Hey guys, welcome to chapter 2! Thanks Guest and UnicornTalesLol for leaving reviews, they really help to keep me going! Thanks to everyone who left a fav and follow as well, knowing people are interested in this makes me really happy. I will try to do a drawing of Yoku so that you guys get an idea of what she looks like and wears, and I've also fixed up the summary since I wrote it when I was really tired. To clear up something that may confuse you guys: the writing on everything in the Narutoverse is still japanese, but Yoku can read it. People also talk in english. This is because I know very little about the japanese language, except a few honorifics. I don't want to horribly mess up. Before I go onto the chapter summary I have one more statement to make: Please, please tell me if I majorly screw up anything about the Narutoverse, because I feel so dumb when I make a mistake and only notice it a month later. Also as a note, any flashbacks will be in all italics and written in 3rd person.

This chapter's full of fluff and sweetness, because I think Yoku could use some to start her journey. In this chapter there's time-skipping, because really what's a writer supposed to do with helpless babies and toddlers anyway? In the next chapter Yoku will age a bit and eventually be entered into the Academy. The fate of Yoku's father and the person Yoku's mother is related to are both revealed this chapter too.

Home was... nice. The house I was brought to was like many others I'd seen in the Naruto anime-small, wooden and unassuming. But it had a cozy feeling to it as well. I'd been breastfed on the way, since I found myself to be ravenous. Having the body of a baby was really wearing me down.

My mother hummed happily as she opened the door, revealing the interior of the house to be as cozy-looking as the exterior. We were in front of a living room, complete with comfy chairs and a couch. In one corner was a bookshelf, which I mentally noted to have a look at when I was able to. To the left of the living room was a small kitchen, looking used but clean. To the right was a corridor, which I assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom.

One thing I found weird was the lack of a TV. Sure, I knew they didn't use televisions commercially in this world, but previously growing up in a place where almost every house had one made me used to seeing them.

My emotions finally caught up to me as I was hit with a sharp pang of sadness. I'd never be able to go back to my world, I never got to say goodbye to my friends or my relatives...

Soon enough I was bawling, waving my little fists about like I could grab onto my memories and never let go.

"Shhh, honey, shhh... this is your home. There's nothing to be scared of, I'll always be here to keep you safe." my mother spoke in a soft whisper, rocking me gently back and forth. She began to hum the tune I'd heard earlier again.

I slowly started to calm down, settling into acceptance.

'There's nothing I can do to go back; that world's behind me now. I guess it's best to focus on my new future, rather than clinging to the past. My new life doesn't seem that bad... in fact, after I'm not stuck in a helpless body I may even like it.'

My small eyelids grew heavy as my mother walked into the small room I presumed to be mine. The walls were covered in a warm orange-pink wallpaper, reminding me of peaches. The crib I was placed in was soft as down, and it's wooden frame was like a fortress from my perspective. I felt... safe... and happy.

My mother kissed me gently on the forehead, then moved to switch off the light.

"Goodnight, sweet Yoku... you'll see daddy in the morning."

I woke up the next day, the late morning sun shining from the small window to the right of me. It appeared I still slept in late. As I attempted to stretch or move my body in some way, I remembered what my mother had said before I slept.

"...you'll see daddy in the morning."

I felt nervous. At least I knew my dad was alive, but I didn't know what to expect. My mother seemed to be referring to him positively, so all I could really do was hope for the best.

'Good parents are a big part of anybody's life... if I end up with a terrible dad, life's gonna suck.'

I lay there for a while, tense with worry, my mind a buzzing hive of "what-ifs". There went my plan to not be Omoi-esque.

I heard my mother's soft footsteps outside the door-then a noise from outside.

"Karu? Are you home? I'm back!" it was a distinctly male voice, somewhat highly pitched but pleasant sounding... my father's voice perhaps?

"Torei?"

'So my mother is called Karu.. and that man is called Torei. This world seems to have a knack for melodious names.'

I heard the creaking noise of the door opening, and happy exclamations of reunion.

"I'm so glad you're back... are you alright?"

"Yeah. The fighting's not been good so far. We were sent to cut off a supply route and we lost some squad members. Hopefully they didn't die in vain. But... Karu... is.."

'Fighting? Squad? He must be a shinobi.'

"Yes... she's in here, perfectly healthy." to my suprise a new voice spoke up

"Big sister!" it was the joyous voice of a young girl, by the sounds of it

"Aww, come here hothead! Was your day alright? You didn't beat anyone else up I hope?" my mother took on a mischevious but endearing tone

the girl responded grumpily "But siiis... those stupid boys deserved it! All they ever do is say mean things!"

As they talked I noticed something.

'Hothead? Beating up boys?'

"Little sis, you're supposed to be nice to the other kids! When you get older and become a shinobi, you can punch enemy ninja as much as you want."

"...the fox made me mad too..." the girl mumbled quietly

'Fox...? No way... no way.'

My mother comforted her sister, the man offering some soothing words as well. Afterwards, he said something that confirmed one of my theories.

"Karu... can... can I see our child?"

'So he is my father... at least he sounds like a good one.' Despite this thought, anxiety welled up inside of me as I heard the trio of people walk towards my room.

My mother opened the door and picked me up. When she turned around I got a good look at the mystery man. My father was of average height, with short ruffled sandy blonde hair, a soft, shy-looking face and dark brown eyes. His skin was pale with a slight tan. He wore the standard outfit of a Konoha-nin: a flak jacket over a navy shirt and trousers, coupled with a hitai-ate tied around his head. In addition to this he had a small turquoise scarf around his neck. My father looked slightly battered, indicating he'd been fighting recently. Nonetheless, his eyes held a look of awe.

"She... she's... beautiful. Karu, a-are you sure we're ready for this?" he stammered, showing uncertainty not uncommon among new parents

"I know we are Torei... I'll be here to help you if you need it. Now here, why don't you hold her?" I was passed into the arms of my father, who smelt faintly of smoke and earth.

His callused hands indicated battle experience, yet he held me as gently as he would a feather, almost as if he was afraid I'd break. He gazed at me with a look of love, just like my mother. I knew I'd like him as much as her.

"What's her name?" he whispered

my mother responded, looking down at me fondly "Yoku... well. Because I hope she'll stay healthy and happy. Perhaps she will share such an attitude with others too."

"Our little Yoku... it's perfect." my father whispered, hugging me to his chest slightly. I let out a bubbly giggle, the closest I could get to laughter.

'These people are so... kind. I'll accept them as my parents, to really start my life in this new world.'

"See? She likes you already!" Mother said with a grin, making Father grin too

"Big brother Torei! Can I hold her? I'm her aunty after all!" the girl asked from below, reaching up impatiently. As I was passed to her I got a good look at the girl and her long red-

'Oh. Red hair.'

Smiling above was a face I easily recognized. A young Kushina looked at me with curious blue-grey eyes like Mother's.

"She's so small... was I that small when I was born?" she asked quietly

'Kushina's my aunt. I definitely know when I am now. Timeline stuff aside... this is great! Kushina's an awesome person and ends up having a kid of her own, so she'll probably be a good aunt too.'

"I think you were bigger sis. You were a pretty chubby baby!" Mother joked, causing Kushina to stick her tongue out at her

"She may be small now Kushina, but she'll grow up to be big and strong like you one day." Father chimed in, ruffling Kushina's long hair

"Well, then I want to help her be strong too! I can show her how to talk and walk and fight and..." Kushina continued to babble

The afternoon passed quickly, full of hope and the prospect of a good future.

I got up slowly, moving my unwieldy body forwards as fast as a toddler could. I was almost three now, and I was going to make myself walk properly as soon as possible. Having such limited mobility with a mind like mine was killing me. I could form coherent sentences, with difficulty. I had to use smaller terms so people wouldn't get freaked out by a toddler talking like she was six times her age. I could write a little too, but alas. My curse of messy handwriting seemed to have carried over into my new body as well. Being a toddler was a real drag.

My target was in front of me after a few minutes of stumbling forward. I blinked at my clear reflection in the mirror, taking in my short stature and tuft of aburn hair. I was wearing a small pink shirt and faded blue shorts, with a diaper underneath them. It was a rare moment when I was all alone-Father was away often, but Mother was usually here to take care of me. Even if she was gone, Kushina would watch after me. But today she was off on a mission with Minato and a few other chunin.

I recalled the tense couple of days following her kidnapping by Kumo-nin, and with fondness the day she came back talking about a certain blonde-haired blue-eyed boy.

"Kushina!" Karu gasped when she opened the door to find her disheveled little sister on the step

"It's okay big sis, I got rescued!" Kushina exclaimed cheerfully, though she was bedraggled and weariness showed in her eyes

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Karu cried, pulling Kushina to her in a tight hug

The sisters came into the house, where Kushina was restored by some tea. Yoku was in her mother's arms, content and somewhat relieved.

"So, hothead... who rescued you?" Karu was no stranger to the fact that many villagers still disliked their family for being foreign. Kushina hadn't really made any friends as a result.

"It was.. um... a boy I knew..." Kushina mumbled, a light blush dusting her cheeks

"A boy, huh? I thought they were all scared of you!" Karu attempted to lighten the mood, but Kushina just began to fidget nervously

"Wh-when I was kidnapped, I left strands of my hair behind so that maybe someone could follow them and save me. We ended up close to the border and I thought nobody was gonna save me, but then the boy came..." Kushina blushed even more, and Karu was catching onto it

"Oh... so this boy, did he say why he saved you?"

"H-he..um... he said that... he liked my red hair..." Kushina stammered and Yoku giggled. To her the whole scene was adorable.

"Is that so? Well, little sis, maybe you should be less of a hothead and try to talk to him again. You two could become friends." Karu said, already matchmaking

"U-um... b-b-but I don't know if he'd l-listen..." Kushina was as red as her hair, which she was now knotting with one finger

"I know he will Kushina. Say hi to him tomorrow, you'll be surprised." Karu smiled, and Kushina did too.

A smile crept onto my small face at the memories. Minato and Kushina were dating now, both head-over-heels for each other. Love like theirs always brought warmth to my heart-it was so pure and true. Much like the love between my parents. They may not have had long periods of time together, but it was easy to see the strong connection between them.

My attention turned back to the big mirror in front of me. I was in the bathroom, having gone there to try and "Potty train" my body. I couldn't stand the humiliation of getting a diaper change, even if it was normal for toddlers and babies. I wanted to regain my dignity as fast as possible. After washing my hands I noticed the mirror and wanted to have a look at it.

My face was pudgy with baby fat, but I got a rough idea of what I would look like. I had the same eyes as Mother and Kushina, big and round and blue-grey. Just like the eyes I used to have, though they were not so big and round. My skin was paler than Mother's, likely due to Father's genes. My hair was already looking ruffled and messy, but it wasn't brown like Mother's or blond like Father's. It was a dark red-brown, reminding me of chestnuts. Perhaps the red came from some other relatives-red hair was a common trait among the Uzumaki. If I was lucky, I'd grow up to be pretty, or at least average.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. An idea that sounded incredibly stupid, but I wondered... was it possible?

So, I stood in front of the mirror and attempted to make cartoony anime faces.

'...holy shit.'

I was staring back at a furious looking toddler with big white eyes and sharp teeth, signifying an angry grimace. I dropped the expression and my face returned to normal. I tried again, this time with a look of defeat.

Sure enough, my forehead was shaded blue with black lines going down it and my face was in a sad pout.

'This is so trippy.'

I tried again and again with different faces, each time getting more confused and amused. In the end I was giggling on the floor, wondering how in the hell such things were possible.

The next day, when I saw Father coming home exhausted and a bit scratched up, a grave thought entered my mind.

'I'm going to have to become a shinobi someday if I want to protect anyone or change anything. I'd better enjoy my carefree toddler days while I can, before I have to hit the ground running. Maybe I'll be able to handle it.. at least I'm already mentally prepared. Most people have to grow up very quickly to adapt to the harsh life of a ninja. I'd better investigate my chakra a bit so I can get an idea of how jutsu is performed.'

I concentrated very hard, feeling the lifeforce within me-my chakra. As I sensed it's pattern it was not unlike the sensation of blood flowing, just more... noticeable. Being an Uzumaki, I had slightly larger chakra reserves than usual. I'd learned that chakra was split into two halves: spiritual and physical energy. At the moment my spiritual energy was greater than my physical energy, mirroring my predicament of a strong mind but small body. I knew I would have to train hard so that my physical energy could become equal to that of my spiritual. The two needed to be molded together for jutsu, after all.

'I'll need to learn handsigns too... I hope my hands are more flexible than they were before.' In my old world, every time I tried to imitate a handsign from Naruto it didn't feel very comfortable

Despite the gloominess of a tough life hanging over me, there was a thought that made me look forward to entering the Academy.

'Judging by the time I'm in, I should be part of Kakashi's generation, which means I'll probably meet some of my favorite characters. Guy, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai... even Obito!'

That last name in particular made me happy. When I began watching the Naruto Shippuden anime, Obito to me was at first just someone who I heard was in Kakashi's team when he was young. Then I learned more about him and watched Kakashi Gaiden, and his goofy but determined personality stuck with me and became endearing. He was so kind and sweet, not to mention that his ideals improved Kakashi's outlook on life and determined Naruto's way of thinking. The fact that he wasn't very skilled just made me root for him to triumph even more.

'His love for Rin on the other hand... I could take or leave.'

It wasn't that I disliked Rin, she was just so... plain. Average. Other than being shy and friendly she didn't seem to have anything that made her personality stand out.

'Hell, her ninjutsu in the last Naruto Storm video game was... summoning a log. A log. No spikes attached to it, no poison or hidden traps. Just a plain old rolling log. In comparison to the menagerie of awesome jutsu the others characters had, it was a little boring. It was like the game developers knew how average she was.'

Maybe Obito fell for her because she was the sweet little shy girl, but the fact that she never even returned his feelings was always a point of frustration for me. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was characters I liked suffering. First Obito got crushed by a boulder, then he went on a bloody rampage because he saw Rin die. But afterwards was the worst. Afterwards he was just so... empty. Broken. Even though he redeemed himself in the end, his fate just made me feel really sad.

Long story short, Obito Uchiha became my favorite character in the series, and I appreciated Kakashi's story a lot more too.

'But now... now I have a chance to change things. With my knowledge, I could stop Obito from ever being crushed, from having his heart and dreams shattered. I'll do whatever it takes. By saving Obito, I can consequently save Minato and Kushina too, and stop Kakashi from being guilt-ridden.'

At that point, resolve filled my being. I would change this story for the better, I would protect the village and the people dear to me.

And I would never give up.

Yoku has been filled with determination! That's all for chapter 2, folks. Lots of love and fluff mostly. The next chapter will see Yoku older and interacting with some characters, plus one more time skip afterwards where she enters the Academy. Her chakra nature will be revealed also. The whole "Anime Faces" bit was something I came up with out of boredom.. whether it will be explained or not I'm not sure. Props to anyone who guessed that Karu was related to Kushina, I figured it would make Yoku's emotional connections more significant. Please do leave a review, fav or follow guys! I need to know if I can improve anything, or if anyone actually likes my writing. Plus getting them really boosts my confidence and inspiration. See you guys in chapter 3!