In Search of Lost Time (Fem!Naruto)

Chapter 1

"Because you have the power to change people."

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Naruto turned in her bed, restless. Memories of the war haunted her everywhere, the images of the people dying appeared vividly in her head.

She saw the Ino-Shika-Cho trio fighting together to their last breath, and she thought back to the Academy days when they played together outside under the clear blue sky.

She heard that the medical ward that Sakura had been working in was bombed to smithereens, no signs of survivors. She thought back to the day Sakura fed her when she was tied to the tree after the bell test.

She saw Kakashi-sensei ruthlessly killed by his childhood friend. She thought back to the days he would let Team 7 babysit snotty babies as D-rank missions while he giggled behind his porn.

She thought of them, and she thought of her. They were dead, and she was alive. They died for their village, and she was here lying in a bed thinking of them.

She would trade places with them. She really would.

But Sasuke, goddamn Sasuke, just had to ruin it all.

And for the first time since she arrived here, tears fell.
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Perched on a tree, Naruto's eyes followed a certain figure on the streets, a frown evident on her face.

The young boy below was laughing merrily with an old lady, his hands full of bags of groceries.

Both of them stopped in front of a worn house and he was telling her something, his mouth making dramatic movements and his head bobbing up and down in an exaggerated manner, all the while waiting as the sexagenarian struggled to unlock her door.

He carefully placed the bags down at the front of the doorstep, grinning widely when she wobbled over to hug him.

"You're welcome, Yuki-obaasan! What kind of a Hokage would I be if I don't look after Konoha's people?"

He turned around, making his way back. One hand was behind his head, the other scratching under his nose, the smile never slipping off his face.

Naruto didn't understand. She had imagined her enemy to be ruthless, calculative and evil.

Here he was, a loud and talkative Uchiha who loves to help people. He was so much like her younger self that it was painful. It was funny, really. She had seen him emotionlessly decapitate Kakashi-sensei merely a week ago.

She jumped off the branch, swiftly landing in front of Uchiha Obito.

Something akin to an amused smile appeared on her face when he shrieked like a girl, something Obito would never admit happened even on his deathbed. Realizing what he had done, he coughed into his hands and discreetly straightened his shirt. He whipped his arm around and rudely pointed at her face.

"Who are you?! What do you want with me?" He had never seen her before.

She placed her hands into her orange jacket pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels, her blue eyes staring defiantly at him. "Well, I actually wanted to kill you."

His face paled considerably.

"You don't look old enough to kill!"

She scowled at him at the mention of her age. She didn't want to revert back to her five years old self either! Now she has to be stuck with her innocent peers who do not understand the costs that come with being a ninja, the boy in front of her included.

She then pretended to consider what he had said, before barking out a laugh.

"Silly! There's no such thing as too young to kill."

He staggered back a few steps, and even considered screaming for help.

"Don't worry. I wouldn't kill you." She paused thoughtfully. "Maybe not now. It depends. We'll see."

He shrieked. "Depends on what?"

She gave him a small, mysterious smile.

"Whether you change or not."

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The first step of her plan was to find Jiraiya, and let him in on it. Jiraiya had been one of the few people she trusted back in those days, and she doubted that it would change now. He could help her with the official papers and citizenship without raising any suspicion, and hopefully wouldn't make her edit and proofread his... stories in return. Not again, she thought with a fond smile.

Though, she had to admit, when she found him drunk and on the verge passing out at his table, it took all her might not to run to hug him right there and then, and to tell him how much she had missed him.

"Get out of here kid! You shouldn't be wandering around in the red light district." Jiraiya managed to drag out the sentence in a slurred manner, looking more drunk than she had seen him before.

Naruto blinked, before lifting her shirt up slightly. Before Jiraiya could make a perverse joke about him not being a pedophile, his eyes locked onto the giant, complicated seal that was engraved in the middle of her stomach.

He swiftly grabbed her arm, and teleported back to his house. Or perhaps it was just an empty room in the red light district, she couldn't tell in the dark.

"Who are you and what do you want?" His tone was no longer teasing and fun, but now serious, and she realized he had undoubtedly been sober this whole time.

He allowed her to grab his hand and place it on her stomach.

One moment he was in his living room, the next he was in a dimly lit landscape, a strange red hue coloring it.

He took in his surroundings. The sound of distant water slowly dripping behind him, the humid air that surrounded him.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he stared at the giant bars in front of him, but quickly changed to that of concealed surprise as he caught sight of the enormous creature with red eyes that slowly advanced towards him, its claws violently grabbing the bars.

A creature he had only heard of, but never seen.

The girl beside him grinned.

"Ero-sennin, this is Kurama," she pointed to the creature, before pointing to herself, "my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

She paused, letting him digest the information.

"And let me tell you how it all began."

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This idea has been plaguing me for quite a while now. might become a full story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the art. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei, and the art belongs to its rightful owner.

Thank you for reading, and tell me if you found this enjoyable and interesting!

Kono