Dream

"Just how many people are going to fall victim to this stone?" Naru sighed running her hand through her hair. The long, blonde locks hung down to her waist, shifting slightly as a gentle wind blew through the area. She spared a painful glance at Konoha's ever famous memorial stone where more and more familiar names found themselves carved into.

"Naru-san." The sombre tone didn't belong in his voice and she wondered if she could beat it out of him. No, she reasoned with herself, if that's the case I'll be forced to incapacitate half of our forces, including myself.

"Sometimes I find myself wondering about the future," She said quietly, "A future which many of our comrades would never see. But no matter what, they went down fighting.They gave their lives for us and so shouldn't we do our best to live?" She directed her pained gaze to the man who had cried endlessly for days when they had learnt of the most recent death, "But sometimes it's just so hard, you know?" She felt a few of her own tears slip down.

"He was such a good kid." Though his tears had stopped, she could hear the sorrow in his voice, as he continued to cry without them, "My disciple, he had such a bright future. His whole existence burned brightly." The man clutched a tattered red forehead protector in his bandaged fists. "No teacher should ever outlive his students. No... No father should ever have to outlive his child." She gave the man time to collect himself once more.

"Gai..." Naru trailed off. Of all the names carved into the stone his eyes would always be watching one in particular, 'Rock Lee'.

"I wonder if this is what Kakashi or Kurenai are feeling all the time?" He sighed and watched as clouds began to gather. It would rain soon.

"How's Neji doing?" She asked tentatively. The prodigy Hyuga was somewhat of a ticking time bomb at the moment, though no one could blame him...

"I'd like to say better than me, but I have no idea," Gai confessed, "Neither Tenten nor I have heard from him, though it looks like he's been frequenting the Forest of Death."

"That's not healthy at all." She growled in frustration. She knew she would have to drag him out of his stupor but didn't feel up to it at all. Maybe the best option would be to join him.

"And neither is standing here, day after day," A smooth voice drawled, "Though I'm not really one to speak." Naru felt a comforting arm wrap around her waist and automatically leaned into the new arrival.

"Kakashi..." it seemed Gai had fallen so far he would not even shout at his eternal rival.

"This war has gone on for too long," The silver haired male gritted out, "It's time it finally came to an end, even if I must personally wring the bastard's neck myself! I would gladly tear down every ninja in his army one by one if it meant this would all finally be over." It was unusual for the laidback man to promise such brutality but Naru couldn't help but feel more encouraged. There was despair, almost too much which threatened to suffocate them in their already restless sleeps, but his words kept a small flame of hope lit. No longer flickering or wavering, but burning brightly with the rediscovered resolve.

Reality

The young blonde sat up in her bed, sighing as she ran her small fingers through her too-long hair. Miyu vaguely wondered if it was something about Konoha, like how nostalgic it felt and how dear to her heart the village was, that kept bringing back dreams of the past. The two nights spent in Ame offered nothing but darkness and rest. And, the blonde had yet to decide whether these dreams were good, or bad. This particular memory left her depressed but none the less motivated her towards her goal.

''Morning'' Kurama yawned, jumping off the bed and landing soundlessly on the floor.

"Good morning." Miyu replied. She pushed some chakra into her resistance seals and instantly felt the change. She was on level five now and it felt like she was wading through water. In her previous life she had only managed to hit the sixty-seventh level and this time round she was determined to manage all ninety-nine. "So what's on today's agenda?"

''You need to recover your chakra from the trip to Ame and continue to slowly condition your body,'' the fox advised, ''you'll start attending the Academy the day after tomorrow so until then reacquaint yourself with the villagers once more.'' It hurt that the last part was necessary, but she had to remember she was a stranger here.

"GOOD MORNING!" A loud voice shouted, practically shaking the whole apartment complex with its volume. It was followed by a series of short raps on the front door reminding her that today she would be truly begin 'slowly' condition her body back up to scratch.

"Dammit Gai!" Minato groaned as he stumbled out of bed to open the door, "Please keep it down." He for one, wasn't so pleased, about his precious charge joining the spandex teen in his extreme form of training. Though, the blond jounin couldn't really do anything but accept it. He really hoped every morning wasn't going to be like this.

"My apologies Minato-san! I was just excited." He shouted not the slightest bit quieter. Miyu heard a couple of muffled sounds and came down to find the energetic boy tied up and gagged. "Mmfmu!" how he still managed to sound loud and happy she didn't understand, but assuming he had just called her name she waved back.

"I'll be going now." She told her current guardian, dressed in a pair of loose black pants and an orange tank.

"Alright," He sighed, "Just remember not to overexert yourself." He could only watch with a strange feeling of fear as Miyu nodded in reply, already dragging Gai out of the door with a sleepy fox at her heels.

Gai honestly couldn't remember the last time he was so happy or excited. Maybe it had been when he first saw Kakashi walking down the street and felt some strange urge to best him, a bizarre need to compete with the genius Hatake? But now as he watched Konoha's newest resident run beside him he couldn't help but feel pleased. He knew his teammates, especially Ebisu, had told him time and time again that his training regime was not for the ordinary, or sane for that matter. He didn't really understand their concerns when he had told them of his new training partner, though as he watched her slightly flushed faced he couldn't help but mentally praise her. He knew it was very commendable for an eight year old girl to keep up, even if he had toned it down a bit due to Genma's worries. She didn't look the type to give up and as he had told her once before, her flames of youth shone exceptionally bright.

"Yosh! That's enough running for today!" He shouted after they had both finished several laps of the village. "Next let's get onto some simple exercises."

"H-Hai." Miyu panted. She glared at her fox which had leisurely spent the whole time on her shoulders, weighing her down. He didn't let up at all as she continued the work out.

Sitting on her back for push ups, standing on her chest while she did sit ups. Gai hadn't helped, believing it was just her adding her own youthful touch. By the time their first break rolled around she didn't even have the strength to move, instead kneeling collapsed on the ground, apologizing to her crying muscles.

"Are you alright Miyu-chan?" Gai asked with a hint of concern.

"I'm just a little tired." She answered, "Give me a sec, I'll be up in no time." True to her word it wasn't long before she was back on her feet. She'd have to thank her enormous stamina reserves for that, though it wouldn't be doing anything for her sore muscles. Her spandex-wearing friend was happy enough and quickly offered to spar. Miyu agreed, quickly taking up the offer, mostly so she would be able to finally find out how much her skills had degraded.

Miyu was completely, and utterly unprepared, when Minato let out a feminine high pitched scream as his charge walked through their front door. She was so startled by the sound and almost fell back, if not for Kurama giving her a supporting push from behind. She gave him a thankful look and he returned with a shrug. "What the hell happened to you?!"

He screamed distressed. The precious little girl had her hair matter with mud and leaved while her clothes were torn and dirtied. She also seemed to be soaked to the bone, even though he was absolutely sure there had been no rain, and when he looked closer it seemed the edges of her pants were singed.

"I was out training!" She chirped.

"I understand that but how did you get in this state?" He exclaimed. And was that blood on her clothes?!

"One thing led to another and... you know..." He definitely didn't like the hidden innuendo he picked up even though the sane part of his mind told his he was over analysing.

"I'll murder that kid!" Minato growled, strangely protective.

"What?! No, don't do that! Most of this happened after we trained anyway!" Miyu responded in alarm.

"Then what exactly happened?" He asked.

"Well," She'd tell him as much of the truth as she could manage, "I was playing around with different jutsu accidently burned my pants," She started, "So I went to the river to put it out but I slipped and fell into the mud. Than on the way home I stumbled on a stone and fell into a bush." Better let him believe she was accident prone since this would probably be a recurring experience. He calmed down from his frantic panic and could now see she didn't actually look hurt, just messy.

"And the blood?" Minato pressed.

"I tripped and fell?" It was plausible enough though her tone wasn't very convincing.

"Hm." He wasn't buying it but in the end she seemed fine, probably due to her healing factor. "You need to take better care of yourself," Minato told her in concern, "Be careful next time ok?

"Of course!" Miyu replied with a mock salute. He sighed again wondering why her personality seemed so familiar to him.

"So, what jutsu were you practising anyway?" He finally asked, curious of what kind of jutsus she had in her repertoire.

"Katon – Gokakyu." She replied a moment after. Minato was initially surprised, but nowadays it wasn't unusual for a young ninja to pick up a C-rank here or there. In fact, wasn't it a tradition among the Uchiha to pass along that specific fire technique?

"Any others you know of?" He asked. Miyu shrugged.

"Not really. That's why I was just going through familiar hand seals."

"Ah." Minato assumed the girl was relying on muscle memory to remember any of her previous skills.

''Kit,'' Kurama's deep voice caught her attention and she turned to see him staring pointedly at the window.

"Is there something you need?" Minato asked. His questioning lingering in the silence. He never failed to notice how Miyu and her fox had already reacted.

"Hokage-sama requests your presence." A hidden Anbu replied, squatting on the windowsill. "Both of you." He elaborated.

"Got it." The Anbu stared for a few more seconds before jumping down and vanishing. "Well then," Minato turned his attention to the young girl, "Why don't we go see what the Hokage wants?

"Minato?!" A weary yet cheerful voice called out his name as they entered the office. Miyu looked to the speaker, a slender, young woman with crimson hair that hung significantly past her waist. Violet eyes caught her own, showing confusion and suspicion within them. "...Who?"

"Ah, I forgot that you wouldn't have met, seeing as you've been on a mission," The Hokage began, mumbling slightly to himself, "Kushina, this is Uzunami Miyu, Konoha's newest resident. And Miyu, this is Uzumaki Kushina, another tenant of Minato's apartment."

"It's nice to meet you." Miyu said with a polite bow. The fox beside her copied her movements catching the older woman's attention.

"A fox?" She questioned.

"Apparently he's Miyu's partner. Possibly like a ninken, we're not really sure." Minato, said.

"Apparently? How can you be unsure?" She continued.

"Well, Miyu is amnesiac," The Hokage stated, "Inoichi has confirmed it." Kushina looked as if she wanted to say more but he cleared his throat, indicating he wasn't finished.

"Anyway, there was another reason I called you here. Not just for introductions but we're still waiting on one more person."

"Hokage-sama?" A knock sounded at the door, announcing a new arrival.

"Ah, Fugaku. Come in." As the Hokage revealed his identity Minato seemed to grumble. Similarly when the Uchiha head entered and saw the others present he let out a small huff.

"Now before we begin I'd like to make the last introductions. Fugaku this is Uzunami Miyu, Miyu this man is Uchiha Fugaku."

"Nice to meet you." Miyu repeated for the second time that day, mimicking her earlier bow.

"Hn." The young girl twitched at the reply.

''At least you now know where both his sons picked up the annoying habit from.'' Kurama commented.

"So this is the amnesiac kunoichi we've picked up?" He questioned rhetorically.

"Yes," Sarutobi answered, "And the reason I've called you all together is to discuss her, particularly her lineage." Miyu turned her attention to him warily and he handed the each of adults a compilation of papers.

"I would've thought her relations would be obvious." Fugaku grumbled, as he frowned at the rising jounin. Just looking at the two blondes, one couldn't doubt that they shared too many commonalities for it to just be a coincidence. He would even go out on a stretch, and by adding the Uzumaki into the equation, guess Miyu the by-product of the two lovers... though the ages seemed inconsistent.

"What is this?" Minato wondered, briefly begging to skim through it.

"The results of Miyu blood test." Sarutobi answered simply enough. The girl in question sucked in her breath while staring in shock. When did he get a hold of my blood?

''Actually, when we arrived your clothes, or what was left of them were covered in it. then again it would not have been hard for them to take a sample while you were unconscious.'' Kurama admitted.

"Eh?" Kushina had flipped to the end, and gasped with unhidden surprise.

"What is it?" Minato asked curiously.

"The machine we ran her blood though is one that compares it to each person currently living in Konoha." The Hokage began, "With it, it's possible to see if two people are actually related. We can also break down the sample to find and matches with others. What you have there is her blood type, approximate age, general description and, apparent relations."

"What?!" Minato exclaimed, looking up from the page, his hands trembling, "You've got to be joking right?" His sky blue eyes shifted nervously between his leader and the girl beside him before landing back on the files he held. "This can't possibly be right!" Miyu would've been lying if she said that his denial didn't hurt, but technically he was right... since she hadn't been born yet.

''It will be different than what you are expecting.'' To fox beside her noted, remaining calm and composed. She sent him a look of confusion. ''The jutsu we performed would have ordinarily killed the user. There are two reason why you were able to survive. One, being able to supply the sufficient amount of chakra, and two, your regenerative abilities. You arrived here near death because of the changes that had to be done to you. Sometimes the wrong things are changed and that causes the low success rate, and possibly shortened lifespan afterwards.''

"...changes?" She echoed inaudibly. The fox nodded and continued to explain.

''I told you before. Two of the same beings cannot exist at the same time. The jutsu therefore serves a second purpose. Other than just transporting the user back in time, it also has the precautions to alter their body down to a molecular level. Of course it cannot create anything that does not already exist, so it merely changes what is already there. Therefore you relation to the Namikaze and Uzumaki still exists.'' The question is though, to what extent. He licked his paws thoughtfully, and climbed onto her shoulders as if to get a better look.

"Are you sure this is correct?" Fugaku questioned. Since finding out the purpose of the gathering Miyu has almost forgotten him, although now she questioned his presence.

"Ano, can I ask what's going on?" She piped up, craning her neck to see inside the closest files which happened to be Minato's. Hey eyes skimmed past the irrelevant information until she found what she was searching for. !?...How did...Sasuke?...

"Well, Miyu," Sarutobi said gently, "It turns out that you have family within Konoha. In fact, the three in the room with you right now are related to you one way or another."

"I'm not quite sure how this is possible." Fugaku admitted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kushina asked, "Clearly, before you married Mikoto, you had a short fling with another woman and conceived Miyu. And that woman was somehow related to both Minato and I, most likely our half-sibling." Her answer was logical and the only one which fit the ratio of the girls DNA. "Though, I don't like to think that one of my parents committed adultery."

"Ah..." Minato hadn't known his parents, in fact any family, at all. To suddenly find out he had a half-sister, who was likely to be dead, and a niece who was currently beside him... he was shocked, yet happy.

"Huh?!" Miyu gasped and flailed as her feet left the floor and she was swung up high, "Hey! Let me down!" Minato was blissfully unaware of her yelling as he threw the younger girl up and down.

''I guess this was a good turn of events,'' the fox commented idly, feeling how happy his partner was, though she was reluctant to show it on her face.

"I can't believe I actually have a niece!" His smile was so joyful and carefree at that moment neither of the women or the Hokage felt like stopping him. Unlike them though,Fugaku had no such restrictions.

"Namikaze." His stern voice cut across the room and through the blond's laughter, "I ask that you put down my... daughter." Minato stopped mid twirl and reluctantly held her out for Fugaku to accept. The Uchiha was unprepared and awkwardly accepted the girl after the previous holder made no move to put her down. Soon after receiving her however, he released her, letting the girl stand on her own.

"Thank you." She mumbled softly.

"Hn." A soft chuckling sounded in the room, and they each turned to a stare at a smiling Hokage.

"Well then, I'm glad there aren't any problems here." Sarutobi brought up his hands and folded them under his chin. "Now then, the next matter to discuss is her living arrangements. Currently Miyu lives with Minato but seeing as you more closely related you may take her to the compound if you wish Fugaku."

"Huh? No way!" The blond jounin shouted indignantly. He glared at Fugaku as the man took the time to think it over. "But Kushina and I share an apartment so it's two against one, right?"

"I suppose that does even things out." The Hokage allowed, "Well then Miyu, I guess it's up to you to decide."