Six Years After (book 2)

Chapter 1

Welcome to Book 2 of Six Years After! Thank you to everyone who liked the first enough to come see the second! I sincerely hope you enjoy! 

This start felt so slow but you know. Setting the scene. I've really,,, never done a sequel to a book before, honestly? I'm bad at finishing stories to begin with, so fingers crossed this doesn't seem too awful or something.

Third person pov

The breeze is gentle and cool, yet not so much that it causes a chill. It brushes featherlight against Naruto's face, ruffling through his hair like phantom fingers. He can't quite stop himself from grinning, his shoulders loose and his heart light. Today, he knows, is going to be one that he remembers for the rest of his life.

Overhead, leaves rustle in the faint wind. The sky is as blue as its been every other day that Naruto has come here, and it feels like a victory to look up at it and see the fluffy white clouds drifting by. They are a testament to all they've overcome and, peering at them, he thinks he understands how Shikamaru can spend hours of his day simply watching them float by.

The trunk of the tree has grown thick and strong over the years. It's just as tall as the ones that surround Konoha's giant walls, though its branches fan out far more. The canopy is vast and full, dotted with white flowers that bloom and reach out to the warming sun overhead. Naruto hadn't thought all this was achievable. 

Yet here he is. Grass beneath his feet, and flowers for as far as the eye can see. The hills roll and the flowers go with them, sheets of bursting color. Some are in hues so vivid he hadn't known they could exist, and he thinks he could cry if he stared long enough. 

Once upon a time, the flowers had seemed out of place. A patch in a damp sewer, so dark it seemed impossible that anything could grow and thrive there. It was strange to think how things had flipped so quickly. Now, it was Kurama's cage that did not belong, slate grey against an endless background of color and light. 

It's not that the plants hadn't tried to take it over too. Vines curled up the bars, and grass encroached on the edge of the metal, seeking to spread inside. The tree partially hung over it, shading Kurama from any harsh light. Even in the nature's attempts to reclaim it, it still didn't make it belong anymore than before.

Inside, Kurama lay, head on his paws and eyes partially shut. His nonchalance is betrayed by the grin already beginning to form on his face, razor sharp teeth peeking out at him. The fox was happy, and Naruto beamed back, eyes alight with excitement.

On his forehead, a shiny new Konoha forehead proctor shone in the light. They both knew exactly what that meant.

Exuberance filled Naruto to the brim. Adrenaline was like gasoline set aflame in his veins, eating through him and making everything burn. He welcomed the feeling, welcomed the intense thumping of his heart and the way it pounded loud in his ears. Finally, he'd done it. Finally, the day was here.

The thing about Naruto is that everything he does has to be at a fast pace, or else he's not going to want to do it at all. He's impatient, jumping from step to step without falter or thought, always eager for results. Naruto moves through life one foot in front of the other as fast as he can go. He's enthusiastic, driven, and he doesn't back down from anything once his mind is set to it.

This has been nearly six years in the making. He's been waiting for over half a decade to do this.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asks giddily, hardly able to contain himself. He feels ready to vibrate out of his own skin, his fingers itching. He's been jittery all day. It had been nearly impossible to get to sleep, his mind had been racing so hard.