(AN: Yoyo, just wanted to start writing this, the ideas been in my head for a while now. The story will follow Naruto and Sasuke for the most part, with the occasional POV from another character, with an OC popping up quite a bit. Nanashi Uchiha, not the same one from Konoha's Strongest, but the same name because I just like the backstory and name I made for that character. Anyhow, here's More Than Our Names!)

Kakashi couldn't help but sigh. This wasn't the first time he had happened upon this sort of scene… but it was the first time he ever let it continue to this extent.

"Gai." He spoke, and his rival moved forward, shooting an indescribable look at his friend. To be fair, he had stopped the spandex clad man from stepping in the second the group of three walked into the bar. But that was what made Kakashi like his loud rival. The man had a pure heart. And it showed as Maito Gai moved to pick up the bloody and bruised woman on the ground.

"Was she picking a fight again?" He heard Asuma ask one of the Patrons who eagerly shared the juicy gossip. For the hundredth time since being released from Hozuki Castle, Nanashi Uchiha struggled to get up from the ground after picking a fight she couldn't win.

"Exploded on the two, of course they took care of the drunkard. What a disgrace." A patron told Asuma, causing Kakashi to sigh. He had stepped in over two dozen times now, constantly stopping the woman from becoming too injured, and dragging her out of the bar, sending her home with a swift boot to the ass. But…

One of the men that had fought the woman, Izuki or something, if Kakashi remembered correctly, was explaining the situation to Gai, when suddenly the woman gained a burst of strength, and leaped onto the man's leg, bitting him fiercely. Kakashi made to intercept, feeling a small sense of shame, but the woman was kicked off quickly enough… but as she rose once more, Izuki struck out with his foot, kicking her clean in the face, cracking her nose loudly, sending her crumpling to the floor in a heap.

Gai finally jumped forward, huddling over the woman. No one could fault Izuki, however, as many whispers floated around the bar, some even joking that she had rabies. It was her own fault. The woman had seven years taken off of her prison sentence, and all she did with such a gift was to drink and throw her life away. "What a shame…" She had been so promising ten years ago. Even Minato had kept an eye on the past seventeen-year-old.

What a shame.

"Just dump her in the alley," Izuki's partner shouted after Gai as the man walked from the bar.

A shame indeed…

"You gotta be on my side… Gai…" Nanashi slurred as the man gently set her against the nice, cold stone wall. It did well for her deafening migraine. Even before that kick had connected, she could barely think straight…

"This is the third time this week, Nanashi." Gai muttered as he straightened her shirt.

"That's not bad." She swatted his hands away, trying to smile through her blurred vision.

"It's still Monday." The man stood, and Nanashi could only frown bitterly at the disappointment clear in his voice.

"He shoved a hand down my pants."

"So the same excuse as always?" Gai shook his head, and Nanashi's anger grew. "Someone always strikes first, so you have to act like a feral cat?"

"No one else will help me." She scowled into the dirt.

"I—Nanashi. I don't agree with Kakashi's words, but maybe this beating will finally knock some sense into you."

"Fuck you, Gai."

"Please, Nanashi. Stop being this drunken mess. You made a mistake, you paid your time in prison, so try to better yourself."

"You don't know a damn thing!" The man was already sliding back into the bar as Nanashi finally jumbled her words into a sentence. A laugh bounced off her aching head, and she turned to glare as Izuki and his sidekick pointed and jeered at her as they walked past, kicking a few stray pebbles at her battered form.

"Fucking bastards…" They didn't know a damn thing. "Not a thing."

Seconds and minutes were soon blurred together as Nanashi sat in the dirt, head throbbing, and doing nothing but feeling sorry for herself. With aching muscles, she reached up, placing her palms firmly into her temples, and pushed chakra into her hands. A green and blue hue appeared as the healing jutsu took effect, slowly drawing the worst of the toxins from her body. It took time, and quite a bit of effort, but eventually she was able to force herself into a standing position, and stumbled her way down the streets. She was still drunk, though not nearly as belligerent, and her migraine was simply a pounding headache now, but at least she could find her way home. So long as—damn it—she couldn't even find a new bar to prowl. She was pretty sure that bastard had nicked her wallet when he was feeling her up. "Whatever." it was only thirty thousand or so ryo, chump change. She'd get more from the family vault tomorrow.

Nanashi couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Family Vault. Was one person really a family? Oh right, there was Sasuke too… whatever he didn't care about her anyway, stuck up brat. The second she had told the kid she wouldn't help him kill Itachi, he had refused to speak a word to her ever again. "Newsflash, kid." There was more than things in life than just revenge, like good booze, for example. Wasn't there a place nearby that sold sake? She could just get it billed to the bank later… "Yeah, later."

Nanashi was broken from her thoughts by the sound of a broken bottle and the sharp hiss of a kid. Slowly, she blinked, rubbing her nose as the image slowly loaded into her brain. A young blonde was squatting at the edge of an alleyway, scratching at the back of his head. Or was he rubbing it? Had someone thrown… Ah.

"Hah, and he calls himself a ninja. What kind of ninja turns his back on an opponent, huh Izuki?"

What a pair of little shits, wasting a bottle of the good stuff like that. "Little shits." Wait a minute, speaking of little ones, that blond hair and orange jumpsuit stood out in all the wrong ways. Nanashi moved, ignoring the shocked gasp from the two idiots as she stopped behind the kid and squatted behind him, staring intently at the back of his head. "Oi."

The kid tried to run, but even drunk, he wasn't fast enough for Nanashi as she clamped a hand down on his shoulder and yanked him backward.

"Oi! Let me go!" The boy thrashed, and Nanashi instantly regretted helping the kid.

"Oi!" She shouted into his ear, stopping the boy's struggle as he instantly moved to cover his now aching ears. "Good, now stop moving. I can't see the glass with all that bull…"

"Huh?"

She ignored the unintelligible grunt, and instead leaned forward, using her spare hand to spread his hair. And sure enough, there were several small shards embedded in the kid's skull. Most would have been knocked out by such a shot. She'd begrudgingly give it to Izuki. He at least had an arm on him. "Hold this." Removing her hand from his shoulder, Nanashi pulled out a small field kit from one of her many pockets and placed it into the confused boy's hands. Quickly, she flipped it open and pulled out a pair of tweezers.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping, now don't move." Stupid kid, if you let glass stay in for too long, "It'll get infected."

"Huh?"

"The wounds. If you leave the glass in. I just said that."

"No, you didn't!"

Tomato tomahto, "Suck it up." Though it didn't look like she'd need to. Ever so slowly, the cuts and scrapes were sealing themselves. By morning, they'd already be near fully healed. One of the looser shards popped itself out, and the blood was quickly stopped by the mysterious healing factor. Blonde and orange. "You won't even feel it in the morning, kid." With two quick tugs, the largest shards were pulled free as the kids' own chakra set to work. Or was it the kids' chakra? What was his name again?

"Do you have to be so rough?" The kid yelped as she poked at one of the cuts.

"Naruto Uzumaki, right?" The Demon Container. Killer of hundreds, murderer of countless Konoha Shinobi and civilians alike. A monster. She turned the kid around, quizzically staring into those bright blue eyes filled with confusion, worry, and… hope. She starred into the eyes of her hero, Minato Namikaze… She stood with a righteous fury, though with the booze running through her veins, it was more like a drunken stagger. Nanashi turned towards the other two members of their little party, Izuki and his pet… who the hell cared what his name was anyhow. "Oi, you two make it a habit of beating on kids?"

"I kicked your ass, didn't I?" Damn it, she walked right into that.

I'm twenty-seven. "Yeah, that would show him."

"What would show me?"

"I'm too drunk for this shit." With a sigh and a long stretch, Nanashi pushed the kid back and swayed in her spot, glaring at the two idiots.

"You really want to do this again, Uchiha?" the man laughed, causing her to flinch at the shrill sound as her head pounded.

"I need a drink." Oh, she could get her money back now and continue the party… she'd drop the kid off somewhere when she was done stomping these idiots.

Izuki moved forward, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "I'll make sure you have to use a straw for it."

"But they're so boring." She whined as the second man moved as well. "Straws really limits the amount you can drink at once. Plus, they can really change the experience of a good drink. Plus, it just makes me think of someone sucking—"

Nanashi swayed out the way of a his swing, nearly fall flat on her face. But if that's how they wanted to play it—She fell into a loose stance; her left arm held out, crossing her chest, while the right fell low in a loose fist near her hip. She swayed drunkenly in her stance.

Izuki grinned and lashed out, swinging a fist and—Nanashi stumbled back, dodging the attack, and tripped over her feet as his partner stepped forward, hands poised to grab her. Yet she merely ducked and spun, back handing the man, grinning as at least two teeth were knocked loose courtesy of her knuckles.

"Whoa." She heard her hero's son mutter from the shadows. So with a smile, she danced back, laughing.

"I can't lose here," Nanashi slurred to herself. She couldn't falter in front of him, not a chance. "Not a chance."

How long had it been since she actually practiced the drunken fist? Especially drunk. But no matter, taijutsu was always her go to. She shifted, catching the next punch in a loose grip and pulled using the man's momentum while swinging her own arm down, slamming her elbow into his temple. As he fell, Izuki stepped into her range, cursing up a storm. But the second she saw a hand sign flash, she lashed out with a kick, catching his knee.

"None of that, now." She slurred. Darting her hand out to interlock their fingers, Nanashi pulled, tripping him, and pressed their chests together, while grabbing his other hand. She grinned. It was almost like dancing the waltz. All those dance lessons were useless now. She pushed off, still holding hands, and yanked him forward once more, sending a knee to his gut that shook the man, but the head butt sealed the deal. Izuki crumbled to the dirt ground, and Nanashi celebrated her anticlimactic victory.

"That was so cool!" She grinned at the kid, and struck a pose as he showered her with compliments, but she didn't really care too much, as her eyes raked over the two unconscious men.

"Ahah!" She noticed the bulge in his back pocket, and retrieved her winnings, all of her money! Sweet, precious booze money. Plus a little extra.

"Can you show me how to do that?!"

"To learn, you must become. Or some shit like that. I think. What was the quote?" Nanashi voiced her thoughts as she counted her money, wondering what bar to hit next. "Anyway, become an alcoholic and you might be able to learn my masterful ways."

Fifty-two thousand ryo, the idiots must have just finished a mission. Hehe. Normally, she wouldn't have been able to get her money back. It was the word of a criminal against two of Konoha's finest, or so they called themselves. But with the kid as a witness, they probably wouldn't even make any noise. Suckers. Everyone knew the old fart looked after the kid personally.

"Hey! What's going on over here?!" Whoops, time to go. She hadn't even realized a crowd was forming as a Chunin pushed his way through.

"Exit stage left, kid."

"Huh?"

"Ever been Shunshinned before, kid?" The look on his face would be priceless.

"Wait, what's going on?" Naruto didn't get much more out before the mysterious but cool lady grabbed his arm, and suddenly the wind was whipping past them. It was strange, his stomach twisted and yet… he felt—"Awesome!"

He didn't know just how it happened, but suddenly the two were standing atop the Hokage monument, right in the middle of the spiky hair of his hero. The weird lady beside him stumbled the second she let go, and fell to her knees at the edge of the stone.

"Ewww." Naruto wrinkled his nose as the woman barfed over the edge.

"Remind me… to never Shunshin again while that drunk. Oh, my Kami." It took a minute for the woman to stand back up, but soon she was grinning down at him once more, while wiping the drool from her face. "So, kid. I didn't really mean to drag you all the way up here. Was just the first place that came to mind."

"It's fine!" Naruto grinned, giving the woman a thumbs up as he ran to the edge of the head. "This is my favorite hiding spot, actually. Only Iruka-sensei can ever find me up here. I love it up here!"

"It was always my go to as well. Been… well it's been a long time since I came here."

"Really?"

"Yeah…" She was an odd one, but at least she was nice. Even if a little rough. "He was great."

"Who was?" She always talked oddly.

"Hm? Didn't you hear what I said? Minato, you know the guy who's head we're standing on? He was always my hero, so I used to come up here to think. I would also always save up money to use the private training grounds furthur back. My favorite place to train away from the clan."

"Minato?"

"The Fourth Hokage?"

"Oh, right, I forgot his name, hehe."

Her eyes narrowed as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Names were always hard to remember. "What are they teaching in the academy today? Or are you just not the sharpest kunai in the pouch?"

"Oi! I am totally the sharpest!" He was gonna be the best Hokage! Believe it!

"Oh yeah? Then what's the Second Hokage's name? No one ever talks about him. I mean who would, he didn't do much… the bastard."

"Uuuuh…" Naruto had to admit the woman had him there. How was he supposed to know the name of some dead guy? Before he could make up a name, he noticed the woman was moving her head oddly, almost as if… he turned around and saw it, a plaque! And second on the list was, "Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

Nailed it. But why was that name so familiar?"

"That's Lord Third, idiot."

"What! But he's second!"

She rolled her eyes and moved over to the plaque, running a finger down the short list. "Minato-sama's name is on the top. He's Lord Fourth. Lord Third is Sarutobi-san. Second was an asshole named Tobirama. And, finally, Lord First is Lord Hashirama Senju, our founder. No one liked the second Hokage."

"Really, why's that?"

"He sucked." Was all the woman said, though she did mutter something he couldn't quite catch.

"And the Fourth was the best?" That's what Naruto thought, at least. Sure he may not have known the name but, he certainly knew of the man's exploits.

"You could say that. To me, he certainly is, but most people love Lord Third the most. It's why there haven't been any calls for the man to step back down after he retook the position following the Kyubi incident. I used to idolize the man, he was my second favorite, mostly because Minato-sama was just too cool to not be number one."

"The old man is definitely awesome!"

"Yeah… sure he is." She seemed always angry, and Naruto winced at the look. Hoping to move the conversation into something else, he asked, "Why do you like the Fourth?"

"What wasn't to love about him? When I first met Minato, I was ten, he was a Jonin, I think just before it was leaked that he was in the running for Hokage. He was a dream boat for one. But he was also a genius. The way he talked about Jutsu and Chakra just made me melt. He was such a passionate man. You know they called him the fastest man to ever live? That titled used to belong to lord Second, but Minato-sama took one of the old fossils jutsu, recreated it, then made it infinitely better. Killed one thousand of those Iwa bastards in a single battle. He became the Yellow Flash."

"Why the Yellow Flash?"

"Whenever he disappeared, he'd only leave behind a flash of yellow. So, he became the Yellow Flash. It was always my favorite fact about him. But yeah, I was a Chunin at the time, recently promoted at ten. The war was still going strong at the point, but both sides were tiring, and I was allowed to sit in on a presentation he had put together on Chakra Efficency. I absorb thet knowledge like a sponge. Two years later I was a Jonin, and I still put all the credit to his presentation. Especially when he talked about using movement based ninjutsu. The Shunshin was always my favorite until I made my own…" Naruto wished he could meet the man.

"So being the fastest is better than being strong?"

"You still need a balance." She pointed out. "Just because you're fast doesn't mean you can deal damage. You need strength as well, but you also need the brains to pull everything off. If your opponent can out think you, you'll lose most of the time. The smartest Shinobi are the ones who can outmaneuver their opponents. Just look at the Nara or Aburame Clans. Those two have the least amount of deaths in the village. It's not just because of their clan's abilities, but because most of them are geniuses. Not all of them, but a healthy majority."

"Well, I'm pretty smart too!" Naruto boasted.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Then heads up."

"Huh?" Naruto looked up, wondering what was going on, only for his leg to be yanked out from under him, causing him to fall flat on his butt. "Hey!"

"Doesn't seem very bright to me."

"You said look up!"

With jingling laugh, the drunkard pulled up her shirt, covering her nose and mouth, while putting a hand over her eye, quickly saying, "Always look underneath the underneath."

"Huh?"

Another laugh and the woman tugged her shirt back down and leaned forward, holding a hand out for him to grab. "It just means always prepare for the unexpected… I think. Hatake always says it. Minato-sama used to tell people all the time as well, though not nearly as much. I think that dog made a religion out of it?"

"Dog?"

"Nothing, kid." Just as Naruto grabbed her hand, his stomach growled loudly, causing a blush to creep up his face. "Hungry?"

"Ehehe, maybe."

She pulled him up quickly, and patted him on the shoulder, causing his blush to deepen. "Let's go see if we can find a good bar that's opened. Ooo, I know of one with great food. Wait. I think I've been banned from there… Oh how about—No, they banned me last week. Damn."

"How about Ramen?!" Naruto jumped in excitedly.

"Ramen? Yeah, I can go for some salt to mix with the Sake. But I'm not sure of any Ramen Bars off the top of my head."

"How about Ichiraku's? They're the best?"

"Ichiraku's you say? It sounds familiar…"

(AN: Next Chapter will be the exciting ramen chapter, the one everyone writes.. Welcome to the new story, hope you all enjoyed!)