Last night was... Unpleasant.
For the first time in my life, I had a nightmare. I was alone, in a room of blinding white, and I just... My head was full of voices, dozens of voices. They spat so many venomous words and insults that I wanted to just curl up and die.
And when I finally felt as though my mind was ready to give in, darkness filled my view, and I felt relief.
The rest of that dream washed away in the tides of consciousness by the time I woke. I only felt the vague recollections of a conversation, of a motherly comfort, and a promise. Now what exactly that promise was, or who it was to, I can't even begin to remember.
I climbed out of my hiding spot, and carefully adjusted my clothes. Carefully, I started to walk back to town. It was still quite dark out, I guess it was about midnight by now. I hope I didn't worry Naruto too much...
I walked along, Ichi and San sitting on each shoulder as I kept them around. Part of me did it for emotional security. I realized that recently, I've been using them to interact with others more than doing it myself. It just... felt easy. I dunno, call it dissociation or whatever. Most people talked to them, and didn't really seem to mind. So I guess I kind of got used to having them around at all times.
Another hour passed as I made my way closer to town. Honestly, why'd I have to run off so far? Was I really that upset?
Soon, though, I encountered a sight I didn't expect. Ino and Shikamaru, wandering out from the underbrush, clearly looking for me. Immediately, I was confused, but also felt bad that they were out in the woods in the middle of the night because of me. Shikamaru was the first to notice me, though it was Ino who called out to me.
"Yuuto! Finally! Where have you been?! You've had everybody worried for hours!" She ran right up to me, and surprisingly, she hugged me tightly. I froze up, and felt my face flush red as my heart started to race. My hands frantically moved, and Ichi and San pushed and struggled fruitlessly to get Ino off of me, their small jaws clacking loudly as they flapped open and closed. Finally, Shikamaru came to my rescue.
"Come on, Ino. Get off of him before his heart explodes." He tugged on the back of her shirt, and she quickly released me from her grip.
It was then that I simply gestured toward Shikamaru, asking why he was out here.
"Ah, come on man. Naruto started to freak when he couldn't find you. He's got half the class out here looking right now. Hell, even Sasuke got dragged along, since Naruto saw it as kinda his fault." We started walking along, and Shikamaru led the three of us around as we slowly gathered up the people who were looking for me.
First we found Choji and Hinata. They seemed relieved that I was fine, and I felt the same. A few minutes later, we encountered another group, though I didn't recognize them. One was a kid who had nearly his entire body covered, and he wore a seafoam-colored jacket with a huge upturned collar. Alongside this, he wore... sunglasses? At night? Weird... Anyway, beside him was a different kind of boy, who was currently holding a small puppy in his arms. He had red marks on his face, too, and all together with the other boy, they were really eye-catching.
An hour later, and we finally found the last group. It was Naruto and Sasuke, surprisingly. When we found them, they were in the middle of a fist fight. They were rolling around, pulling each other's hair and shirts. It was... God, why is Naruto so embarrassing at such weird times?
Ichi rushed forward and grabbed Naruto's arm, and San put himself between the two boys. That immediately cut the childish fight short, as Naruto's head snapped around to face me, and he immediately rushed over and tackled me with a hug.
"Yuuto you big dumb idiot! Don't go running off like that without me next time!" Ah, there it was. Naruto is never one to tell you not to feel something. He just wants me to be safe.
"Thank you, Naruto..." I replied quietly, as I hugged him back. Pretty soon, the entire group was heading home, and when we reached town, everyone dispersed.
...
It has been five years, since that night, and today was the first day of our last year at the Academy.
Naruto and I were now both twelve, and we grew up looking pretty much the same as we always have. Funny enough, though, my hair was now the longest in the class, easily reaching my butt. Honestly, it was to the point that I could curl up, and completely hide under my ridiculously thick hair.
Skill-wise, Naruto has gotten pretty strong. His taijutsu was impressive, his ninjutsu was good, but he completely ignored genjutsu. As for me, my progress was basically the opposite. I was able to put just about anybody in my class in a strong genjutsu trap. Alongside that, I have learned a few Earth-style techniques. If you ask me why I chose Earth-style, I don't really have a good answer. They just felt easy to learn, so I did.
Finally, I had created a fifth and final Little Wisp, named Go. I also had plans and blueprints in the works for a new type of puppet, though I am still in the planning stage. The puppet would be... well, let's just say, nobody will want to be on the receiving end.
Outside of just ourselves, we maintained friendships with most of our class. There were of course the trio of Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. They spent some days, joined us in training, but most of the time we just goofed off. My relationship with Ino had progressed slowly, too... I tried confessing, a few years back. But I just couldn't get through my words. Since then, I've occasionally left flowers and such stuff for her, in class or at her house. I'm pretty sure I met her dad at one point, when he glared at me when I got caught putting flowers on her windowsill.
Anyway, at least she seems to not be totally oblivious. She stopped chasing after Sasuke a while after that day I ran off. There was also one time, when she started to grow her hair out. I mentioned that I liked when she had shorter hair, and well... She's kept it short since then.
Alongside those three, I also made friends with Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. They were some of the kids who came to find me all those years back. The two of them bickered. A lot. Yet they always hang around each other. Doesn't make much sense to me, but I don't mind it. They both gave a special kind of perspective to things, and I really enjoyed listening to them talk, and occasionally asking them questions on things. I think the reason we hit it off is since we all three fight with partners, in some form or another.
Oh, I should mention one kinda... weird event. Shino and I had been sparring, and we found out that his bugs don't like me. Like, they physically did not want to be near me. Neither of us could figure it out. It's to the point, that even getting too close to Shino makes them buzz like an angry beehive.
Anyway, today was a pretty average day, all-in-all. Since we are in our last year, except for those in remedial courses, we mostly have free-reign to train ourselves how we see fit. And that brings me to my experiment for today.
I've been saving money all summer, just to buy this. Chakra Conductive Paper. It took me ages to get enough for myself and all my classmates. I read about it, and thought it would really help the class to know what our attributes were.
I passed the papers around, and we all began to channel chakra into them.
There were a few interesting results. For one, Naruto had the Wind attribute. I genuinely did not expect that. Another interesting one was Hinata, who seemed to have both Fire and Lightning as her elements.
And then, there was mine.
Honestly, I don't know what to make of it. One moment, I'm channeling chakra into the paper, and then next, my hand was completely engulfed in a plant. It was lucky that we were at school, as I was quickly helped by some nearby teachers. When I explained what happened, I was quickly taken away to some back room in the basement of the school.
And... That's what leads us to the current situation. I am now sitting across from the Third Hokage, who is just... drinking tea.
"So, my ANBU tell me that you are quite an unusual student. Perceptive, yet quiet. Unusually intelligent, though motivated only by your own growth. Even in the past, I put a challenge before you, and you did not question for a moment, as it made you stronger. So tell me, dear child, what makes you seek out power and strength so enthusiastically?"
I... didn't have an answer for that. And since they took away my puppets, I couldn't even use them to express myself. This old man... He was basically forcing me to physically talk to him.
"I don't know."
"Oh? And yet, one can count on a single hand the days where you have not practiced in some manner. Ah, it does not matter your reason, or if you even possess one. Today, I was called here because you may possess a very interesting talent. Come, place your hands on my own."
I did as I was instructed, placing my hands palm-down on top of his hands. In less than a second, I felt a powerful surge of his chakra invade my body. I felt it fill every inch of my soul, searching, measuring, and trying to do... something.
"Interesting... My ANBU had believed you to possess the rare Kekkei Genkai of Wood Release. But quite simply, your power may eclipse that. I sense three releases, all working in unison. You, child, possess a Kekkei Tota of Earth, Yin, and Yang Release. If I take into account the incident earlier, I believe that it may be related to the very foundation of life."
He retracted his chakra from my body, and I felt physically weak for a short time afterwards. I have a Kekkei Tota? I've read about them, of course, but wasn't there only one known to exist? The users of that Release were renowned and powerful, and one of them currently served as a Kage somewhere.
"I have decided. Yuuto Amakuri, I will be making you a genin effective immediately, and you are going to be sent to visit an old friend of mine, and train in creating techniques fitting your Kekkei Tota beneath him until further notice. You have one week to say your goodbyes."
This was...
That one statement crumbled my entire world.