Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

The Bridge Builder

Chapter 11: The Bridge Builder

I awoke to the sound of an object hitting my window. Groggy, I slowly got out of bed. The noise did not stop until I opened the window and looked down. "Naruto?" I groaned. "What are you doing here?"

The boy waved at me from the grass. "I'm here to make sure you got up in time for our mission! You can't be late!"

"Then you better throw rocks at Kakashi's window." The previous day, Naruto complained to the Hokage about all the easy missions we were getting. Surprisingly, the Hokage obliged him and sent us on a C ranked mission to escort this bridge builder Tazuna to the Land of Waves. It sounded exhausting. "I'll be ready soon."

"Okay, I'll wait for you!"

"You don't have to do that. Really." Knowing nothing I said would dissuade him from his chosen path, I closed the window and focused on getting ready.

Breakfast awaited me downstairs. I thanked my aunt and quickly ate, only pausing when Kotaro thrust something at me. Another note. I took it wordlessly. "Be careful out there," Kotaro said. "Remember your training."

I nodded. "Of course." I finished up and then left without another word. Sure enough, Naruto waited for me outside.

"It's about time!" he said. "Hey, what's that?" He snatched the note from me and unfolded it.

I shrugged. "Someone who learned about me years ago wrote notes every month, and now my grandfather is giving them to me."

"Oh! This guy has some good advice. Who is he?"

"No idea."

"Ooo... a mystery. That's exciting!"

"Not really." I took the letter back and read it while we walked:

Hi Katsumi,

It's another beautiful day, isn't it? I bet you're wondering how I can say that when I don't know what kind of day it is in the future. Well, that's easy. Every day is what you make it! If something isn't going well, you've got to do something to make it better. I like to help other people because it reminds me that the world is much bigger than myself and everything is going to be okay. And don't forget to smile! That can brighten anyone's day. I'll talk to you next month!

Yeah... Okay then. I stuffed the letter away and tried to push it out of my mind as well. Fortunately, Sasuke and Sakura's presence was distracting enough. Not too long afterwards, Kakashi arrived with Tazuna, and we set off for our mission. As soon as we passed through the gates, Naruto cheered.

"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura said.

"This is the first time I ever left the village," Naruto said. "I'm a traveler now, believe it."

I snorted. "Yeah, that's what you are." It was too bad there were no cars in this world and we were stuck walking. And we walked for a long time. Sometimes there was interesting conversation, and at other times it was downright boring. And then it happened.

The sound of movement caused me to spin around. There was no time to react as two ninja whipped out chains and used them to tie up Kakashi. Then they tightened the chains and... Kakashi was gone. Sakura screamed while Naruto cried out his name. Something did not feel right though.

Then the ninjas started for Naruto, who stood frozen in fear. I moved towards him, but Sasuke was faster. I moved in front of Naruto while Sasuke stopped the ninja by tying their chains to a tree. It only took a moment for the ninja to break free. "What are you doing?" I shouted at Naruto. One of the ninja tried to attack him from the side, but I quickly pulled up a lightning shield, repelling him. I pulled out a kunai with my free hand, but the ninja moved away.