Chapter 4: Up All Night-Age 16

"That's the advantage of insomnia. People who go to bed early always complain that the night is too short, but for those of us who stay up all night, it can feel as long as a lifetime. You get a lot done."

― Banana Yoshimoto, N.P

Naruto, Kakashi, & Yamato

Sunlight burns his face as he dazedly opens his eyes. His clothes feel annoyingly warm and itchy, dried sweat clinging to his jacket. Wherever he is isn't the village as he slowly sits himself up and acclimates to his surroundings.

He hears the roar of waterfalls somewhere nearby, smells the scent of smoke and fish.

'Oh, the training days for making the rasenshuriken.' Naruto realizes.

Yamato and Kakashi sit near a campfire, Kakashi-sensei sending him a wave seeing him awake.

"Come get some food while it's hot! You have a long day of training ahead of you." Yamato beckons him as well.

Naruto studies as Kakashi divides out portions of egg, rice and fish. He can eat, but then he needs to go.

No matter how difficult they make it for him.

"Thanks, I'll go wash off my face first! Also, I've already mastered the rasenshuriken, so I'm going to head back to the village after breakfast, you know!" Naruto chimes back proudly.

Yamato instantly studies him wearily in return, looking to Kakashi for help.

"It hasn't even been a day yet Naruto; you can't have mastered this upgraded rasengan yet! Don't tell me you're already throwing in the towel!" Kakashi's eye crinkles, not sure if Naruto is actually joking with them or not.

The smile drops from Naruto's face as fast as lightning and he instantly knows he's being serious.

But more than just that, something's off about him. The skin on the back of his neck prickles up, watching as Naruto heads for the fall's waters to clear away the grit of sleep.

'Has he acted this way before?'

Yamato huffs, shaking his head. "What's wrong with him? Yesterday we practically had to drag him to the tents to force him to get some rest after using at least a hundred clones to start forming the shuriken shape for his rasengan and today he says he's already accomplished how to do it."

Kakashi shrugs in return, Naruto will just have to prove his words.

He's beside them a moment later, opens up his palm instantly forming a perfect one hand rasenshuriken.

"And there you have it! So I'm going back now, you know!" Naruto declares brightly, dissipating the sphere.

Yamato gapes, lost for words while Kakashi moves to stand.

'How? There's no way Naruto could have mastered it in less than a day-'

He launches a kunai right for him Naruto dodges breezily, half turning to gaze back at them. His jovial mood is turning dangerously serious and Kakashi senses the annoyance simmering beneath his expression.

"Stop it, I don't want to fight." Naruto grunts.

"Who are you? Naruto couldn't have made a complete rasenshuriken in such a short amount of time, especially not without damaging his arm and hand in the process." Kakashi questions.

He eyes Yamato who's already gotten into position, hands poised up.

"Wood Release: Four Pillar-Prison!"

Naruto leaps up as the ground starts to quake, is behind the pair instantly before root and branch can coil around his limbs.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Yamato curses, arms turning to branches rooting him and Kakashi in place before they can be thrown back. Naruto sucks in a breath, releasing a stream of air bullets forcing them even more on the defensive. Yamato volleys back a series of wood spears to try and slow Naruto's approach through the swirl of wind only for him to slam at the pulse point of his neck, breath knocked out of him instantly dropping to the ground.

"I could've gone for a rasengan to his stomach, but this is less painful and I didn't want him to throw up on me!" Naruto mentions as his gaze fixes on Kakashi next.

He frowns when he sees Kakashi's sharingan pinned on him.

Great.

'I'm on my way Hinata, I just hope you found some information by the time we meet up!'

Naruto holds up his hands in defeat.

"You went too far once again Naruto; you're seriously injuring them. It's no wonder people want to throw you in jail on suspicion of being a spy for another village." Kurama scoffs.

"Well I wasn't just going to stand there and be imprisoned or punched!" Naruto snorts back.

He doesn't have time for this, glancing as the sun slowly progresses towards midday.

"Hold on, you know! I'm not trying to fight you Kakashi-sensei or Yamato-sensei for that matter! I'm just trying to go back to the village and get to Hinata." Naruto exclaims.

Kakashi doesn't accept his surrender, stance still ready to attack as lightning crackles up in his hands.

"Say something Naruto! Anything to get him to trust you a little." Kurama growls.

Naruto sighs, thinks quickly.

"Oh, you're using the eye Obito gave you! My dad Minato was your teacher; you never told me and I don't find out really for another year or so. You visit the memorial stone pretty much every morning to talk to Obito and Rin, it's why you were always late to greet us during our Team 7 days. You like Gai-sensei's dumb challenges at least when they aren't super extreme! Umm, Sakura, Sasuke and I always tried and wanted to see your actual face!" He starts.

Naruto snaps his fingers at another memory.

"I think Boruto and Himawari have seen your face; maybe?! Boruto said he thinks you have like a birthmark or beauty spot near your chin when you were watching them once! Though he also said you had on face paint so he might've thought you were someone else." Naruto recalls.

He's rambling, however he knows some of what he's said is true.

Kakashi stiffens. "...How do you know all that?"

Naruto chuckles weakly. "About Obito? During the Fourth Shinobi World War, but that's done and gone. What you really need to know is I'm a 25 year old Naruto and today I'm stuck in my 16 year old body."

Hinata & Kurenai

'I'm too late.'

Her chest tightens, studies the bouquet of fresh white lilies upon Asuma Sarutobi's grave.

She brushes her fingers against the carved gray-white stone of his name. He was buried not too long ago it seems, perhaps a week or two ago.

Her gaze falls to the box of cigarettes by the flowers, Asuma's favorites and she considers that Shikamaru has already gone off to exact revenge against Hidan or already has his plan in the works.

2 days ago Asuma was alive, at least for her and she wishes she had said something, anything to warn him of the Akatsuki and Hidan's once unknown ability to not die by conventional means. There's no guarantee he or Kurenai-sensei would've taken her words seriously, but at least he would've known.

'If Naruto and I go backwards far enough, we'll speak up. No matter how strange or crazy we sound; I promise.'

She straightens herself sensing someone approach, turning to gaze into familiar scarlet eyes.

As painful as it is, it's easier to handle Kurenai-sensei than Kiba and Shino right now. Kiba is persistent no matter his age, asking why she suddenly needed to hurry back to the manor when they have a mission, confusion and suspicion only stopped by her lie that it involved her menstrual cycle.

"Ah, it still feels strange that Asuma's truly...gone." Kurenai remarks hoarsely and the ache in her chest burrows seeing fresh tears build in her sensei's eyes. Her stomach holds the beginnings of a small baby bump, Mirai growing bigger and bigger with each passing day.

Kurenai wipes her eyes, gazing at her more thoughtfully.

"I was looking through some of Asuma's belongings and noticed he had been collecting some scrolls and old readings from Lord Third on time and space projects he had been working on during his tenure as Hokage. Oddly, he had them labeled to you and Naruto, maybe that was a conversation that came up with you three before?" She questions, tapping her cheek thoughtfully to find the memory.

Hinata restrains a gasp, it's the first ebbs of something she and Naruto did in the past effecting the future just slightly.

Asuma remembered.

Enough after she left their home back then to dig into his Father's works.

Maybe it was simply curiosity or just a desire to dig deeper into his Father's old works and figure out why she asked such a strange question in the first place.

"Can...Can I take a look at them?" Hinata asks slowly.

It feels wrong to ask when she knows she's still mourning. Team 8, often during these days only visited in the late afternoons or early evenings, right as the sky descended into violets and reds.

Kurenai says nothing for a long minute before nodding, gesturing for her to follow.

"Did you eat breakfast Hinata? Inform Kiba and Shino of where you are?" She asks as they walk back to her home.

Hinata half-smiles, waving off her worry over her. "Yes and no."

Kurenai chuckles as she twists her key into her entrance, shaking her head.

"It's not like you to lie to the boys, this must take precedence." She muses more as a statement than question.

Hinata nods, takes in the long shadows of rising sunlight against dusty furniture mixing everything with a grayish-black, the faint scent of old roses and carnations lay bundled in various corners.

Kurenai flusters seeing old piles of dirty clothes, sympathy cards, and half-washed dishes scattered about the wood flooring, gesturing for Hinata to wait in the kitchen for her.

"Sorry it's still so cluttered! I haven't thought about of cleaning much since...since Asuma's death. I'll go fetch the documents from the bedroom." She scrambles out.

'"It's alright sensei. I don't care about the mess." Hinata breathes out, reaching to squeeze at her hand before she can say anymore excuses.

Kurenai blinks, looks at her with a mix of relief and embarrassment before nodding.

She returns a moment later with the box, Hinata already having taken care of collecting and washing the remaining dishes of the sink and organizing her laundry into an empty basket.

"Oh, thank you. You, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Shino spoil me." Kurenai smiles, parting her dark locks from her face as they switch places at the sink.

Hinata shakes her head, happy to help her with any additional chores or errands she needs done.

She turns her focus to the stack of folders and stapled documents. The pages at the top have begun to wither to a yellow gray, Hinata scouring the notes and Lord Third's messy scrawl for names.

A couple pop out to her, mentally storing them.

'Mizuki, Orochimaru, Magire from the Anbu branch, Amachi, Kabuto, Katasuke Tōno, and even Danzo Shimura. These are people who have been tied to these projects at one point or another for either their own purpose or to expand Konoha's knowledge in the field of time and space.'

Kurenai pushes the papers into her hands when Hinata moves to return them to the box.

"Keep them Hinata. They're important enough you need to share them with Naruto, right? I remember a bit more about that day now, Asuma had said you were acting more like an adult than teenager and I get that sense again today."

Hinata feels her voice nearly go dry, straightening herself.

"He wasn't that far off. Naruto and I keep waking up a different age and we think it's related to a device one of these scientists or associates was working on." She remarks.

Kurenai arches a brow, at least not thinking she's completely crazy for saying such a thing.

"...How old are you two really?" She asks curiously.

Pearl looks into crimson. "25."

She can tell she didn't expect her to say an age she won't be for nearly 10 more years, rocking back on her toes.

A silence nearly overtakes them until Kurenai speaks again, pats at the slight bump to her stomach.

"Our son or daughter would be around 10 at that point. I wonder if he or she will have my eyes or Asuma's. Ah, and don't tell me the gender! Shikamaru said though that a boy may be easier to raise." She chuckles.

She reaches to grab Hinata's hands again to her surprise, fixes her with a serious look.

"I won't pretend to understand you and Naruto's circumstances, however don't forget, every change you make in the past alters the future too." Kurenai begins.

Hinata felts her stomach swish and churn, nodding as Kurenai goes on.

"Be careful."

Naruto, Hinata, Kakashi, & Yamato-Konoha Central Library

"Sorry, I would've been here sooner if not for Kakashi and Yamato-sensei trying to pin me down, you know!" Naruto huffs.

Hinata pats at scratch marks to his arms, reddening when he hugs her close in return, pecking her cheeks to her neck knowing they have an audience.

"It's okay, you're here now." She murmurs before his lips can descend upon hers.

Naruto scowls at Kakashi and Yamato over Hinata's shoulder at them having decided to follow him back into the village. Both have decided to help which is nice (or really to make sure they don't do anything suspicious while within the village), though they don't need to be so close!

"Can't you guys give us a bit of some privacy, you know?! I'm trying to have an alone moment with my wife!"

Yamato's brows rise, looking between the the duo in shock. He'd figured their affectionate with each other just meant they were dating, when had Naruto had the time to get married? Today just kept getting stranger and stranger.

"You're married?!" He bellows.

"Yes, you both were at our wedding!" Naruto states as if it's common knowledge.

'The bloodwork and even their mannerisms prove they are who they say they are. Obito is alive though? Why didn't he come back to the village then?' Kakashi ponders.

He sucks in a breath feeling his heartbeat quicken.

Rin.

He must've seen what he did, what he had to do...

Kakashi stays silent, unsure what to make of this Naruto and Hinata before him. They live in peacetimes according to their stories and excited chatter regarding their kids, but that's at least not for 10 more years or so.

What happens between now and then to get to that peace? What did they have to endure?

'Naruto mentioned a war.' Kakashi remembers.

"Hey, so were Bolt and Hima telling the truth? About your face?!" Naruto suddenly asks.

'Yeah, he's Naruto alright.' Kakashi resists a groan.

Kakashi shrugs. "Who knows? Your son could've been mistaken and his sister just agreed with whatever he said."

"...That's not an answer! You're just avoiding telling me yes or no!" Naruto pouts.

Yamato shakes his head, moving to read the first series of notes Hinata gained from Kurenai.

'He's an actual candidate for Hokage on top of being a Father?' It's hard to even believe the Naruto they're talking to right now is actually an adult raising two kids.

Not only that, but all of their classmates are parents from what it sounds like.

"It'd be nice to have Shikamaru's input regarding this case, though I assume he and the rest of team 10 are busy avenging Asuma-sensei and then will head back to the village." Hinata muses. Naruto's future second in command could maybe give them some suggestions on how to proceed once he realized the seriousness of their situation.

'Though perhaps we'll get a chance to tomorrow or even the day after with all this time-leaping.' She considers.

Naruto nods with a small laugh, spinning at a pencil. "He'd probably say it must be troublesome to be a teenager again."

Hinata giggles in agreement. "Well, it is! I'm certain if this were he and Temari, they wouldn't be handling it as well as we have!"

Kakashi simply chuckles.

Naruto has kids. It's something he never pictured for the stubborn boy who used to try and prank him with his sexy jutsu and always yelled at him for being late.

He must be middle aged in their correct time, wincing at how old he must look.

'Minato-sensei, Naruto is doing well. I don't know if he's eating as properly as Kushina hoped though, but he has found love and started a family. In fact in terms of his strength, he's surpassed us both.' Kakashi marvels.

Hinata clears her voice to get them all back on topic.

"We should review over what knowledge we have and who the most likely suspects behind the device are."

Kakashi nods, pinpoints on Orochimaru and Kabuto's names from the list.

"Orochimaru as we all know likes to dapple in experiments whether ethical or not. Kabuto is his more than willing aid for such practices and will fetch him bodies as need be. Danzo is a strong possibility as well knowing the practices the Root Foundation gets up to. Even if he's dead by your correct age of 25, there could be scientists who found his notes to continue on his legacy."

Naruto nods, seriousness marking his eyes and Kakashi sees it truly then in his cobalt orbs a lifetime's worth of joys, pains, and accomplishments.

Yamato notices it too, speaking up as well.

"Another factor we should consider is motive. Orochimaru has forever been seeking ways to become immortal and this sounds like something he would do; forever traveling through time to never age. He would no longer need to steal bodies to keep his youth. Danzo truly sees you Naruto only as Konoha's jinchuriki-weapon and Mizuki's loyalty lies more with Orochimaru and Otogakure in general than Konoha. We can't neglect these others who might've played a role more behind the scenes like Magire or Amachi that have ties to illegal or unethical projects and might've worked with Orochimaru even at one point or another."

"Why on our son though?! Boruto is only 5 or about to be. We can't figure why this team of scientists or whoever would involve him accept to just hurt us!" Hinata questions sharply.

Naruto pats at her shoulders as she takes a shuddering breath to calm herself.

"To add on to what Hinata says, I realize that even with peace achieved between the nations that bits of hate is always going to fester in the darker corners and slums. The purpose was to hurt me and Hinata, they've played off our son's curiosity in scientific ninja tools."

Kakashi reads back over the last entries of note from Lord Third on progress made for a time and space jutsu on the human body.

'Log 17: Progress has been slow, but promising on developing a tool that can take not only one's mind back to the past, but their body as well! The test runs we've done on a few lab mice has shown some success, but too many variables remain that risk death. Overall though it's astounding information I wish Hashirama and Tobirama were alive to witness! Though I'm afraid even I won't be alive to see this project become a reality myself...

Kakashi frowns, the notes start to become faded towards the bottom, edges burnt black from flames.

Someone tried to destroy this, but a little bit remains he can make out.

'Log 19: Orochimaru. My once star student has been trying similar experiments on cadavers he took from poorer villages and if he runs out...well then he makes his own or has one of his assistants fetch them for him. I can no longer stay quiet on it like I did before. While we made fantastic progress on making a few prototype machines, I'm ordering a halt to all progress officially next week as the next phase of the Chunin exams start.

There's no more left to read after that.

Naruto twists in his seat.

"Where is Orochimaru now?" He asks aloud.

Hinata rolls out a map, points northward through the trees and mountains to Otogakure.

"Most likely in Sound or one of his many bases."

Naruto clicks his teeth, gazes outside only to see a warm amber glow to the sky.

It's already gotten so late.

"Master Jiraiya may know more. He was one of Orochimaru's oldest friends though I believe he's about to head for Ame to investigate the Akatsuki's leader from what Lady Tsunade mentioned." Yamato brings up.

Naruto jumps from his seat, azure eyes wide.

"When?!" He blurts out.

Yamato looks to Kakashi questioningly.

"Probably this evening I imagine, I heard he was getting drinks with Lady Tsunade then would go. Jiraiya didn't want to waste time-" Kakashi starts only for Naruto to twist and rush out the library's doors in a blur.

'He's as fast as Minato-sensei.' Kakashi blinks.

Hinata moves to follow him, bows to them both in thanks.

"Thank you again for hearing us out! I'm going to try and catch up to Naruto and hopefully tomorrow we'll wake up an older age where we can do more to stop whoever caused this!"

Yamato studies the rattle of the trees, leaves and petals scattered in Naruto's speed.

"Good luck. And not just in catching up to your husband."

Hinata smiles, lingers nearly asking them to please look into each name more than they could in this day only to see Kakashi give her a slight nod.

Fading sunlight burns on her neck as she takes to the rooftops, activates her byakugan to search for spiky blond and white hair.

Naruto, Hinata, & Jiraiya

"He's heading for the gates." Tsunade mutters, wiping at tears from her eyes.

"Let's hope you have another week of losses! But not so much that you bankrupt Konoha! Don't go sneaking into the treasury funds while I'm gone because you owe me a date when I get back that we're splitting even on!" Jiraiya teases.

"Shut up! As if I would be so dumb! Just come back alive so I don't have to drag you back here myself!" Tsunade hisses.

No winning. Perhaps she should stay away from gambling altogether until she gets news back from him...

Naruto eyes her carefully to ensure she's okay. She knows her breath is laced with sake, cheeks flushed a light pink matching the shades of the sunset.

Her brows pinch together glancing around at a sudden thought. How did Naruto get here so fast from training at the waterfalls?

"Alright, thanks Granny! You should get some water in you before you go to bed! I know how nasty hangovers can be, but then again, I'm a lightweight with alcohol!" Naruto chimes out.

Tsunade rolls her eyes, waving him off with a snort.

"Kid, you're too young to drink! Besides, I know the best hangover cures and will use them on myself if need be."

"25 is plenty old enough! Hinata and I just get bad headaches whenever we seem to drink!" Naruto counters before dashing away.

'25? Hinata Hyuga? Did someone slip him drinks?' Tsunade frowns, rubbing at her head.

Maybe she heard him wrong, hopes she heard him wrong. Today has been difficult enough to try and think anymore on stressful topics...

Naruto is easily at the gates just as Jiraiya approaches up to say his goodbyes to Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Pervy-Sage, wait! Don't go yet!" Naruto calls out.

Jiraiya turns, laughs in surprise.

"Well, well! Did you run all the way here just to see me off Kid?! You gotta finish your training and then weren't you going to search for Itachi before Sasuke got to him?"

Naruto looks puzzled before nodding, memories jumbled on what he was even truly doing on this day so long ago.

"It's more important that I talked to you first though! This is my message: The toad in the well knows nothing about the sky above!"

"...What?"

Jiraiya looks at him blankly and Naruto winches, ruffles up his hair in alarm.

"Damn it, that wasn't it! Argh, how did it go again, you know?! The toad in the well only sees the sky for a circle. No, not that! Or maybe it was the frog and the well-"

"The frog at the bottom of the well thinks the sky is only as big as the mouth of the well." Jiraiya voices quietly.

Naruto snaps his fingers, nodding. "That's it!"

Jiraiya stares at him fully, differently. Onyx eyes seem to darken a shade before narrowing. He leads them away from the guards off to the side out of earshot, frown marring his lips.

"How do you know that Naruto? I don't recall telling you that code when I only use it for my spies." He asks point blank.

"But you did! It's an idiom not to be so narrow-minded! You told me it as a way to keep us connected!" Naruto retorts.

Hinata leaps down beside them, catching her breath.

"Ah good, you caught up to Master Jiraiya! He's all up to date?" She asks.

Naruto crosses his arms, shaking his head. "Not exactly. Come on Pervy-Sage, think back to when I was 14 on that training trip! You took us to the Scarlet Club!"

He purses his lips, waits for clarity to come back into his eyes and features.

Hinata squeezes at Naruto's hand as Jiraiya looks them both up and down, rubbing his chin silently before stepping forward. The fog of uncertainty clears from his eyes, gazing at the pair in both wonder and shock.

"The time-leaping, it happened again?!"

"Why do you always take us to these hole-in-the-wall locations to talk, you know?!" Naruto scowls, wrinkles his nose at the musty scents of tobacco and sake in the air. The walls of the club are a midnight blue to black, one could easily lose track of time in here under the clouds of smoke and dull lights of whites and grays.

Jiraiya rolls his eyes, Naruto again questioning his choice of clubs.

"Because nobody in the Blue Note Bar and Club bothers their patrons or cares what story or background they have! Now, if I recall correctly, you're both 25, right? Let's go over what we've each learned!"

Hinata pulls out the list they created earlier in the library, points to the names they circled.

"It's quite a list of potential scientists and candidates. I think we can take out Danzo as he'll already have been dead for years before Boruto is even born. Our strongest bet is on Orochimaru or Kabuto." She describes.

Jiraiya nods, leans back into the booth's cushions.

"I asked some of my spies and associates to look into Kabuto and Orochimaru after that day Naruto time-leaped. It was bizarre, to talk to a 25 year old Naruto one day and then the next day he was back to his 14 year old self questioning when we came to a hotel."

Naruto looks thoughtful. He and Hinata hadn't considered where the minds of their teenage or preteen bodies were for the day while they're stuck in them except to believe they're simply 'asleep'.

"Anyways, it seems Kabuto has been injecting himself with various poisons and DNA of well-known shinobi either dead or alive, taking things further than Orochimaru even has when it comes to experimenting. At least two of my spies confirmed they saw some Old Man Third's notes within one of his labs in the Southern hideout within the Land of Waves." Jiraiya goes on.

Hinata leans forward, lilac eyes meeting Naruto's blue. "Then we should try and start investigating each of Orochimaru's hideouts! Possibly interview the prisoners to see what they've heard and seen within those walls. I'm sure there's blueprints or inventions that have been left behind."

Naruto nods his agreement, gazes back to Jiraiya.

"I have to tell you about Pain too, you know! He's Nagato, from the same trio of Ame orphans you raised! He uses the 6 Paths of Pain as his way to attack, but they're just corpses he's collected. His real body is up in Amegakure's highest tower."

Jiraiya halts mid-sip of his sake, raises his hand for their server to bring them another round of karaage and soda drinks.

"...You're sure it's him?" He asks as he divides out their food.

"Yes, I could even come with you!" Naruto mentions.

Hinata straightens in alarm, but Naruto pushes on. This is Pervy-Sage's last mission, the one he doesn't come back from and now he can change it, can go with him and prevent his death.

Jiraiya blows out a breath. "No way. We both know Nagato wants you Naruto. He's collecting the Tailed Beasts for what sounds like a lopsided plan to create peace between the nations."

Naruto digs his nails into the oakwood of the table, chicken twisting and turning sour in his gut at his flippant response.

"What?! But...But it's the mission you die on!" He bellows, tears pricking his eyes.

And he's strong enough now to handle Nagato and Konan, easily disarm and subdue the duo before they can even land a hit on him.

Jiraiya shakes his head, sends the pair a confident smile. "I won't die now that you've told me the secret to his ability! Besides, Nagato and Konan too for that matter are my responsibility if they're truly the ones behind this. I'm the one who taught them, so I need to be the ones to stop them as well. Besides, even if you went with me Naruto this assignment is going to take more than just a day. I can't have you falling asleep and then back to your proper 16 year old self!"

Naruto bristles, looks to Hinata to try and persuade him further only to see her rubbing at her eyes.

"S-Something was in our drinks or food." She slurs out, mustering her best glare towards the Sannin demanding an explanation.

"What?! But, I feel fine!" Naruto mentions, moving to stand to help Hinata to the restroom only to feel as if the ground beneath him has become quicksand. He feels himself tilting, grabbing onto the table to keep himself up. The room starts to spin, patrons giving them stares before hurriedly looking away. His stomach starts to roil matching the rise of his pulse in his ears and head.

"Pervy-Sage, what did you do to us?!" Naruto questions, blinking back a heaviness growing to his eyes.

Jiraiya curls the pair to his sides before he gets any louder, smacking down a wad of ryo to the table as his expression turns apologetic.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I knew there was a chance you'd try to follow me so I've been drugging your food and drinks. I have to say though, you two held out longer than I expected."

He whisks them back into the evening air, Naruto flailing in his hold to no avail. His strength is zapped, he must've used a potent medicine he received from Granny. He knew all along they would eventually cross paths again time-hopping, even without giving that frog idiom to have planned all this.

Jiraiya takes him to his old apartment, opens a futon for Hinata and quickly brushes away coatings of dust to his pillows.

"I'm not...I'm not going to sleep. And neither is Hinata!" Naruto warns, sitting back up as soon as he sets them down onto his bed.

Hinata pinches at her arms to stay awake, watches as Jiraiya steps back from them. All she needs is one gentle fist to land to paralyze him, though it wouldn't last long enough to keep him here in the village, to stop him from going to Ame eventually.

"I'll see you both in the future." He promises.

And then he's gone.

Naruto & Hinata

"We made it to...3:59 am." Hinata voices into the dark at a glance to his alarm clock.

Naruto leans against her shoulder, lets out a low hooray.

"If we never fall asleep, then we can never time-leap again!" He mumbles.

The perfect plan!

They've spent most of the evening to night playing cards and silly board games, even briefly invited over Sakura and Sai earlier just to keep from passing out.

"You brought Hinata to your place? I suppose nothing is wrong with your 'equipment' after all!" Sai mentions, pleased for him.

Hinata cheeks warm to a bright pink while Sakura balls her hands ready to deck Sai out the window.

Naruto simply nods, unfazed by his comments for once.

"Nope, my 'equipment' is working perfectly fine! In fact, unlike you, I produce 2 kids instead of 1!"

Sakura gives him a confused look while Sai looks up from his drawing celebrating this outing, mask broken for once puzzled at his comment.

"Huh?"

"Yup, was worth it to confuse Sai!" Naruto chuckles.

Hinata meanwhile recounts the tiles of his walls, the scattering of stars outside his window.

"A new day has started and we're still in our 16 year old bodies, what does that mean?" She whispers.

Naruto straightens them out despite the small space of his bed, pulls the blankets up to their chins.

"It means the time-leap truly only happens when we fall asleep, doesn't matter how long we try to stay awake it seems..."

His voice trails off, Hinata burrowing into his chest.

"Hmm, I'm going to close my eyes for a minute then."

Naruto nods, yawning. "You're going to lose the 'who falls asleep first' game, you know."

He feels Hinata smile against his chest.

"Oh well."

Naruto & Hinata-Age 30

"Wakey, Wakey Papa!" Himawari cries out, tiny fingers prodding along his chest and arms.

"Papa isn't going to wake up if you barely touch him Hima!" Boruto's voice comes from somewhere nearby.

He half opens his eyes to see his daughter truly here before him, Himawari giggling when she catches his gaze. Naruto grabs her and pulls her in before she can scamper off, giggles turning into full blown laughter.

"Papa, that tickles!" She squeals as he rubs his face against hers.

'Why did I fall asleep in the office and not upstairs with Hinata?' He wonders.

A dull ache in the back of his head beats like a drum, a painful telling this version of himself drank the night before.

"Hima, when did you get so big?!" Naruto questions. It's Himawari he's sure, taking in her whiskers, her violet locks from Hinata and his own blue eyes.

But she's taller, older than a 3 year old.

Boruto snorts as he walks further into the room. "You sound like Grandpa when you say that Papa."

He leaps onto his lap making him jolt in shock. "Ow, Papa is already up!"

Boruto merely grins in return poking at his chest. It's not just Hima, Boruto is older too and a lot heavier. Hinata pokes her head in at that commotion, uneasy grin rising up as she meets his gaze.

They're here with their kids again, but they're the wrong age...

"Mama said to get you up, though you should get up on your own knowing it's the big day today!" Boruto mentions as he slides off his lap. He pauses seeing Naruto's puzzled expression, he probably didn't get enough sleep last night.

"Right, so err what's so big about it again?" He attempts, trying to make a game out of it.

Naruto glances to Hinata again for help, but Himawari and Boruto pipe up in unison hopping up and down.

"It's your inauguration thing for being the next Hokage or something!"

-x-

Plans have been made for Naruto and Hinata to do more investigating, but now they have their kids with them for the next time-loop/day! They've already changed the future so The Day Naruto Became Hokage will not happen the same way it did in canon.

I'm not even sure if it states in canon what age Naruto was when he became Hokage, but I'm going with the idea he hasn't been one for too long by the time Boruto's series starts (And he's 32-33 then). Anyways, it's going to be exciting because there's lots in the works to show on how just how different the inauguration day is going to be!

I look forward to your thoughts!

Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!