Naruto 1. Prologue

"Hakke Fuin"

A gentle whisper, a sigh fading with the wind; a caress on her neck, the last words to come from the man that she had loved, would always love, even in death.

A love that had taken shape in the smiling child before her eyes – so little, so fragile and oh so, so beautiful. Her son, their son, Naruto, was safe. He would live a long and happy life and their dreams would live on in him and guide him. And, Gods given, she would see him again one day and tell him how much, oh how very much, she had wanted to have been by his side. She couldn't help the smile that spilled on her face under the tears even as the last wisps of her chakra dissipated unforgivably from her system, drained by the seal he had cast, stealing whatever warmth she had left. The curtain fell and darkness claimed her.

She was lost.

* * *

For all the speculation and the dangers surrounding her, death had always been an abstract thought. Inevitable, surely, a constant risk in her life, like a companion who walked by her side and waited patiently to pick her up when she fell. Acknowledging the inevitable, however, did not entitle understanding it. The idea of an after-life, eternity and peace had always been quite foreign to her mind, although, as any person, she had had some simple, quite imperfect guesses to what death was. An eternal calm perhaps – a close in which there was a beginning to something that would never again come to an end. Peace. She had liked to believe that somewhere in the vast nothingness that awaited her she would find _something_ of her own; that she would find _him_ again, outside of time and space, an entity to rest forever with her own. For all her petty musings, she had never quite pictured the pain.

She had been beaten bloody, once (or was it twice? Or thrice? She had lost count), in a life that seemed to have passed and faded so long ago. She had been cut and burned and thrashed and broken and strangled and even drowned. Yet none of those misfortunes compared to the sheer agony that had engulfed her now, as if her very essence was being torn from a shell that wanted to hold its own. And it all burned white and hot and unendurable, erasing all sense of being, of existence and of thought. She was nothing and everything all at once and there was simply _being_, existing, there, in that sea of excruciating pain. How was that right, how could she _feel_ pain if she no longer _was_? If she felt then she must exist. And it took all she had left, whatever that may be, to hold on to that flicker of existence even as it felt like it was tearing her apart, a piece of it lost forever, drained and locked by an invisible force.

It had been hours now, or maybe minutes, or was it years, days?

It happened gradually, or maybe all at once, she could not tell; time had ceased to exist in the plane that she had occupied, somewhere beyond the reach of men. A sense of it was coming back now, a concept flickering on the border of a simple existence burned raw for much too long. Understanding was returning to her even as the pain receded, leaving a shock of elated emptiness and relief. A realization was trying to break through the calmness and stir her into thought, something that seemed to be returning to her, a vital concept that she had lost.

_Who are you? Are you? Are you not?_

Was it the Gods who asked her? Oh, no, it was only her; was she a God? _How silly_, she thought, _I am only human_, and with that reflection recognition flickered into existence all at once.

_I am a shinobi of the Eddies and a shinobi of the Leaf. I am a wife and a mother. And I am dead,_ the thought registered and even as it did, it sounded off; for surely the mere fact that she was thinking suggested the capability to do so in a world bound by thought. Time came first and then the rationality of thought and self-understanding before a concept of space started to worm its way through, hazy and unclear. Sounds reached her, distant and muffled as if drifting from hundreds of miles away and her whole existence, chafed raw now, shied away. Flickers of light flashed on all sides, glimpses of colours that danced before her eyes. Eyes? Sight? Hearing? All of a sudden she was aware that she wasn't a mere entity anymore, but was bound to a form again, existing somewhere within space and time.

With a sudden wrenching thrust she was pulled downwards until her feet crashed into an unforgiving surface and the nothingness around her shattered and fell apart, leaving the bright picture of light and colour and forms and shapes and _people_, sensations overwhelming her after the numbness that seemed to have lasted much too long.

"All right. We have a new transfer student today…" someone by her side seemed to be saying, but the words didn't register.

They washed over her with little meaning, her mind refusing to make sense of them as she rasped a ragged deep breath, filling lungs that might have not been used in ages or might have been used just now. One hand flew to her chest out of instinct, clutching the fabric there as if to ease the echo of an ache that was no longer there, trying to find the gaping hole that a giant claw should have left once before, and she swayed on her feet – disorientated, lost.

A hand gripped her shoulder, shaking it and more words echoed around her, asking if she was alright. Was she alright? How was she living at all, how had she not died? Was this the afterlife, why did it feel so vibrant and… vivid and alive? Had something gone wrong with the technique, with-

"Naruto." she whispered, a horrified dry rasp as her memories finally caught up with her. The birth, the mask, the fox, the seal and her _son_… How could she have lost track of it all, how could she have forgot?

Shaking hands grabbed the sleeve of the man beside her in a steely grip as she turned a feverish look at him without even seeing him.

"Naruto. Where is he?" she demanded in a high-pitched unnatural voice.

The man, who on the off-hand seemed familiar in a distant, uncoordinated way, seemed to be quite puzzled by her hasty words, looking at her incredulously.

"N-naruto? What, are you hungry?" he asked, absolute incomprehension colouring his voice as he glanced sideways nervously and the girl found herself compelled to follow that look, taking in her environment for the first time.

She wasn't in the clearing anymore and it wasn't a bleary cold night, but a warming sunny day. The chakra – that foul, malevolent chakra, full of nothing but despair and hate – was now nowhere to be felt, not even its residue. Vanished as if it had never been. She seemed to be standing in a classroom instead, a classroom she knew only too well. And before her eyes swam a sea of faces, familiar and different, the faces of memories now shaped with crystal clarity, gazing at her with puzzlement and a tint of fear. Her breath hitched and she froze in place, her muscles locking with the shock and recognition of her comrades in the faces of the children all around. And there, to her left, a mere few feet away someone else caught her attention and her heart skipped a beat even before her eyes found him, already knowing that he would be precisely _there_.

A pair of curious blue eyes was peering at her through the innocence of childhood, under a shock of sun-kissed hair.

"M-Minato." she managed to choke out as if dazed, the resulting words suspiciously resembling a dry sob. "Minato…"

The boy's eyes widened with confusion as everyone around him turned to stare.

This was Minato, the man she loved, she would recognise him anywhere and always, feeling now the steady thrum of that warm chakra, which she was so attuned to that it seemed to shine brightly in the room drowning out all else. The feeling of relief that washed over her upon seeing him breathing and living and _well_ did not last long, soon replaced by horror. This person did not know her. This was not her Minato and not a man at all, but a boy. _A boy._

Her mind reeled in shock and denial, refusing to grasp what her eye receptors were feeding to it, the image of a _child_, of a memory of long ago.

Slowly, with exaggerated care she lifted her hands, peering at the chubby fingers before throwing an incredulous look down her petite stature, the bright clothing, the flat shapeless body, the bruised knees… The high-pitched voice suddenly made too much sense. Oh it was her alright. Her at age six.

Her breathing had quickened now, coming out in dry shallow rasps as shock started to swell up inside. Seasoned shinobi reflexes kicked in on themselves, trying to beat it down with nothing but sheer will and the stems of rationality that she could hardly hold onto.

_Genjutsu._

It had to be, there was no other explanation to it. Who would subdue her in such a way was beyond her and 'why' was another dead end. Surely it couldn't be Kyubi – powerful as the fox was, genjutsu was not its forte. What mattered was the horrible result – a result that, she was certain, wouldn't have had such crippling consequences for so long if her mind hadn't been already damaged and broken by a painful Bijuu extraction and the concept of inevitable death. If she had been in full physical and mental health she might have reached to that obvious conclusion much sooner, sparing herself the pain of realising that the now-living-for-the-time-being Minato was more than likely still very dead, out there in the real world. How she had survived and why was another mystery that she decided to dwell upon later. For now, for the sake of what little rationality she had managed to muster, she decided to focus on what was really important for the time being – getting back to Naruto. To her _son_.

With a last pained look at the confused child that was Minato of her past, she brought her hands before her chest, much to the stunned protest of the man that she now recognised as her academy teacher, and formed the familiar seal for _Release_. Chakra surged through her, burning on the inside as she gathered quantities far too abnormal for breaking genjutsu, a torrent of power that only an Uzumaki could will upon. The very air around her seemed to haze and dim, making the strands of her hair dance about chaotically. Children were jumping to their feet now, backing away through shouts, yet Minato remained in his seat staring at her with wonder and something that she could only determine as a timid fascination. Silently she directed a goodbye.

"Kai."

The chakra surged forward releasing a wave so strong that even the furniture seemed to creak as if affected physically just as the pages and documents on the teacher's desk scattered in the air. She might have overdone it, but she didn't want to take any risks – this Release should be able to break through any genjutsu lest for Tsukuyomi, but Kushina was quite certain that _that_ particular technique didn't work quite so. This genjutsu was different and it was sure to break.

Nothing happened.

Kushina blinked.

"Kushina Uzumaki!" her teacher half-shouted, grabbing her hand and instinct kicked in on itself as the girl quickly twisted out of his grasp, swirling around in a well-practiced taijutsu stance and directing a forceful upper kick at a man much too surprised to react.

It caught him straight in the chest, making him stagger back in shock just as Kushina herself jumped out of reach, skidding in a half crouched position by the door, eyes crazed, sweeping over the premise wildly. Everyone seemed to have stilled, watching her with nothing but fear, but she had eyes for one person alone – a sunny boy that had now jumped to his feet, watching her warily despite retaining the same tint of fascination as before.

Another hasty seal and chakra burning at her tips.

"Kai. Kai. _Kai_."

Real. He was real. This was real.

Her teacher was now watching her carefully, hand hovering over his kunai pouch. The girl barely registered him.

"It can't be." she whispered quietly, not taking her eyes off of Minato, biting back the wisps of insanity. "We died."

The boy seemed to have decided that she is talking to him for he suddenly opened his mouth, meaning to say something, but no sound came out. What could he answer to such nonsensical blabber from a girl who seemed, more than likely mad?

A chuckle bubbled from within as she realised that she had just considered this inexplicable version of her Minato to think _her_ mad. That did it. She had gone insane. For what else could explain the fact that she was a child, back in an older Konoha, back to her own past. Time travel was impossible, not by all the laws of the universe that she had learned to adhere to. Yet it felt so very _real_ and tangible and bittersweet that it brought a sting to her eyes.

She needed to see more, she needed to make sure. She needed to know. She needed something, anything to feed to her senses, to form a sound perception and to come up with an explanation if she was to validify any sort of rationality. Without another word she turned on her heel and broke into a run, leaving the stunned room into silence.

A distant familiar, oh so familiar, voice called out after her with a rapid "Wait!" as a light pair of hurried footsteps followed her through the corridor, yet she did not turn. She couldn't face him again, not before she faced herself. Chakra pooled to her feet and she jumped high as soon as she made her way out of the Academy, taking it to the roofs where she was sure he could not follow, not yet.

A hasty, headlong run without a destination and a direction, running for the sake of the run itself, for she felt that if she stopped she would fall apart. A familiar mountain loomed ahead of her, a monument that bore three faces now, the fourth very much inexistent, not yet. A ragged sob escaped her lips and her stomach clenched, causing her to skid in a jerky stop, falling on her knees over Gods know which rooftop and retching violently what little contents her stomach had as it clenched painfully again and again. The air seemed to have grown too thin as she struggled to grasp it, breathing shallow quick breaths, her head swimming.

She was back in the past. The impossible had become reality. She was a child again. She was a _child_ and _her_ child was gone, disappeared after having being forcefully wrenched out of her embrace. Because Naruto did not exist in this world, not until twenty or so years in the future. And despite that being a concept more cheerful than death, she could not squash the mental conviction that, despite her childish stature, mere hours ago she had been a mother. A mother whose baby was lost.

Kushina never knew when she had fallen to one side, tightly curled in a ball, weeping until the shock and exhaustion subdued her in an uneasy haze.

* * *

**AN:** **So… what can I say? I opened word to start the new chapter of my other fic and this poured out. I suppose studying about the concept of death and the afterlife as it was depicted in literature throughout the ages did leave a trace there, along with quite a few time travel fics that I read as of late, shaping new ideas for me. I haven't read all that many time-travel fics centering around Kushina, but I do love her character so I wanted to try something new. When I announced a new fic, this wasn't what I had planned.**

**That being said, I am not abandoning my first fic. Call this a side project. Still, I hope you enjoy the product of a sleepless imagination-fueled night! **

**Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, question or banter, I'll read it all and try to answer as soon as possible! See you soon!**


	2. One Piece at a Time

**AN:**** Well this took awhile! Thank you for bearing with me and most importantly, thank you to all the lovely people who took the time to comment and support me, your heart-warming reviews are the best cure for writer's block and I cannot thank you enough for that! I am glad that the idea was received so well and I hope that its continuation wouldn't fall short of your expectations! Already some people expressed some really interesting thoughts in their comments. Some of you are close to what I had in mind, others would probably be surprised – in any case, I do hope you enjoy! **

**Now, after all the long wait (for which I apologise a thousand times over!), on with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

"_How is she?"_

_Silence and the rustle of paper._

"_Exhausted and emotionally overloaded, but other than that perfectly healthy. There is nothing wrong with the girl, sensei, at least not physically. Her chakra system is stressed and overloaded, however, it's been an irregular torrent for most of her stay."_

"_Her sensei tells me she thought she was in a genjutsu."_

"_Genjutsu? But… she is only six, how could she possibly… Although it would explain the strain on her chakra coils, if she kept fighting against a genjutsu that wasn't there…"_

_A quiet sigh._

"_I hurried with her academy enrollment. I thought that having her around peers would help her adapt easier, Mito-sama agreed. Apparently it did the opposite – the child is in shock."_

"_Sensei, about where ANBU found her… Even if she was in shock…"_

_The flap of cloth and quiet footsteps._

"_Yes, I am aware."_

"_Have you spoken to them?"_

"_I wish to speak to her first."_

"_Yes, of course. I will notify you when she wakes."_

"_Please do, but for now… let her rest. Her mind is in turmoil from whatever is burdening her… let her sleep it out."_

* * *

_Exhausted… in shock… let her sleep…_

The words swirled around her, bits and pieces of a conversation she must have heard while asleep. Her mind was trying to piece it out, the pieces of the puzzle stubbornly turning around and around, very much apart. She was lying down somewhere and judging by the softness beneath her and by the sterile scent of chemicals and medicine, she could only conclude she was at the hospital, still recovering. Memories started drifting back as her senses struggled to grasp the world, images flooding her mind – she had given birth not too long ago, she had seen her son… and then a masked man had whisked her away, had torn the Kyuubi out of her, had almost killed her… Her hand stirred as she instinctively tried to move it to her abdomen, searching for the faintest trail of a seal that was no longer there. A pained grunt escaped her, the pictures in her mindscape taking on a new light – she had held Naruto in her hands, fear rocking her as Minato fought a creature she was tasked with keeping at bay, a demon that should have never stood before the man she loved. And then he had been there, pulling her and their son to safety, claiming that he would give his life for them, for the village, for her… and then he… and then…

Her eyes flashed open, blinking rapidly at the surrounding darkness without seeing it, her mind locked far away. A ragged sob escaped her, the swirling emotions finding expression down her cheek. An invisible hand had clutched her chest so tight that she found it hard to breathe. She was alone in this room, she was certain, and he… How was she alive? Had Minato done something to save her, yet again?

She had dreamed of him. A bittersweet idyllic dream where they had been children again and she was given the chance to make it all right, to make sure he would never stand before that Bijuu again, never face his death. And it had felt so real and so vivid, the imprints of a feverish mind that had endured unbearable physical and emotional agony only moments ago. A pained hallucination that she had almost willed to be true.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, staring at the inky blackness of night, her pillow drinking the silent tears hungrily as they slid down her temples with no end, the constriction in her chest not lessening one bit with time, her mind fighting to commit every detail of him to memory. The firm grip of his hands as he held her, the gentle touch as he swept fiery locks from the crease of her neck, the whisper of his lips by her ear, the soft voice murmuring her name in the dead of night, the ringing laughter and the merry bright eyes and the scent of pine needles and of ramen and of _Minato_, his cloak billowing in the wind as he stood on the Hokage monument, embracing their dream… as he walked towards a demon, giving his life for it. Getting up meant embracing reality, accepting that he was gone; she had to, inevitably, but just for now, she wanted to stay like this, indulging in the drunk memories of him.

Minutes rolled, her tears running dry, leaving the girl staring listlessly at the ceiling as the faint light of dawn started sneaking past the window blinds and marring the darkness of her room into lighter colours. A new sense of purpose was worming its way in her mind along with it, a need that was fighting to make itself known – Naruto. She had to find her son. With a final dry sob she rose to a sitting position, not even registering the surprising feeling of vigour that should be unusual for one recently stabbed by a giant claw, and swinging her legs to one side of the bed, making to stand up. With a yelp she felt herself falling forward, the bed being elevated unexpectedly too high; the ground on which she had made to push herself standing never came into contact and instead her legs swung in nothingness, unbalancing her. Hands gripped sheets that provided little anchor and she found herself on the floor in a swirl of cloth, swearing inwardly at the newly acquired bruised elbow.

Only then did it occur to her that said elbow might have been the first real ache that she felt since waking up – good as Konoha's medics were, after all the ordeal she had been put through, she expected at least some partial repercussions to her health. Heck, a tumble like this should have definitely torn the stitches that _ought_ be all over her chest. An uncomfortable feeling settled inside, the girl reaching blindly for her ribcage, searching for bandages beneath the blouse, her fingers sliding over smooth skin and chest _suspiciously_ flat…

She froze.

_Wake up, Kushina, you're still asleep, wake up now_.

The pinch did no good and nor did the forceful slap that she directed at herself, the sting of it doing nothing to wash away the clarity before her eyes. With a sickening fit of vertigo the world reeled around her as trembling hands jumped to frantically unwind the sheets from around her and the girl was soon up on her feet, her _ridiculously short feet_, judging by the height of the bed next to her. It wasn't that it had been elevated for unknown purposes – her limbs had simply been too short and she had misjudged the distance, causing her disgraceful plop on the hospital floor. Her breath had once again turned into shallow huffs as her one hand – her ridiculously chubby, small hand – shot out for the firmness of the bed, trying to steady herself as her mind reached the one obvious conclusion: the dream hadn't been a dream at all – it had been real.

Before she could budge any further the door behind her opened on dry hinges, spilling light in the semi-dark room and Kushina whipped around frantically, reaching down her leg for a kunai pouch that wasn't even there. The newcomer lifted an eyebrow at the obvious hostile movement, shutting the door behind her and flipping the light switch on with a firm hand. With a buzz the lamps flickered into life and the girl hissed at the sudden bleary light, blinking rapidly to clear the blur from her eyes.

A startled gasp.

"Tsunade-san?" she mumbled before she could further comprehend the situation. "You're back?"

The woman before her – the impossibly _young_ woman – lifted an eyebrow at her statement.

"Of course I am. I am your appointed medic, although I don't believe we've met officially."

"You don't believe that-" Kushina started incredulously before cutting herself off with a sharp intake of breath.

This was actually happening and gods almighty, this was Tsunade eighteen years ago, Tsunade before Dan died, Tsunade, who hadn't left and she was her appointed medic and was claiming that they _had never met_-

It was all ridiculous, impossible, absolutely mad. And yet it was real, she had given up on trying to break a genjutsu that was simply not there. She was really back again, stuck in her body at the age of six, incredulous as it might sound. Her fingers as she brought her hand up to tuck her hair back, trembled uncontrollably – she had told herself that when she got out of bed she needs face reality and accept it, but she had had something quite different in mind.

Upon seeing the obvious signs of distress Tsunade jumped into action, making to approach her and console, but the girl was already backtracking to the opposite wall, hands lifted before her instinctively, defensively.

"Stay away from me!" she heard herself call in that childish voice and the medic froze in place, a look of wary concern swimming in her eyes. _Steady now, steady…_ "Just… I'm sorry, Tsunade-san…-sama, I need some time. Please."

A few pained heartbeats later and the Sannin nodded, acknowledging the dismissal.

"Call me if you need anything, child."

The ominous silence after her retreat lasted a few long seconds before the girl exhaled deeply, wearily, giving in to her trembling knees and sinking to the ground.

_Rational, stay rational, there must be an explanation to this_, she chanted inwardly like a mantra to cling to, trying to think back on anything she remembered of their last fight against the Kyuubi. They had died, of that much she was certain, remembering the cold unforgivable feeling of her chakra leaving her and with it – life. Her memories after that were hazy and unclear and no matter how much she attempted to grasp them she failed, as if her whole existence shied away from them, her mind finding itself physically incapable of wrapping around the vast concept of nothingness and the pain she was sure had been much too excruciating to bear again, even in memory.

She had gone beyond… and traveled back again.

The next thing she knew was finding herself standing before her class, being introduced to the Konoha academy all over again and this time, thrown into shock, she had made a mess out of it. The moment she had gone back to seemed oddly significant, as if it spoke much and more about the way she had turned up here and she bit her lip, trying to will her jumbled thoughts into cohesion.

A memory arose within her, dancing on the edge of consciousness.

_She frowns as she stares at the shogi board, an exasperated sigh escaping her and she throws a dirty look at Shikaku, the man who seems to be handing her ass back to her at shogi. Royally._

_The Nara heir is grinning, arms crossed, waiting for her next move, knowing full well that she will be cornered in no more than three turns. And even though she sees it, she has no idea how to trump it._

_A light chuckle from besides her breaks her out of her reverie and she directs her attention to the merry man beside her. One arm resting casually on his knee, the other extended back and to the floor right behind her to support his weight, Minato is watching their game most intently._

"_Laugh at me one more time and you will regret it, ya know."_

_His brilliant smile doesn't waver for a second._

"_I am not laughing at you." he murmurs and leans ahead, eyes fixed on the board, not betraying in any way how his hand has slipped to the small of her back, one thumb gently tracing circles across her skin. If Shikaku has noticed the uncharacteristic moment of intimacy in public, he feigns oblivion very convincingly. She blushes and seriously considers elbowing him in the ribs – he is doing nothing for her concentration. "Empty your mind of distractions, consider his figures one at a time, piece it out as a puzzle. Regard the bigger picture, why is he attacking without pause here…" he says, breath tickling her shoulder, and gestures towards the board. "…trying to stop you from moving here. Try to look underneath his obvious motives."_

_Shikaku coughs._

"_I thought I was playing against Kushina."_

_Minato chuckles again, leaning back once more, his hand moving to twine around one fiery lock behind her. She pays him no heed, finally seeing what he meant, Shikaku's weakly fortified bishop and through it a path to his own King, a path that requires more moves than it would take the Nara to win, but at least she wouldn't lose as disgracefully as before._

"_See the whole picture, huh?" she whispers and tips a gold piece ahead._

One piece at a time… There was no place for panic in a situation like this. She had, after all, seen one too many extraordinary techniques in her life, proving her over and over again that the limits of what was possible stretched far and further still. Hadn't she been just as flabbergasted when Minato had improved a teleportation technique? It _was_ a space-_time_ technique after all; an aspect of it, however small, suggested manipulation of time in an unorthodox manner. If _that_ was possible, then why shouldn't it be possible to control that element on a larger scale? Why _was_ she so certain that time travel was impossible when she had seen so much in her life to suggest that nothing was impossible in this twisted world of theirs?

She was willing to bet that a technique of some sort was involved, a technique that she almost immediately attributed to Minato – he had been the master of space-time techniques after all, he had to have included an element to that dreaded seal that he cast, an element that had resulted in time alteration bigger than planned. Or was it unplanned really? Of all the memories she could have returned to, she returned to precisely this one – her first meeting with Minato, almost as if he had been attempting to send her as far back as he could, using the very first memory of her that _he_ had. Anything prior to that would be impossible, because he, namely the caster of the technique, would be unfamiliar with it (given that she was right at all and this had something to do with Minato at all).

If she were right, however, why would she be the only one here? Judging by the child's astounded reaction at her seemingly nonsensical blabber yesterday, the Minato of her past – now present – had no idea of their shared past (or rather future). If her… soul… had somehow made it back instead of finding the afterlife, then why hadn't his?

"_Then I will take the Kyuubi with me… using the one seal a non-Jinchuuriki can use – Shiki Fūjin."_

Her hands tightened in trembling fists. Of course… of course, his soul couldn't find peace in the afterlife or in the past or anywhere else for that matter – it was trapped forever in the belly of the Shinigami, the deity with which he had struck the ultimate deal in order to protect his home. To protect his son…

Her breathing had sped up on its own again, hands flying to her abdomen out of habit, cradling a child that was no longer there, would not be there until years in the future – a child that she had, nevertheless, grown to love more than life itself. For the sake of her own sanity she refused to believe that Naruto no longer existed; if she was thrust back to the past through a technique cast by Minato, she might as well consider the fact that his specialty was _space_-time techniques. She had held her son, had felt his warmth, had heard his cry – he existed, she was certain, in a present that she was no longer a part of, a timeline that was no longer hers. She didn't remember much of her agonizing moments of death after all, but of one thing she was certain – she had felt an inexplicable surge, as if a part of her had been torn away with those wisps of chakra, sealed in a Naruto of another time, for a future meeting as was supposed to happen all along. He was safe, she would believe in that or she would go mad.

Through a slow, exaggerated movement she pressed two fists to her own temples, pressing down and willing her flying heart into a steadier rhythm. The cold floor of the hospital room was chilling her through the flimsy gown, her legs quickly growing numb and the girl forced herself to make her way to the bed, awkwardly climbing up despite its added height (or her lost such, depending on the perspective). Now that she considered that aspect, she was surprised she had moved so effortlessly yesterday given the confusion of unexpected body alterations. Logic dictated that she should be tripping on limbs too short for her perceptions. She quickly discarded that thought as quite preposterous. Her bodily functions were driven by impulses in the brain, those born from the signals that her receptors fed to it – receptors that were very much aware of her altered physique, accepting it as quite normal. Her brain, being a physical organ, knew the dimensions of her small figure well and thus dictated moves accordingly. The only issue was her _mind_ – the expectations of height of objects and their distance, born from a past life of habit, adding confusion when said expectations fell short. Her bruised elbow testified to that conclusion.

She assumed she would get used to it quick enough – just yesterday, being far too numb under the pressure of shock and confusion, she hadn't even noticed the obvious height difference between her and her academy teacher when she had unexpectedly found herself standing next to him. Not thinking on it, she had acted out of instinct and she had done well enough. Her movements had been fluid as she had kicked him with brutal precision in the chest (she winced at the memory), although she had to admit now that her childish figure was not used to the forceful moves she had tried to implement. Her muscles had burned from the strain and a kick that should have sent the man flying and crashing into a wall had merely caused him to stagger back. Her chakra was also scarcely developed – what Kushina had perceived to be a large amount yesterday had simply been a huge part of her reserves. Now, thinking calmly and rationally, she could grudgingly conclude that said reserves, although being quite large for a six year old, were still meager compared to what she had been capable of before. Her chakra control, based on mental training rather than physical one, had been good enough, but the chakra mastered with it – far from it. She had to work on it as soon as possible, she had to regain her previous level of strength if she was to-

To do what?

She had somehow come up with an explanation about the phenomenon, an explanation that she considered logical enough to beat down the confusion that threatened to overwhelm her otherwise. The question that remained, however, burned her on the inside: What are you going to do now that you know how, when and where you are?

For a fraction of a second she froze, her mind reeling back. She was six now… untainted, unspoiled, unmarred by the presence of a terrible demon inside. It would be whole two years before the council locked the Kyuubi within her, enough time for Kushina to make her way out of here, away from that terrible creature and everything it entitled. Away from the pain, the hatred, the weight of that burden that had initially made her crumble in loneliness and scorn. Almost immediately she shook her head, discarding the thought as if it was a cloth on fire, searing her. If not her, then who would bear that beast? Would she inflict that pain on someone else, now that she knew how to deal with it, knew that she was the most suitable host? Running away from her responsibility would mean abandoning Konoha and the thought proved to be so unbearable that she shied away from the very idea.

This was her home now, had been for longer than any of them knew. She would stay and protect it, again, especially now, when she knew of the turmoil that awaited them.

And with that thought the answer to her initial question presented itself in the image of a confused golden-haired boy with clear cerulean eyes. This was not _her_ Minato, but this child had the potential to one day become one of the greatest men Konoha had ever known – a man that she had grown to respect, trust, follow, love. A man, who had met his end much too early, unexpectedly, paying a price too high for her inability to protect the village from what she had been tasked with keeping at bay. A man who should not, would not die, she vowed to herself now, latching on the thought with such ferocity that it almost startled her, her newly found conviction burning on the inside like living fire.

Because a world where Minato Namikaze did not exist was wrong and unnatural, a colder, darker place. Whatever she did, however she acted, she would find that masked man and make sure that Minato never faced him, never faced the Kyuubi and lived to watch over Konoha for many years more. She was back in the past and she wouldn't be Kushina Uzumaki if she didn't make the best of it – she would change the future and correct her mistakes even if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

The chair creaked audibly in the still hospital room, the sound carrying well after the Hokage had occupied it with an unreadable expression plastered on his face. Much as she tried not to stare, Kushina soon found herself stealing curious glances at this familiar, yet different man. So much younger than she remembered him, still in his prime, Hiruzen Sarutobi might have been only a few years older than Minato was when he took up the hat he so dreamed of. This Sandaime stood straight and alert, the subtle weariness now absent from the slump of his shoulders, long fingers intertwining gracefully in his lap with not an ounce of the lassitude she had grown to recognise before – this was the Hokage of her childhood, imposing in his own right. Had she really thought him severe and intimidating once? There was a different look playing in his kind eyes this time around, a feeling of concern she did not remember seeing about him until well into her adulthood.

With a sudden twinge of guilt she realised that Sandaime had never really changed. What she had thought to be the man mellowing out over the years was in fact her own perspective altering as she learned how to look beyond the cloud of anger and fear that had plagued her childhood. The man had always been concerned – a certain affability defined his character no matter what age she would see him at. She wondered briefly how much she had missed, how much she had failed to see and realise, being blinded by the naïveté of childhood.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, intent eyes studying every stolen glance and every twinge that she could hardly school herself to control at this point.

"Fine" she whispered through a voice too rough to be convincing before clearing her throat and trying again, "Tired."

Sandaime harrumphed with a nod and fell silent by her side, most likely expecting some sort of explanation to the events of a day ago. Should she react? Would she have spoken, accused, shouted if she were a child all over again? Probably, but then again she had never really gotten herself in such a situation in her past; there was no measure of comparison, nothing to base her supposed reaction on, save for a few hazy memories and speculations. She was still too weary to attempt to reenact her own boisterous personality of years past… or as things might have it – present. The whole situation was really all too confusing.

With a quiet sigh she directed a look at Sandaime and found herself lost in the depths of this kind, sympathetic look that she had failed to understand before and for the briefest of seconds she found herself on the brink of telling him everything. The girl quickly averted her eyes, the moment passing as fast as it had risen, and Kushina twined her hands in her lap, eyeing them stubbornly. Telling anyone about her past… or future… was quite pointless, she had decided already, for they would more than likely think her mad. She had little proof to her claims – her memory of her childhood, as the memory of almost any other child, was hazy and lacked particular details that involved anything but her daily school life. Therefore, she could hardly make any major future predictions to prove her point, not until well ahead into the future, some years away from now. In the meantime, would Konoha decide that she was mentally unstable and thus dangerous, she would most likely be locked away, losing precious time that she could otherwise spend into improving her skills and searching for the masked man. Therefore, making predictions as proof to her claims was out of the question; revealing secrets about the village's system and its leaders was also quite imprudent – she was still a foreigner, who had been accepted in Konoha only recently. Proving exceptional knowledge about the village's secret affairs would only make them doubt her loyalty and by extension – Uzushiogakure's, for the logical conclusion would be that they had a traitor amongst their ranks, who informed foreigners about information they were not privy to. Now more than ever Uzu needed its allies if Kushina was ever to prevent its destruction – another point on her to-do list, right up there with saving Minato, Sakumo Hatake, Dan Kato, Obito Uchiha and generally as many people as she could, caution be damned.

She would have to achieve all that alone, however, within the boundaries of rationality and expectations or she would give her position away and things would end terribly. Demonstrations of superior skill like those of the previous day were quite unacceptable and she had to give a good enough excuse for them if she were to satisfy Hiruzen Sarutobi's curiosity.

"I hear you had an eventful first day at the academy." Sandaime began quietly and Kushina gulped.

Let the farce begin.

"So what of it, ya know?"

"I've come to apologise." The man said quietly and the resolve to act mean as her younger self would have quickly gave way to surprise as she directed a startled look at him. "It was too early to enroll you in the academy, the shock from the-"

"No, ya know!" she interrupted him sternly, afraid all of a sudden that she wouldn't be allowed to go back. Her plans centered wildly around interacting with her future teammates, helping them to get stronger faster, making sure that they would _all_ survive through the third shinobi world war if it ever occurred again.

Sandaime lifted an eyebrow.

"I mean, I am fine, I can deal with it! I just panicked, ya know, things were… new… but I won't anymore!"

"Panicking was well within measure, but you have to understand, Kushina, that your reaction was wrong. You frightened your classmates and disrespected your teacher. Actions like that cannot be tolerated in this village."

So he was going to pull the strict fatherly figure act? Fair enough, she thought, imagining just how much she might have disliked him right now if she truly was of the mind of a six year old Kushina right now. She knew better however – the man was entirely right. That didn't mean that she should show her understanding, which would probably sound unnatural for a child.

"I didn't harm anyone, I wasn't going to! But they said stuff about my hair and they laughed at me, they thought I was a weak little girl so I wanted to show them they were wrong!"

It was probably the best, most child-like excuse for her actions that she could come up with and she could only hope beyond hope that Sandaime would believe her and not look into it any further, even if it ruined her image substantially from early on. Kushina the show-off bully – that was one title she had been hoping to avoid this time around.

"Is that why you attempted a release technique, to show your superior chakra control?"

To say that she had _attempted_ one was a mild understatement, but she supposed the Hokage couldn't afford telling a six-year old just how powerful a technique she had presumably learned by mistake (for what else could he assume?)

Kushina nodded.

"How did you come to know such a technique?"

Ah, the dreaded question. She gulped, hopefully not all too visibly.

"I saw some shinobi at home do it and I asked what it was so I read about it in a book." she mumbled hastily, hoping that she had managed to make her speech scrambled enough to sound childish.

When she had been six she had barely been aware what a genjutsu was, much less how to counter it and actually attempting it (or anything involving chakra for that matter) had been very much out of the question. There had been others, however, who had fared much better than she – Minato for one, was most certainly already well-read enough to know precisely what she had performed, which is why, she suspected, he was perhaps the only person who didn't backtrack in horror when she had started casting the technique. Kakashi (who was clearly not yet born) had accomplished even more by the time he was her age. So why shouldn't she allow herself a touch of genius as well? She would need it as an alibi in any case, if she was to ask for advanced training at some point.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's look was impassive, schooled into an unreadable mask and, much as she tried, Kushina could interpret none of his actual thoughts on the matter.

"Is that how you came to develop a chakra control fine enough to let you leap across roofs?"

Oh, right, she had done that too.

"Um well, no, but before I came here I got extra lessons, because they said I represent my village and I shouldn't fail them, ya know." She said in a rush, forcing herself to sound as vague as possible, letting Hiruzen interpret the "they" as he saw fit. It was a risky explanation that could easily be disproven with a further investigation with Uzushiogakure and she could only hope that the Hokage wouldn't be suspicious enough to launch one or she might find herself stuck between the hammer and the anvil. That was future Kushina's problem, however – present Kushina wanted nothing more but to escape the harsh scrutiny in Sandaime's eyes.

"Any other unexpected talents that we should be aware of?" the man asked lightly, casually, as if highly disinterested, and the girl actually stopped to consider this one through. Maybe if she admitted early knowledge of a trick or two it would save her the trouble of suspicion later on? How much knowledge was too much knowledge for a child her age, imaginary genius inclinations included?

"Well I can walk on walls and water and stuff." she said finally, deciding to play it safe for now.

Sandaime only sighed, shaking his head slowly.

"Don't make me leave the academy, please!" she started again, jumping at the first opportunity, already fearing that she had changed events irrevocably. "I won't mess with any techniques anymore and I won't jump on roofs, I promise!"

To her surprise, the Hokage chuckled, the brief smile not quite reaching his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, regarding her with a quiet look.

"I should hope not. You have shown incredible prowess; I wonder whether your enrollment in the academy is at all needed at this stage. However, this might be the first time since your arrival that you have shown enthusiasm about anything in Konoha." Here the man paused, weighing her with a look and Kushina could only wonder whether she imagined the brief tint of suspicion on his face. All too soon it had disappeared behind another warming smile. "You can return to the academy tomorrow, under the condition that you formally apologise to Sasshi-sensei and promise to never disrespect him in a show of skill again."

She was only too eager to consent.

* * *

_In, out, steady now. In, out, breathe_.

She didn't know why she was quite so nervous for something so ridiculously simple.

With a final sharp intake of breath she pushed the door open, stepping through the dreaded threshold and into the academy classroom that held so many bittersweet memories for her.

The entire room grew still.

Kushina sighed inwardly, having expected something of the sort. The startled looks of her classmates didn't make her feel any less uncomfortable, however, and the sudden unnatural silence was making the fine hair of her neck rise. Children, as adorable as they were, could be strangely eerie at times, she had to remind herself. Trying her best to ignore the quiet murmur that seemed to swell in the room like the whisper of a beehive, she made her way to the front of the room where her sensei was standing, eyeing her with a strict look. Before the man could say anything, she quickly pulled short next to him and bent low at the waist, voicing the most respectful apology that she could think of, letting honest regret seep into her voice. She hadn't meant to undermine the man's position in any way; had she known better she would have avoided it all together, but she had been too shocked to react properly. With a humourless inward chuckle she noted the irony of the situation – her mind was already indulging in scenarios similar to _"if I could take that back"_, which sounded suspiciously close to _"if I could go back in time"_ and wasn't that a simply marvelous realization, she almost snorted to herself.

After a brief pause the man nodded and she found herself forced to turn to the sea of faces that was still openly staring at her, not even bothering to mask curious looks behind the masks of disinterest that adults usually attempted to put into place. There was more time until the start of the lesson after all, which gave _her_ plenty of time to get acquainted to her _lovely_ classmates all over again. To her credit, her eyes flickered to _his_ face only once, taking in yet again that peculiar look of quiet wonder that he had directed at her. Without a word she passed by him and continued to the back of the room, making her way to her old seat out of habit, not stopping to marvel at the ease with which people parted to let her through. Apparently in this timeline her vicious reputation would precede the comical one.

"What's up with your hair?" the boy sitting in front of her quipped, turning to stare at her through genuine wonder.

…alright, perhaps she had hurried with her previous evaluation, she thought, as the quiet whispers finally turned into loud talks once again, the commotion already wearing off as the children around her decided that yes, she was in fact human, and she was in fact a chubby little girl, who was actually shorter than most of them.

"How can anyone have hair like that?"

"How do you get it that red?"

"It's so weird!"

"I would never go out with hair like that!" she heard a girl – was that Yoshino? – throw in, causing a few strained giggles. Surprisingly, she simply sighed, not a trace of her signature anger bubbling on the inside this time around.

Because, childish stature or not, intellectually she was a grown woman now, who viewed such childish quips as nothing more than. It was typical, expected even, of children to argue and pick on each other, mean as it was. Furthermore, as a person who had, at least emotionally, become a mother not too long ago, she couldn't help but see the whole picture with a different eye – blissfully fond of the theatrics as only a parent could be when seeing children at their games.

In her reverie she had completely skipped the small group of boys that had gathered around her, clearly eager to reestablish their territory by putting down the one girl everyone feared. The self-appointed leader, a rather large Inozuka boy, whose first name Kushina had embarrassingly forgotten, was grinning at her through a few missing teeth, small meaty hands triumphantly placed on his hips.

"You have such a weird name, kids in our village would never be called like that." he said haughtily, quickly drawing the line between _us_ and _you_. Were she indeed a child, this might have, probably actually had indeed hurt her. "I know! Tomato!" he said loudly, pointing a chubby finger at her face. "From this day on we're going to call you Tomato! You have a fat round face with red hair! Just like a tomato!"

The boys around him burst out in giggles and she found herself simply sighing tiredly at the repetitive quips – why had she thought she could avoid them this time around?

"I hate tomatoes!"

"Me too! I never eat them in my salad! As if Minato would ever like a tomato like you!"

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second, seeking out the quiet blond boy, who was eyeing the Inozuka kid through the same measure of surprise. Unsurprisingly, he did not comment, as he never had before, following her reaction curiously instead.

This _was_ new. Had they decided to tease her for her nonsensical blabber yesterday as well, deciding that she somehow fancied the boy? She had to admit that as far as little kids were concerned, the mere fact that a girl had addressed a boy directly without the use of a honorific already counted as relationship material. How could they know that technically the two of them had never spoken before? Well, not in this timeline anyway. The thought felt quite disturbing in a way – yes this was Minato, but it was not _her_ Minato – here, now, he was simply a child. She realised now, staring at the wide innocent eyes of the fair boy, that her overprotective impulses had very little to do with the kind of love she had grown to know in adulthood. She loved this boy quite differently – she admired him, she trusted him, she believed in him and most importantly, she respected his dreams. She loved the man he would one day become. Right now, however, she saw a child, a friend, and any other insinuation struck her as disturbing on one too many a level.

The Inozuka boy had remained completely oblivious to her inner musings, snapping her out of her thoughts by pulling on one of her bangs through a less-than-friendly-grin.

"What's up, Tomato, cat got your tongue?"

"A tomato, ah?" she murmured, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

She couldn't force herself to actually beat those children as she once had, not in good conscience, regardless of her status of a child as well. Internally she was an adult long past; hitting a child was something she would never forgive herself. She had to handle the situation differently this time around.

"Watch this then!" she chimed in suddenly, turning to face them head on and puffing out her cheeks, pressing her hair on both sides of her face.

The boys around her stared at her in utter shock, not having expected her to join in on the jokes meant to upset her, before the smallest of them giggled. Soon enough all of them burst into laughter, save for the startled Inozuka kid. Soon enough she released her breath in a huff, joining in on the laughter – a fact that no one seemed to mind. For the first time it felt as if those children were laughing with her, not at her.

"Now that's a tomato to remember!" she said loudly through giggles, making sure to pin their attention. It was about time she made a very important statement after all. "Tomatoes are really healthy, ya know, you should eat them to grow big and strong! I eat them all the time, that is why I could make chakra tricks yesterday and you need to be strong to be a good shinobi and I am the strongest, ya know! I am going to be Konoha's first female Hokage!"

Without her quite realising it, her look had strayed downward upon proclaiming that statement, finding a pair of wide blue eyes staring at her through mild fascination. A lifetime ago she would have asked him why he was staring and waved a fist at him. This time around she smiled widely at him, an inexplicable warm feeling spilling inside her as he smiled back.

* * *

**AN:**** A slow chapter, but I believe a needed one. Because I felt the need to establish a few time-travel ground-rules and relationships before diving into this whole mess. The following chapter would probably contain a succession of scenes with a certain time skip in between, covering major different events in the time-span of about three years, so stay tuned!**

**Also, an important note!**** I will be basing the timeline of this fanfic on the general timeline I am using in my main fic "How It All Began". Naturally I am not looking forward to rewriting my whole story, so there will be major changes coming up, however the time around which main events occur will be the same as it was the general timeline I personally drafted when diving into the world of Minato and Kushina and the third shinobi world war. Furthermore, I will use that first fic of mine as a basis for how Kushina and Minato's lives were prior to this time travel shift. Kushina's memories will reflect it. And given that "How It All Began" is still being written chronologically and Kushina's memories cannot be always chronological, I came to realise while writing this chapter that some of the brief memories mentioned might be spoilers for "How It All Began". If this vexes anyone following my original fic, you might want to wait until I finish it before reading this one.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Your comments are very much welcome, be they negative or positive or simply asking a question – feel free, I will do my best to answer as soon as possible! Thank you for stopping by again! Till next time!**

**Ja ne~**


	3. First Times Again

**AN:**** Hello again, I suppose quicker than I thought I would be posting, given the exam session that has gripped me. Then again, I suppose there is no better muse than procrastination, so here is its lovely result! **

**To all the lovely readers, who took the time to comment on this story: **_**eleventh daffodil, Daffodil, Fill the night with music, ManlyMonk, .9, Reader, SilverIcy, Jerza Fernandes, NarutoFan27, spiral7, systemman, Winto-kun, The Mouse Maestro, BlitzSnow, kagen9,**__**JJ, lilyflower, Falcon777, juniorreal, Will Heins, SilverDreamsCA, drabbleocity**_** – Thank you a million times over for your support! Every review of yours brings a smile to my face, I have reread them times and times again now and they are all precious. I can hardly describe how very happy it makes me that my little hobby is making other people smile too!**

**With that being said, let's move on to the chapter itself. Enjoy!**

* * *

The first time she saw her parents again she couldn't hold back the tears.

Her father wore the same strict mask she remembered from her childhood; as was his right of course, she acknowledged listlessly, for she had humiliated the family honour by acting disgracefully during her day of enrollment in the academy. She deserved the lash; even her mother, the epitome of laughs and smiles, was frowning across from her, hands on her hips in an expression of uncharacteristic strictness.

They were real, living, breathing, moving, all flesh and blood and chakra and warmth. Her village stood and with it so did her family, a chunk of her heritage that she had thought irrevocably lost. She thought she had gotten over her loss, only the dull echo of the pain remaining to remind her of a life she couldn't have. She hadn't known how much she had missed them until they stood before her again, unexpectedly, vividly, truly there. With a pang Kushina realised that she couldn't have been more wrong – seeing them now opened the hole blown through her heart years ago (or was it ahead?) by the unjust destruction of her peaceful home and it flared anew, burning hot on the inside.

Those events hadn't occurred; they would never occur. Relief flooded her, so heavy that her knees grew weak and she had to force herself to stay upright. Without thinking she threw herself forward and buried her face in her mother's form, clutching to her as if to prove to herself that the woman was real. She smelled of spices and rice sake, of tea and figs, of ink and oils. She smelled of home.

"Mom…" the quiet whisper made its way past her lips along with a sob as the tears spilled in her mothers clothes.

For the first time since arriving here Kushina truly felt like she was six again. The startled silence lasted no longer than a few seconds before Ryūmi Uzumaki hugged her back.

"What's the matter with you, little champion?" she murmured lightly, doing a damn good job about keeping the concern out of her voice.

She had surprised them, worried them even, with this uncharacteristic behaviour, but she couldn't care less. Just for now she wanted to allow herself to be six again, hugging her mother tightly, one hand reaching blindly for her father's, simply enjoying the fact that they were there.

* * *

The first time she met him alone again was just as awkward as she had anticipated.

The boy had followed her after their morning classes, keeping a considerable distance between them, but following nevertheless. She couldn't help but wonder whether he had done that before as well, driven by who knows what sort of curiosity. She couldn't have known, her senses not even half as sharp as they had become over the years. This time however, in this present of her past, she sensed him clearly, good as he was at covering his presence even at the ridiculous age of six.

Minato Namikaze truly was a prodigy.

Knowing that their meeting was not only unavoidable, but also a goal of hers, she decided to get the uncomfortable questions out of the way as soon as possible. With those thoughts in mind, instead of heading home, she made her way to the outskirts of the town, heading towards a training field she knew only too well. Precisely here they would strike a most unusual friendship years later – he would appear out of the blue, his eyes spelling concern for the girl he would have saved from Kumo mere days prior, and he would offer a spar that would turn into tradition. Their own little world, in their own little meadow, a symbolic part of her life. It seemed only suitable that she face him there again now.

She had seen him at the academy every day for a week now, but they had hardly spoken to each other, even though he had always seemed quite eager to ask her about that disastrous first day. The situation allowed her to notice something very important about Minato's childhood that she had missed altogether the first time, thanks to her own ignorance and arrogance – what she had considered to be haughty ignorance was simply Minato being a shy kid. He rarely spoke to others unless addressed, in which cases he was most gracious, but hardly garrulous. There was a certain unmistakable perceptiveness about his silence, quite unusual for a child, as if he observed everyone, studying them. And as of late, his favourite topic of study had become a certain red-haired outspoken girl, who by all rights should have been enraged about being teased as an outsider, but was instead laughing it off with her offenders. On more than one occasion Kushina had felt rather than seen those wide blue eyes fixed on her – the kid was curious.

Today for the first time she had had to mock-spar with him during their outdoors class; him, the class genius, undefeated before, always a tad too quick, too light on his feet.

She had knocked him to the floor within a minute.

It was unfair perhaps, using her 'future' knowledge to defeat a child, for she was perfectly aware of all his moves at this stage, having gotten used to his times faster unexpected attacks from years ahead. At this point he almost seemed sluggish, although she had to admit that he was still incredibly faster than most any other kid around – which was quite normal for six year olds in all honesty. Had she been six indeed she wouldn't have been able to lay a finger on him; she had _never_ been able to before after all, he had always been a few steps ahead. Perhaps that was why she felt an inexplicable selfish twinge of satisfaction from throwing Minato Namikaze square on his back with no more than five moves.

Even so, this was not the real reason behind her actions – she had allowed herself the liberty to show advanced moves, because she knew that if she was to make any impact on his development and shape him into becoming even stronger than he was originally, she could not allow herself to go mellow on him. That, and the fact that she had the inexplicable feeling that the kid saw more than he would let on; she was afraid that he would feel, he would _see_, that she was holding back and possibly take it as a slight.

Whatever her reasons, the result had been all the same. A ghastly silence had fallen across the group of onlookers, even their teacher being so surprised that he forgot to call the winner, staring at them through disbelief. A few heartbeats later and a smile had spilled on her face as she had offered him a hand up, her heart clenching at the significance of the gesture (well for her at least). It only took him a second before he smiled back tentatively, taking her hand and lightly jumping to his feet.

"Well fought." was the first thing he said to her since her 'arrival' and she knew there was no malice in his voice – he truly was impressed.

Which had probably turned into the brimming point of his distant interest, leading to his peculiar behaviour after their morning classes, what with him following her through half the village and now to the opening of Training Field 3.

Instead of showing up, however, the boy merely sat himself in a nearby tree, believing himself unnoticed and unnoticeable. Kushina sighed – that was another trait of his that she had forgotten. The kid rarely made the first step unless someone's life was in danger.

With a show of ignorance she threw her school bag on the ground, going for a few stretches as if preparing for a training session while pouring chakra in her senses. The quieted small breaths, not quite unnoticeable yet, the light rustle of the leaves as he shifted his weight, the half-hidden chakra imprint that would one day be impossible to locate if he so wished – right now he was good, but not quite. Without a warning her hand sneaked into the pouch with dulled kunai as were given to all genin-to-be students, retrieving one with blinding speed and throwing it with deadpan accuracy at the boy's hiding place. She had to owe it to him, his reflexes were sharp – Minato was up on his feet and jumping to the ground even before the kunai embedded itself in the branch he had been standing on, blunt edge and all.

Seconds passed with them looking at each other wordlessly, Kushina being mainly amused by the situation rather than anything else.

"How did you know I was there?" he asked finally, light tone full of unguarded curiosity.

"How did you know I was _here_?" she countered, putting one hand on her hip in mock-irritation. _Dare you lie to me_.

The boy's cheeks grew suspiciously reddish as a placating smile spilled on his face, his one hand shooting up to rub the back of his head and Kushina couldn't help but answer back with a smile of her own, seeing that typical mannerism that she had grown to love.

"I wanted to talk to you."

_You were hiding in a tree_, she might have said. Instead she went for a lighter approach. "Talk away."

Instead of saying anything the boy turned around and dashed up the tree bark (aha, so she wasn't the only child who had good enough chakra control to climb up trees!), quickly pulling her kunai out of where it had embedded itself, before jumping down with evident grace and dashing to her side, handing it back.

"You're a good throw." he said quietly and she nodded in acknowledgement, tucking the weapon back. "And a talented fighter too. I've never seen someone move as quick as you did today."

The soft childish voice had started to take on a fascinated tint and the girl had to chuckle inwardly.

_You will move thrice as fast one day_. "You're pretty good yourself, you just need practice, ya know. I can show you a move or two if you want."

A radiant smile spilled on his face and Kushina could have sworn that in that moment the sun shone a little less bright, Minato blinding it. "You would? Really?"

_Anything. I would do anything for you_. "Sure. We're comrades now, aren't we? Maybe we'll be on the same team one day, it would suck if you drag us down, ya know."

That secret smile again, the one he had smiled at her one too many times, his eyes saying one thing while his lips spoke another. "I'll do my best not to."

In all honesty she was more than eager to fall into that little pattern all over again – she had started to miss it already. Sure, this was not _her_ Minato, but it was Minato all the same and she missed spending time with the sunny boy. She had planned on helping him improve anyway, why not start from now?

"Well let's see what you've got. We can start with warm-ups and- what, ya know?" she broke midsentence, noticing how he was still staring at her, head inclined to one side as if there was a giant puzzle drawn on her face, which demanded immediate attention.

"Have we met before?" his voice was quiet, barely audible as a gust of wind sent the leaves all around them dancing about wildly.

A gulp.

_We've met after_. "What do you mean, ya know? Sure, we didn't talk much in class, but we did spend every morning in the same room for a week now…"

He was shaking his head half-way through her quick mumblings.

"That's not what I meant. Before that, during your first day here, you said my name."

Her palms had grown sweaty all of a sudden, her heart beating an irregular rhythm. How could a child have such an effect on her, those piercing blue eyes seemingly seeing beyond her mask like even adults rarely did.

"Is there anyone in Konoha who doesn't know your name?" she said weakly, managing a small smile.

"You sounded distressed."

"Well it was my first day in that academy and everyone looked weird, ya know!"

"You said we died."

A bird cawed in a nearby tree, breaking the following silence with the flap of its wings as it rose in the clear sky. The song of the cicadas had turned into a deafening staccato. Darn him and his good memory.

"A dream." she whispered. _A nightmare._

"You dreamt of me?"

_Every night_. "I dreamt of everyone. Will you stop asking stupid questions, ya know, I thought you wanted to learn new moves! Less lip-service, more action!"

It was her best defense, to hide behind a mask of rowdiness, as she had done throughout the years past and the years to come. With a huff she turned away from those speculating eyes, raising her hands before her and stretching back, beginning her warm-up routine. He hadn't quite believed her, she was certain, feeling the unresolved matter bubbling below the surface before he decided to let it go for now. His peculiar look never left her, however, the boy looking at her calmly, a small smile playing on his lips as if he had just realised something vital.

"I want to protect them too you know."

Her head snapped in his direction again, eyes growing wide.

_Could it be…?_

"Mi-Minato?" she tried carefully, not daring to breathe, not daring to hope.

The boy cocked his head to the side, a questioning look in his eyes. No, of course not, she had already outruled that possibility. He was not here, not back with her, not truly, and if she were to rebuild a life here she needed to stop wishing for the impossible and simply embrace the little she was given. The mere fact that she had just mistaken the child for the man only went to show that there was already more of the latter in this boy than she had originally thought.

"Who is 'them'?" she asked finally, exhaling a deep breath.

"Everyone. Just like you." with that the boy stole a long glance at the rustling leaves, the serene smile never leaving his face. "I want to become a Hokage, who will be admired by everyone in the village."

Much as she wanted, she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

_And you will be. And you will watch over them for many years to come, I promise it_. "No way, ya know! Not before me, I will be the Hokage!" she forced herself to say jovially, falling into the familiar pattern of childhood, directing a light punch at his shoulder as she always had.

"You're on then." he said lightly, stepping back to break into his own kata, preparing for the first spar of the many to come the following weeks.

And so began a friendship that was always meant to be.

Again.

* * *

The first time she spoke to Mito Uzumaki again she could have sworn the woman suspected more than she would let on.

Much as she tried, Kushina couldn't help but forego the mask of gregariousness of childhood, her every nerve screaming for a respectful approach to the one woman she looked up to the most. The one woman, who had understood her best all those years ago, the one woman, who had been like a grandmother, both respected and loved by the red-haired girl. The one woman, whose death she had caused without meaning, the act of unlocking the beast in order to lock it in Kushina turning into Mito's demise – for no Jinchūriki could survive the extraction of its Bijū, as Kushina had proven already in another time.

The Kushina that had stepped in her room many years ago had been trembling like a leaf, afraid of her fate, of the foreign land and its foreign customs, of the horrible future that awaited her, of the loneliness that pressed on all sides with no hope of change. The Kushina that entered now knew better; she walked in calmly, reverently, embracing the rare opportunity to be able to spend a year more in the presence of this extraordinary woman. This Kushina had no fear in the crease of her shoulders, no agitation in those large shrewd eyes, no uncertainty in her step. Instead she had bowed before the woman, low at the waist, pouring a lifelong of admiration into the simple gesture.

And in that moment, she was certain that Mito knew. Exactly what the woman had realised, she would never let on, but there was a knowing look in her eyes whenever she regarded her successor from that day on, a certain intelligence in her words as if she was addressing an equal. Her lessons were executed with an air of obligation, but no necessity, as if she was fully aware that Kushina was already familiar with what she spoke of. Her explanations were brief and straightforward, much less detailed than what Kushina remembered them to be, as if Mito knew the details were not needed at all.

Instead the older woman would mostly simply spend time with her, talking of her life, of her husband and the difficulties of being the Hokage's wife. Gradually she recognised the unfamiliar pattern – she was learning much more about Mito the woman this time around, rather than Mito the Jinchūriki, and she was immensely grateful. The woman had always had the peculiar ability to grant her what she most needed without knowing – the first time it had been hope and moral strength. This time it was simply warmth and support, the enjoyable gift of her company.

The last time she saw Mito before _that_ faithful day the woman smiled, cupping her cheek and kissing her forehead through the most tender of smiles.

"Believe in yourself like I believe in you, child. You will do things right this time around."

* * *

The first time she awoke with the Kyuubi locked deep within her she almost smiled – a bittersweet, twisted thing.

She hadn't realised how accustomed to its heaviness she had become until she felt it back there again and the world seemed right. The tightness of the seal meant she was alive, still struggling, still fighting for what she believed in – it was a constant reminder of what she had endured and had to endure still. As long as it weighed on her then everything was in its place and her loved ones were safe. And that's how it would always be. It was her burden, she had accepted it long ago, and she bore it proudly, for all the people who could not manage what she had been born to do. She would protect them all and this time she would make it all right. Mito Uzumaki believed in her after all.

* * *

The first time she saw her old sensei again she had to remind herself that open displays of affection were inappropriate.

Sakumo Hatake didn't know her in this timeline after all, not yet, and by the look of things he probably never would. It was Kushina's goal from the very start to graduate earlier after all, giving her the excuse to leave Konoha on missions, along with the status needed in order to conduct any kind of investigation on a certain masked man. A missing academy student was much more suspicious than an occupied genin after all. Graduating earlier, however, meant being placed on a different team, under a different jōnin instructor – most likely she would be a member of team Jiraya, the Sannin having taken up Minato and the other talented early graduates last time.

That didn't stop her from following Sakumo Hatake with a wistful look, thanking all the Gods above that the man was alive and well and that she had been given the chance to prevent the horrible tragedy that had befallen him. The man's honour would never be so horribly stained; Kakashi wouldn't grow up without a loving father and would perhaps have a normal childhood filled with smiles.

Watching him walk past her now without even sparing a second glance, Kushina quickly came to a rather selfish decision. As soon as opportunity presented itself she would strike an acquaintance with the man – he may not be her sensei this time, but Sakumo Hatake was an extraordinary man, whose advices and support she had grown to respect. He would be a treasured friend.

* * *

The first time she 'accidentally' introduced Minato to Fūinjutsu again went just as planned.

Years before in another timeline she had whined about the arts being troublesome and Minato had picked up Seals just to prove her wrong – this time she was the one that had challenged him into keeping up, casually tossing a basic Fūinjutsu book in his way after yet another after-classes spar.

It was much earlier than originally planned, but the girl had come to the inevitable conclusion that the boy possessed uncanny intelligence, well hidden behind the initial silent demeanor. Young as he was, basic Fūinjutsu wouldn't prove a problem, she was quite certain, and even if it did, Kushina was determined to help him progress twice as fast. She would hunt the masked man down, sure, she would make certain he never stepped near Konoha, but if her plan failed and Minato found himself faced against him once again for Gods know what reason, she would make sure that he was just as skillful as before, if not more.

* * *

The first time she met her new team again she couldn't wipe the grin from her face.

She would miss Kizashi and Hizashi, her original teammates, whom she had learned how to work with excellently throughout the years – they had turned into much more than simply comrades – they were friends. She was certain, however, that she could strike a friendship with them again under different circumstances in this world – in fact it was a plan of hers, making sure that all Konoha graduating teams learned how to cooperate with one another from early on, before the war had forced them to cooperate as strangers. She would force them to get to know each other, childhood dramas be damned.

Those thoughts didn't stop her from cracking a brilliant smile upon entering the small classroom where she would meet the three people she would be closest with in the years to come. A pair of calm cerulean eyes met her, his answering smile lighting his face as he scooped to the side on the bench, making space. Her heart clenched – this was more than she could have hoped for, even if she had expected it. To be on Minato's team, making sure that he was safe, that he was progressing as quick as she would be, being by his side as the partner she was always meant to be. If there ever had been a sign from above that she had been granted a chance to make things right, this was it.

Without another word she skipped to his side lightly, giving him a quick shoulder-bump for hello and taking the seat by his side, radiating quiet joy. He chuckled in response, taking a notebook out of his backpack and opening it to his latest Fūinjutsu notes, already eager to show her what he had worked on and she gladly indulged.

Soon after their third and last teammate arrived, moaning loudly about the pain of being stuck in a team with that "arrogant Namikaze". Minato's answering smile had a nervous tint to it as he quietly apologized, as if having been appointed to this team was somehow his fault. The red-haired girl simply rolled her eyes through an exasperated smile. Tora Otakebi had always been a boisterous, but kind-hearted child, who had met his end much too soon – another event she was determined to prevent. Quarrelsome as he was, Minato had gotten attached to him as any teammate would. The dark-haired boy's demise had shaken him the first time around – there would be no second.

Before she could contemplate on the matter any further her attention was pinned by a burst of chakra surging through the middle of the room, followed moments after by a loud poof, a cloud of smoke obscuring the other half of the room. Somehow Kushina knew what would follow even before she saw the giant orange toad sitting on the classroom floor with a bored expression, as if it was the most normal occurrence that a genin could witness before their eyes. What caught her eyes, however, was not the toad (that would probably be impressive for anyone who hadn't seen her fair share of toads summoned both by her husband and by his – now _theirs_ – sensei), but the man standing on top of it, arms outstretched victoriously, a boastful grin spilled on his face – Jiraya of the Sannin sure knew how to make an entry.

"Behold!" he bellowed and Kushina could feel both children by her side freezing in their places, whether from fear or surprise, she could not tell. "The man who has no enemies in the North, South, East or West, not even in the heavens! One of the Legendary Sannin, white-haired gorgeous frog-tamer! Even a crying baby would stare in awe… The great Jiraya-sama!" he recited while doing a ridiculous twist on the frog's head as if to emphasize his own words. "That is me, your sensei!"

Stunned silence followed, during which Kushina was wondering whether it would be appropriate to hit her head in the desk out of exasperation. Had she _really_ entrusted her son to _this_ man? _Desperate times call for desperate measures_…

"So cool!" Tora shouted, jumping on his feet and giving the man a thumbs up.

Minato chuckled, whether at Jiraya's impressive entry, or at Tora's bizarre reaction, she wasn't certain.

The whole situation was ridiculous; that Jiraya, the perverted hermit that she had teased for days on end, would end up being her teacher; that Minato would take a liking to this man who was so different to him that they might have been two polar opposites. She chuckled as well, the quiet laughter soon morphing into a full-blown cackle as she eyed the ludicrous orange frog through squinted eyes, bellows of laughter causing her to bend down holding her stomach, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you laughing at girl? Don't test your mighty sensei before he approves of your team!" Jiraya chided in mock-anger, a light tone of irritation marring his words and she only laughed harder.

And so began an unusual partnership of a team that could prove to be Konoha's finest.

* * *

The first time she noticed Jiraya watching her closely came as no surprise.

She knew the man was more shrewd than he would let on, hiding his intelligence behind a mask of aloofness – Minato had to have picked up his skills from somewhere after all and, surprising as it was, Jiraya had proven to be an unexpected source of skills and wisdom. Having known what to look for, it was easy to see the assessing gleam in his eyes and the weary approach he had with her – Jiraya was worried. Much as she tried, she couldn't hide from him that she was already capable of many of the skills he taught them, knowledgeable to an uncomfortable extent, something quite unusual and suspicious for a child.

Soon enough she realised he was conflicted.

On the one hand the man recognised her potential and was pleased with her, eager to teach her more. Having already mastered ninjutsu and taijutsu to a satisfactory level (not that her sensei was aware) and Fūinjutsu to a level Jiraya couldn't even begin to guess at, she had decided to use this chance to explore skills she hadn't had the time to master before. With those thoughts in mind she had asked the Sannin to teach her whatever he knew of kenjutsu – perhaps a blade of some sort would prove to be an efficient ally in upcoming inevitable combats. In any case one couldn't be too prepared. Jiraya had proven to be an unexpectedly patient teacher when he put his heart to it, eagerly sharing what he knew.

On the other hand, however, the Toad Hermit was careful. It was not excluded that she was assigned on this team exactly _because_ the man _could_ be careful – Kushina was certain that Sandaime had been suspicious of her since that very first day when she had found herself back to this world, observing her throughout the years from a safe distance. Now, having had the opportunity to do so closely, Sarutobi had picked a suitable sensei for her – his own student, who was shrewd enough to notice that which others couldn't. The result was inevitable – Jiraya noticed every slip up, every knowledgeable statement, every informed decision and display of illogical confidence and he grew suspicious himself. Much as he enjoyed her, he tested her constantly and Kushina soon came to the realization that Jiraya would probably be the first man to call her out.

Sooner or later she would have to share some of the truth with him and she could only hope that the man would believe what she said.

* * *

The first time she screwed up on a mission she happened to be facing Kumogakure ninjas, as fate would have it.

The company that wanted their client assassinated had hired ninjas of their own, thinking the Lighting country's shinobi to be reliable. Their C-rank bodyguarding mission had quickly turned into a B-rank challenging one and the girl had panicked. Had Minato been assigned this mission before? Had he and his teammates dealt with it accordingly? Had she managed to change the track of events so irrevocably that instead of helping she had done harm? Would someone die before their time? Would Minato…?

The moment they had found themselves separated from Jiraya, who was occupied by the enemy team leader rather efficiently for the time being, Kushina's brain had shut down for all and any ounce of logic and precaution and she had soon found herself hurling an A-rank Katon technique towards the enemies that had dared surround them, frying at least two of them in their tracks, the men being too surprised too react. Acting entirely on instinct, panic surging through her system as it hadn't in years, she had then proceeded to eliminate with a callousness that no nine-year old should ever posses. Her own teammates (who on the offhand had actually been doing rather well and would have probably won if not for the uneven numbers in favour of the enemies) had been equally stunned, staring at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Hours later, after a successfully defeated team of Kumogakure ninja, half of whom had simply decided to flee, thinking on a clear head, she was able to grudgingly admit that she had overreacted; that her actions had been incredibly stupid and if anything, had caused Jiraya's calculating glance as he questioned her later during the dead of night how she came to learn such a technique. Once again she attributed her knowledge to scrolls and talent; once again she was absolutely certain that Jiraya's "hmmm" could be effortlessly translated into "I don't believe a word of it". Thankfully the man said no more on the topic. For now.

* * *

The first time she saw a hint of different feelings in Minato came much sooner than last time around.

They had met out of missions again, finding themselves unexpectedly alone as Tora excused himself from their practice under pretext of urgent family matters. In the end she ended up sparring against Minato once again, pushing herself further than usual as the blond genin had started improving rapidly under Jiraya's tutelage, showing enviable skills and ridiculous speed for someone his age. No wonder he had managed to defeat those Kumogakure shinobi before (or was it after? It was hard to tell).

The boy had actually managed to exhaust her for the first time since she found herself in this timeline. The unexpected realization had cost her, her surprise at finding herself hard-pressed already in terms of taijutsu soon manifesting itself in lack of attention for her surroundings. The summersault performed in an evasive maneuver carried her far too close to the riverside, her feet landing unstably on jagged rocks, her left foot giving under her weight and twisting horribly to the side. With a yelp the girl lost balance, falling sideways while still aiming a flying kick at the attacking boy before her. Minato jumped away from it easily before stopping in a crouch a few feet away from her, his eyes flickering to her leg in concern.

Gritting her teeth Kushina quickly pushed to her feet, ignoring the stabbing pain best she could. _If this was a real fight and you let an ankle burn get you down, you'd be dead before you could blink, _she chided herself, once again realising that she had to train her body to withstand pain better. Her determination, however, proved to sit ill with her teammate who was by her side before she had even fully made it up, slipping her one arm over his shoulder and supporting her weight. The boy could be exceptionally deaf to all protests when he so chose and soon enough she found herself plopped down on the soft grass with Minato examining her swollen ankle with a worried look on his face.

"Sprained." Was his quiet conclusion through a sigh.

"Don't give me that look. It was a good spar, ya know." she said with a smile, which only elicited another sigh from the boy.

"It was, yes, but no good spar is worth hurting you."

"Hurting me? I hurt myself. It's just a sprained ankle, relax, I'll live, ya know." she said teasingly and to her surprise Minato flashed her a determined look.

"Whatever the reason, I don't want to see you hurt. I… you are my teammate and I will protect you, I promise." he said quietly, eyes boring into hers and for whatever twisted reason, Kushina couldn't stop the warmth sneaked up her cheeks. Those words were dangerously close to what _her_ Minato had, _would_ one day say. Brimming with an emotion that had already started to cross the boundaries of friendship in an innocent way, Minato himself being oblivious to it, as he had been for awhile back then too. "Even from yourself." he added lightly and smiled, that tentative smile, full of gentle understanding, the smile that had melted her heart once before as he held her in his arms on top of a fir tree, after saving her from her captors.

Kushina hadn't quite decided what to do with Kumogakure's inevitable attack. There was still a year's time until it occurred (that one event was branded in her memory unmistakably), giving her plenty of time to plan. Her thoughts on the topic, however, were scattered and confused – on the one hand that incident had led to her first and most important bond, forging the relationship between her and Minato that would later change her life. It was a moment of her past that, out of entirely selfish reasons, she hardly wanted to let go of.

Terrible as it was to have been kidnapped, that misfortune had led to nothing but happiness in result. This time around, however, she wouldn't be surprised by the events and she sure as hell would be strong enough to defeat her captors before they could even lay a hand on her. Furthermore, her relationship with Minato seemed to be progressing on its own, dramatic rescues being quite unneeded.

Perhaps she wouldn't need to play it weak and subdued a year from now after all. Perhaps she and Minato could forge a new bond this time, and form new memories. It didn't matter how they wove the red thread after all, so long as it linked them as it always had and always would.

* * *

The first time she managed to gather all of the graduated Konoha teams, the day went smoother than she had dared to hope.

She had expected half of them to decline or find themselves otherwise engaged. In the end almost everyone had made it, with Chōza, Inoichi and Shikaku arriving first, soon followed by Mikoto, Kizashi, Hizashi and Hiashi, who had decided to accompany Sakumo's team along with his brother before the rest of his own team showed up. Shibi and Tsume had somehow met with Yoshino and Mebuki on the way there and soon enough almost all of them had gathered in Training Field 3, comfortably settling by the river for a picnic below the falling cherry blossoms. It was a tradition in Konoha, to gather with friends and watch the Cherry Blossom Fall; a tradition that was very rarely celebrated by children unless their parents forced them – another reason for Kushina to think that her invitation will be fruitless the first time around.

She had managed to make the event sound appealing, however – genin they may be, but they were still kids after all and cherry blossoms could hold their attention for only so long. The rest of the day passed in laughter and occasional spars with varying results. The Ino-Shika-Chou team was already demonstrating enviable teamwork versus Sakumo's team. Hiazashi ended up losing to Shibi while Tsume made short work of Yoshino in no time. Minato ended up sparring with Shikaku differently – by sundown the Nara heir had produced a shogi board and they had both bent over it with an intent look with most eyes curiously following the game's development. Before long the black-haired boy found himself explaining the game's rules to an eager group of listeners.

Her own spar against Inoichi went smoothly; she countered the boy's attacks effectively, knowing full well what he might fling at her. Instead of defeating him right away as she might have, however, she chose to give him time to adjust better to her own style, giving him the chance to devise a strategy. The boy was proud if nothing else, advising him directly could be seen as looking down on him, so she would guide him into bettering his style instead. Halfway through the whole affair she could see Minato and Shikaku following her through mirrored knowing looks, Shikaku favouring her with a slight grin, no light amount of amusement playing in his eyes. She had eyes for the sunny boy next to him alone, however, for in his look danced the now familiar fascinated edge that he often bore when watching her. A tentative smile spilled on her face and he replied in kind.

They ended the get-together in the evening with merry shouts of goodbye from the girls and pleasant nods from the quieter members. Even the seemingly detached Hyuuga twins had appeared to enjoy themselves, agreeing to another gathering sometime again.

Everything was going according to plan – even the young, brash genin, who would often still fight at this point before, were getting along _now_, spending a calm day together, discussing the upcoming chuunin exams and _advising_ each other, rather than challenging haughtily as they may have done once, under different circumstances. Most importantly, she had time – she could spar with Inoichi today, subtly helping him to improve, and she could spar with someone else next time and with someone else the time after that. She could help them all improve, she could make them stronger, make sure they survived the upcoming war.

Now, walking home after the unexpectedly enjoyable, successful day, for the first time in a long while Kushina Uzumaki was at peace.

* * *

The first time she understood that her peace couldn't last, was the time when she realised that her plans had gone awfully awry without her expecting the change.

Tampering with events of the future created changes in the timeline that altered things irrevocably. The butterfly effect they called it – where a butterfly waved its wings, a hurricane raved on the other side of the world. Tampering with the existing timeline would surely bring about changes, she had always known it, but she had never expected them to occur so soon; she had made only small alterations after all, being careful to avoid anything drastic for exactly such possibilities – it had been in vain. She had miscalculated, misjudged, growing too confident in her knowledge, too comfortable in her seemingly effortless job of correcting her mistakes. The universe could never work so harmoniously, however – whenever a power of ultimate order emerged, an equal power of chaos had to balance it on the other side. Rash actions always had consequences after all, as she was starting to understand right in this moment, finding herself frozen in her tracks upon returning from a mission late in the evening, a murderous killing intent weighing on her like an anvil might.

She had only so much time to notice the shinobi emerging from the thick foliage, before she flung herself back instinctively, hand dipping for kunai that she sent flying in their direction with blinding speed. The cold clang of metal clashing in metal reached her years as her attackers blocked her hasty attack effortlessly. A man was behind her already, making to grab her, all in vain as she ducked, swirling in a sweep-kick that knocked him off his feet, the red-haired girl flipping back in a catwheel to what she thought was a safe distance.

She was wrong.

Two hands shot up from the ground, pinning her ankles in place as another shinobi descended upon her and her eyes barely had the time to register the Kumogakure symbol on his forehead protector as the foreign shinobi yanked her back by the hair, a pained cry escaping her. _Grab your hair to ease the pain_, was her first instinct and only the years of experience helped her beat it down to the more logical decision of _run through seals and attack_. Her hands had barely gone into the first forms of a Katon technique, however, when a third shinobi pinned her down, forcing her to fall on her knees, skin scraping painfully in the cement as one large hand twisted her hands behind her in an iron grip, the other clamping down on her mouth tight before she could make a noise.

Her mind had gone racing, confusion clouding her thoughts as wide eyes regarded the men around her, body thrashing in vain attempts to throw off the much larger, much stronger captor. Kumogakure, here, now? Why? It was almost a full year earlier than the date on which they had attacked her previously, why had they shown up earlier?

With a horrified intake of breath it dawned on her: having grown too confident in what she thought were facts set in stone she had been caught by surprise. Her earlier involvement in missions had made Kumogakure notice her earlier, sending their men accordingly and she had fallen in their hands. Again.

A man stepped ahead, the girl barely making out his silhouette in the darkness; even so she could tell that he was grinning as he had once before. There was a rough scent of alcohol and dirt about him, along with the distant echo of dried blood – a mercenary, no doubt. He would walk ahead smugly, dragging her with a rope while she plucked strand by precious strand of her fiery hair, leaving a trail once again…

"She's a fighter this one." The man holding her announced, giving her a kick in the ribs, eliciting a groan from her as the pain shot up her side.

"We were warned she might be trouble. They said the girl was a good fight in fact." the man, who she could only assume was the leader, said through a raspy voice. "We don't want a fight, though. Ain't got time for trouble. Knock her out, I'll carry her."

The first time when Kushina truly panicked since arriving back in this timeline presented itself in the words of the Kumogakure shinobi before her eyes. Her eyes widened in horror as she doubled her efforts in thrashing against the man holding her, trying to bite the hand pressed against her mouth, attempting to twist her wrists out of the steel grasp that bound her, all to no avail. They couldn't knock her out, if she was unconscious she couldn't leave a fiery trail of hair, Minato couldn't follow, he wouldn't save her, they wouldn't get her on time, Kumogakure would-

The last thing she felt was the sharp pang of pain as the man slammed a kunai handle in the back of her neck and the world sank in darkness.

* * *

**AN:**** So there we go, I hope you enjoyed and I do hope the turn of events was a pleasant surprise(or if nothing else, then at least a surprise)! I apologise if events were less detailed than expected, but I did want to go over the repetitive events from her past without dwelling on them too much. I attempted to underline only the major changes in this chapter. I am much more excited about the upcoming ones, however, since they are, as you may have guessed, very different to canon. I am looking forward to exploring new situations and relationships and I can only hope that you are too!**

**Thank you for reading and you are more than welcome to leave a comment or two with your thoughts and ideas. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them as soon as possible! Thank you in advance for your continuous support, it's what keeps me going when writer's block gets the best of me. You guys rock! See you soon I hope!**

**Ja ne~**


	4. An Offer

**AN:**** Well hello, hello, guess who has come back from the Land of the Dead! Yes, miricles occur even when it's not Christmas and I have returned from a very hectic (three internships at the same time!) and very fun summer holiday, which unfortunately left me very little time to write. I have, however, not given up, not on BABA and not on HiaB (which should get a new chapter updated soon as well) and I hope I will resume posting regular updates from now on!**

**Thank you so much to all the kind people who supported me meanwhile and wrote countless encouraging messages and comments asking me to update and not give up! You are my inspiration and the most wonderful cure for writers' block and even a gulp of fresh air at the end of a hectic day at work! I loved reading your opinions and I can't be more grateful for the support, so once again: Thank you!**

**To address a few people in particular, as always:**

**1. **_**To ManlyMonk:**_** The main events I want to focus on with this story have little to do with their childhood so I decided to summarize the main changes Kushina does in that period instead of going for a lengthy description. I hope it hasn't taken away from the general atmosphere of it! But yes, you are right, from here on I shall be much more descriptive: prepare for more of my usual super lengthy chapters. I am also working on HiaB, it will get updated soon as well.**

**2. **_**To Falcon777**_**: Once again I thank you for your continuous support and wonderful lengthy reviews. I read the latest one on HiaB and it made my grin like an idiot. I'm really glad you're enjoying my work and I promise I will work on an update there as well!**

**3. **_**To A Midsummer**_**: I am really glad that I managed to present something new and interesting as it was my goal: I figured it was an unexplored field as I hadn't seen any such fics before and I can only hope I am doing (and will do) the concept justice. Thanks for the support!**

**4. **_**To Dazed Blue**_**: Thank you so much for your wonderful review! Seriously, this must have been the review that affected me most so far, as in it had me absolutely blushing and melting, thank you so much for all the praise! It made me double my efforts in writing since, seriously, it is an absolute honour to know that someone enjoys my works that much! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!**

**I would also like to thank the wonderful **_**Kari-Kateora**_** for being my beta and enduring a whole afternoon of corrections and discussions in order to make this piece better. **

**With that done I would also like to announce that because of the exceptionally lengthy pause between chapters, I did try my best to work my ass off when I had the chance, so this little fic will get another chapter up by Monday at the latest! I am currently working on it as I upload this. I hope this makes up for the terrible gap!**

**Now, after this quite long author's note, let us begin. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Foolish human."

The voice reverberated through the cavernous hall, magnified unbearably. It seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, a deep rumble that made gooseflesh rise up on her arms.

Calm violet eyes stared at her from underneath – her own reflection, mirrored in the smooth white expanse beneath her feet. It stretched outward amongst thick columns, which disappeared high above to an endless ceiling and in between them hung countless chains. Recognition dawned on her instantaneously; she had been here before on more than one occasion – her own subconscious, constructing itself in an image born from her perceptions, although she could never consciously acknowledge the significance of its exact current shape. With a sense of resignation she began to turn, knowing full well what would be behind her, just as it always had been. The surface she had stepped on rippled beneath her shifting weight, distorting her image into a jagged caricature. It wasn't her twisted reflection that pinned her attention, however, but the ornate gates behind her, stretching higher than the eyes could follow. A binding seal stood between them instead of a lock, the very air around it shimmering imperceptibly with the weight embedded in it – the absolute binding chain.

Once again she met her dim reflection, this time mirrored in the enormous pupil of the terrifying creature that lay behind the elaborate gates. One single eye was staring at her, its preposterous size alone making her falter in her step; for a second, Kushina had forgotten how massive this terrible creature was; how absolutely sickening its hatred-filled stare; how imposing its malignant presence. Pure terror locked her in place, panic surging as the memories from that night rushed back unbidden – the very same creature wreaking havoc on her home, the air reeking of despair, suffocating her before a blazing claw descended towards her son-

"You despise me," came the same rumbling voice, a hint of amusement in the echo dancing off the walls.

"Does that surprise you?" she managed to choke out, voice laden with animosity.

"It entertains me. Your reasons are peculiar."

Surprise spilled on her face. Never in the few years during which she had shared her consciousness with the beast did it occur to her that it had an intimate access to her thoughts without her immediate permission, as it seemed to be hinting at now. Was it possible?

"You know?"

"Do not look down on me, human. I may not share your petty thoughts, but I know your emotions. I thrive in hatred and yours is strong and rooted. It is old. You are not the child successor, who that Uzumaki hag promised."

"I _am_ a child."

"Are you?" it said, one giant eye lowering towards the watery substance at her feet and she felt compelled to follow that look, meeting her own reflection once again.

For the first time she recognised its peculiarity, something, which out of habit she had initially ignored - an older woman stood there, with fiery hair reaching past her knees. The image she had of herself, the true form of the mind of someone who was very well past the age of nine. Her body might have been that of a child but her subconscious constructed an image that reflected her psyche.

"I had no choice," she said finally; an empty excuse, spoken for her own sake rather than anyone else's; it had been weighing on her from the inside without her even realising it, the fear that her interference would end disastrously. But she _had_ had little choice – she had never wished for this second chance; in her last hour she had truly embraced death after all, but death had spat her right back.

"You chose to fight death." the fox grumbled and a sense of finality came with its words as a sliver of memories invaded her mind, blurred and jagged.

A desperate fight to retain a sense of existence in a sea of agony, a struggle to hold onto herself even as the warmth of life left her. The most overpowering instinct on earth – survival. She had thought being sent back here was unavoidable. Had she truly had a choice? And if so, had she known the consequences of that choice, would she have chosen differently?

"You are tampering with powers beyond your control and you will ultimately fail. A world without pain is impossible, that is why creatures like me exist."

"Funny you should say that, being locked up and all, ya know." she snapped back perhaps more irately than necessary after the sudden revelation.

"Forcing a single entity to endure the pain that otherwise many would, does not erase its existence."

A gulp, the words bearing down on her with their weight.

"That is why I was sent back, to find a way-"

One massive eyelid descended, hiding the fiery iris from sight as a rolling rumble filled the premise. Through stunned silence the girl realised that it was _snickering_.

"You cannot gain anything without sacrificing something in return. You know it, don't you? Else why would you be _here_ right _now_?"

She gulped, forcefully steadying her trembling fingers. Why was it affecting her so badly now, this creature that she had grown to despise?

"What are my reasons to you?"

The giant eye before her narrowed dangerously as if the Kyuubi was frowning; its muzzle bristled, skin pulling back to reveal razor sharp teeth, each as big as her whole figure.

"Do you think your reasons matter to me, a Tailed Beast? You are nothing but a morsel in my eyes, I would swallow you whole if not for this cage!"

An involuntary shiver ran down her back as the creature's hot breath assaulted her nostrils, choking her. It reeked of malice so overwhelming that she might have buckled and hurled had she never felt it before; had she not grown accustomed to the hatred dwelling inside. With a jolt, it dawned on her – this fear that she felt was born out of a misfortunate accident that she was sent here to prevent; an accident that would never occur again. Right now, in this reality, this creature could not harm her, nor the people that she loved.

"Listen here, furball." she began, voice steadily gaining strength, "Whether you like it or not, you are stuck with me and that cage is not going down, ya know! So you better get used to this morsel, because she ain't going anywhere! Just you watch, ya know! I'll save everyone, you'll see!"

"Foolish human. For every life you save you will lose another and I will sit here and watch you drown in blood until hatred consumes you and you tear that seal open yourself."

* * *

Wind whistled past him, beating at his face, making his eyes water as he flew through the branches at a blinding speed, not even noticing the numerous scrapes in his skin; the high speed was giving him less mobility, the foliage around him reminding him of that with a viciousness. He couldn't care less.

One step and then another, his muscles burning from the effort, breath coming out in ragged huffs, the agony of overexerting himself having been a constant ache for more than an hour. It was all irrelevant, pushed to the back of his mind by the overruling sense of urgency, of dread, of fear and of loss, of failure, because he had failed to protect and now she was gone and he had been _too slow_-

"Minato!" Tora's cry came faintly from somewhere far behind him, the boy not possessing the speed that he could will upon.

The wind stole his words, the gold-haired boy pushing chakra to his feet for an increased pace, branches cracking beneath his steps. The trees up ahead ended abruptly, followed by a vast expanse of tall grass and Minato braced himself for the last leap that would send him across one third of it before he switched into a flat run. This had to be it, he was certain; they had gone this way and if only he could be a little _faster_, just a tad bit more-

He never got to make the jump. One grizzled hand wrapped around his torso and broke his momentum in a wild swirl. His breath left him in a huff, stomach heaving at the unexpected resistance and he reeled back in instinct, ready to strike at the enemy constricting him. A shock of white hair stilled him in place, the stern face of his sensei staring back at him, lips pursed in a thin line.

"That's enough, Minato." the quiet voice came, like a whiplash in the ensuing silence.

Deciding that he must have heard wrong, the boy ignored him, making to shrug off the arm restraining him and go past him, only to have Jiraiya tighten his grip, securely locking him in place.

"Sensei!" Minato half-snarled, turning to face the man through crazed eyes. They were wasting time and with every following second she was slipping further away and if they didn't hurry it would be too late and here his sensei was, taking a break? For a moment, he had to suppress the irrational urge to yell at the white-haired man for not having been there earlier; an absurd notion, for it wasn't Jiraiya's fault that he had been appointed a mission. In fact, it spoke enough of the man's dedication if he had managed to catch up with the pursuit teams, despite it being too late. Now, with his help, they had finally located the right track, but it had been too late and all of it would be for naught if they wasted more time like this and-

"Stop and think, brat. You know what this place is." the Sannin growled.

Next to them the branches creaked as Tora finally caught up, skidding to a violent and an ungraceful stop.

"Wait up you moron. We're a team, we should proceed together-"

"No one is proceeding anywhere."

For a split second the dark-haired boy simply gawked at him as if his sensei had just spat living snakes.

"If you expect me to go back just because it's the border while she is still out there-" Minato began, voice shaking with the anger he was trying to contain.

He could feel Tora's eyes on him, the boy taken aback by the uncharacteristic outburst; to have calm, collected Minato reduced to such an ire-filled state must have been a sight to behold.

"I damn well do, brat. Going beyond this point is entering enemy territories and that would have far-reaching consequences for both our nations if done carelessly."

"Hey, hey, what do you mean far-reaching consequences? They kidnapped one of our own! what's more far-reaching than that, huh?" Tora bellowed from behind him, hands balling into fists. "Kushina-san's annoying and she is always teasing me, but she's sort of cool. I can't let them just take her! Screw them and their consequences, I want my teammate back and look at Minato! Even he can't hold it together! What sensei are you if you'll just abandon your student, huh? Didn't you say that teammates fight for each other, huh? Or was that just empty talk, huh?"

Tora's outburst might have been impressive and touching had Minato's mind not locked on a single word from his sensei's explanation that lit a beacon of hope within the madness of desperation. Inhaling a deep breath to steady himself, he pulled back, giving Jiraiya a measured look and his sensei finally released him, keeping a stern eye out in case his student decided to make a run for it. With a grimace, the boy lifted one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing the tension away, fighting for a grasp at the rationality that had always ruled his senses.

"Entering enemy territories would have far-reaching consequences if done _carelessly_." he repeated quietly, completely ignoring his teammate.

Next to him, Jiraiya nodded through a sharp look at his other student.

"We are not going to abandon anyone. However, ever since the enemy crossed that border, our mission changed from Retrieve and Rescue to Infiltration and we are not prepared for one of such magnitude. We need a plan; we need information and for the love of all the Gods above, you two brats need to get it together or you will get us all killed."

A few seconds passed during which Tora stared at him with a skeptical look, as if suspecting Jiraiya was attempting to trick him into retreat.

"So what now, then?" he asked finally.

"We will gather information and infiltrate the enemy village in the following days. For now, however, we return to Konoha and report a failed mission. Kumogakure has Kushina Uzumaki." his sensei said levelly and for the first time, Minato found himself thinking clearly enough to notice the raw emotion brimming just below the surface of the seemingly flat voice; Jiraya was just as affected by this as they all were, a quiet rage boiling behind the stony mask of the sensei. A fervent look was burning in the hollow eyes, emanating determination as they had rarely seen in the face of their otherwise laidback superior. The blond-haired boy gulped, feeling a sudden twinge of relief that he wouldn't be in the place of those kidnappers when Jiraiya of the Sannin got his hands on them.

On his side, Tora sagged down on his knees, staring ahead listlessly.

"We failed…" the dark-haired boy murmured, one hand clenching into a fist as he brought it down against the bark he was kneeling on.

"They won't have her. I swear, they will not have her. We will get her back." Minato said through clenched teeth, as much for himself as he did for his sensei and Tora.

Jiraiya nodded from across him before signaling their retreat.

* * *

She jolted upwards, blinking rapidly at the angry light stabbing at her retina. A groan rolled off her lips as a hand shot up instinctively to caress a bruise to the side that was now throbbing viciously. A part of her registered through surprise the fact that her hands were not bound, as if internally she had expected them to be; along with that startling realization rushed back the memories of an unexpected attack in the middle of the night, an attack that shouldn't have taken place until a year ahead. No sooner had she reached to the obvious conclusion that she had been kidnapped (_again_) than her eyes had swept her surroundings, trying to make out what had happened after the disgraceful black-out. Fingers reached instinctively for a kunai pouch that was not there, hand brushing against the empty binds of her thigh instead.

She was lying (now sitting after her violent jump, result of the jolting conversation with Kyuubi) in a bed in an unfamiliar room, the premise in itself consisting of modest furniture for basic living needs – a table, a chair, a wardrobe and a few shelves. Nothing about it spoke of a particular nationality and the lack of any windows whatsoever made it next to impossible to pinpoint her location right away.

For the briefest of seconds, she allowed herself to entertain the thought that perhaps she had been found after all – she was not in a cage as was expected of a prisoner; on the contrary, this room was quite comfortable, despite Kushina being certain that she had never set foot in it before. Furthermore, her hands were not bound; very few enemies would take the risk to leave her alone and the premise was very much empty save for herself. Perhaps she was with friends after all; surely someone had rescued her - maybe not Minato this time, seeing as there was no red trail to lead him, but perhaps someone else. She was quite valuable to Konoha after all (for one reason or _another_) and she liked to entertain the thought that the council would have sent everyone and anyone available to retrieve her; not to mention having a Legendary Sannin as a sensei this time around – someone _had_ to have stopped them on time.

The elation didn't last long as her mind presented the unpleasant fact that first, her sensei had been away from Konoha for more than a week now and wouldn't return until another one rolled by (in fact, come to think of it, the timing of this attack had been dreadfully precise). Second, she finally recognised the weariness seeping in her muscles, the stinging emptiness thrumming on the inside.

She couldn't feel her chakra.

Suppressed by some sort of seal probably, and quite a powerful one too if she was so chakra-deprived that even her body felt more sluggish than usual. _There are your shackles_, she thought bitterly, _and this is your cage_. Who was she fooling; Minato had managed to save her just in the nick of time before, for no self-respecting shinobi would wade alone past the border into a foreign land. This time, with no trail leading him (or anyone else really), they wouldn't have made it on time. The reason that those shinobi had managed to whisk her away in the first place was their successful ambush; the brilliant way in which they had concealed their presence even from someone as experienced as her. Without a doubt, they were proficient at hiding their tracks, which was why they had been sent in the first place, after all.

Panic started snaking down her frame before she willed herself in control, closing her eyes and commanding a steady breathing – a clear head, the shinobi's strongest weapon in situations like these. Through clenched teeth, she had to finally face the indisputable fact: her plan had failed; she was in Kumogakure.

As if to confirm that revelation, the lock on the door across from her clicked and her muscles tensed, preparing to make a launch for it if the opportunity presented itself. Her guards couldn't be above ANBU level and she had had dealings with those before, she knew how to handle them; distract them, take advantage of difference in height, get hands on a kunai, kill, dash past them, repeat. It would be simple enough if she reacted instantaneously, before anyone expected her to; they would expect her to be either still asleep or disorientated, not to mention a child; as soon as she got out of this dreadful room she would locate the seal binding her and break it – she was an Uzumaki after all, and the bearer of Kyuubi no less; did they really think they could contain her here-

Her mind froze in stunned surprise as the door swung open, revealing someone whose level was anything but equal to an ANBU's; her limbs locked in place, all plans for s surprise attack forgotten.

After all, there was very little that a chakra-deprived nine year old could do against the Sandaime Raikage.

Silence settled in the room for the briefest of seconds before Kushina jumped to her feet despite the weariness and backtracked to the opposite side of the room, tiredness all but forgotten as she moved on willpower alone; the instinct of self-preservation guided her as crazed eyes fixed on the intimidating man before her. She had never seen Kumo's third leader before, but the tales of his prowess were enough to put anyone on edge; despite believing them to have been greatly exaggerated, she couldn't help but gulp visibly under the weight of that stern look. The man himself proved to be quite imposing, sporting a brawny figure that promised pain to anyone daring to cross him and while Kushina was fully aware that physical strength was hardly the determining factor in a shinobi duel, there was something in his presence alone that spoke of power beyond her limitations.

_In this case, in my current state, I am hilariously outclassed_, was the only conclusion she could make, hand twitching for a non-existent weapon. Fighting bare-handed against the monstrosity that appeared to be the Sandaime Raikage was madness; yet she had no choice. There was really only one thing that Kumogakure could want with her and that was the Bijuu sealed within her. She had hoped that she would be given a day or two of respite – time needed for preparation for the Bijuu extraction – time during which she could make her escape. Kumo, however, seemed to be jumping straight into the fray of it, giving her (and her village for that matter) little chance to retaliate and get her back – a strategic move that was actually quite logical and she had to admit that, had she been in the Raikage's position, she would have done the same.

For why else would the village's leader be visiting her alone _now_, if not to whisk the Kyuubi away from her as soon as possible and consequently kill her in the process? After all, the more he waited, the higher the chance of Jiraya's sudden appearance was and she was certain that the Sannin wouldn't sit this one out. Regardless, said perverted bawdy teacher was probably still miles away and at the time being, chakra-less and unarmed, she was quite helpless against one of the five Kage.

Her hands balled into fists subconsciously. Overpowered she might be, but she'd be rotten if she was about to go down without a fight.

Death was hardly what scared her in this case; she had after all welcomed death once – there was a certain feeling of liberation that came with that fact, as if she had accepted the inevitable end that would someday befall her; at such a time, Kushina would smile again and greet it as an old friend. That time, however, was not today, she wanted to believe that; she _needed_ to believe that, in the name of the goals she had set – yes, death did not scare her, but failure to protect, failure _again_, terrified her like nothing else ever had.

Instead of jumping in for the fight Kushina had tensed for, the Raikage simply eyed her critically for a few long moments before making his way to the lone chair in the room, his sinewy figure slumping heavily in it. A stern look regarded her under bushy furrowed eyebrows for an immeasurable amount of time while the girl held her stance coiled as a spring, waiting for the slightest indication of an attack.

It never came, her tangible distress being met with a grim frown instead.

"Well, will you stand there whole day? You look like a cornered animal." the man spat out finally and his voice was surprisingly void of animosity or antagonism, as if killing her was not on the top of his agenda for the day.

Then again, a boot wouldn't usually feel particularly strongly towards the ant it crushed.

Her silence must have told him enough for the man sighed, placing one grizzled hand on his thigh.

"Relax, girl. No harm will come to you."

She could only blink in confusion towards him, not so much because of the words spoken, but because he seemed to genuinely believe that they would put her at ease. In what world did a cornered mouse feel reassured when the cat smiled pleasantly at it? Not budging a muscle, she decided that stubborn silence would do her little good either and this man didn't seem to possess the virtue of patience. If nothing else, she could at least stall for time and pray that by some divine miracle Jiraya would find her sooner rather than later. Who knew when the Raikage would tire of his game at pleasantries and decide to go about his business – meaning the seal on her stomach.

"Why did you kidnap me?" she fired back instantaneously, hoping beyond hope that this had all been a giant coincidence; that they would request a ransom and be done with it.

The man regarded her for a long moment, scratching his chin as if in thought.

"Kidnap is hardly the word I would use…" he started and the girl could barely stop herself from gaping at his audacity. "I would like to think of it as us extending our hospitality."

"You took me forcefully from my home, knocked me out and dragged me back to a foreign village against my will." she said briskly, disbelief colouring her words. Was he toying with her?

"Which pretty much sums up what Konoha did to you four years ago, does it not? So tell me, why do you regard that village as the home you're being kidnapped from, and not as the kidnappers that we seem to be in your eyes?"

Kushina could only stare, eyes growing wide as the accusatory words she had meant to fling at him all died out. Of course, to this man, her devotion for Konoha would be nonsensical – there was no way for him to know that she had already spent a lifetime in that village with those people she had grown to trust and love; there was no way for him to know that she had fallen in love there, had married and had had a son; for him she had been there no more than a couple of years, a time even shorter than her brief childhood in Uzu; a time not long enough to form permanent ties.

Furthermore, there was a truth to his words that she faced with a dose of bitterness, twisting her lips in an expression of distaste.

"They never knocked me out." she said finally, finding herself at a lack for any other logical counterarguments.

The man stared back at her flatly, the challenge readable in his features.

"Do you think they wouldn't have if you had fought back?"

Cold was sneaking down her figure, numbing her.

"They never bound my chakra with seals."

"No, they bound your will with pretty words of home instead, and with friends to play with; trying to make you feel comfortable in a village that used you for your Jinchuuriki prowess." the man said evenly, as if daring her to contradict.

Alright, so him being oblivious to her status of a Jinchuuriki was out of the question, not that it hadn't been a long shot in the first place. Now that all cards were on the table, Kushina felt anger starting to bubble somewhere in her stomach; anger for the open hypocrisy of the man who had taken her forcefully and dared explain to her as if explaining to a child that Konoha were in fact the evil doers and he had rescued the princess from their claws.

"You mean you are not trying to do the same?"

"Of course I am." he said as casually as if he were discussing the weather outside, leaning back in his chair. "But I am offering you something, which I am certain Konoha never did – honesty. You have a lot of potential, Kushina Uzumaki. You proved it no more than a year ago when you almost single-handedly obliterated a team of my men. On top of it all, you are a Jinchuuriki and not just any Jinchuuriki, but the host of the most powerful Bijuu known to man. You would be an asset to any village's shinobi force and just like Konoha attempted to groom you for theirs, I would like to groom you for mine."

Her jaw might have hit the floor had it been anatomically possible, eyes wide like saucers. Never in her life had she heard someone speak so bluntly, much less so a man in a position of power; Hiruzen Sarutobi had always dressed his words accordingly and even Minato had retained the same habit of diplomatic accuracy when dealing with matters of national importance. This factor seemed to be alien to the sturdy man before her and on second thought, it finally dawned on her: why the hell not? She was in no position to overpower him and speak of his plans before others, even if said plans were quite confusing.

For the first time since the Raikage entered, she allowed herself to relax ever so slightly, tensed muscles easing up into an unnaturally straight posture, retaining the distance just in case.

"You… don't plan on killing me?"

The man's eyebrows mashed in an irritated scowl.

"And why would I do that? You are an ideal match for the Bijuu you carry, you are in control; we would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable host even if we tried and it might take us years. Killing you is impractical, unless you give me a reason to."

She could almost hear the click as everything fell into place; the comfortable room and open manner suddenly all made sense. Of course, he would assume her connection to Konoha was not as deep-rooted as it in fact was; the man couldn't even begin to imagine what a twisted situation his captive – nay, his _guest_ – was in. To him, she was just as likely to get accustomed to Kumo as she was likely to do so with Konoha; persuading her to actually stay willingly must have seemed like child's play. With a twinge of unease, she realised that some years ago, in a life she had left behind, it might have been just as easy as it seemed to this man now – her ties to Konoha had been rickety at best in that _other_ timeline when Kumo had kidnapped her and, without Minato's interference, she might have indeed seriously considered the man's words. As things were now, however, she continued staring at him as if he were describing the most improbable of events.

Her, staying in Kumo? Voluntarily? Now, when she had been given a second chance to protect the people she loved; deciding _now_ to stay away from them? This had to be a joke.

"And… if I say no?"

The Raikage sighed – an exasperated, annoyed huff that rolled off his chest deeply.

"Then you will force me to extract that damn fox out of you and no matter how many spirals you have in your blood, you will probably die. I have no quarrel with you, girl, but I need this Bijuu for the prosperity of my village and I have no use for a caged Jinchuuriki that refuses to cooperate." he said sternly before a certain mellowness softened his eyes and for the first time since his arrival Kushina considered the man's honest reluctance about harming her.

A swift move and the Raikage was once again on his feet, having utilized a speed that could rival that of the man bearing the title of Yondaime Hokage in a different world. Once again, the girl stiffened in place, instinctively bracing herself for a hit that never came. Instead the man pulled himself to his full height, regarding her with a heavy look.

"Before you decide I am threatening you, let me assure you, I am not. I am simply stating the facts as they are; you should be aware of the consequences of your choice. I extend to you the hospitality of Kumogakure. My village can become the home you lost and all of my shinobi will view you as one of our own; as your leader, I will guide you with honour and pride; you will become one of us, a part of a family who always protect one another, not as tools, but as humans of great capacity. You won't simply be the Jinchuuriki, but a shinobi, who can proudly call Kumogakure her home."

With those words, Sandaime Raikage turned to leave, a pair of incredulous violet eyes following his retreat, boring into the wide shoulders and the authority which this man easily commanded. Despite the horrible situation she was in and the ridiculous offer, she couldn't stop herself from feeling a twinge of respect for the man who had borne himself with such dignity and treated her as an adult despite her alleged age. Yes, in a different timeline she might have most honestly considered his words for long enough to make a different choice.

"I will expect your answer soon." he said and closed the door, leaving it obviously unlocked.

Arrogance, or trust? There was only one way to find out.

* * *

**AN:**** Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Granted, nothing much has happened so far, but the next chapter should conclude the kidnapping problem in one way or another :D**

**A few notes on the text:**

**1. Writing Kyuubi's character was dreadful and I must have corrected it at least 5 times. I hope I have done it justice at least a bit! As to the shape of Kushina's subconscious – I figured it varies from person to person; not everyone would have a sewer for a subconscious as Naruto does. So hers includes a lot more open space… and a lot of chains.**

**2. Yes, Minato is slightly out of character, but he is distressed and not to mention a child – allow him the emotional outburst.**

**3. I hope I did the Sandaime Raikage justice as well. I never viewed him as particularly evil per se. In fact I quite respect him, I think he's an interesting character that has a lot of potential. I hope you liked the way I portrayed him!**

**Thank you once again for reading! If you have the time, please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story, with any ideas you might have, or with any questions and I will do my best to answer as soon as possible! They always make me smile! See you very very soon!**

**Ja ne~**


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