Chapter 4

"N-Nar-uugh..."

"Shhh, Sakura-chan. Don't talk. I'm going to get someone to heal you."

Sakura exhaled, but Naruto knew she was struggling to breathe. They were ambushed even though they were so close to their destination. Someone had to have seen all of the explosions from their camp, he had been throwing around Rasengan after Rasengan as well as tossing explosive kunai all over, not showing any mercy to their ambushers after Sakura had been injured.

Normally he would only aim to cripple, since their opponents were mere puppets under an everlasting genjutsu, but his rage made that an impossibility. While he was trying to make some space for them to fight, an enemy had come out of a shadow and struck Sakura in the back of her chest with a sword, running her through.

He wasn't a medic, so he had no clue what kind of trouble she was in. All he could see was that it looked very, very bad. So bad that she couldn't concentrate to heal herself, though considering the mission they finished she was undoubtedly running on fumes anyway. He had offered his chakra for her to use, but it took even more focus to use someone else's... focus she just didn't have.

"Baka." The word was whispered, but was done with force. Specks of blood appeared on her lips and chin as she struggled to adopt a fond expression as she looked at him. Unfortunately the struggle to stay alive kept it from looking like anything other than a grimace.

Naruto offered his teammate a tight smile, trying to ignore the slightly gurgled, breathless whisper. "Yes, I am. Now hold on, I know someone had to have seen all of this from camp. We're not that far but I don't want to move you and risk making your injuries worse."

He noticed as her lips finally managed to twitch upwards in a very small grin. She was probably relieved that at least some of her lessons had gotten through. Of course, he was about to say lessons be damned and he'd call upon Kurama's chakra to literally fly back to their camp.

A tug on his jacket caused him to look down, seeing her blood-covered hand grabbing the green vest.

"Kiss... m-me."

Naruto's expression must have betrayed his shock, because before he could say anything she gave a firmer tug, pulling his face down towards hers. As he hovered over Sakura's face for a moment, he took in her features while trying to ignore the small trail of blood that went from the corner of her lips down along her neck, mingling with her pink hair.

She kept her eyes closed, so Naruto moved in, gently pressing his lips against hers. It was almost as if she came alive again for those few moments, kissing back hungrily and fisting both of her hands in his hair, keeping his face close to hers. Naruto tried to concentrate on exactly what it was he was doing – kissing his first crush for what was likely the first and last time – while ignoring the distinct taste of blood on her lips, and the occasional cough.

When they finally broke apart, he gazed down at her and quickly noted that she had started shedding tears.

"Still... l-love you..."

"Sakura-chan, I love you too. I always have."

She smiled again, or at least tried to. It appeared to Naruto as if she wanted to say more, but the hand that she had moved around to rest against his cheek slowly lost its fight with gravity and fell to her chest, just as the other hand that was still in his hair slowly released and fell away, onto the soft dirt.

As he watched her eyes slowly lose focus and smile fade, he began to revisit in his mind all the times they had spent together in the past, from the moment they were children up through this war. From all of her initial rejections of his affections, up until their final not-quite romantic encounter where he had rejected her because he knew deep down she wasn't being honest with him, or herself. The war started immediately after that, and while both of them may have wanted to do something if the war ended, neither of them had the time to even think about relationships.

Naruto brushed some loose hairs away from her forehead, which he still thought was charming, and laid a brief kiss on it. He knew that she was gone, and was not about to bury her here, so he moved her arms to cross over her body, then lifted her up bridal style.

As Naruto tried to clench his jaw and blink the growing tears out of his eyes, part of him wondered if he should have just moved her to the camp anyway. That line of thought was promptly dashed to the ground upon arrival at the camp – or its remains, anyway. No wonder there was no help, all that remained of his team was blackened bones and scorched earth.

All of this was too much for him to bear. So for the first time since Tsunade's death a year ago, he knelt down with Sakura's dead body in his arms, and finally cried.

Not surprisingly, Kurama remained silent the entire time.

Today was October tenth.

Under normal circumstances, today would have been his birthday. Not that anyone really paid attention to days of celebration during the war, but the date was still important, at least during his childhood. In his later years, everyone who wasn't caught under the harsh genjutsu of the red moon cherished every day of their freedom, so specific meaning behind various days of the year were lost in the rush of just trying to stay free.

Thankfully, there was no red moon yet. That was why he had come back in time in the first place. The Hokage had him sitting in on meeting after meeting, trying to figure out what they could change without it altering everything Naruto knew of the future.

As for the day of October tenth, before the Kyuubi was freed on the outskirts of Konoha, it was quite an unremarkable day. Since the only people who knew that today was his birthday were the Hokage, Danzo, and Yamanaka Inoichi, he sincerely doubted that he'd get any well-wishes or presents from anyone like he used to.

Therefore, while it was his birthday, it was also just... another... only thing that made this particular October tenth stand out was that Sarutobi had asked him to summon a few people to his office – those who he was planning on assigning to one of the missions that Sakumo was going to have, but Naruto was taking over. The Hokage had decided not to send any of the original members he had planned on, and instead was going to place shinobi on his team that should be able to support him better, if he was in fact a 'one man army' as he claimed.

Naruto stopped his thoughts as he came up on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound. The area was rather large, even larger than he remembered from when he was younger. Admittedly it may have been the same size – he didn't really pay much attention because Sasuke lived there alone after his entire clan was killed. Neither he nor Sakura really felt like hanging around in that empty area.

The Uchiha compound of this time probably encompassed about one tenth of the total size of the village. Even as other clans arrived and merged with the general populace that mostly consisted of descendants of the Senju, the Uchiha remained separate. As to why, Naruto could only guess. He remembered hearing from Sasuke and even Tsunade that the clan always wanted more say in the village, yet they chose to keep themselves apart from everyone else. Something just didn't add up.

The blond noted that several heads glanced up as he jumped over the compound walls, but returned to what they were doing previously when they probably realized that he was just an ANBU. The outfit itself was rather nice, he had never gotten to wear one previously. Or never chose to, mostly – his typical clothing suited him just fine for as long as he could remember. Unfortunately now he wasn't going to get away with wearing orange, as he quickly found out that a younger Sarutobi Hiruzen was much less likely to be lenient towards a man who was once Hokage and the leader of the United Shinobi Army.

He had found some dull orange fingerless gloves, however, so he wasn't completely without the color that meant a lot to him. The Hokage didn't comment about them either.

Arriving at his destination, Naruto landed in the front porch area and promptly knocked on the front door of the large house. Sasuke's house certainly looked a lot... fresher... compared to how he used to remember it. But that did make sense, since he was just about a quarter of a century in the past.

The door was answered faster than he had been expecting. A young servant girl, judging by her appearance; her eyes went wide when she saw him standing there. He tried not to look intimidating, but with a tanto strapped to his back and the mask covering his face, it was hard not to.

"Hokage-sama requests the presence of Uchiha Mikoto-san as soon as she is able."

At first the young girl in front of him began to nod her head, but then promptly began to shake it negatively. As she opened her mouth to speak, another loud voice – distinctly male – spoke for her.

"I will talk to the ANBU, Orihime. You may resume your duties."

Without a word the young girl quickly turned in the direction that the voice came from and offered a swift bow, then wandered away out of sight. Naruto waited patiently as he waited for the person with the other voice to appear, which they did after another moment.

The man had a face with sharp features, though signs of age were beginning to show. His hair had a faint silver outline, and he walked with a slight limp and a cane. As he noticed Naruto standing there in the doorway, he offered a faint smile.

"You're here for my daughter?"

Naruto quickly processed that this was Mikoto's father, and filed it away for future reference.

"Yes, sir. The Hokage has requested her presence for a mission which her skills are particularly suited for."

"Really now? Did he tell you this?"

"Sort of. I'll be the one leading the mission."

The man standing in the doorway looked him up and down for a moment, before settling on the ANBU tattoo on Naruto's left arm. "I only really know of one young man with hair the color of yours, but he was Mikoto's old genin teammate and as far as I know he hasn't joined ANBU yet. I'm also fairly certain that I know of all the ninja in the village. So you are an anomaly."

"That makes sense, sir." Naruto carefully removed his mask, pulling it over to rest on the side of his head. "I'm one of Hokage-sama's personal shinobi. I'm usually out of the village on long-term operations. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. If you want to know more, I'm sure Hokage-sama would tell you."

"An Uzumaki, huh?" The Uchiha man rubbed at his chin for a moment before nodding. "I think I will have a chat with the boss. Anyway... my daughter is with her fiancé, Fugaku. They had a reservation at a restaurant nearby."

The man rattled off directions for Naruto, and the blond quickly memorized them since it wouldn't be too difficult to find. It was here in the Uchiha compound, which is probably why he didn't recognize it from his time.

"How long ago did they leave? I don't mind waiting a little bit to give them some time."

One of the older man's eyebrows twitched upward for a moment before he barked out a laugh and shook his head. "No – honestly I think it is quite the contrary. She would be happier if you showed up sooner."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, the universal way to go 'huh?', but the man simply continued shaking his head. "It's not for me to explain why. But thank you for being polite. That's something not many are, especially to us Uchiha."

"Why not?"

The aging Uchiha stared at Naruto incredulously for a few seconds before sighing. "You really aren't in the village much, are you? Don't worry about it, explaining would take too much time and you need to go find my daughter. We wouldn't want to keep Hiruzen waiting."

Naruto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he placed his mask back over his face. This man and the Hokage were on a first name basis? Ignoring that thought for now, he bowed forward slightly, "By your leave, Uchiha-sama."

"Call me Kagami. It's my name, after all."

"Very well, Kagami-sama." That said, Naruto disappeared in a small swirl of leaves.

Kagami chuckled and shook his head before gently closing the door in front of him.

Mikoto sighed internally as she stared at the food on her plate. She had nibbled at it of course, to be polite, but her appetite was completely gone. The date so far had been pleasant... but that was it. Just pleasant – and bordering on boring.

She looked across the table at her fiancé, who seemed to be consuming his meal with gusto. He was five years older than her, and had graduated the academy at the top of his class the same amount of time before her. He was a Jonin before she even graduated, and on top of that he was a shoe-in for being the next head of the Konoha Military Police.

For what must have been the millionth time, Mikoto was reviewing why exactly she was engaged to this man. Because he was one of the premier Uchiha was a flimsy excuse, and she knew it. However her father approved of the choice and so did the Uchiha elder council, so their wedding day was very nearly set in stone. They were nice enough to let her choose, or at least it seemed that way – the problem was she didn't know what they'd do if she gained interest in someone who wasn't already an Uchiha.

The only thing that would stop it now was if she somehow got cold feet or found someone even better, but she was no coward so backing out for no reason was not something she would do. As for someone better – the only other person she would ever have considered was Minato, but he was already spoken for. She wasn't about to betray her friendship with Kushina.

She watched as someone walked by their table, likely another jonin that Fugaku knew since they began chatting amicably with each other. At least the other person was chatting with some enthusiasm. Fugaku was just sitting there, stony-faced, responding occasionally.

If there was one thing she could change about Fugaku, it would be to have him stop being such a stick in the mud emotionally. Sure, he knew how to get the job done, and while that was great... he had no personality. She grew up around people with tons of emotion, and it made her the same way. Both her father and mother got along great with virtually everyone she knew, and she was on a genin team with Namikaze Minato and Akimichi Taichi, both of whom had strong but fair temperaments. Not to mention her Jonin-sensei was Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin - you'd be hard pressed to find someone with more character than him. Even if it was of the more perverse nature.

Of course Minato was a lot quieter when they were younger, it wasn't until Kushina got her claws into him that he really started to open up. Now, speaking of personalities... she was best friends with the Bloody Habanero! Everyone in the village knew not to mess with her in any way, otherwise you'd regret it later. But yet here she was, stuck with a man who would probably eventually prefer that she be a doting housewife instead of a jonin of Konoha! It was almost as if-

A loud knocking noise on the window they were seated next to gained her attention, as well as Fugaku's, the jonin he was listening to, and a few other patrons seated at tables nearby. Mikoto's first instinct was to ignore it, but then immediately squelched that thought by hoping that perhaps that knocking would lead to something interesting.

Unfortunately her curiosity only managed to embarrass her a bit, because when she turned to look she saw an ANBU pointing at her and then gesturing for her to come outside. Not just any ANBU either, this one had blonde hair. If Minato was pulling her away from her date – even if it was boring as hell – there would be hell to pay.

Frowning, she turned her head to look at Fugaku, who was already staring a hole into her head.

"A mission?"

Mikoto let out a sigh, and gave her head a small shake. "I wasn't expecting anything. I would swear that ANBU is Minato, but I think he'd know better than to interrupt us, especially if it's just to stop by and chat."

"Hn. Try to return quickly."

Mikoto stared at her fiancé with a raised eyebrow for a moment, but his facial expression didn't budge. Feeling even more irritated now, she scoffed and offered a barely noticeable shrug before promptly excusing herself; she was plenty aware of the eyes that were obviously tracking her movements out of the establishment. It wasn't every day that an Uchiha was called upon by the Hokage's ANBU, especially not the clan heir.

Walking briskly but not quite jogging, she forcefully kept herself from breaking into a dead run as she headed for the restaurant's exit. She wasn't sure how urgent the summons were, but she didn't need the entire restaurant staring at her.

Naruto hummed to himself as he waited for Mikoto to appear. It was hard for him to place the expression that he got from her – it started out as completely shocked, only to morph into something that promised much pain for interrupting her dinner date. He barely recognized Fugaku as well; the man still looked like he constantly tasted something bad, even at his current young age. Most of his previous encounters with the man from his childhood were in Fugaku's capacity as chief of the Konoha Military Police, and being the frequent troublemaker that he was, he was in their offices about as often as he was in the Hokage's. Fugaku had habitually ignored Naruto and foisted him off on someone else, or had just dismissed the blond altogether and had someone escort him home. Anything that would keep the 'brat' out of his hair.

Before the massacre, anyway.

He didn't have to wait long, as the moment Mikoto exited the building, she promptly used a shunshin to get close to him, then growled out, "This had better be good, Minato."

Naruto had to stifle a chuckle, he didn't feel like getting a pounding from someone he barely knew now, and not at all when he was a child. Instead, he reached up to his mask, and pulled it slightly to the side so she could see half of his face. Of course it was breaking protocol – ANBU were not supposed to remove their mask on duty – but it was the only way to really prove he was who he said he was.

"First of all, I'm Naruto. I'm sorry to interrupt your date, but your father told me where to find you."

Mikoto blushed, her posture and expression immediately becoming remorseful, if not somewhat embarrassed. She crossed her arms and looked away, "Oh... Uzumaki-san, I'm sorry... I thought you were Minato, here to brag about being in ANBU. He's talked about possibly joining up a lot lately."

Naruto chuckled, waving off the apology. "It's fine. Even just sparring with him a few times I noticed he likes to brag, though he manages to do it in a nice way. We have pretty much the same hair color too, so I understand your thinking I was him."

Mikoto nodded her head, but said nothing further, waiting for him to continue.

"Hokage-sama has selected you for a mission. Meet in his office tomorrow morning at seven. Pack for two weeks minimum."

"A long term mission right before a potential war? What is the rank?"

"It's an A-Rank, unless Hokage-sama specifies otherwise. Even I only know so much."

"Do you know who will be in command?"

Naruto nodded as he moved the mask back to cover his face. "Me." That said, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Mikoto standing there.

Fugaku watched as Mikoto turned around and walked back towards the entrance of the restaurant. He had kept a discreet eye on the proceedings outside, and even if he couldn't hear what was being said, body language was fairly easy to understand.

It was obvious that his fiancée was both surprised and embarrassed about something at the beginning of their conversation, but then it immediately switched over to all business. It remained that way for the rest of their conversation until the ANBU left, and she looked surprised again.

He didn't have to wait long to ask what was going on, as she appeared at their booth and sat down in it sooner than he had expected.

"So?"

Mikoto shook for a second as if she was waking up from a trance, then offered a small smile and shook her head. "Sorry. I was just thinking. I've been tapped to go on a mission for two weeks. I have to be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

"Rather sudden, don't you think?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. I wasn't expecting it at all. But it's better than sitting around here doing nothing."

"Yes... village patrols really aren't something you enjoy, do you?"

"I know they have to be done, but I prefer to take action. We've been over this."

Fugaku merely grunted as he looked at his food again, and continued eating. It was strange, in his mind, that the Hokage would call on Mikoto of all people to run a mission. She was the Uchiha heir, after all, and if anything happened to her he had no idea what her father Kagami would do. Their clan needed stable leadership, considering their clan's checkered past within the village.

"I don't like it."

Mikoto stopped poking at her own food, and looked up at him, startled. "What?"

"I said I don't like it. You're going on a mission right at the beginning of what's looking to be the start of the next war. It's too dangerous for the heir to go out of the village right now. Especially if you're going to be gone for two weeks."

Mikoto's utensils dropped to the table and she sent a glare at her fiancé. "So what? I'm just supposed to sit here and be coddled like a princess within the village? I'm a jonin of Konoha, I want to help my village, not just be protected by it!"

Fugaku's eyes became uncharacteristically wide as he suddenly realized he had hit a sore spot. He tried to find the words to deflect or change what he said, but they weren't coming. Mikoto didn't even wait for him to say anything anyway, as she promptly stood back up from their table and stormed out of the restaurant.

All eyes were on her as she left, and then settled on him when she was out of sight. All Fugaku could do was sigh. He knew she was sensitive about the topic of her being a jonin while being the only legitimate heir of the clan. Still, he firmly believed that she had more than just her own wishes to think about. What about the rest of the clan? Other than perhaps the Hyuuga, the Uchiha were the largest clan in the village. That was a lot of people she would have to speak for someday.

"Um... I'm sorry sir. Did you want anything else?"

Fugaku eyed the waitress for a second before shaking his head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Very well. Here is the bill for the meal. Thank you for your patronage."

The waitress handed him the bill, and then moved over to another of her tables. He looked at it, then over to Mikoto's mostly untouched meal, then back to the bill again before frowning.

She could have at least paid for her portion if she wasn't going to eat it.

A/N: Reference material, for those who like that stuff. Otherwise it can be ignored.

Name :: Age :: Rank

Naruto - 20 - Jonin Commander
Mikoto - 19 - Jonin
Minato - 17 - Jonin
Kushina - 16 - Special Jonin
Kakashi - 8 - Chunin

Four people know about Naruto being from the future. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Hatake Sakumo. Yamanaka Inoichi also knows about Naruto's time traveling, but none of the details. Naruto doesn't really know Danzo the way Sasuke did, so he'll trust him as much as Hiruzen is willing to trust him. Danzo sees Naruto as a sort of ace-in-the-hole, so he'll play by the rules for now.

Chapters will gradually get a bit longer. This one ran about 8 full pages in OpenOffice with a 12 point Times New Roman font, and is just over 4k words. The average length of every chapter after this one moving forward is 12 and 1/2 pages. The longest chapter in this story is 20 pages. There are 18 written chapters, maybe more if I decide to play around with the ending a bit. Otherwise this story is done and I'm just posting a chapter a week.

~Until next week...