Writer's Note:
I own nothing! Want to give a shout out and acknowledgement to Ruffled Phoenix Feathers and their story "A Stranger in a Familiar Place" which served as the main inspiration for this story. Also want to plug in Marrei's "A Love in Time" who did a great job at fleshing out some of sexy TobixFemNaru interactions that also gave me spicy ideas. You can find both stories below. As you already know, this is a time travel story and a look into the "in between moments." In this story you will see my interpretation of Naruto's characterization as a woman, and as a woman growing into womanhood. Lots of exploration of grief, sex, drugs, alcohol, love, bonds, boundaries, emotions, romance, relationships, drama, trauma, choice, and BAGGAGE. "You get baggage and you get baggage and YOU get baggage" LOL.
It's going to get messy folks. There will be graphic language, violence, and lots and lots of sex some of the soft and fluffy variety and some of the nasty raw dogging variety. I might have the uncensored versions posted on A03 once I get my account set up but viewer discretion is advised and TRIGGER WARNING. Also, once we get more into the world building you'll get your questions answered about the technology and whatnot. Of course, shipping tags are: TobiramaXFemNaru vs. MadaraXFemNaru vs. SasukeXFemNaru. Also, if you find yourself frustrated at how confused Naru is please cut her some slack. From what I can tell without the help of hindsight and omnipresent narration she wouldn't know many of the things, context, and history that we as the audience know. And although Kurama is there to act as her guide I don't think he would have all the answers either. I also don't even think much of the information we know would have been public knowledge either so her academy history courses would only help a little bit. We're all just going to have to accompany our blonde darling as she stumbles, fumbles, and fucks around and finds out.
Still looking for someone who wants to read my drafts!
Please send me comments and messages (not begging but kind of begging), feedback and critique is welcomed but since I'm new at writing comments and encouragement would be nice to keep me going. If you want more let it be known!
s/13515082/1/A-love-in-time
s/12015718/1/Stranger-In-A-Familiar-Place
Chapter 4: Acculturation
Naruto
XXX
Naruto woke up on her back in her mindscape again. Except this time she didn't feel like every part of her body was under assault. She turned her head to the right and saw Kurama looking back at her with one of his paws holding up his face.
She smiled weakly. "Yo, what's happening buddy?"
He rolled her eyes at her. "Kit, we need to talk."
Naruto smiled mischievously. "Are you breaking up with me Kura-kun? Please, we can work this out." Kurama gave her a flat look, unimpressed by her attempt to deflect.
"What do you remember?"
Naruto used her elbow to sit herself up still feeling the weight on her chest. "I remember everyone - the Hokages, Dad, and Sarutobi-jiji...they were all there and we were trying to do something about the 10 Tails." Taking a moment to pause and allowing her memories to come back, "I remember them crusty old men giving me funny looks, and then the Shodaime, Nidaime, Dad, and Jiji created some kind of sealing barrier to trap the monster."
Naruto blushed at the memory of The Nidaime.
"Then there was a white light and we ended up in the wormhole. Fuck, that hurt like shit."
"Kurama…where are we?" She asked seriously.
Kurama sighed. "We're 80-100 years in the past during the heart of the Warring Clans era, before Konoha was formed. Currently, we are hiding in a forest in the Land of Deltas."
Her eyes widened, "What the FUCK!"
"Language little monkey!"
She was definitely Kushina's biological child. The redhead wasn't even around to raise her yet the brat must have picked up on her mother's foul mouth in utero. Kurama readjusted his posture to look her face on. "It was the Senjus and probably Madara as well. Remember those funny looks they were giving you? Like they know you? Well, that's because they DO know you."
Taking a moment to register the meaning of his words, "How the fuck is that even possible Kurama, those motherfuckers died ages before I was born!"
"LANGUAGE!"
Naruto rolled her eyes. "Okay aside from my choice in vernacular (that's right I knew big words), please explain to this ignorant monkey how in the hell would that be possible. Explain it to me like I'm stupid."
Choosing to refrain from commenting on her level of intelligence, Kurama leaned his face in close to hers. "Kit, listen to me carefully. I don't know the details but at some point, you were thrown back in time to this era. You most likely befriended the Senjus, and when you were pulled back into the future the brothers and maybe Madara devised a jutsu to bring you back into the past ensuring the timeline of events stayed consistent."
He growled.
"You need to recover your strength and make your way over to the Fire Country to find the brothers and figure out a way to get back to the present. You also need to also take time to acculturate to this era as you come up with a convincing cover story."
Naruto looked at him confused. "Why would I need to do that? Can't I just tell them the truth?"
"Kit. Look at me."
Kurama's red eyes bore into hers.
"This is the most ruthless, lawless, bloodiest, most unforgiving era in shinobi history. This isn't the same world you grew up in. Humans kill each other, they kill each other's children and rape each other's females for worldly possessions like land, resources, and power. The Senjus are the most fearsome of all these clans, Hashirama was able to capture and subdue my siblings and me by HIMSELF. If they find you to be a threat - even if they suspect you just a little they will KILL YOU."
Kurama took a second to let Naruto digest his words. He could see her eyes cloud over with fear.
"If you walk into their encampment and tell them you traveled from the future they will look at you like an insane person, chain you up, and TORTURE you."
Naruto began to sweat as the gravity of her situation washed over her. "Okay, okay, I get it, this is serious. But where am I supposed to even start?" Naruto replied.
"Well, we are in the wilderness bordering on human civilization now. Eventually, you'll need to interact with locals."
"Can't I just knock on someone's door and ask for help?" Naruto asked.
"Kit, you are not a child anymore, you need to start thinking ahead. We are in an era where people don't give away their last names in fear of running into an enemy clan. Can you really expect to approach a stranger's home in the middle of the night and ask them to help you? And if they do then what?"
Embarrassed at her childish naivety, Naruto replied "Okay, fine. We know we need to get to the Land of Fire but how do we do that?"
"You've been traveling the world almost half of your life, what do you usually do?"
He had a point. Naruto thought back to her time traveling with Jiriaya. Suddenly she felt her heart sting. Traveling alone without him felt odd and sacrilegious in some way. "Well I need to pack and prepare supplies, and I need money and a map.."
"Fine start, now how will you find those things?" Kurama asked in an attempt to have her organize her thoughts. Contrary to what others may think the Kit had many ideas, she was just extremely mentally disorganized.
"Did any of my scrolls survive?" Kurama gave her a nod.
"Okay well, I have a lot of supplies, clothes, weapons, matches…but I'm low on food and I don't think my future money is going to work in this era. I guess I could hunt but honestly, I've never been that good at it, so I need money for food and other things."
Kurama nodded again.
"So how will get money?"
Naruto looked back at him for a second, then groaned. "I guess I'll have to get a job like I used to." Throughout the duration of her travels with Jiraiya, she made it a habit of picking up odd jobs among civilians for extra spending money since Jiraiya would regularly use up all their travel stipends from Tsunade on booze, women, and other nonsense.
Kurama sighed.
"What kind of job will you get? Who will hire you?"
Naruto brought up her mental resume. "Well, I have a lot of skills and I can work under the table. I just need to have a convincing sob story and find the right people to take me in. Maybe that way I can learn about the customs of this time and learn to blend in, so when I find the Senjus I don't come off like an alien from another dimension, which I kind of am"
"Good, now you are using your higher brain."
"How long are we going to be here Kurama? What's going to happen to everyone in the present? How will we get back? Madara is killing everyone right now!" The delayed response was starting to hit her. Kurama knew this part was coming.
"I don't know Kit. Time travel defies conventional logic. In the time we spend here years could be passing by in the future present and in that case, Madara would probably have accomplished his dream of ruling the world meaning we would be too late."
Her heart froze.
"Or the reverse could be true and when we return only minutes or seconds could have passed and in that case we would still have a chance. Although I have a feeling that we were sent here by the Gods for a reason. I think you should use this time to get stronger. Perhaps have the Senju brothers train you and find out more about Madara's plan, then come up with a counter plan to defeat him."
He could see the overwhelm creep on her face.
"Another thing Kit. You must accomplish this discreetly without changing history drastically or risk damaging if not destroying the present as we know it. This means you cannot reveal any major historic information, or use jutsus which are not yet widely known like the Shadow Clone technique. I would not recommend you summon your slimy toads, use sage mode, or even use my chakra either. Powerful sensor types like Tobirama can sense my chakra and other abnormalities from hundreds of miles away and we cannot afford them tracking us down prematurely before we can develop a story that will not get you killed. And given how bad you are at lying you will need to practice for at least a couple of months before you can even set foot in the Fire Country."
Naruto's jaw dropped and her eyes were the size of her face."But that's so much time! And how can I NOT use shadow clones, that's the only thing I know! What the hell else can I use?"
"Basic control of chakra, chakra-enhanced taijutsu, wind nature releases, and the Rasengan should be acceptable. And it is better to exercise patience and get this right the first time because there will BE NO SECOND CHANCES. I repeat THEY WILL KILL YOU IF THEY DETECT ANY INCONSISTENCIES."
Naruto's face was red. "But what makes you think they'll even take me in EVEN IF I pass all their tests? You said it yourself, this is a lawless time."
Kurama was torn. He said he wouldn't tell her but it looks like he might have to give her some hints. "Judging by the way they were looking at you, it is likely that you manage to talk your way into their hearts and maybe even more."
Naruto narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean the way they were looking at me? And maybe even more?" Kurama didn't bother to answer but chose to simply look at her.
Naruto's face turned dark red remembering the way the Nidaime was looking at her.
"Ohhh God. Ohhhh God don't tell me. Ohhh, GOD! Please don't tell me I end up FUCKING the Nidaime?! Ohhh my God I'm such a whore! My parents will come back to life and KILL ME.
Naruto felt the air leave her lungs for what might be the final time. She thought back to her father on the battlefield with the Nidaime. Of all the messy scandalous things she had done in her 18 years of life - this one might take the cake. The idea was so absurd she started laughing.
"Hahahaha oh my God, oh my God, holy SHIT!" She was almost crying. If only she knew Kurama was leaving out the idea that it could be more than just the Nidaime...
"There is no way Kurama, that is insane, there is no way one of the FOUNDERS of Konoha end up stooping so low as to fuck around with the likes of me." Kurama just rolled his eyes giving up on correcting her language. "I can't say for sure Kit. Men are dogs in all eras, you'll just have to figure it out on your feet as you go along.
"Oh my God Kurama." Naruto looked at him weakly. "This is too much, I don't know how I'm going to do this. Time-travel? Living 100 years in the past? This is just too much. Why the fuck is this shit always happening to me?"
"Kit. Look at me." His voice softened.
"The spirit of my Old Man lives in you. There is absolutely no one in this world who can do this aside from you. Take the time to process and prepare yourself but know you can't run from this."
Naruto was sitting on her bottom crossed legged in the water with her face buried in her hands. There was a 5-second pause before she looked up to face him. "You're right Kurama. Maybe these things always happen for a reason. I'm probably the only idiot that can handle this much bullshit." She took another 5 seconds to just breathe.
"I'll get through this Kurama."
"We'll get through this, Naruto. Now wake up."
The pair gave each other toothy smiles and ended their talk session with their trademark fist bump.
XXXX
10 Months Later; Land of Delta:
Naruto looked around at her little one bed-room studio which she just signed the lease for. The little one-bedroom was located in a larger boarding house for travelers staying in town for longer than a few weeks at a time.
She had spent the first month of her time in the Land of Deltas living in the woods in her tent, off her rations and an emergency supply of food and medicine. She boiled water, caught and cooked fish with a makeshift wooden spear, and the pots, pans, and kettle she had in her storage scrolls. She foraged for berries, fruit, and other wild vegetables. She was even able to make herbal teas and healing remedies using the plethora of herbs she identified via the help of a book Sakura gave her for her 17th birthday.
A part of her really enjoyed living like this in the wilderness. It was the closest thing to a vacation she's had ever since she returned to the Village. It gave her the time and space to heal her mind and body after the extreme trauma she had experienced. She mainly slept and meditated most of the time. The seclusion helped her regain her sanity after literally jumping from a world war, into a time-space wormhole that almost ripped her to shreds and then proceeded to dump her in the middle of a rice field 100 years in the past in a foreign country.
She laid down on her small but comfortable futon which folded into her bed.
After a while, she did start running low on supplies and the loneliness started to creep in. She couldn't even summon a clone to keep her company at the risk of someone running into her. At that point, she packed up all her things and made her way to the nearest town.
In truth, she did not actually spend the entire first month without seeing other people. In the middle of the day and sometime at night she would cover herself with a henge and simply walk around the small village.
She had learned and practiced this many times with Jiraiya.
She conjured up the most unremarkable faces to not draw attention to herself. Obviously hiding her hair and eyes, sometimes going out as a young woman, or a little boy, or an old woman, or sometimes even as a stray dog or cat - anything that would allow her to observe society without standing out.
During her time gathering reconnaissance, she picked up on the local language, speaking dialect, notable locations, norms, customs, the local currency, and general day-to-day business. It took her 2 weeks to formulate her cover story.
She was never a good liar and she would never be either. Actress? Yes. Liar? No. Tsunade never gave her long-term spying missions for a reason. Knowing her, she would accidentally give out the key to Konoha's treasuries.
So her cover story was at least 90% true. She was an orphan from the Land of Fire (truth). When she was 10 a traveling shinobi found her, saw her potential, adopted her as his Goddaughter, and trained her as they traveled the world together. On their way to the Land of Deltas, her Godfather died protecting her from enemies who wanted to abduct her for their malicious purposes, and now she was on her own (sadly mostly true).
She did a pretty good job of delivering her story and she didn't feel too guilty. People had the sense to not ask her much either which made her life easier.
Naruto looked at the little clock above her stove. She was surprised at the availability of what she always thought were modern appliances and technologies. Although she found out that the level of infrastructure and technological advancement differed greatly among municipalities and nations. But at least in the Land of Deltas they used the same paper currency as the rest of the continent, had limited electricity, running waters, recorded music, this era's version of showers and toilets, and wood fire stoves.
As Kurama described, the Land of Deltas was a pretty modern(ish) and stable country. The commerce was healthy, living conditions were decent, and the average life expectancy for shinobi was about 35 (which was slightly above the average compared to other nations) and 60 for civilians. Healthcare and medicine were even decent enough that women could, for the most part, expect to survive childbirth.
As opposed to the larger nations like the Fire Country which based most of their economy on shinobi activities - the Land of Deltas (at least in this era) focused on agriculture and fishing. The nation was relatively progressive thinking and was quite egalitarian with men and women working side by side with each other.
Things weren't perfect though, the Daimyo had very little control over the countryside. Crime was rampant in these areas with local yakuza crime bosses controlling most of the cities. Sex tourism was the 3rd largest industry and Delta women were especially sought out throughout the continent for their unique beauty.
Speaking of which. Naruto looked at the clock on the wall. 5 pm. It was time for her to get to her night shift. She packed her little bag containing her late dinner, put on her light coat, and moved to get her shoes at the door.
On her way down the street, she stopped to greet some of her neighbors.
"Evening Taka-jiji!" She shouted across the street.
An old man and his wife waved back at her.
"Be careful Naru-chan, and come by this week for dinner!"
"I will, thank you!"
Naruto couldn't help but smile big. One thing that she loved so much about traveling outside Konoha was the fact that people didn't know her. They didn't know she was a jinchuriki and did not act with prejudice against her. Everyone just saw her as a pretty, hardworking, friendly traveling kunoichi and welcomed her with open arms.
Kurama had been wrong about one thing- people were actually really nice. At Least in the Land of Deltas, people were very friendly when they got to know you. This was going back to the fact that this was a peaceful country that did not engage in constant warfare.
Next, she stopped by a fruit stand. "Naru-chan! On your way to work?"
"Yes, Mika-san!" The little brown-haired lady came out to greet her with her favorite plums.
"Okay, come back tomorrow!" Mika-san smiled at her and placed a large ripe plum in her hands.
"I will, thank you!" Before she left she slipped the little lady some bills. Naruto finished her plum in a couple of bites and threw the pit on the ground as she kept walking. Just a couple of blocks till she arrived at her destination.
Lost in her thoughts she couldn't help but realize how happy she was.
Happy.
Her life was stable, there was no fighting, she had a roof over her head, and money in her pocket, and had even made some friends. She was happy.
Her thoughts quickly turned as dark as the plum she just ate. But what about all her friends she left behind? They certainly weren't happy, they were in the middle of a war.
It wasn't fair that she got to be happy when her loved ones were dying.
She stopped walking to watch some children playing in the streets. "I won't think about that now," she said to herself softy.
Almost there.
The sun had finally set when she arrived at her place of work in the Red Light District.
XXX
"Evening Naru-chan!"
Naruto walked into the brothel with a big smile on her face. "Yo! Kiko-chan how's it going?"
Kiko Yamato was a petite redhead with tan skin and the whitest set of teeth Naruto had ever seen. Moving over to the wall Naruto punched in her timecard and placed her belongings into the little cabinet reserved for the employees.
"What's traffic looking like tonight?" Naruto asked not even bothering to turn around. "Pretty slow, it's only a Tuesday after all." Kiko finished chewing the last bite of her sandwich.
"Well that's good, none of the guys gave you shit did they?" Kiko was extremely small, extremely pretty, and had a harder time putting her foot down than Naruto did so it only made sense for her to take a slower shift.
"Not at all Naru-chan, but I have to run now, do you mind covering for me a little early? I need to pick my kids up from their grandmother."
"No problem Kiko-chan, I came a little early so I can eat my dinner. Ohh it's baby Akira's birthday coming up right?" Naruto pulled out a couple of bills and handed it to the little boy's mother.
"Naru-chan! This is too much, really really don't need to - "
"Nonsense Kiko, I don't have my own little brat but that doesn't mean I can't spoil my friend's spawn! Get the boy that new toy he wanted." Refusing to take "no" for an answer Naruto reached over to close Kiko's hand for her making sure she accepted the cash.
Kiko smiled at her favorite blonde co-worker and got up to give her a hug. Naruto smiled and hugged her work bestie back. "You should get going now, it's getting late!"
"Hai!"
After Kiko finished packing up her work bag and zoomed out the door Naruto moved to the back kitchen and made herself a cup of green tea.
She had been working at the Pink Dragon for the last couple of months now and she enjoyed it. Her boss was fair, the clients were much more respectful than at other venues, and the working girls were fun to talk to.
Making her way back to her desk she set up her workstation. She had her water, tea, dinner, and the history book she was currently reading. She also made sure her trusty and sharp kunai was hidden but very much present underneath the desk.
Despite how many men would regularly request the beautiful blonde's "services," she had to politely remind them that she was not one of the working girls - just simply the front desk attendant.
Her job was to greet the guest, check IDs make sure the people were at least 16 years of age, passed a brief health checklist, explain the rules to the clients, and provide them with the room number where each of the working girls we're located.
She was also there to pull out a big knife on anyone who got too rough with the girls or caused any unsightly problems.
She liked her job.
And actually, her pay rate was above market price because many madames were more than happy to have a pretty girl out in the front (as opposed to the usual male security guard), who also happened to be able to put the beating down on any man who disrespected the facilities. Men came for her smile, stayed for the quality customer service, and behaved because it was very well known that the blue-eyed girl could end a man's life before he finish pulling up his pants.
Her boss Ruka-san had propositioned her many times before, claiming Naruto could make very good money if she put that body and smile to use. And although Naruto held no judgment for the profession of prostitution nor did she look down on any of the girls - she would always decline because she wasn't prepared to go that extreme.
And although the Deltanese people had a more progressive attitude about sex than the other countries this work still wasn't by any means a respectable profession.
She smiled to herself. "If only everyone knew…"
Her friends back in her time never knew where her disposable income came from. They assumed it came from taking on many missions they didn't know about. That wouldn't be wrong but it wouldn't be right either.
This wasn't the first time she worked these types of jobs. From the age of 13 to 18 she had worked in various brothels, geisha, and entertainment houses, "gentlemen's clubs," night clubs, restaurants, children's daycare centers, theatres, and any other place which required miscellaneous skills and a can-do attitude.
Back then she would use a henge and even had a stage name - Makino Uzu. But now she was in the past where no one knew her name so it was easier to just go by Naruto.
And what did she spend all her money on? Her face scrunched up with amusement. Her teen years were wild. She was young, beautiful, had money, and liked to have fun. At the age of 14, she started sneaking out in the middle of the night, going to parties, and participating in many vices and illicit activities which her parents were too late in warning her about.
"Sorry, Mom and Dad." She whispered remembering the day she met her mother's spirit, who explicitly warned her about the shinobi vices. She had blushed bright red and was unable to meet her mother in the eyes knowing very well that she had indeed been a very bad girl.
When Jiraiya found out (and he did eventually) he threw a fit and tried to play the "Godfather" card but he soon realized that times were changing and he as a man couldn't control her or tell her what she could or couldn't do with her own body. Eventually, he had become extremely supportive and gave her space to live her life and make her own mistakes.
And many mistakes did she make.
Before she could wander down those memories the doorbell rang and an older dark-haired man walked in. Time to put on her best customer service representative face.
"Ahh Ito-san, how are you doing? Here to see Aiko-chan again?" Naruto gave the man who was a regular her biggest smile.
"Of course Naru-chan, you know me so well!"
Ito-san was a businessman by day selling merchandise at the local market. He had lost his wife a couple of years ago and never remarried, instead, he always sought out Aiko-chan due to her resemblance to his late wife.
"I just have to ask you a couple of annoying questions again, is that alright Ito-san?"
Naruto proceed to ask him all the obligatory questions to make sure the men weren't coming in with obvious signs of illness which could be passed onto the girls. This didn't stop people from lying but they were trying their best.
He answered no to everything and Naruto didn't feel the need to ask him the rest.
"Great! Aiko is in room number 2, please enjoy and come again soon!" Naruto handed him the door tag clients were instructed to hang on the door nob letting others know the space was taken.
After the first client of the night was settled in Naruto settled down in her chair and cracked open her book to the latest chapter. She was reading up on the Land of Delta history and language. Although the standard shinobi world language was the defacto language, local dialects existed and different communities maintained their native language when speaking among themselves.
She had fallen in love with the Deltanese language and strived to become as proficient as possible even if she would never need to use it - it gave her something to keep her mind busy.
She was about to turn the page to the next chapter when the doorbell rang again.
"Welcome to the Pink Dragon how can I -"
Before she could finish her heart stopped cold as she looked into a pair of coal-black eyes.
"Sasuke?"
Naruto thought she was seeing a ghost. In front of her stood a young man about her age. He was handsome with inky black hair, eyes, and pale skin.
The young man looked back at her with a strange look. "Umm no my name is Daiki."
Naruto blinked and shook her head in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry…you look like someone I use to know…"
Seeing the look in her eyes it was like Daiki knew what she was thinking. He smiled at her gently and she blushed before pulling out a booklet full of the girl's pictures and handing it to him. He flipped through the book and requested to see Akemi-chan. She gave him the door hanger and directed him to the very back of the room.
"Are you okay Kit?"
Kurama could feel her shaking in her seat and reached out with his chakra to comfort her.
"Yeah, I'm okay Kurama, thank you," Naruto whispered. Kurama knew not to ask any further and closed his eyes for a nap to give her time with her own thoughts - he knew she needed some time alone.
Unfortunately, these were the worst moments for Naruto to be alone with herself.
"A ghost. Just a ghost…" She whispered to herself before the memories started to come back to her.
XXX
Writer's Note:
WOW Drama. For those of you who can't tell the Land of Delta is based on Southeast Asia. Next chapter is a flash back chapter