Fairy's Ace

'Thoughts'

"Normal Dialogue"

(Word count: 2,109)

~ With Naruto ~

Lying on the bed once more was a 10-year-old Naruto Uzumaki, who had passed out after the climax of his mind integrating both sets of memories. Hours had since passed, and Naruto was finally beginning to stir awake.

The abundant smell of nature remained the first thing that his senses picked up, followed by the soft humming of an unknown voice. Not wanting to alert the other party, Naruto remained still.

'Is this a dream? I can remember my life in Konoha, but I can also remember a different life lived in Verdan Hollow.

I should not even be alive right now. I remember dying to those shinobi. And that weird, bandaged man. He knew who my parents were! And what did he mean that my parent's dying wish was for me to be a hero?!

I lived my whole life being treated like a monster!

Hokage-jiji always said that knowing who my parents were would never bring them back, but he never said anything about a dying wish!'

Inadvertently, the more Naruto remembered, the more a deep, dark desire for the truth began forming within him. He clenched his hands tightly on the bed he was lying atop of, trying to remain calm.

His increasing state of mind did not go unnoticed, however, as he heard the other party with him finally speaking up.

"You know, it's only common courtesy to not destroy the property of another person. Especially if that person is going out of their way to provide you with hospitality and nursing you back to health."

Caught in the act, Naruto did not know how to react. This had been the first time, in a very long time, since a stranger had not openly cursed him out. Granted, the only time where he had any positive interactions with any strangers were during his first five years in his new life.

Slowly sitting up straight, Naruto scratched the back of his head as he responded awkwardly. "I'm sorry, it's just that it's been a long time since I've spoken to someone."f

Which had been true. After the destruction of his village, which he remembered to be called 'Verdan Hollow' within the land of Fiore, found in the Ishgar continent, Naruto had lived the life of a slave to a group of bandits. As he tried to recall more of his current life, a stinging pain invaded his mind.

Wincing, he held his head in his arms as he hoped and prayed that he would not experience the same thing he went through earlier in the day. Just as he thought the pain would not recede, his senses picked up the smell of lavender.

He could not understand it, but the scent had calmed his mind. Looking up, he tried to find the source of the smell, wanting to stay close-by to it in case his memories acted out again. As he looked around, his gaze finally landed on his caretaker.

'A tree?'

"Hello there, glad to see that you've calmed down." The caretaker spoke.

Not getting a response from the boy, the caretaker continued. "Oh, where are my manners. My name is Warrod. Warrod Sequen."

.

.

.

Warrod still did not receive a response from Naruto. "How about we start with something simple? Do you remember your name?"

Naruto nodded.

"That's wonderful. Would you be willing to tell me your name?"

A moment of silence passed. Warrod, seeing as how Naruto had not responded to his question, let out a sigh. He was about to try again when he heard a soft, almost vulnerable voice come from the boy.

"Naruto."

Warrod's eyes perked up. The boy, now revealed to be Naruto, had finally spoken.

"Ah, it seems he speaks. For a moment I was beginning to wonder if you had lost your voice. Because if you did, it would be too much of a chore to figure out if you had lost your voice due to my medical administrations, or if it was lost before I found you." He joked.

Naruto tilted his head, unsure what was happening.

"Haha.. Haha… Ha. . ." Seeing as his attempt to lighten the mood had fell flat on it's face, Warrod chose to ignore his failure and move on.

"Right, we know your name. Do you remember where you came from? What about your parents? Surely there would be someone where you came from who would be worried sick looking for you right about now."

Warrod attempted to brighten the mood again by bringing up the boys' parents. He thought that if he'd brought that up, the boy would be relieved to know that he was well enough to return home to them.

"My parents. . . I don't know. . ."

Splat.

However, he did not take into account that the opposite end of the spectrum could happen as well. 'Oh boy, it seems my luck has come to an end after this encounter. Mavis, I'm sorry. But it seems I have finally joined you with how bad my luck has been so far.'

His musings were cut short when he heard Naruto speak up again.

"I don't remember much. I come from a village called Verdan Hollow. But it's gone now. A storm came through the village, and my parents hid me for safety. When I came out, the whole village was destroyed, and no one was left around. . ." Naruto recounted.

Even though he has memories of Konoha, he knew that something was off with his situation. So, he chose to tell the story of his current life, while keeping everything about his other life a closely guarded secret.

SPLAT.

'Oh dear, Mavis! It seems I have used up even Precht and Yuri's luck in meeting this boy!' Warrod sighed deeply. Seated on the bed in front of him was the sole survivor of one of the most vicious attacks from the Dark Guilds in recent times.

Not much was released to the public, but being a Wizard Saint, ranked fourth among the Ten Wizard Saints thereby granting him the title of one of the Four Gods of Ishgar, Warrod had obviously been told the truth of the matter.

Verdan Hollow was an isolated and peaceful village. They had their own social society and even a small guild made up of the mages of the village. From what he could recall, he remembered that the village-owned guild had recently seen the promotion of two of its members to A class mages, before the attack occurred.

Warrod, being the closest Wizard Saint at the time due to how relatively close the village was to his own home, was subsequently dispatched to provide assistance as soon as the Council received word of the attack.

However, even though he was the closest, almost a full day had passed since the attack had begun. When he arrived, all he saw was what the boy had described. Destruction.

'But that shouldn't be the case, when I arrived, I did not sense any presence in the village at all. It could not have been more than a day and a half from the attack and my arrival.'

Wanting to clear his doubts, Warrod decided to ask his questions.

"A storm? How do you know it was a storm?"

Naruto sat quietly, remembering the final moments with his parents. "My parents told me before they hid me." He said, tears now dropping from his eyes.

Seeing this, Warrod took a clean cloth and passed it over to Naruto, who hesitantly accepted the cloth and wiped his tears.

"What were your parents name?"

"Minato and Kushina."

At Naruto's reveal, Warrod's eyes widened as his heartbeat saw a short spike of activity. 'I see. So, you're their son.'

Although he did not personally know of the two, he was well-informed of them. Two, young and promising mages, with Minato touted to be the next guild master after he had more experience in leading.

'Nobody knows what happened to the villagers that day. The attack came and went so swiftly and quietly. I'm not even certain if there were any other survivors or not.' He lamented.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened after you came out of hiding? From what I remember, a Wizard Saint was sent to see if he could help, but he did not see any survivors around. He even stayed and looked around for almost three days."

Naruto scrounged his nose, trying to remember the exact details. "I remember leaving the hidden compartment and then walking around looking for my parents and sister. But I couldn't find anyone. That was when a group of people-"

It was at this point where Naruto stopped speaking before tensing, as if remembering a difficult memory.

Warrod, sensing the sudden reaction, attempted to calm Naruto using his magic. He quietly casted the calming effect magic spell that he used earlier, and the room was once again filled with a lavender smell.

"Naruto, my boy. You do not have to tell me-"

In his calm state of mind, Naruto interrupted. "No, please. I have to."

Naruto felt that he needed to tell somebody about his story. Not because he was looking for attention. Not because the figure was being kind to him. But because he needed to for himself.

He needed to tell someone so that he could not deny his new reality any longer.

"The group of people. I thought they were neighbouring villagers or a passing caravan of traders. But no." Naruto paused, seemingly trying to find the courage.

"What were they, Naruto?" Warrod asked warmly, trying to give strength to Naruto.

"They. . . were bandits."

P .L. A. T. !

As Naruto continued his tales, Warrod could not believe what he was hearing. The boy in front of him had lost his family and his village to the Dark Guilds, whether he knew about it or not. Then when he thought he was safe, he came across a group of bandits who took him in as a slave.

He lived the next 5 years of his life as their bait. Scared for his life, Naruto did as he was told. All the while Warrod was studying Naruto's expressions. Seeing him tell his story, Warrod was certain that not a day went by where Naruto did not feel responsible for the victims of the bandit.

It was only through some absurd luck where Naruto was able to give them the slip. While the bandit group was taking a break in the forest, he had noticed a sleeping Vulcan nearby their camp.

While the bandits were not paying attention, Naruto had unceremoniously woken up the Vulcan by throwing a decent sized rock at its manly jewels. In a fit of rage, the Vulcan began looking around for the cause of its untimely disturbance.

Utilizing its awareness, Naruto screamed as loud as his voice could muster, gathering the attention of the rest of the bandits and the Vulcan itself. Seeing the group of bandits, a feral grin found it's way onto the Vulcan's lips, before it roared out violently and charged towards them.

As the Vulcan was rampaging through the bandit, Naruto had made use of the distraction to run away.

However, he did not make it too far before he collapsed. While captive as a slave, Naruto was not fed well and would often only be given the scraps. If he had given a particularly good performance as bait, he would be rewarded with a full loaf of bread.

Even though he felt guilty, he was too scared of dying that it overrode his morals. Each time a group of unsuspecting civilians fell into the clutches of the bandits, Naruto would silently pray for forgiveness, while promising himself that one day he would ensure that the bandits would get what they deserved.

And they did.

Now that he was finally free, instead of feeling a weight lift from his shoulders, he only felt a bigger pressure. All the lives that he had ruined began coming back to him.

Before the rising panic could overtake him again, Naruto was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace.

Warrod could not bear seeing the look of guilt on Naruto's face.

"It's okay Naruto. It's okay. You are safe now. I am here."

As Naruto sobbed softly in his arms, Warrod could only provide a gentle and kind reassurance to the boy.

Silently, Warrod promised himself that he would do right by Naruto's parents and ensure that Naruto would grow up well from this point forward.

~ End of Chapter 03 ~

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