The world is rotting; slowly collapsing, being washed away and burned up it was forever rotting with time. It was like his heart, falling to pieces and discolouring, no matter how much one tried to ignore it. A world and a heart were so much alike, breaking when hit with unexpected hardships, discolouring when life is lost. His heart was repeatedly attacked with unexpected punches full of sorrow, anger, guilt and regrets that tolled. Chuffing out a weak laugh, he looked at the stars focusing on not looking at the bright blood moon, the stars that twinkled and sparked watching as they went through their own hardships and pain. As he watched he reminisced about another type of twinkle and spark that were part of a couple familiar mismatched eyes. Those eyes would twinkle with happiness and amusement and spark with ferocity, but they were soon dimmed as fate took hold just like the stars above soon would. He was no longer amused, Naruto sighed, Fate.

Much like this world, his friends, his belief, his memories, his hardships and promises he would succumb to fate, his heart would dim just like this world. He couldn't feel the solid ground anymore, he couldn't feel the blood that was on his chin and he couldn't feel the headband he knew was in his hand, fate was dimming his heart to fast to feel what was left. Heh, he had laughed in the face of fate once trying to make his own way, either way it still ended the same for all, fate had collapsed his world around him many times but much like his nindo way, he rebuilt. Not giving up. Now that he thought about it, he had people to help to lean on. His comrades were all gone now. Could he rebuild?

No, not today. Maybe not any day. Naruto's eyes dimmed, the twinkle gone. He could not recover in a land of nothing. Something could not be built on nothing, with nothing; without one's support, one cannot continue. A lone wolf may be alone but it wouldn't be long before it gains however unwanted a support, it cannot go back. Naruto wheezed, no he cannot rebuild today.

He was but a thorn in fate's side, eventually it would win, so now that it caught him it was preparing to dim the annoying spark. He could feel it now more than ever, the slowing of his heart, his blood, and his thoughts. A breeze grazed him; he felt a smile crawl onto his face. He would always laugh in the face of fate.

The darkness surrounding his sight brought his attention to one twinkling spark left that was being closed in and dimmed. For a brief moment he thought about the wind, he wondered whether or not such a constant was under fate's control. Free as the wind they say?

He could feel himself floating, but was too unconscious to recognise what it was, like being stuck between sleep and awake, being aware and not at the same time. His first instinct was to laugh, but he stiffened instead as he suddenly felt his senses bombard him, rushing past a floodgate. The smells of old wood and the sounds of crickets at night, the feelings were wonderful he could feel a softness long unknown to him. It wasn't the right softness though, not of silver hair, if this was heaven then he would have to admit it was alright but he expected more. So another conclusion was that this was not heaven. Indeed if it were he would he the deep and wonderful sounding voice of his lover.

Maybe that was hoping for too much. Instead of dwelling he felt his body without moving in a form of meditation, recognising that everything was kind of fine he decided to open his eye's. The sight moved him; it was a ceiling, a specific one, a ceiling full of holes that was made from boredom at night with a kunai. Sighing as he realised easily what was going on, he looked at his clock, reading 1 o'clock at night. Sighing again in defeat he sat up and confirmed that when he felt through his body that he was indeed smaller than normal. He decided to walk things out, forever energised it seems. Naruto glanced at the calendar only to frown, it was that day huh?

What a disappointment, it was such an unoriginal time to go back to, he did reason that it was probably one of the most critical turning points of the past. Still, he did not like it and he barely wanted to be here, shuffling some black clothes on from somewhere in the back of his closet he left his apartment quietly, being barefoot was a choice he though was well made, he loved the feeling of the pavement under his feet after so long of being numb. The sounds of the night seemed to spark some life into him; that was another thing, did he feel anything anymore?

Looking up at the Hokage Mountain he tried to discern his emotions towards it. Nothing, sure there was respect but he felt no…longing or needs, he looked at his father and smiled a small smile. If only he had gone back far enough for him and kaa-san, no that would just be kicking fate in the ass then. He wondered if fate was playing with him or was also being played a puppet along with him. It must hurt either way, because he just defied fate once again. Huffing as he felt the cool wind blow through his blond locks his feet stopped as he felt the grass on a field touch them, it was a wonderful feeling after being stuck in mass rocky terrain and craters. The field he was in was familiar yet old, eyeing the log stumps and the small river flowing through he felt more at peace than ever. He walked over to the water and sat on the edge with feet in, letting the water wash his worries away.

He did not and could not look over to his left and behind a couple of bushes. The memorial stone could wait until he was ready to see all the unmarked names on there. For now he would meditate to feel his surroundings and himself, to calm himself even though he didn't need it.

Naruto came to five hours later when he heard talking, sitting up and stretching out a yawn he slowly got to his feet, he wasn't all too excited to see them, after all one abandoned me in the future and is annoying in the past, the other shoved another Chidori into his chest and is also generally annoying, whatever love he felt for them before he had to guess was now missing probably the price fate had for defying it again. Sighing as there was only one way to find out he walked around the corner of trees to see the two genin's talking, well one swooning and the other brooding.

'Hm, nothing huh?' sighing he started forward, 'as suspected I don't care for them' his feet stopped silently at the end of the bridge and waited for them to notice. The one-sided conversation stopped after 5 minutes when Sakura noticed the figure watching them while Sasuke looked over because of the silence. The pause must have lasted over a minute of tenseness as they had to adjust to the information brought in. Sasuke observed with a raised eyebrow as he saw that Naruto's clothes were one: black, two: ruffled and three: barefoot. His blond hair had twigs and leaves in them and he watched as the boy yawned before scratching the back of his neck in the most uncaring nature ever. So much so a Nara would be proud. The silence was broken with a screech from a banshee.

"NARUTO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The boy sighed as he pulled his pinkies out of his ears. The sigh was long and drawn out, Naruto's gaze settled on Sakura before she could say another word, the gaze was hard with indifference, and she stopped out of surprise as his cold stare that had no emotions landed on hers.

"I am here for the test, of course" Naruto's cold and rough voice said in nonchalance as he looked to the sky, Sasuke couldn't determine if Naruto had a deep morning voice or if something had ultimately changed, he could feel the uncaring coldness and tension coming off of him in waves and couldn't help but feel something had changed. Naruto was surprised at his own voice underneath; it was the cold and rough voice of a war veteran. He decided to ignore the two who he could barely hear were trying to ask him something and watch the clouds go by instead, the clouds were white and fluffy and the complete opposite of war ravaged lands full of dark ominous clouds.

It was a while into cloud gazing before he noticed a chakra signature closing in on the vicinity, the tensing of his shoulders was on slight, someone would need to be amazing at observation to notice, Naruto felt that something was about to happen when he looked at the man approaching. Naruto took the last seconds before hearing his voice to steel himself.

"Yo, sorry I'm late but a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around" he said as he waved lazily and eye smiled.

"YOU'RE LATE" Sakura accused while Sasuke glared, Kakashi was surprised to see the blond genin slowly getting up from the ground and looking around tiredly for the sound of a banshee that 'woke' him. Kakashi had not expected this, as Naruto's eye's landed on his one he felt something inexplicable, he observed as he saw indifference and coldness in the blonde's eyes at first but then some unknown emotion was shown. No not unknown, that was longing, it was gone again soon enough, replaced with a softer gaze before it turned cold as Naruto turned his eye's towards Sakura.

Frowning under his mask Kakashi observed Naruto's composure, he looked relaxed and without a care in the world but there was a tenseness and a sharp edge to him Kakashi wouldn't have noticed had he not seen his eyes. Kakashi couldn't help but notice how cute he was when he was ruffled from sleep, in black clothes and had no…shoes? 'What?' Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Naruto… where are your shoes?"

Naruto felt it when their eye's met, a spark it was such an intense feeling that he felt that his knees would collapse anytime soon, he longed to touch the silver hair, he longed to see the spark in his sharingan eye, he longed to feel the best and warmest hugs, the sweetest kisses and soft skin. Oh how in love was he. Naruto mentally shook himself before he did something damaging… like tackle hug him or yell at him for being stupid and dying in his arms. Nearly huffing a humourless laugh he turned his gaze to Sakura, maybe if he glared enough she would stop being so loud.

He saw Sakura flinch when he turned to her but she kept quiet. Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi, who did not let the exchange go unnoticed,

"Naruto…where are your shoes?" Naruto looked down at his feet and smiled when he still felt he grass underneath them, a reminder, he realised he didn't want to put on any shoes. Stretching his toes into the ground in happiness he looked up at Kakashi and shrugged uncaring.

Sighing Kakashi saw that the conversation on the importance of shoes would go nowhere with him so he proceeded to tell the details of the test. Kakashi was intrigued, Naruto had changed, he had this uncaring nature that even surpassed him, he also had a coldness of a war veteran in his eyes. No longer would he be interested in some last Uchiha, he wanted to observe his sensei's son and observe he did.

During the test Naruto did nothing but walk away and sit in a tree to sleep, of course he wasn't actually sleeping but Kakashi didn't know that. Kakashi was dumbfounded so when the test bell rang after he messed with the other genin's unable to mess with Naruto; he tied Sakura up and called out for him. Naruto casually walked out, he was surprised Kakashi didn't get to him but it was okay he got to rest, sitting down on the other side of the stump from Sasuke who was looking coldly at him, he looked up at Kakashi tiredly.

Sighing, Kakashi decided to scrap the original plan and just be blunt.

"Do you know the purpose of this test?" he pretended to aim it at the whole team but he was specifically asking Naruto. Naruto smiled in amusement to Kakashi, the glint in his eye showing how much he knew.

"Such a team would never work Kakashi- sensei, broody wouldn't ever listen to me nor Sakura, I believe that given time maybe but who knows?" he shrugged and looked away uncaring. Kakashi sighed again in disappointment. Only slightly noting his voice change, could be puberty.. or something else.

"You could have at least tried" he said weakly, "Well the test was teamwork" he finalised to the other two confused genin. He watched as surprise and realisation dawned their faces before looking at Naruto accusingly, Kakashi decided to intervene before they got their heads bitten off or something.

"Sakura, Sasuke" he looked at them accusingly, "You KNOW you wouldn't have listened, I know that too so there was a second part to it especially for the failing of the first test, but circumstances were adjusted for it" he ended as he eyed Naruto. The two genin nodded while Naruto looked at him with an eyebrow raised?

Kakashi had stopped because he was curious as to what the blond would say, it was enlightening and confusing at the same time. Kakashi turned his gaze back to the other two genin;

"You two are at the top of your class and yet you are both blinded, look underneath the underneath" He sighed again, he had to take the team no matter what otherwise he would have the council after him.

"You are all a disappointment" Kakashi saw a flash of hurt from Naruto's eyes which was different to the regret from the other two, "but, I am willing to give you all another chance, team seven will report back here tomorrow, I warn you now that because of your failure we will have weeks of D-ranks to compensate and build teamwork, dismissed" Kakashi watched as the two of them left while Naruto stayed obviously knowing that he wanted to talk to him.

"Yes?"

"Naruto…a-are you okay?" Kakashi asked as he decided to finally kneel in front of Naruto concerned.

Naruto smiled a small grateful smile at him that warmed Kakashi and made him even more concerned.

"Ne Kakashi?" he paused swallowing, he cautiously continued, "Is it weird to feel empty?" Kakashi only turned his head to the side waiting for a continuation. Naruto's voice went hard as he went into memory;

"When you feel dim like the spark has left you, after you have lost so much, how can you keep going? Rebuilding? When you know that fate will catch up and leave you dead, every world dies as does every heart eventually, how do you keep going when you know the end is just death?" Naruto looked up at Kakashi expectantly with hidden emotions. Kakashi was shocked, Naruto was being so deep, and Kakashi recognised the mid-life crisis thoughts immediately from his own hardships. Whoever this knew Naruto was Kakashi saw that he needed help and companionship.

"Well Naruto think of it like this, there are lots of losses in the universe and fate may be unkind, but it has only been unkind in one way, in who it chooses shall pass on and who shall stay, death is a constant but it is a journey there. We should all greet death as a friend but have the best journey of our lives while we are here, humans like meaningful things Naruto, it may seem unfair that a friend dies and you live but sometimes you have to live with fact, but that comrade has left something meaningful" Kakashi said as he put his hand over Naruto's heart, "In here they left the rest of their time to you and giving up, not rebuilding is not living up to their meaning, they need you to continue their journey Naruto, as I have done many times" he said as he pulled his hitai-ate up and uncovered his sharingan.

The Sharingan recorded the tiny unnoticeable emotions in Naruto's eyes, consideration, surprise, longing, gratitude and small twitch of the lips that would have been a smile in reminiscence at the sight of the sharingan. The well of emotions Naruto had was incredible, he could feel a lot right now, putting a hand where Kakashi had touched his heart he looked down and blushed,

"The journey…" Naruto mumbled before he smiled slightly. "The best possible journey is what we're fighting for" looking up Naruto could see Kakashi's eye-smiles.

"Thank you Kakashi- Sensei" he smiled up at him gratefully.

"No worries Naruto; if you ever need to talk don't hesitate to ask, you are my student and that means you are under my protection" Kakashi said with a soft and warm voice to Naruto before ruffling his hair.

To say the least Naruto was inexplicably happy the next day and couldn't stop smiling in the privacy of his home, but if you looked hard enough you could see delightful spark in his eyes as he unconsciously touched his chest where his heart was.

This is just for fun but i might continue, idk i really love Kakanaru and timetravel so *shrug*

Ask if you want more, i can try cook some more up, it'll be more on Kakanaru interactions and skipping most of the canon story to be honest.

Anyways, later. Jasper~