Naruto sprang up from bed, both hands clapping over his ears as if the pain of being yanked still lingered.
He panted hard. His blond hair looked like a bird's nest. Fine sweat dotted his brow.
"Ow ow ow…"
He blinked his blue eyes and looked around.
This wasn't the sunset-washed Konoha street from his dream.
Nor was it the blurry red-haired woman who'd scolded him.
Instead—
his tiny rented room, littered with instant-ramen cups and junk.
A thick, messy odor in the air.
Dirty clothes piled in the corner. Old academy textbooks strewn on the table. Dawn barely lighting the window.
"Eh…?"
It took him a few seconds to realize.
"So… it was all just a dream…"
He dropped his hands, plopped back onto the bed, excitement settling.
But—
this dream felt weird.
Naruto scratched his messy hair, digging through the memory.
Unlike his usual dreams that vanished on waking, this one was crystal clear, every detail etched into his mind.
Like he'd lived it.
He remembered crushing Sasuke at the training ground with an insanely cool Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
He remembered Sasuke admitting defeat.
Calling him Team Seven's strongest.
Naruto grinned like an idiot, heart fizzing happily.
And then—
Sakura had confessed to him!
Called him "Naruto-sama"!
Then they'd gone shopping together, and everyone in the village—even those people who always looked at him weirdly—had smiled at him.
They greeted him warmly.
They praised him. Worried about him.
Naruto closed his eyes, a soft, satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Ah… it was… amazing.
Yeah, the dream ended with that scary red-haired lady yanking his ear and yelling at him. He woke up right after.
But overall, it was the happiest dream he'd ever had.
While he was still rolling on the bed, basking in the afterglow—
"RINNNNG RINNNNG RINNNNG!!!"
The old frog alarm clock on his bedside suddenly shrieked loud enough to shatter glass.
Naruto jolted, scrambling to slap it silent.
He glanced at the time.
7:55?!
"Oh crap!!"
His smile evaporated.
"We were supposed to meet at 8! I'm gonna be late!"
Today was a big day.
The first day Team Seven officially started taking missions.
A massive step on his glorious road to becoming Hokage.
Absolutely, absolutely no way he was being late on day one.
"Ahhh! No time!"
He launched off the bed, raced to the bathroom, splashed his face, didn't even brush his teeth, yanked on his wrinkled orange tracksuit, grabbed a nearly expired carton of milk from the fridge, and bolted out the door with it between his teeth.
"I'm off!!" he yelled while sprinting, though no one was home to hear it.
…
Morning in Konoha was coming alive.
Villagers greeted each other. Shops opened. The smell of breakfast drifted through the air.
Naruto dashed down the street, weaving around people while chanting, "I'm gonna be late, I'm gonna be late!"
As he rounded a corner, something caught his eye.
"Huh?"
He slowed instinctively.
Ahead, a young woman in a plain red kimono walked toward him, holding a little boy's hand.
Naruto's eyes lit up.
It was her.
Her and her kid.
The woman from yesterday's dream who'd been so warm, who'd told her son to learn from him.
Right! That's them!
He remembered clearly. In the dream she'd chatted with him for ages, praising him nonstop.
Her son's name had been… Kōichi? Yūta?
He couldn't remember exactly.
But they were here—in reality.
Did that mean part of the dream was real?
Excitement and hope surged in his chest.
The anxious rush on his face melted into a brilliant smile.
As the mother and child drew closer, Naruto lifted his right hand, ready to greet them just like in the dream.
"Good morning, ma'am—"
His words died halfway.
Because the instant the woman saw his face—
her smile vanished.
Replaced by fear, disgust, and sharp wariness.
Like she'd spotted something cursed.
"Ah!"
She let out a short gasp, yanked her son behind her, and spun around as if fleeing a plague.
She hurried away without looking back, scolding her child harshly:
"Ryōta, remember! If you ever see that boy again, stay far away! Don't go near him! He brings bad luck, understand?!"
"…."
The wind seemed to stop.
The villagers' eyes drifted toward Naruto—cold, repulsed, subtly hostile.
Naruto's smile cracked like thin ice.
His raised right hand froze in mid-air, then lowered slowly, as if all strength had drained away.
What… just happened?
Why…
Why was it like this?
In the dream… it wasn't like this…
In the dream she was kind. She smiled. She praised me…
Why… in reality…?
A chill colder than ice shot from his feet to his head, snuffing out the warmth his dream had given him.
A huge, bitter emptiness swallowed him whole.
He stood there, watching the woman and child flee, feeling the villagers' distant glares on his skin—
his throat tight and dry, unable to say anything.
After a long while, he whispered, barely audible:
"…Right."
"This is reality."
"…Not a dream."
Morning sun poured onto Konoha's busy streets…
but it couldn't reach the depths of the blond boy's suddenly dimmed eyes.
-------
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