Author's Note: Another story idea I wanted to post. I won't be updating regularly, more like whenever I want to. You know, when inspiration strikes. This is pretty much a prologue though, just to get the story going. This particular chapter takes place around the time the last chapter of the Naruto series does, so when they're 27/28. Also, this disregards most of chapter 700.

Disclaimer: I will only say this once- I own nothing.


"And you actually think it'll work?" Sakura asked Naruto.

The blonde chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek. "Not really. But it can't hurt to try, right? I mean, why not?"

"Oh, I don't know, ever hear of the butterfly effect?" Sakura asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him.

"Yeah, but I've always favored the multiverse theory, myself. Besides, it'll just be a fifteen minute trip. What could you possibly change in fifteen minutes?"

"I could kill you."

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes, asking pathetically, "You'd kill me, Sakura-chan?"

"Of course not, you idiot! I meant it hypothetically."

"Well, just try not to kill me, then. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Naruto, I have to keep myself from killing you everyday," Sakura said jokingly.

"So I guess this means you've had some experience," he retorted.

"Fine," Sakura groaned in mock-reluctance. "So how does this work?"

"Basically, the consciousness of the you now will merge with the you from then. So, I guess it's not technically a time-travel jutsu. More like a...mind-go-back-in-time-and-merge-with-younger-mind jutsu."

"Great name."

"Thanks, I came up with it myself. Anyway, it seems to be a pretty straight-forward process. So, if it works, you'll be back to the beginning of this meeting, and you can just tell me it worked, then we'll destroy the scroll. If it doesn't, we'll probably end up staring awkwardly at each other for awhile until I dismiss you. Either way, any consequences can't possibly be that bad."

"And you're sure I'll end up fifteen minutes in the past?" She asked him cautiously.

"Yep. I did the calculations myself," he answered her proudly, chest puffed out a bit.

"You're absolutely positive?"

"I even double-checked, Sakura-chan."

"Are you sure you don't want to have Shikamaru look over it, first? You know you suck at math."

"I know, and although I trust Shikamaru, I feel like it would be better to keep this between us for now," Naruto told her seriously, face suddenly worn yet intense.

"Okay, okay. I just wanted to be sure I wouldn't find myself in the middle of my own birth or something. I don't think I could ever bounce back from that."

"Hey, you trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Hokage-sama," she said truthfully, despite the horrible feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach.

She just knew something was going to go terribly wrong.

And so, when Sakura found herself looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror of her childhood home, twelve years old and devoid of her forehead protector, she simply sighed and got herself ready for the academy.

Fifteen minutes, fifteen years...

Naruto never was particularly skilled at math, anyway.


AN: So, in case it was confusing, Naruto did the math to figure out how to send Sakura back fifteen minutes into the past, and somewhere along the way messed up the calculations (twice) and sent her back fifteen years, just before graduation. well. Review/fav/follow if you want.