Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

rewritten on 12/13/21

A broken child, it was all too common. Naruto Uzumaki was a broken child. Nothing more, nothing less. She didn’t have anything, anymore, at least. It was all her fault, she told herself. It was her fault that bad things happened. It would’ve been better if she never existed, she would tell herself nowadays. All her achievements meant nothing now. It didn’t matter if she was feared throughout the Nations. It didn’t matter if she were a jounin. (Tokubetsu jounin now, she remembered, she was just promoted a few weeks ago.) It didn’t matter if people accepted Naruto as a prodigy. (more like, called her a monster,) Nothing mattered anymore, She didn’t feel, she didn’t care. It didn’t hurt when people threw molded and bad food at her. Naruto didn’t scream when drunk men cut her with knives and broken beer bottles. She wouldn’t cry when mothers would tell their children to stay away from her on the playground. She didn’t care when people overpriced her food and clothing. (she could afford it anyway.) She wouldn’t sob when she returned to her broken-down studio every night. 

It was what got her into ANBU. Being emotionless and uncaring, but skilled enough to exterminate the weeds. People in ANBU wouldn’t judge you, they were just like you, emotionless and 

uncaring. All ANBU were one and the same, Naruto realized, they wouldn’t care if they were told to exterminate their entire clan, and they would kill them with no emotion too. Naruto didn’t belong in ANBU either, she realized. (She isn’t even able to kill innocents, unlike everyone else.)

Naruto didn’t belong anywhere now. 

She yearned to belong, that was why she joined ANBU in the first place, to have somewhere to belong. Naruto belonged somewhere before, she realized. She once belonged with her loved ones, until they were taken away.

 Naruto was sad now, maybe depressed was a better word. It was probably the only acceptable emotion in ANBU, they all reeked of sadness, (depression, they reminded themself) and Naruto did too.

She used to be happy. Naruto had people protecting her. Her loved ones protected her and in return, she would protect them too. Naruto promised them, promised to protect them and she failed. One by one, they were taken away. Lost to her forever. (she wanted to join them)

They went away all too soon. One day they were alive, and the next they were dead. Naruto’s godmother (one of the first to go, she tried to forget) once told her what happened to dead people. They were in a happy place, a peaceful place, they were free. Naruto was happy for them, to be free. Naruto missed her godmother though, a lot (maybe she was being selfish, Naruto thought. It was greedy of her to make her godmother stay here where it was bad.)  Naruto’s godmother was always there for her before they went. Everyone was there for Naruto before they went away.

Naruto had lost everyone that mattered to her. She wanted to join them. Join them where they were now, where it was peaceful. Bad things didn’t happen in peaceful places.

Chapter Text

written 12/16/21 

done 12/25/21

10/10/??

A woman. That was the first thing the baby saw. She had red hair and violet eyes. She seemed tired, like she had just finished after a long and tiring day. She was sweating and struggling to keep her eyes open. But she was smiling, the baby also noticed, at what though, the baby didn’t know. 

The next thing the baby saw was a man, he walked into the baby’s view while the baby was observing the violet-eyed woman. He had long blonde hair and wore a face of awe, an expression much like the one of the woman. “You’re adorable, Naruto,” the man had said. The baby realized now, they’re staring at them, they’re talking about them. “She is,” responded the woman. They were Naruto and Naruto was a girl. Their name was Naruto, the baby learned. They were a girl. 

The baby didn’t have much time to observe before a scream was heard from behind and Naruto was in another one’s arms, the arms of an unknown person. The enemy Naruto had assumed. They wore a spiral mask and held a hand over her face in a threatening manner. “I’ll kill your child, Minato,” they had said. The blonde man- Minato Naruto learned, had said something Naruto couldn’t hear and elicited a laugh out of the enemy. Then it happened again, Naruto was being moved again. Minato had run over, and the enemy put pieces of paper onto Minato before Minato had grabbed Naruto into his arm. When Naruto was back in the arms of Minato he checked over Naruto to make sure Naruto was fine before he noticed the pieces of paper on him. “Shit,” he had said, and after pulling out a weapon, they were somewhere else.

Somewhere cold, Naruto felt, cold air was seeping through the thin blanket, annoying them. He laid Naruto down onto a bumpy surface and then threw the paper to the ground and searched for more pieces of paper. There was one on his back and another two on his right leg Naruto observed. Naruto passively wondered what was happening to the red-haired woman.

Just then, Naruto saw a giant creature rise from far away, it seemed Minato had seen it too. He looked terrified now, though once again, Naruto didn’t know why. He had removed all the papers now, Naruto saw, the papers were sprawled in a small pile. He was running towards Naruto, he grabbed Naruto and they disappeared from the cold place to a new place. Now, they were in a squared room, big enough for a bed to be in, the red-haired woman was in the bed, saw Naruto. She looked even worse now, she was breathing heavily, her hair was clumped with sweat, and she looked lifeless. Minato however, looked relieved, “Thank goodness, you’re alive, Kushina,” said Minato. Kushina was the red-haired woman, deduced Naruto. Kushina didn’t say anything but gave a small smile. “Oh my god, I thought you were gone, I- I saw the Kyuubi and- and I was so worried, Kushina,” Minato said breaking into tears. Kushina shed a few tears too. “I’ll have to leave Naruto here with you,” Minato had said when they all felt the Kyuubi shake the ground. Naruto was laid onto Kushina’s chest, and Minato was gone. Gone. 

Naruto worried.

After a few moments of silence, Kushina started speaking, “You’re a quiet one, aren’t you?” croaked out Kushina, Naruto just looked up at Kushina. “Most babies would be bawling right now Naruto-chan, but you’re just silent,” Naruto continued looking up at Kushina. Somehow, Kushina felt like her baby was listening, so she continued. “Ya know, my best friend, she’s also your godmother, she has two sons. I remember her first son, his name is Itachi, he was silent during his infant years, just like you. Although you’re barely an hour old, so I don’t actually know much. She would invite me over to babysit and Itachi was silent the whole time, sure he would cry when he wet his diaper or if he was hungry, but other than that, he was silent, just like you Naruto. I think you would get along with him,” As Kushina told her story, Naruto listened along, gurgling a little when Kushina finished. “I feel a lot better now, Naruto-chan, I don’t know how, but I do,” said Kushina, as they spent the rest of the time in silence. Their peace was a short run, as the giant creature could be heard near the safe house before even ten minutes passed. 

Minato ran in hurriedly startling Naruto. “I’m sorry Kushina, I’m sorry, Naruto, I’m so god damn sorry,” he had said first when he came back in. “Why is the Kyuubi here?!” Kushina had asked raspily and worriedly. (Naruto remembered well, the face of shock and fear on Kushina’s face)  “This is the farthest from the village I can get, I had to lure the Kyuubi here, I’m sorry Kushina, I’m so sorry,” Minato had explained in a rush.  Kushina looked angry until she took a deep breath and put herself together asking, “What do we have to do?”. She asked with a shaky voice as if something even worse was going to happen. Naruto continued observing. “We will confine the Kyuubi and seal the beast into Naruto,” answered Minato to Kushina’s question. How would they seal something so big into them, Naruto wondered. Naruto was shaken out of their thoughts when Kushina started arguing with Minato. They were still laying on Kushina’s chest, so it was damaging to her ears. “In Naruto?!” she had asked, “Naruto? Our child? Do you know how hard it would be for Naruto?! Minato? Are you out of your mind?! Why Naruto? We’ll seal it back in me! I’m almost dead! The Kyuubi will die with me!” Naruto was shocked, Kushina would die for them, why were they so important to her? “No, we can’t do that, the Kyuubi will return, we’ll have to seal it into Naruto. I'll take half of the Kyuubi since Naruto won’t be able to handle it completely,” reasoned Minato. Naruto didn’t know who they should agree with, they didn’t want Kushina to die, nor did they want to have Minato die. 

After they settled the argument, (Minato won) they all went outside, and when the Kyuubi was within a hundred-foot radius, Minato disappeared and Kushina kneeled in the center of the field, Naruto was placed on a cold surface again. This time though, it wasn’t bumpy at least. Naruto waited for some time before the Kyuubi was right above Kushina. “Now!” Minato had yelled, and Kushina had burst chains from her body, capturing the giant fox. Naruto saw the giant fox thrash violently in an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the chains. It amazed Naruto, how something- someone so small could restrain something so large. Minato ran over and knelt beside Kushina. The fox seemed to realize something, as it aimed for Naruto. It lifted its body with all its strength and slid a paw out. But it never made it to her, instead, it pierced through both Minato and Kushina. Minato had yelled “Shiki Fūjin!” and a shinigami had appeared and disappeared as soon as it came. Minato had collapsed onto his knees.

 And then Naruto felt fear. For the first time in Naruto’s life, they felt fear. For the first time in Naruto’s short life, Naruto feared loss. Naruto feared the loss of Minato and Kushina, two people who were willing to give up their lives for them. For the first time in their life, Naruto wailed. 

Naruto wailed, loud, deafening, tumultuous, ear-shattering cries. Maybe they shouldn’t have cried, maybe they should have held back the tears, knowing Minato and Kushina would die either way. It was just a matter of time before they would. 

Kushina and Minato were crying when Naruto’s sobs became tremors of fear. Then Kushina spoke with a shaky voice,

“Naruto, these are my last moments with you and I don’t want them to go to waste. So listen closely. Don’t be picky. Eat lots and grow strong.

Make sure that you bathe every day and stay warm. Also, don’t stay up late. You need lots of sleep.

And make friends. You don’t need a lot of friends. Just a few, ones you can really, really trust.

I wasn’t very good at it, but keep up with your studies and practice your ninjutsu hard.

Remember that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So don’t get too depressed if you can’t do something well. Respect your teachers and upperclassmen at the Academy.” said Kushina.

Taking a short pause, she continued on, “Oh, and this is important. It’s about the Three Prohibitions for a shinobi.

Be extra careful about lending and borrowing money.

Put your mission wages into your savings account.

No alcohol until you’re twenty. Too much can ruin your health, so drink in moderation.

Another Prohibition is men and women. I’m a woman, and so are you, but, all you need to remember is that this world is made up of men and women. So it’s only natural to take an interest in boys and girls. But just don’t get hooked on bad women or men. Find the right person for yourself. 

Speaking of the Three Prohibitions, be wary of Jiraiya-san, you know.

Naruto, from now on, you’re going to face lots of pain and hardship.

Be true to yourself. Have a dream and have the confidence to make that dream come true.

There’s so much. Oh, so much more that I want to pass on to you. I wish I could stay with you longer.

I love you” ended Kushina tears falling from her face. 

 Naruto continued to stare at her, it was as if Kushina read her thoughts. Naruto was chipped even more hearing Kushina say her speech. Naruto wanted to tell her they loved her too, (more than Minato and Kushina could ever know) they wanted to tell her they would listen to all of Kushina’s rules. Naruto would eat all their veggies, Naruto would bathe every day, Naruto would get lots of sleep, Naruto would make friends, Naruto would study hards, Naruto would do everything Kushina told them to do. Instead, all that was let out, was a feeble gurgle.

"Naruto, my words to you,” Minato started, “Well, I guess your talkative mom said it all," said Minato. Naruto continued staring, observing as his breaths came out labored, much like Kushina’s.

Soon enough, Naruto felt drowsy, it felt as if they were being drugged, soon enough she fell asleep. She missed how she was moved to a new location. Naruto never saw medical-nin bag Kushina and Minato into body bags. Naruto never noticed the tears of three people. Naruto never felt the danger whenever someone rose their arm to harm. Naruto didn’t see the fox staring down in sadness at them, within the cage, it lay in.

Chapter Text

8/1/21

8/9/21

10/18/??

Mikoto couldn’t sleep, certain matters were bothering her immensely. The council meeting was a mess, and she lost Naruto to the hands of Danzo. She couldn’t help but think about how this could have been avoided. She couldn’t help but to think about the week before when this had just happened.

One week ago when the Kyuubi ravaged Konoha, killing hundreds of shinobi and civilians alike. Thousands of survivors would be terrorized for the rest of their lifetime. Those who had lost loved ones would be even worse. One death would be most prominent though, the death of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. 

That was what the newspaper had written. Though for Mikoto, she didn’t care about Minato, she could care more about a fucking speck of dirt on the house floors than Minato.  She had lost Kushina one week ago, her best friend, a sister in all but blood. If anything Kushina had tried to stop the Kyuubi more than Minato. “Damn you Minato” she added as a side thought. If Kushina had never met him, this would have never happened. Kushina would have been safe. Kushina would have been Hokage too. (Minato wasn’t chosen because he was most fit to become Hokage, hell, far from it. The only reason he was chosen over Kushina was because he was seen as an asset fit to control the jinchurriki.) And eight days ago, if she had stayed calm and collected, would everything be as complicated as it was now? If she had done more that day, would she have saved Kushina? Would the pregnancy have gone fine if she was there with Kushina?

She hated those thoughts. In fact, she hated everything. Hizashi, Minato, Konoha, Sarutobi, the Kyuubi, and everyone and everything in between. 

She hated herself, she let Kushina die, she left Naruto alone to fend for themself.

She hates how this happened, Naruto was orphaned and made a jinchurriki before Naruto was even a day old. (maybe only an hour old)

She hates Biwako Sarutobi. Biwako was an old hag who should’ve been fully retired, instead, Biwako was chosen as a midwife for Kushina over Mikoto herself. 

She hates how Kushina was forgotten, buried in the Kunoichi graveyard, besides some worthless Kunoichi. 

She hates how Naruto wasn’t in her arms right now. She should’ve fought harder to gain guardianship of Naruto. Fought, fought, and fought as hard as she could’ve, instead of backing at the slight hint of danger.

She hates how she was stripped of her title as godmother. It seemed once one was a jinchurriki they were only property, a tool to be used, not a human being. (Kushina had been treated like this too, but not to this extent.)

She hates how she let Kushina die. 

She hates how she didn’t die during the Kyuubi attack. (it would’ve been so easy)

 She hates the rumors. The Uchiha didn’t seal the eyes of their clan members, unlike the Hyuuga. They valued the freedom of their clan members, it was never a sure guarantee that the eyes wouldn’t be stolen. 

She hates the Third Hokage. (How could he just sit there and watch the scene unfold?! How could he sit and watch while an S-rank secret was revealed?! Kushina was so right, the Sandaime is a fool, a ludicrous sentimental fool.) 

She hates Danzo. (Revealing an S-rank secret in front of the civilians, knowing those animals would hate the baby, isolate the baby, letting Naruto grow up, never living the life she was supposed to) She hates how her clan was under suspicion, how they (fuck those besties of Hiruzen) decided to blame her clan. (she hates herself too) 

She hated her position of power. (she was powerless, only seen as a housewife, even though she was a future Hokage candidate before she got pregnant and birthed Itachi.)

She hates how she wasn’t the one who died. (trampled over by the Kyuubi, stabbed by shards of broken glass, stuck under broken buildings.)

She hates how powerless and weak she was compared to Kushina. Kushina would have already been a rogue nin (they were already thinking of going rogue because of Konoha's amazing fuckery) along with Minato (Kushina was in love with him, and so was he, she had to admit. But that didn’t change the fact that all this could have been avoided if Kushina never met Minato) and the team, taking Itachi and Sasuke, and Neji and Hizashi, finding somewhere safe to live, (probably near water, thought Mikoto, Kushina always loved the water) living a civilian life keeping the kids safe and sound. (Maybe they would even live in Kiri)

Mikoto hates how she knew Kushina would do so much better, keeping everyone safe.

She hates living. 

She hates her new eyes, a tedious reminder of who she failed. 

also, female Naruto fanart with no context.

Chapter Text

11/10/??

“Hello Naruto-chan,” said the woman, with a warm smile when Naruto awoke in a crib. The man was following behind her wearing the same genuine smile. Mikoto and Hizashi they remembered. Naruto was in a new place, she noticed. Blue walls replaced the soft brown Naruto had grown accustomed to. Family portraits and small uchiwa fans were in place of the portrait of Minato and three others. The scent of breast milk and sweets wafted through instead of paperwork and alcohol. This seemed like a family house instead of the office, Naruto observed. Maybe Mikoto’s, Naruto thought, it felt like her’s. This place seemed safe.  Naruto continued to observe the area they were in.

Then, Naruto was lifted up into Mikoto’s arms. “You’ll be living me and my family now, Naruto-chan,” Mikoto had said warmly, before laying Naruto down to change her diaper. After changing their diaper, Mikoto had changed Naruto into a onesie and carried her out back to the living room. Naruto had never worn a onesie before she realized, Naruto had always just worn a diaper and stayed wrapped up in the orange blanket Minato and Kushina had given them. The onesie Naruto felt, was a loose blue, a little tight around the neck and legs, but comfortable for the most part. Afterward, Mikoto had carried Naruto out to the living room to meet other people.

__

It had started a week ago, (at least when he first took notice) Itachi remembered. Seven days ago he had woken up for a cup of water but overheard hushed voices, arguments, and panic from his father’s study. Six days ago he woke up before sunrise to find his mother and father gone with a note telling him they would be back before lunch. Five days ago, he had come home to find his mother and Hizashi-san arguing loudly right in the living room. His mother had seen him and Hizashi-san had excused himself shortly after. Needless to say, dinner that night was filled with tension. Four days ago Hizashi-san came over after dinner and apologized to his mother. Three days ago father took a day off and took him and Sasuke to the park for a picnic. Things started to get better between the adults in his life. Two days ago he came home to find his mother and Hizashi-san in the guest room struggling to put together a crib to no avail. Father had then came over to help with the crib and they finished before dinner. One day ago he came back home finding his father, Hizashi-san, and Orochimaru-sama comforting his crying mother. This morning he had woken up and found a baby in the guest room. An hour ago he came home and found out his mother was holding a welcome party for the baby. Forty-five minutes ago his mother had introduced him to the baby. Thirty minutes ago guests had started to arrive. Now he was holding Naruto. 

He found Naruto was a rather large-sized baby, close to the size of Sasuke. She had faint whisker-like birthmarks on her cheeks making her look like a fox. A patch of blonde hair could be found on her head. Mother had clothed Naruto into one of Sasuke’s onesies which were rather loose. Mother had told him she was the child of the late Uzumaki Kushina but he could find no similarities other than the pale skin. He held her in his arms tightly, staring observantly at her.

_____

Naruto was passed over to someone once again as she observed each of them. So far she had been passed a total of nine times. First, she was held by Mikoto who made her feel welcomed. Second, she was held by Hizashi who simply stared at her gently. He kept on swaying her around, making her feel drowsy.  Third, she was held by a man, who she found the be Mikoto’s husband, named Fugaku. Fugaku stared at her judgingly, making her feel unsure if she wanted to stay with them. Fourth, she was held by a pale-skinned man who she first assumed to be a woman. He seemed to have yellow eyes and purple birthmarks giving a pointed eye bag look. Fifth, she was passed over to a woman with a large stomach, who she learned was pregnant. The large bellied woman, Hitomi she heard, told Naruto she would grow up to be beautiful and hoped for her son to be friends with Naruto. Sixth, she was gently passed to a boy who was named Shisui, he stared at her, making a remark about how she looked nothing like Kushina-nee. Seventh, she was almost dropped by Shisui on his way to pass her to a man that looked remarkably like Hizashi, Hizashi’s twin she learned. Eighth, she was passed over to a man with hip-length blonde hair, and fluffy bangs. Inoichi she learned when Mikoto spoke to him, it seemed he had a child along the way too, but he didn’t have the large stomach seen on Hitomi. Ninth, a man with hair held up in a high ponytail held her, standing stiffly.

Now, she was passed over to a child that looked remarkably similar to Mikoto. She learned Itachi was his name when he introduced himself, he was five years old and had a baby brother named Sasuke. He liked to practice with his shuriken, and hold his brother. Itachi said he was excited for her to stay with his family. He said his mother was her godmother. Naruto laid in his arms as he introduced himself, letting out gurgles and babbles whenever she tried to talk.

She was rather annoyed about that drawback. Whenever she tried to converse with people the only sound her mouth made was those intangible sounds. She assumed it was because she had no teeth, the natural contraption that most people she met had had. But it didn’t matter, she would get them at some point. 

Her life as a baby was something new for her. She was born into this world for the first time, she was sure.  But she felt as if this wasn’t the first time, nor was this the second time. She deemed herself smarter than most adults in the room but when she wanted to know why it was as if her brain capacity was reverted to the level of Mikoto’s second son. She was confused. She was feared- no, she was fearful. Why did she say she was feared? It was all so confusing to her. She had memories but no memories at the same time. She had felt it all but she had nothing to show for it.

Chapter Text

07/17/??

“Naruto!” called a groggy voice, “Naruto!” it called again.

“Should I go?” Naruto asked from within her mindscape. “Of course, we can talk later,” answered the very fox that had allegedly killed her parents. “See ya, then Kurama!” said Naruto as she exited the mindscape and returned to the living realm.

“I’m fine!” Naruto exclaimed when she regained consciousness. “I was worried Naruto-chan,” said Mikoto, when Naruto regained consciousness. “I know, but I’m okay, and that’s all that matters right?” Naruto asked pointedly. “Yes, yes but don’t scare me like that,” answered Mikoto. “I’ve been doing it for years Mikoto, you shouldn’t be worried or scared,” replied Naruto, leaving her highchair. 

“By the way, Naruto,” said Mikoto changing the subject, “Sasuke’s fourth birthday is coming up soon,” stated Mikoto, “Yeah, I know,” said Naruto excitedly forgetting about the previous conversation, “Itachi even said he bought another stuffed animal for Sasuke,”. “He did?” asked Mikoto, “yeah dattebayo! He even showed it to me! I think it’s the cutest one Itachi has found yet!” exclaimed Naruto, excitedly. “That’s really cool!” exclaimed Mikoto to her god-daughter, “Did you find a present for Sasuke yet Naruto?” asked Mikoto, hinting at her intentions. “No, not yet,” gloomed Naruto, “I haven’t figured out what I want to give him yet,”. “Do you want to go present shopping with me then?” asked Mikoto, “I’m sure you’ll find the perfect present for Sasuke,”. “Are you sure?” asked Naruto, “I guarantee you will!” said Mikoto, “Come on then! We don’t have all day do we?” asked Mikoto.

_____

As soon as they left, Naruto had latched herself onto Mikoto’s arm, refusing to let go. It took them half an hour to reach the street market and once they arrived Naruto unlatched herself, much to Mikoto’s happiness, and instead clung to Mikoto’s arm- much to Mikoto’s dismay.

Naruto looked around when they had arrived at the market. Vendors were selling popular street food, and others were selling clothing, some sold souvenirs though Naruto could never understand why anyone would want something from Konoha. 

_____

“How does this look?” asked Mikoto, pointing to a baby blue dress,  when they passed by a dress stand. “I thought we were going present shopping, not clothes shopping Mikoto,” responded Naruto, rather bored. “I know but don’t you want something for yourself? We’ll find something for Sasuke too, I’m sure!” replied Mikoto, leading them into the dress shop. “Mikoto!” cried Naruto when she picked out the baby blue dress. “Try it on Naruto!” said Mikoto, dragging Naruto to the dressing room. “Mikoto,” wailed Naruto, lengthening the vowels, “I don’t want another dress!”. 

Eventually, Mikoto and Naruto left the shop with a baby blue dress in a bag, and with a smile on Mikoto’s face. 

Almost an hour into the trip, Naruto saw something that caught her eye, something she thought would be the perfect gift for Sasuke. “Mikoto,” she called, “Mikoto,” she called again when she wasn’t heard the first time. “Yes, Naruto?” asked Mikoto when she heard her name called, “What is it?”. “I want to get that for Sasuke,” said Naruto pointing towards the top shelf of the toy store at the far right of the store. “The plush?” asked Mikoto, “Didn’t Itachi already get one for Sasuke?”. “No, the other thing,” said Naruto, pointing to the same place she was before. “The cooking kit?” asked Mikoto, trying to look towards where Naruto was pointing. “Mhm,” mumbled Naruto, with a content smile. “Are you sure Sasuke would like that?” asked Mikoto, “Yes I am,” responded Naruto.

 “Why a cooking kit?” asked Mikoto looking for an explanation. “Sasuke said he wanted to sharpen his knife skills,” said Naruto, indicating the intended pun, “And so?” asked Mikoto, not catching on. “So I think he should start with learning to cook the food itself instead of using knives,” said Naruto, feeling pleased with her explanation. “Ah, Naruto,” said Mikoto, “I think he meant the knives shinobi use, not cooking knives,” said Mikoto. “Why would he need a shinobi knife?” asked Naruto, “He doesn’t even know how to fight,” she reasoned, “He’s also better at cooking!”. “Of course Naruto,” said Mikoto, “Whatever you think Sasuke would like most,” said Mikoto, as they went in to buy the cooking kit. 

Later into the day, they arrived back home with the baby blue dress, the groceries, and the cooking kit. Once they arrived back, Naruto immediately went into her room to grab the wrapping paper.  “Are you sure you don’t need my help?” asked Mikoto when Naruto took the present and wrapping paper into the dining room. “I can do it myself,” proclaimed Naruto, when Mikoto asked. “Of course, but if you do need help you can simply ask me okay,” told Mikoto. “I won’t,” responded Naruto, laying out the paper.

Naruto managed to spend a total of forty minutes attempting to wrap the present. Keyword on attempt. “Mikoto!” she called, even though Mikoto was less than five meters away. “Do you need my help now?” asked Mikoto. “Yes,” answered Naruto. “Give me five minutes okay?” Mikoto said as she went into the kitchen. 

Naruto spent the next five minutes rather bored, really bored actually. So it was clearly a gift from the gods when Mikoto showed up. Five, minutes, later. “Mikoto! Help me!” whined Naruto. “I’m here, I’m here,” Mikoto said after Naruto cried her tears of joy at seeing her arrive. “Help me wrap the present please?” asked Naruto. “Of course, I’ll show you okay?”.  Mikoto wrapped the present, carefully giving instructions to Naruto and taping the ends of the paper. 

“You fold here like this okay?” told Mikoto when she folded an edge. “Mhm, okay,” said Naruto, paying close attention. “And then here you will flatten the paper okay?” told Mikoto. “Then once you are done with all the folds you will tape it, can you give me a piece of tape Naruto?” asked Mikoto when she finished wrapping. “Okay,” said Naruto, grabbing a piece of tape. “And there!” said Mikoto when she finished. “How did you do it?” asked Naruto, “Well you paid attention didn’t you?” asked Mikoto.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Fugaku, Itachi, and Sasuke came back around dinner time. They ate and went to bed.

Chapter Text

07/23/??

The day had finally arrived, it was Sasuke’s birthday. 

He was woken on his birthday by Naruto, who ran into his room chanting, ‘wake up teme, it’s your birthday!’ he opened his eyes to find that Shisui was also chanting with her, wearing party hats. “Come on teme! Wake up! It’s your birthday!” Naruto cried she proceed to jump on his bed while Shisui leaned on the doorframe. 

Sometimes he wished Naruto didn’t live with him, right now was one of those times. He closed his eyes and opened them again wishing it was a dream, it wasn’t.

 “I’m up now,” he groaned. “Okay, Mikoto wants you downstairs in 10!” Naruto told him before leaving his room.

He got up and changed into the outfit his mother had prepared for him last night. Then, he went to the restroom and brushed his teeth and hair before using the toilet and washing his hands before departing downstairs. 

Once he was downstairs, he was immediately assigned to watch the food while he talked with Naruto. “So what do you think I got you?” she asked while they watched the food. “Dunno, did you get me something like food?” he asked hesitantly. “You’re close, Sasuke, but not quite,” she replied. “Then,” he thought out loud, “Maybe a food plush?” he asked, looking at her? “How did you get that?” she asked, looking at him weirdly. “Am I close?” he asked, “No!” she laughed, “Not at all, Sasuke!”. “Then when will I know?” he asked. “You’ll have to wait then!” Naruto responded. “No fair!” he whined, “You figured out what I got you last year; why can’t I find out what you got me?”. “Maybe because you’re dumb?” she asked, teasing him. “Am not!” he argued, “Are so!” she retorted back.

Their argument ended soon after Sasuke noticed the food was burning, and Naruto turned off the heat.

Time passed fast, soon after guests started to arrive. 

The final guest list consisted of Itachi, -Naruto and Sasuke had a heated argument over whether Itachi was obligated to be there or had to be invited. Naruto had reasoned that Itachi didn’t need an invitation since he was his brother, while Sasuke reasoned that Itachi still needed an invitation, otherwise he would feel left out. Naruto reasoned that if Itachi had an invitation, then Mikoto and Fugaku would both need an invitation, too, Sasuke argued that his parents were organizing the party so they wouldn’t need invitations. In the end, Itachi received an invitation slipped through his door by Sasuke.

Then there was Shisui, who was invited as a friend and training partner by Sasuke and Naruto, even though she barely ever trained.

Next were the friends. Neji was invited as he was one of Naruto’s best friends- much to Sasuke’s displeasure, and Hinata was invited to keep the peace between the Uchiha and Hyuuga. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio were invited as Sasuke and Naruto had become acquaintances with them. Then, Naruto invited Gaara, the Kazekage’s youngest son, as he had also been admitted into Naruto’s friend group, how they became friends Sasuke would never know.

Next came playground friends. Sasuke had argued that they shouldn’t be invited since they only played together at playgrounds, but Naruto had reasoned that he needed more friends. In the end, they invited 3 playground friends.

Lastly came distant family; they were only distant family through blood, all Uchiha’s lived in the Uchiha Compound. He and Naruto decided to invite no one. He already had enough people there for official reasons; he didn’t want to invite clan members that he surprisingly didn’t associate himself with.

Soon, it was time to open the presents. Most of the presents were shinobi tools, forgettable gifts, and whatnot. What he really looked forward to was his gift from Naruto and Itachi. And due to his terrible luck, he had to open their presents last. He spent what felt like hours opening the gifts from everyone else, before reaching Itachi and Naruto’s gifts. “Finally!” he exclaimed when he saw Naruto’s gift. Somewhere among the group of children, he heard someone mutter “what’s in there?” 

He grabbed one of the last two presents and tore the wrapping paper off. Tearing away all the paper, he found a cooking kit. “So I was close!” he exclaimed, pointing at Naruto. “Hm, you were,” she responded. “I love it! I love it! I love it so much! Thanks, Naru!” he exclaimed hugging the box tight. Naruto smugly replied, “well thanks, I strive to impress. Do you want to open Itachi’s now?”

“Yes!” Sasuke exclaimed as he grabbed the box from Itachi’s arms. “Open it outoto, I think you’ll like it,”. He untied the ribbon and opened the lid to grab the plush Itachi had gotten him. “It’s a snake plush, nii-san!” Sasuke exclaimed hugging the plush in the same manner he held the cooking kit.

After opening presents, it was time for cake. The cake was made by his mother, and Sasuke absolutely loved it, though he would say it was a shame there weren’t any tomatoes in the frosting. When the cake was finished, they played games like tag and hide and seek. Later on, it was close to bedtime and people started to leave.

“Hey, Naru?” he asked when most guests had left, with only Neji and Shisui remaining. “Yes?” asked Naruto, “what is it?”. “Why’d you get me a cooking kit?” he asked. 

Naruto hesitantly replied, “do you not like it? I thought you would like it,”

“I do like it,” Sasuke said, “I was just wondering why you would get me something so,”

“So what?” Naruto asked.

“I was just wondering why you would get me something so,”

“So domestic?” Naruto asked.

“What does that mean?”

“Like being a stay-at-home mom,” Naruto explained.

“So like being a girl is domestic?” Sasuke asked.

“Eh, maybe more like cleaning, and housekeeping. That kind of stuff” explained Naruto.

“Oh,” understood Sasuke, “I guess it is domestic, so why’d you get it for me?”

“I felt like you would like it,” Naruto explained, “I don’t really know why other than I thought you would like it. So do you?”

“Yes, I love it, thank you Naru,” thanked Sasuke.

“Oh, what about the plush Itacho got you?” asked Naruto.

“I like it too but not as much as what you got me,”

Chapter Text

9/15/??

It was hard for Mikoto and everyone else. Mikoto had raised Naruto for almost four years by now. It was hard to imagine, but four years had gone by in the span of moments. Then again, it wasn’t exactly all happy either. Mikoto had taken in Naruto assuming her to be a normal child. But then again, how could an Uzumaki ever be normal?

Naruto had grown at inhuman speeds. She had started talking- forming complete sentences as soon as she had teeth. Naruto’s taijutsu and ninjutsu skills were on par with that of a jonin, -Mikoto found out when she had first started training Naruto. She was smarter than most people, not just her age, but most people in general. Mikoto had learned when Naruto had taken an evaluation by the Yamanaka. Naruto’s physical growth, on the other hand, was slower than average. She only reached to the shoulders of most children her age.

One day Mikoto had found Naruto activating an elaborate Sharingan-like dojutsu in her eyes. Naruto had passed out as soon as it appeared.

Mikoto had tried to talk with Naruto about her abilities, but it seemed Naruto knew as much of her abilities as Mikoto herself did. She had even called over Orochimaru, but he knew even less than she did.

When Naruto was two, Mikoto had found she could converse with the Kyuubi peacefully. Naruto had gone unconscious and woke up minutes later, Mikoto had asked her what happened and she casually responded saying ‘she was talking with Kurama’. Naruto had never really clarified much but Mikoto had assumed Kurama was the Kyuubi. There was no other explanation.

There were moments when Naruto seemed centuries older,- the eyes showed it all. Sometimes, Naruto would slur out words such as, I can’t, and I’m sorry.

Mikoto pitied her in those moments.

Mikoto hated it. She had assumed things would be alright when she took Naruto under her wing, but things hadn’t changed. She hated herself for seeing Naruto as Kushina. Naruto was nothing like Kushina or Minato.

Mikoto hated Naruto sometimes too, -if she hadn’t been born, Kushina would be alive, and maybe, just maybe Mikoto could tolerate Minato. However, those thoughts were pushed aside, as they only emerged in the worst of times.

And in the worst of times, Mikoto had realized that her life had suddenly revolved around Naruto. Everything was Naruto. Who was the prodigy? Naruto. Who did she stay by at all times? Naruto. Who was her favorite child? Naruto. Naruto. Naruto. Everything was Naruto.

Mikoto had wanted to raise Naruto. Mikoto had wanted to be the mother figure for Naruto. But she couldn’t. Naruto had already grown up, Naruto knew so much more about the mysteries of the world than she did. Mikoto couldn’t be a godmother for Naruto. There was no point for Mikoto to be in Naruto’s life. Mikoto tried to bury those thoughts in a ditch whenever she could. Most of the time, instead of prodigal abilities, Naruto showed true childlike ignorance.

Hizashi helped. He was there for her, even though they had a rather large misunderstanding when Kushina died. He was there for her whenever she broke down. He didn’t understand why she had such thoughts, but he listened nonetheless. If she did tell him, she feared it would break everything they had rebuilt.

Then there were the children. The children, Naruto, Itachi, Sasuke, Neji, Shisui, Gaara, Hinata.

She had enough thoughts already about Naruto, but Sasuke. Her youngest son. Naruto was his best friend and he loved her with his life. Thinking about it, she was rather absent in his life, since she was focused on Naruto. He had become friends with Naruto who spent her days stuck at the hip with him.

Then there was Itachi, her poor boy. He was a chunin now. He was sent out to missions outside of Konoha. She worried for his safety, he was only nine. Itachi didn’t talk much with her anymore, he would often reach out to Shisui instead of her.

Now Neji, he was Hizashi’s darling little son, who also became Naruto and Sasuke’s best friend. Last year when he was supposed to be branded with the Caged Bird Seal, Naruto had done something to prevent it. Mikoto didn’t know exactly, what she had done but while it kept Neji safe, Neji and Hizashi had only become even more estranged from their family.

Mikoto supposed that was what Naruto did, for every good thing she did, there would be an evil that would take its place. It made sense Mikoto guessed. No one could get what they wanted. Mikoto didn’t after all.

Then Gaara, he was the Kazekage’s youngest son. It was Naruto who had the idea to visit Suna on sudden notice. They had visited Suna and came back with a new friend. Garra had stayed with them for a little over a month. In the month he had lived with them, Garra had been a literal copy of Itachi’s best traits, helpful, diligent, clean, and intelligent.

There was also Shisui, he was rather close to Itachi and Naruto, sometimes even participating in Naruto’s infamous pranks. She had a suspicion he had joined ANBU recently but there was nothing she could base herself on, other than a ‘hunch’.

Lastly, Hinata, she was a lot of trouble- even more than Naruto, though it was never intentionally done. The number of times the child had been in near-death situations was more than she could count.

All those children made up Naruto and Sasuke’s friend group. Most of the children were selected by Naruto, and Mikoto couldn’t help but think there was some sort of ulterior motive.

Then there were Mikoto’s eyes. They couldn’t be called new anymore considering she had them for almost four years, but it still felt strange whenever she activated them. They weren’t the famed mangekyo; Mikoto had found after activating it in front of the mirror. The eyes also seemed to have held some sort of higher power, as explained by Orochimaru when she went to ask. She felt disgusting and dirty. She had taken her friend’s eyes as her own; even if Kushina’s (eyeless) blood clone had given the eyes to Mikoto.

Mikoto exited her mindscape and lay in her bed, falling asleep.

Chapter Text

8/24/??

“RUN! RUN! WE NEED TO RUN!” exclaimed Naruto, running as fast as her legs could go while carrying an almost empty bucket of blue, purple, and green glitter. “COME ON SASUKE! THEY’RE COMING AFTER US!” 

“CRAP! SHISUI! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?”

____

Fugaku sighed as he drawled out, “Naruto Uzumaki, four years and ten months old. The supposed leader of the group. 

Second, Sasuke Uchiha, five years and one-month-old, an accomplice found with evidence on the body. 

Third, Neji Hyuuga, six years and one-month-old, accomplice number two. Infamously known as the distraction. 

And Shisui Uchiha, eleven years, ten months old. Frequent mastermind of defilement on public property.” Fugaku paused to straighten the papers.

“Only a co-mastermind, sir!” chimed Shisui as soon as Fugaku paused.

Fugaku sighed again, as he stared at the 3 children giving Shisui dirty looks, while seated in the metal chairs “I am sorry Shisui, co-mastermind, Is that better? What do you four have to say for yourselves?” asked Fugaku in annoyance, after he corrected himself. 

“We’re sorry sir,” said all the children in unison, obviously used to such a situation.

“Didn’t pass,” said Fugaku.

“We’re sorry sir, it won’t happen again,” said all the children, though Fugaku would swear he heard them mumble ‘within the month’

“Passes, you all may go,”

“Really? Thank you!” said all the children again in unison as they bolted out of the detaining room.

“Except Naruto and Sasuke, you two will stay a little bit longer,”

“What?” exclaimed Naruto, halfway out the door, “but Fugaku-ji! I have to go! My time is precious!”

“You. Will. Stay,” said Fugaku in his no-nonsense voice.

“Fiiiiine, we’ll have it your way,” groaned Naruto as she sunk back in the chair with Sasuke following behind. 

Once they sat down, Fugaku spoke, “I admire your skills Naruto, but I would love it if you would use them in different situations. And Sasuke, you need to focus on your training, you’ve been slacking off lately. Next time you four play a ‘prank’, serious consequences will follow. Do you understand, you two?” explained Fugaku.

“Yes Father,” answered Sasuke.

“Yes, sir,” answered Naruto.

“Thank you, you two may go now,”

“Thanks, Fugaku-ji!” exclaimed Naruto, walking out the room.

____

One and a half hours ago.

“Here’s the plan, look,” said Naruto, drawing the plan on a whiteboard. “I don’t get it, what is it?” asked Sasuke, unsure and confused. Naruto responded, “It’s the plan, as I said,” explained Naruto, “It shows what we are supposed to do for this prank,”. “Oh, okay, so which dot am I?” asked Sasuke staring at the messy scrawl on the whiteboard. “The blue dot, obviously,” stated Neji, sitting cross legged on the grass lawn. “Correct, and you Neji is the green dot. Naruto is the orange dot, and I am the black dot,” told Shisui, while Naruto began to pass out supplies. 

“If you two still don’t get it I’ll explain,” said Naruto. “Yes, please,” answered Neji, almost immediately.

 “Okay then,” said Naruto as she began to explain, “We’ll start with Neji. First, he will run into the Chunin Lounge and just stand there. That way the Chunin will think something is wrong with him and they will all gather around him. Once they all gather around him, Sasuke will run in and pour the paint over them. After that, Sasuke will yell something and I will come in through the windows to dump glitter over the chunin. Once the chunin are covered in paint and glitter, Neji and I will paint our symbol, got it now?” asked Naruto, wiping the whiteboard clean.

“Yea, but why does Neji paint the symbol?”

“Cus he’s better at writing than you. Your writing sucks! Hizashi even made fun of it!”

“What about Shisui then?” asked Neji, preventing an argument from breaking out.

“Shisui will be waiting in the locker rooms, he’s going to switch out the body wash and shampoo with some sort of stinky chemical liquid we got from Orochimaru-ji’s lab. That way, on top of paint and glitter, they’ll also stink really bad. Shisui will also be our escape route; he can shunshin us away once we’re done. That way, we won’t get caught. So how does that sound?” asked Naruto, finishing at the same time Shisui finished passing out supplies. “Great! I’m not sure if I can shunshin us all, but I think I can get us far enough,” responded Shisui. 

“Okay then, let’s all get into positions,”

___

Shisui walked into the lounge with a backpack and headed straight for the lockers. As soon as he was in, he took out the walkie-talkie and informed the team of his position. “In the lockers now, the plan can now proceed,”. While he switched out the liquids, he thought about Naruto. She was the daughter of Kushina and the god-daughter of Mikoto so it wasn’t strange that she was raised by Mikoto, what made him wonder about Naruto was her skill. Sure, the Uchiha main family were known for producing some of the best shinobi in history, but that was mainly due to the Sharingan and torturous training. 

Naruto on the other hand was incredibly skilled, but she never really trained. She was never found sweating or bruised from practice. She was just as skilled a jonin, he heard Mikoto-san say. How? He wondered, how was she able to orchestrate such elaborate pranks flawlessly with no prior practice. This had never concerned him a year ago when he wasn’t caught up in Konoha’s problems. Mikoto had even gone as far as taking Naruto for bi-weekly visits to Orochimaru to figure out Naruto’s powers. There was also something else, he was sure Mikoto, Itachi, and the others could sense. 

Naruto’s chakra was strange. It wasn’t the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi’s chakra was weak and only small trickles. It was something different, they felt like flares. Like when Naruto protected Neji from being branded with the Hyuuga eye seal. It had suddenly come out and he was sure people could feel it within a 30-kilometer radius of the gate. It had happened exactly when the Hyuuga elders had refused to accept Naruto’s offer. He didn’t think it was a coincidence, it couldn’t be possible. Soon after the Hyuuga incident, he always felt the same chakra he had felt that day, though on a smaller scale. 

And then the pranks again. It was strange how she could deliver it flawlessly but was always caught at the end. It was getting tiring, and so fake. He finished switching out the liquids and walked out of the locker room. He found the chunin covered in paint, while Naruto and Neji finished painting their logo. “We should run now,” said Naruto when she noticed Shisui looking at the lounge.