Universe 199999 – Stark Tower Rooftop – 3:41 AM
The New York sky was dark, oppressive.
No stars.
Just the light pollution from skyscrapers and the surveillance drones slicing through the night like mechanical flies.
But on the rooftop of Stark Tower, something shifted.
The air vibrated.
Space bent, like a reversed breath.
And in a flash of silence, a body appeared.
Naruto.
Naked.
On his knees.
Breathless.
His face drenched in cold sweat.
His wide-open eyes stared at a world he didn't know.
—
A few minutes earlier…
In the lower levels of Stark Tower, a silent alarm had triggered.
Energy anomaly. Unknown frequency. Event on the rooftop.
Natasha Romanoff, who had barely slept for three hours, was awakened by a coded notification.
No backup.
No public alert.
Just her.
"If they're sending me alone… it means they're afraid of what they might find."
She got up, threw on a black sweatshirt, slipped a light holster under her hip.
And ascended.
Silently.
—
The rooftop door opened.
The wind struck her immediately.
Cold. Sharp.
She narrowed her eyes.
At first… nothing.
Then, in the middle of the platform… a body.
Male. Young. Naked. Curled up.
She drew her weapon on instinct.
But didn't fire.
Something inside her… stopped.
Her eyes landed on him.
And the strangeness hit her instantly.
He was there, as if placed by the universe. Not thrown. Not hidden. Just… abandoned.
—
Naruto felt her presence before he even opened his eyes.
A soft warmth.
A fleeting energy, trained to kill, but… holding its breath.
When he raised his head, his golden pupils met hers.
Green. Clear. Cautious. Intelligent.
Their first exchange lasted only a second.
But everything changed.
He felt a resonance.
Not chakra. Not a known emotion. Something else.
Something older than war. Deeper than fear.
As if the universe had synchronized two souls.
—
Natasha froze.
He didn't speak.
Neither did she.
But she felt… her own heart quicken.
Not from danger.
But because he didn't resemble anything she had ever encountered.
Not a god.
Not a mutant.
Not a machine.
He seemed… alive in a different way.
And then, he spoke.
"You're not an enemy."
His voice was calm. Tired. But clear.
She lowered her weapon slightly.
"Who are you?"
A pause.
Then he answered:
"I don't know anymore."
—
She moved closer.
Gently.
One step. Then another.
She noted his markings. The scars on his chest. The ancient symbols glowing faintly red on his skin.
She knelt before him, at a safe distance.
And he lifted his head.
"Your name?"
"Natasha."
He repeated it.
"Natasha…"
As if the name already belonged to him.
She narrowed her eyes.
"How do you know that name?"
He shook his head.
"It came to me… just before I opened my eyes."
She froze.
No lies.
No manipulation.
Just… a disturbing certainty.
—
He began to tremble.
The cold. The exhaustion. The confusion.
She didn't hesitate anymore.
She took off her jacket and draped it over his shoulders.
He didn't resist.
But he looked at her.
For a long time.
"Why?"
"Because you didn't attack me. And because you're naked on my roof."
She paused, then added:
"And because I see something in your eyes."
"What?"
She gave a faint, sad smile.
"Someone who forgot why he was hurting."
—
She stood, offering her hand.
He hesitated.
Then took it.
And the exact moment their fingers touched…
The bond vibrated.
The Seishin no Musubi, still dormant, felt the call.
Not an activation.
But a recognition.
As if the universe, in that instant, acknowledged their meeting.
Naruto's eyes widened.
So did hers.
Their chakra — though different — adjusted itself, silently.
As if they had been searching for each other… for a long time.
They said nothing.
But their breaths aligned.
And Natasha, for a reason she didn't yet understand, decided:
"You're coming with me."
—
They descended.
He, fragile but upright.
She, alert but… softened.
And in the elevator, between silences, Naruto whispered:
"Thank you."
She turned her head.
"For what?"
He answered without looking at her:
"For being there. Just there. The moment I was falling."
She didn't know what to say.
But within her, a thought surfaced:
"He didn't come here to escape. He came here to find me."
And that thought… never left her.