A/N Hi again~

Just casually posting up another late chapter...

Anyway I hope to get another chapter posted up sometime soon for those who have read the original fic since this chapter remains virtually untouched.

Anyway, I really can't think of anything more to say right now so Happy Reading to you all :)

~Chapter 4 - MISSION START

"Welcome back you two!" Minato quickly ushered in his student and his newest charge. "Kakashi you'll be staying for dinner today~" Once again his student was unable to decline and thus found himself sitting comfortably on the couch. Miyu was idly twirling her long hair, wondering why Kurama still hadn't returned. Contrary to popular belief, neither of the ramen loving blondes exclusively ate the delicious noodles. After all, it was important for a ninja to get enough nutrition in their diet. That's why today, Minato was standing over the stove in an apron, making a curry of some sort. "So did you have fun Miyu?"

"Mmhm, I made a very youthful friend and he's going to help me with taijutsu… as soon as he finishes his laps!" Of course Gai had lost the mentally 'challenging' game, and apparently the score was 51-49 in Kakashi's favour.

"Kakashi, you didn't…" The blonde jounin uttered in disbelief. His student put his hands up defensively,

"It's not like I was expecting him to be looking for me, and no matter what you can't really avoid him…" He curled up depressingly.

"I like him!" Miyu decided to add, "He seems like a good person,"

"Gai is a good boy," Minato agreed, "But he is slightly eccentric." Both males were surprised that she didn't mind the spandex-wearing teen where most would be running in fear.

"But he's interesting! And very… youthful!" She smiled brightly. Even if this wasn't her correct time, and even if nobody knew her, it was always nice to see a familiar face. A soft thumping sounded at the door, jolting her from her thoughts while Kakashi got up to answer it.

"Gah!"

"What is it?!" Minato wondered what could have frightened the stoic teen. He walked around Kakashi and opened the door only to come face to face with a tiger's maw.

"Ahhh!"

"Kurama!" Miyu ran to the door and by now Kakashi and Minato realised that the tiger wasn't even alive anymore. Looking closer Minato saw it had been eaten rather neatly and carried back by the fox.

I brought back a gift kit~ He was in a good mood after a very successful hunt.

"Since when could foxes take down tigers? Especially one as big as this, it looks like one of the overgrown animals in the Forest of Death." Kakashi mused.

That's because it is. The fix yipped back. Through the carcass was several times his own size he had no trouble lugging it through the village, unnoticed as well.

"Kurama is strong." Miyu commented.

"Strong? In what way?" Minato asked curiously.

"He can fight." The girl said proudly.

"Ah," Kakashi uttered, "But still, to take down this tiger…"

"Ku likes eating other carnivores," Miyu as if it clarified things, "they taste better and he likes the thrill of battle."

"Really now?" Minato wondered, "Well come on in, we can't have the neighbours notice and start worrying." He helped to drag the ridiculously large remains onto his kitchen floor where it just stayed for lack of anywhere better to go. "Until this is clean we are definitely not placing it anywhere near the carpet." He waved a ladle around threateningly, and both Miyu and Kurama nodded in reply, ever so slightly afraid of the blond in the frilly pink apron though they would never freely admit it.

After dinner, Kakashi left for his own apartment and Miyu went to bed exhausted. Today was just too tiring for her younger, untrained body. She would probably have to do monstrous amounts of training if she hoped to protect anyone. Goodnight kit, Kurama conveyed.

"Goodnight to you too." She yawned tiredly and slipped under the covers.

- - - - - Dream - - - - -

"Shh!" Her companion hushed her as they stalked their target, hidden stealthily in the bushes. Naru nodded tensely and waited for the signal. The man counted down on his fingers before rapidly making a series of hand signs. Out of the bushes jumped a white blur, fiercely attacking the target and she was given the signal.

"Now!" The man shouted, readying his kunai. The white blur was flung off but it had given her enough time to catch her target. She struggled slightly to keep its maw shut long enough for her companion to finish it off She heard the quick slash and the spray of blood, sighing in relief as its thrashing lessened before it finally died. She stepped back, marvelling at the white tiger that had died, the slit in its neck, staining its fur crimson.

"Haa, that was nerve wracking." Naru wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"You did good." The man complimented, "Usually it's a lot harder with only me and Akamaru." He gave a short bark and the white blur returned, showing and extremely large dog.

"Kiba, remind me why we're doing this again." The girl sighed.

"The forest of death is a pretty big food source as well, and we need provisions." The Inuzuka shrugged.

"I don't think they would appreciate eating tiger though." He waved off her worries.

"Like they'll ever have to know. Meat is meat." His partner barked in agreement.

"But this will last us for a while." She was slightly relieved, it's not like they had any other choice. Food was beginning to get scarce, there was no time to get picky.

"I know right." Kiba smiled cheerfully, "Now come here, I'll show you how to skin it." While Akamaru busied himself chasing colourful butterflies, Kiba guided her hand, giving her hints here and there about what to do.

"It' feels really weird." She commented pulling her hand out to see it covered in blood.

"You'll get used to it." He looked at the tiger's hide and gave her a thumbs up, "Not bad for a first timer."

"Thanks." She wiped off her dirty kunai and began helping him remove the meat from the bones. "So what do we do with the guts?"

"Leave it out for the scavengers." He smirked ferally, "We should fatten them up in case we run out of tigers." She shook her head in defeat, but couldn't deny his logic. Akamaru came back for a rather large femur, while he owner searched around on the forest floor.

"What are you looking for?" Naru asked curiously.

"Ah, Shino said he was searching for a rare bug in this forest before and he couldn't find it." He answered, "I was going to see if I could find it. I already have the general description."

"You two get along well." She told him truthfully.

"Nah," The dog-boy blushed, "In the beginning we fought all the time, though Hinata would always bring us back together."

"That was years ago." Naru pointed out.

"Hahahh, I guess you're right." Kiba accepted, "Shino's just a pretty cool guy. It was only after we both threw our pride away that I started to understand him. I think it was on a mission just after we got chuunin."

"I'm just glad you stopped annoying Hinata with your ridiculous fights." Naru pulled out her sealing equipment to safely store the meat.

"Yeah," He thought back fondly, "Now come on, hurry up! I'll race you back. I bet Kakashi's moping around being all lonely without you."

"He's a grown man." She hit him playfully with more power than she intended and sent him sprawling.

"Ow! That freakin' hurt!" He growled picking himself up.

"Ah, sorry about that," She laughed, "I've been training with Sakura lately." Now Kiba was the one moping around, rubbing his bruised nose.

"Well, come on. It's a race right?" Naru agreed trying to get his spirits back up. It worked and he was excited all over again.

"Yes! I swear this time I'll beat you. Let's get going Akamaru!" He and his ninken dashed off without any more warning.

"Well that was sudden." She blinked a couple of times before a smirk stretched across her face and disappeared in a flash of yellow.

- - - - - Reality - - - - -

More dreams…Naru slowly got up and stretched her arms up. Hearing a satisfying crack she let them fall back to the sides before padding to the kitchen. Kurama was still sleeping on her bed so she let while she got to work, eyeing the dead beast on the floor. Fingering a kitchen knife she got to work, skinning the tiger with practised ease. She sealed the skin away to wash later on and began removing flesh, soon all the was left were a couple of bones which she could probably give Kakashi the next time he came… or maybe even make a trip to the Inuzuka. She cursed having to stand on her tip-toes to clean up the area before opening several drawers and the fridge. She pulled out a small amount of ingredients and chucked them in a pot with the remaining tiger meat, listening to the satisfying sizzle.

That day Minato smelled stew when he woke up, and followed his nose to the kitchen. "Miyu? What are making?"

"Stew!" She pulled out a pair of bowls and gave each of them a generous amount.

"It smells great." The older blonde said in appreciation.

"I hope it tastes alright." Miyu tried some herself and smiled at the nostalgic taste.

"It tastes better than it smells." Minato said after his first bite. He looked towards his kitchen which had been cleaned up nicely when a thought hit him. "Hm? Where did the tiger go?" Miyu continued eating, watching as the fox finally trudged out only to fall back asleep on her lap.

"I cleaned up, since it was Kurama brought in the mess anyway." She answered. He was thankful but ultimately still curious.

"But that thing was huge, where did you put it?" It sure as hell wouldn't fit in the dumpster around the corner. He didn't even know if she would be able to move the thing.

"Well I skinned it and I still have the bones with me…"

"But what happened to the rest of it?"

"…" She stared pointedly at her bowl which was almost empty.

"…you put it in the stew didn't you…?" She nodded and watched as he stared impassively at his meal. He contemplated for a long while before shrugging and polishing his bowl off. "Well it tastes fine and in the end meat is meat…" He looked back towards the pot, "Do you mind if I give some to my students?"

"No, that's fine." In fact she was happy he wanted to share, ignoring the mischievous glint in his eyes. "Do you think you can give the bones to the Inuzuka?"

"Sure, I think their ninken will be happy. Where did you put them?" Miyu pulled out a scroll and handed it to him, "A sealing scroll. No, it seems a little different." Being the seal master he was, Minato couldn't help but analyse the pattern, "A preservation seal? Where did you find this?" Miyu nudged the fox awake and put him on the table.

"He likes to horde things in his fur." She stated.

I do not horde, I collect, He corrected, and the items are for you anyway. She nudged him and he searched his fluffy neck for another scroll. He was lucky and tossed the object to the jounin.

"But where did it get the scrolls from." The demon yipped an answer while Miyu translated.

"He said there were dead people in the forest so he took some of their belongings." Minato nodded in acceptance seeing as ninja frequently died in the forest of death, pushing the fact she could understand the fox aside for now. "So you know how to activate the scrolls then?"

"Yep, you just push in a bit of chakra." It was a quite a simple thing, used regularly to store food.

"I might take some for Hokage-sama as well. I'll be seeing him later on today about your enrollment." Minato stated. "Since there's really nothing for you to do at the moment why don't you familiarize yourself with Konoha? Take your time and explore the village. I trust you won't get lost."

"Alright." The girl said happy enough to go with his plans.

Kit I think we should start on that mission, Kurama advised as the two slowly wandered into the forest, away from prying eyes.

"I agree." Her eyes narrowed as she scanned her surroundings for anything dubious before putting her hands together, crossing over her index and middle fingers. A soft poof, as well as pink smoke accompanied a completely identical clone. "Quick, turn around." She commanded. The replica did as told, also holding up its hair so its neck was visible. Miyu quickly drew a seal in blood and activated it, feeling a large chunk of her chakra disappear.

Now that is done we need to get moving. The fox urged.

"You know what to do right?" She asked her clone.

"Of course boss!" It responded.

"Good, take care all right." Miyu disappeared into the undergrowth with the fox while the clone walked back onto the street as if nothing had happened.

"How much of your power have you restored?" Miyu asked her companion as the dashed through the forest, hurry out of Fire country.

Around 60%, came the fox's reply. The girl sighed.

"It'll have to do." She held up her left hand in the tiger seal, "Restriction level 1 release." The fox grew bigger, about to the size of a large horse, and had another tail added on.

I feel stronger already. He stretched his muscles and pawed the ground, before nudging the girl onto his back. I hate having humans on me but you are an exception…

"I love you too Kurama-chan." Miyu said scratching behind his ears pleasantly. The fox let out a low whine and shivered with pleasure.

Kit, kit… stop, we need to get going… He was reluctant but at least knew they had more important things to be doing.

"You're right," The blonde admitted, "Let's see now… Kagehenge!" A poof of pink gas surrounded her and when it dissipated she was in her nineteen year-old body and her old Anbu uniform, her hair tied up in a high ponytail with a silver ribbon.

You are not going to mask your face? Kurama asked as he ran.

"No, I'll let them see me and maybe they will find a connection with my younger body if we ever meet again. I also know people don't usually trust masks, it can be unnerving." The fox gave a curt nod, accepting her reason. "But we should hurry, I don't know the exact timeline, so for all we know we could be too late. I hope we get there in time." Miyu prayed, leaning into the fox's fur.

If you are that worried why do you not teleport us there then? He replied in her mind, you did not actually forget about it…right?

"…of course not." The time traveller said unconvincingly. "I was planning to … save my strength for the battle."

I will be the one doing most of the work so feel free to use it. It is probably better that way, after all the run to Ame might wear me down. She listened to the fox's advice, directing her chakra to her eyes. Blue bled into red as her Sharingan was pushed past the first level and the three black tomoes swirled into a new pattern. Hey chakra surged and the area around her distorted before they both vanished from view.

"Ah! Shit!" Miyu cursed, trying to keep her presence low as she literally free fell through the air, still on the back of the enlarged fox.

You know what kit, the fox did the animal equivalent of a sigh, we would never have gotten in this sort of situation if you had practised your Sharingan more! He certainly didn't like the idea of falling several hundred metres onto rocky grounds.

"Shut up! And stop complaining!" She growled back. He should know full well by now that she hated using 'her' Sharingan. "Anyway we need a plan, quick!" Looking down she could see two tiny dots, probably Nagato and… was it Yahiko? While on top of a cliff facing them was Hanzo the Salamander, holding Konan hostage, with a sea of ninja behind him.

So, have you got anything? Kurama asked quickly, not wanting to ruin the element of surprise that they had. Miyu shrugged, hardly reassuring him.

"I'll release some more of your power and you'll fall into the middle of the army and take out as many ninja as possible. Meanwhile I'll free Konan and take on Hanzo. If they have any sense in them Yahiko and Nagato will join the fight soon enough."

So basically charge in and wreak havoc? The fox simplified with an eager grin.

"Exactly." She grinned back, "Restriction level 4, release!" Kurama felt a surge as a large amount of his power returned. His body grew again, several times his current size, and an added three tails sprouted.

This is what I am talking about! He let out a deafening roar and she released her hold. Being much bigger than before, he of course fell much faster, landing in the midst of surprised and frightened ninja.

"What the hell!"

"Gah!"

Roar~ Kurama thought while preforming another devastating wail.

"Shit! Get outta the way!"

"Where the fuck did the giant fox come from?!"

"Just get out of the way!"

"Someone explain what the fuck is going on!" Hanzo shouted, glaring at the fox that was panicking his well-organized army. Many of his soldiers had already fallen, and at the rate the feral animal was attacking, things were just getting started.

"Isn't it obvious?" came a serene voice from behind. He quickly turned his body back, flicking out a kunai towards the speaker. "Oya, oya, you should watch were you're throwing."

"Who the hell are you?" He growled out at the new arrival. The, frankly stunning, blonde kunoichi stared back with a hint of mischievousness in her eyes. Eyes which held the Sharingan, and no ordinary one at that. He hissed with dissatisfaction.

"I wonder," She put a finger to her chin in thought and he suddenly noticed the loss of his hostage who was now unconscious in her arms, "I really don't have a good answer to that question right now."

"What are you talking about? Who are you and what are you doing here?! And where the hell did the fox come from?!" Kurama was naturally doing a great job. He easily repelled any kunai or shuriken with his tails, though they wouldn't do much damaged regardless, and fired back with his own torrents of flames. She could hear the screams as well as the splatter of blood and had no doubt in mind that he was enjoying it.

"For now let's just say I'm a vagrant shinobi here to save the damsel in distress." She carelessly threw the blue haired woman over the cliff and out of the way, sure that her friends would come to catch her. "And didn't you see? The fox and I fell from the sky."

"Argh! I don't have time for this you ignorant child!" He watched as his only hostage disappeared from view, "Die! And get out of my way! Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Ibuse!" A large dark brown salamander appeared underneath him, hissing and growling at his next opponent.

"You live up to your name Salamander~" Miyu taunted. She inwardly hoped that he wasn't the type to get stronger when angry, otherwise she would have no chance defeating the man who had overpowered the Sannins.

"Ibuse, Dokugiri!" Hanzo commanded. The quicker he got rid of the nuisance the sooner Amegakure would be under his control. The giant salamander exhaled a toxic purple gas that would almost instantly paralyze its victims. Get out of there Kurama, Miyu projected, I'm about to knock out his army.

"Fuuton – Daitoppa!" With about double the normal amount of needed chakra she blew out a gust of air, sweeping past the poisonous cloud and sending it back. Of course Hanzo and his summon were not affected but the same couldn't be said about the ninja behind him. She'd have to thank his anger that he had momentarily forgotten his surroundings, focusing all of his attention on her.

I was having fun though… Kurama whined as he appeared beside her. He was already much bigger than Hanzo's salamander and frankly had the advantage.

"Get rid of Ibuse for me," Miyu ordered, "If it takes enough damage it'll return back to the summons realm."

I would be glad to. I have never been one for amphibians anyway. The snarled intimidatingly at the salamander, baring his teeth and clawing the ground.

"I'm going to need some time, so until then don't let them touch me!" She was confident that the Kyuubi no Kitsune, even in his weakened form would be able to hold Hanzo off. Meanwhile she poured all her concentration into focusing her chakra into her right hand. Bright sparks shot off it but nothing substantial yet. The fox held its breath and dashed in, swiping at the summon and aiming to spear it with one of its tails. Hanzo fended the tails off diligently with the blade of a sickle-like weapon while the amphibian dodged with surprising agility,

Stand still would you? Kurama growled out in irritation. He would probably need to breathe soon and didn't want to stand next to the poisonous creature any longer. The next time it breathed out the gas would be its last.

"Again!" Hanzo commanded after the five minutes he needed were up, "Dokugiri!"

Perfect. His voice resounded with smug satisfaction. The fox arched his back before rearing back and shooting a large fireball into the fray. The cloud of poison ignited and Hanzo was thrown off his mount which was now writhing and screeching as it burned. The fox laughed wildly in yips and yowls as the fires brushed harmlessly across its fur. That'll teach you to go up against me! The great Kyuubi no Kitsune! Miyu ignored his gloating as her preparation were finished and stared into the explosion's smoke for her target. Her Sharingan easily found him around some rubble, kneeling and possibly badly injured. She lowered her stance slightly before dashing forward, her arm covered in blue electricity, shaping it like a blade. She wouldn't give him a chance to recover or escape, happy enough that the explosion trick had caught him.

A/N Thanks for reading :D

I hope you enjoyed the Kiba/Naru dream. This would have been during the war, near the beginning, before things started going bad. Naru is out of Anbu here and Kiba is about the level of an Anbu recruit. You can imagine most of the Konoha 11 aroung this level as well.

The dreams will continue and I hope to show you a lot of moments between Naru and her friends. I'll also try to relate them with the story. This time it had to do with tigers, more specifically ones from the Forest of Death.

I guess the current timeline of flashbacks would be Kakashi - Shika - Kiba.

It will take a while, since I'm still getting the story line set but after there will be time skips where she's older, something to look forward to!

And now we have the Rescue the Ame Trio mission operation.

Once again thank-you for reading, please review, and I'll try to update soon :D