(Author's Note: This interlude bridges Chapter 10 and Chapter 11. Here, Naros—once Naruto Uzumaki—faces the ghosts he's carried alone. He's a shinobi, but he's also a father and a man who has lost everything. Tonight, under Northern stars, he decides whether to let go… or remain chained to his past.)
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(A Day in Winter Town)
Winter Town awoke beneath a sky thick with silver clouds. Snowflakes drifted lazily between steep rooftops and chimneys puffing smoke. Villagers bustled about, wrapped in heavy furs, trading news and small talk as they readied for the coming cold.
Naros slipped into town as quietly as a shadow. To most, he was simply another tall, blond man wrapped in a traveler's cloak. But to Joren and Lysa, he was something else—a piece of their hearts returned home.
Joren looked up from chopping wood, sweat steaming off his brow in the winter chill. His eyes crinkled as he saw Naros approaching.
"Well look who remembers where home is," he grunted, setting the axe aside. "Thought you'd gone south and forgotten us."
Naros gave him a small, wry smile. "The South smells worse than I remembered."
Joren barked a laugh and pulled him into a rough hug. "Still skinny," he accused. "You'll freeze in a stiff breeze."
Inside, Lysa swept Naros into her arms before he could even shrug off his cloak. "I've half a mind to tie you to a chair so you can't vanish again."
He let her hold him, his face buried in the scent of flour and pine soap. When she pulled back, tears sparkled in her eyes.
"Eat," she insisted, bustling him toward the table. "You look as pale as a ghost."
So he ate, and listened, and let himself be a son again—if only for a few borrowed hours. He and Joren worked together through the afternoon, mending tools and patching up loose boards on the shed. Lysa chattered on about neighbors, harvest yields, and whose cow wandered off into Lord Stark's fields.
Naros let their voices fill him. For a few moments, it almost felt like he belonged to this world fully. Almost.
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(Night Beneath the Stars)
Night fell clear and cold over Winter Town. The stars shone sharp as knives against a sky of deep obsidian.
Naros climbed onto the roof of the house, his breath forming white clouds. He folded his legs beneath him and stared upward, his blond hair stirring in the icy wind.
He stayed silent a long time, listening to the sigh of the wind across shingles, the distant bark of a dog, and the groan of trees under snow's weight.
Then, finally, he whispered:
"Hinata…"
Her name broke from him like a sob. He swallowed hard, throat raw.
"Boruto… Himawari…"
He closed his eyes, as though afraid the stars would judge the tears shining in them.
"I keep… I keep trying not to say your names. Because it hurts so much when I do. Because I'm scared… I'm scared I'll forget how you sounded."
The wind howled across the rooftop.
"I see your faces when I close my eyes. Hinata… your smile. How you used to hide behind your hands, even after we were married. Boruto… that scowl you gave me when you thought I wasn't watching. Himawari… your laughter…"
His voice hitched. His shoulders shook.
"I remember the day you both ran into my arms. I remember how small your hands felt. I remember… I remember promising I'd always protect you. That I'd keep you safe."
A shuddering breath escaped him.
"And then I couldn't. I wasn't enough. I lost you all. I lost my friends. My home. My whole world."
Snowflakes melted against the heat of his cheeks.
"I keep waking up every day… pretending I'm fine. Pretending I can keep going. But it never goes away. That emptiness. That voice telling me I should've been the one who died."
A sob broke loose before he could stop it. He clamped a hand over his mouth, shoulders quaking.
"I tried to die. I wanted to die. I thought… maybe then I'd see you again. But even death wouldn't have me."
He drew his knees closer to his chest, pressing his forehead to them.
"Why am I still here? Why me?"
Silence answered him. The stars above were cold and endless, burning with indifferent light.
"I don't deserve this second chance. I don't deserve… this family. These people who care about me. I'm… I'm a monster who killed so many. I should have disappeared."
Another sob escaped him. He choked it back, voice barely audible:
"But… but they love me. Joren. Lysa. Even Arya. People here… they still look at me like I'm worth something."
He lifted his head, eyes wet.
"I don't know why I'm here. I don't know if it's fate. Or punishment. Or just… a random miracle."
He swallowed, shivering.
"But… I'm so tired of hurting. I'm so tired of being afraid to remember you."
He stared up at the stars, breath hitching.
"So… I'm letting you go. Not because I don't love you. But because… I do. And because I think… I think you'd all want me to live. Really live."
He dragged in a trembling breath.
"I'll carry you inside me. Every day. And one day… when it's my time… I'll come find you."
Tears streamed freely down his face.
"Until then… goodbye. For now."
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(A Mother's Embrace)
He didn't know how long he sat there, weeping silently. Eventually he climbed back down, boots silent on the snow.
Lysa was waiting inside, sitting in a chair by the fire, her face drawn and eyes glistening.
Without a word, she stood and pulled him into her arms. He buried his face in her shoulder, unable to stop the fresh tears.
"Let it out, my boy," she whispered, rubbing circles on his back. "No man's meant to carry so much alone."
He clung to her like a child, sobbing.
When he finally pulled away, she pressed a warm mug into his shaking hands.
"Troubles seem smaller after a good night's sleep," she murmured.
He managed a broken smile. "Sometimes."
Lysa cupped his cheek, her thumb brushing away a tear. "You're not alone. Remember that."
And for the first time in many long years, Naros felt… lighter. As though a chain he'd dragged behind him for lifetimes had finally begun to loosen.