This positively adorable chibi fanart was made by Mai-Shibata-Uchiha on deviantART. This may have been my phone background for a while. :) 

I tiptoed into the new apartment, and found Naruto sound asleep in his bed.

The new apartment was rather spacious and far nicer than the old one. Everything was new, and spotless. We had new furniture; a plush creamy white couch; a sturdy coffee table; a new (bigger) T.V.; a new kitchen, complete with marble tile flooring; more rugs; picture frames (though some were still empty); a bookcase filled with books, and scrolls; and even a new kitchen table. We actually got two new bedrooms to the apartment, as well. Although they were fairly empty aside from the bed and a nightstand.

I feel like we only got this nice of an apartment, because Naruto is hailed as Konoha's little hero after the invasion, I thought. I peeled off my battle-kimono and changed into pajamas as quietly as I could. I then proceeded to flop onto him, startling him awake. Naruto gave a jerk, and a shout, before he realized who was now on top of him.

"Miwa?"

"Hi."

He yawned and shoved me off, and scooted over. "Welcome home."

"... That's it?"

"It's too early for this."

"You aren't going to interrogate me?"

Naruto shrugged, opening his eyes into half-slits. "I think I get why you acted the way you did. And after... after talking it over with Sasuke, and thinking about it... I can't be upset with you. This is just how you are, and if I get upset over who you are... then what kind of brother would I be? Not a very good one if you asked me. I love you. I want you to be happy. And if this is what made you happy, then okay. I accept that. I accept you."

My heart was pounding, and joyous little butterflies were dancing in my stomach. I curled up beside my big brother and sniffled. With the back of my hand, I wiped away at my eyes. "I love you so much."

"I know," Naruto said softly. "Now get some sleep. I'll make breakfast tomorrow, okay?"

I gave a watery laugh. "Okay. It's been a while since I've had ramen for breakfast."

"It's the best medicine in the world—guaranteed happiness. And I think you could use a big dose of that right now."

"I don't know, you made me pretty happy now," I said, smiling.

Naruto chuckled. "Heh."

"Good night, Aniki."

"Good night, Imouto."

('･ω･')

When Sasuke stopped by the next morning, and saw me. He stared at me for several seconds, before walking up to me and hitting me over the head. With that done, he then said, "If you leave without us again, I will hunt you down, and drag you back."

"Well, jeeze, I feel loved," I said dryly.

Sasuke just continued to stare at me. "I'm not joking. Don't do it again."

"I'll certainly try with that as an incentive."

"Good. Naruto, what the hell are you making for breakfast?"

"Ramen!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke awarded Naruto with a disgusted look.

"Well hurry up, we got a mission," Sasuke told us.

"A mission? So soon?"

"Konoha needs the money, we've rebuilt enough that we can spare the extra hands, and we're one of the few teams capable of handling any enemies," Sasuke said with a shrug. "Kakashi's got the official mission report and will meet us in an hour."

"So we got three hours?" I summarized.

"No, an hour. I already took into account about his lateness," Sasuke dismissed.

"Who handed out the mission if Tsunade's still outta it?" I asked incredulously.

"She actually woke up two hours ago," Sasuke informed us.

"What?! You should have said that sooner, I would have visited her!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You can visit her when you come back," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto sighed and pouted. "Okay, okay. So what's the mission?"

"Just a bounty hunt. Some puppet-nin," Sasuke told us. "... Miwako, come outside for a second."

Naruto and I exchanged glances, and then Naruto gave a warning look to Sasuke. Sasuke ignored him, instead, turning to leave. I hesitantly followed behind, up onto the roof of our building.

Sasuke let out a long, slow breath. "I've had time to cool off and think about what happened."

I swallowed roughly, feeling incredibly cold as anxiety gripped me tightly. "Yeah?"

"... Do you remember back at our first training session, how we essentially agreed to value honesty above all else? Do you not believe in that anymore?"

"I do," I said quietly. "I suppose, when you look at it that way, I don't have any excuses to offer. I only wanted to shelter you guys."

"I get that," Sasuke allowed; he looked like he was swallowing cold rocks when he. bit out, "which is why I am not furious at you. In retrospect... I admit I would have done the same in your place, only I would have been far more careful to exclude you. However, do not do it again."

I thought back to what Kitsune and I had talked about last night. "I don't think I will."

Sasuke continued to scrutinize me for several long seconds, before he gave a satisfied nod. "I don't think you will, either. We're a team, Miwako. If you start doubting that, I'll sick Kakashi on you."

I laughed at that, a little relieved he had cracked a joke. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"I know you are."

Tentatively, I reached for his hand, and grasped it in my own. "I won't do it again, I promise."

He squeezed it once. "I will hold you to that."

There was a pointed clearing of the throat, and we withdrew our hands to find Naruto standing at the edge of the roof. His hands were on his hips, and he was giving Sasuke a suspicious glare. "Mm-hmm. Ramen's ready, so both of you better get your asses inside."

('･ω･')

At the entrance of Konoha, the three of us met up with Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes fell over to me, and he stared at me for several long heartbeats. Then he reached out a hand, ruffled my hair, and said, "Pakkun actually told me everything."

"What?! And you didn't tell me?" Naruto demanded.

"I trust Miwako," Kakashi said simply. "She's a good girl, and she meant well."

I beamed at him.

Naruto folded his arms and muttered petulantly, "I bet you're just still just guilty for the Exams incident, and trying to overcompensate."

Kakashi just whistled innocently, and I giggled.

Sasuke shook his head. "Let's go. It's done and over with, and I'm tired of dwelling on the past."

"Ah, um, actually... there's something I want to say to all three of you," I said, blushing and feeling mildly anxious. "I had this talk with Kitsune, and... and this is my leap of faith. All of you should know, or at least I think you should know, that I wasn't just tracking down ROOT. I... I... I tried to track down Orochimaru, and the Akatsuki."

"What?"

"What."

"WHAT."

Naruto immediately clapped his hands over his mouth at his loud screech, and it looked like he was trying to restrain himself. Sasuke, and Kakashi, however, had no issues voice their disagreement. Kakashi demanded, "What were you thinking?!"

"I didn't find them!" I said quickly. "But, um, I just thought you should know. Also, ah, Kurama is completely unsealed on my side."

The three of them were giving me the most exasperated expressions I could have ever imagined.

I blushed. "... That's about it."

"What am I going to do with you?" Naruto bemoaned, burying his face in his hands.

Sasuke let out a long sigh. He looked pained, but bit out, "... Thank you... for telling us."

"You're certainly your mother's daughter," Kakashi finally said. "The most troublesome kunoichi this generation."

I gave a small smile, relieved that none of them were going to push more than that. And, even more relieved they took it for what it was.

('･ω･')

My eyes flew open, and I jerked up with a gasp. My head was pounding, and my ears ringing. I was dizzy beyond belief, and seeing double. Heart hammering, I struggled to maintain my balance, sitting up.

Someone was singing. The voice was soft, feminine, but unrecognizable.

I felt like something was sticking out the back of my head, something pushing against my brain, or... or something. There was a definite pressure there.

Fear, and adrenaline pumped through me. Where was I? What happened? Where was Naruto?!

Kurama! Kurama, answer me. Where's Naruto? What happened?

Silence greeted me, and more panic flared through me. I wasn't in the right mind to properly meditate and see what was holding Kurama's tongue. I had to assess the situation, first.

My hand flew up to the back of my head, and came back sticky with blood. A head wound—probably why I was so disoriented. Feeling a bit around back, I felt like... it felt... weird. The majority of the back of my head felt rough, hard, and sharp... and hairless.

Before I could ponder too much on that, another thought snapped back to me.

Naruto.

But, where is Naruto? I don't... I don't smell him, or sense him anywhere. I remember... fighting. Fighting... danger... Naruto was.... Naruto was in danger!

I lurched, trying to stand up, but lost my footing as another wave of dizziness hit me. Panic gripped my heart, squeezing it tightly, as a cold stone fell in the pit of my stomach. Stumbling, and teetering, I tried to gather my thoughts.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothingnothingnothingnothing.

Pain jabbed behind my eye, and I clutched at my forehead, gasping and wheezing. Consciously, I worked on controlling my breath, but I couldn't.

Naruto was in danger. Naruto was in danger. Naruto was in danger. Naruto was in danger!

Mybrotherisindanger!

Butwherewashe?!

Couldn'tsensehimcouldn'tsmellhim –

Where. Was. He?

Then, as if remembering I had a better nose at my disposal, I slammed my bloody hand into the ground. A puff of smoke appeared below my hand, and as the smoke disappeared, Pakkun stood in its place.

But... not Pakkun.

It smelled like Pakkun.

It had the same eyes as Pakkun.

But it was younger than Pakkun.

Pakkun stared up at me, his eyes widening. "What? Who are you?"

"Pakkun," I said quickly, momentarily dismissing the nagging feeling that somethingwaswrong, because I thought that something was mybrotherwasindangerandmissing. "Pakkun, please, we need to find Naruto. I can't—I can't concentrate. Naruto. Naruto was—is?—in danger. There was a fight, and—"

"Slow down, lady," Pakkun said, sounding bewildered. "Who are you? How did you summon me? Why do you smell like the Pack?"

I gave Pakkun an exasperated look. "Pakkun, I don't have time – "

There was a squeak, when the singing stopped.

My head snapped around, and I tensed. Enemy? Enemy? Enemy?!

She was young—a year or so older than me, maybe—and had long dark red hair. She was staring at me with wide eyes—civilian clothing, rich, at least, elaborate. Lord's daughter, or young wife, perhaps? Wealthy merchant? Princess?—and then her eyes narrowed stubbornly. She fled, and I jerked towards her.

Everything about my body felt wrong. It felt heavy, but I knew that was just due to the head injury. I saw two—three—four—five?—versions of her all collide (double vision; definite concussion) as she sprinted away. I reached for a kunai and threw it at her. Due to my poor vision, it missed her completely.

Enemy. She had to be an enemy. I had been lying there, unconscious, and bleeding for a while. She was singing. Sadistic enemy? Questions. Answers. If she was an enemy, she would know about the fight. Naruto.

She had to know about Naruto.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. I'm smelling a lot of blood from you, lady," Pakkun said.

The girl ran down a hallway, and before I could pursue her, Pakkun bit my leg. I stopped what I was doing, and looked down at my old-time friend, my brow furrowed. "Pakkun, what? We have to chase her. She could know where Naruto is!"

Pakkun released his bite on my leg. "Lady, sit down."

"But, Naruto – "

"You can't help your boyfriend if you've bled to death, lady," Pakkun said reasonably.

"Boyfriend? Pakkun, what are you talking about?"

"Uh, look, do you have a first-aid or something you can use on yourself?" Pakkun asked, not unkindly. "Is Kakashi around? Did he summon me, and then just leave?"

"Kakashi-sensei? Do you smell him nearby?" I latched onto that idea. Kakashi was there. Kakashi was at the fight. Was Naruto safe with him?

"Well, no," Pakkun admitted, "but he could be using some funky new jutsu to hide his... look, I don't know, lady. I'm just trying to figure out how the hell I got here, and what the hell happened to you. And who you are."

I gave him a confused look. "Pakkun, don't you remember? It's me, Namikaze-Uzumaki Miwako. Kakashi-sensei signed me onto the Pack when I was... oh... twelve? I... I think. I... I trained with the Pack since I was... was... six, though. Tracker. I wanted... want?... to be a tracker."

Pakkun's eyes were wide. "Oh, shit."

I tilted my head. "What?"

"Holy fucking shit," Pakkun squeaked, falling back on his haunches in disbelief. "Contracts carry out through time and space. It doesn't matter when you were signed on: you're signed on for eternity. And while contracts are permanent, the summoner and the creatures are not. You smell of the Pack, because you are signed onto them. Us. But not at the same time."

"You're not making any sense," I dismissed, my mind having trouble focusing on his words. To be honest, I was only able to hear every other word with that damnable ringing sound in my ears. Let alone what I could concentrate on. It sounded more like: "Holy... shit... carry... eternity.... Permanent... you smell.... onto them... at the same time...."

"Your eyes are really dilated," Pakkun told me seriously. His voice was getting duller, and he was starting to get a little fuzzy. "Hey... hey, stay awake!"

What?

I blinked. "What?"

Suddenly there was a crash, and two large ohthosearedefinitelyenemies barreled down the tunnel the girl had gone through. They looked like—golems?—wooden things. They reeked of wood and chakra, and the smell reminded me vaguely of scorpions, for some reason.

They propelled themselves towards us, and I heard Pakkun let out a snarl.

My hands shot out, barely-controlled red lightning flaring out of them. I felt the warm thrum of Kurama's chakra suddenly flare to life inside of me. The lightning crackled at my hands, before racing towards the enemies. It grew larger and larger with each meter it sprung away from me, until it encompassed the entire wall.

"Holy shit!" Pakkun exclaimed.

Bad control, I scolded myself, realizing that while the enemies were certainly destroyed, so was the wall. As consequence, it looked like the entire thing was about to fall down on us.

I grabbed Pakkun, holding him close to my chest, and I hastily threw my special kunai up into the air. Thankfully, and I do mean thankfully, the kuani climbed to the top of the structure, and broke free from the windows.

I fluctuated my chakra, and in a red flash we were at the kunai I had thrown. Pakkun let out a yip, and I flipped.

Or, well, tried to.

I flew across the air, until I tumbled into the ground, having been unable to properly move my body fast enough.

More of those puppet-enemies came flying towards us, but they flew straight by us, rushing towards the collapsing structure beneath us. The ground was shaking, and it took a moment or two to realize that we had been underground in the first place. The puppets dove into the window I had broken with my kunai, and I felt their chakra flare.

Trying to stabilize. Enemy headquarters, then?

"Uh—uh—uh—you said your name was Miwako, right? Well, Miwako, let's go. I smell a friendly face nearby. Come on, he'll get you fixed up."

"Friendly face?" I echoed, putting Pakkun down.

"Yeah," Pakkun said, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Can you... can you summon Bull? I mean, do you know...?"

"I can. Do I need to?"

"I would feel better if you did," Pakkun responded.

I obliged. Bull took one look at me, then looked at Pakkun questioning. Pakkun shook his head. "Later, Bull. Miwako, climb on top of Bull. He'll carry you. You shouldn't strain yourself. That attack must have taken a lot out of you."

Barely even felt it. But, Pakkun should know that. Is this really Pakkun? Has to be. Smells like him. Sounds like him. Kinda looks like him.

I wrapped my arms around Bull, burying my face in his scruff, and the big dog stood up. With Pakkun leading, Bull began sprinting, with me on top of him. I tried to concentrate—to understand just what the hell was happening—but I found that my mind was muddled.

Kurama? Kurama, are you there?

Please... Just tell me... if Naruto...?

('･ω･')

"Minato!"

My head snapped up at that name, my eyes widening and breath hitching. There were three shinobi, all masked, and only two of them I could vaguely recognize. I knew their chakra signatures from somewhere, but I couldn't place them.

"Pakkun?" one of the men asked, Minato, I assumed.

Minato... Minato... Minato...

Papa?

What?

What?!

Oh, God, I'm hallucinating, I thought deliriously, peering at the man who was my father. I'd say genjutsu, but this pain is pretty damn real, and Kurama could break me out of any genjutsu.

Where was Kurama, anyway?

Urrrghh...

For a second, I could have sworn I heard him groan, but given the state of my head, I dismissed it. Papa crouched beside me, and without hesitation, he removed the mask. Cautious blue eyes scanned over me, and I frowned at him.

With a bloody hand, I shakily reached out to him, as Pakkun started to explain things. The two other shinobi were flanking Papa. "She's a time traveler—like the one you, and Kakashi are targeting. Her name's Miwako, I think. She's hurt real bad, and doesn't seem to be coherent. She summoned me, and is trying to find someone named Naruto."

"Papa, what are you doing?" I wondered, placing a hand on his cheek. "Am I in my head again?"

Papa stiffened considerably, and his eyes widened, gaping. "Papa? Did you... did you call me...?"

"Minato-san," one of the masked men—Shibi! That's who he was!—said swiftly, "her head is severely damaged. She needs immediate treatment."

Papa's eyes flickered up to the back of my head, and he paled. "How is she still alive?"

"What? Is it bad?" Pakkun asked worriedly. He hadn't had a chance to properly examine it, and neither had I. All I knew is that is stung like crazy.

Nothing compared to the feeling of having all of your skin burned off by Kurama's chakra, but it was still pretty bad.

"Ah, uh, Miwako, right? Miwako, I want you to hold very still. This is going to hurt a lot, but I need to take that rock out of your head now, okay?" Papa said gently, if a bit tensely.

There was a rock in my head?

I just nodded dumbly, uncertain of what else to do. Chōza—that was the third shinobi—moved to flank me. He placed his large hands on my shoulders, as Shibi pulled out a medical-emergency scroll. Papa raised his steady hands to the back of my head, and then I felt him pull something.

The pressure eased, only to be released by an oddly empty feeling, followed by sharp burning. The kind of burning that comes when you lose a big chunk of yourself. It reminded me of organs falling out, almost.

"Good God," Chōza breathed.

Then I felt the surge of Kurama's chakra flow through me, and immediately the pain eased.

Kurama? I asked.

Mmm... shh... shh... Migraine. Took... took it... took it... out...?

What?

Took... took it out... mmm... must have... Can flow... can flow now.

Kurama, what's going on? Are you okay?!

Will be... Will be. Shh. Need... Need to... to rest... shh...

I fell quiet, hoping to give my friend enough peace to rest. It felt wrong to hear his voice so soft; barely spoken above a whisper. It must have been a hell of a headache if he couldn't even muster up the energy to be rude.

As Kurama's chakra moved through me, I felt better. As if something twisted and dark had built a dam up inside me; and only now had broken free. The pain in the back of my head was killing me, but I could deal with it.

I had had worse injuries.

"Pakkun, do you know why red chakra is now covering up the giant hole in the back of her head?" Papa asked.

Pakkun shook his head. "I don't know."

"It seems to be helping her," Shibi said, his voice oddly quiet—even for him. "It... Her skin is regrowing..."

Regrowth rate increased dramatically since releasing Kurama's seal, I thought. More of his chakra flows through me, now.

"Naruto?" I asked softly, turning a pleading look towards Papa. "Where's Naruto, Papa?"

Papa's eyes were wide as he stared at me, and he seemed intent on not answering for several seconds. It looked almost as if he wanted to respond in some manner, but the words just would not come to him. Instead, it was Shibi who interrupted our silence and replied, "Who is Naruto?"

"I—" I began, but was swiftly cut off by Papa.

"Stop. Don't... Don't speak," Papa said, his voice sounding faint and as if he were struggling with his words. "I... please. Just rest for now. You're not in your right mind, understandably so, so... relax."

I trusted Papa, and I wanted to do as he said, but still...

"Naruto," I protested weakly.

"I," Papa began, "will look for him. So just... please. Rest now."

I nodded my head numbly, and closed my eyes.

I could trust Papa.

So with little else to do, but obey, I closed my eyes and snuggled further into Bull's comforting fur. Just before I drifted off into the wonderful state of obliviousness, I could hear Pakkun bark one last statement.

"She's your daughter, isn't she?"

('･ω･')

I awoke with a gasp, darting upright, my head ringing. For several seconds, I tried to re-organize my thoughts.

You're awake, now?

M-Mn. Kurama, how are you?

Got a killer headache, but otherwise than that, I'm okay.

You can get a headache?

Kurama let out a short, humorless, bark of laughter at my confusion. Apparently.

What happened?

I'm still not sure. Everything's a bit of a blur past the migraine. I do know one thing: we're in the past.

... What caused your headache?

Probably the same thing that caused the time travel. Time traveling jutsu is a very old, and very powerful kind of ninjutsu. I'm surprised anyone other than the Sage was able to use it. It requires a massive amount of chakra – and not just regular chakra will do. The chakra it utilizes, or what I believe it utilizes, is almost radioactive to regular humans. That... thing... you had stuck in the back of your head... it probably dug its way into you during the transportation. It was drenched in that disgusting chakra and thus pushed that chakra inside of you – inside of us.

Bijū chakra is a natural state of chakra. It doesn't get along with any other kind of chakra, except other natural state chakra (such as Senjutsu). When that poisonous shit was forced inside you, where my chakra flows freely, it caused... poor side effects. It completely blocked off my chakra from inside of you, for starters, and caused a sort of dam. That kind of withdrawal from my chakra probably caused all of your side-effects – the fatigue, memory loss, etc. And having something clog up my system caused my headache.

Withdrawal? You make it sound like I'm addicted to your chakra.

In a way you are. Should I ever be removed from you, you will die. The more you use my chakra, the more dependent your body will become upon it.

Mn... Kurama, can you sense Naruto?

No. I can't sense my other half of chakra, either.

Then... Is he... not here?

I don't know. He could also have some of that disgusting shit clogged in his system and it's preventing me from sensing him.

With a quick look around, I deduced we were in a very seedy part of the city. There wasn't any sign of recent life, and most of the buildings looked ruined. Ever still, they had decided to make camp here, in this tucked away corner.

They, being Chōza, Shibi, and Papa.

Although, I couldn't actually see any of them around. Instead, I found Pakkun sitting at my feet. He was looking around, and paying attention to everything, but me.

"Pakkun?"

His head snapped around. "You're awake! Wow... that's... it's only been half an hour. We thought you'd be out of it for at least a day."

"I have a very high regeneration rate," I responded. I noted that they had wrapped me in several blankets. With ease, I peeled the blankets off, and shakily stood up. "Where is everyone?"

"Whoa, hey, now... you really should be resting. They'll come back here soon enough."

I shook my head. "I don't have the luxury of rest. I need to find Naruto."

Pakkun hesitated. "Who... Who is Naruto?"

"He's my twin brother. I... I don't remember much of what happened, only that he was in danger, and then..." I gestured vaguely to our surroundings. "Then I wake up here, in the past."

"You know you're in the past?"

"Kurama and I have agreed upon it," I said, nodding my head.

"Kurama?"

"He's—it's a long story, and I'll explain it later. Right now, I need to find my brother."

"I'm going to have to insist you stay here," Pakkun said. "You really need the rest, ah... Miwako-chan."

I smiled at him. "I'll be fine. I've had far worse injuries than this, and have been in far worse situations."

"Worse injuries? You had a rock sticking out the back of your head, and you've had worse injuries?"

I laughed at that. "Sadly, yes. The rock I could heal from, yeah? I'll return to this camp, later, and I'll summon you if I have any issues, okay? So relax, Pakkun. I'll see you later."

Before Pakkun could protest, I flickered away, and pushed every ounce of strength I could into my speed. I channeled my chakra into my nose, and began to smell for any sign of Naruto. I maneuvered up the city, until I had left the shadier part of it and entered a far brighter and flourishing area. Sounds of laughter and cheering echoed the area, and my search for Naruto brought me closer to the noise.

I crouched vertically on the side of a building, frowning thoughtfully.

A familiar young lady walked out onto a balcony, and I could hear the cheering grow louder as they shouted and called out to their queen. I bit my bottom lip, trying to drudge through my foggy memories. Everything seemed a bit hazy, still, but I knew I had seen her in person recently.

Wait... isn't she from... that... this... this scenario reminds me... it's on the tip of my tongue.

Don't push it. It'll come to you.

Damn it.

The young lady smiled warmly at her people, and waved her hand in an elegant manner. Just as I was about to take my leave, the lady took a stumbling step forward, and the balcony gave away beneath her. With a scream she started to fall.

My eyes grew and I lunged from my position, stretching out my arms and catching her. I tucked and rolled, until my feet connected squarely off the side of another building. I leapt off that and jumped down to the ground, behind the building she had just fallen from.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, tilting my head.

She froze when she saw me, sucking in a sharp breath, a rosy tint covering her cheeks. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Namikaze-Uzumaki Miwako, at your service, your majesty," I said, offering her a polite smile. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened, back up there? Why did you fall?"

She looked down. "I... I am not certain. It almost felt as though someone pushed me from behind."

"Assassination attempts on royalty isn't an uncommon thing," I said, nodding my head in acceptance at this.

She shook her head furiously, her face twisting into what was akin to a pout. "No, don't be ridiculous. Who would want to do that to me? My people adore me."

I laughed at her. "Don't be so naïve. Assassination attempts don't occur just because your people hate you. There's competition for your throne, obviously. Political enemies. Perhaps a neighboring kingdom? Just because you're liked by your people—or have been shown such—doesn't mean you are adored by everyone."

Her face took on a bright red hue, as she flushed from embarrassment, and anger. "I-I know that."

"Do you?" I asked her, a coy smile finding its way on my lips.

She abruptly turned away from me, definitely pouting this time. "... U-Unhand me, kunoichi."

I set her down, no longer carrying her bridal style, and quirked an eyebrow at her. "As you wish, your majesty."

She must have not really liked my condescending tone, because she flushed more deeply and stammered, "I-I have a name, you know. Sāra. Queen Sāra. Y-You really should treat me with more respect."

Kurama laughed at that, and I smiled patronizingly at her. "You should also be polite to someone who saved your life."

Then, as if recalling that particular tidbit, she straightened up. Still blushing, she said, "Th-Thank you for that, N-Namikaze-Uzumaki-san."

"Just Miwako is fine, Sāra-hime."

"I'm not a princess," Sāra protested. "I'm a queen."

"You have the innocence of a cute sheltered princess," I pointed out. "Therefore: hime."

Her pout was turning into a blushing-glower, as she fell speechless.

Suddenly, Papa, Shibi, and Chōza appeared in front of me, placing themselves in between me and Sāra.

"You should be resting," Papa said, his tone brooking no argument for this statement, and holding a very irritated edge to it.

"Excuse me," Sāra said, immediately pushing Papa and the others apart and stepping between us. She stood in front of me, her arms out stretched, as if the shield me from them—the notion was a humorous one—and she held her ground. "Just who are you people?!"

I stepped around her, and gently pushed her back behind me, cocking my head. "This is just a wild guess, but I'm going to assume you three are not here to kill the little princess, are you?"

"We're here to protect her," Papa assured me. "And how are you able to move? You should still be unconscious, back with Pakkun."

I shrugged. "I've had worse."

"Worse?" Chōza repeated incredulously.

Talk about déjà vu.

Papa shook his head. "... Miwako-chan, I need you to return to that camp, and stay there."

I raised my chin, placing both hands on my waist and cocking my hip. "Excuse me?"

"Even if you think you're alright, you need to rest. Furthermore, we can't have you interfering with our mission."

"I think it's a little late for that. What exactly is your mission?"

Papa folded his arms across his chest. "Miwako-chan, this is an order from your superior: return to the camp and rest."

"Make me," I challenged. "I don't need the rest. I need to find my brother, and I need to know what the hell is going on."

"You had a rock stuck in the back of your head," Chōza said. "There is no way you don't need the rest. That's impossible."

My eyes narrowed and I turned around, pushing my hair apart to show the tender spot. "See? All healed up."

I turned back around, glowering in frustration at the trio. I didn't have time to waste arguing with them. For all I knew Naruto could be in serious danger. Upon closer inspection, I had noticed the trio had stiffened after I had shown them my repaired injury. Papa cleared his throat. "Still, I think it's best that you rest."

"Well you can think that all you want, but it's not going to happen," I said stubbornly.

"Definitely Kushina's," Chōza muttered quietly under his breath. It was spoken so softly, that if I didn't already have the enhanced traits from being Kurama's holder, I doubt I would have caught it. However, I knew for certain Chōza had said it loud enough for Papa to hear it.

Papa gave a frustrated sigh. "Okay. I can see nothing short of force is going to make you go back to camp, and given the situation, I would rather we didn't have a fight with countless civilians around us. With that being said, you need to tell us what exactly you're doing here."

I pursed my lips. "If you tell me what you are doing here."

"This isn't negotiable," Papa said.

"Wanna bet?"

The two of us stared at each other in stubborn silence, before Chōza placed a hand on Papa's shoulder. He leaned in and whispered, again quiet enough I shouldn't have been able to hear it, "It's not going to hurt to tell her. Morever if she is yours and Kushina's... I doubt we're going to win this argument."

Papa's shoulders slumped in a defeated way. "I love Kushina, I really do, but her stubbornness is the most bothersome thing in the world."

"Combining that with yours..." Chōza trailed off.

The two of them exchanged long glances.

"You might as well tell me, or I'll just keep stalking you guys and find out for myself," I pointed out mildly.

Papa sighed, and the three of them took off their masks—confirming their identities to me.

My nose never lies.

"I hate to do this, but it looks like I don't really have a choice. We're on a top secret mission for Konoha. As you know, you traveled into the past," Papa began.

"And you don't seem overly surprised by that fact," I said.

Neither do you.

Because it doesn't feel very surprising. My memories might be foggy for the moment, but I can bet you that I knew this might have happened.

More than likely.

Papa closed his eyes for a couple seconds before re-opening. "The reason I wanted you to leave wasn't only because of your injury, but also because someone from the future could drastically alter things in the past and ruin the future. We've already risked enough, and it's very dangerous to play with time like this. This is roughly twenty years from your own time, and another shinobi from the future came here six years ago. Like you, he suddenly found himself here. His name is Mukade."

At that name, a rush of memories triggered, and I took a stumbling step backwards, clutching my head and gasping.

Papa tensed, and took a hesitant step towards me. "Miwako-chan?"

I blinked several times, processing everything.

Oh.

Oh, indeed.

I let out a long sigh. "... I just remembered some things. Including the events that led up to me time traveling."

"What happened?" Shibi questioned.

"Naruto, that's my twin brother, Sasuke, my teammate, Kakashi-sensei and I were pursuing an enemy. The enemy was Mukade. He went here, to this city in the future, and activated this jutsu. He seemed to absorb it, and it caused a backlash. Naruto was close to him, and I... I teleported to his side using the Hiraishin, and I pushed him back. I suppose I got sucked into the jutsu."

"Did you say Hiraishin?" Papa echoed, then immediately shook his head, closing his eyes. "No. Never mind. I don't want to know."

I gave him a dry look. "Really? You don't want to know about the future?"

"Knowing too much could alter it for the worst."

"And what if it would change it for the better?" I argued. "What if the future is so bad, that it needs to change?"

Papa fell silent at that, re-opening his eyes and pursing his lips. "It... It can't be that bad."

"Wanna bet?" I asked softly.

He glanced away. "... Regardless, it would be for the best if we defeated Mukade. He absorbed the jutsu formula... so perhaps by killing him, time will correct itself and you will return to the future. We won't be able to release the jutsu, anyway, until his physical body is completely destroyed, so..."

"Enough!" Sāra exclaimed. "I demand you cease these lies at once. It wasn't some evil shinobi who came to this city six years ago. It was a good man named Anrokuzan. And today Anrokuzan serves as my minister and has faithfully carried out my mother's wishes. He loves peace, and would never make weapons of war, and I won't stand for you speaking ill of him."

"We're sorry, your majesty, we didn't mean to upset you," Papa said gently.

I snorted. "Hime, what did I just tell you earlier?"

"I-I am not naïve!" Sāra protested.

I folded my arms across my chest, and smirked at her. "Tell me. If you were to die, who would succeed you?"

She spluttered. "W-Well that's—"

"Anrokuzan, yes? What, so you think just because he was polite and carried out a few dying wishes he's a good man? Don't be so childish. I can bet you that all of those wishes were so that way he could gain favor and climb the political ladder. Let me guess, he came to you on your mother's death bed and offered to ease the burden."

Her face was growing redder by each word I drawled out. "Let me take another wild guess: He offered to take over bits and pieces of the politics for you—all so you could focus your attention elsewhere. Perhaps he was grooming you to succeed, all the while preparing to take over himself. Tell me: if you were to die right now, and he took over—would the kingdom over go a huge transition? Would they be thrown into chaos at such a loss of leadership?"

By now, her face was completely red.

"Miwako," Papa admonished sharply.

Lazily, I lifted my shoulders. "I speak the truth."

Her hands clenched into fists and she abruptly turned on her heel, turning away from us. She was shaking minutely. I felt a bit guilty for my harsh words, and at Papa's disapproving look, my guilt doubled.

"I-I refuse to believe such tales. In fact, i-if anyone is suspicious, it would be you guys," Sāra choked out.

"Don't be childish and give into your temper so easily," I chided.

Like you're one to talk.

I take my temper out on my enemies, and it just so happens to usually kill them. That's not childish. That's called getting the job done.

Is that what you call it?

Sāra shook her head and started to march off. "And where are you going?"

"I'm going to ask him about this myself!"

"You're going to ask a potentially murderous man if he's a murderer." There was no lack of sarcasm in my tone. "You really are a little princess, aren't you?"

"Sh-Shut up!"

Papa sighed. "We should split up. Miwako-chan, please guard her majesty while we search for Mukade."

I gave a salute. "Roger-dodger."

"Now she listens to orders?" Chōza muttered sardonically to Shibi. Shibi quietly snorted.

"Here," Papa said, holding out one of his Hiraishin daggers. "Hold onto that. Whenever you're in need, I will come to you."

A wave of nostalgia hit me.

"Papa's daggers?" I echoed, staring wide-eyed at the box Jiraiya held out to me. He was smiling widely at me.

"I held onto them. I thought you might like to use them."

With shaky hands, I carefully took the box, and placed it in my lap. My fingers ran alongside the metal, and goosebumps ran up and down my arms. A strong rush of love and bitterness surged through me. Love at the fact that it was my Papa who had held these daggers. That they were his daggers, and now they were mine.

Bitterness at the fact that it was not he who was passing them down.

Quietly, I took the dagger, carefully averting my eyes from his gaze.

He didn't need to see the pain that flickered inside my eyes.

"Right. Okay."

With ease, I flickered to Sāra's side and walked right beside her as she pointedly ignored me and stormed away.

('･ω･')

After we had reached a long hallway, one of the doors opened up to the right of Sāra and a hand shot out. I reacted quickly, and ducked inside, grabbing the hand, pulling the person out and flipping them onto their backs. With ease, I twisted the arm, and placed my foot on the perpetrator's chest. Sāra gasped in alarm, and I could hear several more alarmed gasps from the room.

I raised an eyebrow at the hooded attacker. The attacker was a young woman, and she had frozen the moment I placed my foot on her chest. "... Let me go."

"You tried to grab the princess, and you want me to let you go?" I asked, amused.

"Sh-She wasn't trying to hurt her," protested another voice from inside. Several people left the room, all hooded and carrying pitchforks. "We... We only wanted an audience with her."

"I can clearly see you're the talking sort with those weapons. You know, if I didn't already know you were harmless, I could have deemed you a threat, and slaughtered you all by now," I said, releasing the woman, and stepping back. "Don't be so idiotic. Think through your plan a bit better. Does she look like the sort of person who would refuse to talk to her people?"

They exchanged glances.

"What's the meaning of this?" Sāra asked. "Why would you all go through this much trouble to talk with me?"

Good grief. They're lucky I had my memories returned and I know they don't mean harm, or else I really would have slit their throats and stomachs by now. What were they thinking? Dressing up like that and carrying around pitchforks like a damned mob.

Damn shame you did get your memories back, then. You can never go wrong with natural selection.

Inwardly chuckling at that, I responded, Survival of the fittest.

Can't leave room for the idiots.

What a vicious one you are.

Oh, like you don't agree with me.

I don't disagree with you, at the very least.

"... My name's Sarai," the one who spoke earlier said hesitantly. He pulled down his hood, revealing himself to be a rather chubby fellow, with a buck tooth, and big eyes.

"And my name's Masako," the woman I had previously flipped said, offering a short, stiff bow. "I'm sorry, please forgive us."

"We just wanted Queen Sāra to hear our plea, and return them, and we couldn't get to talk to her, otherwise," Sarai said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Alright... what exactly do you want me to return?"

They exchanged glances.

('･ω･')

I looked up at the night sky, carrying Sāra bridal style out of the sewer that the people had used to sneak into the castle and back out. She was blushing, and refusing to look at me. She hadn't asked me to carry her, but the second she saw we were going into the sewer, her nose crinkled. I still felt a tiny bit guilty for my earlier harshness, and as such, I swooped her up and started carrying her.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the parade.

With my memories returned, I took a closer look at the 'people' of the parade. Sure enough, I could see thin lines of chakra running through all of them and heading up to the pipes that linked the tall buildings of the city.

They really are all puppets, I thought. That is so creepy.

"A while ago Anrokuzan started this parade while I was still grieving for my mother. He and the people held it as a way of cheering me up."

Sarai snorted. "That's kind of funny, seeing how all of your 'people' actually just make fun of you and call you the puppet princess."

Sāra's eyes widened and a look of disbelief crossed her face. "What?"

"Hush now, not another word," Masako whispered harshly to him.

"Okay," Sarai groaned in annoyance.

"Please, try to forgive Sarai, your majesty. But, still, I don't blame him for speaking his mind. All of us have had close family members taken away from us by your orders."

Sāra gasped. "What? No! I would never give such orders."

"I bet I know someone who would give those orders, though," I muttered.

Sāra glared at me. "Anrokuzan would never—my people—look! Look at how happy my people are right now. If such horrible orders were truly given, why would they be celebrating in my honor?"

I smiled humorlessly at her. "Do you really want me to answer that question, hime?"

She flushed. "... G-Go ahead and try."

With ease, I slipped one hand free of carrying her, and grabbed one of my shuriken. Channeling chakra inside of it, I then hurled it at many of the chakra strings that held up the puppet people. It sliced through them, and a few of the puppets fell to the floor.

Sāra sucked in a sharp breath. "... What?"

I flickered over to one of the puppets and kneeled down. "Watch closely, hime."

Blue chakra flared around my hand, and I placed the hand on top of the puppet, manipulating my chakra to follow the guided paths the puppet provided. Strings lit up back to life, traveling up brightly, and clearly enough, to be seen by the average civilian. The strings stopped at one of the pipe lines, a leyline.

I stood back up, and readjusted my grip on Sāra. "Do you understand, Sāra-hime? These aren't people. They're puppets. And what do you know... Mukade is a puppet master."

Horror and revulsion crossed over her face. "No..."

Turning my back to the parade, I carried her back over towards the others. Trumpets rang out through the parade, and the cheering fell to a silent hush. Sāra's grip on me tightened, and she let out another quiet, no.

Recalling back to the movie, at this moment, a puppet version of herself would be walking out onto the balcony in her place. Sāra furiously shook her head. "This can't be... this has to be a lie."

"Are you a queen or a princess?" I asked quietly.

"I-I am a queen!"

"Then act like it. Your eyes aren't lying to you."

Sāra squirmed, and I released her. She ran off, still shaking her head, and clenching her fists. I resisted the urge to sigh, and trailed behind her.

You could have stopped her.

I'm not that annoyed with her. I can be a little understanding, you know.

Would be easier if you just knocked her out and carried her over your shoulder.

Maybe.

She eventually stopped running, and collapsed against a shaded wall, far away from the parade. She curled up, and rested her forehead on her knees. I landed beside her, and sat down next to her.

"... My mother used to sing this song to me all the time," Sāra murmured quietly. She lifted her head up, and turned it to face me, her eyes tired. "It was Anrokuzan who convinced my mother to use the leylines—those pipes that connect all throughout the city—for the betterment of the kingdom. With my mother's ability to control the leylines, and Anrokuzan's engineering... Loran was transformed into a city of a thousand towers in practically no time.

"But, then... my mother died, before all her hopes and dreams for the city could be realized. When my mother died, I had no one left for me in my life, aside from Anrokuzan. I really have... no one at all."

I could, reluctantly, understand that. That sort of loneliness was... difficult. Really, without Naruto, I would have probably gone insane with my hatred, and bitterness. A childhood without a parent... without any sort of parent, was... not exactly the best.

"I don't have any parents," I admitted quietly. "At least... they both died when I was born. But, you know, they didn't die in vain. They left me something so very precious. They left me a wonderful brother that I absolutely adore, and the best friend I could have ever asked for (Kurama scoffed at that last part). I bet your mother left you something, too."

Sāra's eyes had lost their wary edge, and instead a warmer light had taken to them. In a soft voice, she said, "Yes, she did."

"Then cherish that," I said. "And do whatever it's going to take to protect it."

Sāra nodded at that, her eyes thoughtful.

Smiling teasingly at her, I then said lightly, "Although, I guess I lucked out a bit on this mission."

"Hmm?"

"That blond guy... he's actually my Papa."

Her eyes lit up. "But your Papa died!"

"Yeah, in the future."

"This... this would be your first time meeting him," she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "That's so wonderful for you."

My smile took a more sheepish turn. "Maybe. So... are you ready?"

"For what?"

I stood up and offered her a hand. "To be a queen, Sāra-chan."

She grinned at me, taking her hand. "I am. Part of being a queen, I can sense the power of the leylines. If we follow that power to its original source, we'll probably find some answers."

"Sounds good," I said, swooping her back up, and carrying her bridal style. She gave a startled squeak at that.

('･ω･')

We had followed the power deep beneath the city, and into a steamy room. We had to go through the sewers again, much to the girl's dismay, and it was extremely poorly lit. The only reason we were able to make it through was because of my damn good nose. I could smell other citizens down there, and I followed their scent like a bloodhound to its prey.

It didn't take long to reach them. We followed the dark and tank sewer pipe, until we reached a hole below us. From our perch, we could see an industrial room filled with steam. Many citizens were being worked as slaves to turn some kind of contraption around. Others were being used to build more of those golems that had attacked me earlier; puppet soldiers.

"So it's true... he's using my people," Sāra said, a thin line of anger hardening her tone. "I have to stop him. Miwako-chan... I need you to get me down there. I can cut off the power from the leyline at that point."

I peered through the steam, and noticed another odd contraption engraved in the floor. It vaguely reminded me of a sealing array, albeit far more crude and barbaric. In the center of the array was a large oval. I leapt down to that contraption, and set her down. She kneeled before the oval, saying quick words, as her hands glowed a soft purple.

Knowing a fight was ahead of me, I began to make many clones.

Sāra let out a soft sigh, and stood up, as everything in the room shut down, and the contraption vanished. "There. I shut down the leyline to this factory."

"Sāra? What are you doing here?"

Sāra whirled around, and I lazily turned my head to acknowledge the puppet of Mukade.

"I'm here to stop you," Sāra said, squaring her shoulders. "I will not allow you to use the leyline for warfare, nor will I allow you to use my citizens as slaves."

"I see, so you know that much about what I've been doing. If that's the case, then I simply cannot allow you to live."

"I think it's cute how you seem think you can kill her with me here," I added.

Sāra opened her mouth to say something, but one of my clones swooped her up. The others were scattered and each one grabbed at least two of the citizens. "My clones will escort you out, Sāra. It's time I had a little chat with this moron."

"M-Miwako-chan!" Sāra protested, her eyes wide. "It's dangerous."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Please be careful," Sāra said, just as my clone flickered out of the room, along with many other clones following behind her. The puppet looked particularly annoyed at this, and the tips of his fingers glowed a dull purple as he created strings to control the puppets.

My right hand snapped out and red lightning flew out of it. The lightning took the form of a fox, and let out a feral roar as it charged towards a group of the puppet soldiers. It slammed into the group, causing a small explosion, and shattering the puppets into pieces.

One of the puppet soldiers lunged towards me and I backflipped away from it. I whipped out my tanto and charged back towards it. Glowing with chakra—just chakra—I sliced through the chakra strings controlling the puppet, effectively rendering it useless.

I leapt towards another one, and another one. They either blew up from my Kurama-fused lightning, or fell to pieces after I destroyed the strings controlling them.

Splinters and pieces of the soldiers littered the floor around me. I turned to face the puppet controlling them, but before I could make any sort of move towards him, all of the pieces started to glow purple. They flew towards me, encasing me. They stacked, connected, and reformed to create a sort of giant puppet with me inside of it.

The chakra using to keep them together, started to press down on me, pinning me in place. I wiggled experimentally, finding myself temporarily trapped.

"There's no use," he told me. "That puppet is a special jutsu of mine. You can't escape it."

Kurama and I snorted in unison.

Suddenly, I called upon three tails worth of chakra, the cloak immediately surrounding me, and obliterated the puppet. A low growl escaped my lips, as my tails snapped out and proceeded to smash all of the pieces surrounding me into bits of dust and splinters.

"Wh-What? But how?"

"You're going to need more than a little dolly to capture us," I purred. The puppet took a step back, snarling silently at me. Then he started to transform, discarding his humanoid form in place of an arachnid form. I stared at it. "What the hell wrong with you? Puppets and now a spider puppet? Who does that?"

"Behold my ultimate body!" the puppet laughed.

God, it even has a damn clown's head. A spider body, with a clown's head... and is a puppet. Like... who does that? Why? Why would they do that?

Obviously because they know it disturbs you.

I'm not twelve.

It still creeps you out.

... Shut up.

I shook my head, taking note that even more of those damn puppet soldiers were starting to rebuild themselves and march towards me.

Regardless, I can't actually fight with three tails here. There are civilians directly above us... and a whole other city. I can't just go blowing up the place willy-nilly. Papa would probably scold me, you know.

... But...

Don't worry. I'll go nine tails another time and we can blow up some mountains.

... Acceptable.

As Kurama's power drained away from me, I cracked my knuckles, preparing to completely and utterly destroy that spider puppet.

Before I could take any action, however, several explosions hit the surrounding puppet soldiers, completely obliterating them. In the blink of an eye, Papa, Chōza, and Shibi landed in front of me. Papa threw off his mask, smiling at me, though there was a spark of concern in his eyes. "You alright?"

"Just a little grossed out."

The trio let out a small laugh at that.

More explosions sounded throughout the factory, and Papa smirked. "It looks like the plan worked."

Wait, so we couldn't make explosions, but they can? That is not fair. Brat, I demand we go back to three tails at the very least and pop one bijū-bomb. Minimum.

They're explosions are focused to make sure this place doesn't collapse in on itself, cause a sink hole in the city and kill hundreds. If we started making explosions... let's be honest, Kurama. We would probably blow the whole damn city up.

But it would be fun.

We would be massacring hundreds of innocents! Naruto would guilt trip me like no tomorrow, and I can just imagine Papa's disapproving look.

But... explosions.

No, Kurama. Resist your inner pyro for a little while, precious one.

I can't. I still feel... wrong... from that disgusting chakra jamming me.

You sound wrong. Kurama, you almost sound giddy. Maybe you should take a nap? Sleep it off?

I feel like that would be really boring, though, and I would miss something interesting.

It probably would be, and you probably would miss quite a few interesting things, I agreed.

"Chōza, go," Papa said.

"On it," Chōza said. "Partial Expansion!"

Chōza's left arm expanded and grew to the size of a giant's and he slammed it against the puppet. It flew back and smashed into a wall.

"Shibi!"

"Right," Shibi said, as his insects flew out from him and towards the puppet. They enveloped the entire puppet in a giant sphere. The puppet let out a scream, as it fell to the ground, creating a giant crater. The beetles swarmed back to Shibi.

Bits and pieces of destroyed puppets began to fly into the pit, and the puppet hissed out, "Witness my limitless power, fools."

"Oh, God, can you stop with the antagonistic narcissism?" I groaned. "It's not working. It's never going to work. You only get the right to brag when you actually have the power to back it up."

Steam raised up from the pit, as the new puppet crawled out of it.

At least it's not a spider anymore, I thought dryly.

The giant puppet leapt up, breaking through the many layers of concrete with ease. "Now where is Sāra?!"

"Miwako-chan, where's Sāra?" Papa asked.

"Center of the town," I answered. "She thought it would be safe there, and, well... my clones can't really argue with her."

"You need to focus on protecting her," Papa said. "He's completely determined to kill her. I'm afraid we need to do something else."

"Okey dokey," I said, leaping up and away. Well, seeing how all the citizens should be in the center of the town...

No accidental casualties from our explosions?

We-ell, no knowingly accidental casualties, which is good enough for me.

Excellent.

The giant puppet started to tear through the towers. Kurama's chakra flared through me, and five tails danced behind me. I launched myself at the puppet, expanding my tails to wrap around its neck before I yanked my tails towards me. The puppet, five stories tall, stumbled back and collapsed into a nearby tower, completely shattering it. I continued to launch myself past it—using the momentum from the pull I had given it to carry me—and landed in the square.

Sāra cupped her mouth. "M-Miwako-chan?"

"In the flesh. Make sure you and your people stay behind me. Things are about to get pretty damn nasty for this puppet."

"R-Right," Sāra stammered. "Everyone, please, remain calm. Everything will be alright."

"Of course it will be," I muttered. "As if I'm going to allow myself to fail in front of my Papa."

The puppet had stood back up. "You will not stop me!"

"Shut up!" I howled, channeling chakra into my voice and changing it into a roar. The towers cracked, and some shattered in front of me, and the puppet cracked.

I may not be strong enough to take on the Akatsuki, or smart enough to outwit them. But I can damn straight take on some narcissistic third-rate puppet master who can't even figure that all he really has to do to win is use the landleys to channel his chakra and then wrap chakra strings around all the damn civilians and hold them hostage.

Idiot.

Huh. Why doesn't he do that?

Because he's a moron. Did you know in the original movie he actually did that to Sāra, but then decided. You know what? Instead of, I don't know, using my chakra strings as a guideline and pumping her so full of chakra she dies from chakra intoxication. Or, jeeze, hardening my chakra strings and then stabbing her... or expanding them and shoving them down her throat and choking her. Let's just do it the nice, slow, way and have her choke herself. That way Naruto has plenty of time to save her.

Yeah. Genius right there.

If you lose to this fool, I will never forgive you.

I won't forgive myself.

"Sāra—there's a reason he's so focused on you. There's something only you can do that he doesn't want to happen. Do you understand?"

Sāra's eyes lit up. "The landleys! He's using them to control his puppets, so... I just have to shut them down."

It would certainly be easier than me destroying them all one by one, I thought dryly, launching myself into the air, a built up, over-powered False Darkness, already lighting up in my mouth. I let it out, and it bloomed a dark red and slammed against the puppet, lighting it up.

The thing stumbled back a couple more steps, and by the time the lightning died down from its body, I was already slamming all five of my tails into and forcing it onto its back and into the ground. Purple chakra strings shot out from its body towards me—Mukade probably wanted to try and restrain me—but I ignored them. The second they touched my cloak, they fizzled and died.

I slammed the palm of my hand onto his chest, being sure to mark the puppet body.

"Listen, everyone, I know a safe place away from that monster. The center, where the leylines are all controlled... that monster won't be able to reach us in there, and we can stop this."

"Let's go!" Sarai cheered.

"Get going, Sāra."

"You go with her, Miwako-chan!"

I lifted my head up, in time to see Papa slam a Rasengan into the chest of the giant puppet. He, Shibi, and Chōza all landed beside me. Papa's eyes lingered a moment longer than necessary on my form, and a sort of sadness flickered in his eyes. "It'll save time if you stay with Sāra and we keep this thing occupied, Miwako-chan. This time... I will accompany you."

"Are you certain you want to do that, Minato?" Shibi asked quietly.

Papa's eyes never left my own. "... Yes. I want to go with Miwako-chan. I trust you two to keep the puppet occupied."

"We got this," Chōza said easily.

I guess if we're going to be closely guarding civilians, we can't really go all out...

Damn it.

While Kurama sighed inside of my head, I pushed his chakra back. Papa, and the others winced as they saw my skin start to repair itself. His eyes were dark, and his expression filled with pain. "Does it... Does it do that every time?"

I only offered a small shrug, ignoring the rather disgusting sound of my skin re-growing back over my muscles. "Used to it."

"That's not necessarily a good thing," Papa said quietly.

"I'm a big girl."

Papa reached out a hand and placed it on top of my head, his eyes unreadable. "... I suppose you are."

Feeling the subtle shift in the atmosphere, and really not in the mood for any sort of tears, I cleared my throat and leapt away. "Let's go."

"Right behind you."

If only that would always be true.

('･ω･')

We ran down the stairs, going further underground, the civilians ahead of us.

"You brought Kakashi with you, didn't you?" I kept my voice quiet, so it wouldn't carry over to the civilians' ears. Papa glanced at me.

"How did you know?"

I smiled and tapped my nose. "My nose never lies."

"You smelled him."

"He wasn't masking his scent."

"That's still impressive," Papa said, giving me an appraising look. "You would have had to have smelt him in that steam-heavy room. To pick out his scent amongst all that water..."

I blushed, turning my head down in a vain attempt to hide my smile. "... Just had a lotta practice."

"You're a big girl," Papa echoed softly.

"... Yeah. My brother is really awesome, too. He's a lot more inventive than me, and he's really strong. He's an idealistic, too. Always wants to believe the best in people," I said, crinkling my nose.

Papa gave me a wan smile. "And you don't?"

"I'm not an optimist. He is. It's his dream to be Hokage."

"He sounds like a good shinobi."

"The best," I responded softly. "I'm lucky to have him as a twin."

A loud, and deep crash sounded above us, and suddenly the puppet's head popped through. "Sāra! I won't let you succeed."

"Sāra, go!" I shouted. "We'll keep him busy."

In a flash of bright red, I transported myself onto the puppet's chest and built up another False Darkness, with a little bit of Kurama's boost.

The puppet lit up a bright red, but then an arm formed on his chest, and much to my surprise, he pushed me away. I fell through the air, twisting to land properly, but I needn't had worried. Papa caught me in his arms and set me back down on the stairs.

Papa's face twisted into a determined expression. "I'll take over here. You have to keep Sāra safe."

"But—"

Papa placed a hand on both sides of my head, making sure I locked eyes with him. "I don't want you to fight him head on. You don't... you don't need to push yourself like that."

"Push... myself...?"

Papa winced as he saw my skin start to repair itself. His eyes were dark, and his expression filled with pain. "Does it... Does it do that every time?"

I only offered a small shrug, ignoring the rather disgusting sound of my skin re-growing back over my muscles. "Used to it."

I averted my gaze. "... It's okay. I can handle it."

Papa shook his head. "... I also have a way to uncover his weakness. So, please, go."

"... Fine."

('･ω･')

At the bottom of the stairs, Sāra shouted, "There! Behind those doors is a garden. The power of the leyline won't work inside."

When she reached the door, she opened it. "Everyone in!"

"Sāra!"

"Shut UP!" I shouted at the puppet. "For the love of—"

Once everyone was inside, Sāra shut the door, with her still on the outside. "Miwako, keep him off me, and I'll shut the power done."

"Oh, you can bet on that," I purred, six tails waving behind me. They launched themselves at the puppet, wrapping around parts of it and digging in, essentially halting it in its track. Purple plasma-like chakra flared to life around his body, and Kurama made a noise akin to disgust in my head.

Disgusting tainted chakra.

My tails tightened around him, and I opened my mouth, building up a small bomb. The puppet opened up its own mouth, and purple fire spewed forth. I released my miniscule bomb and it sliced straight through the fire and erupted in its face. Its head was completely blown off, as well as a good chunk of its upper body.

Within seconds, it started to reform. The puppet shifted, and mutated, before shrinking in on itself and escaping my tails. I snarled in annoyance, when it reformed outside of my grip.

"Miwako! Don't use that jutsu anymore!"

I was so surprised by that voice—and that tone—I lost all my concentration and Kurama's chakra snapped back inside of me. The transition was so sudden, I stumbled a couple steps, my mind going blank.

I looked back up to see Papa grab me and carry me away from the puppet's attack. The puppet snarled silently at us, but ignored us in favor of chasing after Sāra.

"What did you do that for?!" I demanded.

Papa's face twisted. "That... that cloak that you use. It... It shortens your lifespan, doesn't it?"

"So?!"

"Your life is precious, Miwako," Papa said quietly. "I don't want you to use that jutsu so freely."

Then you probably shouldn't have given it to me. Just saying.

I thought you liked having me.

Oh, I do. You know I absolutely adore you. But, it was Papa that made it so that way I was supposed to draw upon your power in the first place. That was his seal design. So it's just... ironic... that he's telling me not to use it.

I suppose I could point out, that in his defense he had no way of really knowing it would shorten your life span if you used it. After all, Konoha had never used a jinchūriki in battle before, and had no way of knowing what that would entail. Furthermore, your mother and Mito were able to have my chakra run through their veins freely without adverse side effects.

They didn't have anything more than a trickle of your chakra, though.

What can I say? Your father's an idiot.

"Debatable," I said out loud to both of them. "Now come on, we have to save Sāra."

Papa pursed his lips. "There's a weak spot. A place where the original body is."

Yep. I remember that. He turned his body into a puppet, and is using that puppet to control the big giant ass puppet in front of us.

"I will open it, and you have to destroy it.

"... Okay."

Papa carried me into the room Sāra was in, where she had begun to deactivate the leylines. The puppet had tensed in preparations of attacking her, but stopped when Papa cried out, "Shuriken Shadow!"

He released me in mid-air, and I flew through the air, whipping out my tanto and channeling Kurama's chakra through it. Papa threw two green-glowing daggers that then multiplied into hundreds and bombarded against the puppet.

The puppet squirmed, as holes appeared in its body.

My eyes narrowed and I zoomed in on the puppet body inside. With my right hand, I pushed raw chakra out that propelled me directly towards the puppet.

"There! I deactivated the leylines!" Sāra cried out.

"No!" howled the puppet.

I flew through the air.

"Now, Miwako-chan, finish him!" Papa shouted.

My heart clenched, and my eyes flickered back up to Papa's face. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl in my mind.

I didn't want to.

I really didn't want to.

By defeating him, everything would go back to normal. I would be taken back to that world. Papa would be dead. Momma would be dead. Grandfather would be dead. Sasuke's family would still be gone. I would have still had that horrible childhood. Everyone's lives would be in a pit.

I would even forget this entire encounter. It would be like I had never met him.

We would be strangers.

Again.

I didn't want that.

I wanted a family.

I wanted a Papa and a Momma that would be there when I came home. I wanted a happy future where we didn't have to worry about the Akatsuki, or some other stupid, big threat. I didn't want to return to preparations for a war—a war where I couldn't ensure everyone's safety, no matter how many plans I made.

Was that wrong?

Was that wrong of me to desire all of that—to want it so bad it physically hurt that I couldn't?

Was it bad of me to want to wish away this horrible loneliness that eats away from inside of me?

At that moment, it certainly felt like it did.

My stomach knotted, and I could feel myself shaking. I didn't want to kill him.

I don't want to go back to that hell.

Is it all hell, though?

My eyes widened.

Do you not have friends that you adore, and people that love you? Have you not made happy memories? Did you not already accept the fact that while you can't change your past—you could define your future?

You rule your own life, Miwako. If you're lonely, do something about it. That Kitsune brat certainly looks like he wants to help you out in that department. And you aren't completely alone. You got that stupid Uchiha following you around, and your idiotic brother. You've got your sensei, and your perverted, pathetic, godfather.

It only hurts like this, because you miss the two morons that birthed you. You only hurt this bad because you want it that much.

But, you can't have it.

My hands tightened on the tanto.

I know it's the right thing to do.

But does it have to hurt this much?

Time will ease this wound, as it does with all.

I swung my tanto down hard through the puppet, effectively destroying it.

A bright white explosion blinded me, and when the light faded, I was already sprinting towards Sāra. She had stood in the center of the room, and the only access to her across an old, stone bridge. When the explosion took place, the purple energy that had flowed through this room turned to a dark red, signaling that the leyline powers were out of control.

The bridge started to crumble as I sprinted across, and Sāra faltered in her footsteps. When part of the bridge gave away beneath her, she cried out.

My hand snapped out and I grabbed her, pulling her back to me and picking her up. I leapt back and onto the center platform she was previously on. Papa leapt beside me, his brow furrowed. "Miwako-chan, I need that dagger back from before. I need it to completely seal away the leyline before it goes too far out of control."

Setting Sāra back down, I pulled out the dagger and held it out to him. He took it with gentle hands, and approached the center of the platform. He crouched in the middle, and slammed the dagger down. "Seal!"

Sealing arrays glowed a bright blue-white around him, and the color of the leyline slowly died away—showing it had been sealed.

The second the light had died away, I became enveloped in soft, glowing white. My eyes widened and I looked back down at my hands, feeling my heart slowly sink.

It's time I went back, Kurama.

We're needed in the present.

I know. I just... This sealing... it locks away all of our memories, too. I won't... I won't have any more memories of Papa after this.

Kurama fell quiet.

"With Mukade dead, and the leylines sealed back up, time is starting to fix itself," Papa said quietly, approaching me with a soft smile.

"Wait... does that mean you're really leaving?" Sāra asked, her face marred with worry, and a sort of sadness.

"Mn, Sorry... Queen Sāra," I said, offering her a warm smile.

Her eyes lit up. "Queen?"

"Well, you did seriously help out in saving your people, and I doubt you'll let yourself get manipulated ever again," I teased. "You aren't a cute little innocent princess anymore, so I guess that makes you a cute little queen."

She blushed, but she was smiling happily. "Thank you, Miwako-chan. I only wish... I wish you could stay. I'll never forget you."

"—But we don't want to alter history," Papa cut in, his voice quiet, and expression solemn. "So I am going to use a jutsu formula to make everyone forget."

My hands clenched into fists. "... Do what you think is best... Papa..."

Regret flickered across his face, and Papa swallowed. "It's what's necessary. We will meet again, Miwako-chan."

No. We won't.

I wanted to tell him that.

I wanted to shout at him that he was dead.

That he never raised me.

He never held me.

Something in my expression, must have caused him to falter, because he froze. His eyes slowly lowered away from mine, before rising back up. He gave me a smile, as he placed his hand onto the ground, seals lighting up around us. "But, just in case... If I do end up having a daughter, and a son... Miwako-chan—"

My eyes widened at his words, and I couldn't quite manage to suppress the utter wave of emotion that slammed into me. The warmth, bitterness, and love I felt at that moment was so overpowering, I fell to my knees, uncaring that my eyes were burning and I was shaking.

Miwako. Come here.

I was pulled before Kurama, and he grabbed me in his paws. "What...?!"

Kurama's eyes glowed red. "Trust me, and Miwako—"

('･ω･')

The bright light filled my vision, before fading completely.

"IMOUTO!"

I sat upright, my head spinning. "What...?"

Naruto slammed into me, yanking me up and spinning me around in a hug. "What the hell happened?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Don't you EVER do that again!"

"Wha..."

"Idiot, let go of her," Sasuke sighed.

Naruto shot Sasuke a venomous look, but set me down. I blinked rapidly. Kakashi peered at me. "You alright?"

"I—"

Oi. Brat, come here.

"... One sec, I need to talk to Kurama, apparently," I mumbled, furrowing my brow.

I entered the seal, peering up at Kurama. "I don't suppose you know why my head hurts and I have next to no memory as to why it hurts?"

Kurama gave me a grin. "Your idiotic father's seal can't wipe my memory."

"What?"

"Before he did the wipe, I had you share your memories with me, so I could have them through your perspective. Just like you did with me before, when you first showed me your previous life's memories."

"What are you talking about?"

"You better idolize me after this, kit. Come here. I want to give these memories to you."

Kurama held out his hand, and I automatically stretched out my own. I grasped the tip of his finger and then—

It all came back.

I snapped back into the real world, clapping a hand over my mouth.

Papa.

Yes.

I met Papa.

Yes.

He saw me. The real me. He saw my cynicism, and behavior, and you, and he still—he still told me—

Yes.

I trembled, and bowed my head.

"Oi? Imouto? What? Why are you crying?" Naruto asked, looking anxious. Sasuke had frozen (like a deer in headlights) the second he saw my tears, and Kakashi was already reaching for me.

"Naruto," I croaked, "go inside Kurama's cage. Please. Let him... let him give you the memories."

"What?"

"Please," I pleaded, still covering my mouth.

"Okay, okay," Naruto said, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow.

A heartbeat passed.

His eyes snapped open and he staggered back. "... No... no way..."

"What's wrong?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto's eyes were shining, and a watery grin stretched over his face. "No... no way..."

"Don't cry, too," Sasuke ordered (although it came out more like a frantic plea), looking extremely nervous.

"These aren't sad tears," I whispered, lowering my hands to reveal my big smile. "We're happy."

Something in my expression, must have caused him to falter, because he froze. His eyes slowly lowered away from mine, before rising back up. He gave me a smile, as he placed his hand onto the ground, seals lighting up around us. "But, just in case... If I do end up having a daughter, and a son... Miwako-chan—"

"What?"

Minato gave me a large, warm smile. "I would want a wonderful shinobi like Naruto to succeed my dream, and a sharp daughter like yourself to make sure he doesn't get too lost in his ideals! It would, I bet, make me really happy as a father. Just... both of you... really shouldn't be reckless, okay?"

Like... me...?

You're okay with me?

"Papa..." I whispered.

"Everything will be okay. I promise."

Naruto reached over and wrapped his arms around me. "I love you, Imouto."

"I love you, too, Aniki," I said, hugging him tightly in return.

"We have an awesome tou-san."

"We definitely do."

"Would one of you please tell us what's going on?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke nodded his head in agreement.

But, we only laughed, and we forced them into a group hug.

"Although, Imouto, I need to have a serious talk with you about this 'natural selection,' and 'survival of the fittest,'" Naruto told me.

"Fuck," I muttered.

Ha!

('･ω･')

AU – What if...?

I flew through the air.

"Now, Miwako-chan, finish him!" Papa shouted.

My heart clenched, and my eyes flickered back up to Papa's face. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl in my mind.

I didn't want to.

I really didn't want to.

By defeating him, everything would go back to normal. I would be taken back to that world. Papa would be dead. Momma would be dead. Grandfather would be dead. Sasuke's family would still be gone. I would have still had that horrible childhood. Everyone's lives would be in a pit.

I would even forget this entire encounter. It would be like I had never met him.

We would be strangers.

Again.

I didn't want that.

I wanted a family.

I wanted a Papa and a Momma that would be there when I came home. I wanted a happy future where we didn't have to worry about the Akatsuki, or some other stupid, big threat. I didn't want to return to preparations for a war—a war where I couldn't ensure everyone's safety, no matter how many plans I made.

Was that wrong?

Was that wrong of me to desire all of that—to want it so bad it physically hurt that I couldn't?

Was it bad of me to want to wish away this horrible loneliness that eats away from inside of me?

At that moment, it certainly felt like it did.

My stomach knotted, and I could feel myself shaking. I didn't want to kill him.

I don't want to go back to that hell.

Then don't.

What? But—

You choose your own path, Miwako. Don't hold yourself back on the account of others. If you want something, take it. You've earned this. Besides... you could probably do more good on this end, than you could back in the present.

My breath hitched. Kurama...

I don't know what's going to happen with two Kyūbis, but I bet it'll be interesting. I am pretty amazing.

I love you.

I know.

I withdrew my tanto and slammed my palms against the puppet, overriding it with chakra. It seized before freezing. Knowing that I had, temporarily, paralyzed it, I bit down on my thumb and drew out a quick paralysis seal on it. I then immediately whipped out a storage scroll, and stored it inside, and and my used the blood to draw a lock seal on it.

Papa's eyes widened. "... What?"

"I don't want to," I said quietly.

Papa jumped and landed in front of me. "Miwako-chan..."

I closed my eyes. "... I don't want to go back. I don't want to come home to a place where there are no parents. I don't want a dead father, or dead mother. I don't want the village to look at me like some kind of pariah. I don't want to have to worry about the Akatsuki. I don't want... I don't... I don't... want to grow up anymore without you."

Papa's eyes were wide and shining, and he bit his bottom lip. "The future..."

"I know how change it for the better," I said, a pleading edge in my tone as I looked at him. I tried to stop talking, I tried to stop the bubbling emotions that seemed to spill out of me. I wanted to stamp down on the words, but they just kept tumbling from my mouth. I couldn't stop. I couldn't resist. At that moment, I had no control over me. It felt, almost as if, it wasn't me who was standing there, but rather my six year-old self, from all those years ago. My eyes were starting to sting, and my cheeks felt a bit wet, but I carried on. "So, please, don't ask me to go back there."

"Don't you have... anyone back over there?"

"M-Miwako-chan," Sāra whispered softly.

"By staying here, I can better protect them," I argued weakly, my voice cracking. "Please... Please, Papa."

Papa swallowed roughly, and raised a hand to wipe away at my eyes. "Shh... Don't cry, Miwako-chan. Please, don't cry anymore."

"I want a real family. Not just me and N-Naruto. Is that wr-wrong of me, bayo?" I whispered.

Papa shook his head, and his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in. I childishly clung onto him. "... It's not wrong to want that, Miwako-chan. It's never wrong. I just... I don't know what the best choice in this situation is."

"Maybe this was m-meant to happen, bayo."

We didn't pay attention to Sāra as she eased her way out of the room, off to find her people and tell them the good news that we had, essentially, defeated the bad guy. I acknowledged it was also a way of giving us a private moment.

He squeezed me tighter and I buried my face in his chest. He smelled like a rowan tree. "What happens in your future, Miwako-chan? I want to know."

"A-A-Are you sure?" I hiccupped.

"Tell me."

And I did.

And as I told him the story, his arms around me grew tighter, and tighter, and soon he was petting my hair. He didn't interrupt me, and I couldn't see his face. However, his body would tense and relax at parts of my story. When I told him about Kakuzu and Hidan, he squeezed me so tightly, I thought I would suffocate.

At the end of my story, he finally kissed the top of my head, and said in a cracked voice, "I don't think I want you to go back, either."

I sniffled. "S-S-So can I st-stay, bayo?"

"You are going to say," he rasped. "We are going back to Konoha, and I am going to buy you the biggest damn bowl of ramen you will ever see, and then I am going to introduce you to Kushina. And we are going to tell her your story. And then you are going to live with us. You don't have a say in this matter."

I let out a watery laugh. "That sounds really nice, Papa. I only wish I could have brought N-Naruto back with me."

He kissed the top of my head. "We know the future, Miwako-chan. It sounds like you and your brother had went through something I wouldn't like to be repeated. I think it might be for the best if he didn't. This way... we can certainly give him a better future now. Not just him, though. You, too. Now come on..."

"Y-Yes, Papa."