The first time she saw her parents again she couldn't hold back the tears.
Her father wore the same strict mask she remembered from her childhood; as was his right of course, she acknowledged listlessly, for she had humiliated the family honour by acting disgracefully during her day of enrollment in the academy. She deserved the lash; even her mother, the epitome of laughs and smiles, was frowning across from her, hands on her hips in an expression of uncharacteristic strictness.
They were real, living, breathing, moving, all flesh and blood and chakra and warmth. Her village stood and with it so did her family, a chunk of her heritage that she had thought irrevocably lost.
She thought she had gotten over her loss, only the dull echo of the pain remaining to remind her of a life she couldn't have. She hadn't known how much she had missed them until they stood before her again, unexpectedly, vividly, truly there. With a pang Kushina realised that she couldn't have been more wrong – seeing them now opened the hole blown through her heart years ago – or was it ahead? – by the unjust destruction of her peaceful home and it flared anew, burning hot on the inside.
Those events hadn't occurred; they would never occur.
Relief flooded her, so heavy that her knees grew weak and she had to force herself to stay upright. Without thinking she threw herself forward and buried her face in her mother's form, clutching to her as if to prove to herself that the woman was real.
She smelled of spices and dried herbs, of tea and figs, of ink and oils. She smelled of home.
"Mom…" the quiet whisper made its way past her lips along with a sob as the tears spilled in her mother's clothes.
For the first time since arriving here Kushina truly felt like she was six again. The startled silence lasted no longer than a few seconds before Ryūmi Uzumaki hugged her back.
"Kushina… What's the matter with you, little champion?" she murmured lightly, doing a damn good job at keeping the concern out of her voice.
She had surprised them, worried them even, with this uncharacteristic behaviour, but she couldn't care less. Just for now she wanted to allow herself to be six again, hugging her mother tightly, one hand reaching blindly for her father's, simply enjoying the fact that they were there.
The first time she met him alone again was just as awkward as she had anticipated.
The boy had followed her after their morning classes, keeping a considerable distance between them, but following still. She couldn't help but wonder whether he had done that before as well, driven by who knows what sort of curiosity. She couldn't have known, her senses not even half as sharp as they had become over the years.
This time however, in this present of her past, she sensed him clearly, good as he was at covering his presence even at the ridiculous age of six.
Minato Namikaze truly was a prodigy.
Knowing that their meeting was not only unavoidable, but also a goal of hers, she decided to get the uncomfortable questions out of the way as soon as possible. With those thoughts in mind, instead of heading home, she made her way to the outskirts of the town, heading towards a training field she knew only too well – it was precisely here that they would strike a most unusual friendship years later – he would appear out of the blue, his eyes spelling concern for the girl he would have saved from Kumo mere days prior, and he would offer a spar that would turn into tradition.
Their own little world, in their own training field, a symbolic part of her life. It seemed only suitable that she face him there again now.
She had seen him at the academy every day for a week now, but they had hardly spoken to each other, even though he had always seemed quite eager to ask her about that disastrous first day. The situation allowed her to notice something very important about Minato's childhood that she had missed altogether the first time, thanks to her own ignorance and arrogance – what she had considered to be haughty ignorance was simply Minato being a shy kid.
He rarely spoke to others unless addressed, in which cases he was most gracious, but hardly garrulous. There was a certain unmistakable perceptiveness about his silence, quite unusual for a child, as if he observed everyone, studying them. And as of late, his favourite topic of study had become a certain red-haired outspoken girl, who by all rights should have been enraged about being teased as an outsider, but was instead laughing it off with her offenders.
On more than one occasion Kushina had felt rather than seen those wide blue eyes fixed on her – the kid was curious.
Today for the first time she had had to mock-spar with him during their outdoors class; him, the class genius, undefeated before, always a tad too quick, too light on his feet.
She had knocked him to the floor within a minute.
It was unfair perhaps, using her 'future' knowledge to defeat a child, because she was perfectly aware of all his moves at this stage, having gotten used to his times faster unexpected attacks from years ahead. At this point he almost seemed sluggish, although she had to admit that he was still incredibly faster than most any other kid around – which was quite normal for six-year-olds in all honesty.
Had she been six indeed she wouldn't have been able to lay a finger on him; she had never been able to before after all, he had always been a few steps ahead. Perhaps that was why she felt an inexplicable selfish twinge of satisfaction from throwing Minato Namikaze square on his back with no more than five moves.
Even so, this was not the real reason behind her actions – she had allowed herself the liberty to show advanced moves, because she knew that if she was to make any impact on his development and shape him into becoming even stronger than he was originally, she could not allow herself to go mellow on him.
That, and the fact that she had the inexplicable feeling that the kid saw more than he would let on; she was afraid that he would feel, he would see that she was holding back and possibly take it as a slight.
Whatever her reasons, the result had been all the same.
A ghastly silence had fallen across the group of onlookers, even their teacher being so surprised that he forgot to call the winner, staring at them through disbelief. A few heartbeats later and a smile had spilled on her face as she had offered him a hand up, her heart clenching at the significance of the gesture. Well for her at least.
It only took him a second before he smiled back tentatively, taking her hand and lightly jumping to his feet.
"Well fought." was the first thing he said to her since her 'arrival' and she knew there was no malice in his voice – he truly was impressed.
Which had probably turned into the brimming point of his distant interest, leading to his peculiar behaviour after their morning classes, what with him following her through half the village and now to the opening of Training Field 3.
Instead of showing up, however, the boy merely sat himself in a nearby tree, believing himself unnoticed and unnoticeable. Kushina sighed – that was another trait of his that she had forgotten. The kid rarely made the first step unless someone's life was in danger.
With a show of ignorance, she threw her school bag on the ground, going for a few stretches as if preparing for a training session while pouring chakra in her senses. The quieted small breaths, not quite unnoticeable yet, the light rustle of the leaves as he shifted his weight, the half-hidden chakra imprint that would one day be impossible to locate if he so wished – right now he was good, but not quite.
Without a warning her hand sneaked into the pouch with dulled kunai as were given to all genin-to-be students, retrieving one with blinding speed and throwing it with deadpan accuracy at the boy's hiding place. She had to owe it to him, his reflexes were sharp – Minato was up on his feet and jumping to the ground even before the kunai embedded itself in the branch he had been standing on, blunt edge and all.
Seconds passed with them looking at each other wordlessly, Kushina being mainly amused by the situation rather than anything else.
"How did you know I was there?" he asked finally, light tone full of unguarded curiosity.
"How did you know I was here?" she countered, putting one hand on her hip in mock-irritation. Dare you lie to me.
The boy's cheeks grew suspiciously reddish as a placating smile spilled on his face, his one hand shooting up to rub the back of his head and Kushina couldn't help but answer back with a smile of her own, seeing that typical mannerism that she had grown to love.
"I wanted to talk to you."
You were hiding in a tree, she might have said. Instead she went for a lighter approach. "Talk away."
Instead of saying anything the boy turned around and dashed up the tree bark (aha, so she wasn't the only child who had good enough chakra control to climb up trees!), quickly pulling her kunai out of where it had embedded itself, before jumping down with evident grace and dashing to her side, handing it back.
"You're a good throw." he said quietly and she nodded in acknowledgement, tucking the weapon back. "And a talented fighter too. I've never seen someone move as quick as you did today."
The soft childish voice had started to take on a fascinated tint and the girl had to chuckle inwardly.
You will move thrice as fast one day. "You're pretty good yourself, you just need practice, ya know. I can show you a move or two if you want."
A radiant smile spilled on his face and Kushina could have sworn that in that moment the sun shone a little less bright, Minato blinding it.
"You would? Really?"
Anything. I would do anything for you. "Sure. We're comrades now, aren't we? Maybe we'll be on the same team one day, it would suck if you drag us down, ya know."
That secret smile again, the one he had smiled at her one too many times, his eyes saying one thing while his lips spoke another.
"I'll do my best not to."
In all honesty she was more than eager to fall into that little pattern all over again – she had started to miss it already. Sure, this was not her Minato, but it was Minato all the same and she missed spending time with the sunny boy. She had planned on helping him improve anyway, why not start from now?
"Well let's see what you've got. We can start with warm-ups and- what, ya know?" she broke midsentence, noticing how he was still staring at her, head inclined to one side as if there was a giant puzzle drawn on her face, which demanded immediate attention.
"Have we met before?" his voice was quiet, barely audible as a gust of wind sent the leaves all around them dancing about wildly.
A gulp.
We've met after. "What do you mean, ya know? Sure, we didn't talk much in class, but we did spend every morning in the same room for a week now…"
He was shaking his head half-way through her quick mumblings.
"That's not what I meant. Before that, during your first day here, you said my name."
Her palms had grown sweaty all of a sudden, her heart beating an irregular rhythm. How could a child have such an effect on her, those piercing blue eyes seemingly seeing beyond her mask like even adults rarely did.
"Is there anyone in Konoha who doesn't know your name, what with you being the academy's prodigy and all that? They told me about you." she said weakly, managing a small smile.
"You sounded distressed."
"Well it was my first day in that academy and everyone looked weird, ya know!"
"You said we died."
A bird cawed in a nearby tree, breaking the following silence with the flap of its wings as it rose in the clear sky. The song of the cicadas had turned into a deafening staccato. Darn him and his good memory.
"A dream." she whispered. A nightmare.
"You dreamt of me?"
Every night. "I dreamt of everyone. Will you stop asking stupid questions, ya know, I thought you wanted to learn new moves! Less lip-service, more action!"
It was her best defense, to hide behind a mask of rowdiness, as she had done throughout the years past and the years to come. With a huff she turned away from those speculating eyes, raising her hands before her and stretching back, beginning her warm-up routine.
He hadn't quite believed her, she was certain, feeling the unresolved matter bubbling below the surface before he decided to let it go for now. His peculiar look never left her, however, the boy looking at her calmly, a small smile playing on his lips as if he had just realised something vital.
"I want to protect them too you know."
Her head snapped in his direction again, eyes growing wide.
Could it be…?
"Mi-Minato?" she tried carefully, not daring to breathe, not daring to hope.
The boy cocked his head to the side, a questioning look in his eyes.
No, of course not, she had already outruled that possibility. He was not here, not back with her, not truly, and if she were to rebuild a life here she needed to stop wishing for the impossible and simply embrace the little she was given. The mere fact that she had just mistaken the child for the man only went to show that there was already more of the latter in this boy than she had originally thought.
"Who is 'them'?" she asked finally, exhaling a deep breath.
"Everyone. Just like you." with that the boy stole a long glance at the rustling leaves, the serene smile never leaving his face. "I want to become a Hokage, who will be admired by everyone in the village."
Much as she wanted, she couldn't keep the grin off her face.
And you will be. And you will watch over them for many years to come, I promise it. "No way, ya know! Not before me, I will be the Hokage!" she forced herself to say jovially, falling into the familiar pattern of childhood, directing a light punch at his shoulder as she always had.
"You're on then." he said lightly, stepping back to break into his own kata, preparing for the first spar of the many to come the following weeks.
And so began a friendship that was always meant to be.
Again.
The first time she spoke to Mito Uzumaki again she thought she might be truly seeing the kind woman for the first time.
The Kushina that had stepped in her room a lifetime ago had been trembling like a leaf, afraid of her fate, of the foreign land and its foreign customs, of the horrible future that awaited her, of the loneliness that pressed on all sides with no hope of change. The Kushina that entered now knew better; she walked in calmly, reverently, embracing the rare opportunity to be able to spend a year more in the presence of this extraordinary woman.
This Kushina had no fear in the crease of her shoulders, no agitation in those large shrewd eyes, no uncertainty in her step. Instead, she had bowed before the woman, low at the waist, pouring a lifelong of admiration into the simple gesture.
Mito-sama's initial surprise was soon replaced by calm relief and in that moment Kushina knew – she had always assumed it, but she was absolutely certain now – Mito Uzumaki didn't want to inflict this burden on a child.
She did it because it was necessary; she did it because it was right. But she didn't like it one bit.
Kushina could only guess at what little calm it gave the Uzumaki elder to see this girl who was prepared, who stood before her with more than acceptance in her eyes. There was fierce determination burning at her core and Mito Uzumaki could see it plain as day.
It was probably this unexpected turn of a first meeting that made all the difference, but Kushina was quite certain that Mito Uzumaki never treated her quite the same as she had the first time around. Throughout the following year of her tuition, the elderly woman was just as thorough, but her lessons were carried out with a certain intelligence in her words, as if she was addressing an equal rather than a child.
And this time around, perhaps because she herself had been rather curious, Kushina learned a lot more about Mito Uzumaki the woman, rather than Mito Uzumaki the Jinchūriki. It wasn't long before she realised that aside from educating her, the elder was content to simply spend time in her company, answering random questions, talking of her life, of her husband and the difficulties of being the Hokage's wife, revelling in their shared memories of Uzushiogakure and their new-found love for Konoha as well.
The first time she asked her about Madara Uchiha, the woman turned a piercing look at her.
"Madara Uchiha… Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Where did you hear of him?"
Kushina shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
"I've got some Uchiha kids in my class, ya know."
The Uzumaki elder hmm-ed distractedly as she knitted wizened fingers in her lap.
"He was… a most peculiar man. Very powerful. Very troubled. He meant well at first, to be sure, but he often lost his way."
"But how, ya know? What happened to him?"
If Mito Uzumaki suspected anything about her sudden fierce interest, which definitely went beyond "I heard about him once in class", she didn't comment. And if Kushina treasured every moment spent with the kind woman, it was precisely this information that she thought invaluable if she was to ever make a change. Through Mito Uzumaki she learned about the man's life, about his many battles up until the very last one, about his death and about the place his body was laid to rest.
"And you're sure? You're quite sure he died?"
"Of course I'm sure, child. I was there when we closed that crypt." Mito-sama said, a note of humour in her voice, as if questioning this was somehow quite outrageous. And it probably was, to most people. "Now put it out of your mind. The ghosts of the past need not trouble you, you have nothing to fear." she said gently, tapping a finger at her nose.
Only that they do. They really, really do.
Kushina forced herself to smile, her lips feeling oddly rubbery, unnatural, as she vowed to herself to one day find that crypt and search it proper.
But Madara Uchiha had turned traitor to Konoha, using his last moments – or so people thought – to attack the village and its Hokage. So he hadn't been laid to rest within the village's confines, hadn't been given the honour of a memorial ceremony at all. By the hear of it, if it were up to most people, his corpse would have probably been left for the carrion birds. But Hashirama Senju had insisted on seeing his friend off proper, despite everything – the man had constructed a wooden shrine for him, a crypt with which to honour his friend, not far from where they had fought last.
The only problem was that it was out of Konoha. Which meant it was out of reach, for one still in the academy. Even more so for one wanting to essentially go grave-digging, which would necessitate having no escort.
Great.
But she needed to know, needed to make sure. It was a start at least. Something to concentrate on.
By the end of the year spent with Mito Uzumaki, she felt as if she had been given a rare gift: she had finally met a woman that she had known only the shadow of, barely scratching at the surface of the fascinating person Mito-sama had been and would always be. And Kushina felt immensely grateful for this second chance that she hadn't even known she needed.
The last time she saw Mito-sama before that faithful day the woman smiled, cupping her cheek and kissing her forehead through the most tender of smiles.
"Believe in yourself like I believe in you, child. You will do things right."
The first time she awoke with the Kyūbi locked deep within her she almost smiled – a bittersweet, twisted thing. She hadn't realised how accustomed to its heaviness she had become until she felt it back there again and the world seemed right. The tightness of the seal meant she was alive, still struggling, still fighting for what she believed in – it was a constant reminder of what she had endured and had to endure still. As long as it weighed on her then everything was in its place and her loved ones were safe.
And that's how it would always be.
It was her burden, she had accepted it long ago, and she bore it proudly, for all the people who could not manage what she had been born to do. She would protect them all and this time she would make it all right. Mito Uzumaki believed in her after all.
The first time she saw her old sensei again she had to remind herself that open displays of affection were inappropriate.
Sakumo Hatake didn't know her in this timeline after all, not yet, and by the look of things he probably never would. It was Kushina's goal from the very start to graduate earlier after all, giving her the excuse to leave Konoha on missions, along with the status needed in order to conduct any kind of investigation on a certain masked man.
A missing academy student was much more suspicious than an occupied genin after all. Graduating earlier, however, meant being placed on a different team, under a different jōnin instructor – most likely she would be a member of team Jiraya, the Sannin having taken up Minato and the other talented early graduates last time.
That didn't stop her from following Sakumo Hatake with a wistful look, thanking all the Gods above that the man was alive and well and that she had been given the chance to prevent the horrible tragedy that had befallen him. The man's honour would never be so horribly stained; Kakashi wouldn't grow up without a loving father and would perhaps have a normal childhood filled with smiles.
Watching him walk past her now without even sparing a second glance, Kushina quickly came to a rather selfish decision. As soon as opportunity presented itself, she would strike an acquaintance with the man – he may not be her sensei this time, but Sakumo Hatake was an extraordinary man, whose advice and support she had grown to respect. He would be a treasured friend.
The first time she 'accidentally' introduced Minato to Fūinjutsu again went just as planned.
Years before, in another timeline, she had whined about the arts being troublesome and Minato had picked up Seals just to prove her wrong – this time she was the one that had challenged him into keeping up, casually tossing a basic Fūinjutsu book in his way after yet another after-classes spar.
It was much earlier than originally planned, but the girl had come to the inevitable conclusion that the boy possessed uncanny intelligence, well hidden behind the initial silent demeanour. Young as he was, basic Fūinjutsu wouldn't prove a problem, she was quite certain, and even if it did, Kushina was determined to help him progress twice as fast.
She would hunt the masked man down, sure, she would make certain he never stepped near Konoha, but if her plan failed and Minato found himself faced against him once again for Gods know what reason, she would make sure that he was just as skilful as before, if not more.
The first time she met her new team again, she couldn't wipe the grin from her face.
She would miss Gorou and Hizashi, her original teammates, whom she had learned how to work with excellently throughout the years – they had turned into much more than simply comrades – they were friends.
She was certain, however, that she could strike a friendship with them again under different circumstances in this world – in fact it was a plan of hers, making sure that all Konoha graduating teams learned how to cooperate with one another from early on, before the war had forced them to cooperate as strangers. She would force them to get to know each other, childhood dramas be damned.
Those thoughts didn't stop her from cracking a brilliant smile upon entering the small classroom where she would meet the three people she would be closest with in the years to come.
A pair of calm blue eyes met her, Minato's answering smile lighting his face as he scooped to the side on the bench, making space.
Her heart clenched – this was more than she could have hoped for, even if she had expected it. To be on Minato's team, making sure that he was safe, that he was progressing as quick as she would be, being by his side as the partner she was always meant to be.
If there ever had been a sign from above that she had been granted a chance to make things right, this was it.
Without another word she skipped to his side lightly, taking the seat by his side and giving him a quick shoulder-bump for hello, radiating quiet joy. He chuckled in response, taking a notebook out of his backpack and opening it to his latest Fūinjutsu notes, already eager to show her what he had worked on and she gladly indulged.
Soon after, their third and last teammate arrived, moaning loudly about the pain of being stuck in a team with that "arrogant Namikaze". Minato's answering smile had a nervous tint to it as he quietly apologized, as if having been appointed to this team was somehow his fault.
The red-haired girl simply rolled her eyes through an exasperated smile. Tora Otakebi had always been a boisterous, but kind-hearted child, who had met his end much too soon – another event she was determined to prevent. Quarrelsome as he was, Minato had gotten attached to him as any teammate would. The dark-haired boy's demise had shaken him the first time around – there would be no second.
Before she could contemplate on the matter any further her attention was pinned by a burst of chakra surging through the middle of the room, followed moments after by a loud poof, a cloud of smoke obscuring the other half of the room. Somehow Kushina knew what would follow even before she saw the giant orange toad sitting on the classroom floor with a bored expression on its face.
What caught her eyes, however, was not actually the toad (that would probably be impressive for anyone who hadn't seen her fair share of toads summoned both by her husband and by his – now their – sensei), but the man standing on top of it, arms outstretched victoriously, a boastful grin spilled on his face – Jiraya of the Sannin sure knew how to make an entry.
"Behold!" he bellowed and Kushina could feel both children by her side freezing in their places, whether from fear or surprise, she could not tell. "The man who has no enemies in the North, South, East or West, not even in the heavens! One of the Legendary Sannin, white-haired gorgeous frog-tamer! Even a crying baby would stare in awe… The great Jiraya-sama!" he recited while doing a ridiculous twist on the frog's head as if to emphasize his own words. "That is me, your sensei!"
Stunned silence followed, during which Kushina was wondering whether it would be appropriate to hit her head in the desk out of exasperation. Had she really entrusted her son to this man? Desperate times call for desperate measures…
"So cool!" Tora shouted, jumping on his feet and giving the man a thumbs up.
Minato chuckled, whether at Jiraya's impressive entry, or at Tora's bizarre reaction, she wasn't certain.
The whole situation was ridiculous; that Jiraya, the perverted hermit that she had teased for days on end, would end up being her teacher; that Minato would take a liking to this man who was so different to him that they might have been two polar opposites. She chuckled as well, the quiet laughter soon morphing into a full-blown cackle as she eyed the ludicrous orange frog through squinted eyes, bellows of laughter causing her to bend down holding her stomach, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you laughing at, girl? Don't test your mighty sensei before he approves of your team!" Jiraya chided in mock-anger, a light tone of irritation marring his words and she only laughed harder.
And so began an unusual partnership of a team that could prove to be Konoha's finest.
The first time she noticed Jiraya watching her closely came as no surprise.
She knew the man was shrewder than he would let on, hiding his intelligence behind a mask of aloofness – Minato had to have picked up his skills from somewhere after all and, surprising as it was, Jiraya had proven to be an unexpected source of skills and wisdom.
Having known what to look for, it was easy to see the assessing gleam in his eyes and the weary approach he had with her – Jiraya was worried. Much as she tried, she couldn't hide from him that she was already capable of many of the skills he taught them, knowledgeable to an uncomfortable extent, something quite unusual and suspicious for a child.
Soon enough she realised he was conflicted.
On the one hand the man recognised her potential and was pleased with her, eager to teach her more. Having already mastered ninjutsu and taijutsu to a satisfactory level (not that her sensei was aware) and Fūinjutsu to a level Jiraya couldn't even begin to guess at, she had decided to use this chance to explore skills she hadn't had the time to master before.
With those thoughts in mind she had asked the Sannin to teach her whatever he knew of kenjutsu – perhaps a blade of some sort would prove to be an efficient ally in upcoming inevitable combats. In any case, one couldn't be too prepared.
Jiraya had proven to be an unexpectedly patient teacher when he put his heart to it, eagerly sharing what he knew.
On the other hand, however, the Toad Hermit was careful.
It was not excluded that she had been assigned on this team exactly because the man could be careful – Kushina was certain that Sandaime had been suspicious of her since that very first day when she had found herself back in this world, observing her throughout the years from a safe distance. Now, having had the opportunity to do so closely, Sarutobi had picked a suitable sensei for her – his own student, who was shrewd enough to notice that which others couldn't.
The result was inevitable – Jiraya noticed every slip up, every knowledgeable statement, every informed decision and display of illogical confidence and he grew suspicious himself. Much as he enjoyed her, he tested her constantly and Kushina soon came to the realization that Jiraya would probably be the first man to call her out.
Sooner or later she would have to share some of the truth with him and she could only hope that the man would believe what she said.
The first time she screwed up on a mission she happened to be facing Kumogakure ninjas, as fate would have it.
The company that wanted their client assassinated had hired ninjas of their own, thinking the Lightning country's shinobi to be reliable.
Their C-rank bodyguarding mission had quickly turned into a B-rank challenging one and the girl had panicked. Had Minato been assigned this mission before? Had he and his teammates dealt with it accordingly? Had she managed to change the track of events so irrevocably that instead of helping she had done harm? Would someone die before their time? Would Minato…?
The moment they had found themselves separated from Jiraya, who was occupied by the enemy team leader rather efficiently for the time being, Kushina's brain had shut down for all and any ounce of logic and precaution and she had soon found herself hurling an A-rank Katon technique towards the enemies that had dared surround them, frying at least two of them in their tracks, the men being too surprised to react.
Acting entirely on instinct, panic surging through her system as it hadn't in years, she had then proceeded to eliminate with a callousness that no nine-year old should ever possess.
Her own teammates, who on the offhand had actually been doing rather well and would have probably won if not for the uneven numbers in favour of the enemies, had been equally stunned, staring at her as if seeing her for the first time.
Hours later, after a successfully defeated team of Kumogakure ninja, half of whom had simply decided to flee, thinking on a clear head, she was able to grudgingly admit that she had overreacted; that her actions had been incredibly stupid and if anything, had caused Jiraya's calculating glance as he questioned her later during the dead of night how she came to learn such a technique.
Once again she attributed her knowledge to scrolls and talent; once again she was absolutely certain that Jiraya's "hmmm" could be effortlessly translated into "I don't believe a word of it".
Thankfully the man said no more on the topic.
For now.
The first time she saw a hint of different feelings in Minato came much sooner than last time around. They were only eleven after all.
They had met out of missions again, finding themselves unexpectedly alone as Tora excused himself from their practice under pretext of urgent family matters. In the end she ended up sparring against Minato once again, pushing herself further than usual as the blond genin had started improving rapidly under Jiraya's tutelage, showing enviable skills and ridiculous speed for someone his age. No wonder he had managed to defeat those Kumogakure shinobi before – or was it after? It was hard to tell.
The boy had actually managed to exhaust her for the first time since she found herself in this timeline. The unexpected realization had cost her, her surprise at finding herself hard-pressed already in terms of taijutsu soon manifesting itself in lack of attention for her surroundings.
The summersault performed in an evasive manoeuvre carried her far too close to the riverside, her feet landing unstably on jagged rocks. Her left foot gave under her weight and twisted horribly to the side. With a yelp the girl lost balance, falling sideways while still aiming a flying kick at the attacking boy before her.
Minato jumped away from it easily before stopping in a crouch a few feet away from her, his eyes flickering to her leg in concern.
Gritting her teeth Kushina quickly pushed to her feet, ignoring the stabbing pain best she could. If this was a real fight and you let an ankle burn get you down, you'd be dead before you could blink, she chided herself, once again realising that she had to train her body to withstand pain better.
Her determination, however, proved to sit ill with her teammate who was by her side before she had even fully made it up, slipping her one arm over his shoulder and supporting her weight.
The boy could be exceptionally deaf to all protests when he so chose and soon enough, she found herself plopped down on the soft grass with Minato examining her swollen ankle with a worried look on his face.
"Sprained." Was his quiet conclusion through a sigh.
"Don't give me that look. It was a good spar, ya know." she said with a smile, which only elicited another sigh from the boy.
"It was, yes, but no good spar is worth hurting you."
"Hurting me? I hurt myself. It's just a sprained ankle, relax, I'll live, ya know." she said teasingly and to her surprise Minato flashed her a determined look.
"Whatever the reason, I don't want to see you hurt. I… you are my teammate and I will protect you, I promise." he said quietly, eyes boring into hers and for whatever twisted reason, Kushina couldn't stop the warmth sneaking up her cheeks.
Those words were dangerously close to what her Minato had, would one day say. Brimming with an emotion that had already started to cross the boundaries of friendship in an innocent way, Minato himself being oblivious to it, as he had been for a while back then too.
"Even from yourself." he added lightly and she grinned.
And if she noticed the blush in his cheeks as he insisted on carrying her back home, securing her legs about his back in a firm grasp as she leaned her head on his shoulder, she didn't comment on it. The way back home was quieter than usual, the uneven beat of his heart drowning out the song of the sunset cicadas. And she could have sworn his breath caught every time the wind tossed her locks to one side, twirling them against his face too.
"Sorry." she muttered, her throat feeling uncomfortably dry.
The whole thing was uncomfortable - having to be carried like this because of a silly mistake she made; the mere fact that she felt so uncomfortable around a child was uncomfortable in and of itself. But this was Minato and in the future he would be- they would be-
He chuckled, blowing a strand of crimson out of his face.
"Don't be. I don't mind it." he said quietly, pausing briefly before marching on, "I like your hair."
Her heart gave an uneven flutter in her chest, breath stilling in her lungs as she gulped. She was certain her face was as red as her hair as she reached a hand out to muck up his sun-kissed locks. The jovial tone was a tad-too hard to muster just then, but she did her best.
"Don't tease, it's not nice, ya know!"
"I'm not teasing at all." he said quietly and even from the side she could tell that his face was suspiciously red as he smiled the tentative smile that she loved so much, full of gentleness and warmth.
The smile that had melted her heart once before as he held her in his arms on top of a fir tree, after saving her from her captors.
Kushina hadn't quite decided what to do with Kumogakure's inevitable attack. There was still a year's time until it occurred (that one event was branded in her memory unmistakably), giving her plenty of time to plan. Her thoughts on the topic, however, were scattered and confused – on the one hand that incident had led to her first and most important bond, forging the relationship between her and Minato that would later change her life. It was a moment of her past that, out of entirely selfish reasons, she hardly wanted to let go of.
Terrible as it was to have been kidnapped, that misfortune had led to nothing but happiness in result. This time around, however, she wouldn't be surprised by the events and she sure as hell would be strong enough to defeat her captors before they could even lay a hand on her. Furthermore, her relationship with Minato seemed to be progressing on its own, dramatic rescues being quite unneeded.
Perhaps she wouldn't need to play it weak and subdued a year from now after all. Perhaps she and Minato could forge a new bond this time, and form new memories. It didn't matter how they wove the red thread after all, so long as it linked them as it always had and always would.
His words just now were proof enough.
The first time she managed to gather all of the graduated Konoha teams, the day went smoother than she had dared to hope.
She had expected half of them to decline or find themselves otherwise engaged. In the end almost everyone had made it, with Chōza, Inoichi and Shikaku arriving first, soon followed by Mikoto, Gorou, Hizashi and Hiashi, who had decided to accompany Sakumo's team along with his brother before the rest of his own team showed up. Shibi and Tsume had somehow met with Yoshino on the way there and soon enough almost all of them had gathered in Training Field 3, comfortably settling by the river for a picnic below the falling cherry blossoms.
It was Hanami after all, tradition. But watching the Cherry Blossom Fall was rarely observed by children unless their parents coerced them into it, which was why Kushina thought that her invitation would be fruitless the first time around.
She had managed to make the event sound appealing, however – genin they may be, but they were still kids after all, and cherry blossoms could hold their attention for only so long. The rest of the day passed in laughter and occasional spars with varying results.
The Ino-Shika-Chou team was already demonstrating enviable teamwork versus Sakumo's team. Hiazashi ended up losing to Shibi while Tsume made short work of Yoshino in no time. Minato ended up sparring with Shikaku differently – by sundown the Nara heir had produced a shogi board and they had both bent over it with intent looks, most eyes curiously following the game's development. Before long the black-haired boy found himself explaining the game's rules to an eager group of listeners.
Her own spar against Inoichi went smoothly; she countered the boy's attacks effectively, knowing full well what he might fling at her. Instead of defeating him right away as she might have, however, she chose to give him time to adjust better to her own style, giving him the chance to devise a strategy.
The boy was proud if nothing else, advising him directly could be seen as looking down on him, so she would guide him into bettering his style instead. Halfway through the whole affair she could see Minato and Shikaku following her through mirrored knowing looks, Shikaku favouring her with a slight grin, no light amount of amusement playing in his eyes.
She had eyes for the sunny boy next to him alone, however, for in his look danced the now familiar fascinated edge that he often bore when watching her. A tentative smile spilled on her face and he replied in kind.
They ended the get-together in the evening with merry shouts of goodbye from the girls and pleasant nods from the quieter members. Even the seemingly detached Hyūga twins had appeared to enjoy themselves, agreeing to another gathering sometime again.
Everything was going according to plan – even the young, brash genin, who would often still fight at this point before, were getting along now, spending a calm day together, discussing the upcoming chūnin exams and advising each other, rather than challenging haughtily as they may have done once, under different circumstances.
Most importantly, she had time – she could spar with Inoichi today, subtly helping him to improve, and she could spar with someone else next time and with someone else the time after that. She could help them all improve, she could make them stronger, make sure they survived the upcoming war.
Now, walking home after the unexpectedly enjoyable, successful day, for the first time in a long while Kushina Uzumaki was at peace.
The first time she understood that her peace couldn't last, was the time when she realised that her plans had gone awfully awry without her expecting the change.
She was sure that changes she made would eventually alter things to some extent – the butterfly effect they called it: where a butterfly waved its wings, a hurricane raved on the other side of the world.
She had expected the changes, but she had never thought them to occur so soon… and never in such a way. She had made only small alterations after all, being careful to avoid anything drastic for exactly such possibilities – it had been in vain.
She had miscalculated, misjudged, growing too confident in her knowledge, too comfortable in her seemingly effortless job of correcting her mistakes. Rash actions always had consequences after all, as she was starting to understand right in this moment, finding herself frozen in her tracks upon returning from a mission late in the evening, a murderous killing intent weighing on her like an anvil might.
She had only so much time to notice the shinobi emerging from the thick foliage, before she flung herself back instinctively, hand dipping for kunai that she sent flying in their direction with blinding speed.
The cold clang of metal clashing in metal reached her ears as her attackers blocked her hasty attack effortlessly. A man was behind her already, making to grab her, all in vain as she ducked, swirling in a sweep-kick that knocked him off his feet, the red-haired girl flipping back in a summer sault to what she thought was a safe distance.
She was wrong.
Two hands shot up from the ground, pinning her ankles in place as another shinobi descended upon her and her eyes barely had the time to register the Kumogakure symbol on his forehead protector as the foreign shinobi yanked her back by the hair, a pained cry escaping her.
Grab your hair to ease the pain, was her first instinct and only the years of experience helped her beat it down to the more logical decision of run through seals and attack.
Her hands had barely gone into the first forms of a Katon technique, however, when a third shinobi pinned her down, forcing her to fall to her knees, skin scraping painfully in the cement as one large hand twisted her hands behind her in an iron grip, the other clamping down on her mouth tight before she could make a noise.
Her mind had gone racing, confusion clouding her thoughts as wide eyes regarded the men around her, body thrashing in vain attempts to throw off the much larger, much stronger captor.
Kumogakure, here, now? Why? It was almost a full year earlier than the date on which they had attacked her previously, why had they shown up earlier?
With a horrified intake of breath, it dawned on her: having grown too confident in what she thought were facts set in stone she had been caught by surprise. Her earlier involvement in missions had made Kumogakure notice her earlier, sending their men accordingly and she had fallen in their hands. Again.
A man stepped ahead, the girl barely making out his silhouette in the darkness; even so she could tell that he was grinning as he had once before. There was a rough scent of alcohol and dirt about him, along with the distant echo of dried blood – a mercenary, no doubt. He would walk ahead smugly, dragging her with a rope while she plucked strand by precious strand of her fiery hair, leaving a trail once again…
"She's a fighter this one." The man holding her announced, giving her a kick in the ribs, eliciting a groan from her as the pain shot up her side.
"We were warned she might be trouble. They said the girl was a good fight in fact." the man, who she could only assume was the leader, said through a raspy voice. "We don't want a fight, though. Ain't got time for trouble. Knock her out, I'll carry her."
The first time when Kushina truly panicked since arriving back in this timeline presented itself in the words of the Kumogakure shinobi before her.
Her eyes widened in horror as she doubled her efforts in thrashing against the man holding her, trying to bite the hand pressed against her mouth, attempting to twist her wrists out of the steel grasp that bound her, all to no avail. They couldn't knock her out, if she was unconscious she couldn't leave a fiery trail of hair, Minato couldn't follow, he wouldn't save her, they wouldn't get her on time, Kumogakure would-
The last thing she felt was the sharp pang of pain as the man slammed a kunai in the back of her neck and the world sank in darkness.
AN: So there we go, I hope you enjoyed and I do hope the turn of events was a pleasant surprise (or if nothing else, then at least a surprise)! Well probably not that big of a surprise, given the character tags… In any case, I apologise if events were less detailed than expected, but I did want to go over the repetitive events from her past without dwelling on them too much. I attempted to underline only the major changes in this chapter.
A quick note – I've made this argument before, in my other fic, but let me state it here too: I don't think Kushina lived alone in Konoha. Two reasons, one from anime, another from the manga. In the manga Kushina explains that Minato learned Fūinjutsu from her mother. In the anime, when she is kidnapped by Kumogakure as she walks into her home she calls out "I'm home!", announcing her return to someone and clearly expecting to be welcomed. Therefore, in my version of events, she has parents (I know we fanfic writers love our orphans, but not this time :D ). Well she did, for a while, until things went south… since Naruto has no grandparents, clearly. But hey, that was in canon. Who knows what happens here?
