Second Chances
Chapter 2
Naruto's head whipped around, right pigtail striking Obito's cheek as she looked at her father. No, he was her brother now. She might tell him the truth one day, maybe the day of her actually birth.
"Naruto?" He asked almost hesitantly. She blinked, whiskered cheeks slowly turning a light shade of pink as she refused to breath. The other chakra signature, who she was sure had been Kakashi, was now long gone, leaving both herself, Minato, and Obito on their own. Said Uchiha was leaning against the wall, mouth wide open like he was expecting a platoon of Jōnin to set up camp in his molars. Mutely, the girl nodded, still looking up at her brother before tears slowly began to gather in the corner of her eyes. Minato was now knelt before her, one arm shakily raised as if to offer her a hand shake. Instead, Naruto leapt at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her face into the crook of his collar bone.
"I was so scared! And everyone was dying, and there was nothing I could do!" She began to spill how she'd watch people -obviously leaving out their names- die in front of her, unable to help them. Even her sensei had perished in the masses. Minato, with eyes wide, slowly gathered up his mess of a sister, turning to look at Obito's still gaping face.
"You better get back to class, but you can come see Naruto tomorrow if you want." The Uchiha nodded, bidding the two a quiet goodbye as he trudged back inside the academy.
Shuffling the bundle in his arms, Minato smiled sadly before hugging the girl closer to his chest. She most certainly was his little sister, just as emotional as well. It had to be something they got from their mother. Running his fingers through her short bangs, Minato began walking down the street, nodding to the few people who passed. Several people has already began to whisper, looking and pointing at the girl he held so protectively against his chest. It would appear that the emotional turmoil had taken it's toil on her body, Naruto was now fast asleep against his chest, face nuzzled into the crick of his neck and breath tingling against his skin. Minato would have laughed at how ticklish it made him feel had he not wanted to take this time to observe his little sister. She was short, just a little over four feet in height, and was obviously underweight for her age. Her blonde hair, in the same shade as his own, was cut short at the front, before being pulled back into two adjacent pigtails. Reddened, the skin around her eyes was puffed up, swollen from the tears she'd shed moments before hand. Her cheeks were her most noticeable feature, each one holding three, scar like birth marks in the shape of whiskers. From what he'd seen of her eyes, they shared the same shade of blue, aside from the shape of his little sisters eyes were more... Fox-like? Either way, Minato felt a weight of dread slowly nestle upon his shoulders. It wasn't hard to tell Naruto would be a looker. He'd be fighting boys off left, right and center.
Lugging the girl higher up on his hips, Minato smiled cheerfully as her eyes popped open, glued to his face and shining with a mixture of admiration and hope.
"Nii-san?" She whispered as he carefully set her down, watching as she stumbled before righting herself. It was so cute that she had to look up to him.
"Yes Naruto?"
"Can... can you buy me a ninja outfit? I don't have any money..." She trailed off before looking up at him, eyes wide and bottom lip cemented in the classic pout.
"Of course, if you let me call you Naru-chan," teasingly, Minato squeezed her cheek, watching as she huffed, but the blush and sweet smile on her face told him he accepted it.
"Yes please!"
He watched his sister walk straight past the girly clothes, right to the boy's side before pulling out an orange and black jumpsuit that was a size too big for her. A belt soon followed, and she grabbed a long sleeved, see through mesh top, followed by a set of black short shorts and a crop top in the same shade. She scampered over to the till, beaconing him over and watching as he fumbled for his wallet. He didn't miss how Naruto had picked the cheapest clothes in the store, but with the way she was staring lovingly at the orange jumpsuit, she'd clearly already formed an attachment to it.
"So Naru-chan, I take it you want to be a ninja?" Yes, don't let on he knew her skill level, he could test her on it at a later date.
"Yeah! I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever! Then everyone will acknowledge me for who I am! Believe it!"
Nodding, Minato scooped up the bag before looking back at Naruto. She was staring at the clock in something close to horror, and he realized that she obviously had an appointment with the Hokage. Who else would she know already.
"Late?" He questioned, chuckling as she leapt five feet in the air before turning to look at him.
"Nuh uh! I just gotta go! Find me later!" She cried, dashing from the room. Watching as her oh so bare soles disappeared from view, Minato reached down and picked up two pairs of shoes, praying to god they were right size.
"I'll take these too."
Elsewhere, speeding through Konoha, Naruto leapt over walls, shot past civilians, and even darted between the legs of an Uchiha police officer, all the while screaming apologies. Her feet scuffed against the ground, quickly becoming red and the skin slowly peeling away due to the sheer speed she was running at. The past twenty minutes she'd spent with her father had been... Unreal. She'd run into his arms, crying about all the deaths she'd seen in the war, all the problems she'd faced, but had made sure to stick to her story. She was tired, no, her eight year old body was tired. Her mind was exhausted.
'Kurama, I know you don't like to put up with my questions, but can you stick by me tomorrow? I think I'm gonna need some time to adjust, and you're the only one that'd understand.' Even though he didn't answer, she could feel him return to her mind, nestled in the little landscape she'd created. Instead of the metal walls, the piping and all the other gloomy surroundings he'd put up with previously, she'd transformed it into a forest like area, with a cave situated where he'd once been sealed, and a forest outside it. At least it would be more comfortable for her lodger. His presence was calming, he was the only one who actually understood what she'd been through, and he wouldn't ever leave her. He didn't really have a choice after all.
Once again, the Hokage's tower was stood before her, and this time, she was ready to face it. Slowly pushing open the door to the main office, she watched as the Hokage rose from his seat, nodding to her at her entrance.
"Take a seat Naruto." She complied, settling atop the cushioned surface, and folding her legs beneath her, something her seventeen year old form wouldn't have been capable of.
"What have you decided Hokage-sama?" She asked cautiously, fidgeting slightly as she did so.
"Naruto Namikaze, I have set the blood test to show you as Minato Namikaze's sister. I'm not stupid, I know if you tell anyone else about the future, if I act on the small amount of information you have provided me, that the future may turn out worse. I will thereby give you free reign, you may come and go as you please, and I will rarely question your judgement. However, you will inform Kushina Uzumaki about the basics as to why the fox-"
"Kurama. His name is Kurama."
"Well then, you will tell her why you are now Kurama's host, in the most basic method you can. I will see to it she does not act upon any of this knowledge. Now, and questions?" The Hokage laced his fingers together, resting his head in his hands and smiling slightly at her. He pushed a glass of orange juice forwards, which she gratefully accepted, downing the glass as quickly as she could.
"Yes please Sandaime-sama. Firstly, I wish to be placed in a team with my father, Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha. I'm sure you can rig the results test for the Genin graduation so that I can be in their team, right?" Naruto leant forwards, waiting for the answer that would either save Obito Uchiha's life, or ruin it.
"Granted."
"Thanks! And number two, please please please can I call you Hokage-oyaji?" It might have been the broken voice she said it in, or the way her eyes seemed to age before him, but Sarutobi nodded slightly, reaching over and affectionately rubbing Naruto's spiky bangs as he did so.
"I don't mind Naruto-chan."
Luckily enough, Minato seemed to recognise that she needed her space. Even though he didn't say it, it seemed as if she'd aged ten years in those few moments she'd spent with the Hokage. He wanted to ask what was wrong, wanted her to confide in him, but he knew not to force anything upon her. If Naruto wanted to tell him, she would. Sluggishly stumbling into her room, drowning in the shirt Minato had lent her so she had something to sleep in, Naruto flopped out on top of the bed, groaning slightly as she buried her head in the fluffy pillows. Apparently, the hospital staff had been around to ask for her location. Minato had quickly sent them packing after promising to return her, should anything out of the ordinary happen.
Curling up on her side, Naruto escaped into the safety of her mind, where nothing but Kurama and her thoughts could hurt her. The fox was laid up beside the lake, one claw dipped in the cooling water as he thoughtfully starred into the mirror like surface. Naruto carefully seated herself beside him, running her fingers through the liquid and frowning. Since it'd been the pipes that'd supplied her with Kurama's chakra before, she had to create masses of underground streams, rivers above level and a working weather system to keep the chakra flowing. Especially now that Kurama had all his chakra back.
She leant against his paw, silent as she dipped her feet into the lake, looking out over it's surface. Sasuke's face appeared before her, back in the Genin days, when they'd been as close as they'd ever been before. And then once again, just before he'd died. But here, he wasn't dead. He wasn't alive yet, and she wouldn't get to experience that kind of bond again with him. She would have to form new bonds, and just hold onto her memories, because once she changed everything, her Sasuke wouldn't exist anymore. The Konoha eleven she'd known, they'd be gone too. Everyone would disappear. Oh, they'd still be there, but they wouldn't be the same. She wouldn't be able to connect to them in the same way.
'Don't forget kit, you'll have new people as well. People you never got the chance to know.' Slowly, the images on the lake surface transformed to the black haired boy she'd meet earlier today, Obito. Then a younger version of Kakashi filtered in, followed by the images of her parents together.
"You might not know your old friends, but the least you can do is look out for them. Because if I end up in the hands of that masked idiot, I will rip you apart." Naruto laughed out loud, resting her head against Kurama and smiling against the fur.
"You're right Kurama. Sasuke believed in me. He knew I could do this, and I will. I'll make his future better, I'll make all their futures better!"
The last thing she heard before falling asleep was Kurama chuckling faintly beside her, the heat form his body lulling her to sleep.
"Wakey wakey sleepy head! Academy starts in an hour!" Minato's brash, much too happy for it to be morning voice broke into Naruto's consciousness like a sharp kunai. Groaning, she rolled over, whimpering as a headache danced through her mind, followed by a brass band that was playing to the tune Minato had woken her with. Rolling out of bed, and fighting with her quilt-covers for freedom, Naruto tentatively sniffed the air. The scent of home cooked eggs wafted through the air, tantalizing her highly tuned senses to a point it wasn't even funny. She'd gone to bed so early last night she'd skipped dinner, and now her stomach was demanding she get her backside down there and eat everything. Still uncoordinated with this eight year old form, it was no surprise when she tripped down the stairs, crumpling in a heap of Naruto in the hallway. Minato popped his head around the door, smiling as he did so.
"Rough night?"
She'd dreamed of the war, dreamed of her missing best friend, of her missing homeland and nodded slightly.
"Only slightly." Following her father to the kitchen, Naruto tried to force herself to take in everything, to understand the layout of her new home. But all she saw was her old home before Konoha had got destroyed. She missed waking up to the sight of the Hokage mountain, hell, she missed the fourth head. And now, she even missed Tsunade's big forehead staring over the village, her imposing gaze frightening away all the threats to the village. Well, Pein had certainly made a pigs ear of that. Pein!
She was sent reeling at the thought of him, the thought of Nagato, Konan and the other one...Yahiko. She needed to stop Yahiko's death, stop Nagato's hate and save them, save their lives this time around. From the looks of it, she was going to need a list of things to change.
"Hey, you okay?" Naruto's head snapped up to look at her father, blinking.
"Yeah, just got a lot on my mind is all."
Minato nodded, seemingly accepting this explanation. But he certainly didn't miss the way her eyes narrowed as she looked down at her plate. Sometimes his sister looked eight years old, and other times, her eyes took on a look he'd only ever seen in the toughest of war veterans. Now was one of those times.
"So Naru-chan, who was that boy you were sat with yesterday?" Naruto, being the oblivious idiot she was, simply nodded slightly, running a hand through her hair as she did so. She completely missed the menace in Minato's voice, the way his eyebrows had been drawn down protectively.
"Oh! That's Uchiha Obito! He seems really nice, and I've already decided he's going to be my best friend here! He doesn't have a choice! But I still need to find an epic rival to rival my awesomeness! It needs to be someone reasonably strong, and cool. Like an Uchiha, but stronger!" She knew exactly who she was describing, and was hoping that Minato would click onto the person she was describing.
"What about Kakashi Hatake? I mean, he's already graduated the academy, so he's pretty strong, but he's like the complete opposite of you in personality."
"Perfect!" Naruto shot up out of her chair, clutching at the egg sandwich before she noticed the time. Epping, she stuffed her breakfast into her mouth, running as fast as she could upstairs. From his seat at the kitchen table, Minato watched in amusement as she came stumbling down, dressed in the outfit she'd chosen out the previous day.
"Bye Nii-san!"
After yesterday's events, the Uchiha police were on guard, looking out for the blonde child that'd made a fool out of one of their officers.
"COMING THROUGH!" A loud, overly exaggerated voice burst through the street, followed by a bright blot of orange. The blur shot through the street, shooting past the Uchiha police and spinning one of the new recruits around from the sheer speed she was running at.
"SORRY!" Was the last thing the occupants of the street heard as they tried to recover from the orange that'd rocketed through their morning routines.
Meanwhile, Naruto skidded to a stop outside the academy, brushing down the back of her hair before offering the surrounding students a feral grin. She hadn't had time to tie her hair up today, at the shoulder length strands had burst up into a gravity defying Mohawk, making her seem a hell of a lot taller than she actually was. Looking around, she finally spotted Obito, seated on her swing and looking rather depressed.
"Hey Obito! Get your backside next to me!" The Uchiha's head shot up, looking over the crowd of children like a meerkat. Slowly, he trudged over to Naruto's side, grinning from ear to ear before stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Hey 'ruto," he murmured, nervous black eyes looking over at the other Uchiha parents. It certainly hadn't taken them long to notice how much she looked like her fellow Namikaze, and whispers were quickly flying around. Most of which were questions on how the outcast Uchiha had managed to secure friendship with someone related to such a good shinobi. Looking up at Obito, Naruto was quick to realize she was, once again, the runt of the litter.
"Obito, you'll be my best friend right?" She watched as the blush appeared, the boy pulling his orange goggles up onto his forehead and wiping his eyes. It was only later that night Naruto would realize Kakashi's nickname of Obito being the cry-baby ninja, was because of how much he'd cried.
"Sure Naruto-chan, I'll be your best friend if you'll be mine."
Laughing, the blonde haired girl grabbed hold of Obito's hand, pulling him into the academy and demanding he show her around. Clearly this was a building that was destroyed in the Nine-tails attack, because she certainly didn't remember this layout.
She was just insanely lucky Obito was so nice.
Obito on the other hand, was smiling to himself, hands stuffed in his pockets as he fought back tears. No one had really bothered with him before this, and to know that someone wanted to be close to him…
Well, they didn't call him the cry-baby ninja for nothing.
Thank you for the 11, yes read it, 11 reviews! The reviews is what makes me write so fast, and considering I've got two exams this week, well, I'm very driven to get chapters up for you guys! Thank you so much for the positive responces! I hope this chapter as good!
Thanks for reviewing;
No name- Thank you, and there will most defiantly be Kakashi's reaction shortly. And yes, he's veyr jealous!
Wicken25- Yeah, I think this will be a Kakashixfemnaruto story! I hope that's the pairing you were hoping for.
TidusGT- Quick enough for you?
Forbiden Light- I'm sorry about my grammer, and desperatly trying to improve! Hope this is better!
Eternal Cat Moon- Thanks! Hope this is quick enough!
kyothefallenkit- You don't need to wait, done!
Hellcleaner- Thanks!
Z Lawliet- Your review just proved it =P
TabooElf- Even happier? Thanks, I'm glad it was a good chapter, I see Minato as a cheerful guy off mission, dead serious on mission. How do you see him?
Fk306 animelover- Thanks!
ddcj1990- Well, it'll go down wellish with Kushina... I hope.
I'd also really appreciate it if you checked out 'Monsters that move in the shadows' by Panda No Ashi, is raises some important issues to do with the kidnapping of children in China, and the word really needs to get out.
Read and review people?
Lot's of love,
Tsume
