"Uzumaki... Naruto... just who are you?"

Tapping her finger to the holographic keyboard set before her, the red haired girl scrolled down through the historical database. The night had already set in and sitting beside her was a pot of already cooling coffee and a half-eaten bagel, compliments of the last person who had seen her before the end of the work day.

She scanned the floating screen before her, one hand reaching over to tap at the padd beside her to make sure that each section was cross referenced and checked. As she reached over to pick up the pot of cold coffee, a warm voice cut in with the strong smell of double strong black coffee. "Shion, you're still here?"

Shion jumped at the voice that belonged to a darkly tanned young man with rusty red hair. He smirked easily as he swapped the girls pot and placed the fresh one beside her. "Pulling in another late night huh?" Uttering a squeak of protest, the girl snatched at the padd that he snagged of the desk and held it out of her reach. "And researching Uzumaki Naruto again. Honestly Shion, don't you get tired of this?"

Shion stood up and snagged the padd out of the young man's hand. "This is valuable research data, Shino. I'll thank you to keep from fiddling with it."

Shino chuckled as he leaned against the desk as it protested under his weight. "C'mon Shion. Uzumaki Naruto is a name of some nobody Ninja from the Age of Ninjas. If he did exist, his only real adventure is that Children's Book, Naruto and the Baka. Honestly, don't you get tired of this?"

"I think he exists," said Shion softly as she tapped at the keyboard, scrolling down. Looking up, her blue-green eyes sparkled with a look that Shino had long since come to accept. "I, Shion Makie Uzumaki will find out who this person was. Even if I have to hi-jack Temporal Dispatch myself."

Shino snorted and quoted the most famous words uttered by a Ninja General. "How troublesome."

"You're one to talk there, Shino Hibiki," said Shion, folding her arms across her ample chest. "Just because you had the good luck to be named after one of the famous Ninjas, doesn't mean you can get away with quoting General Shikamaru all the time."

Shino rolled his eyes but relented. "So... did you find any leads?"

"Nothing yet," said Shion as she picked up the pot of coffee and literally sipped from the pot itself. "Nothing I check comes up with anything but Naruto and the Baka, and we all know how the great Yamanaka line spends their time making Children's books and other assorted stories for people to enjoy."

Shino snorted rudely and Shion rolled her eyes. "I know you don't like the Yamanaka's, Shino. They may be a bit pushy..."

"They're a bunch of over-inflated jerks," Shino corrected, "And that's putting it mildly. All of those Houses out there have some kinda superiority complex. I think the only person who isn't over-inflated is Chief."

"That's because the Hyuuga Branch Line has mellowed a lot since the events of 142 XX when Hyuuga Hinata reclaimed the strength of the Main Line and removed the Cursed Seals from the foreheads of the Branch Family. And besides, Chief isn't the only Hyuuga who doesn't have a permanent stick up their ass. Look at Asuna up in Temporal Dispatch." Shion shrugged as she sipped at the pot again, getting a raised eyebrow from Shino who declined to say anything.

Setting the pot down, Shion took another look at the records of the events of 143 XX as she scanned the dates and historical records. "I'm sure something will pop up."

"Like it's going to stare at you from out of the blue," said Shino as he took the coffee pot and took a long swig of the still warm liquid. "You're going to burn your eyes out even more staring at the screen like that."

"Well excuse me if I have to constantly get corrective Medical Jutsus to my eyes because of them being poor initially," scoffed Shion. She scrolled down another page, read over the material and then paused. "Wait..."

"You found something?" Shino asked as he leaned over and looked at the screen. "Shion, you checked that this morning. Those are the records of the second group of Sannin, right?"

"Yes, the first Sannin were Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Jiraiya continued his travels and to this day, his dirty books are collectors items."

Shino chuckled. "I've read one of them. He's certainly got an imagination."

"Pervert," retorted Shion. "Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage, Godaime and Orochimaru was an S-Class Criminal who was eventually betrayed by Uchiha Sasuke who had gone to him for power. Says here he struck him down with his own technique and took his sword."

"Sasuke was a Sannin, right?" asked Shino.

"Yes," said Shion as she scrolled down. "He and the second most legendary Medic-nin, Haruno Sakura."

"Hey, not to sound like an idiot or anything, but if they're the Sannin, then why are there two and not three?" asked Shino.

"That's something that has been bothering me lately," said Shion, tapping her lip thoughtfully. "We know of two of the Sannin and most of the records from the ruins of Konohagure have been salvaged. But we haven't been able to find anything on the third companion of Sasuke and Sakura. It's like he didn't exist."

"Or maybe, he was the S-Class Criminal of the group," reasoned Shino. "If he was an S-Class Criminal, one so heinous, that Konohagure would have destroyed most records of this person."

"That seems unlikely, but possible. Sasuke was the one who was pretty much the S-Class Criminal. If only there was a lead we could follow..." Shion stared at the screen and touched a small blinking light. "There's a footnote here."

Shino leaned in to read the screen and uttered a small curse as Shion gasped. "I don't believe this," said Shino as he saw the name listed in the Footnote.

"Uzumaki Naruto, companion of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. No records found. See Rookie Nine." Shion looked over at Shino and a small smile formed on her face. "I think we actually have a lead now."

Future Echoes

written by Shaun Garin

Naruto is owned and created by Kishimoto Misashi. Just borrowing all of these characters. Original Characters are owned by me.

Chapter 1 : Tracking Unseen Stories

"Good morning Chief," greeted Yuuna Miyazaki as the man walked into the office. "You look tired."

"Had a family meeting that ended up in shouting," grumbled Ichiro Hyuuga as he slumped into his chair. His white eyes looked a bit red rimmed from lack of sleep. Reaching over to where his mug of hot coffee stood, he took a long drink, ignoring the heat of the liquid. "That's better," he sighed. "So, what are we looking at today?"

"Well, at three you have that meeting with the Board of Directors. They want to discuss financial redirection to different parts of the Archives."

Ichiro shrugged as he sipped at his second cup. "All right. Next?"

"At noon you have the dinner with the Minister of Education at the Ichiraku to wrangle more grants for the Historical Archives..."

"I'm getting sick of Ramen, even if it is good," grumbled Ichiro. "And I'm getting sick of that guy. Stupid puffed up Uchiha..."

"A lot of paperwork in between those." Yuuna rolled her eyes at her boss' expression. "And Uzumaki Shion requested a meeting first thing this morning."

"If the day couldn't get any worse, Shion has to come in with another wild theory." The Hyuuga Branch House member thudded his head on the desk before sitting up straight. "Lets get this done and over with."

Yuuna patted the Hyuuga on the shoulder. "Don't worry Chief. It can't get any worse."

"I fear that statement is presumptuous."

Yuuna gave Ichiro a smile before she headed off to her desk. Pressing a buzzer on the door, she spoke to the person waiting on the other side of the door. "Shion is here," said Yuuna cheerfully and Ichiro thunked his head on the desk.

Shion walked into the room, looking delighted like a kid in a candy store. Ichiro looked up and said, "Welcome Shion. What brings you here today?"

"Conclusive evidence," said Shion as she sat down in the plush visitor chairs that the Chief kept around for the people coming to his office.

"Conclusive evidence? And what kind of evidence is this now?" asked the Chief as Shion passed him a padd.

"Evidence that Uzumaki Naruto existed, Chief. I found a footnote while reading through the archives last night and played link tag for a bit." Shion beamed, sure of herself. "I found a footnote that said to check the time of the Rookie Nine."

"I know that era," said Ichiro as he grunted in thought. "That era brought the head of the current Hyuuga Main Family into the Academy at Konohagure and she was accepted into the Chuunin exams on the first year. Her teacher was one of the newer Jounins of that year. Why?"

"Check the list of the three man team of Team 7, Chief. It lists Hatake Kakashi as the Jounin Instructor of the team with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke as the members."

"And the point being?" asked Ichiro tiredly.

"Genin teams are THREE MAN TEAMS. Who was the third member? If you check the records, it lists team seven with three people. And the list reads Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto."

"So... this is the only conclusive piece of evidence you have, Shion?" asked Ichiro as he looked up, his Byakugan-white eyes staring holes into Shion who suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Well then... congratulations."

"Chief?" asked Shion.

"You've been saying you wanted to prove this Naruto guy existed, right? Here's your chance. I've been denying you trips back to the era because you had no hard proof that he existed. Now that you found out that he did indeed exist, I'm giving you a chance to bring back as much information about this guy as possible."

"You really mean it Chief? I can go back in time?" Shion asked, breathless that this chance came.

The Chief chuckled. "I'm a Hyuuga, not heartless. Go upstairs to Temporal Dispatch and request the standard survival gear, era-based clothing, etc. I hope you don't get Warp Sickness there Shion."

"No sir! I mean, yes sir! I mean... thanks Chief... for this chance." Shion smiled and bowed.

Ichiro chuckled. "Look, I've been putting you on other assignments for years ranging from checking what kind of cat Haruno Sakura had, to how big Gamabunta really was. It's about time you got your chance to prove yourself. Go on, get moving before I have to shoo you out the door."

"Thank you Chief," said Shion as she scampered out the door.

When she was gone, Yuuna turned to her boss and said, "One piece of evidence and you gave her authorization to perform a time jump? Boss..."

"I know the Ministry and the Board will hate it, but I don't give a flying fuck," retorted Ichiro. "Besides, she's worked tirelessly to prove Naruto existed and with this evidence, I can officially give her authorization to perform a jump. And it'll turn those pompous windbags on the Board and the Ministry on their ears."

Yuuna giggled. "Life around here is never tiring huh, Chief?"

"Yep."

"So you really are going huh? That's great news sis!"

Shion brushed a lock of red hair out of her face as she smiled at her brothers who were crowding around the holographic screen on their side. "It'll be a week at the most. Maybe longer depending on how much information I can gather about Naruto in the past."

"It still seems too long," grumbled Kakashi. Her brother Itachi shoved Kakashi playfully. "I'm just saying that more than a week even in the Age of Ninjas is dangerous. You HAVE been keeping up with your training, right?"

"Don't worry," said Shion as she checked her clothing that she ordered from requisitions. All era-specific clothing. "I haven't been slacking off. Field workers need to be up to date on era-specific Jutsus and modern ones as well. I can still kick some ass if I need to do it."

"Good," said Itachi with a smirk. "We were worried that you were slacking off and be doing nothing but relying on your Chakra Phase Gun."

Shion made a talking motion with her hand and the boys laughed at her. Brushing a lock of errant red hair out of her face, Shion smirked, looking like her brothers in expression. "I can still whup the pair of you in a fight."

"Ouch, our Baby Sister has turned butch!" exclaimed Itachi dramatically, clutching at his chest.

"Hey!" exclaimed Shion. She then checked the digital clock on the wall and said, "I gotta get going. See you when I get back. I'll bring presents too."

"You'd better, my birthday is next week," said Kakashi with a grin. "I'll let mom and dad know you're going back in time for a while. See ya baby sis." With that, the connection terminated.

Shion sighed as she packed the last of her things into a suitcase, literally forcing the rest of her things into the too small suitcase. "I didn't realize I ordered so much," she remarked to herself as she picked up the Wing Pack from the table to her side and held it over the closed suitcase. With a small snap-hiss, the suitcase was drawn into the small device and she smiled.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she noted that she still looked rather good in the era's clothing. Gone was her normal work uniform which was a tan and green dress and a long jacket. Instead she wore red jeans, a fishnet shirt that somehow was concealing while being as transparent as possible and a jacket made of a material that was close to being denim. On her forehead though was a Forehead Protector emblazoned with the Leaf Symbol on it, although it was underlayed with the symbol for the Historical Archives.

In her current day and age, every child underwent training in a sort of Ninja Academy. Grouped into classes depending on their specialties, each child upon graduation received a Forehead Protector. Shion had studied into the Leaf side of the major classifications, which meant that she had quite a bit of earth and fire type Jutsus. Upon entering her job at the Historical Archives, her Protector was emblazoned underneath with the symbol of the Archives; a bird in flight.

Checking herself in the mirror and making sure everything was in place, she reached over to the table and picked up the Shurinken Holsters and strapped one onto her hip. Making sure her jacket was low enough to keep the holster concealed, Shion winked at herself before stuffing the Wing Pack into the inside pocket of her jacket.

"Well... here we go," she said before heading out the door, pausing to lock it before she left.

"Shion," greeted a woman standing at the monitors. She had black hair and a small red tattoo that trailed down from underneath her eye, marking her as from Inuzuku decent. Beside her stood a bone-white Puppy named Michi. "I see you're all ready."

"Hello Michiko," said Shion politely as she looked over the Time Ship that was being prepared for her. "Standard convertible?"

"Indeed," replied Michiko as she brought up schematics of the ship. "Standard air to ground conversion, although knowing where you're going we gave you a air-car conversion. The armor on the Time Ship is strong enough to withstand most Jutsus if it gets caught in a crossfire. Medical supplies and a EMH are equipped with the systems along with scanning interfaces. You can also make a few jumps here and there without having to access the main orbital system. No weapons, I doubt you'll need it but we put in extra Converter Cells into the storage area so that if your Phase Gun's Cell is damaged, you'll have more."

"That sounds good," said Shion as she scrolled down the list of items. "Cloaking?"

"Yes," said Michiko as she brought up a rotating view of the Time Ship. "Synothium Power Core that if damaged, will eject itself into space but it's guaranteed to power you for at least five months if you need to travel everywhere. The cloak will hide itself from anything in flight or ground conversion. I must stress that you do not endanger the Ship or yourself in any way."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to get into any trouble," said Shion. "It's just a standard information gathering jump."

"One last thing." Michiko reached out and tugged the Forehead Protector off Shion's head. "Don't wear this out in public. Keep it in your jacket pocket. Even though it's an bygone era, Ninjas of that time are very perceptive and may notice an oddity like that. They know who is a Ninja and who is not. And I also have this message from the Chief."

"What does it say?" asked Shion.

Michiko cleared her throat. "For the love of God Shion, don't use any modern Jutsus." The woman raised her eyebrow curiously. "What DID you do to get this kind of warning?"

"Would you believe that it was in a life an death situation?" hazarded Shion.

"From what it says here, you used Shotgun Wave to defeat a vicious bunny," replied Michiko dryly and Shion coughed for a moment.

"That bunny was carrying an explosive tag!" replied Shion weakly. Michiko just gave the girl a look.

"Not according to the report," said Michiko. "Listen, Shion. Modern day Jutsus are dangerous for a reason; they aren't like traditional Jutsus where you have to use seals. They're all like their forerunners, Rasengan and Chidori."

"I know, I know," said Shion with a sigh. "Don't use them without being in a life and death scenario."

"And NEVER use them against an Uchiha," said Michiko. "Although it takes more than just a Sharingan to copy it, they can decipher the use of the modern day Jutsus more easily than most ninjas of the era can. Be careful."

"I will," said Shion. "Take care."

Boarding the Time Ship, Shion buckled herself in for the turbulent ride as the airtight plasteel cover lowered and locked into place. Putting on the headset, she keyed it on. "All systems check," she reported, flicking on various systems and dials. "Temporal coordinates locked in."

"Accessing clearance for launch," reported Michiko from the consoles. "Clear the runway."

The doors opened and a long platform ejected out of the building. The engines on the Time Ship hummed to life as Shion made a few more adjustments. "All systems go."

"Clearance confirmed," said Michiko. "Good luck."

"Roger. Time Ship One, launch!" Shion hit the thrusters and the Time Ship rocketed out of the launch area. A glowing gate winked to life in front of her as she passed through the Event Horizon before vanishing with a loud boom.

Shion blinked rapidly as her senses came back to her. Warp Jumps were always disorienting and most people suffered from disorientation or nausea during the jump. Keying in a sequence of buttons, she tapped the side of her head where the comm-link was. "Station Seven, requesting clearance for landing in Fire Country, two miles away from Konohagure."

A crackling noise and then the warm bass voice of a man came over the radio. "This is Orbital Station Seven, you are cleared for landing. Are you certain you don't wanna land up here?"

"No, it's all right. I'll check in later if I need anything." Shion smiled to herself. Twenty years before she was born, Orbital Station Seven was put in place and then Warp Jumped back into the past. To this date, there were several monitoring stations existing overhead. Most people just saw it as a brilliant star from the ground.

Tapping her nav-comp, Shion pulled the Time Ship into a steep dive towards the landscape surrounding Konohagure. Flicking on her cloaking device, Shion set the machine to automatic landing.