This came out way longer than I intended, sorry. Notes at the bottom.

YEAR 45

"Ji...Jijii?!" Naruto cried out in shock.

Fugaku slapped the back of her head but she paid it no mind.

"Why the hell are you alive-ttebayo!" Hiruzen didn't have a chance to reply however because she kept on going. "Wait, no, before that, why is your hair so brown?! Why do you look so young?!

As Naruto paced ("Am I in a dream? Is that what this is?"), the men in the room took this time to observe the strange girl, all swallowing in her words carefully.

She then suddenly let out a yelp, causing the three powerful men to snap back up in alarm. "No, no, definitely not a dream because that hurt like a bitch." she muttered, rubbing at her red cheek. She then groaned, and started tugging at her blonde, spiky long bangs. The Uchiha was still holding onto the scruff of her jacket's neck despite the girl's thrashing. On the other side of the room, Hiruzen, for the first time in a while, was in a state of mild shock. She wore her hair exactly like how Jiraiya did, and it made him do a double take at how similar the girl seemed to Jiraiya when he was much younger.

"Urgh! I don't get what the hell's going on anymore-ttebayo!"

Minato was standing back, observing the girl who had just come in. She was so similar to a certain Uzumaki in the way she behaved. "'ttebayo'?"

Naruto jumped at his voice, squinting her eyes at him. "Yeah, I've got a verbal tic, got a problem with that?" She looked him up and down, her lower lip jutting out now. "Hm? I feel like I've seen you before…"

"Child, what's your name?"

Naruto pouted, turning to the Sandaime. "Really, have you grown so old that you forgot my name?" At this, Sarutobi's gaze sharpened.

"Answer me." Naruto flinched at his cold, calculating tone, mouth gaping. "I repeat, what is your name?"

"I-It's Uzumaki Naruto-ttebayo."

The Uchiha suddenly released his grip.

"W-Woah—Oof!" She fell flat on her bum. "Hey! What's the big idea?!" She was about to glare at the man behind her, but the Hokage spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you say?"

The blonde looked up, and found that she was right in front of the Hiruzen's desk. She then met the stern face above it, and gulped. This was the Third Hokage, the man that was hailed as the 'God of Shinobi' in front of her.

She caught the look he sent Minato and the nod he gave to the police guy behind her. "Thank you for bringing her to me, Fugaku."

Wait, Fugaku? Why did that name sound so familiar to her? She turned around to get a good look at the guy, but Fugaku had just given a bow, and was quickly turning to leave.

"And this shall be kept between the four of us, I'm sure you understand."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Excuse me."

When the door shut tightly behind her, Naruto looked back at her ji—no, the Hokage—and waited for him to speak to her.

But it was the blond man beside him who spoke instead.

"If I am right, I believe you are from the future."

Naruto blinked.

Then her brain took a minute to fully process those words.

"Wait, what?!" At their solemn silence, she looked down at her hands, as if checking them for anything different. "Huh. Wow."

Having it told to her outright made it easy for things to click in place. She looked between the two men, grinning. Whaddya know, that seal wasn't so incomplete after all… "Cool. So how do I get back?"

She hoped that whatever they had in mind was quick, like maybe half an hour quick, cuz she really had to get back to where she came from and train with Sakura-chan and Kakashi before she leaves for her trip-ttebayo! And during that half hour she had to wait she could henge, and take a walk. Look around, maybe, to see what's different, 'cause she must have been transported a while back. The Jijii looked so much younger than from how she remembered! She looked at the calendar on his desk. Year 45. Huh. She quickly did the math in her head. 18 years ago?

"Well, Naruto," the Third Hokage began slowly.

"Yeah?"

"We can't send you back without knowing how you came."

Naruto nodded, "Right." She then immediately explained, biting back the urge to groan at having to explain so many times. "So yeah, I'm sure if we get out that Forbidden Scroll, find the time travel seal, I'll be able to get back in no time." She let out a small snicker at the last word.

Minato frowned. "Have you studied fuinjutsu, Naruto?" He asked warily.

"I'm studying it right now-ttebayo!"

The frown grew deeper. "Then you should know full well that a seal like the one you had used to get here—" He ignored Naruto's cry of "Not on purpose!" and continued on without missing a beat, "—could not be a two-way road."

Naruto swallowed, and then there was panic in her eyes. "Wha—No! I can't afford to stay here!" She paced. "I was gonna go on a super training trip with Ero-sennin! I need to!"

Minato pinched between his eyes. "We'd rather you stay where you came from, too." He turned to the hokage, "Do you suppose we should at least see if there's anything we could find from the seal?"

At that, Naruto calmed down, eyes hopeful, and Sarutobi wearily nodded.

"Though I do wonder, Naruto, how you had the Forbidden Scroll in the first place," he said, raising a dark brow.

"Well, haha, about that, you see, uh, I was…" A bead of sweat rolled down her temple. Hokage-jijii sure was intimidating, even more so now when he doesn't look so much like a jijii anymore. "Well, er, I was tricked. But it went okay in the end so there's nothing to worry about-ttebayo!"

"Nothing to worry about, huh?" The Hokage stared her down wearily. "Somehow, your words have me even more worried."

"M-Maa, maa," Minato cut in, giving a small smile for the first time since she appeared in the room, and he lifted his hands as if to relieve the little tension in the room.

The Sandaime sighed. "Well, I'll see what I can find, but I won't be able to tell you until tomorrow morning." Naruto was about to protest, but he stopped her with a raise of his hand. "Taking a look at the scroll—which I won't permit anyone else but myself to do—will have to wait. But, before that…" He looked up from his sheets of paper and gave her a questioning look. "Naruto."

She had a heavy pout on, and it was such an adorable sight that Minato had trouble looking away from. "Yes?"

"How far into the future are you from?"

"Oh," she double-checked the calendar, and answered. "Eighteen years. I'm thirteen, so I will be born in about five years." She rubbed her neck at that; what a mind-boggling thought. She, Uzumaki Naruto, was going to be born in five years.

"I see, that far..." He stood up from his chair, and walked around the desk, to stand directly in front of her. "Naruto, everything concerning your identity and home must be kept to yourself. You understand, yes?"

The girl frowned. "Yeah…" Her brows furrowed even further. "Wait, even to you guys?"

He nodded, and explained before she could argue. "I'm sure your existence in this time is already causing ripples in the timeline, so we must try our best to prevent anymore from happening."

"B-but why?!" Naruto exclaimed, unable to comprehend as to why the Hokage doesn't see this as a valuable chance. "We could stop so many things from happening!" Sasuke…

"Now stop that thought. What if, for example, we somehow end up stopping you from being born? What would happen after?" Sarutobi cut in sharply. "What if the timeline becomes even more of a mess from our meddling?"
"What if it doesn't!"

"Naruto," he said her name softly, regretfully. "I don't like this anymore than you do. However it is for the best. We do not know enough about time travel, what changes in history could cause in the long run. This short-term fix could lead to a bigger threat in the future—"

"Or it could help keep Konoha safe!" She yelled with her fists clenched tightly at her sides. The girl could see where he was coming from. But Uzumaki Naruto was known for being stubborn, and she could not let this chance slip from her fingers!

He sighed, and stopped her there. "Naruto, where are you from?"

"Huh?"

"Which village are you from?"

She scowled. "Konohagakure, duh." Naruto pointed right at the leaf symbol on her forehead protector, and raised her brow at the man. He chuckled.

"Exactly."

Her scowl deepened. Mad because he was making absolutely zero sense, she was about to demand he elaborate. However Sarutobi smiled warmly, and lifted his hand. He slowly, gently placed it on her head, and patted down her spiky, vibrant blonde hair. There was the look she recognized from her Jijii. The one full of warmth, love, pride. Naruto's lips parted, and suddenly her nose was stinging and her wide, watery blue eyes were blurry.

"If the future has such young and spirited Leaf shinobi such as yourself, then I'm sure our Konoha will be just fine."

Naruto couldn't say anything to that, and stayed silent as the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks balanced precariously on her lashes. She raised her eyes up to the ceiling, willing them to go away. She was twelve, dammit! She's too old to be crying like a baby!

But one glance back to the smiling face of her future, late grandfather-figure ruined it. Fat, hot tears ran freely down her cheeks, and she quickly lifted up her sleeves to wipe them away. God, she missed him.

It took her a few moments to collect herself, and the men patiently stood by her side. Shaking her head, Naruto sucked in a deep breath of air and released it shakily. She finally looked up at them, and cobalt blue eyes sharp and determined.

"So, what should we do now?"

Sarutobi chuckled, resisting the urge to ruffle her spiky hair. Which was quite a hard feat… She bears a striking resemblance to what he remembered of genin Jiraiya, and, of course… his eyes flickered to the blond man. "Well, first we must do something about your appearance," Sarutobi said, rubbing thoughtfully at his dark goatee.

She blinked.

"Huh?" Naruto looked down at her clothes. "Sure I've got a few holes and tears on my pants and sleeves, but I don't think I look that bad, do I?"

Minato chuckled, and answered for the older man. "No, Naruto, I believe he was referring to… your face."

"Wha—rude!" She cried, absolutely affronted. "What's wrong with my face-ttebayo!" She patted her face, and held her cheeks protectively.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant…" The blond man cringed, unsure of how to go about easing the offended young Naruto. "It's just… you have a very… distinct face, and hair color. Enough so that people may remember them later, when the real you is born."

Minato turned his head slightly to take a closer look at the girl. "You said you were… thirteen?"

"Yeah."

He took a good look at her, unable to quell the emotions that bubbled in his chest at the sight of Uzumaki Naruto. Oh, she looked so much like himself, it frankly scared the man. She is, undoubtedly—

"Wait," she frowned deeply, looking cross-eyed at the wisps of blonde hair she had in her fingers, and up at his. "Your hair color ain't that different!" She cried indignantly.

His had a darker shade, if one was to be critical, but really, they were pretty much the same.

It was then that her eyes narrowed, as it went to his face. They scanned his blue eyes, and his spikey blond hair, and her eyes became slits from squinting. Then, they widened.

"You!" She suddenly shouted, causing both men to start, and jabbed a finger at him.

He cocked his head to the side, "Me?"

Her mouth fell open in absolute shock. "Y-You're the Fourth Hokage!"

He paused.

"What."

After that Naruto had a tough time trying to keep her starry eyes off the blond man. This… This was the man who managed to turn the tide of the war in Konoha's favour by blowing up a passage—or was it a bridge? She cursed not listening in class more than anything now—that Iwagakure had needed for their supply line. Konoha's Yellow Flash. The youngest Kage in all of history. The Namikaze Minato.

Naruto wanted to slap herself. It was so obvious, she can't believe she didn't recognize him sooner! She had stared up at the Yondaime's sculpted head for so long, she could remember every line, every edge by now. Though, she thought with her eyes transfixed on his face, he looks so much better in real life. A faint blush dusted her cheeks.

Even knowing that it was him who'd slapped the seal trapping the nine-tailed beast in her gut couldn't dampened her deep admiration for the late—now alive—Hokage. Here was the hero she had always dreamed to be, right in front of her.

"Um… Naruto? Were you listening?" The hero tried to catch her attention, and it was then that the young girl noticed he wasn't just moving his mouth, but talking to her.

"Hai, Minato-sama?"

"Uh," the Namikaze looked to the Third for guidance, but found that he was met with a blank stare. He, Sarutobi Hiruzen, gets called old gramps, while Minato gets addressed with respect fit enough for the Hokage—which should be me? The Third grumbled miserably to himself, but Minato caught it. Oh no... "N-Now, now, Naruto, just Minato is fine."

"Minato-sama."

When the air around the man next to him darkened, Minato grimaced. Figuring the girl wouldn't budge from it anytime soon, he decided to move on quickly. "Sandaime-samaー" he stressed, hoping she'd take the hint. Naruto didn't. "ーtold you that you need to wear a mask from now on." The girl blinked up at him, then the Sandaime.

"A mask?"

The Third Hokage sighed, and waved his hand at Minato, signalling for him to explain because clearly the blonde would prefer listening to him. Minato kept his exasperation to himself. "A henge would raise suspicion from those who might notice it, and it wouldn't be practical. We don't know how long you would have to stay here until we find a solution, after all. It could be months, it could be years… It could even be the rest of your life. We need you to wear a mask so no one else but us would be able to recognize the future you as, well… you." He sighed, and looked almost apologetic. "This will not only be quite... troublesome, but also difficult for you, especially if we don't find a way to send you back. Except for those who know of your true identity, people you might—no, willーcome to know and hold close… they would not be allowed to see you behind that mask."

Naruto was silent as she processed his words, clenching her fists. "Alright, I guess that makes sense-ttebayo." She nodded her head once, and crossed her arms.

A stubborn look that demanded absolute agreement was now planted on her face.

"But it better be a badass mask!"

"I ask for a badass mask and you hand me a rabbit?" Naruto looked down at the unpainted white mask on her hands in disbelief. "I refuse-ttebayo!"

Hiruzen sighed, "It is one of the few clean masks we have left at the moment, and making a new one would take too long." He searched the chest further, before looking down at another. "A lot in this batch have cracks and stains that can't be fixed." He now regretted sending Minato off to retrieve Kushina; he was starting to get exhausted from dealing with the child's discontent.

"Hey, hey, Jijii, how about this one?"

He turned to look at the white kitsune mask in her hands. The inside of the short, pointy ears were painted red, as was the mouth of the snout. The eyeholes were long slits that pointed down towards the nose. "Ah, yes, if you're alright with the scratches on it. But are you sure you want the fox mask?"

"Oh... it's supposed to be a fox?" She moved the mask around, examining it. Then, she smirked to herself. "Cool."

She then closed the lid to the chest she got the mask out of, and turned to Hiruzen.

"I'll fix it up, but the mask could use a bit more decorating, don't ya think?" She grinned mischievously.

His brows furrowed slightly, but he relented. "Make sure you don't go over the top with it," he said carefully. "Simple, keep it red and black." She pouted. So maybe she did want to paint it orange, and maybe make it all fancy like adding swirls or something, but could she help it? It was so bland!

"Yeah, yeah. I'll just add whiskers or something." She then smiled, pointing to her forehead protector. "Can't forget about this, too. I'll hafta draw it on!"

Sarutobi chuckled. A thought came to mind. "May I paint on the whiskers for you, Naruto?"

She squinted her eyes at him, suspicious. "You're not gonna make them weird, are ya?"

"No, no. I assure you, I can draw some very handsome whiskers."

She huffed. "You better, Jijii, or else all my trust in you will be going down the drain-ttebayo."

An amiable silence fell between them as they cleaned up. She was rubbing the dust away from the mask, when he spoke again. "You know, Naruto, the rabbit is symbolic for many good things." He smiled at her. "It represents hope, and luck."

She held the mask protectively to her chest, and scowled. "Uh-huh, what else?"

He rubbed at his goatee, thinking. "Ah, well, there is one legend about the rabbit you might like. Would you like to hear it?"

She shrugged, "Sure." Despite her nonchalant reply, she, truthfully, was more than willing to hear whatever he wanted to talk about. His voice was less rough, raspy than it had been in the future, probably from all the pipes he's smoked, but it was still the same voice. Listening to him talk made her feel at ease, and happy. She wanted him to keep talk to her.

He spoke about how once there was an old man who was terribly famished. Three creatures came up to him, and he begged for food from them: the monkey, the fox, and the rabbit. The monkey offered his fruits. The fox stole a lizard and milk for him. The rabbit however…

The rabbit, who could do nothing but gather grass, offered its own body for the old man. The rabbit jumped into the old man's fire, but found that it did not get burned from its flames. The old man then revealed himself to be Sakra, ruler of the Heavens. Sakra had been so moved by its virtue, that he drew an image of the rabbit onto the moon for all to see.

When the Sarutobi finished the tale, he found that the girl was nodding to herself. "Of course I'm sticking to the cooler one but…" She grinned up at him, "I like that story."

He chuckled softly, and ruffled her hair.

"I quite like it myself, too, Naruto."

Uzumaki Kushina turned away from her boyfriend, a frown still etched on her face. This better be some big news. She had just gotten home from her week-long mission this morning, and had planned on spending the rest of the day on the couch. But then Minato just had to knock on her door and tell her they needed to be at the Hokage's office only less than half an our later! God, her poor, aching feet...

The doorknob turned behind her and Kushina whirled around to see the Sandaime walking in, with a blonde, orange-clad girl following close behind. Kushina studied the girl's porcelain mask, taking note of the small leaf insignia at the forehead and three short, black, parallel lines on both cheeks. No… She furrowed her brows. Those were trigrams.

"Hokage-sama," she greeted respectfully with a bow.

"Kushina, thank you for coming in on such short notice." He told her apologetically, and turned to the girl next to him. "I can trust no one other than you two to deal with this little one here. Naruto, you can take it off."

"I'm thirteen, Jijii." The 'little one' spoke up, sounding rather irritated, and brought her hand to her mask to remove the kitsune mask. The redhead blinked in surprise. She was so short, Kushina had assumed she was at least a couple of years younger… She then blanched. The nerve the blonde had, calling the Hokage of all people gramps!

But when she saw her unhidden face, the tongue-lashing she intended on giving her died at her lips. Her jaw slackened, and her eyes were getting rounder and rounder by the second as it took in every facial feature of the young 'Naruto'.

She was speechless, because it was as if she was looking right at a younger Minato.

The Sandaime chuckled, and ruffled the Minato-look-alike's blonde hair. He then walked leisurely to his chair, and faced the three in front of him. Kushina didn'tーno, couldn'tーtake her eyes off the little Minato, until the Hokage spoke. "Everything will be explained later, Kushina, but for now I'd like to get straight to the point."

Naruto went up to them and faced her. "Hiya, I'm Naruto." She brought her right arm up.

"I'm assigning the both of you the task of training young Naruto here in the sealing arts."

Kushina's already wide eyes widened even further, and she sneaked a peek up at Minato. He didn't seem the least bit surprised, and she wanted to punch him for it. He could have told her about what she was summoned for beforehand at least!

She then glanced back down at the expectant hand, and slowly met it with her own. "Uzumaki Kushina," she said, and blinked when the grip on her hand tightened. The redhead raised a brow at the gaping girl in front of her, puzzled. The grip was gone after a second and the blonde had stepped back quietly, but still had her eyes staring in awe. As the Hokage began talking again, Kushina tried to listen, but found difficulty as the gaze boring into her was quite distracting.

It shouldn't come to a surprise that there'd be another Uzumaki in the village two decades before she existed, but it did put all sorts of thoughts in her head. Who was this woman? Naruto studied every feature of the redhead. Nope, she definitely wasn't around in the future. Did she know her parents? Naruto half-hoped and half-dreaded the answer. She guess she could find out about the fellow Uzumaki later, though. She had the time. She pictured up things she could check out while she was here. 5 years before she was born. A small smile grew on her lips. Would Kakashi-sensei still be the infuriating man he always was in her time? She wondered at that. How old was her sensei, anyways? That gravity defying grey hair had really made him seem ancient to her at first, but spending more time with him made her doubt he was past thirty. Mid-twenties, maybe. He was lazy (though not as lazy as Shikamaru, but close), but not old. There were no lines marring the only visible part of the man's face. No crow's feet, no wrinkles.

Naruto's eyes then drifted to the Hokage's big windows, and widened. Boy, did the village look different. She hadn't gotten a look around her when she was dragged to the Konoha Police, too busy yelling obscenities and trying to make the hag let go. Naruto began walking closer to the view, transfixed. The Hokage Mountain was of course one of the biggest changes, but there were more buildings, more variety of shapes, sizes, and color here. Well, she thought after a moment. A lot could happen in 18 years, after all. Like the Kyuubi attack, for one.

Her hand went right to her stomach.

She had always left very early in the classes concerning the Nine-Tails. Naruto was always gone for a lot of classes, of course, but the ones about the monster she always made sure she missed. Why? Because the hatred in the teachers' eyes would grow stronger, more narrowed in on her. For the longest time, she didn't know why. Her naïve mind had always assumed it was because her birthday was the same date as the attack. Which wasn't exactly too far off the mark. She still just happened to be a coincidental victim, a scapegoat. She didn't have a choice in when she was born, and she certainly didn't have a choice in being the jinchuuriki.

It wasn't until after she was told about the beast in her gut that she went to find out about the Kyuubi on her own. The Hokage was busy of course so she had to go to the books (which wasn't as bad as she dreaded it would be. Much to her surprise, she found that she liked to read when it wasn't homework).

The questions she had back then that she hadn't been able to find answers to came back. Why was the Kyuubi attack so sudden? Her old man had always been so tightlipped whenever she brought anything about October the 10th up. All the sources of information she had on the tragic event were brief, and always stated that the Nine-Tailed Beast had appeared almost out of thin air. There was one small journal she found, that suggested it had been summoned, and another hinting that the Uchiha had something to do with it. She had saved those articles, even if they sounded like they were written by some loonies, to question the Sandaime about for later... but he had died before she could get around to doing that.

While the girl was distracted, the Sandaime continued talking to the couple in front of him. "Minato, Kushina, you are one of my best young jounin and seal-masters. I would ask Jiraiya but I need him out of the village, and I can't risk having her out there. I want you two to train her, especially in fūinjutsu."

"H-Hokage-sama," her voice was unsure, wary. "May I ask why? Teaching the art would take quite an amount of time and dedication on both parts, something that I'm not sure we have can afford to spare enough of."

"I have a great feeling she'll need it," He said wryly, sporting a wry look that Minato reciprocated, much to Kushina's confusion. "You'll be fully compensated for your work. And don't worry, I'm sure she'll be easy to teach." Sarutobi smiled to himself; the girl was their child, after all. "Plus, she isn't a complete beginner. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

Naruto's ear twitched at the mention of her name, and she turned to the Sandaime, "Huh? Oh, yeah," she simply said, and turned back to the window. She pressed her hands and face further against it. "I've read a couple of books."

Kushina raised a brow, clearly unimpressed.

Hiruzen turned to Namikaze Minato, seeing nothing but his usual collected face. "And Minato, your genin team will now consist of Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, and Naruto for the time being." Both blonds blinked. Naruto sharply turned her head towards the blond man, eyes sparkling brightly through the slits of her mask. Holy shit, she's in the Yondaime's team! "Their graduation should be in a week and a bit, if I remember correctly."

"What about Hatake Kakashi, Sandaime-sama?"

"He will stiill join youーnow your teamーfor missions and training. It may be a little unorthodox, but I'd like for you to work as a four-man cell, until we find Naruto a way back."

Kushina raised a brow, but kept silent, despite the question ringing loud in her mind. Where did the girl come from, and why couldn't she go back?

"What should we do about Naruto until the Academy's graduation, do you suppose? Start her training?" Minato asked.

The man sighed. "Yes, I'd like for you to start as soon as possible. Thankfully we've just entered a time of peace. Might as well take advantage of it." He took out a piece of paper, and started writing. "Please assess the girl's abilities tomorrow and inform me of the results. I would like for the both of you after that to start training her for the next few days in fuinjutsu, and possibly whatever else she may need help with whenever you can."

Minato nodded, but Kushina kept still, her eyes narrowed. She was absolutely confused, as she was kept in the dark about what was so special about this new girl. She turned to Minato, who noticed her gaze and gave a reassuring smile. Kushina frowned even more, but nodded.

"Well, you can count on us. We'll whip her up real good-ttebane!"

…Is what she said but, honestly, how long would it take? Teaching Minato fūinjutsu took a couple of years, but it was only a couple of years because he was such a fast and keen learner!

She studied the masked blonde, Naruto, measuring her up. She was around the same age as Minato and Kushina were when the latter taught the former fuinjutsu. They stopped at Minato's apartment, and Kushina could tell the girl next to her was oddly excited to see his home. Kushina pouted.

And it's not fair-ttebane! She huffed in her mind as she unlocked the door, letting the blonde in. She was apparently to stay here for the time being until they could find her a place. Why does she get to live with Minato before me, his girlfriend?! Yes, she was jealous of a thirteen-year-old girl, but who could blame her?

As if she had sensed her thoughts Naruto asked her, "Hey, Kushina-neechan, are you Minato-sama's girlfriend?"

Kushina flinched, could the girl read her mind?! "Y-Yeah, why?" and… did she just call him Minato'-sama'?

Suddenly the girl was in front of her, and Kushina could feel the excitement shooting out of the slitted eyeholes. "Really! Can you tell me what he's like?"

"Huh?"

"Like, like, like, y'know, his personality, what he, uh," Naruto paused to think. "Yeah! What he likes and dislikes, his hobbies, his dreams—"

Kushina shoved her face away from her stomach, mildly freaked out. "Okay, stop right there, honey." She bent down, so she was eye to eye with the girl. "Ask those questions to the man himself."

The girl visibly wilted, before her stomach suddenly rumbled.

"Oh," Kushina blinked. "Hold on, I think he's got some cup ramen stashed around somewhere 'cause I'm always popping by."

At the mention of ramen, Naruto jumped, "Ramen?!" She chanted the word happily, and ran to the kitchen. "Fuck yeah! You like ramen too!"

Somewhere along the way, Kushina's worries about the girl flew away as she talked to the girl heatedly about the wonderful ramen, the wonders of the beautiful ramen, and the beauties of God's gift, ramen. Yes, because surely, if this girl loves it as much as she did, then surely she'll be just as awesome as she is!

By the time Minato came home it was already evening, and the skies were dimming. He entered the comfort of his home, sighing exhaustedly.

"Tadaー" His words died short as he heard loud bickering coming from his living room.

"Miso!" He heard as he walked in, only to see the younger Uzumaki grinding heads with the older Uzumaki.

Kushina stomped. "Salt!"

"No, miso-ttebayo!" Naruto stomped louder.

"No, salt-ttebane! S. A. L. T!" Kushina grabbed the girl's collar, red mane rising in nine thick locks threateningly.

"M. I. S. O. Miso!" Naruto shrieked in the older female's strong hold, and Minato covered his ears.

"What the hell is going on here?"

He regretted raising his voice the moment both turned sharply towards him, eyes promising death. Both stomped their way towards him.

"Minato-sam—" The tiny girl was shoved right out of the way, as Kushina stood right in front of him.

"Welcome back, Minato," Kushina's voice was saccharine.

"A-Aa, what's wrong, you two?" He forced a smile, sweat rolling down the side of his face at their darkening faces. "What, uh, were the two of you fighting about?"

"Which do you prefer, Minato, miso or salt ramen?" Kushina asked, making it clear what she expected his answer should be. When the poor man didn't answer, she stood on her toes and draped her slender arms around his shoulders. Her face was too close to his neck! A child (possibly their child!) was in the room! Her hot breath was tickling his ear! Minato's face was suddenly burning.

"U-Uh, I think I like s—" His eyes connected to Naruto's teary eyes, so full of heart-wrenching sadness. "I—I like…"

He gulped.

"…How about shoyu?"

Naruto had gone to take a walk, and it was just the two of them now. "So are you going to tell me exactly what's going on?" Kushina raised a brow expectantly, resting her hands on her hips.

Minato smiled, and sat at the dining table. "It's been a rather wild afternoon," he began, and waited until she sat in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Apparently, Naruto suddenly appeared in a civilian's home." Her brows furrowed. What. "She was taken to the police, then brought to the Hokage's tower, then..."

He chuckled, scratching his cheek. "Well, she came barging into the office, claiming that the Sandaime Hokage shouldn't be alive, and shouldn't be so young-looking."

Kushina's mouth flew open. She searched his face, disbelieving. Of all things she had expected him to say, this was definitely not one of them. Her indigo eyes then narrowed in on him dangerously, and she stood to take one slipper off and raise it at him threateningly. "Do you think I'm an idiot-ttebane?!"

He tried to calm the offended redhead—whose hair was starting to rise—by quickly shaking his head. "No, no, I'm serious, Kushina!"

For a tense moment, Kushina was silent. The hand holding up the green slipper gradually sank. "Are you trying to tell me that that tiny brat is a time traveler?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and waited until she sat back down. He eyed the footwear still held in her hand warily. "She somehow managed to make a time travel seal from the Forbidden Scroll work—b-but it wasn't on purpose!" He quickly said, arms up to defend himself against the fury in the woman's face.

She kept her eyes on him for a moment, searching for any proof of a lie. Kushina then sighed, folding her arms to her chest again, and looked away. "Is that why we're teaching her sealing?"

Minato paused, hesitating. "Yeah, partly, I think."

"Partly?"

Kushina scowled at his obvious reluctance to continue, and kicked his shin.

"Ow!"

"Partly?" She repeated, glaring.

He bent down to rub his hurt leg gingerly, and glared weakly back. "She said she was supposed to go on an intensive training trip..." Minato then swallowed, unable to meet her eyes.

"There's more, isn't there?" Kushina pressed, impatient. His tense shoulders gave it away. "Come on, spit it out-ttebane!"

Minato whispered.

"I can't hear you-ttebane!"

"I think she might be our child, Kushina." This time, his whisper was loud enough for her to hear. Kushina's eyes became impossibly wide.

"W-W-Wha—" she stuttered and stopped, blushing furiously. Her silence willed him to continue.

"She said her name was Uzumaki Naruto," Minato said as he finally looked at her, and searched her red face.

Kushina gazed down at her hands, almost in awe. Was that why the blonde little girl had reacted so oddly at her name? "But… she doesn't know either of us."

Both were silent after that, neither daring to say what they had concluded in their minds.

They were orphans too.

Minato took hold of her warm, feminine hands, and rubbed soft circles on the back of them. "She says she's from 18 years into the future."

Kushina swallowed at that. They were going to have a baby in half a decade?

She tightened her hands around his, and tested the name on her lips.

"Naruto…"

Minato smiled, and leaned over the table.

"Naruto."

Naruto sat atop the Third's head, gazing down at the brightly lit village. The night breeze was nice, she thought passively as it brushed through her hair.

After making sure that no one else was nearby, she took off the mask. She rested her head on left palm, casually gazing at the white face staring back at her. She then flipped the mask over to see the back.

She inspected the small seal placed right where her nose should go. "Fuinjutsu's real useful… I never knew this was how they put these on."

She placed it back onto her face, sending a small pulse of chakra to her hand holding the mask. Once it was secure, she released it.

She then thought back to Konoha… No, her Konoha. She wondered what happened after Sakura-chan saw her disappear. She wondered if Kakashi was mad that she forgot about training. Naruto paused. Nah, he wouldn't be when she was missing… What they would care about was her missing, right? She really hoped there was a solution to get back, but from the way the old man—not so old anymore now though—and Minato-sama had put it, it would take a while (if not impossible, but she tried not to think about that)… What then? Would she bother going back? What would happen if she were to go back that late?

Would she end up thirteen again in her original time, like she was supposed to be?

Or would she end up in front of a much younger Sakura, years older than she was supposed to be?

Naruto shook her head as if to rid it of the various scenarios she thought up. She then lied on her back, folding her arms behind her head.

The stars looked brighter here, she thought.

She stared at the white, white moon, and spoke to it. "I was supposed to go on a training trip with Ero-sennin, y'know?

"Get stronger and faster and better. Strong, and fast, and good enough to bring him back..."

She was back in a time where it might be possible to change it all. Yet she wasn't permitted to.

But did she really want to?

To save them, that would mean she would have to stay, to sacrifice everything she came to know and love, everything she could have had and achieved.

She was not a selfish personーat least, not when it came to the lives of those she cared most about, her precious people. However, how could she let go, truly, when her life had just turned around? When she suddenly had people to call precious, people she loved and knew loved her? She could count the number of people she could turn to when she was little on one hand but now... Now, she had made dear friends even from Wave and Suna. Bonds. She would have made even more, she knew. Everything just began for her. Everything she gained, everything she lost... Up until this point, what would all of that have been for?

Nothing, an angry voice, one so filled with hate and sorrow spat from the back of her mind.

She closed her eyesー

"Life is not fair. Surely, you have realized at least that by now."

ーand opened them again, wide. She whipped her head around, looking for the source of that voice until she realized whose voice that was.

Kyuubi!

"Uzumaki Naruto," He spat from the depths of her mind, and yet it was so loud and clear in her ears.

The Nine-Tails' voice always held his unadulterated hatred of her, of Konoha, of humans, but Naruto had never felt it shake her core as much as it did that instant.

"You've really done it this time, haven't you?" He let out a sinister chuckle, one that sent shivers down her spine and made her mouth suddenly as dry as the Wind Country's deserts.

"H-How are you able to talk to me?" Her voice shook so much it was a wonder how it managed to come out at all. Dread filled her to the core. How? He has never been able to talk to her outside of her subconscious. She always had to go to him.

Her question was met with silence.

"Answer me!"

She heard him release a low, condescending huff. "It's almost amusing how you believe everything would be handed to you on a silver platter by demanding like a child." She bristled, yet kept silent. He then chuckled menacingly. "Because that's what you are, a pathetic little child."

Naruto sucked in a breath sharply. She immediately closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she let out a yelp. There was the beastly demon behind the tall cell. No visible change in the seal and the bars that kept the fox in. Nothing different that she could see. Relieved, she took a step closer.

Only to jump hastily back when the Kyuubi's paw-hand slammed against the iron bars. Its long, sharp claws ended a mere few inches away from Naruto's paling face.

Here, inside her mind, his voice boomed and echoed. "I suppose I'll entertain you."

Her eyes hid none of her immense fear as she stared nearly cross-eyed at the claw closest to her nose.

"You've managed to make the Hakke no Fūin Shiki open wider by pouring so much of my chakra into Tobirama's seal." His great long tails flickered, and his black lips stretched wide to reveal a sharp set of fangs.

"What…?"

"Your precious Yondaime made a crack in this wretched seal thinking you could use my chakra." He scoffed, and retracted his hand to slam it down on the ground. Waves of water were forced away from it. "Well, you really needed the help, otherwise you'd be dead."

Naruto was about to shout at him not to insult the Fourth Hokage, but stopped short when she realized his words. "He thought I could use your chakra? What do you mean?"

Foam the color of fire spread from within his cage towards her and when Naruto noticed them she jumped back hastily. Her feet clumsily knocked against each other and she tripped backwards.

"Luck is now finally by my side... The fool made things so much easier for me," he sneered, as he slowly went back into the shadows. The foam was bubbling up as it was close to reaching her feet. "I didn't think I would be getting my long awaited freedom so soon."

Her wide eyes connected to blood red, demonic ones glinting from the darkness behind the prison.

The foam, Kyuubi's chakra bubbled violently as it spread around her.

"Soon…"

Naruto had arrived back in a daze late last night, and was given a tongue-lashing by one, very angry Uzumaki Kushina. Both the woman and Minato had gotten worried because she had been gone for so long, to which Naruto could only apologize profusely, stating that she had gotten lost—not entirely a lie, as she did get lost for a good ten minutes finding the right block.

After some more scolding, Kushina had left with a kiss to Minato's cheek and a hug to Naruto, leaving both stunned and flushed.

It was now the next morning, and all three were at to the Hokage tower. Naruto yawned loudly, wanting to rub the sleep out of her eyes. If only this darn mask wasn't in the way… She barely slept a wink as thoughts of the nine-tailed best had plagued all night.

"Minato, you've told Kushina, I hope?" At his nod, the Sandaime continued. "Good. It is as we feared, there is no countermeasure on this technique, Naruto."

The girl clenched her fists tightly. Her nails dug painfully into her palms. "Nothing?"

His eyes were grave, and she gritted her teeth. "You could go back but not forwards with Tobirama's seal. We can find a way to change that, but the fact that this is an incomplete jutsu… I don't know how you managed to make it work, but trying to make you a way back either way is nigh impossible."

"Wait, doesn't that mean that there is still a tiny chance?!" She slammed her hands at his desk, eyes begging.

He could only give her a gaze filled with regret and pity. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but it is a risk we cannot have you take."

All she could do then was stand there, hands slowly retracting back as she moved her gaze down to the floor in despair. All she could do was think about everyone she was leaving behind in the future. All she could feel was the precious bonds she held so dear pull painfully from her heart.

"Then… Then… I'm stuck here?"

Tension permeated the room, and Kushina hesitantly approached her. "I'm sorry, Naruto." When the tiny girl's hunched shoulders trembled, she placed a hand on one gently.

She empathized. There was one time, years ago, when she was suddenly been pulled away from home, away from the ones she grew to care about here in Konoha (though she didn't admit it back then)...

Naruto suddenly stood up, and the woman jumped in surprise. The girl mumbled something under her breath, something she couldn't catch.

Kushina bowed down slightly, to hear her better. "Naruto?" The girl looked up at her with a sudden fire in her eyes, and knocked the older Uzumaki's hand away.

"No," Naruto then glared at the Hokage, "I will not give up-ttebayo!"

Her words made their eyes widen. Kushina furrowed her brows and approached the girl. She tried to reach out again, but stopped when the girl tensed up. "Naruto," she said softly, "we understand this is hard, but you need to accept—"

"I can't!" Naruto's growl made the woman flinch back. "They're waiting for me."

You haven't been by much lately now that you're busy with all your missions, Ayame's been worrying, y'know!

"I've got to go back."

Hurry up, brat, I've got research to do!

If she doesn't, if she fails to return to her time... what will Akatsuki do? Dread filled her. They'll stop at nothing to get their hands on all of the tailed beasts. They might—no, will—attack Konoha to find her.

Shaking her head, Naruto jumped back to face all three. She scowled determinedly. "If there is no way back I will find one! I will find it, and take the risk-ttebayo!" Minato narrowed his eyes.

"You might die, Naruto. It's too dangerous." He stepped closer to the blonde, intent on getting it in her head that—"We can't let you be reckless!"

Naruto, you dolt! Get it in your thick skull that you should think before you jump!

Hn, it's a saying, dobe. Sakura, if she hasn't got a brain how do you expect her to think?

Don't rile her up, Sasuke-kun!

Maa, maa, I'm sure she will grow one eventually.

"I shouldn't be here to begin with." She snapped back. "I don't belong here... I belong there. I need to go back home!"

She isn't the monster fox; she's a member of Konohagakure. She is—

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, and Uzumaki Naruto never gives up-ttebayo!"

"If I am right, I believe you are from the future." - taken right from Lost Tower.

I based Minato and Hiruzen's reactions on Minato's from Lost Tower, the fourth Shippuden movie. Y'all should watch it if you haven't already. Please. Watch it.

Now, about Naruto's mask...

(If you want to know how it looks, it's the cover image of this fanfic.)

I thought it best to cover her up 'cause honestly, she's too recognizable. And I didn't want to use just any mask (though i almost settled on the rabbit), so I borrowed Menma's (the Naruto counterpart in Road to Ninja). I changed it quite a bit, though. The shape is the same, it's just the design I toned down first. I got rid of the patterns except for the ones on the ears and mouth/snout/cheeks (the red line that kinda strikes from one cheek to the other and becomes fatter in the middle). Then added the whiskers, and leaf insignia, where the 'third eye' (I think that's what the thing on the original was?) should be.

And... If you need any more convincing on why it should be this mask...

Don't those pointy ears look a lot like horns? Heh.

Now the trigrams on both sides of Naruto's mask...

I did a lot of researching on Naruto wikia, and found that Sai's seal-the seal Danzo places on all his Root agents' tongues-are actually one of the hexagrams from I Ching or something, a text from an ancient Chinese classic. So are the whiskers on Naruto's face when he goes Yang Kurama Mode, which is where the idea of putting this specific kind of whiskers on Naruto's mask comes from. Each cheek has three parallel lines, and they're called tiān (Heaven). When the two are stacked together they turn into a symbol called qián, and it's the symbol for Force. Acc. to Wikipedia, other variations include "the creative", "strong action", "the key", and "god".

Ain't that pretty cool?

I use mostly this timeline, by the way: www wattpad com and add /193847765-naruto-timeline-naruto-universe-timeline# But it won't be exactly the same, cuz dammit Kishimoto, Naruto's full of plotholes and timeline errors and I know it's hard to keep track of everything but still...Mhhhh