Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Naruto! And the OCs present in this story, don't play a very large role. I'm mostly interested in the characters that I don't own.

And yes, I am aware that my story strays, slightly from the original history of Naruto. Couldn't find much, so I'm making up as I go! Please enjoy!


Cerulean blue eyes glared fiercely into dark green eyes. Each facial expression set in the same grim line; neither backing down from their viewpoint. Seconds seemed like hours, and neither planned on relenting. Unfortunately, Uzumaki Kushina's stomach was ignorant of her resolve. A loud growl interrupted the strained silence, with the old man's previous blank eyes, now twinkling with amusement.

Flustered, Kushina shouted, "That isn't fair! I was summoned really early and I didn't get to eat my usual amount!"

The twinkle evolved into something more of a chuckle, until the man had to hold his stomach and retain his dignity by stopping himself from full on giggling.

"Tou-san!!" Kushina whined.

The older man straightened and asked, "What have I told you about calling me that at work?" The light remained on his aged visage.

"Gomen Uzukage-sama", Kushina grounded out. "But why can't I have back-up, why do I have to go on this mission by myself?" The mission, Kushina was referring to, was her most recent A-class mission. Go undercover into Konoha village, alone. The War between shinobi villages included everyone, and right now, it was either befriend Konoha or destroy it. Sure Kushina, was ecstatic to be getting such an awesome mission, but did she really have to do it alone? She was confident in her abilities, but she's never done anything alone, much less an A-class mission.

"Kushina, you must understand the seriousness of this mission. It has a higher possibility of success if I had one of my best shinobi on it. I also need everyone else protecting the village and fighting the war. This mission I'm giving you is top secret. I'm more than confident that you'll be fine. You've always complained about how others have hindered your performance anyway."

Still unsatisfied, Kushina shuffled her feet. She did say that, but the leader of her temp squad of her recent mission was giving crummy orders that kept her out of the action for the majority. Obviously, he was hurting the team by not utilizing her abilities! The mission was still a success, but it would have been loads easier if he didn't assign her worthless tasks.

Seeing her reluctance, the Uzukage pulled out his secret weapon, flattery. "You're the only jounin that I trust with this mission, Kushina. I didn't make this decision as a father but as the Uzukage of this village. I only need one person if I put you on this mission."

Kushina could feel her heart lift at the praise. Her whole expression glowing, before she shouted "Tou-san!" the only hint the Uzukage received before he was pounced by his red-headed daughter.

He chuckled as he tried to pry his now enthusiastic daughter off of him. "Ok, Ok, you're a kunoichi, act like it."

"Hai", Kushina replied, her red hair bouncing along with her bobbing head. She quickly removed herself from her father, in order to stand across his desk, facing him. "I accept this mission, Uzukage-sama."

"Good", the Uzukage braced himself for the next piece of information he had to give his daughter. "But you can't use your summons."

"NANI?!!" And so began another round of who backs down first.

The Uzukage sighed. His daughter was harder to handle than missing-nins.


After what had seemed like hours, Kushina left the building feeling a little less than satisfied. She was going into uncharted territory, alone. She was going undercover, meaning she wasn't allowed to bring her weapons or anything that would connect her to the village. She couldn't summon her trusty little friends, who would also make this mission much easier. She would be gone, for close to a year, without being allowed to train. She didn't even want to think about the shape she would be in after the year was over. She'd be surprised if she could still keep up with her brothers.

It took her forever to catch up to her brothers, in terms of rank. They were always one step ahead of her. It was so frustrating. Sure, they were close to eight and five years older than her, but they always seemed unreachable. But that didn't matter now. She was going on a mission that they couldn't do, because they didn't have her kind of talent.

Plus, it helped that she wasn't as famous as her brothers. Her eldest, Shingo, was more formally known as BloodShot. He was named after his greatest technique, a genjutsu that made his enemies feel as though blood was pouring out of their eyes, as well as other parts of the body. Of course, only those who lived were the ones who could describe the experience, if they were capable of talking about it. It was sort of ironic as well; he was the only sibling who didn't have red hair, instead inheriting their mother's brown locks.

Her second brother, Shugo was more confrontational. He relied on his strength, which has never failed him before. He was known as Brute Force. He was strong enough to force anyone to their knees. It was fairly intimidating when he would knock down a whole forest of trees, with only one finger; strength comparable to the great Tsunade-sama, one of the legendary Sannin!

Of course, her two eldest brothers refused to teach their 'imouto-chan' their cool jutsus, and instead they chose to use them to chase away anyone of the opposite sex that even blinked her way.

'Maybe some time out of the village would be a good thing', Kushina thought absently as she trudged home to pack some belongings.

Her mother was there to greet her. She smiled encouragingly, since she already knew about the mission. Her mother was a beautiful woman with long brown hair, and kind hazel eyes. Kushina looked up and saw the familiar teary eyes that her mother had used when she became a genin, chunin, jounin, woman, etc.

"Kaaaa-saaann", Kushina whined again. "You're doing it again!"

"I'm so sorry dear", her mother sniffed. "It's just that my youngest is growing up so fast. Let me look at that beautiful face."

Kushina dodged her mother, and said, "Kaa-san, maybe later. I need to get ready."

Her mother looked unfazed with her daughter's reaction. "Hai, hai. I made your favorite tonight, and your brothers will come back tomorrow morning to see you off."

"I thought this mission was top secret?" the red-head asked suspiciously.

"It is, but did you really think they'd let you leave without departing some words of advice?" Her mother maintained her all knowing smile.

"I hoped anyway. Knowing them, the only advice they'd give me is to stay away from guys." Kushina grumbled.

"Oh don't listen to them; you'll be going to a place where it'll be safer to try dating. You should enjoy yourself." Her mother waved her hand, giggling slightly.

Kushina stated calmly. "Kaa-san, I don't think Tou-san would approve of my dating the enemy."

"He doesn't have to know." She continued to smile mischievously.

"Kaa-san!" She shrieked.

"OK, calm down. It was just a suggestion." Her mother shrugging it off, as though she hadn't just told her daughter to sneak behind her husband's back.

Kushina sighed, as she rubbed her forehead. This day was getting more and more complicated. She couldn't wait till it was over, except for the fact that as soon as it was, she was no longer Uzumaki Kushina. She would no longer be a jounin of the Whirlpool Village. And everything about her home and family, she would have to leave behind, for a whole year.

She sighed again.

She trudged into the house to begin packing normal clothes. She walked the familiar path to her room, and looked at the not-so-dirty hurricane that she had left this morning. The shirts that she remembered tossing to the floor were no longer there, and her sweats weren't hanging from the chairs and doors anymore. She looked quizzically at the bags on her bed, and then as she perused its contents, she couldn't help but shriek.

"I'M NOT WEARING DRESSES!"

Kushina whirled around to see her mother standing guiltlessly in the doorway, smiling. "But Kushina, you don't own anything else but training jumpsuits. It would be odd for a traveler to wear combat suits."

"But DRESSES are even more bizarre for a traveler to wear!" Kushina tossed the offending article of clothing only to find more underneath it.

"Then what, my dear, do you intend to wear?" Her mother asked politely, with a hint of amusement lingering in her voice.

"I don't know, maybe some pants, something easier to travel in than a dress." She hissed the last part, disliking the usage of the term at all.

The mother tried a new, but familiar tactic. "But pants don't attract a man's attention the same way as a dress."

"Kaa-san!"


Her voice was slightly itchy the next day; she should refrain from screeching, for the rest of the day. She waited near the gate, waiting for her brothers. She had already bid farewell to her mother and father. Which was probably why her voice was so scratchy? They were relentless, she had enough trouble dealing with one at each time, but together, it was unbearable. They always ganged up on her. Her parents and her two brothers; chances are they planned the night before on what to pick on her about next.

She coughed lightly to get rid of the itch in her throat. She leaned against the gate that separated Whirlpool from the rest of the world, and concentrated. Her mission was to gather information, if Konoha planned on making alliances, with another shinobi village that would make keeping her village from being taken apart much harder than it already is. There is also the potential circumstance that Konoha is planning a surprise attack, so its up to her to find out about it to prevent it. They could even attempt to infiltrate her village, and if she does what she's supposed to do, she'll nip all of their plans in the bud.

She felt a chakra spike, as her only warning before she jumped from the place she recently occupied, only to find it buried in shuriken. She whirled around and dodged the punch aimed for her shoulder, and if she hadn't, judging her attacker, her shoulder would have been dislocated just now. With her feet firmly on the ground, she extended her leg into the sky, pleased to hear the attacker's grunt of pain, when her foot collided with his stomach. Unfortunately, she celebrated too soon, since someone else dropped down behind her and swiped her legs out from underneath her.

She fell ungracefully on her behind as her brothers snickered at her. She glowered at them. "Not fair, you ganged up on me again!"

"Life's not fair, Aka-chan." Her eldest brother, Shingo stated calmly.

"Yeah, you really think, the enemy will try to give you a fair fight. You've got to be ready for anything, imouto-chan." Shugo shrugged, and looking plenty smug, from apparently recovering from the kick to his stomach sooner than Kushina would have liked. Arrogant, cocky bastard.

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered. "So, which of you is escorting me to the next village?"

"Me. Who did you expect, imouto-chan?" Shugo asked.

"I was actually hoping for Shingo." Was her blunt answer. She tried to keep a straight face but she could feel her lips curl upward. Behind Shugo, Shingo was chuckling, and didn't cease even when Shugo turned to look at him.

"That's just wrong." Shugo tried to look offended but, couldn't stop smiling. Kami, this was the last time they would interact like this for a long time.

The change in the air was noticed by all three nins, so Shugo went ahead, to allow Shingo and Kushina say their good-byes. "I've got to do my business, be right back!"

Disgusted, Kushina turned to look at her oldest brother. She wasn't as close to him as she would have liked, but they had their moments. This being one of them. Sort of.

"Don't get yourself killed alright?"

Kushina rolled her eyes. She wouldn't see her brother for a whole year, and that was all he had to say? Before she could respond, Shingo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"No matter what. Always remember that it had to be you on this mission." He whispered in to her ear, before pulling back.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what Tou-san said too." She huffed slightly, unsure of how to react in such a sentimental moment. Growing up with two brothers, didn't really prepare a person for this kind of thing. "Just make sure you're alive when I came back."

Something flashed in her brother's brown eyes, before he smiled and said, "If you come back."

"You're going to eat those words when I prove you wrong, oddball." With a considerable amount of distance, she was able to point her finger at him without poking him. It was her trademark stance, mostly when she was making a declaration of sorts. (Familiar?)

"Hai, Aka-chan. I'll miss you." And here came the sentimental good-byes again.

Kushina could feel herself choking up, and all she could do was nod.

"Geez, you're not ready yet? I didn't drink enough for a long good-bye you know?" Kushina snorted in disgust. Remembering exactly why she couldn't deal with sentimental moments.

"That's sick, Shugo." He only grinned cheekily in response.

"Kay, I'm ready." With one last hug to her older brother, she said good-bye, and walked away with Shugo.


Once they left the village, both used a henge to prevent spies from following them or recognizing them as they traveled to the next village. Kushina wasn't well known, so once she reached the next village she could drop the henge and continue her trek as herself, with very little worries of anyone recognizing her. But they needed to use a henge so, if there were any spies, they wouldn't be able to link her to Whirlpool.

"You ready?" Shugo asked in an oddly serious voice.

"Yeah, I think so." She looked forward to see the signs indicating the next village to be about a few miles away. They were on the path near the ocean, and Kushina took one last whiff of the air before they turned away from the rocky cliffs overlooking the vast blue.

After she would reach the next village all that was left between her and Konoha was a vast green forest. And she could only walk, no jumping from tree to tree.

"You know your story?"

"Yeah." She was a traveler and sort of refugee, looking for a village with some sort of stability, to settle down, so to speak. Mostly get a job and pretend to live comfortably.

"Know your name?"

"Uhhh"

Shugo sighed. "It's Tsukino Hana."

No wonder she didn't remember it. Stupid name. Pfft, 'flower of the moon.' "I bet 100 ryo, Kaa-san chose it."

"No way." But the smile was there, meaning she was right.

"What are you thinking about?" Kushina couldn't stand the silence any longer. She wouldn't see her brother for about a year. He should have something to say to her.

"It's not important. Did Tou-san tell you the other rules?" He avoided the question. He seemed to get more anxious as they became increasingly closer to reaching their semi-destination.

"Hai, Shugo, now what's wrong?" She stopped to prove her point. She wasn't taking another step until her brother told her what was wrong.

"Nothing. It's just that, I'm worried. You know? This is your first real mission, and neither me nor Shingo will be there to bail you out if you get into trouble." He ran a hand through his fake blond hair, with worry etched across his face and nervousness shining in his fake blue eyes. Something she didn't notice before. She was the oddball. She was the only one with blue eyes. Her father and Shugo had red hair and dark green eyes. Her mother and Shingo had brown hair and hazel eyes. But her, she had red hair and blue eyes. It had never occurred to her before now.

"Don't worry about me. How can I not handle myself? I trained with the toughest shinobi in all of Whirlpool. Pretty pathetic if I didn't learn anything from them." She grinned reassuringly. "I mean, Tou-san and Shingo taught me more than enough."

He gave her a side-long glance.

"OK, OK, you helped too!" she replied jokingly. "Besides, Shingo and Tou-san have plenty of faith in me." Frankly, she was frightened, but she'd be damned if she told her brother.

"Yeah, I know. It's just harder for me to accept. Ok? I'll be fine, just let be brood in peace." He began walking again.

She ran to catch up with him. "Careful, I don't think your brain can handle that kind of strain."

"Shut-up." Was his only reply.

"You know, I don't think I will. My nagging voice might help you out of this slump." She added thoughtfully.

Her only response was a small smile, and it was enough to encourage her to talk about randomness until they reached the village, and where they went their separate ways. She hugged him good-bye, and he was back to his carefree mood enough to avoid the sentimental moments she had earlier. Then she left.

She walked around the village to seem as casual as possible, before dropping her henge, then leaving the village, hoping to reach Konoha by the next day.


She could feel herself stomping. Walking was such a pain. Seriously, anyone who could settle for walking for a day and a half must have had a high level patience. She sighed before stopping to take a break, not to rest, but to try and calm down. She had to walk into Konoha seemingly normal, not irritated. That would have ruined her mission before it even started.

She sighed as she leaned her head back and watched the sky moving above her. The light filtered through the leaves of the branches, but not enough to disrupt the small shade provided for Kushina to escape the burning sun. She looked at the blue sky and already began to miss the ocean, and everything about home.

She closed her eyes and felt someone begin to sneak up on her. As a kunoichi, the sneaker's butt would have already been handed to him. As a traveler, she's supposed to pretend that she was caught off guard. Great.

She felt a cool metal press against her neck, and was smart enough to gasp, as though she was surprised. Yay. "Give me everything you have."

"Please, I only have clothes." It came out monotone, rather than fearful, maybe she should try a stutter? He slowly opened the bag only to find exactly what she had said. She twitched when she saw a few dresses fluttering to the ground. 'She snuck it in.' She could feel herself glaring, before she composed herself back into the frightened young woman.

The man behind her growled, and he was preparing to say something when she heard a thud. She pulled the arm with the knife away from her neck and pushed away. She turned and saw a blond man with azure blue eyes staring right back at her. He had knocked out the guy who attacked her and he was wearing a Konoha hitai-ate. 'Score!'

'Look scared. Look scared.' She told herself. She had to remind herself that she wasn't a kunoichi familiar with death and psychos, and the most action that she, as a traveler, has ever seen were street brawls.

"Thank you for helping me." He nodded but continued to wait. Slightly irked by the dismissal, but she soon understood why, when the ANBU arrived. The private and elite soldiers of the Hokage; they wore armor and masks; all of them a different sort of animal.

"This is the thief, take him back for questioning." The blonde man said.

"Hokage-sama." She couldn't stop her eyes from widening when the ANBU with the wolf mask called him that before leaving. He was the Hokage?! He was so young, maybe even her age. She wasn't sure if she should feel excitement for finding the Hokage on the first day of the mission, or feel slightly sick thinking about how he could snap her neck if he found out. She quickly composed herself when his azure eyes turned back to her.

"What's your name?"

"Tsukino," Shoot she forgot her first name, it was something stupid, but nothing came to mind. So she improvised. "Usagi." Rabbit, now that's cute, better than the other one. She refrained from making a face, since it would only scare the person in front of her. "Can I ask who you are?"

He looked uncertain, if that was the right term, when he heard her name, but otherwise made no other reaction. He replied, "Namikaze, Minato."


Please review and I will update. The pairings are predetermined, but suggestions couldn't hurt.I already have some chapters written, but I want lots of reviews!! Its fair exchange!! Ages for Minato and Usagi/Kushina is 21.

Next chapter is Uchiha, Rei.