It All Started With A Smell

Spiraling

Her fingers had barely brushed the seal before a vice clamped around her wrist. Before she could comprehend what had grabbed her she was spun and thrown away from the Nine-Tails' cage. Whatever threw her had done so gently. She rolled twice before stopping, allowing for her see a man standing before a snarling Nine-Tails. Taking in the messy blonde hair and white robe she wondered where she had seen the man. When he turned to smile at her she studied his tan face and bright blue eyes framed by thick black lashes. She had seen that face, often, but couldn't pin down from where.

"Look at you!" The man said in a lilted voice. He studied Naruto's face with a wide, cheerful gaze as she slowly rose to her feet. "You're so beautiful."

When he stepped towards her she took a step back, trying to work out how to get around this stranger to the Nine-Tails. Her weariness made the smile drop off the man's face and the Nine-Tails chuckle.

"I'm not going to hurt you," The man assured in a soft voice, his hand reaching out for her.

Again, she stepped away from him, making the Nine-Tails laugh.

"She doesn't know you," He taunted to the stranger. "I've been her protector, not you."

It clicked in her mind as the man studied her stance. "You're the Fourth Hokage!" Instantly Naruto stepped towards the Fourth, punching him in the face and making him tumble to the ground. "You did all this to me!"

The Fourth touched his jaw, looking up at Naruto from the ground. "Nice punch. And I put the Nine-Tails in you because I knew you could handle it."

"Seriously? How the hell would you know? I was alive for what, an hour before you turned me into a cage? I was your only choice, an Uzumaki," Naruto spat.

"That's not true. There was another Uzumaki child in the village." The Fourth slowly stood up, much like she had, smiling as though he was proud of Naruto's hit. "But if the Nine-Tails needed a new host I knew you would be the one. Just like I knew you'd be beautiful and strong."

Again he reached out, as though to stroke her face, but was smart enough to not make contact. Instead his hand ghosted the shape of her cheek and jaw as his eyes darted around her face, taking in every detail.

Naruto gave a sarcastic laugh, throwing her arms in the air and knocking his hand away. "You don't know me. You're just the man who took me from my mother the day I was born to turn me into a prison. Or did she hand me over? Are you the one who banned everyone from telling me her name, or did she want to distance herself from the 'monster' you turned me into?"

A heartbroken expression covered the Fourth's face. He took a breath as though to steel himself for the conversation he was facing. "No, that's not what happened. I had hoped that the Third would tell you the truth when you came of age but I guess not."

"The Third died when I was thirteen." Naruto crossed her arms. "What was he meant to tell me?"

"This is going to be good."

"Do you know what he's going to say?" She asked the grinning fox.

"He does. Let's move this conversation elsewhere." The Nine-Tails disappeared, leaving Naruto and the Fourth on a grassy hill. The Fourth smiled, stepping closer to Naruto and trying to put his hands on her shoulders. When she tensed he dropped them, his smile drooping. "The reason I knew you were strong enough is because I knew you'd be like your mother. Her name was Kushina and she was just as powerful and beautiful as you. And had a mean punch too. When she told me she was pregnant I knew there was a chance that the Nine-Tails would get out. So I made a seal for you, one that would allow you to gain control over the Nine-Tails' power. I knew you could. It was a risk, but if anyone in the world could do it, it would be you."