He and I fought side-to-side in the war. Make him proud. Work as hard as you can and become the strongest Ninja this village has ever seen. I know you can do it if you put your mind to it. Become Hokage. Protect the village and protect your friends. Do the best you can. Always.”

He nodded, eyes wide. “I’ll be the strongest Hokage ever! I’ll even surpass the Fourth Hokage!”

I felt my eyes shine. “You do that and it’ll make your father the proudest father ever. That’s it. Go and get Sakura.”

He did. Sakura came in, unsure, and said, “What is it you wanted to talk about?”

“Don’t talk. Just listen. You’ve got your mind settled on Sasuke, but you don’t see Naruto. I know you think he’s uncool, but Naruto is stronger than you know and he’s your teammate. You have to get along with him. Learn to tolerate him. Sasuke isn’t the only one you should care about. Naruto is strong and he is determined. He’s a good guy. Give him a chance. And Sakura . . . do your best to protect your teammates, Naruto included. He’s not as bad as you think he is. Now go on.”

She left. Sasuke came in, looking as bored as before, and leant against the wall. “What?”

I hesitated. This was the one I had to be the most careful with. Standing, I paced the length of the room. “Sasuke . . . don’t talk. Just listen.” I fixed my eyes on his, noticing he was a good two or three inches taller. “I know what I am going to say is going to hit a nerve, but it’s something you, of all people, need to hear.”

“Well, go on.”

“I knew your . . . family.”

His eyes widened, body stiffened, jaw tensed.

“And I know a lot more about the Uchiha Massacre than you do.”

He pushed away from the wall. “What is it you think you know?” His voice was empty.

“I don’t think I know, Sasuke. I was there . . . I saw it. Or . . . I was there for the end of it. I was the one who took you to the hospital.”

“You’re not that old,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, Sasuke, how nice of you to think that, but I’m much, much older than you think I am. I was around for the First Great War. I was around when Orrochimaru was a good guy. I was around before you and Itachi were even born.” I sat gingerly on the bed, touching one of the wounds.

“You’re bleeding,” he stated.

I looked down. Sure enough, there was a small spot of blood on the hospital nightgown. Shrugged. “I don’t care. This is more important than me bleeding. There’s a lot about the Uchiha Massacre that you don’t know.”

“Then enlighten me.”

“I . . . can’t.”

“Then why bring it up?”

“Because I need to tell you that in order to avenge your Clan, you have to learn to get along with your team. Without them, you are nothing and without you, they are nothing. They need you and you need them. You want to get stronger? Well, learn to get along with your team. Try to trust them. Learn to tolerate them. You don’t have to like them, but at least tolerate and trust them in battle.”

“They’re worthless.”

“I understand how you feel–more than you could believe–but you need them to get stronger. At least for now. Use them to get stronger.”

“You won’t tell me the truth about my Clan’s massacre?”

“We’re back to that, huh?” I sighed. “Tell ya what, Sasuke . . . you beat me in a fight, once I’m out of here, I’ll tell you everything.”

“I’ll beat you.”

“Don’t underestimate me, boy. I’ve been in several wars and I’m much more powerful than you think I am.” I stood again, touching the growing blood spot on the nightgown. “The most I can tell you now is you should ask Itachi.”

“Itachi,” he spat, “is a worthless traitor.”

“As I said, you should ask Itachi. He’s the one that should tell you, not I.”

“If I ever see him, I’ll kill him.”

“Sasuke . . . do that and you’ll never learn the truth.”

“Your blood is dripping on the floor.”

I looked down. Dammit. “I’m fine.”

“If I beat you in battle, then I don’t have to worry about getting Itachi to tell me.”

“If you beat me in battle, then it’d be too late for you to know the truth.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sasuke, you won’t beat me in battle before you beat Itachi. I’m stronger than he is. If you kill Itachi first, then knowing the truth will get you nowhere but depressed and angry. If you have to beat the truth out of him, then get Itachi to tell you before you kill him.”

“Why?” he demanded.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why the hell can’t you tell me?”

“Watch your language. I can’t tell you because I’m not the right person to tell you. It’s Itachi’s secret.”

“Itachi is a traitor!”

“He still should be the one to tell you.”

He growled. “When I beat you in battle, you’d better tell me the truth.”

“If you beat me in battle, I’ll tell you everything.”

“When.”

I shrugged. “By the time you beat me in battle, you’ll know the truth.”

“You think it’ll take that long to beat you, huh?”

“No. I just know you’re smart enough to figure it out on your own before you beat me.”

“I’ll beat you. Then you’ll tell me.”

“It’s a promise. You beat me in battle, I’ll tell you everything.”

Three days later, I was out of the hospital, in the training field, when Sasuke approached me. I turned my eyes to him. “What’s up?”

Shockingly–or not so shockingly–he got into a fighting crouch. “Fight me.”

I stared at him. “You’re not serious . . . ?”

“You said when you got out, if I beat you in battle, you’ll tell me the truth.”

I hesitated. “All right, Sasuke. Tell you what . . . I’ve got a mission to do. When I get back . . . I’ll tell you what I can.”

His eyes narrowed. “What you can?”

“I can’t tell you everything . . . but I’ll explain what I can. I’ll warn you, you won’t like it. You don’t have to like it, but it’s truth.” I turned away from him. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“A couple of days?”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Then I will tell you everything that I am able to. First . . . I have to do something.” I walked to my bag and pulled a scroll out of it, tossing it to Sasuke. “Tell ya what. You master that Jutsu, then I’ll make sure that no matter what happens, I’ll tell you something about the massacre.”

He gave a small nod. “I’ll master it.”

“By the time I get back.” I pulled three necklaces out of the bag. Paused for a minute, then stood and walked over to him, looking up the two- or three-inch difference. “Here. Give one to Sakura and one to Naruto. The other is for you.”

He took them, looking at them. They were all identical when I handed them to him but when he touched them, one of them turned pure black. The necklaces were made with a thin, long, silver string with orbs of power hanging off what was, to me, the middle. They were white, untouched, until they chose to belong to someone. When they chose someone, they took the color best suited to that person. In the middle of the orb of power, there was a single Blood Ruby. “What are they?”

“The black one chose you. Put it on.”

He did.

“They’re protection amulets. They’ll keep you safe, but they’ll also react differently to each person’s needs.”

“I don’t need protection.”

“You need protection more than the other two, but that’s not all it does.” I cupped the black orb and its warmth and knowledge flooded me. “This one is yours. It will give you strength when you most need it and it’ll create afterimages when you’re badly injured. The other two amulets will change color when they touch the right person. Pay attention and give them only to the one it chooses.” I turned. “Master that Jutsu and hand out the amulets. When I come back, I’ll tell you something.”
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Changing Times. Naruto Version. (1)