A/N Welcome to the Chapter 1 of 'Tender Sea'.

Since she has to adopt a new identity Naru will have to get a new name. The title was a small hint but you'll see it pretty early on in this chapter.

I forgot to mention before (even if it was obvious), but;

This is for demon/summon speech (mostly Kurama)

And Italics are for thoughts

As soon as her new name is revealed I will stop using Naru unless she's dreaming or having a flashback.

For those who have read the original like before this will be similar and different in ways (...ahahaha, I'm recycling authors notes as well), so hopefully you won't get bored 're-reading it'.

So without further ado~

~Chapter 1 - REVERT

"Minato-sensei, it smells… wrong over here," A silver haired boy stated.

"Look," A young brunette called in response, "This might be where it's coming from," The blond jounin and her teammate walked over to the bushes where she was staring at a thick trail of blood.

"Well, I guess we should follow it." Minato stated with a sigh. This was meant to be a simple scouting mission around Konoha, but the amount of blood here meant a death, possibly of one of their comrades. Hey signaled his students and they followed the trail while staying behind him and hopefully out of harm's way. They all heard it before they saw anything, a low growl through the forest that asked them to turn back. Of course being ninja, a wild animal wasn't too much to worry about so they pressed on. Minato raised his hand to push away the last few branches revealing a small clearing that smelt like death.

"What happened here?" The girl asked, examining the two corpses which lay on the forest floor. Both were male ninja, probably about the same age as their sensei, and seemed to have been mauled to death by a wild animal. Said animal stood fiercely, a couple steps away, growling at the intruders.

"That fox, it can't have taken down two trained ninja." The boy commented in disbelief. The fox snapped at him indignantly.

"It looks like it did." Minato said slowly reaching for a kunai in case the situation turned bad. At the slightest movement the fox turned its eyes to him and the blond was surprised with the intelligence he could see. Deeming the three newcomers safe the fox stood down and returned to what it was doing before, scavenging anything useful from the corpse. It searched around and pulled of a headband from the nearest body, bringing it to the team.

"Iwa." The girl red as it was dropped by their feet.

"The fox did us a favour then," Her teammate responded, "Though I don't understand why it's being so docile now." The fox growled at him but moved on, picking off the ninja's tool pouch. It sent them a look and motioned ahead.

"This is unreal," The brunette stated, "Are we supposed to follow?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Rin." Their sensei replied. The fox looked impatient and kept pointing forward with its paw. "I guess we might as well." The animal nodded its approval.

"I wonder where it's leading us." Rin pondered as they kept a normal pace, making sure to stay a couple steps away in case the fox went feral.

"Up ahead there's a shallow stream." The boy remembered. He was correct, the fox had led them to running water before tracking across it and behind a large tree.

"I guess we better see what it wanted to show us." Minato wondered what he should put in his mission report later on. Maybe something about the apparent increase of the intelligence of wildlife in the forest?

"Sensei!" Rin called, having passed him while he was thinking, "Come quick!"

"What is it?" He dashed and arrived just as she finished talking. "A girl?" There lying a top a bed of leaved was a young girl, covered in blood and wounds from head to toe with her clothes torn to scraps. "Rin can you check her?" The fox stayed back, silently watching.

"…She's alive." The brunette responded, feeling a small pulse.

"What should we do, Minato-sensei?" The boy asked.

"We'll take her back with us. She needs to be treated." He bent down and gently lifter her up in his arms. He wondered if this was what the fox wanted all along, for someone to save this girl.

Naru's eye fluttered open and she found herself staring at a stark white ceiling. She turned her head and surveyed her surroundings. To her left was a door and more white walls while to her right was a window. "A hospital?" as she spoke Naru noticed her voice sounded all wrong. It was too high compared to her usual soft tenor. She slid her legs to the side of the bed and slowly stood up, instantly taking note of the height difference, and walked towards the mirror by the wall. There she realised hearing someone tell you that you're going to de-age and finding yourself in your younger body are two vastly different things. She brought a hand to touch her whiskered cheeks and her reflection did the same.

"This is me?" She lifted up the flimsy hospital gown she wore and examined her body anxiously. The thing that caught her attention first was the bold, black seal on her stomach, the Hakke no Fuin against her pale skin which should have been tanned, standing out in all its glory. Naru frowned slightly, it was probably a side effect of her remade summoning jutsu. Speaking of that, where was Kurama now? Her eyes trailed up to find a peculiar scar on her chest, precisely above her heart. It was quite large, about the size of a clenched fist, appearing as if someone had torn a hole through her chest. The matching scar she knew would be on her back confirmed the fact. Both blemishes were completely smooth and you wouldn't be able to tell it was there from touch. It was the only scar the Kyuubi wasn't able to completely heal, probably because she had died from it, if only for a minute or two. Letting the dress fall back down She turned her attention to her hair which was long enough to trail on the floor. Naru reminded herself to cut it at a later date. A gentle breeze blew into the room and she couldn't resist the temptation to see out the window. The sight nearly brought her to tears, Konoha, in all its vibrant beauty.

"Hello?" She heard a female voice shout from outside, "What's wrong?!" A nurse rushed in and was surprised to see Naru up and about. "Oh my! How can you be standing?" Naru cocked her head confused.

"Excuse me," She said politely, "What happened to me?"

"Well, I don't know the details exactly but I heard a couple of our shinobi found you barely alive at the outskirts of our village when they were coming back from their mission yesterday." The nurse began her physical examination gasping as she noticed most of her wounds were already healed. "This is impossible!" She also examined the seal curiously but being an average medic, couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"I'm a fast healer." Naru shrugged but the nurse looked at her in disbelief, "It's something that's been passed down in my family." She added hoping the nurse would pass it off as a bloodline. She did and moved onto another topic.

"What is your name little one?" the nurse asked gently.

"I am…" She thought hard, "My name is Miyu."

"That's a beautiful name honey," the nurse patted the newly named Miyu on the head, "Do you have a last name?"

"Un!" The blonde gave her a dazzling look and just mashed her names together, "Uzunami!"

"Well I haven't met anyone with that last name before." The nurse said after a moment of thought, "Do you know where your parents are?" Miyu contemplated what to say but just went with the safest option.

"They're probably…dead." There was a moment of awkward silence as the nurse gave her a pitying look while the blond acted as sad as she could, which truthfully wasn't very hard. It was right about now that Konoha was in the middle of the third shinobi war, orphans weren't that uncommon anymore.

"Can you tell me who saved me?" Miyu asked politely, "I'd like to thank them."

"Of course." The nurse didn't see any problem with it seeing that her patient was pretty much fully healed. Though, she would have to speak to the Hokage about that. "You're in luck. They're here at the moment while one of their member's gets a check-up for his eye." Miyu nodded and allowed the nurse to lead her down the hallway. She had a strange feeling in her stomach about meeting her saviours but even if she was in the past in her younger body, she should show her gratitude. "They're in here." The nurse knocked the door and guided the small girl inside before leaving to continue her job. Whatever Miyu was about to say left her mind as she ended up face to face with her hero, the future fourth Hokage, her father.

"Why hello there!" Minato said in a surprised yet cheery voice, "It's nice to see you doing well."

"Um…" She felt extremely small at the moment, "Thank you for saving me, sir."

"Hahaha," His laughter surprised her, "There's no need to be formal. I'm Namikaze Minato. You can just call me Minato if you want."

"Then Minato-san." The time-traveler said quietly, bowing slightly, "My name is Miyu. Uzunami Miyu." She felt bad about lying but resolved to take up the identity to make the statement true.

"What a polite kid." Another voice commented. She looked up to see another girl scrutinizing her carefully. "And not a scar in sight."

"So she's awake." Miyu's eyes widened in shock as she met the new speaker's gaze. His face was younger and he had some bandages covering his left eye but still had the ever-present mask.

"Let me introduce you," Minato began, "These are my two students Nohara Rin and Hatake Kakashi, guys this is Uzunami Miyu." With his words she managed to snap out of her daze to give a small smile, but Minato couldn't help but think it looked slightly off. The jounin could only see why when he caught her gaze. Her eyes were haunted, underneath the façade of happiness, he could see every emotion that shouldn't belong. "What happened Miyu?" He asked gently, "For you to end up in that state…"

"I-" She was at a lost. What should she say? What could she say? "I don't know." She looked to the ground avoiding eye contact. It was all too obvious she had something to hide.

"Then can I ask how you recovered so quickly?" Rin questioned. As a medic she was extremely interested in the small girl's body. They had come across her completely dyed red. Yet, here she was only a few days after without a single scar.

"I heal faster than normal people..." Miyu answered.

"How much faster?" Kakashi asked, genuinely interested. She brought her arm to her mouth a bit down hard, before showing the now wounded limb to the team. Within minutes it was completely healed.

"That's incredible!" Rin exclaimed, inspecting the arm closer. It was purely fascinating to see the cells knit back together and there wasn't even any trace of damaged.

"A bloodline?" Kakashi wondered.

"I think so," Minato agreed, "Or she could just have an incredible healing rate."

"What a convenient ability," The boy noted, "Especially for a ninja." Suddenly the group was interrupted by the dramatic entry of a fox. The bundle of red fur came flying through the window stumbling to a stop at Minato's feet.

"Yip!" It looked up innocently.

"Huh, is that the same one from before?" Rin asked in surprise.

"Kurama." Miyu breathed out in relief. She knelt and gave the fox a tight hug.

How do you feel? His familiar voice echoed in her head. A bit sluggish but otherwise I'm okay.

"Miyu-chan, is this fox a friend of yours?" Minato asked curiously.

"He is my irreplaceable partner." She replied and Kurama couldn't help but feel mildly touched.

Here, don't forget these. He rummaged around in the fur by his neck and pulled out the three necklaces. I washed them in a river.

"Thank you." She retrieved the items and looped them around her neck before spotting something strange about the green crystal. Did you modify it? She asked looking at now pointed piece. It kind of resembled a kunai in her opinion.

Of course. We cannot have two of such a valuable thing in this world so I altered it. He answered.

"What's that?" Minato asked looking over her shoulder. Miyu started slightly and shied away

"They're my important treasures." She stated.

"Hmm." Minato gave her a strange look. He couldn't help the fact that they seemed vaguely familiar.

"So it's named Kurama?" Kakashi looked at the fox warily. He hadn't sensed its presence at all until it came crashing through the window.

"Yes." Miyu answered, standing back up.

"Since she's feeling better do you think we should take her to see Hokage-sama, Sensei?" Rin asked.

"Yeah I guess so." The blond sent the younger girl a thoughtful look, "But we really should get her something else to wear first."

Miyu took her time while walking. Taking the sounds, smells and sights from Konoha she had so sorely missed. She was disappointed when they reached the Hokage tower but at the same time anticipated meeting the Sandaime again. The group merely bypassed the receptionist, who seemed to shoot the animal concerned looks, and made their way up the stairs.

"Alright, we're here." Minato announced standing in front of a red door, which looked much newer than she had remembered. "Remember to treat the Hokage respectfully." He reminded each kid before finally opening the door and stepping into the room.

"Ah, Minato it's nice to see you." An aged but cheerful voice greeted. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Good afternoon Hokage-sama," The blond smiled. He didn't really know what else to say so he got straight to the point, "Do you remember the young girl my team found on the outskirts of Konoha?"

"Yes," Sarutobi shot Miyu a curious glance, "Is that the child? After what I was told I wasn't expecting her to be awake for quite some time."

"As far as I know it's probably a bloodline that allows for accelerated healing." Minato shrugged.

"And the fox?" Kurama had placed himself in front of Miyu, standing leisurely but also on guard.

"It's the same one mentioned in the report." Sarutobi let out a noise of recognition. So this was the animal who had apparently taken down two trained ninja.

"So, what exactly seems to be the problem, Minato?" the Sandaime asked using the interruption to take a break from his paper work.

"Honestly, I was wondering what we should do with her." Sarutobi turned his full attention to the girl.

"Why don't we figure it out then?" He smiled kindly and Miyu smiled back in turn, "If you don't mind Miyu-chan, I'd like to ask you some questions.

"Alright." She gave in reluctantly.

Do not worry too much and plead ignorance. You will not want to be treated as a spy. Kurama advised.

"First off," The Hokage began, "Can you tell me how you came to be dying in the forest?"

"…I don't remember." As unconvincing as she had sounded in the hospital, the current Team 7 couldn't help but want to believe her when she said it this time around.

"Really? Nothing at all?" He pressed. Miyu shook her head in the negative.

"Then what do you remember. We know your name but is there anything else?" Sarutobi made a couple of signals to a hidden Anbu. Amnesiacs were hard to deal with depending on whether or not they were liars. He would get a specialist in.

"No, not really." Miyu refused to look him in the eyes so instead stared just a bit below.

"Not your mother or father?"

"I don't recall having met anyone before waking up in the hospital." There was a short silence as Hiruzen thought on his next question.

"Then what about the fox? He is yours isn't he?"

"…Yes, he a valuable friend." Miyu began slowly, "I know at least that much."

"What can you tell me about him?" Sarutobi continued, genuinely interested.

"Kurama and I have been together for a long time…probably." She said in an unsure tone. There was another silence but this time she was the one to break it.

Be careful with your words. The fox warned and she gave a small nod in reply.

"Actually, there is something I'd like to request." Miyu began, "Please, would you allow me to become a shinobi of Konohagakure?" Her plea sent warning signals ringing in all of their heads.

"Why?" Kakashi asked abruptly. No matter how well she acted, she was suspicious. She was an unknown stranger.

"I don't know what else I could do." There was enough truth in this sentence to minimalize her guilt for lying.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked softly.

"I'm sorry for not telling you straight away but I was unaware of how you would react." Miyu bowed slightly as her mind played out the scene she would try to re-enact, "Actually aside from a name, my name, and Kurama, there are a handful of things I know I can do."

"Like what?" Sarutobi questioned.

"I know how to hold a kunai, to throw shurikens," She told him, "I can perform the Bunshin jutsu along with, Kawarimi, Henge, and Shunshin. I can tell you with a certainty, that I am a ninja."

"Hm." The Hokage hummed in thought and leaned back in his chair. A solid knock on the door interrupted the conversation but Sarutobi had expected it.

"You called Hokage-sama?" A male's voice came from outside.

"Ahh, Inoichi perfect timing. Please come in." Minato felt his eyes widen as the stranger was revealed to be the head of T.I. It could only mean one thing and it didn't sit too well with him.

"Am I interrupting something?" Yamanaka Inoichi asked, steeping in the room and glancing at those present.

"No, this is exactly the reason why I called you." Sarutobi stated. "I'm sure you've heard of Team 7's discovery."

"So this is the girl?" He caught on quick, but it honestly wasn't that difficult.

"Yes. Anyway, she has expressed a desire to enter our ranks but there is a slight problem." The Hokage continued. "Miyu is amnesiac."

"Really?" Inoichi looked doubtful.

"Yes." Minato confirmed, "But at the same time she remembers certain things… like her ninja abilities."

"So, why am I here?" He seriously hoped Hiruzen wouldn't suggest what he was thinking of.

"If you don't mind, please check her mind." He was. The head of T.I. sighed

"Are you sure. The mind is a delicate thing," He glanced at the girl who had remained silent since he had entered. "I'm more accustomed to breaking them and it isn't exactly easy on the target either." Minato physically winced and Rin wasn't looking to glad either. It was only Kakashi and the Hokage who remained impassive.

"I'll be fine." Miyu spoke up, "So you can go ahead." She garnered incredulous looks. "After all, I don't think you would have been called if Jiji didn't think you could do it." Sarutobi looked both surprised and impressed. It looked like she withheld more understanding and insight than he expected.

"That's true." Inoichi decided to ask once more, "So you're completely fine with this? If this is done probably, you'll suffer a mild headache but otherwise should be fine."

"Yeah." She could handle at least that much. She watched him bring his hands up to his clan's signature seal.

"Then we will begin." Those in the room watched in tentative silence as both bodies stilled after an initial impulse of chakra, waiting for the outcome.

A/N Thanks for taking the time to read :D

I thought that it wouldn't be fun if she got into the village too easily, so why not add mental interrogation?

As always there are a couple of clumsy sentences and probably grammatical errors but nothing too big as far as I can tell.

Just letting some familiar readers know that once this surpasses the original I'll be taking the story down. (It's confusing having so many similarly named documents)

Anyway, let me know how you liked the chapter or just the story in general.