Author Note: I've been sitting on this story idea for a while now, and I'm super excited to share it with you! It's going to be around 30 chapters, and I hope you'll like it. All battles and war will be mention vaguely, not in detail.

Prompt: time-travel, fix-it, wedlock, he falls first, age gap, technology involved, dual/first person pov.

Timeline 1: 7 years after fourth shinobi world war. Neji is dead.

Timeline 2: After time travel. Shippuden after time skip. Sakura is 16, Neji is 17, and Hanabi is 15 (just a slight adjustment). I made some changes to the age to make the arrangement sound more legitimate.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind, the story takes place in an era where marriages weren't based on love—they were political arrangements. Girls were considered adults at 16. So, young marriages were completely natural and accepted.

Prologue (Sakura)

I bit my lip, bracing myself for what I was about to say. "Well… I was thinking—we could consider a marriage of convenience. Just on paper, of course!" The moment the words slipped out, I felt a mix of excitement and panic.

Neji's reaction was instant. His face darkened with a scowl, and those piercing white eyes narrowed into that signature glare that could slice through steel.

"What makes you think I'd even entertain such a ridiculous proposition?" He turned to walk away, and my heart sank as I thought I'd just ruined everything.

A month ago…

The Fourth Shinobi War had left scars that never truly healed. Even at twenty-six, I still carried the heavy weight of loss—Jiraiya-sama, the Third Hokage, Asuma-sensei, and Neji were gone. The Uchiha massacre hit us hard, but for Naruto, the losses of Jiraiya and Neji were like daggers to his heart. They were his mentors and closest friends. Neji's sacrifice left a deep mark on him; the guy had given everything to save him and his heiress during the chaos of war. That kind of debt is impossible to repay, and I could see it reflected in Naruto's eyes every single day. I wished I could ease some of that pain for him.

I lost track of how many times Naruto used Edo Tensei just to bring Hyuuga back for a brief reunion. He couldn't do the same for Jiraiya-sama since we never found his body. But with Hyuuga, he seized every opportunity to reconnect—even if it was one-sided. Each time he used that forbidden jutsu, I watched him break a little more inside as I scolded him for risking so much with dangerous techniques. To Naruto, it wasn't just about bending the rules; it was about keeping the memory of his friend. Some people become part of us forever, even when they're no longer with us.

Naruto had always clung to hope, dreaming of a world where things could be different. For years, he obsessively searched for a way to time travel—something that felt like a wild fantasy. But his intentions were pure; he wasn't aiming to rewrite our universe. Instead, he wanted to find Jiraiya-sama's body and maybe give his fallen friend a chance at life in another timeline. It was both heartbreaking and incredibly noble.

The day it all came together was surreal. I stood beside Hinata in the lab, watching tears of joy and sadness mix on her face as she realized what this meant—not just for her cousin, but for all of us who still mourned him. In another universe, there was a glimmer of hope for redemption, a chance to reconnect with those we loved and lost.

We were crammed into that little room, each of us weighing the risks as we debated who would take on this daunting mission. As I sat there, a calmness washed over me. I knew the decision had been made—I would go.

Shikamaru would've been an excellent choice with his strategic mind, but he had just married Ino. I couldn't bear the thought of my best friend struggling with the absence of his partner—or facing a life without him.

Naruto, now Hokage, couldn't abandon his duties; too many responsibilities rested on his shoulders since he achieved his dream. And Hinata? She had her hands full with Boruto and Himawari. Honestly, sending them back in time felt too risky. Their emotions could stir up old memories or accidentally spilling details about the future and disrupting the entire time-travel fuinjutsu.

So, it fell on me. I'm ready to dive into the wild unknown of time travel—a willing vessel set to explore the past where hopes waited for someone bold enough to breathe life back into them.

My mission? To become a time-bearer who could grasp the future better, armed with the skills and lend a hand where it was needed most. I had to find Amegakure, the Village Hidden by Rain, where Jiraiya-sama's body lay. And if luck was on my side, I'd manage to stop Hyuuga Neji from sacrificing himself. His selflessness often haunted my thoughts—what did it truly mean? It was undeniably brave and honorable, but why did he choose that path? This journey could help me understand his choice. Could I actually save him? Maybe—just maybe—I could change his fate.

Before we even set off, Nara thanked me; he believed in my ability to rescue his sensei. But first, I had to master the space-time ninjutsu and its accompanying fuinjutsu—an essential techniques to ensure I wouldn't be yanked back before my time was up.

Everyone from the team gathered around me, handing out reminders and warnings—they were definitely a cautious bunch—but honestly, I felt ready for this. It wasn't like I was planning to stay forever; just a year in another timeline before zipping back home. With this quirky device to return and a handbook filled with Naruto's doodles, I thought I was all set for what was supposed to be an epic adventure. But, of course, time travel didn't go as smoothly as we planned.

After a few botched jumps—I even found myself smack in the middle of the First Shinobi World War—until we finally got it right… or at least, almost right. Instead of landing seven years back like we planned, I ended up a whole ten years in the past, crashing into my 16-year-old self's timeline! My mission was to jump into the war and prevent casualties, but hey, an extra three years to make things better couldn't hurt, right? This jump gave me more time to work my magic, tweak events, and hopefully steer things toward a better outcome as the resident time bearer. Can't really complain about that.

But then things took a turn for the wild—and by wild, I mean super embarrassing. My grand entrance? Not so graceful. I landed smack in Naruto's old house bathroom while he was showering! Yep, there I was, fully clothed and soaking wet in all that steam. Naturally, my first instinct was to punch a very startled and very naked Jinchuriki right out of his own bathroom window, making for a spectacularly less-than-dignified exit onto the street.

Outside, winter was settling in; the air had that crisp chill that nipped at my cheeks, even as the heat from Naruto's bathroom enveloped me. Once we both got over that unexpected reunion, we made our way to Ichiraku Ramen—the perfect spot to smooth over any awkwardness with some delicious food.

As we slid into our favorite booth, the familiar aroma of miso broth filled the air, and genuine laughter bubbled up between us like warm cocoa on a chilly day. We exchanged apologies between mouthfuls as I spun some half-baked excuse about my sudden appearance; he seemed to buy it and launched into stories about his training with Jiraiya-sama.

Lucky for me, Naruto had just returned from one of those training sessions, which played nicely into my lack of foresight; he wasn't mad about my earlier antics at all. Instead, he filled me in on his adventures, and it felt like no time had passed since our escapades ten years ago when we were younger and our dreams felt both distant and within reach.

Thankfully, Naruto had just returned from one of Jiraiya-sama's training sessions—which worked nicely into my lack of foresight; at least he wasn't mad about my earlier antics and instead regaled me with tales of his training. It felt nice—like no time had passed since our adventures together ten years ago when we were younger and dreams seemed so far away yet so close at the same time.

Not the most graceful start to my mission—but it felt like old times again. And who knows? Maybe this winter would turn out to be different after all.

Time travel really messed with my head. Here I was, thrown back into the past as Chunin medic Haruno Sakura, trying to save the future while reliving high school all over again. It was this weird blend of old memories flooding back and the constant pressure to accomplish what I was here for.

I'd been stuck in this timeline for a month, scouring every corner of Konoha for Jonin Hyuuga Neji. So far, no luck. Asking around would definitely raise suspicions, so I had to track him down without making it obvious—I needed to keep my future identity under wraps. It seemed like he was either never around or always off on missions, avoiding me like I had some sort of contagious disease. Finding him felt like searching for a rare bird that just didn't want to be spotted.

My little gadget buzzed in my sling bag—a device with a three-year battery life giving me a ticking clock. Trying to casually bump into Neji had turned into an exhausting side quest. Seriously, how hard could it be to find one shinobi in Konoha? It was driving me nuts! If fate wasn't going to help us cross paths, then I'd just have to take matters into my own hands.

The annual shinobi checkups turned out to be my unexpected lifeline—a routine task that morphed into a golden chance. I had never fought so hard for something as mundane as checkup assignments, but there I was, elbowing my way through the other medics for Hyuuga Neji's checkup slot like it was Black Friday and he was the last flat-screen TV on sale. The sideways glances from my colleagues ranged from amused disbelief to genuine concern for my sanity—maybe they thought I had finally moved on from Uchiha Sasuke. But honestly? This wasn't about romance; it was about fixing the future.

Then came the day I had been waiting for—the appointment to meet the man again after his death felt monumental. As his footsteps echoed down the hallway, excitement bubbled beneath my calm facade. This was it—where yesterday met today. Not every day do you get to reunite with someone who's both part of your past and somehow still part of your future in such a strange way.

As he approached the door to my office, each second stretched out in anticipation. Time seemed to stand still as I took a deep breath, readying myself for this pivotal encounter—one that could either change everything or nothing at all, depending on how well I played my cards this time around.

Next chapter... The Proposal

End Note: Favorite/follow for an update! And don't forget to leave a comment, thanks so much.