Disclaimer: still don't own it, still don't want it.

Jagged Pieces

She had laughed. Hard, and right in his face, almost choking for breath.

She had laughed, and then ran to her room, banging the door shut behind her, cheeks growing pale as she plastered herself against the closed door.

Minato didn't try to follow, giving her the privacy she needed. Naruto's mind was in disarray, and as she sat crossed-legs on her ratty bed, hands firmly perched on her bony knees, she decided that it was high time to try establishing contact with her furry friend.

Breathing deeply, calming her inner turmoil, Naruto started to empty her head. It took several minutes before her racing heart finally slowed down and she could feel herself slipping away in the depth of her mind.

She met the usual blockage since she'd been dumped into this era – a gentle rebuttal, pushing her away as she tried to bypass the invisible wall. Usually, this is where she'd give up, not wanting to force the issue – she was no Yamanaka, and who knew what damage she could inflict her own mind by trying to violate it. However, this time, Naruto didn't stop, shoving harder and harder against the wall. Her whole body was tensing as she battled against her own self, and it felt like tumbling down a never ending pit when the wall abruptly vanished.

When she opened her eyes, only darkness surrounded her, familiar gutters and sewers spreading around her mindscape. The dirty water was licking her ankles, and the faraway echo of dripping drops greeted her. Naruto frowned, confused.

"What the hell," she muttered, padding through the water, the splashes she made the only sounds in the otherwise empty gutters.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She hadn't seen these gutters for years now. It should've been a wide and white space greeting her – not a dirty swamp.

Quickening her steps, almost breaking into a run, Naruto took familiar corners before coming to a stop when the water started to recede, unveiling an unyielding concrete ground. Her sandalled feet thumped loudly against it as she walked to the center of the large room, the giant prison of the Tailed Beast looming just a few yards before her.

She peered into it, eyes narrowed in an effort to see something through the dark. When she saw nothing, she huffed. It wasn't that odd – the Kyuubi had a knack for hiding in the shadows, when she was younger, only to jump at the bars just to scare her.

With a confident step, she walked to the bars, noticing that the flimsy seal having once kept the doors closed wasn't there – this was when she realized that the gates were actually ajar. She slipped through them, heart beating a wild tattoo against her ribs.

Nothing attacked her, and nothing disrupted the air as she ran through the colossal cage, rattling the bars and waving her arms around. She ran around it at least thrice, screaming Kurama's name at the top of her lungs, and before she knew it, her feet skidded to a stop and Naruto looked blindly in front of her. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.

The cage was empty.

Kurama was gone.

Naruto was alone.

Minato stayed clear of the room, only approaching the door to leave a tray of food before going back outside to meditate. When he came back at nightfall, the tray had been left untouched, and a frown wrinkled the corners of his lips. He couldn't help but silently judge her: what kind of woman would let herself starve while pregnant? He knew how Kumo's kunoichi were fierce, and often miscarried due to them putting their career above their unborn child's health. Iwa would say it was admirable, but in Konoha, it was frowned upon – they needed new blood too much to allow their kunoichi such free reign over their bodies.

The man wanted to barge into the room and force the food down her throat, consequences be damned. But he stayed put, bringing out new dishes instead and tossing the wasted food away. The thing that really worried him was the lack of movement coming from the eerily silent room, and if it wasn't for the fact that Naruto never activated back her chakra concealing seals, Minato would've never guessed that someone was in there.

Maybe it had been a mistake on his part to confront her like he did. It was tactless, to put her on the spot like that. He didn't even do it out of concern for her well-being – he just wanted to knock her down a peg, to remind her she could play the boss all she wanted, Minato wasn't to be trifled with. And the worse is – he had kind of relished in the frightened glint that made her eyes glassy, and the slight shiver that ran down her arms. He had felt like the predator who just caught his clever prey between his claws, and it was empowering.

The shinobi sighed, disgusted. It was high time he went back to Konoha, so he could shed his ANBU skin and let his guard down once more. The thrill of mission was still singing in his blood, and as long as he hadn't handed his report to the Hokage and was ordered to rest, he knew he'd stay like that: downright assholish, and utterly uncaring.

Not that he wasn't an asshole to begin with – their resident Uzumaki never failed to remind him of the fact when they hung out together and the blond would use the redhead as a deterrent when women tried to flirt with him. But still. Usually, he could hide it better under charming smiles and flowery words.

He's brought out of his moody thoughts by the 'click' of the door as it swung open. He stamped down his instinct to dodge the pillow coming at his head, and let it hit him, not even questioning the abuse.

"You deserve it, bastard", Naruto still grumbled, taking one look at the tray that she almost overturned before lifting it, grumpily plumping down across the blond man at the table before taking the offered chopsticks to eat.

Neither spoke, letting the silence settle over them once again. She was hungry after staying scooped all day inside her room, thinking about her options and making decisions.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and for once, Minato didn't say anything at the insult. She had been crying, he thought. She had been crying without ever making a sound.

It didn't take long for the woman to finish her food, patting serenely her little bump afterwards. Minato followed the movement, and softly asked, genuinely curious, "How far along are you?"

Naruto had to actually stop and think for a second. She had refused to be seen by a doctor, back in her time, too consumed by her goal and too nervous to step inside the hospital – it held bad memories, because both Tsunade and Sakura were as good as dead, and seeing the green chakra glowing in someone else's hands made her want to throw up and die.

"I'm halfway through my eighth month," she eventually calculated.

"Pardon?" Minato spluttered, looking at her with wide eyes.

"What?" she said defensively, arms crossed over her stomach.

"You look to be five months in, at most!"

Naruto shrugged. This kind of speech went over her head. "I was in denial for the first 6 months," she recited dutifully what Ino had explained to her during her first and only examination after she almost fainted from an unexplainable exhaustion, "the baby is only starting to show now as a result, and still has to push against my abdominal muscles to get some room."

The fact that she wasn't the healthiest of persons to begin with also played a role in her child's small size, and she was still trying to take the habit of taking care of herself now that she was housing a new life. It was still a work in progress, and sometimes, she sarcastically wondered if she was channeling her inner Kakashi.

In denial, Minato thought. It was a rare occurrence, in ninja villages, where women practically chose the exact moment they would try and make a baby. It helped organizing new rosters for the missions, and there was seldom a shortage of active kunoichi. But Naruto, if she was to be trusted, was not from Kumo or any other hidden village. Which meant this baby was either an unwanted mistake, or made at a horrible timing.

"Is the father..." he trailed off, having not idea of how to frame his question.

It turned out he didn't have to, as the blond woman immediately cut him off, eyes riveted on her empty plate, "Dead." She cleared her throat, but her voice was still hoarse, "He died saving me in one of our more… adventurous… trips."

"Oh." The shinobi didn't say anything else, nodding in silence.

There was no need to offer condolences – it was futile, in the ninja world, and from the sound of it, that man died a good, respectable death. No need to feel sorry for him, nor for the strong woman who undoubtedly unleashed her wrath on her lover's murderers.

Instead, Minato let the silence befall them for a respectful minute before broaching the real topic he was interested in, "Have you given thought to my offer?"

"Yes."

"Do you have an answer?"

"I do."

Her hands curled into fists under the table, but her face stayed as blank as Minato's. She had thought hard and long about her situation, and what she should do. Clearly, Kurama had come to the past with her – her father's healed burns were a dead give-away, after all. So if he wasn't inside her seal, it could only mean two things: either the fox had somehow been absorbed by her mother's seal, or her Kurama had ceased to exist due to this time's replica.

Thinking about the second hypothesis left her cold and anxious, but it was the hypothesis that made the more sense – logically speaking, two same souls couldn't exist in one world. As time travelers, they were an anomaly, they shouldn't be there, and what better way to right the universe than by erasing them? If this was true, it meant Naruto had only a limited amount of time to help prevent some key events before she, too, would disappear. The only consoling thought was to know her child would surely be born by then, and there was no way this time's Kakashi would one day entertain the idea of sleeping with his very much alive sensei's daughter, meaning her baby was safe and sound, no matter what.

In any case, Naruto didn't have much of choice: she had to go to Konoha, if only to see for herself what happened to her old friend. If all was well and her first hypothesis was validated, it meant one less thing to worry about, and she would have more time to plan and act. Hopefully, she came back far enough in time so that she would only deal with the old man Sandaime – she loved her father, but really, after a month living in close quarter with him and dealing with his suspicions and threats, Naruto didn't think he would listen to her babbling about the future.

He would label her a certified nutcase, and she'd be dump in a cell – just because the weirdo was apparently too interested in her seal works and potent chakra to kill her this soon in the game. Tch.

Releasing a deep sigh, Naruto looked Minato right in the eyes and said, "I'll come. But there's still a problem."

He frowned, aptly concealing his relief at her answer. "And what would it be?"

Naruto bit her lip. She didn't know what events already occurred, but it was a safe bet to assume tensions were already there between the nations. The time traveler chose her next words carefully.

"I'm a foreigner, and even tough I'm not affiliated to any ninja village, I highly doubt Konoha would welcome me with open arms – no Kage wants an unknown, trained shinobi in his ranks, that would be asking for trouble. I don't want to risk our lives," at that, she touched her belly to emphasize her point, "even though your offer is quite tempting. I need reassurance that no harm will come to me – to us."

There was a long minute of silence as Minato crossed his fingers together under his chin, contemplative. His clear eyes held a calculating glint in them, and when he finally drew breath to talk, Naruto knew she wouldn't like what he had to say.

"I may have a solution, but you're not going to like it."

His voice had taken a hoarse quality to it, betraying his calm composure – maybe Minato himself didn't really like what he was about to propose? Naruto narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips before shrugging. It wouldn't cost her anything to at least hear him out. "I'm listening."

"Be my wife."

It wasn't even a question so much as a blunt statement, delivered so matter-of-factly that Naruto could only splutter in surprise, eyes wide as saucers. She tried to laugh it off – because, surely, her father couldn't be serious about his godamned proposal – but Minato raised his voice, talking over her hysterical protests.

"It actually makes sense. Think about it: you'll be linked to a powerful, extremely loyal ninja of the Leaf," he explained as her voice died down and her eyes kept staring at him in horror. "Sure, there will be suspicion, but you'll be accepted nonetheless because of my status. Besides, the Hokage would actually be thrilled by the prospect."

As he spoke, Minato slowly grew more and more convinced that this was actually a perfect plan. It served both his selfish reasons – i.e., being able to study more closely the intriguing kunoichi and a way of repaying his life debt by taking care of her reckless, pregnant self – and political ones – the Council was nagging him for an heir to kick-start what could become a Namikaze clan in Konoha, and marrying a foreign, skilled kunoichi could pave the way to a peace treaty between two fearsome villages.

It definitely was a brilliant plan, the shinobi smirked inwardly.

But Naruto was clearly not of the same opinion. "How?!" she yelled, slamming several times her hand on the table, as if to hammer down her points. "He'd see one of his most formidable shinobi married to a foreigner hailing from enemy territory! He could accuse me of trying to sway you towards another hidden village, and I'd be executed!"

Not that she thought the Sandaime heartless, but come on – everybody knew he only started to mellow down once the Third Shinobi War had ended and Minato had been made the Fourth. At this moment of the timeline, for all Naruto knew, Hiruzen could be merciless and relying heavily on Danzo's more radical opinions.

"Because we'll say you're from Kumo," he stated nonchalantly while nodding his head, as if it should suddenly make sense.

To Naruto, it didn't, only serving to confuse her more. "What a great idea," she sneered, "let's tell him I'm from a village that has a notoriously bad history with Konoha! Splendid job. Namikaze – are you actually trying to get me killed?" And she was serious with that question, too. It would indeed explain the man's dumb ideas...

Minato scowled, and Naruto felt like he was staring at her with a judgmental look screaming 'idiot'. The man went on to explain in a teacher-like tone, "It would be seen as a great alliance, actually. An act of peace between Kumo and Konoha."

"I don't see how. Call me dumb, but I really can't make the connections," the kunoichi yelled, getting frustrated. She raked a hand through her disheveled hair and grimaced when it caught on a knot. Absentmindedly, she noted that it was high time to get a haircut, or to at least have a date with a trusty brush.

On the other side of the table, a thoughtful Minato crossed his arms while leaning back in his chair, assessing the flailing kunoichi in front of him. It couldn't be that she was that oblivious, he thought. Still, curious, he inquired, "Naruto-san… Have you been living under a rock?"

She hissed an insult at him while blushing furiously, clearly refusing to answer the question. Surprised, Minato arched his eyebrows. "I can't believe you're serious… It makes more sense, now."

"No, it doesn't," she muttered, sorely tempted to kick his shin under the table. Her mind was still whirling with his impromptu proposal and arguments, and she rued Kurama's absence as much as she blessed it – on one hand, the fox would've told her what to do, on the other hand, he would've surely laughed his ass off while spouting crude remarks about inbreeding. Naruto almost gagged at the unwelcomed thought.

Unaware of her torment, Minato started to explain, "I, myself, am not originally from Konoha. I was born in Kumo, and lived there for the first five years of my life."

And that was all it took for Naruto's mind to come to a screeching halt, leaving her gaping at the man she was supposed to know inside out – one, because he was her freaking dad, two, because he'd been her idol while growing up. That was so not written in the Academy's history books! Or she had been skipping class that day. Or snoozing. But still. How could she have missed that information?!

"I'm the illegitimate son of the late Raikage," the blond continued, unbothered by the kunoichi's evident surprise. "My mother was a civilian with no family to speak of. She let herself be seduced and became the Kage's mistress for a short while. When he made it clear that I was never to be considered his son, she decided to leave the Land of Lightning and settled down in the Land of Fire."

Okay.

Naruto really needed time to process that.

Because she didn't see it coming. Come on. She couldn't have snoozed through that lesson too! Was she that oblivious to her own genealogy?! Oh God… it could explain why Bee had always been fond of her, or why Ay, though full of disdain, actually gave her a chance to prove her worth…

She was going to be sick, and it had nothing to do with her baby mastering their taijutsu skills by using her insides as a practice dummy.

Eventually, Naruto could only nod, gulping down her nausea before clearing her throat out, trying to take control over her trembling voice. When she felt more at ease, she asked, still dumbfounded, "But… don't you already have m— I mean, a significant other?"

Surely Minato was already infatuated with her mom at this point of the story. Heck, they should already be dating, and thinking about tying the knot! Something was wrong, Naruto thought with dread.

It was confirmed when the future Hokage shook his head, unconcerned. "I'm unattached. In fact, you would do me a great service by accepting my proposal, it would save me the bother of finding a suitable bride to please my leader."

"I… don't even know what to say," Naruto choked out.

Did it mean that Kushina and Minato started dating just because of the Council's pressure? It looked like it, at least, what with the man's obvious disinterest in settling down… God, her life was so fucked up. She should totally wash her hands of this whole mess, let history happens, and live like a hermit in the woods. Too bad her sense of justice was too big to be ignored...

The blond male shrugged, further proving how much he didn't care about his own personal life. Instead, he launched into an elaborate explanation on why this plan could work for real.

"There's a tradition among Kumo's less thriving clans – to avoid family feuds, children are betrothed at a young age. This way, heirs can focus on their career and education instead of gallivanting around, lovesick. That's why Kumo's percentage of kunoichi is so high – women from these small clans are already aware of their future marital life, and wish to devote as much time as possible to their career before having to step down to fulfill their duty."

Meaning, giving a future heir to pass down their legacy. Privately, Naruto wondered if that was why Ino chose a path that would see her confined inside Konoha's walls, and why Hinata completely resigned from the forces…

"Of course, if a better match is found, the betrothal can be broken," Minato continued as he stood up, moving towards the stove. He put the kettle on the lit stove, measuring the amount of tea leaves he put in the water.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at," Naruto lied. She swallowed through the lump in her throat, hoping to God her father wasn't going to say what she knew he would say.

A metallic clang came from the kettle as Minato closed the lid and hummed, his back facing her.

"We'll say we were betrothed while I still lived in Kumo, and that my mother broke the contract once she decided to move away. I was sent on a long term mission in the Land of Rice, three years ago, and this is where we met again."

As Minato turned around, his eyes trailed up and down her body. There was no lust in the action, just curiosity and contemplation. He sat down next to her this time, his arm almost brushing against hers. Naruto leaned away, but he clamped a hand on her elbow, pulling her towards him as he continued, "We fell in love, and decided to fulfill the betrothal. Me, because I wanted to rekindle with my brothers. You, because you wished to escape Kumo after your last family member died."

It had been a shot in the dark, but the lack of flinch from the kunoichi confirmed his theory of the woman being an orphan. It would make their plan easier to follow.

"You said you were halfway through your eighth month, right?" at her nod, he hummed, satisfied. "That coincides perfectly with my last mission when I was in the Land of Waves for a month. Here is how the story goes: we've been keeping in touch all these years, and since you're adept at traveling, we decided to meet up during my stay in Waves. I left without knowing about your pregnancy, and you were only able to get in touch with me recently. That would explain the Hokage why I asked for a leave."

All throughout his explanation, Naruto had been nodding along, until his last remark. "Wait, what? When did you ask for a leave?"

"When I could finally access my chakra without the fear of blowing myself up and was finally able to send a toad back to the village."

Naruto squinted at him, still trying to slip away from his unyielding grasp. "So you lied, and tricked your way into staying in my home. Did you… did you plan this all along?!"

Minato seemed unrepentant as he titled his head to the side, not really answering. Finally, he said, "I did plan to stay longer, because you puzzle me and I want to decipher you – you're challenging. The idea of marrying you is pretty new, I assure you."

Fed up, she finally snapped as she tugged at her arm without success, "Would you stop this?!"

He shook his head, instead snaking an arm around her shoulders. It was a heavy weight keeping her still despite the light grip. It made her situation all the more real, and Naruto felt faint.

"How are we supposed to make this work if you're so uncomfortable when I touch you?" Minato reasoned, his breath tickling her nape.

"It's never gonna work, anyway," she muttered, refusing to look at his too close face.

"Why is that? I know we get on each other's nerves, but it's pretty usual in ninja families – keeps us on our toes."

Because you're my father, I can't marry my father! Naruto wanted to scream. Was it suicide, if she married him and thus made sure she would never be born? A sneakier, and morbid part of her whispered that she could always marry him, and encourage him to have an affair with Kushina. She told that part to shut the fuck up.

Too lost in her turmoil, she never noticed how Minato started idly playing with the shorter hair curling around her neck, long fingers weaving a dark, gold lock around them.

"What of my baby? People will see you're not the father," Naruto breathed out, thinking about silver hair and alabaster skin. The child was doomed to resemble at least a bit their grandfather, but not enough to be mistaken for a pair of child and parent.

"I'm a seal master. It's an easy enough issue to solve," the man whispered back, feeling the slim shoulders slump down in defeat.

"I'm never giving you an heir," the woman stated in the stilted air.

Minato only smiled, a soft, gentle curve on his angular face, all trace of cunning absent from his face. "Your child will be mine, too. I won't ask of you anything you're not ready to give."

"Because it's just a marriage of convenience, right? In name only, huh?"

He didn't miss the need of reassurance in the woman's voice, and Minato slowly led her to rest her head against his chest. Her brow softly bumped against his collarbone, and she shakily sighed.

"Exactly. So no need to worry, alright?"

What am I doing? What am I doing, what am I doing… Naruto groaned, and face still pressed in her father's chest, she rose a fist. "Friends?"

She didn't hear the chuckles, but she felt their vibrations under her cheek. He bumped his fist against hers, and gladly replied, "Friends."

They stayed a long moment like this, wrapped around each other in the silent kitchen. The kettle whistled, and with a sigh, Minato stood up to serve it, not forgetting to put an ungodly amount of sugar in Naruto's mug.

After he handed it to her, the blond man gingerly sat down, happy for the new milestone in their relationship. He sipped on his hot mint tea, just as Naruto blurted out, a faraway look in her eyes as she clasped her mug between her hands, "So you really are a bastard, huh?"

Minato's face soured instantly and he froze with his mug against his lips while Naruto smiled sheepishly at her new friend.

She really needed a brain to mouth filter.

To be continued...

A/N: Because I just like dropping bombs like that on my unsuspecting readers!

To answer one of the main questions I had: YES, KAKASHI IS THE FATHER. YES, NARUTO IS REALLY PREGO.

Before you ask: NO, SHE'S NOT EXPECTING TWINS. I use "them/their" because it'd be weird to call the baby "it", and I don't want to give hints about their gender by saying "he/his" or "she/her". So "they" it is.

To answer another recurrent question: NO, I CAN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT KUSHINA! But you're welcome to make guesses, it's always fun! :)

And if you're still doubtful about it: YES, MINATO IS AN ASSHOLE. BUT SO IS NARUTO. Actually, you now know that he's that much of a cunt because he's still in mission mode. Aaaah, I just love psychologically stunted ninja jerks.

And about Minato being related to the Raikage: It's actually a headcanon that I love. I first read about it in a fanfic where Sasuke was Naruto's sensei and she was, at one point, kidnapped by Kumo. Since that day, I just can't stop imagining Minato as a Kumo ninja. SUE ME, I TOLD YOU FROM THE GET GO THAT THIS STORY WAS SELF INDULGENT, OKAY? OKAY.

Please, don't ask when I'll update next. I have no idea.

You have questions? Praises? Thoughts? Feel free to drop a word, and I'll be happy to answer! Again, sorry for the huge delay it takes when I reply, I'm just swamped with work…! And please, forgive me if I do not actually answer: I tend to reply when questions are asked, or my attention is caught by an interesting theory. Unfortunately, I just can't reply to each and every review simply to say "thank you", though I assure you that it really makes me happy to see so many of you interested in Jagged Pieces. So, since I won't be able to say it to everyone, I'll say it now: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR READING AND LEAVING A KIND WORD, YOU ROCK!

For all the guests: I reply to your reviews on my tumblr. You can find the link on my profile :)

Welcome to all the new readers, by the way! And see ya all, er, whenever!