Chapter 1

(Kakashi POV)

Have you ever had that moment where you are sure you are dreaming and the things happening around you cannot be real? As I stared at the reflection looking back at me I had one of those moments.

I gingerly lifted my small fingers up to touch my face, hoping that the reflection would not do the same. When it did, I told myself this was all a genjutsu or perhaps Sasuke had captured me inside the twisted world of Tsukuyomi, where reality was not all it seemed.

I bit down hard on my lip and felt the blood run down my chin and sink into the fabric of my mask; the illusion didn't go away. I was still sitting beside a clear blue lake, in the middle of a lush green forest looking at a reflection of my six-year-old self.

I stood up and turned away from the water and walked over to Naru, shaking her awake.

Her eyes no longer held the burning redness they had earlier, but they held a tiredness that can only be associated with chakra exhaustion and grief. I sat down in front of her before asking her the questions on my mind.

"Naru, why am I six years old again?"

She surprised me by laughing; it was a dry and rough sound. "Apparently Kyuubi was a bigger coward than I thought."

"What do you mean?"

She looked at the blue sky before breaking out into a smile. "My fur covered headache sent us into the past, in the hopes of saving his sorry fur butt from dying."

I stood up and paced in front of Naru. "Okay, Kyuubi sent us back in time. I can deal with that, but how far back Naru?"

Naru stood up and shook her head before stretching. I could see she was only a few inches shorter than I was and about six-years-old herself. "Don't really know sensei, it's far back enough that Konoha is not in ruins anymore."

I pinched the bridge of my nose; I could feel a migraine coming on.

"All I know sensei is what Kyuubi told me before you woke me up."

Flashback….

Naru stood in front of the giant cage that was still shimmering with red light.

Kyuubi was lying down and panting against his front paws, as he spoke. "Well kit, you won't have to worry about dying today."

Naru glared at the fox. "What did you do fur ball?"

The fox laughed only to break into a coughing fit. "I sent you and that sensei of yours into the past."

"But why?"

Kyuubi looked deep into Naru's eyes before speaking. "Simple, our lives are tied together, if you die, then I die. I was not ready to die, so I used a jutsu known only to the tailed beasts to send you two back in time, and apparently it worked. So why are you complaining Kit? The jutsu I used will help you save your pathetic precious people."

Naru sighed and rubbed her eyes. "So we are getting like a second chance?"

Kyuubi laughed and it sent chills down Naru's spine. "Oh, yes you'll get a second chance, but it won't be the same one you are thinking."

Naru beat against the bars. "What did you do fox?" Kyuubi laughed before Naru was expelled out of the mindscape by Kakashi waking her up. The last thing she heard was Kyuubi telling her to talk to the Third Hokage if she wanted more answers.

End Flashback…..

"That's all he said?"

She nodded her head yes. "Pretty much, but he knows something we don't know."

I sighed and looked toward the north where a road traveled up a hill. "Well we can't just stay here; let's see what we can see up the road." Naru nodded and followed after me. We were both exhausted from the trip across time and from wondering exactly where we were.

"Sensei, he said to talk to Hokage-jiiji, so does that mean we are far enough into the past that he's still alive?"

I nodded my head and tried to ignore the hopeful look on her face. "When you mess with time, anything is possible." I walked ahead of Naru and stopped as I made it to the top of the road; I felt my heart drop into my stomach as I looked at what lay before me.

The village of Konoha was bustling with life and was still the beautiful village I had known since I was young. Then I saw the difference between this Konoha and the Konoha of the future. I heard Naru give a yelp of happiness and watched as she tried to run into the bustle of the marketplace, but I grabbed her back and stopped her. She snarled at me and tried to tug her arm from my grasp; I couldn't speak to her because I didn't trust my own voice. I simply pointed to the Hokage Mountain and saw realization sink into her eyes.

There were only three faces carved into the Mountain. The Forth Hokage had not been chosen yet. I knew then how far in the past Kyuubi had sent us, we were in my childhood.

(Naru POV)

I stood on top of the hill with Kakashi holding my arm for what seemed like hours. I couldn't believe the fur ball had sent us a good 20 years into the past. How would we get a second chance here? "We have to go down there Kakashi."

I saw him nod, but I knew from the look in his eyes that he had not heard a word I said. "Naru, we have a problem. We could be anywhere in the past, but I'm pretty sure we are somewhere around the same time as my childhood." I chewed this information over in my head and decided that I really needed to kick the fur ball's butt.

"What are we going to do sen…?" I turned around quickly as we were interrupted.

"KAKASHI!"

My eyes widened as I stared at the man before us. The spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes and smiling face told me instantly who he was. I whispered underneath my breath in awe, "The Yondaime."

Kakashi looked like he had just seen a ghost. His eyes had widened and the portion of his face that was visible was very sickly pale. I poked his side. "Kakashi? Are you alright?"

He just ignored me and spoke to the man. "Minato-sensei is that you?"

The blond man let out another smile. "Of course 'kashi. I just got back from my mission and wanted to see if you wanted ramen." I stared in awe at the man who was my idol and watched as his eyes flickered between the two of us and his grin increased. "So who's your friend? She's really pretty."I blushed and jerked my arm away from Kakashi and grinned as I saw his own blush over the mask. "I umm, I found her in the park. And I umm, need to take her to the Sandaime."

Minato noticed his nervousness but didn't say anything. "Okay, I've got to give a mission report there anyway. Come on you two." I followed behind those two, wondering how different this new age would be.

(Kakashi POV)

Seeing sensei for the first time in 16 years was a shock and it terrified me that I froze like that. I wasn't acting like the same cool and collected Jounin I was in the future. I pondered this while we walked. Was it possible that not only were our bodies reverted back to age six, but also our chakra networks and other shinobi skills, like emotion control?

I shook my head and hoped the Third Hokage could help us with whatever was going on. I let my eyes rest on sensei's back; not truly believing he was alive, and I couldn't help but wonder who else was alive. My eyes widened with the thought, was my father alive?

"Okay you two, here is the Hokage Tower and yes Kakashi, I know you know where it's at but I wanted to make sure your friend here did. Now I've got to drop this off by the missions desk and go see a man about a frog." I rolled my eyes at my sensei and walked the stairs with Naru trailing behind me and looking at all the other ninja around us. She was mesmerized by the people around us and was making sure to drink in all the sights. I knocked on the Hokage's door and turned to her.

"Staring is rude you know." She smacked me on the arm as the door opened. I saw the desire she had to go throw her arms around the old man, but she stopped. The man before her was different from the old man in the future; this man was still in his prime and had hair.

"Kakashi-kun, what do I owe this pleasure?" I knew I would have to get his attention or he would never believe us, so I talked to him in ANBU code that only ANBU captains know.

"The wolf prowled long and fought hard, but in the end the snake got away."

The Third was no longer sitting at his desk; he had gotten from his chair, closed the door and the window before standing in front of me. "Where did you learn that code Kakashi?" I looked him straight in the eye.

"What do you know about the tailed beasts Hokage-sama?"

I watched his eyes widen slightly; I had taken him by surprise. His chin tightened and his brow creased in concentration. "Where did you learn about the tailed beasts Kakashi?" I looked out the closed window and back at Naru. She was patiently waiting her turn to explain. I took a deep breath and began my story.

"Hokage-sama, I'm going to tell you a tale that you might not believe, but I pray you do, because your belief is the deciding factor on where the future leads."

The Sandaime sat back down at his desk and motioned for us to do the same. "Begin the story."

I took a deep breath and began, "I guess it all starts when Uzumaki Naru was born. This happens in about seven years from now…"

(Naru POV)

I watched Kakashi-sensei tell the much younger Third Hokage our tale. He told of my birth and the Kyuubi's sealing into me by the Yondaime. He described Team Seven and our many adventures with a little bit of pride in his voice and then he told of the destruction of Konoha at the hands of Sasuke.

I watched as his eyes bore into the Thirds, almost as if he could convey the truth through them. "We were going to die, but Kyuubi sent us into the past to survive. He said you would be able to answer our questions. Can you Hokage-sama?"

I turned to the Third and spoke to him. "Hokage-sama, do you believe our tale?"

I watched as the man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I know of the jutsu you are talking about. It is supposedly a legend that only tailed beasts can perform, and the simple fact that a Chunin and a young girl know it makes your story very believable."

He looked out the window. "The jutsu is very complicated and could only be used one time. The object is to send the subject far enough in the past to completely change the future for the better. Have you ever heard the saying 'cities never crumble in a day?' Whatever caused Konoha's destruction started here, in this time period. You two have been given a chance to change the future, but I will warn you. There are dangers to messing with the future."

I sighed, "Nothing can be easy can it?"

He shook his head 'no.' "If life were easy there would be no reason for you two to be here. I think the first thing we need to do is test your skills. Kakashi you will retain your same rank of Chunin, but I need to see how your six year old body is reacting with your 29 year old mind. Naru, since you are not technically born yet, I will have to accept you into the Village as an immigrant. I will test your skills later this week to see what level you will be at, but if what Kakashi is telling me is true, then you should have no problem attaining the rank of Chunin. We will also have to change your last name; we have Whirlpool ambassadors that would question the Uzumaki part of your name, if you ever meet them."

He got up and went to the bookshelf behind him and took out a small black book, bound in leather with golden writing across the front cover. "This is the book of the tailed beasts. In it are the answers to some of your questions. I have a meeting to go to; stay in this room and find your answers."

Kakashi's eyes followed him as he left the room; I took the book from the desk and opened it. The first page bore a beautiful picture of a red fox, nine tails fanning behind it, and a silver wolf running through a lush forest. I traced the picture with my finger and flipped the pages until I saw one entitled time travel jutsus.

"The time travel jutsu is one of the only things the tailed beasts can perform once. This jutsu was designed by the tailed beasts to redo the past and change the outcome of the world, but this jutsu can only be performed when the tailed beast has been sealed into a human. Then and only then can the beast gather enough positive life energy to bend the laws of time and space."

I stopped reading and looked at Kakashi. "Naru, what does it say about possible reactions to traveling through time?"

I scanned the page. "Let's see, okay:"

"When a tailed beast sends a person, or persons, into the past they must send them to the beginning of the problem, in the hopes that the one key event that started the downfall can be changed. The only problem is that the bodies of the travelers will be reduced to a child-like state and they will not retain all of their previous abilities. In fact, as time goes on they will slowly lose the memories of their previous life, but will still retain the memories of certain key events that they must change. The travelers will find their bodies reacting in a child-like way, but their minds wanting to react in the way their real age is. The travelers should not let this bother them, let the flesh act accordingly and train to obtain the same skills you once had. No one expects a child to be able to perform as an adult, even shinobi children still act like children. Let this be a warning to all travelers, even though you change the outcome of the future, it does not mean it will be for the better. Time travel is tricky and one wrong change can destroy everything you have ever worked for."

I put the book down. "So we are eventually going to forget about our future?"

He nodded. "That's what it sounds like, but what bothers me is the whole, change key events thing, how do we know which ones to change?"

I sighed and scanned the book again. "It said that we will know when the event comes."

He tapped his fingers in annoyance against the desk before speaking again, "That makes a lot of sense."

I glared at him. "You were a sarcastic little kid weren't you sensei?"

He laughed before taking the book from me and closing it. "Whatever happens, we will do it together?"

"Sensei?"

"I promise Naru, this time it will be different."

I smiled at him, believing every word and praying he was right. "Sensei I…" I watched as his body went rigid and he reached for his weapons pouch, I turned around and saw a masked ANBU staring us down.

"Kakashi, I don't think he's here to say 'hi.'"

He shook his head and tossed me a kunai; I didn't have any weapons on me. "Naru, can you gather your chakra?" I did and turned to him expectantly; Kakashi looked at me and nodded.

"Get him."

(Kakashi POV)

I watched as Naru twirled the kunai around her finger. We might not have the same chakra skills, but we remembered our teamwork.

Naru and I had been partners since she had come back from training with Jiraiya. With my strategies and her pranking skills we were close to unstoppable. I gathered my chakra and wanted to groan at the size of it, it was big for a six-year-old, but it wasn't my normal capacity.

I channeled chakra into my fist and ran towards the ANBU, hoping he would take the bait. He did and dodged me. "Kid you are going to have to do a lot better than that." I smirked behind my mask as I saw Naru perform Kage No Bunshin. Thanks to Kyuubi she had the capacity to perform the technique, but her control sucked so she could only produce one clone. I saw the frustration in her eyes and silently nodded to her.

Both Narus ran towards the ANBU with kunai drawn, while he was distracted I gathered chakra to my feet and raced up the wall. He was toying with Naru and taking steps back while laughing at her. If he would move a little closer I would have him.

He got within jumping distance and I jumped onto his back and fell to the ground with him. The impact made me roll off of his back, but Naru was there to jump back on. She placed a kunai at the junction where his neck met the porcelain mask and I whispered in his ear, "Don't underestimate us."

A door opened and the Third walked in smiling. Naru removed the kunai from the junction of the ANBU's neck and stepped back as he stood to his feet. He bowed to the Hokage before turning and walking out the door. The Hokage turned to us. "Surprised? I needed to see your skill levels and what better way than to surprise you? I will admit I myself am surprised. I never expected you two to work so well together or even get him to the floor. I would say you both deserve the rank of Chunin, but I'm not going to give it to Naru."

I blinked and heard her yell, "Why not!"

The Third looked at the girl. "Kakashi is retaining his previous rank because he showed the same skills he had in the Chunin Exam months ago. You, on the other hand, are talented, but I think it would do you some good to relearn the basics before I give you a Chunin rank. I'm going to assign you a Jounin instructor and after he trains you, then you can take the Chunin Exam."

"So I'm back at Genin level right?"

The Third nodded. "I'm only doing this because it will help you in the long run. Your basic skills are lacking, but your chakra levels are enormous, which has to do with the Kyuubi. You would benefit greatly from the instructor I'm going to assign you."

Naru just mumbled and looked at the ground. "Now, you two have read the book and I will tell you that this has to be kept a secret. If word gets out that Konoha has two time travelers who know the outcome of the future," he got a faraway look in his eye, "let's just say it would be bad, for you two and for Konoha."

Naru and I nodded to show him we understood. "Hokage-sama, what do we do from here?"

"First, I want both of you to go to the hospital and get a full check-up; we need to make sure your bodies are not stressed out from the jutsu. Then go home and rest. I'll send a scroll later to explain what tomorrow holds."

He turned to Naru. "We will have to tell your new sensei that you posses a bloodlimit that has never been seen before. It would explain your red chakra and, from what Kakashi has told me, your healing abilities. Your sensei cannot know about the Kyuubi until I tell him or until the time comes that you tell him. It will be your decision Naru."

She thanked him and I turned to him again. "Yes sir! Come on Naru." I dragged her out with me, then stopped and looked back at the Hokage. "Sir, what is Naru's name going to be?"

He smiled. "Uzu Naru. Now you can retain a small portion of your name, but still have a completely different one."

Naru smiled softly at the man. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

Together we walked to the hospital, ready to change the future and save Konoha.

(Narrator POV)

Hours later the Third Hokage read over the lab reports from the hospital concerning Uzu Naru and Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi's vitals were good, but his chakra system was slightly overworked, but that would heal within a few days.

The Third picked up Naru's blood report and sighed, she was a direct match to Namikaze Minato. She was his biological daughter and had no idea that her own father had sealed the Kyuubi into her. If Minato was her father then, unless something changed, Kushina was her mother. The Third rubbed his tired eyes and sighed; how would Naru react to this information and did Kakashi know? He put the reports down as a knock sounded throughout the office and a man walked in. "The mission's desk said you wanted me to see me?"

The Third looked up and smiled at the tired, dirt covered man before saying, "I've got a new mission for you; how do you feel about training a Genin?"

The man before him blinked before talking, "A Genin? The academy doesn't hold the Genin exams for another two months." The Third watched the man run a hand through his long silver hair before adjusting the tanto at his side. "Why would a Genin graduate in the middle of the year Hokage-sama?"

"This is a very special case and one that needs to be handled very delicately. I was brought a young girl today, one with amazing potential and chakra, but who lacks the basic skills needed to become a Chunin."

The man blinked. "She's good enough to become a Chunin? How old is she?"

"She's six-years-old, the same age as your son, but she needs someone who can teach her and keep up with her. Will you do it Sakumo?"

The man, Hatake Sakumo sighed. "When do I get to meet her?"

The Third smiled. "Tonight. She will be staying with you until I find her a more suitable home."

Sakumo nodded to the Hokage and turned to leave.

"Sakumo, her name is Uzu Naru. I'll explain about her bloodlimit tomorrow. I can't wait for you to see it in action."

Sakumo nodded and walked out the door, wondering how he was going to handle two six-year-olds tonight.

(Naru POV)

I walked into Kakashi's home and was mesmerized by the size of it. "Why don't you live here in the future?"

I saw his shoulders tense and knew what I asked was taboo. He didn't answer as he just removed his sandals and went into the kitchen. I followed behind and watched as he took out pots and pans to cook something to eat.

I took a pot from him. "I'll do it. I know from experience that you can't cook."

He grabbed the newspaper off of the counter, with some difficulty because the counter was just a little taller than he was, and smacked me on top of the head before laughing. "That's not fair Naru; I survived off of my own cooking before."

I shook my head, stood on a stool in front of the sink and filled the pot with water. "Yeah and it's a wonder you didn't die of food poisoning. I've seen the mess you eat; it's either instant or take-out. Maybe this time around you can learn to cook."

He glared at me. "I remember a time when all you ate was ramen."

"Yeah, but I eventually had to learn to cook while I was with Jiraiya or I would have starved." He laughed back at me. Ever since Tsunade partnered us up for missions, it had been like this. We had gradually become friends; he annoyed me with his teasing words and I kept him on his toes with my relentless pranks.

It sounds corny to say that we completed each other, but we were just good for each other. He saved me from Akatsuki when they captured me the year I turned fifteen and I saved him from grief after Gai died.

I smiled sadly as I remembered that mission. Gai had been Kakashi's original partner; surprising I know, but they were loyal to each other. From what I found out from Lee, they had been taken by surprise and Gai had been poisoned. He never regained consciousness and died in a hospital in Suna. Kakashi had been devastated and refused to take another partner, but Tsunade wouldn't take no for an answer and practically chained him down to announce I was his new partner.

That was the year I turned fifteen and five months before Akatsuki captured me. Even though that was a horrible experience, it was still one of my happiest memories. That was the day Kakashi acknowledged me as his partner for the first time and we had been close ever since. I still called him sensei even though we were partners now, habits were hard to break.

"Naru, the noodles are boiling over."

I jumped and turned the heat down and heard his laughter, it was different from the laughter I remember. His six-year-old laugh was lighter and wasn't rough. I smiled wickedly as a thought crossed my mind, I was going to witness the Great Copy Ninja go through puberty!

I left a laugh escape my throat as I imagined his voice cracking while shouting out Chidori or another jutsu. He looked at me funny as I held my stomach and laughed. "Are you going to tell me why you are laughing like a maniac?"

I shook my head no and tried to catch my breath, "Hand me the butter, the noodles are almost ready."

I was still standing on the stool; being short had its disadvantages, and was waiting for him to look in the refrigerator and get the butter. "You want butter or margarine?"

"Butter, unhealthy and fattening, just the way I like my ramen." He eye-smiled at me, even though we were partners I had yet to see the face behind the mask. If only I had looked while I thought we were going to die, then the mystery would have been solved. I pouted to myself as he walked over with the tub of butter.

Then his body stilled and turned towards the kitchen door.

I watched the knob turn and the door open to reveal a tall, silver haired man. Kakashi dropped the butter and the slimy white stuff went everywhere. His voice sounded small and full of disbelief as he said the next words that stopped my own breathing,

"Daddy?"