Where a quiet girl dies and wakes up in Naruto Uzumaki's body just before the beginning of the series and finds her world tipped upside down. Actually ends up being pretty close to cannon…

I'm not expecting this to be one of those amazingly popular stories; I made it with the intention of seeing where it would go and not really knowing myself. I hope those of you that read it enjoy it at least a little bit. :)

My name is Naruto Uzumaki, but I was known as someone else before that.

You can ask the villagers and they will most likely tell you that I have never not been Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage will assure you that Naruto has always been himself. Yet before I woke up in his body, I was not a blonde orphan, and I wasn't a boy either.

Now enough of that, how about I tell you about how I was forced into a five year old boy's body and how my perspective of life changed as the years passed.

My name is Uzumaki Naruto.

And this is my version of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.

Have you ever had that moment where you wished you would have not done what you did? Where you looked back to that moment and wondered how much better your life would have been if you hadn't have made that mistake.

I was having one of those moments.

"This is awesome!"

"Turn up the music!"

You know the loud bass in some music that, if turned up to ridiculous levels, your whole body seems to vibrate and everything around you shakes? Well it's a lot worse when you're in a small car with six other people, who are a lot more of the party animal type then you are. Their bodies are sweaty, smelly, and they really don't care if you happened to get hit by a stray limb, or have absolutely no room to even reach up to scratch your nose.

"Come on Carlyn! Stop being such a downer, enjoy the moment!"

I gave my friend a weak smile and only pressed harder against the door as a body leaned against mine. I had no clue why I even accepted to join her on this little 'adventure', logically I should have stayed home and read my books while listening to music that didn't make my brain vibrate. "No thanks."

She shrugged and started to sing loudly along with the song, her voice as off key as the rest of the groups.

I sighed and looked out the window, watching as the trees passed by. I wasn't a prude per se, but I wasn't a party animal either, I enjoyed sticking to my books and having family barbeques with my parents as our close friends chatted by the fire.

I didn't enjoy the ridiculously loud music, or the insistently rude people, and I most definitely didn't like it when I was talked into having a little 'fun' with a group of teenagers that I didn't even talk to.

But like most kids my age I was prone to bouts of curiosity, and though I was familiar with the term 'curiosity killed the cat' I didn't actually think anything bad would happen.

Too bad even if I was one of those 'smart kids', I couldn't see where this whole fiasco was going to head.

I'm sure you already know what is going to happen, a group of rowdy teenagers, loud music, a car. It all adds up really. So it was no surprise when the driver decided it was fun to swerve on the road, and when a car suddenly appeared just ahead of us it was no less heart stopping as it seemed when you realized your life was going to end.

There are many guesses as to what happens seconds after you die, some people say 'your life flashes before your eyes' or 'you see the people you care most about'. And I guess they could be true, for the people that actually had the time to think about that, but when you only have seconds to comprehend the situation, and to feel the cold blooded terror of true fear, there was only one thing I could think at that moment.

'Shit, I was never able to find out what happened to the leaf village once Pein showed up.'

When you're an Otaku, you have bizarre priorities.

Then, the sounds of screams and sickening crunches as the two vehicles collided, and my body was thrown forward and engulfed by painpainpain as my whole world tipped and weaved in slow torture filled dance. I could hear the heaving pounding of my heart reverberating throughout my body, and feel the agony of my life slowly slipping away, the tears of pain falling from my eyes and down my face as I gasped for breath.

It may have been seconds, minutes, hours until my body finally gave up, I don't know. When it did I couldn't help by feel relief as the pain numbed and my eyesight blurred, and finally with one last echoing thud my heart stopped and my world vanished.

A loud cough jolted me awake and I sat up with a start, my body sweating and trembling as I took in deep breaths of air. My heart pounded in my chest and I reached up to grab the place near it, my eyes darting frantically around the unfamiliar area.

The alleyway I was in had two bright colored walls on either side, the smell of trash and alcohol invading my senses made my eyes water at the pure intensity of the stench, and I shifted further away from the large dumpster I had been leaning against.

Where was I?

I turned my gaze toward the entrance of the alley, watching as people passed with smiles and cheerful voices, their words oddly audible despite the distance.

"Nice day isn't it?" A female greeted, hugging the man in front of her.

He gave a smile his cheeks tinted with red as her rather large chest was pressed against his body. "I agree, despite the huge storm last night it looks like we have a beautiful day ahead of us." They walked off, their voices becoming distant before vanishing.

I turned my attention back to my body and furrowed my brow at the orange shirt and white shorts I had on. My legs, I realized as my gaze traveled downward, were significantly shorter and tanner than usual. I brought my hand up to a leg, it seemed my hand was also the same, and set it upon one, lightly skimming my finger tips on the skin. Light goose bumps rose from the touch signifying that they were indeed attached to my body, and disappeared soon after as I lifted my hand away. I brought it to my face, balling it into a fist and watching as the dirty fingers dug into my palm, so these were my hands also.

In fact, I set my hand on my chest feeling my heart beat in a steady rhythm within it, that seemed to be my very much active and healthy heart.

This though made no sense, my skin was pale from the lack of sunlight, and my limbs may have been shorter than the average girl my age but they weren't that short. Another thing that confused me, was how I could breathe properly, how my eyesight darkened momentarily as my eyelids closed in a blink.

Was this perhaps some odd sort of afterlife? Was this what happened to someone after they died?

Maybe though, everyone had a different version of an afterlife, since everyone was prone to their own opinions, and maybe this was mine. Something that I didn't even know I wanted, because if it was my afterlife, I had imagined it to be a lot different than what I saw. Maybe I had some secret desire for this, instead of the never ending books of anime and manga that I had though I wanted to have.

"Look at him, laying in the trash. I'm not surprised, that's were something like him belongs." A voice sneered and I turned my attention to the two women whispering to each other as they sent disgusted glances my way.

Her friend nodded, her eyes glaring as our gazes met. "Maybe he'll stay there and rot so we can finally rest in peace."

The first woman gained a longing look. "Then I could finally sleep well at night."

The pair of women, I mused silently, watching as they continued to whisper. Resembled two teenage girls as they gossiped, they were huddled near each other, and not even trying to hide the fact it was me they were talking about.

"I can't believe the Hokage allows something like that to roam around."

The woman was hushed. "Don't talk about it, you know the consequences."

Her friend nodded, but I could see she didn't agree, but listened anyway, allowing herself to be tugged away from the alley.

The word Hokage echoed in my mind as the alley was once again walked away from. Though it didn't seem possible, if this was my afterlife perhaps I had been sent to a place I would enjoy. Since everyone knows the afterlife is supposed to be peaceful and happy and all that jazz.

But why, when I was referred to, was I a he? I was female, I had boobs, no matter how small, and all the other parts a woman should have, so it was rather hard to mistake me for the opposite gender. Perhaps they just weren't able to see well and presumed the body lying in the alley was a male.

I wasn't shocked though, that no one had walked up to me yet. There were very few people that would actually walk up to someone who was lying by the dumpster, sure it was looked up to as being good, but people passed by the homeless every day without a second glance and I was no different in their eyes.

Yet, why did they seem to look at me with so much hate and distain?

I broke out of my thoughts, finally deciding I had spent long enough becoming friends with the trash, and slowly edged my body up, leaning against the dumpster for leverage. I blinked as my head spun, and pressed my back against the wall, feeling my body almost give out. I felt weak, as in I hadn't eaten for an extended amount of time, weak, my stomach clenching with hunger at the thought of food. Though I sensed an odd sort of energy within me, I could feel it stimulating my body and giving it the extra help it needed to stand strong and not collapse. But just barley, it was strong and seemed to have a lot of extra energy stored near my stomach; it was slow in its movement and almost lethargic, like my body felt.

It was similar, I realized, to the description of Chakra, which was something the Shinobi in Naruto needed to live and use for attacks.

I didn't know how to feel about that. If it were true that this 'afterlife' was based on the Naruto world, that meant I needed to get something to eat. Because everything in that world needed to have Chakra running through its veins to survive, and if I had that, it meant I need to eat something to keep myself energized.

Even if I wasn't, it was obvious that I needed food anyway. My hands were shaking and my limbs heavy.

I used the wall as a crutch and slowly shuffled my way down the alley, stumbling slightly when I miscalculated my stride. I winced when my knees stung as they scrapped against the ground and pushed myself back up.

Eventually I was able to get to the entrance of the alley, and scan my surroundings.

I was in a town of some sort, I realized, the buildings were brightly colored and the street occupied by people of various sizes and color. The whole air of the town was happy, so very happy and peaceful; the people were smiling and chatting with each other and the employees of the shops. What caught my attention though, was higher up on top of the buildings, the people jumping from roof to roof with no problem, not even nearing the edge as they passed.

I could only watch with shock as silver pieces of metal placed on various colored cloth and parts of the body gleamed in the sunlight, a familiar green vest decorating some of the obviously talented people.

I blinked, my mind racing a mile a minute.

It was obvious, I wasn't stupid and it wasn't hard to realize where I was, the impossible bounds and speed as they crossed the roofs, the energy I felt inside of me, and the metal plate engraved with a swirl with a tail.

I was in Konohagakure no Sato, or better known as Konoha or The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Which meant I was in the Naruto world, and either my mind remembered every detail of the town and I was currently in my 'afterlife', or I was very much alive and screwed.

If I was in the Naruto world that meant, Uchiha Sasuke the-boy-who-hn'ed, Haruno Sakura the-girl-who-squealed and Uzumaki Naruto the-blonde-that-obsessed were real, and so was the Akatsuki with their red clouds, and Orochimaru with his snakes were real also.

It was then that I finally caught on to why those women seemed to detest me, and why I could feel the burning gazes of the villagers as they recognized me.

Someone who was hated, feared, and outcast in the village. Someone who was looked down upon but didn't allow it to affect him, the blonde Shinobi that would become the Hokage of Konoha and gain the respect of the villagers.

Uzumaki Naruto.

I was Uzumaki Naruto.

How... was someone supposed to react to that? Did I scream? Did I squeal in delight? Did I flip out and start babbling nonsense?

I didn't know, I read stories where this happened, and they all had different reactions. I myself could barely comprehend why I should find someone to settle down with, and cuddle with as we spoke loving words to each other. I grew up in a normal family, but like many people I had my hardships, and they molded me into someone that could understand how to solve a math equation. But falling in love? Or communicating more than necessary? I couldn't do it, I didn't understand why, and didn't want to. Love made my mother and father split, communicating made people start to gossip, so I just sat back and watched the world pass by.

My dilemma thought was how to react to my new information.

I was a boy, a Shinobi, the main character of a popular manga series, and Jinchūriki of Konoha.

Perhaps fate would stop hating me and at least allow me to settle in before I had to go through what Naruto did, because I didn't even know how to form hand signs for attacks much less even use my Chakra in the first place.

I finally stepped from the alley and turned my head to gaze at each end of the street, ignoring the way people veered away from my body as they passed and whispered among each other.

My main priority was to eat. My body needed sustenance to survive.

But, where would I get food? Naruto was hated by everyone, and was kicked out of all the stores, so where...

Right, Ramen Ichiraku, the only place that accepted him and where Naruto went to eat his precious Ramen. I allowed my feet to bring me toward the shop, happy that I at least still had Naruto's memories.

I stopped when I reached my destination and watched for a moment as Ayame and her father worked behind the bar, the delicious smell of Ramen invading my senses and making my stomach rumble.

I walked forward and into the shop gaining a wide smile from Ayame's father as he recognized me. "Yo! Naruto! I was worrying about you since you didn't appear for breakfast." His eyes discretely scanned my form and a worried frown formed on his face. "You want some Ramen? The first bowl is in the house."

I nodded and got up on the stool, struggling for a moment before finally sitting down. "Yes please."

Teuchi frowned furrowing his brows. "Are you okay Naruto? You seem quieter then you usually are."

I shifted, realizing I had made my first mistake already. I was a naturally quiet person, and I only shouted, well actually I don't think I ever shouted since I was a young child. "Just tired." I replied, twitching my lips into a weak smile.

That only seemed to make him worry more. "Are you okay? Do you need any first-aid?"

I shook my head.

He gave a hesitant nod before placing a large bowl of Ramen in front of me. "Here, this will energize you." He sent me a grin before walking down the bar to talk to another customer.

I tilted my head toward the food, it really was a lot, and I highly doubted I could eat everything, much less eat as much as Naruto did. I picked up the chopsticks and broke them apart and brought up a few noodles from the broth. "Thanks for the food." I said and took a bite, pausing in shock when my taste buds sang; I had never eaten something so amazing.

Before I knew it I was eating at a fast pace, though I paid attention to not making a mess, and brought the bowl to my lips drinking the broth once the noddles were gone. No wonder Naruto loved Ramen so much. It was like eating a piece of heaven.

I set the plate down with a content sigh, already feeling my body strengthen.

Ayame giggled. "I'm glad you liked it Naruto."

I nodded in agreement, fiddling with the chopsticks awkwardly when I realized that I was still hungry. The bowl was bigger than my head and yet I didn't eve feel halfway full, no wonder Naruto ate so much.

"Do you want another one Naruto?" Ayame asked and I nodded. "Okay, but only one more. Don't tell father." She winked playfully and brought out another bowl.

I gave her a thankful nod. "Thank you Ayame."

The sun was high in the sky once I had finally finished eating, and I could already feel the difference. My Chakra was still a little on the slow side, seeing that I had only eaten two bowls and Naruto ate twelve, but it was more lively then before.

Now I had to figure out if he even had a place to stay, I highly doubted that Sarutobi would allow Naruto to live on the streets, but I did wake up in an alley so who knew. I did know that he got a house sometime, so perhaps he just fell asleep in the alley or something.

I scanned my memories and paused when I finally came upon the direction I should be heading toward for the house. I guess he did have somewhere to live after all.

I began to head toward the direction of my homestead, feeling uneasy as the villagers glared at me as I passed by.

Was this what Naruto had to deal with every day? The feeling of pure hatred being sent his way as he went along with his day, of feeling so small and utterly insignificant and even though he had done nothing wrong.

I was a distant person, and usually not affected by the people around me, but I think even Uchiha Sasuke would feel affected by this unrelenting hatred. I wasn't use to it, and though I didn't show it, I was rather frightened by the intensity. My hands were slightly shaking, and my heart clenching.

Naruto, he didn't know about his 'furry little problem' until later on, and spent most of his life questioning why he was hated, and what he had done to be hated. I knew why though, and I was still affected. I didn't know how he dealt with it, and how I was going to deal with it.

I could only keep my eyes focused ahead and make it seem like I didn't even notice the villagers.

Eventually I was at his house, a room on a higher part of a rather run-down apartment complex, and seemed to be on the shadier side of town. I slowly made my way up the stone steps and toward his room, ignoring the yelling I could hear coming from nearby, and stopped when I reached his door.

I hesitated for a moment, before reaching up and turning the knob, the door creaking as I stepped inside and shutting with a click as pressed it closed. I didn't turn around for a moment, suddenly realizing how real this was, how I was going to have to live as Uzumaki Naruto and succeed at what he did.

He was the most important character, and I didn't have the luxury of watching everything as it happened. I had to survive the villagers, defeat Gaara, and try to stop Sasuke from joining with Orochimaru.

There was so much I had to do, and I didn't have amazing memory, so I was bound to miss things here and there. But I remembered the most important things, so I could only prepare for what I knew was coming.

I was always an adapter, this time may take a while, but I would have to adapt to my new life.

I would have to become a Shinobi, train my body, my mind, for the battles to come.

With that thought in mind it turned around and finally took in the room I would be living in. The first thought that came to mind was how utterly trashed it was, Ramen cups littered the floor along with random pieces of paper and scrolls. I wasn't the cleanest person, but now I felt the need to clean up everything.

I sighed and walked across the floor and toward the kitchen, opening the correct drawer and grabbing a garbage bag.

It was time to make this house livable in.

It took longer than I expected to clean the house, and by the time I finished it was almost night so I ate a cup of Ramen for dinner and set off toward bed.

My body was tired, my mind was tired, and I just wanted to rest before I began the long journey of becoming Uzumaki Naruto.

It was going to be hard, I knew that, and long, tiring, and I would probably want to give up at some point.

But I wouldn't, because the Shinobi world needed Uzumaki Naruto.