Chapter 28: Flying solo
When Dix arrived to the room he was supposed to go to, he knocked three times on the door, then only entered after hearing Elma's voice saying 'Come on in'. He entered right away, to see both the Third and Elma in their usual seats. Elma looked a bit down, but still tried to smile, while the Third looked like he came from a funeral, which was probably the case. His face was full of worry and sadness, even his eyes were small and lacked their usual glimmer. Dix pretended he didn't notice and cheerfully greeted him.
"Good evening Uncle Hiruzen, what brought you... this time...? Uncle Hiruzen... are you okay?" he said, his sentence slowly trailing off, like he just understood something was wrong.
"Ahh, good evening to you too, Naruto. Ahaha, don't worry about this old man. Regrettably recently something quite disturbing happened, and now, to be honest, I have a lot of pressure on me from many sides. I just came to take a breather, as it is always nice to have a talk with my little friend here... Haha." he said, with a bit of forced laughter, then he went silent as he picked up his tobacco pipe to smoke away his troubles. "Anyhow, I am quite curious, what were you up to these days? How is your training going?"
Dix knew the Third had a ton of heat on him now because of what Itachi did, and the power vacuum that opened as the Uchihas died out. He was pretty sure the Third came to make sure his golden goose was still okay, so he can recover some faith in himself. Dix tried to think of something that isn't too much, but would still make Hiruzen feel good about the project.
"Yes, Uncle Hiruzen, I keep going out to the woods to practice, also I read a lot in the library you provided me. I already managed to make a few breakthroughs! Look at this!" he said as he put together his hands in the Ram seal, that is usually associated with chakra concentration, closed his eyes and looked like someone that is trying hard to focus. After a second or so he summoned a feeble and not too realistic looking clone. He looked at the result and with a bit of shame on his face he said the follow:
"Haha, its not perfect yet, but I'm getting there!" he said as both of the adults' eyes widened. The Third even put his tobacco pipe down for a minute.
"My god! You did this all by yourself? Did anyone help you?" he asked, with audible excitement in his voice.
"Umm... No, I only read what was written in the scrolls." Dix replied with confusion. At this Hiruzen laughed out loud, like he really forgot about his previous problems.
"Hahaha, my son! You are doing great, don't be discouraged now. You are still young, you will be someone great in the future, mark my word! You will go far, Naruto." he said with the usual cheerful demeanor he has. Then he continued.
"Today I also came to tell you that you will be enrolling the Ninja Academy four months from now. There you will be able to learn how to become a successful ninja, that everyone looks up to!" he said, at which Dix tried to look as happy and cheerful as he could.
"Wow, really? That's great news, I can't wait!" came his answer, but Hiruzen wasn't done.
"Also, now as you will soon start your ninja studies, I thought I would give you a proposal. You seem like you are ready to fly out of your nest, so, as a ninja-in-training that doesn't have parents, I could give you your own place to live in somewhere in the village. I would be the one to pay for the upkeep and you would still get your weekly allowance, obviously. Also, note, as I said before this is only an offer. If you want to stay here in the orphanage I would understand that." he finished, then looked at Elma with a suspicious smile.
This genuinely surprised Dix. This was the same thing he wanted. He knew Naruto got his own place to live in the anime too, but this was a really eye-opening coincidence, as he just thought about the same thing before getting there. Seeing his confusion the Third tried to calm him down by explaining a bit more.
"Obviously you don't have to decide right away. I can give you a few days to think about it. Come and tell me when you are ready to choose."
"Oh, no, Uncle Hiruzen, I was just surprised, and had to think for a bit... But yes, I think I'll accept your generous offer. Thank you very much." Dix said honestly, then turned to Elma.
"Also, thank you too, for raising me in the last 8 years. You were like a mother to me. I will never forget you, or where I came from." he said. Actually he didn't care much for her, but she was nice, so he wanted her to feel her worth. His little monologue managed to tear her up though, something he didn't actually want to do. She just sat in her chair nodding with a contradictory smile and teary eyes. Even Hiruzen's small grin turned into a huge smile.
Dix didn't know what to do, so he just sat down on the couch, as he was still standing in the middle of the room ever since he showed off his little trick. Both him and the Third just waited for Elma to calm down in silence, so they can carry on with the conversation. After a few minutes Hiruzen managed to continue.
"Okay, if you are firm in your decision, then tomorrow a man will come in the morning to show you your new home and help you move your belongings." he said as he stood about and was about to leave.
"Yes, thank you, Uncle Hiruzen. I will continue giving my best!" Dix said as parting words. This time Elma didn't jump to lead the Hokage out, instead she looked intently at Dix the whole time. As Hiruzen left, she had this to say.
"Thank you Naruto for you kind words. You will always be my precious child, no matter what..." she said as she started to tear up again. Dix, feeling embarrassed he said his farewells to her, who just nodded in agreement as she wasn't able to properly speak. With this, Dix left the room and headed back to his own, and went to sleep right away.
The next morning there was a man waiting in front of the orphanage just as the Third said. He guided him a bit farther away from the village center, after a few minutes they arrived to Dix's new home. Actually it was the same one-person apartment that Naruto had in the anime. It seems like fate really exists to some extent. Together with the man he moved his items over to his new home. On the last turn of moving his stuff, he said his farewells to the orphanage, or more like to Elma, who was the only one who seemed to care about him leaving. He promised to visit her sometimes and to eat properly every day, and some other stuff he would do anyway.
When he finished with the moving, he got time to explore his new place, even though there wasn't much to explore. It was a 3 room apartment, with a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. Perfect for a single man to live in. All the rooms were properly equipped, which was pretty nice. He hated when he had to equip a house by himself. This layout was quite cozy, so he enjoyed it a lot. He would have a great time living there.
It was about to be noon, so he decided he would go shopping a bit. He would always eat outside the forest when he lived back in the orphanage. Not like he wasn't given food there, he just preferred the venison he hunted himself. Now he wanted to try the foods that are available in the village. He wanted to buy some instant-ramen, which the original Naruto liked so much. Also he decided he would go and see restaurants too, with Ichiraku Ramen being on the top of his list.
Later though. After a bit of searching he found the closest general store, bought what he wanted then went home to eat it. He had to boil some water and pour it directly into the bowl that had everything prepared in it. This would make it resemble an actual soup. He ate it slowly, trying to enjoy the flavor, but it wasn't the best. This isn't something he would get addicted to the same was as Naruto did. Well, whatever. Real ramen next. But now, he had a lot of time on his hands, so he exited the village and went to train his newest power in his arsenal. It was time to train his sharingans.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
HavocHUN
HavocHUN Some social progress right there. Soon the Academy starts, so he will have some stuff to do to further the actual plot, that haven't even started yet.
Also, when we reach 100k views I will make an official discord for the series where we can discuss stuff and maybe even vote on different things.
Thanks for the read, I'd appreciate if you would leave your thoughts in the comments and donate some stones.
Cheers! :D
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