Edited 8/16/2016

Note: There will still be no bashing in this fic.

Naruto woke up with a start. She winced at the sudden influx of pain. Kurama may have healed the main damage from the Chidori, but it didn't stop the bruises from accumulating during her fight with Sasuke. Reopening her eyes, she frowned, realizing she was in an unfamiliar room.

The sterile smell and the whiteness of the room were a dead giveaway that she was in the hospital. She made a mental note to thank Sasuke for putting her in this situation. She missed who she was up against in the final round of the Chunin exams. In the opposite plane, she could see Kurama resting on his legs. Maybe he could fill her in on what happened, and why she could still see him.

"Kurama," she called.

Kurama's ears twitched first before lifting his head, sleep evident in his eyes. He looked in Naruto's direction before yawning, revealing rows of his sharp teeth.

"You're awake. How do you feel?" He asked.

"Like I took a Chidori to the chest." Her joke caused his eyes to narrow. She coughed,deciding to change the subject. "How long was I out?"

He paused before answering. "I overheard that you were out for two days."

"Two days-" Naruto yelled, clutching her chest. The pain came back with a full force.

A normal person would have stayed in bed, but sitting still was never a trait Naruto mastered. I can't believe I missed two days of valuable training, and I can't do anything until the bruising disappears. She pouted at the thought.

"I'll have you all fixed up in the morning. However, I must warn you. Everyone knows you're a girl." Kurama explained, his tone grave.

She let his words sink in for a moment, waiting for the punch line.

"Very funny, Kurama. That was a good one." She laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She looked to her companion hoping he betrayed a smile or a laugh, but she was met with silence.

"Okay, I get it. You're getting back at me for all the times I've messed with you." She said trying to get him to call off his joke.

She wrung her hands. The longer she met his serious gaze, her mood started to sober. He wasn't joking, and the reality of the situation hit her.

"What!"

Naruto shot out of the bed, but her foot tangled in the sheets, causing her to fall flat on her face. Why didn't this happened after the Chunin exams? She couldn't deal with all of the questions she knew that were going to be raised about her appearance. All she wanted to do was go through one normal day before anything went wrong. Kurama sauntered over to her direction and looked down on her fallen form. Her blue eyes pleaded with his red for an explanation.

"I'm afraid that my Chakra, a chidori to the chest, and awakening the Rinnegan may have caused the seal to collapse," he said before sighing.

His explanation made sense. She exhausted almost all of her Chakra stores during the fight. The seal was dependent on Chakra to keep it steady. She hated to admit it to herself, but this was bound to happen sooner or later. Still, she was bothered by Kurama's words.

"What's the Rinnegan?" She asked, her eyes furrowed.

"Your eyes. You need to have both Uchiha and Senju blood to possess it. I think Orochimaru did something to you since it manifested," he said with a growl.

"Why would he give me a dojutsu?"

Naruto was sure that the snake Sannin wouldn't have given her a dojutsu out of the goodness of his heart. The bastard was sneaky and had an ulterior motive.

"I reckon for the same reason he marked the Uchiha brat. I don't know. Why don't you ask him as you punch him in the face? Your life is going to get harder from here. I wouldn't be surprised if your village tried to marry you off. These tree huggers maybe capable of doing something like that," he said with a snort.

"Kurama, please. I don't even want to think about marriage. I need to worry about feeding myself such as going to Ichiraku's for some ramen," she said burying her face in-between her hands.

Naruto's life wasn't easy. Marriage was far from her mind.

"I'm being serious and you bring up ramen." He scoffed. "You maybe thirteen, but I am being realistic."

"I have a monster headache right now," she said, rubbing her head.

"I think I know what's causing it. I see a seal on your mind, but I can't remove it."

Naruto attributed the headache from the pain and stress, but Kurama's words caused her to raise an eyebrow.

"What type of seal?" She asked.

"A memory seal. It's weak that's why I'm able to see it. Give me your Chakra, and I will direct it to the seal so we can destroy it," Kurama instructed.

She summoned her Chakra and concentrated. She could feel Kurama's Chakra merging with her own. A flash was seen behind her closed eyes. As soon as the seal shattered, images started to flood her mind. Her mind felt like it was being attacked. Closing her eyes did little to help the feeling. She was relieved when it ended.

"Did you see what I saw?" She asked. She blinked her eyes to fight the disorientation.

"Yes, this explains everything," Kurama said, his tone murderous.

Naruto didn't know if she felt angry as Kurama. Betrayed, yes. Angry not so much. The seal being placed on her took away her choice-her choice to choose. She never regretted Kurama being sealed inside her. She was treated differently, but she found a friend. This seal, on the other hand, made it seem like she was viewed as weak, as though she couldn't protect herself.

The sound of the door opening broke her from her thoughts. She noticed the tied, gray hair first before the slight glare of the glasses. They both stared at each other for a long while. Each refusing to speak. She knew why he was there.

"It's been a while Kabuto nii-san, " she greeted, causing the older boy to smile at her.

"I see you finally remember me, Naruto," he said.

She didn't know his motive. They weren't the same people now as they were eight years ago. Plus, his unwavering loyalty to Orochimaru made her wary of him.

"Yes, you tried so hard to make me forget you. I understand though. You wouldn't want Orochimaru to find out you played a role in helping me escape. I wanted to thank you for your help. I didn't know I needed it back then, but thank you for risking your life for me. Why are you here?" She asked.

"I wanted to see if you were alright," he said.

"Even though I might not remember you?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes."

Her eyes roamed over him, taking in his appearance. He seemed older than she last remembered him. She frowned, seeing the hand behind his back. The posture wasn't what caught her eye, but the gleaming, black handle of a kunai did.

"If that were so, you wouldn't be armed. You were planning on killing me," she said.

"I was," he confirmed with a sheepish smile.

"Why did you save me years ago just to kill me now?" She asked, hoping he gave her a truthful answer.

She should have expected this to happen. The truth hurt. Kabuto was once a brother in her eyes. It's crazy how life could change a person. He looked away from her eyes as though he read her thoughts.

"When you were younger, Orochimaru injected you with different Uchiha genes, hoping that one would give you the Rinnegan," he explained.

Oh, she remembered all those needles and the pain. The man was sadistic in his pursuit of science. Once, she thought Orochimaru had her best interests at heart, but he saw her as a test subject.

"Why was I the perfect candidate?" She asked.

She thought that having the Kyuubi within her would have prevented her from having a dojutsu.

" He didn't think you were at first. I think he intended to use you for a different purpose until he found out you possess Senju blood," he said, running a hand through his hair.

'Damn, I knew that bastard was sick,' Kurama said, a growl in his throat.

"He was hoping that the combination of Senju and Uchiha blood would awaken the Rinnegan," she mused, remembering Kurama's words.

"Yes, that was his plan. Unfortunately, he planned on going through drastic means to try and awaken it. First, by blood replacement therapy. Later, he wanted to resort to unawakened Sharingan eye transplants and other grotesque experiments to get what he wanted." He finished, shaking his head at the memory.

"Yet, you saved me from that. Why?"

Naruto's blue eyes met his black. He opened his mouth a couple of times, hesitating to answer at first as though he was fighting some internal battle.

"I was a fresh recruit when I joined Orochimaru. Let's just say, I was weak back then when I watched his experiments. To answer your earlier question, Orochimaru plans on kidnapping you to steal your body," he admitted, clenching his hands at his side.

Naruto suspected that he hated to admit weakness. This was why he joined Orochimaru to help him become strong. By telling her this, he was betraying his master.

"Why would you go against your master's wishes?"

Her question caused him to let out a bitter laugh.

"I guess I'm still the weak man you met years ago."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I can protect myself," she admitted.

"I'll take your word for it. I guess this is where we must part ways," he said, sheathing his kunai and making his way to the door.

He saved her in the past, and now he continued to watch her back. She owed him for his help.

"I won't say anything today about your affiliations, Kabuto. Just so you know. The next time we meet, I won't hold back either. This village is under my protection," she warned, causing him to stop.

He stood in his spot for several seconds before looking at her over his shoulder.

"I would be disappointed if you did," he said before walking out the door.

"I still don't like him. I don't know why you have a soft spot for everyone, especially with our enemies," Kurama said.

"I still don't understand Kabuto's motives, but he did protect me,"she said, earning a snort from her companion.

Kurama thought her naïve. She liked to see the best in people, and he thought that Kabuto was going to betray her to Orochimaru.

She didn't have time to think as the door to her room opened. She saw the Hokage's hat first before the beaming face of her surrogate grandfather.

"Naruto-chan, I'm glad to see you are well," Sarutobi said.

"Hello, jiji." Her smile matched his own before falling when she saw her jonin instructor.

"Kakashi- sensei," she greeted.

Even though Kakashi was her instructor, she didn't trust him with her well-being. She didn't think he had her best interest at heart because he tended to favor Sasuke over her. That favoritism almost got her killed.

"You gave us quite the scare in the preliminary matches. Your friends are waiting outside. We didn't want to let them in because we didn't want them to overwhelm you if you were sleeping," the Hokage informed.

"Are you sure the real reason isn't to find out how I got this?" She asked, pointing to her eyes.

She wanted to know if she was talking to the Hokage or her grandfather. Kakashi's presence meant she was dealing with the former. She was surprised the Hokage didn't make a comment of her appearance seal dropping.

"Well, I wanted to see how you are," he said.

"That maybe true, but you're also the Hokage. Any secrets that are in the village you want to know about them," she said, causing the Hokage to flinch.

Her smile was a way to hide what she felt. It took years of practice for her to master her smile, and it seemed to come to her defense, no matter how she was feeling.

"Way to call the old man out. Get the one-eyed pervert out of the room. He doesn't need to hear your secrets." Kurama laughed.

"Oh come on, Naruto. I do care about you. I know I haven't made the best decisions such as hiding your gender to the rest of the village, but I did have your best interests at heart," Sarutobi corrected.

The Hokage knew about her defense mechanism, and he was trying to prevent her from shutting him out. She wondered if he was going to pull the Hokage card if she refused to tell him information.

"Why the subterfuge? Why didn't I know about her gender?" Kakashi said, his shoulders drooping.

"Don't be mad at Sarutobi-jiji. I told him not to tell you. Only a handful of people has my trust. Don't take this personally, dog-san," she defended the Hokage.

Her smile widened when she saw the shock in his eyes. She once looked up to him in his Anbu days. Time ruined her memory of him because she was disappointed in the man he became, if Dog was indeed his Anbu name.

"Why did you refer to me as my Anbu name? Those days are long behind me," he asked.

"I wanted to see if that was you. Interesting. Even though you helped me once, Karuma doesn't trust you," she informed.

"Who's Kurama?" The Hokage asked, frowning.

"The Kyuubi no Kitsune," she said.

"You can speak to the nine-tails?" The Hokage asked, his mouth hanging open.

"Ever since I was six," she said.

"I don't like the idea that you confide in the fox. So, it seems like there was more to your kidnapping than meets the eye. I wonder what happened to allow you to find out about your status as a Jinchuuriki," the older man said, crossing his arms and pursing his lips.

The older man was troubled that she could speak to the demon that almost razed the entire village to the ground. Talking about the kidnapping would ease his mind about Kurama and tell him about Orochimaru.

"Speaking of that event, I would like to speak to you," she said before her eyes landed on Kakashi, "privately."

"Naruto, you're on my team. I can help you," he said,hanging his head.

She knew Kakashi would have picked up on her words. The man wasn't stupid.

"Sorry, to tell you this, Kakashi-sensei, but I don't trust you much either," she said.

Her teacher flinched at her words. She felt a little guilty when she thought self-loathing overtake his features.

"Naruto, that was uncalled for," Sarutobi scolded.

"I just don't feel comfortable talking to him about this," she muttered under her breath, avoiding the eyes of the two men.

"Naruto, I held back telling him about your gender at your request. Since you're on his team, I think your team dynamic will work better if you tell him about what happened to you. You cannot go through life not trusting people, " the Hokage said.

"It worked out well for me for eight years. Besides, he never bothered gaining my trust before. Why does he suddenly want to get teacher of the year?" She looked at the man in question, folding her arms in front of her chest as she awaited his answer.

"I've always cared about your well-being," he said, his eyes pleading for her understanding.

She wished that Kakashi left. He was starting to annoy her. Did he honestly think she would fall for his lies? His actions were a stark contrast to his words.

"I find this highly unlikely. Don't you have to teach Sasuke more dangerous Jutsus or something? Shouldn't you work on finding another substitute trainer for Sakura and myself?" She said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

Her teacher flinched at the accusation, and the older man looked at her appalled.

"Naruto, I don't want to use my position to force you to stand down," Sarutobi warned, his voice laced with barely controlled patience.

If the Hokage was angry, then her behavior was reprehensible. She felt guilty at her actions.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," she said before looking at her teacher."I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"If you didn't feel that way, you wouldn't have said it in the first place," he said, breaking eye contact after sending her a long, pained look.

Naruto felt horrible when she heard the self-deprecation in his voice. She didn't know the man's history, but she should have better control of her emotions. Maybe she misjudged her teacher. If this was the case, then she decided to take the Hokage's advice and let him in. I hope I can trust him. She let out a sigh at the thought.

"You both might want to sit down because this tale is long. Let me start from the beginning on the night of my fifth birthday," Naruto began her tale.

Konohagakure, 5 years after the Kyuubi's sealing

She didn't know how long she was running. After she put as much distance between herself and Konoha, she sat on a rock. Tiredness did nothing to stop the tears from flowing as Konaha stood in the distance. Music surrounded the night air. Laughter echoed for miles. Lights of many colors were strung around booths. Every year on the anniversary of the Kyuubi's defeat, the village of Konoha would hold a festival. As Naruto grew up, she used to be fascinated with the decorations and wanted to partake in the food and games, only to be turned down. Now that it was her fifth birthday, she wondered why no one ever celebrated with her. Why did the parents refuse to let their kids play with her? Why did the villagers look at her with scorn? For years, these questions plagued her mind, and she decided to do everyone a favor and leave.

It's not like anyone will miss me. She cried some more at the thought.

"Why the sad face?" A slithery voice broke her from her thoughts.

She looked up to see a man with pale skin and reptilian eyes, staring down at her. He was looking at her with concern, but his eyes were staring at her, taking in her appearance.

"I left my village. No one cares for me there," she said, wiping at her eyes with her right hand.

"What is your name, child?" He asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Her admission caused his eyes to widen before his tongue licked his lips.

"Come with me, Naruto. I will offer you a home and a family," he said, offering his hand out for her to take.

She stared at his hand. She narrowed her eyes before bringing her knees close to her body and hiding her face.

"Why would you do that? No one wants me," she said.

She had to tell him the truth. No one would ever want her. She wanted him to leave her alone to her suffering.

"I want you because you are special to me," he said.

His words caused her to look up. He was smiling down at her, and she didn't see the lie in his face.

"Really?" She asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Yes, so how about we go home?"

Home. She had always wanted a place to call home. This was the first time she felt wanted. She didn't hesitate to take his hand.

Naruto didn't know how much time had passed since she took Orochimaru's offer. All she knew that taking his hand brought physical pain. He would inject her with needles and some caused her blood to burn or make her very sick. A cold, wet cloth was brought to her forehead. Her eyes closed as it soothed her pain.

"Kabuto-nii is so kind, " Naruto said, smiling at her brother figure.

Every time she got hurt, Kabuto comforted her and patched her wounds. He would even tell her stories of the other ninja villages.

"I want to be like you one day," she said as he wrapped her arm.

She got a huge scratch from a kunai that was thrown at her by a trap. Orochimaru made her go through his course after he gave her an injection. She had yet to know what the older man wanted.

Kabuto paused his ministrations and his smile wavered.

"Trust me ,Naruto. You don't want to be like me. I'm not a good person."

She frowned at his words. How could nii-san not think himself kind? He sacrificed his time for her. She wanted to be a ninja like him.

"No, you're a good person because I know you won't ever hurt me," she said, beaming at him.

"Thank you, Naruto," he said before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Naruto was still oblivious of the time that passed, the longer she stayed with Orochimaru. Overtime, the training regimens got worse. The amount of injections she received increased. The sound of water dripping woke her from her pain induced sleep. Lifting up an arm, she watched the water droplets fall down. That's strange why am I in water? Lifting herself from the ground, she saw she was surrounded by water.

"Finally. It took me forever to reach you," a gruff voice said, causing her to jump.

She screamed when blood-red eyes met her own. The creature revealed rows of pointed teeth. Its body was massive and the air became heavy. "Are you going to eat me?" She asked, her body cowering.

Power radiated from the creature. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it could kill her.

"No, brat. I'm going to help you escape," he said, his tone irritated.

"Why would you help me?"

The creature made a horrible monster if it was going to help her. She didn't think she needed help.

"You're my Jinchuuriki. If you die, I die . If you stay here any longer, you will die from Orochimaru's hands," the creature warned.

"What is a jin-jinjuriki?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Jinchuuriki," he corrected before he continued. "I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and you're my container. I'm going to protect you from this Orochimaru." She was going to protest, he interrupted her. "Despite what you believe, that weirdo doesn't care about you. Those experiments of his are going to get you killed. Now, listen carefully. We need to come up with a way for us to escape."

A few days after Naruto's initial meeting with Kurama, she had been scouting Orochimaru's base under Kurama's guidance. He wanted to know the layout so they could come up with a couple of escape plans. She didn't question him because Orochimaru became more brutal. The training made her more exhausted than usual. Here she was, a few days later, passed out on her bed.

She grunted at the sensation of someone shaking her on the shoulder. She was still fast asleep and rolled over on her side. Her eyes furrowed at the loud noises trying to rouse her from sleep.

"Naruto."

Her name being called roused her.

She rubbed her eyes. The figure in front of her materialized as her grogginess faded. It was Kabuto.

"Nii-san?" She asked, her voice filled with worry.

She wondered why he was in her room. That's when she became alert to the situation. The base intruder alarms were active.

"Come on, Naruto-chan. We need to get you out of here," Kabuto said, grabbing her arm to guide her out of the room.

"I didn't see this coming. Huh, Orochimaru's minions aren't entirely soulless after all," Kurama said.

Naruto didn't have time to respond because she was too busy following after Kabuto. She didn't say anything because he brought his index finger to his lips. She knew she could trust him in keeping her safe. The sound ninja were running around the base, looking for an unknown opponent. Orders were yelled around the base. At one point, Kabuto had her backed up against a wall to avoid being seen by sound ninja.

What was going on?

She lost track of time as they left the Sound Village. They walked for miles and passed many trees. The sun was halfway in the sky. A nearby town was visible from the forest clearing they exited. In the distance, a carriage awaited on the bottom of the hill at the entrance of the town. She looked at Kabuto and saw his gaze land on the carriage. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned his attention towards her.

"Before we go, there is one last thing I need to do." Before she had time to ask what he meant, Kabuto yelled,"Memory erasing seal!" He formed a tiger seal and slammed his hand on the ground.

An intricate seal formed on the ground, erasing her memories of the events.

Next: Coming to terms

Excerpts subject to change.

"Naruto why did you suddenly turn into a girl?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say I turned into a girl because I was always a girl. I guess the question you should ask is why I'm not a boy," Naruto quipped with a cheeky grin.

The memory erasing seal came from one of the Naruto movies.

I wanted to thank you all for your support so far! Your enthusiasm and support makes me ensured that I will finish the story in its entirety. I want to personally thank all the guest reviewers, who I can't pm personally. Even though I can't pm back, I do want to thank you for taking the time to review. Also, fanfiction is acting up and I can't thank the tenth reviewer or see what it says, but I wanted to thank you for taking the time to review. To be honest, I thought this story was going to be worse than my original that's why I was hesitant to post it. I am glad I didn't put it off any longer. To show my appreciation, I got the coverart for this story commissioned. I will share it with you all as soon as I get it. I am trying to update this story regularly- every other week along with my Once Upon a Time story, but I will also be updating my others which haven't been done in a year. I'm also spending some time writing a novel series but it doesn't mean this story will be abandoned. Until next time, dearies!