Title: Crisis Reverted
Series: Naruto
Rating: T
Genres: Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.
Warnings: Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.
Verse: Canon Redeux.

DHC: Oh my god, I finally update after how many months? I'm so sorry, fans. I really didn't mean to keep you waiting, but my real life took ahold of me for a while. Rest assured, though, I am hoping to kick back into top gear again soon!

Sasuke had returned three days ago and Naruto about tackled Sakura when she returned with Kotetsu and Izumo and bear hugged her. It had been two extra weeks that she'd been gone, though Tsunade and Hiruzen both had assured him they were fine because they got word from them about the investigation taking longer than expected. Still, he was relieved and overjoyed to see her. She smiled wearily and gave him a knock on the head affectionately. "I'm okay, Naruto. Really. Just tired. I need a decent bath and some rest. First I have to give a report to Shishou and the Sandaime, though. I'll catch you tomorrow, okay?"

Naruto beamed brightly. "Okay! You get some good rest, Saku-chan, you need it."

She smiled tiredly again and gave a nod before she motioned for Kotetsu and Izumo to follow her towards the Hokage's manse and they were gone in a flash, leaving Naruto to continue on his way out of the village. Tsunade had told him there was a small caravan a few miles out of the village and he asked her if he could visit it. She only laughed and gave him the go-ahead.

He set out at a good jog until he reached the small hill that overlooked the camp. He grinned brightly before he made his way down the road. The travelers all watched him come up before one walked out a bit to greet him.

"Hi!" Naruto said brightly.

The figure was a woman, middle aged. She had reddish hair and brown eyes. She gave the teenager a small smile back. "Hello there, young man. What is it we can do for you?"

Naruto blinked. "Oh, oh no. I don't need anything, I just came from Konoha and was wondering if you guys needed anything! It can be dangerous out here in the road, do you need someone to look out for you while you stay?"

The woman only chuckled. "My, you are generous. But I can assure you, we are quite fine. Many of us were ninjas ourselves."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked.

"We gave up our ranks or became rogues and left our villages to take up the road. It can be quite a tough life, just making enough ends meat to get by, but many of our elders were quite the ninja." She explained.

Naruto smiled. "Oh, I see." He thought for a moment before smiling again. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Naruto! Namikaze-Uzumaki, Naruto."

The woman laughed, her eyes twinkling with kindness. "I see! Hello, there, Naruto. My name is Reimia."

"So... I have a few questions. What exactly does your caravan do? I know we have a couple pass through in the fall and they perform for us in the village in a festival." Naruto asked.

Reimia chuckled. "Well... We are mostly a trading caravan, we trade, buy, and sell goods that we've picked up along the road. Sometimes, we pick up rarities. Ancient scrolls, shinobi artifacts, things like that. Most of the time, being as we mostly come from from Ninja villages, we tend not to sell them, but collect them."

Naruto nodded before asking interestedly, "That sounds really neat. I'm trying to become the Hokage. Is there any way I could learn from you and your people?"

Reimia tilted her head and thought for a long while. "Hmm... That is an unusual request." She said after a moment, before smiling. "How about we make this a trade, then?"

Naruto blinked. "A trade? What do you want in exchange?"

The woman smiled again. "Nothing much, we are but a simple clan. You see, we have only few young this spring cycle and they lack guidance as many of them became orphaned during a bandit raid,"

She explained. Naruto's eyes darkened and morphed to something extremely soft as he nodded.

"I would ask if you could possibly ask your Hokage to foster them. While it grieves us dearly to know we will be losing some of us, we know they will grow up in a better lifestyle than they could from living with us, as many of us are too old to be parents again and care for such children. Do this for me, and if your Hokage agrees, I would gladly have my people share what knowledge they can with you, alright?"

Naruto looked at the woman seriously with a nod. "I was an orphan, too. I understand what you are wishing to provide the children with. I will ask my Hokage's, I'm sure they will approve. I will return as soon as I can with your answer!"

The woman smiled hopefully. "Thank you, Naruto."

The blond turned and gave the redheaded lady a wave. "I'll be back!" With that, he began to run back in the direction of the village.

It didn't take him long to get back to the village and plead Reimia's case to Hiruzen and Tsunade.

"Please, baa-chan, jii-chan!" Naruto cried, whirling around to pace towards the window.

"Naruto..." Tsunade sighed heavily.

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe. "I can understand why this would concern you so much, however... I still am unsure."

"What's there to be unsure of? They're kids. Kids with no parents, no family. They shouldn't be turned away just because they're outsiders!" His blond hair swayed as he turned his head to look out the window, eyes glossing over as he gazed towards the hokage monuments again. "...No child should have to suffer like that. Here, with us, at least they could grow up a little better than they would out on the road..."

The two Hokages looked towards one another, then back to Naruto's still form, each wondering exactly what was going through his mind at that moment with that far-off look in his eyes.

Nartuo broke away from the window another long moment later, the glossy look in his eyes fading as whatever it was he was thinking, was hidden once more. "...Please. I can't find it in myself to turn away someone who asks such a personal thing of me. It hits me too hard." He murmured quietly, looking down to the ground.

Tsunade hesitated, biting hard on her lip. She glanced towards her sensei, looking for some kind of sign. She wanted badly to tell Naruto yes, hell it was hard for anyone to resist the gaki, but she found it to be especially hard when he got serious. As it were, she knew she let the teen get away with more than he should, both her and Hiruzen did-and that got on the council's nerves-which half of the time was why she did it, the other half was genuinely because she adored the blond brat.

Finally, Hiruzen gave out another sigh. "So be it. I will begin the paperwork."

Tsunade got a grin to her face. "I'll go alert the council and keep them at bay. Be quick and discreet about it. Who knows what they may try to do."

Naruto's face morphed to a thankful, relieved grin as he gave a serious nod and was out the door in a flash.

The two Kage's looked at one another with knowing smiles before they went about their newfound tasks, Tsunade leaving the room, her thundering voice being heard summoning her assistant while Hiruzen went about getting the paperwork started for the Orphanage.

Naruto sped back to Reimia at full speed and soon came to a full-skidded stop infront of her.

She rose a brow. "You're back so soon?"

He gave her a weak lopsided grin. "They said yes," He wheezed.

Her eyes widened, she had been expecting an outright refusal, which was why she'd been worried inwardly when she saw him return so soon.

A smile broke out onto her face. "Wonderful," She said joyfully. Now, the children could be placed under better care and protection than she and the others of their group could provide.

She turned. "Children, come here!" She called.

A small group of seven came forward. Four boys, three girls. Their ages varied, as Naruto viewed each one. Two looked to be around ten, both boys, an eight year old, a girl, a six year old, a boy, and three four year olds, a boy and two girls.

They came to a stop beside Reimia and were looking at Naruto in wonder. He gave them all a bright, warm smile in return.

"Children, this is Naruto. He is a Shinobi from Konoha. You will be going with him to the village to live." She said softly.

The two oldest looked ready to protest, but the three youngest nodded, not really knowing any better.

"But-" One of them began.

"It is for the best," The redheaded woman said softly, her eyes downcast looking. "Please, do not argue. Your lives will be easier and more prosperous there than you will ever be here. Konoha will protect you."

The oldest two finally gave a nod.

Reimia nodded and turned towards Naruto. "Please, take care of them."

Naruto gave her a serious look. "I swear on my life." He promised.

Bringing his hands up, surprising the seven children, six kagebunshin appeared.

"Alright, each of you will go with one of my clones and I, it will be safer this way."

The children nodded. Three of his clones picked up the three four year olds and took off at a run towards Konoha. The clone with the six year old, they headed out at an eager pace. The eight year old grabbed Naruto's clone by the hand and all but began dragging it off.

That left the two boys.

Naruto gave them a grin and motioned for them to follow him and his clone.

He stored all of their looks and names away from the information he received from his clones before asking the two their names.

"Seki," One said. He had ocean-blue eyes with white hair that was braided back to their waist.

"...Kaze." The other replied, their voice monotone. He had short-ish deep violet hair with matching fuchsia eyes to off-set it.

"Seki and Kaze," Naruto repeated before giving a nod. "Got it. I'm Naruto, I'll be taking you to the Hokages!"

"So what rank are you?" Asked Seki.

"Chuunin. But my dream is to become Hokage like my father was!" Naruto replied with one of his fox-grins.

"Your father was a Kage?" Asked Kaze, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"Yep! His name was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime!"

A soft gasp came from Seki. Naruto gave a curious glance towards the boy. "T-The yellow flash?" The boy asked.

"The very same." Naruto replied.

"My parents... They were from Iwa. They talked about the Yellow Flash a lot, how great his powers were. They spoke with scorn, but admiration, too." Seki explained.

Naruto's eyes softened. "I'm sorry for what happened during the war," He apologized.

Seki shook his head. "It wasn't my war, I don't hold any feelings one way or another. I wasn't raised in Iwa, either. I don't harbor feelings of hate towards Konoha-or any other village or nation. My parents may have been in the war, too, but they told me the past was best left behind. Especially when they left Iwa to join the caravan."

Naruto nodded, feeling a little admiration of his own. "You had good parents, I'm so sorry they died. I wish I could have met them, simply just to thank them for how you've been raised. I was an orphan. Growing up practically alone, every one despised me."

The two blinked at him. "Despised, Naruto-san?"

"Please, none of the -san business. Just 'Naruto" will be okay, or sempai, if you feel you must." Naruto smiled at them.

"Okay, sempai!" Seki and Kaze chorused.

"Anyway, yeah, I was despised. Y'see, the demon Kyuubi of the Ninetails attacked Konoha. My mother died just after I was born, and my father, the Yondaime, sealed the demon inside of me to protect the village. Ever since, a lot of the village has hated me, thinking I'm the demon, or it's my fault and whatnot. But, I can't hate them or blame them for it, because if it were me, I probably would have been the same way, too. But, things are slowly changing. I'm making a name for myself. I'm doing everything I can to show them that I'm Naruto, not Kyuubi. I won't stop until I've won everyone over and become Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed proudly.

Both of the children were looking at him with wide eyes as he spoke his tale.

"W-wow, sempai!" Seki breathed, sounding awed. "You have a demon?"

"Yup. His name is Kurama and if you want, you can meet him. He won't attack anyone, he promised me and I can instantly re-seal him into me if he ever tries anything. But right now, we're agreed he can be free in a human body so long as he doesn't kill a person unless they try to kill him." Naruto replied.

"That's really kind of cool, Naruto-sempai." Kaze replied. "Our parents had been giving us basic training to protect ourselves, but we don't really know anything about being shinobi."

Naruto smiled. "Well, I'll see about getting you, and the others if they want, enrolled into the Ninja Academy once you're settled in! I know one of the teachers personally and I help there a lot, too, so you'll be able to get caught up in training easily!"

The two let out a cheer simultaneously and Naruto and his clone smiled all the wider. "First, we have to get you to the Hokages." Naruto and his clone stopped them, giving the both a grin. "Hold on to me and my clone and we can get there faster."

Nodding eagerly, the two grabbed ahold and the clone and Naruto took off in a flash of speed the rest of the way to the Hokage's manse.

It took an entire day of sorting through paperwork for the children, and they were to be placed in the orphanage, but Uchiha, Mikoto stepped up to the plate once she heard from Sasuke, who told her when Naruto informed him and Sakura, about the children and offered to be their caretaker.

All three were in awe of the woman when she introduced herself and immediately won their affection by offering treats and a home-cooked meal.

Sasuke stood in the doorway of the kitchen with Naruto as they watched the woman whisk about the kitchen with grace, giving each child a plate full of food and dessert.

"This is good for her," Sasuke murmured to the blond.

Naruto smiled a little. "She's been lonely, they should keep her quite busy." He agreed.

"Hn... I find myself a little jealous, but..." Sasuke looked seriously towards the blond. "At least I know I have my mother."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "That's true."

"Boys," Mikoto's voice rang and both looked towards her.

She smiled widely at them, the light shining in her eyes, her apron was stained terribly from all the confections and food, but she looked perfectly content. "Come join them, I made enough for you, too!"

The two teens glanced at one another, before the children who were looking at them and Naruto was the first to respond. "Of course, Miko-chan! I wouldn't pass up your cooking for anything!" He laughed.

Sasuke followed after his teammate to join at the table as Mikoto served them both the same as the other children.

"Naruto-nii?" Asked the four-year-old girl. She had dazzling green eyes and the lightest blond hair. Her little cherub cheeks were rosy with health.

"Yes, Dezi-chan?" Naruto replied with a grin. Her name was Desiree, but Naruto had already given her a nickname that she positively beamed at.

"Who is this?" She asked, looking at Sasuke.

"This is Sasuke, my best friend, and my teammate. He is Miko-chan's son." Naruto replied.

"Oh." The girl replied, before flashing her six pearly whites at the Uchiha boy. "Hi there!"

Sasuke's lips twitched before a small smile rose to his face. "Hello." He responded.

"This is Dezi-chan! And this is Itami-kun," He motioned to the other four year old beside her, who grinned, all with cake smearing over his face he had black hair like Sasuke's, but it fell completely straight and was shaggy over his eyes, but specks of jade could be seen from beyond the curtain of hair.

"And Suki-chan." The last four year old shyly ducked her head and waved her fork in Sasuke's general direction. She was redheaded and her eyes, when she risked a glance at the Uchiha, were grey-toned.

"And we have Ketsu-kun, and Mara-chan." The six and eight year old respectively bowed their heads and said hello. Ketsu had light brown hair and hazel eyes and Mara had teal-coloured hair with black eyes.

"And last, Seki-kun and Kaze-kun." The ten year olds looked Sasuke over critically before they both nodded and gave their own greeting.

Sasuke's brow arched at all of their reactions before nodding. "It's nice to meet you all..."

"Are you shy?" Dezi blurted.

Sasuke blinked rapidly at her. "Huh?"

"You're really quiet. Are you shy like Suki-chan is?"

Naruto was having the time of his life stifling his laughter, likewise, Mikoto was hiding her smile behind her hand.

"No!" Sasuke replied. "I'm not shy."

"Then why are you so quiet?"

"He's observant, Dezi." Seki replied knowingly. "He's like Ketsu."

"Oh... Sorry." She replied.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Sasuke's not used to having to share his mom and house with anyone," Naruto said.

Sasuke shot him a glare, and Mikoto tried her hardest not to giggle.

"Oh, Mikoto-chan's your mom?" Itami asked, looking between Mikoto and Sasuke.

"Yes."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Mara then asked.

"I have my brother, Itachi, and I guess you can call this idiot here family, too." Sasuke replied as he elbowed Naruto in the ribs.

"Oi! 'M not an idiot, you cockatoo!" Naruto replied boisterously which had some of the children laughing at the name he called Sasuke.

The Uchiha's brow was twitching madly. "Usuratonkachi...you have exactly five seconds to start running." He threatened in a low voice.

Naruto sweatdropped. "Uh...ehehe, sorry Miko-chan, gotta go!" He cried before he dashed wildly out of the room with Sasuke hot on his heels.

There was silence as the children watched, before they all burst into giggles.

"Naru-nii's scared of Sasuke-kun!" Ketsu snickered.

Seki and Kaze were having the time of their lives laughing because after all the boastful talk Naruto did, now it was ruined because of Sasuke.

Suki was giggling into her hands so hard her entire face was red.

Itami and Dezi were holding onto one another laughing and Mara was snorting.

Mikoto chuckled. "They argue and fight, but they're really close."

"Poor Naru-nii," Suki replied.

"But he's right, Sasuke-kun does kind of look like a cockatoo." Mara replied with another snort.

"Don't let him hear you say that!" Seki warned.

Kaze snickered.

Mikoto laughed. "He prides himself in his hair."

"You mean he purposely makes himself look like a bird?" Itami asked incredulously.

"No, that's just how his hair is. But he takes pride in his looks." Mikoto replied, thoroughly amused at the children's discussion of her son's hair.

"So what does his brother look like, then?" Ketsu asked.

"Well," Mikoto hummed thoughtfully, hand under her chin as she tried her best to describe her oldest son. "Itachi is tall and slender, has long dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail so it won't get in the way-"

"He looks like a girl?" Dezi outburst, her eyes going wide.

At this, some of the older children broke into peals of laughter.

Mikoto once again had to chuckle, wondering exactly how said son would react to hearing them consider his features feminine.

"He does have effiment beauty, but all Uchiha's do in some form or another, but I assure you, he looks masculine as well." Mikoto replied.

"An Uchiha, Mikoto-chan?" Suki quietly asked.

"Our clan." She replied.

"Oh."

"I didn't see any other besides you and Sasuke-kun, and you mentioning Itachi-san." Ketsu pointed out.

A small pained look passed across the woman's features, and she was quiet for a moment before she replied. "That's because they are dead now, Ketsu-kun."

The boy's face shadowed and he glowed with shame. "O-Oh...I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. You didn't know. You see, the Uchiha clan was planning to betray the village, so the Sandaime ordered the execution of all the Uchiha's involved-which was the entirety of the clan except myself and my two son's." She explained carefully.

"...Isn't it lonely, Mikoto-chan?" Dezi asked.

"Very lonely, sometimes." The Uchiha Matriarch confessed, before pushing a smile on her face. "But I wouldn't change it, because my son's are safe and I would never have met and accepted Naru-chan."

"Why not?"

"Because Naru-chan isn't very liked in the village, and he's trying his hardest to change that. I, in the past, had been one of the ones to scorn him. But, when I earnestly met him and saw how much of a joy he really was, well..." She got a motherly glow to her with pride as she spoke about the blond. "I took him in my heart as one of my sons."

There was a sniffling sound and Suki was crying. "Oh, dear... What's wrong, Suki-chan?"

The girl sniffled. "N-nothing... J-just... I'm so happy hearing this... Naru-nii is so nice, and it...it makes me wish I had my family back."

Multiple nods met the child's admission and Mikoto felt her heart squeeze, but at the same time, grow for these young ones. She warmly knelt down beside the girl and pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you. Naru-chan is my son at heart, and now that you are all here in this house, you are my family, too. Never forget that. I will look after each and every one of you as best as I can, and Naru-chan will be here, too. And, given some time, I'm sure Itachi and Sasuke will come around, too.

"You're not alone. With time and age, you'll make more friends here in the village and then they will be like family, too. Konoha is a tree, a big tree, and with it, there are many branches and leaves; we all make up that tree and we are all apart of one another as such. When you walk about town, know that you are never alone. You have the village."

There was even more sniffling all around, the younger children outright bawling and the oldest ones sniffling quietly into their hands. Mikoto motioned for each of them to gather around her and with as much reach as she could, drew them all close to her, fussing over them like only a mother could.

Once all the children were settled once again, she helped them each to their rooms, the three youngest sharing a room, Ketsu and Mara sharing an adjoined room (there was a wall and door separating the room), and Kaze and Seki got their own, being the oldest two.

"Tomorrow, we will go out shopping to get you clothes and get you prepared for the academy." She told them. "Sleep well," She kissed each of them on their forehead as she tucked them all in.

"Goodnight," Each one of them replied to her. She flipped the lights out of each room and quietly closed the doors one by one before making her way back down the hall to the kitchen where Itachi sat in his ANBU uniform at the table, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Ohayou, kaasan." Itachi greeted quietly.

"Hello, Ita-chan." She said fondly, taking a seat across from her son.

"There are new presences within the house," He commented.

"Yes, they are orphans Naru-chan brought from a traveling caravan. I volunteered to be their caretaker." She replied.

"Hn," Itachi hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "That will be good for you, you've needed something to spend your energy on." He commented.

She gave him a wan smile. "Perhaps I did. Now that you and Sasu-chan are grown up, I've found myself to be at an impasse. Maybe these children will be what I need to get back into shape."

Itachi gazed at his mother, before shaking his head. "You always amaze me, kaasan..." He murmured softly.

"Oh?" She questioned, brow raising. "Why is that, Ita-chan?"

He gave her a small, but warm smile in response. "You have a different type of strength about you, and I have always admired that about you. Naruto-kun has that same type of strength, too."

She smiled back. "It's the strength of heart, Itachi. You have it, too. It's just hidden. But maybe someday you will find out for yourself, when you find someone to love unconditionally for who they are."

He gave her a small nod, taking her words in for a long moment before he stood. "I'm retiring, I have another mission tomorrow."

She frowned in concern. "So soon? You just got back."

"Don't worry," He assured. "It's not a dangerous mission, I'm being sent to escort Gaara and his siblings here again."

"Oh, well that does ease my worry a bit." She said with a quiet chuckle.

He smiled again. "Oyasumi, kaasan." He said.

"Goodnight, Itachi." She replied.

The male turned and silently exited the kitchen, she couldn't even hear his footsteps in the hall. She was proud of how powerful he'd become, able to move so silently and precisely. Yet, she was also ashamed that she hadn't been nearly as attentive to him as she had been Sasuke. But despite that, she loved him with all her heart.

She checked the clock. She supposed she should be getting to bed, too. It was going to be a long day in the morning.

Three weeks passed since Naruto had brought the seven children to the village, and two weeks since they had joined the academy.

Iruka gladly gave them extra attention and lessons after class upon Naruto's request. It made some of the other kids jealous and envious, especially when Naruto and Sakura joined in on helping them. Konohamaru especially. He was glaring right at Seki and Kaze who were, naturally, at the top of their class range. "Why do they get special treatment! They're not as awesome as me!" He complained loudly.

"Konohamaru, you're still barely able to make passing grades!" Iruka admonished. "Seki and Kaze need the extra lessons because they're new and they deserve a fair chance!"

Konohamaru's face heated up brightly as a lot of the class snickered upon Iruka telling him he was still the dobe of the class.

"Hmph!" He replied, crossing his arms.

"The only thing you're good for is that jutsu Naruto-kun taught you!" Hanabi sneered. "And I already can beat you at it! Why don't you just sit down and shut up, dobe!"

"What'd you say, Hyuuga?" He roared.

"Enough!" Iruka yelled, effectively breaking them up before it even began. "That's enough! Everyone quiet down and open your books to page sixty-two!"

Sneering again, Hanabi turned her back towards Konohamaru and opened her book.

Konohamaru stuck his tongue out at her, flopping back down into his seat defeatedly.

Seki and Kaze were mostly unaffected by the boy's outburst, but they were a little bothered by how the other could just immediately assume things about them.

Suki was so shy, but she was a bookworm and eagerly dug into the books she was given, despite her young age. Itami, and Dezi were more hands-on, much to Iruka's chagrin. Ketsu was observant and quiet, but he was very smart and easily made above passing scores on the tests, but when it came to the physical expectations, he was a little lacking. Mara excelled in the physicals, able to henge and make a bunshin only after several tries and her throwing skills were top notch. Her bookwork and tests, however...she could use some improvement.

Naruto finally had time away from everything on the fourth week from training with the caravan before it left and helping with the academy when Tsunade and Hiruzen both approved him to go to the Grove of Silence to train by himself.

"Well, fox? You coming?" He asked to the demon when he was at the gates, his gear packed up with him.

The fox snorted, before giving a sigh. "I suppose I should, who knows what kind of trouble you'll get yourself into." He muttered.

Naruto snorted. "Then let's get going."

He turned to look one last time at the Hokage monuments, his eyes lingering on the image of his father's. He was going to do something to make Konoha acknowledge him!

Turning, he began his trek towards his destination. There, he would be able to fully unleash his true powers and hopefully, come back with proof to show for it.

TBC

DHC: Oh god this was long for me. I've been out of shape in writing. Forgive me for taking so long!