So now that the shock is out of the way, please! Enjoy this chapter! And with this, I'm going to bed!

...possibly.

Feel free to ask questions about the story, PM me if you really want to know and can't wait if you're wondering about major plot points... Reviews are great, too! Thank you for reading so far!

~angelslaugh

~:~

Her limbs felt like she'd been dipped in acid, then run astray of a lightning jutsu. Every pore hurt, like she'd gone through a particularly painful Kyuubi transformation.

All in all, she was not feeling well when she woke up, and should be completely forgiven for throwing up on the shinobi's shoes in front of her.

"Ew, that's nasty," Saki's voice said. Naruto immediately gained a pounding headache and groaned as she collapsed, closing her eyes.

"She's exhausted. I'll take you to my camp for the night."

"...Even though she puked on your shoes?"

"Uchiha-san, shoes can be cleaned. The girl is obviously sick, and when we get to camp, our standby medic can tell us what's wrong with her."

"If you say so. Is my other friend safe there?"

"You can come and see," the second voice said. Naruto was picked up, and she had enough sense to turn her face away from the shinobi's outfit.

But all too soon, the young teen was fast asleep and her head was on the shinobi's outfit.

~:~

"...nothing serious, just chakra overload. She should be coming around any minute, -ttebane," a familiar voice hit Naruto's ears. Of course, she'd heard this voice before, inside her own chakra. Her mother, the one who had told her how to release her chains, was sitting close to her.

Naruto opened her eyes. She still felt like she was going to throw up, but the headache had eased.

She stared around the camp.

"Saki?"

Saki jumped. "Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto kept her tone even. "Where am I?"

"Just outside Rouran, twenty years or so in the past," Saki said, still cheerful.

"Saki?"

Saki twitched. "...Yes?"

"Is this real?" Naruto was sure that her voice wavered.

"Yes, you moron!" Saki slapped the back of her head. "It's real, jeez. Believe me, I was freaking out a little, too. But look!" Saki yanked Naruto's head around. "It's Hatake Kakashi, miniaturized!"

Said miniature stared at them impassively.

Naruto couldn't help herself. She swept the kid version of her sensei in a hug and squeezed him.

"SO KAWAII!"

"She likes cute things," Saki muttered out loud. "And look, it's my cousin! Obito!"

Naruto froze, poor Kakashi still in her arms, then looked at the Uchiha wearing the goggles... And dropped Kakashi, hugging the Uchiha.

Not five minutes later and Naruto was nursing a bump given to her by none other than an irked Neji.

"Talk about spousal abuse," an amused-looking Saki said.

"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" Both Naruto and Neji yelled.

"As funny as this is," Naruto's amused almost-father said, "This doesn't quite help matters."

Naruto sobered up quickly.

"He has a good point," she nodded, going for her sword to check that it was still there - only to panic and reach for it once more. "My katana!"

"You must have dropped it," Saki said quietly.

Naruto scowled. "It's possible," she reluctantly agreed. "Or the Ryuumyaku didn't let it in."

"That is more probable," Neji replied. He activated his Byakugan. "I can see chakra strings all over the city," he said after a moment. "Too bad we have no weapons to cut them with."

Minato coughed. "We do, actually."

Naruto had a thought. "Why are you taking this so calmly?"

Minato smiled. "Because I don't think you three could manage a solid lie when you were unconscious, or close to it, when I found you; your Hyuuga friend was saving the princess' life, and your Uchiha friend was hanging from one of the Ryuumyaku pipes on nothing but a single piece of frayed ninja wire."

There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry about the shoes," Naruto winced after a moment.

"I cleaned them while Kushina was diagnosing you," Minato replied with a placid smile.

Naruto frowned and turned to her.

"How are you able to do that?" she asked her almost-mother. "Especially with the Kyuubi in you!"

Kushina froze. "How did you know that?" she asked suspiciously.

Naruto hesitated, then sighed.

"Because the Kyuubi told me," she admitted.

Kushina stared at her.

"You're a jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, too? Why? Did I die?"

Naruto looked away, keeping her lips pressed together.

There was a silence.

"I see," Kushina said, sounding shaken.

Naruto looked up at her. "It was for a great cause... I think! No, I'm pretty sure!" She smiled at Kushina, and she hoped her smile wasn't as wavering as she thought it was. It was almost physically painful to see Kushina sitting there with Minato, so calm. "I'm going to go... Go," Naruto added, standing up and walking a little ways out of the camp.

She sat down and started to meditate. Hey, she wanted the quiet, and Kurama was sleeping, the lazy bijuu.

It wasn't long before she heard approaching footsteps, and smelled a scent that she'd never smelled before. Kurama probably had, but... Not Naruto. So it was probably Obito.

"Mind if I sit next to you?" Yep, definitely Obito.

"No, of course not," Naruto replied. "It's a free space."

He sat down.

"Are you related to Kushina-san?"

Naruto opened her eyes, the moon's pearly rays shining down on them.

"I am." She looked over to the boy. "You're related to Saki, aren't you?"

Obito snorted. "All Uchiha are related in some way."

Naruto curled her nose. "That's disgusting!"

Obito's eyes popped out. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that! I meant we're all distantly related, like fifth cousins twelve times removed!"

Naruto sweatdropped. "You suck at explaining things."

"Then you explain your relation to Kushina-san!" Obito ordered.

"She's my mother," Naruto deadpanned.

Obito went quiet. "Oh. So... You know her then?"

Naruto shook her head, hugging her knees. "No. I grew up as an orphan." At his look, she explained further. "They died the day I was born."

His face transformed into pity.

"Don't pity me," Naruto snapped, looking away from him.

"I'm sorry, though," he told her. "I got to enjoy a few years with my parents. I don't remember them that much. I bet you've suffered a lot, huh?"

Naruto's lips twisted into a bitter smile.

"Yeah, you could say that," she replied, looking up at the moon. The wind blew, lifting Naruto's free hair and letting it dance in the wind. "Sorry about the hugging - I can't help but hug cute things."

"It's fine," Obito replied. "Kakashi's nine. I'm thirteen, though, so please don't do it again."

Naruto snorted. "I'm fourteen!" she cheered. But then his statement about Kakashi rang in her mind. "HE'S NINE?!"

"He graduated the Academy when he was five," Obito said, tilting his head curiously. "Made Chuunin at six."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. My sensei is nine right now. NINE.

Kurama shifted, opening his eyes.

You always knew he was a genius.

I didn't know he was five when he graduated the Academy!

Kurama snorted. You should have asked him then.

He probably would have deflected, Naruto retorted.

Kurama sniffed. That scent... Is the one that I was controlled by!

Naruto could feel his anger, but she wouldn't let him hurt Obito.

Kurama, we can't change time! We do that, all that we've done probably won't matter!

If I kill him now -

YOU WILL NOT KILL HIM, KURAMA. Unless you want me to kill us both!

There was a pause, and Naruto gasped, sweat pouring off of her face.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were really struggling for a minute there," Obito said, concern in his voice.

"Fine," Naruto said, laying back to look at the stars.

"Do I survive in the future?"

Naruto wished she could lie. But she knew she couldn't. After all, all of her father's team died, except for Kakashi.

"No," she answered softly. "Kakashi's the only one I know of that does. He's my sensei - former sensei - ugh, I don't even know anymore."

"Bakashi is a sensei?!" squeaked Obito.

Naruto was glad he didn't focus on the fact he didn't survive.

Naruto grinned mischievously. Better give her sensei's dead teammate some ammo.

"Yeah, he reads porn in front of us, too," she smirked. Obito's face turned even more horrified.

"HE TURNED TO PORN?!"