Just a quick warning or whatever: Naruto will not be dating Sakura. It mentions her crush on Sakura in here, but I only did that to keep it canon...she's not going to be with Sakura. Or with any girl. Being with Sakura would be...impossible, anyway.

Naruto stood quickly, immediately checking the surrounding area. The river just behind…Sasuke had been there, and had been making hand seals. This wasn't right; Naruto hadn't killed Sasuke!

Naruto heard voices, and checked to make sure everything was in place.

Oversized orange clothing: check. Hmm...this wasn't the usual jumpsuit...but there had been one in the pack. Hopefully, the clothes hadn't been changed by a teammate...

Konoha hitae-ite: check.

Tsunade-baachan's necklace: check.

The voices came closer, and Naruto caught a glimpse of blonde hair styled like Ino's. Maybe I should say hello...maybe she'll know what's going on.

Deciding this was the best course of action, Naruto headed toward the voices. But the face was different, and the voice was not female.

"Hey, Shika, we should take our old teammate out to eat when we get back. It is his birthday tomorrow, after all."

"Don't call me Shika; that's a woman's name," the blond man's companion grumbled. Shika…but that's not what Shikamaru looks like…

"Fine, Shi-hey, wait. There's someone over there."

The not-Shikamaru person turned and looked in Naruto's direction and nodded. "You're right."

"Well, we should check it out, shouldn't we?"

'Shika' sighed heavily. "Probably."

"Lazy-ass," the blond muttered good-naturedly, and walked in Naruto's direction. It was pointless to hide, so Naruto didn't bother to keep hiding, and walked to meet the two people instead.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto began. Konoha was the destination, after all, and these two were Konoha Shinobi. "I'm not sure what happened, but I was in a fight, and now…I'm not. And…yeah. It's confusing. My opponent isn't dead…or at least, I don't think he is…and I'm obviously not dead, even though we were fighting to the death…unfortunately. He was my best friend. And…"

Naruto blushed, seeing the two's facial expressions. "Sorry, I was rambling."

"I've never seen you around the village before," 'Shika' stated, eyes narrowing. "How can we be sure you're really a Konoha Shinobi?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess you can't. But you can escort me to Konoha, if you want, and I'll talk to the Hokage. I'll be recognized, I promise."

The two exchanged looks, and Naruto sighed. "Listen, I'm not going to give you any trouble. Besides…shouldn't the Hokage know about any potential threats to Konoha? What if I was a threat? It would be good to bring me in for questioning, right?"

The blond rolled his eyes. "I think this kid really wants us to take him to Konoha. He's got a Konoha hitae-ite, and he's still just a brat…"

"Hey, I am not!"

The man ignored that. "Anyway, we should be careful and watch him like a prisoner, but we probably should take him to Hokage-sama."

'Shika' nodded. "All right, I guess."

Well, they at least had the same attitude.

"Okay, so, can we go?" Naruto gave them a cheery smile, which was answered with incredulous looks.

"I'm totally safe, I swear."

Two hours later, Naruto was staring at the face of the Sandaime Hokage…

"What?!"

I'm just a line break…don't mind me!

"You're…you're…"

The Hokage just waited patiently for Naruto to breathe normally. "You're alive?"

He tensed a bit. "Shouldn't I be?"

Naruto frowned. "But…I thought you died. I thought…" The frown changed to a grin, and shouted, "You're alive! Yahoo, you're alive!"

The Sandaime Hokage looked more than a little confused, especially when Naruto stopped dancing excitedly and asked, "Wait…how are you alive? And why are you Hokage still? Where's Tsunade-babaa, and what's going on?"

He didn't look as tired – or as old, even – as Naruto remembered. This was…strange. What had Sasuke done? It's not like he could've…

Or…wait…

She hadn't really thought about her size, either. She was short again! She felt twelve again!

"Hey, Jijii, did Hebi-kusotare show his ugly mug around here?"

"Hebi…kusotare…?"

Naruto flopped down in the seat again. "Yeah. You know…Orochimaru."

The Sandaime's eyes widened in surprise. "Young man…why would you say that about Orochimaru-kun?"

"Because that's what he is. Jeez, Hokage-jijii, are you…wait…so he didn't try to kill you?"

The Hokage frowned and studied Naruto, who fidgeted.

"Young man, I think you'd better tell me just who you are and what your purpose here is."

"But I'm…Uzumaki Naruto…and…"

How is this happening?

"Has there been a fourth Hokage yet, jijii?"

"I'm not that old, you know. And I don't appreciate the amount of disrespect you are showing."

So…the Hokage didn't know Naruto, because…

Oh, hell.

"All right…my name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm a ninja – I have been for five years – and I don't know how or why I'm here, but I'm…not supposed to be. Anyway, since no one knows me, that means no one's ever hated me here...which means I feel comfortable letting you know that I'm not a boy. I'm a girl."

She paused to let it all sink in, which didn't take very long…but the Hokage wasn't known as the Professor for nothing. He was smart.

"I need to know some…back story…since you are making absolutely no sense. I'm giving you an opportunity to tell the truth here, so make the most of it…interrogation is not pretty."

Naruto shuddered involuntarily. Maybe Morino Ibiki wasn't Head of Interrogation yet, but that wasn't the point…those people were ruthless.

"Okay, I'll tell you what I know…but there are things in my story that are even mysterious to me. Don't worry, though, I'm not a threat. I'd die before betraying Konoha."

And she would, too.

"I was born on October tenth, seventeen years ago…although, I look about twelve now, and I really have no idea why. Also…depending on when we are right now…I might not be born yet. Um, anyway, when I was twelve, I graduated from the academy and became a ninja, blah-blah-blah. I was put on a team with the top student in my class, and the smartest girl…probably because no one (besides you, of course) thought I was a boy, and you let me be a boy. Anyway, I had a crush on the kunoichi on my team, but she liked the other guy – and he was a bastard, let me tell you – so I thought of him as a 'rival,' even in the beginning.

After our first C-ranked mission, which turned A-rank because our employer lied to you, we got closer, and we started up a different kind of rivalry, because I wanted to get stronger than him and he didn't want to lose to the kid with the worst grades in the academy.

Later on, our team took the chuunin exams, and that's when Hebi-kusotare came and…sorry,Orochimaru…well, he came and offered my asshole teammate power because he was hell-bent on revenge. He left to get that power, and I was sent out on a mission to stop him…I was still a genin, but I was still strong. You following me so far?"

The Hokage nodded skeptically.

"Good. Anyway, I promised the girl on my team I'd drag his ass back here, and I never go back on my promises, but I couldn't do it. I went away for two years with ero-sennin – his name's Jiraiya, but he's really just a pervy old guy with a bunch of kickass moves. Um, he trained me. I came back strong, but then my old sensei took over my training and I got even stronger. There was a group of people after the…power I held…and they were hunting me while I was hunting my teammate. We ended up killing most of 'em, though I lost some good friends in the process. I eventually grew out of my crush, but I never had another one...but that's not important.

I finally caught up with my teammate again, and we fought…I just wanted to bring him back to Konoha, and he wanted me to quit…but between us, fights have always been intense enough that one or both of us could've died easily. Um, I didn't want to kill him, because it would have broken my other teammate's heart, but also, he was my best friend and I considered him my brother, which was cool because I never had any family."

Naruto took a breath, and then continued, "I really thought he was gonna kill me…I was kinda expecting it, actually, since I couldn't have killed him. He started making seals, and I was ready to die…and then, I woke up in the woods, and I was found by those two guys. I'm not sure how he did it, but…I guess he sent me to the past…or something?"

The Hokage pursed his lips, looking dubious. "Do you know how farfetched your story sounds?"

She nodded fervently. "Yep. I still don't know if I believe it. Maybe he put me in a Shar…I mean, maybe he used genjutsu to make me think I'm in the past, and he's really firing up a technique to kill me. I don't know why he'd do that, but I can't dispel illusions worth crap, to it wouldn't matter if I am just hallucinating."

The Sandaime eyed her carefully. "Do you have any proof to back up your…rather unbelievable story?"

Naruto frowned, before she remembered Tsunade's necklace and held it up. "See? Proof. I won this in a bet with Tsunade-babaa before I went on the training trip with ero-sennin. They wanted her to become the Godaime Hokage, but she didn't want to, so I made a bet with her…and because she's got the worst luck in the world, at least with betting, I won and she had to become the Hokage. Um, I don't know if I can still do it, but I used to be able to summon toads…?"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you try it? I'd be more inclined to believe you if you had something to show me besides a necklace that could be an imitation."

Naruto shrugged and bit her thumb and ran through some seals. "Fine by me…kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Nothing happened.

"Aw, crap," she muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I can't do it because I haven't signed the contract yet…damn it! That means I haven't worked with Gamabunta yet! And…"

She paused, thinking. "I don't know if I can still do it, cos I don't know how good my chakra control is, but…ero-sennin taught me Rasengan! That was actually the bet I made with Tsunade-babaa. She said if I could master it in a week, she'd come back and be Hokage and give me the necklace. If I couldn't, I'd have to give up my dream to become Hokage! Of course I had to win…and I did."

His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened when Naruto said "Rasengan."

"How…is it possible that you know the name of that technique? Minato-kun only just fixed it!"

She grinned foxily. "I told you, I'm from the future. Here, look. I'll show you…if you'll let me."

He pursed his lips, appearing to think hard. "…All right," he said, after a few minutes. "But I'm going to call in another person, and my Anbu are going to show themselves."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. By the way, who are you going to call?"

The Hokage whispered something to the Anbu closest to him and the person disappeared. Naruto shrugged and sat back down, waiting for…whoever it was.

After a few minutes, Naruto heard the door open and she turned, eyes widening as she saw him.

Namikaze Minato, also known as the Yondaime Hokage, also known as Father.

But apparently, he didn't know that yet.

He entered the room, eyeing Naruto warily. She waved, smiling cheekily. He raised an eyebrow, but sat next to her when the Hokage motioned for him to sit.

"Minato-kun," he began in a deceptively light tone, "this girl professes to know your…recently-created technique."

Minato frowned. "Have you seen it yet?"

"No, and that's why I sent for you. Not only will you be able to verify the truth, if it is true, but a twelve-year-old who professes to have mastered in a week should be monitored, until she proves herself."

Naruto huffed. "I'm right here, you know," she grumbled. "And it actually took me two weeks and three days…Tsunade-babaa met me after ero-sennin started teaching me."

If either of the Hokage were surprised, they didn't show it. The Sandaime asked, "If you could show us…?"

Naruto grinned and stood, moving to the center of the large room and assessing her stats.

I've got the same amount of chakra as I had before I got thrown into this wacky technique, she thought. I'm not sure how my chakra control is, but I guess I could test it out by running up the wall…that'll tell me.

"Hey, can I go up the wall, just to check how good my control is?"

The Hokage gave her a funny look. "If it's necessary."

She nodded and approached the wall, walking up slowly.

Ugh, I'm going to have to use kage-bunshin to help me. Gotta work on my chakra control when this is over.

She jumped down to the floor and formed the seal. "Kage-bunshin no jutsu!"

She grinned sheepishly, looking at the two Hokage and rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry, but my control kind of sucks right now, so I'll have to use my kage-bunshin to help me."

Without waiting for an answer, she held out her hand and her double molded the chakra in her hand. When she felt it complete, her kage-bunshin moved in front of her. "Rasengan!"

Of course, the bunshin popped out of existence. She looked up to see the surprised faces of the two men. "Ehehe…do you believe me now?"

She could tell they were having trouble processing all of it, and she fidgeted. "Listen, I didn't plan on this, you know. I'm innocent, I swear! I was planning on dying…not that I wanted to, but I figured it was gonna happen. Bastard wanted to kill me…or I thought so, anyway."

Why had he done this, anyway? Had he been trying to send her back to the beginning of their friendship, when they were put in cell seven?

Most likely…but why would he do something like that?

"You know this is very unbelievable…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But you can monitor me, or whatever. But I really want to be a ninja, cos…well, I've always wanted to protect Konoha. This is my village, and like I said, I'd die before letting anything hurt my friends!"

The Sandaime frowned thoughtfully. "If what you're saying is true," he said slowly, "then you could be very helpful. Either way, you're right…you do need to be monitored. What rank were you…in your story?"

Naruto rolled her eyes. It was the truth! "Um, I was…kind of rank-less, I guess. Technically, I never passed the chuunin exams, but I was a…sort of unofficial jounin. War broke out, and the chuunin exams got canceled a bunch of times, so we all got…unofficial promotions. I guess I was a genin, so…that's what I'd be now, I guess."

The Sandaime looked pensive for a moment. "Then it would make sense to put you on a team. We could monitor your movements, and you could train. If you do anything to make us doubt your loyalty, I will not hesitate to imprison you. Do I make myself clear?"

This wasn't the old man she once knew…then again, she'd never done anything to make him suspicious of her. He was Hokage-sama now; not Hokage-jijii.

"Yep."

He nodded and turned to the future Yondaime. "I understand your team is in need of a third genin for the chuunin exams?"

Minato raised an eyebrow. "You want me to take her into cell seven?"

Cell seven?

"Who better to watch and train her than the man who created the technique she just showed us?"

Minato sighed. "I don't like it, but I understand your reasoning."

Naruto's eyes widened. She was going to be trained by her hero!

By…her father.

She couldn't keep the grin off her face as she turned to the man she'd idolized her whole life. "So…should I call you sensei?"

"Minato-sensei," he replied.

"All right, Minato-sensei," she agreed. Then, she addressed both of them. "Is there any place around here to get good ramen?"

I'm just a line break…don't mind me!

Ichiraku Ramen had just been built, but it was as good as it had been in her time. She only wished she'd had more money on her…another bowl (or ten) would've been great. But she still had to pay in advance for a place to live, and to buy food for a while. She'd be taking missions soon (probably D-ranked, since she was in a genin cell), so she'd have some extra money for ramen later…

Still, she hadn't had Ichiraku since Teuchi had died a year ago. Well…several years from now.

Jeez, this all was really confusing.

And, for some unfathomable reason, Minato-sensei (how awesome and kind of scary was that?) had decided to accompany her.

Okay, so the reason wasn't so unfathomable. He was supposed to be 'keeping an eye' on her.

"So, um…Minato-sensei," she began, liking the way 'Minato-sensei' sounded coming out of her mouth.

"Hmm?" He might've said more, but his mouth was full of noodly goodness.

"I…heard you were a seal master."

He swallowed. "No, I'm not. I'm working toward it, though."

Naruto suddenly felt strange…she was sitting here, talking to her future father, and she hadn't been born yet. She wasn't technically a jinchuuriki any more – Sasuke had unknowingly stolen the fox's chakra for her some time ago, and without chakra, the fox didn't really exist any more – and the kyuubi no youko hadn't attacked yet. She didn't know a whole lot about this time period, but she could only assume that Konoha wasn't in immediate danger from Iwa…she could change things.

She just didn't have a clue how to change them.

"Oh. Well…um, good luck? I know you'll be great."

Should she tell him about the fox? That would lead to questions, and the revelation of her parentage. That could either go really well or horribly.

And…some part of her didn't really want to be born again. It would be weird to have two Uzumaki Narutos running around Konoha, especially if Minato-sensei ended up using the same sealing technique. She knew next to nothing about seals, so she wouldn't be of any help there.

Could she be born again, if she was alive already?

"Hey, Minato-sensei, I have another question. Do you have a girlfriend?"

He choked, and she giggled. "Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you. You're way too old for me, and that would be…really weird. We kind of look alike, you know. I could be your younger sister. I was just asking."

Minato-sensei shook his head, but he had a bit of laughter in his eyes when he said, "Couldn't tell you."

Figures.

Minato-sensei, she thought, was pretty cool. She hadn't been told too much about him; he'd been known as the best Shinobi Konoha had ever seen, the Yondaime Hokage, the Yellow Flash, and the hero who saved Konoha from the kyuubi no youko. In person, he was more than a legend; he was a person.

It was a comforting thought. She now had a personality to put with the face.

Naruto was looking forward to seeing Kakashi-sensei and meeting the rest of his old team. She wondered what they were like; Kakashi-sensei had mentioned once that Naruto reminded him of a deceased teammate, Uchiha Obito, and that Obito had been a hero, dying for his teammates in the war. Other than that, she didn't know much about them. She didn't even know what Kakashi-sensei would be like at this point!

And it would be her team now, under Minato-sensei, and she was going to undertake the chuunin exams with them in a couple of months.

"Um, sensei…?"

Minato-sensei looked over at her.

"What's today's date?"

He frowned. "Today is October 16. Why do you ask?"

She sighed. "Today's the anniversary…or, whatever you'd call it…of my first day in cell seven. I was twelve…I think my teammate was trying to send me back to that day, but he did it wrong."

Minato-sensei didn't reply right away, but after a moment, he asked quietly, "Do you believe your own story?"

"No," she answered honestly. "Or rather, I don't want to believe it. As weird as it sounds to you, I can guarantee it's even weirder for me, because I'm actually living it. It's easier to believe I'm trapped in an illusion, but I have to face it…he did something stupid, even stupider than anything I've ever done, and I have no idea what happened to him. I don't even know he's alive. And as much as he made me angry…as much as he taunted me and insulted me…as much as he was a brooding asshole…he was my teammate, my rival, my friend, my brother. I would have died for him. I don't want him to be dead, because of that."

Minato-sensei's face was unreadable, and Naruto shifted nervously. She didn't know why she was nervous…maybe because she was here, talking to the very person who'd inspired her so long ago, and she wanted to be acknowledged by him.

He looked her in the eye, and she looked right back. Their eyes matched in color. So did their hair…Naruto had really gotten her looks from him. He smiled slightly. "For now, I guess I can trust you…but I'll still be watching you. Meet us on the bridge tomorrow at nine."

She smiled back. "No problem…I'll be looking forward to it."

She wanted to work with this…she would work with this. Everything was going to be different, this time around...she didn't have to worry about keeping things the same, because she would be stupid to waste this chance.

Naruto put down some money for her ramen and walked back toward the Hokage tower, before she turned. "Just remember this: my name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I will surpass you and become the best Hokage ever! Just you wait...my name will be in the history books! Remember it!"

Halfway to the Hokage tower, Naruto flinched. How could she have been such an idiot? Minato-sensei wasn't the Hokage yet!

Don't mind me…I'm just a line break!

She was an interesting kid, that was for sure. She looked like him…it was almost frightening how much they resembled each other. He entertained the notion that he was her father…but then he had to laugh at himself. Kushina, his spitfire fiancée, wasn't ready to have kids any time soon…and according to Naruto's story, she'd been born four years from now.

He didn't know why he believed her…but he did. He would be cautious, but he didn't sense any dishonesty from her…other than the information she skipped over (like her teammates' names).

Plus, she liked Ichiraku Ramen and called Jiraiya-sensei 'ero-sennin.' Her statement about surpassing him was a little weird...but maybe he'd been in the history books when she had first lived?

That would be cool.

Uzumaki Naruto…an interesting kid, all right. He just hoped she was the kind of interesting that would help Konoha, the village he loved and wanted to protect.

…Wait.

Uzumaki?